You don't have to be crazy, but sometimes it helps!

Today was lunch with Dad at the nursing home. No, that wasn't the crazy part although by the time you have spent lunch with three brothers who are very close in age, you think you might get a little crazy. From Mark and his up-front humor to Joel who loves to do 'bunny' ears behind Rachel's head (photo below) during very serious photos, it can get quite amusing. Thad is in the mix there, too, although I think he is the better audience than entertainer.

Today was no exception -- since Jene' works at Glenn Oaks, she had a table ready for the 11 of us! The food is really quite good and it's a nice place to spend time together with Dad. It takes him a little while to motor himself (in his motorized wheelchair) down to the dining area but he made it in good shape and didn't damage any walls along the way! PTL! He worries that if his eyesight doesn't get much better, they will take his license -- not driver's license, his motorized wheelchair license. They do have to take 'driving' tests to be able to maneuver those chairs around the hallways.

So ... we ate, we laughed, we talked and then, of course, had to take pictures! Of course!!

The crazy part came later and really wasn't a 'crazy' setting. Spiceland Nazarene Church has a service at Glenn Oaks once a month and this was the Sunday. Allen was away at a men's retreat (camping experience with tents, sleeping bags and all) so it fell Rachel's responsibility to make sure it came off. One of the men in their church was to speak and he did a good job although he admitted it would be very short. Prior to that, we had sung some familiar hymns -- I played, Rachel led.

I took a break during Paul's talk and when I came back in, they were singing, "What a Friend". No one was singing too much so I thought, "Let's have some fun .." This is where my inborn craziness which I inherited from who knows whom came in. I asked, "How many grew up in Sunday School?" Several of the residents/family members (about 25 had joined us for the service) raised their hands. Okay, let's have some fun .. We started with "Jesus Loves Me" .. pretty simple. One lady suggested, "Climb, Climb Up Sunshine Mountain" and that took me way back to childhood days. It did with them, too. We sang it through once and I began to remember the motions. So, I added, "Everyone, put your hands up ..." Okay, so I'm crazy but they responded and most put their hands in the air and we sang, "Climb, climb up sunshine mountain, heavenly breezes blow..." Throughout the song, we did all the motions. Then it was "Deep and Wide" and "The B-I-B-L-E". Another lady requested, "This Little Light of Mine".

When it was all said and done, one of the family members (who attends the various services weekly) said, "I've never seen that kind of participation like this before!" But, it had to take a willingness to be crazy and wondering if they would respond or look at me like I was absolutely nuts!

It paid off .. the craziness worked, we had great participation and it was fun!! And my dad really enjoyed it all and for me, that made it all worth while!!