Monday, June 30, 2008

All is Well

I know that I haven't blogged in a while. I have been so busy that I haven't had time. Hopefully things will settle down after my D.Min. Seminar. I still have a couple of projects to get finished before I leave on July 13th. I am praying that financial aid comes through before I leave for Houston. Otherwise I will be living in my car.

Tomorrow I will be working from home. I will be getting ready for my very first sermon at my new church. I have put a lot of time in already, which might not be a good thing.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Objections

I listened to an interesting conversation yesterday about parishioners who object to being asked to do things for the church, whether it is bake cookies for a children's event or something else.

It seemed like a non-issue to me because the parishioner can always so "NO", if they don't want to help out. Now, granted this is above and beyond their regular tithes, but it seemed a little silly to get upset about being asked to bake cookies.

Perhaps, you can give me some insight on this phenomenon!!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Church Office

My church office is finished and I unpacked all of my books yesterday, eight big boxes. Now I can get busy working on my sermon for July 6th. I wanted my commentaries and other resources (It's a comfort thing, I guess).

We had the official welcoming reception yesterday. I had made the mistake of wearing some killer heels. They looked fabulous but I was in severe pain by the time I got home. I met 500+ people in the space of two hours...............do you think that I remember any of their names???

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Busy Day

Today was an absolutely great day. We got moving around 9 a.m. and went to the Farmer's Market down by the river. I found some awesome Cherry Jam and Zucchini Bread. Ryss got some flowers for the window in the dining room and she plans on painting a still-life of them later today.

After that, we went to a Dog Show at the State Fair. I was in puppy heaven. Later, we went to an Art Supply place to buy some supplies for Ryss's painting project and ate lunch. Yes, it was only lunch time by that time.

Tonight, we are going one block down from the house to a free cook-out and concert being sponsored by my new church. The music is by Fundamental Elements and is a funky, soul band. The longest we traveled today was about ten minutes away from the house.

Now I have to work on some of my D.Min. papers. And I have really had a hard time with these particular books. Not because they are hard or anything but they are the most boring books that I have read in FOREVER. I have the papers formatted but I decided that I needed to blog before I started on them. Procrastination is my middle name today.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Off to a Flying Start

All of yesterday's meetings went well. Today my office is set up and running. The people here are wonderful. Of course, I am new and they are still making up their minds about me but it is looking promising. I have several visits set-up for this week and next with my chaplain group. It will give me an opportunity to visit shut-ins and nursing home folks.

Ryss got the kitchen and bathroom almost entirely unpacked, so today she is shopping at the mall and swimming with church members as a reward. Hmmmm.....I wonder what I find for her to do tomorrow. She is already signed up for a mission trip at the end of the month. I will not have her with me for four weeks this summer. Of course, one of the weeks I will be at my D.Min. seminar but it will still be hard on me.

Anyway for those of you who have prayed for me this last year. I lift those prayers for you back to God. Things are going great.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Sunday x's two

Yesterday went very well, both services. In between the services, the Senior Pastor and I met and discussed different issues facing the church. It was time well-spent. It will take time to adjust to being in a large church but I'm looking forward to it.

One of the questions that I asked was, "Is anyone resentful of me getting this position?" She said, "Not in the least." Which is comforting because there is always a risk and I knew that the youth minister was working towards ordination. I have a tendency to take people at their word and not always pay enough attention to the unspoken currents in an organization. I have been working on this fault, but I'm pretty outspoken and up-front so I find it hard to understand those who say one thing and mean another.

Well, time to go into the office.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Out & About

I started writing early this morning and finished my leadership section of the D.Min. writing. So later after Ryss finally dragged out of bed, we went for a walk at a cool neighborhood park. The river that runs through it was back in its banks after last nights storms. We walked through the trails or, rather I walked, she practiced her skateboarding techniques. You couldn't even tell that we were in the city. It was relaxing.

She has convinced me to take her out to eat tonight. This is after spending yesterday at the mall. She said, "I can totally be a city girl." All it took was a two minute drive to the mall and she is acclimated. Nice.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Focus, Focus, Focus

I felt like a butterfly today. Flitting from one thing to another, unable to focus. This was not good. I have only one month before my D.Min. seminary and lots of reading and writing to do between now and then. However, I did force myself to complete one paper and have attempted to begin on the second one that I have assigned to myself today. That will leave only two sections to finish before the seminar, except for the project proposal which has be redone because of the move. Not complaining though, all is good.

I did hospital visits last night. It was a rewarding experience. They were so grateful for the attention. It was unnerving and satisfying all at the same time.

Well, nose back to grindstone.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Daylight at End of Tunnel

Well, except for the home office, the house is unpacked and operational. The church's gardening club came by today and cleaned up my new yard. I have my computer monitor in front of a window that overlooks the back yard. It is so beautiful. I feel like I'm in a tree-house.

The church office is almost finished being remodeled, so I will be able to move into it next week. I really didn't think that it was going to come out very well, goes to show me. It is much bigger than I thought at first.

Ryss is totally happy. She has hi-speed internet (which totally tickled me too), her very own cell phone and the satellite is hooked up. The other babies (Luke, Lily, Gus, Stormy and Misti) are all adjusting fine. The big dogs finally started eating yesterday. I was getting a little concerned but they are over the trauma of the move.

My middle name is now "Exhaustion". I totally passed out yesterday afternoon when I sat down and tried to read a couple of chapters in one of my D.Min. books. I'm going to have to really buckle down now and get ready for the seminar in July. Did I tell you that the church is not counting those two weeks against my vacation time? All is well in Rev. Dulce land right now. I did lie in bed the other night and ask "What have I done moving to a new state, away from my friends and family?" I think it was the exhaustion talking.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Moved In

We made it to our new house without any major incidents. The new house's air conditioning wasn't working but they had it fixed the very next morning so it wasn't unbearable...........not comfortable, but not unbearable.

We managed to get everything from our 2500+ square foot parsonage into our new 1000 square foot house. It wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined. A majority of the boxes are unpacked and there is starting to be a semblance of order.

It is great being back in the city. I enjoyed country living but it is nice to have everything within just a few minutes (and, more importantly with today's gas prices, within a few miles).

I hope that all my blogging buddies, who were moving this month, have made their transitions in good shape. One of the best things about moving is that we now have Hi-Speed Internet service. It is absolutely wonderful.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Bittersweet

I am so excited about moving to LR that I almost feel guilty. It's a weird kind of paradox. I have made some really great friends here and I will miss seeing them on a regular basis but I am so glad to be leaving.

Mix in a little bit of fear about the new position and I am a jumble of conflicting emotions. I have distracted myself with cleaning and reading one of my D.Min. books when I'm too tired to clean.

I would talk about this more but I'm getting so many phone calls that I can't concentrate. I will try again tomorrow night.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

On Grace

Robert Greenleaf, the father of the modern servant-leadership movement, learned grace this way. While a student at Carleton College, Greenleaf began a lifelong friendship with the college president, Donald Cowling. They might never have met had Greenleaf "not been a student who occasionally got into trouble and found [him]self in his office with some explaining to do." During those office visits, Greeleaf discovered a man "with deep and dependable understanding and compassion and with an unequivocal belief in freedom for the human spirit to flower." In the process of being confronted with his failures, Greenleaf experienced deep acceptance. In his writings, he laments those who never have such an opportunity: "I am sorry for those who have never gotten into trouble because they really cannot share my experience. It is one thing to experience compassion intellectually, or even give it. It is quite another thing to receive compassion when one know that all one is entitled to is justice." (quoted from "The Ascent of a Leader")

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Cinderella

I feel like Cinderella today. The Cinderella before she met her handsome prince, the Cinderella that spent her days cleaning the castle. We have scrubbed bathrooms, cleaned pantries, emptied the refrigerator, cleaned the oven and microwave.

The parsonage would look wonderful, if there weren't boxes everywhere.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Tail-bone

Made a quick trip to LR today. My tail-bone is not happy from all that time in the car, but it was a successful trip. I did get a lesson and not a good lesson in hospitality today, though. After hours and many miles in the car, I showed up at the Property Manager's office to sign the lease and to hand over several hundred dollars in deposit, first month's rent and pet fee's ($200 per animal). I asked quite naturally if I could use the restroom before I watched their required (hour long) video. The answer was "NO, Use the Burger King next door." It didn't look good for a minute but I went next door and didn't say anything negative (well not too negative).

I got everything else completed on my to-do list and have made it back home safely. I took measurements of the house and learned an important lesson. Do not look at a house when you have been up since 3 a.m. and have spent all day at a seminar. It skews your perceptions. The place is bigger than my first impression. It is still half the size of my current parsonage but it is much better than I first thought and the piano will not be an issue because it is a straight shot into the room that I have designated it for.

I did take measurements and tomorrow (after a good nights sleep), I will measure my furniture and decide where I want everything to go. I did get all my clothes moved into the new place today. I am preaching in my jeans on Sunday.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Pink

Today was the last day of school. So Ryss asked me to take her to a beauty shop where she proceeded to have pink stripes dyed into her beautiful dark brunette hair. She loves it............I'm not saying anything except it makes her happy, so I'm happy.

I am all packed up for tomorrow. Running to LR to sign the lease, turn on the water and get a checking account. Then turning around and running home. Ryss and her best friend will be out until late so I have time. They are going to Six Flags tomorrow. I dislike Six Flags so it is a good thing that I don't have to go.

I have packed up and am taking all of my clothes. That way it saves on some space in the truck and I have my clothes readily available (without any unpacking). I, also, packed up my right arm, otherwise known as my Desktop computer and it will be sitting there waiting for me. I'm a little protective of it and I knew that I wouldn't have enough room in my vehicle on moving day. I didn't want it in the truck, so I'm using my laptop until the move. It's a lot slower.