Archive | April, 2010

growing up.

24 Apr
A woman at the assisted living facility in Dawson requested a communion visit so after a local pastors’ meeting on Thursday, I made my way to Prairie Meadows, my communion kit in hand. I know I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy spending time with people at the assisted living/care center in Dawson; this woman is no exception. This particular day she paid me compliment after compliment, telling me that she thought the meditation I wrote for the Dawson paper was so great that she just had to cut it out and save it. For cute. But me feeling good about myself was not the object of the visit. She was so appreciative of the time taken, for communion, and we just had a lovely conversation about how wonderful the people of Grace are.
After our visit, she invited me out to the dining area for coffee. Coffee and bars of course. We joined another woman enjoying her mid-afternoon lunch. (This is turning into a really long story for a small point. Stay with me.) In describing someone else, the other woman we were sitting with said, “She was a teacher when she was growing up.” Not “she was a teacher as an adult.” Not “when she grew up, she taught school” but “she was a teacher when she was growing up.”
Probably not an intentional statement but it struck me. I hope people say that about me – “She was a pastor when she was growing up.” I love the idea of not being a pastor when I’m grown up because I love the idea of not growing up – I’m not ready to be grown up. I realize that responsibilities will still increase, bills grow in number and I’ve been told life will only grow more busy – but I still hope to always be in the process of growing up. I know I still have a lot of growing up to do and it will never be complete – but nor do I want it to be complete. Being a grown-up sounds stuffy … so let’s not go there.

project.

22 Apr

I love it when my office is filled with supplies for a new project. It makes me anticipate the day when the supplies will be put together to make something wonderful! These supplies will be put to work next Friday night at the 5/6 grade lock-in … I’ll keep you posted on the final product!

Police recover Gnome.

22 Apr

life lately.

18 Apr
A. I spent the weekend at the Southwestern Minnesota Synod Assembly. It was my first assembly to attend; it was an educational and tiring experience. Kendall and I left on Friday night for Redwood Falls (a town about 65 miles southeast of Dawson), set up the Luther Seminary informational booth, and then met up with Lori for a delicious, hilarious dinner of repeated and serious conversation. Assembly all day Saturday and most of Sunday, with a candy bar party in the hotel dining area sandwiched between the two days. Our congregation was invited to bring four delegates – that’s who we partied with – the delegates and candy bars. We were a bit rowdy. (This is when I was told by another pastor who attended the “party,” as we talked about seminary and costs, “Well, you’re obviously not married, so how do you support yourself?” Obviously? How am I OBVIOUSLY not married?! My hands were under the table so it was not based on the lack of ring!)
The Church-wide Assembly decision regarding the ordination of homosexual pastors in committed relationships continues to be discussed and addressed in our synod. It was interesting to sit back and listen to the discussion, to the opinions on both sides. Comments were respectful for the most part regarding the decision, about which a resolution was brought forward to return the decision to the next church-wide assembly. The resolution narrowly failed (to which I said a silent “woot”).
B. Friends and I continue to be inseparable. Now onto the fourth viewing of the entire series. (Currently Eddie is Chandler’s creepy roommate. “So when I woke up this morning, I realized he’d stolen all the insoles from my shoes.” Love it.)
C. I planted my window garden – marigolds, chives, oregano, zinnia and geranium. It’s in the experimental stage; my mother is the one with the green thumb, not me. Hopefully something green comes of the planting! I’m excited to water and watch! Thanks to the Gieseke’s for the garden supplies, including trowel and gloves! I’ll keep you updated on the growth!
D. Turns out I’m on top of a latest “faddy food” – cake balls! Click on the link to the Cake Ball Company within the article and it appears I could create these fun little balls of cake and make quite a profit. Place your order now!
E. Monthly quilting with the ladies tomorrow along with Bible study – beginning a series on the lament psalms. Mailings to go out. Internship cluster meeting on Tuesday. Confirmation on Wednesday. Local ministerium meeting on Thursday. First communion lock-in on Friday. Preaching on Sunday. Gearing up for another busy week of ministry. Love it!
F. I want to make these (cute clothespins – already have the washi paper tape) and these (fabric bags made simply from old vintage pillowcases).

bucket list.

18 Apr
There is a congregation couple at Grace that recently took a trip to Italy. As the woman was sharing the experience with our Bible study group, she kept referring to her husband’s bucket list. They went to Pompeii because it was on her husband’s bucket list … it made me think about what would be on my bucket list.

Urban Dictionary defines a bucket list, tactfully as always, like this — “a list of things you think you might need to accomplish because you feel your own mortality closing the door on you; you feel insecure about your life and therefore make a list of things to get busy on.”

I’ve decided to make one. Here’s my start:

Visit South America
Fall in love. Marry. Have babies.
Become a published writer.
Write a blog. Bribe people to follow it.
Grow my own garden.
Take a dance class.
Read the entire Bible.
Plant trees.
Play broomball.
Visit Austrailia.
Learn to play guitar.
Go kayaking.
Host a murder mystery dinner party.
Canoe the Boundary Waters.
Cut down a Christmas tree at a tree farm.
Make my own hummus.
Go on a camping trip.
Paint a room a crazy color.
Own a dog.
Make my own kinder eggs. Temper chocolate.
Take a volun-tourism trip.
Go snow-shoeing.
Watch LOTR extended versions, beginning to end, in one sitting with a friend.
Sleep outside.
Sip coffee for hours at a European cafe.
Visit old Quebec City, Canada.
Purchase and then use far too much a digital SLR camera.

… to be continued.

uni-tasking.

18 Apr

We brag about our abilities to multi-task; here’s a perspective against it that makes me think, “huh. makes sense.”

Taken from [hold this space], a blog written by a religious leader in Australia:

“There was a great article hidden in yesterday’s paper about the fallacies of multi-tasking, particularly as it relates to creative, non-linear work. The article gave all the common sense reasons why multi-tasking is damaging: when we multi-task we ‘do by rote’, disabling our capacity to reflect and change what we do, which is of course the most critical part of double or triple loop learning; things take longer when we multi-task and we lose a sense of accomplishment when a task is finished because our mind groups all current tasks together. The kicker was the line that talked about how we all think we multi-task better than anyone else, but really we’re deluding ourselves… and worse, multi-tasking is addictive, feeding into our desire for constant stimulation.

I’d like to get back in the habit of uni-tasking. I’m going to ask myself, when i begin a task, whether it’s something that’s worth focussing on to the exclusion of all else, and if so i’ll create an environment of singular focus and non-stimulation in order to do that. I think that means I have to not be afraid of being bored. I also suspect it’s going to be much harder than i imagine…”

new office decor.

15 Apr
It was Thursday afternoon and I didn’t have much on my to-do list for a change so I spent some time at the care center/assisted living facilities in Dawson “wandering.” I just wandered, talking to people I came across. I was reminded how someone, stopping by just to say hi and share a smile, can completely make another person’s day. It was a lovely Thursday afternoon.
I got back to my office around 5 and found this :

Jesus had a new shrug. A barn musical … thing. A slightly creepy doll, seated as if for counseling. Bird statuary by the phone. The fish-bubble-aquarium tower that changes colors as it bubbles.
But that wasn’t all.
These little creepy guys were chilling on my macbook.
A new afghan on the back of my chair. Though you can’t see in the picture, a small loon is next to my computer. (Necessary, of course, because the loon is apparently the state bird of MN.) And did you notice the spotlight? A spotlight, aimed directly at my face as I sat in my chair.
Snowman. Fake greenery. Wicker basket thing. Not pictured: twin bunny candles, a wicker bench, music box of sorts, picture of Jesus wearing stage make-up, and a sit ‘n spin. It was quite the sight.
The story: Every year, the women of the church host an attic to cellar sale. Basically, it’s a giant garage sale. People can bring in items to donate for the sale and the basement becomes the rummage sale. Apparently Kendall and Karen had been gradually setting things aside as they arrived, things they knew I would especially appreciate and love in my office. Unfortunately, we had to take the things back to the basement today. But I certainly loved it while it lasted.

taffying.

14 Apr
We cooked. We buttered. We pulled. We got sticky. We ate.
It was taffy day for my last release time class with my precious and never-attentive third graders. It was successful in that each of the fourteen darlings took home a bag of packaged taffy that they themselves pulled. It was a success in that they had fun. One could also call it a success because Lindsay maintained her sanity for the entire hour (and only a couple times had to count to three before speaking). Overall, it was a lot of fun – buttery, sticky, messy fun.
This is how it worked – my coworker Tammy helped me cook the taffy before we went to pick up the kids at 2pm. The taffy cooled and once the third graders arrived, they washed their hands, put on a paint shirt and buttered up. Hands need to be completely buttered otherwise the taffy sticks. Once their hands were good and greasy, I scooped up some taffy and instructed them to start pulling.
Then, for the next twenty minutes, I heard the following over and over:
“I need more butter!”
“Lindsay! Mine is sticking!”
“Am I done? What do I do next?”
“Can you get the piece I dropped on the floor?”
“I need help!”
Oh my. It was chaotic but in the most organized sense possible. It was a fun and unique way to end the year of release time. I’ll miss my third graders!
And the lesson is :

excitement.

13 Apr
Okay. Last night’s post regarding the cruelty of internship was a little depressing? too much? vulnerable? That was apparently my emotional limit of the evening. The post is still absolutely and completely true – the thought of the end of internship is still saddening to me. BUT –
Today’s weekly staff meeting cheered me. Staff meetings are enjoyable to me but they can go one of two ways. They can either completely overwhelm me as my to-do list grows OR they can make me utterly excited for what is on the horizon. My limit of time has not increased – it’s still just four months – but I’m excited for what is to come in those four months. And I needed something to be excited about. I had been looking forward to Adam’s wedding for so long and it was wonderful but. then. it. was. over. As my favorite resident at my summer CPE site would say repeatedly, “Now what? Now what?”
– Taffy! I’ve had this dream (or self-inflicted nightmare?) of making taffy with my third grade release time kids. Since tomorrow is the last day of release time, it’s taffy day! (I got the idea from this site.)
– TWO church lock-ins (fourth graders at one and fifth/sixth graders the next weekend)
– A ninth grade confirmation overnight trip to Gustavus College.
– Planning and leading a day camp in August – woot!
– Going to camp! Apparently, as a pastor, I can just take off for camp and visit our kids while they’re attending programming there. Pastor perk!
– Planning and leading a confirmation retreat this summer.
(Let us note together that each and every one of these upcoming events that excites me has to do with children/youth. Hmm.)

internship cruelty.

12 Apr
April. Month eight of internship. How is that even possible?
I feel like the beginning, uncertain Lindsay was just yesterday. That I was only recently unpacking, settling in, and feeling lonely in Dawson. It seems so close but this is the eighth month of my time in Dawson. Over halfway complete.
Eight of twelve. I suspect that these last four months will fly by faster than I ever want them to fly. Once summer hits, I will blink and it will be time to pack my apartment and move back to St.Paul.
It hit me last week when Grace received the paperwork on the new intern. New intern. I will soon be the old intern who once taught confirmation. The past intern who quilted with the ladies. The intern who baked for staff meetings. I found myself feeling a bit possessive of Grace, of my role as the intern. I don’t want someone else to be in my place … I love my place too much.
Internship is a cruel process in this regard. ‘Here,’ internship says. ‘Move to this town. Form relationships. Get to know the community, the church, the people. But in twelve months I’m going to take you away whether you want to leave or not.’ Internship is mean.
I love it here. Knowing that it is month eight, I am beginning to grow sad. I realize that this week is my last release time class. Soon it will be my last confirmation class. Last Monday afternoon Bible study. I’m not ready for lasts. I don’t want to be kicked out and plopped in a classroom again. But, I suppose, whether I’m ready or not, it will happen and I will enjoy my last four months as much as I can.
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