Another wonderful day!

The hits just keep on coming around here! Last night Mom and I stayed home and enjoyed leftover hamburgers and/or hot dogs for our dinner. Kerry had already left to get back to Oshkosh in time for a wedding shower and Jill was in her apartment. Lynn had the two darling little boys overnight so they could join us for the church picnic today. Worship was held outdoors at 10:00 with the school band accompanying the hymns. They do a fine job of it, playing multiple stanzas of the hymns, in one case, 6. Not bad for grade schoolers!
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The readings were moving for me, two of them based upon the loss of a child and the return to life of each one. The widow at Nain and the boy living in the house with Elijah and the widow. Toward the end of the service, we had a prayer for a young Hmong mom who died at age 28, leaving two little ones behind. After the service, the congregation Chairman spoke to the assembly. Then pastor came back to announce they had just gotten word that one of the 4th graders had succumbed to his brain tumor and died this a.m. His teacher, Karen, was seated next to us and as soon as I could, I went to her to offer hugs and comfort. The other teachers came over as well and I saw many people wiping their eyes following that announcement. It was no surprise that he was dying, but it is always startling news to get.
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The picnic went on, as Pastor mentioned in his sermon, life and death co-exist in this world. It does seem somewhat odd, though, that we do simply go about our business when we know that in another household, hearts are breaking. It is a tough concept to embrace, that life is going on even as the world seems to be crashing down around us. Huh….The food was delicious, at least mine was, and it was so wonderful to see more of my friends and ‘family’ again. I visited the tables to see if folks needed anything, sampling their desserts as I went along. Pastor Rosenow saw me coming and threw himself over his plate like a live grenade…there was nothing there I wanted to taste anyway!
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The boys had a great time playing in the bouncy house and visiting the fishing pond. Lynn and Jill walked them down to the lake and back before Lynn took the boys home to their parents in Sheboygan. Alayna stayed for a bit and then left for more graduation parties. Hers is next week and we are so looking forward to that!
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After we were nicely stuffed and had laughed enough, sitting with Linda and others, Mom and I decided to come home. We arrived here about 2:00 0r so, which is so early for a church picnic. Not like the old days when we were kids! I do believe, however, that we did not have worship in the park beforehand, so would not have gotten there until after church was over at 11:30 or so. We would eat first, play in the creek until we ruined our new outfits bought special for the picnic, and then played the organized games with our grades. “Things are radically different now” as my cousin, Ronnie, would say.
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I took a rest while listening to the programs I downloaded in the park yesterday and believe I may have snoozed a bit. Mom likely did, too, in the living room. Lynn came over for a bit and we had some leftovers from the fry outs this past weekend before enjoying our blackberry pie purchased from the Amish booth at the garden show yesterday. We meant to take it to the picnic today but forgot so we enjoyed some this evening instead.
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Jill was coming up for a slice of pie, too, but thus far has not showed. Mom was covering it with wrap to keep it from drying out too much. It was “hot” today and I got some sun on my face---72 above zero at least!!! It felt jolly good, too! I was envious of Justin’s sermon he was going to hear today, referencing the movie “Pay It Forward”. Pastor Hoyer sends out a ‘teaser’ on Thursdays about his sermon for Sunday and I would love to have heard it. Ours heard today was good, too, but I have a special place for Pay It Forward and what it means. I wonder how Phil worked that into his sermon?? I wonder if it is available on-line????