New Year's Musings

Rev Honey from RevGalBlogPals says...

Welcome to this new day...and new year. For many, it is a time to make new or different choices about how we will live out our Christian vocation.

Perhaps you are choosing to take on a new devotional discipline, or act on some wisdom you have received from someone whom you respect.

Today, let's share some advice that we have received or claimed for ourselves, or some new direction we are choosing for ourselves in our ministry.

I've been doing some pondering on this, mostly because of the nature of being a seminarian! Every semester I have to write "reflection papers" on what I am learning, thinking, discovering, doing in my spiritual walk. My profs want pages. You get bullet points, non-Turabian. Hope you don't mind! ;^)

* I am doing a simple 5x5x5 Bible reading plan. 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week with 5 ways to go deeper on a chapter of the New Testament.
The plan allows for "catch up" days and will take me through the New Testament s-l-o-w-ly through 2009. This in itself is a nice change from my classes: "read the book of Mark and trace the themes of ________, juxtaposing them with the treatment of the same theme in John, responding to areas of personal spiritual growth needs." (or some such topic crammed into 12 pages.)

* I am making the women pastor's support group a priority in my life.
We met four times in 2008, we are going to go for monthly in 2009. I really love these women and can't even imagine what it would be like to be in ministry without their "outside view" of my life and ministry! We don't attend the same church, so there's no crossing of supervision and personal "stuff" which is really, really healthy.

* I am continuing to remember my priorities...
Especially, I want to a) remember ALL of them (God, husband, kids, church, friends, family, LIFE) and b) keep things in perspective because things WILL get out of whack -- I just need to get them back in line with "ideal" and live with that imperfection.

* I am looking to slowly read and reflect on four books in 2009.
I get very little reading done outside of my school reading, particularly this upcoming semester where the profs have promised "heavy reading requirements." I'm keeping my promised book list short since I am given a lot of "required" reading -- even for my pastor's role; last year I read 8 or 9 books -- just for my job!! Needless to say, those books, and schoolbooks, do NOT count! My first book of 2009 is a re-read... The Book of the Dun Cow. I read it years ago... it was given to me as an ordination gift and I think I need to re-read it.

If anything else happens in 2009, I will consider it a double bonus.

Peace - and a Joyous New Year!!

Deb