One Month In-

Hello all!
Let me introduce myself: 

I am a second, well actually a third career, seminary student who lives on campus part time.  While my journey to get here has not been a short or easy one, I know that I am called to serve in this capacity.

The above two sentences are burned into my brain because I have said it to so many people, particularly during the last three years while I made the final decision to say YES to God's call. And as many seminarians and pastors know, I will be saying these words, and modifying them throughout the next four years as I continue this wonderfully inspiring, challenging, and sometimes scary journey.

I have completed 4 full weeks of seminary, and I have to say it has been fun, busy and rewarding.  While I stress about the homework and my ability to keep up with the homework as I split my time between home and campus, I find that my stresses are not much different than students who live on campus full time.   Home is in Madison, not Chicago, and the majority of my social life is in Madison, but I have to manage my time just as a full time student living on campus does.  We all make choices as to how we spend our time, and we have many of the same things vying for our time; family, friends, children, homework, cleaning, finances, and the list goes on.  Thankfully we have technology and I'm able to keep in touch with my nieces & sisters.  I  follow Twitter feeds to keep abreast of Madison politics and my home church.   Most importantly, I skype with my husband a couple times a week which is always a highlight. 

Monday starts another week of intense theological thought and study.  Monday also starts another week of growing in faith and friendship.  And for all four of these I am extremely grateful.
Joy in serving!
Stacy g-s