The Mom Weekly Volume 65: November 5, 2024
You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the website here.
Notes:
Later this week marks the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. An article I had run across earlier this year prompted me to look up what I had written, however small, about the Berlin Wall.
Please, if you do nothing else, read the account below in “interesting/notable” of the speechwriter who wrote the line, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” It’s incredibly moving.
Remember how much I love you,
Mom
Naming a blog (From the Vault, 2006)
I’m not sure if I am the only one who took a month or more before starting a blog because of ….naming issues. I went through a lot of choices, nearly chose one, and then this popped into my head and I said, “Finally, a name!” Now if the blog can only live up to it…
I chose my blog name from the title of the Rich Mullins song, “Let Mercy Lead“.
(2024 note: Here is a live version of Let Mercy Lead uploaded last year about Aiden Strasser, the baby in the original song, donating part of his liver to his sister).
Here is the chorus.
Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There’ll be a drop of grace
If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
And I’ll meet you in that place
Where mercy leads
The first runner-up was “(What’s so Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”, from the title of the Elvis Costello song. There is another song that has run through my head for many years.
One of my fun dreams is to open a restaurant or coffee bar, and one of the specific details about my place is to paint this song title along the walls.
I was really into Elvis Costello my junior year abroad in England. I remember watching a documentary on British TV about youth in Berlin (this was 5 or 6 years before the fall of the Berlin Wall), and the documentary captured the sense of living in a war zone, a sense of hopelessness most felt about their future.
The presenter said, you know, for us, (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” is just a pop song, (with the Elvis Costello tune playing in the background) but for them (Berlin youth), it is really an anthem. They don’t sing it in an ironic way, he said.
I remember thinking, I don’t either! I was and am very earnest about what I thought was the meaning of the song. What I really know now is I am earnest about the title of the song.
In any case, now as a bit more of a grown-up, I had nearly decided upon this title for my blog, when I happened upon Elvis Costello tonight on “Austin City Limits.” A sign, I thought!
It was great to hear a lot of the old songs I loved, and still love. He has such a way with words. So I searched the internet for the lyrics to the song, (and nearly chose another of my favorites, “Everyday I Write the Book,” one of my all-time favorite Costello songs). But as I read the lyrics, I realized that it really isn’t a very hopeful song. I laugh as I write this because one wouldn’t ever put “Elvis Costello” in the “hope-filled artist” category.
So even though I still enjoy those Elvis Costello songs, and a lot of other music, the entire song”(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” (as opposed to the title) no longer dovetails so nicely with my view of the universe, and “Let Mercy Lead” does. I guess I’ve started this blog to help explain why.
Interesting/Notable:
How Top Advisers Opposed Reagan’s Challenge to Gorbachev—But Lost
This is a FASCINATING, FASCINATING read. I got emotional just reading it, and remembering so vividly being a 20something watching the live coverage of the Wall coming down and people throughout Berlin celebrating their freedoms.
Here’s another related article with a great quote from William F. Buckley. I’ll share the quote here:
“But they have been the aggressors,” Buckley went on, referring to the Soviets. “It is written into their charter that they are the aggressors. To say that we and the Soviet Union are to be compared is the equivalent of saying that the man who pushes the old lady into the way of an oncoming bus, and the man who pushes the old lady out of the way of an oncoming bus, are both people who push old ladies around.”
An Action Item: Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem
This line from Psalm 122 keeps coming up to me when I think about the conflict in our world and all of the discord. Obviously, pray for the peace of Jerusalem means exactly that (as I wrote about last year) https://themomweekly.com/pray-for-the-peace-of-jerusalem/: praying for peace in the Holy Land. But it also means praying for peace in our homes, our country, our world.
So take a moment to pray Psalm 122. Here’s the image I made of it last year, for you to refer to.
What are you doing this weekend?
So, now that it’s Tuesday, what are you planning for the weekend? I’m going to suggest trying to cover four “F”s to get ideas flowing:
*faith—when are you going to Mass?
*friends—what friends will you see or connect with?
*food—any fun recipes you plan to try, or restaurants you plan to visit?
*fun—anything interesting you are going to play, watch, or do this weekend? Now’s the time to think it through, and put it on the calendar (even informally).