For the record, another name has been added to the family Scrabble board!
Tiff, your name fills an empty spot, on the board and in our hearts!
We’re proud to have you join the fam!
Love in Key Largo
Last Sunday we had a little wedding on a beach in Key Largo.
My son married his true love.
They bound their promises, their future and their lives together.
Sam, Tiff and God — “a rope made of three cords is hard to break.” Ecclesiastes 4:12
At the end of the ceremony they did what all good grandchildren living in the 21st century should do: they said “Hi!” to Grandma, who was watching on Skype.
It was one of those magical moments, one of those happiest of days that you treasure up and hold dear.
Mother of the Groom
This is my boy, Sam.
He’s getting married next week.
He’s 27 years old and has grown up to become an interesting, capable and compassionate young man.
I’ve given him lots of advice over the years, but looking at this picture, there’s just a few more things I’d like to say.
1. See how firmly you grip that baseball bat? Hold on to your marriage with that same steady hand, ready for whatever comes.
2. See the strength in those arms? Put those arms around your wife everyday — let her know she can depend on your strength.
3. See how straight and tall you stand? Be resolved to stand up for what’s true, noble, right, pure and lovely as you lead your family.
4. See that twinkle in your eye? Bring joy and energy and delight into your home when you walk in the door at the end of each day.
5. See the way your hair sticks out every which way? You don’t have to be perfect — and neither does she.
6. See that smile on your face? Let that positiveness fill you with confidence for your future together.
7. See that ear bending under your hat? Listen, really listen to each other’s words and say “I love you” often.
8. See that uniform? You’re starting a new team and you are in it together. Lots of us are cheering you on.
9. Just a couple other things: shut the cupboard doors, pick up your dirty clothes and put down the toilet seat.
10. Keep Jesus at the center.
Love, Mom
Jackpot
Thursday night the Packers played the Bears at 7:20 p.m. CT. At 6:15 p.m., realization hit that the game was only on the NFL Network — which we don’t get. After a few moments of wide-eyed angst, PB did what he does so well. He took charge, called the 800 number for our cable company, and sweet talked the lady into giving us the NFL Network. For free. Gosh, I love that man.
Evidently, a few weeks ago, we received a notice in the mail from the cable company announcing that several channels were being added to our lineup. And that wasn’t all! For such loyal customers as PB and I, the monthly charge was actually being dropped by several dollars. All we needed to do was to call in or go to the web site and verify our address.
Evidently, I threw the notice away. But I’m secretly kind of glad, because PB got to come off looking like a hero. In a matter of minutes, we were watching the pre-game show and reveling in the fact that his great charm got us 100 new channels for $10 less per month. We hit the jackpot. And I was going to settle for listening to the game on the radio. Geesh.
I probably settle for less more than I realize. God offers a pretty sweet deal, but I only take Him up on small parts of it.
Eternal life? Great! And blessings here on earth besides? What?
Peace of mind? Wonderful! But joy and purpose and security too? Really?
Forgiveness and grace? I’ll take it! Plus Holy Spirit power? Come on.
God is the jackpot. I don’t have to charm anything out of Him — He offers so much more than I even know. I just need to tune in.
Back to School
We were on a college campus last weekend. There’s nothing like strolling among big brick academic buildings to get my juices flowing. Just thinking about walking into a university lecture hall with a notebook and pencil in hand makes me all fluttery inside — so much to learn, so little time. As I was waxing eloquent about the joys of higher education, I asked PB if he felt it, too. After a pause he said, “It kinda makes me feel sick to my stomach.” (He still has dreams about being unprepared when called on in front of class.)
Alas, I am not enrolled in any colleges this fall. I’ve heard senior citizens can audit classes for free and not take any tests — PB might even go for that — but we’ve got a while to wait. Then, something wonderful happened.
The other day I was downloading music from iTunes and clicked on iTunes U. Glory! Free college courses from top universities! Well, I got clicking and dragging. This week I took Bo for a walk while listening to a Master Class on creative writing. Last night I laid in bed with my earphones on, soaking up a doctorate class from Reformed Theological Seminary. Somebody pinch me — this is too good to be true.
After a rather complacent summer of fluffy reading and down-right laziness, I am ready to strap on the backpack and go back to school….while walking the dog and lying in bed. What a wonderful world.
If you see any classes over at iTunes U you’d like to eavesdrop on, please share!
Backordered
One of my responsibilities as Christian Education Director at my church is to order material for the classes and study groups starting in September. A new class is being offered this fall called “Foundations” — it will be a place for new believers or people without a church background to learn about the basic beliefs of the Christian faith. Each topic has its own study guide: God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Church, Salvation, and the Bible. I’m excited to give people a solid place to begin their journey of faith.
When the box arrived this week I eagerly opened it to look over the material. The packing list was resting on top and something caught my eye. At the bottom of the printout was the following statement:
THE ITEM LISTED BELOW IS PRESENTLY UNAVAILABLE:
BACKORDERED: GOD
No kidding.
Later, as I was talking to a friend about the class, the conversation went something like this:
“What topic should we start with?”
“Well, I was hoping to start with God, but He’s on backorder, so I guess we’ll have to start with Jesus.”
“That’s not a bad place to start.”
“Yeah, that will be fine, unless God gets here before the 9th.”
Huh. Ever feel that way? I sure have. I place my order with God (do this, change that, heal him, help her) and when it doesn’t pan out according to my plan, I’m disappointed. I keep hoping God will show up in the nick of time, but I am already forming a back-up plan just in case. Before long, I wonder why He seems far away.
I’ve found that most often, when I feel distant from God, it’s because I’m not showing up.
Maybe I’d better sign up for the class in basics.
I seem to need to relearn those foundational truths regularly.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8
September Scripture Memory Verses
Sometimes I like to memorize several verses from the same Psalm. It’s nice to be able to recite the words at night as my head hits the pillow and I drift off to sleep. Sweet dreams.
Sweet Potatoes, Baseball and Signs
I know, I know. I’ve been slacking. August is a good month to take a sabbatical, though. As summer winds down, each day needs to be savored. Before fall activities crank up, some non-activity is sweet relief. Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure. I’ll see you in September!
Hudson started eating sweet potatoes….and using a fork….kind of.
He didn’t hit any home runs this summer….
…and neither did he……
…which means no one had to run the bases in their underwear this season.
I found some signs at a flea market. Instead of buying them, I took a picture.
I’ll stop now.
Ten Cents
This is a hazardous time of year for me. Temptations abound. The back-to-school sales are starting and even though my children are too old and my grandchild is too young, I can’t resist the lure of brand-spanking new school supplies. All those spiral notebooks are just waiting to be filled with knowledge — all those pens and pencils are itching to record wise words….and creative doodles.
In our family, it has been firmly established that if the kids want PB to do something, all they have to say is, “Aw, come on, Dad! It’ll be fun!” However, if I’m the one they are after, the better approach is, “Aw, Mom, come on! You’ll probably learn something!”
So today, when faced with a store display of Mead College Ruled One Subject spiral notebooks, I caved. And here’s the clincher: they were 10 cents apiece. (I didn’t realize until now that there is no “cent” sign key on a laptop keyboard. How disappointing.) Ten cents! My Scottish frugality kicked into high gear and I picked out two of each color. Ten cents! I can’t resist anything that costs 10 cents, let alone notebooks. Unfortunately, the cashier told me there was a limit of ten, so I had to put half of them back. I don’t know what I was going to do with 20 spiral notebooks.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with 10 spiral notebooks.
Maybe learn something.
(Humfph. “Cent” is not recognized as a word on the spellchecker. It is insisting that I change the word to “sent” or “scent”. What is this world coming to? Guess I just learned something. Better write it down in one of my new notebooks.)
August Scripture Memory Verses
Here we are in the dog days of August! I’ve been cleaning out the storage closets in the Sunday school rooms (no air conditioning) and it’s given new meaning to Psalm 42:1, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” May the water of the Word quench our thirsty souls.
a small drop of ink 