Pictures from lately taken by V.

I miss making my notes here - life gets busy.  And it's a weird sort of busy because I'm not really doing anything.  He went on

Yesterday, -SHRA as the pictures indicate, was filled with early church and later my chorale's concert (which went well).  The sermon drew from Ephesians 4.  Essentially, "Love people more than issues" was the point.  The pastor began his sermon with this illustration, plucked form the news I guess, a 73 year old woman has divorced her husband because they voted differently in the recent Presidential Election. He went on to muse,  ...she would rather be alone than married to someone who thinks differently on the issues.  I did get sidetracked thinking about that.  Could he possibly believe that or did it just suit his purposes to say so?  The starkness of his statement seemed ironic as I briefly explored the idea of ALONE compared to LONELY.   I packaged it like this ... it was expedient because I feel bad when I stop listening to what a speaker is attempting to communicate ... I thought maybe this: she, the 73 year old divorceé, was looking at a kitchen knife, unable to escape the blaring buffoonery of say CNN broadcast at old man volume, when she decided to do them both a favor.  Was it for the best?  Probably not, but maybe for the better - the divorce thing. 

Here are my notes from the Sermon -->

He also went off on a snarky rant clothed in good humor about the "church music" issue this particular body still seems to be struggling with.  That in addition to the announcement that the Senior Pastor is off "praying" about the direction of this church (for I think he said a month) made for a sorta awkward feel in the room (or maybe just in my seat, it's a very big congregation).  

The words from the WORD make sense.  Ephesians 4 is actionable on an individual level.  

On a different topic - near here a family began to build a home - a huge home, a family home for a man, his wife, their two sons and the son's wives (one each presumably), and their yet to be born children.  As it was explained to me, this is a traditional family home within the muslim sensibility.  I'll add a picture of it later today because it is really quite something to behold.  It's built on a tract of land abutting the city limits - in other words, it's in the County.  Two things leap out to me - well, more than two and all of them odd and alarmingly so, the enormous structure looks intentionally defendable, and there is a huge pile of rock debris accumulated from - has to be a basement.  In this neighborhood people sometimes cut swimming pools in to the rock, but it's incredibly expensive to have that done.  I was told that it's a family home but no property owner is listed on the tax record.  A local realtor said churches, while being built, are exempt from public records.

I mention that here - the building - because it's an issue.  It's an issue and one never sees people (to love) anywhere around it.