The weight loss emphasizes
How the years wore paths
Upon her cheeks
The wear and tear
Of aging show in
Sharp delineation from
The chubbiness of her youth
Yet her beauty and tenacity
Hold on in her eyes
A smile that brightened any
Room or hallway
California coastal breeze has its own unusual ambiance
Is it a fine mix of salt air after it crosses the bay
Multiple blooming trees and shrubs
Mixed with major eucalyptus tones
Practically indescribable
So unlike Ohio
The Air B & B was clean
Mostly quiet
Safe though subterranean
Noisy only when the sump pump
protested kitchen sink usage
Yet that too provided a loud temporary
Rhythm of life after breakfast
The first photo is “Randy Statler sits on a rock to watch people walk to Tower Rock, an attraction normally surrounded by the Mississippi River and only accessible by boat, in Perry County, Missouri, on October 19, 2022. Jeff Roberson/AP Photo”
I love Mary Engelbreit. She captures things succinctly for me.
I do not remember this happening before, but according to weather historians it has occurred once within the last ten years or so. And now, again. Are we awake to what is happening?
I was startled to hear about drought on the Mississippi river. In case you have forgotten, here is the route it takes.
I first heard this on the national news. Here is report from Newsweek.
“The Mississippi River winds 2,350 miles, connecting the center of the continental United States to the Gulf of Mexico. The National Park System calls the Mississippi River “significant to national trade” and is an avenue to funnel 500 million tons of shipped goods into the U.S. economy. Products most often shipped on the Mississippi are grains, petroleum products, iron and steel, grain, rubber, paper, wood, coffee, coal, chemicals and edible oils.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains a nine-foot shipping channel from Louisiana to Minnesota in order to transport the goods up and down the Mississippi River. In some areas of the drought-ridden channel, the Weather Channel reported the waterway was so narrow, barges were at a standstill and backed up for miles.
And then CNN
“The US Drought Monitor says that more than 55% of the contiguous United States – an area that is home to more than 133 million people – is in drought.
“With the Climate Prediction Center forecasting below-average rainfall through at least October 23.”
So if you thought the drought was limited to California and the western states, think again. The earth as we knew it is in trouble. I doubt my parents would ever have imagined this could happen. I can barely imagine this is happening in my lifetime!
“Oh Lord, forgive us for abusing our planet. Help us know how best to conserve it right now. Show us Your will and Your ways in this thing. Amen”
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds. The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing. The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Psalm 145:13-21 NRSV
I suppose we have counted on the storms from the Atlantic to provide much of our autumn moisture? This year those storms have barely effected our area of the Ohio River valley. So literally, pray for rain. Especially if you like to ship or to purchase “grains, petroleum products, iron and steel, grain, rubber, paper, wood, coffee, coal, chemicals and edible oils.”
Drought has caused low flows in the Mississippi River, slowing vital barge traffic to a crawl. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
I first read this quote by Rainer Marie Rilke in the book by Ben Palpant entitled “Letters from the Mountain.”
“Most experiences are unsayable.” There are mysterious existences whose life endures beside our own small, transitory life.
Rilke and Ben Palpant
There is a sound of leaves falling upon leaves that is so indescribable. I cannot imagine being able to mimic that sound. More than just a rustling, shifting, crunching. Nary a squirrel can approach our deck undetected right now! Our once green grass is now a carpet of yellow, orange, brown and red.
I used the blower to clear off the deck. 24 hours later it looked like this!
Can you see the carpet of leaves on the lawn?
How could I possibly capture the sound of dry leaves upon dry leaves with only words? How would you say it?
Below is a mighty sweet gum tree growing in the woods of Eastfork State Park.
And then there was this artsy photo of sun through a sweet gum leaf which the mighty beagle messed up by walking in front of the camera.
Silly Lucky, no artistic sense!
You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance. They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, And the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; The valleys also are covered with grain; They shout for joy, they also sing.
Opened WordPress and there was nothing in “Drafts.” Sometimes I make notes in Drafts to expand upon later. Good thing I started making some notes over the weekend. It is easier to start writing five blog entries if I have some idea of the direction I might go!
So far this morning I have put drops in Bob’s post operative right eye, washed his hair in the sink, vacuumed out the car, tried to get my windshield clean again (before it turns cold outside). Bob helped me plant a mum in the backyard flower bed. One load of laundry in dryer and I am only 45 minutes late on starting to write! Whew!!
Each day and each week are blank as we approach them. Then we live the day and the week and there are happenings. When we returned from our trip to California we learned the neighborhood news. Most of it was not good.
One neighbor had doubly sad news. Her Dad called from the hospital. He was just diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2 organs. She went to his side. Nothing to be done. Was sent to Hospice care and died within the week. The rest of the family traveled to Kentucky for the funeral. Her mom is not at all well and may be in hospice care soon if daughter cannot find a nursing home placement for her here in Ohio. From what I understand the nursing homes are understaffed and quite full. The family came home from Kentucky. That evening they had a call that his Dad was found dead in his apartment. Two funerals for 2 dads in such a short time. That family is reeling.
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 63:6-7 NIV
Another friend has a hale and hearty husband. He was in the backyard chopping wood. Felt dizzy. Sat down. Next thing he knew he somehow fell forward and broke his neck in 2 places. Was sent by helicopter to downtown trauma hospital. Screws and plate put in his neck. Caught pneumonia and was sedated and intubated for over a week. He is awake and responsive now, but his lungs are too weak to sustain the next surgery the doctors need to perform. Please pray healing for John, stronger lungs, hope and trust. Like this vine around the tree trunk I am reminded of the following verse:
I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:8 NIV
We have no idea how fortunate we are. Have you given thanks to the Lord God lately? Not for things that have not happened to you as much as for the things that have come your way, blessings in the midst of struggles, His power in your weakest moments, comfort in the deep darkness of night. Cling to Him.
This area is being slammed with RSV virus. More children than ever are being hospitalized with it and there is worry, too, for the elderly and those whose health is compromised. One woman in our small group, Terri, is currently hospitalized. She thought she had a cold and then had great difficulty breathing. Was admitted through the ER. She is on oxygen at the hospital. Doctors have not specified if this is bacterial or viral. She will not be released until her oxygen level remains steady on her own. I am not currently aware of children who are hospitalized, but I know some areas of the country are running out of pediatric beds due to the virus. This is not covid or a variant. This virus has been known for a long time. This year it is especially virulent.
The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:4
Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults. RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs) in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States.
This one had me gasping in wonder as we went in and out of the courtyard leading to our Air B & B unit. Sadly, it will not grow in our area. The Spruce says the following about Brugmansia:
“The show-stopping hanging trumpet-shaped flowers of Brugmansia make this plant a delight for any garden. Grown either as a woody shrub or small tree, angel’s trumpet is a tropical plant native to South America, like the triostar stromanthe.
“There are seven species of Brugmansia, among them B. arborea, B. suaveolens, B. sanguine (red angel’s trumpet), and those have been hybridized to develop robust cultivars like “Grand Mariner’ and ‘Inca Sun.’ Although it is considered a showpiece in Northern Hemisphere gardens, it is an invasive plant in Australia, New Zealand, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands.
“Brugmansia is best planted in mid-spring when outdoor temperatures no longer drop below 50 degrees at night. The plant will grow quickly, often between 24 to 36 inches a year. All parts of the angel’s trumpet plant are toxic to humans, dogs, and cats.
Well the Air B & B had a dog and multiple cats. They must have known not to bother the dropped leaves or dead flowers. The squirrel did not seem to mind the toxicity of it either.
Notice the early morning fog!
See the squirrel walking among the branches on the lookout for Bob? (upper center of photo)
And here he comes!
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
What speaks loudest to me? Fleet week is here, where the Navy brings ships to the Embarcadero for citizens to tour. The Blue Angels are overhead practicing their moves. We are avoiding the traffic and crowds by not attending.
We had a family luncheon at Mark and Dawn’s home in Forestville, north of the Bay Area. We even got to visit with their son, Corey, who presently lives in Brooklyn, but was making a brief visit there. As usual the weather was warm and sunny. Sadly for the locals, no rain in sight. The drought is frightening. They served corn chowder with shrimp, warm sour dough bread both garlic and plain. Mark made a strawberry & raspberry crisp with a cornmeal topping and 2-layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. It was all delicious.
Peet’s coffee is still our favorite. I used to live across from the first store at Sixth and Walnut when I worked in Berkeley as a nanny. We were married outdoors just down the road from there at Live Oak Park. The first time I walked into one of their chain stores on this visit there was a sign about a new small batch blend called “Sixth and Walnut.” Later Bob bought some. First Peet’s coffee we have not liked! It is a mild roast and to us it almost brewed like weak tea. Next day we bought Major Dickinson! Then the next day we bought my favorite, which they do not market every place “Arabian Mocha Java.” Oh goodness. I love that blend!!
Hopefully before we go home we can find my favorite Bear Claw pastries, which I first ate here. Found some tiny green grapes at Trader Joe’s called Sark’s Little Thoms. So sweet! We are told they sell See’s candy in Cincinnati now, but it can’t possibly be as good to us as going to a store in this area. Besides, they give you a free piece of candy when you enter!!
Yes, we like to eat our way through vacations, especially when we have learned and loved local specialties. We also enjoyed the Golden Gate National Park. Bob, Karen and I had never visited. The sandy beach was not as fine as sand on the east coast. It was fun to watch the surfers in their wet suits. One older guy was doing his stretches on the beach in preparation for surfing.
When we got to the top of one bluff we could barely see the top of the north tower for the Golden Gate bridge. A day of heavy fog that never did lift around the Golden Gate bridge.
I was delighted by the fog horns. Bob thought they sounded Ike tubas. “Each foghorn has a different pitch and marine navigational charts give ships the frequency, or signature, of each foghorn,” says the Golden Gate Bridge highway and transportation website. The foghorns were on the entire span of our visit that day.
While traveling in the Smoky Mountains one year I bought what could be a flower vase. It was pinched in the middle giving it two ‘spouts.’ The longer I looked at it and handled it the more it became a vessel for my prayers. We were always near the running water of the spring rivers be it the Little Pigeon or “one of the 2,100 miles of rushing mountain streams and rivers that flow through the park.” I would show you a photo, but when we downsized I let the vase/pitcher go. 😦 sigh
Here was part of my inspiration
And so my morning prayer gradually became
Jesus, I pour out this water
before the undivided Trinity:
Let my living be this day
an offering and thanksgiving.
This day caress me.
This day possess me.
Open my ears and eyes
to Your Love for us.
Try making a ceremony around your prayer time. I have taught that many ways. When you get a drink of water, say a prayer, turning your attention to the Holy One. Are you a coffee addict? Dedicate each sip to the Trinity.
Keep a glass near the water faucet and try a water prayer of your own. Or use mine.
The idea is to turn your heart and mind to Him who loves you best.
Our soul is like a stream of water, which gives strength, direction, and harmony to every other area of our life. When that stream is as it should be, we are constantly refreshed and exuberant in all we do, because our soul itself is then profusely rooted in the vastness of God and his kingdom, including nature; and all else within us is enlivened and directed by that stream. Therefore we are in harmony with God, reality, and the rest of human nature and nature at large.
I believe one reason we fear silence and stillness is we do not want to know ourselves and what God has to say about us. If we could only trust Him in a small way we would learn that He loves us more than we love ourselves. In fact, He treasures and adores us.
The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing
Zephaniah 3:17 NRSV
Stefan Kunze Upsplash
The writings of Oswald Chambers contained in the book noted below were excerpted from articles published by God’s Bible School in Cincinnati. The articles were taken from his classroom lectures and Bible studies and published in the school’s periodical God’s Revivalist.
What does the Bible mean when it says to be an example to the flock of God? You must be a walking example of what you believe, in every moment of your life, known and unknown. You must bear the scrutiny of God until you prove that you are indeed a specimen of what He can do. Then He will send you out to disciple all nations.
Oswald Chambers, September 18 selection from “Devotions for a Deeper Life”
Every moment known and unknown. Things done in secret. I do not think this refers just to shameful things. Our deepest wounds are often kept private. The healing the Lord may give from those wounds is also usually given in private. The deep formation of a disciple usually takes place in private.
But whenever you pray, enter into your inner room and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:6 NIV
Your Father who sees in secret. He hears every whisper or shout of a prayer. Your Father knows you inside and out. He will not require that you share with others what He does in your secret place of prayer. There may however, come a time when you want to shout His work from the rooftops.
Matt Hanns Upsplash
Dietrich Bonhoeffer captured my attention writing in The Cost of Discipleship when he emphasized that we each walk alone with God.
Every man is called separately and must follow alone.
Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship, Discipleship and the Individual
Many of us admire other Christians but we know little or nothing about what it takes for them to be public Christians. We have no clue what happens between them and the Trinity in private. No idea the depth of their wounds or the strength of the healing times the Lord has sent to them. All most often occur in private.
You interact with your Father in a private place, even if you are kneeling in a sanctuary packed with other people. We can share our experiences with others but we are essentially alone with Christ in our walk. Yes, He encourages fellowship with those who are like minded, but in the final analysis we are each alone with Him. He reads our heart. He corrects our course. He convicts us when we go astray. He gives us His righteousness. He suffered and died for our salvation and for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despised the shame and sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 NRSV)
Public, private, the deepest things occur in a private place with your Holy Trinity God.
Steffany Gretzinger in her song “Forever Amen” sums it up for me. “I was made to love You. Let me hear the sound of Your voice…”
I would strongly encourage you that when you hear the sound of His voice, go running to a quiet place. Listen up! For unlike human parents, the Father does not waste His breath. He speaks to us with power, love, meaning and transformative powers.
To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly.
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
During an evening walk with Lucky, when I was way beyond tired, delightfully astonished to find this praying mantis on a neighbor’s car.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4: 4-7 NIV
Present even your fatigue! Keep watching for those treasures in plain sight! Reminders of His care and the glory of His creation.
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
- Robert Frost
Remember the first buds on the trees? I always think they predict the colors the leaves will take in autumn. Autumn is advancing here and the oak leaves out front are turning yellow then rapidly brown and falling to the ground. These deciduous trees should remind us of the impermanence of life. Things sprout, grow, endure, then change. Yet I am often surprised by the changes as if I were not 71 years old. I have seen this happen every single year I have been alive (except when I was in the California SF bay area for a year and a half. The seasons were strange. Daffodils blooming in January is just WRONG for a Midwestern woman.)
Why are we so surprised when we realize our very lives are impermanent? We expect childhood friendships to last forever. Rare occurrence in my experience. Our strength and flexibility wears down and sometimes even vanishes. Oh yes, they mean it when they say “Use it or lose it!”
We age. We change. Our opinions change. Nothing gold can stay. I have been saying they told us after 40 it was patch, patch, patch. I think after 70 we just start to crumble! Yet I am alive and intend to make the most of whatever time I have left.
Been working in that book Everyday is a Poem. This morning my life did not feel like a poem, but then I realized why not write it out? So I did. I surprised myself at what could be mined from a gray morning after a rough night. Will post that another day.
Nothing gold can stay. Rough nights may lead to gray mornings. Sun blasts them both away. These are things we are going THROUGH. We likely will not stay this way forever. If we do, God will give us grace and strength to endure.
Remember Ephesians 3:16-19?
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
NKJV
Praying that you, BEING ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN LOVE – that you may know the love of Christ. In season and out of season. With leaves or no leaves. Be rooted. Grasp hold of His love, the love that is reaching for you in the midst of this transitory life. His unchanging, everlasting love.
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 