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 :)

snow+wind+basketball=more new adventures

you wouldn't expect that in the middle of march we'd get stuck in a blizzard. well, our year of firsts continued when a quick shopping trip 60 miles away turned into a mini-vacation when the wind kicked up to a steady 50+ mph and the snow started to fall... and before we could get out of there, they closed the interstate back home. we were stuck. we tried alternate routes, but with the weather the way it was, visibility next to zero, and the condition of rural county roads being bad, we turned back to where we started and looked for a hotel to stay the night. unfortunately, the state basketball tournament was going on at the same time and every hotel room in the city was booked. the hotels directed us to the salvation army shelter for stranded motorist.
but thanks be to God, some friends called us, and we told them of our predicament. they made a few calls and arranged for us to stay with some friends of theirs in the city. gratefully, we accepted and went to their place. they were very gracious to us. they had kids around the same age as ours and so the kids had a blast. we were able to spend a comfortable night with some new friends while the wind and snow blew crazy outside.
i was relieved to find out that this kind of stuff happens often. the weather is so unpredictable at times that people get stranded. i'm so thankful that we weren't spending the night in some ditch out in the country. God was truly watching out for us.

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 :{