Category Archives: Faith

It’s That Time of Year Again!

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Yep! It’s Blogathon time!!! I’ll be doing the Blogathon here on July 28th as well as being part of the group doing Potterthon and monitoring. I’ll be raising funds on my blog for International Justice Mission, an organization that works in third world countries to combat slavery, sexual exploitation, police brutality, and other miscarriages of justice.

If you want to sponsor me, click here. I’ll have a footer at the bottom of every blog post for the next few weeks with the same link, so feel free to think it over if you need to.

An incentive in case you need one: if I raise at least $500, I will show up at both services on August 5th in full make-up, with my nails done, and wearing a nice dress. For those who know me in real life, that is a pretty rare site and something I haven’t done (at least in full) since my wedding day 5 years ago. So… if you want to see me dressed up pretty that Sunday morning, sponsor me!

Blogathon Alphabytes

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Hey y’all!

I’m getting my Blogathon site ready (I’m working with International Justice Mission this year) and I’m doing “alphabytes” again though not really tied to any topic.Â? I need y’all’s help in coming up with entry topics starting with the following letters:

D
J
N
O
P
T
W
X
Y

I also need questions to answer in my Q post so if you have any questions you’ve been dying to ask me, let me know so I can answer them that day.

Issues of Conscience and Arrogance

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Great Falls Tribune: Pharmacy draws fire for stopping the sale of birth control pills.

OK…Â? the problem at hand is that the new owners of the pharmacy feel that stocking oral contraceptives is detrimental to their consciences and plan to stop stocking them… AFTER THEIR CURRENT SUPPLY RUNS OUT!!!

Yeah… I can understand making the decision not to stock them and it’s their right.Â? However… after putting an ad in the newspaper on Mother’s Day announcing this and claiming that it’s because such meds are sinful, isn’t it a bit hypocritical of them to keep dispensing the meds regardless of their supply?

I read a story about a pharmacist who just felt it was wrong that he was selling these expensive cancer meds while his pharmacy also sold cigarettes.Â? So… he took all the tobacco out to the parking lot and ran over it until it was all smushed.Â? He lost at least a few thousand dollars in stock but he made his point and stood up for his beliefs.

So should the Andersons and Depners take their supplies of Ortho-Cyclen and Levlen and grind the pills into powder?Â? Not necessarily but they should just take the loss and stop selling it immediately if their consciences are so burdened by the sale of these meds rather than putting a self-righteous ad in the Trib and acting like capitalist morons.

(Thank you to Jack, my wonderful independent pharmacist who chats with me about my cats and researches drug interactions for me in addition to answering my many questions.Â? You rock my world.)

VBS This Week and My Saturday Morning

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I just got done with a week of teaching/helping with VBS. It’s the first time I’ve had to take a serious nap after VBS in the morning and that I’ve been asleep before 10:30 in a long time. The program last night was good — I just would have preferred to leave the reception earlier. Unfortunately my laptop was being used for the slideshow of pictures and I don’t trust just anyone with it.

VBS was fun — just really tiring. Yesterday, my job was taking pictures of the preschoolers and just being with them (only 4 kids but enough energy to power a small city) for an hour had me ready for a long nap. The rest of the days were just kind of intense, especially Wednesday when my camera batteries died and I had to run to town (in the middle of road construction no less) to get working ones. I got the day’s pictures taken and the Powerpoint presentation done but it was pretty crazy. (My job was “Spotlight Drama” where I took pictures of the kids in certain poses and plugged them into Powerpoint.)

Yesterday, I was a bad Jen and had a coconut crunch shake thingie in town and had some neapolitan ice cream at the reception. (It was just two scoops unlike the 6-8 that the kids were eating.) Let me just say that it was the best ice cream I’ve had in forever and I actually felt *good* after eating it. I think I might need to relax a little bit on the “diabetic diet” if both of those actually made feel normal and not cranky or like I wanted to go to sleep. (Then again… I haven’t exactly had the most normal and quiet two weeks here.)

I got to sleep in until 10 this morning for the first time in… 2 weeks. It was so nice to not have an evil beeping thing wake me up. I finally got to watch the episode of Mythbusters that kept putting me to sleep (grenades, self-hypnosis, and exploding stomachs) as well as “Saved!” for the first time. (I think it was Oxygen or one of the women’s networks that was showing it all week.) “Saved!” was… kind of freaky. It was like “Clueless” but in a freaky born-again Christian way.

2007 Synod Assembly Redux: The Good, the Bad, and the “What Did They Just Say???”

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I’m fairly blissed out on Benadryl at the moment so beware of weirdness caused by my antihistamine-induced haze. 😛

The Good
[-] Staying with my aunt and uncle and having two excellent tomcats at my disposal.
[-] Some of the worship music (particularly “Canticle of Turning” from the first night)
[-] Meeting new people.
[-] Conversations with friends (especially those who admit to reading this blog — you know who you are. 🙂 )
[-] Good food at Mackenzie River Pizza Company on Friday night.
[-] Getting some cross-stitching done on my 1st project in 15 years.
[-] Electing an AWESOME new bishop and being able to give her a congratulatory hug.
[-] Meeting friends of my father-in-law and having them figure out who I was by my credentials tag. (All of us had name tags with our name, parish, and geographic location on them. Let’s just say my last name is fairly unique.)
[-] Schmoozing with important people like the president of PLTS. (She sat with us for the Saturday morning plenary.)
[-] The privilege of being asked to be a communion assistant for the closing Eucharist. (I’m not clergy and I’m not incredibly special in the synod so I was pretty jazzed to be asked and gave a BIG hug to the person who asked me.) It was humbling to say the least.
[-] Talking with the college kids on Saturday and asking them what they were going to do with their idealism and energy.
[-] My aunt and uncle’s most excellent tomcats. (They deserve another mention, especially Fredd who has parts of his back shaved for stitches from an owl attack.)
[-] Getting to talk to Bishop Omland and having him actually KNOW who I am and remember the first time he met me. (Let’s just say that the bishop inviting a candidate’s wife to have coffee with him and tell him about herself was a welcome change from the normal ELCA attitude that the clergy spouses are baggage. It’s the reason I trusted him as bishop — I’m an actual person to him, not just a name on a paper.)
[-] My travel equalization paying for my $tarbuck$ habit during assembly.

The Bad
[-] The new worship settings in the ELW — can we say “mass-produced inclusivist crap”?
[-] The inclusivizing of the Psalms in the ELW. See above.
[-] The omission of “Jesus In Thy Dying Woes” from the ELW. You guys suck. It’s THE Tenebrae hymn for Good Friday. Get it right.
[-] The re-writing of the Lord’s Prayer for the service on Friday night.
[-] The serious lack of air-conditioning in the main assembly chamber.
[-] The reflux and gas bubbles caused by dinner on Saturday night.
[-] The orange creme and vanilla bean fraps from $tarbuc$ — the first was over-rated and the second had a nasty aftertaste.
[-] Not giving the youth decent sound for their offertory.
[-] Getting an allergic reaction to whatever pollens were on Loogy’s fur. (Mr. Apex Predator was apparently hunting in some kind of weed or grass to which I’m pretty allergic.)
[-] LOOOOOOOONG days.
[-] Being utterly Laeodicean on the sexuality resolutions. Can we actually STAND for something instead of tabling it until next year?

The “What Did They Just Say???”
[-] The “amending of the amending of the amendment to the resolution”. I’m not even sure what that actually entails and if it’s even possible in the English language.

Montana Synod Assembly

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Well… we have a new bishop and…

IT’S A GIRL!

(OK… LikeÂ?Pastor Jessica Crist *wasn’t* going to be elected?)

She’s quite awesome and I’m looking forward to the next 6 years here.

I’ve also gotten a ton of cross-stitch done while resolutions have been parsed up and debated.Â? Best line so far:

“I’m a recovering English major.”

A Blessed Pentecost to You!

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ÙˆÙŽÙ??ÙŽÙ??Ù??ÙŽØ? Ø?ÙŽØ?Ø?ÙŽ Ø?Ù??Ù??ÙŠÙŽÙˆÙ??Ù??Ù? Ø?Ù??Ù??Ø?ÙŽÙ??Ù??Ø?Ù?ÙˆÙ??ÙŽØŒ ÙƒÙŽØ?Ù??ÙŽ Ø?Ù??Ø?Ù?Ø?Ù??ÙˆÙŽØ?Ù? Ù??Ù?Ø?Ù??Ø?ÙŽÙ??Ù?Ø?Ù?ÙŠÙ??ÙŽ Ù??ÙŽØ?Ø?Ù?? Ù?Ù?ÙŠ Ù??ÙŽÙƒÙŽØ?Ù??Ù? ÙˆÙŽØ?Ø?Ù?Ø?Ù?ØŒ í????ì???히 í??˜ëŠ˜ë?œë???í??? ê???í??˜ê?? ê???í??œ ë???람 ê???ì??? ì??Œë??ê??? 있ì??? ì???í?? ì????ì??? ì˜? ì???ì??? ê???ë???í??˜ë?? Potom sa zjavili plamene, akoby ohnivÃ? jazyky, ktorÃ? horeli nad hlavou kaÅ?dÃ?ho z nich.Â? Tutti i presenti furono pieni di Spirito Santo e cominciarono a parlare in altre lingue, come lo Spirito Santo li guidava.Â? Ð? Ñ??Ð?Ð?Ð?Ð?Ð? Ð?Ñ??Ð?Ñ?Ñ??Ð?Ñ?Ð?Ð?Ñ??Ð? Ð? Ð??Ñ??уÑ?Ð?Ð?Ð?Ð? ÑŽÐ?Ð?Ð?, Ð?Ð?Ð?Ð?Ð?Ñ??Ð?Ñ?Ñ??Ð?Ð?Ð? Ñ??Ð?Ð?Ð?Ñ??Ð?, Ð?Ñ?? Ð?Ñ?Ð?Ð?Ð? Ð?Ð?Ñ??Ð?Ð? Ð?Ð?Ð? Ð?Ð?Ð?Ð?Ñ??Ð?.Â? Î?Î?Î?Î?Î?Î?Î?Î?Ï?? Î?Î? Ï??Î?Ï?? Ï??Ï??Î?Î?Ï?? Ï??Î?Ï??Ï??Î?Ï?? σÏ??Î?Î?Î?Î?Î?Î? Ï??Î? Ï??Î?Î?Î?Î?Ï?? Î?Î?Î? σÏ??Î?Î?Ï??Ï??Î?Î? Î?Ï??Î? Î?Î?Î?Ï??Î?Î? Î?Î?Ï?? Î?Î?Î?σÏ??Î?Ï?? Ï??Î? Î?Î?Î?Î? Î?Î?Î?Î?Î?Î?Ï??Ï?? Î?Î?Î?Î?Ï??Î?Ï??Ï??Î? Î?Ï??Ï??Ï??Î?Â? Siling nila, “Ano ini? Pulos sila mga taga-Galilea!Â? Vá??y thÃ? sao chÃ?ng ta nghe ai ná??y Ä??á??u nÃ?i tiá??ng riÃ?ng cá??a xá?? chÃ?ng ta sanh Ä??á???Â? ÕŠÕ?Ö??Õ?Õ?Ö??Õ?Õ?Ö??, Õ??Õ?Ö??Õ?Ö?? Õ?Ö?? Ô?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Ö?Õ?Õ?Õ?Ö??, Õ?Ö?? Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Ö?? Õ?Ö?? Õ?Õ? Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ? Õ??Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Ö??Õ?, Õ??Ö??Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?, Ô?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?, ÕŠÕ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?, Ô?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?Õ?, FrÃ?Ã?gias ja PamfÃ?Ã?lias, Egiptuses ja KÃ?reene-poolses LiibÃ?as, ja siin asuvad roomlased, juudid Ã?hes nende usku pÃ?Ã?rdunutega, ×??×?×?×??×? ×??×?×?×??×??×? ×??×?×?? ×?×?×??×?×?? ×?מ×?×??×? ×?×?×? מ×?×?×?×??×? ×??ל×?×?×??×?×??×?×?? ×??×??ל×??×? ×??×?ל×??×??×?׃Â? Hepsi hayret ve ÅŸaÅŸkÄ?nlÄ?k iÃ?inde birbirlerine, â???â???Bunun anlamÄ? ne?â???â??? diye sordular.Â? Abanye ke babehlekisa ngabo, besithi, Bahluthi yiwayini enencasa.Â? ÞÃ? steig PÃ?tur fram og Ã?eir ellefu, og hann hÃ?f upp rÃ?dd sÃ?na og mÃ?lti til Ã?eirra: ,,GyÃ?ingar og allir Ã?Ã?r JerÃ?salembÃ?ar! Þetta skuluÃ? Ã?Ã?r vita. LjÃ?iÃ? eyru orÃ?um mÃ?num.Â? irgazen-agi ur skirÌ?en ara am akken i É?ilen kra seg-wen, axatÌ?er atÌ?an d tÌ?esÉ??a n sÌ?sÌ?behÌ? kan !Â? Baina haur da Ioel prophetÃ?z erran iÃ?an dena.Â? ç?žè??ï?šåœ?æœ?å?Œçš??æ???å??ï?Œæˆ??è??把æˆ??çš??é?ˆæ???ç?Œæ????æœ??çš??ä??ï?Œä??å????çš??å????å??è??è??é??è???ï?Œä??å????çš??é???å??ä??è??è???ç???è??ï?Œä??å????çš??è???å??ä??è??ä?œç???å??ã????Und auf meine Knechte und auf meine MÃ?gde will ich in denselbigen Tagen von meinem Geist ausgießen, und sie sollen weissagen.Â? ã??ã?Ÿã???ä?Šã??ã??ã???å??ã??å???è??ã????è???ã???ã???ï??ä???ã??ã??ã???åœ?ã??ã???ã????ã???ã????ã???ï??ã???ã??ã???ã??ã???è???ã??ç??ã??ç???ã??ã???ã???ã????ç????ã??ã????ã???ï??è???ã???ã????ã??ã???ã???ã???ã????Solen skal bli til mÃ?rke og mÃ?nen til blod, fÃ?r Herrens dag kommer, den store og herlige.Â? И Ð?уÐ?Ð?Ñ??: Ð?Ñ?Ñ?Ð?Ð?Ð?, Ð?Ñ??Ð? Ð?Ñ??Ð?Ð?Ð?Ð?Ð?Ñ?? Ð?Ð?Ñ? Ð??Ð?Ñ?Ð?Ð?Ð?Ð?Ð?, Ñ?Ð?Ð?Ñ?Ð?Ñ??Ñ?Ñ?.Â? “Wananchi wa Israeli, sikilizeni maneno haya! Yesu wa Nazareti alikuwa mtu ambaye mamlaka yake ya kimungu yalithibitishwa kwenu kwa miujiza, maajabu na ishara Mungu alizofanya kati yenu kwa njia yake, kama mnavyojua.

(Props to The Unbound Bible and Bible Gateway for the translations.)