Dirty Kitchen Confessions

It's breakfast time, however my (small) kitchen is a frightening place right now and I'm going to avoid it as long as possible. Thus, a blog post.

Well I never thought I'd say it, but I think grad school is in my near future! It's both exciting and scary; a big commitment and more debt, but it'll be a great life changing experience I'm sure. Here's a little blurb from the school (Mars Hill Graduate School, in Seattle WA) that assured me this is the place to be:

A Mars Hill education encourages the holistic development of students, with their unique abilities and giftedness, to love and serve God and others with all their heart, soul, and mind. MHGS students should be able to demonstrate their commitment to Christ, to think theologically, and relationally about contemporary issues, respond practically and effectively to their sense of God's calling, live lives of holy love, and become transforming influences for God's kingdom in their diverse cultural settings.

That's a lot. haha But the awesome, unique thing about the school is how in touch and sensitive they are to today's world and culture. They seem simple in their mission, which I interpret as using the gift(s) God has given you to awaken the world to his beauty and love. It's being sensitive to others beliefs and sharing yours with them as well. There is no pretense, no ulterior motive for pushing my faith onto others. I'm still sorting through my "stuff" with God, so I'm in no position to judge anyone or presume they need saving. (Writing that just made me cringe. I am completely turned off by that kind of presumptuous attitude and thinking.)

So my plan is to attend Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle, WA with a degree in Christian Studies. My emphasis would be Creative Arts and Theology. There's a lot that falls under the Creative Arts category and I feel that writing is where it's at for me. But I also feel that other interests (music, photography, etc.) will come into my path as well, which would be amazing!

All this to say I'm incredibly open to this opportunity, but also incredibly cautious because it's a deep commitment that will take me out of my comfort zone and away from relationships I've established here in Madison. I've been here for two years and there's still so much of the city I have yet to experience. The friendships I've made mean a great deal to me and I'm afraid of losing them by leaving on this pursuit. But I also know that I can't hold back on this reason alone. To not go would be a huge mistake so I just pray that I can return to these good people after finishing school. I see that I'm holding on to what I have here in Madison and not being more open to possibilities in Seattle. It's just a big change and hard not to resist. I don't know what's best for me, but somebody does and He's speaking loud and clear, which happens so rarely. So I better listen.

Right now I'm being told to go clean the kitchen. ugh.