Three is a Magic Number

Just got back from a great trip to San Diego.  Go, go, go.  No relaxing allowed.  If you want to see the pics a bit larger, you can click on one and scroll through them.  Notice the pics of Emilee with all her new stuffed animals--one at every place. Day 1 - Terrible flight (6 hours on the plane).  Terrible car rental experience (had to drive it 45 minutes south the next day to get a new one).  Terrible first hotel check-in (gave our room away).  By the time we got to bed, it was 2:00AM WI time. Day 2 - Animal Safari Park.  Awesome, huge place.   Lots of conservation stuff.  Ropes course, interaction with animals, beautiful trails, and great views from the high locations.  Extremely well run with employees who really care.  You could spend two days there, but we didn't have time.     Day 3 - Legoland.  It's good if you are younger than nine.  Just okay rid...

The Lion King is a fun movie for me.  It came out just weeks after Paul and I started dating.  His first gift to me was the soundtrack.  We have since seen Lion King: The Musical three times--it's amazing.  The song "He Lives in You" (only in the musical, not movie) captured me.  Here is a YouTube video of the song, mixed with scenes from the movie. I listen to the musical's soundtrack now and then, and several years ago, I realized that song would be great for a sermon.  (Note: this realization came long before I realized I was going to be a pastor for real.)  For Mother's Day, I did pulpit supply at a few small churches, and re-worked a sermon I did on Isaiah 43, using an illustration from Disney's Toy Story about the exile. A few weeks ago, I got asked to do pulpit supply for Father's Day, and I kind of thought, "Well maybe it's time to put that Lion King sermon together."  Toy ...

Emilee was a butterfly for her second grade program.  How fitting!  Her life seems to be about flitting from one activity to the next--not spending too much time on any one thing.   She wants to stay busy, and hates being bored.  She is all about beauty.  She is incredibly artistic and has an eye for aesthetics.  Paul recently won an elephant at a Valley Fair field trip he chaperoned.  He brought it home for Em.  She played with it for awhile, and then brought it to me and asked, "Do you think I could ask Daddy if we could sew it into a dog?"  I looked at it and wondered to myself, "How the heck am I going to make that into a dog?"  But I was impressed by her thoughtfulness--how she wanted to get Dad's permission since he won it for her--so I said, "sure."  She and Dad chatted: a dog would be just fine.  She brought it back to me, and started to give me instructions.  I seriously would...

Faith missed her piano recital because her Girl Scout troop went to Mary Poppins in Minneapolis, but we recorded her song.  This is just a sample.  Samuel had a great spring concert.  He alone played the bass line for kids who "improv'd" on a song.  Can't seem to get a video up, but here's a pic of him hiding behind a music stand, blowing away.  Emilee turned 8!  A pic from her party. 

I just finished my 4th seminary semester, which means I've hit the halfway mark.  I usually wait a bit to write my end-of-semester reflection, but this time I just want to get it out of the way--which is basically how I've felt about the whole semester. I had a hefty course load and all classes involved my least favorite subject.  Here's my course list.  Can you guess my least favorite subject? -Historical Theology (100 CE to 1700 CE) -Methodist History and Doctrine (1700 CE to Present) -American Religious History (1600 CE to Present) -Old Testament: Prophets and Writings (700 BCE to 100 BCE) History is so hard for me.  If I have to read about Antinomianism or Pelagianism one more time, I will seriously need a leave of absence from school. Do you remember the first time you went to an unfamiliar church, and during the Lord's Prayer you stumbled over a few words because that congregation recited it differently f...

  Over the last three years, I have been absorbed in discerning my calling, which is typical of someone who enters seminary and professional ministry—constant seeking and responding, God taking you on an uncharted journey. I have always admired Paul and thought his call in life was so clear—to teach. It is what he was born to do.         As many of you know, Paul was selected as one of the 10 finalists for 2013 Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Last weekend was the final selection process and the banquet. Paul was incredibly honored to be a finalist.   It speaks to his skills as a fabulous teacher.     With 2012 Recipient Jackie Roehl Language Arts Edina  On Sunday, Megan Hall, a teacher at a great magnet school in downtown St. Paul was named recipient. She will be an incredible ambassador for teachers across the state as she advocates for minimizing the terrible achievement gap in Minnesota.   ...

From 1997--my house in Eau Claire When I was a student at UWEC, Paul and I went to the Viennese Ball my senior year.  It's a huge fundraiser for the fine arts programs at the school; it draws over 2,000 people.  It was a lot of fun, so we always said we wanted to go again but never got around to getting tickets.  This year, UWEC opened their new student center, so it was enough motivation to get tickets so we could check out the new building.    From 2013--at the event Things that have changed over the last 17 years: 1. I wear shoes for comfort, not style.  2. We don't fret about spending a little extra money on food and drink. 3. I appreciate good music a whole lot more. 4. My hair turned darker after each child. 5. Paul leads when dance now, most of the time anyway.  It just works better this way. 6. We get tired an hour earlier.  7. We call college students "kids." 8. It takes a th...