I must write this stuff down while I think about it because now that I am 59 years old, my thoughts and memories get away from me!
Some comments, stories, quips, thoughts shared or experienced when on vacation in my hometown:
My sister, Lynn, attended a ladies' Bible study on Saturday morning which is titled "God is In The Laundry Room". The question was asked of the group, "Do you know anyone who is joyful all the time?" and Lynn said she thought of me. Oh, that it WAS true (all the time) but I certainly appreciated hearing that she thinks of me that way. I can be annoying to my people sometimes...
I was blessed and privileged to experience multiple worship services at First German. My appreciation for them increases as the years go by. The services were lovely, the music extraordinary, the sermons well done, and the time well-spent. "'tis good, Lord, to be here."
The Sunday after Christmas, Holy Innocents Sunday, we were able to sing a hymn which had been translated by a friend of mine, Pastor Pete Prange. As we left the church, I thanked Pastor Schaefer for including this hymn and he said, "Oh, yeah, I thought of you when I put that in there..." knowing that Pete is special to me. Aw, so nice of him!
The Sunday after Christmas, Holy Innocents Sunday, we were able to sing a hymn which had been translated by a friend of mine, Pastor Pete Prange. As we left the church, I thanked Pastor Schaefer for including this hymn and he said, "Oh, yeah, I thought of you when I put that in there..." knowing that Pete is special to me. Aw, so nice of him!
One particular sermon struck me and others as Pastor Hoppe used a story in his. In a dream, a pastor was preaching to his congregation but no words came out; the members were singing but there was no sound; the organ was playing but no notes were heard. All this pastor could hear was the voice of a child singing "Amazing Grace". One voice. When he woke up, he wondered what in the world that meant and God answered him, basically, "You are all just going through the motions of serving me...." Ouch! Except for the child who loved Jesus with all her heart and let nothing get in the way of that. Oh, for the faith of a child and her expression of it! May our words and service not be only going through the motions...
Same sermon, different thought: "How far would you go to worship?" Pastor read some statistics about how far most members travel to get to church, the majority less than 30 minutes to commute for worship. Part of his sermon had the words about how far would one go to find their joy, which put me in mind of Linda's and my experience several years ago watching The Bucket List in the movie theater here in FL. Oh my! I go 1200 miles for my joy!
While here at Mom's I got a couple of birthday cards in the mail. One came to Mom's attention with her apartment number on it, and one came addressed to me only at her address, no apt. number on it. Lynn handed it to me and said, "The mailman must know you..." How funny is that???
Also, Mom got a phone call from an attorney this afternoon (yes, weird, I know!) who is resolving the estate of someone who was formerly related to two of my sisters. That's a long story but the interesting part was that Jean had troubles finding the right spelling for Mom's last name. Her husband, a retired judge, told her, "Well, I know Kim Lahaie Day...." Jean wondered if we went to school together or something, which we did not, but somehow me knows me. I did not appear before him in court either so get that thought out of your head! It is likely from Facebook or we might have built their home many years ago---most likely it's Facebook. Love it!
This is an older remark, but it's still funny---Mom, Lynn, and Linda were dining at Harborside, one of Linda's and my favorite places to dine. The waiter came back with their credit cards and was trying to pronounce the names on the cards as he handed them back. Linda's caused him to stumble, he did okay saying Lynn's last name, and when he got to Mom's card he said, "Oh, are you Kim's mother?" They all just laughed as Mom was hesitant to admit (as she usually is!) that yes, she is my mother. He told them he is the manager of the Facebook account at Harborside and knows I check in on their page every day and sometimes 'order' my meal for dinner. Their menu makes my mouth water! My poor mom just can't get away from me, though she is 1200 miles away...I am like a tar baby you cannot shake!
While here at Mom's I got a couple of birthday cards in the mail. One came to Mom's attention with her apartment number on it, and one came addressed to me only at her address, no apt. number on it. Lynn handed it to me and said, "The mailman must know you..." How funny is that???
Also, Mom got a phone call from an attorney this afternoon (yes, weird, I know!) who is resolving the estate of someone who was formerly related to two of my sisters. That's a long story but the interesting part was that Jean had troubles finding the right spelling for Mom's last name. Her husband, a retired judge, told her, "Well, I know Kim Lahaie Day...." Jean wondered if we went to school together or something, which we did not, but somehow me knows me. I did not appear before him in court either so get that thought out of your head! It is likely from Facebook or we might have built their home many years ago---most likely it's Facebook. Love it!
This is an older remark, but it's still funny---Mom, Lynn, and Linda were dining at Harborside, one of Linda's and my favorite places to dine. The waiter came back with their credit cards and was trying to pronounce the names on the cards as he handed them back. Linda's caused him to stumble, he did okay saying Lynn's last name, and when he got to Mom's card he said, "Oh, are you Kim's mother?" They all just laughed as Mom was hesitant to admit (as she usually is!) that yes, she is my mother. He told them he is the manager of the Facebook account at Harborside and knows I check in on their page every day and sometimes 'order' my meal for dinner. Their menu makes my mouth water! My poor mom just can't get away from me, though she is 1200 miles away...I am like a tar baby you cannot shake!
