breakfast!

So yesterday was International Bacon Day!  Yay for bacon!

Last night my fiancee and I made bacon brownies and bacon oatmeal breakfast cookies with maple glaze.  We ate one of each last night....and truth be told.  I'm having one of these for breakfast:

They have oatmeal.....and bacon!  That makes breakfast, right?
Maybe I should have a glass of milk, too.

A good morning to everyone!

+paz

the right start to the day

I guess I would describe myself as a runner. 

I quite enjoy running and when I don't run, things just don't feel right.  I know that in the midst of training for two 1/2 marathons this fall, I do have 'rest' days built into the training...but those days have a weird feel to them.  (Don't worry, I do honor them....my legs remind me to!)

But I read this great article at Runner's World.com.  And what I took away from it...among other things was not to hit the snooze button.  So I better be ready when the alarm goes off in the morning.  But the run will feel so good when it's done, that it's totally worth being ready for bed now.

So I'm ready for bed....a good night's sleep and an early rise for a run before it gets too hot tomorrow!

+paz

smile and wave, boys (& girls) smile and wave

 

First off....a picture from yesterday's ride:

 

 

That was at the end....and hopefully not too close up that you can see the sweat!  A good time was had by all and we all made it back in one piece!  (huzzah!)

I must share with you my highlight of the day for today.  It happened this morning on my run.  I was in my new shoes (which made me happy) and my pace was rockin' (which made me happy) but when I made it down the big hill and started to see the school traffic, I was SUPER happy to get a smile from one youth....and a wave and a shout-out from another youth!  That totally made my day.  I can't express how happy those moments make me....and how in those little moments I feel so happy to be here in at Trinity.  I love being a part of this community! 

I hope that all folks out there are able to find those little moments of joy each and every day.  I know that each of us face challenges in life....even in the good times, there are moments when we struggle or grieve or worry or stress out.....and that's okay.  But be reminded of this, that God is present in those moments with you....that you are not alone...and that a great cloud of witnesses surrounds you and walks with you each day.  So look for those little moments of joy everyday.....and put them in a place (in your heart of mind) that you can recall them when you need them....and find someone to share them with, too....and take time each day to laugh and love and be a part of this great community. 

I pray that the first day back for students, faculty, support staff and all others in our community in vocations that provide safe spaces for our youth to grow went as smoothly as possible.  Blessings to you all in the upcoming year: in the classroom, on the field, on the stage, on the court, in your homes, in the hallways and in this year of life! 

+paz

The Happiness Project

I finished The Happiness Project yesterday.  It was a good read.

Among many of the 'take home' ideas from the book was that the author, Gretchen Rubin, wanted to blog regularly.  She stuck with it and blogged 6 times a week.  I hopes of more regular blogging, I'm also thinking about how she wanted to journal everyday, but wanted to keep if from becoming a daunting task.  I think sometimes blogging becomes something I *have* to do....and then I don't want to do it, or think, woah, I don't have anything good to blog about anyway.  So when Gretchen started journaling, she did it with one sentence a day...sometimes she cheated and wrote a few, but even just thinking about (and blogging) my highs and lows from each day is a way to get something out there.  

So, that's really it for today....except that my high was biking to and from the Jigger Shop with some amazing youth.  

My low is that I had too many lattes yesterday and didn't sleep well at all last night.  

We'll see what tomorrow brings.  

Until then,

+paz

Summer: a recap.

The summer of 2012 was stellar, busy, life changing, busy, awesome, full of fun and adventures....and did I mention busy?  

It started off with a great week of music camp.....and the opportunity for youth to tell the story of Job.
Then I headed to the Beach for the Senior High Beach Retreat.
There was a week with time in the office...and a wedding at the end of that week.
Oh, then there was a week of vacation and a trip to New England with my boyfriend to see my folks and my sister and brother-in-law.
Back for another week in the office to get ready for the NYG in NOLA!!!!
It was an amazing week+ in NOLA with over 35,000 Lutheran youth and adults, being warmly welcomed by the people of New Orleans, serving the folks in the lower 9th ward and being blessed by the presence of God in our midst every day!
We came back (and missed the first day of VBS) but jumped right in the second day...and splashed into God's word!
At the end of that week, the church celebrated the Weiser wedding...had a few days to breathe and then it was off to Family Beach Camp down in Wildwood!
The next week (we're at August 6th, by the way) Trinity hosted the West Berks Mission District Day Camp.
After that, I spent the week at Nawakwa, making new friends and seeing 3 youth from our church have a GREAT first time at camp!
So...at the end of that...I was totally ready to sit, breathe and take some time off....I was beat!
It was a stay-cation I had planned...and while I'm normally a to-do list kind of person, I thought a stay-cation agenda was better, that way I didn't deem it necessary to accomplish everything on the list.

This is what I had on the agenda:


Lots of time with BillyTackle spare room (sort through old summer clothes and other piles in this extra room)Trip to Goodwill (to drop stuff off and to shop)Brew (beer) and smoke (meats or fish)Trip to the craft store so I can complete at least one of the many craft projects pinned on my pinterest page. Run, Run, Bike and Run some more!Read a few books *on the porch swingBlog!Sort through wall decor & hang it up (after being in the house over a year and a half)Print some pictures and frame them for friends.Passport.  (you know, just in case)
Day one of my stay-cation was off to a great start: 
Needless to say, the more mundane things on the list did not get accomplished this week.  


A 30 mile bike ride......then Billy and I were going to hang out.  
He arrived....we chatted for a bit....and he proposed.  :)

I did spend lots of time with Billy.
I did run, run, bike and run.  
I did shop at goodwill....and pulled all the Large sized and double digit items out of my closet:

These will go to goodwill this week.

I also picked up some new running shoes today....that I'm eager to break in on Monday:

I did finish The Happiness Project....albeit not on the porch swing today, as my tasty treat from Panera had attracted some wasps.....but it was a good read.  I'll give some feedback on that tomorrow.

I tell ya...starting a pinterest wedding page wasn't on my agenda....but brewing the Engagement IPA was (even if I didn't know that would be it's name).

The other stuff on the list will happen eventually....I actually have all the parts needed for those scrabble tile coasters I pinned months ago....we'll see when they get done.

All in all...the summer, with it's highs and lows, has revealed God to me in unexpected ways...because that's how God is always at work in our world.  In the midst of it all...

The stay-cation was epic....obviously....(as was the summer) and the warm wishes from friends and family has been a true blessing.  Here's to whatever the future brings....as we wait and see where God at work through each other next...

+paz

What makes you beautiful...?

So, I'm not really familiar with much of the top 40 music on the radio at the moment...and well, that may give way my age a bit...but after the Senior High Beach Retreat last week, I had 6 hours in the car to get my fair share. 

My new favorite song is What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction. It's pretty dancy...and it's absolutely perfect to blast in the truck when you're headed home from the beach and it's over 100 degrees and you opt for windows down instead of air conditioning.  (Maybe the heat got to us, or perhaps it was the pure joy in singing

Lyrics are from www.metrolyrics.com

You're insecure, Don't know what for, You're turning heads when you walk through the door,
Don't need make-up, To cover up, Being the way that you are is enough,
Everyone else in the room can see it, Everyone else but you,

Baby you light up my world like nobody else, The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed, But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell, You don't know, Oh oh, You don't know you're beautiful, If only you saw what I can see, You'll understand why I want you so desperately, Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe, You don't know, Oh oh, You don't know you're beautiful, Oh oh, That's what makes you beautiful

So c-come on,You got it wrong, To prove I'm right, I put it in a song, I don't know why, You're being shy, And turn away when I look into your eye eye eyes,
Everyone else in the room can see it, Everyone else but you,

Baby you light up my world like nobody else, The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed, But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,You don't know, Oh oh, You don't know you're beautiful,If only you saw what I can see, You'll understand why I want you so desperately, Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe,You don't know, Oh oh, You don't know you're beautiful, Oh oh, That's what makes you beautiful

It isn't all here...I left out the Na, Na, Na lines and another repeat or two of the chorus, but you get the idea.  What I love is that it points out he beauty that is in each and every one of us, that we don't necessarily see...it's the beauty that is in our hearts, our minds, or words and our actions....more so than our outward appearance. 

I like to think of it as the beauty that God sees in us every waking moment.  That who God created us and calls us to be are beautiful in God's eyes.  Sometimes we miss that beauty not only in others, but also in ourselves. 

This past year I lost 20 pounds.  I changed my eating habits to reduce the unhealthy carbs and increase my veggie and whole grain intake and exercise 5-6 times a week.  I'm nearly 40 and feel like I'm in the best shape of my life.  I feel great and look great.  But while my outer appearance makes me happy, it's not totally who I am.  I think that the beauty others see in me stems from my happiness and joy I feel and exude from being so happy in my call here at Trinity.   

After several days with high schoolers just taking the time and space to be themselves, I don't wish to repeat those years, but I do know that I *LOVE* waking with them, praying with them, laughing and crying with them as their lives change and as they grow into the amazing young adults that God has created and called them to be.  (If any of you from the beach trip are reading this know that you are beautiful, and enjoy being the awesome indivdual that God created you to be!)

I hope that each of them has had and continues to have the opportunity to see how truly beautiful each one of them is. 

Oh....and take time to roll the windows down and sing a favorite song the next time you go for a ride....it's bound to bring a smile to your face.  :)

+paz

the mystery continues . . .

Here is the starting manuscript for the sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday...,.At each of the 3 services it flowed a little differently.

June 3, 2012

Holy Trinity Sunday

Isaiah 6:1-8

Psalm 29

Romans 8:12-17

John 3:1-17

Please pray with me,

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

It’s Holy Trinity Sunday, a day when we think about and are challenged by the idea of Trinity….of God…three in one…Father, Son and Holy Spirit….and what role that plays in our faith journey and our day to day lives. There is a story about a gentleman who rarely went to church on Easter Sunday, but always went on Trinity Sunday. Why, you may ask. It was because he know that most preachers could do a passable job of the Resurrection, but always wanted to see how the preacher could explain the totally unexplainable (or incomprehensible) doctrine of the Trinity.

However explainable or unexplainable it is….there are ways that we can see God at work in the world as God the Father, as God the Son and as God the Holy Spirit….and that may be the best way for us, this day, to see the Holy Trinity in our midst.

God is at work in the world. I received this letter last week:

Dear Pastor Jen,

I read your column about seeing God at work, so I will tell you how I see God at work.

My husband and I are farmers (and proud of it.) I the time her on our farm, in the flowers that start to grow and bloom in the spring, see him in the grass starting to get green, the trees beginning to leaf out, birds flying about, the hummingbirds arriving from their winter sojourn elsewhere,butterflies waking up and flitting about. Everything in nature is God at work. Calves being born, chicks hatching, all animals, the work of God. He designed everything, it was and is His work and it is ongoing.

God at work isn't only a person helping another, someone saying a comforting word, giving food or clothing to sA high school biology teacher said many years ago: "Nature is God at work" So true. As the poet Joyce Kilmer wrote: "Only God can make a tree."

You see, God at work in the world is greater than we can imagine….and is present all around us. So where have you seen God at work lately?

Maybe you’ve seen God at work in the presence of Jesus….

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

No doubt that’s a verse that is very familiar to so many of us. It’s so familiar, in fact, that last month when we had a reading from 1 John, chapter 3 verse 16 …… someone came up to me after worship and said, Pastor, I thought that John 3:16 was about God loving the world….and I said, yup….in the gospel of John, not in 1 John.

Yet so often, we forget the verse that follows….

Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

We are a saved people, we are not a condemned people. Through God’s gift of his only Son, we…..you , me, all of God’s creation has been saved. We are saved and we are free….free to love one another as God has loved us….free to serve those around us in need….free to be present for those in the midst of suffering, tragedy and loss.

Which is a wonderful thing, because the world can be a scary place. There is pain and hurt all around us. We struggle with national concerns about the economy and our future leaders. We face stresses or broken relationships at home. We are bombarded by peer pressure at school and at work. We see loved ones become ill and die.

But it is in these murky places in life, where Jesus is present in our midst…coming to us in the midst of tragedy and pain…..he is present with us….especially in those unexpected places.

This past weekend at the Poconos, luckily we only had a few bruises, bumps and scrapes. Yet in the midst of a time out, due to mandatory icing of a fairly bruised finger, I was able to see two high school youth talking to two middle schoolers about high school life. These older youth took the opportunity as these boys sat near them to talk about experiences, opportunities and things they could expect in high school. Everything from clubs to classes. In a period of time that would have seemed like time boredom and time out, there was rich conversation and helpful advice.

How has Christ appeared your midst lately? Especially in those places where you least expected him to be? God is at work in your life….where do you see Jesus?

It comes at you totally unexpected. There you are out for a walk or a run or a bike ride and it is a beautiful day. You enjoy your time outside and the opportunity to get some exercise, maybe on your own, maybe with some friends, and you turn a corner and BAM! It’s like you can barely move. The wind is rushing so strong in your direction that it feels like it could just about hold you up. It causes you to push a little harder…..to muster up some more energy and push, push, push until you can turn the corner again and not have to work against it. Finally you get to a turn and think, whew….now the wind is at my back….this walk, this run, this bike ride is a breeze…..oh how tricky the wind can be. We don’t see it coming, but when we turn into it, it’s like going into a brick wall. When it’s at our back sometimes we don’t even notice it’s there….helping us along the way.

Think about the Holy Spirit descending on those who were gathered on that Pentecost Sunday we heard about last week when the sound of a mighty, rushing wind, swept over them. This was no gentle breeze….it was gusting wind. So is the presence of God in our midst through the Holy Spirit. Pushing and pulling us in new and different directions, sometimes in directions we don’t even want to go. Yet when we fight it, we exert so much energy and effort to work against it, yet when we let it carry us….it seems that there is nothing we cannot do.

How has the Spirit moved you…..or pushed you to new places recently? Have you seen God at work in your world in the presence of the Spirit?

I’d like to close with one final illustration: I’m going to ask you a question. And when I ask, you all need to answer at the same time….

(At this point I had three lit candles, on on the altar and one in each hand. As I brought them together I asked the congregation how many flames there were.)

Is it one flame or three? Who is to say? Who is certain as to how we understand the Trinity….a triune God....and how we explain that to others.

What is certain is that God is at work in our world. God is present in our midst. God’s love for us pushes us to places of discomfort and comforts us in times of trial. God’s love for us is revealed in Jesus’presence in this meal and in the fellowship we share with one another. God’s love for us moves through this place guided by the Holy Spirit….going where we are called to go.

May you see God in your midst this day and all days.

And now may the peace, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let all God’s people say, Amen.