Freestyling with J

Hello all, J here again. JE had to go to work after Church, and I expect that she will be pretty tired when she gets home, likely too tired to write two blog posts (i.e. today's and tomorrow's). So, bear with me as a substitute writer, and know that your tolerance will result in a much better Bella blog on Monday.

Sundays here mean that you get a entry without a theme, leaving me to my own devices. Those devices today tell me to share two things that I learned today. First, if you have attended Church with JE and me, you know that she teaches J2A at 10, and I've taken on leading our adult contemporary class, the Wired Word. I'm sure that this shocks you, but JE and I can sometimes take these duties a bit far, meaning that one or both of us runs over, leading us to walk into church after the service has--technically--started. Often, this isn't a problem, as attention is at the front, and we can come in the back and get to our regular pew without too much commotion. Today, with the extended reading in the back (due to it being Palm Sunday), JE and I came in late, with all attention on the back.

JE and I not being of a mind to let tradition trump our desire to avoid social awkwardness, we chose to slip into a pew at the back entrance and act like we had been there the whole time.

I do not know about you, but JE is not that comfortable with change, which means that we are typically in the same pew ever Sunday that we attend. And, I admit, I like it that way too. I like how our pew is on the sunny side of the church, and how the wind comes in through the window, bringing spring and all God's wonder into our gathering. I know it's not right, as s/he's always there, but it's kind of like I get to see God slipping into Church on the cusp of being late due to doing wonders elsewhere, with the notion making the connection to the holy ever so intimate.

By sitting elsewhere, I missed that today. But, I learned something else. A change of perspective can be great. First, it makes you appreciate and feel blessed for the everyday. Before, I never really thought about how much I liked where we sit, but I got to learn that today. Second, sometimes the different can be better in a few ways. For example, today JE and I got to sit behind Carol and Michael Summers, two great people who we got to know in doing some work in the Church kitchen. It's always fun to see them, and due to our proximity, we got to visit with them more than we would on a typical Sunday (Carol and I even had a muted "sword" fight with our palm fronds until we realized that it might be a skotch blasphemous.). Third and finally, a different perspective is exactly that. I got to see the sermon from a different area, I heard the choir with different acoustics, etc. Each of these differences, together with us in the congregation, means that many variables in the context of our church experience changed today. In the end, just that little difference in the complex system can get you out of your head, make you more attentive and attuned to God's whisper and make your worship that much better.

In short, I endorse occasionally taking a different pew.

Now, I was going to write about the second thing I learned today, but I think this post is too long now. And, I want to take a nap (I've been writing in the sun), and I still have work to do today. So I'll leave the other point for another time. Until then, switch things up a bit. It might be the best thing you do that day.