This and That

It has been a busy weekend--here are some of the things I want to remember:

Maddie graduated from kindergarten on Friday--how did those five years pass so fast? Now instead of being our baby, she is almost seven years old and her legs are growing long, her mind is expanding, her beauty is growing. I love watching Maddie think--one can almost see the wheels turning in her head as she analyzes and begins to pose a question. Maddie is our thinker and organizer...she likes to have everything laid out and secure. Talented in music, art and mature in her childish judgements, I look forward to seeing her develop and grow even more.

On Saturday, I went with the Later Day Saints to Smyrna and Murfreesboro to tour the Sam Davis house and to see the Stones River Battlefield. Davis was quite a hero and his home has been restored in Smyrna very nicely. Our guide was intelligent and fun (there have been times on a tour when I knew more than the guide). The battlefield was very well-done as well. Instead of a boat-load of information from one guide, actors performed small vignettes of what occured the day before and the day of the battle. The book store there is one of the best Civil War bookstores I have seen so far. Unlike others, they stock children's books about the Civil War as well as adult histories. Books like April Morning....

I also managed to work in a viewing of the new Indiana Jones movie--loved it!!! Harrison Ford ages well. Of course the special effects are spectular and that iconic John Williams melody !!!

Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

This is a classic question which might have been asked about Job or the Christian martyrs. Today I am asking that about the terrible accident with Stephen Curtis Chapman's children. One of his teen-age children ran over his youngest (age 5) and killed her last night. She was one of the three children he and his wife had adopted in China. So sad... I have not gotten a satisfactory answer to the question--guess that will just have to wait.

My favorite story about just such a happening: A famous minister stood grieving over the casket of his only son and child. He wife asks, "Where is God now?" He answers, "He is standing here crying with us." I am sure that is so true considering all the promises of God's faithfulness.

Strong believers are not immune to grieving: Joseph wept at least seven times, David, 7 times, Paul 4 times. Jeremish compared his weeping to a fountain and a river of tears--Jer. 9:1; Lam. 3:48. The Psalmist wept until he drenched his couch and made his "bed swim." Psalm 6:6 Even Jesus wept over a doomed city, a friend's death and his painful sacrifice. Luke 19:41, John 11:33-35, Hebrews 5:7. However, the last mention of tears in the Bible is the promise that God shall wipe all of them away from the eyes of his redeemed. Rev. 21:4.

Landmarks

I am not sure what the derivation of "landmark" is, but I am taking it to mean important happenings in life. We have two for Maddie this week.

Yesterday, we attended Maddie's first piano recital. I say "first" because I hope there will be many more. She was very poised and played well. She seemed so Big!
It was good to hear her teacher say that Maddie has a musical gift, because I have long thought that. (I hope her teacher doesn't say that to everyone). I have a wonderful picture of Maddie enjoying the piano when she was only two years old. She has had the ability to pick out tunes by ear for a long time(which I think is a gift too). It was a shock when her parents heard the piano one morning and Maddie was playing a hymn they had sung the day before. At this point, Maddie doesn't complain about practice and seems to enjoy learning theory--it's a lot like math. Theory is something I never learned, and math is not one of my best subjects. It is a thrill to see your children or grandchildren excell in things that either you did not, or that you never had the opportunity to do.

On Friday we go to Kindergarten graduation for Maddie. Wow! Time passes too fast.

Otter Ladies' Fellowship Brunch

We were treated today to a lovely, well-planned brunch featuring tables decorated by some of the more creative women in our midst:

There were two tables devoted to a day at the beach; a patriotic red, white and blue table; one set with grandmother's china and looking very tea-partyish. Two of the more creative ones were these: one devoted to Paris (beautifully done by Amy Westerman--is there anything that woman cannot do?). It had a beautiful model of the Eiffel Tower in the center--Ruby red plates and glasses, and other momentoes about Paris. (Amy is from Paris, TN!). The other table done by Melissa Portell and her sister Melani was modeled after our Ms. Cheap column in the Tennessean. Left-over paper plates were used (You know--those special occasions when you buy paper plates and there are always two left over) , left-over holiday and birthday napkins sat by the plates; clipped coupons were all over the table, place mats were the colored grocery store ads from the newspaper. So imaginative.

The elders dressed in white shirts and black pants with towels over their arms served as waiters and part of the entertainment. Wonderful chicken salad, fruit salad and tea breads were eaten--and we all enjoyed ourselves so much! Thanks to all who planned, served and shared their gifts!

RIF

Fortunate is the child who has parents who care enough about literacy to provide him/her with books, a book shelf, and a good reading lamp. We all know, however, that not all parents do that. Many can't afford it; many don't care.

Just heard that the federal government is cutting the funding for the Reading is Fundamental (RIF) program--we can afford weapons to kill people, but we cannot afford books to educate children. RIF gives 4.5 million children 16 million books a year to take home and keep. The federal govt. pays 75% of the cost, and the program depends on local entities like PTO's, Lions' Clubs, etc. to pick up the rest of the tab.

It is a joy to stand in a room and watch children pick out a book to take home and to tell them that they can keep the book forever. For some, it will be the only book they own. Although the books are paperback and won't last very long with use, they are nevertheless treasured.

Write your congressman, senator and ask that funding for RIF be continued .

The Pain of the World

For the past few days, we have been watching the pain of the world again because of natural disasters. Tears, faces contorted in pain, mothers crying for their children, children searching for their mothers, classmates pulling other classmates from under debris, the ruthless military junta refusing their own people food and help--and the world, including the U. S.. rushes to help--Thank God.

Perhaps if the television cameras showed the faces of the Afghan and Iraqui children more often in those scenes of bombings, or the faces of mothers crying and fathers weeping, this terrible war we have would be over sooner--O, God
hear our cries, see our tears, give us hope and your peace.

Amen

From Generation to Generation

In writing about the legacy I have from mothers and grandmothers yesterday, I failed to give God the credit for what He did down through the years in my family. Nor did I intend to intimate that my faith is exactly like theirs. The fellowship I am a part of has changed in many ways since Lucy Lantrip took that step into the Stone-Campbell movement. I realize that my roots have carried me far beyond themselves and have grown me into a tree my ancestors would not recognize: a spiritual tree anchored with my ancestors' protective, nourishing roots, but a tree supported by longer roots in new ground.

This passing the knowledge of God and the love of Christ from generation to generation was dictated by God over and over in the Bible. As I teach my seminar on Spiritual Autobiography, I hand out a three-page rendering of eighteen scriptures (and I am sure there are more) on the topic. The theme of the scriptures is REMEMBER and TELL. For example: Joel l:3 "Tell it to y our children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation." Simply taking them to Sunday School will not do it--we must talk to them as Deut. 6: 6-9 says: "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

I cannot guarantee that their beliefs will always duplicate yours--change and growth happen. However, if the process does not begin with you, where will it begin? And there is certainly truth to the adage that children can teach us more than we teach them sometimes. I was talking with my grandchildren last week about the role of cheerleaders for a team, and said that they help us to have spirit for our team. Ella, who is our resident theologian, said, "But Nonnie, the spirit comes from God." I was thirty years old before I even heard a statement or a sermon like that.

Resolve to "...perpetuate (God's) memory through all generations...." Psalm 45:17.