A sluggish start

This is one of those days that makes me want to hide behind a spiffy quote. Thinking of something interesting to say takes mucho effort. Writing in a readable format eludes me. How's that for an opening paragraph?

... Okay, moving on ...

Still going to exercise class. Sometimes after class I talk to ladies when the opportunity presents itself. Tonight one older lady mentioned that she was going home to an empty house. She seemed kinda lonely. I want to pray for her.

The three kids have gone to a basketball game so I'm here alone for a few minutes. Soon I will meet with a friend and her daughters to study the bible and spend some time getting to know each other. We're going to try to get together every Tuesday night.

Tomorrow, Wednesday night, home Bible study groups will meet. That means that we will clean, clean, clean tomorrow. Looking forward to that. The study group that is. And actually the cleaning too.

Talked to my dear friend, Megan, from Texas today. Sure miss her.

Let's see, what else. Oh, if you want to keep up with Josh, the blog he posts every week shows up on Monday morning.

The kids' orchestra performed this past Saturday. Poor Amy had to rush to the 1 pm concert after having taken the SAT in another town that morning. We were late, but she only missed playing in the 1st movement of the 1st piece.

Here's a video of them.

I can't concentrate because Mr. P (Pres. Bush) is speeching. Guess I better go so I can give him my full attention.

Quotes from my day

Here's my day through a snippet of quotes I happened upon.

First thing this morning in my private devotions, I read a quote from the prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon, on the authorship of Psalm 51:
"It is a marvel, but nevertheless a fact, that writers have been found to deny David's authorship of this Psalm, but their objections are frivolous; the Psalm is David-like all over. It would be far easier to imitate Milton, Shakespeare, or Tennyson, than David. His style is altogether sui generis (the person, himself), and it is as easily distinguishable as the touch of Rafael or the coloring of Rubens."

Later at my a.m. Latin II class, here's the most profound quote that sprang forth from my mouth during the lecture:
"If you want to remember the Roman numerals pertaining to the number five, just hold up the five fingers of your hand with your thumb extended forming the shape of a "V" for a 5; then hold them in an "L" for 50; then with the help of your other hand hold them up in a "D" for 500."

I found this one as I searched for just the right quote to jot in a letter I was writing to Josh today. It was spoken by Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill in a radio broadcast in reference to Russia:
"I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."

And finally I leave you with the most unique quote I encountered today and my personal favorite. This quote which was lifted off of the 47th Pea's blog comments was inscribed by the illustrious Ulgramar:
"Thou villian! Thou swine-hearted foul! Thou mammering, onion-eyed lout! Thou disgrace to thy mother's household and thine father's people! Wherefor didst thou take mine belovedest Helfrega? Time cannot count the swiftness of mine journey to fetch and redeem my love."

Phone call to South Africa

The latest on Josh:
A little while ago, I called a cell phone number Josh gave me for the man in charge of the archaeology project he'll be working on. The man, who sounded like he was an Australian, put him on the phone and Joshua told me that after he landed safely in Johannesburg, he took a taxi to a bus station and took a five hour bus ride north to the little town where he met his contact person. I know he must be tired after that very long journey from Indianapolis, to Chicago, to London, to Johannesburg, to the little town, and finally to the wilderness area where he will spend the next four weeks.

I'm just so thankful that the Lord watched over him every step of the way and he's there now.

Thanks for your continued prayer on his behalf.

Drink more coffee from smiley mugs

Poor Ben. He broke his big toe last week. I tried to get him to prop it up quite a bit this weekend which he did mostly. That gave him the opportunity to play ancient Nintendo games he and his dad rustled up from some dark corner of the globe. Yes, it brought back fond memories to hear the tunes from the old Mario, Pro Wrestler, and that game where you rescue the POW's (I can't recall the name.) This week he'll have to return to more lowly pursuits like chores and schoolwork.

Ben, Amy and I went to a basketball game on Friday night between our homeschool team and another one. We watched our pastor's sons playing for the Jr. High and High School teams. I had a great time watching Trevor and Jamey play. It was just fun hanging out with Miriam (their mom) and cheering them on. Their grandparents were also there and Celia, of course. For more on her see her dad's blog.

When we stepped outside it was C-C-COLD! I must admit at times when the temperature drops that much, ::let me put this delicately:: shall we say, I am not quite as happy as I could be.

Yesterday (Sunday) was a very special day. The young adults who attended the college winter conference at a nearby campground came to our church for services and lunch afterwards. Our congregation had been looking forward to having this group for quite a while and the ladies of the church were out in full force to provide a large spread for everyone. These ladies really do an excellent job of planning, coordinating and pulling off a meal for a large crowd (over 200 people including our church body). We have some great cooks here and we eat together basically every week either for lunch or for dinner on Sundays so these ladies have a lot of experience serving food. I love to work alongside them.

This Sabbath was also special because one of the men that Robert discipled joined our church and was baptized. Greg stood up and read his testimony of God's deliverance in his life and spoke of the Lord's gracious dealing to him through Robert Jones. It was very touching. Greg's mom, dad, step-mom, sister, nieces and nephew were there to share his special day.

We also said a formal, church wide good-bye to the son of one of our elders. Brandon Fisher, his wife, Megan, and their baby daughter will be moving to Australia in a couple of week. Brandon will take a regular job so that he and his family can attend a small RP church, and be an encouragement for the kingdom of Christ as a Christian family living in a largely secular society. They have a burden very much like ours for Scotland except that my husband is called to be a pastor. I have the highest respect for any Christian family who will move anywhere because they want to further Christ’s kingdom.

It was fabulous to see so many familiar faces in the college crowd last Sunday. The funny thing is that I'm getting to know many of them in blogsphere. I did a double take at one guy and said to him, "Hey, I know you, you're the Shock Box." He grinned. I found out his real name is Christopher (I think.) The world grows smaller and friendlier everyday.

Speaking of friendlier, here's a picture of two mugs given to me by one of my Latin/English Grammar students (my good little friend Sidney Camery). Now isn't that just cuteness in cup form?

Drink more coffee

Guess what our family did yesterday?








Had sandwiches and coffee at a local establishment.

Much to my family's dismay and to your delight, I brought along the camera.

Our friend, Jason Camery, happened to be eating lunch in the same restaurant and joined us. I appoligize for not having any photos of Jason, but I'm not in the habit of shooting pictures of folks while they eat. On the other hand, I have been known to photograph my family while they eat. Photographing someone while they eat would be frowned upon by society, and I would risk losing friends by doing so, but my family can't kick me out and must therefore put up with me - hee, hee.

For the record, Ben took this photo.











The cafe was comfy - decorated in classic ease. My kind of surroundings.
















The latest news is that Candace and Josh are gone to a college winter church conference this weekend.

This morning, Robert has gone with Barry and Jason to serve as speakers for the conference.

I haven't seen Ben or Amy yet this morning.

I have many things I'd like to accomplish this day, but am still in my pj's armed with many good intentions.














It's hard to let the reality soak in that Josh will board a plane on Tuesday which will cross the Atlantic to London, then will cross the entire African continent to land in Johannesburg, the largest city of South Africa. There he will help an archaeological team catalog artifacts and such.

I know Josh is up to this trip. I've recently seen how he gets along with new people and handles himself in new surroundings as he takes care of business. I guess my greatest concern is for his health. I don't want him to catch a bug and get sick. I've been quite a pest about his taking some malaria prevention pills.

Keep telling me, "Don't worry, he'll be fine. He'll be fine."

Our family sang Psalm 121 yesterday and the words were so wonderfully applicable to comfort me as I think of Josh's upcoming trip to the mountains of South Africa. Here are the words:

I to the hills will lift my eyes. From whence shall come my aid?
My safety cometh from the Lord Who heav'n and earth has made.
Thy foot He'll not let slide, nor will He slumber that thee keeps.
Lo, He that keepeth Israel, He slumbers not nor sleeps.
The Lord thee keeps; the Lord thy shade on thy right hand doth stay:
The moon by night thee shall not smite, nor yet the sun by day.
The Lord shall keep thee from all ill; He shall preserve thy soul.
The Lord as thou shalt go and come forever keeps thee whole.

Quotes in my head

To keep the Word of God before my eyes so it can seep into my mind and richly dwell there is one of my goals. Of course daily life (and my handling of it) always threatens to cast it into oblivion. But there lies the battle.

There's no substitution for the pure milk of the Word being worked into a life.

Recently I've had two lyrical quotes floating in my brain that aren't from Scripture, but are still edifying.


First one is:
"When you get what you want, but not what you need."

When I desire things that aren't good for me, doesn't God let me sometimes have those things?
In that way, doesn't He teach me what is really good for me?
In that way, doesn't He change my desires to match what I need?


And the second one is:
"You're the only chance I'll take."

Christ,
the Wonderful Counselor,
the Lord of lords,
the Door,
the Way,
the Truth,
the Life.

Who is this person?

Who always cleans the kitchen like a whirlwind just because it needs to be done?

Who keeps the laundry going?

Who keeps me on track?

Who listens to my rambling brainstorms about menu planning?

Who does periodical redecorating?

Who wraps presents, makes cards, and makes sure thank-you notes go out?

Who has a flare for color?

Who makes people feel comfortable?

Who bakes desserts?

Who responds to questions by singing a line from a Broadway song?

Who puts into writing the realities the rest of us have never thought?

You tell me.

Friends, food, Lizzy and Darcy

Picture this -

8 ladies are gathered in one house;

one cute little dog is also present;

salad is tossed;

garlic bread is heated;

manicotti is dined upon;

the first half of Pride and Prejudice, the long version, is watched;

and a delightful little dessert made of a chocolate brownie type substance topped with ice cream and warm chocolate syrup is served.

Note the following:

I suppose this type of female activity is this synonymous with the guys getting together to watch the game.

::Thought interrupts:: Although I must admit a tinge of disappointment because I was not able to watch the Longhorns beat that team from Californy the other night. Oh well, at least I did get to see Lizzy and Mr. Collins banter back and forth. ::Attention turns back to blog::

Fun times from last night.

Candace called from the Grand Canyon a couple of days ago. Good to talk to her, happy she was looking at some of the same places we explored together as a family, wish I could have been there too. She has related through phone calls and text messages that the weeks in Phoenix are flying by and they are chalked full of meaningful experiences. Look forward to hearing all about it on Monday when I pick her up from the airport.

Last week I asked Josh to investigate what kind of preventive medicine he would need before going to South Africa. Then I talked to doctors for more confirmation. Then Rob talked to our doctor in Texas for further confirmation. I feel more relaxed having a consensus of what pills Josh needs to bring to stay healthy while there. It's a mom thing. He now has his plane tickets. He will actually fly from Indy to Chicago (I think), then to a nine hour layover in London, before the last leg to Johannesburg. Humm, wonder what he'll do with a nine hour wait in London? Sounds inviting!

Rob spent a lot of time this week emailing and talking to movers on the phone about how to get us and our stuff to Scotland. All I can say is that I'm extremely happy that he usually handles that type of stuff. Not my cup of tea. He preaches tomorrow morning so please remember him in your prayers.

I'll save the latest news about what's going on with Amy and Ben for another post.

That's all for now. Bye, bye.

Need some good New Year's resolutions?

Last Sunday our Pastor preached a sermon which included "five ways to order your life." As I took notes, the Lord instantly applied them deep in my heart. On Sunday afternoon as I looked over my notes again, I re-wrote these five points in the front of my bible as five resolutions.

Here's what I wrote.

Five ways to order your life:
1) Be in His word and prayer daily. The soul that isn't fed daily is a dying soul.
2) Arise in the morning and go to bed in the evening.
3) Realize that a week consists of 7 days and rest on the 7th day.
4) Put away the deeds of the darkness and put on the light of Jesus Christ.
5) Wherever you are, remain there, and do what you are doing faithfully.

These little sentences in my bible are not the most clear or best stuctured sentences I've ever read in my life, but the thoughts they convey are striking to me. I've made them my own and have thought about them many times since Sunday. I'm glad I have them written down there so I can go back and bring to mind my five resolutions for this year.

These points aren't a "to-do" list or 5 steps to happiness. They are simply means that call my attention to Christ. He's my Help and Sustainer and the Lifter of my head.

Happy New Year. May the Lord grant His grace to you through His Son, Jesus Christ.