Sunday August 15, 2010 - Last Entry

Today is a busy day. Guest preaching in Ventura. Wonderful people in the midst of major transitions, and I pray that they will be able to weather the changes gracefully together, despite what must be some pretty major differences of opinion on the best routes forward.

Then it was up to the house to see the family for a little bit and put together a lunch. Then up to Santa Barbara to prepare for my installation. Then the installation. Then the dinner afterwards. Then crashing at home again.

The installation went very well - or at least I assume it did from what little I remember of it. It was certainly a packed house, perhaps as many as 300 people in attendance. That's a lot of people. People are excited for what the future holds for Emanuel. It's a tad daunting, but I look forward to jumping into it.

Perhaps a dozen clergy were in attendance, including our District President who preached for the installation. People always love to see the clergy process in, dressed in the traditional white albs and red stoles representing the Holy Spirit's fiery presence. It's definitely impressive, and I'm sure it would be fun to observe it from the outside sometime.

Afterwards there was a dinner catered by the senior center next door to our church. Tri-tip steak, chicken & mushroom, potatos, salad, dinner rolls, and a variety of desserts. I didn't really get to eat anything at the time - too busy making the rounds and saying hello to everyone. I'm awful at it, but I think it's important to try and mix and mingle at least briefly.

I'll try to post a few pictures when I get my hands on them.

But, ultimately, today signified the official end of our wanderings. We now have a place to live. I now have a vocation to fulfill. Our nomadic life of the last five and a half months has come to an end. And with that end, so ends this blog. I thought I'd have a lot to say at this point. Many things to reflect on and share Deep Insights on. You may have to check my other blog to see if that's the case, since I want folks to know they can stop checking in on this one. I'll hope to have a few pictures up here - of the house and the installation and the church - but other than that, it suddenly feels as though trying to say a whole lot is anti-climactic.

We're so grateful for the opportunity we had to travel around this beautiful country and see friends old and new and family near and far. Grateful to have been able to experience slices of life where many of you live. So that when we exchange e-mails or cards or phone calls, we can picture where you are as you talk or write. We feel as though we know a little more about you for having shared a little bit in where you live. Thank you for opening your homes and hearts to us and making us feel welcome in the midst of our displacement. Thank you to those who helped to make this journey possible with your prayers and gifts. Thanks most of all to God, who kept us safe, bound us more tightly together as a family, and planted us back in the sandy soil of Southern California.

It's time to begin a new chapter, which means as delightful as the last chapter has been, it's time to bid it adieu.

Adieu.

Saturday August 14, 2010 - Carpinteria, California

Today we officially made the move to the new house in Carpinteria. As in, we're staying here rather than commuting up from Camarillo to get things ready. We're not ready, but we're close enough. The kids are very excited about their new home, and we can tell they need to just start settling in - playing with games they haven't seen in six months, watching videos they haven't seen in six months, that sort of thing.

The house is livable due to my advance preparations in terms of the kitchen. Now it's a matter of slowly rebuilding all of the food supplies and staples necessary to easily put together meals. But we can begin, and in the meantime we're yanking boxes out of the garage and unpacking them. There really aren't that many of them, frankly, and most of them are books. That probably says a lot about us - I'm not sure if it's good or not!

Friday August 13, 2010 - Camarillo/Carpinteria, California

Sermon writing and other miscellaneous items today. Nothing major. I'll be glad when this weekend is over!

Thursday August 12, 2010 - Camarillo/Carpinteria, California

This morning was errand running. Getting my robe into the dry cleaners, stopping off to do some computer work. I met Jim, Dianne, & Lewis for lunch at Zzyzx Cafe for lunch. Then it was up to the house to hook up the dryer and wipe down & polish most of the furniture so it was ready to roll.

Then it was off to Vallarta to pick up ingredients for tonight's dinner. Making up a tomatillo-based vegetable soup to go with brown rice and some of Vallarta's marinated carne asada. Yum! The family arrived around 5:40pm. The kids were *very* happy to see me again, which was very nice indeed! Dinner turned out fine (no complaints/illnesses), and early to bed.

Wednesday August 11, 2010 - Camarillo/Santa Barbara, California

A low motivation day. I didn't get much done at the house since I'm still recovering from the move yesterday. Definitely not in the same shape I was 20 years ago! Looking forward to the family arriving tomorrow!

Tuesday August 10, 2010 - Camarillo/Santa Barbara, California

The movers came today. Three guys and a truck. Lewis and Jim and I had loaded up our lawn furniture and washer/dryer from Jake & Erin's last night, and left it all tied down in a flat-bed attached to Jim's pickup. So we ran by to pick that up this morning and then headed to Oxnard and the storage unit.

The guys doing the loading were very nice and professional. Pretty quick, too. We were basically loaded up by 9am - only 90 minutes to load the truck up. We were all at the house by 9:30am, and effectively done unloading around 11:45am. No major damage in this move, which is nice, considering how quickly and somewhat haphazardly we loaded up the storage unit in February due to rainy weather. Our furniture as a whole has started to show some wear and tear after multiple moves in the last six years. We remind ourselves that these are only things, and take a deep breath and give thanks for all we have, and the fact that it's in such good condition overall.

As I had suspected, with our large bookshelves in the main living room, there isn't going to be much room for a couch. We've talked about getting an all-weather, outdoor couch thingy, and turning the patio into an extension of the living room. With the beautiful weather here, it's pretty feasible. We can add one of those big heat lantern thingies for cooler mornings and evenings, as well as a little patio fireplace. So many possibilities - we'll have to see what our budget can handle! Hopefully, there's no rush on any of this.

I went up to the office afterwards. Knowing that the place is fairly deserted after the secretary leaves at noon, I felt comfortable going up in a pretty grubby state. Of course, I run into the Circuit Counselor working on wrapping up the Sunday worship planning. He's a laid back guy though, so it wasn't too awful.

When I had arrived here at the end of July, I had let him know that I was willing to fill in if there was a pastor out of the area or on vacation or sick or anything. Nothing was needed the first two weekends, but he mentioned that he had a need for a supply pastor in Ventura this coming Sunday. Naturally, I agreed. After all, my installation isn't until 3pm. Piece o' cake.

That was before I realized that it was two services. That should be an interesting situation! Oh well. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze a nap in between the last service and my installation. Probably not, but it's a nice thought all the same. It's good to be helping out - the interim pastor at this congregation that I'll be filling in at (Grace Lutheran, Ventura) is struggling with cancer and will be wrapping up his work at the end of the month. On the plus side, all I really have to do is preach - they have a very well trained and equipped group of elders, one of whom will be leading the liturgy. That should make my work that much easier.

Guess I should get back into the swing of writing sermons again!

Monday August 9, 2010 - Camarillo/Santa Barbara, California

Usual routine. Packed up the last load of accessible boxes for my office from the storage unit. Also found what I think are the last of the kitchen boxes in storage and loaded them up. It will be sooooo good to have this thing emptied tomorrow - and not by myself! It seems like it's been in process forever, but I suppose that's just in my head. Gena & the kids will arrive on Thursday. The installation is Sunday. Life is ramping up quickly from the busy but relatively self-determined last five and a half months!