Peer Support

During early October, I went to two events – the Gathering of the Ministerium of the Virginia Synod and the Intern Cluster Meeting. I realized at those meetings how much I missed being surrounded by my peers and colleagues. Fred and I are a bit alone on the lake. We don't go to synod conference meetings because they are so far away. Going to one of those meetings would take a whole day out of our busy schedules. We don't even gather with local ministers. The local pastors meet on an irregular and rare basis as far as I know. Although I would love to meet with other pastors on a regular basis, I don't have the time or energy to either go far away to the Richmond conference or to create a pericope group in town.
I also would love to keep in touch with my seminary and college friends, but I don't have the time or energy to stay in touch. At the end of the day, I often am too tired to do much of anything. Even my days off get too busy. Facebook is the most communication I have with friends and family on an average week.
I continue to love and miss my friends. I hope to communicate better. I have a bunch of letters to write and some phone calls to make. Now that some of the conflict at my internship site is resolved, maybe I will have more energy to keep in touch with those I love. Please feel free to contact me, too!

My New Dog!

I have had Kavod now for about a month, and she is a delight. She is the light of my life. I love to see her little butt wiggle as she wags her tail when I come home. She makes coming home worthwhile!

Kavod enjoys spending her time on the couch. She is so cute when she chews on her stuffed moose! As we get more comfortable with each other, she is becoming more spunky. Her true personality is showing. In a sense, she is coming out of her shy “shell” just like I did after CPE!

As she is becoming braver, she is also more of a challenge. She has run out of the door without her leash and slipped out of her collar. Thankfully she has never run too far away. I am learning that as she becomes more difficult, I need to become more assertive. I think this will be good for both of us.

I am getting up a half hour earlier so that we can take a mile-long walk every morning. We also take the same walk every afternoon when I get home from work. That exercise is also good for both of us. Fred has even encouraged me to bring her to work on occasion, and I do. I really enjoy having her with me when I am at work alone. She makes working on sermons more fun! She also is great meeting parishioners.

I think Kavod is the best fit for me!