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| … can you spot my left side? The rest of me is missing. |
Some group photos from the run, posted on (and then admittedly stolen from) a fellow student’s blog!
run for the apples.
23 OctAs I talked to a classmate at lunch yesterday, we were discussing our weekend plans and I mentioned I was doing a five mile run/walk. (Remember? The one I thought was a 5k and not five miles …) He asked, “For the apples?” That’s actually what it’s called – Run for the Apples. It takes place at an apple orchard in White Bear Lake and, as Nick said yesterday, it kinda sounds like a benefit. Run for the apples. They need you. Save the apples. Do it for the apples. Nick had bought an apple in the caf line; he held it up and inspired me by saying, “Run for this guy.”
With that encouragement, I ran for the apples. Well. I ran and then I walked. I walked and I ran. I am in no way fit enough to run a solid five miles but I think I did pretty well. Five miles in one hour and thirteen minutes. I’ll take it. To most runners, not so great a time. Was I the last of the Luther Seminary crew to cross the finish line? Yes. But I’m okay with that. A year ago, I never would have signed up or thought I could run any of it. I’ll take my completion time and be proud of finishing.
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| My run/walk buddy for most of the race. At times ahead, at times behind, we finished together. I never would have signed up if I didn’t have a buddy with whom to do it! |
The campus nurse/wellness director encouraged students to sign up to do the race by giving us a free tshirt and paying half of our registration fee. There were a good fifteen of us who took advantage of the hook and did the race sporting our Luther Seminary “Healthy Leaders” tshirts. The group of sem students were great to cheer everyone on as the finished. Cheering me on at the finish line was also a surprise spectator from Dawson! Long story short, Stacy – whose now fourth-grade son, J., is one I would speak about often in previous posts – was there with her sister, Carrie (who was signing autographs because she is an Olympic runner), and Stacy just happened to be at the finish line as I crossed it. (phew. Got that?) Stacy and I both only had a bit of time to chat – but she said she’d be sure to tell Kendall back at Grace that she saw me finish!
the rogue rotary cutter.
23 OctI’m typically a pretty safe and lucky person when it comes to injuries. (knock on wood) With the exception of the minor sprained wrist a few summers ago and the popped knee-cap of ’01 and ’05 (Same knee-cap, two experiences of seeing it popped off to the side. Once while on a bus and once while sitting on a bed. Two amazingly lame injury stories if you ever want to hear them.), I have a pretty clean slate. And the current injury is not serious in the least; it’s due to a rogue inanimate object – my rotary cutter. Let this be a word of caution to you all … they bite.
I was cutting fabric to complete a case for my kindle and somehow, in moving this piece or that, my rotary cutter took a spill off the craft table and landed blade-down on my middle toe. Masses of blood later, I’m fine. No worries. No stitches. (Once I was able to maneuver some paper towel between my other toes to cover the middle one, I was able keep working with momentary pauses to switch out the paper towel for new ones.) I think it’s a good story. And a good reason to shake my angry fist at the cutting tool and exercise greater caution in further cutting excursions. (You should know I quilted/cut fabric last night injury-free. That’s not to say I wasn’t a little nervous and retracted my blade more than I ever had before the cutter went rogue …)
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| injured toe. completed kindle case. |
be thankful on paper.
21 OctTake Joey from Friends for example. After asked what he is thankful for, he said, “I am thankful for this beautiful fall weather we’ve been having. The other day, I was at the bus stop and a fall wind blew this one chick’s skirt right up. [pause] Which reminds me – I’m also thankful for thongs.” (I sat down to write this post and by happenstance it was that episode of Friends that was on my television. It begged for inclusion.)
Sometimes we focus more on the negative than we do on the blessings and people for which we should be thankful. (Guilty as charged.) Rachel, over on No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane, is proposing a snail mail campaign in the month of November – hand-written notes of thankfulness. Not only is the being thankful a bit counter-cultural, but let’s write a pretty note, address the envelope, and put the stamped thank you in the mail. Not an email. Not a facebook message. A thank you that arrives in the mailbox.
Here’s what will happen: Each Wednesday of November, I’ll send a hand-written note to someone in my life for whom I am thankful, telling that someone why I consider them a blessing in my life. That next day, I’ll write a simple blog post about that note of thanks and the person to whom I wrote.
Along with other bloggers I know only through text and not by face, my Dancing Banana (translation: high school) friend, Jenni, is joining in on the thankfulness. Read about the people she thanks for being in her life here beginning in November. Have a blog and want to join in? Visit Rachel’s blog linked above for further direction. Don’t have a blog? You can send snail mail thank you notes too. Be thankful on paper this Thanksgiving!
Hello world!
21 OctWelcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!
{ pick my own pumpkin. carve. light. }
20 Oct
Reading days mark the middle of the semester. Two days with no classes in which to complete midterms and catch up on reading. Have I done either of these between yesterday or today? Nope. But I did manage to check one more thing off my fall to-do list!
Two friends and I decided, instead of that homework-thing, to eat soup, carve pumpkins, and roast seeds. I picked my own pumpkin … from the large cardboard box at Cub. We carved. We lit. We had a lot of fun getting our hands goopy and gross and scooping seeds. We made trail mix from the roasted seeds and ate pumpkin cheesecake pots. A good time was had by all.
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| Intended to be a silly/scary picture, it really just became an open mouth picture … |
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| My pumpkin has a heart on its sleeve … er, head? |
{ bake a pie }
{ sew a baby quilt }
{ homemade pizza on the pizza stone }
{ make and share these }
{ 10k training – the hiatus is over – it’s back on }
{ scarves. puffy vests. boots. }
{ read a for-fun book }
a baby cousin.
18 OctI was finally able to meet Drew and Logan’s baby sister, Kennedy, while I was home. (She’s the new cousin I made this pink quilt for just a few short weeks ago.) I love new babies. She’s oh for cute.
{ corn maze } & { fall festival }
18 OctI knew I couldn’t spend all of Saturday in front of my computer while at home, finishing my sermon for the following day at East [keep reading to the next post] or beginning the ten-page pastoral care paper that was due today. Even if that’s what a responsible student would do, I refused. My sister and I picked up our cousins, Drew and Logan, and we headed past Stoughton to Eugster’s Fall Festival. The main objective and the way we hooked the newly eight and three-and-a-half year old was a corn maze. You should know, this festival had two – the big one and the children’s corn maze.
“Okay, boys, which one do you want to do? The kid’s corn maze or the big one?”
“THE BIG ONE!”
Well. We tried. Drew led the way with occasional input from Emma and I. Logan got tired. And then picked a stalk that he whipped around. Fifteen minutes into it, we conveniently found the entrance route again and used that illegally as our way out. But the children’s maze? Dominated that one. (Twice.) Beyond that, we found ourselves on a hay wagon ride, in a spooky silo, and eating popcorn. There were lots of animals to look at, pictures to take, and swings to play on. When we got home, Logan’s mom asked him if he had fun. “Eh,” he mumbled as he shrugged his shoulders. He had fun – he just didn’t want to admit it.
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| Think we’re related? … nah. |
{ bake a pie }
{ sew a baby quilt }
{ homemade pizza on the pizza stone }
{ make and share these }
{ 10k training – the hiatus is over – it’s back on }
{ scarves. puffy vests. boots. }
{ read a for-fun book }
{ pick my own pumpkin. carve. light. }
fan club.
18 OctI went home this past weekend to be the *guest preacher* at my home congregation. It was the first time I preached to the people at East Koshkonong and I was n.e.r.v.o.u.s. The story among preachers is always both how hard it is and how positive it is to return to the congregation in which you were raised as a preacher. It’s hard because the people in the congregation have known you from a small child through your awkward teenage phases – and now you’re preaching to them? On the other side, you could condemn the people of your congregation and they would still tell you how proud they are of you and how you did a great job. I was not too confident in my message; there was plenty of room for the Holy Spirit to work. Not my best by any means. But as I shook hands and received hugs after church, everyone made it sound like I did quite alright. Wonderful. A+. Let me hug you. Good job. Everyone was very gracious.
I began my sermon by telling the congregation that I’m fairly certain the last time I stood in that pulpit was as a middle school narrator for the Christmas pageant. I never would have guessed that I would return fifteen or so years later as a preacher. The journey that led me to this place is thanks much to the people at East – they asked me to narrate the pageant. They invited me to play my flute with the senior choir. The called out in me the gifts they saw for ministry. Fast forward a decade and a half and here I am.
Above and beyond the congregation at East, I felt completely uplifted and supported by my fan club. That’s what I’ll call them – a fan club that I’m certain spanned more than three pews full, had they all been sitting together. It’s the first time I’ve preached within an eight hour drive so this was many of their first opportunities to hear me. I did the math – supporting me in my guest preaching role were:
1 mom
2 siblings
3 grandparents
4 aunts
4 uncles
5 cousins
2 friends from high school + 3 young boys
I heard from many people as I shook hands and greeted after the service that two physical bodies were missing from my fan club. “Your Grandma Vera would be so proud of you!” many of the church ladies told me. The other? “Your dad would love to hear you preach! He’d be so very proud of you.” True story.
I joined –
15 Oct– the Kindle club.
I’ve been dreaming and wanting the Kindle, the e-book reader by Amazon, for nearly a year now. The confirmation students in Dawson knew this well and rarely a week went by when Kyler didn’t ask me if I had bought my “Kendall” yet. Kyler: I finally did. I joined the Kindle club. And I feel pretty good about it.
It arrived in the mail today and it contributed greatly to my impressive procrastination of the day. I’m learning the buttons, playing with features, and will honestly admit that I have read nothing on it yet but the user’s guide. In due time. My hope is that it will help me be more dedicated to leisure reading because I do enjoy a good non-theological read and think reading for fun will benefit my sanity. There have been many books I have wanted to purchase in the past months but I’ve held off, knowing I would finally break down and buy a Kindle and thus be able to pay less money for the book at that point.
But for now, I must write a sermon and a final course paper. No new books yet – let’s not get too excited. I will indulge in a little Jane Austen – Mansfield Park was free! That’s another great thing about the Kindle – hundreds of books with copyright dates before a certain year are free to download. This e-reading device will pay for itself! (I hope … that’s me trying to not feel guilty about the purchase …)
there's no place like gnome. 