Saturday October 29 2016  A DIFFERENT VIEW OF SATURDAY  (NOT PROOFED)

Since retirement I have frequently said that “every day is a Saturday”.  Well, now I have a different perspective.

When working five days a week and having only Saturday and Sunday off, it makes the weekends a wonderful reprieve, especially Saturdays.  When you attend church on Sunday, Saturday then becomes your only unscheduled day.  And oh, as a worker I do remember those occasional wonderful Saturdays.  (You see, I photographed weddings so I didn’t really have many Saturday’s off.)  But suffice to say, that once one retires and no longer has a five (or six) day a week job, every day may truly seem like a Saturday.  And so it seemed that way for awhile.

Dave and I could go shopping any time we decided to go, so that made it seem like every day was Saturday.  However, I now look at it from a different perspective.  Currently, Monday through Friday are my favorite days and Saturday is often a day of inconvenience.  I will admit that each day has the feeling of sameness but there is something that is exclusively Saturday’s derision.  A few times I have needed to do something on a Saturday only to realize the business did not operate on Saturday.  Other times I wanted to go someplace, such as the library, and then discovered it didn’t open as early as it does Monday through Friday.  And to my chagrin, it even closes earlier!  But the greatest grievance I have toward Saturdays is the fact that when it is necessary to go out shopping on a Saturday (due to my busy retirement schedule), there are just too many people in the stores and parking lots.

So, everyday is no longer a Saturday to me.  Saturday is my stay at home day if at all possible.  Even the gym is more crowded!  We do not miss events we plan to go to on Saturdays, but I will say I have a bit more respect for all those who MUST shop on Saturdays, so we just stay out of the stores and give our elbow room and place in line to another.

Retirement is a great place to be!  And I’m willing to share my Saturday absence in the stores with those who have no other choice but to be there.  Except…I still must exercise on Saturdays.  Oh well, I’m just glad EVERYDAY IS NOT A SATURDAY!

Sunday is a sacred day to us.  And Sunday has never felt like a Saturday. 

NEVER ON A SATURDAY

Kathleen Martens

October 29, 2016

http://www.visionsofpoetry.com

Saturday comes but once a week,

Even now that I’m retired.

Once I believed every day the same

Until in crowds I was mired.  

Monday through Friday is the time

To seek out places to go.

Few people with which to contend

And lines are seldom slow.

Back road driving peaceful and calm

And I can drive a pokey car.

Less traffic is so awesome

When you plan to go far.

And the scenery is even better

When no one is on your tail,

Just meandering wherever you go

Seeing beauty will not fail.

No crowds to fight in stores or roads

Until rush-time mass appears.

But by then all errands done

And at home I am always near!

So Monday through Friday

Are the gems of the week.

Saturday our quiet rest,

Our day of calm retreat.

I love being retired!

Thank You God that I have lived long enough to experience retirement.

Thank You Lord for the peace and calm you place in my heart.

My prayer for today:

Lord, I ask that you would bring peace to those who have no peace.  Please bring healing to those who seem to have lost hope for their healing.  Renew the strength of those who are struggling, physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Give hope to those who feel they have no hope left.  Lord, please give strength to those whose strength to go in this life seems to be defeated.

Father, heal the brokenhearted, heal those who are sick, heal those whose hope is lost.  Lord reach down into the most painful heart and renew their hope, heal their body, and restore their strength; pour out over the hopeless Your abundance of healing water, Your river of life, Your joy and love and peace.  Renew their mind that they may turn to you and think on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. 

Lord, You have promised that if we cry out to You that You will answer our cry.  I claim that promise today for those who are suffering.  I pray for complete healing. Oh, Lord, here my cry for Your children.  And make aware to those who are in need that there are those who are praying and loving them through their journey.

 “Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Dear Readers:

Please pray the above prayer with me this day and every day that you remember to do so.  I know those who are in deep pain, sick, and without hope, who desperately need our joint prayers.  Join my prayer and remind Jesus to intercede to the Father for Kathleen’s friend who needs these prayers to go up in her behalf.  Sometimes people are even too sick to even pray for themselves.  Let us be their voice as we lift up prayers on their behalf.  And Lord, instill in their hearts that there are those who send hope and love their way as they are facing such a difficult journey. 

GOOD NIGHT ONE AND ALL AND REMEMBER TO NEVER TAKE YOUR HEALTH FOR GRANTED.

“If you have been gifted with good health consider it a treasure worth tending”.  Quote by Kathleen Martens October 29, 2016

P.S.  I know it is Saturday and I don’t normally write a blog on Saturday.  I just felt it come to me and wanted to share it with you, especially the prayer.  I didn’t know why I was writing it but when the prayer came I then knew why.

Friday October 28 2016  CONTENTMENT

One hour from start to finish is all I have today for writing.  So I thought I would talk about contentment.  I read the following quote but have no idea of who spoke it:

“Contentment is not the achievement of all we want, it is the realization of all that we already have.”

This above definition is my favorite quote regarding contentment.  Satisfaction, happiness, pleasure, gratification and ease are the words the synonym finder comes up with.  Yet, how many times do we find ourselves in situations where none of the words apply to how we actually feel, or how we look at life.  Perhaps we are not content with our car because there are so many other cars that look better, or are faster, or more flashy.  Have we ever looked at what we do have and just give thanks for what it is we can afford, or has been given to us?   

I find that the more grateful I am for what I have, regardless how meager, my contentment seems to grow.  When I give thanks to God for all he has provided, the fact that I HAVE a car and it gets me where I want to go, goes a long way in growing my contentment.

The fact that I would love to spend three hours in my office thinking about what I will write, making certain every work is proofed or what poem I will compose, but have no time to do so, should that make me discontent?  Instead I thank God for the few moments I do have.  I thank Him that I can rely on Him to give me words to write.  I thank Him for the desire to write and gift of writing a poem to Him daily;  and my heart changes.  I find that I am content with what I have and even with who I am because it is the realization that I actually HAVE these few moments to use.  I am so fortunate to be alive this day and to share my heart with my readers.  I pray daily for God’s will in my life and He fills me with contentment.  God has a unique plan for each of us, but there is one plan that he has for all of us:

“1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

REMEMBER TO GIVE THANKS

Kathleen Martens

October 28, 2016

www.visionsofpoetry.com

Lord I give you these moments,

Use as You will.

Open my heart

That gratefulness fills.

Regardless the circumstance

I offer thanks to You

And I pray continually

That Your will, You do.

Thank You Father that I have these moments to share Your contentment with others.

Thank You Father for the beautiful memory that 44 years ago today I met my husband.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU

Thursday October 27 2016  KITCHEN PLEASURE: MAKING SOUP

KITCHEN PLEASURE: MAKING SOUP

Kathleen Martens

October 27 2016

www.visionsofpoetry.com

Delicious smells from the stove,

Onions sizzling in the pot.

Wooden spoon fragrance stirs

As garlic I add a lot.

Chicken broth and roasted tomatoes

Along with tomato paste,

Bay leaves, salt, and pepper,

Nothing goes to waste.

Dash of cayenne, and four potatoes,

And lots of pepper flakes!

Add two teaspoons of sweet paprika,

The beginning of soup to make.

Add southwest seasoning; a tablespoon,

A chicken flavored bouillon cube.

All the flavors blend so well,

And together they are never rude.

And then add ten full cups

Of tightly packed kale.

And let it simmer for quite a while

And your soup will never fail.

Sliced carrots always a must

To be added toward the end.

The timing of each ingredient

Becomes soup’s greatest friend.

And just a little dollop

Of jalapeno pepper juice;

It is my secret ingredient

A delicious taste to induce.

And then pour in all the beans

Cooked fresh from being dried,

Never use those old canned things,

They cause your soup to cry.

And then add cooked barley

Fresh from the back burner.

Just one bite of its texture,

Makes a tried and true quick learner.

Do not skimp on ingredients,

And be alert as you assemble the lot.

Be sure to remember fresh lemon juice

Because it adds a good punch to the pot.

And there you have it my friend,

Dinner for many a day!

And I even eat it for breakfast

Whenever I have my way.

And that is just what I did this morning; ate soup for breakfast and then made another great big pot of Kale Soup. 

Wednesday October 26 2016  PEANUT BUTTER AND FLAX SEED

What do peanut butter and flax seed have in common?  Both are what I needed to buy today and they cost me over sixty dollars!  When I walked out of Mischler’s Country Store today I had over sixty dollars worth of groceries from the Amish market and all I needed was peanut butter and flax seed.  I go there only a couple of times a year and though I try to keep it at a minimum I always find something else I need in addition to what is on my list.   And that is what happened today.  From my house the market is about 80 minutes from home.  Today I attended a funeral held at our church and when it was time to go home I realized I was already 20-25 minutes closer to the Mischler’s Country Store.  Since I had an afternoon available I decided to drive the extra distance and pick up what I needed.

You may wonder why it is so important for me to drive so far away to pick up peanut butter and ground flax seed.  Sometimes I wonder that too, but the primary culprit is the honey roasted peanut butter I purchase there.  It is freshly ground and has no preservatives.  I purchase several containers because I have little “munchkins” (properly known as grandsons) who absolutely adore the peanut butter I buy from the Amish market.  And since they both have birthdays around this time I try to stock up on it so I can give the peanut butter as gifts to them.  The market has very reasonable pricing and has a large variety of bulk items I can purchase.  Today I bought beans (black and kidney), 2 red peppers, 5 containers of the freshly ground honey roasted peanut butter, a bag of roasted unsalted peanuts, sweet potatoes, 3 bags of ground flax seed equaling six pounds total, mushroom popcorn, raw pumpkin seeds, a jar of honey, and a couple of other little things of which I can no longer recall.  It’s rather amazing how quickly food prices add up these days, especially when one eats like I do.

But the best part about driving over to the Amish market is the beautiful back road drive.  Today when I entered the Amish community it was as if a hush fell over the land.  The trees were even more beautiful and in peak color.  The rain was coming down and the wetness intensified the fall colors.  When I arrived at the store I thought the store was not open when I looked in from the outside.  No lights were turned on.  Then I remembered that the only light available in the store comes from ceiling skylights.  The store is closed when the sun sets.  And even though I was there at 3:30 p.m., due to the overcast and rain, it was almost dark inside the building.  There is no electricity, no refrigerated items, and no frozen items.  A hand manipulated adding machine manually totals the bill.  Old fashioned cash registers make a loud clanging noise when the cash drawer pops open.  Instead of seeing women shrouded in burkas like I see at the grocery stores where I usually shop, most of the Amish women have on long dark dresses and their heads donned with little white bonnets.  Rather refreshing I’d say.

What dawned on me this afternoon was that I especially enjoyed shopping there because I love the quiet hush that permeates the building; no music; no electrical sound.  When walking through the store there were no other sounds at all except those made by other people.  An eerie silence enveloped me.  There was a peaceful stillness; no freezer hum, no refrigeration sound and no high pitched sound from lights on the ceiling.  The absence of man-made noise was quite refreshing.

When I was in the Amish country this past weekend (a different part of the state from where I went today) my friend and I came across a group of about 20 to 25 little Amish children walking in mass alongside a country road.  The boys were dressed like little men wearing long sleeved shirts made from blue course fabric which was partially covered by their black homemade bib overalls (which all appeared too short in length).  The little girls (from about 5 years old to 10 years old) were dressed just like their mothers, black dresses with white aprons covering the front of their dresses.  It was quite cold outside and every single child was walking barefoot on the hard pavement or along the graveled road’s edge, skirting the horse droppings.  I don’t remember seeing any of the children with jackets on.  It was so interesting to see them in such a large group, all barefoot, swinging their metal lunch boxes as they walked home from school.  It was more than likely two or possibly three family’s worth of children.  I was dressed warmly, had shoes and socks on, along with the heater running, and I was still chilled.  Those little Amish kids must be quite resilient.

LIKE GOING BACK IN TIME

Kathleen Martens

October 26, 2016

www.visionsofpoetry.com

Little ones

Dressed in white and black,

Replicas of their parents

Walking in a pack.

Swinging buckets back and forth

Walking homeward bound.

Bare feet pitter patter

On both asphalt and ground.

Little men and little women

In the process of growing older,

No matter how old they grow

Seldom do they seem bolder.

But it seems that peace

Radiates from within.

All is quiet in their world,

No electricity noise to lend.

It may be extra quiet

But it probably gets quite old

Running to the outhouse

When it is quite cold.

A hard life to live,

Like going back in time.

And though it looks serene,

I’m glad that life’s not mine.

Oh Lord, thank You so much for the modern conveniences we have available to us.

Thank You Lord that it is not necessary for me to live as the Amish do in order to get to heaven.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU.

Tuesday October 25 2016  NOW I REMEMBER

NOW I REMEMBER

Kathleen Martens

October 25, 2016

www.visionsofpoetry.com

I’m trying to remember

Why I retired.

I thought it was to rest

And get re-fired.

It seems my hours

Are just too full,

So many jobs

At me pull.

And here I sit

Glued to the screen,

Working on photography,

Ready to scream!

My eyes are sleepy

From my days of rest

Playing cards too late

At my own behest.

And my return home

To face all the faces

That look back from my screen

From all over the places.

Sorting and pondering

Which photo to choose,

So the story-line

I will not lose.

And then I must

Design a book

Of an incredible day

So memories will look…

…Back at the viewer,

With smiles captured,

As a treasured memory

For the ever after.

There are other things

I should be doing

Rather than sitting here,

Hundred of faces viewing.

But I made the commitment

And will see it through.

Then sell my equipment

So no more I can do.

Then remember once more

Why I actually retired

Was so I could fulfill

Some of my desires.

No more pictures,

No more books,

At no more faces

Will I need to look.

Except for those

For my family I’ll do

Because over the years

My own not in queue.

But NOW I REMEMBER

Why I retired!

I’ve so much to do

Before I expire!

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU!