Muddling Through

I see i have been neglecting my friends over here, so here is a fun story.
(Hope it doesn't lose it all in the telling).

Background:
Scott and I are teaching a Home Blessings session at our church on May 2nd.
This is a big stretch for us as neither of us are 'public' speakers. We both do well leading a small group but...

Assignment:
It was part of our commitment to announce it at the Sunday service. We were petrified about this.
Sat. night we figured out what we wanted to say and started working on it.
Being the creative person that i am, I already had some ideas. And, being the person he is, my husband said go for it.
So, my plan was that we not make a plain old "here's what's happening. Please come" type of announcement. Too many people sleep right through those.
So we wrote this whole little comedy, and practiced it for an hour! (for a 5 minute announcement). Well, we just laughed our heads off while practicing, but eventually felt like we had it down, and scooted off to bed.

Sunday morning:
We set up our little table in the foyer, pretty table cloth, teddy bears, flowers, things arranged just so.
We are both extremely nervous.

Church:
Two worship songs, then we are on! (oh my, I'm getting a queasy stomach just thinking of it again.)

Announcement:
we got off track right from the start!!! We muddled back and forth. People were smiling and shaking their heads in agreement with things we were saying. Women were poking their husbands with their elbows. We just kept on muddling. People were laughing. That was good. We kept muddling, they kept laughing. Finally, we were finished!!!!
WHEW!! So we go back to our pew (good thing we always sit in the same place, or we'd have never found our way back!!) Scott does not think he heard the first half of the sermon, and I wondered how long it took till i was not red any more.

The finale:
Church is over, and people are telling us how great that was. So funny!! (because we had started out with a funny presentation, they just though all the jumping around was part of it!)
They said no one in the sanctuary could miss that announcement it was so funny.
(oh, I forgot to tell you, we are speaking on communications, and how our brains work!) =0)

the Future:
we are just wondering now: it took us 1 hour, and tons of laughter to put together a 5 minute announcement.
We are supposed to share for an hour and a half at the session, and it is less than two weeks away.
Hmmm, do we have enough time to prepare???

Hope we laugh as hard on the next part, as we did on the announcement.
I'm glad God can use even our 'muddling thorough' for His Glory.

Blessings, and oh, prayers requested. =0)

Barbara Jean

PS
Later I was apologizing to the leadership that we took so much time. He said we just did out 5 minutes! Seemed like an eternity to us!