I have thoughts.  And not much time.  And probably ADD.

I'm considering blogging about something that might ruffle a few feathers.

But first, a few of my random thoughts from right now.

1.  I look really cute today, I wish more of you could see me.

2.  I should probably work on my humbleness level.

3.  I should be putting away all those groceries behind me on the counter instead of blogging.

4.  The mornings Jake is at preschool, is it ok for me to be selfish with my time and not plan on seeing anyone?

5.  I want picaken.

6.  I love the song playing on Pandora right now.

7.  I bought a pair of Toms and they are amazingly comfortable and weird.  They are burlap.  I might be turning into a hippie.

8.  I hope my new bar stools come today.

9.  AH!!  I have to make soup to take to someone tonight.  

10.  I wish my brain had an off button.  I also wish I could blog while I was doing other things.

11.  Why do I tie my worth to my to-do list?

12.  How do I write what I want to write without stepping on anyones toes?

13.  I 'll work on it later.  Groceries now.

Ok, it's later.  Just incase you are wondering, it took me 2.5 hours to put away the groceries.  Because ADD.  Also, I look decidedly less cute now than I did earlier today.  Some of you requested that I take a selfie.  Sorry, I did not.  You'll just have to take my word on the cuteness.  My bar stools did not come.  I got the soup made. I didn't figure out how to turn off my brain.  Or blog while doing something else.  Numbers 4 and 11 deserve their own blog posts.  Which leaves me to blog about my original thought.

I would love if my church dropped the word "Mennonite" from our title.

And now you are wondering why, right?  I've had this discussion with some of you.  It's taken me a long time to work up the courage to blog on this for all the world to see.  I'm afraid of messing this up and offending you.  Please hear my heart that I mean no offense.

See, here's the thing;  When I say I go to a mennonite church I can see walls go up.  "Mennonite" means so many different things.  On one end of the spectrum you have the horse and buggy/head covering/suspender wearing/PA dutch speaking mennonites.  That's not my church.  On the other end of the spectrum you have very liberal lesbian pastors.  Also not my church.  How can one word encompass such vastly different beliefs?  It's confusing.

And then there are the jokes.  Have you heard them?  

How was copper wire invented?
Two mennonites fighting over a penny.

What's the difference between an Indian in a canoe and a mennonite in a restaurant?
The Indian is more likely to tip.

Saint Peter is giving a tour to a new resident of heaven.  They come to a closed door.  "Shhh," says Peter with a twinkle in his eye, "The mennonites are in there and they think they're the only ones here."

Ouch.

One of my co-workers has recently started coming to church with us.  When he told his grandparents (who live out of the area) that he was going to Weaverland Mennonite they had questions.  Like "Oh, do they sing only hymns?". 

Nope.

Also questions about coverings.  

Answer?  There are not many of them.

So what is Weaverland like?

Huh, see what I did there?  I dropped the "mennonite" without even thinking about it.  In fact, whenever anyone asks where I go to church I just simply say "Weaverland".

Anyway, what is Weaverland like?  

Music:  We sing a wide variety of praise and worship songs and hymns.  We have drums on our worship team.  Some people raise their hands during worship.  Some people cry.  I've yet to see anyone dance but I'd be delighted if that happened.  Some people sing loudly.  Some people don't sing at all.  Worship as you feel led.  

Dress code:  You will see some older ladies with head coverings.  You will see some men in suits.  You will see some men in jeans.  You will see some ladies in dresses.  You will see some ladies in jeans.  Wear what you have.

Sermon:  Straight up, we believe the Bible and our pastors preach it as truth.  Sometimes there is an alter call.  Most times there is not.  But our ministry team is ALWAYS willing to talk with anyone about anything.  They are really super great.

Congregation:  Lots of families.  Lots of kids.  Lots of young adults.  Lots of ordinary people.

Hmm, interesting.  This is what I love about blogging.  I had no idea I was going to end up plugging for Weaverland.  But it's really not a surprise, because let me tell you, it's a great church, I really love it and feel at home there.  If you need a church home we'd love to have you.  Your friends and family might have some questions like "are you turning into a mennonite?" but just say what i say:

"I'm a Jesus follower who just happens to go to a mennonite church."

If you go to a mennonite church, what are your thoughts on the word "mennonite"?

If you don't go to a mennonite church, what are your thoughts on the word "mennonite"?

If you don't go to church at all, what are your thoughts on the word "mennonite"?