Today was another full day, with grading and class prep, followed by the class itself. Today’s class was a little more decorous than yesterday’s. My friend Robin came over this afternoon because she’ll be busy on Friday, so it was good to catch up with her. Jasper stayed home sick again. Really hoping he’ll be able to make it to work tomorrow—which also happens to be his birthday. This evening we had our church dinner and a discussion about baptism. It was interesting to hear the baptism stories of the others at our table. I also made a batch of chai mix today. Even though I only had two advan ..read more

This is a bonus post, which I feel compelled to share with you due to recent events. On Saturday, a twenty-nine-year-old woman died in New York. I did not know her, nor did I ever meet her. I am quite sure she was never aware of my existence. Yet, the news of her death hit me like a punch to the gut. This is the reason I mentioned that I was distressed the other day, and have remained so. You may wonder, if she was a stranger to me, how I learned of her death and why it has affected me so. If you have been reading this journal for a few years, you may recall one of my most personal posts. Here ..read more

If you know me at all, you know that I am usually a one-event-a-day person, especially if I am hosting the event. There are times when I can truly enjoy two events in one day, especially when I’m not responsible for them. Three events are more of a stretch for me, but that’s the situation I found myself in today. Fortunately, I had all morning to prepare, because today my paragraph class had to be postponed until the afternoon due to schedule conflicts that some of my students had. The morning started off poorly with the realization that something I baked last night was a total failure. I aske ..read more

After all the rain and gloom we had on Saturday, yesterday was absolutely glorious—sunny, windy, and cool. Maybe the last day like that we’ll have for many months. Yesterday was also our daughter Mary’s 33rd birthday. I hope she had a wonderful day, but we honestly don’t know as she has chosen to not include us in her life at this time. We know that she is doing very well professionally, and we do hear from her occasionally—but I’d be lying if I said we don’t miss her. Here’s a photo of her reading as a girl: She was quite a bookworm in those days. I think she is probably too busy to do much ..read more

I have not heard this hymn sung for a very long time. Never Alone Ludie D. Pickett I’ve seen the lightning flashing, I’ve heard the thunder roll. I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, Which almost conquered my soul. I’ve heard the voice of my Savior, Bidding me still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone! Refrain No, never alone, no never alone, He promised never to leave me, He’ll claim me for His own; No, never alone, no never alone. He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone. The world’s fierce winds are blowing, Temptation sharp and keen. I have a peac ..read more

We woke up to a dark, rainy, gloomy day. Sammy and Janet were long gone by then, and Jasper had also left for his men’s retreat. The weather had cooled off considerably, and the rain kept falling. It is hard to feel motivated to work on your to-do list under such circumstances, but my goal for the day was to take advantage of my printer’s cooperation and try to get as far as possible in printing out materials for next week’s paragraph classes. I would get some stuff printed and then watch some of my aunt’s memorial service which was held in Austin on Thursday. I had hoped to go in person, but ..read more

Friday is my “sleep-in” day but I only slept in a little because of course I had to get ready to teach again. I think the class went pretty well. My students are learning that they have to pay attention to what I say if they want to understand what I’m asking of them. Afterward I spent a little time on my exercise bike before heading out to Aldi while Walter and Janet were eating lunch. Jasper helped me put the food away when I returned home. I didn’t get much done later in the afternoon due to our internet being very intermittent. Kind of frustrating. Jasper has signed up for a men’s retreat ..read more

So, I don’t think I’ve talked about this a lot, but Walter and I did sign up to go to Belize again this summer to help out at the Vo-Tech school. We both feel we have more to contribute there, so we went ahead and put down our deposit from the trip. This was back in January. Since then, we have heard NOTHING about the trip.  We even asked the guy who is leading it for some information on Sunday, and he really didn’t have anything useful to tell us. Then this morning we received an email saying that if we still want to go, all our money has to be in by April 28—twelve days from now. Yikes ..read more

If you’re a citizen of the USA, did you get your taxes in by today? I hope so. I certainly wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of the IRS. Yesterday we had church and Sunday School as usual, after breakfast with Janet in the morning. She went to church with Sammy, of course. In the afternoon we drove to the north side of town for a memorial service dedicated to the memory of someone whom we both greatly respected and admired—a man named Dan Larsen. We’ve known Dan and his wife Nonie for over forty years. When we were college students, Dan taught auto mechanics and Nonie was the cashier in th ..read more

This afternoon we went to a memorial service for a very remarkable man, and this is one of the hymns we sang. What a Friend We Have in Jesus Joseph M. Scriven What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our ..read more