Sunday peeves...

I love going to church on Sundays. It's some free time to spend with God. And I really learn a lot from the services. But I have peeves...pet peeves about things. Irritating things.

* There are lines in the parking lot for a reason. We have very limited parking, and we have very limited time in which to park, due to an 8:30 a.m. service (over at 9:30 a.m.), 9:45 a.m. Sunday school/connection groups (over at 10:45 a.m.) and 11:00 a.m. service (over at 12:15 p.m. or later). If you're trying to get a parking spot for the later service and you show up before connection groups have released, you have a HARD time. So, you have to SQUEEZE yourself into spots. This wouldn't be so difficult except that people with REALLY BIG TRUCKS AND VANS AND SUVS think they can park on the lines, or take up two spots since they're so big. No respect. And then they get into their cars and bang their doors into your car. I can't tell you how many of the dings on my van have come from church parking lots!

* Children's Church exists for a reason. It's to take the children out of service and put into a learning environment geared to THEM. If your child can't sit through an hour long service designed for adults, you should consider sending them to Children's Church. Honestly, they WILL have fun, they'll LEARN the word of God, and the adults around you won't have to be interrupted by the constant distraction of your child.

* If you DO decide that your child will stay with you during service, PLEASE, for the love of all that's HOLY, do not let them run rampant in the church. Sit them down, give them a pen and paper and tell them to STAY.

* If they DO stay in their seats, make sure they stay completely in their seats and don't spend the entire service with their feet on the seat in front of them, kicking and pushing, causing the person in the seat in front of them to look like they are taking a ride on a bucking bronco (that was ME this morning, aargh!)

* Please, PLEASE don't shake my hand if you've just coughed into it. You know, left-handed people were once though to be possessed by a demon...the left hand was always considered the "unclean" hand, because you shook hands with your right hand. Therefore, you would cough, sneeze and hold tissues or kerchiefs in the LEFT hand. So use the left to cough, and shake with my right. And don't be offended when I sit down and use hand sanitizer after shaking hands with a dozen or more people during morning greetings...it's not YOU, really...it's EVERYONE. Didn't you just talk with me about the virus running rampant in your house?

* Please teach your children manners. It's rude and impolite to push your way in front of ADULTS who are escorting little 4 year old kids to their Sunday school room. And if your child pushes his way in front of me and I call him on it, do NOT give me a dirty look for telling him to watch for the little boy. Don't get offended if I tell my 4 year old son to stick close because people don't look down and he'll get run over. I only stated the truth.


Phew....I feel better.

Quote from church today:

All of our "stuff" really belongs to God. It's because of Him that we have it. And there is nothing that would please Him more than to see His things get worn out to give glory to Him.

That's pretty profound. We don't think about stuff that way. Matthew 6:19-21 says "Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being."

So, instead of keeping it all here, why not start sending it ahead?