Walk in Paradise

This week marks three years since my dad was called home to be with the Lord.

The bright spot in the middle of the week is that my nephew, my parents' first grandchild, was baptized two years ago today.

But I still miss my dad.

A few nights ago I was singing to one of my twin girls while she tried valiantly to fall asleep in my arms. Out of the blue, I started singing a Hawaiian hymn that my father used to sing to us when we were young. When I forgot the words, I simply hummed the beautiful melody, hoping my baby would find it as soothing as I did so many years ago. Inside, I was saddened to realize that I had forgotten many of the words.

The next day, as I was going through a box of my father's things, I came across a copy of the Hawaiian lyrics that he had prepared for me. What are the odds? The Lord is merciful, even in the smallest matters.

Rather than relay the written lyrics, I found this video on YouTube, where you can also read a short explanation of the song. I only remember my dad singing the second verse in English, which began, "Let me walk in Paradise with you, Lord."

And now he is walking in Paradise. His prayer has been answered.

They Just Don't Make 'em Like They Used To

Chico and Harpo. Delightful.

Un-Annoying Things

(Just to show that I am actually capable of enjoying the little things in life...)

1. The morning sun peeking through my front window blinds.

2. A freshly mopped kitchen floor.

3. Baby toots.

4. Snuggling with my husband at the end of a long day.

5. My tv-less living room.

6. Planning do-it-yourself updates to our home.

7. Interesting conversations over tasty dinners.

8. Watching my 6-month-old twins hold hands (or arm wrestle, depending on your perspective) on the living room floor.

9. Fresh flowers on the kitchen table.

10. Singing a mix of good hymns, lullabies, and silly songs to sleepy babies.

Annoying Things

In no particular order:

1. Slow cart pushers in Wal-Mart.

2. Forgetting whether or not I put on deodorant.

3. Conversational narcissists.

4. The way my laundry is always one step ahead of me.

5. People who think they know best how to bring up my children.

6. The automated greetings at the McDonald's drive-thru.

7. Humidity.

8. Food that sits uneaten in the cupboard for months.

9. People who think they know best how to bring up my children. (Did I already mention that one?)

10. Drama queens.

Answered Prayer

I've been out of the hospital for nearly 2 full months now. That's almost as long as I was in the hospital. I have come a long way physically, but I still have a long way to go. Few, if any, can comprehend the ordeal my husband and I have been through. There were times when we despaired for our children's lives. We even discussed what we planned to do in case the worst happened...

But the worst didn't happen. The Lord has been merciful to us.

So often we turned to the Psalms for comfort. Early on I hoped and prayed that I could celebrate with the Psalmist in what my Bible calls "Praise for Answered Prayer":

I love the LORD, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
The pains of death surrounded me,
And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the LORD:
"O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!"

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
The LORD preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
I will walk before the LORD
In the land of the living.
I believed, therefore I spoke,
"I am greatly afflicted."
I said in my haste,
"All men are liars."

What shall I render to the LORD
For all His benefits toward me?
I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD
Now in the presence of all His people.

Precious in the sight of the LORD
Is the death of His saints.

O LORD, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the LORD.

I will pay my vows to the LORD
Now in the presence of all His people.
In the courts of the LORD's house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD!

--Psalm 116

As I Wrestle

I love a sermon that sounds like it was written just for me.

Who Needs Nouns, Anyway?

One thing about having to quit my job to be on bedrest is that I am free to read whatever I want. No more scrambling to stay a day or two ahead of my students. I can read, or not read, or half-heartedly read, completely according to my fancy. When you have to lie down all day and are only allowed on your feet for bathroom breaks, I think you're forced to appreciate some of these small benefits.

Right now I'm reading through That Hideous Strength, the 3rd part of C.S. Lewis' science fiction trilogy. Rather than write a book report on it, I thought I'd share a little snippet which, although entirely unrelated to the plot itself, I found quite amusing:

"The cardinal difficulty," said Macphee, "in collaboration
between the sexes is that women speak a language without nouns. If two men are
doing a bit of work, one will say to the other, 'Put this bowl inside the bigger
bowl which you'll find on the top shelf of the green cupboard.' The female for
this is, 'Put that in the other one in there.' And then if you ask them, 'in
where?' they say, 'in there, of course.' There is consequently a phatic
hiatus." He pronounced this so as to rhyme with "get at
us."

"There's your tea now," said Ivy Maggs, "and I'll go and get
you a piece of cake, which is more than you deserve. And when you've had it you
can go upstairs and talk about nouns for the rest of the evening."

"Not about nouns: by means of nouns, "said MacPhee, but Mrs. Maggs had already left the room.

Lewis is awesome.

Snow Day!!

I started Christmas break with all kinds of lofty ambitions to get my grading finished early and to work ahead for the semester.

Ummm...yeah, right.

So, naturally (as some could attest to), I was up until midnight scrambling to get things together for the first day of 2nd semester. Even though it had been snowing all day, there was no news on whether school would be cancelled. How frustrating.

But after stumbling out of bed well before sunrise, the good news came: NO SCHOOL! It's funny how a snow day is as exciting for the teachers as it is for the students.

Now my schoolwork is [sufficiently] complete, dishes are done, house is in decent shape, and it's barely 8 o'clock.

It's going to be a good day.