Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord

Miss Rowan has turned into quite the little chatter box lately. In fact the other day at the grocery store she stopped every stranger we passed to tell them her life story.

Today at church was no exception. At the beginning of every service, the Pastor brings up all the children before they head off to Sunday school and has a "Talk with the Children" sermon. He preaches a child's version of the day's regular sermon and allows them to ask questions and lead a cute little prayer.

Today Rowan was the only child there.... so she hopped and skipped up the aisle with the Sunday school teacher and sat down on the stairs ready to "listen".

But that's not what happened. Our pastor strapped on a tool belt and began discussing Habitat for Humanity and how Jesus wants us to help others.

He asked Rowan why a person would wear a tool belt.

Now for those that don't know, my hubs is an electrician, so a tool belt is the norm in this household. So Rowan had a lot of information to offer in regards to tool belts....

She told him that you wear them work...

Here the pastor begins to agree and wants to continue on...

Ro has others plans....."and my daddy wears one, with Rodger (his apprentice) and they work on wires, and fix lights.... "

The pastor tries to continue on about how Jesus helped others...

Rowan stops him mid sentence by telling him about helping.."My mama helps me brush my teach, and she puts me to bed and reads me a book and sings songs... and she helps me make butterflies, and butterflies fly like this" (flaps arms)

The banter went on for at least 5 minutes during which time the congregation is laughing hysterically, I'm flushed red and giggling... my hubs is hanging is head in his hand and trying not to laugh.

Finally the pastor just laughs, and says, "I think its time to button this up." Queue more laughter from the crowd... and Miss Rowan flashes a big grin, waves at us down the aisle, and heads on out for her Sunday school lesson.

Well, she probably didn't learn much, but she certainly put a smile on every single one of our church family's faces today.

Amazing Grace

Service today was exceptionally moving.

We had a guest Pastor as Pastor Mark had gone on vacation with his wife.

The pastor that spoke is a member of our congregation and also a retired pastor himself. Although his face was severe with age, his voice and countenance were surprisingly and refreshingly kind.


The gist of his sermon spoke of being the baton barrers of our Christian faith. Of running the good race, and passing the word of God's love for us all.

The part that moved me to tears was a story he told about a young man that had belonged to his church during WWII. The young man had graduated college as a journalist... and had been sent to London to report on the war.

He got London and checked into his hotel. It was a tumultuous time... and during his first night there, he was witness to what was called The Blitz.

As soon as night fell, chaos broke out and bombs began to fall upon the city. There was fire everywhere, ambulances screaming through the streets, buildings falling and crumbling. Women weeped and children cried.

The young man fell to his knees. He prayed to God to take his life. He prayed that he could not live in a world of such indifference and suffering and hate.

He fell asleep to sound of pain all around him.

He awoke to much different sound.

Across the street from the hotel, and in view of his window, was a church. It no longer had a roof. There were small fires and smoldering remains of rooms and debris around it. And in the center of the beheaded church, sat the congregation. They sang "The Church's One Foundation."

The young man dropped back down to his knees... and he prayed and thanked The Lord for sparing his life. For there was hope even in the war he had found himself in the middle of. And he was heartened to remember that God loved him.

The pastor continued to speak of how God loves us all. And that even in the midst of our struggles, we must remember he remains by our side.

Perhaps it just struck a cord with me because of the changes occurring in my own life. About the imminent loss of our home, and the large move we face an hour and a half away back to the town I grew up in. It's all a bit scary, a bit overwhelming a bit exciting... yet it's much easier to face when I remember that I don't' walk alone. I have my family, my husband.. my amazing daughter, and I have my God. Faithfully by my side. Ready and willing to love me if only I ask for his help.

The service ended with us singing Amazing Grace...... and I cried again.

Sunday in review

Today we went to a meeting after church to find out about signing up for membership. It was nice because we got to meet all of the major players in the church management and talk for a bit about what brought us there etc etc.

We shared warm conversation and learned quite a bit about the people we worshiped with every week.

After the meeting it was quite late in the afternoon. Instead of putting Rowan down for a late nap and messing up bedtime schedule,. we opted instead to keep her up. She's finally at the age where she can skip a nap and still function.

Anyhoo, with our free afternoon devoid of nap time we ran out to a local food market. Its one of our favorite stores around. They have as much local produce as possible as well other small local shops that rent out space within the market. There is a bakery, a speciality butcher shop and even a cheese shop!

We bought some aged gouda which is one of my all time fave cheeses... and the best part of the whole trip, some granola! Granola, you might ask? Yes, granola. Magnificently sweet salty chewey crunchy granola that you can't stop eating... its as good as potato chips!

The best part.. its all natural, with no preservitives. Basically its oats, honey, seseame and poppy seeds, almonds and brown sugar. Its amazing... and I can't stop eating it hahaha.

Check out thier web site, and I highy suggest trying some!

http://www.meandollies.com/

Church

I am attempting very hard to be a Christian. I say that because my entire life up to the past few years, I was definitely not a Christian.

I studied a lot of random religions.. dabbled in Buddhism... read a lot of books about Wicca.... etc etc.... but nothing every really felt right. And I couldn't help but feel like I had turned my back upon God....

When Rowan was born it was important to my late Catholic grandmother that she be baptized... and I guess important to me as well. Although at the time, I would have denied that. We went to church with my friend Ryan (the husband lover) in order to have Rowan baptized there. It was a Christian church, and not Catholic, but since I was neither at the time I didn't care. Heck, I was at a church and I was getting her baptized right?

A few months later when Rowan turned 10 months old, the big day arrived. She had the water placed upon her forehead and that was that.... accept it wasn't.

I had found something there that I had been missing... and now I didn't feel as though I was cheating on God anymore...I had found Him.

I can't say that I'm the best Christian. I haven't even finished reading the bible yet... but I can say that I have found God... and I trust him 100%. He is with me as often as my struggling soul allows him to be... and I am grateful that those times seem to be increasing more and more everyday.

I have been going to church off and on again ever since... although I have made the move to a church in my town to avoid the long drive to the other one. I like my new church. The people there are kind and greet our young family with smiles. You can tell that the older generation takes much delight in the fact that a young couple has joined them... because we are one of the very few younger couples there. Numbers dwindle.... people have lost faith. They are pleased however that there will be others to replace them once they have left this world.

My hubs pretends that he is disgruntled about it, but I know secretly he is peaceful there and thankful that we go. He also had a hard road coming to God... however, unlike myself, he was raised very Christian.

His parents found God when he was a kid.. they traveled with their entire family to live in Canada while they attended bible college in the snow and cold... and then they took their family all over the world to do missionary work.

My husband has been to Egypt, France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, Holland, Sweden, and countless other countries as he traveled and lived with his parents doing God's work.

He hated it. I'm sure like any other kid or teen he just wanted to be normal... he wanted to be hanging out with friends and going to high school instead of being home schooled and surrounded by people he never got to know because they were never in one place for long.

He has a lot of stories though... and he had his first french kiss in France... how many people can say that?

Either way, here we are. The two of us... searching for God and ways to keep him with us through our struggles.

Today at church, our pastor did a reading from a Henry Van Dyke book about Keeping Christmas all year.

He asked that while we read, we contemplate and meditate upon the words..... to stare at the candles quietly burning, or to look upon the communion table.. out the window etc... to find a quiet place to reflect.

And so I glanced at the sun light pouring through the giant 30 foot tall windows. Its the first time the sun has been out while at church since we've started going back... and it was so beautiful as it fell into our warm little pew.

I watched the dust illuminated by the rays of sun, fluttering quietly through the air... as Pastor Mark's voice spoke quiet words.... and I thought about what it means to be self sacrificing....and to love others more than yourself. This is perhaps one of the most difficult lessons a person can learn....one of the most difficult I have to learn.

Stop reading blogs... and play with Rowan more... curl up next to my husband and snuggle instead of sitting on the opposite end of the couch... talk to my mother more often... call my sister.. appreciate the kind soul of my mother in law... so many things I should and want to do... so why is it so hard?

Perhaps its been to long a time for me, having had no real direction in my life about how to be a good Christian, and hence the struggle I face now. I never learned how to be that kind of good person.. how to be the type of person I want to be. I was never given good direction.. or the tools.

And so I start now.. with old ways engrained in my soul... and I struggle to learn new ways without feeling guilty that it doesn't just come naturally.

But I try anyhow... and I'm hoping and praying that my dedication to the effort counts for something.

It should right?