Yay, God

Dear Lord,

You are always surprising me. The aces that you seem to pull out of nowhere sometimes....are amazing :) Not that I need them as proof, but they are little encouragements that your spirit is at work guiding and nudging things along.
Thanks for the attention, thanks for the grace, thanks for the love.

Amen,

RuthRE

Hi!

Hi!

mmmmm

Okay,
As is usually the case, the Spirit has refreshed me....and I feel better equiped to deal with the day's issues. I'm still frustrated though......

Can I run away?

Ugh.
I had an incredibly frustrating, no good, horrible day.

I hope that I have a clearer head later this evening (which frankly....is likely) but right now that head is eager to explode.

I happened to watch the Veggie Tales video of Jonah last night...and I confess to experiencing that instinct to flee......Nineveh? I am NOT going to Nineveh.

The only thing I'm certain of right now is that...I enjoy the Veggie Tales...heh.

Friday Five

1. In what kind of environment do you sleep best? (e.g. amount of light and noise, temperature, number of pillows, breathe-right strip, sleeping in the buff, etc.)

Cool, about 60 (windows open)....steady rain, no wind....one neck supporting type pillow....clean/cool sheets...hmm...the buff is nice...but the cat bites! Tank and boxers!

2. How much sleep do you need to feel consistently well-rested?
How much can you get by on?
What are the consequences when you don't get enough?
I'd say 8.
I'd say 5.
I get weird :) I space out.....I get babbly.

3. Night owl or morning person?
Night owl...ALL THE WAY.

4. Favorite cure for insomnia
Beer :)

5. To snooze or not to snooze? Why or why not?
Snooze...only once. But really...once snooze is too much temptation....snooze only when you have two backup alarms!

As the grains of wheat...

Do you all find that sometimes...when some area of volunteerism is concerned in the parish....that people just need a personal...or fun approach to promoting a mundane task....and they'll step forward?

Would the response be very different for....say....signing up to mow the church lawn.....if instead of a mild mannered line in the bulletin and signup sheet...it gets turned into a fellowship campaign......a sort of...acronym type deal...with gimmicky posters....splitting up tasks....describing how everyone can pitch in in some small way....that we're in this together....and yes...it's just the a lawn....but it's the lawn....of the church....that we have been blessed with by God and we are stewards of that lawn...

(was there a single complete thought up there?)

Well, I'm formulating a campaign. I don't even know how to start a lawnmower...but that's okay.

The Spirit is volunteering me for a lot of things lately.....

The Vicar!

Considering that I kept wanting to put them on my Netflix repeatedly...
I got the whole dvd set of The Vicar of Dibley from Ebay.

Very thrilled; all of ya'll gal revs should take a look see!

What I learned....

What I learned on my summer vaca......er....what I learned at Synod Assembly.
By RuthRE

I learned just how serious, compassionate, loving, kind, hospitable and yes...fun-loving my fellow Lutherans of the ELCA are.
I heard reports on many of the services that our larger church is involved in. I listened to a wonderful speaker (yes, even bought her book). I learned how moving a festival eucharist of dedicated members can be....particularly during the ordination of 4 new pastors and the comissioning of one new rostered person. I learned that the unanimous re-election of a bishop on the first ballot is possible. I learned that such a thing happens not through popularity alone.....but by faith and trust....in a tried and true leader.

I learned staggering hunger statistics. I learned staggering facts about the "Left Behind" Evangelicals...and what they buy and what they are led to believe....and how much of it stands on quicksand, not rock. One can take lines from Harry Potter's series....paste them together out of context and imply that it was a book written about how to perform an oil change on your car....it's just not there...and you can't fabricate legitimate truth.

I learned that there are many more pastors, that are like retiredpastor. I stayed up late talking with them. Sharing a drink and fellowship. I kinda mentioned the seminary idea to pastoralcandidatefriend.....and thus I've finally made mention of my call....in *real* life....and I have to wonder.....what was all the hesitation about? Just because I say I'm thinking about it, doesn't make things set in stone. It could lead to a whole other path within the church. Those other paths I think would become more evident while considering a full comission.

I fully intend to attend next year's assembly...wether it be as a delegate.....or of my own accord....in whatever role. I'm sure there are more exciting assemblies at times.....but being my first....I left feeling very connected to Christ's church, particularly in our ELCA Lutheran Christian family.

So there.

Mah-you-zik

I'm very interested in contemporary Christian music...that is..
the rock and hip-hop variety.

I need some guidance as to what groups fall into my style (keep in mind the Lutheran....not the music)without having to scan through all lyrics.

KJ-52....who knows his stuff?

A glass of wine and a blog...

You know, I have trouble buckling down and blogging. Most of what ends up here is barely hashed-out thought that gets thrown online before I collapse into bed. I continue to have many thoughts bouncing around in my head....and on occassion I'll get them to stick like a fly, to the paper.

First thought, a random non sequitor.....God Bless that home dry cleaning product! I've finally tried it this evening....my co-workers will think I've bought a new wardobe....oh, the clothes I'll finally wear for a second time!

Next thought, I am just as excited about our new devotional (actually more so!) than I was about the advent one! Well, duh....since I contributed....only one...but still...and it's going to be my constant companion for months!

The bigger thoughts.
My latest location in my journey of discernment. Not really moving in any direction quickly right now. That's okay......I'm constantly in constructive thought and prayer. My current question is "when". I have various reasons to want to sort of continue as I am in my life right now for a couple more years. To read up more on theology and practice. To work on loving my neighbor....even when they cut me off in the grocery parking lot. To continue to realize just how MUCH SENSE this whole God thing makes! To allow myself to be excited by God's presence in my everyday life. To look for God everywhere.

Things that weigh heavy on me right now:

I'm a call committee chairman...for a congregation that is still relatively new to me....and 99% of my people...actually have faith in me/us. By golly it's a delicate process though. Wish I could blog about it....but....shouldn't :) So, the cat will continue to get all of the juicy details. And if he starts learning to type...I'm in trouble.

One other concern in my discernment right now.....*after* seminary. The first call. How willing am I to be flung into some random corner of the country....solo....a young single gal. That's *very* intimidating. Being very close to the call process right now....seeing both ends....makes it more intimidating.

Looking forward to with a happy heart:
Synod assembly! Believe it or not. I mean, I've never been. I'm excited to see my new Lutheran extended family in action. I'm excited to vote for a bishop! I'm looking forward to hanging out with retired pastor and all of his fun clergy friends. I'm looking forward to missing work for two days!

ELCA Youth Gathering! Seriously, I might as well be 15....cuz I keep looking forward to this like I'm one of the kids...not the 'responsible adult". Disappointed that I can't stick around for the final Eucharist...presided by and preached at by Bishop Mark. (those darn return plane trips).

I was lost....but I am found!

Alright! Where have I been?

Well...my new computer worked all of three days before it went pthhh.
It needed a replacement part. The whole process with this company that rhymes with "bell" was another word that rhymes with "bell" and took about 3 weeks!

I've been able to spend more time on other things, which is good. Reading, cleaning, etc. I didn't get to post about a day a couple weeks ago when..
my Ordinary Time book arrived! I have to say, I was quite tickled when I flipped to October 1 to see my contribution. Wee! It's interesting that I'm back online today....the first day in the book, yay.

Well...no doubt there are many things to post about....and I will.

Hey...can anyone supply me with the code for the ring box? I lost it when I changed looks and I can't get into the email I have connected to this blog.