Land of Ladysmith

I don’t know how many times I’ve ridden through Ladysmith, Wisconsin. Many, many, many times. When I was a kid, we frequently visited a cousin of mine, and Ladysmith was the half-way point between her house and ours.

Coming through town, on Highway 8, we’d always drive past Memorial Park, and I always wanted to stop. I’m sure my parents had to have stopped there sometime, but I don’t remember.

Last month, when I was staying at a nearby AirBnb with a friend, I finally got to explore the park, along with the rest of the town.

Throughout the city, population just over 3,000, there are several murals acknowledging area residents.  

Pioneer Park is on the site of the former Warner Cemetery.

A large display told the story of many who were once buried there in the early 1900s. It was so sad how many children and babies had died in those years, from things like diphtheria, pneumonia, injuries and erysipelas, which is some sort of skin infection. There was also a mother and baby listed who died during childbirth.

We missed several other parks in Ladysmith, as well as several museums, including the Wisconsin’s Plow Museum. Too bad it was closed for the season. I gotta get there next year! 

Words which ring true today

 It’s been a long time since I’ve shared an entire chapter from the book of Psalms. Here is chapter 118, from the New Living Translation. Sorry that it is so long, but I couldn’t pick out the best verses; I liked them all.  

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

2 Let all Israel repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.”

3 Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.”

4 Let all who fear the Lord repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.”

5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.

6 The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?

7 Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people.

9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

10 Though hostile nations surrounded me, I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.

11 Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.

12 They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire. But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.

13 My enemies did their best to kill me, but the Lord rescued me.

14 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.

15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!

16 The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!

17 I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done.

18 The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not let me die.

19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord.

20 These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there.

21 I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!

22 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.

24 This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success.

26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.

27 The Lord is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you!

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

   More words from the Bible that ring true today.

Getting High in Wisconsin

When I was a kid, I remember being told that Rib Mountain in Wausau was the tallest point in Wisconsin. And look I even found proof of that.

 Actually, currently, the highest spot on Rib Mountain is 1,924 feet above sea level. But since this sign was installed, two other peaks have measured higher. Sugarbush Hill in Forest County at 1,939 feet and, at number one, Timm’s Hill at 1,951. Interesting that of the top ten tallest spots in Wisconsin, six are named hills and only two have mountain in their names.

But I really wanted to stick to Rib Mountain in this post. 

Five weeks ago, when the leaves were still on the trees, the sun was shining, and it was warm enough to wear shorts, my sister, niece and I took a drive to the top of the Rib Mountain State Park.

We didn’t climb to the top of the tower, and we didn’t hike any of the many trails throughout the state park.

But we had some laughs and made some memories.

Now, the mountain is waiting for the winter sports season to begin.

The Lord is Always with You

 “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:11

After the book of Psalms, Isaiah has the most chapters of all the books in the Bible. And there’s some hard reading there. Lots of prophecy and history and things we struggle to understand because so much of it seems so foreign to us.

 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

It shouldn’t be that hard, but I sure don’t have the knowledge to understand it. But I do know that it contains some amazing verses.  

 “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2

As you may have heard, I’ve been compiling a 40-day devotional of how to deal with pain, by turning to the Bible for answers and relief. A lot of the verses I’ve included in this book come from Isaiah.

 “Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.” Isaiah 33:2

Some mornings I wake up and need to recall these lines, as my pain is still not completely gone.  

 “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:29

But I need to hang in there and continue to turn my troubles over to God. He has got this, and one day my troubles will be over. One day your troubles will be over too.

 “The past troubles will be forgotten…See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.”  Isaiah 65:17

And just like that Autumn is over

I’ve taken quite a few drives and trips around the area the last month since the leaves began to turn. I’ll be sharing more of those pictures over the next few weeks.

But first, I wanted to share some of the shots I took on my short walk yesterday, since it is the first of November and we had our first snowfall the other night. Which reminds me that our last snowfall in the spring was only five months and seven days ago!

I've always loved this birch tree at the first corner of our road. 

Someone already threw this pumpkin out on the corner a week ago. I just decorated my house for Halloween on Monday, as in the day before yesterday. 

A mushroom bites the dust, or more like bites the snow. 

What we call yard art, on a tree in the yard. 

I really got my camera out and started taking pictures because I loved how the leaves looked
all over the yard. 

But I didn't notice this circle of leaves until I put the pictures on the computer. Cool, huh? 

My flower bed off the deck. Looks like a mess. 

Does that thing in the circle look like Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy? 
Or am I begining to see things?  

The Beauty of the Season and of God's Words

The back pain which afflicted me last April seems to be finally easing up. I still have bad days, but overall, I think that God has answered my prayers. I think that the pain I’m still experiencing is something I can live with, and something I may have to live with it.

Over the past several months, I’ve been studying Bible verses to give me hope, passages to lift me up and remind me that God will never leave me nor forsake me.

I’ve also been getting out more and enjoying the beauty that God has blessed us with this time of year.

May God bless you this week and beyond. Chris

Magical Kinstone

It hasn’t quite been a month since I visited my friend in Minnesota. South of where she lives, and just about across the Mississippi River from Winona, is a fascinating place called Kinstone.

Kinstone is 30-acres of peaceful beauty filled with stone sculpture, natural buildings, planted prairie, and views of the Mississippi River. It features three stone circles, dolmen, standing stones, labyrinth, thatched cordwood chapel and more. 

In 1994, Kristine Beck, the founder and creator of Kinstone, purchased the land which had been part of her family’s original dairy farm.  Kristine’s focus is on the beauty and wonder of nature. For her, Kinstone is a melding of the Earth with art to form sacred spaces that invite and inspire people to experience the life-giving power of the land to transform, energize and revive.  

I wish I would have had more time to explore the place when I stopped in that day.

I also wish that the battery on my camera hadn’t died. You’re probably going to look at these pictures and wonder, “Her battery died? But she took all these pictures.”

Well, you know me. Even when I regret something, there is always something to love. 

Read more about Kinstone by clicking this link.