(no subject)

[kimana517]

+ Today was a long day. I'm glad it's nearly over, and until it is, I'm chillin' on the couch with Isaac and Seth, watching Supernatural season 2, which none of us have seen since it originally aired. Tomorrow should be much better, because it begins with breakfast at IHOP with mi familia, before AAAC head out for 2 weeks in CT (the losers).

+ Speaking of the couch, Isaac and I have changed its name from "The World's Comfiest Couch" to "The Couch of Forgetfulness", because when you sit on it you forget everything you needed to do.

+ I need to get a cute, warm hat for NC. I really want to crochet one, but it's been a while since I crocheted anything, and I've never crocheted in the round. Anyone have tips on how to do that? I've also never used a crochet pattern (I always just winged it making scarves and potholders), so I'm rather intimidated. I found a ton of patterns I like though, and this one is the one I want to start with. I have a nice, soft white yarn to make it with.

+ It has become clear to me that I am an absolute church snob. I am so completely in love with my church that whenever I visit another, I find myself thanking God repeatedly for mine... and criticizing the one I visited. I know that my church isn't perfect, but man, when I'm not there I miss everything from the lack of typos in the bulletin (the main reason I can't quit as secretary - I am the typo and text box defeater!) and PowerPoint (as well as the not-cheesiness of the layout/background) to the on-key, on-rhythm music, and especially Ken's preaching. Out of the 100+ preachers I have heard in my lifetime, I would put him in my top 3. I know preaching preferences are totally subjective, but for me, he's it. I'm so glad we found that church!

+ What is your criteria for buying Christmas gifts for friends? A friend of mine was asking the other day. I always buy gifts for my family, and those are the only people who definitely get anything from me. Apart from that, I usually just get things for people if I see something that I really think they'd like. For example, I sent Charity a gift because when I saw it, it screamed her name. (Actually, it screamed mine first, but it didn't fit me. Hehe.) I hate when people feel like they have to get me something because I got them something. I mean, yes, I adore getting gifts, but not for guilt reasons. So I guess that's my gift philosophy.

+ We ate Wendy's for dinner tonight and it just decimated my stomach. I will remember that next time I get a craving for their chili.

+ Last night I couldn't fall asleep until 2:45am. That's the first time that's happened in a while now, and I forgot how utterly boring it is. Then I woke up at 9:30. Still, despite that I wasn't tired today, and I haven't had any caffeine. Weird.

+ I put some of my Christmas money to good use today to take advantage of NY&CO's storewide (online) half-price sale combined with some coupon codes. I got one of these in gray, one in white, this in green, this, this in purple, and these in black, all for about $60 shipped. I needed some more PJ pants, and I have an obsession with cable knit sweaters, so I'm excited.

+ I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Apart from breakfast, I have absolutely nothing planned. I'd like to go for a long walk or bike ride, clean up the house a bit, and get Isaac a CVS card. That will be a good day.

Comments

[erikaerin.livejournal.com]

You'd probably die of a coronary in our church then. It's a 200+ year old building with old wooden pews, the bulletin is one page with a front that has the same picture on it every week, copied a couple times over. We have a band of misfits, you never know who's going to play, but they always sound good and they have hearts of gold. There's no air conditioning in the church. The dishes in the kitchen don't match. We have an overhead for the music and old hymn books in the pews. One of the bathrooms doesn't have hot water. We have approximately 10 coat hooks for roughly 100 people. The sunday school rooms are in the remodeled attic. The pastor's office is in a trailer that was installed behind the church.

But, everyone gets along with everyone else. No one is pretentious. People come in their mud boots and jeans and God still loves us no matter what we're wearing. Our preaching is Bible centered. The worship is genuine.

And I wouldn't trade any of that for anything.

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Oh, not at all. I love old church buildings more than any other, and apart from the uncomfortable-ness of non-padded pews, I adore sitting in seats that have been used for worshipping the same God for years and years. I like picturing who sat there before me. =o) And I love the smell of hymn books. I would rather have books than poorly-done PowerPoint, which is a distraction. Plus, when you have books, the people in the congregation who can read music often sing the harmonies. I miss that.

Also, I grew up in a church planting family. I know all about not knowing who's going to play (although usually it was my mom) - all that matters to me is that they're on key and on rhythm. Although, in small church plants, that was not always the case (though it was if it was my mom). Hehe. We still joke about one pianist in our church in IL who was not so great, so she would always really slow songs down. THe hymn "Glad Day" is supposed to be peppy, and we always sung it like a funeral durge. LOL.

The lack of A/C is common in northern churches; that's how I grew up. Although, I think we did have a window A/C unit in IL, which is good since it gets as hot there in the summer as it does here in FL. Why would you need hot water in the bathroom? I love mismatching plates and silverware. Everyone who eats at my house asks why we don't have matching silverware. I tell them I like it that way and did it on purpose. (Salvation Army silverware, baby!) If I could get all different dining chairs I would do that too, but no one will sell you just one cool chair.

I can worship anywhere. My family's church plants met in City Hall, a hotel conference room, a storefront, our basement, and the local middle school. My church now meets in a shopping center. I don't care what the building looks like, or even if there is one (there isn't at one of the churches we work with in El Salvador). I wasn't saying I care what the place looks like, I was saying I like on-key music and accurate preaching, and preferably no typos in the bulletin or PowerPoint, because they distract me. And last week I was wondering if the caps lock button was stuck on the church secretary's computer because everything in the bulletin was all caps, as was the PowerPoint. (I've noticed that mixing a grammar nazi and graphic artist together is not a good thing. I am both. LOL.) I usually find myself at other churches where the pastor's message is totally shallow and/or all the passages are taken way out of context - which means that although what he's saying might be morally correct, it isn't what God is saying to us through that passage. That's my biggest thing - the preaching has to be accurate to the author's intent. I think there is only one other church besides mine in all of Jacksonville that actually does expository, contextual preaching. My family church-hunted here for 9 months before finding the one we attend now.

In fact, before Isaac and I moved back to Jax in 2005, we had been attending a church with a tiny building that hadn't been redecorated since the '70s. The music was awful, and we were the only couple under 40. But we went there because the pastor was very good.

And BTW, you can come to my church in your swimsuit if you want, and while people might be amused, they would still welcome you and try to get to know you. A lot of people wear shorts, and I often wear jeans. My brother always wears jeans or jean shorts and a plain white t-shirt. We always pick on him for mixing it up when he wears one with a pocket. LOL.

So I guess I said all that to say that I think you misunderstood me. I guess when you boil it down, I just want accurate preaching, and the rest are preferences. The thing is, I haven't been to any other churches recently that have accurate preaching. So I would be completely happy in your church if the preaching is Biblical. =o)

[erikaerin.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay, I must have misunderstood you, then.

Let me tell ya, when the little bathroom in the back of the church is freezing already, ice cold water isn't pleasant! And it's because of that that little kids don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom in there. ;)