Tuesday Tea Time!

What a lovely photo! Credit given to Austea for sharing their products in clever ways.

Tuesday Tea Time & I'm wishing I had some of this loose leaf tea. Maybe not this loose leaf tea, but loose leaf tea in general.

I'm exploring where/who to buy loose leaf tea from & the benefits of loose leaf tea versus bagged tea.

I bought myself a small sample of loose leaf tea while on vacation the other week & while I find it just as refreshing as most bagged teas, it is quite messy.

I'm really good at making a mess & not very good with the mess.

I even dried my tea leaves out over night so that I could use them a second time. While I'm not sure I would make a constant habit of this, it was simply refreshing the next day. Often I will reuse my tea bags for a second go, but I never dry it out again. Does anybody know the importance of drying the tea leaves out in between uses?

May this #heartfind encourage the continued exploration & love of Tuesday Tea Time!

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome!

Family at Epcot

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome!

Friday Favorites!

We are a family who loves Disney! More to come next week.

Tuesday Tea Time!

Tuesday Tea Time is here & here I am 6 years ago surrounded by the most tea I've ever been around at one time in my life!

First it's crazy that this was already nearly 6 years ago. Second, I know 6 years ago - when my blog was still titled Globetrotting with God - I never thought I'd make Tuesday Tea Times a part of my sharing. Now Tuesday Tea Times are my favorite part about blogging!

Next to tea my other favorite thing in life is travel. While I appreciate having a home to return to, there is not much better than getting to see creation in all its forms, taste the teas around the world, & share that with others.

While I very likely will never make it back to the BOH Tea Plantation & even more likely that I will never return with those I was there with 6 years ago (The New Dawns), it is very exciting to think about the other places & other teas & possibly other tea plantations I will visit.

What adventures does Tuesday Tea Time bring back for you? What hopes do you have for continued adventures?

Tuesday Tea Time moments to ponder...

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: Hello & welcome to February! While January was a bit more quiet than usual, it was still very busy. February brings different challenges though simply because it is February. This past week was focused on recovering from being away, getting a sermon written, & trying to plan ahead for the rest of the month. I was given the chance to geek out on teaching others about SMART goals & set an active one into place by working with the teams at our church. My mind is still churning at all of the wonderful ideas that were shared with me about ministry while at the Extravaganza! While I am hoping to be on top of upcoming ministry opportunities, the reality is I am already focused on our next big adventure. More to come on that in a week or so! We enjoyed a snowy Saturday with some reading, granola baking, snow shoveling, & Ever After. It'll always be one of my favorite versions of a Cinderella story & it's now on Netflix!

BAD: It's February & I have connected with more than one person in the last week of how much we dislike February more than any other month in the year. May our disdain not make us weary & lose sight of the hope of Spring!

AWESOME: Dove's #loveyourcurls video! Not only is the music fun & catchy, but it exemplifies the impact that each one of us can & do have on those we live with (at home, work, or play). My curls have definitely been a journey, but I don't ever remember really wanting any other hair. Your hair, curly or straight, is beautiful as it is, so embrace it!

WORD: Today's Gospel is Mark 1:29-39 & I'm preaching, so this has been my focus. This amidst the finishing of the Paraclete Press book on hospitality that I mentioned a few weeks ago. Together these readings are action packed, leave us questioning things we may never know or don't need to know, & assured that there is good in the world.

coming up: A bit more adventure! By the end of the week I will get to see family that I haven't seen in many years (9 years maybe) & introduce Z to them. And all with a touch of Mickey Mouse!

Friday Favorites!

Last Sunday Snippits I said I would share more about the photos listed then & now. Thankfully sharing such joy works nicely with Friday Favorites!

The first photo from Sunday was a picture with the current presiding bishop of the ELCA, Elizabeth Eaton. Z & I had the chance to meet her almost 2 years ago before she was voted on as Bishop for the entire denomination, but being in our own bubble of, "what is going on right now?!" we focused on the people we knew in the setting & only spoke with them. While this may sound like we were snubbing Bishop Eaton, there were hundreds of people gathered for a retirement party at a synod assembly, so it was what it was.

The second picture from Sunday is the skyline of Detroit. Detroit is the home of the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering & it is very exciting to be living in the home state of a gathering. It is also very exciting to know that I get to be a piece of helping this gathering to happen - for our congregation & synod. Many people have said, "Why Detroit?" & I ask, "Why not Detroit?" There's rich history, wealth, & poverty just like any city. We can be the church, as we are called to be, in Detroit as much as any other city because God is there. Amidst what we hear on the news, God has been in Detroit for as long as Detroit has been around (1701) just like God has been with the rest of the world since its beginnings. There is good to be lived, experienced, & given in Detroit. The really cool piece is some 30,000 youth & adults will experience this good of God together for one week this summer. #RiseUpELCA

The last picture from Sunday, while a little blurry, is a picture that captures so much for me. Lost & Found are in their final year of touring. I first experienced worship led by Michael & George in roughly Spring of 1996 at a Youth Encounter event. Hearing them live for the first time in many years (I have seen them at least two other times since 1996) was incredible to hear the Holy Spirit speaking power into their lyrics. This past week at the E they sang songs that were written years ago & others more recently. For me, they all seemed to hold a power that could only come from God.

And today a large group of people being photobombed by a tall guy in the back. Well the tall guy just happened to be our waiter at the Grand Trunk Pub & the group of people are my friends & colleagues in Word & Service ministries throughout the church. While I didn't get a chance to talk with each one of them, we all hold a bond through our call as rostered leaders (& friends) to something other than being a pastor. We enter these calls knowing we will pave new paths for ministries that are lesser known to the church all thanks to the spark the Holy Spirit keeps afire in our hearts for being ministers at the intersections of church & world. This was & is Sacred Community.

All this thanks to one conference full of people who care about serving the church for the sake of faith formation for children of all ages & with all sorts of stories worth being told & listened to & possibly even shared. Thank you #ext15!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Z & I have been home for just over a day from a wonderful time at the Extravaganza (aka E) for our second time together.

This year the theme of the event was Story. It was beautifully down to earth & such a gift to be able to experience the many stories shared.

The stories were shared by people such as the presiding Bishop of the ELCA, Elizabeth Eaton & well known author Walt Wangrin. There were also stories from Mikka McCracken & Lost & Found.

And most near & dear to heart the stories where shared amongst long time friends & mentors & new to the scene friends too.

Story, we all have many. There is one story though that connected those of us gathered at the E. The story of God made flesh. And there was no doubt that the Spirit was at work throughout the stories that were shared of great joy, sorrow, struggle, new life, & many hopes for the future.

This theme of Story will continue throughout the year as we prepare for the ELCA Youth Gathering & while Practice Discipleship events happen throughout the country. While these stories are shared keep a listening ear & open heart for how God is using you in the story of life.

One colleague shared, "Knowing your story, makes my story better!" While I found this to be true for every story shared at the E, know that many people feel the same way about your story & there are many people waiting to listen.

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD, BAD, & AWESOME!

coming up: a bit more description of these posts & pictures & reflection on Extravaganza 2015! 

Friday Favorites!

A picture can say a thousand words, or so they say. This weeks favorites find me here. 

Tuesday Tea Time!

Hello Tuesday Tea Timers!

Have you ever been gifted something that you've held on to for quite some time & had to put serious thought into when or how you were going to use it?

These lovely chopsticks are a great example of a gift such as this for me.

Six years ago I was traveling throughout SE Asia with a team through Youth Encounter. Many of the places that we had already visited & were going to visit I had never dreamed I would travel to. However, it didn't take long upon arriving in these places to fall in love with pieces & people from these places.

Naturally I waited till the end of our travels to purchase some chopsticks, but within days was gifted these more ornate chopsticks. While the other chopsticks are more every day, we keep them on our countertop in a mason jar to be used for various food & drink items. These flowered ones had been sitting in a box in a drawer moving from one apartment or house to the next. With a newly emptied cylindrical tea tin on my hands - that I wanted to repurpose - I remembered these chopsticks in the old chocolate box in the drawer & decided to put the two items to use.

Some of the lovely chopsticks now decorate my tea corner in my office! Why would I need chopsticks in my office you ask? Clearly to stir honey into my tea!

Sunday Snippits:good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: Watching a movie you enjoy the day after watching a movie that horrified you. There are certain movies that you see the previews for & think along the lines of 'if I watch that it will need to be in my home so that I can turn it off or walk away when I want.' Then you find yourself renting the movie & so enthralled by the story line that is horrifying you that you don't turn it off or walk away. I followed Gravity with two episodes of How I Met Your Mother's final season that I'm still working on finishing. Then the next day I chose to watch the movie The Hundred Foot Journey. This second movie was much more my speed! The love for food, travel, adventure & connection to life struggle is beautifully woven into reality throughout the story.

BAD: The desire so many of us who love living in the great north have for Spring to appear soon this time of year. It would be scary - in my opinion - if it came earlier than March. However, we pull out all the tricks to endure the gray winter months & are very thankful for the days with cloudless skies & sunshine. Some people just cannot be shook of the grump that sets in & those of us that can even everything out. All in all making us all a bit mad, bonkers, & off our heads!

AWESOME: Days of unexplainable sunshine in Pure Michigan in January! Go with the flow sorta work days, friends reaching out for prayers & sharing in life near & far.

WORD: While I have yet to finish I Am Malala - & maybe I never will - I have been enjoying The Paraclete Book of Hospitality. This is one of several books that I thought I would use for my graduate studies capstone project & simply did not get around to until the last week or so. A short easy ready & being based in Benedictine thought it gives some great Biblical & other references.

coming up: This is a very exciting week filled with many reunions & many gatherings of new friends at the Extravaganza!

Friday Favorites!

Friday Favorites & though my 'to do' list is still lengthy (because I sorta didn't keep one most of the week, but made a fresh one before coming home this evening) it is Friday & it feels like a Friday & that's fun!

I just shared with my cousin last night that having Thursdays off (just as she does) throws me for a spin because Fridays become my Mondays. Well, you could say this is Monday, but tomorrow then is Tuesday & that's a busy day so I should be super productive tomorrow. Right?!

I share all of this because glancing back at my FB newsfeed, one of my favorite things was this quote from Alice in Wonderland shared by Yogi Times. Alice in Wonderland has become one of my favorite stories of all times & I especially like this quote.

There are many days I feel mad, bonkers, & off my head, but this quote reminds me that it is quite normal & makes life that much more exciting.

So may you be ok with being mad, bonkers, & off your head!

You're one of the best people!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Credit to akikotree

I've heard that we need 8 hugs a day to succeed or to be okay with our day. And while I generally am open to a hug I am not always a hug instigator. However, just like in any relationship, for it to work we must give a little to get a little. And more often than not we give a little & get a LOT in return.

Tea: a hug in a cup.

It's such a nice idea! For us to be able to find this need for touch & comfort & encouragement & love in a cup of tea is silly, but sweet. We cannot always rely on each other to achieve these 8 hugs (or however many the studies actually say) a day, but we can rely on tea.

Tea, it wakes you up, refreshes your spirit, rids you of toxins, & calms you down when in need. A hug in a cup!

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: Good is sharing a piece of sunshine - literally or figuratively - with one another. This past week this sunshine was shared with me - & hopefully therefore with others - through the many encounters with others. I heard or read more than once in the past week that seeing another person & living with them is seeing & living with God. This makes perfect sense to me as I have been continually returning to Genesis 1:27 recently. Come, Holy Spirit, come. All in all this past week was a good mix of my many commitments to ministry leadership. There is much excitement in the air for things yet to come!

BAD: The drive of consumerism for more, more, more. With recent cell phone hiccups & a spouse who still owns an old flip phone (gasp!) the workers at the store jump on us like hawks on prey. Seriously people, a phone that makes calls & texts is the basic desire we have. We don't need all your special plans to be able to recycle these phones that much faster when you're companies are already charging an arm & a leg. With as many people that are only using cell phones now & doing away with land lines, I truly think it would only be right if cell phone companies made phones to last more than two years. We don't buy land line phones thinking they'll only last two years so why would we want a cell phone that does that? Good grief!

AWESOME: Julia Child was once quoted for saying, "People who love to eat are always the best people." I'm SO glad to report that according to Julia I am ONE of the best people. Now let's be real, there are hundreds of us who are the best people. This past week though, I hit a wall with appetite & creativity to make new meals. That creativity is stirring making new ideas & new inspiration though already. All I needed was a trip to the produce section at Meijer! Grapefruit Goodness!

WORD: I'm given the opportunity to preach in a couple of weeks, but we have some fun adventures in between so I'm starting to sit with the passages for the week of February 8th. Aside from that, look up at the "GOOD" of today to see a little more!

coming up: Hopefully a continued nice mix of a little work with this call & a little work with that call. It's all about balance! Head up, Heart out, Move to the beat!

Friday Favorites!

It's Friday & there's SO many favorites to share that I narrowed it down to this.....

Poetry on a wine cork!

"Standing here / The old man said to me / Long before these crowded streets / Here stood the Dreaming Tree."

As we walked MG this evening in the twilight of evening the sky, it was filled with pinks & yellows & grays. It was beautiful amidst the sparkling pieces of snow covered patches. Yes, there is snow everywhere, but there are only patches that seemed untouched by everything other than the wind. A phone camera could not have done this beautiful piece of God's creation justice & for a piece of extra quiet I had left my phone behind.

We returned from the walk only to make a fancy meal of Annie's Mac-n-Cheese, hot dog, & asparagus with a nice glass of Dreaming Tree Crush (thus the wine cork poetry).

Here's to your Friday Favorites as you wind down from the week. May you stand beneath the Dreaming Tree!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Hello Tuesday! Oh Tea Time, you bring a smile to my life!

Yes, a little crazy. I know, but we all have those things that take you to a happy place. Tea is one of the most simple things in my life that takes me to a happy place.

Most anything Disney is another thing for a happy place. Once somebody tried to strip down why I love Disney so much, but seriously, I enjoy the magic & that's the gist of it all.

Another lovely consecration gift, this one from my Aunt J! The question is, do I let it sit on my shelf in my office & simply sit there (next to the beautifully awkward photo of Z & I with Cinderella on our honeymoon) or do I use it? Other than preservation I'm not sure why it should just sit there. Seriously though, I'm perplexed as it is quite unique.

How many things do we own in life that simply sit on a shelf?

I for one can say many things. It's not necessarily very realistic, but it creates a nice ambiance that I change out every now & then with the change of the seasons.

The question still remains, to use the cup or let it sit?

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome!

Credit to The Telegraph

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

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

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

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

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

Friday Favorites!

Thinking about Friday Favorites today with the question, "What have I learned this week?"

Believing we are made new each day in the light of a resurrected savior, it is only right to lift up praises each day. I have found myself giving such thanks when people compliment me or something about an object that might be related to my work with "Thanks be to God!"

My hope is that people realize that I am who I am because of the living Word of God. And all that I do, I strive to do for God.

While I'd like to think that there is nobody reading this thinking, "Well good for you!" I know better. Please don't read this as "look at me" sort of thing. It is yet another bitter cold January day here & while the sun is shining - Praise be to God - it is January & many people are stuck inside & many people are dealing with depression from the often gray weather this time of year.

I share praises to lift all spirits of the good happening in the world. Some times these praises seem fairly mundane, but it is a nice thing to have a home that has electricity that powers my alarm clock that I am thankful for its snooze button. See, can be sorta mundane. Challenge yourself to list 5 praises a day for a week & see how it lifts your spirit. It's worth it!

"Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day." Rishika Jain's Inspiration

Tuesday Tea Time!

Tuesday Tea Time, the best time of the week! With as cold as it's been lately, every day has many tea times.

This quaint tea cup was a gift from my friend TU over at Praying on the Prairie. She just recently messaged me to make sure I got it & I've been sneaky in not responding a)because she should be receiving a thank you card any day & b)I wanted to feature the mug in today's post.

TU & I met at the 2010 Diaconal Ministry Formation Event (DMFE). Being at two very different places in life - mainly speaking that she was called & consecrated & I hadn't even completed my first full year of seminary - I am blessed to have her as a mentor, friend, & one with a better memory than I. She wrote in the card that she sent with the mug that she got this particular mug because it has a piece of the Psalms that we focused on at the DMFE.

While we have both had many life changes since January 2010, the world of Diaconal Ministers, ELCA, Lutheran Church, & youth workers has kept us interconnected. With a smile & listening ear for all who need, TU is there. So thank you for sharing Tuesday Tea Time with me today & probably many tea times yet to come!