It's all good so far

This weekend I had wrapped up a presentation and was getting tools out to participants for the service project.  I overheard someone talking about the presentation and how they would like to paraphrase it for their next training session.  I asked for his email and sent him a copy.

Earlier in the week a professional acquaintance took me to breakfast.  We shared a meal and caught up on our mutual friends in the business.  Then he shared a number of contacts with me to assist in my job search.  Points of contact he had developed that he was willing to pass on.

We accrue stuff, some tangible, some intangible.  Don’t be a hoarder.  Use it or pass it on, 

Monday normalcy.  The dogs barking and the washer/dryer chiming as I gather my thoughts.  I have missed a couple of posts.  I  have at least one draft in the journal which did not get posted due to the angry state I was in while writing it. Other ideas percolating during the weekend but no time to write.

What has been going on?  Various issues with the Mother in Law and the Assisted Living Center.   Dealing with the insurance company after the latest (#3) college fender bender.  

Friday – Sunday was spent camping.  Up early and off  to load tools and then it was on to Bastrop for the weekend.  We got in, checked in, and set up.  I was advising the Servant Leadership session which included training sessions on project planning and safety and the trail maintenance project.  The scope of the project was not large compared to the rest of the event.  My youth leaders had it covered.  

I presented the training sessions and led the teams out to the trail for the project then retrieved them.  Although the segment of trail that we worked was less than a half mile long, the fourth time up and down it got my attention.  We finished the Saturday with the set up and operation of the generators.  Finally in the tent after midnight to spend an evening very short on sleep.  

Broke down camp and returned the tools to our camp.  Home and unloaded by 3 pm.  The kids dropped of the car so we could take it to the body shop today. Did not need to watch “the walking Dead”, because I was living it.

So there are posts still working in my head that will probably be seen later this week.  

I had every intention of posting yesterday, that was until I spent approximately one hour on the phone with various customer service folks at the insurance company trying to get a claim processed.  

I did not have anything pleasant to say, so as per my sainted mother’s instructions about these types of situations.and applied them to blogging too….

The day did improve.  I did apply for two positions and a professional contact reached out to reconnect.  I have lunch with a consultant today.  

So things are looking up.  

In addition to the job hunt, I am continuing to make headway on the family business accounting.  I am also spending some time doing some evaluation and clearing of the accumulated stuff.  Progress is being made.

It was a regular Sunday morning.  We got the dog walks completed.  The breakfast dishes  washed, the paper read, and I had been through my readings for Church a couple of times this morning.  Short readings today instead of the epochs which I tend to draw.

While practicing I could hear my sainted mother’s admonition to speak ” clearly and distinctly”.  

Having had some sort of role in the Church services most of my life (choir, acolyte, usher, lay reader, worship leader) you can tell how a service is going pretty quickly.  The readings went alright.  But what is really neat, is that moment that you don’t expect.  When something occurs that just hits home.  

Today it was the doxology – the hymn sung at the presentation of the offering.  

 “Praise God from whom all blessing flow; 

praise him all creatures here below;

praise him above yea heavenly host:

praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”

The words, paraphrased from Psalm 117 by Thomas Kenn at the start of the 17th century, the melody “old 100th,”some time in the 1500s.  In our contemporary service, led with a single guitar.  

Most of the time this is just dialed, an every Sunday traditional legacy hymn.  But today there were a number of strong voices in the mix, proud, loud, and in tune.  You could feel the praise and thanksgiving resonate.  Today it rocked.