Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome!

Credit to The Telegraph

GOOD: Today is Installation day! Some have joked that all these big churchy terms like consecration, ordination, & installation should really just be regal & therefore like a coronation. While consecration made life as a Diaconal Minister that much more real, this will set our current calls in stone (the sword in the stone?!). This week we have experienced the quiet of January, so it is nice to celebrate the church with so many people today. Christmas is put away at the JZ Parsonage with a few remaining wintry decoration pieces filling the shelves. And in place of the Christmas tree now sits a bench we were gifted (by gifting others we were able to gift ourselves) that is really for our front porch. In the middle of January in northern MI it is not so much fun to put things on the front porch, so in the living room it sits for now. Though we think it'll be alright outside year round. It was a decent accomplishment simply to take the pieces out of the box & assemble the bench to start!

BAD: The other day we decided to check out our local Family Video - yes we live in a town without a Redbox & a classic video rental store instead - & it appeared that the majority of the films that were on the wall considered "New Release" were about warfare on a broad spectrum. This could be warfare in history, spiritual worlds, or made up worlds. What's the deal? We don't have enough warfare in our day to day living or world that we need to infiltrate more through media. No thanks!

AWESOME: Sharing in the joy of our friends' ordination & commissioning services happening across the country. While I sincerely wish we lived close enough to each event to be able to attend - & let's be honest, that means living somewhere in Z's part of the mid-west (Minnocentric Midwest) - that is not the case nor the need of the church. We are where we all are because we are called & set apart to live as leaders in the church.

WORD: So I've realized that I've stopped receiving a daily devotional that I often relied on to share something here. I tried to switch the e-mail address it went to & now I don't know where it's actually going. I'm working on starting something new.

coming up: Living the life in the winter wonderland of Pure Michigan!

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome

GOOD: Where did the last week go?! Seriously, in a blink Fall is setting in but Summer is still sweetly warming up the afternoons. Spontinaiety is the word of the week & my motto comes from Psalm 46 "Be still, and know that I am God" mixed with "God in, sin out, breath!" This last part is a twist on my friend TE's self proclaimed motto during her last months, "God in, Cancer Out, Breath!" Try meditating on either version - or make up your own motto - by repeating the words, practicing welcoming the Spirit's presence within you while ridding yourself of outside voices & filling your lungs repeatedly with the deepest through your nose breaths you can take. Hopefully this helps to lower your shoulders from your ears, curve your smile up, & hear the calming still small voice of God. There were many great convos this week through social media, phone, Google hangout, & Skype. One of the most surprising was the local brewery & then another later in the same day on a walk through the neighborhood with the dog. A baby & beer broke open the first conversation & dogs the second. What I learned was that there's comfort in knowing others struggles when you share in the struggle & it's a good thing we moved from "liberal MN." Thankfully the shared struggles were lighthearted topics of things from the past. The funny thing about "liberal MN" is that I think the neighbor knew we are liberal Minnesotans - yes I will claim MN for this - too so it definitely makes life in Chebooboo that much more exciting. BAD: Receiving emails regarding the maltreatment of women in the Middle East while reading Malala's story. What more can be done to stop these absurd degrading ways of thinking & acting for our sisters?! Also, check out the Half the Sky Movement for some idea of how to help.

AWESOME: Late summer bike rides, participation in a 30 day plank challenge, surprise phone calls from friends, book club with AJO, and Cheboygan Brewery's new blueberry creme ale.

WORD: In honor of the late comedian Joan Rivers, "I enjoy life when things are happening. I don't care if it's good or bad things. That means you're alive. Things are happening."

coming up: Folding laundry that I washed last week :-)

Sunday Snippits: the good, bad, & ugly

Welcome for a review of the

in the life of Juls of Life, Spirit, & Sparkle

GOOD: We started our week with the joint ordination of our friend B&A. It was a blessing to be able to attend & process with so many other leaders in the church. I do believe I was maybe the only Diaconal Ministry candidate there. I put on my alb & said I really needed a Diaconal Ministry cross & a pastor standing near by said, "A Diaconal cross?!" By george, we're not all pastors! Ha! Our week continued on with working several shifts, packing boxes, & doing a little this or that to enjoy life & not go broke. We finally made it to the Farmer's Market after not going for several weeks. So we've got some yummy produce to consume. We also splurged on lunch at Key's Cafe for lunch & shared a Monte Cristo with onion rings. I had never had a Monte Cristo before & boy was it yummy! The onion rings were great too & we got a piece of their house cake to go. We had been hoping to have this cake on special occasions since our wedding, but when your mom offers to bake, you don't turn her down. We totally suggest Key's Cake for any special event cake. We enjoyed ours by the shores of Lake Josephine.

BAD: We're packing & we don't know where we're going! While it's exciting, it's not fun. Thankfully we had the thought to pack up our office, which is the size of a large walk-in closet, first, so that we could put boxes in there & out of the way.

UGLY: Yet again, I urge you to check your news & then look for signs of hope.

Coming up: This week we'll be packing more boxes, working a few shifts, having a cook-out with friends, visiting camp friends, & celebrating the marriage of B&E. Let the adventures continue!

WORDs to dwell in: Luke 10:25-37 The Good Samaritan. In what ways can & do we show mercy to the oppressed in our community & world?

Friday Foto Fun!

photo courtesy of Kelsli 7/12/13

This summer I have missed having a piece of ground to call my patio. Living on the 3rd floor & without a balcony, it gets pretty small inside our apartment. Today we ventured to Lake Josephine for a little fun in the evening sun. We even made a new friend who really was more interested in our football than us. 

Here's to finding those perfect summer getaways not far from home!