WHAT I DID ON MY 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

 

Don't feel sorry for me about the anniversary, because our family had a lovely celebration over the weekend. You may feel sorry for me for the stress and frustration involved with setting up my new computer, for I am in no way a techie. I forgot to install my printer, copier, scanner on the new computer and could not figure out why the printer wouldn't work, but that's now fixed. The task is mostly finished, leaving only a bit of housekeeping to be done, with only one rather major problem, which I hope is only temporary. My main email account is in Outlook Express, which Microsoft no longer owns, and Windows 7 no longer supports. Thus, when the contents of my old computer were transferred to my new computer, OE was not included. Woe is me!

My old computer is in the shop waiting to be worked on to see whether once all my documents, music, and pictures are removed, and the drive is cleaned, it will serve as Grandpère's exclusive computer. He doesn't load up a computer as I do and mainly uses it for email and searches. I asked the person in the repair shop to write in large letters: PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE OUTLOOK EXPRESS FROM THIS COMPUTER!!! If I lose all the material in my OE email account, I will be in one grand mess.

PLEASE PRAY FOR DAVID (DAHVEED) AND SUSANKAY

Brother David said...

Thank you all for the remembering prayers. The procedure came out well. I had a fully occluded artery that was successfully reopened and had four stents inserted. The time for the procedure used the time I could be subjected to the radiation and dye, so I will be doing it again on the 15th for two partially blocked arteries. But now, a day later I am doing and feeling well. (My Emphasis)

TBTG and knowledgable physicians.

susankay said...

Awaiting path reports on thyroid cancer, Hard to ask for prayers for myself rather than for my deceased MollytheWonderdog. Don't want prayers for cure, just for not being fearful.

Prayers

Strengthen your servant David, O God, to do what he has to do and bear what he has to bear; that, accepting your healing gifts through the skill of doctors and nurses, he may be restored to usefulness in your world with a thankful heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, the strength and comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant susankay the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

UPDATE; Please pray also for margaret's Joel, who is having cataract surgery today.

100TH BIRTHDAY SECRET

Grandpa was celebrating his 100th birthday, and everybody complimented him on how athletic and well-preserved he appeared.

"Gentlemen, I will tell you the secret of my success," he cackled. "I have taken a long walk in the open air, every day, day after day, for some 75 years now."

The celebrants were impressed and asked how he managed to keep up his rigorous fitness regime.

"Well, you see, my wife and I were married 75 years ago. On our wedding night, we made a solemn pledge: Whenever we had a fight, the one who was proved wrong would have to go outside and take a walk."

Happy anniversary!


Cheers,
Paul (A.)

Thanks, Paul (A.), though I should have saved this one for the next big anniversary, when I'll be 102.

WHOSE HUMANISM?

From the fourteenth century, there developed in Italy a new way of looking at the world which has come to be called humanism. Humanism can seem a difficult phenomenon to pin down and define, not least because no one used the word at the time. Early nineteenth-century historians newly coined it from words actually in use in the late fifteenth century, when it became common to talk about the liberal non-theological arts subjects in a university curriculum as 'humanae litterae' (literature human rather than divine in focus), while a scholar with a particular enthusiasm for these subjects was called a 'humanista.' A further complication is that 'humanist' has come to be used in modern times for someone who rejects the claims of revealed religion. This was not a feature of the movement we are considering. The vast majority of humanists were patently sincere Christians who wished to apply their enthusiasm to the exploration and proclamation of their faith. They were trying to restore a Christian perfection to humanity.

Diarmaid MacCullough in his massive and excellent book titled Christianity: the First Three Thousand Years

The 'new atheists' claim 'humanism' and 'humanist' for their exclusive use, but the terms originated in a Christian context. Not only did Christians have the terms first, early humanists knew their theology, which is not the case with a good many of the new atheists of today, those who wish to stamp out religion as an all-around pernicious influence throughout the world.

'Know your enemy,' as Sun Tzu said in The Art of War.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS TOGETHER - SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

THEN

June and Tom - September 13, 1961

AND NOW

Tom and June - September 13, 2011

Folks have asked us the secret of our long life together. Each long-married couple is unique, and what I say here is quite personal and should be read simply as an account of what I believe worked for us. First of all, I believe that we entered into marriage as a commitment for life. We intended for our relationship to endure, through good times and difficult times.

Next, at least for me, I believe it was better that Tom and I were friends first, and falling in love happened over a period of time. With the wisdom of hindsight, I think of the two or three boys and young men with whom I fell - as Jane Austen would say - violently in love. The relationships did not last, and if I had gone on to marry any of them, the marriages probably would not endured. One, I'm quite sure, would have failed rather spectacularly.

We'd never have made it without each of us having a sense of humor, plus neither of us will permit the other to take him/herself too seriously for very long.

We air our differences openly, and it's not always pretty, but when the argument is over, it is done, with no lengthy, pouty silences following.

We enjoy some of the same activities, and we go our different ways other times, which seems to have been good for our relationship.

And that's about it for wisdom from the aged - for now. I'm reminded of Eliot's words:

The only wisdom we can hope to acquire
Is the wisdon of humility: humility is endless.

The pictures are from our brunch/lunch over the weekend when the family gathered to celebrate our anniversary and the September birthdays of four members of the family: my son Patrick, my daughter Alison, my grandson Joey, and me. September seems to be a month for new life in our family. Our celebration was lovely.

The restaurant permitted us to bring our own champagne for a small corking fee. My friend Dennis, the psychologist, who was once a wine-seller, recommended several brands of the bubbly, and I was able to find Taittinger at our local market. I don't care for a good many champagnes, plus some of them give me a headache, but the Taittinger was perfect. Dennis described the brand as having a 'delicate style', which it did, indeed, and everyone enjoyed it. Best of all, I didn't get a headache.

WHAT TOM AND I HAVE WROUGHT

 

My son Patrick and his children, Joshua and Ashlynn, with cousin William

My daughter-in-law Cindy, their son Joey, and my son Tim

 

My grandsons Bryan and William, my daughter's boy friend Frank, and my daughter Alison

My grandson Andrew was absent from the gathering because he had scheduled his first driver's education lesson, and he would not, for the world, have missed. We missed not having Andrew with us, but I don't hold his decision against him.

Sunday morning at church, instead of the regular anniversary prayer for Tom and me, Fr Ron, our interim rector, asked the congregation to join with him to say the 'Blessing of a Marriage' from the marriage ceremony in The Book of Common Prayer. The prayer is lovely, and Tom and I were both quite moved and a bit teary-eyed.

O God, you have so consecrated the covenant of marriage that in it is represented the spiritual unity between Christ and his Church: Send therefore your blessing upon these your servants, that they may so love, honor, and cherish each other in faithfulness and patience, in wisdom and true godliness, that their home may be a haven of blessing and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, bless, preserve, and keep you; the Lord mercifully with his favor look upon you, and fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace; that you may faithfully live together in this life, and in the age to come have life everlasting. Amen.

Now you know the occasion for the dozen golden roses, which Tom had arranged to be on the table when we arrived at the restaurant. The children and Tom went all out for our celebration. I thank them all, and I love them all.

PLEASE PRAY FOR ARKANSAS HILBILLY

Our friend Arkansas Hillbilly is very down today and needs our prayers and encouragement. Pop over and tell him that you care.

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant David the help of your power for relief from his depression, that his sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

MORE ON ABP. ROWAN'S RESIGNATION(?) - 'OH, QUEEN ANNE'S DEAD'

Chris Hansen, an American expatriate now living in London, writes from over there on the article in the Telegraph and the rumors floating about regarding the resignation of Abp. Rowan Williams.

My first reaction was "Oh, Queen Anne's dead." (what you say in the UK when someone relates old news to you). Last year Rowan publicly stated that he would not serve until 70, and the current trend is for most bishops, except for those who love the office more than life itself, to retire around the age of 65.
....

One thing that Wynne-Jones got right is that the tenure of an ABC revolves wholly around the Lambeth Conference. In recent times only Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher stayed around for two Lambeths (he had to be told by his secretary in 1961 that the time had come for him to make a graceful, if tardy, exit). Every Archbishop since has been appointed long enough before a Lambeth Conference to do effective planning, and resigned at a time before the next one that would allow his successor to do the same.

Read the rest over there.

'GAME OFF' - BP. NICK ON ABP. ROWAN'S DEPARTURE

 

From Bishop of Bradford, Nick Baines' blog:

The game is on. Journalists have started their game of speculating without reason on the internal workings of the mind of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The whistle has blown, the runners are lined up, and now we’ll get a race to see who can guess the best story. How exciting… er… or maybe not quite.

Perhaps the chatter making its way around 'As the Anglican World Turns' is simply rumor based on wishful thinking. I can accept that.

But wait!

“Bishops are placing themselves under starter’s orders in the race to become next Archbishop of Canterbury”. Er… who and how? I understand the use of the metaphor, but it doesn’t work in this case. There is no race. There is no competition. There is no ‘finishing line’. The horses don’t know that they are running or where the jumps are that they didn’t know they were required to jump.

It simply doesn’t work like this. If any particular bishop was being considered, he probably wouldn’t know. He couldn’t influence the process anyway. Unlike some other Provinces of the Anglican Communion, there is no election to be fought, no lobbying to be done, no one to lobby and no ‘ultimate prize’. One newspaper report speaks of “some apparent jockeying for position among Dr Williams’ potential successors”. How would a potential successor actually do this ‘jockeying’? Just asking.

Although I am a foreigner and perhaps not all that knowledgeable about the inner workings of the Church of England, it beggars belief that Bp. Nick would have us believe that no English bishops, have ambitions and never, ever engage in back room maneuverings in attempts to have this bishop or that bishop or even themselves named to high positions.

Having said that, Bp. Nick may well be correct that the thinly sourced story in the Telegraph by Jonathan Wynne-Jones, which other news organizations seem to be picking up, is mostly rumor.

You’d have to be out of your mind to want to be Archbishop of Canterbury. My guess is that whoever is asked to do it next will have to be dragged to the seat.

Nevertheless, I'd guess that a few bishops may aspire to the position, but whether they're of sound mind, I'm not qualified to say.

Tune in later for the next episode of 'As the Anglican World Turns'.

GAWGEOUS OR WHAT?

 

One dozen lovely golden roses. I'll tell you all about them tomorrow.

HELP!

 

Who will come to my house and help me set up my new computer? I look at the parts to assemble the monitor stand, which are only about three in number, and I already feel defeated.

 

I revise my original question: Who will come to my house to set up my computer for me? If you're going to ask, ask big.