Remember the thing I blogged about the last two Tuesdays?
Well, last night it didn't happen again! Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

What did happen last night was that my sister came, bringing with her Dibbuns Numbers Two and Three, who've been at my mom's for longer than I can remember, at least three weeks! On Thursday, Husband and Dibbuns Numbers One and Four will be home and we'll finally be all together again after being scattered across the face of the earth for nearly a month.

Me and my faulty memory
I was at Ladies Against Feminism last week and took a circuitous route through their links eventually winding up at this page, which seems vaguely familiar. Did one of you ladies blog about these books recently? If not, have any of you read any of them and would you recommend them?

I love Dorothy Sayers!

Whatever fantastic pictures she had from time to time conjured up of married life with Peter, none of them had ever included attendance at village concerts. But of course they would go. She understood now why it was that with all his masking attitudes, all his cosmopolitan self-adaptations, all his odd spiritual reticences and escapes, he yet carrried about with him that permanent atmosphere of security. He belonged to an ordered society, and this was it. More than any of the friends in her own world, he spoke the familiar language of her childhood. In London, anybody, at any moment, might do or become anything. But in a village - no matter what village - they were all immutably themsleves; parson, organist, sweep, duke's son and doctor's daughter, moving like chessmen upon their alloted squares. She was curiously excited. She thought, "I have married England." Her fingers tightened on his arm.
~from Busman's Honeymoon

If I were poetic I'd write an ode to the quiet joy of standing in my kitchen listening to the percolator and talking with Lilian as she eats her lunch, and looking out the window to see the napkins and t-shirts and baby dresses dancing on the clothesline.

Thursday's Thankful Three
1. Internet friends who pray for me when I need it
2. Mrs. Brown, the widow from church who stayed with my babies for more than four hours on Tuesday so I could rest, and spent the whole time reading to them
3. Feather pillows, a comfy bed, sweet dreams, and a good night's sleep - I dreamt that Doug Wilson blogged, but that, evidently, is too much to hope for!

Now it's your turn - what are y'all thankful for?

Well that was a little bit annoying!
Y'all remember what I blogged last Tuesday? Well, it happened again last night, in just the same way, except of course I hadn't had the doctor appointment in the afternoon, and my neighbor across the street took me to the hospital while his wife watched my babies.

I'm going to see my regular doctor about this and get allergy-tested later this week. And tomorrow my mommy is coming back to take care of me. :-) I spoke too soon. My mom can't come after all, but I do have two ladies from church who are looking in on me, and the neighbors across the street and next door. :-)

Did something today I've never done before - picked corn! I got two dozen ears out of the garden, and opened up two of them. They're plump and juicy and beautiful. Unfortunately, my gardening books only tell me how to grow stuff. They don't tell me what to do with it when it's done, so now what? Am I supposed to shuck it all now, or what?

Also, I saw something very strange inside of what's supposed to be an ear of corn, also unfortunately I couldn't tell if it was a disease or a colony of bugs or a monster from outer space. =8^0

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Collect for the day from the Episcopal Lectionary

Yesterday, when I was trying to find a hymn for today based upon today's Psalm, the 66th, part of which is quoted below my blog title, I found this one which I'd never seen before:

And truly it is a most glorious thing
Thus to hear men pray and God’s praises sing,
O how great comfort is it now to see—
The churches to enjoy full liberty.
And to have the Gospel preachèd here with power,
And such wolves repelled as all would else devour.

But God will still for His people provide
Such as be able them to help and guide,
If they cleave to Him and do not forsake—
His laws and truth and their own ways do take.
If thou hast viewed the camp of Israel,
How God in the wilderness with them did dwell.

His great and marvelous works they here saw,
And He them taught in His most holy law,
A small emblem hereof thou mayest see,
How God hath dealt with them in some degree,
For much of Himself they now there have seen,
And marvelous to them His works have been.

Words: William Bradford, 1623
Music: “Song 24 (Gibbons),” Orlando Gibbons, 1623

It is the only hymn written by William Bradford, and I thought it particularly fitting for this weekend on which we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Clothed With Christ in Worship
This is so good I'm quoting the whole thing. It is far too easy to become complacent about our sin and need for a Saviour, isn't it?

Never forget that God sees the heart. He knows every thought, every intention, every motive, every excuse, every rationalization, and every motion in your mind.

This is the God you gather before in worship. Nothing is obscure to Him simply because you are surrounded by others. Nothing is hidden from Him simply because others are older, or younger. Nothing can be pushed off on others.

You appear before the Lord naked, and this is why you must take care to clothe yourselves with Christ. Every other attempt at clothing yourself is futile, and insulting to Him who made the wedding garment, and graciously offered it for you to wear.

Look down at your covenantal hands. You hold a priceless robe given to you, without price, without cost to you. That robe was purchased by the blood of the Son of God, that robe is the Son of God Himself.

You have come to worship His Father, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He has offered you this priestly garment. You had better put it on.

Thursday's Thankful Thoughts
I thought it would be fun and constructive to post three things every Thursday for which I'm thankful, as part of my learning to thank God for everything. I picked Thursday for several reasons: the alliteration is fun, I was born on a Thursday, Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday... Well, you might as well know that I was born on Thanksgiving - does God have a sense of humor, or what?

So, this week's list (and please note, I didn't make any effort to come up with "spiritual" things here):
1) My dear husband gets up early every single day and goes to work without complaining, even though his workplace is a real drag (Okay, this one's a gimme - every wife is told to be thankful for this, but really, I think Mike is great for sticking with the military for 21 years. I'd've been courtmartialed a long time ago. And besides, it's the first thing I thought of).
2) There's a mourning dove singing outside the window right now.
3) We have air conditioning, and Mike lets me run it as much I want, even though he's not nearly as hot-natured as I am.

I'd love to read what y'all are thankful for today.

:-)