A friend tipped me off to the fact that Don Hughes had linked peacefulwaters.org/narnia on [the site which must not be named]. Indeed, he had and I was not amused, given that 6 months ago I told him to de-link *EVERYTHING* related to this domain on his site. So… I altered the index page of /narnia a bit. Maybe this will send a message???
This is getting really old…
I had the ultrasound this morning and then met with my OB/GYN. The cyst is big, but it’s a simple one and not dangerous. She gave me the option of surgery where they’d remove the cyst and probably a portion of my ovary or I could monitor it for a few weeks and see if it shrinks. I chose the latter option and if I start having severe pain again, I’ll call her and we’ll look at surgery.
It’s a relief to know that it isn’t deadly. Now to get the insurance situation resolved…
OK… I’m a little late because of travel and health matters.
1. Explain why you started to journal/blog.
I needed an outlet for a lot of the things in my mind and a place to reflect.
2. Do people you interact with day to day or family members know about your journal/blog? Why or why not?
My parents don’t know. My father-in-law does and he reads only occasionally.
3. Do you have a theme for your journal/blog?
Meditatio is my “faith journal” but it really is my life one as well because my faith has quite a bit to do with my life. The Journey is Long has to do with my candidacy process and my graduate education.
4. What direction would you like to have your journal/blog go in over the next year?
Well… I’d like to keep it in one place for a while. 🙂 I’d also like to maybe write devotionals or something.
5. Pimp five of your favorite journals/blogs.
looking back… looking forward…. (a really happening UCC pastor in Canada)
Krissy (my duckie goddess)
Rhythms of the Seeker (my Lutheran sister-in-Christ and one who is insane in the same way as me)
Mikao’s World (a snail mail pen pal of 10 years)
And the Bride Wore Red (my hostee and Anglican sister-in-Christ)
Saturday
I flew to MSP in between the storms that dumped 18+ inches of snow on Ohio and one of the admissions people picked me and another woman (also named Jen) up from the airport. Sara (the admissions chick) then drove us around the cities and showed us the highlights. We went to Chipotle for dinner. After that, we were dropped off at our dorm rooms and we had the rest of the evening to ourselves. I had a TV, so I checked in with my family members and watched Britcoms until I fell asleep.
Sunday
I went to church with Jen, Sara, and her friend Matthew, who was also going to be doing “A Day in the Life of Luther Seminary” with us. We attended Roseville Lutheran and it was a nice service, though more Baptist than Lutheran. We went to lunch at Subway afterwards and then Jen and I walked around the sem and the surrounding neighborhood (St. Anthony Park) and took pictures. We returned to our dorms and went to Northwestern Hall to register and get our name tags (which were our meal tickets for our time there). We met the other people who were doing the same program and sat through some talks on what the program was and on the “Top 10 Reasons Not To Go To Seminary”. After that, we had dinner and heard a lecture on the call of Moses given by an Old Testament professor, which was really good. We then met in small groups with students and talked about our calls and our experiences before going and doing Holden Evening Prayer. I *really* miss singing Holden, so I was a *very* happy Jen. We returned to our dorm and the 20somethings all stayed up late talking about calls and ministry things. The group seemed to be mostly youth/family ministry hopefuls, which was pretty interesting.
Monday
I woke up at 6:45 and showered, tossed back my hair into a ponytail, and dressed. I then went down to breakfast with the others and we ate with the admissions staff. We had tours after that and my ponytail froze. That was… an experience. We then had talks on admissions things and went down to chapel, which was wonderful. I really miss daily chapel and the music and preaching was fantastic. We had free time after that and I used it to talk to the housing people, the financial aid people, the admissions guru (who greeted me with a hug), stalk a few of my father-in-law’s buddies and got one (Craig Koester)in his office, and get pictures of the death mask of Martin Luther. (It’s sitting in a display case on the third floor. It’s kind of like a Lutheran relic.) I had lunch in a group with the admissions people and my other program mates. After lunch, we were able to sit in on classes and I chose to sit in on the class of Dr. James Nestingen who is a dear friend of my in-laws and the person I was mainly supposed to stalk. (My father-in-law had given me his phone number and told me to call him. I’m more of an email person and so I ended up leaving him an email and phone message. My mother-in-law joked about him tiptoeing around with a fake mustache to avoid the little 5’1″ female who was stalking him.) It was a class on the Renaissance and Reformation and we talked about the teachings of Thomas Aquinas and nominalism, which was the hermeneutic that followed his time. After that, we had the final events and most people left. I and another man were staying until the next morning, so I got some calls made and headed back to my room. Chris (the other man) and I went to dinner at 5:30 and talked for a long time. I then went back to my room and watched “Joe Millionare” (for the first time) and cheered as Zora was the one picked. I saw part of Letterman but missed Dr. Phil. (Thankfully, Jon taped it for me.)
Tuesday
I got up at 5:45, cleaned up, packed and headed to MSP. I got there muy early and had to clear security. I got some of the stuff in psych report fixed while I was waiting for my plane and I flew from MSP to Detroit and then Columbus.
Well… I just had a doctor’s appointment and I’m scheduled for an ultrasound tomorrow morning. They poked and prodded me and attempted to do a full exam, but stopped after I started screaming in pain. The good news is that the cyst is relatively small and looks benign. I also meet with Therese (my State Farm chica) tomorrow afternoon to sort this out.
Jon has two funerals and the proceeds of those will probably go toward medical bills. You know you’re a pastor when a funeral or wedding equals grocery money.
I ended up in the ER last night in horrendous stomach pain. It’s an ovarian cyst that needs to be treated ASAP. Problem: our insurance went into effect a month early and we didn’t realize it. Now we have no insurance, probably a good sized ER bill, and I might have to put off treatment until we can get the insurance in effect.
I am sobbing uncontrollably and I ask for prayer because I cannot figure out how to deal with it other than a pretty good-sized miracle.
Update: Our State Farm agent called and she’s fighting with the company that administers the insurance. It was *THEIR* fault and she and I both know it. It’s more a case of going up the chain of command to get it fixed than anything else. In the worst case, we could talk to the patient advocate and see if they could reduce our bill because we are a low income household. I have a doctor’s appointment today to figure out what to do next and thankfully, they were able to tell me how much it would be and we thankfully have the credit on our credit card to pay for it. (There’s a reason I’m paying off 1.5 to 3 times my minimum payment each month.)
I also found out that I am ineligible for unemployment today. I’ve called the temp agency and I’m reactivated. Hopefully, gainful employment is in the immediate future.
I’m back from spending the weekend in the Twin Cities. I’ll have an account in my candidacy journal eventually, but for now, enjoy these pictures.