O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

 via

O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down,
now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, Thine only crown.
O sacred Head, what glory,
what bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine.

 What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered
was all for sinners' gain;
mine, mine was the transgression,
but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
'Tis I deserve Thy place;
look on me with Thy favor,
vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

 'Burial of our Lord'

Canterbury Cathedral

Hodgepodging the End of March

Join Joyce and the Gang

for

She writes the questions;

we write the answers.

Plug them into your own blog post

and join in!

1. What's a word that describes your life (right now)? POLLOCK 

A word you wish described your life? RAPHAEL

Tommy & Smokey

2. Back in my day we___thought the Soviets were going to nuke us. I was in junior high during the Cuban Missile Crisis and I remember my English teacher shaking in her boots, she was so terrified.

Bad Axe Independent Lutheran Church

And it's a beautiful little church down in the coulee

west of Westby, WI

I was glad to see a cross at the top of the steeple.

(I have at least two more posts of Westby/Viroqua photos)

3. When it comes to takeout are you more likely to opt for Italian, Mexican, or Chinese food? Does a typical week at your house include takeout?

If I had the option of takeout at all, I'd probably go for Italian (after reading the ingredient list carefully to make sure there weren't any headache inducers included). We live out in the middle of nowhere, and a typical week certainly doesn't include takeout of any kind, except the trash.

4. Think about the people you most respect. What is it about them that earned your respect?

Integrity. A real love for God, moral courage, and consistency - a life that is lived the same in public as it is at home or when no one at all is looking on.

5. What's something your friends might see and say is 'so you'?

A German Shepherd puppy, any Columbia polar fleece jacket, or the UPS man delivering yet another book on theology.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Grandkids were here last weekend. I think what they might say is 'so you' would be a big house with a running circle where they can play chase and make noise, a sledding hill, and kitties. Or at least I think those are their favorite things about Grandma.

Taking a breather

Little Miss Cutie on the left has a birthday tomorrow!

She will turn FOUR.

Note: They all own socks and shoes, and there's still a lot of snow on the ground. But they love going barefoot in the house.

***

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The Universe is Eager

With Eager Anticipation

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;

    break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,

    with the lyre and the sound of melody.

 

With trumpets and the sound of the horn

    make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

"Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

    the world and those who live in it.

Let the floods clap their hands;

    let the hills sing together for joy

 

at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming

    to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

    and the peoples with equity."

- From Psalm 98

The Universe is eager for God's judgment,
for He, unlike mankind,
 'will judge the world with righteousness
 and the peoples with equity.'

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

Photos: Country Coon Prairie Lutheran Church, Westby, WI

St. Patrick, St. Cuthbert, and John Rutter Walk Into a Pub...

Beautiful Wisconsin
in the springtime

Join Joyce and the Gang
for

She writes the questions;

we write the answers.

Plug them into your own blog post

and join in!

1. On this first official day of spring tell us something (besides the weather) you're looking forward to in this season of the year.

When you endure a long winter, as we do here in Wisconsin, the weather of spring/summer/fall IS what's on our minds this time of year. We cram a lot into those months from April through October: good country walks, visiting friends and family, campfires, day trips, and other general outdoor adventures. Oh, and I mustn't forget moon walks! We've plans with friends for the Full Moon Walk the end of April. - check out Carla's blog. 

One of three photos I took at

our St. Patrick's Day party on Saturday evening.

After dinner, the kids gathered to play Liar's Dice.

There were a lot of CrockPots in use that evening!

2. When it comes to spring cleaning would you rather wash windows or wash baseboards? Clean out closets or clean out the garage? Dust ceiling fans or dust bookcases? Wipe down the patio furniture outside or wipe down the light fixtures inside? Any of these tasks recently completed?

This reminds me of the 'would you rather' questions that my grandkids ask: 'Would you rather be thrown into a den of rattlesnakes or be stung by 100 scorpions?'  but if I had to choose any of those, it would be to dust the bookcases. Although I have a lot of them, that would be the least objectionable of any of the jobs listed. And besides, I can always pick up something to read.

3. Your favorite thing to make/eat that calls for cream cheese? Sour cream? Whipped cream?

I love cream cheese/chicken in the CrockPot. To a can of green chilies, I add a block of cream cheese, stir well, and pour it over four boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Delicious meal in 6-8 hours! Sour cream? I put sour cream in the Shepherd's Pie that I  made for our St. Patrick's Day dinner (along with an entire bottle of Guinness). Making the Shepherd's Pie took far longer than rounding up a flock of sheep, but I'll have to admit that it was certainly tasty and sticks to the ribs (and hips and waist). Whipped cream? My favorite thing with whipped cream would be the strawberry freezer dessert made with a blend of strawberries, lemon juice, whipped cream, and spread on a shortbread-type crust, then frozen. Another delicious treat!

4. I read here a list of commonly mispronounced words. What is a word that gives you trouble when it comes to pronunciation?

I don't usually have a problem with pronunciation until it comes to names - and those are pronounced however the owner chooses, of course. But I am one of those people who loves it when someone includes a pronunciation guide for people or place names, because I like to be able to pronounce them. If I can't, they stick in my mind, continually pestering in the background, while my brain is trying to figure them out. That's very annoying.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch  - It's a place in Wales. And I've long since given up on trying to pronounce it. 

Well, maybe not, now that I've found this:

via WalesOnline

5. What's a song you love* with the word 'rain' in the title or lyrics?

* emphasis added.

LOOK AT THE WORLD, by John Rutter

(listen, below, in 'Random')

Look at the world: Everything all around us
Look at the world: and marvel everyday
Look at the world: So many joys and wonders
So many miracles along our way

Praise to thee O Lord for all creation
Give us thankful hearts that we may see
All the gifts we share and every blessing
All things come of thee

Look at the earth: Bringing forth fruit and flower
Look at the sky: The sunshine and the rain
Look at the hills, look at the trees and mountains
Valley and flowing river field and plain

Praise to thee O Lord for all creation
Give us thankful hearts that we may see
All the gifts we share and every blessing
All things come of thee

Think of the spring, Think of the warmth of summer
Bringing the harvest before the winters cold
Everything grows, everything has a season
Til' it is gathered to the fathers fold

Praise to thee O Lord for all creation
Give us thankful hearts that we may see
All the gifts we share and every blessing
All things come of thee

Every good gift, all that we need and cherish
Comes from the Lord in token of his love
We are his hands, stewards of all his bounty
His is the earth and his the heavens above

Praise to thee, O Lord for all creation
Give us thankful hearts that we may see
All the gifts we share, and every blessing
All things come of thee
All things come of thee

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

As I write this blog post on Tuesday, the following event is still three hours in the future, and how I'd love to be there!:

SPECIAL SERVICE - 

ST CUTHBERT’S DAY FESTAL EVENSONG AND PROCESSION

20 March 2018

7.00pm

This joyous service commemorating the life of St Cuthbert includes the Lucernarium (the blessing of the light), and the offering of incense. The service concludes with a procession to the Feretory where the Cathedral Choir will sing the late John Tavener’s work, Ikon of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, written specially for Durham Cathedral. 

Part of St Cuthbert Festival.

(From durhamcathedral.co.uk)  

Note: I've written a handful of posts about St. Cuthbert, which you can find, if you so wish, by typing 'St. Cuthbert' in the search bar to the right of this post.

***

And one last thought:

I asked Tommy what he thought of the vet putting him on a diet.

***

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On Earth As In Heaven

Then what??

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Cashton, WI

From www.ntwrightpage.com

"When the New Testament speaks of God’s kingdom it never, ever, refers to heaven pure and simple. It always refers to God’s kingdom coming on earth as in heaven, as Jesus himself taught us to pray. We have slipped into the easygoing language of ‘the kingdom of heaven’ in the sense of God’s kingdom being ‘heaven’, but the early church never spoke like that. The point about heaven is that heaven is the control room for earth. Heaven is the CEO’s office from which earth is run – or it’s supposed to be, which is why we’re told to pray for that to become a reality. And the point of the Ascension, paradoxically in terms of the ways in which generations of western Christians have seen it, is that this is the moment when that prayer is gloriously answered.

"Paradoxically, of course, because we have been used to seeing ‘heaven’ as a place separated from earth, somewhere far away, way beyond the blue. But that’s not how the Bible sees it, not at all. Heaven is God’s space, and earth is our space. ‘The heavens belong to YHWH,’ declares the Psalmist, ‘and the earth he has given to the human race.’ But the point of God’s split-level good creation, heaven and earth, is not that earth is a kind of training ground for heaven, but that heaven and earth are designed to overlap and interlock (which is, by the way, the foundation of all sacramental theology, with the sacraments as one of the places where this overlap actually happens), and that one day – as the book of Revelation makes very clear – one day they will do so fully and for ever, as the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven to earth."

This is all explained further in the book, Surprised By Hope, by N.T. Wright.

Have a blessed Lord's Day,

Wisconsin Countryside Friday

I've been thinking that I might try to alternate between 'Anglophile Friday' and 'Wisconsin Countryside Friday'. We'll see how it goes.

In Wednesday's Hodgepodge, I mentioned visiting Westby again, and this time, instead of driving out into the countryside east of Westby and Cashton, we drove south to Viroqua and explored the area west of Viroqua (see route below). It was just as beautiful, and fun to take a different route.

Traveling south from Westby, we took 27 (14, 61) to J. Turn right onto J, Turn right onto C, turn right onto B, turn right onto 27, turn left onto 82, turn right onto N, then there will be a jog onto Norwegian Hollow Road to N again, jog right onto 56 until you can turn north again onto O, turn onto K into Chaseburg, then 162 into Coon Valley, turn right onto 14/61 back to Westby. Besides Westby and Viroqua, some towns (or settlements) you'll go through are
Folsom, Towerville, Fargo, West Prairie, Purdy, and Newton. All of this is just in case you happen to be in SW Wisconsin and are looking for some beautiful scenery, including lots of barns and little country churches.The whole trek, with a break for lunch, took us about 3 1/2 hours because, as you can see, there were a few stops for photos. More coming in another post.

 I always thought it would be fun to have one of these in our backyard.

 If you happen to have attended Folsom School,
your reunion is coming up this summer.
Put it on your calendar.

And about two minutes down the road is
Franklin Lutheran Church,
which you most likely attended if you attended Folsom School.

 There are no Anglicans to be found in this neck of the woods.

 Why did the raccoon cross the road?
I don't know, but evidently at some point in the past
he had tried, and it didn't end well for him.

I mentioned in Wednesday's Hodgepodge that Tommy & Smokey had their annual wellness checkup scheduled for Thursday morning.

 Well here are Tommy & Smokey at the vet's office.
Yes, it worked fine to put them both in the same cat carrier.
The vet put them both on a diet. Oh the indignity of it all!

 'Never let them take me back there again, Tommy!'

They were so beautiful!
And curious.

Linking to Saturday's Critters

***

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Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

Hodgepodging a Bit o' Green

Join Joyce and the Gang

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She writes the questions;

we write the answers.

Plug them into your own blog post

and join in!

Thanks, Joyce!

1. Best place you've been lately?

Hmmm, that's not an easy one. Maybe I could answer, 'Most recent best place?' in which case it would be Westby and Viroqua Wisconsin, which I've mentioned before, and of which I've shown dozens of photos. Needless to says, I took dozens more photos this trip (last weekend), so I'm sharing some of them with you today. Most of the photos today are from the Viroqua area. What's 'best' about it is the topography.  I love that 'driftless' area of Wisconsin, such beautiful hills and valleys, even though it was pretty cold. I'm definitely not complaining, though. We're getting sunny days. I can imagine how sick to death our friends on the east coast are of this horrid month of March. No one likes it when March comes in like a lion and remains a lion for the entire month!  

2. What's something you should say yes to today? Or this week? Or even this year?

There are personal things I would like to say 'yes' to, but I'm not going to write about them. So I guess I'd have to say 'yes' to my nagging conscience regarding painting some of the rooms in our house. I hate painting. I like baking, cooking, and hopefully will like gardening again after about a five year hiatus, but painting? Yuck. Still, it needs to be done, so I should say 'yes' to it.

3. Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day in any way, shape, or form? If so tell us how. In Western cultures the color green is typically associated with jealousy, nature, good luck, and growth. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word 'green'?

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word 'green' is our green alfalfa field. Here is one of my favorite photos: Mr. C. and the grandsons and Bridger.

The alfalfa field and occupants,

August 2012

This year we are celebrating St. Patrick's Day by inviting friends in for a potluck dinner on Saturday evening. There should be a nice group here, good food, board games, hangman at the blackboards, and generally hanging out with all the usual suspects. I'm making a large pan of shepherd's pie and four loaves of homemade bread, and we'll see what the others contribute to our St. Patrick's Day stone soup. Also, before we eat, we're going to be dividing into five groups and reading the Benedicite, each group taking two stanzas.

It starts like this:.      

Glorify the Lord, all you works of the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

 

4. What's a product or service you love so much you'd happily be their spokesperson? Tell us what makes you such a fan.

Moto Z Force (l)

with auxiliary battery pack (r)

I have always liked my smartphone, but right now I am a huge fan of my Moto Z Force phone with the snap on extra battery. It's an amazing phone, and I discovered, after hours of concern, that it can fall out of one's back pocket into the toilet and survive. It did take a second of shock to realize that my phone had actually fallen into the water, then it took another second to grab it out (yes, with my bare hands, but it's an expensive phone and the water wasn't yet polluted, TMI?) and another few seconds to get it buried in a bowl of white jasmine sticky rice (uncooked).

I left it there overnight and only tried the phone the next forenoon, after much prayer, and I am happy to report that it is just fine. What a scare that was!  I will no longer carry my phone in my back pocket. So often I don't carry a purse and if I don't have a jacket with deep pockets, it seemed the natural thing to put the phone in my back pocket. Anyway, I'll figure something out, but I can't tell you how grateful I am that my phone works!

5. March 14th is Pi Day. How are your math skills? What's the last thing you did that required math of any kind? And most importantly do you like pie? What's your favorite kind? With ice cream, whipped cream, or please hold the cream?

Maybe I'll make this: lemon meringue pie/cake

I'm not too bad at math, loved algebra, and probably the most recent thing that required math was figuring out sizing on a photo I wanted printed to fit a certain frame. So it was that same old basic algebraic formula that I've used hundreds of times over the years, whether sizing photos or changing ingredient amounts in a recipe.

I love pie and almost never eat it. My favorite would be a berry pie or lemon meringue without the meringue. No ice cream or whipped cream. And I'll probably bake a lemon meringue (with the meringue) for Easter Sunday, eat more of it than I should, (because I don't seem to have a shut-off valve regarding pie) and then not eat pie again for another year (or maybe a piece of fresh berry pie in the summertime - strawberry or blueberry). It works for me.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

This is now a 25 x 37 framed print (minus the watermark)

on the wall in front of my computer desk 

Canterbury Cathedral

Tommy & Smokey go in Thursday for their

'wellness checkups' and shots. 

I wonder if they'll be okay going into the same cat carrier.

Good luck with that, huh!

clipartix

***

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Ready for Gifting


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and at


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Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

I'll be returning to Instagram in April. @cranberrymorning