16 June 2022 First Song

My Uncle was watering his garden yesterday and was making rainbows in the process! A song of color for the eyes and reminder of good will.

Hello to you today. Hope this finds you well! Yesterday Link and I had a wonderful visit with my Aunt and Uncle. We had her wonderful meatloaf, mashed potatoes and broccoli – yum! We talked about a lot of things to include music. It was so fun to see the two of them dancing in their seats to Chuck Berry’s song Johnny B. Good and sing parts of My Girl by the Temptations with my Aunt. We weren’t really agreeing about fossil fuel as an energy source but did agree every takes energy. It takes energy to GET energy! Our current main fuel source took a long time for the earth to create and once it’s gone it’s gone. With our climate change issues becoming more pressing change has to come. We can’t leave the kids with this mess to figure out – (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Thunberg)

When I got home music was on my mind and in particular the String Theory. Where my mind went was thinking of what was the first song to be played on a string instrument:

The earliest surviving stringed
instruments to date are the
Lyres of Ur, plucked
chordophones, which
currently exist in fragments
that date back to 4,500 years ago. The first
bowed chordophones were probably
developed in central Asia and were the
forerunners of an Indian folk instrument
known as the ravanastron. Oct 8, 2021
© https://study.com» academy the-st..
The String Family: Instruments, History
& Facts – Video & Lesson Transcript

Then of course I checked my other favorite playground besides Google, Youtube, and found this interpretation of the first known melody played on a Lyre:

https://youtu.be/QpxN2VXPMLc – The Oldest Known Melody Hurrian Hymn No 6 c. 1400 B.C

As I listened to this I started thinking about what it must be like for God and the earth to experience such a thing. There were bone flutes that have been found but they aren’t the same as hearing vibrating strings making harmonies of sound. If you really use your imagination the first true song or melody was probably made made by the vocal chords of someone singing or humming:

https://youtu.be/Tsh-0VvAGQA – Throat Endoscopy Exam While Singing

I wondered, as I couldn’t recall, if there was any record of Jesus singing and turns out he and his apostles sang a Hymn at the Last Supper:

Mark 14:22-26
New International
Version
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread,
and when he had given thanks, he broke it’A)
and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this
is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given
thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank
from it. (B)
24 “This is my blood of thelal covenant, IC) which
is poured out for many,” he said to them.
25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the
fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new
in the kingdom of God.”(D)
26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out
to the Mount of Olives.(E)

Well naturally I was curious as to what Hymn they sang together – they don’t really know for sure beyond tradition of Passover:

While Scripture doesn’t explicitly state
which hymn was sang, Jewish tradition
reveals that the Passover meal was
concluded by singing the last portion of the
Hallel. The Hallel is comprised of Psalms 113
through 118. It is a joyous celebration of
praise and thanksgiving to God. Apr 9, 2020
Na http://aokmusicandarts.com news
The Psalm Sang at the Last Supper

I looked a little deeper and found out about the Hebrew Passover song Dayenu:

Dayenu (Hebrew:דַּיֵּנוּ‎) is a song that is part of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The word “dayenu” means approximately “it would have been enough”, “it would have been sufficient”, or “it would have sufficed” (dayin Hebrew is “enough”, and -enu the first person plural suffix, “to us”). This traditional up-beat Passover song is over one thousand years old. The earliest full text of the song occurs in the first medieval haggadah, which is part of the ninth-century Seder Rav Amram.[1] The song is about being grateful to God for all of the gifts he gave the Jewish people, such as taking them out of slavery, giving them the Torah and Shabbat, and had God only given one of the gifts, it would have still been enough. This is to show much greater appreciation for all of them as a whole. The song appears in the haggadah after the telling of the story of the exodus and just before the explanation of Passover, matzah, and the maror.

https://youtu.be/omvnuuppOlg – Dayenu Passover song

Many years ago, at a church I was attending in Florida, they did something really special by inviting the local Jewish community to share the experience of a Passover Meal with us. The path my explorations have taken me reminded me of that experience. Music is so good at being a book marker in my brain for memories. Little snippets of time, moments wrapped up in melody.

It’s fascinating to wonder what could have been the first song most likely made with strings of God’s own design. It makes me smile to think of our God possibly being a nerd too. You don’t manifest a lot of something out of nothing without a lot of creativity.

Virtually all astronomers now believe that the universe sprang forth in what is known as the “Big Bang” explosion, from a state of extraordinary compression and phenomenally high temperature in which forces such as gravity and electromagnetism were unified in a single, all-encompassing force.Jun 3, 1984

https://www.washingtonpost.com › …

Our Universe, Created From Nothing – The Washington Post

This is a first song for me. I can remember playing it on the record player in my parents basement. Such a beautiful voice, song and spirit of a person:

https://youtu.be/bCcKg2asm9k – Olivia Newton John – I Honestly Love You

A little rough around the edges but looking and smelling so lovely. I can understand why sometimes you will see a bee just wiggling around in flowers like this!

14 June 2022 Experiencing

Hello to you in your today as you visit me here. I want to thank you for your time. Time is one of the most precious commodities that exists for those of us with finite life spans. It means a lot to me when I see you have stopped by! I was trying this morning to think of what I would say to the entire world today and there are two things: I love you and thank you.

https://youtu.be/lgJJ257ZGiA – Robert Fox – Earth

https://youtu.be/YebZyAzLZuc – Physicist Michio Kaku on the shift in the ufo phenomenon

I was doing a lot of exploring yesterday thinking about communication modalities both near and far. I spent time exploring how others are experiencing existence. If there is no sound in space and potentially there are beings living in these conditions – how are some ways they might choose to connect with us? Energy waves emitted and received are a universal conscious and subconscious method of relaying information. Trees and plants, living beings without eyes and ears can respond to energy via a voice, touch or vibrations for example. People who are missing limbs, who are deaf or blind….in comas even all respond to some form of energy – energy exchanges go on throughout existence and in those exchanges are experiences and communication:

In the things following here are part of my journey about communication and how people we share the world with experience it. Energy has so many different languages:

“Radio waves are often thought of as a form
of sound because of their use in this way,
but radio waves are NOT sound waves
they are a form of electromagnetic radiation
analogous to visible light, and therefore can
propagate through a vacuum. Jun 24, 2015
A http://curious.astro.cornell.edu x94..

“Light travels as a wave. But unlike sound
waves or water waves, it does not need any
matter or material to carry its energy along.
This means that light can travel through a
vacuum-a completely airless space.”
FM
https://www.factmonster.com »light
DK Science & Technology: Light – Fact
Monster

Kaku says that if humans harvest something
known as Planck energy, an energy that
was essential in the Big Bang, we may be
able to manipulate space itself so that we
can transcend the planes that separate
differing universes.
F https://futurism.com» parallel-unive…..
Parallel Universes May Be the Only
Hope of Surviving the Death of the …

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_units

In particle physics and physical cosmologyPlanck units are a set of units of measurement defined exclusively in terms of four universal physical constants, in such a manner that these physical constants take on the numerical value of 1 when expressed in terms of these units. Originally proposed in 1899 by German physicist Max Planck, these units are a system of natural unitsbecause their definition is based on properties of nature, more specifically the properties of free space, rather than a choice of prototype object. They are relevant in research on unified theories such as quantum gravity.

The term Planck scale refers to quantities of space, time, energy and other units that are similar in magnitude to corresponding Planck units. This region may be characterized by energies of around 1019 GeV, time intervals of around 10−43 sand lengths of around 10−35 m(approximately the energy-equivalent of the Planck mass, the Planck time and the Planck length, respectively). At the Planck scale, the predictions of the Standard Modelquantum field theory and general relativity are not expected to apply, and quantum effects of gravity are expected to dominate. The best-known example is represented by the conditions in the first 10−43 seconds of our universe after the Big Bang, approximately 13.8 billion years ago.

The four universal constants that, by definition, have a numeric value 1 when expressed in these units are:

Planck units do not incorporate an electromagnetic dimension. Some authors choose to extend the system to electromagnetism by, for example, adding either the electric constant ε0 or 4πε0 to this list. Similarly, authors choose to use variants of the system that give other numeric values to one or more of the four constants above.

We are currently considered a Class 0 civilization because we still rely on things such as fossil fuel that are comprised of ancient layers of dead matter:

The initial scale had three types of civilizations:

  • Type I Civilization: Can use and store all energy available on its planet. … 
  • Type II Civilization: Can use and store all energy at the scale of its planetary system. … 
  • Type III Civilization: Can control energy at the scale of its entire host galaxy.

Oct 16, 2020

https://medium.com › predict › what…

Type V Civilization Kardashev Scale Medium | Predict

https://youtu.be/dwqSuvFzDdI – How do deaf people experience experience music (Shaheem Sanchez)

https://youtu.be/WhQgXNLPVLc – what is braille music notation and how does it work

https://youtu.be/tXEeHn-50R4 – Best sounds to a blind person

https://youtube.com/c/BenBlanchet – Autism Superpowers (Ben Blanchet)

https://youtu.be/Pi3bc9lS3rg – John Legend You and I

https://youtu.be/MvpjxfWrjzY – On Eagles Wings (my dog Link really responds to this song!)

https://youtu.be/DrDGHYRDVNc – shocking experiment proves plants and trees can see, have emotions, memory and can react to the environment

https://youtu.be/_J8YcQETyTw – See and Hear Morse Code

https://youtu.be/L6zulqXLPUw – Children of Planet Earth: The Voyager Golden Record Remixed – Symphony of Science

Matthew 19:14New International Version

14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs(A) to such as these.”(B)

13 June 2022 Earth School

Examples of the Golden Ratio in nature coexisting together

Hello to you. How are you today? I hope your doing ok! Todays post is a reflection of some exploring, questioning and learning I’ve been doing lately. When you live alone and are a nerd like I am you have time for such things! I have so many questions for Earth School! I know most people visiting my blog don’t exactly have a lot of time for themselves or for learning unless they have a specific question or are officially in a learning situation like going to school. May be something here will interest you too – I hope! If this is too much for one visit – I encourage you to come back when you can. Sending you love energy and a virtual hug.

What are you learning in Earth School today?

Romans 1:20New International Version

20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,(A) so that people are without excuse.(B)

https://medium.com/@gautamnag279/what-is-so-special-about-the-number-1-61803-7e0bbc0e89e2

Why is the golden ratio called the God ratio?

The Golden Ratio (phi = φ) is often called The Most Beautiful Number In The Universe. The reason φ is so extraordinary is because it can be visualized almost everywhere, starting from geometry to the human body itself! The Renaissance Artists called this “The Divine Proportion” or “The Golden Ratio”.May 5, 2019

https://medium.com › …

What Is So Special About The Number 1.61803? | by Gautam …

Learned something new today when I was wondering about some of the environmental impacts of drilling for oil in the United States. You don’t get something for nothing or even cheap. Ultimately some cost will be paid either immediately or over the course of time:

Subsidence – sinking of the ground because of underground material movement—is most often caused by the removal of water, oil, natural gas, or mineral resources out of the ground by pumping, fracking, or mining activities.Apr 15, 2021

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov › facts

What is subsidence? – National Ocean Service

https://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/go-outside/does-oil-drilling-cause-sinkholes-or-earthquakes/?amp

In cases where other liquids don’t move in, such as in the North Sea off The Netherlands, the porous rock layer that harbored the oil originally can collapse after extraction, causing slight amounts of land settling (known as “land subsidence”) in the rock layer surfaces above, but typically no more than a few tenths of an inch per year.

Here in the U.S., land subsidence induced by the large volume extraction of underground resources including oil and gas “is more common than most people realize,” according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a government agency which collects, monitors, analyzes and provides scientific understanding about natural resource conditions, issues and problems. Flat coastal plains and wetlands near sea level are most at risk from this potential side effect.

Have you ever heard of the term transpiration? I hadn’t either but when I was finding out about part of where our fresh drinking water comes from this term came up:

https://kids.kiddle.co/Transpiration

Transpiration is the evaporation of water from plants, especially leaves. It is a type of translocation and part of the water cycle. The amount of water lost by a plant depends on its size, the light intensity, temperature, humiditywind speed, and soil water supply.The process of Transpiration helps in regulating temperature in the plant.

Transpiration was first worked out by Stephen Hales (17 September 1677 – 4 January 1761), an English clergyman. He proved what is still believed, that the evaporation of water molecules from leaves is the main force pulling the water column up from its origin in the roots.

How transpiration works

Leaf surfaces are dotted with openings called stomata, which act rather like pores. In most plants there are more on the undersides of the leaves than on the top. The stomata are bordered by guard cells that open and close the pore. Transpiration happens when the guard cells open the stomata. This lets oxygen and water vapourflow out, and carbon dioxide flow in. The carbon dioxide is used in photosynthesis, and the oxygen is produced by photosynthesis.

https://youtu.be/YeOw-wJR9fc – Leaf Transpiration (experiment) what is transpiration?

A lot of people single and with families are struggling financially right now with the prices of most everything increasing – inflation. Sometimes getting confused about the difference between a want and a need can contribute to the daily struggle. In the times we are in it’s important to know the difference and set priorities accordingly. There are a lot of things I used to do and buy that I realized I could do without because they aren’t essential to my survival and in some cases were harmful to the environment – so many chemicals, packaging and trash! I used to waste a lot of money on these things I didn’t need and a lot of it just ended up down the drain or in a landfill:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-difference-between-wants-vs-needs-in-economics.html

Wants, Needs and Economics

Quite simply, the economic definition of a need is something needed to survive. In economics, the idea of survival is real, meaning someone would die without their needs being met. This includes things like food, water, and shelter:

“A want, in economics, is one step up in the order from needs and is simply something that people desire to have, that they may, or may not, be able to obtain. Again, with those two simple definitions, it doesn’t seem like there should be much to talk about, but there is. Economics deals with how we allocate scarce resources, and those scarce resources may be needed to meet someone people’s needs and other people’s wants. So, we do need to talk about wants and needs.”

A fun song I have been enjoying:

https://youtu.be/3EoI-6lQFIE – The Contours Do You Love Me

11 June 2022 Sound and Vision

Hello to you today. How are you? I’m kind of having an allergy kind of day but this will pass. I was out picking up plastic and bags near the canals where I live and probably stirred up some allergens. It was worth it to keep that stuff out of the water. In addition to people and plants, a lot of animals rely on these waters to help them survive the warmer seasons. I read that our plastics have reached even the most remote regions of earth considered pristine like Antarctica:

Researchers gathered samples of snow from 19 different sites in the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica and discovered plastic particles in all of them. Most of the particles were from a type of plastic called polyethylene terephthalate, which is found in clothing and water bottles.1 day ago

https://www.cnbc.com › 2022/06/10

Scientists find microplastics in fresh Antarctic snow for first time – CNBC

The following things I’m sharing with you are all connected, at least in my mind. If you look at our world, after all this time, even with incredibly advanced technology, we are still trying to figure out communication with ourselves, each other and all the various species of life we share Earth with. It makes sense that messages coming to us from objects and civilizations beyond our own would appear so complicated. We like to avoid boredom by making everything so complicated:

https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/fast-radio-burst-scientists-detect-second-mysterious-twin-signal-coming-from-space-7960096/lite/ – Astronomers have detected a Fast Radio Burst (FRB) radio signal coming from space, the second of its kind, which raises more questions about the origins of these radio bursts.

https://youtu.be/L6zulqXLPUw – Children of Planet Earth: the Voyager golden record remixed

https://youtu.be/UweCQtu0BCc. Sound and Vision (remastered) David Bowie

https://youtu.be/uoe1_lDFgjY – Rotation impressive sound effects from rotating objects

https://youtu.be/fOCaNBGMMgE – Making music with stuff from kitchen

https://youtu.be/_J8YcQETyTw – See and Hear Morse Code

https://youtu.be/1x8P-o296ZI – Earth rotation sound in high quality white noise ASMR

https://youtu.be/XBEQXgUyR2c – Fast Radio Burst 121102 (Audio Analysis)

https://youtube.com/shorts/COCV8bZ4bjo?feature=share – SOS Morse Code With Flashlight

Hello from the children

5 June 2022 Who Is It?

Hello to you. How are you doing today? I’m doing better. Just getting sleep, singing and praying more has been helping me. This morning I glanced at the news on my phone and after being mortified at someone suggesting the answer to ending gun violence in American schools is to arm children, I found a message that resonated with me from Pope Francis about discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit:

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/amp/news/251454/on-pentecost-pope-francis-explained-how-to-distinguish-the-holy-spirit-s-voice

“The Holy Spirit will never tell you that on your journey everything is going just fine. … No, he corrects you; he makes you weep for your sins; he pushes you to change, to fight against your lies and deceptions, even when that calls for hard work, interior struggle and sacrifice,” Pope Francis said in his homily on June 5.

“Whereas the evil spirit, on the contrary, pushes you to always do what you think and you find pleasing. He makes you think that you have the right to use your freedom any way you want. Then, once you are left feeling empty inside – it is bad, this feeling of emptiness inside, many of us have felt it – and when you are left feeling empty inside, he blames you, becomes the accuser, and throws you down, destroys you.”

Looking at my own personal journey, it has been a struggle at times. It can be very alluring to think about things like revenge and power. It can be easy to try and do and be everything of this life thinking it’s just your own power and attributes propelling you forward. Where does your life force come from? It’s not just eating, drinking, exercising, making love, socializing with family, pets and friends, going to church and praying, meditating, experiencing entertainments the world offers, having a career, doing hobbies, going to school, reading books and going to seminars – least not for me. Underneath all that I am and ever hope to be is a force greater than myself – God. Whatever label, whatever name the inner force is for you I caution you to it’s motives…..the “why.” Why comes before all the what’s!

Some lovely flowers from the walks yesterday- they smell so good!

Christianity. In Christianity, the word may have several meanings. Discernment can describe the process of determining God’s desire in a situation or for one’s life or identifying the true nature of a thing, such as discerning whether a thing is good, evil, or may even transcend the limiting notion of duality.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki

Discernment – Wikipedia

26 May 2022 Walter and Being Grumpy

https://youtu.be/R7t0Ol6RtRY – Grumpy and Snow White

https://youtu.be/xmQfoAvlIQc – Frenchie arguing with his owner – Walter Geoffrey the French Bulldog

Hello. For the past couple days I have been feeling really grumpy. Sleep has been weird and my body has been hurting. I don’t like being grumpy or being pessimistic about my life so I’ve been trying to find ways to restore “happy Jackie.” One way I found was watching and listening to Walter Geoffrey who is a very vocal French Bulldog. Hearing and watching Walter’s meltdowns has been great therapy! Ohhhh how this boy tells how it is! Sometimes his rants sound like singing to me he just needs some brothers and a drum. What I hear from him is what I’m feeling lately. There aren’t words for it and that’s why Walters behavior resonates with me. There is an energy I’ve been sensing, especially when I go outside, that is just really tense and uncomfortable. I know part of it is myself and the frustration I’m feeling with my body but part of it is just the world I think! All of creation is going through some stuff!

I’ve been trying to do movement to music each day and singing which helps alleviate discomfort. I’m just really out of shape and have gained weight which puts more pressure on the spine and joints. I also listen to the chakra opening meditations and sing tones along with healing focused music like I shared by Mei-lan. I talk to God most of the day and sometimes I bet I sound a bit like Walter to him lol! I’m trying to eat better and drink more water. I’m trying not to be a grump! Sometimes mending pains in the body includes mending the mind and soul too. Intangible pain, the pain we feel emotionally and spiritually, can manifest tangibly in the body. Grief is a big one for that! If you are grieving it’s important to allow yourself to feel it….work through it. I try to remember that everything is a form of energy to include pain.

How are you doing? I hope something I’ve shared resonates with you… I hope it helps. I think a lot of us are experiencing some kind of pain these days. You are not alone! Like my neighbor and I talked about the other day, the only way we are going to get through these times is together. One of the mottos for Grace Bible Church is “Better Together.” When we are in pain and grumpy the tendency many of us have is to isolate ourselves.

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. C.S Lewis

20 May 2022 The Difficulty of Releasing Earthly Attachments

Hello to you. For me it’s Friday again and I say that because it feels like time is moving so fast! Yesterday I came across a video taken from one of my favorite animated shows called Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was when Aang, the Avatar learns about the energy vortexes in our bodies called chakras and how to clear them when they are blocked. The one part that brought me to tears was thinking about letting go of all I love that attaches me to this life. When we are overly attached to things of this earth we suffer when the inevitable happens – change….loss. We can’t hold on too tight and this is a lesson I’ve struggled with almost my whole life.

https://youtu.be/StrbppmsZJw – How to open your 7 chakras as explained in a children’s show (Nickelodeon Avatar the Last Airbender)

Buddha taught that “the root of suffering is attachment” because the only constant in the universe is change. And change often involves loss. When you allow yourself to become attached to someone or something, you’re more likely to dwell on the pain of losing them.

9 Ways Attachments Play Out In Your Life To Make You Suffer – Mindful Zen

In the Bible you can find a variation of this message. We are encouraged to store up our devotion to God not to people, places and things if this earth. Our souls, the energy within us, will care nothing about the world once set free of the flesh:

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

https://chop.bible.com › bible › mat….

Matthew 6:19-34 NIV – Bible.com

Think of great storms that have happened and how grateful people are to come away from them with their life and those they love – their neighbors. Their home a pile of wreckage or ash but they praise God that they still live. In those moments reminded about what truly matters.

We are taught from a very young age living in the world structure in which we live to work hard and acquire things. Things representing the fruit of our labors. We associate memories and feelings to the things we acquire…..this leads to attachment. Then comes the time when for whatever reason we have to let go of what we have acquired and then comes the feelings…the loss….the suffering. How to live in a material world without getting overly attached but not live like everything is just disposable….expendable. What a paradox we are asked to live in our material world!

I didn’t get many pictures yesterday. The energy outside has felt “weird” to me lately and I have felt disconnected:

Trying to eat better
A quote from Robin that resonated
The sun looking like a bright moon again
Another “victrola” flower opened – In 1901, Eldridge Johnson of the Talking Machine Company created the Victrola. The Victrola is a type of early phonograph that used an internal horn. It was patented by the Victor Talking Machine Company, and only refers to internal horned phonographs.Nov 24, 2010
http://cultureandcommunication.org › …
The Victrola – Dead Media Archive
We all have different gifts God has given us for a purpose
If you look really close on the upper right it seems I captured a bird flying by lol
Lovely Willow with winds blowing her long green locks of hair
This picture really caught my attention – the artist did a great job of illumination – the eyes are filled with light seeing this

17 May 2022 Missions

Hello to you. How are you? It’s actually still the 16th for me lol but I have so much on my mind right now I can’t sleep yet anyway – may as well write to you and clear my mind.

I just finished watching a documentary about the late comedian Robin Williams and the disease that took his life, Lewy Body Disease which is a form of dementia. https://n.neurology.org/content/87/13/1308 – paper his wife Susan did about what happened to Robin. I’ll never forget how devastated I was when we lost Robin. He had been such a part of my life through his comedy and movies – he was a light in the world! I hope some day there will be cures for conditions of the brain.

I was really touched to see his message in his 12 Step book!
https://youtu.be/NcoNX1tF6nc – Robins Wish https://news.sky.com/story/amp/robin-williams-and-the-real-story-of-the-undiagnosed-dementia-that-took-his-life-12169663

Some messages from A Woman’s Spirit:

An active listener is to be prized above rubies. -Ruth Humlecker

Giving our undivided attention to a friend can be difficult. Even though we care deeply for her and value her friendship, we often find it hard to keep our own thoughts from intruding. As she talks, we take note of other people in the vicinity. We think about the tasks we have yet to complete. And we may pass judgement on what she shares.

Letting go of having these kinds of thoughts while in conversation with a friend is hard, but it’s worth the work. No encounter is an accident, and every exchange with a friend or even a stranger has its reward for us. We are God’s students every moment.

When we listen, we learn how to handle situations we might face in the future. We learn to show respect through our caring attention. We grow in our understanding of the value of friendship. Perhaps most important, we learn the value of cultivating a quiet mind. Only a quiet mind can hear the words of our Higher Power coming through the gentle voice of a friend.

I will be an active listener today. I am ready to learn whatever God has in store for me.

———————-

How about a walk?

Plane headed to the sun
My neighbor and I share the same feelings about wasps – they are important!
What a cool name for a street!
Pay it forward – the folks at the Sunrise and many of their regulars do just that! So grateful for this place and the people!
I wasn’t sure if this feisty little one would let me take their picture 😂
I was walking along and saw this beautiful leaf. It looks like it’s painted.
The single leaf lead me to this tree which lead to my meeting a beautiful soul living in the house nearby who….get this….loves to paint! I love how God connects us! Just have to be willing to go where you are lead.
This passage makes me think of places like the Sunrise and so many organizations and people who care for the least of these – two legged or four! So many really good people in this world!
Thinking of the folks in Brooklyn. Laguna, Ukraine and so many other places where hate has shown up. We have so much more in common with each other than we don’t. So many strengths!
Another version that elicits peace when I see it
Resting spot. The sun looks so big lol!
I saw this on the ground and couldn’t pass by without a picture. Someone might need this message!
Again, thinking about the world. You just have to be willing….just ask God to speak directly to you.

https://youtu.be/Xa-KuH3gLuM – Jesus Loves Me/He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands (beautiful messages in voice and song from Whitney Houston)

14 May 2022 Make Better Choices

Hello to you. How are you? It’s overcast. Gray and wet here but I’m not complaining! I am so grateful we are experiencing this type of weather and not the kind so many are experiencing lately! Yesterday I found out the Midwest, where I am originally from, has been experiencing wild dust storms: https://www.argusleader.com/story/weather/2022/05/13/south-dakota-storm-met-definition-derecho-what-haboob-severe-weather/9759725002/ – this is from my hometown newspaper. They do a good job of explaining two weather terms I hadn’t heard of before. A derecho and a haboob:

It’s really strange to have noticed this type of stuff going on in the Middle East a few posts ago and then to see this show up at my parents doorsteps!

The title of this blog today is a message for me and I think for others. On the small scale for myself is health related. I had a couple blemishes show up on my face and I messed with them and I know better! I was laying in bed and noticed how much belly fat was there and at the same time was feeling pain in my lower back which is one of the main parts of my body that carries that belly! I went to the mirror and the message that came to me about all of my meager issues was, “This is your fault! Make better choices!” Thinking of all that is going on in our world in all the principalities I don’t think that message is just for me. Bad choices can come from initial well meaning intentions and then they just compound on themselves making new problems on top of old ones. A good example is Roundup or weed killers. We use poison that ends up in our bodies through various means and we wonder why cancer shows up.

https://youtu.be/ZQYPlEoU9ko – Life is a Walking from Good Buffalo Eagle

ho’oponopono mantra

The next images are kind of random but may be something is for you:

With the pain I’ve been experiencing, I’m very grateful to George!
My Aunt and Uncle gave me this electric blanket and it really has been helping me manage pain
One of my neighbors lovely Iris’s
Sometimes it’s good to just stop and appreciate the world around you. Link likes to walk really slow so he really helps me slow down.
These make me smile to see each walk
This little trees leaves look like they were painted on
I was happy to see this little one again. The last time I saw them they were running off with a hurt foot! Reminds me of a cat I had, loved and miss named Amber.
One of my favorite spots – isn’t the sun amazing?!
The blooming trees on the walk transitioning to leaves and berries
My favorite pic of the day – as I stood here I was thinking of my Grandma Carol and how much she loved streams like this too. The sound and just watching it glisten in the sun is balm for my soul.
A little deja vu seeing this happening in our times. I can remember my Grandma Schmidt talking about actually living through this. What kind of choices have been made to have this sort of thing happening again?

21 April 2022 When Is The Last Time You Fed Your Soul?

Hello to you. How are you? Another late start for me. Last night I actually fell asleep but then Link and Smokey needed to go out…at 2 in the morning! Ugh!! I was able to get back to sleep off and on and actually have interesting dreams. I was with a lot of different people!

Yesterday morning I had the blessing of meeting a new friend for breakfast at the Sunrise. We got the chance to hear more of each other’s stories and talk about the goodness of God in our lives. She and I are both relatively new to Grace Bible Church in Middleton. We talked about a lot. She reminded me that if I truly believe who God is, I am not the labels this world has given me….my sin…my mistakes. I am his child and I am forgiven. With a loving God we don’t have to be defined by the world. She mentioned a very convicting question she was asked recently, “When is the last time you fed your soul? Or have you just been feeding the flesh?” Life in our modern world can seem overwhelming and chaotic. Especially with my friend trying to be a wife, mother to three rambunctious boys and so much more….. and still in all that “noise” of life take care of yourself…. feed your soul. I walked there and walked home and I was so sore lol but I made sure to write down that question so I could share it with you today. The other thing I wrote down feeling the pain of my body was, “my body is not a prison. My body is a temple.” The pain will pass…it always does.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20New International Version

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples(A) of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;(B) 20 you were bought at a price.(C)Therefore honor God with your bodies.(D)

Yesterdays time really meant a lot to me. Meeting in person! Seeing her eyes change depending on what she was talking about – watching a little bit of the tired she carry’s in those eyes lift. Seeing her smile as she talked about what was on her heart. There is something about actual tangible moments like we had that no digital medium can ever replace. We fed our souls and our belly’s were contented by yet another wonderful Sunrise breakfast.

Here are some pictures. May be they will give you a moment of rest today. May be they will help you feed your soul. I encourage you to take that camera phone of yours on a walk…what miracle of creation will God show you?

The sun looking like a moon!
These giants reaching to the heavens
One of a whole group of these. I think it’s a succulent.
Eye in the sky
I found these two little beauties hiding under a bush
When I got up from photographing the blooms I almost stepped on this little being. Jumping spiders are amazing to me. I’ve had some actually interact with me.
Where the lost puzzle pieces go….I had to smile when I found this. Thinking of people I love who enjoy puzzles. Putting together puzzles with my Mom on snow days when I was a kid.
Couldn’t zoom in closer but wanted you to see the ducks enjoying the canals.
Hello sun
I was looking for scripture about light and darkness and found this in John
“Hold on…take another one”
“Ok much better! I’m tired from our walk but so happy! If you have to choose between being happy and sad I hope you will choose happy! Teeth aren’t just for chewing! Even we dogs know teeth are for smiling! “
“Hi I’m Smokey —-what Link said! “