Weekend notes

It was a somewhat momentous weekend.
For it we were blessed with very fine weather.

First of all we had a large gathering of women at my house for Andrea, including her birth-mother, her sisters, her birth-grandmother, our Oma, our deceased son's birth-mother and more family, friends and neighbors, also the wife of our dear pastor (who is quite ill), who baptized both bride and groom,  the groom's mother, safely back from Afghanistan.  It was a wonderful to have them all together.  We had a lot of fun and the Erdbeerbowle disappeared in no time.  I should have made twice as much (or three times as much).

At the end of it I was kind of emotionally drained but grateful for some many great people in my life.  Really, truly, truly.  The birthfamilies, especially, have my complete respect.  They have been  tremendous over the years.

Marilyn P.  brought me some begonias, which are very special. 

At the end, I just sat on my front porch and listened to some Luther hymns on my I Pod and discovered one I had never listened to before.

"The Unwise tongue of man may say,
we give God honor royal.
But by their actions men display
a life that is disloyal
to God's most holy will untrue...
by the things they do;
they abandoned virtue."

Interesting.  Never sung one like that.  Not one with the word "virtue" in it.  Dr. Patrick from Augustin College always talks about virtue in relation to a philosophy of  justice (vs. "values").  I told him, it did not sound like Lutheran-speak to me, but another professor there, disagreed.  I wonder what it is in German.

Also, I managed to read all of Horton's "Christless Christianity".  Interesting, too.  I understand some of my friends' expressions better now.  It seems like a very worthwhile critique of American religion.  I don't find that I have been part of what he analyzes in the cultures I have inhabited, personally, to a great extent.  The closest that comes to it, is my Mormon friend's definition of religion as total involvement, laws for everything and faith based on emotion.  I am thinking about how it does or does not apply to a large church I am familiar with.

My husband has also scaled new height of achievement. Since the men were not welcome at the ladies' party, some were put to tree felling and mulch making.  This is a new skill for Martin, jack of all possible trades.  View the accomplished task. 

He was also very grateful at the end of the day, that all was done without injury. He also quite pleased with his pile of mulch.