Unexpected blessings...

This afternoon I went to visit some folks in the local long-term care facility - all have some degree of dementia. At the end of my visit with one delightful 80 year old, who was quite out-of-touch with time and events , I asked if I could say a little prayer with her. She said "oh, yes, please", and took my hand. I thanked God for her and asked blessings on her and those who take care of her...and said "Amen". The instant I stopped speaking, she took over, and prayed the most beautiful prayer for me - inviting the Holy Spirit to fill me and bless my work! I was completely blown away. Unexpected gifts are so special...

Mysteries...

So, just what it is that happens to us, sane responsible people, when we get behind the wheel of a car in the country? There is some kind of perverse 'thrill' that sets in, and our foot goes down on that accelerator, and we crank up the music and ... we're OFF! Is it Spring in the air? Is it a natural 'high' that comes from doing work we enjoy? Is it some subconscious return to adolescence, connected with getting into the driver's seat of a car and turning on the ignition? Power? I honestly don't know, but it feels wild and crazy (and a little irresponsible) and takes me back to very deep-seated memories...

I'm at home in the country! *Smile*............

Reading Scripture…

You just have to love those Freudian slips! The gentleman who read the lesson from 1 Corinthians this morning managed to warn us against “sexual immortality” – apparently it wasn’t something they had in Corinth, cause 23,000 of them died in one day! On the other hand, did they die trying to prove they were sexually immortal? ;)

Sunday #2…and still no rotten tomatoes!

This morning I got my very own key to my very first church! It’s dear and simple, with a lovely stained glass window…and organ speakers in desperate need of attention. They crackle and wheeze, and of course the organist plays quietly, cause she never knows when it’s going to hit a really wheezy spot. Peter has already been poking around, and has an e-mail out to a friend in Calgary who has some experience with speakers and Allen electronic organs.

It’s what I call the ‘poor cousin’ syndrome. One of the previous pastors had a friend…whose church was getting a bigger and better organ. And so they thought they could help out a smaller church… and send them their now superfluous organ. Well, I don’t know if you’ve ever been given someone’s superfluous something, but … either it’s already out of date when they pass it on to you, or it never worked/fit very well in the first place, or in the case of poor, rural parishes…there’s no one around to maintain or fix it. The organist swears she would rather have back the old pump organ, and I really don’t blame her. Our uncultured ears don’t really appreciate the difference among all those fancy stops anyway, and two manuals seems almost too much for two hands…and then you throw in some foot pedals…and you probably get the picture.

So Peter is off to gather information (you gotta love those enneagram 5s) and I’m going to try to figure out how to convince them to get rid of all those tattered song books and psalm books and buy a few Voices United…and hope they’ll still like me (that’s not my #2 speaking, is it?) when all’s said and done. We’re ready to take on another week – out to pastor!