The Rotary Trail Take Two

Last Saturday Dear and I decided to enjoy the Rotary trail early in the morning.

I wonder what constitutes a notable tree? I googled it and here is the information I retrieved.

This Douglas-fir at the north-south/east-west junction of the Rotary Trail is located adjacent to the local golf course and Evergreen Drive. It is prominent for its size (32-inch diameter at breast high) and its position at the highest point (1910 feet) on the Rotary Trail.

 

We saw a birdwatcher on the trail and he told us about an eagles nest and a Harrier Hawk that he saw on the trail.

We didn’t see the nest but we saw an Eagle on the top of these electrical transmission lines.

It was fun to capture this little guy, too. Correct me if I’m wrong birdie friends. Upon further investigation this bird looks most similar to a Wilson Snipe.

The Harrier Hawk.

Next time we walk this trail I will take my longer lens so I can zoom in closer to get photos of these beautiful creatures.

I’m learning about general revelation and special revelation in studying Psalm 19. General revelation cannot convert sinners. Salvation comes only through special revelation as the Word of God is effectually applied by the Spirit of God. So much to learn. I don’t want to stop learning about what is of the most importance in eternity.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules[d] of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

Hope the last two days of May are good for you in your corner of the world. We might be walking the trail again this morning with my long lens.

May Yard

Quail in the yard and danger in the skies.

We are wrapping up May this weekend. Lots of good hope for June!

Our little 3 year old grand Addy is mastering her braking skills and can now ride her bike down the driveway. Our little 1 year old Jaymison has mastered the indoor Little Tykes slide. He climbs up and slides down without assistance, laughing with joy with this new skill. I’ll get a photo soon.

Have a great Friday y’all. We are planning on heading to our favorite Mexican Restaurant today! Do you have any plans for the last weekend in May?

Quotes of the week:

“No Christ in your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching.” C. H. Spurgeon

“God does not need us. We need Him. And any man who is preaching a gospel that says that God needs us is preaching a different gospel.” Justin Peters

“People may love a God of their own imaginations, when they are far from loving such a God as reigns in heaven.” Jonathon Edwards

“We are being transformed into the image of Christ, not a better me.” Dennis Wilkening

Mother’s Day Rewind…

On Mother’s Day in the evening we gathered for a potluck dinner outside at Dan and Jamie’s. Captured some photos of our grands with their dear mommy.

It’s not easy to get two little ones to look at the camera at the same time.

I captured a couple photos of Addy with her Granny but missed taking photos of the other participants because my hands were occupied with the grands…

Our views on the way to Mother’s Day dinner.

Lots of catching up to do before we head into June!

I’m so happy to announce I have an appointment with a new hairdresser on Tuesday morning at 8:15 am. My mop will be so happy. I’ll be driving down the highway a ways but it’s worth it.

We are having a Spring heat wave here in our corner. We had the air on for the first time yesterday. Today and tomorrow will be hotter so our air will continue to cool us and the house off.

What’s new in your corner of the world?

Some Gave All ~Memorial Day Hodgpodge

1. The US of A celebrated Memorial Day this past Monday. Does your family have any military ties? If so, tell us about them.

We do not have any family member who died in combat but we do have Veterans. Our daughter has educated us on the difference between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. Memorial Day is not a day to honor anyone who has served but it is for military members who have died in combat. Our son in law is a non-active Marine who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He saw some of his Marine buddies die. The collage above shows Marines who were serving the same time as Andrew and who died while serving. These are those who we honor on Memorial Day. My father in law served in World War II. My brother in law served in Viet Nam and it took a toll on his life. My father-in-law and brother-in-law are both buried at the same cemetery, Riverside National Cemetery in California. They were buried 30 years apart. 

2. Cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans, potato chips, mac and cheese, macaroni salad…your favorite BBQ side? How many of these do you make from scratch vs. buying from the deli?

Does opening up a can or a box qualify as scratch? 🙂 I enjoy potato salad from scratch but I’ll go for Coleslaw from the deli. I have never made potato chips. I’ve doctored up a can of beans. 

3.  I enjoyed asking this question back when the Hodgepodge was a regular thing…Lake Superior State University posts a list each year of words they think should be banished from the Queen’s English for misuse, overuse, and/or general uselessness. The 2020 list includes-quid pro quo, artisanal, curated, influencer, literally, I mean, living my best life, mouthful (word used by foodies to describe texture of food in their mouth), chirp (basically an insult, you can read more on the website), jelly (short for jealous), totes (short for totally), vibe, and OK Boomer (internet response from millenial to older generation).

Of the words/phrases listed which would you most like to see ‘banned’?

Well I’m happy to say I haven’t heard most of these. Something about Living my best life doesn’t ring true to me. It seems like something that comes out of the mouth of health and wealth false teachers/charlatans.

4. I’m sure next year’s list will be filled with words springing out of this weird season we’re all in currently. What word or phrase associated with the Corona would you be happy to hear less often?

“Social Distancing” “Self Quarantine”

5.  The month of May wraps up in just a few days. Bid her adieu in ten words or less.

May, thank you for opening welcome doors back to normal. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Here in Northeastern Washington where the population is low and the COVID-19 numbers are low, too, we have some normalcy returning. Dear and I went to a local eatery on Sunday for a burger and it felt as if things were normal in the establishment except for a table here and there that they had a sign on that said “Governor’s Table”. Made us chuckle. Something that is not normal yet is my COVID-19 hair. Oye and ouch. My mop needs a lot of help!

Photo from Mother’s Day with some gifts from our kids.

Thank you to Joyce for asking the questions and managing Hodgepodge.

Tuesdays With Moisi ~Collages

Yesterday May 25th, 2020 would have been Moisi’s 97th birthday. I threw together these collages from photos I could access off my current computer. They are not in any particular order from the Nineteen Forties thru 2018.

This was Moisi’s last birthday on this earth. He was 95 in 2018 and he died in June of 2018.

 

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am part of the “Fellowship of the Unashamed.”
The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made. I am a disciple of
Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down,
back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present
makes sense, and my future is secure.

I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,
small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,
chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,
promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by
presence, lean by faith, love by patience,
lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace
is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my
road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought,
compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,
diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander
in the maze of mediocrity.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until
Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know,
and work until He comes. And when He comes to get
His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear.

~

 The Author of this work is a Rwandan man in 1980 who was forced by his tribe to either renounce Christ or face certain death. He refused to renounce Christ, and was killed on the spot. The night before he had written the commitment “The Fellowship of the Unashamed” which was found in his room. Bob Moorehead had written this in his book “Words Aptly Spoken” c. 1995

Paul said: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…Romans 1:16

Our pastor quoted this piece at the end of his sermon for Memorial day this past Sunday. I thought it was appropriate to post on this Tuesday With Moisi. Moisi never looked back after becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ his Lord. He was not ashamed of the Gospel.

Memorial Day 2020

We take time to stop and remember the sacrifices that have been made for our freedom. Some gave all. This is Memorial Day. This weekend we remember those who served our country and died in combat. The following photo was taken at the Arlington National Cemetery.

Blades of grass and pure white stones
Shelter those who’ve come and gone.
Just below the emerald sod
Are those who reached the arms of God.

Buried here with dignity
Endless rows for all to see,
Freedom’s seeds in sorrow sown,
‘Neath blades of grass and pure white stones.

Blades of grass and pure white stones
Cover those who left their homes
To rest in fields here, side by side,
Lest we forget their sacrifice.

Buried here with dignity
Endless rows for all to see,
Freedom’s seeds in sorrow sown,
‘Neath blades of grass and pure white stones.

Written by Lowell Alexander, Orrin Hatch, and Philip Naish.

Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. Romans 13:7 (NRSV)

IMGP7117This is the Veterans Memorial at the Riverside National Cemetery in Southern California.

IMGP7115

IMGP7120There were many sobering monuments at Riverside National Cemetery.

May we all take some time to remember those who died in service to our country.

Saved by Grace ~ Hymn

 

Saved by Grace

Some day the silver cord will break,
And I no more as now shall sing;
But oh, the joy when I shall wake
Within the palace of the King!

Refrain

And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story—Saved by grace;
And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story—Saved by grace.

Some day my earthly house will fall.
I cannot tell how soon ’twill be;
But this I know—my All in All
Has now a place in Heav’n for me.

Refrain

Some day, when fades the golden sun
Beneath the rosy tinted west,
My blessèd Lord will say, Well done!
And I shall enter into rest.

Refrain

Some day: till then I’ll watch and wait,
My lamp all trimmed and burning bright,
That when my Savior opens the gate,
My soul to Him may take its flight.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1891.

The hymn…was called into be­ing through…a ser­mon preached by Dr. How­ard Crosby who was a dis­tant rel­a­tive and dear friend of mine. He said that no Chris­tian should fear death, for if each of us was faith­ful to the grace giv­en us by Christ, the same grace that teach­es us how to live would al­so teach us how to die. His re­marks were af­terward pub­lished in a news­pa­per, and they were read to me by Mr. Big­low. Not ma­ny hours af­ter I heard them I be­gan to write the hymn.

Crosby

However, these words al­most didn’t see light of day. They came to pub­lic no­tice by ac­ci­dent, dur­ing a con­fer­ence Fan­ny at­tend­ed in North­field, Mas­sa­chu­setts. Dur­ing the meet­ing, the great evan­gel­ist, Dwight Moody, asked if Fan­ny—like so ma­ny others—would give a per­son­al tes­ti­mo­ny to the au­di­ence. Not want­ing to draw at­ten­tion to her­self, she al­most de­clined, but fin­al­ly got up to speak, and said:

There is one hymn I have wri­tten which has ne­ver been pub­lished. I call it my soul’s po­em. Some­times when I am tro­ubled, I re­peat it to my­self, for it brings com­fort to my heart.

ht: Cyberhymnal

Bath Time!

It’s been fun to watch the robins enjoying the bird bath.

Lately when I go out into the world I come home and need a good bath (shower) and change of clothes to make sure I’ve left all those ugly germs we are warned against. There are other dangers to be aware of…

“If we don’t know the Bible, if we don’t know Doctrine, if we don’t know theology, it is virtually impossible for us to identify false prophets.” Voddie Baucham

“Discernment is not a mystical process where you ask God for discernment and He magically drops ideas into your mind. We receive discernment from studying the Bible and understanding what it says, by the guidance that the Holy Spirit provides.”

“Never trust a faith healer who has to wear glasses.” Justin Peters

“Settle out of court with God because when you stand before Him it will be too late. You have a mediator who will settle your debt, the Lord Jesus Christ”~ Riccardi

Hope you all have a meaningful Memorial Day Weekend. I’ll save my Memorial Day post for Monday.

Bubbles

Mother’s Day weekend was such a treat with not only weather but a chance for some of our family to finally be together again. We soaked up every minute! After tea time and brunch we had some sunshine playtime.

This collage above was from Saturday evening not Mother’s Day.

All hands on deck to entertain the little ones!

All the family but two were able to gather on Mother’s Day Weekend. Such a good sweet time for all.

Tea Time ~ The Pinkie

On Mother’s Day while the guys prepared breakfast and Jaymison was sleeping the girls had a little tea party using the tea set that Josh and Laura purchased for Addy for her 1st or 2nd birthay.

 

When we were ready to drink our “tea” we showed Addy how we extend our pinkie finger for some classic tea time photos. She watched carefully and then…

…her version of the pinkie.

We all had a joyful chuckle. One day she’ll get a chuckle out of this, too.

The pinkie!

We are all looking forward to a proper “High Tea” with Addy in the future but this first one with water was a special treat to enjoy.

Addyson loves her auntie Lolo!

We had a very successful trip to Spokane and home again on Wednesday. My eye exam revealed that I am developing a cataract in my right eye which is no surprise and the eye surgeon said it was most likely to occur. I’ll need cataract surgery in a year or two. I got a fresh prescription for my eye glasses because of the change in my right eye. To get into the eye clinic I had to have my temperature taken, answer a few questions and I had to be wearing a mask. They had the waiting area staged to have the minimum of 6 feet between those waiting. I wore the mask the whole time I was being examined, too. The clinic was across the street from the center where Trader Joe’s is so that was our second stop.

We filled up the cart with some things our kids were in want of and added a few new choices for meals for us. On to Hobby Lobby which has just re-opened and I added several Easter items to the cart at 80% off the original price. We found another jigsaw puzzle that I used my 40% coupon on. After each customer transaction the cashier sprayed and wiped off the counter and the credit card terminal. Our last stop in Spokane was Costco where we filled up the gas tank for $1.97 a gallon and loaded up the cart with some things the kids needed and a few items for us. With my new eye glass prescription in hand I was able to choose and order two pairs of glasses, regular and sunglasses. The new COVID-19 guidelines meant I had my temperature taken again and then an attendant pulled frames off the wall for me to try. After trying on the frames they had to be disinfected before they went back on the wall. No one allowed by the wall of frames unless being assisted by one of the worker bees. A few hundred dollars later and a couple weeks wait and I’ll be able to see better. I was wiped out by this time. It was an extra strain to shop with dilated eyes and a mask. I find my shopping skills with a mask on are not organized and efficient.

On the way home from Spokane we called our favorite Mexican restaurant in Chewelah to see about ordering some food for our “Linner”. Lo and behold Hector recognized my number and said come on in we are open 24-7. (Actually 11-8) It was such a great feeling to be able to walk into the restaurant and be served a meal there instead of hauling it home. It was fun to interact with Hector face to face again and to have our little toast of celebration! They only have 6 tables that they can seat at 50% capacity and maintaining the Social Distancing required. We left full and thankful with twenty more miles to go…

About 12 miles in we stopped at the kids to drop off their goodies. A quick hug with the grands before they went down for their naps and then 8 more miles and we were home for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Hopeful for more normalcy to come back to all of us…