Just waiting for Thursday and the shots-never thought I'd be looking forward to something like that! God certainly is working on building my patience!
Tonight is my last church council meeting. I am done being a deacon for at least a year. We serve three year terms and I can't believe that three years have already gone by! Tonight we will attend the first half of the meeting-a kind of changing of the guard, so to speak, we will break for treats that the outgoing officers provide, and then we shake hands and leave. I have mixed feelings about the end of my term. I loved serving-most of the time I was the only woman on the board, but the relationships we established and the work we did was incredibly rewarding. I love that I am forever ordained as a deacon. The two that replace Bill and me will have to be ordained too-I am so excited about watching that. We lay hands on them and pray for God's blessings. They will then sign the form of conscription that says that they are now deacons.
The process we use is very Biblical, I think. Members of the congregation suggest names of people that would be suitable, the council goes through the names and sends letters to the candidates. The candidates then either agree or turn it down, then the names are published in the bulletin for two weeks. On the first Sunday of January, the names are sealed in envelopes, and the outgoing officers each select one. I am thrilled that one of the new deacons is a woman-Kara, the lady that married the missionary. They are back in the area for a few years to receive training, so we get to reap the bounty of her experience. It's also a great training ground for her-it surely was for me. The second one is the one I selected. As I reached out to pick an envelope, I said a quick prayer for God to direct me. My hand immediately moved to the envelope on the end-very cool and very profound! The name I selected was definitely God's doing. This man has struggled for years with a bi-polar disorder and has made great strides. I just think it was a way for God to tell us that HE picks His servants, not us. I see great things happening in our church because we are obedient to God's direction!
Well, I'd better get moving. I hope the copier repairman calls soon so I can meet him at the church. Not good when it goes on the fritz! And I have to assemble my part of the treats for tonight. We are having a sundae bar and I am bringing homemade caramel sauce and hot fudge sauce. The hot fudge is so easy, just bring 3/4 cup heavy cream to a boil, take off the heat, dump in 1 1/3 cups chocolate chips, let stand 5 minutes and whisk til smooth. This is a basic ganache. When you want to heat it, just put in a bit of cream-maybe 1 tablespoon, and warm in the microwave. Best hot fudge ever, and no corn syrup!
Interesting how life works itself out, there is sure to be another purpose for you, soon!
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