Oops.

Seems I've fallen a bit behind on my Lenten posts. Since no one is knocking down my door begging for me to keep up with them, I'm assuming it's ok. I still like doing them, so I may take some time to catch up on them someday in the future. Hopefully before Easter, but no promises.

In other news, Google is getting rid of their Reader as of July 1st. One more way that I won't be using Google, I guess; though I am disappointed. I'm sure I will read a lot fewer blogs unless I find a new reader. Anyone know of one that they would recommend? I suppose this will give me an opportunity to evaluate, in the coming months, the blogs I follow.

Cheers.

Exodus

I'm sitting here reading Exodus for a class, and am struck by a few things (as always when you sit and read a book of the Bible in one sitting), but mainly how much I can relate to Moses. And how the Israelites are such whiners.
Don't get me wrong. Most times I can relate to the Israelites, because I too am fickle, forgetful, and tend to romanticize the past.
But this time around, my heart goes out to Moses. When God tells him to speak to the people, he freaks out because he is not gifted in that way. Then God says, big deal, I created your mouth. I will tell you what to say. And Moses isn't convinced. So God gives him all these miracles to perform. And Moses is still insecure. And on and on. Moses had murdered someone in his past. He wasn't a good speaker. He was 80. And God still used him in such great ways, even though he doubted so much.
And then the people. They were treated so brutally in Egypt. Yet when the slightest thing goes wrong, they whine and whine and whine. They question Moses' leadership skills (um, hello. He's already insecure, and just doing what God told him to do). They say that they would be better off back in Egypt (which, when they left, was in shambles). Come on, people.

Sorry to get all riled up. Have you sat and read the book of Exodus lately? In spite of all disappointing, untrusting people, God is still mighty, and is in control.  He loves His people and provides for them (us) even though they (we) are highly forgetful and short-sighted. It is a great reminder to be thankful in all circumstances, among other things.

A few things to get you through.

1. Here are a few songs to listen to while you read.  You are welcome.

2. Here's my latest from Twitter, if you aren't already into that kind of thing: Philippians 1:18 is what I think about whenever anyone brings up Tim Tebow, which is all the time. http://goo.gl/IvTyd

3. I need to go and get my ears checked. Not because I suspect that I have hearing loss, but because I know it. I've been putting it off for a while because: a) I am pretty good at lip reading, b) Hearing aids cost the same as a nice computer and are not covered by insurance, and c) I am pretty horrible about going to the doctor in general. Lately though, I feel I've been missing out on a lot of conversation details, and the constant ringing in my ears never fails to remind me that I probably should have an audiologist figure it out. This past summer a doctor prescribed some allergy medication to see if that would help me to hear better. I am not sure that it worked. The doctor never tested my ears in the first place to see what level my hearing was at, and then I never went back to get them checked again after a month of the medication (and really, what would they compare it to?). We were probably both at fault. Really though, I think I need to just go to a place that knows what they're talking about when it comes to hearing.  In the meanwhile, here are some misconceptions that I would like to clear up.

          a) People who are hard of hearing didn't hear you because they weren't paying attention. On the contrary, we probably pay twice as much attention just to be involved in a conversation. Especially a conversation with a group of people. Sometimes when someone laughs at me because they've been apparently talking to me/trying to get my attention for a little while, and I haven't heard them...sometimes I will say, "sorry, I wasn't paying attention," since they are clearly already feeling uncomfortable at this point. But really, I just didn't hear them because they didn't already have my attention (or were talking softly, or not speaking clearly, etc). Being bad at hearing is way different than being bad at listening.

          b) People who didn't hear you must be dumb and not understand the content of what you were trying to say. Not true either. Dumb and smart have nothing to do with whether or not people can hear. Some people that can hear perfectly well are not so bright. Anyway, it is kind of insulting when you furrow your brow and say, "what?" and people start speaking in a slow, loud voice, dumbing down what they originally said....and some get confused when you simply ask for enunciation.

          c) I am judging your snaggle-tooth and want you to cover your mouth when you speak. You wouldn't think this is a problem, but it is! Stop covering your mouth when you speak, people. If I can't read your lips, and you are already a soft talker, covering your mouth is not going to help me hear what you are trying to communicate. I don't care if your teeth are crooked. I'm looking at your mouth because I can't hear you, not because I am judging you.

          d) People who can't hear must just need to clean their ears out. Well, that might be partially true. That certainly could be the cause of some people's hearing loss. But not everyone's. More than one doctor has remarked about how clean my ears are. Well, thank you for noticing. I clean them quite regularly because I don't want wax to block my already dull hearing. My hearing loss is likely hereditary, as a large percentage of people I am related to has a hearing aid. I almost never listen to music with headphones, or do anything else to cause my poor hearing. On the contrary, I try to preserve what little hearing I have, thank you very much.

Sorry. Just realized that this has become quite the rant. Just trying to raise awareness, people. And please don't look at me like I killed your grandmother's dog when I confess to you that sometimes I don't think it is worth saying "what?" and instead pretending like I know what's going on in the conversation. Sometimes it isn't worth it for someone else to get all frustrated because you can't hear them. And I've heard people talk about other people who can't hear, and how annoying it can be to communicate with them. Why would I want to bring that on myself?

Anyway, communication is a two-way street. I will go get my ears checked if you promise to speak clearly and look at me when you're talking (and to be more sensitive in general to those who can't hear).

4. It's that time of year, people. The time of year where I automatically start to think about where we will be living next fall and who our friends will be (if any) and which friends we will try to keep in touch with for a little while, and which friends will unfortunately slip through the cracks.  Since we've been married, Steve and I have moved every two (school) years. We are now at the beginning of the second semester of our second (second) school year here at Geneva, and I've naturally started thinking about friendships. This is the time of year in Higher Education when people have to start making decisions about their future (the next school year). Will I stay here, or will I move on? And while we have no real plans to move on just yet, I still have to think these thoughts, because A) this has been our pattern, and I have had to think about this sort of things every two years, and B) as is the nature of working (or shacking up with someone who works) in Higher Education, even if we stay put, there is a really great chance that some of our good friends will be moving on and out. It happens every year. Which gets me to thinking about a profound speech I heard toward the end of my freshman year of college. It has really stuck with me all these years, probably because it is always always practical. The speech was on friendships, and how there are those who are "friends for the road," and those who are "friends for the journey." Friends for the road are those who are friends (close friends even, but not always) for a time. They are not necessarily lifelong friends, and that is ok. It does not diminish your friendship now, and its importance. You should not stop being friends with someone because you suspect that they might be friends for the road (though it is sometimes hard during this time of the year). Friends for the road are still important for now. You need them. They need you. Don't miss out on something good, even if it is probably temporary. It is ok to have seasonal friends. Friends for the journey are those lifelong types. The ones where, even if they live halfway across the world, you will both make a point to communicate with each other, and carve time out of your schedule to see them, even if it is only once or twice a year, or via skype.  Sometimes, unfortunately, you can even lose touch with those who you thought were friends for the journey. Life just happens that way. Sometimes there are friends for the road that stay on the road with you for a little longer than others, and they can seem like friends for the journey. This analogy was much more beautiful when I heard it 10 (10!) years ago. But you get the gist. Anyway, this time of year, I start to wonder who my friends for the road are, and who my friends for the journey are. I hope that I don't give some friends for the road (or even those who are in it for the long haul) the shaft as we transition out of each other's lives. I will have to work extra hard to show my appreciation for their friendship, and wish them well in future endeavors. I don't know who this season's friends for the road and friends for the journey are yet. And that's ok. It's probably something that's better figured out in hindsight.  Plus I don't want to diminish friendships with people who will also be sticking around for another year...and with those who we don't yet know. You never know when you will meet another wonderful friend.

5. Sorry for the snark, lately. I deleted a couple of posts that I thought were too snarky. Sorry if you liked them. And sorry for my snarkiness in #6 of my resolutions. If you don't want to follow me in a reader, that is your perogative. I should just be thankful that you take the time to think of me. So thank you for that. I still probably won't heavily promote my blog, if it's all the same to you. You can promote it, if you want though.

6. On a lighter note, I am getting a haircut tomorrow night!  Woohoo!! For someone who loves getting haircuts as much as I do, I am a bit of an enigma (in the past few years I've only gone to get a haircut...twice a year tops). But it makes it a treat. Here are some of my ideas.

7. No new pictures, so you will have to settle for some old ones, made in Toronto's distillery district. I love red brick buildings with green doors.

Soap Fail...I mean, Soap Lesson.

I had my first soap failure the other day. Still not sure exactly what went wrong (everything, perhaps?). Anyway, I am choosing to learn from it. And show you some pictures so that you know that soap is not all fun and games (but mostly, it is).

I was super excited to make some red wine soap...mainly for the deep red color I imagined the soap would be, and so that I could say I made red wine soap. 

I boiled the wine the night before (because the internets told me to), and then let it sit in the fridge overnight. Because lye would heat it up quickly, the internet said.

So the next afternoon, I've got all my ingredients measured out, oils mixed and lye in the wine. Lye in wine stinks. Bad. But that isn't what concerned me. What concerned me was the seemingly low temperature of the lye/wine mixture. It was like, 100F the first time I tested it (should have been well over that), and the oils were about that, too. Now, when you're making soap, you want everything to be about that temperature, but it usually isn't that quickly. Even as I type this, I wonder if it was a thermometer error.

Hold on.

I must go check.

....

Nope, they're fine. 

So anyway, I double checked the temps, after sticking the oil in the microwave to warm it a bit, and taking the lye/wine out of the ice bath. They were a little better, but still seemingly lowish. Perhaps I was not patient enough, and did not wait for the thermometer to catch up?

Anyway, I decided to mix the two, and almost instantly there were lumps (Steve provided the word later: it looked curdled.), so I stirred a little bit more and decided that it was setting up wayyy too quickly, and stuck the stick blender in there to even things out (or so I thought). After a second of that, it was seeming so thick, so I went back to stirring with my spoon. It was looking very burnt orange, so I decided to add a little bit more wine to it, as an additive. For color. A second later I was pouring what looked like sloppy joes into my new soap mold (which happens to be a silicone baking dish for miniature loaves of bread. Works perfectly (this is my second batch of soap with this new mold, so I know it isn't the mold's fault. Plus, it's pretty obvious that it was a failure long before I poured the soap). Sloppy joes is not what soap should look like. It should be smoother, and more fluid. Thick still, but not chunky.

Ok. Here are the pictures. They are hideous. To make you (me) feel better, I've included a picture of the successful batch...which was more green tea, basil, and rosemary soap. Yum.

No, that's not apple crisp. An no, the corners are not supposed to be a different color/texture from the rest. But look at my beautiful silicone mini-loaf baking dish!

Popped the bars out and looked at the other side. Diseased soap.

At least it lathers. And you can't tell from the picture, but the suds were pink!

So I went to plan B, and decided I would try my hand at rebatching it, which is essentially shredding the soap, adding water and some heat, and then some oil, and then some more heat..stirring it up, and sticking it back into the mold. I am still contemplating two ideas for plan C.*

Looks like ground beef. Rest assured, it is soap.

Nyom nyom nyom.

A stack of hideous bars awaits its doom.

Anyone in the mood to grill?

Why is it still so ugly?

Ugh! And the texture is like....wax?

Some winning bars of soap, made from the new baking dish and an oatmeal container. The little ugly duckling in the bottom left corner is a pre-shredded chunk of wine soap that I spared.

In better news, I joined pinterest today! I am going to have to limit myself to only looking at it once a day. We shall see!

*Ideas for plan C: throw the whole mess out and try again. Or. Shred up the soap again and mix the shards into another batch of soap. I might have to wait awhile. The texture is still....weird. Or go with the first plan C.

Relearning a language you never knew is hard.

You know how, when someone whose third language is English is returning to their international school, and they say they've "lost" some of their English over the summer, or they're starting to get English headaches after the first couple days back? And you think, wow, they must be super smart to be studying in a language that isn't their first. They must really think highly of that school if they would go there despite it not being taught in their first language.
Or, you know how, when a seminarian is going back to class after the summer, and worries that they've forgotten all of their Greek or Hebrew. You think, well, Greek and Hebrew are tough, so I can understand not remembering it all...but I'm sure it will come back to you faster than it did the first time around.
These are the illustrations and responses I want people to keep in mind when I say that I'm worried I forgot all of my "Anglican language" over the summer.  Here's to another September where I don't know what page we're on in the Prayer Book.

Beautiful Movie

Tonight I wanted to watch a movie.  No big deal, right?  Wrong. 
We recently mourned the loss of our first tv we ever bought by buying a newer, bigger, flatter, HDer tv (how's that for adjective order?).  This is exciting, except for whatever reason, if you want to watch a movie, you have to unplug something that has to do with the cable box and replace those plugs with something that has to do with the dvd player.  For some reason, you just can't have it both ways.  You can't toggle back and forth between watching House Hunters International and a movie.  Normally Steve is the one who deals with this, so no need to learn it. 
You may be thinking, "But Laura, didn't you major in hooking up things to a tv?"  Well, it's true, I did.  But I found out too late in the game that I really wasn't into it, unfortunately.  Perhaps my first clue should've been that the main classes I wanted to take were Story-Telling and Screenwriting.  And I loved classes that talked about film.  I like* movies (um, hello.  This is a post about me wanting to watch a movie).  I like photography.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  I discovered too late that I probably should've majored in English, or Writing, or Art (which is what I really like about film....and life in general), because I wasn't really into producing movies, or tv/radio shows, or the news, etc....I don't have a knack for things that have to do with cords or really any of the equipment needed for electronic media production.  Anyway.  That was a long time ago.  And really, no matter what, I would've gone to seminary, which is where I am at now.  The Lord knows where I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to be doing even if I don't.
Ok, back to me wanting to watch a movie.  Steve is away at a retreat all weekend, so he isn't here to do all the things that one needs to do when they want to watch a movie in our apartment.  And we've already reviewed the embarrassment that is me, not knowing how to hook it up.
Anyway, I sent a text to Steve, hoping he would have time to respond, and then searched on google for some possible instructions.  While there were plenty of instructions for plenty of different scenarios, I didn't feel like any of them really covered what I was looking for. And I hadn't heard from Steve yet, so I just decided to play around with it until the movie was not only playing but also the sound working.  I took a picture of how everything was plugged in, so I could put it back to the way it was if all else failed (and, if all else failed, I was ready to just go ahead and watch the movie on the computer...but why watch a movie on a computer when you have one of those big flat tvs?).
Short story long, after several trial and errors, I finally worked it out so that all the right things were either plugged in or not plugged in, and I could watch/hear my movie.  Sweet, personal victory.
The movie I watched is a favorite, Away We Go.  We rented it and watched sometime last year, and then went out immediately and bought it.  Somehow when I went to watch it tonight, it was still in its plastic.  I am sure that I posted something on this blog about liking it, but can't find it anywhere (so no idea when we actually watched/bought it...but probably last summer?).
Anyway, I really, really like it, and was reminded of it again tonight.  I would wholeheartedly recommend it (though with some qualifications: it is definitely not a kids movie.  For mature audiences only.  Some F-words, and sexual talk.  No nudity or violence that I can remember.  Anyway).

Here are 5 things that I really like:
1. The soundtrack.  Especially all the songs by Alexi Murdoch. And the always catchy "What Is Life" by George Harrison.
2. Beautifully shot. Or, at least I think so.
3. I love the characters of Burt and Verona.  I want to see them find their "home."
4. All-start cast: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney (I love Allison Janney!  She plays a sort of outrageous character in this movie, but I love her anyway), Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Melanie Lynsky...etc!  Touching performance by Chris Messina.
5.  There's a realness to this movie.  Parts that make you laugh, and parts that make you cry.

Exchanging vows on a trampoline.

*When learning the Lithuanian language, we learned that it is grammatically wrong to say things like "I love coffee" or "I love this movie."  You love people. Not things. So I've tried to be aware of that. Sometimes.

Some faves

I am sitting here trying to find a blogpost from the past and therefore rereading old blogposts.  It is a quite nice way to take up some time, though I am unsuccessful in finding the post I want to find.  I probably deleted it or something.  Oh well.

Anyway, here are some ones that I particularly liked, even though they weren't what I was looking for:

3. Searching for a song.  It was driving me crazy!
2. Found the song!  Still love.
1. The analogy still holds strong.

Edit: And this....Bucket List of sorts

Churchy church

After much searching, we think that we've found a church that we will stay at for a while.  Though, we've thought this before...but you have to save a little room for hope.  I hope we've found a church that we will stay at for awhile.

This is a church in our neighborhood...but not our church.

The past few years of searching has been an interesting ride.  We've gone to several different churches for several months at a time, worshiped in styles different than what we were used to (we're not just talking about music here people), and met many people that we still know (or, at least, on social media).  We've learned a lot.  Ultimately, positive things aside, we are looking for a church to call home.

But what are the essentials of finding a church?  What are merely details?  There is a fine line, for some.
Here are some things that people might look for in a church (which would you say are essential?):

• A pastor/priest/vicar/etc that preaches/teaches the Gospel.  From the Bible.
• Good fellowship.
• Theological agree-ability (like, do you think infants should be baptized, dedicated, or left in the nursery? how uncomfortable will it make you if you attend a church that does things differently than you would?)
• Having a pastor
• Having a pastor that recognizes that (s)he hasn't met you yet (or, is it a deal breaker if there is the "(s)"?)
• Ways to get involved in the church community (missions, Bible studies, outreach, Sunday School etc)
• Style agree-ability (liturgical, or not? contemporary or traditional? dress or jeans?)
• Friendly people
• Variety in generations/age groups/stages of life (will it bother you if there are no families in the church? or if there are no single people? etc)
• close to home (proximity....how long does it take you to get to church?  can you walk?)
• Age of the church (would you rather go to a church plant or one that's been around for 100+ years?)
• Size of the church (not the building per se, though that might be important too...but the number of people)
• Is it a thriving church?  Or one that can use some work?
• Does it provide opportunities to be mentored?  To mentor others?
• What time does church start?  How many services are offered?
• ETC ETC ETC!

We've thought through some of these more than others.  Sometimes you can have a list of essentials, or what you think are essentials, but then just have a feeling about a place.  Sometimes the feeling is wrong.

Sorry for such generalities, but I honestly don't know who reads this blog.  I don't want to incriminate any of the churches that we no longer attend (over the past 5 years we've regularly attended an E-free church, a Southern Baptist church, a Mennonite leaning church (well, it didn't really have a pastor/denomination, but a lot of the folks who attended came from that flavor, so that was the style), and an Anglican church).  Make whatever judgements you want, though most of our reasons for no longer attending these churches have little to do with the denomination (well, for the most part).  Having grown up Conservative Baptist (Steve) and Evangelical Covenant (me), you can see that each one of these would have something different than what we were used to.   

Over the summer, we have been attending this church.  So far, we really like it!  They preach from the Bible, there are many generations of people that attend, the style is sort of middle of the road (not too this, not too that), the people are friendly, the pastor is friendly, there seem to be many ways to be involved (more so when the school year starts), they are involved in missions, they are thriving, etc etc etc!

I guess it really comes down to is, why do we go to church in the first place?  How does this drive our expectations?   Is it ok to be picky about a church, or should we just suck it up and attend one...and get involved so that we can create the culture we're looking for?  Or a mix of both?

Alright.  This is long-winded. I really just wanted to announce that we've found a church that we like.

Oh, the injustice!

A week ago today I went to my least favorite store to turn in a disposable camera full of pictures (well, if by "full" you mean "27") to be developed.  Now, it has been a few years since I've gotten filmed developed, and I'm learning that I'm a little impatient when it comes to this kind of thing.  They told me that the pictures would be ready by this past Tuesday after 4pm.  Well, running a little behind, I went in this afternoon (a full two days later, I should point out, if you're reading this in the future and today is no longer Thursday), and the pictures still were not ready.  I suppose technically if they were ready sometime next month it would still technically be after 4pm last Tuesday.  Anyway, I was sort of frustrated because I try to avoid this particular store that must not be named, so it's not like I was in there to fill up my big American shopping cart in addition to picking up pictures...the pictures were my only reason for going there.  So I will wait a few more days, lest I have to make a special trip there again and leave empty handed again (the store security cameras have probably rarely seen someone leave there empty handed).
As I was stomping out of there, vowing that as soon as I got those pictures it would be the last time I shopped there, I had a couple of thoughts.
The first was:  how silly of me to be so frustrated at something so trivial.  Big deal.  I will eventually get those pictures.  Probably.  And even if I don't, there are worse things going on in the world right now (and they have nothing to do with me not getting my way).
The second thought was (and it doesn't really have much connection to the first thought): If I boycott (which wouldn't take much more action on my part) this particular store that I really dislike, but continue shopping at a certain other similar store that I think is more aesthetically pleasing in every way, am I really helping any cause whatsoever?  I mean, other than feeling like this particular big-buy-everything-here type of store seems to care a little bit more about making you feel like you're not on another planet when you shop there, are there really any fundamental differences?  Both seem to put local ma&pa type businesses out of business, both offer mass-produced/inexpensive goods, etc.  Am I really helping the local economy if I shop at one and boycott another?
And where do you draw the line with buying local?  I'm thinking outside of groceries here.  If I vow to only buy local or handmade clothes (for example), do I have to guarantee that the fabric and thread used to make said garments is also local?  And what does local mean?  Made in the same city?  State? Country? Or does it mean that the owners of the store and the store itself is local, but the merchandise can be from anywhere?  Or, anywhere as long as it's not a country that runs sweatshops?  You can see where this would get complicated.  Where does shopping online fall in all of this?  Is there a fundamental difference between shopping for books on Amazon and buying your clothes on Etsy when it comes to supporting your downtown shopping areas (if they even still can exist)?
Anyway.  I don't have any answers...but perhaps if I think about it long enough I will have some ideas for a new year's resolution that has something to do with this issue by January/end of December.

Sad.

I have not taken a picture with our actual camera since Easter.

Whatever happened to New Year's Resolutions? Thrown out the window, I tell you. Especially since it should be one of the ones that is not only the easiest to keep, but one of the most fun ones.

I shall try to remedy this. Maybe.

Top 10 Reasons Looking for a church to regularly attend is like looking for the person you will marry.

1. There has got to be some initial attraction, that may or may not have to do with looks, but it might not be a deciding factor for sticking around.
2.  Sometimes you just know whether or not it is "the one" right away.
3.  Others, you need to stay with for awhile before you know.
4.  A lot of times, you stay longer than you should with the wrong one, just because you are happy to at least be somewhere, and you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, particularly if you've been with them for a while.
5.  Down the road, would you like to have children with this person/church?
6.  You need to put in some effort too, relationships go both ways.
7.  What is the fellowship like?
8.  You might ask around a bit before getting involved with a particular person/church you don't know much about.
9.  It takes extra work if there is a clash of cultures and/or expectations.
10.  None are perfect, all have various flaws


Sorry. This really isn't a "funny" list.  We are currently looking for a church to go to.  We went to one this morning that we liked, but we would have to visit a few more times to really be sure.  It's so hard because where one church just doesn't cut it, another one does....but then that other one just doesn't cut it in a different way.  It is tiring.

A church in Toronto.  Not the church we attend.

Meditations on how working at Starbucks and living in a foreign country prepared me to attend an Anglican seminary, with specific thoughts toward chapel

Well, there is a paper that is due in less than 24 hours, and have I started it? No. Have I completed the reading necessary in order to write this paper? No.

That is why, obviously, I am compelled to write this blog post.  Procrastination is a disease that even I am not immune to.

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A few years back, when interviewing at Starbucks, I knew that I liked coffee, but admitted that I had no clue how to make or describe one thing on the menu.  Apparently they liked my honesty (or, they saw someone whose mind wasn't polluted with ideas of how coffee is made, and they wanted to mold me), and soon (or after a while), they had trained me to know the language and customs and people of Starbucks.

I am aware that a lot of people avoid going to coffee shops, because, while they love coffee, they are confused by the elitist menu, the different words/sizes for small, medium, or large, and the fact that a gas-station cappuccino is nothing like a coffee shop cappuccino (so when you get a light, frothy drink you feel ripped off, even though that is what you ordered).  I understand that it can be daunting to go into a place not knowing how to describe what you want or being confused, and too proud to admit you need help.

But eventually, if you keep going...and you work up the courage to ask a question, you will find that most people who work at coffee shops are trained to answer your questions and to generally be helpful.  Going in with a friend who is familiar with coffee shops is also helpful.


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A couple years ago, when we first moved to LT, the biggest adventure was going grocery shopping.  We had both been pretty good at grocery shopping in the States, so it could be frustrating or overwhelming at times to feel so incompetent at what was a simple task back home.  Not being able to read labels or packaging, guessing what you were getting based on the picture on the front, getting the right thing, but not knowing how to read the directions to prepare it, not knowing what would be readily available....new (to us), local food....trying to find a suitable substitute for foods we couldn't find....doing the math to figure out how many american dollars we were spending...not being able to read the details of a sale sign, etc etc etc. However, after some time, we began to learn how to read Lithuanian, we began to realize which stores sold certain items, we learned the words for all sorts of herbs and spices, and soon going to the grocery store was just another normal thing.  Just had to learn the language, customs, and people of LT.  Of course, it helped to have a friend who was familiar with LT grocery stores to come with those first couple times.

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This past Fall I started seminary full-time.  I love it. I love the classes, I love what we're reading, I love thinking and learning about theology, the Bible, Christianity, the history of it all, etc.  It is very challenging yes, for reasons that are obvious. I am a procrastinator who blogs when she should be writing a paper, for one.  For another, I'm not too inclined to remember all the exact details of the whos and whats of history (though I like the stories).  The biggest adjustment/culture shock/thing I just need to suck it up and get used to/stress has been being fully immersed in the Anglican style of worship.  Like being a coffee lover who is not familiar with Starbucks, I feel like I don't know what is going on half the time. I know Jesus, I know (some) of the songs, etc....but I'm not used to doing everything so scripted (ie, the Book of Common Prayer). I'm used to saying "large" instead of "venti."  I am not used to being so much involved in the service. I'm used to my gas-station cappuccino and now I am being served up something with familiar elements, but that I still haven't acquired a taste for.  I've been grocery shopping before, but I don't know how to understand everything that I'm reading/reciting (that is, if I'm on the same page as everyone).  Hopefully I've not lost you as I jump in and out of analogy.  I really want to like going to chapel, but I'm not there yet. I just don't feel like I've learned all the moves yet.  I don't know the language, customs, and people of the Anglican church.  Well, I do know some of the people.  They, like the people at Starbucks and in Lithuania are pretty nice.

So I don't sound like a total Debbie Downer, I will remind you that I grew to really like coffee shops and grocery shopping in Lithuania.  I will also list my top 3 things that I can appreciate about Anglican worship.

3.  One of my pet peeves of some churches are that they are way too seeker friendly.  Going to chapel reminds me of what it is like to be someone who is totally new, lost, and confused.  A little-seeker friendliness might not be so bad after all.  Anglican worship reminds me that we should probably not swing too far to either side of the seeker-friendly/member-friendly spectrum.  We need to nurture everyone in the church.  We've been attending a church on Sunday evenings that is an Anglican church plant.  Sometimes I like to think of it as Anglican 101.  That's a good thing.  It also helps that we were invited by friends who explained everything as it was happening during our first church service.

2.  I like that we read aloud things together as a congregation.  Scripture, prayers, declarations of faith, etc.  It is very participatory.

1.  Anglicans.  I do really like most every Anglican I've ever encountered.  Even if they worship in a way that I am not accustomed to, they love Jesus lots.

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So, to conclude, I like coffee, Lithuania, and Anglicans.  But I'm not necessarily ready to become a card-carrying member.  Maybe a temporary resident :)

Technical difficulties and watching paint dry

There are some pictures that I would like to post, but for whatever reason, blogger is having a hard time dealing with any photos that are rotated vertically.  It either will take the picture and put it back to horizontal, so the person looking at it has to tilt their head to look at it, or it will leave it in the vertical shape (for lack of a better word), but the picture will still be horizontal and all stretched out.

So instead, you get to see how much my nails grew in a week's time.  Hopefully I can get this figured out.

Fruits of the Spirit in the Bible - Peace

Ahhh.....I was working on this. On the home stretch. And then accidentally deleted everything from Genesis through Colossians. I will have to go and re-do it all. God must really want me to think about peace or something. Frustrating, but not the end of the world.