Visitors

A fireman and a dinosaur just stopped by my house...thought y'all would like to see! They've been taking a lot of pictures and weren't excited about taking more...but they are having fun!
Edited to add: No sooner had I hit publish and the following picture showed up in my e-mail inbox. Jailbird Payten...hee-hee!

Laugh of the day

Today was a tense day. G.G. went in for a lumpectomy today, after being diagnosed with breast cancer a month ago. In the process of all the doctors visits, she also found out that she had gallstones as well, so it was a double whammy of a surgery day. She came through the surgery well and there is no sign of cancer so far in the lymph nodes, though there are still some tests to be done. We all breathed a sigh of relief after that news.

I didn't relax fully, though, until Meg and I exchanged the following text messages:

Meg: I just passed a guy on the corner with a sign that said "bet you can't hit me with a quarter." getting more creative out here!

Me: So did you try?

Meg: Nope, I was too busy texting

Me: Texting and driving! Naughty, naughty!

Meg: Yep, guess he should be glad that I didn't hit him with more than a quarter, eh?

I love my friends.

BTW--I do not condone texting and driving or talking on your cell and driving, or shopping in Safeway and talking on your bluetooth...but I needed that laugh.

This is scary

I got this video in an email today. Do we really think that kids don't watch EVERYTHING we do? (And to self-disclose, I like country music, that's not the part that freaks me out!)

I love to laugh

My fabulous friends, M & L, gave me Tim Gunn's Guide to Style Daily Tear-off Calendar for Christmas. Being a Project Runway Fan, this was the perfect gift. All year I've been tearing off little hints about style and more. There was one, that I really cherish, that said something to the effect of sweatpants, with words that when worn on the body will be placed across your rear-end, should never, ever be worn out of the house...and even then, they are seriously questionable. Amen!

Anyway, the other day I was catching up on the calendar and came across this...

The power of looking happy cannot be underestimated. You'll feel better if you smile, and the reception you receive from others will be warmer. Modern life seems to lead to a rather grim set to the mouth; fight it and smile.

What truth there is in those words! A couple of friends recently wrote me a beautiful note that ended with "we love that you love to laugh." It's true. I love to laugh. Smiling, laughing makes me feel better.

I'm thinking about all of this today in regards to our worship services. Sunday mornings there just isn't a whole lot of laughter and smiling. The worship team at the early service knows how to smile. I know they do, I see the smiles on Monday nights when we rehearse (I hear the laughter too!) The smiles disappear on Sunday mornings. Even the cheeriest of people stop smiling on Sunday mornings. There seems to be an unwritten rule that says "smiles in worship is out of place".

I think it was a blogger that wrote recently that they didn't believe that Jesus was as solemn as Christians make Jesus out to be and I agree. Human beings are naturally attracted to people who are good natured, have a sense of humor, smiles, or laughs. People were attracted to Jesus, curious about Jesus, kids went to him, I think he probably laughed and smiled a lot.

So why the seriousness in church? Why do we take worship so seriously that we can't smile or laugh? I think some of the worship team would tell you that they are intimidated looking out at the faces that aren't smiling back at them. Which is true. There are some people who seem to be really, really grumpy in church...but yet maybe they are taking their cues from the people in front of them. I wonder if we started smiling more, how that would translate to those looking back at us.

I have a hard time passing by someone without smiling at them. I noticed it the other day in the grocery store. If I make eye contact with another person, I automatically smile. Even in my grumpiest of moods. Sometimes people respond with a "Hi" like they think maybe they know me but aren't sure, sometimes I'll get a smile in return, sometimes not. I wonder, was that what made Jesus so approachable? Did he automatically smile at people as he passed them by? It's a thought to ponder and a challenge for the rest of us.

Next time you are out and about, smile at a random person. Do they smile back? Does it make you feel silly or does the smile last a little longer on your face? If you are the church going kind, try smiling at those leading worship on Sunday morning...see if they respond. And if you lead worship, how about smiling at the people in church? I promise, they won't bite.

Let's fight the grimness of life with a smile...and just because I love to laugh...

In hiding

The Pastor just walked into my office and asked "Is the lighting in here a reflection of your mood?". I replied with "just didn't turn on the light" but really there is more to the story.

The typical day off for those in church ministry is Monday. Sunday is a work day, so many church people take Monday off. Not me. I decided early on that I liked working on Mondays for one very important reason...no one else is here. The building is quiet. People come and go, but they don't stay to chat. The phone doesn't ring as much, there isn't a line at the copy machine, it's just quiet. When we moved Worship Team rehearsal to Monday nights, Monday's became my day to plan for the next Sunday as well. Working on Monday is good for me...though people have caught on to my trying to hide, thus the Pastor coming to check in about next weeks service today...sigh.

But the last few Monday's have been a little, well, challenging. The public doesn't really get that whole church being closed on Monday's thing and they still appear. Being at the church alone, I tend not to open the door to strangers (yeah, I know, it could be Jesus. I think he might understand). I park in the back of the church but that doesn't stop some people. Two weeks ago someone really wanted attention. They tried every door (and there are a lot of them) but couldn't obtain entrance into the building so they started honking their car horn and yelling. Excuse me?? Really?!?! Last week there was a couple that took shelter from the rain under the overhangs. No big deal...until they started screaming at each other. I decided their time at the church was done and called for reinforcements. What happened to my quiet Mondays?

I approached my office a little more carefully today. After two weeks of interruptions from the outside world, all I really wanted today was a day of solitude and peace. I parked upstairs away from the building (though if you know my car, you could assume that I am in the building). I left the lights off and made sure my blinds were closed to the outside world today. Maybe next week I will turn the lights on and open up a little more. Today, I just want to hide.

Out on a limb

I was in high school when the movie people came to town. They came to film this movie...I never saw it, I heard it wasn't really good, but I thought of the title today as I was pushing the button to purchase my ticket to Mississippi a few minutes ago.

I'm going out on a limb. God started talking pretty loudly a while back about the possibility of our mission team returning to Pearlington in December, not for one week as we normally do, but for two weeks. So, we started talking back and forth as a team and God and I started having some pretty serious discussions. The two week trip would mean that I would spend the whole two weeks in Mississippi with teams coming in and out...and it would put me in Mississippi over Christmas, potentially alone.

Being the family girl that I am, it's not an easy thing to think about being alone for Christmas. Christmas morning with my family is my favorite time. Going down to Aunt R's and Uncle B's in my pjs. Watching the kids pile their presents in a pile. Heading home with Yo Momma, Papa Bear and G.G. Opening stockings, laughing at the silly things we got each other, eating cinnamon rolls and then gathering with the rest of the family at some point during the day for food, food and more food. It's family time and I love it.

God has other things in mind this year. I'm on that limb and I'm going to be with members of my God family for Christmas. 8 of us will leave on December 18th, with 5 of us staying through January 2nd and 3 coming home on the 24th. A group of 9 will head out to Pearlington on December 26th. It feels good. I'm hanging out on the limb feeling a little bit more like this...reaching for something good!

If you are interested in hearing about the journey or helping make it happen (I need to raise $1200 for the trip) head over to our team site www.ca2ms.blogspot.com. I'm out on a limb and it feels right.

And the rain came down...

The rain is truly coming down in buckets. After a late night last night (David Crowder Band concert...so awesome but it was a 2 hour drive there and 2 hour drive home...tired.) I woke up late this morning. I know that it started to rain about 2:30am and I could hear the water rushing down the drain outside my window. That was good...but it also reminded me that I needed to check the other drains as requested by Papa Bear.

The drain off the back of the house was clogged, I could tell by peering through the bedroom window. Great. So I did what I had to do, I opened the window and climbed out onto the garage roof, pulled a chair through the window and tried to unclog the drain. I then climbed back inside to get a tool and climbed back out. It took one push of the ruler (yes, I am resourceful) to get the drain clear, water came gushing down. And I did all of this in my sweatpants, sleep shirt and bare feet. Not the smartest thing ever.

The power went out as I was almost finished drying my hair. Which would have been fine, except I remembered that my car was parked in the garage...with the automatic door opener. I got it out only to then discover that the drains that have been placed around the house to get the water away from the house were plugged up. By the time I got it all taken care of I looked like I had just stepped from the shower. And still, no power.

So I sit here, at work, listening to the wind rip through trees...just watched one tree break in two and fall to the ground...the power flickering and I'm wondering, should I just cancel youth group and be done with it or should I be the true mountain girl that I am and just keep on? Dilemmas.

Updated at 6pm: Powers on. Youth Group on. Wind slowed down. Rain slowed down. Went home and changed the towel in the window that was leaking this morning, watched a little news and heard two different reports. One said 9 inches of rain, another 8, all in all a pretty impressive storm.