Busy Weekend

Whew.

My first confirmation retreat with this parish is done! It went very well...the kids loved playing the games and learning the lessons in a more relaxed atmosphere. I love seeing them make the connections between God's Word and their lives. And I also love watching them have a blast, totally relaxed and having fun with each other. We held it out at the most remote of my churches, where there is no cell phone signals, and 30 miles to the nearest town. So no distractions!

We talked about the 10 commandments, Moses and the Hebrews wandering in the wilderness, the episode with the golden calf, and a bit about understanding law & gospel. Some of the law/gospel stuff went over their heads, but the rest seemed to make an impact. I even got to teach them some Hebrew!

Now I'm just wiped out. I only had two services today, one got cancelled due to the bad weather and bad roads (ironically, the church at which I just had the retreat), but it was still enough on top of the retreat to make me feel like a limp rag.

But it's a good kind of tired!

Dramatic Skies

Whenever a storm moves in, the skies get quite dramatic out here. You can see for many miles, so you watch the movement of almost an entire storm cell in some cases. This also means that the sunsets can be quite spectacular too. Lil' Princess and I were driving home from running errands one day, and there it was, a small dark cloud with a line of rain coming down. I though it was pretty with the sun setting behind it. Of course the picture doesn't capture it at its best, but it was lovely.

This weekend the forecast says snow, for Friday through Sunday. I'm in bit of denial about that. Especially since I have a confirmation retreat Friday night, and I was hoping to do some outdoor games. I don't know if I'm constitutionally ready for snow. Falling leaves, yes. Cooling temperatures, yes. Light jackets, yes. Snow? Not so much.

Not that we have a choice.

Say, I could probably get a sermon out of that...

Tuesday Thoughts by the Window

I love the Savage Chickens cartoons. Whenever I see that a new one has been delivered to my email, I squee.

To the list this particular cartoon proposes I would add "I'm a pastor of a small rural ND parish." Eyes glaze over every time!

I went to a continuing education class at my seminary three summers ago, while I was still at my call in SD, to learn about "PR for Churches." While the whole premise of that class is offensive to some, understandibly, I did learn a few things about making my then congregation more visitor friendly and accesible (without losing focus on the cross).

Anyhoo, most of the pastors at this class were from the metropolitan and outlying area. I found it absolutely fascinating how they treated me after they found out where I was serving (their universal underlying assumption seeming to be that SD is Nowheresville USA filled with people entirely alien to them).

Either they

A) immediately ignored me and anything I had to say from then on

OR

B) took a patronizing attitude towards me and anything I had to say.

I'm sure the response would be even more amplified now that I'm in ND, since by many, this area is seen as the last place in the world you would ever have to want to go. Which is so very, very sad!!! Why do we, as people in ministry, have such deep-rooted prejudices about people, places, and kinds of ministry?? I mean, I know we're just people too, filled with the same foibles and weaknesses, but I have run into some the worst prejudice by those who are called my peers!

So what brought this on, you ask? I was in the Post Office today, which is part of the social center of my tiny town, chatting away with a few people, and it struck me so hard..."these are such good people. People who are doing their best to raise their families and get along. People who are hungry for Christ. People who are hungry to be involved in ministry. And a huge percentage of our church in the larger sense would turn their noses up at them and at this town." The thought made me sad. And that thought reinvigorated my committment to them, and my growing peace with my role amongst them. I can't be all that they want or need, but I can journey with them, encourage them, love them, and together we can live in Christ.

In the end, isn't that what really matters?

Pain, thy name is Migraine

Ode to a Migraine

Mindblowing
Intense
Grueling
Radiating
Aura
Irritating
Neverending
Excrutiating

I just want it to be over with, now!!! I hate losing all this time, and time with my family, to grinding pain.

I need to be planning the confirmation retreat for this coming weekend, the National Youth Gathering fundraising meeting with the youths' parents, and getting some visits in. Instead I'm sitting here wishing that my head was disconnected from the rest of me.

Food for Thought

On one of the blog I enjoy checking out - Lutheran Chik - the blogger posted the Incredible Edible Meme. She writes, "This is a list of food and drink that someone -- I forget who -- thinks we all need to taste before we die."

I was intrigued, and read the list. I apparantly am a very sheltered person, because there are alot of things on this list that I don't even know what they are!! Anyway, I've put in bold the items the things that I myself have actually eaten. Consider yourself tagged if you read this! I'd love to hear your comments!

1. Venison. Yum! I grew up eating it, my dad and brothers went hunting every year. Venison sausage and jerky are really good, along with the steaks. I haven't had it in years now, I miss it.
2. Nettle tea.
3. Huevos rancheros.
4. Steak tartare.
5. Crocodile.
6. Black pudding. Ewwwww! No Way!
7. Cheese fondue. What doesn't taste good dipped in warm drippy cheese?
8. Carp.
9. Borscht.
10. Baba ghanoush.
11. Calamari. Good and fun, in a squeeky rubbery kind of way
12. Pho.
13. PB&J sandwich. A staple at our house, especially when it's hubby's turn to cook
14. Aloo gobi. I have no idea...
15. Hot dog from a street cart.
16. Epoisses.
17. Black truffle.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes. Shade Vineyard of Volga SD has some lovely fruit wines definately worth checking out
19. Steamed pork buns.
20. Pistachio ice cream.
21. Heirloom tomatoes.
22. Fresh wild berries.
23. Foie gras.
24. Rice and beans.
25. Brawn, or headcheese.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper.
27. Dulce de leche.
28. Oysters.
29. Baklava.
30. Bagna cauda. Another I have noooo idea....
31. Wasabi peas. Oh yeh, these will wake ya up
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl. Ooh yum.
33. Salted lassi.
34. Sauerkraut. Yes, but can't say I enjoyed it all that much
35. Root beer float.
36. Cognac with a fat cigar. Ick!
37. Clotted cream tea.
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O. C'mon! Give me a break!
39. Gumbo.
40. Oxtail.
41. Curried goat.
42. Whole insects.
43. Phaal. ????
44. Goat's milk.
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$130 or more.
46. Fugu. Again, ???
47. Chicken tikka masala.
48. Eel.
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut. I can feel those arteries clogging
50. Sea urchin.
51. Prickly pear.
52. Umeboshi.
53. Abalone.
54. Paneer.
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal. Unfortunately, yes. Repeatedly
56. Spaetzle. Awesome, especially when made by someone who really knows what they're doing.
57. Dirty gin martini.
58. Beer above 8% ABV.
59. Poutine.
60. Carob chips.
61. S'mores. Bet your sweet patootey! Can't go camping without them
62. Sweetbreads.
63. Kaolin. ????
64. Currywurst.
65. Durian.
66. Frogs' legs.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake. No, yes, yes, yes.
68. Haggis.
69. Fried plantain.
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette.
71. Gazpacho.
72. Caviar and blini.
73. Louche absinthe.
74. Gjetost, or brunost.
75. Roadkill. I don't think so!
76. Baijiu. ???
77. Hostess Fruit Pie. Tried one when I was a kid, and didn't like it.
78. Snail.
79. Lapsang souchong.
80. Bellini.
81. Tom yum.
82. Eggs Benedict.
83. Pocky. Is this an edible hockey puck?
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef.
86. Hare.
87. Goulash. Good hearty stuff.
88. Flowers.
89. Horse.
90. Criollo chocolate.
91. SPAM. My dad's mom would feed this to us sometimes, which was the one meal at her house that I did NOT enjoy
92. Soft shell crab. Not my favorite seafood
93. Rose harissa.
94. Catfish.
95. Mole poblano.
96. Bagel and lox.
97. Lobster Thermidor.
98. Polenta.
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.
100. Snake.
Bonus round: Most unusual food you've ever eaten: Thanks to my dad, I've gotten to eat foods that are rather unique for some of my friends, though perhaps not all that unusual - cow tongue, cow heart, fresh fish eggs, bear, moose, raccoon, squirrel, and probably a number of others that I have forgotten.

If you're reading this, you're tagged. Bonus points for the most unusual food not on this list that you've ever eaten.

RevGalBlogPals Friday Five - St. Francis of Assisi

This one made me think. Which is good, I've been a bit light in the deep thinking department lately, due to be tired all the time. This week's Friday Five is inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, a man who gave up wealth and privilege in order to live humbly in obedience to Christ and to help the poor. His personal lore also has made him the friend of all animals. Protestants usually run into him as a statue for your garden, and in those parishes that do blessing services for animals. It's a pity that the average pew sitter doesn't know more about saints like him, since his life story is inspiring and actually quite educational (standing up against the powers-that-be for what you know is right). I think we as Protestants need to reclaim more of our heritage when it comes to saints, not for veneration, but for inspiration. Anyway, on with the Friday Five!

1. Saint Francis experienced a life changing call, has anything in your journey so far challenged you to alter your lifestyle?
Our call to North Dakota has been a definite change to our lifestyle! I went from working 60 to 80 hours a week, to a part time position that allows me to be a stay at home mom (which has been a HUGE adjustment). My hubby went from student to his first call, which is going real well. We've gone from a well-populated area with shopping nearby, to a sparsely populated area that requires a lot of travel to be able to buy necessities, much less entertainment. The folks here are teaching us some wonderful lessons about what community can really mean. Life can be really truly hard for folks out here, they all know they can be a moment away from bad news, from every thing changing. There's a sort of spiritual honesty that comes with that here that I am learning from and appreciating. We're redefining what we do for fun, and how we connect with others. Pastoral identity and your role in the community is definitely different from what I experienced before. We've been here a year now, and I can definitely say that this move has been life-changing for us!

2. Francis experienced mocking and persecution, quite often in the comfortable west this is far from our experience. If you have experienced something like this how do you deal with it, if not how does it challenge you to pray for those whose experience is daily persecution?
I have experienced minimal mocking and persecution, it usually is from someone with an axe to grind about Christians or religion in general. I try to be as gracious and calm as possible. I find that if I am genuine and compassionate, and focus on why they are so negative, they either lose interest, or open up. Of course, any negative words I receive are nothing compared to the true persecution Christians receive in other places in this world, who face prejudice, refusal of rights and resources, imprisonment, torture, and death. I do keep these folks in my prayers, but of course I cannot even imagine what they go through.

3 .St Francis had female counterpart in St Clare, she was influenced by St Francis sermon and went on to found the Poor Clare's, like the Franciscans they depended on alms this was unheard of for women in that time, but she persisted and gained permission to found the order. How important are role models like St Clare to you? Do you have a particular female role model whose courage and dedication inspires you? If so share their story....
Wow. Role models inspire, give hope, and remind us that we can make a difference. I am grateful for those I have read about, and those I have seen in action. From days gone by: Dorothy Day, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Mother Theresa, and many more. Role models living: Kathleen Norris, the women pastors who have lovingly and honestly mentored me and shown by their example what it means to love God and love the people as you serve, the church basement women throughout my life who have taught me what faithful hardworking service looks like (with lots of humor thrown in), Grandma Alice who lived as she believed...well, we were supposed to just talk about one, so I suppose I should stop there!

4. Francis loved nature and animals, how important is an expressed love of the created world to the Christian message today?
I think very important. Creation and the stewardship of it has always been a part of our faith, and it is even more poignant today. Even though people don't all agree about things like global warming, we can all agree that we as human beings have a hugely destructive footprint on this world, and that we have to do something about it. Even folks who have been seriously in denial are starting to recognize that things have to change. We as Christians have something important and beautiful to say in this conversation that speaks to these concerns.

5. On a lighter note; have you ever led a service of blessing for animals, or a pet service, was it a success, did you enjoy it, and would you do it again?
I have never done one, but have always wanted to! I have heard humorous stories of sheep pooping all over the narthex, animals getting loose and running free during the service, and a bird getting free, flying up to the rafters, and pooping on the pastor during the sermon. Nonetheless, I hope to do one some day! I'm guessing an outdoor service is the way to go.

Politics

I am sick and tired of politics.

And we still have a month until the presidential election!

My hubby is super into this stuff. He won't get home until 11 pm tonight, but won't go to bed until he's watched the Vice Presidential debate, which he taped. I, who could have watched it, listened in for a few minutes, felt naseous, and channel surfed instead.

Now, I know these things matter for the future of our country. People feel very passionate about the many different philosophies of how one best approaches domestic and foreign policy. What I hate is when they caste those whose stance is different from theirs as evil, as non-human, as idiotic, as unpatriotic, etc. I mean, come on!!!

The commentary on the debate (the little that I have been willing to listen to) has said that overall both candidates did fine. I'm sure my hubby will tell me alllllllllll about the many details, in detail, tomorrow.

Sigh.

I do care about who wins. I think it would be a Definate mistake to put McCain and Palin in the White House. I just think that we should be able to have a more bipartisan spirit as we all seek to make good decisions for our country, and for many people around the world.

But then I suppose that makes me a naive idiot when in comes to how things really have to work. Blech!!!