In honor of “Arrested Development” releasing their long awaited fourth season on Netflix this coming weekend, here are ten TV shows I’d love to see release a new season (all available on Netflix, by the way)!
1. Dawson’s Creek
2. The West Wing
3. LOST
4. Wings
5. Heroes
6. 30 Rock
7. Family Ties
8. Monk
9. The Wonder Years
10. Cheers
What’s your favorite long lost TV show?
On Friday, I turn 35. I’ve never really been worried much about my age…but friend, to me saying I’m 35 seems much older than saying I’m 34.
Here are ten goals for my next trip around the sun:
1. Apply to seminary.
2. Stay added sugar-free.
3. Visit a school cafeteria at lunch time (mostly the middle school ones) at least every other week. It’s a fun thing to do and I need to make time to do that.
4. Drink more water.
5. Write more regularly.
6. Read more books.
7. Sit in the backyard as often as I can. There are now bird feeders, a fire pit, a hammock and a swing. Nothing fancy, but it’s a bit of an oasis.
8. Grow in ways that are spiritual and emotional.
9. Shrink in ways that are physical. 
10. Be a supportive, loving friend and family member.
I love having new ideas or thinking of new things to write about, talk about, create or do. When I’m feeling less creative or imaginative, here’s where I turn:
1. The colorful ads, layouts and bright pages in magazines
2. Pinterest
3. Old journal entries or blog posts
4. Podcasts like “This American Life” or “The Moth”
5. Imagination Prompt Generator
6. Psalms
7. Jonas
8. Brightly Colored Objects
9. Conversations with friends and colleagues
10. Sunshine
She’s still waiting for the punchline.
You’ve heard of draft-dodgers? I’m a God-dodger. I’ve been dodging God about seminary for a good 12 years now. I’ve always had an excuse. You’ve probably heard me say one or two of them, actually!
During my mini-sabbatical–my week of intense vacation in early April–it became obvious to me that it’s time for me to take this next step in my call. I came to this conclusion after hours of conversation with friends, long-time and newer, over cups of coffee, lunch, phone lines and meals. And lots and lots and lots of prayer and reflection and contemplating.e
God is good, always. I am stubborn and timid, always.
My friend Jenny is excited. “Oooh! You always plan everything and you’re always so careful and deliberate, ” is essentially what she said. “Now you’ll have to take a leap and trust that God will take care of everything! This is so exciting!”
“Exciting” is a word I’ve failed to use so far. “Terrifying,” is what I tend to say instead. But I agree with everything else she said. I’m a control freak. I like to plan everything down to the very minute details. I like to stay ahead of the game and anticipate what’s next. I totally understand and appreciate the students I minister to who arrive at the mission trip site and want to know what’s for breakfast the next day, where we’ll be showering and what time we’ll have to have the vehicles packed at the end of the week in order to make it to the whitewater rafting place at what time again?
“Don’t anticipate, participate!” I’ll tell them cheerfully, even as I pass them an itinerary I carefully crafted two months prior after having made countless phone calls where I tracked down the very information they are now seeking.
In this case, it doesn’t matter how many phone calls I make…I still won’t know what’s going to happen.
I’m going to apply to seminary. That’s what I’m saying right now.
Which one? Possibly Louisville Presbyterian or Dubuque Seminary…but I’m not entirely sure.
Which degree will I pursue? I plan to work toward a Masters of Divinity degree (that’s the ordained minister degree).
Will I still work full-time? I plan to, but we’ll have to see.
How will we pay for it? I’m not exactly certain.
How long will it take me? It’s a 3 year program full-time, but I’ll likely have to do this part-time, so I’m not really sure.
What will I do when I have my MDiv? I think I know…but then I don’t really know.
That’s a lot of uncertainty up there ^^^.
Here’s the question I can answer:
What’s the first step? Become an inquirer in the Presbytery of Western Kentucky and spend a year discerning and planning.
Thank goodness. A year to pray and consider and plan…or maybe not! Maybe a year to pray and consider and still end up with lots of unknowns. Regardless, I know this: I’m being obedient by taking the first steps in the inquiry and application process.
Here’s another question I also know I can answer:
Who will support me and love me and stand with me as I figure it out? My husband, Jonas, my family, my church, my friends…
I appreciate the encouraging words and love some of you have given me in the early stages of this decision. I appreciate your prayers and understanding as I answer so many questions with, “I just don’t know yet.” God is good, always.
Have a fantastic weekend!
This weekend, I’m leading a retreat for our church Session. Inspired by an idea I saw at a Girl Scout Awards dinner the other night, I decided to create a thank you for each leader.
Here’s what is in each one:
And here’s what the card inside says:
Ministry Kit
A paperclip to help you hold it all together.
A penny so you’ll never be broke.
A rubber band to remind you to stay flexible.
A band-aid for healing hurt feelings.
A candle to remind you of the light you have to share.
A Snickers bar to remind you to laugh often.
Thanks for being a “smartie” church leader! Your service has “mint” so much to so many people. Your work and ministry will have “extra” long-lasting effects. Thanks for all you do!
Ten sites I keep on my bookmarks toolbar in Google Chrome:
(That’s a picture of half of my toolbar…I obviously have a lot more than ten!)
1. Tweetdeck
2. Amazon’s Daily Deals
3. PC(USA).org
4.A link to Oscar Romero’s “The Long View”
5. Pandora
6. Feedly
7. Vanderbilt’s Lectionary Library
8. Oremus Bible Browser
9. The Rethink Church site
10. Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana
In the wake of the events in Boston, I read this (brought to my attention by my friend Michelle Green, created by Peter H. Reynolds):
That’s something, isn’t it? All the darkness in the world, and yet there is always more light. Sometimes the darkness gets the headline and the light is on page 4B, but there is always more light. Even now the news is full of stories of runners who crossed the finish line and then headed to donate blood and people who stopped what they were doing to help those who were suffering or in need. I like this quote, but I believe that rather than just making or creating light, we’re are invited to bearers of God’s good light. So for the Tuesday Ten, I’d like to suggest ten ways you can be bearers of this light:
1. Volunteer at a school near you.
2. Befriend a person who is lonely.
3. Write a note, bake some cookies or simply say thank you to a police officer, nurse, fire fighter or EMT in your city.
4. Visit elderly friends or relatives who live in a nursing home or assisted living home.
5. Teach your children to do “light” things.
6. Share genuinely kind words with people you see every day.
7. Pay for the coffee of the person in line behind you.
8. Cut your neighbor’s grass when you cut your own.
9. Be patient. In line, in waiting rooms, at restaurants…be patient and kind.
10. Smile. Such a simple gesture that makes a big difference.
Over Spring break (March 31-April 7), I took a week-long Sabbath. I jokingly called it my mini-sabbatical. Really it meant vacation, but since I seem to be so terrible at taking a vacation, I had to find a terminology that pressed upon me that I was not to do any work, visit work, see work, think about work or talk to people from my work.
Here are ten things I did instead:
1. Finished “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed.
2. Pulled my hammock into the sunshine and laid there.
3. Visited with many friends, face to face or via the phone. I genuinely valued my unhurried time with each one of them!
4. Wrote in my journal.
5. Bought a hummingbird feeder, a second bird feeder for cardinals and song birds (I already had a finch feeder) and a bird bath. I then spent lots of time watching the birds play on the new bird playground.
6. Emptied our DVR (by watching all of the shows I had recorded but had not watched).
7. Made a big decision about my future (more on that later!).
8. Sent Jason and Jonas out the door for their big Appalachian Trail hike and then welcomed them home 5 days later.
9. Slept past 5:30 for the first time since Ash Wednesday.
10. Read and prayed and napped and sipped coffee and did all the things you can do when you have nowhere else to be.
Ten friends you should have:
1. A friend who does the same kind of work that you do.
2. A friend who is not related to or connected to your job and has no idea how to do the work you do.
3. A friend who knows about a topic you find confusing (like technology) and is patient to answer your questions about it.
4. A friend who is doing something with his/her life that inspires you.
5. A friend who always tells you that you can do it.
6. A friend who is willing to be honest with you when you actually cannot do it.
7. A friend who has known you for a very long time.
8. A new friend that hasn’t already heard all of your stories.
9. A friend who will sit in silence when you just need someone to be there.
10. A friend who challenges you to be better and try harder.
What friend would you add to this list?
I did not take a photo today. This photo is from Day 1 of the Photo A Day project.
Ash Wednesday: “Who Am I?”
I am a Child of God. I am a wife. I am a mother. I am a friend. I am a daughter. I am a sister. I have roots–oh, so many roots. I am rooted by family. I am rooted by history. I am rooted by discipline. I am rooted by Christ.
Who am I? I know the answer to that question much more fully having journeyed through this Lenten Season. I am so grateful to all who walked with me, prayed with me, encouraged me, loved me, listened to me and read what I wrote. Our roots wind over and through each other, I think.
Allelulia! Christ is Risen!
