Acting on it

 

When I started my December blog series, I thought I would go through the Bible for a full year of posts. I thought I should share the actual stories instead of always just the verses that inspire me and, I hope, inspire you.

Here we are on the first of June and I honestly don’t know where that idea went to. Okay, so I will plow forward at this point and see how it goes.

The Great Commission

Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20, New Living Translation)

The last words of Jesus in the book of Matthew are like something you would hear at the end of an action movie, where the hero says goodbye to his fans, but he needs to leave it open for the sequel. The Book of Acts would be the first sequel to the story of Jesus.

The first book I wrote was about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up into heaven. Before this, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Jesus told the apostles he had chosen what they should do. (Acts 1:1-2, New Century Version)

And so, the next act in the life of the disciples begins. Appropriately titled the Book of Acts, it was written by Luke, the physician who wrote the gospel, which bears his name.

In Acts, we read about the travels of the disciples as they spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. We learn about new apostles, the most famous being Paul. We hear of several of them being martyred for their faith.

I’d love to share all of those stories and more, but we’ll see how much time I have. In the meantime, however, you could start reading those stories on your own. I hope you do.

(The picture above is from my second trip to Kenya in 2013, taken on a rutted road near the village of Saikeri. It reminds me of the desolate roads the first disciples traveled, except this one has much more greenery.)

This Beautiful Time of Year

 

It is that time of year, beautiful in the woods with leaves and flowers popping out in the warmer weather. But something else is popping out. 

I was much tougher when I was a kid than I am now. Back in the day, after we yanked a stuck wood tick off of our leg, we'd twist the little bugger's body into two with our bare fingernails.

Or if we were in the house, we might flush it down the toilet if Dad wasn't around. He'd yell at us for wasting water.

If Dad was around, he would light a match and burn the scallywag. I can't remember, though, what he burned it on. The ground? His pant leg? His finger? Any of those locations would explain a lot.

But here we are in 2025, and I'm an adult making adult choices. But, man, those wood ticks are still wicked this time of year. And killing one can still be highly satisfying.

A few weeks ago, I was ironing a piece of fabric I had bought at Joann Fabrics, coz you know they are going out of business, so I had to buy lots of cloth I didn't need.

I saw a dark speck on the end of the ironing board. What is that? I asked myself.

Ohhh, nooo, a wood tick. How did it get on my ironing board? Who knows, it's just the curse of living in the woods and having a dog in the house again.

But there I stood with the ultimate killing machine in my hand—a hot iron.

           I lowered my weapon to the villain until it was a millimeter over its nasty head. The steam kicked in, and the tick's legs curled under it.

Total and complete satisfaction on my part. But I still flushed the tiny carcass down the toilet.

(I didn't take a picture of my back yard just for this post, because I have so many pictures of my back yard. Or not. The one above is from 2014 and is the only spring-time one I could find.) 

Journal of Our Journeys

 Years ago, I wrote about the family camping trips I went on as a kid. I posted them to my blog, along with scanned, often black and white pictures from those travels. Recently, I dragged out those stories and decided to edit them and slap them into a book. It won't be a book I will promote to the masses or to critical strangers, but a book to share with my family and interested close friends. Or with the innocent followers of my blog. 

Over the next twenty Wednesdays, I'll share a chapter a week from the Journal of Our Journeys. And maybe someday, it will be available as a paperback for you to hold in your hands. 

Chapter 1 - "The Family Vacation"

"When I was a child... I thought like a child." 1 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV)

 

Which is why, when I was a kid, I thought that since my family went on a trip every summer, everyone else's must have too. I don't know why because none of my friends ever went on a vacation with their families. My family, however, did travel somewhere every summer. These family trips were never spectacular, no vacations in the south of France or even south of the Border.

          My middle-school friend once asked me if Mac, our family mutt, stayed in the hotel with us on vacation. I was dumbfounded. Hotel? I can count on one hand the number of times I stayed in a motel, hotel, or inn before I was old enough to drop out of college. I must not have been a very sharing friend not to have told her about the camper.

          Nope, we never stayed in motels or even resort cabins. We slept, ate, and played cribbage in Dad's pickup camper. Along with the faithful dog.

            It was a simpler time. People didn't have to jump on a plane and travel halfway around the world to see new and different things. Growing up in the sixties and seventies in the rural upper Midwest, it took very little actually to get us excited. Everything was new and different for my sister Pat and me. Everything was an adventure for us. And everywhere we went, our eyes bugged out in wonder and awe. And our lungs filled with laughter.

            I could never imagine having had a childhood like the kids today. Where it is go, go, go, all the time, non-stop. A barrage of internet images, high-speed everything, information overload, and your favorite song is always available on YouTube. A cell phone in everyone's hand, a finger or thumb scrolling up or tap, tap, tapping in an attempt to get more points than Rusty McNutts, who you assume is another twelve-year-old but is actually a forty-year-old creeper.

And it never stops, even on vacation. While riding down the road, today’s kids watch cartoons on the TV screen in the back seat of the family mini-van, instead of absorbing all the marvels passing them by on the side of the road.

            Mine is the last generation to live through that simpler time. We didn't know anything. We didn't get carpal tunnel or tech-neck. We ate SpaghettiOs for supper and Wheaties for breakfast. We didn't play team sports; we played dodgeball and tetherball at recess unless there was snow, and then we had snowball fights. And that's the way it was.

            All those memories from an uncomplicated youth. It was a time when it was all right to spend time with just Mom, Dad, your sister, and, of course, the dog.

            As if I had a choice.

Power of Eternity

             God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. (John 3:16, New Century Version)

Over the last few months, I’ve been dealing with paperwork for my brother. Ten days ago, his healthcare provider officially diagnosed him with dementia and activated his Power of Attorney for Healthcare. When my brother signed the Power of Attorney for Finances a few weeks before, I didn’t realize it would go into effect immediately after signing. Good thing, too, because I quickly found out how much he had botched up his bills.  

Recently, someone else I know was talking about those kinds of papers. I think I misheard her, but it sounded like she said, “Power of Eternity”.

I kind of like that, though. Isn’t what happens to us in eternity so much more important than what happens to us now? In the long run, it doesn’t matter who pays our bills if we mentally can’t or who chooses our nursing home when the time comes. What matters is that when we leave this earth, we have embraced the power of eternity – we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. And though my brother may be lost right now, because of his belief, God will grant him eternal life.

My brother and oldest sister, around 1948. Aren't they the cutest? 

Being a Survivor

When the reality TV show Survivor first aired 25 years ago, I watched the first season with interest. My husband claims I was hooked, but I couldn’t watch it after that first trip to the island.   

The premise of being the last “survivor” on a deserted island sounded all right at first. Then the contestants started forming “alliances” in order to push out other competitors. But in the end, if only one contender remains to win the one million dollars, why would anyone trust anyone else?

I thought they should redesign the show so that everyone needs to work together to split the million dollars, and if one loses, they all lose. But where would be the fun in that, right?  

Recently, though, it has dawned on me that the men and women running our government think they are playing “Survivor”. There are two teams – the Republicans and the Democrats – and each team still picks people to be in alliance with so that they are strong enough to get their way. They work to suppress the other party and even the weaker members of their own party. They fight for what they want - they want to win the prize.  

I wish they’d wake up and realize they are not on a reality TV show. They are not on a deserted island foraging for food and competing in contrived contests of skill.

The only fight they are in is the one to see that the United States will survive. That our people will survive poverty, illness, homelessness, racism, violence, fear, and all the other maladies so many face every day.    

When are our elected officers going to realize that? They are not on the island to save themselves; they were elected to save us! And the only way to do that is for everyone to work together and forget about the million dollar prize.  

Far Western Wisconsin

            Wow, where has the month of May gone? It’s been two weeks already since my friend Phyllis, my pup Hannah, and I returned home from our mini-vaca to an Airbnb in Emerald, Wisconsin. And until I did a search for places to share in that area, I didn’t even know there was a town of Emerald in Wisconsin.

            Anyway, the three of us had a really good time, but instead of going blah, blah, blah about it, I’ll just share some of the pictures. 

Wayside along the Red Cedar River, between Cornell and Connorsville, on the way there.  

This was Hannah's first overnight adventure and she was a champ. Now everytime I go somewhere in the car, she runs to it and wants to go for a ride. Only a month ago, we had to drag her into the car and she'd practically have an anxiety attack.

Inside the Airbnb. Very nice and spacious. (and where's Hannah?)

The firepit just outside. Our first night there, the host built us a bonfire and we made s'mores. Second night, we were too tired. 

After we got there and unpacked, we took a walk in the woods behind the house. This falcon flew overhead and into this tree. Also, on my drive there, I saw a fox, a turkey, and a black bear, none of which had their picture taken as I was driving the car and Hannah hasn't learned photography yet. 

The St Croix River at Interstate Park. We spent much of the first morning there, hiking the trails. 

Hannah blending into the trail along the river. 

Doesn't that downed tree look like a dragon? 

One of the springs on Silverbrook Trail. We ran into a nice young ranger who pointed out the other spring and the waterfall. 

Silverbrook waterfalls. Hard to tell because it was so narrow and wooded around it. 

The other Silverbrook spring. You could see the water bubbling up through the sand on the bottom. We all had a drink of the cold, refreshing water, and Phyllis even filled up her water bottle. 

At Osceola. Cascade waterfalls is a hike down a whole bunch of stairs and none of us thought we were up to it at that point. Maybe next time!

Rest

 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28, New Living Translation)

What is your burden today? What are you carrying that is too much for you? Is anxiety tearing at your mind and soul? Is it physical pain that you can no longer handle? Are you just plain exhausted from all that life is handing you? Are you afraid you are about to fall? 

Turn it over to Jesus, and He will grant you rest. He will ease your burden and take away the pain in your heart, mind, and body. He will wrap His loving peace around you.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30, The Message)

My life has been in a tail spin the last few weeks. I keep repeating Matthew 11:28 over and over in my head. It gets me through the days, but at night, between midnight and two a.m., it’s hard to push out the worrisome thoughts. But whether I sleep through the night or not, Jesus will always carry me.

Where Was I Wednesday?

Or more like, where have I been for nearly two weeks? And where am I going to be for the next week?

It’s a long and stupid story, so just let me say our internet has been out since April 24 and won’t be back on until after May 14. Hubby and I are not happy; actually, we are irate. But such is life. I borrow the internet from other sources when I can; the rest of the time, I have been writing my next book. Yea, Me!

So, why have I posted a blog for you to read today?

Because Hannah and I went out of town for a few days with a friend of mine. Another, yea, Me!

I might blog more about it, with more pictures, when I get internet at home, but for now, here is where I am and whose internet I’m using today.

Hannah and me at Interstate State Park in St Croix Falls.

The St. Croix River at the state park.

The Airbnb we stayed at in Emerald.

Pansies! For the friend I’m here with.