M&G Continued

Here we are with Lisa P when she helped us at Grace Methodist's Retreat. Had a blast! We had the supreme privilege of singing Ain't No Mountain with her to close out our portion of the program. Note to self, add this to my resume, again I sang with Lisa P.

Peggy and I talked briefly this morning about lines and we will arrive early today to go over them several times before we are called upon. I got to thinking of another funny time. Several years ago we were asked by a small church out in the deep, deep country to come and do something for their women's day at church. Seems like we drove forever and finally arrived. I was waiting for our portion of the program in the church lobby, or foyer or narthex...whatever they called it, dressed pretty much like this picture and a woman comes up and begins talking with me. Her first question was, "how long your people lived in these parts?" Of course my thoughts are racing, she thinks I attend here, we don't look any different than most of the women sitting in that sanctuary. I told her I was just visiting for the day and she said, "hope you come back and I love your dress!" For this particular performance, Peggy and I had decided to do some new material about how much stuff that needs to be brought with a child to church, a play date or just to the store. Of course we went over the topidy with it, but the material did not match the audience whatsoever. We are looking at older women dressed much like we were. For this particular script Peggy has her fox fur attached to the rear end of her dress and has sticks, limbs and leaves coming out of the neck and armholes of the dress. The reason, because in the script she had to ride on top of Jenny's suburban cause there wasn't room for her and her train case in the car with all of Allie and Kate's junk. On the ride home I told Peggy about the conversation with the woman in the lobby...she begins howling and says I can top that. She was waiting in the bathroom because we didn't want to spoil the surprise of her coming in with all that stuff on her. Peggy said she had several conversations in the restroom and no one was at all surprised to see sticks and a fox hanging from the back end of her dress.

I am beginning to realize there is so much ministry in laughter and the Lord lets me know that He can work through our silly ideas and scripts. At one particular performance the Lord drove that point home with me. We were at a church here in Houston doing our thing...it was actually for an Adult Sunday School class. I had almost turned down the invite but felt a prompting in my spirit to do it. After we had performed and people were standing around and visiting with us an elderly gentleman came up to me and told me the tears on his cheeks were the first tears of joy he had cried since his wife died about 6 weeks previously. In fact he wasn't even going to come because this dinner was one of his wife's favorite things to attend. In my heart I was praising and thanking God for using us to help people laugh. I take it for granted that people laugh and have as much fun as I am blessed to have. Sometimes I hear people speak or teach or read blogs of deep thought and direction and I feel pressure to go and do likewise. It is not that I don't think or experience deep thought or serious moments, I don't always express them. Yet I can only express God's love and joy in how He created me. I read in a Ken Gire book a poem written by a young woman who was funny and the clown. Her poem stated she never got the luxury of being in a bad mood, everyone expected her to be funny all the time. I read that and it pierced my heart because many a time I have felt the same feelings. For a moment I thought, yeah, it doesn't matter what is going on in my life and how mad I may be about somethings, no one lets me be in a bad mood...but I know I am better off than being mired and trapped in the rut of sadness like so many are. OK, I would have put the poem in the blog, but I would have to find the book. If you have ever been to our home you know there are books strewn everywhere...Once again I should be looking at lines, but I would rather write about stuff. OK, off to sing the rewritten song of 'So Long Farewell' from the Sound of Music.