Church and Patriotism

I come from a very patriotic family. My dad is an Army veteran, and we grew up loving and taking pride in our country. The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays.

It seemed natural to me that, since the 4th fell on a Sunday this year, our church (a "frozen chosen" Presbyterian Church of America) would be celebrating. My brother, my dad, Don (at my prompting) and I all arrived decked out in our red, white and blue. I was shocked to see that we were part of a very small minority. There were no patriotic songs scheduled to be sung during the service. The 4th was hardly even mentioned by anyone.

Finally, my dad stood up during "testimony time" and asked if we could sing "God Bless America," a song which I consider to be very appropriate for a church service. There were whispers and some general discomfort evident throughout the room, but finally the leader did agree to sing 1 verse. It wasn't in our hymnal, and a rather pitiful rendition was sung. It seemed most people there didn't even know all the words.

Apparently this sparked a major discussion in the adult Sunday School class which lasted the whole hour (I wasn't there, as I teach children). Everyone seemed to have an opinion on the place of patriotism in church.

I found it all a bit unsettling. I don't understand what the problem is. Don says church is for worshipping and honoring God, not our country. I don't disagree, but I hardly think singing "God Bless America," which is basically a prayer asking God to bless our country, is dishonoring to God. If my dad had simply asked that a prayer be said along those lines, it probably wouldn't have generated such controversy.

My mom, meanwhile, attended the service at her Baptist church. She said they had a special, extra-long service in which they sang patriotic songs, honored the military and veterans and prayed for our country.

What do you think? Does patriotism belong in the church? Where do we cross the line of taking the focus off of God if we do choose to celebrate in such a way? I'm curious to know how other people feel about this.

Little Pumpkin

My garden isn't doing as well as last year. We have had a considerably hotter, drier summer, plus I don't have a lot of energy to brave the heat and get out and weed it too often. So, we get what we get. So far we've gotten some green beans, peppers, sugar snap peas and broccoli, plus strawberries and various herbs. The tomatoes, potatoes, black-eyed peas and cucumbers are looking pretty promising as well.

An interesting thing that has happened is that I have three healthy pumpkin plants that I didn't plant. Apparently the seeds came out of my compost pile (one of them is growing in my compost pile and climbing my neighbor's fence). This little pumpkin, which has worked its way out of the garden and into the grass, is almost ready to pick.

Meanwhile, my other "little pumpkin" continues to grow and is apparently healthy. He is moving around a lot and, other than combatting the heat, having trouble sleeping and difficulty breathing, I am feeling pretty good. I am making progress toward getting the nursery ready, and we are doing what we can to otherwise prepare for his arrival. I'm not someone who thinks we have to have everything the market has to offer for babies, but there are a lot of things they really do need, so we are thinking about all of that and trying to pull it all together. People have given us a few things, which helps a lot.

We are praying each day for this child: for his health and ours, as well as lots of wisdom so we can raise him well. We pray for his salvation, for the country and world he will grow up in, and even for the wife that he will hopefully one day have, that God will protect her from evil and prepare them for each other. We pray for our finances, that God will provide for our needs so that hopefully I won't need to work outside the home and and can focus on being a mom, especially while our son is young. We know that these things are out of our control for the most part, so it has been a lesson for us in surrendering to God and a time of growing in our faith.

I am 23-1/2 weeks along now. Some days it feels like it is flying by, and at other times, he can't get here soon enough. At any rate, the time will come when it comes, and hopefully we will be ready.

It's a . . .

Yes folks, I'm still alive and well. Life has just turned crazy on me!

We had the "big" ultrasound today. It's a boy! It appears he's healthy, except there was a small concern that one of his kidneys was bigger than the other. They didn't pinpoint it as a problem, just something to watch, so we're hoping and praying that it's NOT a problem.

He's a feisty little guy, moving around constantly, making it hard for them to get a good look at what they needed to see. I already knew this, though, as he has been kicking me regularly for the past couple of weeks!

Here's another sneak preview of what he looks like:We don't have a name picked out yet. At least the news today narrows our options. (I guess "Holly" is out -- oh well; Don didn't like it anyway.)

I can't wait to meet him personally! The due date is still officially October 17, but they said he looked a little bigger than 21 weeks, so maybe he'll be born on my birthday: 10/10/10. ( :

Checking In

Well, I haven't blogged in a week now. I have moved my computer to a less-comfortable spot. I used to lounge on the couch with it in my lap, but I don't really feel like that's good for the baby, so I moved it to my "office" which is far less comfortable, and the Internet doesn't pick up as well, so I don't spend as much time on it now. But just to update things:

1) The baby, which was stuck behind my pelvis and causing the problems I was having (including 2 hospital visits), has moved to where it is supposed to be. This is definitely answered prayer, because I was facing the possibility of surgery if it didn't happen on its own.

2) They said I would be less tired during my second trimester. They were wrong. I need to sleep A LOT. If I can get comfortable, that is, considering my ever-growing belly. Other than that, I am feeling pretty good.

3) Bible study has ended for the year, and so has my band, so I have more time on my hands. This is good, because I have to consolidate two of our bedrooms to make room for a nursery. (You'd think 2 people living in a 4-bedroom house would have plenty of room, but . . . no -- too much junk.) I'm hoping to have a garage sale later this summer.

4) My garden is pretty well planted and growing. It has been much harder to do this year, and I will probably skip the flowers and other non-necessities I've done in years past. I've gotten lots of strawberries already, though picking them is no easy task. The task of mowing the lawn has been turned over to Don for this year.

5) I was supposed to have an ultrasound this week to find out what I'm having, but the doctor postponed it for 3 weeks because of the problems I was having. So, I guess we'll find out then.

It seems everything in my life now revolves, directly or indirectly, around this big bulge in my mid-section. Guess I might as well get used to that . . .

THIS is Nashville

By now most have seen pictures of the flood in Nashville and the damage that was done. But it has been a week and a half. The waters have receded. What does Nashville look like now? These are some pictures I have pulled from my friends’ Facebook pages of their homes or those of people they know. This is what Nashville looks like now.
What you will see in these pictures is people helping people, people who are under no obligation showing up to help others, in some cases people they don’t even know. What you will not see is anyone sitting around, feeling sorry for themselves, waiting for the government to come in and help them. You will not see policemen patrolling neighborhoods, guarding against looters or others who may take advantage of those in bad situations. (While these things may exist on a small scale, they are definitely the exception rather than the rule.) Nashville has been an example of what a community should be. People have pulled together to help tear down and rebuild, provide housing for people and pets who have lost their homes, bring food and water to workers, donate clothing, furniture and other necessities to those who have lost them, and encourage and pray for others. Churches have taken up collections for their members and others in the community. For some, it has been a lesson in swallowing their pride and graciously receiving the help offered by others.
In the days during and following the flood, people who owned boats went around rescuing people or bringing them supplies. Neighbors went into houses to save pets and other priceless items when the owners couldn’t get there. One man on his jet ski even saved a woman and her dog from their burning home that was surrounded by water. I am proud of my city. I am proud of their old-fashioned values. I am proud of the way they have pulled together and been an example to the country and the world of how we can help our family, friends and neighbors in need. I don’t watch much TV, so I don’t really know how the national media is portraying us. I can only hope that, if we’re getting any attention at all, they are showing the spirit of camaraderie that is here. But whether or not the media or the government decides to help us, we’re pulling together and making it happen.

Opryland

I believe one of the biggest impacts this past weekend's flood will have on Nashville is the damage that occurred at the Opryland Hotel.

This is sad for a number of reasons. For Don and me personally, this is a place we enjoy going for a free date. It is just a few minutes from our house, and is a wonderful place to walk around, enjoying the indoor atriums, sometimes stopping to eat or get ice cream. Here is a previous blog I did with some pictures I took at Christmas time.

Here is a video of what it looks like now.


Opryland is one of the largest employers in the Nashville area. It is estimated that it will be 3-6 months before the hotel opens again, and in the meantime, thousands of people are without jobs. This includes several people we know personally, one of which is my brother, who works there part-time. Nashville's job market was already in pretty bad shape before this happened.


Another way it will affect us is the tourism industry. The Opryland Hotel, one of the largest hotels in the country, is a major tourist spot, hosting vacationers and conventions from all over the world.


The nearby Opry Mills mall, also flooded, was a big part of our economy as well, along with the Grand Ole Opry, shown here:

This is, of course, in addition to the many people who have lost their homes (a good number of which didn't have flood insurance), cars, pets and all their possessions. A few even lost their lives.

Apparently the national news media isn't giving us much coverage compared to other current events, but from an insider's perspective, this is a very sad time in our city which will have far-reaching implications. I pray that God will bring good out of it, and perhaps this great city, known as the "buckle of the Bible belt" will turn tragedy into triumph.

Praise You in the Storm

This song, by Casting Crowns, has more or less been my theme song over the past couple of weeks.



My baby still hasn't moved into the position it's supposed to be in, though, thankfully, I haven't had to make any more trips to the emergency room, and the doctor is still optimistic that the problem may correct itself. So I'm trying to be optimistic too. And not worry. And not be anxious. And praise God in spite of it all.

After I had been singing this song for days, it was sung at my Bible study on Wednesday as "special music." Think God is trying to tell me something??

This weekend, the song took on a whole new meaning, as Nashville and the surrounding areas experienced record-setting rainfalls. Many parts of town are still flooded. You can view some pictures here. Thankfully, our house wasn't affected too much, other than a small leak and some water in our garage. We pretty much stayed home the whole weekend. Our church service was cancelled, as were many other churches and events around town, and most of the schools in the area are closed today.

Please keep the people of middle Tennessee who have been greatly affected by this in your prayers. And please keep my little baby in your prayers too. And me. In the meantime, I will keep trying to praise God. Even in the storms.