Giving Thanks.

Our Thanksgiving day plans took a turn yesterday when BB spent the night spiking a fever that his sister had shared with him. We decided not to infect the entire clan and opted to stay home today.

Blessedly the kiddos slept until 7am and we managed to keep everyone quiet until 8am. After three nights of literally no more than three hours of sleep for me, I was thankful. I made pancakes, eggs and bacon for breakfast and we watched parts of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. (Which has annoyingly become one big commercial for NBC and its sponsors...)
My husband had work to finish up before next week so after breakfast he headed to the office.

The kids and I headed to the park on what was, a gorgeous, sunny day. As BB ran around I thought about the day.

Truthfully, I wasn't horribly upset to miss the travel, family meal and stay over. We will see everyone tomorrow for a one day visit...it will be good to catch up and see the cousins and family we see only once a year. But I was thankful for a day of rest.

Thankful that the kids slept, yes, but also grateful I allowed myself a day off. Because it was a holiday and I figured everyone else was 'off' I felt ok skipping chores and projects. The store were closed so I couldn't "run errands" to keep busy.

Not only did I take the day off, the kids on the mend from illness slept,...for hours.

For the kid who loves her formal holidays ...tables set with china and the finest serving pieces, decorations all around the house, guests dressed up, best manners on display, abundance of food...I was so content to throw on my baseball cap and sit on a bench at the park.

It isn't a tradition I hope to carry out every year, but for this year...at this time...I was thankful for it.

What's Lefse?

Answer.

Thanksgiving Free-for-All

What are you giving thanks for this year? I'd love to read about it...so jot a note in the comments when you get a chance.

I also put up a poll about favorite Thanksgiving foods...please, VOTE and then feel free to add more comments...I'd love hear what is on your Thanksgiving table or what you'll miss because you will be away from home or your regular traditions.

Another Monday...

I woke up EG around 10pm to feed her. She quickly became a vomiting baby in my arms and I had the first 'mom moment' of holding vomit. Blech. Thankfully it was a one time occurrence. But she wanted to be held most of the night, so I woke up refreshed and ready for the day at 2am, 3:30am and 5am.

BB woke up with potty training amnesia. Adding to this charm, he has a new phrase, he yells "Hey!" whenever he wants your attention or to tell you something. It is rude, annoying and rockets me 12 years forward to when I have a 15 yr old towering over me.

Now at 10:17am I think we have restored some calm. He is singing to himself in the other room and EG is asleep in her bed. Anything I had hoped to get done today is off my list.

We had a good weekend. A trip to Chicago to see the Shedd "fishies." A nice drive, more Chipotle, good to be out together...

The cutest moment was in the shark area. My husband had EG in a front pack and was kneeling down by BB as the sharks swam by. Every once in a while BB would step right up to the window and then with each progressive shark he'd step back just a bit. He cuddled up next to his dad, who put his arm around him and absentmindedly rubbed BB's arm as he pointed to fish. At one point we looked down at and BB who was rubbing his sister's hand and whispering to her, "It's ok. It's ok...aren't the fish pretty..."

I was sad we had to skip the Michigan Ave lighting party (or whatever it is called..) but I preached on Sunday am. I preached on seeing Christ in others...let me tell you preaching that from the pulpit is completely different from living it in the lines at Target and Cub Foods. I won't be going to Target on the weekends for another month or so.

Those of you who read this blog know my fascination with grocery store demographics. Sunday, it was "Dad and Multiple kids" day at Cub foods. I saw about 8 dads with at least 3 kids each...some had up to 6. Never in all my life will I look upon grocery shopping as quality family time. More power to them. (They probably came home with stories about the crazy, bleary eyed pastor who talked to herself throughout the aisles...)

We are off to get medicine and coffee. (why don't more business' have drive up windows!)
Hope all is well with you!

Good Weekend

Slept in.
Limited amount of pee and poo.
Pancakes, eggs and bacon.
A trip to a Children's Museum and Chipotle burritos.
Drive time to talk in the car.
Goofing around on facebook with husband...
Game Night with some emerging friends.

Good things.

Now it is Monday...

Must. Get. Organized.

Yay, God.

Last week I sent a note of compliment to a woman who is basically a stranger to me. She did a nice job on something and I wanted to affirm her passion and her gifts.

She responded to my note with one that I will characterize as a "Yay, God." note. In response to my two sentence note, she took two paragraphs to glorified God and sang praises about the marvelous ways God uses her. She explained to me that she is just the vessel for God's work and then went on to share the various way God molded her that day.

I have mixed thoughts on, "Yay, God" notes and comments in day to day conversation. I want to chalk it up to a difference in style, we upper Midwest Lutherans just don't brag about anything that much, even God is expected to keep a low profile. But I wonder what I'm bumping up against isn't substance as well.

I wanted to write back and tell her that it was ok to take some credit. That God would be ok with her simply saying, "Thanks. I really enjoyed it." or "Thanks, I worked hard on it." or "Thanks, I enjoy proclaiming God's work in our lives." or simply, "Thanks."

Instead of my note being a means to connect with her and offer support and appreciation for her contribution, I feel as if I got 'out God-ed.' As if our faith life was another form of 'keeping up with the Jones'.'

Dry. Drier. Driest. Day 15

Well, I am pleased to announce a dry weekend. Light at the end of tunnel...
Yay!!! Way to Go.... ME!!!

Tis the Season

On my to do list:

Make 100 Christmas cards
Make 10 or less gifts
Purchase gifts for one side of family....Thanksgiving deadline.
Get my family on board with gift exchange...explain meaning of Christmas to joker brother.
Purchase said gifts once we have a plan.
Knit 5 hats.
Plan birthday part for Big Boy...Three Years!!!
"I want a tractor theme, no a farm theme, humm, maybe a butterfly theme, no, I want the baseball cake like last year."

Hey, Mom maybe you and Grandma should come here for the week. :)

Ah, a Movie Commercial.

Wait. What was that on my TV screen? Oh, yes...I remember, a movie commercial. The equally annoying and ubiquitous self promotion vehicle that was on TV and radio before the election. It seems like two years since I saw one.

Life is back to normal around here. For me that means potty training. Just now as I sat, smooshed on a small stool in our equally small (seemingly ever shrinking) bathroom, it hit me that there is a correlation between President-elect Obama's term and potty training.

Yes, I really am going to try to put these together.

Potty training hit some rough patches for us for two reasons. First, I hadn't fully realized that Big Boy was in charge. There is no incentive plan, no diversion tactics, no punishment, no-nothing that can get him to do what he needed to do. So, when I realized the full weight of his power, I just gave up. I regrouped. Stepped back. Cooled off.

The second mistake was thinking that if he had all the power, I had no part in the process. I committed to the process in a very hands off manner. "If you need to go...you know where the bathroom is. Keep your pants dry. Go in when you need to." I'd ask him if he needed to go when I thought he probably would and then accepted his, "I don't have to." Only to have him pee 5 minutes later in the living room, car, bedroom or a combination of all three.

So, now I have committed myself to the process. When I think he has to go, we go. We both stop what we are doing. It will be a learning curve. We both need to create some muscle memory.

How did my mind connect a presidential term to potty training? Oh, yeah, I need to get there, right?

If the election did anything, it awakened the American citizens to the process. President-elect Obama will be the President. The House and Senate will be controlled by a majority of one party. But, we, the citizens of this country must step up and remain focused creating the country we want. We must remain engaged. Each of us. All of us. You. Me. The passion, money and interest the campaign process produced, must be harnessed and redirected. Everyone's voice is needed. The crazy ones I just don't understand, and the ones that resonate with me that I cry as I hear them.

For those who don't like the policies that a President Obama administration may bring, no one is stopping you from writing, calling, bugging, protesting, writing, calling, protesting, volunteering, sending money so that your voice is apart of the process. Sitting back and being passive aggressive won't help anyone. It certainly won't help you and what you believe in. To those of us who are filled with giddy anticipation, we can not sit back and just let the elected officials do all the work. Our ideas are needed as well. We, too, must write, give money, volunteer, bug, and protest so that our unique voices are at least a small part of the mix.

And we must come together. Somehow space must be made to hear each other and move beyond what was. I suggest we all gather in small spaces and share M and M's.

We can not continue to accept a government like we've had. But on top of that, we can not accept the divisiveness or the apathy we all were lulled into accepting. Movie commercials are back, but we've got a reality calling us to action.

With that, eh, hem, out of my system, I am stepping off my soap box ala bathroom stool, and heading to the movies with some friends tonight. (Come on friends, there were worse puns I could have made.)

Check out the new website for President elect
change.gov

*SO*, What's Going on in Your Congregation?

A new segment we'll call, Wednesday Weird Church News:

First up, Stealing Jesus....
then, Seven Days of Sex...



And for my friend you likes church signs (bloopers and real ones)...

I Was There.

Grant Park Chicago, IL November 4, 2008

Yesterday, I dressed my kids in red, white and blue and we headed off to vote. We stood in line for over an hour, chatting with those around us and enjoying people watching at its best.

I cast my ballot for Sen. Barak Obama and walked out of the polling place with anticipation. As I schlepped the kids into the car, I pulled out one of my favorite phrases from West Wing. "It is really something, every four years we get to overthrow the government." It is a privilege that should be met with long lines and eager, passionate citizens. Election day should be, I think, a national holiday.

And it was for us. With a dash of American capitalism thrown in to the patriotic mix, we headed to Krispy Kreme and Starbucks for our free donuts and coffee. Then we were off to the park to run and play.

After nap time, my husband arrived home early so I could drive like a mad woman to Chicago.

After a drive there and then a drive downtown with my brother and sister in law, we entered the sea of humanity. The next few hours are a bit of a blur.

What I remember is how calm everyone was. Sure there were people running around with cell phones attached to their ears. People were cheering and the t-shirt vendors were offering their wares. But, it was controlled. Even as we merged into the ticketed line into Grant Park...we chatted with each other and jockeyed for position with respect and a controlled measure of civility. It was so unexpected.




The video was taken once we were actually in Grant Park. The place we set up camp was far, far away from the stage, but thanks to jumbo tron TV we could see CNN and the speeches that came after California was called.



You make friends when you are smooshed together with people, and last night was no exception. The faces and comments of the people around us in the crowd are still with me. The ones I enjoyed, and the ones I would have rather moved away from. We weren't always nice, nor did we always model what we were preaching as supporters of Barak Obama and the Democratic Party. We were human. Excited, hopeful, overwhelmed, joyous, arrogant, rude, prejudiced...human.

It was a good night. It was a turning point in our American story. It also served to close the book on four, if not, eight years of my own frustration. Some of this reflection is deeply personal as I use this moment to bookmark the past eight years of my own life.

As the flags flapped in the breeze above us and the marvelous words floated out over the crowds, I thought of my Grandpa who would have loved this night. A man so sweet and caring, so focused on doing well by people and giving everyone a chance. I saw his brown eyes tear up as he took my Grandma's hand in hope for what might be.

I thought of Carole, who had her own fight going on this year, but remained a passionate supporter of Sen. Clinton. She didn't live to see the first female president, but she would have been so happy with the turn our country took.

I thought of the wine my friend and I consumed in grief over previous elections. (for her wonderful perspective click the link.)

I thought of the spring we were in Duluth with our friends as the War in Iraq began. The barrage of TV coverage we tried to shield my friends' kids from while we ourselves were unable to look away.

I thought of the countless times I had listened to the news and then turned to my children...wanting to apologize for what their future may look like. Sad that this was time in which they were living.

I held in my heart all the negative comments I have read on the internet in the past two years. The anonymous comments filled with fear and hate. The vile, most ugly part of our society spewing out. I was also mindful of my friends and family who were not as excited as me by the election. Those who feel a bit on the outside now...wondering what the world will look like.

I was not as free and giddy as some of my younger crowd-mates. I held on to all of this. As the night went on I realized how heavy it was, and I decided to let some of it go. It is time to move on.

Not just because of who won the election, but because it is time.

It is too easy to chalk it up to a night where 'we' won and 'those' people lost. I was mindful that as a Christian, I believe we are at our best when we are striving to serve something bigger than ourselves. It is what I hope for government--that we are meant to find our common goals and pursuits. I believe that we can do this, at least we can give it our all. Yes. We. Can.

All Saints Day

Sermon Nov. 2, 2003 All Saints Sunday
Revelation 21: 1-6a John 11:32-44

Almighty God, whose people are knit together in one holy Church, the body of Christ our Lord….

What a hopeful opening to a prayer on, what is perhaps one of the more hopeful days in the Church year.

All Saints Sunday gives us a chance to dwell deeply in our belief that because Christ lives, so will we. Because Christ lives, so will our loved ones and through Christ we remain connected, united in one body. Today we remember not only the past and what has happened--the memories which may include, sickness, death, pain and loss….we also give thanks for the lives that have surrounded us. And, we look for our own future.

Many of those around us live in a world seems so hopeless, there is so much depair. They long for the day where there tears have been wiped away and pain and suffering will have passed away. So many live as if God has abandoned them---that they are alone to face the sin and evil of this world. Perhaps that is why today fills me with hope. It reminds me that, there is hope, and this is it:

God cares so deeply and profoundly that God in Christ Jesus, wept at the death of his friend and at the pain of humanity. God in Christ Jesus lives to make us live. You and I and with the whole Christian Church, trust that that our new life, is not only to come, but that it has come. In Christ we know not only the beginning of the new creation, but the completion of it as well—Christ the Alpha and the Omega—our beginning and our end—is light to dark world.

We have this to share---that with each splash of water and each meal of bread and wine, we are being made a part of God’s new creation, the real hope comes not just because they made us whole, but because it is our baptism and the communion meal that joins us with the saints---with them, we see and we are apart of God’s banquet feast. Yes, today feels most hopeful…..not just because we catch a glimpse of our future or even that we are united with the new creation, but we see in the Light of Christ, a glimmer of our purpose right here and now.

Robert Fulgham writes how he once asked the founder of a philosophical institute on the island of Crete an earnest question during the final session of a two-week seminar. “Dr. Paderos, what is the meaning of life? Fulghum asked. The other members of the seminar laughed, but the speaker seemed to take the question seriously.

Dr. Paderos pulled out a small piece of mirror from inside his billfold. He explained that he had been carrying the fragment since the day he found it on a road as a child during the war. It was a piece of a German motorcycle that had been wrecked. By scratching the fragment on a stone he had made the edges round and smooth.

Paderos explained how he played with the mirror when he was young. He became fascinated by the way he could reflect light into dark places that the sun could never touch. He would maneuver it so that the light would shine in old building and deserted houses. As he sat by a pond, he’d cast the light into the shadowy forest. The mirror entertained him for hours and something about it kept him company…it was always in his pocket. As he grew older Papaderos said he began to understand that what he had been doing was a kind of metaphor for the way he ought to live his life.

“I am not the light,” The philosopher declared to the seminar members. “I don’t contain the light,” he said. “Rather, I am simply a fragment of a mirror who is capable of reflecting light into certain dark places of this world where light might not otherwise shine. This is what I am about.”

Then holding that little fragment of glass at the right tilt and angle, Papaderos reflected light on Fulghum’s face and said, “This is the meeting of my life.”

It occurs to me that what God does in this world of ours is most often done through people whose tilt and angle of life is capable of reflecting God’s light. Their greatness isn’t measured by worldly fortune or, fleeting fame, or even the length of their life. Rather, their distinction is measured in the hearts of others who simply hold them dear for the difference they have made and the model they have provided. They are people who have made the experience of life a little bit brighter and a little bit better than it otherwise would have been without them. Through special ones such as these, our lives have been enhanced. Through them, and their life and death, God has given us a glimpse of the world to come.

You and I are apart of this mirror as well, we are just fragments, but our lives were given to us to shine the light of Christ into the darkness of this world. How we do it is an varied and unique as the lives we remember and celebrate today…

Today, as you light a candle and come forward to the font, I hope you catch a glimpse of the body of Christ which surrounds you--elbow to elbow--today in this congregation. As you light a candle in memory of a loved one or in celebration of a new saint, I hope you catch a glimpse of your own life reflected in the flicker of the flame or in the sparkle of baptismal water. It is what we are called to be—reflections of the Greatest Light, God’s light in Christ, shining for the whole world to know the promise, that because, Christ lives, we too, live.