I had a very quiet weekend–which I needed after a very busy month of July and first week of August. I watched an online auction and went to one estate sale where the basement was like a time capsule–red linoleum floor, pine paneling and glass block bar–where, I have no doubt, many good times were had back in the day. I hope they don’t tear down the house, but that is the current modus operandi.
On Sunday I went to church, but I didn’t stay for adult ed because I was feeling like I was in a DayQuil funk. (Yes, I have been fighting off a summer cold.) I went home and took a nap.
I caught up with daughter #2 on the phone. I did a little stitching…
…I read a little…
I am ready to face the week ahead.
Our restless spirits yearn for Thee, where’er our changeful lot is cast; glad when Thy gracious smile we see, blest when our faith can hold Thee fast.
–Bernard of Clairvaux, c. 1150 (tr. Ray Palmer, 1858)
Good morning, readers! It’s Friday! And the last day of July! I have been busy all week getting ready for the arrival of daughter #2 and her sweet family tomorrow. They will joyously descend on my house and chaos will ensue.
Can’t wait to see everyone!
We have tentative plans to do many fun things, but rain is in the forecast all weekend, so we may have to adjust accordingly. C’est la vie!
And in case you have been wondering what the secret to a happy life is, here is Charles Spurgeon’s excellent explanation. “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” (Ps. 16:8)
Quelle weekend! Daughter #1 and I had a great roadtrip to Sedalia, MO on Friday. We stopped in Jeff City to do a little shopping (!) and go to Central Dairy for ice cream.
Then we proceeded on to Sedalia. On the way, we drove through Tipton and saw the giant Eight Ball, which is being painted and it looks like a scary spider is on top…
In Sedalia we checked into the historic Hotel Bothwell.
We sat outside for wine time and dinner.
In the morning we looked out our 7th floor window and there was a small crowd gathering in front of the Courthouse next door. Some people had signs and I thought–what, are they protesting?! Then I noticed the sheriff, who in dress and demeanor reminded me of Jackie Gleason as Buford T. Justice in Smokey and the Bandit. We ruminated on this situation for awhile and then we noticed all the cars on the block were from the seventies or before.
Well, we wondered, are they filming a movie here?! That might explain why the movie theater marquee was advertising Jaws! Also, the street was blocked off and what we thought was a street fair setting up was probably not. We googled “Smokey and the Bandit remake”. Sure enough, there is a new series for Netflix, which is intended to be a prequel to Smokey and the Bandit, which follows “the larger‑than‑life Sheriff Buford T. Justice and his loyal (if not always sharp) son Junior back home in Montague County, Texas.” The town of Sedalia will stand in for Montague County, Texas – home to Sheriff Justice. The show’s producers said they chose Sedalia because the “region’s look and spirit perfectly capture the world of Sheriff Justice” (a back-handed compliment methinks) and that they intend to showcase the town’s “character, charm and unmistakable Americana.”
When we asked at the front desk about it, everyone was very chill about the whole thing. Well, I guess those tax incentives for MO film-making are paying off.
After we checked out the scene outside, we went to our DAR leadership conference which was held at a nice church and where all the ladies looked like me or older. I sat with someone I have known since high school days–we even went to Smith together. It was very pleasant. We saw the Katy Depot and the Missouri State Fair Grounds on the way out of town.
We took the scenic route home in the afternoon.
Anyway, the moral of this story is, you don’t always have to go to some exotic place to have a fun time! Explore your home state!
On the way home, we stopped in Wildwood to pick up Mr. Smith who, it turns out, had a very fun time with the twins, who ran him ragged (literally).
He was a big hit at the farmer’s market…
…where he got his first pup cup…
Everyone was very tired when they got home.
On Sunday morning I headed to church where I was treated to the men’s ensemble singing “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” at the Offertory. How wonderful to hear the men’s voices! Also there was a good sermon on Psalm 34 (The Lord saves; we cannot save ourselves) and a wonderful adult ed class on Prayer as Encounter with God, led by our Associate Pastor. Church is such an uplifting experience every week!
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
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)
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.”
Happy belated Father’s Day to all the good fathers out there!
Good fathers are a blessing and should never be undervalued.
I had a busy weekend as usual, starting on Thursday. Lots of fun stuff and good friends. This balances out with the beginning of my summertime weeks when I mostly stay home and work around the house. This works for me. The best part about being retired is having my Mondays back.
I went to church by myself on Sunday where we sang “Behold Our God”, “How Great Thou Art” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”–as you can imagine, I was a mess by the end of the service. Our Music Director also sang this song at the Offertory with a teenage boy from the congregation which was likewise great:
It was a two-Kleenex service to be sure. The sermon on Psalm 29 (God’s voice is like thunder!) was excellent. Our adult ed class on Prayer was also excellent. The young men (mostly seminary students) who have led this class are impressive and give me hope for the future.
I would not miss church for anything.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.
–Isaac Watts, 1707
Yesterday was also the Summer Solstice–the days will start getting shorter now!
How was your weekend? We had a very stormy Thursday here in flyover country.
You may have heard–tornados in Illinois and Indiana! DN sent this scary video he took from their backyard deck:
But it was a beautiful sunshiney, low-humidity day on Friday and we took advantage of it.
In the morning I went to an estate sale and got a new/old garden ornament…
I went down to the Link Auction Galleries and picked up the painting I won last weekend. Then I picked up lunch at Straub’s (chicken salad) and headed to daughter #1’s house. From there we went to her pool and sat out in the sun for a couple of hours. Then we headed out to Wildwood where the boy bbq-ed smashburgers and we indulged in daughter #3’s guacamole (from DN’s famous recipe). I was fairly exhausted by the time I got home!
Saturday was dark and intermittently rainy so I took that as a sign to stay home and take it easy. Mr. Smith did get a shampoo that afternoon and afterward he and daughter #1 came over to my house for a visit and a glass of wine. He kept watch while we talked. It’s his job and he takes it seriously.
I went to church on Sunday and heard a good sermon on Psalm 28—The Lord is my strength and my shield! We sang great hymns and I held it together until the last verse of the communion hymn–c’est la vie. We continued studying Tim Keller’s book on prayer in our adult ed class–excellent. Afterwards I went to Trader Joe’s to stock up for the week. Onward!
In other news, Katie lost her first tooth…
…and the boy shared this video of the National Anthem at the soccer game on Friday night–pretty cool:
That’s Dan and Shay (country artists) and, yes, that was Tom Cruise singing with his hand on his heart standing next to handsome David Beckham! I may have to watch some soccer.
P.S. Keep daughter #1 in your prayers this week as she is helping with her church’s VBS–every evening after work! They do get dinner, but, wow! That’s dedication.
How was your weekend? Mine was pretty quiet and it was off-and-on rainy but c’est la vie. I did make it to my local electronics recycling event where I dropped off an old microwave and a printer. I felt such a sense of accomplishment! I stopped at the grocery store on the way back and made it home before 8:30 a.m.!
Later in the day I took a trip down to Ted Drewes (in the rain) for some frozen custard. Quelle treat! (I deserved it!)
As usual, I went to church with the boy and the twins, who are out of school and fourth graders now. We heard a good sermon on the end of the book of Joshua (Joshua 24: 1-33).
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15)
There is nothing you can do to save yourself. Only God can do that. So put away the foreign gods, and serve the Lord. Excellent exegesis by our pastor and we sang good hymns including “It Is Well With My Soul”. Adult Sunday School is one big class on prayer in the fellowship hall for the next six weeks. It was so good! It is based on Tim Keller’s book Prayer, which I have and will now re-read. As a recovering Episcopalian, this is all so life-changing. Everything makes me want to cry.
In the afternoon daughter #1 and I went to Lottie’s dance recital which was, as always, very special.
Another highlight of my weekend was daughter #2 sending me a video of 3-year old Ida singing her rendition of Jamie MacDonald’s song “Left It In the River”, while accompanying herself on the xylophone. Here’s Jamie singing Ida’s new favorite song:
dual personalities 