Reflections on other inaugurations

Yesterday was a memorable day, reflecting upon other inaugural scenes.

January 20, 1969, I was in school in Washington, D.C. We walked from our campus to the Capitol grounds, then down Pennsylvania Avenue to watch Nixon's inaugural parade. Caught a glimpse of Tricia Nixon's blonde hair in the limo as they passed by.

January 20, 1973, was a Hooray-We-Don't-Have-to-Go-to-Work Day. A blank in my mind. This was Watergate Era. I lived in metropolitian Washington during Nixon's terms. As a history teacher, it was a great place to live and work, to see political history in the making.

January 20, 1977, my mother and I, with a newborn daughter on my lap, watched Carter's inauguration. He quoted Micah 6:8: "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God" He walked down Pennsylvania Avenue with his wife Rosalynn, and daughter Amy dancing at his side. A humble President for the People.

Obama said humbly at the luncheon speech (don't have the exact words), "It's not about me. It is about the American people." We are bonded together.

On the pulse of a new day

Maya Angelou said it best at Clinton's inauguration. Well worth repeating today, January 20, 2009, a new day for Americans everywhere. Some are scared and anxious, perhaps even angry. Some are hopeful and eager. No two of us are the same.

Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes, into
Your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.

Here is a link to the video along with her words in the sidebar under "more info".

New Beginnings - God in the Details

January 20, 1993, I sat alone in my classroom watching the Inauguration. This was my introduction to Maya Angelou and her On the Pulse of Morning, beginning A Rock, A River, A Tree.

How well I remember the moment -- it still brings tears to my eyes. One verse:

"So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew
The African and Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh,
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the Tree.

Today, the first and last of every Tree
Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the River."

Rivers -- water of life. The Lord -- Water of Life. Psalm 1:3 speaks of the individuals who are rooted in Him. They are strong, like a tree planted by a river. The tree produces fruit in season, and its leaves don't die. Everything they do will succeed. NCV

I've always liked trees, have many memories of being under the old oak trees on my Grandmother's farm Oak Lawn. Playing pretend tea-parties under the willow tree at Aunt Minerva's. The only card of mine that Stampin Up put on its Stamper's Showcase back in 1997 features a tree.

A few years after Maya Angelou spoke eloquently at Clinton's Inauguration, she came to Knoxville. A group of us took some students. I sat by Sakina. She was literally bouncing up and down in her seat spreading her enthusiasm throughout the theater.

Tuesday, we'll see another poet, Elizabeth Alexander, give her inaugural poem. My friend, Julie, tells more about her at Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast. One excerpt:

“…Poetry is what you find
in the dirt in the corner,

overhear on the bus, God
in the details, the only way

to get from here to there…”

God is in the details.

Poe

Poetry for a new beginning

1961 Robert Frost at Kennedy's Inauguration

It was a cold windy snowy day. Frost wrote Dedication specifically for the occasion. The sun blinded him, the wind shook the paper he was holding. Frost then recited from memory his 1941 poem The Gift Outright

"The land was ours before we were the land's.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours......

Something we were withholding made us weak.
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright...."

Those words! So appropriate in 1941 when penned, 1961 when recited, and today. What are we withholding? What can we give?

I was a Baby Boomer in Junior High. We watched the inaugural events on the evening news. We Baby Boomers considered Kennedy part of us -- he was young, he was vibrant. Earlier this week I was shocked to realize he was born in 1917, long before the boomer generation. It was a new generation for the presidency.

Tomorrow, reflections on other Inaugurations.

Through time -- was, is and is to come

The first attribute we are studying in the His Holy Name challenge is Holy. Kari Jobe's Revelation song is so lovely, therefore I chose Revelations 4:8b .

Last Wednesday night, we had a song fest of the ten most-loved songs sung during worship in 2008. 1300 people in one room praised the Lord, it was a moving night. The Revelation song was voted number 3 by the people.

The song begins "Worthy is the Lamb." Becky Adams' testimony connected with the Revelation song is worth reading.

The stamps used are Almighty God by Unity Stamps and a stamp of the 10,000 year clock from the Long Now Foundation. I had the privilege of visiting the foundation store in San Francisco a year ago. An awesome place to visit. The cardstock from Basic Grey Archaic collection looks like planets traveling through space and time.

So awesome to know our Holy God was, and is, and is to come -- no matter what year humanity determines it is.

Tomorrow, I'll reflect on inaugurations of the past.

Rulers - old and new

Beth Moore's blog reminds us it is time for a new memory verse. Inauguration Day is next week. Things at school have been rough especially for the principals. So I chose 1 Timothy 2:2 New Century Version

Pray for rulers and for all who have authority so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God.

The Mines

Whenever I went back to work after a long break, I mentally sang "heigh ho back to the salt mines we go." When I read the lyrics on Sunday, I realized the seven dwarves work in a diamond mine. Hey, it has been decades since I saw the movie!

Driving to school on Monday, it hit me..... our students are diamonds. Mining diamonds is hard work, but it has been a privilege to watch them grow from preschool and beyond graduation. Several are on Facebook. Others I see around town and at homecoming. What a joy!

Job 28, referring to wisdom, begins and ends:
"Gold and silver are mined, then purified; the same is done with iron and copper.... God told us, "Wisdom means that you respect me, the Lord, and turn from sin." CEV

Heigh ho!

Heigh ho, heigh ho! What a delightful song and tune. It runs through my head whenever it is time to go back to work.

Ways to love thee

The first song in this weekend's church service was Lincoln Brewster's Love the Lord.
Lyrics are here or here.
It reminded me of a 2007 card I made for a scripture swap on the word strength.

How do you love the Lord?

Stamp - Penny Black's chicky work-out. Sentiment - computer generated.

No excuses!

Meet my grandmother, Jessie Taylor Dean, on her 102nd birthday, July 1993. She's next to her 30th great-grandchild, Ryan, my son.

Some time after this birthday, she was playing Scrabble with my Aunt Nell. Aunt Nell asked her, "Where's the dictionary?"
Gran replied, "Over there on the sofa."
"Why is it on the sofa?"
Gran: "I was teaching myself the Greek alphabet."

How often do we make excuses? I'm too old. I can't read. I don't understand the Bible. I'm not good enough. I'm too busy.

Here's a super You Tube video The March of the Unqualified.

Hop in line!

P.S Gran passed away in 1997 -- will have more stories and photos of her later.

Jeremiah's joke on me

Beth Moore's blog, Living Proof Ministries, spoke to my heart yesterday when I discovered it. The next step was to choose a scripture to memorize. Reading the scriptures others have chosen was moving. As of now, she has 2308 comments.

I decided on Jeremiah 15:16. A joke on myself because the mandatory Bible 101 class in college was on the book of Jeremiah. I don't remember a thing about it except I hated the class to the point of making a D in the course. Immaturity of a 18 year old!

NIrV gives Jeremiah 15:16 as
When I received your words, I ate them.
They filled me with joy.
My heart took delight in them.
Lord God who rules over all,
I belong to you.

So wonderful to belong to Him! Knowing you belong gives a sense of security.

Bible Gateway, as you may know, gives many Bible translations for verses. NETBible, though, has translations on a single page. Give it a try in the side-bar. Makes it easy-peasy to cut and paste on a document for further study. Reading different translations gives me "a-ha" moments of understanding. Thank you, God, for your Word, and all the ways to receive it.

The next post will be about the most Christian woman I know. Here's a tiny hint. Can't wait for you to "meet" her.

New Year Challenges

A new year!
New challenges.
A new start.
First comes Patter's His Holy Name challenge. Click on the blinkie above. It is on Splitcoaststampers too.

Also comes Beth Moore's Siesta Scripture Memory Team.

How exciting!

Hopefully this teeny-tiny simple blog will keep me accountable.