Where have all the Cowboys gone?

Pastors Conference at Moody Bible Institute........... (breathe deeply) It has come to be one of my favorite things about working here over the summer. All the khaki's and cheesy jokes the world can contain, are RIGHT HERE this week.

I ate lunch in the Commons everyday this week hoping to spot my future husband but the way registration is set up this year; they just don't make it that easy. Registering by last name... tsk! That is so 2009. I propose that next year's registration be something more like this: "Single pastor's under 40 who think Arrested Development is funny" here and "Everyone Else" here. Maybe they could also have a speed dating event... hahahaa. OK, now my imagination has officially gone wild. Reigning in the horses. :)

So in all this "Pastor Watching" I have noticed a few specific types of Pastors.
#1. Hipster for Jesus
Cargo pants, tousled hair, track jacket and square rim glasses. This pastor tanned and in his 50's is easy to spot with an ambitious youth pastor right on his heels and a book about the emerging church under his arm.

#2. Biker for Jesus
These are the guys in jean and leather; usually a little hairier than the others and real heavy duty work shoes. The ones who come with a cooler of food, 3 cubes of soda and 2 cases of Dinty Moore soup. mmmmmmm... Beefy!

#3. ALUMNI for Jesus
I laugh at these guys, but I know that someday all too soon it will be me. So I laugh still, but with humility! :) They ask everyone if they attended MBI trying to make connections and be able to legitimize their time here by knowing someone that another pastor knows who went here. They are the ones who give private tours of campus of all their favorite spots and begin far too many sentences with "When I was here...". They start laughing for apparently no reason while walking through the plaza because they had a memory of their flag poling or some such thing that only "Moodies" would understand. They pretend they are lost while secretly visiting their old room and pause in reverence at the back of Torrey Gray every time they enter.

#4. Farm Fresh for Jesus
These are a great majority of the men here this week. The ones who come from a small town in the Midwest who are so excited to be a part of DL Moody's legacy and will tell their grandchildren about this week for years to come. They are ordinary men who only drink their coffee black and like their breakfast big.

#5. Joggers for Jesus
This type is tricky because sometimes the "Farm Fresh" Pastors try to pose in this role. They get out their swishy athletic pants that they usually wear to a game and go for a run in the city instead. On the way back they breathe more deeply and sweat more heavily and stop for an Egg McMuffin to celebrate their accomplishment.

The real Jogger type though is the social elite of the Pastors group. You know them... the popular kids from High School you love to hate. The ones you now can't hate because they are Pastors... the ones who eat Kashi and sip beverages. The ones who run marathons on Saturdays and preach on Sundays and carry a briefcase every other day. The ones who only use Macs and are looking for a coffee bar in the auditorium. You know the ones.

OK, I know I am making terrible fun of these men, but I really do love them! I love that they serve God so faithfully. I love that they put in so many hours for others. I love that they put their family life on display for everyone's critique and sacrifice for them anyway. I love that they smell so wonderfully of sweat and cologne. I love that they preach the truth to each other. I love that they get to come here and rest awhile. I love that they have fresh material to take home to their churches- Bible truth and jokes! I love that they cherish this place and the speakers and their gift bags so much. I just love them!

I did find one cowboy this week... there is a new street performer on Michigan Avenue these days. His cowboy outfit is complete with chaps and spurs. He lassos his rope and hollers "Giddy up!" It's good to know there is at least one still out there!

HUZZAH!

I thought this was a Hebrew expression and as a result thought that I was so impressive and Bible college savvy(nerdy) for knowing it was Hebrew. The only problem is that it's not actually anything remotely close to Hebrew. The internet assures me it is more than likely PRUSSIAN! So really huzzah is merely a cool enough word to be mistaken for Hebrew.

Whatever the true origin of this word- we have been having a whole lot of them lately; a week of them in fact. Every day this past week Kaitlyn and I spent some time together doing "last" things in the city before she moved away to her summer internship. We went to Berry Chill, had dinner with church friends, ate dessert at Ghirardelli's, went to the Container Store, packed, listened (some more reluctantly than others) to country music, enjoyed dinner at the Kerryman, played massive amounts of banannagrams, got slurpees, sang along to Wicked, hung out with little B, laughed, cried, etc.

Our little apartment is filled with boxes now-though it still looks homey with furniture and decor. Kaitlyn left on Thursday to go home and then on to her internship. The emotion of it all has yet to hit me, though I know the weeping is coming.

Kaitlyn has become such a great friend over the past year and a half of living together. She is a deeply caring person who always puts other people before herself. She freely shares her time and stuff with anyone that needs it. She is patient and a good listener. She is always up for a party and is a pretty great popcorn maker. I'm thankful for our time together above LaSalle Florist and grateful she will be returning to the city in 3 months. We have both grown up so much since September 2008! HUZZAH!

Delilah, if you are reading this... please dedicate a real sappy song to the end of our roommate era.

Celebrations

The list of causes to celebrate has been many as of late. Thanks for caring about these things and celebrating them with me!

North Lawndale will have a new resident in just about a month now. I committed to a 2 bedroom apartment that is being rehabbed by friends of mine. It is a beautiful place with a shared yard, back porch and decent sized shower (everything I was looking for in a place! haha) The only thing that was missing was a roommate... which in faith I trusted the Lord would provide.

Admittedly, I put a sorry amount of effort into finding a roommate. I asked people I knew, but I just kept asking myself, "Seriously? Who am I gonna find that wants to move to North Lawndale?" I am pleased to report that despite my lack of effort in faith, the Lord remains faithful to me. Through a friend of a friend and rap concert, the Lord crossed Jen's path with mine. She was already looking for a place in the neighborhood and was asking the same question. So thankful for her and excited to get to know her more in this next location and phase of life.

Because of the houses' condition at the time my friends bought it, there are some additional hoops they will have to jump through in order for the City of Chicago to grant them a certificate of occupancy. In other words, I am moving back into Houghton for a couple weeks of June. Moving back to the exact same spot I was 2 years ago after graduation- the H2 RS apartment guest room. hahahaha. I love that life is this ironic and would not have it any other way! This time around though, no storage locker. Hallelujah; I can move my stuff!

I cannot seem to keep the same job at Moody for longer than a year- though this year is the closest by far. Recently I was given a promotion within Residence Life. As of July 1, my title will be the Residence Life Housing and Administrative Coordinator. In many ways, my role will remain the same, particularly in regards to the online housing software we continue to set up for future use. In other ways my job will morph into one with more decision making responsibility in regards to our undergrad housing procedures, so that is an exciting challenge.

Numb Hope

Pretty much what I am thinking is encapsulated in that title. I feel fussy and want you to just know what that means, but I guess that's asking too much.

You know that feeling when you wanna listen to Alanis Morisette and Meredith Brooks back to back? That feeling when you wanna eat until you throw up (not because you need to eat, just because you want to feel something)? That feeling of dropping mac and cheese on your "shelf" at lunch, having a 9 year old point it out to you and walking around the mall hoping no one will notice? That feeling of buying a bathing suit only to get it home and wonder if your grandma may have bought the same one (in a smaller size though of course?)That feeling of knowing you have so many things to be thankful for and still feeling pitiful anyway which only makes you feel guilty? That feeling of knowing how many people would love to have your "problems" which makes you feel even more guilty? That feeling of staring at the flowers you bought yourself with pride at being an independent woman who doesn't need a man to buy flowers for her knowing they did not do the trick? That feeling of being the only unmarried lady at church today and totally unrelateable? That feeling of having watched a lousy movie this evening instead of doing something more worthwhile like 9th grade algebra homework? That feeling of realizing how you are exposing yourself on your blog and wanting to delete it, but hating all the thought you have put into it already so you probably won't? Yeah, all of the above are me right now.

I know there is hope. just not feeling so much of it right now. I know that I am loved. just not feeling so much of that right now either. Instead. feeling like a "big fat rat... GLORIA!" (James Garner from The Thrill of it All) So glad that I get to start over in the morning. May it arrive soon!