tulips and other happenings

This past week was the first normal week we've had in a little while, and it was nice to settle back into some semblance of a routine. There are just three weeks remaining in the semester, but I think it will finish smoothly. I do have three finals, all on the same day, which won't be fun. But then I get about two weeks off before the summer semester starts.

Work has been going well; two weeks ago was the second intensive seminar that we've had since I started the job. My role during that week is to be there to assist the students in pretty much anything they need (tuition payments, registration and course planning, program status, dissertation stuff, contact information, the list goes on- I am pretty much on call), as well as help the visiting professor. I also have to be on campus by 6:30 each morning to get the conference room cleaned up, and set up the breakfast and snack table. It's a long week for me, but I also really enjoy myself. All the students in the Doctor of Ministry program are pastors or involved in some sort of ministry- missionary agency, etc. I have really enjoyed getting to know them; what great men they are (and yeah, all men- right now we have just one woman in the program, and I also really appreciate her, but she didn't take this particular seminar). Anyway, one guy just returned from Thailand from a short term mission trip with his church, and he brought me back this wooden frog that "croaks"- you run a wooden stick along the ridges on his back, and it makes this croaking noise. Another guys calls me "young lady"; I must be around his daughter's age. It's fun to interact with them.

So by the end of that week, I was exhausted. Then last week was spring break; a light week at work, made even more light by the fact that campus was practically deserted. In the building I work in, there was me and then two other gals who work on the same floor, and that is pretty much it. I spent the two days I was there updating student files, which was tedious and time consuming. And then off to Seattle to visit family and friends, which was wonderful.

This week, it was back into the swing of things. Work was steady, we are creating a manual for the students to assist them in the writing of their dissertation, which has been interesting. I also navigated our library for the first time; surprised to discover that in order to "check things out", you just write down what journal or book you are taking with your name in a notebook by the desk, and then when you return it, cross your entry out. I guess they aren't too concerned with theft. Since it is a seminary, that is a good thing. By the end of the week, it was gorgeous and 75 degrees; David and I spent Friday afternoon at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival near Woodburn, about 30 minutes south of Portland. The tulips were stunning, with a view of Mount Hood in the distance. We took lots of pictures- along with lots of moms who were dragging their kids around and posing before various blooms of color. It was fun to read the names of the different varieties; there was one that was a pale yellow with a pink splash in the center that was called a "Blushing Beauty". Another, this deep intense purple, was called "Queen of the Night".

We attended a Good Friday service Friday afternoon, which was moving. It was a stark contrast to come from the brightness of the sunny tulip fields into the dark sanctuary- most of the lights were out except for the smoky beams illuminating the cross on the stage. I discovered the concept of the Good Friday service in college; the church I attended in high school didn't have one. I have come to appreciate this time of reflection almost more than Easter itself. Though I know that without the resurrection, the hope we have in Christ wouldn't be much to hold onto, remembering his death has become a very powerful thing for me. A few weeks back I posted a poem called "The Ragman." I think it impacted me so much at the time, I didn't have much of my own thoughts to share about it. This illustration of Christ's work combined with a fascinating discussion we had in my Old Testament class has brought new meaning to a line from a chorus: "I'll never know how much it cost, to see my sin upon the cross." Lord, may I never take that for granted.

Later that night, after a trip to Costco (and yes, it does seem strange that we went from a moving, reflective Good Friday service to Costco), we found this great pizza place in Northeast Portland for dinner, their pizza's are all made in traditional style; wood-fire baked. Yum! Good beer, too. :)

Today it poured (fitting, I suppose, for this time of mourning before we "discover" the empty tomb), and we spent a lazy day together. Tomorrow we'll go to Easter services and have a nice dinner, I'm not sure what else is going on. This posting turned out to be much longer than I anticipated, thanks for sticking with it if you are still reading. (If anyone checks this at all; I think my parents are the only ones who really monitor this. :)).

Have a blessed Easter; He is risen!