the church's unsung heroes

over the years i have had a front row seat, eagerly watching how and by whom church is done. sometimes it has been enlightening and sometimes it has been well, a little frightening. but no matter where i sat myself down for a church service - pew or chair - sanctuary/auditorium or gym or grassy field - with or without drums - organ present or awol - praise team or the solitary, suited, song leader - i benefited from the unsung heroes of the church.

they serve with no seeming need for the spotlight or the fan club.

they just serve.

she washes any stray dishes that mysteriously show up in the kitchen area after the meet and greet coffee time is over and done with. every week she shows up after the last service and doesn't leave until the counters are sparkling and free of mugs, pitchers, plates, and whatever else was used and left for the super-secret scientific mold-growth experiments covertly taking place at churches across the country.

he arrives at church before the service, usually BEFORE most of the musicians to open up, start a nice warm, inviting fire in fireplace, and greet everyone with a smile.

he coaches a boys basketball team. she teaches Sunday School. they both send post cards and make phone calls during the week to make sure the kids know they matter.

she worked in the nursery - soothing crying babies and their moms both. every week she was on the schedule there seemed to be a visitor family with a colicky infant that was beyond comfort. . . until she stepped in.

she sends notes of appreciation and encouragement to the pastor and his wife with a scary sense of timing. she is a strong prayer warrior for the body even though many of the congregation do not know of her commitment to them and the church.

as a couple, they embody hospitality - opening their home and their hearts to those who need encouragement or just a little time catching their breath in the great outdoors, enjoying God's country with it's wizened trees, beautiful wild and tame flowers, and the dance of the humming birds.

she is not in the best of health herself - maybe that is why she is committed to make the hospital visit, take someone to the doctor, line up a meal or a speed clean team to help out when sickness strikes. people who are healthy probably don't know her super hero identity.

he anonymously makes sure finances don't keep a student from the mission field. no one would suspect him of this generosity - money is tight but this is his act of love.

he listens. she prays. they clean. he repairs. they cook. she sings.

they just serve.

the church is not the "service" that takes place for one hour on a Sunday.

the church is the service of its members.

"and they'll know we are Christians by our love. . . "

Olympic Pictograms Through the Ages - Video Feature - NYTimes.com.flv

I was distraught when the Olympics ended. . . one minute i was watching the beginning of the end of the Vancouver Games - and the next, well, a new show called The Marriage Ref showed up. . . maybe i missed something. . . tom papa sitting in for bob costas as we watched the agony of marriage gone weird and bad. . . anyways, i realized i needed Olympic closure.
brief but fun history of Olympic Pictograms was the answer.
i thought this was cool. . . hope you enjoy it.

THE TURKEY COMMERCIAL!!!

well, the answer is simple. . . buy a smaller bird.

something fun

thought you might enjoy a little fun - since it is Friday and all. . .
please visit this link http://balldroppings.com/js/ - make sure you're volume is turned up a bit and go crazy and draw some lines. . . i love this site and no matter how much of a grump when i start drawing - well, i'm a lot less of a grump when i walk away. . .

the parent of an adult

my son came home from a 7 day road trip to and from California last Tuesday.

(SIDE ROAD - he recently moved back with dave and i for a short term. let's be honest here - the son has California written all over him - i can see where this is all going so i know that each day he is here with us now is a gift worth treasuring. but he had to go back to finish up some work and then enjoy the weather and the friends - hence the road trip.)

he is almost a foot taller than i am and i can't use "boy" as an adjective anymore - just a term of endearment. but when he walked through the door this week sicker than a dog, well, i was hit with by a force so strong, that it sucked the air right outta of my lungs.

(SIDE ROAD - i have been laid low with a sinus infection that recruited my lungs, throat, and well, the rest of me to stage a sit-down strike. it would have been a lay-down strike but i had so much congestion that any time my head hit a pillow, i started to suffocate. . . so i spent waking and sleeping hours in a recliner for the most part. so the "sucked the air right outta of my lungs" while seemingly a gross exaggeration was in fact partly due to there not being a whole lot of air in my lungs to begin with.)

i was heart sick looking at him. so i did what mothers have done for time and all eternity - i lovingly force-fed tea, otc drugs, and popsicles down his throat with a strong showing of maternal nagging thrown in for good measure.

he is a grown man and i treated him like he was four. ok, maybe five.

I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF!!!!!!!!!

i would like to believe that my weakened physical condition led to a greater sensitivity to the realm of sentimentality - but let's face it. . . even though i broke myself of the spit on kleenex/wipe the kid's face habit years ago, i am a mom. a mom who has willingly and purposefully laid her super hero costume and her powers in moth balls. . . but in a moment of weakness, i gave into the POWER OF BEING NEEDED.

(SIDE ROAD - you moms-of-adult-children know what i mean - any time you go out in public and end up over-hearing the conversation between a child and his parent - your "kiddie lie detector" flips on and you catch yourself in "mommy law enforcement" mode. a lost and crying child and you're back there in less than a blink. siblings doing the rivalry thing, the dropping of a cherished stuffed toy, small, strident, high pitched whining for any reason and it is all she wrote. and AFTER feeling that surge of power, you smile to yourself realizing that small bender and breaker of rules and hearts is some else's responsibility today!)

although i meant well in my attempts at the art of healing, it wasn't until doctor who also meant well AND could back it up by writing him a prescription for antibiotics that he started feeling better.

well, this isn't the first time a doctor and i have joined forces on a case. . . and it probably won't be the last. but next time, i will behave myself.
ok, i will try to behave myself.
ok, i will promise to try to behave myself.
ok, this is useless. . .
i will just start praying that nobody in our family gets sick ever again. yeah, that should work. no temptation - no giving into temptation. . .

and um, to my family, i'm very sorry for past neurotic behavior. . . although you should all probably pray for good health as well. . . just in case. . .

Christmas Eve

at one of my jobs i have made it a habit to make sure i wish everyone a "Happy ________ " - filling in the blank with whatever day of the week it happens to be. so Happy Monday! Happy Tuesday! Happy Wednesday!. . . you get the point.

there are a couple of people, i think the same ones who despise the "good morning" ritual as being presumptuous (it IS morning. . . really to early to tell whether it is good or not), who have mentioned that "Happy Monday!" is a lie straight from the pit of Hell. there is nothing happy about having to be back at work. "Happy Friday!" is the exclamation point at the end of long, dry sentence. "Happy Monday!" is nothing more than a painful reminder of an entire workweek to come.

so i have borrowed from Christmas Eve's wonderment to help ease us into the next day. i now wait until after 1:00pm on the offending Monday so that i may wish a heart-felt "Happy Tuesday's Eve!" (this is also quite useful in tiresome weeks where Friday seems to be playing hide and seek. . . there is nothing like an entire Thursday afternoon of "Happy Friday's Eve!" to encourage all that Friday is inevitably on its way and SOON!"

i say all that to say this. . .
it is Christmas Eve today. for me, a small "catch your breath" moment before the big showy arrival of a people-packed, gift-giving, feast-laden Christmas day. i love attending the quieter, reflective 11:00pm church service. a group of people come together to welcome the Christ child with new candles and old songs and really old scripture - all speaking to our hearts about God's love come down at Christmas - technically, tomorrow.

so i wish you a very merry, Happy Christmas Eve!

p.s. tomorrow is FRIDAY AND CHRISTMAS!!!

Charlie Brown Christmas

couldn't have said it better than a cartoon. . .