....but someone's gotta do it. Might as well be me. Love watching the news from bed on Independence Day morning with the sun shining on me, making my right eye squint a bit. Earlier on the program they showed a clip where various members of the armed forces sang parts of the national anthem and then pieced it together (I believe they said 150 different troops) into the completed anthem. Very nice! It gave me water eyes to see/hear it this way.
All that talk about my goofy dream yesterday made me forget there was no Bible study so when I pulled in, no one was there! I circled out and went over to Publix to pick up a few things, not the least of which was my soda purchase. Since the young people arrive this week, I wanted to have a few things gathered to feed them but could buy nothing that could not wait in the car until I got home after lunch and church. Later in the week I will get the cold stuff and have Justin help me get things set up for the kids (two girls and one boy). Certainly I want them to have snacks for at the end of the day when they sit around to watch TV or work on their computers. Other meals will be on the fly or at church, I understand, but I will have pizzas and other food products around to make up for any shortfall the daylight hours may bring.
Back at church, I found out a few others had shown up earlier but somehow, I did not see them on the street. One lady said she tooted her horn at me but I did not hear her, as she made the same boo boo I did. We either knew about there not being class, or we forgot. I get ticked off sometimes that people don't read their newsletters but I actually write the darn thing and don't remember. A good lesson in that!!!
Folks did come trickling in for church, as I was the 3rd car in the yard, and when the last people were in the door, a mom with three kids in tow, we had over 50 people. Many folks are traveling on the holiday weekend, including two guests we had with us, a pastor and his wife from TX.
When they came in, I was standing at the lectern with my attendance sheet, and they received service folders from Darwin. Since they were new, I greeted them and asked where they were from. The lady spoke right up, saying they were from TX where her hubby is a pastor, and he pointed at our pastor, saying, "I know that man!" It seems he had been the mission counselor for the North Atlantic District so was sort of our pastor's boss.
His wife and I hit it off immediately, especially when she said they are house hunting in Jax for their retirement and I said they could live with me. Pastor said, "Kim has room!" and I said, "I even wrote a song about it, "There Still is Room"! She said, "I just have to hug you!" and the race was on!
Here's where it gets better....Ellen, who recently sold her flower shop, was called upon to do the flower arrangements for the wedding of her dear friend's daughter, who was married at none other than The Club Continental! Ellen was raving about the great views and such, lovely setting for a wedding, and just how they managed to find their way to Jax. They were also house hunting but had a hard time finding a Realtor willing to show them property on this holiday weekend. I found this simply incredible, especially in this market, with an agent even telling them, "We don't work weekends". What??? Since when??? Oh, my, we need Joanne on the case!
The pastor, named Richard, has a marvelous singing voice and added much to our worship, as we sang a couple hymns from The Nation portion of the hymnal, one penned by Francis Scott Key. We also sang "Jesus Your Blood and Righteousness" which is one I have chosen for my funeral service, my favorite stanza being the 2nd one: "Bold shall I stand in that great day; Who can a word against me say? Fully absolved through you absolved I am From sin and fear, from guilt and shame." I told Terri T. that this stanza was ID'd for my service and after we sang the hymn, I said, "No, I want the entire hymn..." She said, "We'll need four hours" and I replied, "Don't make other plans that day..."
So, after the service, I greeted with Pastor at the door as the official Greeters did not, allowing me more chance to visit with our guests. We arranged for them to come to see my home, with me telling them I would be in the pool. They were not present for the wedding itself, as it was at 11:00 a.m., a conflict with worship, and it was a Jewish wedding! The chuppah was still set up when I came out to go swimming after lunch and we could see the attendees dancing up a storm inside, the men wearing white yarmulkes, with all dancing the hora. From the pool, we could watch the reception activities and sometimes hear the music. The groom is not Jewish so some attendees did not get into it as much.
Richard and Ellen were joining the Kuske's for the lunch, but were coming back for a dinner after the wedding was over, hosted by the groom's family. In between, though, they came to my house and I showed them around. Kuske's had told them about Timmy so immediately we opened with that, Ellen admiring his portrait and then sharing that she also buried a daughter. Hers was 23 and I believe it was a car accident. I am angry with myself for not remembering clearly, but it seems the daughter's friend had died only a few weeks earlier in a bed fire. Yikes! So, we had a few tears together and then enjoyed the home. I let them know that I had contacted Joanne with their information and they would be hearing from her. In their price range, they can get a good-sized home in Argyle/Oakleaf which would put them in the GS neighborhood. Oh yes!
When they were here, I asked Richard if he knew Jim Humann, and he asked if that was the man who plans the trips. Yep, that's the one, and I showed them the flyer I received about the next trip to Turkey. I told them about the previous trip I went on, the great friends I made, and how Judy R. and I became instant friends. To which Ellen replied, "Like you and me!" She thanked me for being so welcoming to her at church and for making them feel so comfortable. They made it easy to do!
