South Dakota Trip

me and a couple of my favorite people

I just think this is a funny picture of me
Marc too 

 This pa This past weekend, Marc and I took a quick trip back to South Dakota (weekend fun is hard when you are a pastor and don't get your Sundays off, while four Sundays off a year may sound like a lot, when everything happens on a weekend it never seems like enough.), we ran home late Thursday night and made it back on Saturday so I could work Sunday morning. While we were home we stayed with my parents, saw my BFF Hartj, spent a little time with some old roommates, spent time with my grandparents, aunt, uncles, some cousins, my brother, and his girlfriend. IT WAS WONDERFUL.
Home does the soul good. We spent Friday doing all sorts of great things: eating at a yummy burger join in downtown Sioux Falls (J.L. Beers - I had never heard of it), walked around the falls, took pictures of geese (not picture of Marc playing with my good camera), talked, talked, stopped by at a friend's school, took Dakota to the dog park, saw what will hopefully be my parent's new house in the beginning of November, and most importantly got to go to my Grandfather's 85th birthday party!
   It was so delightful to be back home. I love Brainerd, but it is hard to be so far away from family.st weekend, Marc and I took a quick trip back to South Dakota (weekend fun is hard when you are a pastor and don't get your Sundays off, while four Sundays off a year may sound like a lot, when everything happens on a weekend it never seems like enough.), we ran home late Thursday night and made it back on Saturday so I could work Sunday morning. While we were home we stayed with my parents, saw my BFF Hartj, spent a little time with some old roommates, spent time with my grandparents, aunt, uncles, a cousin, my brother, and his girlfriend. IT WAS WONDERFUL.
Home does the soul good. We spent Friday doing all sorts of great things: eating at a yummy burger join in downtown Sioux Falls (J.L. Beers - I had never heard of it), walked around the falls, took pictures of geese (not picture of Marc playing with my good camera), talked, talked, stopped by at a friend's school, took Dakota to the dog park, saw what will hopefully be my parent's new house in the beginning of November, and most importantly got to go to my Grandfather's 85th birthday party!
   It was so delightful to be back home and it was wonderful to be back in Brainerd sleeping in my own bed. It was a great time! Perhaps soon you will get a photo dump with a ton of pictures of geese (why? - good question - however some of the pictures are kind of fun so we'll see when I actually get around to getting them off my camera).

This picture just makes me laugh, I don't think anyone is looking in the same
direction - and Grandma's face is enough to make me laugh aloud

Grandpa and Grandma with their kids
my dad is the one on the far right

I realize this picture isn't perfect, however it just makes me smile

Today is Grandpa's 85th Birthday! So here is Happy Birthday to the best Grandpa in the world (he'll never read this - he isn't all that tech savy - don't worry I already called him to wish him a Happy Birthday this morning)

How was your weekend?
Are your grandparents still alive?

Senior High Mission Trip

A couple weeks ago I got to take a group of senior high students to Pine Ridge, South Dakota to live, serve, and grow. It was a MARVELOUS trip. I LOVE South Dakota and my heart hopes and prays that someday God will call us back there (don't get me wrong I am LOVING where I am at now but someday I would love to be a South Dakotan again). Below are a myriad of pictures from our trip, I have a ton more but tried to select a "best of" of sorts because who, other than my kids and me, want to look at 1,300 pictures from the week. Most of my kids had never been to SD so we did a whirlwind over view of western South Dakota hitting all the highlights: Wall Drug, Custer State Park, including the wildlife loop, Cooliage look out, Needles Highway, Sulvan Lake, Mt. Rushmore, and the badlands. The kids thought it was wonderful and it was so fun to see their excitement about a place my heart loves. Our time in Wanblee, South Dakota was just as spectacular, we had a blast meeting lots and lots of people, hearing stories of life on the reservation, and loving on people and being loved on by people. If I could take this same group of kids on every trip, I totally would, they were amazing! Life is indeed good. God is indeed great. 

Buffalo we saw on the wildlife loop in Custer State Park

Mt. Rushmore

Badlands
I totally think my kid looks photoshopped in but he totally isn't

it's like herding cats at times
LOVE this group of kids and my fellow adults

soaking in the badlands

painting a house with the help of a kid from the community

38 foot scrap medal cross

inside of the cross

committed to cleanliness

one sweet little girl painted our fingernails

Showered - overly blessed

This past weekend I traveled back home and was spoiled by not one but two different bridal showers. Seriously. It was crazy. It was tons of people who I haven't seen in a while (soooooo good to see everyone) and to have the chance to catch up a bit. I wish I had more time to catch up with people, but it just wasn't possible in that short of a time. It was fun to be back in SD for sure. I wish I got back there more often - a piece of me wonders if some day we won't end up back in SD, although who knows what will happen. Currently I am still loving northern Minnesota other than the distance from my family.

I LOVE these girls - we have grown up together - they are wonderful

Highlights:

• Hanging out with my Hartj
• taking Dakota to the dog park (even though it was ridiculously snowy)- Brainerd seriously needs one of these
• spending time in South Dakota
• seeing family & friends
• I seriously have the world's best friends and family
• I got to meet two of my new baby cousins that I haven't met before (they are ridiculously cute) and they have mastered the skill of snuggling 
• sooooo many new things 
•  now it's time to go through the old and get rid of what I can and donate what I can
• I now get to send all sorts of thank yous
• I LOVE writting letters and sending snail mail
• hanging out with my parents

Everyone loves to snuggle the new babies
Anna & Jack

Downfalls:

• I don't like knowing that my family is so far away
• My drive on the way down was AWFUL due to the super craptastic weather & took me 3.5 hours longer than normal 
• The weather was less than desirable - who knew in mid April I would have issues with traveling due to weather. This is ridiculous. Spring please come.
• The trip was a whirlwind
• I wish I could have spent a week there
• I didn't get to see quite everyone that I wanted to

South Dakota bound

Due to a pile up of comp time and some other random factors I am headed home a day earlier than anticipated (whoop whoop) - however never in my wildest imagination did I think I would have to worry about the weather while traveling back home. Seriously, when people mentioned having a shower for me I never in my wildest imagination thought about having to worry about weather in mid April for a wedding shower. BLAH. I hate traveling in craptastic (I am certain this is not a word, but I love using it) icy/snowy stuff. Why oh why?! However, it is the reality either way.

Dakota and I are off to spend some time with my parents, my dear friend, my grandparents, and a bunch of other extended family. It should be glorious! I can't wait. While I had hoped that Dakota and I could get in a couple of mid-afternoon runs while everyone is at work and the sun is shining that is not happening and instead I will be headed to a fitness facility near by to spend time on the dreaded treadmill.

I am not excited about how well I am not trained for my upcoming Fargo half marathon (May 18) - I am at the stage that I hate the treadmill and can't talk myself into running on it for more than about an hour before my sanity becomes in jeopardy. I had planned to be getting in massive amounts of miles outside this time of year, however mother nature disagreed with my training plan and is forcing me to face the blasted treadmill. I have also been getting in some time on the elliptical machine, the stair stepper, lots of laps in the pool, and some miles on the stationary bike - but it isn't the same as pounding the pavement with my favorite puppy.

Dakota I think is annoyed with the weather as well. She has been whining in the bathtub in hopes that I will give in and put a couple of inches in the tub for her to play in - I think she desperately wants to be able to swim in the lakes/rivers around here but it just isn't happening. I do give in from time to time and throw a few inches of water in the tub and it entertains Dakota for about an hour. *note to self - I should film Dakota splashing in the water in the tub - it is pretty funny to watch*



Has spring arrived where you are at?
Are you managing to get in good runs?
What are your opinions about treadmills?

Christmas Eve

I LOVE Christmas eve, seriously possibly more than Christmas day itself. Growing up Christmas eve was always the bigger day. It was the day when all of my family got together, had a huge meal, open gifts, and went to the eleven o'clock candlelight service. When we were really little we even went to church in our new Christmas pjs. It was glorious. To make the candlelight service even better (as if it wasn't already epic enough) we often fell asleep on Grandma or Grandpa and at the end of worship during the silent night one of us grand-kids always got to go outside with Grandpa to ring the bell. I am not sure why the tradition there is to ring the bell at the end of worship but it was and if you got to help Grandpa ring the bell it was even better.

Now that I am a pastor Christmas eve is a little different and I love it for different reasons. I love it because I get the opportunity to worship with sooooooo many people and many people we haven't seen since Easter. I love it because it is festive and we get to sing all the wonderful Christmas songs. I love Christmas eve because it is filled with such hope and anticipation.

My traditions for Christmas eve have obviously had to change, I no longer can be home in South Dakota for Christmas eve as I need to be here leading worship. My parents, brother, and his girlfriend as well as my fiance are all around this year and I believe my mom is cooking dinner to be ready for me to grab between services three and four and Christmas day is becoming a bigger deal. This year we are traveling down to Minneapolis (a couple hour drive) to meet up with my uncle and cousins for lunch. My guess is tomorrow we won't be up at the crack of dawn (or as my parents would argue before the crack of dawn when we were little), we will sleep in and enjoy a lazy morning. Santa still comes (whoop whoop) and we will exchange presents Christmas morning while chilling in our sweats. We will read the Christmas story and remember the story that claims each and every one of us.

We don't currently have any little kids who will be up crazy early and be nuts, our gifts will not contain tons of assembling (I would guess at least) or batteries that need to be found. For my immediate family we are between generations, my brother (24) is currently the youngest, and trust me he'd be happy to sleep until noon if we didn't have to be in the cities by 1.

I am thankful for God who comes to us as a human, a tiny human baby thousands of years ago. I am thankful for the promise of Jesus' return. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit who continues to meet us each and every day. I am thankful for the light of God that continues to shine in even the darkest of circumstances. I am thankful for family and friends who are willing to travel to spend Christmas with me. I am thankful for my family and friends who will travel to be present at my wedding in June. Thanks be to God for all the ways that God is working and the showering of blessings.

To just be

The last 48 hours were marvelous, simply marvelous. I traveled back to South Dakota to visit my dear friend, who was recently diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. I was able to go home, sit in the hospital room, hear and tell stories, see the smile on her face, hear her joys & fears, pray with her, and just be together. What a gift.
It was fun to sit to be in one another's presence to know one another was near.

It makes me hate living so far away from my family and friends, it makes me anxious to want to get back to closer to family and friends. Don't get me wrong I love the place serve, I love the synod, I love the friends I have made (some have even become like family) but it is hard to be away from those people who I grew up with, those people who mean the world to me. I know I have been called to Minnesota for a reason and there are many joys associated with it but there are also some pains in being so far away. Marc and I have talked at length about where we would want to live if we moved and could have God plan the same, but it's hard because we currently are about half way between both families.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I had an interesting Thanksgiving weekend for sure. I went to Marc's family for the first time. I always find going to someone else's house strange, partially because there is a certain degree that I was the outsider and it was weird to not know who everyone at the table was, to know the traditions, or what is what. His family was marvelous and very hospitable but it is always that strange moment when you have nothing to contribute to the conversation as family recalls holidays past and you have no clue what is going on. It was great to meet many of the people who mean the world to him.

It is a strange transition getting use to the idea that I can no longer function totally on my own, there has to be give and take. We did have a marvelous time in Wisconsin, while I was physically there, I couldn't help but have part of my heart and mind in South Dakota.

I must admit I was happy to return back to my house and have my sweet puppy back with me. I missed being around her. I missed being with my family this Thanksgiving [yes, I am fully aware that this kind of stuff will become more normal the longer we are married, but it doesn't take away the fact that I missed my family and my mom's cooking].

Yesterday we went out and got a Christmas tree (the branches are still settling from being bagged up) so we haven't decorated it yet, but I was loving digging out all the Christmas decorations. I also had a little photo shoot with my sweet puppy, Dakota, who was way more tolerant of it than I thought she would be.

Frustrating

After coming back from a major youth trip I am now finally able to see my desk again (woot woot) and am now seriously working on planning for the next year (yay)! I thought I was ahead of the game and began looking at youthworks sites, but some are already filling! I hate the feeling of being behind the 8 ball. It is only August and already feeling behind. I am excited to explore a new avenue for my middle school youth, mission trips through LutherCrest bible camp. I just couldn't believe that people (lots of people) are already ahead of the game and have their sites booked for next summer.

In exciting news I do actually really enjoy the season of planning and dreaming. I love the season of hope for the future, a season of preparing for growth, a season of tending the fields and evaluating the last year what went well and what needs help. My South Dakota roots have taught me the value of tending the field and cleaning up last year's field before beginning next years.

It could be that part of my planning joys is in knowing that I am not going anywhere next year, I am not moving, I get to continue to walk alongside the same people, I get to keep my roots planted. I have led a very nomadic life since graduating high school and so there is great comfort in building longer term relationships and remaining in the same place. I love that I just rolled over all my leftover mission trip money (very small amount but some none the less) from this past year to the 2015 youth gathering - knowing that there is a very good chance I could be here then! I love it!

Total side note: I rearranged my desk yesterday and there is something liberating about rearranging stuff. I am not yet committed to keeping it the new way but I am already liking it better because I can see out the window and I am not staring directly out my door. I love being able to look outside even if it is into a parking lot, I am loving not looking out my door and having to stare at everyone who comes in the office, people are more than welcome to come in my office but I don't have the strange need to look up every time our office door opens. It is glorious.

A view from my newly arranged desk looking out the window.
Sorry about the not amazing photo- it was taken on my phone

Gilbert Lake

Since moving to Minnesota I have realized that Minnesota has several things that South Dakota does not, one of them being tons and tons of lakes. I will always be a South Dakotan at heart, even if I am misplaced in one of the other 49 states, none the less I must move on. Anyways. Recently I bought my first kayak, she is beautiful, a Wilderness Systems Pungo 120. I love her, not only is she a beautiful boat but she is lime green, making said boat even more beautiful! I have recently fallen in love with kayaking. Last summer was rough because I lived in Minnesota and saw all of these beautiful lakes and had no way to get out on them, other than a random invite from someone else with a boat. This spring I cured that problem and bought a kayak and I love being out on the water.

As you can probably tell from the photo above, Dakota also loves the water. She managed to sit in the front of the kayak for about 45 minutes before she became all too restless to sit in the kayak any longer and jumped out. She needs a bit more training but I think eventually she will be an awesome little kayaker - or maybe a rider would be a better description of what Dakota does.

Marc and I have decided that we need to paddle in every lake in Crow Wing County Minnesota. Now coming from South Dakota this at first seemed like a super simple goal and something we could potentially accomplish this summer but then as we began thinking about it and doing a little bit of research we have found out that there are actually a few hundred lakes in this area, moving our goal from to paddling in them all this summer to paddling in them all in the next five years or so. We need to find a Crow Wing County map with all the lakes on them so we can mark off which ones we have paddled together.

Saturday we crossed the first lake off the list: Gilbert Lake. This one maybe hard to top. It was a beautifully sized lake, not too big nor not too small and it had lots of bays all around it. Although in terms of ideal I did wish it was a little bigger not a ton but some would be nice. From what we know of this lake most of the residents on this lake are local so the lake hardly had any boats on it, we maybe saw two boats on the lake while we were out - and it was even a Saturday afternoon on a beautiful day. We did see a mamma loon and her three baby loons who couldn't be much more than about a week old while we were paddling and mamma loon let us get a pretty close look at her and her babies, but daddy loon quickly got possessive of his pretty family and we paddled on.

I think I will start to rate the lakes on a scale from one to ten, with then being the top and one being the bottom. I would easily give Gilbert Lake a 9.5 out of 10. I deducted a half point because I wish it was a little bigger, Marc and I easily paddled around the whole lake in the afternoon.