Advent Day 8

Week 2 - Today we light the candle of Peace.

Or we would be lighting it if we were having church.  Another snow storm blew through our area on Thursday. The problem isn't really the snow but the snow melting a bit during the day and then freezing at night becoming a sheet of ice instead of soft, lovely snow.


It got down to 1 degree on Friday night which is very cold to those of us in Southwest Oklahoma. A congregant from North Dakota commented, "Y'all never would go to church if you lived in North Dakota."

So today I've read my first day of the second week of advent devotion and am drinking my coffee out of my Peace coffee cup.

The scripture in today's devotion comes from Isaiah and includes these verses:

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
     the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together
     and a little child shall lead them.

Isaiah 11:6

I am very literal minded and have always read this scripture literally. It paints a beautiful picture of natural enemies in the animal world living in peace together.  But today my concrete mind cracked a bit, moved outside the box and wondered, could these animals be symbolic?  Be wary of wolves in sheep's clothing.  Some people are bold as lions while others are timid as kids.  People as different as these animals can live in peace together when they are led by the Christ child.

One of my favorite hymns is the peace song:

Let There Be Peace on Earth.

Click on the title to view a sing-along version on YouTube.

Things that make you go "Hmmmm..."

(Luke 12:51) - "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division."  (New American Standard Bible, 1995)

(John 16:33) - "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace..."  (New American Standard Bible, 1995)

So did Jesus come to bring peace or not?  I'd say He brings peace to those who want it.  Sometimes you've got to shake things up first.  Get people to decide what is important and what is truth. And finally, the peace Jesus brings is not of this world.

John 14:27 - “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."  (American Standard Bible, 1995)

A Wonderful Sunday

It started out like any Sunday, breakfast with Pa and Owen, Nick Jr. on TV while we got ready for church, drank coffee and checked email.

9:30 a.m., the day continued as expected, church began on time. It was a hot day in SW Oklahoma but cool and comfortable in the church. Singing, sharing, praying, a sermon about the prodigal son and worshiping the God we love.

There was a little snafu between church and Sunday school involving getting lunch ready but it was just enough to keep things interesting and unpredictable.

The Sunday school lesson was 2 Thessalonians 3:1-15 about God's Own Faithfulness. I liked the part about not being idle. "He who does not work should not eat." I can be a bit of a workaholic during the school year. But when your job is a mission for God, I'm sure that isn't a bad thing. Plus, I get to eat!

Lunch at Gran's was a little late because of the snafu, but it was worth the wait. This was Beth's Sunday birthday dinner (lunch). Her menu was meatloaf, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad and green beans with peaches and cantaloupe for dessert. (There was birthday cake, but since Beth's birthday was actually on Thursday, the cake was all gone by Sunday).

After the lunch dishes were in the dish washer and the kitchen was cleaned, we sat down to wait for our company, cousins Don and Donna from Oregon along with Cousin LaRae from Texas were on their way. Pa went back to our house to take a nap, Owen fell asleep on his mat in the dining room, Beth curled up on the couch and Gran nodded off in her chair. I was the only one awake when Don knocked on the door.

The company came in and everyone woke up (well, not Pa - we had to give him a wake up call). We told stories and laughed, reminisced and consulted family history books, looked at pictures and caught up with news about people not present. When it was time for them to head on, Don said, "We should be going and let you all get back to your regular life activities." My response was, "Oh, you don't have to do that. This is way more fun than what we normally do." They left anyway.

Pa went to the farm, Beth & Owen went home, and I headed down the street to my house. We left Gran talking on the phone to her sister in Michigan.

I enjoy my Sunday evenings. I got my Bible Blog done and checked my email. Finally back to normal! Mari & Shawn are home from their honeymoon cruise and back online. Five emails and one blog post from Mari. That is more like it.

I'm almost done with my NaBloPoMo daily blog post and then I will watch a TV show (I like Leverage) and read a little (I'm trying to finish John Grisham's children's book THEODORE BOONE: KID LAWYER).

It's been a pretty spectacular Sunday, a great start to the last week in July.

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Harold's Birthday, a Celebration

At church last Sunday, Harold's niece whispered in my ear, "Surprise 80th birthday party for Harold next Saturday in Fellowship Hall." She didn't know what time.

My mother-in-law reminded me of the party during the week and supplied the missing information, the party is at 2:00. My daughter called me this morning with an interesting question, "Does the party start at 2:00 or is Harold showing up at 2:00? " I decided to go at 1:45 to be safe. My husband came in from mowing at 1:30 and told me the party started at 1:00 and there were cars all around the church. Really?

I walked down to church, it is just 1/2 block from my house, found Harold in the midst of a mob of people, and yelled "Surprise!" We hugged and Harold said, "Can you believe all this?" Then he was swept off into the next conversation. I put my card in the box overflowing with other birthday wishes and looked for a place to park myself.

I don't think I've ever seen that many people in Fellowship Hall before and there was enough food to feed twice as many. I ate a big lunch before I went so I could resist birthday cake. Who knew there'd be all that yummy regular food? I'm such a partier, I drank a class of water.

Harold is a precious man. He's our church treasurer and sings in the choir (our favorite song is "I'm Winging My Way Back Home" because Harold has a small solo part in it). He was once known as "Mr. Candy Man" on a local children's TV program back in the 60's. He sang and danced and showed cartoons from what I've been told. Since retiring from civil service, Harold has become a traveler, going on trips with his wife and her twin sister. Sometimes cousins and in-laws come along too, making it Harold and a gaggle of women. He is just that fun to be with.

A year ago Harold had a bout with lung cancer. It was a scary time for us all. Thank God the treatments worked and Harold won that fight. For his birthday he got an x-ray report, "NO CANCER." Hurray!

All I have left to say is, 80 doesn't seem that old anymore.

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