Summer Times

I haven't had a whole lot to blog about since July started, to be honest. There's been lots of little mentions I could have made, but none of them really deserved an entire blog post to itself, I don't think.

Regardless, I decided to blog tonight because I'm a little bored. Having Mondays off is a wonderful thing. It's a little different adjusting to the week of working and such because the job of a pastor is more similar to that of a shift worker than the set 40 hour 9 to 5 week types. My weeks don't have a whole lot of cemented work hours, but it is still structured enough to build a routine around. So I kind of really like the flexibility of that. I would probably like it a lot especially during the times where I want to change it up a bit and decide to go work in a coffee shop or something, I'd be able to do that. Or if I wanted to go hang out with someone during the day, I'd be able to do that too because it'd be considered a ministry activity.

The summer time is usually pretty quiet in the church. For those of us that don't really go anywhere and stay at home, we'd be able to see that church is usually much quieter during the summers as people are away on vacations and such. So I guess because of that, there hasn't been a whole lot of exciting things to talk about. Though when harvest time comes around in October, I think things will really pick up after that (as well as my allergies...).

One of the more notable things I've done in July was the senior home/hospital services I did last week. I went around to three of the senior homes/hospitals on a Wednesday to provide a brief service for the older folks. It is still something that I struggle with, when I see people like that who require so much attention just to meet basic needs (specifically the level 3 and 4 care homes). Some of them are so disabled, they're basically waiting to die. It's so harsh for me to think that way, but it's the reality of their situations and it's why I am struggling so much with it. That's why when I meet some older people who are filled with joy and are still so alive, it makes me incredibly happy to see them in that kind of state.

I guess one final thing that I can talk about, relating to my internship, is that I am finding myself to be way more liberal than I thought I'd be. This is speaking specifically about the context that I am in right now. It's crazy how just by being surrounded by a slightly different environment how much it can change your stance on a lot of things. I've always seen myself to be a bit more of an old school kind of guy, given my cultural background and other things, but I am really getting to experience what "tradition" and classical and all that kind of stuff looks like now. I've done my best to cater to the church that I am serving at; and while a lot of things are pretty easy for me to adjust to, there's some things that I see and prefer that just probably wouldn't work here. Some of the differences are found in theological stances and such, but I've come to learn that while some people want to die on these hills, I'll just keep those opinions to myself unless they specifically ask me about it. Things like ordination of women, drinking, etc., I have my own views, and some will obviously have strong stances on these topics, but I probably won't try to force mine onto them.

Anyhow, I have no idea what I'm saying anymore. So I will end it here! Hope everyone has had a nice July and will have an even better August.

Lessons Learned

Given the time that I've been down here so far, I don't think that I can even count for you how many things I've learned. There's a ton of variety, but much of these things have come from that thing of perspective again. Big city, small town - whatever you have it - though it may have played into some of these things that I've learned, not all has to do with that.

Having had to basically fend for myself, managing budgets, cooking meals, living alone, and all that sort of stuff has probably meant more to me than most other experiences so far. It's one thing to move out and live in a dorm, but it's a totally different thing when you're "working" rather than going to school. I think I will touch on two of these things that I've learned.

The first thing that I've noticed a lot of is that while ministry definitely has it's benefits of really feeling like you can accomplish something, it's more so about the climb and the process rather than the overall progress. In bible school, they don't really teach you to wash dishes, vacuum, fix things, etc., but all of these things are a reality of everyday life in the church. It's obviously not so pretty, but it's necessary. So what's really important is that we really need to take care of the gifts that God has given us, whether spiritually or materialistically, and he will reward us tenfold. I've spent a lot of time complaining and whining (to myself, of course) about how this isn't working properly, or why the dishes aren't done, and all that kind of stuff, that it eventually helped me realize that these small things, and knowing that they build character, will go a long ways to helping me mature and grow as an individual. Yeah, I'd much rather spend my time playing League, watching YouTube, or whatever, but the shift in priorities has really allowed me to gain a better appreciation for many other things. I've always been told by other pastors that this is what pastoral life is really like, but as is for all other things in life, you don't really get to the true understanding until you experience it for yourself - such is the way of the post-modern world.

Since about this past Thursday or Friday, I haven't been feeling that great. My body's been aching for a few days and my sinus'/throat area feels way too congested from allergies or other things. So while I'm trying to take care of myself, such as drinking more water, sleeping earlier, eating healthier, I took the time to think about what being sick does to someone. I don't know one person that actually enjoys being sick, even if to skip school, but we're always wondering why we get sick and blah blah blah, especially when we find out that a sickness may have taken someone's life. For me, I thought back to the few days before I got sick. And because I'm that kind of person to over-analyze every little detail, I went to recalling the food that I ate, the times I'd gone to bed, etc. Even though I don't think any of those factored in very much as to why I'm feeling ill, it kind of gave me the opportunity to recalibrate myself. I've reviewed the things I've been eating, making adjustments and what not, made sure I've gone to bed earlier, etc. So in that way, it's kind of reset my mind and body to what I need to do to take care of myself. Some people go on those detox diets to clear out their system, and it's kind of like that. Many of us take good health for granted, so maybe that's why I get sick every once in a while. It helps with realigning us to a "better" lifestyle, improving how we treat ourselves, or whatever itt may be.

So yeah, that's about all I got. It'd be nice if we could consitently be able to have the perspectives that we do, but I guess that's why we go through life: to experience the ups and downs.

Keeping Track

So I've been logging all my spending money since I started this internship. While my spending seems to be pretty much on par for what I had planned/budgeted, it's always neat to kind of be able to see it from the big perspective. I've found that it's also helped me keep myself in check to be spending only what I need.

Except today.

I spent an extra 15 dollars on food that I probably didn't need, but wanted just because it was on sale. On a previous post, I mentioned how I don't have a co-op membership so I try to ask other people for theirs. Today, as I walked up to line up, something else struck me. I took a peek at the elderly couple's purchases, and then I looked at mine. It became obvious to me which set of groceries belonged to the 22 year old single guy. I, then, pretty much spent several minutes thinking about the groceries people buy; not entirely sure why I did, but I guess when I'm doing these things, adding to the fact that I'm a thinker, it makes sense. So I kind of concluded that you can really tell what someone is like based on the what they buy at the market.

I am not sure what else there is to say. Just kind of wanted to share this. Haha.

Happy July to you! (Since I forgot about it during my last post)

Home Advantage

One thing I've been reminded of over the last few years is the whole thing of, or advantages of, being home. Having been the "new guy" several times already, it's been interesting to kind of see how I've needed to change or adjust certain things to the context of my surroundings and environment. People are generally so built upon routines that it is sometimes very uneasy to bring in change. Certain things need to be done a certain way, or this needs to be like that.

What I've noticed that's kind of neat (haven't decided if it's good, bad, or neutral yet) about me having to adjust and adapt to so many new places in the last three years is how I've brought my own upbringing and heritage into the enrironment, and seeing whether or not it is generally accepted. There's actually so many different habits and diferent things I've developed in the different places that I sometimes don't even know where I'll have learned something from.

Usually I get push backs for suggesting to do something a certain way, and understandably so. I'm the new guy, so usually you would think I should be sensitive of how things are done in this particular situation rather than how I had done it at home.

The positive times where someone is actually nice enough to entertain and welcome my ideas always leave me incredibly greatful. I'm pretty confident to say that most of the time I want to do something a certain way, I don't really have a specific reason for it; it's just how I've seen it done, have it kind of work, and therefore take it to use for myself. So while some people are really aggravating and always have some kind of a retaliation, I think I end up appreciating the feedback more often than not because I get to take the opportunity to think about why it is that I really do things the way that I do. Whatever the pushy people think, that's fine; they are allowed to have their opinion, and often what they think won't really affect me very much if it's as unreasonable as it's perceived to be.

I do my best to be as flexible and as open a person as possible. Obviously, this is easier some times more than others. After all, I, too, have a certain upbringing that's brought me to where I am. I'll have my own opinion on certain things, but I don't really expect you to accept it as dogma. I don't try to force it upon you, so I'd at least expect you to be the same with your opinions. Although, at this point in time, anything that I've brought from anywhere is all hazy because my memory just seems to mash things all together: the past being the past.

What I'm really saying, I think, is that we're all just entitled muh'f...