Monday, June 9, 2025
More than a weekend review -- Tuesday through Sunday
Sunday, June 8, 2025
It's Time for Sunday Stealing!
Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!
Back in 2010, blogger Nigel Vanstone from Away from a Bit asked his
readers this series of questions. He said he was tagged by another, unnamed
blogger. But I'm not tracing it back any further. Nigel Vanstone is a cool
name, and that's enough for me.
10 Questions with Nigel
1. What's your life's motto? My boss is always reminding me to "err on the side of grace." I think that would make a good life motto.
2. Where were you living 13 years ago? We were living in a house a few miles from where we live now. We bought it new when our kids were about 5 years old - right before they started kindergarten. We bought this house in 2014. It, too, was new.
3. Is anyone jealous of you? I seriously doubt it!
4. Where were you when you heard about the 9/11 terror attacks? I was on the treadmill at the gym. I remember stepping off the treadmill and walking over to the TV. Everyone in the gym did the same thing. We saw the second tower fall and we were all in shock. I remember walking out to my car and driving home . . .and not wanting to leave! I was so glad when the kids and Mark were at home that night and we were all together.
5. Do you consider yourself kind? I hope I'm kind. I definitely want to be kind.
6. Can you change your car's oil? I have never changed the oil in my car. I guess if I watched a Youtube video . . .I could change it. I hope I never have to change it.
7. What's the last thing you heard about your first love? Y'all . . .that was so long ago! I had some crushes but I guess my first love was my first husband. We were married for about 18 months when I was 18 years old. I feel like I'm telling a story about someone else - wow! He died of AIDS after we were divorced.
8. Have you ever been burned by love? The divorce I mentioned in #7 was very tough. In hindsight, I'm so thankful we didn't have kids or very many assets. I met and married Mark when I was almost 26.
9. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? I bought a diet pepsi at a gas station a few weeks ago and paid cash.
10. Do you hug your friends? I hug my close friends.
Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
It's a Hodgepodge
1. What do birthdays look like in your house? How are they celebrated? Any special traditions? What about birthdays growing up? If I'm in charge, birthdays are fun - cake along with some balloons and maybe a Happy Birthday banner. Mark's mother did such a good job of celebrating everyone's birthdays. She made us all feel special. I only had one birthday party when I was growing up and it was my 16th birthday and it was a surprise. My mom had died several months beforehand and a family at church hosted a surprise party for me. That is such a sweet memory. When my mom was alive, we always had a birthday cake and a present or two but we celebrated with family - not parties. When I was celebrating my 40th birthday, a friend hosted a surprise get together. When I turned 50, I had a huge birthday party (not surprise) at a friend's house. I hosted a surprise party for Mark for his 40th and he told me to NEVER have a surprise party for him again. I'm still laughing about that night! When he turned 50, I hosted a party for him . . .but it wasn't a surprise.
2. Someone is sending you a dozen roses...what color are you hoping for? Are you someone who gets accused of seeing the world through rose colored glasses? Is your accuser correct? Elaborate. I love pink or red roses. My number one strength is positivity so I try to see most situations through rose colored glasses . . .but I've noticed lately that my vision has been a tad off . . .I find myself criticizing more. I need to get myself in order!
3. June 4th is National Cheese Day...will you celebrate? What's something (besides a burger) you make in the summer months that calls for cheese? I love cheese - cheese and crackers, queso and chips, a grilled cheese sandwich. This week I made Crack Chicken Casserole for the Tuesday night Young Professionals group and the recipe (when quadrupled) has a significant amount of cheese in it!
4. 'tis the season...any weddings on your June calendar? What's the first word that comes to mind when I say marriage? I started answering the questions from the bottom up - oops! Yes - we have two more weddings to attend in June.
5. What are you most looking forward to this June? Let's see . . .we have two more weddings to attend. My sister-in-law and I, along with two others, are hosting a "morning of the wedding" brunch for our niece and other ladies. My birthday is in June, too!
6. Insert your own random thought here. I know you won't be able to tell this when you are reading my answers . . .but I'm actually answering this prompt first. Class began on Monday - I'm taking Family Life Education in the first "short-term" - June 2 is the start date and July 2 is the final date. Then the next class begins on July 9 (I think) and it is Human Sexuality and the final will be right before fall semester begins. I've been having some anxiety and questioning my sanity. I hope that once I get going . . .my thoughts will ease up. There is a tremendous amount of work to do in that time frame!!
Monday, June 2, 2025
The Rest of the Weekend
On Saturday, I returned home from Annual Conference in time to grab a bite of late lunch and we tried to take a quick nap - I know I dozed off in my 20 minute power nap, but Mark said he was just lying there worrying about our water leak -- YES! Mark was cleaning out his brother's house and I was at the conference and we got home at the same time to find water on our porch . . .remember that high water bill?? LEAK! In the summers while Mark was in college . . . he was a plumber's assistant! He can fix lots of plumbing things. He dug up the yard and found the leak and turned off the water to that area, but he didn't have time to repair it because . . .we had to get ready to go to see "Dear Jack, Dear Louise."
North Alabama Annual Conference 2025 (Most of my weekend!)
The 2025 Annual Conference of the North Alabama
Conference of the United Methodist Church took place Thursday through
Saturday, May 29–31. I am truly honored to have served as one of the Lay
Delegates from our church.
The conference opened Thursday at 10:00 a.m. with worship.
Afterward, we headed to our first Learn and Lead Workshop. I attended “Been
There, Done That, May or May Not Have Gotten the T-Shirt [Small Group
Ministry]” led by Chris Wilterdink from Discipleship Ministries. It was a
fascinating class. He discussed “nones” and “dones” — people with no church
affiliation, or those who are “done” with church due to reasons such as church
hurt.
We also learned that, for the first time in history (I
believe that’s what he said), there are eight generations of people
alive at the same time: the Greatest Generation, the Silent Generation, Baby
Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and Gen Beta. Interestingly,
Baby Boomers make up 21% of the population, Gen X 20%, Millennials 22%, and Gen
Z 21% — nearly equal representation across four generations. We explored ways
to engage people in ministry — and were reminded that relationships are always
key.
I had to duck out for a few hours for an allergy doctor
appointment but made it back in time for the Laity Session at 4:00 p.m. We
learned many interesting things in this session, led by Dr. Lisa
Keys-Matthews, our conference Lay Leader.
After the session, two other participants from our church
and I went to grab dinner. We ended up at Chick-fil-A — even by 5:15 p.m., most
restaurants were full unless you had a reservation!
That evening, we returned to Asbury UMC, our host
church, for the Service of Licensing, Commissioning, and Ordination. A
combined choir from several churches led us in worship, and the music was
absolutely beautiful.
The young man on the left in one of the photos is Trey, a
youth minister at another church, but a “product” of our own church — Trinity
UMC in Homewood, AL. Though his family didn’t attend church, Trey found ways to
get there before he could even drive. He was quite spirited as a youth, and it
took some time for him to settle down, but our youth staff never stopped loving
him. Now, look what God has done! Trey was presented with a license to serve as
a local pastor. Local pastors can perform all the duties of a pastor —
preaching, leading worship, baptisms, confirmations, funerals, weddings,
communion, and welcoming new members — but only within their appointed church
setting. By contrast, elders (like our senior pastor) are authorized to perform
these duties anywhere.
Next up from our church was Mary Frances, who was
commissioned as a provisional member preparing for ordained ministry as a
deacon. She serves on our youth ministry team and completed seminary sometime
last year.
My dear friend Laura was ordained as a deacon. Like me, she
grew up in an era when women couldn’t be pastors, so she initially pushed aside
God’s call. She went to college, became a speech pathologist, got married, and
raised children. But while we were in Israel in February 2020, she felt God
calling again. Soon after, as the world locked down due to COVID, she applied
to Duke Divinity School. Five years later — she’s now a Deacon! I’m so proud of
her and so happy for her.
Wondering about the difference between a Deacon and an Elder
in the UMC?
Elders are ordained for ministries of Word, Sacrament, Order, and Service
and typically lead in the local church. Deacons are ordained for ministries of Word,
Service, Compassion, and Justice, focusing more on connecting the church
with the world through practical service. Elders are itinerant — they serve
wherever appointed by the bishop. Deacons are not itinerant and may serve in
churches, non-profits, agencies, or other ministries. Both roles are open to
men and women.
(Note: Definitions were pulled from various websites. This is a basic
overview, not an in-depth explanation.)
Our Bishop preached at the ordination service and he preached God's word right into our hearts.
Friday began with an 8:30 a.m. teaching session by Herbert
R. Marbury, Associate Professor of the Hebrew Bible and Black Religious Studies
at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Afterward, we had Plenary Session 1, which
included reports and presentations from various conference ministries.
Our group of 15 from Trinity had lunch at Jim ’N Nick’s BBQ,
where I enjoyed a brisket salad. There had been a mix-up with our reservation,
but the staff graciously brought complimentary appetizers and provided
excellent service.
Following lunch, we returned to Asbury for Plenary Session 2,
which included additional reports and voting on four constitutional amendments.
Those with voting rights were seated in designated “bars” (sections), and
ballots were carefully counted and recounted — voting is taken very seriously.
Our conference treasurer, Laura (a different one), gave a
financial report alongside the CFO.
After the final report, I headed home to have dinner with
Mark. Some attendees stayed for the Awards Dinner, while others from our group
went to Black Market at the Colonnade.
Saturday morning found us arriving early for another teaching session
from Herbert Marbury, this time focused on Moses. We then moved into Plenary
Session 3 for more reports and presentations.
Our final worship service took place just before lunch. It
was incredibly moving, with our Bishop preaching. He’s a gifted storyteller who
seamlessly weaves personal experiences with scripture. There wasn’t a dry eye
in the sanctuary. Our contemporary worship band (from Trinity UMC) led the music for this last session and did a
wonderful job. The conference ended with communion. Though it was just two and
a half days, it felt like a beautiful mix of business and revival.
Sunday, June 1, 2025
Sunday Stealing
Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!
This week we're stealing from Christina at Call Me Patsy. Back in 2008,
she admitted she stole these questions from a blogging buddy named Liz. Here we
don't judge. We celebrate such theft.
Questions Christina Stole from Liz
1. What bill do you hate paying the most? The Birmingham Water Works bill is so ridiculous every month. Our sewer fees are a percentage of water used. We had some landscaping done this month and our water bill was almost $400 this past month. There are two of us living here - not a big family. There has been a lot of corruption in the past at the BWWB.
2. Which restaurant would you recommend for a romantic dinner? We love Blueprint on 3rd. There is another great restaurant - Cafe Dupont . .. or another Hot and Hot. Birmingham is a foodie city.
3. Who was your first grade teacher? Mrs. Wilemon was my first grade teacher. I didn't go to kindergarten.
4. What should you be doing right now? I should be sleeping. I'm writing on Friday night.
5. What did you want to be when you were growing up? I just answered this question on another day. I wanted to be an archeologist.
6. How did you choose the shirt you're wearing right now? I came in from a meeting and changed into shorts and a t-shirt. The t-shirt was clean and the easiest one to grab!
7. Gas prices! What's your first thought? Evidently they are lower this week than a few weeks ago. Gas prices are a necessary purchase.
8. Do you have a teddy bear? I don't think I do . . .I do have a brown sugar bear in my bag of brown sugar!
9. Do you own the last book you read, or did you get it from the library? The last book I read was on my kindle. I know the one I'm reading right now is one I own. Sometimes I get the freebies from Kindle Unlimited.
10. Did you more recently send a text or write a Post It? I sent quite a few texts today. I love Post Its but I don't think I've used any today.
Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.