Monthly Archives: July 2004

Strength in the Midst of Chaos

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For Vicki:

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

Come and see the works of the LORD ,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
-Psalm 46 (NIV)

Ponderings at 4 a.m.

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I woke up feeling anxious (mostly because I was hungry) and while I wait for my sourdough bread and juice to hit my stomach, I’m blogging out some ponderings I have.

  • Last Thursday, we worshipped with the men of Prisoners of Hope Lutheran Church, a mission congregation of the ELCA at Prairie Correctional Facility. It was an immensely humbling and emotional experience for me, especially since it really redefined the boundaries of grace for me and reminded me that in terms of sin, I’m just as bad as these prisoners. I have never been welcomed so warmly by any congregation before as I was by the men in this group and I was also amused that I was sitting between an LCMS prisoner and a WELS prisoner and the three of us (me being the evil, heretical ELCA chica) were worshipping and praising together joyfully without a care as to our denominational squabbles. This must be what Heaven is like!
  • On Friday, Jon and I got a call from someone about L, a parishioner who has been fighting cancer for the last year, telling us that they had found cancer on her brain. L called us in tears the next day and we prayed with her and told her that we’d come down to Sioux Falls (2 1/2 hours one way) to see her. I ended up driving Jon down yesterday and I am really glad that I came along. L is really not doing well but she and her kids have an amazing attitude, which is that this is all in God’s hands and that it will all be all right. She was exhorting Jon and I and the two of her kids who were there to trust in the Lord and to live our lives in His way (among other things). Her daughter read the devotion for the day to all of us (including the nurse who was checking to see if she could swallow) and all 5 of us had Communion when the nurse left. (This was one of the most moving times I’ve received the Body and Blood.) When I left, I got a hug from her and a kiss on the cheek, which almost made me cry — these are Norwegians — they aren’t affectionate. The visit was definitely good for my soul — we went to minister to her and she ended up ministering to us.
  • I’ve noticed something about some of the families in the church. EVERYONE is there on Sunday — it’s not a matter of whether the kids (at least those who are confirmed) want to be there but instead it is expected that they are there. It’s the attitude of “it’s Sunday morning, so we’re in church” and I think in those families, there really is no discussion — it’s simply an expectation. I really wish that this was the case for everyone.

    • Me thinks I should go to sleep now…

    My Walk(s)

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    As I’ve mentioned in other entries, I’ve been getting up at 6:30 and doing devotions before heading out on my walk. Devotions are the ODB reading and a hymn or two as I do most of my praying while I’m out on the walk.

    The benefits of this:
    -I get my butt in gear and get some time in my Father’s world. I’ve lost a few inches from my waist and butt in the process. (Happy peripatetic Jen!)
    -I get all my nervous energy out. The Lexapro mutes the nervous feelings but it hasn’t gotten rid of the actual nervous energy. The walk uses up that energy so that I’m a little more chill the rest of the day.
    -I meet the most interesting creatures and people.
    -I get some serious prayer time. I’m one of those people who needs to be doing something else at the same time to really pray on my own (i.e. crocheting, doing dishes, walking) and I find that I get much of my life sorted out with the Lord during the the 3+ miles I walk.

    On Tuesday, I wasn’t able to go for my walk because of the rain and it felt weird all day to sleep in until 8:30 with my purring lump of black satin because I felt like I should have gotten up and been outside at 6:30. Is this the sign that it’s now a habit???

    My Stalker

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    I was out on my morning walk and had sat down outside the town cemetery to get some gravel out of my shoes when a small tabby patch cat trotted over to me. It rubbed against me, nuzzled my hands, and then jumped in my lap. I finished putting my shoes back on, petted the cat for a few minutes, and then got up to continue my walk. The cat trotted right behind me and followed me for the next half mile. I tried running (it ran after me), shaking my water bottle on it (it didn’t move, making me feel really bad for wetting the poor cat), and finally I walked back to the cemetery. I called Jon on my cell phone and asked him to come and get me because I didn’t want this cat following me on the rest of my walk because it could get lost, run over by a car, or hurt by a dog. Jon came and got me and dropped me off about 4 blocks away.

    My hunch is that the cat was in heat and either smelled Freya and Edda on me or was attracted to me because I’m in that time of the month right now.