Snow Day

I can always remember when school was canceled for a snow day. It was rare, but boy was it fun!! The neighborhood was a buzz that day. Phones would start ringing as soon as people woke up. Mom's would plan the meals for the day.....I have this that could go with your that. The kids would be figuring out where to meet to sled. Dad built a huge fire for everyone to warm up by. In and out we went. In to warm up with hot chocolate and to dry off. Out we went to walk to K-Mart to buy someone gloves or to Long John Silvers to buy slaw for the hot dogs. In we went to warm up by the fire and eat. Out we went for a snow ball fight. All in all...it was a day of good old fashion fun with friends and family! We would play until we wore ourselves out.

That was much of what yesterday was. School was canceled. It was Addison and Parker's first "real" snow day. We began it with chocolate chip pancakes with friends. Next, it was time to bundle up and meet everyone on the Close to play. Snowmen were built. Children were being pulled on sleds. Snow balls were flying. Snow angles were there if you looked closely. I even saw snow being eaten!!! Off to the refectory for lunch and getting warm time. Then, back to the snow. This time, a ten foot snowman was built! While some of the "older" kids worked on the super large snowman, Addison, Parker, Casey and Rem worked on the snow fort. If you were a student going to class, you instantly wore a target that attracted snowballs....whether you were up for it or not!!! Back in we went to only get dressed again to play in the snow. Finally, exhausted, we had dinner and called it a day. After a day of fun with friends and 10" of snow, we fell into bed for a good nights sleep. Oh, what a day it was!!!!

Faith is a Funny Thing

Faith is a funny thing. There are times in our lives that we feel that we are fully aware of our faith and then times when we wish we had a lot more of it. Over my last semester I went through this struggle for faith over and over again.

Starting over at this point in my life has been very humbling. I have begun a fresh start and that means starting again from the bottom. This has been something I have wrestled with over and over again. I am quite sure that this struggle will remain constant throughout my seminary experience. However, it is faith that has gotten me this far and I know it is only through faith that I will be able to rebuild my new life as a priest. God has a plan for us all and faith is the anchor which keeps us grounded.

The semester has just begun and already I am overwhelmed with the amount of work that is being thrust upon us. It is like seeing a huge storm heading for your city and you know that you will be in thick of the storm in a few hours. So you batten down the hatches and just try and hang on. For me it is best to just take it day by day. Faith is what will carry me through these trying times and strengthen me when I am in need. -B

A Trip into the Wilderness

This past Sunday, we attended St. Paul's church for their 10:00 service to hear a friend of ours preach. St. Paul's is directly across the street from Ground Zero. When 9/11 occurred, this church opened its doors to the rescuers of the disaster. From that day forward, the church was forever changed.

Like I said above, we attended church there this past week. This service was incredible for several reasons. First, it was St. Paul’s. This chapel is a powerful place to visit. For NYC, it is quiet and somber inside. As you walk around the museum part of the chapel, you feel the emotional effects of 9/11….your heart aches. The displays show you the courage of firefighters, police, and volunteers trying to rescue survivors. You see the hearts of other volunteers as some displays tell about the food served, the massage’s given, the teddy bears placed on the tiny cots rescuers slept on, etc. These volunteers poured themselves out to the rescue volunteers in order to provide love and support as well as a place of comfort for much needed rest. Then there are notes and messages and origami… the pouring out from the people of our country and from around the world. It is truly an emotional experience to witness this love being spread out over and over in the midst of a terrible tragedy.

Second, the service (which is held in the center of this museum) is what I would call a “non-traditional” Episcopal service...which is a welcome break for me. High church is the name of the game here in the city. I don’t mind these….but sometimes it is nice to have a break from the formality of a high church service. This service follows the New Zealand prayer book. The structure and the prayers are different in this service (you might be able to tell it has an Episcopal flair to it). The music is non-traditional as well. As different as it was, it was full of life (esp. when the “droning” or humming started and the children could not stop laughing with our friend’s mom!). I found it comforting to be a part of the uniqueness of the service.

Finally, our friend Stefanie did the sermon. It was awesome to watch her deliver her sermon. She was so comfortable in front of everyone and her message was inspiring. She spoke about Jesus’ time in the wilderness being followed up by a visit home to the temple. His fellow town’s people reject him and what he has to say. They want to throw him off a cliff. Stefanie talked about trips into our own wildernesses and the change that comes from these trips. The message really struck home with me (see the blog about Sunsets to understand why). Trips to the wilderness do change people….and sometimes people like the change and sometimes people don’t like the change. It is all part of the journey.

Between this service and Stefanie’s sermon, I left with a sense of renewal. Seminary is a trip into the wilderness. As it is with life, this trip is not being done alone. We are all in the wilderness as individuals and as a community. Each one of us has different people to lean on along our way. Yet, it is still our personal trip into the great unknown. Then, you get to go home to the town’s people. Who knows…..maybe the thought of being thrown over cliffs is closer than you think. But I am sure not!!! I hope that we can each embrace our own individual change in order to grow into the person that God has created for us to be. Then you can say the trip was well worth the ride!

Thanks Stefanie for a great message!!

She did it!!!!

For those of you who know Addison, this will come as no surprise to you. Addison auditioned for an Off Broadway show. The show is Willy Wonka Jr. We heard about the auditions from a friend of ours, Casey. We did not think much of it. Addison went and read, sang, and danced for the first audition. Basically, Brad and I were proud of her for doing just that.

Then she was called back. So, we returned. Addison read and sang for three or four different parts. She said that when she read for Violet, the "judges" just cracked up. Monday, we found out that she is, in fact, going to be Violet in the show.

We are so proud of her!!!

Watching the Sunset

This past July, our family had the opportunity to hike for three days and two nights on the Appalachian Trail. We covered about 12 or so miles. It was wonderful. As a family, we were able to spend "quality" time together. As we hiked, we talked, we looked at things, we laughed, we moaned and groaned (just a little!) ....things you normally do while hiking. We also hiked in absolute quite for a bit. What a treat!

On our last evening, we watched one of the most spectacular sunsets from the peak of Standing Indian Mountain (a mountain that was not so kind to me during a hiking trip in college!!). It was during this sunset that I was brought back to the thought of CHANGE....the one we were living and the one we were facing. This word was created out of the view that evening. Just when the site could not get any better, it did. It miraculously changed and became even prettier. This changing sunset was in slow motion. You could literally watch the movement of the sun, the clouds, and the fog. Yet this slow moving sunset all happened so fast. It left us just as suddenly as it had come to us. Just as the sun would set, our lives would change. Change......I knew it was coming. I knew we would trade in the North Georgia Mountains for the concrete streets of the city. The children would change schools. Brad would be a student....no longer employed. I would have to find a job. Our lifestyle would definitely change. We would meet new friends and form new relationships. Everything we thought would change, did. What I did not anticipate was the change within us as individuals.

Coming home for Christmas opened me to the internal change. I don't know what to say about it or even how to describe it...... things were just different..... not bad..... just different. We remained in the midst of family and friends, surround by love and graciousness. They each refilled us and gave us a renewal of strength and encouragement on this journey. Yet something was different. Something had changed. Maybe it was the fact that we were able to drive again. Maybe it was the fact the rooms we were in were the size of our apartment. Maybe it was walking out to grass and trees. Maybe it was accepting one generous act after another. I don't know..... things had changed.

It was on our drive home that I realized that New York offered us a sense of security during this time of transition. It is sort of like an incubator. We are in this small, safe community facing this enormous change in our life. Slowly, just like the sun setting, we are changing..... little by little. Some days it feels like the sun is breaking through the clouds. Others days, it feels like the fog rolling in. But with each trial comes clarity. With each glimpse of beauty, we find a sense of peace.

When we look back on this time, I hope we are able to think......... just as sure as it came, it went. Wow what a beautiful sunset! Until the sun sets tomorrow......

What a great trip home!!

We (the five of us....yes the dog went too) left New York Friday, December 18th around 11:00 AM. We knew a snow storm was approaching the Eastern coast but we figured by leaving this early we would beat the storm. We could not leave any sooner because Addison was in a play at school. So, off we went. For the first seven hours everything went well. I was hoping we could beat the storm before it hit the mountains in Virginia. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Around 6:00 PM, it began to snow. As time went on, the storm gradually began to get worse.

The temperature was dropping and the snow was falling hard. At 7:00, about 40 miles above Roanoke, Virginia, we were looking for a place to pull over to get something to eat. There was an exit with some restaurants but it looked as if it would be difficult to get back on the interstate so I decided to go a little farther because I thought if we could make it to Roanoke we would have a better selection (ha! ha!).

We traveled about three miles past this exit and traffic stopped. We sat on the interstate for four and a half hours.....yes four and a half hours! At 11:30, we began to move slowly. We could not get over 20 miles an hour because the snow was so deep. Two hours later we arrived in Roanoke and got a hotel room. After getting a little food from the Shell station (blueberry muffin, banana bread, Doritos and warm and eat mac and cheese) we finally ate “dinner” and went to bed.

When we woke up at 7:30 AM, the little town we were in was covered with two feet of snow. I dug the car out and we again began on our journey home. After several detours and advice from our friend, we decided to change directions and head for Charlotte, North Carolina. This would get us out of the mountains and deep snow. This turned out to be the best decision. Once we made it to Charlotte we were traveling at normal speeds. We arrived in Marietta around 5:30. Thirty and a half hours later we were finally done with our trip. To say we were ready to get out of the car would be an understatement.

Preparing for Christmas

This year has been a strange yet refreshing year for us as we prepare for Christmas. We had to decide in June what Christmas decoration to bring. Our four Christmas stockings were the only decorations that made the cut. Well, now that we are in NYC and it is December, these four items have not even made the cut to be displayed. We have no fireplace to hang them on. AND we have gone with a different decorating motif......."If we have not made it, then it is not out!!" This attitude seemed to fit our seminary budget best.


With that being said, Addison and Parker have been very busy making decorations. They have made snowflakes for the windows, several modeling clay things (Santa's hat, a Christmas tree, a candy cane, a snowman, etc.), and Advent wreath for our table, and a gingerbread house that has been well than picked over now. The two of them have had an absolute ball doing this. They love it when our friends walk in and comment on the crafts. I have to say that decorating for this Christmas has definitely made it into their memory book.

Along with this change, we have noticed a change in perspective about Christmas. Last Sunday, while lighting our second Advent candle, we went around the table saying what we were looking forward to this season. Both children said that they were looking forward to being with friends and family. I was pleasantly surprised that neither one of them mentioned the word gifts!!! Being away from our family for this extended period has made being with them top the list.

We are anxiously awaiting next Friday. That is when we leave to travel south to "God's country". We have begun to plan where we are going when. It is going to be a crazy two weeks. We can't wait to see HOME....the friendly faces and people we love, grass and trees....sit by a fireplace.....yes, we are excited!!