Time to Appreciate

October is Pastor Appreciation month, did you know that?

Well, it is and that's just what we did yesterday at our church.

I have mentioned that we have just recently changed churches. The process was very difficult because I'd been at the same church for over 40 years. But, now that the change has been made.....ahhhhh, it's so good!

Our new pastors are one of my best friends and her husband. They are the kind of people others flock to for two simples reasons:
1. They love people
2. They are real

In the 3 short months the church has been in existence - they always say they started with a building with carpet, nothing else - already over 100 people call it their church home! We are having so much fun! Our pastor is awesome. His sermons are funny, powerful, and relevant. The worship is amazing and the service seems to fly by each week. They go to all kinds of events with us, including youth events, like football games, UIL competitions. Most of our church family also eats lunch together EVERY WEEK after service - how cool is that?

The thing is, our pastors want to be a part of our lives, not just on Sunday. They want the whole package - to journey through life with us. In short, life is just better.

My take: I'm so thankful to be a part of a church FAMILY, a place where we all can just live this life together, through thick and thin, good and bad, holy and not-so-holy. Here'a a shout out to my pastors, Brent and Terri, I love and APPRECIATE you! So, so thankful for you! Greater things are to be done in this city...

It's Making a Difference

A great thing happened yesterday at church.

Well, really a lot of great things happened at church yesterday. The church we attend is a brand new church, with one of my best friends and her husband as pastors. My friends, we'll call them the the Flames, are just the best people. They are so down to earth, so easy to be around, and love God and people with all of their hearts. Being a part of their church is a true joy.

Anyway, besides the music, people, sermon, and lunch after church, another great thing happened: one of my friends mentioned that it looked like I've lost some weight. After I turned around a couple of times to see who she was talking to, and realized she meant me, a huge grin crossed my face and I felt so....relieved.

You might think that relieved is a weird emotion to feel following the compliment of "You're losing weight." But, if you've been following my blog from the beginning, you know that I'm trying to get BACK ON the losing weight wagon. And, honey, it ain't easy.

See, I have a lot working against me on the "losing weight" chart. I'm short. No, seriously, I'm pretty short. Another thing working against me is my seemingly negative metabolism. While others, without naming names, like my HUSBAND, can eat 3 bowls of peach cobbler and probably lose weight because he didn't eat a 4th bowl, I can just think about eating a miniature Hershey's chocolate bar, and I need to skip the next meal. OK, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but only slight. Lastly, I'm over 40. Apparently after 40, our bodies start turning into pumpkins...rotting pumpkins, at that. I'm even shaped like a pumpkin...how did we get on pumpkins again?

So, the losing weight thing is hard for me. I have to work really hard at counting my calories, doing lots of cardio, and I've even started a weight routine. Most people my age don't even do one of those. But, hey, maybe it's making a difference.

So, after the compliment yesterday I started thinking about this making a difference thing. I started to wonder whether I am making a difference in other areas of my life. It's one of those questions that once you ask yourself, you're scared to answer yourself. Am I making a difference?

Am I there for others who need my help, even when I feel like they could help themselves? Am I working on my relationships with friends and family? Even those hard relationships where it's true work, kind of like my physical exercise? Am I involved in meaningful causes, even when I'd like to be called to the life of the couch potato? These are hard questions.

Plus, like losing weight, there's a lot that can work against us when we try to make a difference in people's lives. Schedules, family committments, jobs, and other people's wills can all bog us down on this road to serving others. Still, most of us, on a good day, keep going, keep trying, keep believing we can make a difference somewhere, somehow, for someone. And, sometimes even when you're doing all you know to do you still aren't sure if it means anything at all. Has anything for anybody really changed?

And then the day comes when a friend says, "Hey, you look like you've lost weight," and you think, "Thank God. It's made a difference."

Here's my take: that's the person I want to be. I wish I could say it's going to be a piece of cake, but I've lived long enough to know that it's not going to be. But, that's OK. At the end of my life, or if I'm lucky, BEFORE the end of my life, I hope someone will say, "Hey, Susie Q's decided to stay with her husband after she joined the Bible Study" or "Son is such a great kid, I bet you're a good mom."

And I'll think, "Thank God. It's made a difference."

What's your take?