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.
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?
Hello to you! How are you doing today? It’s cloudy here this morning. I hope we get some rain we really need it. We are having a drought here in Idaho.
Todays message in A Woman’s Spirit talks about letting other people learn their own lessons. I have always been the kind of person that has trouble just staying on my own side of the street and not trying to go over and clean another persons. For example I used to have a problem with feeling like I had to pick up trash. It was a very strong compulsion until it really sunk in that by picking up after people I was just enabling their behavior. There is so much we do in this world that we think is helping to solve a problem but really is just enabling undesirable behaviors. I saw it with the Animal Shelter back in Alvarado. People would dump their dogs and cats. The shelter would pick them up and the shelter would get full. The shelter would then have to take extreme measures to try and get the animals adopted, get emptied out and the whole cycle would start all over. People just kept getting away with being irresponsible. I see so much of that in its various forms. If there is no consequences people just keep doing things that are not ok. The other day I saw this article about Boyan Slats Ocean Cleanup operation: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/down-to-earth/22949475/ocean-plastic-pollution-cleanup and it was an interesting perspective about what operations like Boyans do. More needs to be done to make companies and people responsible for the mess they are making. There are so many flaws with the creation of plastics and other things that end up in landfills and our waterways. It’s like no one thinks about the life cycle of their products – environmental impact- before they make things. I started doing that and I don’t make things like I used to….and it’s ok.
A Woman’s Spirit message:
“Change comes about when we stop trying to shape up the other person and begin to observe patterns and find new options for our own behavior.” – Harriet Lerner
“Accepting that we can’t change someone else affects every detail of our lives. Many of us have spent years frustrated, even frantic at times, trying to control the actions and opinions of others.”
This psalm 46 really resonated – a power ballad of words for what’s going on these days:
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.[b] A song.
1 God is our refuge(A) and strength,(B) an ever-present(C) help(D) in trouble.(E) 2 Therefore we will not fear,(F) though the earth give way(G) and the mountains fall(H) into the heart of the sea,(I) 3 though its waters roar(J) and foam(K) and the mountains quake(L) with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river(M) whose streams(N)make glad the city of God,(O) the holy place where the Most High(P)dwells.(Q) 5 God is within her,(R) she will not fall;(S) God will help(T) her at break of day. 6 Nations(U) are in uproar,(V) kingdoms(W)fall; he lifts his voice,(X) the earth melts.(Y)
7 The Lord Almighty(Z) is with us;(AA) the God of Jacob(AB) is our fortress.(AC)
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,(AD) the desolations(AE) he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars(AF) cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow(AG) and shatters the spear; he burns the shields[d] with fire.(AH) 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;(AI) I will be exalted(AJ) among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob(AK) is our fortress.(AL)
Hello to you! How are you? I’m doing ok. I decided to take a break from the videos this morning and just write and draw. We have sunshine! So happy about that! I will have to get Link out for a walk later.
The drawing today is a combination of a bunch of things! I’m being told intuitively that the man isn’t Deegan this time. I have always thought of Jesus as having a skeleton key to all doors to include those within peoples hearts. What do you see in this drawing?
I was curious to see if keys are mentioned in the Bible and there are a couple references one of which is Matthew 16:19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;” and then the other is in Revelations 20:1 And I saw an Angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.
A lot to think about.
It’s almost time to get another sketchbook or try color again. I have a sketchbook my Aunt bought for me awhile ago that you use colored markers with. Things don’t flow as confidentially when I use color. I’m always afraid I will make a mistake !
I raked a little more this morning. The leaves are all wet and heavy and there is Link “presents.” I don’t have any work gloves to pick the stuff up. I’ll get it figured out. I miss the Alvarado house sometimes – having a garage and all the tools I needed.
Not much else from here. I hope your having a nice day.
Good morning to you. It’s morning yet in my here and now. Hope this finds you doing well. I have my probably too sweet cup of coffee and my writing buddy Link. I’ve been thinking about something the past couple of days. It has to do with energy.
So you are sitting in a theater watching a movie with a bunch of of other people. The movie has really strong characters. You feel intently about these characters. You cry, you laugh, you get angry and may be even find yourself imagining being in the circumstances of the characters. Then it’s over. Roll credits. After the movie you talk about it. You might read about it in a magazine or on a news feed on your phone. Later comes the award shows and red carpet premiers of the people in the movie. The movie is released to the public and you buy a copy of the film. You watch it again at home . Sometimes you will think of specific lines from the movie and use them in your own life. Eventually comes the day the movie goes on a shelf and it’s not forgotten but superseded by another film. This process I’m talking about applies to television shows too.
What I’ve just described is a life.
There is a tremendous amount of energy focused on these characters born out of imagination. Where does all that energy go when we are done with it? Many of these characters become part of an actor or actress’s identity. They become known for the characters they play and some of those characters are so dark in their nature. I’m thinking of Heath Ledgers Joker and Aaliyahs Akashi. The darkness they bring is often lauded and emulated. It’s not contained on the screen. There is a sort of life lived through our living eyes… our bodies. Whether the character is good or bad they have achieved immortality. There is proof they existed.
It’s not just fictional characters that attain immortality. As I sit here I think of the trillions of “avatars” God has used through time. Some flashing for a mere second and others hours. Think about all the social media posts and YouTube. All those people and these days animals all immortalized. How about books ? Magazines, newspapers and photographs ?
All of us saying in numerous ways “Remember me!” “ I existed!” It kind of makes me ache inside. So much of what we are now is electronic. I have a hard drive full of important stuff and all it took was a couple drops on the tile and I can’t access that stuff anymore! All it takes is a cell phone to stop working and thousands of pictures are lost. The movie, television and book industry is a little more secure by making and selling millions of copies of their merchandise but even that is fading to live stream and online streaming . Existence is fragile in the electronic world. All it takes now is a power outage and tangible immortality is gone.
Where are we headed with all that we have created? I know it’s meant to be entertainment but sometimes it feels like I’m living in a world filled with golden calves. So much energy…so much adoration lavished on these imagined people and worlds. Giants on the big screen so we won’t be bored on our long journey to other worlds together.
To be “saved” usually means to accept Jesus Christ as your savior but what I see in our world is your image being saved on some device. If we didn’t have written copies of the Bible even Jesus would be lost in time. He said he would come back but didn’t say how. How many versions of his life have been made in television and movies?
A lot to think about here. Time keeps marching on. Technology keeps evolving. Where are we headed in out quest to survive? To not be lost in time? To not be bored?
Hi! How are you in your today? I’m doing alright. I am looking at my little drum and wishing I had someone to play it with! On the 13th I’ve scheduled a Meetup event at 6 pm . Even if one person signs up that would be nice ! (Connect Middleton Idaho)
“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings” psalm 17:8
The Bible has some beautiful passages in it. I chose this one thinking of my Grandma Irene Schmidt today. I can remember her and I playing cards one time and her telling me I was the apple of her eye. It made me feel so special to be loved like that! My Grandma loved God so much and shared that love with me. This morning I’m remembering her flowers. She had the most beautiful roses. I’m thinking of the white Kennedy roses in particular. They were huge and smelled so good! Whenever I see or smell a rose I think of my Grandma.
I don’t have a picture of Grandmas flowers handy but this link will show you what the rose looked like:
To be 