July 5, 2008

• Doors Hung! BBQ Happened! Wow.

  So, Kevin sent over a couple of door magicians who got the whole door thing done in a few hours. They were even able to use some of the original trim on the living room side of the door to match the appearance of the adjacent doorway. Seriously skilled guys. The job was perfect. Thank you Kevin !!

   

  I’m so grateful for the BBQ turnout. It was a blast! I think about 40 people came, and about 9 were from the neighborhood.  First only about 4 showed from the neighborhood, but then about 5 more came. It wasn’t as many as I’d hoped for but I think it was the right group this time and I think more will come next time as the word spreads. J I sat down with the first 4 for a while and we talked about work, and the neighborhood, then somehow we got to talking about church. I wasn’t ready for that …. somehow didn’t think that topic would come up ‘till BBQ #2 or something.

   

  So of course they asked “what kind of church is it?” And I tried to say “it’s a cross between …” and then I couldn’t think of how to finish that sentence. So instead I just told them, it’s a church where we seek to have a real relationship with God and each other. A church where everyone is welcome and we are real and transparent with each other, because we want to know and be known for who we really are. A church where we are living life together enough to be there for each other in the hard times. (And like I often do, I forgot to mention the good times, lol,  but there we were all having a good time together, so I suppose that was already on the table). And a church where, yes we come in with some problems, but we encourage each other to seek God’s direction for what he wants to heal first, because we don’t always know what’s best for ourselves or each other.

   

  One of the guys related how he’d been to a few churches before but didn’t go anywhere regularly because it was boring. We took a moment to try to figure out what church he’d been to and narrowed it down … yep … same denomination I grew up in. He said again it was boring. J I told him I remembered thinking the same thing and thinking, “it doesn’t have to be like this! Why should it be like this?” And that as I read the bible I see that God doesn’t want that kind of thing either, he wants our relationship with him to be as natural as a good relationship between a son and a father!

   

  I saw them really take this in, and they asked about when the church met, and where, and if I could write down how to get there, so I located a couple of cards, wrote down cross streets and meeting time and stuff on the back, and a they said they’d visit, probably not this week, but next. Guess they might, or might not, come visit this time around, but I know they had a good time and will be back for more next time.

   

  We never had to turn on any music, ‘cause Shae and Trav made some cool music together, for a while, and then Danny and I took a turn. While Shae and Trav were playing, the guys from the hood were commenting they’d like to go to a church with music like that.

   

  Now, I simply have to pause for a moment of silence and reflect on the priceless gift of Earnie’s BBQ skills. Wow. MM, mm, good. Like no other. Thank you Earnie!

   

  All the Refinery (Baytown Vineyard) folks seemed to have a good time, just hanging out and talking, and the kids had a good time playing together. Y’all reading this? Thank you for coming, for bringing your soda, your beer, your ice, your ice chests, your open hearts, your fun kids, your songs, your stories, your side dishes, your desert  … that was all so perfect. We felt the love! A ton of it. It was amazing, almost surreal. It was everything we’d hoped for in choosing this house, and more.

   

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