Category Archives: Holidays

Only a Dad

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Only a Dad

By Edgar Albert Guest

Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.

Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd,
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad but he gives his all,
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.

“I Am the Flag”

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Did you know that June 14 is Flag Day? Here is a tribute to Old Glory.

(Photo courtesy of the morgueFile.)

I Am the Flag

by by Ruth Apperson Rous

I am the flag of the United States of America.

I was born on June 14, 1777, in Philadelphia.

There the Continental Congress adopted my stars and stripes as the national flag.

My thirteen stripes alternating red and white, with a union of thirteen white stars in a field of blue, represented a new constellation, a new nation dedicated to the personal and religious liberty of mankind.

Today fifty stars signal from my union, one for each of the fifty sovereign states in the greatest constitutional republic the world has ever known.

My colors symbolize the patriotic ideals and spiritual qualities of the citizens of my country.

My red stripes proclaim the fearless courage and integrity of American men and boys and the self-sacrifice and devotion of American mothers and daughters.

My white stripes stand for liberty and equality for all.

My blue is the blue of heaven, loyalty, and faith.

I represent these eternal principles: liberty, justice, and humanity.

I embody American freedom: freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the sanctity of the home.

I typify that indomitable spirit of determination brought to my land by Christopher Columbus and by all my forefathers – the Pilgrims, Puritans, settlers at James town and Plymouth.

I am as old as my nation.

I am a living symbol of my nation’s law: the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

I voice Abraham Lincoln’s philosophy: “A government of the people, by the people,for the people.”

I stand guard over my nation’s schools, the seedbed of good citizenship and true patriotism.

I am displayed in every schoolroom throughout my nation; every schoolyard has a flag pole for my display.

Daily thousands upon thousands of boys and girls pledge their allegiance to me and my country.

I have my own law—Public Law 829, “The Flag Code” – which definitely states my correct use and display for all occasions and situations.

I have my special day, Flag Day. June 14 is set aside to honor my birth.

Americans, I am the sacred emblem of your country. I symbolize your birthright, your heritage of liberty purchased with blood and sorrow.

I am your title deed of freedom, which is yours to enjoy and hold in trust for posterity.

If you fail to keep this sacred trust inviolate, if I am nullified and destroyed, you and your children will become slaves to dictators and despots.

Eternal vigilance is your price of freedom.

As you see me silhouetted against the peaceful skies of my country, remind yourself that I am the flag of your country, that I stand for what you are – no more, no less.

Guard me well, lest your freedom perish from the earth.

Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand: “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

I was created in freedom. I made my first appearance in a battle for human liberty.

God grant that I may spend eternity in my “land of the free and the home of the brave” and that I shall ever be known as “Old Glory,” the flag of the United States of America.

___________________________________________

Previous Flag Day posts:

Flag Day.
I Am Old Glory.
Our Duty to the Flag.

Memorial Day 2010

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All we have of freedom, all we use or know -—
This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.

~ Rudyard Kipling, “The Old Issue.”

But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for,
Is their monument to-day, and for aye.

~Thomas Dunn English, “The Battle of Monmouth“

This was sent to me in an e-mail, and I have seen it popping up in blogs and on Facebook:

The 3rd Grade class of Tussing Elementary School in Colonial Heights, Virginia.did an original song giving tribute to those in the military. The song is called “Thank You Soldiers!”

A Mother’s Day Prayer

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I highly recommend For Moms, Former Moms, and Wannabe Moms by Wendy Alsup at Practical Theology For Women. Here is a sampling:

Motherhood is not the greatest good for the Christian woman. Whether you are a mom or not, don’t get caught up in sentimentalism that sets it up as some saintly role. The greatest good is being conformed to the image of Christ. Now, motherhood is certainly one of God’s primary tools in His arsenal for this purpose for women. But it is not the end itself. Being a mom doesn’t make you saintly. Believe me. Being a mom exposes all the ways you are a sinner, not a saint. Not being a mom and wanting to be one does too. We may long to get pregnant, looking at motherhood from afar. God sanctifies us through that longing. We may lose a pregnancy or a child, and mourn the loss of our motherhood. God conforms us to Christ through that as well. We may have a brood of children of various ages, and heaven knows God roots sin out of our hearts that way. It’s all about THE greatest good, being conformed to the image of Christ – reclaiming the image of God that He created us to bear through gospel grace. And God uses both the presence and the absence of children in the lives of His daughters as a primary tool of conforming us to Christ.

I shared this last year, but it is on my mind again this year:

A Mother’s Day Prayer

God our Creator, I pray:
For new mothers, coming to terms with new responsibility;
for expectant mothers, wondering and waiting;
for those who are tired, stressed, or depressed;
for those who struggle to balance the tasks of work and family;
for those who are unable to feed their children due to poverty;
for those whose children have physical, mental, or emotional disabilities;
for those who have children that they do not want;
for those who raise children on their own;
for those who have lost a child;
for those who care for the children of others;
for those whose children have left home;
and for those whose desire to be a mother has not been fulfilled.

Bless all mothers, that their love may be deep and tender,
and that they may lead their children to know and to do what is good,
living not for themselves alone, but for God and for others.
Amen

Author Unknown

I am thankful for the mother I was blessed to have for 48 years (and I miss her sorely), my mother-in-law, older moms who have helped me along the way by their words and example, and those who call me mom.

An original poem…

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When my children were babies and toddlers, the last thing I did every night before going to bed was check on them. If I couldn’t hear them breathing or see the rise and fall of their chests, I’d place my hand on their back to make sure they were still breathing. As they got older, probably until they hit puberty, checking on them last thing before I went to bed was still my nightly ritual. If they were out for some activity in their teens and college years, I could not go to bed until they came home…though I did sometimes fall asleep on the couch. It was disconcerting when they got old enough to stay up later than I did. I missed that settled feeling of knowing everyone was “tucked in” before I went to sleep. That feeling was magnified as they started going away from home for longer periods, to camp or missions trips or to work somewhere for the summer, and then as I began to think of their leaving home to establish their own. But I reminded myself that they were in God’s care.

This poem arose out of that experience. I wrote it almost two years ago and sent to my friends Bet, who teaches college journalism classes, and Ann, who teaches high school English, for their critiques. Thank you both for your invaluable comments! I put it away for a while in order to come back to it later and hopefully think more clearly about it, and just got it out again several days ago. It’s still not perfect, but it’s better than it was, thanks to Ann and Bet’s suggestions.

I debated about putting it on my blog. because once it is on the Internet it’s in danger of being kidnapped. On the other hand, people don’t write poetry to keep it in a book: I hope it ministers to others’ hearts as it did my own. I would just remind people that it is copyrighted and ask that if you use it, please include my name and preferably a link back here.

A Mother’s Nightly Ritual

Before a mother goes to bed
She checks each little downy head,
Places a hand on back or chest
Of each sleeping child at rest,
Making sure that all is well
Before succumbing to sleep’s spell.

As children grow and youth abounds,
Yet Mother still must make her rounds.
She can not rest at ease until
Her little ones are calm and still,
Safely tucked into their beds,
Then softly to her own she treads.

From childhood into youth they grow,
And she waits up until she knows
They’re settled safe and sound at home
Til the next day when they roam.
Though now they stay up long past her,
She can’t rest til they’re home, secure.

Her birds fly later from her sight.
Their beds are empty now at night.
She cannot check the rise and fall
Of sleeping breaths within her walls.
Yet she trusts they’re safely kept
By Him who never once has slept.

Though now they sleep beyond her care,
They never move beyond her prayer.
Her nightly vigil now is to
Trust them to the same One Who
Watched o’er Jacob while he roamed,
And kept him safe though far from home.

Barbara Harper
Copyright 2010

Mother’s Little Angel

by Norman Rockwell

Courtesy of imagekind

Assorted reading and stray thoughts for Mother’s Day

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One old post of mine getting a lot of hits these days is one about Mother’s Day reading, but since I did not know many of you then, I’ll repost a little of it here. I know some of you don’t like to look through lists of links, but there is good stuff in these. I was thinking of posting this on Saturday, but then thought some of you might like to see some of these before then.

Elisabeth Elliot wrote a leaflet she titled “A Call to Spiritual Motherhood” which she read in on of her radio broadcasts. You can read the transcript here. It is an excellent article encouraging all of us in any stage of life to spiritually “mother” younger women. Many of us have had godly women besides out own mothers who were shining examples to us, who taught us along the way and encouraged us. I think they are worthy of honor on a day like Mother’s Day, too. :)

Girltalk has some excellent articles for those who have lost children to miscarriage or a later death, struggle with infertility or have wayward children, for whom this time of year can be quite painful.

Annie’s Mother’s Day pages have several neat links. I especially liked What the Bible Says About Mothers.

I mentioned the high expectations some women might have about Mother’s Day, setting themselves up for disappointment, but I’ve often run into just the opposite: a mom who doesn’t like all the fuss on Mother’s Day, or, as Al Mohler wrote one year, that Mother’s Day is a bad idea because of the commercialism, the sentimentality, or the lack of honoring mothers other days of the year and trying to make up for it on that one day. To moms who maybe don’t like to be put on the spot or feel uncomfortable about all the attention that day, I would say just accept it as an expression of love.  You may not want or need gifts and may just want the family to have time together, and that’s fine, but don’t downplay what your family tries to do to honor you. Have you ever tried to give a gift to someone who keeps saying things like “You shouldn’t have!” so much that it takes all the joy out of giving to them? Don’t be like that (of course, balance is the key here. Maybe next year well before Mother’s Day you might want to express to your family that you really don’t want anything and ask about a family day instead, if you feel that way. But don’t downplay their efforts after they’ve already done something.)

As for the sentiment that Mother’s Day is a bad idea for the reasons mentioned: I agree with some of Dr. Mohler’s points: it’s wrong to passively neglect or actively dishonor one’s mother and then try to assuage guilt with a card and flowers on Mother’s Day. And I do agree some sentiments are over the top: sometimes when buying cards I have wondered if they were made for real people at all. Sentimentality, though, is often in the eye of the beholder. What might seem “gushy” and over the top to some might seem just right to another. And, yes, most holidays have become too commercial, but that doesn’t mean we need to do away with them completely. There are multitudes of options between going all out and not celebrating at all.

I consider Mother’s and Father’s Day and many holidays  in the same way I think of Thanksgiving: we’re supposed to be thankful all the time, but there is something special about that one day and taking special care and thought into pondering just how much we have to be thankful for and the One to Whom we owe our gratitude. So with a day dedicated to parents: it’s one of the ten commandments to honor our parents, and Mother’s and Father’s Day is just one way to do so. It’s not that we save up our honor all year for this day: we honor them all the time, but this special day we focus on them, their love to us, and all they have done for us, and let them know we love and appreciate them.

What if you don’t feel your mother is worthy of honor? The command to honor our fathers and mothers is just that — a command. During my teens I did struggle for a brief while with respecting my parents. One day after a sermon on “Children, obey your parents,” it occurred to me that the two passages that teach that (Ephesians 6:1-3 and Colossians 3:20) do not qualify the command (obey if they are saved, if they are perfect, if they do everything just right, if they deserve it). I realized that all of the commands about relationships in the rest of those passages were not dependent on the other person doing his or her part. We’re supposed to do our part whether the other one does or not. I was supposed to obey my parents and respect their position as my parents. I had to apologize for my attitude, and the Lord enabled me to indeed honor them and respect them, and even to appreciate them and to be thankful for the life they gave me, the care they took of me, and so many more things. It showed in my attitude (I had never been allowed to “backtalk,” but there are other ways a disrespectful attitude can seep out), and the Lord healed the breach between my parents and me. I only wish she were still here for me to honor, but I do honor her memory. A few years ago I wrote Things I love about my mom.

Here are some things I’ve posted in the past regarding Mother’s Day. 🙂

Mother’s Day funnies.
Mother’s Dictionary (funny).
Mother’s Kisses (poem).
Mother’s Day Poems.

For Mother’s Day…or any day

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ChurchWorksMedia.com is selling a neat little month-long devotional booklet called Gospel Meditations for Women, and with Priority Mail, there is still time to get copies for Mother’s Day to distribute to the ladies of your church or just to the special ladies in your life. But even if you can’t order it in time for Mother’s Day, it is a great resource any time.

It was first written by pastors Chris Anderson and Joe Tyrpak for the ladies of their congregation last year. Each page contains a verse of Scripture with the reference for the longer passage, then about a page-long meditation on the passage, ending with the line, “Let the gospel affect your ______,” the blank being filled with the topic of the day. You can find more information here and view a sample here.

I ordered a few copies for myself and received them a few days ago. I haven’t had a chance to read all 31 entries yet, but I have liked what I have read so far. I would normally read something completely before endorsing it and recommending it, but I did want to mention it in time for Mother’s Day. I have been reading Chris Anderson’s blog, My Two Cents, for some time now and have quoted from it or linked to it occasionally, and I have always appreciated his careful handling of Scripture and his gracious interaction with others. Some of you might be familiar with his hymn “My Jesus Fair” from the Galkins Team CD, Christ, Only Always.

Catching up…

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That’s the name of the game these days!

I mentioned that Jesse was out for spring break last week. What I didn’t mention (because, you know, of all those cyber-stalkers lurking about to find an empty home to burgle. 🙄 🙂 ) was that we went out of town for a few days.

We were in the Knoxville, TN area. It is beautiful country up there. Rolling hills, little streams and rivers, acres of pasture, etc. We passed so many valleys nestling little cottages or farms that Jeremy speculated that the Tennessee Department of Tourism put them there to look idyllic. 🙂 I imagine it is even more lovely in the fall when all those hills are covered with autumn color.

At one point I was admiring the bluish mountain range in the distance and wondered what they were called, and Jeremy said, “Probably the Blue Ridge Mountains.” Yep, I guess that would be them!

(Photo courtesy of Ken Thomas)

We met up with an aunt and uncle of mine that we haven’t seen in years, but we were able to plunge right in as if it had been only a few days. They took us to the Flatwater Grill for dinner one night, a lovely restaurant right on a lake. The whole outer wall is windows, so you have a view of the water, trees, etc. The food was wonderful, too!

We were trying to decide what fun thing to do on Saturday — Dollywood, Gatlinburg, and other attractions were within an hour’s drive — but the guys all decided what they’d really love to do is go to the Apple store. 🙂 We don’t have one in our area, and the iPad was due out that day. So that’s where we went. There was a definite air of excitement, even though I’m not so much into the latest techno-gadgets! They enjoyed experimenting with one. I would have looked around the mall more, but it was uncomfortably noisy all over. Later in the afternoon Jim and I explored a street full of antique shops. I spied one little book by Henry Drummond called The Greatest Thing in the World. I had heard of both author and book, and the inscription in the front was signed by a Barbara! So I got that.

We did enjoy a beautiful Easter service at a church we visited in the area. The pastor there knows our pastor and has spoken at our church, so it was a little like visiting an acquaintance rather than walking into a totally new situation.

We were sad that Jason and Mittu weren’t able to go with us, but they checked in with Grandma, took care of the dog, got the mail, etc. for us, and I noticed that they did some vacuuming and folded a load of laundry left in the dryer, so that was wonderful. We had lamented that we wouldn’t get back until Easter evening and so would miss our usual Easter festivities, but when we got home, Mittu had set the table with fresh spring flowers and little Easter treats, and then she and Jason brought over a ham dinner with all the accouterments. It’s so nice to have such a sweet and thoughtful daughter-in-law! (And son, too. 😀 )

I may make the resurrection rolls next week since some missed them — after all, we celebrate the resurrection every Sunday, right?

Yesterday was spent not getting everything done that I had planned to, but making a dent in all those after-vacation tasks, like laundry, a trip to the grocery store, going through mail, etc. After this morning I think I’ll be pretty well back to “normal” — whatever that is. 🙂 I think I do foresee a nap in the near future, though!

Happy Easter!

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Dear Lord, I have no Easter flowers to bring,
No roses fresh, no lilies dewy sweet.
But still one offering I may gladly bear,
And lay rejoicing at Thy feet.

Enfold my weary love in Thy sweet will,
And keep it closely to Thy wounded side,
So shall I rest, nor sad and helpless mourn,
While safe in Thee my love and I abide.

~ Author Unknown

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. John 11:25

Happy Resurrection Day!

Spring break and April Fool’s Day

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Hi all,

Spring break is this week, and I didn’t think that would affect blogging much…but it is! I have my Friday Faves post all set, but otherwise I don’t know if I will be here much for the next few days. I’ve been keeping up with Google Reader as much as I can, but my word, you all are prolific when I am only checking once or twice a day as opposed to off and on through the day! 🙂

We’re doing ok. Jesse has a humongous Spanish project due the first day back at school that he has been working on for weeks, and thankfully he got it done Monday.

If you want to see the cutest Easter cake, click here at i am baker. Be sure to scroll down for a glimpse of the inside — that’s the most clever part! She’s having a pretty nifty giveaway, too!

We have never done much for April Fool’s Day, but I have always wanted to try some of these fake-out food dishes at Family Fun. Maybe some day….:-) (Watch out fellas!)

I hope you are having a great Easter week.