a quick list!

It has been a long time since my last, but a lot has gone on in the last few weeks... I can't write a ton due to time right now but I will provide you with a list of what I have been experiencing...

1. Unwrapping 400 bells to get ready for Christmas eve services
2. Attending Christmas parties at Rachel A.'s and the Longs... great fun!
3. Got sick with a nasty cold/sinus/ears... it hit me hard!
4. Due to #3 I had to miss Christmas eve at Zumbro, but was home with family( It was my first Christmas in a very very long time that I did not go to church! So strange)
5. Due to #3 had to miss preaching on the 28th...
6. Got a lot of great fun presents from family and friends... including a WII and WII Fit from Dave!
7. Lots of down time to recover!
8. Got dress fitted for Sarah and Drew's wedding! (Saw Hannah J. there! AWESOME BONUS!)
9. Drove Kat and Austin to the Airport
10. Made Banana Hot fudge malts with Amber

That should give you some idea.... More to come later!
Hope Christmas was wonderful!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2009 here we come!

Christmas time!

I cant believe it is only a week and a day till Christmas eve! There is so much Christmas spirit around Zumbro, the Rochester community, in the Facebook pics I look at... such a good feeling.

I have realized it is impossible to go on any sort of diet during the holiday season at Zumbro. Everytime I come back to my desk, there is a new gift from a generous parishioner... usually some sweet treat they have made from scratch. Also, every time I go into our work room, there is some gift basket of yummy things given to the staff from someone who thinks we need to be eating.. all the time. For instance, last week, someone brought in 3 freshly baked loaves of bread (still warm from the oven), including jam and a stick of butter to top it with!! This week, someone brought in a chocolate basket which included truffle bars, white chocolate popcorn, macaroons, ... oh man!
I have been pretty good at limiting my snacking, but sometimes you just cant help but have a little nibble of a sweet something given to you by such a generous and kind congregation!

Today Mama Mia the movie comes out! Rachel and I plan to go out sometime today and buy it for each other for Christmas! Should be exciting... now we just have to find time to watch it!
My supervisor Nick and his wife Ann invited Rachel and I over for dinner tonight. I am looking forward to it. I am having the greatest time with my supervisor... I think I am one of the luckiest interns!! He is such a strong natural leader, and only wants the best experiences for me, so it seems like he goes out of his way to make sure this happens! God Bless pastor Nick!

Preaching went really well this last Sunday. I gave John the baptist some "attitude" since he was quite a character, and people really liked it! I am feeling more comfortable being myself as a preach. I dont have much of "preacher tone" anymore. Just outgoing, funny, me. Ok.. I am not trying to be big headed.. just expressing how I dont perform as much. Just preach the Good news, Mollie style!

Alright... enough for now... off to meetings all day!
Blessings!

A whirlwind of a week!

I know it has been a long while since I have posted... I feel I either have had not a whole lot go on... or the opposite... I have a TON of stuff occurring, all at the same time, so my blog gets pushed to the bottom of the "to do list".

This last Friday we had our Zumbro Christmas Bazaar. Many weeks of planning, organizing, and setting up go into this one day event.. and then it is all taken down by 4:30 that same day. It comes and goes so fast! Everything from arts and Crafts, to a attic treasure room( garage sale at church pretty much), lefse table, baked goods room, coffee and cookie room, music performing all over the church... it is AMAZING! A HUGE lunch with meatballs, mashed potatoes, all the scanadavian fixins is served. I guess they served over 600 people. And the best part... all the money goes to local charities here in Rochester. WOW! My heart grew so much on this day... well and my tummy too... lol
All these pictures are from that day.




This month I am preaching 4 times. I just had one yesterday at Charter house, a building for assisted living... it was a very different atmosphere to preach in but I did it. I dont think I had the best delivery, but my preaching is a work in progress, but oddly enough I like preachin in the huge church with many faces looking at me... it is what I am used to. I preach again this Sunday. I remember preaching on this same text (John 1: 6-8, 19-28) in my preaching lab last year, but when I looked back at that sermon, it is no where near where I was going with it this time... so seeing that change, hopefully for the better, brightens my day. My friend Melissa from high school and her mom are coming down to hear me. I feel so blessed to have friends and their parents support me by visting me, hearing me preach, reading this blog, simply caring to what I am doing with my life! So... SHOUT OUT TO MELISSA and her MOM!

I preach again Christmas Eve, but it is more of a good news with children message, telling the story, with carols mixed in, while the nativity scene comes together- yes, acted out.. a live nativity... the families will LOVE IT! And then I preach again the 28th... man oh man.. lots of preaching but such great practice! I don't preach at all in January, so that will be a nice break.

Ok... Thats enough I think.
Have a blessed day!

Mollie

Time sure flies!

Well Happy December to all!

The Thanksgiving weekend went well. It started with my pie social which was a huge hit! I had the greatest helpers bringing pies, serving pies, cleaning up, I couldn't have been more grateful that at that moment! Everyone was telling me what a great idea it was and that it will now become a new Zumbro tradition... so I better inform the next intern of my Thanksgiving extravaganza!

I then headed home for Thanksgiving dinners galore. Dave and I attended 3 of them. Two on Thursday and one on Friday night. All had the traditional foods, and each dinner had SWEET POTATOES with Marshmallows! My favorite! YES!!!

It was fun to see all the family members, laugh, tell stories, just be present and thankful. No mishaps, just cozy family time.

I was back in Rochester by Saturday night to get ready for my busy Sunday church services. Not only was I playing in the bell choir for the first time during the prelude.. I had to rush to put on my alb so I could light the advent wreath, pour the water in the baptismal font, and get to the altar to start the confession and forgiveness liturgy... a lot of running around. It was just Pastor Wayne and I.. and since Wayne was preaching (with a cold for that matter) I did the rest.. aka.. a lot of liturgy. On top of all the chaos, there were 2 baptisms during the second service, which I got to assist in. One of the babies had 9 sponsors... whoa!! That's a lot of God parents but boy will that little guy be guided!

The snow has finally arrived, and as much as I was wishing for it, I forgot how fun it is to scrap off the snow and ice from your car each morning. I think I may have to spend the extra $50 to have a garage spot.... I dont want my new car to go through that!

I now sit here, at church, listening to Christmas music, planning out my week, including starting my internship project; a seven session Bible Book of Faith study with the Continuing Education committee! I still dont know what to think of it yet...
The Christmas Bazaar is this Friday... which is a HUGE production put on my Zumbro. I have had it on my calendar since my first day at Zumbro. I plan to shop, eat, and enjoy the Christmas ambiance Zumbro prepares for months.

Blessings to you all as we prepare for the birth of Christ!

Mollie

Gobble Gobble!

It is a busy day here at Zumbro... well for me anyway.. since I am in charge of tonight's pie social following the service. I have a great sign up sheet of people bringing a total of 34 pies... whoa baby! AND... while we were having our staff meeting this morning, people were still calling in asking if they should bring a pie for tonight or not.... as well as pies are already starting to arrive...
It is going to be a big day! HAPPY PIE DAY!

I feel a little overwhelmed with all that will entail tonight and this weekend;
1. Setting up for the pies, coffee, and cider
2. Delegating jobs to the kids that signed up to help prepare and serve
3. Run over my liturgy for the service for tonight
4. Picking up a birthday present for my sister to give to her tomorrow
5. Packing for the Thanksgiving weekend
6. Running over liturgy for Sunday's service

The list could go on and on....

In this hectic time I am needing to slow down, be thankful for all the opportunities I have this holiday season, take one task at a time, and be present in the moment!

I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving with family, friends, turkey, and fun traditions!

Blessings,
Mollie

Norwegian Traditions!

Since I am half Norwegian I am fitting right in with all the Scandinavian traditions that are taking place at Zumbro right now. One of my first posts was about rolling out lefse for the Bazaar, and now today I got to experience making all different kind of Norwegian cookies... Rosettes, krumkaki, and Fattimund. Each cookie is a certain kind of dough and needs to be cooked in a certain way, for a certain amount of time!
My family always has Rosettes and krumkaki that my dad makes each year so I do have SOME appreciation for it. It as just great to be around such wonderful, fun, talented Scandinavians! What a way to start the day! I included some pictures from the morning! ENJOY!

Sandy, Jo, and Jean making Krumkaki!It takes a special iron and roller to get them to look like this!!

Dorthy and Jean..giggled the whole morning!Fattimund.. deep fried with sugar...the dough is made with rum or brandy...
Rosettes... deep fried... my personal favorites!Harvey was put in charge of sugaring...of course!
We called this corner~ Sugar city!Don't they look so tasty!

Hope you have a good week. I am off to enjoy the weekend filled with seeing Amanda who is home from Korea, spending some time with Dave, maybe do some Christmas shopping, and start preparing for next weeks busyness of Thanksgiving and PIE SOCIAL which follows the service! I have 24 people signed up to bring a pie or 2... there is going to be A LOT of pie!!

Thanks be to God for all the blessings in my life!
Mollie

I HEART ABBA!

So this last Thursday a few of us from church staff went to the Bjorn Again; the ABBA experience!
They sang all the best ABBA songs, they looked like ABBA... it was a blast.
We started out the night by going to a Japanese steak house called Janpachi! So tasty... steak and shrimp and fried rice... mmm can't go wrong.

Laurie, Annette, Rachel and I all piled into Laurie's car and started driving downtown to the Mayo Civic Center with our boas! The car ride itself was a hoot because we noticed Laurie was driving with her trunk open for a good mile... Annette's laugh alone was hilarious. Such a perfect experience to get us even more excited for the ABBA Experience.

We ended up sitting in the 5th row... but no one around us was dancing...BOO... how could you NOT dance to ABBA music? There was a group of ladies on the second level above us shaking their groove things.. we almost left to go up there... until.....
About 2/3rds into the concert a conga line of women started doing dancing laps around the arena. We latched on the end once they started singing MAMA MIA... made our way to the front and stayed there the rest of the concert... IT WAS AWESOME!
Room to dance, sing, touch hands to the singers, and make eye contact with the handsome guitar player!

Once the concert came to an end we danced our way out to YMCA. 2 couples that were behind us most of the concert wanted our boas to take home... so one gave me $5! NICE! I then figured out 1 of the couples were Gustie grads!!! COME ON YOU GUSTIES! FIGHT ON FIGHT ON...

We ended the night with an outing to Whistle Binkies... a fun hopping place with amazing popcorn and beer from all over the world...

It was a great night!
How I love the adventures in Rochester!

Happy Thursday!

Well it has been another busy week. I can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving! That means 3 month evaluations for internship will be due... and I JUST finished my Learning Service Agreement... AKA... my goals and objectives for internship this year. I wanted to keep them rather general since I am doing a variety of learning and ministry here at Zumbro!
Here they are for those who are curious.
1. To develop my style of teaching and leadership
2. To learn and understand the variety of worship settings
3. To grow in my ministry of grief and dying.

These are areas in which I am not as familiar with or areas I feel I want to work on. Ways to do this will be using my resources of books, asking questions, getting involved in planning, teaching, and preaching, as well as simple conversations with my parishioners and staff members.

What else.... the weather I have decided needs to make up its mind... we are in the in between stages of fall and winter where it is just wet and gloomy... it truly is affecting my mood and attitude, not to mention it's getting so dark so early! So although we complain...its time for snow... in moderation. Right?

Tonight some of the fun ladies on staff and I are going to a Bjorn Again, the experience of ABBA concert here in Rochester... we plan to go all out with boas, dinner at a fun Japanese steakhouse, and who knows what else! We got tickets for 5th row.... I have a feeling it is going to be a good night! I will make sure to get pictures posted shortly following the festivities!

Finally, I have been reading a Max Lucado daily devotion called "Everyday Blessings". Each day it gives a short scripture and a thought to go along with it. Although I do ministry everyday... my supervisor is very encouraging to have personal devotion time for me for which I am very grateful. I thought I would share the one for today on here since it really hit home today.

They sinned against me, but I will wash away that sin. Jeremiah 33:8

The next time you see or think of the one who broke your heart, look twice. As you look at their face, look aso for His face- the face of the One who forgave you. Look into the eyes of the King who wept when you pleaded for mercy. Look into the face of the Father who have you grace when no one else have you a chance... And then, because God has forgiven you more than you'll ever be called on to give to one another, set your enemy- and yourself- free.

Another day...another week

It was a busy weekend for me again. I am realizing how much I have to do in the next few weeks... but at the same time... I am realizing that I do need down time...alone time... time with friends, family, and Dave of course.
I preached yesterday on the Matthew text 25:1-13. It was all about being prepared for the coming of Jesus... as I was preaching I was thinking to myself, am I prepared? What am I doing each day to fulfill my readiness in case Jesus shows up today? Tomorrow?
I need to be prepared by being intentional... in my actions, words, ministry, in EVERYTHING! Sometimes life feels like a giant check list... at least right now it does. I want to be intentional; remember, learn...soak it all in as opposed to getting by... or getting through another day or week of internship.
Along with this I am trying to be in the present. I am such a futuristic person; always worrying about what is next, what to prepare for... I am missing out on the RIGHT NOW... There is so much to be grateful for in the present.
My family came down yesterday for my sermon.. our Christmas card picture was taken in Zumbro's sanctuary... and I had to wear my Alb... ick... but my parents were insistent.. so I did.
It felt good to see the pride my parents and sisters had. THANKS!
We all then went to Red Lobster for lunch... MMMM.. ultimate feast! So tasty! Crab legs, lobster, shrimp.. cant go wrong!

So its the beginning of a new week.. to be intentional, prepared, and grateful in the moment.

Until next time.
Mollie

I know....its been a while...

Yes... I haven't blogged in about a week now.. my apologies... it was a busy weekend of Halloween... the theological conference in Mankato, and then teaching confirmation last night, and now preparing for my sermon on Sunday.... busy little bee I am.... but that is the way I like it!
So here are some highlights of my last week...
1. Halloween was a blast at home...Dave and I dressed up as Ceiling fans.... yes we had shirts that said.. GO CEILINGS!!! get it.. ceiling....fans... WHOO HOO!!! GO CEILINGS!! And I got to see little Addison Rose in the cutest witches costume ever!! I just wanted to squeeze her she was so cute! Praise to you God for the Kuntz family and the love I have for all of them!

2. The South Eastern Synod Theological Conference was good. There are some super fun pastors in this Synod. Lots of socializing, listening to a speaker on the psalms, having lunch with Bishop Huck, roadtrips with Seyward, and having my own hotel room. I have to admit.. now that I live alone I really am enjoying my alone time when I have it. Youa re with people all day in the ministry... which I LOVE... its where I find my energy and passion...I love my job, but I now appreciate the alone time when I go back to my apartment... it is MY PLACE.... so having a hotel room to myself.. I could retreat back to me time if I needed it! Thank you God for times of solitude to be one on one with you!

3. I also got to go back to Gustavus to visit.. you know since I was in Mankato.... the bookstore was a must.. although I only bought window stickies for my new car.... shocking.. no clothing! I am shocked at myself! I got to see many from Mount Olivet... and I think I saw Grady St. Dennis about 5 times.. on and off!! WHAT A GREAT TRIP! PRAISE GOD for Gustavus and all who attend there now that I love!

4. The staff got trained in First Aid yesterday... always good to refresh on that. Now I am set for three years!! So if anyone gets hurt around me... I got you covered. As a staff we had a good time with it. Lunch after at Twigs... and apparently they have a great butternut Squash ravioli.... I did not get that, but I think I will for next time. I really am enjoying the staff here at Zumbro. Everyone works so hard at keeping this place incredible.. and I am learning more and more about them each day. Of course no one is perfect.. but as a whole... we all are lovin our positions here at Zumbro! Thanks be to God for Zumbro staff!

5. Well I taught confirmation last night... I was totally prepared with an outline to teach on forgiveness... until Rachel clued me in that I was teaching on " hollowed be thy name"... I was ahead by like 2 months. OOPS... but I took sometime to whip up a new lesson from the hear we stand program. WE talked about the importance of names, what they mean, (Mollie means bitter....) and the many names we have for God. I showed this video from you tube and I think they liked it.. It is a video from Mark Schultz called I AM..... showing images and names of God!
"If a friend came up to you, only had 10 seconds to talk, and didnt know anything about who God was, what words or actions would you use to describe God?" My favorite answer was.... " NO matter what he love you, forgives you, and is always with you... how cool is that?" These kids ROCK! Thanks be to God for our names.... his holy name.... and our words and actions to keep it holy!


Alright... that is enough for now. I promise to be more regular with my posts. I am off to format my sermon so it is in big enough print to read and glance at for this Sunday! My whole fam is coming down to hear me so I am really excited!

Until next time..... Blessings!
Mollie

Internship Cluster

Yesterday my supervisor and I went to Shalom Hill Farm in Windom, MN for internship cluster. We met up with other interns and their supervisors from across the Southern State of MN into South Dakota to catch up on the joys and frustrations of internship so far. Pastor Nick and I carpooled with Seyward and her supervisor Fred, and Amanda and her Supervisor Peter. We met at Zumbro at 7AM... yes.... that early.. the SUN WAS NOT EVEN UP YET..... This was taken about 7:42 in the morning! It was beautiful... so I was grateful that I could be up early enough to witness this! So... we all rode for 3 hours together. We stopped at a rest area in Blue Earth on the way down... and took a few pics... Shadow pics are fun... and this "No need to be lonely thing"... Seyward spotted this... but it is true.. THERE IS NO NEED TO BE LONELY !

ANYWAY.... at cluster...we had great conversation about the importance of communication between supervisor and intern... I believe Pastor Nick and I are great at that. We have meetings every Tuesday at 11 to talk about what is going on in our lives; concerns, joys, needs, exciting news. It is not a time to set schedules for who is going to see who in the hospital, but more a check in time. Nick and I also are reading a book together so we can reflect together on it... ask questions... We just finished reading EAT, PRAY, LOVE By Elizabeth Gilbert.... it was wonderful... easy read. Now we started reading THE SHACK, by Paul Young... and I LOVE IT! I have not finished it yet, but it is a book I suggest everybody read! You end up asking a lot of questions and discerning your faith with this book... please read it! Anyway... We had a great lunch.. and explored the farm a bit. I had been there before on many occasions in college for retreats... They always have a ton of kitties running around, sheep, a llama, goats, a dog... it is a fun place to wander around.... here are some pics from the day!

All the INTERNS!!! YAY!










The roadtripers...


and A LLAMA! his name was chip!



It has been a busy week so far... I plan to head home for the weekend to be with a friend who is having surgery... keep her in your prayers... and then back in time for Sunday worship. Then it is off to Mankato from Sunday afternoon till Tuesday for a Theological Conference. Lots of speakers and many people from the cluster will be there so it will be good to be with all of them again. I also plan to make a trip back to Gustavus.. since I will be in the area... eat at the caf.. see some friends.. shop at the bookmark.... I CANT WAIT!.... I am sure I will have lots to report on when I return! THANKS BE TO GOD for all this busyness in life now... I am so thankful for all of it! The fast paced life... it really helps you appreciate the quiet time... when you can find it! Blessings! Mollie

Home.... sick....

I got to come home this weekend for a wedding that is taking place today.... Sunday at 1PM... which means I had to miss the big brunch for stewardship at Zumbro... but now it looks like I am going to miss the wedding too.... for some reason I got real sick after a dinner at Dave's parents last night.... which is a major bummer cause they smoked me hotdogs... which are soooo YUMMY!!! I don't know what got me so sick... but my tummy was not a happy camper last night... but it was nice to come home to my parents.... everyone knows that to be home in your own bed with your mom there.... just in case... always helps when you are sick! SO little shout out to my parents..... THANK YOU! YOU'RE GREAT!

Well... a few people in my life have requested my preaching schedule so they can come down and hear me share the good news... so for those who are curious and want to make time in their schedules... HERE YOU GO!

November 9th

December 14th AND 28th

February 8th

March 15th

April 19th

May 10 (Mother's Day)

Services are at 8:30 am and 11:00 am

Please let me know if you need directions!

Well I am going to rest and drink some flat Sierra Mist... don't be jealous.

Everyone have a great day!

Until next time!

Mollie

Just to get you all caught up...

I thought I would add some pictures from my last couple months here. Some highlights if you will!
I have been a busy bee at church, in Rochester, and life...attending weddings and finding a social life down here!

This month a group from Zumbro has been making lefse everyday for 2 weeks (with a week break in between) They are all so dedicated and so talented at this fine skill of rolling, cooking, flipping, wrapping... wow!

They even let me try... I became a pro... and LOVE IT! its fascinating!







On October 4th I was Jillian's personal attendant in her wedding! We had so much fun. Dave got to experience the rehearsal dinner, craziness morning before hand, wedding, and reception. It was a great time, and Jillian and Jeremy had a beautiful wedding! I got to wear a fun polka dot dress, and Dave got my favorite color blue for a boy button up shirt!!!






Just this last weekend... Dena, Tommy, and Dave came down for a fun night! We went to eat at one of my new favorite restaurants called HUHOT. You fill your bowl with meat, noodles, vegetables and create your own sauce... give it to the cooks, and they make it, right there! FRESH... made by you..just for you! You can go back as many times as you want!! I LOVE IT! Needless to say we had a great time!


AND FINALLY... Rachel, who works in the youth dept. at Zumbro, Seyward, intern at Our Saviors Lutheran in Rochester, and I, went to a high school football game to see our kids from church play! It was cold, but we had a great time with popcorn, mittens, and cold behinds.


OK... I think that is enough for now!!!

Until next time kids...
Mo-P

But EVERYONE IS DOING IT....

Alright, alright... I caved.... I now have a blog spot too for people to stay up to date with all that I am doing with my life.... I have found myself drawn to reading others' blogs and so I thought I would step out of my comfort zone and see how I do...

Well I am about 7 weeks into internship, and I am finally getting the hang of things. I am overwhelmed with the warm welcoming of the staff and congregation here at Zumbro Lutheran. Everyone wants to make sure I am settled in, knowing the right places to get gas, a carwash, a great burger... The feeling of community and genuine love for your neighbor is present in my new home, for the next 12 months.

Well, with hospital visits at MAYO CLINIC, leading healing services on Tuesday nights, preaching once a month, weekly meetings with my supervisor, confirmation, committee meetings to no end, and many more I could list but wont... I am keeping busy...that's for sure!!

There are times I miss home... family, friends, trivia, Dave, and the simple comfort of life I have known and lived in for years, but there is something extremly exciting about living on your own, in a new town! I know I know I am only 90 miles away (unlike some of my sem friends who are states away), but I am still living a life very different then what I am used to. I am truly starting to see the life of a parish pastor. Its incredible, and hard working, but sooo exciting and reward giving at the same time. I wake up each morning, having some idea of how the day is going to go, but each day plays out different.. and I am so so grateful for that.

Ok... that is enough for a first post....

until next time kids...