One of the many things I lost when my mama died was a wonderful source of new books to read. I like that http://www.amazon.com/ will refer books to me from what I have ordered but sometimes they miss the mark. One new source that I have found is Laura. Her blog is on my blogroll and it is Lines in Pleasant Places. She is a reader and an AUBURN fan. What a fabulous combination.
She recommend Hannah Coutler by Wendell Berry. I read it a few weeks ago when I was sick. As bad as I felt, I had to keep reading. I wanted to find out what happened in the story plus Wendell Berry's verbiage took me to a wonderful place. His words are put together in such a way that I liked to roll them over in my mind like one would do a cherry lifesaver on your tongue so you could savor every taste.
One of the themes in this book is 'The Membership' It is the spirit of community that is present in the town, Port William, that Hannah and her family lived. It made me ponder the member ships that I have in my family, in my church and in my circle of friends. My friend, LindaS, read the book and she was surprised how a man could write so well from the viewpoint of a woman. She also said that she came across an article in Christianity Today that called Wendell Berry a present day prophet. I have not read that article yet.
I have A Place on Earth by Wendell Barry in my que of books to read.
Another book I read while I was sick was The Solitary Envoy by T. Davis Bunn and Isabella Bunn. I enjoyed this book and I plan to read more in this series. It was a quick read and somewhat predictable. I enjoyed the history that I learned and it made me read more about that time. This was somewhat of a cotton candy read but we all need these every now and again.
The book that I put down so I could blog is Eulalis by Brian Jacques. I love these books. There are about 18 of these books. All stand alone but the more you read the more you come across folks that you know or have met before. I say folks but all the characters are animals. The herbivores are good for the most part and the carnivores are bad for the most part. The writing is fun to read- I love it when I read things like "they are tip-pawed across the floor so as not to wake the babes". These books also show Romans 8:29-29 to me. They show me in a story how all things work together. 'If the Tapestry had not been stolen, they never would have seen the writing behind it, which led to a wonderful discovery...'
If you plan to read these start with Redwall. It sets the backdrop for all the others. Andrew's favorite is Pearls of Lutra. It is my second favorite.
I need to get back to my book, the golden fox has just captured the hedgehog and the haremaiden and the squirrel. The Redwall Abbey is in trouble and I must find out what happens.
Do you have a book you would recommend ?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
It's a girl!
I have got a new girl in house! Jeanie is the little sister of Chris, who is one of Andrew's buddies from AUBURN. She is doing an eight week rotation at a local hospital. She is a wonderful addition to our home. 
She fits right into all the teasing. On Friday evening she was a little chilly, so I got up without saying anything to her to get her a blanket. She thought I was getting me a blanket and she asked for the other one. I got her the blanket she wanted and gave it to her. She apologised for sounding bossy. It was no big deal but by the time Kaitlin got finished telling it the next day to her brother, Chris, it had morphed into Jeanie snapping her fingers and saying "Girlfriend, get me that blue blanket!" Jeanie just laughed with the rest of us.
She fits right into all the teasing. On Friday evening she was a little chilly, so I got up without saying anything to her to get her a blanket. She thought I was getting me a blanket and she asked for the other one. I got her the blanket she wanted and gave it to her. She apologised for sounding bossy. It was no big deal but by the time Kaitlin got finished telling it the next day to her brother, Chris, it had morphed into Jeanie snapping her fingers and saying "Girlfriend, get me that blue blanket!" Jeanie just laughed with the rest of us.Here are her parents Kirk and Rita and her boyfriend, Robert. Kirk and Rita have taken such good care of Andrew for years. It is nice to be able to do something for them.
Kaitlin and Marisa are enjoying having another sister in the house. Carl is getting more and more out numbered!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Do you text?
We are a texting family and I love it. One can send thoughts and questions and *other* things in a short sweet messages. Some folks say ' Why can't you just call?' Because if I am in Bible study and I know your husband is feeling bad, I can ask you without bothering the whole study if we can pray for him or if you made an "A" or got top performer of the month in your job and everyone else did not, you can send me a text and I can congratulate you without rubbing it in to those around you.
So speaking of *other*... Kaitlin and Marisa send me a text when they get to class every morning. Usually it is 'I'm at class, love you' Well that WAS what was usually sent but now we are on a bit of a different twist...poetry.
I have said here before that Kaitlin is very app to say " What is your poem for the day?" and she pursues you til you give her one.
Now several days a week I get poems. It cracks me up. Here are the 'unwritten' rules, usually 5 lines, must be what is happening now or today in your life or around you, and it must have a title. Sometimes I send a poem back to them. Sometimes I send them out to tell other folks what is going on with me that day.
Here are a few:
lollipops are really great. I am ready for summer break. We are learning about stars, I really like the movie cars. Don't you love my poem trait? trees in bloom by Kaitlin
There is no one at skool cuz they are they are all way too cool, But I will pass and they will be cutting grass. They will be sad that i will be the grad, but they had to be cool and go skip skool- Don't skip by MTD
Kaitlin's friend Jennifer has gotten into the loop and I got this one day from her: Raindrops falling on my cold head, but this is the weather the meteorologist said. so I am going home to get under the covers and hope there's a show on about star crossed lovers- smokers by J
A few weeks ago I sent this out I'm done with pt, I'm waiting on Marisa to meet me. Kaitlin will be done at noon, she will join us soon, then we can eat lunch at mt fugi.
I sent this to several folks including my brother, Charles. He sent me a text back saying that I had sent him a text I must have meant for Marisa. I told him " No, that was my poem for the day" I guess some folks are used to getting a poem :) "Oh, yeah" was his response. I asked him where his poem was? He said that he was reworking the poem he wrote last week before submitting it to the New Yorker. Yea right, Charles. I told him that I thought he couldn't handle how wonderful my poem was and he was scared to let me read his. Then I got a message that made me laugh out loud. "What is this poetry trash talk? Bring it on Emily Dickinson"
I got this from Charles the next day Ellen's Lament There once was a lady named Ellen, who at her brother was always yelling "How can you be so smart at the poetry art and I can't even count syllables?
I told Charles that that was good. He said that it was best he could do typing with one finger and parallel parking the car in heavy traffic. I laughed and laughed!
We always send our poems to Carl. I wonder what he thinks if he is in a big meeting and he gets a text and it is one of our poems. Does he smile? Does he show our poems around the room? ;)
Last Friday we all got a shock. Carl sent us a poem! I quit my job, will go hoboin, don't think I will seek places snowin, sorry I'm bzy don't want to make you dizzy, wild oats are for sowin. JK by Carl. I was stunned. Carl sent a poem. Also the way texts appear on my phone, all I saw was text from Carl and I quit my job. My heart and stomach lurched. I quickly read it and laughed.
A few minutes later I got this from Andrew -My jaw dropped, my heart stopped, I thought papa flopped until I saw the JK. Heart Attack .
So What is your poem for the day?
So speaking of *other*... Kaitlin and Marisa send me a text when they get to class every morning. Usually it is 'I'm at class, love you' Well that WAS what was usually sent but now we are on a bit of a different twist...poetry.
I have said here before that Kaitlin is very app to say " What is your poem for the day?" and she pursues you til you give her one.
Now several days a week I get poems. It cracks me up. Here are the 'unwritten' rules, usually 5 lines, must be what is happening now or today in your life or around you, and it must have a title. Sometimes I send a poem back to them. Sometimes I send them out to tell other folks what is going on with me that day.
Here are a few:
lollipops are really great. I am ready for summer break. We are learning about stars, I really like the movie cars. Don't you love my poem trait? trees in bloom by Kaitlin
There is no one at skool cuz they are they are all way too cool, But I will pass and they will be cutting grass. They will be sad that i will be the grad, but they had to be cool and go skip skool- Don't skip by MTD
Kaitlin's friend Jennifer has gotten into the loop and I got this one day from her: Raindrops falling on my cold head, but this is the weather the meteorologist said. so I am going home to get under the covers and hope there's a show on about star crossed lovers- smokers by J
A few weeks ago I sent this out I'm done with pt, I'm waiting on Marisa to meet me. Kaitlin will be done at noon, she will join us soon, then we can eat lunch at mt fugi.
I sent this to several folks including my brother, Charles. He sent me a text back saying that I had sent him a text I must have meant for Marisa. I told him " No, that was my poem for the day" I guess some folks are used to getting a poem :) "Oh, yeah" was his response. I asked him where his poem was? He said that he was reworking the poem he wrote last week before submitting it to the New Yorker. Yea right, Charles. I told him that I thought he couldn't handle how wonderful my poem was and he was scared to let me read his. Then I got a message that made me laugh out loud. "What is this poetry trash talk? Bring it on Emily Dickinson"
I got this from Charles the next day Ellen's Lament There once was a lady named Ellen, who at her brother was always yelling "How can you be so smart at the poetry art and I can't even count syllables?
I told Charles that that was good. He said that it was best he could do typing with one finger and parallel parking the car in heavy traffic. I laughed and laughed!
We always send our poems to Carl. I wonder what he thinks if he is in a big meeting and he gets a text and it is one of our poems. Does he smile? Does he show our poems around the room? ;)
Last Friday we all got a shock. Carl sent us a poem! I quit my job, will go hoboin, don't think I will seek places snowin, sorry I'm bzy don't want to make you dizzy, wild oats are for sowin. JK by Carl. I was stunned. Carl sent a poem. Also the way texts appear on my phone, all I saw was text from Carl and I quit my job. My heart and stomach lurched. I quickly read it and laughed.
A few minutes later I got this from Andrew -My jaw dropped, my heart stopped, I thought papa flopped until I saw the JK. Heart Attack .
So What is your poem for the day?
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Are you sleeping or praying?
Mo Leverett is a singer, songwriter, pca minister, plus I am sure a million other things. He spoke and sang at our church many years ago. He has a heart for the inner city church. He and his family lived in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans until Katrina. He is on facebook. Look for him at Rebirth International. Here is the message he sent out today. I love his title
Asleep in the boat again
I have to say that I think that the Lord is all too often asleep in the boat when I’m in the middle of a storm. How many times have I found myself in a tempest - anxieties building to overload, sweating bullets, and ’bout to throw in the towel - then the Lord awakens and questions my faith?He would probably say that I’m all too often sleeping when I should be praying…But I do sometimes wish that I had one day where the Lord would show me on the front end, how he’s going to work it out on the back end. That way, I might be able to periodically take a nap on the boat, too!But that is not His style.He’s come to the rescue so many times before, you would think that I would have learned to trust by now.One psalmist said “I was young, and now I am old - and I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread.” So why then do I find myself again and again, wondering if God is truly worthy of my trust?The old hymn says, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” Perhaps that’s why I find myself too often in the state of hapless misery.I covet your prayers for me as I struggle to find faith in the storm of life. Pray for me too that I might remember to awaken Jesus - the Lord of the storm.
Asleep in the boat again
I have to say that I think that the Lord is all too often asleep in the boat when I’m in the middle of a storm. How many times have I found myself in a tempest - anxieties building to overload, sweating bullets, and ’bout to throw in the towel - then the Lord awakens and questions my faith?He would probably say that I’m all too often sleeping when I should be praying…But I do sometimes wish that I had one day where the Lord would show me on the front end, how he’s going to work it out on the back end. That way, I might be able to periodically take a nap on the boat, too!But that is not His style.He’s come to the rescue so many times before, you would think that I would have learned to trust by now.One psalmist said “I was young, and now I am old - and I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread.” So why then do I find myself again and again, wondering if God is truly worthy of my trust?The old hymn says, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” Perhaps that’s why I find myself too often in the state of hapless misery.I covet your prayers for me as I struggle to find faith in the storm of life. Pray for me too that I might remember to awaken Jesus - the Lord of the storm.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Addie Lou, I love you
I love calendars. For Christmas each year I ask for and receive usually 7 of them. I have one on my desk that I write down appointments/ birthdays etc and then try to journal what all happened that day. I have wall calendars in my bedroom(2), kitchen(2) and John's room. I have two more that I have yet to hang. I plan to hang them down in the wreck room so I can enjoy them as I work down there. I love Americana Calendars like Charles Wysocki and those from Lang. I enjoy birds and art too. Calendars are an easy way to bring these into your daily viewing.
I have a Mary Engelbreit desk top calendar on my kitchen counter. The one with tear off pages. This calendar is fun because everyday I get a different picture and/or happy thought. When I get this calendar, I spend the first few minutes going through and looking at the pictures of several of the key dates in my life: March 10, April 7, April 8, April 14, May 1, May 13, May 17, May 22, June 11, June 30, July 8, August 16, August 21, Sept 20, Sept 22, Oct 7, Dec 10, Dec 19.
Those dates represent lots of birthdays of family members and some ebenezers. An Ebenezer is a "stone of help," or a reminder of God’s Real, Holy Presence and Divine aid. Spiritually and theologically speaking, an Ebenezer can be nearly anything that reminds us of God’s presence and help: the Bible, the Sacramental Elements, a cross, a picture, a fellow believer, a hymn – those things which serve as reminders of God’s love, God’s Real Presence, and God’s assistance are "Ebenezers."
Today is an ebenezer for me. I look back on this date and see how far God has brought me since 1996. 13 years ago today my sweet mama died. God has faithfully met me in my grief. Today I am rejoicing in all that my mama taught me. She had a love of reading, of art, of learning, and of laughter. She often said " Bloom where you are planted." and "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade".
I am blest to have had such a wonderful mama.
I think I shall celebrate by reading The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart. Mama loved Jesse Stuart. This is the book we are reading for our bookclub this month. I picked it so I'd have a good excuse to read it again.
Do you have ebenezer dates?
I have a Mary Engelbreit desk top calendar on my kitchen counter. The one with tear off pages. This calendar is fun because everyday I get a different picture and/or happy thought. When I get this calendar, I spend the first few minutes going through and looking at the pictures of several of the key dates in my life: March 10, April 7, April 8, April 14, May 1, May 13, May 17, May 22, June 11, June 30, July 8, August 16, August 21, Sept 20, Sept 22, Oct 7, Dec 10, Dec 19.
Those dates represent lots of birthdays of family members and some ebenezers. An Ebenezer is a "stone of help," or a reminder of God’s Real, Holy Presence and Divine aid. Spiritually and theologically speaking, an Ebenezer can be nearly anything that reminds us of God’s presence and help: the Bible, the Sacramental Elements, a cross, a picture, a fellow believer, a hymn – those things which serve as reminders of God’s love, God’s Real Presence, and God’s assistance are "Ebenezers."
Today is an ebenezer for me. I look back on this date and see how far God has brought me since 1996. 13 years ago today my sweet mama died. God has faithfully met me in my grief. Today I am rejoicing in all that my mama taught me. She had a love of reading, of art, of learning, and of laughter. She often said " Bloom where you are planted." and "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade".
I am blest to have had such a wonderful mama.
I think I shall celebrate by reading The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart. Mama loved Jesse Stuart. This is the book we are reading for our bookclub this month. I picked it so I'd have a good excuse to read it again.
Do you have ebenezer dates?
Saturday, March 7, 2009
missions and good sports and good friends
This week is our church's missions conference. This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. My spirit gets rejuvenated. It is also one of the most exhausting weeks of the year because Carl and I are blest to be on the missions committee. We have had meetings Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. This morning we had the women's breakfast. Our missionaries are asked to share what is going on in their lives right now. It is my favorite part of the whole conference. When the first lady stands up, they need to pass the tissue because it is so moving when they share they triumphs and failures.
Here is my table. Kaitlin is taking these pictures. Here is Clare getting ready to dig in to some wonderful food. My favorite is the chocolate gravy. I have never seen it anywhere but here in Arkansas. It is yum.
Here is my table. Kaitlin is taking these pictures. Here is Clare getting ready to dig in to some wonderful food. My favorite is the chocolate gravy. I have never seen it anywhere but here in Arkansas. It is yum.
Jennifer joined us for breakfast. I got so moved when NancyB was talking that I began to cry, sweet Jennifer joined me and we were passing tissues around. She and Marisa look beautiful.
As Carl and I were walking into the hotel to get ready for the breakfast this morning we saw a young man with an AUBURN hat on. We greeted him with a rousing WAR EAGLE. He told us he was here with the pep band for the AUBURN Women's basketball team. They were staying in the motel too. They are in LR for the SEC Women's bball tourny. How cool ! Kaitlin snapped some pictures for us. The motel had all kinds of wonderful AUBURN displayed, much to the dismay of the alabama fans that attended the breakfast.
WAR EAGLE!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Let's shake it all about
It is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person, which almost went unnoticed. Larry LaPrise, the man who wrote 'The Hokie Pokey' died peacefully at the age of 93. The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in. And then the trouble started.
Tebow law
I think my boys would have loved to play football or any sport for that matter. What are your thoughts? http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/football/news/story?id=3608362
A fun read
Works for me Wednesday is a fun gathering of bloggers that occurs- are you ready?- on Wednesdays. It has moved from one blogger to another and in case you come here and go to it from here I wanted to let you know it has moved and I have the new blogger now on my sidebar. If you have never read Works for me Wednesday you may want to check it out. Here is the blog. http://www.wearethatfamily.com/ Enjoy
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Out with the old and In with the new
I gave our sofa bed to Teresa because she needed a place to sit down. The living room was more or less empty of sitting furniture. I needed a bed in there because that is really our sometimes guest room. Here is my new chair that goes with...
our new chair and a half that is a twin size bed. I am thrilled.
and since we are talking about new...I got a new phone but first here are pictures of my old wonderful razor phone. I loved that phone but alas after 3 years it wouldn't hang up and often when I would text it wouldn't sent the text- and those were somewhat vital things for a phone to do. Don't you love the skin?
Front of my old phone with beautiful skin
Here is the new phone. It is just like Marisa's so she wouldn't have to learn a new phone to explain mine to me :) I have a full keyboard for texting which I am still getting used to. I have heard that for my birthday I may receive skin for my new phone. If you don't know about skin , go to http://www.skinit.com/ .
That's all that is new for me. What's new for you?
Here is the new phone. It is just like Marisa's so she wouldn't have to learn a new phone to explain mine to me :) I have a full keyboard for texting which I am still getting used to. I have heard that for my birthday I may receive skin for my new phone. If you don't know about skin , go to http://www.skinit.com/ .
That's all that is new for me. What's new for you?Monday, March 2, 2009
In sickness and in health
When Carl and I got married, part of his dowry was his pillow. He Loves his pillow. To get an idea of what this 30 year old pillow looks like, go to your linen closet and get out a pillow case. Lay it down and then fold it over once. There you have it! There is not much to it.
I have been sick- lots of congestion and coughing- for a good 2 weeks now. I have been sleeping more propped up than usual on several pillows. Even though I have been sick, I have slept very well.
My friend Alyssa helped me change my sheets on Feb 13th just before I got really sick. She stacked up on my pillows on my side and Carl's pillow on his side.
Last Thursday I rolled over on Carl's side of the bed to set the alarm and realized that his pillow was not HIS pillow. I checked out my stack of pillows and realized that I had Carl's beloved pillow in my stack. I was stunned.
I confessed to Carl that I had been sleeping on his pillow. He calmly said that he knew. I was stunned again. He said that I had been sleeping so well and he didn't want to disturb that.
Wow! I was overwhelmed. I fell in love again with Carl and his selflessness and his pillow.
I have been sick- lots of congestion and coughing- for a good 2 weeks now. I have been sleeping more propped up than usual on several pillows. Even though I have been sick, I have slept very well.
My friend Alyssa helped me change my sheets on Feb 13th just before I got really sick. She stacked up on my pillows on my side and Carl's pillow on his side.
Last Thursday I rolled over on Carl's side of the bed to set the alarm and realized that his pillow was not HIS pillow. I checked out my stack of pillows and realized that I had Carl's beloved pillow in my stack. I was stunned.
I confessed to Carl that I had been sleeping on his pillow. He calmly said that he knew. I was stunned again. He said that I had been sleeping so well and he didn't want to disturb that.
Wow! I was overwhelmed. I fell in love again with Carl and his selflessness and his pillow.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
SNOW!
We had snow last night in LR. It was just beautiful. It started in our part of town about 3:00 pm. It was fun to watch it blow furiously around knowing that it would be gone by Sunday afternoon.
This morning I was talking to my friend, JanR. She goes to church with me. Today is her birthday. She said that when she lived in Tulsa, they often had snow on March 1st. Her mama and daddy often came to visit her on her birthday. Her daddy would tell her that he brought snow to her for her birthday.
Jan's precious daddy went to heaven in 2007.
She said that when she saw the snow yesterday, she thought of her daddy and smiled. She had snow on her birthday again.
This morning I was talking to my friend, JanR. She goes to church with me. Today is her birthday. She said that when she lived in Tulsa, they often had snow on March 1st. Her mama and daddy often came to visit her on her birthday. Her daddy would tell her that he brought snow to her for her birthday.
Jan's precious daddy went to heaven in 2007.
She said that when she saw the snow yesterday, she thought of her daddy and smiled. She had snow on her birthday again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
