On not writing

I've had a rare weekend of vacation this weekend, with another -- involving a short trip -- next weekend. It's been a time of rest and relaxation for me, though with an indisposition (upon which I won't elaborate) which resulted in my not attempting to visit another congregation for worship. I even managed to sleep through broadcast church services!

It's been strange to me that I've had nothing to say here on the blog. Not that I didn't want to, but I still really don't have anything I wish to "put out there." Other than to update my few readers on the goings on here in Psalmist-land, I just don't have words to share.

So...here's the update!

* I recently signed a contract with a major sacred choral music publisher for the publication of an anthem for which I provided the lyrics. I'm pleased that there is a well-respected editor, and that both SATB and two-part editions are in the works. The respected release date is Spring 2009, and potential royalties at least a year out from then. But unlike my first published work, this publisher markets well and this is also less of a "niche" text. I anticipate that it will sell well among youth choirs and in school markets open to religious texts.

* My secular work situation is fairly promising, if a bit of a roller-coaster right now. I have been on a temporary assignment as (senior) administrative assistant to the CFO of a major hospital network for about two months now. It was only announced last week, though I had known for several weeks, that my boss resigned and a new interim CFO appointment has been announced. This occurred only a few weeks after our CEO was asked by the board to step down, and an interim CEO was announced. He (the interim CEO) went out of his way to tell me that he had received excellent reports about, and seen for himself, the good job I've been doing; he was very much in favor o fmy staying on the assignment indefinitely, if I wanted to. Though it has been very difficult to handle the uncertainty involved in an about-to-resign and completely absent boss -- one I truly liked and enjoyed working for -- I realized I'd be a complete fool to leave. Had my first boss stayed, all the signs were there for me to be hired permanently. Well, now that I've met and worked with my new boss just a little, again I see signs that he would like for me to stay as long as I wish to; he stated that he has no desire to bring in anyone else for the position and he values my input as far as procedures and perceptions of how we can best get the CFO's duties done well. SOOOO...all that to say, I'm in a pretty good situation, for a temp! It's the temp part of it that I want to see change. I'm still in that limbo of being unable to take any time off to see a doctor, and there's just too much that I've put off for too long. Not that I couldn't afford the visit, but the tests and the meds would bankrupt me. I've been that close to the financial edge for that long.

* Church continues to go well. I missed "my people" this morning, but I need this time away as well. I worked lots of extra hours so I could be ready to be completely gone for two weekends in a row, and in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I finally made it back home and hit the sack. I've decided, and have the pastor's blessing, to limit my schedule to two nights per week as much as possible. This will mean combining my youth and adult handbell ensembles, probably on Tuesday nights, and continuing with my adult choir on Wednesday nights. Between gas prices and the official number of hours of my employment, to say nothing of running myself ragged with three nights per week, I think this will be better stewardship of my time and energy. Meanwhile, once I return from vacation, that next Wed. night I'll be meeting with my team for VBS music, then we kick it off the next Sunday night. I'll have to ask to leave early from the day job Mon - Thurs of that week, which is a lot for a temp to ask for. Fortunately, my new boss is a Christian and I think will understand and concur, as long as I get my work done. We (the day job) have a budget workshop that next Saturday, for which I have to prepare lots of the materials, but I don't actually have to be at the workshop. It's always something. At least I'm not bored.

*To the several who have been interested in hearing about the "romantic relationship," it's ongoing, but very low-key. There is significant geographic distance involved, and neither of us, by mutual agreement, is planning any travel to be together for the time being. He's been through some seriously difficult family issues lately, and we've been drawn close in prayer about them. You're welcome to pray, too, if you're so inclined. Names and specifics are not important; God knows all concerned. :)

*And so, I continue to walk by faith and not by sight. Just reviewing what I've written shows that other than my part-time church position, nothing could be considered "stable." After all these years of instability, I'm not sure what I'd do with a suddenly "stable" life. (Isn't "stable life" for horses?) God always has been, and remains, sufficient. And perhaps that's why there isn't more to write. What more is there, really, that needs to be said?

A Devotional Series for Lent

Seven years ago, I was preparing to leave ministry as a United Methodist local pastor of two churches I had come to love more than I'd ever dreamed possible. While I have continued to work in the church as a musician most of the time since June 2001, I have not returned to pastoral ministry; it's been as though a large part of my heart and soul have gone dormant and cold.

Part of preparing to leave involved a Lenten project that I called "What Wondrous Love Is This, O My Soul? Readings and Prayers for Lent 2001." I re-read that little book over the weekend and was blessed again by it. In the hope that it will meet someone else's need in some small way, I will be posting each day's page here. Here is my preface to that project:

Dear friends,

This is the fourth and final Lent that I will be sharing with you. In order to prepare this little devotional book, I first compiled a list of some of my favorite Scripture passages and hymns.

I can't begin to explain what a blessing this exercise has been! (Try it sometime. Sit down with a good concordance and think of all the words and phrases from the Bible that have meant a lot to you, then thumb through a hymnal to find your favorites. List these selections, and see what they say about your faith.) I learned that the books of Psalms and Isaiah and the Gospel of John hold some of my most treasured passages, and that my favorite hymns are the ones addressed to God, rather than ones about God.

My favorite part of this, however, has been the time I've spent in prayer over each pairing of Scripture and hymn. The results are given for each day's readings; I hope that you, and any others you may share your home with, will use these little prayers in your daily devotions. (Notice that there are no "amens" on the prayers. They are meant to be open-ended for you to finish.)

. . . .

My heart is very full right now. Amid the sorrow of preparing to leave, however, is the joy of having shared so much of life together with you. Please accept this book as a gift of gratitude to you for being a part of the body of Christ, the church family, with me. And most of all, may God grant you every rich blessing as you observe this holy season of Lent. Let us all follow the Lord Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem, the cross, and the Resurrection.

Please note, friends: I am NOT going anywhere now. This is from 2001. Please don't worry!

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