Psalm 23 ~ I shall return to dwell in the house of the Lord

Psalm 63:4

So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.^{[besides waters of rest]}
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness.^{[in paths of righteousness]}
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,waters.^{[valley of deep darkness]}
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely.^[Only] goodness and mercy ^{[steadfast love]} shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell.^{[shall return to dwell]} in the house of the Lord
forever.^{[for length of days]}

David lived a confusing life of contrasts. Overlooked son of from a father with eight sons. Hero of Saul. Friend to the court and prince. State Enemy. Mercenary. All the while anointed of God. And still David was empowered by the Holy Spirit to knowledgeably tell us about blessings and the expectation of Grace. Saying I shall return to dwell in the House of the Lord.


Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.

 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 

17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”


How Do We Approach God -

Matthew Henry points out while the 10 lepers were following the law to avoid human contact, and at the same time they were compelling a weary, travel worn Jesus to answer them. He did answer - and like Abraham and Namaan, action was required of them.

What does our Connection to God, our Father tell us -

One lone Samaritan stopped in verse 15. He understood to find the Source of his Healing. The healed man is in true understanding Jesus is Master. And in returning to Jesus, the clean, healed man is praised by Jesus Christ Himself for being unique. Raised above the status of sojourner. Not just along for the path. Deliberate. Faith has made him well and his path is established.

Wanting the Glory of God to be part of our lives -

David would understand the leper. So many of our Psalms come from David abiding as a shepherd in the field. David like the lepers, expected God to answer. And David wanted the glory of God to be part of his life. When David put forth his hands each day, David considered his position to one approved by God and looked over the responsibilities God gave him.

We all have a path to accomplish -

Like the clean, healed man they both had a path to accomplish. It would be easy to see David, being anointed as a child, lived a life of gratitude. If we look at what the parable can bring us today, we see very possibly like David the clean, healed man had much to look forward to return to.

Building ourselves in God -

Looking each day to find the day sufficient, giving God thanks, letting the troubles of today be for today. God tells him take the high path, his plans are within God's will, Faith in God makes hope, love create a well path. Gratitude enabling us to forward.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

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Leviticus 26:4 ~ yield their fruit

Leviticus 26:4
Then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.


Leviticus is mentioned and people groan. Have we changed much since our story was being the Children of Israel? Oddly enough, the Law was established to bring ...

... Blessings. Of the six pages in Biblical references two pages are the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses. Why so few mentions of blessings in the Bible?

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

With plans this large, God just doesn't have to gush. His yes is yes. His no is no. A promise does not require going on and on.

Amos 5:24
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Jesus spoke of rain

Matthew 5:45
That you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.


Into each life a little rain must fall. And what do we do with adversity. Do we sit and ask why me, declare life is unfair. I'm sure we all do that minus the Lord. But when we look to the example of Joshua. And interestingly enough there is one Jesus in the Bible, we know intimately, and that name in Aramaic is almost Joshua. Joshua took a situation that was unfathomably broken and kept working, kept hoping, in faith Joshua expected God to keep working today. And No One was listening to Joshua.

Moses faced many tremendous battles, finally Joshua had all the Children of Israel braced and willingly doing God's will and suddenly.... all the kings in the area decided to band together and wipe out this rag tag civilization. Amazing victories occurred. Because the people finally worked together.

So we see rain can be a very good thing, when adversity is used to keep moving forward. Keep the Faith. Hoping God is still at work today. (Jesus said that.) Joshua could have run into the Holy Land leaving behind the Children of Israel. Instead Joshua Loved. And through the Holy Spirit speaking in Joshua, He said as for me and my house, We Will Serve the LORD.

How did Joshua handle the victory?

Joshua 8:33-35
All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.

34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.


Joshua was not just blessing his own House. He was working to draw others into Loving and Trusting the Lord.

Then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

Isaiah 33:22
For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us.

Psalm 37:5
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.


Isaiah 30:18
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.


Isaiah 40:31
Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.


Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

2 Corinthians 4:1
Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.

2 Corinthians 4:8
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair

Isaiah 25:9
In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

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Psalm 134 ~ Come, bless the Lord, all you

Psalm 134

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place
and bless the Lord!

3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth!




Alice Roosevelt famously said, "If you have nothing nice to say, come sit next to me."

The Christian community is community and while we just might not buy into pet rocks, we sure spent money on books and t-shirts on the Prayer of Jabez, what, about twelve years ago, or so. In the 1980s, there was a run on angels and from the pulpit, you heard pros and cons on that topic.

Well, there is a slightly new trend with t-shirts and bumper stickers saying, "Sure Jesus loves you, but HE loves me better."

I love a good Christian discussion and apologize to our Pastor sending out his email on the Sunday sermon which really made me respond like Arnold in Mr. Carter's old tv-series. Oh me! Oh me!

We saw this kick off in Jacob's family - Joseph had a beautiful coat and stood up to say, "And When I am King of the Foooooooorest!" Didn't go off well for Joseph. Or maybe that did, it sorta depends if you are looking at it this way down Highway Six or that way. That's an Aggie reference, if you know what I mean. Mississippi Queen.

Okay, seriously now. Does God Almighty the Alpha and the Omega have favorites? We can trust God to tell us.

Malachi 1

1 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

“I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob's brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.

Evidently, we see God's favor by adversity and prosperity. Um, not exactly, just as there is no one answer to any circumstance, God is explaining His Heart to us. So, if we are pinging this argument around, maybe it's another grim example of the outrageousness of the Old Testament. And let's smile together, because the Old and New Testament have a few similarities.

Acts 13:22
And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’

Acts Thirteen is quoting to us, by extrapolation, 1 Samuel 13:14.

We clearly see Joseph had adversity, David and Joseph had both adversity and prosperity.

Okay, maybe you aren't convinced yet. I'll try some more.

Jesus spoke of defining people, in their walk on adversity and prosperity.

 Luke 13
 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? ³ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” 

1 Corinthians 2

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

Do we have any Christian flawed and loved saints in the New Testament with this topic? We do. And the topic is discussed by Paul. Who loved Timothy, as his son.

1 Timothy 3
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Puffed with conceit.

John's Gospel starts Chapter 21 this way:
After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.

And towards the end of the Chapter we find out this:
24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

And the same disciple tells us this:
John 13:23
One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side


Why do we say not to be a recent convert?

Because when Jesus tells us He overcomes the world, there is a time of transfiguration. Love blossoms. John saw the transfiguration and was never going to leave Jesus behind. Being adopted as Jesus carried the Cross for me.

And for you. God wants to save the Whole World. Jesus adopted Mary right after the Cross He carried for us. She was the first person He encountered rising and overcoming death. Who records this?

John 20
7 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Adoption. Into the Family of God.

Favorites? Do we favor our children? I'm flawed, when I favor one of my two sons -then they act human and I'm off to the next child. I see my children have different gifts and abilities - they need encouragement to see they are uniquely made, gifted, to be themselves. The people God created them to be. And talking to them, my heart sometimes breaks a little, they can't be more blessed knowing the unique, beautiful person they are and be more grateful.

People who LOVE want to share HIS Love for others. Just was we want our children to be in healthy love with themselves. Working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Not singing "Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble, when I'm perfect in every way."

Our Father God is Father. He is Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ the Risen Lord. He is Three in One. We set HIM first. And love others as ourselves. This community keeps us connected in gratitude, humility - the awe and inspiration of fellow believers drawing near to Worship and Praise Him.


Our deepest relationship with our Hero Jesus Christ starts as personal relationship and grows to become this... we rejoice to see Him Love and bless others.

Ephesians 4
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.


Lord Jesus Christ, go with me today... I need Thee. Much more than You shall need me. Let us count together, the blessings You have given me. Amen.

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Psalm 97 ~ Fire goes before him and burns up His adversaries all around.

Psalm 97

The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and burns up his adversaries all around.
4 His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;
worship him, all you gods!

8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.

10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown^[dawns] for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!


Prayer. The invitation to prayer is not from an angry Judge one must plead to. We had thirty Churches gather for the first time in 2011 and seven hundred people prayed for our county in January. Later in the summer there were tri-county fires so bad the relief shelter had to keep moving. People wanted to donate chapstick and t-shirts to the fire fighters and were told to not drive into the area. That might sound silly to Californians with fire history, but our County had not seen fires like this in two hundred years. And we had firefighters from Alaska arrive in Texas and from all over.

When you look at the photos later - the fires licked the buildings and left many, many structures intact.

Proverbs 3
25 Do not be afraid of sudden panic, or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes; 26 for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

The Lord loves big prayers. We live in the subtropics. Lately the dry subtropics. Why don't we remember to pray for weather in our areas. Not just in picnic weather. We all say we'd like to see the return of everyday slight showers to our area. Why not pray each day for the Country, the hope in our future, for our children, grandchildren and for the return of more normal weather patterns.

Practical prayer with a group effort.

Father God, our nation has some unrest. Give us direction and blessing. Let our news be more hopeful. Let our skies be fair and filled with forgiveness. Help us to build a strong Nation before You. And we shall give You the glory. Fathers return to sons. More meaningful events each day to fill a heart. And more brave courage You delight in. We ask in the name of Jesus. Always in hope adding Your will be done. Amen.

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Psalm 70 ~ May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

Psalm 70

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
2 Let them be put to shame and confusion
who seek my life!
Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
3 Let them turn back because of their shame
who say, “Aha, Aha!”

4 May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!


Isaiah 14
For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the Lord's land as male and female slaves. They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them.


When we look at the formation of the early Church, we see this began, where Jesus did not. In the 36 acres of the Temple, see The Book of Acts, Chapter 5

Acts 5:12-16

Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico ^[Porch] 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.


The Lord perfects the telling of His Story again and again. They were all healed.

Jesus departed to Heaven. He ascended into Heaven. Daniel told of Jesus' Ascension and His arrival to His Father.

Daniel 7
“I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

Jesus told us the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Jesus forgave His generation for His Cross and they lived until they were old. Jerusalem was destroyed at Jesus' natural death. The people Jesus healed stayed healed and even more were healed as the Holy Spirit began a new mission of the Lord God Almighty.

A man called John walked along side in Jesus in wonder, awe, fear and a place was struck inside John that would never allow John to separate from Jesus. John was so overcome with his eyes witnessing Jesus being proclaimed as Christ, Lord of All,  John never could find adequate words to describe what we blithely call the Transfiguration. When you have a quiet time, read the way this man called John wrote the first chapter of His Gospel. He is trying to find words to tell you of seeing Jesus as Divinity from this mountain he climbed with Jesus. John described Jesus and God very simply. God is Love.

The message of the Old Testament is the New Testament. The Story is Jesus Christ as Lord, with God's Word being fulfilled. God is great. 

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1 Timothy 3:14-16 ~ believed in throughout the world

1 Timothy 3:14-16

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.

Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great:

He was revealed in flesh,
vindicated in spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among Gentiles,
believed in throughout the world,
taken up in glory

~He was revealed in the flesh

John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

~vindicated in the spirit

John 1:-17
John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

~seen by angels

Luke 2:8-14
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

~proclaimed among Gentiles

Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

~believed in throughout the world

Revelation 21:22-27

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

~ taken up in glory

Revelation 21:1-4

Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

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1 Corinthians 13 ~ face to face

1 Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love!

Today, we had a discussion about Christian Fiction Books. I've read about 6 years of Christian Fiction Books, and I found them, at first, a little alarming. Wow, what better Christians and more saintly than I. Then interesting, wow, I thought I can learn. Then I decided, comfortably, it was dull. Okay, some I've remembered and treasured.

I read about a child who was learning about the Bible and was reading Genesis. She was asked by her priest what she thought. She said they seem to be a lot of friends and she liked that part. Friends, the priest asked? Yes, she explained, everyone 'knew' everyone else.

This ties together the point I'm trying to make. The Bible isn't Pollyana - sweetness, it's about real difficulties, real selfishness, real sin, inadvertant sin and incredible love and forgiveness. The Scriptures are about the power of love being squashed down " by trouble, persecution, the cares, the pleasures, the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things."
One of the greatest love stories in my life is my paternal grandmother. This isn't a Hallmark card or movie. One of my favorite movies has a scene, the main character goes back 20 years to high school, the most meaningful scene, she goes to see her living grandparents. Tears me up, tears me up. What a priviledge.

My grandmother has 4 great-grandchildren. 3 are named after her. My husband loves to recall my Mississippi Grandmother and her beautiful, gentle voice and aristocratic talk and ways. Such a gentle woman, believing life should be accomplished with a lot of Christian ethics. Her penmanship going back to being educated in small town, where penmanship was important. Having wonderful supportive, loving parents. Her love for her house - being one of the few not burned down "in the War of Northern Aggression." The Waaaaaarrrr of Noooorthrn Aggggresssionnnn, say it with me, there is no twang in this. (My history teacher, Mr. Wagner, loved to have me repeat this in Pennsylvania!)

Grandmother was born in the Mississippi Delta, in the era of Eudora Weldy, and she never belonged to or joined the popular racist club. She adored Veelma, her maid, for over 30 years. Veelma was the underprivileged, unacknowledged, illegitimate, half black, daughter of one of Oxford's doctors. She and grandmother stood and swept, yet all of Grandmother's old antebellum house looked a lot like Miss Haversham's, minus the wedding cake.

Her perfect childhood, her grandmothers she loved - living with her parents, her father's affluence, her loved remembered, discussed childhood home, her brothers she loved, her sister who annoyed her, her father saving from her from her mother's wrath when she ruined the car bumper and Pop secretly paid for the $16 ruined bumper. Falling in love with her brother's roommate from College; meeting the most handsome man in the world and marrying the man you can't live without. He was from a family with another fine house. He writes his aunt Hattie to say he is giving up alcohol to marry her. 

Alcoholism can take many years to sink you down. Alcoholism and alcoholic families have several courses; beat it, join it, enable it or leave it. Grandmother, being the gentle soul she was, joined it. We had a Thanksgiving one year, she became angered - this from the most dignified, gentle loving woman in the world - and took off her wig and threw it on the table & thundered about her new marriage (my grandfather had been dead for 15 years) to her new husband, an Episcopal priest. Robin Williams would say we were pretty Southern Episcopalian.

So.

This being said. When the great Chapter of Love is read or said, I never forget my Grandmother. When I grow old, I want to be the example of love she was to us. She found in us, absolute delight. Every time we saw her, she made sure to say, "I love you and I am so proud of you." Sincerity rang out. Sometimes she did without, to make sure we had something she wanted to give us. Grandmother knew we were parented, so she didn't parent us; she asked us what we thought and she would honestly discuss it. 

Grandmother wanted to know what interested us and she never encouraged us to be lawyers or doctors. Grandmother was interested in friendships and boyfriends. Her message was to forgive unkindness and to always remember the people the people who have been kind and loving to you and never to push them down. My Grandmother paid for my college education when my father scorned it. Grandmother was always astonished I had a job and flew all over the country. We grinned about it a lot.

At our Rehearsal Dinner, my Grandmother began her blessing of my marriage by saying she was, "As old as God". Really, Grandmother's love was a dress rehearsal for God's love.

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