Star Wars

Yesterday and today I watched the original Star Wars movies.  Well, the originals with modifications.

I had been wanting to watch all three of the first movies, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi for some time.  I found all our three VHS tapes, (yes, believe it or not, we still use VHS tapes), and the tracking was off on our VHS player.  So I promptly do what anyone does who wants instant gratification, I found a DVD set on Amazon, and had it shipped to me.

So yesterday I watched the first two of this series, and today I watched the final one.  That is the best way to watch them...one right after the other.

All I can say is, George Lucas is a genius.

I remember the first time I watched Star Wars.  I was in high school I think and was at the Drive-In movie in Smelterville.  Probably not the best place to watch this kind of movie.  I didn't get one thing about this movie.

I later watched it again, and it made more sense.  Then, as the following movies came out, they became some of my favorites.

Besides some of the special effects, Star Wars does not seem dated to me at all.  I love how you fall in love with the characters, even the muppet characters.  Yoda, the Ewoks, Chewbaka the Wookie.....they were all great characters.

Then you have slimey Jabba the Hutt, and various other low life aliens that are introduced in the bar seen at the beginning in the first movie.

And the fondness you feel toward the droids, R2D2 and C3PO.

Besides the characters, it is a good story.  Good vs. evil.  Action. Love. Romance. Surprises.  It is all there.

Now, there were a few modifications in the DVD series from the original.  I hadn't watched them in a while, so I wasn't sure if I wasn't remembering things, or if things had been changed.  But the end of the third movie was very obviously changed, as well as some other things in the other two episodes.

When something has been around as long as Star Wars has, and new generations of kids are enjoying it as much as their parents did when they were younger, you know you have something good.

Now I need to go back and watch the first three episodes. Then I'll be ready for the Episode VII coming out in 2015.

Time to check out amazon.com again!!

 

Dad

Today is Father's Day.

I'm really missing my dad today.

He died in 1996, at the age of 65.

That is too young to die.

I can't believe he has been gone 18 years. 

Today I don't think I have been grieving the loss of Dad, but instead the grieving of things I wish I could have done with Dad.

Or talked to him about.

Or shared with him.

He would have been so proud of his granddaughters, and the beautiful women they have become.

It would have been nice to have lived in the same town as he did.

I was over at my mom's house the other day cleaning the upstairs, and I came across one of Dad's old scrapbooks he had put together in high school.  I had never seen this scrapbook before.  There were things written in this scrapbook that reflected his grief of having to leave Kellogg and move to Spokane, Washington while in high school.

Maybe that is what triggered this sadness, this loss, this grief I am feeling.

As I have been scrolling through Facebook posts of people sharing accolades about their fathers, I silently tell them to cherish every moment they have with their fathers, and don't take the time they have with their dads for granted.

Because one day, they could be gone.

One day, you are told your dad has cancer, and he probably only has one month to live.

And one month later, he is gone.

Maybe I'm feeling extra sad this Father's Day, because one of dad's closest friends passed away this past week.

Maybe I'm feeling extra sad this Father's Day, because my brother and his wife are getting ready to move to the east coast.

Maybe I'm feeling extra sad because my life is changing dramatically this year, and, though excited about the changes, there is also some loss that goes along with these changes.

Usually Father's Day doesn't hit me like this....but this year it did.

And it is okay.  It is okay to mourn and grieve the loss of time with a loved one.

Dealing with death and loss is a part of life.  But that doesn't mean it is easy, or that it is meant to be easy.

And I'm glad I still feel loss after 18 years.

Because that shows me that my daddy was someone special to me.  And even after all this time, I can still shed a tear and mourn his loss.

I love you Daddy.

Pets

You could call me an animal person.

I have always loved dogs, cats, fish, rats, birds, hamsters.  We had a variety of pets growing up, and I loved each and every one of them.

When I was really little, we had a cat named Peter Twinkletoes, and a dog named Cleo.  We lived close to a busy street in Kellogg, and both eventually found their demise by being run over by a car.  We never had any more dogs or cats while I was growing up.

But I did get to take care of the various animals my mom would bring home from school that were her classroom pets.  In the summer an aquarium full of guppies would arrive home for summer break, or seahorses (before they were illegal), parakeets, a white rat (which was not my mom's, it was one of the other teacher's pets in her building.  She asked me to take care of it one summer, and I got to keep it.)  I think there was a hamster once, too.  I seem to recall some pet turtles as well.

So when I first moved out on my own out of college, and had my own apartment, I adopted two cats.  I think I would have been very lonely without these cats.  Their names were Lynx and Jessie.  I still remember one particularly hard day when I was living 12 hours away from my family and my fiancé and missing them all very much, and crying on the couch in my living room, and Jessie coming to comfort me.

I am often curious why some people are "animal" people, and others are not.  I could not imagine my life without dogs or cats.  But there are others who could care less, and do not consider themselves animal people at all.

Fortunately my husband was also an animal person.  He also had a pet rat growing up, as well as a pet cat.  So he was all excited when I adopted the two cats the year before we got married.  Then we eventually had more cats, and finally got to the point of getting our first dog, then ended up with two more.

Our children are all animal people, too.  They have had a variety of pets as well, including gerbils, guinea pigs, frogs, fish and dogs. 

Right now we have four cats, Cozomo, T.C., Toby and Benjamin, and two Pomeranians dogs, Sadie and Juliet.  Sadie is Molly's dog, and Juliet is Zoe's dog.

Today we were at a bookstore in Coeur d'Alene killing time between lunch and seeing a movie.  I found this Dog Encyclopedia, and it was fun looking at all the different kinds of dog breeds.  We lost our Keeshond Peaches last fall, so occasionally replacing her with another kind of dog comes up.  We have not come to a consensus yet on when we will get a new dog, and, when we do, what kind of dog will it be. 

We love our pets.  Yes, we are "those" kind of pet owners who believe their pets are a part of their family.

Yes, we are "those" kind of pet owners who speak in different voices for each of their pets, and often carry on conversations with their pets.

It is just a part of who we are, and what we do.

If you aren't an animal person, I'm not sure you would understand....or even really care to want to.

The Things That Shape Us

To celebrate Friday the 13th, a Full Moon and Solar Flares.....I had a gathering of women in my home tonight.

We are bound together by a cord of where we began our life.

We all started our lives in the Silver Valley of North Idaho, in the shadow of the Bunker Hill Company.  "Uncle Bunker" was a big influence on our lives growing up, and the people in our families.  Because this company had such a big presence in our lives, and helped shape us into who we are today.

As we reach the half-century mark in our lives, we realize what an incredible bond we have because of our shared lives growing up with each other, in the same place, at the same time.

Our paths were typical of many women.  After graduation from high school, we scattered to different colleges, or, even if we were at the same college, our path diverged.  Soon we saw friends walking down the aisle.  Soon we saw friends becoming parents.

Then geography took over as well.  I moved to Montana.  Some stayed in the Silver Valley.  Others ventured farther, to Washington, Alaska, Wisconsin, other parts of Idaho and beyond.

We had a season of establishing our lives, our careers, our families.

Then, about 14 years ago, we started connecting again.  On a yearly basis.  Each Christmas, we would gather to visit, share gifts, and get caught up on our lives.  It was always a time I looked forward to each year.  I rarely, if ever, missed one of these get-togethers.

This year, as our lives are again transitioning, with our children getting older, and many of us becoming "empty nesters", we are now gathering together on a monthly basis.  And these monthly times together are not just to visit and catch up, (even though that happens, too).  These are times of meaningful dialogue and sharing about who we really are, and who are the women we have become throughout the years.  We have reverted back to "Show and Tell" and "Storytime"....but at a much more adult and personal level.

The beauty of doing something like this with this group of women, is we have been together in one way or another throughout most of the journey.  Even though we may have been separated through time or distance, we have all contributed and been a part of each other's journey.

We started off the year making "Vision Boards".  We wrote and shared lists of what sophistication and success means to us.  We took a look at different areas of our lives, and determined how satisfied we were with those areas at this part in our lives.

Yes, we have an assignment, or "homework" each time we get together.  Last night our assignment was this: 

"Try this:  Set aside one hour's writing time.  You may with to take yourself to neutral territory , a café or coffee shop. Once there, settle in to write and to describe yourself as you would a literary character, in the third person.  Not "I am fifty-four years old" but "She is fifty-four years old."  Describe your looks, your attitudes, your perceptions.  Try to draw a clear portrait of yourself, filled with telling details.  In other words, pay attention to how you are and how you are doing."

(Right now we are getting our assignments from a book by Julia Cameron called "The Sound of Paper: Starting from Scratch".)

It is hard to describe how incredible it is to be gathered around a table with women you love, and have loved for a majority of your life, and have them share their view of themselves.  Then to get positive encouragement and feedback from those gathered around the table.  And to be reminded again and again and again what wonderful, complex, kind, loving and fabulous women I have in my life.  Women who have gone through trials and tribulations, joys and triumphs, and continue to go through trials and tribulations, joys and triumphs, but have used these moments, whether good or bad, to shape them into the people they are today.

Because who we are today is a culmination of the things along our journey, and how we have reacted to them.  And each of us have, in one way or another, become intertwined with each other, and are now sharing our separate journeys and helping each other on the way to continue the shaping process.

I was a bit overwhelmed last night as I shared my own story, and listened to others stories.
And realized that we need one another.  We need this interaction.  And obviously everyone who has come together needs it as well, because it is becoming a priority in our monthly lives to gather together.

I showed a video to my students recently, a TED Talk by Scott Dinsmore who started the website "Live Your Legend", and he shared his story about how his business got started.  Part of his success he credits to surrounding himself with people who told him he could do it, and who motivated and told him to believe the impossible.  One of the statements on his website says:

And make sure to choose your friends carefully. They dictate your potential.

Right now I am surrounding myself with these women who encourage and push me.  They love me for who I am.  They cheer me on, even if they don't realize they are cheering me on.

Recently I sent an email to one of these women, and was able to make this statement:

"I feel like I am on the edge of something great, and this summer is the preparation I need to take a big jump.  I'm just not sure what exactly I'm am jumping in to....but that is what makes the process so fun!"

And I really don't think I would have come to the place I am right now without these women. 

Because they have helped shape me.  Along with all the other things in my life, they have helped shape me. They have been a part of the process.

And I look forward to our time together as we continue to help shape, love and encourage one another.

Because it is a precious and wonderful gift.

Here are some of the women who have helped shape me over the years.  Later in the evening, we brought another woman into our group through the beauty of technology.  We Skyped with one of our lifelong friends who now lives in Germany, and who recently had a birthday.  So we all wished her a Happy Birthday, and spent about two hours, as our day ended, and her day began, getting caught up with her. 

The Doxology

Growing up in church, we used to sing "The Doxology".

We have recently resurrected this song at our church, and sing it after we to the offering.

These are the words:

"Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow;

 

Praise Him all Creatures Here Below;

 

Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host;

 

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

 

 

Such a simple song, but it shares so many wonderful things.

 

 

It tells us to Praise God, because of all the blessings that flow from Him.  Have you taken some time today to focus on the blessings in your life?  It is a great thing to do each day.  Often we can just focus in on the negative.  But to train our brain to instead go to the positive blessings in our day lifts our spirits, and helps us realize what incredible things are going on in our lives. 

 

Today, my blessings included time with my family, time with a special friend who challenges me to reach beyond the norm, making a sad friend happy using emoticons, seeing a rainbow after a storm, taking a nap, and walking in the morning with a friend. 

 

 

It tells all the creatures to Praise God.  Do you ever look at animals and what they do as a praise to God?  Or are they just annoying?  Like the birds chirping in the morning.  My friend thought the birds chirping out her window this morning were loud and annoying.  I, on the other hand, loved to listen to the birds.  They help me get back to sleep in the morning.  And perhaps this chirping is their way of praising their Creator.  Hey, Jesus tells the Pharisees in the book of Luke that if they keep the people from praising God, that even the rocks will cry out.  So I think it can and does happen.

 

 



Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts.  One of my favorite images in the Bible is from the book of Revelation in Chapter 4.  Here is the passage of Scripture:

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” ² At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. ³ And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. ⁴ Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. ⁵ From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits^[a] of God. ⁶ Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. ⁷ The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. ⁸ Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,’^[b]

who was, and is, and is to come.”

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

¹¹ “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they were created
    and have their being.”

This vision was revealed to John  Can you imagine being shown, not only this, but all the things God showed him in the book of Revelation.  And he wrote them down in the best way he could to describe the indescribable things he was seeing.
 
I have been in church services where I am praising and worshiping God, and think of this passage in scripture, and get a small, minute glimpse of what it will be like in Heaven, worship God all the time.  It is still incomprehensible, but yet I find it exciting to think about and look forward to experiencing it.
 
And finally, praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  We give our praise to God the Father, to Jesus the Son and to the spirit of God, the Holy Ghost.  Three separate yet the same.  The parts of a whole.  God, the Father, the Creator.  Jesus, the Son, the sacrifice who died for our sins, so we could be reconciled back with God.  And the Holy Ghost, God's Spirit who guides us and comforts us and helps us understand what God the Father is trying to tell us.
 
Praise is good.  It gets the focus off of ourselves, and onto where it should be.
 
So, for such a simple little song, it helps me put my focus where it should be....praising the Father, The Creator....the Almighty God.  

Preparing the Garden

Today is one of my favorite days of the year.  It is the day I plant my vegetable garden.  I am a little later than usual this year, but I finally had the chance to get it all planted today.

 

I have five raised beds.  In Box #1 I planted Green Arrow Peas and Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard.

Box #2 is my "Salad Box".  I planted Buttercrunch Lettuce, Gourmet Blend Lettuce, Kale and Mesclun.

 

If you see the poles, you can probably guess that Box #3 has Blue Lake Stringless Beans and also some Sparkler White Tip Radishes.

 In the four corners of Box #4 I planted four Sunflower Plants.  There is also Dark Zucchini Squash and Cherry Belle Radishes.

In the final box, Box #5, I have one more Sunflower plant, Early Prolific Straightneck Squash, Chiogga Beets, and Swiss Chard Rainbow.

Up against the fence I planted four tomato plants, three Roma Tomatoes and one Better Boy.

 

I bring my house plants out each summer and put them on the patio.  They get revitalized during the summer.  I take care of them much better when they are outdoors.

 

I planted my fifth Beefsteak Tomato plant in a pot in one of my flower beds.  We'll see how it does.

 My flower bed by the back porch.

 Basil is one of my favorite herbs, and I find if I put them in small pots on the patio, they grow really well all summer long.

 Chives growing in the lid of our old Weber BBQ Grill.

 A geranium on a broken chair.

I still need to plant flowers in the black pots, and old BBQ, and the toilet.

 

 I planted marigolds in the small pots.

 One of the first blooms on one of my two clematis plants.  The other one has dark purple blossoms.

 Garden in front of the patio.

 More flowers, including many Columbine plants, one of my favorites.

 Beautiful Willow shrub.

 Pincushion flower.

 First rose blossom

 Rose bud.

Pine tree Coco received when she went to Vandal Friday.



Fasting

I have done a variety of fasts in my lifetime.

Some were spiritual, such as the Daniel Fast I did several years at the beginning of the year.  This was based on the scripture in the book of Daniel in the Bible where Daniel talked about the type of food he ate, which was fruit, vegetables and grain.  No meat.  No dairy.  No rich food.

It usually went for 21 days, and you focused on praying even more than you usually did and seeking Godly counsel and wisdom during this time.  It was always a very beneficial spiritual time.

Today is day two of my sugar and meat fast.  I am avoiding white processed sugar and high fructose corn syrup through the summer, until Labor Day.  I am also eating no meat except fish.  It is kind of an experiment I want to do with my body and my health to see how I feel eliminating those items.

I am back to drinking protein shakes in the morning.  Fortunately my mom already has lettuce growing in her garden, so we have a supply of plenty of lettuce, since mine won't be planted until tomorrow.

It felt good declining a piece of candy today when offered, saying I was doing a "No Sugar" summer.

One of my daughters asked about what I would eat for my birthday?  I said we could make something with honey....I will eat honey, and other natural forms of sweeteners.

I'm looking forward to this experiment. 

My summer is full of so many possibilities, I can't wait to see what comes of it.  And eating this way is part of the adventure!

So tonight I enjoyed a large salad, steamed clams and butter, and bruschetta.  And for dessert I had a handful of mixed nuts.  Delicious.

If anyone has some no sugar recipes or no meat recipes you particularly enjoy and want to send them my way to try them, I would love for you to share.

My No Sugar Summer has finally begun!!

Why Is Being Mean Cool?

I thought of this subject today as I read an article from Relevant Magazine titled:  "When Did Christians Get So Mean?"  You can find the article here.


Here is an excerpt from the article:

A couple of weeks ago I spoke to several pastors and asked them, “How many of you have received a nasty email in the last six months?” Every single person in the room raised their hand—including me.

Let me be clear; I believe the majority of people are civil and respectful in their online dialogue. However, there remains a vocal minority who insist on remaining unpleasant both in tone and word. And these unkind words come from many who self-identify as Christians, who somehow believe that malice is an acceptable form of communication.

Which raises a question: Why do so many Christians persist in being mean?

 

Mean seems to be the cool thing to be anymore.  Ratings go up when you have a nasty judge on "American Idol" or any of those other reality shows.  People seem to like to see the conflict.

I don't.  That is one of the big reasons I don't watch reality programming.  Because the people on there who put people down make me feel very uncomfortable.

And it seems to have crept into Christianity as well.  I particularly see this side come out of my Christian brothers and sisters during election time.  Some how the "love thy neighbor as thyself" doesn't seem to matter if they are running for political office. 

Oh, don't get me wrong.  I can be mean in my own way.  I'm not proud of it.  And I do hope I'm losing my mean streak.

 

But I don't send anonymous emails.  I don't post anonymous comments online.  I don't post negative things on social media.  That is just not my thing.

Here is a little more from that article:

If our deepest desire is to know the truth, then we will be open to listening—not just speaking—because there is a good chance someone else may share a thought, insight or wisdom we have yet to learn. And when our desire for the truth surpasses our desire to be right, then we will be open and always seek first to listen and learn.

This does not mean we cannot share our thoughts and opinions. But if truth is the highest goal, we will speak for the benefit of others, and not just for the benefit of ourselves. Sure there are times when we feel like we are being crucified for what we believe. But what would happen if, even in the moments when it feels like we are being attacked, we spoke words of grace, hope and forgiveness?

That’s where real courage lies. It does not lie in the confines of our offices and living rooms sitting behind a keyboard and typing anonymous messages. Real courage is full of grace. It is gentle and kind and constructive and honors others. Perhaps this kind of courage should be the very thing that emboldens us to speak, far more than a computer keyboard ever could.

I want to have real courage, full of grace....being gentle, and kind and constructive, and I want to honor others.  I want to build people up, not tear them down.

But sometimes that is hard when they rub me the wrong way...when they annoy me....when they act in ways I don't approve...

But these are my problems.  And I need to deal with these on my own terms, with help and forgiveness from God who gives me the unconditional love to see past the faults of others.  And treat them with grace and encouragement.

Perhaps the reason we have such a hard time honoring others with our words is because the idea of grace is something far too many of us have heard about, but few have truly experienced. That’s because grace cannot be earned, bought or taken by force. Grace is a gift. Which means it can only be given and received.

 

Amazing Grace, How Sweet The Sound,

That Saved A Wretch Like Me

I Once Was Lost, But Now I'm Found,

 

Was Blind But Now I See.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Projects

One of the things I want to do this summer is work on some photo projects.

I have some frames I purchased after Christmas, and have some other ideas for using photos I have taken over the years, as well as taking new photos.

I would like to learn more about photography, and the kind of photography I think I would like to pursue.

My sister loves taking photos of nature.

My brother enjoys people and things around cities.

I'm not sure what my favorite type of photos to take are, yet.

I have mentioned my Tri Color Beech tree in our backyard.  I may do some photo projects with some photos of this tree.  A friend today suggested I take photos of three tree in each of the four seasons and print them off on canvas and display them.  I have already taken those photos.  Here is our tree about 7 years ago in four different seasons.  I am seriously thinking about doing as my friend suggested.

Here is the tree I am talking about.

I have other ideas as well.

But first I need to get my creative space organized.  That is a project that needs done before this project can begin.  To be honest, this is a project that I have needed to do for the past two years.

So, on my list of Things to Do in the Summer of 2014:

Organize the room where I will have my home office and creative space.

That project begins tomorrow.

Laziness

Today was a lazy day.

I arrived home at about 1 a.m. last night, so I got to bed late.

I got to sleep in, which felt great.

I was just kind of out of it all day today.  My mind and body needed a break.

I think that happens at the end of the school year.  Things just kind of shut down and need a break.

Yesterday was the last day of school.  I will go in Monday and pack up my room at KMS, so all the items can be moved to KHS.  Then I won't be working until the end of August.

I drove to Lewiston, which took about three hours.  Then I drove home from Lewiston, which was another three hours.

It was nice to have a leisurely day.  I took a bubble bath today.  I haven't done that in a while.  I took a nap today.  That felt really good.  I watched a movie....again, very relaxing.

Sometimes you just need a day when you don't do a whole lot.  You just kind of veg out.  No obligations.  No commitments.  Just a time to sit around and lay around, and do nothing.

Today was that day for me. 

And it was good.

I look forward to a summer of minimal commitments.  I will be in a film a friend is shooting in Wallace, which will take a bit of my time.

I am taking a ceramics class to learn how to make pottery....a lifelong dream of mine.

I will be working in the yard and garden.

I will be writing, and taking photographs.

A friend is coming up for a "retreat" and we are going to work on some of her creativity.

A summer of possibilities.  I'm not sure what all is going to happen, but I look forward to a more leisurely summer than I have had in a long time.

Friends

Candace Bergen with the help of the Muppets couldn't have sung it better.

You've Got To Have Friends.

And today as I traveled with my youngest daughter Cosette to her best friend's graduation party in Lewiston, I was reminded over and over again.

Coco and Sidnee met in grade school, and became very close friends.  After fifth grade, Sidnee moved to Clarkston, Washington.  But Coco and Sidnee remained close all these years.

Sidnee came to Coco's graduation last weekend.

And this weekend, Coco will attend Sidnee's graduation from Clarkston High School.

I got a little emotional as I watched Sidnee's slide show at her graduation party tonight seeing photos of her and Coco, and other parts of Sidnee's life.  It is special to have close friend like Coco has with Sidnee, and the fact they have kept their friendship through miles of separation.

Since I was driving Coco down to Lewiston and coming right back the same night, I asked one of my oldest and dearest friends Tina to accompany me on the trip to help keep me awake.  Because I knew we would be able to have lots of things to talk to help keep me awake.

On the say to Lewiston, I dropped Tina off at her sister's house in Genesee.  I would come back later to pick her up.

Coco and I found our way to the party in downtown Lewiston, and enjoyed visiting with Sidnee, seeing her family, and it was so fun seeing Coco and Sidnee together once again.

It was a beautiful evening, and on the way home I stopped at the top of the Lewiston Hill and took a picture of Lewiston and Clarkston, and the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. 

The town of Lewiston always holds a special place in my heart, because it is where my mom and dad met, and fell in love.  It was while they were students at Lewiston Normal School, now known as Lewis and Clark State College.

After about an hour and a half, I left the festivities and went back to Genessee to pick up Tina.  Before I went to her sister's home out on the farm, I stopped to take a shot of the beautiful church Jenny and her family attend that is right down the street from her house.  I wish I would have had my good camera when I took these photos.  I plan to return some day to visit the church.

I arrived at Jenny's house, and stayed and visited with the two "Curry girls" and Jenny's youngest daughter.  We had a wonderful time enjoying the beautiful evening on a small farm in the Genesee Valley.  And, of course, the Palouse area around Moscow, Genesee and Lewiston is so beautiful this time of year.

Well, it was about 10 p.m. when we finally hit the road.  And Tina did a marvelous job of keeping me away all the way to CDA.  I dropped her off, then I made it hope by about 1 a.m.

We have all kinds of friends in our lives.  I have had a conversation with another friend many times about having friends in your life who have known you all your life.  The beauty of these friends, is, they have known you forever, there is nothing you can do or say that will make them reject you.  Because they KNOW you.  They understand you.

I just finished a really good book by Anna Quindlen titled "Still Life With Bread Crumbs", and there is a passage in the book that I just love:

It was funny, what friendship meant in Rebecca's world.  It mainly meant lunch, twice a year, and the occasional dinner party, except for Dorothea, who was an old school friend, a genuine friend.  Rebecca had realized, ruefully, that she should have made more friends in school; they seemed to be the only ones women really talked honestly because the shared history meant fewer lies were available to them.  With the others shared meals had become substitutes for intimacy, but not the kind of substitute that allowed for dark nights of the soul, calls at 1:00 a.m., tears and drinking and despair in pajamas.  How many times had she heard women in New York---maybe women everywhere, for all she knew---speak lyrically of how they wouldn't see friends for months, perhaps even years, and then it was as though they had never been apart.  "Picked up where we left off" was the common phrase.  It was supposed to signal some magical communion, but if you looked it right in the eye, it came down to this:  the kinds of people they considered friends they might not even actually see for a long long time.

 

This has been true over and over again in my life.  I have many friends who, because of the times in our lives, or the geography of  where we are located, couldn't see one another.  But then we have a chance to connect, if only for an evening, and it is true.  Me have the "magical communion" and we have been able to "pick up where we left off". 

 

I share this magical communion with friends I grew up with here in Kellogg.  I share this magical communion with college friends from the University of Idaho.  I share this magical communion with friends from Glendive, Montana, and Meridian, Idaho, the two other places I have lived in my life. 

 

In a couple of weeks, I have a friend from Meridian coming.  I only see her a couple times a year.  We are going to have a "retreat" together to help her work on some things in her creative life.  But I have a magical communion with her.  We always pick up right where we left off. 

 

Yes, you got to have friends.  Friendship makes life much more rich and rewarding.

 

You gotta, gotta, gotta have friends...................................

 

Jesus

I heard a story today that made me wonder how I would respond if I were asked the following questions....

"So your family are Christians.  What does that mean?  I don't get it."

How would I respond?  Yes, my family members are all Christians.  So, what does that mean?

Well, I guess I could answer this many different ways, but I want to answer it on a personal level.

I want to tell you what Jesus means to me.

I believe Jesus is the Son of God.  Well, maybe I better back up. 

First, I believe in God.  God that is the Creator of all things.  God who has no beginning and no end.

God, through human means, wrote the words in the Bible.

So God created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, and they sinned, which means they went against what God wanted them to do.  They did it their way instead of God's way.

Before they made this decision, they lived in Paradise.....the Garden of Eden.  They had a perfect relationship with God.  After they went against what God told them to do, their relationship with God was broken.  Have you ever lied to your parents?  A bit of a wall goes up and you don't quite feel comfortable being around your parent, because you know you have done something wrong, and you feel guilty, and so your relationship has been broken.

So now fellowship with God was broken.  God eventually came up with some ways for his chosen people, the Israelites, to have their sins pardoned.  They could perform animal sacrifices so God would pardon their sins.

So this went on for hundreds and hundreds of years.  And through all this time, in the scriptures that God inspired man to write, there was a promise of a Messiah to come.  Lots of scripture was written about a Savior who would come such as Isaiah 9:6 that says:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

The people of Israel waited hundreds of years for their Messiah to come.  And then, Jesus was born.

This story begins when Mary was visited by an angel who told her she was highly favored among women, and would become pregnant and bear a son and she would call him Jesus.  Mary's then asks the angel an obvious question, "Well how can this be because I have not slept with a man?"

The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God."

The angel then told her that nothing was impossible with God, and Mary's faith helped her accept was was happening to her, even though I'm sure she was very scared and confused.

So Jesus was born, and grew up, and spent a few years on earth preaching the message God wanted Him to share to the world.  The Gospel, meaning "Good News".

Jesus shared a lot of really great things.  Jesus wasn't really about dos and don'ts and rules.  He was about loving your neighbor, and eating at the table with sinners, and praying for your enemies.

His ministry here on earth began with what is popularly known as "The Sermon on the Mount".  Here is how it begins:

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

These are the words that started Jesus' teaching for the next three years.  At the beginning of these three years He gathered 12 men, called disciples, to travel with Him and learn about himself and about God. 

During the third year, Jesus was betrayed by one of His disciples, and was given over to the Roman Soldiers.  Eventually the people called for Jesus to be crucified, hung on a cross.

Jesus was hung on a cross, but this wasn't any normal crucifixion.  When Jesus agreed to die on the cross, He was the ultimate sacrifice, often referred to as "The Lamb of God", whose sacrifice took away the sins of the world.  Because Jesus died on the cross, all of our sins have been forgiven.  No more animal sacrifices were needed.

But it didn't end there.  Once He died, He rose from the dead.  His body rose from the grave, and He is alive.  And, because after all He is the Son of God, all of us here on earth can accept Him for all that He did, His sacrifice on the cross, and be saved from our sins. 

But the ultimate thing that happens when our sins are forgiven by God, and that our relationship has been restored with God.  We are now able to have that restored relationship with the Creator of the Universe. 

How cool is that!!!

So how does this whole story relate to us today in the 21st century?  Everything Jesus did 2,000 years ago is still relevant for us today.  He died on the cross for us.  He died on the cross to take away our sins so that we can have a relationship with God.

Jesus has a wonderful plan, and we are able to learn from him.  But it goes far beyond just learning from Jesus, and mimicking the things He did.

We have the ability to allow Jesus live through out lives.  God's Holy Spirit can actually change our lives, and give us direction.

And by allowing the Holy Spirit to live through us, we can love people who are very hard to love.  We can have a peaceful presence about us, and not cause strife.  We can be joyful.  We can be patient, kind, good.  Who doesn't want that to be a part of their life.  And it isn't something we have to strive for in our lives.  It is a gift that God gives to us that we share with others.

Well, I realize this has been a rather long and detailed answer to a very short question.  And there is so much more to share.  I really didn't get as personal as I would have liked.  That will come in a future blog post.

If you do not believe in God, or that Jesus was the Son of God, I hope you read through this story, and at least consider that Jesus was who He said He was here on earth.  We know Jesus was real.  He was an historical figure who walked the earth over 2,000 years ago.  But I know He was so much more, and I encourage you to really look at Jesus, and see if He isn't someone who would like to learn more about.