Here are more pictures from the state golf tourney. Some of these pictures are not of my family, but the pictures of Maxton and Betsy are my family. Maxton finished in second place with his team while Betsy took home the individual state championship trophy.
http://mediamn.net/svmanager-flt/g21/
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
It's been two and a half months
How did I go through the entire month of April without posting anything? I have no clue.
Anyway, I'm very heartbroken that Danny Gokey was eliminated last night. Yet I'm privileged, as a viewer of American Idol, to have walked on this journey of healing with him. He grew leaps and bounds since losing his wife and I was glad to hear him sing every week.
This year has been an interesting year, so here's the highlights of things I've been glad to be a part of while living at home.
Christmas - We were supposed to go to Bloomington on Dec. 21 for the Kelly family Christmas, but that didn't happen due to weather, so we found ourselves at home having our immediate family over instead. It was a huge blessing because we didn't know when we would be able to have our own Christmas.
Hockey - My niece's hockey team made it to the section final game. They ended up losing 4-0, but it was exciting to watch them knock off the number 1 team in the semi-finals.
Graduations - This year my oldest niece graduates from high school. I attended her awards banquet last night as she was honored for being in the top 10% of her class. She also received a few scholarships, so that was fun too. My youngest niece graduates from her first year of pre-school on May 21 and I couldn't be more excited about attending that.
Concerts - Band and choir concerts are always fun for me to attend, but never more fun than the Jefferson Connection concert on April 26. My grandparents asked if I would drive them up for that Sunday afternoon concert and I said I would. They told me Uncle Jeff was getting awarded for something, but weren't exactly clear what for. It turned out to be a whole family gathering as my folks, my sister and brother-in-law, my nieces and nephews, and my other uncles, aunts, and cousins were there to help honor Uncle Jeff on 20 years of teaching at Thomas Jefferson High School in Bloomington.
Lessons learned - Living at home has allowed me to reflect and unwrap some of the lessons I learned while doing CPE. The big one for me was the question, "Who Am I?" Not so much who am I as a person, but who am I as a chaplain, or more importantly, who am I as a teacher. Having to figure out who we are as whatever title we hold is not something I had thought of before CPE. As that lesson unraveled for me, I started to consider going back into teaching. Also, this year I've been able to get back to my other love, music. I'm playing with an orchestra right now and playing a bit at the United Methodist Church in Albert Lea. Combine this with my CPE lessons, and everything came to a head when I sat in the auditorium at Jefferson High School. I realized that day that I was created to teach music. Now I just have to get to work and pray for a school to take me on even though I haven't taught for 3 years and have a seriously out of date credential file.
I guess that's it for now.
Anyway, I'm very heartbroken that Danny Gokey was eliminated last night. Yet I'm privileged, as a viewer of American Idol, to have walked on this journey of healing with him. He grew leaps and bounds since losing his wife and I was glad to hear him sing every week.
This year has been an interesting year, so here's the highlights of things I've been glad to be a part of while living at home.
Christmas - We were supposed to go to Bloomington on Dec. 21 for the Kelly family Christmas, but that didn't happen due to weather, so we found ourselves at home having our immediate family over instead. It was a huge blessing because we didn't know when we would be able to have our own Christmas.
Hockey - My niece's hockey team made it to the section final game. They ended up losing 4-0, but it was exciting to watch them knock off the number 1 team in the semi-finals.
Graduations - This year my oldest niece graduates from high school. I attended her awards banquet last night as she was honored for being in the top 10% of her class. She also received a few scholarships, so that was fun too. My youngest niece graduates from her first year of pre-school on May 21 and I couldn't be more excited about attending that.
Concerts - Band and choir concerts are always fun for me to attend, but never more fun than the Jefferson Connection concert on April 26. My grandparents asked if I would drive them up for that Sunday afternoon concert and I said I would. They told me Uncle Jeff was getting awarded for something, but weren't exactly clear what for. It turned out to be a whole family gathering as my folks, my sister and brother-in-law, my nieces and nephews, and my other uncles, aunts, and cousins were there to help honor Uncle Jeff on 20 years of teaching at Thomas Jefferson High School in Bloomington.
Lessons learned - Living at home has allowed me to reflect and unwrap some of the lessons I learned while doing CPE. The big one for me was the question, "Who Am I?" Not so much who am I as a person, but who am I as a chaplain, or more importantly, who am I as a teacher. Having to figure out who we are as whatever title we hold is not something I had thought of before CPE. As that lesson unraveled for me, I started to consider going back into teaching. Also, this year I've been able to get back to my other love, music. I'm playing with an orchestra right now and playing a bit at the United Methodist Church in Albert Lea. Combine this with my CPE lessons, and everything came to a head when I sat in the auditorium at Jefferson High School. I realized that day that I was created to teach music. Now I just have to get to work and pray for a school to take me on even though I haven't taught for 3 years and have a seriously out of date credential file.
I guess that's it for now.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
In mourning
Today, I am mourning the loss of my great aunt. She was a woman who was very strong in her faith. I'm thankful that she was able to celebrate her birthday with relatives just hours before she died. Her homegoing service is Thursday morning.
Monday, March 2, 2009
interview next Tuesday
A couple of things. First, the girls hockey team lost in their section final to Red Wing by a score of 4-0. No state tournament. Second, I have an interview with a church in Forest Lake, MN next Tuesday. They are looking for a Director of Christian Education. If this works out the way I hope it does, I might be back to taking a class a week at seminary, but who knows.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Is it possible?
I know I haven't blogged in a ridiculously long time, but I'm very excited right now. The Albert Lea girls hockey team will be playing on Saturday afternoon against Red Wing for the section 1A championship and a spot in the state tournament. Why is this exciting news? Well, I have a niece who is a senior on the team.
GO TIGERS!!!!
GO TIGERS!!!!
Friday, December 12, 2008
CPE is coming back to bite me
Sorry for those of you non-seminarians out there, but this post is mainly for my fellow seminarians who have been through CPE or at least know what CPE is. Let's just repeat my title line. It's coming back to bite me. One of the things I struggled with during CPE was keeping personal and professional separate while at the same time understanding how they can unite as well. It's something I still struggle with to this day. For those of you who want to hear the story which awakened this in me, please let me know and I will gladly send off an email to you.
As for everyone else, my MN teaching license is renewed and I have found an opening in Waseca for a junior high band director. I'm really excited to apply and hopefully interview for this position. I'll be close enough to Albert Lea that I can still go to church there and drive down for concerts and sporting events if possible. I'll be sure to keep you posted.
As for everyone else, my MN teaching license is renewed and I have found an opening in Waseca for a junior high band director. I'm really excited to apply and hopefully interview for this position. I'll be close enough to Albert Lea that I can still go to church there and drive down for concerts and sporting events if possible. I'll be sure to keep you posted.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I hope you all have a
Happy Thanksgiving! I will be spending the day in Eagan with my parents and my mom's brother and his wife and whomever of my three cousins will be there. I just finished a bible study this past Monday at one of the churches I attend here in Albert Lea. It was definitely an awesome opportunity to take stock of my relationship with Christ and set some goals for the future as I continue to walk with Christ. Hopefully I'll post more about that study later, but until then, I'm praying that you all have reasons to be grateful this year.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A moment for the history books
Many of you probably watched the election returns come in last night. I still don't understand how it is a network can call a state for a candidate when no results have even been reported is beyond me. How do those exit polls work anyway?
Some people may say that John McCain lost last night, but this morning on The View, I watched 5 ladies (2 African-American, 3 Caucasian and only 1 of them is conservative) talk about Barack Obama winning the election last night. Barbara Walters immediately checked in with Elisabeth Hasselbeck to see how she was doing. Hasselbeck said she watched Barack Obama's speech with her daughter. Hasselbeck explained that Barack Obama is the next president of the US. Her daughter then asked who lost. Hasselbeck told her daugher that nobody lost the election this year. Everybody won.
Whether we agree with Obama or not, we all know that 45 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" Speech. Last night, any limits that African Americans had on their dreams were dropped from the table. As the ladies on The View said this morning, and as Martin Luther King Jr. said 45 years ago, I believe America did make a judgment based on the content of someone's character and not on the color of their skin.
Now if only we could spread those rights to Native Americans, such as those living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Some people may say that John McCain lost last night, but this morning on The View, I watched 5 ladies (2 African-American, 3 Caucasian and only 1 of them is conservative) talk about Barack Obama winning the election last night. Barbara Walters immediately checked in with Elisabeth Hasselbeck to see how she was doing. Hasselbeck said she watched Barack Obama's speech with her daughter. Hasselbeck explained that Barack Obama is the next president of the US. Her daughter then asked who lost. Hasselbeck told her daugher that nobody lost the election this year. Everybody won.
Whether we agree with Obama or not, we all know that 45 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" Speech. Last night, any limits that African Americans had on their dreams were dropped from the table. As the ladies on The View said this morning, and as Martin Luther King Jr. said 45 years ago, I believe America did make a judgment based on the content of someone's character and not on the color of their skin.
Now if only we could spread those rights to Native Americans, such as those living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Friday, October 31, 2008
No title
I don't usually like to share with people outside of my parents who I intend on voting for, but this time, I want to share with the readers of this blog why I am deciding to cast my vote for Barack Obama in this election. It's a lengthy story, so it might actually come in the form of a couple of separate blogs.
During the primaries, I actually casted my support behind Republican candidate Mike Huckabee. When he ended up not getting the nomination, it put me back at square one where I had to beginning learning about the candidates who did get the nominations of their respective parties. Normally, I don't even know which way I'm leaning as I watch the conventions and the debates, and even the campaign stops that are televised on CNN and MSNBC. This year has been a little bit different for me however. Barack Obama hooked me during his convention speech. He said we may not agree on abortion, but we can at least agree to work together to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. He said we may not agree on same-sex marriages, but at least we can agree that gays and lesbians should be allowed to visit their partners in hospitals and have some of the same societal liberties the rest of us have. In that moment, I saw him reaching out to conservative evangelicals like me. It also got me thinking about what I had learned about my own prejudices regarding homosexuality while in seminary. I can't force my viewpoints onto anybody, but can only pray for God to change their hearts and minds. My viewpoints come from my relationship with Christ and the change He has brought about in my life. I also started to think about something else I learned at seminary. Lutherans do quite the job of serving their neighbor and always watching out for those who have less than they do. While numbers throughout the denomination are in decline, their giving to organizations that deal with hunger and homelessness and the like has actually gone up and is at the top compared to other Christian denominations (at least as far as what I heard from professors at seminary). This led me to start thinking not only about abortion and homosexuality, but also about my parents who did everything they could to pay for my bachelor's degree, the people across the nation who are losing their jobs and having a hard time making ends meet. I found myself asking which candidate would best serve my neighbor. Needless to say, as this campaign season has progressed, I have remained on that hook and the line has slowly been reeling in.
To continue with the fishing metaphor (hook, line, sinker), I was still looking for that sinker. If Barack Obama hooked me during his convention speech, and slowly began reeling me in during the campaign season, there had to be a sinker somewhere. It happened on Wednesday evening. I got home from church that evening. I was able to see the last 15 minutes of the 30 minute ad. The real-life stories of the struggles people are facing almost drew me to tears. By the end, I really seriously almost cried. It happened when Obama said that he learns everyday that he's not perfect. He said he will never be a perfect president. Yet he said he would listen to us when we disagree and that he would open the doors of government so that people could be involved in their own democracy again. (I don't even know what that looks like). That was my sinker. Maybe it is all rhetoric, maybe it isn't, but for me, this election is not about me. It's about my neighbor.
I'm BK (just for you, boB). I'm a conservative evangelical Christian, and I approved this message.
During the primaries, I actually casted my support behind Republican candidate Mike Huckabee. When he ended up not getting the nomination, it put me back at square one where I had to beginning learning about the candidates who did get the nominations of their respective parties. Normally, I don't even know which way I'm leaning as I watch the conventions and the debates, and even the campaign stops that are televised on CNN and MSNBC. This year has been a little bit different for me however. Barack Obama hooked me during his convention speech. He said we may not agree on abortion, but we can at least agree to work together to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. He said we may not agree on same-sex marriages, but at least we can agree that gays and lesbians should be allowed to visit their partners in hospitals and have some of the same societal liberties the rest of us have. In that moment, I saw him reaching out to conservative evangelicals like me. It also got me thinking about what I had learned about my own prejudices regarding homosexuality while in seminary. I can't force my viewpoints onto anybody, but can only pray for God to change their hearts and minds. My viewpoints come from my relationship with Christ and the change He has brought about in my life. I also started to think about something else I learned at seminary. Lutherans do quite the job of serving their neighbor and always watching out for those who have less than they do. While numbers throughout the denomination are in decline, their giving to organizations that deal with hunger and homelessness and the like has actually gone up and is at the top compared to other Christian denominations (at least as far as what I heard from professors at seminary). This led me to start thinking not only about abortion and homosexuality, but also about my parents who did everything they could to pay for my bachelor's degree, the people across the nation who are losing their jobs and having a hard time making ends meet. I found myself asking which candidate would best serve my neighbor. Needless to say, as this campaign season has progressed, I have remained on that hook and the line has slowly been reeling in.
To continue with the fishing metaphor (hook, line, sinker), I was still looking for that sinker. If Barack Obama hooked me during his convention speech, and slowly began reeling me in during the campaign season, there had to be a sinker somewhere. It happened on Wednesday evening. I got home from church that evening. I was able to see the last 15 minutes of the 30 minute ad. The real-life stories of the struggles people are facing almost drew me to tears. By the end, I really seriously almost cried. It happened when Obama said that he learns everyday that he's not perfect. He said he will never be a perfect president. Yet he said he would listen to us when we disagree and that he would open the doors of government so that people could be involved in their own democracy again. (I don't even know what that looks like). That was my sinker. Maybe it is all rhetoric, maybe it isn't, but for me, this election is not about me. It's about my neighbor.
I'm BK (just for you, boB). I'm a conservative evangelical Christian, and I approved this message.
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