Oh, Hello September

Woah - Hello September! When did you arrive?

September will always feel like "back to school" time. Time to bring out the pants and socks, the new notebooks, the pens and the backpacks. Time to leave the flexible summer days behind and enter into the schedule filled with school, extra-curricular activities, and youth group. It's time for packed lunches, late night paper writing, Saturday sleep-ins and life being organized by the agenda book.

For the second year, September does not have me going back to school (although late-fall may see an online course). September now means cooler days, a more relaxed schedule and the next set of projects and deadlines approaching alongside a very full schedule. September still has the joy of bringing out the fall wardrobe (I'm one of those people who love fall and winter clothes!) and doing some preparations for children and youth ministry in the church... which is sort of like school preparations!

My work has the summer months as the most full and most busy months of the year. The summer months are filled with some of the most joyful and holy days as people gather together to form community, to pray, to play and to learn. Which means that when the fall days come I have both a more relaxed and more flexible schedule alongside a more full schedule as commitments beyond Sorrento Centre come back to life and the meeting commitments I have made fill up many days and weeks of the year.

At the Cathedral everything starts up again in September: Sunday School, Youth Group, Young Adults, Staff Meetings, Bible Study, Parish Dinners, and the list goes on and on and on! And I am so excited and so ready to continue the planning and get back in touch with everyone. Alongside this my National Church commitments begin again: meetings, readings, writing, gatherings, traveling. There is much new for this year, namely - heading off to the World Council of Churches in South Korea as one of the handful of delegates representing the Anglican Church of Canada. Excited. Terrified. Honoured.

For me, the fall days also are the days when I get back into my cooking and preparing of meals. And I love cooking and baking - so when the time comes for me to get back into the kitchen I find myself filled with peace.

Fall means planning, traveling, preparing, cooking, resting.
Fall means new challenges and opportunities.
So, as much as I am surprised that September has already arrived I am also so very ready for it!

Writing Milton

Research materials for Milton Paper

The end of the semester is here and all I've been doing right now (between Easter, sleep, traveling and meetings) is reading and writing. It's research and finding connections. It's all about Milton, Paradise Lost and the theme of Paradise. The word limit for this "graduating" essay... it doesn't exist yet. So this means I just keep writing, at 4300 words I'm far from complete and the pile of books is large and the pieces of paper with thoughts, ideas, connections and quotes are everywhere.

Some days I wonder how I actually get anything that makes sense on paper. My messy and spread out style of writing eventually always works though. My only problem right now is keeping up my energy and balance.

The more I write the more connections I make. The more connections I make the more I need to write. And I know that the more I write the more I will end up needing to edit.

For now, I'm taking a break from this large stack of books!

It's that time of the semester

Fall leaves at Thompson Rivers University

That time... that long waited for and yet completely dreaded time has come. Three more weeks of classes left and yet the work load is massive. Two short papers, one research paper, an in class write, multiple quizzes, books to read, exams to study for... there are three weeks before classes are over and exams begin. Three weeks until December is here - my month of rest and renewal. Three more papers until I'm that much more closer to being done. And yet all I want to do is put on a movie and rest. No reading, no composing, no analyzing, no thinking. I'm ready to sit and pause.

This is the time in the semester when I have to pull all the little pieces of energy and try to put it into the work that needs to be finished. This is when I need to say, "Melissa focus on what needs to be done." This is when I struggle to motivate myself. These are the weeks when cooking and baking finds time, my house stays clean, things become organized, and youth group ideas and plans don't stop appearing in my head. These are the weeks when all the things that don't need to be done at this moment get accomplished.

Three more weeks. Three more papers. I can do this.
Which means - I need to start that next paper...

In other news... the fall leaves were beautiful this year, especially on campus and on the sidewalk near the Cathedral. The trees are quickly becoming bare and we've had one snow fall already. Winter is coming!

Fear Factor!

Yep, it was Fear Factor week at youth group on Friday, all I can say is gross and ew! Did I participate, nope; did I leave the room at times in fear of vomiting, yep! I still can't believe what some of them ate, it amazed me. There were the ones who ate nothing, or who smelled it and ran away, and in the end it was lots of fun. We had spam, roasted eel (I'm told it tastes like smoked salmon...), raw eggs, clams, escargot, liver sausage, curry paste on crackers, curried mustard leaves (looks like runny green stuff...), and a blended up Happy Meal from McDonalds.  I think there were at least two people who got it all down, personally it all scared me. I don't think we'll need to do this event for a few more years, after all, too much of a good thing is never good! :o)

We had a youth service on Sunday evening, it also happened to be my first service as a Lay Minister of Word and Sacrament. It went really well, the youth did the readings, prayers of the people, part of the sermon, the songs, and helped with communion. It was so nice to have so many young people with us for the evening, and since I'm still young... us young people

did it all! I didn't freak out like I anticipated I would, we let it be what it was, and had a joyous time together. Being the one leading the service and standing behind the altar triggered a feeling of fascination within me, it was being a part of the service in a different way. (Picture of the Fear Factor survivors ----->)

The sun has been shinning over the last few days, I think spring might actually be on its way, I'm so excited! Although I'm starting to see grey clouds and some wind once again, I can only hope that it blow right over. Well, rain is nice for a short period of time... 

I am entering the last three weeks of school and then exams, I can't wait to be done, but at the same time realize how many assignments there still is to finish, including a ten page research paper on "teens and sex" that must be finished before I leave for the weekend. I'm off to Winnipeg for the Primates World Relief and Development Funds Youth Council meeting this weekend, hopefully it's not too cold, and hopefully I don't get lost. (If you don't hear from me for awhile please come find me!)

Another week is over!

Yeah! I've made it through another week. One more paper written, one more journal done, and another test complete. Now next week it's time to write everything else, let the work begin. I am most definitely tired at this point, emotionally and physically, and it takes a lot to have me feel like that, I think it's just been a crazy two weeks. I'm taking off to Sorrento Centre this afternoon to take part in a silent retreat, I'm super excited and nervous to find out what it all entails.

The leadership team is doing youth group tonight, I'm sure they will all have a blast. The youth couldn't believe I was ditching them for a weekend of silence... still excited though!

We had our Nominating Assembly for the Bishop nominee for the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior on March 7th, my first time ever being part of it. It's fascinating, and happened so fast (we are also a smaller group in comparison to some of the larger areas). Rev. Barbara Andrews was voted in as our Bishop nominee which is super exciting, I worked with her all last summer, I'm excited to see what the coming years will entail. 

So, I am leaving my homework, laptop, textbooks, church work, youth stuff, and everything in-between at home this weekend. I'll bring my Bible, journal, notebook, drawing pad (along with the crayons and pencil crayons!), one book, and maybe the stuff I'm reading for the sermon I'm preparing for with me; and I'm just going to try and let the sprit guide me with the time I have. Like I said... I'm exited! 

Now if only Saturday turns out to be a very nice day... I may go crazy if I have to be indoors and silent, outdoors amongst the trees is my way of doing it!

I thought Spring was coming...

I love the snow. Those of you who know me well know that I love the snow with a huge passion. It's peaceful, beautiful, white, pure, pretty, and just coats our world in a blanket of elegance. Well, the last few days Kamloops has been very warm with the most beautiful blue sky's and bright sunshine. It's been lovely and I started getting excited about the green grass, trees with leaves, no winter jackets, and flowers blooming. Especially excited about the blooming flowers. I think I spent all of yesterday with Spring Fever, my two hour lecture felt like days long because all I wanted to do was be outside, I even felt like running - which is almost a foreign concept! :o)

So, I wake up this morning, open my blinds, and guess what I see... snow! It was snowing, big fluffy white snowflakes. I had no idea what to even think, my brain was lost in a world of confusion. I guess I'll see what the coming days bring. Spring excites me but the snow is still elegant. 

On another note, I start reading break next week, and I keep forgetting about it. Now, that is a crazy concept, how does one forget about not having any school? I think I am feeling that a week off in March would be better for me, I am busy every weekend so being able to spend an extra few days somewhere without missing classes sounds like a nice idea. But that's okay, March will just be like October! 

Other than the three to four assignments I will be working on I'm hoping to spend some time back up at Skeetchestn Community School (where I graduated) and maybe in a few other places visiting people and catching up. And maybe, just a bit of time for relaxing!