Thursday, December 15, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Andi's Angle Archives: Articles from Singles Newsletter 1997-1998
When I was a member of the Singles ministry at Madison church of Christ, we had a monthly newsletter that we published. From time to time, I contributed articles to the newsletter. This post, and the next several, are my archive files. May you enjoy the trip down memory lane.
October 1997
Driving south on I-65 as I do every Monday through Friday, my mind was in 40 different directions at once:
Did I feed the cat?
Did I remember my beeper?
Andi's Angle Archives: May 1999
I normally don’t watch much television. If I hear any news, it is on the radio in my car while I am in transit from home to work or from work to a softball game. I first heard about the shootings in Colorado from Pam when I called her on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the clothing drive. I have to admit, my first reaction was “Well, it is that time of year, isn’t it?” and didn’t give it much more thought. By the next morning, coverage of the tragedy was on every television station and on the front page of every paper.
Andi's Angle Archives: June 1999
“Come on, you can do it!”
“We need you right here!”
“Way to go!”
I hear these phrases at least 30 times a week, but where do I hear them? For those who know me, you know that I’ve heard them at a softball game. I’ve even said them a time or two.
Andi's Angle Archives: August 1999
In John 13:4-15, we read of Jesus washing the disciples' feet prior to what is commonly referred to as the “Last Supper”. We've heard this story countless times, and we all understand the example of servitude that Christ demonstrated. However, I never full comprehended the humble attitude it involved until I witnessed it for myself.
Andi's Angle Archives: October 1999
Departing Lima I had my first look at the Andes Mountains, courtesy of an insane, yet kind, flash of Shane’s generosity. He thought he wanted to sit on the aisle and offered to trade seats with me for the flight. (Thanks, hermano!) I’ve seen mountains when I’ve gone camping in North Carolina, but never have I looked down on any mountains. While marveling at God’s awesome creation, the song “From A Distance” popped into my head.
Andi's Angle Archives:December 1999
The clock ticks down to one second, and the coach calls a time out. His team is down by two points, and he only has time for one play. He gathers his team together and explains what he wants them to do. They return to the court.
Andi's Angle Archives: January 2000
When I first sat down to write my last article of 1999, I began a sappy sounding look back at the last 10 years. Then I decided that the Singles are not a bunch of sentimentalists. The group is ever changing, ever growing, and ever full of fun. In the spirit of great challenges and good fun, I have listed several memorable “experiences” of the Singles in the past years. You, the reader, have to figure out the year they happened. All were mentioned in past newsletters, but that’s been ???? years worth of material. The answers will be at the end. Good luck and happy reminiscing!
Andi's Angle Archives: February 2000
On a nice sunny Saturday, a family drives into town to do a bit of shopping. The first stop is Locke’s 5 and 10. The children admire the toys and books while the mother makes a few purchases and chats with the owners. The next stop is two doors down—The Dress Shop. The older child is soon bored with looking at dresses and returns to Locke’s to look at the books again. Some time passes, and the mother realizes that the child is no longer with her and begins searching everywhere.
Andi's Angle Archives: March 2000
Whew! Sometimes things look easy until you try them. Standing on a cable 25 feet above Mother Earth, I was thinking just that—it looked a lot easier from the ground. In the midst of my frustration with trying to get the cable to stop wobbling, I heard a voice “C’mon, Andi; you can do it. Grab the ropes higher. It won’t wobble as much.”
Andi's Angle Archives: April 2000
A little girl about 4 years old caught my attention in the jewelry department. She was all excited because she was going to get her ear pierced. From what I gathered, the little girl had both ears pierced about three weeks before. One of the earrings had come out and the hole had closed up, so she was getting it fixed. She was sitting on the stool, with her back straight and behaving very well while the lady cleaned and "dotted" her earlobe. With the mother's approval of the dot location, the lady began putting the earring into the gun.
Andi's Angle Archives: May 2000
As I was driving back to Alabama, I passed the Forest Mills Church of Christ, just outside of McMinnville, TN. Normally I don’t pay much attention to church signs, but their sign caught my attention. It simply said “All Paths Have Puddles”. I immediately had an image in my mind of a little boy happily playing in a huge puddle, getting completely covered from head to toe with mud. Isn’t it odd, how as children, a puddle was a great source of pleasure? Jumping and splashing and generally making a big mess was the highlight of a summer shower.
Andi's Angle Archives: June 2000
If you have been to my house recently, then you may have noticed that my roses are blooming. I really didn’t know much about growing roses when I planted my first ones, but I soon learned about proper watering, preventing diseases, and pruning. I thought it was odd that, in order for the rose to grow fuller, it had to be cut back, or pruned.
Andi's Angle Archives: August 2000
As I pondered over what I wanted to write about the Peru mission trip, I went through several experiences in my mind, mostly those that were happy or funny. Then I thought I about the not so funny things, the frustrating experiences. I was most frustrated when we ran out of certain medicines quickly in the pharmacy. Of course, we ran out of items that practically everyone needed, like vitamins or Tylenol. A great sense of helplessness comes over you when you realize that you have to send them away without what they need.
Andi's Angle Archives: September 2000
Two weeks ago, as my dad and I were replacing a light fixture on my front porch, I decided to quickly refill the hummingbird feeder that had been accidentally knocked off and spilled the evening before. In less than five minutes I had the feeder back in its proper place, and in less than two, a hummingbird was perched on the side having breakfast. I thought how it must have been hovering nearby, just waiting for me to show up so it could eat. Definitely one eager creature!
Andi's Angle Archives: October 2000
Driving home one evening, I noticed several For Sale signs in front of houses along the road. I began reminiscing about my house-hunting days, especially when I would see a house that looked great on the outside with a nice yard, and then when I would look at the inside, I was shocked. Hideous "what were they thinking?" wallpaper, poor maintenance, and an impractical floor plan are just a few of the things I remember that changed my mind about moving into several places at which I looked.
Andi's Angle Archives: December 2000
Recently I was entering a requisition at work for a service to be performed by an outside contractor. When I reviewed the quote, I noticed "Acts 4:12" was printed near their logo. Not being familiar with that scripture, I looked it up. It says, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Andi's Angle Archives: January 2001
As I perused the year’s newsletters, one word kept popping in my mind- GROWTH. As a successful singles ministry should be, we experienced a great deal of growth in 2000. Most importantly, the Lord’s church grew when Sandra Byrom, John Urias, and Tiffany Walker decided to become Christians.
Andi's Angle Archives: February 2001
It is a new year and with a new year comes resolutions. I don’t like resolutions; they just seem to be waiting to be broken. I prefer to give myself challenges, and I would like to extend these challenges to all of our newsletter readers.
Monday, January 31, 2011
My Alaska Angels
My previous job as a government contractor required that I travel various places, including Alaska. It was on a trip in May 2005 that I had a wonderful revelation.
The usual routine for travel to Alaska was a two week stay, which meant staying over one weekend and therefore, finding somewhere to worship on Sunday. Northern Lights church of Christ is in Fairbanks, which is roughly a two hour drive from where I was working. Since I am not crazy about making that kind of drive early in the morning, I chose to make a reservation at a hotel in Fairbanks for Saturday night and then return to base on Sunday afternoon. I did some inexpensive tourist attractions around Fairbanks during the afternoon; the day was beautiful!
On Saturday evening, the restaurant that I had chosen for dinner was not open yet for tourist season, so I decided to try another one. I was seated in a corner by the fireplace, where I had a good vantage point for people watching. (This was before I was an owner of a smartphone and could read the news while eating alone.) I enjoyed watching a large group of folks that were rather entertaining with their outbursts. I finished my meal, which was excellent, and requested a takeout box for the remainder. I then waited several minutes for my check. When the waiter came to my table, I asked for the check. He said, "It has already been paid." Stunned, I replied, "Are you sure? By whom?" I was concerned that there was some stalker-person watching me. He said, "I don't know. The cashier just told me; maybe you can ask her."
So, I walked up to the cashier and asked her about my check, confirming that it was mine that had been paid by someone else. After all, I didn't know anyone in Fairbanks. And although I visited the church there on my previous visit in March, I didn't think that anyone would recognize me two months later in a dimly lit restaurant. She said that a group of ladies had been dining together and when they left, they asked what I was having and paid for my meal.
With no way to find out their names, I proceeded to my car where I just sat behind the wheel and cried. I wondered “Why me?” Was it because I was wearing my favorite jeans with the hole in the knee? Was it because they saw the cracked windshield of my rental car? (Not unusual for Alaska, by the way.) Was it because I was eating alone? Or was it just a girls night out random act of kindness? I was touched by their generosity to a total stranger as well as the obvious lesson that was presented to me. Christ paid for all of us, even though we are, in a sense, strangers to Him. Our only way to thank Him is to tell others about what he did for us.
The only way I can thank my Alaska Angels is to tell others also, and do the same. Since that night, I look for those who may be eating alone whenever I am eating in a restaurant, get his/her ticket, and pay as we are leaving. It is a bit tricky to pull off, but the wait staff is usually cooperative. I want to encourage others to take a moment the next time you are eating at a nice sit-down restaurant, look around, and see who you can be an angel to.
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