Why yes, I did preach on fornication and prostitution (otherwise known as what the heck was I thinking?!?!?!?!?)

Here's something a tad different. My internship site places the audio from sermons online, which means that the sermons I've preached are all online. Ack. The last sermon I preached was not on the Gospel text (which starts the audio file), but instead what I found to be a daunting text: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20.
 
And here you go: http://www.stpaul-lutheran.com/sermons/20120115.mp3

Sermon for Second Sunday of Advent

Sermon for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year B, December 4, 2011
Delivered at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Oakland, California (my internship site)

My husband, Karl, and I were riding our bikes out in rural Ireland in 2004 for our honeymoon. We were going to undertake a pretty big trip by cycling up part of the western coast of Ireland. If you could have seen us on that first day; we were just giddy with excitement. We were going to start our lives together just being with each other, riding our bicycles in the idyllic Irish countryside. Never mind we’d only been married a week and a half, but marriage (and life, for that matter) is an adventure, right? Unfortunately, the first day of our bicycling adventure, after all the giddiness and excitement, did not go over so well. We both had a map that was highlighted for us by a local, but for some reason, the road we were on was not quite lining up with our map. We were supposed to turn onto another road, but the road that was on our map was nowhere to be seen. We were pedaling up and down this road, looking for this new road to materialize so we could get to our destination. But that road never showed itself.

We were lost. We were very, very lost.

We weren’t just lost anywhere. We were lost in an entirely different country, in the Irish countryside. Nothing but green fields, baa-ing sheep, and an occasional moo-ing cow. Sure, we could speak English, we had that much going for us, but that’s really not helpful when there’s not a whole lot of civilization around… we couldn’t just stop by a shop or someone’s house to ask for directions... We were in a place we had never visited before, so we didn’t have any familiar landmarks to help us get to where we were going. We didn’t know anyone. We didn’t have a cell phone with us. These were they days before affordable fancy GPS systems. All we had was a map. Karl and I were frustrated that we didn’t know where we were, and to top it all off, we were frustrated that we didn’t know quite where we were going. In our first week of marriage, this wasn’t exactly the best place to be, both physically and metaphorically. We were frustrated with our situation, but we tried really, really hard not to be frustrated with one another. We were out in the wilderness, alone and scared and wondering if we’d ever find our way out of the Irish countryside.

We did find our way back; otherwise Karl and I wouldn’t be in church today. But wandering out in the wilderness, being alone and scared, made me think of the prophet Isaiah’s words in this week’s lesson. This passage from Isaiah was written during a crazy time in Israel’s history. Israel had repeatedly turned away from their God; the prophets were trying to warn the people to turn from their selfish ways and turn back to God. The prophets stated that if the Israelites didn’t turn back to God, something bad was going to happen. That something bad was the Babylonians. The Babylonians not only conquered Jerusalem; they destroyed it. The Babylonians then carted the Israelites away from their home, marching them to Babylon. The Israelites were whisked away from a land that they loved and knew as home. The Israelites were in an awful wilderness in a foreign country being held against their will in a place they knew nothing about, in a land that wasn’t theirs. They turned away from God, and they found themselves out in the wilderness.

There’s something scary about being in the wilderness. There’s the physical wilderness, the middle of nowhere places that seem empty, desolate, and lacking life. Then there’s the theoretical wilderness in our spiritual, emotional, and psychological existence… times when we’re alone, destitute, feeling like we’ve royally screwed everything up and there’s nothing that can be done. The internal wilderness of despondency, isolation, and wondering, where, oh where, is God in the midst of all this mess? Have you been in a wilderness of doubt, of fear, or of anger wondering, “where in the heck is God in the midst of all this mess?”

God, it seems, is in the wilderness. But here’s another question: WHY is God out in the wilderness? The reading from Isaiah and the Gospel are filled with wilderness talk, and God is out in the midst of that middle-of-nowhere place.

Why the wilderness? I mean, even Judas questions the placement of proclamation in the wilderness in “Jesus Christ Superstar” when he asks Jesus, “Why'd you choose such a backwards time in such a strange land? If you'd come today you would've reached a whole nation! Israel in 4 B.C. had no mass communication…”

In the midst of being in an unknown, unfamiliar, and scary wilderness, God came to the Israelites with words of comfort. God comes to meet them many times in the wilderness… There’s the Exodus, when the Israelites are fleeing Egypt. God definitely clears a path for the Israelites out of Egypt in the dramatic parting of the Red Sea. Even in the midst of their complaining, God travels with the Israelites to the Promised Land. The Israelites turned away from God and did not heed the warnings of the prophets. The Israelites turned away from God, then were carted off to Babylonia, with Jerusalem in ruins. Yet God clears a way AGAIN for the Israelites to return to their land when they’re carted off to Babylon. Yes, the Israelites may have turned away from their God before the Babylonian exile, but GOD DID NOT ABANDON THEM EVEN THOUGH THEY SCREWED UP. God clears a way out of the wilderness for them. There’s something interesting about Isaiah’s words and the words of the Gospel… God is found in the most unexpected of places; God’s out in the wilderness. And even if God’s people have royally screwed up, God clears a way home for them.

The voice that cries out, proclaims, is God announcing the good news. We may think God’s out in the middle of nowhere. But when we think we know God, God has this nifty way of surprising God’s people time and time again. God being out in the wilderness can be thought of as weird and confusing. Sure, it seems backward and strange, lacking mass communication… But God is in the wilderness, experiencing the wilderness of human life with us. The Incarnation. This is what we’re waiting for in this Advent season; we’re waiting for God to come be with us. The amazing thing about God is that God is present in our past, in our present, and in our future. God reaching out to us in this amazing, crazy-loving way. God becoming human, to know of our lived experiences. The good, the bad, the clean, the outright messy. The Incarnation puts Christ in the middle of all of that, The feelings of anguish, of isolation, of our personal wilderness? Christ was there. Out being tempted in the wilderness. Feeling emotions of joy, anger, gladness, sorrow. And the cross. God being in the most unexpected of places, the worst kind of anguish up on that cross.

God knows our wilderness. God’s not just some entity out there, but God, CHRIST, knows our wilderness experiences because God’s been there too. And even in the middle of our wildernesses, we may have done something wrong. We may have turned away from God.

This is a time, even if we’ve committed sins, if we’ve done things we’re not proud of, that even in our broken humanness, valleys are lifted, mountains are made low, the ground becomes level, and the rough places are smoothed out. In stating, “The Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” we’re told, “Look, here’s God!” With us, among us, knowing us and our experiences! Frank Honeycutt, a pastor in South Carolina, said, “God is building a highway home for people who have screwed up their lives.” And we’ve all screwed up somewhere along the way. But God’s good news welcomes those who’ve been lost along the way. Isaiah writes that all earthly things will pass; especially with the changing of seasons, we’ve seen grass wither, flowers fade… but God’s word? God’s word is the word incarnate, Jesus Christ, who comes to be with us. To forgive us our sins. To lead us back to God. To lead us back home. It’s an announcement to people who have screwed up along the way that God welcomes each and every one of us home.

Come home.

Twin Cities, Part II

My third visit in the Twin Cities was to Luther Seminary. This was outside the scope of my original proposal, though. I had the intention of traveling around visiting Asian American pastors in the ELCA (which means my visit to the Church of All Nations was also outside the original scope of my proposal), but the nature of a proposal is that it is merely that: a plan or a suggestion put forward. And the nature of plans or suggestions is that they are able to change, morph, and evolve. I realized while wandering around the library lounge at Lutheran School of Theology Chicago that I would be visiting cities that are home to ELCA Lutheran seminaries. I started this journey out at Lutheran School of Theology in Philadelphia, getting to wander the campus and interact with some of the professors. I attended chapel in Chicago, but did not have time for a guided tour of the physical building of the seminary and to speak to professors and staff about curriculum.

Why visit a seminary at this phase of the journey? Well, why not? I'm currently a seminary student at an ELCA seminary, and I was curious as to how other ELCA seminaries speak to "multicultural ministries." The staff at Luther made sure that I had a full day, but with this full day came many questions and some frustrations with seminary education and reactions with particular individuals in the ELCA. One conversation in particular was a struggle for me. The person I spoke with would throw out general terms such as "students of color," "international students," "us," and "them." Throughout the conversation, I asked her for clarification on these terms, to which she would add, "You know what I mean?" I told her, "No, actually I don't know what you mean." With words being used as powerful symbols, I get frustrated when words get thrown around without an adequate personal definition. I remember asking, "What do you mean by 'us'? Am I a part of this 'us'? Because if you're talking about students of color not being called to a congregation based on their physical appearance, I am not a part of your 'us.'" Honestly, I was sad and frustrated that this individual has a position which greatly impacts all students at Luther. She then asked me, "Well, you have all the answers, right?"

This is where I have an issue with diversity within the ELCA. Who then is responsible for acting to make the church a diverse body representative of humanity? Is it the responsibility of people of color to bring in diversity? Or is it the responsibility of each member of the denominational church body? Who then is accountable? Will the individual-ness of each person be honored if they come to the church, or will they be forced to act in a certain manner to match up with the dominant population?

I spoke with another individual who talked about some of the multicultural components that goes into a seminary education. One of my gripes with the whole of seminary education is that I wonder if I'm learning about ministry and theology that is applicable to the parish? Are future church leaders being trained to speak about race, gender, and class issues? Are future church leaders being trained in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue? Also, what the heck is multicultural ministry? There have been different definitions flying around since I've started this journey. There is no concrete definition for a multicultural ministry. With the constraints of seminary education, there is an incredible nuance; there can be a significant difference between what one is trained to do and what one is called to do.

I spoke with one of the staff of Church of All Nations before I left the Twin Cities. It was an insightful and challenging conversation. Part of the discussion led to the question, "Can there really be a 'multicultural' ministry?" What happens if populations are segregated? What happens when one population is forced to act unlike themselves to act like the majority? Colonialism still happens in the church, yet can we love one another when people don't fully understand who they are? Ultimately, I still think to John 13:34-35, which is one of the verse I carried with me during my Clinical Pastoral Education experience. "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Yet, what does it mean to love? What does it look like to love? I revert back to my conversation with Pastor Jin Kim when he spoke of letting go of fears into the hands of the Spirit, freeing us to love each other, giving us the ability to tell each other, "I care about you" with genuine love and compassion. 

Catching Up and Processing.

I realize that I haven't visited this space in a couple of days. My time in Minneapolis/ St. Paul provided immense food for thought. I think I'm still processing a lot of the conversations that took place in Minnesota, because I see similar conversation threads appearing in people I'm speaking with in Los Angeles.

I had three meetings scheduled in the Twin Cities. My first meeting was with Pastor Thiem Baccam of the Lao Evangelical Lutheran Church of Robbinsdale, Minnesota. I found Pastor Baccam through the ELCA Asian American Pacific Islander Church listing. I pretty much cold called him, and he graciously agreed to be interviewed for my project. I was engrossed in Pastor Baccam's life story and ministry experience. He was raised as a Christian in Laos, but fled his home country in the mind 1970s. He and his family relocated to Iowa. While he identified as a Christian in Laos, he became Lutheran when he lived in the United States. He went on to attend college and seminary in Iowa. His ministry experience is also filled with incredible, blessed, and challenging events. He was called to lead a Laotian congregation in the Twin Cities area when he left seminary. His congregation fluctuated in size, nested with white congregations, had their own physical church building until Minneapolis seized the building for eminent domain as the church sat in an area of the city that was being redeveloped and revitalized, and making the space to minister to first and second generation Laotians. Parts of my conversation with Pastor Baccam resonate in my head. He and lay leaders within his congregation had to restructure the liturgy for worship so that worship communicates to his congregation's context. He also wrestled with having separate language services; he currently has one service which is bilingual. He stated there is challenges in such worship, as the first generation is comfortable worshiping in Laotian and the second generation is comfortable worshiping in English. Pastor Baccam has provided pastoral care to both groups, but also letting both populations know that room must be made for community to exist as a *single* community, as opposed to a community separated by language and generational differences. Pastor Baccam is highly invested in the younger people in his congregation, seeing ministry leadership traits abound in this population. He wants to grow leaders from within his church; he encourages such leadership in worship and organizing community activities. He believes that part of his ministry is to strengthen the priesthood of all believers.

Pastor Baccam's congregation has experienced numerous changes. He stated the congregation has nested in several buildings, even owning their own building at one point. Membership increases and decreases. Latinos, Blacks, and Whites are now coming to worship in his bilingual Laotian/ English services. He's wondering how to be an inclusive church, recognizing that the life of this congregation continues to change and evolve. He's partnered with the Pentecostal congregation that shares the same church building and they're having their first joint worship service on July 10th. He is also working to strengthen the relationship with the white congregation that owns the physical property of the church. They share in fellowship activities, but Pastor Baccam acknowledged that there are some cultural differences between the two communities that hamper clear communication. In speaking with Pastor Baccam, he is living in a space where he as the opportunity for creative ministries. Since I only spent time with him, I wonder what ministry within this congregation will look like in the coming months and the next few years.

My next meeting was transformational and incredible. I read about Church of All Nations in Dr. Joanne Doi's Asian American Theologies class. In Sang Hyun Lee's book, "From a Liminal Place: An Asian American Theology," he talks about the diverse population within the congregation at Church of All Nations. How can such a diverse population worship as a single community? What does the church leadership look like theologically and physically? What advice would the lead pastor (in this case, Pastor Jin Kim) have for future leaders of the church? What advice would the pastor and staff have for congregations that are wrestling with a sense of identity? I spent a couple of hours in the church staff meeting. I was intrigued by the meeting; I've sat in meetings where the church is concerned about the needs of the immediate congregation and the physical building of the church with little regard to the church catholic. I also realize this can be seen as an unfair statement because no church meeting is the same and each church has its own unique concerns. But I can speak to the church meetings I have attended (and at different congregations) and the similarity was focusing on the immediate needs of the immediately present congregation.

Part of looking at the greater church was from the pastor and one of the staff returning from a Korean caucus meeting. Changes in ordination processes (similar to the ordination of LGBT clergy within the ELCA) are coming about within the PCUSA. In Pastor Jin's keynote address to the caucus, he stated that the Holy Spirit has left the PCUSA. Pastor Jin and the staff talked about this present time being a critical period within the PCUSA's history, and also a critical period in history for the Korean church in America.

In visiting with Church of All Nations, much of the conversation with Pastor Jin focused on identity and the state of mainline Protestant traditions in the United States. I was intrigued by a list I saw on the wall titled, "Who We Are." It is a ten-point list that was created at their Board of Deacon's Retreat on May 2, 1010. Their "Top 10" can be found if you scroll down on this page. In pastoral identity, Pastor Jin spoke to me about transforming character. They have an internship program where there is not an assigned time limit; character cannot be developed within a rigid amount of time. Transforming character is something that cannot be confined to the constraints of time; it is instead carefully developed.

I was excited and challenged by my conversation with Pastor Jin and interacting with the staff at Church of All Nations. I cannot fully describe in words on this blog how I was impacted by the visit. There are so many topics in my head, particularly transformation versus deformation, fear in church communities, placing fears and apprehensions on the Holy Spirit to freely love people as they are, self-esteem, and Jesus being victimized but never playing the victim. I will probably come back to this space to communicate my experience with the people of Church of All Nations.

With all of this processing, I will use my next post to talk about my visit to Luther Seminary, my frustrations with theological education, and my journeys in the southern California area.  

Sowing of seeds.

I had a wonderful last couple of days in Chicago. Friday was spent visiting Lutheran Theological Seminary Chicago and attending a chapel led by a Missionary Baptist praise team. The sermon was titled, "Desperate times call for desperate measures." The text was from Matthew 15 of the faith of the Caananite woman, desperate to heal her child. I continue to struggle with the text concerning the Caananite woman, because Jesus comes off as kind of a jerk. The preacher spoke of Jesus pulling reversals on everyone, being an expert of sorts. But the Caananite woman is the one to pull a reversal on the ruler of reversals. She does this in great desperation for her daughter, but also in great faith. The preacher spoke to how he has been marginalized in so many ways, and in his desperation, Christ comes to meet him. For just coming off a bus and walking into the seminary's chapel, this sermon was spiritual food.

How does spiritual food come about? Agriculturally, seeds need to be sown in order to grow food. I thought about the sowing of seeds my last couple of days in Chicago for many reasons. One reason was that so many people from transitional parts of my life were in Chicago that same weekend. A member of my failed master's thesis committee was in Chicago visiting friends. One of my first friends from Fuller Theological Seminary was in town for his 25th high school reunion. A fellow PLTS student was in town for meetings. And Chris Heavner was in town. My husband and I lovingly refer to Christ Heavner as PC; many of Chris's flock call him PC as well. PC is the campus pastor at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. It is through PC's conversations and patience that I became curious about Christianity. As a joke, I tell people that I became Lutheran because I went to a potluck, but I think the Spirit was working on me through PC. I met PC when I was a sophomore in college; one of my best friends invited me to a potluck at University Lutheran Church and I went because there was going to be free home-cooked food. But what came out of that potluck was a sense of koinonia and love; being in community was actually awkward for me since I was so used to worshiping with just my family. I graduated from Clemson thankful for knowing PC through campus ministry and Habitat for Humanity, not thinking much about how PC would impact my future. I worked as a consultant for a couple of years. I met Karl. Then Karl and I decided to get married. PC re-entered our lives, and in quite an interesting way. PC, Karl, and I met once a week for two years so I could ask PC anything about Christianity; PC would answer my questions to the best of his ability, and he could ask me questions about my faith journey. This was an incredible time of learning and growing for me. And it was at University Lutheran, in the midst of singing "I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry" that I experienced God's love and grace. I was actually so freaked out by the experience, I burst into tears in the middle of the hymn. And I was scared. I experienced a real God in church, but didn't know if I wanted to follow God. So I wavered. I wavered for two years, when I was finally baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Glendale, CA, on the other side of the country from Clemson, SC.

Getting to spend time with PC in Chicago was a wonderful experience for me. It was in Chicago where PC was a seminarian and worked for the church office. It was wonderful to hear of his experiences in the city and to share my own with him. We wandered around the city talking about ministry experiences. We talked about loving people, even though it's not always easy. We talked about changes in mainline churches. We also talked about internship and community.

After such a rich experience getting to spend time with PC, I was excited to go to church on Sunday morning. I planned to attend First Evangelical Lutheran Church located in Logan Square. When I stepped off the Blue Line, I was reminded of my experiences in the neighborhood around University of Southern California. There were shop signs in Spanish, but also upscale eateries. The neighborhood looked like it was in transition. I reached the church and met Pastor Eardley Mendis (Pastor Mendis is originally from Sri Lanka). I joined in the Bible study, which was in both Spanish and English. I participated in worship, where I read the Hebrew Bible reading from Jeremiah 28:5-9 concerning true and false prophets. I was also asked to give my testimony at the end of the service. I spoke to the congregation and told them a brief version of my story and how I am currently a seminarian. I spoke to the awesomeness and mysteriousness of God's love. I joined members of the congregation for lunch. I was hoping to interview Pastor Mendis, but the realities of ministry made the interview not possible. We were hoping to speak after lunch, but the front wheel of a parishioner's bicycle went missing. The bicycle was the only means of transportation for this parishioner, and there was a search for the missing wheel. I spoke to Pastor Mendis later in the evening, and he gave the parishioner money for a new wheel.

I was very struck by the mural immediately behind the chancel space in the church. The mural was a sign that the congregation itself appeared to be in fluctuation. The mural depicted a predominantly Caucasian population, ranging from crusaders, pilgrims, and pioneers. Native Americans were placed at the bottom of the mural, not directly gazing at the congregation like the other people in the mural. Representative in the congregation, however, were Latinos, Blacks, Whites, and Asians. We knelt together at the communion rail, recognizing our common bond in brother and sisterhood in Christ. I was happy to be in church that Sunday morning.   

Thoughts on the day.

Today I participated in a roundtable discussion at Truth Lutheran Church in Naperville, IL. This was a valuable opportunity to talk to Asian pastoral leadership in the ELCA. En route to Naperville, I had an interesting conversation with Pongsak Limthongvirtan about Multicultural Ministries in the ELCA. He had some advice for me, which was to get a PhD. I'm still struggling with this as part of my discernment process, because I'm called to serve the church, yet I still don't quite know what that looks like... is it as a pastor, or as an educator, and of course, why not a pastor/ educator? This comment also made me wonder about my future in the church. Maybe I'm over-thinking the comment, but is the PhD to prove something, and what

In speaking with the pastors and lay leaders in attendance, we spoke about pastoral identity, "Lutheran identity," hopes and expectations for the Office of Multicultural Ministries, creative ministry, and a church that is becoming increasingly marginalized.

One of the aspects of "multicultural" ministry with which I still struggle is separated services. Two pastors in attendance stated that they have a native language service, with the second generation population attending a separate English service. Truth Lutheran Church even has two separate sanctuaries and the native language service is the same time as the English language service. There is a combined service once a month. There are fellowship opportunities to bring the separate worship communities together, but what binds the communities together?

Two of the pastors also spoke of bringing not just their ethnicity to the table, but their life and ministry experiences. There was mention of segregating the Asian/ Asian American population to their own church, but at what cost? Is that representative of the body of Christ? 

We also talked about definitions of "identity" and "multiculturalism." Words have such loaded meanings, especially in speaking about self and lived experience. A word as a symbol can mean entirely different things among different people. How then do we communicate when a symbol carries a multitude of meanings? How then does translation occur?  

Homiletics Crash Course

1. Spending the morning at church talking to Pastor about my upcoming sermon. Lots to think about. I then met with Matt to talk about VBS activities. I'm looking forward to this year's program, which is "Paul and the Underground Church of Rome."

2. Speaking of sermons, I had a crash course in homiletics today. Clay was so kind to take time out of his day to give me a VERY condensed version of his class.

3. Talking to Pastor Marcus. I cannot wait to see him on Friday evening!

4. Making dinner with a recipe from "The Art of Simple Food." I made plain and simple pork chops with a ridiculously simple pan sauce.

5. More leads on rentals in Berkeley. We'll see how it goes starting tomorrow! Eep!

Potluck Sunday

1. Making Leigh's mac and cheese for the church potluck. I have ever so fond memories of that mac and cheese.

2. Sleeping in and going to the 11AM service. The husband and I normally attend the 8:30AM service; it was a nice change of pace.

3. Talking to the husband's parents.

4. Sorting through old birthday cards and notes. Many wonderful memories.

5. Time for needed rest.

A Final Day at Fuller.

1. Taking my last exam of the spring quarter. With this came the realization that it was also my last exam at Fuller, which was cause for both mourning and celebration.

2. Part of that celebration involved celebrating with my Early Church History study group. We all survived, and with the knowledge that we were still alive, we went out to celebrate over frizen yogurt.

My treat for finishing exams. A combination of pomegranate blueberry, pineapple, tart blueberry, and plain frozen yogurt covered with strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

Our "tough" picture. This is almost everyone from the Church History study group. Daniel couldn't celebrate with us since he had three papers due, but said he would take a rain check.

3. Coming home, dropping my backpack on the floor, and napping until the husband came home from work.

4. A supportive family. My parents and the husband's parents have been the best cheerleaders. And the husband isn't a half-bad cheerleader either.

5. Attending my last Thursday Bible study group at Salem. I've learned so much from that class, and have met so many incredible people in that class. We read a devotional that talked about moving and transitioning lifestyles, but through all of that change, God's love remains constant. I couldn't help but cry.

Happy birthday, church!

1. Celebrating Andrew's birthday yesterday, which was a lot of fun. It was great to see our Clemson west friends, as well as meet new people.

2. Naptime.

3. Sending my Prophets paper to my professor this morning. It was as done as it was ever going to get.

4. This morning was confirmation Sunday at Salem. The lone confirmant, Kimberly did an absolutely wonderful job delivering her statement of faith to the congregation. And it was wonderful to see so much red at church this morning.

5. The husband and his doppleganger (Matt, the youth minister) were worship assistants, which cracked me up. Seeing both of them in their albs and red cinctures was almost too much. When the husband took off his glasses and the husband and Matt stood side by side, you'd think they were brothers!!!

6. Tasked with a fun and interesting activity. How to rewrite the lyrics for "Roam" from the B-52s to reflect Salem's VBS theme: Paul and the Underground Church in Rome.

Ascension Sunday

1. Serving as assisting minister in church for both services. It was an amazing experience, and am so grateful to the leaders of Salem to let me have such an awesome experience.

2. Hugs. Never gets old.

3. The husband made Swedish pancakes from scratch for lunch to celebrate my first day as an assisting minister.

4. Getting to finally talk to the sister-in-law.

5. Getting to have a long conversation with Steve's mom. She's one of the most wonderful women I know and I love catching up with her. She made it very clear at Steve's wake that she wanted to catch up with all of Steve's friends, and she truly meant it. I cannot wait to see her in September.

This week's graces

1. Calamine lotion, and lots of it. It even makes me a happy shade of pink, and happy thoughts can go a long way right now.

2. Receiving my Prophets midterm grade. All I have to say is... dude.

3. The husband made scones from scratch.

4. Starting my Prophets paper, more than a week before it's due. I'm hoping to finish it to enjoy Andrew's birthday party.

5. Getting new cross stitch projects for the summer. Babies are on their way (not mine, might I add), and I want to make them blankets!

6. Being asked to be an assisting minister at church. My first attempt is tomorrow... I've just been praying to God that I perform as an act of worship in His name.

7. My Early Church History study group going out for frozen yogurt. They said they didn't help me study for my Prophets midterm, but they sure wanted to help me celebrate my grade.

8. Laughing a lot with my husband and my brother on our theories on the space-time continuum. It's been great entertainment.

9. Getting to see one of my childhood friends perform at the El Rey Theater, and open for the Indigo Girls to boot! I'm so awed by Matt's musical talent, and it's wonderful that he gets to do something he truly loves.

10. Acquiring a hummingbird squatter. He likes to sit on the tomato cage, and normally sits there all day long.

11. Cherry season. I actually saw Rainier cherries at the grocery store, and that made me smile.

I'm back!

Life has run away with me a little bit. It's been an odd week, but with many good points.

1. Getting to see old friends on both Friday AND Saturday. Friday was spent at the Howard Hughes Center, eating dinner at Islands, and watching "Star Trek" in the Director's Lounge, which was pretty neat. Saturday was spent catching up, playing board games, and eating insane amounts of food.

2. New life. Lauren had a baby boy this week. Manika had a baby girl. Marissa found out she's having a boy. Just...wow.

3. Passing my Early Church History midterm. I felt ridiculously schooled after the test. When the professor announced he had our grades, my heart leapt into my throat. When I got my grade, I about did cartwheels out of the classroom, hugging members of my study group. I guess you could say I was a tad excited.

4. I made tiramisu, and it was wonderful. Unhealthy, but wonderful. And everyone who ate it lived to tell the tale.

5. Assistant minister training at church. I was filled with a great amount of awe and fear standing on the other side of the altar. I'm still questioning if I can handle this, and I'm still trying to figure out what "this" is.

6. My in-laws are coming to town for my first sermon and 30th birthday.

7. The husband made pizza from scratch. Well, at least the crust and the sauce. He didn't make his own mozzarella, even though he does have a recipe to do so.

Sunday.

1. The sermon at church this morning, given by a missionary pilot who's based in Bangladesh. His words hit a little close to home concerning love for God and service. I could relate too well. Especially with turning the lives of surrounding family members upside down.

2. Finding yet another birthday present for another friend. Lots of May birthdays!!!

3. A church BBQ. The husband won a toy in a drawing. We were sent home with cucumber tomato salad after the BBQ was over. And the cat's out of the bag at church; more people know the husband and I won't be with our beloved congregation for long...

4. Getting to spend a fairly relaxing weekend with the husband. It's been grand!

5. Sitting with the husband and Emily in church.

Youth Sunday

1. Youth Sunday at church. One of the best services of the year, which is planned by Salem's amazing youth group.

2. At Youth Sunday, getting to listen to and sing along with The Beatles (All You Need is Love), The BeeGees (How Deep is Your Love?) and Bon Jovi (Livin' on a Prayer). It was interesting to have the service changed up quite a bit. It reminds me of when I was first attending church and had no idea what was going on!

3. Getting to talk to Annie, who is flying out here for my 30th birthday and also to hear me preach my first sermon!

4. Watching a TV show about badgers on PBS. It was the first time I've ever seen a badger, actually.

5. Comfy track pants.

Tuesday. Tired.

1. Getting to watch the last few minutes of "Reading Rainbow" before leaving for campus. "Rainbow" was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid; it was nice to see it's still on!

2. Finding "Chinatown" at the grocery store for four bucks. The husband and I tried to check it out from both the Glendale and Pasadena libraries, but both libraries lost their copies. Renting it from Blockbuster will cost about $4.25. So random to find in the freezer section of the grocery store. We also purchased "The Greatest Story Ever Told."

3. Settling on a date for my first sermon. July 12th...

4. Watching a hummingbird fluff itself.

5. Morning coffee from a french press.

Summery Sunday

1. Being able to stand outside and greet people at church this morning. It was such a beautiful day, I didn't want to do my ushering responsibilities in the narthex. So I wandered outside to greet people before entering the church.

2. Pastor's sermon this morning. It had the congregation laughing a lot, but most importantly, it made many of us think.

3. Taking a nap on the couch with the husband. At least I took the nap; he was watching "Gilmore Girls."

4. The husband and I were so inspired by the eating habits on "Gilmore Girls," he went out and got us a pizza.

5. Getting to catch up with friends and family throughout the course of the day.

Vigil

1. Playing card games with the husband in between readings for classes. It was nice to use the brain, but not in maximum overdrive.

2. The husband made homemade guacamole in the molcajete I got him for Christmas. It was some damn fine guacamole.

3. Getting a chance to catch up with the husband's parents. It's been a busy time for them. It was nice to chat with them for awhile this morning.

4. Getting to help out at church this morning to prepare for the Easter pancake breakfast. Lots of funny stories...

5. Vanilla ice cream

Palm Sunday

1. Palm Sunday services at Salem. Surprisingly, today was my first Palm Sunday service at Salem. In 2006, the husband and I were still searching for churches. In 2007, my best friend was married over Easter weekend and I was the matron of honor in the ceremony. In 2008, I was in St. Louis, helping out my mother-in-law who was recovering from back surgery. I loved this morning's service. It was beautiful, uplifting, yet sad all at the same time. I cannot wait for celebrating Easter!

2. An impromptu date day with the husband. I had plans with the youth minister's wife, but she had to cancel since she had to catch up on schoolwork. So the husband and I went out for lunch at a great Mom & Pop pizza place and saw a movie. It was wonderfully random!

3. I got a new cell phone. I totally think it could do laundry and the dishes. I just have to find an application! iPhones are fun, yet sort of overwhelming!

4. Being able to eat a bowl of Cheerios for dinner, and no one telling me 'no.'

5. Coffee. Sweet, sweet coffee.

Late graces

1. The husband and I made it home safely from SC. It was nice to crawl into our own bed at 1:15 am.

2. Getting a chance to worship at University Lutheran in Clemson. It's such a special place for me to worship; I feel it's the place where I came to know God's love.

3. The husband's boss said he didn't see issue with us relocating to the Bay area. This means the wheels are turning. I sent my statement of intent to PLTS this morning...

4. A lazy morning where I have not been throwing up. I'm so thankful for today's slow start.

5. Being able to grocery shop for solid food.