My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. A terrific cast iron skillet breakfast at one of our favorite local eateries here in Savannah, J Christopher’s …
2. My new cow.
3. Air conditioning! (And it makes me sad and a bit privileged to realize that everyone does not have this luxury. Maybe a lot privileged.)
4. Beautiful views from our hotel room last weekend.
5. Basil lemonade!
May you have a beautiful summery weekend!
I love this hymn we sang at church this week, as the theme of the service was celebrating our nation’s independence holiday.
It challenges the belief that the United States is “God’s country,” that the USA is more special and deserving of good than other nations.
Take a look at the lyrics, with my emphasis in red:
This Is My Song
by Georgia Elma Harkness, Jean Sibelius, and Lloyd Stone
Verse 1
This is my song O God of all the nations
A song of peace for lands afar and mine
This is my home the country where my heart is
Here are my hopes my dreams my holy shrine
But other hearts in other lands are beating
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine
Verse 2
My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean
And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine
But other lands have sunlight too and clover
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine
O hear my song Thou God of all nations
A song of peace for their land and for mine
Verse 3
This is my prayer O Lord of all earth’s kingdoms
Thy kingdom come on earth Thy will be done
Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve Him
And hearts united learn to live as one
O hear my prayer Thou God of all nations
Myself I give Thee let Thy will be done
God bless … the World and all its Nations.
And at home …
From 1914 to 1918, Flanders Fields was a major battle theatre on the Western Front during the First World War. A million soldiers from more than 50 different countries were wounded, missing or killed in action here. visitflanders.com
The poem, ‘In Flanders Fields’, by John McCrae, went on to inspire the use of the poppy, which once grew on the battlefields of Flanders Fields, to become an enduring symbol of remembrance across the world.
HAVE A BLESSED MEMORIAL DAY 2024
This morning we picked up breakfast sandwiches and coffee and headed over to Savannah’s beautiful Bonaventure Cemetery for a forenoon (Isn’t that a cool word?) picnic.
Walking afterwards, we came across her …
“What’s going on here?” I quietly asked.
(I had to repeat my question several times before she answered me.)
I had to lean in to hear her.
“Angeling is hard work.”
I simply nodded and motioned for Robert to soundlessly move along.
Today Robert and I visited the Walter Museum of Art in Baltimore. Our favorite exhibit was one called “Saint Amelie.”
SAINT AMELIE
Kehinde Wiley (American, born 1977), 2014
Saint Amelie is one of a series of twelve freestanding stained glass panels by Kehinde Wiley that depict contemporary portraits of young Black residents of Brooklyn, New York. It mirrors the form, composition, figural pose, and framing of historic stained glass windows from the medieval and Renaissance periods, and specifically a window titled Saint Amelie by the French Neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867).
Wiley honors his subject, Kern Alexander, whom he used as a model in multiple works, by depicting him in a context traditionally reserved for Christian saints and religious contemplation.
Like much in Wiley’s work, Saint Amelie explores the invisibility of Black people within the traditional art historical canon.
Hand-painted stained glass, mounted on lightbox with aluminum frame.
A beautiful exhibit!
Marveling this morn, thinking back on the church Robert and I walked past on a walk near our Airbnb in the Riverside neighborhood of Jacksonville over the weekend.
It’s Romanesque and Byzantine architecture first caught our eyes. But then the large sign out front sparkled in joyfully inclusive welcome.
Look closer …
Thank you, Riverside. You are a Marvel.
NealEnJoy 