Monthly Archives: April 2015
April 26 2015 Day 50 My last full day with Sue
My last full day with Sue. Forty two years ago she stood by myside as Dave and I spoke our vows. Forty two years of life lived by each of us. So many roads travelled. So many experiences experienced. As stories unfold I comprehend that I could use just the story of one life to write a mini-series or several volumes of books. And as I speak and share with others I realize that I too have accumulated a lifetime of stories. The stories of this trip are also accumulating. I am beginning to see some of the lessons that God has prepared for me to learn. Day after day the building blocks of my trip are beginning to take shape. They come in the form of each experience, each person I meet, the roads I travel, the words I speak, the words others speak to me, and even in the beds I sleep in.
I have slept on soft beds, hard beds, couches, air mattresses, on fold out beds, in low beds and in high beds needing stairs to climb into them, in living rooms, in kitchens, in twin beds, in a toddler bed and in beds fit for a king. I have slept on new sheets and worn sheets and smooth sheets and rough sheets, clean sheets and sheets that had been previously used. I haven’t slept on the floor… YET… One thing I have discovered, no matter which bed I was in I slept like a baby. And for that I thank God. It has been amazing. As I think back over these places of rest the stories surrounding the beds surface in my memory. So many that haven’t been told and may never be told, tucked into that special place of my heart to be savored only by me. Friends and faces and surroundings and incidents all come flooding back into my memory. I will take them home with me.
Every day I am learning; about the world, about others, about God, about myself. Today was a God learning day. My friend Sue wanted to go someplace different today for church. She gave me the scenarios of what she knew about different churches in the area but didn’t know which one to choose. I felt impressed that we should go to Calvary Chapel in Modesto. So we did. EXCELLENT CHOICE! After looking back over the day I believe it was a God inspired choice. The praise and worship service was amazing and the teaching was illuminating. Senior Pastor, Damian Kyle, used the scripture reference Isaiah 66:1-6 as his topic. I deduced that this was the last day of the series of sermons on Isaiah. The last teaching of the Isaiah series was tonight at the 6:00 p.m. service. Sue and I planned to attend but our day zoomed by too quickly and we couldn’t make it back. I do hope I can listen to the entire series on Isaiah online as I do my workouts. The only problem with that is that I can’t take notes and get into the deep study of the series while exercising. Reverend Kyle’s presentation just opened up the scriptures with understanding and comprehension that I had not understood previously. To discover Damian Kyle’s teaching is like a gift presented to last a long, long time. I thank God for my ears that I can hear so I can learn more and more about who God really is. And I thank God for a teachable spirit. If you don’t have one just ask God for one and I’m certain there are a lot of things He’d like to teach you.
Not only was the teaching excellent but from the time we stepped out of the car onto the parking lot we could feel the friendliness of the people around us, from the grounds attendants, to the greeters at the door, to the people in the restrooms, concluding with those sitting around us. I have never felt so genuinely welcomed at a church service as I did at Calvary Chapel, Modesto. I was also very impressed with all the volunteers, each doing separate jobs preparing the building for the next congregating of “THE CHURCH”.
So much packed into the session this morning that I can’t go into it all here. I would recommend going to the website www.ccmodesto.com and do some exploring. Believe me, I already did and am excited to see listed all the topics I will be able to listen to.
It was so refreshing to be so welcomed into “The Family of God” in a “foreign” land. Thank you Robyn and John and Jenny and husband and Mrs. B. You helped make this Sunday Sabbath special! God bless all of you!
Sue and I have had a wonderful time remembering the good and the bad times, filling in the blank episodes of our lives that we hadn’t shared before and just loving being in each other’s presence again. I do hope all of you have this kind of friend to remember with in your later years. Sometimes the remembering is easier than it was going through it. And life has a different perspective when looking back, a little older, a little wiser. The best part…we can look back and know we survived. I can look back and see all the times when God was right there beside me as I trudged through the cement of life. So much more to tell.
Yesterday I said I would write part of an essay I wrote about 47 or 48 years ago. If the typing goes fast I’ll write the entire essay I wrote as a teenager:
*************************************************************************************
THE FUTURE IS TOMORROW
In the beginning God…In the beginning God created…And our beginning was created by God. And we were created for a purpose.
Where were you in 1872? Where will you be tomorrow? Tomorrow is our future. What we, you and I, do with it is completely up to us. Tomorrow is our future. Yesterday is gone. Soon tomorrow will be gone. What will we, as Christians, do with our lives? Is the future really ours? How can we as individuals be certain we will have a future?
Life is now lived at an exceedingly fast pace. Violence and death are nothing unexpected. Individuals are abused and slaughtered; whole nations can be wiped out by one bomb. What is life anyway and how can we be so sure we will be here tomorrow? Too often “tomorrow”, “next week”, and “nest month: are taken for granted. “I’ll do it tomorrow.” The familiar phrase that has certainly been spoken by many of us at one time or another. As one character in the popular play, THE MUSIC MAN, said, “Pile up a bunch of tomorrows and you’ll find you’ll end up with a lot of empty yesterdays.” These words are so very true. What is a future if we don’t use it now? Empty?? The future is ours because of what we do with it now. We must live to the fullest of God’s plan for us as individuals. Not by saying, “I will do”, or “I did”, but by doing His (God’s) will and works for our lives now. The future is ours because through a day by day walk with God we can claim each day not for ourselves but for God; awakening with the thought, what can I do for my neighbor, my friends, my pastor, my country…for GOD?
What we do today will reflect what happens tomorrow and the many more to come. God has not definitely said, “I promise you a tomorrow,” but when this physical life is ended our tomorrow with Christ will begin…for eternity. The future is ours only because we live in the complete will of God today.
And that is what I wrote all those years ago. This was the entire essay.
Good night. It is 11:23 p.m. and I am going to eat dinner and go to bed. My dinner will be goat cheese, peanut butters and an orange. I don’t like eating quite this late but my lunch was at 2:00 p.m..
April 25 2015 Day 49 A Day in Modesto
Sue was gone when I woke up at 7:10 a.m. I needed to sleep in because I was up until 1:30 a.m.. So was she but she had an early morning commitment to prepare breakfast burritos for the homeless on the streets. She prepared 320 burritos with help of seven other people. This group was preparing only one part of the breakfast. Someone else made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, another group made chicken salad sandwiches and another group made huge pans of a hot dish. Cakes and dessert were made by another group. Drinks were also provided to feed anywhere from 200 to 300 homeless. They do this once a month on the last Saturday of the month to help the homeless because most of the people have run out of government assisted food stamps by the last week. Entire families come.
Back on the home front I started the beans cooking and preparing the food to put in the soup later. With the beans cooking Sue and I left for the downtown area for the Modesto Farmer’s Market. Sue’s husband is recovery from a very major back surgery and is currently able to walk around with a walker so he was home and able to turn the beans off at the appropriate time. Sue’s husband was injured in Vietnam when he was working on a two story water tower on base and was blown off of the tower by a rocket. He was propelled over three or four vehicles and landed on his head. The injury eventually caused him to be permanently disabled. In 2007 he became paralyzed. He had surgery on Feb 23rd. His back was fused and he had cages, rods and screws put in his entire spine. I saw the X-rays and they were painful to view. He is now able to be upright and with the assistance of arm crutches or a walker can move his feet and legs as he strengthens them in hopes of eventually walking again.
So what do you do in a new city? Go shopping of course. We hit some of the resale shops and had a good time just being together. But duty called so we went home to make certain Sue’s husband had what he needed. Also, we had to finish the soup we were cooking and eat lunch. We ate our farmer’s market fare. So good…
Again we left to hit the rest of the resale shops. Didn’t quite get to all of them.
And again our stomachs called us home. This time we had homemade soup that was really, really excellent! (Even if I do say so myself). After I cleaned up while Sue helped her husband we are both here in her home business office on our computers. So…another special day with my friend is coming to a close. We plan to take it easy tomorrow and go to the late church service so we can sleep in. How the days get away so quickly I’ll never know.
When I arrived yesterday Sue brought out some old albums of pictures of us and a book I wrote for her over 43 years ago. I don’t have the awake power to share some of what I wrote but I hope I can do that tomorrow. It is interesting for me to read what I wrote so many years ago. It might surprise some of you. I’ll try to write an exert of an essay I wrote for a possible scholarship for Bethany Bible College in Santa Cruz CA. I had included the essay in the book I compiled for her. I actually won the small scholarship but did not use it as I did not end up attending Bethany Bible College. Since it is too long to write now I will leave you with one of my words of wisdom I included in her book “For every hour that passes a million are added to eternity and even then eternity has not yet begun”.
One more closing. I met one of Sue’s closest friend, an 82 year old woman named Betty. When asked what wisdom she would like to pass on this is what she said
“IF YOU HAVE A DREAM, DON’T WAIT. START IT TODAY.” As quoted by Betty.
And so I will…
My dream is to get into bed. So I will do so.
April 24 2015 I lost my words
Hi everyone. I just finished blogging for the night and somehow lost all my words. I’ve sent out a SOS to see if it can be recovered. I’ll let you know tomorrow.
Kathleen
April 24 2015 Day 48 Meandering
Note: This post was written yesterday and lost. Now it is found. So here it is. An unhurried, uneventful day is what I needed and it what I received. So many little things happened this week that I haven’t spoken of, nor will I so, as not to embarrass myself, so I really needed a day when nothing major or minor happened. Today was the day and so far, as long I don’t spill the beans, I have not had anything major happen. Left my new love this morning as I climbed over the Sierra Nevada Mountain range making my way to Modesto California. And here I meet an old love; my sweet sweet Sue. We knew each other from her high school days and my college days. We have not seen each other for several years and yet it as if we just saw each other yesterday. We’v spent some time today getting caught up on the news of our families, shopping for dinner, and me preparing it. Tomorrow I will make soup as Sweet Sue wants to learn how to do it. I don’t much work with recipes so it will be interesting as to what she will learn. We will make creamed bean soup. The “cream” is derived from the puree of half of the cooked beans, which I will prepare in the morning. I have a pot of chicken bones boiling on the stove as I type, creating fresh chicken broth for tomorrow’s soup and quinoa.
The trip from Yosemite to Modesto took about 2 1/2 hours. That is a record for me for my shortest driving day.
I met Sue for the first time at the church we attended. She came alone or with her brother. She would hardly speak to me. As I just found out today it was because the move to our areas had increased her shyness and she found it difficult to say anything at all. I’ve never understood shyness or how someone would feel uncomfortable to just go up and meet a new person and carry on a conversation. But I persisted. We ended up becoming life long friends. There are so many stories I have heard tonight I choose not to repeat any of them at this time due to my tired brain. Sue’s nephew Vincent stopped in and I ended up talking with him for about 90 minutes. Now it is late and I suppose I must now add at least one eventful thing happening. Our conversation was the event. Quite interesting conversation, but not something to share U would share with anyone else. I pray that God will continually open doors such as He did tonight to hear the stories of others and open the opportunities to share more about my God. Below I have included a poem that will be included in the Alphabet book I am working on. I spoke with a David at the gym last week while I was visiting . Read the poem below and tell me if you can guess which word this poem is discussing. The word of a spiritual connotation. ?????????????????? By Kathleen Martens March 12, 2013 Wedded to body, life-giving force Entwined with spirit for eternity’s course. Immaterial self within human being Confined by flesh – wings of death freeing. The place of hungering and thirsting for God Awaiting release from earthly sod. Uniquely created deposited at creation Untethered and free When combined with Holy Spirit our God we’ll see. We are handed control, we are given free choice By the thoughts of our silent voice. “Ensouled”, our being connected to Spirit, When tuned to God His voice we hear it. Our inner world others cannot see; A world troubled or a place that’s free. Our beauty, our ugliness, the Divine sees all, And thus, He answered His Father’s call. Whatever our past, misdeeds or lies, Forgiveness for all – His death supplies. Created in God’s image we are but a part For He has placed in us Spirit, part of His Heart So that we may know and to others give, The map to eternity and how to live. For our physical body, someday will be past And only what’s given to God will last. Our ???? wedded to spirit, will dance at God’s throne And the immaterial of self will at last be home.
Okay Mr. David from the gym in Orange CA what is the word?
Good night.
24 April, 2015 00:34
Two more dinner time guest. Looking out the living room window. One more was lagging behind.
April 23 2015 Day 47 My New Love
I think I have fallen in love again. I am in love with Yosemite. I never suspected that Yosemite would woo me as she has. OH SO BEAUTIFUL AND MAGNIFICENT! And I haven’t even seen it all yet. Nor shall I on this trip. Other than the fear of forest fire and having no water, Oakhurst would be a wonderful choice for retirement.
My second day at the park was absolutely delightful. I started the morning off going to breakfast with my uncle Jetton. He meets his “old” cronies once a weekato a place named DUCYS. It sits beside Bass Lake or perhaps I should better describe it as Bass Pond. When I drove over a bridge to our destination I could see out across what was formerly a beautiful blue expansive lake. What I saw were piers and docks sitting on dry desolate land. The ground was parched and dried in a myriad of colors; browns, beige, off white, dark rocks and a small portion of water in the middle of the lake. It actually made me want to cry. I could just feel the desolation of the drought up close and personal. This lake is home to a golf course, restaurants, places to stay, creating a choice environment to draw in people. People who create a livelihood to many. It was so sad to see.
On the way to Ducys I saw a large portion of land being cleared. There were home foundations and chimneys and burned out trees being cleared away. When I asked what happened I was told that the fire had been started by hunters who had killed a deer and had gutted it out. “The guts got to stink’n so they poured gasoline on the guts and started it on fire and the woods started on fire” as quoted from my Uncle Jetton. He and my aunt were told to be ready to leave so he put his horses in trailers and grabbed what they needed. What they needed was financial records, pictures off the wall, jewels, guns and that’s about it. My uncle said that when you have just a few minutes to leave and you have no plan, it is difficult to even think clearly. Since that time all financial records are kept in a storage filing case on wheels like a suitcase and can be wheeled out. The plan now (since they live in a very high fire zone) is to put both horses in one trailer and use the single wide horse trailer to pack a few of their other valuables. Sometimes there is no notice so you just grab and run. Other times you have some warning as the fire approaches. One woman whose home burned down was able to grab her purse, get in her car and escape the flames. In the fire I mentioned above there were 32 single family homes that were burned totally down. The loss of the trees scarred the landscape even from across the lake looking out from Ducy’s. My Aunt and Uncle now have an exit plan and everything is easily accessible for a quick pack up. That is one threat I would not like to live with. There were no deaths reported in the fire mentioned. This fire happened last summer. Well, the area is now another year dryer. The threat is real to those who live in this area. The hills are pock marked with towering brown trees that would go up like tender. The reason Jetton and Georgia’s home did not burn is because the wind changed. I think I’ll keep looking for that perfect place to retire. But…I’m still in love with Yosemite!
Well, after breakfast my plan was to go back to the park because I did not have a chance to see the Giant Sequoia’s. It was worth every minute! I enjoyed the breakfast with the “old men” and my dear Aunt Vela who also came. We couldn’t get Aunt Annie to come nor Aunt Jeanette, my mother’s brother John’s widow. So two ladies with the four old men, one who was 93 and acted like 65. I saw so much light and life in his sparkling eyes. Oops, one of the men wasn’t old. The 93 year old’s 19 year old grandson was also there. Jetton and his ride had to leave along with Vela. I had my car and was going to Yosemite. I was in such a maze of roads that had no way to get out without help. One of the older men said he would take me out, better yet, he would just take me to Yosemite. I could tell he really enjoyed having company with him and an excuse to do something. He drove me up the mountain in his truck. Let’s put it this way…I’m not nervous when I do the driving. We arrived safe and sound, all 13 miles from where we started. Then once in the park we had to go about 3 more miles to the Sequoia grove and those roads were even more precarious because of being so narrow. But I made it without even gasping. He was just so kind and enjoyed being with someone for the company. He was delightful and surprised me by his stamina and quick walking. We were at about 4,000 feet altitude and I was again having a bit of difficulty with heart exertion. I just stopped and gawked extra long if my heart accelerated too high.
What there was to look at deserved to be gawked at. Unless I am present with the tall giants I have a tendency to forget their magnitude. The old ones stand 200 to 300 feet high. I encircled one giant with both arms spread wide and went all the way around it 10 times That was its girth. My reach is 5 feet. The total circumference estimation is 50 feet. I hope that helps give you a clearer realization of just how big these trees are. Yosemite would be a wonderful destination to go to because there are so many interesting excursions to go on. I plan to come back with Dave as soon as possible. I may not go to another destination in California but I do Hope to return to Yosemite so I can see what I’ve missed.
One of my favorite parts of my day is meeting all the interesting people I meet. And today was no exception. I often offer to take photos of couples or families that are taking pictures so everyone can be included. This often opens up opportunity to get involved in short conversations. It is so interesting to hear people’s stories, where they are from, where they are going. Today was no exception in meeting people but the exception was in meeting a group of four exceptional young people traveling up from Southern California to purposely visit Yosemite. I would imagine they were in their early to mid twenties. One lady and three young men. I took photos of them and they did likewise for me. They were so alive and in love with life and nature. Their life is before them and I so enjoyed talking with them and hearing their words of wisdom. I didn’t write it down, so much of it is lost. I have contact info to reach them so maybe I’ll text and see if they will remind me. I should leave nothing for memory.
It is time for dinner. I will write more after dinner. I post this now so it will not be lost accidentally. Maybe I will proof read it tomorrow…(or never)…
Dinner is over. And it was delicious. Corn bread and beans, fried potatoes, and coleslaw. All the others also had ham with theirs. I had two pieces of corn bread. It was so good. If you had been a fly on the wall you would have thought
During dinner we had three deer having dinner on the back yard plants. We watched them for awhile. I posted a photo taken through the window.
It is wash night. One load drying and another washing. A good feeling having everything clean when I head off for another place. I leave tomorrow morning and head out to Modesto. I will be visiting with my long time friend Sue, who was my maid of honor at our wedding. I’ve known her about 47 years. She is my dear friend I met after I graduated from High School that has remained my friend all these years. She was still in High School while I was going to college but our age difference was no big deal. Now it is a big deal! She’s younger!
All in all this has been another wonderful day. God is good. Time to write a poem.
P.S. Just looked up Redwoods and Sequoia Trees. I thought they were the same. They are not. Here is an excerpt taken from an online information page: ” Natural habitat.—The giant sequoia is found growing singly or in groups scattered for a distance of 250 miles along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in central California at elevations of 4,000 to 8,000 feet. The redwood grows near the Pacific Ocean along the northern California coast in a more or less continuous belt about 450 miles long and 15 miles wide.
Method of reproduction.—Both species reproduce from seed, but the redwood is one of the few conifers that is also able to develop sprouts from cut stumps, roots, and burls.
Foliage.—The foliage of the giant sequoia is scalelike and somewhat resembles that of the junipers; redwood foliage is in the form of two-ranked needles like the hemlock.
Shape and size.—The giant sequoia is the largest tree in the world in volume and has an immense trunk with very slight taper; the redwood is the world’s tallest tree and has a slender trunk.
Cones and seed.—The cones and seed of the giant sequoia are about three times the size of those produced by the redwood.
Woody structure.—The wood of the giant sequoia is much coarser in texture than that of the redwood, and growth rings of the redwood are wider. Both woods are highly resistant to decay.
Color of bark.—The bark of the giant sequoia is bright reddish brown, whereas that of the redwood is a dull chocolate brown.
April 22 2015 Day 46 The Cathedral
Where do I start when everything that happened today just seems more grand than the moment before? Well, I’ll start at the beginning before I knew it was such a grand day. We (Georgia, Jetton, Annie, Jeanette and myself) all slept in today. That was a grand thing! I was up first at 7:50 a.m. and everyone followed. This was my day to get an early start and go to Yosemite. Best laid plans of mice and men…Too much talking, having my picture taken sitting on a horse to impress you. But, I forgot to use my cell phone and I can’t post it off my camera so I won’t get to impress you after all. My uncle rides horses and has two of his own He’ll be riding in a parade on Saturday. Well, finally I did get all ready to leave and misplaced my keys (that a nice way of saying I lost them). We all looked high and low to find them and they were no where to be found. I figured they were in the car as I had come out and unlocked it and then got on the horse. We could not find them. “I Myself” did not even get upset with”Me”. I just prayed figured they would turn up because God knew where they were. So, I retrieved my “spare” set of keys and left for Yosemite.
“continue reading…” Read the rest of this entry
Visions of Poetry 