christian music

i really love christian music and artists.

the music because there is a deeper message than most music in the cultural milieu that is overwhelmed by "let's party/do something we shouldn't" (most pop/rock today) or "i lost my wife and my dog and my truck" (how i categorize country or blues) or "#^$*" (rap or metal where i have no idea what they are saying or they have nothing but swearwords)

the artists because once they are off-stage, they revert to normal human beings you could see yourself being friends with.

like this past friday, when luther had several lutheran artists on campus for a "lutheran songs" concert. three hours of amazing music that had meaning. and of course, great times talking with them during intermission or afterwards.

like rachel kurtz who is a lovely, friendly human who would make an awesome friend.

or lost and found, the two who are awkward and yet utterly fun and lovable with their weird sense of humor and profound insights. i really enjoy their antics (which is not limited to telling horrible jokes while finding brilliant names for their cds: this, something, something different, here) as much as their meaning-filled and theological lyrics.

the draft

fyi: drafts are much more exciting when you are not on the list to be drafted

think about it. there you are, sitting and waiting at the whim of the people who pick you...

but if you're on the outside looking in, you can either ignore everything going on (and ignorance is bliss, after all) or you can be involved via empathy/sympathy

we learned about the draft tonight in between eating pizza and cakepops (yummy) and then worshiping together

me and roughly 200 other elca seminarians from seminaries/divinity schools across the country learned yesterday/today where they were assigned in the draft (officially the draft is known as assignment)

i, like a good chunk of my classmates at luther, will be staying in region 3 (minnesota, north dakota, south dakota)

it was interesting to watch reactions as they varied from joy (including one friend who jumped on her chair she was so excited) to acceptance to disappointment.

i personally fell somewhere between acceptance and disappointment. not that i don't love region 3 (cause i do since it's my dear home that i've lived all but a few years in) but deep down i had been hoping to leave my home and experience what the rest of the country has to offer. i was ready to spread my wings and fly away from the "tri-ota" region.

at the same time, i'm excited cause so many of my friends are in my region.

i also won a yo-yo in a raffle tonight. not that it does me any good whatsoever, but i won something

warning: serious posting ahead

okay, folks, here's the deal:

tomorrow is a big day in the life of numerous future pastors. (with a few exceptions)

tomorrow is the day when i will be handed an envelope.

and in the envelope will be a number of a region (1-9) of the united states that i will be assigned to after graduation. for example, region 3 of the elca is what i think of as "tri-ota" since it is north dakota, south dakota and minnesota while region 9 is the entire southeast corner of the country.

next step after assignment: finding out which synod i will be sent to.

the next step after synod placement: finding a congregation that i feel called to and that wants to call me.

but first, tomorrow must arrive.

and tomorrow, i will be texting, facebooking, emailing and blogging about where in the country kara will be going to soon enough

snow day!!!!!!!!

i was trying to remember the last time i had a snow day. i know it was in college.

at least, i think i recall one day where classes were cancelled at augie...

for the first time since i started at luther in 2007, i have a snow day!!!!!!!!!

it was announced last night via email (3 of them sent at 9:48, 9:58 and 10:10 pm) and the luther website. and for those who missed the official notices, it was all over facebook as me and my schoolmates went crazy over the fact that we have no school today...so if anyone didn't know by 11pm, it was not for a lack of news spreading like wildfire

want/need proof that i have no classes today?

money money money

it seems as though so much of life revolves around money: buying/selling things, working (or not working), borrowing, loaning, sitting through hours of learning about the basics of clergy tax law...

i know that money is one of those necessary evils but can be a great aid. in and of itself, money is not good or bad. but when connected with human beings, well...that's an entirely different story...

the bad: greed.

i'm sure there are other things, but i keep thinking that money is the root of all evil. even when not fighting about it, we worry and obsess about whether we have it or not. whether we have enough or not. i mean, taxes are their own form of punishment (no matter how much i may like math, i hate number crunching and figuring out what is tax deductible or taxable). g-ross.

the ambivalent: survival.

survival needs money to purchase what we need since we no longer live on the barter system. (which saddens me cause i think i would prefer to live in a time where i would be given a chicken as payment for a service rendered) can't live with it, can't live without it.

the good: generosity.

generosity is a sign that there is still hope for people. that people still care for and about their neighbors. i find joy in giving (even more so when i give of my time than my checkblanks). or for when i am in need, i am grateful for the generosity of others. those are the times when i find that i am most reminded that i am blessed and am able to share what i have been blessed with.

hassles

not that i'm complaining (well, i really am...) but i was sent the wrong book.

i ordered a book online. i've been tracking its progress across the country and was excited for it to be here. i go to the mailroom to get it, but lo and behold, there is not one but two packages for me!

i gasped and thought, "but i only ordered one? where did this other come from?"

the thought "PRESENT!!!!" grazed through my mind...

then i opened it.

and it wasn't for me.

poor unfortunate susi (not her real name) did not get her order. it was sent to me.

i got mine (yes, the other package was correctly addressed to me since it was for me) but susi did not. because i got hers.

but i get the hassle of having to call barnes and noble to tell them about the mix-up, wait for them to mail me a label (so i don't have to pay shipping to mail it back), then trudge to the post office or somewhere to be relieved of my burden.

oh the trials of being a good person who is not just going to keep a book that isn't theirs...

which might have been more tempting had i not read only the first book in the series (of which this book is #4) since i refuse to read the series out of order...

american idol

never understood the phenomenon.

well, i did watch an entire season of "deutschland sucht den superstar" (germany searches for the superstar)

but that shouldn't count since it was obviously to help me better understand the german culture while living there for the year... ;)

i was just informed that american idol will be watched in my apartment for three hours tonight...and i have to wonder, "REALLY?!? THREE HOURS?"

why three hours? i want the 5 minute synopsis and highlights, not three hours...

thankfully, i have a meeting tonight so will miss most of the show my roomie loves. instead i get to help plan lenten services (which sounds way more exciting to me)

picture upload extravangaza

i finally broke down and bought a micro-sd card adapter so that i could upload photos...so enjoy!

first round: pics from this post plus a couple days later when i went to see the snow sculptures (also associated with winter carnival)
snowshoeing:

  

winter carnival (day 1 - ice with j and m)

  

 

winter carnival (day 2 - snow with k and j)

  

   

  

the bubble popped

epic fail

i hate valentine's day. really, i do. i may love the cute cards (and got some from my family) but being single means that i hate it.

on principle.

because it's a day to celebrate romantic love (single, remember) and because it's so commercial (and i hate being materialistic, no matter that i use shopping as a stress reliever...)

but i wish i found this yesterday to make my day: failblog.org has a collection of valentines fails. and some are amazing

my favorite was an ad (i want a girlfriend really bad to come see me. please call...please girls!!) with a guy wearing a shirt: "single and not loving it"

classy.

new blog

for those of you who don't know (or just have been unobservant), i'm in seminary. i take classes and have assignments. and i started a new blog for one class about ministry and media.

http://karastheology.wordpress.com/

while this one is all about nonsense (with a splash of profound thoughts), the other will be profound thoughts (with a splash of nonsense)

while a majority of the posts will be required for coursework (thoughts on reading and theology as well as seeing "glimpses of grace" in God-moments), i believe that i will continue both blogs to provide balance in my life

hope you enjoy!