Now that I've lost all my readers...

Wow, it has been TOO long since posting something. Yikes.

Well, I've been a little bit busy, so I hope any of my readers who stumble back here can find it in their hearts to forgive me. Ha.

Most of the people who read my blog know me in real life, so they know what's been going on. I finished the semester strong at seminary. I got credit for all my classes, so that is very good! Our last day was mid-May, but that didn't mean that I was suddenly free and clear to do nothing!

After graduation Sunday, which I attended b/c some of the people I started with were graduating (The M.A. program generally takes 2 years whereas the M.Div program generally takes about 4). It was a good day, and one of congratulations and "see ya laters."

That weekend, I also spent much of my time packing up my stuff to move! After a person finishes their "Middler" (2nd) year at seminary, they generally go off on internship. Most of you have heard about my internship dilemma, what with them not being able to find me a place as quickly as my classmates. Well, they found me a place where I wanted to be!!! I'm excited about this, to say the least. So, I packed up all my stuff with the help of one of my very good friends, with plans to move it to the state to which I am assigned via a U-haul truck. I planned to drive the U-haul and my friend was going to follow me in my car.

Well, the morning of U-haul renting didn't go exactly as planned. I had wanted to pick it up on Sunday morning before church, that way we could load it up and then head out bright and early on Monday morning. That way, by the time I got to the place that would become my new home, there would be people there to help unload us. However, I don't have a "real" credit card b/c I didn't use it enough and the company cancelled it. So, I have a debit/credit card that I use. However, those of you familiar with debit/credit cards will know that there is often a smaller type limit on them. Fortunately, or so I thought, I thought about that beforehand and called the bank to tell them to up my limit because I was moving. They did so, but said that they could only up the limit by pin protecting it. I didn't think that'd be a problem, so thanked them and continued planning.

Well, it was a problem! When I got to the U-haul place on Sunday morning, I went through the whole process with the gentleman behind the desk. However, my card was declined and they didn't have a "pin" option, so I was out of luck right then. So, he told me that I would need to go get cash for the rental, plus a $100 dollar deposit. Well, by this time, I was running late for church and because two of my other friends had driven me down there, I realized it probably wasn't going to work. But, the guy told me about one of the banks in SeminaryTown that was open early on Sunday morning. So, I took my friends back to their apartment so they could get ready for church, took a flying trip out to the bank, and found that indeed it was NOT open that early. So, I drove back to the seminary, and went with my two friends to church, resigned to the fact that things were not going as planned.

After church, though, I went BACK to the bank, talked with the teller, and then withdrew the money out of my checking account from an ATM, which was very odd. It's not often that I hold that kind of money in my two hands. So, I locked it up back at home and went about my day.

The next day, then, another friend took me down to the U-haul place again. This time, we did the whole procedure and he asked for the cash (but it was a different guy who didn't ask for the deposit $100). So, I reached into my pocket (that I had been guarding VERY closely) and pulled out this big chunk o' money and I counted out the fee to the guy. He told me that my 10 foot truck had been taken by someone else the day before, but that they would give me the 14 foot truck at no extra charge. He gave me the keys, told me which one I was to take, and adjusted my sideview mirror for me before sending me on my way.

My friend later said, "I've never actually see someone just randomly pull $1000 bucks out of their pocket like that." Ha. Stick with me; I'm pretty weird.

Anyway, so I got into this truck and momentarily thought, "Oh crap." There are NO rearview mirrors in a U-haul like that, and there are no windows behind you to see out. Instead, you rely solely on your sideview mirrors. Let me tell you...I use my rearview mirror A LOT when driving in my car, so I was a bit intimidated. And, I had to REVERSE out of the parking lot. Not a good first impression, especially since the truck I now had was a good deal larger than what I wanted. But, I managed to reverse out without killing anyone or doing catastrophic damage to anything. I drove up to the seminary and some friends and I loaded up about HALF of the freaking truck (I wouldn't have needed it except I was taking my bed and my still-in-the-box computer desk that YS and YSB [Younger sister and younger sister's boyfriend] had brought me the week before). So many people walked by and said, "You have a lot more space to fill!" I said, "This truck is WAY bigger than the one I asked/paid for." Oy.

So, we loaded the truck and set off on the trip. I got more comfortable with only having sideview mirrors, and I gave myself plenty of time for everything. Also, I planned us to go a less travelled route instead of through a major metropolitan area that generally shaves about an hour off in time, but which the thought of driving a 14 foot truck through scared the living daylights out of me. So, we drove and drove and drove... Through construction areas, through "no services" signs on the exit ramps, and through slight traffic. We stopped many times for food, gas, and because my friend who was following me has a weaker bladder than I have (not that I blame her... Most people have a weaker bladder than I have). So, what I can drive (in my car) in about 10 hours and 26 minutes (I timed it once), took about 14 hours, give or take, because of that HUGE truck and because I took the "other" route. But, we got there safely, which is the main thing.

When we got to town, we went directly to J's house. Friend and I were incredibly tired by this point and asked if it'd be okay if we could unload the truck tomorrow. He said that'd be fine, so Friend and I went to the motel in town and I rented us a room. We pretty much immediately went to sleep (I was too tired to even take off my clothes). We had told J we'd be there around 8:30 or 9:00 to unload the truck, but when my alarm went off, I was like, "nooooooooo!!!!" so, I texted him and asked if we could come a bit later. J said that'd be fine; get there when you can.

So, we woke up a bit later, got cleaned up and went over to the house. We walked in the garage (only visitors actually come to the front door) and I saw my futon frame in the garage. I said, "Oh, look, he unloaded the futon frame." Friend said, "Yeah, but he had to unload lots of OTHER stuff to GET to the futon frame!" (I didn't know because she was the one who put all the stuff in the truck; I just carried it out). So, we went out to the truck, opened the back, and saw that J had single-handedly unloaded all of my stuff and had taken it either into the house or the garage. He is awesome! I knew there was a reason I was engaged to him! Haha. J/k, there are LOTS more reasons than that...

So, we hung out pretty much all day and then left town quite a bit later than we'd initially planned. We drove all night, but this time, went back the way that would save us an hour. I drove about half the way, and Friend drove the other half. When we got back to SeminaryTown, Friend slammed on the brakes because the light turned red. We looked over and saw this guy in the left turn lane and he was STARING at us; maybe because we were laughing, maybe because we're a couple of raging hotties, I don't know. But, we kept laughing, and then I noticed that he KEPT staring at us, and then he blew through the light and turned left. Weird, but whatever.

So, we got back to the seminary, and because I'd already given up my keys to the office and was officially moved out (I cleaned like a bad mamma-jamma!)I didn't really have a place to sleep a little bit more restfully before heading to Illinois. But, I went down to the recreation room that is rarely used, shut the door, and slept on one of the couches in there. At one point, the housekeeping lady opened the door, saw me sleeping, and then left again. She said later that she was just curious why the door was shut.

So, all of a sudden, I was jolted out of my slumber by the FIRE ALARM!!! I was liek "What the heck is going on?" So, I zombied my way upstairs and saw people around who said that it was not really a fire, but probably some cleaning agent or paint or something that got too near the detector. They managed to shut the alarm off before the fire department came (which is good, considering we had about 10 fire alarms this past year), and I found myself chatting with some folks. It was getting late in the morning, so I said goodbye to some people and went to Sis and BiL's house to finish planning for the wedding.

And because this post has been exceedingly long, I will talk more about life after I moved all my stuff later. I hope you are enjoying your days, and that you're staying dry.

Pre-Easter Visit

A few weeks ago, the pastor at my home church, (whom I shall call Pastor S.) emailed and asked me if I would be the Assisting Minister on Easter morning. Since he accepted a new call in a land far, far, away, Easter was planned to be his last Sunday at our church. I was pleased to have been asked, and so I said yes.

A little while after that, I emailed him to talk about figuring out my role in the service. He emailed back and it came to pass that we decided to get together on the Saturday before Easter, go visit Ma, have me look through some books he didn't want to take with him to his new call, and talk about our different roles in the liturgy.

Saturday rolled around and I met Pastor S. at the church. We headed on over to the Supermax to see Ma. When we got there, I pushed all the codes to get us into the unit, and then led Pastor S. to her room (he has been there before, but maybe hasn't been to her room. I don't know). We walked toward her room, and she was on her roommate's side, looking at something. She seemed happy to see Pastor S. but kind of ambivalent about seeing me. I don't know.

We sat down and talked for a little while. Pastor S. tried to get her to talk about different things, but she really wasn't making much sense. I have talked before about how she is losing her ability to string together verbs, adjectives, and nouns to make coherent sentences. I don't know if perhaps I didn't hear her, but it sounded like she made up words a couple of times, too. But, she was still smiling and talkative, so that was good.

After a while, Pastor S. said that he wanted to tell Ma a story. So, he started reading the Easter Gospel lesson. Pastor S. read it very slow at the beginning, and after each sentence, Ma would say, "Okay. Mm-hmm." She was being an "attentive listener." Pastor then talked with Mom about things that make her worried, scared, or troubled, as a sort of "sermon," considering the Easter text dealt with the fear the women had that first Easter morning.

Then, Pastor S. got out communion supplies, did the Words of Institution, and said, "Let's pray the Lord's Prayer."

We bowed our heads and started praying. And then, much to my surprise, Ma prayed, too. I heard her saying the actual words, and I stopped praying, and kind of looked at her, and couldn't start praying again because I was about to start bawling. So, I looked at the ceiling to keep from crying, and I listened to my mom, who rarely says anything that makes much sense, recite the entire Lord's Prayer. Then, Ma, Pastor S., and I all took communion together. This activity makes me appreciate all the more the idea of the "communion of saints," because it unites Christians from every time and place together in our common bond with Christ Jesus. I haven't communed with my mom in almost two years, and it was nice to do so again.

After communion, Pastor S. said to Ma, "I'm not going to be coming here anymore, Ma'sName. Someone new is going to come because I'm moving to Wisconsin." Ma's reply was a chipper, "Okay!" I'm glad that she's not saddened by it because I think I'm sad enough for the both of us.

A little while later, Pastor S. and I decided it was time to go. Ma had referred to me in the third person earlier in the visit, and so I'm not 100% sure she knew it was me there visiting along with Pastor S. We all stood up, and I gave her a big hug and told her I loved her. Pastor S. gave her a hug goodbye, as well, when all of a sudden, she turned to him and said, "Pastor, how are your two boys?" We both looked at her, and Pastor S. mentioned a little about what they're doing now, and then we walked quickly out of her room. I turned back and saw that she had already distracted herself with something. I pushed the keys to get out, and we walked down the hall. Pastor S. said, "That's the first time since she's been in here that she said the entire Lord's Prayer. I was a bit amazed, myself. It's odd what sticks and what doesn't stick, eh?

That was the end of our visit with my mom. I'm grateful that I got to be present when he said goodbye to her; to hear her say the Lord's Prayer; and to commune with her for what I suspect might be the last time. The visit was a good, if not sad, one, but I'm grateful for glimpses into who she "used" to be. I love Ma. I miss her a lot, too, though. And yet I remember, always remember, that she is loved.

Chapel!

Yesterday, I went to chapel. I often don't go on Mondays and Tuesdays, but because we celebrate Holy Communion on Wednesdays, I try to go faithfully on those days. I was also asked to serve as a communion assistant, and so that meant I absolutely HAD to go.

Boy, am I glad I did!

The Dean of the Chapel, the seminary President, and a junior (first year student) led worship. We were slated to have two babies baptized here, as well. The President preached a sermon that was pretty good, but that was not the part that rocked my face off.

The Dean of the Chapel went toward the entrance to the chapel where our font is. The font is a huge fishbowl looking thing on a wooden stand. The parents, babies, their siblings, and the sponsors all gathered back there. The Dean did the liturgy portion of praying and everything, and as I looked back, I saw the babies, and that they were wrapped in fluffy white towel/blanket type things. Then, I thought, "Those are naked little babies. They must be dipping them!"

Well, sure enough, the first baby was brought out of the blanket, and her dad dipped her (legs first) into the font. Then the Dean cupped his hands and baptized the baby in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. I was a little surprised at HOW MUCH water he poured over the baby. I thought, "Holy Cow, you're going to drown that baby!"

The same thing happened for the second little baby girl. Dip, pour, and a wee bit of crying. AND ALL THAT WATER splashed on the baby's head!

But then, I remembered that baptism IS a drowning of our sins and our old self! Wow!

That was awesome enough, but the thing that REALLY got me, was that right as each baby was brought out of the water and re-wrapped in the towel/blanket, the piano started up and the whole assembly started singing, "Halle, Halle, Halle-LUUUU-JAH! Halle, Halle, Haelle-LUUUU-Jah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"

The singing just made me think that we on earth are echoing even just a little bit of what God and the heavenly host are singing at a new little person being clothed in Christ! How awesome!

Baptisms just do something for me anyway, but today's were two of THE most awesome baptisms I've ever seen. I think I might have something to consider doing when I eventually get to baptize people. :) Awesome.

Still Waiting

Well, dear readers, it's been almost a month since my last post. I've been bad about keeping this blog updated. Sincerest apologies.

There is still no real word on an internship site for me. They're working on it and are going to be talking with people who can (maybe) make it happen, so that's a plus. I'll hear something (good, bad, or ugly) later this week. We'll see.

On another front, I am getting married NEXT MONTH! It seems really crazy, but I am incredibly excited. J is a wonderful man and I can't wait until we are married. I really can't.

The wedding plans are coming along. Invitations should go out this coming week. We're going low key and "green" (yeah, that's it, all for the environment), so we're not having people mail RSVP cards back to us. Rather, the options are phone or email because we set up an email account specifically for RSVPs.

The big snafu is that my long-time pastor has accepted a call to another church. His last day is Easter Sunday and the bishop has said that he cannot come back to do the wedding. When Pastor told me that he was leaving, I was incredibly sad, not just because of the wedding, but because he's been the only pastor I've ever had. I do have a church out here at Seminary, but it's not quite the same. There are multiple layers to WHY I feel the way I do about this, but I don't want to bore you all with them. I think it suffices to say that I have loved and appreciated his presence in my life for the past thirteen years, and he will be deeply missed.

Other than that, things are coming along. School is school. Keeps me pretty busy, but not too busy. Maybe it's because I'm a procrastinator and so only am really busy when I'm working under a deadline. Who knows?

And that's about it. Sorry that there's not been anything "deep" lately. Maybe I'll work on that, maybe not. I don't know. I hope things are going well for all of you. Peace out.

Internship Stuff

So, dear readers, tomorrow is the day that most of my classmates find out where they will be going to live for the next year. The climate around the seminary has been relatively subdued, but there is still some anxiety surrounding this event. It's a natural thing to want to know such a big thing and not have to keep speculating about the unknown.

I've been very chill about the whole thing, for a variety of reasons, I think. First off, since I am getting married in May, I restricted myself for internship so that I can (hopefully) live with my soon to be husband. We are going to live in one of the more northern states in the Midwest. I'm excited about this. Another reason I've been pretty laid back is because the staff person kind of "in charge" of this process told me that I shouldn't worry because it will happen. I've taken her exhortation to heart, for the most part.

Finally, I have been fairly relaxed because this same woman told me that I might not get my assignment on the same day (tomorrow) as everyone else because it might take a little bit longer to find me a site in my restriction area. My logic tells me not to freak out beforehand because there is no 'definite' date for me to come to the end of any anxiety I might be feeling. That being said, I don't want to "agonize" for longer than the other people.

I received word on Monday that the internship site they had for me fell through, and so I'm a little bummed that I don't get my assignment on the same day as my classmates, but I had been warned about this, so it comes as really no big surprise. Obviously I feel a little disappointment, but nothing overwhelming.

What I find myself surprised about at this juncture is a little bit of anger I am feeling; not at the process or any of the people involved in ironing out all this internship stuff, but anger about so many people knocking the state to which I hope to go. Granted, it's not a place that most people DO want to go. But the thing that gets me is my own complex with people thinking I am stupid. I find myself wondering, "Do people think I'm stupid/crazy/less than because I WANT to go where they don't want to go?" And even if they do, that shouldn't matter, but like I said, it's my issue about thinking people think I am dumb. I just wish people would stop knocking my future home state.

The other thing is, though, that I know people aren't knocking me or the state, but they are just expressing their own desire to not go there, which is fine. Different strokes for different folks and all. But at the same time, people have a tendency to hear what they have been conditioned to hear (to a certain extent) and right now, I am hearing their desire to go elsewhere as a personal knock to me. Which is totally irrational, I know. I really know. But there are going to be people with complexes and with irrational ideas and fears in their congregations, and I find myself wondering about this.

What it all really boils down to is that I need to quit feeling so dumb. I'm not dumb. Intellectually, I know that. It's just a struggle, I suppose, that I will have to find a way to achieve over.

Sorry for the rambling, whiny-ness of this post. But whatev.

Wow/Duh moment of the Day!

I'm in a class this semester that focuses on preaching (imagine that; a class that helps us become better at the most public part of our ministry). Anyway, for this class, we have a rotation of preaching and each of us goes about every three weeks. My first turn is this coming Thursday. For our preparation, we are supposed to do some work in the original language; either Greek or Hebrew, depending upon what text you have. My text for Thursday is Colossians 1:15-28. We don't have to do exegesis on the WHOLE pericope, but only on the parts we might find particularly interesting. I found that verses 24-28 piqued my interest, and so started working on them in the Greek. I wasn't even looking at the preposition "en," but under the "cairo" word, the "en" came into play. "en" traditionally means, "in." So, the NRSV translates this clause as, "I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake..."

Seriously? I'm REJOICING IN my sufferings? Are you kidding me? Who rejoices in suffering? Yeah, it can help link us to Christ and his suffering on the cross, but if you ask me, suffering sucks.

Anyway, as I was looking at the verbs, I noticed that the big Greek Lexicon (BDAG) talks about how this can mean, "I am now rejoicing IN THE MIDST OF my sufferings."

WOW! What a difference! I can't believe I never saw that before!

Rejoicing in the midst of sufferings still honors the pain and broken places that suffering is. It doesn't try to say, "I'm okay. I have broad shoulders, I can take it." Instead, to me, at least, this slight change seems to convey that I can rejoice in the midst of sufferings, but I don't have to appear to be a huge masochist who enjoys the pain of life! Wow. Duh! Greek isn't so bad after all! (This I can say because I translated five Greek verses in thirty-eight minutes compared with the EIGHT HOURS I spent translating ten Hebrew verses the other day).

What do you think about this? Had you thought about this In/In the midst of thing before? I think I've got a good chunk of my sermon figured out simply by this one little word. It's AMAZING! Maybe I'm a little too enthusiastic right now, but whatever. See you all later.

P.S. I called the senator's office today and spoke my piece on the Dementia Care Reform. Just wanted you to know I practiced what I preached.

ACTION ALERT!!!

Hello Dear Readers. Today, March 3, 2009 is a "call in day" for people to notify their senators about desired changes in health care reform. I invite you to read and follow the action involved in this action alert I was sent from the Alzheimer's Association. It will only take a few minutes, but please know that your VOICES are valuable!

Action Alert!

what:
Nationwide Alzheimer Advocate call-in to encourage Senate to address long-term care in health care reform. Call toll free: 1-866-281-7219

when:
On March 3, 2009 8:30am - 4:30 pm Eastern

On March 4, the US Senate Special Aging Committee is hosting a hearing on long-term care services. In advance of the hearing, we need to send a message to the Senate about the importance of including long-term care services in health care reform.

Call 1-866-281-7219 on March 3.

Tell your Senator:

1. I am calling to tell the Senator to make sure long-term care services and supports are included in health care reform legislation.

2. The cost of long-term care is unaffordable for many families dealing with Alzheimer's disease.

3. I look forward to seeing the Senator demonstrate leadership on this issue.

Call Instructions:

Call 1-866-281-7219.
The operator will tell you to name your state.
You will be connected directly to one of your US Senators. (The call line is set up to randomly select a Senator for you.)
You do not need to call again to reach your other Senator. One call is enough to make our voices heard loud and clear.


Thank you!
As an advocate, your voice makes a difference for our lawmakers.

Questions?
Email: advocate@alz.org



Don't Forget:
Forward this message to family and friends


Background
President Obama has clearly stated that health care reform is a priority for this year. Long-term care services and supports are an essential part of health care reform.

The Senate Special Committee on Aging is holding a hearing on long-term care services on Mar. 4. The Alzheimer's Association is one of many advocacy groups participating in a national call-in day on March 3 to encourage Senators to include long-term care services and supports in health care reform.

The nation lacks a comprehensive national public-private system for financing and delivering long-term care services and supports for individuals with Alzheimer's. We want to see people with Alzheimer's get the support they need. Including long-term care services in health care reform will help improve the qulaity of health care for all Americans and help sustain safety net programs like Medicaid.

It's raining!

Well friends, it is raining outside! I like rain a lot of the time; especially the first rainstorm of the year. It's February 9, and it's raining hard! No snow, no sleet; just rain! I like it. Most of the snow on the ground is gone, and we can see the brown, brown grass. I have no illusions that Spring is here, but it's so nice to have this little respite. Even if the grass is brown, it holds promise of green. I'm excited.

Other than that, I've decided to tell a "funny" story for Preaching. I think it's funny, anyway. I'm trying to "perfect" it and make sure it fits in the time allowed for each of us. Wee.

Other than that, it's week two of the semester. I've done a good portion of the reading, so I'm impressed with myself. Haha. I'm trying... I really am.

Anyway, I'm contemplating a nap, so I'll be off for now. Enjoy the rain (those of you experiencing it).