Double your pleasure, double your fun…

Double your pleasure, double your fun…

      

For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

Genesis 18:19 (NIV)

Double your pleasure, double your fun,
With Doublemint, Doublemint, chewing gum!

~Paul Severson, jingle writer, circa 1950

There's a sweet sweet spirit in this place
And I know that it's the spirit of the Lord
There are sweet expressions on each face
And I know they feel the presence of the Lord

Sweet Holy Spirit
Sweet heavenly dove
Stay right here with us
Filling us with your love
And for these blessings
We lift our hearts in praise
Without a doubt we'll know that we have been revived
When we shall leave this place

Sweet Sweet Spirit

~Doris Akers

A sweet, sweet spirit inhabited my weekend; no meltdowns, no clenched teeth, nothing difficult.  It may seem more than passing strange for a small home to hold twice its usual capacity, but as usual, when these guests leave, I am wholly satisfied; only a little sad.  Whoa there….I am wistful when they leave, but since it’s always good visit, there is no place for sadness. I am not sorry to see them leave, rather, I am so very thankful that they came.

Two daddies, two mommies, four children, ages 14 through 2.  We had a houseful. 
My Gayle and her crew (husband, and my godsons, 6 and 2) came from DC to hang overnight. A frugal weekend, this visit excluded restaurants and hotel stays.   Desiring to spend time together, we just made it work.  There was of course the football outing at a sports bar for the guys, but it was championship weekend for the Giants, and Gayle’s husband, albeit exiled in Redskins territory, is a serious Giants fan. (They won, BTW…there was also the additional benefit of him being able to see his brother, who lives locally).

  

I am blessed to have a friend whose life mirrors mine, who tries to live a good Christian life, to raise children in a Godly home, to set an example that is attractive, not repulsive and exclusionary.  I just had another conversation with a friend about misguided Christians, but this is not that blog.  I love my friend, her family, and our twenty-plus year relationship.  We began in college, and are still going strong.

The weekend was not without its mishaps; juice got spilled, children, both large and small got cranky and tired, husbands made mid-meal trips to grocery for the items just run out…but it was all good.  We had fun.  We were in the kitchen together.  We crowded around the dining room table to eat chicken and waffles for breakfast. We played in the park in sub zero weather??? We made angel hair pasta for the children while mommies enjoyed lobster ravioli with our sausage and pepper ragout (they wouldn’t have liked the ravioli anyway, there was no need to waste it…) for dessert, my first dump cake (inspired by a blog I read in a blogfrog community…not my usual fare, but mmm, mmm, good nonetheless!)

 

How fortunate am I to have an enduring friendship? We cry on each other’s shoulders, keep one other’s secrets, bore witness at our weddings, wept at family homegoings and rail and giggle at one another’s neuroses, ever loving,  warts and all.  She knows my best, and loves me.  She’s viewed my worst, and loves me anyway.  She trusts me.  She advises me.  She laughs at me (frequently).  She is my friend. 

A sweet, sweet spirit inhabited my weekend, and it will rest, rule, and abide over and about my home for many weeks to come. My Gayle was here, sharing her family, and my cup runneth over.  I am richly blessed, even in the quiet wake of her departure.  Silence, after happy noise.  Yet another reminder that God is good.