Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Leavin' on a jet plane...

Fortunately, I do know when I’m coming back again. Tomorrow Manny and I will be heading down to his boyhood pueblo for the wedding of sobrina #1 (niece #1). My suegra (mother-in-law) and sobrina #2 will be traveling with us. Daytime temperatures there are nice, but it gets cold at night and there is NO. HEAT. None. Unless you count the little electric heaters that blow out every available fuse. I’m hoping that it will not be as frigid as the last time we went. I don’t start to thaw until it hits 70. I really admire people who can stand the cold like that. If I had a little more cold resistance, think of the money we could save on heating bills.

The fantastic eats that are to be had there almost make up for camping in a concrete tent. We will also get to spend some time with scores, and I literally mean scores, of family that we have not seen for some time. So, we are definitely looking forward to that. Now, if only the weather in Sheet Rock Hills would cooperate so as not to cancel the flight…

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Home Run for Advent/First Comment

I didn't see the comment left by Rebekah just now, or I might have been expecting it this morning. I was so happy to see on the hymnboard that "Savior of the Nations Come" was indeed selected for the hymn of the day.

I was also delighted to find that the vacancy pastors of Sheet Rock Lutheran Church (SLRC) have decided to use DS III for Advent. We had previously been using DS I. Some people may not care much at all for DS I, but I like it. Really, it was the only liturgy our former congregation (I'll call it PDLC - Purpose Driven Lutheran Church) ever used and therefore the only one I knew until we left. By the time we left PDLC they were using only snippets of it here and there. A full Divine Service straight out of the hymnal was a rarity indeed. I am so blessed to have walked into SRLC one Sunday after having found its listing on the lutheranliturgy.org directory. The people there seem to truly appreciate the liturgy and fully participate in singing. Which brings me back to why I am excited about the use of DS III in the first place - the four-part harmony is written out! No more straining to hit that E flat in the Sanctus for me! Alto line, here I come. Not to mention the "older" sounding setting is nice for a change and the Confession and Absolution is full and rich.

Though SRLC is in the midst of a vacancy a wonderful team of pastors is doing a fantastic job of ensuring that God's Word is purely preached and the Sacraments rightly administered. So, home run gentlemen. You made my day!

(Incidentally, Rebekah also made my day as she left the very first comment on this blog!)

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Savior of the Nations Come

That is hands down my favorite Advent hymn. I don't know what the hymn selection process is at our church, but I'm hoping that someone has picked it for tomorrow!