Tempus Fugit!

Maybe my five years of Latin did come in handy after all. "Tempus Fugit!" translates to "Time Flies!" even though the ancient Romans did not use punctuation. It might sound cliche (though maybe cliches are used so often because they tend to be true) but it seems like time has absolutely flown in Tucson so far. It has almost been two months already! That means that I will have to start looking into opportunities for next year. My goal is to not let my search for future opportunities get in the way of being present here and now. It's just crazy how early applications for grad schools or seminaries or whatever have to be submitted. One great thing about getting settled is that I now have a routine that I know well. To me this is a good thing, not because it limits spontaneity, but because I can concentrate on the specific tasks at hand and go deeper in the meaning I find during the year. It is now much easier to find time to grow in relationship with coworkers or housemates and it's easier to find the space to develop certain disciplines, which will help in discerning meaning and direction during this year.

One of these disciplines is finding time to read. I am currently reading "The Call," by Os Guinness and a book that describes the twelve marks of the New Monasticism movement in a collection of essays written by people who have lived in and reflected upon these intentional communities. I'm challenged by a lot of the radical ideas presented in these books about what it means to be a disciple of Christ, and I need time to reflect and consider these ideas. No doubt several blog entries in the future will be devoted to considering some of these ideas. It's kind of weird but hearing some of these ideas has made me want to learn more about history. Maybe this is because understanding why things the way they are is more important to me now.

Anyway the point is that time is flying by and I'm feeling like we just got here. In other news I was able to get up to Ohio over the weekend for my cousin, Kirsten's, wedding. It was a wonderful time seeing and celebrating with family that I don't get to see that often. Also a cause for celebration, I found out that Brenna is recovering very well from her car accident and is going to be fine. Today I went around to various jobs with Kristy, a CHRPA worker who started shortly before I started working. This was really the first time when I wasn't just a helper and had to make the decisions on how to make the repairs. As nerve racking as this can be, I feel like it's a necessary step in becoming the T-Rex of repairmen. Only when I have to figure things out on my own will I really grow to the point where I'm confident in my job. This was an exciting step and I hope I'll get the chance to practice more often from now on.