Its raining! Its pouring! The Old man is snoring! I have that song running through my head right now. It has been rainy and gloomy all day. I hope its not like this next week when we have VBS. Its so hard to work when its like this. I know the farmers need rain but in some areas, they have already had too much rain and they cant harvest some fields because they are under water. YUCK! I just want to curl up with a nice warm blanket, a nice hot cup of tea, and a good book. Hope everyone is staying dry today!

Its been over a week since I last posted so time for a new post. Hope you all are doing well and had a great Memorial weekend. I had a great weekend visiting my family and seeing my dad’s new house. They really have put a lot of work into it. Things here are busy with VBS. I’m excited. Nothing much else new happening here. Life is not too exciting. I have a little news but nothing too exciting yet. Only time will tell! Hope you all have a great day!

This word looks at me every day when I sit at my computer. I love that this is the word people see when they walk into my office. It frames who I am as a called child of God into the ministry of Word and Service. Now you may be asking yourself, what does diakonia mean? Diakonia means service. In my call to Diaconal ministry, I am called to pick up my basin and towel; to serve God in Word and service; bridging the gap between the church and the world. This ministry is my passion. It is what I love to do. It can be frustrating being in an area where people don’t understand my call. However I’m so thankful for those that do support me in this journey. It makes life so much easier.

Diakonia is such a powerful world! It embodies who I am as a called child of God. It embodies my love to serve all God’s people…even the less fortunate, the down-trodden, etc. How do you envision diakonia? What does diakonia mean to you? What gifts do you see diaconal ministers bring to the ELCA?

Diakonia—–“to serve” 🙂

1. What would the meeting be like? (Continuing Ed? Retreat? Outside Speakers? Interest Groups? Workshops? Hot Stone Massages? Pedicures? Glorified Slumber Party?) I think it would fun to just hang out and have fun…to laugh together.

2. When in 2008 might you be able to attend? January? Shortly after Easter? Summer? Fall? Some other time? Hmmm after Easter is good, in the summer is usually ok, etc

3. Where would your dream meeting location be? (Urban Hotel? Rural Retreat Center? New England Camp? Southwestern Fantasy Hotel? Far away from civilization? Nearby Outlets or Really Great Thrift Stores?) I dont really care where we have it. I just think it would be fun to meet as many RevGals as possible.

4. Who would make a great keynote speaker? (That’s if #1 leads us in that direction.) I have no idea!

5. Did I leave out something you want to suggest? I cant think of anything.

Have a great day everyone!

I decided it was time for another post and I have a few things I’m thinking about so I guess you all are going to have to put up with my bulleted list.

* I cant believe Melinda got voted off American Idol.

* I am so ready for summer to be here. I need to take some vacation and visit some friends.

* I am excited for the Greys Season Finale and the ER season finale!

* I have a busy Sunday…last Sunday School class, SS awards, graduation recognition, etc

* I wish the phone call I’m suppose to get would happen soon so I don’t sit in front of my phone all the time.

* I am ready to see all the awesome work my dad and C did on their house. C has put a lot of work into the house.

* I am thinking I need to visit the Mothership sometime in the near future!

*I am thinking its the end of the day and time for me to head home!

1. Mac? (woo-hoo!) or PC? (boo!) Why yes, the Friday Five author reserves the right to editorialize!
I’m definetely a PC girl!

2. Pizza: Chicago style luscious hearty goodness, or New York floppy and flaccid?
Id probably say Chicago style luscious hearty goodness!

3. Brownies/fudge containing nuts:
a) Good. I like the variation in texture.
b) An abomination unto the Lord. The nuts take up valuable chocolate space.[or a response of your choosing]
A….I like nuts in my brownies/fudge.

4. Do you hang your toilet paper so that the “tail” hangs flush with the wall, or over the top of the roll like normal people do?
I definetely put my toilet paper on the roll so that the tail rolls from the bottom. It just makes more sense for it to roll that way!

5. Toothpaste: Do you squeeze the tube wantonly in the middle, or squeeze from the bottom and flatten as you go just like the tube instructs?
I usually squeeze from the middle

Bonus: Share your favorite either/or.
Taco Bell or Taco Johns

List six weird things about myself

1. I only have two first cousins and we are all girls born on the third of a month. How crazy is that?!?!

2. If I’ve used any electrical item in my office i.e. stove, dishwasher,etc, I have to double and triple-check that I’ve turned it off before I leave my apt. It is almost obsessive.

3. I am addicted to Reality tv shows. Trust me my tv watching list much like my friend Mark’s is definetely not a playlist you would think a masters student would watch. You name it…I’ve watched it…Celebrity Fit Club, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, The Amazing Race, Real Word, and many many others.

4. All of my cds are alphabatized and all my books are placed on the bookshelf by height.

5. I am horrible at directions. I always tell people to tell me left or right rather than north, south, east, or west. It makes more sense to me to go either left or right. I also have been known to get lost on a few occassiosn but I eventually find out my mistake and get to the place I’m going.

6. I like Cream Tuna on Toast.

Lets see I am going to tag SKDO, MissionBound, and Trish!

I love spring. Today I was walking back to work from my apt and came across a butterfly. Last night as I looked out my window, I saw people out walking their dogs and riding bike. These are definete signs that summer is on the way. I love this time of year. I just want to play outside! I love spring!

1) Would you rather be the host or the guest? I think I would definetely rather be the guest.

2) When you are hosting, do you clean everything up the minute the guests go home? Will you accept help with the dishes? I am a neat-freak or at least thats what most people say that I am so yeah Id probably clean up right away. And knowing me, I probably wouldnt accepted help.

3) If you had the wherewithal, and I guess I mean more than money, to throw a great theme party, what would the theme be? Definetely a Harry Potter themed party

4) What’s the worst time you ever had at a party? This is a hard one. I can’t really think of any party where I had a horrible time. Guess I’ve just been lucky in that aspect. There was the time I did buy my own bday cake but it turned out to be one of my best bdays ever!

5) And to end on a brighter note, what was the best? This is a tie. My mom and sister threw me a surprise sweet 16 party which I found out about but still pretended I didnt know. They invited all the girls in my class. It was super fun. And next was my first bday at seminary, I bought my own cake and we watched the movie Chocolat! After the movie, we all sat around eating cake, laughing, and having fun. At one point, we decided to eat the cake with our hands. I dont think I have ever laughed so hard in my life. It is one of the most memorable bdays ever! (Thanks to everyone who made it so special!)

So my mind is a whirlwind right now. I’ve been thinking about a lot of stuff lately. I’d go into more detail but don’t want to say too much. Lets just say change may be in my near future. Im so glad to have friends/family I can talk to about life,work, etc. It makes this journey so much easier. Hope you all are enjoying a nice spring day.