Blog Archives
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!
Friday May 15 2015 DAY 69 I THINK I GOT A LEMON
Sometime days are just down days. Not down in spirit but just a day to slow down, stay close to home, revel in the quiet, no hustle and no bustle. Just a great “down” day. That was today, for the most part. And I loved it. Paulette had several suggestions as to where we could go, things we could see, etc., but instead we chose to stay close to home until we thought of a movie we’d like to see.
I did go to the gym and when I came home I braved the post rain back yard and tackled picking lemons. Yes, I said lemons. If I had to guess I would say her Meyer lemon tree probably had 500 lemons on it. And let me tell you, this lemon tree fought back. It had great big, long, sharply pointed, strong, THORNS. I mean they were like weapons and extremely sharp! Ask me how I know! “Ouch”! I wore long sleeves which helped but still had a few pricks elsewhere. I picked lemons for a half hour or more. After they were washed and dried and laid out I counted 80 lemons on the counter and in a bowl was about another dozen or so.
So, the photographer in me just knew there was a picture waiting to happen. Paulette pulled down her beautiful baskets from the pantry and we loaded the lemons into them. I arranged them in what I thought a was nice display and we not only took pictures, but, we did a talking video. We had fun doing it. I took some to the gym this morning, which I had picked yesterday, and gave them away to the people I spoke with yesterday. Tomorrow I will take more. I also plan to take them with me as I leave and hand them out to wherever I go to whomever wants them. They are quite sweet lemons or could be mistaken for a very sour orange. They look more like oranges, both outside skin and inside flesh. This is a very forlorn tree. It is sad because it is neglected and left to its own devices. I heard the lemons calling out to me to please pick them so they could fulfill the destiny that God had intended for them. That destiny was to be picked, eaten, and enjoyed, while giving rich nutrients to to those who ate them. The picked lemons are happy lemons! And I am quite happy for picking them, as well as helping them fulfill their destiny! I called ahead and told Joyce I would be bringing lemons. She said she had two lemon trees and didn’t need any lemons. Oh well…Wish I could get them to my sister Velma. She is the lemon lady!
So you see when I have a “down day”, and not much happening I have to “make” something happen. So I did. Quite exciting for a blog, right? RIGHT??
Paulette and I went to see the movie “The Age of Adeline”. It was quite a ways away but we both wanted to do something “exciting” so we drove out to see it. I thought it done well, had an interesting but abrupt ending, but overall was an entertaining movie. Paulette didn’t seem to like it as much as I did. I don’t see many movies so maybe I don’t have enough to compare it to. I especially like the actors (and don’t ask me who they were).
Paulette’s husband, Dave, joined us across town and we had dinner at a place called CHOPS. Very nice upscale restaurant. I put on my best behavior and tried to be quiet. It worked for awhile. I ordered my favorite food, BRUSSELS SPROUTS and a beet salad. It was very good. I thank you Paulette and Dave for the delicious meal. I have enjoyed myself here in Folsom California. I had a large suite to myself and I spread out like a 16 year old. And that is about how my area appears at the moment, like a teenagers! EGADS! I am leaving tomorrow so will tidy it up in the morning as I pack. It felt so good to just let it all hang out! I would be embarrassed to take a picture of it. I think I needed this respite!
While at dinner I asked Dave for his words of wisdom. He responded quickly: “As I age my priorities change. There is nothing I’d rather do now that hang out with my grandsons” I asked him if that was it and he said yes it was.
Paulette’s wisdom: “Take the time to find joy in every day. Sometimes you have to find it yourself because it is not always going to bite ya.” Very well said!
And because I have a wonderfully peaceful, low-key day I will share a poem I wrote yesterday. I have not had the opportunity to spend as much time in solitude with the Lord while on this trip. I try when I can and have been quite faithful in writing my gift of poetry to God daily (missed a couple of days). I had a quiet peaceful morning yesterday and spent in on the veranda deck and just enjoyed communing with my Lord. Here is the simple poem that spoke how I felt. After the poem are words I felt impressed upon my heart when I asked the Lord what words He had for me.
AND FOR LOVING ME ENOUGH
May 14, 2015
Here I am Lord
To offer my time and space,
To rest my heart in You,
In this peaceful time and place.
To be alone in myriad sounds,
To be refreshed from inside out.
My heart sings from within,
My soul longs to shout.
To proclaim Your love and mercy,
And Your tender loving care
That spills from my heart,
For inside me You’re always there.
Thank You for Your grace and mercy
And for the strength You supply,
And for Your freedom You provide,
And loving me enough to die.
**************
My Heart Sounds from the Lord: IF YOU PURPOSE TO LISTEN
I am your rock forever and I give you true peace because you trust in Me. Even in times of your absence in solitude My love will never leave you. My promise of peace does not disappear because of your busy schedule or the hands on a clock. When My children love Me I will bless them. My face will shine upon you and you will become more and more like Me that others will see my countenance upon your face
Come and let us enjoy this interlude in your journey. Pause and give time to reflect on all I am teaching you. Write down your lessons that you retain them to look upon and continue to grow. As you seek Me, my wisdom will come from within you. Wisdom that comes from heaven is pure, it loves peace while considering others needs. Look and see who I bring before you. Step out in boldness, yet be submissive unto Me. I will fill you with mercy and good fruit. Judge not others and always speak truth in sincerity. Be my disciple for I have called you to be my witness. You are my beloved. I love you with an intensity you do not yet understand. Listen as I speak to your heart. Through all the chatter and clatter of this word you will hear My voice if you purpose to listen.
****************
This has been a wonderful stay. I feel refreshed and ready to look ahead to next week when I will be a student at a week long class at Bethel Church in Redding CA.
Good night. 7:55 p.m.
P.S. We are going to watch a movie!
April 20 2015 Day 44 TOO MUCH STUFF!
I wish I could have “done” the trip before I did the trip. I would have taken a lot less. Too many clothes, too many shoes, too many do-dads I thought I MIGHT need and TOO MANY BOOKS. Who has time to read? Besides, all I’ve been doing is adding to my library everywhere I go. Just too many good books in the resale shops.
Today was a gift. It was a day that I was originally supposed to be in transit. Since my plans changed I stayed one day longer than planned so therefore I didn’t have any plans, so therefore I could do what I wanted. And what I wanted to do was go through everything I brought with me, cull, pack differently, and get ready to hit the road tomorrow. It was much needed. Betts wanted to go out to dinner with me so after I was finished with laundry, emptying everything out and repacking, we skedaddled out of Linda’s hair for awhile and went to Marie Calendar’s Restaurant. It has been years since I have been to a Marie Calendar’s. It was delicious. In the front when you come in they have all their assortment of pies, for which they are famous, and the calorie count of each piece of pie. These calorie counters were upward of 690 calories per piece up to about 960 calories per piece. That took the craving away for me. Privately however I still yearned for a piece of coconut cream pie. My favorite pie. Instead I ate a kale salad. It was excellent!
I loved this day with my exercise and solitude and quiet. I have not had enough solitude time the last few days because I haven’t been traveling. I look forward to the long hours in the car with just God and me and my new CD, TIMELESS, by David Hollandsworth. I love the titles of his compositions. As the title of the piece comes on screen I listen to see if I hear the title in the music. And, you know what, it does. Here are the Titles: 1. Awakening; 2. Carried by the Wind; 3. Alone; 4. Timeless; 5. Black Rose; 6. Through the Door; 7. First Frost; 8. My Heart is Yours, 9. First Signs of Spring; 10. Lake Effect; 11. Shimmer on the Water; 12. Nostalgic; 13. Pause for Thought; 14. Quiet Waters; 15 Touch; 16. Waterfalls, 17. View From Here; 18. Mournful Waltz; 19 Flow; 20. Pause for Thought ( piano solo). I see on the CD case is his web address if you are interested. davidhollandsworth.com
Linda and her sons had the interview today from the Orange County Register. The article is to be in the paper the Thursday before Mother’s Day. Linda said that the interview went well. I was in the bedroom going through all my STUFF during the time when the photographer and reporter were here.
After Betts and I went out to eat we went back to her house and picked oranges. Oranges are difficult to pick in case you want to know. Bets brought out a long stick with a caged basked at the end and one side of the basked had elongated prongs that were longer than the basket with curved tines. You reach up into the tree with the picker and let the tall tines trap the orange below it and give it a strong tug. The When the orange lets go it falls into the basket if you are lucky. A few fell on us instead. These oranges are falling from quite a distance and are very large and dense. I would not want one to land on my head. We picked two big bags. I will take them with me to share with my few host families. They are dense and very juicy. Supposedly juice oranges but I love the flavor and texture so I eat them. They taste how I imagine an orange is supposed to taste. We are still eating avocados from the last house. The next place I am going has horses. I don’t think I’ll be able to take any of them with me.
I’m going to bed so I can get up early, work out, and get on the road between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. I’ll aim for 9:00 which could mean 11:00 a.m. It is 6 hours on the mapquest but for me that probably means 7 to 7 and 1/2 hours for my bladder. It is so good I am traveling alone. Like I said before, I get along well with myself and I am very patient with everything I do. I’ll get there when I get there and absolutely no one to gripe at me. The way I talk it sounds as if my husband must gripe at me a lot. Actually he does not. And honey if you are reading this, I MISS YOU A LOT!!! Actually I miss you a TON. (Inside joke)
By the way, I’ll be driving all the way to Yosemite tomorrow to visit my Aunt Georgia and Uncle Jetton. I have been informed to be as early as possible as there will be a lot of people coming to their house and they will be eating early because afterward there is going to be some picking and singing. I look forward to that. But, I’ll get there when I get there because I have been informed you can’t get on the freeways before 9:00 a.m. unless you want to be inching along in “rush hour” traffic when the 8 lanes of scores of freeways turn into parking lots.
April 16 Day 40 Richard M. Nixon’s Library
My day is always refreshing when it starts out at the gym. I am so thankful for my guest passes for this week. When I arrived home from the gym Betts was waiting for me at Linda’s house with a big bag of freshly picked oranges off her tree. Each orange is large and beautiful! Of course I ate one as soon as she left. It was big in flavor too. Oh so delicious!!! Never take for granted the beautiful, flavorful foods that God has designed for our pleasure. As I travel the country and see the great crowds of people (mostly in cars on the jam packed freeways) and go into so many grocery stores I am amazed that our world produces enough food for this country to eat. So many other places in this world are not so fortunate.
I did something today I should not have done. I went to a library and found they had a used bookstore there. Hmm…well of course I bought a few (MORE) books. Books are my downfall. All non-fiction, Christian related topics. Some I will actually give away because I already own them and just know that someone else will surely love the book as I do. Some I’ll keep. But the bottom line is that I have already bought too many other books that I do want to keep. I really go into the used book stores with one intention. I’m looking for all the books written by Norman Vincent Peale. Most are out of print and they are becoming more difficult to find. I already have several but would like to keep searching for more. If you haven’t read any of his books you might find him interesting to read. THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING was his first and most famous title. My favorite title that I have read by him is LIVE YOUR ENTIRE LIFE. His books actually gave me the courage to contemplate this trip I am on. One of Peale’s favorite verses is “I can do all things through Christ who Strengthens me.” Phil 3:14. I have adopted that verse as my travel motto.
I met a friend from over 32 years go for lunch at Chili’s in Yorba Linda. It was so good to see a familiar face from the past and get caught up on our lives. After we moved from Southern California in 1983 the friend Cathy that I met today traded homes with us for vacation one year. She stayed in our home in the San Francisco area and we stayed in her family home in Yorba Linda. Cathy loves the Lord and it was so wonderful to be able to just talk about the amazing grace of God in our lives and pray with one another.
We had the opportunity to meet a special lady in a booth across the aisle. She was eating a delicious looking lunch alone and I just felt I was supposed to hear her story. So when I saw she was ready to go I just started talking to her, and soon Cathy joined me and what a beautiful story she had. Her name is Lucille and she is 85 years old. She sounded and moved more like a 45 or 50 year old in good health. She was so interesting to talk to. I asked her if she would tell me her story. She opened up like a morning blossom and just radiated as she shared her life with her husband and children. She has been a widow for 8 years and had been married since she was 15 years old. She told how she and her husband built a garage on their property and for the next two years lived there with her husband and children as she and her husband physically built the house attached to the garage. She made a statement that took on a very deep meaning for me. She said “we lived in the house we built”. I heard that on a much greater scale. I saw the comparison to our lives. “We live in the house we built” meaning we live in the life we build around ourselves. I have experienced other’s lifestyles that are so different than my own and realize we all choose to live in different ways by the choices we make, by what we nurture and grow around us. We take it upon ourselves to “build” what we want around ourselves. We choose how we want to live, where we live, with whom we want to live and then wonder why life turns out like it does. Perhaps it would be better to live in the “garage” for a while and slowly with God’s direction allow God to fashion our house. As time passes our house would take shape, built on the foundation of God’s word. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain” Psalm 127:1. “We live in the house we built”. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather live in the house that the Lord built, even if I find myself living in the garage for a while.
Yorba Linda is where we lived when both our children were born. We owned our house there for about 8 years. That was location where we had a mudslide that took all the hill below us right up to our yard. It actually sounded like a freight train going through our house as the hills above and below us gave way. Our next door neighbor lost his yard right up to his pool. That was an amazing and dark night! At one point that night Dave was trying to help the neighbor who lived in the house one street below us and became mired in the wet earth up to his thighs and could not get out. Well, eventually he did escape by lying prostrate and wriggling his way through the heavy wet mud. It was a frightening experience. We also had to be evacuated two times because of threat of fire. The homes in our neighborhood survived more than once because they were all stucco and had tile roofs. The homes in close proximity that had shake roofs burned. When I look back I realize it really was not a fun place to live. There have been a lot of changes in the “little town” of Yorba Linda in the last 32 years. It was way out of the way back then and we were there when the first four lane Highway was built. Now that same highway has 8 lanes. 5 lanes going one direction and 3 going the opposite direction. And that doesn’t include the turn lanes.
I guess that is enough of my history. Let’s go to today.
I actually went to two libraries today. The second one, also in Yorba Linda is President Richard M. Nixon’s library built next to his birthplace. The actual house and bed he was born in is on display on the grounds. Also the helicopter he flew in is on the grounds and we were allowed to go through it. A lot of famous people both from the United States and around the world at one time sat in those seats.
The library was beautifully designed and had interesting and informative displays both about his political career before his presidency, during, as well as a comprehensive coverage on the circumstances that led up to his resignation. Very interesting reading. I did not have the opportunity to see all of the library as my time was limited due to my overscheduled day. Days are never long enough for me. There is too much living to fit into my daylight hours. I thoroughly enjoyed the self-guided tour. I recommend seeing as many Presidential libraries as you have opportunity to do so. I always learn so much. Tomorrow Linda and I are going to President Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Library. I am really interested in going to his. The one thing I am going to try to do is to remember to take more pictures on my IPhone so I can blog more. When I take them on my camera I cannot put them on the blog. I did have one taken by my phone today and I have already put it on for you to see.
In the room behind me there is a home Bible Study taking place. It is on I Corinthians 13. I’m half listening and it is a very interesting discussion. My friends attend a Lutheran Church here in their “little town” of 137,000 people surrounded by millions. The city of Orange covers 25.2 square miles. In Orange County California you cannot tell where one city begins and another ends. The homes just keep going on and on and on…The area is laid out in square grids on the flatlands. Very easy to navigate. All you have to know is North and South and East and West. The highest recorded temperature is 110 degrees and the coolest recorded temperature is 22 degrees. When we lived in Orange County we often experienced 90 degrees on Christmas day. I would not recommend retiring here. There are just too many people. Wisconsin is looking better and better. I’ll take the snow.
Well, this is an overview of my day. It has been a fun one. And the good part is that it is not even 9:00 p.m. yet and I am finished with my blog.
Good night
April 13 Day 37 Goodbye avocado country…hello Orange County!
Wow! What a difference. During the last three days I have been on top of the world located about a half hour from San Diego. Oh my goodness, how beautiful it is there. From the top of the mountain I could actually see some of the ocean when it was clear. Hills and hills, and more hills. Palms and avocado trees, mango trees and persimmon trees on the property of where I was staying. It was like a paradise. No traffic noise or sirens, no city lights, no people. Well I guess there were some people because on Sunday I was awakened to a crew of pickers reaching tall poles up into the avocado trees with little baskets at the end to catch the avocados as they were snipped. Today a huge truck drove off the mountain laden with fresh beautiful avocados fresh from the trees. I wonder where they will end up. I would have taken a photo but I was not dressed and we had to leave for church after we dressed. I watched from the window.
Bill and Lisa and I had a leisurely morning, a leftover lunch from yesterday’s restaurant meal and I left about 1:45. About 45 minutes later going up I-5 toward Anaheim the cars on the freeway stopped. Total traffic jam! I could just see the next 50 miles taking about 5 hours. Well, fortunately I beat the rush hour traffic and the freeway stall was the inspection of all cars because of being so close to the border. Well, I must not have looked too suspicious because they just waved me through. I also had to stop like that coming in from Arizona as I crossed the California state line. I was waved through at that time also.
Only made one wrong turn on the way to my friends, Bob and Linda. Linda came to the aid and talked me “home” on my car phone. Home for the week at least. This is a busy household. One grandma, one grandpa (who are Bob and Linda) and two granddaughters, Madison and Alex and one very sweet boy dog named Bruno all live here! Also, Bob and Linda’s son, whom I have known since he was a toddler is here. His two boys are here and his wife will show up later. Linda is creating a dinner that will be a work of art to the taste buds. She is making my favorite dish that she used to make me over 40 years ago. What a friend! Her 1st son Michael is an Executive Chef at theranch.com. Though I have not yet been there I do know that there are 50 people who work in the kitchen and “The Ranch” is in the top 10 best new restaurants in the country. Mike won the award as Best Chef of the Year by the Southern California Restaurant Writers Association for 2015. His brother David won the same award for Best Pastry Chef of the Year at the same restaurant in 2012. They both won BEST CHEF and BEST PASTRY CHEF for 2014. The restaurant is called THE RANCH RESTAURANT & SALOON. I have been informed that I will be eating at The Ranch with my friends on Wednesday evening! Oh my, that sounds just great to me! I’ll let you know how I like it! Check it out online. The pictures and menu alone make my mouth water.
On Mother’s day my friend Linda will be featured in the Orange County Register regarding her two sons accomplishments in the culinary arts. She will be cooking each sons favorite meal. The interview and cooking takes place on Monday. That is the day I am to leave. I just might have to rearrange my take -ff day so I can stay and eat these two meals. I remember both meals because I have have eaten them before cooked by her hands and loving heart, meatloaf and taco salad. Easy words to say but they are truly the best meatloaf and taco salad I have ever eaten. The taco salad is my favorite!
Dinner is almost ready and I am sitting at the dining room table so I will have to close down. Tonight will be a time of family and friends, reminiscing and good food. After all, this is an Italian family!
See my new hat in the “Selfie” I took today. Lisa’s neighbor gave it to me before I left the mountain. I love it! Everywhere I go people have been so generous to me. My friend in Mesa gave me a selection of beautiful earrings, my friend in Willow Springs took the most beautiful stone necklace off her neck and gave it to me. And there are other gifts I can’t even remember right this moment because I am being shewed away from the table.
6:50 p.m. California time, bright and sunny and about 80 degrees. Most of you back home and out east have probably already settled down for the night. My day is still going!
By the way, I am in Orange CA
Visions of Poetry 