https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/ Recent content on Lift Up Your Hearts! Hugo en-US Wed, 04 Nov 2026 14:53:18 -0500 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/defeat-never-negates-duty/ Wed, 04 Nov 2026 12:41:19 -0500 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/defeat-never-negates-duty/ Defeat never negates duty, although it may alter our priorities and direction. The voters of America—or perhaps more crucially, the non-voters—have spoken loudly, and the best I can say for the result is that any "rioting in the streets" in its wake is more likely to be over-celebration than looting and wanton destruction. To those who decided to "send a message" to the Republican Party by voting for its opponents or by sitting out the election, I can only echo one of my father's favorite phrases from my childhood: You are cutting off your nose to spite your face. https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/election-results/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 09:36:59 -0500 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/election-results/ https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/am-i-sorry/ Mon, 02 Nov 2026 20:55:36 -0500 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/am-i-sorry/ On the eve of Election Day, as I await the results with some trepidation, I ponder the question, "Are you sorry you voted for Trump?" Many who voted for him in 2024 are disappointed in what President Trump has accomplished in the first two years of this term. But after much consideration, I can say, "Absolutely I do not regret my vote. I am happy that Donald Trump is our president. https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/changing-the-clocks-a-coastal-story/ Sun, 01 Nov 2026 08:35:58 -0500 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/changing-the-clocks-a-coastal-story/ My sister-in-law lives in coastal Connecticut. When your home is dominated by the ebb and flow of the waters, paying attention to what the tides are doing is an important life skill. Hence this tide clock, which has pride of place on her wall. As part of her semi-annual clock-changing ritual this morning, she stepped from clock to clock, meticulously setting each one back an hour. When she came to the tide clock, she picked it up . https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/happy-hallowe-en-reformation-day-and-the-return-of-standard-time/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 22:11:57 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/happy-hallowe-en-reformation-day-and-the-return-of-standard-time/ I'm off to change the clocks! Standard Time giveth and Daylight Time taketh away. Blessed be Noon in its proper place! https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/we-voted-today/ Fri, 30 Oct 2026 22:00:00 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/we-voted-today/ I don't much like early voting, or vote-by-mail except for situations of absence or infirmity. There's something almost sacred about the act of voting at one's polling place on Election Day. That said, we've voted all three ways in recent years, and today we used the Early Voting option. The political situation has become so dire, and election results so critical, that I'd rather vote early and know it's done than risk having an illness or an emergency make it impossible to get to the polls on the day itself. https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/i-watched-us-lose-the-abortion-war/ Thu, 29 Oct 2026 19:42:16 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/i-watched-us-lose-the-abortion-war/ I watched us lose the abortion war, and it's happening again. In my late teens it became inevitable that America would broaden the situations in which abortions could be legally performed, and at that critical juncture the pro-life side made a wrong turn. Many Americans wanted the restrictions loosened a bit, but still recognized the terrible consequences of taking an innocent human life. Even the pro-choice side wanted abortions to be " https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/hate-trump-you-need-to-know-this/ Mon, 26 Oct 2026 10:20:00 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/hate-trump-you-need-to-know-this/ I posted this back in May, but it's time for a reprise. President Trump is trying to make Daylight Saving Time permanent! If you're against him and everything he believes in, then I'm counting on you. I'm COUNTING ON YOU to rise up against this affront to nature. Tell your senators, tell your representatives, tell your state and local leaders. (Don't tell Trump himself; that might have the opposite effect. https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/big-changes-here/ Fri, 23 Oct 2026 11:21:00 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/big-changes-here/ If you're a very regular reader here, you may have noticed that the blog has been unavailable for a couple of days. It is up again now, so if you come here more rarely you might not have noticed, but major changes have been made "under the hood." A big Internet hacking threat has emerged, necessitating a major security update, one that completely broke the blog software we have been using for more than 20 years. https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/looking-for-monsters/ Mon, 19 Oct 2026 11:43:10 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/looking-for-monsters/ Facebook's record for showing me items of value is dismal—but there are still enough gems to keep me on the platform.  Whatever is neither a good idea nor genuinely funny I prefer to ignore, because to write about bad things gives them publicity.  I've never forgotten one newspaper columnist who wrote, "I don't care if you love me or hate me, as long as you read my columns." However, some ideas are so bad they require warnings, and a post I saw in my feed the other day needs to be called out. https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/a-rare-bird-sighting/ Thu, 15 Oct 2026 12:40:26 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/a-rare-bird-sighting/ Noah took me for a spin in a Cessna Skylane recently. This is not our plane. This is an F-22 Raptor, here from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for a local air show. We taxied past it on our way to the runway. Fun fact: That plane is from the same unit that shot down the Chinese balloon a few years ago. Was it the same plane? We'll never know, but it's fun to imagine. https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/happy-coincidence-day/ Mon, 12 Oct 2026 11:26:18 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/happy-coincidence-day/ Having never personally gotten over the Uniform Monday Holiday atrocity that changed our holiday calendar back in 1971, I am very pleased that this year I can wish you all a very   Happy Columbus Day! on the "correct" day of October 12th. I still haven't gotten over the transition from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian, nor the use of CE and BCE instead of AD and BC, nor the movement that changed " https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/we-have-a-new-rector...again/ Sun, 11 Oct 2026 05:50:12 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/we-have-a-new-rector...again/ This is not the first time God has decided that his plans are better than mine; nor shall it be the last. After a long year of depending on supply priests to lead our Sunday services, and on non-ordained staff and congregational volunteers to provide for the needs of our people, our church has called a new rector. It will be good to get someone who will belong to us, who will be the " https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/lovely-connecticut-house/ Thu, 08 Oct 2026 06:17:48 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/lovely-connecticut-house/ Would you like to live in Connecticut?  Check out this gorgeous home in Salem.  No, we're not selling it, though we do know the owners.  And we don't want to buy it.  The bulk of our immigrant ancestors did call Connecticut home, but at this point our roots run deep in Florida's sand.  But I can't deny that the Zillow listing is very attractive.  Here's a front view, and my favorite of the inside photos https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/flydubai-information/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:40:43 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/flydubai-information/ If you are interesting in learning more about the recent FlyDubai hijacking, may I again recommend MentourPilot for straightforward, knowledgeable commentary with minimal speculation. Here you can click on his latest short posts for a taste. He's still collecting authoritative data and working on a long form post, which should be fascinating when it comes. You won't get the lastest news and gossip, but you will get what appears to be reasonable and accurate data. https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/grace-update-life-behind-no-news-is-good-news/ Mon, 05 Oct 2026 06:54:45 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/grace-update-life-behind-no-news-is-good-news/ It's been a long time since I've posted an update on Grace, which is of course very encouraging! But here's something Jon posted recently that demonstrate that "no news is good news" hides a life that is far from normal, even though you'd never guess it from a casual encounter. There's a lot they don't tell you when you begin a complex medical journey—or maybe they do, but it's just too overwhelming to be taken in. https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/times-change-human-nature-remains/ Fri, 02 Oct 2026 04:48:39 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/times-change-human-nature-remains/ Let a man do right, nor trouble himself about worthless opinion; the less he heeds tongues, the less difficult will he find it to love men. — George MacDonald, Unspoken Sermons George MacDonald lived from 1824 to 1905, but he nailed one of the chief dangers of social media. https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/welcome-autumn/ Tue, 29 Sep 2026 05:46:03 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/welcome-autumn/ Autumn came gently this year. Yes, we have notable seasons in Florida, just not the ones taught to preschool children. (Well I remember, when our children were that age, looking through a kindergarten workbook from a well-known publisher, and recognizing in a lesson on the seasons the same old spring, summer, winter, and fall that I knew from my childhood—especially the mounds of snow in winter. Good for a child in more northern climes, I noted, but certainly confusing for those growing up in Florida. https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/nature-and-nurture/ Sat, 26 Sep 2026 05:40:12 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/nature-and-nurture/ Our two-year-old granddaughter is a sweet, tender little girl. With four older brothers. Recently she was overheard crooning this little lullaby while rocking her doll: Little baby Jesus, I love you. Sing with me. Rock, baby, Will FALL! At the word "fall," she chucked the baby across the room. Undoubtedly she figured the baby enjoyed the ride as much as she enjoys playing with the guys in her life, who swing her around until she's dizzy, toss her high into the air, and give her rough, bouncy " https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/early-morning-sunshine/ Wed, 23 Sep 2026 07:11:14 -0400 https://sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/early-morning-sunshine/ In winter I get up at night And dress by yellow candlelight. In summer, quite the other way, I have to go to bed by day. I cannot wait for the return of Standard Time! The above lines by Robert Louis Stevenson return to me every morning these days. In point of fact, I have been "dressing by yellow candlelight" all summer, too. In Orlando, the earliest sunrise is about 6:30 EDT, which occurs in early June, and the latest sunset about 8:30 EDT, in late June.