Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you again from Iowa where winter is not showing up.  This week we had 64 degrees...at the end in January! Such strange weather but then again it's strange weather in many parts of the country. Joel told me this morning that our resident ducks were out front. I don't know if that's because they're confused about what time of year it is or if they are letting us know that winter isn't coming?! 

It has been a quiet week again here with only one appointment for Joel at the VA clinic for his eyes.  We headed to church last Sunday which was nice. We walked outside around the cul-de-sac and for Joel down to the river road for 3 days, enjoying the warmth. We quietly celebrated me being cancer free for 5 yrs this week.  Thnks be to God.  Besides that.....A little bit of shopping has been done, a little bit of cleaning, a little bit of cooking, a little bit of woodworking, a little bit of walking a little bit of visiting... I guess the theme here was "a little bit..." 

It's my sister Jan's birthday today! She is an amazing woman who has lived in amazing life. So grateful for her in my life and in the lives of so many many others. Enjoy your day Jan and have a wonderful year ahead!

It is also our grandson S. birthday today. Seventeen!  Happy Birthday Buddy!

This morning I watched a service about missionaries at a church in California. This church supports or helps support a large number of missionaries across the world. Mission work always stirs my heart and it has since I was 13 years old and stood before the bulletin board in our church, St. Olaf Lutheran in Austin, Minnesota. The bulletion board where letters and pictures of our missionaries we supported in Brazil were shared. The Grant Family with their five boys. I used to stare at that bulletin board and wonder what it was like to be on the mission field.

About 35 years later we were gathering with pastors in West Central Minnesota for a Super. Bowl party and began talking to a pastor and his wife about their history. Long story short turns out that Dave, the pastor, was actually one of the Grant Boys on the mission field in Brazil. My response to him was..... oh my goodness I prayed for you when you were there as a child! We prayed for you and your family as a church.  It felt like a full circle moment and they became fast friends. In fact, Joel just had a long talk with Dave this week catching up on each other's lives. I love how God is in the details of our lives. 

Getting back to the mission field...........as I have shared before, Joel and I were drawn together because we both wanted to be on the mission field. Joel's second cousin was David SImonson who served with the Masai tribe in Tanzania his whole life.  He is buried over there on the land given to his family by the tribe.  His ministry livies on today ....Operation Bootstrap......This stirred Joel on for his own desire to be in the mission field.  The last attempt we made for that was in the early 1980s and God shut the door. He had other plans but it does not take away the fact that we have a interest in Global Missions.  It is part of who we are as Christians following Jesus.  We help others, we preach the gospel, we share the good news, we serve as Jesus served. Whether it's at home or in another country we are all called as missionaries of the gospel. We are all called pray for those who need prayer to help those who need help. God has a plan for each of us in the corners of our world.!  

So,  this week I am grateful that Joel was and is able to serve God in the ministry for so many years.  Grateful to be by his side. Grateful for the mission work that is done in America and in the world. Grateful for warm temperatures this week that gave us the opportunities to walk outside. Grateful for so many phone calls and stimulating conversations. Grateful for our residents ducks while praying that they stay safe when it snow does come! Grateful Joel's eyes are doing well and he's getting new glasses. Grateful for the home we live in and the opportunities presented to us to keep serving God. Grateful for my sister Jan on her birthday and every day! Gratful for our grandson and his 17th birthday.  Grateful for texts and emails, phone calls and whispers from God to our hearts. Grateful for all this and so much more.

Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from our corner of North Iowa where the weather is all over the board. Warm then bitterly cold with high winds and 33 below wind chills.  Now heading into a few days above normal. I'm not sure our local creatures and critters know quite what to do with it especially when it's the third week of January and there's still no snow on the ground! And it's colder here than it is in Alaska. And it was colder in the South than in Alaska!?! Everything seems to be a little off-kilter. Not unlike the whole world I guess. 

On the 24th we celebrated Joe's 13 years of miraculous healing from Lyme disease and other diseases and physical concerns. God is The God Who heals! Made him pumpkin pie to enjoy as a special treat and oatmeal cookies besides.

In the past week we've traveled to Mayo Clinic on Sunday to see the ocularist regarding my eye. They took it out and cleaned and polished it hoping that will help with symptoms. On Monday the country inaugurated a new president. On Thursday Joel went to his colleague group. We have managed to get out once in awhile too the store. Stayed home mostly and cooked and cleaned on cold days.  January in Iowa!

 Speaking of Iowa at times I'm still surprised to find myself living here. As I have shared in the past when you're in the military you always have a home state and our home state of course was Minnesota. So no matter where we have moved when people ask where you're from we say Minnesota because that's where we're from. Now the fact that we've spent 29 years in Iowa doesn't seem to affect the fact that we're still from Minnesota! Haha.. the plan was always to retire in Minnesota but then..... the best laid plans... This takes me back to a time when Joel was in the military and they were granting early outs for people. We decided that's what we were going to do after we went down to the Seminary to see friends and we were so sure that we were supposed to go there to Seminary.  We even looked at a house to buy on that same weekend. When we got back to Duluth where we were stationed Joel went in and said, " I'm applying for an early out" and they told him "Lieutenant Dahlen you cannot apply for an early when you have orders! " Joel asked, " Where am I going?" And the sergeant said to the Philippine Islands. Joel had one question... am I going  accompanied or unaccompanied? Your family can go with you here the sergeant replied. So our plans took a sharp turn and we ended up thousands and thousands of miles away on an island in the ocean for 2 years. It completely changed our lives for the better. We grew our family by two children and we made lifelong friends. We experienced the grace of God, the protection of God and the direction of God while there. We were introduced to people of different denominations and expanded and affirmed our lbeliefs while strengthening our faith. God certainly blessed that "detour" and after our two years in the Philippines Joel got out of the military and went to Seminary. Those two years shaped our lives and still do today. 

And speaking of today, my heart is heavy with what has happened this week regarding the January 6th assault on our capital. You know you can watch the news and in my opinion there is NOT ONE news channel that speaks without bias but when you see something happen LIVE  like I did on January 6th it affects you deeply.This is not a political issue.  It is beyond my understanding how our new president could pardon those who were so destructive on that day. I watched a police officer being crushed by a door and the hands of those holding it. I watched as people chanted hang Mike Pence our vice president at the time. I watched as officers were overrun by violent protesters, beaten, assaulted and fearing death.  I saw it all first hand sitting in my living room.... my tears flowed then and now.  Now these violent men have been pardoned and what the police went through that day and our government has been put to the side for reasons beyond my understanding. Police officers have a special place in my heart and for the most are good people trying to protect the people they serve. How sad that they were betrayed that day and still are being betrayed. This is not political its moral. It is a right vs wrong issue for me

   I've said my piece now and I won't revisit it but my heart is heavy and my prayers for police officers everywhere continues.

Today I give thanks for the police officers that put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve no matter the cost. I give thanks for sunshine today and warmer temperatures. I give thanks today for a warm house, plenty of food, good bed to sleep in, safety and security.  I give thanks today for our safe travels to Mayo Clinic and back. Grateful for 2 years in the Philippines and what it's done to shape Our Lives for the last 50 years. And give thanks for Joel's commitment to going to the Seminary and being a pastor since 1980. I give thanks for being able to walk. Give thanks it the house could smell like oatmeal cookies for Joel and pumpkin pie on his healing anniversary. I give thanks for all the phone calls the prayers the text and the emails that brighten our days. I give thanks for this and so much more. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from Northern Iowa where there is a chill in the air. It seems we're heading down below zero with wind chills around 30 below for tomorrow and Monday. It's January in the Midwest! It's very odd that we don't have any snow on the ground and I'm sure that will not help farmers come spring. Still, there's plenty of time for snow to come. Speaking of chilly weather, we traveled last Tuesday in -25 wind chills to Rochester Minnesota to see the lymphedema specialist at Mayo Clinic. She was able to tell us that my arm looks the best it has since I first saw her 3 years ago. We're being diligent with what we do and it's paying off. And I say we because even though I'm the one putting the glove and sleeve on and using the pump on my arm to circulate fluid every day, Joel is the one that has to wrap my arm twice a week to keep it tight. In regards to that we have been given 6 months off of wrapping! This was good news and we're all for good news! And speaking of cold weather my artificial eye has been acting up with matting and watering ao we head back over to Rochester tomorrow to see them and find out if it's okay. On a Sunday! On a very bitterly cold windy Sunday! Thank heavens for heated seats and good cars! 

I have been walking 15 minutes a day building back up after covid. Every healthcare provider and professional that we have talked to has said it takes a long time for your energy to completely return. So we're grateful that we feel as well as we do......we take an extra nap or two if we need to. Joel has done some woodworking but not very much because his finger is still healing from that saw cut. He's been working in the office and we've gotten some cleaning done. We finally got the tree put away!  We don't really miss the tree but we miss the lights. This past week we watched the movie Six Triple Eight on Netflix. It was an excellent movie and I would highly recommend it to everyone. We also started our scavenger hunt monthly adventures that are oldest daughter set up for us as part of our Christmas gift. We headed down to the local bookstore, Three Bells Bookstore,  to pick up our gift card and to look around this special little place. It was fun and we were required to take a picture of ourselves on one of the sofas and send it back to our daughter and son-in-law! We look forward to more local Adventures every month. We also spoke to each of our kids this week which was nice! We're grateful for their wisdom and insights and their desire to do life well. It has really been a January kind of week here in our corner of the world. Not very boring if I look back at everything that's happened but definitely January. 

I have noticed that the light sticks around till 5:00 now and for that I will add my first thing I'm grateful for! More Daylight! Grateful for a warm car that gets us where we need to go with the luxury of heated seats. How did I ever live without them! Grateful for good news from the lymphedema specialist. Grateful for a fun trip to a local bookstore provided by our oldest daughter and son-in-law. Grateful for all the texts and phone calls this week filled with insights, wisdom and joy. Grateful for a movie that makes us think and helps us learn about history. Grateful that we're at least 90% back to normal from covid. Grateful Joel's finger is healing.  Grateful that I can write a blog post from my phone! Such great technology! Grateful for sunshine on a cold day. Grateful for all this and so much more.

 Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from our corner of Iowa where there's no snow but plenty of cold weather. It has been another week of staying close to home as we finish up recovering from covid. No porch sitting going on! No animals to enjoy! A quiet week.  

Speaking of Covid, we quarantined ourselves for 14 days for me and 10 days for Joel. He felt good after 5 days, actually, and spent quite a bit of time in the shop. Until Thursday when  the wood that he was cutting jumped and the saw caught his finger putting a deep, short cut through the nail and the end of his finger. For about 3 hours he had terrible pain but then it settled down.  It bled continually Thursday and Friday but now it is healing.  This is the second accident where wood has jumped while cutting it. The first time a board hit his chest and left a good bruise, this time we took a little chunk of finger and nail so we're thinking that he needs to get some kind of a tool to hold things down so this won't happen again! He's been lucky twice and we're not going to test it. Post covid he is back to his normal routines ... like heading off to Gabby Grandpa's this morning, and preaching at two churches tomorrow

We've managed to do some cleaning in the house especially getting the sheets washed,  opening the windows up in the bedrooms and airing things out. There's nothing quite like fresh air and  clean sheets when you climb into bed at night!

I have been getting back to walking slowly and building up again to 15 minutes. I can do things like clean bathrooms etc but it takes all the energy for a while. It's not surprising that I'm slower to recover than Joel but I am recovered! Mainly we rested a lot, ,slept when we needed to, took our vitamins,etc., drank plenty of fluids and we ate plenty of homemade chicken soup while we were sick.  There are just certain foods that seem to comfort when you're not feeling well and one of your them for us is homemade chicken and rice soup. 

On Wednesday I saw my retina doctor and that went pretty well. Yesterday I saw the oncologist and had a good report! Very happy about that! Now if we can just get into Mayo Clinic before the end of March!

I cannot help but mention the fires in California. Such utter devastation. It's hard to imagine and I know the TV does not do it justice. Thousands of people lost everything. Certainly at the least they need our prayers and our compassion. 

I wrote a short post about former president Jimmy Carter this week on Facebook.  He was a man of integrity, honesty, and faith.  His faith permeated everything he did,  I am sure Jesus welcomed him home when he died...."Well done good and faithful servant".   

So I start today's gratitude list with Thanksgiving for all the firefighters from California from the states and from Canada that are fighting to eliminate these fires. Grateful for those who are risking their own lives to save others. Grateful for the life and legacy of Jimmy Carter and Roselyn.  Grateful that covid is behind us and so far we're doing pretty good. Grateful for homemade chicken soup, blankets and throws to snuggle under while we rested, the prayers and thoughts of others, the text and phone calls, and so much more. Grateful the house is clean again and germs have left the building! Grateful for all of this and so much more. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Scribbles

Hope you are staying warm on this first weekend of January 2025. The Dahlen household has been staying inside dealing with Covid since December 26 for me and New Year's Day for Joel . We haven't seen too much of nature inside our four walls,  but we were blessed to observe a young buck in the neighbor's yard and see a few squirrels running around..... but the bitter cold has most everyone and all animals staying tucked inside their winter homes. 

Speaking of homes, we had  had a wonderful Christmas at our son's and were able to spend time with the three grandchildren. On Monday night Matt took us shopping at the Boot Barn and bought his dad a new cowboy hat and cowboy boots for Christmas. What a wonderful gift and surprise! Tuesday afternoon we went to Lutheran Church of Hope and attended one of their 11 Christmas services. Over 33,000 people attended in person at West Des Moines. We watch them every Saturday night so it was great fun to be there worshiping. Christmas Eve was quiet with a nice meal prepared by Matt. Christmas morning we open gifts at 8:00 and the girls left to be with their mom. Matt fixed Grant, Joel and me a ham dinner and by 3:00 we were on the road because our plan was to get rested before going to Mayo Ophthalmology appointments on Friday the 27th. Life had other plans and by the 26th I was very sick so we ended up having to cancel my appointments which was such a disappointment. I had to reschedule my appointments and they're way to the end of March which doesn't say much for helping my vision. The Covid Crud had us spending a lot of time sleeping...between 2-5 naps a day. . The body needs what the body needs. 

It has been  difficult to accept I could not get to the glaucoma specialist. It is been difficult to accept we were sick with covid. It has been difficult to accept that we've had insurance issues.  It has been difficult to start 2025 with more challenges and no answers regarding health. I have struggled with finding much to be grateful for I confess,  and yet I know deep in my heart there is much to be grateful for. 

So let me begin...

No one can take away the good time we had with our son and his children. No one can take away the worship experience we had at Lutheran Church of Hope. Nothing can take away the connection and bond that Joel and I are blessed to have in our 56th year of marriage. No one can take away the miracles that have occurred in our lives in the past and the ones we hope for for the future. Nothing can get in the way and by nothing I mean Satan because he is the enemy that has come to kill steal and destroy. As my energy slowly returns so does my desire to give thanks no matter what the circumstances. I don't give thanks for the circumstances I give thanks in the circumstances because we know who wins the war. Jesus.  I am giving thanks for the reminders of how blessed we are . Giving thanks for people in our lives like Kendra who fights such a difficult battle but does it so well . Giving thanks in our life for people like the family member who had a 1% chance to live and now is discharged from the hospital and in a rehab center with more miracles than we can count ! Giving thanks for people who encourage who stand firm who rejoice who are richly blessed and who serve God Faithfully like Mary Lou and Keith and Jane . The list goes on and on of people and places and memories and blessings . We pray that your 2025 is filled joy we give thanks that we are still here to lift ourv voices and to lift our hearts in 2025.

And more....I am so grateful that we did not have severe cases of covid even though it feels like it's dragging on and on it is not settled in our lungs and we are doing okay. Grateful that homemade soup is helping, grateful for homeopathic remedies for over the counter medications for the power of Prayer. Grateful for all the sleep we've accumulated! A good way to heal. Grateful for family who have reached out to us during this covid battle. Grateful for Herbal cough drops grateful for white grape juice when water tastes bitter. Grateful for recliners and sofas that make our lives comfortable. Grateful for baggy clothes and comfortable bathrobes. Grateful for a warm house and a fireplace. Grateful for distracting TV or music.  Grateful for audio books. Grateful for each other. Grateful, oh so very grateful that this too shall pass! 

Enjoy your weekend and give thanks to God above for 2025!