Saturday was my 63rd birthday.
I'm not bothered by getting old.
In fact, as I've said before here, I shaved my head seven years ago, when Evie shaved hers in anticipation of losing it during chemo, and I've been content to keep it shaved, even though it makes me look older than I am.
It was my habit to let it grow out for about three weeks, before, during and after a vacation to look for bald spots and check out how much gray was, or wasn't, there but, the last time I did that, there was more gray on my right temple than I wanted to see, so I didn't do it during the last vacation. It wasn't very gray, but it was gray enough.
Maybe I am vain after all.
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Anyway, it was a nice birthday.
The sense of camaraderie among the kids and geezers I work with so far exceeds any, uh, fellowship I've experienced in what has become of the church that I was reminded, again, that I'm glad not to be supportive of institutionalized, and I'm convinced now more than ever, false, Christianity.
A sweet, young coworker made fudge for the Front End gang in honor of my birthday and, so, all of the Front End celebrated with me.
I worked five hours and it was the one Saturday in the month that I wasn't a manager. It was a nice work day.
The rest of the day was devoted to normal birthday activities for a geezer with no kids.
It was as nice a birthday as I've had in a while.
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Up to this year, on my birthday, I've paused to notice, and to give thanks for, the fact that I'm this age and still have both of my parents. And, I do that again this year but the character of that thought and praise is different.
We visited mom and dad the other day and, for the first time, dad looked and sounded to me like a frail old man.
Dad seems to be declining more rapidly these days.
His retreat into dementia has come in stages where he declines rapidly and, then, plateaus.
He has vascular dementia, as a result of a number of minor strokes, and I wonder if that has happened again.
His physical balance is much more tenuous and his memory is much worse.
I'd say that he's like a two year old boy with no memory.
This is especially difficult for mom, but it's hard on all of us.
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I'm still trying to understand what the ERC is up to in expelling Faith from the Conference.
I've pointed out that, at Faith, we embrace the teachings of the church without reservation. We also make the CGGC Mission Statement core to the way we function as a body because we both believe it and we believe in it.
And, while my knowledge of Conference and General Conference history has its limitations, I don't know of one other case in which a congregation that embraces church teaching, and is satisfied with being a part of the Churches of God, has been removed from the denomination.
As I study Jesus and devote my life to serving Him, I see Him saying that, while a person is saved by believing, ultimately, it is the action your faith produces that reveals who and what you are--and, how you will spend eternity.
I wish I understood what this action of the ERC reveals about who and what it is.
All of that notwithstanding, though I love the Church of God, I am feeling a sense of relief and freedom. I'm not feeling loss.
I continue to believe that I am gifted to be a prophet and that I am called to speak God's Word to the CGGC.
The freedom is from accountability to artificial, humanly constructed, institutional authority.
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The only body in the CGGC with which we are still affiliated and which has not jettisoned us, and by its own initiative, is the Enola Church of God, where we are members.
We still have friends there. And, to remove me from membership would also impact Evie directly. I don't think the congregation will remove us from the membership role...
...but, I've been surprised before.
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Anyway...
...I am a person of the Kingdom and, at the moment, I enjoy the freedom of feeling accountable only to the Lord and the people of Faith for what we do here.
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