Thanksgiving Day

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. As many Americans would say, it was nice to be together with family and friends, sharing in a sumptious meal that of course included turkey....and plenty of pies! Nice, too, to remember how thankful we are for material provisions and comforts that we often take for granted.

Today is the "day after" and the weather is perfect! I went for a walk, and journeyed back down memory lane. Thanksgiving Day became our family's favorite holiday some 40 years ago. We lived in a small community 90 miles away and my parents and a family of special friends lived here in Kearney. We had grown up loving literature, poetry and such, and felt that our children were missing something because the schools no longer required memorization, or even reading the works of the old 19th century poets. So, we began a tradition....after dinner, everyone have a poem to recite!

I remember my youngest stumbling through

"Engine, engine number 9
Running on the Chicago line
When she's polished, she will shine!
Engine, engine number 9.

Not very literary, you say, but it worked for a 3 year old boy who wasn't very enthused about the whole business. The years came and went. We moved to Kearney, bought our own house, and that year there were poems about a little house. Through the years, there were hilariously funny poems composed and spoken; short poems, sad poems, long poems. We heard "Paul Revere's ride" quoted in full length; Horatious at the Bridge; something long from "Charley and the Chocolate Factory", and many, many others.

My parents grew old and passed away, Dad in 1988 and Mom in 1993. Without their voices, the program was never quite the same, but we kept on for awhile. Things change, though, and move forward. The tradition now is only a fond memory. In recent years, we've seldom all been together. In 2001, I was in Ecuador. The day and the setting is still pictured in my mind, several of us enjoying our meal in the equatorial noonday heat, and probably only myself aware of our holiday. I don't remember what we had to eat, but know it was good. I do remember coconut juice to drink, from the trees in the back yard.

Last year, I was in Ekaterinburg, Russia on Thanksgiving Day. It was my week to cook for my co-worker and myself, and I fixed chicken thighs, mashed potatoes and gravy, a green vegetable and carrot salad. Yum! I still remember how good it tasted. We enjoyed this meal in the tiny kitchen of our 7th floor apartment, and were thankful for our privilege to be there.

Time to move on now and speak of the future! You've asked "what next?" and I've said I didn't know....but now I do know. At least I know the plan! In January I'm to go to Estonia. If you are asking "Where in the world is Estonia?" it is a small country south of Finland, north of Latvia, west of Russia, east of the Baltic Sea. Like Latvia, it was a part of the Soviet Union until that fell. It is now a part of the European Union.

Why Estonia? I didn't choose it. It was chosen for me, and I am thankful. Sometimes I think of the verse, Ezekial 22:30, and of God looking for one to "stand in a gap", to"make up a hedge". We can think of God seeing needs everywhere, looking for someone who can fit in, knowing exactly where they can fit in, knowing where they couldn't; knowing what each is able for. Then there is His promise of provision and of strength. I wouldn't want to chose for myself, but I'm deeply thankful, humbly greatful, to have been chosen. "I would be true to all He has committed unto my trust..."

Autumn Musings

Late this beautiful afternoon I took a walk on our hike-bike trail. When last I walked there, Spring was was in the air and on every side the promise of a new season. Today, the year has moved on to produce its fullest. Verdant undergrowth almost obliterates views of the stream. A few clumps of yellow show in the trees, and red adds color among the bushes and in climbing vines. Tall corn on the other side of this little river is brown now, awaiting harvest. The weather is perfect. This is Central Nebraska at its best!

Since that Spring day, I've walked other trails, and travelled many roads. The realization came a few days ago that this past year has been the best of my life. Doubtless there have been other years I may have thought the same thing about, but it nice to bring it to the present.

So, when did the year begin? Twelve months ago I was in Sweden waiting for my visa to go to Russia. I won't list again the paths since then. Mostly, my blog tells of them. How did it all come about? I don't really know. It was step by step; invitation; opportunity; choice. This afternoon lines of one of my favorite poems came to mind, "Two paths diverged in a yellow wood", and the last lines, "And I, I chose the path less traveled by, and that has made all the difference".

Another line of that poem, speaking of the other path, not chosen, and the thought of walking it another time, says "...knowing how way leads unto way, I doubt that I will ever come back". (My quotes are exact as I don't have the poem in front of me.) No...in thinking about it, it is not possible to really come back. Things and people around us change with time. The storms and the sunshine of life, and the work of growth and aging never leave us the same. Life has moved on. In this past year there have been deaths; marriages; birthdays and new births. Just a few days ago, a brand new great-granddaughter came into our family! No, we are never the same and we wouldn't want to go back.

Since I wrote last, the days in the field with Jana ended and preps and conventions have followed. Rain from heaven has softened our hearts again; seed has been sown again; our purposed renewed; faith increased; courage strengthened. In short, our lives have again been greatly enriched.

Now, though it isn't yet what we look at as the new calendar year, a new year begins. Many ask me "Where are you going next?" I don't have an answer yet for that question. One little quote (not exact) I've liked says a lot:

"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 'give me a light that I may go out into the darkness'. He said unto me, 'Go, put your hand into the hand of God. It will be better to you than a light and safer than a known way'."

A little poem I've kept gives the real answer:

"I turn my face from gone-by,
to that which lies before;
a sea of possibilities,
and I upon the shore.
And see so much that would invite,
so much that would dismay;
but courage rises in my heart
that God will plan the way.

A picture to share

Priscilla and grandaughter Jana~~August 09, Wayne NE

Summertime

I love the summer smells and sounds here in northeast Nebraska.
I love the little country roads. I love the evenings - warm summer
darkness filled with the twinkling lights of fireflies.
There is something nostalgic about it, and memories come flooding back - like
memories have a way of doing when the setting is right.
These are the hills of my childhood. This is the summer heat; the scents; the pastures.
These are the people. Many others who are gone on to their eternal home live again in memory. The ones we visit now were younger then. Many were not even born.
In those years so long ago I never imagined being here as I am these four summer weeks, helping my granddaughter with Gospel Meetings.
What a privilege! As Jana and I travel, I can't help but tell her about people that once lived here, about the way things were then.
One day as we traveled west on 275, I found the Ridge Road, and we turned north on it.
I've wanted to go over that road again for a long time.
Yes...there is the Bega School, the building still there.
Memories of my country school getting together with that district a few times; memories of
Gospel Meetings there long ago, and a remembered voice ringing out the words from the hymn, "Was it for me sweet angel strains came floating o'er Judea's plains....?".
That was the road my parents and I traveled toward home in torrents of rain the night of the Madison tornados. We reached the south end of our road in the middle of the night and with the storms over, walked the muddy 3/4 mile over the hill to home by moonlight.
There was no one to see, and my Dad, to save his suit pants, took them off and walked in his
"long john's" Mom and I, behind, couldn't help but snicker a little.
It was fun to walk around Winside, where I went to grade school three years.
So many memories there! The kids I sometimes played with; the grocery store where I brought in my bicycle basket our little bottles of cream to sell. Once I took out a dime from the pay and
bought candy, and still remember my parents disappointment that I had done that without asking.
Enough reminiscing! It is another era now, and in most ways a better one.
Mostly, I'm glad to see that seed sown many years ago is still producing here. I know the courageous sowers of those bygone years would rejoice and give thanks to see it.

Weeds among the flowers

It's Friday morning. Monday morning I'm leaving Here to go There, and afterward Somewhere else. To begin with, I'm going to help with preps for our Spring convention. Kara is going with me to have a few special days next week with her worker-sister, Jana.

But, this morning I needed to get those weeds out of the flower bed. Small ones hide there, out of sight until they are suddenly BIG and difficult to pull. If I go away and leave them it will soon look like the "field of the slothful" that we read about in Proverbs; "thorns and nettles covered the face thereof".

While I pulled and dug and tugged and sweated I thought about the "garden" in my heart. How many "weeds" have I missed seeing there? "Weeds" of pride; of selfishness? Am I concerned enough about my "garden" to check each day? Willing for roots to be dug out?

On another note, my friend commented the other day as we visited over lunch, "you work well under pressure!" I've been thinking about that, and realize it is true. If I have a deadline, I can meet it. What I wish is that even when there is no deadline, no pressure, I would "work well" anyway! Now that I must get ready to leave, there are 100 things I can think of to do first - and mostly they have been here to do all the time.

I'll leave you for now and go get my suitcase packed.

Spring! ( Song of Solomon 2:11, 12)

I just returned from a much-needed walk on our walking trail. What a beautiful day! Finally, the trees have green leaves. The lilacs, my favorite flower, are blooming.

So, what have I been doing during the two months since I last wrote? I sewed a wedding dress that the bride looked lovely in. I taught two little girls (7 and 9) to sew. I thought they'd want to make doll clothes, but no! They sewed for themselves! They both made "skorts", and Kara made herself a cute apron. For a week, while their mother was gone, I picked up kids from school, fed them, tried to watch over them through the evenings, and put them to bed. Our workers made my house their home base for a few short days. What a joy! (I cried after they left.)

Gospel meetings have been so special. In the past 6 weeks I've seen an old man, who has missed out on fellowship for many years, smile again, rejoice, and become settled and content in a nursing home where he didn't want to go. But who would ever imagine that we could have Gospel Meetings in an Alzheimer's unit? Who would imagine that the residents would gather and sit in perfect quietness? Yes, there is peace that passes understanding in the precious story of Jesus.

What else? There's always the daily "upkeep". There is so much that I need to sort, much I need to just dispose of. I grow weary quickly of the tediousness. Beyond all that, and most important, I've prayed...and wept...and found some answers...and some healing.

What next? I'm looking forward to preps and conventions. After that? I trust the One who makes the plans for me. My song lately is 372, May the Lord Depend on You? "In the warfare we are waging for the truth and for the right, when the conflict fierce is raging with the powers of the night, God needs workers brave and true; may He then depend on you? May the Lord depend on you? Loyalty is but his due; say, oh spirit brave and true that He may depend on you."

At the end of "Vacation"

Today is my last day here in Arizona. Yes, it has been a vacation, even though I hesitate to use that term, as even this trip was not without a deeper purpose than only relaxation and sight-seeing. Anyway, it has been good, and I do feel more than a little "spoiled".
This morning I walked again to the bird park, more correctly referred to as the "Riparian Preserve". Picture blue sky, bright sunshine, a light perfect-temperature breeze, mountains in the distance, desert shrubbery blooming, green trees, a bench in the shade with a view of various birds enjoying the still water. The air is filled with birdsong. Little birds singing their hearts out just for the joy of living today. They are content filling their place with no care over what may happen tomorrow.
For me it is a place the think; to put things back in order. Isaiah 30:15 came to my mind again, "...in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength". It's time now to go forward, to trust God for the next step, and like the little birds, to have a song,

California!

March is here already, and I do need to write again. I'm thinking it really is a new era when my grandchildren say they can't keep track of me because I haven't updated my blog! Smile.
After a week with my family in Arizona, I flew from there to San Francisco, California to visit my friend Pam for a few days. So, here I am in Morgan Hill with Pam and her husband, Nissanka Goonetilleke. Pam was in the work in Nebraska for a few years, and then lived with me in Kearney for a little more than two years. Time has passed, and a lot of you wouldn't remember her. I think it was 1993 when she left. She lived in San Antonio, Texas for several years, then married Nissanka about 4 years ago. He is Sri Lankan. He preached the Gospel in Korea for a number of years, and also a few in California.
I've never been in this part of the country before, and am really enjoying it. I loved our day of sight-seeing in San Francisco, and we do plan a few more outings this week before I leave again, but the most thrilling, really, is getting acquainted with friends here. People here have come from many places and cultures.
It is still cool, but the trees are blooming, wild mustard is golden in the fields and roadsides, and grass is green. This is a valley, but foothills rise on either side. This coming Saturday I will return to Arizona for a few more days with family there before I return to Kearney on the 11th.
This will help everyone to "find" me this week! Next, I need to work on getting some pictures put on here. I don't know if I'll tackle that tonight or not....we'll see.

Thoughts from Arizona

So, what have I done in this beautiful morning in this lovely, sun-splashed southwestern city?

Most recently, I took a walk. A little over a mile down the canal road is a park and bird sanctuary. I sat on a bench and watched the birds on the water; two white birds circling overhead in the clear blue sky; a tiny hummingbird on the tree beside me with irredicent green feathers shining in the sun. I WISH I had taken my camera. I loved the view; the quiet; the tranquility. The verse came to my mind, "then shall the Son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings".
Arizona! How special to be here again. What a delight to find Tyler, almost 17, such a boy to be proud of! I love the hugs from Tim, almost 11, and Victoria, 6. And, I love seeing my son and daughter-in-law again....and so good to be at Delbert and Kathy's for the Bible study meeting again. Beyond all that, I'm sad because of stress I see in the lives of my son and daughter-in-law. Sandi works at the school this year. My son is struggling with a business that, much like the Titanic, is sinking in the black, swirling, waters of the fallen economy. I know they are by no means alone, and doubtless not nearly as bad off as many.
I read Isaiah 33 this morning. Verse 6 stood out, especially the last line, "the fear of the Lord is his treasure". Verses 15, 16, 17 are precious also. It seems real again as I think of those losing their earthly "treasures", what they've labored for and hoped for materially. I can't stop any of this, can't restore or replace any of the losses. But I can pray...and I see/feel a desperate need for that.
Enough "thoughts" for this morning. I need to get some lunch, and then Sandi will be home before long.

Happy Valentine's Day - tomorrow

What to write? It seems easier to write about "somewhere else". Today started out with a snowstorm, but the sun came out in the afternoon. The family-next-door continued with their plans and left for Sidney as soon as the snow let up some. They reported back that the road was mostly good. Kara, (9) decided to stay here with me, and I've been glad for her company. It sure makes a difference in the evening! She's been working on a 350 piece jigsaw puzzle and doing well. We played Scrabble for awhile, but it wasn't very exciting so we put it away.
I filled the end of last week and all this week with sewing for my granddaughter (6) in Arizona. Except for a little handwork, I've finished two Sunday dresses and a summer nightgown. They really are pretty! Smile. Now, I'm anxious to see if they fit right and how she will like them.
Arizona! the countdown is on! I leave this Wednesday, February 18. For awhile I planned on driving, but that got put aside. I'm happy to have a ticket from Kearney. Sometimes they are not affordable. I'm SO looking forward to the time there with my son and family! I also plan to spend a few days in California with Pam (used to be Tilley) and her husband. That will be "somewhere else", so maybe it will be fun to write about!

I'm HERE, not "there", or "somewhere else"

February!
The days and weeks are have gone quickly. I've cleaned house, and made at least a dent in the endless battle with clutter. I've made and kept appointments that I didn't want to make - or keep....such as the one yesterday with the Ophthalmologist to get my retinas checked. (A relief to find out that all is well in spite of some discomfort and lightening flashes). And, I've joined Facebook! Looks like that may take some discipline, time-wise, but it will help fill in evenings that still seem long and "empty".
A little later this month I'm flying to Arizona to visit my son and family. I wanted to drive so that I could see some friends along the route...but that didn't work out. I also plan a few days visit to Pam (used to be Tilley) and her husband in California. That will be a first, and we're both looking forward to it.
I'm working on some sewing for my 6 year old granddaughter in Arizona, hoping to finish before I go. I used to LOVE to sew, but now I'm out of practice and sometimes feel so clumsy! I'm hoping this will awaken some of the old creativity that has been dormant for awhile!

A note today

Now that I'm home you probably won't think there is any reason to check up on me through this blog...nothing exciting anymore except "I wonder where she's going next?". I've kind of felt that way myself!
But, we've had a few warm, sunny days here, and I started cleaning the porch. Inspiration! Get rid of some of this stuff - along with the dust and cobwebs! That led to some rearranging, which led to more cleaning and arranging, and now I'm enjoying a "new look" all around the house, and the satisfaction that things are clean again.
Tuesday, I went shopping and it was great to see Mary Jane, whom I used to work with, in the store, and we had to visit awhile. Then, a friend from another state that I hadn't heard from for a few years called. I almost didn't get my shopping done! In the afternoon, and through Thursday morning I had company, and that was a wonderful "lift".
AND....today is my birthday! Now, I usually try to kind of forget those things, but this one has been SO SPECIAL that I have to write about it. Besides the e-card and a few precious greetings by e-mail, my daughters four (that includes one "adopted") took me out to lunch. We laughed and "gossiped"(NOT the malicious kind)and shared and ate. Later, my dear friend and neighbor, Gertrud N., invited me and a few other special friends for coffee/tea/pie/cake.
So, my table is fill of pretty cards and such nice gifts that I didn't expect or deserve! Homemade jelly and salsa; CHOCOLATE; herb tea; lavender aroma therapy; and some books from a granddaughter....
I suppose it all has seemed even more special since my last three birthdays have gone by while I was in a foreign country.

And now I'm home!

Home again...
I don't want to see another airport for a LONG TIME...well, at least not for a week or two. ha. By the time I arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska about 7:00 p.m. CST, 21 hours had passed since Laura and I left the home near Stockholm, Sweden, and headed toward Arlanda Airport. Mid-morning, I was finding my way around London Heathrow, and 8 hours from the time the plane left there, I was one more in the throngs and lines in Chicago. Three times through Security is enough for awhile! Lincoln is still two hours from Kearney, but friends from Grand Island met me and I stayed at their home overnight as that is a little closer. A good night's sleep was VERY welcome by that time!
So, now I'm slowly getting over jet-lag and culture-shock - or whatever. It's been wonderful to see family and friends here again.
Not the top of the list, but one of the best things on it, is the daylight! The 5:00 p.m. sunset yesterday was gorgeous! It was light this morning before 8:00 a.m., even though it was cloudy. Both in Russia and in Scandinavia it wasn't light until 9:00 a.m. and the sun set around 3:30 in the afternoon.
What is next?? I don't know yet. I do know of some visits I like to make, though!