UPDATE on my student Matt..
Matt had surgery yesterday to remove the tumor from his brain. The surgery went well, but it was very intrusive. The tumor was down in the brain between the right and left lobe, so they had to work their way down. I talked to him tonight, but he is heavily medicated and in some real pain.

His first two tumors have been on the surface of the brain, so the recovery had been quick. This one looks like it will take more time. When I talked to him, I am not sure that he knew that he was talking to me. It was good to hear his voice though. Tomorrow they will discuss treatment options with his family. It will be interesting to hear what they decide.

Thank you to everyone who is praying for Matt and his family. And thanks for praying for me too. It is great to watch as God works. Hopefully I am able to speak to his family when I see them on Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing Matt then.

I will keep you updated, but I will try not to fill this blog with this somber stuff. Thanks for letting me share here.

Folkestad

As Menahga Turns
Some of you may remember be talking last year about a student of mine with a Brain tumor. He had it removed for the second time last August. Well... He went in for a checkup and found that it has again returned. Unfortunatly, the last surgery was a last ditch effort. This is not good news that it returned.
I don't know that I am equipped or ready to deal with this. Some people ask me why I am in ministry, or why I would want to continue at a church. I guess this is a reason. You can minister and be affective and not be a "paid" person at a church, but for me, if I didn't have it as a ajob, it would fall down on my priority. My life moves fast enough now, if I had a different job, these kids lives would take 3, 4, 5 or lower prority in my life. This may not make sense to you, but it is how I feel tonight... Matt is dying.... Who is gonna be there for him? His dad?.... He died when he got so drunk, tried to break into the community pool and cracked his head on the concrete. The rest of his family, yeah they are there for him but they don't have Christ. Tonight I can say that I am there for him. Its gonna hurt, but that is what I can offer him. And I its something I can offer him that I don't know if I could if I had a different job. I should stop talking.

I appologize for the nature, lack of proper writing style, and anything else about this blog, but its how I am feeling tonight; angery, confused, sad, helpless, and grateful for where God has brought me. Those are weird feelings to be feeling at the same time.

For what its worth...
Folkestad

Okay. Here I am, posting. I spent the last week in California visiting Kristy Fowler, Sarah Bubna, Bradley James, Kristin Rich, and others. I suppose all of that Crown alumni interaction satiated my need to check the blog as regularly as I usually do, and now I feel terribly out of the blogging loop. Now I'll try to plow my way back in.

I guess I kind of feel like I haven't been able to post until I post some sort of stance on the whole Crown discussion that has been taking place on this blog, and the problem is, I don't really know if I have one. A stance, that is. So if you could just give me a bit more time to process things... I'll write about it soon.

So for now, take this for what it's worth: I've decided not to continue teaching at Crown after this semester. It's official now, I met with all of the necessary people to let them know, and their overwhelming support made it clear that this is the right move. It has just become very clear to me that teaching is for me, but Crown is not the place for me to do it. Right now, anyway. So I've decided to take the next semester that I would be teaching and focus on presenting papers at various conferences, trying desperately to get some essays published, and possibly applying to Ph.D. programs. Those are things that are so difficult to focus on when spending 90 hours a week prepping, teaching, and grading. So, that's the plan, and I feel really good about it.

Let's see, what else is new...Not much, I guess. I'll try to check back in more often than I have been lately. I'll write more later. "Later" is a relative term, though...Right?

Since I have no intoxicating elements coursing through my veins except the sugars from a Cadberry Creme Egg, I felt I could pass along a fun convergence of lives that occurred tonight in my hometown. The Crown Choir was performing in Cheyenne, so there were Duerkops and Donelsons and Hubkas all in one room, and not one of them were either myself, Molly, or Nate. My parents said hi to Dr. D. Brook was up from Denver hanging out with my best friend, and even Rachel (Martin) Krueger was there. I don't know how often that sort of thing happens when the choir is on tour, but it was fun to hear about tonight. Well, I won't do anything else to blab my way out of your endearing hearts. Too late. All the rest of you living in Minnesota, hang out with each other for my sake. And talk me up to anybody cute and brunette and well educated... hint hint. Oh, and female, in case that part wasn't implied. Bye.

Steve, I don't want to know if alcohol was involved. Either way that last post was extremely entertaining. Congrats on the salaried position.

Chris, I am so excited about our date. There may be a snag that evening, but I am trying desperately to iron it out. I will let you know.

Lynnea, you need to post for Steve's sake. Do it, do it, do it... nothing like a little peer pressure.

Brad, I reserved my longest section for you. I sensed that you were a bit offended by my last post in which I called you out for advertisements on the blog. I hope that you know it was only a facade. I was trying to look cool in front of my internet friends. Truth be told I would follow your heart anywhere. I would follow it to the moon and back. I would follow it to the depth of the seas. I would even follow it into a woman's bathroom if for some reason it broke all the rules and went in there. Please continue to post advertisements for me to follow your heart. Because I WILL!

I can't look at the St. Urho picture with Gabe anymore. So, after a little celebrating last night, and on the verge of another Irish carbomb tonight after my first Blue Moon, I figure I'll get enough in me to really toss down something great here. It was exactly a year ago today that I started working at Quiznos, and I have been offered a salaried position by my boss sometime in the coming six months, barring any legal trouble or the oven catching on fire because seventeen-year-olds send paper plates with cookies on them on the little wire conveyor belt perfectly unaware of paper's general flamibility. Yeah, I'm feeling that Blue Moon. My face is a bit warm. My brother's college friends are all over, playing Xbox golf when not watching basketball. It makes things loud and slightly obnoxious, just like you should imagine my voice when these words fly through your head.
Okay, since my defenses are down, since there is truth in wine, I'll just admit I want to hear from Lynnea sometime, but that's because I'm only acting like I don't care about all that stuff I puked up a bit ago.... that's metaphoric. I haven't actually puked, not from alcohol, not ever. I meant my diatribe v. the new administration and their policies. The one I'm most worried about now are these Leadership scholarships, because I would have gotten a lot of money had they existed when we were there since I'm hot and smart. Wait, I'm hot, and smart.... why am I single? Probably because on a Saturday night I'm blogging to you people instead of getting Stella's groove back. I really don't know what that's supposed to mean, since I don't know a Stella. I really don't have anything to throw down here. I'm just freaked out by giant statues with grasshopers on pitchforks, and Gabe since he's really got all the heart head and home stuff that my life seems to lack. And I'm freaked out by our mutual silence. I'm so insecure. I just want to hear people's voices, even if it's in my head while reading their comments about simmering down and not worrying about things.
Well, I just tossed down the Guiness with the shot of Irish Creme, and I'm a little bit more dixxy than I was. I really can't even look at the computre screen just because it's a bit too bright for me to stare out for very long. I hope there's no permenant damage. I actually feel very aware of everhything, if that makes sense. So, being aware of everything, looking very hard at the three pictures of leaves that grace my brother's wall, feeling my head slide back and forth much faster than I thought it would, wow. Oh, and V for Vendettea isn't that greate except for Natalie, I mean just very hard to take seriously with Guy Forks and all that stuff. A bit overdone, tha'sall I can thinka nd I think this is the feeling that most people want when they're trying to get a boxx. Woah. Tingly fingers. That's sweet. I wonder how much more would get me to drunk. Dodon't worry. I'm not drunk yet, I don't think,l just not in a plce where I can look at the screen without feeling a bit weird. Well, what a journey we're all on, eh? IJ gotta get going because I think that I've alraedy lost all your repsect tonight, or removed the illuision of respect that I put there because I thought.... oh crap, who knows? Maybe I did this whole thing intentionally without alcohol just to be funny. I don't think I'm that good. Sorry for wasting your time and this space. I'm feeling pretty normal again. You all miss me, and you know it. Oh, to close, Bailey's is a good supplitmenat to Guiness, andI want other people to write bacues I'm ovbiously not getting anywhere after a few bverers and some crazy times with my brothers college rooomeates. I could fix the spelling mistakes, but I don't want to and maybe it's just a trick, anyway. You'll never know, eh? This wa sfun. I'm already home, so I'mnot driving. Peace out homie. This can't be funny. Where's some Crown rules to guide me now? Mabye that's not funny. Or not. Somebody write! Remember, remember the fifth of November.

Here I am with Mr. Urho. Yes that is a pitch fork impaling a grasshopper. Happy Saint Urho Day

Happy St. Urho's Day Everyone!
I am just curious to see if Steve actually knows who St. Urho was and why he is remembered by the Finland people. It will be interesting to hear his history report!

On other news, Kate and I are heading out to Cali on Monday for a Youth Conference. It just so happens that the World Baseball Classic is the day we fly in, so we also go tickets for that. It is going to be a much needed break from Menahga and Sebeka. We are really looking forward to it. Plus, it will be a really great conference. (and much better weather too!)

Thats all for now,
Folkestad

Well, I'm a day late, and for that I apologize. I could jump on here only to lament my managerial misgivings made by my maidenly maddenin.... It's late, and my mind isn't what it once was. Like I was saying, I have enough downers in the week dealing with 17-year-olds who tell me to live a little and lighten up, or simply play the classic freeze-me-out game popular in the third grade (and again in the seventh and eleventh, for some reason), or I could recount our oven fire that had my heart racing towards it's final bu-dump, but instead I'll relay my week's pleasantries.
One was some renewed contact with a young lady, to remain nameless here, who is stunning in every possible way I have discovered... I hope to receive a copy of her master's thesis here soon, if anybody needed a hint (and if you still don't know, ask Lynnea). So, she makes me smile in the face of oven-fires and heart-dampening teenagers.
Another was just a few minutes ago, watching the latest Wallace and Grommit cartoon with my family. It was lovely, though racier than any other Wallace and Grommit show I'd seen, so somewhere between a Pilsbury girl's floor and Andy Burton. No offence, Burton, you're just not racy.
Third, Thursday, which happened to be National Cute Girls Come to Quiznos Day. Sophie from Radio Shack came in, and I told her she was missed, and she rather enjoyed that one. Well, I could keep going, but let's just say it eased the tensions in my mind brewing with the young ladies I had to deal with behind the counter.
Connected with Thursday, today. One of the girls, one from Hollywood Video around the corner, came in again tonight, and so she might have gotten a little extra attention... and then I needed to rent Curse of the Were Rabbit, so I returned the courtesy call to her humble abode. She smiled at me a lot. So, I've got to return the video at some point. It's probably just a lot of hot air from my end, but what else can I do here but try and please Gabe the Babe?
Oh, and I talked to Molly Jane today, and it was lovely, and today was her birthday, and that's lovely. I'm sure she misses you all. Well, if that makes you feel better, than definitely believe it, but if you don't care, then she probably doesn't, and if that's a problem then you'd better take it up with her because I'm not the one that I'm telling you I'm missing you. How's that for confusing? Final question: How do I get a cheap ticket to New York (no interesting offers involved, or livestock shipping, either)? I hope this give you all something to take your minds off of what you're supposed to be doing. I do that in real life, too.

I can't handle it! I check the blog and the last entry date doesn't change. Everyday for a week now I have checked and nothing. (Get a life you say? Shut up I say! Seriously, Shut up!) I blame Steve. He posted with intelligence and made us think. That always seems to clog the blog. However, I am at an impasse. I cannot truly blame Steve, because this blog has remained strong due mostly to his many hilariously insightful posts. If it were not for him I probably would not check it nearly as often. What am I trying to say? I need the details of your lives. Give em up.

On to other news. I am getting a rare speaking opportunity tomorrow. I am the keynote speaker for a father daughter banquet at a church in New Prague. Sounds pretty impressive. It's not. The banquet attendance will be 20 and I am filling in because the first guy cannot make it. It is big news to me, but in reality not that big of a deal.

Still other news. I have had an amazing year reading my Bible. I have made extremely large amounts of time to read it and have been amazed by the results in my life. In Isaiah 55 it talks about the Word of God going out and not returning void. It compares this with rain coming down to earth and nourishing the earth before returning back to the clouds. In essence it means reading our Bibles has a somewhat unexplainable nourishing effect on our lives. I have found this to be true. If you are not daily in the Word, then I think you are a fool. If simply reading it contains so much benefit for our lives. Why would we not? Just a thought.