We had a great vacation.  The first part was tricky with where we were going to stay and who we were going to see when, I guess that’s the trouble when you are dealing with divorced parents.  I did get some time to have fun and some time to relax.

Now we are home and the reality of my class coming up hasn’t fully hit me yet. I have a class starting on the 21st. Now I was thinking that these next few weeks are going to be great. I am not going to have to do anything school wise and I can work some and play some and start actually cleaning out some rooms for our move (God only knows where) in May/June. However, I look up the class yesterday and I see that I need to read four books and write 2/ 600-word essays about two of the books that I read.

This class is a VERY intensive course.  We meet for four days — three blocks a day for three hours each block.  I don’t think it will be very exciting.  Then by the middle of February we need to have a 15-page paper written.  I do not want that paper to carry over into the next semester.

Today is Logan and Daddy day– this tradition started while I was on internship.  To make sure I had quality time with my son I would keep him home from Day Care on my Days off.  We would go swimming at the YMCA and then have pizza for lunch and then just hang out.  Today we are playing video games, going to the library at the seminary and perhaps getting some pizza somewhere.

There is so much I want to talk about – Roger Clemens, the voting in Iowa, and maybe even a little NFL playoffs but Logan wants a new race car to play with on Need for Speed.

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We live near a garage so they towed it and told me that it needed a new clutch. To pricey for a car that I could take out drinking with me- that has a number of smaller problems — so I have been out of a car this week.

Instead of reading and writing papers, I have been trying to search for a cheap but reliable car and I have been walking here and there to get things done. Great exercise! But not so good on my mission of school work.

Granted I have gotten some stuff done, but not as much as I would of liked.

But here we are on a Saturay night — getting stuff done – but earlier today we were able to pick up our “new” car. We picked up a 94 Buick Century. SWEET car……so nice that the Mrs. would rather drive it than the one that she currently drives. I am just happy that I do not have to figure out next week with only one car.

So I am back in the game– I will be finishing one paper tonight and then tomorrow I will finish up my reading for next week.

It will get done, I am sure of it. I just can’t have too many more breaks like this or I will need a month to get everything done!!!

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Well I was very impressed with how everything went at the service. The Chaplain and I arrived around 8:00am and things seemed to be moving along. Everyone who participated in the service was an inmate (besides the chaplain and I), and there were ushers, musicians, and a worship leader and then there were about 250 inmates there to worship.
I first noticed the dress of the inmates, some were wearing their “regular” clothes issued by the prison, all the ushers had white button shirts and others had blue button shirts on. I am sure there is some significance but I am not sure what at this point. But the one thing that I noticed was their shoes. It seems that one of the things they had control over is what shoes they wore and you can see the guys who were really active in the service were wearing the “nicer” shoes. Again, a dynamic that I was picking up on but I am not sure how everything really plays out.

The Christian Chaplains rotate on who is leading the service on a Sunday morning. Yesterday was the Lutheran Chaplains turn (he is the one that I am working with on this) and he said when he started working there he tried to do a “Lutheran Type Liturgy” but for that community it really did not work. So it is more of a free form where there is music at the beginning and then some prayers, some more music and then scripture and a sermon and then they end with an “Altar Call” and then end with the Lord’s prayer.

I have to say the music was great. There were three different choirs and they all had a full band behind them. The “lead Choir” was VERY good. They had 5 singers with one lead singer and the rest was all in harmony. I was very impressed with the quality of music and thought these guys should do a CD and call it “Soul in the Cell” — I said something to the Chaplain and he said that the state would not let them. Which is too bad – they could of done some good with that money.

Anyway, during the service some guys were up with their hands in the air and others just sat there and then there was a mix of in-between. It is hard to tell who was there to worship and who was there just to “look good” for the guards, staff, parole, and what not. It is terrible to think that but it is a reality. I think as long as they are there at least hearing what the Gospel has to say who knows what might happen because of that. God works and we cannot limit that, even when we think God might not be able to reach someone, God does and how dare we put a limit on that!

After the service I had a lot of guys come up to me and thank me for coming. They asked a few questions about who I was and they told me that I was welcome back at some point. I must say, out of all the churches I have been too while in seminary – (about 6 church in field rotation my first year and about 6 church since for various things) this was the most “friendly” congregation I have been too. It did not matter what you were wearing, what you were doing during the service or who you were, you were welcome.

Overall, it was a good experience for me as this whole independent study is good for me. I think it is good for any church leader to have something they are passionate about. Something that drives them in their ministry. I am interested in a lot of things and it has been hard for me to take on a focus, to take on something and put my whole self into. Granted a pastor needs to be a jack (or Jill) of all trades – to be good at many things and a master of a few…… but as I learn more about the issues that revolve around prison ministry I think I have found something I can really sink my teeth into.

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Back update– My back is feeling better which is good. It is not 100% and I have my moments when I feel like I am going to collaps or like last night after I read Logan his bedtime stories….I was lying on our bed and then when I went to bring him to his bed I could not move. I had to have Katie come and help me up. But overall it is okay.
I went to the doctor’s on Monday and I was sent for xrays and from that I was told that the spacing in my lower back are closing in. This can be helped by losing weight and doing physical therapy. As most of you know I am trying to lose weight and I start physical therapy next week. The biggest issue is finding a place where my crappy seminary insurance doesn’t pay for much so we will see what I can do and how long I can do it for.

Cinch update- I can say with certainity that I have been doing good on Cinch so far. I am eating what I need to be eating and I am not cheating. The only two obsticles I have found is night time eating and taking my 3 in one boost. I am not good about remembering to taking my cinch vitamin for breakfast and lunch. I take all my vitamins at dinner time and I can remember that, so that’s were I am with that.

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I would like to end with a brief outline of my baptismal and church unity quiz. We had to write about John the baptist and his role in the formation of Jesus’ ministry. It was 45 min of typing which was good, but not finished work. I was happy with how it came out.

In the opening verses of Mark we read about a proclamation from the prophet Isaiah about the coming of Jesus. As we know from scripture Jesus is the New Adam – the one who is coming to us to cleanse the sins of the world. This proclamation is not only found in Scripture but we are introduced to John the Baptist, who is also proclaiming “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”(Mark 1: 4) John the Baptist was making a name for himself and people from all around Judea were coming to see him and hear what he has to say. We read in the Gospel of Mark that John started to talk about the difference between him and the one who is to come (Jesus). While John baptized people with water, Jesus will baptize them with the Holy Spirit. While people were elated about this news, the coming of the promised Messiah, early Christians find this news disturbing. This news raised questions by early Christians. The ministry of Jesus was originally connected with the preaching and baptism of John. Does this news negate all that John had done? Is Jesus a replacement for John? Of course we know the answer to that, Jesus is the Son of God but what does Jesus’ baptism say about the ministry of John?
What intrigues me is the interaction (or lack thereof) between Jesus and John. In the Gospel of Mark there is no interaction told between Jesus and John. We read about John and what he has done and what he is doing. Then we jump right into the actual baptism of Jesus. The next thing we read about is Jesus going into the Wilderness where Satan tempts him. Was this to show the power of baptism in our lives? Whatever happened between Jesus and John? I would think that Jesus would have been grateful for the gift that John has given him. Perhaps he was but from Marks point of view we are not sure.
We get a little more interaction between Jesus and John in the Gospel of Matthew. It seems that Jesus knew the hesitation that John would have had baptizing him so Jesus said to John “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”(Matthew 3: 15) Jesus knew he had to be baptized by someone and he knew it had to be John. Later in Matthew, when Jesus is giving the “great commission” we find the Trinitarian formula (granted the church could of put this in at a later date but that’s another essay). Jesus tells his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Here baptism is seen as a process, something that we are all to go through. Jesus uses this Trinitarian formula for the first and only time. When Jesus talks about all nations he is opening up the world to see baptism and faith in general beyond the walls of Jew and Gentile. Jesus is inclusive in his message to men and women, children and adults, old and young. This is a new beginning and a new commitment to faith.
In Luke John links the baptism of Jesus with the coming of the Kingdom of God. John’s baptism is a rite of moral purification designed to prepare those submitting to it for the approaching kingdom of God. This is different than the other Gospels. We can see Luke’s focus on the poor coming out in what John was preaching. He was emphasizing the need for repentance and this was shown by how we treat the poor.
In Luke chapter 12 verse 50 and following we see that Jesus is talking about baptism in a different way. We see that Jesus is angry in this section and he talks about baptism in dividing families and that the pure are left behind. At this point in the Gospels Jesus knows what he is facing and he is talking about a new baptism – a baptism on the cross of Calvary. This is where the complete cleansing comes; this is where Jesus is asking for a total commitment, this is a new beginning for everyone.
In the Gospel of John we see more of a disconnect between John and Jesus. We clearly see in verses 30 and following in chapter one that John is talking about the baptism and how important it was and then the next thing we know, John’s Disciples left John and became the inner circle of Jesus. This brought disconnect between the two and even perhaps started a “rivalry” between John and Jesus. In the other gospels, we have water, which is from John and the spirit with Jesus. But in chapter 3 verse 5 we have water and spirit that is directly associated with Jesus’ teaching. We have a major shift or emphasis towards Jesus, and nothing about John baptizing. When we read about Jesus baptizing the disciples we see that this is different than the other Gospels because they are not in the river Jordan and there is no mention of the trinity or really any information to give us a closer view of what was happening.
The biggest element for me when looking at John’s baptism and the baptism of Jesus is how all of this culminates to the cross and especially communion. If through baptism we are lead by the Holy Spirit to Christ we are one in the church. The communion that is the church can be described as a communion in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit given within baptism. It almost seems like we cannot have one (baptism or Communion) without the other. The biggest symbol of this found in the Gospel of John is in verse 34 of chapter 19 when the soldier came up to Jesus and pierced his side with the spear and blood and water poured out of Jesus. Blood and water – the elements used in baptism and communion. One might think that they are found in the human body but for this detail from the writer of John is used because of the sacramental symbolism.
We have lots of scripture to use when we talk about baptism in the church. I only hope that as a united church we can use this scripture not to divide us but to unite us in one baptism through Jesus Christ. Perhaps one day we can see the significance of a united church with a total commitment to proclaiming the Gospel, we can see a cleansing of the church between our indifferences and we can start from a new beginning united in the love of God and we can work together for the greatness of the world.
Amen.

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So last night I made veggie meatloaf. It was actually pretty good.

Here is the recipe:
1C Sliced carrots
3/4 onion
garlic
3/4 c catsup
1/3 C breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
2 12 oz package of meatless ground burger

I basically put the carrots, onion and garlic in the magic bullet and then combined everything else and put it in the oven. I cooked it for 45 min at 350.

Now it turned out good (even though I was told that the meatless ground burger was gross) and we liked it. We had mashed potatoes with it and corn. Granted it finished cooking at 7:45 and I was at a church council meeting. So Katie took it out of the oven and I ate when I came home. But I liked it a lot and Katie was very surprised because she liked it too. So I hope to keep this up, so we need something else that has been time tested so please let me know if you have something for us to try.

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I want an iphone more now than ever. I think my Treo 650 is dying. A few days ago my screen went blank on my Treo – I had to restart it a few times before it came back on. I was nervous but then I was okay. I took it to the AT&T store and they said unless I brought it in with it not working there was nothing the could do. I left a little frustrated but feeling okay (on top of everything else my 1 year warranty is gone). Well yesterday, I did not charge my phone overnight. So it was running out of battery power, I tried to charge it in the car but it would not charge – so my phone “died” — again I did not know what to do with myself, I could not check my e-mail (I was expecting some) and I could not make phone calls (which I needed to do) I felt hopeless, lost and I was devastated. (Okay maybe I am overreacting a bit). I decided to come home, charge it and the world would be right again. Well it would not charge at home either!!! I tried and tried but there was nothing I could do to charge it. I was even more frustrated and I was planning on going back to the AT&T store to see what I can do. I don’t know if it is my battery (I have the original) or my Treo or what. All I know is that I feel that my days are somewhat limited with my Treo and I need a plan.
I would love to get the iphone, but I know we don’t have the money for that and I even though there are plenty of people happy with the first version of the iphone I want to wait to see when version 2 comes out (I am thinking close to Christmas time) or at least when the first update for the iphone comes out and I want to see what they add.

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I have been making progress on my Approval Essay. I think I have 2 out of the 5 sections done. I still have a lot of work, but I am working at D&D the rest of the week so I can work up to midnight before I go drive and that will give me a solid 4 hours a night to work on it. If I get one section done a night I will get everything done to send to Tom by Saturday. Then I can finish my other paper over the weekend and I will be good for my trip. I will bring them with me to read and go over but I won’t worry about bringing resources to write.

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Well this is a good place to stop – off to the gym!!

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