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Showing posts from 2007

Whirlwind Fall Season

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God is good! I am constantly running from thing to thing yet remain reassured that God is all around holding my little whirlwind of a life together in His hands. I remind myself of the Tasmanian Devil from cartoons zooming off a cliff and picture God carefully thumping me back in the right direction or giving me a wall to bounce off of just before I go careening over the edge. Family is good for relaxing by the lake with no thought about the ever-present to do list. My children and husband are the safe reservoirs that rejuvenate me. I am ready for a break to slow down and can see it coming SOON! AMEN!!

Swimming the Summer Away

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It has been a while since I have posted anything out here. I have been enjoying the summer with the children. I find it amazing and exhilirating yet the time flies - what have I really done? Not much if you look at the tasks but worlds if you look at the young faces. I am back to just attending church - how relaxing. So far, I have put off the call for volunteer work for the most part. In two and a half weeks, I have exercised with my son and daughter, watched swim meets and a baseball game. The rain has really bitten into the sporting events, but we spend hours at the indoor pools working on dives, strokes and flips. both kids make me really proud. I have also listened and listened and listened to the frustrated hormone speak of a 9 year old! When did adolescence move back this far? I am exhausted but glad that I can be here for her - well most of the time I am glad. My 6 year old son and I had a talk about understanding girls and why they "Wig out" - yeesh! Ministry inte

Just another soccer mom

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I feel as if I am a lame duck in that weird part of a job where everyone knows that you are leaving. All of the work that you do is questionable because people wonder if you cared enough to do it right - or wonder why you did it at all. So, I concentrate on other stuff! My daughter is doing yet another ballet recital. She looks so much more mature than in the others - and this year it actually looks like dancing instead of children thrashing about on a stage. It makes me sad and proud. My son's soccer team finished their season undefeated - gasp, I am still adjusting to the whole idea that I am actually a soccer mom for real! Ah well, I guess it is time to ante up and join the gym so that I don't look too much like that soccer mom in the stands with a ding dong and coffee....
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This has been a big week. I passed my preaching exam with Presbytery and was at an all-time high only to turn around on Tuesday and be out and out lambasted in e-mail by a member of the church who is disgruntled and unhappy with his shrinking volunteer role. He was truly angry that the church is reducing (and sharing with others) what he views as his territory. I guess that losing control of things is always hard, but why do people have to be so mean when they think you are the threat? Or just the least powerful component of the threatening organization. Isn't a church supposed to be the place of a non-dysfunctional family. why does it sometimes seem to be the opposite. It is the place where people feel safe exposing all of their nastiness. Safe yes - nasty no! hat is not how or who we are called to be with one another. I stay sane by volunteering for pieces that excite and interest me. I am blessed by many along my journey. I felt wrapped in warmth and support on Sunday. I think
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Yawn! Slowly awakening with the new day. There is such creativity and art all around me. I feel inadequate. Eater and spring bring rejuvenation, but I am not there yet. Now more than ever I want a nap and a vacation. Is it the church, kids' with too many activities or just stagnancy in my creative outlets? hmmm Another cool note - I listened to a wonderful presentation on recycling with worms. The whole concept that is really neat. You put this bin under your sink with worms in one layer. The worms eat all biodegradible materials leaving you with fertilizer tea, no smell - they promise. I may have to look into this some more for my summer project.

Camping

Well, here I go off to the glorious land of East Texas - with a car full of elementary school kids. Humph! Oh well, I may be insane, but I find such weekends exhilarating and peaceful in their own unique way. I will be with my boss and with my daughter and a handful of other children who attend our church. I hope that they take away from the experience as much as I always seem to. Keep us in your prayers!

Celebrities

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It is amazing sometimes how quickly the time flies. Between children activities and preaching, the end of the week flew by last week. I had what I have to describe as the most interesting experience of my internship at the church on Wednesday. We have a clothes closet at the church that receives referrals from a parent organization. A lady came in and one of the volunteers walked her to the close closet. About 30 minutes later, I was touring a fellow seminary student on our clothes closet and talked to the volunteers. Turns out that the lady friend who I saw was not a female. She was a he! (No, the picture of Dirk does not apply to this part of my post - see further down) But, the ladies in the clothes closet were astounded because he asked for women's clothes too. He told one of them that he was a drag queen and porn star from Hollywood and needed outfits for work. Oh my! This is a new one for me. I can just see the byline now - "Wardrobe provided by Presbyterian Church"

Dreary Morning

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I drove to work this morning dragging myself through the fog. There is something about a foggy day that makes me want to stay in bed. And now, I am writing this instead of a sermon. Hmmm! I love Spring and would much rather be out planting than in here on the computer. Thus lots of the 'shoulda's (shoulda worked on my sermon earlier, shoulda written that review, shoulda washed the kids' clothes, shoulda...) just don't seem to happen if they can be put off at all! It seems that all of my spare time is spent with carpool - soccer, t-ball, ballet, swimming. Yikes! We're at that point were the seasons are overlapping, one wrapping up and another just beginning. I fear things are about to take off - life is a roller coaster. You just think you have control when you top the next hill. Hold on, here we GOOOOOO!

First Timer

Posting to a blog for the first time - hmm. I am joining the masses. Today is my first day back at work from a skiing vacation in New Mexico. The vacation was wonderful. The mountains always remind me of the glory of God's creation. Each day is unpredicatable in the weather and elements that one will encounter. The creatures come out on their schedules regardless of what people want. We wait hoping to see, but nature evades our plans. The bobcat couple that ran across the backyard hunting in tandem was an awesome experience for the kids. My mom had the question - if they caught something while you were watching, would you keep looking? My answer was an immediate and emphatic - NO! My husband said 'maybe'. My mother surprisingly said she would watch - it would be part of nature. I told her not to let the kids see. I would want to protect my children from seeing such carnage, yet should I? This is part of life, and humans are animals too. God knows back in the office, I see