WHIPPING CREAM...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving where I live. Like almost everyone else we know, we celebrate Thanksgiving with a big meal that we share with our family and friends as we talk about the things we are thankful for and the blessings of the past year. With a little football thrown in for good measure! (But who is measuring?!)

Our elderly friend, Warren, always joins us for Thanksgiving. He lives alone and has never been married. He is an only child, and his cousins live far away, so he joins our family for holiday meals. He sits at the dining room table where he can watch the goings-on in the kitchen and chat with Barry about this or that. And Warren always brings the whipping cream -- real fresh whipping cream in a glass bottle from the local dairy!

Sometimes I am just in awe when I think of his courage. As a very young man, he went to fight for our country in World War II. He was a point man, a very dangerous thing for a soldier to be, and he was shot through the jaw. I look inside myself and I don't see that kind of courage. I remember the day I saw his green dress uniform hanging in his closet... with the Purple Heart...

In June, Warren fell and broke his leg, and even after surgery and physical therapy and lots of meds, his leg still got worse and worse. The doctors finally told him it was an aggressive sarcoma, and today -- the day before Thanksgiving -- they took off that whole leg along with some of the pelvis in an effort to stop the cancer. All these weeks, even with severe pain and fuzzy brain, he has not lost his will to fight. Or his appreciation for good food, something it seems he has been getting very little of!

I've been a bit weepy today. Barry has called me often from the hospital with updates. Warren is out of surgery and awake, the doctor said. As far as he can tell, he was able to remove all the cancerous tissue.

I can't believe tomorrow is really Thanksgiving Day! But thanksgiving is not just a day. It is a lifetime of choices made new every day. Choosing to be thankful.

I gave in and bought a little waxed box of whipping cream... Thanksgiving Day just won't be the same this year!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. --I Thessalonians 5:16-18

PICTURE OF THE DAY -- 11/21/2008

I looked at Elmo the other day, and he was entirely too dirty. His eyes were all brown-shot, and he smelled of too many kisses...

So I said, "Out of those clothes, you grubby boy! You are going to have a bath! In fact, you and all your little look-alikes are going to have a bath! Now quick, before Coral gets home!"

So off came Elmo's clothes, and here's what the table looked like...

I gathered up my armful of little boys, and downstairs we went...

I couldn't believe how fluffy and sweet-smelling they got!
So I lined them all up on the couch for a picture!
And Coral was thrilled to see them all when she got home!

SATURDAY'S MUSIC!

I have saved the best for last! Carol-Ann herself!

Ever since she was a teenager, Carol-Ann has been writing wonderful songs. I have always loved to hear them, and so I was delighted to find that she has put a couple of them on the internet. Here is one of them for you to enjoy -- "No Miracle."

Here are two links...

The story behind the song

The song

(No, she does not play her guitar backwards! She told me that she inadvertently recorded this in "mirror image!" Of course, since I know her so well, she just doesn't look right backwards, but you might not have known that if I hadn't spilled the beans ...unless, of course, you noticed that guitar pointing the wrong way!)

SURPRISE!

Okay, this is a first for me! I'm just as surprised as you are that it seems to have turned out okay! Ha ha!

So here's the story...
Carol-Ann has been writing songs since she was a kid, and I have lost track of how many there even are, but some time ago I recorded one of them as part of a CD made by our prison ministry group. If I am remembering correctly, this song -- I Am Tempted Too -- was written way back when we were still living in Liberia, so Carol-Ann must have been a teenager.

The brain wave hit me that maybe -- just maybe -- I could actually put together some pictures of Carol-Ann with the song as background. So I went digging on my computer and, by trial and error, came up with this! Oh, how I love learning how to do new things!

Two things to note --
First, the music doesn't start until you get to the first photo, so don't be worried that the sound is not working.
Second, the song is not meant to be a commentary on the pictures! The words don't match the photos at all!

I hope you enjoy it! And I hope your birthday week has been great, C-A!

Wednesday's Music!

Sometimes a song comes along that makes you cry. I can think of a lot of people who fit into this song very well, so here's a link especially for you!

This group is one of the most musically talented families, The Isaacs. Lily is the mom and was born in Germany to parents who survived the Holocaust. Ben, Sonya, and Becky are her three children, and they sing and play a variety of musical instruments (very, very well, too!). This particular song was written by Sonya and Becky.




Heroes -- by The Isaacs
(The song actually ends at about 4:38 on the timer)





(Left to right: Lily, Ben, Sonya, and Becky)

Tuesday's Music!

I would have to say that this group is my current favorite. Not too long ago, Barry, Coral, Gord, and I drove to a concert in eastern Colorado, and it was worth every bit of the effort we put into getting there. They have the most beautiful harmony, great songs with life-changing lyrics, and a lot of humor, too! They are the only group I have ever heard say, "If you would like some of our music and are not able to pay tonight, pull one of us aside and let us know. You can send the money later when you are able."

The song I really wanted to link to is "I Would," which tells the story of a little boy in a candy store, but I could find only one online link to that, and it is not the best quality. So instead here is one that was recorded here in our Colorado Red Rocks amphitheater. In fact, you won't see us, but we were sitting there on that hillside during this concert! We saw lots of our favorite singers, including this group, The Booth Brothers.


Castles in the Sand -- by The Booth Brothers




(Left to right: Michael Booth, Ronnie Booth, Jim Brady)



PS: This link can in no way convey the beauty and clarity of their sound. Their website has sample mp3s that will show you what I mean!

Monday's Music!

One of my very favorite singers... Lynda Randle...




God on the Mountain -- by Lynda Randle

A week of music!

This week will be different... and here's why...

Today is Carol-Ann's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, C-A!

If you know much about her, you know that she is one musical gal! She sings, plays quite a few different instruments, and has written a lot of songs over the years. When Gord and Carol-Ann and I were growing up, we played our instruments and sang together, and in the years since then, music has been a big part of our lives. It has the power to lift us up, especially when the words are ones that turn our thoughts and our hearts to God.

So this week (every day if I can manage it!), I will post a link to a favorite song. Maybe these will be new to you, but I hope you will love them as much as I do!

Today's song is by the Hoppers, a family group made up of Claude and Connie (mom and dad), Dean and Mike (their sons), and Kim (Dean's wife). Dean sings, and Mike plays the drums. They have been to our city several times, and we have traveled to other places to hear them, too. They know Coral by name (which thrills her, let me tell you!)

Every time I hear this song, tears roll down my face as I long for heaven, the New Jerusalem!


JERUSALEM -- by The Hoppers


(Left to right: Mike, Kim, Dean, Connie, Claude)

PICTURE OF THE DAY -- 11/07/2008

My Button Box

When I was little, my mother had a button box. She depended on it. Where we lived, there were no nearby stores that sold cards of buttons in every shape and color. If we lost a button, we had nowhere to go but to the button box. We would not have thought of throwing out an old piece of clothing without first cutting off all the buttons to put back in that precious box.

I can remember playing with those buttons -- big ones and little ones, round and oval and square, plain plastic and wood and mother of pearl. Some even had a fancy little diamond inset on the top, and others were covered with fabric to match the long-discarded dress. Oh, what a treasure trove of imaginations was in that old button box!

I haven't been able to find a box just like my mothers' yet, but I've started my own button box. Just like we did many years ago, I always carefully cut the buttons off any clothes that are ready for the rag bag or the cat bed or the trash can. Whenever I find old buttons anywhere, I gather them up and add them to my box, and it is beginning to be just as interesting as the one in my memory!

We are sort of like the buttons in my box--all different shapes and sizes and colors, some of us fancy and others casual, some of us dressed up and showy, others of us plain and quiet. Put us all together, and we are so interesting! I love our button box! Let's enjoy it!

(Do you recognize the doily? It is the one I made for my mother years ago!)

PICTURE OF THE DAY -- 11/03/2008

Western Meadowlark
(Picture by Gord)

Ooph, what a day this has been! I hope tomorrow is better...
Remember to sing, no matter what!

By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.
--Psalms 42:8