Big Church

Yesterday I took the grandchildren to First Pres with me for the eleven o'clock service. I thought they would enjoy the pretty stained glass windows, the big pipe organ and maybe a few other aspects of church. While there I thought of ways a traditional church can benefit children as a part of character development. They learn about following protocol in the order of worship. They learn self discipline as they sit quietly during the sermon and to be respectful of other people. They experience group singing and how to follow stanzas of hymns. Socially, manners can be honed in church as they observe the adults greeting each other and are encouraged to practice polite behaviors themselves. And it feels good to have something to dress nicely for. Sometimes church seems like a lot of work with kids, at least that is how it was for me, but it is worth it in many ways.

Thanksgiving's Grand Finale

I am home from driving the three precious siblings who are my "grands" (as they say) up the mountain to meet their daddy who will carry them the rest of the way to their Tennessee home. My quiet drive back was under a magnificent setting sun that artistically streaked the sky with colors found only from the Master's unlimited collection of paints. It was beautiful, but I find each drive up or down to be beautiful in a different way. The ridges of the foothills may be in muted shades of blues and greens, or deep yellows and oranges in a vibrant fall flurry. The sky may be gray and stark, misty and alive, or a lovely blue background to big fluffy clouds. It is always a wondrous way to celebrate the beginning or end of a happy occasion like spending time with grandchildren. It's wondrous too that they carry a little piece of me with them. Now I shall get some rest!

Happy Thanksgiving

On this uniquely American day, the 2nd and 3rd verses of America the Beautiful:

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine.

It really takes more than an hour

I am in high gear preparing for the biggest eating day of the year. My dinner is going to be traditional American fare with a big turkey, not like the new Iron Chef's winning courses that were modeled on the Pilgrim's meal that very first Thanksgiving. I have watched that show so much that I should be inspired to get all my creative dishes done in one hour flat, but I don't think that is going to be the case. There is the planning and the shopping, the thawing and the roasting, the peeling and chopping, the mixing and baking, the table setting and the drinks, and my sous chefs won't turn up until close to buzzer time. But however long it takes, it will get done. And if not? I will still have a wonderful time gathering with many of the ones I love.

A Sad Way to Live

In one way or another, at work I often help take care of drug addicts. I used to feel bad for them, but over the years I have developed less and less sympathy for them. Not only do they ruin their own lives, but others as well. An addiction is a terrible thing, but these unfortunate people seem to want other people to find a magic cure to transform their lives or else they want to substitute one substance for another. They do not want to endure the pain of getting clean. Often I ask them if they have seen the movie "Ray," especially the great scene in there in which Ray kicked heroin cold turkey. It can be done, I tell them, if they want to do it.

But what do I really know. I have not walked in their shoes. Even though some addictions began from that one hit or pill when they did not say no to what they hoped would be good time or good feeling, or when they desperately desired to be accepted, others have had terrible lives from the start. They want to numb their awful feelings. Or else the drug lifestyle is all they have ever known and they fear life without it. I have not experienced the depths of their pain. I have to remember not to let my mind pass judgment on them.