there's no place like gnome.

another summary.

Say you were to approach me tomorrow. Say you asked, “So, Lindsay, how was your weekend?”

I would say, “Hey! Thanks for asking! It was pretty good.”

If that answer wasn’t long or detailed enough, here’s how I would proceed:

– I saw Avatar. Finally. It was wonderful and I may or may not have shed a few tears behind my 3D glasses.

– Buttercrunch almond toffee. Success. The first candy I’ve made that required a candy thermometer and fancy things. Packaged and ready for the mail tomorrow.

– New fabric for one yard wonder constructions. To begin with grocery totes. Excited.

– A good part of my weekend was spent wearing these around my apartment, trying to convince myself that they’re not too big for my head and that they weren’t a stupid purchase. This picture is for you, Emma.

– A Sunday of two baptisms. Beautiful babies welcomed into the body of Christ.

– I ran two miles. Like seriously. Two miles without stopping. I impressed myself.

– New biscotti recipe. Epic fail. Added chocolate on top. That makes everything better.

– Watched Thursday night’s episode of The Office twice. Props to the show; it was better than I have come to expect this season. (“Wrong baby! Wrong baby!”)

– Saturday night quilting/chatting. Perfect.

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country drives.

7 Mar

Whenever I used to get in my car to go somewhere, I always had my ipod. It didn’t matter how far I was going, I plugged my ipod into the radio and always had the music on. Lately, my radio is off. I don’t take my ipod with me when I drive places. Instead of searching for radio stations or throwing in a cd, I tend to drive in silence.

In the silence, on the roads between snow-covered fields, my mind goes in a few different directions. To-do lists. Upcoming events. Lately, it’s been going a lot to my dad. I’m not sure what it is – if it is the farms and the fields, something else, or remembering that it was first my dad who ever put the idea of ministry in my head.

Sometimes, when I drive, I think of how proud my dad would be of me. In high school, I remember going somewhere with him in his truck. I don’t remember where we were going or what we were doing. He suggested that I think about ministry as a possible career track. I’m not sure if he saw in me gifts for ministry or if he simply thought it’d be pretty great to have a daughter who was a pastor. He told me more than once, in his giddy voice, how proud he would be to tell people that his daughter was a minister. There are many people and reasons that got me to this place but my dad, telling me that, is one of the great reasons why I am here now, whether I recognized it at that point in my teenage life or not.

Here I am, halfway through my internship and one and half years short of becoming an ordained pastor. It sucks – it simply sucks – that my dad is no longer on this journey with me. I know that he would have been one of my biggest supporters and fans alongside me in the struggles of seminary and joys of ministry. I would love to be able to share church stories or hear his feedback on sermons. I would love to hear him tell me that he is proud of me again.

Still. I know he is.

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Categories reflective.

oh my gnome.

6 Mar

I was running errands in Willmar and stumbled upon a section of gnomes. A mini gnome village. A community of gnomes, living peacefully together on four metal shelves in between the garden stepping stones and discount valentine decorations. Gnomes holding shovels, thermometers, and gnomes riding turtles.

I thought this one was pretty cute. Pretty sure he’s related to the gnome that’s on my lunchbox.

And this guy — his door says “There’s no place like gnome.” I think I’ve heard that before …

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Categories gnomes.

Surprising myself.

3 Mar

I sat at my desk today, preparing to preach at tonight’s lenten service, and found myself pondering at where I am in life. Pondering not in a bad way, not in a how-did-I-get-myself-in-this-icky-place, but rather in the wow-I-have-come-a-long-way. I have grown in so many different ways in the last years. The Lindsay of two years ago, or even six months ago, would be surprised by my current self. Let me explain –

First, I think of the Lindsay who entered seminary. The Lindsay of two and a half years ago had no idea what she was doing. That Lindsay was not certain at all that she belonged in seminary classes. She questioned her call to ordained ministry and thought about seeking a degree in something other than the ordained ministry track more than once. Contrast that to today, when I fully and whole-heartedly believe that being a pastor is the vocation to which I have been led and called.

Let’s visit the Lindsay of middler year. (In seminary speak, the middler year is the second year of classes.) The Lindsay who was scared out of her wits for preaching class. This Lindsay had a few minor breakdowns at the beginning of her middler year, never having the confidence to realize that she would be prepared for internship. The Lindsay of today currently preaches every week. I enjoy – yes, enjoy – sermon preparation and preaching. I still get nervous but this time on internship has boosted the confidence in my preaching immensely. My internship committee has told me that preaching is one of my great strengths that they observe. I never would have guessed that would ever be the case!

Then there is the Lindsay prior to cpe. CPE is a mandatory 400 hour experience for ordination – Clinical Pastoral Education. I did my time last summer at a care center/low-income senior apartment building in Minneapolis. Before cpe, I was terrified at the thought of walking into a person’s room at a nursing home and striking up a conversation. Terrified. I was scared to think that I would be called into situation of death and dying. What was I to say? To do? CPE didn’t give me all the answers (as it can’t be expected to do) but it helped me gain confidence and familiarity with situations. Now I have no issue walking into a hospital room or spending time over coffee and bars with the residents at the care center in Dawson. In fact, spending time at the care center in Dawson has become one of my most favorite things to do.

Today, as I pondered, I realized how much I have grown and how much that surprises me. It’s a true testament to what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger because, man, there were points when I thought both preaching class and cpe were going to be the death of me when really, those are two of the things that have made me grow the most. To look back at myself a year or two ago and to see how my confidence, skills, and experiences have shaped me into the intern pastor I am now is a humbling thing.

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Categories reflective.

skiing part two.

28 Feb

Cross-country style.

It was family fun ski day for Grace this afternoon. I woke up super excited about the outing this morning. A group of over fifty of us caravanned an hour and a half northeast to Andes Tower Hills. Most of the participants, adults and children alike, opted for the downhill version of skiing, while four of us decided to hit the cross-country trails. It was the perfect afternoon for skiing … sunny, warm, and delightful.

Two of my coworkers, Karen and Tammy, along with Julie, a congregation member, and I made our way to the trails. It was a great adventure. We all fell down a few times and had many good laughs. We stuck to the easy trails but still found one hill we couldn’t conquer while traveling forward on our skis. Sideways we went.

Alongside the hour and a half on the trails, other highlights of the day included:

… Two giant bananas, Chiquita and Dole, skiing and handing out oranges, pleading with people to eat oranges, not bananas. Seriously. Two grown men in banana suits over their winter clothes with sombreros. Classic.

… A confirmand approached me while in the ski lodge. “Hey, Lindsay, remember that sermon you preached? Uh, you know, I think it was Lent. Uh, last week. Yeah. Last week.” He hands me a dime. “You know how we’re supposed to share our gifts? Here.” Even if it was a complete joke, it shows he was listening. best. sermon. feedback. ever.

… caramel cashew trail mix from Target that Tammy brought along for snacking. nummy.

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Categories children/youth, Dawson, for funny., outdoors.

Saturday perfection.

27 Feb

First order of business – a trip to the gym and a solid twenty minute run (hey, a big accomplishment for me!) alongside lifting. It was a good workout, not complete without a conversation with an older congregation member about how it’s important to get the heart pumping. True story.

After a shower, it was time for the quilt top and I to meet again, hopefully with less frustration than last Saturday when I threw my seam ripper aside in frustration. We’ve become friends again, the nine-patch and I, after I successfully have now completed the top! Four months in progress and I finally feel like I’ve gotten somewhere. Next, I need to decide what to do with the back; I’m ready to say nothing too exciting so I can move onto quilting it.

While sewing, I found Field of Dreams on tv. It has been years since I’ve seen the movie; we had the $5 VHS tape from McDonalds and remember watching it with my dad growing up. It was a good reminder of my Luther College days – Iowa is heaven-like. Our family also had the $5 McDonalds tape of Back to the Future; we know where that got me. (Obsession.)

Quilt top: Complete. I will leave it hanging on my wall for the next few hours so I can stare at it and feel accomplished. Now it’s coffee and cookie time. I baked cookies last night to mail out to a few people; it was a new blog recipe find. There are three kinds of chocolate in the cookies … intense. I also used whole-wheat flour which throws the texture off a bit but they’re still tasty.

As for the rest of the day, a confirmation lesson needs to be in the works and perhaps a movie. I see Hot Rod is on tv later; a movie I have grown to love and quote and one that begs to be watched.

“Goodnight, Denise.”

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Categories quilts/crafts

This week’s wisdom.

27 Feb

1. Teaching fourteen third graders to make paper cranes is not a walk in the park. I found a youtube video online that went through it s-l-o-w-l-y step by step. As we watched the how-to instructions, they screeched at me, “pause it! pause it!” “I don’t get it!” “I need help!” Needless to say, we ran out of time. Looks like I’ll be doing the beginning steps of fourteen paper cranes to catch them up when we continue on Wednesday.

2. Using a prop such as a banana dog will become the talk of the town. After using Webster as a key part of my sermon on Wednesday evening, he was mentioned at a women’s circle study the next afternoon and a Pampered Chef party I attended the following evening. I’m thinking people will now associate me as the owner of the banana dog.

3. Egg coffee. Never had I heard of such a thing until the women of Mary Circle educated me. I think it sounds rather disgusting but they emphasized over and over how “pretty” the coffee is when made this way. That’s what I like to drink – pretty coffee.

4. “Don’t worry, Sweet Pea. I’ll find you a man. A rich man with one foot in the grave and the other one on a banana peel.” This is what H. told me while I visited he and his wife at home. Always a joker but also a gentleman. He helped me put my coat on when I was ready to leave and made sure I had a Little Debbie cupcake for the road.

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Justification, Webster and Lynn.

24 Feb

Text: Romans 3:21-28.

Success: I made the congregation laugh.

Sermon:

Tonight we continue diving in to the book of Romans. Last week in just the opening chapter, we spoke about the righteousness of God and how we become righteous through our faith. Tonight we continue on into the third chapter of Romans and onto another churchy and kind of intimidating word – justification.

To begin, I like to invite you to take a minute and think about the best gift you have ever received. Think, think … what is that gift that was the very best? When did you receive it? Maybe it was Christmas. Maybe it was your birthday. Maybe it was just because. Who was it from? A spouse? A parent? Sibling? Maybe even a stranger. I might be a material thing or maybe it’s not. How did it feel to receive it? Does it make you excited just to think about it because it was so great?

Okay. I want to share with you one of the best gifts that I have recently received. It came from a friend of mine named Lynn. Lynn and I have been close friends since elementary school. Even though we’ve spent the last years since high school apart, we still are able to reconnect and talk and keep our friendship close.

Lynn knows me so well that she just knew I would love this gift. She sent it to me in a big box and I got really excited as I was opening it. I picked it up from the post office and began to analyze it. To guess what could possibly be inside. It’s kinda light. Didn’t move around much in the box. Hmm…

(Third grade buddy J. and the ever-blogged about C. come forward and help me shake, ponder, and open the box.)

… until I opened it and found this. I had to stare at it for a bit. I really was not sure what it could be. A banana dog? She knows me so well. I emailed her as soon as I got it and told her, there really are no words. No words for this … banana dog?

Now I didn’t ask for the banana dog. I didn’t expect this to come in the mail to me. I didn’t pay for it. There really was no good reason for it. It was a gift. Pure and simple. Lynn didn’t have to send me a banana dog. Really, she didn’t. But because of our friendship, because of her love for me, she did just that. She gave me a gift.

Okay, now back to the gifts that you thought of earlier. The very best gift you have ever received. Did you ask for it? Were you expecting it? Maybe you kinda asked for it if it was on your Christmas list. Maybe you were expecting it if you are one of those who peeks at gifts under the tree. But did you pay for it? Chances are not. That’s what makes a gift a gift. It’s given without payment. Free of charge.

In the third chapter of Romans, Paul writes that we are justified by God’s grace as a gift. We are justified. We become right in the sight of God. But only as a gift.

Justification is a tough word to wrap our heads around. There is a lot encompassed within the word. Perhaps, instead of justified, we can say that God accepts us. God declares us righteous. God forgives us from our sin. God calls us into relationship with him. Put all those together – that God accepts us, declares us righteous, forgives us from our sin, and calls us into relationship – and there we have it. That’s what it means to be justified by God.

We can’t justify ourselves. We can’t make ourselves right with God. It’s not possible. Paul reminds us that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. In the context of this letter to the people in Rome, Paul reminds them that they all have sinned. Whether they are a Jew or a Gentile, whether they are rich or poor. They all have sinned just as all of us have sinned.

We’re human. There are many things that make us human. Our heart that pumps blood through our bodies, poseable thumbs, walking on two legs. And then things like gossiping. Letting our emotions take control, whether it be anger or sadness or rage. Putting ourselves and our wants ahead of other people’s needs. Lying. Swearing. Not honoring our father and mother. Caring for ourselves more than we care for our neighbors.

We are human while only God is God and God. Our God is holy and just. We can’t follow what God commands us to do, try as we might. We can’t live a life that is completely righteous according to the law. We’re human. We sin and fall short of the glory of God. But because of our justification by God, we are accepted by God and we are made righteous. We know that without the justification by God, without God forgiving our sins, that we are sinful and therefore worthy to be condemned.

God does all these things through grace. We are justified by grace through faith. Grace. It’s a gift. We’re not worthy of it. We don’t pay for it. Grace is the “beautiful simplicity of the entire story of God’s love, active in Christ and the Spirit to do for us what we could never do for ourselves.” That is the big story, the story of God. “God’s initiative, energy and commitment to carrying through the project of the justification of sinners is at the heart of Paul’s message and is the true source of all genuine Christian devotion.”

This is the story. This is what it is all about. That while we were still sinners, God justified us by his grace as a gift. We don’t deserve it because we’re sinners. And we don’t need to do anything in return. It’s a gift. And as great as my new banana dog is, there, in God’s love and grace, is the greatest gift.

But now let’s go back to that gift that you were thinking of earlier. The greatest gift that you have ever received. The one that you shared with your neighbor. Think about what you did when you received that gift. Did you take the gift and stash it in a secret place? Did you take the gift and keep it completely to yourself?

I’m hoping that you received your gift and then shared it. Growing up, my brothers and I knew that the very first phone call on Christmas morning would be from our cousin Brent sharing the gifts that he had received with us and then we would share what we had received. Later in the day, when we would all gather for our Christmas meal, we would bring our most favorite gifts to share with each other. The first thing I did when I received the banana dog was email Lynn, to thank her, to share the joy of the gift with her. Then I shared the gift with my coworkers, who had a good laugh over the character.

Gifts are meant to be shared. We receive them and then we must turn around and allow others to receive them, to share. This gift of justification by grace is no exception. We are given this gift of forgiveness, of relationship, of acceptance by God through faith in Christ and we turn around and share it with our neighbors. How will you share the gifts that God has given you? The gift of love? The gift of grace? That’s my challenge for you tonight as you leave here, hopefully aware of the gifts you have received – that you find ways to share the gifts that God has given you. Whether it’s the gift of laughter in receiving a banana dog or the free gift of justification by God’s grace, In every day, in even the most insignificant of moments, share God’s gifts as He has first shared with us.

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Categories sermons

Meet Webster.

23 Feb

Webster arrived in the mail today. The box was big and light and didn’t shake. I was severely puzzled at what it could be. With the sender as lynnkjernes, anything could possibly be inside.

I had no words as I pulled Webster from the box. I wasn’t sure how to react. As I realized that this ‘banana dog’ was pretty much the strangest yet funniest thing I had seen in a while, I began to giggle. This wooden/ceramic-like banana dog is ridiculous, I thought, and all of my coworkers at staff meeting totally agreed. “You have the strangest friends,” one of them told me. (I concurred.)