So, I'm still not that great at this updating thing. Sorry. Just thought I'd drop a line or two to let everyone know things are going really well right now. My job at kindercare is going really well. I'm back to floating, no longer just in preschool C, and I'm doing better at remembering everyone's names (still struggling with some of the infants, toddlers, and youngest preschoolers, but we're getting there!). Everyone keeps asking me what my favorite room is it seems like, but I never really know what to tell them. It depends who's there that day and where I've been spending time lately. I like floating, because once I start to get really exasperated with a certain group of kids, I can move to a different class. It's a nice system. Kroger is going well to, although I'm not there much, just Saturdays and Sundays. I've also been able to save a lot this summer so far, which is great, because I'll have enough to buy laptop, car insurance, and make a big dent in my credit card debt. On a different note, related to my last post, I think I've found a church I like. I'm going to try and call tomorrow on my break to talk about joining. It's a tiny Episcopalian church, St.Thomas. But more on that later, it's sleep time now.

If you come into this world knowing you are loved, and leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.

High Church in Blue Jeans

That is how Brian described the Sunday service at Neu Chapel. I have come to love that philosophy, uncomfortable though it may be at times. The problem is, I don't know what service will be like this coming year with Brian gone. I'm sure they will be just fine. Maybe even better (hard to believe, but possible). Even if that's the case, though, I will leave UE and Neu Chapel for good at the end of next year, so I need to find a church back home to call my own. I really want another High Curch in Blue Jeans. I'm starting to feel like this may be too much to ask.

Since most of you have no idea what I mean, and my use of the phrase may be different than the way Brian intended it, I'll explain what I mean by High Church in Blue Jeans. I am looking for a church that values ritual- not just ritual for the sake of ritual, but for the meaning behind it. Most importantly, I want a church that celebrates communion regularly and follows the lectionary. Communion is important to me because it was one of Jesus' last instructions to us, because it is a way to remember Him, and because it is a way to connect with our Christian brothers and sisters. We are all welcome at the table, and it is such an important and powerful symbol and action for me. The lectionary is important to me for a few reasons. For one, it is simply what I am comfortable with, having grown up attending Catholic church. More importantly, I think it is something we need. Brian puts it much better than I do, but the lectionary forces us to wrestle with parts of the bible that are uncomfortable, and to look at all the different parts of the Word. Not that sermon series are bad - there are some I've heard that are great and wrestled with tough ideas - but in the end I think it's important to visit all the books of the bible and not just pick and choose verses. I also think there is something powerful about following the same cycle of readings that Christians have been following since the early days of the church. So that's the High Church part of it. The other part that I am looking for that is just as important to me is a church that is open minded, inclusive, and concerned with social justice. I truly believe that the most important commandment for all Christians is to love one another, and that means everyone. The only way to do that is to be open minded and inclusive. You can't love everyone if you are excluding certain people or condemning certain people or hating certain people. I also think it's important for a church to be involved with social justice - justice is something Jesus talked about so much, we can't just ignore the people in need in our community. We need to help them, and we need to do everything in our power to change the systems that are in place to bring them justice. That's the Blue Jeans part.

I know that all of that is a lot to ask of one church. And I know that every church has its flaws and its shadows. I know that no church is perfect, I'm not that naive. I don't expect to find a church that carries out everything I just talked about one hundred percent of the time. I just want to find a church that shares the same general philosophy. Surely Brian is not the only pastor with the idea of High Church in Blue Jeans. I just need to find one of them. There has to be some way to be part of a church like that without moving to Alabama - although I am super curious about what Brian's church is/will be like. A visit, at some point, will be in order!

Good News

My daycare job search has gone surprisingly well. My interview with Youthland Academy went really well, but since they would only be able to offer me part time if they hired me, I went to apply at Symmes Twp Kindercare. I had worked there 2 summers ago, but only for about a month, so I didn't expect them to remember me. However, when I walked in, they did remember me, seemed happy to see me, and were hiring summer help! So I filled out an application this past Friday, and yesterday they called and told me they wanted to hire me for the summer! So I have a bunch of papers to fill out now, I have a couple doctor appointments to go through to be tested for TB, and I have to go through another fingerprinting ordeal (last time it took about ten times longer than it should have - apparently I'd be a good criminal because my fingerprints are extremely hard to take). But if I can get that all done in the next couple weeks I'll be ready to start, and my two summer jobs will be set - Kindercare during the week, Kroger on the weekends. Yay getting out of debt and getting a new laptop!

Safely Home

After many misadventures concerning my apparent car jinx, I made it safely home, in my car, in one piece! For a few days, whether or not that would happen was questionable [my car broke down in Corydon IN two weekends ago, they cleaned the battery and I picked it up Tuesday, only to have it break down in the middle of the Lloyd Expressway when I tried to leave Evansville again. CarX fixed it for real, and it runs wonderfully now. It should also be noted that while this was going on, Phyl had trouble with his car battery, my mom got a flat tire on her way to pick me up, and Sunny, Bree and I witnessed two car accidents in as many days].

Now that I am home, I am trying my very hardest to find a summer daycare job - I know there is one out there somewhere! I picked up applications for two different places yesterday, and I have high hopes, because one specifically said they were possibly looking to hire summer help - that's me! The applications are mostly filled out, just waiting to hear back from references, so those will be turned in today or Monday. And then interviews next week? I can hope. In the meantime, I'll be starting back at Kroger the week after next. Oh, Kroger.

Fresh Start!

I have a tendency to start journaling or blogging and then forget to write, and then the journal or blog dies a slow, painful death. After a while, I want to start blogging again, but it's hard to pick up an old blog so many months (or years) later - I feel compelled to fill my readers (even if that means just me) in on everything that's happened, which is quite a large task, so that first entry gets put off, and I never actually start blogging again.

So, here I am. Brand new blog, brand new journal, whatever we shall call it. I feel like it's a good time for it - heading in to the summer before senior year, having said goodbye to dear friends, and generally feeling like I'm about to embark on a big adventure (namely, life). Let's hope it continues feeling like a big adventure!