Cat's in the cradle

I want to be just like you, dad...I want to be just like you.

monuments and gravestones

I've been thinking:

Monument:

a lasting evidence, reminder, or example of someone or something notable or great (2): a distinguished person b: a memorial stone or a building erected in remembrance of a person or event. An identifying mark : evidence; also : portent, sign. 5. a carved statue : effigy6: a boundary or position marker (as a stone)7: national monument 8: a written tribute.

There's monument Valley, Monument Colorado, the Washington Monument, Lincoln Monument, Jeffererson Monument et. al., And this monument to the unsung soldiers of the wars before VietNam who were from a small village in northern Illinois. Who pays attention? Who remembers? The monument has stood there for beyond 70 years...

and then there's the gravestone: a shaped stone laid over or erected near a grave and usually bearing an inscription to identify and preserve the memory of the deceased ment

The grave stone marks the passage of our lives. Usually 2 dates. Birth. Death. And that a recent invention. For the vast majority of humankind, there is no marking or monument to life and death.

I realize recently that i have frantically been building monuments: the chest full of geneolgy. I don't want my family to forget. The pictures. I want them to see the scope of our history in living color. Every family get together. Every blogging post.... I have been blessed by God and I want to bless my family and those around me...

The Blessing

Let it be said of us while we walked among the living

Let it be said of us by the ones we leave behind

Let it be said of us that we lived to be a blessing for life

Verse 2

And let it be said of us that we gave to reach the dying

Let it be said of us by the fruit we leave behind

Let it be said of us that our legacy is blessing for life

Chorus

This day, You set life, You set death right before us

This day, every blessing and curse is a choice now

And we will choose to be a blessing for life

Verse 3

Let it be said of us that our hearts belong to Jesus

Let it be said of us that we spoke the words of life

Let is be said of us that our heritage is blessing for life

'Cause blessings and curses are choices

Will we build up, tear down?

The moment of truth is now

For your kingdom, for our children

For the sake of every nation

For your kingdom, for our children

For the sake of every nation

We will choose to be a blessing for life

Copyright 2005 New Spring (a div of Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing d/b/a GreatWorshipSongs.com) / John Waller Publishing (ASCAP). Administered by BMG Music Publishing, non-commercial licensing admin by Music Services) / Real Lifer Publishing. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The Roads Converging

Sat and had coffee this morning with a friend. We chatted about lots of things: a trip next spring, or maybe in the summer... the Bible study we're working on... and that old country house that both of us used to have! Ha! I find it delightful to have a friend who had to set mouse traps in the fall just the same as I. (ugh. smelly, dirty creatures) Who lived down a gravel road on a long lane and burned with wood in the winter! We talked about making our kids help us with the wood cutting, hauling, stacking, storing process and we did things much the same even 20 years before we knew each other. They kept chickens and pigs...runt pigs even. So did we. [In fact we had 2 runt pigs we named Frank and Francis. Fed them goat's milk and corn mash. When we finally ate them, the kids would ponder "I wonder if this is Frank or Francis?" no vegetarians there! ] We both had kids who needed to drink goat's milk because they were sensitive to cow's milk. We were about 2 counties away from each other and our paths crossed first at a Mike Warnke concert in Cherokee sometime in the early 80's, Though there were gadzillions of people at the concert ,as I recall. No matter. Here we iron sharpening iron.

Sunrise/Sunset

Swiftly fly the days.... I have two great pictures: The sunrise has been beautiful these past couple of days, I got several pictures two days in a row. I just love this first picture with the Christmas decorations! And the picture is taken facing south to boot! The sunset picture is much more subdued but it sandwiches my day!

"Lift up your heads, o gates! and be lifted up, o ancient doors, that the king of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? the Lord, strong and mighty. The Lord, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads o gates! And lift them up o ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!" Who but the King of Glory could paint the skies in such a way!

Exhaustion

You haven't seen any new posts from me because we had the grandkids over the weekend. Believe me, they leave 0 time for anything like writing a blog! I have to say, I don't know how parents do it! That is, run after little ones all day long, without falling into a heap and crying out "I give up! I give up!" It must have something to do with my age. I sure don't remember being this exhausted at the end of two days! These boys were a delight, and pretty good, considering they were on their own with their grandparents, away from mom and dad.

Isaiah, when asked what he was thinking about after he'd gone to bed, responded by saying "I'm thinking about what we're going to have for breakfast!"

Phinehas made himself perfectly clear when asked if he wanted to eat, too. He was just like a little bird, opening his mouth for the spoon every time!

Isaiah had the chance to sit in the city snowplows for a minute or two. He didn't think that was such a good idea, so we took him back home. Once there he said, "Grandpa, I think I've changed my mind, I'd like to see those ducks, now" (Believe it or not, it took us several tries to understand that ducks, were really trucks)

Phinehas patiently built with blocks. Isaiah knocked them down quite eagerly.

They both loved the slides at the park. The train at the library. apples. and bathtime.

It was a good weekend, but I think distance from it will make it even better. Then I'll know I can do this again!