Friday March 18 2016 TOO MUCH EXCITEMENT
Friday March 18 2016 TOO MUCH EXCITEMENT
I do not like to hear the sound “KER PLUNK” when it has to do with the roof of my house. But that is what I heard today. Today was a day with a little too much excitement as far as I am concerned.
When you live in a wooded area much concern is given to which angle a tree leans. When the tree is tall, close to the house, very heavy, and leaning toward the roof, there is cause for concern. Or, when a tree dies that actually hangs above your house, again, cause for concern. And another “or” is when even another tree is so huge and expansive, that it not only shades the top of your roof, but can bang and scrape against it in a windstorm.
So today was tree trimming, tree felling, and the sounds of ‘KER PLUNK” on the roof. And…unfortunately, we had a few mishaps which happened when the two tree men were doing their job. Last week we had a dent made in our front seamless gutter right in the front of the house. This weekend we had a few Ker plunks on the roof, which fortunately did no damage, and another gutter “oops” at the end of the house. And then when the large dead birch (the one that curved over out roof) was felled, it crashed into our wrought iron metal porch railings, pulling one railing away from the brick while bending it, and breaking both railing feet free from their cement grounding.
Before the huge tree at the corner of the house could be felled we down we had to have another tree cut down in order to give the tall tree a pathway in which to fall, otherwise, if it had hit the smaller tree it may have bounced back toward the roof line of the house and that would have been a VERY BAD KER PLUNK. It was quite precarious to remove.
The oak tree was trimmed last week so that the branches hanging out over the roof would not touch or scrape the house when heavy with leaves or in a wind storm. We also had a brace situated with a cable to hold up one great branch that juts out over our back patio area. Our backyard faces west so we get the hot afternoon sun until the sun falls behind the treeline. That oak branch is our shade from the early afternoon sun rays.
Lots more cleanup to do. These trees had to be taken care of now before spring arrives in full swing. This is the main reason Dave did not want to be gone during this time. Cleanup like this takes a lot of labor. Hmmm…that condo is sounding better and better. (Or maybe not!)
I watched as Dave and another man guided the tree with ropes as it was being cut down. Between the three men cutting and guiding, the tree fell exactly as they anticipated. Just a few Ker plunks on the shingles from small branches as it came down and it doesn’t appear to have caused any damage. I guess we’ll know when the rain comes.
And then I went to the gym. I had planned to leave earlier but I wanted to stay and watch these mighty trees fall. Mostly, so I would know when I left the house what damage I might come home to. Doesn’t sound like I had much faith, does it. Well, maybe I didn’t. Not when it comes to my roof. But I did do a lot of praying while it was happening!
KER PLUNK
By Kathleen Martens
March 18, 2016
Ker plunk, Ker plunk is but a word
Not one that is often heard.
So what exactly does it mean?
If you hear it, you’ll probably scream.
I guess it depends on where it sounds,
Not so frightening if it’s on the ground.
But when it happens up on the roof,
You may not be quite so aloof.
So when the trees came falling down
I certainly wanted to be around.
So I could tell the tree just where
They should fall with utmost care.
So I did with quiet breath
As those trees met their death.
All I did was pray to God,
And He gently laid them on the sod.
And thankfully my roof is intact
And I’m so glad that that’s a fact.
So off to the gym I went to play
Very satisfied with our day.
That was all I could do. Just trust in God to protect what those trees could have so easily destroyed. And the mishaps that did happen are not really all that great on the Richter scale of life.
And with that segway I will copy and paste below a portion from a web address that I read this morning and want to share with you I will include one segment daily, for the next seven days. It is about:
“7 DAILY STEPS TO TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART”
http://www.biblestudytools.com
John UpChurch | Senior Editor
“Perhaps you’ve been told that as a Christian you must learn to “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” But this famous passage from Proverbs 3 contains more than just a general statement about living. Instead, you’ll find the steps you need each day to truly walk with God.
Follow these 7 daily steps to make sure you’re leaning on the Lord:
- Don’t Depend on You
We live in a world where trust must be earned and seems to be in short supply. But Solomon, the famous king who wrote Proverbs, knew that trust is exactly where we must start:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)
Most of us have faced disappointments, which have taught us that we can only depend upon ourselves. But living the life God has called us to means unlearning that lesson. Instead, we’re meant to rest in God’s understanding.
We may know in our minds that He possesses all wisdom:
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” Romans 11:33
But sometimes trusting Him completely like that can be tough. So, each day we must consciously lay aside our own plans and expectations—and surrender to His plans.
What if we don’t feel like we can trust Him like that? That’s where step 2 comes in…”
STEP TWO WILL FOLLOW IN TOMORROW’S BLOG.
Today I give thanks to You God for protecting our home and the three men that worked felling the trees.
I thank You Lord for the food you designed for our pleasure.
Thank You Lord for your awesome Love.
Thank You Lord that I can still type.
REMEMBER TO THANK THE LORD FOR SOMETHING TODAY.
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
P.S. Another message I received today about my tree blog topic from a couple of days ago. I just thought it was so beautifully written I wanted to share it with you.
“Trees provide so much to the environment – 0yxgen, shade, moisture, in our 9-month-no-rain-no clouds-hot-summer season. I have six redwood trees on my property and I wish I had 30. They are so cooling, so quite, so soothing to be among them – it is like you can feel God when you are among the old growth trees – like you are in a house of worship.”
Thanks for your comments! Let me hear from some more of you about your favorite TREE(S).
THURSDAY MARCH 17 2016 THE DAYS JUST SEEM TO DISAPPEAR
Thursday March 17 2016 THE DAYS JUST SEEM TO DISAPPEAR
P.S. from the top: Please be sure to see photos below and click on “older post” to see more of today’s photos. Be sure you read the blog first so the photos make sense!
I can make a day disappear without even trying. We are attempting to make every moment count, and every moment work for us, as we plan a time away. The first plan of action is getting everything ready before we leave so that we leave as little as possible for our house sitters to do. Dave is trying to get the outside in shape and I’ve given up on getting the inside in shape. Just to get out of here will be accomplishment enough for me. But in all seriousness, I too want to have things nice before we leave.
As if we needed a cog in the wheel, the construction crew called us to let us know that everything to repair the destruction that happened on Christmas day is now in and they need to get it finished. LIKE NOW! The crew will be here Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week, the week we leave. Not good timing, but it is not something I want to leave behind for someone else to be responsible for. So…Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday it is. Besides, I want to make certain it is done right!
Now, back to today. Our daughter loves the MUSHROOM POPCORN and HONEY ROASTED FRESHLY GROUND PEANUT BUTTER that I purchase at the Amish Country store about 60 miles away. And I thought that today would be the perfect day to go there. We had a delightful surprise recently when we were told that our Grandson Zachariah won a “prestigious” award for the 2nd grade class for the “Hard Worker Award” for the month of March. We were trying to think of a surprise or something special to do for him to let him know how pleased we are for his accomplishment. We decided to surprise him and have lunch with him at school so he could show us the showcase with his award and picture in it. So…we did. And it was just as awesome as we thought it would be. He did not know we were coming so it really was a great surprise. Afterward we met his teacher and stayed a few minutes in his classroom viewing the work the students have done. It was nice to hear his teacher speak so highly of Zachariah. It doesn’t take much to make a grandparent pleased and proud (in a good way of course).
So what did all that have to do with our daughter loving mushroom popcorn and honey roasted peanut butter? Since our grandson lives about half way from out home, to the Amish Country Store, we decided we would go there after we had lunch with Zach. Actually it was about 40 additional miles beyond his school, but since we were already almost half way there, it was more convenient to go there while on that side of town. We wanted to buy the items in order to take them to our daughter in Florida. The weather was beautiful, windy and clear with the bluest sky and big billowing clouds capping the landscape. Like I said yesterday, every season in Wisconsin has its special moments. Today was one of those day. That is, until we arrived at the Amish Country Store, only to discover that it is closed on Thursday and Sunday. And this, being Thursday, you guessed it, it was closed tighter than a drum. So…no peanut butter and no mushroom popcorn! We attempted to make this day count in more than one way.
Now, let’s get back to the joy of the day. I can’t tell you how awesome it was to go to Zachariah’s school, see the classrooms, have lunch with him, meet some of his friends, and experience the atmosphere of so many young, vibrant people. It is too easy to forget what little people are like when you don’t spend time with them. Just walking into the school brought back a flood of memories from my own school years. Just to see what they wear was an experience. Oh, by the way, my grandson leaned into me at the cafeteria table and said, “Gramma, you need to get some modern clothes”. Oh, so the jacket I picked out purposely to wear today did not make the cut! I purposely wore, what I thought was a cute jean jacket with big glitzy snaps that look like rhinestone flowers down the front, so I would look “hip”. (Is that word still used?) I am sitting here laughing at the memory. I’ll slip in a couple of pictures of our day so you can see for yourself if I need to get some “modern” clothes. What I really need is a modern face and body. That might do the trick!
I asked Zach what kind of modern clothes I should buy and he pointed to the teacher that was monitoring the lunch room. “Like her”, he told me. She had on wrinkled jeans, a green tee-shirt, and a velour jacket, the kind I wear to the gym. Oh, I thought, I just need to look like I do at home. At least I know what “modern” looks like.
As Dave and I were leaving the open concept classroom, I spied something very interesting on a teacher’s desk. It was an out of date world globe, the kind that sits on its own stand with the axis tilt. The lady I spoke with who owned the globe had painted white, lovely words all over the globe. Words such as LOVE, JOY, PEACE, FAITH, and HOPE, as well as a few others. Just seeing those written words sitting on a teacher’s desk, gave me such a spiritual lift. There, in the midst of the secular world, are all the words that that I read each day in the scripture about Jesus. You don’t see those words displayed very often in a secular, state run environment. It was so refreshing to see. Those who are not acquainted with the Lord will probably not even realize where the words come from or even their scriptural connotation. But they are still words that impart special meaning, and perhaps someday, those young children will come to understand the true value of what they mean. They are words of optimism, affection, happiness, harmony, belief, trust, and confidence. It would be awesome to give each of the students an assignment to use each word in a sentence, paragraph, or story. I’d like to see what little minds would come up with if they had a project like that to do.
All in all, mine and Dave’s day was a delight. Though it started at 6:00 a.m. so we could go to the gym first, then home to change (into my un-modern clothes), eat a quick lunch before we left (so we could have real food), share a special time with Zach, a lovely drive in the country for two hours, and home by 3:00 p.m. And it seemed as if our day had just disappeared. But it was worth every moment because the treasure of our day was to delight our grandson and be delighted by his presence. Now when I think about him at school I can visualize where he is.
THERE IS ALWAYS TREASURE
By Kathleen Martens
March 17 2016
A day begins
With anticipated delight,
So much to do
From morning to night.
So many things
To squeeze in each hour,
The day opens quickly
Like a blossoming flower.
Sunrise to sunset,
No while to fret.
Time spends quickly,
It has no debt.
But sometimes it seems
The disappearing day
Finishes too soon,
And just won’t stay.
But when it’s over
There is always a treasure,
The memory in its hours
Which bring back pleasure.
So I enjoy each one
Created each morn,
When God in His love
Allows another to be born.
Thank You Lord for the treasured moments we spent with our grandson today at his school.
Thank You Lord for the awesome blue sky and white clouds we enjoyed on our drive to the closed Amish Country Store.
Thank You Lord for your protection over us as we travel the highways.
Thank You Lord for the music the wind provides.
Thank You Lord that I have two grandsons.
Remember to add to your THANK YOU JOURNAL today.
GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE WHO READ THESE WORDS.
P.S. I have some wonderful words I would like to share with my readers from a blog reader who sent me these words today in response to yesterday’s blog. So I guess I am not alone in the world after all when it comes to my love affair with trees. Thank you for sending the comments.
“I too have a relationship with trees and have spent thousands of dollars keeping my trees safe and healthy to live under, to cool summers in our hot, hot, heat from the sun. I have a favorite Oak tree too just a mile from my house. It is a magnificent tree in the middle of a subdivision and the street is named Lone Oak Court. It is well groomed and well looked after.”
Just curious if any other readers have had, or currently have, a “relationship” with tree(s)?
Wednesday March 16 2016 THERE ARE ALWAYS REASONS TO BE THANKFUL
Wednesday March 16 2016 THERE ARE ALWAYS REASONS TO BE THANKFUL
March is a blustery month. It seems as if I forget that each year until I again experience the storms. I sit here at my computer, surrounded by windows that overlook the dance of the winds. Tall trees swaying and twisting in gales of bluster. Sometimes I believe the tops of the huge trees are going to twist right off. We’ve had hurricanes around us in the past and believe me, the winds just snap some of the tallest and strongest trees right at the ground and carry them away. Usually what happens after a snow melt and lots of rain, as we have had lately, is that the wind will just uproot the trees from the soft soil. That is not a comforting thought as I sit here within striking distance of some of these trees.
Wind is so amazing. It can’t be seen, only the movement of what stands in its way causes us to be aware of its intensity. Nor can it be heard. Oh yes, we often hear people speak about the “howling wind”, but in reality, it is not the wind we hear at all. Instead it is the sounds that branches and leaves make as they clang into one another, or crevices and cracks that wind whips through which cause the whistling sound. Right now I hear a deafening roar and it surrounds me on all sides. I also hear the ubiquitous howling as it slams into the house, forcing itself through narrow passage ways of trim and gutters. Fortunately we have updated windows that are tight and sturdy so wind doesn’t seem to sneak inside. I can’t see the wind, but the undulating sounds, and the swirling bare branches of the trees give fact that it is doing its best March dance. And with it comes a bone chilling cold. This is the month I should have been gone!
Each area of the country we have lived in has its own unique weather patterns. In Southern California it was the Santa Ana Winds and the dry hot summers. In the San Francisco East Bay area it was the early spring rains. In Wisconsin we have it all! Cold snowy winters, blustery winds of March, spectacular spring flowers, the rains of summer (of which we do not complain), warm summer days with occasional high humidity, and the pristine colors of fall, bringing the full cycle back to Mr. Frost himself. Of all the places we have lived I much prefer Wisconsin weather. It is ever changing, versatile, unpredictable, and sometimes even “perfect”. However, perfect to me might not be perfection to another. I receive much enjoyment from the beauty of nature and season’s changing treasures. And I especially love our trees. In a past blog I wrote about how I was raised in an area without trees. Well, there is never a day that goes by that I do not look out at the trees we steward and feel overwhelming gratitude, that God grants me the pleasure of living amongst such beauty. If you don’t have a relationship with trees then you might think I am just a little off my rocker. I guess that is putting it bluntly, I really do have a “relationship” with trees and I even have one I am in love with.
The tree I love most is a very old oak tree that stands majestically alone on a hill surrounded by grass. The slope of the hill rises up behind her, proudly displaying its seasonal crop. For one entire year I photographed that tree on a daily basis. I pass her (my tree is a girl) most days as she lives around the corner, about a mile from our home. I received permission from the estate owner to get up close and personal with this grand old lady. I estimate she must be between two to three hundred years old. I have taken a photo of “my” tree from every conceivable angle, time of day, lighting, temperature, and weather that I could possibly think of. Every season, no matter how cold or hot, early morning to sunset shots, whether the tree was fully leaved or starkly naked, I was there to witness the changes. I have even hugged her and sat beneath her shade on a little lonely bench that humbly stands by her side. My hug consists of more than FOUR extended breadth spans of my arms opened wide . I just remembered the one picture I do not yet have. I have no picture with me standing beside beside the tree which I consider my friend. Dave and I plan to hike up to the tree together so he can take a picture of me standing next to the tree. I want to be in the photo so as to have a size comparison of just how grand she is.
I wish you could sit here with me and experience the amazing panorama I am enjoying in full motion. Perhaps my words have painted a picture for you.
FEELINGS I CANNOT LEND
By Kathleen Martens
March 16, 2016
What we behold is never known
By another, though it is shown.
What I see from my eyes,
Your taste may belie.
The thoughts I feel from within,
Are feelings I cannot lend.
Each of us see from a different angle.
Another’s parallax cannot be wrangled.
Each to his own from inside out,
Which for another may have no clout.
What to me may be a boutique,
Others may not choose to seek.
So I will enjoy what I choose
That my moments I never lose.
If I desire to love a tree
Then that is what, makes me, me.
I received a note from the friend who I have recently requested others to pray for. I asked her permission if I could select part of her email and post it in my blog. She gave me permission.
“Reading your blog daily. I cannot begin to thank you for your fervent prayers and those of your blog followers. During the last week (since our phone conversation and you said you would be praying for my knee pain specifically), I have had the least amount of pain in my knee since 2012. God is so good and answers the prayers of His faithful servants. I’ve been icing my feet / ankles several times throughout the day and my ankles have settled down a little, but still in quite a bit of pain and walking is still very painful. Just to have some relief in the knee pain has been a huge blessing.”
Here is her response when I asked her if I could print her letter:
“I would not mind at all. Anything to give GOD the PRAISE.”
Thank you friend and blog reader for sharing with us what God is doing in your life.
Please continue to pray daily that God will release “our friend” from pain. When we are one in the Body of Christ, our fellow believers are our family as well as friends!
Lord, I give you thanks this day for your tender mercy.
Lord, I thank you for hearing our prayers no matter where we are.
Lord, thank you for being all knowing.
Lord, thank you for the release of this pain and healing in our friend’s body.
Lord, thank you for loving us.
Lord, thank you for caring about every trial no matter how big or small.
And most of all Lord, thank you for providing salvation that we can live with You forever and not perish.
Do you have a THANK YOU JOURNAL? If not, you might enjoy starting one. Daily write down one thing, or many things, for which you are thankful. Number them and see how quickly you pass 1,000. It is so amazing how many things there are in which to give thanks to God. And God hears your “Thank You Notes” to Him, and it delights Him to pour out His blessings upon His children. And He doesn’t even mind if you repeat what you are thankful for.
Today I am thankful for the pain relief that your daughter is experiencing.
Thank you too for her testimony to others who are praying.
And Lord, thank You for Dave’s shoes all lined up by the back door. I am so thankful for the husband that walks in those shoes.
GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU ON THIS COLD BLUSTERY MARCH DAY!
Visions of Poetry 