Our Fitness Challenge

Throughout this season of Lent we have challenged our congregation to get fit, get healthy and experience the wholeness of life through Jesus Christ....and our fitness challenge. Folks have been counting their steps, flossing, reading their Bibles, attending Wednesday night guest speaker events, drinking more water, and not talking on cell phones while driving! (Those are just some of the things we are doing or not doing for points!)

Thus, far the competition has been fierce! Teams are stepping forward with awesome scores. Our individual competition is tough too. Who knows who the winner(s) will be?

Although some folks have found keeping track of their scores to be the most difficult aspect of the challenge... and those folks have been dropping out of the competition each day and each week.

(I just participated in the CLA's fire drill... that means more steps for me!)

Have fun everyone getting fit and staying in love with God...and don't forget the 10 point event- walking/praying our canvas labyrinth on Good Friday. And no, you don't get more than ten points for walking it more than once...

Joy arrives in the small things

Woo hoo! Spring has sprung... at least until later this week when it will get cold and then warm again. The start of spring reminds me of how I drive a stick shift- lots of jerky movements back and forth! (My husband doesn't let me drive a stick shift anymore...because I am bad on the clutch.)

And in other great news my Blue Devils won their ACC tournament and now we are on for the BIG DANCE! Yeah- I was reminded by one of my office hall mates to get my brackets filled out. So, in-between Bible study, hospital visits, and Confirmation class preparations my bracket will get filled in today.

Enjoy the sunshine!

Weird Life Moments

Variety is the spice of life and ministry; I have decided. Here is a slice of my weird and wacky life/ministry:

• March madness is here- that always gets me pumped up with excitement! My team suffered a tragic loss last Sunday, but we shall rally tonight in the tournament play. Whee- I am working on my bracketology, are you?
• Our family has played so much Candyland lately, that my husband finally won a game. Our daughter pouted and cried all the way into the bathtub last night because she lost and now refuses to play the game anymore. "Momma, I want to throw that game away!" (She has a competitive spirit, doesn't she?!" Wonder where she gets that from?)
• We've begun making plans for Duke pup's 2nd birthday. Diana wants a chocolate cake. My husband and I are thinking about adopting another dog as a buddy for Duke. Our Dog just wants to eat kleenexs, envelopes, and any other sort of paper product he can find.
• I've been waking up around 4am this week praying for our confirmands. Wonder what's happening in their young lives that the Holy Spirit has me working overtime?!
• Spring break vacation cannot get here any sooner for me. I am soooo ready for a change of pace, scene, and schedule.
• And I need to get some new reading material. Anybody have a book recommendation?

Looking for the New Fred Pillar

One of Calvary's beloved went home to Jesus last Friday, a sweet loving guy named Fred. He leaves behind his wife of 68 years, seven children, and so many grand-great grandchildren I lost count! As a scout master for 49 years, there are now hundreds of boys who became men under Fred's leadership.

Fred was a pillar of our church. Physically and spiritually, Pastor Todd said today in his funeral message Fred helped to build our congregation to be the Body of Christ on earth. Fred offered his personal joy, enthusiasm, wisdom, humor, encouragement, strength, faith, and obedience to God's will as a gift to God on our behalf. That's what made his pillar stand tall and strengthen us all.

No one person can fill another shoe's. Our creative, dynamic God fashioned us way too uniquely for that sort of cookie cutter fill-in thing. But God does indeed raise up new pillars... so I am on the look out now for who will follow in the legacy of building our spiritual home here at Calvary.

Will he/she be one of our current Confirmation students? Is it one of our mentors? What about those babies that pack the nursery every weekend- who among those wee ones is a pillar-in-the-making? Could it be someone in choir? The Praise band? The youth group? How about the person who looks back at you in the mirror every morning?

Is a pillar being made out of you? May it be so, by God's will.

Winter Wish...Came True!

My winter wish came true yesterday with 60 degree weather... ahh. Our family played outside, took a walk around the neighborhood, and looked for signs of Spring. Our dogwood has tiny buds and one of our church families has a whole hillside of crocus'.

Now, I just need my wish for the Duke Blue Devils to beat the UNC Tarheels on their turf this Sunday afternoon and my March will be perfect!

Winter Blahs

Never before have I been so glad to be in Lent! It is like a relief to finally arrive here... (not that I am one of those weird 4th century desert Christian dwellers who sought God in the denial of all things comfy and fun), but Lent's arrival means one thing- we are closer to Easter and therefore closer to Spring! Woo hoo to the approach of warm weather, lighter weight jackets, and green buds forming on the trees.

Shoot- I am so desperate for snow and cold to finish that I will gladly take on the sinus drainage and sore throat that accompanies my allergies! Bring it on, baby! I've got plenty of tissues stock-piled in the cupboard.

My hope is that perhaps the arrival of warm weather will also change the climate of our economy, business, and stock market. Think it will help?!?! At least it will help this mid-western white suburban Protestant female pastor's attitude.

And the added bonus is- we won't have to dress like the above photo anymore....

Retreat- returned

The dark purple circles under my eyes indicate a lack of sleep during the retreat and not an iron deficiency. We have sucessfully 'retreated' while at the same time I believe these Confirmation students have "advanced" in their knowledge of Christian worship and the sacraments.

I, along with our nine mentors/teachers, learned that 6th graders are very wiggly before you feed them dinner; middle school girls still sleep with stuffed animals; sixth grade boys like to talk about bodily functions prior to sleep (and also enact those functions); and all middle school students look terribly frightened at 6:30am when six adults bang very loudly on metal cooking pots and lids to wake them up! (Ha, ha that was my favorite part of the retreat!)

When you see these young people over the next few weeks- ask them about their weekend. Ask them about worship at the two different congregations we visited. They will have a LOT to tell you!