And again I say, Rejoice!

My favorite Bible verses, Phillippians 4: 4-7, were the New Testament lesson at church today. Verse 4 is the one I especially like, "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." As I tend to grouse about things that are really not all that important, and have recently been grousing in spades about a volunteer group I'm in, it was such a breath of fresh air to hear those words again this morning.

It also reminded me of my brush with fame. When I lived in Lincoln Park in Chicago in my twenties, I sang in my church choir and there I had a solo when we sang an anthem based on this text! I was really nervous about this huge responsibility, but it actually came out OK....mostly because my "solo" consisted of the words "And again". Yep, that's it, a solo of two words. Fortunately or unfortunately, outside of my frequent "soloing" in the classroom, that was the first and last solo in a choir.

Aside from memories of my solo fame, three things I'm rejoicing about right now are...

MY I-PHONE The first reason to rejoice was that I've had AT+T cell phone plans for so long that I'm grandfathered into a really old contract plan and the monthly rate doesn't increase with the new phone. Santa made an early delivery of the actual phone and I will joyfully open the empty I-phone box on Christmas morning. What fun it has been! I've joined the texting world which has already increased communication with my offspring. On the airplane to Portland today, I could put the phone into airplane mode and listen to my I-tunes library instead of airplane noise. While waiting to get off the plane I could sit there and read my e-mail! I was able to take a picture of the Oscar Meyer weiner-mobile when it just happened to be in my neighborhood last week. I can get a list of the closest lobster restaurant near this hotel, read reviews of the establishment, and get step by step directions to arrive there. And the fun is only beginning!

MAINE In spite of spending a couple of scary hours in the Androscoggin River after a kayaking spill in 2000, I love Maine. I'm oh so hopeful that I'll see a Moose tomorrow when we drive to New Hampshire, but even if I don't, I am reveling in the clam chowder and crab cakes that I just had for dinner. I'm looking forward to having a lobster roll for lunch tomorrow. I'm delighted that the curvature of the earth makes it possible to fly to Maine in 1 1/2 hours when it takes more than two hours to fly to Boston....which is closer to Chicago. Finally, I rejoice in the fact that there are only FOUR people registered for my BER seminar tomorrow....but they didn't cancel it! I'm curious how the day will play out. It may be really fun or it could be a dud depending on what those four people are like.

HOTEL BEDS: Even this ordinary Holiday Inn has one of those wonderful pillow top mattresses and four pillows to choose from. Hurray for competition!

More from the December New England adventure tomorrow!