Tuesday Tea Time!

Hiya Tuesday Tea Time Friends!

We've come to another important milestone in our year. Z and I, and others, remembered our original due date for baby Kaia Gene this past Sunday July 10. July 10 is also our oldest nieces birthday & our a very good friend MBR's birthday. This July 10 we also said goodbye to a youth who will be moving to a new state in the next few days. This July 10 we both went to work & preached the good news in various ways. Z preached as a preacher & I is a Diaconal Minister, serving youth ministry. This July 10 marked a significant milestone in our year even amidst the usual Sunday happenings.

After the usual Sunday lounging we hopped in the car & drove to meet up with good friends for dinner. These friends are not friends that we see very often due to distance, but friends that there's a piece of home in our friendship. LK & I have been friends since our first semester at CAP, nearly 14 years ago. The Spirit led us in similar ways for several years as we both figured we shouldn't stick with our original choice of study at CAP & switched to religious studies. Then beyond CAP we both went on to serve 2 years with YE & that's when RK entered our lives. Let's just say, not only do they have the same last name now, but 2 adorable & energetic little ones (a 3rd on the way) & therefore LK & RK got to know each other much faster & in a different way than RK & I did. They are a delightful couple to have spent part of such a unique day in our year with them.

It was like meeting with a piece of home to have dinner with them. We caught up on life in the here & now & remembered life from long ago. Our connections through college days, Youth Encounter days, all our world travels & calls to ministry keep us connected. These pieces keep us at home with each other. Being we met on our original due date & their third wee one growing (due in November) we connected through hopes for our families & funny stories of the growth of all life. They left, trying to make it back to be with their extended family - all together for an annual family gathering nearby - so that they could help with putting the 7 youngest to bed.

You can't make these pieces of life happen. They just do & for that simple piece, I give thanks. Today's Tuesday Tea Time is dedicated to the milestones & the delightful pieces of life that just are.

Tuesday Tea Time!

Hello Tuesday Tea Time!

In the last week I have been processing one significant life change. While it has nothing to do with baby Frieda, of course it makes me wonder about her future.

Last week Youth Encounter (YE) announced their closing. This was not a huge surprise, but just as a beloved spot such as camp is hard to let go of, so is an organization that provided those spots all over the world.

I grew up with YE ministries. I learned about church, love, friendship, adventure, missions, & following a Spirit led call through my experiences. I went to my first youth quake in the fifth grade & was hooked by the Spirit. I then attended my first Congress turned Construction Zone (aka Zone) as a 9th grader & when I went off to college I volunteered at all the events nearby that I could. It was only natural to apply for a year of volunteer ministry to follow my college graduation. And when you survived nearly a full year of living in intentional community, why not apply for a second year?!

And we can't forget being introduced to great opportunities such as Side by Side (SxS) Global Missions & Spoke Folk (SF). I signed up for SxS in September 2001. I told my parents I was going to Kenya in 2002 & that'd I'd be 18, so they couldn't tell me no. Possibly not the best approach, but it's what was done. So when I returned from a month of travels to & from Kenya, I blindly signed up for SF. It took one SF tour to have me hooked. I was always trying to recruit others to do SF with me. In fact some of my CAP fam couldn't believe when I said I hadn't toured in a year or more.

Now it's been 14yrs since SxS, 8yrs since SF, 8yrs since Mosaic, & 7yrs since New Dawn. After finishing my year with New Dawn in Fall '09 I started seminary & started a new phase of life. Time slipped by & I have volunteered & worked temp jobs for YE as I was offered & able. In fact I was working for YE right before my current call.

Saturday night I attended my last piece of a YE event. I saw friends I hadn't seen in years & trust the Spirit will bring us together again. I was hit by all these pieces of ministry that have helped get me to where I am today. Then I was hit by the fact that it was my first & last chance to share YE, in that way, with baby Frieda. Frieda will no doubt have her own story, but she will also have one of the largest extended families one could imagine. No matter where I go, there are connections of friends who pick up right where we are & I trust they will offer that same YE family welcome to baby Frieda as she builds her own adventure.

Thank you YE for being such a powerful presence for the church over the last 51 years. I'm beyond blessed to have known your ministry & to take it with me through the years to come.

Tuesday Tea Time!

Greetings, and Happy Tuesday Tea Time!

 

I’m happy to be sharing this tea time with you, filling in for my friend Julia the next couple weeks. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Timothy, and I most often blog here. I’m also a: husband, son, brother, mission developer, hot chocolate and chocolate milkshake connoisseur, a sports fan crazy about the Mariners and Seahawks especially, and grateful to be asked to share this Tuesday Tea Time with you. 

 

In the spirit of Tuesday Tea Time, as a place to take a few moments to sit and reflect while sipping on your favorite tea or hot beverage of choice, here’s a question for you:

 

What big question are you wrestling with right now?

 

If you’re like me, you may well have more than one. Some of the questions I’m pondering are:

• What am I most excited about right now in this awesome role of being a mission developer?

• What would it be like to serve on staff and in ministry with my wife Allison beyond this one year of internship for her and me serving as a mission developer?

• What’s Thanksgiving and Christmas going to look like this year?

• When will the Mariners make the playoffs? Will the Seahawks get on a hot streak? 

 

Whatever your question or questions are, take a few minutes during today’s tea time while you sip to ponder about the questions. Jot them down, and if you don’t mind, share them in the comments. I believe life is about conversations, questions, and relationships. If there’s no wrestling or curiosity, I know at least for me, I would be very bored. What about you? 

 

On a different note, I’m so excited for Julia’s news, and invite you all to send her great thoughts and hold her in your prayers. 

 

Until next time, thanks for sharing this moment with me, and Happy Tea Time!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Hello sleepy time! Tuesday Tea Time has come & not quite gone. I do believe I over estimated my ability to get back from my travels & jump back on board with my bit of routine. Oops!

Many many thanks to Timothy & Allison for sharing Friday Favorites & Sunday Snippits while I was away in hoosierland.

What a crazy milestone in my call to ministry to have come & gone. I had the same feeling of joy on my consecration day that I had on my high school graduation day. At high school graduation many of my friends were red in the face from tears & I had this ridiculous grin that I could not wipe away.

Today I spent part of my time in the office setting up all the cards & new decorative gifts that I received. The picture though shows the long awaited gift of a basin, pitcher, & towels. These are the symbols of Diaconal Ministry. My basin & pitcher were crafted by the great Jim Alworth & his wife Grace. The most beautiful piece about it is that the design is one of a kind.

And now it's time for bed!

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome

GOOD: While Z's & my travels to new things has come to an end, my travels for the summer have only begun. For a couple of months now I was planning to work alongside the staff at Michi-Lu-Ca for part of the summer & by part of the summer it really was planned to be most of the summer. Due to some changes in others' summer plans, I am now at camp all summer long! It is a challenge in my career as I have gone back & forth with my love for outdoor ministries, but it is one that I am choosing to not be afraid of & simply jump in running. As long as I continue to center my heart & my head in that still small voice of God, then I know that I am in the right place & bound to make a few of the right choices.

BAD: This means that posting here may be a challenge. At most I will be able to post using my phone & therefore things will be short & formatted funny. So look for random sparkles throughout the summer when I happen to have WiFi. I wish I could've been more put together to pre-write my posts, but that is not the life I live.

AWESOME: Meeting new people. Hearing people's stories & being asked to share mine. Camp is a great place for this.

WORD: I finally finished 'The Color of Tea.' It took some very unexpected, yet well done turns. I encourage it for a good read. I'm fully submersed in a variety of scripture for this summer's worships, so today I shared the image I shared from K-Love's site on Facebook in my picture.

coming up: FULL FORCE SUMMER MINISTRY!

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & ugly

GOOD: These boots! Not only are they a quality brand with good support they were a surprise, on sale, & oh the wonderful colors! I can't get enough :-) This last Tuesday I finished my phoning job which was a bit of a relief to finally be done with the list of people to call. It was a blessing to be able to work with YE again though & to continue to promote the ministries that God has them offering. I seemed to have beat the crud that I was feeling at the beginning of last week & move into the middle of the week figuring out how to spend my time with more than enough to do & figure out about life. By the end of the week I found myself sending e-mails pulling me out of one job application process & pushing forward with another for a summer gig at Michi-Lu-Ca with ELCA Living Waters Ministries. I'm very excited to know what God has in store for both Z & I this Summer & the months following. I will be serving in the position of Senior High Camp Director.

BAD: The sleep we lost due to our worry of our poor Michi puppy licking her scar & wound from the clamp. Our puppy likes to lick, so thankfully we came up with a quick fix & knew where to find the onesie that our family used 3.5 years ago for our niece's birth announcement. Yes, she's still wearing it & still sleeping a lot, but also playful. Also bad, the constant surprise of how cold it remains to be. This is not just me who's been living around the 45th parallel for the last 7 years, this is everybody that lives above the Mason Dixon line. Bring on the mud season!

UGLY: Last Sunday Z & I watched Zero Dark Thirty & while fascinating. I wonder what that woman is up to now & where those children in the home ended up & how the soldiers are doing. SO much war going on in the world & in people's personal lives. Also, it's ugly that it is a surprise when certain states are able to pass laws in favor of all people being allowed to be married. I wish there wasn't a reason to doubt those laws passing.

WORD: I finally started reading The Help after how many years? I'm a bit behind after college & seminary. Plus I'm not a big reader. Aside from this though I've also been using the app called Devotion for a morning & evening moment in the word. It's free, definitely recommend it!

coming up: More recovery for Michi (she's doing great), prepping for Summer Work, Zumba, & planning a few trips here or there.

& now to enjoy the Oscars!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Meet JK & his dad LK. Mom & wife, RK, posted a few pictures of her & J's tea time last week & I couldn't help but share with all of you. Of course I asked for permission before posting pictures of my friends' adorable toddler having tea time with his mom. LK is clearly studying hard for his final semester of seminary in the background!

LK & I met Fall 2003 & both being the youngest in our families, he knew how to be the bully of a brother figure that would drive me crazy & I knew how to be the bully of a sister figure that would drive him crazy. The only difference is he shares the title of being youngest in his family with his twin sister. LK & I would go on to graduate from CAP in 2007 & then on for two years of service on separate ministry teams through YE, & then onto different ministry settings & continuing education settings. LK met RK during our time with YE & they now have 2 adorable babes & are continuing to journey together as a ministry couple about to embark on life after seminary.

I sit, writing this, enjoying my second round on my bag of English tea, smiling about the friendships with this family (1/2 of which I've never actually met, like JK). Last time LK & I were together in the same place was less than a year ago & our friendship has grown a little more mature that when Z wasn't around for one reason or another, people got confused & thought LK was Z. Don't worry LK, you're not my only college friend who's dealt with such confusions. Just ask DL about him coming to Z's & my IN wedding reception!

So from across the miles, I cherish the tea time with JK & family because in my book of life, tea time is always more precious when shared with others.

May you stop & enjoy your tea with a friend (near or far) today & may it be good till the last drop!

Friday Favorite(s)

Thank God it's Friday Favorite!

Z's ordination service & the laying on of hands

My niece E & I loving on each other

FRIENDS visiting for a work retreat

Share some of your Favorites using #LifeSpiritSparkle

Tea Time AND Winesday Wednesday!

AND    

Tuesday Tea Time came & went & now it's Winesday Wednesday! Thank you Kathy Lee & Hoda for the reminder! Yesterday was a WONDERFUL day. While I was still coming off the high from the weekend with family & friends & Z's ordination, I let life be a total distraction in all the best ways possible.

While enjoying my morning cup of tea, I was able to Skype with RMG in MALAYSIA! Her & her hubbie CG have some exciting great news that is very cool & I hope it means I have more of a chance to possibly visit them in Malaysia while they're there. Dreaming never hurt anybody!

Then I had a scheduled Skype date with my friend & fellow Diaconal Minister(DM) SN in BISMARCK! No, not the same ring as MALAYSIA, but still exciting. I also got to meet her sweet 4mo old Evie & hear about all the wonderful things the Spirit is doing in her call to DM. It is such an encouragement to share these connections to specialized ministry. Check out Heart River Lutheran Church & support their ministry in whatever ways you are able.

After Skype filling up my morning, I headed to Mackinaw City to meet up with KS & KR at Starbucks. Can I say what a luxury Starbucks is for those of us living in rural areas. KR & KS are living in more rural areas than me (I think). KS & I are friends from seminary & KR & I met through Youth Encounter's ministries. She actually was on the New Dawn team prior to mine that also went to MALAYSIA.

Then of course the end of the day included entertainment from The Voice.

What has been your great life distractions as of late? Share the goods & enjoy the tea & wine!

Sunday Snippits: GOOD, BAD, UGLY

GOOD: We're moved & settled & Z is building a magnificent Lego castle. We have been blessed over & over again by a variety of people. Our home is lovely & easily 4x larger than our 1st 2 living spaces as JZ Nelson. We were able to pick the paint colors & that made a world of difference in making it ours. Z officially started his pastor job today, which makes him the "pope of Chebooboo." Props to the Verizon for that title! Another fun update is I have officially joined the ZIN (Zumba Instructor Network) & hope to start teaching in October. I'm really excited to get back into a regular routine of Zumba parties!

BAD: We don't have Internet set up yet, so I'm typing this from my smartphone. We also don't know many people yet, so I'm scheming some ways to network & be relational. I also don't have a recognized call yet as a Diaconal Minister, so that discernment & prep is in the works.

UGLY: As usual, check out the news. The Syrian civil war is scary stuff. Our government is facing some messy situations (when aren't they?).

Yes, I just typed a whole blogpost on a small cell phone keyboard. Enjoy!

Friday Foto Favorite! (Yep, it's Saturday)

While I love living in the city, I'm a small town girl at heart. Last night I got to take Z to his first experience of Friday Night Pizza's on the Hawkins Family Farm. PJ Hawkins is my childhood pastor & now a colleague, but still my pastor. It's so great to be able to see where ministry has taken him & his family & to be able to share that as Z & I start our journey after seminary.

If you're ever in Northern Indiana during the Summer on a Friday night, be sure to stop & enjoy Friday Night Pizza's on the farm.