HOME Again Home again Jiggity Jig

Ahhhhhhhhh glorious sleep in my own bed. Thankful for vacation but also thankful to be home.


Things on my to-do list asap:

• laundry 
• vacation laundry and whatever laundry I had left before I went on vacation
• pick up all the dog poop in the yard (gross tmi probably)
• I don't want the new owners of our house to have to find nasty poop in their new yard
• upload my pictures to my computer and then to shutterfly
• I ALWAYS fear that something will happen to my memory cards - I would be sad, very very sad
• snuggle my sweet puppy and hang out with Marc
• enjoy the last day off before I have to actually work
• I am in favor of coming back home a day before I actually have to work - coming home and having to work the next day is less than ideal for me, I need some down time to recover from vacation
• go grocery shopping - it appears Marc is a rockstar at eating what we have in the cupboards and fridge without having to buy groceries - he has mad skills in this arena- time to restock on some of the staples: milk, fruit, veggies, cheese
• slowly get my mind back in the game of working
• finish packing up my house - ready or not it is coming

Warrior Day of Service

I have the best job/call in the WORLD. Seriously. Don't even try to argue with me, today, you won't win (catch me on an off day and perhaps I will compromise with a tie for world's best job/call).

Part of having the world's best call is the fact that I have the world's best colleagues, both at the church I serve and in the area in which I serve. Once a month, we intentionally get together, drink coffee, commiserate, and think up brilliant plans. (Really let's be honest here, we hang out all the time, we just make sure once a month we actually do it during work hours, which what are those anyways, and see what God is up to.) A couple months ago some how, someone (I think Vicki is guilty here) came up with the plan of creating what has become known as "Warrior Day of Service."

During homecoming week, the kids are released from school at 1:00 pm. (I don't know whose brilliant idea this was to let all that energy out early - really the teachers probably think it is wonderful) We decided that we needed to channel all this beautiful energy into something good. So we created service opportunities for all kids 6 through 12th grade (yes we are nuts), feed them dinner, and then have a community worship service. We had high hopes of 200 kids signing up (this was our first go at this and we didn't want to dream too big, and weren't exactly sure what we were getting ourselves into with less than a month before the day).

Much to our surprise about 350 kids signed up. And it was AWESOME.

Wednesday we spent the day serving all over our community, enabling youth to use the gifts and talents they have to serve the community we live in. They painted community hockey parks, the football team painted elderly fingernails at a nursing home, we cleaned up yards, we organized for other nonprofit groups, we cleaned up a local park, helped at the local library, and sooooooooooooooo much more. IT WAS AWESOME. Kids from different churches, teams, and individuals came together, to work side by side, to love our neighborhood, to prove to the world that they are capable, able, and willing to make a difference in the world. They served with their whole heart, laughed those contagious laughs, smiled from ear to ear, served unconditionally, filled their bellies with pasta, and loved as they first have been loved.

It was an honor to walk alongside them as they made a difference in our world, one day at a time.



Do you volunteer anywhere?
Do you accompany young people to make a difference in the world?
Where is your favorite place to serve?

Tourist-Ville

I really do love living where I do, most of the time. I live where people vacation, I live where people buy million dollar lake homes to live in for a few weeks out of the year, I live in a very touristy location. It is a great location and has a ton of perks of being here. We get all sorts of amenities because we have so many tourists come through our area.

I was aware of this as this past week we were up in northern Wisconsin in the Apostle Islands, I imagine that those folks feel much of the same way that we do. I wish I could help out the tourists some and remind them that they don't have to haul their big boats with big trailers and their new trucks and park across nine parking spots at the grocery store and Target.

I welcome our touristy friends, I want to share that which we love with everyone, however, I wish I could some how post a sign that says something along the lines of "remember some people live here full time, work here full time, and live where you vacation."

For those of us who live in the lakes area, we alter the way we live in the summer. We get groceries Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday and we would never consider going out to eat Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. We avoid the main roads and travel back roads and dirt roads to make space for you and we try to be as friendly as we can.

So dear tourists - enjoy the lakes, land, and state parks as much as we do, but please respect them. Keep your zebra muscle infested boats out of the waters, pick up your trash, and have a marvelous vacation.

Unexpected

It has happened and I can hardly believe it and I couldn't be more exited.


Marc proposed on Saturday and I said yes. I always knew at some point I would get married. I am 28 and most of my friends at this point are married and I will admit that there had been a few moments when I had wondered if I would ever be married. And at the same time I was very happy single too!
America is a little funny in that I am not certain that we know what to do with single people over the age of about 23 or 24. I realize the average age of people getting married is going up, but as a society we haven't quite figured out where single folks fit in. I couldn't be more happier to be getting married but there is a piece of me that will miss the single life. That doesn't even begin to name the issues in the church with single folks. That's another blog for another day.
I am super excited about the next year as we plan a wedding and preparations are made for a wedding and reception. It should be a wonderful 303 days!

Upper South Long Lake

Upper South Long Lake

Tons of lily pads and flowers out! LOVE IT!

Finally got back out on the lake and paddled upper south long lake. The lake is a decent size for a good afternoon paddle but wouldn't be enough for a day trip. The lake was surrounded with trees and homes. There are tons of residential houses around the lake and not many if any resorts which is nice.
The lake was busy for sure, one of the problems of paddling on a Sunday afternoon. The Police were out on the lake which made things a little interesting as well. With all the boats on the lake it was a little choppy.
I would rate the lake a 7 out of 10. It was smallish and crowded. But it did have quite a few varieties of birds, at one point there was a loon within five feet of my boat.

I challenge and trust the Holy Spirit

    Community. I preach about it all of the time. I talk about it in meetings all of the time. I pray about it frequently. The biblical references for community are seemingly endless. I love the communities that I have been a part of in the past. I have an amazing support system/community scattered all across the United States. I love the church I serve. I love the town I live in.
   I question the Holy Spirit. When listing my preferences for locations to be placed in I was tempted to check the "open to all box" but I knew given where I am at in life it would be best to stay close to family and friends, so I selected all the regions that I knew I would have family or friends within an hour or two at most. The Holy Spirit however apparently disagreed with my thoughts and placed me much further away from family and friends than I ever dreamed, now yes it is true it could have been much much further but none the less I am still a good three plus hours from family and friends.
   I am trying hard to dig into this community I am living in. I go to the library, I work out at the local YMCA, I am a member at the Arboretum, I shop at the same grocery store every Friday, I go to the farmers market, I have tried out the photography club, and I am just not certain where people find friends in a new town. People love people to whom they have a history. I long for friends who I can call up and say "Let's play games and order a pizza" or "Let's go canoeing" or "Lets go for a bike ride" or "Lets go for a walk." Yes, I know I can do these things by myself but I am really missing people to 'hang out' with, I miss being able to call up friends and make plans on a moments notice.
    The church I serve has been great, I have been over to two of their homes for meals and I have been boating with the senior pastor and his family. Photography club was okay, I was easily the youngest one there by a solid twenty-five years. The YMCA is amazing and I am thankful I get to work out there, but I haven't met anyone yet. I have been to cycling class three times and none of the people were repeats. I went to deep water aerobics and once again I was the youngest there by a solid thirty if not forty years. I don't necessarily need people exactly my age but within ten or fifteen years would be welcomed. I am hard pressed to think of joining a club with meetings and groups that sit around talk, that is the last thing I want after work and going to meetings there. I hear the bar scene in town is good if you are into that, but unfortunately I am not really into bar hoping nightly, now I don't mind getting a drink or two but not getting trashed nightly.
     It is an interesting thing to think through and it has in fact made me think through churches and how often times there is an in group and an out group. I can see how it is uncomfortable to walk into a church and join groups when they are already so tight knit. I can see how people just don't want to do it. Moving and attempting to join another community has given me an interesting perspective on life as of lately. I do give thanks for my dog, Dakota, without her I am not certain what state or condition I would be in. Thanks be to God for canine companions. Thanks be to God for the community of friends and family I have at a distance who support me daily. Thanks be to God for house projects and working out that allow me to stay busy and not dwell. Thanks be to God for strangers who talk to me in the grocery store, the library, at the farmers market, at the Y, and in Target. Thanks be to God for the Holy Spirit who continues to move and breath life into me and the whole of creation.

Projects.

This picture is mostly for Molita but for everyone else too I suppose. My projects as of lately have been some fun house projects. I've realized I haven't taken many photos of the finished house projects, this is just one picture of a wall in my kitchen.... I know I should probably hang some more stuff on the wall but when it isn't at such a funny angle it doesn't look quite as empty as it is. But this is my orange kitchen wall that I love. I should take some further away pictures for some time. I love being able to paint my walls and hang stuff on them! Both are fabulous, such a change from dorm life.

Crazy few weeks......

Life seems to be moving at mach speed and hardly at all. Life is on one hand settling down and at the same time spinning out of control. The picture above is of my sweet puppy a couple weeks ago as we were swimming at one of the boat launches around Brainerd, I think she looks so funny when she is wet, it is all that funny fur she has going on. Thank God for this little puppy to keep my sanity.

I went to Chicago with a group of youth from the congregation, it was a fabulous trip and an amazing way to get to know all the youth and other adults. The group of youth were outstanding. It was funny to see how some of them reacted to the big city as many of them had never been in a large city such as Chicago.

In projects at the moment I am currently ripping down wallpaper in my bedroom (this project has gotten old fast but  I can't wait to paint the walls). The problem with this particular wallpaper is it is old-ish and it was put up right on top of the dry wall, nothing in between, so I am currently having to look into what I can put on the walls to add a little texture to the walls and I will need to prime the walls really well before I am able to paint the walls whatever color I end up painting it. But I am excited to report that my kitchen and bathroom have both been repainted (pictures to come soon).

In random projects I have also been crocheting a blanket that I am pretty excited about, it is looking fabulous, just taking longer than I anticipated. I have a few books that I would love to finish but I just haven't yet found the time to finish them. Hopefully this winter when yardwork isn't occupying my time I will have a little time to read.

I also have begun to train for the 10k in October that I am excited to run. I need need need to massively get back in shape, it has gotten bad, so that is my other major project.