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:
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.
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!
February is here, so can spring be (too) far behind?
How was your weekend? Mine was very quiet. Daughter #1 was out of town, laughing it up with the prairie girls…
…and the boy and his family were all down with the flu.
I had lunch with a friend on Friday, but otherwise I was on my own. So I was extra glad to go to church on Sunday–even when it was 8 degrees outside. I donned my vintage fur coat for the third week in a row and braved the elements. We had a hardy band of believers at the 8:30 service. I noted that there were more men than women in the choir! We also ordained and installed new elders and deacons.
But my reading glasses were not in my purse, so I had a challenging time. I managed, but I was definitely playing the trombone. Getting older is not for sissies.
This is a thoughtful post about doom-scrolling: “The internet gives us a false omniscience, presenting everything from everywhere to everyone at any time. But we are not God. We were not designed for omniscience. Not even the digital imitation. Yet here it is. Everything. All the time.”
And in memory of Catherine O’Hara, who died last week, here’s a classic scene from Best In Show (2000):
Boy, did they get the weather all wrong on Saturday! We had no idea there was a veritable blizzard coming…
My iPhone camera never shows snow falling–but believe me, it looked like a fake movie scene with big, fat soap flakes coming down. It stopped pretty soon and didn’t amount to all that much, but it did take us by surprise. Luckily our January DAR meeting was already scheduled as a Zoom meeting, so I could just stay home. Daughter #1 is one smart regent!
It was super cold on Sunday morning again but we faithful made it to church. We heard another good sermon on Joshua–we’re up to chapter 3, verses 1-17–crossing the Jordan River. After the service Lottie asked me if she got an A+ and I said, ahem no, not today. She said, Yeah, I guess I was more of a B+. Our adult ed class was part two of Intro to Covenant which I am enjoying so much. How great is it to sit in a room with 200+ people who are all in the process of being sanctified! We went to the Sunny Street diner afterwards and the twins had dinosaur pancakes and the boy tried something new–loaded hash browns. I had my usual #2 on the seniors’ menu. Everyone was happy and content with their choices.
Today, it should be noted, is my dear mother’s birthday–her 100th! My oh my, she has been gone for 38 years. I think about her every day. Time is unreal, or as Borges says,
And yet, and yet… Denying temporal succession, denying the self, denying the astronomical universe, are apparent desperations and secret consolations. Our destiny … is not frightful by being unreal; it is frightful because it is irreversible and iron-clad. Time is the substance I am made of. Time is a river which sweeps me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger which destroys me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire which consumes me, but I am the fire. The world, unfortunately, is real; I, unfortunately, am Borges.
It is also Dolly Parton’s 80th birthday (!) and she is still going strong–here’s her new song, ably assisted by Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Reba, and Queen Latifa:
You go, girl! Everything’s going to be all right.
Precious Ida B had a wonderful birthday on Saturday…
And this sign on the neighborhood Catholic church makes me laugh every year…
Well, I had quite a weekend, starting Friday night when the twins came over for dinner and a movie and spent the night. Daughter #1 and Mr. Smith joined us for pizza from Dewey’s and we watched one of our favorite movies, The Court Jester (1955).
After they went home, the twins and I went to bed. I have four bedrooms and plenty of beds, but unfortunately, as the night wore on, we all ended up in the same bed (mine) and it was like trying to sleep with squirrels. Hopefully we will do this again soon, but I will have to make sure everyone is prepared to stay in their assigned space–my life is not a Shirley Jackson story, after all! Right? Right?
The boy picked them up in the morning. I spent the rest of the day recovering from getting no sleep, but daughter #1 and I did manage to meet for margaritas and visit our favorite antique mall and re-sale shop where we got some DVDs and books.
It was 25 degrees when I left for church on Sunday morning, so I wore my vintage fur coat. The wee bud asked me what kind of fur it was–bear? I said, no, mink. He said, oh, like a ferret? I said, no like a mink. He said he would like to have a ferret for a pet…Anyway, church was good. We heard a great sermon on Rahab (Joshua 2:1-24), a story I’m happy to say I was familiar with. Rahab is one one of those great women of the Bible–a Canaanite prostitute who does the right thing and believes in God, the one God of the heavens above and the earth beneath. After church I went to the new adult ed class which is for everyone and is the Intro to Covenant class, in other words, the newly developed new members class. They want everyone to take it and I think that is a great idea. It is a wonderful reminder of what we believe and why we go to Covenant. It made me very happy.
In the evening I returned to church for our annual meeting. Once again I was very impressed. Our session has a strong grip on things and boy, those Presbyterians can handle money. We send 25% of our budget to missions! And no deficit!
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
all I have needed thy hand hath provided–
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923
And now it is Monday. Onward and upward!
P.S. It was an amazing week for memes, but my favorites are still all the Marco Rubio ones.
(Not a bad likeness of the new baby by his older sister)
I made it home on Friday afternoon between two snow events on the prairie. Phew. I had a lot to do over the weekend–the Kirkwood Historical Society annual meeting and Christmas tea…checking in with Mr. Smith…
…catching up at church on Sunday (twice!), making Episcopal Calvinist souffle and celebrating the twin’s 9th birthday at my house!
Now I am on Jury Duty of all things! What a December. I don’t know when I’m going to mail my packages or wrap presents, much less send Christmas cards, but I’m not going to worry about it.
P.S. I hear the prairie girls watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers again–seems they can’t get enough of those wild boys!
How was your weekend? Mine was pleasantly uneventful. Daughter #1 and I were moderately successful at an estate sale run by our favorite company–and by that I mean we got quite a few books and DVDs for an amazing Lamar discount.
The highlight of the weekend was going to church and seeing the boy and his family stand up in front of the congregation and be welcomed as new members. When the wee bud returned to our pew he said, “That was the best moment I’ve ever had!” They have been attending for four years, so I don’t think the twins really understood what was happening, but something clicked. We sang good hymns and, I must say, it melts my heart to hear little Lottie singing in her sweet falsetto “Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow” from memory beside me.
We also had a great sermon on the final verses of Philippians–4:10-23–and an in-context explanation of I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Ah, the secret of Christian contentment: you may not get what you want, but you will get what you need.
My adult ed class was a panel of elders talking about various topics, including stewardship, and it was very instructive and so incredibly different from my experience in the various Episcopal churches I have attended over the years. At Covenant the session sets a budget and trusts the Lord will provide. There is no lengthy Every Member Canvas, no fund-raising, no talk of gross vs. net pay. This continues to blow my mind. When there is an opportunity to preach about giving from the Gospel lesson, as there was on Sunday, the pastor talks about giving: And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
We went to the Sunny Street Cafe after church to celebrate and daughter #1 met us there. We gobbled down our food and talked about her business trip to Wyoming and Devil’s Tower and giant coal-mining equipment much to the twins’ amazement. The bud already knew all about Devil’s Tower and the legend of the two Indian sisters and the bear, because he is a whiz on landmarks. Speaking of bears, did you know they are wrecking havoc in Japan? Neither twin knew there were bears in Japan and were skeptical when I told them.
I am re-reading Shane by Jack Schaefer and enjoying it. It is interesting to see how it is different from the movie and how the screenplay (in the hands of the great A.B. Guthrie) changes some things and emphasizes others to make a truly great film. I can’t wait to watch it again soon.
Have a great week–be thankful for your many blessings! Be content, give generously, rejoice. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.
(And pet a nice dog.)
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; to his feet your tribute bring. Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, evermore his praises sing. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise the everlasting King!
The weather has been unseasonably warm and beautiful for November–blue sky, orange trees, temps in the 70s! Daughter #1 and I sat out on a lovely patio on Friday afternoon and enjoyed a glass of wine–in November! Then we drove out to Wildwood and enjoyed pizza night with the boy and his family. Lovely.
The rest of the weekend was fairly quiet. I finished a D.E. Stevenson book and watched the leaves float down. I watched the new Kevin James movie–Playdate–on Prime. I’m not saying it’s a great movie, but I enjoyed it.
A “buddy action comedy movie”, it is about two dads and their sons who are targeted by mercenaries. There is no bad language, no sex, no politics, and very little real violence. It held my interest for 90 minutes. And the first scene takes place at a lacrosse game. Why don’t they make more movies like this?
On Sunday I went to church and heard a great sermon on Philippians 4:2-9.
2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Think about these things. Practice these things. The Lord is near. Wow. And Wow.
My adult ed class was about the diaconate. We have 14 deacons at my church and they really walk the walk. Presbyterian polity, which was developed as a rejection of governance by hierarchies of single bishops, also differs from the congregational polity in which each congregation is independent. In contrast to the other two forms, authority in the presbyterian polity flows both from the top down (as higher assemblies exercise limited but important authority over individual congregations, e.g., only the presbytery can ordain ministers, install pastors, and start up, close, and approve relocating a congregation) and from the bottom up (e.g., the moderator and officers are not appointed from above but are rather elected by and from among the members of the assembly). Brilliant. This theory of governance was developed in Geneva under John Calvin and was introduced to Scotland by John Knox. Presbyterians view this method of government as approximating that of the New Testament and earliest churches. In our church, deacons exercise responsibility for practical matters of the building and grounds and administer the welfare matters of the congregation. Members who are in need are helped by the deacons. These men are the faith in action team.
The other day I mentioned the story of Billy Graham going to see the dying Steve McQueen and that truly is a great story. But the even better part of all that was how the flight instructor over time converted the questioning Steve into a “born again” Christian. I know quite a few people like that flight instructor now–“ordinary” men who take Mark 16:15 very seriously in their daily lives. One such guy is Bill who was an executive at some big engineering firm. He is a piano-tuner now (in retirement) and he evangelizes quietly everywhere he goes, just talking to people. He is not ashamed of the Gospel. No sir. He sees it as his duty to spread the Word.
The Billy Grahams of this world are wonderful, but it is the Bills among us who do the real work where the rubber meets the actual road.
And here’s a song for Monday–the great Mark Knopfler singing the great Bob Dylan:
Oh, a false clock tries to tick out my time To disgrace, distract and bother me And the dirt of gossip blows into my face And the dust of rumors covers me
[Chorus] But if the arrow is straight and the point is slick It can pierce through dust no matter how thick So I’ll make my stand and remain as I am And bid farewell and not give a damn
(Meanwhile we made it to the prairie–where it has turned cold and even snowy!–and we went to church where daughter #2 and the girls became members along with a dozen others.)
We are surrounded by God’s benefits. The best use of these benefits is an unceasing expression of gratitude. –John Calvin
dual personalities 