Jeremiah 29:11-13
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Photos of the beautiful flowers of summer and fall give hope of the coming days during this time of cold in the waning light.
As you may remember, my one word for the year is “Provide”.
It’s the Oregon Civil War this afternoon. The Ducks are #2 in the national poles and have already clinched the PAC-12 North Championship. If they can get past the Beavers today and Arizona in the PAC-12 Championship Game next week, they will be in the first College Football National Championship Playoff. I just hope they don’t look past Oregon State today. #GoDucks
My first-cousin-once-removed, Anna Carr, was in Seattle/Tacoma early in the month. Her visit PROVIDED us with a nice opportunity to visit Harbor Lights for lunch.
I’m still PROVIDING leadership at church on the Session and on the Committee on Ministry for the Presbytery.
One of the new projects for Bethany I’m trying to get started is a closer relationship with the college students at the University of Puget Sound. I was able to connect with their director, and we will be PROVIDING dinner for their gathering in March. I led a Centering Prayer session with them at a retreat one Saturday evening, and they were really great kids.
As I reported last month, Big Al and I have begun a new creative writing class (he has taken it for the past couple of years, but there hadn’t been space in the class for me, until now.) I wrote a couple of stories and this little poem that I posted here last week.
The rains have started, so I’ve moved my exercise into the Wellness Center. I’ll admit the scenery isn’t nearly as good inside as outside, but I press on. The diet is going well. I’m losing about half-a-pound a week (and for almost one year in, that’s pretty good.) I’m taking the month of December (actually from Thanksgiving through New Years Day) off from the strict diet. I am still working out and counting my steps with my FitBit, but I’ve reduced my target steps from 10,000 a day to 8,000 a day – and I’m not going to beat myself up if I don’t “get my buzz.”
I’m going to be posting from prompts from this list during Advent. Join me for a Bible verse, picture, and short reflection every day until Christmas.
I hope you enjoyed my “Gratitude” series during November, and that this will PROVIDE you with a short moment of respite during the hectic days leading up to Christmas.
With the cold, rainy, gray days of November surrounding me, I thought you’d like to see one of the peonies from earlier in the fall. The memory of the glorious blossoms during our blooming season gives me hope for the return of the sun. We had a little of everything, weather-wise, yesterday. I woke up to fog, then the sun came out, then it rained, then the sun came out again, then the wind blew, then it rained, and I went to bed with the drip of rain, and fog over the Sound. We are promised the potential of snow on Saturday, maybe not here right by the Sound, but for sure on the foothills 10-15 miles inland. So I really appreciate the photos of the glories of summer while I snuggle in front of the fire.
The person I’m most thankful for this Thanksgiving Day. I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without his love and support for the last (almost) 50 years. I love you, Big Al!
The obligatory family portrait from Thanksgiving 2005. I thank God every day for these people.
I went to the wood to ask for peace
And the wood replied
“No justice, no peace.”
And I said “What can I do?”
I went to the mountain to ask for vision
And the mountain replied
“Look back, look around.”
And I said “I’m afraid. There’s too much to do.”
I went to the hills to ask for courage
And the hills replied
“Make a start, start now”
And I said “Can I make a difference?”
I went to the river to ask for faith
And the river replied
“Trust yourself, trust others.”
And I bowed my head and agreed.
With vision, courage, and faith
I crossed the deserts and swamps
Of man’s inhumanity to man.
I spoke truth to power,
I fed and I clothed
I struggled to right all the wrongs.
And I failed.
Battered and bowed
I returned to the wood again seeking peace,
And the wood welcomed me in.
“Peace is the reward for your trying
The goal is not success but effort.
You’ve fought the good fight,
You’ve held fast to quest.”
And there in the green, leafy world of the wood
I found peace in the home of a friend.
(I wrote this little poem over a week ago for a writing class at FTJ. It seems strangely prophetic in the light of the troubles in Ferguson. I don’t know what to say or to suggest. I just know we have to try our damnedest to love and accept one another.)
Thanksgiving was always the time of gathering for my family. Here we all were in 2000 at my brother’s house – four generations of us – after Mama died and before Kate was born – and way before Jonathan and Erin married and became parents in their own right. Oh, so grateful for these people in my life.
Fog, mist and clouds – November in the Pacific Northwest. I’m grateful for the rain and for the sun that lurks behind the clouds. To everything there is a season…
I’m so thankful that a team that I support is finally not a loser (I have a bad habit of loving the losers and it’s really nice to pick a winner for once). The Oregon Ducks are champions of the PAC-12 (North Division) and win/lose/or draw next week against Oregon State Beavers they will represent the north in the PAC-12 Championship game on December 5th. I’m could wax poetic about all the great stuff they are doing (including being #2 in the whole nation), but I thought I’d tell you why I’m totally their fan. Their quarterback, Marcus Mariota, is a fine young man – a student of the sciences who wants to “help other people” either in Sports Medicine or in Physical Rehabilitation. He’s carrying 20 credits this semester in addition to being the leader of his team. The other things I love about the Ducks is their play. They rely on quickness, speed, agility, and innovation instead of on brute strength and power. Personally, I dislike “smash-mouth” football that seems bent on seeing exactly how much one team can hurt the other team. They are also truly balanced, with lots of different players contributing to their success and no ONE player who has to carry the whole load for the team. Watch them play, and I think you’ll be won over. #GoDucks!
Last night we went to the Chef’s Table for a wonderful meal, prepared table-side, by Chef Tim, our executive chef for Franke Tobey Jones. We had roast sweet potato soup, turkey scaloppini, wild rice pilaf, roasted squash, and chocolate pecan pie. The chef hosts these dinners three times a month for a small group (10-12 people). You have to sign up early to get a place at the table. I’m so grateful that this is one of the perks we get for living here.
An Aging Liberal Hippy from the Left Coast 