When you are reading here whether you found me intentionally or accidently, please take time to leave a comment and let me know where you are and what you are thinking. I love feed back. Vondi

Thursday, February 17, 2011

a rainbow on the floor

There’s a rainbow on the floor in the den. I saw it yesterday morning when I turned around to stand up from fixing lunches. It’s tiny as rainbows go—probably like four inches square, but it has all the colors of the spectrum in it.
It was a little miracle for a few seconds. A tiny promise from God appearing suddenly in the darkness of early morning, it shone brightly. Of course, there is a very logical reason for it and I looked to see it again today. Michael changed the light on the turtle tank from a plain light bulb to one of those coiled energy efficient bulbs. It gives off a white light that breaks into a spectrum of colors as it shines through the glass of the fish tank and the water inside. When the light in that one little spot is condensed on the floor it makes a rainbow.
But knowing the scientific principles of its creation makes it no less beautiful there on the floor in the dimness.
And even more it made my mind go back to the promise God made to Noah as he and his family thanked Him for their survival in the flood.
20And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Gen 8: 20-22

12And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. Genesis 9:12-17

Saturday, February 12, 2011

technology

I sometimes get frustrated with modern technology and electronics. ( I have a brand new Mp3 player that has nothing on it. I bought it last summer so I could use it while the family was doing other things and I was on my computer. I haven’t a clue how to load it. Notah was going to help me. SETH volunteered. Hmmm. Yeah. He’s eleven. But then we got involved in moving and we never got it done.)
But this morning I turned on the weather to see what the temp was and what the day had in store. Then I stopped griping for a bit. I watched as the man explained the giant map behind him. There was a band of clouds (indicating cold weather) across southern Canada and a little bit of the US. There was another band across the middle part of the country that was indicated as ‘mild.’ And finally from about southern Colorado and northern Arizona/NM on south it was positively ‘warm!’ It was neat. From one side of the country to the other were these wide bands of weather. And it probably will be the way he said.
We used to joke about the weatherman, but anymore the weather forecasters are pretty much spot-on. The cold that they forecast usually does show up. The coming snow or rain usually does arrive within a few hours of when they call for it. The amount may vary, but I won’t quibble over that. I mean, how can they tell how many inches of snow those clouds will ‘decide’ to drop on Columbus?
There is a channel on my TV cable called Weather On Demand. I have it programmed to show the current temperatures and weather, as well as the forecasts, in Westerville, Belen, Wilmot and Gallup. The four places in this world where the people I love live. It is amazing to me. I can only wonder what my old Pappy would say about it.
And then I love my cell phone. It enables me to talk with Notah almost every morning of the week as he drives to work. I grew up and lived most of my life in the days of long distance charges. Anyone older than 35 probably remembers when we had to be careful how long we talked to someone in a city 50 miles away because there was an extra charge for each minute of conversation beyond the first three. And talking to someone on the other side of the country cost two arms and a leg for just those three minutes. So we never called to simply chat. A long distance call was made for important events only.
NOW I spend 30 to 40 minutes every morning taking with Notah about everyday happenings and what’s going on in the southwest. It’s seldom anything very important, just the kind of conversation a family might have over breakfast or dinner when everyone gathers and shares their day with one another. My heart sometimes aches for Grandma Howe and other mothers who raised their children and sent them out into the world not to hear their voices for months sometimes years. How much their hearts must have yearned to talk with them!
My brother in law has been sick this last week. Notah gave Helen his home cell phone so she could keep in touch with him and her kids even while she was in the hospital with Leonard. I consider myself as being pretty current with life in the 21st century, but my mind boggles sometimes.
And then let’s talk about this neat ‘app’ on my word processing program that allows me to check spelling, look for synonyms and antonyms for words, check my grammar and even look up the meanings of words in several different dictionaries. How astonishing is that!  There’s even a button to click to give me a language translation! Gone is the need for a dictionary or thesaurus. Gone is the need for a grammar handbook. Almost gone is the need to proofread for spelling, although the application does tend to skip over things like plane and plain or red and read; BUT even those sometimes have a line of little red dots under them if it doesn’t make sense in the sentence!! This computer is smarter than most people!
I have to say that no matter how much I crab about my wonderful little laptop (Oh yes, I have to mention that, too), no matter how much I complain when my laptop freezes up or contracts a virus, I freely admit that the technology that produced it is so far beyond my comprehension it is like Gabriel trying to understand how his bits of dog food drop from our fingers. He has no idea how it happens he only knows that it does. That’s the way I am with my computer.
I’m of the generation that can remember simple computers filling rooms. The vast machines had ranks of blinking lights that conveyed information only to the most informed. There was a special 'language' that was used to transfer information to them.  The next step was when a computer was reduced to the size of a kitchen table, but you still had to speak the 'language.' Then it jumped to a rather cumbersome system that sat on the table. Finally it was broken into component parts called ‘the monitor,’ the ‘keyboard,’ and the working part that I always called a ‘PC’ even though I know that means ‘personal computer.’ I don’t know what that box with the mother board and all the other stuff in it is called. This one was usable by the informed secretary or writer because some guy had created a program called 'Windows' that made it simple to work with. And now, now I can sit here with my knees propped on my recliner foot rest holding my little laptop on a little base in front of me. And this laptop isn’t even particularly small, slim or light weight. I've seen some advertized which are smaller than the regular 8 X 10 notebook kids use for homework.
More later.  My fingers have worked too hard on this keyboard.  When-oh-when will I be able to just talk and have the words appear on my screen....yeah, I know, I've seen a basic one advertized...wow.

Friday, February 11, 2011

a Friday morning


My ‘kids’ have all gone to work. My dogs are settled on the bed taking their morning nap. I love the peacefulness of this time of day. Not that the rest of my day isn’t peaceful, but this time especially it seems to settle over the world. I’ve often thought what a sweeping effect being right with the Lord has in the lives of His Children. It permeates every little cranny of my being. It affects my thoughts and the things I do. It influences my dealings with my family and others I meet. And when I sit down in the silence, there is nothing on my heart to disturb my mind. And that is a wonderful state to be in.
I’ve been burdened this week because Leonard, my brother in law, Helen’s husband has been in the hospital with multiple problems. I haven’t been able to focus real well on mundane things because I’ve been occupied in praying and thinking about him and Helen. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary a few weeks ago and his illness I know is a terrible blow to Helen. She loves her family deeply and holds them close in her heart. How awful it must be for the companion of 50 years to be in danger of being taken from her. My heart aches for her.
I am nearly finished with The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you’ve read here before a few weeks ago I picked up The Hobbit for the first time in quite a few years. I became involved in reading it again for probable the fourth or fifth time. When I finished it, I thought I would most likely re-read The Lord of the Rings as well. That rested for a few weeks but I did start the first book. It is lying on the counter between the den and the kitchen, waiting for me every morning as I finish my breakfast and coffee after R & M have left for their day.
I say again, if your only familiarity with hobbits and elves and dwarfs and orcs and trolls and vast sweeping epics of heroism and gallant feats has been the movie version you must definitely take the time to read the books. It will catch and hold your attention for all 1200 pages.

This is Caradhras, the mountain the Nine Walkers endeavored to climb over.
I found a fantastic site online that’s called ‘Middle Earth Tours.’ If you are a Tolkien fan you will love it. I enjoy illustrations that have captured the feeling of the text. The artists on these pages have evidently read and loved Middle Earth. If your only exposure to the world of Middle Earth has been the movie, this site might encourage you to read the entire series of Hobbit books.
My day has begun in quietness and burdens and awed fantasy. And over it all the Peace of God remains. Isn’t that wonderful?

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Happy in the Lord

I am happy in the Lord since my sins are washed away. And the love of God is filling all my soul . . . .Happy in the Savior! I am happy in the Savior I am happy in the Savior. I am happy in the Lord.
Lots of times I wake up with a song going through my head. I haven’t heard this one for many years. It was one of the favorites we used to sing at the Carrolton church a long, long time ago. I can still see sister Fry at the piano and brother Dean leading singing. I heard recently that the congregation has declined to a very few. That makes me sad but no group can deny the man of God and prosper for long.

BUT today I am happy in the Lord. I just sat down and Gable came looking up at me, asking to be in my chair. All it took was a little pat and up he came. He used to lay on my legs but his little weight makes my knees hurt unbelievably so he has learned to snuggle down between me and the arm of my chair. It’s much cozier and warm there anyway. On days like today warm is a good thing!

Two days of icy rain and icy roads and cold are pretty much over. The sun is shining now and the cold, although it is still in the low teens thermometer wise, is crisp and energizing.

Michael went off to work this morning none the worse for his crash while he was taking the trash down. That is how treacherous the ice was. Our drive was has an easy slope and he was walking carefully along the edge where he thought he would have some traction. Famous last thought. The ice was so sharp where it had thawed and refroze and been driven over that it cut his hand like little bits of glass.

Rachael is due to go in to work early today. By course of elimination I think she is becoming her boss’s go-to-guy. First the associate manager (who we referred to as ‘the Slacker’) was transferred to another store, leaving only two co manager and the head. Now the other co- has been blessed with a new baby in the family so he has chosen to take his vacation now. That leaves only the manager and Rachael. So any difficulty that requires consultation with the rest of his ‘team’ means he and Rach must put their two heads together and figure it out! It also means that if there is a gap in coverage, the manager calls Rachael. There is no one else to call. I keep telling her when she grumbles to ‘hush.” It is only one more step toward her goal of having her own store. And THAT is when she will put in for a transfer to Albuquerque!!

I can hardly wait! To be able to visit back and forth with Notah and Rachael both! Right there in the same general area! To be able to go home with Notah for the weekend or the week and to see my grandkids as they are growing up. To be able to go to Gallup sometimes and see Helen and Dorothy and our family there. And most of all to live again in my desert.

With that happy thought I’m going to stop!

872. My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less- Hamilton Landrum, song leader

   
Sometimes a song just sits on your soul and you can play it over and over and the blessings just keep flowing. This song did that for me tonight. This must be the third or fourth time I've played it and the words just keep blessing me.
hope is built on NOTHING LESS than Jesus blood and righteousness." What better more solid more wonderful basis could my hope rest on?
When darkness veils his Face I REST on his UNFAILING GRACE! I can't see it, but I  know it won't fail and it won't waver.
When all around my soul gives way, HE IS ALL MY HOPE! Just listen to that! Doesn't it just reverberate in your soul? Don't the praises just bubble out! Maybe not in loud noise or jumping up and down, but just bubble up like a pot slowly simmering with little bubbles of joy bursting on top!
Listen again. And keep listening until you have cleared every thing with the Lord and you KNOW this is where your hope lies!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

not quite yet

Ohio had an ice storm. It wasn’t really an ice storm, but more of a rain storm that froze when it hit the ground. It didn’t affect me too much; Michael went to work early Tuesday morning when the main roads had a good coating of salt and even Rachael went to the grocery in the afternoon without too much trouble. By evening though the ice had caught up with the salt and the roads were frozen over. Rachael had to run to the gas station up the road and they called me to say I couldn’t go to my doctor’s appointment on Wednesday morning. They were having trouble standing; people were falling in the parking lot on plain flat ground. They weren’t taking me out on that ice.
By after dinner, we were beginning to think about the possibility of the power going off. Our lights flickered occasionally and one bank of lights actually went out in the Blue Jackets’ arena during the first period. Rachael went around and closed all the drapes and blinds to keep what heat we had in. The girl grew up in an old farmhouse and knows how to conserve heat.
When the dogs made their last trip outside for the night around nine thirty Rachael had to go back and help poor old Mika across the ice. The little dogs had been dancing across the ice all day but Maxim and Mika had fallen through until this last trip. By that time there was a heavy layer of ice on the snow that supported the dogs’ weight. Maxim made it in, but Mika was too tired from slipping on the ice.
R & M collected Mika (I imagine Michael carried her up the stairs) and went to bed. Before they were finished in the bathroom, the power went off. I heard their feet hurrying around and knew they were on their way down to make sure I had a light. I didn’t of course. There were two flashlights and an oil lamp, but none of them were handy.
I was sitting on the side of the bed when they burst in to my room with a flashlight. They got me situated with flashlights and the power came back on. I lay back down with my flashlight cord wrapped in my fingers and fell asleep. Around midnight the power went off again and when I woke up at 12:30 it was dark. I got up and lit my candle. Then I lay down again and spent a few minutes enjoying the silence of the flickering golden glow. I’ve sometimes thought we should pick one evening every week to turn all the electricity off in our house and use only candles and oil lamps. The ambience they produce slows life to a place where we can appreciate all of our blessings.
At two o’clock when I woke up to go the bathroom, it was still off; but a few minutes later it came back on. I moved to my chair and went back to sleep.
This morning the news commentator reported that there were nearly 100,000 homes without power in central Ohio. Ice appears to be about two inches thick on top of the snow. Roads appear to be wet, but Michael reported last night that the wetness was simply a reflection off solid ice.
Right now it seems clear, but the wind is blowing so hard I can hear the howl even in my room. Our house here is very well insulated and sounds from outside seldom penetrate so that tells you how hard the wind is blowing. The forecasts are that the wind is going to cause the brief rise in temperature to plummet back down to the mid and lower twenties by evening. Already between 6:30 and 8:00 the temp here in Westerville fell six degrees from 36 to 30 now.
I have an appointment with the ortho-neuro surgeon this morning, but I won’t be going. My kids have decreed that I have no business trying to walk with crutches on the ice. I have to agree and I’ve been trying to get them all morning. So I won't be finding out about having my knees fixed quite yet.
I have thanked the Lord over and over these last few days that I don’t have to be out in this weather any longer. I remember so well the worry when I was living alone and there were several inches of snow. A snowed-in drive, snow covered walks, crutches on a snow-covered wooden deck, getting from the house to the garage alone. It was a nightmare then and a bad memory now. Thank the Lord for being able to stay inside. Thank the Lord for kids who say I don’t have to do that any more.