Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ

I have come to blog maybe three times in the last couple of weeks, but never knowing what was of true importance to share. I want to be able to reflect on my life as a follower of Christ & not be lost in the material driven society that surrounds me.

Lately Z & I have continued to be asked "How's married life?" and our answer continues to be "Good & Busy." Another question though that has come up in the last few days is "How is your apartment?" & this is even sometimes often followed by "Is it suitable?" I write this sitting in our somewhat of a cave that serves as our guest room & office. There is one window that lets in some natural light & just enough room for a single bed, desk, small table (serving as a second or addition to the desk), & book shelf. We have more than enough belongings to fill the closets & wall space! This makes me curious to know that if we did not think our place was suitable what these people would do about it. The fact is we live a transient life as seminary students & in ministry.

As you may know, I am continuing my education on-line this year as we are four hours from campus. In discussion with a fellow classmate about our working/ministry contexts I shared that the church is in transition right now. For instance, my job is an interim job as the church is looking for a servant-hearted & well equipped pastor to join the staff & focus on the youth & family ministry. My classmate said that all churches should acknowledge that they are in constant transition. The world around us is not stagnate, it is moving forward. The Word of God is not stagnate. It is stirring in our hearts, heads, & daily lives!

We are a sent people. Jesus sends his disciples to Go make disciples (see Matt 28:19) and out they went thus bringing the Word Incarnate by the works of the Holy Spirit to this very day & our lives. I often like to think that we are not called to live a quiet life of faith. After all, our faith did not come to us in a quiet way from God (& I am not a very quiet person). As Christ followers we are to "live a live worthy of [our] calling" (Eph. 4:1).

In my studies & recent discussions, both through school & work, it has been said that Faith Formation is a hot topic that often is blended in with Christian Education discussion. Faith formation is something that is bigger than the acts that help form our faith. Faith formation is a way of life that is for all ages. Today, and for several years now, it is not uncommon if a person or people are unsatisfied with their church to go "church shopping." Not that there is anything wrong with finding a community of believers that worship & serve in a way that connects with the individual. However, at the same time we could help be a church united, rather than divided, if we use one of our beautifully natural gifts & spoke up about the Holy Spirit works in our lives.

Yes, there are various forms of worship, & each form of worship takes preparation & time. Where is God calling you today? Recently I have joined more of the social networking world with a business Facebook, Twitter account, Google+, & I continue my blog for my need of being known & heard & feeling accepted. Yes, I just used feeling words. We as a people seem to be screaming out to be networked, connected, heard, accepted, loved. If we can scream through the internet, we can scream in the name of Jesus Christ & proclaim God's love for all people in action & in word.

How's life? Are things suitable? Living in the footsteps of Jesus life should not be suitable according to our global societies. Living in the footsteps of Jesus life should be a constant adventure with hardships, days of crying, days of joy, & an invigorating knowledge that we have a purpose in our lives. We have a life to live because Jesus is God incarnate, born, died, buried, descended into Hell, raised from the dead, and ascended into Heaven. Even if you don't follow in Jesus' footsteps that's a story worth telling.

August Rush

The month of July was busy with wedding, honeymoon, finishing packing up the alley house, & a road trip to IN for the Hoosier Celebration. We threw in a IN-KY candidacy retreat in there too. Basically it was a bunch of celebration & a little bit of reflection time.

Now a month later I find myself sitting in our first apartment watching Fried Green Tomatoes while Z's out interning. We moved up North a week ago & had the boxes & tubs emptied within a day or two. The lakes are relaxing & the sky right now is streaked with pinks & blues.

The most common question of the last month is "How's married life?" Well, it's just a part of what makes up my life. It reminds me of when I first started seminary & people asked me "Do you like seminary?" and my classmates & I said this is like asking us "Do you like your life?" Z is my best friend & it's a blessing to be able to have found love & grow in it with Z and God. Everyday Z & I reflect on what God is doing in our lives, how we have been called to ministry & how we are being ministered to. So to answer how married life is, it's just as hectic & new as life was before married life. For the most part Z & I have been in some form of transition since we graduated high school. Life is adventuresome, good, scary, hectic, & exciting.

We have been warmly welcomed in our new home & look forward to finding a somewhat normal pace of things around here. Although, we know the "normal pace of things" will change in the next few months. The vacationers will go home for the school year, the snowbirds pack up to head south, and the rest of us bundle up a little more to stay for the winter months. Globetrotting with God has brought me to way more places in the northern part of the US than I ever imagined I'd be. The unknown of where else we'll land is fairly scary, but also really exciting to dream about the possibilities.

God is Good!

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

I woke up on July 2nd feeling very well rested, excited & unsure of what the day was to hold emotionally. My heart had made a wish many years before meeting Z that I would find somebody to compliment me & challenge me & love me like he does. Before I knew it was midnight & I was officially Mrs. Nelson. Thankfully I didn't lose my glass slipper & I got many a kisses before midnight.

The day truly was magical. There were silly things like outfit mishaps, but nothing that couldn't be fixed or didn't already look nice. We had some of the best helpers we could've asked for and a great wedding party as well. We had been celebrating all week long with my immediate family coming in on Tuesday & then people trickling in each day after that. It was wonderful to see our three friends come together for the music of the ceremony, our photographers being creative, & the incredible support of family & friends we have show up for the ceremony &/or the reception. We laughed, we cried, we danced, & all had a great time (at least as far as we know). Oh, and yes, my dad & I danced to Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" in honor of our dance recitals together.

We left for our Disney World honeymoon on July 4th & enjoyed the week of being away, letting our imaginations run away with us, and getting more sleep than we had in a while. We were blessed to be gifted for our honeymoon and were able to bring back some fun Disney regalia that we look forward to using in our first apartment together.

Now we're back at the alley house for another week and a half before we move completely out. Our lives are in total transition & it's chaotic, fun, & stressful. The Holy Spirit keeps the buzz alive around us & in this community. There's never a dull moment. Actually, one small life change that happened right before the end of our Disney trip was we became an Aunt & Uncle to baby C. She was five weeks early & mom & her are both doing beautifully!

Right around the corner other than moving is a trip to the good ol' Hoosier state for the Hoosier Celebration where we get to celebrate our nuptials a little more! It'll be another grandiose time for sure :-)

27

A couple of years ago I remember being at the ZZ Top concert with my mom & brother & looking at my brother, who I hadn't seen in a while, & saying "huh, you're 27!" He had some sort of response like "yeah yeah, I know."

Yesterday morning I woke up & as I was getting ready for the day, looked myself in the mirror and thought "huh, this is what it looks like to be 27." Life just seems more & more unpredictable the older I get. I think I must've imagined my life a lot as a young child up to a certain point. I never thought about life after 25 really. I thought about life up till my 25th birthday.

Year two of seminary is "finished." The second Spring semester is done anyway. Ever since it's been officially over Z & I have had no problem finding things to keep us busy. I'm actually taking a summer intensive course in June. I have wedding funness motivating me to be productive for the course because after the course comes the wedding. We're at 34 days and counting! Z & I are both very ready to just have the week be here & to celebrate life & love with family & friends.

For now, I'm basking in the funness of my birthday weekend & feeling overly blessed with good friends & family. On my birthday Z & I went to church at Jacob's Well, came home to have a quick lunch before leaving to help usher at graduation for the seminary, then rushed home just to leave for an excellent birthday dinner at a restaurant called The Peninsula Malaysian Cuisine. It was fun to be able to share the experience with other people. It was also very exciting to get to have roti canai again!!!

All is well & busy here & now it's time for bed. Blessings on your last day of May & the rest of the summer!

April 27th - The Day the Snow Pile Disappeared

April flew by! It's May 2nd and still only in the 30s & 40s with an occasional high in the 50s or 60s. I miss living in the slightly warmer climate of IN or OH. I think bright colors and sun lamps are an important staple of my life in MN. I've got two predictions of what the weather will be like on the wedding day (2 months from today). One being that it'll either be blazing hot with a gross heat index and humidity out the wazoo or it'll be pleasant & "cool" like it was two years ago on the 4th of July weekend. It has truly been acting like Spring which leads us to the big news of April. I won the snow melting contest! I guessed what day and time the large pile in front of the campus center would be gone in attempts to help send aid to Japan. Each guess cost $1 I think. I just guessed once and was almost spot on with the time of day. So now I get to enjoy a meal with the president of the seminary and his wife.

Aside from that funness not much is new. It's the end of the semester and in the next three weeks I'll have all the writing done for a few weeks before my summer course. Yes, I'm taking one more course before the wedding.

Other fun events...I got up in the middle of the night to watch the Royal Wedding. There was something rather magical about it, but man alive am I glad my wedding day won't be that long. Mostly I mean our ceremony. The weekend was filled with news events and my last Sunday on-call at the hospital. I must not forget a wonderful date night with Z thrown in there.

I'm tired. I'm worn out and ready to have warm weather. I'm excited about enjoying this summer as last summer was odd between taking Greek and living a long-distance relationship. We'll be in constant transition of moving this summer, but I'm excited for the changes and the new life as Mr. & Mrs. God has truly blessed us with one another, no doubt about that. Alright, homework has been put off long enough. Blessings on your May!

March Maddness

No, I'm not referring to the basketball games going on. Although I sorta wish I were as I've always liked watching basketball. However, I'm really just saying that this month has been absolutely crazy. I should be reading right now, but I am not much of a reader and am reaching the end of my steam supply for the day.

The semester is half over now and the wedding is barely 3 months away. Two weekends ago Z & I traveled to where we'll be living next year to get a feel for the town & the people we'll be living alongside. It was a great and overwhelming weekend. We took in the beauty of Leech Lake, even when it's frozen over, we met all sorts of great people, and went to 5 worship services. When I decided that Diaconal Ministry was what I felt called to I was warned that I would have to forge my own way. Thankfully the pastor knows about Diaconal Ministry and is willing to help me with my project. The overwhelming part is narrowing my ideas down to know what my project will actually be. There's so many things to focus on! Learning & living there is such a unique setting being in a small North Woods town surrounded by Native American reservation land. There's opportunities galore!

Last weekend we traveled to good ol' hoosier land for wedding funness. I was blessed with friends that threw me 2 separate showers. Z & I now have fun things like plates, wine glasses, a bread maker, a dust vac, bath towels, wastebaskets, extension cords, a hammock, and so much more to start our home together. I feel like a real adult when I'm excited for the gifts like a blender or food processor which I can only hope are yet to come.

My chaplaincy internship is keeping me very busy as well. It's proven to be very rewarding, which I had hoped it would be. It's nice to learn how to be the church for people in a different way than in the classroom. Does my future call become any clearer in this? Mer, not really. I'm still trying to keep my options open & to really know what I'm passionate about within ministry.

The wedding details are simply that, details. Z's mom is working on my dress, she wins the best future-mother-in-law award for sure! Z & I are taste testing the reception food on Saturday & maybe going to the Farmer's Market to start getting an idea of a vendor to use for flowers. Aside from that it's things like compiling the music for the musicians & getting programs that need done.

Yep, life is good & busy!

Phil is not my friend :-(

Punxsutawney Phil is not my friend. All the white stuff started to melt then it snowed another 15 inches. I heard on the radio the other day that we're supposed to get a decent amount of snow clear through March. As a result I bought myself a chai latte at work. Some times I think a good chai can make the world seem a little brighter.

I Have a Friend Named Phil

I have a friend named Phil the Ground Hog. No, I've never met Phil, but he is my friend because as the old story goes if he doesn't see his shadow on Feb. 2 then Spring will be here in 6 weeks & Winter will be over. Phil is my friend because this year he did not see his shadow & it is slowly but surely starting to warm up around here.

Warming up around here means that it is no longer in the negative temperatures day or night. It means that there are more than single digits being reached by the dial on the thermometer. Today it is not just going to be above zero, but it is supposed to get up to 33 degrees Fahrenheit! Yes, I am hopeful that it will actually reach this & that in the days to come it will only reach higher numbers on the dial.

I may sound a bit crazy talking like this, but just three weeks ago I made the comment out loud that if I ever had to live anywhere further North or colder than it is here that I might die. I would curl into a cold little ball & cease to be. Dramatic, I know. Well, that same day a few hours later Z & I got offered to live 3.5 hours north of here for his internship site for next school year. We had a good laugh about the coincidence of my words & God's call for us.

We immediately were looking things up about our possible future home town. We went to google, we yahooed, we e-mailed & talked with a few friends, and prayed for clarity and guidance. Well we had no red flags & after a week or more of playing the discernment game (that is never-ending) we decided that 3.5 hours north of the cities sounded promising. *sigh of relief* we know where we're going to live next year!

In the mean time I have started my chaplaincy internship. We had 2 weeks of orientation & this was my first week out on the floor full time. It's amazing how working in a new area can push you in new ways so fast. Being that I'm in a hospital I had random memories of my past flickering in & out. I then get to think about what exactly brings those on & why I'm still holding on to some things & not others & how I can use them for the betterment of God's ministry. The coming months of chaplain work are sure to teach me more about myself & the ways that I work with others.

January was a very long month or so it seemed with the bitter cold temperatures & the almost daily new snow fall. Z & I celebrated one year of dating & decided that there will be more important dates to remember for the future. Wedding stuff is just that. If anybody wants to grow pots of grass for us let us know (they're part of our centerpieces). Life is good. Jack Frost can go live somewhere else for a good 5 or 6 months now!

joy tea time

Here I am at the end of my holiday break. I know you might be thinkin' "it's not over yet?" Lucky for me the 2 J-term classes I've signed up for don't start till next week & only last 2 weeks. This also means each class time is the equivalent of 1 week's class during the normal semester. Needless to say I'm going to have a lot of reading & writing to do. I've already got a reading assignment to start & comment on which needs to get done today. Then right after that my spring semester starts since I'll be working at a hospital as a chaplain intern. The majority of the students have two more weeks till the actual Spring semester starts.

Advent & Christmas flew by this year. Maybe they tend to a little more every year that goes by. God surprised me at the end of the Fall semester with more time than I expected to have to prepare for holiday travels. It was a blessing to not have a final Hebrew exam & to know that the professor really didn't want to put us in our graves worrying about if we were to pass his class. Z & I started off our holiday break with a breakfast date. One year ago on the last day of the Fall semester we had what we like to call our "proto-date." We both were interested in each other, but didn't want to admit it & now here I am typing to you with this fun shiny circular object clinging to my second finger on my left hand. We then traveled to visit some dear friends in WI for the night, surprised one of the pastors that I had worked with a couple of years ago, & introduced Z to a crazy part of my past. From there we traveled into Chicago with hopes of getting to show Z more of the city, but time ran out so we got in a few quality hours with some of my closest friends from college. We made it to my parents later that night. The week was filled with present wrapping, visiting with a few family members & friends, & Christmas celebrations. Within a week we packed up our loot & returned to what I like to call the "cold North."

We then were able to spend a few days with his side of the family. It's fun learning what it means to be a member of each family. I found joy in visiting relatives that could teach us so much about life & the families that we are a part of. I was blown away by the love that was shown through laughter, food, presents, & good conversations. Reflecting on all this makes me think I'm an adult now. Life after 25 is weird!

We brought in the New Year with some good friends back at the seminary. One television stations was on Eastern time so we watched the ball drop at 11pm Central time with a little excitement & then watched it again at midnight with more excitement & some sparkling wine to toast to the New Year.

2010 was an interesting year. It started out in OH with some good friends from college & quickly moved to a few weeks on the East Coast where I stayed in a former Civil War Orphanage for 2 weeks & learned more about my call as a Diaconal Minister at LTSG. It there that I learned about the earthquake in Haiti & how some of my classmates close friend had passed away due to complications in the earthquake. It was there that I learned another good friend was given 2 months to live & that an elderly gentleman from my home church had passed away & his wife wasn't to be too long behind him. I also got to visit some good friends that I never see because they live out there & I don't. Then I reversed my travels & wasn't back in MN for more than 2 days & Z came in & swept me off my feet. We were attached at the hip pretty quickly. Year one of seminary ended & the adventure of Z & I being long distance for 2.5 months & taking summer Greek flew by. The bets of when Z was going to propose kept coming more prominent amongst our friends. Little did any of us know, including Z, it would happen in his car in the seminary apartments parking lot. The semester flew by with classes, wedding planning, & celebrating with many other friends that also got engaged.

2011 is bound to hold many adventures & much joy. In just over 2 weeks I start working at a hospital for the next couple of months. I've wanted to work in a hospital since I was a little kid. Within the next 1-3 months we find out where we'll be living next year for internship. In the next 5 & 3/4 months we'll be married! In the next 7 months we'll be moved into our first place that's just ours. Who knows how else the Holy Spirit will whip in & around our lives & how God will use us to be like Jesus for those we encounter & each other! In the mean time I'll sit & enjoy my mornings with my cup of joy tea & all the blessings that are a part of my life.

My First Blizzard

Growing up one of my favorite treats was to go to the local D.Q. (Dairy Queen) & get a blizzard. Some of my favorites are chocolate chip cookie dough or heath bar. I also really like the pumpkin blizzards when they have them. They're more special though because you can only get them for a few weeks out of the year.

Last weekend I experienced my first snow blizzard. I have lived in different parts of the US's Midwest all of my life and never have I experienced this much snow or such drastic cold temperatures. It start late Friday night and snow clear through Saturday with high winds. I found out Saturday morning when I was walking to work that knee high boots are not just a fashion statement, but a necessity for warmth & dryness. It was very pretty, but after a while you couldn't tell if it was blowing or snowing.

It's always interesting even within the same regional area of the country how different things can be. Never have I stood next to a pile of snow as tall as me or taller other than in a grocery store parking lot where it wasn't near as long or wide. Never have I had to have somebody shovel my roof. Yes, there were men on the roof the other day snow blowing our roof.

The Fall semester is officially over for me, which is great. I'm tired & need time to rest. Saturday Z & I will head to WI to visit a good friend of mine & his family. Then we'll make a pit stop in IL on Sunday so that Z can see a bit of the windy city & meet some more college friends of mine. Then eventually we'll make it back to good ol' IN for an entire week to celebrate Christmas with my family then turn around & head back North to celebrate with his family. It's a year of many firsts for Z & I & our families. It's all very exciting!

If I don't update before 2011 I pray yall have a blessed Christmas & New Years!

Happy Advent

Welcome to the end of the 2010 Fall semester! It's been a long semester with three full courses and two half courses consuming most of my time. The funness of being engaged has been a nice distraction. There's still two weeks left & then finals, but thankfully things are spread out over the next few weeks.

Being in the oh so avid life of constant discernment (one of the many big seminary life words) I find myself wondering what I have gotten from this semester. I have been blown away daily by the love in my life. This love is found in my fiance, the daily support of my family, the silliness of my friends both near & far, the support from the larger church body, and various other places. Listing this off makes me think I need to watch Love Actually again soon (it's one of my favorites). I also have been affirmed in my call as a Diaconal Minister. Some days it seems like it would just be easier to have stayed in the Master of Arts program or to go the traditional Master of Divinity route, but that is not where I am called & I am being enriched daily because of that call. I have been taking a preaching course this semester & have learned to better my skill at preaching, as well as that I am truly not called to preach on a regular basis in a formal way. My courses challenge me to know my call & work with the calls of others; as well as, work with Gospel story and all that surrounds it on a different level than when I first started my rligious education many years ago.

In light of the beginning of the Advent season a friend asked yesterday, "What are you waiting for?" My immediate response was December 17th because that is when the semester is over & break can begin. I am also waiting for July 2 to be here & all the stuff to happen that will & needs to in between now & then. The Save the Dates have been sent with the fun picture at the top printed on them! I am also waiting to know where Z & I will be placed for next year & where we'll live in the summer before we leave for internship. So I leave you today wanting to know, what are you waiting for?

hey world

So the title of this blog is "Globetrotting with God."

God has had me running a marathon lately I think!

Since our engagement the list of things on my "to do" list has definitely lengthened. Thankfully I have a wonderful fiance who is part of the planning process. We have accomplished quite a bit & as far as I know stayed on top of our scholastic requirements here at the seminary too. I will say thought that I'm very much so looking forward to Christmas break and being done with studying another langauge.

Some of the things that have happened in the last month:

*Friends threw us an engagement party

*We picked a date, location, reception site, dj, photographers, & IN reception site

*We put our wedding party together

*Lots of school work. You know, a little bit of Greek, a little bit of Hebrew & talking about where the Trinity is within all of that.

*Momma Perkins flew in to go dress shopping. Momma Nelson has agreed to make my dress!!!

I'm sure there's lots I'm leaving out. Next week we have reading days!!! Of course we all have plenty of studying & paper writing to do. Plus, if you are at all familiar with the ELCA's candidacy process, many of us will be having our Endorsement interviews. I should include links for some of these things, but of course I'm on the fly!

Happy Thursday!

Proposal

We started dating January 24th and by Easter we had started talking about our future together. Yes, life had hit the fast-forward button and it has been wonderful. So yes, I knew a proposal was coming, but I didn't know when or how. We had shopped for rings a little bit so he had at least the knowledge of the size of diamond & ring that I was interested in. I really wanted it to be something he would buy me & not something that I had picked without his say. Many of you guessed we would get engaged on our six months and little did I know that he actually had the ring at that point. Then many of you guessed we would get engaged when we went camping on the North Shore. Knowing Zack though, I knew he would never do it when anybody expected and nobody would know except for him when or how it was going to happen.

The week leading up to the engagement I had received an e-mail coupon for a nice sushi restaurant. Being that I really enjoy sushi and we had not been on a date night recently I suggested buying the coupon & dressing up to go on a date night. Knowing that he wanted to propose that weekend he agreed. So we bought the coupon, got dressed up, me wearing my nice purple dress and he wearing his nice purple shirt (the boy knows I love the color purple) and off we went to dinner. It was not that cold out so I didn't take a coat, but he did & of course I had to give him a hard time about it. He's response was, "Well, you never know!" We enjoyed a nice meal of sushi & other Asian cuisine with the nice Asian techno background music. As we were walking back to the car it was a little bit chilly out, but Zack quickly put on his coat & didn't offer it to me. As we were driving home Zack asked if I would like to get a bottle of wine to cap off the night. This is a typical date night for us, dress up, have a nice dinner, & enjoy the time together with some wine. So we stopped at Trader Joe's and bought some wine & continued on our way home.

We had just pulled into the parking lot of the seminary apartments and parked the car & naturally I started to gather my things to get out, but he says, "I have a confession." I'm thinking, "ummm...ok?" and he confesses that he wanted to buy wine so that we could celebrate & that he brought his coat with him because he was hiding something from me. This is when I realized what was happening & was internally freaking out just a little bit. As he pulled out the ring he told me that I'm his best friend and that he loves me and then he asked me to be his wife. Believe it or not I was speechless so I kissed him before saying, "yes, of course I'll be your wife."

So yeah, we were in his car in the parking lot and it was perfectly sweet and simple.

I learned that he had thought about asking at the restaurant, but the music threw off the mood. Plus it was pretty crowded. I teased him that we can't ever get rid of his car & his response was "that's sad." It has already been a crazy week & a half of trying to tie down dates & locations. This is what we know: July 2nd, 2011 Luther Seminary. More details will come for sure. In the meantime here are some photos we took right after we got engaged.

ENGAGEMENT!

Yes it is true. Little did I know 8 months ago that I would fall totally in love with this man, but here I am now with a little bling bling on my left hand. I remember the night he first asked if he could kiss me & I knew I had to say yes or I'd regret it and I also remember thinking that was my last first kiss. Somehow I knew that he was who I was meant to spend my life with and it was terrifyingly fantastic.

We had spent the Fall semester getting to know one another and don't really remember any particular introduction, but many short memories of bumping into each other within the first month of school and occasionally being in the same group of friends hanging out. My first memory of him is probably as the cute guy that held the door for me and let me into the dormitory as he was leaving the building. He remembers me as the cute girl who always had a smile on her face. Then one evening our friend who was working security with him introduced us formally I believe. As I write this little memories come back to me.

It quickly became routine for us to visit either in the mornings when I was on campus early and he was done studying in the cafeteria or when I was working the info desk & he was on security duty. One time our friend that had formally introduced us gave us a hard time for talking and I played along with it saying that we were planning our future together and told him to but out. Our friendship escalated from there and by the end of the semester we had become good friends. We even had what we like to call our proto-date before Christmas break. We kept in touch over the holiday break and me being gone with J-term requirements and I wasn't back more than a day and he we were hanging out. I thought we were going to just go out with some friends, but he came in to watch a movie, a long movie, and then he stayed after that even. The sweetest part of that night is it took him probably a good 3 or more hours to hold my hand.

The next day we saw each other on campus for a community breakfast with some friends. I had no groceries yet and knew it was the only way I was getting breakfast that morning. As I was going to leave he asked me if I wanted to hang out and I told him to just give me a call in a little while not remembering that I had to pick up a friend from the airport. I wasn't gone for 15 minutes and he called telling me to call him when I was done grocery shopping. Well thankfully I had remembered that I had to pick up our friend so I told him I would just stop by after I was done helping her move back in & that we were all hanging out on campus that night. It was a fun night with cheap pizza, friends, and a movie started at 11:45pm. It was around 1am when I got a phone call from him. The ring of my phone woke me up (I fell asleep within the first 20min of the movie & he had been there when I fell asleep so I was very confused). He told me he had a question for me & so I went to his room half asleep where he asked me if he could kiss me. I remember walking back downstairs with my girlfriends that night & when I knew we were out of earshot of the guys floor I said, "Uh, I think I'm dating Zack."

Our first official date was the very next day to Old Chicago where I had some guy get excited about my Harry's Chocolate Shop hoodie. Classy, I know! We've spent nearly every day together since, well minus the summer since he lived 5 hours away. God has truly blessed us with one another and I can't wait to put all the fun details of a wedding together and start my life as his wife.


Next blog will be the story of the engagement & hopefully some photos if my computer behaves. For now I must go sleep!

Year 18

So the first week of the start of my 18th year of school is well underway. It's prolly more like the 21st or something if you count pre-school too. Actually the week is technically over. The reading lists are well over 1,000 pages between all of my classes, for the semester. It's an interesting place to be. I'm not totally new, yet I've still got a few years ahead of me with plenty of transitions to come. The semester is going to be plenty busy, but thankfully it looks like it should end on a smooth note. That is as long as I stay on top of everything throughout the semester. I'm taking fun classes like Hebrew, Preaching, the Gospel of Mark, Mission 1, & Church Music. Not only is that all fun, but I get to use the awesome skills that summer Greek taught me in my Mark class. It'll be interesting using Greek while learning Hebrew. One thing that I continue to learn in seminary is how to put my thoughts about the church & mission & my life into words for people to understand. I know this might seem like a "duh" thing, but you don't always realize how much we can't explain why we believe certain things or act a certain way until we're made to. It's been a productive evening of laundry, cleaning the house, updating my calendar & getting a feel for the semester load. Now time for bed :-)

Grad School Ladies

Summer Photo Favorites

New Dawn 08-09 reunited at the Wait wedding



Grand Forks dates



4th of July!



sillyness



Cap reunion at a CAP/YE wedding



camping on the North Shore

and thus summer comes to an end with the funness of endorsement essays, CPE interviews (for next Spring), the knowledge of passing summer Greek, and a pretty long "to do" list that needs completed before classes start in a little over a week.

summa summa summa time

So as you can see my blog has been changed yet again. I'm not really sure what happened to my old background that took me quite a bit of time to do, but it wasn't there anymore & blogger/google reformatted a lot of their things so I just chose one of their new designs.

Some highlights from Summer:
*Finishing the semester 2 days earlier than expected
*Celebrating summer birthdays
*My first trip to Alabama (visiting Zack's brother & sister-in-law)
*Learning how to make sushi
*living right next to campus
*4th of July weekend
*6 great months celebrated
*Greek
*August

yep, life is crazy & great as usual so there's my high lights. Stay classy till next time!

rice

Right now I'm making a fresh batch of rice in my cooker. I've always liked rice. I always wanted rice as a side option when I was growing up and my brother never wanted rice as an option. The steamed smell reminds me of my time over seas last year (in SE Asia). It's hard to believe that I returned a year ago this coming week. I was ready to be home and see friends & family. Now I live 10 hours by car from my family & am lucky to see them more than just the major holidays. I'm lucky if I even am able to make it home for the major holidays actually. It's funny to think how such a simple thing like cooking rice can bring so many memories.

As a kid I was incredibly picky & also on chemo so I had cravings for a lot of mashed potatoes and plain cheese nachos or cheesy broccoli rice. I still really enjoy good mashed potatoes (really what makes them bad?) and plain cheese nachos are a guilty snack on a rare occasion. However, I'm not sure the last time I had cheesy broccoli rice. I have grown to really enjoy plain steamed rice. I don't think this says anything about my personality since I've recently learned that one's personality doesn't change as we grow, but our character can. I think this is an example of my ever changing pallet.

There are 3 weeks left in the semester and I should be reading till my eyes bleed right now, but here I am talking to you about my love for rice. Recently I took part in the Strength Finders 2.0 workshop for one of my classes. I learned that my top 5 strengths are woo, communication, positivity, arranger, and developer. I like to win people over & make connections every where I go. I like to tell stories to relate to people. I tend to always see the glass half full, am organized & flexible, and do what I can to lift others up. It is interesting working with these & the truth that they hold. Just because I know & was not super surprised with the answers (many people aren't) doesn't mean there isn't room to work on my strengths. This study was started because so often in our world we make each other work on the things we aren't good at. Not that it's bad to improve on things, but we'd all be a bit happier if we helped each other work on what we're good at, what makes us thrive inside.

What is it that makes you thrive? What is it that makes you so happy that you know the presence of the Holy Spirit is with you? Rice makes me happy, amidst many other things. Today I was overwhelmed in worship by the presence of the love from the community in that church body as well as where they're taking it. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love that my boyfriend constantly gives me; the outpouring of love that I've always received from my family & friends. Like I said, it's the end of the semester & I'm stressed. I should be a lot more stressed. However, when I focus on knowing that I've gotten to where I am I know that I will continue to go further. The biggest catch is letting God lead the way ALL the time. As I learn how to better do this I'll keep making my rice & working on the things that make me thrive (relationships, travel, international ministry, health). Despite if we are feeling our strengths or not we will never be given anything that we cannot figure out because "[We] can do anything through Christ who strengthens us." (Phil 4:13) Yes, we need Christ, the risen Lord, we need to acknowledge the Spirit who is with us daily leading & surrounding us & the God who created us & continues to love us despite our short comings. We cannot find the joy in things like fixing rice on our own. This may seem silly, but the rice came from farmers (fellow brothers & sisters) who Jesus loves, who God loves, just as much as anyone else, We are called to do as Jesus has done & love all things because they have been given to us by God the Father.

food for thought.

Fuzz

I'm not talking about the police or a bear, but the continuing season of Lent. Clever, I know!

It's late, but I haven't blogged in a long while and it seems time. I have come to write something a few times since the last post, but really wasn't sure what to write since it didn't seem much had changed. Life is still pretty much a tornado with constant goings on. My Greatest Great Uncle D would've loved to hear all the silly crazy fast paced things I've been reading and writing about these days. He and I used to always write to each other, me about my crazy fast paced adventures and him about the times he'd been to where I was or jokes he heard about the places. I digress.

This Lent I challenged Zack to give up sweets with me. Now sweets ended up being more defined by desserts. With him having a meal plan though and constant desserts being served in the cafeteria, plus he's got a giant cavern of a sweet tooth or three, this was a big challenge. I personally don't like chocolate all that much and am more of a fruit person so I didn't think it would be too hard. However, as the weeks have passed on and Girl Scout cookies have been bought, chocolate easter eggs have been gifted, I feel as if I have a heaping pile of goodies waiting for us on Sunday. This is exciting, but at the same time it's been a really good challenge. Being Lutherans we don't always give something up for Lent and in recent years it has been a trend within many of my circles of friends to take something on. I've been thinking more lately about where God wants me to be used and where I'd be happy as far as careers go. I have had several interviews and nothing has come of them. However, for the most part, I know that it's been right for nothing to come of them. The challenge I've focused on during Lent has been more on how to slow down a bit and focus on the face of Jesus in my everyday life so that I can learn to be more like Jesus in my everyday walk. Don't get me wrong, I'm really lookin' forward to the Somoa cookies and the freedom of eating whatever I want (within reason of course), but I hope to continue reflecting on the face of Jesus and his ways of teaching me to be in the moment.

The Holy Spirit is here, there, and everywhere with us, but Jesus meets us in the moment.

You got some lent on you there

Joy sun! Good morning! Boker Tov!

I cannot tell you the last time I was up this early on a Saturday morning. I know you're thinking "poor you." As much as I'm not always a morning person I really enjoy mornings. I enjoy the freshness of the day with the sun rising & slowly heating up the air. Each day I try & start my day, usually before I even get out of bed with telling God g'morning. This may seem silly to some, but even though I like things about the morning I usually am a little grumpy when I first wake up. My family would say I'm a lot grumpy when I first wake up. By greeting & acknowledging God it helps me to attempt to start focusing my day around the works of the Trinity in my life.

Recently life has just been a whirlwind of fun school projects, meeting up with friends from outside of seminary, & making time to hang out with friends from seminary. I've been getting involved with an emergent church called Jacob's Well and feel called & pushed by the Spirit to be involved there. Most of my time is spent with seminary somethings as there is always pages of reading to be done so that words can be written & papers turned in. Most days I feel like I am not taking enough time to focus on the Trinity even though I start my days with an attempt to center around the Trinity. However, the Spirit, specifically this past week has been so present that it gave me the jitters. I told one friend, when relaying a story about Zack & I, that this year the Spirit has completely knocked me off my feet while Zack swept me off my feet.

Since the beginning of 2010 I have known of 5 deaths, 6 births, and this next Saturday will be attending my first of nearly 12 weddings for the year. I don't even know how to move past that reality of the sadness & rejoicing & all the other mixed emotions that come with these life happenings. Maybe that's the Spirit's point, maybe that's Jesus' point, to keep focusing on the incredible fact of the empty cross. Thus be my Lenten journey, it just started a little earlier than Ash Wednesday.

lovers weekend

Happy Valentine's Day, Singles Awareness Day, Lovers Day (that's what I like to call it), or whatever else you call it.

Classes started back up last week & as I had predicted I would be in way over my head before it even began. I really shouldn't be blogging right now, I should be reading, but writing/typing things down is good for the soul. I started journaling when I was in elementary school, but didn't really become a regular journal writer of any sort till middle school. It's fun to be able to share my life with all yall, as well as have it on record for me to look back at.

This past weekend was wonderfully fun. God continues to amaze me with all the blessings that have been part of my life, people and experiences. A year ago my New Dawn team was at the Bethany Home in the Northwest part of Malaysia. We were filled with the joy of our friends there, especially the faith of Jayasingh. I learned from him to not let my worries get the best of me because Jesus has already taken care of it. "Don't worry, it's already done!" he would say to my team. Yet of course I still worry about life and friends & future endeavors, things I don't always have control over. I am reassured through the many blessings & ways I see the Holy Spirit working day & night that my life is in God's hands.

This past weekend I watched the opening ceremony of the winter Olympics with some friends on Friday and Saturday had a lazy day till the evening. Saturday evening was the Love Me Tender Valentine's dinner & dance. So my friends & I got all gussied up & enjoyed food & fellowship & some AWESOME dance moves. I got to wear a dress I bought for senior year homecoming at Capital. This was nice because I think I had only worn it one other time & because people thought it had maybe been a bridesmaid dress. It's always nice to be complimented & everybody looked great. After the fun there a bunch of us went to celebrate a friend's birthday. Sunday morning was church at Jacob's Well. I've started attending there & really enjoy the worship & community. Then Zack and & I went to a very nice dinner to finish out the weekend. Now it's back to the grind. Enough blogging for now. Happy Day!

photos of the boy & I

it's not the best quality, but here we are, sir Zachary & I. We had a little fun on photobooth :-)

make over

I thought I'd give this loverly blog a make over today while I was at work. It took forever which has convinced me to not change it again for a very long time, if ever. I'm back in MN now & yes it's uber cold. When questioning why I moved to such a cold state a friend said that the cold will only make me stronger, which then I asked if that means that I'll have huge muscles by the end of my seminary career :-)

Trying to get back in the flow of being here again. It's good to be back, but I am not motivated to get much done. I also don't have a ton to get done right now so the things that I need to be working on are getting pushed to the back burner. I have been able to be reacquainted with seminary friends and see a few others. I got to have lunch with my friend Emily who works for YE, so I also got to see other office folk that are great. Then I got to have Caribou with my former teammate from New Dawn, Kristine. We hadn't seen each other in several months so that was really nice.

One big recent change is I'm in the dating scene again. I wouldn't advertise it except for the fact that we put it on facebook and people have questioned if it's real or not. I just learned this evening that my own family was calling each other to tell one another to look at my facebook page. I'm glad all yall are excited, but it kinda seems as if yall never thought I'd date anybody again. Other people's reactions are just funny, which is good. We're happy to be together & it's a boost that others are happy for us.

I will have a picture or two soon, promise!

sunny filo!

One of the few terms I learned last year while overseas is "sunny filo," which means "happy new year."

It's already toward the end of the first month and I'm at the end of my travels. So far 2010 has proved to be a doozie. The past few Januarys have been rough for one reason or another, but this has proved to be the hardest. The affects of the earthquake in Haiti have hung heavy on my heart for various reasons. Before I go into that I will mention that my first J-term (January term) was a success. It wasn't the most formational part of my call in Diaconal Ministry, but it was reassuring that I am where I need to be and the bonus is I made several new friends. Plus I got to see some of the historical sites of Gettysburg, D.C., AND stay in a former Civil War Orphanage for two weeks.

The news of Haiti first came to me via a facebook status which lead me to know that there had been some sort of natural disaster. One thing led to another and the continuation of devastating news came in. I was blessed to meet the Wartburg seminary student, Ben Larson, that died in Haiti nearly 2 years ago when I was visiting the seminary. His wife and I have the great connection of being best friends with the Oleson sisters. The news was saddening in general and moreso to be with close friends and fellow Wartburg students, to the Larson family and experience their grief made it real. I knew a handful of other people in Haiti, or near, at the time and thankfully they are all safe. Another fact that makes this hard to accept is knowing how called myself, and many I am friends with, are to do missions work around the world. No matter where we are, we often just pick up our stuff and go as we feel God is calling us, and we never know exactly what we're getting ourselves into.

After the Diaconal event in Gettysburg I was blessed to be able to visit some Spoke Folk friends in Baltimore for the weekend. While there I learned that a friend of mine who is a former Youth Encounter teamer, Mikey, has recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has chosen to receive treatment and fight the disease as it is not like him to just sit back and let it consume him. Mikey is a great guy with a beautiful family, wife & little boy as well as sister & mother. I pray for comfort & the continuation of hope & strength to always have a smile and a good laugh about the little things.

The strength I find in all of this is through Jesus. Not just that Jesus is great and all, but the actions that are so elementary in many of our faiths. It is not just the cross that gives us hope for a better future, but the reality of Jesus' resurrection and the continuing work of the Holy Spirit that we can see or feel every day.

2010 hasn't had the best take off. I'm in good ol' N. Manchester today & headin' back on the road tomorrow. I look forward to being back in MN even though it's at least 10 degrees colder than here and more like 15 or more degrees colder than the weather I left in MD. It's crazy to think a year ago I was in China. As my "husband" would say, "life is weird!"

Yuletide Blessings

"Butter my butt & call me a biscuit!"

Last Friday, while hanging with a friend, we found this calendar that had funny "country" sayings on them. This made us laugh as neither of us are from the country. Although I'm a bit more of a country bumpkin than he is I think.

The semester went by fast, not much of a surprise really. It was a great adventure with the constant twists & turns of life. It'll be good to know that I passed everything in a few weeks when the papers are graded. I'm looking forward to the bit of traveling I'm able to do now that break has started and clear through the end of January. It is such a blessing to have all of my things in one place with the few select things that are still stored at my parents' home. My highs for the semester are making new friends and getting to know them. As well as feeling the passion of the Spirit within my life and knowing that I'm in the right place. My lows would be the constant transitioning that is life & how tiring that is. I've seen the Spirit working through my friends and professors and have a better means of verbalizing my theological thoughts because of seminary life. I do miss being able to be relational as much with friends and strangers and not feel like I should be doing something else. I also miss traveling a little bit, but at the same time I don't miss all the driving (it was nice to not be a driver last year). I'm sure I've changed in a few other ways, but one way I've changed since the end of YE life and the moving so far from home is I've become domestic. Whoda thunk the day would ever come? I suppose being hospitable comes only natural as it is a gift of my mother's and was for sure a gift of my mammaw's. The lesson I learned, I need to learn how to say "no." That silly word that most 2 year olds love, I need to remember & not get in over my head.

Yesterday I traveled with two friends back to IN for the holiday. Once we hit the Chicago area it was like being back in the home area. The hills of WI are beautiful to drive through, but the slight rolling hills of much of northern IL and northern IN are home. It's not flat, although some friends would disagree, but states such as KS are flat. The crazy thing is we even saw some farmers still harvesting their corn despite the fact that it's the middle of December and there's snow on the ground. The cold in MN is so dry, but the cold here is damp & chills you down to the bone. Today was baking day & fun, but tiring after at least 5 different Christmas treats. Once again, that domestic side of me taking toll!

I get to travel to C-bus for New Years! I haven't been there in going on 2 years, it'll be great to go back & see friends & meet one's little boy. Then I'm off to the east coast for the first time since early August of 2007. It'll be great to be back out that way & see friends there while doing a bit more discernment about the diaconal program. Apparently nobody @ home really understands what my program is at the seminary, ha! For a little clarification I am a Master of Divinity non-ordination student, a candidate for the ELCA's diaconal program, with an emphasis in the Children, Youth, & Family program at Luther Seminary. What this all means is I will be doing the program to be a pastor, but do not feel called to parish ministry so I am not currently planning on getting ordained. Through the diaconal program, which is focused in word & service, I will be consecrated and rostered through the ELCA. My emphasis is because I feel called to work within children's hospital chaplaincy, but also am passionate about service work and non-profit missions. God only knows where I'll actually end up!

That's my hit the ground running sorta life that God's got me livin' right now. 2010 is nearing & who knows exactly what's around the bend other than J-term & another exciting semester of seminary. Despite the car troubles I've had since moving to MN, and they've been significant, I look forward to experiencing all 4 seasons in MN. I think the catch is to go someplace different for J-term each year & at least miss that one cold month :-)

Laundry Day

One more day of classes till a week off, 2 days for some. Then a few days with people around till everybody heads home or somewhere to meet with family for Thanksgiving.

Last week I celebrated 18 years since I was diagnosed with cancer. It was a lovely day of working the info desk. and then meeting up with friends to go for ice cream (which I do every year) and after that Chinese food and a showing of Princess Bride in the apartment. It's always a bit of a weird time of reflection for me, but knowing that I'm still kicking & breathing and through the grace of God I'm forgiven of all my daily inequities that I must keep going forward as best as I know how. It's also a blessing that I always have friends, new and old, that celebrate with me.

Some days it doesn't seem like I know how to keep kicking and breathing, but let's admit it, I'm a feisty person who even when I'm in a super funk or feelin' low I find something to laugh about or be cheerful about. A lot of the time it's at myself for being ridiculous, for not treating every day like it's a new start. Moving the furthest away from home has proved to be a great challenge as I can't just go home on a weekend. I could clearly get in my car, drive 9-10 hours on a Friday, spend Saturday in IN and drive back on Sunday, but that would not be relaxing in any way. I miss my Bert and Alissa and my cousins and a lot of other people too & the cornfields. I miss the adventure that my life held a year ago, I miss the people I've lived with in the last couple of years. Here I go focusing on all the things that I can't change, except for they are the things and the people that have changed me.

Recently I've been asked to tell my call story a few times or with my anniversary last week, to share a part of my past that has helped shape who I am in a great way. When I tell about how I got to where I am today I know that I'm where God wants me and all I can remember is the peace that I felt when I made the decision to be here a year and a half ago. It's not just that I felt that peace when I decided to go on New Dawn last year, but my teammates did as well when they made their decision. When you're living in intentional community you think you're crazy and you long to have your own agenda. Now that I'm not living in intentional community I miss the things that drove my teammates and I crazy, like check-ins and the atmosphere where you had to know how people were doing beyond saying "I'm fine or good or great" and knowing why. Don't get me wrong, I have friends to check in with both here and those friends that I had to do that with for a year.

The other day in chapel we sang "Seek Ye First." Simple words, with not always a simple action, but something that I strive for everyday and hope to exemplify in my actions and words. Remembering that peace is a safe place. So when I don't feel like I can keep kicking I remember God's peace and the push of the Holy Spirit and know that I have to keep going to serve Jesus as he served us.

Laundry's done

Happy Thursday

Today, although dreary & rainy, has been a GREAT day.

I was able to talk with a friend in Hong Kong this morning for the first time in at least two months. May I just say that SKYPE is an incredible invention. Praise Jesus for the person(s) who conjured it up along with the the other things that make it all work. I went off to school, got some reading in, heard my favorite Psalm (43) be read in chapel, had good discussion in class, & then a good lunch with other diaconal candidates & ministers. I then went to meet with my financial coach & when I was on my way to go grocery shopping (I haven't been in at least 3 weeks) I got a phone call from some friends I hadn't seen in over a month saying they were coming into the city & wanted to meet up.

I am a person who loves to be around others and definitely feel fed when I have quality time with people. A day filled with good discussions, quiet purposeful God time, & surprises ranks high in my list of good times. I didn't get any grocery shopping done, but I came home & ate 4 potatoes :-D (they were really small).

I have been over the top busy with school work & life lately. I always have papers to be writing & of course reading to be done so that I can write the papers. In at least three of my classes one of the main focuses is noticing where God is and through that knowing who God is within the text & that then leads us to who humans are within the text & who God is calling us to be. I've recently read about a very commanding God, but God is so confident in His commands that humans follow what He says. Through human's fear God gets respect & obedience. Although, much like my own life, it seems that the humans do not always know why they're doing what they are. However, they continue on, with questions, but they continue on, just as I do with life. I'm sure I'm not alone in this especially after my conversations today.

Just some thoughts to ponder: Who is God in your life & who is God calling you to be?

Off to work on another paper! Praise Jesus for education :-)

Minnesota Chill

The warmth of September has gone & the cold has begun, but I know that it will get much colder within just a few weeks.

This is the start of week 5 of seminary. It's crazy how fast it all goes by when you're in classes & working & attempting to have a social life too.

I have made some great friends at the seminary and have been blessed to run into a few other friends that are in the cities. The first day of class was a little intimidating, overwhelming, & invigorating. Since then I have attempted to keep up with all the reading, but like all my peers have said, it's nearly impossible.

The first few weeks were filled with fun outtings to the como zoo & conservatory, had a campfire in the park, many dinners at my place with friends, & just this weekend was girls night. So I can't say that my social life has really been lacking as God has more than provided a wonderful network of friends that when we're not eating together or whatever else we're studying together. This next weekends outting is for sushi!

Some days I wonder what I'm doing back in school, but I know that I am here for God. God called me here & I am learning so much that will help me in whatever future ministry I am called to.

5 AM theives, towels, & a u-haul

A week ago I was all packed up in the house ready to pack the u-haul in the morning. Our good friends came & helped us pack everything up & then we had the day to do last minute errands & go to a wedding of a life long friend.

4:30 Sunday morning came around after a few hours asleep & I got up. As I'm taking my last few belongings out to the car I hear that the newspaper person (not sure if it's a man or woman) caught some guys trying to break into the neighbor's house. Thus while all my possessions were sitting in the drive way (or car park, whichever you choose) & thankfully nothing was taken. I have so much I may not have noticed, ha. Anyway, a little bit later we were pulling out to get on the road & have to stop because there are 2 girls walking down the street in possibly nothing other than towels. They may have had swim suits on, but it wasn't much. This was a funny start for a 11 hour drive ahead of us. THEN 15 minutes later when we were driving through one of the many small towns in northern Indiana there was a man sitting in the middle of the side walk on a computer. It's true how the world never sleeps.

The drive went by with a few stops here & there. My co-pilot had a burst of excitement as she woke up from her nap & burst out with what a certain billboard read. Oh the joys of long road trips!

I had some great help move everything into my apartment & have spent the week learning my way abouts both the apartment & the area. I bought my books for the semester, made a casserole (it is NOT a hot dish), & have enjoyed randomly happening into friends at places like Target & the MOA. I also got to help serve dinner to the new YE teamers. Sorry if this is a bit disjointed, but I'm rather tired. God is good ALL the time.

indebted

I've been done with my Youth Encounter commitment for a week now. It's strange after signing up for an intentional community & all of a sudden being done. When you live & work that closely to others you know how things work. For instance, for the most part for the last 2 years I haven't had to make a decision on when or what I was going to eat for dinner. That's absurd when you really think about it. Now I can eat whatever I want, when ever I want & I actually find myself not having an appetite. Monday morning I woke up & my first thought was "I have to empty out my closet & dresser today." I knew I wanted to do this, but honestly who wakes up after going non-stop for 2 years & thinks that? It was good though, I got it all out, tried lots of things on & parted with many articles of clothing. I think I might still have a yaffa cube of shoes I haven't gone through yet though. It was a challenge using the rule that if I hadn't worn in the last year to get rid of it because I haven't had a good majority of my clothes with me since college. I have learned how little I can truly live off of being on a traveling team, living out of a bag or van, however one views it.

The week went by fast with a bump removal from my jaw, a hair operation (it's heaps shorter now), & a decent amount of resting. I also got to visit with some good friends I don't see all that often. I learned a new fun way to display my earrings too! My dear friend & I were hanging out & I saw this picture frame with netting behind it/attached to it & wondered where she got the idea. She had gotten the idea from another friend & promptly offered to make me one. We went to Michael's picked out a frame which was nicely on sale & then went home & cut the netting to the right size & then stapled it down. I now have a fun new display for my earrings.

After visiting her I went to visit my cousins. I had planned on going to church because I enjoy church & this might be my last weekend for a while choosing where I go to church, plus I really enjoy the community of people at their church. Well we ended up staying up quite late & I didn't think anybody was going to go. However my father woke me up with just the right amount of time to get ready & go. He kinda came & nudged me & said "Hey, are you awake? What are you doing?" I clearly wasn't awake & was sleeping, but he was awake & knew I had said I wanted to go to church.

In the midst of getting ready my cousin woke up & decided to join us, so the 3 of us trekked off to church. Today the church was finishing a series of reading from the book of Ephesians. Both of the theme verses for Youth Encounter over the last 2 years, at least for the ministries I was involved with, were based from Ephesians so I'm pretty familiar with this book. It talks about how the Christian body is meant to work together and live together. A retired pastor spoke, he preaches about once a month there, & it was great to hear how on fire & passionate he was for the message of Jesus Christ. It made me excited to know I'm going to be soon studying more about the Bible & the Christian church. It also got me thinking about how many people around the world are unaware of this message or of who Jesus is. It made me think of all the wonderful people we met this year & how we are called to live for Christ, but their ways of doing so are limited because of many things like government & family situations.

It's easy to come up with an excuse not to go to church, such as not getting enough rest, but why shouldn't we go, especially if we believe & belong to a church? God has done everything for us that we could ever need, even that which hasn't happened yet, God has already done! I can't wrap my mind around that really. I feel indebted to my family around the world that doesn't have the freedoms I do here to go to church, to learn more about the stories I've heard time & time again so that I can do what I believe we are all here to do & live for God knowing His word & His wants.

so what now?

SO I'm done. Yep, my life as it's been for the last 2 years is now done. It's really wierd!

Saturday was Youth Encounter's annual homecoming celebration for the end of the 2008-2009 team year. It was a long, but fun day. I woke up at 6:20am central time only because most everybody else was already up & moving since we needed to be out of the church by around 7. We then had a long fun day of celebrations. It had been raining in the morning, but cleared up for lunch & the afternoon concerts outside & then started raining again after dinner break.

The biggest transition for now is realizing that I don't have to report to anybody & I can choose where I go, when I go, & what I eat. That may seem like life was really strict over the last 2 years, but it wasn't. It was just an intentional community living situation where you check in with everybody else for most everything, or are supposed to. I know it all sounds crazy, but it's been some of the best times of my life. God never fails for fun & adventure. I'll miss all the people & of course I don't like not knowing when I'm going to see many or any of them again, but if nothing else we will all reunite in the kingdom of God some day.

"So what now?"

This was the big question everybody was asking each other on Friday & Saturday & probably all last week while the traveling teams were in debriefing. A good chunk of people are serving a second year with YE, many are starting college, many are going home to rest, & some of us are starting jobs &/or grad school. I belong to the latter part. I'm home at my parents for 2 weeks organizing my life as much as possible before moving to MN for grad school. I'm a bit anxious about all the changes, but glad for a new beginning. It is also a big comfort having so many friends in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

We had a fun & God filled summer working at Camp Wapo. We worked mostly with the TIM Teamers (Teens in Mission). TIM Team is a high school leadership ministry program. The campers would come on Friday evening & stay till the following Friday afternoon only to be followed by a new group that evening. We lead low & high rope adventures, workshops, & numerous other silly camp activities.

Today the sorting begins, I'm off to dig into my closet, pull it all out, & sort through what I don't want anymore.

Thank you God for extending your family & for giving me the health to partake in the last 2 years!

summer 2009

I know it's been months since I've posted anything. Silly me didn't think to check my password info & such before leaving my computer at home while traveling around. I was able to figure out out to get in a few times, but most if not all blogs were posted at www.youthencounter.org/newdawn SO if you'd like to hear about all the amazing things God did for our team while in Asia please go there & enjoy.

We have been back in the states now for 2.5 weeks & are spending our summer at a church camp in WI. Training starts today & I know the next 3 months will be wonderful & busy & fly by. After that I'll be moving to MN for grad school. I promise a few more updates now that I have my computer back & am back in the country. Peace

Happy Year of the Ox

Heya friends! I am finally writing what will hopefully prove to be a more substantial blog post. We have been in Asia now for nearly 3 weeks and the time is going pretty quickly. We have kept busy traveling between Hong Kong, Macau, & Jiangmen. We spent our first few days in Hong Kong with the ELCHK (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hong Kong) and the people we met helped us to get acclimated and showed us around a bit. Then we left for Macau for another 3 or so days and worked with an english center helping with the different lessons and outreach. We spent a week in main land where the weather heated up a bit, it's been chilly, and we got to eat lots of good food and meet great people.

Over all it has been a great experience and each day continues to prove to be a new adventure. It's always a bit of an adventure removing one self from their usual environment to one half way around the world that they've never experienced before. God's love and beauty is everywhere though and we are never alone through that. One moment that I truly felt the holy spirit working within us was within our first week here in Macau when we got to share our music in many different occassions. The people we have met are at all different places in their faith, some have believed for many years and others still aren't sure about any of the ideas dealing with christianity, so sharing with them and seeing their enthusiasm no matter what is very encouraging. Also, when we have done programs we have not always been the main event. This has been very humbling and also a blessing as people have been able to minister to us even if we don't always speak the same language.

God is good and I know this, but some times question what is going on in life and in the world. However, I have been praying about the changes that have come with being here and know that I am exactly where I'm supposed to be. We often are in life, but don't always realize it or worry to much, at least I do. If we just let God be the center then it makes it all so much easier.

I appologize for the delay in writing this, but know that all is well and we are being well taken care of. We'll be in Macau till next week and then back to Hong Kong for a week before heading to Malaysia (where it's warmer!).

*BONUS* We got free tickets to go to Cirque du Soleil tomorrow AND being in part of China for the Lunar New Year is pretty fabulous!!!

Asia

I think most of you that read this know that I'm in Asia now. It's great & a LOT warmer than home. I promise I will update more later, but know that all is well & God is GREAT

tis the season

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all!

I've been back in the hoosier state for a week and a half now & what a crazy break it has been. My flight time changed, thankfully I checked the night before, I got kidnapped early from my visit with my friend in Chicago because of the weather coming in. We got home in the middle of the ice storm and were home for about 3 hours when the electricity went out & was then out for around 32 hours. It was quite the adventure with the Perkins family & the town looked like a few tornados had swept through with all the branches down & wires as well.

After all that excitement there was a bit more with a friend telling her son & his friends that I had just been let out of prison after murdering a man so that they would behave in the movie theater & the dentist telling me I might need to have a biopsy on a bump on my cheek I've had for 3.5 years. All is well though & Christmas was good. It's been to be able to get some things done as well as relax and watch movies and such.

I'll be back in MN in less than a week and off to Asia in less than 2 weeks!

Happy Birthday MOM!

Today is my mom's birthday so I thought I'd put it in the title 'cause she's great & it's her birthday!

We're back in Colorado for a 3rd time & it's a glorious place to be. This morning we woke up to the ground being slightly snow covered and the air a tad bit more brisk than it has been. It's nice because we're not going to experience much winter since we'll be in SE Asia for most of it. Plus my mom just recently sent me a box with a few warmer clothing articles which makes the colder weather more enjoyable. I know we're supposed to be living this simple life, but I'm still an over packer most days & I refilled the box that mom had sent stuff in and still had stuff to go in, but there wasn't enough room. The fact that I was willing to send so much back was pretty big for me.

We have continued to be blessed with great host homes & travels. Not only have I been reunited with family in CO now, but also with friends in KS, we had a friend visit all of us in NE, we're currently in Evergreen, CO where my friend Philip is the pastor & his wife, Liz, is a good friend too. Then to top it all off, tomorrow we head to Roy, UT where I will get to visit & stay with some more family that I haven't seen in many years.

While on the road it's been apparent to me how important loving on everybody is no matter what. Not just everybody, but how blessed I have been in my life to be loved on, despite all my downfalls, by friends & family. I always knew that my friends & family were important, but I all too often have put my friends before family. This is a struggle because they're all wonderful people whom I love dearly, but how do you put one before the other? We're all brothers & sisters in Christ & God is working in, through, & around us all in so many different ways that it's good to learn from another & share God's work.

I guess I just want everybody to know how blessed we all are. Recently I've seen it through friends & family & there are many other ways God works through our daily lives. Some times we think God needs to show us things in big ways, but we look to hard or expect something bigger since it is from God, but really God is always in the simple things in our lives too. It's a good reminder.

mr. son

Hiya brothers & sisters! It's Julia live from the Luther House at the University of New Mexico. Life is grand on the road. We've had some incredible God filled adventures since day 1. I'm always in awe of the ways that God's love is shown to us. Some of the ways are through our hosts and safety on the road, but also from the YE family & family back home.

Lately I've been able to be in contact with some friends from other countries that I've met in different travels and ministries. It's been such a blessing to talk with them via skype (an online conversation enabler) and be able to share all the glorious ways God is working in life. I know that God is working and stretching me, teaching me in ways that I don't fully understand, but hopefully will some day.

About two weeks ago now we were blessed to experience the Mystery Bus Tour in Garden City, Kansas. It was a fun crazy night filled with all sorts of activities touring from site to site by each clue we were given. My favorite part of the whole night was the bonfire at the end before heading back to the church. The bonfire was great because it was warming up the cold early morning air, but also because we got to see the start of the sun rise. I don't know the last time I was awake before this to see the sun rise.

I've seen the sun set many times because I'm normally awake for this. I don't always stop to watch it, but it happens quite quickly once it starts to set. The smoothness of the sun rising reminds me of Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God!" Even though God's blessings have been abundant I don't often stop to breath deep and take in those blessings fully. It's something I'm working on and I'm sure God is working with me.

This morning I got up and watched the sun rise with Sarah. She loves to do this and does so in every state we visit. At first I thought she was crazy for getting up that early when she didn't have to, but when I got a taste of the sun rise that morning in Kansas I couldn't resist watching it this morning in the brisk morning air. God's continuous work to make us know his love and want to follow his ways for us is a great ride and hope to continue learning to be still and know God.

Enchantment

I have been on the go. I have attempted to blog at least 3x on the YE website, but the system is not mac friendly so it's never worked all the way. So now I take the time to try 7 catch up a bit on the many ways God reminds me to count my blessings and see his love everywhere we go.

Niobrara, NE: Kristine & I stayed in a B&B with a lovely family. We had our day off here and at the end of the day was the home coming coronation. I wasn't going to go, but decided to since everybody else was going. In the end I was very glad I went because our host brother was crowned king. The best part of the evening was when he asked his mom if he could cut his crown into 3 pieces. At first I thought it was because he didn't like it, but then he explained that he wanted to share the crown with his 2 fellow class mates that were also on homecoming court. What an awesome humbling act. If we all would share just a little more of ourselves to our neighbors around the world, we'd live with a little more feeling of being loved and accepted.

Albion, NE: We loved this place so much that we went back a few days later! Pastor Mike and Alison were great to meet and a blessing to me because we know some mutual people. Mike just graduated in May from Trinity Seminary which is right across the street from Capital. God used these people to remind me of all the wonderful people in my life that have been such great examples of living a Christian life style and being like Jesus.

Kansas: The whole state was great. We started in Hays, then onto Garden City (Mystery Bus Tour), Great Bend, Salina, and Dodge City. Wonderful hospitality. The Mystery Bus Tour was an all night lock-out that has been happening for 16 years. We traveled from place to place all night long and were given clues using Bible verses of where we might be going next. It was a fun night to be in community. We played hide & go seek in the dark at a park, then attempted ultimate frisbee on a football field in the wind, and went to the YMCA to play games, rollar skating, bowling, worship at 3am on the fair grounds, and ended the night with a big bonfire and tired game of Romans & Christians. The bonfire was the best part not only because it was cold, but because we got to see the start of the sun rise.

We then traveled to CO where I got to see my Aunt Gay & family. It's always good to see family especially after being on the road for awhile. It had been just over 3 years since I had seen Aunt Gay, Uncle Greg, my cousin Karen & her son Michia, but it had been over 8 years since I had seen my cousin Michael. I had never met his wife, Amanda, so it was a blessing to get to see him and meet her. I wish we could've stayed in the Denver area longer to visit, but such is life. While we were in CO we did a few touristy things & went to Garden of the Gods, drove to Cripple Creek, & stopped at 7 Falls. Yes, we climbed the 224 (or however many) steps to the top. It was a workout, but my teammate Kristine was behind me nearly the whole way encouraging me and making sure I wasn't about to faint.

We're now in NM ( the land of enchantment) which has been a fun adventure because none of us have ever been here before. We got to stop in Santa Fe the other day & are spending the week in the Albuquerque area. One of my favorite things about team is that we have been to so many fun towns & congregations that have been a blessing to us in our travels that most of us would never get a chance to go to otherwise. Life is good & busy & God is continuing to stretch me in all sorts of ways that I don't understand yet & maybe never will.

One last thing, get up & actually watch the sun rise one morning soon, it's majestic.

Personally, I like swinging

Life on the road has been a lot of fun. We've been blessed with great host homes, as always, and wonderful worship experiences. So far we've traveled to Miller, Hartford, and Chamberlain South Dakota. Today we head to Faulkton and tomorrow onto Pierre for a few days. Each year YE sends somebody known as "on the road support staff" with the teams usually within the first week or so of life on the road so that we are better acclimated and our program is adjusted to work out the kinks. Our friend Danielle has been with us this week and has been a blessing. Danielle was on Kindred to South America last year and so she has experienced life on the road and God has really given her a gift in the ability to support and encourage and a great listening ear (or two). Sadly, Danielle heads back home today so we'll be praying for her as she is waiting to hear back about a job and continuing on with what God has planned for her.

The other day while waiting for team devotions to start I found the swing set. We all have things that we just simply enjoy in life and one of those things for me is swinging. It seems like such a simple thing, but that's what makes it so great. I don't normally have to go to great lengths to find a swing of some sort. I hopped up on the swing, it was a little tall for my short legs, and began the kickoff. As always it started a little slow and gradually started going higher and faster as the push and pull of my legs and the chains worked together. I only took Physics in high school so that I could go to Disney World so I really don't understand the logistics of it nor do I try. I enjoy the wind rushing around me and knowing that I'm powering the swing.

I soon realized that I wasn't powering the swing by myself. God's hand was guiding me and encouraging me through the wind and the sunshine and cool fall morning atmosphere. It was fairly quiet where I was as well so that helped me to focus more on what was around. As I kept swinging I realized that the back and forth motion can be slightly nauseating. I felt like this was like our daily walks with God. Ahead of you there is a goal and behind you is what you have learned from, whether good or bad, to keep you going forward. You keep going forward, but to go forward you must go backward as well. Why in life to we always retreat? The nauseating part comes in when you take your eyes off the goal, the goal being God. When you lean back in the swing and stare at the sky or the trees rushing by. Our lives are so busy with outside sources, but the God is always there.

I don't know if it's human nature to retreat, but it's easy to do. In the book of Hebrews it says, "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works" (10:24 NLT). So let us do just that. Encourage each other in every day life and motivate one another to step outside of our comfort boxes. God will be there even if our eyes our in the clouds.

Get your New Dawn

ONE

The YE theme verse for the year is just that! It comes from Ephesians 4:4-6.

Team life has been a great adventure as always. We're in our last week of training at Luther Point in WI. The International Teams have a separate training week to learn about cross cultural living and such, so the National Teams are still at Luther Dell. It's sad to not be with everybody, but it's also a good time to really focus on what God's called us to as well as learn to only be around a few people. On Saturday we all head out on the road and it will only be us & our teammates.

My teammates are wonderful people. We all come from different religious backgrounds which is fascinating to me because I know we can learn so much from each other. We've all had lots of different experiences in ministry as well so that adds to the team dynamics. We're still praying for another guy so if yall know anybody 21+ wanting to serve the Lord send them my way. We're doing great as the 5 of us though so no worries there.

We had our rally day booking this past weekend and had a really relaxed setting which was a total blessing for our first performance. We got to work with 2 separate churches that use the same building. One was a LCMC (Luther Congregation in Mission for Christ) and the other was a Filipino American Church. We get to work with these churches a couple more times throughout the year which is very nice.

We've had some silly times of course learning music and getting to know each other. The photo day was our first funny time and sharing our call stories/life stories. It's also great that our one guy, Jon, is 6'7", just over 2 meters, & all of us girls are 5'4" & under. We all mesh well together & just enjoy getting to continue learning about God working in and around each one of us. Tonight we have our first program so that'll be fun, it's just for YE people so that's nice too.

I feel as if this is a very scattered post, but none the less GOD IS GOOD!

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming

The travels keep going for me as always.

Mosaic team life ended a week ago and what a great crazy wonderful year it was. I made the trip home with my Dad on Sunday & was in the good ol' Hoosier state for a grand total of 5 nights. It was nice to be home for a while & catch up with friends & family as well as on rest.

Now I'm in NC for one of my best friend's weddings & getting to see a bunch of wonderful college friends. It's another whirlwind trip, but a lot of fun too.

Sunday I head back to MN for round #2 with YE. A good friend of mine jokingly said "Surely this past year wasn't what God had planned SO let's try it again!" He's also doing a 2nd year. We are all, my new teammates and others, very excited for what God has in store for us. It's going to be a great year, I know it is.