My funeral plans are really always in some stage of being planned and replanned. As much as I mentally redesign most rooms I walk into, I replan my funeral when I attend other people’s, or run into a new hymn or something. In terms of my profession, on the whole I prefer funerals to, say, weddings. People generally have very fixed ideas at weddings and if one thing goes wrong EVERYthing might as well go wrong. Whereas at a funeral,... Read more
This has long been a favorite hymn of mine. Of course I’m sure you all heard it played at the Royal Wedding live on Friday because you woke up at 4am to watch it (didn’t you? it wasn’t Just me). I woke up my kids and made them be quiet and watch it too. But I’m an Anglophile, unapologetically. Anyway, I want it sung at my funeral along with this and this and this and Of Course this Happy Easter! Read more
Matt: Its sad that tomorrow all the flood coverage on the news is going to go away. Me: What’s more important?! There will be another flood before you know it. But Prince William is only going to get married once! Well, maybe twice. Certainly not three times. Elphine: I’m going to get married and have ten children and live next door to Nonni so that she can take care of them. Gladys: I got married before but now I’m going... Read more
I preached at the Easter Vigil as I usually do. Well, ‘preach’ is kind of stretching it. I meandered around in a reflective sort of way. What was that term? A Preach Moment, maybe, even Homily is kind of generous. A sermonette for a Christianette. Anyway, here it is. Today we are going to try and have a proper celebration of Easter at home. Totally discouraged myself by Saturday reading blogs of what other people were planning to do. In... Read more
We have a funeral this morning and a completely filthy house plus a huge pile of laundry. So, um, well, I thought I would spend the week blogging but its looking more like I’ll be cleaning and folding laundry. He is Risen! Read more
That’s what it is. Holy Week. I have got to arise and quickly get the children moving so that I won’t be late for New Baby’s two month well baby at which time I expect to be told that she weighs a gagillion pounds. Nobody (at least amongst my children) ever wants to hold her because of the immediate back ache. Poor child. She is the first of my babies to definitely and completely have her hair rub off the... Read more
The boys are riding scooters down the walk and banging into the back door.The two oldest girls are sitting on the roof of the playhouse squabbling.The baby’s been working on smiling. Marigold is wandering around trying to remove her diaper.Matt is vacuuming so wonderfully because I haven’t been able to face it for so many days.I’m supposed to be making supper in a short break from the Great Easter Clothes Exchange (wherein I get all the bins of clothes out... Read more
I was going to take out all the line breaks but I’m too tired. Don’t count this up to pretension, its just easier to see the text on the page this way. I wasn’t on the schedule to preach, I was just in the right frame of mind to help out at the last minute. Enjoy! As we’ve said often in many different ways the human condition is characterized by the desire to be God. Not to be with God or know... Read more
We’re halfway through our time with the bishop.(“Is the good bishop or that bad bishop coming to visit?” Alouicious asked on Thursday as we were cleaning.“The good bishop,” I said.“Oh” he said disappointedly. Think he probably wanted to practice awesome “kung-fu” moves on a bad guy and so I pulled him back to remind him to pray for the bad bishop which disappointed him even more. Romulus then wandered in to inquire why we were cleaning.“Because!” said Matt, “we enjoy... Read more
Preventing Grace
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