Back to Work

I feel like I am cheating by leaving only taking off Friday through Wednesday. I haven't missed a Thursday and now I find myself back on a Thursday, seriously the best day in the summer as I work alongside our summer stretch youth. True story: I am glad to not miss a Thursday. It will be interesting to see how they respond and to most of them they won't know I have even been gone. Middle schoolers are such a funny funny group of people, I am thankful that we only have to go through middle school once not to forget that hanging out with middle schoolers keeps me humble.

I am thankful to be back to work, our quick get away was great on many levels. You can count on some good updates about our trip here once I get pictures off the camera and onto my computer and catch up on a little sleep.

Life is indeed good.

Seven: Things About My Job

For the next few Tuesdays I am linking up with Lauren at Life. Love. Lauren and Tiffany at The Austin Family Diary for their Tuesday Topics. This week's topic is "Seven: Things About My Job."

One: I walk on holy ground, every day. I get invited into some of the most holy and sacred places in people's lives, and I am humbled to be asked into these moments, humbled to be asked to walk alongside people in some of the hardest times in their lives.

Two: I don't have a "typical day." My days are diverse, flexible, and sometimes horribly inflexible. My hours are any time and really any day. I love the variety and can't fathom working a job where I sit at a desk all day or have too much routine. My year sort of cycles and has some sense of continuity and routine but the details are all variables.

Three: I can't imagine doing anything else. I know that this is what I have been called to do and am blessed to be in full time ministry. I know all people are called to full time ministry but not everyone gets the opportunity to get paid to be in full time ministry.

Four: I love working with children, youth, and families. I get to work with a diverse group of people, I get to work with kids and their families (which really means - I get to work with kids of all ages - birth to death - with focus and emphasis on kids, youth, and families of faith)

Five: I have the world's best colleagues. I love my senior pastor as well as the colleagues in the area I serve. This could seriously make or break my job. My colleagues inspire, challenge, encourage, and uphold me daily. I can't imagine my job without my colleagues - I grieve that my senior pastor is older than me and that he'll want to retire long before I will.

Six: Sometimes I still laugh when I think about what I have been called into, never in my wildest imagination did I think I would be a Pastor for children, youth, and family ministries. NEVER in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be a pastor when I was growing up.

Seven: I love that I get to travel with my job. I get to see other places and meet people from so many diverse places. I get the opportunity to learn and grow from people who come from a diverse set of contexts. I give thanks for the chance to travel because it heavily influences the ways in which I understand the world around me.

Living the Dream

Why is it my basement begins to take on water on the Saturday of Memorial Weekend? Seriously, no calling for professional help till Tuesday. R.I.D.I.C.U.L.O.U.S. {or no calling for professional help without paying an arm, a leg, and a kidney}

Also- the camp I am helping to co-manage opened today - over the top jazzed we managed to pull this off - I will include a long post about this camp here shortly

I have a random project: Operation Sandwich - I'll fill you all in on it soon - we launch June 6 - essentially we are going to feed kids who are normally on free and reduced lunches at the school during the year - crazy how this has fallen together

I had my "practice hair" done for the wedding today - it was okay - some things need "tweaked" - Marc's reaction wasn't quite what I was hoping for

It has been a long week already. While some are rejoicing it is the holiday weekend I am doing a funeral tomorrow, working Sunday morning, and again on Monday. I do love my call, (95% of the time I wouldn't trade it for the world) however tonight I find myself dreaming of an 8:00-5:00 with no on call, no weekends, no holidays, or holidays with holiday pay.

Alright. This post was a bit crabbier/overly exhausted than I wanted but I am going to post anyways.

April Photo Dump

As I make an April photo dumb I can hardly believe that this all happened in April, Easter seems like an eternity ago and I know it technically was in March but the last day so you get an Easter picture anyways. April has FLOWN by to say the least! I can't hardly believe May begins tomorrow. Tomorrow I can officially say I am getting married next month - crazy town!

Easter with my family
Love them all!

My colleague and I made a video for Synod Assembly -
we think we are funny & made a Batman parody

Seriously love, Love, LOVE getting mail - especially when
it means people are coming to visit me
RSVPs for our wedding coming back

While the snow is super pretty and if this was November I'd be loving it
however I am 100% over these April storms

At a bridal shower back home they made a "flat Marc"
and I think it is hilarious and so I had to have a picture of both of them
note the extreme height of flat Marc compared to real Marc

Dakota - because what's a photo dump without at least one picture of her

Sweet Linnea and Gustav - she is learning how to share the balls with the puppies

I think I am going to attempt to do a monthly photo dumb on the last day of every month. Crazy to realize this all happened in this last month.


What was your highlight of April?

Has spring finally come where you are at?

Christmas Party

This past weekend I got to go with Marc to his work's Christmas party. It was a wonderful meal and at the end all of the employees got amazing door prizes ($100 gift cards, tvs, hunting equiptment). It was a little bit of a surreal experience for me. I have always worked for a nonprofit organization. I have no clue what it is like to work for anything else, even growing up I worked for a nonprofit. It was interesting to see the difference in the two and the priorities that are set. While my work Christmas party will be wonderful, we will have a potluck get together with us and our spouses/significant others/family, we will gather with about 20 people and celebrate another good year. Marc's work party gathered with over 200 people and the food and alcohol flowed like the mighty Mississippi river. It was wonderful to have the chance to meet Marc's work friends, it was wonderful to eat a delicious meal, not have to cook, clean up, or pay for it, and it has left me thinking about the differences between working for a nonprofit and a for profit business.

There are pieces that I have decided that I can fathom being wonderful, they announced at the Christmas party extended holidays off (a couple full days for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Easter - not to mention the handful of other paid holidays). While we do get a holiday off here or there, it is the obvious job hazard that we don't get most of the major holidays off like everyone else.

As I weighed the cons and pros of our work situations I know I wouldn't trade mine for anything. Are there moments that I dream of the 8:00am-5:00pm job and every weekend off, yes, yes of course there are. Are there moments that I would love to have a budget that is above what we have, yes, yes of course there are. Are there moments that I would love to have a certain percentage of my income as a Christmas bonus on top of a great gift, yes, yes there are. Are there moments when I compare Marc's work travel to my work travel that I wish I had a ritzy hotel room to myself rather than a sleeping bag on my thermarest surrounded by youth, maybe, but most likely not. Would I trade the middle of the night phone calls to pray at the bedside of a dying saint, absolutely not, I have been called to walk on holy ground.

This two weekends ago we looked at the story of Moses and the burning bush and I walk by my own burning bushes, perhaps it is the middle schooler that I meet with who reminds me of the challenges of this world and the gift of community. My burning bush speaks to me as I hold a minutes old baby, I am reminded of how great our God is and how alive and active our God is in the world. My burning bush speaks to me as I am invited into the sacred places of people's lives, I am invited to share in the diving with them and alongside them. My burning bushes come at a variety of moments, I give thanks for my burning bushes and the ways in which I am walking on holy ground.

I am thankful for the nonprofit who calls me to full time ministry along side them. I am thankful for a fiance who is called to work in the supply chain and loves his job as well. I give thanks for the ways in which God calls each and every person to being and gives us each a place to serve.

Challenges

Recently I have been trying to be more aware of what I eat and what I don't eat, I have been trying to consume more water and less sugary beverages, I have been trying to eat more veggies and fruit and eat less overly processed things and carbs. I am working on it. It is a slow slow slow process for me. I am overcoming years of eating whatever I want and not having it effect me. There were the years that I played women's basketball at the college level and it was almost like I couldn't consume enough during those years, we would practice a couple times a day and I never had to watch what I ate. I am learning that as I am no longer the athelete I once was, I need to adjust certain things and learn how to continue to train my body so that I am happy with it again. I have to watch my portion size as well, I no longer need to be consuming way more than my body needs.

Working at a church this can be quite the challenge. For example many Wednesdays we serve a meal before church (generally it is a hot dish of some sort or a pasta dish or something along that line) the food is marvelous, however there is no limit on portion size or a balance of fruit and veggies and I should not even begin to talk about the amazing desserts. At youth group last night they had huge rootbeer floats or purple cows (substitute the rootbeer in a rootbeer float for grape soda and you have a purple cow) and they looked delightful. Last night on my way home I held my head high as I left knowing I had brought my own dinner and successfully didn't consume a rootbeer float (despite the fact that I love ice cream, and do eat it in moderation, I knew that I wouldn't be able to limit myself to a small portion). I was happy and content.

As I arrived home I called my fiance (he lives down the block) and he was just coming home from the grocery store and so I walked down to his place to help him unload and put away his groceries. As I was unloading there was a certain piece of me that was jealosu as I know his metabolism is way faster than mine and can get away with eating differently than I can.

what I pulled out of one bag of his groceries

As I pulled these out of one bag of his groceries there was a certain piece of me that was jealous that I knew that I wouldn't be sitting down with a large pile of oreos and consuming them all with an oversized glass of milk. There was a piece of me that was a little jealous that I would get to eat these things. And then I thought about it for a while and realized that for me these cookies, donuts, muffins, are not what my body needs or requires any more. I make no promises that I won't ean an oreo at some point but I know I won't eat a pile of them. Slowly but surely these types of food no longer have the temptation that they use to. They don't have the same appeal they once did.

As I walked home last night. I once again held my head high knowing that slowly but surely I am winning the battle (or at least won yesterday) over what I eat. I make choices and stick to them. I do still eat ice cream and oreos and chocolate on occasion just in moderation and with a serving size at a time rather than four or five. Slowly but surely I am reclaiming my body and feeling healthier as I do it.

September.

Where did summer go and how is fall upon us?! It is an exciting time in the church (as well as other places I realize), it is a time of new beginnings and ministries going strong. I feel like I have spent the past month preparing for this month, making photo copies, ensuring I have adult leaders to help where needed, making all the necissarily curriculum, and general long range planning and announcing all that is coming. It is exciting and terrifying.

Excitement in my world in terms of work this summer has been found all over, but one thing in particular that I have been working on for this fall is that we are switching out 2nd-4th graders to Family Faith Journey in terms of Sunday school. What does this mean?! Good question, we named it ourself. We are moving to a whole family Sunday school for our 2nd-4th graders, meaning they get to come with their parent(s) to Sunday school and together learn. The problem with this whole deal is currently there is not any curriculm written for this type of Sunday school unless it is extremely fundamental or not quite where we want to be at theologically so I am writing all my own curriculum. I forget how much time this takes. I am excited to see where this all goes and how it transpires, I know we will have to make adjustmetns as we learn what the year looks like and what this group of people need but I am excited none the less.

I am also jazzed that fall is around the corner. I love fall and look forward to sweatshirt weather, football season, all things pumpkin, runs where I am not over the top sweating when I walk out the door, and a 'normal' (or as normal as things get for me) routine. I am ready to get back in the swing of things as intimidating as it may be, it is exciting.

Personally I am also excited because the training plan that I am using for the Disneyland Tinkerbell half marathon officially kicks off midway through September. I look forward to long runs in the cooler weather. I am not however looking forward to the long runs on the ice or snow or on the dreaded treadmill.September I am going to focus on celebrating the miles I get run, the laps I get swam, and the days I get in a good workout and not focus on beating myself up for the miles I should have run or the laps I should have swim or the weights I should have lifted. I choose to rejoice in the victories that will happen.

I am also excited because I have a really hard time getting motivated to crochet during the summer months, it never seems like time to create things, so I sort of take a break through the summer months and fall always kicks me back into time to crochet things again.

It is crazy to think of everything this year will hold and I couldn't be more excited. There are lots of things happening at church and in June I am getting married. Which I still don't think I have gotten used to that idea fully. Crazy! It should be a wonderful year of planning and at the end of it all I get to get married (one of these days I should start planning).

Kitchen Remodel - It is finished

It is finished (or nearly - I still want to replace the light fixture, but other than that I may be at the point that the kitchen is finished).

Last week while I was up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) my brother and fiance (still fun to say), finished my kitchen. They worked and worked and worked I imagine while I sat and swam and paddled and relaxed (I sort of feel guilty now but am MASSIVELY appreciative of them) - Cubby and Marc put up the tile in my kitchen! I came home and my kitchen looks like a million bucks! Literally I was floored! It looks awesome and I now have the desire to have lots and lots of people over.

Changes made to the kitchen since buying the house June 21, 2011:

• take down ugly lace-ish curtains
• replace window screens so I can open windows without bugs attacking
• paint all of the walls
• paint the ceiling
• change the light cover thingys (technical term for sure) on the light fixture
• remove gross old tile and put up new tile
• paint baseboards
• paint cupboards
• paint hardware for cupboards
• replace dishwasher
• replace counter tops
• put up new window trim

This is not the most amazing picture becuase it came off my phone while making
breakfast this morning but does give you a glimpse at a lot of what has been done
since moving into the house! YAY for a 99% completed project!

Sanctuaries

Every sanctuary I have ever been in has a certain sense of the holy, despite how the space is being used. It doesn't take me long to become attached to a particular sanctuary, worship there a few times and bam the space holds even a higher level of the holy for me. Yes I know it isn't any more holy, yes I know nothing has changed other than I feel like I have a connection to the place. I like a wide variety of sanctuaries, I like the old, the modern, the new, the remodeled, and the country church. Each church has its own quirks and reasons why I love it.

Since I work at a church I am in and out of sanctuaries all the time, I am in and out of the one I serve in as well as many others. This morning while I was running in and out of the sanctuary getting some things ready for worship tomorrow night I was struck by the light. We don't have many windows in the sanctuary here but we have a few. I was struck by the way in which the light was coming in from the back and through the three windows up top (representing the Holy Trinity). I was struck by how the light was bouncing off the Jesus statue and the cross and reflecting down onto the baptismal font with the texture of the brick. I had been invited into a holy moment for sure. It was beautiful. I paused, I sat, I prayed.

My sad attempt at capturing the beauty of the sanctuary with the light breaking the darkness

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

Long time no blog

Excitement in my world right now:

• I am actually getting somewhere with remodeling the kitchen - the countertops are off and I think I have the sheet rocking done, now to finish taping and mudding and get it all sanded down and what not so I can paint and get the new countertops back into my kitchen (LONG OVERDUE)
• There is a high likelihood that I will get to play a role in helping to run a camp in the area (more on this when it becomes official)
• Dakota is amazing as always
• Work life is coming along fabulously - now I just need to nail down all the little details about the trips & summer ministries for the summer and I'll be good to go
• My brother's dog is moving in with me this weekend (excitement... not certain it is good, but his dog is CRAZY so I am certain you all will hear about the crazy dog, who I have grown to love)
• I bought a KAYAK!!! SUPER excited about this. It is a wilderness systems pungo 120 and it is lime green.
• This weekend I get to see lots of friends in Fargo as we all run various races Friday/Saturday - I am running the half marathon which I feel quite unprepared for but... it is what it is...
• I have a to-do list that feels like it is about 7,000 miles long that is slowly but surely getting chipped away at
• I have tried a ton of new crochet patterns lately and am loving them
• I realized this week that I have successfully taken a picture every day this year so far, I am compiling them into a shutterfly album and am loving it, I update it about once a week, so it doesn't become too overwhelming and I don't have to try to figure out what pictures are from what
• I'M NOT MOVING! - okay, if you know me this is very exciting as it is the first year since high school that I haven't had to move every year - I am jazzed about this
• Sunday nights are becoming a beautiful tradition between a group of friends and I and we are constantly getting new people: we pack up our canoes, kayaks, dogs, whatever else we want and head to a camp here in town and spend the day playing - currently we all bring our own dinner but we are moving to pot lucking it every week - the photo below is from last night

Dakota and Luther swimming in Whipple Lake

First 2012 Ride your bike to work day

    Today it is absolutely beautiful outside, gorgeous day for March. I was excited and thrilled and was happy to have the chance to be outside. Yesterday a friend and I cleaned up my backyard and got to spend a couple hours raking leaves and other good things along that line it it was glorious. This morning I woke up and thought to myself that it was absolutely ridiculous that I drive to work as it is only 1.5 miles one way to work and I could easily do that on my bike and it would be good for me.
   So I got up checked the tire pressure, put air in the tires, packed my backpack [my usual bag wouldn't be great for riding bike], put on my helmet, and I was off to work. On my ride to work I thought about how it will be fun to keep track of how many times I ride to work and home and how many miles I keep off car and come this fall when the snow falls again calculate how much I saved in gas. BRILLIANT plan for sure and I am stoked and excited about it.
   I rode my bike home for lunch so I could play with my puppy and my brother's puppy [who I am dog sitting for a few days] and eat something yummy for lunch and chill for a little bit before heading back to work. On the way back to work I put on my helmet and my light spring jacket and was off and going. I stopped at every intersection and waiting for the walk signal and crossed when appropriate. About half way to work I had been stopped at the intersection and got the cross signal, looked, and then crossed the street. As I was crossing the street a very elderly woman hit the back of my bike bending the frame, bending the tire way out of place, and breaking my little gizmo [I don't know what it is really called] that keeps track of my mileage and tells me the time.
   Now here is the part that really annoys me: the lady didn't stop! She didn't stop to see if I was okay or if my bike was okay or what she hit. She kept going, I have no clue what her license plate number is or what kind of car she drives [I am horrible with identifying cars for the most part]. I called it into the police, not really much they can do with the super vague description I gave them but file a report. So in the long run I am left without a working bike and have to pay to replace it. Yes, technically I can turn it into my homeowners insurance but I have a high deductible I am not turning it into my insurance, my bike wasn't super off the wall amazing, let's be honest I have had that bike since 8th grade and have more than gotten my money out of it. But the point is it got me from point a to point b very well and for what I use the bike for it was absolutely perfect!
    My attempt to be healthy and be well has totally backfired and trashed my bike leaving me very annoyed! Here ends my rant for the day. Yes, I do give thanks that I walked away from it totally unharmed. I am thankful that I am not visiting the Emergency Room. I am thankful that she (I assume) is totally fine and not hurt and hopefully not too much damage was done to her car (if she even has any). I am thankful for the ability to rant and be annoyed and now to move on.
    God grant me the ability to forgive this woman as you forgive me day in and day out. Amen.