BOM Sermon

Scary moments this morning--the sound system was totally down for the first service. I thought, "Not today of all days!!" However, they got it up and running in time for the second service and I was so relieved that I relaxed (a whole bunch) and preached over the Wesleyan Threefold Grace. I don't know how it went because I haven't seen the DVD yet, but congregation reaction was good.

Of course, they liked the first service sermon too. The one where I had to strain my voice projecting it over a huge room.

This was the first time the entire sound system crashed!!! Was God just testing me??

Casting Off by Nicole Dickson

This is a wonderful book about a woman who finds redemption and forgiveness on an Irish Island. Woven throughout the story is the history of Irish spinning and knitting.

Rule of Life

I am in the process of completing an assignment for school. It is supposed to be titled "Rule of Life for Pastoral Care to the Pastor". Basically, it is taking care of myself. In reading, Barbara Brown Taylor's An Altar in the World, she talks about having something that you love doing outside of the church. Not in the recreation department, but an unpaid job.

I've thought and thought about what I would like to do as a volunteer that is not related to being a pastor. I thought about counseling at a local domestic violence shelter or volunteering at a local library----helping women and books, but those are related in a way to my tasks as a pastor. The more I consider what I truly love besides God and church, it becomes clear--Dogs. I love dogs.

Unfortunately, she also talks about the ability to say "No". I am so overwhelmed at times that I want to grab anything that is made out of paper in my house and have a gigantic bonfire. I feel like I'm being smothered by paper. Not just the books that dominate most of my life, but the hoards and hoards of mail, papers, magazines, my crap, Ryssa's crap. I'm sure that as soon as a throw a piece of paper away, I will need it. (I did do some cleaning yesterday and feel a little better today.)

So the problem with having an unpaid, non-church related job will have to wait until I finish school. I have just been approved for Candidacy status for my doctoral project. It took several (several) re-writes for my project narrative to be approved. I was beginning to think I wasn't going to make it, but it turns out that I was the test case for the new, improved doctoral program (fun). My papers will be the format for all the following D.Min. students. So they were looking for perfection, which as many of you can attest to, I am so not perfect.

Back to the Rule of Life, it is a work in progress and an evolving tapestry of wants and needs.

Love at First Sight

I was going through the usual 1st of the month routine. Paying bills (always depressing) and I decided to run into the grocery store for one thing (dish soap). Now I knew that I probably wouldn't leave the store without spending $100, but I was resigned to that fact.

So here I am, in less than a gracious mood and my hair pulled back into a ponytail and no makeup, when I spotted HIM. He was probably in his 80's. A small man, dressed in a dapper, three piece suit, with a red handkerchief coming out of his front pocket and a little black hat. He could only take steps in about six inch increments with the help of a cane.

He caught my eye and tipped his hat at me, smiling broadly. I smiled back and dipped my head in acknowledgment. I watched him repeat this with everyone that he made eye contact with. I looked behind him and saw a billboard with the words, "I love you, I love you, I love you....signed GOD".

That little man made my day, with his dark brown skin, dapper suit and a smile that lit up the day.