K is for Kellogg Patriotism

I absolutely love Veteran's Day, and paying tribute to our Veterans.

We are fortunate in the Silver Valley to have many opportunities to honor the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country.

Today I attended the Veteran's Day assemblies at both Kellogg Middle School and Kellogg High School. Both were very well done, and made me proud to be on staff at both these schools, and have daughters who were a part of the both assemblies.

At KMS, Kiki Aru was part of the band that played a beautiful patriotic melody. The main speaker was a man named Bill White who served in the Vietnam War. He shared how proud he was to serve his country, but that coming home was very hard, because it wasn't a very welcoming homecoming.

At KHS, Z2 played in the band, and also sang in the Select Choir. Bob McKay spoke about the new Veteran's Memorial in Kellogg, and ways Veterans are involved in the community.

As part of the KHS assembly, four Boy Scouts performed the flag folding ceremony. This ceremony explains what each of the 13 folds of the flag means, when a flag is presented to a deceased servicemen's family, or a policeman or fireman.

Here is what the Boy Scouts shared today during the assembly:

1. The first fold of our flag is a symbol of life.
2. The second fold is a symbol of our belief in the eternal life.
3. The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veteran departing our ranks who gave a portion of life for the defense of our country to attain a peace throughout the world.
4. The fourth fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in times of war for His divine guidance.
5. The fifth fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, "Our country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong."
6. The sixth fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that we pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
7. The seventh fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our country and our flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our republic.
8. The eighth fold is a tribute to the one who entered in to the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day, and to honor mother, for whom it flies on mother's day.
9. The ninth fold is a tribute to womanhood; for it has been through their faith, love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great have been molded.
10. The tenth fold is a tribute to father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since they were first born.
11. The eleventh fold, in the eyes of a Hebrew citizen, represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon, and glorifies, in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
12. The twelfth fold, in the eyes of a Christian citizen, represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost.

When the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost, reminding us of our national motto, "In God we Trust."

(Wait for the Honor Guard or Flag Detail to inspect the flag--after the inspection, resume reading.)

After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington and the sailors and marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us the rights, privileges, and freedoms we enjoy today.

Also as part of the KHS assembly, each veteran was asked to come up to the podium, say their name, what branch of the service they served in, and how long they served. What a stirring moment to watch men I have seen my whole life get up and share how they served their country to preserve our freedoms. Men like John Yergler, Jack Etherton, Louis Groves, Mike Groves, Jim Lewis and Joe Peak.

Then PKR and I sang a Patriotic Medley at the Wallace Elks tonight, as part of a short program they did to honor the veterans. It was a wonderful tribute.

At each of the Veteran's Day ceremonies, I was also impressed with the KHS JrROTC students who presented the flag. They do such a nice job, and my heart wells with pride as I watch these young men and women take their job of presenting the colors so seriously.

Thank you, Veterans, for your sacrifice to this wonderful country in which we live.

J is for James Taylor

Yes, I am a big James Taylor fan, and I am very thankful for his music in my life.

There is something about his music that touches me, and I love listening to his songs.

I was very excited to hear about an upcoming tour with James Taylor and Carole King. I hope they get close, because that is a concert I would not want to miss!!

Here is one of the reasons why I am thankful for the music of James Taylor.

I is for "I Do! I Do!"

I am thankful that PKR and I get to perform in the two person musical "I Do! I Do!" in January at the Sixth Street Theater.

I am thankful that we get the opportunity to use our love of performing to help people in the Silver Valley.

We have chosen three different Silver Valley charities to donate some of the proceeds to from the performances.

Below is a letter from our board president, Vern Hanson, about how people can help become royalty sponsors for the show, so we have more money to donate to charities.

November 2009

Dear Sixth Street Fans—

In January, we will be presenting a two person musical titled “I Do! I Do!”. This show is special and unique because it will give our theater an opportunity to give back to the community by donating part of each weekend’s proceeds to three different Silver Valley Charities, The Shoshone Community Health Clinic, Meals on Wheels and The Women’s Resource Center.

Because we would like to donate a majority of our proceeds to the charities, we would like royalty sponsors to cover the cost of presenting the show each performance. It costs $140 in royalty fees to present “I Do! I Do!” each night. Would you be willing to help cover the cost of one night’s royalty payment, or a partial royalty payment, in order to help us give more back to our community?

“I Do! I Do!” is a musical about a marriage, and the many events happening as a married couple. The show features husband and wife team Paul and Carol Roberts. It will be directed by Carrie Stuart-Parks, and the music will be under the direction of Joy Persoon.

We hope you take this opportunity to help us with this endeavor by becoming a royalty sponsor for this production. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Vern Hanson, Sixth Street Theater Board President

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would be willing to donate: _____$25 _____$50 _____$100

Full Royalty Sponsorship _____$140

Please make checks to Sixth Street Theater and drop your check at the ticket desk, or mail donation to:

Sixth Street Theater, Box 1243, Wallace, Idaho 83873

(PLEASE INDICATE ROYALTY PAYMENT ON THE SUBJECT LINE)

What a wonderful opportunity to give back to our precious Silver Valley community. I am thankful for this opportunity!!

H is for History

I am thankful for learning about History.

Various kinds of history.

Such as local Silver Valley history.

Since moving back here in 2000, I have become fascinated with the local history of this area. I think what really got me going on the history is realizing what a relatively "young" area this is when I think that Noah Kellogg discovered the Bunker Hill mine in 1885, and my Dad was born in Wardner in 1930, only 40 years after the Bunker Hill mine was discovered. I think I was blown away when I made this discovery.

I also like learning about the history of our country. Traveling to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, and seeing some of the historical sites really helps you appreciate the sacrifice people made for our country.

Today in our Adult Sunday School class, we are starting a series on the history of the Christian Church, and how the church was influenced by culture throughout the ages. It begins with the Roman Age, then today we talked about The Middle Ages. We will then go into the following times:

The Renaissance, The Reformation, The Revolutionary Age, The Scientific Age, The Age of Non-Reason, The Age of Fragmentation, then the Age of Personal Peace and Affluence.

It will be interesting to see what we learn from these lessons.

Vandal Football Memories

Raymond Pert gave us this Sibling Assignment:


The surprising, shocking, soaring Idaho Vandals are off to a 7-2 start and, for me, it stirs memories of Vandal football in the late 60's through the early 80's.

How about you? Do you have a story to tell about a particular Vandal game and what happened that is memorable to you, either on or off the field?

Write it!

Soon IEG and Raymond Pert will have their posts here and here.

As I have written in the past, football has never really been my game. I never really understood, so have never grown to really appreciate and enjoy watching the sport.

But there are some moments during my college years at U of I that I do remember some things about the college football experience.

I was in the U of I Marching Band my freshman and sophomore years, which pretty much forced me to attend the U of I football games those two years.

Unfortunately, many of my memories involve a particular song we played during halftime (such as Ravel's Bolero), or reminders of the musty smelling Kibbie Dome when they were having roof problems, and you would get dripped on while practicing Marching Band in the Kibbie Dome.

As a sophomore in the U of I Marching Band, an exciting part was traveling to Seattle and getting to march at a Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburg Steelers football game. I still remember being only feet from Jim Zorn, and watching Mean Joe Green and Terry Bradshaw jog around the field before the game began. That was pretty exciting.

Another Vandal Football rememberance was sitting with PKR at one of the games, and having him try ( a big emphasis on TRY) to explain to me the nuances of the game. He would tell me what play was about the happen, tell me to watch certain players, and he could predict where they would be going (how could he do that?), but he might as well have been explaining some mathematical theory to me. I was totally clueless.

But the Vandals did have a successful year in 1982, and I remember because they played Eastern Kentucky, and their quarterback's name was Tuck Woolum. He must be some relation, because Woolum isn't the most common name on the planet. So I do remember that little piece of Vandal trivia.

I really haven't been that interested in Vandal football since college, until they started winning this year. I may even take some time to follow the BSU/Vandal game next weekend. What I wouldn't do to have the Vandals beat the Broncos.

Now that would be sweet!!

Finding God's Country Everywhere I've Lived

Time to get caught up on Sibling Assignments. A couple of weeks ago, IEG gave us this assignment:

"What do you consider 'God's Country' and why?"

Raymond Pert's is here and IEG's here.

I am glad I have lived a few different places in this great country of ours, and have managed to consider each place God's Country.

My first 18 years were spent living in the Silver Valley of northern Idaho. The Silver Valley from 1963-1981 was a lot different looking than the one of right now, but it was my home, and beautiful just the same.



Even though Kellogg's hillsides were bare of trees, living in Kellogg was a wonderful experience, and I'm glad I grew up here. You felt safe. People looked out for one another. You started kindergarten with about 25 kids, and most of them graduated from high school with you. You established traditions. And, I didn't know much else besides living in Kellogg. We didn't venture far from the valley while I was growing up. Sometimes to Spokane, and a once a summer trip to Orofino. Other than that, we stayed in Kellogg. Even traveling 15 miles to Wallace was a big deal to my folks.

But I longed for adventure. I liked going new places, and seeing new things.



My second home was in Moscow, Idaho, while I attended the University of Idaho. The beautiful rolling hills of the Palouse, and the U of I campus had a beauty all their own. The years at college were foundational as I grew closer in my relationship with God, and trying to figure out who I was, which really made it God's Country for me.


One summer, I lived in California. I worked at the International Headquarters for Campus Crusade for Christ, and lived at Arrowhead Springs, and worked in San Bernadino. This again was God's Country, because of the work I did, helping spread the "Good News" in all that I did that summer. I found beauty in the desert, in crowded Los Angeles, and Disneyland. I found God everywhere that summer, and again grew closer to Him. I also realized that summer that I loved PKR, and he was the man I wanted to marry and spend the rest of my life with. I attended the 1984 Summer Olympics that while in Los Angeles, and enjoyed watching the USA Basketball team play (Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, among others). I still keep in touch with some of the people I lived with that summer.

After college, my first job was in Glendive, Montana. My dad always said Glendive wasn't the end of the world, but you could see it from there. I lived in Glendive from 1985 to 1991. While we lived there, eastern Montana was experiencing a drought. This is a problem when the type of farming you did was dry land farming...no irrigation.

But you found a tough and genuine breed of people in Eastern Montana. Those farmers and ranchers taught us plenty about trusting and having faith in God and many of the things we learned in the Glendive's Evangelical Church of North America have been the foundation for our Christian faith throughout the years.

One area that really grew on us while living in Glendive, and we came to appreciate were the "Badlands", and Makoshika State Park, located in Glendive. It had a very particular beauty all its' own, and we absolutely loved it.
After Montana, we moved to Meridian, Idaho, outside of Boise. The Treasure Valley again brought us growth in our relationship with God. We grew a lot in our faith and trust and understanding of God, and learned alot while in Meridian. But then, it was time to return to my roots.

In 2000, we returned to Kellogg. And the Kellogg of 2000 looked much different from the Kellogg of 1981, when I had lived here permanently that last time. The hills were now filled with the trees that were planted on the hillsides while I was in high school. The wetlands were emerging. There was no more smelter smoke. But God was still here, and that is because the spirit of the people remained the same. I still had many connections to people in this valley, and this is where a part of my heart and soul had remained all these years. And now I continue to enjoy life here in God's Country, the Silver Valley, the place I have always considered home.

G is for Garden

I love having a yard where I can plant beautiful plants and flowers and enjoy them year round.

There is something so real about getting your hands plunged into the earth, and planting seeds or bulbs.



And the accomplishment when those seeds sprout and become plants, and provide food, or beautful flowers to enjoy.

I am so thankful for my garden.

Gardening for me is one of my creative outlets. It is fun to see how I can arrange plants and flowers to be appealing to the eyes.

It is also therapy. I love spending time alone in the garden, planting, weeding, harvesting, and letting my mind wander and thinking of all kinds of things.


Gardening allows me to pray. There is an old hymn titled "In the Garden". It was actually one of my Grandma West's favorite hymns. (I was fortunate to inheritate the "gardening gene" from both of my wonderful grandmothers).

The words of the hymn go like this:

In The Garden

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The son of God discloses

And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

He speaks and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet that the birds hush their singing
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing

And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

I found a video of Brad Paisley singing this song. It is a beautiful rendition. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

F is for Friendship

Here I am with my best friend from college at our reunion last summer.

I am very thankful for the friends in my life.

Today I had a lunch date with a friend, and we spent four hours catching up.

Another friend has been trying to call me for about a week to talk, but we can't seem to connect. But I know soon we will talk.

Some I gather together with once a month to talk about books.

Some I see only when I visit them in their hometown.

I have different levels of friends, but each are important to me.

Sometimes I seclude myself from my friends. I don't really mean to, but I do. But I realize that isn't a good thing. I need my friends. They have been put into my life for a variety of reasons.

I am so thankful for my friends.

E is for Early

I love being up early in the morning, when the house is quiet, and I can just sit and think and meditate. I am thankful for this quiet time in the morning.

I am usually an early riser. I get up around 5:15 a.m. to be ready for my walk with NR every morning.

I like that time, when there is a hush over the house, the dogs and cats are curled up sleeping somewhere in my vicinity, and I can read the paper, read the Bible, pray and start out my day.

I like making a cup of my double bergamot earl grey tea in the mornings, with a little bit of honey, and relax and start my day off on a good note.

Some days don't allow this early morning luxury. I have a meeting, or have to be out the door earlier than expected. But the days I can have that quiet time, it is what I need to start my day off right.

²¹ Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

²⁴ I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

²⁵ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;

²⁶ it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3: 21-26