Merging is an Ongoing Journey - First Day of Advent

For some reason I had a photo chosen for today's entry, but not really a subject I wanted to talk about.

The first snow - 11/28/2021

Then I thought about the photo I wanted to share, the first snow of the season...that also happened on the first Sunday of Advent or the first day of the church liturgical year.  And I said to myself, how appropriate!

Okay, the snow wasn't that significant.  But it was how I liked it.  On the grass.  On the trees.  A bit on the cars.  Some on the driveway.  But the roads were fine.  Nothing that would be too dangerous to drive through.

There is just something special about that first snow, no matter how much it is.  And there is just something special about that first Sunday in Advent, no matter how many times you have experienced it.

Last year my sister and I lit the first candle on the Advent wreath.  This year we watched as Pastor Jody lit the first candle during the Message for the Young and Young at Heart.  Then we sang the Advent Song!  Such a great memory of that song!  But I'm glad we are making new memories with that song.  We, however, missed Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.  So I've been listening to a couple videos with that song on my YouTube playlist to make up for it.

Advent always is a time to think about the birth of Jesus.  There are many things that we hear year after year that may make the experience mundane over the years.  But my hope is that this year I will find something new to cling on to.  The hope of Jesus coming.  

It may not be a secret, but I feel like I have been in a constant state of stress.  I haven't quite figured out why.  Every time I think I have it figured out, something else triggers it.  My hope is that during this time of Advent, looking at it through an ongoing journey lens, that I will find the solution to the stress so that I can enjoy the season and everything it brings.

Thursday Thoughts - Happy Thanksgiving!

What's interesting, as I write this a day ahead of Thanksgiving, is that looking at last year's entry, I am still thankful for many of the same things.

So I share that here below....

Thankfulness in 2020

With the following updates and additions...

• My church family in 2021, since that is the year we are in. 
• The continued love for all things music, especially organ music, and the time I have shared hearing it.
• Safety through some unexpected travel, and events happening during travel over the summer
• The beautiful and interesting skies and other nature things I have seen and been blessed to take photos of.
• Finding ways to combat dehydration, especially while singing.
• And the growth of my singing.
• And probably other things that I have forgotten about.

Here's to finding more things like this!

 I wish you all a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

Merging is an Ongoing Journey - Being Alive!

I struggled with a subtitle for today's entry because it is going to cover a few things, all of which were part of my Sunday.

I have also been struggling with masks and robes.  We have to wear masks to sing, which I understand and accept.  Robes have now become part of choir and I accept that too.  (And I'm glad that I'm wearing a robe I'm comfortable with!!!)  But, for someone who is always on the warmer side, I have been struggling every Sunday with getting overheated which results in pretty nasty overheated and dehydrated headaches.  First it was just because of the masks and then the robe added to it...even though it was getting cooler outside, the sanctuary tends to retain the warmth.  A good thing when it gets really cold. But for me, I have to find ways to keep myself cool!

Last week in an attempt to combat dehydration I tried some Gatorade Frost before and during the service.  My usual go-to drink when I'm dehydrated is coconut water, but it tends to gunk up my throat and that makes it hard to sing.  Gatorade doesn't do that, and while I typically hate the extra salty taste in Gatorade, Gatorade Frost isn't as bad.  It did help a bit.  (While also wearing a not-heavy tank top under my robe.)  This week I tried a new mask (made for athletes so better for breathing) and more Gatorade.  And it helped SO MUCH!  I felt GREAT after worship.  No headache or anything!!  

Because I felt so great, I stayed to help sort through a big pile of music.  And spent some time with a friend.  Then headed home for a bit before going to a Thanksgiving service at the Bangall UMC location.

And then I did something I haven't done in a long time. I sang really loud with a worship song.  While waving my free (non-steering wheel) arm around.

Don't get me wrong, I sing a lot in the car.  I sing my warm ups when alone on the way to rehearsal or Sunday service.  I sing because I feel like it.  But I just sing at a normal volume.

But this song came on...and I couldn't help but turn it up loud and sing REALLY REALLY LOUDLY with it.

This song is a Christian version based on the original song, "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen.  There's a good video someone posted of Lincoln Brewster playing this song live, explaining how he came up with the alternate lyrics.  But this version has always been a favorite of mine since I heard it on his live album.

And it just hit me yesterday, as I was driving along the Taconic, Maybe it was because I was going to a Thanksgiving service.  Maybe it was the view.  Maybe it was the earlier part of the day.  Or the things I had done or heard that made me happy.  Maybe it was that I was feeling really good on a Sunday afternoon, which hasn't happened in awhile.  Or maybe it was everything combined.  I have a feeling it might have been that last thing.

Whatever it was, I was having my own worship session with God and I can't help but think it was some part of my ongoing journey and I am really glad that it happened!  It made me appreciate and to be thankful for the entire day!  I definitely hope I am blessed with many more days like that!

Thursday Thoughts - Always Music

Yes, yes, I have talked about music before.  But I've been contemplating more about music lately.

Also, I have/had this set of those magnetic words you can create random sentences.  I had bought them for a file cabinet I had and used them for awhile until I really no longer have much access to the metal part of the cabinet.  Though I did just figure out a way to do that.

The other day I was looking at my file cabinet front (that I don't see unless I walk up to it) and found what I had put on there years ago...

I would say, in most cases, that is me today.

You can always tell when I am really bad off.  I won't listen to any music.  At all.  There is always music on in my car, except if I'm at a drive through window because I think it's rude to be playing music while you are trying to order something and then deal with the workers.  I do also turn off (or down) my music when I am at the last leg of a trip to a new place that I am using a map program to get to.  Just so I have better concentration on where I am going.  Because I have been known to be singing along to a song and forget to take a turn I needed to take - and that is to a place I am familiar with!  But if I drive home and there is no music, you know something is wrong.

Similarly you can tell when things are great.  Because the music will be loud and it will be accompanied by me singing along.  Even if there aren't words, I sing the notes played.  Loudly.

Always music.

So much so, that starting in January I will be beginning a new adventure.  Yes, it is educational.  No, it is not another Master's Degree!  It is, however, a Certificate through the Institute for Discipleship run by BeADisciple.com in Music Ministry.  The program is a series of 3 6-week courses (with breaks in between) and then a 12-week practicum, and another break with one final 6-week course so I can add the United Methodist emphasis.  And I am so excited about it!

Always music.

Though there are times when I can't seem to get out of my head, I should always know that music is a great healer.  Those times when I seem to refuse to listen to music because I don't think I should listen to it - I should just listen anyway.

Merging is an Ongoing Journey - Charge Conference Can Be Fun!

I used to dread Charge Conference at church.  There were parts that seemed to go fine.  But there were always parts where I worried about an argument or people getting mad or something like that.

However the past two years I have thoroughly enjoyed Charge Conference.  To the point where I think that, though there is a lot of business that needs to be taken care of during them, there is also a lot of fun and laughter in them!

Cover from our Charge Conference Booklet

One of the things I wanted to share, that I didn't yesterday, is to this point.  These typically once-a-year gatherings are necessary to cover a lot of what needs to be done in a Methodist church.  There are serious times, like when we are voting on things or discussing things.  But they can all come with a bit of levity as well.

And I think in this time, that is what is needed.  We have spent so much time being serious and stressed and trudging our way through the pandemic.  No, COVID-19 isn't gone.  But our churches also need to know we need to find our way forward, and that now means stepping out of comfort zones or finding ways out of the typical boxes we put ourselves in.

And, yes, sometimes that means laughing during a meeting that usually isn't filled with laughter.  Or wasn't filled with laughter in your personal experiences.

This year for me there was laughter, sharing, seriousness, and even crying (FOR JOY!).

And that was what we needed in 2021 I think.  To give light and a path to 2022 and what lies ahead!

Thursday Thoughts - Not What it was Meant For

When I was very (VERY) young, one of my favorite toys for whatever reason was an empty bottle of baby powder.  ZBT Baby Powder to be exact.  (Search "vintage ZBT baby powder" if you are interested.)  I can literally remember what it looked like and everything.  I always liked the smell of baby powder, so maybe that is why it was my favorite toy.

I loved it as a toy, but that was not what it was meant for.  It should have been thrown away when it was empty, but I got it as a toy.  At least for awhile.  (Eventually it did get thrown away.)

Anastasia does the same thing with a lot of her toys.  They have a specific purpose but then she adjusts their purpose from time to time.  Like when we used Shopkins for playing pieces in Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, or any other games she had.  Or mix and matching food toy sets with each other to have a wider variety she could offer at her "restaurant."

Sparkle and her "toy."

And then there's Sparkle.

As you can see, Sparkle is holding something yellow in her mouth.  It is her new favorite toy that she brings to me in the doorway, drops it very loudly and expects me to throw it to her in the yard.

It is a water/food bowl.

Sparkle has this habit of needing water when she is outside.  And when it started to get colder last year, while I knew for a time the water would freeze overnight and melt during the day, I was concerned with her using a metal bowl so I switched to a plastic bowl.

Let me rephrase.  I tried to switch to a plastic bowl.

Upon seeing the plastic bowl, she drank a little water out of the bowl and then promptly put her paw in the bowl, tipped it upside down spilling all the water, and then running around the yard with a bowl in her mouth.

Try as I might, I could not get her to drink water normally out of the bowl.  She will drink rain water out of them before playing with plastic bowls.  But, for whatever reason, she associates a metal bowl with water for outside and plastic bowls outside are toys.  Note, she does have plastic bowls for her food and water in the house and aside from shoving them around the floor when they are empty and she wants more, she doesn't treat them as toys.

The plastic water bowls outside are being used in a way that is not what they were meant for.

But it certainly makes me laugh.  A lot!

Merging is an Ongoing Journey - What I was Inspired to Do

A little over a year ago, as I've already talked about, I started to get involved in things at church more and my love for music returned.

About a month ago I shared something on Facebook about a Music Ministry Certification program through BeADisciple.com.  It is a year-long program with 3 church music informational (not learning instruments) courses and then a practicum.  This program really called to me.

The first texts for the course on Psalms

And I am happy to say that I signed up for the first course, which begins in mid-January, 2022.

I am not sure I would have ever taken this step had so many things happen over the course of the last year or so.  I am very excited about what I will be learning.  And no, it's not another degree!!!  (haha!)  It's just a certificate in something that I hope will only expand my love and appreciation for music, not just as something to hear or sing but also something to really understand between the theology and meaning and history of some of the music I sing.

This is a short one today.  But I'm glad to be able to share it!

Thursday Thoughts - I guess I am....

 ....losing weight that is.

Results from FeelFit, an app connected with a Bluetooth scale I have

Now, granted that screenshot is a loss in weight over the past 3 years.  When I first got the scale, I started out very regularly checking my weight every morning.  Then the batteries on the scale died so I stopped for awhile.  Then I picked it back up again.  The batteries died again and just last night and this morning I picked it up yet again.

Part of the reason is because I've had a few people over the past couple weeks ask if I had been losing weight.  And I was curious to see if I actually had.  And, while I didn't lose an awful lot since the last time I was regularly weighing myself, I have lost a bit of weight from when I started and have kept it off for the most part.

As you can see, from the point I started a few years ago, I am down 25 pounds.   So, that's a good thing.  It's hard to tell if I have lost some weight more recently.  But, I'm happy that I have kept off some if not most of the weight I lost years ago.

But I have noticed that while there are times when I get very hungry...I am not eating as much as I used to.  Not like I'm starving myself or anything.  When I would go to certain places I would order specific things, and at times it was like a lot of food.  But I am finding now that the amount of food I used to order is too much and I can't finish!  So, that is one way of figuring it out.

Another way seems to be how I look in pictures of myself.  I still have a love/hate relationship with pictures of myself.  But I am getting better about them.  And I have noticed a bit of a difference in the pictures, that compared to several years ago I do look like I have lost weight.  Now, it could have been a difference in the angle or whether I am by myself or with others.  Whatever the reason, I think I see a difference in how I look.  And that's a good thing.

It's not a good thing because I want people to like me for being thinner than I am.  Or because I think that is what people want me to be like.  But because I know it's probably healthier for me in the long run.

So I'll keep doing what I'm doing.  Which, at this point, I'm not really sure what it is.  Whatever it is, it seems to be working for me.  And I guess that's what matters.

Merging is an Ongoing Journey - I'm In It Now!

You know how sometimes when you start something, there is always something that you can see as a back door, a way out?

But then there are some things that just solidify your place somewhere?

Me in my new choir robe (10/28/2021)

Trying on and being assigned a choir robe is a solidifying factor that I am in the PUMC Choir.

Not that I was planning to leave or anything!  Because I have found my place in the choir.  I love everything about choir once again.

But, being assigned a robe when we haven't been wearing robes since I started singing kind of says, "You're in it now Jenn!"

Church is my happy place.  Most times if I go into church for something, a book group, a meeting, singing, or some other reason, if I'm feeling poorly I leave feeling better.  Not just uplifted but physically better.  Music is my special happy place and no matter how I am feeling, once I start singing, things change.

Sometimes people may view being totally committed to something a negative thing or something to be afraid of.  But I look my commitment in the eye and I say "I'm glad I'm in it now!"

And, What's Next?