A(nother) New Project!

Ok, so here is the problem with me if you didn't already know it. I am a highly creative person, involved in a great number of creative projects. Short stories, novels, text adventures, video games, songs, movie ideas, you name it, if it is a form of story telling I have had an idea at some point or another as to how to implement it. That's not a problem, it actually is a great way to keep busy. (You know, cause this whole chaplaining thing really wasn't enough to be getting along by in the first place.)

The problem is that projects are easy to start and hard to finish, and I rarely have time between my first moment of inspiration and the next to keep going on any one project for any extended period of time.

So tonight I was hit by yet another inspiration for a video game that I have started plugging away at. Yeah. The last one is barely even begun, and I fully intend to keep working on it, but in a flurry of creative frenzy I am going to get the next one started now, and that is, kinda sorta, driving me insane.

I love this moment, the initial rush of creation that comes with the moment of inspiration. I wouldn't give it up for the world.

I would, however, like to FINISH a project at some point.

I'm just sayin'.

Go Packers!

Sure, it doesn't have a lot to do with being a chaplain, but what the hell. Super Bowl wins are few and far between. Go PACKERS!

Now where was I...

I actually watched most of the playoffs in the Hospital this year, and it was a definite change of pace for me. For starters, answering to Trauma Pages meant that unlike my usual MO, Football actually couldn't be the only thing in my universe. I checked scores in waiting rooms between visits.

During the Green Bay-Falcons game, I actually had to flee the Cafeteria due to the large number of cancer patients present watching as well, most of them Falcons fans, and knowing me I'm pretty sure I'd rub it in their faces.

So I think I'm growing. That said, excuse me. Gonna go attack my Pittsburgh Native Dean of Students with Cheese.

Being Inclusive VS Being Generic

Recently I've been thinking about some of the things that we talked about during the didactic session regarding worship. While putting the service together, I did my best to avoid direct mention of Jesus, and settled largely on God and Father language. For the hymns, Father was the most commonly used word just based on what I had to work with.

This is sort of funny to me due to the fact that for the last few years such a worship service would have set off every major alarm I have been fitted with by Columbia, and the more I think about it, the more i feel it was a weak point of my service, not only for reasons of gender inclusivity, but because Islamic reading have several clear points where they state that Allah does not beget as is not begotten, and Father language not only would have been a tripping point for some women, but nearly every Muslim.

I think the next time I lead worship, rather than trying to put together a service that would be vaguely acceptable to everyone, I think that I will put together a service with some clear points of connection for as many people as I can manage. I think that this would be more spiritually helpful than a service aimed at "to whom it may concern" and that a few stumbling blocks are worth it if everyone has a couple more points of contact.

I am pretty bushed this week, and having just completed my Exegesis Ordination Exam I haven't had as much time to put into reflecting on CPE as I would normally prefer to have. Now its all over, I am looking forward to focusing back on CPE, Pastoral Care, and ways I can link up spiritually with my patients, rather than just hoping not to offend them.

Weekly posts, eh?

And this one just to procrastinate work on my Exegesis Ordination Exam? Yikes. What AM I thinking?

Primarily, I'm thinking that one of the larger components of this exam is not normally a critical part of my exegetical process. It's called the "Faithful Interpretation," an essay on the meaning of the text, with only the barest nod to the context I'm writing for. Apparently, for some people, this is hugely helpful, allowing them to bask in their academic brilliance before getting down to the humdrum of making that degree work for anything meaningful.

If I sound bitter, maybe its just because I don't have any academic brilliance to bask in, which is why I am in the 8th year of a 3 year program.

I HATE this part of the exam. Some of my exegesis Professors strongly recommend this step of the process but it has never once been helpful for me. I live mainly in context... I read the text, find the bits that are speaking to me, and run with them. The rest amounts to pre-writing, which any of my High School English teachers will attest that I only ever did grudgingly.

Did you ever have to do that? Pre-writing? I despised it. All those word webs and pre-essay essays that my teachers assured me would improve the grades I got on my papers. But I always got A's on my papers. What was there to improve? I just didn't think that way, and their process slowed me down considerably, to the point where I started writing my pre-writing AFTER the main paper, which was much easier, and faster.

So do that now, you say? AHHHH, very clever of you. Already done. Except that this needs to be concise... it is essentially a de-contextualized version of the paper, they want about a thousand words, and I ran out of things to say around word 500. For the love of God, there are only 11 verses I have to work with here.

Of course, this Blog is already at least 500 words long. Maybe Anger fuels the beast...