Sunday Hymn: Come, We that Love the Lord

COME, WE THAT LOVE THE LORD

Come, we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known;
Join in a song with sweet accord,
And thus surround the throne.

Let those refuse to sing
That never knew our God;
But children of the heav'nly King
May speak their joys abroad.

The men of grace have found
Glory begun below;
Celestial fruits on earthly ground
From faith and hope may grow.

The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets,
Before we reach the heav'nly fields,
Or walk the golden streets.

Then let our songs abound,
And ev'ry tear be dry;
We're marching through Immanuel's ground
To fairer worlds on high.

Trinity Hymnal #588

Quote of the Day: Michael Jackson

And I remember going to the record studio and there was a park across the street and I'd see all the children playing and I would cry because it would make me sad that I would have to work instead.

Michael Jackson

Some random and rather disjointed thoughts:

Last night we talked about him at the dinner table. During the conversation, the names of other child stars came up--Judy Garland, Lindsey Lohan, Britany Spears, Elizabeth Taylor, Drew Barrymore and others whose lives been marked with excess, tragedy, eccentricity, and pain. The pursuit of fame and riches does not satisfy--cannot satisfy. It's especially sad when a person's entire childhood is lost when the desires of parents for fame and fortune are played out in the lives of their children.

A tragic end to a tragic life. So much talent, so little normalcy. The King of Pop, Peter Pan, The World's Greatest Entertainer. . .to me he always seemed like the iconic lost soul.

This morning, while I was cleaning the house, I listened to a presentation by Steve Lawson on the life of Jonathan Edwards. Edwards was a man who understood the purpose of life. As I listened, it really came home to me how fleeting is this life and how important it is that we understand our purpose and use our time and talents to pursue that purpose.

Question One of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks: What is the chief end of man?

The answer: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

The time to glorify God is now. The number of our days are by God and we will not have one second more than what He has determined for us. The time to live for God's glory is now.

Michael Jackson was preparing for a series of concerts in England. He did not know that his life would be required of him on that given day. Neither do we know what day will be our last.

DROP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND CALL

It's that important.

While America and the world is immersed in all things Michael Jackson, our Democratically controlled Congress is set to pass the largest tax increase in American history! 

The National Energy tax will create a 75% increase in gas prices (not a 75 cent increase--75%)  and double your electric bill.  And get this; nearly 85% of the taxes collected will go to special interest groups--not the national coffers.

Don't know your Congressman?  Call 202-224-3121 to find out.  Or if you just need the number, check out the Congressional Directory.

You don't need to know the ins and outs of this horrific bill to make the call; just tell your Congressman to vote 'NO' on the National Energy tax.  Feel free to contact Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and the rest of the Congressional Leadership, too.

Don't wait. Make your calls this morning.

Goofy Dog

Ivy's Perch

This is cool

A friend sent me a link to this video. It's sort of long, but at least take a few minutes and give it a listen. The beginning is amazing!

Dictionary Word of the Day: Sough

sough \SAU; SUHF\ , intransitive verb:
1. To make a soft, low sighing or rustling sound, as the wind.

noun:
1. A soft, low rustling or sighing sound.

Heehee.  I read this and listened for a soughing sound.  Sure enough, I could hear Eve snoring and whistling in her sleep.

This brought back memories. . .

. . .of my own dad feeding John a banana split when he was about Elliott's age.

He would have been crazy about his red-headed great grandson.

Unintended Drug Use?

You may be a user.

The Wisdom of Tim*

*or, "The medium contradicts the message."

Tim Challies is on a roll. He's writing a series entitled "Don't Take your iPod to Church!"  He's developing the theme that when it comes to technology, 'the medium is the message' and goes on to explain how the medium affects our 'use' of the material in front of us. 

He is singing my song.  I've been concerned about these issues for some time.  I've begun to limit my own use of the computer and ancillary devices such as Palms and cell phones for many of the reasons he has listed.  I'm sure that the handful of readers that are still hanging in here at Hiraeth have noticed that my blogging has slowed to a trickle over the past year or so.  This has been, in part, a purposeful response to detrimental patterns I was seeing in my own use of technology.

Here's a small quote to spark your interest:

Reading the Bible in electronic format makes it easy to chase down cross-references, to read notes related to the content, to find word definitions and so on. But all of this is at the cost of the natural, God-given flow of the text. As we use our iPods in place of our Bibles, we begin to understand Scripture as we do Wikipedia, a text suited more to browsing than deep study. We begin to feel the Bible is interactive, that it is more for skimming, for following trails from A to B to Z than for deep study or analysis. This is all wrapped up in the very worldview of the electronic device.

As I was preparing this post, I got two calendar notices, and received several emails.  I confess that as I scrolled through Tim's blog in search of the links to his articles, I was strongly tempted to stop and read several posts that interested me.  Such is the siren call of the hyperlink.

As I get ready to shut down my computer and pick up my Bible, I leave you to ponder this quote from Mr. Challies:

My Bible never rings; it never buzzes or beeps or shows up with sudden calendar notifications. It simply shows me the words given by God in a medium that is inherently undistracting.

Don't Take Your iPod to Church!  Part 1, Part 1.5, Part 2

Sunday Hymn: Around the Throne of God in Heav'n

AROUND THE THRONE OF GOD IN HEAV'N

Around the throne of God in heav'n
Thousands of children stand,
Children whose sins are all forgiv'n,
A holy, happy band,

Singing, "Glory, glory,
Glory be to God on high."

In flowing robes of spotless white
See ev'ry one arrayed;
Dwelling in everlasting light
And joys that never fade,

What brought them to that world above,
That heav'n so bright and fair,
Where all is peace, and joy, and love;
How came those children there,

Because the Saviour shed his blood
To wash away their sin;
Bathed in that pure and precious flood,
Behold them white and clean,

On earth they sought the Saviour's grace,
On earth they loved his Name;
So now they see his blessed face,
And stand before the Lamb.

Trinity Hymnal #648

Quote of the Week: Calvin

We renounce the guidance of our own affections, and submit ourselves entirely to God, leaving Him to govern us, and to dispose our life according to His will, so that the afflictions which are the bitterest and most severe to our nature, become sweet to us, because they proceed from Him.

John Calvin, John Calvin: Writings on Pastoral Piety

A 'down' day

Today will be a 'down' day. 

My niece, Katie, and her boyfriend, Steve, have been visiting for a few days.  They took the train back to Ohio last night after dinner.

We had a wonderful time with them!  I always feel sad and out of sorts after we've had visitors.  I felt the same way when Meghan, Katie's sister, was here for a visit last week.  I'm never quite ready for our family visitors to leave. So often, it's a long time before we see them again.

So, the day after I always seem to drift around, puttering here and puttering there and never really accomplishing much.  I have beds to change and laundry to do and somehow that will get done, but I'll read more than usual and play around on the computer more than usual and I may even take a nap.

I love having company, especially when it's my family.  Don't you?

The catalpa tree is finally blooming.  I was beginning to wonder if it ever would!  We had some tree service done this spring and the catalpa had a hard prune.  Now the flowers are so high up in the tree that you really can't see them unless you're at a fair distance.  But this morning, the yard was peppered with flowers--the remains of a strong overnight storm that swept through the area.

Today promises to be another day of high temperatures and unstable weather.  We made it past the middle of June before having to close up the house and put on the air conditioner.  I am so thankful for air conditioning but it was very nice to have the windows open for weeks on end.  That is a rare treat.

Johnny Depp was in Chicago yesterday for the Chicago opening of Public Enemies, his new movie about John Dillinger.  You can see a bit of the local coverage here.  I just love Johnny Depp.  Of all the 'big time' movie stars, he seems to be a regular guy who doesn't seek the lime light and yet is always willing to sign autographs and talk with fans.  Because of the filming and now the soon release of this movie, there's been a lot of information in the local press about John Dillinger and that whole Public Enemy period.  I've always found that an interesting era, especially the relationship between the 'crooks' and the public.  So many legends have sprung up around the gansters that they have become at times cult heros of sorts.  I don't know if I'll go see the movie.  Probably not.  I don't handle movie violence all that well, but I'd like to see it.  Maybe I'll just go to the library this morning and check out Finding Neverland and watch it this afternoon on this rainy, down in the dumps sort of day.  That should hold me over until Alice in Wonderland comes out next year.  I think I can handle Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter! (And Alan Rickman as the Caterpiller!)

A storm is rolling in right now.  Better unplug the computer and get busy!

More birthday pictures

Can you believe it??

Yesterday morning I thought I heard baby robin cheeps in the nesting tree. I ran out to the front porch and couldn't believe what I saw!  Two of the babies were perched right by the nest.  I could tell they were 'my' babies because they still had spotted breasts.

I ran inside and grabbed the camera:

Only got one in the frame, but there were two.  I heard them again this morning but they flew away as soon as I got on the porch. 

Two out of four returned; Tom is now 1/2 let off the hook for scaring them away in the first place. . .

; )

This and That

Got my computer back late yesterday afternoon.  Everything had to be reloaded, so it's like it was when it came from the factory--which means I still have a lot of stuff to load and I have to get my Outlook set up.  Thankfully, they saved all my documents and music and photos and recipes, so that's all good.

Don't know when I'll have time to fool around with it; my niece, Katie, is coming for a visit today and will be here with us until the end of the week. She's bringing her boyfriend, Steve, who we haven't met yet.  We're looking forward to spending lots of time with them!

I've got pictures and videos on my camera from Elliott's birthday.  He turned 1 on Sunday.  I won't be able to download them until I load the camera software, but for now I've snagged a couple of pictures from Elliott's Dad so you can see how big he is getting!

I think he likes his mower.

It's an Alice in Wonderland World

In just a few, brief months our President has accomplished a many things. Here's just a few off the top of my head in no particular order:

He has expanded the power and reach of the Executive Branch:
He has established a shadow government made up of nearly 20 'Czars' who are directly appointed by him, who do not need to be approved by Congress, and who are not accountable for their actions to Congress. These 'Czars' have the power to shape national policy in far reaching ways that go beyond even their stated purpose.

Here's just a partial list of these appointments:
Health Reform Czar
Urban Affairs Czar
Car Czar
Banking Czar
Energy and Climate Change Czar
Border Control Czar
Regulatory Czar
Information Czar
Accountability Czar
Pay Czar
Drug Czar
(to name a few)

(and don't forget)

TARP
The nomination of Judge Sonja Sotomayor
Miranda rights for enemy combatants
Government control of banks
Government control of Car industry
Soon-to-be Government control of Health Care
Cap and Trade
Card Check
Historic Bail-outs
Historic Deficits
Historic Unemployment
Forced merger between Crysler and Fiat

I'm sure I am forgetting a few important topics.

What most people don't understand is that the agenda our President is pushing is only half of it. The PUSHING of the agenda is as substantive a way of gaining control as the power grab itself. The constant message of 'change must happen NOW or another catastrophic crisis will descend' leads to a dispirited people who eventually shade their eyes from seeing and stop their ears from hearing. It's all too much, especially for those who are not accustomed to paying attention. It leads to a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.

Relentless, mind numbing chaos has ever been the change agent for radicals.

Friends, we are living in an Alice in Wonderland world right now. We are standing at the crossroads just as surely as Alice was when she met the Cheshire Cat. We can't afford to just stand there and we can't afford to just let the path determine where we end up. We must know where the paths before us lead and we must follow the path the Founders set for us. It led to liberty and freedom. President Obama's path leads beyond socialism to facism.

Alice: I was just wondering if you could help me find my way.
Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: Oh, it really doesn't matter, as long as...
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn't matter which way you go.

It matters which way we go. 

We may feel at times as though we have fallen into Alice's 'curious dream' but it is time to wake up.

Sunday Hymn: Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies

CHRIST, WHOSE GLORY FILLS THE SKIES

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ the true, the only Light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
Triumph o'er the shades of night;
Dayspring from oh high, be near;
Daystar, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn
Unaccompanied by thee;
Joyless is the day's return
Till thy mercy's beams I see;
Till thy inward light impart,
Glad my eyes and warm my heart.

Visit, then, this soul of mine;
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, Radiancy Divine;
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day.

This and That

Well, my fears about hours and hours on the phone with Dell proved to be baseless.  They were fast, courteous and able to tell me in short order that my computer hardware is all fine.  Bad thing, though, is that I have a software conflict of some sort since I installed Vista Service Pack 2.  So now, my laptop is in the shop and I'm limping along with my old fritzy computer.  Old and fritzy is better than none at all, though, so I'm not complaining.

It's been 11 days since I've seen Elliott.  And I won't get to see him until Sunday at the earliest.  (Sunday is his first birthday, so I really hope they get home early enough for us to see him!)  It's by far the longest we've gone without seeing him and I MISS HIM something dreadful!  They've been on vacation in the Outer Banks.  I'm glad they're having a good time and I can't wait to see the pictures of Elliott on the beach, but Sunday can't come soon enough for me.

This week my dear niece, Meg, came for a visit on her way back to Ohio from her vacation in the NorthWoods of Wisconsin.  We had such a wonderful time with Meghan, but it was TOO SHORT!!  I made her promise to come back and bring my mom with her!

Next week, Meg's sister Katie and her boyfriend are coming for a few days.  I can't wait!  We haven't met Steve yet, so we are looking forward to spending time with the two of them.

Yesterday, I shampooed all the carpets.  One of the dogs had an 'accident' in my office, so I had to clean that rug right away and one thing led to another.  Why not clean them all since I had the cleaner out, right?  I was so exhausted last evening that I fell asleep on the couch before 8 pm, got up around 8:30 and went to bed and slept until 5:30 this morning.  I am a perennial insomniac, so that is AMAZING!

We've had a pleasant, cool spring so far!  It's been wonderful to sit out on the patio in the afternoon after supper is in the works and read for an hour or so before Tom gets home.  Now that home schooling is over and summer is here, I can get all my housework done in the morning and enjoy some time outside every day.

I've been walking about 45 minutes every morning with my neighbor, Sharon.  I really enjoy getting out there in the morning and chatting with her while we do our power walk. 

I've discovered two more nests to watch.  A sparrow family has nested in one of our bird houses (I didn't think they would build in a bird house!) and I have been watching a nest in our crabapple tree.  So far, I haven't been able to identify the kind of bird that has nested there, but it is smallish and seemingly, shy.  I can see the nest from my kitchen window, but it is high in the tree, so I won't be able to peek into the nest like I'm able to do in the Robin tree.

Speaking of the Robin, I've seen Mama in the tree but so far, not in the nest.  I'm hoping she'll lay another clutch and raise them until they are ready to fly.  One year she laid eggs four times and raised all but the last clutch.  I sure hope she will again this year!

I've got a huge pot of Chicken Cacciatore simmering away for dinner tonight.  Smells good.  The table is set for dinner, the salad is prepared and I baked the bread yesterday, so I guess it's time to take Ivy and my book out on the patio and enjoy the day.  Maybe I'll be able to see who's nesting in the crabapple if I can find my binoculars.

Hope you're all enjoying the last days of spring, too!

Sick

My poor laptop is sick.

I got a huge Microsoft Windows download a couple of days ago and now my laptop freezes, stalls, and hasn't had a normal boot or shut down since.

I've spent way too much time trying to fix it on my own.  Tom and I spent hours trying to figure out whether it needed new drivers or if there was some sort of conflict or whether the problem was software or hardware related.  Still don't know.

So, I'm banging away on Tom's laptop this morning.  I'm guessing that I'll be spending hours and hours again today trying to get it sorted out--only this time with a Dell service rep on the other end of the line.

Oh joy.  Not what I wanted to do with my time today.

Graduation

Congratulations, Sam!