Yesterday I did some reading from the book Visiting in An Age of Mission, by Ken Callahan. I thought it might be helpful as I begin this process of volunteering as "Minister of Visitation" at our church. The book has a lot of good insights not only about methods of contacting people but also about 9 different categories of people that you might visit (like first-timers, occasionals,inactives and others.) I was surprised to read that visiting "first-timers" is the easiest and visiting "inactives" is the hardest of the nine to visit. And of course I've been asked to visit the "inactives".
The author says the "inactives" really are not inactive. He says they're active, nonetheless, trying to find community, meaning and belonging in other parts of their lives. He also said that most people who become inactive, do so gradually and not because they leave in a huff. They miss a couple of Sundays and no one seems to care they weren't there and they just gradually drift away. He also talks alot about the biblical mandate to visit and to care. I've appreciated his perspective on the task at hand. So, I've got my work cut out for me.
Yesterday I practiced some of my barbershop music and also the Qchord. (I have a cartridge that has Christmas songs on it and thought I'd get reacquainted with it.) I also did some things around the house and had a nice talk with my mother about picking her up on Monday for the "show" and about the possibility of her going to Philly to be with my sisters for Christmas.
Later I stopped in to see Dee at her work, and then stopped at Best Buy to check out an external CD/DVD burner for my desktop computer. When I bought this one, it was near the bottom of the line and doesn't have a burner.
I also stopped at Barnes and Nobel to peruse some books and found one titled Who Speaks for the Muslims? Since I know very little about Islam and what they believe, I thought I'd look it over. It's a book about what actual Muslims believe and value, rather than a history of the religion. It's the result of a Gallup World Survey of tens of thousands of Muslims from 35 countries. I found it fascinating. For instance the survey revealed that only about 7% of Muslims are from Arab countries. I revealed how the average Muslim is a person of prayer, highly values family and believe that their religion is a very important part of their daily life. (Like 95% vs. about 57% of Americans who value their religious beliefs.)
Since it was a cold snowy day, I went back home. After Dee arrived, lit the fireplace, wrapped some Christmas gifts, listened to some Christmas music and made some finishing adjustments to her village on top of the fireplace. Also, we continued working on the new puzzle we started the day before. It's a winter scene by Jane Wooster Scott (there were four puzzles in the box - one for each of the four seasons of the year.)
Then, we decided to enjoy the hot tub... Amazing - I pushed the inch of snow or so off the deck and steps with a squeegee blade, turned on the rope lights for ambiance. It was strange having snow land on your bare back as you stepped up into the hot tub. There was no breeze to cool you off even though it was 32 degrees out. The hot water was soothing and with the jets doing their thing, it was really nice. Looking out over the homes behind ours, they looked like the little village on our fireplace. Lights on the street in front of the homes, a soft coating of show on the roofs, grass and street and steam rising from the hot tub. Kind of idyllic and very relaxing.
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