GRANDPA'S HANDS

 GRANDPA'S HANDS.

November 8, 2015  · 

Grandpa smiled and related this story:

"Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have how they have served you well throughout your years.

These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.

They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.

They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back.

As a child my Mother taught me to fold them in prayer.

They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots.

They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent.

They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son.

Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.

They wrote the letters home and trembled and shook when I buried my Parents and Spouse and walked my Daughter down the aisle.

Yet, they were strong and sure when I dug my buddy out of a foxhole and lifted a plow off of my best friend's foot.

They have held children, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.

They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body.

They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw.

And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well, these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of my life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home.

And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ."

I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my Grandpa's hands and led him home.

When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and wife, I think of Grandpa. I know he has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God. I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.

~Melinda Clements

DADDY'S HANDS MUSIC VIDEO

LOOSE LEAF NOTEBOOK~Moments

 Well I have watched another week go by.  I was fortunate to be greeted each morning with THE targeted goal.  If you live with diabetes then you know what a wonderful feeling to start the day with the right numbers.

As fall continues to knock on my yard and neighborhood in the form of much cooler weather (cough, cough), the leaves continue their ascent into various colors and change as the Bougainville continue to out shine a beauty of their own.

I carefully took out the ceramic Christmas tree from its nook in the cabinet. I searched for Christmas music,  I unearthed the Christmas cards, and rummaged through the closet in anticipation of a holiday that just may not be like any other holiday.

  I took out the other tree, straightened  its branches and arranged the ornaments and just not to leave Thanksgiving lonely, I placed a pumpkin next to it.  So needless to say, I thought it a good thing to bypass Halloween to begin holiday decorating on Halloween's Eve.

Life continues to be a fluid mess, scaremongers, the Great Southwest and American airline rebellion, new chants , and seeing the collapse of old systems.  There's never been a better time to be alive.  The truth is we never know where life will take us, insuring us of perhaps much interesting things to come.The truth is all life is fragile.  All life is treasured.  And again what exciting times to be living in.  Sometimes things don't end up what we have envisioned.  We live in a world of moments.  Moments stand out, visiting on FaceTime with the grandkids, watching a wonderful, colorful sunset, or marveling at some flowers on a walk, that last hug, that last smile, that last photo.

My thoughts have been heavy.  I sigh in surrender on memories of those gone on before us.  These disturbances leave my heart with inexplicable sadness.  Four of our near neighbors are also gone.  Two good friends gone, a son long gone, and the anniversary of a Dad long gone.

Little moments, "He counts the number of the stars;  He calls them by name." (Psalm 147:4)

"God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty."  (I Cor.1:27)

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.

Martin Buber

"When we set out on life’s journeys, we assume our plans and preparations will keep us firmly on course. But we are often blindsided by the twists and turns that the road takes, and we hardly ever end up where we expected. This observation comes from Martin Buber, a prominent German Jewish philosopher, educator, and political activist in the first half of the 20th century. He suggests that embracing these detours for the hidden benefits they bring is a critical part of learning, growing, and enjoying life."

DISAPPOINTED

 "To live is to be disappointed."

The other day my five year old grandson was so proud of himself being able to bounce a basket ball 20 times in a row.  He declared that he wanted to be a basketball player when he grows up.

Children see everything as potentiality while 20 year olds suffer the illusion that will open up to many possibilities, however, as I get older, I realize that many potentialities are illusions.  Life has a way of drifting in and out of disappointments.  This broken world is full of disappointments.

A statement recently struck me, "Look guys, we need to manage our expectations."  We all have dreams and expectations, and when they fail, disappointment fills our puny minds because God knows the bigger picture.

The thing is we are all born into a broken world and in the context of a bigger picture and "Hope is the anticipated reality."  Many times we arrive at weeks end  by our selfish prayers and expectations of them being answered with an out come we would prefer, however, not knowing the bigger picture puts us at a disadvantage of not knowing what is best, even when God says, it's time to come home.

You never know where life will take us.  We never know when life will be taken.

There are a few precious things that no one can take away from me and these have been a comfort through out my years:

>My access to God has never been denied. (Heb. 4:16)

>The Word of God has always been available to me and nobody can take it out of my mind.

>The hope of heaven, everlasting life, peace, joy, and love.

When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psa 34:17-18)

GOLDEN RAIN

THE NOSEY NEIGHBOR, here reporting on her late morning photo walk.  Oct. 8, 2021

Gorgeous Autumn Spectacle

And what to my wandering eyes did appear on Lemay Street, a block full of Golden Rain Trees, aka Chinese Flame trees on a street awash of autumn spectacle, in the color of fall, I must've missed on previous adventures.  All that glitters is not gold.

I stood there amazed capturing the scene.  A man walking his dog, stopped wondering what had captured my attention as I stood in the middle of the street in awe.

 I explained to him how could I have missed this block.  We chatted for awhile.  He turned around and walked the other way as I continued to capture the endless golden litter left.

The Chinese flame tree puts on these outstanding shows several times a year in my back yard but to have a whole street dedicated to that tree excited me.

Big heads of tiny fragrant yellow flowers are followed by festive, eye-catching, reddish pink to salmon-rose papery miniature Chinese lantern-like seed capsules that stand out against the green foliage, and some hang on the tree for months or even until the next bloom.

Rose-colored Chinese lanterns dangling from branches

One cannot ignore the beauty of such a spectacular specimen of God's creation.  My head was still spinning as I headed for home.  So the thing about SoCal is that the leaves and flowers on the trees just keep hanging on and don't loose their grip easily, making  "hanging on for dear life" a new meaning.

"Hang on for dear life" took on a whole new meaning when riding in the car with my Dad at the wheel.  What would be considered driving like a maniac here in the US, would be considered normal in Mexico.  No seat belts and packing in as many people in one car.  The roundabouts, well that took driving to the next level.

I made two more stops to chat with neighbors that were out and about. So there's this thing I'll call subtle warnings, seasonal changes, not only about fall but hints of what might be in the future.  Summer seems to hang on not wanting to release its foliage as if resisting change.

 The last vestiges of spring and summer are visible here and there.  How like us not wanting to divest ourselves of wrongful thinking. The disciplines of the mind and emotions is an ongoing thing. That thinking should be to fit "every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ." ~Eugene Peterson

 

Leaving an endless path of litter.

Not all was golden.  The bougainvillea are still in bloom everywhere.

 

A Page in My History

GOOD MORNING! GOOD EVENING! Oct.6, 2021

Make today, your day in history count. This is a day that the Lord has made, it is part of His story.

All right, let's go, let's do it, here we go.

Nothing is going on. Lot's is going on. Each page begs to be filled.

Day after day we are presented with another day, another day of what? Does the "past prove future" or does the "future prove past"?

These are just my thoughts as we plough through the book of Genesis.  

Today, my sisters and I have been exploring together the amazing, the inspiring, and tragic events transpiring in history past. This morning we considered chapter 3. Our pastor considers this chapter:

"the most vitally important chapter in all the Bible. It is the foundation of everything that comes after it (past proves future). Without it, little else in Scripture or in life would make sense. It explains the condition of the universe and the state of humanity.

It explains why the world has so many problems. I

It explains the human dilemma.

It explains why we need a Savior.

It explains what God is doing in history." (future proves past)

~The Battle for the Beginning: the Bible on Creation and the Fall of Adam, p.195

Our prayer focus:

To consider the fall of mankind and the effects of sin in that first family and beyond, spend time thanking God for His provision of forgiveness sin...and praising God for the work of redemption in Gen.3:15.

"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past." ~George Orwell quote

However, in a spiritual context, we would say that God controls the past and the present. We call it Sovereignty.

I would never want to go back to the past of my teen years, however if past proves the future it has made me what I am today.

Those were some agonizing seasons in life. 

I would not have classified myself as a "normal" teenager. I generally heeded wisdom and instruction, however, emotional pain existed. You might have called me Puritanical, as I did not indulge in what my peers were into. If truth be told, I was very intimidated by them.

I had never been to a movie theater or seen a movie until I moved to SoCal. after graduating from collage, made my own clothes, or wore donated ones, and of all horrors, more interested in listening to Mexican music.

I believe God had placed it into my heart a desire to do what was right. Well most of the time. The seeds of past proved that earlier lessons in life future proved God's intention in my life was to bring me through many seasons of future events to stretch my faith and to accentuate his presence.

I went (past proved) through many seasons, some short, others long.

So back to the Genesis His Story, the highlight of "past proves future" is to learn about our universe, its beginnings and about those who live/lived in it, what God is doing/has done in history, and why.

"God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease, smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see, but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance,comprehension, and yet don't. By his love & grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap & stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith & grant measures of wisdom & joy we would not experience otherwise..."Tony Snow's essay.

THE DAY WE DIDN'T HAVE FB

It was a day that unfolded differently than would be expected. ~Oct.4,2021

Oct.4, 2021, FB, WhatsApp, Instagram down worldwide for 5 hours.

The early morning skies bore the signs of a calm, too calm of a day.

It was an extremely peaceful, sunny day with blue skies with brush strokes of white.  The neighborhood was quiet.

 Later in the day the atmosphere became eerily calmer followed by a tremendous force of energy scaring a flock of crows. Violent gusts of wind tore through the air as dark clouds rolled in followed by thunder, lightening, and rain.

FLASH BACK: The thunderstorms were frightening at night prompting me to snuggle and cuddle my doll a little closer under the blankets while listening to the rain fall into the huge steel drums that were placed to catch the rain.   I was around 8 and at missionary boarding school during many fierce storms.

THE NOSEY NEIGHBOR~Filming

Flip flop, tick tock, funky, wonky, October debut, then it will be winter, spring, then summer again.

LA Film Security Services

Will Fall determine it all?  We are all blessed to be alive, together.  Not to fear, the end may well be near.

We are all nuts.  We are all weary.  What will October bring?

Will what happens this Fall determine it all?

In all 40 years of living in this neighborhood, it is a historical neighborhood first.  It was the hub of activity in a usually quiet street.

Yesterday, we got a notice that a production company, Somesuch Inc. would be filming a commercial. "Fernando"

We have a non descriptive cul-de-sac on the next street near us, Vose. of which I have always admired a huge California Pepper tree. 

So today was prep day for them so I meandered into the cul-de-sac, being my nosey self. On the corner house lawn was a lady set up to administer covid tests.  As I was chatting with her, the security guard ambled up wondering what was going on.

I asked him if I could walk up into the cul-de-sac and he consented.  I slowly made my way up the sidewalk, one of many I had previously walked in time.  I supressed the itch to take some photos, but later took some from the entrance to the cul-de-sac. and some by our house.

I came across a couple, with face masks on discussing something outside of one of the houses.  I stopped to ask them if they were my neighbors.  "No" they answered, "we are actors".  We exchanged some other words and then I continued walking.

I passed an open garage at another house where I once stopped to chat with a lady doing some yard work.  Inside were two young men working on the shiniest motorcycle I've seen in awhile.  There were trucks and scattered equipment and plastic bags full of artificial flowers.  The next house with the large pepper tree had many tables and chairs set up with a few people lounging around drinking coffee. 

So,tomorrow, I will go out and see what my Nancy Drew instincts come up with.

Who is Fernando?

Silk Floss~music video

As Charles Dickens wrote many years ago, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."  So true today.

Family/sibling relationships have been fractured.  Family/sibling relationships are in process.

The other morning I awoke with such peace and calm which continued into the morning following the usual protocol that consume time.  

The evening prior, the sun having turned deep red as it was disappearing into the horizon, to have the moon in opposite direction rising to a similar color.

On checking the WH sky cam, I was astonished to find it lit up in Gold for one evening only.  After that it all turned dark.

Saturday, we had an invigorating meeting, Psalm 23 in review, reminding that in the midst of all trials, God is there, in the shadows, providing, preserving, pardoning, saving, sustaining, and guiding. Sunday, I had a nice hour long conversation with my youngest brother, who is more like a son, as he is twenty years younger that I.

Mon. Sept. 27,2021

So, this morning as I was reading, I was reminded of how God re routes our plans and was reminded of an event in our family's life.

 It just so happened that long ago when I was very young, our three adopted Mexican brothers, Roberto, Manuel, and Joaquin, were enroute to our village to attend school as their village did not have a school.

The Lord appeared to have revealed to their birth father that something bad was about to happen, so he sent the boys on ahead.  He never made it to our house as he, being a devout christian, was murdered for his faith.  Not too long after that, their mother passed away.

"If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

THE BEST OF TIMES vs THE WORST OF TIMES

As Charles Dickens wrote many years ago, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."  So true today.

Family/sibling relationships have been fractured.  Family/sibling relationships are in process.

The other morning I awoke with such peace and calm which continued into the morning following the usual protocol that consume time.  

The evening prior, the sun having turned deep red as it was disappearing into the horizon, to have the moon in opposite direction rising to a similar color.

On checking the WH sky cam, I was astonished to find it lit up in Gold for one evening only.  After that it all turned dark.

Saturday, we had an invigorating meeting, Psalm 23 in review, reminding that in the midst of all trials, God is there, in the shadows, providing, preserving, pardoning, saving, sustaining, and guiding. Sunday, I had a nice hour long conversation with my youngest brother, who is more like a son, as he is twenty years younger that I.

Mon. Sept. 27,2021

So, this morning as I was reading, I was reminded of how God re routes our plans and was reminded of an event in our family's life.

 It just so happened that long ago when I was very young, our three adopted Mexican brothers, Roberto, Manuel, and Joaquin, were enroute to our village to attend school as their village did not have a school.

The Lord appeared to have revealed to their birth father that something bad was about to happen, so he sent the boys on ahead.  He never made it to our house as he, being a devout christian, was murdered for his faith.  Not too long after that, their mother passed away.

"If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

CHINESE FLAME TREE

“All creation is a treasure hunt in which God has left clues—essentially pictures of Himself. Each picture is intentionally pleasurable so as to increase our desire for more. For someone more.
“The beauties of this world whisper to our souls that there is someone ultimate. But the ultimate is never found in the wonderland of creation. We keep looking and longing for the beauty behind the beauty, the One who will satisfy the cravings of our soul.”
— Steve DeWitt

The flowers are small and yellow with a touch of red at the base, with four petals, produced in large branched panicles that are 20–50 cm long. They are very showy and have a pleasant fragrance. They flower in the summer from July to August. Flowers are hermaphroditic, having both male and female organs.
How very interesting.

Back Yard Chinese Flame tree

September 2021

Blooming Sept. 19, 2019

LITTLE SIGNS

 Here's my first Monday's  thoughts of the day.

There are little signs of season change, that summer is coming to an end.

Daylight hours lessen and daylight savings time looms on the horizon.

Some trees are beginning to change color while others hold on just a wee bit longer.  The mornings are cooler, a season of melancholy permeates my being. 

A year that began with high hopes is fading.  The hope of turning a corner and finding the nightmare gone fades with each day as we hear of loved ones going on before us, of loved ones stuck in a perpetual state of suspension, of loved ones struggling with health events.  Every time an older loved one passes, we lose a library.

I walk in a sadness of promises not met,  yet we must walk on, setting our sights forward, pushing on into the fall with the knowledge that winter is just another season.

Perhaps the somberness is tied to the fact that we must march on in faith regardless of events.

 Regardless of sight.  We are still traveling on a road we have never traveled on before.

Yes, winter is not far away.   Just when I've adapted and perfected my nocturnal habits, poof, they are gone only to be replaced by adding another blanket, staying in bed a bit longer

The delicate art of  setting ones mind to the things that matter,

to the things we have learned in the past.

I personally cling to the fact that God will never leave me or forsake me.  I can hear myself saying this but when I solidify it in written words, I am comforted.

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Heb.13:5)

"Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you." (Jeremiah 1:8)

There will never be. a season change with God.

EVENT TO EVENT

Tri Cycle Patrol vehicles waiting for the event of the morning. The happiest place to be on a good Wednesday morning. Preparing for the next trial of events. You are either in one, preparing for one, or recovering from one.

Load your thoughts with the truth. rjs

6Judy Pieper, Sunny Stayman and 4 others

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