Sick, sick, sick

I had a very mild cold two or three weeks ago. It was nothing more than an annoyance.

This version, however, has come with a vengeance. A major sore throat, sinus pressure, stuffy head, body aches, and this really sick feeling in my stomach after I eat. Yuck! Is it the flu or a cold? Then there's always the possiblilty of allergies. I don't know. I'm just trying to stay hydrated and take it easy. Thankfully the boys have been pretty well-behaved the last few days, making my job easier.

Is it just me or does anyone else wonder about germs being more concentrated when we're cooped up indoors in the colder weather?

P.S. The other day I was out running some errands and picking up some necessities. Want to know the one item on my list that I forgot to get? Tissues. Ironic!

Where's the line

As you may remember, I posted a list of nearly 100 books I want to read. I compiled this list for my own personal intellectual development. I want to fill in the gaps in my education and stimulate my brain. In the last few weeks I've read 1984, The Great Gatsby, and Things Fall Apart. I'm currently reading The Color Purple. This book has won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and has been turned into a Broadway musical.

The Color Purple contains some disturbing elements. The first part of the book wasn't too terribly objectionable, but suddenly at about the half-way point, one of the main characters has started using the f word profusely. There have also been some unusual sexual occurrences and abuse.

Where is the line between educating myself and reading things that I really shouldn't? I'm starting to wonder if my book list is a worthwhile endeavor. I want to learn, but should I put restrictions on what I learn? I don't know the answer. I don't know if there is an answer.

Mall Mondays

For our first Dan-less Monday I decided to take the boys to the mall. I figured I might be able to squeeze in a little browsing, then let the boys play in the kiddie play area. I loaded the boys in the double stroller and started out looking at H&M, my favorite clothing store. The boys were angels. I was amazed. Too bad there weren't any good sales. Then we headed down to this toy and hobby store that has a train table for kids to play with. Isaiah played nicely for a while, and I parked the stroller there so Sam could play too. After that we looked in another store briefly and headed to the food court to eat the lunch I packed. I'm too cheap to buy lunch at the food court, and it's not that healthy anyway. The boys both ate their lunches beautifully. Then I let Isaiah ride the carousel because he was being so good. We finished our afternoon by playing at the big bird kiddie play area. Isaiah was running around having a great time with the other kids. I was helping Sam climb around on everything and go down the slide. He was playing with steering wheel that had a button that made different horn sounds. It took me a while to realize that Sam was imitating the different horn sounds! It was so cute! He just amazes me with what he's able to do.

The most remarkable thing about the outing was how good the boys were! They were both so pleasant, and that never happens! It was such a success that I might just declare the first day of the working week "Mall Mondays."

Clarification

I realized after writing my last post that some of you would be confused about why I'm still at Bakerstown Alliance. The church hired me to stay on as the music leader until they call a new pastor. Once they call a new pastor, they'll reevaluate my staying there. Just to clarify...

God is good

Yesterday after church we had a meeting to plan our Thanksgiving dinner. This is by far the best large-scale community outreach Thanksgiving dinner ever (well, I might be a little biased). Everyone from our church donates and makes home-cooked food for the dinner. And it is delicious!

The dinner coordinator started the meeting by saying that she knows this is a hard year economically and that it will be more difficult than ever for people to reach into their pockets to buy the food.

Normally we have a big sign-up sheet listing everything we need. There are always a few items that are still needed even after the meeting. We rely on people that weren't able to attend the meeting to fill in the holes. Would you believe that this year we got everything we needed more quickly than ever? If we had taken all the food that people volunteered to make, we would have had way more than we needed. And we even had someone from another church volunteer to donate some food.

All I can say is that God is good. Even in tough times, He was still able to use our church friends to reach out to the community and some who may otherwise not have a Thanksgiving dinner.