The Promise of the Sunrise

The sun rising as I drove to work this morning made the most beautiful sky I've seen since sometime this autumn. I stopped in the church parking lot about 7:45 to snap these pictures, and as pretty as they are, they don't do the sky justice. Those huge cotton-ball clouds, reflecting the sun behind them--they were just beautiful.

Both pictures are of the sunrise, but the setting sun as I drove home before 6:00 was just as beautiful. And best of all, I realized, I can now drive TO work and home FROM work in the daylight. Winter hasn't given up its grip on us yet (I saw something about 27 degrees and snowflakes predicted for Saturday). But each passing day in February, and each warm sunrise and sunset, convinces us that spring is on the way!

Concentrating on Worship, Thinking about Marriage

Hosted at 9:30 service today. When I first did this, I thought my worship experience would somehow be diminished by viewing the singing and the sermon from the "wings" of the platform instead of standing or sitting with my wife in the congregation.
I still miss sitting with Evelyn, especially on a day like today when the sermon was about marriage.
But it seems to me that I am more alert and listening better when I'm participating from backstage than out front. I think this is true for a couple of reasons:

1) I've spent more time preparing for the worship service. I've looked at the line-up of songs, and I've thought deliberately about how my little bits on the platform can help connect the other elements of the service into a more meaningful whole. I've thought particularly about the Communion hymn and prepared Scriptures and thoughts to enrich the Communion experience for the other worshipers. And I've sat with the various worship teams for a tech run-through, which isn't all that inspiring, but it contributes to the whole experience of anticipating the worship service. And that anticipation makes me more attuned to what's happening when the worship service actually happens.
2) Backstage during the singing and sermon, I must work at paying attention. Sitting or standing in the congregation, I can easily assume the mentality of a concert-goer; I can engage with the words of the songs or not. I can be distracted by the people around me. I can read the worship folder or think about the afternoon, all while no one around me knows I'm thinking more about myself than God.
Of course, there are even more opportunities to ignore the worship leaders when I'm backstage. But I work harder at paying attention when I'm backstage sitting on a little bench, peering at the tiny TV monitor in the corner, straining to hear what the minister is saying.
My bottom line: it's my energy, my effort that is making the difference, and it could make the same difference whether I was helping to lead or not. I think there's a lesson in this for everyone, and maybe I'll write about this someday somewhere besides here.

Trevor's sermon was the second in his series called "Revolutionary Relationships," and as I said, the message was all about marriage.
Things to remember for me: Joy is the primary key to unity and longevity in marriage. So we should pursue joy and be our spouse's primary joy giver. After all, being joyful is not just a nice goal, but a biblical command: "Always be full of joy" (Philippians 4:4).
Best laugh in the sermon: Among a list of things kids said when asked about falling in love, was this gem from a little girl grade schooler:

"Beauty is only skin deep, but being rich can last a long time."

Thought I'd like to think about, and maybe write about, some more:
"Create a culture of two." That is, work on building the special world that's just for you and your spouse. In a day when so many families are led by self-centetered or career-centered parents, in a time when so many parents are child-centered rather than God-centered, in a culture when too many spouses concentrate on so many goals before their relationship with each other, this seems like a challenge that needs to be in neon lights beside the Interstate.

This Saturday's Small Group

Today we had our get-together with the Friskneys and the Webers that we had planned for last Saturday. We were going to meet in Shelbyville last Saturday, but the snow kept us home. Today we used the gift certificates Friskneys gave us for Christmas to meet for lunch/dinner in Mason, since Webers were already in town this weekend to celebrate granddaughter Nora's 2nd birthday.
We sat at the restaurant (Applebee's) for probably a couple of hours and then adjourned to our house for birthday cake from Kroger's and decaf and ice cream. It was a belated celebration for Sev and Bill whose birthdays happened at the end of January.

We laughed and caught up on each other's family and talked about everything from our various work situations to why bars are better places for genuine bonding than what so many people experience through their churches. We decided that much of what people say SHOULD happen in a small group happens among longtime Christian friends like us--without programming or a curriculum.
We hope to meet again soon--we've put March 16 on our calendars (although I have a tentative trip that needs to happen sometime in March but isn't scheduled yet. We'll see.).

I snapped this picture of our table setting before we left for the
restaurant. We used some of the vintage plates that we had gathered
for Jennifer's wedding.

Screen Time

I have spent the WHOLE DAY sitting in front of this computer, and I'm TIRED of it. Evelyn's working at the Healing Center tonight, and I decided just to jot off a blog entry before going home, and then I may not open the computer again before bedtime!
We're at the art-choosing stage in our monthly production schedule. Because we don't have a full-time art director, our process goes like this: Jim Nieman, managing editor, and I meet with the company's art director, Mark Haas, who helps us choose art, come up with graphic ideas, etc. He also takes stock art and doctors it in Photoshop, etc., to create customized looks that we couldn't get by depending on the stock services alone.
But I spend quite a bit of time creating light tables full of possible stock images to start with. And that's what I did a little bit yesterday afternoon and what I've done almost all day today. I did have a 50-minute conference call with planners of the next Stone-Campbell Dialogue meeting that will happen in Indianapolis in October. And Mark and Jim and I met for about 75 minutes this morning in the first round of art planning meetings  for our April issue.
Tomorrow morning we'll meet again, and in between some correspondence, I've been looking at art possibilities in preparation for tomorrow's meeting. Hopefully we can get the rest of the art chosen in another hour or so then.
So far, we have some neat concepts going. Here's a tiny, little preview. (This isn't the best concept by ANY means, but I don't want to give away too much!)
The issue is about conflict. One article is titled: "Ways to Know Your Church is Headed for Burnout."
We're going to try to illustrate it with a church attached to a lit fuse, as though it's getting close to blowing up. Mark will combine the fuse from this bomb with this church building picture to make the illustration. We'll see how it works!

More Than a Year

Yep, those page views are down because I haven't posted since Sunday. I just realized I've been doing this blog for a little longer than a year. First post was the last day of January last year. This isn't the first time I've missed my goal of blogging every day, but I haven't missed many. And as I browsed through the pictures and the posts, I came across some events and thoughts that I had forgotten about, or at least forgotten that I'd written.
So I'm glad I've been engaged in this little project, even though some days it feels like a burden or a job to come up with something to write.
Yesterday and Monday I was in Indianapolis. I was helping a friend with a project Monday. He's not sayin' much about it, so I won't say anything about it either--yet. Probably someday.When Paul Williams and I realized he would be in Indy when I would be there, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and get in some planning on future issues of Christian Standard. We got some good work done and enjoyed our time together.

I drove home from Indy and got to work about 9:30. Jim Nieman had the proof for our March Christian college issue all spread out on two countertops for final checks before uploading to the printer today. It's not as edgy or head-turning as some of the previous issues, although I think my editorial, "'Merge' Is Not a Dirty Word" will get some reaction, and several of the back-of-the-book monthly columns are really fine. We'll see if anybody likes it.

I am particularly challenged by Brian Mavis's column in the March issue.

Majestic, for Me

In addition to their worship medley, the choir began
the service with a call to worship based on the text of Psalm 98.

It's funny the things you remember.
I was sitting in the chapel at church this morning, listening to our choir rehearse their anthems they were to sing in the 11:00 Classic service. They sang, "Majesty, worship His majesty. Unto Jesus be all glory, honor, and praise. . . ."
I remembered trying to memorize the words to that worship chorus on a Saturday before Easter; it might have been 20 years ago. I forget if I was leading worship or just singing on the worship team, but we were going to lead the chorus from memory, without music or words in front of us. I was going over the song in the kitchen while I was helping Evelyn get food ready for whomever we were hosting for Easter dinner the next day.
I remember another time we sang the song. I was leading worship, with a worship team from the church, for a special worship service we had planned to kick off our annual Publishing Committee meeting. We met at Mason Church of Christ, in our old building. The whole Standard Publishing crowd was there, along with a smattering of guests, and I had assembled the musicians to lead the singing. The occasion was the transition of Gene Wigginton from publisher to president of Standard Publishing, and my transition to his office overseeing all the editorial department.
Our choir sang the worship chorus this morning as part of a worship medley. I was hosting at that service, and so I stopped by the chapel at 9:00 a.m. to touch base with Dave Lautzenheiser about the service. When I heard the choir's words of "Holy, Holy, Holy" followed by "Majesty," the memories flooded over me.
So much has happened since I was first learning the words to that chorus, and it surprised me that I could sing them from memory quietly at my seat while they rehearsed. Dave got the brainstorm that I should lead the congregation in singing along with the choir's anthem, while he led the choir. And so this morning I was facing the congregation as the voices of the choir soared behind me and as the congregation sang along.
One little white-haired lady--I see her every Sunday, but I don't know her name--raised her hand in praise, quickly, involuntarily as the song's volume peaked. "So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus. Magnify, come glorify the King of all kings." She quickly pulled her hand back to her lap, but her earnest expression and spontaneous gesture of praise touched me deeply, and I could only mouth the words as the chorus finished.
I thought about the great, innumerable choir of saints that one day will "throw down their golden crowns around the glassy sea," and I could picture so many of the folks around me this morning as a part of that grand assembly.

Trevor introduced his beautiful family as a
part of his sermons this morning.

We had another wonderful sermon this morning. It challenged and touched me in ways the minister probably couldn't have imagined or intended. But the greatest inspiration to me was simply being with the saints at Mason this morning and hearing and seeing them offer their praise.

Stockin' Up

Evelyn and I both laughed out loud as I arranged our groceries
on the kitchen table so I could take a picture.

The weatherman says we're having one-to-three inches of snow tomorrow, a warning that has sent the whole city to the grocery store.
"You guys are pretty busy tonight," I said to the checkout gal when WE were at Kroger's after dinner, about 8:00.
"You should have seen it sooner," she said. "We had to open every checkout lane."
We probably have enough food in the house already to be snowed in for a day. But we bought the stuff to make a big pot of minestrone soup, using a new recipe Evelyn found. And if we're snowed in tomorrow, we're going to invite the neighbors to come share supper with us. Our PLAN, though, is to meet Bill and Verna Weber with Paul and Sev Friskney in Shelbyville. It is to be a reunion planned by Sev before Christmas, to help soften the good-bye to the Webers who moved to Indianapolis right after Christmas. We're really looking forward to seeing them, but if the trip seems risky, we'll put it off a week and make soup instead.