Sometimes I wonder if I listen to myself.

This morning I got to the church around 8:30 and started doing some printing, loading ppt's and videos into the computer for the service, etc. I met Keith for a minute. He was bringing back some tables and chairs he used yesterday. He's always good for a laff or two. He's like a walking Seinfeld episode most of the time. Then I tuned up the guitar and warmed up with the band. I was having fun, feeling pretty good, and just amp'd about being there. So, after warm ups, I got this brain child and decided to share it. We had quite a few there before service, so I just reminded everyone of a few basic things- make guests feel welcome, don't make people feel bad if they've missed a few Sunday's- tell them how glad you are to see them, then we prayed together. I walked away feeling kinda good and hoping my "words of wisdom" would have an affect and we would have a great day. Maybe someone would come in and feel the warmth and enthusiasm of being there. Not even 2 minutes later, I go over toward the office (which is near the front doors) and I see Michael (whom I didn't see last week) and start ribbing him about not seeing him for a while, etc. etc. About a half dozen people are looking at me with everything from the crook-eye to the hairy-eyeball with this laser vision, honing in on my forehead. I could tell they wanted to burn a hole right thru me for some reason, but their mouths hanging open in disbelief confused me. Finally, I go "WHAT?" And almost in unison, a few of them exclaim- "you JUST told us NOT to give anyone a hard time!!!" DOH! I apologized to Michael (as well as everyone else) and told him how glad I was to see him. Other than that, I think it was a pretty good day!