Figgy pudding

It's open window weather! Hurray!

Last night I went on a walk with Miriam. We had night air, brisk strides, and relaxed conversation. My kind of exercise.

Today, my English Lit class listened to about 20 Shakespeare sonnets. The audio CD was hosted by Kathleen Turner, an actress from my time, who gathered some recognizable and not so recognizable actors to read the complete Shakespeare Sonnets. We heard men and women from both Britain and America of various ages and ethnic backgrounds all taking turns reading English sonnets. It's not surprising that first-time high school listeners reacted with comments and chuckles. That's a pretty normal first reaction to new territory. Not only does it take a little getting used to - to comprehend the meaning of the poetry, it also takes a little getting used to thinking that such a wide variety of readers can be so passionate about Shakespeare. It certainly came out as each one lended their personal flare to each sonnet. I like to take my young Padawans to these new horizons. Makes me happy.

Also in English Lit, a discussion arose as we reacted to a comment made by the author of our text book while she matter-of-factly asserted that a certain female character in a play would be happier if she were free from her domestic existence. You often hear this train of thought from feminists whether explicitally or implied that a woman is happier if she has the "freedom" to keep or give away her family like a shirt to be worn or traded in on a new one. She can be happy if she only has the "freedom" to "get out of the house and live her own life" and not to let her family hold her back. We talked about that narrow position. Politically correct, but not very representative of many of the women I know.

I'm so happy. Next week, we are going to start studying Hamlet.
::rubs hands together, grinning in anticipation::

Tomorrowat at Butler University, Canny, as a member of the IUK Honors Society, will read an essay she wrote. The essay is a critical analysis of a short story. She was selected to go to this literature conference and represent IUK. Go Canny! She read it to me this morning and I've asked her to read it to my English Lit class next week.

Amy's enjoying her new job at Big Ben's Coffee Shop. (For you Nac people, Big Ben's is very much like Java Jack's.) The idea that one of my children is becoming a coffee-making expert pleases me. You go, girl!

Ben goes to work with his buddies for this local man who always has a lot of outdoor and indoor projects going. His name is Mr. Anderson. ::said in my best Agent Smith voice::

Let's see. Robert still loves his job at the Men's Rescue Mission, and he's always writing sermons and working on other important paperwork. We still get in our walk most days or at least sit out on the patio before he has to leave.

In closing, we talked about figgy pudding in class today. I think I'll entitle my post "Figgy pudding". That way, you'll read the whole thing wondering how figgy pudding will prove to be relevant.

And you won't understand until now. :0D

Evan did you really tag me?

I just happened to read on Evan's blog (are we allowed to use real names here?) that I was tagged for this. I will hold up my end of the bargain by participating, but as usual, won't tag others.

It goes like this:

"Okay, okay, I'm it."

... then ...

"I quit."



Eight years ago I was: living in the middle of the most beautiful piece of land hanging clothes on the line, and then watering strawberries.

*5 years ago I was: almost home from our private school reading aloud Stonewall Jackson, ready to dote on my lovely chickens.

*1 year ago I was: memorizing Hebrew vocab along with other fast-paced city stuff.

*Yesterday I: was working on visa docs for Scotland.

*5 songs I know all the words to: Bridge over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkle), The Brady Bunch Song, Into the West (that's my cell phone song), Be Thou My Vision, and Tura-Lura-Lura (an Irish lullaby)

*5 things I would do with 100 million dollars:
(1) Give to the church
(2) Educate the children
(3) Go wild with charities
(4) Over-achieve
(5) Buy some chickens

*5 things I would never wear:
(1) Black shoes & socks w/shorts
(2) Nylon jumpers
(3) Certain interesting selections at Goodwill (although I do like to shop there)
(4) Errings (except in my ears)
(5) Tatoos

*5 favorite tv shows: Haven't watched TV shows in forever (that means a very long time)

*5 bad habits:
(1) Not being able to think of my bad habits
(2) Being able to readily identify other's bad habits
(3) Barging into rooms without knocking
(4) Taking some very loooooong short-cuts
(5) That's about it

*5 biggest joys:
(1) Living to Christ and dying to self
(2) Thinking of heaven
(3) Living this really great life with my hubby and kids
(4) Connecting with people
(5) Chickens

*5 people I tag to do this: "I quit"

Out of hibernation

Hope your Saturday was sun-shiny, too.

Anticipating that our "heat of the day" walk would be worth photographing, I brought the camera.

You have to understand that Robert and I walk together almost every day although Rob would debate me on that. He likes to point out that I went into hibernation for most of the winter. I guess he's right though I don't like to admit it. I fancy myself to be like all the other hearty Hoosiers around here.

But back to what I was saying. We have three different kinds of walks: the neighborhood walk, the alley walk, and (the best sounding) the WALK OF EXCELLENCE. Our walk today incorporated all three. See thusly for yourself.

1) Here's our den before leaving. Candace accompanied us on today's walk.















2) The WALK OF EXCELLENCE, so dubbed by the City of Kokomo, meanders through a city park by Wildcat Creek.
















3) Duckies swim here. Rob says the ducks never get wet.
















4) Trees lean over the water.
















5) Trash cans lend a quaint outline to our beloved alley walk. Rob didn't appreciate the great artistic beauty that the trash cans added to this picture. But you see it, don't you?
















6) Another alley.
















7) Here's a typical Kokomo sight on our neighborhood walk.
















8) Glaring at a squirrel who's glaring right back. Rob thinks of his gun, but doesn't say anything.
















9) Walnut Street. Almost home.
















10) Wind chimes by the back door. Compare to the photo in my "What gives" post - a couple of posts ago. This is the same view - only it's from outside instead of through the window.















Three walks in one - Praise God for Spring!

Silly rabbits

Sure, you can take tons of photos with a digital camera. The digital camera has brought out the free-clicking maniac in us all – but it comes with a price. Finally, after your computer is loaded with 650 memories of friends, scenery, kittens, and babies, you have to actually DO something with the darn things!

Options:

• Make them all into prints – yeah right. Too expensive.

• Burn them on a CD – sounds good unless your CD burner doesn’t work too good. Like ours.

• Ignore them and let them lie around on your computer – bad idea. Very irresponsible.

• Grow irritated and throw them all away in a huff – not too smart. You’ll be sorry later.

• Take them to the local CVS drugstore and burn them on a take-home CD – now you’re talking.

• Upload them on a photo storage website – sounds like a plan. Still checking on that one.

Do you ever bound into Spring Break with huge plans to tackle that stack of dandy projects you’ve been ignoring?

So did I.

I would personally rather not spend one second of time on considering digital photo options.

::Sigh::

To live in the modern age is to spend a huge amount of time considering options. That’s the stuff that life is made of. And choosing from so many options takes time – lots of it.

I’m torn. I like options just as much as the next person. But options burn me out. I want to choose to the glory of God. Trouble is I sometimes spend too much time tarrying on the options that just gratify … me.

I hope I can strike the balance of being wise by investing time in things worthy of the heavenly kingdom (computer skills among them, I think) and cutting back on the time spent in chasing silly rabbits.

What gives?

I don't get it. Was this the first day of spring, or what?

Amy took these pics yesterday, but you're not going to believe it.













Wish you were here!

For nature lovers

Dawns and sunsets mean a lot to me. My admiration was first inspired by my grandmother. Usually a formal, reserved person, her eyes would suddenly light up and her tone would soften when she stopped to admire a sunset. I never knew her to pass one by. She always paused and shared it with me when we happened upon it. So you can understand my nostalgia when I read in verse 8 of Psalm 65 this morning, "Thou dost make the dawn and sunset shout for joy."

Makes me want to shout right along with them.

BTW: Happy First Day of Spring!

Regarding the last post

Not that I think the last post's questions can be answered favorably by a certain age. They're more motivational than literal, but hopefully the pilgrim who is further down the path does have the graces for living manifested in his life with a more steady stream. Of course, us old folks relapse too. That's where seeking fresh daily grace comes in.

Remeber the old jalopy computer back in the master bedroom by the exercise bike? Yeah, you remember. It's the one Candace and I share because it's so slow nobody else will use it. You remember that I've told you that from time to time, I still like to raise the keyboard by setting it on a trash can and then I jump on the bike and ride like the wind going nowhere. About a week ago I was looking for a good start-up page for the jalopy. I wanted to find a page that would keep the Word of God in front of our eyes when we first get online. The start-up page I finally chose happens to be part of the Bloomington RP Church's website. They display Spurgeon's daily devitionals in his book Morning and Evening. Here's the link.

Anyway, this morning's devotion dealt with different levels of faith in believers, and it blessed me greatly. I hope it blesses you too.

“Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 3:26

The fatherhood of God is common to all his children. Ah! Little-faith, you have often said, “Oh that I had the courage of Great-heart, that I could wield his sword and be as valiant as he! But, alas, I stumble at every straw, and a shadow makes me afraid.” List thee, Little-faith. Great-heart is God’s child, and you are God’s child too; and Great-heart is not one whit more God’s child than you are. Peter and Paul, the highly- favoured apostles, were of the family of the Most High; and so are you also; the weak Christian is as much a child of God as the strong one.

“This cov'nant stands secure, Though earth’s old pillars bow; The strong, the feeble, and the weak, Are one in Jesus now.”

All the names are in the same family register. One may have more grace than another, but God our heavenly Father has the same tender heart towards all. One may do more mighty works, and may bring more glory to his Father, but he whose name is the least in the kingdom of heaven is as much the child of God as he who stands among the King’s mighty men. Let this cheer and comfort us, when we draw near to God and say, “Our Father.”

Yet, while we are comforted by knowing this, let us not rest contented with weak faith, but ask, like the Apostles, to have it increased. However feeble our faith may be, if it be real faith in Christ, we shall reach heaven at last, but we shall not honour our Master much on our pilgrimage, neither shall we abound in joy and peace. If then you would live to Christ’s glory, and be happy in his service, seek to be filled with the spirit of adoption more and more completely, till perfect love shall cast out fear.

How old are you?

Are you old enough to know what you'll be doing the rest of your life?

Are you old enough to cast your life on Christ?

Are you old enough to understand what it means to be loyal?

Are you old enough to appreciate your family?

Are you old enough to admire a sunset?

Are you old enough to appreciate the blessings that you're swimming in?

Are you old enough to care about what happens to others?

Are you old enough to hang with outcasts sometimes?

Are you old enough to look people in the eye?

Are you old enough to care about what God thinks?

Are you old enough to stand against the pressure? Will you give in? Will you crumble?

Are you old enough to do without things?

Are you old enough to give something thats gonna cost ya?

Are you old enough to be quiet?

Are you old enough to just listen?

Are you old enough to be the human being - that you were meant to be?

Shakespeare ambassador

Gotta get ready for classes today, but here's the photo of the week: Canny of the red hat. Read this post to get the scoop. (That's reporter talk.)

Enjoy!












No way! We're not at Starbucks! We're ... uh ... at a freind's house. Yeah, that's it ... a friend's house.

Josh made it to South Korea!

I woke up early this morning with a little uneasiness since I hadn't heard from Josh. But I checked my e-mail and there was a note from him saying that he'd made it okay. Ahh.

At last we found the fusion of your two great passions

This week:

• Josh left for South Korea. (Haven't heard from him yet, but my mother-in-law says, "No news is good news" - and I believe her.)
• Had the week off of school.
• Swiffled all the floors twice.
• Did some extensive visa research on the Internet.
• Rumaged through my school book boxes to find the ones I want to sell.
• Stayed in bed for a few hours one afternoon and evening to pre-view Kenneth Branagh's film version of Hamlet for English Lit class. (I was feeling a little under the weather at the time.)
• Made a special effort to call people on the phone.
• Had a friend over from Marion who'd never been here before.
• Went to Indiana University two times to see one-handers (one man shows). One guy read/acted out a few stories from Ovid's Metamorphosis and another guy read war poems. These gentlemen were from among 5 who were visiting IUK for a week from a London theater (excuse me ... theatre.)
• Went back to IUK one evening to hear a lecture from the world renown Shakespeare expert, Peter Holland.
• Went back to IUK a fourth time to see the actors from the London stage perform The Merchant of Venice.
  
• Got the bestest birthday gifts.

My hubby gave me some nice earings and then there is one gift upon which I want to further comment. The title of this blog, "At last we found the fusion of your two great passions," is what my kids wrote on the inside cover of the little book they gave me. The title of the book is Yoga for Chickens.

Did they grace me with such a gift because I suffer from yogaphobia? Indeed not! They simply know how I miss all 24 of the chickens I used to own back at our farm in Texas. My beautiful chickens! My adorable chickens! They know that my attachment to the chickens went way beyond letting them out of the henhouse in the morning and tenderly tucking them in at night. They remember how I gazed out the window upon my pets with affection and often exclaimed, "There goes Jamie! Do you see how adorable she is? And look whose running right behind her! Why ... it's Jamie!" You see, I named all 24 of my chickens "Jamie."

Now my lovely children (the human ones) have given me a book so that if I ever get chickens again, I can have a chicken yoga class.

The following are a list of poses from the book:

• The object of contemplation - chickens are perfect
• Soar however briefly
• Laughing chicken breath
• I dunno shoulder shrug
• Flying bug/crawling bug
• Worm!
• Sunnyside up
• Funky chicken
• (and my personal favorite) Crouching chicken hidden weasel

What an inspiration!

... Or do you suppose that they gave me the book because I like to exercise with yoga poses and I like chickens, too? ...

Teabag wasteland

Dust mites. I'm agin' 'em. They are the little varmits that have been bothering my Amy. I don't like 'em. I don't like 'em a bit. Ever since we've returned from allergy testing last week, I've waged war against them. I swiffle everything - ceilings, walls, floors, vents. You name it, I swiffle it. We bought a spray that's supposed to eradicate 'em - so I spray and vacumn. Now Amy has a bed cover so the bed bugs don't bite. We'll keep fighting, but I'll wager that there are still a few lying around.

Amy dear is on a yeast-free/sugar-free diet for a while, too. Any of you who know Amy can imagine how hard that is on her. Pat, pat, pat. She is also allergic to our cat, Marius. And moldy things, too. It goes without saying that we have joked quite a bit lately. I had the uncontrolable giggles when I made Amy some special pizza with homemade whole wheat flour and real pulverized tomatoes. Wish I had photographed that. It was hilarious.

Soon wild ideas start to flutter through one's head inventing imaginary moldy, sugery, yeasty beasties everywhere. (Did I just say, "yeasty beasties"?)

Just look at these teabags.














Don't they look exactly like the perfect habitat for mold? And what if a cat happened to walk by. ::involuntary shutter:: Need I say more?

Why do we have such a collection of teabags? you ask. Finals week. Well, that's my excuse. Canny contributed at least half of these bags, and I don't know what her excuse is. Comfort food I suppose.

I even have Rob contributing to the depleted teabags around here. We have a cup together almost every afternoon. He's thinking about switching from Apple-Cranberry herb tea to Green Tea even though green has some caffeine. What do you think he ought to do? I told him, "Heck, I drink Green Tea all evening long and it doesn't bother me."

We're wild and crazy. I know.

A day made just for you

I’m sure preachers are always trying to present familiar topics in a fresh way. Pastor York succeeded in doing just that today. Based on the Bible, he presented the principle that we should observe the Sabbath as a special day unto the Lord. His approach brought together supporting arguments that I hadn’t previously thought about.

We always have an outline on the back of our bulletin that can be used to aid in our understanding and retention. Here’s what I jotted down - for what it’s worth.

Intro. – Story about a credit card commercial shown during the Olympics about identity theft.

We might laugh at an “identity theft” commercial, but not if we are a victim.

One of the greatest lies foisted upon the church that has stolen her identity is that the fourth commandment is abolished.

Receive joyfully what God Himself gave to you!

I. God made the Sabbath so you can cease from your labors.

Man’s life is to be filled with activity. Even in the Garden – they were busy. God ceases from work on the 7^th day and man should too. When God completes His work, He just enjoys looking at what He’s made. We should follow His example and enjoy the goodness of His hand. We should remember that He is the Creator.

A seven-day week is not the result of a natural solar or lunar cycle like a 24-hour day or the seasons. The seven-day week is a gift from God. God has given us carefully defined boundaries, but sometimes if we go outside God’s boundaries and wander into worry or self-seeking pleasure, we begin to lose our identity.

II. God made the Sabbath so you can rest in your Redeemer.

In the Bible, the 10 commandments were given twice in their entirety. The wording of the fourth commandment brought out different applications each time. The first time in Exodus 20 helped the children of Israel remember the created order. The second time in Deuteronomy 5 helped them remember their great redemption from slavery.

As we study the word “Sabbath” in the New Testament, we see that it was a busy day for the Lord Jesus. In the gospel accounts, the Sabbath is the day that Jesus is the busiest. As opportunities present themselves, we can follow His example by spending some of the Sabbath in acts of mercy.

We also see that the very day that Christ was resurrected was the day that God instituted the Christian’s new Sabbath Day > the Lord’s Day. Pentecost also came on a Sunday.

The church is weak because we don’t come together to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection as we should.

III. God made the Sabbath so you can be holy in your conduct.

This day is to be set apart. A paraphrase from BB Warfield goes something like, “We don’t serve God by doing the same thing all the time.” Righteous things done at a wrong time are sinful, i.e. cheering for your kid at a basketball game is good – cheering for your kid at an orchestral performance is bad.

Spend time in worship. Heb. 4:9, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.”

Conclusion – Hold up both hands.
Rhetorical question:
Which finger do you want to have cut off?
Therefore,
Which of the Ten Commandments do you want to cut out?

Valentine's day

My husband surprised me with a special Valentine dinner! Good thing my trusty cell phone has a camera!

Here's how it all came about. We were scheduled to have a weekly bible study with some friends that evening so I didn't think anything about it when Chili told me that it would be scheduled an hour earlier than usual. I arrived at the Mission and waited with him in his office. I didn't think anything fishy was going on when he kept having to leave to "check on things." As I sat with my back to the door, he kept looking out the door behind me and making affirmative gestures. I sat, clueless, babbling on.

Then he arose and led me down the hall to the conference room where we have the bible study. He opened the door to a dark room, and my eyes were drawn to a couple of candles on a table.



The scene slowly sunk into my brain as I processed what I was looking at. One end of a long table was set with a intimate candlelit dinner. I don't exactly remember how I reacted. I think it was a mixture of jubilant exclamations and hugs.








Here's how it looked for a minute with the lights on.












Aaaah ... life is gooooood ...















A little bubbly? Mmmm, grape sparkling water!














Here's my food brought in from Olive Garden - it was a chicken dish (of course).
















And Chili's was a shrimp dish.














It turned out that Patty Tegeler and her girls did the fetching and decorating, but it was all my dear hubby's idea.

Great husband,

good friends!

A couple of things

Candace has been accepted into the prestigious University of Glasgow. She sent in a long application for an overseas study program indirectly through Indiana University via Butler University. There were no guarantees whether she could get into the highly competitive U. of G., but she did. Now she will receive more specific information. We still have a few issues to work through with the Scottish university. So we're not totally sure where the Lord would have Candace attend college this next year, but we are thrilled that the possibility of attendance at such a famous university remains an option. Way to go, Canny!

Amy and I spent all yesterday morning at an allergy clinic in Indianapolis. The Lord showered us with His great love and care as we got to spend the entire time (3 hours) with a very sweet and knowledgeable allergy specialist. This lady carefully injected Amy with 52 different solutions under her skin and gauged the reactions. As we waited the 15 minutes between each round, we visited with this sweet spirited lady who after finding out that we were about to enter into the ministry in Scotland professed her belief in Christ. Of course, she was very attendant to what she was doing with Amy, and she was extremely knowledgeable about steps we could take to help cut down the external and internal conditions that were causing her allergies. We also talked about our families and about politics. She told me about this website. Check out www.stophernow.com if you want to know about that part of our conversation. :-)

Gotta get ready for school now since Tuesday is my busy day with two Latin classes and a English Grammar/Writing class. I was just thankful to God this morning and wanted to share that with you.

Ben's work

Watch out everyone. Ben drives. Well never without me. The good news for me and anyone who happens to be in his way is that he's pretty good at it. We did the parking lot practice the first two times then he graduated to a quiet street and now he drives me to the bank and library and anywhere else I need to go.

Sometimes if Ben's not driving me around, he rides with Amy as her bodyguard. Like this morning she had to take him with her when she went to pick up some little friends for the annual Walk a Mile in My Shoes event for the Rescue Mission. She has to take him with her when she goes shopping at night, too.

Even Canny has to procure his services when she goes out of town to the Layfayette Fire Side Chats. Although this Sunday night she'll take Amy with her instead. Amy can look really intimidating to bad guys when she wants to (or is that just timidating?)

His dad needs Ben around when he hankers for a game of foosball. He rustles up another rowdy opponent like himself. You couldn't have doubted that a game was going on in our house this very morning.

Last night, Ben had to go with me to the bad part of town where the Yorks live to borrow "Apples to Apples." This shady form of entertainment is a board game that causes those who play it to talk with loud and rapid voices. Just ask my girls and their friends (and Ben of course).

Sounds fishy to me. But that's Ben's work.

The crowning glory

As a memory aid, I want to jot down some points I remember from today's sermon.

Title: Restoring the Masterpiece (Gen. 1:26-31)

Intro - Story of the theft of the valuable painting, "The Mona Lisa" from the Louvre Museum in Paris. (Application: We are created in the Image of God and that image has been shattered as the result of the Fall but not wiped away permenantly.)

I. The Image of God in Man defined: Man is the crowning glory of God's creation. Since we are created in the Image of God, it is our capasity and our duty to serve God and love people.

II. The Image of God in Man shattered: Luther believed erroneously that the Image of God in Man was completely lost in the Fall, but fallen man still retains the Image of God like a shattered mirror. The reflection is distorted.

III. The Image of God in Man has been redeemed: I Cor. 15:49

IV. The Image of God in Man realized: Since we were going to come to the Communion Table, we were reminded that as we partake of the meal, we proclaim the Lord's death until He returns.

Amen.



Nota Bene:

After a wonderful service and a special time around the Lord's Table, we enjoyed a wonderful fellowship lunch with everyone.

I visited with a friend from the Elkhart congregation for a while this evening.

Then I led her over to the Fishers and picked up our kids (including my Amy) who had been away all weekend at a youth conference for juniors and seniors in high school. Amy had a blessed time of which I'm thankful.

We'll see Josh in less than two weeks!

Just wanted to share my Sunday with you. Have a great week!

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.

Tagged, but too lazy to tag others

In response to being tagged by Candace, I shall now list 5 weird habits that I have.

1) I drink soy milk everyday and green tea everyday.
2) I like to sit cross-legged on the floor.
3) I hardly ever step on cracks.
4) I collect rubber bands.
5) I pace.

There, I did it, that's the end.

The moon still shines in the sky

Thank you, 47th, for making me one of the tagged. I choose to ignore my tag responsibilities at present, but will post my 5 thingies at another time.

Woke up from a good night's sleep in the peacefulness of the country this morning. We've traveled from Indiana to Texas to visit here for a week over the holidays. I didn't realize until now how seriously I needed a break. Back home (Kokomo) there were so many loose ends to tie up: paperwork for the end of the school semester; arrangements for Christmas; arrangements for the trip to Texas; discussions for our move to Scotland; discussions for Candace's overseas study at the University of Glasgow; discussions for Joshua's overseas study in South Korea. These are the types of topics which are highly interesting to a mom, subjects that call her attention to the most minute details.

I thought we were going to have an eventful year, but I think Josh has us beat. First he's going to come home to Indiana with us for a few weeks, then he's off to South Africa to go on an archaeological dig for four weeks, then he's home in Kokomo for a short stay then off to South Korea for a whole semester of overseas study, then home again in time to be able to go with us to Scotland for a month or so, then back to Texas to finish his last year of undergraduate study at LeTourneau. He then plans to go to graduate school in the field of archaeology.

Next week when Candace is gone to Pheonix on her missions trip and Amy & Ben are off at the RP Winter's Conference for the youth, I hope to cruise the Internet with Josh to learn more about these trips he will take.

As you can see, Candace and Amy and Ben live pretty exciting lives too. :-)

I'll admit that excitement isn't all it's cracked up to be - right now - just give me the quiet country life for a few more days!

My life, at present

::Comes up for a breath of air::

::Dives::

One-on-one fun

This post is doomed with such a title.

Nevertheless, the topic shall be this week's experiences with my new class and with tutoring.

Finished working on new lesson plans for another class starting up this trimester. I'll teach a new class for the rest of this year in addition to my Eng. Lit and my two Latin classes . This time I'll teach English grammar and writing to a group of middle schoolers. This class will meet twice a week for an hour rather than for one or two hours per week (like my Latin and Lit. classes respectively). Having a class spread out twice every week is, of course, a much better learning situation. This class grew from a need that arose when it became apparent that some students in the Latin 1 class needed more help with their English grammar. Latin has a way of revealing that. I'm pretty excited since I've seen first-hand how effective teaching the Shurley Grammar method along with the Institute for Excellence in Writing can be.

Periodically, I tutor a student who needs extra help in Latin and this week I helped an 8th grade boy with a one-time session. Tutoring is satisfying work with these homeschooled kids, because they want to learn the material and generally just like to learn.

There was another boy I tutored in Latin 1 this week as well. This guy is a 6th grader who was very ill last trimester and had to miss four straight weeks of school. During that time, I kept close contact with his mom and assured her that I would tutor Tyler when he felt better. He's been back in class for about 3 weeks and I've been tutoring him every week since then. One cool thing about going over to their house is that Tyler's grandmother lives with them and she speaks almost exclusively Spanish. It's interesting to hear his mom, grandmother, and siblings speaking fluent Spanish to one another in the background. Yesterday I asked his mom if Candace could come over and converse with them since she is currently working extra hard in Spanish to prepare for her up-coming mission trip to Pheonix. The mom was delighted and Candace is eager too. I'll make the arrangements this week.

As long as I'm speaking of tutoring, I also should mention that I give a young lady a guitar lesson every week, too.

So you be the judge. Did this post deserve such a cheesy title?

A special wish

Happy Birthday, Canny!

A post thanksgiving post

Ah, that's better.
The totally-confounding-to-learn-as-a-second-language,
English, is back in my blogsphere. Thank you, sire.

I guess you could say that we had a very traditional Thanksgiving.
We were at home
with family and friends,
with 18 lbs. worth of turkey,
with 17 lbs. worth of stuffing,













with gravy,
with rolls,
with baked cranberries,
with jellied cranberries,
with mashed potatoes,
with sweet potatoes,
with apple mallow salad,
with apple walnut salad,
with baked corn,
with broccoli and cheese,
with pumkin pie,
with apple pie,
with cheesecake bars,
with hard-times cake,
with iced tea,
with wassail*,
with coffee,
with Rolaids.















The place was a hornet's nest.

Just take a look for yourself.














A friend of our's climbed up in a tree and cut the limb where this lovely abode ... abode. Pretty cool, huh?

Some of my favorite memories from the day will be visiting and laughing, reading from the Bible, singing some Psalms, and being thankful together.














*Nota bene: "Wassail" according to Samuel Johnson's dictionary is from "waes hael" translated "your health" from Saxon and is a liquour of apples, sugar, and ale (ew), anciently much used by English goodfellows.
Thought you'd want to know that.

Oh yeah, and I did spend the day after Thanksgiving ... shopping.
; )

First snow

::Shakes head and looks around::

Hum, I'm a little disoriented here. I'm trying to write a post in a strange atmosphere. The tab I'm in says "Crea" and the button I always click to post says "Dubblica post." The save drafts button says, "Salva come bozza." That's silly. Wonder who in the world changed my settings to Italian? Perhaps his highness, L'Ultimo Re? If so, I shall petition him to have it changed back to English.

I just paused this post to take a picture out our front living room window. See what I see? The first snow! Remember what that looks like (Joy and Josh)? Yippee!

Last week was a blur with most of my focus on Amy's recovery after nose surgery. She is feeling much better now. The surgery was on Monday then we went back to the doctor on Wednesday and then back again this past Monday and the doctor was pleased with the way Amy's nose looked and it is healing fine. I'm so thankful.

Last week was also finals week. An English teacher grades essays and a Latin teacher grades minutely detailed tests so that took some focus too. Trimester grades have been computed and new syllabi have been prepared. So I'm in good shape.

Next trimester's going to be great in Eng. Lit. 'cause we're getting into POETRY!! I really like poetry. Poetry's my friend. I imagine my students must also be beside themselves with joy.
: D

Today, we will shop for Thanksgiving groceries and start preparing for tomorrow's grand meal. We're having Thanksgiving here at our house with just our family (Josh'll be with his granny) and a couple of friends.

Well, I need to go start defrosting the turkey in the sink. Hope your Thanksgiving is a blessed one!

A day to commemorate

Amy ordered her senior ring this week. Is it that time already? How time flies! After all, she and Ben are the "youngers" - how can it be that it's time for one of the youngers to order a senior ring? Anyway, it's a beautiful ring and I'll see if I can get permission to show it to you when it comes in.

Leaf raking is on the agenda again today. I'll let you know how that goes.
I have such an exciting life.
I really DO - just not on paper ... er whatever this is.

Robert has gone to the Presbytery meeting today. We alighted from bed at 6:05, Barry appeared soon after, and they headed to Jason's house to pick up their final passenger. The plan is for Robert to be licenced to preach in the Reformed Presbyterian Church today, Lord willing. From my perspective, our Heavenly Father has been preparing Robert for this awesome event for years, and it culminates today. I'm not one for grandiose exaggeration, but no amount of rejoicing in the Lord Who brought my husband to this point would do it justice. He was called to pastor 20 years ago, but I know now it wasn't time yet. God hid us away in our wonderful country home in Texas. He had us raise our children, love each other, learn of His ways, be a part of a wonderful church family in Texas, and in His good timing, He led us to Indiana where we joined with people who we have come to truly respect and love. This is a day to be commemorated before the Lord. I do not believe I'm exaggerating when I say that. All praise be to God for His wondrous ways!

I'm so glad those three rode together. They are such an encouragement to each other. Sometimes it's neat to step back and realize the good friends the Lord places in our lives. Barry and Jason are definitely dear friends of Robert's. Fast friends. Come to think of it, I consider their wives Miriam and Jenny to be dear friends of mine. Miriam's my near neighbor who I wouldn't hesitate to borrow sugar from in time of need (although the 24-hour Kroger is about as close.) There are things that she has that Kroger doesn't. We try to meet in the neighborhood for a walk whenever we can, and we often end up lingering in the driveway or sitting down for a while in my sun room to talk. Jenny and I were volleyball coaches together. That experience helped to cement our friendship - although I'll never forget her and Jason's kindness as they drove us around Kokomo when we were looking for a house to rent and their moral support when Rob was looking for a job. That was just the beginning. I like to spend time with Jenny. She and I hit it off when we talk.

This blog has been very satisfying to write, but it has now run it's course. I must away, methinks. God bless you!

The drink of teens ... I mean kings.

You go girl!

A couple of nights ago the kids played a mini concert for their father. One selection was the folky, sad tune from "Gods and Generals." Amy cooed out the melody on the penny whistle, then Ben came in with the rhythm guitar, then Candace carried on the melody with her violin (fiddle) and Amy played some wonderful harmonic interplay on the mandolin. The song went full circle ending with the singular penny whistle. Fitting rendition - when you think of soldiers out in all weather playing a few simple songs. It was very moving.

Other items in the news.

1) Root canal's all done, and I'm fine. Still a little sore, but not too sore for a night out with the ladies at a local eating establishment. (Tonight's Ladies Night Out ... with our church, silly.)

2) I raked leaves two days ago and now you'd never be able to tell.

And 3) Here's one of my more famous neices, Nadine. She's my sister (and brother-in-law's) kid who also has the distinction of being a Rice University cheerleader in Texas. Here are some action pics.

Cycles

Woke up this Saturday morning before all the rest. Morning has a special quality. It's the time of day that doesn't rush you. It doesn't impose high expectations. It waits for you. You can hear the birds creating the atmosphere of a joyful, peaceful frame of mind, and except for the birds, the Saturday morning world wakes up slowly, quietly.

I love to think about and observe the great cycles that the Father God has put in place. Saturday morning is a weekly cycle that one recognizes. Mornings are daily cycles. I need cycles. I unknowingly depend on cycles. Down deep I rest in the confidence that cycles are gonna come back around. Through that God brings peace. A steady life of cycles.

In the style of James Joyce (uuuhhhh ....... right)

Come-on ... just start typing. Don't just sit there waiting for a flash of inspiration. This post won't get written while you're just staring at the blank blogger form. And it won't get written just staring at the Starfield screen saver either. Just start typing what flows naturally from your mind like James Joyce. Yeah, it worked well for him.

If I had only blogged this morning at Vladimir's during Ben's cello lesson. As a matter of fact I brought the laptop with that in mind, but I worked on a lit quiz instead. Then we had to pass that grievous opstacle on the way out of Carmel. Someone had the audacity to build a brand new Starbucks right on the corner where we exit from Pam's. You talk about a stong desire to turn in. Whew - it's tough. I wish they had built a White Castle instead - then it would it would be a little easier.

This evening's bible study in our home covered Acts chapter 16. It always amazes me the rich discussion that comes from taking the time to study a chapter of God's Word together. I'm thankful for that kind of format - reading, considering, questioning, discussing.

This week's special projects:
- Writing some long overdue letters. ("long overdue" not necessarily "long")
- Continuing to listen to The Chronicles of Narnia on CD. currently: The Horse and His Boy
- Continuing to read Pride and Predjudice with Ben.
- Going to exercise class when I can spare an hour.
- Meeting the other volleyball coaches for a planning session for the VB Banquet at an unmentionable restaurant. :)

Next week:
- Getting that root canal I've been needing.

... I'm serious

... like ... on Monday.

Quiet evening

Been fighting a cold this week. I'm spared from sickness most of the time - but when it does catch up, it can linger for a couple of weeks - just bothersome enough to take away most of my energy and all of my brain. YesterdayI asked my Lit students if they have ever tried to function without a brain. Their reactions told me they had.

Tonight my family has gone to the Fall Party over at the Brookshire's with all the rest of our church. I figure, I can either go be cold and dazed or stay home and be cozy and quiet. Guess which I chose?

Plans for this evening?

- Talk to my sister, Steph, on the phone.
- Clean the house ... some.
- Listen to more of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
- Pick up a couple of things at the grocery store.

Ahh, a restful evening. Interruptions seem to zap my energy. A restful evening for me is one where I can quietly focus on a few things. Different people relax in different ways. Somehow if I can stay a little busy and focus on one thing at a time, after a while I feel rested and refreshed.

Yesterday when my hubby and I went for a walk on Mulberry Street again, I took my camera along to show you what I see.















Our street, Walnut, isn't too shabby either.

A new friend from Scotland

We had an overnight guest in our home last Friday night, Beth Bogue from Scotland. Beth who grew up in Ohio has lived in Airdrie, Scotland for the past five years where she has served as the secretary for the RP church in Airdrie. She came "home" to visit her family and friends and to speak to churches about the work in Airdrie. So I met her for the first time on Friday night as she was setting up the computer for the Power Point presentation at our church.

Trying to initially expell the myth about Scotland being some kind of idyllic Utopia, Beth related the undeniable facts of the hard Scottish lives made harder as the result of living in a land without widespead gospel light. The traditional family unit is slighted as people live together outside marriage and teens have babies out of wedlock. Of course that sounds just like home, but we still have a pretty large percentage of people who at least attend church, while in Scotland the vast majority of people don't even go. They are living their whole lives without being exposed to the Word of God or the God of the Word.

Beth was able to relate some very good news. God is blessing the Airdrie RP church. Andrew Quigley (who Rob and I have met) is the pastor there and is a very visionary man. He and the elders have utilized the members of the church and short-term missionaries from Ireland and the USA to canvas the city with annual flyers. Actually, they're very nicely layed out magazines with greetings from the pastor and elders and testimonies from people who have experienced God's changing grace in their lives. They have passed out these flyers to many, many houses all over the city for many years now and have gotten feedback that people who don't even attend church feel somehow connected to that church. What a great inroad into lives! You can imagine that if some of those people ever hit a crisis in their lives and they want to turn to God, they will probably go to a place where they already feel connected even if it's just through a magazine that they have gotten at their door year after year. I get excited just thinking about it!

There are many other things about the Airdrie church that Beth told us at our church and later in our home before bed. Stories of how God has changed the lives of people through the different outreaches of the Airdrie church, but I don't want to make this post too long.

Let me just say that my heart burns within me when I hear of the great need there and of the great efforts of the Christian workers. They are making progress for the Kingdom of God. I took Beth in our bedroom (even with the clothes flung on the bed) to show her the map of the British Isles we have on our bedroom wall. We brought that map from our bedroom wall in Texas where it had hung for many years. We're weird, I know, having a plain map as the centerpiece of our bedroom, but it keeps that land on our hearts and minds.

So, we met a new friend from Scotland. Another face to have in our minds as we continue to think and pray for Scotland.


And by the way, here's a photo of King Josh on his way home from the Chocolate Factory.

Mother of the king

It's up to me - I can see that now. My oldest son is much too modest and discreet to mention what happened to him last week - and so I will.

Any LU resident can pipe in and add to the story or correct any part. I speak only as an interested party far from the events.

Two weeks ago on the LU campus people were preparing for the annual Fall Fest. Josh was gearing up to throw himself into the week long promotion of his floor's queen. (That's what the guy floors do - try to get their pick to win the queen of the entire campus.) While he was busying himself with these type preparations, he received a phone call from a friend. She wanted him to meet her downstairs in the dorm lobby to go over some music with her. When he arrived downstairs, a large group of girls were there to meet him with the surprising news that he had been selected as their choice for king!

So his plans for the following week were drastically changed. Instead he followed the girls' directions and dressed up all week as "Joshua Jones (Willie Wanka) and the Chocolate Factory" since each floor promotes their monarch with a theme for the week. So anyway from my understanding, some of the girls dressed up as characters in the story and they took a series of pictures depicting the storyline to be shown at the Fall Fest last Saturday night. And then, all week long they escorted Joshua with his black shoes and pants and his shiney coat with a pink bow tie and his tall hat with a wide ribbon to all his meals and every class handing out candy bars and generally drawing attention to the spectacle. Those of you who know Josh, can imagine that he must have just LOVED being the center of attention. Yeah, right.

Then came Saturday night, the night of the unveiling of the king and queen of the LeTourneau Fall Fest. Everyone dressed up in formals and the brother and sister floors traveled to the event as a big group.

Guess who was coronated king? You're right - Josh!

I'm still waiting on some really juicy celeb. pictures, but he says that they are forthcoming. (He talks all high-falooten now that he's king and all.) You'll have to petition him yourself to post some royal photos on his blog.

Long live the king!

Mulberry street

There was just enough time after I zoomed in from music lessons at 2 and before Chili left for work at 3 to squeeze in a walk.

Gorgeous blue sky overhead, fresh air, perfect temperature, and the fall leaves on Mulberry Street - that's the street next to our street (Walnut).

Specially requested by yours truly, I wanted to soak up the hour. I wanted to walk down Mulberry Street.

As soon as I upload some photos, you'll understand.

Hope you have a "Mulberry Street" urging you out the door.
If so, just go.

My kitchen window

Well, this isn't what I originally planned. My kitchen window pic was being transformed from an ordinary photo into a awesome extravaganza! ::Beethoven's Ode to Joy swells in the background:: I designed nifty text bubbles with sky blue backgrounds on paper and my artist (Ben) was creating it in Photo Shop. You would have been amazed and dazzled at the sight.

Instead (since the big, red Fall Ministry bus took my artist away), we will have to make due with some plain photos and a little description.

Why would I blog about my kitchen window? Why that's a silly question! It's a very special place, you know, and I spend a lot of time there. It's my home away from home - you might say. Long days ago, a place of drudgery, but now a place of pristine beauty affording endless delight.

You've seen my kitchen window before. Ever changing, here's how it looks now.














Exibit A: We sing and work on memorizing a Psalm together every quarter. Psalm 40E expresses intimate heart cries and the tune carries the words - rich and folky.



















Exibit B: Melon Melody Blistex - tasty - you need to experience it.














Exibit C: The famous Happy Face Rock - now take a closer look. Isn't it the most amazing natural phenomenon you've ever seen?














Exibit D: Last Sunday I printed, cut out, and laminated every verse in Psalm 119 so that we could meditate on a different verse every day. So far, it has been a wonderful exercise, a blessing.














One more pic. from another window sill - a knife that Chili wittled for me. Nice!

The shadows prove the sunshine

This weekend I had been working on a really cool altered photo of my kitchen window for you. Ben was helping me. We haven't quite finished it yet. I'll have it ready soon.

Apologies for not posting for the extremely long span of a week and a half. A lot can happen in that length of time and it usually does.

Here we go, in no particular order:

The volleyball season is over for my team, the JV. I didn't know what I had to contribute in that area. I did learn that there is a vast difference between being a player (over 20 years ago) and being a coach. Sure, the skills of playing the game came rapidly back, but I learned that there's more to coaching than just communicating my level of proficiency in volleyball. The most important role of the coach, I think, is to keep a finger on the pulse of the team and try to keep the girls' spirits up so they can play their best. I made some mistakes along the way, but that's how we learn and grow. Right? I was pretty nervous before most games, but that feeling lifted somewhat as the season progressed. On paper, we didn't have a very winning season, but I can't help thinking that most of the character-building qualities (the ones that the Lord cares about) happen when you lose. I was stretched beyond my little comfort zone, and also played a lot of volleyball (oh, I love that game!) with some great kids. A rewarding experience.

Today is the PSAT exam. Ben and Amy worked hard this summer and up to the present to prepare for it. Amy took it last year as a sophomore. She'll take it Saturday. Anyway, Ben's taking it now so I pray. (Lord, please bless him.)

There are many ministry opportunities here. I hope the Lord uses me to help. My attitude it to be alert for opportunities. It's funny that I don't ever think that I have anything helpful to say, so it's rather surprising when He does give me something to say, but I guess it shouldn't be. He just wants me to stay close to Him personally, and serve Him in my family, and when the time comes He'll be faithful to fill my mouth with a little of His wisdom. That's how it works.

Homeschool's going well. Of late, I haven't been working with Ben on Algebra because he's been focusing exclusively on PSAT prep. Now we'll be back at it once again. Ben and Amy and I have been reading Western Civ. Let's see ... we're in the Elizabethan era now. Enjoyable to cruise through it once again.

And other current good reads are Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities which Ben and I are reading together and I am listening to The Chronicles of Narnia on audio books. The one I'm listening to now is the Magician's Nephew about the adventures of Digory and Polly and our introduction to the land of Narnia. Everyone in our family hears it playing in the kitchen and if they have time will often wander through and sit for a spell on the purple stool to let their imagination get in on the action.

Chili and I still go on walks most days. It's our time to talk. That's the way it's always been and will always be as long as God allows. Without getting too sentimental, I can say that this special time is among my most cherished. I love talking to my best friend in this world, and I love hearing what he thinks about things. It never gets old. I never get enough. Weird how it can still be that way after 21 years of marriage.

The Fall foliage unveils its splendor a little more each day. Orange, peach, yellow, and red. The sun has allowed the clouds to obscure his view of the earth, but he does that quite often this time of year. I know that I miss the sun because I find myself turning on lights everywhere in the house. I hope I don't try to do that in the house of my soul.

Psalm 119

This morning I read from Spurgeon's book upon the Psalms. Here are some thoughts I gleaned about "the longest Psalm," Psalm 119.

Many superficial readers have imagined that it harps upon one string and abounds in pious repetitions and redundancies; but this arises from the shallowness of the reader's own mind: those who have studied this Divine hymn and carefully noted each line of it are amazed at the variety and profundity of the thought. The more one studies it, the fresher it becomes. It contains no idle word.

Oh, the depths! Yet these depths are hidden beneath an apparent simplicity, as Augustine has well and wisely said, and this makes the exposition all the more difficult.

Sprugeon records a Matthew Henry quote from the biography about his father, Once, pressing the study of the Scriptures, he advised us to take a verse of this Psalm every morning to meditate upon, and so go over the Psalm twice in the year; and that, saith he, will bring you to be in love with all the rest of the Scriptures. He often said, "All grace grows as love to the Word of God grows."

One more quote which lends practical help I appreciated from my study this morning was one Sprugeon shared from J. D. Murphy. The name Jehovah occurs twenty-two times in the Psalm. Its theme is the Word of God, which it mentions under one of the ten terms: law, way, testimony, precept, statute, commandments, judgment, word, saying, truth, in every verse except verse one twenty-two.

May the Lord bless us with His grace as we study as part of His Word which exhorts us to study His Word!