A Story and a Prayer

Hello, friends! Today I have a story for you. It's about the second-best day of my life.

On December 23rd, 2014, I was in Arvada, Colorado, visiting my extended family for the holidays. My parents and I arrived in Arvada about an hour before my brother and sister-in-law did and went out to eat with my grandparents. We all went in one car, my parents and I nice and cozy in the backseat.

When we got back to my grandparents' house, we saw my brother's car. My mom was so excited that she quickly got out of the car and slammed the door... right on my forehead as I tried to exit the backseat after her. Naturally, this hurt. A lot. A lot a lot. Did I mention it hurt? We went inside, where my grandma got me some ice for my head and some Advil for the pain. I sat on a couch next to Zach and Lindsey, and my poor head was aching like no other.

You may be wondering, "Why on earth is this the second-best day of your life?" Just wait.

Zach told my parents that he and Lindsey had a Christmas present for them. My dad protested at first, saying that we weren't supposed to open presents until Christmas Eve, but finally he gave in and Zach handed him a small box. My dad opened it, my parents read what was inside, and my mom started to cry.

Keep in mind, I'm across the room, holding ice on my head and feeling very disoriented. I asked, "What does it say?" My mom said, "Come and read it!" Suddenly I realized what it had to be about, and I jumped up and ran across the room. It read, "Roses are red, violets are blue, on July 3rd your grandbaby is due."

I squealed and jumped up and down and then decided that was a terrible idea and sat back down before I fell over, but that didn't abate my excitement one bit. Lindsey was pregnant! I couldn't believe it! The rest of the night consisted of all of us freaking out (me most of all, to the surprise of none of you). When we got to our hotel that night, I texted some of my friends. I think the texts looked something like this: "Oh my gosh oh my gosh OH MY GOSH I'm an aunt!!"

Any guesses about the first best day of my life? No contest, the day my nephew was born, even if he was born two weeks early and I had to wait that long to meet him. I'll bug him about that inconvenience until my dying day, but June 19th, 2015, is still the best day ever. Ask Sarah Dittman about that one. I think she'll always remember it, too. :D

I tell you this story partly because I think it's hilarious that I probably had a minor concussion when Zach and Lindsey announced that they were having a baby. But the real reason is that the March for Life is being held today, and therefore I feel compelled to write about something pro-life. When Zach and Lindsey announced that they were expecting a baby, my first thought wasn't "I'm going to be an aunt!" My first thought was "I *am* an aunt!" My love for little Kylen Bjorn started that day, long before he was born, because he was as fully human on December 23rd as he was on June 19th. There were all kinds of developments between those two dates, but one thing didn't change - he's a person. That's a fact.

There is far more to the abortion debate than the personhood of the unborn, but I think it has to start there. If the unborn weren't people, I don't think there would be a debate. If the unborn weren't people, there would be no reason to argue about the legality of abortion. But they are. And so there is.

I can't be in D.C. today with the Marchers, but that's where my heart is. My heart is with those who march in the snow and the cold to protest abortion. My heart is with those who give up time and money and energy and comfort to bring attention to what may be the greatest issue of our day. My heart is with my nephew and all babies, born and unborn. I pray that they will be able to grow up in a world where children and women both are protected and valued as they should be.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Hello, friends! I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. My drive home yesterday was eventful, to say the least, but Kensi and I did get here in one piece. All is well! We haven't celebrated yet- tomorrow, we're going to Marion to celebrate Thanksgiving with my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. In case you missed that, I get to see my nephew tomorrow. Did I mention that I get to see my nephew tomorrow?

Anyway, I'm going to do the stereotypical Thanksgiving thing and make a list of what I'm thankful for. It's now the 27th, so obviously I need to list 27 things. Here we go!

1. My nephew! (Let's face it, you saw that coming)
2. My family
3. My friends
4. My dog
5. Messiah, my home church
6. University Lutheran in Tallahassee
7. Redeemer, my new church!
8. My call to Redeemer
9. Damayan, the garden I volunteered at in Tallahassee
10. All of the various pastors I've worked with I'm various places
11. My new house
12. Drake women's basketball (which has won its first four games!)
13. The Oklahoma City Thunder, which I'm becoming a fan of
14. My phone, because it makes things so much easier
15. The forgiveness of Christ (what could be more significant?)
16. Books, in general
17. Television, in general (especially the new show Blindspot which is becoming my favorite)
18. Into the Woods, which kept me entertained on my trip yesterday
19. The kind people who helped me on my trip yesterday
20. Katie's Pantry, my favorite restaurant in Enid
21. My baby cousin Emma
22. My DCE study
23. My missionary and church worker friends
24. Holidays!
25. My short work commute
26. My commissioning/installation day
27. The Concordia (Wisconsin, duh)

There you have it. Happy Thanksgiving!

Beginnings and Endings

Hello, friends! I have a fairly short blog post for you today. Just a few reflections on my week.

On Sunday, I had the incredible joy of becoming a godmother to my nephew at his baptism. Let me tell you, I loved little Kylen very much already, but there is a different element to it now. I am partially responsible for my god-nephew's faith. What a privilege and what a challenge! I was blessed with wonderful godparents (and four god-sisters), and I'm so excited to be a god-aunt to Kylen. I'm so excited to be there for him as he grows and to share my faith with him.

This afternoon, I had a more somber event to attend: the funeral of my friend's father. As I consider my god-nephew, I have to consider this: someday he will also have a funeral. It's my responsibility, privilege, and challenge to encourage and support him in faith so that when that day comes, he will enter into eternal joy just as my friend's father has. This relationship that I now have with Kylen is so very important when I think about it in those terms.

That's all for today. If you were wondering, yes, my god-nephew did scream his little heart out during the baptism. (He does that a lot.) We had a great time with family and friends. On a side note, my cousin Shannon's baby was born on Monday! Welcome to the world, Emma! :)

Iowa Girl Meets... Iowa

Hello, friends! I'm officially back in my home state. I've been playing with my dogs and bothering my cat nonstop ever since I arrived back in Urbandale, but the highlight of my time in Iowa so far was definitely meeting my two-week-old nephew on Friday. I did not die of excitement, but it was pretty close! In case you were wondering, Kylen is the cutest, ever. Hands down.

Last Thursday night was also a highlight: I got to see my friend Megan in St. Louis. We had some delicious deep-dish pizza and went out for drinks afterwards. Only the two of us would have a deep conversation about Lutheran worship over beers during karaoke.

I've pretty much been relaxing ever since I got here. The long drive wore me out. I went to Messiah on Sunday and greeted all of my friends, had lunch with my friend Melody on Tuesday and dinner with my friend Jessie on Wednesday, read a few books, and played a few video games. Interspersed in there has been unpacking and interview prep.

As you can see, now that my year in the great state of Florida is complete, I don't have too much to say in my blog. What do you guys think I should do with my blog? I originally started it to keep you informed of the goings-on in Tallahassee, but I don't have that reason anymore. If I continue writing, what would you suggest I write about? Please let me know what you think!

What a Week!

Hello, friends! Wow, I missed my Thursday deadline twice in a row. I feel like I'm tripping at the finish line here. But in my defense, it's been a very strange week. Let me tell you all about it.

Last Friday... my nephew was born! Since this will go on the Internet, I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to post pictures. Suffice it to say, my nephew Kylen was born two weeks early and I was incredibly surprised when I got the phone call. I've proceeded to talk about nothing other than my adorable nephew since then. Just ask Sarah; she was with me all day on Saturday.

Speaking of Saturday, Sarah and I went to DISNEY! And I'm definitely allowed to post pictures of that, so here you go. Pictures say a thousand words!

 

  

Last Sunday -- wow, it really was a crazy weekend -- University Lutheran had a sending-off for me during the worship service. They said a prayer over me, and then after church there was a delicious cake and a card signed by a lot of UL people. I felt so special and loved. (Also, if you like cake... we have a lot left. Please eat my cake.)

This week, we did some tabling (joy) and handed out all of the magnets we possessed (non-sarcastic joy). We had quite the crowd yesterday, with Julie, Anna, Liz and Cricket all joining PJ and I. Wednesday I had my last-ever staff meeting with PJ and Matt, which made me sad. I've really enjoyed our meetings. At least we came out of it with one more inside joke. (Maybe you are the one person who really wants a squirrel sweater.)

On Wednesday evening, the inevitable happened... I got roasted. In the picture, you can see all of the random items I acquired. (There might no longer be room for my mom in my car.) My personal favorite moment was Pastor Jay describing my attempt at lizard herding and giving me an inflatable lizard to remember it by. Among all the funny memories was also a serious moment: Pastor Jay gave me a memory book with notes from several of my favorite Florida people (including Cricket and Bear). He also is having a plaque made with my personal meaning statement: "Helping others find their place in God's story."

Yesterday, I had to say a sad good-bye to some more of my favorite Florida people: the Damayan gardening crew. There were many sweaty hugs exchanged and I promised that I would have a garden of my own someday, which I do fully intend to do. I've learned so much from Mark and Burgen especially about gardening, and from Maddie about pretty much everything else! Thank you so much for an incredible year, guys.

Today I had lunch with Rina and she told me all about engagement rings and wedding dresses, which are the two things on her mind right now. So exciting! Other than that, this morning I finished up church calls and now I'm blogging to avoid packing, packing, and more packing. Tonight I'll be having a laundry party at Anna's, tomorrow I'll probably pack (and pack and pack) and Sunday will be my last worship service at University Lutheran. I'm excited to see the Paul twins get baptized, but I'm not excited to leave UL. It's such a wonderful place and I will miss it so much!

When I write in this blog next, I'll no longer be in the Sunshine State. Ahhhh!

Catching Up and Looking Ahead

Hello, friends! I apologize for not writing a blog last week. I'm not sure, but I think I forgot. So now I have two weeks to catch up on! However, they were very similar weeks in a lot of ways.

For example, I had the delightful opportunity to hand out football schedules to incoming freshmen during orientation. PJ wasn't around last week, so I bribed Matt to help me out on Tuesday and Julie joined us again on Thursday. This week, PJ has returned and we've gotten back into our regular, very exciting routine.

Last week, per the usual except for the lack of PJ, Matt and I had a staff meeting. We picked through this Sunday's readings to find the gift of God, how we can give ourselves as gifts, and how we can celebrate the gifts we've been given. What we came up with had the general theme of "growth." Then we saw the newsletter article Pastor Jay had written up, and we were very excited because our theme was right on target.

Perhaps one reason I didn't think about writing a blog last week was because Pastor Jay had given Matt and I some reflection questions to write about. My personal favorite was: "What is next for University Lutheran?" This question was tricky for me, because I, personally, will not be around for what's next for University Lutheran. (In fact, one thing that's next for University Lutheran is me leaving!) But Matt and I both enjoyed playing around with the possibilities, and it was interesting to learn that we came up with pretty similar ideas.

(One thing I wrote about was inspired by worship on June 7th, when Cricket, Eva, Becca, Ava, Wyatt, and Alexa all came up at communion one after another. I said, "I imagine that UL will have to become more child-friendly when all of these kids (so many girls!) become Sunday school age.")

Last Friday night, I went contra dancing for my friend Elm's birthday, which was great fun! We also went to a barbershop quartet performance over at Tallahassee Community College on Saturday. And I have more fun plans coming up this weekend -- Sarah and I are going to Disney!

That's all the news for today. It's strange to think that in two weeks, I'll be moved out and gone. Soon this Iowa Girl will be returning to Iowa. In case you're wondering about what comes next for me, the answer is that I don't know yet, but I have a few possibilities. However, if you ask me the question "What is next for Mary?" I'll answer it like this: "My niece or nephew is due in 15 days!!" :D