Sunday, June 20, 2010

Father's Day Menu

Smithfield Spiral-sliced Ham
Squash Casserole
Steamed Cauliflower
Marinated Button Mushrooms
Herb-buttered Rolls

Chocolate Box Shiraz

Chocolate Creme Pie
Coffee






Dinner table conversation was lively because not only did we ask my parents to describe the personalities of their fathers, but we also debated the merits of homemade versus store-bought pies.  Whoops, almost forgot!  We fine-tuned our recipe for margaritas scheduled for release during CWAC, our annual family reunion at Callaway Gardens.

My father's three adjectives for his father were quiet, calm, and affable.  He practiced medicine (obstetrics) in Birmingham AL for over fifty years, delivering lots of babies, some of whom are now seeing his grandson (my brother) for vascular disease.  Living to age 90, he is remarkable for having served in both WWI and II.  Here's a link to a pencil portrait of him.

My mother's three adjectives for her father were teaser, competitive, and respected.  As an Atlanta general surgeon, he was admired and loved by many, unfortunately dying of heart disease at the young age of 58.  Here's a link to a portion of his inaugural address before the Fulton County Medical Society.

Now it's time to turn my attention back to my heavenly Father on this the Lord's Day by reading John Witherspoon's sermon addressing Psalm 76:10.  Although first delivered in 1776, on the eve of the War for Independence, it's message is timely, especially now as Americans' civil liberties are being assaulted on all sides.

The title is The Dominion of Providence Over the Passion of Men.  Three adjectives for my Heavenly Father demonstrated in Psalm 76 and exposited in Withersppoon's sermon are omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.

Here's the link at oll.libertyfund.org.

On second thought, I'm stopping after five pages, pacing myself at five pages per day for morning devotions.  And now I will fold clothes and watch Lucia di Lammermoor because my daughter sang in the chorus of the Ann Arbor Opera's recent production.

 A Bientot!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Fashion Friday:Tartans

In honor of the Kerr line in our family's genealogy, I hope DH will wear this handsome tartan tie for his mother's memorial service on July 3rd.


DD#1 has been on a mission this Spring to pin down the exact birth, death, and marriage dates of members of Grandma's family tree.





In addition to online research, she made a special trip to the Canadian Archives in Toronto.  Which in turn opened doors into the Vital Statistics of Manitoba. 

The real bonus in all of this puzzle is a new friend named Maggie.  Thanks to her we have scans from local genealogic records, pictures of headstones, and her own account of the life and times in Ninette.

Now we know the rest of the story.





Here are the details about the tartan which I purchased from Mountain and Sackett.

The Kerr Wool Tartan necktie is cut from the finest Scottish wool, and is handmade in New York City. Each tie is 3 1/2 inches wide and 58 inches long. The Kerr family, said to be of Norman descent, is recorded in the Borders in the 12th century. The two main families were the Kerrs of Cessford, now represented by the Duke of Roxburghe, and the Kerrs of Ferniehurst, represented by the Marquis of Lothian. This authentic Scottish Tartan is a timeless classic whose historic design has withstood the test of time.



How about your family tree?

Any tartans?

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Fathers, Cars, and Dogs

Reviewing Jan Karon's latest book, Home to Holly Springs, caused me to ponder fathers, in general, and our relationships with them.

More specifically though, I began thinking about their cars and dogs... and what that says about them, if anything.

Uncharacteristically (at least in my mind) does Father Tim drive a red mustang convertible!  His mutt is no less than a Bouvier with a lot of Irish Wolfhound named Barnabas, nick-named Gentleman.

My father's dream car was a 1968 Pontiac GTO convertible. This army green antique is still in the family, in the predictible possession of my younger brother who was the last to drive it.

















His dog?

My father's family dog was a white Sptiz named Snow. There is an hilarious story about a special encounter between Snow and the family cat, Saggy.  It's worthy of its own post.... another day ;-)

 As an adult, we had Weimaraners. Legend and Otto. Oh, the stories about those family pets.




.














So, join in.

Tell me about your father, his car, or his dog.

And if you dont know, invite him for dinner this week and ask him.

It's family history.

Better late than never.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Bless This Food, O Lord


















Shrimp 'n Grits, Pickled Beets, and Green Beans
French Bread

Cavit Pinot Grigio (not pictured because it's all gone)  ;-)


We enjoyed this meal after hearing a sermon on Psalm 75.  This marks the halfway point in our pastor's preaching through the book of Psalms.  In his introductory remarks, JCMIII marveled at how this divine poetry *gets inside us*.  Despite the vernacular, I grasp his meaning and concur.

My prayer is that the words of the psalmist(s) become so familiar to me that they would always come easy in conversation.  Even more so, I hope that they spill out of my mouth when I am old and gray, and perhaps not in my right mind.

Then this food, this bread, this Word of God, would truly be a blessing.

We closed the service by singing Psalm 75 to the tune Belmont C.M.

Here's the paraphrase ~

To Thee, O God, we render thanks,
To Thee give thanks sincere
Because Thy wondrous works declare
That Thy great name is near.

When my appointed time is come,
I'll judge with even hand.
Though earth and all its dwellers melt,
I make its pillars stand.

I to the boastful said, "Boast not!"
To vile men, "Lift no horn!
Do not lift up your horn on high,
Nor speak with neck of scorn!"

For not from east nor west nor wilds
Comes exaltation nigh,
For God is judge, debasing one,
Another raising high.

The LORD pours out a foaming cup
Which well-mixed wine contains,
And every wicked one on earth
Must drink; the dregs he drains.

But I will tell it evermore,
To Jacob's God sing praise;
And horns of sinners I'll cut off,
But just men's horns I'll raise.


From the Book of Psalms for Singing, copyright 1973 and published by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America.


Bless this food, O Lord,

and us to Thy service.

In Jesus' Name, I pray

AMEN

Friday, June 11, 2010

Grandma Jago

Mrs. Vivian Lillian Jago, age 82, died on June 8, 2010, at her home following an extended illness.

Her children and grandchildren were at her bedside.










Reared on a farm in western Canada, Mrs. Jago emigrated to the United States in 1969 with her husband and children. She then resided in Newfane, New York; Charleston, South Carolina; Beverly, Ohio and finally Canton, Georgia, where she has spent recent years enjoying the company of her children and grandchildren.

In addition to being a creative homemaker and loving mother, she was a licensed Real Estate Agent. She was active in her church and belonged to several organizations, including The Red Hat Club. She maintained an avid interest in collecting and refinishing antique furniture.

Mrs. Jago was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, Norman S. Jago.

She is survived by three children, Daniel (Deanna) Jago of Portland, Oregon; Dr. Ken (Dana) Jago of Canton; and Carolin (Jim) Knight of Woodstock; and seven grandchildren.

Her remains were cremated, and a memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, July 3, at 2:00 p.m. The service will be held in the chapel of the First United Methodist Church of Canton.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Canton's Prayer Quilt Ministry (930 Lower Scott Mill Road, Canton, GA 30114).

Please contact the family to make arrangements for flowers.


Grandma is reading the poem in her birthday card.  It's by George Eliot

You love the roses -- so do I.  I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off the shaken bush.  Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on.  They would fall as light
As feathers smelling sweet; and it would be
Like sleeping and like waking,
all at once!

Monday, May 31, 2010

Summertime

Memorial  (Decoration) days have long been set aside to remember and honor war heroes.

 Principally after the War Between the States, most legislatures established specific dates scattered throughout the Spring.  Georgia (and Florida) chose April 26th; North and South Carolina May 10th (Stonewall Jackson's demise); Kentucky and Louisiana chose June 3rd (Jeff Davis's birthday). 

Here we are now, the fourth (or final) Monday in May, celebrating since 1967, the federally-legislated holiday.  Many strive to keep us true to the purpose and others ignore them, thinking that *memorial day* signifies the beginning of Summer.

Sigh ~

I have four nephews in the Army right now.

I wonder what each is doing today?

One is in Jerusalem, according to his FB status for R&R.

One just returned from his honeymoon, again FB status info.

The activities of the third and fourth are unknown, but neither are in Afghanistan.... at the moment.

But whom I really like to remember is William Ferguson Smith, Confederate soldier and great, great grandfather. I've written about him here.

All in all, we'll enjoy our traditional summertime fare and pray for our soldiers before we partake.

BBQ Babyback Pork Ribs
(recipe compliments of Janet Walworth)
Oriental Coleslaw
Corn on the Cob
Toasted French Bread

Iced Tea or Beer

Ice Cream Sandwiches


















What do you think?

I'm reading up on the Battle of Seven Pines.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

SUSSEX






















This poem is posted as a complement to my book review of Helen Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. The painting is W. A. Bouguereau's Childhood Idyll, also mentioned in the book.




God gave all men all earth to love,
But, since our hearts are small
Ordained for each one spot should prove
Beloved over all;
That, as He watched Creation's birth,
So we, in godlike mood,
May of our love create our earth
And see that it is good.

So one shall Baltic pines content,
As one some Surrey glade,
Or one the palm-grove's droned lament
Before Levuka's Trade.
Each to his choice, and I rejoice
The lot has fallen to me
In a fair ground-in a fair ground --
Yea, Sussex by the sea!

No tender-hearted garden crowns,
No bosonied woods adorn
Our blunt, bow-headed, whale-backed Downs,
But gnarled and writhen thorn --
Bare slopes where chasing shadows skim,
And, through the gaps revealed,
Belt upon belt, the wooded, dim,
Blue goodness of the Weald.

Clean of officious fence or hedge,
Half-wild and wholly tame,
The wise turf cloaks the white cliff-edge
As when the Romans came.
What sign of those that fought and died
At shift of sword and sword?
The barrow and the camp abide,
The sunlight and the sward.

Here leaps ashore the full Sou'west
All heavy-winged with brine,
Here lies above the folded crest
The Channel's leaden line,
And here the sea-fogs lap and cling,
And here, each warning each,
The sheep-bells and the ship-bells ring
Along the hidden beach.


We have no waters to delight
Our broad and brookless vales --
Only the dewpond on the height
Unfed, that never fails --
Whereby no tattered herbage tells
Which way the season flies --
Only our close-bit thyme that smells
Like dawn in Paradise.


Here through the strong and shadeless days
The tinkling silence thrills;
Or little, lost, Down churches praise
The Lord who made the hills:
But here the Old Gods guard their round,
And, in her secret heart,
The heathen kingdom Wilfrid found
Dreams, as she dwells, apart.


Though all the rest were all my share,
With equal soul I'd see
Her nine-and-thirty sisters fair,
Yet none more fair than she.
Choose ye your need from Thames to Tweed,
And I will choose instead
Such lands as lie 'twixt Rake and Rye,
Black Down and Beachy Head.


I will go out against the sun
Where the rolled scarp retires,
And the Long Man of Wilmington
Looks naked toward the shires;
And east till doubling Rother crawls
To find the fickle tide,
By dry and sea-forgotten walls,
Our ports of stranded pride.


I will go north about the shaws
And the deep ghylls that breed
Huge oaks and old, the which we hold
No more than Sussex weed;
Or south where windy Piddinghoe's
Begilded dolphin veers,
And red beside wide-banked Ouse
Lie down our Sussex steers.


So to the land our hearts we give
Til the sure magic strike,
And Memory, Use, and Love make live
Us and our fields alike --
That deeper than our speech and thought,
Beyond our reason's sway,
Clay of the pit whence we were wrought
Yearns to its fellow-clay.


God gives all men all earth to love,
But, since man's heart is smal,
Ordains for each one spot shal prove
Beloved over all.
Each to his choice, and I rejoice
The lot has fallen to me
In a fair ground-in a fair ground --
Yea, Sussex by the sea!

by Rudyard Kipling

Friday, April 30, 2010

The Primrose




Upon this Primrose hill,
Where, if Heav'n would distil
A shower of rain, each several drop might go
To his own primrose, and grow manna so;
And where their form and their infinity
Make a terrestrial Galaxy,
As the small stars do in the sky:
I walk to find a true Love; and I see
That 'tis not a mere woman that is she,
But must or more or less than woman be.


Yet know I not which flower
I wish; a six, or four;
For should my true-Love less than woman be
She were scarce any thing; and then, should she
Be more than woman she would get above
All thought of sex, and think to move
My heart to study her, and not to love;
Both these were monsters; since there must reside
Falsehood in woman, I could more abide
She were by art than Nature falsified.


Live primrose then, and thrive
With thy true number five;
And woman, whom this flower doth represent,
With this mysterious number be content;
Ten is the farthest number; if half ten
Belong unto each woman, then
Each woman may take half us men;
Or if this will not serve their turn, since all
Numbers are odd or even, and they fall
First into this, five, woman may take us all.


John Donne
English Jacobean Poet
1572 - 1631


Centuries later, primroses continue to enchant humans.

Read my short review of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic
 The Spring Cleaning.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Teacher


Child, though I tell you in this sunlit cove

This cup of captive sea is ever blue,

For you it may be equally as true


That it is nacre, emerald, taupe or mauve.



Youth, though I say to you our days are scrolled
In hues allied to charcoal, chalk or steel,
For you it may be equally as real
To name them carmine, coral, or yet gold.

Experience and age have tossed a bone:
The right to paint life as it seems to me,
And you may heed the colors that I see,
But never let them blind you to your own.



Ethel Barnett de Vito
McCalls Magazine, September 1960


This poem caught my eye as I was perusing my personal anthology and think that it's a nice compliment to Dominion Family's ongoing examination of schooling.  Specifically, here's a link to one didactic post describing two types of teachers.

What kind are you?

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Poetical Musings

Three cheers for Cady, Harrison
ensconsed in his beautiful garrison,


with a smile on his face
as he ages with grace;


a man to whom there is no comparison.


He sits in his Ivory Tower
and reflects on the bird and the flower,
and the animals, too,
for he drew quite a few
as they placed in their deep woodland bower.

When young he acquired the good habit
of drawing the hare, Peter Rabbit
and it brought to his name
quite some measure of fame,
that equaled Bugs Bunny & Br'er Rabbit.

Illustrations he drew
one a day,
fifteen thousand in all,
so they say.


W. Harrison Cady
American Illustrator
1877 - 1970

Here's a link to the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art which hosts an online exhibit of his work.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Do The Next Thing



"From an old climbing rosebush, right next to me,
there came in the twilight a message for thee.
Its quaint Southern legend deeply engraven
hath, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven.
And all through the hours the quiet words ring,
like a low inspiration
 'Do the next thing.'




Many a questioning, many a fear,
many a doubt hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from heaven,
time, opportunity, guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrow, child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus,
Do the next thing.

Do it immediately, do it with prayer,
do it reliantly, casting all care.
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand,
who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing,
leave all resultings,
Do the next thing.

Looking to Jesus, ever serener,
working or suffering be thy demeanor,
in His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
the light of His countenance, be thy psalm.
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing,
Then as He beckons thee
Do the next thing."


Author Unknown

Monday, April 26, 2010

Yellow

Today I'm thinking about the Glyman family, extended. They lost a sister (Sue) over the weekend. And while I never had the opportunity to meet her in real life, I do know one of her sisters, Donna at Quiet Life. So, in this very small way, I honor their grief by highlighting the strength of sisters in this colorful poem.


You were yellow,
I was red, including pink and some
lavenders.  If the lavenders
got too bluish, they were Tita's, our
blue sister, who could also have
green if she wanted.  Our baby sister
wasn't even born yet, and
then she was mostly in white for a few
years until she stared learning
her colors and wanted all of them for
herself.  We were ingrained in
our colors; to this day, almost thirty
years later, I see a sunset,
and I think, yours.

Dominican-American
 poet, novelist, and essayist
1950 -      




Sunset
John Constable
British Oil Painting, 1828

Friday, April 23, 2010

Constable's Clouds
for Fred H Stocking
by Peter Filkins

I

Scudding through distances, hovering in blue
vacuities of a summer's day, cumuli
float upon the surface of a ranging eye
that studies their shape, analyzes their hue



in pigments now aswirl upon the palette,
soft collisions of white and red and grey
soon weathering the canvas, capturing a day
whose transience we know because he saw it


there in the changeable sky he stood beneath,
stratus and nimbus, thunderhead and puff
fixed in their currency, the consequence of
the raw prevailing wind on Hampstead Heath.


There are three more chapters to this memorial poem which I will post after my short explanation.  It appears that Filkins wrote this poem to honor a colleague who was fond of Constable and Clouds, both of which interest me.

Last year I visited the Frick and gazed at one rendition of Salisbury Cathedral, which rekindled my interest in Constable.  If I were re-doing college at this stage of the game, I might very well choose some sort of blended major that would allow me to combine subjects.

Art, science, geography, history, et cetera are all subjects easily covered by studying Constable.  I wish I'd been able to see the National Gallery exhibit of 2007.  The next best thing is reading all about it here.

Now for the rest of the story.

II

"no two days are alike, nor even two hours,"
and so his brush keeps on the move while he
does not, despising those who continually
ignore their craft by "running after pictures."

Weymouth, Harrow, Flatford, Dedham Vale,
ephemera beneath the sky's broad radius
casting England's neutral light on all that is
and eludes him, be it fame, or more so the pale

evening light off a dark grey effect-looking
eastwards" toward a drifting back of cloud
that's there, then gone, someone in the crowd
later calling his picture "a nasty green thing."

III

Maria coughs again, the taste of blood
causing a cloud of fear to pass across
her feverish bright-eyed gaze.  Soon loss
will fell him. "Every gleam of sunshine blighted,

can it be wondered I paint continual storms?"
Each gathering front, each rising eastern gale
turbid now with grief, as wind and hail
consume a placid landscape, unleashing forms

that build and threaten, yet do not release
him from the sadness planted in his heart,
the demands of composition, the rigor of art
as equal to rain as sun, misery as peace.

IV

"I shall never feel again as I have felt,
the face of the world is totally changed to me."
And yet the sketches continue, originality
hard won upon the back of a life that's deal

with setback by studying atmospheric effect.
"Clouds, Moving very fast. With occasional
very bright openings to blue," the residual
of an autocumulus inhabiting the flex

of a brushstroke, "wind after rain in the morning"
the note he jots to catalogue the weather
he'll use, if not survive, observing much later,
"in truth, my art is another word for feeling."


I hope reading this poem inspires you as it does me on several levels.

But first, let me give credit where credit is due.

I learned about this poem from American Arts Quarterly, where it was published in the Spring 2009 edition.
They are a rich resource.

And last, but not least, the details about the painting in my FineArtFriday entry here.



Happy Friday!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

The Homeward Leading Lane

Today would have been Grandpa Jago's 84th birthday and I know we family members are thinking about him.


What follows is a memorial poem composed and delivered by the pastor who conducted the funeral on November 13, 2001.


He took the homeward leading lane,
While still lingered summer's day,
Then slowly walked 'neath autumn's sun,
As we shared with him the homeward way.

We sat together in quiet thought,
As we did his life and love recall,
And thus we shared the homeward lane,
As autumn leaves from the trees did fall.

Then as the days took on a morning chill,
'Neath autumn skies so clear and bright,
We reached the gate in the homeward lane,
Where he bid each of us good night.

He then walked on beyond our view
To climb heaven's front porch step,
As we lingered by the homeward gate,
And held each other as we wept.

Yet in our tears there is no despair,
For Jesus was his homeward way and gate.
So when we take the homeward lane we know,
He will for us on heaven's front porch wait.



C.R. Hill, Jr.
In Memory of Norman S. Jago
Copyright 11/11/01

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Death at Suppertime

Phyllis McGinley, author and poet, penned the following verse in 1948, decrying the media's encroachment upon that crucial hour once reserved for family meals.

Time and time again we wonder why the world is in such a sad state of affairs.

My personal solution is the maintenance of the dinner hour (free of television, telephone, and teleprompter) ....each.and.every.day.


Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupation,
That is known as the Children's Hour.


That endeth the skipping and skating,
The giggles, the tantrums, and tears,
When, the innocent voices abating,
Alert grow the innocent ears.


The little boys leap from the stairways,
Girls lay down their dolls on the dot,
For promptly at five o'er the airways
Comes violence geared to the tot.


Comes murder, comes arson, come G-men
Pursuing unspeakable spies;
Come gangsters and tough-talking he-men
With six-shooters strapped to their thighs;
Comes the corpse in the dust, comes the dictum
"Ya' better start singin', ya' rat!"
While the torturer leers at his victim,
The killer unleashes his gat.


With mayhem the twilight is reeling.
Blood spatters, the tommy guns bark.
Hands reach for the sky or the ceiling
As the dagger strikes home in the dark.

And lo! with what rapturous wonder
The little ones hark to each tale
Of gambler shot down with his plunder
Or outlaw abducting the mail.


Between the news and the tireless
Commercials, while tempers turn sour,
Comes a season of horror by wireless,
That is known as the Children's Hour.


I have been known to refer to this *Children's Hour* (say 5p - 7p) as the *Witching Hour* - that time of day in which all hell can break loose, if one is in charge .... of young children especially.  It can also refer to Longfellow's charming poem about his family.  I posted it last year.  

But after living through a few such bewitchings, I determined to avoid them.  I learned that my entire day would go more smoothly, if I knew what we were having for dinner and took at least a couple of steps early in the day to get that meal under control.  Thank goodness for freezers, crockpots, oven-timers, and dishwashers. 

Unfortunately, I discovered Mrs. McGinley after learning to cope without the benefit of her wise words.

But I continue to read her essays and poems because after all....

A woman's mind needs to be well-furnished.

She spends a lot of time there.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Butterfly That Stamped

There was never a Queen like Balkis,
From here to the wide world's end;
But Balkis talked to a butterfly
As you would talk to a friend.



There was never a King like Solomon
Not since the world began;
But Solomon talked to a butterfly
As a man would talk to a man.




She was Queen of Sabea--
And he was Asia's Lord--
But they both of 'em talked to butterflies
When they took their walks abroad!




Rudyard Kipling
English Poet/Author
1865 - 1936

Here's a link to the entire short story of the same title.

Two additional Kipling poems that rate very high on my list of favorites:

The Female of the Species
The Betrothed


What about you?

What's your favorite Kipling verse?

Monday, April 19, 2010

The Owl and the Pussy-cat

In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are, you are, you are,
What a beautiful Pussy you are."


Pussy said to the Owl "You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing.
O let us be married, too long we have tarried;
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.




"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling your ring?"
Said the Piggy, "I will"
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon.
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand.
They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.


So, Edward Lear's nonsense poetry wins the day because I wanted to highlight this delightful collection of beautifully illustrated poems and his Owl and the Pussy Cat graces the cover.  Neil Philip is the editor, and Isabelle Brent, the illustrator.

Here's my FAF (fineartfriday) post.   I'm adding their books to my Amazon Wish List.

Best-Loved Poems is a common title for anthologies, this one being first published in 2000.   I give it five stars because 1) I like most of the poems; 2) I like the illustrations; and 3) I like its layout.

Two other oft-referenced anthologies on my bookshelf are The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and The Best-Loved Poems of the American People.

Do you have a favorite anthology?

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Who Is This That Comes From Edom

This is a favorite hymn (228 Blue Trinity) of mine.  We sang it in church today, probably selected because the sermon covered Isaiah 62-64.  The message was so *meaty* that I listened to it again.

Who is this that comes from Edom,
All His garments stained with blood;
To the slave proclaiming freedom;
Bringing and bestowing good;
Glorious in the garb He wears,
Glorious in the spoils He bears?


’Tis the Savior, now victorious
Traveling onward in His might;
’Tis the Savior, O how glorious
To His people is the sight!
Jesus now is strong to save,
Mighty to redeem the slave.


Why that blood His raiment staining?
’Tis the blood of many slain;
Of His foes there’s none remaining,
None the contest to maintain:
Fallen they are, no more to rise,
All their glory prostrate lies.


This the Savior has effected
By His mighty arm alone;
See the throne for Him erected;
’Tis an everlasting throne:
’Tis the great reward He gains,
Glorious fruit of all His pains.


Mighty Victor, reign forever,
Wear the crown so dearly won;
Never shall thy people, never
Cease to sing what Thou hast done;
Thou hast fought Thy people’s foes;
Thou wilt heal Thy people’s woes.

 
Lyrics by Thomas Kelly
Irish Hymnodist
1769 - 1855
 
Music by Albert Lister Peace
English Musician (Organist)
1844 - 1912

Friday, April 16, 2010

This Is Just to Say


I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold




William Carlos Williams
American Poet
1883 - 1963

Thursday, April 15, 2010

List Poetry


Dressing appropriately
Greeting patients
Answering phones
Listening to requests
Fielding questions
Making appointments
Writing messages
Typing data
Editing claims
Creating reports
Mailing letters
Observing the flow
Learning new things
Solving problems
Serving others
Working creatively
Understanding why God made me.



Here's a link to another such poem. 

It addresses the other side of my coin.

That round tuit.