Tuesday Tea Time!

Hello Tuesday Tea Time!

This week I get to share our exciting, yet surprising even to us, news of our expecting baby Nelson early this coming summer!

As one friend joked, 'that's what happens when ya have too much downtime!' 

We have been so on the go since we found out though it's hard to see straight some days! 

Now my collection of caffeine free tea comes in extra handy. Not to mention the inches of snow we've had lately that make a nice cup of hot tea extra nice at any point in the day, making good use of my tea collection. 

Surprise doesn't even quite wrap this experience up for us, but it's the best surprise we could've asked for to end an incredibly chaotic weird year. So today raise your cup to baby Nelson & ridiculous amazing God blessed surprises!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Hiya Tuesday Tea Time friends!

This past week has been filled with many a good travel mug or mug of tea on the go. I had a few good chances in the evening to truly enjoy a warm mug of relaxing mint or sleepy time teas.

The best tea time was a surprise tea party at work! While I didn't think the congregation could do more to welcome me, walking into the fellowship hall for the start of confirmation - we have lunch together first - a couple of youth (B & K) were asking me what my favorite teas are & then if I'm ready for my surprise.

I was totally surprised by a lovely tea party with scones, triangle sandwiches, cherry pie, & lots of fun tea to choose from. They even gifted me with a new tea cup & saucer for my office!

May your Tuesday Tea Time be as enjoyable as tea with new friends!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Hello taste of Tea on Tuesday!

Today's Tea Time brought to you by another quaint set up in BGeg's place.

This week I tried a vanilla chai tea bag with two dollops of Bees Knees Spiced Honey & some Agave Nectar. Wowza!

One thing I'm wondering is if my brother - who gifted me the Bees Knees - got cheated because my honey is solid & impossible to get much out of the container. The link that I have above shows it clear.

Good or bad honey, I don't think I'll be making that mix of drink again anytime soon. If you are a fan of a spicy kick in your morning tea, then I highly suggest it!

Sunday Snippits:good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: It's March! My Mammaw always said the first words out of your mouth on the first day of each month should be "white rabbit" for good luck. So silly, but fun to try & remember to let those be the first words of today. While I am aching for Spring, the sunshine has been absolutely blinding & so bright it makes the mind see creation's beauty even when we don't want to. Ah, the power of the Spirit at work! This past week had a couple of fun surprises. One being a 2 hour long catch up session with family & sharing hopes of future travels to see each other. Another is unexpected gifts celebrating my call as Diaconal Minister months after the fact. A surprise box from family friends showed up on our doorstep the other day & naturally I thought it had come to the wrong house as I couldn't find our last name - let alone either of our first names - on it anywhere. Thankfully a card came separately the same day explaining that the gift was coming. So I opened it up & put my new monogrammed canvas tote bag to work immediately.

BAD: A friend who I worked with this past summer is doing research on homesickness - specifically while at camp - & while I have worked with a number of youth & adults who have dealt with homesickness while on overnights or trips to great places like camp, this is such a foreign concept to me. There have been times throughout my travels that I would journal, "maybe I'm homesick," but even in the pieces of time I've been moved by my emotions to journal this, it is almost always a fleeting thing for me. So it's not that the friend is doing the research that is bad - not at all, I find it rather intriguing - it's that homesickness is one of the few things that pops up in my line of work with those I work with & I simply feel at a loss of how to take care of them.

AWESOME: Something somewhere out there inspires us though, to keep creating & keep dancing because as Kid President shared the other day, we gotta! 'You gotta keep creating! You gotta keep dancing!' Just two nights ago I was blown away by the ways in which those I led a 'End Hunger' themed lock-in for middle schoolers showed up & shared their wealth of knowledge & questions & ideas of how to be the church & end hunger. No matter how much sleep we didn't get, or the youth that didn't come, or the ideas that you think of after the fact that would've made part of something that was shared that much more cool...you gotta keep creating, you gotta keep dancing! The 2015 Middle Ground Ministry (Middle School Ministry) End Hunger Lock-In was great thanks to many people, especially all who shared in the event leading up to the night & throughout the night (& no doubt the bit of cleaning up that had to still be done after we left yesterday morning).

WORD: Professor of Preaching & Professor Emeritus of Homiletics at Luther Seminary wrote in a commentary piece at Working Preacher for today's scripture (Mark 8:31-38), "The “theology of the cross” or “to deny oneself” does not mean a contrived kind of humility. We do not follow Jesus by demeaning ourselves. We are called upon to do the very best we can with the talents and abilities God has given us. To “deny oneself” means to keep one’s priorities in harmony with what Jesus told us in the two “great commandments” -- love God and love your neighbor (Mark 12:28-31)."

coming up: More bulletin board work & connecting with awesome people for awesome things like simply saying hi & other awesome things like Practice Discipleship & the ELCA Youth Gathering.

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome!

Family at Epcot

GOOD: Thank you for being my trusty readers! Last Sunday I had intended to edit my blog while traveling & neither device I had along to do this task allowed me to edit. The cool & crazy thing is last Sunday Snippits had over 50 hits. Then it wasn't till Wednesday afternoon that I realized I had actually not finished my Tuesday Tea Time for yall. And really, to be completely honest, for me. I love sharing Tuesday Tea Time. So this past week was a bit off, but hopefully I'm back on track now for a little while anyway. No doubt I'll fall off the grid again. It happens to the best of us! We enjoyed the time away & are thankful to be home now to do all we can to enjoy the end of Winter in Northern MI. I'm really hoping that Easter marks the end of Winter this year, if not sooner.

BAD: The unbelievable bashing & negativity that many of us experienced & possibly heard this past week. I'm referring to many a things, but there seemed to be something in the air. Just before coming here today I was looking at an article regarding Ash Wednesday & while I'm noticing that the only tradition lifted up is Catholic - from around the world - others are writing about how horrible all humans are & that it's not up to one group, but up to individuals to make it a better place. It's so easy to let our heads swim with such negativity of all that isn't right in the world.

AWESOME: I really simply love the little surprises that come each week. This week we received 2 Valentine's cards from different family members & one had included tea stickers on the envelope. Then a few days later while in a bit of a huff from allowing things to stress me out, I notice a large envelope on the couch addressed to me. Inside was a total surprise of a print from Jessica Mingo Designs. A bright colored owl telling me "you're my cup of tea!" Thankfully I recognized the artist's names as she & her husband were both in my cousins wedding 2&1/2 years ago. I called my cousin & we had a wonderful unexpected phone date.

WORD: Since returning home from vacation I attempted to start reading Stitches by Anne Lamott, but the night I tried I faded quickly & none of the words seemed to make sense. SO we'll try again this week & that leads us to...

coming up: LOTS of work related life & love & sparkle

Tuesday Tea Time!

Happy Tuesday Tea Time!

This week is SO exciting. Yesterday I saw the gift of my bulletins in color for my consecration - which was a surprise - & then while we were home for lunch the mail was delivered & a surprise package was included.

Just the other day my friend JM texted me for our address. I assumed that it was for Christmas cards, but boy was I wrong, sorta. The little red tab in this picture is the card. The Paris themed book box (a box made to look like a book) was packed full with some of her favorite things that she wanted to share with me. And no, they weren't used, they were new.

It was a Christmas/Care/Surprise/Consecration gift all in one! I do believe I have my very own Oprah from TX. Watch out Oprah!

Also this week we all will be gifted with some guest bloggers! I have shared many a posts mentioning TS but I'm not sure that I have shared about AS as equally. They're both equally fabulous & great writers. I've invited them to use their imaginations & creativity to share Friday Favorites & Sunday Snippits with you. Yes, this means ANOTHER surprise is in the works as I don't know who will post when or what.

Sitting in this cloud of feeling loved & cared for I'm going to enjoy my tea & a little time away from the norm to focus on my call & be with family & friends.

Happy Tuesday Tea Time!

Sunday Snippits: good bad & awesome!

GOOD: It's Advent! While just like the rest of the late Summer & Fall months it has taken some time to sink in. The ship has sunk & that's a good thing! With only 18 days till Christmas I'm feeling the calm & energizing pieces of the Spirit in the world. These are some of the best pieces of this time of year. If you missed my Friday Favorites it's all about the beauty & yet amazement in the repeated message over the centuries learning that Mary - a young teenager (which was common at that time) - was approached by an angel of God who shared the message that she was to be the mother of the Savior. WHAT?!  A virgin unwed but betrothed was to bring God in human form into this world. One thing we can be certain of is that this was an act of God & not anything human kind could create. Call it bologna if you like, but the Spirit gives us all the same faith that Jesus has (see Romans 8).

BAD: The constant struggle with hearing equally both sides of stories surrounding death. This may be death in it's literal form or in a figurative form because every time somebody is belittled or ignored a piece of them dies from being overshadowed. There was much pain shared from both sides of justice conversation the ELCA shared on this video.

AWESOME: Surprises. I love the sense of joy & surprise & care for one another that is exuded this time of year. This past week we received a gift that we automatically assumed was from our IN family because it read Debrands on the box, but to our surprise it was a lovely Christmas treat & present from family outside of IN.

WORD: This week I am meditating & praying on the scripture that will be used for my upcoming ELCA Consecration as a Diaconal Minister. Read & pray with me over Micah 6:6-8, Psalm 100, Romans 8:12-17, & John 13:1-17.

coming up: Hopefully some guest bloggers in the midst of travels & celebrations that come with my consecration. Stay tuned!

Friday Favorites!

Happy Halloween from a Madd House Wife!

It's better late than never to post a Friday Favorites!

All week I've been paying special attention to my high lights. And for the most part I would say that the turkey quinoa meatloaf dinner we made Tuesday night. We substituted the tomato paste with Apple & Onion Jam from American Spoon & my oh my it was delicious! We made a garden salad & baked acorn squash for our sides.

Then Halloween came & it snowed & people were in all sorts of a funks. So my new favorite was dressing up with these great crazy glasses, wig, pearls, sequined headband, tiara, & apron to make people laugh.

Not to forget the nice little surprise of a McD's treat from two of my fave local high schoolers at the end of the work day. Definitely makes the list of favorites for this Friday!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Good morning! This morning I come to you with HIGH ENERGY tea that seemed needed for the second gray day in a row. Thankfully today it is raining! I don't know about you, but I deal better with the cloud cover when it brings rain (or snow). While I don't think I would do well living in an area like the Pacific Northwest, I do enjoy a rainy day.

As I continue to process my summer working at camp I'm simply amazed at the people I've met & the good they share with the world. Thus today I was inspired to use this giant "Good morning" mug. No, I can't read every language on the mug, but I honestly believe I know enough people that working together we could decipher every language shared on this mug.

Who's up for the challenge?!

It's interesting the things or people that make you share different pieces of your past. It was easily the second to last week at camp & I made a nonchalant comment about when I was in  SE Asia. I hadn't realized this was a piece of my past that just hadn't come up in the conversations with staff over the summer. This is the beauty of relationship though. As Z & I have learned from our grandparents, you may know a person for 70+ years & you will still never know everything about them.

Surprise somebody today with a piece of your story you haven't shared recently or maybe ever! And while you're doing that, enjoy your tea time!

Sunday Snippits: Good, Bad, & Ugly!

Happy Sunday!

GOOD: Meet Michi Gander Nelson! We finally bought a puppy. We'd been wanting to for nearly two years, but didn't want to spend the money. We also thought we'd get a miniature schnauzer, but here's our sweet little shih tzu who will grow to be 10-12 pounds (maybe 15-20). This is definitely the highlight of the last week, but overall it was simply great. We traveled to IN & surprised Ma & Pa P, bought a dog, celebrated Thanksgiving with family & friends, did a little black Friday shopping (for the dog mostly) & got sent home with 8 pounds of butter. Yes, 8 pounds of butter, which currently totals 12.5 pounds of butter in our house. We better get to baking some holiday treats! AND today starts my favorite part of the church calendar - Advent!

BAD: Playing catch up after a few days away. Organizing e-mails because somewhere down the line people have gotten my personal, shared, & work e-mails confused, not to mention my former school e-mail which gets forwarded to my personal.

UGLY: Knowing people are hurting because of illness & poverty & hunger & there's not much one can do to help. This is more specifically for my good friend BMG who has dengue fever & a slew of other complications & is across the world with her husband of nearly 5 months & they're supposed to be there till next August. Prayers for healing are greatly appreciated.

WORD: Do you ever stop & wonder how God is at work in the world or in your life? Today we used the Old Testament reading as the Gospel reading & will be doing the same thing for all the Sundays in Advent & man o man it confused the readers. The Gospel is present through all of scripture. God is at work through all of us & all of creation.

Coming up:  Work, decorating, maybe some baking with all that butter! And of course some play time & snuggling with Michi!