I took Caroline my 5year old to gymnastics yesterday. It's a lot of fun to watch her bounce around and interact with other children and adults. I try to guess what's going on inside that little melon of hers...most often she surpises me.
So i am sitting there trying to keep Chloe from stealing a bag of Cheetohs from the snack machine which was left open by the guy stocking it. She did her best to woo him into tossing her a free bag but he did not give in (he must have kids). She even walked around the open glass door while he was busy restocking and gave it a good open mouth raspberry in an attempt to overwhelm him wiht cuteness. Nothing. Not even a stale bag of animal crackers.
As I was managing Chloe I struck up a conversation with a lady sitting next to me. She seemed to be about my age or a little younger. She just moved to the area about a year ago and is working on getting settled with her family. Her name is Tammy. She reminded me a little like my wife Lori. Extremely easy to talk to, very nice, and pleasant. She also mentioned how cute my little Chloe was, which automatically adds some serious points in my book. I learned that she and her husband were from different church backgrounds and were sort of looking for something. Everything in our conversation led me to think that she and her family are looking for that sense of community that we all look for.
This is where I struggle...to say that I love being a part of this community called eXchange is a severe understatement. I believe that people crave to be a part of community, to have a group of people that they can love and will love them back. When I am sitting there talking to Tammy, I just kept thinking, "You would love my friends and they would love you." "What you are decribing as the things that you are looking for we have." But then as soon as i open my mouth I am afraid that i am going to sound like someone trying to sell a car or insurance (sorry salesmen, that just the way it is). I would rather say nothing at all. I am not motivated to make eXchange bigger, but at the same time I want to see people to have an opportunity to join us and for us to join them.
My desire and my prayer is to come across as genuine because I truly believe that what we have at eXchange is a rare and beautiful thing. I see us as an oasis to a very dry world. I know that's what it has been for me. I just want to share that with others.
She did get a good dose of what eXchange is all about...Connie Wren stopped in to drop off her little girt at gymnastics. Connie is the owner of the Verve night club and a good friend of mine. I introduced them without really thinking how odd it would seem for a pastor to introduce a good friend of his and add that she owns the best night club in town. That was a good segue into telling her about how we Crashed Bluesfest this year with about 50 volunteers....
Do you ever struggle with the fear of coming across as less than genuine? Let's talk about this...
Evie Ogborn is having an art show at Ivy Tech on Friday, Sept 22 from 4-7pm. Her stuff is beautiful. It's very dark and mysterious, yet comfy. Evie has some techniques that I really admire. You can get a good look at her stuff on her website www.evieogborn.com.
See you there!
I have a bunch of new stuff for my art show at Coffee Grounds. I will try to update the photos of my artwork later today. The show will be running the entire month of Sept with a reception on Thursday Sept 7th.
I also have 3 pieces on display at the "Own It" gallery at the Meadows shopping center. Stop in and check out some of the great stuff they have there. All from local artists.
