A Perfectly Lovely Weekend

10/05/2009

This past weekend was so wonderful! It started Friday when Jason met me at work with Chick-fil-A for lunch (including chocolate milkshakes.) Then we got on the road towards Valhermoso, Alabama where J was playing guitar in the worship band with our pastor Lindell Cooley at an outdoor festival. Besides the damp chilliness as it got dark, the night was perfect: two hours of worship and dancing and celebrating God, getting to hang out with 2 of my sweet friends and their adorable kiddos, watching our pastor get completely undignified jumping around the stage dancing and worshipping, and ending the night with fireworks! I love fireworks. Here are a few pictures I didn’t take:

1

Jason and I absolutely adore that little girl (and her parents are pretty amazing, too)! Getting to hold her always makes our days.

2

Her mama adores her too.

3

This sweet little boy is going to be a big brother this spring! I love this kid and his mama, too.

band

Our husbands, our pastor, and the rest of the band picking out some songs for the night (not that Lindell ever sticks to the setlist!).

Saturday, after sleeping in late, J got together with his bro to work on some recording stuff and us ladies went shopping. Found some great deals at the thrift stores and Macy’s. Had my first real fruit slush from Sonic (Half-price happy hour between 2-4pm – seriously?! My drink cost $0.50! Hello mid-century prices!!)

Later that night we went to PM for sushi with friends and then downtown Nashville to the art crawl. We ended a lovely Saturday falling asleep on the couch in front of Seinfeld in a “Roma-coma”. (Drifting into a peaceful rest after gorging yourself on Roma pizza!)

Sunday after church we had lunch at the brand-new abode of some dear friends; overate and then relaxed on the couch on a peaceful rainy afternoon.

I seriously can’t imagine a more perfect weekend. I am so thankful for our friends, for our church and our pastor, for our family. We don’t normally have a weekend that includes just about EVERYTHING we love: worship, friends, BBQ, music, fireworks, friends, art, sushi, “sleepovers”, church, friends, resting. Ahhh. Thank you Lord!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

08/11/2009

I’m not going to claim that it was my favorite hymn before last week but I’m really loving it now. Originally I saw this video on Design Mom set to Sufjan Stevens’ version of “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Then I downloaded the song and have been listening to it for days. I’m definitely buying the rest of his Songs for Christmas boxed set this year in time for tree trimming and hot apple cider.

Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of thy unchanging love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy grace now, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

(I’m highlighting my favorite lines in teal.)

Wondering what Ebenezer means? I was and this answered my question well.

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Posted by mahlbrandt