Fellowship and Worship

It truly was a blessed time of fellowship and worship last week, when my two friends came over for dinner and to rehearse for the Offertory music for worship service.  They are two of my favorite musicians, for when they play their instruments - piano and violin - they play for God.

For dinner, I cooked an Ethiopian-inspired meal:

• Stewed chicken - made with just the meat from cooked chicken with BBQ marinade, mixed with diced tomatoes, lentils, and tomato paste simmered for hours with onion, garlic, curry powder, salt, and pepper
• Stewed vegetables - made with boiled broccolli, carrots, cauliflower, then pan fried in butter, cinnamon, ginger, tumeric, garlic, and onion and simmered
• Spinach - pan fried onion, garlic, ginger, bell pepper with spinach till it was all soft

Served with brown rice.   This all turned out quite well; and the spices really made for a flavorful meal.  

During the meal, my friend told us about an analogy she had used with her students.  Some of them just try to get by with minimal effort, and she likened that to serving instant noodles; but, those that put in emotion and hard work are able to serve home-made noodles in hearty broth with vegetables and meat.  We should strive to provide "flavor" and "depth" in all that we do.

After the meal, they rehearsed and then had a time of just playing whatever pieces came to mind.   As I was cleaning and washing dishes, I was just so blessed by the music and it truly was a wonderful evening.  Afterwards, I was inspired to just continue that attitude of worship by playing the piano and singing myself to God.

Also, last night, was our Music Ministry gathering.  It was neat to fellowship with those we serve with in Music Ministry.  It was also nice having the worship oversight elders there as well (those from last term and those who are starting the new term).  But, our Assistant Pastor is the one who truly does provide the spiritual leadership for all the Music Ministry teams.