Well, we now know where we will be living in Monroe. It is a 2 bedroom house that is pictured below. It is a very nice house that we saw was for lease and we were very interested. It is only 2 blocks from the church and that is a great perk.
May is when we get to start moving. It is nice to have something nailed down and resolved.
“In the first place liturgical forms are a good means of teaching the essentials of the Christian faith. When familiar liturgical forms and texts are used again and again, it gives us the opportunity to meditate on them and to penetrate their meaning more deeply. When there are well established procedures with which everyone is familiar, it makes it easier to concentrate on content rather than on outward form. Any athlete understands the importance of mastering form. Such simple things as breathing must be done correctly, but this is essential so that eventually they can be done spontaneously, without effort, without thinking about them. The concentration must be on other things. Forms are a means to an end, and if they are constantly changing they obscure the end rather than lead to it.“
– Hughes Oliphant Old
, Worship That Is Reformed According to Scripture, Guides to the Reformed Tradition (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1984), 162
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I first saw this quote in Jeffrey Meyers’ The Lord’s Service. I couldn’t explain it any more clearly or concisely if I tried.
The 4th and 5th verses of that great Christian hymn, “For All the Saints” resound these words:
The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
I think about a year and how fast it has gone. I remember William Andrew Hilleke, my brother-in-law and friend. I took the above photos on one of my photo-taking rampages in June of 2006 when the Jim Hilleke family was vacationing at Roseland. This photo was taken just as Thomas, Emily, the kids, and Sarah were heading back to Monroe. I stayed for a few hours more and got to photograph the property with Andrew and Mr. Jim. Some of the best photos I took of Andrew were taken when he didn’t know I was shooting him. Often, if he knew, he would give me that “Andrew Smile/Snarl.” Of course we all miss Andrew. The thing is, it is still hard to believe that he is not here with us. It is a hard concept when I think about it. Often, I think, “What happened?” even though I know all the events and happenings of early 2007.
I am comforted by this hymn that was sung at his funeral. N.T. Wright says that it is the best hymn for Christians to sing at funerals. It puts our hope in the best biblical and Christian perspective.
Until that “yet more glorious day” when “the saints triumphant [will] rise” we are left to think about our good memories and reminisce through our photos and videos.
O Eternal Lord God, who holdest all souls in life; Vouchsafe, we beseech thee, to thy whole Church in paradise and on earth, thy light and thy peace; and grant that we, following the good examples of those who have served thee here and are now at rest, may at the last enter with them into thine unending joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
So, it has struck me that the Tony Award winning actress, Angela Lansbury and my paternal grandmother have some resembling qualities. My grandmother is now deceased, but she wore her hair in similar ways to Angela Lansbury. She had a red tint to her hair like Angela Lansbury does. Also, they are about a year apart. It is not a celebrity double or exact look-a-like. It just strikes me funny when I see her. There is some sort of resemblence there.
Here’s my wacky combination of songs that I’m listening to:
1.) Chug-A-Lug by Roger Miller
2.) Traffic Jam by James Taylor
3.) You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon
4.) Goodnight Tonight by Paul McCartney
5.) Everything by Michael Bublé
6.) Can’t Get It Right Today by Joe Purdy
7.) I Gotta Be Your Man by Randy Newman
Crazy Mix, I know.
The 4th and 5th verses of that great Christian hymn, “For All the Saints” resound these words:
So, it has struck me that the Tony Award winning actress, Angela Lansbury and my paternal grandmother have some resembling qualities. My grandmother is now deceased, but she wore her hair in similar ways to Angela Lansbury. She had a red tint to her hair like Angela Lansbury does. Also, they are about a year apart. It is not a celebrity double or exact look-a-like. It just strikes me funny when I see her. There is some sort of resemblence there.
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