A Traveling Aggie

Sorry I've been gone for so long! I spent July 1-4 in Alabama with Kyle's sister and brother-in-law. And of course, our two ridiculously adorable, sugar-fueled, ecstatic-to-see-us nieces!

Then I stopped off in Dallas, while Kyle headed home to College Station. July 6, I left for Michigan with my family for my grandpa and step-grandma's 15 year wedding anniversary. Here's a picture of my grandparents:

I definitely wasn't hurting for rest and relaxation there. I gorged myself on fresh fruit, cheese, and desserts. Plus we had pasties - yum!

I had an unexpected layover in Chicago, but made it back to College Station on July 12. When I got here our wood floors were being sanded. (That's one of the loudest noises I have ever heard. Ever.) Next morning, the subcontractor told me we wouldn't have access to the bathroom for 2 days straight. We quickly realized how smelly and uncomfortable that would be. We called our general contractor upset that no one had thought to inform us. Thankfully, he agreed to cover our hotel bill, so I packed up again to stay at the only hotel in town we could find with rooms still available. With a New Student Conference, a 7 man high school football tournament, and a statewide fireman training, things were booked!

We stayed there for our 5 year anniversary this weekend too. We reminisced and visited old places we lived, the restaurant we went to on our first date, and the chapel we got married at. We went to see the Harry Potter movie on Sunday, because we love all the Harry Potter books. Not so much the movies, but what are you gonna do? The woman who made our wedding cake also gave us a free cake topper. So much cake!

If you're looking for possibly the best cake with the yummiest icing, check out Cinderella Stories. Fair warning: we had to follow-up with them a couple of times to get all the details straight during our wedding. But now that we're married, we mostly just care that the cakes taste like heaven.

So that's my story, and now I'm back!

GTD - Do you know what it means?

Cuz I do! Kyle and I took the plunge and read Getting Things Done by David Allen. It's been out for years now, and I've always thought it could be a useful tool for me. Kyle didn't know there was a book, and when he found out, we had to borrow it from Shiloh.

I'm starting to implement it. I need to set aside a couple days to go through all my piles and figure out what to do with everything. According to Allen, there are 8 options: trash it, file it for reference, make it a next action, put it on your calendar, put it in a tickler file, delegate it, put it on a someday/maybe list, or organize it as a project.

Although I haven't even organized everything yet, I started implementing the idea of the "next action." Instead of writing vague words on my to-do list that trigger my memory but aren't descriptive, or writing a step that needs to happen down the line but isn't the absolute next thing I need to do, I actually write down the next action I need to take. It's been great for my mental health.

I Found a Good Book!

I Once Was Lost was a quick read, and fantastic! Now, all I need to do is apply it to my ministry - easier said than done.

Don Everts and Doug Schaupp share their experiences ministering in the post-modern college world, specifically in regards to evangelism. The 5 "thresholds" a non-Christian can go through before they decide to follow Jesus are: distrusting a Christian to trust, apathy to curiosity about spiritual questions and Jesus, closed towards life change to open, meandering to seeking, and death to Kingdom life.

They cover steps to take in each threshold to help a non-Christian walk through it, and caution about what is unhelpful during that time. And in true postmodern fashion, they uphold the mystery and uncertainty of the whole process, making it clear that there are no guarantees and that the Spirit is the one at work.

I'm trying to think through where most non-Christian Aggies are, and what kinds of events, activities, and training we need to plan to engage with people in each of the 5 thresholds. Any ideas, brilliant or otherwise, would be greatly appreciated. I'm kinda stuck in my typical InterVarsity ministry answers, and would love anything outside my box to consider.