Today daughter #1 and I are heading to Sedalia, MO for a DAR leadership workshop.
I am tagging along because I have always wanted to go to Sedalia ever since my childhood days watching Rawhide on TV.
The drovers, you will recall, were usually heading to Sedalia, which for a time was the western end of the railroad, with their cattle herd.
Anyway, we’ll be back on Saturday, in time to pick up Mr. Smith who will be “boarding” with the boy and his family. I hope he can handle the excitement!
Speaking of cattle drives, don’t forget that Saturday is the the National Day of the Cowboy, celebrating the iconic figure who shaped the American West. They will, of course, be whooping it up at my favorite museum, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. When I get home from Sedalia, I’ll watch a cowboy movie as is my custom. Probably Junior Bonner (1972)…
Oh yeah.
Please keep us in your prayers as we sally forth into Mid-MO!
It is our custom to remember Ulysses S. Grant on July 23, the day he died in 1885.
Maybe I’ll swing by White Haven today and walk through the grounds.
As Mark Twain said: “The greatest man I have ever had the privilege of knowing personally. And I have not known a man with a kinder nature or a purer character. He was called the Silent Man — the Sphynx — and he was that, in public, but not in private. There he was a fluent and able talker — with a large sense of humor, and a most rare gift of compacting meaty things into phrases of stunning felicity.”
Well, I finally watched A Great Awakening (2026), the new movie about the friendship between the Rev. George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin and I loved it.
It is available to rent on Amazon Prime. I have the DVD, because I will definitely watch it again. And you know how I feel about physical media.
As Greg Morse writes, “The story of the man whom God used to spark revival on two continents cannot be fully told in a running time of just over two hours. Whitefield was a force, a hurricane that swept through Britain and the colonies with Christian zeal, resistless spirituality, and renowned oratory. The facts are almost unbelievable. On many weeks, he preached nearly as much, if not more, than he slept. When not preaching, he rode on horseback miles upon miles to his next speaking engagement. He preached and taught one thousand times every year for thirty years, most of the time to thousands of people, all without microphones and notes, and often outside. John Piper notes in his excellent sermon, ‘Estimates are that eighty percent of the entire population of the American colonies (this is before TV or radio) heard Whitefield at least once.'”
Yes, it is an amazing story and this movie tells it well. The production values are high. I had never heard of anyone in it, but the acting is excellent. The direction is solid. It is not a Hallmark movie. It won’t win any awards, because it doesn’t check any of the woke boxes, but it checked all of mine.
How was your weekend? Mine was quite busy, so I needed a whole day to recover. Friday was a full day plus the fam came over for a little party that night. Then I spent the whole day Saturday at Innsbrook with my small group from church.
We had a wonderful time sitting around talking, eating our potluck lunch, sharing our spiritual concerns. And I got to take a ride on the pontoon boat. I was pretty tired by the time I got home! Nevertheless I roused myself and went to the early service at church on Sunday. I heard a good sermon on Psalm 33–our hope is in our faith in God, not in the things of this world. I was impressed by our young pastor who made a reference to The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and its star Errol Flynn in the middle of his exegesis. Props to him for owning that movie! Then we had another great adult ed class on meditation and prayer, chapter 10 of Tim Keller’s book. This week it was led by my friend Dan, the optometrist. This has been such a good series!
After church I went to an estate sale at a really nice house. It was the second day, but I did find something–two lamps for daughter #2. Score!
Then I went to daughter #1’s pool with her, but we were only able to float for a short time before a storm rolled through and everyone had to clear the deck. C’est la vie. Wine time started a little early! Then I went home and collapsed, literally, before going back to church for the evening service which included a review of the PCA’s General Assembly meeting a few weeks ago. I was pleased to hear the update of our denomination, which is actually growing.
Here’s Andrew Ripp’s new song, which I really like (note pontoon boat):
Oh, I be singing! (and whistling)
Also, Union Pacific’s massive steam-powered Big Boy No. 4014 — 133 feet long and weighing in at 1.2 million pounds — passed through my flyover town yesterday and I heard it from my house. Quite a commotion of loud whistling–much more than the usual coal trains going through.
Crowds watch the train go through Kirkwood in 2021. (Webster-Kirkwood Times photo)
Good Monday morning, readers. Daughter #1 here and switching things up. At work, we start most meetings with a safety contact where someone volunteers a safety tip that has recently proven itself relevant. I come today with a safety-ish contact.
While on vacation in Michigan, we ventured to the big city of Holland for dinner one night. Upon arrival, I had the following exchange with my sister.
I am still laughing about this.
My safety-ish contact is to always check for autocorrect correcting words that are not spelled incorrectly!!
In other news, Mr. Smith continues to be adorable. Can you handle his little paw on Mamu’s leg?
He did not get to go on vacation with us, but he was treated to lots of play time at the kennel while we were gone. He barked so much that he is still a little hoarse. When I picked him up, we went straight to the dog spa for a bath. After that he slept for about two days.
I was listening to the Christian radio station in my car and they were playing a John Reddick song–Holding On–and I was reminded of a funny story daughter #2 told me. Her daughters, aged 6 and 3 were discussing what they would do if a giant kidnapped their baby brother and they had to fight to get him back. The six-year old said, “We would say, ‘You come in strength but we come in the name of the Lord.” The 3-year old said, “We would poke him in the EYE and sit on him.”
Several thoughts come to mind, but I have to say, I was impressed with the 6-year old’s answer. Sure, she hears Bible stories at church and listens to an exegesical sermon every week, but I think she picks up a lot from listening to Christian music from the back seat.
My help comes from the Lord And I don’t have to carry this anymore Let the world bring me to my knees I’m holding on to God ‘Cause I know my God is holding on to me
And the three-year old’s answer seems typical of second-born daughters:
Anyway, this is another reason to support your local Christian radio station, a great ministry outreach tool.
Tonight the boy and his fam, plus daughter #1 are coming over for dinner and a prosecco toast to daughter #3 for finishing radiation treatments. Praise the Lord, they seem to have nipped that cancer in the bud.
I was worried that the hibiscus would bloom while I was in Michigan, so I was happy to see them hanging on for me…
Huzzah!
And here’s a poem for our hot flyover July…thank goodness for water lilies!
Some flowers are withered and some joys have died; The garden reeks with an East Indian scent From beds where gillyflowers stand weak and spent; The white heat pales the skies from side to side; But in still lakes and rivers, cool, content, Like starry blooms on a new firmament, White lilies float and regally abide. In vain the cruel skies their hot rays shed; The lily does not feel their brazen glare. In vain the pallid clouds refuse to share Their dews, the lily feels no thirst, no dread. Unharmed she lifts her queenly face and head; She drinks of living waters and keeps fair.
Are you having a good summer? It is half over already! Not that that matters to us retired folks.
Today we remember the day in 1799 when the Rosetta Stone was discovered in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napolean’s Egyptian Campaign. The stone is famous for being inscribed with three versions of a decree in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotic (the cursive Egyptian script used for daily purposes, meaning ‘language of the people’), and the Ancient Greek script. The Ancient Greek was translated into English in 1803. This allowed for the Egyptian hieroglyphics to be deciphered for the first time, by Jean-François Champollion in 1822. It now resides in the British Museum in London.
Pretty cool.
Here are a few things from the internet.
Yesterday was the first anniversary of the passing into glory of the great John MacArthur. Here’s a video reflecting on his life and ministry.
Interesting! Here’s a video about a German who moved to America to get married, only to discover most of what he thought he knew was wrong. “Two years ago, on July 1st, I moved from Germany to the United States of America. And I did not just move countries. I moved from a culture of caution into a culture of courage. And I was not ready for what [that] would do to me.”
Good advice! “The 80-year-olds I admire most were not born different. They made a thousand small choices, over decades, that compounded in their favor. You are making those same choices right now, whether you notice them or not. It is never too late, nor too early, to begin.”
And here’s a little Billy Strings for your Wednesday music treat:
Have a good day. Watch an old movie. Read an old book. Listen to some good Bluegrass music.
Yesterday I caught up with my “desk work” and my Bible reading and tidied my house after a week away. I drove to the library and the P.O. I marveled that I have lived in my flyover town for 30 years now. Praise the Lord.
I was reminded that July 12 was the birthday of Henry David Thoreau. He was misguided like all the Transcendentalists, but I was always fond of him. He is hard not to like. And he had a far-reaching influence on many future writers that he would never have dreamed of.
“If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal- that is your success. All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself. The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated. We easily come to doubt if they exist. We soon forget them. They are the highest reality. Perhaps the facts most astounding and most real are never communicated by man to man. The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning or evening. It is a little star-dust caught, a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched.”
Well, we all made it home to our particular homes after a wonderful holiday.
Daughter #1 and I arrived at 11:00 pm (12 hours after leaving Grand Haven), just as the electricity came back on after an outage at my house! Praise the Lord. On Saturday I did laundry and watched several episodes of The Mentalist (on Hulu) in between naps.
On Sunday I felt adequately refreshed to get up early and head to church for the early service. How wonderful to be back! I was rewarded with great music, an excellent sermon on Psalm 32 (on sin!–blessed are the forgiven)…
You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
…and an inspiring adult ed class on prayer. Our teacher this week was a professor at Covenant Seminary and, I tell you, I wanted to shout “Woohoo!” at the end. I have learned so much in this series based on Tim Keller’s book. It is not often one feels that way these days.
Don’t drift away. The devil is smart. “I want to keep going. I don’t want to waste the years. I don’t want to drift. I want to be constantly paddling upstream, against the pull of the flesh, the world, and the devil.”
“And Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man’s best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why, in the gratification of curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, in drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, in whistling tunes that he does not like, or in the long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them a relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and fuddled to shake off… Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
