Snow

On Saturday we woke to a white world; still,
beautiful, cold--too cold for Jake to carry a ball.
The wind picked up and the temperature stayed
low. How low? It was minus eleven degrees
on Sunday morning. Roads had been plowed
but remained snow packed. In borrowed boots
I walked down to a small park that accesses the
Snake River. Suddenly the sun came out
revealing millions of tiny jewels sparkling from
the snow, unseen in shadow. My feet crunched
as I walked. I stopped. In the stillness I heard a
scraping sound that drew me to the rivers edge.
Ice islands were drifting, bumping into each other,
growing bigger, then bonding to the ice pressed
into the shore. As I stood there a duck rose
splashing up from the icy water. The setting sun
painted the clouds a light pink.

This has been the best quiet time. As I relive the
wonder of my walk yesterday, I am amazed at
how God staged and orchestrated each scene as
I walked the frozen earth. I was on Holy ground.
It was for my eyes He showed off.

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
I will tell of all they wonders,
I will be glad and exult in Thee,
I will sing praise to Thy Name,
O Most High.
(Ps 9:1,2)

Between

We have moved many times in our marriage.

In every move there is a space between what was and
what will be. One door shuts--a click; no going back.
But, the way ahead is fuzzy, without substance,
without form. It has only been two months since we
made the decision to move to Arizona. That changed
and we arrived in Idaho four weeks ago. In this "between,"
we have not had easy access to the internet, have overspent
our phone minutes, and have lost our e-mail server. Each
move has its challenges, but this one is unique. I realize
that just ten years ago, cell phones and internet did not
play a big part, but today, one goes through withdrawal!
Our goods come next week, but it will be January before
we leave that feeling of "between," and begin to put
together our new life.

Papa, I know that all things work together for good.
ALL things, even this crazy period when time seems to
stand still. Open my eyes to all your gifts today. You never
stop giving. I stop seeing.

Kick Off

We spent Thanksgiving in a little town called, Dayton,--population 

2600--nestled in the hills of Washington State. We were visiting 

Glen’s brother for the holiday. Some years ago the people of 

Dayton decided to upgrade the four blocks that mark Main Street 

along with some of the surrounding streets. They started with the 

park next to the river, added an upgrade to the Train Depot, the 

Courthouse, the old school and then built a very versatile theater. 

It houses a Musical late in the fall that always includes children, 

very talented kids. They put on Peter Pan this year to a packed 

audience for twelve programs. 

We stayed at a Victorian Hotel complete with an elegant staircase, 

beautiful rooms, a coffee shop for breakfast in the morning. On Friday 

we woke up to Christmas! It was a brisk day. At  some point on 
Thursday the whole town decorated for “Kick Off.” On Friday they 
gave tours, offered hay rides, opened the old school to visitors. 
Friday evening they celebrated with fire works! Holiday music 
was piped out including many of my favorite carols.  

Maybe it was a time for the merchants to make money, but for me 
it was the kick off to Advent and the birth of our Savior!

“The people who walk in darkness

Will see a great light;

Those who live in a dark land,

The light will shine on them.”

(Isaiah 9:2)

                                                               

Gratefulness

Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, a day
for being grateful. I notice that in the last few decades
"Thanksgiving Day" has given way to "Bargain Day"
in preparation for "Christmas Day." The very word,
"thanksgiving," implies dependency, humility,
acknowledgement of God. It is an old fashioned
word, isn't it? Victorian, out of date, a "lets move on,"
kind of word.

Gratefulness means "a state of being grateful." Lots
of things have not gone my way lately. Little things
that eat away at the vine of thanksgiving, and the
state of gratefulness. It helps to have space on this
day before Thanksgiving Day, to recognize what is
taking place in me, to confess it, to acknowledge
that God is directing every little thing, is at the
center of everything--even my failures. "He works
all thing for good," but I can't see the big picture.
I need His perspective on the events of life.

The Psalmist cries:
"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good:
For His mercy endures forever!" 

Have a joy filled Thanksgiving Day!

Home

I am making soup in a kitchen overlooking the
Snake River. The sun floods in belying the
freezing temperature outside. I pick up a plastic
glass whose rim is bent. I wonder...how old is
that glass, anyway? Thirty, forty years? Every
summer it holds the black cows of ice cream
and root beer. The carpet has not changed,
neither has the paneling or most of the pots and
pans. I write in a chair my father-in-law slept in
every afternoon. The wood fence along the
property was built by my teenage son and his
Grandpa. That son turns 40 in a few days; that
Grandpa died 23 years ago. Our children came
here as infants, and now my daughter bathes her
son each summer in the very same bathtub.

When my mother-in-law returns we will ride
over to the farm house soon to be our dwelling
place. But, we change houses the same way some
people change clothes and it is nice to be part of the
town where Glen grew up, to linger in a house
that holds so many memories.
It is good to be home.

Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Celebrating Ruth

My Mother-in-love turned 90 yesterday so family and
friends showed up for church and then some cake
followed by stories. The Fellowship Hall was packed.
Ruth grew up on a farm in Weiser. (She and her son
attended the same two room grade school but the
plumbing had moved in by the time Glen arrived.)
Ruth went off to college and met a man from Denver;
they married and eventually moved back to Weiser
where they raised four boys. These "boys" are now
close to 60--or middle sixties-- in age and have
children and grandchildren of their own, making
Ruth a great grandmother four times.

Ruth played both organ and piano for church for many
years, but now settles for the piano once a month. She
walks a mile at the high school gym four days a week
with her "girl" friends. She plays a mean game of dice,
works Sudoku and cross word puzzles daily. Ruth also
belongs to a number of clubs that meet monthly. But
most precious to me are her loving ways and her
willingness to share her living space with us during this
time of transition--even the dog is allowed inside.

I call her Mom.

"Charm is deceitful and beauty vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her the product of her hands, and let her works
praise her in the gates." (Proverbs 31:37)

Mountains

When I think of mountains I think of both physical
mountains and mountains of problems. The writer
of Psalm 46 is speaking of the physical ones that
cause problems!

(Because) God is our refuge,
(Because) God is abundantly available for help,

"We will not fear, though the
     earth should change,
And though the mountains slip into
     the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains quake at its
     swelling pride. (Psalm 46:2,3)

Yesterday I checked out the earthquakes recorded
around the world in the last 24 hours. There were
53 tremors listed above a two; some related to volcanic
activity. Hierro is one of the islands that makes up
The Canary Island chain off the coast of Africa, but
claimed by Spain. Each of these islands was formed
long ago from volcanic activity. In the last few years
Hierro Island has experienced new activity to the point
that vents formed in the water off shore changing the color
of the water and killing fish. These vents have have
closed but there are multitudes of small earthquake swarms
each day beneath the island with some hard enough to
be felt by the inhabitants. This is not just a local problem.
An active volcano could split the island causing large
chunks to fall into the sea creating a giant Tsunami.
"A mountain slipping into the heart of the sea."

In the last few weeks there was a Typhoon that crossed
the Philippines just weeks after they experienced a killer
earthquake; the middle of our country suffered from
a swath of devastating Tornados.

God says that these things will happen, but because
He is our refuge, we are not to fear. Really? I do not
do well in emergencies. Fear rises. However, God
has given me scripture to camp on. It tells me that
my God IS a very PRESENT help in trouble. He
is my refuge. "He will never leave me nor forsake 
me." I can go with my feelings or with the truth. I can
camp on God's truth whether or not my feelings fall
into line.