vacation to now

summer came and went really quickly.  i'd like to say i had a vacation, but it was more like a working vacation as i did a lot of traveling over a couple of months.  we took a few days to drive back to seattle in July. i flew back to SD and drove down iowa to go to synod school.  came back home for a couple of weeks, then flew back out to seattle.  once in seattle, i was able to spend some down time visiting family and friends.  toward the end of my time there i flew out again, this time to louisville, ky to attend the mindpoint meeting of the for such a time as this program through the pc(usa).  i flew back into seattle and then took a few days to drive back home with the family... many miles both on the ground and in the air logged this summer.

and even though it was vacation, it is difficult, being a pastor, to not think about the next sermon, what directions to take in ministry, congregational care issues, etc. these things are always on a slow simmer in the back of my mind... and since the trip was punctuated with ministry related  meetings and trips, it only served to stoke the fires a little bit more, keeping those thoughts brewing. 

it was nice to spend time with family and reconnect with friends back in seattle.  it was refreshing to worship back at presby and not have to worry about setting the order of worship and preparing the sermon.  it was a good trip, but i have to say that it's also nice to be back in town and back to a more normal routine.

fall is in full swing again.  there's a chill in the air - a reminder that winter is just around the corner.  the news is that the farmer's almanac predicts 200+ inches of snow for the area - we'll have wait and see about that. farmers are starting to harvest again. fall ministry is up and running with a lot of excitement and momentum.

life has been busy since being back... today is probably one of the first days that i've had some down time to get things taken care of around the house and to actually have time to compose this...

spring sprung

after a long week of ministry it was about time for some time off. it was a perfect day for some rest and relaxation - weather in the 60's, the sun is out... we've been cooped up so long in the house, it was nice to get outside and enjoy the spring that has finally come.
the kids drew on the driveway with the sidewalk chalk we got. they also blew bubbles and investigated a garter snake. i planted an herb garden and some sunflowers and pumpkins, giant ones... we'll see how they grow.
now were back inside and opened up the windows to let the wind breath fresh air into the house... now i think it's time for a nap :)

five months and counting

i recently realized that this has been the longest stretch i have gone without stepping a foot in seattle - five and a half months. the last stretch was probably about 3 months when i was at fuller in pasadena - a combination of spring quarter and a couple of summer intensives before going home to seattle for vacation.

it's hard to believe that it's been that long. time has definitely gone by quickly (isn't there something about time flying when you're having fun?). in that time there's been many firsts both in life and as a pastor. we've met many great people. we've grown together as a family. i'm growing into my role as a pastor. it's been a season of adjustment and growth.

however, as the snow gently melts (yes it is slightly melting... leaving ice behind) and we look forward to spring and new life, i feel that it's high time to start doing something different, new. it feels like i've been hiding behind the mantle of the 'new guy' or the 'new pastor' and it's high time to get past that and move forward in life and ministry. i'm not sure what shape that will take, but i've been excited from the start at the potential that the two congregations i serve have for ministry to the community.

christmas eve

It's Christmas eve and I'm missing Christmas in Seattle. In about an hour there will be candlelight service at presby and I miss old friends. I miss the post-candlelight dinner with family and the peace of driving in the quiet streets to family houses.
However in missing Christmas in seattle I have to remember not to overlook the new friendships and traditions started here. We had a wonderful time with our candlelight celebrations and plenty of new friends to celebrate with. And Christmas is beautiful with fresh snow, crisp air and bright lights. I do miss family. It's our first Christmas away from everyone. But I am happy to be a part of the lives of the people here and to celebrate with them as well. With the wonders of technology,
the distance doesn't seem as far. Needless to say I think we'll be spending a lot of time on Skype tomorrow. Better fire up that webcam. Merry Christmas!

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digging out

we had about 5-6 inches of snow last night. This was the second snow storm with significant accumulations this season. So I spent some time this afternoon clearing the walkways in front of the house and clearing the path to the mailbox.
internships are suppose to prepare you for the work you will be doing once you start your vocation for real. Who knew that shoveling snow during my internship at presby was in preparation for me to be a pastor in here... it was rather prophetic preparation to say the least!

whether weather

Sorry for not being so diligent in updating my blog. It's almost a given. if you have a blog you don't update it... i've been busy with Thanksgiving and now were in full swing with Advent.
Anyway, for the past week or so i've been rather obsessed with the weather. The temperature has dropped and it has barely broken over freezing once or twice over the past couple of weeks. i've been going to NOAA a lot to check the forecasts and to watch the doppler radar to see if there's snow coming. Last week we were suppose to get some snow, but the storm pretty much missed us. However, today we got our first significant snow of the season. It's been snowing all day. there must be about 3 inches on the ground now. Unfortunately, i think it's too cold for the kids to go out and play. Plus, it's powder snow, so it's not really good snowball snow :{

ladybugs

Sorry I haven't updated on a long while. Life has been busy getting settled in ahome and church - not to mention doing some traveling.

Our home is being invaded by ladybugs! I guess it could be worse like cockroaches, but it is funny to see these ladybugs pop up here and there around the house. I am always reminded by Dennis Leary that not all ladybugs are ladies.

busy

we've been busy this week setting up home. we've been unpacking, organizing and finding new spots for all of our stuff. i disassembled a lot of our furniture for the move here... now i have to put it all back together. so far none of the parts are missing, which is amazing to me.

we've also done a bit of traveling in the area. we went up to fargo to return the truck. we did some shopping. the sam's club up there has kikkoman shoyu, but we didn't find any japanese rice. we bought some long grain rice to see how that is and maybe use to stretch out our 50lbs of japanese rice we brought over...

yesterday we went to watertown. i got the oil changed on the mini-van (btw, i don't trust toyota of kirkland, where i got the mini-van), and it got the once over to make sure it was still doing good after the trip. afterward and after some additional shopping we had dinner at culvers. their food was pretty good. their frozen custard and lemon ice were excellent. the frozen custard was pretty rich... i don't think it was good for my lactose intolerance, though.

today i go to fargo again to drop my mother-in-law off at the airport. i'll have to see what else there is to do in fargo before i head home.

home new home

we drove from our hotel as normal... about 20 miles down the road we exited for gas. as we slowed down, we asked ourselves, 'what is that siren noise?' Oh yeah, i forgot to turn the alarm off the car we were towing... so for 20 miles we had a car alarm going off behind us and we didn't know it!

we saw evidence of asians in this part of the country. there were a couple at a gas station in montana and at lunch in fargo there was an asian...

we made it to south dakota last night. we had to drive through a pretty bad thunderstorm to get here, but we made it! we got in about 7 our time and many people of the church came to help unload or super-packed truck. we are grateful for their help. now we are unpacking and finding homes for our stuff.

we miss everyone in seattle a lot, but look forward to getting things started here. praise God for getting us here safely. the journey continues...