Now and Then 6-4-9

NOW - Great week this week. Got to babysit Stone last Saturday and Irish (Ryan) M-T-W of this week. Getting settled into the congregation at Park Plaza. I said today that I guess the 80/20 rule (20% of any group does 80% of the work) still applies. It seems like Park Plaza church has so much talent and activity but I guess the reality is that there is more to draw from in 20% of 1000 than in an average size congregation. Our work here is certainly blessed by God but so is the work in a 50 member or a 150 member congregation. Here we find such a thrilling number of knowledgeable older members who have not retired from the Lord's word and so many young families who are willing and enthusiastic about serving the Lord that it almost takes your breath away. Ellen and I are getting ready to jump in and find our niche in the work here.
Had lunch today with the Neals, Garrisons, K. Frick and Ron Falcon and Rachael and Jake. It was great to see our old friends and catch up on life in Oklahoma's biggest "town". Oh well, everyone needs something to brag about.

It just dawned on me how much I use forms of the word "enthusiastic" in talking about the Lord's work. Looked it up and found that the root comes from en-Theo, Greek for in God. Hop we can all stay enthusiastic (in God.)

I HAVE MADE SOME ADDITIONS TO THE "THEN" SECTION OF THE MAY 30 BLOG AND INVITE YOU TO GO THERE TO SEE THE ADDITIONS

THEN - My mother, born Elsie Maude Wright, unlike my father, on of two children of an independent business man and his wife, the daughter of the Chief of Police of Natchez, Mississippi before the turn of the century. While my father, as a child, was learning humility and labor without complaining, my mother was learning that she had aristocratic roots and that any obstacle could be overcome if you talked loud enough and long enough. My mother always believed that she was really the daughter of a 19th century aristocrat born out or time, kidnapped and sold to commoners and condemned to suffer the drudgery and humiliation of being the wife of a noncommittal, spineless, underachieving blue-collar worker. My mother learned as a child to play the piano, participate in dramatic plays and recitations and take pride in her history and nation. As a child she was influenced by her hot tempered jealous father who was, in the 1930's and 40's a Grand-Master Mason and active member of the Klu Klux Klan. The Klan at that time was not only actively against afro-Americans but also against Catholics, Jews and other minorities that might threaten their (the Klan's) scion-economic status and power.

Bigotry and prejudice were a way of life in my upbringing and that of my parents. It was so ingrained in my life that I was either not aware of it or thought it was "the way things were." It was not until I got away from home that I realized how unrealistic and hurtful my beliefs and attitudes had been. While I have struggled to not pass on these errors, the first 20 years made a great impression on my mental processes and I still catch my self acting out my early teachings.