I got curious today about a family club we used to frequent in Brazil.
It was called the Clube de Campo Do Castelo, or the Country Club of the Castle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er-a0JkRf0c
The club looks like it's still going strong, changing very little of the landscape, tennis courts, pool, gymnasium, restaurant and meeting areas. I see a new gym and the boats on the lake are up to date.
It was so much fun to go out there on Thursday afternoons. Our mothers shared carpooling, and would come out to get us after school in a big group to take us to the clube. Some of us would play tennis with our fathers, who had been out there most of the day already.
Some of the mothers played tennis as well. The other mothers in our mission group hung out under the canopy of trees. There was always conversation, some women crafted and others relaxed!
We kids could rent hammocks, ride paddle boats, play on the play sets, run around the large acreage playing all kinds of games, swim, play clay court tennis, or play on the tennis backboard to get some practice.
The clube was a place of respite, where we could catch our breath and look forward to the weekend.
I recall my Uncle Allen and Aunt Lucia joining us. They were always in the pool with us kids, and Allen taught me how to do the side crawl, on both sides! We loved throwing coins into the pool and racing to grab them! We would race as well, among so many other aquatic games; many of which were made up.
There was also a walkway over the pool, dividing the shallow end of the pool from the deep end. There was something magical about that bridge. It could be anything we wanted it to be, from a bridge over a mote, to water washing under a cave.
During American Holidays, we'd have cookouts on the grills and our mothers would spread a feast on the picnic tables! We'd sing the US National Anthem, America the Beautiful, and other folk songs. If it was World Cup season, we might throw in a song to celebrate our beloved Brazil!
I am imagining all the fun the country club is still having with a newer
generation of families! May you be around a long time dear clube!
Listening to one of my favorite groups as I write this piece. I was introduced to Bread by the Norton family while living in Brazil during my Jr. High years...Enjoy a little background music while reading...
They are comfy, still have a lot of life, but a bit smelly...even when I wear socks! I hate replacing them, but the scent of feet in unbreathable shoes is getting to me, not to mention my husband and daughter. They've been kind and laugh when I remove my shoes and run to the bathroom to wash my feet.
My Monika and Me
But these sturdy shoes need to bless someone else's feet with the rest of the life they have ahead. I spent yesterday shopping with Monika looking for a replacement, but no dice yet. I must endure the ripe olfactory wisps until then.
But I will miss them. They have a story to tell...
I got them around February of 2006, right before my Bammel church women's retreat. I was asked to lead the singing that year and nervous as a cat on its way to getting a bath.
But Mom taught me years ago if I am asked to help out at church, and can do it, just do it. It will bless me and others.
How right you were mom!
My amazing Mother!
I sang my heart out...maybe too much...but what a great retreat that was! I recall traveling to the retreat with my good friend then Dollwyn, and hearing wonderful lessons about how being in the family of God is akin to royalty, and to never ever forget it as long as I live!
I have not. It's guided me when the externals threaten otherwise.
What I remember when I look at my shoes is the role Bammel played in my life. John and I had been married 10 years when we began attending church there. He was a New-Englander come Texan four years prior. Bammel had a profound impact on my early spiritual formation and I wanted him to know this group of people too, and hoped they had not changed. But they had...they had only gotten better!
Boston
I first heard of Bammel when my youth group went for a youth retreat from our then temporary home of four months in Corpus Christi to Houston for a weekend. We had so much fun that weekend while growing our personal faith in God. I made new friends as a newly transplanted MK from Brazil to the US, and was made to feel so at home because of the love I saw radiated at Bammel.
When we began attending Bammel in 2004, John and I were welcomed with open arms and enfolded by Michael Montalvo, a wonderful minister that reached out to John and made him feel as if time and space had never separated them as brothers.
Houston
Gail Matthews was my mentor, allowing me to stretch a newly found gift; writing. She put me right to work editing a quarterly women's newsletter. I so enjoyed each newsletter we published with the help of a dedicated staff. I learned so much from the other contributors, namely Holly Lewis whose writings on motherhood watered my dreams of being a mother one day. I also enjoyed researching and writing my own pieces; it got me out of my head and focused on the good things God was laying on my heart to share.
I will always have great memories of Bammel because of these shoes. Though we are back in Houston, and not at Bammel, I still have great respect and admiration for the theology and work Bammel does, and look forward to events we can share together as lovers of Jesus!
There are so many other reasons Bammel has a piece of my heart...too many to go into, but know it's all good!!!
Catfishing with my awesome Father!
Since we left Bammel in 2007 a lot of life happened. One of the best lessons I learned during that time was what my father taught me long ago; appreciate those you love while you can, because you never know when you won't have them anymore.
So during some years we were away from Houston, I sought to appreciate my family and current friends more while reaching out to new friends. I learned a lot of lessons; mostly that it's easier said than done, but not impossible, for in the end, reaching out is always worth the attempt no matter the outcome! Thanks Dad!
Glad to be back in Houston by my folks! They're super grandparents to seven grands already, and will be getting their eighth grand in Monika!
With my sweetie hanging out at our San Antonio home!
You see, John and I are first-time parents! A quick note about us and our marriage of 21 years: If either of us had a seven-year itch, it was not evident. We so enjoy each other's company. Now at mid-life, we are chosing parenthood over crisis and loving it!
John is an amazing carpenter, landscaper, business-owner when he ran an irrigation company, faithful employee, focused worker, Financial Peace University facilitator with a teacher's heart, runner, soccer-lover, beloved friend! I could go on, but you get the picture. He's near perfect and only getting better. We are each other's mutual admiration society and have never doubted for an instant that God formed our lives in such a way as to "bump into each other" when we did. For the day we started dating, we never looked back and there were never any others...just so grateful!
First family selfie
And now, back to our story...
We just gave life to a bouncing beautiful teenager named Monika and are living the dream!
I was wondering how I'd introduce this piece of news onto Coffee...but timing and story are everything...and this is the point in the story of our lives when I can reveal our latest happiness!
So as I go shopping for new shoes, I am reminded of all the good "new's" I have had in my life... new loyal friends when moving to the US at 14 years of age, new experiences when I went off to an inspirational college-OC, new first adult job in Boston with the incomparable Ketchen-Lipson family, new husband, new start in Houston 6 years into our married life, new dreams of children and finally a new daughter to love and share our wisdom, wit and wonder with!
I can't find a period, so I'll end as my mother does, "let's put a comma here..."
***
This piece is dedicated to my husband, family and non-blood kin, particularly Harry Lipson who has encouraged me lately to keep writing my Coffee At My Table blog after a lot of time away! Harry, you're a wonderful friend, great husband to a super-woman in Bev, father to two of the kindest human beings I know-Sarah & Andy-my beloved charges of days long past, a big-brother persona, great mentor and former employer, and the most knowledgeable person on Texas music sending me the latest and greatest from your computer in Arlington, MA with the most breath-taking view of Boston!!!
If pictures & videos don't come up in your email, click here: Coffee At My Table
It was late spring of 1983-ish. My brother Richard introduced our family to jazz singer Dave Grusin's album Mountain Dance. We were in New Mexico driving along a mountain road.
The cassette player was jumping to the beat of the album's songs. Rag Bag, Rondo and Mountain Dance among its many happy tunes. We rounded a corner and began driving along the most beautiful sight.
To our left stood a huge rock face darkened with trees reaching up so high we couldn't see the sky. But to the right, through the aspens we saw a peaceful mountain river flowing over rocks. If I recall, there were still patches of spring snow on the ground. The five of us were captivated by what happened next.
Thanksong played.
We were quiet, mesmerized watching the water dance over the rocks. Sunlight dappling among the breeze-touched golden leaves. Light sparkled.
There was a reverent silence.
When life takes strange turns, memories like these stand out.
My loving family.
Quiet and at peace,
navigating the beauty of created nature.
This post is dedicated to good memories, and may they come flooding in to you when you need them most. May they dispel any disjointed interpretations of life and keep you on the path of thanksgiving. Be blessed today!
May we truly look for God in every good we see, praying constantly for our leaders great and small. May we be thankful in our trials and let God use them to refine the impurities out that we might shine like stars in the night. May we all serve our fellow men by the light of God's grace and not merely with our own intelligence. As great as our mind seems in the moment, God's mind is not only greater in knowledge, but in compassion and kindness. May we grow more in the likeness of our Creator through the example of His Son, the One sent to bring us back to our First Love, Elohiym.
Lord, thank you for bringing this day to us in peace. Thank you for those who have humbly battled daily in prayer, praise and work. And for those caught in a battle of wits, thank you when they have chosen well-thought out words over weapons and violence to bring about change in a dignified and Godly way to this land that is hurting. Thank you for the little healing we see, and grant us courage to be a part of the greater healing to come. Please bless our new leaders, and lead us away from Godlessness and a rejection of Scripture. In the name of the One Who makes it possible, our Lord Jesus, who is perfect as I am not in this present age, Amen.
Thank you for reading today, and be blessed as you enjoy the gift of being a free American who is able to worship in peace and has opportunity every day to share the Gospel of Peace in family, work and worship.
Note: Picture taken by me in on Labor Day 2012 in our then hometown of Live Oak, TX, the most patriotic city we have ever lived in boasting countless military families as residents! Thank you for your service!
I dedicate this post to my husband who supports my writing! You kindly helped me with my duties this morning that got put aside so I could write this post while I was inspired to do so!
These are solely my views and given gratefully to a city that forever changed me.
One week ago tonight our former home town was grieving the loss of three persons and over one hundred injured after a senseless double-bombing took place at the 4:09 hour mark, just yards away from the finish line at the historic Boston Marathon.
My husband is from the Boston area. I lived there 13 years. Tough and tender, the home of patriot descendents, compassionate people to a fault and expressive ad infinitum. It is not a town that will go quietly into that good night, it will stand up and fight-it's got bite! These are just the facts, and not my opinion.
Ask anyone whose ever lived in Boston. It's a dynamic town filled with every sport, universities, culture, scientific discovery and medical progress, not to mention the quaint towns, conversant populous, beautiful beaches and an hour's drive away from some mountain ranges caressed with the fresh air that can only come from living that far north. It is also the home to the first European settlers, church planters and seminary starters. This is not a commentary on the current spiritual state of Boston, but a tribute to a city that has taught the world something important this week. Graceful resilience.
4:30 Minutes. I saw Neil Diamond in the 1980s - One of the best concerts I ever saw
One of my favorite times of the year was the Boston Marathon. I believe I got to stand on the sidelines at least five, if not six times. At one point, if I'm not mistaken, we stood near where the first bomb went off. Our hearts hurt for our former home townies. We didn't let it keep us from our day's work, but John and I caught the news every morning to stay informed. Until Friday, that is, when we sat glued to the manhunt in Watertown almost all day. A beloved MIT cop was gunned down by the two suspects. Suspect 1 lost his life that night.
A side bar-For anyone not familiar with the running culture, it is a peace-loving, hard working and fun culture. But it is a strong culture, one dedicated to bettering one's health and using running as therapy and personal character building. Who knows, but that those two suspects, had they given themselves to running rather than hatred, what a different story it would have been for them and the city of Boston.
I think the video says it all. Though, spiritually speaking, Bostonians are miles away from the ideas that the missionaries and seminaries established four hundred years ago, the flower still has some bloom. People don't just overnight become persons of true resilience; they become that way because somewhere they were taught and it was passed down through generations. I believe this is so because the Bible once had preeminence in that great city. It's effects still linger though it is slowly being pushed out of New England's consciousness.
Who knows, but that the Bible will make its way back into the Boston psyche one day. God indeed sure loves them according to His Word.
Boston, thanks for all you taught me in my years up there. I am so so thankful to have been a Yankee for thirteen years.
May you sleep well this night after a week of nightmare and heartache, fear and courage, cooperation with authorities and the capture of a well-documented suspect that no more damage be done. You're wide awake now. Thank God. He's there.
P.S.-As if that wasn't news enough, I believe last week was a record-breaker for news. The Boston Marathon Bombing happened on April 15th, not only Patriot's day (the 3rd Monday of each April), but it was also tax day. On Wednesday, April 17th, there was another fatal explosion in West, Texas, outside of Waco. A fertilizer plant exploded in a small community killing at least 14 at last count, and injuring hundreds. Then there were record lows, including here in San Antonio where we should have been pushing 90 since February, yet we've enjoyed 70s with lows into the 40s. There has been severe weather all over the country, and an earthquake in China. The gun control issue, and illegal immigration issues have heated up and taken different turns because of last week's events. And yet, in it all...
May God continue to bless America, and all other countries who put Him first!
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance." -Psalm 33:12
24 Minutes, but well worth the watch. (FYI-Applause is muted)
This post is dedicated to my husband John, who is my best friend, a marathon runner and one who never gives up in the face of adversity, having one of the most handsome smiles I've ever seen! For my family who supported me when I lived up north and my new family I married into, not to mention the Ketchen-Lipson family whom I lived with for four years (hugs to Sarah and Andy, who works at Fenway!), my church family and my co-workers at Folktree, Healthworks, HQ and EG&G (Now PerkinElmer, Corp).
Ever wonder what to say when complimented, even for something that you didn't have a hand in?
"Thank you."
No commentary. No explanation.
Did you hear the one about the salesman that did a great job selling his product and then talked so much after the sale that he had to take the product back?
"Thank you" contains everything you want to say but don't have the words to say.
When we explain, it's like apologizing for having received the gift of a compliment, unless we're crediting another person for the compliment we have just received.
Proverbs 10:19 says it all, "When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is prudent."
Enough said :-)
This post is dedicated to my husband who says a lot with the few words he uses. Love you hon!
Interested in encouraging women no matter what age and stage in life. Member Writers On The Storm and American Christian Fiction Writers. Wrote/Edited for Sisters In Service quarterly newsletter/Bammel church of Christ 2005-2007; Member of Words for the Journey Writer's Guild/The Woodlands, TX 2004-2007; Copy edited various publications. Member of Writers On The Storm. Continue blogging on GodReflection and Facebook Coffee At My Table & 1-2-Motherhood.
We kids could rent hammocks, ride paddle boats, play on the play sets, run around the large acreage playing all kinds of games, swim, play clay court tennis, or play on the tennis backboard to get some practice.
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