Interesting enough that Pastor Israel's sermon this morning was on the secret of contentment - the art of being satisfied with things as they are and willing to accept our current circumstances with a peace of mind in the knowledge that Christ is alive in me. I will miss Pastor Israel when our services start here in the park soon, but am so looking forward to Chaplain Dennis Maloney's sermons. I do believe that I miss them as much as he misses preaching!!!!!
Every evening as I walk, all the creatures continue to amaze me - it seems as if they do something new and interesting every night. Lately, the small blackbirds that hang out here in S Texas have multiplied by the hundreds. Towards evening, they gather up in huge herds (guess birds are flocks) of 100 or more. Perhaps this is their church service for the evening as there is much chattering and squawking going on - then one of them starts to fly, and all of them take off and almost cover the evening sky. During the day, they gather around any place where the sprinklers are running, and enjoy a social time drinking and bathing. It is interesting that soon I can almost identify a few of them by their actions. Just as I hope all those I come in contact with can identify me as a follower of the Almighty God just by my actions.
A few of our park residents are starting to trickle in - I am sure that by the middle of this month we will see the beginning of the winter influx. We are looking forward to welcoming all of them back, and becoming involved in all the activities here. The food ministry has begun, as we delivered 5 boxes of food and some clothing to the Great Oaks Mission Outreach today. CHI has begun to gear up for all of their winter activities and programs, and we are preparing for our Bible studies there.
Sally Maloney and I are working on the Spiritual Work-Out that we are planning for the ladies here at the park - we actually made it through the first session of the tape without having to stop and rest!!!! Hopefully, by the time the ladies are ready to join us, we will not look so uncoordinated and unsure of ourselves. We practice twice a week, not only for preparation but also for our own exercise. We must remember that our bodies are temples to the Lord, and we must treat them as such. Hopefully the ladies will enjoy this work-out, as it is not to intensive - just a two mile walk.
Please pray for all of the "Winter Texans" that are traveling South here to spend winter in the warmth. Pray for travel mercies and God's grace on their trip. Also pray for those who are not returning - we already have heard of 2 or more couples who will not be returing for health reasons. They may not be physically here, but are here in our hearts.
A little bit of fun now - in earlier posts I mentioned that I was raised in Chicago in a Catholic-Italian family (although my father was German, all of our relatives were on my Italian Mother's side). I certainly am not poking fun of or degrading any religion, but just relating my experiences as I remember them. We attended Cahtolic school in my early years, and the good sisters of St. Angela (on Chicago's West side) were all alerted to me - I am certain I tried their patience to no end. I had my favorites, and then there were the ones I truly tried to outwit. Also present were the priests of which Father Dorney was my very favorite, although I believe that he was the favorite of all the kids at the time. He was an ex-boxer with a broken nose who seemed to love every child individually, and had time to talk to us, not acting like other adults who all seemed to just tolerate us. I really loved to go to chapel rather than church services,because it was not nearly as long as the high mass on Sundays. To this day, the smell of incense brings back memories of the priest chanting in Latin and waving the incense burner in front of the chapel. I do remember one time I got in trouble (just one of many, I am sure) when listening to the priest, asking my Mother "what is he chewing the rag about"? I did not understand Latin at the time, and could not understand what I thought was mumbling. Another sin to confess on Friday. The mystery of the confessional kept me pretty much in line. Penance was a ritual we all endured as payment for our sins. I would peek around in the pews to see who was praying the longest - those were really the sinners! My brother was an altar boy, which put him practically next to God - he could do no wrong, so I proceeded to make up for it. I am sure I harassed and took the nuns to the end of their patience. And yet I was awed by them: they seemed to have no feet, just gliding across the floor, swooping down to poke you for some unknown rule infringement. Life was pretty simple then - school, chapel, confession, Saturday freedom with the firehouse gang (the neighboorhood kids) and church on Sunday as we got older. I don't remember how we got to church - Dad drove us sometimes, Mother did not drive, so I suppose we walked in good weather. Often we went to the Central Restaurant in Austin for Sunday morning breakfast - French toast for me please, or maugee (sp) eggs. Mother made eggs for us sometimes in the morning, and cooked them just right - so you could dunk your toast in the soft yolks. Being Italian, she called them maugee eggs, which related to soft or runny, or just right to dunk your toast in. So when the waitress asked how I wanted my eggs, I quickly answered "Maugee, please" before Mother had a chance to stop me (she seemed to have a sixth sense about when I would say something embarrassing, but I was quicker). Do you suppose I tried her patience also???
Everyone have a wonderful week - great each morning with, "Good Morning, Lord" and not "Good Lord, it's morning".
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| My brother and myself in Chicago in the 40's - perhaps wishing for Christmas. |
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