August 13 – “Bewhiskered Blogger”

And the days passed and became weeks.  We all ached for home.  Yet we knew from our regular reports that the safety of the Queen Mother in particular demanded that she stay away.  Two weeks.  Then three.  How much longer could the Good Queen remain apart from her palace without knowing its condition, without some idea of what she could do.  For the Queen was never one to rest easily.  No, even on journeys away from the castle in the best of times, she concerned herself with the well-being of children and others before considering her own desires.  And so it had been there in the Fields of Mann.  Side by side with the young princesses she scrubbed and washed and cooked and served.  She held court in their stead when they had need to be away.  And she frolicked with the young ones when it was necessary for them to build a great, tall tower or indeed to tear one down or perhaps to slay the huge dragon threatening the tiny villages they had constructed.   But that time was coming to an end.  The messages from Great Island were more and more optimistic about return.  The displaced monarch and her entourage waited with bated breath for the final release, the final proclamation that would allow them to return to the land they loved.  But what did that look like now?  Was home still home?  Would it even be possible for them to stay there?  What supplies would they need?  For they were certain that the stores of food had long since been washed away or destroyed by the cruel combination of the Passage of Time and the voracious Muggy Offensive Lingering Disgustingness.   The time for waiting was past.  The time for return was upon them.  And now …   I guess now I'll talk a bit about my day.  I had a boatload of emails to wade through from the three days I was gone.  We are preparing for the big grand opening of our new building on the 22nd.  Sounds like it will be quite a party.  Worship service in the new building.  Food after church service.  Bouncy houses and playground for the kids.  Presentations and recognitions and thank you's and ribbon cuttings.  Invitations (consider this yours, whoever you are, O mystery reader of the Bewhiskered Blogger).  It's also mere days before school is scheduled to start.  That means hiring teachers (we still need one elementary) and enrolling students (we could sure use at least six or seven more in grades Pre-K through 9) and setting up classrooms and … that's enough.  Too much to talk about right now.   Just found out Cailyn is coming over to spend the night.  Nathan called from the pool to see if we could keep her. That means she'll probably be worn out when she gets here, unless she takes a nap first.  Either way, I hope she's up for an Astro's game.  That's where I plan to hang out here in a few hours.   Ephesians 1:3-4 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight."   Father, I do praise you and recognize you as Awesome Creator.  I can't help but think that you'd have to be to choose me to be holy and blameless in your sight.  Amen.