Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Since the beginning of roads…man has found a way to clutter them with road signs. Today one can have a wreck just trying to take them all in before making the decision to go straight or turn.

But…if you get off the interstate and travel the back country roads again…you will find less signs and more humor. Here are just a few examples…

Obviously I could go on and on…I looked up from reading road signs and half an hour had just disappeared.

Chris Frazier sent me a list of observations that a chaplain shared on-line to help guide us through life…just like a road sign. As I read each one…the wisdom exponentiated.

I began to picture road signs along a heavenly road…directing us how to get through life intact and better for the experience. Don’t we all want to leave a legacy behind worth remembering?

A wonderful Sunday lesson.

DID YOU KNOW?

*The most destructive habit is WORRY.

*The greatest joy is GIVING.

*The greatest loss is SELF-RESPECT.

*The most satisfying work is HELPING OTHERS.

*The ugliest personality trait is SELFISHNESS.

*The greatest natural resource is OUR YOUTH.

* Our greatest shot in the arm is ENCOURAGEMENT.

*The greatest problem to overcome is FEAR.

*The most effective sleeping pill is PEACE OF MIND.

*The most crippling failure disease is EXCUSES.

*The most powerful force in life is LOVE.

*The worst thing to be without is HOPE.

*The deadliest weapon is THE TONGUE.

*The most powerful filled words are I CAN.

*The greatest asset is FAITH.

*The most worthless emotion is SELF-PITY.

*The most beautiful attire is a SMILE.

*The most contagious spirit is ENTHUSIASM.

*THE MOST POWERFUL CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION IS….PRAYER!

Have a blessed day. Chaplain John Phelps

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So until tomorrow…I need to make a “cheat sheet” laminated pocket card on these “Did You Know?” observations so I can access it easily whenever I need to remember one…powerful thoughts. *Thanks Chris for sharing these with me.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Thursday, after I returned from Walsh and Mollie’s house…I noticed that the red bud (almost touching the porch ceiling) off the geranium of “Big Red’s” had finally opened! (Been waiting for weeks)

I stared teary-eyed at it…a God Wink I felt… reassuring me that our beloved Poogie was in God’s care now…safe and sound….then today…it fully opened and I know Poogie is happy and blooming in her new life.

Mollie said they had an exciting morning yesterday…a friend of theirs stopped by with a special delivery containing three little “poogies” …from Poogie who wanted to make sure the children still have something furry to sleep with and on at night since she can no longer be there.

Ann Graves asked me how Poogan (Poogie) got her name. Those of you who live in the Charleston area probably might have a good guess..at least for part of the answer. She was named Poogan after Poogan’s Porch...the famous downtown (Queen Street) restaurant.

…But I would be remiss if I just stopped there. The restaurant was named after a dog named Poogan and today the ghost of that dog supposedly returns.

*(It is a local ghost story told on downtown ghost tours still today!)

How Poogan’s Porch Came to Be

When 72 Queen was purchased, the previous owners left in such a haste, that they didn’t even bother to bring their dog with them. This little wiry haired white dog named Poogan, was left behind without cause, left behind on the porch of the house to wonder why? Why he had been abandoned?

The new owners, baffled as to why anyone would leave such a sweet dog behind themselves, decided to keep Poogan. Taken with the dog immediately, it was decided that the restaurant would be named after the pup.

Another variation of this story is that Poogan was a neighborhood stray who would wander from porch to porch, always looking for his next meal. As the house at 72 Queen was be converted, Poogan began showing up on the porch to the house everyday, looking for some workman lunch. The Owners began to joke that the porch did not belong to them, but to Poogan instead.

Regardless of the account you choose to believe, Poogan was a real dog and not just some restaurant story. Poogan for years served in the capacity of official greeter at the restaurant. A position he held until his passing in the year of 1979.

Poogan, is still greatly missed by the owners and the people of Charleston as a whole, but the restaurant continues on, ensuring Poogan’s lasting legacy. It’s even been said, if you visit Poogan’s Porch today, you just may catch a glimpse of a ghostly dog, a dog rumored to be the one and only Poogan.

Source: The Ghosts of Poogan’s Porch (Ghost City Tours)

*I have to laugh…believe me…if our Poogan (Poogie) ever returns to Poogan’s Porch…everyone will know which “Poogan” ghost this is…since she will stand up by the table, clean the plate…(probably taking the tablecloth, plate and other utensils with her when she finishes.) However…her constantly wagging,  big powerful tail makes a great broom…so she might, inadvertently, clean up after herself. 🙂

* As Walsh so wittingly noted…“Poogan might not have been the perfect dog (she definitely had her  quirks) but she was the “perfect” dog for us.” (I think the same can be said of humans too, don’t you?) 🙂

Dear Reader:

I love this early photo of Poogie with Walsh and Mollie’s newest baby (since Poogie was their first) little Rutledge…the family is all looking forward but Poogie is looking backward. She’s not concerned with what lies ahead…because I suspect the photographer brought dog treats for her and she’s ‘in the moment’ vying for another a little ‘afternoon delight.’ Smile! 🙂

Two weeks ago…after the fluid around her heart had to be drained three times…Poogie bounded back in the house…saw a plate on the table with left-overs from an earlier meal and she did her Poogie “thing”…grab it right off the table.

She had already forgotten about the uncomfortable draining procedure, felt 100% better, and was ready to eat and then snooze. Poogie kept life simple…no worries about what might be or what might happen around the corner or in the future again…just happiness in the “right now.”

Aren’t we humans envious of this type of living…no worries…just happiness at eating, playing, sleeping and being loved. The closest a dog comes to worry is waiting. When you think about it…pets spend an enormous amount of their lives waiting on love (we humans) each day to return.

*In this particular photo…Poogie is waiting on Mollie or Walsh to come home and take her to the beach. They were renting a house on Isle of Palms, after their wedding, and that dog sure loved the beach…especially surfboarding with Walsh. It was a special bonding time between the two of them.

Don’t you remember, at least some of your English teachers, giving the annual lecture on the importance of not reading the end of a novel first…but if you did and then tried to write a book report about it…she would know…a thinly veiled threat.

The lecture continued with this kind of improper reading not being fair to the author or the reader. (Yet, honestly, haven’t we all done it or tried it at one time …or more?)

I would never, ever do that to a Louise Penny detective book…but admittedly I have skipped with some novels I started but didn’t find interesting enough to keep my attention.

I always feel guilty when I do this, however, and find myself, looking around expecting the secret reading police to pounce on me for this literary  indiscretion. 🙂

In the novel The Rent Collector the ‘teacher’ gives this reprimand.

” Child, unless you are opening a dictionary, you start at the book’s opening page and you read the story through. If it’s terribly dreadful, then just put it down and move on. What I will not tolerate is reading ahead. It’s not fair to the reader or the author. If they meant to have their books read backwards, they would surely have written them that way.”

I soon realized, after starting chemo and radiation treatments, plus three surgeries for breast cancer, that I no longer wanted to know the ending to my own life…predictions weren’t initially medically optimistic…but as long as only God knew when my ending would come…that left the door open for my most steadfast friend…HOPE to walk with me.

Think about it…if we were all born with a road map of our life (given to us at birth) telling us every benchmark we would encounter on our individual life’s path to our ending…(even when and how the ending would happen)…there would be no need for HOPE to even exist.

God is the author of each of our lives…and He doesn’t believe in us reading the ending first either. Like Poogie…we are supposed to live life to the fullest, stay in the moment, keep the faith that God is leading each of us to our personal destination. God’s promise to us is that He will never desert us…and will always hold our hand…no matter how challenging life’s obstacles appear.

So until tomorrow…

Personally…I would never want to know my ending. I thank God, daily, that He is the only One who knows the time and place of my last station along the tracks of life. My hope is that our spiritual “conductor” has an one-way eternal-life ticket in His Hand when my time comes.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*This was one of Poogie’s favorite days…welcoming each new “brother or sister” to the family… no jealousy…just love.

 Baby Rutledge                                     Lachlan asleep on Poogie 

Poogie entertaining Eloise

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We have had showers on and off the past few days and/or evenings…I have gotten a much needed break from watering…Thank you God!

*I told Walsh that there should have been a subtitle to this post…Underneath…Never Read the Ending First...I should have written ( What We Can Learn about Life and Love from our Pets)

***A personal “shout-out” to all of you readers yesterday for your touching comments of sympathy and understanding with the loss of Poogie. It was the most-read post since the 10 Year Anniversary.

There are so many pet lovers in the world and the loss of a canine member of the family is deeply felt by all…pets are with us for such a relatively short time… but bring so much love and happiness with them when they come…and let’s face it…pets are just plain fun…they keep us laughing. Best stress-relievers around.

Dear Reader:

Our beloved Poogie is no longer with us. Early yesterday morning I heard my phone beeping several times and it was Mollie letting the family know she was gone.

Poogie started having breathing problems….so Mollie took her to the Animal Emergency Room where they knew her quite well. She had one episode two weeks earlier but they were able to stabilize her and she came home and appeared to be feeling good…until she wasn’t. Mollie told me she had a good last day… until her breathing became labored early Thursday morning.

She and Walsh had already talked about this moment (not if but when) it happened again…it meant the cancer was rapidly spreading and they had made that difficult decision not to prolong any suffering. Mollie was with her and Walsh was on the phone from work talking to her as she passed.

Poogie died almost five months to the day after her first heart and breathing problem (collapse) back in March. They were told then she was on “borrowed time” (they suspected cancer )but what a wonderful five months it was!  The best of her life…loved and cherished by all!

The children understood that Poogie died by the time I arrived yesterday morning…but their understanding of the finality of it, of course, had not sunk in…and it won’t until they start missing her not participating in daily swims off the dock and other activities she joined in with the family.

I decided to take some goodie bags to the children, along with a box of crayons each and some parchment paper for them to draw their feeling for Poogie in pictures…and then let me know what they wanted to tell her in their hearts.

They told me they wanted to draw a Rainbow Bridge since that was the bridge to heaven and lots of hearts. Rutledge and I discussed that she was an “angel dog” now so we could add some wings to her too.

We were sure she had seen little Rudy, her cousin, Tommy and Kaitlyn’s first dog, who also died of cancer. We talked about how excited they were to be back together again. They were playing and running together…and forever young!

*Photo of a young Poogie and Rudy at the beach with Kaitlyn doing her exercises and yoga.

Poogie and Rudy together again…forever!

Daddy’s Big Little Girl…A Puppy forever!

Yesterday afternoon I gathered all the children’s good-by pictures and messages to Poogie and put them in an envelope… and then in a zip-lock bag to put on Boo’s Prayer Tree.…the first prayer message and probably the biggest. The cross on the tree that Honey made will always be known forthwith as Poogie’s Cross. 

Lachlan’s drawing was of a Rainbow Bridge that Poogie crossed to be in Heaven with Rudy. His message was : “I love you! I will see you in Heaven.” Love, Lachlan

Rutledge, also drew the Rainbow Bridge that Poogie crossed, with hearts containing each family members first letter in their name. He also added angel wings and a gold crown to Poogie’s head.

His message: “Dear Poogie, I love you and hope you have a great life in heaven. I will see you one day in a hundred years. I will never forget you…because I love you.” Rutledge

A “Wainbow” lead Poogie across the road to heaven too, according to Eloise.

Eloise wanted to make sure God knew what Poogie’s favorite treat was: “ God, please give Poogie a bacon treat because she loves bacon and she is a good dog.” Love Eloise

Photo of the rainbow at Rutledge’s birthday in late June and the swim off the dock (for the last time) with all the family gathered together to see her. *Poogie spent most of the time checking to make sure each child in the water was safely back on the dock.

*Rutledge’s birthday was my last photo with Poogie…I confess that driving over and coming home from Mt. Pleasant yesterday I was bawling my eyes out! It never gets any easier losing a grand-dog!

A Collage of photos and pictures from Poogie’s shortened life…she was eight… and a loving, faithful companion to one and all.

So until tomorrow….“Dogs are not our whole life…but they make our lives whole.”  We love you Poogie…hoping you feel the love coming your way. You were the loyal sentinel of the house…keeping it safe for all who lived within the walls. Good-bye…don’t worry about us…we will be fine…go with our blessings.

Poogan “Poogie”- 2012 -2020 – Rest in Peace Sweet Poogie

Dogs come  the closest in defining and understanding God’s own unconditional love to us, as seen on earth, and how it works….by not talking but watching and listening (never judging)… love multiplies each day of our lives.

“Today is my favorite day”….Winnie the Pooh (I must remember that Poogie is having her first full day in Heaven…filled with overwhelming love and joy.)

Thank goodness for Eloise who was excited to talk about Poogie and God…and then just as excited  to play Peek a Boo with Boo Boo. What is it about cabinets under the kitchen sink….they are a magnet for hiding. 🙂

Rutledge is really into Lacrosse…I feel good about it because there is so much equipment, padding, gloves, and covering on…I don’t think COVID19 could get in if it tried.

Dear Reader:

I love today’s title quote by Thoreau…How observant of him to realize that heaven just isn’t above us….but, like God, all around us.

Every time I go to my garden…I feel like I see another slice of heaven in each new bloom or each new plant or flower addition to the garden…I am witness to seeds of life  being created, then planted, and growing taller… more every day. I get to feel (for a few precious seconds)…what God experiences daily…life abounding throughout the universe. Mind-boggling!

It hit full force one day while sitting in the garden swing… that the reason the blog and garden mean so much to me is that they are dependent on me. Nothing grows unless I plant it…and a post doesn’t write itself. *

And don’t we all need someone or something that depends on us for its very existence?

“The “empty nest” syndrome is very real…once our children, who once depended on us for everything leave the house…there is a void.  We try and tell ourselves how wonderful it is now to clean the house and have it stay clean…and it is…to a certain extent. But even clean houses lose their charm … when silence prevails too long.

For years, children of all ages depended on me…as a parent and a teacher…Later one day my mother started  depending on me the last years of her life…and then that was over too.

Of course the grandchildren love me and they are the light of my life..but they don’t really depend on me on a daily basis in their lives. They have their parents for that…

But Once Upon a Time the garden and blog entered my life and once again I felt needed. Don’t we all need to feel needed in life?

Yesterday was such a wonderful day! Fin and Virginia Smith came for a visit…their son, Jared, and my son Tommy were roommates, while at Clemson for the whole four years, and both ended up in the low country after graduation.

Jared’s parents retired and moved down too…to be close to both their sons and Virginia’s mother who is at Presbyterian Village. They lived at Isle of Palms for awhile and most recently in Mt. Pleasant. Then their son Jared and his wife made a career move to Augusta this summer with their one-year-old son, Bennett. Nothing is sadder for a first-time grandparent!

Fin and Virginia decided to look for a house in Summerville to rent to be nearer Virginia’s mother and as it turned out…there was a house to rent in my neighborhood. We are still keeping our fingers crossed  that things work out for the long term,  but, in the meantime short term, it gave us an opportunity to meet again, after many years.

I went to Swanks Bakery and got some more mack-ah- rohns for a treat to share…if you haven’t been to this Summerville bakery…please do…so many different types of desserts that melt in your mouth.

Lorraine White (the music teacher at Alston Middle School where I taught my whole career) and I, for several years, traveled around to different schools, historical sites, and state parks to tell stories, with Lorraine adding music to the agenda…What a voice God gave this friend of mine!

Fin Smith, was a principal and P.E. teacher, at the most wonderful little rural elementary school, around the Clemson/Anderson area … while the boys were still at Clemson. He found out about Lorraine and me doing these performances through Tommy and hired us to come do presentations with his teachers.

He told me yesterday he still remembers the “Tate” story Lorraine told…it is a familiar old folksey (tongue in cheek) story that makes you burst out laughing.

Lorraine used the “Tate” story to describe different students that teachers might meet in their classroom… which had all the teachers dying laughing because they could relate to them all…but you can easily see how you can use the “Tate family” members and put them in any situation… school, an office, any workplace ….and make the laughter roll.

It works well for describing the different folks one might find in church too…and this is the one I re-discovered concerning a congregation. Too cute…enjoy!

(*I just selected some of the “Tate” family members from the story because it could go on and on…and that is the fun part…finding new Tate family members for your version of the story!)

Here’s a humorous look at the “Tate” family members that may go to your church:

There’s old man Dic Tate. He wants to run everything.

Mrs. Irri Tate tends to annoy people in Sunday school with her mannerisms and way of speaking.

Uncle Ro Tate tries to change everything regarding the church. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is not one of his favorite proverbs!

Sister Agi Tate is always stirring up trouble!

Even a 5% chance of rain makes Uncle Precipi Tate carry his umbrella to church.

Commen Tate has an opinion on everything… even things she knows nothing about.

Whenever someone proposes a new project or event, it’s impossible to get Hesi Tate or his wife, Vege Tate, interested. They always want to wait at least until next year.

Regurgi Tate always wants to bring something up again for a new vote.

There’s Aunt Imi Tate who thinks her pastor ought to preach like her favorite TV preacher. She’d also like for the music to be like that at a church she visited.

Devas Tate provides the voice of doom. He thinks he has the gift of prophecy

Ampu Tate. He has completely cut himself off from the church because of some relatively minor (in terms of Kingdom values) dispute.

But not all is lost…Lets look at these wonderful members….

Rehabili Tate helps run the church’s activities.

Fortunately, there’s Brother Facili Tate who is always helpful.

One happy, delightful member is Miss Felici Tate.

While cousins Cogi Tate and Medi Tate always need to think things over; they are sure to lend helpful, steady hands in the end.

And Finally….

Resusci Tate breathes new life into the church.

Anybody sound familiar? 🙂 🙂 🙂

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A Shout-out to Ann Graves and a big thank you for the surcie you left me yesterday on the front porch…it was a solar mason jar with lights. I immediately thought of one spot in the garden where it is especially dark at night and hung it up…normally solar mason jars take a full day of sun before they come on at night….but when I peeked out (while locking up last evening)…I shook my head in surprise and amazement.

It wasn’t the usual white lights but delicate pastel colors reflecting back from the jar….so unexpected and so pretty! Thank you Ann…another light to help me find my way out of the darkness.

Dear Reader:

I have always loved this quote from one of my favorite authors-Henry James…” Summer afternoon…summer afternoon; to me those words have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”

I agree. Yesterday I was running an errand and suddenly found myself pulled to Hutchinson Square in downtown Summerville. (We lucked up and had a wonderful cooling downpour Monday night around 10 p.m….so yesterday everything looked so bright and cheery.)

There was a soft breeze and break in humidity. It was a day that makes one glad to just be alive.

I parked my car and strolled around the square park…there were groups of people of all ages, sharing their lunch break together on the stage beside the entrance of the Summerville gates.

Because of the much needed rain from the thunder storm the night before… everything in the square looked like it was in technicolor…including my favorite attraction…the fountain in the middle of the square.

The sun’s rays were catching the water pouring over the sides producing a rainbow effect. Glorious!

I decided I just had to get in the action…no, not go swimming in the fountain…but climb up and feel the water. A lady sitting across the fountain on a bench (with her little sleeping grandson beside her) laughed at me climbing up on the edge. She took a photo… sending it to me right there…a new friend on a sunny summer afternoon!

It was while I was touching the water that I smelled  home cooking coming from Eva’s Restaurant across the street. I called and ordered some fresh veggies and just enjoyed watching the people come and go through the square. What an addition it is to our town!

When I walked over to pick up my lunch…I was met with some sad news from one of my favorite waitresses there…she had been gone for awhile because her mother-in-law got COVID19 and unfortunately died. It had been a tough time for her entire family. This “virus” just doesn’t seem to want to stop bringing sorrow to so many families.

The “girls” had on Eva’s Restaurant masks and looked so cute… I just had to take their photos. I love that the restaurant is still an anchor downtown. They are hanging in there for which I am very thankful….Eva’s is so rich in Summerville history.

You know your town is still “small” in the sense of community…when the Public Works Art Center in downtown Summerville (newly renovated) left one of the town’s “top”secrets- ‘Frosty the Snowman’ still up in the top window…to “guard” our town with a top hat and a smile.)

Jeff and his main helper, his young teenage son, came yesterday to work on my lawn… he returned bringing my reading angel...he had a hard time getting the stripped solar panel off…but he did. I have her sitting on the deck as I type…soaking up the sun’s rays…so hopefully her light will shine tonight. We will see.

So until tomorrow…I love the garden after Jeff leaves…the smell of cut grass and the sight of manicured paths through the garden fill me with delight! It is my idea of a perfect “summer afternoon…summer afternoon.” James was right…musical, lyrical, soothing, inviting words…that seem to beckon…”Come play!”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh having a “grand” summer afternoon.

Do yourself a favor….and spend some time at a beautiful spot that soothes the nerves…leave the world behind and take a break. “Summer afternoons” are too precious to be lost in anxiety and uncertainty…because everyone certainly deserves a peaceful place, a refuge, to go to for renewal of just “being.”

Dear Reader:

How many times have we used the expression or had the expression asked of us “Are you in the dumps?”

I would venture to say the vast majority of us, if we are being absolutely truthful, would have to admit that we have had our bouts of (at a minimum) “low-grade depression” in recent weeks.

It would be unrealistic of us to think that our lives could be turned upside-down, so quickly, during this pandemic, without any transitional mood swings.

After all we are human beings…and, as such, our feelings, both positive and negative, are paramount to living on this fragile, ever-changing world on earth.

So when Anne dropped this book off and simply said, “Read it…now”…I could tell it was going to be “change agent” kind of book.

However when I, later, read the description and summary… I hesitated. What I really up for a story that took place in a massive city dump that thousands called home in Cambodia? A story about daily survival, corrupt government, dashed hopes,  scavenging for food and a chronically ill child?

I felt an invisible barrier going up around me…to protect me, emotionally, from entering this place and characters you knew, intuitively, you would come to care about. (*No pun intended…but really…how depressing! )

Yet…something kept nagging at me. I had just finished another “light summer read” so I was ready to start a new book and it was time to change the genre to issues with more substance. But inwardly I was concerned if I could handle it.

As I wavered one line popped out at me as I skimmed the pages. Someone called the Healer was saying “It doesn’t matter where you live, it is how you live.”

I started thinking about my “home” and realized that I have lived in a duplex for the majority of my life….first as child and youth…then later when married with children and now me, myself, and I all live together… still on one side of my duplex.

For years I envied people who lived in houses…not duplexes… and I savored the few times I did live in a house…but it appeared I was destined to be a “duplex” gal.

However now my eyes see “home” differently…I see my duplex as whole…not two separate entities…but one loving home that welcomes family and guests to come and spread out over both sides. The garden belongs to the ‘whole house’ and I love every inch of it.

The book quote is true….I had to change my attitude about living in duplexes first…and then concentrate on the most important question… how-not where I was going to live my life.

I read until 2 a.m Monday morning…slept a few hours….picked the book back up around 10 a.m. and finished late yesterday afternoon. I learned more lessons on life, with newer perspectives, in that one book than I have in a long time.

So until tomorrow….To sum up my feelings about the book I will take a quote from it which applies to my higher level of understanding people…no matter where they live. We are all the same…we love our families and friends, hope for a better future for our children, and treasure our time together.

Or as this quote (from the book) observes about finding the truths in life…

“Stop listening with your ears. Listen with your heart. It is only the heart that realizes and comprehends the truths in life.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

P.S. If you like a conclusion that you never saw coming…that makes you gasp and shake your head in amazement….read this book! 🙂

Dear Reader:

I love reminiscing through the Maine photo book Anne gave me, recently, as a gift from the last adventure we shared in her ‘neck of the woods.’

One day, in particular, stands out in my memory…I was sitting up front with Sherri (in her big red GMC truck)… she was a long-time friend of Anne’s, while Anne sat in the back and laughed her head off at us ‘fighting that uncivil war‘ one more time with our “peculiar” accents. It was hard to keep a straight face the whole day we were on this excursion… as we each mimicked the other’s MA vs. SC expressions.

Our first stop was to a blueberry field near Sherri’s home…I remember Sherri’s bursting into song singing the last few words of Strawberry Fields by the Beatles…but she sang (quite loudly) the word “blueberry” ….at first I thought she was just kidding…since we were in “blueberry” country… but when I realized she was serious…I couldn’t let her go through life thinking it was “Blueberry Fields Forever”! 🙂

The episode just got funnier and funnier…Anne and I had to google it to convince Sherri she had the title and  lyrics wrong the whole time.

*However…after looking at this photo Anne took…the fields did look more like strawberry fields with their reddish tint. (It was fall and after the blueberries have been picked and the  crop has been gathered, the fields do take on a red hue.)

It isn’t, however, the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields that I wanted to highlight today… but a slightly lesser known song from the Beatles last album…Abbey Road.

The famous cover shows the four young musicians from Liverpool crossing Abbey Road…walking away from the studio where so many of their songs were created ….the only song they needed to finish that day was appropriately called “The End.”

This one phrase from that song (that featured musical solos from all the talented musicians) ended their time together.

Named after the road on which they did most of their recording, Abbey Road was the Beatles’ final album. Along with two of George Harrison’s finest songs, the highlight is the medley which takes up the majority of the second side.

The album has been featured on several “best of” lists, including a rank of #14 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1995.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the lyrics collectively, but it was Paul McCartney who wrote the famous line that expressed his love for the journey they had all taken together. Today there is a plaque in Liverpool with his famous line on it.

I can think of no more fitting tribute on how to live our lives. Think about it…”The love you take is equal to the love you make.” We need to spend our time on earth bringing as much joy and love to each other as we can ..so we can take that same amount of love with us into the next life.

*Last night I remembered that the first year we moved to Laurens, 1964, was the year the Beatles arrived in America with a bang…“I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” I sang it badly, every morning, on the way to Laurens High School where I was a freshman.

I made new friends quickly because of that song…we would pass notes in freshman math class citing which Beatle was our favorite and tally the results each day. (Mine was Paul!)

Reflecting back on those fun times of my youth…little did I know that this song would later take on new meaning…When it would be God’s hand…that I wanted to hold… I did…and do…still tightly today.

So until tomorrow….

Since God is LOVE…I think we can add…an extra line…“All you need is God.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

When we reflect back on our lives…hasn’t every major change, benchmark, or turning point made us initially uncomfortable?

From childhood on…I never liked changes…big or small.  I think there had been too much trauma early in my life and it scarred me from being adventurous as a young child and youth (except in my imagination)….Instead I desired consistency and stability. It was never to be…God makes sure of that through His laws of the Universe.

We were not created to be immobile. We only have a short time on earth and we should be willing to take the leaps necessary to see, smell, feel, taste, and touch every sight, scent, texture, flavor and object that life throws our way. If God had not desired this…He certainly wouldn’t have given us five senses to navigate through life  …our personal built-in radar/tech equipment.

…And just like APPLE…every time our tech “instruments” start getting a little dusty…God ‘kicks us out of our complacent nests’ with His latest navigational tools that force us to make innovative changes in our lives.  These changes, also, require us to keep learning new things.

…Other changes take the form of physical home moves from A to B, career changes, broken relationships, long-term illnesses involving us or loved ones, and finally our last move…back to God.

Take a moment now to reflect back on the seemingly “universal”/ ‘forced’ moves that felt like the rug had been being pulled out from under us…and then fast-forward time. Upon reflection…didn’t, in most cases, the change turn out to be the best thing in the end?

When we left Fayetteville, NC to move to Laurens, SC I was devastated…thirteen is a dramatic age, anyway, with the hormones bouncing off the walls… and I was a ‘drama queen. ‘All of it, collectively, made the move initially worse than it should have been.

It was when I graduated high school four years later and had that last summer between high school and college to reflect on that original move (I had fought so hard against) I realized mother had been right all along.

I loved my SC cousins and we became close…the classes were smaller in this rural setting and friendships bonded quickly. Now when I thought of home…it was Laurens.

Four years later home became Charleston when Brooke and I continued rooming together (as once college ‘roomies’) and now first year teachers. And we are still enjoying life  every time we get a chance to hang out together and as soon as COVID19 leaves!

One day the time will come to make another move…probably from my larger-than-necessary home, but for right now the Universe seems content to let me watch my garden grow, my grandchildren’s Japanese Maples expand and bloom, while my small but blessed life, still brings me the joy of living, loving, and giving.

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*It is Sunday morning again and time to “light a candle at His fire.” Time to hold my own personal ‘conversation service’ with God.

It has three components….“Thank You for the past week and the new one that arrives today, Be a constant reminder for me to appreciate everything You have given me in showers of blessings so I might pay them forward, and finally…just know…I love you God.”  

*Yesterday I pulled on my gloves, my face mask, and went to the Summerville Farmers Market. (First time in months!)

I bought the most beautiful tomatoes, luscious cantaloupe, homemade pimento cheese, and a fresh bouquet of flowers for my church service. The flowers will last me through the week.

Dear Reader:

I know this might sound “corny” but I was completely overwhelmed with emotion (by the end of the day-yesterday) from so many beautiful responses I got back from you on the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of Chapel of Hope Stories… with the kindest, most heart-felt messages!

*It was one day when I didn’t have to add any eye drops…my eyes filled up naturally on and off all day.

In addition… the number of views yesterday sent my personal daily blog graph spiraling…. I am sure my WordPress consultant (I am assigned to) must have wondered what in the heck happened!

It was unimaginable… even to me! It was like Christmas magnified beyond comprehension…simply staggering…mind-boggling! Let’s just say you made me ultra-happy to have reached this enjoyable benchmark in my life.

Anne Peterson, not only designed the Tenth Anniversary painting for me on the spur of the moment, but completed her submission to the new CPW Art Center in Summerville… where the old Post Office once stood.

I hurried there yesterday morning to see her entry and loved it…she had texted me a ‘sneak peek’ a couple of days ago and I was ready to take a bite out of it…so realistic in its deceiving simplicity…see for yourself. (You can also tell that Anne once taught Creative Writing because her explanation of the painting is perfect!)

All the entries are framed 5 X 7 paintings to resemble “post cards” since the building had once been a post office. The exhibit is free and open to the public…it is amazing the talent we have here in our town from all walks of life and ages! This exhibition will be on display until  near the end of September. Come out and be astounded!

As I started over to the art center yesterday morning…I must admit I was slightly irritated…after Jeff had cleaned the yard so thoroughly recently…hoards of pine cones had started falling, along with branches and sprays…and as if this wasn’t enough…the squirrels had started eating the ‘pine cones’ like corn on the (pine) cob…leaving the cobs and their remains behind for me to rake up. ARRRGH!

My front and back yards are turning into pine cone wastelands. But then it happened…as I stared at the art submissions…I found myself laughing at, well,  myself . I was being a bit overly dramatic! 🙂

*The Pine Tree is revered in Summerville …we have mottos for it, poems about it, even town ordinances against cutting pines down.. we also have a town history of the tourist attraction once that brought people with respiratory problem to Summerville, the Village in the Pines, for the medicinal effects from the pine trees.

I found myself staring at several reminders of this artistically….these beautiful paintings got my attitude back on track…Long Live the Pines!  🙂

Before I started downstairs where the “post cards” were….I went in one room where the owner of (People, Places, and Quilts) …“Summerville’s own Queen of Quilts”  Diane Frankenberger had a show.

As you walk in…you are simply awestruck by the beauty, charm, and history behind her talented unique assortment and collection of quilts.

 Being a history buff I was fascinated by an adorable story behind  two quilted “angels” who started out being witches…

Diane met Annie first, as a neighbor, when she first moved to South Carolina in the late sixties…  Annie told her she was a witch…(a most helpful kind of witch to have near you since she knew all about local plants used for medicinal purposes, along with local produce.)

One day she went with Annie to visit and have lunch with her sister, Pearl, who also claimed to be a witch. All Diane knew was that it was one of the best meals she ever ate amid charming company.

The two sisters could conjure up just about anything to help anybody with a problem…so Diane created Annie and Pearl from memory…turning them into the angels they always were!

So until tomorrow…Life really is like a “corn“ucopia of diversified delights found within one beautiful natural container. The more diversified the look… the more interesting life is.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*You know how I love new words and creating new words…Rujuta sent this anniversary good wish to me and I loved her version of a blog “anniversary.”

Wish you a very happy bloggiversary! 🙂

Eloise’s Japanese Maple is growing as rapidly and tall as she is! It is also beautiful like Eloise too!

Chapel of Hope Stories. Com

Dear Reader:

I stopped and pinched myself before I started typing this particular post for today’s benchmark celebration…Ten years ago, on Saturday August 7, 2010, I wrote my first blog post. Little did I know my life was about to change with that initial writing!

Family Prologue: 2010

The immediate family, at the time of the first post consisted of…John, Mandy and three month old Eva Cate (they had married in 2008 and Eva Cate arrived in April 2010, Walsh…single but seriously dating Mollie Temple, and Tommy who was still “Single Dingle” at the time- had finished Clemson but not started Charleston Law School…(therefore he had not met Kaitlyn Swicegood yet…a law student colleague and soon the love of his life.)

*First photos of me and Eva Cate in 2010…as well as her with Mandy and Poppy (Mr. Dingle) her adored great-grandfather. (* I was two years into chemo fighting breast cancer with an initial prognosis of  an approximate three-year-life span.

And now? 🙂 August 2019

Let’s just say this has been a productive and ‘reproductive‘ decade for the family! 🙂 From left to right…Mollie, Eloise, Walsh, Tommy, Kaitlyn, Jake, me, Eva Cate, John, Mandy with Rutledge and Lachlan in front. Five grandchildren and six adorable grand-dogs… the family is complete (…as of this writing?)! Isn’t life full of wonderful surprises? *I’m eternally grateful to God that I didn’t miss out on this incredible future that lay ahead of “little c.”

Ten Lessons I Have Learned This Past Decade

1. Gratitude and Appreciation: 

Special thanks to Mike Burwell …who first discovered St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope on his motorbike, Honey for physically taking me to Trust, NC to see St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope, Mandy for explaining a blog to me, John for setting up the original post template…plus fixing every technical “oops” I made those first few months…until present 🙂 Anne for always bouncing ideas off with me and so graciously giving of her artistic talents for the post…including the one today…(title painting) with one day’s notice.

*A special ‘thank you’ to Bill and Beverly Barutio...creators of St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope. The little chapel in the woods that has helped so many people find their way home again.

2. Taking Risks: 

I was absolutely terrified ten years ago to the day…’What had I gotten myself into…what was I going to write about?’ And then I felt a sense of peace engulf me.. I knew, intuitively, that no matter how this new episode turned out…I was meant to do it. It has been the greatest adventure of my life.

3. Recognizing God’s Winks:

The initial blog emphasized God’s Winks in our daily lives. Even though I don’t use the term as much as I initially did…I am still a true believer. In fact yesterday I was driving on I-526 and suddenly realized that a transport truck in front of me had some writing on the back of the cab. When I got close enough to read what it said…I smiled. God is still holding my hand and reminding me that He is never far from me…no matter where I am.

He has changed my life for the better…sometimes pulling me kicking and screaming…but always ending up in a better place from where I started.

4. Keeping the Faith

With now twelve years of on-going treatments for breast cancer “above my belt” 🙂 I am one of countless numbers of people living with cancer today…thanks to modern medicine. Every time my cancer has come rushing back…a new treatment/medication has appeared (eerily) on the market… without fail. When I think about what I would have missed…if three years had been my check-out time…I shake my head in disbelief…never to have met each new, amazing member of the family, including all the precious dogs…God has given me the greatest gift of time to be a presence in my grandchildren’s lives…in the future! What joy!

5. Giving and Receiving

I, sometimes feel like a ‘pretender,’ when friends and blog readers thank me for this daily post…because it is me who benefits so much from this on-going creative outlet. I need to thank all of you!

I need this blog as much as any human being needs air…to live and soar. It has kept my mind occupied while going through more treatments and surgeries…and as of March 2020 and the arrival of Covid19…it has kept me intact thinking out loud about all the craziness in the world now and gives each day “substance.”

It has also kept me on a schedule which is important in my life. No matter what else happens daily…I  write the blog. (Unless the computer gremlins come during the night 🙂

6. New Perspectives

Chapel of Hope Stories has made me research topics for a better understanding of both sides of conflicts and the truth behind idle rhetoric. God challenges  us to quit worrying about the ‘world turned upside down’ …instead to return to basic morality lessons we all learned as children. When things get more than we can handle we must remember Mr. Rogers’ mother had it right all along….

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

Today with COVID19 it is the front-liners who are making all the difference in putting our lives back together again, by putting their lives on the line for us daily….doctors, nurses, food distributors, service people/maids/street cleaners,  transportation drivers, meals on wheels, nursing home caregivers and soon…teachers…plus so many more… too numerous to list.

God is showing us whom we should follow …the ones who drive the buses..not the ones throwing people under them.

7.  Patience

Patience is not my best suit, but then it isn’t most other people’s either. With the majority of people still “in house” quarantined in whatever limited capacity we find ourselves in … the delayed virus re-bound is preying on many people’s nerves. Every time I get to this point…I make myself get in the car and drive around. My objective: Looking for positives in these difficult times.

The first thing I notice is the huge difference in the number of cars at any given time…compared to what it once was. Summerville is a rapidly growing town with some definite ‘growing pains’…congested traffic being number one. Now I can get in and out of my neighborhood, as well as, drive through town, without putting the pedal to the metal pulling out of each street . Driving is less stressful…businesses are so friendly and  happy to see you if you call and go in to pick up something. They are lonely too.

***Special times with family (masks and all) a sign of the times… are bright spots in my life these days…

8. Beauty is Free and All Around Us

My garden looks better this year than it has since 2013 when it was first designed. I am taking advantage of this abundance of Coronavirus time to pull weeds, pick up tree debris (pine cones, sprays, broken branches and stems) cut back excess growth, spray for bugs, etc. It really is the little things that make such a difference.

I start my day in the garden and end it there too…As you know I constantly take photos and share my garden’s beauty with all of you because we understand God wants us to live in the most beautiful surroundings we can find while along our journey on earth.

9. Loyalty and Friendship

You readers have taught me more about loyalty and continued support than anyone else. You have been there for me through good times and bad….some of you I know personally from my youth and young adulthood, but most of you I don’t-you are a number that shows up each day with no name but a blessing still for me …and then there are the other ones of you who started corresponding through the blog and today I feel like you are part of my extended family.

We have texted, emailed and even snail-mailed back and forth…over months and years…until we now care about each others lives…no matter if they are on the other side of the world. We are connected.

It is this connection that draws me to the computer each day as I share a thought, an observation, or simply a passing moment. Thanks for listening…none of us are alone as long as we share our thoughts together.  It’s a small world, after all.

10. HOPE 

In reading the third and fourth stanzas of “Amazing Grace”…I have come to realize that hope, faith and grace are all interchangeable since they are all connected together.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come,
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

I could just as easily say….“Tis hope has brought me safe thus far…and hope will lead me home”…because the “Lord has promised good to me” and most certainly ” His word my hope secures.”

How could I end here without bringing in “Big Red” ….my amazing geranium  that appeared as a gift the day I left the hospital after my first breast cancer surgery. The special gift who stayed with me for over a decade before passing on… but not before sample root cuttings from the plant were saved and replanted by my neighbors…Vickie and Chelsey. Now cloned “Big Red” II has climbed to the highest elevation  of all…hoping its tip-top bud will open soon for all to see.

So until tomorrow…Let us always remind ourselves that God doesn’t promise we’ll never fail, just that our strength and hope will be renewed.

I feel renewed and ready to start with the next decade…how about you? I couldn’t take the journey without you!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh