RGBP'S FRIDAY FIVE: THANKSGIVING AHEAD!

The Cure
Lying around all day
with some strange new deep blue
weekend funk, I’m not really asleep
when my sister calls
to say she’s just hung up
from talking with Aunt Bertha
who is 89 and ill but managing
to take care of Uncle Frank
who is completely bed ridden.
Aunt Bert says
it’s snowing there in Arkansas,
on Catfish Lane, and she hasn’t been
able to walk out to their mailbox.
She’s been suffering
from a bad case of the mulleygrubs.
The cure for the mulleygrubs,
she tells my sister,
is to get up and bake a cake.
If that doesn’t do it, put on a red dress.–Ginger Andrews (from Hurricane Sisters)

So this Friday before Thanksgiving, think about Aunt Bert and how she’ll celebrate Thanksgiving! And how about YOU?

 
1. What is your cure for the “mulleygrubs”?

      My cure is putting on some upbeat tunes that get me moving with the music!

2. Where will you be for Thanksgiving?

       Right here at home! Course, I have some decluttering, dusting and last minute cleaning

       to do.

3. What foods will be served? Which are traditional for your family?

      Turkey! I've been waiting all year for a taste of roasted turkey! Then there's homemade

      stuffing(rice, bread, stock, mushrooms, Italian sausage, white wine, spices, etc), homemade

      mashed potatoes, prepared sweet potatoes, whole cranberry sauce, gravy, the green

      bean casserole my SILs make and bring and pumpkin mousse dessert on a graham cracker

     crust. There will be a cheese ball and crackers and Knorr vege dip with fresh veges for

     appetizer.

4. What do you wish could be deleted (or added) to your traditional Thanksgiving day?

       I would love help with doing all the dishes!! Since my sister and BIL were here last
       year, I must be content with them not being here this year.
      I am adding the vege dip and fresh veges which got added last year and hit the spot
      with getting more greens!

5. In this season of Thanksgiving, what are you grateful for?

        I am grateful to be serving where I am. I am grateful that God has provided an

        opportunity for L church to possibly have a day care center and bring life to the

        church and provide a service a community. I pray it will work out. We have 6

        weeks to approve, make changes, and move all kinds of furniture to different places

        to accommodate this, but I believe it is a win-win for both the church and the center

        which was given just two months notice to leave (the old folks home wanted their

         space back for adult day care after a 12 year relationship). So, I am thankful and

         hopeful.

BONUS: Describe Aunt Bert’s Thanksgiving.

SPECIAL DAY

Today is the 30th anniversary of my ordination!
I can't believe it has been 30 years. I really don't feel that old and yet, there are days.
I wish that I was a bit more settled in my ministry - I believed that 30 years ago. However, God, had other plans for me and made me to wander through these years and through my ministry. I do not know what the future holds or where I will be serving, but I do know this; God will lead and guide me, I have but to trust God.
  It has been a long and varied journey, full of ups and downs, twists and turns, some expected and some unexpected but through it all I have been held in God's hands and care, even when I thought I was on the very edges of existence, I have never been beyond the reach of God's gracious care.\
  It will be a quiet day and cold - more like January than November.
   I don't remember all that much of that Sunday so many years ago, except that my home church which had been torched by an arsonist (for housing a minority low-income day care center) was not the place of my ordination. It was at a neighboring Presbyterian Church and the pastor who had been our church's pastor for 38 years was there, as well as the interim pastor who became our pastor.
My folks were there and my sister along with her husband and their baby girl, my niece, now in med school. My sister gifted me with a red silk stole with embroidered flames on it that I still wear. My parents gifted me with a black pulpit robe. I wore a green suit and an opal ring my parents gave me for Seminary graduation.
   A month later, we all headed to Switzerland to celebrate my Grandma's 85th birthday and then upon my return, I moved to OH and my folks moved to Florida. I have been here ever since. Only my sister stayed in IL.
  I remember being very self-conscious, feeling unworthy, yet knowing there was this call from God. I had completed all my education, passed the Standard Ordination Exams all in one try.
  There are times I still question and struggle with my call, but largely God and I have been at peace with one another and it is only by God's power that I have served for these 30 years in God's service. I pray that there are a few more years left to serve and to bring Christ and God's kingdom a littler nearer to whoever God places before me. I pray God's Spirit will help me to be effective. I pray to continue to be a faithful servant of my Lord and Savior.

'TIS THE SEASON

for crazy business - Advent Sunday services, mid-week Advent services, a confirmation class on the Exodus and wilderness wandering whose curriculum I had to write complete with handouts, prayer stations, and reflective questions for the family to discuss at home. Then there was the newsletter article due. I am behind in my monthly reports. There was council and my visitation report for the other church.
  Did I mention I still have more Iris leaves to cut down, Christmas gifts to wrap and send, a Christmas letter in English and German to write and cards to address.
  Plus the dining room table has been a catch all and must be decluttered and emptied before Thanksgiving. Dare I even say that it still has the Christmas table cloth on it?!!? I am embarrassed about that. Fortunately, there's so much stuff on the table you hardly notice it!!!
  One day last month, I was driving home on my long commute and was behind a small SUV with the strangest bumper sticker - I (heart) Crackwhores! How awful is that? Not even funny, but sad. The driver was in his 20's wearing a hoodie. It was disturbing to say the least.
   Fortunately, a couple days later while en route between visits I saw a van with several sayings on it: "Today is full of possibilities", Live the dream of your life", etc. very uplifting, redeeming, and positive which more than cancelled out the horrid bumper sticker on that SUV.
  Christ redeems our days and our lives with his grace, love and forgiveness. He is the One who brings hope where there is none, refreshes and renews us with his strength and love.
   In the midst of all this crazy business, I look to my Lord for calm and peace amid these stormy days, for strength and endurance, for the power to do all I need, for grace to work under pressure, and for his endless love in which I am held ever and always.