Saturday, August 29, 2020

Saturday's Scribbles


Good Saturday to you from Iowa where August weather has returned ~ heat and humidity kept us in A/C this week.  Today the winds are from the northwest, the temperature has dropped nearly 20 degrees and we are able to open doors and windows once again.  The grass needs little mowing, it is not so green, the flowers are starting to lose their bright beauty and the song birds are not singing much anymore.  Still, there is much to behold.

Speaking of beholding, this past week has been a very challenging one for our family.  My sister who raised me, Gr. Jo to our kids, had a heart attack a week ago yesterday and ended up having triple bypass surgery a week ago today.  Her heart would not restart when she came off the bypass.  They tried to start it three times before putting her on an ECMO machine which kept her heart and lungs working.  She was transferred from one hospital in the Twin Cities to the University of MN where they could manage the ECMO.  She is 87 years and one tough lady.  She was taken off the ECMO this week and her heart started!  She was taken off the balloon pump and her heart was stable.  She will have the ventilator removed in a day or two. She is slowly coming out of the long and deep sedation and is starting to respond to commands and questions from her daughter Janelle.  Only one person can be there and Janelle is the one.  She has been amazing with her continual updates to all of the family and support and love for her mom.   Gr. Jo's kids all sat outside the hospital at picnic tables day after day to be as close to their mom as they could.  Janelle would go inside to see her mom as much as she was allowed and texts were sent to us and others to keep us updated.  Yesterday we had a phone conference with members of her care team and the doctor's first words were "It is miraculous that she lived."  Yes it is!  He also said "She has had amazing progress since Monday!" "She is surprising all of us."    Oh, yes.  We were given good realistic and encouraging info and know that this is a one day/one week at a time journey for her.  Her faith and her determination are her greatest tools for recovery.  Prayers were being lifted from across the country and we are so very grateful to everyone as we behold His faithfulness.  Thank you.

Last week when I was waiting for Joel in the car something dawned on me.  I was watching everyone walk by and they were all wearing masks.  It was "normal" to see that and I thought about how easy we have adapted to the changes. They are just part of life now.  In fact today at a garden/produce center a maskless man grabbed our watermelon to carry it to our car as Joel's hands were full and my first thought was. "Step away from that watermelon!"   If you don't want to wear a mask, fine, but don't invade my space or touch my stuff.....yeah.....step away from my watermelon!  

Speaking of watermelons, they are such a great summer treat!  And peaches too, although I have never looked at peaches quite the same as after we were in Washington State in the 80's.  We spent time with Joel's Aunt Ruth which was so fun,  and we also enjoyed all the fresh........truly fresh fruit available.  The peaches were sooooo sweet and good.  I have never had one like those since!  

Nine days ago a long time friend came by for a short visit.  She was back in the Midwest from her home in Mesa.  Linda and her husband Jim are our oldest daughter's Godparents and have been a part of my life since I was young.  It was a nice surprise to see her again and we enjoyed a good visit from our garage, social distancing.  It is always good to catch up with old friends, isn't it.  Joel has been doing that by phone lately more than ever.  I love how quickly we can connect through texting too. It has kept us all connected this past week with Gr. Jo's medical journey.  There is nothing like a real in person hug, but having cell phones makes the isolation so much easier.  "When I was younger" as us old people like to say, calling long distance cost $20 so it could not happen often,  When we lived in the Philippines we called home once to my family on Christmas Eve in the USA.  Most everyone was at church but we visited for just a few minutes with a couple members, having to say "Roger" after every sentence since the call went through the base.  It cost us $40 for 5 minutes!  Yep, today's technology is great!

This week we are grateful for those white coats that save lives.  Grateful for family, old friends, laughter, tears, and the never ending grace of God.  We are grateful for watermelon, masks, redwood, cell phones, videos that make us laugh, cardinals that provide song for us, a summer rain, and of course porches.  We are grateful for texting.  It has kept all of us connected to what has happening with Gr. Jo minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.  Today we are thankful for words like remarkable, miraculous, amazing, surprising.  

Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Reach Out

On Sunday afternoon we "Zoomed" with good friends, catching up on the latest with each other.  An hour later we headed across the yard to our neighbor's house to do some social distance visiting.  Ten of us spread out on their back deck.   It was the first time since we left Mayo and Hope Lodge the end of January that I have been with a group of people in person, face to face from even being six feet away.  Nearly 7 months.  It was so refreshing!

It got me thinking about how God has created us to be in relationship with Him and with others.  It is the way we are made, right to our core.  And what happens when that connection with God is broken or non-existent?  What happens when the connection with others is missing?  How does it affect our well being?

There is often a void that develops within that has an affect us, body, soul, and spirit.  With God we sometimes don't even know what's missing.  We seek satisfaction in accomplishments.  We seek peace through practices like Yoga or meditation, deep breathing, etc.  We seek joy or happiness from our credit cards and stuff that fills our houses or minds while we are needing to fill our hearts.  Yeah........what we really need is a good one-on- one relationship with our Maker.   Along with that He often brings others into our village who also fill us up and bring us joy.  

The Covid crisis has brought most of us to that place of lack.  Granted, there are some who have chosen to say no to the guidelines.  They have chosen to gather with family or friends and live their life not worrying about "the virus".  Yet many others are living in isolation or minimizing their exposures.  Each person has to do what is right for them, while thinking of others too.  But oh, the challenges when separated from those we love and care about.

So how do we stay connected when our world right now is so disconnected no matter how much technology is at our fingertips?  Everyone has loss to deal with, lack to deal with, loneliness to deal with.  It is more important than ever to let those we love know how much we care.  We need to treat ourselves and each other with a boatload of kindness and understanding.  Even the most balanced, grounded, and cool customers in life are finding it stressful to navigate today's climate.  If you are blessed enough to have family around, enjoy!  If you are able to at least Zoom, do so!  If you like to write letters or notes, send some off.  Text to connect.  Call to hear the voices of those we love.  Reach out to others for others..............and for ourselves.  Turn off the news and dial in to God's frequency.  Let Him love on you, whisper in your ear, and wait for your response.  Relationships need communication to thrive.  Be patient when dialing in........sometimes I find myself thinking of that old commercial............"Can you hear me now?"  God's words and at times mine. Reach out.............

No, we were not meant to be alone, and it is never more evident than in the stories we hear about loved ones having to die alone due to Covid restrictions.  The stories that bring to light the lonely and isolated.  Let's be that connection for someone else.  Let's reach out and touch somebody's hand (of course not literally!- and make this world a better place if we can!

Saturday, August 15, 2020

Saturday's Scribbles

 

Good Saturday to you from Iowa where the weather has ravaged the central and east central parts of our state.  Winds of category 2 hurricane force damaged or destroyed 10 million acres of crops.  People are still without power in several areas, houses and farms are damaged, thousands of trees ripped out of the ground, and a few people have died.  This phenomenon is called a Derecho we learned.  It has left over 20 counties in our state in a crisis.  Sheer devastation.  The pandemic came in the form of a virus that kills, steals and destroys....and now a force of nature has come to do the same.  Up "north" where we live, there is no sign of what has happened.  To most of America and the world this will just be a blip in the radar, except for the fact that Iowa grows a great deal of the corn and soy America needs and now it is gone.  The Derecho aftermath is long reaching, so we need to keep everyone on our hearts and in our prayers.  Lord, have mercy.

Speaking of the Lord, recently we have heard Max Lucado mention more than once that "the end might be near".  The book of Revelation speaks of the end with all its symbols, visions, tribulations, and predictions.   Joel and I happen to be studying Revelation right now so we find the book even more fascinating while at times frustrating and confusing!  We have talked about "the end times" recently, even though it has not been something we have ever dwelt on for sure.  When it comes, it comes.  Yet I have heard my hubby say more than once in 2020............"If this IS the end times, come Lord Jesus!  Come!"  

Speaking of my hubby, he seems to be handling full retirement quite well. Will that last?  Who knows! He is busy with a project for someone that has taken over two months now.  He has 900 miles on his bike and is getting quite a few small projects done around the house inside and out.  I am finally coming back from my "after Zometa" life.  Building up my walking again, doing household tasks ( I do enjoy them) and still working on a puzzle, and writing some.  I did take in a 3 hour virtual conference this week focused on Holy Spirit.  We have managed to finish eating our #10 of blueberries, of course we have~! Nothing exciting, just life one day at a time while missing family.

Speaking of, last Sunday we were able to Zoom with our middle daughter and her family.  So fun to see their faces while we visited.  Technology can be amazing.  Tomorrow we will Zoom with good friends who help keep the country's campgrounds in business.  As this year continues we still spend the majority of our time at home with only each other, not venturing out except to doctors and for groceries, so it is always great to have virtual gatherings.  

Speaking of this year, it has been an unforgettable one so far, hasn't it.  And it is not over.  It just keeps expanding, this chaotic crazy time. We have stopped asking, "What next" because we don't want to put that question "out there".  Sometimes I do find myself asking, "What do you want to share with us, Jesus?"  Silence often greets me, but I keep asking while relying on His promises. We attempt to stay focused on the goodness of waking up each morning.  We sit on our porch and watch baby rabbits in our yard.  We search our memories to remind ourselves of God's faithfulness.  We turn off all the news.  We seek peace in the midst of the craziness.  At times we cry, but mostly we intentionally laugh......with each other.......at each other (with love).........We chuckle at videos on TV and Facebook...like the toddler who gave his mom the evil eye and slapped her hand when she tried to take his ice cream. We keep .searching for joy to balance the heaviness of our world.  We give thanks. 

 

Speaking of giving thanks, we have so much to be grateful for, don't we.  For us today it is a recumbent bike, a puzzle, walking again, laughter, tears, Zoom, physical therapy, sunshine, virtual conferences, the safety of family in central Iowa, Funniest Home Videos, the chimes calling in a cooler day from the front porch, family, friends, and baby rabbits.  

Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, August 13, 2020

When God Interrupts Your Plans

                                                                         

Recently I picked up a book to re-read that has graced our book shelf for the past 8 years.  It is written by Guidepost author and editor John Sherrill, titled "They Speak In Other Tongues".  It was first written in 1965 and re-published with an addition in 2004.  I guess you could define this post as a book review with our personal story attached.  

This book came into our home and changed our lives after Joel was healed overnight from Lyme and several other health problems.  He was given a complete "divine overhaul" at 4 am on a January morning.  With his healing came a gift that he was not looking for~ his own prayer language.  Joel and I had watched two hours of a video from a pastor/teacher who spoke on "God wanting you well" the night before Joel was miraculously healed. He had mentioned speaking in tongues during his teaching so at that time I had asked Joel what he thought of the gift found in the New Testament and he told me, "I am Lutheran, I don't know what I would do with it."  But God had other plans.  With Holy Spirit showing up in a big way, I began to do some research for Joel on "what to do with it" and this book by John Sherrill came to my attention.  I am so glad it did.

John Sherrill and his wife Elizabeth have both written several best sellers and started their own publishing company.  They were also editors at Guideposts magazine in NYC.  John began learning about speaking in tongues through his interactions with Ruth Peale whose husband Norman Vincent Peale is well known for his work as a pastor, author of "The Power of Positive Thinking", and creator of Guideposts Magazine.  (we have gotten this monthly magazine for decades).  When Sherrill began his research he was a skeptic who was writing a story and had no interest at all in the gifts of the Spirit, but his quest to find out what this was all about changed their lives forever.  God interrupted their plans for His own.  And the book he wrote changed our lives forever too.  It gave us a deeper understanding of what a prayer language is and how God uses it to build us up and bring us closer to Him.  

I have had people tell me with a dismissive air that "it is the least of the gifts, you know."  Others have said they wondered if it was from the devil.  Was it really real?  We cannot deny that it is right there in our Bibles or that it existed then and still exists today.  When Joel first spoke of it to our Synod here, they were disturbed by what he had to say.  Later on we learned that 5 of Joel's pastor colleagues had this "gift" but did not talk about it to others.  It certainly can stir things up when it is mentioned in our Lutheran world.  And yet, there it is in Acts and in I Corinthians where Paul speaks about it.

I have been enjoying Sherrill's book once again as I read about his research, his experiences, his conclusions and how it all shaped their lives.  God never leaves us where we are, He has bigger plans for us than we could ever imagine.  We are both grateful for the gift of a prayer language as a way to worship and praise God, a way to pray when we don't know what to pray, a way to grow and "edify" ourselves as the scripture claims.  It may seem a  "little to the right of crazy" for some, but for us it is now just part of our prayer life.  For us it is a time when "one's own spirit and the Holy Spirit are in communion and that is a good thing.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious or interested in what having the gift of speaking in tongues is all about.  John Sherrill has passed away now, but he and his wife "Tib" have a firm faith and solid foundation behind them.  They co-authored such books as Brother Andrew's "God's Smugglers" and Corrie TenBoom's book "The Hiding Place".  They are the kind of people you wish you could sit down with for a long visit and listen to all they have experienced in their lives.  

Saturday, August 8, 2020

Saturday's Scribbles


Good Saturday to you!  After several days of gorgeous fall like weather, we are back to hot and sticky as we begin the second week of August.  Changes are a coming!  We can see it in the way the flowers are blooming and the way the grass is shifting it's growth pattern.  We are hoping for a long fall this year and a short winter.  A girl can dream, right?

Speaking of dreaming, pull up a chair, grab a cup of your favorite morning drink, and lets chat awhile.  Has anyone else found their dreams seem to reflect the chaos of our world?  Mine sure do!  I do have a lot of "medical" dreams, and then there are those where I need to defend someone I love or myself cuz safety is an issue.  Come to think of it, my dreams are often closer to being nightmares, certainly not happy and fun.  Hmmmm   better get right on that with prayer!  I also talk out loud in my dreams.  Joel does too.  At least we are not talking and answering each other while we are sleeping!

Speaking of talking, do any of you talk out loud to yourself or just to the universe in general when no one else is around?  I find I do it quite often while working on puzzles!  When we had a dog I had an excuse ~ just talking to the dog, right?  But now............  I thought it was happening with age, but our middle daughter tells me I have been talking out loud since she can remember.  She says I told her, "I am just consulting with myself" when she would ask me who I was talking to!  Ha!  I guess I could blame my puzzle talking on what is going on in the world.  And right now it would be a toss up to pick and choose one thing since everything seems to still be hitting the fan, excuse my language.

Speaking of the everything, sometimes I find myself wondering if "the end is near" and Christ is returning  as I hear some question the possibility (including Max Lucado). I really have never thought about it, just figuring when it happens it happens, no one can predict it.  Yet the world is weeping isn't it.  With Covid, with the political spirit, with the chaos on our streets, racism in hearts, in Beirut with the 3rd biggest explosion ever in the world happening there.  Add to that the personal battles people are going through, the loss of businesses, finances, jobs, health, family members and friends.  Maybe it would be a good time for Jesus to come!

Speaking of that, have you thought much about what Heaven will be like?  Will it be Heaven on earth?  Will we have things to do and places to go.  Will purpose still define us?  Will we get to eat in heaven~ just saying~ I always like to declare that when I get to Heaven I am going to work in the bakery so I can have at my fingertips all the delicious treats I have not been able to indulge in for decades!  Do you think there will be marriage in Heaven?  My hubby likes to tease me with the idea that the Bible says no marriage.  I tell him that is not acceptable as I plan on being his wife for all eternity.  He tells me I won't care since I will be in Heaven and I tell him, oh I am sure I will care!  He is stuck with me!  I know that Heaven is a wonderful place and we will be filled with happiness there and so maybe we need to ask ourselves what makes us happy?  Your pets?  Your spouse?  Your family?  Your cabin?  Your love of food or books or sports........I am just thinking it will be a grand place beyond our imagination where we feast with our Lord, laugh with the angels, walk and talk with Jesus and dance and sing with Holy Spirit!  Just imagine.........

Speaking of imagining, did anyone see the video this week of the little girl whose dad was talking to her and asking her questions about donuts.  Her dad tells here he heard that robbers were stealing peoples donuts....she acts surprised,  responding appropriately to people losing their donuts to robbers.....and then suddenly asks him, "Am I the robber?"  She goes on to say that she doesn't steal anyone's donuts but her own! I'm thinking dad was trying to give her space to "confess"......

On Wednesday my hairdresser came to the house and cut my hair in our garage!  We set things up and we both wore masks and I finally am back to having a hairstyle again. Nice.  It was my first cut in a year.  I started chemo the end of August last year and had no hair for a very long time.  At the same time we had treetrimmers here removing a lot of dead branches high in the trees and some over our roof and the neighbor's yard.  Four hours and a lot of moolah later, all looks good.  Sadly we lost some of our shade over the house in the back, but it had to be done!  So Wednesday was a hair and tree trimming day!

Yesterday Joel and I headed to Target, my first adventure there since early April.  I kept my hands to myself, social distanced and observed people.  Grateful I was strong enough again to go there.  I am not a shopper anymore, so it was nice to see other people, or at least there eyes.....and I was happy they were not wearing white coats as that seems to be the only places I go.  I told Joel that I can tell I have been wearing masks a while since I now try to match or blend the mask I am wearing to the clothes I have on.  Not kidding.  Of course a black mask would cover it all but what fun would that be.  We actually have lime green matching masks from our insurance company.......flowered masks for me and a denim looking one for Joel, one with motorcycles on it and another with pink breast cancer ribbons.  Oh, yeah, we are stylin'!!

We are enjoying the Frankie Drake Mysteries on PBS, catching up on season 1 and 2.  Joel is still biking, working on projects, and getting his book cover laid out.  I am able to walk a bit, cook and clean a bit, work on the latest 1,000 piece puzzle, and read while horizontal.  Still finding creative ways to use blueberries..........making a tart today! Thursday we Zoomed with our oldest and their family from 4 locations, and tomorrow we will connect with another.  

I expect you are done with your coffee and ready to move on from our chat.  Before you go, what have you been doing this week?  What is on your grateful list?

Speaking of grateful, we are thankful for A/C, a good washer and dryer, newly trimmed trees that keep our roof safe, a puzzle, TV distractions, masks, blueberry tarts, Zoom, phone calls and texting, better days, a hair cut, trees trimmed, laughter, prayer, and all of our family and friends around the country.  

Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Saturday's Scribbles


Good Saturday to you from our corner of the world where the weather has been great!  Partly cloudy skies, temperatures in the low 80's and no humidity to complain about.  The low 70's are forecast for this coming week, a lovely way to welcome August~ with September temperatures!

We had to put our pitiful garden to rest this week.  No sunshine, no growth, no veggies.......We tried but we failed.  So it goes.  I think next year we are going to put climbing flowers that like the shade in the structure Joel made.  My black eyed Susan ivy died this week too.  That was another learning curve.  It was dying so I trimmed it back where it was dead and the next day, literally the next day my favorite plant was mostly dead.  Note to self:  Don't trim back the Ivy! When Joel took it out of the hanging pot he said he had never seen such a root bound plan before, so that added to it I am sure.  I will say, our many sturdy geraniums are doing well and keep blooming.  Thank heavens for geraniums!

Speaking of thanking Heaven, I was able to visit this week with a friend I have known for 61 years.  She is walking through the death of her husband after 50 plus years together.  She and all of us take great comfort in knowing he is in Heaven now!  Her faith, courage, and determination were inspiring, and don't we need some inspiration now days?  It reminds me of a simple song we learned with our kids while living in the Philippines decades ago.........."Heaven is a Wonderful Place".


Heaven is a wonderful place for sure, yet here we are on earth embracing each day, right?  So, besides spending too much time talking with my Mayo doctor about the "after Zometa" life I am living, it has been a good week here.  Joel has been busy doing projects including, to my excitement, getting the windows washed!  Love to see them sparkle.  He is riding his bike 10-15 miles most days and has over 800 miles in.  I am doing a little baking since our #10 of blueberries arrived from the Mennonites. Physical therapy is going well.  Always enjoy visiting with my therapist.  I finished a 1,000 piece puzzle that had been a bit challenging and have now started another.  We discovered a "new to us" show on Amazon Prime that originated on public broadcasting, "Frankie Drake Mysteries".  Takes place in the 20's and is about two women detectives in Toronto.  Quite light and enjoyable!

Our oldest son turned 49 last week.  My goodness!  Just seems like we were 49 ourselves.  Our oldest is 50, our youngest 33.  We are so grateful for how well they and their families are all doing ~~sure love and miss the grands!  It has been way too long since we have seen any of them.  We did some reminiscing with our oldest son this past week as he has an amazing memory.  As he brought so many things back to us, it was great to remember and reflect on good times......

Speaking of good times, we kind of need to look back and remember good times as we face this uncertain world.  Division reigns.  Conspiracy theories stink up the air. Facts and lies get blended together and confusion rises.  People spend a great deal of time on social medias pointing the finger at each other, ripping each other apart.   It is all exhausting.  Sometimes we just need to sit back, take a deep breath and remember when............remember when people could have different opinions and still be friends?   And then there is the coronavirus that continues to kill, steal, and destroy.  It seems we are all flying on the seat of our pants (an old saying) on this one.  What is right changes, what is wrong changes, and what we know for sure we don't know for sure! When things look dark, scary, confusing, irritating, and all those other adjectives, it may be time to take another deep breath, be still, and remember that everything else may change but Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Yes He is.  He is our Healer.  He is our Protector.  He is our Provider.  He fights our battles.  Just be still in His Presence.



So on yet another weekend in a season where we can lose track of the days, we give thanks.  So grateful for our too far away families, for great weather, projects getting done, puzzles to distract, long time friends, new TV shows to get lost in, God's Word at our fingertips, sturdy geraniums, and of course delicious blueberries!

Enjoy your weekend!