Dusting Off the Cobwebs

After a very eventful two and a half years (family changes, including a death and a wedding; leaving a job and finding a new one, with a bit of a sabbatical in the middle; feeling the call to seminary, deciding to attend, and starting courses; taking a pilgrimage to Israel), I’ve decided to return to this blog with a renewed focus that will be a bit of a content shift for any previous readers. I’m not committing to any kind of blogging schedule here, and I’m not quite sure how regular a blogger I will be, but I’ve got to start somewhere, right?

The shift isn’t so much a change as it is an evolution based on how I have personally grown since creating Reading Red Letters:

• When I started this blog I was a 21-year-old undergrad student who had pretty much discovered who she was, but was still drinking wine out of Solo cups and, let’s be real, thought naming her blog after a great DC Talk song was cute and witty.
• At this point in my life I’m a 32-year old single woman who takes pride in her career and has no idea who she is, but feels like she’s getting a little bit closer every day. I not only finished my undergrad degree, I earned a graduate degree too, and on top of a full life of work and volunteering I’m halfway through earning a second graduate degree because I apparently enjoy unnecessary homework. And I’ve upgraded from Solo cups to iced tea glasses (better for the environment, but I’m still too lazy to hand-wash stemware).

I’m currently completing my Master of Theological Studies, and as I started this quarter’s course it occurred to me that some of the things I’ve been learning in my classes could use some further discussion/exploration, and this blog might be the right vehicle for me to take what I’m learning out of a purely academic setting (most of my classmates are seeking ordination, so there are lots of practical applications for them; I, however, am just weird and want to study this stuff because it’s interesting to me).

I imagine that I will use this space for some spiritual reflection, to contemplate current events, and sometimes I’ll share thoughts from seminary, either as ramblings or perhaps even posting some of my short essay assignments (so don’t be surprised if there are footnotes). It may be a bit of a hodge-podge at first, but I’m sure I’ll hit my stride eventually. I also feel like a fresh coat of paint and a new name might be in order for this blog, but one step at a time, right?