I enjoyed Palm Sunday worship service this Sunday very much. The lesson was especially good. Ann sang with the choir in a special presentation. The kids paraded with parents waving their palm fronds and singing Hosanna. Here are two video clips:
An unintended consequence of my “blog slog” is that I don’t acknowledge birthdays and special occasions on my blog as I usually do. The latest grandkid birthday was Madison. She turned 10 years old on April 6. The picture is a self-portrait done in chalk on her front sidewalk. Madi is a very talented young lady. I am looking forward to her visiting with us. Hopefully we will be able do some projects in my workshop.
Happy Birthday Madison!!!
This morning I decided that I would make an official declaration that winter has passed. I know, spring has already come per the calendar but my soul (and the weather) is just now catching up.
I haven’t posted much on this blog in recent months. It is not that I haven’t had any thing to share, it’s just that I haven’t had the energy (will) to record a lot of thoughts and experiences. Besides, if you read Ann’s blog, she does a great job of documenting our daily lives.
I will attribute my lack of posting to the doldrums of winter. Spring is energizing so I am going to attempt to be more purposeful and regular in my posting.
I will not attempt to catch up with this posting but here are some random entries.
- “Pleasantview House”, our guest house, is gaining some traction. We have seen a steady increase in rentals. We have advertised it on VRBO and have received several bookings as a result. We continue to “tweak” it and there are a few projects that will keep me busy in the coming months. I am truly enjoying the experience.
- I have been experiencing a heightened sense of awareness of my age and the reality of being in the “twilight”. I intend to post some thoughts on that in the near future.
- There are several significant projects that need to be done around our house. I started painting the fence and the weather postponed completion. Hopefully, a few dry days will give me a chance to complete that . A new back door and storm door need to be installed. Our kitchen needs a major renovation. The front porch needs to be painted after suffering the abuse of my snow shovel. I am glad to announce that the grass in our front yard has been successfully restored to its former beauty but the back yard is in need of much attention. There are numerous other items on my list. Issues related to achieving completion of them are : time, energy, money, expertise and resolve.
- Spring means the younger grandkids are enjoying a lot of activities and I am looking forward to watching and cheering them on whenever possible.
- I have been renewed in my interest in major league baseball. I attended the Cincinnati Red’s opening day game which solidified my support and interest as a Red’s fan.
- My reading has broadened recently to fiction and biographies in addition to my usual religion, theology genres. I am currently reading a particularly interesting book on culture change entitled “To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World” I believe this book has the potential for influencing some significant shifts in my understandings of culture change.
There are a lot of other things on my mind. Some of which are not suitable for posting, but there are plenty that are suitable and I hope to write about. I am just thankful that I am still able to think clearly (it occurred to me as I wrote that, how do I know I am thinking clearly???) I am sure someone will tell me.
By the way, the person that I come to identify with most in this phase of my life is Earl in the comic strip Pickles.
Today’s post at Internet Monk featured some classic quotes from Michael Spencer on evangelicalism. This one was on music in the church.
Music is part of Christian worship and Christian art. We’re interested- as we ought to be—in how music participates in the life and worship of the church. But there is simply no way- in normal circumstances—to justify music as the deciding factor in church selection. To do so is to betray a consumerist mentality rather than a Biblical worldview.
Theology? The implication is that the Holy Spirit is leading in such a choice. Even more importantly, the message is that music is the important factor in Christian growth and discipleship. My Christian consumerist friends are quite certain that it’s what happens during the 45 minutes of music at their church that will make the greatest different in the life they lead during the following week.
That’s outrageously wrong, and I can’t imagine why evangelicals are tolerating it. The demotion of preaching and the elevation of music is an invasion of the church by a culture that wants less content, less authority and more experience and feeling. Post-modern apologists may make the case that preaching is passe’ (and some forms of it always will be) but preaching as a divinely sanctioned methodology has Biblical theology on its side.
I have been taking pottery lessons for the past 8-9 weeks. There is a lot to learn and I am enjoying the experience. I have created some pieces that I am reasonably pleased with. In addition to the pleasure of the experience, working the clay is an opportunity to learn some interesting lessons.
When you throw clay on the wheel, the first and most difficult step is to center the clay on the wheel. If you do not get the lump of clay centered you will not be able to shape and work the clay properly. I really struggle with centering. Part of the problem is that centering is not achieved by simply following the teacher’s instructions, it requires a sense of feel and understanding that comes through the whole experience. You might say a relationship with the clay develops. The clay is no longer independent but becomes compliant, yielding to the will of the firm hand of the potter. It is only when all the vibration and resistance of the clay has diminished that the clay is centered and then can be shaped to the will of the potter.
Those who know me well will probably understand why I have such a hard time with centering.