Well, here we are almost at the end of our visit to Virginia. It has been a relaxing time - not doing much. The days have been beautiful weather-wise. Actually, the A/C has been off most of the time (except in the bedroom) and the breezes and humidity have been comfortable. We have been to church for services and rehearsals. The two Fridays we have spent the mornings "yard-saling," a ritual that is sacred in this area. Between the 3 cats, 3 dogs, 2 chinchillas (?), and 7 chickens there is plenty to do to feed, water, take out, etc. We have fresh eggs and much food. Our male rat terrier, Deuce, has latched on to their female pug, Snickers - literally. Thankfully, he is unable to father pups, cause I believe she's coming into heat. A cold shower finally took care of the "problem!" I did have time to make a couple of aprons, as I promised, for our Holiday Bazaar, coming up in December. Laura has a wonderful sewing room she is setting up. And the view out the window is spectacular. We are off today to New Market for a 40-mile long Yard Crawl. Oh, joy! I might make it 40 yards worth. Have a great day!
 
Here it is - a year later. And, again, I am sitting in my daughter-in-law's kitchen trying to remember what she taught me last year about how to blog. I couldn't even remember my password, and I used the wrong e-mail address at first. Did I mention that I'm a year older - and maybe not much smarter?
So much has happened since I last "blogged." (Is that a word?)
I'm still at Deltona Christian Church as Minister of Worship and Music. We did a Christmas musical and special music during Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. The choir sings every Sunday, except in July and the first part of August.
 I retired last year from my position as Church Secretary, but re-upped the first of October. They hadn't found anyone while I was on "sabbatical," and were gracious enough to hire me again. I've also begun to learn how to create and update the church's website (deltonachristianchurch.org). Our church was given the gift of a Yamaha Clavinova in December 2009. I am still learning to use all the attributes of this fabulous instrument. It has made life much simpler as choir director/accompanist. I can pre-record all the music and actually direct the choir with my hands, not my head! We recently learned that we will be great grandparents around April next year. Laura and David's daughter, Amanda, is expecting her first child. Sarah, their younger daughter, lives with her soldier husband in Texas. Steven, their son, is 17, 6'4" and still growing. Sam and Norman are still in Florida. I have made new friends and renewed acquaintances with old friends through the Facebook/Internet connections. This social networking thing is awesome. I just need to make better use of the technological advances in communication. However, I don't wish to just "blog." What does that mean anyway? Blab, and log what you blab? Maybe I can find a way to use this to advantage in enhancing my ministerial goals. We'll see.
We just watched the “Julie and Julia” movie last night. It was all about Julie making a recipe a day from Julia Child’s cookbook and then blogging about how it turned out (and other extraneous thoughts). Sharing, I guess, is the real reason for having a blog. Maybe I’ll get the hang of it. However, I don’t have a theme yet to hang my thoughts on. (Never end a sentence a preposition with.) I’ve been reading a wonderful book, “A Larger Hope: Opening the Heart to God” by R. Scott Colglazier. It is provoking new thought patterns regarding the meaning of being a Christian, and what kind of a Christian I am. He says, “My personal search is for a faith that is intellectually coherent and spiritually passionate, a faith that rings true within my everyday experience.” It is inspiring me to search my heart more deeply, stretch my spiritual nerves, explore my faith, and open my heart to a larger hope. I will also be journaling some of my adventure here. Please feel free to comment. We celebrated World Communion Sunday this morning with emphasis on the ecumenical nature of the day. It is good to remember and consider other expressions of our faith in God, even to include them in our worship. The choir sang an offertory anthem, “He Is Mine (Ni Wangu)” by Hal Hopson. The words are in Swahili. He is mine, forever and ever, Jesus is mine. The hymns were also about the community of Christ, which is the church. I don’t know how anyone survives who does not gather with other believers on a regular basis. It is such an exhilarating, informative hour in a busy, sometimes hectic week. Drawing close with people, praising our awesome God, sharing our triumphs and sorrows, rejoicing or empathizing in our circumstances, lifting each other up or calming us down, singing or crying – in other words, bringing the essence of Christ into the everyday-ness of living. Come, let us adventure together! Pat
Sorry, I haven't posted recently because I can't seem to find the keyboard inbetween bouts of coughing fits. My Fall Bronchitis has visited me again. I am trying to battle it out, but it might just get the better of me yet! Tonight is my first night back as Minister of Worship and Music at our church. I have choir rehearsal after our Praise and Worship service. Pray that people won't get too uncomfortable with my hacking and my raspy voice. We have an exciting season planned, beginning with World Communion Sunday on October 3. And, we will be starting on our Christmas Cantata/Musical next week. I have a wonderful, dedicated group of people - the best church choir in Deltona! My old high school principal used to say, "There might be some just as good, but there's none better..." My sentiments exactly for our choir. I'll keep you posted.
Nine years have gone by, and not much is different. That's a lot of what I heard today. I watched parts of the ceremonies held at the three venues. There were lots of tears, floods of memories, accusations, placating words, celebrities, etc. Names of victims were read in solemn tones. And I got to thinking about how God was left out of all the opportunities to speak today. With all the debates about the Ground Zero mosque, rhetoric regarding good Muslims and bad terrorists, strategies for success in the upcoming elections, lack of tolerance, failure of our economic system, etc. - things are far from being as they should. I pray we can get back to what has made America such a good country - faith in God, hope for a good life for ourselves and our families, and love and goodwill toward our neighbors. May it be so.
This is my first ever blog post, and it will surely be profound! My patiently attending daughter-in-law, Laura, is holding my hand while I learn how to do each step. I'm not sure where this will lead, but am looking forward to the discovery. Vacation is a good time to investigate something new. Thanks for coming on the adventure with me.
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