How do you feel today? v. 3.0

[Fire Daughter]

Soulbiter, you, your daughter and your entire family are in all our prayers during this terrible time. May God bless and hold you all as you grieve the loss of your beautiful grandson. And my you all find peace in knowing that he now rests in the loving arms of the Father.

Love to all of you from your friends here on the Mountain.

[Sorus]

Condolences to you and your family, SoulBiter.

[I'm Murrin]

So the sofa I ordered in early December is due for delivery on Wednesday. I've paid a £100 deposit when I ordered, but still owe the rest and need to pay in full before delivery - but other than mentioning that I have X outstanding when they gave me the delivery date, I've not had any contact from them regarding payment. I haven't been given any information at all about how to pay - nothing in the paperwork I have says it, and nothing on the website. No idea how they do it, and they haven't done a thing about asking me for it.

[Menolly]

COD, perhaps?

[aliantha]

COD, perhaps?

That's hard to believe, in this day and age. Murrin, you probably ought to be proactive and contact their customer service department.

As for me, I'm sort of in the midst of a crash course on comparative religion. Trying to get my ducks in a row to write the first draft of book 5. Also, it's (kind of) helping me keep my mind off of how sick I am of my job, and how much I feel stuck there.

Yesterday I took Magickmaker to the grocery store and bought her some food because she had $9 left over for the week, after paying her rent. (Anybody got a full-time job to give to either of my kids?) The store was a madhouse, of course. Then we went to the craft store, where we spent way too much time.

[deer of the dawn]

So sorry, SoulBiter.

I'm upset and angry and sad and impatient for some really stupid situations to resolve. I feel like throwing a tantrum!!! AGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!

Ok, got that off my chest.

[Iolanthe]

I'm sitting here with butterflies in my stomach. In precisely one hour and 9 minutes (provided my computer clock is correct) we will discover whether the body found under a car park in Leicester is that of King Richard III who died on the 22 August 1485!

[I'm Murrin]

And the couch is paid for. I had to phone up customer services and pay over the phone. I still think it's bad practice for them to take the order and then never contact the customer about payment.

[deer of the dawn]

Spent a long time praying this morning for peace, which I need badly.

My Bible reading this morning was when Jesus goes into the Temple, finds a religious shopping mall going on there, and cleans house. Drives out the animals, overturns the moneychangers' tables, and tells them to clean up the mess. Stands his ground when confronted by the authorities.

Our life feels like that lately. One result of Jesus' rampage was the release of the doves. I got two gifts from that:

#1 What feels chaotic to me is still in His control and attains His purpose.

#2 In the midst of the "overturning" the doves of peace are released.



Oh, and so you can collectively release that breath I know we've all been holding: them bones are Richard's after all.

[lorin]

That dove is beautiful.

I am having trouble maintaining my shiny new positive attitude these days. I got my health insurance back last Thursdayish and it is gone again today.My paychecks have stopped as I used up all my time I had on the books. I started drawing out of my little IRA. The doctors want to fuse my spine which I won't allow. Not as long as I can walk and swim I won't allow it.

Ah well, things will resolve themselves one way or another.

[deer of the dawn]

That dove is beautiful.

I am having trouble maintaining my shiny new positive attitude these days. I got my health insurance back last Thursdayish and it is gone again today.My paychecks have stopped as I used up all my time I had on the books. I started drawing out of my little IRA. The doctors want to fuse my spine which I won't allow. Not as long as I can walk and swim I won't allow it.

Ah well, things will resolve themselves one way or another.

Kind of where my husband and I are at. Everything is falling apart. But when it's all done, we'll still be here.

[Damelon]

Studying up on London. Booked a flight for the last week in April to there. A belated 50th birthday present to myself. (that fell a week before the Olympics - I figured a bad time to visit ) Spending a week. I'm staying near Paddington station. On the itinerary: The British Museum and Library, Westminster and the sites in that area, hopefully a Premier league match.

What would be a good day trip? I was thinking Oxford, but nothing is set in stone.

[Iolanthe]

Hey Damelon, I would suggest Lincoln, but it's 2 hours + on the train with a change at Newark. Still, if you fancy an overnight stay we have a spare room (I mean that, by the way, you would be very welcome). We have a beautiful cathedral, a decent castle, a very steep hill and lots of other historic things in a compact area.

I've only ever been to Oxford once, and that was a weekend conference just outside. We had the banquet in St Edmunds Hall, medieval I think. That's all I saw of the city as we were on a coach and it was dark!

Winchester is an interesting place, and not too far from London either. Surprisingly Leicester is only just over an hour on a direct train - the new Richard III museum opens next Monday. Canterbury is another possibility. Thinking of where we used to spend days out when we were kids and lived in Essex, we went mainly to London of course, and places like Hampton Court, Kew etc. Kew is worth seeing if you like flowers and things - underground station not far from the Gardens, and there is a pub that does very nice meals in the circle outside. I shall be eating there for two nights at the end of this month!

[Krazy Kat]

Canterbury is ok. Lots of French daytrippers.
The only place I have ever seen that sells Hobgoblin on tap. Good beergoggles is that Ale .

[Frostheart Grueburn]

Terribly sorry for your loss, SB.

[SoulBiter]

Thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers. All of them have been much appreciated!

My wife and I had this read for us at the memorial service:

We can’t find a way to speak of August without speaking of his parents Ashley and Chris. As we look over the past nine months, we can only say that is was a journey of growth. Ashley and Chris matured and grew in responsibility during this time, exceeding our expectations. When they first came to us with their news, they were fearful of what our reaction would be, however they had already developed a plan for themselves and the new life they were bringing into this world.

At six months into the pregnancy, we got the call from Ashley and Chris that she had gone to her regular doctor’s appointment and they were sending her to Savannah to the hospital. We rushed down to be with them not knowing what to expect, but certainly not expecting that they would deliver little August 3 months early at 1 pound 5 ounces. We weren’t given a lot of hope at that time. 1lb 5oz is so small and so very early. But she had this baby and he was beautiful! They named him August Orion Stewart. Two proud parents with the help of the doctors and nurses had brought this tiny life into the world and his light burned so very brightly!
Over the next few months, both Ashley and Chris took every opportunity to be at the hospital and be with August, despite the physical distance from their home and both still continuing their college education. Both Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled around and they both said,” If August isn’t coming home then we aren’t either”.

The last week was a blur of surreal activity. A call and a rush to the hospital. Sitting with August, Ashley and Chris. Praying and sending prayer requests. With the doctor’s report we knew we needed a flat out miracle. Chris and Ashley were faced with a decision that no parent should ever have to make, and it was heart wrenching for us to watch them go through it and not be able to make it better. Even with all this tragedy, even being faced with knowing that August’s life might be measured in minutes, Ashley wanted to be sure that his life was consecrated to God and asked to have him Baptized. The Chaplain, the nurses and the doctors all gathered around August’s bed for the service. The Bible verse that was read was from Matthew. “Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Multiple episodes of desperate attempts to revive this sweet life, the decision was made by these courageous and loving young parents. August had all the hoses and monitors taken off, and was swaddled and put in the arms of his parents to say goodbye. They held him, and loved him as he passed into the arms of Jesus, where he truly became perfect.

After that we all sit and wonder. We prayed for a miracle. We prayed that God would step into this moment and heal all that was going on with him. We trusted, we prayed and we all waited. And then we were left wondering. Where was God in all this? Where was the Miracle that we prayed for? We see now that the Miracle happened. It just wasn’t what we had thought that it should be. The Miracle is August Orion Stewart. A boy born at 1 lb 5 oz , who touched us all over the last 3 and a half months, who grew to 5 lbs 7 ozs. That was the true gift from God. That was the miracle.

[Krazy Kat]

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kindom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of
God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness,
for theirs is the kindom of heaven.

[Iolanthe]

SB and KK. Beautiful, just beautiful.

[Linna Heartbooger]

So sad...
Did look at his picture you posted, SB... so beautiful.

Deer... Arrgh?!
Glad for the Bible study... appreciate.

lorin... arrrgh!

[Menolly]

I don't remember when the World convention in London is. Will your trip overlap, High L-rd?