If you have followed this blog for any period of time, then you know that there will always be one or more post-Thanksgiving entries. There are rich traditions developed around this holiday in my family. I have been realizing how valuable that is to the next generations. The big meal and afternoon flag football game have been a staple for two generations now. Seriously, my nephews and niece and my children and their children have been doing this with us for nearly 40 years now. There has to be a time when the traditions are passed down to the next generation, and changes, deletions, and additions are inevitable. Thus far the changes have been almost exclusively additions. This year we added going to my son’s house for Thanksgiving Day. Enjoy the pictures here of two children and their spouses and eight grandchildren. Another day I’ll share pictures of the big Friday meal.
Posts Tagged ‘Blessing’
Extending the Tradition
Posted in Blessing, Family, General, Grandchildren, Photo, Thanksgiving, tagged Blessing, Family, Grandchildren, Thanksgiving, Tradition on November 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Into This World
Posted in Blessing, Family, Grandchildren, tagged Blessing, Grandchildren, Grandson, New Born on November 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Last Thursday, our 11th grandchild was born at 12:45 PM, weighing 7 lbs 8 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. He is said to be a voracious eater already. Dad took the 6 older children to church this last Sunday so that mother and child could rest. At I contemplate any child, especially my grandson, entering this world, I look with concern and faith. It is a terrible time in our nation, but God is sovereign over all of the whens, wheres, hows, whats, and whys of each of our lives and our nation. May He be glorified in this child and bless his life.
What in the world is going on here?
Vying for control by using fear
Deny God and all from truth derived
Into this brave new world you have arrived
Judson be like Adoniram please
Faithful, stalwart, always on your knees
Teach the Gospel in the darkest place
Overcome temptation, run the race
Honor present unto your Master
With pure life all white alabaster
A soul washed in the blood of God’s Son
By Christ’s power be victories won
May God richly bless this young Francis
Uphold, sustain in every crisis
Make him in Christ a most godly man
As befits one in the royal clan
Walking in a New Place
Posted in Beauty, Blessing, Change, General, Nature, Outdoors, Photo, tagged Autumn, Blessing, Contemplation, Fall, History, Outdoors on October 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Moving, unpacking, settling in, finding your way around, starting a new job are time consuming. One must make time for the more relaxing moments. My preferred way to relax is walking. Having a job that involves standing is not good for flow of body fluids, so I walk, observe, think, and pray during my lunch break or converse with my wife during evening walks. The pictures at Fall Begun come from three different walks, two at lunch and one in the evening. I feel so blessed to live in a part of the world where seasons change, and I work and live in neighborhoods where I may daily range. God gifts many larger blessings, but the smaller daily ones help to fortify the soul for daily stresses. Be active or quiet and at any rate contemplative so that you may absorb the goodness of God in His creation and through His other manifold blessings. Being contemplative means quiet and open to observation both internal and external.
A Blessing
Posted in Blessing, Forgiveness, tagged Blessing, Forgiveness, Mercy on August 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Have you ever given in to stress, let it strain you, that is, contort your deportment. I did yesterday. My wife was patient, realizing that I was stressed beyond my ability. But it really doesn’t take much when I am not walking by the Spirit. I sulked a bit, but I decided confession and pleading for help was a better way forward. I had written a thank you/comfort card the day before in which I composed the following blessing. The card had a painting of Hummingbirds on Bee Balm, which directed my thoughts toward the Balm in Gilead (Jeremiah 8:22, 46:11). The next day I knew that I was as much in need of this blessing as the person I sent it to.
May the Balm in Gilead be your comfort and stay
With peace and joy lead you in the way
May His Spirit in you always have sway
That you may please God each and every day
Random Blessings
Posted in Beauty, Blessing, General, Outdoors, Photo, Thanksgiving, tagged Beauty, Blessing, Church, Good Food, Promise, Rainbow, Risk, Spider, Thanksgiving, Work on August 23, 2020| 3 Comments »
I am blessed in so many ways. I have far more than I need and many things that I want. Life is not exciting every day, but God provides, takes care of me, and gives me blessings, some obvious and others more subtle.
It has been a wet summer, and very wet and cool for August. A person new to the area asked if it is always this wet. No, usually August is relatively dry and hot, sometimes not even raining the whole month. But this August grass is still green, creeks are still full, and flowers not want to bloom this time of year are.
With all of the rain there are moments when one wonders how wet it may become and when it will end. But never fear, there is always the promise of sunshine tomorrow (Genesis 9:8-17). Have you ever noticed that double rainbows have the colors in opposite order? From the observer’s perspective the spherical prisms (aka raindrops) are refracting sunlight in two different directions from that point. Also, a rainbow dims as you travel down a highway because you are no longer at the optimal angle to see the most light. So, one of the two rainbows is not at the optimal angle. If you could fly straight up, there would be a point where the two rainbows would have equal brightness. Beyond that, the formerly bright bow would be the dimmer bow. The following picture is from my front porch just after another hard rain of the day.
My wife thinks that I am silly when I take pictures of a meal. But I think the appearance, the taste, and the nutritional value are artwork. I am blessed to have a diligent wife who is also a very good cook.
Though retired from my “career”, I still need to work to supplement my retirement. As any follower of my blog will know, I am a rock climber, but sometimes when I work I do more dangerous things than rock climbing. I am tied in to a stout rope on a climb with a watchful partner who belays me. As the following picture shows, I sometimes work up high without such protection. I could take the picture because the ladder’s feet were secure. I always attempt to make them secure, but things can go wrong. I am blessed to have worked so many years without significant injury and I work carefully to prevent it. Still, my life and safety are in His hands. About rock climbing, several people have said, “But you don’t have to take that risk.” My reply is that it is far less risk than some other things I do and I like doing it. One may say that I don’t need to do these things either, but someone will. The real solution is to not build structures that necessitate this situation. I have given up climbing trees to take them down. Ladders will come next. All of life is a balancing act. I pray, I act prudently, and yes, I take calculated risks. I am blessed.
The gutters were overflowing and had not been cleaned out in several years. I discovered a little ecosystem there, well watered and rooted in black humus. The white zigzag structure in the Garden Spider’s web (the spider being barely seen behind it), is called a stabilimentum. It bears this name because it was once thought to strengthen the web. It may be for the purpose of hiding the outline of the spider. It is a source of beauty to the aesthetic and confusion to the scientist and perhaps the predator. The tree roots ran at least a foot in either direction, allowing the pulling up of much “turf” in one grab. I think that the foreground tree is a boxelder. I am blessed to be able to see and appreciate beauty in God’s creation in the most humble and unexpected situations.
I found this moth on my front porch several weeks ago. Full disclosure: It was dead. The color is so rich, like raw sienna, the Italian clay of that color. I seem to recognize colors that go well together, but I am not quite able to match them when given many colors to choose from. I am blessed to be someone that appreciates the music even if I can’t play it.
I don’t know what has become of me to put two selfies in a blog entry, or any at all for that matter. The final picture was an accident, humanly speaking. I was trying to show a family the ladder and “mini-ecosystem” pictures after church and took the picture en route to them. I include it mostly because my greatest blessing is being part of God’s family by the salvation Jesus provided for me on the cross. You, too, may have this blessing by repentance and belief in Him. And in particular I was blessed this day to lead my church in singing and voice my praise and thanksgiving to God in song and segue. I am blessed with fellow saints with whom I fellowship around our common belief in God.
I am, of course, blessed in so many other ways, but these are a few that came across my path in the last week or so. May you be blessed as well and more aware of it than previously.
Little Miss Bountiful
Posted in Blessing, Family, General, Grandchildren, Poem, tagged Blessing, Family, Grandchildren, Granddaughter, Poem, Reformation on February 17, 2020| 1 Comment »
May God’s bountiful grace and goodness be poured out upon our newest granddaughter. If my source can be trusted, there are not five girls named Idellete in the whole of America. In light of the source of this name, Idellete Calvin, wife of the Reformer, John Calvin, it is a fine name. (Click here for more information on this godly woman.) We are thankful that our grandchildren will be raised in the fear and admonition of the Lord and do pray God’s abundant blessing upon their development, faith, and life work.
Idellete be patient and kind
Industrious and diligent
Faithful and studious of mind
For the Faith be vigilant
As your namesake be strong in faith
Bearing up under trials and loss
Trust always in what the Word saith
Shunning worldly pursuits as dross
Be a Joy to all who know you
For the Savior live all your life
Point the many to life anew
May you bring unity, not strife
May God give you joy in struggle
Peace in sorrow, patience each day
Responsibilities juggle
With power unceasingly pray
With all these things may God bless you
Lightness of heart to meet each day
Toughness that will carry you through
Desire always to God obey
Dwell on These Things
Posted in Blessing, Delights, General, Poem, Thanksgiving, tagged Blessing, Focus, Thanksgiving on February 2, 2020| Leave a Comment »
“ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. ” Philippians 4:8
Thankfulness is pleasing to God and good medicine for the soul and for those around you. The source of thankfulness is a decision and practice of dwelling on what is good. For instance, life is good, because God is good. In my last poem, “Our Dreams, His Plans”, I dwelt on difficulties. Even there I emphasized their benefit. But now I change tack.
Now upon a better theme
I would dwell and pick up steam
To revive my spirit so I thrive
At deepest levels survive
Much I should be thankful for
Life and family and much more
Forgiven of sin and wickedness
Comfort in trials and duress
Joyous life eternally
Purposeful activity
God’s dear presence to guide and to cheer
Overcome temptation, fear
There are many smaller joys
Some quite grand and some mere toys
Experiences of sight and of sound
Pleasant thoughts and some profound
So the sum of all we do
Give God glory and be true
In telling others of life in Him
Enjoy His gifts, foremost Him
Thanksgiving in July
Posted in Beauty, Blessing, Delights, Family, General, Grandchildren, Hike, Nature, Outdoors, Photo, Relationship, Thanksgiving, Wildlife, tagged Blessing, Family, Hike, Mapping, Nature, Photos, Thanksgiving, Waterfall, Wildflowers, Wildlife on July 18, 2019| Leave a Comment »
The title comes from the notion that my extended family gathers every Thanksgiving at my oldest brother’s house for a meal and remembrance of God’s goodness to us. That is what feasts in the Old Testament were about, sacrificing animals to recognize and acknowledge one’s sin followed by celebration and feasting with family and friends over God’s goodness to forgive, provide, and protect.
Recently, because of growth within our family, we have had several additional gatherings for meet and greet. The latest one was planned for Independence Day, 2019. That comes under thankfulness for protection within this great country. Anyone thinking we could have what we do without God’s blessing is foolish, and anyone who implicates God in the evil that sinful men and women of this country have promulgated is without any sense. We are blessed and we don’t deserve it, therefore, God has been good to us. <-Period, read it?
On the way over the mountain, my wife and I stopped at the small westbound I-40 rest area in the highest gap for lunch. On our way to the bathroom, we saw several bunches of planted flowers. The edge of the woods had many wildflowers, notably Solomon’s Seal gone to seed. The entrance to the restrooms is the most busy corridor in the rest area, but it also has a dry ledge for mud builders. I took pictures and described to two ladies why it was a barn swallow instead of a cliff swallow, tree swallow, or swift. (Besides facial pattern the forked tail is a big give away.) Several Swallowtails landed among the plantain to warm their blood in the cool, sunny air. The traffic is close and noisy, people are coming and going, and the creatures just accommodate and adapt as needs be. I am sure some adapt by staying well out of range, but I was amazed at how others live so close.
- 2 Beauties
- Barn Swallows
- Built on the Rock
- Eastern Swallowtail
Speaking of accommodating, my oldest brother and sister-in-law are very accommodating to have a family party. I think we are sensing the passing of the years, the incredible blessing of extended family, and the need to connect more often and more deeply. I was so busy talking and playing and eating that I almost forgot to take pictures. My wife and I counted 30 souls in attendance, the majority under 15. Many of my children and theirs were not able to attend. They have 15 grandchildren and I have 6.
- A Story, I’ll be bound
- Whack it hard! The “Birdie” is in motion just above her head over the white SUV.
- Get ready…seriously.
The next day, my older brother and I decided to go on a hike while my wife visited her sisters. The grandchildren wanted to go, but the pictures below reveal why that wouldn’t be safe. My brother wanted to visit a tristate marker on the way. It was a very unheralded spot, tying a point on a map to an actual location in the real world. Lines have thickness on paper, but lines in the world have only one dimension, length. It may seem as trivial to most, but the connection between the two is most fascinating, particularly as you stand over the spot.
- Grandchildren saying ‘goodbye’
- Another Tri-state intersection: The arch says, “Tristate Corner Paradise Point Resort”
- Which state is the camera in? And which way is north?
My brother had been to Foster Falls previously in winter when there was abundant rain. I was not surprised to find it simply dripping. This is the way of streams and falls on the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. The pool was quite deep and must be well sealed to keep so much water with so little input. It was a beautiful sight, nonetheless.
After the falls, we walked about a mile along the base of the cliff, reconnoitering the sport climbing for a possible future push. I attempted a few pictures but the quality was sub-par due to contrast of shade at the base and full sunlight on the cliff. With the heat it would be best attacked in Fall. The walk back along the sandstone caprock was significantly flat with sandy spots and intermittent seeps, all dry and baked this summer day. And yet a succulent was thriving on the rocky, shallow depressions, Fameflower. My sister-in-law, who is very knowledgeable about wildflowers, named it and described it from this picture I texted her. She said she had never actually seen one in bloom in nature owing to the fact that it only blooms a few hours in the mid-day heat. You frequently don’t know what you are looking at until someone points it out later. I saw 10 or more blooms at the edge of thicker grasses, but only stopped to take a picture of this one because of its extra-ordinarily stressed environment- kinda a “bloom where you’re planted” scenario. It turns out that they are just tough as nails and out compete other plants for such sites.
- Foster Falls- capstone, shallow soil, and infrequent rain result in a boom or bust flow
- Mud Daubers? Cliff Swallows? Dried Mud? No, it’s pitted limestone!
- Topview of Foster Falls
- Phemeranthus calcaricus, Limestone Fameflower
- Natural Pavement, aka Sandstone Cap; Unnatural Meadow, aka Powerline Right-of-way
We made it home late that night, tired but blessed by the family time and brushes with nature.
Another Year is Dawning
Posted in Blessing, Faith, General, God Thoughts, Grace, Hymns, New Year, Poem, Salvation, Work of Jesus, tagged Blessing, Faith, Hymn, New Year, Poems, Work of Jesus on January 1, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Frances Havergal wrote the following poem for New Year greeting cards in 1874, which later became a hymn:
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.
Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.
Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,
Another year of training for holier work above.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.
It is a time to reflect on the past, take stock of the present, and aspire to a better future. Much if not most of life is beyond our control, but she clearly pleads God’s provision, not for an easy time, but for a fruitful time in belief and service to God. I ask that my Christian brothers and sisters be blessed with just what this poem requests, “another year for Thee”.
There are others of my friends and readers who do not yet know God through His Son, Jesus Christ. I plead with God to choose you in this new year to be His child. Though He is the one who chooses, in some mysterious and yet simple way we must choose Him as He enables us to. The offer is there; knowledge of God and life eternal awaits. Trust Jesus to take away the guilt of your offenses against God by the sacrifice He made on the cross. It is not a complex choice, but it is a definite one. Do not reject Him for some misguided sense of fairness:
“Give us fairness,” said many voices.
“You don’t want fair,” he said,
“For then we would all be dead.”
Grace that will set you free,
Mercy to pardon, can’t you see?
You have no other choices.
And why would we all be dead? “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) There in the same sentence with the bad news and death, is the good news and eternal life.
May your New Year be blessed with the knowledge of God and joy in serving Him.
Joined to God
Posted in Blessing, Family, General, Grandchildren, Photo, Poem, Relationship, tagged Blessing, Family, Grandchildren, Photos, Poems on August 15, 2018| 1 Comment »
Levi Bean had a start so fragile
May your body and mind be agile
As this world and His Word you explore
May God’s strength be yours forevermore
Bring Levi* near for He shall be Mine**
Shall teach Your people of the Divine
Observed Your Word, kept covenant#
May Levi help preserve the remnant*#
May Ezekiel again “God strengthen”+
May his impact and years God lengthen
Show the ‘Son of Man’ to believers
A witness silencing deceivers
May Mr. Bean be ever friendly
To strangers and kin ever kindly
A man of his word, a friend to trust
Husband and father loving a must
*Levi means “attached” or “joined” (Genesis 29:34) **Numbers 3:5-12 #Deuteronomy 33:9-11 *# Malachi 3:3-4 +The meaning of Ezekiel; “Son of Man”- title for Ezekiel (used 95 times) pointing to Christ (Daniel 7:13)
Our sixth grandchild has arrived. I write these poems for each new grandchild with the intention that they may be blessings spoken over the the child’s life. Circumstances have not allowed me to spend significant time with my grandchildren, but I can pray for them and bless them. Perhaps God will allow me to spend more time with them when they get older. Please pray for this young one, who has many challenges ahead with heart surgery around 3-4 months. God is good to provide and protect a posterity. May they be a godly one.
Check out the picture of L and Sis
The Purpose for Trials
Posted in Faith, General, God Thoughts, God's Word, Grace, Sustaining, Trials, tagged Blessing, Faith, God's glory, Joy, Purpose, Trials on May 27, 2018| 1 Comment »
CreatorWorship 
Choppy Seas Ahead
Posted in Blessing, Change, Cultural commentary, General, tagged Blessing, Cultural commentary, Foundations of Life, Grammar on May 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I decided awhile back in writing blogs that since accurate quotes are hard to come by, especially from notes taken from live talks (sermons, lectures, conversations, etc), that I would at least communicate with myself when I was not exactly quoting, but just accurately summarizing with words actually spoken (or synonyms thereof) but not necessarily in that order, to surround them with apostrophes (‘) rather than quotation marks (“).(1) See if you think that I am wrong to pass these off as nearly quotes.(2)
In the sermon this morning, my pastor said many noteworthy things. I was dull of mind and slow of pen and didn’t get many of them down, but following are a few essentials I grabbed out of the verbal stream:
“God is Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer… These are the foundational issues we build our lives upon.”
‘In the variable winds and choppy waves of our rapidly changing culture that make us soul sick, we do not build our lives upon trends in our culture or traditions of better days, but the truth of God’s Word.’ Actually, he didn’t use ‘variable’ or ‘choppy’ but described the bounce on a small boat that made him sick. And though he conveyed all of the thoughts with almost all those words, they never appeared in one sentence. So, what are you building your life upon in these changeable time- trends, traditions, or truth? Trends and traditions may align with truth, but they are not the judge or guide of our choices, truth is.
He read about the sixth day of creation from Genesis 1:24-31. Though he said much more could be gleaned, he did offer 5 applications:
“God is our authority. Life is precious. Men and women are different theologically and biologically. We should celebrate the differences in men and women.” ‘We live within our God given callings and then we are blessed.’ I was behind on my writing and could not get down the last one exactly, but it most interested me. He talked about how obeying God’s calling, which he prefers over the word role, brings life, while living counter to it brings death. We see the promotion of so much death in our culture these days that verify the judgements of Romans 1 on those who refuse to acknowledge God and His callings. Are you as a church-goer, perhaps even devotee of Christ, following these life cursing trends in our culture? For the sake of us all, please stop!
1. That was such a fun sentence to write. I hope it is grammatically correct and easily understood.
2. Do you realize that I am suggesting a new grammatical form and use of the apostrophe? Old School Grammarians would disdain my attempt to amend the rules. They might say, ‘You do not need such non-sense. We already have quotes and summaries of ideas.’ I would retort, “That is what they said. I just am not willing to swear in court that they used those exact words in that exact order.”
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