Weekend

Friday night I went out for the first time in....well, longer than I can remember, actually. A group of people, all with connections to the church, were playing at a local winery (yes--Montana has wineries--who knew?). It was so exciting to get actually get ready for an evening out. I'd forgotten how much fun the anticipation could be. And then I realized that yes, I was going out, but I was going to a place that would be plum-full of parishioners. And so it was. It was fun, the group was great, and I had a good time, but it was work. After a couple of hours our office manager, her boyfriend, his friend and I went downtown. That was also fun, and I even danced a little, but I felt really old. I was between 7 and 10 years older than everyone around me. Sigh. Whatever, I really did enjoy the evening, and it was fun to get out of my apartment for once.

Last night was a lock-in with a couple of other churches. I didn't have to stay the night, but went to the first part at a local youth center. They played reball, I played a little volleyball (I'm just as bad now as I was in high school!). Not many kids from our church, but I had fun with the ones who were there.

Tonight was the church talent show. It was a fund raiser for our kids who are going to New Orleans to the National Youth Gathering in July. Wow, we have a lot of amazing talent in our church. I was really proud of everyone who participated. Less proud of myself, though. Have me preach in front of a couple of hundred people and I'm fine. Stick me in a less crowded room and have me be "entertaining" and I totally choke. Man did I suck! Oh well, everyone else was fab. Too bad they had to end with me. That'll teach 'em to put the pastor last....

Friday Five--Taking a Break

Taking a Break Friday Five. Tell us how you would spend:

1. a 15 minute break

Usually during little breaks I try to stretch, or walk, or generally try to work out the kinks in some fashion.

2. an afternoon off

The sun has actually been shining here lately, so I would love to get out for a longer walk in the sunshine. Otherwise I would probably watch a movie, or read, or work on projects that never seem to get finished.

3. an unexpected free day

I'd really like to go home and see my nieces. If not then, then in theory I could run errands, clean, catch up on stuff I'd let go. In reality I'd probably do the same things as the previous answer!

4. a week's vacation

Heaven. That sounds lovely right now. Is this reality or fantasy? In fantasy I would go somewhere fabulous, somewhere warm, somewhere with a beach. In reality I would probably do smaller trips, in-state, and visit family and friends. Which would still be nice, of course, just no beach. :-)

5. a sabbatical

3 months? I almost can't even imagine that. No, not almost, I really can't imagine that. Well, reading, of course, since that always seems to be a theme. I'd like to try and be more active in some way, I wonder how I could work that into a sabbatical? And continuing ed in, well, just about anything as at this point in my call I feel like I could definitely learn more about everything.

Mid-Winter Theological Conference

I started typing this post several days ago, and never got around to finish it. I posted last year about this same continuing ed event, so it's kind of fun to be here a year later and having some history. I'm looking forward to the same thing in a few months when I've been in this call for a year and things start repeating. Anyway, the conference was great, even if it went way to fast. The speaker was Dr. James Limburg, a retired seminary professor. He taught at the seminary I went to after he retired, so we had the pleasure of getting to learn from him for several semesters. I find him engaging, interesting, and quite fun to listen to, so it was a nice way to get some continuing ed. His topic was on creation, and he's an OT scholar, so we focused mostly on the OT in our discussion. Last year it snowed a lot. This year it melted. A lot. It was in the high 40's and it was so fabulous to see the sun and actually get out and enjoy it. Of course, DMK and I spent our usual time nesting in the lobby with our books and crafts and snacks, but I did also get out and go for a walk. No pictures this year, but it was gorgeous. What else? I haven't been posting much. Things have been busy and somewhat stressful. I have hope that things will be fine, maybe even great, but life in the church has been....interesting, we'll say. In happy news, a friend of mine just had a baby girl. She's adorable from what I've seen in pictures. Big, though. 10 lbs 9 ounces and 22 inches long! Yikes. I need to clean my apartment. That has nothing to do with anything except that as I sit here I keep looking around and thinking, huh, I need to clean my apartment. Clearly it's time to stop typing and go to bed...

Friday Five--These are a Few of My Favorite Things

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. My nieces. They aren't "things," they're people, of course, but they are some of my favorite people in the whole world. These aren't my nieces in the picture, but I do have 4, and they are really stinkin' adorable.

2. Chocolate. I am probably unhealthily addicted to the stuff.
My pants would certainly fit better if I didn't love it so much,
but it seems to make everything better...


3. Shoes. I love shoes. Love them. Why? Well, I'm not
entirely sure, but I love finding a new pair of fabulous shoes
to add to my collection (which isn't huge, but definitely bigger
than it probably should be)






4Musicals. Since this Five started with a Sound of Music reference, I thought this was apt. Sometimes I wish my life involved dressing up in fabulous clothes (with amazing shoes, of course) and spontaneously bursting into song and choreographed dance numbers.

5. Yoga. This is actually a new favorite thing. I've only been doing yoga for a couple of months, and just once a week, but I LOVE it. (I'm NOT this bendy...)