Weekend update
I was home again this weekend. While there, I made the following observations:

- My brother's baby room is finally looking really good. After months of random visits home to help with renovations, it's finally ready for a baby to live in it. That room is now the warmest, least drafty room in the house. Not bad for spare time work and free family labour.

- My sermon went surprisingly well. I talked about images in Scripture and elsewhere, namely garden and desert imagery. It was received pretty well, despite some particularly worldly references, like Shakespeare. I got a huge laugh from the Mennonite joke that I wrote into the sermon, then when it came to the humourous personal story, nobody really laughed. I talked about how I was a pretty scrawny kid to start working in tobacco, and I thought I'd get some sympathy laughs or something, but since they all knew me, they were probably all just nodding their heads in agreement at how pathetic I once was.

- Generosity is received differently in different contexts. From an unmentioned and perhaps unacknowledged thanks to emotionally charged hugs, smiles and other visible expressions of appreciation. Perhaps I expect generosity in certain contexts, and so I voice my appreciation less. Am I more generous if I offer without being asked, make nothing of my sacrifice, but rarely ask when help is needed, or if I give immediately when asked, and seek out people in need, but take offense when such a task is expected? I think the answer is that more generosity is always better. Who knows?

Added later
- Another thing, is that it's funny how many Loewens there are back home. Sitting in the pew before my sermon, beside another Loewen (no relation), who played guitar in the worship band, and listening to a different Loewen (no relation, to me, or the other Loewen) lead singing. There was also another Loewen that I shook hands with after church, who isn't related to me or either of the other two Loewens. We're taking over the world I guess, one small town church at a time, or is it that all Loewens nearby are just sucked into this one little church?

   [ posted by William @ 4:47 PM ]