Dunn Brothers, laptop, latte...

So I sit here at "work" at Dunn Brothers Coffee shop; they have free wireless access, so I can actually do my job from this little spot on University Ave. I'm actually feeling quite unmotivated; out of the 14 churches I visited today, two were closed, 11 I only spoke to a secretary, and only at one did I actually talk to a youth pastor. Supposedly Mondays and Fridays are bad days to hit churches, most likely days for pastors to have off, but Thursdays obviously aren't great either. I do like my job; I have the power to make it or not make it, I determine my schedule, who I meet with and when, what I do and when, and yet it's a little disheartening a lot of the time. So much of this is laying a foundation of which I might not see fruits for weeks, months, or even years.

But I do like that today I find myself at a coffee shop, sending emails, making a couple phone calls, and sipping a pumpkin spice latte (James, your blog inspired me when I walked in today). Not that I should really be spending $3.69 on a drink I've almost consumed in about 10 minutes, but Mike's talking about going out tonight, so this means I just won't order a drink if/when we go out. This is logical, right?

People ask what I do... Kinda difficult to answer... I'm a door-to-door salesman, I'm a telemarketer, I send what some might consider spam emails, all the things taht are people's worst pet peeves. But I don't really do any of that. I mean I do, but I don't. I really want people to know about what we do and why. And I want to be used by pastors to benefit their ministries. But at the moment, I feel mostly like the afore mentioned. Is that bad? If you worked at a church and I came in and talked to you, would you hate me? Would I be wasting your time in such an offensive manner?

As I type, the roastmaster at this particular Dunn Bros has just started roasting the beans in a contraption about the size of a refrigerator from the '50's. The gentle humming, swooshing, buzzing is pretty nice. The one problem with my job is times like these, when I really just want to grab a book, listen to the coffee beans whirl, and get lost in distraction. But I guess I have to remember the summer; those trips happened because of moments like these when the boys chose to be effective rather than distracted. Guess I should get back to work...

A few of my favorite things... from this week...

So we had a couple of great surprises this week already. Some great friends from Duluth popped down and stayed the night on our new futon; Eric, Jen, and Zeb Svoboda came and crashed in our extra bedroom Saturday night, hung out for a bit Sunday morning before meeting up with some other friends in Minneapolis. We saw Eric for just a bit last weekend when we were up in Duluth, but we missed Jen and Zeb as they were in Fargo ("Faaaar-gooo") visiting with Jen's family, but we got the whole gang for a night in St. Paul. Jen and Eric were among the first couples that Mike and I got to know and love as a couple. It works out perfectly in that I enjoy Jen's company as much as Mike enjoys Eric; and Zeb is the perfect entertainment for all of the above. I like this arrangement with the four of us; we complement each other well, it seems, and man, watch out when it comes to playing a mean game of marbles; Jen and Mike are just a wee bit too competitive, but fortunately, Eric and I can generally keep them in line. We haven't tried Settlers of Caton with all four of us yet, that just might get ugly.

And then, just tonight, I was steeple chasing on the east side of St. Paul, and just decided to keep driving, over the river and into Wisconsin, to U of W River Falls, where one of my favorite college freshmen resides: Sarah Knuth. We spent a most pleasant evening scarffing Perkins and sitting in the greatest little coffee shop, sipping tea and mochas, writing speeches, updating excel files, and catching up. Sarah, as I've mentioned in the past, is wise beyond her years, with a ready smile and laugh; always a light in my day. She's working on a degree in Elementary Education and will someday become the best second-grade teacher ever to walk the halls of any school she chooses to bless (don't really know about the second grade thing...).

Thanks, Eric, Jen, Zeb, and Sarah, for making my week already, and it's only Tuesday! I enjoy all of you and miss you all terribly, though I'm way glad that we're still not too far away (35 minutes, Sarah; I timed it on the way home!)

A few angels among us...

Let me introduce you to a few of the angels in my life, usually sent directly from God at just the right moments, to give just what I need at that moment. In no particular order:

Amy Patrick, lives in Salt Lake City, UT, and has the uncanny sense of when I'm having a rough time with stuff, calls, says she's in Minnesota, and says that she's coming to hang out, give and receive backrubs, and "unpack" our apartment. Love you, Amy J; impecable timing, and the best backrubs I've ever gotten.

Denise and Maria, gals from the flower shop, who also make the time for me in their very busy lives, among multiple jobs, couple of sweet daughters, husbands, etc. to take me out for drinks, laughs, and moral support.

Amanda Lufholm, wonderful, wise, sister-type; we seem to go thru similar stuff, but at different times, making her the best source of experience-based advice; plus she gives great hugs and takes me on long walks with Sam; what more is there in life?

Tatianna and Janell, got some lovin' from the PPM staff this past weekend at a staff reunion; Tatianna is pure joy incarnet, her laugh is infectious, her smile lights up a room or an entire state park, and this contentment shines thru when she leads worship. She makes me want to be near her to try and grasp some of this joy that wells up from her soul! And Janell, what, no, Janell, come on... my roommate from most of the summer, that knows my moods when I wake up in the morning, cries with me when I need to cry, commiserates when I need to commiserate, laughs when I need to laugh, and can belch like few other refined women I know; truly a sister in all aspects of the word! And man, when we say angelic, I imagine her voice when she sings is what heaven will sound like when we praise Him for all eternity!

And for some reason, they won't let me put on any other pics... I was going to tell you about the fabulous BJ... I'll just have to save her for her own blog!

Thanks to all you wonderful women who have given so much to me so effortlessly!! I appreciate all of you more than you'll ever know. And PS- these are just the people who have effected me lately!

Another day...

I write today without any specific news. Mike and I have moved into our new apartment, nothing terribly exciting, lots of boxes and clutter. I've continued on with Praying Pelican, and fall is our busy time of finding new trips. I think this will be an interesting endevour. Today I am simply sending me out to all of you. I am missing a great many of you today, feeling a little alone. Feeling a little lost in where I am at and why I am here. But here all the same... Mom and Dad, Heather, and Kate and James and Finn were here this weekend, fevorishly unpacking boxes and putting things away; maybe I am just missing the void they have left. Maybe I'm a little scared of what I've gotten myself into. Maybe I'm in recovery, spiritual and otherwise from this past week in Belize. Whatever it is, it's where I'm at. Linus, Sally, and I are going to go set up the office...

Linus loving the new futon...


And Sally deciding playing with the camera strap is much more fun than sitting and getting her picture taken...

White Coat Ceremony Pics

Well, during orientation they threw a white coat on me, and called me a student pharmacist. So I guess its somewhat official now...

Here's some pictures from after the ceremony:

I present to you the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities pharmacy class of 2010.

Some proud parents thinking, "Seriously Mike...are you REALLY done with school after pharmacy school?"

Would you buy drugs from this man?