...."where everybody knows your name."

Years ago, a local grocery chain employed a spokeswoman, to hype their stores. Their commercial would come on the radio or TV, and Janie (that was her name) would say, "Hi Neighbor. This is Janie for Milgram's." Everybody in town felt like they knew Janie.
Remember the hit TV show of the 90's, "Cheers."? We watched "Cheers", because we all wanted to go to a place where "everybody knows your name."
Read this, Folks! I am tired of worshiping in churches where NO BODY KNOWS MY NAME OR EVEN CARES TO KNOW IT!!!!!!
It's not that church folk are unfriendly. They're just not friendly. They aren't welcoming.
Most churches have designated Greeters these days. Personally, I think everyone in a congregation should take the initiative to be friendly, but I do understand why churches want to have specific folk be Greeters.
But, Church Greeters never introduce themselves. (I really want to know the name of the person shaking my hand.) Church Greeters can smile and shake hands, but they rarely do it with any passion. (I want to be "pulled" into a church.) Church Greeters do nothing for a visitor, after you are in the door. (I want to be talked with, sat with, shown where the potties are and led to where the drinking fountains flow.)
It's no wonder churches are losing members. Small churches, mega churches, churches with giant screens, churches with digital signs, and churches with Hip-Hop music.........Wake up! Unless you really WELCOME me with the Spirit (get the many meanings here??) of the Lord, I'm not coming back.

O Lord. I want to be your servant. You have never made me feel like a stranger. Show me how to deal with my fellow Christians and help me to work on my patience. Open my ears and my eyes, so that I may be reminded of my imperfections. Guide my feet, Lord. Keep me on Your path.

Skipping a Beat

One of my followers wondered why I had omitted the prayer from my last posting. My answer is this, and I am being very truthful........ I wasn't feeling very Christ connected last week. It doesn't happen to me very often, but sometimes it does.
I won't bore you all with details, but let's say that, on occasion, church folk can be really insensitive and crass. It's as if they have never heard or put into practice the teachings of Jesus Christ. I encountered a couple of those "broken records" last week, and I let them get me off-track.
But, not for long. My needle is back in the groove, so to speak.
We are all guilty of not thinking before we speak. I have always said that my mouth and my propensity toward not policing my words will probably send me straight to Hell. My experience last week will serve to remind me that words and actions can hurt. So, I am telling myself...Straighten up, lady.


Gracious and all knowing Lord. Help me to keep my mouth shut and my mind open. Help me to realize that your children have all kinds of God given gifts and graces, and I am not the one to judge or be judged.
Your wonders will never cease. Your goodness will never end. Your mercy endures forever.

"All You Need Is Love"

Loretta Lynn once said that "all country music is either about lovin', cheatin' or God." Well, I listen to Country Music, and she's pretty much right on. Although, I'd probably add pick-up trucks, to the mix!
I'm also a fan of the music of Mozart, and actually, you could say the same thing about classical music.....it's all about loving, cheating and God. Those, after all, are the themes of "Don Giovanni" and the beautiful "Ave verum corpus."
And, pop music has always had a prevailing loving/cheating theme. Most of the Beatles' Songs had lyrics about love, including "Lovely Rita, Meter Maid."
I'm not familiar with rap and hip-hop, but I'm going to guess the same ideas run through that music.
So, on the eve of St. Valentine's Day, turn on some music. Whether you listening to "Reunited" by Peaches and Herb, or "Valse des Fleurs" from the Nutcracker, think beautiful thoughts and dwell on the good things that you love in your life. Paul and John said it best...........

Rub a dub, dub.

We were expecting guests during the holiday season, so I felt that it was time for me to replace the well-worn and faded bath towels in the hall bathroom. Finding just the right color towels to go with the decor of the room was my goal. Luckily, I found some very pretty ones. They were very soft. And, on top of that, they were really cheap.
After washing and drying the new towels, I used them for the first time. They weren't very fluffy and they didn't dry me off very well. Towels are supposed to dry you off after a shower, I think. These didn't.
So, I washed and dried them again. This time, I didn't use any fabric softener, thinking that might be the problem. They still didn't work very well. I had purchased some really bad towels, and unfortunately, I was stuck with them.
My guests didn't complain about the towels, but I did notice that they all looked a little damp every morning!

Lord, your children make mistakes. Sometimes our choices are wrong. We often choose the easy way or the cheap way. We look for the quick fix and not the long term answer. Help us to make good decisions and help us to remember that you stand with us in all that we do.

You Speaka Spanish?

Every day, I try to improve my knowledge of Spanish......just a word or two. Today, I spent the morning hours attempting to enroll new students at our school. Most of the prospective students were native Spanish speakers. I was able to use words like enscripcion, telophono, direcion, and primero. (enroll, telephone, address, and first)
Believe me, as the morning went on, I was getting pretty proud of myself. Soon, I thought, I'll be fluent in Spanish. No more, habla Espagnol poquito, senora!
Then, it dawned on me that my Spanish knowledge consisted of about 40 nouns, half of which I couldn't spell correctly. My fluency is about that of a two-year old. In order to label myself fluent, I'm going to have to put together, at the very least, a sentence or two. And learn how to spell, on top of that. Fluency requires pronouns, verbs, correct tenses of verbs, adverbs, and adjectives, etc.
Oh, my I have a long way to go.

Oh, Lord. Save us from the sense of false pride that often tends to be our downfall. Keep us aware that by putting our trust in you and your goodness, we will always be served in our times of need.
Open our eyes so that we can see the wonder of your infinite knowledge and make us aware of the inadequacy of our tiny minds. We ask for your guidance.