Ruminations from the Temple

ever grateful for the beauty all around... Q:  What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? My grateful friend* sent me this at the start of this week.  I love thinking about it!  Not sure what I'd do, though...perhaps fly.  I always wanted to be a pilot, but it was not to be as my eye sight is not even close to being good enough.  But, I am very grateful that I can see at all! I am grateful for the two magnolia blossoms I got on my trees this year! I am grateful for this season, time, that HaShem is bringing me through.  A time of introspection and reality check.  He is right here with me - I am thankful. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because G-d has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Heb 13:5) I'm thankful that it is still summer.  I'm thankful, too, for my letterboxing friends and for 5 years of enjoying all the facets of this interesting and ...

Historic Fort Vancouver blockhouse "Vancouver, Washington sits on the north bank of the Columbia River directly across from Portland, Oregon. The Pacific Coast is less than 90 miles to the west. The Cascade Mountain Range rises on the east. Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and Mt. Hood are less than two hours away. The spectacular Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area lies 30 minutes to the east. Vancouver combines the excitement of a major metropolitan area with small-town charm and abundant recreational opportunities." Well, that's for sure!  We took in one of those 'recreational opportunities' and enjoyed the Discover History Loop Trail .  We chose to do the short loop , which was a lovely, relaxing 2.5 mile walk in beautiful Vancouver, along the Columbia River and through the prairie landscape that Fort Vancouver calls home.  Along the way we experienced the feel of downtown, saw families enjoying the fun of a city water park, pondered hist...

"There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.” ~Winston Churchill   Help! As a regular reader, you may know that I've been playing around with different designs for my blog.  And, not only this one, but my other two, as well.  Change is good; especially since I tend to get bored easily.  However, some changes are not so great.  You may have been experiencing difficulties reading my blog since I changed to a different 'template'.  If you have, please accept my sincere apology...I am so sorry.  I am working diligently to rectify the problem, I can assure you. I have made more changes, trying different templates, tweaking here, color change there.  It's not totally where I would like it quite yet.  The most important thing is that you, my faithful reader, can read it without it jumping around and causing frustration, irritation or worse.  (As an aside, there is a blog of a dear friend that I would love to read...

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." ~Yeshua ha Mashiach

I sure am grateful for the SUN, SUN, SUN!! And the heat, and driving in the car with the windows rolled down and the music up.  I'm grateful that I can sing and don't annoy others too much... I am grateful for the glorious green trees full of the birds singing and delightful summer flowers that turn up in the most surprising places. I am grateful that we are close to the ocean - close enough to go and stick our toes in the sand and surf, and enjoy the wind in our hair. I absolutely love the summer season and thank the LORD for it! Quote: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~Melody Beattie I'm grateful that I got to hit the beach again today, even though it was 60* and a ...

“I love friends, I want more friends. I love smiles. That is a fact. How to develop smiles? There are a variety of smiles. Some smiles are sarcastic. Some smiles are artificial-diplomatic smiles. These smiles do not produce satisfaction, but rather fear or suspicion. But a genuine smile gives us hope, freshness. If we want a genuine smile, then first we must produce the basis for a smile to come.” ~Dalai Lama I love the word genuine , don't you?  The genuine article, the real deal; not some knock-off wannabe.  There are just some things that I insist be genuine...Coca-Cola, for example.  If I'm going to splurge and have a cola soft drink, it's going to be "the real thing", not some store brand, and no, not Pepsi (sorry all you Pepsi fans).  Levis, the same thing.  Nothing fits or feels quite the same as the genuine jeans (don't they still say genuine on the button closure?) gen-u-ine , –adjective 1. possessing the claimed or attributed character, quality...

So, while Celebration V was still at a fever pitch in Orlando, those of us in the Outer Rim (!!) got to meet some true, die-hard Disney fans.  What an interesting experience; hardcore Star Wars costumers and geeks thrust into a convention center filled with the most fannish of the Disney fans.  I think they were as fascinated as we were! Here's some pics from our charity troop at the PNW Mouse Meet... The Rebel Legion's Wild Ride! More information: Pacific Northwest Mouse Meet Disneyland may be more than 1,000 miles away, but Don Morin is aiming to bring its magic here. Saturday at the Lynnwood Convention Center, he debuts the second Pacific Northwest Mouse Meet, featuring Imagineers and even Tinker Bell herself. "Not everyone can get to Disneyland or Disney World all the time," said Morin, the 43-year-old coordinator who's been to both parks more than 100 times. "So this is an opportunity for folks to have fun in a related way and experience ...

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  ~Thornton Wilder   How wonderful it was to get a real, heartfelt hug from my almost-17 year old who has been at camp all summer. She looked wonderful and was sincerely pleased to see her mother. And, let me tell you, her mother was thrilled to see her! I am so grateful! I'm grateful for an entire day at home with no place to be, no appointments and no obligations other than...well...nothing! Oh, I could clean, organize, plan for the coming school year, but I'm just gonna ignore the woulda-coulda-shoulda and enjoy the day of doing whatever I fancy. It doesn't happen often and I'm gonna enjoy it while I can! I'm grateful today that I have the time and ability to help friends who are in need in my community and that my kids are old enough to stay home without supervision while I do it. I'm thankful that we have a roof over our heads and clothes to wear. ...

"You will enjoy this book if you are a fan of Obi-Wan and Anakin, live & breathe Jedi philosophy, enjoy witty banter and are thrilled about reading more exploits in The Clone Wars saga." That was my bottom line from the first of this two-book series by my favorite Star Wars author, Karen Miller.  I have to say that I feel the same about this newest release, as well!  The first book, Stealth, left us with our heroes dangling dangerously mid-air in a precariously rigged groundcar.  Can you say 'cliffhanger'?  Thankfully, the wait wasn't too long, and we were pleased to finally be able to purchase Siege at our local Borders the day it arrived.  I have now read the book once through and listened to the audio unabridged version (more on that in a bit).  Siege picks up the story right where we left off (at a fever pitch) and doesn't let you go.  Anakin and Obi-Wan somehow have to make their way from their mid-air situation to somewhere they can conta...

OK, so I'm not much for having a pity party, but I'm definitely having one today. As you may know, I am an AVID Star Wars geek. I know, shock. I costume, play and replay the movies, read the books, buy the reference material, analyze and re-hash story plot and character development...shoot, I even play the music in my car and have SW ring tones on my phone. Yep. Geek. In Orlando, Florida, geeks from the world over are amassing at Celebration V. That's right, Star Wars Celebration V this weekend. And yours truly isn't going. *sigh* No celebrities for me. No autographs or photos of costumes. No panels or workshops, no getting great inspiration for prop-making or costume tricks. No airline flight, no costume shipments. No hotel, no rental, no restaurants, no fun. Nope. This Jedi is most certainly NOT celebrating. Oh yeah...and LOTS of my SW friends are going. Of course. Poor non-celebrating Jedi. Adventure, excitement. A Jedi craves not these things......

Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with what you have. ~Doris Mortman contentment (as per Scripture) : a state of mind in which one's desires are confined to his lot whatever it may be (1 Tim. 6:6; 2 Cor. 9:8) . It is opposed to envy (James 3:16) , avarice (Heb. 13:5) , ambition (Prov. 13:10) , anxiety (Matt. 6:25, 34) , and repining (1 Cor. 10:10) . It arises from the inward disposition, and is the offspring of humility, and of an intelligent consideration of the rectitude and benignity of divine providence (Ps. 96:1, 2; 145) , the greatness of the divine promises (2 Pet. 1:4) , and our own unworthiness (Gen. 32:10); as well as from the view the gospel opens up to us of rest and peace hereafter (Rom. 5:2) . I want to be content.  I strive to be content.  But, is it something we can achieve on our own, I wonder? I have always thought of contentment as akin to happiness with your current circumstance, and I suppose it is from a certain ...

Today was the Miracle Ranch Open House.  It was a great opportunity to go see Snapshot, and take some snapshots, as well. Want a cookie?  Chocolate or Molasses? Snappy demonstrates vaulting.  It's sort of like a cross between gymnastics and yoga on the back of a moving draft horse.  I thought she did pretty good in spite of the fact that she was wearing Cons. She was graceful and beautiful...but, I'm not biased or anything... Snapshot turns to flash a wonderful smile at her mother. Is this guy too funny, or what?  I love how they stick out their tongues when they...bleat?  Is that what it's called?  Baaa?  Well, you know what I mean. The camp garden was lookin' a little forlorn, but these sunflowers were pretty picturesque. These birds give a new meaning to 'sittin' on the rail'!  They were all just sitting there - cool, eh? This cute little donkey is named Gus.  Snapshot has been working with him a bit.  When I asked i...

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” ~Brian Tracy We are back from our little road trip and it was soooo beautiful! I am most grateful for the opportunity to travel and see the beauty of the PNW - it truly is the most beautiful part of the country. I am grateful for the opportunity to meet my best friend's mom - what a treat.  She is 89 and still smart as a whip.  It was such a delight to visit with her and I look forward to the next opportunity. I'm grateful for AAA; I'm going to have to utilize them once again for a stupid slow leaking tire on my car.  Sure have gotten our money's worth out of that over the years!  I'm also so thankful for my local Les Schwab for their quick tire fix.  Hurray, Speeder is back on the road! I will be forever grateful for good, true, honest friends whom th...

I have never met anyone who enjoyed waiting.  Except for my dad; he would sit in the car while my mom would go into the store to shop and, you guessed it, sleep.  "I'll just be a moment," she would say, but for a young girl sitting in the backseat waiting, it seemed like forever.  I really don't wait well.  My dad would agree, I'm sure. We are forced to wait for so many things.  I really had a tough time waiting to get pregnant after my husband and I got married, then when we did, I had a hard time waiting the 9+ months it takes for the baby to come.  Time just drags when you are waiting.  At least, that's my experience. We wait for dinner, we wait for vacation.  We wait for our paycheck only to wait again for the next.  We wait to be old enough to be considered an adult, then we lament the days of our youth when they are gone.  We wait and wish and hope.  My mom always told me not to wish my life away; I think that was good ad...