A Good Day

I've decided to try to learn a little of the html computer language to make this blog easier on the eyes. I figured out how to separate the paragraphs, but not how to indent the paragraphs. So, I went to the library (While Dee was at Contours) to find a book to help. I found one of those "Idiot's Guide Books" that seemed user friendly. We'll see what happens.

The Lenten Luncheon at the Mars Presbyterian Church yesterday was nice. The preacher (who I found out later ws a graduate of Princeton Seminary, too)spoke on the theme of God's enduring grace. He used the illistration of going on a vacation and never leaving the end of the street. He likened that to Christians who never grow in grace and never seem to get any benefit from their faith in Jesus beyond the ititial saving grace. He noted that was sad when God wants to give us so much more in this life. The food and fellowship were excellent. The woman sitting next to me was from the Methodist church and played the harp. She said that she'd always wanted to play the harp, and so she bought one in Indiana called a "harpsicle." (Small and portable about 25#s.) She said she hoped to learn to play it when in her retirement. But then she added, that when they retired and moved back to this area, she saw an ad for a pianist at the local Methodist Church, accepted the position, and now doesn't have time to learn to play the harp as she'd hoped. The guy next to Dee was from the Alliance Church and there were two Lutherans on the end. There were about 70 people there in all.

Dee and I had been wanting to locate a local theater hall where concerts are held and where free first run movies are shown a couple of times a week during the day. It's called Kean Theater. We found it only about 8 miles away. It started snowing and since the forcast was dire we headed home. I hung another wall plaque in the prescribed location and did some reading. Later in the evening after the snow stopped, Dee and I went to the Catholic Church Friday Fish Fry and then stopped at the Auction Barn to watch the auction. I haven't been to an auction in decades. It's a great place to go and people watch. We didn't sign up for a number and so we didn't bid on anything, but it sure was fun to watch and get a feel for the ambiance of the place. They have these auctions every Friday night. The website is http://www.theauctionbarn.net/ . I look forward to going back from time to time.

The other day while browsing through a store called Ollies, I came across a book called Ten Dumb Moves That Christians Make. Here is what was listed:

1. Sling Mud on the Bride of Christ (the Church)

2. Winning People to the Church Rather Than to the Lord

3. Living Below the Level of Our Beliefs

4. Speaking Above the Level of our Knowledge

5. Hopping From Church to Church

6. Fighting Among Ourselves

7. Missing Golden Opportunities

8. Settling for Mediocrity

9. Allowing Wolves Live Among the Sheep

10. Accepting the Unacceptable

As I read the list I couldn't help but agree. Sometimes it seems as Christians we are our own worst enemy. And this is so sad when we live in a world that really needs to hear the Good News of the Gospel.

Then and Now

Since retiring I've discovered that some of the things we had around the house in NJ and didn't use much before, now we use them alot. Take the stereo system for instance. It was tucked away in the bottom of the armoir and hard to reach and operate, and so we just didn't use it. Now we use it every day. We even play it while we are away for the dog. (He seems to like the classical channel.) Similarly, it had been a very long time since we built a jigxaw puzzle because of the hassle of keeping it out on a table and then having to work around it and worrying about losing a piece to the dog's appetite. Now we always have one in the works. And then last night, we got out the Scrabble game (a fancy one that swivels on a lazy susan type of mechanism) and enjoyed playing it for a while. Also, I'm finding that the TV that I do watch now seems to be the kind where I want to learn something. Like yesterday, I watched an episode of "How They Do That" on the Discovery Channel that showed what happens to an egg from the time the chicken lays it, until the time it gets to your plate... fascinating stuff. I learned that eggs last on the shelf for only 35 days in the store; and that a chicken starts laying eggs after it's 19 weeks old, and stops producing edible eggs after 72 weeks. And that the average chicken lays about 300 eggs in it's lifetime. I'm reading much less theology and more historical biography and devotional material as well as the newspaper daily. And then, of course, there's the whole "name thing." I seem to be associating with more people who know me as Casey (my knickname as a youth) rather than as Paul. Although when I introduce myself to people I use Paul.

Dee got out the sewing machine again to make those valances (two sets) after being away from it, and she's enjoying cooking in the kitchen after having to rely on the crockpot so much in the last few years.

Also, I'm emailing friends more now. Yesterday I heard from my friend Susan Travis. she's putting together a mission trip to the Dominican Republic to plant trees with a christian organization called Floresta (check their website at http://www.floresta.org/ ). The trip will be August 2-9 this summer. They have space for 15 people. There are a few openings and she needed help contacting the local clergy there to let other churches know of the opportunity. It's going to be a great trip (Susan is very thorough in her planning. I've been on two trips planned by her; Kodiak, Alaska and Bacone College, Oklahoma) So, I sent her the info she needed to reach out to the wider Christian community there in NJ. If you'd like to know more about it, you can write her at stravis@att.net and she'll give you the scoop (up-to-date passports are necessary).

Conversely, there are some things we used all the time before, that we hardly use at all now. Like my laptop computer. I used it daily in NJ. Now, I don't use it much. And my cell phone... it barely rings at all now. And when it does ring now, it's about our life now ( appointments, friends and relatives) and not someone else's issue. I seldom take pictures now, whereas in NJ I would take a couple of dozen pictures a week. Singing was much more a part of my life then, and now, even though we go to the weekly lenten service and church on Sunday, singing much just doesn't happen. (I think they're missing out at the lenten service when they don't sing, and the Rotary Club guy said to me "We don't fine people and we don't sing." Maybe that's one of the reasons I enjoy learning the Qchord. It satisfies my hunger for music.

I'm working on a new song called "Go, My Children, with My Blessing." Here are the words of the first verse:

Go my children with God's blessing, never alone,
Waking sleeping, God is with you, you are His own.
In His love's baptismal river,
He has made you His forever.
Go, my children with God's blessing,
you are His own.

It's sung to a traditional Welsh melody that I remember as "All Through the Night." I can see where it could be used at the close of a time of worship as a hymn of "sending forth to serve" or musical benediction.

A Day for Creativity

We took a day off from the exercise regimen. Dee created these nice valances pictured to the left to cut back the glare from the sun that comes in the kitchen windows. (Although we haven't had much sun lately.)

I worked on our 3rd jigsaw puzzle.

After Dee had some blood work done, we had a light breakfast at Siba Cafe (one of our favorite places ).

Then in the afternoon I went to the local Rotary Club meeting for lunch. Met some nice people, and have begun learning a couple of names. I do think I'll join there as it's an active club, involved in the community, seems friendly and has a wide range of membership. There are a couple of other clergy in the group too (some active and others retired.) Their big fundraiser is a golf outing and dinner on Monday, June 23rd at the Treesdale Golf and Country Club. It's where the Rotary meetings are held and is probably the premier golf course in Western Pennsylvania. Should be very nice. I hope to participate and maybe have a couple of my friends join in as well.

Later Dee and I returned the wedding album proofs to the photographer and selected the ones we want from this efforts, enjoyed dinner at the Red Lobster near Butler and then met our friends Kathy and Russ at the Community College for our Wed. night dance lesson. This week's lesson was on the jitterbug (one step). We learned the man's outside underarm turn, the man's tummy caresse, and the ever difficult two arm slide with the back pass. A real workout for the body as well as the brain. Good stuff. (Step (two beats per step), step (two beats per step), rock step (one beat for each step.) Lots of fun. Gotta practice practice practice.

During my reading yesterday from How to Retire Wild, Happy and Free, I came across a section about NOT watching much TV.

The author quoted a Hammond Stith who said that there are seven constructive things that retirees can do with their time:

- You can work

- You can play

- You can sleep

- You can improve your mind

- You can improve your health

- You can work in civic or educational activities

- You can work in some spiritual area for the church

The author then concluded rather strongly that "Stith did not mention watching television as one of the seven constructive things you can do with your time. At best, most television provides superficial entertainment with nothing of depth. It tends to wither the mind instead of stimulating it." Humm. Another good series of measures for time use in retirement.

Here's Mud In Your Eye

Yesterday after our morning exercise routine (Dee at Contours and me at the treadmill), we decided to go to the movies.

We saw Spiderwick Chronicles, a story about a family that moves into an empty house that is occupied by an invisible good goblin. One of the children finds a hidden room and a sealed handwritten manuscript called a field guide that is referred to in the movie as "The Book." The book has a warning note attached to the outside. The note says that anyone who opens the book and reads it will see things differently from then on. They'll never see things the same again and their life will be changed forever.

There is also a ring shaped stone for people to look through. As they look through it, they discover that it makes the invisible visible. And for people who don't have a "stone", there's hobgoblin spit which when applied to the eyes, makes the invisible visible all the time.

As Christians we too have "The Book." It too has changed our lives and causes us to see things differently than the rest of the world. The story from John 9 (last Sunday's sermon) was about a man born blind who was able to see again because Jesus applied some mud made from spittle to his eyes.... humm. And of course St. Paul refers to Jesus as the one who makes the invisible God visible. humm.

The subplot of the movie is really about the reconciliation between the mother and one of her three children. There's also the subplot of a father who was so caught up in his work of discovering the other worldly, that he forsook loving his daughter. It's a magical story to be sure, but from a theological perspective it has ingredients that echo what we've come to see as real and True.

By the way, if your preacher uses the "Common Lectionary" of prescribed readings from "The Book" for this week, he or she will most likely read Romans 8:6-11 (about spiritual mindedness) and/or John 11:1-45 (the story of Lazarus). If you read them ahead of time and reflect on them a bit, it'll be as if Someone has spit in your eyes. Then, when the preacher talks about them, you'll find that as you apply their Truths, your life, too, can be changed forever.

More Dots Connected

This weekend proved to be a time of reminiscing with old friends (something Dee and i have not had much chance to do over the years.) Dee's lifelong friend Kathy G. (she was the matron of honor in our wedding) joined us for breakfast at Morning Watch (one of our favorite breakfast spots) and then they spent the next few hours shopping. Later that night John and Sherron Curdie (he was an usher in our wedding) came to our home to enjoy Dee's homemade lasagna. It was an enjoyable evening of reminiscing and then playing the Wii. Once again Dee dominated the bowling lanes with a score of 175./p

Then, today we joined with Earl and Marilyn Campbell (from our Wilkinsburg Baptist Church) in going to the local Presbyterian church and then out to lunch afterward. Again for a time of renewing our friendship and reminiscing about "the old days." I'm finding it interesting sitting on the pew side of the church, rather than being up front in the chancel facing the congregation. It seems there's alot more going on in the pews that's not printed in the bulletin. Indeed, the people sitting around you can have an impact on the kind of worship experience you have.

The minister spoke on John 9, the story of the healing of the blind man who said, "Once I was blind but now I can see." It was suggested that he was given a new perspective on life as a result of his healing, and that that is what Jesus does for us when we declare faith in him. I'm realizing that our "retirement" is giving us new eyes with which to see life, what's important, who we are and what it maybe that God is calling us to for the future.

I continued to practice the Qchord today, and reviewed all the songs I've been adding to my repetoire. I'm discovering that music is important to me and that it nourishes my spirit during the day.