Jacci Turner is a dear friend from my years at the University of Nevada. She mentored me in Christian faith and life. She lives in Reno, Nevada, and works with college students today. Jacci is also a writer of young adult fiction. You can find her work here.
Jacci Turner, Fiction Writer
Things That Are Seen
In the balcony today there were workers on scaffolding changing the light bulbs. There is no other safe way to reach those lights. While they were working, I was in the Youth Room singing, worshipping, and meditating on 2 Corinthians 4:18, “We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” I am glad that while some of us turn inward to the things that are unseen (the Inner Light seen by faith), others attend to outward things that are seen, like light bulbs that need to be changed.
Posted in Architecture, Daily Life
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Monday Margarita
A home visit today, plus a funeral, hospital call, and news that a dear parishioner has died in hospital in Hillsdale. It was good that I could decompress later over a margarita with my wife and friends. Daily walking, practicing yoga, and Monday margaritas — these are things that help keep me sane and spiritual.
Posted in Daily Life, Food, Health
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Detox With Yoga
I went to Blissfield this afternoon for a session at Bliss Yoga. It involved a lot of twisting and stretching, particularly our hip joints (where I had problems last fall). At one point as we twisted in a pretzelly way, our instructor mentioned the need to ‘detox our bodies.’ It felt as if toxins had seeped into my body this weekend, and yoga helped me to detox.
Everyday Superstars
I had the oil changed on my car today at Lentz Automotive. I was standing at this counter to pay my bill, reading a thank you letter sitting under the glass. The woman who wrote it thanked them for taking good care of her car in a crisis and wondered if they were a rescue mission in addition to being a car shop. Her words didn’t surprise me. I have always been impressed with the service, integrity, and professionalism at Lentz. The owner Steve amazes me. Men usually are not known for multitasking, but he is able to juggle many things at once, moving from the shop to this reception counter to the phones and back to the shop hundreds of times a day. I have watched him work and seen how well he takes care of people. (Today he was training a new assistant, a woman without a right hand.)
I was going to write a post about Adam Hamilton, whom we heard speak today at the Detroit Annual Conference meeting at Adrian College. Hamilton, pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Kansas, is a superstar in the United Methodist Church. He is an excellent speaker, and I enjoyed his presentation. But I am more interested in everyday superstars. Here is one everyday superstar I wrote about last fall. Steve at Lentz Automotive is another everyday superstar. They don’t get lots of attention beyond their circle of family and friends, but they are the people who literally hold up the world.
Jesus, Winnie the Pooh, and Graham Crackers
I made three home visits this afternoon, with Jesus, Winnie the Pooh, and a box of graham crackers in the car next to me. The crackers were for lunch. By the end of visiting I felt strangely like Prince Myshkin in The Idiot. But the prince didn’t eat graham crackers. I also read a great article on Sabbath keeping at Proverbs 31 Ministries.
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Bible Break
Today I wrote notes to parishioners, made a home visit, helped with set-up for annual conference, and led a walking group on the trail. In the afternoon I stopped at a park for a Bible break. I am no longer reading the One Year Bible because I have ADD I needed another resource that helps me move more slowly through the text. So I am working through a Bible study on 2 Corinthians. By slowing the pace of reading I am again hearing a Voice speak to me through scripture. It is like the difference between driving through the woods and walking through the woods.
Posted in Bible
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