Me, too, Google

 The blooms were ours to enjoy Sunday 

 at the local extension gardens

 after on-line church

 and here's a chuckle for you--

 at least it made ME chuckle...

 I was researching a bit for one of my 10-line poems.

I wanted to incorporate a quote I'd heard

but had forgotten who said it!

So, I googled it.

Voice google.

 Me:  "Who said, 'What you don't understand,

don't misunderstand'"?

To which google voice answered,
(I kid you not)

"Sorry.  I'm trying to get better at this kind of thing."

***

"Me, too, Google.  Me, too!"

In the Backseat

Usually alone in the back seat.  Not THIS time!

 This quote from one very gifted, contemporary author 

sums up my life the past three years...
"How surprising to discover that devotion to God often grows best from the backseat, 

in hidden years, and in deserts." (Alicia Britt Chole)
Since my father came to live with us, 

I spend most travel time in the back seat!
Often alone.

It has provided an interesting perspective.
I'm not sure how to measure growth in devotion to God, 

but I AM trusting in His power and ability to "grow" me...

Gleaning

These we're a few of the sentences

that captured my attention

of this autobiography of sorts

by an author whose travels

I've followed with interest over the years.

Summer reading.

Oh, so fine!

Warriors of God

I'm sure our fine library had to send someone

deep into the stacks to find this book for me--

but what a treasure!

After reading an essay (also by Walter Nigg) about St. Francis of Assisi,

I began reading THIS book.

I wish I owned it!  

I would be underlining and making other comments and marks

in its margins.

Quotes such as these challenge me from the chapter about the first "warrior"--St. Anthony.

"A pandering to the crowd spells mortal danger to Christianity;

Anthony pointed to the remedy.  I a Christianity of the crowd there ceases to be

any genuine relationship between God and the soul,

which, if it is to be real, must be personal."

And..

"The flight of the hermits in the age of Constantine was a movement

from the outward to the inward, a preserving of the content of religion

from the canker of superficiality, 

a withdrawal from futility into the center of being." 

What book(s) do YOU wish you owned?

And why?

Bears and Me

I've watched this work in progress in our neighborhood.

It started with the eagle on top...

Today, there were three bears!

It reminds me of a couple of "bears" in the Bible--
"Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another,
forgiving each other..." (Colossians 3:13)
and
"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)
And this quote:
"It seems to me that trying to live without friends
is like milking a bear to get cream for your coffee.
It is a whole lot of trouble, and then not worth much after you get it."
Zora Nealle Hurston

Takeaways

 

It's been awhile since I read a novel as good as I judge this one to be!

A historical novel in sense of time, setting, and some actual personnel,

it certainly held my interest.

Here are a few "takeaways":

"Love more. Not Less.

"Then let us be among those who hope that the future will be less cruel than the past." 

"My tears  brought me back to life."

And

"Old women are the fiercest of all."

What's the latest best novel YOU'VE read lately?

Middlebury USA

 Another outing!

This one to Middlebury IN for a train show.

Trolleys were available to transport us to the three main display areas,

but the three of us braved the cold temperatures.

Canes in hand, we walked!

 We honestly didn't know what to expect.

As it turned out, there were close to 200 vendors...

 and less than ten operating train layouts.

 The most fun for me was seeing it through a child's eyes--

 THIS one, for instance, who was invited by the operator to ring the bell on the train

 when it stopped in front of him!

 Of course, there were plenty of BIG kids, as well!

 My dad (far right beside my hubby below) was a trooper!

After touring the displays,

we settled down for a super dinner buffet at Das Dutchman Essenhaus.

The way there and the way home,

we drove back roads through beautiful Amish countryside.

I love the relaxation and restoration a day like this brings with it!

"It is my experience that journeys rarely take us where we think we're going.  
As Steinbeck wrote 'we do not take a trip, a trip takes us.'"
(from Miles to Go, by Richard Paul Evans - my current read)

Book Phase

 

BOOKS ARE TO READ, but that is by no means the end of it. 

The way they are bound, the paper they are printed on, the smell of them (especially if they are either very new or very old), the way the words are fitted to the page, the look of them in the bookcase—sometimes lined up straight as West Point cadets, sometimes leaning against each other for support or lying flat so you have to tip your head sideways to see them properly. Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, the plays of Beaumont and Fletcher, the Pléiade edition of Saint Simon, Chesterfield's letters, the Qur'an. Even though you suspect you will probably never get around to them, it is an honor just to have them on your shelves. 

Something of what they contain gets into the air you breathe. They are like money in the bank, which is a comfort even though you never spend it. They are prepared to give you all they've got at a moment's notice, but are in no special hurry about it. In the meanwhile they are holding their tongues, even the most loquacious of them, even the most passionate. 

They are giving you their eloquent and inexhaustible silence. They are giving you time to find your way to them. Maybe they are giving you time, with or without them, just to find your way.   (Frederick Buechner, HERE)

 

 Not so long ago, I said "music is my home".

Today I realize that books are my SECOND home...

And I'm definitely in a book phase right now!

Try a Little Kindness

♪ If you see your brother standing by the road
With a heavy load from the seeds he's sowed
And if you see your sister falling by the way
Just stop and say "You're going the wrong way"...

Don't walk around the down and out
Lend a helping hand instead of doubt
And the kindness that you show every day
Will help someone along their way

You got to try a little kindness, yes show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness, then you'll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets ♪

I heard it today.  I'd forgotten about this song...

Glen Campbell made it famous, I believe.

Just another reminder that KINDNESS is "my word" for 2018.
***
Charles Spurgeon is credited with this quote: 

"Of all afflictions, an unkind heart is the worst."

Solitude 101

Starting to practice solitude is like clearing out an attic. Each time we find a lonely spot, it's like removing a piece of the clutter. After repeated practice, we begin to notice the spaciousness of the attic, the vaulted ceilings and the sunlight cutting through the window. It becomes a place we want to return to again-and-again. A place we crave, a holy place. That's the pattern for all the Spiritual Disciplines, they start out as a kind of difficult and demanding task, and become, by God's grace, joyful and freeing. By practicing solitude, we clear out the old boxes and worn-out furniture of our heart and mind, we learn to build a sanctuary of the soul, a spacious place for God.  (Jonathan Bailey, here.)

Finding this such a descriptive and accurate explanation of this "place".  

A place I crave.

A holy place.

A sanctuary of the soul.

A spacious place for God.

No Room

"It's a l-o-n-g way to Bethlehem!"  I thought to myself

as our car made its way slowly in the maze of traffic

waiting for a turn to view the live nativity at a local church.

Driving home, we three adult passengers 

ranging in age from sixty-seven to ninety-one

decided that once-in-a-lifetime for this particular experience

would be enough for us.

THIS scene, "No Room in the Inn", reminded me of a Tim Keller tweet

that challenged me recently:

“The manger at Christmas means that, if you live like Jesus, 

there won’t be room for you in a lot of inns.” 

 

A Person Like Otis

After several hours spent on the road, delivering the bookshelf my husband made, dropping off and waiting on my father as he called on several friends in his hometown, and finishing off with lunch at Bob Evans, we returned home.  Wet and cold.  Perfect conditions for covering up in my recliner with this book.  I'd read to chapter 11 before it was due back at the library a few weeks ago.  Then I had to go to the end of the waiting list and wait until my notice to pick it up again.  Happy to have had reading time while riding, waiting, and relaxing today.

I believe my favorite line was this:  "Otis rarely had to be asked to do something; he was on the lookout for a need before it actually became one."

How I'd love to become a person like Otis!

This is my Quest

A facebook friend posted this today.

I made 3 copies to place in strategic places around my home.

This is my quest.  This is my intention.

Wilderness Wanderings

 Taking advantage of the absolutely GORGEOUS weather

after church and dinner yesterday,

Gary and I drove to a nearby nature preserve to walk a trail.

 We saw colorful wildflowers and bees and a few monarch butterflies

(which I was unable to take a photos of)...

 Seeing a couple of orange-tagged trees beyond the well-worn trail,

 my "Moses" led me through the wilderness
following what HE thought was a new trail.

 The more we wandered, the more obscure the path!

The longer we wandered, the more tiny burrs collected on my ill-chosen attire -

a skirt.

I began to question my "Moses"

and played quite well my role as a complaining "Israelite".

Only after arriving at home and after all the reluctant burrs

were removed from my skirt

did I wonder how Moses, past and present,

was able to lead in spite of it all!

Only by the grace of God, I'm sure!

I wonder if I've learned anything from my wilderness wanderings?

 To rest, go to the woods
Where what is made is made
Without your thought or work
~Wendell Berry

Coffee, Thee, and Me

."Hahaha I am laughing too hard at this tonight...", posted one coffee enthusiast.

Coffee and Cats.
Cats and Coffee.

Posts re. these two subjects have become almost "viral" on my Facebook page. 

I have laughed in the past and still chuckle now and then,

 but lately I've been wondering.

Wondering if my sense of humor is hanging on its last thread...

Wondering at what point coffee (or any other creation) becomes an idol...

Wondering if  just maybe coffee has become a "safe" Christian addiction--

one we feel we can legitimately laugh about, celebrate and sell.

Meanwhile, my coffee needs have diminished.

Without specific intention, I'm finding the first swallow of fresh coffee

is the best one, and half a cup is enough for me.

Am I the only one who wonders?

 The word of God is like throwing open a window of bright morning sunshine
 on the roaches of sin masquerading as satisfying pleasures.  ~John Piper, Twitter

Doors

 "The richest life is always found in the humblest place

and daily disciplines are doors to freedom."~Ann Voskamp

I am finding this place
 and these doors at every turn these days.

My life IS rich,

simple,

slow

and free.
SO thankful for humble places and daily disciplines. 

Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child [resting] with his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me [composed and freed from discontent].
O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
Psalm 131:1-3 

The Heavens are ALWAYS Telling

We weren't in the path of "totality" and didn't travel to get there.

We DID watch in the most primitive way possible.

We also watched about a half an hour of television coverage and explanation.

This morning, Al Mohler's tweet summarized my thoughts quite well: 

Just remember -- the heavens are ALWAYS telling the glory of God. (Psalm 19:1)

Right Under Your Nose

 This week, some of the most beautiful sights

 are unfolding "right under our noses"*

 in our back yard.

It doesn't get any closer, simpler or more beautiful than this!

***

*Ever wonder about the origin of that idiom, "Right under your nose?"

It is said to date back to the 1500s...

 In 1641 in The Copie of a Letter sent from The Roaring Boyes in Elizium, these lines:

"Can you my worthy hosts sit and see those

That make you weare od money in your hose,

Under your nose triumphing?"

The phrase means being oblivious to something that should otherwise be easily seen.

(What the three lines from 1641 mean, is NOT so obvious to me.)
***
Lately it seems I AM frequently challenged
when it comes to finding things that are
Right Under My Nose!
Anyone else????

B

Exercise, Organize, Prioritize

A while ago, I copied this Morning Blessing from Susie Larson's facebook page

to the top of a document that I visit frequently:

  May you be motivated to exercise, organize, and prioritize. 

May you embrace the grace to tend to the important things so they don't become urgent things.

 May God bless you with focus, clarity, and inspiration 
to live an anointed and purposeful life starting today. 

May abundant grace and startling clarity be yours today!

 

A few days later, Alvin Reid's tweet sealed the deal.  

If you reschedule 15 minutes a day from wasted time to productive time 

you gain nine 10-hour days of productivity (91.25 hours).

 It sounded too good to be true, so I got out pad and pencil and did the math.

Sure enough!

In one year I could accomplish 91.25 hours of work just by using 15 "wasted" minutes a day.

And so I consciously committed to this yesterday.

My 15 minutes were spent washing these enamelware pieces

that had sat on our porch all winter.

Having accomplished that task, I realized I didn't need all of them anymore.

I listed them on a local facebook garage sale site and within minutes they were pending sale.

Today I will meet the buyer and make the exchange.

~ exercise, organize, and prioritize ~

Safeguards

In between showers today, the men in our household

created and installed some grab bars made of galvanized steel piping materials.

I'm thankful to have these in place 

to make access to our back yard safer for all.

As I thought about these (and other) safeguards

we're introducing to our environment as we age,

I was reminded that there are Biblical safeguards in place

for our spiritual well-being.

This one, for instance:

Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. 

I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.  

(Philippians 3:1, NLT)

I'm thankful for spiritual safeguards, too!
And so I choose to   
"embrace a joyful heart, not because of what your eyes see, 
but because of what your heart knows: 
God is good, He is for you, and He will not fail you".  (Susie Larson)