finally sitting!

In the words of Barbara Brown Taylor, “it’s time for me to step out of the rushing stream of life and sit along side it for a while.” I’ve been on a five day hiatus because my sermon prep took over my life. And now that it’s finally over, I have the time to share some thoughts from the week.

This week was another super busy one. Monday-Wednesday was packed with meetings, visits, and classes. I didn’t get a chance to work on my sermon at all at the office, so I went home at night and did what I’m doing now: typing while lying in bed. My mom celebrated her 50th birthday on Wednesday. I felt sad all day long. What are the odds that I’d be so far away on her big day? The Daily Globe did an awesome write up on her for her birthday and all her years at the bread store. One of my favorite parts of the week came on Thursday morning. I took new staff photos for all the folks at Good Shepherd. The true personalities came beaming out—loved it!

Unfortunately, I didn’t really get a day off this week. I did get out surfing on Friday morning and stood up on another wave. I spent all day Friday working on my sermon, resisting the urge to take my ritual Friday afternoon trip to Goodwill. I participated in a new member class on Saturday morning and then went into the sanctuary and ran my sermon by candlelight that night. I really need to figure out how to turn the lights on in there!

Believe it or not, I actually slept well on Saturday night. This is highly unusual for the night before a sermon. I participated in worship for all three services Sunday morning, sat in on the second new member class that afternoon, ran my sermon 100 more times, and went home to lay down for a while. The butterflies were sure to kick in. But, they didn’t. I rested for a few minutes, and then went back to church to gear up for my first sermon at Good Shepherd.

A cute story I want to share: as I was running around getting ready to preach, I ran into Lisa, a woman at the church who is highly gifted in the prophetic. She was keeping an eye on three children when I bumped into her. She stopped the kids and said, “You know guys, there must be a reason we bumped into Amber. Did you know Amber is training to be a pastor and is giving her first sermon tonight? Should we lay hands on her and pray for her right now?” The kids nodded in agreement. So, I knelt down on the floor and felt the warm little hands of a 7, 5, and 2 year old touching my shoulder and hand. The 2 year old said, “Thank you God for…” She had forgotten my name, so Lisa encouraged her and said, “Amber!” The 7 year old said, “Help her sermon to be good.” And the five year old ended by saying, “Let her have FUN!” It was such a cute little moment. I love to hear children talking to God as if they’re on the phone with a good friend.

Five minutes before the service began, the whole team met in the prayer chapel to gather and pray for one another. That was the moment I started to feel nervous. As we prayed, I gagged a few times. Classy, I know! But, after that, I was fine. The Holy Spirit had entered into my day and blocked out those feelings of doubt. I just pictured the Holy Spirit holding a baseball bat, and smacking the devil in the head every time it tried messing with me.

After only a month in CA, I can really sense a renewal in my belief in the power of prayer. All day long, people kept saying, “We’re praying for you, Amber.” The Holy Spirit was working through them too! My sermon went well. Of course, I had a few bobbles here and there, and left out the one thing in the sermon that I knew would get people to laugh. But, they laughed at other things I didn’t expect, so it worked out just fine. There were 3 video clips shown throughout my sermon, and as I sat down to watch each of them, I thought to myself, I’m almost there…the end is in sight…two more clips to go…one more video to go. And then it was over. I sat down, felt a much needed pat on the back from Pastor Bob, and thanked God for the gift of preaching.

There was an eruption of hugs as people left the building. Members of the ITF came through the door and congratulated me on getting through that first step! Before the service began, I had handed my camera off to Dana Barker and asked her to take a few pictures for my memory book. She took 118! My idea of a few was 2. I heard her clicking the whole time! It’s great to have equally picture happy folks running around here! At the end of the night, Dana took me to Outback Steakhouse and treated me to a big fat juicy steak with mashed potatoes! YUMMY! We ran back to church to get my computer and saw a HUGE raccoon running along the ledge by the church. The wildlife around here astounds me! Earlier in the day, Jane said she saw a SKUNK walk through the house. MY HOUSE! Oh my, even more reason to keep my windows and doors bolted shut!

I have lots to do today. Kevin will be here in two days! So, I want to get as much done as possible so we can spend Thursday and Friday together! I’m so excited to see him!

surf diva!

Just to warn you—this entry is going to contain more exclamation points than ever before, but that’s for good reason! I SURFED TODAY! Not one, not two, not three, but FOUR waves!!!! (which makes sense, because 4 is my favorite number!) September 23, 2008 goes down in history as one of the greatest days ever!! There was a photographer out in the waves shooting pictures of the potential stars of the next Hollywood surfing movie. Here’s the shot he got of me riding my first wave! I don’t know about you, but I think they’d be a fool not to cast me! :)

Again, I swallowed too much sea water and got a little sick, but not as sick as yesterday! So…I’m making progress!

Bob and I had our supervisor meeting this morning and then Greg met us later to do some sermon help. I love the collaboration that goes on around here. We read the text and then worked through it together. The image of a pastor sitting at her desk and having to come up with everything herself is long gone. Ideas, images, interpretations, and visions get shared in this time of preaching preparation. I am so happy to be working with a staff of folks who truly work together to make worship all that God intends for it to be.

Gloria and I did a few pastoral care visits again today. One member of our GS had surgery done, and jokingly called the church to say that they wanted two pastors, two prayer ministers, the hand bell choir and the praise team in the recovery room when the surgery was done. So, we did what we could. I brought my guitar, and Gloria brought her teeny little Sea World bell to accompany me. It was hilarious. When I asked Gloria to take a picture with me for my blog, I heard her brag to the other staff ladies, “I’m gonna be on a blog…na na na na na!” Your moment of fame has come, Gloria! Enjoy it!

A few women staff members are joining forces to watch the Biggest Loser and workout along with them in an attempt to shed a few pounds. I am boldly going where no woman has gone before. For even more accountability, I am posting a picture of my weight on the blog. Oh wow, I can’t believe I’m actually doing this. I’ll post the final weigh in amount in June when I leave. My goal is 140. I figure 25 pounds in 10 months is safe and do-able. Oh, and the pie is a reminder of the many temptations church workers face, as there is always an abundance of goodies around to snack on!

Tonight is sermon night. I’m going to resist the urge to make webcam calls and really get crackin’ on this thing!

projectile vomit!

"AMBER ALERT!" Another 5:30 wake up call proved to be well worth it this morning. The early bird definitely gets the worm, or should I say, the surf! Brian, Bob, Luke and I stormed Manhattan Beach this morning--causing the other surfers to run for the hills (they recognize good surfers from a mile away!) The surf was all ours!

Bob and I started on the whitewater (for those of you non-surfer types: this is the white wave that comes in after the big one has already broken.) Bob graciously left his board on the beach and stood in the water to help me get in good position and to push me into the wave. The idea was to help me get the feel of the push of the wave, and to stand up: WHICH I DID. I got to my feet multiple times, but it doesn't really count if it's only in the whitewater.

Bob grabbed his board and we paddled out to where the big boys were. Brian yelled the phrase "AMBER ALERT!" when he saw an Amber-sized wave coming, and if it proved to be too small, Bob said, "Amber doesn't go for the small stuff!" :)

I paddled hard today and got into a few awesome waves. I actually stood up on my board on the tail side of a wave today. Not riding it into the shore, but at least getting up on it. Each time we go out, I feel it's my obligation to provide comedic relief for the fellow surfers, so I graciously go over the falls so they can see my board shoot up in the air like a missile. Gosh, I hate that. Luke thinks it's funny, but it puts me in a state of panic when I flail my arms frantically and cannot find the surface. When I finally came up to the surface, there was a huge wad of seaweed on my head! ON MY HEAD! I let out a girlish scream and flung it back into the water. There was way too much seaweed today for my liking!

Bob said that I earned my first surfing surprise for sticking it out this long. He brought me a Rubbermaid container with a pretty orange lid to store my wetsuit in! In time, he said he'd embellish it for me, but that's probably not until I truly RIDE A WAVE! :) (You can see it in the background of the photo--isn't it cute?) That's my new wetsuit and rash guard ($14.00 total for the two!!)

Oh yeah, last thing. I decided to eat a granola bar before surfing today. Bad idea. Let's just say, the combination of swallowed salt water and peanut butter granola did not blend well. I started dry heaving while I was sitting out on my board. I rode in the back seat with my lovely Rubbermaid container on my lap (I bet Bob had no idea how truly versatile it would be). Bob dropped me off, I ran in the house, jumped in the shower with my swimming suit still on and experienced projectile vomit for a good 10 minutes. (I looked it up on dictionary.com. Projectile vomiting = Expulsion of the contents of the stomach with great force.) That made me laugh. Ok, sorry, that's gross. But it's true. Lesson learned. No more pre-surf granola.

My favorite quote from Pastor Bob this week:
"Yeah, Amber can squawk out a few notes!" --his sarcastic way of telling someone that I can sing!

This week is going to be super busy as I prepare to give my first sermon on Sunday! I'm heading out for another round of surfing at 5:30 a.m., so I need to get to bed. No granola bar though, I promise. :)

no boys allowed!

Thank you God, for other women who seek friendships the way I do. Amen.

Kelly Luhmann and I hung out last night. She picked me up and we went out to eat at The Lazy Dog Cafe. It only took us about 45 minutes to decide what to get on a menu full of goodies! We both settled for the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger and lemon water! MMM! We made a run to Blockbuster and rented Baby Mama, then grabbed some Coldstone to enjoy during the movie. For those of you who think Coldstone is expensive in MN, it's like twice the $ out here! OUTRAGEOUS! Next time, we're going to the grocery store and buying two gallons and two spoons, it'll probably be cheaper! :) Kelly was house sitting for a family up in Palos Verdes, so we went up there to watch the movie. It was by far the most amazing home I'd ever been in. The TV came up out of the mantle, the swimming pool in the backyard had a slide built into the landscaping, and the kids' rooms were something out of a storybook. What a reminder that people within blocks of each other can live completely different lives.

This morning I went to the Young Women's Growth Group at Tammy's house. It was so great to be in fellowship with other women my age. This group meets every other Saturday, but I honestly wish it were more often. They are fantastic women who have similar struggles and triumphs as I do. The concept of Growth Groups is not just that of hang-out time, but also Bible Study and prayer. I'm thankful that it's not just social hour, but more importantly a chance to learn and be stretched in my faith.

I stopped by the Galleria Mall on the way home from GG. I got a card in the mail for a free gift from Victoria's Secret, so I stopped in there today to pick it up. Another part of the gift was a card good for $10 off the purchase of a bra. I wasn't going to buy one, but noticed the woman ahead of me in line was about to dish out $95 for 2 bras! Seriously-that's crazy. So, I gave her the card. I'm not sure why she was so put-off by my attempt at being nice. She took it and used it, but seemed annoyed by my attempt at saving her $10. What's up with that?

I took the plunge today--literally! I headed down to the Victor E. Benstead Plunge for some lap swimming. Man, it was a beautiful day--80 degrees and sunny! I forget sometimes how powerful the sun is as I only put sunscreen on my nose and lips. My whole body got a little kiss from the sun today! I'm gonna have to head back there soon!

When I was walking out of the pool area, I noticed these holly berry bushes lining the outside of the pool. I never would've guessed they grew here. I always pictured somewhere cold and snowy! Either way, they reminded me of my sister. I'm going to attempt to do prayer postures tomorrow for the prayers of the people. I need to get going on them so I can have them memorized and ready by morning. Oh, and I have a bunch to read, and announcements to practice. Ahh, gotta run! Lots of LOVE!

Slack-line...not Slack-er!

September is Pastoral Care Month! (ok, not officially, but it certainly seems like it!)

Gloria and I (being fellow evangelists) hit the ground running this morning and went to the homes of 3 women who are either recovering from surgery or shut-in. It was fun to pal around with Gloria and see her personal pastoral care style (not to mention her good time management as we had to stay on schedule). I felt so blessed by the women who welcomed us into their homes. One woman shared some yummy Hawaiian tea, and others shared big hugs and prayers. Sitting in the passenger seat gave me the chance to look around and mentally mark all the cute shops and restaurants I hope to get to before I leave.

It's been such an honor to be invited to the lives of many women this week. I can see what an impact having a female pastor on staff can have, as it creates a level of comfortability that is hard to match in a female/male situation. I absolutely loved CPE, so it's no surprise to me that I actually enjoy pastoral care visits.

Most of my afternoon was spent organizing a young adult picnic that is set to happen the first Saturday in October. I'm going to get out the slack-line and some hotdogs and pray that some 18-25 year olds show up. There's a huge need for young adult ministry at Good Shepherd, and I really feel God is pushing me to build that program up while I am here. I am thinking of doing my overall internship project on it and calling it Electronic Evangelism while focusing on how to get young people involved through the use of tools like facebook, myspace, craigslist, and other friend search engines.

Well, lastly, what can I say? The fleas still love me. Incase you don't believe me as to how bad they are, I thought I would show you a picture. Seriously, if anyone has an idea on how to beat these buggers (no pun intended), please let me know!

amber waves of salt

I got up this morning at 5:30! That's right, 5:30! You're probably wondering what on earth is wrong with me. I'm wondering the same thing. It could only be one thing: the waves. Five of us hit the beach so early this morning, the moon was the only thing casting light onto the water. I'll admit, I was more scared to surf today than any other day. The waves were chest to shoulder high at times (non-surfer translation: freaking HIGH!). And they were frequent. I mean, one after another. I actually got in a few waves. Let's not get carried away, I didn't stand up or anything, but I was in good position to ride the heck out of them. Soon, I hope.

Good news: I went to McDonald's tonight to get an ice cream cone: they are only $0.59 here. A miracle! I sat my wallet down on the counter, and the manager helping me noticed the batman on my wallet. There was the usual small talk about my random collection of things, and he asked me if I had the set of batman toys they are giving away in their happy meals. I don't get happy meals, but noticed that there was one figurine that would be the one I would go for if I knew when it was available. I told the man that I was holding out for that one. He hands me my cone and says, "hang on a second." Mind you, there are 3 people behind me in line waiting to order. He dove headfirst into the bucket of toys and dug his way around until he came back with the figurine I mentioned. He said, "there you go, now you don't have to wait for it!" I've heard of Minnesota Nice, but California Nice is slowly taking over! What an awesome surprise!

Bad news: there are fleas in CA. They don't die off in the winter like they do in MN, so guess who is getting her feet and ankles attacked? ME!! Goodness, I feel like 100 mosquitoes have attacked me. They itch, and get all red and puffy. I can't figure out if they are from the cat, the fleas in the sand, in the office, or in the grass. I can't give up surfing and slack-lining, so I need to come up with some kind of remedy. I just took the vaccum cleaner to my entire room and am going to wash my bedding in gasoline tomorrow! ;) Any other tips?

My office is all finished. Here are a few photos so you can see the place I call home during the day.

drama + dance = DRANCE!

Well, for those of you who have been sitting by your computers for the last 24 hours waiting on my surfing report: you wasted your time. Though, yesterday was my best overall surfing session, I have yet to stand up on the board. I did go "over the falls" on one wave and rode it all the way in to the shore---totally awesome! I saw a few more dolphins. My wetsuit was by far the cutest one out there. But, I didn't stand up. Hopefully next time!

It was another action-packed Sunday. Frankie, Stacy, Mark, Stephanie, and I did a "drance" to the song "You are Loved" by David Upton. I started singing from within the congregation. It may've startled a few folks sitting around me when I stood up and began singing and gesturing! I love surprises! The song tells the story of a man who is trying to get by on his own, a man who wants his troubles to unwind, but without the help of anyone else, including God. Mark played the man so well. The rest of us were there to show him that Christ loves him, and shows love through other people. We are in this together. It was awesome to lift Mark up off the ground, and then join hands in Christian love to show him that God has a plan for him, and for the rest of us too. Here's the chorus, just so you can get an idea:

You are loved by the one who died
It don’t matter where you came from, he’s right here by your side
Lift up your head
Reach out your hand
And stop chasing what’s been keeping you from the life that he has planned for you

My liturgical dance dream came true today. I've been trying to find a way to use movement and song in worship. Based on the feedback I heard, it worked well. YAY! Ellen, (Steph's mom) taped the whole thing. I'll put a link up here as soon as I get it!

After singing, I had to run and get my alb on in the first service, and hurry back in time for communion. I'm not gonna lie, I was feeling quite frazzled. The service is still so unfamiliar to me, so to have to lead some portions of it, while rushing around trying to get my microphone on and off, left me feeling nervous and truly scared. I hope this becomes easier as time goes on.

The staff headed out for lunch today at Snax. I ate a buffalo burger in Kevin's honor. Then I headed home for a much needed 2 hour nap. As usual, it's Sunday night and I am wiped. Oh, I know a few of you have had trouble leaving comments on these posts. I changed the setting so anyone can now! Comment away! Nighty Night!

called to surf...I mean, SERVE...oops.

Bzzt...bzzt...bzzt...(the sound of my phone vibrating on the floor as a telemarketer woke me up on my day off). It's my day off! So much for sleeping in.

I didn't sleep well anyway. The lyrics from the song I'm singing on Sunday kept playing over and over in my head, making it hard for me to get to sleep, and then get back to sleep once I woke up. Our dance/drama practice last night was awesome, and I am so excited about using it in worship on Sunday. The only problem: I have to memorize the song. Pray for me.

Again, another amazing day. I went outside and scoped out some new photo shoot spots (in my backyard)...I'm preparing a location for Presley and Madison's pictures when they come visit in October (hint hint). I've noticed that most mornings are overcast--perfect for shooting pictures. Since I have no one to model for me, I modeled for myself. I'm hoping to get some clients soon.

The alb I ordered came in today. Enough said about that. The better news is that I went to the Salvation Army store near my house and found a wetsuit. A womens springsuit in my size. So, I called Pastor Bob to get his advice on the brand/length, and he gave his approval. $35, not too bad. Better yet, when I went to pay for it, it rang up $12.50, because it had been in the store for months! I could've kissed the cashier. Only, she was a woman. Either way, I was stoked! I went to goodwill and another consignment shop: bought my first beach hat. Now, here's the problem: if I were back in MN, I would keep all my treasures in the bag until later that night when I would either do a fashion show for Kevin, or bring them home to show my mom and sister. I can't do that here. So, instead: here's a picture. You can ooh and ahh on your own! :)

Well, finally, my room is complete! Here are a couple of photos so you can see the finished product! It's so cozy. I'm happy to come home to this at the end of the day! I'm heading to bed (yes, at 9:30 p.m.)...I'm going surfing tomorrow morning, and with this new wetsuit, there's absolutely NO reason why I shouldn't get up on the board. Maybe I'll just sleep in it!

I should really get something for that wall.

My massive closet. And the door to my bathroom.I need a booster to get up in my "big girl bed!"There's Vera. She sits happily on the curb--keeps the robbers away.

giddy giddy gumdrops!

Ok, seriously, someone needs to pinch me.

Is internship supposed to rock? Am I really supposed to enjoy this? Should I be ok with the fact that I am 1,800 miles away from home? Not really, right? Oh, but you are so wrong!

I can honestly say, I haven't been this giddy in a long time. The excitement of ministry, adventure, new friends, and culture is alive and well in CA. I came into this internship pumped, but also nervous and hesitant as to what it would be like. Staff dynamics, a new place, not to mention doing it alone were the things I feared the most. But, not anymore.

Today was the best. The best of the best. The bestest, if you will! I found that I was able to help my fellow colleagues with tasks, participate in a meeting and provide direction and ask good questions, learn some new skills for worship, learn how to collaboratively design a worship service (and allowing the Holy Spirit some room to give input), and was even asked to try something fairly new for me in coordinating a drama/liturgical dance to accompany a special music selection on Sunday. I jumped at the opportunity! I can see how Good Shepherd is going to allow me to blossom and grow into a new leader in ministry.

I even find it hard to leave the office at the end of the day. There's so much to do: people to be in contact with, ideas to jot down, e-mails to send, and leaders to build up. I can see why ministry can cause people to have workaholic tendencies---it's actually FUN!

Oh, and did I mention that my LA parents ROCK?? Bill and Jane are the best. Here's the example of the day (though there are many I could write about each day, here's one): I left Bill and Jane a note this morning to see if they had a few odd things around the house that I could use to finish organizing my room. I get home tonight hoping Jane had found a few extra hangers in her closet for me to borrow. Instead, Jane went out and bought me two new bunches of hangers, an awesome shelf for my bathroom, and a full-length mirror (because I'm super vain). I am simply overwhelmed by kindness right now. I'm happy to say that I feel as though my feet are firmly planted here. I'm ready to invest my whole heart into the next 10 months.

God is good, but I'm tired.

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY! Oh, and SUNDAY! Four services in one day---holy cow, can you say tired? Today was my first Sunday at GS (last Sunday was Worship on the Green). It was the kick off of the series "Ordinary Heroes." Much to my surprise, there were 5 cutouts of superheroes that the ambient art team used: one of which was BATMAN! So cool!

I was greeted this morning with many hugs, handshakes, even a few high-fives. Pastor Bob showed a clip of the "Free Hugs" man in worship this morning, and I loved one of the quotes he used from Family Circus: "Hugs are like boomerangs, you get it back right away." Wonderful people fill this house of worship, and I am completely convinced that God had this place in mind for me long before I began seminary. The hugs and other forms of welcome today were warm and lasting. Any love I showed was boomeranged right back at me today!

This afternoon, I got to spend some time with the Intern Task Force. Mark and Sue Wiedenmann welcomed us all to their beautiful home in Palos Verdes. God is so good. These folks rise to the challenge of taking on a new ministry, and do it gladly and with much love and kindness. This is officially my shortest post: my bed is calling my name!

15,000 strong!

You know, by the time I finished packing my suitcase for the THIRD time in two weeks, I thought to myself, "why am I going? I just want two consecutive nights in my OWN bed." Once again, long before my arrival, God had a plan. God was preparing a place for me at the 2008 Women of Faith Conference in Anaheim, CA. I agreed to go to this conference over a month ago, at a time when I thought I should definitely go so I can meet some new people from the church. But honestly, I'm exhausted. There has been an overload of information these last few days and not enough brain space to hold it all!

Thursday was my first day in the office at Good Shepherd. Carla (the office administrator) gave me my keys, showed me how to activate the alarm system (none of which I remember, by the way), helped me get my paperwork finished up, and set me free. Well, now what? Well, I did what any new super anal intern would do: cleaned my office! This is a photo PREclean and PREdecorate. I'll post a new photo when I am done 'Elle Woods'ing it up! Later in the day, I realized that I would need to get an alb for traditional worship on Sunday...well, that's not going to happen overnight, so I'll use a choir robe this week, and pray it comes in the mail by next Sunday. Vestments suck.

Anyway, back to the conference. Lea and I drove up Friday night, ate supper with the 25 women from GS, and headed over to the Honda Center for the evening session. The list of speakers amazed me: Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, Luci Swindoll, Sheila Walsh, & Sandi Patty. As if that wasn't sweet enough, Nicole C. Mullen and Natalie Grant were there to perform some of their amazing music! How lucky to be in the presence of such funny, talented women. It made me wonder: what do I have to do in this life to earn me the honor of speaking in a gathering like that? A gathering with 15,000 women!

One of the most poignant moments of the conference came at a time when Nicole Johnson did a skit about fire. She said that damage done by careless words are like fire-- James 3:5 "It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that." (The Message). It made me think back to times in my life when family and friends said things to me that set off a fire inside me. Words like "you can't," "you're wrong," and "you'll never make it" have echoed through my vulnerable ears from an early age. They do, they spread like wildfire. That wildfire burns and continues to burn until there is a moment of humility and forgiveness. It sent my mind spinning--thinking of everyone who I may have set on fire by my careless words.

I'm glad I had a chance to be in worship and community with the women from GS this weekend. Though, I'm still recovering from the practical joke that was played on me (really, NOT funny), and the drive through Compton on the way home. Dana Barker assured me that we HAD to get off the freeway because of an accident. Needless to say, I was all for waiting it out, rather than driving through Compton. I snapped one picture for proof, and then got low in the car until we were in a safe area.

I'm home now. Safe in my little room. Which reminds me, click on THIS if you'd like to see a video that Kevin put together of our journey to CA. There's a shot of my house and room at the end of the clip if you'd like to see it. Tomorrow is a big day at church: getting installed, leading the prayers, and a BBQ to end all BBQ's with the ITF (Intern Task Force). Peace and love. Goodnight!

Infectious Glee!

To Do List: #1- BLOG!

There are about 100 other things I should be doing right now...I have a list a mile long...and I can't concentrate long enough to actually DO them. I HAVE to blog.

The final days of Dove and Bijou fun wrapped up with Worship on the Green, a church picnic (complete with hot dogs, beans, and watermelon) a tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, the Griffith Observatory, and some last minute snuggling! :) My LA parents (The Long's) took us on an amazing road trip around the South Bay area. We got the chance to bookmark all the spots we hope to stop and explore the next time Kevin is in town.

I dropped Kevin off at the airport Monday morning. There weren't enough good songs on the radio or fun topics to talk about that could distract me enough from my urge to sob uncontrollably. A quick goodbye made for less mess. Thank goodness my new found friend Kelly Luhmann rode along to save me from my puddle of sadness. We came to the decision that there should NOT be a drop off lane at the airport. Too many sad faces. Instead, take a taxi. That way, smiles should be all you see as people are only allowed to pick up travelers!

Luckily, the last three days have been a complete God send for me. Not only to distract me from the fact that I am officially ALONE in California, but also to help me establish an amazing bond with the GS staff that would never happened by just showing up at the office on Tuesday morning. Long ago, I was invited to participate in a staff retreat that would run Sept. 1-3. I had no idea it would be as powerful as it was. As soon as I got back from the airport, the entire staff loaded into two vans and headed up to the Serra Retreat Center in Malibu, CA.

Steve Cockram and Jo Saxton (Life Shapes experts from Phoenix) engaged our group in an in depth study of the Myers-Briggs (take the test and let me know what you are!), and the Five Fold Ministry survey. No surprise: ESFJ. However, I WAS quite surprised to find out that my Myers-Briggs type meant that I was really an EVANGELIST in the Five-fold side of things. GROSS! I don't want to be an evangelist!! Thank goodness Steve was there to speak some sense to me in describing that the label isn't as bad as it sounds. He said that I show the incarnational love of Christ to people through energy and enthusiasm, and that most likely, I have a way of getting people excited about something I'm excited about. Whew! Finally, something I could agree with!

The best parts of the week:

1. Huddle time with the ladies! GIRL POWER!

2. Worship/prayer time with the staff.
3. MALIBU, and surfing on Zuma Beach, eventhough I thought I was going to die when I got pulled under the water by the line on my surfboard!
4. Trash talking birds over supper and then getting POOPED on by one 5 minutes later! NO JOKE!

5. Realizing that God has a prophetic word or images to bring to people through me. My belief in the 'power of prayer' had really been challenged during my first two years of seminary. Tuesday evening, Pastor Bob opened the prayer up to all of us and asked us to share anything we sensed God might be saying to and through us. My first thought was "Oh right, as if God is going to say anything to me! " Little did I know, a few minutes later, I would close my eyes and see the ocean. The sight you see when the sun hits the water and it looks like diamonds everywhere! In a time of confession, I saw myself standing in the shallow water on the beach, feeling the waves come in, and then almost tipping me over as they went back out. God was telling me that there was no need to stand there and fight God anymore. I didn't need to be on my own. I didn't need to stand on my own. God was beckoning me to just let go, and allow the power of the Holy Spirit to tug me out to where the water is nothing but diamonds.

I am so thankful that I had a chance to LOVE and BE LOVED these last three days. God rubbed healing lotion on my dry, chapped, cracked spirit by sending Jo, Gloria, Ellen, Cindi, Lea, Carla, and Lisa to be bearers of strength. Thanks be to God for all the GS staff. Back to reality, my first day in the office it tomorrow!