Thing 1 and I weren't going to attend church on Sunday morning. Call us heathens, but we really just wanted to get checked out of the Visalia Fairfield Inn and head up to the cabin. First I needed to grab some things from Costco, however. We headed down South Mooney to look for Costco, and it wasn't there. Honest. When we got to the middle of nowhere, we turned around and went back, and it still wasn't there. I decided I didn't need the stuff badly enough to waste my morning looking for a Costco that wasn't there, so I wanted to grab some coffee at the nearest Starbucks. Thing 1 informed me that we needed to go to "our" Starbucks. (That would be the last Starbucks on the way to the cabin - in downtown Visalia, on Main Street). Umm, OK. We passed a second Starbucks and I suggested that we stop, but Thing 1 again insisted on "our" Starbucks. OK. We headed up to Main Street, circled around for parking, and went in.
There was a short line and I couldn't help but overhear the Barista talking to the customer ahead of us. "Are you headed somewhere fun today?"
"Actually, I'm on my way to church."
"Where do you go to church?"
"It's Crossroads Church."
"Where's that?"
At that point I wasn't paying any more attention because I had to make up my mind between a Tall or Grande.
So, when it was our turn to order, the Barista asked me if we were also on our way to the Fox Theater. Nope, just headed up to Hume Lake, I told her. But as I paid for our drinks and started to turn away, I thought, "Why not?"
"Where's the Fox Theater?" I asked. She told me it was just two blocks over. Looking at my watch (it was 10:25), I realized the service was probably starting at 10:30. "Wanna go to church?" I asked Thing 1. "Sure," she shrugged.
What a great decision. First of all, we heard a great message. The text was Ephesians chapter 2; the point was Christianity 101: Christ died for our sins.
But the cool part was that there had been a terrible thunderstorm the night before and an outdoor concert was canceled. The pastor at Crossroads asked one of the performers if he would come play at church the next day. And he did! So we got to hear Paul Overstreet play his steel guitar and sing. Haven't heard of Paul Overstreet? Well, that's because he's the man behind the music. He's written songs for Randy Travis including Forever and Ever Amen, and On the Other Hand. He sang several songs, but strangely, he left out such tunes as "Takes a Whole Lot of Liquor to Like Her." Hmm. Not your typical Christian artist's material, but it fits in pretty well with other country music. When we went into a shop recently and I heard Martina McBride singing "Anyway," I informed the kids that it must be a country music station because they can sing about God. "And Beer," Thing 1 informed me. Kids are so observant.
All in all, church was a fun and edifying experience, so I'm glad Costco wasn't there and that Thing 1 insisted on "our" Starbucks.
