so far.

9 Sep
Since we last met, things have been crazy and calm, both awesome and overwhelming.  I spent Wednesday and Thursday mainly in the office, getting a handle on a few more things, meeting the people who stopped by, and going to a WELCA meeting.  I met jD for lunch at The Roost Cafe in Blooming Prairie [owned by Beth, a self-labeled liberal Catholic, who is all around pretty awesome] and received a tour of the care center in Blooming, where a handful of ROG [Red Oak Grove] members live.  I started to work on the sermon for Sunday, and waded my way through worship planning using the green book.  [The green book is secret Lutheran code for the green hymnal that sits in church pews.  There is also an updated cranberry book – the latest Lutheran hymnal.  We do not have this in our pews.]  I visited a few members, gave the custodian more work to do [I kinda broke my office window.], and dined with the Dorcas circle at church last night.  I’ve kept busy.
Things are good.  People seem excited that I’m here and their pastor.  I received only one comment so far about my age.  [I was meeting ladies at the WELCA meeting, shaking their hands and introducing myself as they went through the line for lunch.  One woman shook my hand, not entirely sure who in the world I was or what I was doing until I said, “I’m Pastor Lindsay.”  “Oh, I wasn’t expecting someone so young!”]  I met two ladies at the independent/assisted living section of the care center yesterday, one of whom knew about me and of my friendship with jD.  You see, she’s the oldest living life-long member of ROG [not to be confused with the oldest member of ROG who is not a life-long member and married into the congregation] and she’s bff’s with the oldest member of one of jD’s church.  They talk on the phone every night, apparently about their pastors and who knows what else.  Oh for cute.  I love stories like that and women who talk on the phone with their best friends every night.
Between those visits and the opportunity to dine with and participate in Bible study with the Dorcas circle last night, I’m reminded why I do this.  It’s in times like those that the questions of what the heck am I doing?! and is this really right for me? disappear.  Here’s hoping Sunday morning is another one of those times.  You know me and worship leadership – nervous nelly.  We’ll see how this goes!

to work.

6 Sep
Today I went to the office.  [I walked across the parking lot.]
I was the tiniest bit terrified about it.  Nay – I was absolutely terrified.  and nervous.  and unsure.  
I caught up with the administrative assistant – Marilyn – and then set to work on my office.  The way it was set up made it look like the place where furniture went to die – a mix of different pieces in an odd combination.  I wasn’t quite sure how to make it functional and spatially attractive to me so I simply started pushing desks in different places, and by golly gee, I’m really happy with how it turned out.  I hope to get some lighter paint on the walls and have the blinds on the big window repaired so I can have as much natural light as possible.  Books, gnomes, and office supplies were moved in and I love the result.  Here I can write a sermon or meet with a couple for pre-marital.  I can assemble various projects at a work table [hidden behind the door] and use either my macbook [preferred] or the desktop [when needed]. 

After rearranging and unpacking, I tried to get a handle on a few things.  The result of this effort was a l.o.n.g. list of questions, a couple researched files, and a to-do list for the future.  I met with Brent, the council president for a brief period of time, talking about budget, the upcoming annual meeting, and the logistics of a cell phone for me.  I’ve only worked here for a day but I appreciate this man.  A lot.  He appears to be so involved, so genuine, and so strong a leader, which is exactly what a church needs in a transition like this.  
On the other side of things, I spoke to a certain colleague on the phone at three? four? different times today.  The main question I asked [and this colleague echoed] was this:
What in the world am I doing?
Not only what am I doing but why am I doing it?  I am perfectly certain that I’m called to be a pastor but really?  Really?  Is it normal to ask myself what in the world I’m doing every day?  every hour?  I know I love it; I really do.  I think beginnings are hard, especially when I have no clue where to begin.  I think that once I feel comfortable, feel like I have a handle on what’s going on, and feel like I not only know people but that people know me, I might ask this question less frequently.  But for now, each day, as I walk across that parking lot, I think I’ll question what in the world I’m doing and if it’s right.  
Basically, what I’m left with at the end of my first day is a lot of questions.  Lots of questions.  There is lingering fear and definite nerves about being THE pastor at this church.  The former pastor here ended his last newsletter article with something like, “May God bless you as you follow Pastor Lindsay and her leadership.”  My leadership?  I have leadership?  I’m the leader?  Lots of questions.  Lots of confidence needs to be relocated within myself.  Lots will happen and ultimately, despite the questions of what in the world I’m doing, I think this is the place for me.  
my office door with a greeting from pastor paige!

the internet and I meet again.

6 Sep
Hi.
I’m here!
But that doesn’t mean I have internet at my house or the church.  Let me rephrase –
I’m at Caribou!
It’s been too long and I need the connection … and to pay an online bill.
So, hey.  I moved to Austin!  As I mentioned last night in the mobile post [it was like writing the longest text of my life], congregation members graciously helped me move my life into my new home.  There were many points when I was embarassed at what they had to carry inside.  A. My dish tub of gnomes, topped off by the banana dog.  B. A pile of string.  [my hammock.  but they didn’t know.]  C. etc.  They were great and didn’t ask too many questions, nor did they ask me to leave on the spot.  They’ll learn I’m quirky.  It’s all part of my charm.  [Right?]  They left after getting me settled in with keys and a garage door opener, phone numbers on the fridge and requests to let them know if I need anything.  They’re taking good care of me.  
My family had to leave quite quickly after getting everything inside so I was left to unpack and bask in the square footage of a house that is far more than I currently need.  It’s wonderful.  I didn’t get too many boxes emptied before jD, Lauren, and Paige came over with pizza and beer.  I lack a kitchen table so we sat on the living floor and just talked about life, about how great it is that we are finally all together, and about Harry Potter robes.  Monday was more unpacking, shopping for the basics, and coffee with Mandy, Lori’s daughter who teaches and lives in Austin.  
Today, I went to the office.  [dramatic cue music]  More about that next.
No photos of my house yet – lo siento.  Know that the kitchen is a dream, the dining room is empty except for my gnomes that occupy the built-in curio cabinet [so serious], and the living room looks pretty pathetic too.  My craft room is coming together and my tiny upstairs bathroom is cute as a button.  My favorite thing about my house thus far?  No, not the freaky noises the ice maker makes at night.  I watch the sun rise over a corn field from my bedroom window [though I don’t always think this is so great at six in the morning] and watch it set over a corn field on the other side.  I’m surrounded by corn.   As long as I don’t think about the horror movies that take place in corn fields, I love it.
5 Sep

You may have seen my previos posts – the ones that were completely whacked out? That, my friends, is apparently what happens when you try mobile blogging via text message for the first time. Craziness, I tell you. Craziness! So now this is me mobile blogging in a different manner. It’s tedious, folks, so short this post will be. I arrived in Austin yesterday and a group of congregation members helped unload the uhaul and vehicles in a spiffy way. That’s when I learned that the parsonage nor the church has Internet currently. Hence lack of blog. When technology is back in our favor, expect more. For now know that I LOVE my house, I’m terrified to officially begin tomorrow in the office, and I’ve been lucky to be social both days I’ve lived here. (My seminary friends who live nearby came over last night with pizza and beer and today I had coffee with Lori-from-Dawson’s daughter who lives in Austin. It’s been great!). Hopefully this is more coherent than the nonsense posted earlier and now deleted (thanks, blogger) and you know my reason for being absent. Soon I hope to update you more on the beginnings of this crazy new journey! I love technology, but not as much as you, you see …

today’s realization.

2 Sep
Popcorn?  Check.
Beer?  Check.
Watching Tangled alone on a Friday night?  Check.
It was a day of packing, reflecting, and tweeting.  Now I’m kicking back to a Disney animated movie.
The best realization of the day?  
As I tried to plan how to do all the laundry possible before leaving on Sunday, I realized that for the first time I don’t need to frantically try and leave with all clean clothes.  When I move in a day, I will move to a house with a washer and dryer that do not require me to first insert quarters.  This girl is excited to finally live in a grown-up house!

stress relief.

1 Sep
I’ve decided that I do not carry stress well.  My hair is proof, though the humidity helped none today.  It wasn’t pretty, folks. [Come on, autumn, and arrive already.]  I see it in my hair, in my lack of any kind of facial expression, and feel it in my shoulders.  The knots hurt.
But enough complaining.  Things are looking up.  My grandpa volunteered to drive a U-Haul on Sunday – this relieves me of so much stress.  It will be great to get everything to Austin in one day.  Congregation members will be there to help unload and I’ll have my bed from day one.  [Plans to move gradually by car load over the course of the month of September make me want to cry.  This will be much better for the transition.] 
I had coffee with Banana Kay and met up with Banana Kim this afternoon before I make my move.  The coffee date at the local coffee shop was made even more interesting by the presence of that one person I emailed in July, asking him to be my friend.  I never told you but he eventually did respond.  To reject my offer.  *awkward turtle*  I guess I am creepy.  I wasn’t entirely sure it was him sitting behind me today but later discovered it was.  We said nothing to each other; actually, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know who I am so it’s okay.  
My mom and I went out to supper with Grandma and Grandpa – we had a date with the Cozy Inn in Janesville.  Guess what kind of cuisine the Cozy Inn serves.  Seriously.  Guess.
Chinese.  
Grandma and Grandpa have been going to the Cozy Inn for many years and wanted to make sure I had the experience before I moved.  The food was great and I received an intriguing fortune.  Okay, Cozy Inn, the longest-established-Chinese-restaurant-in-the-United-States-according-to-your-menu, I dare you to prove this fortune true. 

After supper, I received a gift.  Grandpa had gone shopping and picked something up for me from Farm and Fleet.  [It’s not Fleet Farm in this neck of the woods but has equally delicious orange slice candies.]   It’s become pretty standard that when people say, “I saw this and thought of you!,” the this is normally a gnome.  This is likely the largest gnome I now own and I think he will look most excellent on my front stoop.  [The people of Red Oak Grove and going to learn my quirkiness eventually; might as well begin crazy.] 
 Got a home for a gnome?  I always have a home for a gnome!  
That’s my new life motto.  I won’t be a crazy cat lady; I’ll be the crazy gnome lady.  Children will mock me and my friends will have to stage an intervention.  “Lindsay, we say this because we care about you.  Your gnomes are not real people.  Come back to us, back to the outside world.”  I’ll protest at first but then give in as they persist.  [But that doesn’t mean I won’t carry gnomes in my purse when I leave the house and whisper to them when I think no one is watching.]

random stuff.

1 Sep
First, happy random stuff.

It’s my sister’s birthday today and the day she begins her first year of college classes!  Molly Bea and I set out through Target and the dollar store send to Emma the best box of stuff ever.  We filled that box to the max, wrapping each individual thing.  We’re talking gummy vitamins, a foam ax, grow-your-own-penguin, movie candy, a japanese doll bank, a book of baby names, birthday certificates [a pack of 24, each filled out from a different random name], birthday hats, glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs, a Justin Bieber notepad and more.  [Angel wings, pencils, toothpaste … you know.]  She loved it all.  [I also sewed her a laptop case; the diamond in the rough … if it fits.  I hope it fits!]  Happy birthday, Emma!

Second, too much random stuff.

I loathe packing.  I’m collecting all of my things in the empty garage stall.  Things from my bedroom, my brother’s bedroom [where much of my stuff has been stored] and the basement.  There’s still more to come.  Gross.  To top it off, I’m still not sure how I’m going to move.  There is talk of a uhaul, quotes from movers and … ugh.  [I had mentioned that a brother of a friend was going to help me … but now I feel like I’m taking advantage of him and I just don’t know.  It would also be nice to simply move it all at once and be done with it.  I throw my hands up in frustration.] It’s at times like this that I particularly wish I were married because my husband – naturally – would own a truck.  That would solve many of Lindsay’s problems but most pressing – the issue of how to move.  

in blog’s honor –

31 Aug
In honor of there’s no place like gnome‘s birthday today, I will host a fictional party to celebrate.

Would you like to come?
Oh, you forgot to rsvp?
[awkward silence followed by awkward laughter]
Just kidding!  There is no rsvp for this fictional party that I just made up for something that isn’t even tangibly real.  Come on over!  [But do bring your 3D glasses!]

Here’s the best – as I see it – of pinterest partying:

Source: None via Lindsay on Pinterest

happy birthday!

31 Aug

Happy birthday to you/happy birthday to you/happy birthday dear BLOG/happy birthday to you!

My blog baby – there’s no place like gnome at gnomepreacher.blogspot.com – turns two today!  Two!  Put on your 3D glasses and party hats and you could come celebrate with this dork on the left!

[I forgot to remember to celebrate her birthday last year.  what a bad blog host am I.]

Two years ago to this day was the summer night that I arrived in Dawson for my year-long internship.  [Here is the first ever post on gnomepreacher.]  The intern committee had helped me move into my apartment and taken me out for dinner.  I returned to my home-to-be for that year – oh, parkview apartments – and [dramatic pause] began to blog.  Gnomepreacher was born out of dreams to communicate with family and friends in Wisconsin while I lived on the prairie for a year, but she’s grown into a lot more.  
Since then, the blog has been with me through thick and thin.  It has shared with you joys and sorrows, losses and gains; many corny videos and even more gnome stories.  A trip to Alaska, friendly tales of polar plunges, and transitions aplenty.  Cakepops, macarons, and hamballs. The blog – through story and the infinite interweb – has connected me to people in strange and really wonderful ways.  
Blogging is never a chore for me.  It’s not unusual that when I’m away from my computer, I’ll write posts in my head, some of which are published, others of which are not.  I feel grounded in my writing and in the sharing.  If there is a day or – gasp! – three when I don’t blog, it feels like something is missing.  I love doing this.
Once more, I thank you for reading.  Even when I forget to say thank you, know that I’m grateful that you share in this with me. You share in and take interest in the stories I live and write.  If I were not in the middle of moving and packing, I might have yelled cakepops for all!  But I am moving and packing [or at least am supposed to be]… so not really.  Cakepop false alarm.  
Happy birthday, blog.  To many more.

a love letter to autumn.

30 Aug
Honey baby,

I can’t wait to see you again.
I’m so excited to be embraced in hooded sweatshirts, long-sleeve cardigans, and have scarves wrapped around my neck.  I want to wear socks to bed and be kept warm by a stack of quilts that have been given to me in love.  
I want to sit in an adirondack chair and sip coffee in your crisp mornings.  I want to open the windows of my house and not close them until there is a chill throughout the rooms.  I will simmer stove-top potpourri and make orange pomander balls.   
I long to watch the leaves change and bake any and everything with pumpkin and cinnamon apples.  I want to invite friends over to carve pumpkins, play with other red, orange, and yellow crafty-goodness, and eat soup that has simmered on the stove for hours.  Oh, and the squash.  How could I forget the squash?
I’ve missed you so much and can’t wait to be reunited.  The days will be sweet and wonderful and lovely in so many ways.  You’re my favorite.

Love,
your schmoopsie

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