Monthly Archives: May 2015
31 May, 2015 00:33
Daneece’s son Daniel and friend Ashlie. Daniel is my 1st cousin twice removed. He is my grandson’s third cousin. His mother Daneece is my children’s 2nd cousin. Just wanted you to know how involved our family tree is.
Friday May 30, 2015 DAY 83 I AM BACK
I missed a day blogging. I was on a pretty good stretch there for awhile. I shall try to resume my faithfulness. It seemed a few things beyond my control were happening and the evening got away from me without a blog AND WITHOUT A POEM!
Today felt like a bit of a holiday after the beginning of the week. It seemed I had so much to do on the computer for planning the rest of the trip that I felt like I actually needed a holiday. So today I took it. Probably not much of a holiday to brag about but I slept in! The latest yet! It was after 8:30 a.m. before I awoke. Then I commenced to sorting through ALL MY PARAPHERNALIA, most of which I don’t need; trashed some, packed up tight some of the other, and organized all the rest for the days ahead. I have two more places where I will be staying longer than two nights. When I stay two night someplace that gives me one entire day to enjoy who I am with. Arrive in the evening, go to bed, enjoy a day, sleep, and get up and leave. Sometimes too short. Sometimes just right, Sometimes too long? It’s never too long for me but that probably depends on parallax of the host. I’ve enjoyed everyplace I have been and all who I have been with. And, it never fails, I learn something each place I go. Sometimes I learn things that I’m not quite ready to share. Things about myself that I probably wish I didn’t have to learn. Actually, I hope I never get too old or too closed mind to keep learning about the world and about my personal self. The more we expose ourselves to others, the more we have our eyes opened, about both ourselves and the other. It is the lessons that ones learns about self that are sometimes the most difficult to learn. But, like I said, everyday I am learning.
I thank God for every experience on this journey. I have seen incredible work of nature’s art with God’s byline on each exhibit. Oh how I have loved the mountains and the sheer walls of granite and the beautiful softness of the green of the forest, the amazing girth of the Sequoia Giants, and the thunder, lightening, and downpour of a summer storm. I have experienced the view of horses grazing in soft pastures surrounded by the ruggedness of mountain peaks scaling the sky just a few hundred feet away. I have the seen the sky so dark with the cover of a cloud filled night that the blackness was impenetrable. And I have experienced the fierceness of planets and stars and satellites glimmering like glowing white diamonds, so close you feel as if you could reach up and touch one. I have watched the wildlife in abundance fighting the survivor dance against prey that would take their life in a split second should they drop their guard. And I have been on freeways of 12 lanes going in one directions with cars being driven by maniacs fighting the same fight. I have heard the sound of great waves crashing against giant boulders protruding from the ocean floor and the gentle sound of the patter of rain on a window. And as I look back, and remember and think about what I have experienced, I have a great joy wash over me because I know I have more to come.
Though my trip is “officially: 2/3 lived I still have 1/3 to go if I live on this earth long enough. And if I don’t live on this earth long enough, just imagine all that I will be experiencing in heaven. My time the past two months has passed so quickly and I know the last third will probably pass even faster (sort of like how the years speed up as you age), but I plan to enjoy each and every moment. PLAN is the operative word. I choose to enjoy. My attitude says I WILL ENJOY. I intentionally believe that I will enjoy every single moment. That means the packing, the loading up, the unloading, writing my blog, doing things differently, eating different kinds of foods, meeting people I don’t know, driving long hours on twisting mountain roads, sleeping in new beds every other night or so, not knowing what to expect, I STILL EXPECT I WILL ENJOY EVERY MOMENT! And that also means the times the Lord is teaching me, something new, or something old that I just haven’t got the hang of yet. Sometimes it’s those “old” things that take the most teaching, over and over and over…..And I say, Thank You Lord for loving me enough to teach me until I get it right!
So, tomorrow morning I will pack up my car and hit the road once again. And this moment will be gone. So I look forward and never back. My memories will stay with me, all the smiles I have tucked into my heart along the way, the lessons I’ve learned, the confidences that have been shared, the places I’ve gone, the people I’ve met, the pictures I’ve taken, but this particular moment of time and place will be gone, and will be cherished. I say goodbye once again to those I love. Not with sadness, but with joy for all the hours and moments we have shared. A simple space in time where our lives have once again crossed, once again influenced each other, shared both laughter and tears, joys and sorrows. And I leave a better person for having lived these past days with my extended family. I can only hope that their lives have been blessed by mine. I hope they have learned something from me as I have from them. Thank you cousins for your love and generosity and hospitality!
I look forward to tomorrow and the next day. I will be reunited with my new love! This time a new place, a new state, and more of God’s exquisite artwork. I am going to the coast. Not just any coast, BUT THE OREGON COAST. I hear it is spectacular! What can I say? I just love the ocean.
From the time I was 6 until I was 12 we lived in a little town that was caressed by the San Francisco Bay waters. It might as well been the mightiest ocean because it was too far to see across. It had a sandy little beach (that seemed big at the time) and one lone tree. I thought it was paradise. It was about 1 to 2 miles away. When I could walk I would trek there on a summer day with my cousins who came over the summer holiday and we would stay most of the day. We were all under about 9 years old and we would be there all day, by ourselves, no adult supervision, and come home blistered by the sun rays. And we survived. We had fun. And we suffered with our sunburns afterward. My mother once told me that if I ever got sunburned again she would give me a spanking I would’t forget once the sunburn was healed. I never let myself get sunburned again on that beach. (Later on other beaches?? Yes). Those days on the beach are wonderful memories. There was just one thing, there were no large, frothing, menacing waves. I enjoyed the beach but my love affair with the ocean didn’t really begin until my cousin Bill took me to see Monterey and Big Sur. Oh WOW! My heart did a flip flop and I’ve been hooked every since. There was a much shorter way to go on tomorrows trip that drive all the way over to the coast to tag along with the ocean on Hwy 101. But I have been assured it will be worth it. So…I’m going for it. Three hours of winding, winding, mountain roads before the ocean comes in view. I’ve been looking at those mountains for the past two weeks so I might as well go and get acquainted with them. I look forward to the mountains too. There are two hours of layover Monday through Saturday for construction work. Sunday has no lay over. Thus, I am driving on Sunday.
There is another story about the ocean I would like to share, but not now. It is a story of the supernatural and miracles. I’ll tell you another day. It is getting late, and I Must go to bed as I must get up early. Good night.
EVERY MOMENT JUST A LOAN
Kathleen Martens
May 30, 2015
Tomorrow’s hour of early morn
Time of renewal, a new day born.
What awaits is unknown,
Every moment just a loan.
Give to God what is His
And that goes without a quiz.
For every moment He paid the price
Through His son’s sacrifice.
Glory goes to God our King
And to remember this one thing.
His love surpasses understanding
And is never, ever commanding!
He asks that you would come
Sit awhile, meet His son.
The only way to heaven’s door.
Sit a spell, He’ll tell you more.
Thursday May 28 2015 DAY 81 THE LOST DAY
I am so perplexed that I don’t yet have a title for this page. I pick my titles as a reminder to what I lived that day, Well this day had been perplexing. Computers can be our friends, right? Well, some days they can become the enemy. The enemy, only in the sense that it has devoured this day, and yesterday, and the day before. Living in the present to plan for the future. I am trying to stay in Airbnb facilities across Canada as I make my way home. Airbnb allows me to go online and rent private rooms in homes from a list of those who have been background checked. The towns are so small that when I google a town up pops the ones in about a 50 mile radius and sometimes a bit further. Then I look on the map, try to figure out just how far, finally find one that might work and the date is already booked that I need. Sometimes the picking is meager unless you want to pay a lot (which I don’t). I can usually find really nice places from about$45 to $80 per night. The owners of the homes always seem so friendly and so helpful.
I have reservations to stay two night on Vancouver Island close to Butchart Gardens. It was recommended that I stay at the gardens after dark because the park and flowers are then lit with beautiful colored lighting and water features. The place I will be staying is very close to the gardens and I will not need to drive a long distance at night. The ferry stops running after the evening is over and it takes almost two hours on ship to get across from the mainland of Vancouver BC. I would rather take that trip during the daylight hours. I have many days before I get there but the Airbnb places available are becoming fewer and fewer and I knew I needed to get the scheduling completed. I have plans scheduled through my stay in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. After that I have no other places booked. I’m still thinking about what I want to do and where I want to go. Any suggestions out there? Send them in. I leave Idaho on June 23rd (our 42nd anniversary) or June 24th. I plan to be home by July 1, Lord willing.
I’m still doing the marathon of the “Outlander Series”. So…between walking all over the neighborhood, working on the computer, watching Outlander this has been a lost day. Ahh…I now have the title for today’s blog. I suppose not really a lost day because I did get a lot accomplished. It is just not one of my favorite things to do…having my nose in the computer all day. And, I do enjoy visiting with Joyce off and on between my computer nose and Joyce hosting online spades tournaments as well as playing the tournaments herself. So we haven’t had too much time today but the day was and still is enjoyable.
My computer episode went until about midnight last night. At 12:30 a.m. I realized I had not written the poem I choose to write everyday. So I wrote a poem. I will copy it below. Just a little look at how my brain works past midnight. At least there was still something up there.
I HOPE I’M AWAKE
Kathleen Martens
May 27, 2015
Oh man, it’s past my time,
Bed would be so sublime.
But many plans I had to make
I just hope I was really awake.
It would be awful to do these works
Only to find just in dreams they lurk
Are those few place I have booked,
And many places I’ve yet to look.
When tomorrow comes I shall pursue
All the plans that are new.
For all I decided with half a brain
I hope my decisions are surely sane.
As you can read. I wrote the poem with half a brain too.
Good night! And guess what? It is only 5:35 p.m. Sorry I have no excitement to report! Just being so full of peace and joy is excitement enough for me. I’m alive!! And God is good!!
Wednesday May 27 2015 DAY 80 SHOPPING DAY!
Shopping is a lot of fun. Especially when:
1. You don’t have a man waiting for you!
2. You have a credit card!
3. When your husband is in another state!
4. And you have no idea in the world what you are going to buy!
5. And you know you aren’t going to spend very much money!
I’ll get back to the shopping a little later. First I’ll tell of my most extremely, unexciting, wonderful, accomplished day. I didn’t join a gym this week because I didn’t want to pay the price they quoted me. So…I actually got up and set out for a nice long walk. Decided to do 45 minutes of up and down the hills around Daneece’s home. What a beautiful walk. Not too hot since it was early and all the homes in her neighborhood are absolutely beautiful. What amazed me was how groomed and green the yards are. I was surprised because of the severity of the drought. There are so many flowers blooming at present and the walk was tour around a neighborhood. As I walked I listened to a sermon on my Iphone and had an absolutely wonderful time with myself. When I arrived back at the house I did stretches and floor exercises. It was unexciting, but it sure felt great! Then I ate lunch, received a call from someone I haven’t seen for 53 years. I will be staying with him and his wife at my next home location. He is the brother of a friend from the past. My friend is Charlene and we attended church together when we were both in diapers. Her brother Don graciously agreed to host me in his home as a stepping stone to Charlene’s place in Washington. We talked much too long and then I was on my way to pick up my Triple A travel pack at Triple A in Redding.
When I arrived at Triple A the lady that assisted me yesterday had just gone to lunch and only she knew where the packet was. So I left to return later. Where do you go in a strange city when you have an hour or so to use up? SHOPPING of course! And so I did. No man was with me, I had my credit card, my husband was in another state, I had absolutely no clue as to what I would buy and I knew I wouldn’t spend very much anyway. I’m just not a big spender. So off I went to my favorite place to shop. Googled its location into my phone and found it to be about two blocks away. I walked away with one pair of pants, one wool vest, one wool sweater vest, one sweater blouse, seven shirts, some dressy, some for workout, and three books. No much. Only took two bags. And the total was $37 and some cents (can’t remember right now). Of course that was with my senior discount! My favorite place of the day? GOODWILL of course.
The most pleasant and delightful young woman assisted me. It was such a pleasure to actually be a person, not a number, treated with respect and courtesy. I give Triple A Redding the highest rating possible for giving the best possible professional service, interspersed with live human contact. Not only did
After I spoke with Don, I had a few new twists and turns added to my itinerary so some of it had to be redone. All total it took another two hours or so to have everything rescheduled. I even have to schedule an oil change before I leave the states because since I am still under warranty with my car I cannot go over mileage between oil changes and have them for free. While I am on the road as long as I go to a KIA Dealership and save my receipts Russ Darrow, by KIA Dealership in Madison Wisconsin will reimburse for my oil changes. My last change was in Denver Colorado. I must have them done ever 5,000 miles. The next one will be done in Burlington, Washington. That will get me home.
Back home to Daneece’s and another TV fest with Joyce. It was interesting watching the first few episodes of OUTLANDER with her last night and a couple more tonight. It is the story of time travel beginning post World War II back to 1743. As the books continue there are several different time travel episodes. What is so interesting is that the historical facts of each time travel situation are based on accurate facts of time, place, names and events. Very involved and some of the scenes are a bit too graphic.
So now it is night again and I am the only one up and at it. I would like to go to bed soon so I will say good night. Before I do I will tell you that I plan to leave my comfy abode here in Redding on Sunday Morning. Maybe I will stay for church first and then leave. I haven’t decided for certain yet. I sure would like to go to church at Bethel just one more Sunday. If you’ve never heard of the class I just finished check it out online and think about next year. It is so amazing and worth the trip.
My day was extremely unexciting because I didn’t really do anything great like go up in the Eiffel tower, it was wonderful because I went shopping and found so many nice blouses, sweater, vests, and pants, it was accomplished because I actually have the remaining plans of my trip in a semblance of order. And.. it was the day that the Lord had made and I rejoiced in it and was glad in it all day long! Even an unexciting day is an AWESOME day to me!
Good night.
Tuesday May 26 2015 DAY 79 MOVIE OVERLOAD!
Dear Family and Friends:
Today I write a letter to everyone. First, I want to thank those of you who have been following my blog and for all the notes and messages received. Thanks for your encouragement. I haven’t been able to return messages for each one but I love receiving them. I am getting caught up now that I am finished with the class last week. That was such an amazing week.
The entire week last week was dedicated to learning about healing in the Biblical since. We had opportunity to be prayed for and to pray for others. I shared in a blog last week some of the truths I learned from scripture. I am not going to repeat it here because I want to listen to the download I bought last week of the sessions and do some deeper study before I share it and possibly share it incorrectly. I was so busy every moment of the day that by the time I came home in the evening to my Cousin’s home I could barely write my blog. I actually fell asleep a few times doing it and almost fell off my chair. Not a good feeling!
I want to share from my heart what this trip has meant to me. I have not clue as to what I am going to say so let me dig a little and stir up some memories. First I want to say thanks again to my husband for standing behind me in this endeavor, holding the fort at home (actually washing each toilet at least once a week) while I am gone, and giving me loving and encouraging words each day on the phone. I realize what I miss so much is his touch. That has never been one of my love languages but I realize now how much I miss it when it is not experienced everyday. Just a hug, a squeeze on the shoulder, the touch of a hand, all say so much. Touch those close to you. Give a hug to your spouse and children and GRANDCHILDREN. They may not think they need it but they probably really do. I love to give hugs and one day while at church I hugged a woman that I felt God was directing me to give a hug to each week. After several months I realized she always came up to me anticipating that hug. One Sunday she whispered in my ear, “I love your hugs. This is the only hug I receive all week and the only touch from another person.” She was widowed the previous year and lived alone. You never know how much a hug might mean to someone else.
One important thing I have practiced more, is listening. I always have so much to say that listening has sometimes been put on the back shelf. I want to say to any that I may have every offended in the past that I am truly sorry. I now realize that everyone has lots to say if they just have someone interested enough to listen. It is becoming more apparent to me that people need to be heard. People are starving to be heard. Do I have to agree with them? No. Do I need to tell them I disagree with them? No. All I need to do is listen. I am getting better at it and very educated at the same time (quite interesting educations). Do I still talk too much? PROBABLY! No… the answer is yes, but I have come along ways.
Another thing I have learned by listening to people and observing their relationships with one another is, that I need to step back and listen to my own voice as well. How do I sound when answering another person? What are my voice inflections saying to the other person? Are some of the things I speak even necessary? Do I sound defensive? If I disagree with something said do I need to argue until the other person agrees with my perspective? I ask myself these questions and wonder if some of the situations I see could be diffused if answered or spoken in a different tone of voice. I can remember times when it was pointed out to me that I came across differently than I thought I was coming across. It is up to us to be certain we say what we say in a voice and tone that depicts what we purpose to get across. I’ll have to practice when I get home to see if I am learning what I’m telling you about. I want to stop and listen to the words in my head before they become sounds in another’s ears. Words are so powerful. How they are spoken, what words are used, and how they are presented. Maybe we should STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN…and then speak. I ask God that He will help me do that.
Even though my every day on the road has been full, rewarding, and wonderful in its own way I realize more and more each day how important are the friends that await me at home. Friends are precious and priceless. I think of individual friends and wish I could just call or connect with them. While at the homes of those I am visiting I believe it is important for me to give them my attention without a phone in hand or at ear. So I have chosen to leave the phone in my room and check messages occasionally to see if I have any pressing information that needs addressing. I have tried to return all calls within a few days. Honestly, I very rarely have a few moments to myself. I have been able to connect with my family on occasion by calling before I get out of bed in the mornings. Even when I awaken early or as late at 7:00 I can still call Wisconsin and find everyone up and at their day. Nights are a little more difficult because it is so late in Wisconsin before my day ends here. So I say to you in this letter a great big H E L L O! I do miss all of you and look forward to seeing you again but I don’t want to rush it. Even though I am in my 11th week of being on the road I am looking forward to every day that lies ahead, enjoying each one to the fullest when it comes.
This journey has given me an even greater appreciation for living in the moment. It is truly in the moment that I live. However, this week I have had a few planning sessions that have come up and must be attended to. Until I get the next segment planned I will have no place to go. This week is a gift from God to me. I have a home that has offered me shelter until I am ready to leave. Shelter AND delicious food! Hmm…maybe I should just stay the summer…they have great air conditioning too! But, I guess not. God still has assignments for me so I must get on the road again. I never know what my assignments are, when they will come, or what they are. When it is time, then I know. So I guess I’ll keep on keeping on.
Today I spent 4 hours at Triple A in Redding, California with a travel agent planning my next segment after I leave Daneece and Joyce. After hours of work, the travel agent’s computer would not accept all that she had input and she had to do it all over. I left and will pick up the plans tomorrow. My best recollection tells me that I will be staying at another 13 or 14 locations, some up to one week long, others as short as one nighters. I have four more homes to stay in and the rest will be Airbnb.com while I am on the road. If I remember correctly I think I wrote about Airbnb early in my blogging. For those of you who joined the blog later I’ll explain a little here. Airbnb stands for “online (through the air) bed and bath” accommodations in private homes. People are vetted (background checked) and join a network to advertise their home for rent. Usually it is just a bedroom and bath. And sometimes the bath is shared with the family. I stayed at two in Texas and had a feeling of safety as a lone woman coming into a neighborhood instead of going to a hotel parking lot and having to carry my belongings in by myself. As an Airbnb customer each traveler must also be vetted with a background check. One complaint about the home or the customer and the persons are not longer allowed to be in the system. So…everyone is on their best behavior. The prices go from $10 to hundreds of dollars per night. They are not in every town but I have been able to choose enough that I think I will be able to make it all across Canada by using only Airbnb. I do have a few places I will be with friends and family but other than that I will use Airbnb. I’ll tell you more about them as I journey toward home.
Speaking of “toward home” I have felt since the first day I left that my journey was always headed toward home, not away from home. I have always been progressing, not going away from, but going toward. And I am still progressing toward…and home is my ultimate destination. Home and a husband retiring on July 4th, and friends, and a cluttered house, two weddings to finish, one newborn session to finish and one senior portrait session to finish. Going toward my church body, and what is left of summer, and my husband, my son, my daughter-in-law and my two loves of my life, Zach and Xander, and my gardens, and my CSA box, and making more soups, filling my freezer, cleaning out 42 years of collections, redoing the kitchen, having surgery AND…QUIET!!! Oh yes, and retirement! As my friend Bill says: “NOT RETIRE–BUT REFIRE!”
Yes, I said QUIET! Pure unadulterated, soundless quiet. Just me and the Lord. NO TELEVISION!!! Hours and hours of quiet. And then I will go outside, sit in my chair and listen to the birds. I can hear the birds now you know. Before my ears were healed in October 2012 I had not heard birds for many years. The first time I heard the bird song I stood under the trees and cried. And I have been hearing them all across the country. Some of their sounds I have never heard before. Somehow, bird songs are not noise. To me they are like jewels tinkling in the air. And sometimes, I still stand under the trees and cry.
Love to all of you,
Kathleen
(Wanda to some)
Monday May 25 2015 DAY 78 AAHHH!!!
How nice is nice? It was so nice today. I was able to sleep in, have a relaxing morning, a restful afternoon of simple shopping trip (the kind you know what you need and you go get it and you’re done), AND…YOU TREAT YOURSELF TO A MC DONALD’S SOFT SERVE! Then you come home and have the pleasure of watching a movie all afternoon. Now the movie was the opulence for me. It has been a long time since I took the time to watch any TV, much less a movie that lasted over two hours. I watched THE HIDING PLACE, which tells the story of Corrie Ten Boom’s life. It was a sad and amazing story. I would highly recommend watching it. I read the book many years ago and the movie actually did it justice. It is the true story of a person who survived the concentration camps during World War II.
Now I have the absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting, and time consuming task of planning the next few weeks of travel. I used all those descriptive words because I’m trying to psyche myself into the belief that it is great fun to do. The traveling is great, but sometimes the planning and reservations can become tedious. I still have too much to do (like having fun) than to take a day to plan. But now is the time to do so while I have the comfortable place I do it where I feel so welcome. I think there may even be some surprises in store for me. I think I am going to be seeing some beautiful country. Hope you keep reading along with me as I think I have some pretty neat things I will be seeing and experiencing.
God is so good! God is so good! God is so good to me! (Words of a song going through my head). And oh, it is so true! And with the above song singing in my head I set to write a poem and his is what came out.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Kathleen Martens
May 25 2015
Quiet time is lost to me
So much noise flies so free.
Television blares it’s noisy racket,
Sometimes I would like to smack it!
But I won’t , for I love who’s here,
And not often are they near.
With generosity their home they share
And to do as they please is only fair.
A beautiful home welcomes my day,
A place for me to sleep and play.
A yard of beauty awaits each morn
As a new day again is born.
The fridges are full of delectable food
And the atmosphere has a happy mood.
And even night has its own sounds,
For in the waterfall frogs abound.
I love this home away from home
For it is far that I have roamed!
But now I feel a peace and calm
And and the noise of the TV has become a balm.
And I am loved by a furry little creature
Who is the queen of this home’s feature.
Black little Nikki is the love of my day,
She greets me heartily and wants to play.
I’m not alone and the sounds are sweet
And I love that our path did meet.
It is such a comfort that I can hear
Those who are close that I love so dear.
Thank you Daneece and Joyce AND NIKKI!
MY SAGE ADVICE FOR TODAY: “ENJOY WHEREVER YOU ARE FOR SO SOON YOU WILL BE SOMEWHERE ELSE.”
Sunday Sabbath May 24 2015 DAY 77 FUN DAY-SUNDAY
Relaxing and fun day! Why fun? Just because I say it was and still is. Up early to get a seat at Bethel Redding. Great service on the continuing topic of worship, took a trip to Costco, a stroll through the mall because the restaurant of choice did not open until noon. And then I had my first experience at an OUTBACK RESTAURANT. Salad and shrimp was the best thing I could find. It was delicious.
And what do I do when I got back to Daneeces? Start making food of course! Made a quinoa salad with lots of veggies in it and had a lot of chopping to do. Daneece’s son Daniel and his girlfriend stopped by to visit me. We had a short visit before they had to leave to go to another engagement. But…I think we have a dinner date with them tomorrow night to go out for Indian food. After they left I made more food, a pomegranate salad. To me it is delicious but I don’t think it was quite as delicious to the others. Cousin Joyce is totally convinced that I eat weird. Before I came she was told I ate weird, and now she knows I do (according to her). That’s because I eat, according to Joyce, RABBIT FOOD! True, the rabbits and I probably eat a lot alike, but to me that is not weird. WHAT THEY EAT IS WEIRD! But, enough of food.
When I have quiet days it seems to me I have nothing of interest to write about. I love the days but perhaps fall short of information to share. And…I even took a picture of me with everyone else on my tripod camera and forgot to take one with my cell phone so I could put it on line. I’ll try to take a picture tomorrow and put it up a day late.
Though I am sleepy at the present, this has been a lovely day. I will try to stay awake until I finish. It is but 7:21. I hope you enjoyed reading about my long day in these short paragraphs. Probably the shortest blog I’ve done to date. I think I must move around or I will fall asleep! Day 77 has been a wonderfully relaxing day of suspended bliss. Still have some things to do.
God bless all of you. I hope my tomorrow is as uneventful as today. I need this down time before I head out for the next leg of my journey later this week.
Dave, it is already late and perhaps I shouldn’t call. So I will tell you here for all the world to know–I LOVE YOU!
Charlene if you are reading my blog please give me a call when you have a chance ASAP (or I will be calling you).
Carole H. I miss you.
David H. I love your music! It is so peaceful for me.
Rebecca M. Missed your call tonight during my blog time darling daughter.
Neil H. Thank you for loving my daughter.
Court M. My favorite son!
Amy M. My favorite daughter-in-law.
Zach and Xander. YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE. GRANDMA MISSES YOU.
…goodnight John boy…
Saturday May 23, 2015 DAY 76 HOW GREAT IS THIS DAY!
Every day I must peek at yesterday’s title to see what this day is. 76 Days of my journey are in the past. I wonder how many will be in the future? I ask myself, am I on the way home now? And then I realize that I am not on a trip, I am on a journey. To me the difference being, a trip has a certain place and time to be somewhere and then a return trip is necessary to return from where you started. I don’t see my journey as that way at all. A journey is setting out and perhaps not knowing exactly where you are going or when you will be there. The presence of the moment IS the journey and the reason for the journey. Each day stands alone in the stepping stones leading you to places unknown. My journey is two fold: a place of time and space as to where I am, and a journey of the heart and spirit of the internal me. I know I have said this before, but it is true, EVERYDAY I AM LEARNING! My spirit is becoming more peaceful, my heart is expanding, love grows inside me for the beautiful country I live in, and I am amazed that there are so many kind people wherever I go.
My cousin Daneece were out in the car today and she made a statement about “going home” and it made me stop and think about all the ways we “go home”. I go home everyday when I settle in to talk to my husband. Some days it is just for two or three minutes, but while I am on the phone with him I experiencing a little bit of “going home”. I think I go home when I pause and think of my house, it’s surroundings, what is growing now and thinking of the changes of the seasons in Wisconsin . I “go home” when I pull up the photos on my IPhone of my two grandsons. It is then the smile in my heart gets bigger and I have such satisfaction knowing they are there for me to see again someday. I “go home” daily. Not with sadness for being apart, but it is with joy I think of all that going home means, for it is my place of refuge and peace and calm in all these vast miles I’ve traveled. It is my little piece of the world that I share with the one I love most dearly. It is where I truly belong. Though I have seen much, experienced many different acquaintances along the way, enjoyed every hour I’ve been alive since leaving home, there truly is no place like home. I look at all the people around me in this vast and busy world and wonder about where there home is, what is it like, is it peaceful and a place of refuge or is there strife and turmoil and heartache that awaits them at the end of their trip? And the truth is, I’ll never know. All I can know for certain is that when I return home I will return to a sanctuary.
When I think of returning to the place I belong it makes me think of the even greater journey I am on the journey to heaven. It makes me realize that as big and beautiful as this world is, it is not my home. As the song goes, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through”. It keeps me focused on my true purpose for being on earth, and simply said, my reason is to take as many with me to heaven as I can. And when I think of heaven’s home I realize that there is one there who loves me more than I can even comprehend. How awesome is that! It makes me excited about the journey I am on, both returning to the one I love and who loves me AND someday going to the place where I am so loved that it is beyond my understanding. I have an awesome Father who loves me enough to allowed His son to die for me that I would someday be where He is.
Now, to what I did with this absolutely great day! I slept in until almost 7:00 a.m. I talked to Dave for over an hour before I got out of bed. I wrote my blog for yesterday. Daneece and I went shopping for the pizza ingredients I needed to make my super delicious, awesome pizza! It is my own recipe. Came home, made the pizzas in the pleural and then froze them for future eating. Worked up a flat of strawberries that needed freezing. Took the chicken off the bone so I could boil the bones into broth to make Quinoa tomorrow. Did my wash, prepared dinner. Still doing my wash, must iron my clothes for tomorrow and it is almost 11:00 p.m. and then put the chicken broth in containers in the fridge. I think I did a lot more things but too many to remember. So this absolutely great day has turned out to be a bit longer than I had intended.
I love all you out there in never never land. Church comes early so I will go and proofread tomorrow. No photos today as I didn’t do much to warrant them.
Hopefully I’ll write more tomorrow.
Friday May 22, 2015 DAY 75 AWAKEN THE VISION OF MY HEART
Good morning everyone! It is actually morning instead of last night! OOPS! It is now actually afternoon of yesterday. Friday was long, interesting, full of the joy of the Lord, overload of information, AND EXHAUSTING! I actually felt tired last evening, probably due to very short nights all week. It caught up with me! I very rarely know what it feels like to be tired these days AND IT IS AN AWESOME FEELING!
There was also a bit a sadness. When you are with new people that you bond with for a week there are always farewells that must be said. God brought absolutely delightful young people into my life this week. First, there was Jessica, my little hitch hiker I told you about. Then came the radiance and glow that shines from Linda’s sweet face. Linda was such a gift to our group because she was there early enough every morning to reserve seats for all of us close to the front. For that I am forever thankful. Angelica was the next gift God had all packaged up. She is just as her name depicts, angel like and free spirited and beautiful to behold. And we all received two additional lovely ladies from Singapore, Dawn and Estelle. What a delightful pair. The love of Jesus just shines from their very presence. It was awesome to be able to get to know them in the limited time we had to visit. God blessed me with this core group of ladies and I truly felt as if I was in a little family. My friends Lana and Tim were there also but they chose to sit in the back. I was able to connect with them some during some of the meal breaks. I brought my own lunch and dinner so as to save cost and for my own health reasons. We did however have the chance to get caught up a bit at the picnic table. My regret was that I didn’t have the opportunity to spend more time on the last day with them as I felt God wanted to me to spend time with a group of three young men who drove up from Los Angeles. I asked them to go out to dinner but they were fasting and chose not to eat. Instead, we sat under the trees outside and talked and shared. I wish I had asked them what their wisdom was but I forgot to do so. Time goes by so quickly and before I knew it, it was time to go back in for the next session.
We had an interesting session on Thursday. We were taken into the sanctuary that had been transformed from an auditorium to a Healing Room. Chairs were placed back to back in curving lines, artist were painting beautiful works for art as spiritual expressions of praise, dancers were dancing with flowing scarves and graceful movements, and a worship team was singing and playing musical instruments on the platform. The lights were low and peaceful. Groups of class members were brought into the room in groups of about 100 to experience the room for a half an hour or so to bask in the presence of the Lord, to view the artist at work, to sing and worship God and just soak in the presence of the Lord’s presence. It was a beautiful place to be. We were then directed to a room where a group of people prayed with each person individually. There were four who prayed for me. It is is wonderful that so many people (over 800) volunteer on a rotating schedule to come in and pray with people for healing.
It is a good thing I was able to write my blogs at night this week, except for yesterday’s, because so much information is jam packed in my brain that it is difficult to differentiate one day from the next.
I think the word of wisdom I will leave with you today is something the speaker Chris Gore quoted from a woman who spoke it at age 92 years of age. Her name was Mrs. Lindsey and she has since died. From what I gathered, she was a woman of prominence, a great spokeswoman, and one of importance in the what she did. Chris asked her for a word of wisdom and this is what she said: “Stay humble, stay low, give God all the glory.” Quite succinct. What we must remember when miracles happen is that it is not by our works, but it is the Lord’s work and power that performs the miracle. When we are to be a servant of the Lord we are to have a humble heart and ask how can best serve rather than coming into a situation exhibiting behavior that says “I know it all”.
This past week there was a message given by one of the many speakers. I can’t remember if I mentioned before what I am about to tell you. Sorry if it is a repeat. The minister was talking about how, when we ask, God will open our spiritual vision to new truths in His word. Truth that was already there but not understood or seen as one read the scriptures. When we ask God to open our hearts and minds to the truth He has in the scripture, God will do so. Sometimes when we do not see these revelations we are not ready to receive them. The more truth we see sometimes makes some things more difficult for us. When we are ready to receive God’s truths we should also ask for patience. When we ask for revelation we must be prepared for revelation, and the patience will help us work through what God is teaching us.
I am finding that to be so true in my life. God is opening the scriptures up to me in the past few years that I am just amazed I didn’t see, nor understand. Over and over this is happening. The more truths exposed to me, the more I learn, which often reveals convictions with which I must deal with in my life in order to grow from those truths. I looked back over some of my poems on my hard drive that I have with me and one poem stood out. I will put it here. It was written about a year ago but it says so clearly what the speaker was speaking this week. I would like to share it here. With these words I will sign off. God bless you!
Awaken the Vision of My Heart
By Kathleen Martens
April 30, 2014
Open my eyes Lord
That I may see
With vision of heart
The truths You depart.
Illumine Your word
So wisdom it brings
So the knowledge You give
With me forever lives.
Let me hear what You say
As I devour Your word,
Awaken my soul
That Your truths I know.
If I must suffer
With more knowledge received
That which I acquire
Replace with Your fire.
Awaken Your Word,
Burn it deep in my heart
That the sound of Your voice
Be my pages of choice.
For Your Holy Scripture
Lights the way of my path
To the place I belong
To bring others along.
Open my eyes Lord
That I may see
The lost ones You bring
To tell of my King.
My increased sorrow
Is turned to joy
As I toil long and steady
For a harvest that’s ready.
Give me wisdom and knowledge
Though it may mean more grief
Eternity is long,
Time on earth is brief.
Thursday May 21 2015 DAY 74 BONUS HOURS!
How awesome that the class schedule was not what I thought it was. Actually we were dismissed at 3:00 p.m. today and I do not have to report back until 6:55. The prayer room will be set up and every attendee will be prayed for individually. I am praying that my hands will be healed and my breast lumps will disappear.
Jessica, who I pick up and drop off each day came to the conference this morning. After she arrived in the packed room looking for me so she could sit next to me she realized how blurry everything was. She forgot to put her contacts in and did not have her glasses with her. She asked herself how could she do that. She felt the Lord impress upon her heart that it was because He was going to heal her vision today. Five years ago someone came to her church and prophesied over her (my paraphrase) saying that the Lord would one day heal her vision and she would see signs, wonders and miracles. That memory was brought to her recall and she again felt God impressing His word into her heart telling her that this was not only a physical restoration of her sight but would be restoration of her spiritual sight as to who He was and how He perceives her. There was more but I do not remember and do not want to misquote. During the first half hour worship session (remember, they are out of this world) her vision cleared and she can now see both near and far without needing glasses. Her eyes even looked different. Perhaps because I am used to seeing her with contacts or glasses. Needless to say, that was amazing to her and those around her. There have been many testimonies of healing taking place. I am ready to have a testimony. I could even go for my eyes being healed, especially the dryness! I’ll add that to my list. God is the God of miracles and what He starts, He completes.
The speakers today were awesome. All the speakers have been awesome but today clinched it for me, confirming that I need to hear it all again and so I decided I will buy the download of this week’s speakers. I just hope I will know how to upload (or download?) it onto my computer. I would much rather have CD’s so I could listen in the car.
So much is spoken by the speakers at each session that it makes it difficult to take accurate and thorough notes. Though I try I am certain a lot gets left out or incorrectly written. I’ll share a couple of highlights of today. A beautiful statement that stood out is “Miracles are an extension of worship. The proper response to miracles is PRAISE. When someone gets healed it is a song from the Lord. It draws people into praise”. I love “it is a song from the Lord”. The song I heard from the Lord when my ears were healed was the song that went into my heart when I first heard birds again. I hadn’t heard birds for many years except an occasional crow. I have a poem I wrote about that. When I find it I will print it in the blog. I think it is in the trunk of my car in a place that is difficult to get to. If I have time I’ll do it today. Our praise opens the heavens to increase more healing power. This class teaches us that our assignment is to release worship across the nations. “Our role is not to try to do God’s job for Him. Our job is simply to come to Him, recognize who He is, and to get out of the way. We are to take our eyes off the problem and put our eyes on the One who IS THE SOLUTION. Our worship is in intimate fellowship, not on the problem or illness at hand. Healing is not what God has to do, but healing is what He IS. WHEN HE IS PRESENT, SO IS HIS HEALING PRESENT.”
There is so much more but these sentences were interesting to me and thought you might enjoy seeing what we are learning. It is a very hands-on intense teaching. Some of the classes are so packed with information that it would not be possible to share just bits and snippits because it all builds on each sentence and explanation. That is why I will buy the download. So many wonderful scriptures to back up what is being taught. One of my favorite sentences that was in this last session today was: “FAITH IS NOT IGNORANT OF REALITY. IT JUST DEFIES IT!” (My exclamation point!) I have lots to study when I arrive home. I took careful notes and when I have the access to the messages again I should be able to comprehend and understand even more. I feel so honored to be able to attend these sessions. I would love to come back again with Dave. I highly recommend a trip to Bethel Redding for the Healing Classes.
Well, I think this will be my blog today. Tomorrow is an earlier day and a long one. Perhaps I’ll get to bed before 1:30 a.m. like last night.
I must get ready to leave for my healing time.
This week has passed all too quickly!!!
Wednesday May 20 2015 DAY 73
Another one of those WOW DAYS! Long and interesting. Four classes today. 9:00 to 12:00; 1:30 to 3:30; 4:00 to 5:00; and 7:9:30 with prayer for healing afterwards. Left Bethel Campus at 10:15 p.m. Now that was a long day. After class I take my little “hitch hiker” back to her place which is in the opposite direction of my final destination. I don’t mind. It has been so good to get to know Jessica. She is so bubbly and full of life. She has two little girls so this is wonderful get-a-way time of freedom for her. I can see she is thoroughly enjoying the classes and worship and freedom.
Speaking of worship. The worship service we have each morning before we start our day is out of this world. And I actually mean out of this world! It is as if you we are in heaven. The sound of worship is so beautiful, especially when there is no music and the voices blend together in a heavenly language and sound like what I imagine a choir of angels would sound like. A chill just came over me as I thought about it and typed it. The class allows 750 students because the sanctuary seats 750 people. I would imagine there are about 600 or a little more in session. The entire church building seems to be full with just scattered empty chairs. I faced booked Dave tonight, stood on a chair (as everyone was already standing) and let him see and hear the music and praise. We couldn’t say one word to each other because of the high volume of sound but I just panned the room and platform and let him enjoy what I was hearing. I don’t know what he heard or if I had the phone on speaker or not. Hope he heard something. I’ll find out tomorrow when I speak with him. My phone must be off most of the day from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. because of being in the classes.
My cousins Joyce and Daneece are making life too comfortable for me. Joyce is so generous and wants to buy all my food. I am taking my lunch and dinner because it makes it easier for me to continue to eat healthily while I am traveling. There is a Costco here so I have been able to go there and get some of the foods I enjoy. I only see Joyce and Daneece a few moments before I leave and they are both in bed when I arrive home. I’m trying to figure out how I can get some time to plan the rest of my trip so I’ll have the dates lined up when it is time for me to depart. I do plan to stay here part of next week also (by popular demand)! God provided these wonderful accommodations just for me. Now I know why Daneece moved to Redding all thouse years ago. SO I WOULD HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME TO STAY IN WHILE I AM HERE. Isn’t it amazing how God’s timing works out? God is looking out for us even when we don’t know what we’re going to need or when. I just love that about Him.
No time to read. Very little time to write my poem daily. I have been faithful lately, however, today’s poem will not be added to the blog due to my time constraint.
I have enjoyed getting to know several people while here. Jessica, my little passenger lady, Linda, who sat in front of us on the first night, and Angelica who God pointed out to me. Don’t have a picture of Jessica but I can post pictures of Linda and Angelica. It is amazing what the sweet spirits of others does to your heart when God is involved in new relationships. I hope I know them for years to come. I also met another family, a mom and her almost 11 year old son and 15 year old daughter from Saigon. Beautiful people to speak with and to look upon. They are Chinese and speak English fluently. They came all this way to come to this class. I hope I have the mom’s name right, Shin, because she is the source of my wisdom to depart this day. Shin’s wisdom: “I have learned that salvation is through Grace and not through trying to earn your way. Grace is freely given and it is because the Lord wants to give it to us.” Such a great truth spoken so simply.
Grace’s son Benjamin had a word for me. He said he saw a picture and I was up front in a church and I was alone. He didn’t know what it meant and neither do I. I believe in God’s timing I will know the revelation of this word given to me.
This morning all the different countries represented by participants was called out and the people of that nation were asked to stand. I wish I had written the down the names of all the countries.. I found it astounding how many people came from all parts of the world and all parts of our country to participate in this week’s session. It is a mighty work that Bethel does in equipping people to go out and minister to others with boldness and confidence because we know the source of our power is the One who lives within us, which is the Spirit of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Many healing miracles have happened just this week in the services. I am praying for healing of my disfigured and painful hands and the breast tumors I need to have removed when I return. Tonight I prayed for a 24 year old man named Brian whose kidneys are failing and his back is rounded and humped. I ask that you believe with me that God will work a miracle in Brian and heal both of these conditions. We have a mighty God! Believe with me!
It is 12:34 a.m. and 6:30 comes early. Must go. Goodnight.
P.S. I am down to the last few oranges I picked from Bett’s tree in Orange Ca. They are still wonderful and fresh tasting and extremely juicy oranges. Supposedly juice oranges but I love to eat them. I will miss them. Carole, if you read this please call your mom and tell her Thanks for me again. I don’t get to make or receive many phone calls due to my time constraints. None this week at all (except to Dave).
I love you guys out there in the real world!
Tuesday May 19 2015 DAY 72 WOW! WHAT A DAY!
“WOW! WHAT A DAY” could mean many things. The first thing that made it WOW is that this day was long!!! I wish all my days would be as long as this one. Started my day at 6:00 a.m. and it is now 11:11 p.m. I still have a mile to go before I retire.
This school of healing has three classes per day both today and tomorrow. Thursday there is a bit of difference and then Friday’s class schedule is different than any of the other days. The schedule is not the important thing, rather just the fact that this was a long long day! Thursday and Friday’s schedule are different but I imagine will be just as long.
“WOW! WHAT A DAY” could also refer to the subject matter of the classes being taught. The speakers are all very interesting to listen to. It’s as if you are listening to up close and personal testimonies of people who have been healed. Always interesting to find out what is happening behind the scenes. I am learning a lot of new things in regarding the scriptures in the Bible that refer to healing. Way too long to go into tonight as I am already very sleepy.
This school’s mission is to teach and equip lay people to understand the concepts of the Bible in regards to healing. I didn’t realize there were so many scripture references, and when they are explained, using Greek and Hebrew correct translations, how clear the verses become. It is amazing it is to be a part of someone receiving healing. The healing does not come from our power but rather through the power of Jesus. As children of God we must realize that we have access to the promises of God. And one of God’s promises is for us today. That we will go into the world and heal the sick. We must always be aware of who lives within us. We do not heal from our own power but by knowing intimately who lives within us. It is the power of Jesus that heals, we are simply the conduit. We must walk in the confidence of releasing the kingdom even when you aren’t trying.
There is so much more I could say but sleep is getting the best of me. Maybe I can continue this at a later time as I must close soon and head to sleepy town. I do not have even one photo to show for today.
I want you to make record of the fact that I did not take even one picture today, not on my cell phone nor on my camera. I think that is first in the 72 days I’ve been traveling. I also do not have any wisdom from anyone today. I’ll work harder at getting that tomorrow.
Here is a poem I wrote today between the sessions.
AND ALWAYS GIVE THANKS
By Kathleen Martens
May 19, 2015
Happy is the man whose sins are forgiven
For he is the man who is truly living.
Good like a medicine is a merry heart,
The the mystery of God will never depart.
God has a plan for each one
That rejoicing always be part of the fun.
And we need pray without an end.
And always give thanks to Jesus, our Friend.
For God’s throne is forever and ever
And all evil in our lives must be severed.
And in righteousness we are to love
Anointed with oil of gladness from above.
To the unrighteous His mercy God shows
Their sins he chooses no longer to know.
He gave a new covenant, Jesus His Son,
And as believers we are the most joyful ones.
Monday May 18 2015 Day 72 I PICKED UP A STRANGER
Sitting here in the lobby of Bethel Redding waiting for my first session to begin for “A Practical Guide to Walking in Healing Power” by Chris Gore. I’m copying the title off of the book I just received when I checked in. A lot of people here. Met my first new friend, Jessica. Bethel is on a hill which is a Okay if you are driving. I saw a young woman hiking up the hill (a long hill if you are walking), stopped and asked her if she was on her way to Bethel. Her face lit up and she looked so relieved. She had been walking over an hour and probable had another 30 minutes to the destination on foot. She hopped in and we were deposited on top of the hill about 5 minutes later. She was so thankful. I think I will have a friend for at least the week. I am only too happy to pick her up and drop her off. What a kid!
This is another one of my wonderful beautiful days. I did absolutely nothing EXCEPT…listen to my cousin Joyce during the morning, fix lunch for Daneece , then eat lunch with her. Talked with Daneece all afternoon while Joyce took a nap after wearing herself out talking. (A little tongue in cheek here. No pun intended), and then readied myself to leave about 3:45 to head over to Bethel to sign in. We were told not to come before 3:00 p.m. I missed Lana and Tim but will save them a seat so we can sit together. This was a day of recovery for me. I never realize I need recovery until after the recovery period is over. I then feel one of two ways, very refreshed or very tired for being so sedentary. I feel refreshed!
Perhaps if I waited until after the evening was over I would have more to report on my blog, however, I hope to get to bed early tonight as my mornings will begin early for the rest of the week. Joyce and Daneece are making me feel so welcome and comfortable. Joyce helped me with my computer yesterday getting the hard drive cleaned up and defragmented. Hopefully it will run faster now. It took almost all day for it to process all that had to be done. There are two things I love about being here at Daneece’s house. No, actually three. I so enjoy the dozens of hummingbirds that flutter around the five hummingbird feeders. They are amazing to watch. The feeders are right at my eye level. I can actually move as close as 18 inches from where they feed. I move slowly, step by step. At first they fly away but then come back. There are four red flower holes at each feeder. Sometimes there are 8 birds trying to feed at once at each feeder. When the birds bob their heads up and down to drink, the feathers around their neck and head shimmer in iridescent colors that changes with their movements. Unless you see it I don’t think it possible to imagine how astoundingly magnificent the colors and sheens are in the sunlight.
The second thing that I love here is Nikki. Nikki does not look like a dog but rather like some kind of varmint. Maybe in the dark her face would look like a rat. She is bred to catch rats so maybe that is her camouflage. Actually, she is quite endearing and like I said last night she loves me! How can I not love a little critter like her back when she loves me so. She enjoys licking me so that sealed it.
The weather (you know I am searching for things to write about if I am bringing up WEATHER) has been absolutely wonderful for Redding. Usually it is very hot this time of year. It has been in the pleasant low 80’s which I greatly appreciate. Beautiful mountains surround Redding and the blue sky is such a beautiful backdrop for the huge white puffy clouds that just seem to paint a picture in the heavens. So, so pleasant to be here!
I have so much more I could write but perhaps I should go and resume my place in line. The doors open in 27 minutes. I have some snacks to eat and hopefully that will tide me over until I get home. I have nuts, an orange, and some cherry tomatoes.
I ask for prayer this week that God will open my heart to all He has for me. I ask to be used by Him and to be able to bless others for His kingdom. I miss all my friends back at home but I am not in a hurry for my trip to end. I recommend to anyone that has the opportunity to go on a solo trip to pack up and go. I am learning so much. Just ask me WHAT NOT TO TAKE!
Love to all of you!
Kathleen
Sunday Sabbath May 17 2015 DAY 71 THE LARGEST SUNDIAL IN THE WORLD
Oh man! What a great day. It is Sunday! My favorite day of the week. The day set aside to worship God and the day God set aside so man could rest! Rest from the normal activities of work and life. And so I love this day. My first reason to to think this was such a great day, was because of my experience of worshiping the Lord in the presence of so many others with like minds and hearts. It was amazing. I was a first time guest at Bethel Redding. It is a church body well spoken of and known for their ministry to equip the body of Christ to go out into the world to serve others. On the Welcome card this is what is written:
“Our house is your house, and we’re glad you’re here. We are a big family who loves Jesus, and we have committed our lives to serving Him. We aim to love extravagantly, hope contagiously and serve joyfully. Enjoy your time with us, and we look forward to seeing you again!”
One thing they left out was the fact that they worship with their whole heart and that you better be ready to enter into the presence of God when you lift your hands in praise and worship! I could just feel the power of the Lord in that place. It was awesome!
Tomorrow is the first day of the class I will be taking. I will be taking a ministry class for healing. Can’t say what it will be like as I haven’t started the class yet. All I know is that if the Lord should use me to lay hands on others and pray for healing, I want to be equipped to understand and know what it is He wants me to do. When we continually seek the Lord I do not think that we ever cease searching for more to do for God. Will I be used in this area? I do not know. But, if I choose not to learn or discover my potential for the calling God has for me, how will I ever know? I am the child of the King and I long to do His will. It was just so amazing to be in the house of worship this day.
Today’s sermon was about worship. Why do we worship? Why do we do what we do? It was the third sermon in a series on worship. I think another sequel to the sermon comes next Sunday. It was very interesting and caused me to have a greater understanding of what worship is and can be. Several key points that stayed with me are: “Any act, thought, or deed, done for the Lord that brings pleasure to the heart of God is an act of worship. To impact someone deeply you must know that person deeply! We must learn God’s love language in order to worship Him. We must know Him intimately to know what moves the heart of God. We are aware of how we love to be loved. Are we aware of how God loves to be loved.”
I recommend listening to this series online if you have opportunity to do so. I certainly hope to do so. Many excellent scripture references were given and would make a great study topic.
For those who are reading this blog you may remember my friends Lana and Tim from Albuquerque where I stayed a few nights on two different occasions. They have also come to take the class this week. I am excited to see what God has planned for our lives. I’ll keep you posted.
It is late tonight so I hope to make this short but I would like to tell you about an interesting place Lana discovered, and she and Tim took me there. It is called the SUNDIAL BRIDGE located in Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding. It was designed as a work of art and that is exactly how I saw it. I saw it as a beautiful miraculous piece of intricate, graceful art.
Here is a little excerpt that I copied off a webpage for you to give you some facts:
“The Sundial Bridge is beautiful because of its aqua green, opaque glass deck; strips of granite; and smooth, white imported Spanish tile. The bridge is unique because of its design. The 217-foot pylon acts as a sundial, telling time on a tile covered garden border on the north side of the bridge. The designer of the bridge, world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, has said that, to him, the bridge resembles a bird in flight, and symbolizes the overcoming of adversity. The bridge is also environmentally sensitive to its river setting. The tall pylon and cable stays allow this unique suspension bridge to avoid the nearby salmon-spawning habitat. Several fly fishing publications and professional guides have rated this area of the Sacramento River as being in the top 10 tail water fisheries in the world!”
Words cannot make it beautiful enough. It must be seen and experienced to comprehend the size and architectural design. I had no camera with me so I only have images on my Iphone. That’s re reason I have so many photos to send.
I must make my apologies to the little dog who lives here and her people. I misspelled HER name last night. First of all, I thought Nikki was a boy. She is a girl. Secondly the spelling of her name is not Nickie but NIKKI. She is a SCHIPPERKE (pronounced “skipper key”). She is a breed of dog bred to catch the rats aboard ships. She has powerful jaws, strong short legs, bushy hair like a cat, and no tail due to having it bobbed (OUCH). From the rear she appears to be part monkey or miniature baboon (no disrespect Nikki). And…she is totally lovable and affectionate to me and melts my heart. She is a bit heavy and is going through a slow process of eating less than she is used to in order to reduce. She is always acting like she is hungry (but what dog doesn’t do that?). Her diet is working because she is weighing down 2 pounds since her portions have been cut. I’m with you Nikki girl. I know what that is like! The best part is, Nikki likes me! It seems like all the dogs like me, what can I say!
At church today I met a young man named Parker. He was an astounding young man, a junior in high school who came up for prayer while I was there for the same thing. Daneece knew his parents and so I was introduced to him also. I felt like I was to pray for him for specific protection from all the bombardment that the universities now teach our young people in persuading them that there is no God and that the Bible is not real. He has been accepted into Harvard and will be starting in a year. I asked him what wisdom he had and it came quickly to his lips: “Anything is possible if you believe and that you can do all things through Christ, and to never give up believing. Just continue believing. Nothing is impossible”
Parker was at the last minute accepted into Harvard University and needed $12,000 for tuition fees to hold the position. He trusted God, put himself on “Go Fund Me” (I have no clue what that actually is) and money came in. From what I garnered from listening to the conversation he still needs a bit more but it seems it is doable. We need young men like this with a strong faith in God to be our Harvard graduates of tomorrow. You go Parker! There will be prayer warriors standing behind you. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, just like Philippeans 4:13 says! I just love the wisdom of a well grounded young person. It doesn’t matter how young you are, God gives wisdom to those who seek wisdom.
It is 10:30 p.m. and I still want to write a poem so I guess I’ll sign off. Have a great tomorrow when it becomes today. It is always so fun to see what poem God gives me each day. Like a present I haven’t unwrapped yet. I shall go and unwrap the words that fall into my brain and see what sense they become.
The poem is written and now it is 11:19 p.m. I’ll type it below for those interested.
Goodnight.
THE ACT OF WORSHIP
By Kathleen Martens
May 17, 2015
When everything we do
Is an act of worship to our King,
Our will is surrendered
That to God, joy we bring.
Sometimes our lives are get complicated
And our focus may be lost.
We forget that all we do
Should be simply done before the cross.
When what we do is worship
Only truth is what is said
For the opposite is always false
It is through acts of worship we are fed.
When you completely surrender
The selfish in you has died,
And it becomes your desire to worship
The one who was crucified.
Goodnight again.
P.S. Please notice the blueberries I picked today from Daneece’s back yard. They were delicious!
Visions of Poetry 