I am so excited for this weekend!  My husband and I are heading to Indiana to celebrate my uncle's 85th birthday.  We will attend church at my 'home church'--it holds so many memories for me and all of them are precious.  I learned all about the people in the Bible with my Sunday School teacher, Miss Ruth Foutz, and her felt board presentations.  I learned to sing "Climb Up Sunshine Mountain" and "The B-I-B-L-E" and "Deep and Wide" (all with the appropriate hand gestures, of course!).  I earned my perfect attendance pins which are still in my jewelry box. I watched my parents marry in this church on Christmas Eve 1960.  I returned to Indiana after my parents' marriage every summer and sat in the pews with aunts, uncles, cousins and childhood friends, and although some of them are now gone I can't wait to return to Kingsley United Methodist on Sunday and once again worship in the church that has never left my heart.  

There’s a church in the valley by the wildwood,
No lovelier spot in the dale;
No place is so dear to my childhood,
As the little brown church in the vale.

Come to the church in the wildwood,
Oh, come to the church in the dale,
No spot is so dear to my childhood,
As the little brown church in the vale.

How sweet on a clear, Sabbath morning,
To list to the clear ringing bell;
Its tones so sweetly are calling,
Oh, come to the church in the vale.




Stained glass window honoring my aunt and uncle

 

I hope your Labor Day weekend is filled with all good things--family, friends, and opportunities to create more wonderful memories!  If you are traveling, be safe, and I'll be back on Monday morning.

"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words."

Well, it looks like it is back to school time!  My kids are back at college, my nieces and nephews have all shared their beautiful 'first day of school' photos and all the stores are filled with back to school specials on clothing and supplies.  I always loved starting school in the fall--the excitement of wondering if you would like your teacher, who your classmates would be, what subjects would hold your interest, and last, but not least, your new clothes!  For some reason I developed a fascination for marbles in elementary school.  I once traded 35 regular marbles for a beautiful cobalt blue marble that gleamed in the sun...I have cherished that marble for over forty years now and it still resides in my jewelry box!  Here's a fun poem about someone who must love marbles as much as I....

Ode to Marbles

 Max Mendelsohn

I love the sound of marbles   

scattered on the worn wooden floor,   

like children running away in a game of hide-and-seek.   

I love the sight of white marbles,   

blue marbles,   

green marbles, black,   

new marbles, old marbles,   

iridescent marbles,   

with glass-ribboned swirls,   

dancing round and round.   

I love the feel of marbles,   

cool, smooth,   

rolling freely in my palm,   

like smooth-sided stars   

that light up the worn world.

May you have a shiny new marble day!

Last night a song by Harry Belafonte kept running through my mind...Turn Around--the song about a little girl who grows up so fast.  Yesterday my youngest son headed back to college, but my 'baby girl' stayed in her apartment all summer, working as a nanny for three special needs teenagers.  She tackled so much this summer--staying by herself in an unairconditioned apartment during the state's hottest summer on record, taking two summer school classes towards her degree in Human Services, working with young boys who needed a lot of TLC and direction, supporting herself and paying her bills--I am so proud of her!  She has become an amazing young woman....but I miss that little girl that loved to snuggle in my lap.  Thank goodness you never grow too old for hugs!

Where are you going

My little one, little one

Where are you going

My baby, my own

Turn around and you’re two

Turn around and you’re four

Turn around and you’re a young girl

Going out of the door

I hope you make time today to hug someone you love...life moves at such a fast pace but we all need to take time to express our love for others.  Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

 

You would think by now I would be used to it....with three sons I've gone through it enough.  One minute they are little boys...full of fun and adventure, sniggering at some awful joke and their eyes dancing with mischievous thoughts.  And then, right before your eyes, they are men.  My youngest son goes back to college today--it's been great having him home this summer but I know he's ready to go back to his friends, his college life and finish up his last year of college.  Matthew--I love you, for the little boy that will always live in my heart and the fine young man you have become.  Have a great year!



Matthew and his sister Caitlin, 1st day of kindergarten and pre-school!



Why God Made Little Boys

God made a world out of His dreams,
of magic mountains, oceans and streams,
Prairies and plains and wooded land.
Then paused and thought
I need someone to stand, on top of the mountains,
to conquer the seas, explore the plains
and climb the trees.
Someone to start out small and grow,
sturdy and strong like a tree and so
He created boys, full of spirit and fun
To explore and conquer, to romp and run
With dirty faces, and banged up chins
With courageous hearts and boyish grins.
And when He had completed the task He'd begun,
He surely said, "That's a job well done."

Have a wonderful day--what memories do you cherish about the 'back to school' days??

Happy Monday!  Last night I was watching television with my husband, and I must confess, I grew weary (and then irritated) at the number of political ads and their increasing vitriol.  What has happened to courtesy in this country?  I couldn't help but wonder what some of our past leaders would think of how we know conduct ourselves in the political arena.  One of my favorite presidents was Abraham Lincoln, who read poetry voraciously.  He memorized this poem on a visit to his wife's home in 1847 and then recited it to her family.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Thanatopsis

by William Cullen Bryant

     To him who in the love of Nature holds   

Communion with her visible forms, she speaks   

A various language; for his gayer hours   

She has a voice of gladness, and a smile   

And eloquence of beauty, and she glides   

Into his darker musings, with a mild   

And healing sympathy, that steals away   

Their sharpness, ere he is aware. When thoughts   

Of the last bitter hour come like a blight   

Over thy spirit, and sad images   

Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall,   

And breathless darkness, and the narrow house,   

Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart;—   

Go forth, under the open sky, and list   

To Nature’s teachings, while from all around—

Earth and her waters, and the depths of air—

Comes a still voice— 

I hope you can find a still voice today in between work, family and errands!  Take a moment to "commune with Nature's visible forms" and listen for the voice of gladness!

You can find the rest of the poem at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/180813.



Sunrise in the Black Hills of South Dakota

 I'm thinking of my Dad today and how much he loved to be outside.  He worked outside in all weather, and loved to camp, hunt, fish, and taught all of us to appreciate nature and be good stewards of the beauty around us.  Whether it was creating whistles for all the kids at a campground, hunting for diamond willow in ditches, or bringing Mother a huge bouquet of lilacs from the wild bushes in the country he reveled in all the glories of nature.  I think of him every time I hear this hymn.  I miss you, Dad.

        This is my Father's world, 
 and to my listening ears 
 all nature sings, and round me rings 
 the music of the spheres.  
 This is my Father's world:  
 I rest me in the thought 
 of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; 
 his hand the wonders wrought.

        This is my Father's world, 
 the birds their carols raise, 
 the morning light, the lily white, 
 declare their maker's praise.  
 This is my Father's world:  
 he shines in all that's fair; 
 in the rustling grass I hear him pass; 
 he speaks to me everywhere.

 Well, Maggie Smith (Lady Violet in Downton Abbey) may not know what a weekend is, but hopefully all of us do!  I'm spending today with my daughter and looking forward to some 'girly' time--just the two of us!  Sometimes between work, housework, grocery shopping, meal planning, and family errands 'girl time' gets put on the back burner.  I hope all of you make time for a little fun today!

When the working day is done
Girls--they want to have fun
Oh girls just want to have fun,
They want to have fun,
They want to have fun... 

So....my blog today is ''pop culture' oriented with a television series image and lyrics from Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want to Have Fun, but that's the fun of having your own blog!  It's okay to lighten up sometimes...hope you do the same!