Saturday, March 14, 2015

Saturday and Two Hours Work

I will go in to work two hours this morning to make up for the last two hours I missed a week ago when the library closed because of ice and snow. It's like spring here now. This is Kansas.

First I will go to breakfast with Bob at 7:00. I want to go to Bartlesville after lunch. I need moisture emulsion from their Merle Norman store and Christopher and Banks is having a 40% off sale too.

Katie is back at the library. She came in yesterday. The playing is now over.  :)

More later...

I went to my great grandchild's 5th birthday party at 4:00.  She had a great time! She got some really neat gifts too. Much of it based on the movie "Frozen".

I got home about 7:00 and immediately took my bath and watched TV until 9:00, with Missy on my lap, and then I went to bed.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Friday Again at Last

At last it's Friday!  I know I still have to work two hours in the morning and that will make up the last of the four hours I lost when they closed the library for the ice and snow last week. It has been very slow since the weather improved last week and I have been bored and constantly having to find something to do. 

Today Bob wants to go over to Cherryvale for lunch at "Just Us".  I may be a little late getting back from lunch for work but I will call and alert them if it looks like that may happen.

Katie has been on vacation the past two weeks and Adrian doesn't think she will be back to the library until Monday.  I will have to alert her to the four hours I have made up before she makes up my time sheet on Wednesday.  I want to make a second car payment out of that payday.

I picked up the wedding ring at the jeweler's that I had sized for Ginger this week.Scott, my younger son, is getting married Memorial weekend to Ginger. He is going to use his dad's nugget wedding ring and Ginger will use the one I had sized for her.  Gary, the jeweler, gave me a very fair price for sizing it.  I have known him for years. When I worked at the radio station here in the 80's and 90's, and sold radio advertising, he was one of my accounts.

And I want to go to Bartlesville tomorrow after lunch to shop. 

I forgot to eat anything for supper last night and I noticed this morning that I have lost another two pounds.  You wouldn't think just missing supper for a couple of times would make that much difference.

More later...

We did go to "Just Us" for lunch. Bob dropped me off at work and picked me afterward. He came over to watch Brooks and Shields on PBS and then went home. I took my bath and put my PJs on and watched "Forensic Files" unto bedtime.  I went to bed at 9:00.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Thursday and Cleaning

This is the day I have set aside to clean. I hope I have the energy. I woke up at 3:30 this morning and really never did get back to sleep.

Bob came over last evening for wine. We were going to watch Nature on PBS but it was pretty boring so he went home. I took my bath and watched TV until 8:30.  Then I went to bed. I was very tired.

Yesterday at work was pretty slow. I kept looking for things to do. I did a lot of shelf reading and that is always very boring. Boring makes for a tired woman.

Today I will clean the bathroom and kitchen and if the energy holds up, I will vacuum and dust too.

We will have our leftover meatloaf today for lunch with boiled potatoes and tomatoes and  a veggie. I have one cupcake left. We may split that for dessert.  :)

I had word from Scott yesterday that he has bought the airline tickets for his son and daughter-in-law to come to the wedding in May. He and Ginger will be married over the Memorial Day holiday. I am doing the service and Leslie and I are having a small reception afterward.

The weekend prior to that is the 80th Birthday Bash for my high school class. May will be pretty busy since another woman and I will be leaving with Aime the day after Memorial Day and we will fly to Texas for a four day SER conference. SER is the senior program I use to work at the library.

More later....

I got the apartment cleaned.  I always feel good about getting that done.  I even got the vacuuming done after doing the kitchen and bathroom floors.

More even later...

It was another slow day at the library. I hunted things to do and finally ended up doing a lot of shelf reading. I had gone in ten minutes early so I left ten minutes early.  I even ended up doing their dishes just for something else to do.

Bob came over for wine and The Big Bang Theory. After that, he left and went home and I took my bath and surfed to look for some TV program. I ended up just going to bed at 9:00. TV is horrible anymore.



Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Sermon for the 22nd

I have been asked to post this sermon. I will be gone that weekend to a women's retreat so Bob will deliver it..... and also take care of Missy while I'm gone.



We Are Forgiven
March 22, 2015
Jeremiah 31: 31-34
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

We find this passage quoted on the fifth Sunday of Lent. Traditionally, Lent is a season of confession and penance and a time to empty ourselves so we can be ready for the good news of Easter. This text invites us to confess and repent heartily, with the assurance of God’s promise to forgive our faults and speak no more of them.   

Verses 31–34 are the pinnacle of Jeremiah’s message. Beyond hardship, he preaches about hope: God forgives and makes things new. The new covenant designates the promise that God commits to save and keep his people for himself. Even amid chaos and desolation for the people, Jeremiah upholds that the faithfulness of God’s covenant is unbroken, like in a marriage covenant. Despite the people being unfaithful, despite injustice and exploitation, corrupt kings and priests, idolatry, and the many ways people broke their faith in God, God does not break faith in them.

Instead of judgment, people hear from Jeremiah a splendid promise, and unexpected good news. God will bring life where there is death. God will build a path where there is none.

The law written on stone—that no one diligently follows—will not exist anymore. The days will come when the law will be engraved in the hearts of people and applied in their daily lives.

The days will come when people, from the least to the greatest, will intimately know God. God will shape individuals and their hearts, from the inside out, so they can respond to the demands of God’s law. This change will occur with a complete and definitive resolution of the problem of sin. Contrary to the ritual prescriptions of the Mosaic covenant that constantly reminded individuals of their faults, this new covenant—divine intervention—will wash away forgiven sin.

This prophetic promise keeps ringing true in the advent of Christ. Jesus is the Christ, he truly is the Messiah, the one the Israelites were expecting, the one the prophets proclaimed. Jesus is Christ because in him, by him, God makes a new covenant with his people; a new covenant open to all who turn to him. Christ is the one who introduces this new covenant.

Too many times we continue to beat ourselves up about our shortcomings and sins long after God has long forgiven us. God’s love strengthens and gives hope to people in times of rejoicing and celebration and also in times of suffering and doubt.  God’s covenant extends to us all. We too are God’s people. All have value in the eyes of God.

Let us ask ourselves, “What are the things that are consciously or unconsciously are the symbols of our faith? “ What vision do we have of our daily lives when our life is moved and transformed by God’s forgiveness? Does being forgiven make any difference?”

I saw a television program a couple of weeks ago about Vietnam veterans who wanted to make a difference to the people of Vietnam they had injured when dropping Agent Orange during the war.  Sometimes down three generations, the birth defects continued to show up from their actions. After retiring, these veterans moved back to Vietnam and opened facilities to teach these disabled children.  For $65 a month, they learned that could provide special services for the disabled children.  That is the peak of repentance. Not only were they sorry for their actions against civilians in that war, but they wanted to do something positive to help. That is true repentance. 

The themes of a new (or renewed) covenant and of God's overwhelming grace are, of course, fitting for a celebration of Reformation Day. Martin Luther did not believe that he had discovered something radically new in Scripture when he found there the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. He rediscovered a treasure that the church of his day had largely lost. The movement he began was as much a restoration as a reformation -- the rediscovery of God's abundant grace in the new covenant established in and through Jesus. Luther felt he was restoring the church of his day to a right understanding of that covenant. Each subsequent generation has that same opportunity. 

As we recognize God’s forgiveness, we are inspired by his Holy Spirit to in turn forgive others who may have offended us.  

There is, then, in our theology a deep continuity with what had come before. We know that God's nature does not change. God was, is, and will continue to be a God of great mercy, forgiveness, and love for a wayward people. It is that people's (the church's) understanding of God's nature that had become clouded in the past. Like Jeremiah, then, we call the people of ours day to a new understanding of God and a renewed emphasis on God's grace and God's abiding love even for a sinful people.

So let us accept the gift of being forgiven. Let us live as forgiven people…renewed and eager to make our life one of service to others. 

And this is all God's doing. In and through Jesus, the God of Jeremiah continues to forgive, renew, reform, and call God's people into right relationship with him and with one another. God is faithful, even when we are not. That is the good news that both Jeremiah and that we proclaim, and it is news that can and should be celebrated on this Sunday, preferably with trumpets and always with great joy.

(When I preach or even prepare a sermon, I always ask the congregation to recall the "context" of the scripture. To establish  context, I refer to Bart Ehrman, who is an outstanding Bible historian...to whom "context"  is very important. I have all his books..even one of his textbooks. When we are examining ancient documents, context is everything.  The scriptures were not written for us....they were written for those ancients.  They did not live in the 21st century...they lived in their century.....in a completely different culture.)


Wednesday Humpday

There will be exercise class again this morning at 9:00. They are celebrating the March birthdays  today at the senior center so there will be cake after the class.

As I said last night, we will have Karan's potato soup for lunch with some of those cup cakes I made the other evening for dessert.  We will have crackers and cheese with it.

I finally got my social security this morning.  I have been paying my bills out of my savings so far this month. I don't know what folks do if they have no savings to draw on when their social security doesn't come in until late in the month. Most of our bills come due long before that...especially the rent which is due on the 1st.

I slept pretty well last night considering that I went to bed at 8:30. I slept until 4:00 AM but didn't  get up until nearly 5:00.

More later....

I have been watching the blog of "Simply Balisha" ever since she was diagnosed with cancer a month or so ago. This morning I noticed her husband, Joe, had posted that she had died. I will miss her blog.  I have read it for years. She was a very special woman.  I pray that her husband and family will be comforted by God.

More even later....

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Busy Tuesday

I will be going to Independence this morning to take the cakes up to the First Christian Church in Independence. While there, I will have my hair done too and afterward stop in at Big Cheese and pick up a pizza for our lunch.

I slept really well again last night. Maybe my sleepless period is over at last.

I spent last evening baking my cake and putting some of the batter into cupcakes for our dessert. I got the cake and the cupcakes iced before I went to bed.  It was a full day and today will be a full day too.

We had a little rain yesterday afternoon. It was sprinkling hard when I got off work.  We can use the rain. It's stopped now. I took the trash container across the street awhile ago and it has stopped.

I will need to clean on Thursday. I got the bed changed on Saturday and the laundry done but the apartment needs to be vacuumed again.  I am going to be gone this morning and tomorrow is exercise class again so it will have to be Thursday. I will also be working two hours again on Saturday morning since I am making up the four hours I missed when they closed the library last week when it iced and then snowed.

I got my sermon all finished for the 22nd and then learned the women's retreat is that weekend so I will give the printout to Bob and he will take my place that Sunday.

More later....

Karan and Bobby brought us some homemade potato soup day before yesterday and we will have that for lunch today with crackers and cheese. I had the wrong week to have my hair done so I did not pick up the pizza at Big Cheese.  Instead we had hamburgers and french fries.

I had a very busy day at work...mostly putting away the new books and putting away the DVDs that came back in today. Katie is still on vacation.

Bob came over for wine this evening but didn't stay past 7:00 because it was another of those nights when there was nothing on TV worth watching. In fact, I went to bed at 8:30.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Another Monday

I slept very well last night. I got up about 5:00 as usual, fed Missy her treats and gave her some more of her Iams Senior food. She's not too sure about the Iams.  She had gotten used to the Science Diet. But she's also become fat on it so maybe the Iams will be best.

I set the table for lunch. We will have meatloaf and fried potatoes with a veggie and salad. I'm not sure about dessert....maybe fruit. I need to make cookies but I don't know when. Tomorrow I get my hair done in Independence after I take the cakes up. Then at 1:00 I go to the library to work. Maybe I will bring home a small pizza for lunch tomorrow. Then Wednesday we will have the meatloaf again.

We will go to exercise class this morning.  Howard and Judy leave around eight this morning to go to Kansas City to see their son. Patrick. They have been with Marilyn since Wednesday. They are virtually homeless now. The landlady of their daughter in California made them move out of the apartment. They had intended to be with her just a short time but could not find any affordable housing or land to buy in California yet so they had been with her and Scott, her partner, since they sold their home here and went there to be near their only grandchild and to take care of her while the parents worked.  They're in their 70's so that's a problem.

More later....

Katie, the library director is still on vacation so still not more scanning.   I spent the afternoon putting away DVDs and repairing and cleaning DVDs that have been damaged. I also put the new books on the "new books" shelving. 

Bob came over for wine but didn't stay because there is not any good programming on Monday evening. I read until bedtime at 8:30.


Sunday, March 8, 2015

Sunday and Church

I got up at 5:20 this morning after a pretty good night's sleep.

I had my breakfast of oatmeal and drank two cups of coffee while I read the paper.  Then I baked the  coffeecake for church.  I let it cool and then put a glaze on it.

When I get home this afternoon, I will do my letters but will have to go to the market to buy some groceries and get stamps. I am completely out of stamps.

While I was in Bartlesville at the mall yesterday, I found communion cups at a religious bookstore and bought a box. If I order them from our church, there is $9.00 freight attached to the order.

My Keurig order came yesterday while I was in Bartlesville.  Bob came over and I gave him his Hazelnut coffee. We got 24 in each box for $6.95 instead of $11.95 for 18 at the market. I always order my coffees from Keurig. If you have a minimum of $40 in your order, the freight is free.

More later....

After church a group of us ate at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I am not a fan of fast food but I had their chicken pot pie and it was actually pretty good.

Tonight we have our Living the Questions group at Marilyn's home with dinner. She is fixing chicken chili. I'm not sure about that but I'll give it a try.  I am taking Frito Scoops to go with it.

More much later....

We had a really good time at Marilyn's and the entire group, except for Becky, were there.  I notified everyone so I don't know what happened to Becky. Maybe she just wasn't up to it.

We got home a little after 8:30 and I took my bath and sat with Missy for awhile. I had been gone nearly all day and evening and I'm sure she gets lonely.

I went to bed about 9:30.