Goodbye to 2008....glad I get to bring some along in 2009!

With only about 9 hours left of 2008, I thought it was most appropriate to bid the year a goodbye. Part of me wants to not write some of this but I know it will be beneficial. You see, I want to hate this past year but in light of one of my chosen new year's resolutions to be more optimistic, I suppose I should find the good...so here we go!

January 2008 began with leaving Kansas on New Year's Day. I was happy to ring in the new year with my college girls. My, how much has changed for all of us that were gathered there at Allison's! That first weekend of January involved sorting through all of the books that Rev. John Yocum left me when he passed in August of 2007. I think I counted close to 2500 books. It is a GREAT library to start a career with! January also brought a study of United Methodist Polity into the Seminary schedule. Most of all from that class, I am thankful for the friends and stories that I have.
February 2008 gave me the opportunity to start Lent on the EARLIEST possible Wednesday ever...glad that won't happen again in my lifetime. :) Valentine's Day was nice...last good time I had with Matt all things considered. Second semester started and I was really excited to have an actual theology class on my plate.
March 2008 brought my first Holy Week as Pastor Emily. It started well with a music filled Palm Sunday, Maunday Thursday was great as we worshiped in the downstairs sitting around a table, and Easter Sunday was wonderful! My sermon series ended with possibly the best sermon I have ever preached and about 80 people present!
April 2008 was a tough month. It involved the worst case of bronchitis I have ever had that stuck around for the whole month, if not longer. I also had my first very close to me congregant die. Bert Boewker was a beautiful woman who taught me a lot about strength and love. Finally, one of the hardest decision I have ever made was followed through with on April 15th. A shout out to Crystal Hughes for preaching a sermon at Chapel at SPST that gave me the courage to free myself from something that was not healthy.
May 2008 started with a bronchitis free and very happy, single Emily. I have never wanted summer break so much in my life! In fact, I was so antsy I ordered a plane ticked for July to California to visit my grandparents. First was finishing classes, D-Com Check-up interviews, and saying some hard goodbyes. To start the celebration of summer, I BBQed with college friends and celebrated birthdays greek style at Tasso's in KC.
June 2008 brought Annual Conference, always an interesting experience but much fun with friends after hours. I partied with Megan CURTIS for the last time because on June 28th, I was honored to play the piano for her as she became Megan Rust! What a great time it was to be with my best friends dancing the night away! I also started confirmation classes with two thirteen year old girls. "What did I get myself into", was all I could think most Sundays.
July 2008 brought Vacation Bible School at Orrick UMC. I love teaching songs to children and had a great time. However, it was the week before California and I was soooooo ready for a vacation. July 15th came and Justin dropped me off at the airport in KC. I flew to Denver for a short layover and then I was in Sacramento. I was with my grandparents for a week of relaxation. I slept in most days, I used their hot tub, I went to the ocean. It was a good vacation. I also reconnected with cousins that I had not seen for years. On the journey home, I did learn of some hard news. Justin called to tell me Estelle Getty had died. I almost did not make it on to the plane back home but Ben and Jerry's came through with some chocolate concoction and things were ok. My vacation continued that week and I did the annual Worlds of Fun thing with some seminary peeps. Ripcord was AWESOME!
August 2008 was when we said goodbye to Emily D...I am still slightly mad at Iowa but glad to know she is happy with Nick. Kansas City became my home when I moved onto campus on August 9th...YES! Confirmation Sunday was the next week and it was a wonderful Sunday where my church showed me an awesome side of themselves and I felt truly blessed. Much of the end time of summer was spent with Katie and Justin just hanging out and enjoying being back as friends again.
September 2008 started and I was excited for school to begin again. I had a schedule that looked awesome, I lived in KC, I had a job on campus that was exciting, and I was no longer a scared first year seminarian. It was a hard month but I learned who my closest friends were and continued to live despite some really hard stuff that was facing me.
October 2008 was even harder than September...yeah, I couldn't believe it either. But, some bright spots in some very dark times include my birthday celebrationS! Thanks all for making it a great birthday week. I also celebrated with Lindsey DUENSING for the last time as we prepared for Mr. and Mrs. Kinley and Lindsey Winfrey to be announced for the first time. My first experience of being a bridesmaid was not anything like I thought it would be...great time seeing friends and dancing.
November 2008...well I would like to say it got better, hmmmm. In all fairness in some ways, it did! Crystal and I wrote an awesome paper about Process Theology and Marriage that opened up some doors for me on the subject. I was proud to be an American as I saw history made with my closest friends when Barack Obama was elected President. Justin and I saw "The Lion King" and the Orrick Bearcats kept winning playoff games. I had some major "growing up" moments with my family and survived, it was anything but easy but it has been affirming to assert who I am and what I believe.
December 2008 was a whirlwind of friends, food, and football. I saw my college girls for some Holiday cheer. I met many friends for lunch and dinner engagements. The Orrick Bearcats won the State Championship. The Northwest Bearcats are still my team, always. Oh yeah, I ended the semester to end all other semesters and think my grades and more importantly what I learned about me are something to be marveled. Advent was great at Orrick UMC and Christmas Eve turned into a beautiful expression of the Christ child illuminating the darkness of our world. Ending the year with a road trip to OKC for one last wedding (yay Kyle and Heather) was fun and reminded me just how thankful I am for my friends who love me no matter what.

Whew! What a year. I am going to venture to say it is possibly the most eventful year of my life. So much has changed for me. As I look back on the year I do see good, I see hope, I see love.
2009 holds so much possibility....hopefully one of those will be more regular blog posts ... time will tell. :)