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.

paper vs 'puter

i wrote a blog post the other day in a notebook while i was trying to write a sermon...

it was amazing how some words spewed out instead of the words i expected

and right now, i'm too lazy to type up the words i took all that time to write and not type

mcville days

so it turns out that my new little town of residence hosts a weekend of activities every summer known as mcville days.

i'm excited because most things are free (unless you will be consuming food, which you must pay for)
- two street dances
- concert
- canoe races
- bike parade (i like how parades in nd are not always vehicles but can be golf carts like at stump lake)
- bingo
- kids' activities (games, fishing derby, etc)
- bake-off
- community worship

gift baskets

I'm loving the people of McVille, ND and the surrounding towns and the 7 congregations of my new parish!

I have received lots of gifts to help welcome me into the community.
For example, today I received the McVille welcome wagon present.
That's right.
A welcome wagon.
I got some homemade cookies and various items from local businesses (more is still hiding in the tote bag).
Best gift certificate: Denim shirt. Yeah. Pictures to come...

Other gifts from my new congregations to help fill my house (not pictured: gift certificates):

secret life in the parsonage

so, this is a dilemma that i never anticipated: living in the parsonage and yet no one at church knowing who their new pastor is...

i knew i was going to be living in a small town under the microscope where once i'm known as the pastor (have yet to really introduce myself in mcville other than to about 15 people) i'll be recognized going to the post office, grocery store, gas station, etc

but when i got back tonight from leading worship in binford, people were standing around in the church parking lot and talking. i know this cause i went for a short walk around town and there they were.
i said hi but didn't really take time to stop and chat since i have no idea who they were and they might recognize my name (it was on the sign right in front of where they were standing) but to them, i'm just a new person in town who just so happens to have the keys to the parsonage...

unpacking

one of the biggest challenges of moving is taking time to unpack.
and my house is only slowly coming out of chaos.

order of progress:
- tv, wii, dvd/vhs player, cable, internet all set up and working. biggest challenge was moving the old bulky tv or maybe realizing that the outlets are two-prong when all my electronics are three or maybe it was finding the internet hookup that was on the kitchen island...
- kitchen...krissa made me unpack while she was here
- books are all on shelves...until i pick up more from home...
- games are out and ready to be played if only i had people who are around...
- bedding is on beds or in the linen closet even though i still need to move my futon to its future location which i've yet to figure out...

what has yet to be dealt with: clothes and shoes and office supplies

being all pastor-y

i'm winding up my first week as a pastor.
shocking, right?
i mean, i got to wear a stole and everything while preaching...

this past week has been interesting. it's amazing at how easy i can slide into some parts of my job and role, while other parts are not a comfortable fit.

for example
- easy to call up and visit a complete stranger who is now "my" parishioner
- not so easy to sit in the office at the church i live next to (but i already knew that i hate sitting at desks since the desk in my house is in the "office" but my computer and printer are set up in the kitchen/dining room area with a view of the tv).
- easy to write a sermon
- not so easy to figure out the differences between Presbyterian and Lutheran services (future reference: Apostles' Creed and Lord's Prayer are most noticeable)
- easy to meet and greet people
- not easy to wear a clerical (seriously, i had one on this morning and decided to wear the alb and stole despite it being warm)
- easy to preside over communion
- not easy to stay awake right now since it's naptime...silly exhaustion that always happens after sunday mornings...

truck time

i drove a moving truck from st paul to mcville.

it might be the biggest vehicle i've ever driven, but not by much
(my school vehicle in 8th grade/early high school was a conversion van complete with curtains and tables).

but it is the first time i was proud of being able to back it into a driveway and then later parallel park.
without hitting any of the pickup trucks lining the road.
cause everyone in north dakota seems to have a truck.
and i secretly hope that i impressed the men by being able to parallel park a moving truck.
i'm pretty sure i impressed my dad.

sadly enough i have to return the big truck and will be back to driving my little subaru around.
but i will be sad to give up the big truck.
cause driving big vehicles is fun.

ordination pics

this one is my fave:

although this is a close second:

crazy pic with two sisters (i never noticed, but we are the odd ones in the family as we are #1, #3 and #5)

or the one standing with pastor nick and my angelic little niece (who is seldom looking so angelic and tends to look more like her mom does in the other pic)

opinions?

graduation...

i'm pretty sure my sisters were thinking of yelling some of these at my graduation...

and now for some pictures!

  

walking out of central lutheran in minneapolis

 

me and my roomie katie 

 

me and harvey

me and my parents kendall and diane 

 

sisters - kayla, krissa, kendra, me, kiana

me with jan and gary coleman 

it is signed... 

the fancy hood i will never wear again 

me and erin 

me and jacob 

me and lindsay 

me and josh

believe it or not, there were other pics taken but right now i either don't have them or they didn't turn out...