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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Another try at religious persecution


This morning I just want to write a quick post about something that I think we all should think about. Everyone. I'm talking about Global Religious Persecution. I wrote a post about this a while back and took it down. I felt my disappointment in people was showing through in bitterness, for the seeming lack of compassion and empathy. I apologize to anyone who may have read that and felt my irritation. I realize, that for some, this subject may simply be too much. I understand the frustration of feeling there is so little we can do. We can pray. Prayer does make a difference.  There are also organizations that are fully committed to helping the suffering and working toward solutions. They are almost exclusively run on donations. I'll list a few a the end of this post. For my part, I feel my job is simply to remember them....it would seem, that is what I can do at this point in my life. So, I write and I remember.

Let me explain what I'm talking about. In America we have complete freedom of religion. We are allowed to worship as we so feel convicted. But, did you know that in over 70% of the world that is not the case? Most of the persecution towards religion involves Christians. Christianity is the most persecuted religious group in the world at this time. There have been more Christians killed for their faith in the last 100 years, than in all the centuries before combined.

In Nigeria, on July 7th of this year nearly 100 members of the Church of Christ were killed by an extremist Islamic group known as Boko Haram. This has been going on for over a decade. Some estimates leave the total number of Christians killed there at well over 20,000. This is Genocide.

It makes me wonder where everyone is? By this I mean, those who would indignantly say they would never have stood by while Jewish men and women were loaded into train cars, bound for the death camps of Nazi Germany. Where are those indignant people now?  It makes me wonder if maybe we might have been among those looking the other way, after all.
It seems we often judge others, such as the German citizens of that evil era, yet we find ourselves in a similar place, doing a similar thing. For myself, I see little difference between the atrocities of that day and the global persecution  of Christians...... Life is precious and we are all one blood, one race....sons of Adam, Children of God.


So this morning, I ask you to remember. Start there. Just remember them.

                                                 ~Silence isn't golden, it's deadly~



Open Doors USA
Persecuted Church
Secret Believers
world watch list 2012


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A Butterfly and a Blog-oversary


Our Appalachia- A beautiful Butterfly  It appears my butterfly bush is working. Spicebush Swallowtail. One of my favorites.


Yesterday was Our appalachia's blogoversary. For some reason, I just happened to wonder how long ago since I had started this blog. I looked late last evening and was so surprised to see I had actually checked on the exact date! How coincidental...One year ago, I started this blog and this was the first post. I guess that I always had Nature and all of it's wonderful gifts from God, in my mind for this blog. I wish I had time to write a special anniversary post....but, I just don't today. Just thought the occasion should at least be acknowledged!

Have a wonderful day. Get out and enjoy the summer, the days have begun to wane once again. They have been for a month already.... Before you know it Fall will be upon us. That is my favorite season of the year. Enjoy today!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Naturalist?



I feel the need to define what that is. I guess maybe I should actually call it by another name. At one time this was the definition. Student of plants and animals Okay that sounds about right. I just love the idea of knowing how Nature works. I want to know the name of that plant, bird or even what insect in making that noise at night? I just want answers.
But, I felt the need to explain that the above definition is what I mean when I say naturalist. Today's modern definition means something different.
nat·u·ral·ist 
n.
1. One versed in natural history, especially in zoology or botany.
2. One who believes in and follows the tenets of naturalism.



    nat·u·ral·ism
    noun
    1. (in art and literature) A style and theory of representation based on the accurate depiction of detail
      • A philosophical viewpoint according to which everything arises from natural properties and causes, and supernatural or spiritual explanations are excluded or discounted (italics mine)
        • (in moral philosophy) The theory that ethical statements can be derived from nonethical ones


      So then, by that definition I would not qualify as someone interested in Naturalism. I believe in a literal interpretation of the Creation of the Earth, as recorded in Genesis. I am a student of Creationism. I have a long way to go to call myself anything besides a student. Really, do any of us ever get much past that? There is always something new to learn.

      Maybe, I should come up with a new name....But, I'm just a bit stubborn about the idea that one can indeed be a student of plants and animals and believe in a Divine Creator! In our age there is much Scientific evidence to back up the idea of a Creator as described in the Bible. I find it almost insulting that I can't be considered a Naturalist unless I believe in natural history, according to the modern theory of evolution.

      On occasion, in future blog posts, I hope to write about the things I'm learning. I love sharing information. I have met some of the most intelligent and interesting people on the Internet that have helped to teach me much about Herbal Medicine. I could never have hoped to learn even half, of what I have in the last couple of years, if people had not generously shared information. So, I'll be trying to return the favor. Hopefully we can learn together. This blog helps keep me on track. I suppose similar to the way a journal does. The only difference is the interaction. I will share links, books, magazines or whatever else you might be interested in. And I have added a new label 'Creationism'.



      Besides, I really just have a need to write. I am always writing in my mind, as I go about my day. I need an outlet for that or I may begin talking to myself to get it out...

      "Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God."

      ~George Washington Carver - scientist, botanist, educator, inventor and former slave

      Sunday, July 22, 2012

      A Peaceful Place


        

      At around 5:30 ish Saturday morning I set out for my morning walk. I don't do this every day, but I should! It's good for us in so many ways.
       It's still a bit dark out, but as I walk it lightens. The air is damp and humid, the birds are singing, it smells fresh and cool. I think I've described this before, it's just such a perfect time of day. It is... my Peaceful Place.

      We all need a peaceful place to go to when life is hard to understand. I know I do.
      God has decided He ought to gift me an extra dose of empathy and mercy.... In our world, that can make for some dark moments. Moments, I think when others don't understand me. I sometimes wonder if I don't actually scare people with the intensity of what I feel. I just simply cannot look at evil and injustice without feeling something should be done. I really believe that we are the hands and feet of God and we have a job to do. I know that I'm not alone in this way of thinking, it just feels like it at times. When I feel frustrated and hurt for the victims, this is where I go to tell God about it. -As if He didn't already know.- Ah, but He listens and I am often inspired with thoughts and words to write. I'm encouraged once again, that indeed one person can make a difference, in their small circle, if nothing else.


      Later, I decided to go see what was happening in my Woods behind us.- A lot of flora and fauna is packed into that tiny forest.-
       This is Poke. You'd never know such a pretty berry could be so controversial. Old Timers of the Appalachians have used this plant with discretion for many decades. It is more recently, that it has gotten a bit of a bad name. The early spring greens can be made into Poke Salat. They need to be prepared properly of course. 
       In fact at one time you could even buy them canned from Allen's canning company. The berries were used to make jelly, wine and of course dye. They will stain your hands very quickly and are also known as Ink Berry. The seeds are the poisonous part, the berries were juiced and used in that manner. It is good herb for cleansing your lymph glands.  
      Caution! This can be a poisonous plant and I wouldn't recommend using it unless you have done your research. Here are two links for anyone so interested. Southern Herbalist Poke Salad  and  Green Deane's Poke Weed








      This is winged sumac. I have at least two species of Sumac growing in my small forest. This is my favorite simply because of the way it has "wings". Such an interesting plant. 
      They are simply gorgeous in the fall and turn the most beautiful red color.

      Birds love Sumac thickets and I have a very nice one growing just the other side of my backyard fence. So it works out perfectly in my quest for feathered visitors.

      I need to study it's medicinal value as I do believe it is used in herbal medicine. I am just not familiar with it.



      It's been a little over a year since we decided to just let the field go. At that time our daughter had married and taken her horse Snoopy with her. We knew we couldn't keep up with the field in mowing, so Tim said "let it go". I was so worried about it getting out of hand, but in the end I'm so glad God did not answer my prayer to find a way to mow it. The birds absolutely love it. I have more birds in my backyard than ever before




      I also discovered this Maple tree while I was back there.It is taller than me by a good two feet. In just over a year! Possibly longer, if Snoopy had by some chance, left it alone while he was grazing there. Trees that are naturally planted in the wild can grow amazingly fast. I need to see if I can ID which kind it is. It will grow up and add to the natural privacy fence. I am getting a nice lesson in how reforestation works in the Appalachians. 
      Who needs Naturalist classes anyway, with such a great classroom in your backyard?  Although, I must admit, I would so enjoy them. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. Field guides, websites, internet friends, books and more books. Good excuse to read more!



      Now, this is back in my 'Old Growth Woods'. While, the field  is still a tangled web of Sumac, Tree of Heaven,  Blackberry brambles, Elderberries, Passionflower and much more, in this part, the undergrowth is very minimal. The sun just barely reaches down through the dense canopy of huge branching trees, it is cool and shady. I hear the sounds of many of my birds. In fact, a few were scolding me for entering their domain....ah, but it's mine too. We share.

       As I finally wandered back to the house, all was right with the world again. I had not made anything better, but I knew I would keep trying, in my small way. I would still feel grief and even be indignant, over the unfairness in life and for the terrible atrocities that I have finally decided to stop ignoring. I would still keep talking about it.

      For that moment however, God had given me a kind of peace. Mostly, I watched and listened to the sounds of nature. In them, He spoke of a garden long ago. A gift to mankind. This is still our gift, if only a fraction of what he wanted us to have. No... what He wants us to have. Nature speaks of it's Creator, it speaks of a future and it speaks of hope. If we'll listen.

      ~The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy, is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be..." -Anne Frank 1929-1945 from her diary

      Friday, July 20, 2012

      A Mournful Song



      This is a Mourning Dove so named because of the mournful cooing sound they make. I have many that live in the trees of my woods and are frequent visitors to my back yard. I often call them my little flock of chickens, as they scratch and eat the seeds on the ground around the feeder. I love the fawn color and  the graceful shape of their bodies. For some reason they remind me of deer.  Strange, I know, I guess it's the coloring and their common gentle grace.

      I can empathize with their sad songs also. There has been something in me of late that mourns for a way of life that is slipping away from us here in this country. It's been on my heart and I don't know if I can express it or not. I feel the need to try.

      Today in Colorado another American Tragedy has happened. I find it a bit coincidental that just as I was finishing a book called Rachel's Tears -the story of the Columbine School Shooting- this has happened again. When will it end? A question I'm sure many caring people are asking today. I don't think we'll find the answer either.

      What I mourn for today, is the great loss of life that has been needlessly brought about by the violence of  men.  I've been lamenting secretly, silently and without a clear understanding of just exactly what is was, for some time now. An unexplained sadness in my heart. I wonder if it isn't maybe the slipping away of a society that, once upon a time, would have been unable to fathom that such a thing could take place. I am not that old, but I have watched that slide. I have seen the change. I believe it to be the ongoing corruption of what is right and what is wrong.

      I don't have the answers and apparently no one else does either.  We have seen this violence before and everyone begins to debate the issues that could be causing it. Yet, nothing changes, time goes by and it happens again. We don't want to pay the price it would cost us to bring about a real difference. Whether it is the constant violence pumped out by Hollywood, violent video games, or just the general crumbling of a society with more money than heart and compassion....I don't have a definitive answer.

      You see just a hint of what I believe coming out don't you? I won't delve any deeper. It's not going to change anything. The only thing that will, is if individuals change. To be the change you want to see. That is so cliche I know, but there is just so much truth packed into it. So simple, so true. I know that not everyone lives allowing violence to become a callous part of their life. I know of many people who have chosen the higher road.
      People who have chosen to simply pull back a bit from the masses and pounding rush of society and try to live in peace. A simpler way of life. I applaud them. I have a strong feeling it will not be these people who commit the next terrible atrocity.

      Tim and I were talking just the other day about the sadness of where we see things going. He made a statement something like this."The Bible tells us these things would happen, we knew it was coming." I felt tears threaten and sadly responded  "Yes I know, but I just never thought I'd have to watch it."

      I hate to end on such a 'mournful' note. But there are people who are broken hearted today. A lost child, a lost mother....Someone's life will never again be the same. I lift them up and say a prayer for them. Won't you too? Maybe if we allowed a mournful song into our lives over things like this, even if it is not directly related to us.....maybe some feeling would come back to this thing we call "our way of life."

      ~" A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” ~ Jesus



      Sunday, July 15, 2012

      Montana Memories


      Did I ever tell you about where we were raised and in turn, raised our children? No, it wasn't here, where we live now. Tim and I were both raised in the beautiful North Country of Montana. Also known as 'Big Sky Country'. I lived there most of my life and I still don't know why they call it that. The sky never seemed any bigger to me. Now, 'Big Mountain Country' I could have understood. Montana is home to some of the most magnificent mountains I've ever seen.
      In fact, to this day, I don't feel at home in flat country. Although I see wondrous, peaceful beauty in the waving grasses of the prairie, they leave me feeling rather exposed and unprotected. The mountains are a type of security to me. I guess it just depends on where you grew up at. My mother says she feels completely at home on those prairies. -But she grew up on the plains of Nebraska.-

      When we moved back to Montana after living in Arizona for over seven years, we nearly froze to death! I remember that first winter.....our bodies had acclimated to the southwest and when cold weather hit we were completely shocked at how cold it felt to us. I guess we had forgotten. Tim thought for sure he'd never make it through. Everyone was worried about me, as I've always had a hard time with cold weather. They really should have worried over Tim.

      In our zeal for the country life we went to a bit of an extreme though and moved "way back in"....It was a tract of land that had been subdivided and was for sale at a good price. Tim and I were the first to actually move onto the property. Not a soul lived near us for over a mile. One day, we heard voices in the woods and it actually concerned and startled us. It was the cousins come up for a picnic at their property next door!

      I remember not being afraid to sing as I went about my outdoor chores. -I  usually sing only in front of my children. I've been singing silly songs to them since the day they were born!- But there, in the woods and at that time, I could sing with no one to hear me but the birds. Surprisingly, they often sang back. My youngest daughter tells me she remembers me doing that and thought her mother had the most lovely voice she'd ever heard and when she grew up she wanted to sing just like that. Ahh, the innocence of children!

      That summer we had no electricity, septic or running water. We pulled a camper out to the middle of the woods, set up our cabin tent and spent the summer camping out. We hauled water, used an outhouse, cooked over a campfire and lived "off grid". We listened to the coyotes singing their nighttime songs and I thought they must surely be right outside our tent. Tim would assure me it was just the way it sounded in the empty forrest. I would try to catch seeing them with my flashlight. He must have been right because, they were never there when I'd jump out and shine the light around.
      I remember that summer we had some especially terrific storms. Inside of our tent, it sounded as if the thunder was rolling right down the valley aimed at us. It would echo off the narrow canyon walls and sit us straight up in bed! I think back now and am amazed and awed at the memory of it.
      By the time our house came along in the fall we had gotten just a bit tired of camping! The weather was cooling rapidly and we knew we'd have to have a home with solid walls soon or find somewhere else to live. We moved in,  around late September or early October. This whole experience taught us much and assures me that we are stronger and more capable than we think we are and we could do it again if we had to. 

      Tim and our son Jeff had a conversation once that went something like this... 

      Tim-referring to where we presently live- : "Everyone says we live in the country. We don't live in the country, you can be at a Walmart in 15 minutes." 
      Jeff : "Dad, this is the country, we were raised in the wilderness."
      It made me laugh anyway. I hope it is with great fondness that he remembers our "wild country home".

      It took us 9 months before we had electricity and over two years before the well and septic were completed.
      Whew! No one in those survival type magazines mentions how inconvenient this can actually be. They make it sound so adventurous and exciting.  It is not for the faint of heart. It's work. Hard work. It is to be taken very seriously, in cold and wild country like Montana. Foolish mistakes can cost you more than you would want to pay.

      We did it though. We took a piece of raw land and made it our home. Before we sold it and moved some years later, we had a home, a barn, garage and various animal pens. A small greenhouse along with some very nice raised garden beds that Tim fashioned with "hoop houses" over each one to protect our precious plants from frost during the short growing season. We did love that piece of land that the Lord loaned to us.

      I had learned in Arizona to appreciate each place we lived for the good that was there. I did love those Woods and  my gardens, short season and all. I learned all the tricks to extending it just a few more weeks and did manage to harvest some lovely crops. Even a few small tomatoes thanks to the greenhouse Tim made me from old trampoline parts -he's very handy to have around-.....I wish I had pictures to show you.

      We often wildcrafted in the mountains for herbs. The hills were just full of wild roses. Each fall, we found a favorite old logging road and hiked up it, braving the briers and picked  rose hips by the 'bushel'. I dried them to make tea and herbal medicine. In fact, when we left we still had so many, that they lasted nearly 5 years here in Tennessee. Although they were wild, there were still many different varieties. Now a days, I would have to try to ID them, but at the time we just picked them. There were hips that were covered with little prickly hairs and I wondered if they would be usable. I found out when they dried, the little prickles fell right off, making them perfectly useful for the bright red tea made from it. They came in all shapes and sizes ranging from small pea sized, up to that of a very large Cherry. They were so plentiful and no one else seemed to know that they were there. It was just us, the woods and the thorns waiting to scratch you if you didn't show enough care. The girls and I gathered enough for ourselves and my mother who by now also lived just down the trail and through the woods.... I made everything from tea, to syrup and jellies out of this wonderful and prolific fruit.

      There was also a wildflower called Arnica Montana. I made an oil for bruises and sore muscles by steeping the fresh flowers in olive oil. They grew wild and abundant. Another one was Pineapple Weed a wild cousin to Chamomile. Once again we gathered and shared with our "oh so dearly missed grandmother down the trail." It was here that I began to catch herb fever and it was here that some of the most blessed changes began to come into my life. I do believe there is a connection between God, nature and emotional healing. If you will allow me the liberty of saying so. But, we must give HIM the credit for creating it and gifting it to us. I think that is also part of the process.


      There were other herbs we gathered and wonderful adventures we had there. I hope that many good memories of this place have been made by all of us. I know, I have made my mind up to remember the good and leave behind the things not worth remembering. Don't we all have to do that? Life was not perfect there, we hadn't found a lost Paradise or anything like that. Winters were long and cold, money was tight, problems existed. There are things I would have done differently...

       Life on this Earth is like that. You do the best you can with what you have. You take the choices you have made and change the wrong ones, it's just never too late to change. You learn to let go of what you have no control over. You walk where God leads and let Him show you the way. You just have to be willing to say, "this is the wrong way, we need to go back and find the right path." It might mean some serious change and painful times but the path is there waiting to be found with God as our guide. If we'll just let Him.



      "Teeming in the countryside, the world over, are medicinal herbs and edible plants; it shows disbelief in the power of God to pass them by." ~ Juliette de Bairacli Levy

      Wednesday, July 11, 2012

      Summer memories


      Do you recognize this place? Look at our cover photo above. Yes, it is the same place. Our river is hardly flowing here. We've been having quite a drought year. The falls are simply not "falling" as they should.

      Our youngest daughter -who was married just over a year ago- came to visit with our son-in-law. She arrived around noon and the weather was hot! One of the first things she wanted to do was head to the river. Tim and I have been so busy that we have sadly neglected it.
       We've been missing  the cooler, wet summers that we usually have. The weather has been dry here, our lawn is yellow and crunchy when we walk on it. The clay soil is dry and solid like rock, the air, stifling and heavy. So the river sounded like the place to be on a hot July day.

       I've been having flashbacks from living in the desert in Arizona and so I thought I'd write about them.... Tim loved it in all it's uncommon and unique glory. He used to go out with his friends and hike the rocks and mesa's among the giant Suguaro Cacti. The Sonora Desert is an amazing place.  I never made it out there with him. I was busy, taking care of our kids, and hiding from the heat in the air conditioned apartment....I regret that. Not finding a way to get us all out more.


      Tim feels bad about all the desert  that has been consumed and paved over to make room for the ever growing city.  They cut the orange groves down and made room for tract housing and shopping malls. He talks about driving through them when they were in full bloom and the wonderful scent was unlike anything he'd ever smelled before. They would watch the Road Runners scurrying around as they worked out there at the edge of it all, building those homes. He was in love with the desert. If it weren't for the city and the heat we might have stayed. I'd like to take him back someday. Just him and I.  To go and see the places that we neglected to see while we were there.

      Reminds me of a line in a song. ~ "....don't it always seem to go, you don't know what you got 'til it's gone. They paved Paradise 'n put up a parking lot." ~   Oh well, I'm not really what you could call a true conservationist. I believe I would simply fall under the category of take care of what God has given us and be a good steward, it's just on loan anyway. I think conservation efforts can mean different things depending on who you talk to. In its worst extreme, I also think of these lines to a song.  "As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children"....   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A8nsql1zi0 It is wrong to care so much for something that doesn't have an eternal soul and neglect to care for a helpless, innocent human life.

      My parents had lived in the northern part of Arizona during the time we were there and we probably would have liked that better, temperature wise. But no, we lived 'smack dab' (redneck term) in the middle of Phoenix. It was extremely hot with  asphalt, traffic and city everywhere and the usual crime that seems to infect large populations of crowded people. We hear it has doubled in size since we lived there.

      There was one thing that we both agreed upon.... We did not want to raise our children in that tangled mess of industrialized civilization. We wanted them to breath fresh, cool mountain air. To know the freedom that only nature can give. To explore, to watch, to see and  hear the sounds of God's creation. To grow up without fear of riding their bikes down the road,  climb trees and splash through the waters of a cold running stream. And you know what? They did those things. It wasn't easy, but we managed to make that happen for them. (Thanks Tim, for always being the hardworking man you are, who never gives up when you set a goal in your sights.)




      Now, here is a something I did not know when we lived there. Hummingbirds! Arizona has a wonderful variety of hummingbirds.  They claim to host 18 different kinds!! In the eastern part of the country we only have one kind that actually live and breeds here, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.  Although, there is also the Rufous Hummingbird that they are finding  is wintering here. Now, that would be fun to see and I'll be watching for sure.
      One of my regrets is that while I lived in Arizona, I didn't feed them and try to attract them. I didn't make this place my home, I should have and I missed out on some things because I focused on what I didn't like instead of finding something I did. Home is where you decide to make it. Abraham Lincoln said "Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be." I have since realized just what it was, I should have been enjoying. I have remembered this lesson. Each place where I have lived since, I have intentionally tried to make it my home and enjoy it's specialty. The world is so full of unique places that often we only get to experience once in a lifetime. 


         ~Be content with such things as you have ... or perhaps you could say, to be content with where you are at. ~



      I have been sidetracked once again. I'll show you a few pics of our day at the river....






      This is the riverbed. It was pretty dry, but we headed downstream in hopes that our swimming hole would be better.













      We weren't disappointed. The water was perfectly cool and so refreshing.





      This inlet in the picture below comes into the river from the side and it  just beckons to me. 'Come and explore' it seems to say. I have all kinds of lovely imaginations about this place. In fact it feels rather like something I would find in one Tolkiens books.....My daughter tells me she thinks people live up there not too far and that would have just ruined my expectations, so no exploring took place on this day. 
      It is a lovely place though. We believe the water must come from underground as it's temperature is much cooler than the river itself. It's so dark and shady, the trees form a canopy above, blocking out much of the sunlight. With just a few bright sunbeams reaching down through. Lichens and ferns are growing along the banks with plenty of other mystery plants that make me want to know their names. The air feels humid yet cool and fresh . 
      Now doesn't that just sound like the perfect place to let your imagination run wild? A place to let the world just pass you by and leave all your troubles behind for just a bit. 

      As I sit typing this out, I listen to the growing sound of pattering rain on our tin roof. I sigh... knowing that the moisture is so badly needed. Once again, I thank God for this place we live in. Our Appalachia, that He has so graciously loaned to us, for a time.

      “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
                                                        And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
                                                        Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
                                                        And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
                                                        Who among all these does not know
                                                        That the hand of the Lord has done this,
                                                        In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
                                                        And the breath of all mankind?" Job 12:7-10

      Wednesday, July 4, 2012

      A picture....or a thousand words?


      A picture is worth a thousand words. That's what they say anyway, but I'm not so sure.... If you looked at this picture what would it say to you? Probably not much. But when I look at it, I can find so many words to describe it. I think pictures can tell a story, but I still think the best stories are the ones told in words.

      This photograph for example tells some of the things happening in my life right now. It was taken on my birthday. I was born July 1st, 1967. I'm not sure what all was happening in the world at that time (1967). I think the Vietnam war was still raging in all of it's sad fury. The iron curtain was still solid and impenetrable. The 60's and all the tumultuous times of that decade were still in full swing....

      On this morning, Tim, knowing that I really prefer a lighter breakfast to his hearty style -usually consisting of eggs, bacon and hash browns- made me the nicest birthday breakfast of some wonderfully sweet and moist corn muffins, served warm with lots of melting butter! He poked around in my kitchen drawers long enough and eventually found some, previously used birthday candles, to pop in the center of each one. He served them with hot steaming coffee and waited until I had gotten plenty of reading time in my comfy bed. Which is the perfect way for a book worm like me to start the day.

      Just as we were finishing our muffins and coffee our son called on his way home from work to wish me a Happy Birthday. He's our soldier boy. Air Force. He works at nights and I honestly don't know just what it is he does. (Intel.....he can't talk about it.)  Oh, but he has the nicest family and we talked about them and  all that was going on in their lives. Of course, the conversation usually turns to politics....he is just like his grandfather. (my father) Tim and I are pretty "unpolitical". If I want to know something in detail I ask our son or my dad. If I want a general and  pretty neutral answer, I ask Tim. Neither of us are very extreme in our feelings.....usually.... there are times and certain issues, however.

      In this picture you can also see, my new clock....Birds and Bird songs! I love it. I set it on my table and there it will stay. I've always wanted to learn a few and match them correctly with the right bird so, this is the beginning of that.
      Also, of course my stack of field guides which are almost always on the table. Our feeding station is in the back yard and we watch the birds from the kitchen table. Plans for new improvements to that are in the works. On the top of the stack is my nature journal. I write, sketch and paint in it. It is truly amazing the lessons that I find the birds, flowers and nature in general can teach us. The Bible has quite a few of these examples, but I always seem to find more.

      Now, I'll bet you'd have never gotten that story from this picture. Whenever I  see this picture I'll think of all of this. Your story would probably have been much different then the one I just told. Which is why I'm not so sure that a picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe....but would it be the story it was intended to tell??

      It seems to me the power of words over an image is indisputable...but I'm sure I'd get a lot of fierce arguments about that. Beautiful photography, paintings, and the sun rising over the hills early in the morning, leave me speechless at times.  An exceptional image can  simply be..... beyond words
       In that same way, many a talented writer has written words that have caused even the blind to "see" the beauty in these things.


      I just think words are powerful. They can strip a person down to nothing or build them up and help them accomplish the most seemingly impossible task. They can be completely deceptive or so full of truth that even the most seared and hardened conscience will quiver at their sound. They can impart knowledge to both the fool and the wise man. 
      A soothing story has the power to calm children and adults alike. They can  make you laugh, or make you cry. The wrong words have started more than one war and the right words have ended a few as well. Words have brought both love to lovers and hate to haters. Carefully chosen words can inspire change that ripples in ever spanning circles.

      Yet, I wonder, if in this internet age, we might be drifting away from the gift of reading. Do people really read anymore? I hope so, I hope they read books that make them think. With words that inspire and help them grow. Books that give them knowledge, bring comfort to their souls and ultimately lead them to a closer relationship with our Creator. Really, what's more important than that?

      Ray Bradbury, who recently passed away, wrote a book called Fahrenheit 451. It is a fiction story of a time when books have been outlawed and any that are found are confiscated and burned. It's been too many years since I read it, to really tell you much about it, but at the end I remember that people had begun to converge together that had memorized certain books or parts of books. If memory serves me correctly it ends with someone memorizing and quoting from Ecclesiates.

      Books and words and the power they hold for good or evil is probably beyond our understanding. Let's not forget such books as Mein Kampf and the terrible evil it inspired....

      Read, read and read some more, but choose wisely what you read,  it will affect the way you think. 


      Personally, I'd recommend the most popular book of all time. Men have given their lives to print, smuggle, or obtain just a few pages of this book. I'm sure you have one on a shelf somewhere....The Bible. I'd recommend the book of Genesis, it's full of history and can be taken literally.There is a large and growing community of Creation Scientists who are finding this to be proven more and more.  Or maybe the gospel of John , if you're the poetic type and want to know what Jesus really taught. If you're a philosopher kind of person and are interested in what the great King Solomon thought, Ecclesiastes is great. I think there is a book in the Bible for most types of personalities. So, pick it up and find out why it has endured for more than two millennium.

      I guess I just don't think that images and entertainment should replace the goodness of reading. So, turn your internet, television, facebook or any other media, that is distracting you, off and curl up with a cold glass of tea and a Good Read for a while. You say you aren't a reader? I'll bet you could be. Find something that interests you, libraries are full of books to loan for free. You can teach yourself so many things, by reading, From field guides on every aspect of nature,  how to books on a great many subjects, fiction or biographies of people whom you admire.

      Think you don't have time? Get in the habit of bringing your book with you. It only takes a few minutes here and a few minutes there. The next thing you know you're looking for a new book to read. I keep copies of my field guides for birds and wildflowers (herbs) in our truck also. That way I can ID and read about the things I do so love, while I'm out and about. If you make it an intentional habit I think you'll soon find....... So many books, so little time. 


      Oh, and happy Fourth of July!! I'm sure there's a book about the origins of this holiday somewhere.....