Hello to you. It’s been awhile since I’ve written to you. Not much new has been going on here with me. I just got back from a walk around the block and it was cooler. It’s starting to feel like fall already! The sunset is earlier and the temperatures are dropping. I’m not complaining! The only thing I haven’t liked about fall is cleaning up the leaves from my neighbors trees. Since I had one of them cutback it shouldn’t be as bad this year.
Leaves crinkling and curling
Breezes cooling sending them swirling
The skies are filled with birds traveling south
The beauty of the sight evokes awe from my mouth
Ever since I’ve gotten back on Depakote my creativity has gone away. It’s the sacrifice I’ve had to make for sanity! I miss the good parts of the highs or mania. It seemed like I had endless energy, thoughts and ideas. I don’t miss not being able to sleep and the endless chatter of inhabiting spirits. I have been stabile for over a year now and I’m grateful. Now if I could just lose the weight I’ve gained and stop feeling like a weeble wobble in my head I’d be all set!
Hello to you. The past few days have been hard for me. I am having to wait and there are lots of unknowns. I can’t really get into specifics but my whole life is affected by what’s going on right now. I’m so grateful for my family and friends! I came up with this poem to describe what’s going on.
Hello there. How are you? I’m writing late today. I was really tired today. I’m trying my hand at a poem. Thinking of Jesus’s return.
Deliverer
Through the clouds I see his flame
Through the stars I hear his name
Yeshua oh Yeshua the deliverer is coming home
Foot fall on the Mount of Olives he does roam
Dressed in white the groom has come for his bride
All the trials of the world he will push aside
Peace flows amidst the wreckage we have made
Before us all there is coolness in his shade
The end to suffering is all he knows
The burning ceases and life giving water flows
Luke 22:39-44New International Version
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt downand prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[a]
On the walk home from Grace House there was this vision in purple
Warning a poem by Jenny Joseph
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick flowers in other people’s gardens And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat And eat three pounds of sausages at a go Or only bread and pickle for a week And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry And pay our rent and not swear in the street And set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
Hello to you. How are you today? I was looking through the clippings from my Grandma and found this pretty one. How easy it is for us to take the beauty of each day for granted. Since I’ve had this condition set in on me, I’ve not been as good about appreciating the natural beauty that surrounds me. It’s just a struggle to walk versus easily getting around and taking in the world around me.
Appreciation for the little things that make up our world
Hello to you. How are you? I don’t know how it was for you yesterday, but it was rough for me. I won’t get into all the details. By now most of the world knows about the big news going on here in the states. If you don’t, it’s all over the news. Yesterday was reminding myself not about what I cannot do but what I can do. Yesterday I did things I could do to include singing….so many variations from all over the world of Elevation Worships The Blessing. Lots of praying and talking to God, to the earth, asking what I can do, trying to dance, reading and watching the Beatitudes….being sad and feeling hopeless takes so much energy! What really helped was singing. Singing is so helpful on so many levels and I have found the little ones outside don’t seem to mind! I found this poem this morning. My Grandma Schmidt used to vacillate between prayer and worrying too, I’m so glad she isn’t having to be here and go through the stuff going on right now. I had a dream once that my Grandpa and I went to find Grandma in heaven and we found her singing in a choir.
We’re all experiencing a lot of anxiety and uncertainty, so Mary Oliver’s poem, “I Worried,” seems especially appropriate now.
I Worried Mary Oliver
I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers flow in the right direction, will the earth turn as it was taught, and if not how shall I correct it? Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven, can I do better? Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows can do it and I am, well, hopeless. Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it, am I going to get rheumatism, lockjaw, dementia? Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing. And gave it up. And took my old body and went out into the morning, and sang.
If you look, the earth and citizens like this tree show us we can survive in spite of anything put before us. What can you do? We must focus on those things and give them our personal power.
A message:
“If you are going to make it law women carry unwanted babies to term are you prepared for the consequences? Will you be taking full responsibility for what it means for a child to come to earth? Will you adopt the unwanted, properly feed, clothe, water, educate, protect their rights, clean up the world you will ask them to live in…will you unconditionally love them well beyond the fetal form? Do not spare the babies only to “starve” the child….the adult they will eventually become. It is my worry that many, unwanted from conception, will never overcome in life the knowing deep inside they are not truly welcome here. Are you prepared? God only does so much. “
People also ask
How many kids commit suicide a year in the US?
In the United States
Suicide is the third leading cause of death of young people between the ages of 15 and 24. 5,000 young people complete suicide in the U.S. each year. Each year, there are approximately 10 youth suicides for every 100,000 youth. Each day, there are approximately 12 youth suicides.
Mother, mother There’s too many of you crying Brother, brother, brother There’s far too many of you dying You know we’ve got to find a way To bring some lovin’ here today, yeah
Father, father We don’t need to escalate You see, war is not the answer For only love can conquer hate You know we’ve got to find a way To bring some lovin’ here today
Picket lines and picket signs Don’t punish me with brutality Talk to me So you can see Oh, what’s going on (What’s going on) What’s going on (What’s going on) What’s going on (What’s going on) What’s going on (What’s going on)
Right on, baby Right on, baby Right on
Mother, mother Everybody thinks we’re wrong Oh, but who are they to judge us Simply ’cause our hair is long Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way To bring some understanding here today
Picket lines and picket signs Don’t punish me with brutality Come on talk to me So you can see What’s going on (What’s going on) Yeah, what’s going on (What’s going on) Tell me what’s going on (What’s going on) I’ll tell you, what’s going on (What’s going on)
Right on, baby, right on Right on, baby Right on, baby, right on
Hello to you. How is your day going as you visit here? I hope well. Last night I had another one of those dreams like I recently shared with you. I felt like this energy entered my room and went over me. I could hear and feel it. It was different this time as I spoke to the darkness and was able to say “Jesus!” more than once. Well apparently this crossed over into the waking world and scared Link off of the bed! Not quite sure what’s going on. There are things always going on in the unseen spirit world and sometimes it seems we cross paths with it and we experience things. For me it’s mostly in dreams and I’m grateful for that.
After church these sweet girls passed out flowers to us Lots of lovely clouds yesterday Pretty yellow for me!
Yesterday was a really good day. I got myself to church and got to meet two new people! What is so beautiful was these were people I had noticed the Sunday before – one of them in a wheelchair. They were a daughter and her mom who had been going to the other campus for the church in Nampa but decided to start going to Middleton. Our church is smaller ( right now) and the traffic isn’t so bad (yet). It’s funny how God works and to actually experience his love, or hesed, first hand. So many things flit across my mind and heart that lead to moments like I’m describing to you. We are God’s feet. We are instruments God uses to demonstrate hesed. This word was spoken for the second time since I’ve been going back to church. I had never heard the word hesed before:
Yesterday spending time with my family to honor my Aunt I saw hesed in various forms:
My beautiful Auntie and cousin having a moment of hesed. Their love goes beyond words. My cousins husband and Smokey finally get along! They used to hate each other! They just had to learn to communicate.
Some other images from the day:
My Aunt loved her balloonMy Auntie is recovering from knee surgery. It was so good to see her and the family! Wonderful smells here in a bush in my Aunt and Uncles front yard My cousins husbands Mothers Day card art work – loved it!! This is from the story The Help: https://youtu.be/3H50llsHm3k – video clip from The Help Link helps me feel like a Mom sometimes
Messages:
Thinking about the Holy Spirit This passage makes me think of how I went from just noticing a woman in a wheelchair to actually meeting her and getting to shake her hand! God works in mysterious and wonderful ways! I didn’t realize this commonly used phrase had an origin other than the Bible:
God Moves in a Mysterious Way” is a Christian hymn, written in 1773 by William Cowper from England.
Hello to you. How are you today? Well Link and my day began with a knock on the door!
My Aunt and Uncle being at my door this morning made me think of Hebrew’s 13:2 – about angels You can’t see his wings but they are there. I love and am so grateful for this man. My beautiful Auntie making sure I got something to eat. She was worried about me this morning and she’s having surgery on her knee tomorrow!! She is such a blessing in my life! I have always felt like she is one of God’s earth angels! I love her so much!
I have been asking God to heal me and there has been relief from the pain but I think there hasn’t been complete healing because he’s trying to get me to slow down – to accept help!
This small message resonated with me yesterday. With healing there is more than just our physical bodies to be mended!
The message from A Woman’s Spirit seems to speak to what I’ve been reading about with young people of today and the concept of joining the work force. A lot of places that employ entry level people or places that pay low wages are really having trouble getting young people to work for them. I think there is a growing awareness that being happy and fulfilled in life is important! Working in some dead end job with toxic people and employment practices just isn’t worth it:
Many of us think that attaining status and financial success will make us happy. – Helene Lerner-Robbins
May be we have to attain status and material wealth before we realize that it doesn’t fulfill us. If we grew up in unhappy homes, we may have thought that material objects would change our lives. To discover otherwise takes wisdom, and we are only now seeking that.
The attainment of wisdom gives us the happiness we have sought everywhere else in our past. All that we longed for comes to us when we stop the rush to attain things and focus instead on the miracle of our spiritual being. Life is full of wonderful paradoxes; utilizing the tools of this program helps us discover them.
Let’s not mislead ourselves. Having status and financial success doesn’t preclude happiness; it just won’t guarantee it. Finding God and settling for wisdom does.
I don’t need anything special to be happy. My reliance on my Higher Power will give me lasting happiness.
——————-
I wasn’t able to get on a walk yesterday so I focused on other things that make me feel close to God:
Hallelujah view of the sky I love his sweet smile I knew I couldn’t go for a walk but I COULD go and sit on the porch and admire the setting sun“Not all who wander are lost….”
The phrase is referenced with a reversal of the usual meaning in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s poem, “The Riddle of Strider”, originally written for The Fellowship of the Ring:
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.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Riddle of Strider, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
It’s hard to believe it’s been about 3 years since I broke my wrist. My wrist is crooked but it is healed and a physical reminder of what happens when our spirit moves faster than our feet! Have you ever really stopped and looked at your hands? Thought about all we use them for? What an amazing tool! I was trying to get a picture of his paws and instead he did this – showing me how valuable paws are! My little healer….
Hello to you today. I hope this finds you well. Todays post is going to be mostly pictures. The messages in A Woman’s Spirit will hopefully resonate:
To each particular person the world speaks a different, particular word and calls for a different, particular response. – Mary McDermott Shideler
I am invited to experience particular situations today. My presence is needed if I am called.
Daffodils in a neighbors yard Wonders of renewed life of trees – budsGetting green again Some of the trees start spring with flowersTrees with unique purposesReaccuring and reassuring message Thomas Preface for Thomas’s poem A FlowerThomas’s poem A Flower – spring is a great time to appreciate some of Gods finest work
To be 