4th Sunday After Epiphany

Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the LORD;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

“Be perfect”

Just finished watching Friday Night Lights. Great depiction of football in the South.

Week in review

Saturday – Woke up with a scratchy throat. Went to Christin’s to get some clothes for my sister’s garage sale benefitting UNICEF’s tsunami relief effort. Spent the afternoon with my grandmother (aka Bana). Dinner with BJ, Fr. & Mrs. Riley and Fr. Powell. (BJ and I got in the truck after and looked @ each other and said at the same time “That was fun”). It went really well. We didn’t have any awkward silent pauses and laughed a lot. Spent the night @ Bana’s.
Sunday – Throat still stratchy. Choir rehearsal @ 8:30. Joint service @ 9:15. Annual parish meeting with potluck lunch. Rode around Monroe by myself. Took a nap in the mall parking lot. Time to go to confirmation class. Car wouldn’t start. Dead battery. Called mom. She came all the way to Monroe to jump me off. Wanted to go to confirmation class but was strongly advised to come back to Ruston and get a new battery. Wal-Mart. Watched Emily’s boyfriend change my battery. Home. Sleep, sorta. Work.
Monday – Sleep. Throat in pain. Work.
Tuesday – Sleep. Melody & Micah @ Adrienne’s. Adrienne’s red beans/rice and coleslaw. Walmart for throat medicine. Work.
Wednesday – Sleep. Throat better but voice messed up. 1st choir practice that I could attend since switching to graveyards and I had to miss it. Sloppy roast beef poboy from Papa Joe’s for “dinner”. Work.
Thursday – Sleep, sorta. Good talk with Ashley. Bible study. Voice ok enough to sing. Work.
Friday – Chicken purchase after work and distribution. Sleep. So horse I could sing bass. No work this weekend! YAY! I can sleep normal! Nothing planned really for this weekend other than sleep @ normal hours & clean house tomorrow. Going to Knox Sunday I think.

“Use it or lose it”

Two very good quotes and reminders on the dangers of having a 45-minute conversation with a blogger that you haven’t talked to since before Christmas.

“My sponge is sitting on the back of the sink, all dried up, and I’m retarded.”

“The icon and shortcut is there but the file has been deleted out of my brain!”

“Lee-lee” and Julie & the boys

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3rd Sunday in Epiphany

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,
great David’s greater Son!
Hail, in the time appointed,
his reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
to set the captive free,
to take away transgression,
and rule in equity.

He comes, with succour speedy,
to those who suffer wrong;
to help the poor and needy,
and bid the weak be strong;
to give them songs for sighing,
their darkness turn to light,
whose souls, condemned and dying,
were precious in his sight.

He shall come down like showers
upon the fruitful earth;
love, joy, and hope, like flowers,
spring in his path to birth;
before him, on the mountains,
shall peace the herald go;
and righteousness, in fountains,
from hill to valley flow.

Kings shall fall down before him,
and gold and incense bring;
all nations shall adore him,
his praise all people sing;
to him shall prayer unceasing
and daily vows ascend,
his kingdom still increasing,
a kingdom without end.

O’er every foe victorious,
he on his throne shall rest;
from age to age more glorious,
all-blessing and all-blest.
the tide of time shall never
his covenant remove;
his name shall stand for ever,
his changeless Name of love.

Happy B-day…

Katherine! I can’t believe you’re only 20!

BustedTees

These crack me up! Thanks for the link Barlow.

Come on, let’s go swing

I’m moving back to the graveyard shift starting next week. The supervisor on that shift really wants me back, and I want to go back. Being on evenings I never get to see my family and friends. Plus, I’ll get to go to choir practice on Wednesdays, but I’ll miss the Eucharist service @ lunchtime on Wednesdays which I’ve become so fond of going to.

Babies, babies everywhere but not a one to hold (yet)

It must be in the water right now. Adrienne, Jessica, Moriah, Katherine, Melody, Jennifer, Rachel and maybe soon Rachel. I can’t wait to see all these babies.

Confession of St. Peter

Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, so that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A staple in the community closes after 140 years of business.

After 140 years of continuous business operation, an announcement was made today that Ruston’s historic downtown retail anchor Lewis & Company will close sometime in March of this year
…
“This has been a very difficult decision for our family to make,” said Richard Lewis, VP of the company. “Unfortuantely, the dynamics of retailing have changed dramatically in the last 20 years, making it very difficult for independent retailers such as Lewis’ to compete with national chains and regional shopping centers. Closing the store is really more an end of and era than an end to a business enterprise.”
…
Until its spring closing date, Lewis & Company Ltd. will remain the oldest continuously operating family owned retail business in Louisiana. The company was founded in Trenton, Louisiana on the banks of the Ouachita Rivers in 1865 as the Kidd-Lewiw General Mercantile Company. Its founders subsequently changed the name to Lewis & Company in 1884.

For those of you that know Lewis’, it really is an anchor in downtown. Even though they were way overpriced, they still had things that aren’t available anywhere else in Ruston. I know for a fact that my mom buys glass pitchers from there for every bride she buys a gift for (right, Ashley, Adrienne, and Beth?). The face of downtown will definately change, and the Peach Festival will probably never be the same. Part of me wants to say that they brought it on themselves. Like another family-owned business in Ruston that recently lost its business, it’s been floating around that the first generation made the money, the second generation saved the money, and now the grandkids are spending the money and they can’t stay afloat.

2nd Sunday after Epiphany

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

What star is this, with beams so bright,
More lovely than the noonday light?
’Tis sent to announce a newborn King,
Glad tidings of our God to bring.

’Tis now fulfilled what God decreed,
“From Jacob shall a star proceed”;
And lo! the Eastern sages stand
To read in heaven the Lord’s command.

While outward signs the star displays,
An inward light the Lord conveys,
And urges them, with force benign,
To seek the Giver of the sign.

To God the Father, God the Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One,
May every tongue and nation raise
An endless song of thankful praise!

oh , what to blog

I want to blog something, but don’t know what. Hamsterball is fun.

You make me want to “la la”

I “auditioned” for the choir at GEC today and will probably start singing with them in the next couple of weeks once my cassack (sp?) comes in. I haven’t sung in a choir (other than congregational) since high school. I sang soprano then, but since I was trying to sing harmony at Knox, my voice has lowered to an alto/second soprano. The choir director seemed to like my voice, and everybody was excited. “We need a strong alto!” They already have some good altos, but are lacking in volume and confidence.

Now the only thing that will top of these last two weeks with a bang is being offered the IT job.