Unpacking the Wedding Service

Friday was spent unpacking the loads of stuff that came with Karen and I as well as checking in with some old and new friends. It was helpful to make some connections with people again as it felt like I had just landed on some other planet in another universe--a place where I didn't know the customs, inhabitants, or local area. Was it even safe to breathe the air??

Saturday Karen and I went to Matt and Becca Poock's wedding. It was fun but strange that there were so few young adults and almost no seminary people. Instead of spending the night we opted to leave right after dinner and head back toward the Twin Cities. Karen met her parents at the I-90 and I-35 interchange and I passed her off to spend 2 months at camp doing environmental ed. amongst a thousand other job requirements that do not belong to her. We had great driving weather and I was fully reminded of how flat the midwest is.

Sunday I opted to go to Redeemer up in Fridley since I had the time. Wonderful that I did. I got to hear their intern Pete preach and reconnect with their lead pastor Dave. The great highlight was that Scott Nocton was there! He's been battling leukemia for the last 1.5 years and is doing well. He is in remission and has a clean bill of health. Now it's just checkups to make sure he stays that way and building up his health and strength. He's antsy to get ordained on Sept. 21 and to do some work instead of just sitting around getting poked at. Can't blame him.

Late Sunday afternoon I plopped down at my new favorite cafe (Caribou) and wrote out the rest of my approval essay. Great to get that all out of my head and into the computer. I'm going to let it simmer a bit in case I want to make changes before submitting it.

Classes start Sept. 1....tomorrow. Yikes I'm so not ready for that. Still got so much paperwork to turn in with the approval essay and final intern evaluation stuff that it's extra stress added to moving, classes, leaving and life in general.

A New Old Frontier: Flatland MN

Today we traveled from Bismark, ND to St. Paul, MN. The morning drive was fairly uneventful. We reached the Fargo area around noon and planned on stopping there for lunch. Apparently in ND it is typical and acceptable to not post what food, gas or lodging is available at the exits near these towns as they are so very metropolitan. Sadly we sailed through Fargo with no food. Suddenly we were in MN and the nearest town was Fergus Falls--oh yes, 47 miles away. So on we drove.

The drive that extra hour wad kind of hard actually. The long awaited journey to MN had finally arrived and it seemed to have happened all too soon. The reality of what I was doing sank in and I tried to keep the tears in my eyes. The end was fixed and certain now.

We actually had a nice lunch at Burger King in Fergus Falls. I stretched and walked around the parking lot while people from the drive thru stared at me strangely. Karen sat in the car and soaked up the sun. It was rather chilly in the car due to the sun keeping our top halves warm and the AC freezing our feet. Naturally the body responds by sweating. The sun was a welcomed relief from the odd climate of the car.

From there it was a quick couple hours into town despite some light early rush hour traffic. Before we realized it we were pulling into the seminary parking lot around 5pm and off to the housing office to pick up my apartment keys.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a young woman appeared at the curbside. Her name was Beth and she lives in Apt. 109 (right below me). She offered to help me move my things into my apartment. I was surprised. No one at Luther does this. Not unless you ask them to help you or you already know them. Apparently at PLTS "everyone" comes out to help you move in when you arrive. This is facilitated by the U shape the apt. building is in, but nonetheless, there she stood waiting to help me out. Within a half hour the car and the roof top bag were emptied, in my apt. and Karen and I had made a new friend.

Amidst unpacking we wound up emptying out my storage bin searching for the bolts to put the futon base together. We didn't find them, but we did move a lot of stuff into my apt. Including my dresser which was quite challenging considering that we were using a cart on the roughest black top ever. If the dresser wasn't rumbling off the cart then a drawer was flying out or the other side chest was flying off the cart. One of the drawers did fall onto the ground and got knicked up pretty good. It's on the bottom of the dresser now. Oh well. It adds character and tells a great story!

When we couldn't move anything more, we finally sat and rested. Or more appropriately, passed out from all the driving, traveling and moving. All I could think when I was falling to sleep was: Where am I?

Rest the Body, Challenge the Mind

From Missoula, MT Karen and I drove to Bismarck, ND. We headed out around 10:30am and drove through some more of the Rocky Mountains. It was not quite as picturesque as I remember it on the drive out. We saw loads of hills that had black sticks of trees which had been burned years before and were just starting to grow the grass and small plant life back amongst the black toothpick trunks. Karen was a bit drowsy from the dramamine so we enjoyed some singing from the CDs I burned for the trip and the very dry scenery--beautiful in its own way and harshness.

We reached Billings, MT for a lunch and bathroom break. From there Karen drove to Miles City, MT while I napped and flinched in the passenger seat. Apparently my light sleep kept me twitching at strange moments. It was so relaxing to rest and not be driving. Miles City brought us an excellent stopping place where we paused to get coffee from Starbucks and wander around Target to stretch our legs. It's nice to know that there are a few reliable comforts like Starbucks and Target which are easily found when you are crossing the country. I checked in with my parents and let them know we were still alive and making great time. They found it amusing that we were in Target, but that's just what Karen and I do to destress--retail therapy; even if we don't buy anything.

I took over driving again until we reached Bismark, ND. For most of this part of the drive Karen wasn't feeling well and I was contemplating if I needed to find a hospital with an ER at one of the exits we were passing. Fortunately she started to improve. As we made our travel into the evening hours of the day, Karen read from A Formula for Parish Practice by Timothy J. Wengert and we discussed articles 1 and 7 of the Formula of Concord. Driving is an excellent time to discuss theology I must say. Who better to speculate and muse with than my cohort in theology? We tackled what suffering is/not and whether it was in the Garden of Eden pre-Genesis 3 or not. We debated if one could take communion without being baptized and what that did to baptism's place in the life of the church. How often should communion be taken, what qualities should the one leading communion have if any, what makes one worthy to receive it and what do you do with the leftovers? How is Christ present in the Lord's Supper and how does that shape your view of Christian doctrine? There's really nothing better you can do with driving time than talk theology and balance it with singing great songs.

We pulled into Bismark, ND around midnight and got a good deal on a cheap hotel room. With a little wind down and snack time (props for meat treats of steak and bacon!!) we passed out for the night and dreamt of strange things that didn't make any sense, but proved for hilarious morning conversation.

Falling From Elle...or Grace?

Monday was spent packing indoors as it was raining all day. Luckily I left the car top bag open so water could get in and allow for whatever I packed in there to become wet. Today Karen and I spent the morning doing a marathon packing job of cramming everything into Elle [the name of my car...Elle the Explorer] that would fit. It was like one huge Tetris puzzle (a game which I love btw...).

I had to pay a price to move everything on my own. I left behind cleaning supplies, plastic food containers and garbage cans as well as the foam pad that tops my mattress to make it feel all cloud like and comfy. The hardest part was letting go of my wine glass set from Ikea. But there was no room in the car. I know it's just stuff, but it's my stuff and it's all the stuff I have. It's not like money to replace these things grows on trees. They weren't even all that expensive, it just hurt to let them go. I didn't prepare myself for the high cost of trying to move by myself without my parents' extra space in their vehicle. [And don't even mention the word Uhal b/c they wouldn't rent a trailer to my more than capable vehicle...] Amongst all the other loss and letting go I was doing, the glasses just became the straw that broke the camel's back.

Anyway, back to the point of this post. So Karen and I were packing the car and shoving things in left and right, up/down, through windows, beneath the matress, etc. The grass was wet and I had taken off my Chaco sandals for better gripping power on the car. Standing with one foot on the boxes in the car and one foot on the frame of the door I was trying to shove bags of curtains and sheets into the front left corner of the rooftop bag. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground on my back with boxes falling out of the car onto my right leg. Got some pretty nice bruises and cuts that will take at least a week to heal (right on top of my shin bone...oww). The amazing part is that the grass was really soft, I didn't break any bones or bruise my back/organs and I didn't even get the wind knocked out of me. About 15 mins. later after Karen pulled the boxes off, I realized what happened and she helped me up, I was up on top of the car packing more. Nothing like getting right back on the horse.

In the end, the car was packed full to the top, I stopped into the office to return a pie plate and pass on some more things that wouldn't fit in the car (and truthfully didn't need), turned in my keys to the house and church (which, as I predicted, was the hardest thing I had to do all year), said a few more goodbyes and then walked out the door. We made a few stops to drop off a bag at Goodwill and then headed out Rt. 2, down through Wenatchee and Ellensburg and onto I-90 where we continued out of the state into MT. Sadly, we breezed through ID in the dark. Driving was easy (apart from the windy roads in ID where I cheated in the lanes on turns b/c I could and it was late and we were going a bit fast). We buzzed along until we were just too tired to focus and spent the night in Missoula, MT. We settled into a slightly pricy, but probably the cheapest place we could find, that resembled a lodge inside. It was cozy enough even though the beds were a bit stiff, but they did have cable so I got to check the weather and get a tiny dose of my Food Network addiction.

Stay tuned for the next day's journey back to MN!

A Birthday to Remember Part II

It's official today--Happy Birthday to me!!

Today started off with a trip down to Shoreline/N Seattle to drop off a gift to be completed for Paul. Turns out the lady offered to have it ready if I had the time to wait in the area. I had already planned on treating myself to a walk around Greenlake (~3 mi.) and as usual I have a book on hand to keep me busy if I need to wait somewhere. So off I went for a wonderful sunny walk around a beautiful lake. I talked with my Mom (though I'd already called her at 9:16am her time as is our tradition on my b-day), sat in the sun and read for a while. Finally the call came and I picked up the gift. Since it took 2.5hrs (longer than expected) I headed straight for Goodwill to pick up some shorts for yuck night with the high school kids.

From Goodwill I headed to my favorite cafe Spotted Cow in Mill Creek. I called my Dad and chatted with him a bit, then waited to meet Paul for one of our last supervisor/intern conversations. After texting and calling his house, he finally showed up at 2pm (our usual meeting time, though we had agreed on 1pm for this day). We had a wonderful conversation. I never thought I'd get to met anyone like Paul and I'm so grateful I have. He's such a wonderful mix of creativity, wonder, questions, grace and uniqueness. Watching and interacting with him has been one of the strongest means of salvation for me this year. I don't know if I could have healthfully continued in ministry without his constantly pouring God's grace on me this year.

From the Spotted Cow I traveled a few stores away to a restaurant Azul (Latin inspired cuisine) to meet up with the office ladies for Girl's Night Out and to celebrate my b-day. Those ladies are such a hoot when you get them out on their own!! Happy hour made it a cheap date too.

Finally I made it to the Jeremiah Center for Yuck Night. I sat in pickle juice, had orange juice poured on my head, had oatmeal in my hair, tossed balloons full of old milk, ate cake (decorated with refried beans, nacho cheese, pickles, mayo, cheetos, and oatmeal), guzzled tons of a gallon of orange Gatorade, did a slip and slide (through ketchup, mayo, cheese, noodles, old milk, cottage cheese, oatmeal and any of the other left overs on the yuck cart) and then wrestled in a mud pit with mostly dirty water and rocks. So I washed off some of the yuck, but got a few bruises on my feet and cuts on my legs. Boy was it worth it though to be with the kids and build those relationships with them in goo and grossness!!

All in all, a wonderful birthday. One I will not quickly soon forget and it's up there with the top best birthdays!!

A Birthday to Remember

Okay so it's not official yet because it isn't until 9:16am tomorrow morning, but in my family we celebrate a birthday week not just a day. First off was a BBQ at the McCullough's house on Saturday. I didn't realize I would end up being the star of the get together, but it was fun to celebrate my birthday family style--gathered with those who I've grown to love over this year and with whom I share some deep connections. The highlights include a huge bunch of birthday balloons, delicious food, great conversation, a huge cake with raspberry filling and chocolate frosting, Dad (aka Dick McC.) coming in at the last minute to break out an emergency candle to light for my cake :), cards with goodies in them and best of all a long conversation with Sue and Dick about how I've ended up where I am today. It was a wonderful night.

Today at church I shared leftover birthday cake for the morning coffee shindig and whilst I was worshiping God with the McCulloughs amongst others, my intern committee secretly brought in a chocolate cake with delicious frosting, a card and a balloon. I didn't know about it until after the 3rd service because I ended up talking to people and getting ready for the last service. After the potluck with the Chinese congregation, Kirsti from my intern committee brought me one of the best gifts I think I've ever gotten on my birthday--flowers. No one ever buys me flowers and I never get them for my birthday. I was so surprised and grateful. Now carrying around flowers (very fragrant lilies) people in the narthex began to notice and they all sang happy birthday to me.

None of this includes tomorrow's festivities which I will blog about then. You'll just have to wait for the 2nd edition...