Birthday Report

In some ways, yesterday was like any other Sunday.  I got up and did the final revisions to my sermon, printed it--and then we did the normal activities of getting ready for church and making the 2 hour drive across the mountains to Faith Lutheran at Bristol, Tennessee.

It was not normal, in that we had just had an assassination attempt.  I decided not to change my sermon, but I did talk about prayer in my children's sermon and said that we live in scary times, and prayer can help us cope.

It also was not normal in a more joyous way:  my parents were in the area, doing the country music trail with friends, and they all came to church.  After the service, we had a wonderful brunch at Vivian's Table at the Bristol Hotel.  Because it was my birthday, I got a free dessert.  I chose the creme brulee which was fabulous. 

And then we headed home, I got a phone call from my quilt group leader.  She had been watching footage on Saturday night, and she woke up resolved to bring a cheerful note to Sunday.  So she took my most recent quilt that has seahorses and fish and bright colors to church, put it over a straight back chair, and as she greeted people in her official greeter capacity, she reminded people of the work that we do with their donated fabric.  I was touched that she called me to let me know that people appreciated a spot of joy in a grim news cycle.

Once home, I got ready for this week's focus, which is being a C3ARE leader for 55 middle school campers at Lutheridge.  The primary duty of the C3ARE leader is to do the Bible study for the campers with curriculum that is provided.  I am lucky; one of my Create in Me friends is a co-leader with me, the same way we did last year.  The curriculum this year is much better, and I have hopes we won't have too many gaps to fill in.

I ate dinner at the dining hall, and then we went over to the supply closet to see what we had.  It took us a bit of time to figure out the main craft project, the luminaria, and that was because the paper was running low.  We strategized getting more paper, only to find out that someone else was arriving with supplies.  Happily we made that discovery before we went out and got supplies.

I ended the evening at the Lakeside Lodge at the opening event, which was mostly singing and introductions.  It was spirited and welcoming and a great way to end the day, especially a day that began with news of an assassination attempt.