1. Will this Sunday be Palms only, Passion only, or hyphenated? I think it will probably be mostly Palms. The Sunday School children process in with palms so Im looking forward to that. Since this is my first Palm Sunday here, I guess Ill see what happens!

2. Maundy Thursday Footwashing: Discuss. For me this is an extremely special text. The roster of Diaconal Ministry in the ELCA is based on Word and Service and its symbols are basin and towel. Through the call of Diaconal Ministry, we are called to serve God through servanthood etc. At all consecration services, the newly consecrated Diaconal minister is presented with a basin and towel. For me this text holds a special place for many reasons. First because it is the symbol of my call to ministry. Secondly, it reminds me of all those I am called to serve. Thirdly, it reminds me of who I am as a called child of God to this specific ministry. Want to know more about diaconal ministry check it out at….www.elca.org/diaconalministry. I believe thats the link if not just go to elca.org and put diaconal ministry in the search engine

3. Share a particularly meaningful Good Friday worship experience.
Probably when a bunch of friends at seminary and I attended all the Triduum services together. It was great to share it together since we couldnt share it with our families.

4. Easter Sunrise Services–choose one:a) “Resurrection tradition par excellence!”b) “Eh. As long as it’s sunrise with coffee, I can live with it.”c) “[Yawn] Can’t Jesus stay in the tomb just five more minutes, Mom?!?” Ive always enjoyed the Sunrise services. For me this years sunrise service will be put on by the youth. Im super excited for it and think it will be excellent. For me its definetely A!

5. Complete this sentence: It just isn’t Easter without… “Jesus Christ is Risen Today”

Bonus: Any Easter Vigil aficionados out there? Please share. In the past, they have used the Easter vigil as their Sunrise service. However they had to shorten it because the vigil is to long to fit into an hour. I attendeded a vigil at a monastery at seminary. That was kind of an interesting and neat experience!

Since Chris asked for the poem, here it is! I hope you all enjoy it!

I was doing dishes but had to stop to write some emails before I forgot to send them. So since I was already on the Internet, decided it was time to post a quick post. Sometimes I wonder if I even have any readers since sometimes I go days without getting any comments but I know there are at least a few that read and because I dont want to lose you as readers or dont want you to get bored, I post. But enough about that, not much is happening here. Its a crazy time of the year. I have a lock-in tomorrow night which Im actually excited about. It should be a blast. Im also busily preparing for the youth’s Easter breakfast and the Sunrise service which the youth are doing this year. Im psyched for that too. You know Easter is one of my fave holidays yet I find myself struggling this year…struggling with the fact that in my job this is a busy time and it is hard to focus on the meaning of Easter when I am immersed in all the business of life, work, etc. However today I did find time to actually sit down and write a poem entitled Mary Magdalene’s song. I was working on writing a skit etc for our sunrise service and I think because I was so focused, I finally felt like I could reflect on Easter and its true meaning. Im going to try and spend more time during Holy Week reflecting on all Christ did for me when he died on the cross. What an amazing gift!

1. Who was your first prom date?
I had to think about this one for awhile. I actually was a brave girl and went to a couple of my proms solo. However I do remember going to prom with a son of a friend of my parents. He was a couple years younger than me. He definetely wasnt the jock etc. However he was really gracious and took me to prom. However looking back now, I dont think I treated him that well and wish I would have.

2. Who was your first roommate?
My first roommate was Kristi. Kristi and I became roommates out of pure luck. I was suppose to have another roommate but she never showed up so I spent the first couple weeks at college without a roommate. Kristi was a transfer student and also didnt have a roommate so they put the two of us together. We actually got along pretty well. I wonder what ever happened to her…we lost touch.

3. What alcoholic beverage did you first drink?
Probably a sip of my dad’s beer but my first drink in a bar was some type of mixed drink. I think it might have been a Rum and Coke!

4. What was your first job?
Babysitting. However my first “real” job was working at the local theatre. I took tickets, ran the concessions, cleaned up after the movie, etc. I actually quite enjoyed it. I got to see lots of movies for free since I was already working there.

5. What was your first car?
This one is an easy one for me to answer. My first card was a white Dodge Colt. I loved that car. My dad and my grandpa bought it for me. I drove it for a long time. Then the year before I went to seminary I was working in a town about 3o mins from my hometown. One day on my way to work, my car decided to die. It was a lot of money to fix it so my dad gave me his car….a Ford Tempo (which I still own..however trying to save up to buy a new car) and bought himself a new car. The Colt now is sitting on our family farm. My dad keeps saying he’s going to fix it because it gets extremely awesome gas mileage but yet it is still sitting on the farm.

6. When did you go to your first funeral?
That is a hard one. I dont remember the first funeral I went to. Im guessing it was probably my great-grandpa’s funeral.

7. Who was your first grade teacher?
Mrs. Klipfel. She was a good teacher. Her son was in my class and actually their farm wasnt farm from our farm. Eventually they moved into town. I remember Mrs. Klipfel because she also was very active in our church. I enjoyed having her as a teacher.

8. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
This is an easy one. My first rides happened very close to each other. Im not sure which one happened first but believe it was my friends wedding. My first ride on an airplane was from Dubuque IA to Bismarck ND for my best friends wedding. I was a bridesmaid and came home for her wedding. I missed my first flight because I had left my id and my wallet at my friend’s house and didnt realize it until I was already at the airport and over 100 miles away so I had to make some adjustments and was able to catch another plane. Some great friends picked me up at the airport. I was so thankful they were able to do it. However lets just say my first flight was a little nervewracking. I also took a plane to the Diaconal Ministry Formation Event in Gettysburg PA so I took a plane into Boston and got taken to Gettysburg by a limo. It was cool.
9. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was it with?

10. Where was your first sleepover?
My first sleepover was probably with my best friend Mandy or with one of the neighbor kids. Mandy and her sister were very close in age to my sis and I. In fact, her sis and my sis had bdays only a couple days apart. We spent a lot of time together. In fact, I always called their grandma my “adopted” grandma.

11. Who is the first person you talk to in the morning?
Sometimes my self (however never out loud). But besides that, the first people is usually the church secretary.

12. Whose wedding were you in the first time?
My aunts. My sis and I were the gift attendants.

13. What is the first thing you do in the morning?
I usually roll over, look at the clock, turn off the alarm or hit the snooze button, get up, pick out my clothes, shower, and turn on the tv for a few mins before I head to work.

14. What was the first concert you ever went to?
Probably Mark Chestnutt. This concert happened the summer after my parents divorced. Dad got A and I tickets for our bdays. It was a fun concert. Shortly before that, I saw Jars of Clay, Audio A, etc. Jars is my fave christian band so that concert was pretty amazing to me.

15. First tattoo or piercing?
Ears

16. First celebrity crush?
I hate to admit this but probably any one of the New Kids on the Block. I know pretty sad huh!

17. First crush?
My first crush was definetley one my classmates. He was just a nice guy who treated me like a friend when many others treated me badly.

18. First TRUE love?
Im with my friend Mark on this one…I cant say I have ever had a TRUE love either!

19. When was your first detention?
Honestly I dont remember ever getting detention.

20. What is the first big trip you remember taking?
I dont remember any specific trip. However many of our trips were to NE to visit my mom’s family. Growing up my family owned a Chevy El Dedorado van that if you looked at really close looked like an ambulance just without the sirens. (Im not kidding we still own this van. However its used now as a farm vehicle). I remember driving to grandma and grandpa’s in that van. The van had a pull out couch, a sink, a little loft, a fridge, etc. The trips to NE were always interesting in the El Dedorado!

So I promised those of you that read my post a couple days ago that I would fill you in on whats happening. I wont go into too much detail because its a kind of lengthy story. Lets just say that it has not been easy for me. Ive been trying to make changes and make the youth program more family and youth friendly but it has been frustrating. Some people dont want to see the changes and plus there is probably some issues of control too. But I think you get the idea. I am working through it but doesnt make life any easier. Thanks for all the hugs that were sent my way. They helped. It helps to have such an awesome support system in the RevGals! Well my friends, Im off to bed…its been a long day. Thanks again!

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19, NRSV

As we near the end of the long journey toward Easter, a busy time for pastors and layfolk alike, I ponder the words of Isaiah and the relief and refreshment of a river in the desert.For this Friday Five, name five practices, activities, people or _____ (feel free to fill in something I may be forgetting) that for you are rivers in the desert.

1. Getting an unexpected email, phone call or letter from a friend or family member. Its always such a river in the desert to get something I havent been expecting. For example, this past week I was having a bad day and a good friend just called me up out of the blue to say hey and tell me he was thinking of me etc. It was awesome!

2. Poetry-For me, its both reading and writing it. Its funny because in high school and stuff, I wasnt really that much into writing or even reading it but have come around. In fact Ive started my own collection of poems that Ive written. Poetry has become such a gift for me and in many ways has become a form of prayer for me.

3. Spending time with my family and friends. Just being around people that care about me and love me for who God created me to be is such a gift. I know that if it werent for the wonderful friends I made at the Mothership I wouldnt have made it through seminary.

4. Scrapbooking and Taking Photos-These two kind of go hand and hand. I love taking pics. When I worked at camp, I was constantly taking pictures…mostly pics of God’s awesome creation. I love trying to capture the beauty of God’s creation in a photo. I also rather enjoy sitting down and scrapbooking. It is so much better to do it with a group of individuals who I can laugh with, share stories, etc as we scrapbook.

5. I have a couple of places that are my rivers in the desert…Super Awesome Bible Camp, the Mothership, and my family’s family farm. Each one of these places is a place where I feel so safe and secure and can just go and relax. On the farm, I also love just being able to see the animals being born in the spring etc.

I could use a hug or some tissues about now. I’m just super frustrated with my job. I dont have much time to explain but will fill you all in later. Lets just say life in ministry can totally suck sometimes. I need to get home, eat, and head back here for a council meeting but thought Id post a short post. Again Ill fill you all in when I get a chance! And thanks in advance for the hugs and tissues that are coming my way!

I found this meme at http://www.cfcl.com/vlb/Memes/wordbeads.shtml#_jump. I havent really had anything exciting to write about so thought I word try this. Its called a word bead and you are to string the words together in a sentence, paragraph, poem, etc. I will highlight the words in a different color so you know what they are.

The electrician was arduously working on the light fixtures in his client’s home. However the client’s snotty child tried to meddle with the electrician’s equipment, but the child’s mother stopped him. She gave him a spool of yarn to play with as the electrician worked with the lights megohm!

Well guess that works. Do my readers have anything they want to ask of me? I am trying to find things to write about. Ask and I will try and answer your questions.

Name five things you plan to do today.
1. Get dressed and shower
2. Enjoy some mindless tv
3. Try and get over this cold I woke up with this morning
4. Scrapbook
5. Read some more in the last Harry Potter book. I need to catch up before the new book comes out.

Bonus: If today is about “have-to” for you as well, share up to five things you’d like to be doing today.
1. Hanging out with some of my friends
2. Relaxing in a jacuzzi
3. Writing poetry…I just havent felt inspired lately. 🙁
4. Visiting my family
5. Buying a new car

Im up later than I usually am so figured why not fill out a meme while im at it. I was planning on heading to bed awhile ago but a good friend JG came online so we chatted. Hope you enjoy the meme. Let me know if you participate on your blog!

Two Names You Go By:
1. Tara
2. Tdawg, Tara Bear, T Diddy—these are just some of the nicknames I was given when I worked at Bible camp.

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. A yellow CCM tshirt
2. Pink Pajama pants

Two Things You Would Want (or have) in a Relationship:
1. Trust
2. Unconditional love

Two of Your Favorite Things to do:
1. Write poetry
2. Hang out with friends and family

Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment:
1. To go on a Perkins run with some great friends
2. A nicer car

Two things you did last night:
1. Scrapbooked
2. Watched the Apprentice

Two things you ate today:
1. A bagel with veggie cream cheese
2. Popcorn

Two people you Last Talked To:
1. My mom
2. My grandma
This is sad! Im not sure if my mom counts though because I talk to her every day. Im a little saddened by the fact that none of my friends have called me. I know you all are busy though so no worries!

Two Things You’re doing tomorrow:
1. Working on a youth lock-in
2. Going to a church council meeting

Two longest car rides you’ve ever experienced:
1. Hmmm…I havent been on very many long car rides but if I had to pick some memorable ones. Id start first with a trip my seminary friends and I took to Milwaukee. We had so much fun hanging out etc. However the ride did get a little long. I remember trying to identify types of cows, playing car games, etc. I also remember driving back into Dbq and waiting for a long time because there was traffic jam due to an accident or something. I dont quite remember!

2. The second would be the trip my friend H and I took. We decided to go visit her internship site, and some of our family members. It was a good time. H drove the trip but I remember it being long. H was a good roadtripping partner though. We had such a blast!

Your two favorite beverages (right now):
1. Dr. Pepper
2. Crystal Light Sunrise
(and Im always a sucker for things like cappacinos, mochas, iced mochas, etc)