Dominion Family

We have been busy doing our school’s-out cleaning. Our attic had gotten pretty bad over the last couple of years. I always say I will wait until it is cool to clean it out but then I am always busy with school when it is cool.

Christopher comes home today. Then Emily leaves for a couple of weeks. Then James and Nathaniel go to Florida for the big tournament. I am happier when everybody is at home. I miss my children when they are not around.

We have a bully day planned for tomorrow. We are invited to a local party early in the afternoon, a church picnic late in the afternoon, and I hope we get over to Athens for their firework display around dark. The Athens display was terrific last year. Plus my parents will be visiting.

I bought fresh cantaloupe, watermelon, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, clementines, corn, tomatoes & avacadoes this week. The eatin’ is good around here. Tonight we are having grilled chicken with guacamole.

Tim never got around to getting our raised beds in but the children planted where we turned the soil over anyway. It was a low pressure, lots of fun experience and the fruits are beginning to roll in. We have cherry tomatoes ready and the big ones are almost ready also. Andrew planted corn and plans to eat it all by himself. Emily has a lovely stand of sunflowers with one gracing our dining room table.

Tim was told his job will be ending July 21. That is a normal situation for a contractor but it is a bit harder to bear since we have fallen in love with our town and Alabama. We aren’t sure where he will go next. ( read with a slightly panicked voice)

Timothy and Nicholas weighed in on the comments to my last post. Also my friend, Mrs Bennet….I mean…Karen, weighed in with funny comment about P & P, the novel to end all novels.
Karen wants to know if Mrs Bennet had a first name. Kelly thinks it was Fanny.
I want to know what Mrs. Darcy (Darcy’s mother) was like.

  Leave a Comment »

“Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, ‘What should be the reward of such sacrifices?’ Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!”

Samuel Adams

Star Spangled Banner

Verse 4

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

  Leave a Comment »

Something you probably didn’t know about me:

I am not a phone person. I will go to great lengths in order not to make a phone call. It takes a lot for me to pick up the phone and call someone. My good friends know that I will tell them I will call and then a week later they will hear from me. My 2 long distance friends only get calls about 2 or 3 times a year. Of course, I make it count when I do call.

I am beginning to take perverse delight in sales calls because I have learned to be a little bit rude sometimes. This is a giant step for me and I like to practice.

I do carry a cell phone and it does ring frequently. Our family seems to be tied together through a cell phone umbilical line. I talk to my 2 adult boys daily. I wouldn’t miss those calls for the world. I talk to my parents frequently. James calls me from work hourly, “What are y’all doing?” I guess he is afraid we will finally do something fun while he is gone. Not to worry, James, nothing fun on the agenda for a few days. Yesterday was enough fun for one month.

I would rather go to the pizza place and order than call and order.

Selfishly, I don’t mind if you call me but don’t feel bad when I don’t return the call. I am just magnetically repelled from the phone.

I know there are several of you out there that are thinking, “That explains a lot.” I hope so.

Now I need to get off the computer and go make my summer phone call to Linda. That way tomorrow I will have something to blog about.

  Leave a Comment »

Recently Franklin Springs Family Media sent me their video A Journey Home, the story of the Waller family of Tennessee. This film won the Jubilee Award for BEST DOCUMENTARY at the 2005 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.

Since I am not Carmon and didn’t get to attend the film festival, this was my first look at any of the winners. The quality of this production is beyond what I had hoped for from these small independent film makers. I was truly impressed with the editing and ease of watching. Not only do you get the actual documentary but plenty of extras, including the director’s commentary, a feature I frequently enjoy on DVDs.

The story itself is impressive, A father of 11 quits his 80 hour a week job and begins to live among the Amish in Tennessee, without electricity. Not only is the story inspiring but it is also probably a must-watch for any family considering this sort of move. The lifestyle is not for the fainthearted and even the stout-hearted might be daunted.

I especially enjoyed the part of the film dealing with the Waller’s impact on the community of Franklin, TN. Because of our own experiences in our community, I believe there is much to be gained by interaction with those we live among.

The music ranges from beautiful bluegrass renditions to traditional Jewish music. The film is also graced with the wonderful artwork of Anne Goetz. Anne has painted the Waller family extensively and her paintings are lovely.

I do have one caveat. I am not sure of the theological bent of the family. It appears to be some sort of Messianic Christianity. Since the movie is not theological in nature this isn’t really a problem but I just want to clarify that I have my own cautions on that front.

You can order the film for only $14.95 from the Franklin Springs Family Media. I am especially excited about their documentary on the Peasall Sisters, the little girls singing Keep on the Sunny Side in “O, Brother Where Art Thou?”. I am still mad at my children that they don’t sing harmony. It also wouldn’t hurt me to watch The Family Meal Table.

  Leave a Comment »

I just finished Jan Karon’s Light From Heaven.

What can I say? Jan captures something I can’t quite put my finger on. I am not one to enjoy sappy books but I laugh and cry through the Mitford books. I don’t always run out and buy them the moment they are published but I have never been disappointed in a Jan Karon book.

I have been thinking about our community lately and Light From Heaven helped me think. One reason, maybe the main reason, we have been so blessed in our community relationships is that we weren’t expecting them and we didn’t put any expectations on the relationships. That seems to be what happens in Mitford.

In spite of the strong theological base of Father Tim, he is able to accept those around him for who and where they are. We have a much harder time doing that within our own church and among our theological twins than in our local town.

There may even be something in that thought for family troubles. One quote I love from Light From Heaven:

Love is an act of endless forgiveness

  Leave a Comment »

I coulda been a Luddite. In another time and another place I could have been happy without all this technology. I love, love, love, not having a television. I sometimes want to cry when the phone rings. I don’t want to venture too many steps from my own door and I wish my children would all live near me forever.

But over the years there have been a few things I missed watching on the tube. I missed watching the Olympics and I missed all those great BBC shows. Now from my computer I can do almost everything I ever wanted to do. I can watch almost any BBC series ever made. I can watch all those PBS shows, you know the only shows on American television that anyone will ever admit to watching.

How many times have you had this conversations?:

Person 1: “We don’t have a TV.”
Person 2: ” We only watch public television.”

That isn’t even a joke since I have heard it millions of times.

Why am I telling you all this?

Because I can download Season 5 of 24 from iTunes before it ever hits the DVD store.

I can watch 24; then I can watch other people watch 24; then I can watch other people watch other people watch 24, all from my computer.

Right now!

It is going to be a long day.

  Leave a Comment »

I have always loved to move. After all the road goes ever on and on. Half the fun is that once you step out of the door:

“It is risky business, …. and if you dont keep your feet, you never know where you might be swept off to.”

I’ve lived everywhere, man. I’ve lived everywhere.

Cincinnati, OH
Morrow, OH
Richmond,KY
Ft Pierce, FL
Deland, FL
Toccoa, GA
Long Beach, NC
Wilmington, NC
Hartsville, SC
Sagamore Beach, MA
Mashpee, MA
Charlotte, NC
Peru, NE
Rockford, IL
Phoenix, AZ
Millersville, PA
Vineland, NJ
Bridgeton, NJ
Salem, NJ
E-town, AL

And if there are any others I may have forgotten….

I didn’t want to move to Alabama. I wanted to move to Tennessee. Now I may get to move to Tennessee and I don’t want to leave Alabama. In my long career of moving I have never once felt sad to move on. I know that sounds bad but I suppose I have a bit of the Mr Toad in me; the love of the open road.

Still I was hoping I had reached Rivendell. Perhaps I shouldn’t set my sights on Rivendell, perhaps I should set them on the Grey Havens instead.

If you ever have a chance to move to Alabama, do.

Here are 10 reasons:

10. The Spring is long.
9. The Autumn is long.
8. The Winter is short.
7. You can wear sandals 9 months of the year.
6. It is lush. Everything grows bigger in Alabama
5. It is filled with lakes. Water sports abound.
4. They don’t play sports on Sunday.
3. Everyone is a Christian.
2. The houses have porches and central air.
1. You can sing Sweet Home Alabama and mean it.

I haven’t moved yet. I am sending this post to God.

  Leave a Comment »

Life has been a whirling dervish. We have been busy getting the boys ready for their big trip to Florida to play baseball. They leave early Wednesday morning.

Andrew was in a tournament this weekend. They won 3 games before losing the 4th. They played better and better all day Saturday even though the temperatures
were rising. The local Walmart sold out of canopies.

The blazing temperatures will continue this week. 99 today and then 2 days of 100 degree temps. I am gonna be hard pressed to keep the petunias from dying.

James has graduated although we are still waiting for his HSLDA diploma to arrive. He finished reading The City of God and earned his wings. We had a small open house yesterday afternoon for him.

3 down, 6 to go. When you are having baby after baby every 22 months you don’t think about graduations coming around just as quickly, one after the other. But that’s how it works.

  Leave a Comment »

Last year I got everybody all teary on this day.

There has been a lot of water under the bridge this year for my little boy blue. Some hard things but some very good things. Life is hard but God is good. God is always good.

I hope to post pictures later if I can get my scanner to work and my network??

  Leave a Comment »

Blogging Rule: When all else fails blog about something that irritates you.

My friend Sandy has been blogging about church issues and one of her posts reminded me of something that gets under my skin.

I hate when I feel external pressure in ministry areas. I am very organic in how I view ministry. I don’t like to be pressured to attend services, work in the nursery or teach SS. Because I have a large family and home school most of my ministry opportunities flow from real life. I secretly (shh…) believe this is how the church in general should work. Of course, needs should be announced such as in Acts 6 where the Apostles looked for men to wait on tables but I don’t think they were pressuring men or begging men to wait on those tables.

While I perceive ministry as entirely organic, I think most churches view ministry as entirely program-oriented.
Even such mundane things as meals and babysitting are only recognized when organized. I have seen this tendency in almost every kind of church including programless family churches.

I am not looking for recognition but I don’t want to have to codify my ministry opportunities in order to fend off pressurized attacks.

Perhaps this is way too simplistic but as Christians our ministry opportunities are Providential and begin each day when we open our eyes and say, “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad.”

This is not an excuse to be selfish and lazy. We will all give an account for our time and talents. It is just that to our own master we stand and fall.

  Leave a Comment »