Retrospective on 1871

Rosina Richardson to Rosina Jane Stevens. Rosina Richardson lived in Vermont; her daughter and family had moved to Elgin, Minnesota.

East Topsham, Jan 9th, 1872

My dear Children,

Yours bearing date Jan 2nd is before me and I hasten to reply, am sorry you are not feeling well, also sorry for David’s head. We had hoped he had fully recovered from his injuries last spring, hope all are better now.

The year 1871 with its many memorable events has passed as have many, very many before it, to return no more forever. Yet the scenes that have been enacted in the great drama of life will be indelibly imprinted upon our memories, how much of joy or sorrow has been our lot to bear is but known to ourselves. It is a true saying that “each heart knows its own sorrow”. It is well it is so ordered. Why should we reveal to man our griefs and heartaches? Would they alleviate them? Would they truly sympathize with us? Would they mitigate our sorrows? Surely not. Then let us lay our burdens at Jesus’ feet. He has a balm for every wound. He will bind up the brokenhearted. He is the great physician of souls, having suffered Himself he knows how to sympathize with us in our afflictions and He will never leave nor forsake them that put their trust in Him. He is ever ready to bestow upon us every needed blessing. Where upon earth can we find so true a friend both in prosperity and adversity. Earthly friends may cling to us in the sunshine of prosperity but let clouds arise and adverse fortune overtake us and where are they? They have deserted us for those upon whom fortune has been more lavish of his gifts and we are left to struggle alone as best we can. The dearest earthly ties may be severed and those we have trusted most prove false, then let us be thankful we have a Haven of rest to which we can flee amid all the storms of life. Joy and sorrow are ever in our pathway through this vale of tears. Still let us ever be thankful to the Giver of all good for our many blessings and strive to be reconciled to the allotments of pain, in silence bearing our trials with Christian firmness, trusting in God always “who doeth all things well” and if we are faithful we shall in God’s good time moor our bark in the Haven of rest where all is peace and joy ----.

Our healths are not very good this winter. My cough is better “old age is creeping on apace” and we feel its effects sensibly. How I wish I could see you. The time, oh so long since you left home. When, oh when shall I have that blessed privilege? “Echo answers When.” Our friends in this place are usually well. Eva’s health is better. We spent Christmas with them, had a Turkey and Chicken supper, plumb pudding and various other fixings. Eva says he’s very pleasant since that time. So don’t worry your precious life away, but hope for the best.

It has been quite sickly in this section of late. Canker Rash is prevailing and in very many cases proves fatal. Quite a number of children have died. There have been a number of aged people in our town that have died recently. I will mention J F Teague, Amos Farland and John Lang, father to James Lang. A Mrs. Smith, wife of Henry Smith (son of Bud Smith) died last Friday leaving a young babe. She had not been married a year.

We have had very cold weather this fall and winter snow is quite deep. We had a letter from Nat’s folks recently. All well. Julia wrote Henry talked of coming after his children. Said she hoped he would not take Carrie. Mr. Kasson's* folks want her adopted by law so she can inherit their property. They are very fond of her. Why don’t Henry write. I wish he would write oftener.

Give love to them each – I want to see you all more than I can express,

Your mother as ever,

R. R.


Jane, I received our magazine last Tuesday; will send it to you soon. Much love – all write – write often – to all.

Just received a letter from Br. J (Joseph Warren Healy), he sailed for Europe this 6th of this month. He paid all he owed for dear Mother’s board. Please remember us to Mr. Wight (or Mr. Wright’s) folks.

How many changes!

* Carrie was adopted by Mr. & Mrs. Kasson.  I couldn't read the name in this letter, but later found a clipping of the funeral of Mrs. Kasson.  Carrie married Ambrose B Mitchell.  Her sister Cora was not officially adopted but grew up with Nathaniel and Julia Richardson.  Family members always knew where they were and would talk about the two girls periodically but without the details I needed to be able to find them for the longest time!!

Birthday greetings from 1893

Found among the letters kept by my grandmother and great-grandmothers,
a birthday note for Ella Jane Sherwood (nee' Stevens) to her parents. Ella Jane was in her early 40's at this time.

1893
May 1st and 5th
Greetings
To
Dear Father and Mother

I write you a birthday letter
Filled with hope and wish sincere
That with more of peace and gladness
You may each be crowned each year;
That Time, as with him you journey,
May touch you with gentle hand;
That friends may around you gather
A true and steadfast band;
That the love of God will make more smooth
Your way as it westward leads
That no day shall fleeting leave you
Unblessed by some loving deeds:
Deeds that to you from dear ones
Are signs of some loving thought.
Deeds that you do for others

With their double blessings fraught

WORDS TO GROW BY

The following was written for my great-grandmother by her grandmother. It is not dated, but likely written between 1867 when Ella was adopted by David and Rosina (Richardson) Stevens and before 1872 when great-great-great Grandmother Richardson passed away. Rosina Richardson was the daughter of Jane Healy mentioned previously.

I see their smiles and can almost touch their hands, in spite of the more than a dozen decades that separate us in time.

An Acrostic for Ella from her Grandmother [Rosina Healy] Richardson


E – Every word of God is pure.
L – Let thy garments be always white
L – Love your enemies, love those that curse you
A – And let the beauty of God be upon you.


J – Judge not that you be not judged
A – Ask and it shall be given unto you
N – No man can serve two masters
E – Enter ye into the strait gate


S – Seek the Lord and His strength, seek his face ever more
T – Take therefore no thought for tomorrow
E – Enter not into the path of the wicked
V – Verily I say unto you, they have their reward
E – Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit
N – Not unto us O Lord, but unto thy name be glory
S – So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul. When though has found it then there shall be a reward.

R ------

Jane Tabor Healy, wife of Nathaniel Healy

It's fun doing old geneology stuff and looking back in time. Today I was looking at the 1870 census and there she was, the oldest relative for whom I have personal documentation (a letter from her daughter to family talking about her death). It's amazing to look at those old census sheets and see the name of a family member. There she was, 84 years old, with death coming in just a few more months, but as yet unknown to her. She had to have a general idea, however, because she was up there in years. She was my great-great-great-great grandmother, born in 1786. She lived until 1870. Her daughter, my great-great-great grandmother only lived another 19 months after her mother died. My great-great grandmother, her daughter, lived until 1912 and her daughter Ella until 1925. My father was two years old when she passed away. I feel that I am reaching back in time, hearing their voices in the old letters I've come to own. They were strong and hearty women, strong physically and strong in faith in the God who had always proven faithful to them. What a heritage they given me, handing it down over the years and the generations.

God Speed, Kathy Albright

Two days ago an acquaintance of mine (not really a friend, but someone whose company I had enjoyed over the short time I'd known her before she was diagnosed with melanoma) passed away after a year and a half of illness. She will be sorely missed by her family and her friends. She will be missed by those of us who didn't know her well and were inspired by her heart for the Lord and her love for others. It's so sad when someone has to leave us so early in their life. Death is so much easier to accept when a person has had a long, industrious and successful life, well loved and a pillar of their family than when they leave small children and work seemingly only half done.

Fortunately, we can count on God knowing what he's doing. We don't know what the future will hold, but he does. I think of my great grandmother's first husband, drowned attempting to rescue his friend, leaving her and his less than a year old daughter. She, Ella Jane, was so devastated that her in-laws (with whom they had been living) said they had to watch her to make sure she didn't wander off and injure herself. She was beyond grief. But years later she married my great grandfather and my grandmother was born about twelve years after her first husband died. This isn't to say that the death of Elmer Atwater was a blessing, but without it I wouldn't be writing this post. Life is strange and only understood from the end looking back. Do I wish her first husband had died? No. Am I glad she married my great grandfather? Well, yes!

An old testament professor I had in college years ago said that the Old Testament Israelites had a concept that they looked at the past and walked backward into the future (figuratively) because the future was unknown and could not be seen. Jeremy and family, I hope you can see Kathy, your dearly loved, clearly through your tear-filled eyes as you look into the past and that you can keep trusting the Father of Lights as you walk backwards into the coming days. My heart is sad for you. There are no words at a time like this.

Having to Deal with Bull Puckey

Honestly, it's hard to believe what some people will do. Three years ago my daughter signed up for a "black belt club" at a local, and perhaps to remain unnamed Taekwondo school that was named for a person and is now named for a large West Coast city. Anyway, first we had one daughter and later another sign up for classes. The second daughter got hooked by his classy "black belt club" which required a three year contract. Should have realized he was pretty slick then since there was no "out " of the three years. We set it up so that we would pay it off in 18 months rather than the three years. This gave us a somewhat significant discount and got the pain overwith (or so we thought) in a timely manner. We gave her the "fulfill your responsibilities" lecture and off we went.

She attended the classes for about two years. Then she began getting more sporadic. She got so she hated the testing. The teacher is a bit snide and sarcastic when they don't know all the Korean words or faltered on their poomse -- form. Part of the time she deserved the reprimand if not the tone, so we weren't always sympathetic. After all, she does tend to be a bit lazy and it did take some discipline.

Finally the last six months she just refused to go. Fine with us. We'd gotten most of the benefit of it and her interests had changed. And just a couple of months ago, I was going through the file drawer and saw the Taekwondo file and shredded it. After all, we were done with that.

Mid March I was wondering where my bank statement was and was getting a little concerned. Great - probably got delivered to the wrong box. Finally the husband brought it in -- it had been left for several days in the truck. So I got right on balancing the checkbook when what to my wondering eyes should appear but ANOTHER bank deduction for that same old stupid Taekwondo school. It had been 18 months since I'd last seen that and, why, just a month ago I'd been reveling in the fact that that was all done.

So off to the bank I went to discover that not only had he deducted the fee once, but he had deducted it twice. Yes, for some reason he thought he could just mosey right on into my bank account without so much as a by-your-leave. Needless to say, I reversed both of those charges. It takes a lot of gall to just start making deductions within so much as a thought of putting the whole family's finances at risk by us unknowingly bouncing checks all over the city. It makes a difference when you think you have $450 in the bank and in reality you have about 60.

Needless to say I was a bit peeved. I left a message on his voice mail and the next day he "returned my call." Obviously he must do this quite often. No, not one word of "oh, my, how distressing for you - I'm sure we can work this out. Oh no, none of that. Just a humor-laden voice lecturing me about the contract and my personal responsibility. I couldn't believe it. He was like something out of a nightmare. He said he would send a copy of the contract by registered mail. I said I would come and get a copy and that was when he said that if I came over he would call the police because I was threatening him. Obviously he has been coached by a slick lawyer, or if he does this on his own, he has all sorts of potential psychological diagnoses.
I hadn't threatened him. I was talking loudly and quickly and I was definitely mad at him. There was no way I couldn't be mad at him. I mean really, he'd only taken to debiting money out of my account without my knowledge. I always taken that with equinamity - doesn't everyone?

When I told him that I had reveresed those payments, he then had the gall to tell me I would go to collections. But my hackles really got up with his accusation of threatening him. So I wrote out the whole scenario and gave a copy to the police; sent a copy to the city licensing and sent a copy to the better business bureau. I'll be sending follow up letters to each regardless of how this turns out so they can hear "the rest of the story." I wasn't threatening him; I was protecting myself.

I'm talking to an attorney tomorrow. Oh, he did send the contract -- which has a little "renewal" wording at the end (not initialled, not pointed out; just snuck in there without so much as a by-your-leave) and a little letter letting us know how much we have to pay to get out of this little kerfuffle. Maybe I'll get stuck paying him something; maybe not. But I'm making sure that when this is over I'm completely done with him, hense the attorney.

But I'm comforted by several things. All of my friends are now aware of what a creepy businessman he is. Fortunately for him, most of them don't have kids the age of his school. One works in an office of a local high school -- and they all talk; one works in the library at another local high school; another works for a large medical clinic and the last works for Snohomish County health. Regardless of how much money he gets, it won't be worth the ill-will that he has engendered. What goes around comes around -- if he treats people this way, I'm sure that others will treat him that way too. I had another neighbor who had told me he was corrupt, but back then I had defended him. (I'm feeling insecure about my judgement of character).

I'm attempting to maintain a godly attitude through this and I must say it is hard. But I try to keep the long range in mind. We're told to pray for our enemies, and although I didn't think I had any, apparently I do have and this is my opportunity to practice this. Not much fun. But then on the other hand, the Bible also says, "what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul." Obviously he's a long ways from a repentant life. Perhaps in his effort to gain the whole world he is sacrificing his soul. So, I'll try to remember that it's not worth his soul spending eternity in hell and so I'll pray that he sees the error of his ways.

So, what if I'm stuck with a stupid payment to him that could be much better used towards my kids tuition, the carpet my house needs, the new windows that I would like to replace, the car that will need to take the place of my old "standby" that has 210,000 miles on it. This too shall pass. I just hope that it passes quickly. And if he ends up with any of my money, I hope that "it gives him as much peace as we had while he was trying to wrest it from our grasp."

Water Under the Bridge

It's over, the job of almost eleven years, is past. My last day was December 31st. It was almost surreal knowing that not only was I being sent out the door, but that in just a couple more months the whole thing was in the past. New Hope is no more. Yesterday I took cookies to the final five and to my delight was also able to take my chair home with me. Yes, the chair and I have been together for a long time, so we've melded into a comfortable unit. It's almost like old times this morning, sitting in it and typing away. But it's not old times. The door is shut and the keys have been turned in.

It's only fitting that yesterday it began snowing. Sort of like heaven was covering up the ickiness. Burying the body so to speak under the beautiful snow.

It's history now. No use crying over the spilled milk as they say; it can't be rebottled or put to good use. It's water under the bridge. But a travesty it was.

The Reason for the Season

This was one of our best Christmas’. It just sort of fell together, rather than being planned. We originally planned to go to Portland to be with family, which we usually do and enjoy, but this year we were invited to friends for Christmas Eve dinner. This complicated our plans to travel out of town, and due to the girls rarely getting to see their friends, we decided to accept the invitation and adapt our plans.

This left Saturday free for a little more shopping and gift wrapping and the belated discovery that if we weren’t going to go join family for Christmas, that we had to come up with a complete dinner on our own. Hmmmm. So off we went shopping and planning.

Sunday morning we had a short service in the morning with many great carols as a part of the worship. Sunday evening we went back again for a Christmas Eve candlelight communion service which was beautiful and reverent. Directly after that we arrived at our friends home where the evening was full of good food, laughter, games, conversation and relaxing around the fire. Coffees with eggnog and candlelit conversations were the ingredients of wonderful memories. We made a late trip home, helped Santa fill stockings and finally fell gratefully into bed in the early minutes of Christmas morning.

Christmas morning early (but later in the day than a normal working day wake-up call) brought the hurried capture of the pet mouse who had escaped from cage and who brought him/herself to the attention to the dog sleeping in the master bedroom. Fortunately for the kid owner and the mouse, the dog did not make the capture, mom did; and shortly all were back in bed again hoping for a few more coveted hours of sleep.

Later morning brought breakfast, homemade eggnog lattes, the reading of the Christmas story and our traditional reading, by dad, of “The Littlest Angel.” As usual, the parents snuffled through the end of the sweet story. Presents followed and each person had something they were delighted to have received. ( I am trying to stretch out reading my new Tony Hillerman book. . .trying.)

After presents we quickly threw the turkey together and put it in the oven to cook while we went to watch The Nativity, a new movie about the birth of Jesus. We spent nearly two hours getting a glimpse back in time of what life was like for people in Israel two thousand years ago. Wonderful movie. . .ahhh.

After the movie we jumped into hurried preparations to get the rest of dinner caught up with the turkey when we realized our neighbors next door were home alone for the evening. We made an impromptu invitation for them to join us since there is always more than enough food to go around at a holiday dinner and soon were were six at dinner rather than four. More food, laughter and stories and another fun evening swiftly passed.

Tomorrow life goes on as usual with myriad responsibilities and tasks. But today life was filled with one memorable and satisfying hour after another.

Best of all, we had time to remember and enjoy all day the Person who gives all of life meaning – the baby in a manger to whom shepherds ran in amazement to see and wise men crossed vast miles to worship. And tomorrow we wake to Him in our lives just as usual – no longer as a baby, but as the Messiah of God who came once two thousand years ago, and Who really will come again at the end of the age whenever it turns out to be.

If it’s hard to believe He’s coming again, remember that it’s always been amazing that he was here the first time. But he was and the world has never been the same. His love and purposes have never changed and we are glad to welcome Him into our home and lives tomorrow as well as today.

Merry Christmas – God bless us every one!

Face to Face Introduction

Finally I was able to get a photo of my little friend at the feeder. Not really close enough, but with digital zoom, close enough to see almost clearly. He'll let me walk much closer, but not with camera. I was surprised this time that he let me take the photos from the top of the deck. I also discovered that he seems to have found a new little hidey-hole in the perrenial bed. I wasn't sure what would happen when the neighbors cut down their tree. Perhaps he has a little snuggly spot in that corner of our yard. At least we don't have to worry about predators reading the blog and knowing where to look!

Visual Bird Feast

OK, I admit I was a little depressed sounding on my last post. Since then time has gone by. We had a great time in Wisconsin over Thanksgiving, visiting my husbands family. Good visits with family, safe trip, interesting conversations -- things have happened and I'm not feeling so down about the election. Oh, do I think it is a bad thing, yes. Do I think it is quite the end of the world, no. Do I continue to know that God is still in control, yes. Do I wish things were different? Of course.

But now we've had a major snow and my interests have narrowed. My little hummingbird is back again and since we've had three days with freezing temperatures, we're back in business of providing breakfast (and today lunch and dinner) transfers from frozen nectar to warm and drinkable nectar. Today the temperature never got above 26 degrees F, so I had to rotate nectar containers several times.

I really thought about sleeping in this morning, but knew that by 7:15 my little friend would be waiting. And he was. A gorgeous little male Anna's hummingbird. May be the same as last year when we thought the Annas was an immature.

We also have a plethora of other delightful birds. A Hairy or Downy woodpecker (didn't make specific identification), bunches of juncos, chicadees (both black capped and rufous sided), at least a half dozen goldfinches with just a hint of yellow left and house finches as well. Usually they are plentiful at the feeders in the morning and evening. But with the harsh cold, all were busily eating most of the day.

We even went so far today to move the bird bath from the front yard to the back (complete with heater to keep the water from freezing) so the birds would have water. During the summer they drink from the little fountain, but when the temperatures drop they need sources of water.

Such little things, so much pleasure. A veritable visual feast of flitting feathered friends!
(Photo: My little Anna a few inches from his feeder - Canon 610 with digital zoom)

The Beginning of the End

Well, it is the beginning of the end. Not the beginning of the end of the world, I hope, but the beginning of the end of life as we have known it recently. The Democrats, by lying over and over, have taken over Congress.

Lying? Well, the new candidates they put forward were “conservative” democrats. Ha! The likelihood that they will vote conservatively is probably less than zero.

Lying? Because they use the media – who walk in lockstep with them – to make up “news” that puts conservatives in a bad light. All that brouhaha about Rush Limbaugh making fun of Michael J. Fox -- didn’t happen. I heard the whole thing; he never did, but they couldn’t be bothered to correct the record even though they had two weeks to do it.

Lying? Because to listen to the media, President Bush has done NOTHING good in the past four years. Can’t remember a thing. Everything is his fault even Katrina, Rita and the Tsunami.

Lying? Because all the reports from Iraq are only the bad news. No news about all the great things that have happened both militarily and with the infrastructure. No reports that the troops think we need to finish what we started and do it well.

Lying? Because they said that the President was spying domestically when it was international phone numbers to known terrorist organization members.

Lying? Because as long as they thought they might lose, they were screaming about “voter fraud” but the moment it looks like they win, they are silent.

Lying? Because Nancy Pelosi just said about the war in Iraq that “you can define winning any way you want to.” THAT IS A LIE. If we walk away from Iraq and let Al-Qaeda take over there because the government in place doesn’t have the ability to fight the insurgents alone, then we will see what it looks like when there is a huge bloodbath in Iraq followed by terrorism moving throughout the world.

Lying? Because they believe that by wishing that we could get out of Iraq that that is good enough.

Lying? Because they can’t seriously believe their own words.

If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.

What? A Month?? Sheesh. .

What, it's been a month since I posted? Alas, this having to work, while trying to come up with a plan to continue working in another capacity after the first of the year, is a bit challenging. I feel a little manic-depressive (currently called bi-polar - but I actually FEEL manic-depressive and since I don't have a diagnosis, well. . . I'll call it what I want. After all, it's my blog). One minute I'm feeling relatively calm and positive about the future, slightly confident that I can pull off this self-employment stuff. The next observed minute, I'm panicking on the inside and playing minesweeper in an effort to not think about things. Yes, I can do this; no, I won't be able to, I'll crash and burn. . .I'll be a great success, I'll work hard and still have free time, no, I'll never figure this out, wait maybe I'm going about this the wrong way. . .

Nothing wrong with my brain :-)

Ha!

Choosing Your God Wisely (Reprise)

President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, addressed the UN yesterday and ended his speech with the following:

"The Almighty and Merciful God, who is the Creator of the Universe, is also its Lord and Ruler. Justice is His command. He commands His creatures to support one another in Good, virtue and piety, and not in decadence and corruption.
"He commands His creatures to enjoin one another to righteousness and virtue and not to sin and transgression. All Divine prophets from the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) to the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), to the Prophet Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), to the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), have all called humanity to monotheism, justice, brotherhood, love and compassion. Is it not possible to build a better world based on monotheism, justice, love and respect for the rights of human beings, and thereby transform animosities into friendship? "I emphatically declare that today's world, more than ever before, longs for just and righteous people with love for all humanity; and above all longs for the perfect righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace and brotherhood on the planet.
"O, Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirsts for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause. “

This was a prayer in front of the general assembly by a man who doesn’t believe the holocaust happened, but would be quite happy to duplicate it. Ahmadinejad is also a strong believer in the 12th Imam, known as the Mahdi, who was the 12th Shi’ite leader and who disappeared in 941. He is supposed to return at the end of time to bring in a time of Islamic justice. Apparently he is also heralding the end of the world. The disturbing thing about Ahmadinejad is that he firmly believes that since the Mahdi is to bring order out of chaos, and since his job is to pave the way for the Mahdi’s return, that bringing as much chaos along as possible will encourage the Mahdi to return.

Jesus said that in the last days that many would come claiming to be him and that when people said, “he’s out in the desert” to not run out to see. When He returns, Jesus said, everyone would know at the same time.

Truth, lies, truth, lies. Listening to the news will certainly not bring the hearer the answer. Ahmadinejad is praying for the return of his Imam, his hoped-for savior of his world. We too wait for a Savior. The One who didn’t just disappear, but who left the Holy Spirit so that Jesus Himself is always available to us; we are not abandoned. Uhlike the Jesus mentioned in Ahmadinejad prayer, the real Jesus is not just another admirable prophet in a long line, no, He is the Son of God, fully God and fully man. There is no one else like Him anywhere at any time. He is unique. He came because "God so loved the world that He gave His Son."

Jesus also said that the last dayswould be evil before He returned – He compared them to the days of Noah; he said that if the days were not shortened no flesh would be saved; He asked, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?, and most sobering to me, He said, “because of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold.” I find that last sobering, because sometimes I, because of the constant evil in the world, get tired of caring about whether or not people end up in heaven or hell. Jesus doesn't ask us to bring chaos so He will come, He asks us to share the good news of the gospel before the end finally arrives, to "seek the lost."

Ahmadinejad and I are not looking for the same Messiah. It is easy to read the words of his closing prayer and think that, the 12th Imam is just another representation of the Jewish Messiah, of the Christian Jesus. But it’s not the same. The 12th Imam is a completely different thing, a belief in someone, but not in Jesus Christ. They can not both be true. On the other hand, Jesus and the Jewish Messiah can be the same; He only needs to be recognized.

In the meantime, I need to constantly be on guard to not have my love for the lost “grow cold” and need to have a heart of compassion (although not acceptance) for Ahmadinejad and all like him who believe in a god and a messenger of that god,who is not the Truth.

We are being brought to a place in our world where we have to evaluate and decide. What religion is the truth? What God are we going to follow? It matters.

My Good Neighbors

Three years ago we moved here to our little culdesac and thought that we were just getting a little nicer house (3 bathrooms instead of 1 - yes!) in a little quieter neighborhood. But what we got was dramatically more than that. In our fast-paced, hectic world, we found a great little neighborhood with neighbors that get together for family nights, barbeques, Saturday morning coffee and a helping hand.

I am always thankful for our welcoming little corner of the world. Lots of excitement over the short years. We encourage each other on our deck, floor, carpet remodel projects, watched with great interest the furious speed at which two families redecorated with TLC Trading Spaces.
This summer we spent a week camping together in a mini-culdesac out in the San Juan Islands.

What more does a person need more than the care of God, a loving family, a steaming cup of coffee, a good book, a hot bath and the best set of neighbors in the world. Love Ya L, M, T and J!

The Price of a Lie

This week we saw a movie called Beyond the Gates of Splendor which was about the five missionaries who died attempting to contact the Auca Indians of Equador five decades ago. The movie was basically a documentary of that time and had interviews of the wives of the men who were speared to death as well as their children and colleagues. Those wives and colleagues had later successfully continued the work of sharing the love of Jesus with the Auca's begun by their husband and friends. It was an amazing story but what struck me the most was that the reason they were all speared to death was because one of the first three people they encountered, in order to avoid blame for his own irresponsibility, told the rest of the tribe that the missionaries had come to kill them. The death of the five men, five men with families and children of their own, was all because of one small lie.

One little lie. No wonder one of the ten most important rules for life is "Thou shalt not bear false witness." Satan is described in the Bible as the "Father of Lies." His one lie so many years ago resulted in the deaths of five men who were completely sold out for God. But in spite of that attempted intervention, the purposes of God were still achieved. Achieved because the wives and one sister refused to be detered from the purposes they shared with their husbands and continued to share the gospel with the Aucas. The Auca's slowly became Christians and gave up killing each other and killing those tribes around them. They turned away from hate and anger and were saved from killing each other off completely (not to mention a life of sin and an eternity without knowledge of God).

What a blessing that God can make good out of anything, even the schemes of Satan. Satan is the Father of Lies. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. What a magnificent contrast!

Newly Lost Hope

All of a sudden, one morning, two months ago, our director at work notified us that our work was at an end. The entire company will be gone by the first part of next year. One minute we were working hard, looking forward to each work day and working together to succeed. We had reorganized, had felt the acceleration into the brightening future. The next minute all effort was history; the wind was gone from the sails, the engine dead, the fire extinguished. All that is left is the fading momentum as we slowly settle into the doldrums from which we shall not be saved. A saving breeze will not come with the morning sun. Our Hope is gone; the laughter of children that might have touched our lives sails on to another place.

Individually we shall arise and move on, dorries of individual rescue will reach us, one by one, taking us off to new places and new hopes and dreams. Our beloved corporate entity will forever lie in dusty death, visited by us in dreams and in flickers of nostalgia laced memories.

Crash Effect

I didn't realize it had been so long since I had written here until I finally got back to the site! June - and now it's August. That's what happens when your computer hard drive turns into dust, so to speak. It's nice to be back up and running with internet and email access. Granted, I could have posted from my work computer, but I find writing relaxing and don't like a time limit. Like those "wee hours of the morning" the best.

Thanks to our friend Jim who saved all our old documents, photos, i-tunes, etc. Its great to have competent friends in a time of need. We said our thanks through an Ethiopian dinner and a good time was had by all!

Choosing Your God Wisely

On a Saturday in May I was driving a bit of a distance and came across a radio show along the lines of Art Bell’s late night program. I’ve been thinking about this amazing experience ever since. There was a man being interviewed who proclaimed forcefully that we have been visited by aliens from space. He labored over the fact that this is all well-known throughout the higher echelons of government and it has all been hidden from the American public. He talked about the bodies of aliens that our government has captured alive and that are still, today, stored in secret. He even asserted that everyone in the very highest levels of government know the following specifics:

First, they have proof that aliens exist and they have visited earth.
Secondly, they know that aliens have impacted modern inventions and are responsible for our modern technology.
Third, they know that many people have been captured by aliens and have had a variety of painful experiments inflicted upon them.
Fourth, aliens are responsible for many of the “missing persons” throughout the country.
Fifth, President Eisenhower knew there was no God, only aliens, but in an effort to keep the illusion of God and to keep the population compliant and not panicked, he made it a point to advocate for “In God We Trust” to be added to currency and “Under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.

As I drove along, I was impressed with his passion and his confidence. He obviously believed what he was saying. He was convinced, or at least was convincing, of the truth of his words. While driving along, I felt a combination of both incredulousness and horror. Could this be true? Could he be telling the truth? I found myself looking at the three options that CS Lewis and others have used over the years when looking claims made by speakers. Either the speaker was telling the truth, was lying or was deluded. There really aren’t any other options.

There this man was, loudly asserting the presence and impact of aliens on planet earth. He was asserting to anyone who would listen that what he had to say was the truth.

Is he telling the truth? Has he seen these with his own eyes while awake and lucid? Is he one of a few lonely voices trying to get the truth out to us?

Or is he lying? Does he know for a fact that this is not true and says it because it gives him popularity and his fifteen minutes of fame? Does he enjoy horrifying and frightening people with visions of lying under the knife of alien scientist who views us as nothing but another specimen? Is he serious on the outside and laughing on the inside?

Or is he a crazy person who has delusions? Does he have visions in his head and thinks that they are reality? Is he schizophrenic? Is he a person who has visions and dreams and can’t separate them from reality?

Then as I continued driving along, I looked at Mount Rainier and the slanting rays of the afternoon sun lighting up the snow. I thought of my little hummingbird coming to my feeder throughout the winter, looking for his daily food. I thought of my dog and cats, the roses and cosmos growing merrily, and the tulips recently come and gone for another year. I thought about coffee and chocolate, lounging in the sun or swimming in the pool. I remembered snuggling on the couch with husband and kids, watching Apollo 13. I considered Jesus’ words that he “came to give us life abundantly.” He talked about God caring for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Jesus said, “Come unto me you who are burdened and weary and you’ll find rest for your souls.” David wrote in Psalms, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

I considered the speakers alien gods. Gods of fear and terror. Gods who come to inflict fear and pain, gods who come to feed off of mankind and to take people away in the dead of night. Gods to run away from and escape if at all possible. His aliens sound more like the demons of the spiritual world. They have no compunction about lying or leading people astray. Demons come to harm, kill and destroy. They aren’t aliens, but are created spiritual being alienated from the Creator of the Universe.

Jesus has maintained his credibility much longer than this speaker, however well intentioned he may have been. One of them is telling the truth about God, one is lying or is delusional. Jesus has been changing lives for the good for centuries now. The speaker's gods bring destruction and fear. The speaker can have his reality and his gods; I’ll keep the One who said, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” I will choose my God carefully.

Glorious Summer Morning

What an absolute glorious morning. The sky is blue with not a cloud in sight, light breeze and the sounds of birds chirping merrily. We have the usual morning rush of chickadees and finches at the feeders; it’s too late in the year for the goldfinches any longer. The house sparrows are busily helping the fledgling get better at flying and two swallows are taking turns feeding their hungry brood. The swallows have refused the swallow box two years in a row, and have again opted for the vent holes in the attic. (But we love them, so what are we to do. We just won’t look inside; ignorance is bliss.)

But the best thing of the morning is absolutely new. The hummingbirds haven’t been coming to the feeders at all in weeks. Too many flowers; sugar water is pretty lame as an alternative to nectar. But for the first time today the excitement was at the fountain. [The fountain is a little water feature we purchased three years ago when Lucas Statuary was moving location and putting their wares on sale. It has a little stone pineapple on top (where the water emerges) and two small bowls where water drips each into the one below and finally the larger pool at the bottom.] This morning the hummingbirds were drinking from and bathing in the top level of this feature. Even more fun, the adults would perch on the top of the pineapple and flutter in the cascading water. Two adults were having territorial fights over this, but the winning adult would let what appeared to be a juvenile sit nearby. The blur here in the photo is one of them busily bathing and trying to keep from being washed away. What a glorious morning!

Howling Dog Point Lighthouse

On my recent trip to Japan I was able to visit the lighthouse at Howling Dog Point (although in Japanese it is apparently Dog Howling Point). Inubousaki Lighthouse is the name in Japanese. Ee-new-bow(ribbon type bow)-saw-key Say it fast and you have it - or so I was told.

What a treat for a very part-time keeper to get to visit a lighthouse a third or so of the way around the world. There are a variety of possible legends about why it is Howling Dog Point. One being that a Samurai was killed in Kyoto (across the country) and the dog could be heard howling all the way from this point. A second that the samurai left the dog to go to war and the dog could be heard howling from the sadness of being left behind. My least favorite, and apparently the one proclaimed on the sign is that the dog was demon possessed and the Samurai tied him and left him there to be rid of him. Being a dog lover as well as a lighthouse aficionado, the last legend is a bit of a downer. Another likely scenario is because of a rock that looks a bit dog shaped with “ears” standing up and hence the name of the point.

This lighthouse was built in 1874. We got to hike the 99 stairs to the top to look at the view out to Sea – and there it was, the wide blue ocean with home sweet home somewhere way beyond the view. The tower was very narrow at the top and those of us going up had to lean into the center of the tower and suck in our stomachs to let those heading downward past. There were little signs about each quarter of the way up; the first three encouraged us (if we could read it) that we could make the climb and the last congratulated us on a hike well done.

At the top we could also see above our heads the huge Fresnel lens ready at sunset to flash a warning to ships at sea. Because of the crystals there was a large curtain that protected the lens during the day from the rays of the sun. But on the shadowed side, the lens could be seen although it wouldn’t flash until night.
A port not far north from this lighthouse is a major fishing port for Japan. For the past century and a third, the light has warned sailors of approaching dangers warmed their hearts with its welcoming glow.