Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Two Years in Texas

A little over two years ago, I sold my house, sold my things, loaded my children and remaining belongings into my car, and moved to Texas. 

Some things about Texas have been just as I expected.  For instance, it's hot.

Other things have been quite unexpected. For instance, I never would have dreamed that Mom and Dad would move to Israel just a few short months after my arrival.

Here are the things I don't like about Texas (don't worry, it's a short list): the bugs, the driving.

Here are the things I like about Texas: the city, the parks, the ocean, the sky, the weather (yes, really), the visitors from around the world, my family, the other families, my nieces and nephew, all the children and babies, the young people, the psalm singing, the church.

A quote that fits:
The true visible church, where God's ordinances are set up as he hath
appointed, where his word is purely preached, is the most beautiful
thing under heaven, and there is God's glory set forth and manifested
more clearly than in all the Lord's handiwork beside in heaven or earth.

...David Dickson

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Goodbye, and A Psalm Sing

Early this morning, Mom and Dad packed up their things and headed off to the airport.  They're going back to Israel for another year of work and study.  It was nice to have them here for a good long visit, but we will be missing them in days ahead.

While Mom and Dad were here, we did a lot of visiting with friends.  Mom and Dad got to meet the two granddaughters that had been born while they were away.  Mom took lots of photos and videos of her children and grandchildren.  Perhaps we'll see a few of them on her blog in coming weeks?

Last Saturday, we headed over to James and Hayley's new house for a psalm sing/housewarming party.  It was nice to attend a psalm sing that I didn't have to host!  Not that I mind hosting, I enjoy it actually, but it's also nice to have a break now and then.

We sang two selections.  The second tune, Palestrina, is one of my favorites. 

Psalm 30:1-5 to St. Minver


Psalm 86:14-17 to Palestrina. 

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Psalm 133

We sang and recorded Psalm 133 at our last psalm sing, a few weeks ago.  But this one needed a little extra editing; hence the delay in posting..

Psalm 133 is one of my favorite psalms.  "Behold, how good a thing it is...in unity to dwell!"  I love the exclamation point at the end of that verse, in the Scottish Metrical Psalter.  Truly, how good a thing it is!

Psalm 133 to Crimond
 

1 Behold, how good a thing it is,
and how becoming well,
Together such as brethren are
In unity to dwell!

2 Like precious ointment on the head,
that down the beard did flow,
Ev'n Aaron's beard, and to the skirts
did of his garments go.

3 As Hermon's dew, the dew that doth
on Sion' hills descend:
For there the blessing God commands,
life that shall never end.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Writing

Every once in a while, I find it necessary to answer the question "So, what do you do?" and I am never quite sure what to say.  I usually say a few things about being a [single] mom, and homeschooling, and keeping house; oh, and I sell old books and things online.

But what I really want to say is, "I write."  I am always writing, or thinking about writing.  Writing has been a part of my identity from an early age; and I've had encouragement from others to write, starting with my fifth grade teacher, who told me to be sure to let him know when my first book was published, because he would be buying a copy (I haven't forgotten, Mr. Vergunst!)  There were other teachers and professors, too, who seemed to assume that writing would be a part of my future.

But if I say that I write, I will be expected to explain what it is that I write, exactly; so I refrain from calling myself a writer.  Yes, I am always writing, or thinking about writing.  But most of what I write never makes it to paper, or is deleted rather than posted.

I do want to write more, but what do I write, exactly?  I once thought I would be a journalist, and I did write a couple of articles for a small-town newspaper, the sort you pick up for free at your local grocery store; but I soon realized that I wasn't fond of deadlines, and dropped that idea.  I could write a book, but about what?  Should I focus on doing a better job of keeping a journal, or writing to friends?

I would like to post more often to this blog.  But it's hard to know what to write about.  I feel uneasy at the thought of writing publicly about some of the topics that I think about most often.  Some topics are too personal to post to a blog when you don't know who your readers are, or what they are looking for (...are you just here for the psalm recordings?)  Other topics might be of broad interest but might also be controversial (homeschooling) and would therefore require such a degree of patience and wisdom that I'm not sure I'm up to the task.  And other topics...well I might enjoy discussing some things (theology and church matters) with friends and family, but I'm not so sure that I'm qualified to write about them on my blog. :)

Still, I feel that I ought to be spending less time writing Facebook comments (and yes, Facebook comments do take a lot of time, since I feel compelled to proofread, edit, and re-write even on Facebook) and more time on proper writing.  So, consider yourself warned: I am going to try to be more diligent about writing for my blog--and actually publishing the posts. :)  Don't worry, I'll still post psalm recordings as often as I can, and pictures of cute babies and children.