When Jesus walks the waters of the sea, how profound the calm!

I was reading Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotions the other day, and this one was really interesting.

'The rainbow, the symbol of the covenant with Noah, is typical of Our Lord Jesus, who is the Lord's witness to the people. When may we expect to see the token of the covenant? The rainbow is only to be seen painted upon a cloud. When the sinner's conscience is dark with clouds, when he remembers his past sin, and mourneth and lamenteth before God, Jesus Christ is revealed to him as the covenant Rainbow, displaying all the glorious hues of the divine character and betokening peace. To the believer, when his trials and temptations surround him, it is sweet to behold the person of our Lord Jesus Christ - to see Him bleeding, living, rising, and pleading for us. God's rainbow is hung over the cloud of our sins, our sorrows, and our woes, to prophesy deliverance. Nor does a cloud alone give a rainbow, there must be crystal drops to reflect the light of the sun. So, our sorrows must not only threaten, but they must really fall upon us. There had been no Christ for us if the vengence of God had been merely a threatening cloud: punishment must fall in terrible drops upon the Surety. Until there is real anguish in the sinner's conscience, there is no Christ for him; until the chastisement which he feels becomes grievous, he cannot see Jesus. But there must also be a sun; for the clouds and drops of rain make not rainbows unless the sun shineth. Beloved, our God, who is as the sun to us, always shines, but we do not always see Him - clouds hide His face; but no matter what drops may be falling, or what clouds may be threatening, if He does but shine there will be a rainbow at once. It is said that when we see a rainbow the shower is over. Certain it is, that when Christ comes, our troubles remove; when we behold Jesus, our sins vanish, and our doubts and fears subside. When Jesus walks the waters of the sea, how profound the calm!'

"The bow shall be seen in the cloud." - Genesis 9:14

Opera books, opera records, even an opera autograph!

The three of us went to an estate sale on Friday. What an estate sale. A 70 yr old lady had to liquidate her parents house (Father died in 73, Mother died in 84. We don't know why it took so long). The daughter actually studied opera and spent 10 years in Austria. Actually, her half-sister (25 years older than she is) was an actress back in the 40s. Jane Randolph.

Anyway, we got a cabinet full of vocal scores and music. Sarah found it (the entire house was set up as a sale, with a lot of the furniture still where it had been and not emptied!) and Mom asked the guy who was running the sale how much the sheet music pieces were. He said that normally he would charge $1 a piece, but if we would take the entire lot we could have it for $10! I couldn't believe it! She had the two scores that I had been thinking about buying, so I was thrilled even if I only got the two books. So, Sarah and I spent an hour packing it up. Five full boxes! Also, she had a collection of opera records to die for. Just my era, too. Mostly 50s, and tons and tons of Renata Tebaldi. Boxed sets, complete operas, recital singles. Well, we got four large boxes for another $15. I am thrilled because, aside from having lots of complete operas I don't have already, there are some titles where mine got ruined when our plumbing burst.

Another very cool thing . . . on Saturday night I was going through a stack of Met librettos (to see if there were doubles) and I found one that is autographed by Renata Tebaldi! I was thrilled as she is one of my favorite opera singers. I couldn't believe it when I found it!

Bogart, Bergman, and Flynn at Playhouse Square

To celebrate Mom and Dad's 25th wedding anniversary, we went up to Cleveland this past weekend and saw two classic (and I mean classic!) films at the Palace Theatre on Playhouse Square. Saturday night was Casablanca and Sunday afternoon was The Adventures of Robin Hood. We actually stayed at a hotel that was only a block away from the theatre. We checked-in around 2:00pm and then went to dinner at an Italian restaurant that was across from the theatre. Sarah and I shared this absolutely wonderful pizza that was topped with mozzarella, garlic oil, pesto, and brie. We also had these two wonderful appetizers - one was italian bread with mozzarella tomatoes, and basil, the other was spicy marinara with ricotta and you dipped fried pita bread in it. We have to try making this, it was so good. Actually, the entire meal was one of the most enjoyable restaurant experiences we've had. Before the film, we went back to the hotel and Dad and the two of us swam in the pool for an hour. It was so hot, the water and the air, that it was hard to breathe after a little while.

On Saturday night we saw the classic Casablanca, with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Thrilling and wonderful on the big screen. It went from one great scene to another, although the last scene is still one of Hollywood's stand-outs. Bogart was perfect as Rick and Ingrid Bergman was beautiful. However, Claude Rains as the French prefect of police steals every scene he is in. Definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

Sunday morning, we packed up and checked out, and decided to go to Shaker Heights for lunch. It was a beautiful drive and we saw lots of cool buildings. We had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, which was huge! Sarah and I shared a white pizza and tiramisu cheesecake. Some of our favorite dishes. Back to the theatre for the 2:00 showing. This time we got to see the greatest swashbuckling movie, The Adventures of Robin Hood, with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Of all the films that we have gotten to see on the big screen, this one wins hands down. You can really understand what made Errol Flynn famous! It was great!



Here's a photo of Mom and Dad at the Italian restaurant on Saturday, then the two of us (I'm on the left, Sarah is on the right) on the stairs at the hotel, and then a cute photo of The Bunny sitting on our woodstove. Naughty, yes, but he is soooo cute! (He doesn't have anything to do with our vacation, I just thought he would like to have his photo on my blog. )

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
"What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." - Mark 19:6

Sweet Lelani

Yesterday (July 31) afternoon at 2:38pm, our cousin Patty had her first baby! We are so excited, we have been waiting for years for her to have a baby. :) Alex is very excited and so proud of his new daughter! Her name is Leilani, she was 7lbs. 9oz., and 19" long. They sent us a photo and she looks just like Patty and Gramma. She is so cute! She was actually born on Robbie's birthday, just 23 years later. Alex's mom flew up from Puerto Rico to be wth them, so Alex, his mom, Patty's mom, and Gramma were there at the birth. That 's so cool - both Grammas and the Great-Gramma.

"Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward." - Psalm 127:3