Perfect Weekend (Long)

Ok, I wanted to record each of many blessings I received over the weekend. But so not to bore you with the detail, in a nutshell, I had a fabulous weekend. If you feel so inclined to know every single account, see below :-D

I had a perfect Sunday, yesterday. Actually, the whole weekend was awesome. It was absolutely packed with things that make me happy. Such as:

Late Friday night, I went to a movie night at Jon and Garrett’s. I was happy to see “Howel’s Moving Castle”. I wanted to see that movie over the new year of 2004 with my mom, while I was in Japan, but I got bronchitis and couldn’t go then.

Rochelle and Bethany came over after the movie and stayed with me. It made me very happy, because I’ve wanted to do sleep over at my house for a while. We had whole-wheat, granola pancakes with strawberries for breakfast. I LOVE these girls. Well, I guess that’s no secret.

Jon, Garrett, and I went for a walk in Nicolas Arboretum, Saturday afternoon. It made me so happy that it’s warmer out and the sun doesn’t go down ‘till later. I love walking in the Arb. It was still pretty gray and dead looking, but I so needed to breath in some fresh air. I can’t wait till the new leaves come out on the trees. It’ll be so pretty!

Toesin called on Saturday, and asked me if I could take her to church, because Kristina was out of town this Sunday. It made me happy that she felt comfortable to call me. I really like Toesin. She is such a thoughtful and cool person. I’m so glad she’s in our Wednesday night small group. Her contribution to the group is very solid and integral to the growth of our group. Toesin is a short version of her name (I don’t remember the full version), and it means, “God is worthy of praise” in the native language (which I also forgot what it’s called. Darn) of Nigeria. How cool is that? I have wanted to get to know her more.

Cumbi came along when I picked up Toesin, Sunday morning. I met her very briefly before, and it made me happy to get to know her more. She’s also from Nigeria. Cumbi, Toesin and I had an interesting conversation about the churches in Nigeria, in comparison to churches in the States, and in Japan. I’m so curious about different frameworks, from which people in different countries approach their faith.

During the service, Lori got baptized. I was so happy to be there! I didn’t know she was getting baptized that day, and also she usually goes to Saturday night service. Tears flooded out my eyes. It’s funny the way God designed us, so when we are filled with an overwhelmingly strong emotion (joy or sadness), it overflows out of our lachrymal gland. I love baptism at Vineyard. I’m always deeply touched. At first I thought the portable plastic pool as a baptistery looked a little funny, because I’m used to baptisteries close the alter, at least 10 feet away from the rest of the congregation. But I came to love the plastic pool on the floor, because it allows people to surround the person who is being baptized. Baptism is the declaration of one’s commitment to follow Christ, as well as the official pronouncement of the person’s membership to the family of God. So it’s appropriate for the community to be right there to receive him or her. There is something to be said about the physical proximity and the feeling of intimacy.

Katy Petty and Nate Mitchell became the member of the Vineyard. It made me very happy to be in the same church with them. The whole time I was at church, I felt the strong presence of Jesus. I kept thinking about how He is working in each of our lives, bringing us together. I’ve been feeling weak and tired, but yesterday, I was strengthend by the thought that together, we, the body of Christ, have been given the power to break the hell.

Garrett and I went to Chelsea after church. We had our lunch at Common Grill, and it was absolutely fantastic! The food was great (various seafood, mmm, yum!) and our waiter was also really good. Good food always makes me happy.

Then we went to an independently owned bookstore in down town Chelsea. I love books and it was fun to look at them together with Garrett. I found a picture book called “Concert”, by an artist called Yuko Takano. She’s originally from Japan, and studied in Michigan for a year. The book features really cute mice (I like mice). A random and neat encounter like that makes me happy.

In the evening, Garrett and I spent some time singing and worshipping together. It was a very very happy time.

Right when we finished our worship session, Sarah called. She asked me to pray for things. It makes me happy to have a friend who I can share each other’s burden with. She has carried so much of my burden, and it’s truly a blessing to be able to give the favor back.

Pink makes me happy. So I wrote all people, things, and events that made me happy in pink ;-D.