Calls, play practice, gift exchange

When someone told me yesterday that the fifty phone calls I would be making today was not too bad a load of calls, I did not believe them. However, having made the majority of those calls this morning, I found out that they were right. I did realize they were speaking from experience but I did not know if theirs was a jaundiced view based on the fact that they were not making any of the calls themselves. I will have to give them more credit next time they speak from experience. But I will still reserve judgement on a case by case basis. Ronald Reagan said to trust but verify. That is a good approach to life in general as we share it with those who we do not necessarily know well. After all, the majority of those calls went to voicemail; typical. The good part was that someone had taken the time to write a script for us to use for those calls, going to the trouble to write a separate script for a voicemail or a conversation should a real, live person answer the call. I will have to find out who to thank for that.

Choir and play practice went very well last night. We managed to nail down a couple passages in a song that were troubling us and we learned how we are being positioned during the portions of the play. It was the first time we have been through all the songs we are going to sing in the same practice, so we needed the time together with a pianist accomplished enough to help us through. The only unfortunate part of the whole process is that the lady that played the piano for the practice will not be available for practice on Saturday or to play for the performance on Sunday evening. Our far-out expectation is that the women we are hoping to play for the actual performance will be arriving by plane Sunday afternoon, hurrying from the airport to the church and sitting down for the first time that afternoon to run through the program with us. I am confident that it will all work out, but I am just a teeny bit concerned. When the Lord is involved, things seem to work out, just maybe a little differently than planned. 

Tonight is our Sunday School party at church. It is one of the church functions that I do not get excited about because we always do a “Chinese Christmas” gift exchange. At work, they called it a “Grinch Christmas”. I feel like that is a bit more appropriately named. It is too much of a competition at times – even at church. After all, we are only people; save people, but still just people. Fortunately, I have only seen hurt feelings expressed one time and considering the source, I did not weight it too heavily. We do have some participants that are brought in from a nursing home who are regulars at church and their presents are very simple, very inexpensive. But they are the best they can afford. Those gifts do not get traded out in the “exchange” of gifts. Last year the person in question got stuck with the six pack of grape soda one of our nursing home participants had brought. The gift they brought had been much better and they were somewhat offended but we kept it between us – I think. Cori, Nate and Mama are all looking forward to it; along with the Mexican themed potluck dinner that goes along with the gathering. Mama is always more interested in the dessert table than the food table; but what’s new.

The weather is expected to turn very cold on Saturday night – temperatures in the mid-teens. The cold snap is expected to last through Tuesday. That should be fun.