last sunday off

so, this weekend was my last one before starting as the pastor of my new church. I thought about forty times about whether I should go to church there, or take the morning off, or go somewhere else. In most cases, a pastoral move is made during the middle of the week and you start immediately, so this whole, waiting around for my job to start thing doesn't happen.

I decided to wait and not go yet precisely for that reason... well, that and my family was in town and so we had Christmas again this weekend.

It is completely surreal to think that in just a day or two I will start my new vocation. I feel completely prepared and absolutely unprepared all at the same time. I have worship planned for the first two Sundays already - with the exception of the sermons, so that takes a little bit of the work load off. eek - which reminds me that I need to contact the organist and get her the music.

My mom tried to offer me a plate of goodies to take into work with me and share with other people. But I realized... I'm the only one working there! I'm not sure who, if anyone will be in and out of the church. I have set office hours for talking and counseling with people, so I'm sure I might see people then, but other than that - no clue. It might just be me in my little office. Which in many ways means that I need a community online to keep me sane once and a while =) I'm already making connections with a UMC pastors group in a nearby city, and hopefully will connect with the local ministers in the coming weeks. There is also a city administrator's "coffee with the community" thing on Thursday morning that I'm planning on going to. As long as I keep my connections with other people strong, I should be fine and will probably cherish the time alone to think.

Right now, I'm planning on spending my afternoons at home working and/or visiting(except for the days when I have evening meetings, and then i'm taking the afternoon off). It will be a good time to work on my sermons, catch up on reading, etc. That way I really can focus the mornings on being there for whomever stops by and won't feel as if my work has been interrupted.

Holy cow... we are back in Iowa

So, for some of you - this blog just may be a good way to keep up with the Dawson's and all that is happening in our lives. For others of you - you might be checking out what is happening at the church. Others, just want to see if a young woman right out of Divinity School can make things happen in a small Iowa town. Whatever reason you might be checking in - i'll try to keep at least some of you happy, some of the time.

This blog started out as a place where I could share my frustrations and hopes about the church. I'm REALLY hopeful right now. I'm about to start working (in 3 days!) in a small town United Methodist Church and I couldn't be more anxious. I'm both really excited and really nervous about if I'm ready, if they are ready, and what this journey is going to be like for all of us together. But I know that no matter what happens there, my husband is right by my side, loving and supporting me and keeping me from being neurotic =) And having a new kitten purring on my lap as I type this helps too.

We just got internet yesterday, so i'm backdating a few posts. I'll start up talking about all that theology stuff and what i'm going to talk about in my sermons and all of that nonsense in a day or two - for now, I'm still on vacation! Love you all and hope to keep in touch with all of your lives too!!! Oh - and Merry Christmas!

our first iowa snow and our first houseguests

Yesterday we spent quite a lot of time picking up around the house and sorting things out. We sort of have our furniture in the living room set up – but definitely need some more pieces to fill out the space.

Our friends Cara and Paul came over last night too. We played a new board game Carcassone (thanks Joe, Mary, Kayla and Ben!) and Phase Ten, and then played some wii! Whee! As they were driving over the rain turned to ice which turned to snow and they had a hard time making it into town, so we had our first overnight guests in the guest room. Yay!

It snowed most of the night, but also blew a lot, so we don’t quite know how much we got for our first Iowa snowfall. Brandon is out shoveling the sidewalk and driveway right now with Cara’s help. Paul and I headed out shortly after and we switched on and off. Then, we headed to the Amana's for brunch. YUM!

Later, my little bro came over to help us make a Christmas present for my brother and sister-in-law. it was a ton of fun!

I wrote my first column for the church newsletter yesterday and I’m supposed to send it in, but unfortunately, without internet, it’s still stuck on my computer. It’s so weird to begin writing for all of these people, when I still don’t know them very well yet. I don’t know what they want to hear. But I guess that’s the point. I need to write from my heart and hope that with God’s help it will reach them.

shopping... again

We shopped til we dropped… again. This time with my brother and then later my mom. Christmas shopping is officially done!

We still don’t have internet or cable – and we are REALLY missing it. I’m typing out all of these entries on my computer with the hopes of entering them sometime in the future. We were supposed to have it set up yesterday and the technician cancelled our install. Grr. I hadn’t realized how addicted I was to the computer, the internet, the tv, and world of warcraft until today. It is really quite ridiculous and it really should be motivating me to unpack my office and dig out a novel to read. But Brandon has a cold and I'm on the verge, so instead we climbed into bed at about 7pm, turned out the tv with the antenna and watched network news until we fell asleep.

spending the day with Babi

Today I got to go Christmas shopping with my Babi (Czech for Grandma). We have gone every year for the last… oh, five or so. I think this year has been especially hard now that my grandpa is gone – she seems to be quite lonely. I’m so glad to be back home and want to spend as much time as possible with her! I have Friday's off, and the plan is to be available if she wants to go shopping, or just go over and help in her garden. I have been away for so long that I really want to take advantage of living only 20 minutes away.

domesticated

Brandon headed into Cedar Rapids to drop off his car at the shop (stupid check engine light) and bring a bunch of stuff from his dad’s house down. We are now closer to furnishing our big house! (if only we could sort through the boxes of memorabilia and clothes and books he had in storage in his Dad's basement)

Meanwhile, I unpacked the kitchen and did a ton of laundry! The house is closer to being unpacked – if only we could figure out what to do with all of the empty boxes and packing supplies! I am a little ashamed at how quickly Brandon and I slipped into gender roles, with me ironing our sheets and Brandon shoveling the sidewalk – eek! Now that we have an outside – Brandon definitely knows more about cars and raking and snowblowers than I do - it has made it easier to have more definate roles.

shopping (from Brandon)

We shopped til we dropped with my brother Chris! Most of our Christmas shopping for my side of the family is done! We are avoiding unpacking today and instead hung out with him in Cedar Rapids.

move-in day

Today was move in day. We actually spent the night on an air mattress last night, all alone in our big huge empty house. While the movers came about noon, we had church members at the house about 8am – shoveling the sidewalk from the recent ice storm and bringing over tons of food. We’ll have sloppy joes for a week (err...make that two!)
My dad came over also and helped unload the truck when it arrived – he just can’t sit still while people work! Everything arrived safe and sound, with the exception of Brandon’s desk which broke – for the third time in as many moves. He managed to glue it back together with epoxy however.
Another fantastic gift the church left us was a collection of gift certificates to local businesses. We headed over to the Pamida (which we learned, unfortunately, is owned by Wal-Mart… the evil empire strikes again!) and the Big “G” food store… as well as the local farm and home store. Most important purchase of the day: a snow shovel.
Also – note the deer dumpster! eek... yes, we are back in Iowa.

*edit* While we were informed about the Pamida/Wal-Mart connection, I can find no corroborating evidence... except that in 2006, Pamida hired a former Wal-Mart exec to be their CEO