Tuesday Tea Time!

It's Tuesday Tea Time!

Where have you been?!

In the last week we have been on the move.

Through much prayer & meditation & discussion we have moved forward with some things & I am proud to say that Z has been unanimously voted on as the "Pope of Chebooboo."

On a more serious note, he will be serving as an Associate Pastor in northern MI. When we went to inquire about coverage & cell phone updates, the VZW salesperson thought I said we were moving to "Chebooboo." I was the only one in my family that was able to keep myself composed to help him spell the actual name of the town.

As a part of our transition, I'm sitting at my parents' dining room table drinking some blood orange tea out of a mug that reads "for the boss" with a ball & chain on it (somebody gifted it to my dad years ago!) & preparing to move again in a week.

Now to come up with ideas of a title for a children, youth, & family minister, zumba instructor, wedding coordinator, & to make it a call recognized by the ELCA. YaY Word & Service ministry!

Sunday Snippits: the GOOD, BAD, & UGLY

It's Sunday Funday again! Wow time seems to be flying by lately!

This week is moving week, so in lieu of needing to pack some more, this is going to be short & sweet.

GOOD: In the last week the Holy Spirit worked in some pretty curious & scary, but fun ways in my life. Z & I have gained some much needed clarity on where we are being called into ministry. We will know more about specifics & what we can share in about 2 weeks. So keep hanging in there with me 'cause I have to & need you to do the same! Outside of that hubbub we helped more friends move, enjoyed seeing pictures pop up on FB of friends getting ordained (Congrats DF & WS!) We made some serious progress in our own packing & got rid of around 60 books.

BAD: Locally an elderly woman got killed by a group of teenage boys before she had a chance to go to her weekly volunteering time at her church.

UGLY: One of the boys that killed the elderly lady was her grandson.

WORDs to dwell on: John 20:29 "Jesus said to Thomas, 'Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.'"

Coming up: MOVING & 10 year class reunion

Friday Foto Favorite!

This is our present reality.

In the past three weeks we have helped with 3 separate moves. We have one more this weekend in the midst of our own moving early next week.

While it is exciting to move, it's not always so much fun.

The high of the week was visiting Grandma E yesterday & her sharing her love story with Grandpa L with Z & I  & her journey as a pastor's wife. Of course I forgot to take any photos!
What's your favorite photo of your week?

Tuesday Tea Time!

TUESDAY TEA TIME!

Knowing that I missed posting last Tuesday & next Tuesday we'll be filling up a moving a truck, I couldn't skip out on yall this week.

Since it's our last full week in the Twin Cities, I'm doing a few last time things. Such as, yesterday we went for an afternoon snack at John's Pizza Cafe (LOVE their dill sauce) & today I went to Juut Aveda for one last hair cut from Meg B.

I love the ambiance that Juut has created. It's relaxing once you walk in the door. I also love that they offer you coffee, tea, or fruit infused water. Naturally I almost always go for the tea. It's a refreshing blend that invigorates & soothes the soul.

Up next on our list of things to do last minute is enjoy being with friends & MN family. Oh & finish packing everything.

Stop & breath in the adventure God has you on today & know that you are not alone.

Sunday Snippits: the good, bad, & ugly

Welcome for a review of the

in the life of Juls of Life, Spirit, & Sparkle

GOOD: We started our week with the joint ordination of our friend B&A. It was a blessing to be able to attend & process with so many other leaders in the church. I do believe I was maybe the only Diaconal Ministry candidate there. I put on my alb & said I really needed a Diaconal Ministry cross & a pastor standing near by said, "A Diaconal cross?!" By george, we're not all pastors! Ha! Our week continued on with working several shifts, packing boxes, & doing a little this or that to enjoy life & not go broke. We finally made it to the Farmer's Market after not going for several weeks. So we've got some yummy produce to consume. We also splurged on lunch at Key's Cafe for lunch & shared a Monte Cristo with onion rings. I had never had a Monte Cristo before & boy was it yummy! The onion rings were great too & we got a piece of their house cake to go. We had been hoping to have this cake on special occasions since our wedding, but when your mom offers to bake, you don't turn her down. We totally suggest Key's Cake for any special event cake. We enjoyed ours by the shores of Lake Josephine.

BAD: We're packing & we don't know where we're going! While it's exciting, it's not fun. Thankfully we had the thought to pack up our office, which is the size of a large walk-in closet, first, so that we could put boxes in there & out of the way.

UGLY: Yet again, I urge you to check your news & then look for signs of hope.

Coming up: This week we'll be packing more boxes, working a few shifts, having a cook-out with friends, visiting camp friends, & celebrating the marriage of B&E. Let the adventures continue!

WORDs to dwell in: Luke 10:25-37 The Good Samaritan. In what ways can & do we show mercy to the oppressed in our community & world?

Tuesday Tea Time!

Photo courtesy of The Kristen Project

This morning is gray & wet & I'm enjoying a cup of hot loose leaf tea (using my wooden tea strainer from my bro). No, I do not look all dawled up like the ladies in the picture. After I write this I plan to to embrace my push for Life,Spirit, & Sparkle with a workout.

We have started the move to get rid of things by donation or consuming (food) because we know our annual move will be coming soon. It's exciting & anxiety causing. 

How do you clean out your pantry?

It seems to me there is no consistant way to clean out the food you don't want to move. Sure you can donate some of it, but generally you can't eat all of it (First World Problem!). To use it all, you need to inevitably buy more groceries to make the meals you want.

And this doesn't even touch the books that have accumulated after another 4 year degree! Then there's clothes & kitchen accessories. Have I mentioned that my kitchen is maybe 12 feet long & 2.5 feet wide? It bleeds into our living room or sitting area & to be creative we have a "kitchen" table between the 2.5 feet of tile that is the kitchen floor & the carpet that is the living room.

This is what my tea conjured up because I sit on my couch & look at my apartment & know that it will not be my apartment in a month. Gotta love transition!

Here's to a non-anxiety inducing Tuesday Tea Time!

Sunday Snippits: the GOOD, BAD, & UGLY

Sunday Snippits is here again!

The days of summer, while lingering & wonderful, are also speeding by. Today, as usual we are linking up with Kate & Kati for

the GOOD, BAD, & UGLY!

GOOD: This last week was amazing! I wasn't kidding when I said it was going to be a week filled with birthdays, anniversary, & wedding celebrations. My cousin Lolo's b-day was last Sunday, Tuesday was Z's & my anniversary & my "other mom's" b-day, & Wed-Sat were wedding festivities for the new Mr. & Mrs. CBG. If you didn't check out my Midnight Tea Party last Tuesday Tea Time, it tells you all about the fun adventures Z & I had in honor of our anniversary. The wedding festivities were Brit's Pub Lawn Bowling, a rehearsal & dinner on the 4th of July (with several fireworks shows), & the actual wedding day. It was so fun to be with so many great people celebrating the love formed by God between a couple, their friends, & family. Then today, after recovering from all the social gatherings, we ventured to WI again for two dear friends' ordination service. B&A recently graduated with us & have been such fun & servant hearted people to get to know & call friends.

BAD: Exhaustion is thick, mentally, physically, & somewhat Spiritually. Sitting in the "what's next" period of life after graduation is becoming a little restless. However, it is giving me more freedom to explore in my creative world of cooking or letter writing.

UGLY: Turn on the news, you'll find something ugly. In my personal life, I'm wondering how a first call might lead me to ministry for & with homeless, hungry, abused, lonely, enslaved, or simply oppressed people.

Coming up: This week is back to work. Oh & the joyous thing called packing. The boxes are gonna have to come out sooner or later & the first thing to be packed is most likely books & the office.

WORDs to chew on: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20. Specially focusing in on what it means to be sent out as a lamb amongst wolves & purposely bring peace to each place you enter.