How was your weekend? Mine was quiet, but there were donuts on my birthday.
It was good to be back in church after missing last weekend. We had a really good sermon from a guest preacher on John 21:1-17 and we started a new Sunday School class on stories as apologetics.
Daughter #1 returned from a quick trip to Florida and she hosted the family for my birthday on Sunday afternoon for happy hour and ice cream cake.
We walked to the neighborhood park where the twins frolicked and Mr. Smith kept watch.
He conked out early after his busy day…
…and so did I.
This is a good article about losing loved ones and having regrets, in which the author includes this wonderful quote from Jonathan Edwards:
In every heart in heaven, love dwells and reigns. The heart of God is the original seat or subject of love. Divine love is in him…from God, love flows out toward all the inhabitants of heaven…the angels and saints all love each other. All the members of the glorious society of heaven are sincerely united. There is not a single secret or open enemy among them all. Not a heart is there that is not full of love, and not a solitary inhabitant that is not beloved by all the others. And as all are lovely, so all see each other’s loveliness with full complacence and delight. Every soul goes out in love to every other; and among all the blessed inhabitants, love is mutual, and full, and eternal.
The OM and I made it Mahomet and back again–an easy peasy drive across the Illinois prairie.
We had absolutely fabulous weather–beautiful blue skies and not too windy.
We celebrated a couple of birthdays and walked around the neighborhood. We drove through the lovely Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve along the corridor of the Sangamon River, which is practically next door to daughter #1’s house. I am looking forward to visiting the Museum of the Grand Prairie on a future visit. We had dinner in Champaign, but mostly we did a lot of sitting outside, soaking up and frolicking in the sun.
Say cheese! Photogenic ladies
Unfortunately the boy was not around to take wonderful blog photos, so this is the best I can do. I didn’t even get a picture of the birthday girl. C’est la vie.
We had a wonderful time, but you know I’m always happy to cross the river and see the Arch and come home.
I watched the Masters Sunday afternoon. Scottie won! (And Ida got a popsicle!)
And here’s this to start your week off right:
My Shepherd will supply my need: Jehovah is His Name; In pastures fresh He makes me feed, Beside the living stream. He brings my wandering spirit back When I forsake His ways, And leads me, for His mercy’s sake, In paths of truth and grace.
When I walk through the shades of death His presence is my stay; One word of His supporting grace Drives all my fears away. His hand, in sight of all my foes, Doth still my table spread; My cup with blessings overflows, His oil anoints my head.
The sure provisions of my God Attend me all my days; O may Thy house be my abode, And all my work be praise. There would I find a settled rest, While others go and come; No more a stranger, nor a guest, But like a child at home.
How was your weekend? Mine was a quiet one, mostly spent hanging out at home. Although it was chilly, we could sit out on the patio and soak up some vitamin D on Saturday.
I went to a few estate sales and picked up two books.
I am reading the Keegan now and really enjoying it. I am no scholar, but I find it accessible and readable. And I love reading about all those guys, especially my heroes: Grant and Sherman.
There is much to be learned from them.
Church was held outside on Sunday morning and luckily it was not raining, although it was chilly, overcast and windy. I dressed appropriately and I enjoyed it. We started a new sermon series on Paul’s letter to Titus, having finished the gospel of Mark, and our new young (29 years old) lead pastor gave a good sermon. He does not cut and paste from the internet, but gives a good exegesis of the text, in this case Titus 1:1-4. Stonewall Jackson would have approved–it was all about the doctrine of election.
Meanwhile Anne “enjoyed the astonishing delight of getting to see my name in Not the Bee underneath the Andrew Walker tweet that went viral.” Take heart, not all the news is terrible. As the Bee says:
We’re here, and we’re fine.
Growing up Baptist and going to VBS didn’t hurt anyone.
There’s no book because this is how normal, well-adjusted, salt-of-the-earth Christian men and women are raised. Nothing is extraordinary about this story. And that’s the point – God uses the weak and mundane and insignificant things in the world’s eyes to shame the things that the world considers #StunningAndBrave.
Amen, brother.
The young bud played in his first lacrosse game and was, by all accounts, a scrappy competitor.
*And here’s a blast from the past which has new meaning for us since Decatur is just up the road now from daughter # 2 et famille.
I am told it is Katie’s favorite song right now and she always sings along to the line, “Sangamon river it overflowed.”
How was your Easter weekend? We had our whole family together so it was joyous, if not sometimes a bit overwhelming. I mean seven adults, four children under seven, and a small dog. I am very grateful.
On Saturday daughter #2 and famille arrived and we hung out with daughter #1 and Mr. Smith.
On Easter we all met at church. Lottie and the bud set an excellent example of non-depraved behavior for Katie and Ida in their first visit to church. On their way out of town, daughter #2 texted me Katie’s comment about church:
The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear, (Act 15:21; Rev 1:3); the sound preaching, (2Ti 4:2); and conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God, with understanding, faith, and reverence, (Jam 1:22; Act 10:33; Mat 13:19; Hbr 4:2; Isa 66:2); singing of psalms with grace in the heart, (Col 3:16; Eph 5:19; Jam 5:13); as also, the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ, are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God, (Mat 28:19; 1Co 11:23-29; Act 2:42):
–The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter XXI. 0f religious worship, and the sabbath day
She’s got it, man.
We all reconvened back at our house for pork tenderloin, Presbyterian souffle, salad, and crescent rolls. I prepared them ahead of time and daughter #1, who went to the early service at her church, came over and put everything in the oven, so it was ready when we came home. Teamwork.
No fuss, not much muss. If a menu works, I stick to it.
And, of course, we had an Easter egg hunt.
I washed dishes after everyone went home. And I felt like Ida who practically fell asleep going down the driveway.
Happy Monday! Happy April!
And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
How was your Palm Sunday? The little kids from the Covenant School sang in church and it is always a treat to see them expressing the joy, joy, joy, joy down in their hearts. They processed around the sanctuary with palms and we all sang “All Glory, Laud and Honor”.
We finished up our class on the Westminster Confession and I was happy to hear we will be moving forward with more installments (33 chapters!)
God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; He alone is the foundation of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom, are all things; and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever Himself pleaseth.
Amen, brother.
We didn’t have brunch or driveway sittin’ time because the wee bud has lacrosse now on Sundays. Our schedule has changed for the duration, but I can’t complain as the twins are still coming to church/Sunday School. C’est la vie.
Lottie plays on Thursdays.
It struck me recently that I must be very weird (and my entire family) because a) we watch old movies and b) we watch them over and over. I guess most people do not. When the subject of leprosy came up in my Bible study group I reminded everyone how it is a theme in Ben Hur and I got a lot of blank looks. I suggested everyone watch it at Easter. Of course, we watched Ben Hur (1959) once again this weekend and it was great! No computer-generated action scenes. All real.
I ask you, what actors nowadays could be trained/would be willing to drive a chariot? And carry off all the dramatic scenes as well?
Well, for me, the redemption of Judah Ben Hur is still quite powerful after multiple viewings: “And I felt his voice take the sword out of my hand.”
I finished cleaning up the Florida room and started getting ready for next weekend when daughter #2 and DN et al will visit. Hopefully everyone will be well (Ida has an ear infection) and we will be all set for egg hunts and family worship.
Have a good week. Watch an old movie, re-read an old book, call an old friend. Thank God for His mercies which are new every day.
Well, I survived 2 nights/3 days with Mr. Smith and rather enjoyed having the little fellow visit. I talked to more neighbors than in a month of Sundays! Nevertheless, I was relieved to see see him go home with daughter #1 when she arrived from her visit to Illinois!
I forgot it was St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday and went to church wearing a green silk jacket (I thought it looked appropriately springy). Zut alors! I do not as a rule wear green on St. Patrick’s Day! My red-haired Scottish friend Moira, who sits behind me in church, called me on it immediately. (Her husband was wearing an orange tie.) I said, “I forgot what day it is!” Well, I have some Ulster-Scots ancestors, so sue me.
After church the boy dropped by unexpectedly with the twins, who had been hiking in Castlewood State Park. (They are camping at home tonight because the temperature is dropping precipitously–thus the change of plans.)
I was glad to see them, although I had no special Sunday food to share. We snacked on Honey Nut Cheerios. When they left I think they were headed for Uncle Bill’s diner–Mom is out of town.
Daughter #1 came over in the afternoon after her busy day and we watched The Quiet Man–wonderful.
And here’s a new song* from Steve Martin to get your blood pumpin’ on Monday!
It was a quiet weekend, mostly because it was a busy week punctuated by several visits to MoBap for routine appointments. We also spent eight hours there on Thursday while the OM had an ICD–an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator–implanted. Fun city.
Meanwhile I am through with my semi-annual cancer checks (until September) and an infusion etc. Onward and upward.
In Sunday School we continued with the Westminster Confession and I cannot tell you how much I enjoy this class. The boy is in agreement. Such a smart class!
All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.
We are almost finished with chapter one!
We had a baptism in church–the fifth child in a family, who did not make a peep through the whole thing. I was impressed. As the elder walked her down the aisle, the congregation sang Jesus Loves Me and the twins chimed in with gusto. Once again they got an A for non-depraved behavior.
After church we went home for quiche and fruit salad and jelly beans, of which they ate plenty.
It was too cold for driveway sittin’ so the twins played with Legos while the grown-ups talked. Lovely. After everyone left, I watched some PGA–Scottie Scheffler won!–and took an unintended nap.
I didn’t watch the Academy Awards last night (of course). Instead I watched True Grit (1969), starring John Wayne in his Oscar-winning performance. It was a very good choice! Here’s his acceptance speech: humble and grateful.
And here is some news we can all use: good advice on how not to be a grumpy old woman. “It is good to give sober thought to the fact that life is short, and if we hope to finish well, we must intend to finish well.”
A quiet weekend by some standards, but one filled with low key blessings and great weather.
Everything is starting to pop!
At church we had a guest preacher who also played the guitar, accompanied by piano and…harmonica! I have to say I didn’t hate it. The congregation sang with gusto. The twins got an A for non-depraved behavior. They have really crossed a line in general maturity. When I was talking to the head of the Sunday School on Thursday, she said the boy is the friendliest boy there and that Lottie is a real thinker. I concurred. I said that if you asked the twins what they learned in Sunday School, Lottie could tell you in detail and the boy says, “We had fun.”
After church we headed to our house where, after bagels and bacon and handfuls of jelly beans, we indulged in some driveway sittin’ with Mr. Smith.
Meanwhile Ida caught up on reading my article about Alphonse Smith, Kirkwood’s greatest athlete, in the latest edition of the Kirkwood Historical review.
This will be a busy week. Here’s some Dolly to help get us through.
Sit in the sun if you can. Pet a nice dog. Read some history. Rock on.
We had a warm, sunny weekend–quite a contrast with last weekend’s snowstorm. Everyone was out and about.
The Kirkwood Historical Society, on whose board I serve–note the official KHS quarter-zip–had their Trivia Night on Friday. It was a packed house at our old church and very festive. My team only had 5 players (compared to eight) but we managed to tie for first place. But we lost the tie breaker. Quel dommage.
Saturday I got up early to do the flowers at church. I think they turned out all right.
Then daughter #1 and I went to an estate sale and to the antique mall. We exhausted ourselves–well, I did–browsing, so we had a margarita in downtown Kirkwood and shared a quesadilla. Good times.
After watching golf/napping, the OM and I watched Night at the Museum (2006), because, after writing the Pop Quiz on U.S. Presidents in the movies last week, I wanted to see Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt again. He plays it very straight and with dignity.
I enjoyed the movie, mostly because it has no political agenda beyond emphasizing that history is, indeed, interesting. Also Mickey Rooney is truly hilarious. (“Are you crackin’ wise? I oughta punch you in the nose, Hopscotch.”) Of course, it’s ironic that since then they have removed the iconic equestrian statue of T.R. that stood for so long in front of the Museum of Natural History in NYC. I will spare you my thoughts on this.
In Sunday School we are starting a new session on the Westminster Confession of Faith, which I love. In our first class we got through one paragraph of Chapter One. Systematic theology! ❤️❤️❤️ The twins are great in church. They can say the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer and most of the Corporate Confession of Sin. They know the Doxology. This makes me very happy and I know the boy is proud of them. Lottie asked if she could bring her bulletin home.
After church we headed over to daughter #1’s house for brunch with Presbyterian Souffle. It was warm enough to frolic in the back yard with Mr. Smith and then walk up to Jackson Park and play on the playground.
Mr. Smith was living his best life.
Later that evening I ventured back to church for the Westminster Christian Academy touring ensemble concert. During spring break they are taking their show on the road–to Eastern Europe!–so this was practice for them. It brought me back to those days of yore when I sang in my high school choir and the boy sang in his high school choir. They sang at daughter #1’s church Sunday morning and she warned me that everyone was reaching for their Kleenex, but, verily, by the end of the concert I was a puddle of tears. What can I say?
And here’s Ida trying to decide which of my vintage Golden Books to read…
I can tell she’s leaning toward Sal Mineo in Tonka, but I know The Brave Little Tailor is a super fun and action-packed read. I read it to Katie when she was here a few weeks ago.
Have a good week! Embrace the simple pleasures in your life and be grateful for them. The blue sky, old movies, smart kids, small dogs, music, and Golden Books.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight; Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight; Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower: Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Friday we got several inches of snow. Plans were canceled.
But the sun came out on Saturday and we were back in action, venturing to an estate sale and even Costco with daughter #1.
On Sunday we went to church and during the adult ed hour heard from two of our missionaries, one in Mexico and one in Connecticut. I find it fascinating that Connecticut (and New England in general) is a mission field. But with 5% of people attending church, it really is.
I made a new breakfast casserole which incorporated bagels, eggs, bacon, cheese. The consensus was positive, so I will make it again. The twins had fun frolicking with Mr. Smith, whom they had not seen in several weeks. “Smitty!”
dual personalities 