Visit 147 ~ My Son at Vespers again and I have 3 seconds of fame on Sr. Vassa's Video podcast!

Justin, in our protestant church

Vespers was good last Saturday and, not least of which, because my son Justin came with me.  Since he moved out some time ago, I don't see him all that much.  So what he does is come to my house Saturday afternoon and then we go to Vespers. Afterwards, I drive him to work where he is on the night shift. Before Vespers we stopped at Wendy's for a quick dinner and we did a lot of catching up.  He is really enjoying the Bible I bought him last week and said he hasn't been this excited about reading the Bible since he was in high school. (Back then he was a fundamentalist Christian.) He is looking forward to reading all the books that Martin Luther excluded from the Bible. I am just glad he is reading the Bible and I am happy to help him on his journey to God, both by my prayers and my example.

When we walked into the narthex, I asked Justin if he wanted to follow along in a service book. He said no. He said he found himself just looking at the pictures (Icons) whenever he was distracted from the hymns. I guess that's a good place to go in your head. I know for myself, I sometimes don't pay attention to the hymns like I ought but the Icons help me remember the reason why I am at Vespers.

Fr Gary's homily was very good. He talked about the upcoming civil holiday in the United States called Labor Day and talked about how we must labor in our journey towards God. I especially like how he said that the work we do isn't to earn points for our salvation but, rather, is a response to our love for God.  

Because of work schedules, my wife and I don't see each other as much as we used to. That means that every other Saturday, I would spend with her instead of going to Vespers.  Well, it turns out, she has a new position at her job and, new days off. She'll be working every Saturday so I'll be able to go to Vespers every Saturday.

Please remember me in your prayers.  My shift will change in October and I may not be able to get the days off I have now which is good both for Vespers attendance and spending time with my wife.  Pray that it all works out.

I am a big fan of Coffee with Sr. Vassa. At the end of her videocast, she features "selfies" of people holding her coffee mug. My mug is shown below! If you click below, I have it cued up to start right where they start showing the selfies. I took the picture in my protestant parish prayer room and sent the message to Sr. Vassa that "even protestants love to watch Sr. Vassa." She responded to me, via email, "Thanks for watching, my protestant friend!" Wow, I rubbing shoulders with Orthodox celebrities now! :)

http://youtu.be/UA0rXjPyfF4?t=12m22s

You can also watch the entire videocast from the beginning. As always, it is very interesting to listen to.