Friday Favorites!

One Billion Rising is a campaign that I learned about just over a year ago & last Friday people, like these two ladies, from all over the world rose for justice because 1 out of every 3 women will experience rape or sexual assault in their lifetime.

Many will never be given the voice to speak up, so we as a community & as a world & as a people rise up together for the voiceless.

Awareness is a key education piece that will help make these numbers of victims less. Using our voice through dance or song or poetry or speech will help with the education & cause awareness to grow. Awareness will cause action. We must stop tragically hurting each other so deeply.

I find my hope in the resurrection of Jesus & God's word from Lamentations. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him'" (NRSV Lamentations 3:22-24).

Rise with us Spirit, this I pray!

Friday Foto Favorite

Photo courtesy of Politico

People say that religion & politics shouldn't mix, but the reality is politics are from people & people are who make up religion.

This is a picture of hope.

May the God of peace & understanding give hope to the world in light of this weeks tragedies.

Tuesday Tea Time!

TUESDAY TEA TIME!

I've missed this time & am glad to be back to share Tuesday Tea Time with you.

To my surprise this quirky animation is from a t-shirt company called Ript Apparel.

Today, as I drink my chai (a mix of powder & a simple Lipton black tea bag) I'm wondering how am I Living, acknowledging the Spirit, and Sparkling?

This random design for a t-shirt seems to bring Life, Spirit, & Sparkle to life. I'm sure there are more inspiring photos out there, but this was quirky & involved dancing tea, happy tea bags, & singing (or screaming - you choose) spoons.

Recently I have found myself in a weird place between being a full-time student & a graduate still living in student housing, knowing that there's exciting new things coming in the near future, but we don't know what those things are yet. Seriously, I feel all the expressed emotions in this photo. The dancing tea bags because I completed my master's degree (I was never going to do more school after college), the tangled tea "water" because I'm thankful for what I have & hopeful for what is to come (though dealing with friends moving out is sad too), & the singing/screaming spoons...yeah, who doesn't relate to those?!

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR YOUR LIFE, SPIRIT, & SPARKLE?

I want your answers!

My efforts & encouragement to you. GET OUTSIDE! (Bike, Walk, Swing, Sit in the Sun!)  READ (I'm taking suggestions being recently graduated & also digging into scripture more freely) COMMUNICATE! (Call a friend you haven't talked to in a long time, write a letter, set up a tea time date!) EXERCISE! (Zumba, Yoga, Tribal Challenges, whatever your thing is! EAT! (good summer produce & don't forget to drink your tea!

Sunday Snippits: Resuming Life

Sunday Snippts!

I missed Friday Foto Fun due to finishing up all my work for grad-school. But the good news is, I am done! I do have to attend class tomorrow & Tuesday, but my assignments are done.

So we'll resume with the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly to get us back on track.

GOOD: Last Sunday KJ got ordained as a pastor in the ELCA. It was quite the celebration! Monday I helped lead chapel with other Word & Service leaders of the ELCA. It was a great way to show our presence on campus. I was also awarded, along with 3 other classmates, a student leadership award. It was fun & made me feel like I had something to show mom. So I sent her a picture on her phone since we don't live even down the street from each other. Thursday I was the student host for The Evidence of Hope documentary at Luther Sem. It's a great documentary with some profound statements of how we should approach our lives. Definitely worth checking out. Saturday I was up bright & early to be ready to defend my thesis at 8am. Then I got to spend the whole day with my classmates & listen to their thesis defense. The week came to a close with a fun bachelorette outing for BLF to Shamrock's Irish Nook. We rocked out with the Brat Pack Radio Supershow. Check 'em out if you're into '80's cover music.

BAD: I missed the coffee shop open mic night that I was supposed to read a few pieces of my poetry at. Yes, I write poetry on occasion, but seriously, the Spirit has to move me. I got stuck in traffic going to get groceries & couldn't be everywhere I wanted to be. I also missed my Friday Foto blog.

UGLY: While hanging with WOK, he wiped out & got a big bloody lip. Thankfully he is alright & so is my shirt that he pressed his bloody lip against. This was all while it was snowing Friday morning, later that day it was sleeting, then it rained & melted all the snow. Crazy Spring weather!

Coming up: This week is busy with 2 more classes, some meetings, & some fun. Graduation is 2 weeks from today! Happy May!

Sunday Snippits!

Goodmorning! Here we are back again

linking up with Kate & Kati with

the GOOD, the Bad, & the UGLY

GOOD: Last money may have actually been the last snow for a few months! The last three days in a row have been in the high 60's to low 70's & it has been glorious. It's so nice to move some fresh air through our apartment. My second highlight was hanging out with WOK not once, but twice. He even did a jig when I came to the door on Friday morning. Gotta love hanging out with a 2y/o whose worst part of his day is maybe getting his diaper changed. Everything else is peachy! Then Friday night we got to have the first grill out of the year with some good friends. It was good times all around. To top off the week, Saturday I went to the movies with my girl friends AUB & BDL to see The BIG Wedding. BDL is getting married this summer, so it was fun to see it with a bride to be. AUB's wedding was the summer before Z's & mine so that's all pretty fresh too. The movie was a good laugh with a great cast. Z & I also got to FaceTime with our niece EJ & her parents JMN & CDN. EJ will be 1 in June & is quite adventuresome. She maybe tried to eat the camera on the ipad once or twice. To top off the night I finished my first full draft of my defense presentation & Z decided to make brownies from scratch!

BAD: It snowed another 6 inches last Monday evening. It was wet & heavy. People have started to have a pretty great humor about it, but this hoosier girl is not impressed. The end of the school year is slightly stressing several people out.

UGLY: The last part of bad might be the ugly really. Our emotions are up & down & when I say our, I mean Z, me, & our entire community. The weekend of graduation is exciting, but creating a bit of stress because of all that's being crammed into one weekend, with the ultimate knowledge that it might be our last time seeing many of these people ever again.

Coming up:  Today we are going to see KJ get ordained as a pastor in the ELCA! Tomorrow is Word & Service led chapel at Luther Seminary & I'm receiving an award for leadership (with other leaders too). Thursday I will turn in one final assignment & essentially be done with all of my assignments. I'm the student host for a showing of The Evidence of Hope with the producer, Thursday evening. Then Friday & Saturday are spent with final CYF class time & thesis defense.

That's life in the fast lane!

Sunday Snippits

The fact that the Oscars was simply a week ago, seems hard to believe!

Yet again, we're livin' life in the fast lane & not always sure which end is up.

Last week: Sunday we enjoyed the Oscars with good friends. Monday - Friday is a bit of a blur with classes, meetings, & a few extra things. I preached at Servant of Christ Lutheran Church on Wednesday & I spent much of Monday & Tuesday preparing my message. The podcast isn't available yet, but should be sometime soon, so I'll be sure to post it on here. The topic was LIVE CHRIST.

How have you learned to Live Christ?

The rest of the week was filled with a movie premier & a night & a night in with some good friends. The Evidence of Hope by C. Amour is definitely worth checking out. C was on a Youth Encounter team in the mid-'90s & my family was a host family to his team, so we've known each other since I was roughly 10 years old. Through the ministry world we've managed to stay in touch all these years & it's great to see how God is using him & his talents to serve the larger church.

Where do you find evidence of hope?

THE BIG NEWS! Z & I have been assigned to North/West Lower Michigan Synod  for first calls as Diaconal Minister & Pastor in the ELCA. We'll learn more about job interviews & potentially moving in the coming weeks & months.

Coming up: A few lunch dates with long time friends that I also happened to meet through Youth Encounter's ministries. A meeting with A. Root, to hopefully better hone in on my thesis topic for Children, Youth, & Family ministry. Card night with friends, prepping for the variety show on March 14th, & Last Chance Seniors (an afternoon & evening of workshops to help us better prepare for job applications & transition into life after graduate school). We'll close up the week by celebrating with our  friend B&R in their marriage! It should be a splendid week.