good morning miss amber!

The most adorable thing I heard today came out of the mouths of 40 preschoolers when they said, "Good morning Miss Amber!" I taught 3 sessions of preschool chapel this week and told the story of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea. The first class I taught, I told about Pharaoh's army coming after God's people, and how scared they were. BIG MISTAKE with preschoolers. I could tell they were terrified. Good going, Miss Amber! So, I learned my lesson and withheld that information for the next two groups. When I asked them what kinds of things they take with them on a trip (as God's people packed their things), they all said, "don't forget your blankie!" Sounds just like something Presley would say! I skateboarded home for lunch today and was a display of public humiliation 3 times. Once I got going so fast downhill that I couldn't stop, so I had to bail off my board, and ran into the grass. Just about took out some landscaping. My board kept going down the hill, so I had to chase it. It didn't help that I was skateboarding in flip flops, and was trying so hard to keep them on. Lesson learned.

Snow Emergency or Heat Advisory! Gee...which one might I be in? And which one might Minnesotans be in right now? What a difference 1946 miles makes! :) Poor Kevin says, "it's freezing here" every time I talk to him. I'm wearing a tank top, skirt, and flip flops. Enough said.

I forgot about growth group tonight (shame on me), but in love was handed the book we're reading called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I went to the book's website and checked out the video called "The awe factor of God." Wow, how great is God! How big God is! How little we are! Check it out if you'd like to be in a state of awe for a moment.

After a wonderful supper at Chip Chip with Alicia, planning a National Day of Service event, 2 meetings, and an ITF meeting tonight, I'm completely zonked.

black fingernails

Pastors can paint their fingernails black if they want! I got a number of comments (some good, a few bad) about my black fingernails for worship yesterday. One woman said, "If any pastor were to paint her fingernails black, it'd be you, Amber!" That's a compliment in my book! Plus, it's my favorite color, so I guess any opposing forces will just have to get over it! I can eat Cider Gum with black fingernails if I want to!

I'm not 'going goth' but perhaps was doing some prophetic mourning. I got word today that the woman who we visited last week (who seemed to be turning around) passed away this morning. It was a privilege to go back to her house with Pastor Bob and see her family once again. Her son and daughter are so incredibly sweet. They loved everything about her, and as we were praying her son said to her, "Mom, I'll try to be as good of a person as you were!" If someday my kids would say that to me, my life would be complete.

Another afternoon of meetings left me drowsy and at a complete loss of focus. Bob was kind enough to excuse me from another hour long meeting, so Lisa and I took a much needed Pinkberry run. We even got to drive in her sweet Saab convertible with the TOP DOWN! In JANUARY! Only in Southern California. I think it's safe to say that I'm the luckiest intern of the year thanks to an awesome church, staff, community, and the overall beauty of this place.

I was met by God tonight. I know I wrote about seeing God in people. It happened again tonight when I was blessed to share a meal with a stranger. A young woman who I had befriended on facebook (she's from the area, and we had mutual CA friends), accepted my invitation for supper and brought God along with her. Her contagious laugh, her recognition of God's beauty, and appreciation for life was such a beautiful witness. Her caring character was shown tonight just in the fact that she showed up to meet someone she had never met before. I'm thankful she did. We were able to share stories and hear each other on a Spirit filled level. Plus we're only 2 months apart in age and just got one another. Two days in a row: God is good.

hug me

Are you as nerdy as me? There's something so cool about the sound of people thumbing through the pages of a Bible. I heard it loudly this morning as I listened to Pastor Bob give a sermon I'd give so differently a few hours later. Eager folks ready to dive into the text. A great bunch to be preaching to. It becomes a challenge though to follow a guy like Bob. He called me the "pinch hitter" tonight. Said he's an old man and didn't have the strength to preach the 7:00 service. Not only is it a challenge to follow someone with such a great talent, but there's the temptation (after hearing his take on the text, and the way he uses the videos, stories, etc) to rip mine apart and start from scratch. I resisted the urge. Our John 8 text about the woman caught in adultery had us both talking about judgmentalism, only in different ways. This sermon felt the most MINE out of all of them. Very different from Bob's, yet getting the same Unexpected Kingdom theme brought into it.

Luckily, I planned a Focus Finders outing for this afternoon to help keep me from putzing with it all afternoon. We hit up the South Coast Botanic Garden up in Palos Verdes. It's this amazing 87 acre public garden. 2,000 different species of plants. Tons of walking paths, and pictures worth taking! I'm pretty excited about the flying bee picture (to the left) that I got without getting stung! I walked into the garden area without my tripod. We split up for a while to explore on our own, and I realized something: the beauty I see outside and inside requires PEOPLE most often. The were no people around to capture in their element, so I ran back to my car to get my tripod, and used myself as a subject. I see God in the beauty of the creation, but even more so in the beauty of the people in God's creation. I'm not trying to be all vain and say I'm gorgeous, I'm just saying that people are where I see God's creative hand. So, I shot some self portraits with the help of the sun. I'm learning how to get people to glow in the sun, and finally got some nice shots today. We had a blast.

My sermon was all ready to go, so I ran home and grabbed a bite to eat. Then it dawned on me: (7:00 service has tons of young people) my sermon never directly spoke to them or gave them something super concrete they could relate to. So, I raced back to church, threw a photo of your stereotypical skateboarder into my slide show, added a high school judgmental situation (teenage pregnancy), and was thrilled to see their reaction to it in worship. When people joke about it afterwards, you know it went over well. YES! Oh, and Bill and Jane came to worship tonight. I didn't realize it until I went to serve them communion. They've really become my family out here, and it meant so much to see them there as a support.

The most pivotal moment of worship today came in the form of a dramatic monologue and dance done by a woman in our congregation. She represented the woman to be stoned in the John 8 text. I tell you what, her expression, her passion streamed from her face, to her heart, all the way to the end of her fingertips. It rocked.

Have you ever known someone, and loved them, but could never really tell if they loved you back or not? Some may call them "thinkers" rather than "feelers." That didn't matter today. Tonight as I pause to reflect on all God's goodness, I'm especially thankful for an unexpected hug I received today from that very type of person. I could never tell if they liked me. I didn't initiate it. I just saw a person ready to be loved (by me) opening up to the love I've been waiting to give them. What a great feeling! God is good.

when you wish upon a star

Where else could you get a suntan (outside) while working on a sermon in January? No other than sunny California! I knew there would come a day when I'd want to call all the suckers in MN and brag. Today was the day. Thank you God! Oh, and I finally got "Joy to the Warsh" and "The Magnificat" up on youtube. I can't stop laughing at Presley's video! Enjoy. A morning run (3rd day in a row--yeah me), brunch with Julie, sermon writing outside, sermon writing inside, and a bowl of peppermint ice cream to boot. After Jacob's Well on Wednesday, and all the tough questions that raised, I've been sermonizing all day. This whole issue of judgmentalism is a hard one. But for the record, it's 9:00 and I'm done with my sermon.

Speaking of time, I was struck by something today. I went to put a Creamy Rigatoni meal (Healthy Choice meals rock!) in the microwave. 5 minutes. I went about doing a few other things, and before I knew it, the timer went off. 5 minutes had passed in what seemed like 1 minute. Is this what it's like to get old? Not only does time fly when you're having fun. It flies. Period. Crap. Makes me regret wishing the years by when I was younger. Wishing I could drive. Wishing I could move out. Wishing I had a job. Wishing I was done with college. No more wishing. I'm going to enjoy it, because before I know it, this internship, this life, they'll be over.

highway robbery

3 bras, and 13 pairs of undies. Retail cost for all of them at Victoria's Secret = $315. The bras alone were $50 each originally. I never used to shop at VS, but lately I've become addicted. Since the moment I got here it started with one little bag, and grew into (today) a huge one full of wonderful treasures! Plus, I had a nice long conversation with my sister on her birthday while I shopped. Bonus!

So, after hitting VS during their Semi-Annual Sale, plus a $10 coupon, a free undies coupon, and that $15 gift card I found on the ground in MN, all 16 items cost me $65. That's what I like to call "highway robbery!" And by golly, I deserve it! I stepped out of the car at the mall (wearing my white Coach shoes), slipped on a puddle of Starbucks smoothie that had been spilled on the ground, and almost wiped out. So much for white shoes. They got thrown in the washing machine tonight, and came out cleaner than they started. Maybe it was a good thing. So, while I was doing laundry, I had a real ESFJ moment by going through all my dresser drawers, taking out the clothes, refolding, color coding, and putting them all away again. For whatever reason, I can't work when things aren't in place. The rest of this pig pen is coming together. I'll finish it tomorrow, then begin my sermon. When I walked in the door, Jane heard the sound of my shopping bags and was eager to ooh and ahh over it all. She and I went out to the mall Monday night and stopped in VS. I almost bought a bra then for $26, but thought it was a little too flashy for me (it's not). When I pulled it out of my bag tonight and told her I snagged it for $14.99, she was thrilled. She'll be there tomorrow to get herself some goodies I'm sure! Well, my body is tired after an early morning run (yes, you read that right, I'm back at it), a long 3 hour meeting this afternoon, and a few awesome God moments. More on that later.

mountain low

A ball of sweat. That's what I woke up in. Confirmation that I had a fever last night and it broke sometime during my sleep. Either that or I wet myself, but doubt I could saturate all the way down to my socks. My congestion has been much better today. No ear pressure! I taught Jacob's Well this morning, and scheduled discussion time throughout the lesson to allow me time to go clear my sinuses.

Gloria and I made a home visit today to a member who was recently put on hospice. Her health has been fading fast, and even this morning, her caretaker called with a great sense of urgency. We entered a room to see a thin, wrinkled, pale old woman lying under a down comforter. I had never met her, so I introduced myself, chatted for a while and noted something: she was sharp as a tack! Laughing, sharing, talking, & receiving communion. I've never been at the bedside of someone near death and witnessed such life and peace. Most of my CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education/Chaplaincy) death experiences were with traumas or coma patients. This was so different. To look someone in the eye, knowing they are completely aware as to why you're there, to pray with them, and say, "God Bless You" in this context was incredibly moving. As of this morning, her caretaker didn't want to leave her bedside for he feared she might die while he was away even for a minute, and now she was on the rally of a lifetime saying, "maybe this whole thing (hospice) was a mistake!" When we left her house, I explained my confusion of the situation with Gloria. Didn't he say she was about to die? She was alive as ever it seemed. I was unaware that people tend to rally for a few hours or days sometimes near the end right before they die. I hope that's not the case. What a sweet old woman this lady is.

Eventually, an afternoon destined for fun, adventure, and new things turned from a trip to Mountain High Ski Resort to mountain low disappointment. After driving 45 miles north through LA traffic, we reached a winding mountain road that was to take us all the way to the ski hill. The only problem: we drove 60 miles up the hill to find the road closed 15 miles short of the ski hill. Bob even tried pushing the gates open so we could drive through, but no luck. You know what they say: If life hands you a pile of snow, make a snowman. So, that's what we did. As well as had a snowball fight on the road. Mind you, I was wearing flip flops and had sunglasses on my head. It was a bit chilly, but great fun. The views on the way up were breathtaking. Evergreens, the sunset, a bear running near a brook (ok, that's a lie), such a great change from the city. From the beach to the snowy mountains all in a matter of hours. It's a beautiful thing.

To go back down (60 miles) and drive around the mountains (another 60 miles) would've taken over two hours, so we just drove home. Back down the windy mountains we went. Moaning and groaning the whole way. Amy and I about threw up in the back seat from all the side to side turning, not to mention the fact that I'm still mighty congested and (as Amy said), my equilibrium is off. We sang our favorite classic country songs and a few oldies too just to keep our mind off our guts. After driving all the way back to Torrance (4.5 hours in the car with no snowboarding reward) we went to the Rognlien's, made supper (including a run to Rascal's for some of the best french fries EVER and a smoked sausage with apples in it! Leave it to the CA folks to come up with something as strange as that), watched another great surf movie, and I even over came one of my biggest fears by holding onto Lulu (the Rognlien's parrot). She wasn't as scary as I thought she'd be. She could sense I was freaked out, so really, she wanted to get away from me more than I did her, but it was a cool minute or two. She can sing, laugh, and say all sorts of cute things. Until she starts copying you...the exact way you talk...that's annoying. Well, maybe that means I'm annoying, considering she was saying what I was and laughing just like me. Hm...let me think about that one. Basically, she was all talk but had no game to show for it...crawling back to Bob like a little wimp. Regardless, I'm too "type A" (according to Pam) for Lulu to like me. Oh well, I'm not planning on getting a bird anytime soon anyway. I'll stick with dogs.

damn

For these reasons:

1. I gained a pound over Christmas (though really, considering all the cookies I had, I'm a wee bit thankful!)

2. The garage door got locked from the inside, so (without a door) Bill had to cut a window out of the garage door to get into it.

3. A fuse popped leaving me in the dark all day because I couldn't find the fuse box (outside).

4. I found out Good Shepherd isn't taking another intern next year due to financial reasons.

5. I'm the most congested I've ever been. During my meeting with Bob, each time I swallowed, the pressure in my ears got progressively more intense. Only standing up or chewing gum for the first 15 seconds provided relief. I've gone through close to 100 tissues today resulting in a chapped nose, cheeks and mouth from the cheap tissues.

6. I had to miss growth group tonight because of it.

7. I'm still not done with Jacob's Well, and I need to go to bed.

8. My hot forehead and shaky body has me a bit worried...so, tomato soup it is. Pray for me.

9. If I can't get my act in gear by tomorrow night, I won't be able to go snowboarding. AHH!

10. I'm alive. So, I'm done complaining now. Sorry.

kidney

Have you ever heard of a plane being de-iced? As I stared out the window of my Sun Country plane, I saw this strange contraption coming toward the plane, which eventually shot some watery type stuff out of a gun. It looked like a plane car-wash or something. We left MN an hour late last night after our plane underwent two rounds of this special de-icing treatment. I've never felt so nervous to fly. If the plane mechanisms are frozen, should we really be flying? I can write about it now that I'm safely back in CA, but at the time, I wanted to go back to Kevin's and skip the whole flight. Gotta love MN weather. Though, I did get to scrape 2 of Kevin's car windows before heading to the airport. For some sick, strange reason, I like scraping ice off windows.

But now that I'm here today, I'm glad to be back. I was welcomed home by Kelly and Amy Luhmann. Such troopers to pick me up from the airport at such an awful hour (1:30 a.m.) Worship was awesome and filled with all sorts of Amber Marten word vomit. I went to give the benediction at 11:00 and said, "Lord, may the friends bless you...wait a minute, LORD? How about FRIENDS, may the Lord bless you and keep you..." earth to me! Oh, and my favorite "I hope you are all jacked up about white elephant bingo." Jacked up. Wow. That's what you get when you're running on 3.5 hours of sleep.

We had another YAC event tonight. Lots of folks were in town from college, so it was awesome to meet them and get to know a bit about each of them. There were 13 people who showed up. I only made copies for 8 (thinking that would be an over estimate!) What a pleasant surprise! Of course, the night began with the most competitive game of Catch Phrase to date. The girls won, but only by a few points. Dang, the boys are getting good. We watched the Rob Bell Nooma video called "trees" and got to talk about living the lives God wants us to live rather than the one we so often want for ourselves. The greatest nugget of the night came from a young woman (and nursing student) who, when asked where she sees God replied. "In kidneys!" Of course, the rest of us looked at each other as if to say, "what did she say?" Luckily, she continued, "I see God in kidneys; they do so much for us. We have two of them, but really, we only need 25% of one to survive, so God gave us two so that we might share the other with someone who needs it." Isn't it true? That's the essence of God's love for us and of the love we need to have for one another.

auntiephoto.com

Are my nieces adorable or what? Gosh, I'm blessed to have little girls to take pictures of. Presley is the biggest poser under the sun. She loves to create her own pose, choose props, and lights up the frame with her energy. Madison is a little different. She screamed and refused almost every picture. I got a few shots, but will have to work more special magic on her next time. Presley even got a chance to take some pictures, and ordered Kevin and I around as she set our pose. I'm rubbing off on her! YES!

My mom and Paul invited Kevin and I over for supper tonight. More meat and potatoes! Again, YES! My mom's cooking is just what I need at times. Nothing too foofy, just the good stuff. Thank God for mom!

We got an urgent message from Presley and Holly during supper: "Smoothies 9:30 my house. Be there." So we made sure to get back in time and were greeted by a very concerned 4 year old. "Daddy was going to make me lay down and rest (meaning: go to sleep), and you weren't here yet for smoothies." How relieved she must have been to see us pull up. I do what I can to promote late night sugar rushes for children!

tinkerbell land

Boooo...I've got a cold. So, looks like we're not playing out in the snow today. I've been popping Zicam all week, and it's not helping! Grr! Kevin's getting it too. The whole family is coughing and sniffling. At least we're all in it together! :)

Fortunately, I'm still on CA time. I slept in until 12:30 today. We hung out at home until loading up the car and heading to Iowa. Don't ask. Ok, you can ask. Swimsuits on, floaties packed, 6 towels...Kevin and I piled in the trunk of the Trailblazer and we headed down to Bridges Bay, an indoor water park in Okoboji, IA. Presley and Madison had a blast! My favorite spot was under the mushroom fountain. "Tinkerbell land" as Presley named it. What a great place to be. Sliding, floating, jumping, and splashing the night away! We stayed in the water until our fingers got wrinkly! A trip through the McDonald's drive through for some McFlurries, and we were on our way back home. I'm gonna kick this cold yet!