This week Amanda officiated her first wedding. It’s a milestone in every Minister’s career. Here are some of the pictures
family fun
The Eldest and the Youngest
AMANDA WRITES…Well, while half of the Vicarage is in Florida enjoying Disney the Eldest and youngest of the Vicarage are left to guard the home front. This is quite the change for Grandma as she doesn’t see me as an adult quite yet. Just last month she started to allow me to wash the dinner dishes! With that being said, Dad asked me, what were the easiest and hardest things about being left alone with Grandma for a week.
The easiest thing is listening to her stories from her childhood and learning how my dad grew up. The first day dad left she was missing her kids, and she took out photos I had never seen before and with each photo she showed me she was able to tell me all the details of that time. Having these memories and moments are precious and I don’t take them for granted.
The hardest thing is the questions. As grandma grows older her memory is not what it once was. In the evenings we sit together and talk and she asks the same questions over and over. “when’s your father coming home?” “Is Brenda coming home at the same time?” “Have you walked the dogs yet?” “Where’s your cat?” While these questions aren’t hard to answer it’s the repetitiveness and the realization of what is slowly being taken away from her that is hard and frustrating.
J. WRITES… Thank you Amanda for giving us this time.
Flerkin and the Kidnap of the She
The She is gone! He Who Wears Stupid Hats says she is on something called vacation, but I just know that the loathsome Kree have kidnapped her and are holding her as retribution against keep me for interfering in their interstellar political games.
After my last attack on their fleet I feared they may take offensive action against me and mine. Now The She is gone! She has just vanished!
I know! She looks terrified. When I came across this photo I knew it was proof of life and a warning of what will happen if I interfere in their workings ever again.
Matriarch Of the Ages keeps asking He Who Wears Stupid Hats when The She is returning. He always says “ten days”, but alas I know the truth. Meanwhile I can only sit in my tower and wait for an opportunity…. Just wait loathsome Kree! I will find a way to rescue The She and when I do you will all know the wrath of Flerkin!!!!
Brenda’s Memoir: A Kid’s World, Toys and Food
Brenda and I continue to plow through this artist’s reboot. It has been a tricky weekend. I got exactly one and half pages written of my morning pages all weekend. That is one and a half pages of what was supposed to be nine pages. As I said in an earlier post… “too much running the Earth and not enough watching the sky.”
Anyway both Brenda and I are back at it modifying and learning about the changes God is calling us too in the midst of this reboot. I am learning that Julia Cameron is correct when she says “In the midst of any transition, it is important to be gentle with yourself.”
Brenda continues here with some gentle answers regarding her memoir.
What was your favorite toy and what was your favorite food?
Brenda says…. My favorite toy was a stuffed clown with a wind up nose. I slept with it almost every night, and got many a bruise from the hard plastic face that I would try to cuddle. But the music would lull me to sleep. I still have that thing in a box somewhere, the wind up nose has long since stopped playing its hypnotic melody.
My favorite food…Definitely with out even a 2nd thought…Mac and Cheesewiz with either bolgna or hotdogs…every Sunday night after bath time my brother and I would sit down with our tv trays and eat our mac and cheese wiz delciousness and watch Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom followed by THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY…and thus began my love affair with all things DISNEY!
Breaking Down
Art show breakdown started at 7 A.M. today.
By 9 A.M. I was heading to town hall to pay our house taxes, and then to the bank to do Mom’s banking.
Now we are kicking back to watch End Game. Ahhh! That’s better!
The Vicarage Needs a Nap
The Art Show Opening
After the big rain the art show did open, and in spite of the fact that we were up against another art show in town and the opening of Avengers endgame we still had crowds!
Last minute details
A bite to eat
The coloring wall
Award time
Ready for the music
Taking a gander
There’s more excitement to come today.
Easter And Beyond
Well it has been a bit since we have communicated with any of our readers, but to be fair the Vicarage has been just abuzz with activity. Easter is the minister’s busiest season. I guess it could be likened to the accountants final week of tax season or the teacher’s finals season. It is crunch time and this year we got crunched, but it was a wonderful crunching.
We had our Good Friday communion service and then on Saturday and Sunday we were blessed to have the Nichols ministering to us prophetically (prophetic ministry is about to become a big part of Cornerstone and we will chat about that later).
Saturday our sound man came down with the flu, so I (J) went in to set up sound for the choir. I was doing fine until just before service and then I got wicked stressed out and didn’t really know why. It wasn’t until after service when we were at the restaurant celebrating my daughter’s birthday that I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and I was just super hangry.
A good supper and piece of this cake made me feel a ton better. Of course during my hangriness I did lose my car keys so Brenda had to drive us all to the restaurant and then home.
Amanda drove me to church for Easter Sunday services and I found my keys under the conference table in our main offices.
Brenda and I along with our friend Eric led worship on Sunday morning for the Nichols while Amanda led children’s church downstairs. two more children came to know Jesus on Sunday! Praise God!
After church we got home and I made Easter dinner for the family and we had a wonderful lunch and birthday party for Amanda. my daughter and son-in-law came with their daughter Daniella!
Mercedes: The Three White Wickednesses Indeed
Mercedes says in a very high and ancient voice- We have read what the flerken has written about us and as the oldest among us, the most powerful, the most delicate, and the wisest, it has fallen to me to respond.
We are not as the flerken has said the three white wickednesses.
We would take great affront with this if it were not for the fact that the Flerkin’s race is such a young one.
Our own culture was ancient when the Creator breathed the flerken race into being. We do suppose that a race so young in the universe would be easily confused by who we are. Perhaps they would even think us wicked.
We, the ones that humans call Mercedes, Jacopo, and Snug have come to Earth from the ancient world of EIEIO. There we were Guardians of the Sacred White Fire. In ancient times there were many of us who dwelt on EIEIO and who guarded the Sacred White Fire. We had many friends in those days and counted among our numbers Duck Duck, Goose Goose, Horse Horse and Cow Cow.
We three were the guardian generals of the Sacred White Fire. In your tongue we were, Barks no evil, Smells no evil, and Pees no evil.
Our leader was The Fearless O’Mac danah. He had a farm on the Great Plains of EIEIO. For many years we guarded the Sacred White Fire with the help of her servants the white lanterns. But the time came when O’ Mac danah loved his farm more then EIEIO.
Then came the Great Serpent Nidhogg from Jotnar on Ydrasille. Without O’ Mac danah’s help EIEIO was lost and all our compatriots were slaughtered. We three of the Guardians escaped alone to this small quiet world where we transformed ourselves into these little dogs to hide among the humans from Nidhogg. We have used the last of our power to shield ourselves and these humans from his sight.
We care nothing about the paltry Kree who hide in our walls. Should the flerken be unable to dispatch them we shall obliterate them with our thoughts. Our eyes watch only for Nidhogg. He is the real Danger.
Brenda: Sunday At the Vicarage
For Brenda most Sundays mean traveling far afield to deliver the message of hope to one of her partnering churches. This week Brenda was in Huntington MA at the Assembly of God there.
Her message is about how every person has a part to play. She got the whole church to do an exercise called the living machine.
This next year she is raising funds so that when she returns to The Netherlands she will be able to start The Bridge Artist’s Ministry. If you are interested in helping Brenda on her journey you can sign up here.
