Cartoon Addiction

Since I've been housesitting this June/July, I have watched loads of cartoons. And they play them non stop on cable. Hours pass by and the cartoons keep coming. Must...turn....channels.....now!!!!

Ok, so they're still on in the background.

This morning my parents left. It was so nice to have them here for the last week. Life was so busy and full of entertaining things and now it's incredibly quiet. Even the dog, Izzy, is laying on the floor with this sad look on her face b/c she's bored. Apparently I'm not as interesting as my parents. This morning I played housekeeping and got to clean up the apartment from a week's worth of visitors by washing the sheets and towels and sweeping the floor.

My mom took me on a shopping spree this last week. I have loads of work clothes now and some new shoes. Makes me feel excessive and materialistic--and all this to work in a church. We hit a hot spot at Herberger's where I got 5 pairs of pants for about $10 each. I'll be stylish all next year on internship.

My most recent discovery this week was that my car needed what probably amounted to $500 of work. Apparently the CaCl they use on the roads to de-ice causes severe corrosion on brake pads, shoes and rotors. My brakes were a mess. My poor dad ended up fixing it for 3 days straight. Not much of a vacation for him or the rest of us as we made 3 separate trips to a car parts store in Savage, MN. Not exactly how I imagined finding new locations on the map in MN. Despite this, we did picnic at Lake Harriet and walked through the beautiful rose gardents there. I also made a deliciously awesome meal for my parents (my version of chicken parmesan, chicken veggie rice and chocolate chip cookie bars) and my mom and I had fun cooking during the week.

Ideally I would be working on planning chapel for Tuesday and writing up some kind of sermon. I have no words for it. I've been working on it for the last 3 weeks and nothing. Kinda freaks me out b/c when I have to do this consistently and this happens....well, it won't be pretty. Instead of working on chapel, I am watching cartoons and reading a highly recommended book The Hammer of God by Bo Giertz. Surprisingly, it's as good as I've been told it is. The first section was a humorous yet fond reminder of what ministry really means, looks like and how quickly it can get out of control. Hopefully others will be incapable of triumphing at the dashing of my all to quick childish excitement with the slow but steady onsetting of inadequacy and despair. As y'all have no doubt devised, my inability to plan chapel is not helping such matters. Neither are the two clergy shirts staring gaping holes into my soul. This all seems to be more trouble than it's worth. How could I have ever been so foolish to think it was actually God's call in my life to preach? With temptation around every corner, who can survive? Who can endure the darkness and hollow that awaits the soul? (The dog's snoring now and the cartoons keep rolling.) As I sit here typing, I notice the book entitled Metamorpha: Jesus as a way of life. It mocks me and yet makes me laugh that what I seek most is only a Word away.

Kyrie Eleison upon this stupid girl whose heart bends and breaks at the thought that something might actually be required of her (for to whom much has been given, much will be required--Luke 12:47-49). The word is sharper than a two edged sword (Hebrews 4:11-13).

I, of course, blame this entire problem on the cartoons which are still playing in the background.