Moving Prep

Well friends, things are a-changin!

In 6 weeks and change I will be a married woman.
In 3 weeks and change I will have moved the majority of my posessions to Columbus.
In 2 weeks I will have finished sewing my wedding gown.
In 1 week I will have submitted an application for a hospital internship.  I will have a resume ready to send other places.

Whoa.

Tips? Prayers?

Thanks.

No-Spend April

When I did my taxes last week and saw how much money I made in 2013, it was a number that surprised me. What surprised me even more was that, outside of what my W-2s spelled out as going to the government and what I paid in rent, church giving, and bills each month, I had a hard time identifying where that money had gone. 

Sure, I've made budgets before, but I seem to get away from them on a pretty regular basis. I've tried different systems, stayed away from Target, gone on numerous fabric and spending diets... But I still have a hard time with money. 

I'm going to try something a little different in April, and check my consumer impulses at the first of the month. It's a season of examination, and examining my blessings and (mis)use of them is part of that for me right now. There are so many people who do without and I've been doing a lot that hasn't been the best for me. Mindless trolling of the Internet and buying(and buying into) a lot of things that will "improve" my life. Things are band aids. The tangible cannot be used to change my core or bring me much(if any) lasting happiness. 

 I will make it my goal to spend $200 on food and personal needs outside of a pair of rainboots (that I planned to purchase already), purchases absolutely necessary for the wedding dress, and medical needs. I'll keep myself accountable here, and try to muse on the fruit of discovery that comes with this adventure. I'm hoping there will be lots of discovery and a much shorter to do list at the end of it. God has blessed me abundantly with a full pantry, an overly full fabric stash and craft closet, and a great city to explore. Hopefully I'll use them all. And evaluate what I really need in the future. 

Celebration!

Well, it's official! 

Jon and I are getting married! He proposed after a bike ride and it was really great! I hear it wasn't at all what he had planned, but it was better, in some ways, for that fact. I think that's partially why I had no idea it was gonna happen until it was happening. I kept wondering why he wouldn't really smile in pictures. 

We're hoping we can stay true to the idea of very us throughout the planning and the process of preparing for a life together. There are so many THINGS that come out of the woodwork as soon as people find out you're getting married. 

"Are you going to have this? No? Really? How are you going to manage?"

 "You're getting married THIS YEAR?! Wow..."

"You're making your wedding dress?"

8 months, by the standards of many, is not a very long time in which to plan a wedding. But it is the time we have given ourselves to plan our wedding... And it's the time we've given ourselves to prepare.  

I want to be the best me I can be when I walk down the aisle. 

Healthy. 

Balanced. 

Happy. 

Whole. 

Because if I can be my best me, we have a better chance of being the best us. 

I promise, this wont turn into a wedding blog. But I hope to post accounts about the journey to the best me; to the best us. All of that resolving needs to continue to happen. And I can't wait. 

Resolve.

I've discovered I'm not a very good blogger, because a. I am an introverted soul; b. one who is very much a creature of habit; and c. a lover of pen and paper.  There are a stack of composition notebooks filled with musings and other smaller notebooks that are tucked into my purse or pocket at all times for prayers and lists. In the bag I am carrying with me right now, without looking, I could guess that there are at least 10 writing utensils, a paper planner, and no fewer than 3 notebooks of varying sizes...(okay I just checked. 11 pens, my shiny new 2014 planner, 2 notebooks, an address book, and my stationery wallet. Heaven help me.) It is just who I am, and I don't think it's something I'm likely to change. I'm not sure it's something I would want to change.

But you know, it's the year of better regular habits for me this year. 

Over a lovely breakfast on New Year's Day, J. and I thought about our resolutions, as folks are likely to around this time of year, and I kept saying I should do this or that more often. Or I should remember to... You get the idea. I was just vocalizing what I'd been thinking for weeks, months. 

And now I'm putting it out there for the universe- and whoever happens to read this. These are my resolutions, which I'll build on slowly throughout the year to make into daily habits, but which I began trying to do more often before the big calendar flip. Here's what I wrote down at breakfast on New Year's Day. 

Hey 2014. 

So, you're gonna be the year of daily habits. 

Everyday, I want to...

     Do something spiritual. 

          Write a prayer. Meditate. Read scripture. Wonder. Sing to God. 

          Look at the stars. The oceans. The sunrise. 

          Remember I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and thank my Maker. 

     Do something creative. 

          Ten minutes of sewing or knitting or embroidering or doodling. 

     Do something active. 

          Walk. Ride my bike. Dance. Yoga. Jazzercise. Moving!

    Do something healthy. 

          Water. Veggies. Sleep. Repeat. 

     Do something to remember it all. 

          Take a picture. Journal. Write someone a note. 

Tall order. But I have the whole year to fill it!

And, God willing, a lotta years after that. 

Life After School

I still can't believe, that for the first time in my life, my primary occupation is something other than that of "student". When I filled out camp forms late in the Spring, with graduation looming, out of habit the occupation line read 'student' in my hurried scrawl, but I knew by the time camp rolled around it would change to 'barista'. Or 'nanny'. Or 'writer'. Depending upon the day.

Crazy. 

I don't regret the choice at all, as a matter of fact I relish the idea of, for likely the only time in my life, a job where I clock out and am off the clock in being a barista.  I love the kids I care for.  And in my writing and in the combination of all of these things, I have a chance to figure out what it is to be an adult.  

I have a chance to pursue my passions for writing and creating and it is exactly what the doctor ordered, especially coupled with the fact that there are facets in which I will be able to nurture people and be pastor, too, without it as a job title: I slowly discover the truth in the words of a mentor that, no matter where I am, God will have me living out my call. 

Above all, I am thrilled beyond measure that I get to re-discover and discover with greater depth God's awesomeness in my adventures this year, and God's hand in who I am and who I'm becoming... In the art coming from my heart and soul, in the movement and stillness, in the flurry of emotions that will surely beset me in the coming months. 

And God's pull toward my purpose is a strong one, and one I seek to follow more closely every day. This is a great journey, which, though it is a very figurative one in this moment, will hopefully (prayerfully, passionately, excitedly) become a very literal one in the coming months. 

I'm blessed to have the chance. 

A letter to my church: March 2013

Hey y’all, it’s me again.

I’ll be back in with you in print a few times, and back with you in person pretty soon, and I’m sure there are a lot of questions about why and how I’ve gone through the ordination process to get to this point. 

In 2010, when I applied to Seminary, I also formally began the process of seeking ordination in the Christian Church(Disciples of Christ) through the region of Georgia and this church.  So my sponsor from the congregation and long-time mentor, Bill Moore, wrote a letter, the board voted on me, and off I went to Columbia Seminary in Decatur, where I’ll finish up on May 18(which is creeping up faster than I thought it would!)

So, in the past 3 years, I’ve met 4 times with the Regional Commission on Ministry.  I’ve written papers, undergone interviews, and am now filling out search and call papers(Search and call is the process used to match pastors with churches.  My paperwork will be filed with the national office for when I am ready to enter the process) and meeting the final requirements for ordination.

It’ll be a whirlwind summer.  I’ll move off-campus after graduation, spend a week or two counseling camp, and continue to work in the coffee shop that’s taught me a lot about people this year.  I’ll be home again too, and I plan to spend as much time with y’all as I can manage. 

Can’t wait.  It’ll be a great summer!

Love,

Sarah

Journey to Ordination

This is a letter that has(or will soon) go to my church.  There will be a few like it as I complete the journey toward ordination, and I'd really like to share them with you now... As a way of tracing my journey for myself, and for my loved ones who don't get my church newsletter.

My dear church,

It’s crazy to think a month has passed since I got to preach for you about my call.

Now I want to tell you where it started.

If you’ve heard me preach, you know I hold a special place in my heart for Camp Christian.  I grew up counting down the days to Camp Christian every Summer, and to Youth Assembly at Epworth every winter.  These youth assemblies made God accessible to me and also put me in touch with people who’d influence my faith for the rest of my life. 

Camp is holy ground, where God comes close to earth, and we come so close to God, that we can hear one another.  I felt the truth in the love of God for me (Yes! Me!) the first time I went to camp.  There were people there who helped me sort out all of the things an 11-year old girl needs to sort out, and where it didn’t matter if I was part of the “in crowd”… I was a child of God and that was enough.  Over the years, the fact that I am a child of God took on deeper meaning and was felt more deeply at camp:  It’s the place where I first worked with youth as a Chi Rho counselor, and where I’ve watched those first youth grow up.  It’s where I did a lot of my growing too.

If you ever had any doubt about camp, set it aside.  It’ll change your life, whether you go as a camper or a counselor.  I truly believe that, with all my heart, because I experience it every time I go.  And even though I’m a counselor now, I might have to count down the days till I’m there again…

See you soon,

Sarah

The William Morris Master List

This is another post in my effort to follow along with Pancakes and French Fries and the amazing William Morris project she's been working on, and encouraging others to work on too.

Okay, friends… a master list.

My apartment, seen below and to the right (terribly off-scale,but you get the idea) being a single lady in a major metropolitan area on a student budget, is the size of a shoebox, and only mine for another 3 months, as of tomorrow.  And I think I’m just now figuring out that the ticket to living in a shoebox is to stop thinking that a bedroom and a living room/kitchen area as having defined rooms like a house. 

A teeny apartment has zones, not rooms.  I have not defined them as well as I could have.

Entry… Cooking… Workspace…Lounging…Storage…Sleeping…Wardrobe...Craftspace.  You know, that sort of thing. 

They overlap, in a silly messy sort of way in my apartment, when they exist at all.  Horizontal spaces and chairs collect clutter, bookshelves overflow(did I mention I am in 19^th grade? Textbooks add up), and things get shoved places so often it’s comical.  Or, it was, before I realized that I’ve surrounded myself with flotsam and jetsam to the point where I don’t have space to live anymore.  So, as I forsee "shoebox living" for myself for the next few years, it’s time to rethink some zones, and things that will live in them.

Entryway:  space to store things that I take with me.  Where paper things land to be sorted, and things like a purse and keys can have a home.  Featuring a reminder board, and maybe(hopefully I’ll actually start going again) a gym bag.

Cooking:  My kitchen is teeny-tiny, and crammed full of food and the things used to prepare it. 

Food:  Store dry ingredients, snacks, spices, and sundry other things… in a pretty, functional way.

Cookware:  For a 24-year-old, I have a lot of it, gifts from my grandmother when she broke up housekeeping.  I want to be able to use it all, because heirlooms aren’t meant to be all pretty things that sit on shelves. The utilitarian stuff should all be just that: utilitarian.

Workspace:  My kitchen table is so much more, as kitchen tables must be in these itty bitty spaces. But mine is one of those horizontal spaces that just collects things much of the time…

Lounging: My coffee table already doubles as storage:  It’s also one of those horizontal, collecting-things places though. 

I have an easy chair I’d love to reclaim and slipcover/re-upholster, and the ottoman that goes with it. 

Storage/Crafting:

Here’s the thing…  I have hobbies.  I sew, I just learned to quilt, I make jewelry, and I’ve been known to collage and scrapbook.  All of those things come with supplies, and the supplies have a way of needing storage.

Fabric:  Cataloged, counted, and stored

Patterns:  ditto

Notions(zippers, thread, buttons… everything you need to sew clothes/quilts that isn’t fabric): Accessible when I need them, not scattered when I don’t.

Art supplies:  Separated from school supplies and stationery, and all of the above ready when I need them. 

Sleeping:  Keep it more for sleep, and make it pretty.

Wardrobe: The thing that started it all. More will show up on my sewing blog about wardrobe, because I’ll be sewing lots, if not all, of my new clothing in 2013.

Closet/Dresser:  Organized, and generally pared down to what is useful and beautiful

Accessories:  Ditto.  Make things/hunt vintage to fill in the holes.

So... yeah.

The goal this week is to conquer some paper and horizontal surfaces.  Paperwork is on the radar already, so I'm gonna move with the momentum.  

The William Morris Project

Welcome!  This is the first time I've ever linked in to anything like this, and I'm hoping y'all will keep me honest and give me some tips and hints along the way.  Thanks for dropping by!

Y’all, have you seen the William Morris Project over at Pancakes and French Fries?

Oh.  My.

Such inspiration.

Last Thursday, I spent a long time looking at impeccable closets and teeny, tiny wardrobes over at small notebook, and I got led to Pancakes and French Fries, and I, without taking a before picture or a picture of the donation pile, the alteration pile, or even the lists, cleaned out two trashbags of things to donate, and a good-sized canvas bin of things in sore need of repair. 

The pile of empty hangers is magic, y’all.

And I found things I didn’t know I still had. 

While reading through the master list that Jules made whenshe started the William Morris project, I thought it might be a really good idea to make a master list of my own. 

I have 3 months left in my apartment- why start now?

Because there’s always a reason not to start, and friends, life is enough of a reason to start.

Look for mine soon.  

Slow and steady...

Gym: joined. Membership used? Well...

Clothing made? Yup.  A shirt, and 1.5 skirts so far.

Prayer? Continually a work in progress, but I'm praying in color through Lent. And hoping to be really good about reading the Daily Feast.

Ordination progress? Certainly. I submitted my last paper for the region, and it's a strange way to feel- to be done minus some paperwork and final meetings happening this weekend.

Cycling? Not so much... I really need to. And I'm thinking it might just be a matter of registering for a metric and pushing through and training for it.  I have a few in mind... Just a matter of biting the bullet and throwing my name in a hat.  It's a bit emotional to think of doing it... My last training ride was almost a year ago.  Part of me wants to hold out and start training again after a year, exactly. Just to be all poetical.

Dancing? A resounding YES. And I know I need to bike because of how good dancing feels, and how good I feel when I dance.

Cookin? More... Not the best stuff for me, necessarily, but at least it's from whole ingredients and many of them are organic.

But here's the biggest thing: I'm not beating myself up over ANY of the things I have yet to get to.  There aren't too many things on a to-do list that won't wait for me to get to them, and for that, I am beyond thankful.