I’m sitting in Jon’s office catching up on all the Prairie Home Companion shows that I’ve missed. I just heard some Oles (St. Olaf students and alums — Um Ya Ya!) sing their fight song (the only one written in 3/4 time) in 4 part harmony. (Garrison Keillor’s comment: “That’s a fight song?”) My mother-in-law instructed me to listen to it because I married an Ole. I’m also listening to the Gospel music that was part of that week’s show. I’ll have to ask my mother-in-law if this week’s show was worth listening to.

Hymn of the Day
I’ve had this hymn in my head since I sang it in chapel on Monday at Luther Seminary. It’s a Filipino one that has been translated into English and it is beautiful. The words are wonderful but the tune is beautiful.

Lord, your hands have formed the world,
Ev’ry part is shaped by you —
Water tumbling over rocks, air and sunlight:
Each day’s signs that you make all things new.

Like a mat you roll out land,
Space to build for us and you
Earthly homes and, better still, homes for Christ
The truest sign that you make all things new.
–WOV 727

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…

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 posting this to see how much I can get done by the end of March:

-clean up mess immediately around my desk in my study
-see if anyone at the church can give me sewing lessons on my machine
-put books in bookcases
-sort through remaining boxes in study
-sort through papers
-get taxes to Sally to prepare (got this done relatively quickly)
-get FAFSA done
-sort through boxes in basement
-re-pack non-essential stuff
-go through closets for Goodwill/consignment shop donations
-organize papers and bills into file folders
-organize cat records
-register at a temp agency

I think that’s a good enough start.

Jon preached on healing today in his sermon and suggested to Bill (his supervisor) that we have healing services after all the normal church services. Bill OK’ed it and there were probably 10-20 people that stayed after each service and went to the chapel for the healing service. I went to the one after the 10:45 service, since I’d really like healing from my depression and from this nasty virus that is refusing to leave my body. I managed not to cry when they were laying hands on me and anointing me with the olive oil and I was very thankful that it was just straight olive oil. (The dean of the chapel at Trinity usually mixes in a ton of lavender or rosemary oil and you smell like an herb garden for the rest of the day. Those were the days I showered immediately after chapel.) I think that we’ll start doing it a lot more frequently, especially since a good portion of the congregation is senior citizens and many people are dealing with flus and colds right now.

The reason I would probably have cried is that having hands laid upon you is a really humbling experience as it opens you up to a power that is beyond your comprehension. I remember praying for people in college and being prayed over and you start crying, regardless of how calm you were going in. At the seminary, we do healing services quarterly, if not monthly, and grown men and women will break down in tears in the line to be prayed over and anointed. I thought it was one of the better attended days in chapel because a lot of people would stay after for this experience. It’s something that I would love to do when I am a parish pastor someday because the Christian faith deals with the body as well as the soul. The healing effect of this is usually just psychological, but then again, many illnesses have some psycho-somatic causes.

I’m bored so I’ll take a survey off of Tim’s site.

1. What is your opinion of Davey Henreckson?
He writes pretty nice stuff.

2. Do you like calico dresses?
When I have to dress up and look like I actually subscribe to some standard of modesty.

3. More than Davey?
It’s definitely a toss-up.

4. If you had to join a new, non-Reformed denomination, what would you pick?
Techically, I’m Reformed because I’m Lutheran but… I’d probably be Catholic or Eastern Orthodoz but without the incense. *sneezes 10 times in succession*

5. What is your opinion of the AAPC controversy?
Lots of unnecessary navel-gazing.

6. Have you ever chanted?
Heck yeah. I’ve been a cantor and they actually made us learn how to do all of this in seminary.

7. Have you ever been an acolyte or alter boy?
A few times, and shouldn’t that be altAr boy?

8. Have you ever attended three or more churches in a day?
On Easter Sunday, yes. (Long story.) I know people who do this regularly and this is including the 2 synagogue services the day before.

9. Have you ever touched Doug Wilson?
Nope, and unless I either want a restraining order placed on me for stalking or to attend a Reformed (Calvinistic) gathering, I don’t intend to.

10. Do you wish you lived in Spokane with Tim, Rick, Lynné, and Rachel?
I wish I lived in *Washington*. Spokane is a toss-up. It would be nice to meet all these people who have journals in which I lurk frequently and I would love to live in the Pacific Northwest again.