Extra Hour

Did you make use of your "extra" hour last night (or today) as we transitioned to Daylight Saving Time?

Hubby changed every clock in the house except for my alarm clock. He doesn't want to guess how many minutes "fast" I need it! So I changed my own. Apparently I wasn't paying close attention because I screwed up the AM and PM settings. So my alarm did not go off at 6:44 a.m. for church because my clock thought it was 6:44 P.M.

Good thing Jim was half awake so he could push me out of bed at 7! It wouldn't have been a big deal but I had to speak at church this morning so I really didn't want to be late! It was a busy service -- it was All Saints Sunday, plus we welcomed some new members and we began our "Heroes of Faith" series. That's where I come in.

Basically, we are taking short video snippets of congregation members who wish to share who their hero of faith is and a little about them. We (not me) will string all the videos together for a nice presentation at our Thanksgiving Eve service. My part in this is I video (for 2 of the Sundays) the people making their statements. I also got to kick off the series by giving a 3-5 minute talk about my own Hero of Faith.

I generally don't fear public speaking in the least but I still have some church anxiety hanging on. So I typed it up ahead of time so I had something to go by in case I got too nervous and forgot everything. I won't go into details but I shared some struggles my brother has survived in his life and commented on his enduring faith. I told the congregation that my one and only brother is my hero of faith because time and time again he has shown me that true Christians don't just HAVE faith -- they LIVE it. Thanks, bro!

It went OK and some people were touched by it so hopefully that inspires them to share, too.

After church I went a little crazy on several projects. Our "Vikings on a skid" were not on TV so that kept me focused. First we gathered up 9 grocery bags full of items (clothing, jackets, shoes) to donate to Hurricane Sandy Relief. There's a semi leaving Rapids as soon as it's full. That felt good to do our teeny tiny little part.

This afternoon I was busy making chili for Carter's cross country banquet tomorrow and baking some treats to take to my friend who is still recovering from her mastectomy. After that I got cruising on Scrap Camp packing.

I officially have everything set to finish Carter's Middle School album. I started gathering and sorting items for his Grade School book, which I would like to start when I get the other one done next weekend. It's getting to be a challenge. While I have his grades 1-6 photos and report cards, I am missing some of the 8x10 photos and some first day of school images, etc. I guess there's no time like the present to get all of that found and/or printed and organized. This will be a good thing.

The bonus was that I got to watch a Christmas movie on Hallmark while I was sorting.

Wow, a lot sure can be done with that "extra" hour!!

Your Light Shall Rise

If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. ~ Isaiah 58:10

Sometimes, I'm pretty sure God gets frustrated with me. Oh He doesn't necessarily send an overdue amount of trials and tribulations my way, but I get my share. And when I do, I pray about them.

But still worry.

I am not trying to question His plans or reduce my faith, but it just happens. And why? In the end -- and sometimes that "end" is way down the road -- it turns out OK. Almost always, something good comes of it.

For the past 10 days I've had a "concern" weighing on my mind. Something "suspicious" was spotted in my initial mammogram and I was ordered for further testing. I tried not to think about it -- on one hand knowing that the last time I went through this, it turned out to be nothing, but on the other hand knowing a friend of mine is battling breast cancer as I type this. So nothing to worry about, right?

Today was my appointment for further diagnostic imaging. I played it up like I wasn't too worried. But in all honestly, I was a bit concerned. And I tossed and turned all night. Of course this is where God chimes in and says, "And for no reason, right?" Right. Thank God. They did their best to squeeze the life out of me, but they determined I had no tumor. No cancer. Hallelujah!

I felt blessed and then doubly blessed as I caught much of the news coverage today about Hurricane Sandy. So much devastation already. Some 7 million people without power and I can sit and type on my computer -- with the furnace running, too!

Later, I felt triply blessed.

Carter and I volunteered tonight at The Neighborhood Table -- a nonprofit group that serves meals to the needy every Thursday plus the last Tuesday of each month. Since our church was one of the sponsoring groups tonight, I made sure Carter signed up to get his last confirmation service hours (which count for school, too), plus I thought it would do us both good.

It did.

We waited on a table and served the food, drinks and desserts, then cleaned up after them and set the table for more. I guess it was a slower night because we served only about 150 people. Still, knowing there are that many -- at a minimum -- in our community who are in desperate need of a free hot meal is sad.

It definitely makes us appreciate our blessings today!! We have our health. We are safe. And we know where our next meal is coming from.

The light is definitely rising in my darkness. Thank the Lord.