🙂 God’s word will stand forever. Such a blessing! Psalm 37 has been a real blessing to me lately.
🙂 Visiting my daughter and two of our grandsons. Hearing her and my husband doing music together again.
🙂 Going places we cannot go to at home. We recently attended two tapings of the radio show, “Music City Roots”. One of the acts was Joe Mullins and The Radio Ramblers. We enjoy them, but also enjoy hearing the other acts; many that we would never be exposed to at home.
🙂 Just got an almost-great photo of a flying blue jay. I’ve been trying for months, and have gotten some pretty good ones, but nothing really great.
🙂 A husband who is willing to play with a few of my photos and make them sharper or give them better color. (I cropped this one into a vertical shot, but I’ll still probably send it to AJ.)
🙂 Our younger daughter is proving to be a very valuable worker. She agreed to be on call for occasional substitutions at the job she left a couple months ago; they didn’t take her up on that until this week, but she got two shifts this week, plus one or two next week . . . and also got overtime hours with her primary job, the career-track one. That will come in handy for school expenses.
🙂 My husband is finally feeling better after several weeks of low pep. Good reports, so far, on my father-in-law too.
🙂 A baby bluebird with a crippled foot that was in our yard earlier this year seems to have survived, since the photos of a young bluebird I took on the fence yesterday show that crippled foot in one or two photos–but it has gotten good enough at compensating that there is no hint of any problem in most of the photos. (This was one of the youngsters raised in our yard, so I’m rooting for them all to survive and have babies next year, though of course this one may or may not be healthy enough to live and reproduce healthy babies. So far, so good.) The toes are all curled in, so basically its foot acts as a stump to balance on, not something that can grip.
😦 Still have lingering cold symptoms, but no where near bad enough to stay home “sick” and definitely just the tail end of the cold, NOT an early, contagious phase. But it turns out the reporter next to me is something of a germa-phobe, so she pointedly put a large container of hand sanitizer on the wall between our semi-cubicles.
😦 It does have me wondering, though, if I should go to church tomorrow since I don’t want to do anything that might affect my friend Norma whose surgery appears tentatively to be set for Monday. I don’t think I’m contagious, it’s a sniffle and a sneeze now and again. But maybe out of an abundance of caution … ?
😦 Frustrating week generally — including a story I did about a lost parrot that was reunited with its owner after 4 years, only then to have the owner ask us not to run the photo he happily posed for — or use his name — due to some family legal drama. We split the difference, didn’t run his pic but did use his name.
🙂 God’s faithfulness. Always, in all circumstances, even when our own faith flags.
🙂 Evelyn & her husband (EYG) got their dog back, after a very distressing evening thinking they might never see him again.
😦 R called around 11:30 this morning to say he would pick up F for a couple hours in about 10 minutes, . F was all excited, as we got him ready to go. (This is Emily’s long school day, so it’s nice to get a break now & then.) At 12:20, R called to say he wouldn’t be here until around the time Emily gets home (4:00). F was so disappointed, & looked so sad.
🙂 After lunch, he was kind of cuddly for a while. I hope he always knows his Mimi (& Papa) love him & are always here for him. (Of course, we cannot be here forever, but while we are here, he can count on us.)
🙂 Privileged & blessed to be able to provide a secure, stable, supportive home for our adorable grandson. We know he will suffer fallout over his parents’ situation, & with his dad being the way he is, but we hope being with us, & our prayers for him, will mitigate some of that.
Kare – What happened to the second kitty you had a while ago? They both had names that began with K, & one was hit by a car, I think. What happened to the other one?
😦 Just heard my mom fell again a couple of days ago. She is ok, but got stitches in her head and her lip glued. My dad called an ambulance and used the emergency button he has for himself. Usually he has that hanging somewhere out of reach. 😦 The EMT was there in 5 minutes or so. That is nice to know, since they live in the country. They think it might have a been low blood pressure thing, which is not unusual in her family.
Well, E didn’t let R take F because by the time he was going to, his “time” was up. His sister is in town, & he wanted to have F with them when they went out to dinner. He’s known for two weeks that his sister would be here, but he didn’t mention anything ahead of time to E.
She said he could have F overnight Sunday into Monday morning, while she is working. He said he’d talk to her later. I am praying that he does take him overnight Sunday, because Monday is the day I have to get up extra-early, usually after not getting to sleep until late (even though I go to bed on time).
F was very disappointed, but Papa bringing home Chinese food for dinner sure cheered him up. This little boy loves Chinese food! 🙂
Well, we’re not sure what happened to the other kitty – coyotes, perhaps? These ones we’ve named Kchu and Kiwi. The Kchu sounds like a sneeze – I named him after a very outgoing young lady I work with – she didn’t mind 🙂 (it’s her nickname)
🙂 Speaking of food — and something that was mentioned here earlier in the week — I got to write about Poke yesterday. They’re having a ‘sustainable seafood expo’ Sunday at the port with some celebrity chefs.
🙂 Becca’s new school and for finally being all better from the stomach bug.
🙂 Next weekend, I’m meeting one of my oldest and dearest friends at our ranchette in Centerville for some much-needed girl time. We usually get together for a weekend in the Fall, which is a tradition I love. We still stay up way too late talking, as if we were teenagers. We’ve been friends since seventh grade and have been through all the big stuff together. I’m so thankful for old friends.
😦 L.’s very negative attitude, especially in relation to God. She is angry at Him, feeling He never answers her prayers and must be against her. This, of course, breaks my heart. She had a vibrant faith until about seven months ago. I don’t know what has caused her change of heart. I know this isn’t the prayer thread, but I’d sure appreciate any and all prayers for her. She almost refused to go to church today, until I said she’d lose her phone for a week if she didn’t. She was angry, but chose to get ready. Anyway… I fear I’ve done something terribly wrong as a parent and have been a stumbling block in some way. I’ve asked God to reveal my shortcomings and show me how to reach her; it feels like the girl I’ve known since birth is slipping away. She’s not misbehaving in any way other than rude responses/attitude towards us. She behaves in school, has good manners outside the home, and isn’t involved in “partying” or boys. In many ways, we’re fortunate. But, her comments about God are filled with anger, and she seems to think He’s treated her unfairly.
😦 My mom’s health continues to decline. She needs to use a walker, but refuses. The bottoms of her feet are numb, probably caused by a B12 deficiency due to her chronic alcoholism, so she holds on to walls and furniture for balance. She’s already had multiple falls, none of which have resulted in any major damage, miraculously.
🙂 My husband: I’ve been having frequent migraines lately and he’s been so empathetic and helpful. He is a good man; it’ll be sixteen years in March, and I thank God for keeping us together. We’ve had some rough years, but we’ve been in a sweet spot for the last three, and it’s been glorious.
🙂 My two daughters. God richly blessed me with each of them. They bring such joy to my life–heartache, too, sometimes–but I didn’t know you could love another person quite so intensely until I became a mother. It’s a unique bond that I feel so privileged to experience.
Ann, praying for your daughter. There are three things that come to mind:
1. What kind of friends is she hanging around with at school? There are some very vocal, opinionated teenage girls who gather followers because they sound like they know what they are talking about – I know, I heard them in college (some 1st year students were only 17), pontificating about how evil religion was, very bitter and insidious. In those 7 months, has she acquired a new friend that she quotes a lot?
2. From what you have said, L. is fourteen/fifteen? At that age, the brain is doing a lot of rewiring, and between that, changing hormones, and physical growth, emotions leap around wildly without any real cause. Sometimes, teenagers tend to lash out most at those they hold dearest. Also, their perception of reality changes as they become more aware of the world around them – she may be desperate to prove that God does really exist by having her prayers answered.
3. What kind of things is she being taught at youth group or Sunday School? This is a hard one; but there is a lot of soft, prosperity gospel type drivel which is taught to church youth, usually by misguided teachers attempting to make being a Christian look cool. At some point in the Christian life, we have to realize that God doesn’t exist for our benefit. If L. is starting to realize this, but she is hearing from the youth leader that God just wants us to follow our dreams – she will probably be confused and angry.
Finally, don’t discount the possibility that there could be something she wants to avoid at church. Sadly, predators are known to target churches, because church people tend to be very trusting with their children. This is not to make you paranoid, but just be aware.
Good things to think about Roscuro. I was wondering about the possibility of molestation. Sad that has to even come to mind. However, many children never report it or tell anyone and anger is common. Lashing out on those ‘safe’ is common at that age, at any rate. I would sure want to get to the bottom of why God has been so bad to her in her opinion. Such a view of God and His way is wrong, but that may be beside the point. She needs to know she has the right (and need) to question what she has been taught. It is necessary for faith in Jesus to become her own. How much freedom you give her as far as attending church etc. is up to the parents, however.
Thank you 6 Arrows. Ann, we have some of the same issues as your mom the falling. In this case, my dad was there to see and there was nothing obvious she could have done to prevent it. I am afraid we are in that time of life when our parent’s health is going down hill. It is difficult to know how much to intervene. It is made more difficult with some sibling issues and a different world view. Still, I am trusting God will give wisdom and strength to deal with it all.
🙂 Amazing morning at church, excellent sermon, got to stay for the adult SS/Q&A (my friend Norma ‘fades’ pretty quickly after the service so we leave the typically, but Norma decided to stay home as she has a big day tomorrow — surgery — more on the prayer thread tomorrow). And after SS, some good conversation with a couple girlfriends there I don’t talk to much anymore but need to reconnect with more. I talked to one of them about maybe aiming for a regular time just to touch base maybe each week, so that’s still in discussion logistics-wise.
🙂 Hymnals!!! Yay!!!!! We’re finally getting hymnals in a few weeks. I’m not sure why it’s taken so long, but the words to the songs we sing each week are now just printed in our weekly bulletin (but no music).
😦 They’ve put up digital wall screens, mainly to use for classes (we have one coming up on the Westminster Confession of Faith) but also presumably for some pickup use to print out longer verses — or songs that may not be in the hymnals — during the service. A few of dislike the screens a lot. 😦
🙂 And, after missing last week, I got to church today to find that our pastor has grown a beard. Crazy. Screens on the wall, a beard on the pastor and hymnals on order. I missed a lot!
😦 Talked to a friend yesterday who’s trying to help Jane out — the woman I put on the prayer thread the other day — and apparently her adult son (whom she’s only met 6 times, he’s in Wisconsin and is a CEO, quite accomplished and very nice apparently, has a family) was out to see her this past week. Friend said he has been somewhat taken aback by ‘mom.’ One of her requests was that her some 92,000 tweets over the past few years be collected and published in book form.
My curiosity got the best of me so I looked at her Twitter account. I don’t blush easily, I went through college in the 1970s and am exposed to plenty just as a journalist. But good grief. Even I was stunned by the blasphemy, four-letter words, blatantly sexual posts (including as part of her official ‘profile’).
😦 It’s just so sad to think someone would want to leave something that vile as a ‘legacy.’ She does have more than 2,000 “followers,” many of them other offensive and mean-spirited atheists.
😦 I’ve known lots of atheists (probably most of those I work with for starters, many are, of course, quite nice & decent people). But I’ve never personally known such a hostile, angry, vicious atheist or (to put it bluntly) God-hater. It’s just so disturbing to get a glimpse into people like that, who are so in-your-face with their vitriol.
And for your mom, Kathaleena. Low blood pressure/fainting spells run in our family, too. My mother, one of my daughters, and I have all passed out before. It happened to me twice, and on two other occasions that I’m aware of, my blood pressure went down to the 80s over 40s, making me feel pretty woozy, though I didn’t faint those times.
Donna – Why don’t you like the wall screens? We have them at our church.
As a fairly young man (40), our pastor likes technology. This morning he referred to our entering in to worship as “downloading” God’s Spirit into ours. 🙂
Karen, I think for many who came from churches that maybe over-used technological media (which has become very common in the past couple decades), the idea of going back to the basics of a simpler corporate worship that’s not so reflective of “the world” has been treasured.
The woman I was talking to about it today is a public school teacher who said the whole culture has become so bombarded with digital “screens.” Screens everywhere, she says. She reacted more strongly than I did at the sight of them suddenly hanging there on the wall (I knew this because she was sitting right behind me in SS murmuring about them) … 😉
I realize technology is a very useful tool — and I have no doubt that our use of them will be low-key, for projecting longer Scripture verses included in the sermon, for evening classes and sometimes for song words.
But I suppose I’m one who’s always yearned for a simpler worship experience — definitely one without all the flashes and videos and bells & whistles.
We’re certainly not anti-technology as a church, a good number of our members are very active on social media, our pastor makes good use of the newer mediums for theological discussions. Many members now bring their digital tablets to church for Bible access.
But for corporate worship, we’ve always aimed for a liturgy that’s focused on Word and Sacrament, with quiet times — and just not a lot of worldly pizzazz.
And I guess part of the irony in our case was that this church — before it joined the Presbyterian denomination maybe 15 years ago (before I was there) — spent its first 15 years as an independent evangelical church, fully embracing the trends of big screens, pop Christian music, etc.
It began to dial all of that back after the elders spent a year in serious theological study and the decision was made to join the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
The screen and band platform went by the wayside. The pulpit and Bible became the focus of the room, the musicians moved to the side on the floor level. The Lord’s Table became a weekly observance.
So I suppose it strikes some of us who know the church history as sort of going back (although I don’t think that’s the case — it’s more of a visual reaction to just seeing those 2 black screens suddenly hanging on the front wall on either side of the cross … Just doesn’t look right to a lot of us for now).
But then I’m someone who doesn’t even like seeing a flat screen TV on a wall in a home, I’ve always thought TV screens were ugly and ought to be hidden when not in use. 🙂
So part of it for me is also just unappealing visually. Just seems rather jarring, but I suppose we’ll get used to it. Although I kept thinking today “how can we at least cover them up when they’re not being used? …”
Wandering Views 
🙂 God’s word will stand forever. Such a blessing! Psalm 37 has been a real blessing to me lately.
🙂 Visiting my daughter and two of our grandsons. Hearing her and my husband doing music together again.
🙂 Going places we cannot go to at home. We recently attended two tapings of the radio show, “Music City Roots”. One of the acts was Joe Mullins and The Radio Ramblers. We enjoy them, but also enjoy hearing the other acts; many that we would never be exposed to at home.
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🙂 Just got an almost-great photo of a flying blue jay. I’ve been trying for months, and have gotten some pretty good ones, but nothing really great.
🙂 A husband who is willing to play with a few of my photos and make them sharper or give them better color. (I cropped this one into a vertical shot, but I’ll still probably send it to AJ.)
🙂 Our younger daughter is proving to be a very valuable worker. She agreed to be on call for occasional substitutions at the job she left a couple months ago; they didn’t take her up on that until this week, but she got two shifts this week, plus one or two next week . . . and also got overtime hours with her primary job, the career-track one. That will come in handy for school expenses.
🙂 My husband is finally feeling better after several weeks of low pep. Good reports, so far, on my father-in-law too.
🙂 A baby bluebird with a crippled foot that was in our yard earlier this year seems to have survived, since the photos of a young bluebird I took on the fence yesterday show that crippled foot in one or two photos–but it has gotten good enough at compensating that there is no hint of any problem in most of the photos. (This was one of the youngsters raised in our yard, so I’m rooting for them all to survive and have babies next year, though of course this one may or may not be healthy enough to live and reproduce healthy babies. So far, so good.) The toes are all curled in, so basically its foot acts as a stump to balance on, not something that can grip.
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😦 Feeling very sad this week.
🙂 The note of encouragement God prompted my dear friend to send me.
🙂 Knowing God love me, & cares about our situation, & that He loves our daughters & grandson even more than we do.
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😦 Still have lingering cold symptoms, but no where near bad enough to stay home “sick” and definitely just the tail end of the cold, NOT an early, contagious phase. But it turns out the reporter next to me is something of a germa-phobe, so she pointedly put a large container of hand sanitizer on the wall between our semi-cubicles.
😦 It does have me wondering, though, if I should go to church tomorrow since I don’t want to do anything that might affect my friend Norma whose surgery appears tentatively to be set for Monday. I don’t think I’m contagious, it’s a sniffle and a sneeze now and again. But maybe out of an abundance of caution … ?
😦 Frustrating week generally — including a story I did about a lost parrot that was reunited with its owner after 4 years, only then to have the owner ask us not to run the photo he happily posed for — or use his name — due to some family legal drama. We split the difference, didn’t run his pic but did use his name.
🙂 God’s faithfulness. Always, in all circumstances, even when our own faith flags.
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🙂 Evelyn & her husband (EYG) got their dog back, after a very distressing evening thinking they might never see him again.
😦 R called around 11:30 this morning to say he would pick up F for a couple hours in about 10 minutes, . F was all excited, as we got him ready to go. (This is Emily’s long school day, so it’s nice to get a break now & then.) At 12:20, R called to say he wouldn’t be here until around the time Emily gets home (4:00). F was so disappointed, & looked so sad.
🙂 After lunch, he was kind of cuddly for a while. I hope he always knows his Mimi (& Papa) love him & are always here for him. (Of course, we cannot be here forever, but while we are here, he can count on us.)
🙂 Privileged & blessed to be able to provide a secure, stable, supportive home for our adorable grandson. We know he will suffer fallout over his parents’ situation, & with his dad being the way he is, but we hope being with us, & our prayers for him, will mitigate some of that.
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🙂 Long Thanksgiving Weekend
🙂 Daughter up for a visit
😦 Son can’t come
🙂 Husband invited his co-worker and family for Thanksgiving Dinner on Monday – AGH!!!
🙂 I’m looking forward to meeting the wife and kids – they are all from Romania
🙂 Got the most obvious windows cleaned today – still need to get the rest done 😦 along with a ton of laundry and other housework
😦 Lots of work to get done before guests arrive
🙂 Going to try to make cranberry sauce today – hope it turns out. If not, I’ll buy some tomorrow
🙂 Still loving my job
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🙂 2 new barn buddies cats are currently living in our shop – 1 is very, very friendly and the other wants to be but is quite skittish.
🙂 The friendly one is not even bothered by our dog – sweet! They are both rescues from a hoarding situation.
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😦 The cold still lingers.
🙂 Finished the second unit of my course and got a good mark.
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😦 my legs are covered with bites again. Oh no Trying to figure out what to do this time. I washed all my bed lines and hung them in the sun.
🙂 new students are settling in well
🙂 we are finding creative ways to do without the market. They will be running a van to town that is five miles away
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Kare – What happened to the second kitty you had a while ago? They both had names that began with K, & one was hit by a car, I think. What happened to the other one?
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😦 Just heard my mom fell again a couple of days ago. She is ok, but got stitches in her head and her lip glued. My dad called an ambulance and used the emergency button he has for himself. Usually he has that hanging somewhere out of reach. 😦 The EMT was there in 5 minutes or so. That is nice to know, since they live in the country. They think it might have a been low blood pressure thing, which is not unusual in her family.
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Well, E didn’t let R take F because by the time he was going to, his “time” was up. His sister is in town, & he wanted to have F with them when they went out to dinner. He’s known for two weeks that his sister would be here, but he didn’t mention anything ahead of time to E.
She said he could have F overnight Sunday into Monday morning, while she is working. He said he’d talk to her later. I am praying that he does take him overnight Sunday, because Monday is the day I have to get up extra-early, usually after not getting to sleep until late (even though I go to bed on time).
F was very disappointed, but Papa bringing home Chinese food for dinner sure cheered him up. This little boy loves Chinese food! 🙂
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Am I the only one who doesn’t like chinese food? You eat it and are never full.
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Well, we’re not sure what happened to the other kitty – coyotes, perhaps? These ones we’ve named Kchu and Kiwi. The Kchu sounds like a sneeze – I named him after a very outgoing young lady I work with – she didn’t mind 🙂 (it’s her nickname)
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I like some Chinese food (without MSG), but it doesn’t fill me up, either, Bob.
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Sorry to hear about your mom, Kathaleena.
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I don’t like Chinese food.
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🙂 Speaking of food — and something that was mentioned here earlier in the week — I got to write about Poke yesterday. They’re having a ‘sustainable seafood expo’ Sunday at the port with some celebrity chefs.
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🙂 Becca’s new school and for finally being all better from the stomach bug.
🙂 Next weekend, I’m meeting one of my oldest and dearest friends at our ranchette in Centerville for some much-needed girl time. We usually get together for a weekend in the Fall, which is a tradition I love. We still stay up way too late talking, as if we were teenagers. We’ve been friends since seventh grade and have been through all the big stuff together. I’m so thankful for old friends.
😦 L.’s very negative attitude, especially in relation to God. She is angry at Him, feeling He never answers her prayers and must be against her. This, of course, breaks my heart. She had a vibrant faith until about seven months ago. I don’t know what has caused her change of heart. I know this isn’t the prayer thread, but I’d sure appreciate any and all prayers for her. She almost refused to go to church today, until I said she’d lose her phone for a week if she didn’t. She was angry, but chose to get ready. Anyway… I fear I’ve done something terribly wrong as a parent and have been a stumbling block in some way. I’ve asked God to reveal my shortcomings and show me how to reach her; it feels like the girl I’ve known since birth is slipping away. She’s not misbehaving in any way other than rude responses/attitude towards us. She behaves in school, has good manners outside the home, and isn’t involved in “partying” or boys. In many ways, we’re fortunate. But, her comments about God are filled with anger, and she seems to think He’s treated her unfairly.
😦 My mom’s health continues to decline. She needs to use a walker, but refuses. The bottoms of her feet are numb, probably caused by a B12 deficiency due to her chronic alcoholism, so she holds on to walls and furniture for balance. She’s already had multiple falls, none of which have resulted in any major damage, miraculously.
🙂 My husband: I’ve been having frequent migraines lately and he’s been so empathetic and helpful. He is a good man; it’ll be sixteen years in March, and I thank God for keeping us together. We’ve had some rough years, but we’ve been in a sweet spot for the last three, and it’s been glorious.
🙂 My two daughters. God richly blessed me with each of them. They bring such joy to my life–heartache, too, sometimes–but I didn’t know you could love another person quite so intensely until I became a mother. It’s a unique bond that I feel so privileged to experience.
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Ann, praying for your daughter. There are three things that come to mind:
1. What kind of friends is she hanging around with at school? There are some very vocal, opinionated teenage girls who gather followers because they sound like they know what they are talking about – I know, I heard them in college (some 1st year students were only 17), pontificating about how evil religion was, very bitter and insidious. In those 7 months, has she acquired a new friend that she quotes a lot?
2. From what you have said, L. is fourteen/fifteen? At that age, the brain is doing a lot of rewiring, and between that, changing hormones, and physical growth, emotions leap around wildly without any real cause. Sometimes, teenagers tend to lash out most at those they hold dearest. Also, their perception of reality changes as they become more aware of the world around them – she may be desperate to prove that God does really exist by having her prayers answered.
3. What kind of things is she being taught at youth group or Sunday School? This is a hard one; but there is a lot of soft, prosperity gospel type drivel which is taught to church youth, usually by misguided teachers attempting to make being a Christian look cool. At some point in the Christian life, we have to realize that God doesn’t exist for our benefit. If L. is starting to realize this, but she is hearing from the youth leader that God just wants us to follow our dreams – she will probably be confused and angry.
Finally, don’t discount the possibility that there could be something she wants to avoid at church. Sadly, predators are known to target churches, because church people tend to be very trusting with their children. This is not to make you paranoid, but just be aware.
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Thanks for your thoughts, Roscuro. And, especially, your prayers for L. She is fifteen.
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Good things to think about Roscuro. I was wondering about the possibility of molestation. Sad that has to even come to mind. However, many children never report it or tell anyone and anger is common. Lashing out on those ‘safe’ is common at that age, at any rate. I would sure want to get to the bottom of why God has been so bad to her in her opinion. Such a view of God and His way is wrong, but that may be beside the point. She needs to know she has the right (and need) to question what she has been taught. It is necessary for faith in Jesus to become her own. How much freedom you give her as far as attending church etc. is up to the parents, however.
Thank you 6 Arrows. Ann, we have some of the same issues as your mom the falling. In this case, my dad was there to see and there was nothing obvious she could have done to prevent it. I am afraid we are in that time of life when our parent’s health is going down hill. It is difficult to know how much to intervene. It is made more difficult with some sibling issues and a different world view. Still, I am trusting God will give wisdom and strength to deal with it all.
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🙂 Amazing morning at church, excellent sermon, got to stay for the adult SS/Q&A (my friend Norma ‘fades’ pretty quickly after the service so we leave the typically, but Norma decided to stay home as she has a big day tomorrow — surgery — more on the prayer thread tomorrow). And after SS, some good conversation with a couple girlfriends there I don’t talk to much anymore but need to reconnect with more. I talked to one of them about maybe aiming for a regular time just to touch base maybe each week, so that’s still in discussion logistics-wise.
🙂 Hymnals!!! Yay!!!!! We’re finally getting hymnals in a few weeks. I’m not sure why it’s taken so long, but the words to the songs we sing each week are now just printed in our weekly bulletin (but no music).
😦 They’ve put up digital wall screens, mainly to use for classes (we have one coming up on the Westminster Confession of Faith) but also presumably for some pickup use to print out longer verses — or songs that may not be in the hymnals — during the service. A few of dislike the screens a lot. 😦
🙂 And, after missing last week, I got to church today to find that our pastor has grown a beard. Crazy. Screens on the wall, a beard on the pastor and hymnals on order. I missed a lot!
😦 Talked to a friend yesterday who’s trying to help Jane out — the woman I put on the prayer thread the other day — and apparently her adult son (whom she’s only met 6 times, he’s in Wisconsin and is a CEO, quite accomplished and very nice apparently, has a family) was out to see her this past week. Friend said he has been somewhat taken aback by ‘mom.’ One of her requests was that her some 92,000 tweets over the past few years be collected and published in book form.
My curiosity got the best of me so I looked at her Twitter account. I don’t blush easily, I went through college in the 1970s and am exposed to plenty just as a journalist. But good grief. Even I was stunned by the blasphemy, four-letter words, blatantly sexual posts (including as part of her official ‘profile’).
😦 It’s just so sad to think someone would want to leave something that vile as a ‘legacy.’ She does have more than 2,000 “followers,” many of them other offensive and mean-spirited atheists.
😦 I’ve known lots of atheists (probably most of those I work with for starters, many are, of course, quite nice & decent people). But I’ve never personally known such a hostile, angry, vicious atheist or (to put it bluntly) God-hater. It’s just so disturbing to get a glimpse into people like that, who are so in-your-face with their vitriol.
Lord, have mercy.
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Praying for L., Ann.
And for your mom, Kathaleena. Low blood pressure/fainting spells run in our family, too. My mother, one of my daughters, and I have all passed out before. It happened to me twice, and on two other occasions that I’m aware of, my blood pressure went down to the 80s over 40s, making me feel pretty woozy, though I didn’t faint those times.
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🙂 Nice 60th Anniversary celebration for my husband’s parents today.
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Donna – Why don’t you like the wall screens? We have them at our church.
As a fairly young man (40), our pastor likes technology. This morning he referred to our entering in to worship as “downloading” God’s Spirit into ours. 🙂
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Karen, I think for many who came from churches that maybe over-used technological media (which has become very common in the past couple decades), the idea of going back to the basics of a simpler corporate worship that’s not so reflective of “the world” has been treasured.
The woman I was talking to about it today is a public school teacher who said the whole culture has become so bombarded with digital “screens.” Screens everywhere, she says. She reacted more strongly than I did at the sight of them suddenly hanging there on the wall (I knew this because she was sitting right behind me in SS murmuring about them) … 😉
I realize technology is a very useful tool — and I have no doubt that our use of them will be low-key, for projecting longer Scripture verses included in the sermon, for evening classes and sometimes for song words.
But I suppose I’m one who’s always yearned for a simpler worship experience — definitely one without all the flashes and videos and bells & whistles.
We’re certainly not anti-technology as a church, a good number of our members are very active on social media, our pastor makes good use of the newer mediums for theological discussions. Many members now bring their digital tablets to church for Bible access.
But for corporate worship, we’ve always aimed for a liturgy that’s focused on Word and Sacrament, with quiet times — and just not a lot of worldly pizzazz.
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And I guess part of the irony in our case was that this church — before it joined the Presbyterian denomination maybe 15 years ago (before I was there) — spent its first 15 years as an independent evangelical church, fully embracing the trends of big screens, pop Christian music, etc.
It began to dial all of that back after the elders spent a year in serious theological study and the decision was made to join the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
The screen and band platform went by the wayside. The pulpit and Bible became the focus of the room, the musicians moved to the side on the floor level. The Lord’s Table became a weekly observance.
So I suppose it strikes some of us who know the church history as sort of going back (although I don’t think that’s the case — it’s more of a visual reaction to just seeing those 2 black screens suddenly hanging on the front wall on either side of the cross … Just doesn’t look right to a lot of us for now).
But then I’m someone who doesn’t even like seeing a flat screen TV on a wall in a home, I’ve always thought TV screens were ugly and ought to be hidden when not in use. 🙂
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So part of it for me is also just unappealing visually. Just seems rather jarring, but I suppose we’ll get used to it. Although I kept thinking today “how can we at least cover them up when they’re not being used? …”
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So a distraction to both liturgy & aesthetics
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