family – Page 14 – Salvaged Faith

worn out.

Posted on February 13, 20091 Comment

I am absolutely exhausted today. I think in many ways I’m just trying to get caught up from an overly busy and stressful week. We have a fundraiser dinner for our kids on Sunday that I’ve been getting ready for and in the midst of all of it, I have been working on some medical appointments for myself.

Evidently, what I had assumed were acid reflux attacks are actually gallstones. And my gallbladder needs to come out. Which actually is a HUGE relief for me. After I found out that it might be gallstones I started doing a ton of research and it really fits the symptoms that I have been experiencing. As does acid reflux. But if it is mostly gallstones – that means that many of my symptoms might go away. I had gotten so used to a number of the things happening in my body, I thought they were normal. I’m looking forward to actually BEING normal again. But until I got the results, there was a lot of stressful waiting. And now there is waiting to see when exactly the surgery will be scheduled and how much I need to do beforehand to prepare for my time off. And a huge part of me just wants to do it now – get it all taken care of, and have a solid week off to breathe and recouperate. It would be nice to get it done before Lent starts. But then again – that means finding someone to fill in for me on very short notice.

We also had two funerals in our church this week, and I have gotten back on track with visitation of our homebound members. But in my efforts to catch up, it meant that I visited five people in one day – which has me socially spent. I never doubt that I’m an introvert after visiting with people. They are dear and wonderful people, but it takes a lot of energy for me to spend time with people. As opposed to extroverts who gain energy when they spend time with people.

I really want to curl up all day – but I need to get the bidding sheets done for our auction, and I need to get the fancy Japanese beer for our Asian inspired fondu party in honor of Valentine’s Day with my sister and brother in-laws. Crap. And practice guitar. I’m taking lessons from my brother in law, but I always forget to practice. well, with the busy week I had, I didn’t take the time.

FF: My Favorite Things

Posted on February 6, 20094 Comments

From Rev Gals:

In a week of wondering how various things in our family life will unfold, I found myself thinking of the way Maria comforted the Von Trapp children in one of my favorite movies. Frightened by a thunder storm, the children descend upon her, and she sings to them about her favorite things, taking their minds off the storm.

So, let’s encourage ourselves. Share with us five of your favorite things. Use words or pictures, whatever expresses it best.

1. A cat curled up in the crook of my knee. There is nothing better in the world than Tiki or Turbo curled up next to me. The warmth of their bodies, the love and affection, that sense that they just want to be close to you – even though there are countless other places to rest. It is amazing.

2. Fire. Doesn’t matter if its a campfire in the summer or a blazing fireplace in the winter or the flicker of a candle in a dark room. Fire is so alive and powerful and passionate and it dances and warms you to the core.

3. Girl’s Night. In Nashville, Girl’s Night was every Tuesday evening. Drinks, dinner, bitching, joys, loves lost, school stresses, family troubles, new opportunities – there is nothing better than sharing that with people who you feel completely safe with over really really good food and drinks. I especially miss the lemon martinis at cabana and their sweet potato sliders.

4. Wi-Fi. It lets you carry the world with you. Free from wires, you can sit with a hazelnut latte at a coffee shop (or McDonald’s these days) and talk with friends around the world, read some of the greatest thoughts of our generation, know what’s going on in our political and economic landscape, and watch the funniest crap in the world on youtube.

5. Sit-Down Meals. We don’t eat this way very often in my house, but I want to do it more. With no distractions, sit down meals are about family and people and relationships and about the food. They are where we talk about our days and catch up and reflect upon it all. When I have kids, it will be where they have a voice, they have the floor and where we all pay attention and listen to one another.

opportunity knocking?

Posted on February 3, 2009Leave a comment

I got an email from my college chaplain yesterday, wanting to know if I wanted to apply for his job.

He’s asking for a pastoral appointment in the conference and so my alma mater is hiring a new chaplain.

I kind of freaked out a bit when I got the email. I really wasn’t quite sure what to think, although I was honored to be thought of. I’ve been stuck in a rut this week, really wanting more professional colleagues, more intellectual discussions, wanting to get out of the cycle of having to preach. every. week. And so 10% of my being thought… wow – this could be exactly what I need right now!

But I really feel called to be in this congregation. We are only just beginning to really get things moving and started and the momentum is good. We are going to shake up this town in the next two years, I can completely feel it. And I’m ready and they are ready and I can’t leave them right now. We are just getting settled into our home, we are close to our family, and working on building those relationships… my dad wouldn’t be close enough to come fix my car when it breaks down… lol.

I am where I need to be. And while I might want some of those things that working in the college setting would offer – I am needed here. and I need to be here to grow in the ways that God is challenging me to grow.

Ask me again in five years, and I might have a different answer.

Fit.

Posted on January 11, 2009Leave a comment

Today the hubby and I got up and headed over to my parents’ house for lunch and to see the rest of the fam. But not before we shoveled the driveway. There were six inches of beautiful white fluffy stuff on the drive. And it made the drive quite long.

We had a good day. I hadn’t seen my brother and sister-in-law since Thanksgiving and it was nice to just hang out. We exchanged our Christmas presents late, and Brandon and I were pretty excited to get Wii Fit! But I was not nearly so excited when I had to do my body test and had the scale pop up and my mii plumped out to match my current weight. Bleh.

We headed out with some friends and saw Valkyrie and then off to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. All and all, it was the sort of day where i just felt like normal person, instead of a pastor. And I like those sorts of days.

Ice

Posted on January 5, 2009Leave a comment

I finished the sermon prep last night at about 1:00 and headed off to bed – completely oblivious to the freezing rain outside. I had heard that it was coming, but in all honesty had thought it petered out. My bad.

I had planned on getting up at 7, but for the first time on a Sunday… ever… I slept past my alarm and woke up at about 8. And panicked because I felt like I had something to prepare. But it was all done. Everything but my sermon was at the church, waiting for me, all ready to go. (which is sometimes a rare occurance… see post on procrastination).

So I showered up and sat down at my computer to print off the sermon and I get a phone call from the church… “Pastor Katie, are we having church this morning?”

Having church? Of course we’re having church… why woud we not have… and then I looked out my window. Ice. A beautiful thin layer of ice over all the roads. It didn’t seem so bad – after all, the powerlines were fine, the trees didn’t have that amazing glaze of ice over the branches. Piece of cake. Yes, we’re having church.

I have to admit right now that deciding whether or not to have church because of bad weather is one of my most frustrating and hand-wringing parts of my job. Do I cancel and keep people safe? What if it’s not really so bad? Will I look like a wuss? I’m young, and I can get there, so we should have it, right? *sigh*.

I hopped into the “ghetto cruiser” and headed off to church. All was fine until I hit the road that our church is on. Solid ice. I think I fishtailed 3 times in 4 blocks and was unable to pull into my usual parking spot. I coasted right by it.

Outside were all of the wonderful but older faithfuls of the church, heading in for Sunday School, trying desperately to stay upright. And a terrific older man with the bag of salt, trying to get some traction on the sidewalks. And I started to wonder if I had made the right choice.

Church went beautifully. We actually had a pretty decent crowd, which surprised me. And then we had Ad Board afterwards (which would have been a p.i.t.a to reschedule). So all was good.

My photo for the day actually comes from this afternoon. My little brother called me up to take him shopping, so we met at my Babi’s house. I haven’t driven on ice like this for quite a while, so it took me much longer than expected to get there – including a few heart-pounding fishtails into the oncoming lane… without traffic oncoming – thank God! I think there were about four different close encounters of the ditch kind thoughout my travels today, but we made it to the store, and home again safely.

I had a ton of fun hanging out with DJ. I have a friend from back in Nashville who was the youngest in her family, and she always would tell me about the great things that her older siblings were doing to help her out. DJ didn’t have the best 2008 in the world… in part because of some poor decisions, but all I want to do is spoil him rotten and make sure he has the things he needs. It kind of feels like it’s part of the whole “big sister” job description. I got to thinking on the way home (on the icy roads) about when DJ was born. My other brother and I both had these cute little sweatshirts that our mom had made with puff paint. It said something like “I’m the big sister” and “I’m the big brother.” I take my job very seriously =) Tuesday will be his 21st birthday! And it makes me really happy to watch him grow up and to talk with him now as an adult.

whew…

Posted on December 29, 2008Leave a comment

The Christmas season is almost over and I am absolutely exhausted.

There were a few days in this past week that I allowed myself to sleep in very late, so I thought that I would make it through just fine, but with four worship services in a week’s time and countless gatherings and people… I was completely and utterly spent by yesterday noon.

We were driving up to my in-laws after morning worship, and it was all I could do to keep my eyes open. We had an AMAZING dinner and I got through the present giving/receiving just fine, but after that, all I wanted to do was sleep. It was as if all of the energy I had been giving out all week long had run out. All I wanted was a quiet room, maybe a movie, and a pillow.

We got home about 7, and I curled up on the couch and watched “Mamma Mia” not once, but twice.

While many people do not believe this about myself, I am an introvert. It takes an extrodinary amount of energy for me to be around people, especially if I have to be “on.” It doesn’t matter if they are my best friends or complete strangers… it still takes more energy out of me than it gives, and if I am correct, that is one huge definition of introverted. The nice thing about my in-laws is that I can simply sit there and be. And I think that’s why everything finally ran out.

Holy Cow, Batman!

Posted on December 24, 2008Leave a comment

It’s Christmas Eve!!!!!!

And I am excited and nervous and excited and praying that I have everything planned and all the i’s dotted for the two worship services tonight. I guess we’ll find out when the get here!

I would appreciate prayers for safe travel tonight too – we are heading to my inlaws for dinner between the 5:00 and 11:30pm services, and I want to make it back! (I NEED to make it back).

Holy cow!!!!!

Advent Conspiracy

Posted on November 25, 2008Leave a comment

My friend Matt posted over at his blog “The Truth As Best I Know It” about the supposed war on Christmas and the Advent Consipracy.

I too, fail to lament the taking of Christmas out of stores of our courthouses… when Christianity becomes too confused with the civic religion, it suffers and gets bogged down in consumerism and appearances. If the only place I see a nativity is outside of the church – fine by me. Heck, our church is right next to the courthouse anyways! When we reclaim the tradition from the culture, than we truly can celebrate the scandal that is the Advent and Christmas proclamation.

Now, that doesn’t mean that we privatize it. It just means that we don’t allow it to be controlled and dictated by the culture around us. We let the Word of God speak.

As far as my own Advent Conspiracy – we normally decide what to do about presents at Thanksgiving. Usually we all draw a name so that we are only buying for one person in each family. But I want to do something for the whole family as well – in a way that is meaningful and not cheesy. There isn’t a lot of time left, but my thinking cap is definately on! In some ways, this meal that Brandon and I are cooking for his family this week is our gift to them. It’s a lot of work, but I think that if we weren’t the ones doing the cooking, we wouldn’t be getting together.

On my mom’s side of the family, the year after my grandma died, we bought presents for a family in their hometown. And it seems like there has been something special like that every year. My grandpa is so generous and I would really like to do something like that for them again this year. One of my ideas is to get a simple brick and talk about a donation made in their name to the hospital we are working to support in Tanzania