Happy National Cheesecake Day

Charles' sister, Jackie, pointed out this morning that today is National Cheesecake Day!  Hope your day was a tasty one!

A triple-header in Helotes

 
Several weeks ago we had the opportunity to worship at the Helotes Hills UMC in the small town of Helotes, not far from where we are living.  Charles mentioned to the pastor that he was available for preaching should she ever want a Sunday off - turns out today was one of those Sundays!
Charles preached three times this morning - 8:30, 10:00 & 11:00!  The 8:30 and 11:00 services were in a traditional format while the 10:00 was a service called "Purely Praise."  This is the first time that Charles had preached three times in the same church on the same day which was quite an experience for him.  Belinda was present for all three sermons, something not every preacher's spouse could have said!

After the service we drove around a brief while, finding ourselves at a nearby Logan's for some familiar comfort food :)  Since it is too hot to do anything outdoors (100F at 5:30 p.m.) we're staying inside and enjoying the Olympics from London!

Let the Games begin!

The Games of the XXX Olympiad of the Modern Era are underway!

THE OLYMPIC CREED

Pierre de Coubertin got the idea for this phrase from a speech given by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot at a service for Olympic champions during the 1908 Olympic Games. The Olympic Creed reads:

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

Seminar today in San Antonio

 

http://www.txorgansharing.org/Quilt/

Today Charles took advantage of one of the many educational opportunities in area by attending a seminar conducted by the Texas Organ Sharing Affiliance.  The seminar was about the "Best Practices in Organ and Tissue Donation."  Lots of interesting material!

In the materials provided today was a poem that sums up why being an organ/tissue donor is so important:

"To Remember Me"
The Day will come when my body will lie upon a white sheet neatly tucked under four corners of a mattress located in a hospital busily occupied with the living and the dying. At a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function and that, for all intents and purposes, my life has stopped.  When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body by the use of a machine.  And don't call this my death bed.  Let it be called the Bed of Life, and let my body be taken from it to help others lead fuller lives.  Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a woman. Give my heart to a person whose own heart has pain.  Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play.  Give my kidneys to one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week.  Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk.  Explore every corner of my brain.  Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that, someday, a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain against her window.  Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flowers grow.  If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weaknesses and all prejudice against my fellow man.  Give my sins to the devil.  Give my soul to God.  If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you.  If you do all I have asked, I will live forever.

Robert N. Test, in the Cincinnati Post

Field trip to Kerrville

Charles went with the CPE program members from the San Antonio VA on a field trip to one of the VA satellite facilities in Kerrville today.

The facility has a nice chapel with some really nice stained glass windows.  It also has a small, but very interesting museum dedicated to American veterans from WWI to today's vets.

A quiet weekend

youth group celebrates camp experience

San Antonio's Chordsmen barbershop singing group

After a busy work-week we decided to 'lay low' this weekend and get ourselves some quality time at home with Wesley (the cat). 

The big treat yesterday was getting our garbage disposal repaired (by our landlord).  It really makes a difference when the dishwasher doesn't back-up into the sink!

Today, we kept to our quiet weekend theme, attending worship at Colonial Hills UMC and then returning home to enjoy the comfort of life on Toscana Isle!

The church service was interesting with music provided by the church's youth group and several selections by a local barbershop group, The Chordsmen.

It's a cat's life!

While Charles was at the hospital this weekend, Belinda and Wesley have been hard at work keeping the home-fires burning.  It is nice to have such friendly faces to come home to!

Today at the VA

This morning Charles led the Protestant worship service at the Audie Murphy VA hospital (as part of his rotation of duties in the CPE program).  It was the first time since we left Iraan/McCamey in mid-June that Charles had led worship and it was fun! 

In addition to having people in the chapel, the service is broadcast throughout the hospital via close-circuit tv.  It was cool to be able to connect with so many folks like this!

Culture on Friday

 

Following our delicious meal at Beto's on Broadway, we took in some culture of a different sort and visited the McNay Museum. 

Such a cool place - there were famous works by Picasso, Monet and Van Gogh, El Greco (among many other masters); stained glass (from the 1500's), modern glass art, sculpture and much more.

If you're looking for some genuine Texas culture, The McNay is a good place to come!

Beto's on Broadway!

Charles is the 'on-call' chaplain at the VA this weekend which means he had today (and Monday) off and so we took advantage of the "cooler" weather to have some fun!  We enjoy watching the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" and found several of the featured restaurants are right here in San Antonio!

We made our way to the Alamo Heights area (where Belinda used to live) and had lunch at Beto's on Broadway. We had a fantastic meal and are so glad we decided to venture out and enjoy some of San Antonio's cuisine!

It's raining, again!

We've had a busy week here in San Antonio with a real treat: RAIN!  Yesterday, San Antonio had 2.83" of rain which is more than we saw in west Texas all last year!

Sunday morning in San Antonio

We made our way to downtown San Antonio this morning where we attended the Central Christian Church.  Belinda's family had attended this historic congregation many years ago and it was nice to see it again.  This is also the church in which Belinda's brother Rob was married.

After church we stayed downtown and met up with Belinda's high school friend, Nancy Harrell.  We had not seen Nancy since 1998 when we lived in Osmond, Nebraska.  It sure was fun catching up and hearing what the future holds for one and all.

Touristing in San Antonio, pt. 2

In front of the museum facing the Hemisphere Tower

Some of the cultures that settled Tejas

Some of the good things made in Texas

A docent at the cotton spinning display

Following the visit to the basilica, Charles ventured downtown to the Institute of Texan Cultures.  The museum is in the shadow of the shadow of the Hemisphere tower and celebrates the ethnic heritage of the peoples who came to establish Texas. 

Starting with the earliest inhabitants up to more recent arrivals,  Techas or Tejas as it was once known, has been home to a wide-range of settlers.  This neat museum and well-worth the time to take in if you're in the neighborhood!

Touristing in San Antonio, pt. 1

The cupola window

With Belinda in San Angelo visiting her mother for a few days this past week, Charles took time to take in a few of the many interesting places to visit here in San Antonio.  Today, he went to see a church and a museum (no surprises there!).

First up was a visit to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower.  The basilica is named for Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), or Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, was a French Carmelite nun. She is also known as "The Little Flower of Jesus".