Friday Night Out

I began writing this yesterday & then gave the computer up so Eric could prepare...then POOF! Gone. So I am starting again...

Friday night Eric and I got to leave around 4 p.m. to check into our hotel in Vadnais Heights. The general manager of the hotel is the mother of a friend from church, and she gave us a spectacular deal on a jacuzzi suite!! So we checked in, had a chance to relax for a little while, and then we got dressed up to go to Stillwater (on the St. Croix) where we joined about 11 other church planting couples from the Minn. Bapt. Gen. Conference (Grace) for a four-hour five-course meal and 3.5 hour train ride on the Minnesota Zephyr. It was elegant and enjoyable, though after sitting in the same spot for that long, Eric was really ready to leave at the end.

For those who care: the meal was shrimp cocktail, rolls, wild rice soup, salad, and there was a choice, but Eric and I selected prime rib. The one drawback: they had no A1 steak sauce. Bummer. Dessert was mammoth-sized pieces of cheesecake.

We slept till 9:15 on Saturday & after lunch at Chipotle (Mexican version of Subway), headed home & right back to work!

Church--148 today, baptized 4, did communion for the first time in the service. I missed most of it because Aidan has been sick, so I didn't put him in the nursery. Consequently, he and I spent the service in the hall and lobby--listening to part of the service on the speaker we have in the lobby. I sneaked in the "tunnel" to see the baptisms. It was soooo neat! People shared their stories of how they've recently come to Christ, and Eric baptized them. We were lent a portable hot tub that they filled by hose and bucket.

Well I'm off for now...

Contagious

Apparently this blogging is contagious, because first there was Kelli. Then there was me. Then there were Tara, her aunt Ellie, and Kristin. Any new takers? Mary?

Truly, this is a journal for those who hate to journal. We should probably print them now and then and keep them for our descendants to read. :-)

Also, though, to my girlfriends: we should always remember that what goes into print stays in print, and we should always be careful what we say. "When words are many, sin is not absent," says scripture, and we want our words to always be uplifting and of our own business!

(Now that I'm a pastor's wife, I have to say things like that.) hee hee...

Well, I'm holding a sick little boy & I have Tara's three youngins coming in 30 minutes, at which time Braden will be dropped off from wrestling, and I should have dinner done & eaten...and it's not started! We're running slow today! Eric's Dead Theologians' Society starts tonight, so he's gone already.

BTW, for those who knew I was worried about logistics for baptism this Sunday, the portable hot tub is in my driveway this very moment, and the theater management is totally fine with us bringing water in the theater! Whew...

God is good...for so many reasons!

Only on Wednesdays

It appears from my blogging history that Wednesdays are convenient blogging days for me.
I guess it's because Sunday is busy, Monday is school, Tuesday is recovery (& small group now), and by Wed. evening I'm able to sneak away and jot a note.

New stuff: Eric led a man from church to Christ on Sunday afternoon after lunch at our house! Yeah, GOD!!! There were 153 at church. We had several newcomers over for lunch. Tara's friend Steph came to our church for the first time & brought her 3 kids. My friend Mary from school came, along with her husband and a young boy they keep on the weekends sometimes. They moved in Nov. to Otsego, and are looking for a church close to their new home.

If all goes according to plan (barring any difficulty with the theater management), we will be having a baptism on Sunday. Several people have been meeting with Eric about this. Very exciting!

We held our first small group in our home last night. We had about 15 adults here, plus a couple of children along with ours. These people are from various economic levels and range in age from about 20 to 55, so it's very interesting. The one thing in common: they have a very basic (if that) knowledge of what it means to follow Jesus. (Our group is called Investigating God). All of them wrote down their biggest questions about following Jesus on 3x5 cards, and Eric will be addressing them according to scripture for the next couple of months on Tuesday nights. WOW! It's so neat to see people so hungry to learn the basics!!

Josh & Kristin had their first small group last night also. They had around the same number, and when we talked to Josh around 10:30, he was pretty excited about how well it went. Theirs is a young adult (singles) group discussing unconventional ministry. Chrissie is in that group, along with her friends Wes and Donny, who are both new (or pre-) believers.

Eric has about 12 signed up for Dead Theologian's Society beginning Thursday night. The topic for the first 6 weeks is the authenticity of the Bible.

It appears that on Feb. 20, we will head for a long-haul drive to Alabama, and will return home by noon the 25th. We seriously need to get away, and really want to see my family there. Praying this works out without much difficulty...

Also.... mark your calendars... I graduate (God willing) from Northwestern on May 14. I don't know the time yet, but hopefully it won't conflict wtih Holland's dance recital rehearsal. Her recital is either the 15th or the 20th (or somewhere around there). We're hoping for the afternoon of the 15th so that those of you who are here for my grad. can also go to Holland's recital! Fun!

Well I'm expecting two little girls from our church to be here in about 15 minutes, so I'd better put supper on. Skyler (3) and Bryn (7 months) will be spending the evening with us while their mom works. They're adorable, so Holland is going to love it. I'm thinking we'll let Braden play his video game for some of the time to prevent girl-overload.

Email or comment here. I'd love to hear from you!

Wrong! I was wrong!

Come to find out, Braden weighs 55 lb., not 50. Incidentally, Aidan weighs 31, and Holland weighs 40! But they asked what I weigh, and I wouldn't tell them.

I ventured out this afternoon to run two errands, and, WOW... it's snowy! It's been coming down all day. I've heard between 6 and 10 inches are coming by midnight. Then it's supposed to blow around. We're debating cancelling our brunch for tomorrow. The snow plows, at present, are not keeping up with the mess. Who knows what tomorrow a.m. will look like? Driving was treacherous (how's that for a description?), but the worst part was pushing my grocery cart to the van. It was like pushing a... well, ... a grocery cart through 3 inches of snow and mud (that wasn't quite so descriptive).

So while I was out, I picked up a video for the children and one for us. We originally had plans to go out with a couple from church tonight, but our babysitter, Cassie, has bronchitis. So the plans have switched to watching a movie with them after the children go to bed at 8.

For those of you who know my friend Tara, she's blogging now. It's
www. OlsenUpdate.blogspot.com. Also--you can reply to any blog by simply clicking on the word "comments" at the bottom. Then it will let you click on "post a comment." Note: your reply will be visible to anyone reading my blog.

Eric had lunch today with a man from Holland. Holland found that fascinating. She's flitting about the house today in a lovely velvet skirt and shirt, with lipstick on her cute little lips. Suuuuuch a girrrrrl..... She adores dresses and skirts. She actually "sneaks" to wear them when she knows I'll want her to wear pants to stay warmer. I told her to put something on her feet today (as I always do) and she came out with athletic socks on, and a big frown. It looked ugly, she said, so then she put on her ballet slippers. Much better.

Darn Late Night Meetin'

Well, it's 10:15 p.m., and Eric is in the back porch with 5 other men, his Advisory Board. They've been in there since 7:30. I've been in and out with snacks, drinks, cookies, and, yes, most recently...Altoids. It's really hot in there to me, but when I tried to leave the door open they said it was too breezy. Must be all the hot air they're blowing in there (those were their words--not mine).

Braden had wrestling tonight. Actual scrimmages. He was weighed first (50 lbs. even!) and then pitted against another kid his size. Just his luck: it was the coach's kid. You know, the one fully outfitted in wrestling singlet and shoes. The one who cleaned Braden's clock last time they practiced together. Well, would you belive for the first round, Braden took that kid down and kept him there 'till the whistle!! He didn't pin him, but he actually was using the "half Nelson" move to render the other kid immobile. We were SOOOOO proud & BOY, did it do wonders for Braden's self esteem. So far in wrestling, he's come home pretty defeated each time. You should've seen his smile. Beforehand, B's ears were BRIGHT red, he was so nervous. The other kid pinned Braden in the second round, but not before our young man received a good shot of self confidence!

Holland cut her own hair today. Just a little lock, and with all her curls, I didn't even bother trying to find the gap--it's not noticeable. Funny, though...just yesterday at dance class, I sat there listening to all the scissors stories from the other moms, thinking it was interesting that we hadn't had any sibling haircuts yet, and wouldn't ya know Holland did it to herself today?! )She didn't even hear that conversation yesterday!) hmm... I didn't freak out. She was so pleased with herself! "Look! I cut my hair!" (Big smile on her face.) I just said "You sure did. And don't ever do it again, or else...")

Eric and I are badly in need of a vacation. We're trying to figure out where we could go (cheap) with the kids to relax for several days in February (between Sundays). Today he suggested Colorado. Boy, that sounds exhausting. The Costa Rica trip that we're planning for June is on hold at the moment, as we pray for financial wisdom. Another possibility is the Cedarly Pastor's Retreat place we've been to before in WI. It's wonderful there... We'll just have to see how God guides.

Well the meeting seems to still be going strong, so I think I'll just head to bed without Eric. Funny: he's been gone all day today for various appointments & meetings. I'm just not used to that any more! We're so fortunate that he works at home! It's certainly a perk of church planting!

Love from all of us...

Wednesday at the Dykstras

Well, Aidan threw up during the night Monday night, but since he seemed fine yesterday, we figured it was something he ate. Then he threw up during the night last night and then again his apple juice this morning. So he must have a virus. (Braden and I were sick a week and a half ago).

Regardless, I had to take Holland to ballet at 10:15, and Eric had meetings at 9 and 10 here, plus his 10:00 was bringing their little daughter, so I took Aidan with me & held him during ballet so he wouldn't spread his germs to the other families. I left Braden here to do schoolwork and entertain the little girl if needed.

The thrift store is having 50% off all their clothes (including new clothes) until tomorrow. I sneaked out last night for about an hour and came home with 4 pairs of pants for $6.25!!! This is wonderful, because I really struggle to find something to wear on Sundays. (I don't wear skirts much becuase of the modesty issue related to the drama sketches on stage.) (Plus it's very cold here.) I was hoping to go again today after ballet to find a couple of sweaters or nice shirts, some pj's for Braden and Aidan, and a dress for Holland, (hopefully for under $10 total!) but I had to get home to Braden so Eric could leave for his Elk River Ministerial Assoc. meeting at 11:45. (He really had to go today because they're voting on a chairperson, and there's a woman minister with a gay agenda trying to get in. Ick.)

Yesterday I, along with 3 other women, started a meal sharing group. I made pizzas ready for cooking or freezing, Tara made Swedish meatballs & provided uncooked egg noodles, Mary made homemade chicken noodle veggie soup, and Tammy didn't cook this time b/c she's been out of town. We had the meatballs for dinner & are finishing them at lunch. YUM! We're hoping to get one more person in on this, and eventually maybe make 2 meals each so that whe we do the exchange, we each get 10 meals out of it. Buying in bulk makes this pretty economical & I'm pretty excited about it!

Church news: We had almost 150 Sunday, and this Saturday we're doing another intro. to The Crossing @ Woodland brunch at our house. Next week small groups start up, as well as Eric's theology class. The local Alliance church is allowing him to use a classroom on Thursday nights for this class. I will be watching Trig, Ty, and Kylie at our house so Tara and Daemynn (our good friends) can both go to this class. The 30th we're having our first baptism! There are 3 or 4 people planning to be baptized.

Our website is still under construction in several areas, but much of it is up and running. You can check it out at www.crossingatwoodland.com.

Have a great week!

The Dictionary According to Aidan

whirly: a screw that is screwed with his battery-operated screwdriver
tappin-tappin: a cymbal on his drum set
steppin-steppin: the "high hat" cymbal on his drum set, which is operated using a foot pedal
patty-patty: his tambourine
bang-bang: a gun
moppy-moppy: the household mop
moppy: the term used to describe the floor after it has been mopped ("I can't go upstairs 'cause
it's moppy up there.")
broomy-broomy: the household broom
packitaway: what you do with your drum set every time you finish playing it (because that's
what they do at our church)

January 11 Already!

Apparently it's been almost a month since I've last written here!

Our whirlwind holiday season is over, and we're settled into a new series at church. Funny how our life is divided into series lately! We started in October with the "Surprised by God" series, each week outlining a characteristic of God (and how it applies to us, of course). Then it was "All I Want for Christmas is..." which included topics on family, marriage, seeking satisfaction, & thriving children. Jan. 2 Eric did a "State of the Church Address", which looked back at what God has done & forward at goals for the year. This Sunday we began "Following Jesus: it's a Group Thing," which will be discussing relationships within the church. This week was about the importance of seeing our fellow believers as brothers & sisters--not just friends. Small groups begin the week of January 23. Praying for more leaders, as right now we only have about 6 or 7 confirmed. Kristin and Josh are leading the young singles group--and they have about 20 on their list!! We have lots of 18-to 23-year-olds at our church!... then, it appears, the rest of our church is more toward the 36-50 age group, surprisingly, with just a few "like us" in the middle.

Eric and I are planning our trip to Costa Rica for the first week of June! He met a man there last year who owns a villa on the Caribbean side, and we will be able to stay there a couple of nights free, and the rest of the time at a vast discount! As it stands now, we will be driving our childrent to AL to stay with Aunt Katie & G & G Frazier, who will take us to fly out of Atlanta. Praying for God's provision so that we can enjoy this celebration of our 10th anniversary!

Our church is also sending a mission trip there in July, but I don't think Eric will go.

Chrissie spent Sat & Sun night here, as she was off work Monday (which is rare). She had pictures of the 9.7 # walleye she caught ice fishing last week!

Braden and I had the flu last week, but we're ok now. So far no one else has gotten it! Fortunately I was better by Friday so I could go to Chaska (about 45 min. away) for a church planter's wives 24-hour retreat at a gorgeous conference center. We were fed like royalty & enjoyed a couple of speakers & some gifts & pampering. It only cost each of us $20, as the Minn. Bapt. Conference and an unnamed donor church provided this for us. Wow!

I need to finish up here because our volunteer who comes on Tuesdays will be here shortly. She enters the attendance into the computer & prepares popcorn & video gift certificate packets & welcome letters for first time attenders. It is such a blessing to have Penny do this for us. She's a middle-aged woman who used to do the attendance at Grace. Her husband, Bill, is a huge Packers fan, so they probably aren't feeling too happy after Sunday! We also now have Britney, one of our former students, doing the bulletin and related publishing for us. She also runs the resource table at church. Again, God has provided talented people to share the load with us. (And we just love Britney!)

Hope you are all well. We will see some of you (in Iowa) this week for our belated Christmas celebration!