What is Love?

Love. An intense feeling of deep affection; a deep romantic attachment to someone. The Bible defines love in this way:

Love is patient, love is kind; it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NIV)


Love is the joy of a newborn baby, cuddly and warm in your arms. It is watching your children grow and learn and play, and developing relationships and friendships that will remain with them throughout their lifetime. Love is teaching your children how to read and write, how to cook and do laundry, and how to handle responsibilities. Love is teaching your children the truths from the Bible--truths about God's love.

Love gives you the strength to watch your children go off to school, to college, to their first job, and starting families of their own. Love gives you the courage to let go and let them grow,  believing that you have done your best to give them the skills and foundation to help them through life.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6, KJV)

Arizona Winter

This is the time of year that everyone LOVES to be in Arizona. The temperatures are perfect--60 to 75 degrees during the day and 40 to 50 degrees at night. The skies are relatively clear and the sunsets are glorious.

Many of the plants and trees are beginning to show new growth, reaching up for the warmth of the sun. People enjoy taking long walks and breathing the fresh air.

We know that, all too soon, the temperatures will soar to 110+ degrees, forcing everyone inside to their air-conditioned homes and air-conditioned cars. Monsoon season will be upon us, bringing with it phenomenal dust storms and torrential downpours that flood the dry ground.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven... (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

When Life Gives You Lemons

There's an old proverb that says, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." It is supposed to inspire hopefulness and a positive attitude in the face of difficulty or misfortune. Lemons suggest sourness or trials in life while lemonade is a sweet drink.

Sounds simple, right? When bad things happen, make lemonade. Too simple. Life isn't about adding a bit of sugar to sweeten it up--it takes something more.

No one wants a life full of trials and tribulations, but as long as we are on this earth, we will have challenges. It's how we choose to meet those challenges that mold us and shape us into strong Christians.

Children grow up hearing stores from the Bible that give them courage:  Daniel in the lion's den, Jonah and the whale, and so many more. All of these stories are prime examples of  God's intervention during trials and tribulations.

As adults, we see things differently. We believe our trials are much greater than children's Bible stories--they are reality for us and seem bigger than life, and they overwhelm us. We sometimes forget that God is right there with us. We are so focused on what we are doing now and our problems that we don't always see the big picture or other things that are going on around us. We are too busy to focus outside of ourselves.

We forget that the temptations and trials are preparing us for eternal life. In the book of James, chapter 1, verses 2-4, we are told to "count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

Bad things happen. It's how we handle the trials that really counts. Sometimes we need to change our perspective. Jesus Himself told us that we would have trouble in this world. But, no matter what, when we place our trust in God, the bad things become less of a challenge.

Every day is a new day--a new sunrise, a new season, a new opportunity, and a new hope--and Jesus is right there beside us. We never face our trials alone. God doesn't promise us a life free from trials--He promises us life!


Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

Life in the Desert

Life in the desert has its challenges.  I love to see "greenery", such as trees, grass, and flowering plants. Unfortunately, these things are a rarity in the desert.  Mostly we see sand, rocks, and scrawny shrubs that pass for trees.  This could be labeled a giant sandbox if it weren't for the fact that the ground is hard--not at all like sandbox sand--and very little can grow here unless it is "born" here.

My rosebushes in the backyard did great the first two summers we were here. This summer, they are struggling to produce flowers. Between the heat and the bugs, they may not survive.

Before we moved into our new house, I bought a blue Hibiscus from Home Depot. I kept it on the porch at the Park Model Mobile Home I was staying in for my first two weeks and then transplanted it next to the rose bushes in the backyard after I moved into the house. Two years later, it is dead and I pulled it up a couple of weeks ago. I fertilize all of my plants and spray them with bug spray, and still I am challenged to keep them alive.

We managed to  kill our Australian Bottle Tree the first three months we were here--we over-watered it, not realizing that it was a desert-hardy plant that didn't need a lot of water.  We were used to watering following Pacific Northwest standards in the summer.  Little did we know that we were drowning our tree. As it turns out, it's just as well that it died. Australian Bottle Trees grow to be 50-80 feet tall and have a relatively narrow canopy.  Had it survived, we probably would have had to cut it down to keep it from blowing over onto the roof of the house during the windstorms.

I have had some success with lantana, also known as verbena. I have a couple of plants growing out in the front of the house in pots that seem to be surviving.


I miss being able to grow things. I would love to try growing some tomatoes and onions and other vegetables that we eat. After all, the climate in the Southwest is conducive to growing vegetables 335 days out of the year. It doesn't mean that everything can grow year 'round--it just means that there are more growing days for the particular type of produce you want to grow. [Mid-December to mid-January are the only non-growing months for most vegetables in the Southwest because the temperatures can actually dip below freezing at night.]

But, alas, most of my plants end up looking like this one.  I actually have four of these in pots out front. I don't even remember what they are, but it doesn't matter--they're dead.

I guess I will have to look forward to the home that Jesus is preparing for us in Heaven. The Bible says: "...the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month." (Revelation 22:1, 2, New International Version)  Wow!  Won't that be great?!?!

Labor Day - Just Another Holiday?

Every year on the first Monday of September, the nation celebrates Labor Day--a special day set aside to honor the workers of America--and is touted as the unofficial end of summer. In the "olden days", Labor Day was celebrated publicly with parades, speeches, picnics and other festivities. In small communities, shops were closed so that the owners could enjoy the festivities. Factories shut down to allow their workers time off.

In today's society, Labor Day is mostly observed by families gathering together for the last outdoor celebration of summer before the weather turns cold. Most (but not all) American workers get a day off and enjoy a 3-day weekend. People head to the mountains, lakes, rivers, streams, oceans, desert, campgrounds, boating marinas, shopping malls--just about everywhere to enjoy the last "hurrah".

So, how am I going to celebrate Labor Day Weekend?  I started by taking a vacation day on Friday in order to enjoy a 4-day weekend. And the rest of my itinerary goes like this:

• Sleep in late, which means sleeping in until any time after 5:00 a.m.  
• Do odd jobs around the house, like cleaning out under the kitchen sink--that huge cavity that stuff gets shoved into and is never seen again nor organized (bought cut-to-fit vinyl material to put on the bottom of the shelf)
• Go shopping
• Work on my children's story for church the following week
• Go shopping
• Help put up pegboard in the garage to re-organize the tools over the new location of the tool bench
• Go shopping
• Help put up storage racks and reorganize the garage storage configuration
• Go shopping
• Move stuff from the guest room closet out to the garage now that there is more storage room
• Go shopping
• Donate clothes and other items that haven't been used in the last two years
• Go shopping

Do you see a common theme in this itinerary? Of course, shopping does have its perks.  Believe it or not, this little box is filled with nearly one pound of chocolate (.98 pounds to be exact). This was our last purchase before heading home from the mall yesterday. We had a cooler in the car filled with ice packs to keep the chocolate from melting on the hour-long drive home. 

Did I mention that our Christmas shopping is almost done? 

Road Trip Memories

There's nothing like a good, old-fashioned road trip across the United States to open your eyes to the wonders of this great country and create memories that will last a lifetime. We recently undertook a 5,000-mile road trip that took us through 11 states in the mid- and southwest region. In addition to spending time with family, we took in numerous sites along the way. It was incredible!

The house on the left is in Illinois and was built by my dad in the mid-1950s for us to live in. The photo on the right is the site of the first elementary school I went to for 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades. Yep, progress has turned it into a Target and a Starbucks!

 

You never know exactly what you will see at the next exit. The giant pink elephant was at a gas station and has been around for 70 years, although he has been moved around a few times. The rooster in the car was an advertisement for a restaurant.

Route 66 runs all the way from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California and was the main route to travel from the Midwest to the Pacific Coast prior to the 1970s. I remember traveling on it as a child in the backseat of a 1961 Chevrolet Biscayne with my brother. These photos were taken in Tucumcari, New Mexico.

The Route 66 slogan is, "Get Your Kicks on Route 66."  I would love to take a vacation and drive Route 66 all the way from the Southwest to the Midwest and all of the stops along the way!

 

And these are just a couple of extra photos for fun. Road trip memories--can't beat 'em!

My, Didn't it Rain?!

Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came upon the earth.  You can read the history in the book of Genesis, chapters 6-9. Noah and his family boarded the ark and God shut the door. For 40 days, the waters rose upon the earth, flooding everything and causing the ark to rise higher and higher above the mountain tops. What must it have been like for Noah and his family to open the window in the ark and see nothing but water upon the earth.  No land, no houses, no trees, no flowers, no animals, no birds...nothing existed upon the earth except Noah, his family, and all of the animals that had been taken into the ark. I can't imagine what that would be like.

Since moving to the Southwest, we have been introduced to Monsoon Season, the period of time

from June through September when several inches of rain can be dropped on the earth in a very short period of time. Here in the desert, the water has nowhere to go--the ground does not absorb the water--it just runs everywhere. We have watched our street flood while trashcans float down the road; floodwaters rise halfway up our driveway and we wonder if it will ever stop. It's quite amazing and a bit scary at times.

When the earth flooded in Noah's time, God made a promise to Noah: "Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." (Genesis 9:11, New International Version) To solidify this promise, God set a rainbow in the sky as a sign of the covenant between God and Noah and all of the generations after Noah.  "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth." (Genesis 9:13, NIV)

The recent flooding in Louisiana may cause us to question this promise, but we have to remember that God is still in control. Satan has the freedom to roam the earth until Jesus comes again, but God is our strength, and we can turn to Him for comfort in adversity. 

Embrace the Place

Home. The place where you live. The place where a person is born or where they grew up. Home means different things to different people. For me, home is where I am. 

I was reading through some of my old posts, particularly the one written in July of 2012 where I was complaining about how hot it was and, at the time, we were living in the Pacific Northwest. When I wrote that post, I had no idea that I would be living in the southwestern United States four years later, where the temperatures rarely drop below 100 degrees for weeks at a time. 

Life has a way of changing, and you never know where you will be going today, tomorrow, next year or in the next decade. The greatest challenge is accepting where God has planted you for today and "embrace the place". I am not particularly thrilled about where we are living right now, but I am learning to accept that, for now, this is home. 

There are some wonderful things about the Southwest--beautiful sunsets and sunrises, comfortable winters, beautiful cactus blossoms in the spring, and wide open spaces. Then there are those aspects that are not so great--snakes, dust storms, monsoon storms, and excessively high temperatures. From June through September, the temperatures soar above 100 degrees and rarely drop below 80 degrees at night. There are weeks when the temperature soars above 110 degrees for days, and it is unbearable.  

Back to my motto:  "Embrace the Place".  It's not my favorite place to be, but it is home.  God has provided a nice house to live in and a wonderful church family. I love my job and the people I work with. What more could I ask for?!

God is also preparing a home for me--a beautiful home in heaven--a mansion He calls it. Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you that you also may be where I am." (John 14:2, 3, New International Version) Jesus wants everyone to have the opportunity to live with Him in heaven. Imagine what it would be like to "embrace the place" in a mansion in heaven. Will you go with me?

Enjoying His Handiwork

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, forever. He has caused his wonders to be remembered. Psalm 111:2-4, New International Version

Oriental Lily

Driving around the country, I am always amazed at the majesty and splendor of all of God's creation. Everywhere I look, I see His handiwork--in the fields and in the mountains, along shores and streams; even the flowers in my own garden possess a beauty that cannot be recreated by the human hand, although men have tried.

One of my favorite places on earth is Multnomah Falls, just a short drive east of Portland, Oregon in the Columbia River Gorge. It is one of many sites of natural beauty that can be found in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest and probably one of the most photographed by visitors from around the world. The falls are fed from an underground spring in Larch Mountain and run highest in winter and spring. The water cascades down the side of the mountain, dropping 542 feet to the first level and an additional 69 feet to the bottom, into a small pool, where the water continues to runoff into the Columbia River. The falls continue to drop year-round due to the underground spring, rainfall, and snow pack.

And God's most wondrous creation of all? Well, no words are needed for this one.

He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." Mark 9:36, 37 (New International Version)

Ugh! It's HOT!!!

Squirrel resting in a tree on a HOT day.

Summertime is in full force, creating scorching temperatures all across the nation.  Even in the city I live in, where the temperatures rarely exceed 100 degrees more than 3-4 days a year, we are experiencing excessively HOT temperatures and lacking the usual cool down temperatures at night.

We have already seen five straight days of temperatures over 100, topping out at 108 degrees. So far this month, we've had a total of 8 days of 100 degrees and higher, and we are only half-way through summer. Temperatures continue to stay in the upper 90s during the day, and rarely drop below 65 degrees at night. It's HOT...and I hate HOT!

The other day, I was sitting in my comfortable chair gazing out the window, when I realized there was a squirrel sprawled across the branch of a tree in our backyard. The temperature was 99 degrees, and it suddenly dawned on me that, just maybe, the squirrel was trying to stay cool on the tree branch. I don't know if he was successful or not, but I was very comfortable in my nice, air-conditioned house watching him through the window!

Big Wheels Keep on Turning

This really brings back memories--watching my grandchildren ride a Big Wheel ride-on toy. When my children were little, someone gave them a used Big Wheel, which they played with constantly. The front wheel was cracked and many of the decals were peeling, but they had more fun with it than they did with a bicycle. Oh, they loved their bicycles, too, but the Big Wheel was something they could all play with, regardless of their age. It was also more stable and less likely to tip over than their bicycles and tricycles. We had other ride-on toys as well, so they would mount up and ride around the neighborhood on their Big Wheel, tractor ride-on, wagon, Cozy Coupe, roller skates, skateboards, and whatever else they could find that had wheels.

Big Wheels have been around for nearly 50 years, although I don't remember seeing one until I had children of my own. I do remember how much fun they had, and the many hours they spent outdoors, enjoying the fresh air and playing with each other. 


Nowadays, most children spend their time in front of a computer or television screen, playing video games and watching videos. Those activities have an important role to play, especially in the development of hand-eye coordination. But they can't take the place of good, old-fashioned, outdoor activities. As parents and grandparents, we need to find the balance in the activities we find for our children and grandchildren. They only live once, and we can't go back and recreate the early years. We have to make them the best years of their lives. 


So, keep the Big Wheels rolling and encourage activity. We will all be healthier for it. 


The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there." Zechariah 8:5 (New International Version)  

Molded Images

Children take an intense interest in everything they do. Spend a few minutes or, more likely an hour, watching a child play with Play-Doh and you will see intense concentration as they strive to create objects.

Their creations appear in many forms. Some of their creations emerge from their imagination and don't resemble anything tangible. Other creations come from their limited experience and vaguely resemble bicycles, snakes, turtles, and anything else that they can create with their hands.

If they don't get it right the first time, they smash it all up and start over, rejuvenating their thought processes and drawing from millions of thoughts going through their minds. The final product may not really look like anything to anyone else but the creator.

Is this how God saw the world when he started the process of creation? Did He look at a mass and decide that he wanted it to look like this or that or something else? How did He know what the end product would be? What thoughts were swirling around in His head when he started creating the birds, the animals, the flowers, the trees and, eventually, man and woman?

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them....God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.  (Genesis 1:27, 31, New International Version) 

Lumpy Beds?

I recently had the opportunity to stay in a very nice hotel in Walla Walla, Washington.  Now, I won't mention the name of the hotel, but suffice it to say that it cost just over $100 for the night. To my estimation, that would be considered a very nice hotel for that area. What I could not figure out, however, was why the beds looked so lumpy. 

This "lumpy-ness" did not set the tone that I am sure the hotel was striving for. It just plain looked weird. I finally had to raise the coverlet from the bed and look underneath, and I discovered that the lumps were coming from the comforter encased in the duvet cover. The bed itself was very comfortable and I slept relatively well, considering that I was in different surroundings and not in my usual comfy bed at home.

All other aspects of the hotel were great--the room had great appointments, the bathroom was very attractive and modern, the free continental breakfast was more than adequate, and you could access the wireless internet from anywhere in the building. Everything was clean and well cared for.

But...the beds looked lumpy. 

Tea Party & Dress-up Time

Kids, dress-up clothes and a toy kitchen make for imaginative play for kids of all ages.

Daughter:  Try it, Mommy. It tastes really good; you'll like it 'cause I made it myself.

Son: Don't do it Mommy. It doesn't look very good to me. 

Son: Mommy, you'll be sorry. I really don't think you should drink that stuff.

Son:  Hmmm, you look okay to me, Mommy. Okay, I'll try some.

Son:  "Aaaaagh!  Mommy, I told you not to drink that stuff! Yuk!

His Infinite Sight

You are probably asking yourself, "What is in that photo?"

I took the photograph nearly a year ago when I was on an airplane bound for Texas. This was taken somewhere over Idaho at about 15,000 feet above sea level, and the only thing you can see is the highest peak of a mountain surrounded by clouds. It made me think about God's view of our world from His throne in Heaven.

With my finite sight, I can barely see this mountain peak, but the Bible says that God knows when a sparrow falls and he has numbered every hair on our head. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31, King James Version)

Are we truly so important to Him that he knows the minutest detail of our lives? Yes, we are that important to Him and He wants to be involved in every aspect of our day-to-day activities and decisions. He stands ready and willing to bless us when we include Him in our decision-making process and in our celebrations.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7, 8, New International Version)

When we trust in God to lead and be the guiding light in our lives, great things can happen. It doesn't mean that life will be a bed of roses because, let's face it, Satan tries to lead astray those who are close to God. But it does mean that even in those difficult times, God is there beside us, walking each step of the way with us so that we are not alone.

I love the "footprints" poem. You know the one, where the author asks why there was only one set of footprints when he was at his lowest point in his life. And God replied that when you saw only one set of footprints, that was when God carried him.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33, King James Version)

Faces

I heard a sermon at church this morning about how we are all created in God's image. Have you ever really stopped to think about that concept? I mean, if we are ALL created in His image, what must God be like?

We can be serious, funny, emotional, angry, calm, crafty, temperamental, dictatorial, obnoxious, loving, critical, devoted--our personalities run from one end of the spectrum to the other and all spots in between. I found a website that listed 348 character traits, and I am sure that at some point in time, each of us has exhibited most, if not all, of those traits.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27, New International Version)

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (Genesis 1:31, New International Version)

So, do you suppose that God is sitting up in Heaven and enjoying a hearty chuckle at this moment?

Fun with Food

Mmmm, good. Have you noticed how children never seem to be bothered by licking their fingers, messy faces or goo all over their hands? On their first birthday, we shove a birthday cake in front of them and let them dive into it with their mouth, their hands, and eventually, it is everywhere. And then we stand back and take photos....and we laugh. No wonder kids think it's funny to be covered in goop and goo and icky stuff.

Now, as adults, we are much more refined in our eating--we have a napkin handy and dab at our mouth after every bite, making sure that not one morsel remains to be seen on our face. Unless, of course, you are carnivores who enjoy eating ribs, in which case your face is covered in goop and goo and icky stuff.

Now, who do you think has more fun eating?!

Okay, so maybe it's a toss-up. I guess it doesn't matter what age you are.

Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him. (Ecclesiastes 5:18, New International Version)

Flowers and Fragrance

Soft, fragrant, delicate, fragile: A rose by any other name is still a rose. As William Shakespeare put it, "That which we call a rose by any other name is still as sweet."

On the third day of Creation, the Lord said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." (Genesis 1:11) The variety of plants created by God were phenomenal, each one unique in its own way. Roses, tulips, lilacs, poinsettias, sunflowers--all designed by the hand of God.

Each flower brings beauty, fragrance and color into the world. Pink, red, white, purple, yellow--every color imaginable is reflected in God's handiwork.

The hills of Palestine were bright with spring flowers during the Passover and fathers and mothers told their children of God's wonders. (The Desire of Ages, Ellen G. White, page 76)

"The things of nature are the Lord's silent ministers, given to us to teach us spiritual truths. They speak to us of the love of God and declare the wisdom of the great Master Artist. I love the beautiful flowers. They are memories of Eden, pointing to the blessed country into which, if faithful, we shall soon enter. The Lord is leading my mind to the health-giving properties of the flowers and trees." (The Adventist Home, Ellen G. White, page 147)

Flowers are also a blessing to those who are ill or shut-in as they lift the spirits and add a touch of beauty to the room. "In nature may always be found something to divert the attention of the sick from themselves and direct their thoughts to God." (Ministry of Healing, Ellen G. White, page 265)

Bon Appetit

Traveling presents many opportunities to expand the culinary palate. We recently traveled to the Oregon and Washington coasts and agreed before we left home that we would try to sample food from restaurants that were unique to the areas in which we were traveling rather than dining at chain restaurants.


Our first stop was in downtown Long Beach, Washington, where we sampled fare at a nautical-themed restaurant called "Benson's by the Beach". The restaurant was under new ownership and offered breakfast and lunch every day. We sampled a vegetarian sandwich with onion rings and a breakfast omelet, both of which were excellent.

We also enjoyed lunch at "Dooger's Seafood and Grill", which was also located in Long Beach, Washington. The menu choices for vegetarians was much more limited, but we were able to enjoy a vege-burger and a salad. We later found out that it was a family-owned chain restaurant specific to the north Oregon coast (Cannon Beach, Seaside and Warrenton) and one on the Washington coast in Long Beach, Washington.

Later in the week, we journeyed across the bridge into Astoria, Oregon, where we enjoyed an interesting meal at the "Bridgewater Bistro", where 80% of the menu is gluten-free. Many of the foods on the menu were very unique and somewhat expensive. We sampled a very small house salad with organic greens and hazelnuts, served with homemade bread, and a Mediterranean veggie wrap with french fries. We were told they were adding a vege-burger to their menu the next day but they weren't prepared to serve it early.

Our final stop was a family-owned Mexican restaurant, Casa el Mirador, in The Dalles, Oregon, where we enjoyed fresh guacamole, warm tortilla chips, enchiladas and burritos.

Yes, traveling opens the door to culinary opportunities if you take the time to find the little, out-of-the-way or unique restaurants and avoid the major chain restaurants.