December 31, 2008

The Resolution...Just Do It

The Dingle on the 9th Green, Legends of Indian Springs Louisville KY


I saw this write up in todays paper and thought that I would share it for new years... May all of you have a safe New Years Eve!


HEART & SOUL: Just do it, do it right, one choice at a timeBy Jennifer Hansen (Contact)

Whatever you need to do, get it done.

Whomever you need to be, be that person. If there’s something that needs to be said, say it.

Making resolutions is a process we might not have time for in 2009. Being resolute, on the other hand, is a finished state. It may be the very best 2009 mindset we can maintain.

When you are resolute, you simply do things. You don’t “try” to do them.

You do them. For the record, this is what I aspire to, not what I consistently achieve. However, as things get more and more serious out there, being resolute is the mind-set that feels the best.

My sister is a very successful corporate human resources officer. For 35 years, she has worked with high-powered executives in some of the biggest communications and technology companies in the world. She insists that every one of them, at some point in their career, has struggled with self-doubt or fear of failure. The ones who move through those fears to achieve real success are those who steel themselves to take one step at a time.

“Sometimes, even for them, it really is ‘fake it till you make it.’ They put on a brave front and do their best, focusing on their strengths and working overtime to overcome their weaknesses. As soon as they get comfortable, they set new goals and challenge themselves again,” she explains.

We don’t hear much about how super-successful people struggle with doubt, and that’s too bad. We also don’t hear much about how being resolute comes down to daily choices - even really small ones.

For example, let’s say you’re a writer, a columnist perhaps, who resolved last year to finish her manuscript but failed to follow through. In 2009, with the same resolution jumping around and waving its arms to get her attention, she might set a more specific goal, like completing five pages a day, or 50 pages a week. Small steps, manageable challenges, realistic time commitment - now I just have to do it. Not try to do it, but be resolute and do it.

Two important tools help us become resolute. The first is rewards. Rewards are whatever we want them to be. The more often we build small rewards into our plan, the better our chances are of achieving goals. Maybe each time you write your monthly budget report on time, you make a batch of popcorn and watch a movie. Or every time you make a sales call to your least favorite client, you get to go to the bookstore and have a coffee. Whatever you do, reward yourself for being resolute.

The second tool is what I call a touch-stone or anchor, something that grounds, inspires or sustains you.

It can be a person, place or thing and it may vary with your activity. Perhaps you put something in the living room, a favorite family photo, that reminds you to be more patient with your spouse. At the office, however, it’s an old basketball trophy that simply reminds you to act like a champion.

When I write, my touchstone is a Christmas tree. Tucked into the southeast corner of my bedroom, where it’s nobody’s business but mine if I have a Christmas tree all year long, it conveys a message that is personal and meaningful to me. That message emanates from what Christmas meant as a child and includes what a soft, glowing light means to most of us. It resonates with comfort, stability and a host of warmer emotions. Significantly in 2009, it also says what I want my column to say - thatfaith, hope and love abide, not just in my world, but in my words.

2009 may not be easy, but it can still be good. Start it by being resolute and you’ll end it with goals achieved.

Labels: Louisville, Old Flames, Scenic Arkansas

December 30, 2008

Gloria In Profundis

The Lowly Barn... Imagine the King of the Universe being born here... near Rogers AR


Gloria In Profundis

There has fallen on earth for a token
A God too great for the sky
He has burst out of all things and broken
The bounds of eternity
Into time and the terminal land
He has strayed like a thief or a lover
For the wine of the world brims over
Its splendour is spilt on the sand

Who is proud when the heavens are humble
Who mounts if the mountains fall
If the fixed suns topple and tumble
And a deluge of love drown all-
Who rears up his head for a crown
Who holds up his will for a warrant
Who strives with the starry torrent
When all that is good goes down?

For in dread of such falling and falling
The Fallen Angels fell
Inverted in insolence, scaling
the hanging mountain of hell
But unmeasured of plumment and rod
Too deep for their sight to scan
Outrushing the fall of man
Is the height of the fall of God

Glory to God in the Lowest
The spout of the stars in spate
Where the thunderbolt thinks to be slowest
And the lightning fears to be late
As men dive for a sunken gem
Pursueing, we hunt and hound it
The fallen star that has found it
In the cavern of Bethlehem

GK Chesterton

Labels: Poem, Quotable Quotes, Scenic Arkansas

December 28, 2008

1st John 1:1-10~Living in the Light

Cloudflare near Lowell AR


The First Epistle of John Chapter 1

The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. This one who is life from God was shown to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and announce to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was shown to us. We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing these things so that our joy will be complete.


Living in the Light
This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.
If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Labels: Bella Vista, Scenic Arkansas, scripture, weather

December 26, 2008

Twas The Day After Christmas...

Frozen Leaves Bella Vista AR

... And all through the house
not a creature was stiring
they all were worn out,
From hustle and bustle
and holiday fetes
the bessing of serving
the sweet Christmas treats!
At gatherings large
and small parties few
Christmas was glorious
I hope for you too

I did have a wonderful Christmas Eve ad Christmas Day. Christmas Eve was spent at the church where we held a noon "Mid day at the Manger" service with Communion served. Afterwards the church provided a light lunch of soup cornbread and salad. Many of the attendees were shut ins that dont normally make it out for church on sunday. They watch the service on TV on sunday mornings and a group from the church make regular visitation to them...

I found myself acting as the maid of all work... what ever needed to be done count me in. This time of year so many of the "worker bees" go off to be with children and grandchildren, so those with no family have the responsibility and priveledge to be there and help out. It was what I wanted to do rather than sit home and open one more box

I so enjoyed it. I ran home and walked Annabelle in the warm sunshine. Later in the afternoon was a Contemporary service with lots for the kids and more recently written carols. This is my gig and I love Contemporary worship, but I felt like there was a lot lacking in the presentation... I am a critic but I think it was well received...maybe it was all of the cookies for the kids, both big and small.... Woody came to this service and I sat with him. I was glad that he came and was a part of things. I have been worried about him during this festive season

Woody left the church and I stayed on and participated in the more formal evening service and even served Communion. (I wonder how many years more I will spend in Purgatory for doing that ... we'll find out. ) I so enjoyed doing that for the first time. I went home at 9 pm totally fufilled and happy

Christmas Day I was up early for my own devotions and to get my litlle furbaby out for her walk. Our neighborhood is fairly large with lots of streets to explore. So we have a large area to walk in.

Then it was off to church where the Pastor and his family hosted a ham dinner and pot luck. I helped prepare the meal and clean up along with the pastors wife and son. I really felt like I was a part of something and it made me really happy to give back to a church that has given me so much...

Woody came over for dinner later that evening and was we talked and exchanged gifts I realized that I had returned to a familiar place. Before Woody I spent my holiday's serving at church and yesterday I felt many of the same positive feelings that I did then, but a slew of new ones. I was reminded as I was serving communion...that it is better to be a door keepr in God's House than to be in the company of the in crowd... Psalm 84:10 my translation....

Labels: Church, Faith, Health, Ministry

December 25, 2008

A Nativity Prayer

The Blessed Mother and Child...the statue of Our Lady of Einsiedeln, patroness of St. Meinrad Archabbey, St Meinrad IN

Nativity Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian

The feast day of your birth resembles You, Lord
Because it brings joy to all humanity.
Old people and infants alike enjoy your day.
Your day is celebrated
from generation to generation.
Kings and emperors may pass away,
And the festivals to commemorate them soon lapse.
But your festival
will be remembered until the end of time.
Your day is a means and a pledge of peace.
At Your birth heaven and earth were reconciled,
Since you came from heaven to earth on that day
You forgave our sins and wiped away our guilt.
You gave us so many gifts on the day of your birth:
A treasure chest of spiritual medicines for the sick;
Spiritual light for the blind;
The cup of salvation for the thirsty;
The bread of life for the hungry.
In the winter when trees are bare,
You give us the most succulent spiritual fruit.
In the frost when the earth is barren,
You bring new hope to our souls.
In December when seeds are hidden in the soil,
The staff of life springs forth from the virgin womb.

St. Ephraim the Syrian (AD 306-373)

Labels: Catholic, IN, Prayers

December 24, 2008

A Christmas Creed

Bowing Before the Throne, a disabled brother of the Monestery of St. Meinrad praying before the Blessed Sacrament, St Meinrad Archabbey St Meinrad IN


A Christmas Creed

I believe in Jesus Christ
and in the power of the gospel
which began in Bethlehem.

I believe in The One whose Spirit
glorified a small village
of whose coming the shepards saw the sign,
and for Whom there was no room for in the inn

I believe in The One whose life
changed the course of history
over whom the kings of the earth
had no power and who was not understood by the proud

I believe in The One whom the poor, the oppressed
the discouraged, the afflicted, the sick,
the blind and the leperous gave welcome
and accepted as Lord and Saviour

I believe in The One who, with love
changed the hearts of the proud
and with his life showed that it is
more important to serve than to be served
and that the greatest glory
is giving your life for others

I beieve in peace, which is not the absence of war
but justice among all people and nations
and love among all

I believe in reconciliation, forgiveness
and the transforming power of the gospel

I believe that Christmas is strength and power
and that this world can change if with humility
and with faith we kneel before the manger

I believe that I must be the first one to do so

Labels: Catholic, Faith, IN

December 22, 2008

I Wonder as I Wander ~ The Blue Christmas Journey

the journey of Christ. From His Mother's arms, as represented by the shrine of Our Lady of Einsiedeln just behind me to the Altar and the institution of the Eucharist, His Crucifixion and resurection and being lifted up as King of the Nations (the mural on the vault of the Nave of the church) The Church of Our Lady of Einsiedeln, St Meinrad's Archabbey, St Meinrad IN

Vague...vagueness emptiness dried up... those are good words to describe how you must feel while dealing with long term greif Pamela, the Chaplain at St Mary's hospital while leading a "Blue Christmas" workshop...

I went to our Church's Blue Christmas celebration on the 21st. Many Churches have this and I think its a great event and always go. This date is intentionally selected for this event as it is the darkest day of the year, for many people this is the darkest time of the year. A time that brings back memories both joyful and troubling. so rather than just pretending that everything is happy happy, its good to be able to come together with others that are struggling with the same feelings as you are. That Christmas isnt the light and bright time that the TV shows would make it out to be, but its hard for most people to keep Christmas the way they think it should be kept. For the Lonely lost , berieved and discouraged Christmas and all of the Holly Jolly can be a nightmare, with ever sight every smell a reminder of the lost loved one, the horrible Christmas's past, and the coming day with not a thing light and bright about it

We have had a number of deaths in the church recently ... some after long and painfull illness others quite suddenly. Many people have lost their retirement savings and dont know how they are going to survive. My situation is a touch unusual, but never the less a friend that lost her beloved husband a few weeks ago said that I too am a widow. My "husband" or my hope of having one in truth, died 13 years ago, and the man I am legaly contracted to is still breathing. What has died is the hope that anything will ever change. She burried her grief, mine is still walking around a living reminder of failure and personal grief and loss.

There were three widows, myself and our pastor there as well as the facilitator, a woman that I love so much, I wish that our paths would cross more often. The "workshop portion was pretty intense. the widows has losses to cry over... and our poor pastor has had a load to bear that has worried me for weeks and every fear I had for him was confirmed... you cant hold the hand of the dying then the living as you are presiding over the funeral 6-7 times since the start of Advent and not be affected. That sort of ministry bleeds you of inner resouces, and if you dont get a chance to recharge can do real damage to your spirit. He is so tired...It scared me...

Perhaps I was the least emotional of the 6 of us but only because the well is so dry I cant get much out anymore. I cried nearly every day while I was in Louisville. i wrote prodigiously and had good counsel. Leading worship was cathartic and I know that helps me. I tried I think in vain to describe my grief... Mark in Louisville told me that there seemed to be no sort of grief that I have not experienced. Dead parents , a dead child divorce dead dreams...suicides, abuse neglect and abandonment emotionally and physically. There is no person of significance that has not emotionally abandoned me at point of need.

I feel empty, lost confused and drained out. This year while I loved my time away and just living...I also lost my dreams, my strength of will is gone and I will need to figure out what God wants me to do.

Every one managed to get some of the pain out. We told our stories and cried more...
We ate together and talked about lighter topics then We had a service of readings and songs, Pastor David even played a John Michael Talbot tune, "On Eagles Wings" that I know well. but the one that got me was the theme of the evening

I Wonder as I Wander

I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor lonely people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky

When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all
But high from God's heaven, a star's light did fall
And the promise of ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing
Or all of God's Angels in heaven to sing
He surely could have it, 'cause he was the King

(Words & Music John Jacob Niles)

Pastor David earlier in the day told me that he was praying for me as I journied thought the "wilderness of maybe" I am trying to live totally in the moment. One moment to the next and not trying to get ahead of God...I wonder as I wander... not sure of what the next thing will be only that God is with me...

Labels: Faith, IN, John Michael Talbot, Louisville

December 21, 2008

Matthew 1:18-25~ The Birth of Jesus

O Holy Night my nativity set up in my new home


The Birth of Jesus Christ

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us).When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.


The Holy Family

Labels: Pear Tree Cottage, scripture

December 17, 2008

Magnum Opus

The Shopping Diva, Annabelle Christmas pic 2008

Hey, its me Annabelle.... I wanted to tell you that my Mom has a lot of great Christmas stuff that she wrote while she was living in Hawaii. you can read it here at

Christmas 2004

Take a looksee and enjoy Aloha

Labels: Annabelle, Requested Past Posts, Woody

December 15, 2008

The Real Mary

The Holy Family First United Methodist Church Bella Vista AR

Post begun 12-15-2007, and it got back burnered...I havea number of such posts and its my hope to get back to some of those topics and post them.

Breath of Heaven


I have traveled
many moonless nights,
Cold and weary
with a babe inside,
And I wonder what I've done.
Holy Father, You have come,
And chosen me now
to carry Your Son.

I am waiting
in a silent prayer.
I am frightened
by the load I bear.
In a world as cold as stone,
Must I walk this path alone?
Be with me now.

Be with me now....

Breath of Heaven,
Hold me together,
Be forever near me,
Breath of Heaven.

Breath of Heaven,
Lighten my darkness,
Pour over me Your holiness,
For You are holy.
Breath of Heaven.

Do you wonder
as you watch my face,
If a wiser one
should have had my place,
But I offer all I am
For the mercy of Your plan.
Help me be strong.
Help me be....

Strong...

Breath of Heaven,
Hold me together,
Be forever near me,
Breath of Heaven.
Breath of Heaven,
Lighten my darkness,
Pour over me Your holiness,
For You are holy.

Breath of Heaven,
Hold me together,
Be forever near me,
Breath of Heaven.
Breath of Heaven,
Lighten my darkness,
Pour over me Your holiness,
For You are holy.
Breath of Heaven.
Breath of Heaven.

Breath of Heaven.in Hawaiian Hamakua, one of my favorite words

One of the things that I have been doing is reading. My RCIA formation is pretty much up to me. I have made up for the few classes that I have had by reading on topic. Then I meet about once a month with my sponsor who is also the wife of the Catechist for our parish. One of the topics that we discuss is my stand in becomming a Catholic and how am I handling the questions comments and some hostility to my choice of this version of Christianity

No topic is more controversial than Mary the Mother of Jesus. However I just finished reading "The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace The Mother of Jesus" by Scott McKnightand I so enjoyed this book. It very clearly laid out many of the feelings that I have had a long time about the Mother of God, and the Catholic faith as a whole.

I get all of the comments...
"Catholics worship Mary"...uh... no...
"Catholics Pray to Mary like they would to God" Only the poorly taught
"Mary wasnt special, God could have used anyone" again uh...no.

Truth is that we Protestants tossed Mary out for political reasons and later to fit cultural and droctinal mores that really were not true or right.

Mary is a powerful figure. Her "yes" to God made her the Mother of God, the deposer of Kings,(think the murders of those babies was the end. They would have killed her along with the infant Jesus if they had found her.), and the first and maybe greatest disciple.Her courage to say yes to God, condemning herself, and her son, to a life of conflict and controversey is mind boggling. She risked her very life.



I wont go into every point Scott makes, but I will say this. I think my understanding of Mary, and how she fits into the grand scheme of Gods plan, has helped me to embrace the fullness of Catholic teaching.

I am not the only one. Tim Perry,professor of Biblical Theology at Providence College calls this movement "Mariphillia" the love of Mary. He believes that the cultural shift away from a male centric view of Christianity which made Mary into nothing more than a fleshly vessel to hold Jesus and any womb would have done the job has brought Mary into the forfront of not only the Nativity narrative but the whole Gospel. For it is she who write these Gospels... She had to be the one to tell the story, first to Elizabeth later to the gospel writers... No one else had the intimate details...

Why was Mary believeable in a world where a womans role and scope was narrow. She was a princess without a throne. A linial decendent of King David, wife of another such person. She was not an "unknown" peasant woman as some theologians have espoused. While much of the Churches tradition is drawn from the Proto Gospel of James a document that has mixed hisortic value, it sheds light on and answers some of the mysterious questions regarding the background of the Blessed Mother, even if the document is incompleate or partially true, it leads on to believe that Mary was a woman of particular merit by God's grace alone, and the Gospel narrative would have been less rich without the nativity narrative.

The real Mary was not a womb borrowed by the Holy Spirit, the Real Mary was a gift. A gift to God of herself to Eternity. I am not sure that she understood everything that her "yes" to God would mean to herself and to the world. But thankfully she said yes to God and her future was changed. Her sinlessness didnt change her free will. "Sinless?" you say... she had to be sinless because God couldnt create a Son with a sinful woman. She was spared a "sin nature by the grace of God, not any work of her own. Yes, that dogma and others like it have become a part of my spiritual thought, and have changed the way I look at Jesus birth. What a miracle! What an amazing event!

And what an amazing woman. Thank you God for the gift of Your Mother. Thank you, Mary for the gift of your "yes" to God's plan. Your "Yes" changed the world, the universe for all of eternity. It saved the world from damnation by making the way for my Savior and I and the world will forever be grateful.

Labels: Catholic

December 14, 2008

John 1:1-18~ The Coming of The Light

Morning light taken near Lowell AR


The Word Became Flesh


In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.In him was life, and the life was the light of men.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.(John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

Labels: Scenic Arkansas, scripture

December 12, 2008

Feeling At Home

My little tree, decorated with my fragile ornaments that I haven't been able to use in years.This is a little dark I will try to get a better photo in the am

For the LORD will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. Isaiah 51:3

Under my tree I have the little ceramic sign I bought in Hawaii during the dark days...

Be Grateful

Everyday I grow more and more grateful for this little place under the pear trees...I have learned that I have one of retired pastors lives two doors down, and all of the neighbors, well nearly all have come and introduced themselves to me. The brothers that live next door are never home so the time will come when we can introduce ourselves.

I am adjusting to the place un packing, and sorting things out. The last of my furniture will be arriving next week and some of the pieces that I purchased will be going back to the store. I have more than I need as usual. Are we not blessed as a people to be in such a position...I find it amazing

for much of last week I was without a Internet connection but my new set up seems to be working out OK. The cable, at least the video part is more expensive than it was at my old home and I hope to be able to keep it....and everything else going...

Its not looking very good on the job front over the short term. I have been diligently searching but nothing not even an interview yet. I have planted a lot of seeds including applying for a job as a diesel mechanic at a freight company...The GM called me and said he would defiantly pass my resume up the line as "he liked my style" I believe in the spaghetti against the wall approach to finding work ... Throw enough out there and some is bound to stick...

In the mean time I am spending a lot of time working on interior decorating....I am not the best at this... Where are the Top Design guys when you need them? I think I need Tim Gunn to go through my closet I have so many clothes... I need to spend the time to go through them and purge out what I dont wear, or is too big for me now... I don't have as much closet space as I am used to. In fact a startling thing I figured out was that there is no coat closet in this house. Unheard of in this cold weather climate. There is one less bedroom and a lot less closet space overall so I need to pare down...a good thing.

Annabelle has not had an easy time with this transition. She has likely felt very neglected these past few weeks and now she was thrust into yet another different living situation, her third in about 6 weeks. New carpet and other strong smells, new bathroom set up, she has had a number of accidents I think due to not really knowing where to go. The she had her rabies shot, and was quite ill for several days. I was very concerned and worries that she was ill, but she did snap out of it. I kept her eating and drinking which I think was really important. I have gone back to a puppyhood set up of getting her out asap every morning and a long walk to get her emptied out and the same at night and hope that she will grow more accustomed to our surroundings.

As for me sleeping here alone in this house is a touch strange. the house makes a LOT of noise. Its a newer home 10 years old but it creeks and groans like the old house I grew up in. We are on a bit of a busy street and I can hear the cars go by... Nothing like living by the Gene Snyder Freeway in Louisville but it is a bit shocking when a SUV goes revving down the road crashing the predown silence...I will get used to it...

For this being alone is going to become permanant sooner than I expected. Woody went out and sold the Honda Accord we bought 18 months ago and had a loan out in both of our names. Now that loan is paid off and this new car he now has a 2009 Camry, is in his name only with a loan in his name only. I am very glad of this and hope he enjoys the car. He was not as sucessful in efforts to refinance our house. This is going to become an issue I think. But I am trying to not get ahead of God. There is a lot of discussion about "fairness"... which of course is in the eye of the beholder. Woody has also has the home appraised again not with my pre approval but I am ok with this. My lawyer will look over everything. I think that we will be going ahead with a divorce once into the New Year

I am sad but growing more and more comfortable with my life, as I become more involved with work and church and other things that I am interested in this will become a healing. I have many moments of dismay...I find Woody's apathy towards me painful. He hasnt said anything that could remotely be construed as a desire for me to stay in his home and his life as a wife. To be so unwanted is like a knife wound. But that is where we are at. this detachment came over the course of years...it was inevitable.

In the mean time I am trying to settle in an allow myself to become rooted here in this house, to learn to feel at home in a home of my own. To feel safe and secure here and learn once again what it is to feel like a whole person...




My first meal in my home.

Labels: Annabelle, Marriage, Pear Tree Cottage, Woody, working

December 07, 2008

Isaiah 40~ Prepare The Way

Make His paths straight, the path to the meeting house Shaker Villiage at Pleasent Hill near London KY


Isaiah 40 Prepare The Way For Our Lord

"Comfort, yes, comfort My people!"
Says your God.
"Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord's hand
Double for all her sins."


The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
"Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."


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


"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 our God stands forever."


O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"


Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
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.


Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?


Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
All nations before Him are as nothing,
And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.


To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.


Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.


Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.


"To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.


Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
"My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God"?
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 to 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.

Labels: Kentucky, scripture

December 02, 2008

Moving Day

Beautiful Rainbow Falls Hilo Hawaii. Moving is always measured against the extraordinary Trans Pacific moves made by yours truly. This is a cakewalk in comparison.


Post begun Dec 2 2008 7 pm

This will be the last night I sit out here on our lanai and well do anything today the packers came and packed up all of my precious things. Two curio cabinets full of treasures. Six book cases full of books some of which I needed to get rid of before now...well they will be making the journey accross the village to my new home. Their new home, 6 new book cases of vaious sizes and woods will be comming in another day or so along with the new bedroom suite and handy dandy lift up coffee table. The packers were quite efficient and only took three hours to do their thing. I had done quite a bit of the packing and move over a van load of stuff each time I travel over to Metfield and my new abode. The trip is 20 miles round so its best to not waste the gas.

I went to the Metfield Methodist Christmas dinner last night. One of the things that I gain with this move is a new "Sheperd Group" This is mostly a social entity, dinners out that sort of thing. But from what I have seen this group is younger and more active and everyone that was present last night was a "doer" some one very active in the operation of the church...(our pastor and his family are a part of this group as well). I went alone and had a lovely time. A bit of explanation on my solo situation but most took it in stride. Its a shame because we wont be getting back together....(I would be shocked)and I think this is the start of a new chapter in both of our lives

And so it goes. Packers today, movers tomorrow, furniture people the next day, cable comes after that. Then...the next day is a funeral for the husband of a church friend. Dead after a long painful illness, this is a hugely sad event for the whole church...then sunday and we do it all over again. I can bearly breathe for the thought... that I am leaving this house, to return only as a guest...When I came here in 2005, that was an impossible thought.


moving in 3 Ashton Circle

Labels: Hawaii, Marriage