In Deer...

This evening as I was preparing dinner for the house, I looked out of the window above the sink in the kitchen and witnessed an entire family of deer grazing in our front yard.  It's cool to see God in creation sometimes.

In a New Church...

I began my internship with Lamberth Memorial Baptist Church this morning.  I'm really excited to see what God has in store for me there.  The people are wonderful, and I'm really looking forward to working with the youth.

In A Meeting...

Today at lunch, I met with the pastor who will be my supervisor for my Field Education placement at Lamberth Memorial Baptist Church in Roxboro, NC this academic year.  I'm very excited about the chance to work with this church and with this pastor.  At first glance, it looks like a really good fit for me.

In repetition...

Sometimes, when you hear the same advice with the same wording over and over again, you begin to think there's something that the Holy Spirit has to say.

In First Years...

I am incredibly encouraged about the incoming class here at Duke Divinity School.  The people I encountered this past week helping with the BriDDDge program (Building Relationships in Durham [through] Duke Divinity Graduate Education) are quite incredible.  They are blessed to be at DDS, but DDS is also blessed to have them.  The love of Christ radiates from each of them, and renews my own spirit and passion for God's church and God's people.  I look forward to meeting even more over the next few days, weeks, and months.

In the Cupid Shuffle...

I have been participating in a pre-enrollment program at Duke Divinity School called BriDDDge.  The past couple of days have been very difficult days personally for me (just a lot of stuff on the "mind grapes"), and on our schedule tonight was a dance with a ministry called "Reality Ministries".  Reality Ministries is a local organization in Durham that works with groups of people that society has marginalized.  One of those groups is the mentally handicapped.  I had no interest in being extroverted and dancing (especially for ministry), but it was a wonderful time.  For the first time in a while, I was able to let my hair down, and just have fun and be goofy and remember the me that I actually really like.  And it was extremely life-giving to spend time with a group of people who love life and love people and are so willing to share that love.  It was an incredible blessing that was so desperately needed.

In a New Home...

A year ago, I moved to Durham, North Carolina in answer to a call I feel God has put on my life to be in ministry.  It has been a difficult transition at times, and I have resisted the idea of even being here.  So hesitant was I to connect to this place originally that I refused to call where I lived last year "home" (I didn't even label it as "home" on my GPS).  I am now setting down some roots and have moved into a new house with friends.  I painted my bedroom today, and it really is starting to feel like "home".

"Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come.
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will [has] lead [led] me home."