Organ Tuner

Today the organ tuner is in the chapel playing each note incredibly loud for a dreadfully long time listening to make sure it is perfectly in tune…

I can’t focus
I can’t hear myself think, I have to type thoughts because then they aren’t just bounding out of my head they’re landing somewhere
I can’t see straight
I have a meeting soon, what is it about?
Do I need to prepare anything?
Did the phone just ring?
Do I have a headache or is my brain vibrating?
Organ tuner, please stop!

Jamaica!

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Al Gore: Live at Augie

Last night Aaron, Mike, Melissa, Parry and I walked to the Elmen Center (a few blocks from our house) to hear Al Gore speak. He greeted us with ""I am Al Gore, and I used to be the next president of the United States." He was playful, sharp and poignant. I must admit it was quite satisfying to hear from Gore instead of Bush (FYI - last night the State of the Union was delivered for those of you living under a rock).
Since last night I’ve had several conversations where folks are asking, so what do we do now? I hope the question doesn’t go unanswered! Learn more at Climate Crisis

Pure Excitement

I’ve moved on from Mauled Funk to Pure Excitement in one week. I can’t focus on work, all I can think about is Jamaica – two weeks from today Aaron and I will be spending our first full day on the beaches of Negril at Sunset at the Palms. “This relaxed all-inclusive is a favorite with ecotourists. It was the world's first hotel to receive Green Globe Certification for environmentally sustainable tourism, and the management works to maintain that status. Rooms here are in tree-house-like cottages amid towering royal palms. Open and airy, rooms have gauzy curtains, natural-wood floors, and high ceilings.” Check it out at SunsetatthePalms.com. The crazy part is winter has finally hit. Last night our actual low was -11, right now it’s 8 with a wind chill of -5 and
we have a few inches of snow on the ground from a Sunday snow storm. I’ve got to get back to not focusing on work as I dream about being in this pool with 'a tropical drink melting in my hand'.

Mauled Funk

"When he [Elisha] turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys." -2 Kings 2.24

Tonight a group of students and I will discuss this verse in context although by itself the verse entertaining. Cursing and mauling always makes for a good discussion. Lately life has mauled me. It’s winter without snow. I helped with a funeral for the first time Sunday. Last night I watched my Buckeyes get mauled and die at the hands of Gators.

Overall things aren’t bad they just are funky. Maybe it’s good ole cabin fever, I don’t know. Cold without snow leads to lots of time inside. Maybe it’s the natural flow of life after the holiday hoopla. I’m tired but I can’t sleep. I feel hungry but I’ve eaten so much when I eat again I feel painfully stuffed. Maybe it’s anticipation funk. I’m super psyched about our trip to Jamaica in 20 days and about moving to Ohio in August, but right now it’s the same stuff and it’s just not that fun. Hmm, hopefully it’ll end soon.

The New Beginning

Sermon for 12/3. Scripture Luke 21.25-36.

I know it’s a mere two weeks before finals, but I had to title this sermon, “the new beginning.” I haven’t lost my mind or forgotten that you’re nearing various ends - the end of the semester and the end of the Gregorian calendar year 2006. But today is the first day in the liturgical year. Happy New Year!

Today we begin a new liturgical year and we hear that we are to raise our heads because the end is drawing near. When I hear that the end is drawing near my automatic response is fret. The end, oh no, not the end! But is it really an end or a new beginning?

I must offer that yes, it is both, an end and a new beginning. It is the end to the horrible things that we face day in and day out. It is the end of chronic depression, all types of cancer and gut-wrenching grief. It is the end of all war, senseless acts hatred against our neighbors and the even the death of the ever so evil, blue screen of death.

There are many ends that we just do not like. When good things end it saddens us.

For me, this happens with great fiction. When an author writes in such a way that I fall in love with the characters I don’t want the book to end. I want to be able to read about the rest of the character’s lives. I often find myself wondering what will really happen next, like they’re real people. I literally obsess over characters sometimes.

I don’t only do this with books, but also with television. When family ties went off the air I was 7. I remember watching the last episode alone in my family room wrapped in a fuzzy fleece blanket. As I watched the last episode I got sad. When the credits came I remember crying. Not the tears down the cheeks and sniffle crying, but the chest heaving, face wrinkling ugly sobbing. My mom ran in the room held me and asked, “Honey, what’s wrong?” I answered, “Family Ties is gone forever.”

Some endings are like this. Some endings are hard. Many endings are harder than a favorite television show end, but stay with me.

Other endings are hopeful and cause for rejoicing.

With a second look at the text I hear, “the end is drawing near” and I am given cause to rejoice! Today in Luke we are told to stand up and raise our heads because our redemption is drawing near. God is coming to us saying, “Stand up, I love you, I am here.”

We are called to rejoice because of this new wonderful beginning. The new beginning is coming and we are not to be passively waiting for it. We are to be on guard and to be alert at all times.

Another way to look at this is to realize what we are waiting for. In this season of advent we are waiting on the new beginning through the new life of a baby. If there is one thing I know about babies - it is that they are on no one’s time but their own.

My friend, Jo, was expecting her first child. She was getting ready to be a mother, but with a month left till her due date she still had a few details to take care of, namely, she needed a car seat to bring the baby home in, she needed to get the ceiling replaced in the babies room and she had to wash all the babies clothing and blankets. With all this left to do she went to work last Saturday morning feeling, and I quote, “weird”. Last Saturday night I get a call, “hi Chris, what are you up to?” I told her I have a few friends over and we staying in and watching “Keeping the Faith” with Ben Stiller. I begin to tell her about the crazy Saturday we had when she cuts me off and blurts out, “I’m in labor.”

Her new beginning was thrust upon her a month before schedule, ready or not. All signs pointed to Jo’s baby coming. First of all, the pregnancy test told her she was pregnant, her belly grew and an ultrasound showed images of a baby. On Saturday more signs were present, she felt weird, then her water broke, and she began to dilate. These are all very clear signs that a baby is coming.

We are called to be on guard and to be alert too. Like Jo we are anticipating a birth that comes whether or not we have a car seat, ceiling or the laundry washed. We are told that it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. This is a birth for which we are to be alert, and be on guard. This is a birth for which we are to stand because with it comes our salvation.

This new beginning is coming to us in the form of a baby. A tiny newborn Jesus is coming. Stand up; raise your heads your redemption is drawing near. Be on guard; be alert for it will come upon all who live.

Proud to be a Buckeye - It is True!

• It is true that the late Ohio State coach Woody Hayes, who did more to pump up the negative feelings in the rivalry than any man, refused to fill up his car in the state of Michigan.
"I'll tell you why we don't," Hayes said, according to the seminal book, "Woody Hayes and the 100-Yard War." "It's because I don't buy one goddam drop of gas in the state of Michigan. We'll coast and push this goddam car to the Ohio line before I give this state a nickel of my money!"
• It is true that Michigan, leading 55-0 late in the 1946 game, lined up and kicked a field goal.
• It is true that in 1950, the teams played through a blizzard with 29 inches of snow and more than 50,000 fans sat through it. Michigan's Chuck Ortmann punted 24 times, and the Wolverines won 9-3, despite failing to make a first down. Buckeyes coach Wes Fesler quit a few days later. Ohio State hired the little-known Hayes away from Miami (Ohio).
• It is true that in 1970, a local judge in Columbus dismissed a charge of obscenity against a defendant arrested for wearing a T-shirt that said, "F--- Michigan" because the message "accurately expressed" local feelings about the university and the state.
• It is true that Hayes sometimes bunked his team in Toledo on the night before a game in Ann Arbor so the Buckeyes could sleep on Ohio ground.
• It is true that, by state law, the Franklin County (Ohio) Board of Elections is supposed to begin counting the provisional ballots cast in this month's 15th Congressional District race on Nov. 18. Rep. Deborah Pryce leads challenger Mary Jo Kilroy by 3,536 votes. However, the board will not begin to count the votes until Nov. 19 so that the counters may watch the Ohio State-Michigan game.
• It is true that the lowest-priced ticket available on StubHub on Thursday, for a seat on the corner of the end zone, on the 41st row of the upper deck, would have set you back $530. Binoculars extra.
Souce - ESPN.com

Bo, Bo Who?

Bo Schembechler, former coach of the team up north, died today. Here in South Dakota, it’s not Bo Schembeckler of the Ten Year War it’s “Bo who?” The Ten Year War is remembered here as the first of three wars that Cuba fought against Spain for its freedom not the ten years that Bo and the team up north played against Woody and the Buckeyes. It’s all just as well, I’m sure most South Dakotans don’t know who Woody is either. Today my body is in South Dakota, but my heart is in Columbus singing....

Fight the team across the field
Show them Ohio's here,
Set the earth reverberating
With a mighty cheer
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Hit them hard and see how they fall,
Never let that team get the ball,
Hail! Hail! the gang's all here,
So let's win that old conference now.

I’ll Be Home for Reformation

This weekend I was suppose to lead a Service Learning Trip to the cities. Unfortunately, not enough students signed up to make the trip economically feasible. So, that leaves me with 4 days off over Fall Break. What’s a girl to do? Call Grandma and ask if she’ll pay half on my ticket home. During my lunch hour, I bought a ticket to Ohio for this weekend for only 250! That’s an extremely cheap flight from Sioux Falls to Ohio. Homesickness cured. Not only do I get to go to Ohio for the weekend, but also it’s Reformation Sunday. What an awesome festival to go home for!

Shocking Election Campaigning

On South Dakota’s November 7th ballot is a law that would ban abortion. If passed, the only exception is for the mother’s life, no exception for rape, incest, etc. It’s not surprising that Sioux Falls, the largest city in SD is going crazy with campaigning. Aaron and I frequently drive down a street where over 800 pink and blue crosses represent the children aborted in SD last year. I get the point, but tonight during a US House debate I heard the most shocking statement that made me laugh and want to scream all at the same time. The republican candidate was asked about social security. He talked about privatization then he went on to talk about how the number of workers supporting each SS recipient is not where it once was. He went on to say that the ratio would be better if the 40 million aborted fetuses weren’t aborted. Whalen claimed that social security would be better off if the 40 million fetuses were around to pay SS. So, his two solutions for solvency of SS were private accounts and banning abortion. And if I had a nickel for every time he talked about being a pro-life family values guy from SD I’d be drinking Moet & Chandon instead of blogging. There’s hope Whalen’s opponent is favored by over 30 points and Aaron just handed me a check to mail for SD Coalition for Healthy Families (aka the pro-choice patriots).

Feeling Better

My most recent post ‘Homesickness’ is a very real reminder of how blogs are not helpful. Yes, when I wrote it I was extremely upset, but that only lasts for a while. After I blogged, I was able to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Yesterday was a long day with a 6 hour drive and 6 hours of meetings, but Aaron and I stayed in last night, watched Fahrenheit 9/11 and slept for 10 hours. Today life is better, it’s Friday! This morning I realized I didn’t have any afternoon appointments so I grabbed my laptop and bible then headed for Panera. What I need to accomplish this afternoon is doable here. I had a wonderful chicken noodle soup for lunch and now I’m working out of the office working with free Wi-Fi. This morning I found out that I’ve lost 14 pounds in 7 weeks, and 100 days from today is January 29th, the day we leave for Jamaica. While I’m still missing Ohio, Sioux Falls is treating me well.

Homesickness

Tonight I got an email from my cousin Raven announcing a tentative girls weekend in Ohio. It doesn’t help that I’m already a bit homesick. The email was in response to an earlier inquiry about getting together all the women of my mom’s mom’s mom (or the girls descending from my great-grandma, Mamaw). It appears that the weekend suggested is the one that marks the third anniversary of Mamaw’s death.

I remember sitting in Mamaw’s room the night she died. The women folk of the family were looking though photos and sharing stories. We decided that we needed to have a girl’s weekend. Finally, three years later one is being planned.

Problem: I’m on internship in South Dakota, and there’s no way I can get the time off.
Result: Increased homesickness.

Tomorrow Aaron and I have to travel to St. Peter, Minnesota for a meeting. We have to get up at 5:30a to get there on time. I can’t sleep. After I got Raven’s email I lost it. It’s great that the girl’s weekend is finally going to become a reality, but I can’t be there! While thinking about missing the weekend I began to think about when I’ll be in Ohio. Well, we’ll be in Ohio in December but then we’re away until May. That means 6 months without going to Ohio. I’ve done that before, but I’ve never lasted 6 months without seeing my mom and grandma. While I was in Milwaukee I was away for 6 months but Shannon, Mom, Grandma and Mel came at various times to break things up a bit. Specifically, Mom and Mel came the weekend after Easter, my first holiday away.

Now what. I know I’ll make it through, but it hurts (literally, my eyes are swollen and my head is pounding from crying so much). Somehow I’m reminded of my supervising pastor’s famous question that I’ve never had a real answer for until tonight, “do you still want to be a pastor?” For the first time I think I have an answer. If being away from my family of origin for extended periods of time is part of the package, no I don’t want to be a pastor.

I even came down hard on Aaron tonight. He was trying to make me feel better and I said, “if I lived as close as you do to your family I’d see my mom and grandma at least once a week.” Yes, families are different, but it’s hard to realize how physically close we are to his family, but we don’t see them with any greater frequency than if we lived in the cities. Right now, I’m jealous. I want to get in the car in the morning and drive until we reach Columbus. Better yet, I want a plane ticket to Ohio on February 23.

Mass

The first Tuesday of every month is Roman Catholic Mass in the Chapel of the Reconciliation at Augie. Today is the first Tuesday.

Any Catholics out there or enlightened catholics help! Every time I go to mass I feel alienated. Words like ‘those who are worthy’ are spoken meaning ‘you, Lutheran, are NOT worthy!’ An institution is separating me from Jesus’ command - “do this in remembrance of me.” I am rejected by the words and elements that give me the benefits of Christ.

So, why did I go today? Because Mass at Augie is for Catholics and those who are ‘Catholic friendly’. I consider myself Catholic friendly, but I found out today that I need to be Catholic friendly without going to Mass.

I feel wounded, and I want to crawl under my desk and cry. The last time I was at Mass was Christmas Eve of all times. I cried through the entire Mass. Then I thought it was that I was in SD and not Ohio, but I now realize it’s also because I was rejected and not welcome at my Lord’s table. I can’t subject myself to this. I need to be writing a bible study for tonight, returning phone calls and emails, but I am rejected.

Phone Call from the Principal!

At least twice a week I use my lunch hour to talk with Mom. Today while we were talking the elementary school principal called. Apparently Katelynn (a kindergartner!) was the reason for this call. This morning Mom reports Katelynn had a really good morning, but once on the bus she preceded to beat another kid with her backpack. Mom says this is the first of her kids to get phone calls from the principal during kindergarten. Oh, Katelynn.

A Sermon

Today something odd happened in chapel. During any given month Paul and I each preach 2 times. That leaves roughly 12 worships to be filled with faculty and pastors from around Sioux Falls. Today a Presbyterian Chaplin preached on Revelation 21: 1-4 (the new heaven and the new earth). I thought, Revelation, interesting choice, but let’s see where it goes. She used two examples one was about suffering in an orphanage in China and the other was a Pastor and his wife who had an abortion because the fetus had a rare disorder where its organs were forming outside its body. She specifically mentioned that SD’s Vote on Referred Law 6 (an abortion ban that has no exceptions). She talked about the power of grace in each situation and waiting for the new heaven and the new earth. Usually I’d love this type of sermon. It was powerful and I heard lots of law AND gospel. The concern I have is for the congregation. Many students are voting for the abortion ban. I worried that they’d feel this outsider came into their chapel and used the pulpit as a soapbox. This is an issue that has many people of faith on both sides. I worry about how the message was received in a different way than I normally do just as much as I thought, right on! Is this part of becoming a pastor? Only time will tell.

God

Tonight Aaron and Mike are working on some songs for a Saturday night youth gathering. While they were playing I said, "what about a few 'fun' songs"? Aaron, "how about some Pat McCurdy?" Well, I found some awesome guitar stuff on his site, but unfortunately, none are youth appropriate. Here's the lyrics to one of his many great songs.
________________________________________
God loves capitalists more than communists
God loves fundamentalists more than Methodists
God loves Americans more than Canadians
God loves nuclear power

God loves the stars and stripes
God loves Handi-Wipes
Thinks they're so convenient
God knows where the yellow went

God has a VCR
John Wayne is the biggest star
Up in the Ivory Tower

God doesn't love the Pope
God likes Pepsi more than Coke
He won't drive a Subaru or a BMW

God packs a magnum
For protection not for fun
God says make my day

God votes Republican
The only way to get things done
God loves makin' dough
Don't like payin' taxes though

God loves Disneyland
Loves a man to be a man
God loves the USA

God loves democracy more than aristocracy
God hates Iraqians, Russians, Jews and Libyans
(And anyone else who isn't a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant)

God is good, God is great
God don't like the welfare state
(He hates Sweden)
God drives a Chevrolet

God made petroleum to make my Winnebago run
God made plants and trees
We can waste them as we please
God loves the strong and tall
God loves white folks most of all
God loves the USA

God loves the USA
God loves the USA. He told me personally, and
I know what God likes

Pat is one of our favorite musicians. He plays at cool cities like St. Paul and Milwaukee. The pic is in Milwaukee on St. Pat's Day.

Gray Hair

Today after lunch I was brushing my hair before returning to work. I noticed a hair that didn’t look like the others. At first I thought it was the sun coming in the bathroom window, and then I realized it was a gray hair. I searched the right side of my head until I could pull it out (yes, I know two will take its place, but I had to know for sure) and examine - it was a bona fide gray hair. I needed to get back to the office so I did a quick 2 minute search of my head and found this hair to be an anomaly, yet this hair wasn’t the first of it’s kind in my head, two years ago my stylist found one. I’m too young for color that’s functional. I should only be thinking of fun colors, not ones to cover gray!

Shannon’s Wedding, Calorie Counting, and Jamaica – Oh My!

I feel like I'’m always just updating here anymore, but here I go again. So, Shannon is engaged to Tim and I'm getting ready for a wedding. Big huge news - congrats!

On Labor Day I decided I'm tired of my extra weight and it'’s time to count calories. I'm going public with this now, because I want to be embarrassed if I fail - that'’s a big motivator. Goal: 60 pounds by June 16th, Audra and Jake'’s wedding day. So far so good, but it's only day 6. Aaron decided to join me in the goal. Now it's not just about loosing the weight that I'’ve been putting off forever, but we're both to stubborn to quit until the other one doesn't. Our stubborn sides finally show themselves as strengths. Wish us luck!

And now to Jamaica. Well, we got two free flights within the 48 contiguous states, but that doesn't get us to Jamaica. This past week we were kicking around flying to a Royal Caribbean port of call and cruising to a tropical destination, but I thought that we could do better. Saturday morning I got a plan. I'll use the Delta Skymiles I was going to use to get to Ohio in December to get one of us to the Caribbean and just buy one ticket. The flight vouchers are transferable and so we'll sell one to get some cash to offset the cost of the purchased ticket and the other will get me to Ohio. Then I was left with finding an all-inclusive resort for a good price. I started with what I know, Sandals, but they've got stuff we don'’t need and they'’re very large. So I kept looking. Then I found a resort that I swear I would've built if we had enough money to build a resort in Jamaica. It's called Sunset at the Palms. A few awesome features are private treetop homes in a jungle preservation area; the resort is made of native wood and was the first 'green' resort in Jamaica and possibly the Caribbean. Aaron gets to see the ocean for the first time and he gets out of the US; I get my swim up bar (see photo).From what I can tell it'’s a more laid back place than the normal resort -– trading high intensity for natural beauty and sophistication. Oh, and we're on the western tip of the island which means breathtaking sunsets. Tomorrow we'’re off to get passports for our late January getaway.

4

Lori sent an 'about me' thing I had to fill out. Here goes...

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Program Director at Outlaw Ranch
2. Nanny for James and Ellen
3. Program Assistant – All Peoples Chruch
4. Front Desk Clerk – Holiday Inn

Four movies I would watch over and over again:
1. Love Actually
2. Independence Day
3. Phantom of the Opera
4. Twister

Four places I have lived:
1. Presho, SD
2. St. Paul, MN
3. Milwaukee, WI
4. Grove City, OH

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. ER
2. Judging Amy
3. The Simpsons
4. A Baby Story

Four places I've been on vacation:
1. NYC and Niagara Falls
2. Daytona Beach, FL
3. Phoenix, AZ
4. Gatlinburg, TN

Web sites I visit daily or weekly
1. Luther Seminary and Augustana Webmail
2. BBC/CNN/NPR
3. Intellicast
4. Google/Wikipedia/Dictionary.com

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Q’Doba
2. Country Vegetable Soup by Healthy Choice
3. McDonalds ice cream cones
4. Bratwurst with sauerkraut

Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. With Aaron
2. Grove City
3. In a swimming pool with a swim up bar in the Caribbean
4. Los Heroes, El Salvador