I bought the David Crowder CD called I Know A Ghost. When I get new music after listening for a few days one song in particular might jump out at me. I will find myself humming the tune, or a phrase of the lyric will be caught in my brain. Then I go find the CD and study the music to see why it is impacting me. Later, it will happen with a different song.
Recently this one got me. I am not attending a snake handling church nor do I ever want to, but evil is often personified as a snake. So crushing snakes is an expression about giving Christians authority over the authority of our enemy.
Lyrics by Crowder We’re not afraid Terrors of night, arrows that fly by day Ten thousand may fall but we We will remain We’re not afraid A promise of God can never be torn away Walking on hands of angels, crushing snakes Safe under the shadow of His wings Our fortress and our strength Our fortress We’re taking back our freedom Our battle has been won We have been liberated Back from the dead we’ve come We’re taking back our freedom Our battle has been won We have been liberated Back from the dead we’ve come We’re not afraid A promise of God can never be torn away Walking on hands of angels, crushing snakes Safe under the shadow of His wings Our fortress and our strength Our fortress We’re taking back our freedom Our battle has been won We have been liberated Back from the dead we’ve…
Hit the triangle below to play this great song! And declare it for yourself!!
Back from the dead we’ve come. Walking on hands of angels. We’re not afraid. Amazing, powerful, true lyrics. Oh, how this man minsters to me! Praying you are blessed by this, also!
Before the Super Bowl the stores were chock full of dips and treats. When I bought Bob some French Onion Dip I saw a container of Tzatziki Spinach Dip. Had never seen that one before! Tzatziki is a Greek yogurt sauce made with yogurt and cucumbers. I thought, “Why not try it? If I don’t like it I can use it in cooking.”
Was not as thick as I expected, certainly not as thick as French Onion dip! Just okay. So a few few days later I had some chicken to bake. Put that Tzatziki on it. Baked. Turned it and put some more on it. Baked. Added some just before I served it. Delicious! I love when I think outside the box and do not waste an ingredient!
There are no thin ice signs in Cincinnati that I am aware of! All these sings boasted of Moose, but they never got the memo to show up for us to photograph!
My best friend in childhood, Dana!
Love the moss growing on the edge of the pine needles atop the granite!
Seemed like such tiny state boundaries after traveling west earlier in the year! We criss crossed state lines so often there were times we were not certain what state we were in!!
1798 to 1880 Eliza was a young child!
And then the humorous produce store I would have shopped at had I lived there!
Free range tomatoes, free range bees and cage free tomatoes! Sound tasty to me!
In 1992 Gary Chapman wrote a book entitled The Five Love Languages. The premise was to explain how people give and receive love. All these years later, it is still a great teaching tool for marriage enrichment.
The 5 love languages are:
Words of Affirmation.
Acts of Service.
Receiving Gifts.
Quality Time.
Physical Touch.
So do you know what your love language is? Do you know the love language of those who are most important to you?
Bing has hundreds of flow chart images that describe the 5 Love languages and list examples. You might want to check those out if you have no idea what I am writing about. It can make a big difference in your relationships to know what speaks love to your significant other! There are even free online quizzes you can take to determine your language.
I bought this t-shirt for Bob to convince others how much I approve of his husband skills! He doesn’t much like to wear it though. His husband skills are wonderful, t-shirt or not. We often spend quality time together, taking a long drive, viewing his 2019 photo project of one photo a day (and editing out the other unused 3,000 photos 🙂 )! There is nothing better than holding his hand and traveling together through life. September will make it a 50 year anniversary journey!
In high school or maybe even junior high we had to read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables. I loved it! On our recent trip to the Northeastern States I realized we would be going very close to Salem, Massachusetts. And they have tours of the house the story is patterned on! I could care less about the witch trials, but mention the Seven Gables and I was hooked.
Before our travels, I re-read the book because so MANY years have passed since I first read it. (Love that we can borrow books in the Kindle format, often for free, from the library!) We planned our route to make a tour of the house in Salem on our way from Maine to New Hampshire.
Hawthorne based his book loosely upon his cousin’s house in Salem. Susanna Ingersoll inspired and often entertained Hawthorne at this home. It has been restored to its former glory and is now a museum. In the story Hepzibah was an unfortunate spinster whose eyesight was so poor that she had taken to squinting and that made her face even more unpleasant. The locals thought she was merely scowling at them all the time. She had fallen on hard times and was forced to open a small shop in the front of her house in order to provide food for herself and her brother.
This is a re-creation of what her shop might have looked like. She might have entered through this door. Robert Dutina’s photo of the shop is better, of course!
Hepzibah’s Shop by Robert M Dutina
Being a descendent of aristocracy, Hepzibah was ashamed of having to open the store. She also rented one gable of the house to Holgrave. The story has sorrow, possible murder, intrigue, the young charming country cousin Phoebe, revenge, the town gossips and all the other interesting characters that Hawthorne created. Ned Higgins, the boy who bought her supply of gingerbread cookies made me smile as I now make gingerbread every Christmas with my Grandgirls! When Nathaniel wrote this starting in 1850 he insisted it was entirely a work of fiction based on no particular house. They have done a great job of restoration though, igniting my imagination!
The outdoor gardens were planted like formal English gardens.
Gardens and gablesRefreshing morning dew
I found the adventure refreshing, even if it was likely a fantasy compared to what Hawthorne actually experienced.
There is a neighborhood in Cincinnati called Mount Washington. For years I have seen a bumper sticker that says “I climbed Mt. Washington” and I would think, so what? Then we traveled to the Eastern United States. Bob wanted to go to the top of Mount Washington, New Hampshire noted as one of the windiest places on earth. So we planned our trip to include the Cog Railway there. 2019 had been a tremendously busy year, with the 7,000 mile road trip to the west, so we scaled this one down a bit! Mountain climbing on foot was not on the agenda.
We lined up to board what looked like a little train ride.The inside o f the car was all lovely wood.
And shortly the climb began. AAA tourbook reports concise details saying, “The Railway opened in 1869 and bills itself as the first mountain-climbing cog railway in the world. Coal-fired steam and biodiesel-powered trains take passengers on a scenic 3-hour trip top the top of Mount Washington – the highest peak in the Northeast.
“At 6,288 feet, Mount Washington, in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, is the Northeast’s highest peak. The weather at its summit rivals that of Antarctica; the average annual temperature is below freezing. Conditions can change in minutes from balmy to subfreezing.”
We had one of the loveliest weather days the train personnel could ever remember. The panoramas were breathtaking! Our engine was biodiesel driven. They only run the steam engine once daily.
As the train began to climb the slant of the vegetation showed the angle of ascent.
Yes, those trees were growing straight up!
Appalachian Trail cairns
I have never hiked the Appalachian Trail. In fact, I have not hiked much at all during my life. I was fascinated by the rock cairns marking the route of the trail. Just imagine for a moment hiking this during a 15 foot snow in winter. Or even the height of summer, one rock strewn field after another. How would you find your way and not lose the trail? Thus the cairns, also known as rock piles.
Yes, the chain you see was put there to hold the building in place!
Returning down the mountain we passed a train going up. No wind rain or weather change. Bob was a bit disappointed. We had bundled up for sunshine! It was a memorable ride and the cog railway was fun!
My husband took one photo (below) that reminded me of one of my childhood drawings of mountains. One woman in the crochet and quilting group wanted a copy of the photo for a quilting idea!
See the lady in the white dress, white shoes and white gloves? That was my mom!
At my wedding in 1970 I never noticed until now that my mother wore white gloves to our wedding in Live Oak Park, Berkeley, California! As I came toward the groom, trust me when I say, at the time I never saw anyone but him.
My mother died five years later, in her sleep, at our apartment in Lexington, Kentucky. Her death was sudden and somewhat unexpected. Her blood pressure had been high and the doctor was having difficulty controlling it, but there was no indication that she would pass that particular weekend. Today is one day past her birthday.
Mildred Ann was a wonderful cook. When we realized how few of her recipes she had written down, I was furious. To this day I save recipes on my computer and print a card for each of my children (and sometimes for friends, too). Recently I made her chicken and dumplings. It took me several years to find a recipe that approximated hers. Finally found it in James Beard’s American Cookery Book which my sisters-in-law gave me when we were expecting our first child.
This year we celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary, so Mom has been gone 45 years. And yes, there are times when I still miss her. I believe she would delight to know I am still trying to capture her essence in the kitchen. When I made the chicken and dumplings recently I did not use a deep enough pan when it came time for the dumplings. Oh my. I should have taken a photograph. They boiled over magnificently on the ceramic stovetop. I also forgot HOW MANY the recipe feeds. With just the two of us at home now, we had dumplings coming out of our ears. And no, we tried it, they are NOT very good warmed as leftovers! The first meal was tasty though. And I made it in memory of Mom, my best role model as a good cook.
Forced Hyacinths by GARDENPHOTO.com
If your Mom is still around cherish her, even if you rarely get along. There are times after she passes when you will miss her terribly. For years I could barely go in the grocery stores that have floral departments. This time of year they sell forced bulbs to remind us of the hope of spring. As a child my mother once made me an Easter corsage with hyacinth blossoms. Shortly after she passed the fragrance of hyacinths would have me weeping in the grocery store. Now I grow them in the front garden and when they bloom in late spring I delight to bring them in the house.
Moms, memories, grief all roll up into delight, pain, and after they go a void that nothing but God can ever even attempt to fill. One meaning for El Shaddai is “many breasted One.” Yes, God can be both father and mother to each of us.
My friend is the major contributor and editor of The Transfiguration Quarterly which comes from the Episcopalian Convent of the Transfiguration where I am an Associate. She is thinking about publishing the next issue reflecting upon Lent as an outward act and involving light.
Here is what I wrote for her.
Lent for the year 2020 starts on Wednesday, February 26th and ends on Thursday, April 9. The practices of Lent do not end until sundown on Holy Saturday for all Christian denominations. Typically, a time of introspection with fasting, moderation, repentance, self-denial and self-discipline, what if this year, you changed it up?
In her book, My Daily Appointment with God Lucille Sollenberger notes “How interesting that God should give the world light as one of His first gifts!” The Gospel of John says, “Light shone in the darkness and the darkness could not put it out.” Isn’t it fascinating that we can create darkness by removing light; however, we cannot create light. We are made to reflect light. If there are dark corners where you live this Lent, you may be the one to brighten up those corners with the Light of Christ. What if, instead of withdrawing you asked the Lord to help you reflect His light into the world around you? Have you noticed that when you smile more, more people around you begin to smile? Your introspection at the end of the day could be self-examen to review when might you have done better by shining?
Usually we tend to hide our light under a bucket, perhaps fearful of the criticism from others. How about if we took the Light of Christ that shines in our heart and began to share that shining with those around us? It is easy to say we love those whom we barely know. Much more of a challenge to love those whom we live with and see every day. Perhaps instead of not doing some things this Lent, you could make a pact with God to try doing more kindnesses towards those you live in proximity with. Not only smile more, but be gracious even when you do not feel like it.
We are challenged in Romans 12:10b to outdo one another in showing honor. Forty days of practicing that could bring life changes! 1 Peter 2:9 reminds us that Jesus called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. That marvelous light is ours to live in, to reflect, to bring glory to Christ by showing it to others.
“For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” 2Corinthians 4:6-7
LED bulbs are the brightest source of artificial light known to man right now. The letters stand for Light Emitting Diode. Well, granted, we do not emit light, we reflect light and the Light we reflect is the grandest known to man! An extraordinary power that belongs to God.
At https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-lent-700774 Mary Fairchild wrote “The purpose of Lent is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ—his suffering and death, his sacrifice, his life, burial, and resurrection. During the six weeks of self-examination and reflection, Christians who observe Lent typically make a commitment to fast, or to give up something—a habit, such as smoking, watching TV, swearing, or a food or drink, such as sweets, chocolate, or coffee. Some Christians also take on a Lenten discipline, such as reading the Bible and spending more time in prayer to draw nearer to God. The goal of these spiritual disciplines is to strengthen the faith of the observer and develop a closer relationship with God.”
You may find the discipline of reflecting the Light of Christ far more difficult than fasting from chocolate. I am praying that this spiritual discipline of shining forth the Light of Christ may indeed “strengthen your faith” and help you “develop a closer relationship with God.”
A typical Episcopalian response is taken from the Baptismal vows: “I will with God’s help.”
Not certain my image of God includes dentures, but I know He certainly has a sense of humor. Last Tuesday when I might have been writing, instead I took my Darling Husband to have his knee repaired again. He was stopped on his bicycle last summer and forgot to take his foot out of his toe clip. Taking a photo for his one photo a day project, he fell and tore the meniscus again. He made me have my toe surgery before he would get his knee repaired. So I did not write the usual second day last week. BTW: He is doing well now, though not without swelling and some discomfort.
I had an appointment with the dermatologist to see about getting a small growth taken off the back of my hand this Monday morning. So I had already set my mind to another project, assuming I could not write this day either. Early this morning they called to reschedule the appointment as doc had a family emergency. So my morning spun out in household projects (toasted coconut in the oven, took a walk with hubby, planned dinner and thawed it, etc.) and I started re-writing what I had begun on that other project.
The Grammarist at https://grammarist.com/proverb/best-laid-plans/ states that “The best-laid plans refers to something that has gone awry, something that has not turned out as well as one had hoped. The expression the best-laid plans carries the connotation that one should not expect for things to always turn out to plan. Like many proverbs, the best-laid plans is usually quoted by itself, though it is not the full proverb. The full proverb is, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. This is a passage from the poem To a Mouse, written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1786.”
So I will publish tomorrow what I wrote for my friend. Perhaps it will inspire a different Lenten discipline for you?
If not, get a copy today and begin an adventure! I read this many, many years ago. I gave away so many paperback copies I eventually bought myself the hardback copy so I would NOT give it away. At one time there were no notes for teaching this book, so I wrote my own and lead a group through the book as a Scripture study. This allegory is still teaching me about life with Christ my Lord.
While recovering from this surgery, during a prayer time one morning, I was led again to a scene at the end of the book when Much-Afraid, a timid girl with crippled feet, was led to a ‘desolate altar in this valley of shadows’ to make a burnt offering as commanded by the Shepherd.’
It was not until my retreat January 10 that I re-read and listened to an audible version (free from the library through Hoopla) to review what happened in that sacrifice. I had forgotten that at every altar Much-Afraid built throughout the journey she offered the Lord a portion of her will. This time was no different.
Romans 12:1-2 (NRSV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
What if this living sacrifice of our bodies intentionally included our will, too? Could you do it for Christ? Would you be willing for the Father? Might you ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to conform to God’s will that you might be transformed?
Much-Afraid, like us, was asked to offer a portion of her will at various places in her journey. We are not asked to do that all at once at the outset of our journey. I do not believe we would be able to accomplish it all, psychologically or otherwise. I do not even recognize all the strongholds of my will until I begin to stumble over new ones that are revealed to me as I follow my Lord through this life journey. Thus, there is no way I could consciously offer them as a living sacrifice all at once. Salvation and transformation are on-going processes.
So I have had to sit and wait for healing to come. I am still finding three months later that, no, the foot healing is not yet complete. I was reminded once again that healing, like transformation is a process. My will trips me more than my feet these days.
When I build an altar and sacrifice a portion of my will that is causing me to stumble, the Father has promised to accept that offering and transfigure that portion of me. 1 John reads that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins AND cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So how does that become transformation? Not an easy question. In my experience, transformation comes as I continue and continue to yield to the highest and best that God offers me. No one and done here.
Here is a tiny sketch I made to illustrate the Hinds Feet study. I pray you will examine your heart after you read this, build your altar, fan the flames, offer your will a living sacrifice to the One Who loves us best!
“Prayer is sitting in silence until it silences us,
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 