BJ, 'Nell, Me, & Tati

Departing for CA with BJ...

I told you once a few weeks or months ago that I would dedicate an entire entry to Ms. Brittney Johnson, and I figure as I'm about to spend a very long and busy weekend with her at a conference in Anaheim, that maybe I should do that now. Brittney, known to a few of us too lazy to say her whole name, as BJ, or even shorter when I'm really lazy, "Beej." She is a twin, to brother Brandon, and lives near Dallas, TX.


BJ came dramatically into life as I know it in April of this year. She was working in international sales, traveling the world in a job she did not particularly love. A friend emailed her a link to Praying Pelicans, and she contacted Jason looking for a job. And a few short weeks later, she was of course hired; how could we possibly pass up such a gem? (Here she is putting up with Linus' schenanagens, trying to sleep across her laptop...)

I spent little time with her before we all left for Belize, but knew I was going to like her. And was convinced beyond any doubt the first week in Belize. That week in Crooked Tree, I saw a woman brave enough to take on the world, literally; soft-spoken to be extremely effective and sweet to our beautifully gentle hostesses that week, Hilda and Hesse; strong enough to stand firm in leadership and in unfamiliar territory; fun-loving to play soccer, basketball, and handgames with gorgeous children; and tenacious to jump boldly into a position and organization she was still learning about.


I'm so excited to spend a few precious days with my Texan counterpart, my sweet sister in Christ, my colleague and co-conspiritor in missions, and my friend!

By the power of Grey Skull...

Way to go, Mandy; Mike was He-man for a retreat thing he went on with his pharmacy frat for early Halloween excitement. They had to dress as their favorite '80's cartoon character. Sorry about the delay in posting after the hints, Mike didn't take our camera, and it took him a little while to get a picture from someone else, but here he is in all his glory with Rainbow Brite:

Note his great pecs, huge biceps, and thunder thighs. I'm quite proud of this costume, esp. since it was last minute. Mike's a pretty good sport too. I guess he had gone down to the gathering, there weren't too many people out and about, and he had two tests that Monday he got back, so he went back to his room to study. An hour or so later, one of the guys he went with calls him and says, "By the power of Grey Skull, get down here He-man!" Took him about a half an hour to get back into his get-up, but he had a great time, and everyone was pretty impressed; a couple of other guys had wanted to do He-man but didn't because they couldn't figure out how to do it. This is what ex-RA's and artistically deprived chemists do... I still say he should've worn something that says "I love She-Rah!"

The winter cometh...

As I look out my window from my home-office, the trees are bare, or almost bare. A few stubborn remnants, dried and wilted cling to the skeletons. The temps are dropping, we've had snow, with little or no accululation, some sleet stuff a couple of days ago. The seasons are changing, inside and out.

I've found some of my fall decorations, with warm oranges, deep reds, golden yellows, but they already seem outdated; fall stays only a few days, maybe a week or two in MN. One of the things that's hard about living here: the inbetween seasons are short. But it's inside me where I feel the cold.

I wrote not too long ago about a season I am going thru, this season of change. I know deep down there is the hope in the light, the warmth and the inclusion of being in the light. But today, with the gray, drab, lifeless clouds in the sky completely obliterating the sun, I feel cold and alone.

I wrote that I hit a bit of a wall last week, and over the weekend, I climbed the wall and jumped down to the other side and into follow-up work with the many contacts I've made over the past month and a half. Calling, emailing, trying to work something up, and I've had some good conversations. And today, I hit another wall. I wonder if after the more emotional one last week, I've found a spiritual one today.

Yesterday our power went out; we heard that "someone hit something" in one of the nearby neighborhoods. We still don't know if they hit an underground wire, a pole, who knows, but our power was out most of late yesterday, and it didn't come back on until about 11 last night. Definitely slows down my after-hours emailing, etc. So Mike and I ran out to his parents' hung out with his dad for a bit and dropped off a treadmill, grainmill, and a couple of kegs, empty, to Larry's great disappointment. This morning I got up, ready to hit my computer hard. The internet's working, great; get on to my Outlook where my email goes in and out of, and mysteriously, overnight, it's no longer functioning. Mike and I bicker as he gets ready to leave this weekend, and I'm desperately trying to get my work life back online, literally. My spirit is cold with disappointment and frustration.

I know the light is there, I know that winter is not all bad, but I still feel it's ominous and inevitable approach in so many different ways.

Grrrrrrrranimals...

Don't know where I got that word, but it feels good to say when I'm irritated or frustrated or just discontented. I just found out that I officially did not get a sale I've been working on for about a month and a half. One of my first really good leads. And I feel like I did everything right; had a great meeting with the pastor, followed up well, but not being too annoying; the pastor even seemed to feel badly about saying no. He said he appreciated my heart for ministry and could tell I had an genuine heart for God and missions. But it just didn't come thru. I'm not looking for a pitty party, so don't worry about sending condolences. I'm just bummed. Grrrrranimals... I think I'll go find some chocolate...

Hey, our buddy Eric (see link on side of this page to the Svoblogger, I think...) found a neat clip from a Dove campaign. Check it out. I don't know how to do the fancy linking thing, so just go to his blog and connect to it.

Guess Mike's Halloween Costume... Fourth hint...

Okay, if this doesn't pretty much give it away, I'm not sure what will. He actually did Halloween a little early this year with a bunch of the Pharmacy crew this weekend in North Dakota. But this may be your last clue, get your guesses in!

...Okay so maybe this picture isn't that helpful... but it is really funny!!

Guess what Mike is for Halloween... Third hint...

Look at the last entry for hints one and two...

Third hint:

Guess what Mike is for Halloween...

I give you a new clue each day. Here's your first: it's something beloved from his childhood.

Here's your second:

The Cudas...

My sister Mandy and her husband Scott Cuda found their way to the almost frozen tundra this week. They are recovering from a fairly intense wedding in Las Vegas this past weekend where Mandy was bridesmaid extraordinare, and Scott had a medical conference at the U Monday and Tuesday, and it was supposed to go thru today, but they cancelled a bunch of stuff on him. They are the pair hailing from Kailua, Hawaii, so with snow flurries and low to mid-20 degree weather today, they were a little out of their element. But no worries, we found a Caribou (Mandy misses these greatly on the island) and a couple of cats to keep us warm. Was really nice to
have them with nothing to do; we just hang out well together. Mandy and I find more and more in common as we grow up, and Mike and Scott are like long-lost brothers. We get along great as couples and individuals; I really like who my sisters and I have grown into, and what the men and brothers that we love add to who we are.

Last Friday...

Last Friday I went for a walk earlier in the morning, before work to clear my head, gather my thoughts, and to throw some things around with God. I find that walking is one of the best activities for me to do this. The Big Guy sometimes even reveals to me little tidbits of wisdom.

This fall morning, I walked streets and sidewalks speckled with autumnal sunlight filtering thru the partially bare branches. I've been struggling a little bit recently, maybe you have guessed, in my trust and reliance in these situations when I am utterly out of control. This fall with this new job, in this new place, with new people all around, and an entirely new situation concerning my and Mike's income has forced me to either lean solely on the One who insists I do so, or drive myself crazy in the process. And as I walked along thru the patches of light, I did find a bit of truth...

Leaves on trees in the spring are new life, displays of healthy organisms, of food being produced and growth happening. Thru the summer, the leaves are sustained, filled out, and they soak up the light. And then in the fall, their gradual demise is ironically evident in the striking display of colors, before they are shed, dry and useless, to save the tree from the deadly cold of winter.

This sort of hibernation, this dying of a part of the organism to save the rest so that the new green growth of spring can happen, reminds me a bit of my faith walk. I go thru these times of growth, of warmth in the light, soaking up the life-giving food of the Spirit. These times of sustaining, of filling out my spiritual girth, expanding my horizons, learning new things. And now I find myself in another spiritual autumn, a dying of a season and a leading into another yet unseen. A time of the changing of my colors in preparation for a winter. I don't exactly know what's coming; it might be a long, bitter Minnesota winter, maybe a short, mild Virginia winter. But I realize something else too. When the leaves are shed and the branches are bare, the light is that much clearer, the shade is less and less, the darkness becomes light. The leaves and growth are good, essential, but sometimes they distract from the clarity of the light. It's in the winters of our faiths that we see and feel the light most clearly, maybe in the utter contrast of the coldness of doubt. In autumn, the leaves fall, we shed the distractions and see only the light. I look forward to another spring, but for right now, in this autumn leading to a winter, I will focus on the light, now seen so clearly thru the bare branches, as I crunch thru the leaves at my feet...