Pete here: Andrew, Philip and I spent last weekend together in Minneapolis, complete with bidding on a hotel room for cheap and getting surprised with the beautiful Doubletree Inn, complete with warm chocolate chip cookie, big exercise room and the perfect temperature, working, whirlpool; biking (courtesy of the Jones generosity) the Greenway in the "best city in the US for bike trails"; swimming on the north beach of Lake Calhoun on a 93 degree day; reading and discussing Harry Potter (ad nauseum); subway sandwiches at 33rd and Nicolet where they pile it on - good advice Vicki; a light rail ride and Twins game - fun, despite a 12-2 drubbing from the Blue Jays, and a parking ticket to nullify our savings; visiting Joel 3 times - no significant news but anticipating the halo ceremony; batting cage and laser tag at Grand Slam in Burnsville; hospitality from Todd, Vicki and Hannah Svanoe where we boarded Sat. eve - Hannah went biking and swimming with us and energized the boys with her enthusiasm for life and quick wit; and my personal highlight, worshiping with the Svanoes at Park Avenue.
I left the worship personally enriched and very encouraged by the maturity of what I think is a more liberal church. I expected covetousness and adultery to be evident and encouraged. Instead, I saw genuine unity in the spirit, all colors and ages praising God together, voices bursting in song, humbling of hearts, calling on God for forgiveness of sins, for healing and for help in brokenness. Rachel Svanoe sang in a quartet, some soul song, the 'later rain'. Amazing sound! The music was so well done. God invented excellence so the church's music was a celebration to God. A certificate was awarded for summer garden help from an immigrant who was befriended by the church and recently baptized. She poured out her heart at the microphone, beautifully revealing how God uses churches who love with helping hands and warm hearts. In his sermon, the pastor emphasized patience in relationships with self-deprecating humor, recounting Yancey's experience with a church who resolved to love a young man who had been kicked out of 3 churches prior. After he would rant and rave in the middle of the service, some men would pull him aside and talk to him with words like "appropriate". Over a prolonged period, he was patiently loved into maturity. A fantastic discipleship message. Perhaps Park and I do not line up on politics exactly but I sure believe in how they love and worship.
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
A Three-Fold Cord
I've been pondering the levels or spheres of attachment this last week. My side of the family held a reunion on Sunday at my uncle's house. My paternal grandparents, who had only two sons, and who have been gone from this earth for thirty and fifty years, currently have 99 descendants to the fourth generation, most of whom gathered to celebrate - in the past, we have gotten together for Christmas, but now it's too hard with so many married grandchildren, so we're going to try for an annual summer party.
Astonishingly, all eighteen families retain a vibrant Christian faith. Therefore, when we shared an update about Joel's situation, we knew that everyone present has been praying for him and for us. In fact, most of them have put Joel on their church prayer chains or have mentioned him to their groups of friends. And most have posted messages, emailed or even visited.
The three spheres of attachment I'm identifying are 1) family; 2) friends, and 3) Christian family. With my dad's side of the family, we share two of the three levels; we are family and we are Christian family. That gives them an extra incentive to care for us. With some of them, we are also friends. The triple bond is the strongest of all.
I notice that people who have only one bond with us - family members who aren't believers or with whom we don't spend much time, friends who aren't believers, or fellow Christians who aren't family or friends - sympathize and wish us well, but those with two bonds are more involved. And those with the triple bond - especially our siblings, with whom we share blood, faith and friendship - do things like change their basement office into an extra bedroom so that I can have my own space to stay in (this is what the Jones family just did). We're so thankful for all the people the Lord has bonded to us.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
A Strange Sunday
When Andrew and I arrived at the church on Sunday morning, we attempted to discover who would lead the service that morning. The Synod Assembly gathered all the pastors from the area, leaving churches to lay leadership. The bishop recorded a sermon on video, which Jon B planned to show on the screen. I asked him, "Are you the head honcho today?"
"Nope, just the projector man," he replied.
I had tapped Andrew to substitute for Daniel as Assisting Minister, since Daniel was playing softball out of town. Doug J, the lector, indicated he would rather not lead the worship. Very few of Svea's members feel comfortable up front, and even fewer at the last minute! Pete, obviously, is one, but with his gimpy leg the congregation would be pretty distracted if he were the leader. I could do it in between leading the praise team, but the congregation can't see me sitting at the piano. Finally, at 9:25, I informed Andrew that he would read the parts of the pastor as well as the assisting minister. We prayed, I made an announcement to that effect, and he began. He rose to the challenge and everything progressed smoothly - until the sermon.
A glitch in the laptop/projector setup caused the audio of the bishop's sermon to be, well, inaudible. The video worked fine, but since the congregation doesn't have a single lip-reader among us, that didn't do us much good. I thought furiously, picked up my microphone, and announced to the congregation, "I guess you get a sermon by...me!" I proceeded to communicate what I've been learning from Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts, and how I've put it into practice. My heart was pounding and my breathing was shallow for the first minute, but as I realized that I might share all this stuff with any of these members at the coffee table, I settled in and finished in a reasonable amount of time (I think).
After Andrew's beautiful rendition of "Let My Lifesong Sing to You," I asked for prayer requests and led the prayers of the church. Andrew gave the benediction and we sang the closing song. Another worship service drew to a close; Andrew and I learned anew that the Lord will empower you to do whatever you need to do.
"Nope, just the projector man," he replied.
I had tapped Andrew to substitute for Daniel as Assisting Minister, since Daniel was playing softball out of town. Doug J, the lector, indicated he would rather not lead the worship. Very few of Svea's members feel comfortable up front, and even fewer at the last minute! Pete, obviously, is one, but with his gimpy leg the congregation would be pretty distracted if he were the leader. I could do it in between leading the praise team, but the congregation can't see me sitting at the piano. Finally, at 9:25, I informed Andrew that he would read the parts of the pastor as well as the assisting minister. We prayed, I made an announcement to that effect, and he began. He rose to the challenge and everything progressed smoothly - until the sermon.
A glitch in the laptop/projector setup caused the audio of the bishop's sermon to be, well, inaudible. The video worked fine, but since the congregation doesn't have a single lip-reader among us, that didn't do us much good. I thought furiously, picked up my microphone, and announced to the congregation, "I guess you get a sermon by...me!" I proceeded to communicate what I've been learning from Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts, and how I've put it into practice. My heart was pounding and my breathing was shallow for the first minute, but as I realized that I might share all this stuff with any of these members at the coffee table, I settled in and finished in a reasonable amount of time (I think).
After Andrew's beautiful rendition of "Let My Lifesong Sing to You," I asked for prayer requests and led the prayers of the church. Andrew gave the benediction and we sang the closing song. Another worship service drew to a close; Andrew and I learned anew that the Lord will empower you to do whatever you need to do.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Giving Thanks part 2
Good thing I've been reading the book "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp! On Thursday I drove down to Mankato to watch Sarah's fastpitch softball team lose their playoff game to Chanhassen, 6-0. That wasn't so bad, as that team had been winning many games by scores of 17-0 or more. On my way home, I called Philip (on Pete's phone) to see if the church slowpitch game had ended, or if I should come in to Willmar to see the rest of it. I decided to attend, and halfway to Willmar Philip called to ask me to bring ice - "Dad hurt his leg. He heard his knee pop - he hyper-extended it." Rats. Pete called before I got the ice to say that a member of the opposing team had brought some from his neighboring house. We enjoyed cheering the team on to victory, 20-13, while Pete sat on the bench and Jason K. substituted on the pitcher's mound.
After the game, Lois Nelson declared, "Peter whatever-your-middle-name-is Stadem, you are going in!" We hemmed and hawed as we drove to DQ, where Andrew and Philip purchased their usual post-game Blizzards, but finally decided we'd better get it checked out. Daniel came to get the boys and I drove Pete to the emergency room at Rice Hospital. After an hour or two, the X-ray revealed a compound fracture of the tibia and an insignificant fracture of the fibula. The doctor insisted on speaking with an orthopedic surgeon and phoned Alexandria, where a Dr. Nelson recommended sending Pete home with a splinted legs and orders to call Willmar the next day to schedule surgery. We crawled into bed at 1:30am - well, I crawled; Pete and I gingerly raised his leg to the bed and he slept on his back. Ibuprofen controlled the pain fairly well, though.
On Friday, after numerous phone calls to Willmar, Alexandria and Olivia, we journeyed to Heartland Orthopedics in Alexandria because no orthopedic surgeon in Willmar could help us. As it turned out, no orthopedic surgeon in Alex could help us either. Surgery has to wait until this week because the swelling must go down or they wouldn't be able to close the incision. We waited almost two hours for Pete's CT scan, because a sudden influx of emergency patients kept the scanner busy. When we finally arrived home at supper time, I took a bath while Pete napped on the couch, and then I did go to the Gatewood's barn dance for about an hour. Biggest crowd yet and so fun!
So - no trip to Plain View Farm this weekend; no softball for Pete the rest of the season; no graduation parties for him on Saturday; no going much of anywhere (just a funeral and church) until the surgery. On the positive side - no ligaments or tendons torn (they think); no terrible pain; no work for several days, so time to think and pray about some long-term issues we've been procrastinating. The kids have been very helpful, including taking care of the turkeys. Lots of folks are praying for us. And bone heals well. God is good - all the time!
After the game, Lois Nelson declared, "Peter whatever-your-middle-name-is Stadem, you are going in!" We hemmed and hawed as we drove to DQ, where Andrew and Philip purchased their usual post-game Blizzards, but finally decided we'd better get it checked out. Daniel came to get the boys and I drove Pete to the emergency room at Rice Hospital. After an hour or two, the X-ray revealed a compound fracture of the tibia and an insignificant fracture of the fibula. The doctor insisted on speaking with an orthopedic surgeon and phoned Alexandria, where a Dr. Nelson recommended sending Pete home with a splinted legs and orders to call Willmar the next day to schedule surgery. We crawled into bed at 1:30am - well, I crawled; Pete and I gingerly raised his leg to the bed and he slept on his back. Ibuprofen controlled the pain fairly well, though.
On Friday, after numerous phone calls to Willmar, Alexandria and Olivia, we journeyed to Heartland Orthopedics in Alexandria because no orthopedic surgeon in Willmar could help us. As it turned out, no orthopedic surgeon in Alex could help us either. Surgery has to wait until this week because the swelling must go down or they wouldn't be able to close the incision. We waited almost two hours for Pete's CT scan, because a sudden influx of emergency patients kept the scanner busy. When we finally arrived home at supper time, I took a bath while Pete napped on the couch, and then I did go to the Gatewood's barn dance for about an hour. Biggest crowd yet and so fun!
So - no trip to Plain View Farm this weekend; no softball for Pete the rest of the season; no graduation parties for him on Saturday; no going much of anywhere (just a funeral and church) until the surgery. On the positive side - no ligaments or tendons torn (they think); no terrible pain; no work for several days, so time to think and pray about some long-term issues we've been procrastinating. The kids have been very helpful, including taking care of the turkeys. Lots of folks are praying for us. And bone heals well. God is good - all the time!
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Getting Ready for Frankenpastor
In October, Linda informed me that due to her granddaughter's cancer, she might have to bow out of directing this year's church youth group musical for the dinner theater. Sure enough, Lois talked to me the first week of January and we agreed that Pete would direct the drama and I would, as usual, take care of the music.
Several concerns raised by this decision are:
1. How will the kids respond to the change in directing style between Linda and Pete?
2. How will Pete know everything that needs to be done outside of the play?
3. How will Pete and I and Lois get along?
4. What play will we do, and who will have what parts?
We chose the play, "Frankenpastor," and assigned the parts last week. We also set the dates, for March 8-10. At our first rehearsal on Wednesday, the first and second questions were answered satisfactorily. The kids can see that Pete knows what he's doing and will respond accordingly. Laurie assured us that the parents will take care of the meal, decorating, tickets, programs and everything except the play itself. She was heading to a parents meeting with a folder in hand, so I assume she knows what needs to be done. We'll just relax and forget about all that. The dinner theater is always a wonderful example of the Body of Christ working together and using all the gifts, talents and skills of its members.
Pete and I are getting along fine through the first stage of rewriting the music and writing new music. Six years ago, for our first musical, "The Return," I had to write all new music in about ten days. This show poses a comparable challenge, as the fourteen songs are necessary for length. Several of them cannot be done by our group because of range, ability or appropriateness of the accompaniment. All are new lyrics written to pop tunes, which means sheet music or karaoke tracks have to be found or I have to figure out the accompaniment by ear. As usual, I have to make practice mp3s for the kids to listen to so they can learn the music because we won't have enough rehearsals for memorization.
No wonder I'm a little stressed out this week! Thanks, kids, for filling in around the house. We'll get through this!
Several concerns raised by this decision are:
1. How will the kids respond to the change in directing style between Linda and Pete?
2. How will Pete know everything that needs to be done outside of the play?
3. How will Pete and I and Lois get along?
4. What play will we do, and who will have what parts?
We chose the play, "Frankenpastor," and assigned the parts last week. We also set the dates, for March 8-10. At our first rehearsal on Wednesday, the first and second questions were answered satisfactorily. The kids can see that Pete knows what he's doing and will respond accordingly. Laurie assured us that the parents will take care of the meal, decorating, tickets, programs and everything except the play itself. She was heading to a parents meeting with a folder in hand, so I assume she knows what needs to be done. We'll just relax and forget about all that. The dinner theater is always a wonderful example of the Body of Christ working together and using all the gifts, talents and skills of its members.
Pete and I are getting along fine through the first stage of rewriting the music and writing new music. Six years ago, for our first musical, "The Return," I had to write all new music in about ten days. This show poses a comparable challenge, as the fourteen songs are necessary for length. Several of them cannot be done by our group because of range, ability or appropriateness of the accompaniment. All are new lyrics written to pop tunes, which means sheet music or karaoke tracks have to be found or I have to figure out the accompaniment by ear. As usual, I have to make practice mp3s for the kids to listen to so they can learn the music because we won't have enough rehearsals for memorization.
No wonder I'm a little stressed out this week! Thanks, kids, for filling in around the house. We'll get through this!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Healing Service
On Sunday we had a healing service at Svea. We've only done this one other time, when Pastor Bill was here (so before 2001), and the worship committee didn't exactly know how it would go over. Normally our congregation is very healthy, with just a few illnesses each year. Right now, seeming multitudes are suffering from various physical problems, including four with cancer, and of course the emotional, spiritual and relational problems often go unreported, unheard and unseen except by the Lord. So we decided to center our scriptures, songs and message around the healing power of God, and offer laying on of hands, anointing with oil and prayer to individuals.
After the creed and offering, Pastor Mary announced that anyone was welcome to come forward, as they do at communion, and receive this ministry from her. Joel sang "Blessings," and I sang a medley of four praise songs about the Lord's power and healing love. At first, it looked like no one was going to come, but after a few teens took the plunge, the flow began - and didn't stop! I sang three more songs, stretching each one out as long as I felt was reasonable, and then started on the songs we had already sung for worship. I think everyone there came forward for prayer! It was a great blessing.
My theory is that people don't get a chance to be prayed for by name individually, so they are hungry for it. Pete thought that everyone figured they were expected to come, so they did. Who knows? I'm confident that the Lord will work in everyone's lives no matter what their motivations were. And we'll have another healing service - sooner than ten years!
After the creed and offering, Pastor Mary announced that anyone was welcome to come forward, as they do at communion, and receive this ministry from her. Joel sang "Blessings," and I sang a medley of four praise songs about the Lord's power and healing love. At first, it looked like no one was going to come, but after a few teens took the plunge, the flow began - and didn't stop! I sang three more songs, stretching each one out as long as I felt was reasonable, and then started on the songs we had already sung for worship. I think everyone there came forward for prayer! It was a great blessing.
My theory is that people don't get a chance to be prayed for by name individually, so they are hungry for it. Pete thought that everyone figured they were expected to come, so they did. Who knows? I'm confident that the Lord will work in everyone's lives no matter what their motivations were. And we'll have another healing service - sooner than ten years!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Old Friends are the Best Friends
What a wonderful weekend! Shelley & Jon, my college roommate and her husband, came from Friday evening til Sunday afternoon and we talked nonstop the whole time. We would start on a topic - say, one of the kids and how he liked college - and pretty soon we'd covered government regulations, our dreams for housing someday, and a friend's husband's cancer! Or some such...
On Saturday Shelley & I went around to some realtor's open houses, just to see what's in the area for when we eventually move. Oh, the beautiful things some people have and do. The vaulted ceilings; sliding glass doors; stone counter tops; sitting areas with fireplaces; tile floors; desk nooks, and in one house, a greenhouse right in the middle of the living space with skylights - all were inspirational. It makes me excited to move, and wondering whether we'll buy a place that's ready to move into, or do our own remodeling or redecorating.
Saturday evening Jon & Shelley took Pete & me to the local sit-down Chinese restaurant. Yum yum yum! We had 4 dishes - one shrimp, one pork, one chicken, one beef - and even the spicy ones weren't too spicy for me, so we all ate some of each, and egg rolls, wontons and shrimp appetizers besides. Rolling out the door, we laughed and talked some more.
Sunday morning the congregation was in top form - I rarely hear the singing as loudly as I did yesterday. We had a guest speaker who has been to Honduras 22 years in a row. He's a carpenter and had great stories to tell of God's provision. He felt the Lord wanted him to build a certain building early on, which would cost $3000 that Alan didn't have. He went to a builder's convention and won the grand door prize of $3000 plus round-trip airfare to anywhere in the world. Again, inspirational! Afterwards we thoroughly enjoyed a delicious potluck.
After our friends left and we had a nap, David called and we talked for an hour and a half about his life and (girl) concerns. We'll see him in a couple of weeks when we go down to Augie to watch the Viking Varieties talent show, in which he and 3 others will sing "Java Jive." That's a special treat for us, because we used to sing it with Pete's brother & wife, Tom & Judy. In fact, we won the County Fair talent contest and went to the State Fair with it in 1998.
We relaxed the rest of the day, finishing off with "Tangled" - what an excellent movie with great themes and lessons! - and an episode of the old TV show, "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Altogether an extremely fun weekend.
On Saturday Shelley & I went around to some realtor's open houses, just to see what's in the area for when we eventually move. Oh, the beautiful things some people have and do. The vaulted ceilings; sliding glass doors; stone counter tops; sitting areas with fireplaces; tile floors; desk nooks, and in one house, a greenhouse right in the middle of the living space with skylights - all were inspirational. It makes me excited to move, and wondering whether we'll buy a place that's ready to move into, or do our own remodeling or redecorating.
Saturday evening Jon & Shelley took Pete & me to the local sit-down Chinese restaurant. Yum yum yum! We had 4 dishes - one shrimp, one pork, one chicken, one beef - and even the spicy ones weren't too spicy for me, so we all ate some of each, and egg rolls, wontons and shrimp appetizers besides. Rolling out the door, we laughed and talked some more.
Sunday morning the congregation was in top form - I rarely hear the singing as loudly as I did yesterday. We had a guest speaker who has been to Honduras 22 years in a row. He's a carpenter and had great stories to tell of God's provision. He felt the Lord wanted him to build a certain building early on, which would cost $3000 that Alan didn't have. He went to a builder's convention and won the grand door prize of $3000 plus round-trip airfare to anywhere in the world. Again, inspirational! Afterwards we thoroughly enjoyed a delicious potluck.
After our friends left and we had a nap, David called and we talked for an hour and a half about his life and (girl) concerns. We'll see him in a couple of weeks when we go down to Augie to watch the Viking Varieties talent show, in which he and 3 others will sing "Java Jive." That's a special treat for us, because we used to sing it with Pete's brother & wife, Tom & Judy. In fact, we won the County Fair talent contest and went to the State Fair with it in 1998.
We relaxed the rest of the day, finishing off with "Tangled" - what an excellent movie with great themes and lessons! - and an episode of the old TV show, "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Altogether an extremely fun weekend.
Monday, January 24, 2011
What if we all tithed?
Yesterday we had our church annual meeting. A good chunk of the meeting always talks about the budget for next year, which has increased very slightly. The church is considering doing a stewardship program called "Step Up," or something like that, which encourages people to increase their giving incrementally each year until they reach a tithe, or 10% of their income. I'm intrigued by this because essentially the same program was proposed at a company profit-sharing meeting a week ago. Apparently a lot of people don't put any money in their 401(k) accounts because they hear that they should be putting aside 10%, they think, "I can't do that!", so they don't do anything. But they can usually imagine putting aside 1% of their incomes, and the next year they can probably imagine setting aside another 1% of their incomes, and so on, until they reach 10%. "Step Up" is trying to encourage people to increase their giving the same way - by 1% of their income each year until they reach 10%, and then go even further if they wish. The tithe, of course, was commanded by God in the Old Testament, and He even said, "Bring the tithes in and see if I won't bless you!" (Malachi 3:10) so that seems like a good goal.
Pete & I have always tithed, and in the lean years, it was amazing to see God provide. Money would occasionally come out of the sky, it seemed. I had a strict budget, of course, but sometimes there would just be more in the checkbook than there should have been. A couple of times, we got checks in the mail from telephone companies in towns we'd lived in years before for a year or two - some kind of co-op dividend payment. Things like that happened just when we ran short.
What struck me today is - what could our church do if everyone tithed? If the average giving is 1.5% of incomes (as I've read in several places), then we would have almost a million dollars a year EXTRA. Do you think our church could help some poor people with that kind of money? Do you think we could support some missionaries? Do you think we could provide some great opportunities for struggling learners, or struggling doubters, or struggling marriages, or whatever?? I think so!! And that's just little Svea. What could the churches in Kandiyohi County do if everyone tithed? How about Minnesota? How about America? The answer to Big Government is - Tithing Christians!
Pete & I have always tithed, and in the lean years, it was amazing to see God provide. Money would occasionally come out of the sky, it seemed. I had a strict budget, of course, but sometimes there would just be more in the checkbook than there should have been. A couple of times, we got checks in the mail from telephone companies in towns we'd lived in years before for a year or two - some kind of co-op dividend payment. Things like that happened just when we ran short.
What struck me today is - what could our church do if everyone tithed? If the average giving is 1.5% of incomes (as I've read in several places), then we would have almost a million dollars a year EXTRA. Do you think our church could help some poor people with that kind of money? Do you think we could support some missionaries? Do you think we could provide some great opportunities for struggling learners, or struggling doubters, or struggling marriages, or whatever?? I think so!! And that's just little Svea. What could the churches in Kandiyohi County do if everyone tithed? How about Minnesota? How about America? The answer to Big Government is - Tithing Christians!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas Music
Don't you love Christmas music? Here's the Christmas music I love:
Christmas carols on every radio station and in every mall, glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ in a way not possible the rest of the year.
Nostalgic Christmas songs from my childhood memories, such as "White Christmas," "Little Toy Trains," "Little Altar Boy," and "Silver Bells." They're so melodic and I know all the words.
Sunday School Christmas programs at Svea. On Saturday morning during our practice I got them going to the point that the 5th & 6th grade girls were absolutely mortified to think that all these little boys would be yelling out, at the top of their apparently-not-so-little lungs, "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and the chorus of "Angels We Have Heard on High." I didn't get a chance to reassure them, but of course on Sunday morning it calmed down to a beautiful enthusiasm that warmed everyone's hearts.
The Seasonal Choir at Svea. Tonight we had our last practice with only ten singers - but they were ten strong singers and filled the sanctuary, empty of people but full of beauty, with lovely sounds.
Organ/piano duets. Michelle will play the piano along with me on the organ for our Christmas Eve service tomorrow night. There's something special about that combination.
Christmas CDs. I find it very interesting that at Christmas, secular artists sing praises to God, and Christian artists sing secular songs. Someday those distinctions will be erased, and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. May it be sooner rather than later!
Christmas carols on every radio station and in every mall, glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ in a way not possible the rest of the year.
Nostalgic Christmas songs from my childhood memories, such as "White Christmas," "Little Toy Trains," "Little Altar Boy," and "Silver Bells." They're so melodic and I know all the words.
Sunday School Christmas programs at Svea. On Saturday morning during our practice I got them going to the point that the 5th & 6th grade girls were absolutely mortified to think that all these little boys would be yelling out, at the top of their apparently-not-so-little lungs, "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and the chorus of "Angels We Have Heard on High." I didn't get a chance to reassure them, but of course on Sunday morning it calmed down to a beautiful enthusiasm that warmed everyone's hearts.
The Seasonal Choir at Svea. Tonight we had our last practice with only ten singers - but they were ten strong singers and filled the sanctuary, empty of people but full of beauty, with lovely sounds.
Organ/piano duets. Michelle will play the piano along with me on the organ for our Christmas Eve service tomorrow night. There's something special about that combination.
Christmas CDs. I find it very interesting that at Christmas, secular artists sing praises to God, and Christian artists sing secular songs. Someday those distinctions will be erased, and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. May it be sooner rather than later!
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