Jubilation and Celebration...4 days later

I can't believe it's taken until now to proclaim that MY FAVORITE driver won the Daytona 500 on Sunday! It was incredible. It took talent. It took guts. It was risky. It took experience.
Congratulations to you, Mr. Gordon. :D

Church Research

Our church is going through the process of revisiting our vision for ministry and preparing a "Roles and Responsibilities" document for our pastor at the request of our pastor. I realize that each congregation has their own focus for ministry, however I was wondering if any of your churches have a R&R document for your pastor (ok, that's a funny acronym)?

I guess I'm wondering:

• what we need to include (e.g. a specific list of administrative duties or just a comment that says "Fulfill administrative needs of the church")
• what types of things are biblically pastoral roles
• what are NOT pastoral obligations (in a church of 60 people)
• ideas as to what are realistic expectations and unrealistic expectations for a full time pastor of a small congregation

I don't know what else to ask. I know that many of you that drop in from time to time are involved in ministry either in a pastoral role or in other leadership roles. I'm very interested in how you would respond to the above as well as what else I should be asking about!

Please either respond here or email me (since most of you are family). If your church has a document like this that isn't confidential, I would be most interested in reading an example.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to your ideas!

Smiles for you...

So I found out today that my friend Terrin has added a link from her blog to mine titled, "The Superior Posterior." Please don't check next time you see me. :)

Perfect Husband

Ok, so "perfect" might be a misleading word...but he's perfect for me! He's just so giving and loving and understanding...
I would say we had one of the most perfect evenings yet...
After school, I went to wash the car and pick up a treat for him...and then to pick him up. We're a one-car family right now (which really appeals to the Hippie in him and the budget-crazed inner me) so we have to do the taxi thing. Anyway, washing the car makes me feel like a queen because there's just nothing like a shiny piece of metal. Anyway, he was impressed that I'd spent my time that way, and I felt productive before I even got home!
When we finally did get home, we started supper together and opted for one of those meals that has 10 minutes of prep and an hour of baking time. With supper in the oven and Stewy in the shower, I quickly prepared the only thing I could think of that would be a new and hopefully exciting treat for him. I got the foot bath ready and put in the new Ani DeFranco CD I'd just bought him (which deems me the "perfect wife") and waited for his shower to be over. He's often watched me give one of my girlfriends a pedicure and remarked later that it looks like it feels good...so I gave him one. He wasn't disappointed. He has nice feet...much nicer than mine. I hope when we have kids, they have his feet and he hopes they have my chin! Silly boy.
We followed that with a wonderful supper...which he cleaned up because he argues that I did most of the cooking and we have the "I cook you clean up" rule at our house. Cooking was a team effort, but I let him clear the table.
His treat for me followed. We got into the car and he turned to me and proclaimed that we were going to buy me perfume, but that my best friend Jen hadn't been enough help and now we'd have to pick it out together. :D Oh, darn. So, another fun activity with my Scooby.
We ended up at my brother-in-law's volleyball game and played with my two angels...and then back home to watch the taped version of 'The Bachelorette'.
A fun, relaxed, thoughtful time with the person I love. Happy Valentine's to us!

Valentine's Day

I used to call it "Black Monday" or whatever day of the week it fell on that year. Of course my favorite was, "Black Sabbath". Those were special years.
Anyway...this is Stewart and my first Valentine's together. I'm assuming it will be much like the last 27 V-days as our plans are to eat supper and watch tv or something. We're pretty low-key people if you haven't already figured that out...and we love to just hang out with each other. I think the plan is to make our wedding meal for supper...and then watch The Bachelorette. I know it's pathetic, but when you're as tired as we are today, it's just the perfect thing!
Life's too busy. Any hints as to how to slow down and enjoy more of it???? I'm learning to say no, but how do you decide what to say no to?

Family

So I love my family. The immediate and the extended and even the new family I married into. They're just neat people and I love getting to know new people with new and refreshing gifts. :)

So my Enns family is to me what the McMillans are to Stewy. It's not that they're perfect, but they all have incredibly special things about them that just don't allow you to ignore them.

This weekend, two sets of aunt and uncles came to Brandon with my grandma. They came to see my uncle Steve and their two nieces/granddaughters. It was a special time because my grandma is sick. She's really sick and the more time I spend with her, the more real it is that it's a gift that she's still with us. Seeing her this weekend was exciting as we actually got to visit for a bit, but it was also scary as I can see how much more frail she is now compared to at Christmas time. I can't even type this without the tears welling up. She's been without my grandpa for almost 6 years. She misses him so much and as she talks about her illness, she always starts with, "I've had many good years." Her first diagnosis of cancer was almost 18 years ago...we've been so blessed. It's still not any easier to prepare to say goodbye to someone so special. My mom told me at the beginning of last summer that I should prepare myself that grandma may not make it until our wedding. I thought she was crazy and continued believing she would be there. That morning, she was so ill, that they had a plan in place of who would take her to the hospital in case things got worse during the wedding. She was so determined to be there and we have the most wonderful picture of the two of us that day! I'm so fortunate to have a family that supports each other the way mine does...and now I'm a part of another family like that. I don't deserve this!

So back to this weekend, we went swimming at the hotel and then for dinner...then we played Kenasta (sp?) with 8 people! It was a great time and such a great opportunity to connect with and learn more about these wonderful people that God's put in my life. To those of you who are aunties and uncles, it's SO WORTH YOUR EFFORT to invest in the lives of your nieces and nephews...as kids and well into their adult lives. And for those of you who do this, thank you from someone who appreciates the time you took and continue to take. I hope I can be that kind of Auntie.

Wow, this seems pretty disjointed and for that I apologize. Just wanted to document the good times as life isn't always this encouraging.

Dates for almost nothing...

Ok, some of these may be dorky for some of you, but they're things we really enjoy and most promote great conversation:

1) Play games, just the two of you, or invite a couple over to play The Farming Game. In addition to TFG, we love the Settlers of Catan. If you don't like board games...grab a deck of cards, put on some coffee, make some nachos. Yummy.

2) Go for a walk, find a spot on the river bank, pretend you're still dating. Or, go for a hike in a nearby park. Take a picnic lunch and enjoy the outdoors. Bring a camera if you can...

3) Rent a movie and make some popcorn.

4) Bake or clean together. It's so much more fun when you aren't by yourself.

5) Go shopping and just dream...no buying, just dreaming.

6) Trade massages.

7) Read a book out loud together.

8) Play 20 questions.

9) Take a drive and explore a new part of the country or city.

10) Wrestle. (Stewy won't wrestle with me, so this is just a dream so far...) :(


OK, that's all for today...I'll try to think of a few more...man, we haven't done some of these in a long time. Oh, we also really like dreaming about home renovations together...but that can get costly!

I need your help...

How do I create links to other blogs, Bonnie?

What goes around, comes around

So my sister in law blogs. She's the reason I blog. When she doesn't blog for awhile, I get antsy...what really is going on in her life? How are we supposed to keep up when she's so quiet?? So this morning...well, here I am.

The weekend with Jen was fabulous. She's the bestest friend and person anyone could ask to know! She's just so real and honest. Honesty's probably the thing I like most about her. She's not afraid to tell me when I'm out of line...and she says it in a way that doesn't make you feel like an idiot, but that you made a mistake and it's ok to make mistakes. She also doesn't hold the mistake over your head for more than a minute or two...and then all is restored. (It really is just the perfect amount of time to feel guilt and reflect on how I could have handled the situation better without replaying things over and over...)

I sometimes wonder why I accept admonition from her so well. Maybe it's because she's the only one who seriously gives it to me and I know there's no grudge in the future. Maybe it's because she makes mistakes, too and doesn't hide them. Maybe it's because we've established such a trust in our friendship that I know in 10 years, we'll still be getting together. Maybe it's because she knows I have pride issues and only mentions the things that she knows will make me a better person; she doesn't admonish to make herself look better. That's probably it. She's genuine. She's generous. She's thoughtful. She makes an effort to know and love. I often say, everyone deserves a friend like my Jen. Lord, help me to be a friend like that.

The rest of the weekend was also wonderful. I got new shoes. Cute white and green ones. :) We went out for supper with Jen's parents. Always a treat. Got a great Bran muffin recipe. Had lunch with my mother in law on Sunday. Had a great time with her. Went to see Sam and Tom in the evening. I miss those angels. Their hugs and kisses and stories are sometimes the exact medicine this auntie needs! I love that Stewart knows I need to see them more. He's making a real effort to do that and it's SO appreciated!

Speaking of Stewart, :) I like talking about him. He's such a treat. We had a date on Tuesday. He made me supper and then he'd arranged to go look at houses with our real estate agent. Yes, we have a house...but I just love that kind of thing and she's been bored lately, so we went on an adventure. There was actually one house that had a garage (which is a real perk in Brandon and we'd love for our next home to have one), but we just didn't like the house as much as we like our house. Our house is great. It's small, but it's homey and I don't have to spend forever cleaning! Anyway...back to the date...after house dreaming, we came home and sat on the couch and talked for almost two hours. It was nice to talk about future things. It was interesting to talk about past vacations. The rule for the date was that it had to be under $10.

I think we've decided in our DINK time, to learn to live on only one salary so that it's not a shock when we do have kids. Also, we are anxious to pay off all our student loans and such before kids. So yes, that means we have a bit of a wait....but if the grandparents are anxious for more grandchildren, they know they can make a donation!

Back to the date under $10...we're going to keep trying it and maybe write a book or magazine article (radically different undertakings!!!) to encourage quality time for couples without the burden of expense! Who knows better how to write them than someone who's experienced!

Sorry this has been rambling about non-related items...but at least I've given a little update for the both of you! :)