weird...

so it's completely weird to be a pastor, and there are some instances to be on the lookout for:
- being handed your certificate of ordination (it's like getting the signed diploma at graduation)
- entering a community to become one of the most recognizable people (where everyone knows your name but you don't know theirs)
- writing the cover article for the church newsletter (or in my case, parish newsletter) and signing your name with "pastor" or "reverend" before it
- fielding questions about what the differences between pastor and minister and preacher and reverend are (and being unable to really distinguish each one since in your world they all merge together)
- first time you sign a marriage license on the line designated for the official and not the witness and then realize a few days later that the couple is legally married because of your signature
- going to your denomination's rostered leader search and searching for yourself (extra points if you have more than 5 congregations listed behind your name like me)
- learning to savor any opportunity you get to not lead worship or preach (who knew that sitting in the back pew is so enjoyable?)
- feeling guilty for not having npr or christian music playing on the radio as you drive (seriously, i love my rock, pop and folk music)
- trying to think of creative ways to dress where only one piece of the ensemble is something clergy-y, from jewelry with crosses to collared clergy shirt to alb/stole (current favorite way to accessorize: layering necklaces where the cross is almost hidden...it's like Where's Waldo in my fashion)
- making sure that the Bible and communion kit are always in your purse and an appropriate change of clothes in the car (even when out of town on your day off just in case you get called in)

goodbye ugly curtains!

say it with me:
good-bye (f)ugly curtains!

and just to prove to you that they are worthy of being despised, here are pics:

valences over the windows in the living room/dining area...clash majorly with the rest of my decor 

(and even worse, when kayla took them down, the fabric literally was falling apart since they had been hanging for so long)

weird half-curtains are not permitted, especially not when they are doubled...or is it tripled? does the little flounce at the top count as a curtain? it's bad enough if there is only the top and bottom, but someone had the brilliant idea to add the middle one to make a three-tier disaster. 

ugh. doesn't matter it there is one, two or three of these on a single window. none of them are surviving...

soon to be up on windows: drapes and curtains that will coordinate with my furniture, rugs and wall decor.
pictures will follow when the redecoration has been completed (which will be by labor day weekend since i'm hosting a pampered chef open house)

calendar challenged

for those of you who know me, you may or may not realize that there are days when i don't look at the calendar.

as a pastor, this is not always a good option.
[there are times when it's nice because i can truly take a day off only when i have no set plans or am not looking ahead to what's coming]

i looked up at my desk in my church office a mere 10 minutes ago and saw that the calendar hanging there says "july" even though it's been august for 18 days...
and i have not yet gotten up to change it since i obviously haven't looked at it in almost three weeks.
i'm in no rush to change something that i never bother with anyway.

part of my challenge is that i like being able to remember events and activities without having to look at a calendar.
i like being able to tell you what all my upcoming plans are without having to consult a piece of paper or a planner or an online calendar.

i'm human.
and i mess up from time to time.

time slips past me when i'm not careful, and i hate when i miss out on something because i am calendar challenged.

i may not be able to change my love/hate relationship with calendars right this moment, but i'm still a work in progress.
and i have hope that there will be a week when i manage to remember everything i need to without forgetting anything.
but i'm not holding my breath.