Several days ago, I wrote a blog post, the first in nine months or so. It was strangely satisfying, in a way that one-line Facebook status posting is not.

One problem with Facebook is that other people get to comment nearly as much as you get to write. Since I have a bunch of clever friends, they all end up sounding more profound, erudite and intellectual than I, which is nowhere as ego-stroking as a monologue.

In contrast, since I tend to write very long blog posts, all but the fastest readers are lucky to finish it before they die of old age, let alone comment. So I end up getting to trot out my banal opinions, without having to compete in the marketplace of ideas. Besides, if someone does manage to read the whole article, and responds with a thoughtful, pertinent response, we can always ‘forget’ to approve their comment.

But I digress. Indeed, my digressions often have digressions of their own, which is something you rarely see in a Facebook status (although some have tried).

Yesterday, my oldest daughter discovered that we had posted a new article on our blog. She made a big show of being shocked into heart failure, and wiped her eyes in mock joy as she related her discovery of our newest post (the first since Valentines’ Day). In my eagerness for feedback, I probed further:

“Rachel — did you actually read it?”

“Well, no,” she admitted. “I just looked at the pictures.”

“There was only one picture,” I protested, ” … and it was a picture of someone else’s sandwich!”

That’s another good thing about blogging — with any luck, no one will actually read your post, and so you can get credit for communicating deep wisdom without anyone actually discovering that you are a blitherer (the verbal equivalent of a ditherer).

About now, if anyone is still reading, they’ve given up on erudite or profound, and they’re probably wondering if I plan to communicate anything in particular. If the title of this post didn’t clue you in, let me do so in plain English:

“Probably not.”

But now that I think of it, I do have a few thoughts. I un-digress.

This Fall, our pastor (assisted by various guest speakers) has been exploring what the Bible has to say about Heaven. It has been an interesting study, and my view of what Heaven will be like has been substantially fleshed out, to my considerable satisfaction. One of the things Christians are often fuzzy on, is what will happen to those who are still alive, when Jesus returns. There are various schools of thought; some think Christians are taken up into heaven before the Tribulation, others in the middle, even some think that Christians will stick around for the whole seven years of God’s judgment. Some think the whole Tribulation thing is allegorical.

Here’s what the Bible actually says, in 1 Thessalonians 4:

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Whenever Jesus does return, and whenever He calls His people, it seems we will rise up into the air, at least to cloud-level.

Here in Washington, clouds won’t be hard to find.

Naturally, there is some concern about this. What if you’re inside a building when the archangel calls? What happens to people who are driving cars, or operating heavy machinery (like in a Nutella factory)? Is there a particular pose that is appropriate for being raptured? Is it undignified to flap your arms?

Burning questions, these.

The kids and I decided to practice, just in case the Lord returns while we are alive.

There, I even put in a picture for Rachel.

One gracious commenter has asked if we intend to resume a more regular practice of blogging (perhaps to see if she needs to get a restraining order against us). The truth is, we don’t know. I’ve missed blogging, but it may be that Facebook status updates have killed blog-writing forever. Time will tell … as always, we are grateful for anyone who stops by our little blog.

Tim

P.S. Kathy has asked me to change the background to something more seasonal. But I figure, I’ve made it nine months — just a few more, and the tulips will be all the rage again.

Share or follow

Related posts:

I’m looking south through our bedroom window, across the valley at the snow-covered hills, as we enjoy the last hour of our stay in Leavenworth, WA. I could sit on the balcony, but it is cool this February morning, and I want to be near Kathy, who is not yet ready to be outside. The fire in the corner warms my skin to match the warmth in my heart as I savor the memory of this glorious getaway weekend.

The view from our balcony …

It all started more than a month ago, when my parents returned from their travels on the east coast. They’d been away for three weeks, and enjoyed time with my brother and sister and their respective families. Now they were ready for some time with our children.

“When can we have the kids?” they asked us, eagerly. Although they often host our children out at the Duckabush, my parents always seem to be willing to help out. It is a great blessing to have grandparents who enjoy their grandchildren and are so solicitous for our well-being as parents and as a married couple.

My Valentine

“We’d really like to send the two of you to Leavenworth,” they told us. “Can we make the arrangements?” We checked our calendars and found we were free on the weekend that spanned Valentine’s Day and President’s Day. And so it was, that we found ourselves driving three hours into the Cascade mountains on a dark and drizzly Friday evening. Arriving just before 8 pm, we were graciously greeted by the Randy and Renee, the host and hostess of this beautiful Bed & Breakfast, the Abendblume. Perched on the slope just outside the town of Leavenworth, the Abendblume boasts seven suites in a luxurious Bavarian chalet-style building.

The Abendblume

The common areas are a feast for the eyes, tastefully decorated in winter and Valentine’s Day themes. We spent much of the weekend alternating between our sumptuous suite and the piano room, where comfortable chairs and couches faced a large fire, blazing and crackling.

Most of the time, we had this room to ourselves, which was delightful.

Our suite was called the Schneewittchen (aka the Snow White suite).

Each morning, Renee served breakfast in the dining room, with delectable Aebleskivers one morning, Eggs Caprice and Almond Puffs another. Fresh fruit, coffee, fresh-baked bread — these breakfasts made it worthwhile, to claw my way up from the embrace of the soft bed and down comforter, each morning. The hostess helped me to fill a delectable tray of goodies to bring back up to our suite, where I was greeted as a hero by a late-sleeping Kathy.

Aebelskivers are the round muffin-like things with powdered sugar in the cast-iron pan.

During the day, Leavenworth boasts a variety of shops and restaurants, all decorated in a traditional German motif. Even the Subway and Bank of America sported custom lettering on their signage. We shopped and strolled and dined and talked to our hearts’ content. In the evenings, dessert was served in the dining room from 8 – 10 pm; it was very pleasant to have a reason to leave our room, and to mingle with the other guests.

On Saturday afternoon, we had instructions to report to Mountain Springs Lodge, some 20 miles further into the mountains. “Dress warmly and bring an appetite,” the cryptic instructions read. The brochure that accompanied the directions featured a 2-hour snowmobile ride by moonlight — neither of us had ever been snowmobiling before, and Kathy was somewhat apprehensive. “Do you think your folks would send us snowmobiling?” she asked me.

I wasn’t sure. My parents can be unpredictable, sometimes — but snowmobiling didn’t really seem their style. Arriving at the Lodge, we presented ourselves to the snowmobiling concierge. “No, I don’t have a reservation for you,” the girl told us, as burly men struggled into snow-suits behind us. “Maybe you are scheduled for the sleigh ride?”

This was the image from the brochure, featuring the ‘Starlight Express’.

Sure enough, when they checked, they had a reservation for us on the sleigh ride — we were both rather relieved. I stopped imagining scenarios in which the two of us plunged off a precipice, struggling vainly with the controls of our snowmobiles.

We enjoyed a ride through the woods on a large sleigh, pulled by two very powerful draft horses, who didn’t seem to mind that the snow in the pasture was mainly slush. Following the course of a small stream, the horses began to trot, and I found myself back in the days of Little House on the Prairie, complete with blankets to keep us warm. About two thirds of the way through the ride, we dismounted for a hot apple cider break, and to stand around a fire just outside an old barn.

Arriving back at the lodge, we found a delectable salmon and prime rib buffet spread before us. They settled us at an intimate table tucked away behind a huge stone fireplace, truly a Valentine’s Day experience with all the trimmings, down to the chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert.

Of course, there was always dessert back at the Abendblume, as well …

It was a glorious 72-hour vacation, very reminiscent of our honeymoon, a time when we could enjoy each other without distraction and wallow in luxury. Even now, as I finish writing this blog post several weeks later, a smile comes to my face and a deep sense of rest and peace lingers in my heart.

Not Kathy’s actual hairstyle — but we did stop off at the Hat Shop.

When we returned home, we discovered that the sleigh ride and dinner had been a gift to us from our children, which they paid for in work for Grandma and Grandpa. It commemorated the 50th anniversary of my Mom and Dad’s first date. How typical of my parents, that they would choose to celebrate by giving us such a memorable experience!

A very memorable weekend …

My mind turns to what I would consider my first ‘date’ with Kathy (we had a somewhat unconventional courtship, involving a lot of group activities and ‘casual’ time before we ever ‘went out’ on a date). For us, it was coffee and some kind of pastry at Duncan Donuts (I’ve always been a big spender on first dates). Maybe in 30 years I’ll be sending my children and their spouses off on a Valentine’s Day Experience with All the Trimmings.

Share or follow

Related posts: