Well, we’ve had a cold snap and all the daffodils are bent over and sad and I had a digital nightmare explosion on Monday so I have been clawing my way back from that. Ugh. The worst. I tell myself I am done with the internet, but there is no escaping it. So we soldier on.
Meanwhile the twins and the prairie girls are enjoying spring break (remember that?).
Life barrels on like a runaway train.
I am content.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
How was your weekend? Mine was springlike until it was not. The magnolia trees are in full bloom and everyone is worried that the cold snap will kill/damage everything. But this literally happens every year. At least it didn’t snow as initially predicted! (But we did have a tornado watch!)
Daughter #1 came over on Friday afternoon and set up my new printer for me. I am good to go after months of frustration with my old printer. We celebrated with wine time and Chik-fil-a for dinner.
Our DAR meeting on Saturday was skillfully run, as usual, by daughter #1. We had a wonderful lecture by our friend Esley Hamilton about all the architectural jewels of St. Louis that were torn down before 1904.
For instance, this house–the “Cracker Castle”–built in 1868 for Jonathan Pierce who produced hardtack during the Civil War, was heavily damaged by a tornado in 1896 and as a result was demolished soon afterwards. It is sad that so little actually remains from the nineteenth century (although the above monstrosity was no great loss).
Saturday night I watched The Quiet Man (1952) in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
Mr. Smith harumphed a bit at the Irish accents, but he still thought it was pretty great.
Sunday I went to church and heard a fine sermon on Joshua 8:1-35–I have really enjoyed Joshua. It seems very timely. Our final hymn was…
…and I cried…and my mascara ran.
Is this what William Cowper meant when he wrote:
Sometimes a light surprises The Christian while he sings; It is the Lord, who rises With healing in His wings: When comforts are declining, He grants the soul again A season of clear shining, to cheer it after rain.
I went to the Westminster Catechism class afterwards and it was terrific. We went through #22-38, led by a ruling elder (who is also an attorney). It all makes so much sense! I think I finally understand what effectual calling is!
Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.
This morning I go in for my annual bone density exam, kicking off two weeks of doctor visits and tests. “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. 25 Brothers, pray for us.” (I Thess. 5:23-25)
When we were driving back from the prairie, we were really struck by how everything is greening up in our neck of the woods. It has warmed up into the seventies…but storms, not surprisingly, are on the way.
Yesterday I did laundry, caught up on ‘desk work’ and ran a few errands. I feel like I accomplished a lot. Meanwhile I am working on editing a piece for the Kirkwood Historical Review which was sent in by a man whose parents grew up in Kirkwood. He was going through old boxes (as we are all wont to do) and found photos and letters etc and decided to write something up about them and his grandfather who was a state senator. This man, by the way, went off into the wide world from our flyover state and became a well known artist and illustrator with several New Yorker covers to his credit. As usual, I am surprised by what a small world it is.
Last week I watched the movie The Apostle (1997) which was written and directed by Robert Duvall, who also stars in it as Euliss F. “Sonny” Dewey, a charismatic Pentecostal preacher. He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.
I saw it when it came out and I have the DVD, but had not seen it in ages. It is a very interesting movie about a denomination I know little about. The soundtrack won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album. I remember that too–we listened to it a lot back in the day.
It also occurred to daughter #1and me that Euliss Dewey would be a great name for another Westie, with “Sonny” as his nickname. Weeeelllll (as Ida frequently starts a sentence), if you are looking for something good to watch, you might try The Apostle.
This is a good article about Three Reminders for Christian Parents. I was struck by her description of a child drawing pictures in church and that “love for the church is often absorbed more than it is instructed. Children learn to cherish the people of God not only through teaching but through presence.” It really reminded me of the twins who draw in their special church notebooks, seemingly not paying attention, but absorbing what they hear.
And I enjoyed this article about Tim Challies. I start every day with his blog and have for many years.
We made it back from the prairie–a very blustery drive! (Par for the course.) The speedwagon did great though.
The weekend was delightful. The grandkids are so entertaining and DN served up gourmet meals–a real step up from my usual egg salad sandwiches! And at dinner Saturday night three-year old Ida, unprompted, broke into shout singing this song (She knows all the words.)
Devil get behind me, run on home Back to the grave where you belong In case you forgot, let me tell you the truth You’re stuck under my blood bought boots Devil get behind me, you got no hold I’ve been changed by the Holy Ghost Try all you want, but it ain’t no use You’re stuck under my blood bought boots
Get behind me (oh-oh) Get behind me (oh-oh) Devil get behind me (oh-oh)
It was one of the greatest things ever. Can you even?
The triple baptisms went off without a hitch on Sunday. Pastor Luke gave a very nice introduction to covenant baptism and why it is entirely appropriate and biblical to baptize a household.
We also heard a fine sermon on revelation 1:9-20 about how God reigns now even as we wait until He comes again–the already and the not yet overlap in the present. So let your light shine, even as we long for the fullness of the kingdom to come!
Afterwards we drove to Bloomington for a lovely lunch at the home of DN’s parents, who have moved there from Maryland.
Mr. Smith was a good boy, although he had to stay home and miss the festivities. He got along great with the baby.
Praise the Lord!
And I love this so much. It takes a minute and a half.
I didn’t do a whole lot this weekend, but I did get the very large framed Asian watercolor that I picked up last week from Link Auction back into my car and took it over to daughter #1’s house where she successfully hung it on the wall. (Her father would be so proud.) Doesn’t it look great?
I went to church on Sunday with the boy and the twins. We heard a really good sermon on Joshua 6:1-27, all about walking and waiting, destruction and deliverance, trusting in God’s timing. Then we went to Sunday School and I chose the class on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which I really enjoyed. What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!
After that we went to the Sunny Street Cafe for our usual brunch and talked about our different Sunday School classes. We had a good time and everyone ate heartily.
And here’s some exciting news–Don reports his first flower of the season!
And we see some buds in our yard…
Finally, here’s a great Bob Dylan cover I hope you will enjoy:
Everybody has had the flu and now daughter #2 is sick, so our plan to go to the prairie this weekend is cancelled. The three kids were scheduled to be baptized on Sunday, but that will have to be re-scheduled. C’est la vie.
Well, I am nothing if not flexible, so we’ll see how things go.
Here’s a poem about “Disappointment” by Jane Taylor (1783-1824):
(Jane Taylor was an English poet and novelist best known for the lyrics of the widely known “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. )
Meanwhile daughter #1 returned from her successful business strip to Arizona and I picked up Mr. Smith from the kennel where he had a wonderful time and ate all his food like a champ. All is well.
How was your weekend? Mine was full of missions and missionaries. It got cold again, but the sun was shining most of the time. Hopefully the daffodils will pull through. I mean, this happens every year, so chances are, all will be well.
There were no good estate sales on Saturday but daughter #1 and I did hit an antique mall and found a couple of odds ‘n ends. I was more successful at the Link online auction on Thursday and Friday. Auctions are fascinating to me. One can usually find a few good bargains (I did) but occasionally there is a real surprise. One such surprise was when a geltone reproduction of Grant Wood’s Midnight Ride of Paul Revere came up.
It was estimated at $50-$100. I was interested in it as I have always liked it and I thought I might get it for $15 or so, but a bidding war took off and it eventually sold for over $800!
Another watercolor painting, estimated at $75-$100…
…went for $1800! Fantastic. Now that’s entertainment!
I hadn’t seen the twins in over a month, so I was glad they were able to make it to church with their Dad on Sunday morning. We heard a good sermon from a visiting missionary to Norway. They couldn’t stay for Sunday School (their Papaw was leaving to go back to Florida) so that meant no Sunny Side diner either. C’est la vie. Life is full of disappointments, right? But we are steadfast.
Daughter #1 came over later in the afternoon in order to bring Mr. Smith who spent the night with me. (I am taking him to the kennel this morning while she heads to Arizona for work.)
Later I will head down to the Link Auction House to pick up my winnings. It’s a new week! Have a good one.
How was your weekend? Mine was very pleasant, although it rained all day Saturday.
Between traveling and work, I had seen very little of daughter #1 over the last few weeks, so it was great to catch up with her…wine time at Glen Echo on Friday, estate sale-ing on Saturday and a late lunch at the Village Bar. All our favorite things. We took Mr. Smith for his weekly shampoo and then had wine time at my house.
We watched Bullitt (1968), which you will recall was the movie the OM and I always watched on Valentine’s Day.
Wasn’t that nice of her?
Of course, the movie was great as always, really cutting edge for 1968. We LOL’d as always during the chase through San Francisco as the Charger and the Mustang race past the slow-moving green VW four times. (Frank Keller won the editing Oscar for this movie!) Another of my favorite scenes is when Bullitt, Bennett, Chalmers, and Baker gather around the telecopier as the passport applications arrive. Only Steve can make watching the fax machine riveting cinema. This time we noticed that frequently during the course of the film Lt. Bullitt is asked a direct question and he gives no response. As daughter #1 commented, “He speaks with his eyeballs.” His lack of response has great effect. When he does respond, major impact–especially when he says, “Bulls–t” to Robert Vaughn’s face toward the denouement of the film. Perhaps this is a good lesson for us all.
I went to church by myself on Sunday (the boy has the flu now) and heard a good sermon on Joshua 5:13-15. Are you for the Lord? Our goal is not to conform God to us, but for us to conform to God. It reminded me of that time during the Civil War President Lincoln was reportedly asked whether God was on the side of the Union. He replied, “My concern is not whether God is on our side,” Lincoln responded. “My greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Touché. He was probably thinking of Joshua, because he knew his Bible backwards and forwards.
We finished up our Intro to Covenant class, which I really enjoyed. It never ceases to amaze me how whenever I am sitting alone before class, someone always comes and sits next to me. When I first went to that church I didn’t know a single person there. Now I know lots of people. Praise the Lord.
And I’m with the Madcaps:
Have a good week! There are definite signs of spring if you look!
Daughter #1 has a big DAR event today–our annual George Washington Commemoration Event on President’s Day at Lafayette Park–so keep her in your prayers. I am serving as the chapter chaplain, so I’ll be giving the benediction–there’s a first time for everything!
Well, I had a swell time visiting the prairie girls (and boy). We stayed inside except for a quick walk around the block and a trip to church on Sunday. But I got to hold the bud a lot…
We read a lot of books…
…and we played with a lot of Magna Tiles (which can be very frustrating)…
We watched some of the Olympics and Katie and Ida think they would be good at snowboarding…
I was impressed that she included those slalom flags in her drawing.
I enjoyed visiting their church on Sunday which was packed. It is a very different vibe than my church–lots of U of I students. (They have an active RUF chapter.) We heard a good sermon:
(Katie’s sermon notes)
I drove home in the speedwagon on Monday morning after DN gassed it up and procured a Polar Pop for me. I listened to the Springfield country station and was a little shocked by the current songs–all whiskey, bars and loose women–but this one by Morgan Wallen had a clever twist.
Yeah, the night I said, “I’m leavin’,” I turned into Richard Petty Broke my heart, so I got even in my ’97 Chevy Now I’m walkin’ on this water mixed with Johnnie Walker Black There’s a lotta reasons I ain’t Jesus, but the main one is that
I ain’t comin’ back Oh, no, no, I ain’t comin’ back
When I got closer to STL I switched to Joy99.
Now it is Tuesday and I am discombobulated about what day it is. C’est la vie. Have a good one!
The sunrise yesterday was amazing! There is still a lot of snow on the ground from our big storm two weeks ago, but it is warming up and that’s a good thing.
I am heading up to Mahomet tomorrow to spend a few days with the prairie girls.
Hopefully I will get a chance to hold the baby.
Have a good weekend. Pray for travel mercies for me!
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
dual personalities 