CPE full swing

After a fun weekend that included an overnight at a local cabin with another PM couple, and a lunch with 2 PM families, CPE is in full swing.
Tuesday was our first day. I left at 7am on Tuesday and returned home on Wednesday evening around 5:30pm. Yes, if you do the math that is 33 hours roughly. I did get to sleep from 2:30am till 7am at the hospital. I shadowed another Resident Chaplain as On-duty from 5pm till 8am. We had a number of Trama calls over night and attended to both the patients and families.
This week is orientation, and Friday is our last day of that. We also received our unit assignments, which we can start visiting on Friday afternoon.
So, what do we have to offer? The summer students include 3 Lutheran Seminary students who are in their first year, 4 mennonite students for Hesston in the PM program. We are each a bit different, but yet are growing together, and I imagine struggling together as the summer moves along.
It is not so much what we have to offer, but how open we are to grow and help one another grow. May God be glorified.

Weekly Review

Monday - We went to MMA's office to look at a few investment related things. My 401(k) from VPI is being transfered to a Traditional IRA and then a Roth IRA. In our case their won't be a tax penalty for moving from Trad to Roth because we aren't making enough money to be taxed this year:)

Tuesday - I spent the whole day at Alyssa's school. They had field day. I supervised the bumper bellies (the biggest hit for most children) and then the a water ball slingshot launcher (another big hit) for the afternoon. It was fun to hang out with a bunch of K-4th graders for the day.
Suzanne, Icelda, and Becca had a ladies night out, and walked to the Lincoln perk for some conversation.

Wednesday - Alyssa had her first T-ball practice. The other two girls and Suzanne went over to the circus in town and looked at animals and played in the park. We did some research for car insurance since we sold our van in Ohio.

Thursday - We started the day by going to a video presentation from the whole year of school at Alyssa's school. Then, back to MMA to finish up the investment stuff. Across the hall to MAX to finish up our car insurance stuff. Finally, Alyssa had noon dismissal for her last day of Kindergarten.

Friday - Picked up a mattress and boxspring for one of the girls. Now we have 3 beds for 3 girls, Emberlynn and Courtney were getting too long/tall. We plan to swim at the Wellness Center this afternoon and then Alyssa has a end of school year party at a friends house.

Big Girls

Man, they grow up so quickly. For example:

-Alyssa has 4 days of school left in Kindergarten, then she will be in 1st grade next year. She is turning 7 this summer.
-Courtney wanted her training wheels off this evening and she rode her bike on the first try. We went around the Arboretum 3 times. She loves riding her two wheeler. She is turning 5 this fall.
-Emberlynn is potty trained. She woke up dry, even took a 2 hour nap, and went the whole day without an accident. She is wearing panties to bed for the first night. We started Tuesday. She is turning 3 this summer.

I am trying to take one day at a time with them. I love my girls. I love my wife.

Spirtual Retreat

I took a Spiritual retreat on Tuesday to Stutzman's Retreat Center. It is a cabin owned by the college about 7.4 miles away. It was a good day of reading, praying, journaling, and reflecting.

I started off by riding my bike there on the back country roads; all sand and gravel. I walked around the grounds and enjoyed the quiet of the cabin. I was mostly quiet during the day, with a few vocalized prayers, and a song of praise.

I wrote a lot of thoughts as they came to me. It was confirming to look back at a journal from April of 2006, and see the intense struggle that I was going through. It was a fight with myself to come out here to Hesston. I found a list of things from that journal entry that I needed to expound on. Some of them were excuses, some where doubts, some where areas of growth. The neat thing was to look at the 10+ items and see that each one had been changed and confirmed in the last 2 years. None were left in confusion.

The great writer, theologian, and encourager - Bruce Hamsher - said, "It is of utmost importance that we record these moments of obvious confirmation." Why? "Because the following years of ministry will bring times of question and doubt, and I will need to be reminded of these moments of surety."

The only disruptive part of the day was a snake that was watching me a little too closely. It happened to be in the cabin, and then it was out. Unfortunately, without it's head. (That is a very short version of a long struggle that ended in death.)

Reading list change

You may notice that my list of things that I am currently reading has changed. Instead of roughly 2 dozen books, there are a handful. This is my summer reading list for now, with a couple highlights below.

I am reading the New Testament straight through this summer. It is neat to pick up things that I have forgotten, and to discover new truths.
I am reading Crucial Conversations for CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) this summer. It starts May 27th. I wrote about it here earlier if you're not familiar with CPE. Here is how my interview went. For those of you who asked. They usually take 3 students from Hesston each year. There are 5 of us. We all got in. They are taking 4 of us, and the 5th one is doing his at another location.
I am reading A Hidden Wholeness for next Semester's Pastoral Care and Leadership class.
I am reading Jesus for President because it sounds really interesting.

These are big goals for summer reading, but I hope to accomplish it while doing 50+ hours of cpe, enjoying time with my wife and girls, entertaining the wonderful visitors who brave 100+ F temperatures this summer, and taking in all that is life during this unique time of our lives.

Family Fun

We had a great weekend! Suzanne and I and the girls went camping from Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. It was such a good time to be us. We have camped a lot, but this is the first time we have camped just the 5 of us. Quick run down of highlights:

Friday- arrive, choose site, setup tent, make a fire, explore campground, eat pizza pie irons, eat smores, go to sleep in the tent

Saturday- get up early, eat pancake breakfast, play a game of wiffle ball, take a drive to Russell Stovers candy outlet, eat candy samples, and get some free and low cost candy, drive back to camp, enjoy a simple lunch, play on playground, ride 4 wheeled bikes, ride paddle boat, feed ducks, drive to mall, avoid storm, buy some shoes, ride little train, play in mall play area, look at aquarium, head back to camp, roast hotdogs, ride 4 wheeled bike in the rain and wind, secure tent to trees, secure tent to picnic table, hunker down for the night, receive "knock" on tent door, go to cabin, bounce off the walls, sleep soundly

Sunday- wake up rested, walk to tent, shiver, make fire, make bagels over fire, girls crawl in and out of car, ride 4 wheeled bike, take a paddle boat ride, feed ducks, pack up everything, play on playground, head home

Awesome. We had a really good time together with nothing to do, but whatever we wanted to do. That was a nice change. As you may have noticed, it got a little windy on Saturday night, 36mph, and it got really cold 37 F, feels like 30 F. A nice lady and her husband who Suzanne met earlier in the day, decided to go home early and not stay the night on Saturday. We were planning to stay in our tent overnight and freeze, but they offered us the little cabin they were staying in. It had a full bed, and a bunk bed, perfect for our little family. The girls loved it. The girls really enjoyed the 4 wheeled bike and the paddle boat. It was a cute little KOA in Salina. Check it out sometime. They also have a pool that opens beginning on Memorial day weekend.

I am home, Suzanne is not

This week, I have been Mr. Mom. Suzanne has been working at the college this week from 8am till 3pm. She is helping with the year end (intense, meticulous) cleaning of the Lark's Nest. She is having fun getting to know some more ladies, and usually comes home with a bunch of food that would be thrown out if they didn't take it home.

I have been taking care of Emberlynn and Courtney, and Alyssa is at School. We play and read and go on walks. I do laundry and make them lunch and then at 3pm we go pick up Alyssa.

Tonight we are having a Pastoral Ministries cookout for those of us that are around at Tony and Rhonda's house here in Hesston.

This weekend we will be camping in Salina, KS, about 1 hour North of here. I am so looking forward to just hanging out with the family, without having any responsibilities other than eating food, wearing clothes, and being comfortable. It's been a long time coming.

Next week, I will be gone Monday afternoon to help a church with their website, and I will be gone all day Tuesday for a Spiritual Retreat at a local hidden spot. CPE starts May 27th.

Well that's what we are up to for the near future. Feel free to let us know what you are doing, we'd love to hear from you. Dot our coms to (slnolt at juno) or (slnolt7 at gmail).

Done

This morning, I turned in my final paper for the semester!