No or Yes?

The eldest is home from Boston. The Youth Ministry Working Group folks had great fun and no sleep of course. It sounds like there is progress in the vision of Minstry to and with Youth for the future. I got few details, but he's excited, so that's a good sign. 

The middle one had a great weekend on an OWL Retreat, they did five OWL sessions but still had time for a midnight hike, a sunrise hike, a two-hour capture the flag (or PIE) game and an improptu Quidditch match with the brooms from their cabins. 

My church weekend was like some perfect storm of overcommitment. It started out with a pre church meeting with my potential new co-DRE. Then we had the first Sunday forum so we scurried around to be set up by 9:30--an hour early. With church out of a box that means hauling and shoving and lugging and dragging--kinda like moving into a new house every week. Then I got to tell Ruth Gibson's story about Albert Schweitzer for the Story for All Ages. We sang the kids downstairs and then I was on to leading a children's chapel about home. Next we worked hard on a Sunday Service project I organized making entertainment kits for our Family Promise homeless families. (pant pant) 

Somehow, someway everything went well. We had very few disasters. Oh and I made soup for the soup lunch after the service.  Somehow I've really got to learn to delegate and say "no." But I have four evenings this week out for church work. 

It's October. It's supposed to start to slow down now! No more meetings, please! No more "just a quick chat" that goes beyond  one minute! I want my life baaaaaack!

No. Just say no. 

Practice with me. No no no no no no no no no. 

Now I sound like a two-year-old. 

But, on Friday we had a huge Memorial Service for a beloved member who died suddenly last weekend. He was 43. We crammed over 400 people in our little hall. When firefighters showed up I thought the gig was up, but they just grabbed more chairs and helped us set them up right in our packed aisles, and sat down for the service. They were there to grieve. The death was an earth shattering tragedy. I can't believe it, it's just unfathomable. 

And we all, a whole bunch of precious members of our church said yes. Yes I'll bake a banana cake. Yes I'll take a day away from work to help. Yes I'll be there. Yes, what can I do? Yes. Yes. Yes, you can count on me. 

So. There it is. Practice with me. Yes. Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes yes. 

Well, which will it be? 

Um, yeah. I guess it's yes. Yes.