9/23/14
I spent a portion of the morning working on my blog and journal entry and was able to get that updated. I spent the rest of the morning really working on my confirmation lesson for tomorrow. I kept my notes from Michael in front of me as I started and went though it. I made sure to put in as many notes for myself and what I want to say and how I want to say it as I could. I also put in reminders to do certain things like: setting the room, getting away from the podium, and picking on the quieter people in the room. I was able to work on my goal for the lesson and then hit a bit of a roadblock with it as to where I wanted to go. I was able to bounce some ideas off Michael right there and he suggested mini goals as well that are specific. This helped to serve as the outline for my lesson and got me moving forward again.
After lunch I came back and continued to work on my lesson. I feel like I might be taking too much time to finish it. However being in the learning experience time it is probably good and expected for me. I was able to finish my lesson and do quite a bit of other work getting ready for being gone for a week. It is quite a lot to take care of when I really stop and think about all the things that will come up out of nowhere if I don't work on them. Later in the afternoon Michael and I were able to talk about my lesson. There were a couple areas that he said could use rewording to help the 9th graders think about them better. Also one thing I completely changed because it strayed a bit from my overall goal and didn't help entirely to move towards it. I changed it and need to just get a second activity ready and I am prepared to teach tomorrow.
Today I learned that I am drawn to the difficult points in Scripture. I see them and want to explore and discuss them. This is a good thing for my growth and now just nee the time to actually check these out sometime and with someone.
RSE Group
Group shot of all the RSE attendants
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Monday Busyness
9/22/14
In the morning I took most of the time to update my journal. I didn't get into my blogs because they were building up to be so many. I would get to them eventually though. I really really need to do my journal on the day I am writing about. I should start to build the habit of doing my journal entry and my blog post the night of that day so everything is fresh in my head and I don't always do them the morning after or play catch up on Monday. Before lunch I also worked on and completed my quarterly self-assessment so Michael and I could talk about it in our meeting later in the afternoon. We both laughed as I asked questions about wording on some of the portions that he didn't really know either. We both agreed that this may need to be looked at again for future interns
After lunch Michael and met and had a long meeting. We had a lot to talk about with Kindle for Recent Grads coming up as well as everything else taking off this week and next with us gone. We were finally able to talk about my lesson. He gave me some great things to work on and a couple of them I had picked up on when I had looked back on my lesson myself. I am excited to improve my teaching style next time around. We also talked about PYROS and some upcoming events to get ready for them and what needs to be done to prepare for them. Lastly we went through the assessment and in most areas we were the same as to where I was. Most others we either came to the area in different ways or one away from what we had put down. It was a good discussion and really helped me to see where I am at this point in internship.
Today I learned some great areas I an improve my teaching ability Having Michael being able to give me points is great. He can impart wisdom and I get to try it out and develop my own way of teaching in a safe environment.
In the morning I took most of the time to update my journal. I didn't get into my blogs because they were building up to be so many. I would get to them eventually though. I really really need to do my journal on the day I am writing about. I should start to build the habit of doing my journal entry and my blog post the night of that day so everything is fresh in my head and I don't always do them the morning after or play catch up on Monday. Before lunch I also worked on and completed my quarterly self-assessment so Michael and I could talk about it in our meeting later in the afternoon. We both laughed as I asked questions about wording on some of the portions that he didn't really know either. We both agreed that this may need to be looked at again for future interns
After lunch Michael and met and had a long meeting. We had a lot to talk about with Kindle for Recent Grads coming up as well as everything else taking off this week and next with us gone. We were finally able to talk about my lesson. He gave me some great things to work on and a couple of them I had picked up on when I had looked back on my lesson myself. I am excited to improve my teaching style next time around. We also talked about PYROS and some upcoming events to get ready for them and what needs to be done to prepare for them. Lastly we went through the assessment and in most areas we were the same as to where I was. Most others we either came to the area in different ways or one away from what we had put down. It was a good discussion and really helped me to see where I am at this point in internship.
Today I learned some great areas I an improve my teaching ability Having Michael being able to give me points is great. He can impart wisdom and I get to try it out and develop my own way of teaching in a safe environment.
Busy Day
9/21/14
Today was a really good Sunday for me. It started off with me playing my saxophone at early service. I played the anthem: Come Thou Font, and I played the offering song: El Shaddai. I thought I sounded pretty good. You know it is something when the musician is happy with their own performance. I am pretty hard on myself when it comes to those things. I made a couple mistakes, but everyone does in some way in live music I think. Then the upper grades had a combined Sunday school with April about worship. I was able to help her get all the stuff she needed. It was a very good lesson and I pray that the kids took away some good lessons about what worship is and what our part is in it. Second service went good but I did not play for that one. Pastor Koglin had a great sermon about using God's words in loving actions.
In the afternoon Amy, JJ, T, and I went to the Renaissance Festival. We all were dressed up. It is always fun to hang out with them. We walked a bit and looked at some way expensive stuff which is always fun. Then we headed to the stage and watched a couple shows. I'm not a huge fan of the shows but it's time to hang out with them. I like getting their latter in the afternoon so that we really go to the places we actually want to visit rather than just walking around aimlessly. Then we all headed our separate directions. It was a pretty awesome day overall.
Today I learned I am really starting to know where everything is at at Redeemer. I was able to get supplies for April while she was teaching Sunday school and that felt good for me.
Today was a really good Sunday for me. It started off with me playing my saxophone at early service. I played the anthem: Come Thou Font, and I played the offering song: El Shaddai. I thought I sounded pretty good. You know it is something when the musician is happy with their own performance. I am pretty hard on myself when it comes to those things. I made a couple mistakes, but everyone does in some way in live music I think. Then the upper grades had a combined Sunday school with April about worship. I was able to help her get all the stuff she needed. It was a very good lesson and I pray that the kids took away some good lessons about what worship is and what our part is in it. Second service went good but I did not play for that one. Pastor Koglin had a great sermon about using God's words in loving actions.
In the afternoon Amy, JJ, T, and I went to the Renaissance Festival. We all were dressed up. It is always fun to hang out with them. We walked a bit and looked at some way expensive stuff which is always fun. Then we headed to the stage and watched a couple shows. I'm not a huge fan of the shows but it's time to hang out with them. I like getting their latter in the afternoon so that we really go to the places we actually want to visit rather than just walking around aimlessly. Then we all headed our separate directions. It was a pretty awesome day overall.
Today I learned I am really starting to know where everything is at at Redeemer. I was able to get supplies for April while she was teaching Sunday school and that felt good for me.
Gaming Update
9/20/14
Another day off for me today. Today I did more reading and other stuff than I did gaming. I sat down and wrote the adventure logs from our last gaming session on Obsidian Portal. It was fun to put them up and do some work on the campaign website. I really hope we get to play it again soon. It is one of the longest campaigns we've ever been through. Calculating it all up we are past 300 xp which is the upper level of what you give starting characters if they are like grizzled veterans or elders. I still didn't do my dishes.... But it was a good day today.
Today I learned that I compare most, if not all, sci-fi series and movies to Firefly and Serenity. I always think they could have done this better or where is the character development.
Another day off for me today. Today I did more reading and other stuff than I did gaming. I sat down and wrote the adventure logs from our last gaming session on Obsidian Portal. It was fun to put them up and do some work on the campaign website. I really hope we get to play it again soon. It is one of the longest campaigns we've ever been through. Calculating it all up we are past 300 xp which is the upper level of what you give starting characters if they are like grizzled veterans or elders. I still didn't do my dishes.... But it was a good day today.
Today I learned that I compare most, if not all, sci-fi series and movies to Firefly and Serenity. I always think they could have done this better or where is the character development.
Dishes 1, Brian 0
9/19/14
Well today was a day off spent entirely at my apartment. It was nice to recharge my batteries and have some introvert time. I mainly did some gaming today and other things. However the one thing I should probably have done right away was my dishes. My mom is probably laughing right now because she knows how much I love doing dishes.
Today I learned that I unconsciously do everything to get away from doing dishes. I kept myself busy doing anything all day to avoid doing dishes My mom would say there is nothing new there. :p
Well today was a day off spent entirely at my apartment. It was nice to recharge my batteries and have some introvert time. I mainly did some gaming today and other things. However the one thing I should probably have done right away was my dishes. My mom is probably laughing right now because she knows how much I love doing dishes.
Today I learned that I unconsciously do everything to get away from doing dishes. I kept myself busy doing anything all day to avoid doing dishes My mom would say there is nothing new there. :p
Cluster Group!
9/18/14
In the morning Michael and I went to cluster group. This is a time when a group of DCEs from around the area get together and just talk ministry and what not. This is a good connection point for me and a way to hear from other DCEs as to where they are at. We talked a bit about millenials and how each of our churches are approaching that and looking from pointers from past experiences and what we are doing now. It was very interesting to see how other congregations approach ministry. I am starting to make a mental list of the different ways for my future call so I have some ammunition on my belt.
In the afternoon we had a Ignite/PYROS planning meeting. During the meeting we spent a little amount of time on Ignite themes. We wanted to get people thinking but not spend the whole time on that. Michael wanted to give some chances for others who were not there and other youth to get some ideas in as well. We then went into the main goal of the night: planning PYROS events up until the month of December. There were some awesome ideas thrown out there and we were able plan all the way into December which was awesome. I am very excited to see these events happen and how they affect those around us. I finished up the night with subbing in for Michael for Children's message. Something in the chapel was making a lot of noise so we had Thursday service in the sanctuary. I was able to do the children's message and it went over well.
Today I learned that there is a lot behind getting paid and insurance in the church. It is something I've never thought about nor something we've ever talked about in any classes at school.
In the morning Michael and I went to cluster group. This is a time when a group of DCEs from around the area get together and just talk ministry and what not. This is a good connection point for me and a way to hear from other DCEs as to where they are at. We talked a bit about millenials and how each of our churches are approaching that and looking from pointers from past experiences and what we are doing now. It was very interesting to see how other congregations approach ministry. I am starting to make a mental list of the different ways for my future call so I have some ammunition on my belt.
In the afternoon we had a Ignite/PYROS planning meeting. During the meeting we spent a little amount of time on Ignite themes. We wanted to get people thinking but not spend the whole time on that. Michael wanted to give some chances for others who were not there and other youth to get some ideas in as well. We then went into the main goal of the night: planning PYROS events up until the month of December. There were some awesome ideas thrown out there and we were able plan all the way into December which was awesome. I am very excited to see these events happen and how they affect those around us. I finished up the night with subbing in for Michael for Children's message. Something in the chapel was making a lot of noise so we had Thursday service in the sanctuary. I was able to do the children's message and it went over well.
Today I learned that there is a lot behind getting paid and insurance in the church. It is something I've never thought about nor something we've ever talked about in any classes at school.
Confirmation
9/17/14
We had our staff meeting today. Most of our time was spent talking about the CSP chapel that we would be doing as a staff on Friday. We are trying to bring in both their theme for homecoming and our theme for the year at Redeemer. It is fun to bring that other places and it is such an easy theme to incorporate into any sense of Christian life. Making Him Known is what we are called to do with our lives in Christ. It will also be a good time to be at CSP again for a day. I don't know many students there anymore but seeing some of the professors will be fun.
I was able to teach confirmation again tonight. I was excited and nervous again. That, in my mind, is a good combination as long as the nerves are lower than than the excitement. That way you are a bit on edge and think about what you are saying. Michael would be there evaluating me a bit which is very helpful. My lesson went over decently well for tackling a tough subject. There were a couple areas that I felt interesting in. Michael asked that I went through my lesson and write down how I felt about the different areas and we would talk later. I have to admit that that night was me just constantly thinking about my lesson and what he could say.
Today I learned that I don't give myself as much time to think about questions before going into an answer. Taking a bit of time to think and evaluate can never hurt.
We had our staff meeting today. Most of our time was spent talking about the CSP chapel that we would be doing as a staff on Friday. We are trying to bring in both their theme for homecoming and our theme for the year at Redeemer. It is fun to bring that other places and it is such an easy theme to incorporate into any sense of Christian life. Making Him Known is what we are called to do with our lives in Christ. It will also be a good time to be at CSP again for a day. I don't know many students there anymore but seeing some of the professors will be fun.
I was able to teach confirmation again tonight. I was excited and nervous again. That, in my mind, is a good combination as long as the nerves are lower than than the excitement. That way you are a bit on edge and think about what you are saying. Michael would be there evaluating me a bit which is very helpful. My lesson went over decently well for tackling a tough subject. There were a couple areas that I felt interesting in. Michael asked that I went through my lesson and write down how I felt about the different areas and we would talk later. I have to admit that that night was me just constantly thinking about my lesson and what he could say.
Today I learned that I don't give myself as much time to think about questions before going into an answer. Taking a bit of time to think and evaluate can never hurt.
New Plans
9/16/14
Today was your typical work day. I got quite a bit accomplished today at the office. My main goal today was to start getting stuff done the day before I have that event. This is mainly for children's messages and lessons for teaching Sunday school and confirmation. Other things I still get done plenty early in order to have more time to edit and have them looked at. However for those other things the day before is great. I have the rest of that day to think about them and have them in my head. If another good idea comes to mind I can add it in no problem. It also allows me to run them past Michael and to get his feedback. He has been doing this for a lot longer than I have and his eyes on them catch things I never would, which is so helpful.
Today I learned that having stuff done the day before feels so good. It lets me really concentrate on my lesson, or whatever it is that I am working on. I also gain while day to check it out and keep revamping.
Today was your typical work day. I got quite a bit accomplished today at the office. My main goal today was to start getting stuff done the day before I have that event. This is mainly for children's messages and lessons for teaching Sunday school and confirmation. Other things I still get done plenty early in order to have more time to edit and have them looked at. However for those other things the day before is great. I have the rest of that day to think about them and have them in my head. If another good idea comes to mind I can add it in no problem. It also allows me to run them past Michael and to get his feedback. He has been doing this for a lot longer than I have and his eyes on them catch things I never would, which is so helpful.
Today I learned that having stuff done the day before feels so good. It lets me really concentrate on my lesson, or whatever it is that I am working on. I also gain while day to check it out and keep revamping.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Rummage Sale Set Up
9/15/14
Today's morning was spent filling in journals for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as well as writing up the blog posts for that day. I am very proud of myself for keeping up so well on this blog. It sometimes is a pain in the butt but I know at the end of internship I will appreciate looking back on this or my paper as well as just memories. Michael and I also helped to bring some stuff downstairs for the rummage sale. It reminds me of Trinity's sale. They have a lot of stuff this year which will be awesome. I headed home for lunch. For lunch today I had leftovers from Zadeos that Amy and I didn't eat on Sunday. I heated them up in the oven because that is the only way leftover pizza is delicious as leftovers!
I came back to church and Michael and I had our meeting. We went over my journal, which always seems to be like 2 weeks in between (very busy). It was a good time for us to touch bases and now able to set some habits and patterns we simply didn't have time for before. After that I went into practice wit April. I am playing this week at church which is nerve racking and exciting at the same time. Practice went well. I am extremely hard on myself when it comes to my music and so I thought I sounded terrible. I think just a couple more practice times will help me to feel more at ease. I spent the rest of time at church working on my book blog for internship.
I came back around ten to five. I was helping, and hopefully with some youth, to set up the rummage sale. There were quite a few adults including Michael, Paul, and myself. We were putting tables and chairs in different places and setting it up for the best viewing and flow of traffic. We did get one youth near the end of the night. Drew was able to show up and help a bit after his swimming practice. We actually got everything done at around 7:15 or so. I need to at some point go back down and take some pictures so they have them for next year on how to set it up again.
Today I learned that sometimes it is the littlest things that make the biggest impacts. I helped set up the rummage sale and it was just a fun time for me. I didn't mind the work part at all and it was a good time hanging out with the planners. I don't know the impact I had on them for my help but they made a huge impact on me that night.
Today's morning was spent filling in journals for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as well as writing up the blog posts for that day. I am very proud of myself for keeping up so well on this blog. It sometimes is a pain in the butt but I know at the end of internship I will appreciate looking back on this or my paper as well as just memories. Michael and I also helped to bring some stuff downstairs for the rummage sale. It reminds me of Trinity's sale. They have a lot of stuff this year which will be awesome. I headed home for lunch. For lunch today I had leftovers from Zadeos that Amy and I didn't eat on Sunday. I heated them up in the oven because that is the only way leftover pizza is delicious as leftovers!
I came back to church and Michael and I had our meeting. We went over my journal, which always seems to be like 2 weeks in between (very busy). It was a good time for us to touch bases and now able to set some habits and patterns we simply didn't have time for before. After that I went into practice wit April. I am playing this week at church which is nerve racking and exciting at the same time. Practice went well. I am extremely hard on myself when it comes to my music and so I thought I sounded terrible. I think just a couple more practice times will help me to feel more at ease. I spent the rest of time at church working on my book blog for internship.
I came back around ten to five. I was helping, and hopefully with some youth, to set up the rummage sale. There were quite a few adults including Michael, Paul, and myself. We were putting tables and chairs in different places and setting it up for the best viewing and flow of traffic. We did get one youth near the end of the night. Drew was able to show up and help a bit after his swimming practice. We actually got everything done at around 7:15 or so. I need to at some point go back down and take some pictures so they have them for next year on how to set it up again.
Today I learned that sometimes it is the littlest things that make the biggest impacts. I helped set up the rummage sale and it was just a fun time for me. I didn't mind the work part at all and it was a good time hanging out with the planners. I don't know the impact I had on them for my help but they made a huge impact on me that night.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Ignite Kickoff
9/14/14
I was up early for service. I got there and able to say hello with a lot of names attached which makes me feel awesome. We started Sunday school with the opening done by Michael. It was a great set up for the month. I came back and taught the senior high youth for the first time here at Redeemer. I got some good discussion out of them and knew all the names of everyone there which made me so happy! They seemed to get something out of the discussion and activity we had as well. I pray that it spoke to their hearts and were able to glen some valuable lessons that God was teaching them. It was fun to be teaching like that again. I didn't realize how much I had missed it from field work until I did it today again.
After Sunday school I caught up with Amy and we enjoyed service together. We were sitting next to Miriam and John and it was the most awesome experience ever. Miriam was translating every word spoken into Arabic for a few siblings there. It was such a cool moment for the Gospel to shine through as well as Making Him Known. Also a Chinese family came in and their oldest son seemed to be doing the same in Chinese for his parents. Both are such inspiring moments especially given the theme we have this year. After service Amy and I headed back to my apartment. We ate at Zadeos and she loved it. Then we simply just napped before I had practice as well as the Ignite Kickoff.
Both Amy and I played with the instruments of praise and both of us had a great time. I had missed playing with a group and it was fun to hear that ensemble sound again. After practice we ate with the youth for the kickoff of Ignite. We then had a time of devotion. We talked about this year's theme and how we can Make Him Known in our home, church, community, and the world. I was able to lead a small group and it was a lot of fun. They wanted me to join which was super awesome. I am glad to be getting some good relationships going with the youth. After that we played two games. One was tag where when you attach to someone the opposite person has to run. I forget the name for it but it was one we played at school at a lot. After that we played Hunger Games. Everyone gets a pool noodle and you try to tag everyone else out, all while in the dark. It was a great time. After that Amy headed home and I did some World of Darkness stuff and what not.
Today I learned that I really excel when I'm with the youth. That is those in 6th grade on up. I have so much fun with them and I'm able to get them to open up and build relationships with them pretty easily.
I was up early for service. I got there and able to say hello with a lot of names attached which makes me feel awesome. We started Sunday school with the opening done by Michael. It was a great set up for the month. I came back and taught the senior high youth for the first time here at Redeemer. I got some good discussion out of them and knew all the names of everyone there which made me so happy! They seemed to get something out of the discussion and activity we had as well. I pray that it spoke to their hearts and were able to glen some valuable lessons that God was teaching them. It was fun to be teaching like that again. I didn't realize how much I had missed it from field work until I did it today again.
After Sunday school I caught up with Amy and we enjoyed service together. We were sitting next to Miriam and John and it was the most awesome experience ever. Miriam was translating every word spoken into Arabic for a few siblings there. It was such a cool moment for the Gospel to shine through as well as Making Him Known. Also a Chinese family came in and their oldest son seemed to be doing the same in Chinese for his parents. Both are such inspiring moments especially given the theme we have this year. After service Amy and I headed back to my apartment. We ate at Zadeos and she loved it. Then we simply just napped before I had practice as well as the Ignite Kickoff.
Both Amy and I played with the instruments of praise and both of us had a great time. I had missed playing with a group and it was fun to hear that ensemble sound again. After practice we ate with the youth for the kickoff of Ignite. We then had a time of devotion. We talked about this year's theme and how we can Make Him Known in our home, church, community, and the world. I was able to lead a small group and it was a lot of fun. They wanted me to join which was super awesome. I am glad to be getting some good relationships going with the youth. After that we played two games. One was tag where when you attach to someone the opposite person has to run. I forget the name for it but it was one we played at school at a lot. After that we played Hunger Games. Everyone gets a pool noodle and you try to tag everyone else out, all while in the dark. It was a great time. After that Amy headed home and I did some World of Darkness stuff and what not.
Today I learned that I really excel when I'm with the youth. That is those in 6th grade on up. I have so much fun with them and I'm able to get them to open up and build relationships with them pretty easily.
Gaming Time!
9/13/14
In the morning Amy played with Adelaide while I did some gaming with her away. When she came over we headed out for a walk through Soldiers field. She took my iPad and took some great pictures. It was an absolutely beautiful day. We found ourselves halfway to Apache Mall and just went the rest of the way there. In the mall we had to check out Barnes and Noble because it is our favorite store as well as the best store in the world! We didn't get anything just looked at books and for our favorite series and what not. After that we headed to the food court and I had found I gotten paid today instead of the 15th which was great. So we splurged a bit and got some A&W for lunch which was delicious. Then we headed back to my apartment and hung out for the good majority of the afternoon.
About that time my friends had made it into town. They picked up Amy and headed out to Newts. I was completely jealous because I have still to get there and check out there food. I headed to church for my meeting. It was the long-awaited RSE debrief. I was able to see all the different behind the scenes people that helped make that event possible and continue to help out each year. It was a great joy to be a part of that meeting and help to plan the next RSE for 2015 which seeing the end result is a nice way to observe the way planning happens. I have an end picture of the event and can see where all the steps line up to make that even happen. After that I came back to my apartment and we started gaming. It was fun to game with that group again and especially able to play my game that we have gotten so far in and I have so many ideas floating around my head for. We lost two characters in this mission. One was due to us forgetting they were unconscious....oops. And the other was killed by another party member, which some coaxing from the ST, hehe.
Today I learned how many people are behind the planning of RSE. There are so many dedicated people and even more that I didn't see, that helps to make it happen each year. I am so very excited to be able to have a part in planning it next year.
In the morning Amy played with Adelaide while I did some gaming with her away. When she came over we headed out for a walk through Soldiers field. She took my iPad and took some great pictures. It was an absolutely beautiful day. We found ourselves halfway to Apache Mall and just went the rest of the way there. In the mall we had to check out Barnes and Noble because it is our favorite store as well as the best store in the world! We didn't get anything just looked at books and for our favorite series and what not. After that we headed to the food court and I had found I gotten paid today instead of the 15th which was great. So we splurged a bit and got some A&W for lunch which was delicious. Then we headed back to my apartment and hung out for the good majority of the afternoon.
About that time my friends had made it into town. They picked up Amy and headed out to Newts. I was completely jealous because I have still to get there and check out there food. I headed to church for my meeting. It was the long-awaited RSE debrief. I was able to see all the different behind the scenes people that helped make that event possible and continue to help out each year. It was a great joy to be a part of that meeting and help to plan the next RSE for 2015 which seeing the end result is a nice way to observe the way planning happens. I have an end picture of the event and can see where all the steps line up to make that even happen. After that I came back to my apartment and we started gaming. It was fun to game with that group again and especially able to play my game that we have gotten so far in and I have so many ideas floating around my head for. We lost two characters in this mission. One was due to us forgetting they were unconscious....oops. And the other was killed by another party member, which some coaxing from the ST, hehe.
Today I learned how many people are behind the planning of RSE. There are so many dedicated people and even more that I didn't see, that helps to make it happen each year. I am so very excited to be able to have a part in planning it next year.
Baking with Amy!
9/12/14
I spent the morning doing some gaming before Amy would be there. She was coming today and would be here until Sunday which was completely awesome! Once she got there we headed over the April and Bryces' place. There we got the spare key and played with Adelaide a bit as well. She was very happy to see us both and showed us all her favorite toys and it even snowed on me. Then we headed out to Cinemagic and watched The Giver. I thought it was pretty good. It's been a long time since I read the book. I absolutely loved the book and need to read it again sometime. After that we went to Wal-Mart and got some stuff for a baking adventure that Amy had seen on Pinterest. It turned out to be a bit of a disaster but it was because we didn't have the proper supplies. For the rest of the night we just hung out and watched Firefly.
Today I learned that using normal oil like it is Pam's spray does not work too well. In our baking adventure you needed to cupcake pans and Pam spray for the bottom of the second one. We just spread oil on it from a bottle using a paper towel. It did not work out entirely right. It may have also been because we left them in a bit long.
I spent the morning doing some gaming before Amy would be there. She was coming today and would be here until Sunday which was completely awesome! Once she got there we headed over the April and Bryces' place. There we got the spare key and played with Adelaide a bit as well. She was very happy to see us both and showed us all her favorite toys and it even snowed on me. Then we headed out to Cinemagic and watched The Giver. I thought it was pretty good. It's been a long time since I read the book. I absolutely loved the book and need to read it again sometime. After that we went to Wal-Mart and got some stuff for a baking adventure that Amy had seen on Pinterest. It turned out to be a bit of a disaster but it was because we didn't have the proper supplies. For the rest of the night we just hung out and watched Firefly.
Today I learned that using normal oil like it is Pam's spray does not work too well. In our baking adventure you needed to cupcake pans and Pam spray for the bottom of the second one. We just spread oil on it from a bottle using a paper towel. It did not work out entirely right. It may have also been because we left them in a bit long.
DCE Brown Bag
9/11/14
My morning today was spent at the DCE brown bag event. It is basically an event where DCEs from the Minnesota South District meet together and have some sort of presentation. Then we have a bit of a chance to discuss what was presented. This year we has a presentation from Kurt about millennials. It was very interesting, especially since a good number of people in the room where of that generation including myself. It was enlightening to hear from all the different DCEs in the area and from their personal experiences into this area. Another part of it that was really informing was talking with Michael and Mark on the way back to Rochester. We also began to talk a bit more about the upcoming generation. Mark was doing a presentation on them in the Educators' conference. He shared some great highlights that he would be sharing.
I came back and worked on some small projects here and there for the rest of the afternoon. I was able to accomplish quite a bit as well as getting some good progress into bigger projects. My biggest project right now is the acolyte schedule. I am not at a point where I want to be with it but that is because I do not have all the forms of preferred times from the students yet. I headed home around 4 and ate some dinner. I then came back for worship because it was habit for me. I realized that after I had arrived I didn't actually need to be there tonight since I didn't have anything to do at worship this time. I was able to just enjoy service this time around without have to worry about doing anything for the first time in awhile.
Today I learned some very interesting facts about the next generation after me. Mark has been studying them a bit and offered some very valuable pieces to us on the way back to Rochester. It was fun and very helpful to have that conversation with Michael and Mark.
My morning today was spent at the DCE brown bag event. It is basically an event where DCEs from the Minnesota South District meet together and have some sort of presentation. Then we have a bit of a chance to discuss what was presented. This year we has a presentation from Kurt about millennials. It was very interesting, especially since a good number of people in the room where of that generation including myself. It was enlightening to hear from all the different DCEs in the area and from their personal experiences into this area. Another part of it that was really informing was talking with Michael and Mark on the way back to Rochester. We also began to talk a bit more about the upcoming generation. Mark was doing a presentation on them in the Educators' conference. He shared some great highlights that he would be sharing.
I came back and worked on some small projects here and there for the rest of the afternoon. I was able to accomplish quite a bit as well as getting some good progress into bigger projects. My biggest project right now is the acolyte schedule. I am not at a point where I want to be with it but that is because I do not have all the forms of preferred times from the students yet. I headed home around 4 and ate some dinner. I then came back for worship because it was habit for me. I realized that after I had arrived I didn't actually need to be there tonight since I didn't have anything to do at worship this time. I was able to just enjoy service this time around without have to worry about doing anything for the first time in awhile.
Today I learned some very interesting facts about the next generation after me. Mark has been studying them a bit and offered some very valuable pieces to us on the way back to Rochester. It was fun and very helpful to have that conversation with Michael and Mark.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Confirmation Teaching
9/10/14
In the morning I did some work on my journal as well as my blog. We only had Michael, April, and myself for the staff meeting this morning. Pastor Jim is in Europe and Pastor Koglin had a POBLO meeting. We talked about leading Chapel at CSP this month as well as how Council looked at the theme for this year. There are some very cool things in the workings here for this year. We still need to lock down some direction and vision as far as the theme goes but God is working and it is catching on which is totally awesome to see. I played around a lot with the Facebook pages seeing what all else I could do as well as expanding who we reach with them.
After lunch I came back and did some work with a program that Michael shared with me. It is for making images and different types of cool documents. It has a template to make cover photos for Facebook which will come in handy for the next couple months making people for the theme this year. I was also able to get a chapter read from Boundaries and continue working on that towards the deadline. Knowing the deadline for the next month is handy so I can get a bit of an earlier start and have an end date in mind. I worked on several projects in the afternoon getting parts done here and there. I also submitted all my paperwork for Kindle and getting all set up for that, for which I am very excited to attend.
I came back to church around ten to 5:00 that night. It was my first night of teaching confirmation. As I told Michael I was 80% excited and 20% nervous. I love teaching and it is something I feel that God has gifted me in doing well. I get such great joy from the questions, discussion, and learning that happens in those environments. As class started and went on I feel into a rhythm of sorts. We had very good questions asked and they tackled the questions I posed to them as well. I felt absolutely wonderful about the time and I pray that they were able to take away something as well. I can say for sure that I learned from them and they have taught me as well. There were definite areas for improvement but I felt it was a great overall start and beginning for me and I pray for them as well.
Today I learned more about my own personal teaching style. I am a big fan of turning questions around on people. I love getting their questions and rewording them and putting them back for them to think about and hopefully answer. Then they are the ones answering their questions while I am simply providing some key information for them to get to that point.
In the morning I did some work on my journal as well as my blog. We only had Michael, April, and myself for the staff meeting this morning. Pastor Jim is in Europe and Pastor Koglin had a POBLO meeting. We talked about leading Chapel at CSP this month as well as how Council looked at the theme for this year. There are some very cool things in the workings here for this year. We still need to lock down some direction and vision as far as the theme goes but God is working and it is catching on which is totally awesome to see. I played around a lot with the Facebook pages seeing what all else I could do as well as expanding who we reach with them.
After lunch I came back and did some work with a program that Michael shared with me. It is for making images and different types of cool documents. It has a template to make cover photos for Facebook which will come in handy for the next couple months making people for the theme this year. I was also able to get a chapter read from Boundaries and continue working on that towards the deadline. Knowing the deadline for the next month is handy so I can get a bit of an earlier start and have an end date in mind. I worked on several projects in the afternoon getting parts done here and there. I also submitted all my paperwork for Kindle and getting all set up for that, for which I am very excited to attend.
I came back to church around ten to 5:00 that night. It was my first night of teaching confirmation. As I told Michael I was 80% excited and 20% nervous. I love teaching and it is something I feel that God has gifted me in doing well. I get such great joy from the questions, discussion, and learning that happens in those environments. As class started and went on I feel into a rhythm of sorts. We had very good questions asked and they tackled the questions I posed to them as well. I felt absolutely wonderful about the time and I pray that they were able to take away something as well. I can say for sure that I learned from them and they have taught me as well. There were definite areas for improvement but I felt it was a great overall start and beginning for me and I pray for them as well.
Today I learned more about my own personal teaching style. I am a big fan of turning questions around on people. I love getting their questions and rewording them and putting them back for them to think about and hopefully answer. Then they are the ones answering their questions while I am simply providing some key information for them to get to that point.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Making Him Known
9/9/14
I spent a good majority of the morning doing some reading of my Boundaries book. I am getting close to finishing and having a post ready for the 15th of this month. It is actually a very interesting book. I especially have enjoyed looking at where boundary issues usually come from. There is a lot of nurture involved and most boundary issues can be traced back to when you were a child. How your parents and/or caregivers raised you has a huge impact on how you handle boundaries and conflicts with them as they come up in your life. I find myself looking back to my childhood and see if there is any insight I can gain looking at how I handle boundaries. It is had provoked a great deal of thought on my part.
In the afternoon I began to work on the acolyte schedule and diving into that project. I have hit a proverbial roadblock since I do not have everyone's forms in quite yet. I'm starting to make teams for them but can't go to far without preferred times of the students. Michael had some good suggestions for me after I put some teams together. He said that perhaps putting a 2nd year with a 1st year could help to relieve a bit of stress for the 1st year who is doing this for the first time. I left work about 4pm because I would be coming back for a youth board meeting as well as Council later that night. I had some supper and headed back into church.
At youth board we took some time to look at the vision that had been set down a couple years ago. This spawned some great conversation. People are really looking at what they are doing and what that is conveying to the youth involved in the events they plan. Also there is an increased push for more youth involvement on the board and what that would look like. I am very excited to see how the vision planning session will look next month. After that Michael and I bugged out for Council meeting. Pastor Thwala said a few words before we began and we prayed over him. Then we moved into business. A large portion of the meeting was dedicated to looking at this year's theme of Making Him Known. There were some great ideas that came out of the meeting. We went pretty late again but had some great conversation on topics that really needed to be addressed.
Today I learned how much thought goes behind making small groups. I use to think it was pretty random but actually quite a few factors are looked at, all in the best interest of the students.
I spent a good majority of the morning doing some reading of my Boundaries book. I am getting close to finishing and having a post ready for the 15th of this month. It is actually a very interesting book. I especially have enjoyed looking at where boundary issues usually come from. There is a lot of nurture involved and most boundary issues can be traced back to when you were a child. How your parents and/or caregivers raised you has a huge impact on how you handle boundaries and conflicts with them as they come up in your life. I find myself looking back to my childhood and see if there is any insight I can gain looking at how I handle boundaries. It is had provoked a great deal of thought on my part.
In the afternoon I began to work on the acolyte schedule and diving into that project. I have hit a proverbial roadblock since I do not have everyone's forms in quite yet. I'm starting to make teams for them but can't go to far without preferred times of the students. Michael had some good suggestions for me after I put some teams together. He said that perhaps putting a 2nd year with a 1st year could help to relieve a bit of stress for the 1st year who is doing this for the first time. I left work about 4pm because I would be coming back for a youth board meeting as well as Council later that night. I had some supper and headed back into church.
At youth board we took some time to look at the vision that had been set down a couple years ago. This spawned some great conversation. People are really looking at what they are doing and what that is conveying to the youth involved in the events they plan. Also there is an increased push for more youth involvement on the board and what that would look like. I am very excited to see how the vision planning session will look next month. After that Michael and I bugged out for Council meeting. Pastor Thwala said a few words before we began and we prayed over him. Then we moved into business. A large portion of the meeting was dedicated to looking at this year's theme of Making Him Known. There were some great ideas that came out of the meeting. We went pretty late again but had some great conversation on topics that really needed to be addressed.
Today I learned how much thought goes behind making small groups. I use to think it was pretty random but actually quite a few factors are looked at, all in the best interest of the students.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Monday Blues
8/7/14
I started out the morning working on my blog and journal. I know I say this a lot but it would really help if I did these on my days out of the office. It would save having to catch up so much on Monday. I spent a good part of the morning before lunch working on them. I was also being a bit sluggish with them. Don't know why just moving a bit slower today. Not tired at all just I don't know. I went home for lunch and fixed up some sandwiches as well as some rice that my parents had left with me since their last visit.
I came back after lunch and set down to working on my confirmation lesson for this Wednesday. I would be teaching three lessons and after talked with Pastor Jim earlier last month I had decided on Confession and absolution. I read the materials that Pastor Jim gave to me as well as looking into the Catechism and what not. I have my base lesson done and now I just need to add some Scripture passages I had been thinking about while writing as well as some Catechism readings. It is the first time I've prepared a full lesson since being here at Redeemer. This will be my first time teaching Confirmation as lead teacher since ever, which is very exciting.
In the late afternoon Michael and I met about acolyting as well as just a general check up meeting. It was very helpful for me to meet and as I dive into this acolyte program I pray I did not bite off more than I could chew. If nothing else it will prove to be a very good learning experience. After that I headed home and did some gaming as well as finished my series on Netflix. I've hit that all too common awkward moment where I don't know what to do with my personal life anymore. Mainly kidding but anyone who has experienced that knows exactly what I am talking about. Oh well I'll just have to start going down my list in Netflix.
Today I learned how Monday's can often feel. I was a bit sluggish today and getting stuff done seemed to almost be a chore in a way. I guess I can safely say I've experienced my first real Monday morning here on internship.
I started out the morning working on my blog and journal. I know I say this a lot but it would really help if I did these on my days out of the office. It would save having to catch up so much on Monday. I spent a good part of the morning before lunch working on them. I was also being a bit sluggish with them. Don't know why just moving a bit slower today. Not tired at all just I don't know. I went home for lunch and fixed up some sandwiches as well as some rice that my parents had left with me since their last visit.
I came back after lunch and set down to working on my confirmation lesson for this Wednesday. I would be teaching three lessons and after talked with Pastor Jim earlier last month I had decided on Confession and absolution. I read the materials that Pastor Jim gave to me as well as looking into the Catechism and what not. I have my base lesson done and now I just need to add some Scripture passages I had been thinking about while writing as well as some Catechism readings. It is the first time I've prepared a full lesson since being here at Redeemer. This will be my first time teaching Confirmation as lead teacher since ever, which is very exciting.
In the late afternoon Michael and I met about acolyting as well as just a general check up meeting. It was very helpful for me to meet and as I dive into this acolyte program I pray I did not bite off more than I could chew. If nothing else it will prove to be a very good learning experience. After that I headed home and did some gaming as well as finished my series on Netflix. I've hit that all too common awkward moment where I don't know what to do with my personal life anymore. Mainly kidding but anyone who has experienced that knows exactly what I am talking about. Oh well I'll just have to start going down my list in Netflix.
Today I learned how Monday's can often feel. I was a bit sluggish today and getting stuff done seemed to almost be a chore in a way. I guess I can safely say I've experienced my first real Monday morning here on internship.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Rally Day!
9/7/14
Rally day! It was already an exciting morning right away. I dressed up in a tie this morning and got some funny comments. I just realized no one at Redeemer had ever seen me dressed up that much yet. Michael and I looked at the sound a little bit and basically would have to play it by ear when it came to having problems with it. During my first children's message Michael came and gave me a handheld mic to use and it worked great. Then in the middle we had the Sunday school opening and presented the check to Pastor Thwala. I found three first graders to hand it to him and it made for some great pictures. Then he thanked us with song which was truly amazing. He has an awesome voice and it was just cool to hear the Zulu song.
After that the Sunday school kids were dismissed and He, Zeal, and Pastor Thwala stayed with the adults and older youth to share about what is happening in South Africa. It was a very interesting presentation and fun to hear about all that God is doing there. We then moved into the second service. I used a lapel mic for this time so I was able to do my sign language with the kids without having to be heard less. I pray we figure out the sound system and able to have it working better for next weekend services. After service Michael and I went about putting away all the equipment in the sanctuary and he taught me a bit more on how to set up the sound system if he wasn't there.
The headed home after that and began in on those dishes that had been staring me in the face. I got them done finally and was able to use the correct scrubby for the stainless steel pots I have. They finally are sparkly clean without any leftover powder from the cameo. I played Skyrim, watched my series, and got my rpg game ready for my friends coming the next Saturday.
Today I learned a few more things about how the sound system works. I think I could set it up on my own now, but I would still want someone there to watch me the first couple times to remind me of the smaller details I may have missed.
Rally day! It was already an exciting morning right away. I dressed up in a tie this morning and got some funny comments. I just realized no one at Redeemer had ever seen me dressed up that much yet. Michael and I looked at the sound a little bit and basically would have to play it by ear when it came to having problems with it. During my first children's message Michael came and gave me a handheld mic to use and it worked great. Then in the middle we had the Sunday school opening and presented the check to Pastor Thwala. I found three first graders to hand it to him and it made for some great pictures. Then he thanked us with song which was truly amazing. He has an awesome voice and it was just cool to hear the Zulu song.
After that the Sunday school kids were dismissed and He, Zeal, and Pastor Thwala stayed with the adults and older youth to share about what is happening in South Africa. It was a very interesting presentation and fun to hear about all that God is doing there. We then moved into the second service. I used a lapel mic for this time so I was able to do my sign language with the kids without having to be heard less. I pray we figure out the sound system and able to have it working better for next weekend services. After service Michael and I went about putting away all the equipment in the sanctuary and he taught me a bit more on how to set up the sound system if he wasn't there.
The headed home after that and began in on those dishes that had been staring me in the face. I got them done finally and was able to use the correct scrubby for the stainless steel pots I have. They finally are sparkly clean without any leftover powder from the cameo. I played Skyrim, watched my series, and got my rpg game ready for my friends coming the next Saturday.
Today I learned a few more things about how the sound system works. I think I could set it up on my own now, but I would still want someone there to watch me the first couple times to remind me of the smaller details I may have missed.
Technical Difficulties
9/6/14
I spent a good chunk the morning just hanging out around my apartment. Since I had gone on my adventure yesterday today was a time for being at home until service that night. I played some of my games and started a new series. I am in an anime mood for the last couple weeks so I am watching Fate/Zero. Anyone who is interested in anime I would recommend it to. Otherwise you probably wont like it, just saying. I then headed to service for the night. I was only going to stay half the time today because my goal was to do some dishes hopefully. We had a few sound issues but luckily Connor was there to help me out and then April also was there to help fix some things.
We were having some troubles with feedback from the mics from everyone. I had to even take mine off for the children's message and say it out loud. I didn't know what else I could do or what other mics I could safely use. Luckily there were no children so I could talk from the middle of the sanctuary so people could hopefully hear me the best. After the halfway point I talked to Dean a bit and then headed out. I was going to Cousins subs to use one of my coupons, also because I had never been there. I got a cheese steak sub and only had to pay like $3 for it which was awesome. I enjoyed that at home and went to bed early to get up for service the next morning.
Today I learned that sometimes the sound system doesn't want to cooperate with us. In those times you just have to do the best with what you have at hand. I'm not sure if understanding it anymore would actually have helped me try to fix the problem.
I spent a good chunk the morning just hanging out around my apartment. Since I had gone on my adventure yesterday today was a time for being at home until service that night. I played some of my games and started a new series. I am in an anime mood for the last couple weeks so I am watching Fate/Zero. Anyone who is interested in anime I would recommend it to. Otherwise you probably wont like it, just saying. I then headed to service for the night. I was only going to stay half the time today because my goal was to do some dishes hopefully. We had a few sound issues but luckily Connor was there to help me out and then April also was there to help fix some things.
We were having some troubles with feedback from the mics from everyone. I had to even take mine off for the children's message and say it out loud. I didn't know what else I could do or what other mics I could safely use. Luckily there were no children so I could talk from the middle of the sanctuary so people could hopefully hear me the best. After the halfway point I talked to Dean a bit and then headed out. I was going to Cousins subs to use one of my coupons, also because I had never been there. I got a cheese steak sub and only had to pay like $3 for it which was awesome. I enjoyed that at home and went to bed early to get up for service the next morning.
Today I learned that sometimes the sound system doesn't want to cooperate with us. In those times you just have to do the best with what you have at hand. I'm not sure if understanding it anymore would actually have helped me try to fix the problem.
South African Visitor
9/4/14
I started off the morning with my blog and journal for the day before. I also found my Portals of Prayers for this morning and used that for my devotion. Right now I am 2 for 2 which is awesome! I really want to make this a habit for me to do devotionals each day. Then I began work on my children's message for tonight. My theme would be on Making HIM Known to help put the theme for the year in people's heads. Pastor Thwala made it to Redeemer and we all were able to meet him. For lunch Pastor Jim took him, Ginger, a friend of hers, Michael, April, Jolene, and myself to Grandma's Kitchen. We had some very good food and some excellent conversation for lunch. Then it was back to Redeemer to do some work.
We meet about about the Sunday school opening and figured out exactly what we were doing and how that would look. I get to find a couple kids who were at VBS to hand the check to Pastor Thwala for what they collected during that time. It'll be a very cool experience for them to be able to do that and see him. Then I went back to my children's message and was able to finish it up. I am about half and half with it right now. I am thinking that after I give it for the first time this week I will make some changes that the Spirit puts on me. I then finished up the work day with reading a couple chapters in Boundaries. I find that if I read the book at work it goes much smoother than when I try to read it at home. I am finding it very interesting and examining my own life against it, which is what it means to do.
I came back for service that night and help set up the slide show from South Africa for Ginger before and after service. I gave my children's message for the first time that weekend and I had one boy. It was a pretty good run through. I found some things I will change for Saturday and Sunday.
Today I learned a lot about how we put first world problems really high in our lives. Hearing from Pastor Thwala about his church as well as the area really shows you reality.
I started off the morning with my blog and journal for the day before. I also found my Portals of Prayers for this morning and used that for my devotion. Right now I am 2 for 2 which is awesome! I really want to make this a habit for me to do devotionals each day. Then I began work on my children's message for tonight. My theme would be on Making HIM Known to help put the theme for the year in people's heads. Pastor Thwala made it to Redeemer and we all were able to meet him. For lunch Pastor Jim took him, Ginger, a friend of hers, Michael, April, Jolene, and myself to Grandma's Kitchen. We had some very good food and some excellent conversation for lunch. Then it was back to Redeemer to do some work.
We meet about about the Sunday school opening and figured out exactly what we were doing and how that would look. I get to find a couple kids who were at VBS to hand the check to Pastor Thwala for what they collected during that time. It'll be a very cool experience for them to be able to do that and see him. Then I went back to my children's message and was able to finish it up. I am about half and half with it right now. I am thinking that after I give it for the first time this week I will make some changes that the Spirit puts on me. I then finished up the work day with reading a couple chapters in Boundaries. I find that if I read the book at work it goes much smoother than when I try to read it at home. I am finding it very interesting and examining my own life against it, which is what it means to do.
I came back for service that night and help set up the slide show from South Africa for Ginger before and after service. I gave my children's message for the first time that weekend and I had one boy. It was a pretty good run through. I found some things I will change for Saturday and Sunday.
Today I learned a lot about how we put first world problems really high in our lives. Hearing from Pastor Thwala about his church as well as the area really shows you reality.
Game Store
9/5/14
Today I started off with some gaming in the morning and just hanging around for a bit. Then I decided to go on an adventure and find this game store in Byron that I had coupons for. At first my GPS took me to a residential area. I then did some searching and found that I had to add a building number on the address for it to be correct. I made it there and was able to get my free starter pack as well as pick up some magic cards. I found out that they have free tournaments every Friday. I might check those out sometime and see how it goes. When I got back I checked out my booster packs and pulled a Planeswalker in my first one. For my mom reading "ohhhhhhhhhh".
After that I took some time at home just to game, read, and just recharge my batteries and what not. It was a pretty relaxing day. I decided to head to the movies and see Guardians of the Galaxy again. It is totally worth it. I saw a lot of things I didn't see before and laughed just as hard before. It was a pretty good day and turned out to be some good adventures.
Today I learned going on adventures is a fun and exciting thing. Sometimes you even find a little gold mine you never knew existed. It was a pretty good day off.
Today I started off with some gaming in the morning and just hanging around for a bit. Then I decided to go on an adventure and find this game store in Byron that I had coupons for. At first my GPS took me to a residential area. I then did some searching and found that I had to add a building number on the address for it to be correct. I made it there and was able to get my free starter pack as well as pick up some magic cards. I found out that they have free tournaments every Friday. I might check those out sometime and see how it goes. When I got back I checked out my booster packs and pulled a Planeswalker in my first one. For my mom reading "ohhhhhhhhhh".
After that I took some time at home just to game, read, and just recharge my batteries and what not. It was a pretty relaxing day. I decided to head to the movies and see Guardians of the Galaxy again. It is totally worth it. I saw a lot of things I didn't see before and laughed just as hard before. It was a pretty good day and turned out to be some good adventures.
Today I learned going on adventures is a fun and exciting thing. Sometimes you even find a little gold mine you never knew existed. It was a pretty good day off.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Confirmation
9/3/14
I started off the morning with a staff meeting. It was all staff today and Randy led us in devotion. We talked a lot about Rally Day as well as the combined opening for Sunday School that would happen that day. Then afterwards I got many little tasks and jobs done or at least started so I could spend a bit more time on them after lunch. I got all my stuff turned in for Kevin on Blackboard and was all up to date there. Sometimes I forget that this is still a class even though I am basically doing what I will be doing for this as a career. After that I headed off to lunch at my apartment.
After lunch I cam back and finished up some small assignments here and there and started working on my blog for the day. I also sent out a couple emails and got things started on getting ready for the senior high events this coming educational year. Then I spent quite a bit of time on getting my journal caught up to where I am as well. I found that going back and writing those was much harder than writing my blogs from the past. While it is fun to write about what I am doing as well as journal sometimes when I get behind on them they get to be really intimidating. I just have to make sure I do them on my days off and make time for that.
I then headed home to get some supper and a bit of a break before I came back for confirmation and a couple of meetings right in a row. I attended the opening for the ninth grade confirmation because I would be teaching them for the first three sessions of this year. Pastor Jim gave them the challenge to try and stump the intern. We'll see if they can do it. That might not be that hard. I then meet with Jim about the website and how to put in the link to Facebook in the best and most visible way we could. Then after that I helped finish up the last confirmation meeting and that was my busy night.
I today I learned a small feel of what a busy schedule for a night can look like. This is nothing compared to what Michael has probably had at some points, but it is a new experience for me so far this year.
I started off the morning with a staff meeting. It was all staff today and Randy led us in devotion. We talked a lot about Rally Day as well as the combined opening for Sunday School that would happen that day. Then afterwards I got many little tasks and jobs done or at least started so I could spend a bit more time on them after lunch. I got all my stuff turned in for Kevin on Blackboard and was all up to date there. Sometimes I forget that this is still a class even though I am basically doing what I will be doing for this as a career. After that I headed off to lunch at my apartment.
After lunch I cam back and finished up some small assignments here and there and started working on my blog for the day. I also sent out a couple emails and got things started on getting ready for the senior high events this coming educational year. Then I spent quite a bit of time on getting my journal caught up to where I am as well. I found that going back and writing those was much harder than writing my blogs from the past. While it is fun to write about what I am doing as well as journal sometimes when I get behind on them they get to be really intimidating. I just have to make sure I do them on my days off and make time for that.
I then headed home to get some supper and a bit of a break before I came back for confirmation and a couple of meetings right in a row. I attended the opening for the ninth grade confirmation because I would be teaching them for the first three sessions of this year. Pastor Jim gave them the challenge to try and stump the intern. We'll see if they can do it. That might not be that hard. I then meet with Jim about the website and how to put in the link to Facebook in the best and most visible way we could. Then after that I helped finish up the last confirmation meeting and that was my busy night.
I today I learned a small feel of what a busy schedule for a night can look like. This is nothing compared to what Michael has probably had at some points, but it is a new experience for me so far this year.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Homemade Soup!
9/2/14
Started off the morning with a much deeper appreciation for Wi-Fi and realizing how much it rules our lives and what we are able to do. Just knowing that I couldn't do my blogs without it was kinda crazy. I spent the morning updating my blog posts. Then I attended a meeting with Michael and Pastor Koglin about confirmation. I would not be attending the 7th/8th grade opening due to being the teacher for 9th grade after Pastor Jim left. However I got to see some planning into that and the direction they are wanting to go with confirmation in the future and right now. Then I headed home for lunch. I had some of the shrimp dish my mom had made when they were down here. It was very good, although I noticed the mushrooms in it for the first time. :P Thanks Mom!
I came back after lunch and continued writing in my blog making sure to keep up should I not have Wi-Fi back at my apartment. Then I did some work on the announcements for the week and wrote up my take it home piece for the week. After that Michael and I met for a good amount of time. We talked over some things happening at Redeemer and what was coming up for us. After that I quickly wrote up my September report for the Elders' meeting that night, that I would not be attending however. Then I made my way to the Government Center to finally get my parking permit for the year. I picked that up and put it on my car when I got back to my apartment.
I then began the new task of making soup. My parents had left me chicken broth and I was going to test out whether this would work or not. I began with the chicken and cooking the noodles. I then put on the pot and added the broth, celery, and carrots. I was hoping to let them cook for a bit. After there had been a bit of time and they were starting to get soft I put in the noodles and chicken and some garlic to cook it all together with. I tasted it after it had been cooking awhile and added some salt. After I was satisfied I poured myself a bowl and it was pretty delicious if I do say so myself. After that I headed back to church for a family ministry meeting where I was able to see a partially finished project of the binders for the families and different aged kids.
Today I learned that sometimes you just need to try something and not really worry how it will end up. I had been thinking about making the soup for awhile but was worried about time, what if it didn't work, and other things. I finally sat down and did it and it turned out great and a very good experience.
Started off the morning with a much deeper appreciation for Wi-Fi and realizing how much it rules our lives and what we are able to do. Just knowing that I couldn't do my blogs without it was kinda crazy. I spent the morning updating my blog posts. Then I attended a meeting with Michael and Pastor Koglin about confirmation. I would not be attending the 7th/8th grade opening due to being the teacher for 9th grade after Pastor Jim left. However I got to see some planning into that and the direction they are wanting to go with confirmation in the future and right now. Then I headed home for lunch. I had some of the shrimp dish my mom had made when they were down here. It was very good, although I noticed the mushrooms in it for the first time. :P Thanks Mom!
I came back after lunch and continued writing in my blog making sure to keep up should I not have Wi-Fi back at my apartment. Then I did some work on the announcements for the week and wrote up my take it home piece for the week. After that Michael and I met for a good amount of time. We talked over some things happening at Redeemer and what was coming up for us. After that I quickly wrote up my September report for the Elders' meeting that night, that I would not be attending however. Then I made my way to the Government Center to finally get my parking permit for the year. I picked that up and put it on my car when I got back to my apartment.
I then began the new task of making soup. My parents had left me chicken broth and I was going to test out whether this would work or not. I began with the chicken and cooking the noodles. I then put on the pot and added the broth, celery, and carrots. I was hoping to let them cook for a bit. After there had been a bit of time and they were starting to get soft I put in the noodles and chicken and some garlic to cook it all together with. I tasted it after it had been cooking awhile and added some salt. After I was satisfied I poured myself a bowl and it was pretty delicious if I do say so myself. After that I headed back to church for a family ministry meeting where I was able to see a partially finished project of the binders for the families and different aged kids.
Today I learned that sometimes you just need to try something and not really worry how it will end up. I had been thinking about making the soup for awhile but was worried about time, what if it didn't work, and other things. I finally sat down and did it and it turned out great and a very good experience.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Surprise Day Off!
9/1/14
When Michael and I were talking yesterday he mentioned that we had today off. I did not know what he meant and he said that Labor day was a day off for everyone. I was like I had no idea and awesome. So I got a whole Monday to myself. For those of you seeing the pattern the Wi-Fi was still out and so finding entertainment in other places was my goal for the day. I did some more reading as well as cleaning up a bit here and there. Then Amy said she would be visiting me later in the day. I actually headed into Redeemer to borrow the Wi-Fi. I did some checking email and some a bit of gaming. Then after that I headed out to do some shopping. Even though I had quite a full fridge I was missing some food for certain meals and stocked up on things I could keep for awhile.
I went to Target and got some food as well as bathroom needs like soap and what not. I was under $100 which was my goal. I then headed home and put all the groceries and what not away. Then until Amy got there I read Clash of Kings. When she got there we hung out a bit and just talked about her trip as well as just stuff. It is so nice to just get times to be with one another and not really do much. Then we decided to head out and check out a movie. We went and saw Expendables 3 even though she had already seen it I enjoyed it quite a bit and the amount of different actors and actresses that are in it is hilarious! Then we headed back and walked her out to her car and said our goodbyes.
When Michael and I were talking yesterday he mentioned that we had today off. I did not know what he meant and he said that Labor day was a day off for everyone. I was like I had no idea and awesome. So I got a whole Monday to myself. For those of you seeing the pattern the Wi-Fi was still out and so finding entertainment in other places was my goal for the day. I did some more reading as well as cleaning up a bit here and there. Then Amy said she would be visiting me later in the day. I actually headed into Redeemer to borrow the Wi-Fi. I did some checking email and some a bit of gaming. Then after that I headed out to do some shopping. Even though I had quite a full fridge I was missing some food for certain meals and stocked up on things I could keep for awhile.
I went to Target and got some food as well as bathroom needs like soap and what not. I was under $100 which was my goal. I then headed home and put all the groceries and what not away. Then until Amy got there I read Clash of Kings. When she got there we hung out a bit and just talked about her trip as well as just stuff. It is so nice to just get times to be with one another and not really do much. Then we decided to head out and check out a movie. We went and saw Expendables 3 even though she had already seen it I enjoyed it quite a bit and the amount of different actors and actresses that are in it is hilarious! Then we headed back and walked her out to her car and said our goodbyes.
Books, Books, and more Books
8/31/14
I was up early for service and headed into Redeemer. I was able to put in my new changes for my children's message and it went much better than the night before. I also helped Pastor Jim again getting the screen and everything set up for his sermon. He had a very good message about how Satan is also trying to make us slip up and draw us away from God. This week was also communion which I was realizing I had not had since Lake George but had not had from Redeemer in a long time. I had missed the fellowship with them quite a bit. Then I did a few more changes in my message at the late service and I felt that it went the best in that time.
After service Michael and I did another confirmation visit. This was with Ethan who I had gotten to know at Peer Ministry and it would be awesome to see him in confirmation. I was able to work through the second half of the meeting again and did some more things this time and especially worked through my inability to read things well upside down. After the meeting I went home and did some more reading. I finished ArchEnemy and got back into Clash of Kings. I forgot how much I do enjoy the Game of Throne books and read several chapters. Again there was no Wi-Fi today. It must be the fact that it is Labor Day weekend.
I was up early for service and headed into Redeemer. I was able to put in my new changes for my children's message and it went much better than the night before. I also helped Pastor Jim again getting the screen and everything set up for his sermon. He had a very good message about how Satan is also trying to make us slip up and draw us away from God. This week was also communion which I was realizing I had not had since Lake George but had not had from Redeemer in a long time. I had missed the fellowship with them quite a bit. Then I did a few more changes in my message at the late service and I felt that it went the best in that time.
After service Michael and I did another confirmation visit. This was with Ethan who I had gotten to know at Peer Ministry and it would be awesome to see him in confirmation. I was able to work through the second half of the meeting again and did some more things this time and especially worked through my inability to read things well upside down. After the meeting I went home and did some more reading. I finished ArchEnemy and got back into Clash of Kings. I forgot how much I do enjoy the Game of Throne books and read several chapters. Again there was no Wi-Fi today. It must be the fact that it is Labor Day weekend.
Back in Rochester
8/30/14
I woke up at home and played a bit more of my game. After a bit I started to get ready to head out. I cleaned up here and there, although realized I forgot some areas as I was halfway to Rochester. I took a shower and got all cleaned up and ready to leave. It was hard to say goodbye to the dogs and they watched me go and seemed to be so sad. I would have loved to take them with me. I got back to my apartment and found that the Wi-Fi from the hotel was not working. I thought maybe later they would get it back up like they usually do. However it never did come up until worship at least.
I got to worship and did my children's message for the first time. It worked out very well and I found some areas that I could work on and make better for the next times. All in all though it went very well. I also helped with the PowerPoint for Pastor Jim and then headed out early from service. At home there was still no Wi-Fi so I really got some time to read and get in some fun reading. I started working on ArchEnemey, a book I had started awhile ago and hadn't had a time to finish yet. It is the third and final book in the Looking Glass Wars series. It is a spin off from Alice in Wonderland and a very good series.
I woke up at home and played a bit more of my game. After a bit I started to get ready to head out. I cleaned up here and there, although realized I forgot some areas as I was halfway to Rochester. I took a shower and got all cleaned up and ready to leave. It was hard to say goodbye to the dogs and they watched me go and seemed to be so sad. I would have loved to take them with me. I got back to my apartment and found that the Wi-Fi from the hotel was not working. I thought maybe later they would get it back up like they usually do. However it never did come up until worship at least.
I got to worship and did my children's message for the first time. It worked out very well and I found some areas that I could work on and make better for the next times. All in all though it went very well. I also helped with the PowerPoint for Pastor Jim and then headed out early from service. At home there was still no Wi-Fi so I really got some time to read and get in some fun reading. I started working on ArchEnemey, a book I had started awhile ago and hadn't had a time to finish yet. It is the third and final book in the Looking Glass Wars series. It is a spin off from Alice in Wonderland and a very good series.
LOTRO
8/29/14
I spent Friday in Hudson at home. I helped Amy get ready for her camping trip with my friends over the weekend. I was jealous of her getting to go but at the same time pretty excited to just have a day to myself as well at home. After she headed out I started playing some Lord of the Rings online and in good fashion I watched the the extended edition of the first movie. I played with the dogs and they could not get close enough to me for the entire day. That was pretty much my day and it was kinda wonderful, not going to lie. It was weird to be home a bit and wondering what was going on in Rochester.
I spent Friday in Hudson at home. I helped Amy get ready for her camping trip with my friends over the weekend. I was jealous of her getting to go but at the same time pretty excited to just have a day to myself as well at home. After she headed out I started playing some Lord of the Rings online and in good fashion I watched the the extended edition of the first movie. I played with the dogs and they could not get close enough to me for the entire day. That was pretty much my day and it was kinda wonderful, not going to lie. It was weird to be home a bit and wondering what was going on in Rochester.
Concert at the Fair!
8/28/14
I started off the morning with catching up on my last two blogs as well as my journal as well. My parents headed to Red Wing this morning for the train to Ohio. It was a fun time while they were in town. I hope they have a good time for Labor Day. I also worked on and finished my children's message for this weekend. I actually had to do some creative crafting for it. I am very excited to see how it turns out. Pastor Jim will be doing it for me tonight since Amy and I have our date. I won't say much about it now because I will share about it more when I am able to do it for the first time. All I can say is that I am excited to see how it is received and how it works. I then headed home for lunch and began to work into the leftovers from when my parents ate at my apartment and their hotel room.
In the afternoon I spent some more time practicing my saxophone and some other work here and there. I left a little early and headed out to CSP. Amy and I were meeting up for a concert at the State Fair. We got there and headed out to the fair. We found our seats and were all ready to enjoy the Paramore and Fall Out Boy concert. My favorite part was Paramore because I love their songs and they have a very cool live performance. They have lots of energies and get the crowd going and I could sing along to most of their songs which is always nice. Then headed back to the house and stayed there the night. My puppies were very happy to have me home for a bit.
I started off the morning with catching up on my last two blogs as well as my journal as well. My parents headed to Red Wing this morning for the train to Ohio. It was a fun time while they were in town. I hope they have a good time for Labor Day. I also worked on and finished my children's message for this weekend. I actually had to do some creative crafting for it. I am very excited to see how it turns out. Pastor Jim will be doing it for me tonight since Amy and I have our date. I won't say much about it now because I will share about it more when I am able to do it for the first time. All I can say is that I am excited to see how it is received and how it works. I then headed home for lunch and began to work into the leftovers from when my parents ate at my apartment and their hotel room.
In the afternoon I spent some more time practicing my saxophone and some other work here and there. I left a little early and headed out to CSP. Amy and I were meeting up for a concert at the State Fair. We got there and headed out to the fair. We found our seats and were all ready to enjoy the Paramore and Fall Out Boy concert. My favorite part was Paramore because I love their songs and they have a very cool live performance. They have lots of energies and get the crowd going and I could sing along to most of their songs which is always nice. Then headed back to the house and stayed there the night. My puppies were very happy to have me home for a bit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)