Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, 25 who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish, 26 who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins’…
(Isaiah 44:24-26)
Here’s more Isaiah to propel us into the weekend. I daresay we can all use it.
We are heading to Jefferson City today and the boy and his family are heading out to the beach on Sunday so traveling mercies to all who are on the road. We also wish the boy and daughter #3 a happy 12th anniversary on Sunday! Mazel tov!
Unlike the narrator of Moby-Dick, I have no great topic to write about today (see above quote), but only some odds and ends of my small life. But I do love that image of a condor’s quill.
Tomorrow the OM and daughter #1 and I are heading to Jefferson City (woohoo!) to see Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives in concert. While in town we will visit our favorite winery down there and other old haunts. I was pleased to see Marty visiting with Robert Duvall…
Speaking of Red River Valley, Saturday is the National Day of the Cowboy, so you will want to plan accordingly. We will toast my ancestor John Wesley Prowers and watch Red River (1948) which is our tradition.
If I was in Oklahoma City, I would, of course, go to the celebration the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum has planned, but we do what we can.
In other news, maybe you have noticed that there is nothing to watch on TV and, if you do watch–even streaming platforms–you are inundated with ads and more ads. And political ads. So the OM and I are watching (on DVD) the Hillsdale College series on WWII with Victor David Hanson. It is intellectually stimulating and the politics is 85 years old. After watching last night’s episode, we watched OperationPacific (1951) with John Wayne as a submarine commander in WWII. Not the greatest movie ever, but entertaining and diverting. If I was in a submarine in WWII, I would want the Duke as my commander! (The freckle-faced kid below is Martin Milner of Adam-12 fame.)
Meanwhile here is something good to read about Mothering in today’s world. “Mothering is a fraught profession in the modern world. The stakes are high to do it right. If you’re going to ‘waste your intellect’, as my own mother so kindly put it, you’d better have exceptional children to show for it. Or at least a podcast.”
So learn something new, call your mother (or mother substitute), watch a cowboy movie, and listen to some good music:
–William Cullen Bryant, “Summer Wind”–read it here.
Yesterday I had lunch with two old (and much older than I) friends at the fancy retirement home where they live. It is always a delight to meet with them and talk about what we are reading, re-reading and what we are finding to watch on TV/streaming. One of them walks on the treadmill every morning and recites the Gettysburg Address from memory. I told him about the guy I used to know who recited the lyrics to Abide With Me while maintaining a plank position every morning. We avoid discussing politics but one of them said that the (very liberal) interfaith group he was in fell apart this year following the events of October 7. This is troubling, but no surprise to me I said. It is not the evangelicals the Jews have to worry about. I have no doubt that I am somewhat of a mystery to them, but we respect each other, and yes, even love each other. And that is the way it should be.
So meet an old friend for lunch, read some poetry out loud, memorize something! And here’s a hymn that we heard in church on Sunday that the boy really liked:
Sing to Jesus, Lord of our shame Lord of our sinful hearts He is our great redeemer Sing to Jesus, honor His name
TGIF. It has been a stressful week for this old retired lady. I have had a lot to do, on top of our ongoing street renovation stress.
So I am going to channel Katie’s vibe this weekend and chill as much as possible.
However, we do have a birthday to celebrate (mine) amidst other distractions.
I had my last bible study meeting of the “semester” yesterday–we finished part one (chapters 1-13) of Matthew. I really enjoy this group of old and young ladies who take their prayer work seriously and study very hard. We had a nice potluck salad lunch afterwards. Indeed, I feel very blessed to be in this group. I am grateful that God has been so patient with me over the years and that he has put me in this good place.
This is a wonderful story from the book God’s Smuggler about Christians communicating. I have heard of this book, but have not read it. I will soon.
And did you see that an elephant escaped from a circus in Butte, Montana this week and ran through town? The trainer managed to get her under control and there was no need for law enforcement intervention. I guess people in Montana take such things in stride.
So happy birthday to me and here’s to another trip around the sun!
*Emily Dickinson, “We turn not older with years, but newer every day.” (from a letter to a cousin, 1874
It’s April again! Woowee, I can hardly believe it. It came in like a lion–stormy!
I spent yesterday getting the house back in semi-order after our busy and fun-filled weekend. Laundry, dishes, toys.
Just the usual.
I had DVR’d Godspell (1973) when it was on TCM on Easter and I watched about 20 minutes of it. It is of an era, for sure, but it is pretty unwatchable I’m afraid.
Is that Grant’s Tomb?
I remember in high school the choir from another school came and sang selections of it in chapel and I thought hearing the words to old Anglican hymns sung to sultry tunes was pretty cool. (Turn back, oh man! Forswear thy foolish ways!) The whole thing is really kind of high school quality though. Seriously I wish they had done it at KHS–the boy would have been great in it! I loved the cast album and listened to it a lot in college, but I don’t think I ever saw the whole play performed. Day By Day was a big hit. I had forgotten that DC Talk covered it in 1995.
Now you gotta love that.
It is also interesting to note that in the movie, which takes place in Manhattan, the city looks terrible–dirty, run-down. Central Park is a mess. Thankfully the park was renovated in the following decades. We are so used to seeing NYC photographed to look good, but not so in this movie. The production values are generally very low.
As is often the case, things you thought were great as a teenager do not hit you the same way years later. Thank goodness, right?
And I really liked this about a man who died in the pulpit.
–from “To the Dandelion” by James Russell Lowell, 1819-1891. Read the whole poem here.
Spring seems to have sprung, but here in flyover country we know better than to jump to any conclusions. We could have snow before the end of the month. It sure is nice, however, to sit on the patio in the seventy-degree afternoons and soak up some sunshine.
He is 79 years old! Kudos for still touring. Here is a list of other oldsters who are still out there making music in public.
Later today daughter #1 is dropping Mr. Smith off at our house. He will be staying with us while she visits daughter #2 et al in Illinois. So please keep us in your prayers!
Ha!
Daughter #1 will no doubt enjoy spending quality time with Katie and chasing Ida around–did I mention that Ida is now walking/playing soccer? The boy says, “Get out the cones! Agility drills start now!”
We will do our best to keep Mr. Smith from stressing out.
Well, I didn’t end up driving to Champaign-Urbana, as it turns out daughter #2’s moving truck-full of stuff won’t arrive until next week so…the best laid plans of mice and men and all that. Thank goodness they made it there safely.
Meanwhile Garden and Gun had a link to this back porch concert which introduced me to singer-songwriter Larry Fleet. I really like this song which Morgan Wallen also covered.
Yesterday we were able to put away the storm gear and venture outside in relatively balmy temperatures in the 40s. Hopefully this weather system will persevere through next week when daughter #3 and DN will make the Big Move to Illinois. As you can imagine, the Move looms large in their lives and three-year old Katie has a limitless supply of questions.
Well, in case you were wondering, Illinois has been a state since 1818.
It is known as the “Land of Lincoln”–an excellent slogan, as they go. Three U.S. Presidents have been elected while residents of Illinois: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Barack Obama. Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois and raised in Dixon. He graduated from Eureka College outside Peoria where he was student body president, played football and was president of his fraternity. Although he left Illinois after college never to return, Reagan is a true son of Illinois.
Illinois is a very flat state, lying entirely in the Interior Plains. Its highest point is Charles Mound at 1,235 feet (376 m) above sea level. It is located in the Driftless Area in the northwestern part of the state. At 279 feet (85 m) above sea level, the lowest elevation point in the state is located near Cairo and the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
Champaign is the 10th largest city in Illinois. Because the university and a number of well-known technology start-up companies are located there, it is often referred to as the hub, or a significant landmark, of the Silicone Prairie.
Carl Perkins and Bob Dylan joined forces in 1969 to write the song “Champaign, Illinois”, which Perkins released on his album On Top. This is a very cool, fun fact. Not many towns can say that Carl Perkins and Bob Dylan wrote a song about them.
“Yes, I certainly do enjoy Champaign, Illinois!”
My maternal grandmother was born and raised in Illinois–the Ravenswood neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago. After her mother, Anna Hough, and father, William Carnahan, were married in Colorado in 1889, they moved to Chicago where they lived thereafter and brought up their five children. They helped found the Ravenswood Baptist Church which still appears to be going strong.
The next few days are going to be a stressful time for daughter #2 and her famille as they wrap things up in Maryland and head west. I have no doubt they’ll all handle it with aplomb.
He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, “At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.” (Genesis 26:22)
“Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.”
–A Christmas Carol by Charles DIckens
Are you feeling a little like our friend Mr. Scrooge? Here’s a good message from the late, great R.C. Sproul: “Every generation has its abundance of Scrooges. The church is full of them. We hear endless complaints of commercialism. We are constantly told to put Christ back into Christmas. We hear that the tradition of Santa Claus is a sacrilege. We listen to those acquainted with history murmur that Christmas isn’t biblical…All this carping is but a modern dose of Scroogeism, our own sanctimonious profanation of the holy.”
So lighten up. Enjoy the season! Spread some cheer! Write some end-of-the-year checks to the Shriners and the Salvation Army and your local Christian radio station. Put some paper money in the red kettle at the grocery store. You’ll be glad you did.
And I hope you enjoy this rendition of God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen, which is one of the oldest Christmas carols, originating in 16th-century England. The earliest known printed edition was published in 1760.
God rest ye merry gentlemen Let nothing you dismay For Jesus Christ our Saviour Was born on Christmas Day To save us all from Satan’s pow’r When we were gone astray O tidings of comfort and joy Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy
From God our Heavenly Father A blessed Angel came; And unto certain shepherds Brought tidings of the same, How that in Bethlehem was born The Son of God by Name. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy
The shepherds at those tidings Rejoiced much in mind, And left their flocks a-feeding In tempest, storm and wind, And went to Bethlehem straightway The Son of God to find. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy
But when to Bethlehem they came, Whereat this infant lay, They found Him in a manger, Where oxen feed on hay; His Mother Mary kneeling down, Unto the Lord did pray. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy
Now to the Lord sing praises, All you within this place, And with true love and brotherhood Each other now embrace; This holy tide of Christmas All other doth efface. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy.
Today we toast Aaron Copland (1900-1990) on his birthday. Born in Brooklyn of Lithuanian Jewish parents, he wrote some of the most deeply “American” music of the 20th century. I have loved his music since being introduced to it in childhood. Recently daughter #2 read the play “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder so here is Copland’s “Our Town Suite” which was used in the 1940 movie.
Here’s a reminder that Christians are to use their gifts to serve one another, but also that the testimony of Scripture demonstrates that “throughout redemptive history, God’s people have used their gifts not just for those within the covenant community but for others as well.”
And here’s a little reminder about the difference between Pilgrims and Puritans.
And here’s a prayer that I’ve included before, but it bears repeating:
“Give us grace and strength to forbear and to persevere. Give us courage and gaiety, and the quiet mind. Spare to us our friends, soften to us our enemies. Bless us, if it may be, in all our innocent endeavours. If it may not, give us the strength to encounter that which is to come, that we may be brave in peril, constant in tribulation, temperate in wrath, and in all changes of fortune, and down to the gates of death, loyal and loving to one another.”
dual personalities 