Monday, April 26, 2010

Oops...and AWESOME!

Jess: So, I totally lose for not including this in the last post. I left out the most important part of the Lutheran/Methodist fight. For those of you who don't know, follow this link for what the Methodist cross looks like: http://www.huronumc.org/groups.html. The Methodists really, really like their cross. It's EVERYWHERE. But take note, everyone. It's a cross. On fire. So, basically, the biggest part of the fight Wes and I ever have is when I remind him that at least the Lutherans don't set our crosses on fire.

On a more exciting note, Wes and I have been trying to figure out how to improve our prayer lives. We both admit that we are not very good at praying on a regular basis, except at mealtimes. So I came up with the brilliant idea to write our prayer concerns on our shower wall, so we'll see them every time we're showering. At least that way I'll be praying for them once a day and Wes will be praying at least once every two weeks...

Well, the condensation in the shower makes the glass markers bleed and our prayers disappear, which was not exactly the intended effect. So, ironically while taking a shower tonight, I remembered that we have a double glass door leading out onto our porch. So as soon as I finish typing, prayers are going up. That way, we'll see them every day when we have the curtains open (which is during all the daylight hours to conserve electricity). If you need a prayer, let us know and we'll put it on our giant prayer window!

Wes: For the record, the burning cross is supposed to be a combined symbol of two of the most important aspects of the Christian faith-- the cross of Christ, which is the ultimate sacrifice of our God, and the flame of Pentecost, which is the indwelling of the Spirit within the believers. The Lutheran symbol... well, they have one, but no one actually knows what it is. At least with the Methodists, we know our symbol and its meaning. So there. One more point for the best denomination.

So far, our prayers are mainly for people from the church and people from home. Most of them are confidential, but I do want to ask for prayers for a friend of mine. His newborn son is not maintaining weight. Any prayers for him and his family would be amazing.

Two more things and then we're done. A lot of Jess and my friends are graduating from college in the next two weeks. Prayers for them would be great.

Finally, a prayer of praise. Jess and I have made some really awesome friends up here. They haven't by any means replaced any of our amazing friends back home, but it's nice to finally be integrating into community. So, thank God for super awesome amazing people.

Well, that's all for tonight! You stay classy, world wide web!
-Jess and Wes

Friday, April 16, 2010

THE fight

Jess: Side note- Wes just got a part-time position as a local pastor of two churches out in the farmland of New Jersey. We're super excited and get to move into a parsonage in mid-June!

So, we really love having "fights" over anything. Pretending to be mad at each other for no reason whatsoever keeps our relationship healthy. Lol. One of the fights that we have every time the subject of Lutheranism versus Methodism is the following:

Jess: You Methodists are just upset with Lutherans because you were too lazy to come up with an original idea and just copied ours (i.e. the Reformation).

Wes: I'll have you know, Jessica, that the Methodists came along and perfected what you Lutherans started.

Jess: Just because you believe in achieving perfection on earth doesn't mean that you've perfected the amazing work we've done. You're still just upset that nothing you do is interesting.

Wes: The sanctifying work of the Spirit is what allowed Wesley to perfect the protestant theology. You say simultaneously saint and sinner, I say "be holy as your heavenly Father is holy." Which one is biblical, hmm?

Jess: I'm pretty sure you have a shirt that says simultaneously saint and sinner. So either your logic is flawed or you are. Or maybe both.

Wes: Jess, you wouldn't let me buy that shirt. You said I had already spent my allowance,

Jess: Well, maybe you should get a job and stop mooching off of me. Stop being a freeloading Methodist and get some more of the REAL Protestant Ethic.

Wes: I am pursuing my vocation, just like Martin Luther told me to do. You see, we Methodists actually try to live out our Protestant theologies and beliefs, not just talk about them from the back pew of the church.

Jess: You're the only Methodist I've noticed who sits in the front pew, so I'm not sure you know what you're talking about. I live out my theology daily, while you sit in the back row of class and play on your IPhone. Who's doing a better service to their denomination, eh?

Wes: I would guess the one who is about to enter into ministry. But I guess I could be wrong...

Jess: Whatever, Wes...

(At some point, I "give up" and let him think that he's won. I'm going to choose here today, because he actually made a pretty good point. If I don't let him win, it could go on for hours, and I, for one, have things to get done around here. So the fight continues another day, and we continue on our happy journeys of knowing that our specific denominations are best.)

Saturday, April 10, 2010

School and school with a side of school

Jess: I've always been a pretty good planner, whether for what we're going to do tomorrow or what we're going to do 10 years from now. So when our plans for school turned upside-down when I didn't get enough financial aid, I didn't really know what to do with myself. Wes, on the other hand, was able to adjust almost immediately--although I'm pretty sure that's 99% due to the fact that we didn't have to spend a semester separated by half of the country. Anyway, the result is that I'm sitting here on the couch trying to keep my eyes open till 10 after a week of 40 hours of work and 15 hours of babysitting/cleaning. Wes, on the other hand, just had to go to school...lucky.

It's amazing how much of the next 5 years are going to be devoted to school. I remember being so excited to graduate from high school, but then I went to another 4 years of school. And now I'm just waiting for the next time to go to school again. Geez. The way it's going right now is that Wes is going to be in school until May 2012, at which point he will start his three-year probationary period. Then I'll start school full-time (hopefully partway through due to my online classes), go to 1-2 years of school, have my internship, then return for my fourth year. By the time I'm done with that and Wes is done with his probationary period, it'll be 2015 and we'll be old. Lol.

Anyway, we're both going to be doing a lot of unconventional things to work our way around the various plans in place in our denominations. Wes is supposed to return to Texas for his probationary period, but there are no schools for me there. I'm supposed to be willing to go anywhere for my internship, but Wes will be full-time at a local church. I don't know where we'll be, but I know the next 5 years are going to be really interesting...

Wes: So now that Jess has given you the skinny, I'm not really sure what to say...

I guess I could start with telling you a little about the differences between our two seminary experiences. First, the Methodist plan:
I have to go to school for three years (as sanctioned by the school I chose). The only thing that my candidacy committee requires is that I take two classes on Methodism-- Methodist Polity and Methodist Doctrine. Other than that, I just need to succeed in finishing my Master's of Divinity. We in the Methodist church are pretty laid back.
Jessica, though, has it crazy. She has to take at least one year at a Lutheran seminary and has to do a year-long internship. The weirdest part? The internship is in between her second and fourth year, so they expect her to move her family to school, stay there for a year, move away to a church of their choosing, located anywhere in the nation, and then move back to school a year later. Crazy.

I could also tell you a little about our candidacy period. It's actually kind of cool, because they are not that different. Candidacy is the period of discernment into which people enter when they are pursuing a call to ministry. The process is set up to help individuals find out if a vocation in the church is the best fit for them as well as help the church affirm and encourage those individuals. Jess and I meet annually with our candidacy committees to help keep us on track and help make sure that we're on the right track with things. We also are given growth agendas to work on throughout the year until we meet with them again. My last growth agenda included meeting with a spiritual director (Christian councilor) on a monthly basis to work through my calling and to have a practical outlet for the theology in which my brain is constantly soaking and to engage in conversation with a Methodist pastor who is married to a Presbyterian pastor-- he probably knows what I'll be dealing with in the future ;-). After we finish seminary, our candidacy committee votes on whether or not we are fit to pastor, and then we move into doing ministry full-time.

So that's what we have to look forward to. Now you know what we'll be doing from now through 2015.

Well, thanks for dropping by! You stay classy, World Wide Web.

-Wes and Jess

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Easter the first

Jessica: So today was our first Easter as a married couple. In the past few years, we have gone to Wes' churches because I didn't have any special connection to churches near TLU. For all of Lent, we've been attending Prince of Peace Lutheran, so I got to have my traditional old Lutheran Easter this year. Besides the whole different denomination thing, we've been having two basic discussions about our Easter traditions:

Wes' dad always used to cook chicken fajitas for breakfast, while my family had brunch at church and cooked a delicious Easter lunch of ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, veggies, and a few other things that we then shared with some of our closest friends. Although we've spend our Easter with just the two of us, we've combined these traditions together. We had my Easter lunch, and we're having chicken fajitas for dinner. I'm pretty excited about this part of our Easter--mostly because it includes food.

Our second discussion (fight?) about Easter is about our favorite song. We Lutherans call it "Jesus Christ is Risen Today," while the crazy Methodist call it "Christ the Lord is Risen Today." Wes likes to say that because Charles Wesley wrote it, he's obviously right, but I think we both know who's right.

All in all, it's been a fantastic Easter, and I'm excited that we've managed to get past our differences and have a great family time.

Wes: Today I realized a few things:

The first was that if you value your hearing, do not sit directly in front of the trumpets. They sounded great, and I think that it was a really nice touch to the service.

Second, it is completely alright to sing Christ the Lord when everyone else around you sings Jesus Christ. It might be that everyone looks at you funny, but hey, what is life about if it is not doing things that you love and make people look at you funny? I just had to deal with Jessica elbowing me in the side really hard. I didn't mind the change of Christ the Lord to Jesus Christ, but it was sad that most of the rest of the words were different as well. I'm used to not having to look at the hymnal, but that was not the case today.

I also realized how much I missed the Easter Doxology. Pretty much, it's my favorite part of the Easter service, and they did not do it. For those of you who do not know, the Easter Doxology is the Doxology (Praise God from Whom all blessings flow...) to the tune of All Creatures of Our God and King, one of my favorite hymns. I'll just have to sing it around the apartment and drive Jessica crazy...

I am loving the Easter traditions that we are starting, though. A weird mix of my stuff and her stuff, but a good mix. I am also loving my beautiful wife and all of the wonderful memories we are already making together.

Well, until next time, you stay classy, World Wide Web.
Wes and Jess

You're doing what why?

Wes and I have been talking a lot recently about documenting our life together. For those of you who are random people reading our blog, here's a little summary of our lives: We're 22, and we've been married since January 1 of this year. A week and a half after getting married, we moved to Princeton, New Jersey and left all of our family behind to start our new life. Wes is currently a student at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he is studying to become a Methodist pastor. I currently work at Starbucks, where I'll be staying until Wes graduates and I go to seminary to become a Lutheran pastor. Basically, we want to share our exciting and crazy life events with anyone and everyone who is willing to read about our ridiculous life. Mostly, we just think it will be interesting to follow our journey from interdenominational learning to preaching to teaching and see where life leads us. So look forward to post two: Easter 2010!