Things are going well - healthy and very rambunctious in there!
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Monday, December 1, 2014
Things that Go Missing
I didn’t grow up Catholic – thankfully! Too many things to
remember. Too many rules and weird ceremonies. But my dad did. And my husband
did. And I visited a Catholic church a few times with my grandparents. So, I
know something about them. More than enough to be grateful the Lord has saved
me and my family from all that rigmarole.
I learned that going to a Catholic service is like an
aerobics class. Up on your feet one minute, seated the next and then down on
your knees. And they like to kiss each other (are we French?). But worse of
all, they all drink out of the same communion cup. I don’t care if they do wipe
the edge. Aren’t they afraid of germs and getting sick? But, then, Anglicans do
the same thing. Makes me all the more glad I’m Baptist/Presbyterian.
The funniest thing, though, has got to be their saints. We
all know the common ones: St. Francis, St. Patrick, St. Nicholas. And they’re
the saints of not-so-abnormal things: animals, Ireland, ships/sailors (or is it
candy in shoes?). But how about St. Sebastian of hardware stores? Or St. Magnus
of Fussen against caterpillars. Or St. Drogo of coffee houses, midwives,
unattractive people, mute people and cattle (if you figure out the connections
between these things, let me know). I guess the Catholics don’t like to leave
anything out.
Growing up, the one I thought the most bizarre was St.
Anthony: the saint of lost things. Why? Because, every time my grandmother lost
something she prayed to St. Anthony to find it. That just confused me. How
could a dead guy help you find anything? Was he a ghost that visited your house
and kind of shuffled your missing keys around so you would find them? My mom’s
advice was much more practical: look for it – it won’t jump out and bite you!
Yesterday I thought of this because when I got home from
church and went to take off my earrings, I was missing one. They’re a favorite
pair, too: small, gold hoops with a dangling heart charm. Probably not worth a
ton, but they were the most expensive pair I owned as a teenager and I had been
delighted to get them from my parents for Christmas one year. I was sad it was
missing and hoping I had lost it around the house and not at church. But I
wasn’t about to pray to some ghostly saint to point them out for me. Instead, I
just asked God to help me find it. After all, He knew where it was.
Happily, I found the hoop that afternoon just outside our
garage door. But no heart. It’s so small I wasn’t sure if I would ever find it,
but I looked around outside to no avail. This morning, I got in my car and
glanced around real quick, sure that if it was in there it had fallen into some
crevice I would never be able to search. But, nope, it had tumbled into the cup
holder between the seats and was waiting for me. God had shown me where it was
and it made a good start to a Monday morning.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
The Giving of Thanks
Therefore I will give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I
will sing praises unto Thy name.
1 Chronicles
16:8, 34-35, 41
Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make
known His deeds among the people… O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His
mercy endureth for ever. And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and
gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to Thy holy name, and glory in Thy
praise…And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who
were expressed by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because His mercy endureth
for ever…
Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun;
Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the
hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the Lord.
And Hezekiah appointed the courses
of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his
service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings,
to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates
of the tents of the Lord.
And the chief of the Levites:
Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over
against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment
of David the man of God, ward over against ward.
Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing
praises unto Thy name.
Psalm 30:4,
12
Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give
thanks at the remembrance
of His holiness…To the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and not be
silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee for ever.
Unto Thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that Thy name is near Thy
wondrous works declare.
It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto
Thy name, O Most High…
Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of His
holiness.
O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon His name: make
known His deeds among the people.
Psalm 106:1,
47
Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His
mercy endureth for ever…Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the
heathen, to give thanks unto Thy holy name, and to triumph in
Thy praise.
O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His
mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 118:1,
29
O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: because His
mercy endureth for ever…O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His
mercy endureth for ever.
At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee because of Thy righteous
judgments.
Whither the tribes go up, the
tribes of the Lord, unto
the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.
Psalm 136:1-3,
26
O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His
mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for His mercy
endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for His mercy
endureth for ever…O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for His mercy
endureth for ever.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto Thy name: the upright shall dwell
in Thy presence.
Who have for my life laid down
their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of
the Gentiles.
For if I by grace be a partaker,
why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?
Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my
prayers…
We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, praying always for you…
We give thanks to God always for you all, making
mention of you in our prayers…
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus concerning you.
But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth…
Monday, November 24, 2014
When Quirky Becomes Real
I was a teenager when I first saw Disney’s The Happiest Millionaire starring Fred MacMurray.
I thought it was a fun movie – a musical about a quirky family. Almost like Mary Poppins but without the magic. This
wealthy family just kept alligators, and had a boxing arena in the backyard,
and couldn’t keep servants because they were just, well…odd. And since I like
quirky (maybe because I’m not that way), I would say it’s one of my favorite
musicals.
About that same time I started keeping a list of books
movies were based on. If you’re like me and read most of the beginning credits
of a movie (simply because you read every word in front of you), you realize
that most movies come from a book. During this time period I read odd books like
Blackbeard’s Ghost and The Apple Dumpling Gang. But, as you can
imagine, most of these books are hard to find. And My Philadelphia Father by Cordelia Drexel Biddle with Kyle Crichton
was one of them.
For some reason, I started thinking about that movie and the
songs in it over the past few weeks. (You know how odd songs just jump into
your mind at random times…) And I wondered if a library as old as the Carnegie
system might have the book that movie was based on. The answer: yes.
By this point in time I knew that the Drexel Biddle clans of
Philadelphia really did exist and had since the 1600s (in fact, they arrived before William Penn). And, of course, I
knew that Cordelia Drexel Biddle (“Cordy” in the movie) married Angier “Angie”
Duke of the great North Carolina family and Duke University. I even knew that
the real Anthony Drexel Biddle – Cordy’s father played by Fred MacMurray –
enjoyed boxing, had a Biddle Bible Class (a sort of predecessor to the FCA) and
was involved with the Marines during WWI. What did I not know?
Well, now that I’ve read the book written by “Cordy”
herself, I did not know that he really kept alligators. And they really did
freeze over one evening thanks to a thoughtless maid, thawed overnight and were
found running about the house the next morning. The real Anthony Drexel Biddle
did sing opera for just about anyone, even though he wasn’t very good. Some
invitations to Cordy’s wedding were misplaced (although by the postal service
itself, not by Mr. Drexel Biddle). He was once on a chocolate cake diet. And,
there is a real John Lawless.
Of course, the movie isn’t 100% accurate. (It couldn’t be when they break into song every fifteen minutes…) But it just goes to show that sometimes one’s imagination could never conjure up reality. I mean, who would have ever thought that alligators could survive freezing over?
Of course, the movie isn’t 100% accurate. (It couldn’t be when they break into song every fifteen minutes…) But it just goes to show that sometimes one’s imagination could never conjure up reality. I mean, who would have ever thought that alligators could survive freezing over?
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Some Days Don't Go as Planned
If there is such a group called “Planner Anonymous” I should
have a gold membership…maybe platinum. I’m about planning. I adore lists…and
lists…and more lists. But some days just don’t go like you plan them.
Yesterday was supposed to be a normal Tuesday. Ed gets up
and goes to work in order to be there at 3 AM. I wake up later and head to work
a little before 8. I have a list of things to do at work, which I make my way
through and hope I can stretch them out to last a full day. After unloading a
1,400 piece semi and putting the store in order, Ed gets home at some point
(these days with the holidays coming, I’m never sure) and I get home a little
after 4. We have a dinner, maybe play a game or watch a movie and go to bed. Simple.
Well, it started okay. Ed got up a little before 2 and
headed out the door. Then I hear a funny noise. I figured it was his truck – it
can make all kinds of noises – but when I heard it a second time, I got up. He
was outside, a covering of snow on his truck, the roads and our yard trying to
get his truck to move. Now it started just fine. It just wouldn’t go anywhere.
And after a few attempts, I stepped out on the porch into a 15 degree morning
and waved at him. He got out of the truck and joined me.
“The emergency brake is frozen stuck,” he said. “I can’t get
it to move. And it’s not going to thaw.”
Well, better I call in and switch my days around at work
than he call in and leave a gaping hole in trying to unload 1,400 large pieces
from truck. So, he took my car and I went back to bed.
I got up later and called into work, saying I was stranded
for the day but would be in Wednesday and Thursday instead. (Which has worked
out much better anyway!) And then I spent the day doing odd chores: unpacking some
of my fine china and washing it for Thanksgiving next week, gluing some objects
that needed fixing, laundry, cooking for the week, scrapbooking. All in all,
quite profitable.
Ed got home around one or so and took a nap. Then he went
out to try to get his truck to move. Since the temperature had only risen a few
degrees all day, all he accomplished was to maneuver it up on the curb. So
began the hour of “what now?”. Have it towed? Can we get it fixed? But they’ll
just find other things to fix. Is it time to start getting it ready for
inspection in March? How will we both get to work with one car? And most
importantly, why can’t money just fall from heaven so we can buy a new/used
car?
All this started a series of phone calls to AAA, the
mechanic and his friend Dave who just happened to have a car to spare right
now. All that settled and our evening planned to head to the South Hills, the
tow guy called and asked what the trouble was. He gave Ed a troubleshooting
idea to try and said he’d be around later. Ed went down to the basement,
grabbed a bucket, filled it with lukewarm water and went back outside. He
doused the rear brake drum with the water, started his car up and it moved.
So, the tow guy didn’t come. We didn’t go get Dave’s spare
car. We set an appointment with the mechanic for next week just to see what
this truck is going to need to get it through one more inspection. And Ed knew
what to do this morning when the drum was still frozen.
I think all this is a picture of my future life come spring.
Just imagine all the wrenches a baby can throw into my plans!
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