Critic's Review + More Odyssey + Anniversary Meditation

A Special Review by Blogger's Minute-by-Minute

Once again this author has truly outdone himself. Not only is there a plethora of bullet points, which you will unfortunately & most likely not be able to enjoy if you are using the link from the Norfolk Daily News, which is to be commended for publishing links to a variety of worthy blogs . . . there is also the usual plethora of highly informative & entertaining content. Some may call this tedious . . . Others may call it interminable . . . We @ Blogger's Minute-by-Minute * prefer to call it "plethorrible." 
* Motto:  "We Avoid Cliche's Like the Plague"

41st Wedding Anniversary Odyssey

It's a little after 7:00a, SAT 6/4. As has been typical lately, I woke up around 5:00a, dozed off & on, finally got up a little before 6:00a. I had heard signs of life upstairs sometime earlier. [We are at Nathan & Laura's house . . . and Calvin's!] I wanted to be able to say "good morning" to Nathan before he left to pace a half-marathon . . . I was five minutes too late.
      I've already gotten to spend some quality time with my grand-son. [Did I mention that he's already been invited to join Mensa? He's already been invited to join Mensa.] An advantage of getting up early this morning . . . which I anticipated . . . was getting a chance at the baby before my dear spouse. [Did I mention our 41+ years of wedded bliss? We've been blessed with 41+ years of wedded bliss.]

Yesterday's Odyssey Highlights

• Our phone app, supported by MapQuest, "suggested" that our drive from The Historic Lodge of Forest City, IA, to Eagan, MN, would take 2 hours. Lo & behold, we left the grounds at about 10:45a & pulled up at Nathan & Laura's . . . and Calvin's! . . . at 12:47p. This was significant, because Nathan had texted that he would be home by 12:45; & if we got there in time, we could accompany him to pick up Calvin at day-care. Lois had made it perfectly * clear that her goal--and, significantly, she was driving--was to arrive in Eagan by or before 12:45.

* Not "perfectly" in the theological sense. I'm just sayin'. 

• After picking up Calvin, we returned to Nathan & Laura's . . . and Calvin's! We got to enjoy Nathan & Calvin's company. What a charming child! * He talked, smiled, rolled over, grabbed at things, made lots of eye contact . . . of course I had to defer to his grand-mother's & my son's attentiveness to him . . . I think I may have gotten to hold him for a few minutes by the end of the day.
• Contrary to what I posted yesterday, Lois & I did NOT get to baby-sit Calvin while Nathan & Laura attended a grad reception. Lois kept questioning those at the reception might not be disappointed if our kids showed up w/o the main attraction *. I think she finally made Nathan & Laura feel insecure enough that they suspected we [Lois!] may not have wanted to take care of Calvin on our own. Anyway, they left with Calvin a little after 5:30 . . . We ate take-out from Qdoba *** . . . Nathan & Laura . . . & Calvin! . . . were back just a little after 6:30.
• We played Phase 10 w/Nathan & Laura. **** We all made it to Phase 5 . . . I hesitate to tell you who had accumulated the most points when we had to go on a hiatus. ***** [Nathan had to get to bed because of his running regimen.] Overall, I have to say + that Lois was meaner to Nathan than she was to me.

* That would be Calvin . . . in case you were wondering.
* So is Nathan . . . always ** has been.
** Might be a slight exaggeration . . . only a SLIGHT exaggeration.
*** I had two hard-shelled tacos w/sour cream, steak, grated cheese, lettuce, & green salsa; also some Mexican rice.
**** Despite his membership in Mensa, Calvin sat this one out.
***** Ok . . . It was me . . . My over-active conscience is over-acting . . . as far as you know.
+ I have to say it because of my OCD.

Today's Agenda

• It's now 9:06a. [Update: Now it's 10:45a. CST.] Laura & Lois are getting ready to take Calvin to Country Day *, where Calvin presumably will help them feed the animals. ** Nathan will probably get back from helping to pace the Lake Waconia Half-Marathon around noon. I'm staying home . . . maybe driving over to M.O.A. **** for a walk. [DIGRESSION:  M.O.A. is one of the few malls that I actually enjoy visiting. DISCLAIMER: Despite what my spouse would have you believe, this goes way beyond the plethora of food courts that are available for my/your culinary tastes.]
• Not sure yet about this afternoon . . . There's a good chance that I'll take my customary mid-to-late afternoon nap.
• As always, there is a plethora of historical, cultural, & natural attractions to choose from in the Twin Cities. [SEE my Hill Family 2016 Summer Reunion Exclusive blogs.]
• We're offered to take Nathan & Laura . . . and Calvin! . . . out to eat for the kids' 9th wedding anniversary . . . which was June 2. A favorite locale in the past has been Bubba Gump's @ M.O.A. We've also relished Sunday breakfast buffets @ a plethora of exotic locations. [If you think that applying the adjective "exotic" to the Twin Cities is oxymoronic, well, you got me.]
• I think Nathan & Laura intend for us to finish Phase 10 before we retire for the evening. [Speaking of retirement, it doesn't look like I'll be taking early retirement at least for the next few months . . . but I digress.]

* This is the private day-care, pre-school where Laura serves as part-owner & administrator. [In case you're concerned, she is amazingly self-deprecating about these achievements . . . much like I am about this blog . . . What?!]

** Animals include llamas, burros, ponies, ducks, chickens, goats, sheep . . . If you are a member of PETPDYPSA, *** I don't need to hear your hate!

*** People for the Ethical Treatment of Private Day-Care, Pre-School Animals

**** Mall of America. *****

***** Which reminds me . . . I need to check to see if there are any terrorist alerts . . . You never know when PETN + might be planning a demonstration.

+ People for the Ethical Treatment of Norwegians

Tomorrow, Tomorrow . . . 

• Not sure yet if we are going to the 5:30p, worship service this evening or "worship by the lake" tomorrow morning. *
• As I've previously mentioned [& I hope you've been paying attention] . . . we may be taking Nathan & Laura . . . and Calvin! . . . out for brunch.
• We'll leave sometime in the afternoon & drive to Sioux City, IA, ** where we'll spend the night, since I have a Dr's appt in Dakota Dunes, SD, *** at 10:20a on MON 6/6.

* Although Nathan & Laura . . . and Calvin's . . . church is ELCA, it doesn't mean LCMS churches can't host "worship by the lake" events, too! No . . . seriously! 
** NICKNAME: "We may not be as big as Sioux Falls, but we aren't quite as exciting either."
*** NICKNAME: "We're right across the river from Sioux City, & as our name suggests, rich people live here."

Anniversary Nostalgia

• We chose "In Thee Is Gladness" (LW #442) as one of our hymns, because it was one of our favorite hymns. Had we remembered to have wedding programs up front for us, we actually could have sung along with the congregation for most of the two verses.
• Our first feast after getting married consisted of quarter-pounders w/cheese from the McDonald's in Warrensburg, MO. [We got married in Higginsville, MO.] We also bought & enjoyed a bottle of [cheap] champagne, which we consumed when we arrived at our hotel later that evening.
• We stayed in a motel in Clinton, MO, that first night. Because we badly under-estimated how long it would take to have pictures taken after the wedding [KUDO's to Paul Farmer] . . . eat wedding cake * . . . personally visit w/family & other guests . . .  open presents [That was a mistake that we shouldn't have let ourselves get talked into.] . . . race back to Concordia . . . change clothes . . . & say good-byes to family who got back faster than we anticipated . . . we had to wake up the hotel manager. **
• As we were just getting ready to back out of the driveway, Lois' little [at the time] brother John came rushing up to the driver's side window of our car . . . He prevailed upon me to roll down my window [another mistake] . . . Then proceeded to HURL . . . not toss . . . not throw . . . HURL a healthy, handful of rice into our faces . . . into the front seat . . . all OVER the interior of our car . . . I swear *** we were picking individual grains of rice out of our hair two weeks later. For sure we were picking grains of rice out of our car a year later. [No hard feelings, John. Lois got over it . . . although it took many years & I'm not sure she's ever enacted the act of revenge she contemplated.]
• We ate breakfast at a downtown cafe in Clinton, MO, the next morning. Probably because it was SUN morning, the place was packed, & it took forever for our order to arrive . . . I must have been madly in love [and/or sleep-deprived], because ordinarily I have the ability to remember the smallest details about memorable meals . . . but for the life of me I cannot recall what we had for breakfast that first morning of what has become 41+ years of wedded bliss.

* The custom of smashing wedding cake into each other's faces? We both ABHOR that custom. Thankfully, I don't think it had been invented yet . . . And if you have participated in that abhorrent custom, I apologize IF I have offended you.
** He didn't seem all that irritated. It still bothered our consciences a little.
*** Not really . . . We still frown on swearing in the LCMS.

Some Meditative Thoughts 

"Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany . . . So the sisters sent to (Jesus), saying, 'Lord, he whom You love is ill ' . . . Now Jesus loved Martha & her sister & Lazarus. So, when He heard that Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was . . . " [From John 11 . . . I strongly encourage you to read the entire chapter.]

I've tried to reserve Saturdays for devotionals, so I'm going to include a few meditative thoughts, based on this passage from John's Gospel, re:  Jesus' raising of Lazarus from the dead. Here are what I consider to be the salient points.

1. Lazarus must have been deathly ill. Why else would the sisters have sent for Jesus?
2. Obviously the sisters had a deep faith in Jesus' ability to heal. Maybe not so much--at least not yet--in His power to raise people from the dead.
3. "Jesus loved Martha & her sister . . . So . . . He stayed two days longer in the place where He was . . . "

He loved these close friends so much that He dropped everything He was doing so that He could rush to Bethany & heal Lazarus before He died . . . Uh, hang on a second.

He wasted no time in His haste to get to Lazarus' side since, being the Son of God, He knew how gravely ill this man was . . . Wait . . . Not so fast!

He didn't hesitate one moment . . . He made it to Bethany in the nick of time, healing Lazarus before he could die . . . sparing Mary & Martha that untold depths of grief like we all suffer when someone so close to us dies . . . Wait . . . what?

"Jesus loved Mary & Martha . . . So . . . He stayed two days longer in the place where He was . . . " How could this possibly be described as an act of love? . . . What could be the possible connection between this miracle & marriage?

Glad you asked . . . [CAVEAT:  I'm not a theologian. These are my devotional thoughts for whatever they are worth . . . My prayer is that they are worth at least a little reflection. They seemed to be wonderful self-therapy for me.]

• Despite the extra suffering that Lazarus endured . . . 
• Despite the extra torment, pain, anguish, grieving that Mary & Martha endured . . . 
• Jesus had something so much greater . . . so much more unimaginably joyful in mind.
• He waited . . . He purposely AND purposefully allowed Lazarus to die.
• He allowed this dear friend to die so that He could raise Him from the dead in front of Mary & Martha . . . 
• In front of many others, including His disciples . . . 
• He raised Lazarus from the dead on Lazarus' 3rd day in the tomb . . . a foreshadowing of the 3rd day that Jesus' dead body would rest in His own tomb before His glorious resurrection . . . a glorious victory over sin, death & Satan . . .  
• A miracle that drove home the power of God . . . the power of Christ . . . our foretaste of the Feast to Come.

What does this have to do with marriage?

• In 41+ years of marriage, we've experienced our ups & downs.
• There have been trials & tribulations . . . Mountain-top experiences . . . yet also times when Lois & I have walked through valleys of the shadow of death.
• During those times we've questioned, we've grieved, & we've mourned . . . 
• We've challenged God . . . Why can't we . . . Why COULD'T we stay on top of the mountain-top?
• God's answer? 
• I'm convinced Jesus' answer for us was & continues to be the same answer found in the Gospel of John:
• Please forgive my paraphrase:  Now Jesus loved Paul & Lois, so He stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
• The miracle came, even if it took years for us to recognize the miracle . . . 
• And somehow, someway, our faith became stronger . . . 
• Our marriage bond became stronger . . . 
• Because Jesus Christ stayed two days longer in the place where He was.

"In You Is Gladness" . . . A Closing Prayer for Today

St. 1  "In You is gladness, Amid all sadness, Jesus, sunshine of my heart. 
By You are given The gifts of heaven, You the true Redeemer are. 
Our souls are waking; Our bonds are breaking. 
Who trusts You surely Has built securely And stands forever. Alleluia!
Our hearts are pining To see Your shining,
Dying or living To You are cleaving Now and forever. Alleluia!

St. 2  "If He is ours...We fear no powers, Not of earth or sin or death. 
He sees and blesses In worst distresses; He can change them with a breath.
Wherefore the story Tell of His glory
With hearts and voices; All heav'n rejoices In Him forever. Alleluia!
We shout for gladness, Win over sadness,
Love Him and praise Him And still shall raise Him Glad hymns forever. Alleluia!"