It's Always Great At The Beach

We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on May 12.  Wow, a life time together.  Like all couples, we have had our ups and downs, but we remain on the path of marriage and that is a good thing.  

We went out to dinner at a very nice restaurant and took advantage of the nice weather by going to the beach.  It's good to go now, before "the season," when beaches are crowded with visitors from up north, all wondering why they don't move down here permanently!

Our nephew, Chris, and his wife, Shannon, spent a few days with us and we really enjoyed having them.  Their daughter, Emma, is a doll and very well mannered.  They spent some time at the beach and at our pool and we will see them in June when we go to Hilton Head.  

Because of my skin treatment, I have to wear long sleeves and long pants to the beach, but with the nice breeze, it was OK.  The water was beautiful.  The waves were active, rolling into a domino effect across the horizon and splashing toward us onto the sand.  We dug in and built sand walls with our toes, but had to retreat further and further back as the water claimed its space.  

The ocean sent an odd fish to the shore.  It was bloated and didn't seem to have any eyes.  I expected to see the birds attack it, but it seemed that they could sense that there was something wrong with it because they gave it wide berth and let it bake in the sun.   

We are in the time frame when it is cool in the mornings and evenings so we have started to have our coffee on the front porch and then sit in the backyard in the evenings.  Once mid-June arrives, it will be 90 degrees at 9:00 in the morning.  We have taken advantage of the weather by putting in plants and making the yard look pretty.  

And so, life marches on as we go into our 31st year of marriage and our 9th year in North Carolina.  We are lucky to be here and try to enjoy each day we have. 

Tony and Chris

Emma being creative

Carolina blue skies at the beach

The "odd" fish

The waves and domino effect

Tony smoking a special cigar

Me showing off my Vera Wang bracelets! 

 Two, count them, two!!

I Went To Church Today

I went to church today.  That, in and of itself, isn't earth shattering, but as I sat there, I realized I haven't been to church in over 30 years. Oh, I've been to baptisms and weddings and things like that, but I have not gone to worship.  Actually, I was in church 30 years ago today, getting married to Tony.  

My friend, Carol and I went to Grace Methodist church in downtown Wilmington this morning.  They had some water damage recently in the sanctuary, so we had service in the large gym area.   

Everyone was very friendly and there was a good mix of older people, young families and babies hanging out together. It looked like there were 150 people attending.  There were 30 people in the choir and the music was very good.  

The only "iffy" part of church was the pastor.  He was in his early 60's, balding and very short.   He started the worship service with what I considered to be a series of commercials.  He thanked various committees for things they had accomplished, thanked local businesses for their donations and asked the congregation to be sure to frequent these businesses.  He gave times and locations for various meetings and then thanked mothers in general for all of the work they do.  

The UCC churches I have attended had announcements too, but not at the beginning of the worship service.  It was kind of a mood changer.  

I was also not over the moon about his sermon.  I have heard some really good sermons--this was not one of them.  His was called, "Basic Things...Powerful Things."   He started out by reading a two person poem about children.  He would read an upbeat section about what our children have and do and then someone from the congregation read the "downer" part of the poem about how many children in the world don't have what ours do.  

From there, he directed us to a drawing of Mazlow's hierarchy of needs that was a bulletin insert.  He tried to tie that to the jobs that mothers do raising their children, but it wasn't connecting for me. 

Then, he told us about a time when he and his wife were in college.   They wanted to hear a rendition of the Messiah Chorus, but tickets were $9.00 a piece.  They didn't have the money, so they dressed warmly and sat outside of the venue to hear the music.  A security guard found them sitting there and shivering and didn't send them on their way because it was cold and they made the effort to hear the concert.  Again, not sure how that tied to anything else he was talking about. 

Finally, to end the sermon, he took a sad story from Dr. Phil, but inserted himself into the story.  I kept thinking...."you don't write your own material, do you?"

But, the church does a lot of ministering to the community and they support a mission in Haiti by sending clothing and school supplies for the children in a small village.  

The minister was standing at the back of the gym as the service ended and seemed really glad that I selected Grace church to visit.  He said even if I didn't come back, if I ever had any spiritual needs I could call him.  I thought that was nice (I also thought I should have put  more money in the collection plate!)

Next week, Carol and I are going to Pine Valley Methodist church to see what happens there.  Carol is looking for a home church, I'm not sure I ready for that step.  

But, I went to church today and it was nice.  Nice to be in a worshiping community of people with beliefs similar to what I know from the UCC.