Closed Doors, Open Windows

"What's My Line?"

2012-01-21T20:22:00.000-05:00

My cousin Barb Moss from Iowa wrote a wonderful poem and a "laundry list" about the rules for hanging out the laundry, based on her mother's example and washday memories from her childhood. That stirred up similar memories from my childhood...and by the looks of her email responses, it did the same for many of the recipients of her message. It was so well written, I asked her permission to reprint it here for you as well...so here goes:

Written by Barb Moss:

"Remembering Mom's Clothesline: There is one thing that's left out. We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push the clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the ground and get dirty. You have to be a "certain age" to appreciate this one.... (But you YOUNGER ones can read about "The GOOD ol' days"!!)"

"I can hear my mother now.....

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES: (If you don't even know what clotheslines are, better skip this.)

You had to hang the socks by the toes... NOT the top.
You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs... NOT the waistbands.
You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes - walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first.
You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What would the neighbors think?
Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend, or on Sunday, for Heaven's sake!
Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could hide your "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)
It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather... clothes would "freeze-dry."
ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were "tacky"!
If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.
Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.
IRONED???!! Well, that's a whole OTHER subject! "

"And now a POEM ...

A clothesline was a news forecast,

To neighbors passing by,

There were no secrets you could keep,

When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link,

For neighbors always knew

If company had stopped on by,

To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the "fancy sheets",

And towels upon the line;

You'd see the "company table cloths",

With intricate designs.

The line announced a baby's birth,

From folks who lived inside,

As brand new infant clothes were hung,

So carefully with pride!

The ages of the children could,

So readily be known

By watching how the sizes changed,

You'd know how much they'd grown!

It also told when illness struck,

As extra sheets were hung;

Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe too,

Haphazardly were strung.

It also said, "On vacation now",

When lines hung limp and bare.

It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged,

With not an inch to spare!

New folks in town were scorned upon,

If wash was dingy and gray,

As neighbors carefully raised their brows,

And looked the other way.

But clotheslines now are of the past,

For dryers make work much less.

Now what goes on inside a home,

Is anybody's guess!

I really miss that way of life,

It was a friendly sign

When neighbors knew each other best...

By what hung out on that line."

One reason this has struck such a cord with me is that we are in the process of.....you may have already guessed it...MOVING... and, we are moving further out into the country...actually, out into the forest...and one of the first things I noticed about our new home (it is actually an older home) is that it has a clothesline! It's a little saggy and rusty looking right now, but one of my first outdoor projects when we get settled is to string up new line on those poles and put it back into use! I can't wait to hang my sheets out on the line to dry and then fall into that wonderful fresh off the line linen fragranced bed that I so long for! Ahhhh!!! I can almost smell it now...can't you?

Yes, the secret is out...we are moving to what I would call our "Camp in the Woods" house sometime very soon. Right now we are in the process of making some needed "improvements" to make it more habitable for our family...and that process will continue on for a loooooooooong time...but it is going to be a fun project house...with nature all around...so you can look forward to hearing more about "the view from my new open window" in upcoming articles. This is the "giant leap of faith" I've been alluding to...and a big part of my one word resolution of "HOPE" for 2012...so please continue to stay tuned as the adventure begins!

Oh, and why not go string out a clothesline in YOUR backyard today? You would actually become a part of a very popular "green" movement that is taking storm across the nation...just google "clothes on a clothesline" and see what all pops up. I was amazed! I'm joining a "green" movement...aren't you proud of me?

Ahhhh...I can almost smell that fresh linen right now....

"A Future and a Hope"

2012-01-16T18:31:00.000-05:00

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

This week is going to begin a new chapter, or a new "OPEN WINDOW" in our lives. I can hardly wait to turn the page and start reading about the new adventure that God is preparing for our family. I won't go into the details right now, but I can assure you it is going to be fun, challenging, exciting, interesting, miraculous, and amazing! The reason I can't share all of the details is because they have not all been revealed to me as of yet...but knowing how God has worked in our lives in the past, I am quite certain it is going to be a joyful and exhilarating journey (most of the time).

So, dear blogger follower, please stay tuned in and keep watching for news. And also, please keep us in your prayers...it always helps to have a lot of prayer support when starting any new adventure!

"Do not remember the former things,

Nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I will do a new thing,

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it?

I will even make a road

in the wilderness,

And rivers in the desert."

Isaiah 43:18-19

Remember, "HOPE" is my one word for 2012...

and my "HOPE" is in the Lord...

I will not be disappointed.

What new window of opportunity is God opening in YOUR life this week? Better pay attention...He may be ready to show you something new and wonderful any day now!

MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS...

2012-01-15T14:43:00.000-05:00

"My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly lean on Jesus' Name.

Chorus:

On Christ the Solid Rock I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,

I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every high and stormy gale

My anchor holds within the veil.

(Chorus)

His oath, His covenant, His blood

Support me in the whelming flood;

When all around my soul gives way,

He then is all my hope and stay.

(Chorus)

When He shall come with trumpet sound,

Oh, may I then in Him be found,

Dressed in His righteousness alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne!

(Chorus:)

On CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand!"

(Edward Mote ~ 1797-1874)

(One of my favorite old hymns of the faith...)

HOPE...

my "one word resolution" for 2012

You may ask me why I chose this word as my "one-word" resolution for 2012?

Because...

My hope is in the Lord..."On CHRIST the SOLID ROCK I stand...

All other ground IS sinking sand...

One morning this past week, after I had announced in my previous post that "HOPE" was my "ONE WORD" resolution for 2012,

I heard the following song on the radio on my way to work...and that was a confirmation that I had made the right choice to focus on "HOPE" for this year. And then as a further confirmation, I heard the same song again that same day on my way home from work! Does God ever talk to you that way? He does to me...frequently...through songs, scripture, other people, special little ways...some obvious, and some not so obvious unless I am paying attention...

Maybe God wants you to put YOUR hope in Him for 2012 as well...no matter what the storms or droughts or doubts or fears...Put your complete trust and hope in His unfailing grace...

"My Hope Is In You" by Aaron Shust (click on link to hear this song)

This is my reminder from God's Word today regarding "HOPE":

"My soul, wait silently for God alone,

For my expectation is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation,

He is my defense;

I shall not be moved.

In God is my salvation and my glory;

The rock of my strength,

And my refuge, is in GOD.

Trust in Him at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us."

Psalm 62:5-8 NKJV

Is YOUR HOPE in the Lord????

I "HOPE" it is!!!!

One Word for 2012

2012-01-08T19:31:00.000-05:00

Can you find "HOPE" in the midst of this confusion?

HOPE

A challenge has been given by several of my blogging friends to choose one word for 2012 as a type of "New Year's Resolution"...(see http://www.recoveringchurchlady.com/ for example), and so that got me to thinking about what word I would (or should) select for 2012. My first thought was "faith", in keeping with my previous post about "Giant Leaps of Faith" into the new year(see "Giant Leaps of Faith" )...but another word kept coming to the forefront in my mind...and that was "HOPE". Obviously, Faith and Hope go together...along with their favored sister, "Love"...(see I Corinthians 13:13), but HOPE was the word that stood out to me all through the Christmas season...and I am still clinging to it.

Look at the picture above, which is a rather blurred view of a magnification of our Christmas tree. I would have taken a better photo for this occasion, but we took the tree down yesterday and put it away with all of its trimmings, including the "HOPE" ornament that was so pronounced to me all through the days of Christmas. Can you find the word "HOPE" in the midst of the blurred confusion of bright lights, tangled tree branches, and the shiny ornaments on the tree? That's kind of the way life is, you know...a blurred confusion of bright lights, tangled dreams, and shining distractions that tend to draw us away from our "HOPE"... but in Christ we have the "HOPE" that will not disappoint..."Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us..." (Read Romans 5:1-6)

"HOPE" is one of the most frequently used words in the Bible...if you have a concordance just look up the word "HOPE" and see how many references there are...and every scripture gives "HOPE"... Hope in God when I am afraid, Hope in His promises when I have lost my way, Hope in His mercy when I don't think I can stand any more disappointments or sorrows, Hope in His love and His tender compassion, Hope in the joy that He expresses on my behalf, Hope in the future that He has planned for my life... "HOPE" in the eternal life that He has promised through faith in His Son Jesus Christ...

"Blessed is the man (woman) who trusts in the LORD, and whose "HOPE" is in the Lord. For he (she) shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit." (Psalm 17:7-8)

"And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My HOPE is in YOU." Psalm 39:7

So, I ask you, what is YOUR one word for 2012? Do you need "HOPE"? I will be very happy to share this word with you... "HOPE" IN GOD...HE WILL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU!

Giant Leaps of Faith into The New Year

2011-12-27T21:07:00.000-05:00

"The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. the Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore." Psalm 121:5-8

Have you ever taken "a giant leap of faith" and then second guessed yourself, had doubts and fears, and shaky knees? I think that all goes along with the "giant leaping of faith" part...the shaky knees, the doubts, and the fears, the wondering whether or not you made the right decision or if you really heard the Lord correctly when you thought you heard Him say,

"This is the way, walk in it,"..."Whenever you turn to the right hand, or whenever you turn to the left." Isaiah 30:21

Looking back over my life I can honestly say that we took some pretty big leaps of faith, when all the world around us was wondering what on earth had possessed us to make such huge changes and embark on what appeared to them to be a foolish journey into the unknown. In hindsight, we have sometimes questioned whether or not we had actually made the right decision, or if we perhaps had acted precipitously instead of waiting on the Lord to guide us aright. We've scratched our heads and retraced our steps to be certain that we had not been mistaken. And yet, every time we had to come back and say, "yes, we did what we believed was God's will, and we acted in faith upon that inner prompting of our hearts that said, "This is the way..walk in it..."

As we approach another new year we look ahead with some fear and trepidation at what path we are to choose. We could opt to stay where it is safe and warm and never venture out into the "unknown"...we could say, "I like my safe little cocoon, even when it appears to be shriveling up around me and drying up and dissolving in thin air"... and we could choose to just keep holding on to that fragile little leaf and refuse to let go and open up our wings and fly away like the beautiful butterfly God intended us to be. But at what cost? If the butterfly larvae refused to let go of it's cocoon, would it ever be a butterfly? No, it would die on the vine, and never see the world of beauty in each flower of the field that was meant to provide nourishment for its journey. It would never feel the joy of freedom of stretching out its wings and flying away into the bright sunny days of summer and reaching its destiny for life.

I don't know about you, but I really want to trust God to take me wherever He deems best...to lead me in the way of His plan for my life. I want to look back on my life someday and say, "Thank you, Lord, for leading me in the way everlasting...for allowing me the joy of experiencing all You had planned for me. Thank you for helping me to take those giant leaps of faith into Your wonderful place of peace." Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? WHERE WILL YOUR GIANT LEAP OF FAITH TAKE YOU THIS YEAR?

TRUST GOD...HE WILL NOT LEAD YOU ASTRAY.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Blessings from "My Three Sons" and "Santa's Workshop and Bakeshop"

2011-12-23T21:34:00.001-05:00

This year Santa's elves have been quite busy here at the Steiner house...while one son was in the kitchen baking Sand Tarts from the old family recipe, another son was in the garage building a special shelf for our living room, to finish off the earlier project of a shelf unit that he built to house the components for the new flat screen TV that was also a Christmas gift to the family.

My son Benton, in "Ben's Country Woodshop", making a special gift for us this Christmas too!

The antique door knobs came from my Dad's workshop, and
also the bookends with the gun handles were built by my Dad
quite a few years ago as a Christmas gift to my husband, who
was a State Trooper at the time. The china plate in the
middle is one of our wedding gifts, the owl represents my
"Barred Owls" in our backyard and was a gift from my sister
Doris last year. The ducks were gifts from a friend, and
I forget where the quail came from, but it finishes out
the collection of birds and special things....

The thing that makes this shelf so special is not only the fact that our son made it himself, but he used special tools that he got from my Dad (his Grandpa's) workshop after Grandpa passed on to be with the Lord earlier this year. To finish off the shelf he attached three antique china doorknobs that also came from Grandpa's workshop.

Our son Matthew (r) and his wife Nicole and our Grandson, Noah

I am blessed beyond measure...the gift from our other son, who lives in Maine and could not be here for this Christmas with us, is the fact that God has granted him another year of precious life. He has been battling a rare cancer for the past almost two years, and every day that God gives him is a gift. He recently had a biopsy of a growth that was giving great cause for concern for fear that the cancer was spreading to other parts of the body...and the wonderful, marvelous news this week was that there was NO sign of cancer in that growth. Although the cancer is not completely gone from his body, it is not showing any signs of growth, and so we give God praise for this wonderful gift.

Myriads of "Heavenly Hosts" of angels...Praising God and Singing Hallelujah!!!

Grandma Mursch’s Sand Tarts

(Elva Hill Mursch )

(My Paternal Grandmother)
December 27, 1896-December 16, 1984

My Grandma Mursch always made these Sand Tart cookies for Christmas. They are from a wonderful old German recipe. In 1980 Grandma passed this recipe on to me so I could make it for my family. The first Christmas I made them, I wasn’t sure how many the whole recipe would make, and I needed a good cookie for the church cookie swap. My mother-in-law, Vivian Steiner, helped me roll and cut and bake the doubled - whole recipe, and we soon found out that it made about 18 dozen cookies! That was quite a task! I only needed 13 dozen for the cookie swap, and I was chagrined to discover that I was the only one who had gone to the trouble of baking a rolled and cut cookie for this event!

From then on, I usually only baked the Half Recipe, and it made more than enough cookies for our family and to share with others! As the years went on, I eventually taught our son, Scott, how to make these cookies so that he could continue the tradition. For the past few years he has baked these cookies as his Christmas gift to the family! HERE IS A PICTURE OF SCOTT, WHO CAME BACK HOME THIS YEAR, AND IS BACK TO MAKING THE SAND TARTS FOR THE FAMILY AGAIN FOR CHRISTMAS! THANK YOU SCOTT!!!!!

The secret to a good Sand Tart is to be sure to roll the dough real thin before cutting the cookies. The thinner cookies are crispier and tastier. Just be sure not to burn them! Also, for the brushed on glaze of egg wash, you need two egg yolks and about a tablespoon of milk mixed together to cover the ½ recipe. I buy the pre-sliced almonds to put on top. Use about two tablespoons of white sugar to one teaspoon of cinnamon mixed together in a shaker (I use a salt shaker) to sprinkle on the tops.

This recipe is a keeper…and should be passed down from generation to generation!

Sand Tarts

(Yield 8-9 dozen) (This is the Half Recipe)

Mix Together:

1 ¼ lb. Butter
3 eggs
2 lbs. Brown Sugar

Then add 2 lb. Flour

Roll real thin and cut with cookie cutters. Brush tops with yolk of egg beaten with a little milk. Put a sliced almond on top and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

My Son Scott carrying on the family tradition of making Sand Tarts at Christmas (2011)

Enjoy!

THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF MY CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS THIS YEAR. I THANK THE LORD FOR ANSWERED PRAYER IN SO MANY WAYS....BEHIND THE SCENES OF THESE PICTURES THERE ARE BIGGER AND BETTER STORIES TO BE TOLD...AND I GIVE GOD PRAISE.

HAVE YOU STOPPED TO THANK GOD FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS THIS YEAR?

The BEST GIFT OF ALL!!!

God's Timely Reminder

2011-12-18T20:22:00.001-05:00

"Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited." Isaiah 54:2-3

I don't know about you, but I find Christmas shopping to be extremely frustrating and downright depressing! I wish I could learn to do as others and do my shopping all year long so I don't end up in this panic the last week before Christmas! Lately, I have found myself to the point of tears as I have driven from store to store in search of the "perfect" gifts for everyone on my list, and wishing it was all over already so I could forget about this experience for another year. This is not what Christmas is all about...I am sure that Jesus is sad and probably angry as He watches us go through this ritual every year...it's not about the gifts, it's about THE GIFT...JESUS CHRIST, THE MESSIAH, THE BABE IN THE MANGER, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, THE LION OF JUDAH, THE DAYSTAR FROM ON HIGH, EMMANUEL, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE...to name just a few of His Holy Names. That is what Christmas is all about...Shout it from the housetops!

I feel better now that I've said that. But what I really wanted to tell you about is the gift that God gave to me today as I was rushing through the aisles, scrambling for ideas, and beating myself for allowing this to happen again. There, almost hidden amongst a stack of knicknacks, bric-a-brac, odds and ends, and stuff, my eyes lighted upon a little picture frame, no larger than 3" x 3", with a very familiar verse written upon it....

"Remember, When God closes a door, He opens a window."

Wow!!! I clutched it to my chest, and held it close...and said, "Thank you, Lord, for this little gift just for me today!" Not only was it the exact saying behind the title of my Blog, "Closed Doors, Open Windows", but it was precisely the message that I needed to remember today. You may wonder why, and I don't really have to tell you why, but just suffice it to say that I needed that reminder. And yes, I added it to my purchases for the day...a Christmas gift to me from God....

God had already been preparing me for a message from Him earlier as I was aimlessly driving around, trying to figure out where to go next in my shopping dilemma, and I found myself literally crying not just about the shopping, but about life in general...and He gave me words of comfort and hope...that my days of sorrow and sadness would soon be ended, and that days of great joy and gladness were just around the corner...the verse quoted above from Isaiah 54 was written for the Israelites, when they were pictured as the "restored wife of the Lord". They were going to be brought back to their own land from their places of captivity and years of barrenness as a nation. Don't try to read too much into this as it relates to my own situation, but just know that it comforts me personally...and it all ties in with the little saying that I rediscovered in my journey..."Remember, When God closes a door, He opens a window..."...."Enlarge the place of your tent..." Get ready for action and growth....God is getting ready to do something. (Close a door? Open a window?)

How about you? Do you need that message of hope and encouragement today? Is all the scurrying about and worrying and fretting about what to do about this, and what to do about that, and getting ready for Christmas ( in the material sense) getting you down? Maybe you need to be reminded that God is working behind the scenes in your life as well, working on a plan to give you new hope for the New Year... Why not take a few minutes out of your hectic schedule and sit down and let Him talk to you today? You may be surprised at the message He has for you.

May your Christmas be truly blessed with joy and gifts from "out of this world", and may your New Year be the beginning of many new open windows of opportunity.

Merry Christmas!!!

I thought it appropriate to place this little "gift" from God today right beside
the "real gift" from God...Jesus, the Babe in the Manger...My Savior...and Your Savior Too...that is, if you have
already accepted your free gift from God...I hope you have...That's what Christmas is really all about.

Christmas on Elmwood Street, Part Three -Reposted from Last Year

2011-12-17T20:13:00.001-05:00

Again, this is a repost of last year's story about my Dad, "Billy Mursch", written from his own words. I am so thankful that I took the time to listen and write down these stories as he told them to me...they are priceless and precious. Little did I know that last Christmas would be the last Christmas he would spend with us here on earth. This year he is rejoicing with the angels in heaven and enjoying the REAL celebration of Christmas with my mother...and most of all, with Jesus. I hope you will enjoy this last episode from the story of "Christmas on Elmwood Street", reposted in memory of my sweet Daddy.

The Mursch House on Elmwood Street, Crafton, PA, 1929

Elva and Bill Mursch
(My Parents)

Billy Mursch

This is the third and last part of the mini-series of "A Chapter in the Life of Billy Mursch", Crafton, Pennsylvania, Circa 1929. If you've missed the first two parts, please look back on my blog for the last couple of weeks to catch up with us!

Madame Schumann-Heink singing Silent Night
Click on the link above to hear her singing just
as it was back in 1929 on the radio.

On Christmas Eve our family gathered in the living room to listen to Madame Schumann-Heink sing Silent Night in German on the radio. This was a tradition for many families during those pre-WWII years, and one that was very special to my father especially as it reminded him of his German family heritage.

Then we would “hang up our stockings by the chimney with care”, and in the morning we would gleefully sing out "Merry Christmas!" to each other as we discovered the treasures of perhaps a new handkerchief, an apple, nuts and maybe some candy tucked inside! After opening our gifts ("The Boy Ranchers Among the Indians" YES!! A new pocket-knife? Wow, Gee Thanks, Santa! ) we would gather around the table for a delicious ham dinner with all the trimmings. My mother was a wonderful cook, and even when times were tough, she could create a meal that made our celebration a very joyous time together.

Later in the evening our family would take a walk around the neighborhood and see all the homes decked out in their glorious Christmas displays. It was truly a festive time on Elmwood Street! Such happy, happy memories.

Oh yes, one more little adventure to share with you:

Our Christmas Tree (before the needles fell off)

Our family faithfully attended church at St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran in Crafton. My mother was quite involved in the Ladies’ Circle of our church, and this particular year she was to host their meeting at our home shortly after Christmas. Unfortunately, our Christmas tree had shed its needles rather prematurely, and the tree stood quite bare in our living room. She was embarrassed at its nakedness, but hadn’t had time to take it down prior to her meeting. While she was out doing her errands before the meeting, I happened to notice that one of our neighbors had already discarded their Christmas tree and had left it on the street for the trash men to pick up. That tree still had many more needles on its branches than ours, so I thought it would be a wonderful surprise for my mother if I switched the trees and redecorated it before she arrived home with her lady friends for the meeting! I quickly made the exchange and cleaned up the mess just in time for the ladies to arrive at our door. Much to my chagrin, my mother was mortified that I had taken this tree off the trash heap and brought it in to our home, but the other ladies all laughed and thought it was just wonderful of “little Billy” to be so ingenious and creative! So she recovered from her embarrassment and praised me for my thoughtfulness. (Whew! That was a close one!)

Introducing my fiance' Dorothea Tedlie to my family.
l to r: Ruth Mursch, Dorothea Tedlie, Marion Mursch, Mother Elva
Mursch, (back row, l to r): Dad William H. Mursch,
Me "Billy" William F. Mursch, and brother Paul Mursch, circa 1940
(click on pictures to enlarge view, then use back arrow to go back to
blog)

Yep, growing up during the depression in the outskirts of Pittsburgh had its difficult moments, but all in all, God had truly blessed our family with His peace and joy. Not too many years after that I introduced my beautiful fiancé Dorothea Tedlie to my family in that same house, and then a few years later brought our own four children home to visit their grandparents so that they could taste the Anise cookies and the Sand Tarts and experience Christmas the way I had growing up on Elmwood Street.

Looking back, I have to stop and thank the Lord for all His wondrous blessings to me for the past ninety-two years. I am so thankful to have had Godly parents who brought me up in a Christian home so that I could pass on that same heritage to my children and to their children and to all future generations.

It is my Christmas prayer that each and every one of you will cherish your family and treasure the gift of the “Prince of Peace”, Jesus Christ, that precious Baby in the Manger and our Saviour today.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

"Billy Mursch"

William F. Mursch and Family

The Mursch Family a few years later, circa 1952
in the dining room of the house on Elmwood Street.

Some of the Mursch Family, 1982

The "Billy Mursch" Family, 2005 (most of it)

The Very Distinguished "Billy Mursch" today,
2010, age 92. What a guy!!! (UPDATE: THIS
WAS TAKEN LAST YEAR, AS HE ENJOYED HIS
LAST THANKSGIVING WITH HIS FAMILY. We are all really missing his wit and charm this year...)

Link to "Christmas on Elmwood Street, Part One"

Link to "Christmas on Elmwood Street, part Two"

Have You Not Known? Have You Not Heard?

2011-12-12T14:59:00.000-05:00

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The EVERLASTING GOD, the LORD, The CREATOR of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40:28-31

Eagle in Flight...photos taken by my sister Doris E. Hutchinson, near our Dad's property last year

I saw an eagle soaring above the treetops today...out of the clear blue (actually the skies were a bit grey and cloudy). He just lifted up his mighty wings and flew above the noise and clatter below. He reminded me of this verse...a reminder that I needed today. I was not feeling particularly strong...actually I am tired and weary and feeling a mite weak. Maybe a bug...or perhaps just exhaustion...either way...I needed a day of rest...so I took it. Yep, I called in sick today...and legitimately so. We took a little ride out into the country just to get away and talk and think and allow ourselves to dream a little. Sometimes that is better than staying in bed or sitting in my recliner in front of the TV all day sipping hot tea and eating soup. Especially when I saw the choices on daytime TV...I thought to myself, "I'd rather be at work than sitting here watching this junk." So I was glad when my hubby suggested we take a little ride.

Anyway, it was therapeutic to get away from the must do list and the mind that won't let me rest because of the constant reminders of all the things I should be doing, both at work and at home in this, the busiest time of the year. I don't believe that Christmas was intended to be a time of exhaustion and stress. It should be the happiest and most joyful time of all. Christmas...the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ...should give us reason to sing and shout hallelujah and break out into a dance of pure joy. It should cause us to "soar with the eagles" in our hearts and minds and spirits.

Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth...thank you for giving me the strength I need to carry on during this busy time. Thank you for helping me to run and not be weary...and to walk and not faint. I am placing my trust in YOU, Oh Lord, and claiming this promise by faith today. Oh, and I promise to try harder to wait on YOU for the answers to my questions and the power I need to move ahead. In the precious name of Jesus, the baby in the manger Who grew up to be a man and sacrifice His life for all mankind...Amen.

How about you? Do you need to soar with the eagles today? Why not let go of whatever is holding you down in spirit, and let God lift you up, up and away! You will be able to return to earth feeling rested and renewed in strength and ready for whatever lies ahead. Try it...He will not fail you. He promised.

(Credit due to my sister Doris for her photographic skill in capturing

these pictures!)

Christmas on Elmwood Street, Part Two (Reposted from last year)

2011-12-11T18:33:00.001-05:00

Our home on Elmwood Street, Circa 1929

The continuing story of my dad, "Billy" Mursch, at the age of ten, around 1928-29. Be sure to read the part one reprinted last week. I originally posted these last Christmas, but this year I am reprinting them in loving memory of my Dad, "Billy Mursch", who passed on to be with the Lord this past spring. Be sure to watch for the 3rd part sometime next week...I hope you will enjoy reading these as much as I enjoyed hearing these stories from my father's own lips. Reading them again brings him closer to me somehow...

Wintertime was an idyllic season for us kids on Elmwood Street. When the snow fell the town would close off some of the side streets and the kids could ice skate in the flat icy areas and go sledding down the hilly snow-covered streets. We’d build a fire in an old oil drum so we could warm up between sled rides. Many a day we stayed outside until our noses were red and our toes were numb, and then we dragged our sleds back to our warm cozy houses for some hot chocolate and steaming bowls of soup at the end of the day.

Another favorite Christmas memory was the smell of cookies baking in the kitchen, and then the many tins of cookies and other goodies, stacked up on the attic stairs to keep fresh, waiting to be eaten by family and friends at Christmas. We kids were forbidden to touch the containers before Christmas…but it sure was a temptation! My favorite cookies were Anise Cookies and Sand Tarts. These were very special old German recipes that my mother loved to bake for our family, and we sure loved to eat them! (Recipes can be found on my blog page- "It's Recipe Thyme"---Another New Recipe)http://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/p/its-recipe-thyme-new-recipe.html

When we set up our Christmas tree, it was traditional in our family to put a toy train under the tree. The train that we used was actually built by my father, and I still have it today. When I was a little older I designed a very unique village to go with our train. Prior to Christmas I would go out in the woods and gather Sphagnum Peat Moss to be used as grass and to fashion small trees for our village. Then I constructed little houses and other buildings for the village by using the wood from the apple boxes brought home from the grocer. One year our village was quite elaborate as I set up a small lake in a pan in the fire box of the fireplace, and placed the moss and trees around and laid out the railroad tracks to run from one side of the bookcases lining the fireplace to the other. I built a mountain on one side and constructed a hotel on top, complete with people and cars and trucks. On the other side was a farm, with a barn, silo, farmhouse, and animals. Next to the farm was a Nativity Scene with Mary and Joseph, the Baby Jesus and the other members of that holy place. Down in the village the train ran through town and made its stops at the local schoolhouse, the Village Church, stores and depot. This project was a forerunner of the hobby that I would enjoy for many years as an adult.

The Christmas Tree and the Train Village I made as a child. (Billy Mursch talking)
(click on pictures to enlarge, and then use back arrow to return to blog)

Another view of the Train Village under the Christmas Tree in the living room
at our home on Elmwood Street.

"The locomotive and train is the one my Dad made for me. The village
was an elaborate creation that got better every year as I learned how to
add more interesting stuff to it." (per Billy Mursch)

Please come back next week to hear the rest of this story...it keeps getting better...!

Link to "Christmas on Elmwood Street, Part Three"

"The Voice said, 'Cry out!' And he said, 'What shall I cry?"

2011-12-08T21:22:00.000-05:00

Isaiah 40:6 says, "The voice said, 'Cry out!' and he (I) said, 'What shall I cry?'"

Isaiah 40:3 says, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

Last night I attended a BarlowGirl concert at the church where I currently am employed. Actually, I was there as a volunteer, working at the merchandise table for the BarlowGirls. I was enjoying the concert from a little bit of a distance, watching through the sanctuary doors. The music was inspiring...the BarlowGirls are a unique blend of beauty and superb talent, with a seriously powerful message for today's generation. However, there was something equally interesting happening in the lobby area where I was tending the "merch", as our youth pastor teasingly called it.

One of the charitable organizations that our church supports is a ministry to teen girls at risk. As a part of the outreach for this concert, girls from this group were invited to attend the concert at no charge. Several of these young ladies did attend, but from their appearance and actions it was apparent to me that they were really not too interested in the concert. They kept coming out into the lobby and going from door to door and up into the balcony, supposedly looking for their "friends". A couple of the girls came to my table, admiring the many articles for sale. At first I was not aware of who these girls were, or where they had come from. But I couldn't help but notice by their shabby attire and obvious piercings and numerous cuttings on their bare arms that they were troubled youth. One particular girl hung around beside me for a few minutes making small talk and saying how much she liked the concert (which she had not sat down to watch for more than five minutes), and that she liked the music, but she'd never heard of them before, and had never been to our church before. She also told me that she would like to buy something but she had given all her money to a homeless person out on the street before she came in because they needed it more than her. Somehow I didn't quite believe her...it seemed to me that she was embarassed that she really didn't have any money and it sounded good to say that she had done something so noble with her money. She told me that her counselor had invited her to come to the concert, and she was glad that she did. Then her "friends" came and grabbed her and they decided to leave out the front door of the church, and I never saw them come back in.

As I continued to listen to the music, I could hear the lyrics to so many songs that I wished these girls could have heard. It grieved me that the very ones who needed this hope and love so much were the ones who just refused to listen. I felt burdened and sad that I was not able to point them in the right direction. I comforted myself with the fact that I had at least been kind and listened, and I had encouraged them to go back in and find a seat to listen to the music several times...but they just could not surrender to that calling yet. Maybe another day...I pray...they will get another chance to draw near to God and hear Him beckoning to them. Right now they are the ones who are crying out with their very actions that they "need God to love them"...but they don't realize that is what is happening. God is indeed calling...seeds are being planted in their hearts (I pray)... "I Need You to Love Me" (BarlowGirl)

One of the T-Shirts being sold at the "merch" table had the following saying written on it: "Be a Voice, Not an Echo"... I like that thought..."Be a Voice"...What shall I cry out? Isaiah 40:6-8 says,

"All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of the our God stands forever."

Isaiah goes on to say in verse 11:

"He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young."

Perhaps God will indeed gather these "lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom." That is my prayer for the girls with the shabby attire, the obvious piercings and the numerous cuttings on their bare arms tonight. God knows who they are and where they are right now...and I believe because they have been brought near His light...His light will continue to shine on them and lead them safely home.
"Hallelujah-Light Has Come" (BarlowGirl)

Christmas on Elmwood Street- Part One -Reposted from last year...Enjoy!

2011-12-04T18:42:00.001-05:00

I posted this series last year prior to Christmas, and it was a big hit. This is a true story about my Dad, written from his own perspective. This year the story becomes even more precious, because my Dad has gone on to be with the Lord this past year...so I reprint the beginning of this series again in honor and loving memory of my Dad, William F. "Billy" Mursch.

This story is the first part of the Christmas story I wrote last year for my father's Christmas card, which was sent to all of his family and friends for Christmas. I will add a little more each day until it is complete. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the life of my Dad, "Billy Mursch", when he was about 10 years old. (written from his perspective)

The Home of "Billy Mursch"
Elmwood Street, Crafton, PA
(double click on pictures to enlarge view- then back arrow to return to blog)

Billy Mursch, with partial
views of his sister Marion (top right,
and his brother Paul (rt.)

A Chapter in the Life of “Billy” Mursch

Crafton, Pennsylvania

Circa 1929

As a young boy growing up in the 1920’s and 30’s in a small suburb of the big city of Pittsburgh, I would say that I was very typical for the time. Of course, the fact that I had a head full of bright auburn hair made my life a bit more interesting, and created opportunities for others to attach various knicknames to me like “Red-headed Billy Goat”, which resulted in great chases on the school yard. My friend “Brinkie” (Ralph Brinkman) and I could take care of the bullies all right.

Elva and Bill Mursch
(Billy's parents)

My family moved to our brand new home on Elmwood Street right about the time of the beginning of The Great Depression in 1929. My Dad had our house built from a kit that he purchased through the Lumber Yard in Crafton. It was a Craftsman style one story and a half bungalow, with a big front porch, walk up attic, and a basement. I immediately claimed the attic for my special museum where I kept my treasures of rocks, fossils and shells from our trips to Lake Erie. My Uncle Jack also brought me some interesting fossils and shells from his travels in Bermuda, which made my museum even more unique. I later expanded the museum to the basement, using a large refrigerator carton as my display cabinet for other artifacts, such as the small pieces of a crashed airplane that we discovered over at the County Airport. As any young budding archeologist might do, I once was attempting to reconstruct the skeleton of an old Airedale dog that had been buried in the woods for about a year by one of our neighbors. Everything was just fine until my mother smelled the peculiar stench of old bones boiling in a kettle on the laundry boiler wafting up from the basement and permeating the house above. That particular artifact had to be removed from the museum and re-buried in the woods post-haste! I was only trying to get the skeleton nice and clean for the museum. So much for my career in archeology!

L to R: Paul, Billy, Ruth, Marion, and neighbor boy Bobby Scott.

Christmas was a wonderful time, even during The Great Depression. Although my father had a good job at U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh, money was still very tight for our large family. You see, besides my parents and myself, there were my three siblings: my older sister Marion, my younger brother Paul, and our baby sister Ruth. Being typical kids, we each had our own little lists of what we hoped Santa would bring us, and we’d start dropping hints several weeks before the big day. My particular desire was for the latest edition of The Boy Ranchers series of books. I couldn’t wait to find out what the “Boy Ranchers” would be doing next. Some of the intriguing titles of those books were: The Boy Ranchers in Camp; The Boy Ranchers on the Trail; The Boy Ranchers Among the Indians; The Boy Ranchers on Roaring River; and The Boy Ranchers in Death Valley, to name a few of my favorites. It was awfully difficult for a young boy to have to wait a whole year to get the next edition of his favorite book, but it was always well worth the wait!

The other item that we could usually expect to receive for Christmas was a new pair of shoes. These shoes had to last all year, as they were the only pair we could hope to receive, so it was imperative that I learned how to take good care of them. The shoes I remember most were my leather high top boots that had a little pocket on the side for my Boy Scout pocketknife! No boy in that era would be caught dead without his trusty pocketknife always ready to whittle some stick or cut a trail through the woods or build a fort. The high tops looked really sharp with the knickers we still had to wear. The only thing better would have been to finally be able to wear long pants!

Sometimes before Christmas we would take a ride downtown on the streetcar to Pittsburgh and walk through the streets of the city and look in all the department store windows. Kaufmanns and The Joseph Horne Co. always had elaborate displays of toys and electric trains and all the newest and best things any little boy or girl could wish for. However, for many children, with the depression looming over our nation, that was pretty much all it was…a wish.

TO BE CONTINUED....Link to "Christmas on Elmwood Street, Part Two"

From One Season to Another...

2011-11-26T19:44:00.000-05:00

The last piece of pumpkin pie...

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise, Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."

Psalm 100:4-5

Well, another Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. The relatives all gathered together to ask the Lord's blessing...we ate until our bellies popped, and then we ate some more. We laughed and chatted while we set the table and prepared the food, and then we laughed and chatted again while we cleaned off the tables and put away all the leftovers and washed the dishes. Then someone said, "Who's ready for pie?" Out came the pies and dessert dishes, forks, and whipped cream. The pies were cut and served, and everyone pronounced them perfectly delicious. A few hearty eaters went back for another piece...while the rest of us proclaimed that we could not eat another bite! If one was lucky, there might be enough left over to take home for a snack the next day... Yeah...that's what I just did...I ate the last piece of pumpkin pie.

So now it is time to put away the Thanksgiving decorations...the Pilgrim salt and pepper shakers, the pumpkins and gourds and turkey figurines and the fall colored napkins and tablecloths...exchange the brown and gold and orange for red and green and silver decorations. Remove the pumpkin spice candles and replace them with the red hollyberry and evergreen scented ones. The autumn leaves wreath on my front door will be stashed away until next fall...and the fragrant spruce-pine wreath with the red bow and pinecones will welcome my holiday guests for the next couple of months.

No, that's not really my door...I wish it was...but
Florida just doesn't quite look like that in winter...

Yes, it is time to shift gears...get into the Christmas spirit and play Christmas carols every chance I get. Time to "deck the halls with boughs of holly"...because it truly is the season "to be jolly!"

But let us not forget the season of Thanksgiving...the "attitude of gratitude" needs to permeate our souls while we go about the busy-ness of preparing for Christmas. We need to focus on the true meaning of CHRISTmas....the time to celebrate the birth of our Savior, the "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!" (Isaiah 9:6) If that isn't a reason to be filled with Thanksgiving, I don't know what is!

The Nativity of Our Lord...A Favorite Christmas Ornament from
my parent's Christmas tree...The real "reason for the season"...

"Be Thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to ALL generations!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!

A Family Tradition

2011-11-16T19:33:00.003-05:00

Psalm 103:17-18 “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them.”

Back during our ministry days we spent many holidays far away from our extended family due to the distance involved to get back home, and also the fact that our place of ministry often required that we stay close by to participate in the holiday activities of the church. Once our own children began to leave the nest they weren't always able to get back home to us for all of the holidays. Therefore, we often either invited local people to our home for the holiday meal, or we were invited to spend the day with others in the area.

After spending one such Thanksgiving Day at the home of distant relatives who happened to live in the same area, and without all of our own children at home with us, I made note in my journal that everything was wonderful, “but somehow something was missing…I guess the familiar traditions of my own family dinners.” I went on to say,

“What is it about us humans…we have to have things just the same year after year to ‘feel right’? We are creatures of habit and tradition, and in many ways that is good. It gives us security and warm cozy feelings…happy memories to share with our children and grandchildren, a link to our heritage, even all the way back to Adam and Eve.

Actually God established traditions, customs and holy days for His people so that His truth would be passed down from generation to generation. Because of this heritage we have learned God’s Word, and have heard of His great love for us all. So, all tradition is not a bad thing when it is used properly.”

My Mom and Dad...Our Last Thanksgiving all together in 2005

The family guys all playing a new game..."Cornhole"...
that's the name, honest!

I guess I am waxing a bit nostalgic as we approach Thanksgiving next week (! Already?) Since the passing of my father this past spring, this will be the first Thanksgiving that we celebrate without both of my parents. Tradition runs deep in my family, and so much of our annual rituals and activities were learned in my parents' home. That particular house is no longer available to us, as we closed that door on that home this past summer and turned the keys over to another family, and after over 54 years of my family living there, it just seems very strange that I cannot go back and walk right in the door and hug and kiss my parents and smell the pies baking and the turkey roasting and hear the mixture of laughter ringing in the hallways and the mixer whirring and a fire crackling while Lionel Trains were chugging around the track entertaining the young and old alike. There will be no men,(my brothers, husband, brother in law, sons or my father) calling to each other out back while playing horseshoes, or little children running in and out the back door and someone yelling at them to close that door because they are letting all the cool air out (or in, as the case may be). There will be no women, (my sister, sisters in law, nieces, aunts, grandparents, cousins, or my dear mother) busily setting the table, peeling or mashing the potatoes, washing the dishes, arranging the table centerpiece, finding the best dishes and serving spoons, counting the places at the table and figuring where on earth everyone is going to sit.

Family

More family

and more family

The family was gathered together to start saying goodbye as
some were leaving for home...

No, all these memories will just have to remain here in my mind...I can picture them all vividly as I write this. I can hear their voices, see their faces, and remember how precious they all were to me. I wonder if I ever stopped to realize that when they were still present? Probably not...I was just too busy enjoying the food, fun and laughter to allow myself to think that it would ever end.

So now I have to face the fact that it is the time to move forward...begin anew with our own families, friends, and traditions. It will never be the same again...but that doesn't mean it all has to end. Now is when we pick up where our parents left off...and establish the memories that will someday carry our children and their children on to their own homes and futures. I guess one could say that this is definitely a case for "Closed doors, Open Windows"....

Yes, next week will certainly be different for me, and I am already shedding a few tears just thinking about it. I know that life will go on, and we will continue to celebrate year after year, welcoming new faces and traditions...but we will carry the memories of our precious loved ones in our hearts always...and pass on the treasures of our wonderful heritage to any who will listen.

My Dad, Playing Horseshoes back in the good old days...
Now THAT'S a picture I'll NEVER forget!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
..cherish the moments together...
make every minute count!
Laugh, Love, and Live!!!

Matthew and Noah's Saga of the Moose Hunt

2011-11-11T21:12:00.003-05:00

Matthew

In Matthew's own words... Click on the link to the left to read our son Matthew's story of his Moose Hunt with his son Noah and their friend Gary. Quite a long story, but well worth the read. Here are a few pictures to go along with the story. He has promised more pictures later. Story written by Matthew E. Steiner. (Story is reprinted below in case you cannot access this link above)

Poor Bullwinkle...

This story is about so much more than the killing of a moose. It is a story of the bonding of a father and son, the perseverance and faith of a man facing much greater odds than a moose hunt, and the amazing ways that God brought about healing and answers to many prayers. I hope you will catch the true meaning of this marvelous journey. Enjoy!

2011 Moose Hunt

by Matthew Steiner on Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:54pm

I’ve always liked the outdoors. As a kid, I loved camping and fishing and playing in the woods. I got my first BB/Pellet Rifle when I was about 12. Soon after that, but around the same time, I was allowed to buy a shotgun from a friend from the church my dad was pastoring. I hardly ever shot it. I never killed anything with it. I dreamed about one day being a hunter/survivalist type guy. From the time I was about 8 or 9 years old, I planned to join the army and one day becoming a Green Beret or Ranger. My dream was to be able to live in the woods on my own and know how to sustain life and be self sufficient. The military part of my dream continued up to about the latter part of my junior year of high school. As I wrote in my “Life Story” note, my mind changed towards a college career and Christian ministry type things. Still, I loved the outdoors and camping and fishing.

Two years ago, I decided to expand my love of the outdoors and get my first hunting license. It was a “Hunter’s Apprentice” license which meant I could put off the Hunter’s Safety course for a year, but I would only be able to hunt with a licensed hunter. I met a man at the place that I worked who was a Hunter’s Safety instructor. I asked him if he ever took an inexperienced guy out hunting before. He told me that he loved to do that sort of thing. And so began my experiences hunting. I also have a good friend, Gary, who lives in Brownfield, Maine who enjoys hunting and fishing. He also was more than willing to take Noah, my son, and myself hunting.

Last year, I was diagnosed with cancer and spent from April to the end of November getting clinical treatments of chemotherapy. With the hunting season being in the month of November, I didn’t know if I’d be able to hunt at all. I was so weak and so sick from the drugs. Noah and I also needed to get our official hunting licenses. So we had to take the hunter’s safety course. We took the course together and both passed. My chemo treatments were scheduled in such a way that I’d have a week of treatment then two weeks off to recover. The class fell in one of the off weeks. The idea of hiking while hunting was not possible. But in the spirit of kicking this disease and hoping for brighter horizons one day, my wife bought me a rifle. Noah got to use my shotgun. Our property has about 12 acres of wooded land and there are a lot of deer that walk through. So it was decided that the only place we’d get to hunt was out back behind the house on our property. I had to take a camp chair out with me and I walked about 100-150 yards away and just sat hoping that something would walk in front of me. After sitting for a while, I decided to come inside because I knew if I shot something and it didn’t immediately fall, I wouldn’t be able to search and find the animal. Nothing ever walked by but at least I could say that I tried. My clinical treatments ended and I was put on a “maintenance” form of chemotherapy which I’ll have to take for the rest of my life.

This year began. The maintenance chemo drug didn’t come with all the debilitating side effects of the six I V type drugs that I was on last year. Most of my energy returned. I grew a little bit of hair. The fullest spot happened to be on my chin! I was given back my immune system again. So this year I began to think about life differently. I wanted to make the very most of each day. I didn’t want to take one single second of life for granted. My time spent with family was already precious to me, but now it became even more precious. God had given me another second chance at life. I wanted to live! So I began think about what represented itself as life to me. The answer was the outdoors. And so this year began with a slightly different perspective concerning the outdoors and the activities there of. It wasn’t just something I enjoyed being out in and doing things in. It represented LIFE to me.

One day this past spring, my hunting friend Bob called me and talked me into purchasing some chances towards this fall’s moose hunt. Moose hunting licenses are picked lottery style. Only 3,015 permits are issued annually. So I purchased 5 chances to possibly hunt a moose. On the application, we were allowed to put in a name for a subpermittee and an alternate subpermittee. I put Noah down as my permittee and Bob and the subpermittee. The drawing wouldn’t be until the end of summer. My chances were about 5 in a million, but I thought it would be neat to hunt a moose.

In June of this year, I went up to Masardis, ME (way up “noth”) to Jack Mountain Bushcraft School. “Bushcraft” is a term that describes a way of life that uses primitive things found in the forest for living. The word “survival” is also used to describe it, but bushcraft, I found, wasn’t survival; it was living comfortably in nature with very little gear. Knowledge of plants, building tools with forest found materials, learning about building a good shelter, and learning about navigating through the forest were some of things we were taught. We cooked over a fire. Some of the things we made were: a bucksaw, a crooked knife, rope, and pack frames. One of the phrases that was repeated that week was, “we didn’t go into the woods to rough it; we went into the woods to smooth it”. It was a very good experience.

It was the latter part of July or around August that I received notification that Noah and I were picked for the Moose Hunt in the November week (7-12). The area of Maine that we were picked to hunt in was “Wildlife Management District 4” or also known as the Maine North Woods. It’s an area above “The Golden Road” (north of Moosehead Lake) and south of “American Realty Road”. It goes from the Maine/Quebec border to Allagash River. The whole area is private paper mill owned property. All the roads up there are dirt. There are gate houses there that one must pass through to enter. There is no cell phone coverage (I found out during the hunt. I’ll elaborate later). There are no power lines. There’s nothing but trees, wildlife, and the occasional group of paper mill guys harvesting a wooded lot. For the most part, it was an area untouched by modern, “sophisticated” society. I called Bob to tell him the good news and to confirm if he could go with us. Unfortunately, the timing conflicted with his schedule. I started to feel like this possibly once in a lifetime chance wouldn’t happen at all. I’ve only hunted for deer a few times. Those times were just day trips. I had never been to the area I was picked for. We didn’t have the financial means to hire a guide and stay at a lodge. So I called Gary. I could write a several page note just about Gary. He’s been a good friend for almost twenty years. He, being a professional carpenter, helped me build my shop, Mattopia. He and I were deacons in a church that we both took part in planting in Conway, NH. I could go on and on but for the sake of this story, I’ll stop with that much info about him.

I called Gary. I told him about me and Noah getting picked for the Moose Lottery. I asked him if he could go. Without much hesitation, he said, “sure, I’ll go”. He then told me that he had a friend with a camp up that direction in Shirley and that we could probably stay for free. That was a huge relief. Now, we needed to plan. Being the outdoors enthusiast I already was and because I had just gone to a week long camping trip (Jack Mountain Bushcraft). I already had a lot of gear. I had to plan for Noah too. I went to a local sand pit with my buddy Bob one day to get my rifle sighted in. We picked a spot at the pit and paced off a distance of about 200 yards. Our target was an old masonry saw blade. The center of the blade has a hole in it about half an inch in diameter. Once my rifle was sighted in, that half inch diameter hole looked more like a one inch diameter hole. My rifle was dead on accurate. So now we had our lodging taken care of, we had our camping gear, and had my 30-06 rifle sighted. My only other gun was my single shot 20 gauge shotgun. We felt that that wouldn’t be adequate for our moose hunt. Gary offered to loan Noah a 30-30 rifle. That became Noah’s rifle for the hunt.

We left our home in Lyman, ME for the trip up to Shirley on Sunday, November 6 at about 4 am. We met up with Gary and his friend Steve in Gray, ME. Steve was the owner of the property we would be staying at. We followed them up to the camp. I was told that the camp had electricity but no running water. We arrived at the camp around noon. Let me just pause here and reiterate that I was thankful for a free place to stay that was relatively close - about an hour from the hunting area we’d be in. With that being said, I’ll backup a bit and fill the reader in on my side effects of the “maintenance” chemotherapy drug that I’m taking, Nexavar.

Nexavar is a chemotherapy drug that is in pill form. The pills are 200mg each. My usual dosage is two pills in the morning and two in the evening. The clinical chemo treatments of last year converted dozens of large tumors, some as big as baseballs, down to a small number of tumors with the largest couple being about the size of walnuts. The Nexavar’s job is to keep what’s remaining at a small, non-threatening, maintainable size. It is not powerful enough to further eradicate the disease. The side effects of the drug are similar to the intravenous drugs, but not at the intense severity. However, I still am troubled with chronic diarrhea, very thin hair, and very sensitive and sore hands and feet. The drug targets cells that rapidly reproduce like cancer cells do. Unfortunately skin and hair cells are in a continual state of repair and reproducing constantly, so they become “friendly fire” casualties of the drug. The digestive system problems are the worst for me. On a daily basis it is not out of the ordinary to visit the powder room 3 to 5 times. When I went to Jack Mountain, I was allowed to stop taking the drug the week prior to and the week of the trip. At Jack Mountain, our “powder room” was a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat on it. Being off of the medicine kept the dreaded diarrhea away. I “was functioning within normal parameters”. In preparation for the moose hunt, I cut my Nexavar dosage down to half a dose – one pill in the morning and one in the evening. But still, I was worried about the condition of the outhouse at the camp for now what should be for obvious reasons.

The camp. Remember, I was thankful that the lodging was free and relatively close to the hunting area. The camp was comprised of two different dwellings. On the left, was an old camper with a steel roof built over it. The camper had the name of “Woodpecker” on it. I was told that it was only fit for storing extra gear, but not for sleeping in. I wasn’t sure if that was because of its smaller size or what. I didn’t ask any questions. It did smell musty and there was plenty of evidence that it was overrun with mice. So Woodpecker was opened up first and we were able to put our extra gear in it as long as it was in a sealed container to keep the varmits out of it. The dwelling to the right was a 1960’s model mobile home with the title, “Silver Palace” on it. I’m sure that in the ‘60’s when this rolled of the assembly line, it really was a top of the line mobile home. But, over the course of the last 50 years, the Silver Palace had lost some of that charm. As Steve was unlocking the door, he turned to me and said, “I hope you guys aren’t afraid of mice because this thing’s got ‘em”. He continued, “But it’s dry, and it has heat and lights”. As I walked in, I noticed that the two couches had plastic covers on them that were littered with mice droppings. Also, a very musty odor was in the air. It had a refrigerator and a gas stove. It had space heaters for heat.

Now the big question in my mind was, “what does the outhouse look like?” We walked outside to the outhouse. The outside of the out house looked like it was built with fallen down trees and scrap steel roofing. It had a door on it that was held shut by a piece of lumber. When Steve opened the door, I looked in and just about got back into my truck to go home. There was a five gallon bucket with a toilet seat on it similar to the Jack Mountain setup. The difference here was Jack Mountain’s powder room was primitive, but it was a pristine, shiny clean seat that sat on a wooden box that covered a bucket. This toilet seat looked like it was covered in tar because of the mice and other animals that had been in there. I was feeling a little panicky. I think Steve sensed that I was about to hyperventilate so he then told me that there was a RV camper toilet in the bathroom of the Silver Palace. He said, “You can use it, but you have to clean it”. I suddenly felt the urge to kiss the guy but I contained myself. When we got into town, I bought RV toilet liners and used the toilet in the Silver Palace that way. Thankfully, I did not have an episode of diarrhea during my stay there. Enough writing about my poop, right? Right!

So we moved our stuff into the Silver Palace. Steve showed us the town of Shirley and then showed us Greenville then he drove back to his house near Brownfield, ME leaving Gary, Noah, and myself to go and explore the hunting grounds.

We began our scouting journey of the area we’d be hunting. We drove up north of Greenville on the eastern side of Moosehead Lake. Soon, the pavement stopped and we were on dirt roads. We reached the checkpoint gate and paid our fee to enter the North Maine Woods. We got our Maine atlas out and started coming up with a game plan. We picked an area way off the beaten path and got out and hiked a bit. Instantly, we saw evidence of Moose and lots of it. We scouted a couple of other spots. They all looked like there was plenty of Moose in the area. We felt like we had found the spots we wanted to hunt. We drove the hour plus drive back to the Silver Palace. We ate dinner and prepared for bed. The alarm clock was set for 3:00. I took my prescribed sleeping medication and laid down for a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, my excitement and nervousness mixed and overruled my sleeping medication. I could not fall asleep. I just laid there waiting for a mouse to run across my head. Then, around 12:00am, Gary got up. I thought he was going outside to pee, but he went into kitchen and turned the light on. He fired up the stove and started cooking eggs. I got out of bed and went into the kitchen and said to Gary, “You’re kind of getting an early start aren’t you?” He said, “It’s three o’clock. My watch alarm just went off so I’m getting ready. Get up Noah, start getting dressed.” I brought him my watch and directed his attention to Noah’s alarm clock. They both agreed that it was midnight and not three o’clock. He just put his hand on my shoulder and laughed. He said, “Janice found my old watch that I had stopped wearing a couple of years ago and gave it to me because it had an alarm. Maybe I stopped wearing it because it doesn’t keep time!” He laughed at his watch’s mistake. Noah and laughed too but with a little growl under our laugh. He turned off the stove and said, “Well I think we should get another couple hours of sleep what about you guys?” He shut everything off and went back to bed. I went back to my bed but not to sleep. Three o’clock came. The lights came back on. We got our gear on. Gary finished the breakfast he started three hours ago (which by now I thought mice had probably been rolling in!). We piled into the truck and took off for the hunting ground.

We got to the first spot just before sun up. We got out of truck and had a quick word of prayer for a safe and hopefully successful hunt. We tip-toed through the woods only whispering when we needed to communicate. We quickly came into very obvious, fresh moose sign. The trail led us into a bog. We hiked and hiked but did see the elusive moose. We slowly and quietly worked our way out of the bog and back to the truck. Man! How can there be so many fresh hoof prints and still steaming, glistening piles of moose poo and no actual, visible moose? We tried the next spot. Same thing! We got to one spot and we planned that Noah and I would work this one area and that Gary would work this other adjacent area. As we started hiking into the area, we found ourselves neck deep in thorny raspberry bushes. Noah and I totally wimped out of that. The thorns were everywhere and they were so high that we couldn’t see anything. So we went back to the truck. I had my cell phone on my hip. I took it out to try to call Gary to tell him that we were back at the truck. I flipped my phone open and it read NO SERVICE. So without having the ability to communicate with Gary, I decided to wait in the truck. While waiting, I put my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes. Right then, Noah said, “Dad, there’s a moose right behind us”. I turned my head around to see a bull moose standing no more than 20 feet from the truck! My license was for an antlerless moose only. I could only shoot a cow moose or a baby boy moose whose antlers could not be longer than his ears. Mister bull moose was exciting to look at but that was all. As we were looking at this moose, I saw a man in the distance dressed in hunting clothes and carrying a gun. He was walking up the same road that the moose was on. He raised his rifle. The moose was still almost directly behind us! I said, “Get down Noah! This idiot is going to shoot this moose with us right next to it!” Luckily, it was just Gary. He raised his rifle only to look at it through the scope. As we found out, Gary had left the raspberries too and had decided to hunt across the road we were on. His hiking through the woods spooked the bull out. We ate our lunch and drove down the road to the next spot. This spot was really exciting. It was a patch of land that had been cleared in recent years. It was about 200 feet wide and a half mile long going downhill at about a 10 to 20 degree angle. This patch of land looked like a moose caravan had been traveling on it every day. We hunted it for a couple of hours but again didn’t see any living, breathing moose, just sign. Somewhere walking down that spot I managed to loose my cell phone. I think it happened when I took my rifle off my shoulder. My cell phone was clipped to my belt. That was the first day, Monday, of our hunt. We saw a lot of exciting evidence that we were in the right spot just no physical female moose critter. We traveled back to the Silver Palace to play with some mice and get some sleep. This night, I slept.

Tuesday was much like Monday. We stayed in the same general area. We still had lots of very obvious moose sign but no moose. Gary had a .22 cal pistol on his belt. And since we weren’t seeing any moose, he asked us if we’d mind if he would shoot a partridge or two. So we went on hunting. Gary walked a little distance off to our right. I heard a bang bang! It was Gary shooting his .22 pistol at a partridge. He was searching for the bird. He knew he hit it. Unfortunately, the bird blended in too well with the ground cover and couldn’t be recovered. We finished up day two and made our journey back to the Silver Palace for mouse stir fry and then we went to bed.

Wednesday came. I was really hoping that something would happen on Wednesday because Thursday’s weather forecast called for rain. Noah and I didn’t have any rain gear. We got up at 3:00 as usual and Gary made our breakfast sandwiches. It was our usual bacon, egg, and mouse on toast. We got in the truck and started the journey to the woods. We were up, dressed and gone within a half hour. The weather was warm, and very calm. We made it back to the spot of the clearing where I lost my phone and Gary lost his partridge. We got out of the truck and got the guns loaded up. We made our plan. Noah and I were going to walk stealthfully down the hill. Gary was going to hike through the adjacent woods in hopes to spook something our way. I said to Noah, “Noah, today there is no wind. That can be good and bad. It’s good because our scent (which by now after staying three nights in Silver Mouse Palace with no water and lots of musty-ness is staggering) is not being blown around as much. The trade off though is that the wind that was here yesterday muffled some of our noises. So today we need to be extra careful to be quiet.” So we SLOWLY walked down that hill. We were careful of every placement of our feet not to crack a stick. We took an hour to walk an estimated half mile. We saw nothing. We heard nothing. I was expecting Gary to come out of the woods and meet up with us and come up with a plan B. So we waited. After a half hour of waiting, I leaned over to Noah and said, “Noah, I don’t know where Gary went but I don't want to go away from where we told him we would be. I think we should try walking back up the hill and keep looking.” So we started our hike back up the hill. Noah got in front of me. He was about 20 feet in front of me when he froze. His eyes connected with mine. I whispered, “What?” He whispered back at me, “moose!”

I carefully, and as quietly and quickly as I could, got up to him and looked to the left. There was a cow moose just standing there no more than 30 feet away from us! Split second thinking here is, “How can a mature female moose weighing at least 600 pounds maneuver through the woods without making a sound?” Before I got too attached to the critter, I reminded myself of why we were here. I didn’t come to pet a moose; I came for the purpose of feeding my family. This animal was not a trophy. This animal was hundreds of pounds of meat that I wouldn’t have to buy at the store for the next couple of years. I raised my rifle and put the cross hairs right between the shoulders and fired. I had definitely hit my target, but it did not go down immediately. The moose began to retreat but very wobbly. I put another round into her. Now my mind is thinking, “I hope my first bullet hit its mark. The gun was in the back seat of my truck and had been jostled around. Maybe my scope got knocked around and lost its accuracy.” I started walking toward the moose. Noah is following. He say’s, “I’ve found a blood trail!” Then he says, “Look I found Gary’s partridge!” I shot the moose again and again. Finally, it dropped and died. Now I have a 5 to 600 pound animal lying dead in the woods and we’re at least a quarter of a mile away from the truck and down hill. It was about 9:00am.

Noah and Matthew, exhausted after the hunt

Noah and Gary carrying out the moose one section at a time

Noah and Gary carrying out the moose.

Gary heard the shots and was thankful that he did because somehow he got turned around out there. It took him almost a half hour to get back to us. Then the real fun started. The moose was gutted, and quartered. The head, lower parts of the legs, ribcage, and guts were left in the woods for nature’s clean up crew. In all, we harvested about 400+ pounds of meat. It took the three of us wearing pack frame backpacks 4 trips each to get the moose out of the woods and into my truck. On the second trip up the hill, Gary, who was carrying one of the moose’s back leg quarters, says to me, “there’s your phone”. It was laying on the path that we had walked probably 4 to 5 times before. Gary ended up carrying all four of the moose’s leg and shoulders quarters. Noah and I carried all the rib, neck, and every other piece of meat that we could get. We left the woods around 2:00pm. We got the meat tagged. Then we went to the store and bought 10 or 12 bags of ice. We got back to the Silver Palace and Gary and Noah began the process of removing the meat from the bones. Gary wanted me to start cleaning out our stuff out of the Palace. I also had to figure out how to get mine and Noah’s gear plus now Gary’s gear and plus 4 large igloo coolers all in my truck somehow. Eventually it all fit in. We left Shirley, ME around 8 or 9 o’clock pm and started our journey home. Noah almost immediately fell asleep. That was after we found a nice store with a really beautiful bathroom. We got down to Brownfield at around 1:00a and dropped Gary and our moose off. Then Noah and I drove back to Lyman. We got home around 2:30am. We took long, hot showers then we went to bed. What a week it was. Gary, who among other titles, happens to be a decent butcher. Now we need to find a freezer. Overall, it was a wonderful experience. The landscape was beautiful. The weather was perfect. I got my phone back. Gary got his partridge and added that meat to the bounty. We had a warm, free place to stay that wasn’t a beautiful lodge, but it met our needs. On the way home, we sang silly songs and laughed at our goofiness. I look forward to my next outdoor experience.

Dim Reflections

2011-11-05T21:14:00.001-04:00

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." I Corinthians 13:12

(click on the picture to enlarge)

The other day I was looking toward the mirror hanging on the wall in my bedroom, and I happened to notice that the vision in the mirror was actually a dim reflection of the items on my vanity on the opposite wall, and then if you look into the image of the mirror on the vanity you can see a reflection of the items on the other wall, which are placed on a table directly under the original mirror. It created such an interesting picture that I had to try and capture it on film, the results of which are shown above.

Confusing? Perhaps a little, but to me it was a picture not just of things that I treasured in my room, but a reminder of how we look at God now from our current vantage point. Our vision is dim, marred by the clutter of things of this world and viewed with our very one-dimensional vision. We try to look beyond the things that we can see clearly, and peer longingly into the fuzzy future that we can only begin to imagine with our limited sight, and once in a while we get a glimpse of the true picture, but most of the time it is something that we just have to contemplate and trust that our hopes and ideals will one day become reality.

The scripture from which I quoted above is the 13th Chapter of I Corinthians, also known as "the Love Chapter", one of my favorite passages in the New Testament. It speaks to us about how we as believers need to remember that no matter how knowledgeable we may think we are, how talented and gifted we may be, or how sacrificially charitable we are to the poor and needy, if we don't have love, we are nothing. It is a reminder to us that all of our great talents, knowledge, gifts and sacrifices will one day cease to exist, but love will never fail.

Verses 8-11 says:

"Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

Verse 12 tells us that at the present time we are looking at God and our relationship to Him with human eyes that are illuminated only very dimly at best. One day, when we ultimately reach our heavenly destination, we will see Him face to face. Right now we only understand a very small part of His vast plan for our lives, both in the present and the future. When we get to heaven we will know Him completely, just as He already knows us now. The veil will finally be stripped away and all things will become clear to us. All the questions that we said we would ask God as soon as we reached heaven's gate will be understood...there will be no need to even ask.

The thing that God wants us to understand for now is this: (Verse 13)

"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Perhaps that is enough for us to know.

Perseverance Anyone? Need Hope? How About Character? (Updated this morning after sleeping on it)

2011-11-03T08:45:00.000-04:00

These are some thoughts running through my mind tonight and I wanted to share them with you. Maybe you will see yourself in these verses...

"Therefore, having been justfied by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
And perseverance, character;
And character, hope.
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5: 1-8

My Interpretation:

Anyone here wanting to learn perseverance? Expect tribulations. - You will run into obstacles in life...stub your toe, see dead-ends and unexpected detours...but God is in the pathway...He's guiding each step and leading you to persevere during the tough times.
    Want character? Learn perseverance from your tribulations and you will develop character. "When the going gets tough...the tough get going" (who said that?) Old houses are said to have character because they have interesting knicks and scrapes...unusual architecture weathered by many storms...bannisters and floors scuffed by many years of hands and feet running to and fro, up and down, perhaps even having had children sliding down the bannisters...revealing a beautiful patina to the wood and smoother surfaces...
         Need hope? Develop character once you've learned perseverance through the experience of tribulations. Life's experiences give us hope for the future as we remember how God provided in the past.
            Once you have hope...you will not be disappointed..."because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
                And remember this: Before you were made strong by your tribulations and perseverance and character development...before the Holy Spirit was given to you...Christ died for you...while you were yet a sinner, without a hope in the world...Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, God in the flesh, showed His magnificent and immense love for us by dying in our place...taking our sin upon His own body...the pure and holy sacrificed for the stained and unholy.

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" I John 3:1

"When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of Glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it Lord, that I should boast,

Save in the death of Christ my God;

All the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down--

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all."

Amen.

Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

I John 3:1

Jesus Christ, The same, Yesterday, Today and Forever...reaching out in love to you and me each day.

Now that brings great hope!!

"And He Healed Them"

2011-10-29T15:01:00.000-04:00

"And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them." Matthew 4:23-24

Last week I had the troubling experience of meeting a woman who openly admitted to being "very mentally ill." Quite frankly, after just a couple of minutes listening to this poor woman talk and watching her expressions, she did not need to tell me that she was "very mentally ill." It was obvious. As I observed her emotions go from one extreme of anger mixed with fear to effusions of joyful hilarity in just a few split seconds, I found myself extremely grateful for the half-wall and glass enclosure that separated our office from the lobby area where she carried out her lengthy and very loud monologue of the story of her life. It was painful for me to listen to her tangled and strange message, but I had to realize that my discomfort could not begin to equal the pain that she had suffered throughout her life. As much as I hate to admit it, I was extremely relieved when she finally took a breath and allowed me the opportunity to tell her I would be praying for her and made an excuse so that I could get back to my work and she finally went out the door.

This experience left me trembling. I am not alone in my feelings of inadequacy and concern for this poor woman. Apparently she has been to many churches in town and has met with frequent rejection. She admitted that she has actually been banned from stepping foot on the property of one church because of her open displays of verbal hostility toward them when they did not meet all of her demands for assistance. She has been persistent in her attempts to get the attention of anyone who will take the time to listen and give her whatever she is asking so that she will go away... People are definitely taking notice of her, and many are perplexed as to the best course of action to take.

I went home from work that day feeling very burdened, knowing that I was not able to be of much help to her. I did pray for her, honestly I did. As I told my husband all about her I said, "I can't help but wonder what would Jesus do for this poor woman?" My husband did not even have to think about his response. He said, "He would heal her."

Wow! Yes, I am certain he is correct. Jesus would heal her...no questions asked...no hem-hawing around it. He would reach out His loving and compassionate hands, touch her, and heal her. No rejection, no fear, no anger...just pure love and compassion poured out upon her tortured, tangled mind. That is the only real answer for this woman. Medication and counseling may help control the outbursts, but only God can do the complete healing of her heart and mind and soul.

I was relieved to discover that the Pastors of the church where I work were already well aware of this woman and have actually been attempting to reach out to her with the love of Christ through counseling and helping her to feel welcome at our services. Perhaps that is the first step to her complete healing. Perhaps that IS just what Jesus would do.

Lord, I pray for _______, one of Your precious children who has somehow gotten lost along the way to a life of wholeness and peace. Please touch her with Your healing hands, and bring The Light back into her darkness, and untangle the intricate web of confusion that envelopes her mind and spirit. In the Name of Jesus, the Great and Gracious Physician I pray, Amen.

And Lord, thank you for bringing _______ across my path and getting my attention. Perhaps there is something that needed to be healed within me as well. Thank you for your patience with me. Amen.

In Defense of the Land of "Make-Believe"

2011-10-23T16:15:00.003-04:00

One of my dearest facebook friends made a statement this week that she was going to hand out candy to the neighborhood children on Halloween this year. She said she had gone back and forth on this issue in her mind for some time and decided that she didn't want the children to grow up thinking that "Christians were a bunch of meanies."

I understand her feelings on this completely. Over the years I've wrestled with this issue as well, especially since I was in the position of being a pastor's wife in evangelical churches for quite a few years. I had to learn to be careful of how I felt about Halloween and other holidays lest I would offend some of my "weaker brothers and sisters" in the faith, or possibly lead some child astray by my freedom in Christ. And certainly there is merit to those thoughts as they are based on scriptural teachings in God's Word. (See Romans 14, I Corinthians 9:19-27) However, there is also much teaching in God's Word on the freedom that we enjoy as believers in Christ (Romans 8, Galatians 5 to name a couple). But this is not intended to be a theological or doctrinal debate on the issue...just an expression of my opinion and feelings about something I believe is important enough to discuss.

Now before some of you get nervous about what I am going to say, I am not advocating lying to children about things that are make-believe, such as the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, or the Tooth Fairy. And I certainly do not promote the dark and evil side of Halloween, which can be linked to the occult and other things into which we do not want to dabble.

All that being said, what I DO want to say is, "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" on this subject! Teach your own children the truth about Christmas, Easter, and what they mean to us as believers in Christ Jesus. Make sure they understand the difference between good and evil and all things scary and imaginary. And then have fun with your children. Allow them to experience happy memories and fun traditions within your family circle.

My kids way back then...

My happiest memories growing up were the family traditions we shared in our family. On Halloween I can remember from my earliest childhood going from house to house with my parents. My mother and father both dressed up in costumes, and we kids were costumed as well. My mother's favorite costume was that of a country girl with apple red cheeks, blacked out front teeth and wearing a yellow checked gingham dress, and playing a rather squeeky tune on her violin. My dad was dressed up as a farmer (which he was) or a hobo, and we carried a bag full of dried corn kernels from our farm, from which we would throw handfulls at the door, yelling "trick or treat" until the inhabitants would come to the door and act so surprised to see us. They would pretend they were scared or they would ooh and ah at our costumes, and then try to guess who we were. We would hold up our sacks and they would cheerfully fill them with all kinds of candy (and even apples back then), and sometimes even invite us in for hot chocolate or apple cider. Then we'd be on our way to the next house.

I cherish those memories to this day, and I could never bring myself to turn away children from the neighborhood on Halloween because I didn't think it was a "christian" holiday. On the contrary, it may be the ONLY opportunity I have to come into contact with those children and have a chance to be seen as a friendly person who wants to share in their joy and fun. How can I hope to have any other chance to influence them positively if I can't even welcome them and give them a piece of candy on Halloween? I have actually used that opportunity in times past to not only give them some candy, but also put a little Bible tract in with the goodies that perhaps they or their parents might read later...but never without the candy included. And oftentimes I was dressed up in some rather crazy costume myself to get into the spirit of things, which always added to the hilarity of the event!

One of our church sponsored "fall festivals" The Pastor's Wife on
the left, and the Pastor on the right! Fun memories.

Me, ready for a "Hobo" Halloween Party
circa 1978

Yes, I certainly agree that having a church sponsored "Fall Festival" may be a safer activity for all concerned, but too often that is limited to your own church family and some of their friends. I also like what some churches do by having a "Trunk or Treat" event where they have open car-trunks full of candy lined up in their church parking lot along with other activities and treats for the night, which is again, a safe alternative for the community. It is a creative and positive way to reach out to the neighborhood children and let them see that your church (and you) want to be friendly and not judgmental. Due to safety issues we are seeing more and more communities doing this type of event as opposed to the door-to-door trick or treating. Whatever your community and/or church does, it should be a fun time, and an event that promotes happy family times.

When it comes to Christmas and Easter traditions, I will discuss those at another time...but let me just say that my family went all out to celebrate both the religious holiday traditions as well as the fun side of these holidays. We grew up knowing that Christmas was the birthday of our Savior Jesus Christ, but jolly old St. Nicholaus always made a grand entrance into our home and imaginations with lots of toys and goodies for us all. There was never any doubt that Easter was the commemoration of the Resurrection of Jesus from His death on the cross...but we had so much fun hunting for our Easter baskets on Easter morning (that the "Easter Bunny" had so cleverly hidden in new places each year) and having numerous egg hunts all afternoon with our cousins and family. Did I grow up distrusting my parents and being angry and confused because they "lied" to me about these make-believe characters? Absolutely NOT! On the contrary, I grew up loving my wonderful parents all the more because they made our home so much fun and full of happy surprises and memories. I will always treasure these family traditions, and have passed them down to my own children, with some traditions combined from my husband's family as well.

I guess the important thing here is, do what seems right to you and your family, based on your own personal beliefs and traditions. Every family is a little different. It isn't really the full content of your traditions that matter, it's that you did something that created joy and happiness in the lives of your children that will linger in their hearts forever. And please, don't be a "grinch", or a "Scrooge", or a "spoil-sport" when it comes to celebrating, whether in your own home, or in the neighborhood. Open your door and your heart, and let others come in to the Light that is shining within you!

My Girlfriends and Me on Halloween, circa 1962!

BOO! Did I scare you?

What's On Your Mind Today?

2011-10-21T18:52:00.000-04:00

It seems as though "Facebook" got us all talking about whatever happened to be on our minds at the moment. Sometimes it was something profound and deep, oftentimes it was rather ridiculous and silly. Now they have just reduced it down to "Update Status"...which doesn't say a whole lot. I ran out of cute, intelligent, profound, silly and interesting comments some time ago. I still have a few ridiculous things to say, but I've been trying to learn to keep them to myself.

Now that we are entering back into another election year I expect we will see more and more political remarks and opinions. I intend to try and stay out of that arena. First of all, my comments in the last race didn't go very far. Obviously not enough people were listening to what I had to say...or the outcome would have been very different. I've decided to just sit back and watch the fireworks, and keep my thoughts to myself. Those of you who know me already know pretty much where I stand on the important issues. I haven't seen anyone yet worth getting excited about. I started to get excited about one of the newer candidates, and then he opened his mouth and showed that he really wasn't quite ready for this fight...so I'm glad I didn't invest all my campaign dollars on his campaign! (As if I had any to invest). The jury is still out on that one...

No, I'm gonna sit this one out. At least I intend to try and keep my mouth shut. However, that doesn't mean that I don't care what happens to our country. It just means that I've decided to fight this battle on my knees.

II Chronicles 7:14 says:

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

So, if you think I've wimped out and refuse to stand up and fight, have no fear...I'm choosing to kneel down and fight this time around. Maybe that will achieve the greater results. At least I'm praying that it does.
Won't you join me? If we are all in agreement that we want what is best for our country, and we are trusting in God to hear us and do exactly that, how can we lose?

You think about that...and maybe I'll meet you in the "war room"....better known as the "Prayer Room".

"Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands."

I Samuel 17:47

"Let There Be Light"

2011-10-15T20:55:00.000-04:00

"Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so." "Then God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also...." Genesis 1:14-16

You Tube song "Light Light Light Up the Sky" by "The Afters"

The other morning as I drove to work I was feeling a little down...overstressed, overtired, overworked, and maybe just a teeny bit depressed. I had previously come through a very difficult week at work, and things did not appear to be getting any easier this week. I was truly wondering how I was even going to make it through the day, let alone another week with the current stresses piling up on me.

As per my usual routine, I was listening to the Christian radio station, (the JoyFM) when the above song started to play, "Light Light Light Up The Sky"...and at the same time I happened to look up to my left and smiling down at me was the most brilliant full moon in broad daylight...lighting up the western morning sky, reflecting the brightness of the glorious sunshine from the eastern sky...both of God's great created lights were shining at the same time...and I started singing along with the words of the song by The Afters, "You light light light up the sky to show me You are with me!"   As I drove along that beautiful full moon stayed right there with me, shining brightly and lifting my spirits, giving me the encouragement I needed to face another day with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.

Isn't that just like our God to go all out to show us His love when we need it most? Yeah...He started it all "in the beginning..." (Genesis 1:1) just for us...to show us He is with us...always.
Jesus said to His disciples following His glorious resurrection from the dead, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20

Thank you, Jesus, for lighting up my sky when I needed it most. I know I can trust You to continue to light my path and lead me in the right direction...always.     Amen.

"He Hideth My Soul" - Reposted 10/10/11

2011-10-10T21:16:00.000-04:00

It seems like this message keeps cycling back around with the circumstances of my life each year...I originally posted this a year ago...and it still rings true today! I needed to re-read it again today...maybe you do too! God bless you, my friends.

Exodus 33:22 "So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by."

Moses had asked God for a new vision of His Glory just before he was given the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone on Mount Sinai. Moses said to the Lord in Exodus 33:18,

"Please, show me Your glory."

And God responded in verses 19-23, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But He said, "You cannot see MY face; for no man shall see Me, and live." And the Lord said (to Moses), "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock, and so it shall be, while MY glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen."

How often have we asked God to please show us His glory? I wonder how many of us have asked God for "a sign", or a glimpse of His power...or just a peek at what His plans are for us. I am certain that we have all asked for that at some point, and perhaps many times, in our lives. Whether it be so that we could increase our faith by some tangible demonstration of God's power and work in our midst, or maybe so that we would know how to proceed with our life's plans...whether or not to seek a new position, home, mate, church, or whatever the decisions we may be facing. In many cases, it could be that we are facing decisions about our health, surgeries, treatment plans, diets, or some other life changing situation...we could all say that we have honestly sought God's face and have earnestly desired to feel and see His power and glory expressed on our behalf.

In response to our quest for a witness of God's power and glory, what have we discovered about God and His relationship to us? Does He always answer quickly with a showy demonstration of majesty and power? Do lightning bolts flash through the sky and enlighten us with the answers we are longing to hear? Do we automatically receive wisdom and relief regarding our burden or pain? Most likely not. The reality is that we often have to seek long and hard and often to hear God's voice and "see His face"...or maybe the voice we hear and the face we see is not what we were hoping to hear and see. Oftentimes the response is not what we were wanting to hear, such as, "No", "Not Now", or "Trust Me".

There is an old hymn that helps to illuminate our minds on what the Lord was telling Moses that day...and it speaks to me today as well...

"A wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Lord, a wonderful Saviour to me; He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock where rivers of pleasure I see."

Chorus: "He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land; He hideth my life in the depth of His love, and covers me there with His hand, and covers me there with His hand."

"A wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Lord, He taketh my burden away; He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved; He giveth me strength as my day." Chorus

"With numberless blessings each moment He crowns, and, filled with His fullness divine, I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God! For such a Redeemer is mine!" Chorus

"When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise to meet Him in clouds of the sky, His perfect salvation, His wonderful love, I'll shout with the millions on high!" Chorus:

"He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land; He hideth my life in the depth of His love, and covers me there with His hand, and covers me there with His hand." (Fanny J. Crosby)

Yes, I would love to see God's glory today...I would love to feel His power in my life and hear His voice telling me which way to go in all situations. And perhaps I can see His glory...it surely is all around me everyday...just look outside...look up into the heavens...the sun, the moon, the stars...the sunrise, the sunset...the storm clouds, the rainbow after the storm...these are all demonstrations of His glory and power and majesty...and so is the still, small voice that says,

"Be still, and know that I AM God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10

and again, the tender voice of God saying:

"This is the way, walk in it..." Isaiah 30:21

Yes, Lord, I need to see your glory, I want to feel your power, I want to know beyond a shadow of doubt what Your divine plan is for my life and for those I love. Help me to trust You when You hide me in the cleft of the rock...help me to know that You are always doing what is best for me...to protect me from things I do not understand or clearly see. Help me to be patient and wait on Your still, small voice, directing my steps and telling me, "This is the way, walk in it." In Your Name I pray, Amen.

After posting this I thought of another song that goes along with this passage:

"Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, from Thy riven side which flowed, be of sin the double cure; save me from its guilt and power.

Not the labors of my hands can fulfill Thy laws demands. Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could NOT atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling; naked, come to Thee for dress, helpless, look to Thee for grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Saviour, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath, when mine eyes shall close in death, when I soar to realms unknown, see Thee on Thy judgment throne, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee." AMEN.
Augustus M. Toplady

Whom Are YOU Trying to Please?

2011-10-08T18:54:00.002-04:00

"For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

I wonder how many of you reading this are in the position of being a supervisor? If so, do you find it an easy position to perform? How do you negotiate between your employees and your own supervisor, (if you have one, and most of us do). I would really like to take a poll of persons in supervisory positions to find out if you ever have feelings of ambivalence, frustration, exasperation, or stress. If so, is that a sign of weakness...or perhaps a clue that supervision really isn't your gift? Or is it normal to feel torn when you have to make unpopular decisions or carry out wishes of your own superiors that may cause others to become angry, dissatisfied with their position, or worse yet, dislike you because of the stand you must take? It's certainly not a pleasant place, but it seems to come with the territory. Being a "boss" is not a good position if you want to please others and be liked by those over whom you have been given authority. Sooner or later you will have to take a stand that will be unpopular, even if it is justified and appropriate.

I found myself saying recently that "I didn't accept this position to win a popularity contest". I couldn't believe my own ears. Why? Because my natural inclination is to be a friend to others, to always strive to be pleasant and considerate and kind, yes to "please men" (or women, as the case may be), and to "win friends and influence people"... (who said that? Dale Carnegie, I believe). It is not in my nature to be the "tough guy" or the enforcer. However, when people continually take advantage of one's good nature and transgress the "rules", thinking that no one would dare to stand up to them, it's time for action.

Anyone in a position of authority has the responsibility to enforce whatever rules and policies are in effect for that place of employment. And likewise, each employee is responsible to obey those policies unless they are in direct conflict with one's relationship with God. Everyone needs to reason within himself/herself that his highest priority is to please God...not man. If we truly strive to please God in all things, whether we are an employee or an employer, our working relationships should run more smoothly.

Who is going to be in control? from Michael Belk's Journeys with the Messiah

It still doesn't make it easier to make difficult decisions that affect another's position and livelihood, but then again, I didn't make the rules...they have been handed down by a higher authority for the good of the organization as well as its employees. We each have the choice whether or not to obey and live peaceably, or to disobey and suffer the consequences.

Yeah, I choose to please God rather than men, regardless of the personal outcome. How about you?

For further thoughts on this subject from a little different perspective, read Romans 13:1-7.

You Can Sense Change in the Air...

2011-10-02T19:28:00.001-04:00

"I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations." Psalm 89:1

Today was the first really refreshingingly cool day we have seen here in Florida in quite a few months! Yesterday was a foretaste of today...but this morning had me singing! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cool fall mornings! My northern friends may scoff when I say that we enjoyed a crisp, chilly morning temperature of 53 degrees upon our arising from our beds to start the day! That is almost unheard of this early in the fall in this part of Florida, so it is something to celebrate! You can sense the change in the air...a promise of good things to come...a new surge of energy and vigor that the hot, sultry days of summer had drained away. Yes, I am definitely a "fall" person...can you tell?

One of my family's favorite fall breakfasts is homemade biscuits and applesauce. This was definitely a biscuit and applesauce morning! There is no better smell in the morning than the sweet spicy aroma of apples cooking sprinkled with cinammon...try staying in bed when that tantalizing fragrance reaches your nostrils! It just can't be done! (Unless you're my son Scott, who could sleep through anything..., which he did...but he's the only one who really doesn't care about homemade applesauce for breakfast, poor kid)

If you have never made your own applesauce before, now is a good time to start! I use any kind of good baking/eating apple (except for Red Delicious)...McIntosh, Winesap, Cortland, Jonathans, Empires, or Gala...will make a delicious applesauce. I quarter, core and peel about 6-8 apples, put them in a microwaveable dish, add about 1/3 cup water, and sprinkle with cinammon. Cover, and cook on high in the microwave for about 6 minutes, or until apples are tender. Then mash the apples with a potato masher, and add about 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar (or to your particular taste) depending upon how tart the apples were.

While the apples are cooking I mix up a double batch of home-made biscuits, (please don't use canned biscuits---if you don't know how to make them from scratch, use Bisquick or Jiffy Biscuit Mix). Serve the hot applesauce right on top of the open hot biscuits. If you think you need something else to supplement this breakfast, by all means eat whatever you wish...but save room for seconds on the biscuits!

This was such a great way to start the day! Did I mention that I LOVE the smell of homemade applesauce cooking? Who needs artificial scented candles and air-fresheners when you can have the real thing?

So tell me, what are some of YOUR favorite fall traditions? I hope to share more of mine with you as the days go by and I become so inspired!!

By the way, here's a few interesting verses of scripture regarding "apples"...

"Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down in his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Sustain me with cakes of raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am lovesick."
Song of Solomon 2:3-5

"Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye." Proverbs 7:2

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settngs of silver." Proverbs 25:11

"He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye." Deuteronomy 32:10

Can you find any others?

Have a blessed biscuits and applesauce kind of day!

Update on It's Harvest Time...(again)

2011-09-29T20:44:00.000-04:00

This is a repost just for the "Fall Lovers" out there... like me...who are stuck in Florida where true autumn doesn't really exist except in our minds and hearts!!

Nothing like being buried in the Autumn leaves!
My three sons... (Scott, Benton, and Matthew)...many moons ago...How I wish I could go back there again...(1979...wow...where did the years go?)

My Youngest Son (Scott) now...planting fall mums for his "Mum" (me) on my birthday!

Proverbs 31:16: "She considers a field and buys it. From her profits she plants a vineyard."

I must say I've considered lots of fields and have often wished to buy them, but, alas, right now our field is of a different form. It can't be bought and sold. It's the field of the Lord, and it is "already white for harvest!" (John 4:35)

Quite a few years ago when we lived up north, our favorite thing to do on a fall Saturday morning was to get up early and get a cup of coffee and tea and a bite of breakfast at the local drive-thru, and take a nice slow ride out into the country. After a hectic week of planning sermons, visiting the sick, elderly, and newcomers, (my husband's job); preparing the bulletin, typing letters, and attending ladies' meetings, taking care of the family at home and the church family, etc....(my job), it was so refreshing to just get away from the phone, the traffic, and hustle bustle of our modern suburban living and get out into the country where people really know how to live! Our favorite route passed by many small farmsteads with fields of corn or hay or soybeans ready for the harvest. We usually wound up at one of the many local apple orchards for a cup of hot cider and fresh warm donuts and a brisk walk through the orchard. The apple farmers were just as busy as the grain farmers gathering in their crops before the winter. It's such a joyful time of year. People are excited about gathering pumpkins, squash, gourds, Indian corn, and other fall decorations to bring the beautiful fall colors into their homes. The big thing in that area was for kids to take a wagon ride out to the "pumpkin patch" and pick their very own pumpkins. I saw a lot of adults rather enjoyed it as well. Here in Florida we don't see the real live pumpkin patch like you do up north, but we do have pumpkin patches where the pumpkins have been trucked in from other places so the kids can still have that fun experience.

Deep in my heart I longed to just linger on the farm and become a part of it. I guess because I was born on a farm I've never gotten it out of my system. The sounds, smells, and activities of farm life really make me hunger for that kind of life. But God has called me to a different kind of farm, and a different harvest field. The crop is far greater than corn or wheat or apples. It is the souls of men and women and children. Although I don't think that my particular spiritual gift is "soul-winning", there are many steps that must be taken before the harvest can be reaped. Someone must plow the field, others must plant the seed, still more are needed to water the seed and yet others must pull the weeds and watch for pests who come to destroy. All are an integral part of God's plan, and none are more important than the others.

Christ said in John 4:36-38 that "he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."

Maybe someday I'll be able to buy that field and plant a vineyard, and even though we are no longer in "the ministry" in the same way as we were in years before, I still remain in God's harvest field and must do my part to prepare the way for His return. Perhaps someday you and I will rejoice together as sowers and reapers who have seen the fruit gathered in for eternal life! That will be a glorious day!

Matthew 9:37-38 "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

Isaiah 6:8 "Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'"

Are you willing to go out into God's harvest field today? He may be calling you!

This was on my Grandpa's farm back in the early 1940's. My Grandma Tedlie is on the far right. The other people are some of my cousins and my Aunt Belle. It was harvest time. Most of these people are already enjoying their eternal reward in heaven.

Now That's What I Call Autumn Leaves!

This is the day that the Lord has made...

2011-09-25T20:47:00.001-04:00

"This is the day that the Lord has made; We WILL rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24

Today, September 25, 2011, is a special day for me. It marks the _ _ st anniversary of my birthday! Therefore, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!

This was an unusual birthday for me, as it has just struck me that this is the very first birthday in my life where neither of my parents were with me. Well, there may have been other birthdays that they could not attend due to the fact that I was living too far away for them to visit...but today is the first birthday that both of my parents are in heaven. Actually, I think they were with me anyway! I have a feeling they were smiling down from their heavenly home and singing happy birthday to me just like they did every year of my life until God called them home. No matter how far away from home I may have been, they always made a point of calling me on my birthday, usually either early in the morning...or perhaps in the evening when they knew I'd be awake and at home, and they would sing in their precious harmonious fashion:

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Pammy! Happy Birthday to you!"

No birthday was complete until I had received that phone call. I'm looking at their picture now, and I can almost hear them singing...

I love this picture of them, taken for their 60th Wedding Anniversary...and probably the last real good picture of them together before my mother passed away a few years later. This is how I will always remember them. I told them back when I helped them pick out this particular pose for their portrait that it had a "heavenly" look, like they were sitting up in the clouds and looking back at us here below...

My Mom and Dad...Can't you almost hear them singing?

My sister Doris and I having a birthday tea party!
Just like when we were little girls!!

I've had a wonderful birthday today. My family here on earth with me has blessed me with good food, wonderful gifts, and lots of singing of Happy Birthday...my friends here on facebook and email and other have also blessed me with many many notes of birthday greetings and blessings. I am blessed beyond measure.

Yes, I must say, "This IS the day the Lord has made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!"

Thank you, Lord, for friends and family, both near and far. And especially I thank you for my dear parents, who brought me into this world and gave me such a wonderful, godly heritage, and a true appreciation for my home, family, and my God. I am truly blessed beyond measure. And Lord, if You don't mind, could you give my Mama and Daddy a big hug from me, and tell them how much I love them and miss them? Thank you Jesus. Amen.

"Aint nothing like the real thing, baby"

2011-09-23T21:42:00.000-04:00

The following is a quote of my own comment to one of my blogging friends who had just written about whether or not she should get an Ipod to replace her Palm Pilot..."Our Journey Together" by my friend Susan

This is what I said regarding her dilemma...
"I don't have either one...I have a desktop computer. My husband has a refurbished laptop. I have an ordinary cell phone. I don't need anything else. I feel "over-connected" with this old world now as it is. What I really desire is real friends, real faces at my table and not in my computer, love and laughter with family and friends in person. Gadgets are nice, and I don't fault anyone for having them...but I just don't want them. I may have to write about this in my blog since this comment is too long already! Yes, save your $$ until you are ready to get whatever you feel you need at that time. Until then, just enjoy the real people and places surrounding you each day. That is what really matters."

My friend Susan is currently battling a very serious and aggressive cancer. She is a young mother of one very active 2 1/2 yr. old boy, as well as a counselor. She tries to maintain her work, enjoy her family,and live a normal life as much as possible. Perhaps an Ipod would help her. Her Mother seems to think so...and it might be the right thing for her to do. I was not trying to be critical at all regarding her decision or choices. I was just speaking for my own self.

I've had friends tell me that I need to get a "Kindle" to read my books on...and I have no interest in that at all. I know, I know, I've heard all the wonderful endorsements for having such a marvelous invention to carry a whole library of books at my instant disposal with me anywhere. But why do I need to do that? I can only read one book at a time, and I like to do that in a comfortable chair, turning the paper pages, feeling each page as I turn it, and looking back at the previous page anytime I want to re-read what I just read in case I didn't quite get it the first time. I love to look at the cover of the book, read the fly-leaf, look at the copyright. A lot of the books I read are very old, (from my blog-page "A Few of My Favorite Things")and sometimes the pages are stained, perhaps a little dog-eared...and I have often found other people's old

bookmarks...an old grocery list, a small card with notes on it, the names of other people who have owned or read the book I am holding in my hand. I love that. It helps me feel connected with the previous readers, or the author herself/himself! Please don't take away my real books! You just can't do all of that with an electronic gadget that has to be recharged frequently or might easily get damaged or stolen. My books can be picked up anywhere, anytime, and I don't recall ever having to recharge them to be able to read them. (I might have to recharge my OWN batteries sometimes to keep going...but that's a different story!)

I truly do enjoy connecting with many friends, old and new, through the medium of "Facebook". I think that is a wonderful invention and I have embraced it whole-heartedly! I love to post pictures of my family and share a piece of my world with the rest of the world. I do the same through this blog. But one thing I have to remind myself of often...this should not ever take the place of "real-life" friends and family...those who are here with me in the flesh...or who may be wanting to share a part of my life in a more tangible way. You know, a "real" tea-party...a lunch date...a shopping trip...a ride in the country with my hubby...a card game with our kids or friends at our kitchen table...laughing and talking and experiencing real quality time together...face to face...hearing each other's voices and seeing the smiles on their faces...holding hands in a time of prayer for a meal shared together...a hug when we meet, and another when we part.

Cell phones are a wonderful invention also...mine is rather archaic in that it doesn't do much except make phonecalls. I could add more to it, for a price...but why should I? It does what I need it to do...and sometimes I wish I didn't need it at all. It's hard to escape when people have my number...and I feel "naked" if I go out without it. I don't like being that dependent on a technological gadget.

I refuse to get one of those GPS thingys for my car. I have always prided myself on having a good sense of direction. Also, I try to look up places before I leave and if I need to, I print out the directions...or I do it the old fashioned way...I take an atlas (map) when traveling very far. It got our forefathers where they were going (even though they hated to ask directions)...I can remember my father telling us on our vacation trips, when we had been driving around what seemed like circles for quite a while, "I'm not lost. I know exactly where I'm going. I'm just taking the scenic route!" How many of you have ever heard (or said) that before?
Besides, everyone I know who has a GPS thingy in their car still can't find my house without calling me in the middle of the night after driving around for an hour on dark dirt roads...(I Love you, niece Debbie). Some places just aren't meant to be found with an electronic gizmo!!!

Come sit across my table and let's have a real visit...I'll even give you a piece of that apple pie (well, better give me some warning first so I can bake one!)

Well, speaking of "real people", my hubby is desiring my attention...so I need to bring this to a stopping place. Yes, modern technology is wonderful and definitely has a place...but let's please not substitute the mirage for the real thing. Let us constantly strive to embrace our "real friends" and loved ones with warm hugs and long audible and visible conversations. (You know, eye to eye and giving our undivided attention). Let us keep our mental faculties intact by exercising our sense of direction, handwriting skills (that's another subject to discuss since modern technology has made handwriting almost obsolete), mathematical skills (oops! I will NOT give up my calculator! I'm a bookkeeper by trade!!)

Let's think about these things...Good night dear friends, both near and far and through my open window of this computer. I guess modern technology isn't ALL bad...otherwise, you wouldn't be reading this now (and I would never have been able to send it to you!!!)

Time for a "Sanity Day"

2011-09-22T20:48:00.000-04:00

"He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul..." Psalm 23:2-3a

Crystal Lake, Eaton, NH

Ahhhh....to lay back in that little boat and float on the placid clear waters of a crystal pure lake, looking up at the billowy, fluffy white clouds set against an azure sky...not a care in the world...allowing total rest and peace take control of my mind, heart and soul...voices of geese overhead and loons calling their mates...no other sound to disturb the serenity of this moment...no troubling thoughts or difficult decisions to make...just letting God's peace settle deep into my being...ahhh yes....zzzzzzzz...."He restores my soul..."

That was a kind of "Calgon-take me away" minute...only much much better than any manufactured bath salts could ever accomplish...It is God's natural healing balm, soothing, comforting and healing ointment in the wounds of my over-stressed mind and tendons..."You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over..." (Psalm 23:5b)

After a particularly stressful couple of weeks, every fiber in my body is telling me this is what I need. Therefore, I informed by boss and my staff that I would be taking a "sanity day" tomorrow...a much needed day off. No one seemed to mind at all...the tension lines in my face must have been rather obvious.

So, what am I going to do with my day? I really don't know right now...but God knows exactly what I need...and I am trusting Him to provide.

"May He grant you according to your heart's desire, and fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the Name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions." (Psalm 20:4-5)

Thank you, David the Psalmist, for these prayers of blessing written especially for me today. Somehow God knew that there would be days like this even over 3000 years ago (the Psalms were written in the 10th Century B.C.) and that I, one of His children, (and you, all of His children) would need these words of comfort, peace, and hope on this very day.

Even if I don't do anything particularly wonderful tomorrow, I am thankful for these moments today. They have been like a breath of fresh air in my soul. I hope you have been refreshed by these words as well.

Good Night! Sleep Peacefully...and

"May He (the Lord) grant you according to your heart's desire...and fulfill all your purpose" as well.

Amen.

Update on the Waiting Room....(Finally fixed the Rooster)

2011-09-18T21:32:00.004-04:00

Since writing about so many friends who are currently in "The Waiting Room" the other day, (http://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/2011/09/are-you-in-waiting-room-with-us.html)

I thought it might be appropriate to bring an update and even add a few more to the list. I think it is always good to follow up with the answers to our prayers and perhaps add some new words of encouragement for those "still waiting."

My little mascot friend here is for my Chicken Farmer friend (The Other Pam) whose baby peeps finally arrived safe and sound...all thirty of them! (She was only expecting 25)...and I believe her home has been a bustle of excitement ever since! I mean, keeping 30 little baby peeps warm and well fed and clean can be quite a challenge for a working girl! I did not want to be outdone, so I had to show off my pet rooster and let him crow about how excited we all are for our friend and her new family! So here's a big "Er roo er roo erROOOOOO for you! http://www.thewordstress.com/2011/09/18/awwwwwww/ tells it all...

My blogger friend who was attending the online book-launch for fellow blogger was happy to report that she actually won a copy of the new book for being such a tenacious fan! Congratulations to the Recovering Church Lady for winning the prize. She is still praying for some bigger answers to some bigger questions in her personal life...so we'll keep sitting with her in the waiting room for awhile. http://www.recoveringchurchlady.com/

For my dear friend Susan, who was on "pins and needles" about her upcoming Dr. visit...well, the news was not as good as she had hoped it would be. See her journal for more details: http://ourjourneytogether-susan.blogspot.com/2011/09/news.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FAcxuK+%28Our+Journey+Together%29 I like what she said in her facebook status the next day, "My thought for today is that things are not always what they appear. I feel good and so I am going with that!" Susan R. Comeau-Nguyen

Yes, Susan, positive actions and thinking often lead to positive results. May God continue to bless you with those thoughts and especially the "feeling good" part. With God ALL things are possible!

My friend Kim from "Marmee's Pantry" has also left the waiting room. She reported in her blog early today: http://marmeespantry.blogspot.com/2011/09/heavens-new-occupant.html

"Mother graciously & peacefully entered glory at 11:40p.m. last night. "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints. O LORD, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant...You have freed me from my chains." ~Ps. 11:15,16"

Ah, my dear Kim, may our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Great Comforter, wrap His loving arms tenderly around you and your family, and carry you through these days to come. I've been there already before, first with my sweet dear mother, and then just this past spring with my precious daddy...so I know exactly how you are feeling right now. I also know that God and all the angels in heaven are rejoicing with your parents tonight as they are enjoying that heavenly reunion they had waited for so long. Keep those happy thoughts in your heart and mind, and it will help to carry you through the days to come.

I haven't heard anything yet from my friend who is hoping to get a new job back in her home state...but it's a bit soon yet...she may be in the waiting room for a while longer...but she's not alone. There's a lot of our friends and loved ones in there with her hoping for a better job...or any job at all! I know...my husband is one of them...but, again, in God's time it will all work out according to HIS divine plan!!

My sweet friend up in New England stays so busy with all of her business and projects that she probably forgets that she, too, is in the waiting room of sorts...but God hasn't forgotten about her...and He knows exactly what her needs are...and He's taking care of them all one by one. I like the fact that she stays busy while she waits...I think that is pure faith in action.

I want to add a new member to our "Waiting Room" tonight. A very special family who is actively awaiting the birth of their precious baby girl Eve at this very moment. http://babyevecatherine.blogspot.com/2011/09/making-progress.html This link tells you the story...be sure to go back and read the previous entries of this blog to get the full story...you will find that this is no ordinary "delivery" story. Baby Eve will be welcomed into this world by her loving family who are anxiously waiting to hold her and love her and introduce her to this world. You must read the story...you will be awe-inspired just as I was when I learned of Eve's story. Say a special prayer for Baby Eve and her family tonight...and tomorrow...and every day. She is going to have a difficult road ahead of her...but it is exciting to see how God has prepared the way for her through a very special "waiting room".

Well, dear friends, this pretty well sums up "The Waiting Room" saga for tonight. One thought comes to mind, and I don't know who said it, but it is one of those things that goes around on email from time to time...and it goes something like this..."Remember, be kind to everyone you meet...because everyone is going through something whether you know it or not."

Yes, we are all in a type of waiting room...and the things we are waiting for may change from day to day. But the One who is waiting on us does NOT change. He is always there... and will continue to hear our prayers and meet us in the waiting room each day. So don't lose hope. Your turn to be called may be next!

Are You in the Waiting Room with Us?

2011-09-15T20:55:00.001-04:00

I was just reading through my friends' blogs and facebook messages and thinking about all the things that are going on in people's lives right now at this very moment across this planet. I've noticed that a lot of my friends are waiting on something or Some One...

One friend is attending a virtual online "Book Launcher" Party for a fellow blogger friend who has just written a book. It sounds interesting "Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines"...something about turning 50. I bet it will be a best seller...there's a lot of us out here who once tried to wear mini-skirts but wouldn't dare to now...and we definitely have "laughter lines"...that's a euphemistic name for wrinkles. I like that...and I have quite a few. ttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/recoveringchurchlady/oxwH/~3/k36FO8Fn1zA/im-at-book-launch-party.html My friend is a writer in her own right, and is seeking God's direction for her future at this moment as well.

One of my other blogger friends is awaiting the passing of her mother from this earth to a heavenly reunion with her father.. (http://marmeespantry.blogspot.com/2011/09/it-wont-be-long-now.html ) and even though it is a sad time for this daughter, she is comforted knowing how happy her parents will be to be together again...for eternity. My heart goes out to my friend, as I just recently went through the same thing when my father left this old world a few months ago to join my mother in heaven. I can envision them there together dancing under the stars with all the angels watching...and Jesus in the midst enjoying the scene with them.

Now this other particular friend of mine is also waiting for something special...but on a lighter note...she is waiting for the arrival of her 25 baby chicks she ordered! She has partnered with several of her friends and is going to have a "brooder house" for these baby chicks and they will all chip in and help provide the chicken feed so they can enjoy the fresh eggs that they hope will eventually make their daily debut! http://www.thewordstress.com/ Read all about it in her blog entitled "Team Research Chickens". I told her I would put it on the news...so here it is!!

Back to the waiting room again...another of my blogging friends is also in "God's Waiting Room", http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/AcxuK/~3/y5S9CRG_xUE/waiting-on-pins-and-needles.html literally waiting "on pins and needles" for her Dr. appointment this Friday that will tell whether or not the cancer in her body is growing or standing still at this point. I pray for this young mother who has spent the whole time of her child's life (about two years) battling a very aggressive cancer and praying for a cure so she can watch her child grow up and enjoy being a part of his life.

One of my facebook friends is waiting to hear if she'll get a job that she would very much love to have, which will bring her back home to Florida, where her husband is already working and waiting anxiously for her to join him. I pray God will answer her prayer...

Another friend has a very busy life in New England, and between her very prosperous resort cleaning business and giving pony rides to eager children, and managing various other ventures between giving trail rides at the Castle and horse-drawn sleigh rides at the Farm along with caring for her big family, she manages to steal a few moments to write about her adventures with the locals, the tourists, and the animals that keep us laughing. Never a dull moment in her life...one remarkable person that I truly admire and appreciate!https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/notes/beth-estes-towle/unusual-day-on-nordic-lane/264429273578143

And last, but certainly not least, my son Matthew, whom many of you have read about this past year as he has fought his own battle against a very aggressive cancer, http://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/search/label/DSRCT

My Son Matthew...contemplating his future last summer.

He is currently doing quite well, thankfully, but is also waiting for his next PET Scan that will show whether or not the chemo-maintenance drug he has been taking for the past almost a year is continuing to halt the progression of this disease in his body. They have recently reduced the dosage of the chemo-pills because the side-effects were just becoming too unmanageable...so now we just have to pray that the reduced dosage will be strong enough to do the job.

All of these friends/family are busily pursuing their goals and living their lives in the Light of God's Glory...and trusting Him each day for their daily sustenance. Some have physical issues and daily pain that they must endure, others have difficult jobs or are searching for God's will for their lives in one way or another. Others are facing sorrow and loss, but with grace and peace. Others are just enjoying the life that God has given them and want to share that joy and fun with others.

I like the verse that my young friend waiting on "pin and needles" shared in her blog this day,

Isaiah 40:31

"But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint."

Being in God's waiting room is not an uncommon place to be...I've spent many a night and day there myself. But one thing I can honestly say...I've never been there alone...the very One I was waiting for was actually there all the time...right there in the midst of my struggles, my impatience, and my yearnings to be heard. He literally was holding me in His divine lap the whole time...listening to my tales of woe and hearing every beat of my heart. And He is there with you today as well...wherever you may be...He's already there. So relax and read a blog or two while you wait, or pray a prayer for someone else who needs to be heard. Or write a few words about your life to share with others. We are all in this waiting room together...so we might as well enjoy the time!

God's blessing be upon you as you wait on Him!!

I Didn't Want to Remember Today

2011-09-11T15:52:00.002-04:00

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14

I did not want to remember 9-11 today, 9/11/11, the 10th anniversary of the horrific tragedy that struck our nation and has forever changed the way we live in America. You may ask why I didn't want to remember...
Well, I just couldn't deal with the emotional toll of reliving all the pain, terror, sadness, anger, fear, and agony as it was shown over and over again throughout this past week. No matter where you turned, it was there. People talking about where they were when the World Trade Centers were hit by terrorists. How they felt when the reality hit that this was indeed an act of war and aggression against our nation, and that so many innocent lives were taken, leaving a gaping wound not only in the skyline of our great city, but in the hearts of all the American people.

A Cross in the rubble at Ground Zero
made from the steel beams...a poignant reminder
that God was there in the midst.

Even though I was hundreds of miles away, safe in my own little world when this took place, somehow I felt violated, raped of my innocence and feelings of protection from the horror of these things that only happened in other parts of the world. I mean, look at our history...not since the Civil War had our land been literally and physically injured in a great war. Yes, I know our grandfathers and fathers and even perhaps our brothers and close friends had fought and died in war zones throughout history (and still going on today). But those battles were fought on other soil...we didn't have to see the battlefields and hear the bombs going off and see the destruction all around us. This was America the Beautiful!!! We were isolated and protected from those acts of aggression. Those things just aren't supposed to happen here.

Like the proverbial ostrich I wanted to put my head in the sand and pretend all was well in our world. I wanted to go back to life as usual...where the birdies sing and the butterflies flutter about from flower to flower drinking in the sweet nectar of life. I wanted to forget 9-11 and the war on terrorism and get back to "normal" living again.

But 9-11 has forever changed that...especially in the lives of thousands of families across our land who lost loved ones so tragically that day. Even our own family was not untouched by this grief as my husband's first cousin was killed in the World Trade Center. Although our families were not real close and my husband had not seen this cousin since their childhood, it still struck home. It hurt deeply. This man left behind a wife and children and his parents. His father literally died of a broken heart not too long after. The sorrow was just too much for him to bear.

So this morning my first thought was I really didn't want to watch any more programs on TV about this, and I didn't even want to go to church because I thought it would be too emotionally draining. But then I had a change of heart. I thought that instead of being so self-centered I needed to stand united with my country and my church and show my support. As we sang patriotic hymns and the Star Spangled Banner, pledged our Allegiance to the Flag and bowed our heads in prayer for our country my spirits were lifted. I was proud of our nation and its strength of character in the aftermath of this tragedy. I was thankful to be a part of this great nation.

But with these good feelings is also the sober warning...our country is living on borrowed time. It is only a matter of time before some other evil force will take vengeance on our land and try again to strike us down. We need to remember that there is a much bigger battle going on here...a fight between the forces of good and evil...God and Satan. I don't care what church you may attend or what religion you may adhere to. I really don't care what political party you belong to or who you voted for. The war that is going on here is much larger and in a different plane than we can see with our human eyes. The real battle that matters here is the battle for our own hearts and souls. When that issue is settled, the world conflagrations will still rage on, but we will have peace within.

I'd like to close this with an old hymn that comes to mind that asks the question :

"Is Thy Heart Right with God?"

"Have thine affections been nailed to the cross?