California was a lovely break in my summer...a bit longer visit than I'd planned but definitely worth the changes. Thank you, Lyric, for the summer interlude...and for the crab cakes at Houston's :-)

One of the week's activities was (re)watching both of the Cate Blanchett Elizabeth I movies. These films, in addition to throwing light on a fascinating period of history, are so beautifully done that I will never tire of seeing them. They're a visual treat, hypnotic almost...or is that just Clive Owen I'm thinking of?

Now I must get serious about the rest of the summer projects or it's going to be time to start school again and I'll still be looking at all the stacks of things to be done! I'm thinking seriously about surreptitiously inserting two more calendar pages between August and September!

I had to laugh today, hearing CNN with a straight face predicting that we would soon be seeing "Chelsea for President" bumper stickers. Lord, save us.

$4 a gallon? Are you serious? And I'm talking about MILK! I'm thinking about going hybrid...

On the way to California I listened to The Chopin Manuscript. I can't wait for the movie!

Boy, has it ever been the spring/summer of extreme weather and related disasters. Tornadoes, floods, fires, drought, dangerously high heat--fall will certainly be welcome this year.

Our family vacation, wherein we will rendezvous at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, with the East Coast crowd, is now just 44 days away. Plans are buzzing for food, activities, the family talent show, and all the ways we can squeeze the very most out of seven days with 27 people who pretty much adore each other. Here are some pics of the lodge we've rented:











Home this morning because of pain, God whispered to me through the daily devotional on Elisabeth Elliot's site:

“The man who is challenged by Fate does not take umbrage at the terms,” wrote Dag Hammarskjold. So the man called by Christ. Any terms at all are acceptable if we may be permitted to walk with Him.

“But is this the path, Lord? Must we take this one in order to reach Home?”

“Trust Me.”

When the way to the house of the Lord leads through the “Valley of the Shadow,” we accept those terms, too. If we suffer loss, scorn, misunderstanding, false accusation, or any other form of trouble, it is what we agreed on to begin with. Compared with the rewards promised, it is nothing; so let us not take umbrage. Let us be quite clear and matter-of-fact about it: “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer [cheer up!] I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).

May I never take umbrage.

Labels: Books, Devotional, Political Observation, Vacations