Intentensive week is over!

Week one of my two year Masters program is under my belt. Hallelujah! It was exactly as they communicated it would be, intense. I haven't sat in a class room for 20 years and being back for 10 hours a day all week was challenging.

This class was really about the basics. It focused on the History of Marriage and Family Therapy, the terms used and the personal responsibility each of us has to being as healthy as possible in order to coach and help others.

A couple of the things that stood out most to me where focused on our perspective. Dr. T walked into class with a poop mask on his face. He danced in to the song..."I got the power..." It was very funny and very engaging to try to figure out what the poop head had to do with MFT.

His point was this....there are uncomfortable, scary, awkward people and situations all over our lives. He calls the people the poopheads. He explained that our natural inclination is to move away from the poopheads in life...and those poophead situations. We have two basic impulses, the strong one which is typically the easiest to respond to, like flee from awkward scary moments. Or the weaker impulse to draw near to it and see what ways we can grow through it. He used the analogy of the poop being uncomfortable, stinky, icky, get away from it now. OR the poop can be fertilizer and grow us and change us and produce new life in us.

So, the poop head illuminated a lot of truth to me. It really was a spiritual metaphor as well. He drew Jesus as an example. That Jesus never was one to move away from awkward people or the poophead people. Instead he always drew near to them, sought to understand them, loved them. He urged us to look at the poopheads in our lives and consider our responses.

I love this analogy. I love the principle of yielding to the Spirit, our weaker impulse over our flesh, stronger impulse. I love the picture of Christ putting others over himself.

Dr. T worked hard to dig up things in our lives that we might be moving away from, instead of embracing. He challenged us to lean into the USA (uncomfortable, scary, awkward). He pressed us about being open to changing our perspectives and being willing to grow.

I learned a lot this week about MFT but mostly I learned about places in my life where I am standing off protecting myself from authentic change and authentic love. I am starting to think this Masters program may be much more about personal growth then me ever helping anyone.

School DAZE....

Tis' the season of buying school supplies, new shoes, clothes that fit and prepping for the new school year. This year has a bonus feature, I am buying for myself!

Yup folks, tomorrow at 8:30am I begin a 2yr. adventure of earning a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy. I cannot believe it. I got my textbook, pens, spirals, note cards, laptop and big ol' bag to carry it all in.

My family is so supportive. My daughter asked her VBS group to pray for her mom since she is going back to school and would need lots of help. My mom called to make sure I had a cute first day outfit. My husband is thawing food and planning his meals for the week. It is sweet the way the fam is rallying around the ol' lady heading back to school.

Gotta admit there is a lot of apprehension in this move. I have not been a student in a long time. I don't know that I was that good of a student when I had all my brain cells and now 3 kids later I am not sure that has improved. I am nervous about how this will impact the daily dynamic in the home front. Thankfully, after this week we meet only one night a week for 5 hours. Later, we add clinicals and I will have to cross that bridge when I come to it.

This is all so surreal. I honestly can't believe I've made such a big move. The financial ramifications are not going to be simple. This is a huge commitment for my family to make. The emotional piece will be complicated since I will want to apply and dissect all the principles at home first. I am convinced this is where God wants me but I am kinda freaking out at the same time.

I believe if God had not used my husband to specifically urge and encourage me I may have been stifled by fear and anxiety about all the uncontrollable pieces of this school puzzle. He has been so convinced that this is where I am to be used by God, that is has propelled me with confidence to move forward.

So, think of me this week as I will be popping some hemis sitting for 10+ hours a day on molded plastic chairs. Or swallowing handfuls of ibuprofen due to the weeping-induced headache I will be sporting from all the intimate bonding and life-sharing I will be doing with all my new bff therapists! I can't wait. At least I will be wearing a cute outfit! Fill you in more later.

It is finished!

Hallelujah, the basement is done!

This may not mean much to anyone else but to me this is proof that my house is now built on solid ground. Or at least that is what they have guaranteed me to believe.

I got a little bold and asked the young foreman if he was a religious guy. Asked him if he knew the biblical passage about building your house on solid ground. He wasn't sure about that. I told him that in a way he is really about doing God's work by setting peoples homes on immovable ground and not on sandy soil. That the principle was biblical and he was being a blessing. He smiled and laughed uncomfortably and scurried off as quickly as possible.

To me, this is a spiritual metaphor for our family. Our home is the physical part of the foundation that we are building but ideally it is about the spiritual base and girding in of truth that is important. If one part of the foundation is sinking then we need to re-examine our hearts, check out our spirits and ask the Lord to gird us in His truth and promises. I love that in the midst of these men digging holes and literally hoisting our house back into place we have the ultimate cornerstone to build our house on, the immovable rock, our real shelter, our true deliverer! I praise Him for the ultimate sacriface to keep us steady. He is the one to be praised.