"Worthy is the Lamb...."

Last night I had dinner with my friend, Betty, at Longhorn and we talked a long time. Unfortunately she has not been able to find a job after being laid off from my former company. Her sister, also laid-off from her job, has recently begun taking some classes to add to her skills but Betty is concerned that she might have the "old dog/new tricks" syndrome and not be able to handle school again. She has not totally dismissed the notion, but I can see where it can be frightening to take classes at this point in her life. These would not be classes just for fun or interest, but rather something with which she might be able to support herself.

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Here is Betty at Justin's birthday party last month. We have been friends for more than a decade---wow, that sounds like a long time when stated that way.......

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This morning I got to church in time for Bible study and what an interesting topic it was! We are studying our vocations as Christians, with our subject matter today coming from Titus, where St. Paul gave the instructions and guidelines for what makes a qualified minister/elder. Blameless, above reproach, good reputation, all things necessary to make a good strong church leader. I truly enjoy studying about these things, serves to be grounding for me. Only two kids in Sunday school today so Kathy B. had an easy time of it!

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Kathy and Suzanne played the pre-service music which I could only hear bits of as I stood outside the doors greeting with Gretchen. What a wonderful musical team they are! In fact, they were so good that when the MIDI quit suddenly mid-hymn, the congregation kept singing and the two ladies quickly jumped in with live music. I thought they had planned it that way, the way it flowed nearly seamlessly from MIDI to 'a cappella' to live music! It moved me! The hymn was from the Supplement, "Speak, O Lord", and not all that familiar to most. Later we sang and they played "The Lamb" which was also quite lovely. "Worthy is the Lamb, whose blood made me His own! The Lamb is reigning on His throne."

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I sat with Twila on the far side of the church in a calculated attempt to support the singing since we were using one of the newer liturgies this a.m. She was alone so it was nice to share the pew with her. Little Sarah was in front of us and kept working her way down the pew, sneak a peek at me, and then scurry back down to her parents. Twila had Altar Guild and since her co-helper was not there, she asked if I would help her. Of course I will! Suzanne even teased me because after I was done washing the communion ware, I mopped my face with a paper towel. Yes, I am perspiring---I had my hands in hot, sudsy water and it spread to my face!

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Twila and I grabbed lunch at Aron's on the way home, with me bringing home half of mine! Twila did a good job on her lunch with no leftovers but had to stop at Publix on the way home to get supplies for making a special soup for her grandson, Daniel, who was coming for dinner. She just loves to spoil her grands! Justin always loved his Grandma Twila's cooking, which he enjoyed when he used to hang out with Mark. But I do make good sloppy joes and I believe it will have one right now!

Thinking about some of Friday's events and such...

As you might recall, Friday morning Justin, Judy J. , and I were part of the "honor guard' our community put forth to welcome back a fallen airman, Scott Speicher. His procession, for those familiar with Jacksonville at all, followed Roosevelt Blvd. (Hwy. 17) north to downtown. There was a ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Wall, although I do not think they actually stopped the procession at all. The parade went on passed Speicher's church and his high school, out to NAS Cecil Field where he had trained and from where he was deployed. The route then took the procession down Argyle Forest Blvd., passed Good Shepherd, where the preschool kids, some parents and the staff, stood with flags in salute.

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The photos on-line showed views looking north from the cemetery toward I-295, and the traffic was gone. The only vehicles appearing were the motorcycles leading the hearse and other vehicles in procession. This brought back memories of our having the same effect on traffic with our funeral procession on a Friday afternoon. Blanding Blvd. is about the busiest roadway in the area and our extended-length procession from the church to the cemetery certainly ruined some people's schedules that afternoon in 2001.

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I was able to see the "missing man formation" fly-over as they must have flown over the cemetery during the 21 gun salute and playing of Taps. Judy J. was on her way back from church after standing with the children and saw the "missing man" leave the formation and "punch a hole in the sky". She called from her car to tell me about it and I told her they came over the house too. Quite spectacular a sight and experience for our community!

Oh, man! I should not have done that!

Have you ever said that? I love to ask questions here to see if I get answers.....normally it works! Last night, early, I decided to rest my eyes, as I told Kathy B. my eyes were more tired than my body was for some reason on Friday. I took a little rest during the storm and woke up just before 11:00 pm, I think. Ooops!

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Oh, I know I was ruined for the rest of the night, at least most of it so I got back on the computer and had a late night visit with Kathy B. after she got home from the movies. We had been invited to a "Dinner and Movie" event with Kelly, Kathy's daughter, but since I had gone to the movies Friday afternoon, opted to pass. I am glad I did because we had the most tremendous thunderstorm roll through here complete with street flooding, power outages, and barking dogs! On the bright side of that, no apparent leaks in my condo! Whether this is so for the rest of them I will find out later today but as for mine, all clear!

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After the funeral procession event yesterday I came back here for a bit, posted my blog and did some church work before heading to meet Olivia and my neighbor ladies at the Carmike Theater. Julia had posted on Facebook that her mom was gone so I asked her if she needed lunch or anything. What she did need was a sweet tea from McDonald's so I swung by to get one for her and we did a quick hand off outside the shop. Olivia was already in the theater when I arrived so I got my ticket and stood in line to get my soda. The other ladies came in, too, and they introduced themselves to Olivia. I heard her telling them that I like Diet Coke and I had to turn and laugh because how well they know my love of the drink!

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Once more I enjoyed the movie and its previews, while Maureen was impatient about the movie not starting. For some reason, I do not mind, unless the upcoming shows are all the kids' style movies with a whole lot of smash 'em up themes. Which reminds me of what Kathy said last night---she was not all that taken with the movie they saw, "The Time Traveler's Wife" although it is highly touted as being a great love story. She found the characters to lack depth, pretty to look at, but little development in their relationship. The movie would most likely have been too long, had to put it in a nutshell for the screen appeal. Chances are I will still go see it, but last night was out for me!

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After seeing "Julie and Julia" yet again yesterday, I felt like cooking! So, since I could not sleep, I as noiselessly as possible, made sloppy joes at 2:30 in the morning! Maureen, nearly 70 years young remarked after the movie: "I am going to go home and start smoking, drinking, and eating butter again!" Julia Child lived to ripe old age (94 I think....) after years of doing the above, so Maureen figures, "Why not??"

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My laptop is having a problem, something which requires the steady hand of Justin as well as the disk for loading Microsoft Office, I believe, as the opening page tells me something is corrupted. Rats! I sure did not need that! I cannot find my disc of Office and thought perhaps Justin had it to load on his. He called me this a.m. to tell me he does not have it, so that means I might have to look around here some more. A good project for when it rains later, looking for software rather than late afternoon napping is the better way to go!

The Scott Speicher procession-----sigh........

I know I pick, pick, pick.....the news reporterette, Tiffany, just reported that "the roads are lined with people of all ages, with American flags in many of their hands....." Does anyone see the problem with that declaration? Or am I being petty.....If you do not see the problem with the sentence, I will tell you in the Comments.

Here is a lady, holding balloons, standing with us. As she drove into the parking lot where we set up, she shouted from her truck window to save her a place. And I did!! See my beach chair sitting there? I did not even use it, felt better standing up than sitting around, so many people to talk to and such...

The streets ARE lined with people of all ages and colors, the side streets being blocked by fire trucks and rescue vehicles, in salute to the fallen soldier. While not all the fallen are recognized in such a fashion, they should be, this man has strong local ties, having gone to high school here, worshiped, taught Sunday school, and served his country to the fullest measure from Cecil Field, the only airman lost that first night of the Gulf War.

Judy is shown here holding her special flag which represents every branch of the services. The woman behind the one wearing the purple dress is a short-timer, only has two weeks left of her Naval career, as she is retiring after 20 years of service. I could not believe she was old enough to have served that long! When we parted company after the procession passed, I thanked her for her service and she thanked me back for acknowledging it.

Here passes the hearse carrying the remains of Scott Speicher, and was followed by another large car with his family members in it. His wife has since remarried and has more children, as the years left so many unanswered questions as to Scott's status. He went from missing in action to being declared dead and back to missing in action.....I am not a big proponent of "closure" but at least this gives the community a chance to rally FOR someone than AGAINST something!

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Judy was leaving my house and heading over to church to stand with the preschool kids to salute once more as the procession passed Good Shepherd on its way to Jacksonville Memory Gardens. Tara asked me if I was going over to the Gardens but I am not, not today.....

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While waiting for the procession on Roosevelt, Justin and Judy went to Panera to get our breakfast. There was no need for soda as I had a cooler along but he brought me back a cherry Danish. Judy got an iced coffee and quiche to eat. We met such nice ladies who asked if they could stand with us: Karen, Tina and Crystal, none of whom knew each other before. I introduced them as they joined the group, and Tina said, "Wow, you are good! You should be a party planner!" Laughingly, I told her I was, and then Justin threw in, that sassy sassy boy, "She is a community organizer...."

Thunder on the river

Here I sit, ensconced on the love seat with the laptop warming me, nicely, as I became quite chilled at lunch. After water aerobics today, I met Olivia and Sandy over at The Club. I had arranged for us to dine el fresco due to my being in my swim wear. No sooner had Olivia and I gotten seated and served our sodas than did it start to thunder. The nice waiter said it would be just fine for us to move into the "new room" and sit by ourselves there. Sandy called from Fleming Island saying she was pinned down by lightning at the nursing home where she was visiting her mom, but would be along as soon as she could. Seems she has quite the healthy respect for lightning and wanted to wait until it let up before heading out. We waited, Olivia and I, chatting about the latest news since we last spoke at Justin's birthday party.

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We each had some thing different from the lunch menu, with me passing on the sirloin burger for the tuna salad on croissant and Olivia having grouper on angel hair pasta. Sandy had the Chinese ribs which looked so wonderful, made me hungry for the China Buffet! Olivia's pasta had a wine sauce which caused her to have a flash of being overheated. In hindsight I should have that for lunch because I was getting colder and colder sitting there in my wet swim suit under the A/C vent. It felt so wonderful to be outside after lunch, although the skies were greyer and thunder was still rolling.

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We did get to chat with Lauren, a young lady whom graduated from St. Johns a year after Olivia and Justin. She lives in The Palace and works at The Club during the summers, although part of the time off from school was spent interning for the government in Ireland! Poor thing! She is studying political science and European studies, something which Justin would certainly enjoy as well. Lauren attends Vanderbilt which is not terribly far from where Olivia attends. I think Olivia will graduate this year and has begun contacting graduate schools for her next step toward her career path combining her two majors of engineering and psychology----I just cannot remember what type of engineering degree she will have, it might come to me yet!

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Maggie brought me a DVD to watch based on the life of Cole Porter (imagine that!) so it is playing in the background as I write. The movie is rather, uh, interesting with Porter being, shall we say, a man who swung both ways, and yet had a loving marriage. I am not sure what I make of the movie but the acting and costumes are good. It has a sort of "Great Gatsby" feeling to it. Tomorrow a group of us from The Palace are going to see "Julie and Julia" at the Fleming Island theater and Olivia is planning to join us. I am excited to see it again, and laugh with my friends!

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My arms and shoulders and upper back are truly achy after the workout this a.m. where we used the bar bells the entire class. We did push ups and jumping jacks and other seemingly impossible movements in the water. My punch card shows only one more class for me and I do not intend to sign up again for the organized classes since I can do my version of exercise in the pool on my own. Hopefully Maggie will continue to come over and hang out with me, although technically pool time is drawing to a close. After Labor Day the cabana closes and they have an end of season party to wrap it all up. Nuts! This is not to say that I will cease going down there, it is just that it seems like such a let down when the cabana quits serving our food and drinks....

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Even at this point, the sky remains dark and thunder continues to roll. Last night or rather, early this a.m., we had a tremendous thunder storm complete with rain. Thus far today there has been no rain, at least not around here. The painters still manage to keep busy, today some working on sanding and scraping the old paint from the railings, readying them for the fresh black paint. Last night at the Board Meeting for the condo one of the members asked me if I would serve on the color committee to help decorate the lobby but again, I respectfully declined. There are already enough people on that team, they do not need to thicken the plot. Many members of the Board are ready to be replaced next year and want off. Please do not ask me, please, do not make me say "NO! Thank you" again!

Hey, what is going on with the cable service?

Oh, wait, never mind, it seems to be fixed. We cannot be messing with the cable in this building, not that too on top of the various and sundry repairs going on. There are people everywhere, hanging off the side of the building or balancing on the "cherry picker" stretching for spots that appear just out of reach. Somewhere in the building trim work is being done because ever so often I hear the buzz of a miter saw, doing the quick cuts needed for piecing. Perhaps, with all the "buzz" going on with the building, the cable was interrupted or damaged. All is well now, and "House" reruns are playing. I am done with radio listening at this time of the day, and am ready for my rest!

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This a.m. was spent working on a few things for church, including putting together a notice and sign-up sheet for an upcoming show at the Thrasher-Horne called "Church Basement Ladies". The title alone captures my fancy, because even though we have no basement, we do have church ladies!!! It is promoted as being "family friendly" with good, clean humor. This group of four ladies, assorted shapes, sizes and age groups work together on church projects and meals, sharing their life stories, sorrows and joys. It sounds quite funny, with the best part being that there is a dinner following the show, consisting of a Southern-style bbq! Does that sound yummy or what??? I hope we get a favorable response to this, being at a more local venue for most of Orange Park, and in the afternoon for those not given to night driving.

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Oh, oh! The sky over my right shoulder has taken on quite the darkened appearance as the time for the rush hour storms grows closer. Today there was a fatal crash between a bicyclist and a motorcycle on south Blanding Blvd., with the bicyclist dying, and the other biker being transported in critical condition. The roads in the area were closed with traffic being rerouted around the crash site. More sadness in our county again this week.

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Lunch today was shared with Maggie and Marissa, her daughter, at Koko's. Ellen and her daughter did not make it but none of us were too surprised by this. We just must find something to drag Ellen out and amongst the living again, too many days go by without catching sight of her. Anyway, Marissa, a teacher, is going to work next week so this was our sendoff as she begins her career as Drama Teacher at a high school in Jax. Following in her mama's footsteps, and her father's too, I hear. Huang was our cook today, as the owner made sure he got our table so I had my special onion in lieu of other veggies. He is the best chef! Yummy! Leftovers all around, with me sharing some of the chicken with Caesar Augustus, Julia's dog. Somehow he knows when I have been to Koko's, unless, of course, he recognizes the to-go box.....smart dog!

Orange moon, orange sun

Last night as I climbed into bed, the moon had still not risen. Or at least it was not visible behind clouds or whatever was preventing my viewing it. At one point I glanced out the window once more and ta da! There it was---deep orange in color and spilling light across the water. The light in the water was not orange, oddly enough----or not! The moon is no longer full, having passed the height of fullness, a gibbous moon, but yet oh so gorgeous. This is what I fell asleep to, but woke with its counterpart orb, shining across the water in orange as well. Good morning, sunshine! I would be willing to bet the orange was the same color on both sky lights, which is truly cool!

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It seems as though there is chaos in many parts of the world, not only our nation's supposed "health care crisis". No, these are earthquakes, typhoons, flash floods, and other natural disasters around the globe. Yikes! Yesterday I told Pastor about the report I had seen on the news where a shark jumped into a boat off the shores of Florida somewhere and knocked people over with its frantic flipping about. Oops! It was obviously a mistake in judgement for the shark but once the fishers got it under control, they managed to toss it back out into the water. Pastor said it sounded like some of the warnings of End Times, and I told him not to tease me like that....I am going to have to read up on some of those 'signs' so I recognize them when they come. Always have oil in your lamps, people!

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In Sunday's Bible study at Victory, which was the video series, "The Truth Project", the discussion was about The State: Whose Law? In the course of the study, the professor takes us through history, primarily Bible history, most profoundly when Israel came to Samuel demanding he get them a king, so they could be like everyone else around them. Oh, great! Yes, Samuel's sons were corrupt leaders but that should not have been a deal breaker, should not have had the people turn their backs, in a way, on the leadership directly from God. (I Samuel 8) This lecture series was prepared in 2004, nearly five years prior to this amazing grab of power, industry, finance, liberty, and so on experienced in 2009. Near the end of the lesson, there is a list of things that were taking place prior to and during the fall of the great Roman Empire and it read like a checklist for America----pretty daunting stuff. The decline of the family, distortion of what made a family, the decreasing value of life, debauchery, hedonistic behaviors, more reliance on the State for support and entertainment. Check, check, check, check, and check....

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Many, many years ago I was watching a TV special about driving---not my usual type of viewing but whatever.....The reporter was showing different things to do when going down the road, to avoid over-correcting and things like that, driving on black ice, teaching young people to use good judgment and so on. One point made, that really stayed with me, was by an expert in car crashes, "the driver lost control of the vehicle". The expert's point was that nine of out ten times, the driver simply relinquishes control of the car, and assumes crash position. His point was---do not give up so easily, keep trying to regain control and do not surrender without a fight. I think that is a valuable lesson, instruction, for us in every aspect of our existence, keeping in mind that the Lord is really the one with control. He is the great I AM!