This week has been filled with the usual Christmas things. We did some last minute shopping and then stayed home away from the crowds. A few weeks ago Joyce and I "bought" a goat and a rabbit in Kenya in Josiah's and Lilly's names. These are animals that are given to villagers to raise for breeding, milking, and raising more of the same for (don't tell Lilly) eating (i.e. rabbits). There are quite a few organizations that do this -- some, in some countries, have a wide variety of animals. We went through Free Methodist Missions for ours... er, Josiah's and Lilly's, I mean. Okay, so we did this. Now, how do we communicate to a 3 year old and 6 year old what really happened and what it means? We found a small plush goat and rabbit at some company online so we ordered these for the kids. Then I wrote a story about a boy and girl in Kenya who got a goat and rabbit from "the missionary lady" so they could help their family with income. I printed this into a nice little booklet with pictures, a map of Africa with Kenya highlighted, and a flag of Kenya to color. We gave all of this to the kids on Monday. We read the story and explained what it all meant. Then we had a Kenyan dinner. I'm not sure about the authenticity of the dinner but I got it online from a "Kenyan recipes" website. I picked the easy ones. The main course was mashed potatoes mixed with pureed peas (the result was green potatoes) and kernel corn. Then some meat is cut into thin strips, fried and mixed with a gravy. This is poured over the potatoes for a meal. The dessert was "ice cream" made from mangos and whipping cream, then frozen, and finally topped with a pineapple-brandy concoction. It really wasn't too bad. The kids "helped" make all this -- as much as they could. We had a good discussion about Kenya, that some people there are very poor and probably didn't even have as much to eat as we did. We also bought a can of goat's milk for everyone to try a sip. But, alas, we forgot to bring it out so it still awaits our eager (???) paletes. Maybe we'll try it tonight.
Christmas eve we went to one of Korak's brother's apartments over in Covina. All his immediate family were there except for one brother who lives in Portland. All the cousins enjoy playing with each other. There were probably 30 people in the house. He had a simple meal ready for us and then the family opened gifts. They had exchanged names so everyone had a gift and no felt like they needed to buy everyone a gift (a very expensive proposition). It was fun but it was 1:00 before we got back home and to bed. These old eyelids don't do night shifts like they used to!
Our Christmas morning was a slow, laid back time with the kids enjoying a big pile of Santa's favors. Sure didn't look like we're in a recession to me. Between two sets of grandparents, their own parents, a neighbor lady, and friends at church they did pretty well. That evening we all went to see "The Tale of Despereaux" -- an animated movie about an unmouse-like mouse.
Remember those pumpkins with the kid's names carved in them (pictures back around the end of October)? Well, we carted them down to LA so the kids could see them up close and personal. After we cracked them open, Josiah and I dug out the seeds for roasting. The roasting didn't go very well. The seeds were big and old... and I roasted them too long. They had a good taste but the chewing residue was kind of woody. We did salvage some of the pumpkin itself and I made two pies out of it. They really tasted good but were kind of ugly -- too thin and not cooked evenly.
Sunday we did church at Marina Christian Fellowship, then went out to eat at Islands. It is an Hawaiian flavor type restaurant -- mostly hamburgers, chicken burgers, and salads. Very good food and lots of fun. In the evening Jana, the kids, and I drove over to Pasadena to attend the FM church there. It is being re-created under the leadership of the Marina church. There were not very many people present but we had a good Bible study.
And now I sit in a dentist's office waiting for Jana. She was having a tooth problem so they are seeing what needs to be done. Trust you had a very good Christmas and will enjoy a happy new year.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Happy Birthday to Me
What a great week this has been. Last Tuesday we traveled from the "real strange" RV Park in San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles -- and got to see Josiah and Lilly. Our plan was to store the RV at the Marina Church where Jana and Korak attend and live in their back room. But the area where we would store the RV is rented out to the school district so we couldn't get in there until Saturday morning. So we camped at Dockweiler RV Park near Playa Del Rey -- about 6 miles from the kid's house -- until Saturday. So this what we did. The RV is now at the church and we are Korak and Jana's.
But we had what I call a "typical" welcome to LA Tuesday night at Dockweiler's. We watched a program on TV, turned it off at 11:00 and went to bed. I had just drifted off to sleep when Joyce woke me up, "Gene, there are police out here." I looked out the window and decided to get dressed. Right outside our RV was a fire truck, an ambulance, and enough police to hold a convention. I went outside and they wouldn't tell anything but wanted to know if I had heard any noises. Answer: just the lady next to us slamming the door to her RV a couple times. The police were very interested in a car parked in front of an RV two spots down from ours. I noticed they were working with someone in the ambulance, then drove away. We went back to bed and finally asleep. A couple days later I found out a man committed suicide (or tried to; he was barely alive when the ambulance took him away).
Thursday was my birthday. Ginger and Jana gave me a gift certificate to a day spa. I didn't even know men went to those things. This was in downtown Santa Monica -- what I would consider rather plush. It included a 25-minute massage, and as much time as I wanted in the hot tub, steam room, sauna, relaxation room and shower. I stayed there about 4 hours. They had white robes to wear around, cold wash cloths by the hot tub, lots of towels, bananas and apples to eat, magazines to read, and no one to hurry you along. It was a very good time. While I was in the area I walked down to Borders and bought a map book I wanted, and then had lunch at Barney's Beanery on the 3rd Street Promenade. Great birthday.
Wednesday was Josiah's school program -- pictures and a brief description are on the following blog. Friday evening was his and Lilly's Awana program. They attend at a nearby Baptist church. Today we attended worship at Marina Christian Fellowship. In fact, I went to both services (does that make up for not going to church last Sunday?) I went with Korak to the first service then Jana, Joyce and kids came to the second service so I stayed for that also. After, we went to Soup Plantation for lunch. This is my favorite restaurant. All they have are salads and soups (plus some breads). Great place.
A word about the weather. While the rest of country is digging out of snow banks, we are enjoying nice sunny weather. In Ginger's part of Oregon, they are having snow and ice. In the Grants Pass area it also snow -- but not as much. I think we got out of town just in time. But the temperature here is cold -- maybe I better say, cool. In the 50s which is cool for southern California. However, tomorrow it is supposed to rain and then rain again on Christmas. So, enjoy your white Christmas while we enjoy our wet one. Merry Christmas everyone.
But we had what I call a "typical" welcome to LA Tuesday night at Dockweiler's. We watched a program on TV, turned it off at 11:00 and went to bed. I had just drifted off to sleep when Joyce woke me up, "Gene, there are police out here." I looked out the window and decided to get dressed. Right outside our RV was a fire truck, an ambulance, and enough police to hold a convention. I went outside and they wouldn't tell anything but wanted to know if I had heard any noises. Answer: just the lady next to us slamming the door to her RV a couple times. The police were very interested in a car parked in front of an RV two spots down from ours. I noticed they were working with someone in the ambulance, then drove away. We went back to bed and finally asleep. A couple days later I found out a man committed suicide (or tried to; he was barely alive when the ambulance took him away).
Thursday was my birthday. Ginger and Jana gave me a gift certificate to a day spa. I didn't even know men went to those things. This was in downtown Santa Monica -- what I would consider rather plush. It included a 25-minute massage, and as much time as I wanted in the hot tub, steam room, sauna, relaxation room and shower. I stayed there about 4 hours. They had white robes to wear around, cold wash cloths by the hot tub, lots of towels, bananas and apples to eat, magazines to read, and no one to hurry you along. It was a very good time. While I was in the area I walked down to Borders and bought a map book I wanted, and then had lunch at Barney's Beanery on the 3rd Street Promenade. Great birthday.
Wednesday was Josiah's school program -- pictures and a brief description are on the following blog. Friday evening was his and Lilly's Awana program. They attend at a nearby Baptist church. Today we attended worship at Marina Christian Fellowship. In fact, I went to both services (does that make up for not going to church last Sunday?) I went with Korak to the first service then Jana, Joyce and kids came to the second service so I stayed for that also. After, we went to Soup Plantation for lunch. This is my favorite restaurant. All they have are salads and soups (plus some breads). Great place.
A word about the weather. While the rest of country is digging out of snow banks, we are enjoying nice sunny weather. In Ginger's part of Oregon, they are having snow and ice. In the Grants Pass area it also snow -- but not as much. I think we got out of town just in time. But the temperature here is cold -- maybe I better say, cool. In the 50s which is cool for southern California. However, tomorrow it is supposed to rain and then rain again on Christmas. So, enjoy your white Christmas while we enjoy our wet one. Merry Christmas everyone.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Pictures
Here are the pictures I promised. My internet connection is still having trouble with pictures so I'm using Jana's high speed. This is our campground in the trees up in the redwoods the first night out.
I mentioned we went to the Charley Brown/Peanuts/Charles Schultz museum in Santa Rosa. The next two pictures are taken there. The background behind me is made up of a jillion tiny Peanuts comic strips.
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I had to put in one picture of Josiah's "Winter Holiday Program" (as they call it). Actually it was pretty good but terribly unorganized. It included the entire school -- pre-kindergarten through 5th grade. Each grade performed two or three songs. There was a mix of Christian Christmas carols, secular Christmas carols, Hanukkah songs, Kwanza songs, and a non-holiday song (for those who don't believe in holidays, I guess). This is a dance song Josiah was in. He is the 2nd white shirt from the left (in case you couldn't tell!!!!!)
Sunday, December 14, 2008
...Go
Why is it that there is so much left to do at the last minute? But after 2 days of frantically doing the "Ready, Set" stuff we were able to do the "Go" at 11:15 Wednesday morning. For those who do not know the area or don't have a map, we went southwest out of Grants Pass on hiway 199 into California. Just north of Crescent City we hit hiway 101 and have followed it all the way (except for a little bit in San Francisco). We didn't make it as far as we thought we might the first night. It was getting dark and we were tired so we pulled off when we saw a sign indicating an RV Park. It was in Myers Flat along the south fork of the Eel River. We were the only ones in the park. Very quiet.
The next day we made it to Santa Rosa and stayed in the Sonoma County Fairgrounds RV Park. It is simply a big gravel lot with spaces and hookups. The next morning, we visited the Charles Schultz/Peanuts Museum. It is located there because that is where he lived last, had a studio, an ice skating rink, and a cafe.
All of this was in cool but sunny weather. A giant cold front was moving down from Alaska and slowly overtaking us. (There was a dusting in snow in Grants Pass today. We got out just in time!). As we entered San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge, the clouds were beginning to move in. I decided to "go straight" through town on hiway 1 (for most of the way it is 19th Street) instead of jostling the traffic on the Freeway. It was really very easy. Straight through town, a short drive on I-280 into South San Francisco, exit at Hickey Street, go downhill and right into Treasure Island RV Park. We stayed there two nights.
Saturday we rode BART (a commuter train system) over to the east bay to visit our friends George and Edie. George and I were in the Navy together and later he and Joyce were in the same church when she attended school in San Francisco. We had a great lunch and visit, then rode BART back. It goes under the bay in giant tubes that were constructed and then sunk to be in the right place. I have always wanted to ride the system, so here was my chance. It was about an hour ride each way. My reaction: a very efficient method of transportation, but noisy. The wheels, rails, motors, something make a zillion different high pitched sounds.
This morning we left about 10:00 and headed south on hiway 101. We had to do our own church because there wasn't one around we could walk to. I didn't drop the trailer so we couldn't drive to one. This wasn't my first choice but we have not missed attending church very many times in the last two years. We are now at Avila Hot Springs "Resort" in San Luis Obispo. It is mostly little manufactured home-type cabins; the RV park part of it is about 6 small dirt spaces, hard to get into. In fact, the whole place is hard to get an RV into. We'll probably stay here two nights and soak in the hot mineral waters.
Speaking of hot, it ain't!!! Instead of having temps in the 70s we now have temps in the low 50s. This cold front is supposed to last most of the week -- with no predictions after that. Thus we are welcomed to "sunny" southern California. Oh well, grandkids will warm it up.
Pictures? For some reason (probably my internet connection here) I can't upload pictures. I'll try again when we get to LA so check about Wednesday.
The next day we made it to Santa Rosa and stayed in the Sonoma County Fairgrounds RV Park. It is simply a big gravel lot with spaces and hookups. The next morning, we visited the Charles Schultz/Peanuts Museum. It is located there because that is where he lived last, had a studio, an ice skating rink, and a cafe.
All of this was in cool but sunny weather. A giant cold front was moving down from Alaska and slowly overtaking us. (There was a dusting in snow in Grants Pass today. We got out just in time!). As we entered San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge, the clouds were beginning to move in. I decided to "go straight" through town on hiway 1 (for most of the way it is 19th Street) instead of jostling the traffic on the Freeway. It was really very easy. Straight through town, a short drive on I-280 into South San Francisco, exit at Hickey Street, go downhill and right into Treasure Island RV Park. We stayed there two nights.
Saturday we rode BART (a commuter train system) over to the east bay to visit our friends George and Edie. George and I were in the Navy together and later he and Joyce were in the same church when she attended school in San Francisco. We had a great lunch and visit, then rode BART back. It goes under the bay in giant tubes that were constructed and then sunk to be in the right place. I have always wanted to ride the system, so here was my chance. It was about an hour ride each way. My reaction: a very efficient method of transportation, but noisy. The wheels, rails, motors, something make a zillion different high pitched sounds.
This morning we left about 10:00 and headed south on hiway 101. We had to do our own church because there wasn't one around we could walk to. I didn't drop the trailer so we couldn't drive to one. This wasn't my first choice but we have not missed attending church very many times in the last two years. We are now at Avila Hot Springs "Resort" in San Luis Obispo. It is mostly little manufactured home-type cabins; the RV park part of it is about 6 small dirt spaces, hard to get into. In fact, the whole place is hard to get an RV into. We'll probably stay here two nights and soak in the hot mineral waters.
Speaking of hot, it ain't!!! Instead of having temps in the 70s we now have temps in the low 50s. This cold front is supposed to last most of the week -- with no predictions after that. Thus we are welcomed to "sunny" southern California. Oh well, grandkids will warm it up.
Pictures? For some reason (probably my internet connection here) I can't upload pictures. I'll try again when we get to LA so check about Wednesday.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Ready, Set...
The Israelites left Egypt with less than 24 hours notice. And they were gone 40 years. Why does it take us so long to leave town for only a few months? Too much stuff, me thinks. All this week we have focused on getting the RV packed, chores done, ourselves ready, other stuff finished, miscellaneous accomplished, and this and that taken care of. We're almost there. We will leave this week and drive down Highway 101 -- We've seen I-5. Lots of times!
Wednesday we helped at Kids Klub with a craft. We had lots of frames so we took pictures of the kids. While I was printing pictures, Joyce was directing the kids in decorating the frames. These will be Christmas presents for their parents.
I concluded the last blog by mentioning a dental appointment. Actually it was for a checkup and cleaning. He did a very thorough checkup and told me I am diseased. I have periodontal disease! The word "disease" makes me feel like I have aids or cirrhosis of the liver or terminal athlete's foot or something like that. Of course he can fix it -- for a price. Just pay lots of money and they will do root scaling and checking and on and on. Whatever I decide to do, it will have to wait until we get back from our sojourn south. Any advice? Have you had this done?
Today we worshipped at Jerome Prairie Bible Church again. Pastor James asked me to do the Communion meditation. I think he would like to see us settle in there. After church "we" went to JJ North's for lunch. The "we" being the Lakers, Fiskes, Curpheys and us. It was a great time of fellowship (sorry, Sue. No pictures). This is part of the group who used to attend Allen Creek.
I'll blog next week if I can. Depends on where we are and if we have internet access. Love ya.
---
With a saddened heart I am adding a PS to this blog. One of our church missionaries, Ryan Bartlett was killed in a traffic accident in Malawi on December 2. A link to his blog has always been to the right of this blog. His wife, Katie, just added a note telling about Ryan and the accident. Even though he and I were not close, I felt like I knew him and considered him a friend. He and Katie were one of the missionary families supported by the Oregon Conference and they visited our church in Newport. Ryan and I were in email contact only two days prior to his death. A memorial service will be held for him in Medford but it will happen when we are in Los Angeles. I grieve for him but especially for Katie and their 3 girls, for the wonderful missionary work he was doing in Africa, and for the many friends he leaves behind in that Malawi.
Wednesday we helped at Kids Klub with a craft. We had lots of frames so we took pictures of the kids. While I was printing pictures, Joyce was directing the kids in decorating the frames. These will be Christmas presents for their parents.
I concluded the last blog by mentioning a dental appointment. Actually it was for a checkup and cleaning. He did a very thorough checkup and told me I am diseased. I have periodontal disease! The word "disease" makes me feel like I have aids or cirrhosis of the liver or terminal athlete's foot or something like that. Of course he can fix it -- for a price. Just pay lots of money and they will do root scaling and checking and on and on. Whatever I decide to do, it will have to wait until we get back from our sojourn south. Any advice? Have you had this done?
Today we worshipped at Jerome Prairie Bible Church again. Pastor James asked me to do the Communion meditation. I think he would like to see us settle in there. After church "we" went to JJ North's for lunch. The "we" being the Lakers, Fiskes, Curpheys and us. It was a great time of fellowship (sorry, Sue. No pictures). This is part of the group who used to attend Allen Creek.
I'll blog next week if I can. Depends on where we are and if we have internet access. Love ya.
---
With a saddened heart I am adding a PS to this blog. One of our church missionaries, Ryan Bartlett was killed in a traffic accident in Malawi on December 2. A link to his blog has always been to the right of this blog. His wife, Katie, just added a note telling about Ryan and the accident. Even though he and I were not close, I felt like I knew him and considered him a friend. He and Katie were one of the missionary families supported by the Oregon Conference and they visited our church in Newport. Ryan and I were in email contact only two days prior to his death. A memorial service will be held for him in Medford but it will happen when we are in Los Angeles. I grieve for him but especially for Katie and their 3 girls, for the wonderful missionary work he was doing in Africa, and for the many friends he leaves behind in that Malawi.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
An Interesting Week
It has indeed been an interesting Thanksgiving week. But let us regress for a moment. The opinion poll registered a stunning 5 responses. I asked how many blessings would you have if you could count all of them. One person checked the 100 to 1000 catagory. Two people indicated 1000 to 10,000 blessings. And two people felt they would count more than 10,000. Interesting. Not very scientific but it does remind us that we have a LOT of blessings for which to be thankful.
The week began with Joyce and I in Salem. Monday, we worked in the Conference office because the secretary was on vacation. We answered phones, I worked on some things for the MEG Board, and Joyce worked on some crafty things. On Tuesday, I was involved in a MEG Board meeting and a planning session with the Superintendent while Joyce stayed in the office and answered phones.
Then there was Wednesday. That's the day Joyce and I put up Ginger's new backsplash. Actually it is the backsplash behind the countertop in her kitchen. You know what I mean. She wanted to have marble or something exotic but two problems with that... 1) the wall is simple paneling -- too much give and backerboard would be a problem; and 2) too expensive. So she settled on vinyl flooring. She picked a nice pattern that looks like small pebbles. It sort of goes with her Tuscany theme. Joyce and I glued it up with contact cement because I was afraid regular vinyl glue wouldn't hold on the wall while it was drying. Well... we got it up okay and it looks good but next time I'll use vinyl glue.
We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving day with Ginger -- and watching football. Ginger cooked a delicious turkey with the usual trimmings. Oh, I better mention that Joyce helped. I helped eat it. In the afternoon we put together a new TV table, then moved Ginger's TV and DVD out of one of those old, tall entertainment cabinets. We also moved her computer into the living room. These are both good moves for her. The room looks friendlier and she is not confined to a tiny, dark room when she does her computer stuff.
You know what Friday was, right? Get up early and hit the sales. I went to Staples and Office Depot; Joyce and Ginger went to Shopco and the Craft Warehouse. Then... get this... Joyce and I drove home, hooked up the RV and went camping. Yes, we did! Mike and Joann wanted to take their new RV on a shakedown cruise and wanted us to go with them. We only traveled about 15 miles to a nice little campground near Hugo. It was fun and I helped them work out a couple kinks and everything is great. Saturday, we played with our new generators. I found out mine will power the microwave, a space heater, the TV, and the refrigerator -- not all at once. It was too cold to get the condenser in the air conditioner to kick in but it did run the fan and heat strip. Sunday we attended worship at North Valley Assemply of God where Joyce and I went a few weeks ago.
The University of Oregon/Oregon State football game started at 4:00 Saturday. For those of you not in know, this is THE rivalry of the year in this area. And this year Oregon State was headed to the Rose Bowl IF they could beat Oregon. Big If. Oregon was determined to dash those hopes. It was only broadcast on a cable TV channel and a local radio station. We didn't have cable at the campground (serious oversight). So I resigned myself to listen to it on radio. Oregon was winning but near the end of the first half, the radio station had to switch to a lower power for the night. All I could get was static and few words of footballese. I determined to head for a sports bar where they had a big TV and Mike said he would go with me. So we headed to Grants Pass. Guess where we ended up? Back home! Yep, we decided to just drive to my house and watch it in the comfort (and cold) of our house. I'm a die hard Oregon fan but I wanted to see Oregon State go to the Rose Bowl so I had mixed emotions as the game progressed. You probably know that Oregon won -- big.
Well, back home Sunday afternoon we got ready for company. Our friends, Loren and Sylvia, who used to be missionaries in Hong Kong and now retired live in Newberg. They stopped to spend the night with us on their way home from visiting family in California. In fact, they arrived while I was writing this blog so it is being finished Monday evening.
And I believe it is finished. The blog, I mean. This promises to be a quieter week. Just things like dental appointments. Oh boy. Love ya.
The week began with Joyce and I in Salem. Monday, we worked in the Conference office because the secretary was on vacation. We answered phones, I worked on some things for the MEG Board, and Joyce worked on some crafty things. On Tuesday, I was involved in a MEG Board meeting and a planning session with the Superintendent while Joyce stayed in the office and answered phones.
Then there was Wednesday. That's the day Joyce and I put up Ginger's new backsplash. Actually it is the backsplash behind the countertop in her kitchen. You know what I mean. She wanted to have marble or something exotic but two problems with that... 1) the wall is simple paneling -- too much give and backerboard would be a problem; and 2) too expensive. So she settled on vinyl flooring. She picked a nice pattern that looks like small pebbles. It sort of goes with her Tuscany theme. Joyce and I glued it up with contact cement because I was afraid regular vinyl glue wouldn't hold on the wall while it was drying. Well... we got it up okay and it looks good but next time I'll use vinyl glue.
We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving day with Ginger -- and watching football. Ginger cooked a delicious turkey with the usual trimmings. Oh, I better mention that Joyce helped. I helped eat it. In the afternoon we put together a new TV table, then moved Ginger's TV and DVD out of one of those old, tall entertainment cabinets. We also moved her computer into the living room. These are both good moves for her. The room looks friendlier and she is not confined to a tiny, dark room when she does her computer stuff.
You know what Friday was, right? Get up early and hit the sales. I went to Staples and Office Depot; Joyce and Ginger went to Shopco and the Craft Warehouse. Then... get this... Joyce and I drove home, hooked up the RV and went camping. Yes, we did! Mike and Joann wanted to take their new RV on a shakedown cruise and wanted us to go with them. We only traveled about 15 miles to a nice little campground near Hugo. It was fun and I helped them work out a couple kinks and everything is great. Saturday, we played with our new generators. I found out mine will power the microwave, a space heater, the TV, and the refrigerator -- not all at once. It was too cold to get the condenser in the air conditioner to kick in but it did run the fan and heat strip. Sunday we attended worship at North Valley Assemply of God where Joyce and I went a few weeks ago.
The University of Oregon/Oregon State football game started at 4:00 Saturday. For those of you not in know, this is THE rivalry of the year in this area. And this year Oregon State was headed to the Rose Bowl IF they could beat Oregon. Big If. Oregon was determined to dash those hopes. It was only broadcast on a cable TV channel and a local radio station. We didn't have cable at the campground (serious oversight). So I resigned myself to listen to it on radio. Oregon was winning but near the end of the first half, the radio station had to switch to a lower power for the night. All I could get was static and few words of footballese. I determined to head for a sports bar where they had a big TV and Mike said he would go with me. So we headed to Grants Pass. Guess where we ended up? Back home! Yep, we decided to just drive to my house and watch it in the comfort (and cold) of our house. I'm a die hard Oregon fan but I wanted to see Oregon State go to the Rose Bowl so I had mixed emotions as the game progressed. You probably know that Oregon won -- big.
Well, back home Sunday afternoon we got ready for company. Our friends, Loren and Sylvia, who used to be missionaries in Hong Kong and now retired live in Newberg. They stopped to spend the night with us on their way home from visiting family in California. In fact, they arrived while I was writing this blog so it is being finished Monday evening.
And I believe it is finished. The blog, I mean. This promises to be a quieter week. Just things like dental appointments. Oh boy. Love ya.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Thanksgiving Thankfulness
Matt Lauer got me thinking. You know... Matt Lauer on NBC. A few mornings ago I heard him report that people were preparing for Thanksgiving but they didn't have much to be thankful for. "Oh really?" I thought. We -- being the American people -- have nothing to be thankful for? Let's consider...
Yes, the economy has tanked, lots of people are out of work, banks and businesses are going bust, people are losing their stock market-invested retirements, their homes are being foreclosed on, and the immediate future looks more sour than sunny. Yes, these are bad things. And especially bad if you are one of the people directly effected. I'm not minimizing the personal impact. But let's look for something to be thankful for -- bad sentence, try again. Let's look for something for which to be thankful.
1) We don't live in Haiti. Devastated by a series of hurricanes the island nation is barely recovering. Just a couple months ago, people were still living outdoors or on the roofs of their houses because of the depth of mud brought in by floods. Food is scarce. Josette Sheeran, head of the World Food Programme said, "the misery index is rising daily and this will require a massive effort to help people stave off hunger and save lives."
2) We don't live in particular countries and in certain parts of other countries where people are being killed because they dare to be Christians. As examples: India, China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, and the list goes on and on. Freedom of religion is even suppressed in parts of Mexico.
3) Be thankful you don't live in the Democratic Republic of Congo where rebel fighting has driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and killed many innocent people.
4) Be thankful you DO live in the USA. We just elected a new president (whether he is your choice or not) without any shots being fired or anyone losing his life.
5) Be thankful you can worship -- or not worship -- any way you choose.
6) Be thankful you have something to eat. Consider: 923 million people across the world are hungry. Are you? Everyday, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes -- one every 5 seconds. Any of them yours? (I'm eating peanuts while I write this).
7) I'm guessing you have a car to drive -- even if fuel was -- WAS -- over $4.00 per gallon. Be thankful for that old clunker. (I saw gas for less than $2.00/gallon today. Never thought I'd see that again in my lifetime).
8) And you probably have someplace to live. I know there are homeless people right in the community where you live. As a side note, we attended worship at Emmaus Community Church in Salem, Oregon today. It is a Free Methodist church plant. It's not very large yet but one of their ministries is feeding the homeless in a nearby park. Be thankful you either have a home or have someone who makes food available to you.
9) Be thankful for friends and family and health. Yes, you DO have these. Even if it's not many or not much, it's a blessing and it's more than many in the world have. Take health for example. Even if yours isn't very good, your "poor" health would be much more miserable and possibility fatal by now if you lived in many places in the world.
10) You have a computer so you can read this blog -- and do all those other wonderful computer things. Isn't that something to be thankful for?
Please understand... I don't mean we should simply be grateful we are who we are and live where we live. If we stop there we are not much better than the man Jesus spoke of who said, "Thank God I'm not like this other man" (he was not on Jesus' good-guy list). So here is one more thing to be thankful for. Be thankful you have the capacity and the means to do something kind for someone else. You can get very involved to help end world hunger (at one extreme) or you can simply bless someone else with a smile, gift, or deed.
You do have something -- many things to be thankful for. There is a hymn that we used to sing around thanksgiving time. It has this line, "count your many blessings; name them one by one." I dare you to try. I don't think you can list all your blessings. Even you are in Matt Lauer's focus group. It comes down to this: be thankful this thanksgiving; you have lots of blessings to count -- whoever you are. (take the poll on the right -- let's see how it turns out).
Right now I'm thankful we are in Salem at Ginger's house. I have a MEG Board meeting Tuesday, Joyce and I will help in the Conference office Monday (and Joyce on Tuesday), then we'll spend Thanksgiving day with Ginger.
Here's one more blessing for you count: I care about you.
Yes, the economy has tanked, lots of people are out of work, banks and businesses are going bust, people are losing their stock market-invested retirements, their homes are being foreclosed on, and the immediate future looks more sour than sunny. Yes, these are bad things. And especially bad if you are one of the people directly effected. I'm not minimizing the personal impact. But let's look for something to be thankful for -- bad sentence, try again. Let's look for something for which to be thankful.
1) We don't live in Haiti. Devastated by a series of hurricanes the island nation is barely recovering. Just a couple months ago, people were still living outdoors or on the roofs of their houses because of the depth of mud brought in by floods. Food is scarce. Josette Sheeran, head of the World Food Programme said, "the misery index is rising daily and this will require a massive effort to help people stave off hunger and save lives."
2) We don't live in particular countries and in certain parts of other countries where people are being killed because they dare to be Christians. As examples: India, China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, and the list goes on and on. Freedom of religion is even suppressed in parts of Mexico.
3) Be thankful you don't live in the Democratic Republic of Congo where rebel fighting has driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and killed many innocent people.
4) Be thankful you DO live in the USA. We just elected a new president (whether he is your choice or not) without any shots being fired or anyone losing his life.
5) Be thankful you can worship -- or not worship -- any way you choose.
6) Be thankful you have something to eat. Consider: 923 million people across the world are hungry. Are you? Everyday, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes -- one every 5 seconds. Any of them yours? (I'm eating peanuts while I write this).
7) I'm guessing you have a car to drive -- even if fuel was -- WAS -- over $4.00 per gallon. Be thankful for that old clunker. (I saw gas for less than $2.00/gallon today. Never thought I'd see that again in my lifetime).
8) And you probably have someplace to live. I know there are homeless people right in the community where you live. As a side note, we attended worship at Emmaus Community Church in Salem, Oregon today. It is a Free Methodist church plant. It's not very large yet but one of their ministries is feeding the homeless in a nearby park. Be thankful you either have a home or have someone who makes food available to you.
9) Be thankful for friends and family and health. Yes, you DO have these. Even if it's not many or not much, it's a blessing and it's more than many in the world have. Take health for example. Even if yours isn't very good, your "poor" health would be much more miserable and possibility fatal by now if you lived in many places in the world.
10) You have a computer so you can read this blog -- and do all those other wonderful computer things. Isn't that something to be thankful for?
Please understand... I don't mean we should simply be grateful we are who we are and live where we live. If we stop there we are not much better than the man Jesus spoke of who said, "Thank God I'm not like this other man" (he was not on Jesus' good-guy list). So here is one more thing to be thankful for. Be thankful you have the capacity and the means to do something kind for someone else. You can get very involved to help end world hunger (at one extreme) or you can simply bless someone else with a smile, gift, or deed.
You do have something -- many things to be thankful for. There is a hymn that we used to sing around thanksgiving time. It has this line, "count your many blessings; name them one by one." I dare you to try. I don't think you can list all your blessings. Even you are in Matt Lauer's focus group. It comes down to this: be thankful this thanksgiving; you have lots of blessings to count -- whoever you are. (take the poll on the right -- let's see how it turns out).
Right now I'm thankful we are in Salem at Ginger's house. I have a MEG Board meeting Tuesday, Joyce and I will help in the Conference office Monday (and Joyce on Tuesday), then we'll spend Thanksgiving day with Ginger.
Here's one more blessing for you count: I care about you.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
How Do I Label This Week?
What is a better word than "boring"? I would say this was a boring week except that is not quite the right word because it's been a long time since I've been bored. My thesaurus in MSWord suggests I might use "lackluster." No, that sounds... well, boring. Maybe "unexciting." No, that's not right either -- it's too... unexciting. Maybe "Dull"? "Uninspiring"? "Uninteresting"? Nope. None of them are right. I think I'll choose "humdrum."
This has been a humdrum week. I have done things like odd jobs around the house, writing a check for the property taxes, and taking the drapes to the dry cleaners. Come to think of it, that was kind of exciting since they hadn't been cleaned since we put them up 16 years ago (I suppose I shouldn't confess that). We took them down at 7:30 a.m., picked them up late afternoon and had them hanging again before evening.
Hey, maybe this was exciting. On Tuesday I made zucchini soup. Notice I said "I." I'm trying to use up zucchini but this recipe didn't use very much. It was good, though. On Wednesday I made apple butter with some apples Joann gave us. Turned out pretty good, too. It was a recipe out of Joyce's Splenda cookbook. Then I helped Joyce make banana bread. Thursday we made zucchini bread. That is really, really good. So... me in the kitchen 3 days in one week. I guess that's kind of exciting -- in a gastronomical kind of way. Probably we'll make more zucchini bread next week to use up all the grated stuff we have in the freezer.
Friday night I took Joyce on a date. That's sort of exciting. We went to see "Madagascar: Escape to Africa." I even bought her popcorn (we sneaked ((snuck?)) our own soda in). We were sitting there before the movie started and a guy walked by, did a double take, stopped and asked us where our kids were. I calmly told him they were in LA. Oh... speaking of taking Joyce places. I took her to a tavern today. Now that should rank up there on the excite scale. We went to worship at the only church in Wolf Creek (about 15 miles north of Grants Pass). It is a Christian and Missionary Alliance church and I know the pastor from our days of praying together with other area pastors. After church we went to the Wolf Creek Tavern for lunch. However, they recently changed the name to "Inn." To sanitize it, I think. It is an old historic building dating back to the middle 1800s. It was a stage stop with food and rooms to rent (and strong drink to imbibe in). Thus the name "tavern." It is owned by the State of Oregon now and leased to someone to manage. Some of the better known guests have been Clark Gable, Mary Pickford, Jack London, Carole Lombard, Fredrick March, and President Hayes (sorry, I haven't stayed there yet!).
After lunch we stopped at the Applegate Trail Museum in Sunny Valley and then went to see the covered bridge. As many times as we have driven past (it is visible from I-5) this is the first time we have visited. It is a good representation of the Applegate Trail -- it's rigors and limited success. The area is historic in the early settlement of Oregon.
One other thing I did was get Joyce a new phone. Now she can send and receive pictures. Same number. I'm not sure what they will cost us so don't submerge us with photos. But a few would be nice.
So that's my humdrum week. Good for getting lazy, putting on weight, and staying happy. Hope you have some humdrum weeks, too.
This has been a humdrum week. I have done things like odd jobs around the house, writing a check for the property taxes, and taking the drapes to the dry cleaners. Come to think of it, that was kind of exciting since they hadn't been cleaned since we put them up 16 years ago (I suppose I shouldn't confess that). We took them down at 7:30 a.m., picked them up late afternoon and had them hanging again before evening.
Hey, maybe this was exciting. On Tuesday I made zucchini soup. Notice I said "I." I'm trying to use up zucchini but this recipe didn't use very much. It was good, though. On Wednesday I made apple butter with some apples Joann gave us. Turned out pretty good, too. It was a recipe out of Joyce's Splenda cookbook. Then I helped Joyce make banana bread. Thursday we made zucchini bread. That is really, really good. So... me in the kitchen 3 days in one week. I guess that's kind of exciting -- in a gastronomical kind of way. Probably we'll make more zucchini bread next week to use up all the grated stuff we have in the freezer.
Friday night I took Joyce on a date. That's sort of exciting. We went to see "Madagascar: Escape to Africa." I even bought her popcorn (we sneaked ((snuck?)) our own soda in). We were sitting there before the movie started and a guy walked by, did a double take, stopped and asked us where our kids were. I calmly told him they were in LA. Oh... speaking of taking Joyce places. I took her to a tavern today. Now that should rank up there on the excite scale. We went to worship at the only church in Wolf Creek (about 15 miles north of Grants Pass). It is a Christian and Missionary Alliance church and I know the pastor from our days of praying together with other area pastors. After church we went to the Wolf Creek Tavern for lunch. However, they recently changed the name to "Inn." To sanitize it, I think. It is an old historic building dating back to the middle 1800s. It was a stage stop with food and rooms to rent (and strong drink to imbibe in). Thus the name "tavern." It is owned by the State of Oregon now and leased to someone to manage. Some of the better known guests have been Clark Gable, Mary Pickford, Jack London, Carole Lombard, Fredrick March, and President Hayes (sorry, I haven't stayed there yet!).
After lunch we stopped at the Applegate Trail Museum in Sunny Valley and then went to see the covered bridge. As many times as we have driven past (it is visible from I-5) this is the first time we have visited. It is a good representation of the Applegate Trail -- it's rigors and limited success. The area is historic in the early settlement of Oregon.
One other thing I did was get Joyce a new phone. Now she can send and receive pictures. Same number. I'm not sure what they will cost us so don't submerge us with photos. But a few would be nice.
So that's my humdrum week. Good for getting lazy, putting on weight, and staying happy. Hope you have some humdrum weeks, too.
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