Full circle

Seasons come and go.

We share the bond of Christian love and respect with the Airdrie congregation. We love this place and the Airdrie RP people. They know as long as we are here we will gladly co-labor with them for Christ's kingdom, but it turns out that our time in Scotland is going to be brief.

Through a series of confirming circumstances, we have come to realize that our time in Scotland is coming to an end. Soon we will move back to Kokomo, Indiana. We came with hopes to settle for long-term ministry, but God knows best and has seen fit to closed this door.

We also dearly love the Kokomo RP people. In response to the announcement of our return a dear friend wrote me an encouraging note with this verse from Joshua 1:9,

Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous!
do not tremble or be dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Wow, that blew me away! God is truly good and faithful.


Then this past Monday when the movers came to take our boxes, Robert read these words in our morning family worship from Spurgeon's book, Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith:

Rest in All Thy Goings

"And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. (Exodus 33:14)

recious promise! Lord, enable me to appropriate it as all my own.

We must go at certain times from our abode, for here we have no continuing city. It often happens that when we feel most at home in a place, we are suddenly called away from it. Here is the antidote for this ill. The Lord Himself will keep us company. His presence, which includes His favor, His fellowship, His care, and His power, shall be ever with us in every one of our marchings. This means far more than it says; for, in fact, it means all things. If we have God present with us, we have possession of heaven and earth. Go with me, Lord, and then command me where Thou wilt!

But we hope to find a place of rest. The text promises it. We are to have rest of God's own giving, making, and preserving. His presence will cause us to rest even when we are on the march, yea, even in the midst of battle. Rest! Thrice blessed word. Can it ever be enjoyed by mortals? Yes, there is the promise, and by faith we plead it. Rest comes from the Comforter, from the Prince of Peace, and from the glorious Father who rested on the seventh day from all His works. To be with God is to rest in the most emphatic sense."

We drew a great solace from these words. It's strange and wonderful to watch our path unfold in front of us trusting in the good judgment of our Heavenly Father.

Ode to the Thanksgiving Squash of Scotland

O behold

-----the Thanksgiving Squash of Scotland.

O lovely squash

-----you remained

----------undiscovered

---------------nestled among the other produce.

You spoke to me

-----and bid me buy you.

Some aspect of your unique appearance

-----awed and baffled the ASDA checker;

----------she fumbled in your radiant presence.

If only they knew, others would desire you,

-----but you came to me, my precious.

Soon your worth shall be known to all,

-----suspended for all time in these lines.

All will know too late that you belong with me,

-----O Scottish Squash,

----------in my home,

---------------in my heart,

--------------------'til death.

Ronald Reagan is nice and all but ...

we must go on with our lives.

My life is routinified - it keeps me sane. Something like this:

• Up at 7 (except today - up a 5:30) private devos (except that I sing a Psalm with Candace usually),
• 7:30 - A & B wander downstairs for a psalm and prayer with mom and kids then we read art history,
• 8 - make breakfast and eat at 8:30,
• 9 - see Rob off and read Conceptual Physics,
• 10 - do one or a combination of yoga, pilates, exercise bike, discuss Aristotle with Amy, think about meals, pay bills, make deals,
• 11 - study Euro history with Ben,
• 12 - Lunch (of course),
• 1 - Some days it's lovely Eng. Language lectures some days it's Eng. Lit.
• 2-3 Papers to grade, lesson plans to revise, usually some detail to research - you know the business.
  

After that, more stuff to do like look out the window for sun sightings. And oh yeah, laundry.

Ronald Reagan

It's always nice to hear a little Reagan rhetoric. He's a classic!



Memorable quotes from President Ronald Reagan.

"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

"I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandment's would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress."

"The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination."

"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving,subsidize it."

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book."

"No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.

- Ronald Reagan

I saw Billy Boyd (Pippin) today

... we passed right by each other on a Glasgow street. Neither of us were wearing sunglasses or caps to hide our identities. And neither of us asked for the other's autograph.



Just two people playing it cool, passing on the street ...

I think we both turned around to confirm, but he pretended to look in a shop window and I just starred.

Life in 3-D

My sweet husband took me to an art gallery recently. We have taken our family to art galleries in the past, and as a group everyone is usually sensitive to everyone else as to how much time we spend in each room looking at art. Not too slow, not too fast. So when I mentioned to my husband that I had never gone to an art gallery and spent as much time as I like pausing to look at art, he promised to take me to the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh and let me linger as long as I like.

And I did. Meandering into a room, I ambled up to a painting, took it all in, slipped over to read the plaque, drew close to admire the brushwork, backed up to study the composition, and (if Robert happened to be standing close by) explained what I liked about it. Robert was completely patient; I was completely relaxed. It was great.

Of course, we had to visit the gift shop. You always do. Granted, prices are high, but browsing is cheap. I was in earnest search for a postcard with a painting of a more obscure artist when I happened upon something really cool in the kids' section. There I found cards of famous paintings that opened up into cylinders. You look into the cylinder through magnifying glasses on one side, and you see two parts of the painting on the other side. By looking into the cylinder, you could suddenly see a painting you've admired for years in 3-D. When Robert came into the gift shop from the coat room, he found me eagerly looking into each cylinder. I was like a little kid, and he humored me by looking into a few.

This morning I thought about that day and an analogy came to mind. It occurred to me that I keep expecting real life to be like a beautiful, flat painting. Limited in the comprehension of my surroundings, I tend to evaluate life in 2-D.

Oh sure, I study close and at a distance. I take in all sides. I read and talk to others for counsel, but I don't take into account that life doesn't happen in 2-D.

It's definitely 3-D; always on a path; always in motion; always changing.

I wish I could have one of those little paper cylinders that would give me a more acurate view of life. Better yet, I wish I could read my bible and pray and talk to Christian friends in 3-D. I don't want to miss out on the most accurate perspective.

But maybe it's just my eyes that need a little adjustment.

Still going nowhere

Author's Note: I wrote this post 2 days ago and "posted it" only to realize today that I had hit the "Save as Draft" button instead of "Publish Post" button. Silly me.

Back on the bike. I've been wanting an exercise bike for a couple of months. Seeing how they don't grow on trees, I've made it just fine w/o one. But now I'm riding and typing just like old times, because the Lord is so kind and good to me. Last week when Rob and I took Ben to take his PSAT at the International School of Aberdeen, we were walking around the parking lot and he spied a very nice exercise bike by the dumpster. Rob asked a nearby maintainance man if we could have the bike and the guy said, "Sure," (Or the guy probably said, "No bother, cheerio.") So we threw it in the back of the van, brought it home, and here I ride today, multi-tasking to my heart's content.

I sing and pray the Psalms using the Metrical Psalter as part of my private devotions every day. For several years now I've been working my way through all the Psalms by focusing on one Psalm per week and singing that same one every day of the week then I pray the divinely inspired words back the One I worship. Since Candace is up early too, we usually sing and pray together.

Here's a verse that we sang this morning.

Bless the Lord, all things created,
All His hosts with one accord.
In all parts of His dominion.
O my soul, bless thou the Lord.
Ps. 103:22
Psalm 103D in the Metrical Psalter

O my soul, bless thou the Lord!