Settling in West Virginia

I'm finally settled in West Virginia and have begun doing that whole coaching thing ;) I absolutely love my team. Check out www.mountainstate.edu/sports/volleyball/ . They are an amazingly talented bunch of women! I have to say, I do miss playing with Aberdeen and Scottish Unis, but I have to say that the mentoring and coaching bring a whole different component to the sport. I think a lot of the gifts that God has given me will be utilized through this coaching position. I wish I could be a full time assistant, but MSU doesn't have the budget yet. I have faith that this growing institution will broaden quickly, hopefully enabling me to work full time with athletics! I am 3 full chapters and some into my dissertation. I have a rough 10,000 words done and about 7,000 of it is pretty well edited. I am on schedule to finish by August 22nd. I plan to submit my paper to the library copyshop in Aberdeen by August 27th, so that they can bind and print my paper. It is due the first Friday of September. I can't believe a year has already flown by! 

I am still missing my friends and "family" from Aberdeen, but am glad I am here with my family in WV. My grandfather's condition is worsening and he doesn't seem as hopeful about his health as he did before. I know he is going through a lot of pain and I don't blame him for not knowing how much longer e can spend his life going to and from the hospital to receive blood for about 8 hours daily. It is just hard to accept that I may have to say goodbye to him before I am ready. Please keep him and my family in your prayers. 

Many blessings, 

Mary

PS

Below are pictures of my new place... ;)

I put the back side of the house here because the front is on the previous blog entry.

guest room

my room

Changes...

Aberdeen, Scotland to Palm Harbor, FL to Mount Hope, WV... Oh my! I'm not quite to WV yet. I still have a few more days at my mom's house in Florida before my new life path becomes more "permanent" in my eyes. It's crazy to think that I have moved out of a one room place in student housing in the UK to my old bedroom in my mom's and now I will be moving to a two bedroom, 1.5 bathroom gorgeous 2 story townhouse, all in one month! Once I take all my furniture out of my mom's, she will have a chance to redecorate. I know she's looking forward to it! However, I will be sad to see the blue walls turn some shade of purple. Lord knows she like her lavender. You'd understand if you saw the place. 

One downfall I have found in following God's calling is my fear to trust in Him. Anytime I see anything that has to do with the UK I get teary-eyed and choked up. I talk to my best friend Nathalie who is still in Aberdeen and wish I could say, "Meet me at the Bobbin for a glass of wine!" It's depressing, but she'll be here soon- well, she'll be here for New Year! Oh, and when she's here, we get to go visit our adopted family, who we met in Aberdeen, who have just moved back to Phoenix! Derek, Ashley, Jakey and "the baby on the way", will be great to see! 

I have recently gotten to the point where I am nervous about my dissertation. I know I can finish, but will I do it justice? I want to share with people how important ministry is to everyone- not just people who Christians feel belong in church and follow the Bible word for word. I want to share my own experiences. I want to show that anyone can love God.

Someone recently just gave me hope that there are more people in the world with my vision. It's nice to know that there are still single people out there who believe that a Spirit-driven life is possible in a world like ours. I also am reassured to know that I am not the only one to be overwhelmed by ministry as a profession. 

As much as I love ministering, I need to also have my passion, volleyball, as a part of my life! I hope to someday join the two together! I have been blessed with this calling to lead and I look forward to how God will enable me to do so at Mountain State University. I start my coaching job as soon as I get to WV, but because it is not a full time job, I will spend a lot of time in their library to finish my MTh. 

Remembering that I am not in control, but that God has always been good to me has gotten me through this past month! As much as I miss Aberdeen and the overall culture of Scotland, I know I must now, "Let go and let God"!!! 

It's been a while...

I have recently been informed to get my act together and put up a new post. I do have to say in retaliation, that one- I have kind of been busy moving country and all and two- I have a friend whose last post was in March... So John- Shush!

Leaving Scotland was probably one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I can't believe it's over already. It was the best experience of my life. I got a great education, had an amazing job, had a successful volleyball career, and met the coolest people! But with all that said... none of those great things can take the place of family and that is why I am going to be calling middle of nowhere West Virginia home for now. It's funny how the important things become apparent to you as you grow. 

Even though I have a job in Beckley, I don't know if Beckley is a  place I will call home for good. I did just get back from Colorado and I loved it there. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I was out there to officiate a wedding. It was my 1st and it actually went very well. Jes and Ryan are truly what God intended two married people to be. I felt  confident in them as a couple, which is hard to say now-a-days. I enjoyed spending time with their families and friends. They have some of the most awesome people in their lives. I will be adding their family and friends on Facebook ASAP ;).

Tomorrow I go to Mountain State University to meet the head volleyball coach. I am a bit nervous, but I am so glad that I am able to coach and be near my family, so it makes it worth it. I am still struggling to get appropriate compensation for the work asked of me, but it will come in time. After all, I do still have a dissertation to finish and I need to be around for my grandpa. 

God has many plans I'll never understand. At this point I'm just going with the flow. Besides... MAKING PLANS IS WAY OVERRATED DUDE.

Almost over...

Seasons have come and gone, the autumn to the winter, now winter into spring... volleyball once was and now is a distant past. As it nears the academic season of closure- the time where we say goodbye and part ways- I can't help but think of all the good things God brings, but I also can't help but think of all He can take away. 

Fear of the end? Isn't there some eschatological hope that is suppose to make me smile? It's hard when things come to a close, but even harder when one end is caused by something out of your hands. My grandfather is ill. So much of me wants to be home right now with him. And so much of me wants to yell at God! At this point though, I have to look at all the wonderful things God has done and is doing.

Maybe moving to West Virginia will be the best thing that has ever happened to me. Maybe somehow, my grandfath

er being ill and my calling to leave Aberdeen, my church, and my friends, is really a part of this "greater plan" God has. Now- I am not mocking God. As a minister, I always try to explain that the rough patches are a part of our needs to endure perseverance, but in practice it really does hurt. 

Needless to say... this wonderful year has brought me joy, love, comfort and faith of my self. This new found independence boiling in my veins just shows God's grace and mercy. I thank Him for friendship, mentorship, and leadership. 

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so , but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)

It's crunch time!

With recent realization that I feel God calling me back to West Virginia, I have begun to accept the responsibilities that come along with that. I will have to leave Aberdeen early, which means I will have to turn in most of my dissertation by the end of July. Now, that is completely possible, except for the fact that I am coming back to the states for June. I know! Craziness! 

I do, however, have a bit of a game plan. Andy, the head pastor of the Aberdeen Congregationalist Churches has really convinced me that I can do a church plant in WV. I would love to put together a coffee shop ministry. Of course, I don't have much experience in the field, but God will show me the way. It has also been nice to get some straight forward advice from a friend of mine. He really has helped me think things through.

I don't really want to leave Aberdeen, but feel as if I'm supposed to. God has a funny way of tugging on your heart-strings until you finally move! I love the people here and I have a newly established life here that is still exciting and I am still learning. Yet, part of me knows that I need to be with my family.

God really is working in my life! I am so blessed, but yet sometimes it's the blessings that really send you for a loop. 

Seriously Aberdeen make up your mind!

The weather went from miserably snowy to beautifully sunny in just one week. It's unfortunate that most of that week I was reading for class and putting together information for my dissertation. However, I do want to thank everyone who has done my dissertation survey. It's really helping! And for those of you who haven't yet... please help! The web addresses are listed below:

http://mydissertation.questionform.com/public/Christianity-and-Homosexuality

http://mydissertation.questionform.com/public/Christianity-and-Homosexuality-II

Questions on the site include:

1. Are you a Christian? 

2. Do you believe that homosexuals should be allowed to worship in church?

3. ...should be allowed to become official members?

4. ...should be able to work in the church?

5. ...should be a part of the ministry team?

6. ...may head pastor a church?

7. If you have any other input you wish to add please do so now.

8. Would any of your answers change if the person was openly gay (people know they are homosexual) or if they were practicing a homosexual lifestyle (in a relationship with someone of the same sex)?

I have had many varied responses and all input is necessary to make my dissertation clearly show both a right wing view and a left wing view of the issue (and the in between). I am looking forward to beginning to write, but for now I am stuck focussing on this term's coursework and...

THE TORTURE THAT IS MY M-O-T! My car apparently shouldn't even be driven on the road. Good to know?!? Not really! Well... looks like I may be walking the 10mile round trip to Cove every other day. At least I'll be in shape. ;)

PS. Didn't get to go to Edinburgh to see Abs. 

Enjoying the digs and in need of some motivation...

I can't believe it's already a week into Easter Break and I feel like I've accomplished nothing but procrastination. I actually have started three books. One for my dissertation -thanks Jen- and two for my next book review in Ministry to the Marginalized. I have been staying at my Aberdeen family's house, the Reslers, for the week while they've been in Cypress. It's been great to get out of the cubby hole that is my room on campus and to have multiple rooms to walk in and out of. One funny thing is that I have fallen back into cleaning excessively like I used to in my old apartment. I'm sure Jon and Meagan would tell you that I was always cleaning the kitchen. Some habits never change! I just wonder who I got that trait from. Mom? Dad? Doubtful. 

It snowed here on Easter day and for the next few days following. It made it really difficult to go anywhere for fear that I'd end up driving into something. It's an adventure enough to have a manual car and drive on the other side of the road. I did, however, go over to a classmate's flat for dinner one night because his parents were in town. His mom cooked so much! She is an amazing cook. Johnny's mom and dad were the cutest Latin couple. They made me feel like I was back in Florida or in LA again. Their traveling and adventures made me want to visit South America like I used to when I was at Eckerd. 

For now I guess I ought to travel around the UK. I've seen a lot thanks to volleyball, but I may be headed down to Edinburgh next week to visit an old roommate from Eckerd in my Nu 3 days. Abby "Abs" Roche is visiting the UK. I better have some interesting stories following her visit! We haven't seen each other since Fall 2006.