More Thankfulness

OK, so on my drive home I was thinking about what else I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for Elvis. Why, you might ask? I'm certainly no Elvis groupie, but the song "Calling Elvis" by Dire Straits was playing on World Cafe as I was driving and I realized that, yeah... I'm thankful for Elvis. Sometimes when I'm in a certain mood, an Elvis song will play that just hits me right and makes me smile. Or if it's "A Little Less Conversation" it most certainly gets me pumped up no matter what mood I'm in. Besides, Elvis has influenced countless other musicians over the years - musicians I'm even more thankful for.

I'm thankful too for Honeycrisp apples. They are by far the best apples ever invented - and yes they were invented. They are the result of cross-breeding 2 different apples (don't ask me which ones.... can't remember at this moment.) There is not an apple that is juicier, sweeter, crisper. One bite and you're hooked. I really have a hard time eating other apples anymore.

I'm thankful for Spider Solitaire - maybe a little too thankful. I try to rationalize all the hours I spend playing it by saying I'm fighting off Alzheimer's by exercising my mind. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

I'm thankful for best friends (like Linda) who love me no matter what and who have been my life forever. Can't exist without them!

More to come, I'm sure.

What I am Thankful For

OK, time to start thinking holiday stuff here. It's been hard for me to get into the holiday mood yet - partly because I just want to resist it. I'm feeling a bit like a noncomformist lately. (Lately??) But I do have to preach at the Thanksgiving service in 2 days as it's our turn to host the joint service this year. So I better start conforming a little, I guess.

What am I thankful for? I'm thankful for 41 boxes of food to feed 41 needy families.

I'm thankful for good friends, even if we only manage to get together for dinners out a couple of times a year - like this past Saturday. I'm thankful for Crawdaddy's, where we had our twice annual dinner out this time. I had forgotten how much I like that place since I haven't been there in well over a year or two. And speaking of Crawdaddy's, I'm very thankful for blackened swordfish - one of the rare seafoods I like (but I really like it a lot!)

I'm thankful for my kids at church, because they never cease to amaze me in one way or another. Most of the time it's good, but I must admit sometimes the 'amazement' is not a good thing. I'm still thankful for them anyway. :-)

I'm thankful for my kids at home - the four legged kind. I'm thankful for their warm furry bodies, and purring in my ear, and faces pushed into mine insisting on attention. I could do without whiny cat cries or litter boxes, but that's a small price to pay for the benefits I get in exchange.

I'm thankful for my home. Other than my childhood home, this is the longest I have stayed at one address and I am not sick of it yet. Home improvements have been slower than I like, but that's all the more reason to stay put for a while longer. This is really the place I have felt most "at home" in my life, and I am very happy with that.

Speaking of home... it's time for me to go there. Guess I'll have to ponder a bit more about what I'm thankful for and come back to this topic later.

What it's really all about!

Man are my dawgs tired! Such a long day, but such a good day. Today our congregation provided Thanksgiving baskets & $45 gift cards from Pick & Save for 41 needy families at Burbank school. I was absolutely amazed at how generously my folks responded to a call for help.

For the past several years, we have done similar boxes for 25 families every year, along with a $25 gift card. When Ms. Derby at Burbank said they had such a long list of families this year, and she didn't know how many she could cut from the list, I wondered if we could increase by 16 boxes. So early this week I sent an email to the congregation saying we've been challenged by the call to help. Today, not only did the congregation give almost $1100 specifically for Burbank families, the collection boxes were overflowing with food. In addition, instead of the usual 6 or 7 volunteers to deliver them, I have 14 teams of people hauling all this food to those 41 families. Not only did we almost double the number of families helped, we almost doubled the amount of the gift cards too. Is that awesome or what???

This effort every year is one of the things I am most proud of at Martin Luther Church. The whole congregation just embraces this ministry, and it has become a bonding thing for us all. The confirmation students every year very enthusiastically spend the afternoon sorting and filling boxes. (Of course, maybe they're so enthusiastic because it means no class!) Michelle & Steve take this project on as their ministry too - coordinating the sorting and packing, shopping and delivery. This would never happen without them. And I must really point out one very impressive young woman in my congregation named Deidre. She not only helped "manage" the confirmation youth, but also said she wanted to stay until Michelle & Steve got done with the shopping so she could help finish the job. Poor thing got stuck waiting until I was done then too, so I could give her a ride home. She's just an awesome young woman though, and I feel very honored to know her and be her pastor. (I'm not just saying that because she is a faithful reader of my blog either.) If I did have a daughter, I would hope she would be even close to being like Deidre!

The work isn't finished yet. Steve's printing out delivery maps tonight and Michelle is getting notes and gift cards ready. Over the next 2 days those teams of folks are venturing off to find unknown addresses in sometimes questionable neighborhoods. I'm sure I'll get at least a few calls from people with "what do I do now?" questions. But it sure is worth it when all is said and done. There is a definite feeling of accomplishment that comes with this every year. I also make sure I get to deliver a few boxes myself, because if I hit it right and get to meet some folks in person, the appreciation they express just speaks Thanksgiving to me for days to come.

Yep, these days remind me why I do what I do.