I'm starting this at 4:25 p.m. on Friday afternoon...Ella is bound to wake up any moment sucking me away from the opportunity to finish it. But I'm going to start it anyway...and listen for the Bean to stir.
We spent 8 days in California (with two days additional days traveling to and from California). It was wonderful. I'll do my best to blog about our trip next week giving details of what we did and including pictures (which you've seen if you're a friend on facebook).
One of the coolest things we did was go to church with my brother, Warren, and my wonderful sister-in-law, Rachel. Warren and Rach are members of First Christian Church of Burbank (Disciples of Christ). They have found a wonderful family there. Warren leads the worship there in the 11:00 service and Rachel is an elder in the church. They were both fulfilling those roles during our visit.
The minister, Steve Borgard, was finishing up a series on Stewardship. Sunday, May 30, he preached on the Stewardship of Memory basing his sermon on 1 Corinthians11:17-34. It was a GREAT message. One that we could all do well to hear. He spoke of the Lord's Supper being a Meal of Memory...people in the text were not honoring the communion meal appropriately and were being redirected in the way they should be partaking. Steve talked about one of the mistakes we make in partaking of communion is looking at it as an individual event when it is supposed to be about community - our community of believers, those sitting around us, partaking with us. He also touched on the words, "discern the body" and said that we should consider the body of believers - what are others' needs? There should be a collective memory.
One of my favorite things he spoke about was the IMPORTANCE of PARTICIPATING in CHURCH. This is a touchy subject at times. People feel that they worship better alone or in nature. But Steve made the point Jesus' model was CHURCH AS COMMUNITY. This point is so true. Let me tell you, my church family has been very important to me throughout my life. I may fuss about them at times, but don't we all fuss about family members? We all have some crazy aunt or uncle...so it is in the church body. I could not have gotten through some of my biggest trials without the prayers, support, and comfort that was provided from those outside of my immediate family - my church family was there all the way, holding my hand and holding me up alongside my wonderful God-given family.
Another thing that Steve touched on - and this truly inspired me - was that "memory is not only a PAST event". He talked about the harm that can come from nostalgia. When we talk about how things used to be...you know, "the good ole days". In "the good ole days", our church didn't have a computer showing upcoming events. In "the good ole days", our church didn't have a screen projecting the words of songs to enable the congregation to sing facing forward - being heard in worship. In "the good ole days"... I agree that the old days were good, but the thing that Steve said that hit me directly in the heart is this: "The 'good ole days' can become a weapon against the POSSIBILITY of present." Wow! How true!
How often are we so focused on how things used to be, that we're missing out on something totally cool happening RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW? I'll leave you that to think about.
And with that...the Bean says "mommy". See ya later! Happy Weekend!
