Church #7?

Central Christian church

Child check-in measures were satisfactory

Walked in 7 minutes late, worship seems well thought out, and not musically deficient.

Pastor steps up and gives a type of pep-talk and has prayer people come up.

Next song. I realize that not alot of people are singing along, and not because it’s an unfamiliar song, it’s a retooled hymn. “take my life and let it be” but the girl leading worship has a very strong voice and adds a lot of vocal stylings. Plus there are no backup singers. When she belts it out or adds a trill here or there, there is no melody to follow. I don’t know if this is their normal setup…1 good backup singer would solve that easily.

She also prays…effusively. She prayed like 5 scriptures strung together. And then she steps forward and Introduces the topic and the opening video. Which I immediately realize she is in. Self-produced, she’s doing street interviews. They have a good camera. Maybe even a steadicam. Editing is ok but some cheesiness on the fx. We all make those mistakes at some point, right?

Pastor steps up again. We are talking about Heaven. For the next three weeks, apparently.

This seems to be a “what does the Bible tell us about Heaven? And how should we live in light of this information?”

Apparently we missed the “hell” message a few weeks ago.

So far so good.

There is music playing loudly in another part of the buidling. I guess the kids/youth have a seperate service?

He is using a lot of scriptures. He warned at the beginning that it would be a lot, so I’ll take that as a sign that it’s not the usual? I’m tracking with him so far.

Sermon lasts 48 minutes or so, it was a lot to cram into that short time frame! a plethora of scripture references. No red-flags, nothing stood out that might be a theological concern. We stood up and the couple immediately behind us shook our hands and exchanged pleasantries and they were our age and “normal” looking. That’s always a good sign. They have a brief “meet and greet” for guests right after the service, so we stayed for that. You introduce yourself and watch a 3 minute video of the pastor describing the churches vision, etc. Interesting format, but not bad. They could easily be an ARC church if they wanted.

Shannon’s comments when we got in the car was that the message was kinda hard for him to follow. Something about a headache. I followed along just fine, not sure I learned anything but I was entertained by the pastor’s hypotheses that we can know what heaven is like by reading what the bible says about it and then applying our imagination.

On the ride home, we kinda were like “Man, I wish so and so’s church was here. That’s where I would go.” (fill in the blank - Chris Hodges, Andy Stanley, etc.)

I have several blog posts sitting in drafts waiting to be edited. However, everytime I sit down to the computer there are way too many other pressing tasks so I haven’t gotten to them.

I’m working on websites for 3 nonprofits, a portfolio site for myself, 2 logo designs, just finished a newsletter layout for my grandparents, specs for a website for my dads company, and coming soon – marketing materials for two charity events and branding for a small business.

Before we moved here, I probably did 1 or 2 projects a month. Since moving here, the projects are literally raining down and I don’t see an end in sight! I’m realizing that I have to evaluate each project carefully. The paying gigs are few, and there’s the whole “being a wife and mother first” issue, so just cause I’m doing it for free doesn’t mean it’s not still work, and taking me away from what I believe is my first priority.

I enjoy my profession immensely, I love the creative outlet, I love that there is an infinite learning curve and I have bajillions of new things to learn to do what I do better. As long as I keep up with the curve, I’ll always have a profession, whether I need it or not. I know not many women can say the same, especially women without college degrees, like myself. I can be a hobbyist if I wanted. Or a serious “up to my eyeballs in Pantone” designer. If I wanted.

So I guess let it pour…I’ll sort my plate out as it fills up.

By the way, I was just blessed with a great deal on adobe CS4. I went with the production suite cause It had more value, but if I can swing it I’m going pick up the design suite too cause I really need indesign and playing with adobe’s web products could be valuable In the long run.

I’m pretty stoked about it. Like, I’m jumping up and down, in my mind. I’m grinning from ear to ear, you just wouldn’t know by looking at me. I’m screaming like a little girl, without sound. Only dogs can hear me.

That’s me, in the corner sitting completely motionless and expressionless, being excited about something.

Last night we didn’t know where we wanted to go.

So this morning I googled churches in Brevard. That was good for a chuckle. Then Shannon said “let’s visit that church on Grissom.” “Discovery?” “yeah.”

Their service starts at 11, so we went and had breakfast. Then we killed time.

Then the clock struck 10:55 so we went in.

The greeting is intense. We’ve been greeted by….everybody.

Worship is..hm. They open with “your grace is enough.” solid B for effort. Tempo is a little fast, singing is atrocious, and I would spend a solid prayer meeting asking God to convict the bass player into wearing pants instead of shorts.

Break for announcements…potluck, youth camp, and a report from a lady that was in Haiti.

This is very much a “homegrown” service, no program to speak of. And it seems to be OK to stand up and interrupt with your own thoughts. The mic gets passed around a ton.

Greeting is a freaking past-time here.

“I will worship (echo)” yeah.
They have one young man on stage on guitar, I feel like going to him after the service and telling him “hang in there. Either you’ll get old too, or more young people will come. Either way..”

And we sang a typo. “Jesus dies my soul to save” no no. DieD. With a D.

I haven’t sang “shout to the Lord” in years.

Now here is a problem. I can’t figure out who the pastor is. This is weird.

We’re about to do communion…ok, maybe Steve Buscemmi backup singer is the pastor.

Bonus!!! Acapella meditation by backup Steve Buscemmi. I’m having a very hard time understanding what he’s saying/singing. His mic is too far, and he’s a mumbler. Also, before the offering he told a story about a really good roast beef sandwich he had and the horseradish sauce.

Oh SNAP!!! The DRUMMER is the pastor!!! I didn’t see that coming.

This guy reminds me of Justin Gamble. But in a good way.

“we” are in “40 days of love.” so today is “love is not easily angered.” He is totally reading his sermon. There is a lot of “how many people _________” and raising hands. Like somebody is counting or something.

If pastor Eric circa 2006 was preaching this message, 1. There would be more than a hundred people here listening. And 2. He would have titled it “Anger Management” and movie clips would have been involved.

My thoughts here are that the pastor really has a lot of potential. Like, it would take very little effort to produce grade A preaching here. His message is solid. Basic, but solid. And he’s very clear, direct, engaging, etc. The amount of work to make him like, say, a good ARC pastor would be minimal.

Closing with a few moments of silent prayer. Aaaaaaand a song.

Aaaaaand no…that was not the close. We have individuals who are coming up for prayer and we are praying for them one by one. And the softball team!!!! We are praying for them! I only see 7. Maybe the pastor is on the team. That’d make 8.

They want us to grab bread.

Old man sitting in front of me  gives closing prayer (picked at random) And then a closing song.

As I picked up Ella, the teacher said “uhhh…she found one of the markers. We tried to wash it off the best we could.”

Great. My kid is the “eats markers” kid.

I don’t often have “blonde moments” but when I do they are pretty good.

You know the joke about the blonde who tells her doctor “it hurts here, and here, and here…” and he says “you’re finger is broken”?

I was trying on shoes last night. 8 pairs and they ALL hurt. They hurt so bad. Why does this store not have a single shoe that fits me?

Then I looked at my foot. I had a blood blister on my pinkie toe, which is where all the shoes were “not fitting me.”

It took 8 pairs.

In other news, Ella is saying more words. And she can put the letters in her alphabet puzzle in the proper spaces…I’m not raising a “special” child after all!!!!

*sigh of relief*

I’m editing the audio for an interview I did with Kyle, I should have it up tomorrow. In the mean time…these people did a much better job. I just saw this, it’s a report on the orphanage in Haiti where my brother has been. You’ll see him a few times in it. The footage was taken the first week after the earthquake, the filming team was following them around trying not to get in the way, etc.

Last week we decided to go to Calvery Chapel Viera. We woke up Sunday and all had coughs and sore throats, so the delayed visit is being carried out today.

Wordpress is being jerk. I’m switching to notes.

We arrived a minute late after a starbucks stop. Turns out no coffee in the service so that was a waste.

Dropped Ella off. One thing this place doesn’t lack is personnel…people greeting, ushering, parking, in droves.

This place is very…new. And it feels and looks unused.

The worship is weird. There is nothing I can pinpoint that isn’t “good” or “right” but I guess “off” works. As I pondered this, I realized “oh yeah, second string.” this is a video campus. The best team is going to be at the main campus, obviously.

This place is way decked out. They have line arrays, 5 catwalks, 3 cameras for iMag, 3 tiered stage… I noticed the guitarist has the same amp hunter has that he loves, Shannon says it’s not the same one though.

Is it mean of me to think they don’t deserve all this stuff?

2nd string theory (ha ha) goes for the campus pastor guy. I think the lead pastor is out of the country and so the campus pastor from here is preaching at the main place, and a pinch hitter stepped up here.

I understand whats going on here too well.

The stage behind the speaker is visually distracting. I can see two mic stands. And I don’t know what the fencing is.

He’s a good speaker. I can see why he is the campus pastor here. But man, they speak for a long time. Were clocking 70 minutes on the preaching. I think he could have said the same thing in 50, easily.

The scripture was from Matthew, and the main point he seemed to drive home the last 30 or so was “counting the cost” of following Jesus. There was a lot surrounding it, but the other points got lost.

We get up to leave and who do we bump into in the aisle? Damien and Julie Johnson…they just moved to Viera and were visiting for the first time too. That was funny.

Something else that was funny, is the kids ministry is obsessed with stickers. There were 2 stickers involved in checking Ella in, 1 for checking her out, she had stickers on her take-home papers, and when we got home and I changed her clothes, I was surprised by yet ANOTHER sticker ON her diaper that said “we changed her diaper at _____ time, it was #1 and her mood was happy.”

Uh….thanks?

This is about a group of things I’ve noticed. Specifically, birds, in various forms and functions.

I noticed something about the Emerald Coast and decided before I moved I WOULD record the aberrations.

Case #1.

The bird mailbox. Friends of the Martin’s will recognize this, as it was the “landmark” for finding their house in Shalimar. Who wakes up one morning and thinks “I need a new mailbox. Perhaps a metal bird in purples and pinks?”

I don’t think I want to have lunch with that person.

Case #2.

This sucker caught my eye one day while driving HWY 20 home from Freeport. I usually drive that way in the dark, so it’s no wonder it escaped my attention until just several short months before we moved. But once it did…oh my.

First, this thing is HUGE. Those are large palm whatevers in front of it. It’s at least 9, perhaps 10 or even 11 feet tall. And it has girth too. The way it is situated behind the bushes quite literally makes it look like it’s sitting in a giant nest. Clever of the owner, no? The symbolism gets better, because BESIDE this monster, is…get this…

It does INDEED have a baby!!!!!!!

I know, right?

The thought process behind this display is just….wow. I don’t even know. Granted, I know some people wind up with weird things in their yard through no fault of their own *cough GIANT lighthouse cough* but still. This is proudly on display next to a busy highway. It was intentional, and thought out. And you can tell they really, really like it.

More recently I had a day of bird watching. I will illustrate with carefully placed and artfully crafted arrows.

We had a stormy day last week, and while driving home along the river I noted seagulls were taking shelter on the docks. It wasn’t that it was unusual to see some birds on a dock. But that there were millions (my arrows don’t do justice) and they were on EVERY dock for the stretch of a mile was, in fact unusual to me.

Along the same road, on the same day, I stopped for this little gathering several times in the stretch of 20 feet…they couldn’t make up their minds which side of the road was better.

dumb birds.

And to top the week off, tuesday I met “The Flying Penguin.”

Meet Sister Mary.

I can’t make this stuff up. She’s the real deal…full on habit, rosary and crucifix, wimple and all.

She stayed with us for three days, en route  to Haiti. We got to know each other fairly well. She doesn’t like to be called “The Flying Penguin” but accepts the term as an endearment from a select one or two. So we settled on “Sister Mary” and all was well. Of the people I’ve met in the last 5 years, she’s going on the “most interesting” top 10. She’s lived everywhere, gone everywhere, speaks several languages, knows her church history down to the exact dates by heart, thinks the current papal system and pope is a joke, 9/11 was a conspiracy, was friends with Dr. Atkins since the 70’s, loves onion bagels and was born and raised in New York city.

Did I mention she has the gift of gab? And is hard of hearing. Go figure. She’s in Haiti right now, finally found a flight for her. From there she’s going to Argentina or something. She’s a flyer.

Godspeed, sister.

Three posts on sunday and nothing since. How quaint.

Slugging along with the same things. I’ve been playing back-up hostess for my Sister-in-law, since nearly every night someone is coming in between the hours of 11 and 3, and leaving again between the hours of 4-6 to catch these darn flights ferrying orphans and supplies. Mostly out of Ft. Lauderdale, Vero, and Melbourne.  Kyle came home for two days to have some meetings and hammer some details with heavy equipment they’re trying to move in, and to spend a few minutes with the ones who miss him most. Poor kid picked up that stupid parasite that everybody seems to get when they go to Haiti…so he ate alot but regretted it later.

My family has been posting this interview from Kyle all day yesterday and so forth so the chances are good that you’ve already heard it, but I put it together with some pictures he gave me to make sense of what he’s talking about.  It’s a bangup job, sorry.

In an effort to take something off Cherie’s plate, I offered to pick up some water purifiers (it’s what her dad’s ministry does) that are going on a plane tonight.

I had her keys, and as I turned the key to the building, I remembered seeing an alarm keypad just inside that door the day before and realized I didn’t know the alarm code.

By the time I called her and got the code and entered it properly, the alarm had already gone off and I had a minute to get to a phone. I missed the phone call, and went downstairs to start loading the cases, I saw the policeman at the door shining his light in. I opened it, invited him in and he waited while I called the alarm company to give them the code.

To be fair, if I weren’t dressed in my church clothes and wasn’t wearing baby hair clips and tan leather dress shoes, it REALLY looked like I was doing something criminal. I was loading 6 large black cases and a red drawstring canvas bag out of a dark wearhouse onto a cart and loading it into a waiting van.

He was satisfied and went back out, I thought he left. But when I backed out the side door with the full cart, I saw the two police cars still there and the officer yelled out “what are you stealing?”

I said “water purifiers for Haiti…”

And the two officers joked about how bad it’d be for them if I really was stealing.

Then one of them grabbed the two cases that were falling off the cart and they both helped me load them into the van. The one said “I’d be in so much trouble if you really are stealing these.” and I laughed, and said “yeah, especially since these are $2000 apiece. People keep calling wanting us to donate them, and boy are they dissappinted.”

He loaded the last one, and I said “thanks so much!”

He said “have a good evening.”

He’s either a terrible cop, or I have a promising career in a life of crime.

So things aren’t great. Is anyone surprised? No.

Of the efforts we’ve been involved with, we’ve had as many fails as wins.

Win: there is clean water for the Ruuska villiage.

Fail: of all the leads we’ve had on structural engineers, none will commit. So we haven’t sent one down yet.
Update: change this to a win…an engineer is going in on Thursday.

Win: Don and Christine Ames agreed to go down and be on hand to oversee things at the orphanage since they need a steady “on site” contractor type, and an administrator type. Don and Christine fit the bill, and their hearts were open to it.

Fail: from the Ruuska orphanage, two private flights of about 7 already adopted orphans each have made it to the U.S., and have been detained and some even seized by INS and DCF. Their paperwork is correct and in order, they have visas, they are accompanied by their legal guardians, and their adoptive parents are sitting there waiting. The 7 children being held right this minute, as I write this, are detained because of lack of “official” creole translator to read their documents. Understandable, but frustrating for every person involved. Especially the children who don’t know what’s going on. And the one little girl who has been held for almost two weeks now…yeah. Retarded. That one is absolutely not understandable.

I spent yesterday helping pack 6 100lb cases of food and supplies to go down, and then repacking them because those flights fell through but a new one opened up that could take 4 50lb bags. Kelly and I packed a regular sized backpack with exactly 50…it was a work of art.

My brother decided to stay down there til he has to come back and pay bills. His wife said that on TV and random people are mailing them checks. So I guess he’ll be there longer.

There’s a lot more. Much more. Haiti.

God help them. We sure are trying.