The Purpose-Driven Life

My son and his family left for Georgia this morning.  They'll arrive home late tonight, good Lord willing.  There are some enthusiastic eaters in my family, let me tell you.  Since last Thursday, I've made:  three apple pies; two Oreo Delights; one batch of Toll House pan cookies; and one brownie pudding.  Plus we've consumed two cakes my daughter and son-in-law made and brought, in honor of all the grandchildren's birthdays.  That's only the desserts!  (note to self:  next year, make two tater-tot casseroles if you intend to feed everybody).  What can you expect, though, when there are four teenagers in the group (note to self:  buy milk two gallons at a time, next time my son's family visits).

When you're used to cooking for two and metering out leftovers, it's difficult to remember how to cook for a large group.  I love to cook for people who love to eat, though.

I am not having great success with the fancy brace I got; a man from the company that makes them (Don-Joy) is coming Friday to see if I'm doing something wrong.  Meanwhile, I'm thankful that 800 mg Ibuprofen eases the knee pain a lot... I just have to limit how often I take it, since it doesn't always agree with my stomach.  My next appointment with the orthopedist is October 20.

Perhaps, in these rather distressing times (and during what, for me, is a depressing season) this series we're doing with the Church might be just what I need.  There's a devotional that goes along with "Purpose-driven Life" that gives one key thing to ponder each day.  Yesterday's ponder was, "It's not about me."  Today's is, "I am not an accident."  Because we had company yesterday, I played catch-up today.  My husband had good intentions of doing these exercises with me, but he's hard to pin down.  Tomorrow I'll see if I can catch him for a few minutes before he goes out to his shop, which is where he spends most of his waking hours till time to get ready for work in the afternoon.

It's been overcast and rainy for two days, and is supposed to remain so through Friday.  No horseback rides in weather like this, but I'll only appreciate riding that much more when it clears off.  I'm reminded of a poem I loved as a child:

 

THE RAINY DAY

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.  

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It   rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.  

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.