Today we salute Marty Stuart, Country Music Hall of Famer, five-time Grammy-winner, and AMA Lifetime Achievement honoree, on his birthday.
As you know, I have been a fan of his since I was about 14 (He was 12.) I have seen him many times in concert.
Enjoy!
How was your weekend? We had blue skies overhead, but it did get kind of toasty watching the bud play soccer on Sunday afternoon!
On Saturday morning daughter #1 and I ventured to Saint Charles across the Missouri River to a DAR cemetery marker ceremony. The SAR Color Guard was there in full regalia to lend support and authenticity to the event. Much appreciated, guys. (Sometimes I do think we live in Mayberry.)
In case you have forgotten, the Battle of Fort San Carlos, was fought on May 26, 1780, between British-allied Indians and defenders of the Franco-Spanish village of St. Louis (Louisiana Territory) during the American Revolutionary War. The garrison, a motley assortment of regulars and militiamen led by Upper Louisiana’s lieutenant governor, Captain Fernando de Leyba, suffered a small number of casualties. A few of the veterans of that battle were buried in Saint Charles. Their graves were later moved to the Saint Charles Borromeo Cemetery in Saint Charles and that is where the marker was dedicated. Lest we forget.
Afterwards we went to old town St. Charles and walked up and down Main Street visiting some “vintique” stores, and ate lunch on the patio of Llewellyn’s Pub, which was delightful.
Meanwhile, I was glad to see that the twins were practicing their BB gun marksmanship in their backyard.
On Sunday I went to church and heard a good sermon on Philippians 1:27-2:4: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents.”
We sang “Come Ye Sinners” and I wept from start to finish. The choir was back and in fine fettle and sang “Land of Pure Delight”. Lovely.
And now the inimitable Voddie Baucham has entered into eternity (last Thursday) at the age of 56. It is a lot to process.
Voddie was an American pastor, author and educator. He served nine years as Dean of Theology from 2015 to 2024 at African Christian University in Zambia. Rest in peace, brother.
Well, we go on. Read some history, pet a nice dog. Come to Jesus.
At the top of the Washington monument in Washington D.C., on the East-facing surface, are two Latin words: Laus Deo. “Laus Deo,” translated from the Latin, means “Praise Be To God.” The words cannot be seen from below and they face perpetually to the rising Sun in the east.
The presence of those two words on his monument may recall, however, the prayer George Washington offered at his first inauguration as the first President of the United States:
“Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United states at large.
And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Amen, indeed!
If you haven’t seen this yet, check it out:
I will leave you with this video of 2 1/2-year old Idabelle’s favorite radio song. She knows all the words and sings along. How I wish I had a video of that!
Yea, though I walk through the valley
I will have[Chorus]
No fear (No fear)
No fear (No fear)
The mighty power of Jesus is fighting for me here
No fear (No fear)
No fear (No fear)
The light of the world makes the darkness disappear
It’s still very hot here–but it is not officially Fall until next week on September 22–the Autumnal Equinox–so what are we all complaining about?
I went in for my semi-annual cancer check yesterday, which is always stressful, but I got through it by leaning on the everlasting arms.
This made me smile:
And finally…
Hang in there!
Well, how was your weekend? I enjoyed some quality time with my therapy dog…
We celebrated daughter #1’s birthday, but it was pretty low-key–burgers ‘n fries at the boy’s house and a French Silk pie…
It was quite hot on Saturday so we bailed on the Greentree Festival in our flyover town. I did, however, go to the bud’s soccer game on Sunday–so hot–96 degrees–but I am a devoted Mamu!
We went after church and Sunday School and a change of clothes at my house. By 1:30 I was wiped out!
Our current sermon series is on Philippians, so Sunday’s verses were very appropriate to what is going on in our country.
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Phil. 1:12-14)
Christ reframes everything, including the way we see our trials. Never forget that God is in control. Our Sunday School class on C.S. Lewis was also excellent and I appreciated that our teacher opened up the last 15 minutes of class to a discussion about Charlie Kirk–something we would never do in church or our sermon.
And this is the transcript of a podcast with Kevin DeYoung which is very helpful about processing violence and grief. “We never want to normalize evil, but we are trying to normalize that God has been with his people and has been with us personally through difficulties, national tragedies, and that same God is going to be with you…They need to know and hear from us a faith that we have, that God has not left the throne, that this did not take him by surprise, and that the end of the story has not yet been written for us, but it has been for God, and it’s ultimately a good story, right?”
Amen.
This is a new Lauren Daigle song (at least to me)–a re-working of the well-known Frances Ridley Havergal (1874) Anglican hymn:
Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.
Our beautiful weather continues, although they say it is going to heat up again by the end of the week. I will endeavor to live in the moment and enjoy it.
This made me LOL:
This is an interesting article about an unexpected encounter with an American Patriot. “I was intrigued to see a solitary grave with a military headstone out in the middle of nowhere. There were no houses or businesses anywhere in sight. It was a very rural area without any nearby tourist attractions…Not a place where I expected to see a veterans’ cemetery or even a solitary grave.”
The twins are coming over to my house tonight while their parents go to some parent-teacher thing at school. I am planning to make them suggest we watch The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (1963), also known as Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. I loved that movie when I was their age and especially the song.
You remember the story of Dr. Syn, a country vicar who leads a rebel band against the King’s naval press gangs in the 18th century. Dr. Syn conceals his secret identity behind a sackcloth mask, and carries on activities a la Scarlet Pimpernel from his parish base. The twins may be too jaded to enjoy it, but I hope not.
And Josiah Queen has a new song!
There are still an amazing bounty of flowers still blooming in our flyover town. It must be all that rain we had in the spring. Long after the Daylilies in my yard are gone, Don’s garden is still pretty lush…
Meanwhile the twins started third grade and Katie started kindergarten. Sunrise, sunset. And I guess that means the summer is over…
This picture of the prairie girls reminds me of the conversation I had with Lottie about her recent trip to Oklahoma. I said, oh yes, they have great clouds in Oklahoma–big sky, big clouds. And she said (with a bit of a tone) well, their clouds are no better than our clouds here in Missouri! I stand corrected.
Here’s a wonderful reminder from John Piper about God’s provision for us.
We won’t endure on our own. God brings brothers and sisters in Christ into our lives to help us along the path to heaven. That’s actually one of the great themes in Bunyan’s famous allegory Pilgrim’s Progress. Faithful and Hopeful are the friends Christian needs, his fellowship, along his path to the gates of the Celestial City.
And I really like the new Zach Williams song, don’t you?
*Oliver in Only Murders in the Building
Mabel Mora – “I’m a stranger that lied to you a bunch. And you’re two randos that dragged me into a podcast.”
Oliver Putnam – “‘Rando’ is a slang term for a person of no significance.”
Charles-Haden Savage – “I used context clues, but thank you.”
Oliver Putnam – “You’re welcome.”
I spent a lot of time with my therapy dog Mr. Smith this weekend. Also daughter #1 and I went through more stuff. She also played DJ and we listened to old CDs, which we haven’t done in ages. (We bought an old LP at an estate sale on Saturday and that got us started.)
Don Williams is just the best for whatever ails you–I think even Mr. Smith mellowed out to his dulcet tones.
I went to church and Sunday School; the sermon was on Psalm 24.
I love that the Westminster Shorter Catechism answers the question, What is the chief end of man?, so clearly and concisely: to glorify God and enjoy him forever. That is what Psalm 24 is about. God is the creator and we are the worshippers–with clean hands and a pure heart.
Have a good week. Pet a nice dog, listen to some good music, worship God and enjoy Him forever. Feel the joy.
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
(Psalm 1:1-2)
The twins came over yesterday morning so their parents could go to work (school doesn’t start until next week). Lottie and I did another Hobby Lobby craft. The bud said no thanks and brought up tubs of Lego from the basement to play with. Then they went upstairs and entertained themselves while I puttered around. Then we went to the Sunnyside cafe where they wolfed down dinosaur pancakes and bacon and read the hilarious riddles on the kids menu.
Then I took them to their Dad’s store where they are allowed to look at iPads. They are happy kids. Praise God.
In other news, I am re-watching all the seasons of Only Murders in the Building in preparation for the fifth season which begins in September. What can I say? I just love Charles, Oliver and Mabel and the plot twists and turns of the show. I love what the show says about friendship and loneliness and families. It is the best thing on TV.
We also want to mention that it is the birthday of Cecil B. DeMille (August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959), legendary American filmmaker. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history. So we should all pick one of his films to watch. He made a lot of good ones.
It is also Mark Knopfler’s birthday. We have been fans for a long time.
Of course.
So watch a good movie, listen to some good music, praise God from whom all blessings flow.
How was your weekend? Daughter #1 and I worked on the basement some more, keeping this…
…always in mind.
The sermon on Sunday was about Psalm 23, which we read, of course, at the OM’s funeral. The scripture reading was John 10:7-30, which includes: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” (Our pastor shared that with the OM on the night he died.) All the hymns were about the good shepherd and we sang On Jordan’s Stormy Bank I Stand, which is a favorite.
Never forget that God promises his presence no matter what our suffering is. His sheep are safe. My cup runneth over.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
dual personalities 