This morning I moved right along getting ready to go to Bible study at Victory as I did not wish to repeat last week's tardiness. After I had showered and dressed for the day, I sat at the computer to check my e-mail and Facebook. My friend, Cindy, asked for a rain check for our dinner tonight as she had some family obligations to take care of. Rats! I was looking forward to it but can readjust accordingly. As I was writing her a note, Justin sent me a text message to make sure I remembered about Bible study and made our plans to meet at church. Before I left the property, I made certain that Connie saw me up and about!
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We had fewer in class today as some were traveling or at work. Our study was about End Times, my favorite but highly emotional subject. (Afterward, Justin asked me if it is almost time to sing "Jerusalem, the Golden", and said he could not wait to hear Rachel play it at church. That will be in November when the church year recognizes the End Times.) As it was my turn to read today, as hard as I tried not to, the tears ran and I choked momentarily, reading about how Jesus assured His disciples about "my house has many mansion.....I go to prepare a place for you....." Gets me every time!! We went around the table, upon reading the 23rd Psalm, emphasizing first the pronoun of God, and then again emphasizing the pronoun of "me or I" as it is read aloud. This is something good to memorize and repeat each morning, remembering the things "God" does for "me", for us.
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We also took turns explaining about the spiritual things in life we enjoy or have. Some mentioned general blessings, Justin mentioned hope in the original sense of the word, and then it was my turn. I started out saying that Justin had taken my word, but Pastor said I had to come up with my own. As if I wasn't!?!? Anyway, I talked about the comfort and assurance we have, the inner joy.....and before I could finish, Pastor said, "THAT was the word I was waiting to hear from you!" Justin muttered, "I knew you were going to say 'joy'..." At the very start of the class, we had a list of five things from which we were to choose how we felt about the future, ours as well as the world's. It began with optimistic, excited, uncertain, I don't care, or frightened. The first two people chose "uncertain" but when it got to me, I picked "excited" and Pastor said, "That's what I expected you to say!" Not that any of the answers were wrong, but the lesson goes on to show the "reasons for the hope that we have." So, between the "excitement" and the "inner joy", tears were shed. Not only me, either, as the two other ladies, in considering our future in heaven, got a bit choked up, as well. The men did their fair share of "throat clearing" as well, but we know what that's all about, don't we?
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After class Justin and I dropped his car off in the student parking lot and then went to have lunch at the Town Center Mall. I chose Mimi's Cafe where we dined el fresco. Justin mentioned that he wanted jambalaya, which brought us to the "Soup Nazi" episode of "Seinfeld", which he has now fallen in love with. A later bloomer than I am!!! He was not thrilled that this is attributed to Newman, though. Justin asked me to help him find the Old Navy store in the Mall because it did show up on his iPhone map. Sure, why not? He had an idea where it was and we both spotted it at the same time. He needed some new flip flops, he goes through them quickly, and then he had to look at few more things. Since he has lost now 75 pounds, Justin is all about clothes and style, but fortunately his tastes are yet simple, like Old Navy and American Eagle, the lower end of fashionable! What comes after these stores? I hate to think about it!
