Blasts from the Past

This has been an especially busy week. At times it has been an extremely stressful week and yet in the midst of busy and stress I experienced great joy. A beaming and radiant joy and these two albums are the source of the joy in the midst of life this week and in years past. These two album covers and the records in them are so meaningful to me. The music from these albums made an extremely difficult season of life more manageable. The albums are from The Church of The Redeemer here in Houston. God's People Give Thanks is music from the "contemporary" service of back in the day of 1972 and Hallelujah Jesus is King was folk music from their Friday night services. I really don't remember who introduced me to Church of the Redeemer, but I think it was my friend Mary Madeline. It was the summer between my senior year of high school and my freshman year at Southwest Texas State University...now known as Texas State University. I was searching. I had become a Christian at 16 and by 17 knew there had to be more than what I was experiencing at my Baptist Church. I was very involved in Campus Crusade and that had helped me develop good habits of Bible study and quiet time, but my spirit knew there had to be so much more freedom and worship. My generation introduced "youth musicals" and the freedom to sing peppy songs and wear pants suits that matched wasn't enough for me. I hungered to know God. So one Friday night, my friend Mary Madeline and I went to Redeemer. We had heard of the awesome worship and the painting at the front of the church had to be seen to be experienced. When we walked into the sanctuary, the Spirit of the Living God was so palatable...that feeling went to the very core of my being. To tell you the truth I don't remember one sermon or teaching from the church, but I remember the music...the dancing...the sincere and open worship. Mary Madeline and I would go on Friday nights and when we could, go on Sunday mornings. Looking back, if my parents really had known what part of town the church was in, I don't know if they would have let me gone. But the fact that I wanted to be in church on a Friday night probably held a lot of sway. It was such a magical time...the Spirit of God was being poured out in churches like this all over the country. When I came home on the weekends, I wanted to go to Redeemer. I never became involved in their communities or in the life of the church, I really didn't want to. The church was a place for renewal and filling for me. Once I moved back to Houston to finish out college, I really didn't go back except for once or twice when Mary Madeline was home from Baylor. Even now I have no desire to go back and see if I would experience the same thing. I think God had that for me for that time. When I was at SWTSU I had these albums to keep the memory and the music alive. I must have played the albums every day. I could turn on the music and be right in the midst of God's presence. My first year at college was one of the toughest I have ever experienced yet it was one of the best times of my life. My roommate and I knew each other from high school and church. We had picked out Noah's Ark to decorate our room and we were going to be a beacon light to this perverse generation holding forth the Word of truth...only something happened. About three weeks into the semester, Sherry told me she had been "good" all her life and if she was ever going to experience life it would be at college. She had decided not to walk in the faith but try everything there was out there to try. Needless to say the first semester was full of strife. To make matters worse, I am a night owl, she is a morning person. The second semester she moved out and the girl that moved in spent one whole night in our room. The rest of the time she lived with her boyfriend. What a blessing to have a room of my own. Sherry was telling lies about me and causing me all kinds of grief... I had my albums, my friend Mary Madeline wrote me a note almost every day to encourage me in the Lord, and I had the Lord's friendship and presence that I knew like no other time before.

That brings us to today. Last month I went to Grace Methodist for their day of prayer. Lisa P led the worship and Susan Kirby taught one of the break out sessions. Several of us were talking with Susan after she taught and Church of the Redeemer came up. Susan and I had both gone there and had similar experiences. She brought up the albums and I told her I thought I still had mine and from that time forward we began to research and find someone who could convert albums into CD's. This week Susan found a place that would convert the albums...Sound Works. I took these albums and a kiddie album I have had since the age of 3 to have them done. Yesterday afternoon after one of the busiest and stressful days at work I went to Sound Works and got the CD's. I waited till I got home and began to play and import them into my iTunes. It was if time had never gone by, I was filled with overflowing joy and praise. I remembered the words to the songs although I had not heard them in over 30 years. I listened to them until Roy came home and then I played them for him. This is how much this meant to me, I was going to stay home and not go to the presale at The Nord for the Anniversary Sale. Now you know how serious I am! I left a cryptic message for Susan with the music playing in the background. And this morning, I waited for the call. It came. It came at 8:24 am. Since I knew how happy I was, I knew the same thing would happen for her. So, I took the CD's out to her office at Living Proof. Let me tell you, there was joy on her face as she heard the first strum of the guitar... we had such a nice visit. I looked at my watch and realized she probably needed to get back to work and she asked me if I would like to stay and have lunch with she, Evangeline and Kimberly. So, I went shopping with Evangeline and picked up a couple of things I had wanted to buy and like Kimberly said, time flies at LP. It does. We went for Barbecue that was totally awesome, but it was the fun, laughter and visiting at the table that blessed me beyond measure. I love God and how He knits hearts together and there is joy in the midst. That was something I didn't expect but it was pure delight to spend lunch with such fine and fun sistas in the Lord. Although for a moment in the backseat of Susan's car, I thought Kimberly might pinch Evangeline cause she had never shared with them 92.1 and the Yolanda Adams with Brother Larry Jones show. If you know Yo...you'll be blessed...for those of you who don't that is the name of one of her songs.

I headed back toward home after lunch, over to Mrs. Baker's and to church to take care of a few odds and ends before Sunday. This week in between one of the Admins quitting and taking care of her unfinished work there was good news from Becky, she and Chris are engaged. There was a lot of happy screaming in the Ministries office Tuesday morning. Some of us found out on Wednesday that Courtney Synott is pregnant with twins...more happy screaming. That kind of screaming is so much better than the silent scream when we are pulling our hair out instead of trusting the one who calmed the storm. It was a week when I had what I call a 5000 mile check up with my therapist Cheryl. It was a great visit and we are going to meet once a month as she now becomes a coach to help me map out a future and a dream. Although, I guess when I need a visit back to the past she is there with the tools to help me navigate that journey. I did get to The Nord and pre bought some suede red Steve Madden shoes...I tried to buy some red boots, but they didn't have them yet. I bought some fall and winter clothes and fall makeup. OK, this is just getting sad when you have to change make up with the seasons... more blog on that at a later time. It was a week when Peggy and I got our plans made for our trip to Alabama at First Baptist Trussville and had fun conversation in between. What fun to text with Lisa while I was trying on shoes to get her savvy fashion opinion. My friend Beth who lives in Seattle wrote me a long letter that I plan to read a thousand more times before I begin to write her back. Laurie Johnson asked if we could meet for coffee or dinner sometime soon and we are making plans towards that. OEG will get his first Nord experience next Thursday evening when he meets Roy and I for dinner. Dena let me come over with my albums on Monday night when it wasn't a convienent time for her to see if the albums would play or if they were warped before taking them to Sound Works. I got a raise and got to see that on my check today. Bible study was Tuesday night and we had great sharing and double desserts. My little friend Caroline was in the office this week and made the hours go by quickly as we made sentences together with my word blocks and told each other funny things. Roy didn't have to work quite as late this week and we went out for Mexican food on Wednesday night, something we don't usually get to do. Courtney Schis came by and sang the wishing song for Jason and me. Then CourtneyS and I wrote a comment to Amanda that just cracked us up. Although, I believe some of her commenters must think we were serious and not nice. I got to meet on blog Amber who shared in our sense of humor. I got my music and I heard my 24 Kiddie Favorites for the first time since childhood. Well, I heard it at Dena's on Monday night...but you know what I mean.

You see, if I thought of it off the top of my head, I might have said what a bad week it was. I didn't get a chance to blog, I was busy beyond measure and I was busy holding worlds together that were seeming to colliade at will and with a vengance. God is here in the center of it all. He brought delight and surprise to my life this week. For this I am thankful. And to top it all off, when I got home late Tuesday night, I thought my eyes were deceiving me... I had to get out and investigate further. There it was in the dark of night and it was still there in the light of Wednesday morning, the little oak tree has begun growing again. A Little Tree Grows