It was a good weekend this weekend.

On Saturday morning, our church campus was able to greet a throng of guests from the neighborhood, and we offered a Christmas Store, in which parents of financially-strapped families could pick out some gifts for their kids while their kids made some crafts. A Frito Pie lunch greeted them all at the end of the shopping and crafting. One thing that the people of our church do well is to give.  Volunteers gave gifts that could in turn be given to these kids.  Volunteers showed up in droves to man the store, to guide visitors around, to help the kids complete their projects, and to help wrap gifts and serve the lunch. The people of Sagebrush give and serve well.  At the end of the event, over 400 gifts were picked up on our campus for kids in needy families. Probably 800-1000 people wandered through the store.  It was a great event.

On Saturday night, the dance club I am involved with (the ADC) had a Christmas version of their bi-weekly dace, and it was great to see a large number of friends all dressed up, sharing a meal together, and then dancing into the evening.  The ADC has grown to be a sort of second family to me. I have developed a number of friendships through it that I may not have found otherwise.  A shared enjoyment and appreciation of dancing easily pulls people together in this group. The evening helped to move me into more of a Christmas mood, coming on the heels of a morning filled with service and giving, all done by so many in Christ’s name.  I am grateful for love- God’s gift to us, which he intended us to know, and the signature of his handiwork in us- and for the caring of friends, who know you as you are, and who love you in spite of it.

Today, after church, was the highlight of the weekend.

I spent the afternoon with my dad, and got to knock two items off of my home improvements list.   We 1) killed the irritating dripping that has owned the shower head in the main bathroom, and 2) we replaced a rusted out  and leaking food disposal in the kitchen sink with a new, more powerful, top-rated, and sharply discounted (yeah, Amazon) model.    After four hours and a trip to Lowe’s, improvements were done.

Dad showed me how to pull out the shower knob stems and to replace the washers that were aged and failing to stop water flow to the spigot.  We then removed the old food disposal unit, messed around with an adapter assembly that was supposed to let the new disposal interface with the old unit’s sink mount easily, until we realized that using the adapter would mean the new disposal would sit an inch below where it needed to be to connect right with the existing plumbing.  We went ahead and replaced the old sink mount with the new sink mount, and after some effort, got the new disposal installed.  No leaks.  No electrocutions.  And a disposal that will eat an aluminum can. I may not have a Harley, but I have a Waste King one-horsepower garbage eater in my kitchen.  We’ll see if any issues pop up in the next few days, but I think the installation will take.

I was grateful to spend my afternoon with my Dad, breaking out the tools, reading instructions (sort of), turning on and off water, and doing what handyman do.  As a new homeowner, I was also just glad to take a dip into solving some of the home problems I know I need to take care of. It is so gratifying to learn, to think through problems to come to solutions, and to complete a project and see the fruits of your work.  What didn’t work, or didn’t work well, now works.  I hope to become more handy around the house.

Following a visit to the store to pick up lunch foods for this work week, I came home and did laundry this evening, watched a Mentalist episode (I burn through my Friday Night Light renal DVD’s too quickly), and did some general clean up in the house.  I am grateful for a Pandora Christmas station which has helped me to keep thinking about Christmas present, and Christmas’ past when I’ve been home this weekend.

Thanks, Dad, for your help.  Thank you Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Bing, Grobin, Michael Bublé and company for keeping my toes tapping to seasonal favorites. Thank you, Lord, for your goodness and giving, which not only crescendoed in the manger, but also at the cross.  You came to give us life, “and to the full.”