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SUNDAY MORNING From the pastor
February 8, 2004
The cat is wanting attention this morning. She has jumped up on the computer table and knocked my pen on the floor with her paw. The table puts her at face level with me, and she walks up to about five inches from my face and just stares. You know the game. Two people stare at each other to see which one will smile first. Of course, cats don’t smile, so I lose. Once she knows I am paying attention to her, she turns her back, ignores me, and swishes her tail in my face. If I toss her off the table, she’ll just hop back. So I wait for her to get bored and leave on her own.
At this point in my Sunday letter, I usually describe what is happening in nature, just outside my study window. But the cat is blocking my view. She has just appropriated the window as her hunting perch. I guess with it being winter and all, her hunting instincts are getting keener. It will soon occur to her that she never goes in the backyard anyway, and I expect she will ramble off to hunt down the food in her cat dish.
Well, she just left. I guess she’s decided that a morning sitting on the heat register is preferable to socializing with me.
Alison is home for the weekend. I went to visit her in Chicago on Friday and we both decided to just make a weekend of it. We rented a video Friday night. Yesterday we made bread. Our family doesn’t mess with bread machines. We do it the dirty way—by hand: flour all over the kitchen, dough up to the elbows from kneading, pans and bowls all over the kitchen. About the time we set the dough in front of the fireplace to rise, Mindy called and wanted to get together for supper. She was ready for a “family break” too it turned out. So we waited till the bread baked, took a fresh loaf to give to her, and met her in Bloomington last night at the Olive Garden.
I’m on a really tight schedule this weekend. I had about 10 hours of writing and reading to do yesterday. There was also an 80th birthday party for Olive Gregory (she is in town from Michigan and it was wonderful to see her again) and a meeting between the church staff and the worship volunteers to plan for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. Kids and cats were not on the agenda.
I figured that if Alison drove on our “spur of the moment” trip to Bloomington, I could work on my sermon in the car. I started to--but fell asleep. I suppose that if I fell asleep trying to work on it, I can’t really blame any of you if you fall asleep listening to it.
We have two important meetings at the church tonight. At 5:30 p.m., there is a gathering for all youth, their parents, and others interested in working with the youth programs of our church. I will be presenting Grace Church’s objective, mission, strategy, and tactics in youth ministry. There will be some round table discussion. And each person will have a “menu” to fill out in order to indicate areas of desired involvement. The other meeting will be our Church Council. We will be presenting the structural and staff changes that have occurred in the church and providing a flow chart so everyone can see who does what—and where to connect to get something started—or just get information. All interested persons are welcome to attend either meeting tonight. May God bless kids and cats and churches and our daily bread and our sleep. --Mike |
