This is not going well...

I haven't blogged in a while. And though there are many reasons, I chose to name this one. I am double blogging. In my role as member of the MNYS CYFM committee, I got asked to contribute to their blog on a weekly basis. Sometimes I fail, sometimes I make my goal. All this to say, my church stories are being funneled onto another site.

We are busy preparing for Christmas and I am finding a lot of joy in that. Our Advent focs has been "Light Shines in the Darkness." It has been good to think on it, teach on it, and in general, experience it. Each of our Sunday School students has made a luminary to go with the theme and they will be used to decorate the church on Christmas Eve. I've liked working on this project A LOT. Not only did it provide the teachers with an fun craft, all the needed supplies, and a lesson to go with it, but it gave me the real sense that we were together in this. Our Advent experience has been woven together, if you've attended a worship service, or a Sunday school class, you know our focs, you're a part of it. To me, the joy in that community is worth the million times I tripped over the glass jars in my office.

Funny things still happen here too. While I was folding a bunch of papers last week, I decided to watch some handbell ringing on You Tube. It turned into a full on distraction for both me and the Music director. there are some amazing choirs out there...and then there are others.

Last night I went to see a movie with my Dad. For those of you who don't know, he has a strange version of Parkinson's disease and tends to shake, especially at night. we decided I should hold our HUGE tub of popcorn so that he did not spill it. Halfway through the movie, we had eaten our way to the bottom, and Dad went to refill it. When he returned, I was in charge of holding it again because of the shaking. Much to my shock though, there was a really horrible part just then that involved a huge snake. i couldn't help it. I totally forgot about the popcorn and flung my hands in front of my face to protect my dreams, causing a rainstorm of popcorn to fall on me, my father, and anyone near us. Dad's comment; "I wouldn't have bought the popcorn if I had known you were going to throw it at the snake." Ha ha ha... Well, it my 2nd most interesting popcorn disaster ever. You'll have to talk to Mrs. Suzy Byville about the first.

I don't promise to blog here more regularly. But do promise to keep living my life, serving God and having fun.

Merry Christmas to all of You, Christ is the light in the darkness.

Sorry

I am sure that I do not have many dedicated followers, but none the less, I am sorry for not updating more often. I also feel the need to confess that I have been blogging elsewhere. I was asked to blog for our synod's youth ministry web page each Tuesday, and I have been trying to take that responsibility very seriously.

October was a very busy month, but it ended with a great Affirmation of Baptism service. It's always a long service, but I LOVE it. This year, 12 youth who have been working hard to make their faith personal and meaningful to them stood up and declared it their own. I loved it. Some of them read their faith statements, some read lessons, some took other roles in the service, but they all declared their faith. We as the church promised to support them and encourage them and to be with them. The "highlight" of our service is always the skit. The students use the gospel or one of the lessons as the base and jump from their creating a skit that expresses what God told them in that passage. One of the reasons I love it so much is that each class's personality comes out in the skit. They are never alike.

So...what happenes at Confirmation/Affirmation of Baptism at your church? How do your confirmands express their faith? How do you shape your service?

Time

Today might be the day I say something really stupid here. I am blogging because there is a two year old sleeping on my couch, and I can't move on in life until she wakes up. Together, we've been working on keeping each other busy. She makes a mess, I clean it up. She tells me it's time to eat, I fix her something. I tell her to clean up her toys, she does. I tell her to put on her socks, she spends a few minutes trying and then I take over.

One thing I did earlier today was deliver care packages of needed items to a family in the area. This is the first time I have done this for this particular organization, Love INC, and it was a bit intimidating at first. I am a person who tends to be very intimidated by new things. But this turned out to be very easy, even with the two year old. I got out of the car, got the bag and the toddler out of the care. Then I walked up someone's front steps, confirmed their name and address, and handed over the needed items. They were grateful, said thank you, and to have a nice day. I put the two year old back in the car and drove away. Why this ever felt intimidating is beyond me, but it was truly easy, and now I can't wait to deliver my second package tomorrow.

Later tonight, I am taking the toddler to a concert at Vassar College. I am not sure how this will go, but I really want to go to the concert, so I am being a selfish caregiver and taking the child anyway. The group preforming is a Haitian Boy's Choir called Les Petits Chanteurs. They are roaming the east coast singing to raise money for the rebuilding of their school. As I am obsessed with all things Haiti, I am attending, two year old or no two year old!

Baptism

First of all...I'm sorry for the huge lack of time between posts. I'm not as dedicated to blogging as I am to other things (farmville for instance).

I did have one truly fantastic dripping with "Holy Spiritness" experience I wanted to share with the world though. I recently took a group of youth from our church to Mexico for a week. I'll blog about those experiences when I have more time and dedication because I don't want to sell them short. The Sunday before we left, I asked the visiting Pastor (our main guy is on Sabbatical) to lead a very short sending prayer for us. She said she would be glad too. I wrote the prayer and handed it to her, not expecting much more of the event. When the time came, she gathered us at the baptismal font rather than at the communion rail as is typical in our church. I chalked this up to her now knowing how we do things. Before saying the prayer, she identified each member of the group by name, so she knew who she was praying for. I thought, COOL!!! She is into this, she is not just checking it off her list of things to do today. Then she said the prayer. Ready to walk away, I realized she wasn't done. She then told us each that we had been called by God, and used the water in the baptismal font to remind us of our baptism. TRULY AMAZING!!! I can not do it justice in words, but I was truly dripping in the very waters of my own baptism by the end of the experience. I truly thank the Pastor who made this experience so powerful for me, and I thank God, for the Grace that allows me to be one of his own children, living in those waters, every day.

Well, it's hard to know what to report about VBS this week. One of the the things that I love about it is that I feel like I am doing something everyday to bring the Gospel to folks. At our church, a lot of the VBS attendees are not members, so we have no idea if the things we share with them are brand new or if we are reinforcing soemthing. I actually like living in the mystery of that a little. Sharing it like it's new is not a bad thing, even when it's news we are used to. But moving on...

Going back to my "original" thought about doing something everyday to bring the Gospel to folks, I like this part, and I have mixed feelings about it. One thing I hope to have done every week is make two little boys and their parents feel welmcome, happy and comfortable at church. the boys were having separation "issues", Mom was stressing a bit about their behavior, and I hope that I was able to make them all comfortable. And that had nothing to do (directly) with the gospel. It was easy to tell these people needed some reassurance. Preschoolers don't hide their opinions very well, it was easy to see they needed help. Now, I wonder who is around every Sunday, or on another day, not showing their feelings and emotions, that needs our help to get a little more comfortable? How can we do that with out knowing specifically who these people. Welcoming people (and I assume make them feel warm & fuzzy) is indeed at the heart of the gospel, so, this should be a priority.

I continue....at my church, we have visitor's parking spots, greeters at the door, a very easy to use bulletin, communion instructions, and more signs directing people where to go than we have people sometimes. I think all of these things are good.

But, what are you doing? Let share ideas and think outside the box. How can we all be better at welcoming the strangers (and maybe the strange) among us?

A positive begger...

After posting a negative story last night, I went to bed a little upset that my first post was not more positive. Many of you know that my bed is not a place where I sleep, but rather one where I think, read, watch movies, or pretty much do anything but sleep. At any rate, I was thinking last night, and I remember someone else who wondered into our church parking lot looking for help. It's a much more positive story, and I am much happier to tell it.

A few weeks ago, we were having a BBQ on the front lawn to raise money for an upcoming mission trip. As we were cleaning up, a women wandered in. She told us she was a traveling preacher of the gospel and could we help her out with some gas. One of the men helping us clean up immediately offered to help her. She was so happy!!! Then we started talking. She wanted to know more about what we were raising money for, and we wanted to hear more about what she was doing. In the end, we gave her all of our left over food, and helped her with the gas she needed. It was a really positive experience. One of the cool things about it was that many of our youth were a part of what happened that day. They got to hear her story, and be a part of our response to her needs.

I am glad that I had this thought last night. It helps me put balance on the other experience.

Our "No Cash" Policy

Policies are a good thing to have. But only if you are going to stick by them. Last week, a woman pulled into our parking lot and demanded cash. She said she needed it to pay for tolls to get somewhere. I offered her directions on a non-toll road. Then she demanded cash for food. I offered her anything out of our food pantry she wanted, but explained that we had a no cash policy. Then, she wanted cash for gas. I offered to go with her to gas station and purchase it with my credit card. She left the parking lot, enraged that that I would not help her.

I am fairly sure that that woman did not exactly leave with a picture of Christ in her mind, and I did not manage to share the Gospel with her. Was this my failed attempt?

Not exactly an upbeat posting for my first one out there, but, 3 1/2 years of working at a church has taught me that something funny always comes along. VBS week is coming, if there is not a funny story there, it's time to pack up.