Can I Get an Amen?!

I'm missing my Sunday brunch-and-worship at my home church back in the Prairie State.  I don't frequent the auditorium, seated shoulder-to-shoulder amongst the possible 6,000 other attendees, but have come to enjoy watching the service on the big-screen projections inside the dining area.  This way I can give thanks to God for my daily bread in His house instead of mine.  :)

I do like the atmosphere of the auditorium, especially when I can gaze through the open-curtained, floor-to-ceiling windows on either side of the stage, upon the waterfalled gardens just outside.  That always gives me peace.  I just don't like being somewhat packed into the rows and sharing armrests.  I need my space.

Hence, the brunch-and-Bible preference was born.

Down here in Destin, I am looking for a substitute church.  A woman I met suggested I accompany her to Destiny Worship.  None of the local churches here compare in size to Willow Creek, but the service format of Destiny was somewhat similar (young adults singing with mikes and guitars to start....some prayers....a pretty contemporary message).  Too many Bible verses (reminiscent of my Missouri Synod Lutheran upbringing) and no big-screen televisions though.  Lots of worshippers raising their arms upward and dancing....yes, dancing.  And some congregation shout-outs and lots of emotional pleas from the preacher.

So I guess I'd describe it as "Willow-with-a-Can-I-Get-an-Amen".   Which was actually kind of interesting.

One of my favorite churches in Europe (so far).....Augustinian Monastery Church in Mainz, Germany

(clicking to enlarge still doesn't do the paintings justice)

Have a Seat....

Two weeks here and I'm more familiar with the place.  And although I'm not fond of too much routine in my life, so can't say "here's what I do every morning", I can show you some of my favorite spots for reading, meditation, and vegging out.  (Click to enlarge)

This bench is down the block from my rental condo.  It overlooks a pond on the golf course and then further, Choctawhatchee Bay, the marina, and Sandestin's village, Baytowne Wharf.  First time I took a biking break to sit here, I had to outrun the sprinklers, which caught me by surprise!

Close up

;)

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS

by Portia Nelson

I

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk

I fall in.

I am lost ... I am helpless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes me forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in the same place

but, it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in ... it's a habit.

My eyes are open

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

This is one of my favorite poems.   It has helped me through several past situations in my life.  I need to apply it now to a current issue.   Maybe it speaks to you, too. 

Just this.  No visuals tonight.  Sleep well.

A Beach Day

After having spent almost two hours figuring out how to get my PIN number for the city condo so I could pay out of state and online my second installment of property taxes (oh, joy) I had an uneventful, but nice day nonetheless.

Being the sole "in-between lunch and dinner" diner at Landry's on Hwy. 98, I had all the conversation I could want with the 19 year-old server, learning how he moved down here in January to be with his girlfriend, lived with her for a short time before breaking up, then moved into an apartment with a female co-worker (27) on a purely platonic level and how she cleans the place and he fixes stuff, including her car.  Now why can't I find a roommate like that?!  Ah, the younger generation.............

Afterward, a drive along the beach enticed me to park (scads of free parking here versus St. Pete/Clearwater and being off-season now...) and plop down my beach chair 10 feet from the waves.  Although it was 70, the coolish breeze from the Gulf had me (in capris and a short-sleeved shirt) shivering after a short while.  But I hung in there until sunset, a more tame-ish ball of orange sinking below the horizon than previous sunsets I've witnessed.  Also found a cute and jumpin' (live music) seafood place that I made a note of for a future dinner.  (Click, click, click on the photos to really see them...)

Two kids surfing the water's edge...

Shhhhhhh, quiet please.

Even though this year I thought ahead and brought down an entire box of books from home (books I've read and want to reread and books I've only partially read), I still felt the need to know where the Destin Library was.  So this morning after breakfast, I found it very near the spot in which I ate.  It's really fairly charming.  (Click away...)

Walk up to the front doors and....

have a chat with Mark Twain.

Or "set a spell" yourself on the library porch....

and gaze at the landscaping....I just love this pink ornamental grass they have down here!

Fore!

To entice my son to bring down the family.....photos of parts of the two golf courses on the Sandestin property.  Pat, are you reading this?  (Click photos to see details/golfers much better)

Watch your slice, because there's water everywhere!

My favorite view...see the bay in the distance?

How's this for sand traps?  (Click to see it up close!)

Totally "Un"chronological

Looking through photos tonight and wanted to share Halloween '09 photos of my sweet Madison (4) and Cayden (2 1/2).  That's all.  Totally out of chronological order, but who cares!  (Thanks for the photos, Kate!)  By the way, these don't enlarge when clicked upon.

Grandchildren..............couldn't you just eat them up?  They are so delicious!