Random Saturday Night Thoughts

Good grief.  It is Saturday night.  Today we attended a memorial service of a young friend's father.  That father led a life that was amazing in its influence on family and friends.  This young woman is a leader, mother, doctor and just as practical as can be.  The oldest sister told of standing and watching her father perform surgery on animals at his clinic.  Years later she was in medical school he allowed her to close for him on one surgery.  She was struggling and he commented, "Harder than it looks."  "But he knew I needed the practice so he just let me finish the job and learn."  The three daughters are surely a tribute to their father and his teachings.

As I have ventured across the blogs connected to The Spin Cycle this Saturday evening, I was struck by the layouts.  And the buttons and connections.  And all the bells and whistles the more attuned bloggers use.  And again I wonder why am I doing this.  It has been almost a year since I began this way of recording my thoughts and happenings.

Maybe it is sort of like our Christmas lights during the holidays.  We do not put much in the front yard.  Just 3 angels with a spotlight on them, a lighted twig wreath and a couple of small spiral trees, greenery swags on the windows and over the garage lights are sufficient for the world.  And a bunch of crap like snowmen and arrangements on the front porch.  When all the stuff is listed it seems like way too much.  Note to self, cut out stuff on porch next year.

But we/I really go crazy in the backyard outlining features in lights.  The color of the lights are varied:  flower beds in green, the stream and pond in blue, white lighted greens draped on the privacy fence around the perimeter of yard, blinking stars & icicle lights on the storage building, tree trunks wrapped in lights, a lighted Christmas tree on the patio and other lighted balls, etc.  And even bows and wreaths and it only takes about 8 hours and 18 to 20 extension cords to make it all work.  And no one sees all of this unless we let them into our home.

This blog is nothing like the decorations.  Poor analogy.  I guess the blog is an attempt by me to see if there is an audience beyond close friends and family for the thoughts of someone from the older generation.  An older person that wants tea parties to be more about friends or children "playing" together than a political statement.  An older voice that as I noted today at a baby shower, has guns but not sure where we hide the ammunition.  A person that will say a prayer at the sound of a siren cause I know there is a good chance someone is injured, ill or at least in distress.

In a world of extremes, maybe I just needed a place to practice not being so extreme.  To have I place where if I wrote something it would not be a one line lightning rod.  That "soft underbelly" post to Facebook that can bring on a feeding frenzies.  And I have discovered that in connecting to the blogs there are people of all ages seeking to give voice to their inner selves.

Last random thought of the day.  As a person of faith I gain great joy in watching how acts of faith are like building blocks.  About three years ago it was my first year as president of our UMW.  In January 2010 in the middle of the night I awoke.  I felt pulled to the Matthew 17:20 mustard seed and faith quote.  I decided I wanted a magnet with the scripture printed on it.  Using some business card stock we had, glue and mustard seed, each member of our mission group received a magnet, about 148 total.  I asked each woman to pray in faith.  At the spring event we use an idea provided at a district meeting.  Each woman and child had a clear glass pebble at their plate.  They were to take these home to remember to pray specifically for good water.

http://www.hydraid.org/

A year later our conference mission office began a push for Hydraid water filters for use in Haiti.  This was after the earthquake of 2010.  The filters cost $100, last for 10 years and provide 150 gallons of fresh water daily.  This past summer one of the other officers of our group brought the Hydraid filter to our church.  We ordered the video from the conference office and one circle saw the video.  They were so moved that money for 6 filters were donated that day.  A second circle donated 3.  At the mission connect Sunday in October, our group set up the filter with a challenge for a total of 20 filters to be purchased.

The local church mission team and the pastor decided to build on the challenge.  A donation from a deceased member's will brought the number to 100 filters.  The filter project became one of the Season of Giving options during the Christmas Season.  At last count there are now donations for close to 200 filters from just our church.  In late 2010 one young mother mention that her daughter of 4 at the time had insisted they remember to pray for water using the glass bead.   If you have faith as the grain of mustard seed, you can move mountains.  Oh, by the way.  That 4 now going on 7 year old is the granddaughter of the man whose service we attended this morning.