Round Top Spring 2010

Well, the weather could not have been more perfect for heading up to hill country for the Marburger Antiques Fair. Mom and I left as soon as possible and got there at 10am opening day. Super fun, super energetic!

The first row of three tents.

There are three more rows of tents behind these and several side buildings

that are not to be missed!

Inside one booth, in one of the tents. I liked this one (obviously)!

I am lusting after one of those wine tasting tables.

Um, yeah, they run about $1200, sooo.....

And there are things for the more eclectic among us.

The vintage modern chairs up there on that table and the weird shaggy skirted table.

I will, however, take a spin on that scooter!

Oh, the beauty and splendor of the many, many chandeliers!

Ah, the french-ness of it all! So wonderful!

Oh, these canisters. Friends, this fantastic set of 6 canisters in the perfect shade of lavender/blue have been in this same booth, with this same woman for THREE YEARS!!! They have taunted me for so long. I love, love enamel canisters and have priced them all over Round Top, Ebay, you name it. These are by far my favorite set ever. Her price has not diminished one bit and neither has my lust for them. $450, my friends. Really? Why can't she just lower the price and sell them to me for, oh, say, $50? Darn.

So, I've shown you some of what I didn't get but now let me tell you what I did get:

1. A perfect and affordable birthday gift for a friend.

2. A set of six botanical prints to cover a viciously empty wall in my home.

3. Beautiful views of the wildflowers in bloom.

4. Uninteruppted (well, besides the occasional gasp and then: "Look at THAT!") invaluable conversation with my mom.

I had a fantastic day and next time want to take more friends with me (after I go with my mom, of course!). I wish I could go again (maybe I will....?) to see what's at Warrenton! Any takers?

P.S. There were many items that mom saw that she debated buying but didn't. When we went back to them they were all sold! Great medium sized mirrors, a child's wooden table and chair set (way cute!), two small crystal chandeliers... all gone! Word to the wise: buy it when you can!

Also, I was a little surprised at what else was being snatched up: bamboo. Anything made to look like or made out of bamboo all had SOLD signs. Shelves, mirrors, chairs... humph. Who knew?

Can't wait for next season!!

Thoughts on the Old Testament

I'll dispense with the excuses for having been away for so long and just get to it, okay?

I started (again) the plan for reading through the Bible in one year. I really like it, though I give myself a lot of grace to not finish it in a year. I keep trying!
I love the Old Testament. Not like broccoli. I mean I really love it. I could read more than the assigned chapters if I just had more time. Even Leviticus (which I'm in the thick of right now). You see, I have to really sit in things a long time, let thoughts and stories and teachings soak in my brain and my heart. The New Testament is so chock full of big things, y'know? Every sentence sometimes is enough to set my mind reeling. It's so much for me to chew on in big chunks. But the Old Testament...I like those Israelites. They're me! 100%! So every story, every blunder, every idol-making moment is a picture of me. And every time God moves amongst them out of His sheer grace, I am reminded of what He does for me, did for me! So each lesson to them is for me, too, and I take them to heart. The physical reminders they needed sometimes I need, too. Of course, I'm not sacrificing lambs or doves up in here, but the sacrificial system ought to be in place in my heart. Does God get my best? Do I worship Him fully?
But here's what I really want to say: the Old Testament reveals God's attitude toward sin. Yes, it's in the N.T., too, but in the O.T. you really get that picture of a wrathful God and the supreme weight and depth of God's hatred and violent attacks on sin. And the punishment, the wages? Death. We read that in the N.T. and we know that it's a spiritual death. Deadly enough, I agree, however, that sin carries a difference when it sounds like, "Touch the mountain and you will die." and they did. so they did. As I read through Leviticus and the different purification and sacrificial requirements, I am awed at the standard that is required of everyday people to be in His presence, or even just to remain in His chosen community. I am brought to deeper reverence for a powerful, jealous, holy, magnificent God who is their only hope. I am grieved for my sin and the separation it causes from the God Almighty just as I am for the Israelites when their divided hearts give way again. I wonder if when they slaughtered that perfect, innocent lamb did they see the violence, feel the warmth of the blood, the morbidness of it being sprinkled and get the connection to what they deserved for God to do to them? Did they walk away stupefied that such an act which causes them no actual bodily harm could actually atone for their sin? Did they feel the weight of their sin removed but wonder how? How could this dumb animal take my sin? And did these ponderings make their hearts wish for another way, know that there had to be a better way? Did they sense the foreshadowing of the Perfect Lamb to come?
I need to know the grief of God over sin. I need to feel it's effects. I need to know how deep it is in my heart. The more I know it, sense it, the bigger the cross becomes. The stronger my dependence and love for my Savior grows.
Hallelujah, what a Savior!