October Writing Prompt #1: Fall

Hello, friends! Great news: Tanner Olsen's writing prompts are back! Today's prompt is Fall.

Fall has always been my favorite season. I love the weather and the colors and the clothes. My birthday is in the fall. During high school, cross country and Homecoming were in the fall. I always loved dressing up for Halloween. District Youth Gatherings were in the fall. I have so many delightful fall memories. Just to name a few...

Because our vicar decided to take us swimming in the middle of the night during the junior high Gathering, the Gathering group as a whole got banned from the pool. 

I dressed up as Super Goldfish during Homecoming week once. 

Speaking of dressing up, I was Laura Ingalls Wilder for Halloween once, but everyone thought I was Little Bo Peep.

I loved being/having secret buddies during cross country season. We got each other small silly gifts for every meet. My personal favorite gift was a frisbee ball. It entertained the whole team for half an hour one day.

One of my all-time best birthdays was this year, when my friends provided me with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, and then proceeded to crush me in Uno Attack.

I didn't cut my hair for years, and then chopped it off the day of the Homecoming dance one year. Between that and wearing a dress, hardly anyone recognized me!

So many of my high school friends were in band that I was a loyal fan at marching band competitions, and went to football games solely for the halftime show.

Speaking of football, fall was a busy, busy time when I was at University Lutheran. Tailgate days were crazy fun!

It's hard for me to think about Oklahoma, but I had some good fall memories there, too. The Board of Ed came up with a new tradition a few years ago that I hope they're still continuing: dress up Sundays during the month of October. Purple for LWML Sunday was an easy one; we'd do red for Reformation Day; and in between we'd do everything from Sunday best to cowboy gear.

Fall is fun. Caramel apples and colorful leaves and sweater weather... I'm glad to be on God's Earth this time of year!

Stay tuned for October 4th: Prayer.

The End of the Decade

Hello, friends.

I'm going to do the stereotypical "it's the end of a decade" post here. Because it is! And it's interesting and informative to reflect back on what the last ten years have been.

In 2010, I turned 18 years old. I graduated high school in Iowa and moved to Wisconsin to begin my first year of college.

Since then, holy cow, a lot has happened.

I graduated college in 3 years.
I've had 9 different jobs and lived in 4 states.
I made a lot of new friends and lost touch with some old ones.
I've gained a sister-in-law and seriously cute godchildren.
I became a dog-mom, and then a foster mom, and then an adoptive mom.

The end of 2019 finds me recovering from following my dreams to Oklahoma. My recovery has led me to Milwaukee, with my wallet a little tighter than before, but my heart much fuller.

Looking back at who I was in 2010, I doubt I ever would have guessed what the next ten years would hold. I never thought my first church work job would be campus ministry in Florida. I would have been aghast to think that my first call would end so painfully. I hoped I'd find my husband by now.

So many things are different than I thought they would be, but that doesn't mean they're bad. I'm ending the decade on a good note, in a good place, with good friends. It may be a note I never would have predicted ten years ago, but it's a good note nonetheless.

Along the same lines, I have no guesses as to where I'll be in 2030. I'd like to see myself in a stable job, with a husband and maybe a few more kids (biological, adoptive, foster, whatever). That's as specific as I want to get. God will fill in the blanks. After all, He certainly did in the last ten years. I have faith that whatever He's got planned for the next ten will be equally surprising and ultimately good.

Pondering VBS Week

Hello, friends.

Vacation Bible School is coming up next week, and I feel like I should be doing my normal week-before-VBS panic dance. Weirdly, though... I don't have anything to do right now.

I've printed and stuffed name tags.
I've finalized the daily schedule and printed it.
The rosters are updated with the latest information.
All of the donations have been sorted.
I have a plan for what to do on Monday to set up.
I actually have all of the volunteers I need. Hopefully. I'm pretty sure.
I'm confident that the site leaders are prepared.
Opening and Closing are ready, music is ready, registration is ready, at least two of my site leaders have built big rockets (our VBS is space-themed), all is well.

It's a strange feeling, to feel like I'm ready for VBS. Typically at this time of year, I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off, finding dozens of last-minute details to figure out. This could mean one of two things. Number one, I'm getting better at this as time goes on. Number two, I simply don't have the energy to panic anymore. I think it's actually both of those things.

I'm very tired. If I'm tired now, I can only imagine how I'll be feeling after a week of VBS insanity.

Vacation Bible School is coming up next week, and for the first time, I don't necessarily know what's going to happen this summer after that. Weirdly, though... that's not as terrifying as it would have been last year.

Safety

Hello, friends.

It's been awhile since I wrote a blog post. There have been a few times that I've sat down to write, but it's always seemed like too much effort, and with no one to make me do it, it just hasn't happened. That's kind of how I feel about life these days. If no one is holding me accountable for something, and it's not essential to my life or my daughter's life... it just doesn't happen.

I've gotten around that a little bit with the help of my friend Lindsey. I had a list of phone calls to make last week, and I gave her the list and asked her to bug me about one or two calls per day. It helped. I got the calls made. The calls resulted in a long-overdue dentist appointment this morning, a meeting with my accountant this afternoon to go over my taxes, and the fact that I paid a lot of money to have my car fixed earlier... only for it to stall out on me yet again after I picked it up.

Yes, I'm going to take it in again tomorrow. But I'm frustrated and worn down and wishing someone else could pick up the slack. I'm also extremely paranoid while driving, which is a stressor that I really could do without. It feels like there's nowhere I can go to feel safe and nothing in particular I can do about that fact.

"Safety" has taken on new meaning for me in the last couple of years. I used to think of safety only in physical terms. If I wasn't in actual physical danger, I felt safe. Now, I have come to think of safety in emotional, mental, and spiritual terms. I feel safe when I'm confident in my job security, when I'm getting the parenting support that I need, when I can express the state of my mental health without fear of repercussions, when I'm able to rest and relax at home, when I have people around me that I trust. I haven't felt safe in a very long time. And now with my car issues... even that sense of physical safety is gone.

A leader of my church told me last year that I "just need to have more faith." Ignoring the fact that that's a terrible thing to tell someone with depression, he was also way off the mark. I don't need more faith. I am constantly relying on the faith I already have. Without my confidence that God loves and cares for me, that He called me and will never abandon me, that His plan is always far superior to mine - without my faith in God's unfailing promises, I would have given up long ago. But I have that faith. I trust my God. He will get me through this.

Big News, Take 3

Hello, friends! Some of you might not be aware of the recent Big News around here, so allow me to announce to you:

Redeemer's vacancy is almost over! Our new pastor will be installed on February 10th!

Obviously, this is exciting stuff. The vacancy has been, well, let's be honest - miserable. I am very excited to have a full-time pastor on staff once again. I know him a little bit and think he'll be a good fit.

However, I have some shocking news for you: pastors, no matter how fantastic they are, can't do this church thing all on their own. They are only people, after all. People that God has chosen to work on his behalf, yes, but people nonetheless. Our new pastor is not going to come in on day one and take away all of Redeemer's issues. That's just not how this works.

So as his installation day approaches, I ask that you would pray not only for Pastor Schroeder, but for me and our congregation, that we may all work together to further the kingdom of God.

A Different Kind of Love

Hello, friends.

As my daughter keeps reminding me, we're coming up on our second anniversary. She came to live with me on April 18th, 2016. She's much more of a planner than I am. "What are we going to do to celebrate?" Um, I don't know, that's still several months away, child...

Anyway, it's been about a year and a half since I first met my foster daughter. She's a joy and a terror, like I imagine most daughters are. (Pretty sure my parents would attest to that fact.) She's grown and matured an incredible amount since we met, but she's still, well, herself. And herself is enough to drive me mad at times.

Case in point: today, I asked her to clean her room. I managed to clean almost the entire rest of the house while she managed to clean almost nothing in her room. At about seven o'clock, I gave her two options: she could take the next hour and do some more work in her room, or she could have free time until it was time to shower, with the caveat that she would finish cleaning her room tomorrow AND help me clean the garage, thus having almost no free time at all tomorrow. She chose the latter, for reasons that I still don't really understand. Except I do, because I understand her. She can't see past the immediate future. She's just not ready for that kind of thinking yet.

Recently, a parent at church has been pushing me to discipline my daughter more. He's someone I know pretty well and have a lot of respect for, but it still irritates me, because he doesn't know our situation like I do. I feel like I discipline my daughter too much, that all I do is yell and give orders. She knows that I love her, but sometimes I feel like I don't show it very well. She requires a different kind of discipline and a different kind of love than this other parents' kids do. He means well, but he's irritating just the same.

At Midweek School this past Wednesday, I had three kids behave so badly in class that their teachers sent them to my office, saying they weren't allowed to come back that day. All three kids are related to one another. It's easy to get annoyed with them - this isn't the first time I've had them in my office, and no matter what we do or say to them, they just keep acting up. They're disrespectful. They don't listen. They think it's funny when their teachers send them out.

They drive me nuts, but my experience with my own daughter tells me that there's more to this story, and it's worth my time to learn it. These kids require a different kind of discipline and a different kind of love than the other Midweek kids do - and that's okay. It's my job as the DCE to work with their parents and figure out how to help these kids succeed. Despite everything, they're just kids. I won't give up on them just because they talk back to me. And I won't judge them without knowing them.

What Is the Church (Softball Team)

Hello, friends. Tonight, during our first church softball game, the opposing team needed some extra players.  Our team had so many players that I hadn't even put myself on our line-up, so I volunteered myself. This gave me the unique opportunity to watch my team govern themselves.

The other team put me in right field. I was in the perfect position to observe my team's dugout. They were laughing and joking and cheering each other on and helping each other out and I thought to myself, this is the church. This is what I want to see. This beautiful sight reminded me of 1st Thessalonians 5:11 - "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."

Then it came time for them to go into the field. Despite the clearly-displayed lineup that I had done and redone five times to the best of my ability, people got confused and went to the wrong positions and started yelling at each other and getting frustrated. At first I was discouraged as I watched them from the other dugout, but then I realized: this is the church, too. We're not perfect. We make mistakes. We get angry. We get annoyed. We're just people, after all.

The game went on, and there were ups and downs in both dugouts. But in the end, we all came out as friends, and that's what the church truly is - a place of forgiveness.

All Heaven Breaks Loose, Part 2

Hello, friends! Nearly two years ago, I wrote a blog post titled "All Heaven Breaks Loose." In it, I talked about how life as an LCI missionary had changed completely with the beginning of the new school year. 40,000 people had arrived and things were heating up. Let me quote from the end of the post for you:

"Is it chaos? Yes. Is is crazy? Of course. Is it an opportunity for witness the likes of which I've never seen before? Absolutely, and I am so glad that God has put me here to "break heaven loose" on this campus."

Once again, I am faced with the beginning of a new school year, and things are heating up. Sunday School Rally Day was this past weekend. Midweek School begins tomorrow. Starting September 11th, we will have high school youth group once a week. Is it chaos? Oh, yes. I have so much to do, so much to organize, so much to remember... It's chaos in my head and (shockingly) on my desk. Is it crazy? That's an understatement. I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off for weeks. Is it an opportunity for witness the likes of which I've never seen before? Absolutely, and I am so glad that God has put me here to "break heaven loose" in Enid, Oklahoma.

Blessings I've Found in Enid, Oklahoma

Hello, friends! If any of you have talked to me lately, you've probably heard me sounding pessimistic. I've been doing a lot of complaining. This blog post is to help remedy that. I hereby present to you "Blessings I've Found in Enid, Oklahoma."

The only thing I can put first is my foster child. She's a handful, all right - but she's just a kid. More than that, she's my kid, and I love the way she laughs at my jokes, makes the most creative art projects, teaches Kensi new tricks, gets excited about the strangest of things... She's a joy.

Next on the list is my church. Sure, it has problems. Every church and every workplace does. But whenever I walk through those doors, I take something positive away. For example, last night, I attended a meeting. Someone had baked brownies for it, but she forgot to bring them. I jokingly suggested that she bring them to church today - so she did. Let me tell you, they were delicious.

Some of the people at church simply blow me away in their kindness and generosity - the young people in particular. I recently realized that I need a babysitter. I called up one of my high school students, and I had no idea what she would say. Not only did she agree, she was willing to drive over immediately if I needed her right that second.

Speaking of caring for my child, she has been enrolled in day camp for the past three weeks. She's technically too old for the camp, but the camp director has been fantastic. She understands my daughter's special circumstances and works with her at every turn, even when my daughter isn't necessarily interested in doing the same.

This list could go on for days, but I'll end it with this: I love my dog. When I need a smile, she's got the best one around.

The VBS Report

Hello, friends! I am grateful today for a quiet afternoon, after a long week of VBS. Don't get me wrong, it was delightful, but goodness, I'm exhausted! Let me list off some of my favorite moments for you.

• While we were setting up, two of my youth worked together to find the right way to move round tables. The tables almost fell on them several times, but they got it!
• On the first day, our fill-in pianist played some Pokemon tunes to pass the time, because why not?
• On the second day, our regular music leader taught songs to the kids for fifteen minutes, and then let them try out the organ for the last five minutes. Needless to say, hilarity ensued.
• On the third day, we learned about Easter. Our games leader intended to play hockey with an Easter egg, but somehow, this morphed into Quidditch.
• On the fourth day, I noticed a kid playing with wadded-up paper and not paying attention. I held out my hand for her to give me the paper. One of the kids next to her whispered, "Give it to her - she's the boss!"
• On the fifth and final day, we had a celebratory picnic, complete with water games. By the end we were having an all-out water war. One of the parents distracted me so that three youth could sneak up behind me and pour pitchers of water on my head. I proceeded to sic several of the kids on the parent, of course.
• The best part about the tear-down was trying to feel productive while completely soaked to the skin.

There were successes - helping a shy helper make a friend, watching the kids (even the youngest ones) learn about everything from Christmas to Pentecost, getting to know kids that I haven't interacted with much. There were failures - some of the music was above the kids' heads, the preschool helpers felt left out, we didn't have nearly as many kids as last year. But most of all, there was a whole lot of fun. I won't say I can't wait for next year, because God only knows how much I need a break. But I will say that all of the planning and stress and time was completely worth it. :)

Ups and Downs and Lessons to Learn

Hello, friends! The past couple of weeks have been full of ups and downs. Here's a list for you (starting with the downs, so we end on a high note).

Downs:
Cleaning the vomit off of the living room carpet (18 hours later when I discovered it)
Fighting with my foster daughter about showering
The dog across the street whose owners have never heard of the word "leash"
Feeling like a one-man band at church
General, extreme exhaustion this weekend

Ups:
My foster daughter doing well at the doctor's office
Practicing with the new church softball team
My homemade meatballs getting a thumbs up from my foster daughter
Discovering a new favorite show, "Leverage" (check it out)
Hearing my nephew giggle over the phone

As I wrote this list, I divided my life into two basic categories: one involving my foster daughter, and one not. It was harder to come up with things that didn't involve her than I expected. I'm learning that everything I do affects her, even if I don't think it does or should. Everything I do involves her, even if I don't think it does or should. I talk a lot about what she needs to work on, but I have so much to work on as well to be the best parent I can be.

Well, time to go. Someone needs help setting up the Wii. I'll give you a hint... it's not Kensi. This is Iowa Girl Meets World, signing off.

Today's Joy

Hello, friends! I have officially been a foster mom for three days, and what I have to say will be no surprise: I am EXHAUSTED. But happy! There's a lot I could say and a lot I'm not allowed to say. But here's what I want to say tonight.

I was a little worried about how my child would fit in at church. I know very well that kids can be cruel, especially when a child is kind of out there - so I was worried. I didn't know if she would fit in or if the other kids would let her fit in.

After Midweek this afternoon, my worries about that particular issue are GONE.

Several of the kids went up and introduced themselves without me having to suggest it. They were all playing together like they'd known each other for ages. One girl insisted that she sit next to her during opening. My child sat in on my confirmation class, and while my class was as wild as they usually are, they were unfailingly polite and kind to her.

Some of you know that I've been doing research on Christian community. This is it, guys. I have never witnessed a show of Christian community like I did today. Because I made an announcement that I was becoming a foster mother during church, I think the majority of kids knew that my child was in foster care - and instead of letting that knowledge cloud their view of her, they welcomed her into their group as openly and warmly as I've ever seen.

I'm not sure how to end this, because I'm so joyful I might cry. So I'll just end with this: say a prayer of thanksgiving tonight for my wonderful Midweek children. :)

Let's Celebrate

Hello, friends!

If any of you have talked to me at all during the month of March, you've probably caught on to the fact that it's been a stressful month. I am worn out. Work has not necessarily been bad, just... exhausting. I would love another day off so that I could sleep in.

Tomorrow is not going to be that day.

In fact, tomorrow, I will be waking up a full hour earlier than I normally do. I don't expect this to help with my worn-out state. Here's what I do expect:

-Celebration
-Rejoicing
-Saying that forbidden Lenten word over and over
-A lot of lilies
-A lot of laughter
-A sense of community that you don't see on many other days of the year
-Excitement
-Good food
-Good fun
-In general, happiness all around

All of those things sound wonderful, but here's what I expect most of all: to hear the most wonderful story ever told, the story that makes all of those things possible and meaningful.

More sleep would be great, and I'm sure I'm not the only person desiring it. But tomorrow is Easter, folks - and sleep can wait. I hope you will all be celebrating with me tomorrow!

Point Guards and DCEs

Hello, friends! I'm writing to you today while listening to the Drake-Sacred Heart women's basketball game. I've listened to or watched quite a few games this season, and there are a couple of names that come up very frequently. The first is Lizzy Wendell, the top scorer for Drake and the Missouri Valley conference overall. The second is a more interesting study - Caitlin Ingle, not top in points but in assists.

For those of you not versed in basketball terminology, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads to a basket. Most players with many assists are point guards like Ingle, as their role is primarily that of passer and ballhandler. Ingle is particularly talented at reading the court. She always knows where everyone is on the floor, teammates and opponents alike. She knows what her teammates are capable of, and she uses all of this knowledge to pass the ball at crucial moments and lead her team to victory.

I think Caitlin Ingle is a good example of what I strive to be in my work as a DCE. I'm not out to score the most points, so to speak. It's not my job to succeed myself, it's my job to lead others to success. If I can put on an event or activity by myself, that's fine and good. But if I can get to know people well enough to help them take on leadership roles that fit their skills, if I can get my church members to a point where they're putting on events and activities with minimal help from me, that's far better. I want to be known for assists, not points.

The Drake women's basketball players were my idols as a kid. It was my dream to play on that team. Now I find my inspiration from them in different ways. Thanks, Drake, for always providing me with opportunities for dreaming and growth - and goooooo, Bulldogs!

5,000 Views and Counting

Hello, friends! Woot woot - as of a minute ago, my blog has 5,006 pageviews! That is super cool. I'm pumped. I promised a special blog if I got up to 5,000, so here goes nothing.

I have carefully studied the posts that have received the most all-time views. They include: "Roasted" (in which I detailed the roasting of the University Lutheran graduates); "A Wednesday in the Life" (in which I described a Wednesday in my LCI life); "I've been installed!" "Did it hurt?" (in which I described my installation in Tallahassee); "The Puzzle was BIG NEWS" (in which the puzzle was big news); and "Fireworks, Icebreakers, and Propitiation" (in which I described my 23rd birthday). You know what they all have in common? I'm not really sure either. But here's my guess: they all had pictures, and they were all fairly informative.

Therefore, this blog will include pictures, and at the end, there will be an announcement. Prepare yourselves, friends!

I'm writing this from my DCE study. It's slightly more organized this evening than it was this morning. (Trust me on that point.)

On my door I have this sign, given to me by Pastor Jay to remind me that Florida is probably warmer than wherever I am.

On the wall by the door I have my prayer map. The orange dots represent missionaries that I know, the pink dots represent other church workers that I know, and the green dots represent friends and family.

On the next wall, I have my calendar. I wanted one that showed me all 12 months at once because that way I can see things in perspective.

Right next to my desk I have a small white board with a rainbow fish that I made on my last Sunday at Messiah in Johnston, IA.

Behind my desk I have a cork board full of random notes.

To my left, I have my dog, because, well, she's cute.

Next to Kensi is my bookshelf, which will only hold all of my books until I acquire approximately one more book.

Above my bookshelf are items representing many of my favorite things: Concordia, campus ministry, Drake women's basketball, and, of course, my nephew. (I hope posting a distant picture of a small picture of my nephew doesn't get me into trouble with his parents...)

And the obligatory selfie.

Now that you're all satiated with a plethora of pictures (that's for you, Melissa), here's the announcement: I am in the process of becoming a foster parent. I'm in my DCE study tonight because it's the easiest place for me to watch training videos and scan documents to send to my case worker.

I decided to become a foster parent for a few reasons.

Number one, I want to help people. The kids in the foster system certainly need someone to help them, or they wouldn't be there.

Number two, I'm passionate about kids. I briefly worked for a residential treatment center, and while I didn't enjoy my time there, I did fall in love with the kids. For all of their troubles, they were just kids. That center is what made me interested in foster care in the first place. (In case you're wondering, I've requested to foster kids in the 11-18 age range. That probably seems crazy to many of you, but trust me when I say that I should not be fostering younger kids... I'd have no idea what to do with them. There's a reason I prefer youth ministry to children's ministry!)

Number three, my situation right now allows for foster care. I go to work at 8:30 and get off at 3:00 - perfect timing for dropping kids off at school and picking them up. I have a spare bedroom. I don't make a lot of money, but I also don't have student loans to pay off or other people who depend on me. As Pastor Jay would say, I'm fat - I'm faithful, available, and trainable to become a foster parent.

And number four, as much as I can without having actually done it, I understand the stress, challenge, and trouble that foster care can be - and I still want to do it, because I also understand the joy, opportunity, and benefit that foster care can be.

I know this won't be easy, but I know it will be worth it. I ask for your prayers and support as I continue down this journey. I'm not officially approved yet, but I expect it to happen within the next month at the latest. Needless to say, when I am actively fostering a child, you won't hear much about it because of privacy laws, but I will make sure to let you know when a child comes into my home so that you can pray for us.

This is Iowa Girl Meets World, signing off for the evening. Thank you all for helping me get to 5,000 views. :)

Stream of Consciousness

Hello, friends! I hope you're having an excellent Thursday. It's actually my Friday, tomorrow being my day off. I've been relaxing (read: watching excessive amounts of the tv show Forever) pretty much since I left work.

Now, normally when I write blogs, I have some idea of what I want to get across to you, my readers. (Apparently, some of you are in Ukraine... Hi there!) Today, I've got nothing, but I'm bored, so here we are. Therefore you're going to get my stream of consciousness for awhile. :)

Work is interesting. Sometimes I know exactly what I'm supposed to be doing, and I do it, and I feel accomplished. Other days I sit in my DCE study and look around and think, now what? Today was one of those days to a large extent. Maybe this will clear up with time. Or maybe I'm just perpetually confused. Either one is possible.

Speaking of sitting around, I do a lot of that at home these days. I still haven't made a whole lot of friends in Enid. Anyone know of effective ways to make friends your own age in a new town?

On the upside, I do have my adorable dog. Today I gave her a couple of ice cubes. She chewed them up, but only after she spent several minutes chasing them around the patio because they kept slipping out of her mouth. I'm so easily amused...

Lindsey was amused by my dog, too. My dear friend visited last week, which was absolutely delightful. I have missed my twin so much. I can count on one hand the number of people who can make me laugh like she can. For example, she gave me a lecture on how I eat bread. In case you're wondering, I eat it like a barbarian. Or so I'm told. She's also still complaining about how I ate spaghetti on a particular night four years ago.

While Lindsey was here, we visited a museum that documents the Oklahoma strip land run. Basically, they had people register, then had them line up along the border with their horses, wagons, etc. They then fired a gun into the air and thousands of people rushed as quickly as they could into the strip to stake their claim. There were all kinds of injuries because, well, it was a horse race with no rules or referees. Also, there were four offices for these thousands of people to register their claim with, and these offices had three clerks each. People had to wait for up to a week in line. Can you imagine that happening today? Holy cow. I can hardly even picture it.

(Also, in the late 1800s, houses commonly had muslin hung from their ceilings to keep large bugs from falling on people's heads. Lindsey and I decided that we're okay with that not being a big problem today.)

(We were also mistaken for LDS missionaries, I guess because we were two girls together?)

Well, my stream of consciousness seems to be drawing to a close for the moment. I'm completely ready to settle down and watch another episode of the sadly and ironically short-lived show Forever. Goodnight all!

We All Have a Voice

Hello, friends! Wow, it's my first blog of 2016. When I started this back in 2014 I never imagined I would have this much fun blogging. That shows what I know!

Anyway, I just finished watching the clip of Ellen DeGeneres winning the Humanitarian Award at the People's Choice Awards. She's a truly inspirational person - someone who firmly believes in one ideal (be kind to one another) and embodies it in every aspect of her life. Obviously, there are many points where I disagree with Ellen, but no one can deny that she is incredibly kind. She uses her talk show, her wealth, and her sense of humor to spread kindness around the world.

Sometimes I look at the problems in our world and wonder, what can I do? How can I help the homeless people in Enid or Syrian refugees overseas or bullied kids in our schools or people in abusive relationships? What can I do? I'm just one person. I don't have the influence that someone like Ellen does, and even she hasn't been able to solve these problems.

I don't think anyone reading this has quite as global of a voice as Ellen does. (If you do, please let me know, because apparently you're famous and I didn't know it.) But the fact is, we all have a voice. We all have a chance at influencing the people around us. If we as Christians truly embody our ideals of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control - if we make them a vital part of our identities and use what we have been given to spread them to those around us - then we can change the world. While I was in Florida, my mantra was "every person matters." This applies here. We can't change the world all in one fell swoop. But if we manage to influence one person, who influences one person, who influences one person, then the world will change gradually.

I'm a Director of Christian Education. My goal is to influence the people of Redeemer Lutheran Church with those ideals, the fruits of the Spirit. I almost wrote "I want to influence everyone I work with," but then I realized that even that is too big of a scope. I am one person. I can't do that. But I can influence the teenagers in my youth group. I can influence the leaders who work with me directly. I can influence the parents in my congregation. By narrowing my vision, my goals become clearer. I'm able to recognize my limitations and emphasize my strengths.

Let me give you an example. I was bullied as a kid in middle school, so bullied kids are a particular source of passion for me. I have one in my confirmation class. She's one of those awkward preteens who attracts a lot of teasing, just like I was. So as I was planning for my junior high youth group, I decided to focus on friendship this semester. I probably won't ever address the problem directly. This is something that I can't fix directly, just like my teachers couldn't. But I can influence it. I can point out the principles of friendship, the problem of excluding others, and biblical examples of good friends. Through this message, repeated over and over again throughout the semester, I'm hoping that I can show the bullies what they're doing wrong, and the bullied what she is truly worth to me and to God.

That's my example. What's yours? How are you influencing those around you?

A Day in the Life of a Lay Minister (with a dog)

Hello, friends! I hope your week has started off well. It occurred to me as I started to type that I spent all day on Thursday brainstorming for our Midweek program. Thursdays are typically the day that I plan for the following week, but I was so busy brainstorming, I did no planning. Therefore I'm going to present to you A Day in the Life of a Lay Minister - as I plan what I'll be doing tomorrow.

6:30 Wake up, dress in sweats, walk dog.
7:00 Feed dog, eat own breakfast, take shower, dress for work.
8:15 Walk dog. (You'll sense a theme here.)
8:30 Commute across parking lot, begin work day with a devotion.
9:00 Plan confirmation lessons for Monday afternoon one-on-one session with student and Wednesday regular class period.
10:00 Submit registration materials for OK'D in Christ, the Oklahoma district high school youth gathering. Plan travel and housing for OK'D.
11:00 Send out reminder about Friendsgiving event coming up next Sunday. Plan games.
12:00 Commute across parking lot for lunch. Walk dog.
1:00 Write and practice Opening skit for Midweek.
2:00 Type up sign-up sheet for the Advent meal the youth are hosting. Send out to parents. Plan further fundraisers for Youth Gathering.
3:30 One-on-one confirmation session with student.
4:30 End work day. Commute across parking lot. Play with dog, walk dog, feed dog, eat own dinner, probably go to Hobby Lobby, watch Once Upon a Time on Hulu, wash dishes, walk dog again, go to bed.

There, now you know what it's like to be a lay minister with an energetic dog, and I know what my life is going to be like tomorrow. Ish. I feel better. Now, it's time for me to go walk my dog (again) and go to bed. Goodnight, world.

Christmas Reflections

Hello, friends! Today I want to tell you about something that has consumed my work life for the past week: our Christmas program. Being the enterprising young DCE that I am, I wrote it myself. Let me tell you, I'm having far too much fun. But as Pastor House said, if I'm not having fun, no one else will be either!

The program will be at 5:30 pm on a Sunday night. When people arrive, they'll be sorted into groups, where they will have devotional time and learn their portion of the skit. Then, at 6:30, all the groups will come together and perform their skits, which will all fit together to tell the Christmas story. After the program, we'll have a big party with music and dinner and crafts and a photo booth and all kinds of fun stuff.

The skits tell the story of an overdramatic talk show host who is very enthusiastic about his two main guests: Mary and Joseph. Throughout the skits, he gets more and more irritated, because Mary and Joseph keep bringing other people onto the stage (angels, shepherds, "wise people"). By the end of the interview, the host realizes that Mary and Joseph are not the only important people in the Christmas story, and Jesus is the most important person of all.

I'll be honest, I was inspired to write this post because of all the ridiculousness about the Starbucks cups. I wanted to write about the true meaning of Christmas, which has absolutely nothing to do with what's printed on a coffee mug. I would say "Keep calm and remember Jesus" - but that's not really a reason to be calm, is it? The news of Jesus's birth is reason to be extremely excited! So jump up and down, run around in circles, hug everyone you see, shout in the streets, and remember Jesus! Or, better yet - preach the good news. Feed someone who is hungry. Clothe someone who is cold. Hold the hand of someone who is hurting. And remember Jesus, who was born in a cold stable, raised as a simple carpenter, and certainly never had a hot cup of coffee.

Emotions

Hello, friends! Greetings from my very messy kitchen. Someday, dishes will not be the bane of my existence... but today is not that day.

Anyway, tonight I want to share with you some positive emotions I've felt since arriving in Enid.

1) Satisfaction.
I came up with the idea for a coffee mug fundraiser. The youth decorate the mugs and sell them to raise money for the National Youth Gathering. Not only are the youth having all kinds of fun decorating the mugs, but the congregation is eating them up. It's so nice to see an idea come to fruition that nicely. Hence, satisfaction.

2) Gladness.
During confirmation class on Wednesday, one of the youth asked, "Are you only here for a year, like our intern last year?" I said no, I'll probably be here for a long time. They replied, "Good. You'd better be here for a long time!" On a related note, one of my students saw me outside of church on Saturday and came up to give me a hug. Another kid gave me a drawing last week that said, "For Mary, the church loves you!" (Actually she spelled it "cherch" but it works.) Hence, gladness.

3) Nostalgia.
I'm enjoying seeing bits of myself in my students. One of them asked why we do memory work in confirmation, and I went back to my own confirmation class when I asked my teacher the same question. I'm making some home visits to students, and the way they interact with their parents and siblings draws me back to my childhood. It reminds me why I wanted to do this so badly -- to share with others what helped me when I was growing up! Hence, nostalgia.

4) Excitement.
Because holy cow, I have a call! Even after a month of getting down to business, the concept that I am a called and commissioned minister of religion is incredible to me. Hence, a LOT of excitement!!

That's all from me tonight. I hope you are all well, wherever you are!