"The Veterans of the Battle of Bunker Hill" by Daniel Webster




"The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775"
by John Trumbull, 1786

 

"This burst of eloquence is from Daniel Webster's celebrated oration, delivered on the occasion of the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker's Hill monument on June 17, 1825. It was the 50th anniversary of that battle in the presence of a vast multitude of people, among whom were Lafayette and the survivors of the battle." -- paraphrased from Swinton's Fifth Reader and Speaker, (published 1883), p. 321f

I hope my webinar students will read this speech through several times carefully. The first time, simply read it for the sense of the words. What is Mr. Webster saying? Why do you think he chose the particular words he chose? Are there any long, difficult words in this speech or are most of them short and familiar? Why?

The second time through, notice the imagery -- take note of metaphors, similes and personification, in particular. Are his word pictures strong? Why?

The third time you read it, notice the sentence structure. Are the sentences mostly long or short or a combination of both? How is the speech structured? Does he make his main points first or build up to them? See if you can make an outline of the speech.

The final time through, read the speech aloud, slowly and with emphasis on the words which you think he may have emphasized as he looked out at Lafayette and the other survivors of this momentous battle. Read it in front of a mirror and rate your delivery. How is your posture? Are you looking your 'audience' in the eye? Are there effective pauses in the right places? When you think you've perfected your delivery enough, practice reading it in front of your family and ask them for suggestions. You may be called on to deliver an important speech some day. Here's a chance to develop confidence.

If you have time, try to commit a portion of this important speech to memory.


"Venerable men! You have come down to us from a former generation. Heaven has bounteously lengthened out your lives, that you may behold this joyous day. You are now where you stood fifty years ago, this very hour, with your brothers and your neighbors, shoulder to shoulder, in the strife for your country. Behold, how altered! The same heavens are indeed over your heads; the same ocean rolls at your feet: but all else how changed! You hear now no roar of hostile cannon, you see no mixed volumes of smoke and flame rising from burning Charlestown. The ground strewed with the dead and the dying; the impetuous charge; the steady and successful repulse; the loud call to repeated resistance; a thousand bosoms freely and fearlessly bared in an instant to whatever of terror there may be in war and death--all these you have witnessed, but you witness them no more. All is peace.


"The heights of yonder metropolis [Boston], its towers, and roofs, which you then saw filled with wives and children and countrymen in distress and terror, and looking with unutterable emotions for the issue of the combat, have presented you today with the sight of its whole happy population, come out to welcome and greet you with a universal jubilee. Yonder proud ships, by a felicity of position appropriately lying at the foot of this mount, and seeming fondly to cling around it, are not means of annoyance to you, but your country's own means of distinction and defense.


"All is peace; and God has granted you this sight of your country's happiness, ere you slumber in the grave. He has allowed you to behold and to partake the reward of your patriotic toils; and he has allowed us, your sons and countrymen, to meet you here, and in the name of the present generation, in the name of your country, in the name of liberty, to thank you.


"But, alas! You are not all here! Time and the sword have thinned your ranks. Prescott, Putnam, Stark, Brooks, Read, Pomeroy, Bridge [these were all distinguished officers in the battle of Bunker's Hill], our eyes seek for you in vain amid this broken band. You are gathered to your fathers, and live only to your country in her grateful remembrance and your own bright example. But let us not too much grieve that you have met the common fate of men. You lived at least long enough to know that your work had been nobly and successfully accomplished. You lived to see your country's independence established, and to sheathe your swords from war. On the light of liberty you saw arise the light of peace, like 'another morn, risen on mid-noon;' and the sky on which you closed your eyes was cloudless.


"But ah! Him! [Warren] The first great martyr in this great cause! Him! The premature [untimely] victim of his own self-devoting heart! Him! The head of our civil councils, and the destined leader of our military bands, whom nothing brought hither but the unquenchable fire of his own spirit! Him! Cut off by Providence in the hour of overwhelming anxiety and thick gloom; falling ere he saw the star of his country rise; pouring out his generous blood like water, before he knew whether it would fertilize a land of freedom or of bondage! How shall I struggle with the emotions that stifle the utterance of thy name! Our poor work may perish, but thine shall endure. This monument may molder away; the solid ground it rest upon may sink down to a level with the sea: but thy memory shall not fail. Wheresoever among men a heart shall be found that beats to the transports of patriotism and liberty, its aspirations shall be to claim kindred with thy spirit."

Daniel Webster

Everyday Language and Salads

"If your every-day language is not fit for a letter or for print, it is not fit for talk. And if, by any series of joking and fun, at school or at home, you have got into the habit of using slang in talk, which is not fit for print, why, the sooner you get out of it the better." -- Edward Elliott Hale, April 3, 1822 – June 10, 1909






What's the Christian life all about? Well, first and last, grace...lots of it overflowing, bounteous, free...



After that, sanctification, or growing in grace, putting off and putting on. In a word, (which is one of my favorite terms): refinement.



I'm all about language these days so I listen carefully to what I read and hear. Television and magazine ads just love sound bites, as they try to say more in concentrated words...short, pithy words. Intellectuals try to impress us with their long words and provocative terminology. We as Christians need to think carefully about the words we use, in everyday conversation, in the words we fill our minds with and in the writing we offer the world.



The term, gravitas, or 'weighty' best describes the kind of words with which we as Christians need to be most familiar--words that convey deep meanings, not words that are reflective of the godless culture around us. Are you infected with the slang of this ungodly culture? I admit, it's extremely difficult to avoid it and in not avoiding it, we are all infected, to one degree or another, by it. I challenge you to cast it off. Make it a goal this year to put off the language of this ungodly culture and put on the 'language of Canaan.'



Refinement project: clean up your language. Adopt words with godly 'gravitas.' You and all around you will be glad. And you will most likely honor the Lord as you succeed.



However, heavy, meaningful words aren't necessarily the long, apparently impressive ones. Sometimes less is more--here's an example from the 19th century. Here's a poem about short words that I read last night during our webinar. The author was Joseph Addison Alexander (1809-1860) who was a student of Charles Hodge at Princeton Seminary in the mid-19th century. He later became a colleague of Dr. Hodge as a professor at the old Princeton. [Sadly, the modern Princeton has become very liberal.]



Charles Hodge said of his colleague, "In the death of Joseph Addison Alexander we have lost our great glory and defense. Permit me to express my own individual convictions. I regard Dr. Joseph Addison Alexander as incomparably the greatest man I ever knew--as incomparably the greatest man our church has ever produced. His thorough orthodoxy, his fervent piety, humility, faithfulness in the discharge of his duties, and reverence for the Word of God, consecrated all his other gifts. He glorified the Word of God in the sight of his pupils beyond what any man I ever saw had the power of doing."

The Power of Short Words

by Joseph Addison Alexander

Think not that strength lies in the big round word,

Or that the brief and plain must needs be weak.

To whom can this be true who once has heard

The cry for help, the tongue that all men speak

When want or woe or fear is in the throat,

So that each word gasped out is like a shriek

Pressed from the sore heart, or a strange, wild note

Sung by some fay or fiend? There is a strength

Which dies if stretched too far or spun too fine,

Which has more height than breadth, more depth

Than length.

Let but this force of thought and speech be mine,

And he that will may take the sleek fat phrase,

Which glows and burns not, though it gleam and shine;

Light, but not heat—a flash, but not a blaze!

Nor mere strength is it that the short word boasts:

It serves of more than fight or storm to tell—

The roars of waves that clash on rock bound coasts,

The crash of tall trees when the wild winds swell,

The roar of guns, the groans of men that die

On blood stained fields. It has a voice as well

For them that far off on their sick-beds lie,

For them that weep, for them that mourn the dead;

For them that laugh, and dance, and clap the hand.

To Joy’s quick step as well as Grief’s slow tread,

The sweet, plain words we learn at first keep time;

And though the theme be sad or gay or grand,

With each, with all, these may be made to chime,

In thought or speech or song, in prose or rhyme.

Perhaps some of you will remember from our first webinar taught last fall that Anglo-Saxon words are the strongest in the English language. In this poem, of the 289 one-syllable words employed, only 23 are not of Anglo-Saxon origin. [Would you like to know which are not? Here’s the list: round, brief, plain, cry, pressed, strange, note, fay, fine, force, phrase, serves, coasts, voice, dance, joy, grief, theme, gay, grand, chime, prose and rhyme.]



While we're on the subject of chopping and cutting, whittling down our words and phrases to size, maybe we should take a break and chop up a salad. Here's one of my favorites:

Mixed Baby Spinach and Arugula Salad

Ingredients:

1 box of organic baby spinach and arugula
one of the following (or all three, if you prefer):

cherry tomatoes
red bell peppers
dried cranberries

feta or goat cheese crumbles
almond slivers
Asian ginger dressing

Method:

Put the mixed greens in a salad bowl and add either cherry tomatoes, sliced red bell peppers or dried cranberries. Sometimes, I add all three. Sprinkle liberally with feta or goat cheese crumbles and almond slivers. Add the ginger dressing and dig in! I could eat this till the cows come home! (Uh-oh, there goes my reputation as an English teacher -- I told my class not to use old worn-out cliches!)

I promised several things during the class last night--recipes, the poem I read by Joseph Addison Alexander, a spell-binding speech by Daniel Webster at the 50th anniversary of the Bunker Hill battle with Lafayette present. I will deliver all of these; but first, I want to invite you to a very special tea party at my house. During our last webinar session on Thursday evening, March 24th, I will host a 'cyber tea party' and invite you to hold real ones in your own homes that day or evening. Take some pictures and post them with a link so we can enjoy your tea parties, too. Mine will actually be held next Wednesday, replete we hope, with musical offerings by the young ladies who have been invited, dainty tea party finger foods, girls in pastel shades and lace and maybe some hats! We'll read poetry, hear some music and discuss 'polite moments.'

In connection with this event, I'd love to share some of your favorite tea party finger food recipes on this blog and during the webinar. Please send any you'd like for me to share to this e-mail address:
mrs.morecraft@gmail.com

Daniel Webster's speech tomorrow, Lord willing.

A Rhyming List of Things I Love

Birch Knob near 'South of the Mountain' in
Dickenson County, Virginia...
my home

Rhyming verse is NOT really poetry! But it's a lot of fun...

Things that I love

Things that I love? Too many to name!

But here’s a listing, just the same:

The silent swoop of owls at night,

Hugging you, up close and tight,

Babies’ drooling smiles and coos,

Little boys with scuffed-up shoes,

The echo of the thrasher’s call,

Crimson and golden leaves in fall,

Winter’s hush with falling snow,

Springtime’s soft and greening glow,

Cliffs and crags on mountain heights,

Stunning sunsets that fade to night,

Crashing waves with cresting foam,

Winding roads all leading home,

Small town folks with friendly faces,

City lights in far-off places,

Beech trees with their clinging leaves,

Those who live what they believe,

Milton, Calvin, Joe and Bach,

Friends who like to hear me talk,

Family dinners, special dates,

Trips to Europe, chocolate cake,

Cottage décor, hardwood floors,

Ceilings smooth and solid doors,

Country churches with lofty spires,

Thundering preachers, cathedral choirs,

Christmas trees, Thanksgiving turkey,

Roibos tea and biltong jerky,

Strong black coffee and the fruit of the vine,

Cold iced tea in the summertime,

Black Labradors and calico cats,

Leather-bound books and broad-brimmed hats,

Sandalwood soap and bay rum cologne,

Cuddling up with my honey, alone,

Reading great books that inspire and teach,

White sand, walking on a wind-swept beach,

Living each day at a leisurely pace

Finding real people behind each face,

Handwritten notes from friends far away,

Quilts and silver and pewter trays,

Thrift stores and tea towels and antique laces,

Making the most of my gifts and graces,

Living each day like it was my last,

Forgetting, forgiving hurts long past,

Giving all glory to God above,

Living by this: the greatest is love.

Pictures of places I’ve been with friends,

Friendships so deep they can never end.

Being called ‘Mama’ and ‘Grandmommy,’ too,

Red leather boots and comfortable shoes!

Linen and cotton and cashmere and wool,

Working in flowers with gardening tools,

Dark sweet cherries and brown crusty bread,

Freedom in Christ, dispelling dread,

Watching the sun come up at dawn,

Knowing that I am my husband’s crown.

Seeing the joy in each day’s hours,

Watching my grandchildren bud into flowers,

Knowing for certain that Christ is King,

Feeling His power as I pray, speak and sing,

Letting the things of this life grow dim,

Finding my all in all in Him.

RBM

2.26.2010

Revised, 2.17.2011

(unfinished!)

Always revising...

"My dear friends..."

How I love words!

Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved to be read to -- by my grandfather, my parents, my aunt (who taught me to read). That kind of love just has to be passed on. It was no surprise when all four of my children decided to major in English in their various endeavors for higher education. One almost has his doctorate in American literature! Wow! I'm very impressed. Beyond that, they all just love to read. Not just anything, the popular 'best sellers' of any given month, but books that have eternal significance.

What's on your reading list? I hope the Bible is number one. After that, you should be reading books that will expand your mind, make you think and impact you in positive ways, not trash. There. I said it. Don't waste your time reading garbage, for lots of reasons. One, you will be dragged down to its level. Two, you will start to think like the rest of the world that hasn't even tasted the grace of the Gospel. Three, your actions will reflect your thinking: "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."

You can access archived posts on this blog listing books, (just a few of them), that I recommend. I didn't come up with these lists on my own. I accessed lists from various books of lists (Christian ones) and from teachers I trust. I hope you own most, if not all, of these books or at least have borrowed and read them.

Teach your children to love good literature from their earliest days. They will attain to your high standards or be 'dumbed down' by low ones. If all they know is Disney movies and Barbie stories, you can't expect them to be dominion-oriented adults who want to proclaim and defend the rights of King Jesus over all of life. Please...think about the future NOW!

My very small grandchildren love great music -- classical and otherwise -- because they began violin (some of them) when they were five years old. My three year-old granson, Asa, knows every verse of many hymns by heart (he can't read and isn't interested in books -- yet) because he LOVES to sing. He doesn't know other songs by heart. He knows hymns and psalms by heart because that is what he's been exposed to by his parents. Please, dear parents, take this seriously. Your actions shape the future for your children and grandchildren. Teach them by example to love things of eternal value.

I loved teaching tonight's webinar class! I'm so sorry that some of you had trouble accessing the session. Please give the Customer Service Department at Vision Forum a call or send an email if you haven't figured it out.

Also, use the link you were sent for today's session to access both the power point slides (skillfully and lovingly created by Mercy who is in Kenya, 10,000 miles away -- Mercy, take a bow) as well as the audio portion of the webinar session. Again, if you can't access them, call Vision Forum. They are so helpful with problems. Give tonight's program at least 48 hours to appear. Thank you so much for attending. I love having you 'at my house' on Thursdays.

I will be visiting my family in Virginia this weekend and may not be able to find a computer with internet access. Please forgive me if I don't answer your questions till next week. Write me at mrs.morecraft@gmail.com

Soup's On!

Mmmmm...can you smell it? There's nothing as comforting as the fragrance of soup cooking to warm frozen noses and invite you to the kitchen. There's been a lot of chopping going on, you can be assured.

Hungarian Goulash (photo credit Elke Dennis, 2006)

Here's one version of a recipe for this ancient soup:

Hungarian Goulash
(This basic recipe is from Soup, editor Michael Fullalove, Covent Garden Books, American edition by DK Publishing, New York, New York, 2011, p. 308. I added the potatoes and carrots!)

Serves: 6-8                   prep time: 15 mins.
Cook time: 2 hours       freezes: up to3 months

Utensils:
Chopping block
Chopping knife
Heavy stew pot
Heavy skillet
Measuring cups & spoons

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. olive oil          1 ½ lbs. onions          3 large potatoes       3 medium carrots
2 cloves garlic             1 ½ lbs. chuck steak, cubed (lamb or pork may be used instead)
Salt and freshly ground pepper    2 Tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. caraway seeds                    1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
*(I like to add a teaspoon of cumin)
4 Tbsp. tomato puree                   1 qt. beef stock
Sour cream and parsley or chives to garnish

Method:
1. Coarsely chop two large sweet onions.
2. Heat three tablespoons of the olive oil in a large heavy stock pot or stew pot over medium heat.
3. Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring so as not to burn.
4. When the onions are browned, add potatoes that have been washed and chopped into chunks (with or without the skin removed), carrots that have been peeled and cut into chunks. Stir in with the onions to preserve color. [*note: if you plan to freeze this recipe, omit the potatoes and carrots and cook them separately, adding them to the frozen mixture when you reheat it. Potatoes do not freeze well.]
5. Add the garlic, stir for about two minutes and remove from the heat.
6. Put one tablespoon olive oil in a heavy skillet and heat on medium heat.
7. Add the cubed steak and brown it on all sides.
8. Season with salt and add to the onion, garlic mixture in the stockpot.
9. Add the rest of the spices and tomato puree.
10. Return the pot to the heat and cook for five minutes, stirring constantly.
11. Pour in the beef stock. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 1 ¾ hours.
12. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve in bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream sprinkled with a dash of either paprika or cayenne pepper for color. (A sprig of parsley or a few chopped chives may also be added for a garnish of color.)

Serve with hot crusty bread and savor the love...

Were you read to as a child?

Were you read to as I child? I was, early and regularly. My mother, my aunt (who taught me to read at five years old), my grandfather, teachers -- each contributed to my early love of being read to and reading. As this little poem expresses, there is no treasure to compare with having been read to as a child. Make sure you read to your children, not only silly, fun books (which have their place), but books that will ennoble them and stretch and mature them -- books that will give your young men a zeal for godly ventures and your young ladies hearts that long to please God in all their relationships and calling. Read to your children!

"I had a mother who read to me

Saga of pirates who scoured the sea,

Cutlassess clenched in their yellow teeth,

'Blackbirds' stowed in the hold beneath.

"I had a mother who read me lays

Of ancient and gallant and golden days;

Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,

Which evey boy has a right to know.

"I had a mother who read me tales

Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,

True to his trust till his tragic death,

Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

"I had a mother who read me the things

That wholesome life to the boy heart brings--

Stories that stir with an upward touch,

Oh, that each mother of boys were such!

"You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be--

I had a mother who read to me."

--Stickland Gillian

http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Frederick-Warren-Freer/Mother-And-Child-Reading.html

Happy New Year!



Happy New Year!



Here we are already, floating down the rapidly moving current of 2011 -- the flotsam and jetsam of our lives must not be allowed to deter our purposes this year, or so we determined as we reviewed the previous year -- are we on the same page yet?

For me, 2010 was a momentous year, a year of highs and lows beyond comparison. The best times were those spent with close family members and friends who are almost family. The worst were selfish moments spent wasting time with anxious thoughts. I really do believe that our loving, sovereign God has everything under His control, working out all His good pleasure for His glory and our ultimate good -- until I decide to worry instead of trust. Then my behavior belies my heart beliefs -- "I believe! Lord, help Thou my unbelief!!"

Family blessings are the best of all -- we are so grateful for each of our children. Our daughter, Anne, is pictured below at a family wedding. Her husband, Grant, saw a wonderful year of success with his clinic in Augusta, Georgia, Christ Community Health Services. The Lord blessed him and his partner, Robert Campbell, and many others who were deeply committed to the effort to raise enough money to begin reconstruction of the Widow's Home as the permanent location for the clinic. Due to this progress and the addition of other doctors to the staff, Grant was approached by others who asked him to pray about starting a similar clinic that provides health care to those needing it at lower or no costs in Columbus, Georgia, his hometown. It would appear they will be moving there this summer. Joey continues teaching American Literature to the AP classes and is head of the English Department at Fellowship Bible High School in Roswell, Georgia. And John is being blessed abundantly as he works for and mentors others with Northwestern Mutual in Athens, Georgia. Mercy is currently acting as a nanny/assistant in Kenya for two months, as well as photographer, for a dear family who have moved their entire family there for a couple of years to work with a missionary effort.

I praise God for my married children's wonderful spouses -- they are all great.

Our daughter, Anne, with her husband, Dr. Grant Scarborough, their four girls
and Grant's family

Here are my top 10 'highs' in no particular order:

1. Joe, Mercy and I were privileged to travel to Europe last April and May for 15 amazing days with our Vision Forum friends...we started out in Rome and travelled through Geneva, Paris, Noyon, London, York, Stirling, Bannockburn and Edinburgh, just to name a few cities of interest. Much of our traveling was on trains this time, and since I'd only ridden on trains once before in my life,this was a thrill for me. I particularly loved the ride through the French and Swiss Alps on the way to Geneva as well as the spectaular ride under the English Channel from Paris to London via the 'chunnel.' We ate incredible food in Rome and Paris especially and saw so many unbelievable historic sites and artifacts that I still haven't had time to process it all! Perhaps one of these days I will get all my photos downloaded into a book so that I can prove that I was there. The time spent developing close relationships was as precious to me, if not more so, than seeing famous places.

Even though this marked our third trip to Europe in less than two years, we relished every moment of it (well, maybe not the moment I had to get up at 3:30 a.m. to catch my flight home through Amsterdam because of the volcanic activity in Iceland that had lengthened our stay by two days and changed our return flight schedules. I'd barely missed the opportunity to fly back with Joe, but then God intervened...never mind, it's too long to tell right now...we met up in Amsterdam and flew on home together in an amazing way that I'll share with you someday.)

'My two girls' on the Europe tour, Meredith and Chelsea,
at the Colisium in Rome

2. Grandbaby #8 was born on June 9th! Miss Clara Hope Morecraft, third child and second daughter of our son John Calvin and his wife, Kim.

Big sister, Izalou, with Clara

My wonderful daughter-in-law, Kim, with baby Clara



3. Joe's 5-volume set of commentaries on the Westminster Larger Catechism was published -- a grand finale of a twenty-year effort on his part and the joint efforts of many others to make this dream come true.



Vol 1 of 5 is published!


http://www.americanvision.com/products/Authentic-Christianity-Series%3A-An-Exposition-of-the-Theology-and-Ethics-of-the-Westminster-Larger-Catechism.html

4. My webinar, "Mrs. Morecraft's School of Elocution and Writing," sponsored by Vision Forum, was a tremendous success, thanks to the sweet folks who signed up to hear me rant and rave about writing and related matters for eight weeks.
http://www.visionforum.com/browse/product/?productid=45973

What a great time I had teaching these classes!!

5. My father turned 86 in July and Joe's dad was 90 on November 27th. On the same day we celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary.

from left to right: my grand-niece, Emma Claire Laughlin, my niece, Ariane Belcher, my mother, Anita Anderson Belcher, me and my dad, Clynard C., "C.C.", Belcher in their garden near Haysi, Virginia -- summer, 2010

Abingdon and Haysi, Virginia, are marked as special times with my family as I celebrated my father's 86th birthday on the last day of July and mine a few days later in August. I try to visit my family around my birthday for obvious reasons -- I was not disappointed.
6. Mercy turned 20 in November. She was my accomplice/assistant during the often grueling weeks of the webinar while still working hard on completing as many College-Plus courses as possible, honing her photography skills, tutoring, singing in the choir and much, much more ... she got a lipstick-red Kitchen Aid stand mixer for her efforts. Not bad...
(and she received a pasta making attachment for Christmas from her dad -- as did daughter Anne!)

Mercy on the beach in November with her niece, Mary Piper

7. Two favorite quotes from the grandchildren for 2010:

Hat people

# 1, from Charlie, shortly after his 2nd birthday when I held him in my lap and prayed that God would 'make you a great preacher of the gospel like Granddaddy':

Joey (two weeks after my prayer): "So, Charlie, what do you want to do when you grow up?"

Charlie: "I'm gonna be a pweacher when I grow up -- wike Granddaddy."

Joey: "Really...what are you going to preach about?"

Charlie: "MOSES! (pointing finger) 'No! No! No!'"

(By the way, now he wants to be a fireman ... much difference? Don't think so...)

Joe, IV (Joey), Joe, V (Charlie) and Jennifer

"Charlie" (Joseph Charles M., V) 'trainin', as he calls playing with his trains

 # 2: Jenn (just after being with his cousins at our house): "So, Charlie, did you and Asa play much together ?"

Charlie, thoughtfully: "Umm, no. Asa, he kinda does his own thing..."

(Asa's mom confirms this evaluation...sigh...like father, like son...)

Asa Raines Morecraft, age 3

Still my fav video of all times: Asa and Izalou sing 'The Lord's Prayer' together at ages three and one.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke5gBfJ2Q9M

8. Favorite person in 2010: Guess ... yep, you got it...my hero-husband, Joe. His preaching through the Psalms in the a.m. and Romans in the afternoon on Sundays is my life-breath, my meat, my drink. Thank you, Lord, for my husband. He struggles with physical challenges every day, and yet, every day he devotes his entire being to furthering the kingdom of His Lord on earth. May God be praised for the victory we know is sure in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here's a recent sample of the treat we at Chalcedon Presbyterian Church are privileged to enjoy each Lord's Day. This one is based on Psalm 98: "Joy to the World."
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12111428209

JCM,III

9. The Phillips and Morecraft families grew even closer this year as we enjoyed conferences, visits in each other's homes and many trips together. Very special friends...

Doug, Beall, Faith and Honor in Edinburgh, listening to Joe speak

Doug and Becky singing loudly at The Baby Conference

10. Finally, my last 'high' was also mixed with several 'lows' -- losing dear friends to Heaven's glory. Their joy is unspeakable and full of glory. Our loss -- immeasurable.







My new year's resolve: To pray for others and for Christ's kingdom to 'come on earth as it is in Heaven' more than my own selfish desires in 2011.



Blessings on all of you in the new year, dear friends. If you get to glory before I do...keep my spot warm.

One small unfulfilled wish for the year:

A parting shot:

Thank you, Bertha Jean.



Here's a suggestion for a calendar with grammatical helps: