Sunday Snippets: One Word 365 ~ CREATE

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Easter Sunday is my favorite holiday. It is the story of resurrection & salvation that the world needs. It is the story of resurrection & salvation that I & my family need.

Death has been heavy as of late.

Monday, March 14 I was woken up with what turned out to be labor pains. At 9:33am Kaia Gene came into the world at only 23 weeks & 1 day old. I knew on the way to the hospital that it was not my sweet girl's time to show herself just yet. My womb dancer not only came breech naturally, she then succeeded to share life with us for a full 90min. This was just enough time to have her be baptized by myself & Z & leave her little 1lb 3.6oz print on my chest where she rested & on Z's arms. Our hearts had pieces stolen that day, but Kaia Gene deserved all the heart we could give her & more.

Wednesday, March 23 we woke up to a phone call from MN. We knew it was to say Z's dad had joined Kaia & many other saints gone before in heaven. We had been grieving this pending death for the better part of the past month. Cancer had reared its ugly head in February & the prognosis was never favorable. Z's final conversation with his dad was about shamrock shakes on St. Pattys day & dad got so excited about having his own shamrock shake, he hung up on Z! While we knew this phone call was coming, the real truth of his death doesn't quite seem real. It has brought a new quiet to the family.

Thursday, March 24 in conversation with my mom, she says, 'Oh yeah, today's the day for Zoey.' This meant that Zoey, the family dog of 12.5 years & my 'replacement' after leaving for college, was finally being put to rest. This was another expected phone call & awaited death. Zoey lived a good long life for being 50% Rottweiler. She is missed & has left her mark of drool even on Z's & my couch.

So what do you do when life stings at you repeatedly?

While we've had our days of weeping & pajama wearing all day long, we've continuously leaned into scripture, each other, prayer, & those who have been doing what they can to make sure we're eating & showering & other daily ins & outs.

We've found focus in the ways we've been forced to grow. Dad Nelson was 64 years old & his cancer has caused us a health awareness in the foods that we do & do not eat. Zoey was 50% Rottweiler & outlived her life expectancy by roughly 3 years. She was a big ol' loving puppy till her last breath. We all want to love & be loved like that. And baby Kaia, our much anticipated first child, taught us about strength. We never thought pregnancy was possible for us. Then Kaia came so fast, so early that I wasn't given any meds or even an I.V. Giving natural birth to a baby that hasn't even the chance to turn just yet (she was breech) without meds in 2016, is pretty phenomenal in my book.

We are beyond thankful for the prayers & words of support from people in all parts of life. The pieces all come together when you need them the most. We are thankful for the care packages, the engraved jewelry with Kaia's name, the scarf that each material was picked with purpose, and the phone calls. We love our communities & ask that you keep checking in & sending your support.

What we are most thankful for is the resurrection of Jesus that creates all of this life's purpose. It is through the ways that people have cared for us that we see Jesus' resurrected. It is through this resurrection that death is silenced & our family gone, from this world, have eternal life.

The tomb is empty! The dead has been raised! Alleluia! Praise be to God!

Sunday Snippets: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: That I have loyal followers that read because they care & are okay when life has so many twists & turns I don't post until later in the day. This hoosier sunrise photo just omits the humidity of the day & the day had only just begun. Yes, a hoosier sunrise means a trip to my dear hoosierland. And a trip to hoosierland means pieces of self care with lunch, tea, & catch-up dates with long time friends. A trip to hoosierland also meant a meet & greet with new babies in the family! A trip to hoosierland also meant being woken up at the crack of dawn by an excited MG, always ready to greet the day & wake everybody else up. Thanks to MG's energy & an early morning walk I got this great no-filter used photo of the hoosier sun rising above the trees.

BAD: In the last week I have felt emotions that left me feeling numb, as if the wind had been knocked out of me, & plain dumbfounded. Mix a little bit of anger & hope in there & you have grief! Anybody else remember learning DABDA in health class way back when? This past week I was gifted a couple different things that I wanted eventually, but I didn't know how I wanted them. I do know I didn't want them to go down as they did. However, that's that & tomorrow is a new day. We each believe the pieces we choose to believe to get by & take care of ourselves & that's the best we can do.

AWESOME: The peace that passes all understanding & the way in envelopes one when you most need it. I have prayed for this peace for others on so many occasions & hope they have been overwhelmed with it as I have in the last week. Last week I was pleading with God for this peace at one point & by the end of the day there it was. I stood in the hallway wondering how I could be so calm & the only explanation was an answered prayer & a gift of the presence of the Spirit within me.

WORD: Today the Good News was that Jesus doesn't put us in boxes & he doesn't call us to be box monitors. Jesus pulls us out of our boxes & together we disassemble the boxes we put others in & therefore there is no need for box monitors. Jesus has it all in control folks!

coming up: One foot in front of the other with Life, Spirit, & Sparkle! Head Up. Heart Out. Move to the Beat!

Sunday Snippets: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: Oh what a week! That doesn't even capture the cray cray, but such is life as of late. One of the good things is the amazing news about same sex marriage rights. Not only am I in favor of this, I also know that the world has so many other things worth worrying about that aren't anti-love rights. Another great piece of this last week that totally worth sharing with all who love a feel-good movie is Paddington. Check it out!

BAD: Feelings of disbelief & people saying the world is coming to an end because of recent governmental & other happenings. Really people? I believe there'll be other happenings that'll be the end of the world. But do we really want to go there?

AWESOME: All the heart finds that have popped up out of everything amidst the chaos.

WORD: Lamentations 3:22-33 is one of my favorite pieces of scripture. Everything about it is poignant. As the commentator says, this is not the end of the laments for this poet & it isn't the end of our laments. But have hope that Easter comes & comes again.

coming up: work & meetings & gorgeous Pure MI summer weather & a celebration of 4 years as JZ. Love, Life, Spirit, & Sparkle to all!

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: The best part of this past week was brunch on the back patio. It was the start of a sunshine day that eventually turned rather gray. The food & company were great & that's all I needed. There were lots of other great moments in the week too, but this was that moment that continue to bring peace in to life. A start with a flu bug, a continuing education event, meetings, & VBS made for a very VERY full week.

BAD: The challenges of 2015 continue, both personally & out in our communities. To be totally honest, I haven't been certain what to say about the murders in SC. This shooting was a little too close to home for my liking. And yes, it is a race issue. An issue that is SO much more than words can put around that the silence many of us have kept for so long is screaming out as inappropriate & not fair. I firmly believe that we are truly better together, no matter our skin color, our family background, or our religion. So we struggle forward to know how to act so that we can all live better together.

AWESOME: The support of life long friends & friends we've only known for a while in hard times. One colleague reminded me that while we are in the storm, the scripture is clear that Jesus is in the storm with us. We are not alone. It is one thing to know this & another to hear it from those who know you need it.

WORD: Mark 4:35-41 on this day. It's been done & the calm will come.

coming up: The calm after the storm of VBS & as always a touch of Life, Spirit, & Sparkle.

Sunday Snippets: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: Check out this orange fuzz!?!?! This is the lint from my dryer after drying the ELCA Youth Gathering Proclaim Justice Day t-shirts. It's the little things folks, the little things that bring good in each week. This week we celebrated birthdays again - as talked about in Friday Favorites - & the new birth of my cousin BH becoming a grandma to LEO. She was a good sized baby verging on being large, but just right for her mama & papa. I may have to make a road trip to IN sooner than anticipated to meet this little one. Bah! Also fun in the last week was conversations had while out & about for Z's birthday with church members & total strangers. There's a lot goin' on around here in Chebooboo!

BAD: A few weeks ago it came up that Chebooboo wasn't appreciated by all. This complaint didn't ask for the story of where the term comes from. It is not meant to be derogatory to the town or any people or person, it is simply a 'you had to be there' sorta endearing term I use. This is the struggle with inside jokes. Though, it is not an inside joke. It just isn't as funny for people not familiar with my home area & the seriousness that was behind the person who asked if I had said Chebooboo when I clearly had not. Each of us have some sort of little name we may use to refer to our home & this is mine. Take it or leave it. I do love this place.

AWESOME: Mt. Everest for VBS is awesome! I'm so excited in the assurance the Holy Spirit has provided for how great this week is going to be from VBS to continuing ed. opportunities to appointments.

WORD: Mark 4:26-34 Is this weeks Gospel lesson. I was originally slotted to preach, but with recent transitions I willingly gave this one to Z. What stands out to me is how simple it seems it is to grow mustard seeds, despite their size, & their perseverance. This stands out because no matter what I try, I don't seem to have much of a green thumb. So what sort of good news is this parable for me? Maybe if we stick to the basics & trust that God has already taken care of it - which God has & does - then there not much else for us to do other than try & try again. And to grant & show yourself much grace in this trying & trying again. Grace is a beautiful thing!

coming up: VBS! You Matter event! VBS! and LIFE SPIRIT SPARKLE!

Sunday Snippets: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: A start to a new week is much welcomed this week. This past week was filled with LOTS of hard conversations & surrounded by LOTS of Holy Spirit presence. If it weren't for the obvious presence of the Spirit with us, it would've been an ugly week. AND we finally got around to making the freezer breakfast burritos that we had when we visited friends last month. They are a tad time consuming to put together, but well worth it for a heartier breakfast on the fly. We were also blessed to have lunch with colleagues who couldn't have been much more complimentary of our crock-pot cooking. AND it's still chilly at night, but pleasantly up North sorta warm during the day which makes for good grillin', fire-pit hanging around, & outside adventures. We had our first Friday Fire-Pit time of the summer & it was as pleasantly laid back & chill as we had hoped it would be.

BAD: Coming from a time in our culture where we want a quick fix & we want what we want when we want it, does anything but make waiting for something easy. My greatest great Uncle D always said that God wouldn't grant us patience, but he would grant us experiences to teach us patience. *sigh* Isn't that the truth? Currently as JZ Nelson we are waiting for a new normal as 2015 has been quite rocky on many levels. A season of change...

AWESOME: The most wonderful presence of the Holy Spirit was brought to me through colleagues & camp counselors & other camp staff in conversation this past week. I lead my colleagues in a session of Practice Discipleship titled 'Story of Faith Community.' We all are striving for a greater open to all wherever we come from & wherever we are sorta church. Then I had the privilege of leading 'Story of Adolescence' & 'Story of Self & Other' with camp staff at Stony Lake Lutheran Camp & was blown away with how the Spirit moved people to share & speak up & speak out for the good of each other. This all entwined with other great conversations with long-time friends & lengthy walks through the beauty of MI fill my heart with peace.

WORD: Mark 3:20-35 is a text that makes many uncomfortable to preach on. We do not want to acknowledge the ways in which we, the church, have been divided amongst our own people. However, this happens all the time. We put our trust in our leaders & while we trust them, we have to be careful to remember that they are human & fully sinner & saint. While all of our sins have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus' death & resurrection, this does not take away the seriously heavy matters that lie on some congregations. In this scripture we learn that no matter how painful it might be we have to cut ourselves free from anything or anyone who is against us being about anything other than the Good News of Jesus Christ. We have to let Jesus lead the way & not any one human.

coming up: The calm before the storm of VBS!

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: While May is generally my favorite month of the year for all it's celebrations, I'm alright with a start to June being just a day away. May has come to a peaceful nice close. Another year older, more fabulous people graduated from all sorts of different education programs, at least one (though I'm sure there are more) friends was ordained, & amidst any struggle there was always a touch of laughter & love each day.

BAD: The ugly face of mental illness. And society's failed attempts to normalize mental illness. The exhaustion mental illness causes those living with the illness & those they live with. I have seen this play itself out in my life through friends & family for years.

AWESOME: Knowing that I am rooted & grounded in love & so are you. While I took this photo the other day in attempts to capture my great new leggings & just the fun color splash of my newish sandals against the very green grass, it represents this groundedness - literally & figuratively - we have with the world around us. I've been reassured of this through conversations the caring words of jibberish when we have no actual words to share with one another.

WORD: Romans 8:12-17 I am so very glad that is not by my own doing, but by the acts of God in Christ Jesus & through the Spirit that we know of this redeeming power for all people through adoption.

coming up: June! and so much fun!

Sunday Snippets: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: This past week was a blur, but a good one at that. After a business trip I got to spend some quality time with some of my favorites (including little miss E & her owl). It's a blessing to have people who take you in, shower you with love, & let you decompress from the every day chaos on only a few days notice. I am forever grateful for the friendship of miss E & her parents (& our parents!). I could've never dreamed of having such rich relationship that started at birth & carries on. Speaking of carrying on, it's the end of the month, it's graduation day for many in the area, & it's my birthday week! There's so much good in that sentence it's crazy. There's many reasons to celebrate!

BAD: Realizing at the end of the day, when all steam was gone, that I had not kept my rhythm of blogging this last week. It made it more real & y'all got to travel with me a bit more that way. In the news this week we continue to hear about murder, sex offenders, victims, hunger, & other illness. You don't have to look far.

AWESOME: Spending a few days decompressing from life's recent happenings that are out of my control & being met where I was with good company, baby snuggles & laughter (& snot & poo), & sunshine & food & a quick lunch with family for my bday is all pretty fabulous in my book.

WORD: Commentary on Acts 2:1-21 because it's Pentecost & the Holy Spirit is here.

coming up: so much Life, Spirit, Sparkle, I don't even know which end is up!

Sunday Snippets: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: It's Sunday & if I choose to spend it well than clearly my week will be filled with content! The quote says so, but it doesn't say who said it. So it's Sunday, start the week off right! Start the week off with what is right for you & benefits others around you. A week of content is not a week all about you, but you in the midst of others. No matter how isolated we may feel at times or like to think we are - due to introversion, space, or other factors - we are anything but unconnected from all of humanity or creation. This last week was a week well spent with a touch of content. We laughed a lot this past week - about the shopping cart that was ditched on our property, the chocolate display that we knocked over & tried to pick up, & the fact that I tried to make an appointment I've been putting off making, but turned out the number I had dialed was for an organization in FL. We started out the week with crazy & ended with a little less crazy thankfully, but nonetheless crazy.

BAD: There is no one way to rightly pursue life. While we want that right way & we want to figure it out & have a quick fix for every bug & bother, it doesn't exist. Just as my friend & colleague TS wrote in an article titled Spinning Round & Round I think many of us find ourselves in these places. The more we read & educate ourselves, the more the world spins & the more our heads float & the more we become aware of how small we truly are. Small isn't always bad, we can do mighty things no matter our size - literal or figurative - & persevere through the spinning & spinning. The slightly bad is that the spinning will always be because of the endless possibilities we bring to the table. We have to work with a balance.

AWESOME: Friends having funny dreams, involving you, that spark great conversation & might be true, but only time will tell. Also ending the week with the chance to hike, explore, sit around a blazing fire, dig into scripture, & wake up to a good rain storm.

WORD: If you find your Sunday being the start of your week or any other day, muster up what you have to make it well spent & the rest will be content.

coming up: A touch of excitement & preparation as we gear up for this coming weekend's Celebration Weekend with Jonathan Rundman & continuing to figure out & live with #LifeSpiritSparkle

Sunday Snippets: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: It's May! The Lusty Month of May! I wait all year to share this music & the time is finally here. As much as I love a good piece of music - I've never seen the full musical it comes from - I love getting lost in the woods too. That is, I love getting lost in the woods when there is a clear path to follow. This past week during a few days away we got to spend some time getting lost in the woods of Pokagon State Park not too far away from where I grew up. I absolutely loved finding these old tree stumps & finding the new pieces of life making their way through the forest with Spring warmth in the air. It was even warm enough to wear sandals!

BAD: Do I need to point it out? The country of Nepal is picking up the pieces they're able to recover after earthquake. Baltimore is trying to pick up the pieces after complete riots. And the world is full of broken people. At this past week's retreat we heard about a study regarding Flourishing in Ministry & it was quite evident what a true challenge this was for many people.

AWESOME: Maybe the challenge of flourishing isn't all bad, but simply real. We came home later in the week & I found a random chunk of sidewalk chalk on our back patio. It makes me wonder who was on our back patio & what they were going to draw before being scared off. I think this summer I will have to get some sidewalk chalk!

WORD: "The Bloom Comes From Abiding, From Letting the Root Do What It Does."

coming up: Lots of #LifeSpiritSparkle with the #LustyMonthofMay!!!

Sunday Snippets: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: Finding new ways to do something creative every day & allowing that creativity to be as simple or as complex as the day calls for. While I have always loved being artsy, I've never spent too much time learning new techniques. After seeing a friend post her new purchase of an Adult Coloring Book, I decided to use some gift money to purchase my own. So while I'm eagerly waiting for that creative outlet to come in the mail, I've also been using my sketch pad & colored pencils to doodle & draw this or that to release some energy. This past week was apparently all about releasing said energy as I even woke up early one morning totally on my own & did a 30 Minute Yoga Flow. It's much safer to try some of these yoga routines at home than in front of other people some days, if ya know what I mean. There's a reason my middle name isn't "grace."

BAD: Realizing the dwindling of a family. At the recent death of my Uncle it has become more apparent to a few of us in the family who is left & who has gone before us. It's not so much bad, just sorta sad & weird. Life is weird. Death is real. Birth is better? *mer mer* Also, along the line of things outside of our control, prayers for those affected by the earthquake in Nepal. Many lives & landmarks have been taken at a moment's notice. Be on the lookout for ways you can help the efforts for Nepal to start to recover!

AWESOME: Keeping in touch & being able to use goofy means like Google Hangouts that allow you to wear cat masks & draw on your friends your in conversation with. Very entertaining!

WORD: This week, little by little, I've been reading pieces from Dr. Andrew Root's Children of Divorce. So far I've taken away that everybody has a secret & families take work (which I hope everybody knows).

coming up: A little work & a little play in the land of Hoosiers!

Sunday Snippets: good, bad, & awesome!

GOOD: A few days away with the sights of Northern MI in the Spring is good for the soul. The cherry trees have yet to blossom, but there's beauty in the promise of their blooms in the coming weeks. Here you see this beauty on the peninsula looking out onto the West Bay in Traverse City. The West Bay was far from being unfrozen, yet the East Bay seemed ice free to the eye & ear. It was also fun to hear & see the buzz of the locals preparing for the tourist season. There were many painting, repairing, & patching jobs going on around the city. As a former vacationer to the area, I highly appreciate all this work that goes to making the place a romantic piece of Northern MI. Here in Traverse City you can spend your days on the beach or shopping down town & evenings around the camp fire at the local state park. There's miles of trails to hike, ride bikes, roller skate or whatever you desire to do for fun or to equal out all the goodies that you're sure to try while you're shopping. A perfect place for a girl like me & I didn't even mention the dozens of delicious cherry delicacies that one can find here. I was given a taste of the award winning Moomers ice cream, but of course they have SO many options I don't remember which kind of cherry ice cream it actually was. I'm pretty sure you can't go too wrong with ice cream.

BAD: Taking a week off only to realize it's been almost a year, if not a year, since you last took a full week off. This is not good self care, but we're working on that.

AWESOME: Playing princess & king on a train to see Michi with our niece via FaceTime. 

WORD: Today we read that the risen Lord Jesus eats fish. What's that all about? See Luke 24:36-48

coming up: A little of this, that, & a whole lot of Life, Spirit, & Sparkle as we blaze into the end of April.