spring at last!

I know that I haven't been posting mid-week usually but I just have to share my excitement about spring in New England. I don't remember ever noticing when spring would hit at home. By "hit" I mean the grass turns green and the trees bud and the flowers begin to bloom. All I ever remember is a distinct before and after. Before: everything is brown and bare and often still covered in snow. After: Everything is fresh and green and muddy.

The weather turned pretty nice here a couple of weeks ago. Since then I have been very impatient for the scenery to catch up with the weather. Yesterday it did. I went to work and the trees looked as bare as they ever have on my drive. On my drive back from work some trees had fully bloomed these beautiful white blossoms. On others the tips were covered in little green sprouts. My pastor commented on the change and how the world looked so different in the matter of a few hours.

Today while at work I found myself constantly gazing out the window at a tree across the street from the church. It reminded me of a Bob Ross painting. I imagined that I was painting that tree and had just finished the trunk and branches and was switching brushes to add the touches of green. I would use a large bristle-ly brush and dip the end in a bright green paint. Then I would gently tap the brush onto the canvas in a circular motion. It really is a lovely tree.

To be completely honest, I think I know why I'm so distracted by the outdoors these days. You may have noticed that I quoted from the book Anne of Green Gables in my last post. I have been reading the series lately - I am currently in the third book entitled Anne of the Island. I never read the books when I was younger and many of my friends here found that simple unacceptable. I am really enjoying them. I can tell because I am currently taking on the traits of Anne Shirley. Anne has quite a scope for imagination and loves the outdoors. Therefore, I am currently exploring my scope of imagination as well as the outdoors. It is really the perfect time of year to read those books because the weather is perfect for exploring. If only I wasn't a graduate student with work to do!

One last note on the coming of spring: today when I was driving back from work I noticed that the boats are back in the water in Beverly. I don't know why that made me so happy - but it did!

A Wonderful Vision

I have begun to immerse myself in the writings of Stanley Hauerwas for a research paper I am writing for my Christianity in the Postmodern World class. I read some of Hauerwas in college and have been looking for a good excuse to dig a little deeper into his work. He is man with a vision - one that is based on the Bible and the church.

His vision of the church is a people who are called out by the story of God's redemptive narrative and transformed by the Holy Spirit. It is this community of the church that will be a witness to the world - showing it for what it really is while at the same time showing the world what it can and should be and one day will be. ( I say that because I believe in the New Heavens and the New Earth where everything in creation will be reconciled to God and be made new.)

The other night, some friends and I began to discuss Hauerwas over some pizza. During the conversation, we agreed that we love his ideals but are unsure as to how to hold them practically. How does one go about making the church what it should be so that the church, in turn, can be a witness to the world? Hauerwas does not give us step by step directions for this process.

I do think, however, that Hauerwas has given us the first step: a vision. In the book group (that is never-ending because we cannot seem to find the time to meet one last time) we have discussed this same theme in Dallas Willard's book. People need to have something to work toward. They need to have a clear vision of what the work they are doing is going to accomplish. Willard was saying it in context of discipleship, but I think it applies here too. Hauerwas is trying to give the church a vision of what it should be so that the church may provide a vision for the world.

Pretty idealistic, right? Yes. But in the words of Anne of Green Gables:

"We must have ideals and try to live up to them, even if we never quite succeed. Life would be a sorry business without them. With them it's grand and great."

A not so inside joke

In order to make sense of my project for this week, I must begin with a story from New York City. In fact, I must begin even further back to when I lived in Oxford. Only read on if you are willing to brave a long story with very little payoff at the end.

When I was in England I began emailing this girl who was going to work at Lake Poinsett Camp in the summer with me. I had never met her before, but she knew many of my friends. We talked of Europe (she spent a summer in France and is fluent in French.) When she found out I was going to Germany, she teasingly told me I should say "Ich habe keine Beine" to my German friends. The phrase means "I have no legs." Or something close to that - sorry to those of you who are actually fluent in German. Anyway - it was the beginning of an inside joke between us.

This girl is the same one I went to visit in New York City - Camber. While spending some time at Strands Bookstore (I highly recommend going there)I came across a book of French phrases. I was quizzing Camber to the best of my ability and came across the phrase "I broke my leg." We both laughed because of its similarities to the phrase she had taught me so long ago. I begged her to teach the phrase to me so that I would know how to say one phrase in French. The whole weekend I walked around practicing the phrase. At one point two ladies walking in front of us turned around and said I was doing well. It was a little awkward...

Well, this week I decided that it would be fun to learn this phrase in other languages as well. I wrote to many of my bilingual friends and they all responded. Currently, if asked, I can say the phrase "I broke my leg" in English, French, and German. I am still practicing the phrase in Spanish and Russian and have plans of learning it in Korean and Italian soon.

It's a silly project, but it is kind of fun. Reminds me that languages can be fun. Another project I did this week was a little more artsy. I modge-podged a tupperware container that holds all my office supplies. I had this calendar of England that had pictures for every day. One night I cut the calendar up since it was old and now the pictures are on this container. I think it turned out really well. I like it a lot. I probably would have modge-podged other things as well - if I had anything else!

I have been re-introduced to M. Night Shamalayan movies recently. Last week we watched the Village and last night we watched Lady in the Water. His movies really make me think and I like that. I have put Unbreakable on my Netflix queue. I hope it is as good as the others.

Thank you all for your prayers and kind words over this last week. Your friendship and love means so much to me.

The C- Word

This weekend my grandmother (my father's mother) went to Sanford's to get her gallbladder removed. It had been causing her pain and the procedure is pretty simple now. The doctors are able to go in through the belly-button or something. So Friday night, around 1am my grandmother goes in for surgery. The doctor comes out later and tells my parents and other relatives that they couldn't remove the gall-bladder. The entire area is inflamed and there appeared to be a tumor that was wrapped around the gall bladder and hooked itself onto the liver. Therefore, they couldn't remove the gall bladder without removing the liver and a person cannot live without a liver. Perhaps that is why they named it the live-r. Life is connected to the liver.

Needless to say the news was a shock to all of us. The next morning my father and aunt spoke to my grandmother when she woke from the anesthesia. They told her that the doctors couldn't remove her gall bladder. All she said was, "Did they mention the c-word?" "Yes."

It was the c-word that disrupted our family a few years ago when my grandfather was diagnosed with it. He died about a year and a half ago. It was the c-word that took both of my grandmother's parents. And now, it is the c-word that will take her too. No doubt I haven't finished dealing with the c-word in the course of this life.

It is hard for me not to wonder why this is happening. Haven't I had enough pain for a little while? At the same time, something is different this time. Even while hearing the news my heart swelled because I knew that God is faithful. In times of great trial God is faithful.

Sunday I talked to my grandmother on the phone. It was nice to hear her voice. She told me that she decided not to do chemotherapy because she wanted to enjoy the time she had left. And do you know what else she said? She knew that God would be with her. I could tell she had already given the decision and ultimately her life up to him. She knew she would get through it - not because she was strong enough - but because God is. That gave me comfort.

I ask that you pray for my family. I ask specifically that you pray for God's will to be done and that we are all reminded of his faithfulness in these difficult times.

calm after the chaos

Last weekend in NYC was such a wonderful time, but it was also a little chaotic. So much happened that I am still trying to sort everything out in my head. It was so great to have this week off (my second reading week for the semester) to recover from the trip. Although reading weeks are meant to catch up on homework and research, they are quite useful for catching up on sleep and pondering life in general.

This week I have been made aware through a few different sources of God's providential hand working in my life. Tuesday morning I had a job interview. The job is another part time job for the summer. A couple of my friends work at this place, which is affiliated with Gordon Conwell and is even on campus. The job is editing for an encyclopedia on Christians throughout the world. Well, I got the job, which is truly wonderful. Now when I come back to South Dakota in May, I won't have to wonder if there will be a job available upon my return.

So, I was telling my pastor here, Sarah, about this other job I will have this summer - to give her a heads up for scheduling and stuff. She made this comment to me that I found rather fascinating. She said, "Katie - God works really quickly with you." It's true. It seems that God is always working things out ahead of time for me. I have my new living situation worked out already. When I moved to MA, I had a job within the first two weeks - the first job I applied for.

Reflecting even further back, God has always managed to open doors for me that I didn't seek out. Working for the theology department (a life-changing job) fell into my lap - they asked me to work for them. Working for the camp (another life changing job) also wasn't in the plan, but God opened that door, too. I am beginning to realize that when an opportunity presents itself I need to act on it and be grateful. Most of the most wonderful experiences of my life have happened through seeming coincidence or being in the right place at the right time. Really, the more I dwell on it, it was God who made it possible. God is planning my life a lot better than I ever could!

On a related note - another great opportunity fell into my lap today. The organist at the church where I work and attend invited me to go to a Red Sox game with her and her family sometime this summer! I don't normally follow sports, but I'm not stupid enough to pass up an opportunity to experience Fenway Park! Especially after the Sox won the World Series this year! I've been to one other professional baseball game in my life. It was a Twins' game when Kirby Puckett still played - and apparently I fell asleep during the second half of the game. My mom once told me that everyone was doing the wave and she couldn't because I was sleeping on her lap. Hopefully I can manage to stay awake for this game - it might be a little awkward otherwise!

Another side note - completely unrelated: Friday night I ate my last package of Jolly Time Mallow Magic popcorn that Nancy sent me. Thanks again Nancy for sending me the wonderful treat. I have introduced that popcorn to a lot of really grateful girls.

Easter in New York

I hope all of you had a pleasant and/or memorable Easter. As many of you know, I went to New York City over the long weekend. We left bright and early (not exactly bright) at 5:30am. We got to Staten Island around 10:00am and caught the ferry to Manhattan. We went to Staten Island because it was cheaper to park there.

I met up with Camber and we found the YMCA in Harlem. Yes, I stayed in Harlem...in a YMCA... and I'm still alive. There were a couple of times when I might have regretted the decision to stay there, but over all it worked out quite well. The biggest plus was that we had our own room - even if it was the size of a closet, there was a mean draft from the window and we only had 1 blanket per bed.

After dropping our stuff at Harlem, we went down to the Village (Greenwich Village) and had some pizza at Two Boots. Two Boots is named after the "boot" of Italy and the "boot" of Louisiana. Their pizza's are unique and named after famous characters. Camber had a "Newman" named for the Seinfeld character and I had a "Cleopatra Brown" or something like that. It was awesome.

After Two Boots we headed to the Magnolia bakery to get dessert - cupcakes! It was an interesting process since we had to wait outside in a line to even get into the bakery. They would only let four people in at a time. Camber has the picture of us consuming our Magnolia cupcakes in a nearby park. Thanks also to Kristen for recommending the place!

After our meal we headed to the infamous Times Square. What a crazy place! The buildings are covered in larger than life advertisements for shows and products. Some buildings even had scrolling marquees for up to the minute news. It was like the whole area was a large tv screen or something.

Some of the highlights for Times Square was the Hershey's store and the M&M's store. It was difficult to leave without buying some chocolate, but I managed to leave both stores empty handed. The coolest thing about the Hershey's Store was that it was featured on an episode of Project Runway. The designers had so much money to buy things in that store and make dresses out of the stuff they bought. Sadly, I do not have a picture of these dresses. In the M&M store they had this machine that would tell you your M&M personality. Sadly, I couldn't do that because there were about a hundred kids surrounding the machine.

However, Camber and I did manage to get a picture with the Yellow M&M which is my favorite of the M&M characters. Up until that point, I hadn't thought about the characters enough to have a favorite, but once in the store, I decided yellow was my favorite.

Also, I saw where David Letterman does his show and got my picture taken with that. Afterwards we walked down some other street and came across the Radio City Music Hall. That night the queen of soul herself, Aretha Franklin, was performing. Pretty awesome. After that we saw Rockefeller Center, which deserves its own paragraph.

On this trip I realized that every show I have every truly enjoyed watching on television has been on NBC. Think about it: Friends, Seinfeld, Will & Grace, The Office, 30 Rock, Heroes, Days of our Lives (that one's for you, Mom) were/are on NBC. So, to see 30 Rockefeller Plaza was pretty much an amazing experience. Not only did I see the ice skaters and the weird fountain that looks like it should be a Midway ride at the State Fair, but I ended up taking a tour of the NBC studios!

Short story: Friday we decide we would like to take the tour. We stand in line, but the Friday tickets are sold out as well as Saturday. Okay, we think, we'll go Sunday afternoon. We settle for the 3:15 tour, get our tickets and leave. Sunday rolls around, we are enjoying ourselves after church and get to the NBC building at about 3:00. I pull out the tickets and notice that it says 10:15 am on the tickets! WHAT! It also says: No Refunds. No Exchanges. Not good. Camber goes and talks to one of the cashiers and she goes and talks to her manager. They work out a deal that if at least 2 people don't show up for the 3:15 tour, we can go. If they do show up, they will refund our tickets. Pretty nice right? So, 3:15 comes and 3 people don't show up so they let us go to the introduction video. The security guard, who has tried to make it our fault, reminds us that if these people show up during the video - they will get to take the tour and not us. The video is about 5 minutes long and the whole time my stomach is turning. How horrible would it be to think I've come so close to being on this tour to have it taken away at the last minute! We come out - the security guard hands us our tickets and says in the most sarcastic tone you've ever heard "you girls are LUCKY." And so we were! I saw studios for Brian Williams, MSNBC, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Saturday Night Live! Funny enough, after the tour we got on the Subway and who did we see? The security guard. He remembered us and asked us if we enjoyed the tour. He was much nicer when he was not working.

So that was on Sunday. Back to Friday. Before meeting up with Camber's friends at a Mexican restaurant, we hung out at Strand's Bookstore. It was this huge bookstore and pretty famous I guess. Also, while we were waiting outside the restaurant for Camber's friends, I saw a famous person! Peter Dinklage ( I had to look up his name) was just walking down the street. Most of you will probably remember him from the Will Ferrell movie "Elf." He was the midget (sorry, I'm not sure what the PC term is) that Ferrell thought was an elf and called him an "angry elf." I recognized him from the movie "Penelope." We didn't get back to the YMCA until after Midnight, which was a long day for me, considering I had been awake since 5:00 that morning.

Saturday we slept in, had a New York bagel for breakfast and walked to Central Park. I saw where John Lennon lived and Strawberry fields. Very misleading name since they aren't fields and there are no strawberries. It was cool anyway. Then we tried for the Wicked lottery, but didn't get tickets. We walked around after that - saw Bryant Park (where Fashion week is centered), the New York Public Library, and I got pictures of the Chrysler building. After that we got in line for tickets to a Broadway show. We ended up seeing a show called "Passing Strange" which was new. Any of you who watch the Tony Awards, keep your eyes open for that one! We ate in Little Italy that night and went to the show. Afterwards we had some New York Cheesecake in Times Square and called it a night.

Sunday we went to church at Camber's Methodist church. It was a great service. Afterward, we went to the "easter celebration." Basically it was a bunch of people in the street wearing homemade Easter hats. Some of them were pretty elaborate! There was also a random dog that was getting a lot of attention - not sure why.

After that I had my second black and white cookie, which was awesome. Then we toured the NBC Studios. After that we just hung out and then waited in line for tickets to the Upright Citizen's Brigade. While in line, we made friends with a group of students from Boston who went to the Berklee school of music. They taught us a new card game and just entertained us for the 2 hours we waited in line. That time was well worth it because we got really great seats for the show. The Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater is a place where people do improvisational sketch comedy. The show we went to was free, which was awesome. 2 of the people are currently on SNL: Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers. That show was probably the highlight of my trip - even more so that the Broadway show. It was so funny!

Camber had to leave super early Monday morning, so I didn't stick around the YMCA that morning. I found my friend Natalie and hung out with her at her cousin's apartment - which was amazing! Then we caught the Staten Island Ferry and drove back to MA.

Overall it was an amazing trip. This post is super long and I left a lot of stuff out. Enjoy the pictures!



Or find my pictures at this link:

NYC

Accordian Marching Band and so much more...

First off - I would like to thank everyone for all the cards and phone calls and gifts and wishes sent to me on my birthday (or near my birthday) - it means a lot to know you were all thinking of me. I had a really nice birthday - pretty low key on Friday. I did wear my pi-day shirt that day, but unfortunately did not eat any pie. I'll do better next year.

The real gift was that my friend Camber came to visit for roughly 36 hours. She was in the area doing auditions which went well, I think. It was so much fun to catch up with her! We went into Boston on Sunday to see the St. Patrick's Day Parade. I've never been to a St. Patrick's Day parade before, so that was new and exciting. I even took some pictures, so I'll include the highlights. On a related note: if anyone can explain to me what Star Wars has to do with St. Patrick's day - that we be helpful.

This week, as you are well aware, is holy week. Yesterday was Palm Sunday which I love. I love getting palms in church! The church I attend also does a Passover Seder on Maundy Thursday. I'm very excited to experience a new tradition on one of my favorite days in the church calendar. Good Friday will be spent heading to New York to see my friend Camber. For those of you who are wondering - this is the same Camber who just visited me this weekend. I actually just took her to Boston where she headed on a bus to New York City. So, even though I just saw her, I will be seeing her again shortly.

I'll stop talking now and post the pictures from St. Patrick's Day and South Boston. Also, don't miss the special video at the end!

Fenway Park! This is where the Boston Redsox play ball.

We (this is Camber next to me) are very excited about the parade!

I had to get a shot of some horses for my niece Randi. They were huge.

The great St. Patrick. Not the real one, though.

There was an unbelievable amount of kilt-wearing,
bagpipe-playing marching bands in this parade.

Not sure how this fits with St. Patrick's Day,
but it was very cool and very colorful.

The coolest marching accordian band I've ever seen...
Actually, it's the only one I've ever seen.