A weekend full of rain and lacking football. What’s there to do? Luckily San Marco has some great things going on this weekend. Check out the new MOSH exhibit, A-Mazing Seas. Or enjoy the last showing of Dearly Beloved at Theatre Jacksonville on Saturday, January 30th at 8:00 p.m. Adult admission to Theatre Jacksonville is $25. Live theatre not your thing, see It’s Complicated at the San Marco Theater. Show times for It’s Complicated on Saturday are 4:30 p.m., 7:10 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Sunday show times for It’s Complicated are 4:30 p.m. and 7:10 p.m. Don’t let the wet weather rain on your parade.

The 3/50 Project, a movement to buy local, is gaining momentum across the country. The logic behind the initiative could benefit the shops in San Marco tremendously, thus improving quality of life in our neighborhood. The Square has long been one of the biggest draws to San Marco. Living within walking distance of amazing restaurants and shops filled with gorgeous clothes, elegant stationary, and gourmet treats has been a way of life in San Marco for a long time.
As residents of the neighborhood, we need to support our local shops. the 3/50 Project research shows that if half the employed population spent $50 in a locally owned, independent retailer, it would generate $42.6 billion in revenue. And for every $100 spent in local, independently operated stores, $68 goes back into the local economy compared to $43 that comes back into the local economy from $100 spent at a chain retailer.
In support of the 3/50 Project, we challenge you to pick 3 stores, your 3 favorite stores, stores you would be sad to see leave the Square and spend $50. With Valentine’s coming up it is the perfect opportunity to find the perfect Valentine’s treat for your sweetheart. Flowers, chocolates, wine, Valentine’s day cards, a romantic meal, can all be found here in San Marco Square.
Support the Square, buy local.

The Cake Shop is cooking up some tasty treats this morning. Stop by to get fresh out of the oven bread pudding and apple crisp. Hurry in to get your before they are all gone. The Cake Shop, 3911 Hendricks Avenue.

This Saturday, January 30, MOSH will open their A-Mazing Sea exhibit. The interactive display leads kids through an educational underwater adventure. The exhibit teaches children about underwater life and environmental issues by way of a maze. Children  must answer questions as they go through the maze. Wrong answers will lead children to a dead end.
It is a weekend of change at MOSH, not only are they opening A-Mazing Sea, but Sunday marks the last day of the Trains! exhibit which has been on display since November. MOSH is open Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Adult admission is $10 and kids 3-12 are $8.
For more information about MOSH, visit themosh.org.

Laissez les bon temps rouler. In anticipation of Fat Tuesday, TAG is taking Mardi Gras to the streets of San Marco with a block party on Friday, February 12. TAG will bring the flavor of New Orleans with Creole style food, hurricanes and live jazz. Tickets are available for $25 per person. You can reserve your seat in advance or pay at the door. Call Kristin at 396.1213 ext. 113 for more information.

Bistro AIX is taking reservations for Valentine’s weekend. They will be celebrating with a special Valentine’s themed menu full of old favorites and new creations. Seating is limited, so take advantage of the Preferred Seating Option by calling 398.1949.

January 21st Gallery Framery in San Marco  hosted the 4^th Annual A.R.T. Exhibition, showcasing one-of-a-kind artwork from The Arc Jacksonville’s A.R.T. Program.  The A.R.T. (Artistic Realization Technologies) program enables individuals with significant developmental and physical disabilities to unleash their hidden passion and artistic talent through acrylic paint on canvas.  These artists create artwork,  available for sale or commission, through the use of a “tracker,” an individual who physically paints the depiction in the artist’s head.  Proceeds from the 4^th Annual A.R.T. Exhibition go to advancing the A.R.T. program and support the individual artists. 

The Art will be on display at Gallery Framery through January 31st, please visit the gallery and participate by purchasing one or more of these great works of art.

[View with PicLens]

by Dale Tedder

 Psalm 22:4-5, 30-31

In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. …Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn – for he has done it.

It has been said that the problem with living is that it’s so daily. The same could be said of parenting. Whether it’s getting your children to eat their vegetables, clean up their rooms, do their schoolwork, or have good manners, parenting is daily. Consistency and intentionality are absolutely required. And in no area of parenting is this truer than in passing on our faith – our beliefs, worldview, values, character, conduct, etc., to our children.

 What we’re talking about here is spiritual reproduction.

 The primary truism about spiritual reproduction is this: We can’t reproduce what we’re not ourselves. Cats aren’t going to reproduce dogs, no matter what. We reproduce what we are. Therefore, it’s absolutely imperative that moms and dads are daily, consistently, intentionally, and faithfully practicing the faith they profess…the faith they are seeking to instill in the hearts, minds, and souls of their children.

 In a real sense, this is more than mere example. Faith really needs to be in the “DNA” of the parents. Having said that, example is vital because children will copy what is being modeled for them at home. It wasn’t dumb luck that my kids all turned out to be Georgia Bulldog fans.

 But passing on our faith requires more than example. We are called to actively lead them, instruct them, tell them, pray with them, pray for them, admonish them, counsel them, and nurture them (love them!!!). The call to pass on our faith to our children in this manner (as well as to pray that it extends to our children’s children for a thousand generations) runs throughout Scripture. For example…

 Deuteronomy 6:4-9 – Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. [5] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. [6] These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. [7] Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. [8] Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. [9] Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

 Psalm 78:1-7

O my people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
[2] I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter hidden things, things from of old–
[3] what we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.
[4] We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
[5] He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,
[6] so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
[7] Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.

 Ephesians 6:4 – Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

 These are just three clear examples of Scripture’s overwhelming multigenerational vision for the extension of God’s kingdom. Many more could be cited. In truth, we’re talking about more than quoting a few texts. This multigenerational vision is a key thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation.

Early in Psalm 22, the psalmist declared that those who came before his generation put their trust in the Lord and were not disappointed. Later in the same Psalm he stated that future generations would also serve the Lord because they would be told about the Lord. If you really think about it, how else will Christianity be passed on? If the love, holiness, grace, works, and words of God are going to be known two hundred years from now, then we must pass them on.

 But to whom? Some Christians talk about the need to evangelize and disciple the lost but forget about God’s covenant children under their own roof. If we think in terms of concentric circles, our next priority (or circle) after our own relationship with God (because, again, we can’t reproduce what we’re not ourselves) should be our own family. Our goal, of course, is that our children come to know, love and follow God and pass on that faith to their children and their children’s children for a thousand generations (Deut. 5:10, 7:9).

 (By the way, it goes without saying that we are to make disciples of all nations, but this is a devotional about passing our faith on to our children.)

 In a real sense, our children are not our own. They are God’s. We are stewards of God’s children. That means that we have been given the vital and joyful responsibility and blessing of raising these children to know, love and follow their heavenly Father. And while such an upbringing is so daily, we need to realize that we only get one chance. It’s my prayer that God will honor the prayers, blood, sweat, tears, effort, and love that we pour into our children (his children). To see them become the godly adults that we’ve been striving for will make it all worth it in the end.

 Soli Deo Gloria,
Dale

We have a great year ahead of us in the Square and surrounding neighborhood. Here is an update on a few projects we have going on in the area.

One project that began before Thanksgiving is the replacement of the aging and crumbling Lake Marco bulkheads on Sorrento and Largo Roads. Great care was taken to conserve the oak trees on the banks. The project should be complete in a few months.

The San Marco Boulevard Streetscape project will be starting a little later than planned due to contract and bidding issues. We are now expecting the project to start in mid-March to early April. The estimated two-year project will be done in eight, two-block sections, from Naldo Avenue to Prudential Drive, to minimize impact to businesses and residences on San Marco Boulevard. The two traffic circles, otherwise known as roundabouts, at Landon Ave. and Naldo Ave., will help with traffic flow, and the addition of pavers, widened sidewalks, historic light poles and landscaping will beautify the area and make it pedestrian friendly, matching the nearby San Marco Town Center and Hendricks Avenue, giving the neighborhood an even more cohesive, engaging feel. (Please go to http://ramprofessionalgroup.com/ for details on meetings, design layout, etc.). One more town meeting is scheduled just before construction to give homeowners and business owners in the area important information regarding project management contact numbers, construction time-lines, etc. The Office of Public Works will be passing out flyers and a notice in the paper will go out prior to the meeting and you can call our office as well.

I met with residents and San Marco Preservation Society members in August to discuss the concept of a walking path at F.E.C. Park. The decision was made to construct a six-foot wide, ADA-accessible, landscaped walking path, connecting Marco Place to River Oaks Road. The winding path will be planted with approximately six shade trees. The plans also include installing a“LaVilla”-style, wrought-iron fence on the Marco Place side of the park. This fence will be the same height and style as the fence surrounding nearby Fletcher Park.

Greenscape Celebration Park at Lasalle Street on the river is complete. The date of the ribbon-cutting ceremony is still to be determined. Greenscape of Jacksonville is working with Art in Public Places to install a tree-themed sculpture in the middle of the park and when the sculpture is commissioned and installed, a date will then be set. Speaking of Greenscape – they have moved their office to San Marco, to the recently refurbished South Jacksonville City Hall on Hendricks Ave. They are leasing out the top floor, sharing the common area with the San Marco Preservation Society, who is leasing the bottom floor.

The above are just a few of the projects that our office works on on a daily basis. There is always something going on in San Marco, from smaller construction projects to ongoing infrastructure issues. If you have any questions, concerns or comments about these issues or City ordinances or legislation affecting the merchants and/or residents of our neighborhood, or City questions in general, please give my council office a call at 630-1382.  You can also call 630-CITY to report any Code Enforcement, Traffic, Public Works, Solid Waste, or other city concerns or complaints. This will generate a CARE issue (Citizen Active Response Effort), which is immediately sent to a specific City department for action. This is a good tool to track common complaints and issues and helps the City determine where (and how often) problems exist and what has been done to address them.

As always, it is my pleasure and my honor to represent San Marco within my City Council District 5. I wish you all a healthy and prosperous 2010. See you in the neighborhood!

The former Quizno’s location, at 1725 Hendricks Avenue, will soon be home to Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches. Jimmy John’s prides itself on the freshest ingredients – fresh bread baked in the store everyday, meat sliced fresh daily, fresh vegetables, no additives and no vegetable based fillers. A longtime favorite of college students, Jimmy John’s is famous for baking bread right around 2 a.m. as the bars are closing.If carbs are a no no in your diet you will have a hard time resiting the tempting smell of fresh baked Jimmy John’s bread.