Pokin It 10 1 11 - Rabbit Rabbit!

Radiators

There are certain "fun house" elements inherent in living in the housing at LSTC. Part of the fun is the age of the buildings themselves, rumored to have been the housing for the workers at the World's Fair. There are certain "sticky" doors that have multiple layers of white paint. There are floors with a definite tilt to them. This week's adventure: radiators turning on.

It's that awkward time of year before it is really cold but when fall weather is cool enough to find you curling up in a fetal ball underneath layers of blankets. Okay, maybe that's just me and my love of being under heaps of covers...

Regardless, fall is in the air. I'm finally getting into the rhythm of the semester and checking things off my endless to do lists. I've stocked up on groceries and toilet paper and ink cartridges. My roommates and I finally got internet, put up pictures on the walls, and rolled out the rug in our front room. They've also figured out my great dislike of doing dishes and my love of dancing around the place.

With the humm and buzz of the radiator coming on and warming us up, this place is finally feeling like home again. Aptly, I am curled up in a ball under my covers as I type this. LSTC housing may not be perfect but it makes a darn good place to call home.

I really needed this week's session of Christian Life Community (CLC) and some delicious soup.
After a bowl of amazingly warm and satisfying chicken noodle soup with a piece of sun-dried tomato bready goodness (I can't actually remember what it was called), we met in our smaller groups. I don't know what other groups discussed, but in ours we talked mostly about personal issues adjusting to the community at LSTC. There were some boundaries that hadn't been broken down yet and it was good to really put whatever was on our minds in the open. I certainly came away feeling better and a little more confident in where I was at the time.

We talked about one thing that I think will stick with me for a very long time. One of the people in the group brought up how on the road to seminary she said she had felt God driving her all the way and that now she doesn't feel the same pull anymore, like God "dropped her off at day care" and that was really bothering her. Another member of the group replied that, "maybe it means that's where you're supposed to be". I was astonished by the idea. I had been feeling similarly and hearing her say that was important. After 4 weeks, the shine of the semester begins to wear off. Routines are established, friend circles are beginning to form, classes give out more work, and sometimes people are led to ask, "Where is God in all of this again?"

My answer this week is that God was in our small group session at CLC, comforting us and telling us it's alright to be where we are. It's natural and okay to doubt the roads we are on (like faith as well, I think) because it makes us pay attention to the other traffic conditions and, ultimately, we become better drivers. Personally, I'd much rather have better drivers on the road, especially in Chicago :)
Until next Friday!

Define "Fun" For Me, Please

Hi, Everyone! My name is Chad McKenna, and I'm a newly-appointed contributor to this blog. You may remember me as the benevolent ticket-bearer who invited Alex to front-row seats at a White Sox Game (see past posts for the story!). For the next year, you'll be reading stories about my experience as a pastoral intern from LSTC. I'm a candidate for ordination in the ELCA through the Indiana-Kentucky synod, and the internship year is the third year in the four-year Master of Divinity program at LSTC for those of us seeking ordination in the ELCA.

It's been about six weeks since I started my internship at The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Palos Heights, Illinois. On my first Sunday, which seems more like six days ago, I was introduced to the congregation and given gifts of welcome (the church cookbook, keys, a CD produced by the choir, and one of the pastor's freshly-picked tomatoes, among other things). I met a few hundred people all eager to tell me their names and to meet my wife, Andrea. And, after I assured each of them that they'd need to tell me their names again the next week, almost everyone exclaimed with a wink and a smirk, "Oh, you are going to have fun this year!"

After a while, I began to wonder what their definition of "fun" was.

Six weeks, later, I think I have a pretty good idea. With six hospital and home visits in the first week, as well as countless others since then; Three different book and bible studies every Tuesday, one of which I'm leading; Two sermons already preached; Forty-Two seventh graders in confirmation every Monday evening; Two raucous lunchtime events with the Over Fifty-Five Club; Joining the choir, along with Andrea; Deacons' meetings, church council meetings, internship committee meetings; and being immersed by baseball about thirty times in the dunk tank on Rally Day, I believe I'm getting a good grasp on how this congregation would define the word, "fun." And with a little over eleven months to go in my internship here, I can only hope that the fun won't ever stop.

Bumps In the Road

Sundays seems to be a day of solitude, of less stress and busyness; this is truly reflected as I ride my bike through a quietsubdivision in Northwestern Chicago Heights leaving the Metra stop at 7:30amon my way to my MIC church. Or perhaps this is because it is 7:30 in themorning and no one has stirred from their beds outside to fetch their morningpaper, which are littered not along sidewalks, but within their driveways as thesidewalks are noticeably absent.

Interesting take on community.

Driving the same route in a car, the road is smooth exceptfor the occasional pothole or the joyful season of construction when one gailystops to smell the fresh new tar and admire the brightly colored signs... screaming in frustration.

Being in Creation equals freedom, freedom to be loosenedfrom the constraints of society, melding one with the Divine, basking inbeautiful..rainy weather? So whose great idea was this anyway to gleefully geton a bike (a man’s one bought by mistake), enjoy traveling on the train (at6:45 in the morning) to ride through blissfully quiet (spooky) neighborhoods(cul de sacs with no sidewalks and one gated house with a police order standingwatch) and being good to the environment? Notwithstanding also all the healthyexercise I’m getting along with the pain in my legs, the cramp in my hands andmy glasses constantly falling off?

As I perused my bike route this morning, there is adifferent under my wheels of how the road winds and forms; it radiates withinmy muscles which doth protest too much. And yet as people of faith we find ourselves voicing our grumpiness and dissatisfaction when our own journey isbumpy, riddled with obstacles or covered with the morning dew of rain whileothers seem to have the sun shining down in perfect weather as they peddlealong.

Then again, there are benefits being in Creation,experiencing the softness of rain which sprinkles down as I am reminded of mybaptism. There are benefits in pushing my spirit up and over those bumps andtiny hills carved into the road because at the end of my journey there is restand respite, there is happiness with open arms awaiting me, there is laughterand light encouraging me to once more never quit and never give up.

God's Peace.

Pokin It 9 24 11 - Las Vegas Aftermath

 

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Poke it with a stick, Live from Las Vegas

Chapel twice in one day...Must be seminary!

As the day ends, what I remember the most was chapel. I was put in charge of arranging chapel for this Monday with my Systematics professor Lea Schweitz being the preacher and me being the assisting minister. It was my first time planning worship at LSTC, and although it was rather simple with no communion or any extras, I felt myself quite nervous. Not really thinking last week when I was approached by some classmates of mine, I agreed to play guitar for Holden Evening Prayer at a night worship that was being started this semester. This was not at all regret, because I love to play guitar and I love Holden Evening Prayer, but sometimes at LSTC, we all have tendencies to be helpful before checking our schedules. So this weekend I prepped for both, practicing guitar in my room for Monday night's 8 PM service (Roby Chapel, right) and writing and rewriting the prayers of intercessory for the day service at 11 AM (Augustana Chapel, left). Writing now I can say that both services went quite smoothly, and were very enjoyable. I really loved Lea's words about questions that we ask, as she laid out some wonderful stories of her family, and reflected on the Matthew 21 text. My friends Alex Raabe and Bekki Lohrmann, again created an amazing worship space filled with candles and a cross that they built only a couple of weeks ago. I felt honored to lend my creativity and ability to these experiences, although feeling much more like the widow giving her mite around such amazing minds. One part that I have saved for last was my risk of the day...I used the refrain from a more popular Matisyahu (Jewish hip hop folk songwriter) song, "One Day" in my intercessory prayer as the people's response. Not too big a risk, but it involved enlisting my angelic voiced roommate to come up and teach the song. I have placed the words below and I hope that will ring true for you as it does for me and hopefully this community here at LSTC.

"All my live I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
For the people to say
That we don't wanna fight no more
They'll be no more wars
And our children will play
One day..."

 
There is more and more scientific evidence to support how our emotions effect our health.  Whether it is a positive effect from experiencing positive emotions, or a negative effect from experiencing negative emotions, our emotions play a big role in our health.

 
One of the preeminent experts in positive psychology and author of the book "Flourish", Martin Seligman PhD states that there is scientific certainty that our emotional outlook effects our physical health.  Scientists now know that good feelings have a positive effect on our bodies, and negative emotions create negative physical responses.

 

When we are happy, joyful, peaceful, and feeling those positive emotions, our immune system becomes  stronger and is able to fight off colds, flues, and illness's better.  When we are stressed, angry, jealous, fearful, or are experiencing any other kind of negative emotion, our bodies spike in the hormone cortisol which will suppress our immune system and leave us less able to fight off illness and disease.




The trick is learning how to take control over our emotions so that we do not dwell in the negative.  Being conscious of our emotions is the first step in being able to control them.  A study published by "Psychosomatic Magazine" found that patients who wrote about their worries for thirty minutes a day had a healthier immune system and also had fewer doctor visits relating to their illness.  We can choose to feel negative emotions, or we can choose to see things in a more positive light.  The choice is always ours to make.

Sheldon Cohen PhD from Carnegie Mellon University studied 193 patients to determine their level of positive emotions.  He exposed the participants to a virus and found that people who scored low on positive emotions were three times likely to succumb to the virus.  Clearly our emotions are powerful when it comes to our health.




Lara M. Stepelman PhD professor of psychiatry and health behavior at the Medical College of Georgia states that, "We all have the ability to choose an optimistic mind-set.  With practice we can get better at it."  Just like we train our bodies to become fit and healthy, we must train our minds to become fit by thinking and feeling more positive emotions.

There are many ways to reduce our negative emotions.  Many of us let our emotions happen as if we are just a bystander and not the one controlling them or making them happen.  We are the only ones that can control them and change them to a more positive feeling.  The tools that can help reduce our negative emotions are meditation, tai chi, exercise, a healthy diet, and surrounding ourselves with people we love and who love us.  Staying away from toxic media such as news shows, violent movies, negative press, reality shows, and other forms of entertainment that dwell in negative activity, are a good choice to make when you are trying to stay in positive emotion.

We can take charge of our health by taking charge of our emotions.  Studies show that people who for the most part live in positive emotion, are healthier for it, while people who live experiencing mostly negative emotion suffer ill health.  Since it is a choice, why not choose to be healthier by feeling more positive?  If you are a negative thinker and feeler, you will need to retrain yourself to be more positive.  It can be done by being conscious and aware of how you are feeling and thinking.....keep choosing to be positive!




Wishing You Health and Happiness,
Queenie

Getting Too Far Ahead

I have this habit of getting ahead of myself. Not when I'm talking, however. I do so with life.

I'll mask it by saying that I'm a planner. I'll cover it by saying that it isn't worry. I'll pretend to be less concerned than I actually am.

Anyone else on that boat with me? The great sin of getting ahead of ourselves. Even today, as I was joyfully singing the praises of two of my favorite couples on campus to my roommate, I said, "You know, it is going to be rough to have to leave everyone again." Yeah, that's right. It's September and I'm thinking about May.

On internship, I learned a good bit of taking the days as they come. I learned to savor the moment. And since being back, I've had many such moments. Like gathering with a group of seniors and laughing so loud and hard that the other tables in the cafeteria were glaring at us. Oops. But there was such joy in the moment. Such joy.

In my Constructive Theology course last week we talked about seeking joy. We decided that seeking joy is an everyday job. For me, it's all tied up with living in the moment. Celebrating today for today, even when deadlines have completely passed by.

Generally, getting too far ahead of today doesn't bring me joy. What about you?

Getting Used to it Now :)

Hello everyone! My name is Justin and I am a junior at LSTC. I am pumped to write for Taste and See and am looking forward to sharing some fun reflections with you every Friday! So I suppose I’ll say a little about myself. I was born in a log cabin that I built with my own hands…and I have a rotten sense of humor. I’ve wanted to be a pastor since I was in high school and now here I am! If I could meet any character in the Bible it would be Paul because his writings influenced so much of the New Testament and I want to hear about his revelation experience. That’s enough for now, time to get to some of my first experiences at LSTC.

I can say this course load is giving me more to do than I thought. I graduated with a Religion and Classics double major, so I am not taking the first year Greek class and I have already encountered some of the material we are currently learning. That said, within the first two weeks I have found that there is still a lot that I have to learn. I really like that LSTC is able to prepare students who have had no previous classes in these subjects as well as students like myself. My classmates and I are still finding challenges together as we prepare for ministry and the rest of our seminary experience. It’s a nice feeling to know I’m not alone, and for any person at LSTC who may be feeling some academic pressure I want you to know you’re not alone either. If you want, maybe we can de-stress together sometime. Well, that’s my first entry. I think I kind of like this blogging thing. Until next Friday!

Reconnecting

Walking without a minute to lose, I see Chad McKenna, Chicago intern. He still lives in Hyde Park in campus housing. I greet him as I normally do with a hug, and ask how he is doing. He asks what I am doing tonight, and I say I am headed to something right now in our cafeteria. Chad tells me he has an extra ticket t0 a White Sox game, if I'd like to go. Ooohh...not a big fan of the White Sox, but I do like to hang out, I like sports, I have not really had the chance to catch up with Chad in a while. Well I decide I can swing it I just have to leave my meeting I was headed to right on time to change, grab a glove, and meet them and new surprise Nate Sutton, another Chicago intern living in campus housing would also be joing us. Nate Sutton besides being a friend, was always prepared with Greek translations last year in class, a saving grace for us first year Juniors. I was excited to get out on the town in such an unexpected way. The three of us drive down to the game, we found out we had amazing seats from someone in Chad's congregation, another perk for a wonderful night with some friends I rarely get to see. Chad's wife, Andrea was also there, and it was good to hangout with her as well, since we had really never met, and I gained a facebook friend! Chad and Nate reassured me of the upcoming year, and that I would survive things like Systematics and Hebrew, and told me about their internships, which also pumped me up for my future, remembering why we do all this. It is a blessing to have voices like that in time of worry and stress, and I believe them when they say I can do it. Well, the Sox win (Yay I guess...Go Brewers), we saw a Grand Slam, and I got a helmet full of Nachos. It was a perfect night, and I had a blast with my Middler friends...I mean intern friends, I'm the Middler now.

I am a big believer in doing all you can to naturally prevent illness, such as; eating healthy, exercising regularly, getting plenty of rest and sleep, drinking lots of clear water, and practicing your positive thoughts and actions. These things will help to keep you healthier, but if you catch a virus or infection, other steps need to be taken.



When your body is fighting something, some of the things you want to stay away from are usually the things your body won't want anyway, like sugar, coffee, rich food, and alcohol. That tells you a lot about those things....they aren't good for you.




I never want coffee when I am not feeling well. It is very acidic and most likely will make you feel worse. Sugar and alcohol are the same. They cause your body to become more acidic, and that will not help you when you are sick.


When you are feeling ill, it is not a good time to exercise.  Your immune system is compromised when you are sick and exercise will weaken it more.  Begin to exercise when you are feeling better and gain more strength.



It is amazing how smart our bodies really are. When you get sick you most likely will want little to nothing to eat. Or you will want something that is bland or easily digestible. Your body needs a energy to heal itself when you are sick, and digesting food requires a lot of energy, so your body will lose its appetite to focus on healing.


I also try to stay away from taking medications unless absolutely necessary. This last week it was absolutely necessary. It is difficult to get rid of an infection without the aid of antibiotics. If used occasionally, and not abused, they are miraculous. Too many people take antibiotics when they don't need them, and that can create health issues.



Listen to your body when you are not feeling well. Don't eat or drink things that will make you feel worse. Drink lots of fluids, get plenty of rest, and if you need a doctors care, get an appointment.




There is nothing like feeling your best. Whenever I find myself down with a sickness, I am so thankful that most of the time I feel fabulous. There is no truer saying than "without your health you have nothing". I have so much empathy for anyone that deals with chronic illness. It is a blessing to have good health, and I never take it for granted. I am truly blessed.



Wishing You Health and Happiness,
Queenie

KL diary

Hello fellas..
going to post bout MY HOLIDAY !!! I'm super happy, though it's too short to be named holiday, but this time going back to my mom's hometown was really FUN, oh gosh, it's like getting fresh air from all the projects the teacher gave us..
show you some pics.. enjoy. *ps.sorry for my horrible camera.. .__.

That's our dog.. :) but it lives in KL at my grandma's house.. he's BIG.. :) named Louise..

The 3rd day, after attending the church service, we directly go to a mall named 1 U aka one utama. and then we went to a Japanese restaurant in 1U's hotel and the food was super duper delicious, the one in pink is my cousin, we called her Lam-lam (real name = woo yee ling), in the pics, we (me and my didi) keep forcing her to face the camera, but she dun wanna face the camera.. D: finally when we were in the toilet I took one pic with Lam-lam.

   

 

    

                          

It's the 4th day, for my parents, going to bookstore is a MUST every time we go back to KL, so we went to the bookstore and stay there for about 2 hours, and for me going to STARBUCKS is a MUST every time we go back to KL, because here, in my city, there's no Starbucks.. :( and taking pictures with those Starbucks' drink is also a must, where I can show off, naaa, just kidding.. :) after that we (me and my didi) head to Ieie SukChin's house, one of my mom's besties, you can see their picture up there.. :) and then we met her dog, named Pepper, he's TOTALLY CUTE !!! look at it's ears, it's huge LOL, it can fly using it's ears, LOL joking.. while waiting for my mom and dad picking us up at mall named Giza, me and my didi followed Ieie SukChin to a Japanese restaurant(again?) in Giza mall, just filling our stomach with lil bit sushi, rather than dying of hunger.. :| after filling our stomach, we waited for mum and dad to come, then when they arrived Giza, we all went to an Italian restaurant in Giza to have our dinner, OH my, it's totally delicious, I love every dishes I've tried there, it's TOTALLY delicious.. :)

Okay, let's skip for the 5th day, because we din do anything on the 5th day, I slept till around 12 o'clock, LOL, and then we watched a movie, bout ape, being smart like human, something like that, then we ate at the street's food, it's delicious too.. xD because everything there is delicious.. the next day, a.k.a the 6th day we went to FRI, it's like a mountain around St.Kepong, and got a waterfall too, so we spend our time whole morning playing water, but not me, I din go into the water, my brother and Lam-lam did, after that, we went home to bath, and take a rest for a few hours, and then we went to 1U (again) to take Lam-lam's spectacles and then we went to a restaurant name Pappa Rich, as it's written, it's Malaysian Delights, so we ate food from county to country, LOL, from Japan to Italia and back to Malaysian, LOL.. it's delicious too, we got 'Nasi Lemak' here, and then 'Curry Laksa' and many more.. :) after having our dinner, we rushed to a cosmetic store named 'Shu Uemura', there I got a photo shoot, because my Ieie is one of the costumer there, so they gave a free photo shoot, and there's some pics when I'm in the fitting room trying the dress to wear, if i'm free, I'll try to scan the result from the photo shoot, it's really creepy that no one knows me there, they think I'm not me in the result of the photo shoot, LOL..

The 6th day, also the last day at KL. :( we went to eat Korean food, I love it very much, all the spicy things are there.. :P we ate 'Kimchi Sige', 'Toboeki', and pancake, it's so special, because I love Korea a lot !!! :D oh yea, forgot to tell you bout the rabbit up there, it's our rabbit, but it's at our house in KL too.. :) after eating a lot of Korean food, suddenly my brother wants to eat toast, because it's the last day at KL, so we decided to go to restaurant beside the Korean restaurant and we ordered toast, many many of toast, my brother ate a lot of toast.. D: oh yea, I almost forgot, how bout my BF ??? he stayed at Pontianak, Indonesia, LOL, we did skype, so no worry. :) here's some pic of our conversation.. :D

that's me and him in skype.. horrible.. .___.

Almost forgot mentioning Steven Cereva that helps me a lot for my blog's header..
thanks, he's very pro in editing.. :)
the header up there was made by him.. :)
thanks so much !!!

that's the end of the KL diary, I'm doing this things for days.. :D but it's for all of you my viewers.. :)

ciao, GBU..

*Special person onlee, I love you damned much.. :)