Awake And A Visitation: The Week In Thanks

I was surprised by my quick wakefulness after Shrek-cast-partying until 1am, not to mention the fairly rapid recovery of my voice to sing at church. By 5pm after the show the rush faded and I slumped into a four-hour nap, but the point is that I can at least entertain the idea that I'm developing some late-night stamina as the show runs on.

What a dance party it was! Kids and adults of all ages rocked the Guttschow house, munched on sugary stuff and laid their best moves on the floor.

It helped that our Saturday evening Shrek crowd was the best yet. So smart, that they'd start laughing before the joke even arrived. So enthusiastic that they split jokes in half. It's the ultimate positive catch-22, energy reinforcing energy between audience and performers.

The same dynamic happens at church. Between Players and Epiphany I'm blessed to have 200+ souls regularly giving grateful and immediate feedback for the way our gifts have touched their lives. It's addictive in the best sense of the word.

Epiphany also benefits from the substitute priests that have visited while the pastor is on the road scouting best practices of other successful churches around the state. That kind of teamwork and competence keeps the momentum flowing.

As always, the casual personality of the band fueled by Sean and Jennifer continues to keep the engine humming happily and humbly along. Their moxy and enthusiasm as leaders is irreplaceable. They are driven by faithfulness and excellence, not perfection or showmanship, and it just works.

My extended nap this afternoon was partly due to the long day yesterday centered around a trip north to visit Bert West's memorial service. I'm lucky that the starting time was feasible enough for me to get up there and pay respects to a great man and family. And to bring Mom her new computer we got her for her birthday! Technology is increasingly idiot-proof, but I still felt as close to a sense of handyman accomplishment as I ever do, as we got it up and running so that she can get her groceries online.

Having my car's squeaky brake pads fixed made that drive north waaay more manageable. Like a lot of things in recent weeks, things just fell into place. An opening happened to be available on Friday morning, when I had no other conflicts. God's been masterful with my schedule like that.

While buying Mom's computer I naturally had to upgrade to a PlayStation 4 video game system, bypassing PS3 entirely and replacing FIFA06 soccer with FIFA14. But wait, it's also a Blu-ray player with internet access that now allows us to watch Netflix in bed. Bonus!

It was a week of medical progress. Saw the dentist to get our stories straight for my upcoming root canal that will hopefully put an end to the year-and-a-half saga of chewing on only one side of my mouth. Word of the week is "endodentist," the root canal specialist. Also visited a physical therapist who encouraged me with her plan of attack for my ailing knee (evidently it all starts with a weak butt - no lie).

It's been a week of unusually high marks all around. I'm grateful for the peace that enters so many lives through prayer, or meditation in any form. Grateful for a delightful collection of family photos of Dena, Cupcake and me that will most certainly be gracing Hidden Blog in the future. And grateful for the endless sensibility that Dena brings to my life. I received a compliment this week for the calmness I bring to others - that starts at home, where I am surrounded by unconditional love and free from drama that rocks the meters of so many.