Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life?
ich spreche nur ein bisschen – I only speak a little bit.
Hello there! Guten tag! wie geht es ihnen? – Good day! How are you?
The German language has been with me since grade school when I was given a class. I still have the workbook I used. I also took a class when I was stationed in Germany but if you don’t get to practice you lose it! Learning German was helpful when I was overseas but as much as I wanted to practice what I had learned, the Germans wanted to practice their English! It was just easier to speak English than watch me struggle with German!
I love Google Translate:
Lieber Jesus, ich danke Dir für diesen Tag und all die Segnungen, die er mit sich bringt. Ich bitte Dich, dass Du mir weiterhin Deine Gegenwart in meinem Leben zeigst und mich zu einem Segen für alle machst, denen ich begegne. Amen
Dear Jesus thank you for this day and all the blessings within it. I pray that you will continue to show your presence in my life and make me a blessing to all those i encounter. Amen.
From the world prayer wheel this beautiful prayer from Mary Elizabeth Frye 1932:
Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there; I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow, I am the sun on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush, I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there; I did not die.
mary elizabeth frye – 1932
Prayers go out to the people of Venezuela who are experiencing loss after the earthquakes.
What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?
Hello to you! It’s Tuesday evening as I write to you. How are you?
Today’s prompt makes me think of my younger self. The best advice I would give is to slow down! When I look back on my 58 years, much of those years I can’t even remember. Everything is a blur. I burned a candle at both ends through much of my life. I barely have any memories of my childhood. The memories I do have are just fragments of mostly traumatic events. Most of my memories are highlights. I used to write in journals everyday but stopped because I was running out of storage space! I have a big black cedar lined trunk full of journals, calendars and sketch books. I have wrestled with what to do with everything for years now. I don’t have any children of my own to pass my stuff on to so someday whomever takes over my estate will probably just send everything to the dump. Most young people these days don’t want stuff from their elders. I am the end of a tree.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”
Hello to you. Another day has come and gone. I’ve started watching PBS in the evening. Tonight I’m watching a documentary about the making of the PBS show that features the adventures of a dog named Wishbone. I feel like I’ve been living under a rock with this one! It was an award winning show. It makes me think of when I did cartoons depicting highlights of my dog Sam’s life after he left us. I gave Sam a human voice. When I unbury them I’ll share them again.
The feature-length documentary about the beloved 90s PBS series is titled What’s the Story, Wishbone?. It explores the making and cultural impact of the classic children’s show that introduced a generation to literature. Directed by Joey Stewart, the film is available across major digital platforms.
Good evening to you. It’s starting to get dark as I write to you. I just finished watching a PBS show about the marriage of Queen Victoria. I enjoy watching programs that are about historical figures:
Jason asked us to come up with one word that describes what the wilderness means to us. For me the word was loneliness. When I’m alone I am the most vulnerable. Loneliness is like a vast desert and company quenches the thirst. I use to really like going off on my own and communing with nature. Ever since I’ve been having problems with my ears and lower back, the most time I spend alone is walking in the neighborhood.
One of the songs we sang today nearly brought me to tears:
When I have completely surrendered my will to that of the Holy Spirit drastic change has occurred. Both when I quit drinking and smoking I gave up my will to Gods will and claimed victory!
Hello to you in your here and now. I hope you are well. I was just watching a video on Tik Toc that made me very nostalgic for my teen years that I want to share with you. It was a compilation of 80’s movies:
I am a Generation Xer so a lot of my core memories are from the 80’s. My generation is the last to know what life could be like without smart phones and the internet. My favorite music was also in that time period. I remember seeing the beginning of MTV! One of the first videos I remember seeing:
I grew up without cell phones. I was a latch key kid who relied on a hard wired phone to keep in touch with my parents. I also relied on phone booths when I was away from home. In my early years in the military I worked on computers when they had data cards that had to be processed.
This is what I used early in my military career
If you didn’t want to be found you had an answering machine to collect your calls. I feel like the Internet has been a blessing and a curse! When I went to my first concert, David Bowie, the crowd didn’t have phones to capture it. Everyone was in the moment. Thats not the case these days:
A part of me really aches for simpler times. Nowadays everything is moving so fast. We are already into June when it seems like we just had Christmas! Every single moment has a planned event it seems like! Can we keep up?!
Hello to you. It’s Sunday again! The week flew by didn’t it?! I forced myself to go to church despite having some slight vertigo. I’m so glad I did as I got to see my church fam – especially Jeannie, Terry, Cecil, Mark and Brenda. I love getting and giving hugs! Today was Communion Sunday which is always meaningful. Pastor Jason’s message today resonated with me. Feeling the way I did today, the weeble wobbles, makes it hard for me to commit more of myself to our churches needs. Some days it’s all I can do to get to church like today. We are growing and there are so many spaces that need to be filled! I am glad to be part of a prayer group that meets on Thursdays and when I’m able I go to a Monday coffee with women of Grace.
Today is my Dads heavenly birthday, he would be 83 today. I feel bad that I didn’t know my dad better. He didn’t ever really talk about his past. I’m ashamed to say that today is the first time I have read his obituary! I still haven’t fully grieved and or accepted that he’s gone. I miss the dad that dad was so much of his life. I miss his hugs that could make the world stand still. I miss his laughter and his smile. He had such a fun sense of humor. I miss him calling me and leaving voice messages – “hi Jackie this is your dad.” I miss him asking me to get him quarters from the bank. I miss decorating the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving with him. I just miss him alot! There are so many little things. I was proud of my dad for everything he did. I can remember when I would visit him and mom how many people that knew my dad and would say hello. He was kind of a local celebrity!
Part of his life is missing from his obituary and that is being married to my birth mom Jeannie and her subsequent suicide. This painful part of his past changed the course of both of our lives. Suicide does that so I’m not surprised for the omission. I only ever heard him speak of what happened when he told Dianne when he thought I was asleep in the backseat. I have never forgotten that! It was a horrible thing he went through! I feel bad that I put him through so much with my mental health issues during the latter years of his life.
Larry Schmidt, Sioux Falls, SD, passed away Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at Avera Prince of Peace. He was 80.
Larry Jay Schmidt was born May 31, 1943, in Marion, SD, to Elias and Irene (Wipf) Schmidt. The family lived in Freeman, SD prior to moving to Sioux Falls when Larry was five years old. He attended Sioux Falls Washington Senior High School and then joined the US Navy. Following his honorable discharge from service, he sold insurance for Physicians Mutual. Larry served as a police officer in Freeman, SD, then later moved to Rapid City, SD where he continued in security.
On July 7, 1973, he was united in marriage to Dianne Warrington in Tea, SD. The couple made their home in Sioux Falls. Larry continued his career with security in Sioux Falls. In 1987, he and Dianne purchased Velvet Uniforms serving the Sioux Falls community and the law enforcement community in the area. He retired in 2008.
Larry was a member of St. Michael Parish, the Knights of Columbus, American Legion and VFW Honor Guards, and was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police Associate Lodge #1, where he had served as board member and president.
In his free time, Larry enjoyed genealogy and collecting coins.
Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Dianne Schmidt, Sioux Falls, SD; daughter, Jackie Wygant, Middleton, ID; son, Jerry (Robin) Lemme, Dell Rapids, SD; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and his brother, Eli (LaVonne) Schmidt, of Sioux Falls, SD. He was preceded in death by his parents, and three brothers, LaVerne Wipf, Gene Schmidt, and John Schmidt.
Hello to you. I hope this finds you well from where you are visiting me here. Today is Memorial Day here in the US and my deceased birth mom’s 84 birthday.
Drawing I did of my mom Jeannie many years ago
My thoughts and prayers go out to all the family and friends of those who have fought and died for their country. In addition to that my thoughts turn to those who have fought and lost the battle with mental illness. My mom Jeannie, at the age of 26 is such a person. I was afraid for much of my early life that I wasn’t going to live past 26 – end up just like my mom. I am now 58 – well beyond my fears!
One of the most special memories I have of celebrating Memorial Day is with my exes family going to Arlington National Cemetery. My exes dad and his family played taps at exactly 3 pm at different corners of the cemetery:
https://youtu.be/nhxxOvdM1SE?si=yj7rOt0BimzB6M98 – Taps – We share a Memorial Day tribute, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force Band. It features a bugler from The Ceremonial Brass performing Taps at Culpeper National Cemetery in Virginia
Taps for Veterans Every Memorial Day at 3:00 PM local time, Americans from coast to coast pause to honor those who gave their lives in service to our country.
I nearly lost it seeing so many graves. There were several new graves. The ages of those fallen were my age and younger. Gone too soon!
Hello to you. I hope this finds you well. I just scrapped an entire post because I know not many people will want to read a rant about how our wild spaces are being violated. I think a lot of people are just so beat up by this world right now that they have become apathetic to it all. They need good news! What is going right with the world?!!! I found the following on the good news network page:
Ice Cream Truck Gives Free Scoop to Little Boy Who Couldn’t Afford It. Now It’s Free for All Kids This Summer
“We don’t turn kids away when they don’t have money,” says Madyson Silvagnoli, owner of Maddy’s Ice Cream and More.
In between all of the bad and sad news are good things happening. My hope is in Jesus who manifests himself in good people and happenings each day. You just have to look! I can remember living in a Section 8 apartment but if you look at the pictures I took living there you would never know. Kyle, Sam and I looked for and found the beauty in between the trash. In between the ugliness of war and chaos are good people doing good things. All is not lost!
Hello to you. It’s a windy Sunday afternoon as I write to you. I was just at my Aunt and Uncles. We had a nice meal and watched a lovely show about Hummingbirds narrated by David Attenborough. I saw one at the feeders outside. Soon my Aunt will make them something to drink!
Today began with church. Pastor Jason about brought me to tears. He was having trouble with anxiety and I could so relate! I hate seeing him like that but he is so honest – we prayed for him and he did a great job.
All the saints and angels They bow before Your throne All the elders cast their crowns Before the Lamb of God and sing
You are worthy of it all You are worthy of it all For from You are all things And to You are all things You deserve the glory
All the saints and angels Bow before Your throne All the elders cast their crowns Before the Lamb of God and sing
You are worthy of it all You are worthy of it all For from You are all things And to You are all things You deserve the glory
You are worthy, You are worthy (You are worthy of it all) You are worthy of it all You are worthy of it all For from You are all things And to You are all things You deserve the glory
Lord, You’re worthy From the rising of the sun to the going down of the Sun
Day and night, night and day, let incense arise Day and night, night and day, let incense arise Day and night, night and day, let incense arise Day and night, night and day, let incense arise Come on (day and night) cry out (night and day, let incense arise) You’re holy Day and night, night and day, let incense arise Day and night, night and day, let incense arise Day and night, night and day
You are worthy of it all You are worthy of it all, Jesus For from You are all things And to You are all things You deserve the glory You are worthy, You are worthy
, yes, You are (You are worthy of it all), we owe everything to You, yes, we do (For from You are all things), from You are all things And to You are all things You deserve the glory
Hello to you my friends. Today is Saturday and I hope you are going to do something fun! I am just back from a walk. Something I noticed is the flowers in the neighborhood are all in bloom. Normally the roses and Peonies bloom a little later in the year.
Peony Love this rose colorLots of natural looking clouds today“Not all who wander are lost”
Today’s prompt makes me think of my jewelry. A ring I’ve had for several years now that says “Not all who wander are lost” is one I’ve had for several years now. This phrase really resonates with me and much of my life. The saying comes from the line of a poem in Lord of the Rings. I also have a blue topaz ring that is like an eye that I’ve had a really long time. Here’s what the internet had to say about the phrase:
The famous phrase “Not all those who wander are lost” originates from J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1954 fantasy masterpiece, The Fellowship of the Ring. [1, 2]It appears as the second line in a poem known as “The Riddle of Strider” (or the “Song of Aragorn”), which is written about the character Aragorn: [1, 2]All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. [1, 2]
Context and Original Meaning In the story, Aragorn is a Ranger who lives a wandering life in the wilderness. He is not wandering aimlessly because he is lost; rather, he lives in exile to protect the realm and guard his true identity as a rightful king. Therefore, within the context of the book, the line highlights that individuals who appear to live unstructured or nomadic lives often have a deep inner strength, a strong sense of purpose, and deep historical roots. [1, 2]Today, the quote is widely adopted by travelers, adventurers, and free spirits to celebrate the idea of embracing the unknown and finding personal meaning in the journey rather than just the destination.
To be 