Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from hot and humid Iowa where dew points are in the mid to high 70's and the heat index is going to be in the 105 range today.  Are we having fun yet???  It is just plain oppressive.  It is windy which is a really good thing for anyone having to be out in this weather.

Speaking of that my husband is one who starts a project and has this inbuilt need to finish what he starts sooner rather than later.  Today when he told me he was going out while it was "cool" to work on his project I pulled rank (do I even have that?) and told him that is great but you are not going out the door until you promise me, I mean pinkie swear promise me that you will close up shop and be done by noon.  About 20 minutes to 12 I opened the garage door and told him he had 19 minutes left.......cuz that is what good wives do, they take care of their husbands when they don't take care of themselves!

It has been another week of crapola.  Yep.  My attitude has not been too great about it all.  I am still waiting for the Covid test results.  There are times I wish we were back "home" in Minnesota and this is one of them.  Covid testing results take less than 24 hours up in the Twin Cities, and 4-6 DAYS here.  Seriously?  At this point in the pandemic that seems absurd.  But then a lot does seem absurd in our present world, doesn't it.  So in a moment of frustration I decided to forget resting, cuz I am not very good at it and pushed myself hard on Thursday to do just some normal stuff.....yesterday I could not function at all....I actually felt I needed to be seen by a doctor due to how sick I was..........and not one clinic anywhere in town would see me.  Nope.  Nada.  Urgent Care............when you have a Covid test pending?  Not urgent enough.   I actually talked to 4 different nurses or staff people, two  because of their concern over my symptoms.  I was told to go to ER.  Not a safe place when our numbers have quadrupled in last 3 weeks and deaths here are up 1,100 %.  So I rested, prayed and now today is another day.  And today I am doing just a little and resting a lot.  Can I just say it?  This sucks!  We will be relieved to know it is not CoVid but then we will still be left with what the Zometa has done to me.

Okay, enough of that.....

Some early mornings I join Joel out on our porch for a little porch sitting.  The birds are singing, the breezes are flowing and sometimes our chimes join in.  Today God reminded me once again that He has not forgotten me.....Let me explain.  Yesterday morning I told Joel I was having difficulty not feeling forgotten by God as I struggle with so much weakness and fatigue.  Soon after we had devotions and 2x it came up that "God has not forgotten you.  He has not forgotten His promises He gave you."  Those two reminders went along with the one I saw on Facebook with the same "theme".  When I get things in three's I pay attention.  God is speaking.  Today as we sat on the porch a beautiful cardinal came up and sat on the shepherd's hook holding one of our planters.  It was in full view for us to enjoy.  We had not seen one yet this summer and it happens to be my favorite bird of all.  I had to smile.  God was reminding me......He is here, loving on me, and helping me to remember He has not forgotten me.  That lie I was speaking?  It is just that.  A lie.  Don't you just love when God shows up at just the right moment of time.  He is a good good Father.

I saw this posted on Facebook which made me think about the family theme song my extended family sings for any reunions...."You Are My Sunshine".  In present times, let's all make the effort be someone's sunshine when their skies are grey.  And lets remember, too, that when Jesus is our SONshine, skies are never grey for long!

When we were sitting outside I asked Joel if that truck that just drove by was the new "witness protection" people?  He laughed....You see not too far away from us a house sold about 18 months ago to some people from Florida or somewhere like that.  Joel intentionally went to meet them,  but after that we never saw them.  Outside.  Nada.  Driving by.....seldom.  And then all of a sudden a moving van pulled up and some other people moved in.  When did the other couple move out?  (Can you tell we have way too much time on our hands here ???)  Another neighbor came by one day after a walk and said he thought those people that left were in the witness protection program and that is why they were invisible most of the time.  And just disappeared.  Hmmmmmm   We still laugh about that!  I think we all need our lives back so we too busy to notice such things!  (giggle)  Those are the benefits or not? of living in our friendly neighborhood!

Speaking of benefits, lets think about all those things we are grateful for!  For us it would be chatting with family members and friends on the phone and with texting, talks with each other. Prayers of others.  Thankful for those we know who are doing so well after surgeries.  So grateful for cardinals, laughter, homemade cookies, comfy furniture, Joel's garage shop, TV, books, teachings, mysterious going on's, Joel's many bike rides,  breezes, A/C , sunrises and sunsets, and another day of sunshine and SONshine!  What is on your list this week?

Enjoy the weekend!

Well, That Was Just A Little To The Right Of Crazy!

I have waited in lines for as many years as I can remember, especially when in the military. One that comes to mind is when we lived in the Philippines and I would go grocery shopping after payday.  The line would sometimes wrap around the building as we stood outside in the oppressive heat and humidity to get a cart and move inside.  When inside I would shop with the hope that not everything I needed was already scooped up by others hoping the same.  When shopping was finished there would be a long line to check out.  This happened most every time I went to the Air Force commissary in the P.I.

Yes, I have stood in line for a number of things over the years,  but I never thought I would be in line so someone could stick a swab far up my nose as a test for Covid-19.  Before I tell you how it came to that, let me tell you that Joel and I will be absolutely shocked if it comes back positive.  Even so, in the past I have been surprised by test results often enough to be cautionary with my thinking I know the answer before the lab does.

The past 5 days I have felt worse that ever since the Zometa infusion three weeks ago.  When I emailed my Mayo doctor about all the symptoms and how they had progressively gotten worse, I received an email within two hours saying my doctor wanted me to be tested for Covid ASAP.  I was stunned, and when I told Joel he reacted the same way.  She had her reasons, so after a short discussion I decided I better rule it out.  That way we will all know whether all my symptoms are from a virus or a drug that helps your bones but hit this body hard!  And, I admit, I need to work at letting the doctor be the doctor......So that is how I found myself showing up for my "appointment",  in a short line of cars, all with occupants waiting for testing.

When our oldest daughter went to Texas with her hubby they saw a sign that reminded them of us....we had just experienced Joel's overnight healing and our gifts of a prayer language and the sign said...."West of Weird, Texas".  Another friend's husband, when hearing our story said to us, "Well that is just a little to the right of crazy isn't it!"  We laughed and laughed over his response.  Not offended at all, in fact Joel's book about his healing, which will soon be self-published, is entitled, "A Little To The Right Of Crazy".  It is how we define our lives a lot now, and today when the test was finished and we drove away, I turned to Joel and said, "Well, that was just a little to the right of crazy wasn't it".

How did we get to this place in 2020?  I can guarantee that people will talk about this year for decades to come.  It was the year that......................... Yeah.  Since there are still 5 months left I'm not holding my breath or making any predictions that it will get better.  I believe we just need to hang on, it is going to be a bumpy ride.

Speaking of hanging on, today the nurse said to me, if you need to grab someone's arm when I am doing this test, grab "his", not mine.  And just like me grabbing hold of Joel's hand for support, we all know that God would love to hold our own hand as we walk through life.  He wants us to grab on, and He will see us through. He promises to hold us with His "righteous hand".  Yes, Lord.  West of weird?  Yep.  To the right of crazy?  Oh yeah. 2020........Maybe at the end of this year we will all say, "That was just a little to the right of crazy"......

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from our corner of the world where heat and humidity have covered us like a suffocating cloud all week.  Stifling.  That is the word.  Extra grateful for our air conditioning and not having to be out in the 90-100 heat index.  Thursday afternoon we had a storm roll in and our area got over 2 1/2 inches of rain.  The temperature cooled off and we took advantage of it, sitting on the porch and enjoying the cooler breezes.  So nice..........

Thursday Joel decided to get a little "domestic" work done.  He got Nora going to take care of the floors on the main level before taking the steamer mop to them.  Who is Nora?  Nora is our iRobot Rooma our oldest son and his family got us a couple of Christmases ago.  We named her Nora after our faithful maid we had while living in the Philippines.  She would clean and do many household chores with a baby on each hip.  Some of the weekly cleaning had to be done every day there due to the bug population. She was heaven sent.

While we were talking about getting Nora busy on the floors I tried to remember the official name. of the robot.  A Roomba?  Maybe a Zumba?  It had me thinking about all the confusing words that are being thrown around out there.  There are Zubaz those colorful sweatpants that our son-in-law K. liked to wear in the 90's.  There is Zumba the latest exercise craze too.  And then there is Roomba.........that round robot with a mind of it's own that does the floors for you.  Maybe you can see how I might get confused on a bad health day and forget what Nora's official name is!

Speaking of a bad health day, I could use some extra prayers concerning the side effects from the Zometa infusion nearly 3 weeks ago.  I have been struggling with some nasty symptoms that have me spending way too much time on the sofa.  I see the oncologist on the 20th but I know they can't really do anything for this.  It is in me to stay for awhile.......Prayer is my first "go-to" guys, so thanks for praying.

Speaking of praying, last week Joel cut my hair at my urging.  He was not too excited about doing it but since it is mostly curls what was the harm?  I cut the sides and he cut the back.  It feels better and looks more uniform, but I am still hanging on to hope that it will grow more on top.  Like soon...........yesterday even!  If not?  A plan B will be put into affect.......a new normal I guess.

Speaking of normal, does anyone else feel there is nothing much normal about 2020?   A year where we looked forward to having a normal life again exploded, imploded, and regurgitated.  It has released fear, anger, hate, confusion, exhaustion, loneliness, weariness, and wariness, in people, and I'm thinking a whole lot more c.r.a.z.y.  It kind of feels a bit like the picture above...........if 2020 were a train ride!  But it does not end there.  I keep clinging to the verse in Romans that tells us God will work all things together for good.....He will.  He does.  It looks like the train has derailed and the tracks cannot be put back together again, but they can.  It is kind of like singing that song............"Jesus Take The Wheel".  Jesus, get us on the right train tracks again Lord as we move slowly into a new normal.  We are relying on your promises!

This early morning we sat on the porch enjoying the weather before the temperatures rise.  We watched squirrels chasing each other, a rabbit graze in our yard, and several kinds of birds greeting each other to start the day I'm thinking!  There was no sign of the doe and her baby fawn around today.  Then we ventured out for a drive.  I just had to get off the sofa and out of the house and so we went to a little town nearby and visited their organic store.  Then headed back to our micro-city to the garden center/market we go to and Joel went in and picked up fresh watermelon, peaches, and corn on the cob.  The last purchases were so good we needed more!  Yesterday Joel shopped for groceries too buying large quantities of the things we use a lot.  We are trying to stretch out the store shopping again since the cases in our country, although small in comparison to big cities, have quadrupled in the last three weeks!

Joel was busy this week with woodworking, biking, shopping, and a bit of cleaning.  I was busy with attempting to walk daily , cook a little, do a puzzle, write, read, and rest.  Rest seems to be my middle name although that is gonna change! I refuse to partner with that way of life!

Speaking of life, I sure hope yours is going well in mid July.  All is good here where the Iowa corn is tasseling as the heat is rising.  We are grateful we live with some space around us so we can be out and enjoy nature. 

Enjoy your weekend!

It Is Coming, Receive It

I had been journaling with God and sat back and closed my eyes to wait for His response.  I immediately saw myself on my knees.  All around me the ground was burned, blackened from fire and there was a layer of ashes everywhere, some still smoldering.  I heard God say, "I want you to visualize the beauty that will come from theses ashes."  I then saw myself lift my arms up into the air and heard the chorus of the song, "Rise Up".  I then saw myself stand up with my arms in the air, giving thanks to God.  

I have been praying Isaiah 61:3 lately, asking God for beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness.  The beauty for ashes has laid on my heart as a reminder that God does just that.  He turns ashes into beauty.  Have you felt the heaviness of our country, our world weighing you down?  In many respects this is a season of mourning, even despair for people, and sometimes ashes.  But God.   God promises to the city of Zion..........and to all of His children...........beauty for ashes.

There are many circumstances in our lives and the lives of those we know and care about that give us the need to hold tight to His promise.  There are situations with people we don't even know that need God placed right in the center, right now.  Is there anything you need God to bring beauty from?  Is there joy needed to replace your mourning?  Do you need a garment of praise covering you to replace the spirit of heaviness?  Yeah..........me too.

God's promises are for today.  Bring it on God!  That beauty for ashes, that joy, that praise that can clothe us.  Bring it on God!  I receive it.  We receive it.   We rise up from the ashes and receive the beauty coming.  It is coming.  Receive it.

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you on this 4th of July 2020.  It is hot and humid in our part of the world with no end in sight for the next week.  We are enjoying nature mostly from the comfort of our air-conditioned home.  In the 23 major moves we have made together we lived without air most of the time........even our first house in the Philippines was cooled by fans.  And yes it was miserable.  Air-conditioning is a blessing we greatly appreciate.  This kind of weather always reminds me of our two years in the P.I. when Joel was in the Air Force.  He spent 8 years serving and we liked military life for the most part.  Living in a third world country opened our eyes to the privilege we have to live in America.  I was proud of our military, of our country.  Those 8 years shaped our lives greatly, and especially the two we spent in The Philippines.

Being honest here, I have had trouble lately being proud of America.  I have been discouraged, angry, sad, disappointed, fearful, and completely stunned by what has been going on.  Everything has become political.  E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.  Covid-19  has changed our world drastically.  The death of George Floyd was horrific, and for me the hatred and bias against ALL police because of it is difficult to comprehend.  The media's bias and manipulation of events sickens me....And lets just stay on the hatred being released here in America .......I am at times embarrassed at times by what is spoken by some  calling themselves Christians. It feels like we are a country divided in nearly every aspect of what makes us America.  It grieves me.

I say all that because today a friend sent a prayer group I am part of a video and  I found myself listening to Lee Greenwood's song, "God Bless The USA and I knew it was what I needed to hear.  We still live in one of the best country's in the world, even with our obvious glaring flaws (and that includes myself).  I believe we can  remain one of the best if we remember what unites us, not divides us.  If we believe there is unity in diversity.  If we seek solutions and not revenge.   If we walk by faith.  If we turn to God for guidance.  That is our hope and our prayer.  Lately I have been standing on the promise of God in Isaiah to give His people beauty for ashes.  It feels like America is burning...........so beauty for ashes is a good promise to stand on.

We will celebrate the 4th alone, which is not new for us, but seems even more real this year.  Covid 19 cases are rapidly going up in our area and travel for us is out of the question.  So  we will get our our super little electric grill and throw on some thick Iowa chops, corn on the cob and sweet potato fries.  We will enjoy a little ice cream and cookies and of course the watermelon we picked up at a local garden/farmer's market.  Joel will ride bike, I will walk, we will throw in a game or two of cribbage or scrabble, and we will watch fireworks on the TV (since for the first time in 15 years we cannot watch from our living room window~ the venue was changed!).  We will hold tight to all the times Americans have rose to the occasion and shown what is best about our country.   We will spend time giving thanks for living in the "land of the free and home of the brave"  and we will do so with hope for a better future for all who live in this vast land.

I pray your 4th of July is one filled with all that makes you smile.  What will you be doing?   Have a good weekend!  And God, please bless America!

Trees and Humans

On our 52nd Anniversary Joel and I went on a little jaunt to our favorite area by the lake not too many miles from our micro-city.  In a normal world, we would have probably gone to our favorite little coffee shop where Joel would sip a specialized coffee while I enjoyed a 100% fruit smoothie.  If we were really rebellious we would buy one of their large cinnamon rolls to split.  That was before coronavirus.  Our world has changed in so many ways, so on the morning of our anniversary we took our own drinks from home and headed west.

As we sat by the lake watching both humans and nature out on the water, I noticed a large tree in our vision. I love trees in every season.  There is nothing more beautiful than a tree dressed in it's finest during the summer months.  And then when fall brings my favorite colors?  Amazing.  And there is also a sense of pure beauty when a leafless tree continues to spread its arms into the gray winter sky.  The contrast of light and dark holds it's own gift.  And so does a tree in Spring when it begins again to release new life.  Trees are one of God's greatest creations.

This tree, on this morning brought to mind how important it is for all of us to have deep roots of faith to walk through all the seasons of our lives.  Those roots help us grow strong, stand firm, and become all God has for us to be, just like this tree.

Yes, there is so much to learn from trees. Planted in good soil they grow strong, they live long.  They flourish.  They serve a purpose. The earth would not survive very long without them!  I'm thinking God knew what he was doing when He created such a wide and beautiful variety of trees.

In some ways we can be compared to trees.  We, too, need to be nourished in order to flourish...... through God's Word, through prayer, in worship and praise, by the wisdom and teachings of others, staying close to God.  Feeding our souls certainly gives us strong roots and those strong roots enable us to open our hearts to others giving us purpose.  You know, maybe God knew what He was doing when He created humans too!

 I am so thankful for trees.........and most of the time I am thankful for humans too. (ha-ha) At this time, in this season it is good to remember that not only are the trees God created meant to give Him glory. but so are we.

"Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

1 Corinthians 10:31