2010 at a Glance

Last year I sent out a Ten Year blog, and thought 10 years was a bit too long to wait between updates! ha! So,here is one just after a year.


Career:

I continue to work at Texas women's prison as a therapist. I was very sad when the powers that be decided the title Staff Psychotherapist wasn't the right title and changed it to Mental Health Clinician. I have really missed telling folks who ask me who I am "well, I'm the Psycho Therapist". Clinician just doesn't have the same ring!

The job provides much satisfaction in many ways. Yes, there are aspects of the job that I find exhausting and some days I struggle maintaining a "cool" disposition. But more times than not there is a sense of accomplishment as I walk out the sally port each evening.

I have been working with one woman since almost the beginning of my tenure there. The first two years she would come in and just cry, skin splotching brightly from all the stress/anxiety, and say she just couldn't talk about it (extensive childhood sexual abuse). I finally found two other offenders who were also motivated to work on their souls, and the three of them have done a fantastic work! The contrast in my client...from sleeping all the time, walking around with her head down and shoulders' slumped....is stunning! She no longer hangs her head and smiles brightly, is establishing healthy boundaries with unsafe and safe others, and is very proud of herself for the work she has accomplished. She has so much more to do, but is well on her way! Seeing this transformation is well worth the negatives of the job. And she's just one story. The prison is certainly full of anti-socials who have chosen evil, but they tend to stay away from the counseling office. There are many women who are the neglected, the abused, the thrown away women of our society who, when offered a chance, can get their lives turned around.

I had the opportunity to give a presentation to my peers I titled Rape and Society. While I've always had a few embers burning within about this topic, I small blaze was fired up while researching and preparing for this presentation. I thoroughly enjoyed having the dais for the day and being able to speak my thoughts about this topic. However, I felt like a was throwing a very small pebble into a vast ocean. I hope and pray that one day our society will honor, respect and protect our women and children. I will keep looking for opportunities to make a difference in my own little world.

Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Temple:

This gets it's own section because it plays such a significant part of my life. This is a very tiny church, in building and in numbers. These are the people that I get into the trenches with, let the "iron sharpen iron", and in general try to make a place for His Presence to always dwell when we gather together. This has been a very rewarding year! While it started with some very painful experiences when two couples that had been in leadership left our church in a hurtful way, a time of amazing love, peace and unity fell upon our people! We have enjoyed His Presence the vast majority of gatherings, and those the He has entrusted to us are learning and growing. The leaders continue to learn and grow as well. Humility reigns. God is God and we are not, and we attempt to proclaim His Truths every time we gather.

The worship band is a source of joy for me. Teresa, our lead vocal, has grown in confidence and has begun using her fabulous gift of prophecy as she leads. The band is full of servant leaders, who find great joy in just being a part of something bigger than themselves. This is a gift in and of itself, as those of you who have tried to lead musicians would know. There can be big egos in this area! I am fortunate to be working with these folks!

While it's been a very warm and gentle year, we want more! We want revival! We want Him to fall on Central Texas and change the spiritual apathy into an unquenchable fire! We can always hope and anticipate for such an experience! I hope it becomes a reality!

A few thoughts about life outside of work and church:

This year I was blessed with new friends, folks my age with a young child, who love to get out on the weekends and do fun things, and they wanted me for company. Yippee! It's made the "other hours" of my life more lively! I've thoroughly enjoyed engaging in dialogue with these mature Christians. I love their heart and passion for Jesus, their love and commitment to him, and how they handle the hard things of life. They have been a blessing to me. It's quite possible they will move from this area in the future, so I'll enjoy it while I can!

Mom. Her health is definitely not what it used to be. I have needed to begin taking more responsibility in her care, mostly in the area of bills and banking and Edward Jones and other logistics. She has been falling more, is finding it harder to get up from a sitting position, and in general is needing to not be by herself for long periods of time. Mom and Dad bought insurance a number of years ago to help with this very thing. (Thanks, Pappy, for your foresight!) We have found a home care provider, and a woman comes by 3 days a week to help her. Starting last week, the helper is coming 5 days a week for several hours a day. The hours will increase when the insurance "kicks in" this spring. My brother David still provides much care for her on evenings and weekends. He is most definitely a gift to Mom in her provision. What would we do without David????

I want to wish all of you a blessed New Year! I love this holiday more than any, because it means fresh starts and new beginnings. And I'm all about reviewing what is and how it can be better, or what needs to be cast off and replaced with something more effective, or learning to accept "what is" and live in peace. Okay, so I'm not quite there yet, but the "now and not yet" is a pretty cool place to live!

Love ya'll!