Cute. Tute. Fruit.

CUTE: According to those in the know, Joshua had a very good birthday. Thanks for all your well wishes!TUT(E)ORIAL:
To blog from your mobile phone, go to the dashboard page of your blog. To the left of your blog name you will see two icons - a cell phone and an envelope.

Click on the the cell phone icon and follow the prompts which will involve texting the code in the box to BLOGGR (256-447). They will then send you a text telling you it is okay to begin mobile blogging. Then you can text your blog post.

This, of course, is more laborious than blogging on a keyboard, but it is cool to know that you can do it, especially if you are not near a computer and have something to say to your peeps!

Let me know if you need pictures. I am of the opinion that if I can do it, anybody can do it! :)

FRUIT:

The signs are up for the 'you pick' strawberry places. Look out strawberries, here I come!

ONE!

While much ado will be made today about the President's first 100 days in office, over here, we are making much ado about JOSHUA'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!

What a blessing you are, sweetie! You bring your grandma and grandpa so much joy. We love you and hope you have a wonderful day.

(Maybe I can even talk some of my blog friends and family into wishing you a happy birthday!)

wherein we go out on a whim and get a blessing

fragrant, lovely, petite laurel flowers

Sunday morning, walking home from Mom and Dad's, it occurred to me that we could do something a little different that morning.

I approached Pat with the idea; he was agreeable. We went to a different church. We have been to this church three times before; if it weren't a forty-five minute drive, this would be where we would attend.

So, we only go there once in a great while. And always come away blessed, challenged and inspired.

We have come to enjoy a rather leisurely Sunday morning these days. No little ones to get ready. Only a five minute drive to our local church. I checked the website to see what times the services were. 9:00 and 10:40. Could we make it to the 9:00? Seeing as it was 7:45 and we would need to leave in a half hour? And not showered yet? We decided to go for it. Leisure went out the window as rushing around ensued . We arrived right on time.

We sat at the end of the row with some empty chairs between us and the next folks. As the service progressed a young couple sat in the empty seats. After the singing time was over the Pastor encouraged us to greet those around us. I turned to the young man on my right to shake his hand and noticed that he had on a forest green polo shirt with a Green Bay Packer "G" on it.

Yes, he was from Wisconsin. We waited until the end of the service to get all the details though.

We had a wonderful conversation with him. They have lived down here ten years. He asked how we were adjusting - knowing that TN is different from WI. We were reminded of this difference again yesterday when we found some (as in more than one) black widow spiders in our rock wall. Pat promptly dispatched them.

He and his wife have two boys, Noah and Eli(jah) - good strong Old Testament names. Kinda like Nathan, Jonathan and Daniel. And they are just beginning to home school, though he said his wife is approaching this with fear and trepidation. She joined us shortly and I was able to encourage her and promise support in her endeavors. She has my phone number and email now and asked if I would be willing to speak to their home school coop group. Would I? You betcha!

It was a wonderful conversation. We were blessed and I think we were able to be a blessing. The sermon was just what we needed to hear. The music inspired. I am so thankful that Still Small Voice prompted us to go to that church at that particular service on that particular Sunday.

I do not recommend playing hooky from your regular church. Every church needs committed, involved members and attenders. But if you feel the Spirit prompting you, follow His leading.

(BTW, I do not think St. Mattress or Bedside Baptist count as places you should consider as an alternative to your own home church.)

Proving to Mom and Dad I can post to my blog from Cracker Barrel via my cell .

the rest of the story

A few months ago (not sure exactly when because I couldn't find my original post), I told you about a man called 'Popcorn Sutton'. Well known for his moon-shinin' ways, he wrote a book called: 'Me and My Likker'. When the law caught up with him (again), he was tried and found guilty for making shine He said he would not survive prison because of his poor health. His fans requested 'house arrest' for him instead of jail. He has quite a cult following.



Two days before he was to report for his incarceration, Popcorn's wife went to town to run some errands. Upon returning home, she called for him.

You can read what happened here.

Once again, I was struck at the tragic choices people sometimes make.

I contrast this with the words the apostle Paul penned from prison:

"Rejoice in the LORD always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The LORD is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to GOD. And the peace of GOD, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:4-7

When faced with a difficult situation, please don't choose despair. Choose joy.

~~~~~

A year ago yesterday, I left Wisconsin. Wow. Missing family and friends, but choosing joy.

Testing to see if I can post from my cell .

mistakes were made

One never knows,where, in the convoluted recesses of my brain, I come up with topics for this blog. Sometimes they are (relatively)well thought out. Sometimes the topic begins as a seed planted in the middle of the night or on my morning walk or while mowing the lawn.

Sometimes my folks will ask me when I stop in at their house at approximately 7:15-7:20 a.m. what I am planning to blog about. Even though my next 'to do' item is 'to blog', I cannot tell them what the subject will be. 'Cuz I got nuttin'.

All week long, I was thinking about the phrase 'mistakes were made'. You will often here this used by someone in the gubmitt or a CEO of a financial institution or an automobile company. If your kids are really smart, they may use it too. A way to accept and deflect blame in one fell swoop.

~~~~~

There was a big drug bust in our county earlier this week. In fact it took place on the way to a house we considered buying. And probably less than a mile from the mayor's home.

We noticed this place right away as our realtor was taking us around. Lots of cars parked on the lawn - maybe a dozen. There were three (or maybe just two - hard to tell) single wide mobile homes on the property. One was apparently the residence, although how they could gain entry of the home was beyond me. The porch was filled - littered with stuff. The other mobile home(s) were filled with stuff, judging from the windows which were covered from the interior with piles of things.

As I drove by there on Monday, the sheriff, several county cars and a dozen or so county jail residents (I could tell because of their orange jumpsuits were stamped 'county jail inmates') were cleaning up the property. A few wreckers had already left and some more were waiting to haul away the cars.

At choir Wednesday night I learned that the cars and firearms were all confiscated as evidence. Apparently you could purchase drugs with things beside cash.

The whole thing made me so sad. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I did not pursue some of the career options I had considered when I was in high school. Instead I became a teacher. But I had options and never, ever would have considered selling drugs for a living. I'm not trying to sound high and mighty or snobbish here. I am astoundingly (that is a word, right?) grateful for parents who nurtured and encouraged and for a husband who has supported me in the decisions I have made. Nobody ever suggested, 'hey why don't you sell drugs?'

God does not love me anymore than He does the drug dealer. Christ died for all of us. I hope and pray that the people who live in that house can find Christ's love and forgiveness and turn their lives around.

Yes, mistakes were made. But forgiveness is available for all.

~~~~~

Speaking of mistakes being made...Dad said the other day, "Oh, I've been meaning to tell you..." and proceeded to tell me.

When I related the information to Pat, he said, "Oh, yeah, I meant to tell you....." and proceeded to reiterate what Dad said.

And I've been meaning to tell you, but I'm out of time today...I'll tell you on Monday.

thoughts thunk whilst lawn mowing

Yesterday was lawn mowing day. I love to mow the lawn. I did most of the lot on which our home sits with the push mower, the extra lot next door with Dad's Kubota.

And I thunk thoughts. Two hours worth of thinking.

In high school (surprised I can remember back that far?) there were a few things in which I excelled. I am using the term 'excelled' loosely.

During my four years of high school French, I always got A's.

I was first clarinet in band, usually second chair, but once in a great while I would win the first chair.

I was good at running. I especially loved running the low hurdles. (My boys are probably reading this with their mouths open in disbelief. Mom running? Fast? And jumping?)

Sounds like I'm bragging doesn't it?

I thought at one point during high school that perhaps I would be an interpreter and work at the United Nations. Or maybe play with a symphony orchestra. Both of these would require living in large cities.

Riding the lawn mower around the yard, I realized that though God enabled me to do well in a few things in my long ago youth, He made me a country girl at heart. I love having herds of cows visible from my front porch. Horses too. Love putting tiny seeds in the dirt and a few months later enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Playing in the dirt gives me satisfaction that I don't think I could have realized in other ways. No regrets here. Green acres is the place for me.

Just some thoughts from the mower on a sunny spring day....

taking stock of the market

The day dawned clear and cool. Birds singing, sun shining. My agenda for the morning was to arrive at the new farmer's market when it opened and then head to exercise class.

The market is not far from our house, the road to it is windy and narrow. And lined with picturesque farms on all sides. Several cars were already at the market when I arrived and some of the vendors were still unloading.

I'm not sure what I expected to find, but I was delighted with what I did find. There were no more than a dozen vendors; I snapped up some sourdough bread from 'Santa's Bakery',(yes run by a man with a long white beard), some honey from a local apiary and some bedding plants. In the meantime I chatted with the lady who used to own the land on which our subdivision sits, another gal from exercise class, a man from church and the gal from whom we purchased some of our deciduous trees.

People person that I am, I am enjoying the fact that from time to time now, I run into people I know. And...I made a new friend! The lady selling eggs had a distinctly 'non-southern' accent. I asked her where she was from.
"I moved here from Mobile, AL", she said.
"Before that?" I asked.
"Born and raised in Wisconsin." she replied.
"I knew it!"

Though from downstate Wisconsin, she regularly visited our town in the summer time. We had a delightful time chatting. And her husband is a fisherman.

I scooted off to exercise class (got there just in the nick of time), but left early. Without cooling down properly. It is a wonder all of my 'muscles' haven't seized up. But, I couldn't get my mind off our little farmer's market. I hurried home and convinced Pat to take and early lunch break and go to the market. He did. Talked to some of the same people I had, got some fishing tips from the egg lady and met some of our neighbors there.

The market was open for 3 hours and I think I was there for all of it but about 45 minutes. We bought some more bedding plants and perennials.


Yesterday afternoon I helped Dad plant cheery yellow snapdragons and red and white impatiens. A quick supper followed which included our first radish out of the garden, then on to choir practice. The choir director asked me to be in a quartet for Memorial Day, so now I have another piece of music to memorize! Brain, don't fail me now.

The bedroom windows were open as I drifted off to sleep. I could hear the cows mooing in the field.

Thank you, LORD. What a wonderful day.

to market

After a few days of cool rain, Saturday brought clear skies. Since the ground was too wet to work in the morning we went for a little drive. To one of my favorite places: the Amish market.

It was their opening weekend and the stream of cars entering the one lane road under the railroad trestle was steady, but not quite as constant as it will be in a few weeks.

The little greenhouse was full of bedding plants: tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and all manner of herbs. The vegetable stand itself had many empty bins, but those will gradually fill as the season progresses. One could purchase homemade jams, jellies and chutneys or soaps or rag rugs or a few other hand made items. The slim pickin' produce included butter crunch lettuce, onions and sweet potatoes. And look at those potatoes! The big one in the center was almost the size of a football!

We succumbed to smell of the fresh bakery. The plate of sticky buns we purchased was still warm. Yum. To assuage our guilt we also bought some lettuce. And some bedding plants.

It was a lovely morning.

This morning I am headed out to a new farmer's market sponsored by our volunteer fire department. From the flyer our neighbor dropped off, it looks as though it will also primarily be bedding plants and baked goods. And local honey. With promises of more to come as the season progresses. Can't wait to see what treasures I might find there!

well writing

I done did hear this blurb on the radio last week. Me thought it funny, so I is writing it out for you to read for yourselfs.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of William Strunk and E.B. White's Elements of Style, the grammar manual used by millions of students, including commentator Marc Acito.

Me and a friend was talking about using proper grammar. And he says to I, "Today is the 50th anniversary of Strunk and White's Elements of Style."

So I got me a copy and totally mesmerized this vast suppository of information. For instance, Strunk and White says, "Write with nouns and verbs." Myself, for one, is relieved to know this, as I have been trying to write with macaroni and cheese.

And it is never recommended to willfully and recklessly — because it puts undue emphasis on the adverb — split an infinitive.

Oops. You might have just heard out of the corner of your ear that the passive voice was used by myself. It is to be avoided. Unless you are the CEO of a bank, in which case you cannot do your job without saying "mistakes were made."

Other rules they learned me were to not verbify a word by adding a suffix. Avoid cliches like the plague. Use adverbs sparingly. And do not speak in the negative.

They also recommend using language that is definite, specific and concrete. So don't say, "We had a period of bad weather." Say, "Every definite day for a week it rained concrete." See how that sentence is kinda, y'know, specific? More or less?

Strunk and White continues to update their book, even though both of them are dead. But some of their advice is old-fashioned and, frankly, downright arachnophobic.

For instance, they say to keep related words together. That's fine for all intensive purposes, but what if one of your related words empties your bank account and goes to Atlantic City and loses all your money at the blackjack table? Yeah, that word is dead to me. And you know who you are, grandma.

When it comes to "shall" and "will," Strunk and White gives the following example: "A swimmer in distress cries, 'I shall drown; no one will save me!' " But a suicide says, "I will drown; no one shall save me!" And I say, "You two (pedantic) know-it-alls deserve to drown." I mean, what about "Help!"

And with regarding the difference between lie and lay — no one actually knows the difference, but politicians do both.

So who needs a manual to write real good? In the age of tweeting and texting, Elements of Style deserves to fade into Bolivia.

The source of the article and info about the author can be finded here.

~~~~~

The homeschoolers amongst you may want to print out this article and have your students find all the the grammatical errors. But maybe you do that with my blog already. That why you missed me, Linda?

~~~~~

To my Northwoods friends: I am so sorry about your weather. How many inches of snow did you end up getting? Snow is much prettier in December than April. If you want to see a picture look here.

what I did on my blogger vacation

I thought that a little break from blogging would help me come back refreshed and inspired and ready to write witty and encouraging blog posts.

Guess I didn't take a long enough break.

Let me tell you some of what I did while I was away. First of all, a very special little boy is turning one next week (!!!) so I was working on a little something for him.

Secondly, I was also working on music. Our choir director, bless his heart, apparently has a (misplaced) trust in me. I am working on memorizing a couple of songs for special music. And now our church streams live on the internet. If I was feeling smug and brave and confident I would tell you how to access it. But since those are not virtues I aspire to, I won't. :)

Thirdly, (and I even hate to mention this since I just received a texted picture of newly fallen snow in Ann's yard this morning, ) there was a lot to do in the yard. Planting, weeding and mowing. Don't tell my Northwoods friends that I have mowed four times this year (or is it five?).

I did a fairly good job of staying away from the computer. Pat's work computer has been v-e-r-y - s-l-o-w lately and I was a little askeered that it would break while I was using it. I owe some of you emails and I hope to get to that in the next few days.

So that is what I did on my blogger vacation. What are y'all up to?

time for a

little blogging break.

Lord willing, I'll be back next Monday.

Have a great week!

Easter and beyond

A beautiful Easter morning included a stirring message, heartfelt music and reflections on the Savior's love. Once again the choir sang 'All Rise' and once again my eyes filled with tears as I contemplated Christ's sacrifice for me. And you.

Mom and Dad came over for Sunday dinner: ham, twice-baked potatoes, pineapple and strawberries and green beans.

For dessert I had prepared a blueberry-peach cobbler and Mom and Dad brought this:

I served both and Dad said he would probably have to take a half-bottle of insulin to counteract all the sugar. None of us needed much for supper.

~~~~~~

The youth in our church asked members of the congregation to bring in flowers for the decorating of the cross. A wooden cross covered with chicken wire stood in front of the church. By the time church began, it looked like this:

I hope you all had a blessed Easter!

The day between

vintage Easter card #3

One of the things I appreciate about living down here (besides the neighbors down the street, the weather, the beauty, the long gardening season) is the area newscasts.

No worries about political correctness here.

The other day Pat and I were watching the noon news and Chef Walter was unabashedly describing and demonstrating how to make Resurrection Cookies. "A good way to teach children about the meaning of Easter," he commented. (recipe below)

Yesterday late afternoon as we were watching all the severe weather warnings and watches about our area, Todd, the always upbeat weatherman, repeatedly wished everyone a meaningful Good Friday and a blessed Easter.

Often, on the human interest stories of the area, churches are allowed to invite people to their events:

"We just want people to get saved."

"We want people to know that Jesus loves them."

"We're just doing what the LORD tells us to do."

Yes, on the news.

I find this so refreshing. And encouraging.

Wishing you all a very blessed Easter as you celebrate our Living Savior!

Resurrection Cookies
Ingredients Needed:1 cup pecan halves

1 tsp vinegar

3 egg whites

pinch salt

1 cup sugar

zipper baggie

wooden spoon

tape

Bible
Directions:Preheat oven to 300 deg.

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to him. Read PS. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed. Read Matt. 27:65-66.

GO TO BED!!!! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Resurrection morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Resurrection day Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matt. 28:1-9.

HE HAS RISEN!

Good Friday

Lightning back lit the dark clouds rolling in from the west. I scurried home from my walk hoping to get back before the skies opened.

We have had severe weather passing through the area this morning. Thunder, lightning, rain. Computers and television were unplugged.

It was a good time to meditate on this (from Matthew 27:45-54):

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed,

"Surely he was the Son of God!"

He was. And is. And evermore shall be.

don't do anything hard

vintage Easter card #2

The words in today's title were heard from time to time around my household when I was a child. When my siblings or I would complain that something was 'too hard', Mom or Dad would respond in a teasing tone, "Well, don't ever do anything hard!"

We knew, of course, that they were telling us they expected us to do things that were hard.

Yesterday, as I was waiting for a call from Jon to tell me Daniel was out of surgery, I watched the tail end of an interview with Michael Phelps' mother. Apparently, she has written a book about parenting. The interviewer said something about her children's successes and she responded with something you don't hear much of these days. "I want them to have hard times too, that is how you learn and grow."

The interviewer seemed surprised at that statement, as were many listeners, I'm sure. In this day and age of worrying about self-esteem and making sure everybody gets a trophy - whether they win or lose, it is possible to water down the value of hard work and the reward of overcoming tough times.

That said, would I have wished 3 concussions and 3 polyp removals on Daniel during these past 3 years? Not at all. Especially not now that we are not an easy half day's drive away. But I know that God doesn't waste any of the trials that come our way.

Daniel, as you may know, is studying to be a youth pastor. I am sure that as a youth pastor his experiences these past 3 years will give him a greater empathy with the kids he works with in the future.

And what youth pastor worth his salt wouldn't love to have some stories about stuff growing in his nose?

~~~~~~
Thank you all for your prayers. It means so much to us that you were bringing our boy to the throne of grace! Thanks too, to Jon, Kristi and Joshy for their sacrifice of time!

Released!

Daniel is back at the college now, resting and in his brother's care.

Thanks for all your prayers!

Admitted

Apparently they don't let you stay in recovery for hours on end. Daniel has been admitted to the hospital, but we are still somewhat hopeful that he won't have to spend the night.

Last time I talked to Jon, Daniel was sleeping. He must have heard Becky.

Thanks for all your prayers!

Recovery

is going a little tough. Daniel is sweaty and nauseous and pale and dizzy. May have to stay overnight. :(

God is still good, though, and we trust Him and continue to pray!

out of surgery

Daniel is in recovery now. Nauseous. The nurse told Jon that the surgery went well.
Hopefully Jon will be seeing Daniel soon and will get a chance to talk to the Dr.

Thanks for praying! More as soon as we hear from the Dr.

Praise the LORD!

little distracted here

vintage Easter card #1

Any of the topics that I might have blogged about today have fled from my brain this morning.

The main thing on my mind is Daniel. His surgery is to begin at 7:30 a.m. CDT and last for three hours, which seems like a pretty long time for out-patient surgery. Jon is with him (thanks so much to Jon for going and to Joshua and Kristi for their part in enabling him to go).

Meditating on these verses this morning as I pray for Daniel:

"Rejoice in the LORD always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The LORD is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to GOD. And the peace of GOD, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in CHRIST JESUS."

Philippians 4:4-6

I'll post an update when I hear from Jon (and have computer access).

Pat and I spent the better part of Saturday afternoon flinging (pretty much) composted cow manure off a trailer onto our lawn.



Jealous?



Try this.



All the flinging, none of the sore muscles.



We filled in the many bare spots on our lawn and will reseed later this week. We needed good, nutrient -rich soil to help this next round of seeding to actually take.

~~~~~~
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times." Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, " 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"
Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." Mark 4:1-20

Lord, ,please make my heart good soil. May I hear Your Word, accept it and produce a good crop.

~~~~~

We'd appreciate your prayers for Daniel tomorrow morning as he has his third round of polyp removal. Big brother Jon is traveling up to stay with him. We are praying that this will not result in the overnight stay that the last 'out-patient' surgery did. We are also praying that these polyps will quit coming back. Thanks!

there will be a Day...

We got a small glimpse of it yesterday as the choir sang about being 'in the presence of the Holy One'. Though we had sung this song over and over again and though the words had penetrated our brains, yesterday, they penetrated our hearts.

The soloist for this particular song had asked that we pray that she not cry during the song. And we did; corporately and individually. What we failed to do was to pray that we choir members would not cry. So, many of us did. Including me.

The song All Rise along with Crown Him with Many Crowns and Holy, Holy, Holy did me in.

The church was packed, the 'angels' had come down the aisles and at the appropriate time in the song lifted their hands in worship. The congregation spontaneously stood, many of them with lifted hands, as the words of the song repeatedly enjoined all, to rise.

It was an amazing moment. But it can't hold a candle to That Day.

"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:

"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,

to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and strength

and honor and glory and praise!"

Revelation 5:11-12

purple phase

When the lady in charge of our choir potluck tomorrow starting telling me everything she had to do this past week, including pack for a trip to Europe, I offered to take care of the table decorations.

What to do? I searched here for inspiration. Nice ideas. Too 'spensive.

I raided Mom's stash of Easter decorations (thanks, Mom!) and got some of the basics and some ideas.

Our little fruit market had flats of pansies. I love pansies. Particularly purple ones. I bought a flat. I checked out the dollar stores ( our little town has three of them!!!) for Easter baskets, but they just looked too cheap.

I hit the jackpot at our Habitat for Humanity thrift shop. Milk-glass-like stemware. I needed six, but there weren't six of one kind so I had to make do with 4 of one style and 2 of another. Perfect. So was the price at $1 each.

Do you like them?

there goes the neighborhood

A few weeks ago the neighbor's house (three doors down) was burgled. That a word? Think so.

This stirred up talk amongst the neighbors and while we do not have an official neighborhood watch, we do have neighbors watching. This is a new thing for us, having lived for so many decades in the woods, where we couldn't watch or be watched because we couldn't see or be seen.

Case in point:

We recently spread some good topsoil in our backyard and planted some grass seed. A neighbor mentioned to us whilst we were out walking how good our backyard is looking. Which he can probably only see if he has his binoculars trained on it.

'Nother case in point:

We were working in the adjacent lot today and a neighbor appeared almost immediately.

'Saw you were working and wondered if I could use some of that....'

Of course I'm guilty too. I particularly watch the neighbors northeast of us. After all, they spent the first 19 years of my life watching me. My turn.

The neighborhood watching doesn't really bother me. It is amusing, not creepy. Everyone has been very friendly and helpful here. And hopefully if we keep our eyes open we can avoid any more burglaries.

But we don't want to get too carried away watching the neighbors. We want to be helpful, not nosy. And hopefully, vice versa.

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life,

to mind your own business and to work with your hands,

just as we told you,

so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders

and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

I Thessalonians 4:11-12

that was a good one

Thoroughly enjoyed yesterday. I returned to my aerobics class after a three week hiatus and had a good work out.

After class, I was able to successfully accomplish the errands I wanted to run. Once home I spent the rest of the day playing in the dirt. I thinned the lettuce and radishes and planted a succession crop. I weeded (hand digging dozens and dozens of little wild garlic bulbs) and prepared another bed for planting. Borrowed the tractor and mowed the lawn. I finally came in late afternoon and got cleaned up for choir practice.

It was a good practice. We have worked hard and last night's dress rehearsal enabled us to see what the whole program will look like. During the Hosanna/Blessed Be the Name of the Lord medley a group of 'townspeople' will be walking in, talking and laughing and greeting the man playing Jesus. It was fun to watch out of the corner of my eye.

Then for the final song 'All Rise/Holy, Holy, Holy, /Crown Him with Many Crowns medley the costumed 'angels' will come in and lift their hands in worship. The man playing Jesus will be standing in the baptistry. The plan was for the choir to also turn and raise their hands.

The choir director told us for that number (which is lengthy and difficult) to be effective we would really need to have the piece memorized. We sat in stunned silence. Here, four days before the program, he was telling us to memorize this number.



"APRIL FOOL!" he shouted.

He got us.

tech knowledgey

This is so cool.
Because I have a cell phone with a basically unlimited text messaging plan, yet no internet access, I used this feature quite a bit while I was out on my trip. Jon told me about it. See, you can still learn things from your kids (besides patience ....~smile~).

I simply put the numbers for Google 466 453 in my cell phone book directory. When we would be traveling to a new city I would text the following message: Minneapolis, MN weather (or wherever we were headed) and within a minute or two I would receive a three day forecast for that city. Try it! Standard text messaging charges apply.

Did you already know about this?
~~~~~
Can someone tell my why blogger highlights 'internet' as a misspelled word when I run spell check on my posts?