Residency One Recap

My first Residency experience with Colorado Christian was phenomenal!  Each of the professors I met and/or heard from are solid, Godly, respectable men and women I admire and want to join at the staff table someday!

This = Uduak, Abby, Abriel, Joyce, Emily, me, and Dr. Robinson (our faculty mentor).  Emily and I are from Oklahoma and the others are all Texans!

This trip is one of the most independent, adulty things I've done so far, and I'm proud of that and grateful it went pretty smoothly!  My first time renting a car and staying at a hotel by myself, and my first in-person graduate school classes and counseling role play sessions -- lots of things that felt a bit intimidating but were really good for me!  My first Colorado park walk, as well. lol

They had a worship night on Saturday with New Life Worship, followed by a fantastic message  from Dr. Phillips (a CCU professor) on being rooted and grounded in Christ.  I may have to do a separate post on that one later!

The campus is pretty, as you would expect Colorado to be in summer.  We basically rotated between three buildings: The Event Center, Leprino Hall, and the Anschutz Student Center.

I was accepted too late to be able to stay in the dorms, but no regrets on booking this hotel and having my own happy introvert space to retreat to at night!

Last night, I had dinner with Amy, Lauren, and Michelle!  Lauren is from TX, and Amy and Michelle are both from Edmond!  We have several mutual friends from the CHA and Faith Bible Church circles.  It's been quite a while, but Michelle and I actually remember each other as childhood friends... her mom taught with JoBug for several years, her dad was a groomsman in my parents' wedding, and Mom and Dad met at a New Years Eve party hosted by her parents -- small world!!  Anyway, it made me happy that we spent a large portion of our dinner talking about everyone's Enneagram types.  I'm used to others getting bored and changing the subject there, but in this group of Counselors in Training, we were all equally fascinated by personality styles!

The thing that made me most nervous about this was the counseling role play sessions - I was paired with Uduak, and Candi was our Residency Three supervisor. We took turns being the counselor and counselee, and I strongly preferred the counselor role!  We did this three times, and Candi was exceptionally kind and encouraging in her feedback, so I left feeling like there's lots of room for growth, but I'm an attentive listener who is well suited for this career!

Lauren and Amy at our dinner at Ted's Montana Grill!

For the first time in my memory, I missed Chet's birthday party!  Sad day - and definitely the fault of COVID since we both had it during the original party week!  But I posted this of me being there in spirit with the friend group!

I adore that there are verses posted all over campus!  And I'm so grateful to have Michelle and Amy and Emily living nearby any time we need extra help, encouragement, and connection going through this program!

"You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.  We are all meant to SHINE..."  Love this!! ❤

A great counseling verse:

We prayed together and got a pic by the fireplace after our last role play session!

A counseling-related meme for you on this lovely Monday.

The food was good - they served breakfast and lunch every day (my hotel also served breakfast, and that was faster option most days).  And there was an In N Out Burger and several other restaurants near the school, so that was happy news!

❤

Me and Emily, a new friend and OBU grad from Shawnee!

Pic with Michelle and Amy after the Worship Night!  Huzzah for God bringing me the supportive friends and peers and mentors that I will need in this new season!

This grad school trip happened fast in some ways... and in other ways, it's been decades in the making!  (I'm sure the same will feel true with adoption!)  This week has been great confirmation that I am in the right place.  I'm incredibly thankful for God's guidance and for the many ways He has used John and Stasi Eldredge and Donald Miller in helping to shape my life's journey! #johnsalmamater #heroonamission

The last thing we did this afternoon was a commissioning prayer -- the Residency Three students who are almost done with their program circled around and prayed for us  - for strength and blessing as we move through the program!  Then we flipped that and prayed over them as they are about to graduate and move into the workplace.  It was a great way to end it, and the entire week made me feel more confident  about this decision.  This will not be easy, but it will absolutely be worth it!!

May God grant you, according to the riches of His glory,

to be strengthened with power in your inner being through His Spirit!