Category Archives: Faith

Chico Hot Springs 2008: My Redux

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I asked for this week off as it’s the Montana Synod Pastors’ Conference and was granted it so… I got to go to Chico Hot Springs with Jon for the conference!

The Good
-not having to commute an hour to work for 5 days!
-living in the most beautiful state in the union and seeing a part of it while driving down
-breakfast at the Park n’ Ponder in Great Falls on Tuesday
-soaking in the pool at Chico which is fed by natural hot springs so it’s a gigantic hot tub
-the food — all gourmet and all made fresh every day
-hanging with friends from the synod and making new ones
-getting to have a normal conversation with our most awesome bishop and being able to joke around
-AWESOME worship by people who KNOW how to do it
-going to Yellowstone on Wednesday afternoon and communing with the bison and elk and geese who were out
-being able to sit by the fire in the lodge and read Joanne Fluke murder mysteries
-dinner with Joe and Jon at Arby’s which was so fun that one forgot they were in a fast food restaurant
-walks in the falling snow while listening to my devotions as well as other podcasts on Panimatushka (my new iPod)

The Bad
-hard mattresses at the resort
-not getting to have a big orange tabby displacing my hips for several days
-missing my kitties

Otherwise, I’m chilling in my study because we have no heat (!!!!) and downloading interesting podcasts for work this week in addition to some Casting Crowns.

This Joyful Eastertide

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Christos aneste! Alithos aneste!

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Happy Easter to those in the West. To those in the East, keep up the good fight with your Lenten fasts!

No plans as of yet for today other than church and more church but hopefully someone will adopt us? *gives local peeps Bambi eyes*

So Much For Sleeping When I’m Dead

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Pisco and I were talking today about how exhausted we’ve been lately and I had to laugh when I saw this in the chat…

I hear you. I been run down and worn out this week. I keep saying to myself, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” and then realize we’re supposed to expect resurrection of the body and think, “Oh, crap.”

Guess I’m not getting that sleep deficit worked off any time soon…

(Speaking of such things, I should get off and go shower and go to bed meself as I have to be up at dark-thirty for church tomorow.)

Triduum Update

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So… I’ve had a pretty nice Triduum this year.Â? (I provided the link for those who are not uber-liturgical type people.)

I went to church in town after church on Thursday and got to exercise my mad choir skillz (thank God for choir privileges there) as well as have a nice quiet service and all that. It’s kind of nice to have a preacher other than Jon occasionally because it’s different enough that I pay attention better and it makes me appreciate the things Jon does well in his preaching.Â? Oh yes… I’m also an evil sinner because with only 2.5 days left until Easter, I broke my Lenten fast and had a Coke with lunch.Â? *insert self-flagellation*

Yesterday, I did the 12-3 fast and went for a walk during lunch to get my mind off of food.Â?Â? While on my walk, I met a very nice Maine Coon cat who allowed me to come close and who sniffed the fingers of my gloves.Â? I left chocolate eggs on/in everyone’s desk with a note saying “From the Easter Cat” so it was kind of cool to have a cat to reference.Â? After grabbing a quick Veggie Delight sub in town, I went to Church #1 and got there early.Â? While waiting for Jon to bring me clothes (I was in jeans and running shoes and figured that I should look a little nicer for Good Friday worship), I got to sit and jam with the people doing music for the service and the whole fellowship/singing old-time gospel songs was really a blessing to me.Â? The service itself was incredibly moving and reading the part of Caiaphas during the Passion story was also pretty intense as I realized the stuff I was saying.Â? That plus the music made me a little teary during the prayers which I guess wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Today, I got to sleep in before going to town to do errands… and having a few frantic phone calls with L.L. Bean over them messing up my order.Â? (That’s another entry.)Â? I stopped at the library and loaded up on murder mysteries to read while I’m off next week, did some grocery shopping, and headed home.

Right now, I’m engaging in some “geek spring-cleaning” as my mother-in-law refers to it — I’m cleaning old crap off my laptop and putting pictures onto CD’s for storage because I’m running out of space.Â? I’m hoping the cleaning will make my laptop run better — especially because I have some things I need to do next week!

Happenings Lately

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[-] Got my taxes done early using TurboTax.Â? For the first time since Jon was ordained, the government is giving us money back which is going toward our April estimate.
[-] The hyperextended knee is pretty well healed up.Â? Now if I could figure out what I did to the other knee…
[-] Engaged in some retail therapy in Great Falls yesterday.Â? Hit up Bath & Body Works, Lady Foot Locker (replaced my 3 year old running shoes with ones that actually *have* arch support), Victoria’s Secret, Wally World, and 2-J’s (like Trader Joe’s).Â? Also had dinner with my aunt and uncle.
[-] Holy Week has started.Â? Jon preached a perfectly depressing sermon today on how Jesus CHOSE to suffer and didn’t take the easy way out and we sang “Ah Holy Jesus”.Â? Yes… I like the somberness and the really OLD hymns we get on Good Friday and during the rest of Holy Week — I know I’m weird.
[-] I’ll be in Chico Hot Springs from the 25th to 28th for the synod pastor’s conference (I get to go chill this year) and I have the Clergy Spouse Retreat from April 4th to 6th so I’ll be getting around the state quite a bit.