Tackling Tuesday… April 29, 2008

There are two days left in April - if you count today - and I’m FREEZING! It’s 45 degrees outside. I thought we left Minnesota 10 years ago??? My body does not like to work when it’s this cold outside! I want to stay in, curled up under blankets and drinking coffee!

But, I don’t have time for that. My days are filling quickly. Thankfully Tuesdays are one of only two days a week that we don’t have to be on the ballfield. I’m currently at home and finishing up giving baths to the littlest two. Kait is taking my place at the church this morning and helping set stuff up for the rummage sale. She’s loving it and loving the attention of all the wonderful grandmas and grandpas over there. I’m sure they’re loading her up with cookies and snacks and I’ll be the one to pay for it later, but at least my sneez-y allergies aren’t bothering me this morning.

Elijah and I have to sit down and figure out the best week for him to go to camp. I’ve got loads of design stuff to do for the church. I need to refigure the signage for the rummage sale this weekend, start working on baccalaureate, tweak some other signage and sermon graphics and CALL MY GRAM because her birthday was 2 days ago and I still haven’t talked to her!

OH! And my new books have finally arrived. What I really want to do is sit down, snuggle in and start to digest Pop Goes The Church by Tim Stevens. Or I Became A Christian And All I Got Was This Lousy TShirt by Vince Antonucci (although this one has already made it’s way to Chip’s office so it may be a while before I see it again).

OH! And everything I have to do today must be done before dinner. Because after dinner, we have to go find a pair of cleats that fit Elijah’s ever-growing feet! Which are now as big as mine!!!! And I should probably sort through the assortment of cleats in the closet to see if we have any for Kait and Noah. I don’t want to go cleat shopping more than once!

All that before I come home tonight to blog about American Idol. At least *that* I can do from the comforts of my snuggly blanket!

Sunday bulletin… April 20, 2008

• We don’t actually have bulletins at our church anymore. So it’s kind of funny that I call it that on my blog.
• The right person - Kristy Lee Cook - went home on American Idol last week. Not necessarily the worst of the week, but definitely the worst out of the people left overall. It was time for her to go. Hopefully Carly will go this week. Or David Archuletta.
• I thoroughly enjoyed my time of vacation this last week.
• I’d move to Chicago tomorrow if I could. I *love* that city! We were at Lincoln Park Zoo in downtown Chicago last Monday. My kids cannot stop talking about it.
• I’m seriously craving some Lou Malnati pizza right now. It’s just wrong that it’s not a national thing and I can’t get it down here. Another trip to the city is already in order and we just got home.
• I got the best new apron at Ikea on Thursday. It’s brown and orange and stripey and there is not a flower on it. Why do most aprons look like they were made for my grandma?
• My grandma would *not* wear an apron with flowers on it.
• Ordered some new books on Amazon today. Can’t wait until they get here. I love new books.
• My friends lost their brother in Iraq this past week. It’s weird because I can remember Ricky hanging around when he was just a little kid. It’s just not right. The funeral is later this week.

Sunday bulletin… April 6, 2008

• I’m toward the end for the FIRST week of 100 days of blogging and nearly forgot to post today. I really have no excuse since I’ve been on the computer a couple times today.
• Service this morning was AMAZING! A couple months ago, someone donated a new laptop to the church. It gives me something to be thankful for every week as I sit at the soundboard and run the show. The old computer was awful - if I *looked* at it wrong it would turn off. Sometimes I’d get it back, sometimes I wouldn’t.
• We’re doing a study through “How To Read The Bible For All It’s Worth” on Sunday nights. I read it once in college. I’m learning to appreciate it now.
• We leave in a week to see my Gram. I. cannot. wait.
• I think I want a handheld GPS for my birthday so we can go geocaching. I’ve wanted one for a while now, but this is the first year I think I’m ready to make the investment. If I get it now, it would be something we could do on our trip too.
• My birthday is in TWO days! I accept all major credit cards via PayPal. Or if you send me an email, you can load up my St. Arbuck’s card for me.
• Speaking of Starbucks, they have a big announcement coming out on Tuesday. I’ve got some ideas to what it might be.
• Remember back in the 80’s when having small, buttons to put on your backpack was all the rage? Facebook has added an application called Flair. And I’m collecting! My favorite that I sent today? I sent it to my hubs - “I love you like a nerd loves math!” rofl
• I just made chocolate chip cookies and I think I can actually *hear* them calling me to eat them! I’m debating pulling out the french press and the decaf for a bedtime snack.
• I still think not nearly enough people are Twitter-ing. Noah (5) asked me again today if he could have his own Twitter acct. I told him when he learns to spell enough to send his own messages.
• Chip’s brother is here from Wyoming - where he says there is still snow on the ground and the temps are near 0 at night still. Chip is going to be hardpressed to get me to visit that place!
• Chip’s dad took two of the kids home with him tonight, but the two left at home are still being loud enough for four!
• Have some serious phone envy over my friend’s new cell phone. Chip would tell me my phone is fine. I’ll agree with him until August when I’ve had it for a year.
• Seth fell asleep STANDING UP tonight at church leaning against me. I caught him just before he hit the floor.
• Seriously smelling those cookies now! Can’t.hold.out.much.longer.

Where would I be without Jesus? February 17, 2008

Our pastor asked that question this morning. Just happens that he’s the guy that I’m married to. I’ve often thought that I didn’t have much of a testimony because I can never remember a time that I didn’t know God. I’ve never been away from God. Sure, I had my times of rebellion (which most people would laugh at because I was so not the rebellious type).

But I remember being in college and having a real encounter with Jesus. One that wrecked me and made me see how wretched I would be without Him.

You see, I was raised in a fairly legalistic church. I remember being taught the rules and told to follow them and not ask any questions. If you broke the rules, you didn’t love God. And I loved God, so I tried my hardest to follow the rules. And I thought less of those who didn’t. There was no grace. There was no mercy. In a few words, I was self-righteous and stuck up. The me of yesteryear would not like the present me. And honestly, the present me, doesn’t like the me of yesteryear.

But in college, I was on my own. I didn’t have anyone to tell me the rules anymore. So, I started to question them. I figured that if I was going to believe something and have it stick, I better figure out what I believe and why. I can remember having long, theological debates with a friend name Justin who would interrupt my thoughts as I sat in the chapel in the skyway at North Central. I can remember him challenging my rational on why I believed what I believed.

But it was in those quiet moments in that chapel - sometimes with friends, sometimes without - that I had a real encounter with Jesus. One that led me to realize that I was a slave to legalism when what Jesus came and died for was to give me freedom in Christ.

Now that we’ve got some years under our belt in ministry, we’ve had all kind of encounters with people in the church. We have regular contact with pastors all over the country (it’s amazing how small the world wide web makes the world). And the horror stories we could share based on what we’ve heard or even experienced (though ours really do pale in comparison to most) would make your head spin. There are people in the church who are so filled with hate and judgement and anger and well… SIN, that they can’t even see the Cross. They cause pain. They inflict disease. They are the bane of the pastor’s existence. They are often referred to in the circles that we travel in as pastor killers. Some churches are full of them. Some have few or possibly just one.

This morning, in the quiet of the sermon, my husband asked, “Where would you be without Jesus?”

And I had a moment.

I had an encounter.

Because I knew in my heart, that while I had never been far from church or God even really, had I not had a real, life-changing encounter with Jesus, I would be one of those self-righteous, know-it-all, busybody, thorn-in-the-side, pastor killers. And that stark realization dropped my heart into my stomach and made me so thankful that God redeemed me. That Jesus died for MY freedom. That Jesus set me free from the law and let’s me walk in grace.

What a wonderful and powerful gift.

Bloggers go to Uganda… February 10, 2008

I’m more of a World Vision person, but Compassion International has caught my attention in recent days. How? With bloggers!

 CI is taking a group of well-known bloggers in Christian circles - people who have blogs that would be considered viral - and flying them to Uganda to bring awareness to the situation there. They are making the most of a movement and bringing several of the bloggers that I read with them.

We had Pastor Herman from Uganda with us last May. You hear a lot of different crises in Africa - the HIV pandemic in South Africa, the current crisis in Darfur, but you hear little about the crisis that has ravaged much of Uganda and left many children without their parents.

I’m praying that the bloggers will be forever changed, that hearts will be tugged and that children will find compassion from sponsors who want to make a difference.

It’s that time of year again… February 4, 2008

The Lenten season begins on Wednesday of this week. So weird that it starts so early this year! It’s kind of throwing me off! Usually, Easter falls right in the middle of birthday month for us. It will be nice to be able to focus on the Resurrection instead of trying to squeeze it in amist 4 birthdays this year (unless you count other family as well - then there are 12 between March 28th and May 2nd).

A lot of people - my husband included - really don’t understand the whole Lent thing with me. I’m not Catholic, but I find something intense in giving something up for the 40 days leading up to Easter. Knowing that God gave up His LIFE for me and choosing to focus on that with something of myself that I give up starts a pull in my heart like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. To give up something that hurts, even just a little, is NOTHING compared to what He gave up for me.

Chip started it all off with a great sermon on Substitutionary Atonement today. WOW! There were several people who teared up through the service today. What a powerful thing to think about as we lead into the Easter season - as we start that walk towards the Cross in these 40 days that lead up to Resurrection Sunday.

I’m still not sure what I’m going to give up. But it will be something that  will require some sacrifice on my behalf. I figure it’s the least I can do after all He gave up for me. I mean, He DIED for my sins. For ME! That just blows my mind…

What I’ve been up to… January 23, 2008

I’m working on a new website for the church. Our current website is fairly pathetic (I can say that - I designed it) and not very user friendly to update.

I’ve been going over the options and right now I think a blog format is going to be the best way to go for our small church. It’s easy to update, can have multiple contributors with their own usernames (which will be great for protecting against innocent mistakes) and is user friendly for the people in our community.

The biggest thing I’ve struggled with his hosting. Do I use a blog format that will host my blog for me or do I use a different web hosting choice and give myself a bit more freedom in what I can and cannot put on the website?

Right now, the new church website is being hosted by wordpress.com. I’m a HUGE fan of wordpress since I switched blog platforms. I have the option of exporting it as is to a wordpress.org (your heads would spin if I tried to explain the difference). I’d be able to do anything I wanted to with it then, however we’d have to pay.

Want to take a look at what I’m working on? The new website is nowhere near completed and I’m looking for a new picture to replace the  one on the top - but it will give you a general idea. The old one is as updated as it’s ever going to be.

Current Website

New Website

Sunday nights… January 13, 2008

Most Sunday nights, I get home and really, really wish we had a couple of massage chairs for Chip and I to sit in next to one another. I know people thing that pastors have it easy and only work one day a week. I’ll tell you right now, the work that is done during the week is anything but easy and by the time Sunday nights roll around, we are exhausted.

And since our accident, it’s only been that much harder. Before our accident we actually felt like we were starting to find some kind of rhythm. Chip was doing some odd jobs. I was babysitting. We were both working at church stuff. Things were good. But when you add pain to that equation, it makes everything just that much harder. For example, this morning I was trying to pull clothes out of a basket to wear for church. All of a sudden, something in my shoulder *popped* and I thought I was going to lose it. After some tears and a warm shower, I was ok, but even things like folding clothes has become more work than I can handle right now. It sucks!

So, tonight I’m sitting and home and dreaming of massage chairs and the wonders of Italy (I’m currently reading John Grisham’s Playing for Pizza - which really, really makes me hungry).  Maybe I’ll go slice some cheese to go with my whine…

Well, *that* was fun… December 19, 2007

Tonight we went to the kids Christmas production at the church they go to on Wednesday nights. The program was the best that I’ve seen them put together. The kids all did a great job and memorized their lines and the “reason for the season” - Jesus - was clearly presented. I know that there were people searching for truth in the audience. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit would continue in their hearts what was started tonight.

But the real fun part came afterward. Seth slept on me through the whole performance. He was just gone. We should have just gone home when it was done (I’m sure that you experienced parents out there already know where this is going). But Seth wanted to go downstairs and have a cookie.

 We got him his cookie and he sat down with his friends (the girl next door and her cousins). I turned around to say something when Tara (the mom next door) said…

Wait for it…

“Seth just threw up.” Very matter of fact. Very calm. No one around us was even a bit concerned. I guess that’s to be expected in a room full of parents and grandparents. People moved very quickly to get the needed supplies to clean it all up. We rounded up our kids and came home.

Seth is now laying in his bed watching Nestor, the Long-eared Christmas Donkey. A movie loaned to us by Miss Victoria at the chiropractor. The little guy is feeling pretty puny.

Only 5 more days until Christmas…

Oh the weather outside is frightful… December 16, 2007

Well, not so much anymore, but it was last night! We got 8.5 inches of snow overnight. WAY too much for me, but the kids are happy. We postponed church and the Christmas party until this afternoon. The power went out for about 2 hours this morning, so we wanted to wait for the power to come back on and so we could give people a chance to dig out.

So, we’ve enjoyed a slow morning at home. I’m guessing I should probably go do my makeup and hair. I dont’ suppose that I could get away with wearing a beanie to church this morning. Even if I do look really cute!