preaching.

6 Oct
It’s been the Center for Biblical Preaching conference at Luther these last few days.  The campus welcomed well over two hundred preachers for plenary addresses, workshops and worship opportunities to dive into preaching as a ‘matter of life and death.’  As a student, I spent my days in regular classes, unable to attend any of the plenary sessions by the accomplished professors and preachers that the conference featured.  I was, however, able to hear three of them preach in chapel.  
It’s kinda crazy how excited, how enthused, and how intrigued I was to hear these people preach.  I mean, these people have written books on preaching and are known in the preaching “field.”  After being out on internship, preaching myself, and continuing to preach in senior year preaching labs, it’s an area of great interest.  Monday chapel’s sermon called us to recognize our role as not the human race, but the human family by a passionate Episcopalian bishop from the south.  Tuesday, Karoline Lewis (my middler year preaching professor) engaged us in a lesser-known John text.  (My favorite line from Karoline’s sermon?  In listing the things that hold us back, the things that people tell us that stop us from continuing on a certain path – “You’re too pretty to be a minister.”  Funny.  “I’ve never been told such a thing,” Lindsay says in jest.)  Then today, Tom Long’s sermon literally gave me the chills and had me tearing up at one point.  It isn’t hope that’s running out of time – despair is running out of time.  It isn’t justice that running out of time – it’s injustice that will soon end.  It isn’t life that’s running out of time.  Death is running out of time.  We know how the story ends.  
I preached in my preaching lab on Monday – a wedding sermon.  I received a lot of positive feedback from my peers and the professor facilitating the group.  (According to the professor, I have a good “wedding voice.”  Huh.  Okay.)  It’s been a month since I’ve preached; I think I missed it.  Luckily, I have a preaching engagement with my home congregation approaching.  I’ll be preaching to my friends at East Koshkonong on Sunday the 17th for the first time.  It will be exciting to preach at my home stomping ground!

{ pot of chili } & { wine tasting }

4 Oct
Saturday was a gorgeous second day of October.  Jeanette, Nathan, and I packed a picnic lunch and drove east to Stillwater for an afternoon at an apple orchard/winery with hundreds of our closest friends. We could not believe how busy Aamodt’s was – crazy families and people and cars all over the place!  We found ourselves a picnic table to eat our PB & Js and then joined a tour of the winery, which is conveniently right next door.  We learned about grapes and fermentation and concluded our tour in the tasting room.  Wine tasting.  Check.  Raspberry dessert wine?  Delicious. 

It kinda looks like we don’t even like each other in the above picture but really, we do.  We enjoy each other’s company so much that we returned to campus, prepared a pot of chili (with compromised noodles AND brown sugar), delicious biscuits, and yummy apple crisp.  We slaved and invited four fellow seminary friends to join us in enjoying the perfect fall feast that evening.  (Okay, so it’s not beer bread, as dictated by the fall list.  But I’m going to take it as checking it off the list.)  The night continued with Bananagrams (with the added lynnkjernes/kylemyhre twist) and many episodes of The Big Bang Theory.  Good day.  Good night.
{ get lost in a corn maze }
{ bake a pie }
{ prepare a pot of chili, beer bread, invite friends over to enjoy }
{ step on the crunchy leaves }
{ sew a baby quilt }
{ homemade pizza on the pizza stone }
{ attend a wine tasting }
{ make and share these }
{ 10k training – the hiatus is over – it’s back on }
{ find a fall festival }
{ cabin weekend. a hike to the fire tower }
{ scarves.  puffy vests.  boots. }
{ read a for-fun book }
{ cheer on the twins from target field }
{ take a stroll around a lake }
{ pick my own pumpkin.  carve.  light. }

the trip westward.

3 Oct
A week ago, I drove westward on the roads I know well – the ones that lead from St.Paul to Dawson.  I was making a quick Sunday night venture to gnomeville to give Karen, admin extraordinaire, a HUGE hug.  That really was my only object; everything else was extra.  Karen’s father had passed away suddenly and my heart goes out to anyone with that experience or any kind of sudden family death.  The hug was delivered to Karen at the visitation.  Check.  And then I was blessed with lots of hugs beyond that.  It was wonderful to see many of my former coworkers, though under such icky circumstances.
It was sad.  It was wonderful.  It was weird.  Dawson is no longer my current home.  Grace is no longer my church.  There is a new intern.  It felt a bit strange … which in many ways was a good piece of closure for me as I continue to move forward in my school year, but in other ways the grief continued as a reminder that it is different, over, and never will return.  Please don’t misunderstand me – I love it still.  I felt welcomed.  But it’s … very different.  (As is only to be expected.)
I spent the night in Dawson and was greeted at the place of my stay by four giddy girls, jumping up and down, yelling, “Noodles!” to every car that passed that wasn’t mine.  These four girls greeted me with a cheer, with hugs, and by making me run through the banner they made me —
It was super sweet.  The banner now hangs on the wall of my bedroom.  I love it.

{ cheer on the twins from target field }

3 Oct

Luther Seminary bought a block of tickets to Friday’s game for students to then purchase at a discounted price.  I went to the game with the Gieseke’s, my Stillwater family.  We enjoyed ballpark food, the city view, the cold breeze coming from behind us as we sat in the very top row of the park, and mugs of hot chocolate to keep us warm.  The Twins unfortunately didn’t pull out a win but conversations about bow ties, Phoebe and Mike, Ben Franklin, and 7th inning karaoke made it a great night.  The gnome came too.

{ get lost in a corn maze }
{ bake a pie }
{ prepare a pot of chili, beer bread and invite friends over to enjoy }
{ step on the crunchy leaves }
{ sew a baby quilt }
{ homemade pizza on the pizza stone }
{ attend a wine tasting }
{ make and share these }
{ 10k training – the hiatus is over – it’s back on }
{ find a fall festival }
{ cabin weekend. a hike to the fire tower }
{ scarves.  puffy vests.  boots. }
{ read a for-fun book }
{ cheer on the twins from target field }
{ take a stroll around a lake }
{ pick my own pumpkin.  carve.  light. }

{ take a stroll around a lake }

30 Sep
Check.  Cross it off the fall list.  I’ve rediscovered Como Lake as one of my favorites.  Not far from campus and two laps around it is a perfect three point two miles.  Tonight while doing the rounds, I passed a man with a monkey.  Seriously.  He was walking with a monkey.  I didn’t think that was legal.
{ get lost in a corn maze }
{ bake a pie }
{ prepare a pot of chili, beer bread and invite friends over to enjoy }
{ step on the crunchy leaves }
{ sew a baby quilt }
{ homemade pizza on the pizza stone }
{ attend a wine tasting }
{ make and share these }
{ 10k training – the hiatus is over – it’s back on }
{ find a fall festival }
{ cabin weekend. a hike to the fire tower }
{ scarves.  puffy vests.  boots. }
{ read a for-fun book }
{ cheer on the twins from target field }
{ take a stroll around a lake }
{ pick my own pumpkin.  carve.  light. }

Lou Lou.

28 Sep

Lou Lou.  That’s me.

M.’s mom has a blog.  Find my description of peas mixed with mac and cheese there!

favorite people, favorite picture.

28 Sep
Along with the attic tour pictures taken and sent to me by Sharon was this picture which I now declare as one of my favorite pictures from that last day at Grace.  I love the personality of it.  It also makes me wonder what was said.  With the crew present, who really knows … but it appears (based on Karen and Kendall’s expressions) it was probably at my expense!

farmer’s market.

28 Sep
My friend, Sara, and I had a sleepover on Friday night.  We drank our favorite almond champagne from Trader Joe’s, watched The Big Bang Theory on dvd, compared making-our-own-hummus-stories (Sara’s was a success.  Mine not.), and checked in – it had been a while since we’d seen each other even though there are only ten minutes separating us.  (Well, ten minutes plus homework, jobs, families, other friends.  We’re busy people.  As are all of you.)

We decided on the St.Paul farmer’s market for our next day activity.  We grabbed coffee on the way this slightly rainy, kinda icky Saturday morning and found a place to park near the downtown market. Had I the time or the plans to be home in the following days, I certainly would have stocked up on my veggie produce.  We both did walk away with various flavored honey sticks (Perfect for tea!) and a bouquet of flowers for $6.  I also brought home some pie pumpkins with the hopes of making something pumpkin-y from scratch in the near future.  The plan is to go again this Saturday, hopefully with soup recipes in mind, to take advantage of the produce!  

Overheard at the farmer’s market —
Man: How are you today?
Vendor: Every day above ground is a good one!

attic tour.

28 Sep
THE attic.
Remember back with me to my last day at Grace in Dawson.  Nearly a month has passed.  I still miss it, no doubt.  (Stay tuned for another blog post about a short return trip to gnometown.)  On that last day, I got the much-promised tour of the church attic by the custodian I call Keith (or Batman), the custodian who calls me Sunshine.  We had talked about touring the attic many times; I promised Keith I wasn’t too chicken to meet the bats (while, secretly, I really would shriek if I found one swooping in my general direction).  With no further days to do it, up the ladders I went in my Nine West heels, along with other interested coworkers and coworker’s children.  Sharon documented the occasion for me.  Ready?
Up I go …
Second level.  I’m. so. scared.  (Not really.)
Made it.  I don’t see any bats …

Miss M.

28 Sep
M. and I go way back.  I first babysat for her as a baby, when she lived with her parents in a town near Edgerton and when her mom worked with my mom.  M. moved to St.Paul and then, conveniently, so did I!  While on internship in Dawson, I was away for a year and now that I’ve returned, I enjoy M. more than ever.  She’s nearly five and full of songs, smiles, and a great sense of humor.  
My favorite thing about spending time with M. since returning to St.Paul in the last month?  
Crafting.
M. loves to craft things.  Most specifically?  Crafting anything with tape.  I laughed with absolute joy when she proclaimed, kneeling at her craft table, “I love tape.”  *scotch tape in hand, ripping another long piece with which to attach a feather or button*  “I love tape,” she said again.
And that is why M. and I are now best friends.  Because I love tape too!  I told M. of the magical tape I own, the Happy Tape with patterns and colors.  I brought the special tape with me to M.’s the next time I visited and we crafted again.  With tape.  I love tape.  (And I’m not just saying that because I see the tape.  I love lamp.)  M. also knows about Art Scraps; we have a field trip planned to the art thrift store soon!
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