Seeing the risen Christ in our midst, here & now.

I'm a double facebooker and blogger....still trying to figure out where the line is between pastor and person.  It's a fine line as being called to serve as a parish pastor is my vocation and is my life...but that struggle to maintain some sense of me as a person and maintaining a social circle outside of the parish is a healthy part of who I am.  But here's the thing, this season (the 50 days of Easter) I feel called to share moments where I have seen the risen Christ in my midst.  The entries over the next 50 days will echo those on my Pastor blog page, but I think the content is for all...parishioners, friends and blog followers.  (I guess the disclaimer is that if you follow both blogs, they will be quite similar this season, perhaps with different color commentary along the way. (Thanks for reading and journeying with me.)

So as we enter the season of Easter...and journey in the light of the empty tomb I hope to share moments where I see the risen Christ in our midst here and now.

We are blessed to celebrate the joy of the resurrection for 50 Days!  (Pretty awesome, right? I mean, who doesn't like a 50 day celebration?)

So yesterday, on Easter Day, I was blessed to walk from the darkness of the tomb into the light of Christ as we began Easter morning worship at 6am.  With the opportunity to celebrate the joy of the resurrection at 4 services yesterday, there were many opportunities to see the risen Christ in our midst now.
The moment that sticks out for me the most was at the 9:15 service.  It was a service that had many families with young children and babies.  The youngest of our brothers and sisters in Christ were so quiet during the service, you may not have noticed their presence.  But as we made it to the intercessory prayers, then things changed.  As we prayed for those in need by name, the assembly was invited to share names in their hearts or on their lips...and that is when a murmur came from the youngest among us.  It wasn't a scream or cries, it was this murmur or hum coming from the infants when they were invited to share prayer concerns.  It was a holy moment.


Today's moment came after a funeral.  I have to tell you, it was amazing to be at a funeral on Easter Monday and to see the empty tomb and hear the words of promise in the resurrection.  At the end of the service, proclaiming the words of life eternal and death being conquered and knowing the family, I was tearing up as we prayed.  Well, as I greeted folks coming into the social hall for the dinner, Logan (a parishioner with special needs and an amazing heart) walked up to me and gave me a hug.  She saw me crying during the service and said, Pastor Jen needs a hug.  (So true.)  Seeing me in the midst of grief and mourning...and reaching out to me...a holy moment of love and grace in the midst of suffering.

The moments surround us...and I invite you to see and share the moments where you see the risen Christ in our midst here and now.

Blessings to all in this Easter season.

Until the next moment of grace . . .

good idea, bad idea.

So before I even begin, I should let you know that based on the subject of this blog I have just spent a fair amount of time on YouTube looking at old Animaniacs clips....and let me just say, I don't think that was a waste of time at all.
My favorite one.
Good idea: Serving someone breakfast in bed.
Bad idea: Serving someone tennis in bed.  (womp, womp.....)

You get the general idea, now one from personal experience.

Good idea:  Losing weight slowly and steadily by adjusting your diet and exercising on a daily basis.
Bad idea:  Losing several pounds in two days due to a stomach virus.

Without getting into the gory details...I can say that I'm puke free in 2012 :)  I am still lacking in having an appetite, but I've had three meals today, which is a step in the right direction.
I'm looking forward to having an appetite again as well as enjoying a pre-Easter Easter dinner with my boyfriend and his family tomorrow afternoon.

I think the snacking will be fun this week as well.
I found these on my desk when I went in for worship this evening:

I'm not certain as to where the mini Reester bunnies came from, although, the remains of the Easter bunny were in my office this evening.  So maybe that's who left them for me.  (And by remains, I mean the outfit...from this morning's egg hunt at church.)

The chocolates from Hawaii were a thank you from a parishioner for some time I spent with her family earlier this week.  As soon as my appetite is back...it'll be enjoyable to make up the 'sick weight' that I lost. :)

Blessings to all this week....

Until next time . . .

And for your own viewing pleasure:  It's time for animaniacs!

The Vegetarian's Nightmare

So, last night's dinner was Ah. May. Zing! 

Luckily, along with the deep dish pizza pan, I still managed to hold on to the instruction booklet.  (Lucky, because the family got this pan and instructions years and years ago.....) I used their recipe for the dough.  And here's the introduction to the assembly instructions:

My awesome boyfriend came over...and asked if we could make deep dish pizza.  Sure, I said.  (He was in charge of the fillings.)  Enter the pre-cooking:
1 lb sausage
1/2 lb bacon
1 huge ham steak (diced)
mushrooms (just to soak up the tasty bacon fat!)

After the second rising of the dough, I split it in half, rolled it out and lined the pan:

Next came the pounds of fillings: (I forgot to take a picture of the two cups of mozzarella underneath all of that.)

We had to add yet one more pork product, so enter the pepperoni...and a can of sliced olives:

Then the next layer of dough:

And now for the sauce, more mozzarella, some grated Parmesan, basil and oregano.

And then bake it for 25 minutes at 500 degrees.  (Note: the rest of the house will feel cold, because the thermostat is NOT set in the triple digits.)

And you end up with this:

We were so excited to eat it, that this was the last photo from last night.  I could only manage one piece.  But here's the photo of tonight's dinner (a real mouthful) :

Still delicious...and I look forward to another slice tomorrow. 

holy (moly) moments

So, I just have to say that I had some amazing moments at a birthday party today. 

I was invited by the birthday boy...who was celebrating his 12th birthday. 
I enjoyed getting to know his family as he played video games with a cousin.  We enjoyed may snacks and homemade pizza (super delish).  We laughed, I heard stories...then they realized I was the minister.  Interesting questions from the Catholics, mostly about the call process and different names for things. 

But the birthday boy, he didn't hold back.  He asked what saints were...what elders were (in the Mormon church), he asked about what Jewish people believe...he asked what a prophet was....great questions....and in the middle of them all, he asked a question about what certain people's duties are, and then he laughed and said, 'duty' (followed by more laughing.) Grandpa said, what, I don't get it....we said, you're not a 12 year old boy.... heh, heh, duty :)

In the midst of it I told his mom and that's why I love your son....he is just a boy, whose mind is racing and growing...eager to learn and grow and be mature, but in the midst of it he's still just a kid.
And she loves that he asks questions and loves that the senior pastor and myself take time to answer each one of them. 

On the way home I realized that's why I love middle schoolers.  They are still young at heart and eager to play, but have these perplexing questions about life and faith and everything around them are eager to soak up as much as possible.  How cool is it that I'm called into the lives and faith journeys of youth....I think it's pretty amazing.

It was also great because last night, after a fun gathering, a mom (of a 10 yr. old) was talking about reasons for not having her child do confirmation (when it's her time)...the top reason being....Sunday afternoon is family time.  We didn't have time to unpack this as it was 9:30 on a Friday night...and the Pampered Chef party was winding down.  But I couldn't stop thinking about it...until I fell asleep...and I think it fueled me on my run today, as well...huh...really?  They attend church and Sunday School regularly....but this concern about losing 'family time' and that the kids can just join the church when they get older....and as I think about it more and more...I think, why wouldn't you want your child to share in that journey with others...with ones like the boy I spent the afternoon with today...to share and grow...and build relationships....and share your sense of family with other youth...
Ah...my mind will ponder, and there will be prayer and conversations with the senior pastor and the christian ed director....and we'll see what the future brings. 

But I'm thankful for the moments today...and more of those moments where God breaks into the most unexpected places. 

until next time...

cut, color, coffee & a book.

While my hair was in foil & was absorbing color I enjoyed the next chapter of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. I'm thankful to be able to attend this women's book study at church and not be responsible for leading it. I have the opportunity to connect with women at church and bed led by them, as well. Win. Win.

I had a great experience with my new hairdresser. Great conversation and relaxing setting. The coffee while I read was perfect.

And now a bit of the Youth ministry book before heading over to church for 5th quarter. 2 hours with high school youth after the basketball game. A fine was to end a good day.

I had a a stellar shopping experience today. I saw the dress on the mannequin and liked it. I put it on and swore in the dressing room. It's a perfect fit! Looking forward to Valentine's dinner next week with my sweetie. :)

Until tomorrow...

calling it a night.

So, I had the chance to read more of the youth ministry book today.

The other part to reading every day is that I get home from work and plop myself in front of the tv....or I stay up super late sucked into the food network.  Needless to say, it was great to veg out with a book this evening before I camped out for Archer and Unsupervised.

So now I'll turn off FX and enjoy the Rachael Ray mag that came in the mail today.

Until tomorrow...

reading....writing....rithmatic?

So it's February.  I'm not sure what happened to the last week of January...but here's Feb.
I weighed in yesterday...and to my dismay I had put on 3 pounds.  And to make matters worse, last Thursday I fell down the stairs :( While it's not swelling like mad, there is a large bruise by my ankle and Achilles tendon.  So, I took three solid days off from running/walking/ellipticaling.  I walked on Monday and it was great to get out.  Yesterday I attempted an out and back.  I made it out 1/2 a mile and my ankle/tendon felt funky.  So I headed back home.  Today, however, I was super achy.

So tomorrow may be a walking day or another resting day.

The challenge/task/goal for the next 28 days is to take time to read every day.
Some time with a book for pleasure and some time with a book for work.

I read a few chapters of Overbite by Meg Cabot
What can I say, it's about a demon hunter who is trying to prove that soul-less vampires still have some good in them.  It's not in a Whedon-style, but I think I'll enjoy it.

I also made it through the introduction of Practicing Passion by Kenda Creasy Dean
It's a book that's been on my bookshelf at work for over a year.  One that I've been meaning to read, but haven't made the time for it.  Well, last weekend at the YouthQuake I was inspired by Tiger McLuen after he led two sessions with the adult leaders.

I was reminded by him to "not let the job I'm called to do get in the way of what God is calling me to do."  I was able last weekend, to have my passion and joy for pointing youth to the Gospel re-ignited.  We had some amazing youth and I'm blessed to be a prat of their lives and faith journeys.
I'm hoping this read continues to inspire and give me a continually new perspective with the youth I'm blessed to serve. 

Until tomorrow . . .