many missions accomplished!

Okay...so there are a few more things crossed off my house/spring cleaning to-do list.  Thanks to many volunteers at church today.  And that, my friends, is where the risen Christ in my midst was this day.

From gutted Sunday School classrooms, to a deeply cleaned church kitchen, to sorting out board games, and figuring out what to do with all those boxes of Good News Bibles, to spreading fresh soil for new landscaping alongside of the church, to pulling out old shrubs and bushes with axes and saws, to putting up small fences around air conditioning units, to painting church doors to using a super crazy drill to dig holes for fence posts.  Our community and building received a super spring cleaning today.  Not to mention the crew that was there early to prepare breakfast which began at 7am.  I did not grace the church grounds until after 8am  :)

In the midst of touching base with a multitude of volunteers, I tackled the rest of my porch chairs.

Before:

During:

And after (with the backdrop of the newly cleaned porch!)

It was fun to paint and take breaks when some of the adults and kids came by for a chat-break during the clean-up.  Good times.

So, I know that parsonage living is not the choice for everyone...but there are moments that are grace-filled.  And so many of those moments have come to me through incredible generosity of parishioners.

This morning, there was nothing outside my side door.  (Well, except for the recycle can, the trash can and the grill.)  Then the hole diggers arrived....and there were posts and levels and many folks measuring and working to get things just right.  Well the basics were there as the work day/morning drew to a close.  My neighbors, members and on the property board took some time to work in their own yard, but the time I headed to worship this evening at 3:30, they were back in my yard.  When I came home from worship, they were still working.  I offered them food.  While I originally offered pizza, I then realized that I had planned on tacos for dinner...so I asked if that was okay and they said sure.  (They accepted my meager offering of homemade tacos, but only after they were finished.)  So around 7:30, we dined.  It was a simple meal, but we broke 'tortillas' and supped together.  I'm so thankful for folks who work hard and see a project to completion.

Now the side of my house looks like this:

 

And now, Marley and I curl up and sleep well tonight.
Me, from a long day.
Marley, from a long day of spectating and/or supervising and wishing she was outside.

Until the next time . . .

the list was too long....

While I was enjoying my double fisted breakfast (coffee in one mug, coffee cake in the other) I had one load of laundry in the washer and was making my to-do list for the day. 

Apparently I thought I was invincible, or that the hours in the day would expand to allow me to accomplish multiple tasks....I'm not sure what I was thinking.  Apparently a little too much sugar in that coffee cake, oops.  It was tasty, though.  If you are in the mood for 5 minute coffee cake in a mug, check out this site: coffee cake in a mug. I started making it after only a few sips of coffee and then realized I didn't have any sour cream in the house.  (shame on me.  actually i did have some in the house but it was already turned into french onion dip, which would have made for some awful coffee cake.)  So, I opted for the french vanilla yogurt instead....which after 2 tablespoons of sugar was super sweet!  It's a good thing I didn't try the key lime pie yogurt...or perhaps I should have.


Today I did:
Make it to the bank.
Buy paint & paint one of the porch chairs.  (it looks stellar. the other two will be done soonish)
Two loads of laundry, including bed sheets.
Cleaned off the front porch.
Planted pansies in the stone planters on the porch.
Bought herbs to plant (after the side garden is weeded)
Checked out two thrift shops - fun buys for my sister and myself.
Bought new towels at triple B (fun green ones for the downstairs bathroom & some bath and hand towels for the upstairs bath that match the fun shower curtain and were on uber-clearance so they were super cheap! win. win.)
I bought clams, a fresh baguette and some seafood spread for apps and dinner. 
The apps were scrumptious! Dinner, less so. 
An attempt at pan seared clams on the half shell (recipe from Alton Brown) was a disaster.  The clams were entirely too salty.  It was a bummer really....but luckily, the baguette with the seafood spread, sprinkled with fresh Parmesan and broiled was so good that I just made a second round for dinner.  A perfect pairing with chilled white wine. 

The joy in my day was watching the cat.  First thing this morning was Bunny Watch 2012:

The modern house cat stalks her prey through the impenetrable kitchen window. 

The same thing happened this evening as I preparing dinner. 
So cute. 

Tomorrow comes some weeding, some planting and some more painting.  (or at least some of those) And go for a run.

birthdays, ice cream and moms that care.

Okay...so the moments of seeing the risen Lord in my midst over the past two days all involves kids.

I have been in conversation with parents lately about their kids.  In the cases this week it was with parents of pre-teens or teens....and let me begin by saying this, I'm definitely not a parent.  So I can listen and offer advice, but I am in no was a permanent fixture in their home seeing all the ins and outs and all that goes along with family life.  That being said, I am so blessed to be a presence in the lives of families, to be there and listen and share and participate and encourage and love.  I saw the risen Lord in the midst of the struggles and challenges that parents and youth face.  The opportunity to learn and grow with them and to be yet another adult in the lives of the youth (because the more the merrier) is truly a blessing and an honor.  There is the reality that life isn't always smooth sailing, but there is the promise that God is with us in the midst of the challenges and struggles and joys and celebrations that is all a part of our life here together.

And today....I wish I had the opportunity to take two pictures.

So, imagine these with me if you will....

I walk out of the house this morning and see the usual crew waiting for the school bus.  The fashion statement this morning was the girl who turned 4 yesterday.  She was waiting with her PopPop and older sister and she was sporting her new pink bicycle shirt (that she got from her aunt yesterday) and the orange, pink and yellow scarf (that I gave her yesterday) and she was happy as a clam in her new outfit.  It was totally smile worthy.

Later in the day I was on my way home from a meeting in Reading.  As I enter Wernersville I come across The Cone.  (The *awesome* ice cream place.)  Well, I can see some boys standing in front of the cone playing trucker honk the best they can.  (Trucker honk is where you shake your arm up and down to make the trucks that pass by blow their horns, I'm sure you're tried it before...go ahead, admit it...and smile.)  So I get closer and realize that I know these boys (middle schoolers) from church!  So I honk & wave frantically....and one of them says..."Pastor Jen!" and they all wave frantically.  I laughed out loud.

I love this place...I love the relationships built within the context of the body of Christ that carries out into our communities and radiates love and laughter and joy to those around us.

May you see these moments around you...in the interactions with others that make you grumbly or happy....because God is in all these moments...reaching out to you and those around you as life goes on.

This was the birthday cupcake delivered to my desk yesterday :)

sleeping in and dusting off the bike.

Okay, in a nutshell, today was a full day of rest and rejuvenation. 
From the splurge of Cap'n Crunch for breakfast...to a nice bike ride with my boyfriend followed by a tasty lunch of splitting a buffalo blue burger, a crispy chicken sandwich and onion rings.... yum. 

But the moment of grace or love that sticks out for me is the purring/snoring cat next to me on the sofa:

This cat knows how to rest. 

Blessings to all....wishing you a moment or a day of rest this week.

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.