Worship Planning

One of the best aspects of my job is worship planning. I love it! The opportunity to create services that worship God and connect God and God's people is usually a weekly blessing to me. Today has proved no different. I spent most of the morning working on two (of four) of the Christmas Eve services for this year. Once I finalize the liturgy I will post it on the blog. I am looking forward to this year's services!

A word from Rainer Maria Rilke

What a lovely morning! It's cool outside but there's not a cloud in the sky! Stunningly beautiful! As I am finishing my espresso and preparing to take Ellie to the park for a little dad/daughter time I came across this quote from the Poet Rilke, which perfectly describes the season for me!

"Lord, it is time. the summer was too long. Lay your shadow on the sundials now, and through the meadow let the winds throng."

Amen and amen!

I love Thursday's!

I love Thursday's! Wednesday (the most stressful day of the week for me) is behind me and I get a chance to wrap up loose ends before the weekend comes and even get ahead a bit! Today is a glorious Thursday! A very generous church member gave a gift for some new handbells, the weather is nice and cool and business is getting taken care of! Truly, a beautiful day!

The Great Rob Jackson

Hello friends!
I have made a serious error and I hope to correct it at this time. Somehow, I missed listing one of the great blogs on my "blogs I read list." And by great, I mean one of the greatest blogs in the history of blogs. If you are looking for (arguably) the funniest blog of all time, you need to look no further than the blog NoFrownsNation kept by the great Rob Jackson.

http://www.nofrowns.net/nation/

Do yourself a favor and go there right now!!!!

Smiling Sam!

I love this picture of Sam smiling! Makes my day!

Whew...

Hey there!
Hope you are doing well! It's been an interesting 10 days since I last posted. I gotten this week and a half long upper respiratory infection that is just knocking me over! Up until I had kids I very rarely got sick but wow, how that has changed!!! I just want to sleep all the time, know the feeling? Uh, oh, my office is next to the sanctuary and my daughter's class is walking by...whew, safe! Ellie comes to school hear at the church three days a week and it is so cool to be able to bring my daughter to work with me three days a week! She is really into listening to the blues on the way to the school. Like father, like daughter, I suppose!

The Beauty of Aspens

This photograph was taken by my sister from outside of her home in Colorado. If you'd like, I'd invite you to just appreciate the beauty that God has given us! Thanks for the Aspen's!!!

The Collar

I don't often wear my clerical collar, which is funny, because I have a strong opinion about collars. In a perfect world, I think all clergy should wear their collars, and here is why: as servants of God, we should be available to serve all of God's children, whether they are members of our local flock or not. For example, if you are walking down the street and find yourself in need of a law enforcement officer, you wouldn't be able to find a law enforcement officer unless they are wearing their uniform, unless you happened to have a relationship with that person from another context. When I would wear my collar in San Antonio I got stopped all of the time by folks who needed someone to talk to. Many less-enlightened Methodists (my own tribe) see the collar as purely a "Catholic thing" and they fail to realize that the collar is used by pastors in all of the mainline denominations, in addition to the Catholic church.
The collar also serves as a very valuable reminder to me of whose I am and of the work I am called to do but it does tend to freak out those who don't understand it's function and tradition.

October's always make me sleepy

I love October! When else in the year do you have the baseball playoffs, the NFL, basketball training camps, and the opening of hockey season? Nowhere, I tell you! I love all of those sports and follow hockey and the NFL the closest but baseball is my first love. I will never forget my first professional game. My dad took me to see the Denver Zephyers (now they are known as the New Orleans Zephyers) in Mile High Stadium. It was such a blast!
Nothing, however, could compare to my first major league game! My dad (there is a trend here) took me to Fenway Park in Boston to see the Red Sox: it was incredible! Seeing that oasis of green in the middle of the city was like looking into heaven for a second-grader! The whole experience was incredible, from the walk up Yawkey Way, to the Fenway Franks, the Monster, and of course, the Red Sox. i have been a Sox fan ever since! It was a bad team to follow for many years! They always found a way to break your heart. The Bill Buckner fiasco was the first big one that I remember. But, my, how things change!
And so, it's October again, the leaves are just starting to turn and, by Texas standards, it's beginning to cool off. The Sox are doing very well. They had a chance to close out the Angels last night but couldn't get it done. Tonight, they've got another chance. I look forward to another game tonight and all that comes with post-season baseball: lots of drama and little sleep!
Go Sox!