one mo blog

Finishing Up and Starting Over

2008-05-08T12:27:53Z

I finish up my spring semester today. I received my first B in the program this semester…ok it was a B+ but still. I thought about pushing my professor for the A- because she seemed on the border, but the school doesn’t like to give out A’s to first semester clinical students.

Anyway. This means I’m more than halfway done my program now, and will graduate in about one year. Crazy. It also means it’s time to start thinking about how I’m going to find a job for next year. Before I get ahead of myself I have summer class that starts next week! The summer will be a little crazy for the rest of May and June, but July and August will slow down significantly. Those months are my carrot.

Classes for the summer:

Theological Anthropology
Clinical Case Supervision II
Research & Evaluation in Counseling

Following Up

2008-05-06T17:58:57Z

I re-read my post from yesterday late last night, and found myself wondering where I was going with it. It reads a bit like half a post. I would normally follow something like that up with some more profound learning that I have had recently. The truth is I’ve got nothing. After doing crisis response for a few months I feel so inadequate. There is so much pain and suffering in the world, and being able to be there to experience it with people and families is a humbling experience. In the end I only know that I don’t know how or why suffering happens, and that has to be ok. My responsibility then is to be Christ to those people, and so that’s where my line about working hard to become a good counselor comes from. Being Christ to people is not easy work. It takes practice, discipline and learning. Hopefully it’s something all us Christians can work harder at aspiring to, because the more I learn, the more I realize how far I have yet to go.

Sick People

2008-05-05T14:12:19Z

Adam gave a great sermon at Metanoia’s worship gathering yesterday. You can listen to it here. At one point he relayed the story of an old friend of his whose daughter is having health issues, and posed the question: Why are Adam and Kim blessed with a healthy baby when their friend is not? I have to admit, I’ve been struggling with the same question lately. I sat with a number of very sick clients this past week, one of whom has a very similar life story to my own.

It really made me appreciate how blessed I am. It also makes me wonder why I have been spared when one so similar to me is suffering so much.

So I do the only things I know how to do in this situation: I thank God for the blessings of life, health and family. And I work my ass off trying to be the best counselor I can, hoping beyond hope that maybe I can be a tool of God’s healing for some of these people.

Downtime

2008-04-28T12:40:19Z

Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers over the past couple weeks. All my major projects are now done! I’ve started to receive a few grades back and so far all A’s and A-’s. Who am I? Now I finally have a couple weeks to relax before the summer semester begins. I still have to work on my internship, and I have a small paper and an exam this Thursday, but other than that the next couple weeks should be cake. Then I start a week long class called Theological Anthropology. Exciting.

Anyway, one of the things I’m hoping to get done during this downtime involves some major changes to matt-otto.com. The site may even be down for a few days, because I just don’t have the time or energy to sit and make all the changes at once. If you really need your matt otto fix this blog will still be available at the old site: www.mattotto.squarespace.com

Where does the time go?

2008-04-21T14:04:46Z

Was it really three years ago that Cayla was born?

That’s right, Cayla turns three today. I can’t believe it. All my girls (Jenny, Cayla, Emma) were away for the weekend, while I stayed home and worked and did school. When they got back I felt like Cayla was so much smarter. She just learns new words and ideas every day. It’s a lot of fun. I can actually hold a conversation with her now. It’s crazy, she’s such a smart girl. Definitely gets that from her mom. These past few months it has been fun to watch as she has grown out of that big toddler phase and into a little girl!

Next thing I know she’s going to be bringing home boys and driving.

Home Stretch

2008-04-15T12:02:14Z

I still have four weeks of school left this semester, but all my remaining major projects and papers are due in the next week and a half. If you’re wondering it’s three papers, totalling about fifty pages, an in class presentation, and an exam. Fortunatly, I, the ultimate procrastinator, am actually done two of those three papers, and can now focus most of my school energies over the next week on finishing up the last one. It still won’t be easy since the paper that’s left is a fifteen to twenty page research paper that I have barely started to research.

You may enjoy hearing some of my thoughts about the paper. It’s a comparison paper that attempts to briefly compare Christianity and Buddhism and then consider different issues that may present in counseling with clients from both of these faiths.

I’ll post again when the research paper is done.

Wonderful Change

2008-04-08T13:11:50Z

Zachary is coming to live with us.

For those who may not know, Zach is my step-son. I’ve known him since he was nine months old. Jenny and I got married when he was two. He’s called me dad for a number of years now. But he’s lived with his dad for our whole married lives, and now, starting this summer, he’s coming to live with us.

I can not tell you how excited I am.

There are so many different thoughts and emotions associated with this that I can not tell you in one post just how this is beginning to affect us. So for now I’ll just focus on the most important: What a wonderful gift from God and answer to prayer this is. Everyone in the Otto house is really looking forward to having Zach here more often.

1st Place

2008-04-07T14:47:13Z

I just wanted to point out that the Orioles are in first place in the AL East.

I still don’t have a lot of hope for this season. But I’m enjoying watching the new, young birds. Still, if you had told me a week ago that after one week of play Luis Hernandez would hit in the game winning run, putting the O’s in sole possession of first place I would have laughed at you.

I also wanted to point out that if Kansas wins the National Championship tonight my lovely wife will win the one mo tourney pick’em.

Go Jayhawks.

Anyway, I know most of you are waiting for an update to last weeks post. It’s coming. Check back tomorrow.

Things they are a changing

2008-04-03T18:50:08Z

Do you hear that?

That’s the sound of the winds of a coming giant storm that brings change in the mighty way only God can.

Do you smell that?

That’s the smell of the showers of years of prayers answered that radically transform the landcape of life the way only God’s refreshing waters can.

This is a very good thing.

We already knew the next year was going to be a wild ride for us. However, in the last 24 hours a change has begun that is causing us to re-think everything.

I can’t say more than that at this point. Some of our family and close friends deserve to hear details in person before they are posted for my blog-friends. I will say that it probably isn’t what you think. I will also ask that if you think of us over the next day…week…month…year please lift up a prayer for us. This change will have ramifications for years to come, most of which I don’t even realize yet.

Thanks!

A Few Notes

2008-03-31T13:04:09Z

I have four major projects, totaling around 80 written pages and accounting for about 1/3 of my grades in each class due over the next three weeks. This is probably the last post I’m going to write until they are all done. Thanks for understanding.

It’s opening day in Baltimore, a day that usually brings with it a lot of hope. Forgive me, but after ten loosing years I’m having a hard time finding hope this year. I’m psyched that the Orioles finally seem to be really invested in rebuilding, and have stocked the farm system with young talent, but they are still at least two years from being competitive. It’s amazing the cyclical nature of sports, and amazing the difference a few years makes. In 2001 I thought I was the luckiest fan in the world (and I just about was) The Terps were on the top of their game, as were the Ravens, and the O’s were only a few short years removed from winning the AL East, and seemed to have a decent rebuilding plan in place (or at least, that’s what they told the fans). This year, the Terps and Ravens both missed the post season, and the O’s look to have their worst season since 1988. I guess I just have to hope for some 1989 like magic in 2009

Last thing: Battlestar Galactica season 4 (final season) kicks off this coming Friday, and Jenny and I can’t wait. Yeah, that’s right, I said Jenny and I, she’s hooked too. Reason being: it’s not just good SciFi, it’s good drama too. The writing, directing, special effects, they are all amazing. We haven’t quite caught up to the TV broadcasts, but we’re so looking forward to it that we actually went out and bought season 3 over the weekend so we won’t have to wait for Netflix to send us the next disc to get caught up more quickly. If you haven’t started watching BSG yet you need to start, it’s simply some of the best Television out there right now.