The Holiday Weekend (extended edition)

Our holiday weekend has been anything but predictable this year as it is now being extended to today. Thursday went well with us getting up fairly early (after working 'til midnight) to drive to Mom and Dad's in NW Iowa for the day. Rena (my sister), her girls, my grandparents, Uncle Dave, Julie Grubisich and our family all descended on the farm through the course of the morning, ready to celebrate Thanksgiving (version 1.0) with the parade, the meal, the hapless Lions losing and my Broncos eeking out a very fortunate victory in Dallas. We spent the night and returned to Sioux Falls during the day in time for me to make it back to work.

Friday morning, the first unpredictable thing happened. One of Mom and Dad's neighbors was out on his ATV (four wheeler for the old-school set) checking his traps when he rolled it on top of him. He managed to drag himself back on it and limped his way to the house where Mom and Dad loaded him into their car and Mom drove him to the hospital in Primghar (a town just as beautiful as its name). I guess his face was busted up pretty well, but some family had arrived before Mom left. We missed the whole thing and only got the recap after waking up. Our trip back to Sioux Falls and the work that followed it was rather uneventful.

Saturday morning saw us rise and drive to Yankton to do Thanksgiving with Jim and Marilyn, Casey, Heidi and their kids and Grandma Leanne on Sunday. Amy and I also offered to help out with church on Sunday after being solicited. Saturday was uneventful as we just hung out for the day and tried to catch up on sleep a little. I've been noticing that I'm more irritable on Saturdays due to the schedule. I feel like I finally mellow out toward the end of the day and by Sunday I'm usually okay. I just wonder if other people notice it as much as I do.

Sunday promised to be a day of uncertainty as the weather forecast for Sunday and today was not pleasant. Casey's family and Grandma Leanne decided they'd be safer to just get themselves together in Mitchell (where they all live) than brave the roads. We missed them a lot, but know it was the right decision as things just got worse in their neck of the woods as the day went on. We still planned to stay Sunday night and assess travel conditions this morning before heading back to Sioux Falls for work.

Church was fun, although I think we must have carried some of out technical glitches from last week with us as the guitar player had what sounded like a bad battery, the mix changed from the beginning of first service to the end of first service and we had no drums for the final song of the first service. Amy filled in with vocals, pennywhistle and shaker while I also provided some vocals and played my new djembe. The djembe came in especially useful on "Shout to the North" at the end of the first service when the drums (electronic) were never unmuted.

We got home and Amy and Marilyn prepared Thanksgiving (version 2.0). It was a great meal, followed by the end of the win by my (I hate to admit it) Vikings and a nap during the movie "Madagascar." The evening was pretty laid back while we listened to the rain and wind begin to threaten a bit more.

At 2:30am, we heard Maia start to cry. An unusual event usually tied to some other disruption. The disruption was that Xander had thrown up Thanksgiving (remixed) all over his bed in their room and was working his way to the bathroom when we heard him clattering around in the dark. We got him cleaned up, the bed cleaned up and a spot on the couch with a basin set up for him when the lights went out. The next few hours repeated a cycle of us nodding off, Xander throwing up, us cleaning him up and us trying to go back to bed.

For variety, the power went off a few times in the midst of the cycle making it even more interesting since we're staying on the first floor of a two story that is backed into the cut out side of a hill. That means that there's a part of the basement with no windows including the bathroom and hallway. I fumbled around upstairs until I found some matches and we were able to light a candle and use it to find a flashlight. We left the candle where Xander was sleeping and kept the flashlight with us in case we needed to get up again.

By the time we got up this morning, the power had been on for several hours, Xander was still sick as a dog and the snow had kicked in to the point where we knew we weren't going anywhere. Looking out the window now, the snow is blowing to the point where I can barely make out the gray expanse of the lake and our van has several inches of snow on it. We're going to have another lazy day and hope that tomorrow proves a little more agreeable to leave.

I'm wishing I would have brought some movies or my guitar, but I may have to settle for a good book instead.

Chili Makes Me Miss People

Amy asked me to make a batch of chili today, so I'm tackling that while she has the unenviable task of hauling the kids to have pictures taken. She called for the appointment yesterday and they told her to come in at 10:15 this morning. After working 'til midnight and getting to sleep at 2am, I knew I wouldn't be up and functioning in time to go with, so instead I'm making chili and missing people.

The last chili I had was with Brent and Kathy last month while we were in Marion. They sent some "Williams" brand chili seasonings with and it has had the desired effect, I'm thinking about them while I cook. I also think of the times when the guys would get together for chili at Tim Lehrian's during Hanfield's women's retreat. I think of Scott, Bryon, Dave, James, Kent and others that partook in chili while we watched movies.

I think of all of Kent's experiments with chili recipes from his Marlboro chili recipe book (still not sure where one acquires it or if tobacco is one of the main ingredients). I think of the time when Kent was out of chili powder and called to see if I could drop some by on my way back out to the church even though the house wasn't exactly on the way.

I think of each setting and treasure them more than words can express and wonder how a batch of chili can dig so deep into the treasure chest of memory.

A Soundboard, A Service and A Coyote (I think)

This morning we had church at Giglebee's (a Chuck E. Cheese sort of place, only a bit more dated and dingy). Amy, Hal and I were the worship team and we had a chance to field test a sound board that Kyle Hufford gave us over the summer. It took us a little time to work through some stuff with it in the sound check, but by the time we were done with the check, we thought we were in pretty good shape.

We should have taken some electrical tape and a Sharpie with us, because when the video that started about ten minutes prior to the service started, we had no audio for it. I started playing with the channels in the vicinity of where the computer's audio had been, only to find that it had been switched to another channel. Needless to say, I didn't quite remember where to return the levels on the other channels which were for wireless units for other things in the service. Because of that, Pastor Chip came up to welcome everybody and his mic was all out of whack. Hal tried to get it corralled while Chip talked, but Chip muted it before Hal was able to get it quite right.

We finally got the audio for the video up and running before we started our songs. Once we started, Hal launched into "Let Everything that has Breath" and Amy pounded the keys with absolutely no response. Amy picked up a shaker and I tried to figure out what was up with the keyboard channel. Chip came to lend a hand in trouble shooting and I went back to playing.

For the next song, we had keys and the kids came up to learn some motions and sing with us. In the process of kids singing and jumping around, we think one of them accidentally stepped on Hal's tuner pedal for his guitar which cut him out of the mix entirely. That made the next song a little difficult, because we couldn't figure out what was going on with his guitar and he was the only guitar on that song as I was playing djembe.

We managed to work our way through the last few songs without Hal's guitar in the mix and were able to assess things once the next video started. Again, we had issues with the video audio because either the cable or the channel on the board were loose and we couldn't keep a consistent signal without someone holding it in place. Things went fairly well for the sermon and puppet thing that we had and it looked like we might be able to finish with no more issues. Unfortunately, the next issue was mine.

My guitar had been really hot in the system which meant that I could barely turn the volume on the guitar up at all without it distorting or feeding back. I am used to turning it up all the way and letting the sound person set the level for me. When we came back to do a final song, as Chip prayed, I replugged in and produced a great interruption of feedback in about the quietest moment Giglebee's had seen in years. We recovered and did the final song and a little postlude of a song that we had practiced, but that we nixed from earlier in the service.

After the service, the kids all got free tokens for the games and most families stuck around for food. Xander went and played 20 (honestly 20) games of skee ball while we packed up and moved out our gear. Xander and I hit the arcade and then played a game of air hockey (Xander "won" 6 to 2) while we waited for our food.

The decor of Giglebee's hasn't been updated probably in 20 years. Very primary, very vinyl. They also have a coyote(?) named Wilbur that rides around on a tricycle on a track with a tray who delivers your pizza and talks to you. Not the prerecorded, Chuck E. Cheese kind of talk, but a guy in a booth actually watching the room and talking to the customers. Yet again, I realize there are worse fates than mine

We played a lot of games after pizza and were able to come home and crash for the rest of the day. As a bonus, I got to watch the Broncos beat up on the Jets until CBS gave up on it and I got to watch most of the 2nd half of the Colts outlasting the Bengals. For those with NFL Ticket, you're thinking "Big whoop." For me and my antennae, getting to watch big chunks of two games that I really wanted to see was the perfect end to a good day.

A Little Late Night Songwriting

It's been several months since I actually had an idea for a song that materialized into anything. I just finished working on something that's been churning for a few weeks now. The basic idea stayed the same during that time, but tonight was the first time that I actually sat down, guitar in hand to work through the idea a bit.

Of course, the entire family is asleep, making space to write a bit of a challenge (we're in the downstairs apartment of a two unit house). Imagine me sitting in the basement (just as cementy as a good basement should be), guitar in hand, working through ideas sitting on a vinyl chair left by a previous tenant. Not exactly the most inspiring space to work, but very fitting for the song.

The idea is that I see hurt and need all around me everyday, but I act like the people I see are a million miles away. I don't know if I don't act out of awkwardness, fear that I'll bring offense where I mean to help or what, but it's an idea that I woke with a few weeks ago and have been churning since.

This week has been a good one for me in terms of getting the creative juices flowing again. Not only is this song in the works, but I've got ideas for articles for different publications, potential workshop ideas and a strong desire to dig into the calling to artists that I've been feeling. I'm also wanting to revisit some other songs that I have written over the last few years to get them in demo mode to be able to distribute to friends at other churches that might be able to make some use of them.

I don't know what I'll actually have the time/opportunity/energy to do, but I've got to say that I'm feeling a bit more myself again.

God's Economy and Prosperity

Every now and then my inner prophet finds a reason to rant about something. This week, I was at Best Buy looking to buy a headphone extension cable for at work when the prophet awoke.

I was in the audio section, looking at headphones, extenders and any other item that I thought might give me the extra six inches or so that my current headphones lack so I'm not constantly testing how taut I can make the cables while I listen to music at work. I was vaguely aware of an under the counter TV like you would put in your kitchen with a religious broadcast playing. I was totally immersed in the hunt, so the TV didn't grab my attention at all, until the speaker hit on the topic of poverty.

I don't know who the speaker was, but she was talking about how poverty was a curse and prosperity teaching, which is experiencing a fairly healthy following right now, is completely biblical. She said that she had been poor and didn't like it, how Jesus came to take the curse of poverty away and how God's people in the Bible were always prospered when they were faithful.

At this point she had my attention and I had ceased the hunt altogether. I listened to her talk about the topic for a few minutes and left Best Buy feeling sick and angry. I thought about how much of what she said sounded just like Job's friends as they tried to get to the heart of why he was so afflicted. I thought about how far off their counsel was about the methods and purposes of God. I thought about how Job is believed by most scholars to be the oldest book in the Bible in terms of when it was written and yet we still have this kind of teaching going on.

I admit to having ignored most teaching on prosperity because the idea that God is more concerned about my happiness than my holiness flies in the face of what I know about guys like Jeremiah and Paul. The whole topic gets screwed up because most people latch onto a false economy when we talk about how God prospers people.

The glory (and money) seems to be found for preachers that can convince people that God wants to give them...things. But the "things" God wants to give us are things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. He wants to give us things like relationships that can be easy or hard and things like suffering so that we can share in the fellowship of the sufferings of Jesus.

I was upset at the teaching that I heard because, to me, it represented prosperity at the level of material well being, but ignored the wealth of knowing God better whether through the prosperity of resources or the prosperity of experience that brings us to a larger understanding of who He is. God is in both. God prospers people through whatever methods He ordains to use.

I think C.S. Lewis said it best when he said that he who has God and everything has the exact same thing as he who has God and nothing.

A Shift in the Winds

In the never ending ebb and flow of frustration and contentment, I believe I've shifted back to contentment for the time being. This week at work has been much improved over previous weeks and I haven't even dreaded going the last few days (except for having to brave the cold when I'd rather just stay inside).

How long will contentment set up residence? I don't know. I remember a few years ago reading the Psalms straight through in one day from The Message paraphrase. I feel like the pacing of that experience is a solid parallel to where I'm at right now. Songs of great praise, assurance and comfort sitting right next to songs of lament, longing and separation. I don't know when my next lament will be, but I'll treasure the contentment while it lasts.

Hell Freezes Over and So Does South Dakota

I startled several people at work last night by providing one of the signs of the apocalypse. I stayed for overtime. Eric, one of my teammates, reached down to touch the floor to see if hell had frozen over when I signed up for it last week. The main reason I had signed up was that Amy and the kids were planning on going to Sheldon last night for a jewelry party and a chance to hang out with cousins and grandparents. The weather turned, plans changed, they stayed home and I was left with a midnight-2am OT commitment. I was the only one on the team to stay, so I had the area all to myself. I got quite a bit done and it wasn't even an unpleasant experience. It also paid for part of Amy's birthday presents for next week.



The reason Amy's plans changed is that we got blasted by winter. I'm reminded of the part on "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" where the seasons of their journey are chronicled and it decides to skip a season all together. Friday I wore shorts. Yesterday it snowed fairly well into early afternoon, the wind picked up to over 40 mph out of the northwest and it was frigid. Today is only supposed to get to the mid-20's, but with the wind still howling it's going to feel a whole lot colder.

Welcome back to South Dakota.

Brian Moss on iTunes

Our good friend Brian Moss recently announced the addition of his album "Prayerbook No.1" to iTunes. The songs are inspired by the first 15 Psalms and are in regular rotation on my personal playlist. You can check out samples or download individual tracks. For more information about the project and about Brian, check him out at http://prayerbookproject.blogs.com/.

Recent Musings on Direction

I've been reading Dallas Willard's "Hearing God" recently and have been thinking a lot about our current situation and what I'm actually supposed to be doing with my life. You know, light stuff. I feel like I've been spinning my wheels a lot lately with different ideas of what I could be doing. I've got a few ideas for articles or even books, song ideas and even more ministry ideas, but I hesitate to move because a great deal of it feels like me trying to invent my way out of my current job situation.

Now, I understand that God often moves in our ingenuity to produce what He desires, so it's not like I'm simply sitting back and waiting for explicit instruction from God on what I should do. I am seeking direction, but I believe that God is capable of redirecting my steps or correcting an ill advised course in order to place me where I should be. He's God. He can do that. It's that certainty that gives more courage to our steps when we feel like we aren't certain what to do. Our uncertainty can lead to incapacitation, much in the same way that our rashness can lead to disaster. It's a dance where if we step in the wrong place at the wrong time it can be as bad as if we stand stone cold.

One thought that occurred to me as I read this morning is how much I value myself. I feel like I have gifts, abilities and experience that could be put to much better use than my current situation allows. Many of the ideas that I have for projects right now are motivated by my self-perceived usefulness.

All of that flies in the face of something that I know intellectually, but is having a hard time taking root in my heart: God doesn't need me to accomplish what He wants to accomplish. If God needed me, He wouldn't be God. If He is not all sufficient, complete in and of Himself, He is not who He says He is in Scripture. My importance is dependent upon His glory, not the other way around.

At the same time, God desires me deeply, loves me immeasurably and wants my heart to beat in rhythm with His. He is shaping me for whatever purpose He has. Do I think that He is done with me and that I am no longer of any use? Of course not. Do I think He will waste my gifts, abilities and experience by putting me in places I can never use them again. No. Do I think He might be bringing other gifts and abilities to the fore by giving me experiences that make me more fit for the future He has designed me for. Almost certainly.

That hope doesn't preclude the fact that at 3:30 pm today I will go to a job I have no interest in for a company I don't really care about to do a task that I'm not especially gifted for. "These light and momentary troubles" is a phrase that comes to mind often, but my definition of momentary is well off the mark in these circumstances.

A Continued Longing for Emergence

Hanfield UMC, where I was on staff for eight years, was definitely not an emergent congregation (although we began seeing elements start to creep in about a year ago). This was one of the reasons why a restlessness that had been building in me came to a head at the end of 2004.

Ironically enough, the church we're at now, New Hope Family Church (where Amy and I volunteer) is even less emergent than Hanfield. With Hanfield, there was a part of the congregation that we knew would resonate with some of what the emerging church involves in terms of methodology and philosophy. Hanfield is a multigenerational congregation without one dominant demographic segment to drive everything that happens.

New Hope is a church that is dominated by young families. Most of the church (which runs about 125 in attendance) is made up of couples in their late 20's or 30's with kids under the age of ten. There are a lot of the stereotypically overstretched young families with two working parents and kids in a billion activities who come to church in drive through fashion. I don't say that to be negative, just to give an honest assessment of what I see.

There are a lot of good things happening at the church and Amy and I wouldn't be involved if we didn't believe in the church's mission and leadership. I think there are a lot of possibilities for the future of this church. I just wonder whether emergent theology is a part of it. Regardless, the change in scenery has been good for me. I even get to volunteer and be somebody else's "go-to" for awhile which is a nice change of pace.

I'm still waiting to see what God has in store as far as my long term involvement in ministry. I'm having a hard time believing that the experiences of the last eight years couldn't be put to more use than they are currently. I still don't know if it will eventually lead back to vocational ministry, but my passion for the emerging church is something I'm having a hard time finding an outlet for and may require larger involvement in leadership in a church setting.

The Therapy of a Day Off and a Box of Beans

Shortly after I wrote last night's inspirational, hope filled entry, I decided I needed to enjoy something and settled on my "Mr. Bean" box set on DVD. 90 minutes of Bean and I was feeling a bit better about life, the universe and everything (except the job).

Today is a day off. Amy and I are helping Hal out with a chapel service at the University of Sioux Falls tonight, so I got the night off from work. It's just the three of us, so we'll be going acoustic for the evening. I went out and bought a djembe today which I'll bring along in case it might be of use.

I spent a good part of the day working on the basement. It is now looking fairly organized and we are almost completely finished unpacking the house. There's a few boxes on the back porch and a few more on the way from Yankton that will have to fit into the scheme I've got going down there.

Jim and Marilyn will be here in a bit to watch the kids while we do the chapel service. It will be the first time they've seen the place since they helped us unload the truck a few weeks ago. I actually feel pretty good about the digs. It is definitely livable and we only have another 11 months on the lease. Hopefully by the time it's up, we'll have a new job and a sold house in Indiana so we can buy something here.

I think being in this small a place has actually been good for us. We'll be glad to be able to expand a bit, but I think we'll be able to set our sights on something smaller than we were looking at before we decided to rent. We've discovered that we can make a smaller space work and that we have entirely too much crap. I smell a yard sale, Summer 2006.

Holding On

I don't know how much longer I'll have to hold on at the job. I found myself praying that I would be content where I am after last night and then tonight was worse. Prayer in reverse? I've been applying for things for a week or so again in the hopes that something will come along to replace what I'm doing now. It doesn't have to be a better job, just one that pays about the same but has better hours.

My attitude hasn't been the greatest, but the "choose your mood" philosophy is crap. I believe in making the best of a situation, but the situation is what it is and even if I decide to choose to love it, I'll never be able to deceive myself into believing that I do.

It would probably be easier if there was any light at the end of the tunnel, but I almost feel like applying for other jobs is simply going through the motions at this point. Nobody seems at all interested, but I keep applying so they can keep ignoring me.

Still praying for something to change...soon.

Anne Rice Interview on cnn.com

Came across CNN's version of the Newsweek story that I mentioned a few weeks ago about Anne Rice. The story can be found at http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/11/07/books.anne.rice.ap/index.html and contains a link to a video segment of an interview with Rice where she talks about her return to faith.

A Day at the Cheese

There's nothing to make you feel better about your current job than spending a few hours at Chuck E. Cheese and contemplating the desperation that must have lead to some of what goes on there. The music and video segments were especially thought provoking as, seemingly, fully functioning adults dressed in all manner of costume (regular and mascot) and were made to look foolish while trying to pretend to play instruments and dance to a beat obviously different than the song that was paired with the imagery. I will go to work today with a whole new appreciation for what I do. That appreciation is sure to leave after about 30 minutes.

The party at the Cheese was good, though. Amy appreciated the fact that so many of the details and planning that she has had to do in the last few years were already taken care of (especially after being at the church for four hours or so leading worship and taking care of technical systems while the staff were away). The food was unremarkable, but the food is hardly the deal at the Cheese. Plenty of games and activities to keep the kids busy. Xander probably could have spent even more time there. Maia, not so much. She needed to get home for some beauty rest.

We had a lot of grandpas, grandmas and all the cousins and aunts and uncles. This was the first birthday that Xander's had a chance to see this much family and he loved it. My folks came up early with my Grandpa and Grandma Svaleson from Fort Dodge and we had a chance to show them our new digs and talk for a bit before the party. I've seen them twice in a month now. Over the past several years I've seen them maybe twice a year. Thoughts like that make me really glad to be where we are.

We got home in time to get the kiddos to bed and watch some "Lost" on DVD (thanks Eric for the extended loan) and crashed hard.

An eventful day (and tomorrow's gonna be busier)

Had a great, long, frustrating, enjoyable day today. I took Xander to his first football game today to see the University of South Dakota vs. The University of North Dakota. USD is my alma mater and this was a chance to revisit the Dome, see the Marching Coyotes (Amy and I are former members) and see a game that would decide the North Central Conference champ in NCAA Division II.

The 'Yotes destroyed the Fighting Sioux and won their first conference title since 1978. It was a fun game to watch (if you're a USD fan) and I was glad that it got to be Xander's first. He enjoyed the great catches, kicks, blimp (inside the dome) and the scoreboard/jumbotron that showed airplanes dropping footballs that looked like bombs into the stadium every time USD scored (we got to see it a lot).

It was a great trip for me also since I got to see my prof, Rolf Olson, for the first time in a long time. Rolf was always somebody that I enjoyed being around and was an important player in getting us to Northern Colorado for our grad work as well. He always has an easy smile, gregarious personality and generous spirit. I'm hoping we'll have the chance to reconnect a little more now that I'm back in the area.

We got home about 6:30 or so and after a quick dinner, I was off to the church to reset some things, tweak some media files and make sure that everything is ready for tomorrow's services. Pastor Chip and Hal are both gone, so Amy and I are responsible for a lot in the service. The guest speaker, Tom Henderson, is someone that has pitched in at New Hope in the past as a worship leader and speaker and I'm looking forward to working with him tomorrow.

I was hoping that I might get home about 8:00 or 8:30. It turned out to be 10:45 after several technical glitches turned up. I'm usually pretty solid on trouble shooting systems (both sound and media), but this was equipment that I've never worked with and a newer version of Media Shout than I've worked with before, so the trouble shooting was a bit more complicated due to unfamiliarity. But, after 3.5 hours, everything seems to be a go for tomorrow.

I'm excited for tomorrow. I invited some friends from work to church to "see what I did in a former life." I'm hoping a few will make it. Later in the day, we get to go to Chuck E. Cheese for Xander's sixth birthday party (today was part one of our celebration, his actual birthday is Tuesday). It will be pretty much just family there since we still don't know too many other five/six year olds in Sioux Falls, but it should be fun.

By the time the day is done tomorrow, I may need a weekend to recover. Unfortunately, it's back to work at 3:30 on Monday. I do get Thursday off to play for a chapel service at the University of Sioux Falls, but I may just have to settle for rest wherever I can find it this week.

Fear the Sneeze

I wrote the other day about a stupid injury I sustained and the after effects. It has subsided to a certain extent and I'm feeling much better, but it's still painful and is slowing me down a bit. The worst thing is the knowledge that certain things are going to cause the pain to spike.

The most painful thing going right now is the sneeze. Every sneeze doubles me over as fire shoots through my entire left side, tearing through me like the slash of a knife. The pain is bad enough, but the anticipation that comes with a sneeze has become a somewhat panic filled event. My mind races trying to warn me of what is coming and assessing whether there is anything to be done to prevent the event from occurring. I have failed entirely in every attempt to suppress the sneeze. I now fear the sneeze.

Kyle Lake's Death

I read on cnn.com this morning about the death of Kyle Lake who was the Pastor at University Baptist Church in Waco, TX where David Crowder is also on staff. At first I didn't realize who it was, but when it hit me that it was UBC, my jaw just dropped. We've heard stories of how this church was birthed and feel connected to it because of the artistic expression that has come out of it.

The full story that I read can be found at http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/31/pastor.electrocuted.ap/index.html, but the gist is that he was electrocuted during a baptism at the church on Sunday morning. He leaves behind a wife, a five year old and two three year olds. More info is available at www.ubcwaco.org.

It's one of those situations that absolutely escapes me. I can't see any purpose in it. I know that God is good, but events like this make you wonder what He's doing.

A Rather Painful Day

A good deal of today was spent with clenched teeth and bent over posture as an injury that I sustained yesterday decided to get worse before it gets better. I was helping Hal reset the sound system at the church on Sunday after a special service offsite that morning and slipped while trying to step from the floor to the stage (a three foot or so step). I came down hard on my left side on the edge of the stage. Hal asked me if I was alright and I told him I thought so. It was a stupid, clumsy thing to do and I knew there would be some pain from it for the next few days, but it wasn't too painful to stop helping at that point.

I was a little restless last night with the pain. I am usually a belly sleeper, but found that I could not sleep on my belly or left side last night. Every time I made a move, it caused a bit of pain.

When I got up, it was noticeably more painful. I kept thinking that it was just the day after effects of an injury and that it would probably be more stiff than painful. I was sadly mistaken. As the day progressed, the pain got worse. I chased ibuprofin with Tylenol and a little something to clean out the digestive track. It turns out that some of those muscles are vital to the success of everyday bodily functions and I required a little extra help from a bottle.

By the time lunch rolled around, every movement hurt. I started to consider whether I could work today or not. The verdict was still out when at 2:50 I could barely move without immense pain. I got myself ready and drove to work figuring I could at least start the shift and would probably leave early. Thankfully, the pain got better and by my dinner break, I was doing well enough to do some of those bodily things that I was unable to earlier in the day. I was able to do the full shift, and while I have some pain, it's nothing compared to what it was ten hours ago.