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THE PATH LEADING INTO THE WOODS
THERE IS A WILD PATCH OF LAND ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILE FROM US. I KNOW THAT ALL TOO SOON DEVELOPERS WILL COME AND DESTROY THE WOODS, BUT FOR NOW, I WILL CONTINUE TO ENJOY ITS PLEASURES.
AS I WALK THROUGH THE WOODS, I IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE TO LIVE ON THIS LAND TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO. I SEE SOME EVIDENCE THAT THERE WAS A CABIN THERE AT ONE TIME. MY IMAGINATION TAKES FLIGHT, AS YOU CAN READ BELOW…
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“Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the LORD” (I Chronicles 16:33)
I squint my eyes, looking far down the path. I feel safe with this revolver at my side. I never gits tired of the call of the woods. It’s a place more comfortable than anywhere else in the world, not that I traveled all that far. Good ole Betsy is worn, but she is me faithful friend. Once a month, I hitch her to the wagon and go to the general store. I sorta feel funny while in town, but I gots to go once a month if I is to make it. Once I arrive back home and enter into my woods, I’s at home again.
I is a getting old. My teeth don’t always stay put to eat the hard squirrel, yet I wouldn’t have it any other way. A coyote jumps across my path. I consider it for dinner, but I lets it go instead. Food is scarce, but critter friends are even harder to find. Heaven knows I need these critters, for who can understand people? Why, even Mitzi at the general store has begun turning up her nose at me. Sure, I knows I need a bath, but the stream seems to have gone and dried up this year.
I feel my gun, secure at my side. I has to shoot something or my dinner will be corn meal again. I don’t think I could stand another meal of corn. If I only had a tad of honey or something. Not seeing an animal in sight, I lay down for a breather by me favorite tree. It has been there for as long as I could remember. Why, I can’t even hug the tree anymore. It is so wide and thick and tall. Why, this is how I used to describe Henry.
Good ole Henry. He’s been gone nigh onto ten years now. The best husband you could want, building our cabin of stone hewn from the fields down yonder. If I wants, I go visit his grave down below the south field. I goes there often, for ole Henry understands me more than them there townsfolks. It was Henry that taught me how to get maple from the trees. Without the syrup, Mitzi would never give me a bolt of cloth to make a new dress. Why ole Henry used to wink at me and tell me how pretty I was when I would don my new dress each year. I miss him...
God never done give me children. It’s just been me and the trees all these years. If it weren’t for da preacher’s boy, you know, Isaier, I wouldn’t see a hide nor hair of people on my land. Isaier is a good young one, coming by to say hello. I is smart enough to know that the preacher wants to make sure I aint done gone and died or nothing. It sorta makes my heart feel good to know someone out there cares about this skin and bones of a woman.
You gotta wonder how I have survived on so little. God might not have blessed me with little ones, but He has provided enough food every day. I may not go to church or any of those fancy meeting places, but me and God, we gets along together good. I talks to Him and He talks to me. Yeah, you might think I am crazy just like Mitzi at the general store, but I aints. God is always with me taking care of me, helping me find firewood in the winter, and watching out for me, especially when bears come sniffing around. I can take a lot in life, but bears give me the chills. Yet I know that if I can get one kilt a year, I have enough grease and meat to make it through the months of cold and snow.
Lying down by the tree was a mistake, for next thing I know I have drifted off. My snores wake me up as I realize that daylight is near gone. It would be corn for dinner again. Ah, but who can complain? I hear the screech of a jay as it goes to find its bed for the night. Life is good. The woods around me has my name written all over it. As I walk to me cozy cabin, I smile with my semi-toothed grin, at peace with the world. My eyes might not be what they used to be, but I can still see God smiling back at me.
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TITLE CREDITED TO THE MUSICAL, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN…
A CENTURY-OLD TREE
ALL PHOTOS TAKEN NEAR OUR HOME IN AN ABANDONED WOODED AREA...
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WILDFLOWERS NEAR OUR HOME
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” (Psalm 23:5)
My journey to better health began six years ago when our son was diagnosed with diabetes. I spent hours and hours in grocery stores reading food labels. I began cutting out unnecessary carbohydrates and sugars that are added to food. I had already steered our family towards whole grains and non-hydrogenated products. At the time, I characterized myself as trying to eat food as close to nature as possible and the least processed as I could.
Fast forward to today. There are so many films on the market promoting a healthier lifestyle. I watched a lot of them and read more than you can imagine, all trying to come up with a food plan for our family that cut out synthetic and unhealthy ingredients. Sometimes lack of knowledge is bliss as I realized all the harmful ingredients our family was ingesting.
I began to understand how the government and large corporations interfere with our ability to eat healthy. Even if you are a vegetarian, so many fruits and vegetables are genetically changed or sprayed with poison so that your health is comprised. Switching to all organic food is logical at this point, that is, if you trust the labeling that the food is truly organic.
The biggest reason people tell me that they don’t eat organic is that it is so expensive. Even though this is true for some people, for others it is just an excuse. You could come up with the money per month if you cut out some other non-necessities or the junk and imitation food you are buying. You can either pay a bit more per month now or pay for later to your hospital and doctors.
Food is necessary for life. We all know that without it, you die a quick death. Without good nutrition, you just die at a slower pace. I find Daniel’s philosophy of food quite interesting. He wouldn’t eat the king’s royal food and wine. Instead for ten days he was allowed to eat what he chose. “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." (Daniel 1:12-13)
What is royal food? The best that I can understand is that it would have included meat sacrificed to idols. I imagine that it would have included the richness that comes through meat or animal products such as butter or sweets. After only ten days of eating vegetables and water, Daniel was healthier than those around him who were eating the rich food offered at the king’s table. Only ten days…
When I think of vegetables, a package of frozen mixed vegetables comes to mind, probably the worst-tasting offering at any dining room table. Yet, vegetables go way beyond what is in my mind. God was creative when He made food. There are so many types of vegetables, most of what I haven’t heard of or don’t know how to cook. Instead, I think of a salad bar, a long stretch of table filled with fifty toppings to put on top or on the side of your lettuce. That gives me a better impression of what Daniel might have been eating. If you add protein in the form of beans or nuts, add whole grains, and add fruits, you have a pretty well-rounded meal. You don’t need meat or dairy products to be healthy.
Royal food also included the king’s wine. Most people agree that a little wine is not harmful. Yet when it becomes a substitute for water and is used at every meal, it becomes a problem that isn’t easy to fix. Alcoholism is a hidden problem for many people. A few drinks now and then turn into an unhealthy lifestyle. Yet, I look at it from a different perspective. Daniel’s non-royal diet included water at every meal, not diet Coke, Pepsi, or the many carbonated beverages available for consumption. There is very little nutritional value in these drinks. Some of the ingredients are akin to pouring poison down one’s throat. It is water, not wine or soft drinks, that the body craves for good health.
It is interesting that Daniel was healthier than those around him in just ten days. “At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.” (Daniel 1:15) That’s a week and a half. I have never tried the Daniel diet, going cold turkey to just salad ingredients for ten days. Instead, I have been slowly replacing what I used to eat with non-genetically modified ingredients, organic products, and natural ingredients. What brought me to this point was my personal two-year quest of searching for healing.
For several years, I had a skin disorder. I was covered in an itching rash which resulted in over a thousand bleeding sores. I went from doctor to doctor trying to find a diagnosis. I was given creams and pills to help the itching. The creams and pills frustrated me for they were only masking the symptoms. I was still in torment, itching horrendously. It was about as close to hell on earth as I could get without the fire and brimstone.
Several doctors did the elimination process, as we ruled out bed bugs and scabies that might have been causing the itching. We checked out what products I use on my skin and in house cleaning. I did food allergy testing. I made the changes, yet the torturous itching continued. It was only when I went to a specialist that I discovered my problem. After two years of itching, through a simple blood test, it was determined that I was nutritionally deficient in certain areas. By adding certain vitamins and minerals to my diet, I could help my body to heal.
A month later, my itching is mostly gone. My bleeding sores are reduced from one thousand to one or two. I made the startling realization that most of the diseases that mankind has are nutritionally related. It is true that you are what you eat. If you put poison in your body, you probably will get cancer or another disease. (Poison refers to the sprays poured on almost all crops grown in the United States. Poison refers the synthetic non-natural ingredients we eating without realizing it. Poison refers to genetically modified food.) If you eat meat clogged with antibiotics, ammonia, and fed with pesticidal grain, you will probably get heart disease, strokes, and a multitude of other diseases.
When it comes to what food or nutrition I put in my body, I take the following words to heart -
“The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.” (Romans 14:3) “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink” (Colossians 2:16) I am not to judge, despise, or have a negative attitude towards those who eat differently than me.
“For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer” (I Timothy 4:4-5) When it comes to food, this is the verse I follow. When I am home, I eat what I choose. When I am away from home, I eat all food given to me with thankfulness. I pray over it, knowing that God will bless it to my body.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (I Corinthians 6:19-20) I am to take care of my body, the temple where the Holy Spirit resides. God should be glorified through my body, in what I eat, what I wear, what I say, and what I do.
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17) As important as eating is, I cannot lose my perspective. Life is so much more than food and drink. Of major importance is my walk with God, learning and following His will for my life.
I am still on the journey to better health. I have written about the physical issues here, but some of the emotional issues that affect my well-being are still being addressed. I realize that without a workout plan, my body will never function at its best. Sometimes the road to better health is two steps forward and one step backwards. I have a lot of information in my brain. It is a matter of putting it into action. It is never wrong to pray about your health. God can lead you on a path towards a better health. Daniel proved this to us in just ten days...
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“So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, ‘Can this be Naomi?’ " (Ruth 1:19)
The blonde girl gets married. The blonde girl begins having babies, one after another. Seven years after her wedding day, the blonde girl finds out her daughter has autism. The blonde girl does all she can to help her daughter with the knowledge she has. As the daughter with autism reaches the teen years, the teen begins to express aggressive tendencies towards her mother. The blonde girl is now called the gray woman. Seemingly overnight, the blonde girl has aged. Wrinkles have appeared on her unblemished face. Her head of hair has become snow white.
Even though it is chemically impossible for hair to turn from blonde to gray overnight, extreme stress can change the color of your hair. The darker hairs fall out, letting the gray hairs come in seemingly overnight. I call this the Snow White Experience.
My Snow White experience happened in a hospital bathroom. When our teen daughter with autism was aggressive towards me, there was little help available. The police would intervene unto a certain point. The medical community’s advice was to keep our daughter on prescription medication that was making our daughter’s behavior worse to the point of suicide. There were no respite homes to place her for a few days. At the time, our only option was to put her in the psychiatric ward at the local Children’s Hospital.
At the time, there were no containers large enough to hold my tears. After leaving our daughter at the ward on my way to the parking garage, I went into the hospital bathroom. I didn’t recognize the woman in the mirror. The lighthearted, laughing, blonde woman had aged overnight. I saw the wrinkly, gray face with blotchy eyes and white hair. Where was the carefree blonde woman of yesteryear?
The same question was asked about Naomi. She lost her husband. She lost her two sons. She was in a foreign country, abandoned except for her daughter-in-law Ruth. There probably weren’t enough containers to hold Naomi’s tears as she mourned all her losses. When Naomi and Ruth return to their homeland of Bethlehem, the women asked, “Can this be Naomi?” (Ruth 1:19) The women almost didn’t recognize their friend Naomi. Her losses and hardships had caused her appearance to change. Naomi had gone through a Snow White Experience.
God restored hope to Naomi and Ruth when Boaz entered their lives. He became a husband to Ruth, a kinsman-redeemer to them. Ruth found a husband from the family line, thus the word kinsman. Ruth found a husband who took the grief of the past, the sorrow of losing her first husband, and renewed hope in her, thus the word redeemer.
God is my redeemer. He is taking my sorrow, my pain, and my hardships and turning them into joy. He is taking the difficulty of the past and exchanging it for a woman who is becoming more and more like Christ. He renews, restores, and redeems. Maybe I cannot see it happening overnight, but every time I look into the mirror, I can see my snow white hair and praise my God, my Redeemer.
“Our Redeemer—the LORD Almighty is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 47:4)
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25)
“and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:3)
OUR YARD IS TEEMING WITH ACTIVITY...
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GRANDMA AT OUR WEDDING IN 1987
“But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)
Everyone that knew my grandma Dorothy says that she was an amazing woman. She and her husband Paul came to know the Lord after they were married, passing on the knowledge of the Lord to their three children, my mother Arlene, my aunt Linda, and my uncle Georgie.
Only, it wasn’t that simple. When my mom was ten years old, my grandfather Paul passed away from leukemia. Georgie contracted rheumatic fever, which affected his brain and gave him mental retardation (as it was called in the 1940’s) the rest of his life. My grandma had to make a living, so she became a nurse of sorts, helping new mothers when they had babies, taking in disabled children for babysitting, and watching kids while their parents went on vacation.
My grandma was a go-getter. She was not about to let Georgie languish, so she went to the state capital of Columbus and got the legislation in place that required Georgie’s school to educate him. Thus special education began in the state of Ohio in the 1940’s.
One of my many memories was going over to grandma’s house and staying with her for one week each summer. Grandma’s routine was to stay up late and listen to the 11pm news on the radio. I would wake up early and have to lie in bed for what seemed like an eternity until grandma awoke, for she was not a morning person. I memorized her bedroom as I lay in the bed opposite her and waited for her to wake up. I inherited one of grandma’s plaques, one that hangs on my bedroom wall to this day.
Another memory I have is of grandma’s dining room. Underneath a large set of windows were drawers. Inside were boxes and boxes of greeting cards for weddings, babies, birthdays, and encouragement. My grandma would save every card she got and recycle it in some way, cutting out the picture and gluing it to other paper, thus making a free greeting card.
The other day, I had to laugh. There I was with my boxes and boxes of greeting cards for all occasions. Those that know me well are aware that I enjoy sending out cards. I must have inherited this desire from my grandma. You see, she went through some rough stuff. Those that know my grandma know that Georgie was obese. Part of his brain was damaged so that he didn’t know when to stop eating, so he would eat anything in sight. Grandma had the challenge of caring for him as well as being a widow, being the only breadwinner in the family.
Grandma knew how to encourage others, for she had been through difficulties. She knew how just the right Bible verse or right card in the mail would lift somebody’s spirits.
Today is my grandma’s one hundredth birthday. She is no longer here, for she has gone on to her eternal reward. She still lives in her children, in her fourteen grandchildren, and in her great and great-great-grandchildren. Her spunk, her creativity, her ability to persevere through hardships, her trust in the Lord, and her great love have been passed on to future generations.
Happy Birthday, grandma!
“His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.” (Luke 1:50)
UNCLE GEORGIE
THE PLAQUE I INHERITED FROM MY GRANDMA ~ THE GREATEST MOMENTS
IN A GIRL'S LIFE
GRANDMA AFTER HER STROKE
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“Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:7)
I love to learn. I am like a sponge, absorbing information, learning about life around me, and seeing how it all fits together. There is never enough time in one day for me. There is so much to discover. Each day is full of opportunities to expand my brain.
Lately I have been working through ways to get healthy again. The ideas all make sense. They are stored logically in my brain. Do this. Don’t do this. Walk. Eat this. Don’t eat this. I know how to get healthy in my brain, but doing it is a whole different story.
As I age and learn more about the way God has made me, I see a creative bent just waiting to be expressed. I have music in my head that has to work its way out and down into my fingers on the piano keys. I see the world around me just waiting to be photographed. I see human interest stories just waiting to be written down.
Then my creative bent gets closer to the quicksand. My perfectionistic side comes out as I begin to see flaws around me. I want to fix people, resolve church situations, and change the way things are done. My creativeness becomes a danger zone as it turns to perfectionistic ways and criticism.
If I have learned any HUGE life lesson in the past ten years, it has been to see one of my major flaws clearly and in focus: I have been critical. In my zest and enthusiasm for change and for doing things differently and better, I have offended and hurt people. The trouble is that I didn’t identify this flaw in myself soon enough to prevent it.
Instead, through a series of catastrophic events, the Holy Spirit had to show me how my tongue wasn’t being used to His honor and glory, how my words were hurting people, how my creative bent was stretched to the point of criticism. I needed to change.
I know how not be critical in my brain, but doing it is a whole different story. I want to go beyond learning what the Lord wants me to do and actually do it. Most of us want to go back and change things. We have regrets in our past, things we’ve done or said. If we did it all over again, we would do it differently. Yet, what happened, happened. It can only be made right by saying I am truly sorry and forgiving one another.
Sigh... Is it a blessing or a curse to be a creative person?
I am thankful for my creative bent. I enjoy seeing the world from a different perspective. Most of all, I am thankful that the Holy Spirit has been working on me, showing me how I need to change and enabling me to do it. I can’t say that I have arrived. No man will ever tame the tongue. When we least expect it, it will say before it thinks. Yet, I am on the road to becoming…yes, becoming more and more like Jesus. I have a long way to go. The knowledge is in my brain and now I need to do it.
I like that phrase ~ on the road to becoming…
On what road to becoming are you?
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19)
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)
I ENJOY PHOTOGRAPHING MY PARENT'S YARD..
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Lifetime
