Rain, Rain

Oregon does have its share of rain, especially during the winter months. Fortunately, I've always liked rain! Our first winter hear was the worst winter in 40 years, so it wasn't an accurate representation of what we can expect! This winter has been much more normal. It's been great! The temperature rarely dips below freezing.

The rains are often gentle. When I'm out, I realize this must be what it's like to be a vegetable in the grocery produce section. When those sprinklers come on, it feels great! It makes me (and the other carrots!) feel alive. All the rain here keeps everything so green and beautiful! It's wonderful. Those days when the clouds lift and the sun breaks through are wonderful too. I love it when I catch a glimpse of the beautiful snowcapped peaks in our area! The summer sunshine is so gorgeous that it makes up for all the winter clouds.

We were at the beach last week for a pastors and spouses retreat. I never get tired of looking at the ocean! Wow. Tim and I talked about what words best describe the ocean. We came up with words like vast, powerful, amazing, etc.

I marvel at the beauty God has blessed us with.

Learning from the Past

Wow--I hadn't posted since New Year's Day! Time flies!

I'm finishing up reading a novel by an Oregon writer--All Together in One Place, by Jane Kirkpatrick. The story is set back in the mid-1800's, based on a true event that took place on the Oregon Trail.

This book has made me stop and think what it was like for the early settlers who moved here in wagons, on horseback, etc. Wow--I thought it was challenging when my family moved here from PA in mid-October! We had movers, vehicles, hotels, restaurants, bridges, interstates, and still it was a major undertaking. Reading this book so soon after our move has given me a real perspective on what these settlers must have gone through when they made their move out west.

Buzzing along in my Dodge Charger, I hadn't thought about what it would be like to cross a river with children, animals, wagons, etc., not to mention the number of rivers they crossed! I was nervous driving on some of the mountainous roads, but that was nothing compared to lowering wagons by ropes and pulleys! Many of them walked a good portion of the way, rode in wagons some of the time, or on animals when possible. Sometimes wagons were destroyed by storms, river crossings, etc.

They mentioned having to leave piles of their valuable possessions to lighten the load before mountain crossings. How hard that must have been. I had a hard time giving up possessions to lighten our load and find some things broken as we unpacked, but again, it was nothing like what they faced.

They lost loved ones along the way due to diseases, insect swarms, snake bites and accidents. Our biggest problems were my car breaking down and Tim's truck needing towed for repair.

We stopped along the way at rest areas, restaurants and hotels. Our predecessors had to make camp, constantly look for fresh water (or boil water), hunt for food, milk cows, find ways to bathe and take care of other physical needs (those and their children's and babies!), tend to the animals, cook over campfires, etc.

It's amazing to think how much life has changed in that relatively short period of 150+ years.

I'm reminded of the Scripture passage in Deuteronomy 32:7: "Read up on what happened before you were born; dig into the past, understand your roots. Ask your parents what it was like before you were born; ask the old-ones, they'll tell you a thing or two. " (see: thebiblein365.blogspot.com to see our church Bible reading plan and forum)

My kids are amazed when Tim and I tell them how, when we were kids, if you didn't see a movie while it was at the theater, you never got the chance to see it again unless it happened to come on TV at some point. We grew up without microwaves, computers, VCR's, DVD's, etc. Our parents would have a much longer list than ours!

As we look back, it gives us strength to see the way people have built on the accomplishments of others as well as learning from one another's mistakes. It also makes us appreciate many things that it's easy to take for granted--like washing machines and dishwashers! And it's great to realize how resilient the human spirit is--especially with God's help along the way!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009!

Starting a new year is always exciting. New starts like this give us a chance to reflect on what we treasure in our lives, changes we want to make and accomplishments from the previous year.

With our move out west being so fresh, this is a great time for the new year to start in conjunction with our new life in Oregon.

I was thinking recently that starting life in a new city is a lot like walking up to a jump rope game already in progress. Things are in full swing with life, as with the game, but a newbie is welcomed as they time their move to jump right in.

We have been so blessed by the welcome we've received here. We were greeted with a grocery shower and other welcome gifts. I have had two different people show me around town, pointing out places to shop, etc. New friends have taken me out shopping, friends have invited us to lunches and dinners and have called or stopped by our house.

I was very blessed this week to go out to lunch with a new friend. She started out by saying that she wants to get to know me as me, not as her pastor's wife. It was such a gift for her to state that at the beginning of our lunch! I immediately relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed our time together. I knew she was seeing me as a person and not as a role. Even though this is the only time this has been stated to one of us verbally, this nice comment reflects how people have treated us--eager to get acquainted with us plus let us get to know them. It has been wonderful!

As a pastor's wife and pastor's daughter, over the course of my life, I have noticed at times that some people have trouble getting past my role to seeing the real me. I've had friendships where, once a person finds out my role as a pastor's wife, they've acted uncomfortable around me from then on. Some have apologized repeated for things they say that aren't even bad things but due to their self consciousness, they were aware of every word as if they should only talk about the Bible or the church with me. One friend was so tense like this on an outing with several women, I finally got her attention and told her that I needed to tell her something: We don't have a red phone at our house that connects us directly to God when we lift the receiver, where we would report every detail from the lives of folks in our congregation! She laughed and relaxed greatly. As a child, I remember a church goer calling my mom one day. My brother and sisters and I were being too loud, arguing at the time. Mom asked the caller to hold on while she corrected us. When mom got back to the call, the woman asked in amazement: You mean, you have to correct your kids too??

Pastor's and their families are ordinary people with triumphs and disappointments, successes and failures, good choices and bad, talents and short comings in their lives, just like anyone else. I'm so glad the people here have shown us so well that they realize this!

We're looking forward to a great new year as we continue to get involved in our church, our community and our new lives out west! Thanks for making us feel so welcomed and loved already, Oregonians!

Beauty is Hard to Capture in Photos

We have a beautiful snow falling today! I tried taking pictures but it just doesn't capture it! It reminds me of the view of Mount Hood visable driving down certain roads in our town. It is so beautiful that it takes my breath away every time I see it, yet it doesn't show up on my camera.

Some things need to be experienced, and cataloged in our memory banks rather than our digital photo albums. But I keep trying!

A friend of mine from Chicago once told me that the smaller the snow flakes, the bigger the accumulation. You would think it would be just the opposite! Chicago certainly gets their share of snow, and I have found her words to be true! Today's snow comes with small flakes, so the accumulation will probably be big. The snow from Sunday is still here as well, so this is looking like a winter wonderland!

The girl who lives next door knocked yesterday on our front door, asking if she could 'borrow' some snow from our front yard to build a fort with her friend. I told her sure, have fun. I was pleased that she was so polite.

I remember as a child, building forts with my brother and sisters. It was so much fun! We loved building snowmen, too. My boys and I have built some great forts and snowmen as well. It is so much fun! These days, however, when I come in from playing in the snow for hours and hours, I ask Tim to remind me next time that I am no longer 12! Nowadays, after a day of snowmen, snowball fights, forts, etc., I discover muscles I hadn't used in a while and feel it the next day! But the next time it snows, I'm just as eager to get right out there and play. Today I'm opting for warmth by the fire and yummy soup for lunch!

What are your favorite memories, recent or distant, of playing in the snow?

Every Education Has Its Price

I have used this quote many times since hearing it from a friend many years ago: every education has its price.

Some education experiences cost tuition and time to attend classes, do homework, etc. Other education experiences happen quite differently than that, and the cost varies as much as the experiences do, but has no less a cost.

What was my cost with my education this week? Splinters. Lots of them!

The lesson: put on gardening gloves before you start an outdoor project, not halfway through once your hands are scraped, bleeding and full of tiny splinters!

I realized a few years ago that I have no talent in the area of trimming bushes. I usually trim them so much that it takes years for them to look good as a result of my efforts!

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When I realized that the bushes at the entrance to our driveway had the potential of scraping my beautiful new Dodge Charger, I decided to try trimming again! It actually worked out fine for the bushes this time! They look great! I tried really hard not to scalp them. However, I didn't wear gardening gloves and, as I mentioned, suffered for it! Please keep in mind in the photo above that three of the bushes have lost their leaves (one is evergreen) so that may not look great right now!

When my son, Ben, got home from school that day, he helped me. Before he started helping, I immediately offered him gardening gloves! Why am I so automatically protective of my children but not always protective of myself? He declined (I wonder where he gets that inclination?!). I think it was simultaneous a few minutes later when we both made the decision we needed gloves, but it was a bit late! I have learned that even tiny splinters hurt a lot!

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Much of our education comes as the result of consequences experienced due to the decisions we make in life. Next time, I plan to grab the gloves before I start whacking. With our kids, we try to save them some of the consequences we've experienced by sharing the resulting wisdom. Like us, though, sometimes they listen and other times they have to get that education for themselves. And every education has its price.

What price have you paid for your education experiences in life? --and-- How can we avoid some of those 'splinters' in the future?

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Beauty in Unexpected Places

I looked out of our kitchen window into our backyard on Thanksgiving Day and saw this beautiful rose! Wow! Portland is known as The City of Roses. Apparently, the climate here is ideal for growing roses. We have 8 rose bushes in our backyard! It surprises me that they are still blooming in late November/early December! It will be interesting to experience our first winter in the Pacific Northwest!

This reminds me that, in life, we often find beauty in unexpected places! On our cross country drive when we moved here this fall, we found that to be true. Kansas takes a long time to get across, and is mainly boring scenery! However, even Kansas has a beauty all its own! The farmlands are beautiful. The scenic flinthills are unique. It reminds me that beauty is sometimes very easy to see and sometimes we have to look a bit harder to see it. This happens in people as well as places.

Think of a time in your life when you found unexpected beauty.

Heroes

I have had a sore throat and probable sinus infection this week. The only good part about being sick is, it does give a person more time to think, since all I had the strength to do was rest and take care of myself!

Combine with that, Tim is re-reading a book by one of our favorite authors as a part of sermon preparation. That brought to mind this author, Tim Hansel.

With extra time on my hands this week, I searched to try and find an update on this author. The update I found, sadly, shows him in ill health. The site encouraged, during this season of thanksgiving, those who have been inspired by his books to send him an email, which I did.

While navigating that site, I noticed a quote by Anastasia Hansel. It's probably safe to assume she's related to Tim Hansel, but I couldn't find out for sure. The site gave a thought provoking quote from her:

Each one of us who travels further than the obstacles will know a different kind of life.
- Anastasia Hansel

If you have read any of Tim Hansel's books, you know that many years ago, he had an accidental fall while mountain climbing with friends. He fell into a crevasse in the ice that resulted in the equivalent of a six-story fall. He somehow managed to pull himself out of there, but he suffered permanent injuries to his neck and back that resulted in intense chronic pain. When he talks about things like choosing joy in the midst of life's hurts, learning patience, looking for the little everyday miracles, etc., he brings a unique perspective honed by his own suffering.

The quote from Anastasia reflects the same kind of courage and determination: to overcome obstacles, regardless of how huge they appear, and to receive and grow from the lessons we learn in the process.

Tim Hansel went on to found the organization called Summit Expedition, a wilderness survival school for people of all ages who seek a deeper experience with themselves, others and God. I remember seeing pictures a few years ago of people confined to wheelchairs mountain climbing through this organization. How awesome!

This is such a great reminder for me in at least three ways:

1. Remember to see the potential and not the limitations in life and in people.
2. Learn from our obstacles and press on. Become a better person as a result.
3. Who are my heroes and have I taken the time to bless them by telling them so?

Who are your heroes? During this season of thanksgiving, I would invite you to let them know what they mean to you.