Tampa 1st night

Arrived in Tampa --- Downtown Hyatt, getting ready to start teaching for a prevent at the Youth Ministry Extravaganza, a yearly gathering of ELCA Youth Ministers from around the country.

Walking through the area I came across the Tampa theater and found a lone ticket in the 3rd row for the Los Lonely Boys (How Far Is Heaven?) Darn fun bluesy foot stomping, body swaying rock and roll show. The three brothers, Henry, Jo Jo and Ringo, deserve their Grammies. "It's just a mixture of everything we've learned: conjunto music from our father, Richie Valens, Stevie Ray, Willie. All the music that we've gathered… Fats Domino, Santana, Skynyrd." This is a variation on what Henry likes to call "the musical burrito theory,"

...and the night ends with the moon peaking through the clouds behind the Cathedral.

My story – Your story – God’s story – Our story

Some great winter runs this week.
And the Ballet!
Thanks Sara for inviting us and for the great dance performance!

There is an old Hassidic parable ending with “God made humankind because God loves stories.”

Maybe much of ministry, if not all, can be summed up in the exchange of story.

My story – Your story – God’s story – Our story

Some say the greatest human need is to be understood.

Understanding takes the willingness to want to hear another’s story. Not one sided, understanding requires the vulnerability of trusting another, allowing my story to be heard. In the midst of such give and take, such openness mixed with exposure, is cradled the story of God. God’s story coming to us in word, history, written, spoken, experienced, lived, felt… all mixed with the understanding of the intellects, the mystics and the poets. God’s stories, your stories and my story all become our story. How sad to try and separate one from another. The Body of Christ equaling our story. I best understand ministry as the bringing together of stories.

Candle Time

Sniffles are gone, a light snow coming down, a pleasant 20° so it is time to get back out there and run.

Morning Candle Time…

• Marie “How Can I Keep From Singing”
• Renee and the 3 mad dogs
• Rob --- peace, in my thoughts a lot
• Dr. V. --- peace, strength
• Dave D. --- strength, my empowering gift namer
• Marilyn all the family surrounding Larry
• Nathan, new walks
• Nick, dreams
• Me… words and wisdom
• Institute friends… for guidance

Back to work...

...and back to class. Augsburg--- a new semester. I arrived at the room greeted by three students from last year’s class. Honoring. Privileged to be part of these students dreams.

Sabbatical Almost Over

Sam a nephew to be. (darn cute) --- Nathan a year older. (also darn cute)

(Camara finally repaired!)

Only three more sabbatical days.
Where did it go?
Why is the long list still long?

The Bad Plus

Boys night out on the town... Nathan's treat (thanks bud!)
The Dakota on Nicollet down town Minneapolis to see the The Bad Plus. Top notch jazz trio that sales out two shows in a row all three nights.

Andrea

Pictures from 0utside the Signature Cafe in St. Paul.
December 22nd.
Yes, that is a ring.
A surprise relationship, many commonalities, dreams, a world worth pursuing and sharing together.

Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas

from
Nick & Tanya
Nate & Nancy
Lyle & Murphy

Christmas comes

I can do this... a clean house, a dinner, presents, getting dad here. Not bad for a guy.

In the midst of a war, disease, of homeless, illegal immigrants trying to provide for families, of changing relationships, and lose of people loved, Christmas still comes.

Hear Gloria

http://www.myspace.com/gloria

And if you haven't been over to MySpace to hear Nick's band's latest...

What ya waiting for?????

CD sampler will be released at their show on the 29th of Dec.

From Mom and Dad

(click on picture for full size)
Love, Mom

Things that I pray for you!

• Passion for faith
• Life led by integrity and values
• Respect for others, and yourself
• Organizing priorities, money and time
• Practice and knowledge of health and wellness
• Responsibility as a citizen of neighborhood, community, country and the world
• Love and responsibility for family
• Willingness to work towards and accomplish purposeful, and passionate goals
• Be able to discern, protect and accept that all in life is not fair, equal, or honest. In other words to know enough not to get taken advantage of. And, knowing when to stand up for things that are not just.
• Enjoy life, people, faith, talents and arts.

Love, Dad

Small Details Great Stories

It is almost 50 degrees on December 14, 2006 with a bright sun and a warm wind making for a peaceful afternoon run.I noticed a small nest hanging above the trail, a detail I must have often missed passing underneath. Maybe my mind is always too busy, or I have been watching the more easily noticed geese landing on the lake. It is easy to miss the small details that for some small creatures must have held a great story. Maybe it was in that nest young first peaked out discovering a world of baby strollers, runners, roller bladders, bikers, young boys carrying fishing polls, and romantic couples all passing a few feet below them. The nest hangs on the end branches of a tree that must, in either a breeze or a thunderstorm, gave a continued sense of motion, sway, and sometimes tumult.

It is Nick who I remember always noticing the detail of the world missed by those who tend to only see the macro. We reminisced together the northern Minnesota path that led our family over a small walking bridge to the base of a splendid rushing waterfall. As we all hurried to see it, little Nick stooped on bended knees to witness a small bug making its way across the path. No matter how much we called and pleaded for Nick to come and experience the site of the falls, he remained mesmerized by the smaller fascinating world.

Maybe there are bigger stories in the smaller unnoticed. Maybe understanding life, faith, relationship, and joy doesn’t really come from the hype that calls and pleads for us to rush to the base of the bigger and better commercial promises. Oh come, oh come Emmanuel… the small, the insignificant, the unnoticed. Born this day in the city of David… the unheard of comes the seemingly impossible of a sacred mystery. It is easy to miss the small details that hold the great stories.

Sabbatical Tasks

After finally getting back to running I was able to finish laying the wood for the living room floor. Just the molding to go.

Dad the Artist

Christmas at Ebenezer last night. Santa, great food and the art show. Got to love that smile!

Cold Moon

Not one of my better photographic moments. As the moon came up over downtown St. Paul I pulled over to take a shot of… I guess of the streetlight. But the moon still crept into the lower right of the frame. Okay, not the best shot, but a moon represented by a new star that holds a collage of memorable words.


• The Full Cold Moon; or the Full Long Nights Moon - December During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.

Christmas Tree 2006

Time to hang the tree!
You mean stockings.
No... We hang our tree.
I don't get it.
Well, here it is. Our hung tree.

Christmas Star

My first full day at home in over a month! Christmas started to come out of the boxes and the delicate wooden star went back to the front window. Christmas has begun.

Frozen Pond

Geese situate themselves around the only remaining open water on the pond. There is a bit of surprise as I rediscover that cold weather running feels better than it should. Tomorrow will be the one-year maker for this blog.

to Bemidji to home

Bemidji, MN, the NW Minnesota Synod’s Jr. High Youth Gathering. Over a thousand kids and I get to play speaker. For me, as an educator, the irony of Picking up a microphone to speak I know has the least retention rate for the listeners. Add a hot band, lots of fancy lights, a smoke machine, a bishop, happy high school leaders, and it’s not so bad. I’m really a small group process person. Some how I have learned to intertwine the same techniques that seem to work in the small group to the use of a microphone. Give me a thousand Jr. High kids and we’ll have fun.

Monday morning, dishes in the dishwasher, clothes in the washer, drinking coffee by the fire with two happy cats. I’m home. It’s time to get ready for a run.

Cert School: Day 12 & 13

Dr. Nate takes a break from teaching theology to help load wood.
Such a great expereince, with a great new family.

One person described the expereince as an atmosphere where everything that is taught is also lived and modeled.Goodbye to the Mountains.