Blogging in Public. A Note From Jan.

Thanks for all the encouragement. Decided: I’ll not sit in a corner and write for my eyes only. Considering a book and a blog of some sort. My family plans to get me onto a site that I can manage. A niche that will BEEP, flash or whatever it does to alert interested folks when new posts show up.

I told someone at church today that I never liked the word “blog.” Felt like something for which I should say, “Excuse me, please, for blogging in public.” Well, I may still feel that way.  But, for those of you who don’t want to go “cold turkey,” I’ll let you know where to find me before I sign off of CaringBridge.  It won’t be for another week, for sure.

Reverend Susan Russell preached today. Susan spoke of four aspects of communion or the eucharist. (Her homily was based on a book written in 1945 in England by a Gregory, neither pope nor saint, as far as I know. By the time I found my pen in the bottom of my purse, she’d moved on. Yes, I still use a pen and paper.) 

Bread of Life come down from heaven. Take     Bless     Break   Give

God TAKES us as we are.

God BLESSES us.  This takes faith to believe since we can’t always see the blessing we receive or are to others.

We are BROKEN in worship, not always right away but over time through the discipline of worship.

God GIVES us back to a hurting world.

Thank you, Susan. That helped me look deeper into this act of worship beyond the more obvious meaning of taking communion.

And I did not want to go to church today.  It was HOT and the church isn’t air-conditioned.  The beach looked so inviting. Once again, “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” And sometimes just don’t want to do.

During church, at times, I was overwhelmed by a sense of loss.  Loss of more than Jud.

Strange the work of Grace.  To kneel at a railing, feeling so empty and lost.  Take a paper thin wafer, the size of a quarter.  Dip it in wine (yes, real wine).  Swallow. Rise and walk back to the pew with a sense that an empty tank’s slowly filling.

One small act of obedience: “This do in remembrance of Me.”  Make one small choice to live 24/6 in a 24/7 world and God shows up. I love that about God.