Another Southern Wedding…

Driving along the narrow, winding county roads on a sunny July morning found me full of anticipation and excitement.  “Here it is,” I said as I pulled into the driveway of a quaint stone house.  I quickly parked and then jumped out of my car to find the bride.  Under the welcoming canopy of trees I spotted the lady of the hour arrayed in a long creamy gown with lace covering every square inch.  A sweeping cathedral veil fell gracefully over her shoulders and quietly swept the ground beneath.  Goodness, she made a lovely picture.

Her photographer was instructing her in how to pose.  “Now look this way, now that way – smile, gorgeous!,” and I really couldn’t help but smile myself.  What a pretty bride, pretty bright blue sky, and pretty green landscape accompanied with pretty delicate pink roses.

This sweet bride let me tag along for the day and take as many pictures as I pleased.  Oh, what a delightful prospect.  So here you go, my darlings; it was a wedding full of sweet Christ – honoring love and southern grace.

 

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Kissing Waves

I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages. – Charles Spurgeon

With a parable, we paint a picture between two objects.  In Luke 17:6, a mustard seed is used to describe the strength of our faith.  “If you have have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

In this way, the sea – it’s depth and the water that fills it – has often depicted the scenarios of life, as in the quote by Charles Spurgeon.  Here, a wave was described as thrusting us onto something, and, in this case, it was the Rock of Ages.  Because you are familiar with the seaside, you immediately form a picture of this scene in your mind!  You have observed waves crashing onto rocks, and the quotation creates a wonderful comparison between something you have seen with your eyes, and, something you may have also experienced in your own life.

In Mark 4:36-41, Jesus and His disciples set sail in a boat.  It was not going to be a relaxing, uneventful ride, for, as we continue the story, the disciples will soon be fearing for their lives!  A great storm arose while they were out, and the crashing of the waves began to fill the boat with water.  Terrified, the disciples cried out, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”    

In the midst of their alarm, all they can see is that the Master has simply – and unconcernedly – fallen asleep.

They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls. – Charles Spurgeon

With what misgivings we turn over our lives to God, imagining somehow that we are about to lose everything that matters.  Our hesitancy is like that of a tiny shell on the seashore, afraid to give up the teaspoon of water it holds lest there not be enough in the ocean to fill it again.  Lose your life, said Jesus, and you will find it. Give up, and I will give you all.  Can the shell imagine the depth and plenitude of the ocean?  Can you and I fathom the riches, the fullness, of God’s Love?  –Elisabeth Elliot

Some of you people of God, when you get bitter waters, want to throw them away.  Do not throw a drop of it away, for that is the water you have yet to drink.  Accept your afflictions.  They are a part of your education. – Charles Spurgeon

The deepest things that I have learned in my own life have come from the deepest suffering.  And out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires have come the deepest things that I know about God.  –Elisabeth Elliot

However, as we continue reading, we learn, “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!”  And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.”

His disciples were afraid when, “…a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling.”  Where was Jesus?  “He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.”  In fear they cried out to Him for deliverance, and He awoke to hush the wind and waves.  He then asked them,

“Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?”

Maybe you too, along with the writers quoted here, can learn to have that kind of faith which enables you to kiss the wave that throws you against the Rock of Ages.

Old Alabama Town, Part 2

I would like to welcome you to the much anticipated, long awaited Part II of my visit to Old Alabama Town!  This pictorial series is for the soul of young and old alike who have an affinity for all things antique and picturesque, and if this describes you, I believe you will be in for a real treat.

For an introduction, you can read my first post by clicking here:

https://southernbess.wordpress.com/2014/08/20/old-alabama-town-part-1/

The first stop of our tour will be a southern dogtrot home.  Interesting to note, it was constructed and later moved from the same county where my grandfather grew up!  It always makes me feel as if I have a tie to these old homes and the people who lived in them if one of my own ancestors lived in the surrounding area or during the same time in history.

For example, my great, great, great grandfather (have I lost you? well, oblige me and hang on), fought under General Albert Sydney Johnston during the War Between the States.  After the war, as each of his sons were born, my 3rd great grandfather named them in honor of his leader.  Consequently, the name was eventually passed down to my older brother.  If, however, my brother was not named for this Confederate general, then he (A.S. Johnston) would be anonymous to me as are other men from that time in history.  Don’t you just love it when you discover connections in history?!

You see, we actually all have ties to the past, and this is what makes it so interesting… once we actually learn about them!

Last night, I was keeping company with a man who has been dead for several hundred years (excuse me… you weren’t expecting that one, were you?)  Well, “he being dead still speaks”, and this is what he said with regards to the recent separation of America from Great Britain in 1783:

“Whether this will prove a blessing or a curse will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a gracious God hath bestowed on us.  If they are wise, they will be great and happy.  If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable.  Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation.”

It seemed amazing to me that this statement was true then and is still relevant today!  So while I was keeping one eye on my brother playing intramural football with his fellow medical school classmates, I had the other taking notes.

Knowing where we have come from goes a long way to determining where we will go, and this is why history is important.  It is my pleasure to offer you a glimpse of history through these images!

As I earlier stated, the first image is a dogtrot built in the 1840s.  You will also see a bale of cotton ready to be loaded onto a wagon and taken to a shipyard, but first, it was processed and packed in a cotton gin from 1900.  Then, take a leisurely tour of the Lucas tavern from the early 19th century which once hosted the Marquis de La Fayette.

I promised in the first post from so long ago that a sequel would follow, so I just couldn’t neglect my duties and break my promise…

even if it is quite overdue.  I hope you have enjoyed your visit as much as I did when I was there!

Old Alabama Town, Part 1

Hello Reader,

It gives me pleasure to visit places of the past.  I have noticed, however, an afternoon of shopping at an antique mall is almost as satisfying as visiting a historic place in person.  I suppose this is the case because the antique shop and the historic site both contain antiquated objects.  I love to visually feast upon a mighty oak bed frame with its ornate carvings or the velvet cushions of a dining room suite.  And, when I do go to see these beautiful objects set up in their corresponding surroundings, there is a magical sense of closeness to the people who lived there a hundred years before.  When I walk up the steps of an old antebellum home, where, stepping through the door, I can imagine giving the butler my card, I feel as if I myself will be joining the lady of the house for tea at half past four!

Now, come and join me for a moment as we tour a real antebellum home.  A guide will supply us with interesting tidbits of the living conditions of this well-to-do estate.  She tells us that in the summer, the thick carpets covering the floor of the house were pulled up and stowed away along with the velvet curtains covering the windows.  Simple light curtains would be put in their place, and the floors would be left bare wood except for a rug here and there.  Cotton coverings would be put on the furniture to protect the upholstery from the intruding insects flying through the open windows and from our own perspiration when we are seated upon them.  Remember, this is the time before air conditioning was invented!

Let’s continue to listen.  She goes on to say that towns would spring up close to the river because water made it possible to ship goods from one city to another.  Montgomery, Alabama was the capitol of cotton.  This commodity was brought from plantations and farms all over Alabama, then weighed, sold, and shipped (by water) south to Mobile and even to New Orleans.

To give you a visual delight of the many sights I saw while touring the home mentioned above along with many other homes and buildings, keep scrolling.  This is the first group of images I took while visiting “Old Alabama Town”, a collection of structures which have been picked up and gathered together in Montgomery, Alabama.  The time period of these homes and other buildings will vary.   Some of the following images will be from a tavern built in 1836 where the great Lafayette rested for the night while on his tour of America, while a few pictures are from a cotton gin constructed in 1900.  There is a dogtrot home built in 1840, a local grocery from 1892, a simple log cabin from the 1820s, and many more.

 

Don’t forget to check for Part II coming soon!