music festivals, tree tunnels, and muck up to my eyeballs!

these last two weeks have been a bit mad. beginning with a crazy two-day interview that was more intense than i ever dreamed. while interviewing at huntington university, i had meetings with a variety of people, from the president to some students and everyone imaginable inbetween. it was definitely a bit overwhelming. i'm still processing and trying to listen to god to know if the position would be a good fit for me and me for them. in the meantime, i am once again being considered for the job in australia....what i thought was dead in the water, is now alive and well. they finally have the position approved and i am in the top two or three. along with these two possibilities is the position in savannah with urban hope and the position in indianapolis at st. luke's. not sure what is happening with those two at the minute, but happy enough to be preoccupied with huntington and australia. my head has been spinning in the last two weeks...and my heart is ready to go...ready to be a part of a new community...i'll let you know where that community will be.

tree tunnels...yes, trees that line the road and create a bit of a tunnel. i had missed the beautiful tree tunnels i once passed through on my way from wilmore to frankfort, on the back roads of kentucky. tuesday morning i was reminded once again of kentucky's beauty. my friends shauna and neil invited me down to ichthus (a big christian music festival) to help out. i have to admit, musically speaking, i would have rather been at bonnaroo (music festival in tennessee) listening to music i love...radiohead, beck, my morning jacket, elvis costello, ben folds, bonnie raitt, blues traveler, cat power, nickel creek, death cab for cutie, tom petty, and many more...but there is something to be said for a huge christian music festival, where young people are celebrated and encouraged in their faith. and being at ichthus is also a mini reunion for me with friends from college, seminary and the young people from frankfort. so i did not mind doing two nine-hour shifts of stage security over the course of two days...it was a welcome break in thinking too much about my job possibilities and choices i will soon have to make. also, i love spending time with my friends shauna and neil, in a home where they welcome so many in and love it...during the weekend there were six guests (including myself), as well as, neil's sister jennifer, who lives with them...so nine people, three dogs, and two cats :)

now you might wonder how muck up to my eyeballs fits into the events of the last two weeks, and you might also think that i was speaking metaphorically...no, i am speaking literally...with a bit of exaggeration. yesterday afternoon/evening, i spent a few hours up to my knees, sometimes a bit higher, in muck at the bottom of the lake. dad needed some help putting in more of the pier. knowing that he needed to leave directly from the lake to deliver an rv to california (in retirement, his latest job is to deliver/drive rv's all over the us), i volunteered to get in the water. you all know how much i love water, but i knew full well, this was not for play...for those of you who have been up to the cottage...i was in the section where water was up to my chest and muck was up to my knees...where we do not swim. anyway, after a few hours of me putting poles into the lake and attaching braces, we were finished for now, having added another section of the pier....with more to come. so i might be back in the muck again to help out. after the renters this week, my family has the cottage for our week....we always have it around the 4th of july and usually my cousin kristin and her husband and their three girls come up for a visit. this year is different...all three of my cousins on my dad's side will be coming with their children (not all the spouses can make it). we will be celebrating my grandmother's 90th birthday and then spending time at the lake together. this will be the first time that all of the cousins have been together in indiana since i was a kid. i am looking forward to it, but also knowing it will be a bit crazy too...please pray ;)

have a wonderful weekend!