...it is well with my soul...

I really love the church we've been going to. I feel God there. I feel Him in the people, in the love that they have for each other, in the spirit that leads them to take care of the community around them. Yesterday, it literally felt like He was right above us.

The church has this really incredible worship band/group/thing, which I also love. It's led by Brian Pitts, the Student Ministries director from Samford, and I've known him and his wife, who is also in the band thing, for a while now. The band consists of Brian, lead (acoustic) guitar and vocals, and then several other singers, and a keyboard and a bass guitar, and - get this - a mandolin, and violins, and some type of drum thing that isn't a bongo but looks like one that lays down. I don't know what it's called, but it sounds cool. When they play, it's beautiful. But the thing is, it's not about what instruments are there or not there - it's the spirit of the people singing (and that includes the congregation.) I've observed that in a lot of churches, people don't sing like they mean what they're singing, or are paying attention to the words. I guess it's supposed to be like mild and reverent or whatever, but it just feels sort of complacent and dead to me. And I'm not talking about the type of song either - I like a lot of hymns better than a lot of praise songs - it's just how you sing them that matters. At this church, God's spirit moves when we sing. It's a beautiful thing. Yesterday, one of the songs we sang was "It is Well with My Soul," which is one of my very favorite hymns. And boy, I needed to hear that - because my soul is not well with a lot of things. (Like work, right now.) And God was there. And it was good.

In another vein entirely...

This weekend has been totally unproductive for me. I really need to get some stuff done today (but here I am, blogging in bed, at 9 am. oh well...) I should change my attitude about resting. I have this problem, and I think it's genetic maybe, that when I'm not DOING something, when I'm just sitting around reading, or doing a crossword, or whatever, having some restful "me" time, I always say something like "I'm SO lazy," or "I really need to get up and do something," or something to that effect. Usually it involves the word "lazy." Now, when I'm being honest with myself - I'm really not that lazy. I'm not type-A work-a-holic by any stretch of the imagination, but right now, I'm working full-time 3 days a week. I cook dinner for the hubby probably 4 days a week (we try to eat leftovers the rest of the time - sometimes this works out better than others.) I try to keep caught up on the laundry and cleaning - but that's what I've slacked on this weekend. And Mark always says "So what?" when I fall behind. I should listen to him. Because there's nothing wrong with rest. We talked about it in my fellowship group from church - how we need rest, how we don't function without it, how God intended us for rest and rejuvenation. I'm just not very good at not feeling guilty when I do it.

Seriously though, today, I DO need to get up and do some things. Like make my yummy soup for dinner!! Mark doesn't have class tonight, so we can eat at a normal hour, which is nice, and I'm making Turkey Rosemary Veggie soup and cornbread tonight for dinner. Yum! I'm really into fall this year, and I'm looking forward to trying lots of soups for meals this fall (because usually they're pretty cheap, and last a while.)

I also need to figure out exactly WHAT I'm doing for Mark's birthday, and WHEN I'm going to get it... Because his birthday is coming up here pretty soon. I have a few ideas ... we'll see how it all pans out :)

And now ... laundry is calling my name. Farewell, comfy bed :)