Breakthrough!!!

Ok Wow I just had a really really big break through moment. I just read a friend/colleague's blog and I also listened to the first ever young people's address and when I got up to do some of the chores that I need to do I just had a breakthrough. I know why conference encourages me more than it drains me. It shows me how passionate we are about our denomination. Rather I agree with where the passions are placed is not it important but there are a lot of us there who are desperately passionate about our church.

And I can stay a part of this church and become an ordained member of its clergy because I to am passionate about this church. I am passionate about the church but I am NOT the church. I am me I represent my spirituality and my faith, I represent Christianity, i represent the United Methodist church, but the I am not the United Methodist church. I am simply a valuable piece of the body. I can still represent my visions and dreams wholly and with integrity even when i am in direct disgorgement with the church. In the same way that i feel that I can pastor/lead a church of varying views and opinions.

I envision an church that will never be unified in the way that we would like to be, but unified in the idea that we are all God's children. We all need to walk with Christ. We need to love wholly and fully.

First heart warming moment

So I have had my first hear warming moment at conference and I'm not even there yet! I am watching the live stream from TX and they just had a little girl on who fund raises with her church for the Nothing but nets campaign and yes it is those moments that give me hope for our denomination!!!!

General Conference

This week started the General Conference of the methodist Church. It is an exciting and sad time. I am excited that I will get to spend the last four days at the conference. I am sure that I will do plenty of blogging as news comes out of the conference as well. I ask that you keep us all in your prayers trust me we need them!

PS- They are streaming the conference live!

Friday Five

Friday Five: For Just 24 Hours...

Yesterday I had the 24 hour flu. I had been told by the people who had it first that it really was a twenty-four hour bug. And so while I dealt with all the blech of the flu, I kept reminding myself that morning would come and I would feel a lot better.

This is certainly a strange way to start out a Friday Five but it made me think about what I might like to do if I knew it would only last for 24 hours. There are no reality boundaries to these imaginings. So here are the five things for you to consider...

1. If you could dramatically change your physical appearance for 24 hours, what would you do? Dye my Hair Blonde.. if I did anything else I'd want it to stay more than 24 hours


2. If you could live in another place for 24 hours where would you go? SPAIN hands down no questions asked
   


3. You get to do somebody else's job for a day... Pat Summit ( coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols)
   


4. Spend the day with another person from anywhere in time and space... My Uncle Clarence
   


5. A magical power is yours. Which one would you pick? so if i wasn't in school it would be Mind Reading but since I am in school it is would be to be like Samantha in Bewtiched I could twitch my nose and get all of my papers done!
   

Big Family

For the majority of my life I have loved having 7 aunts. They have spoiled me rotten and have treated me somewhere in between sister and niece my entire life. In fact most of my cousins grew up very confused as to rather I was aunt or cousin. I love and respect them all.

However, right now with the care of my grandfather it has become very difficult. We all have opinions of what should happen and how it should happen. Unfortunately we are not communicating any of that amongst the group. There are all of these alliances. I don't really think that are alliances as much as it is a pain to have to call 6 people to let them know what is going on. Pius we are dealing with very emotional information. I get it.

What I don't get is how we are letting this tear our family apart. I truly believed we would be one of those family who would talk about things and work together to care for my grandparents AND care for one another. I seriously don't know what saddens me more the declining health of my grandfather or the declining state of my family.

What is worse is I don't know what to do. Part of me says voice your opinions. Tell them from your perspective as both a granddaughter and pastor that tearing each other apart isn't helping the situation. Part me wants to say just be a granddaughter live in oblivion, drive grandpa to a doctor's appointment, take my grandparents on errands, etc. But other than that just stay out of it. I just want what is best for the family but I don't know what that is....

Israel and updates

I am so excited in four months I will be going to Israel. It will be my first time and it seems as though I am traveling with a great group of people. I am really excited. It will be so awesome to see the holy sights with thousands of others and to be in the land that Jesus walked. I am just in awe of the fact that it is really going to happen.

In other news everything else is going well. School is going pretty well. I am not really enjoying my classes, but I am at least getting the work done. My class on loss and grief is actually in my favorite class it is the most informative class. The second half of my supervised ministry class is ok too. The work for that class is ridiculous, but when we get together for class we have great discussions and the precept leader is great she knows how to get us talking and is very supportive. My other two classes are requirements and I am just plugging through them. Music and world religion was very interesting last week as we learned about Jewish music, but it is the first time that I was really engaged in class.

Church is going well. I feel as though i am really starting to build relationships. they seem excited to have me and I getting more excited about being there. I can do that partly though because I know i won't be there forever.

Personally there is lots swirling around me which hopefully I'll be able to blog about soon but over all I'm feel pretty good. I'm totally enjoying the nice weather. I think 25 is going to be a great year!

fun stuff

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
Stream or a Creek but never a crick
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
shopping cart
3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
lunch box
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
frying pan or a griddle
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
couch
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
gutters
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
porch

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
Soda

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
pancakes

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
Sub

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach.
bathing suit

12. Shoes worn for sports.
sneakers

13. Putting a room in order.
picking up

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
fire fly

15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
little insect that curls up in a ball

16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
see-saw

17. How do you eat your pizza?
folded
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
garage sale or yard sale

19. What's the evening meal?
Dinner ... supper is what you have Sunday night when you had a bid dinner at lunch time

20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
Basement
21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
Water fountain