The painters are coming! The painters are coming!

Yeah! The painting project is going to work. And not only is it going to work-- it's going to actually enhance what we're doing sunday(which is good because that's the goal of using the arts in worship). We had a practice Tuesday and I'm so relieved. I just have a few more details to finish up. I'll take some pictues and post pictures for my second post of the week later this weekend.
Speaking of the painters, they are helping me learn a valuable lesson about working with artistic people. They are opinionated, they are direct, they have differing personalities among the five of them, they are fun, they expect your best, and they have been a delight to work with on the project. Also, there are so many other people who have to work together to make something happen on Sunday. The idea we had affected painters obviously, people to build frames, the stage team, the lighting people, the sound team, the band, the vocal team, where the choir stood this sunday. John had me send thank you notes. It was a great idea thanks John. But he was also talking to me about how if I'm not a detail person, I have to learn to be-- and he's right, for every five details that I worked out, I had ten more around the corner. A lot of people helped me with all of them and I am so grateful. But also, I'm glad I had the chance to coordinate this project so I could learn that here in a safe place where I can learn and grow and mess up.

Also, I learned that when I came, I didn't think about how everyone I met had a back story that I didn't know. I just took people how they came, took things at face value, believed people when they told me things. I think that's good, but also kind of self centered because I didn't always think about how everyone brought this life story into the room and the team and the project. The painters helped me learn that. One couple is struggling to do something for their friends, as they've found that their friend is ill. They have big hearts for people around them. Another painter and her husband want to go back overseas where they were serving so much. I even found out that their oldest daughter was born there! They have big hearts for people who are far away and far from God. And on and on. I didn't spend all that much time with them, but I learned so much about them and about their hearts' desires. People want to share their stories and I think it helps us figure out if our stories, our hearts, our desires are becoming more like God's story, God's heart, God's desire. My small group has been discussing this and praying that our desire and attention would be molded by Him and become like His desires. Again, I think stories help, but I'm a little biased because..
I love stories.