Summer Update

This concludes my longest hiatus from blogging since I began two Augusts ago. I hesitate to admit to much, except to say that the past semester was both emotionally and spiritually difficult and I had not the head-space for organizing thoughts and crafting words for the curious.

It is now June and beautiful in Western Pennsylvania--the power of the White Witch faded some time ago; Aslan has come, and all that. I struggled through the end of my semester, accomplishing by God's mercy a virtual miracle of academic work to complete and submit all that I did within the last 2-3 weeks of the semester. I had some time off after that to recoup and have been enjoying fellowship, books, video games, movies.

I've picked up a part time job as a bookkeeper for Rock the World, a youth missions organization in Ambridge. I have no experience in the field, except that my two Tallahassee-based bureaucratic jobs both gave me crash courses in adapting quickly to new data systems. I'm looking forward to my time there, both for the organization's service to the kingdom and my general liking of the staff and for the experience I'm going to get with understanding fundraising and spending in a non-profit ministry context. I will also be putting in some more chaplain hours at the jail this summer, at least through the end of this month, if not also beyond. Between the two activities I'm only burning about 25 hours a week, so I'm able to stay active without the drain of full work week.

I'm not going to take any summer classes. I decided amidst my end-of-semester chaos that I would take a break from school and enjoy the meatier bits of life. Ministry at the jail and at church. The knowledge and love of God. The company of friends. The consumption of literature and the playing of music. My friend and roommate Scott has given me free reign with his guitar, and I have been playing more this past week than I have in a good while.

I also hope/intend to return to the gym after a 3-4 month hiatus. It's hard to go back when you've been away, especially when your regular partner goes at 5:30 in the morning three days a week. It's just so early, and, as a single and socializing twenty-something it doesn't quite fit the shape of my life.

As for home, who knows whether I'll return. There are certainly some friends I want to see; some few are even moving to other continents within the year. But travel is expensive and my car is unreliable. Yet the Lord is good, and he holds the web of our intersecting lives in his hands.