Dear Reader:

Guess what today is? The FIFTH ANNIVERSARY of the blog!

It was on August 7, 2010 that the very first blog post appeared!

Now true confession time…for awhile after the November 19 “photo situation” when Chapelofhopestories.com became a Part II sequence to the first four years…I gave serious thought to this special anniversary date marking the end of the blog.

It would have been a tidy ending…but then, again, life is many things…but “tidy” is not one of them…especially endings.

Something happened…life got in the way.

So many things began popping up in my life and others’ lives (who I care about)…that I lost track of time. It wasn’t until yesterday when I inserted today’s date in the Wordpress calendar that I realized what had happened. The special day was here!

Times flies but memories linger.

I took a few minutes to turn off the computer and the lights and I just sat in my (now) dim creative room contemplating what I was feeling right (at that very moment) about the blog, the community of readers, and the importance of this avenue of thought-sharing to myself and others.

Memories of that first blog came rushing back…the leap of faith of jumping into a daily blog, the fear of nothing to say, and the daily discipline required to sustain a ‘hungry blog.’

Then other memories came rolling back also…celebrations of other benchmarks, new friends joining the blog family, and leap of faith contests to out-tell ole’ Scheherazade while trusting God to keep me well enough to finish the challenge…

It occurred to me that sometimes we never fully understand the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. Now there are five years of memories ….each precious in my sight.

Every endeavor, every new adventure has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. So the blog, at some point, will end.

But not today. There is a garden party to plan next spring for all the readers, one more, and perhaps last,  important benchmark to share.

If I am quiet and listen…God will let me know when it is time to let go. But not today.

I have come to realize that I need all of you much more than you need me or my words or thoughts. Every time I receive a God’s Wink I can hardly wait to share it with you. There would definitely be a void in my life without all of you in it.

And while we are ‘showing our cards’…I want your company on my journey’s path…someone to hold my hand when life gets scary…someone to encourage and guide me when I wander too far off the path.

Simply put…I  need you in my life to give it more meaning than I, alone, can provide.

I pray everyday…that somehow this need is reciprocated at different points along each and everyone of your paths…that this family of care-givers are there for each other through this avenue of connection.

I think there is a reason that God limits man’s days…and that is to make each one special while we give our special gifts away!

So until tomorrow…Thank you God for sharing Your Presence and Winks with me for these past five years…enabling my circle to be unbroken…so today is not the last blog… One day it will be… when God lets me know…”Bye and bye Lord…Bye and Bye.”

“Today is my favorite day”  (It really is!!) Winnie the Pooh

A few photos from August and September of 2010… the time around the birth of the blog…and a few “hair-do’s” ago.

Eva Cate was just about Lachlan’s age when the blog began…almost five months old.

My “dolphin” encounter took place on 2008 at Edisto Beach where nature reassured me that everything in the universe was just as it should be and all was right in the world and with me.

After a month of blog writing Brooke and I returned with Honey and her friend Winnie (September 2010)…back to St. Jude’s Chapel…where I walked into the chapel and found scripture outlined with a rubber dolphin. The scripture read: Psalm 24:1

A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.  For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers.…

It was from the sea that God’s messenger, the dolphin, assured me God was in control and all was as it should be…and it was the little river, the stream beside the chapel that sang the song of the continued flow of life from the living waters.

Before we left Honey’s on that second trip to St. Jude’s…we climbed (almost) to the top …the ‘pinnacle” of Pinnacle Mountain and made a pact that we would all be there for each other….no matter what life threw at us….we were strong in unity…a circle unbroken.

2012 marked the year that Jackson and Brooke became dedicated travelers to the pilgrimage for St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope. This is a sacred time, now,  that we look forward to every year…the time of arrival changes each year with everyone’s schedule but the end result is always the same….we fall in love with the little chapel all over again…

In July of 2012 it was the sunflowers that took center stage…when Honey noticed an image inside one sunflower (in a field we stopped to look at)-the outline of a little chapel-and now sunflowers and St. Jude’s  Chapel always have a special meaning….the sunflowers might follow the sun but they also show us the way to our special little chapel in the woods.

Dear Reader:

When I got this picture from Anne Wednesday morning….taken from a cottage on Cape Cod…I thought… Wow! From Motel Six to this in one day? The picture looks like the front covers of some of my summer romance mysteries I have been reading as of late.

Anne emailed me back and said that by the time she arrived in Boston…treatment strategies had completely changed….chemo instead of surgery…and lots and lots of tests….which all of us (who have been through a battery of tests for anything) …can contest is physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing.

So when a friend, Sherri, offered her Cape Cod home to Anne and “Nance” they quickly packed up their belongings from Motel Six and scurried to Cape Cod.

Later yesterday afternoon Anne sent more pictures of their walks around the Cape. The doctors and specialists had all gotten their turn Tuesday but Wednesday was God’s turn to provide the best medicine around…nature at its “healing-ness”!

I can tell that Sherri is one of those friends who one already knows and can immediately identify as an angel… while in the moment….you don’t have to wait until the “Sherri’s” are gone to recognize their heavenly status quo.

If each of these pictures was a different bottle of medicine…one would be hard pressed to know which one would prove most beneficial in the fight against “little c.” Collectively taken…the body would just absorb all the richness (from them) that life can offer for sustainability.

I am one of those strange creatures who can thrive in the waiting arena of life quite happily. I remember after my first surgery there was a week interval before going to see the surgeon on all the results that emerged from the operation and biopsies.

Everyone else was a nervous wreck…but I was just happy for each day I had before the surgeon visit….I am still pretty much that way….if ignorance is bliss…then let me just stay ignorant and enjoy God’s blessings and bliss for my daily nutrients.

So Anne and “Nance”….soak in the sunshine, the salt water, the sounds of sea gulls, and lapping waves upon the shore…these are your guardian angels reassuring you that you are one with the universe and an important part of the puzzle.

………………………

When the doorbell rang yesterday I thought it might be Linda Karges-Bone who had emailed me to let me know that she would be leaving some bread in the mailbox. Can hardly wait Linda.

Instead there stood the amiable Jo Dufford and her precious granddaughter Colby. They had a bag full of books of notable quotables and daily pamphlet anecdotes…enough to keep me going for a long time…if I ever run out of ideas for the blog. I even got some gardenia soap which smells so good!

What are friends for…except to help us along our path when we trip or stumble over any kind of obstacle…even one named an idea….or lack of…?

We all went out in the garden…and then Jo invited me to join her and Colby for a tea party lunch at Time Well Spent. I jumped on the invitation. One of my favorite places to eat and laugh with friends!

I knew I was supposed to come along when I looked down and saw my old china set of Lennox in the plate I was given…what are the odds? I gave all my wedding china to Mandy several years ago and it was so good to see my “old friend” again.

Colby was telling me that she and grandmother Jo had created a bucket’s list for the summer of things they wanted to do together….(I told her it could be called a beach pail list) ….their list included beach trips, movies, historical places and for yesterday...Bee City was on their itinerary after lunch)

*I warned them to look out for a particularly nasty-tempered alpaca with an attitude who lives there…I remember it spitting a wad of yuckiness at poor Eva Cate when she was a little toddler.

So until tomorrow…May we count our blessings in clouds, sea gulls, waves, family and adorable friends…they all enrich our lives.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• I kept Rutledge and Lachlan for Walsh and Mollie last evening for them to get out for awhile to a concert on Daniel Island. Lachlan, particularly, changes dramatically from visit to visit…he is so strong it is unbelievable…he can almost take me and he isn’t even five months yet.
• 

I tried to get a picture of both boys in the rocking recliner…but Lachlan kept throwing himself across Rutledge which made him start laughing. (As long as Lachlan didn’t get his truck he was most tolerant with his little brother’s antics.)

While Lachlan took a little cat nap we got pj’s on Rutledge and then walked next door to see the neighbors’ chickens…their squawking tickled Rutledge’s funny bone.

I took pictures of both boys asleep….dreaming dreams of new adventures and of course trucks. Sleep tight all through the night my little boys of Nod!

When I got home a bag was hanging on my door handle from Linda Karges Bone…I was so excited…a midnight snack of homemade herb bread with the most delicious garlic olive oil for drippings (still smacking my lips)…. Thank you Linda!

Dear Reader:

Many times when I sit down to write the blog I already have a glint of an idea starting to take form…other times several thoughts have clustered into a myriad of ideas..and, still, then other times…like last night…I just need to start writing and see where the words take me. It’s an “uphill” experience and a little scary but well worth the ride…

…And actually I still relish the “uphill” challenge. I think if the words always flowed too easily over the rocks of life and time…I would soon forget just how precious they are….dropping and spiraling into flowing streams of memories of consciousness.

A writer can’t always wait for inspiration …he/she just has to jump into the beckoning waters of creative thirst and simply start writing . So that is what I did.

As my fingers typed letters and later words… (flying off the keyboard)…one phrase began to reach out and take hold….memories of consciousness.

At the beginning of the novel I am presently reading (The Lost Hours by Karen White) the author offers up the following partial quotation for the reader’s personal reflection  ..perhaps as a secret key for unlocking the passage of the story.

…”Angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.“ -George Eliot

Initially past memories and pictures arise from the subconscious of this quotation… about people whose paths have crossed mine and we  have both ended up the better for it. Then (just as  suddenly as that thought pops)…another, more recent recollection, comes scurrying to the front row of my mental house of cards.

The book I had ordered from the Goodwill collection arrived Monday (Does God have a Big Toe?)…”one day late and a dollar short” as the old saying goes. The Children’s Message had come and gone with the story of  Abraham the Mule… taking center stage.

As I skimmed through the somewhat familiar stories…I came across one that drew my attention because it was based on the story of Rebecca (Rebekah) at the well.

Mother gave all three of her children Biblical names…Ben (Benjamin) Becky (Rebecca) and David. During one VBS-Vacation Bible School summer I remember we participants all had to make a mural using Biblical names given to us at birth or chosen by interest.

I was familiar with the story of Abraham’s servant (Eliezer) being chosen to find a wife for Isaac. However, I wasn’t familiar with this adorable and funny version of the story. When I finished reading it…the verse by George Elliot ( “Angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone”) re-surfaced.

I had found my connection (angels in disguise)….so sit back and enjoy the story.

“Rebecca and the Camel Angel”

When Eliezer got his instructions from Abraham on how to proceed with finding a wife for his son, Isaac, he was told that an angel would go along “for the ride.”

Since Eliezer wasn’t an angel, the other servants weren’t angels…that just left the camels. After all God figured that if Eliezer took along some guy with wings, white robes, a halo, and a harp who floated through the air, he just might be noticed.

Besides…God knew just who to call on.. to pull off an angel in camel disguise. Max. Max was the angel God went to for all the really tough jobs….like: the one when he had to tell all the extra lions and tigers they could not go on the ark with Noah…or Max was the angel who had to kick the snake out of the Garden of Eden…or…Max was the one who had to collect all the slimy bugs for Adam to name. Yep…Max was one tough angel.

At first the caravan started off pretty smoothly…the only hitch was that some female camel got a crush on Max and kept licking his nose. When they arrived at the well of the city where Nahor lived…the caravan arrived with ten camels…(well really nine…since the tenth was Max, the angel in disguise.)

Nobody wanted to let them use up all the water in the well for ten camels…nobody except beautiful Rebecca. She felt sorry for the camels (even though she didn’t like their loud camel noises.)

One camel, however, seemed to be particularly polite and let all the other camels drink before he sipped some water. Rebecca felt a real fondness for this one camel as she worked through- out the day drawing water for the caravan.

When she was asked to return with Eliezer the next morning and become Isaac’s wife..Rebecca said “Yes” and we all know how that story goes.

But did you know Rebecca figured something wasn’t quite “kosher” when they returned with nine camels instead of ten…the polite camel  had simply disappeared.

Back in heaven, Max climbed out of his camel suit. God gave him a big hearty hug of thanks and then said:

” Max, in a little while I am going to need an angel to speak to Moses out of a burning bush. There is a fireproof suit over there in the corner. Why don’t you just try it on for size?”

…………………………..

So until tomorrow…We can run but we can’t hide from God, connections, and angels in disguise. 

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• Mandy had a wisdom tooth pulled Monday and texted me yesterday morning to see if I could help with the children because she was definitely still in some pain and feeling all over yucky. Of course…I loved it…and discovered that we have a doctor in disguise…Dr. Eva Cate Turner and her hospital of dolls.

Jakie was just happy she stuck with giving the dolls “shots” and not him…all he wanted was another “shot” of mashed potatoes…real food…who knew?

*Please keep Anne and her sister Nancy in your prayers…Anne flew to Boston Sunday to be with her sister for her surgery today (breast cancer) and will remain with her until the end of the week…taking her back to Maine. A sister is a beautiful thing…and Anne is blessed to have many sisters…all supporting Nancy through this health challenge.

Our prayers are with you both and the entire family!

*Also…please keep Libby and her daughter Betsy in your continued thoughts and prayers…as side effects continue popping up irregularly and keeping everyone on edge…we pray for peace of mind, and health stability within this strong mother-daughter team.

Dear Reader:

Recently I updated my membership to Timrod because I simply have missed going in to that old historical building and smelling that wonderful old “library” smell that takes me back in time….I love seeing card catalogues again…and remembering the libraries of my childhood and the pleasure they brought me each week when mother dropped us off to return our books and check out new ones.

Since I enjoyed Karen White’s latest novel ( The Sound of Glass) earlier this summer… I decided to check out another book of hers called The Lost Hours.

 I have only read a few chapters and already run across a phrase that made me stop and jot it down. In the story, our young heroine, Piper, is advised to use some of her grandfather’s inheritance and take a trip.

She responds: “There’s no place I want to go. Besides with my back and knee problems, I don’t think  long-distance travel would be a good idea.”

Mr. Morton (the estate lawyer) regards Piper quietly….” It’s not always the distance of a trip that determines its value. Sometimes the best trips are only as far as the circumference of your own heart.”

Obviously this is the big clue as to where the story is leading…a journey into love and explorations of the heart….

This time of the year families are trying to “squeeze” a vacation or trip in before school resumes and most come back more exhausted than before they left. Then they still have to deal with all the preparations to get the kids registered again at their perspective schools.

(I can honestly say that I don’t miss those days since many a year was spent with me playing both teacher and mom roles…registering others while I had to scramble to pay registration fees for my own children.)

Sometimes the best trips really are the ones from the heart that don’t cost a penny…especially the ones down memory lanes.

When a lot of the brain research on learning styles and retention came out…  a couple of decades ago… I remember one workshop explained how memories are stored and saved.

When you create a memory, a pathway is created between your brain cells. It is like clearing a path through a dense forest. The first time that you do it, you have to fight your way through the undergrowth.

If you don’t travel that path again, very quickly it will become overgrown and you may not even realize that you have been down that path. If however, you travel along that path before it begins to grow over, you will find it easier than your first journey along that way.

Successive journeys down that path mean that eventually your track will turn into a footpath, which will turn into a lane, which will turn into a road, and into an inter-state highway and so on. It is the same with your memory: the more times that you repeat patterns of thought, for example when learning new information, the more likely you will be able to recall that information

………………………………

Lee and I started laughing while re-calling a shared memory as we celebrated Ben and Vikki’s birthdays at the Old Village Post House Inn the other Sunday.

Lee had drawn a picture of an owl ( an elementary year art project)….giving it to Ben one Christmas…it was all very cute and we all oohed and aahed over it.

But (for some reason) Ben never left with the owl and so by the next Christmas Lee would give it to him again….this continued way into high school…with it getting to be the Christmas family joke.

Ben would pull into my driveway each Christmas Eve stating that Lee better not give him that “damn” owl again this year…but I could tell (underneath all the huff and puff) he would have been disappointed if it had not turned up.

I can’t remember now when the owl disappeared and never made another appearance at the Christmas Eve family gathering. (Probably after Lee went off to college.)

Now Lee gives Ben some wonderful (latest tech) musical/guitar  paraphernalia…but I still secretly hope that the famous “owl” will reappear one more time and bring laughter and shared memories from a  ‘trip around the circumference of the heart.”

So until tomorrow…Help us realize, Father, that we don’t have to worry about money, luggage or baggage if we travel the circumference of our hearts for our vacation this year.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Honey and a friend went to St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope yesterday and she emailed me that God waited until she was preparing to  leave to  send His “wink.”

There was a planter next to the altar and when she glanced down as they were leaving there was a rock inside that said HOPE with a carved bumblebee (mom’s symbol)) and dancing leaves (for Honey) at the bottom!!!!!!!!!

It never fails…every visit…something new appears that wasn’t noticed before….

* As I was walking back towards the house after checking the mail yesterday…I noticed that morning glory leaves do resemble  little cut-out green hearts….perhaps this image is to remind me that home  (my happy place) is the destination and  circumference of my heart.

In the past few days my morning glories and moon flower blooms have gone crazy…finally going from one random bloom to several blooms together…team work! Even my gerber daisies are making a come-back!

Dear Reader:

A couple of weeks ago, our pastor, Jeff Kackley, asked me if I would do the Children’s Message during the August 2 church service since he and his family would be on vacation. I agreed…already picturing  just the right story in mind for the occasion.

Unfortunately…I couldn’t find my old copy of the book for the right story.. I even ordered a second copy of the book but when Saturday arrived and the book still hadn’t shown up in the mail…I knew Someone was telling me to go in a different direction.

Originally this anecdote had come from some type of leadership class I took eons ago… by now…the names of the main characters and the detailed plot had faded… but the “gist” of the story remained.

I worked Saturday morning on “resurrecting” the story (backwards) while shaking off the dust from my own memory. The final result was a “revised” rendition of the original story (floating around in cyber-space somewhere.)

During the summer months, especially late summer, the congregation number wanes considerably…so I was wondering if I would have enough “children” to even tell a story…but everyone pitched in and it ended up with a few small children, plus the older youths, who dusted off their own memories and returned to sit on the floor forming the circle for the Children’s Message. Thanks everyone for participating!

“The Spirit of Abraham”

Once upon a time….a young teenage boy passed his driving test and received his temporary driver’s license. He was overjoyed and begged his father to let him take his car out on some country roads by himself. (A little “James Taylor” here.)

His father finally agreed, but only for  a couple of hours and then he had to be back before it got dark. The teenager readily agreed and off he went. Ah…the sweet taste of freedom…all he could think about, while driving the back rural roads around town, was how soon he could save enough money to buy his own car.

While daydreaming about the future the sky suddenly turned dark… lightning and thunder started rumbling off in the distance. Within minutes a torrential downpour hit the car and the nervous driver started scrambling around the console… trying to remember where the switch was for the windshield wipers.

He took his eyes off the road for just a second…but that was all it took… the next thing he knew the car had slid right into a shallow ditch…he was stuck and would need help to get the car out.

The thought of having to call his dad and tell him what had happened was just too humiliating…he had to find someone to help him with the car without his dad finding out if possible.

The rain had settled down to a drizzle when he spotted a farmhouse a few hundred yards away. He hurried over to it and knocked on the door. An aging farmer answered the door and nodded silently while the young boy explained his predicament.

“Don’t worry son…(said the farmer) I think we can get that car out without your dad being any the wiser…Abraham can help us.”

As the boy looked around the parlor seeing no one else…the farmer took him back to the front door and pointed to a far pasture where the outline of an old mule was just barely visible.

“Yup…old Abraham is our “man”…he can help us  get the job done.”

The farmer grabbed a long stretch of rope and off the two went in search of Abraham. The closer they got to the mule, the more dismayed the teenager became. Abraham looked like he was one step from the glue factory…a scrawny bag of bones awaited them. There was no other choice, however…so the teenager prayed hard.

As the farmer walked beside old Abraham, talking to him softly and petting him…the poor old mule wheezed and gasped as if it would be his last breath. They finally reached the ditch.

The farmer hitched the car to Abraham and then called out:

“Pull Moses, Pull Noah, Pull Peter…Pull Abraham!”

Miraculously old Abraham pulled that car right out of the ditch. The overjoyed teenage boy gave the old mule a big smooch in sheer gratitude.

“You did it Abraham…you did it!” he yelled.

He thanked the farmer profusely but then stopped and asked one last question of him….“Why did you yell out those other names before you called on Abraham to pull?” he asked.

“Well, said the farmer, Old Abraham used to be part of a team of mules that would carry wagons of railroad ties down to the track when it needed fixing.”

“These days Old Abraham is almost completely blind…he doesn’t know the other mules passed on to mule heaven some time ago…but as long as he thinks he is still part of a team…he just keeps on pulling!”

………………..

I concluded the story with making the analogy that all of us are a part of God’s Team and He is always pulling for us!

It was a definite God’s Wink to remember this old story…because I needed to be reminded of this unique bond of team spirit too!

* Brooke has been sharing her story of kindness, generosity. and team spirit by heading up the Hands of Christ (back to school supply program) at her Presbyterian church in Walterboro.

It requires months of preparation and lots and lots of “hands” to pull this amazing shopping spree off each year….but Brooke said that this one photo tells the whole story of why she and so many others muster up their strength and compassion to help families in need….return to school with the necessary supplies to learn.

So until tomorrow… Help us Father choose the stories we need to hear as stepping stones along our life’s path.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* I told you yesterday that I kept Eva Cate and Jakie Saturday night…and one photo I took of them reminded me of a much earlier photo….those Dingle gals can put a “strong-hold” hug on a little brother now! Mandy and Walsh…Eva Cate and Jakie.

Dear Reader:

I find myself these days moving from  bench to  bench throughout my garden…(depending on the time of the day and the sun’s rays) so I can see the garden from a different perspective.

It is amazing how just a change of a few feet here or there can provide a different look and feel to my sanctuary. It is like changing pews at  your own church sanctuary…suddenly we see things going on during the service that we never noticed before.

Not only is our visual scope widened…but also our listening one.

Kate Wolfe-Jenson, in her Journey Dancing blog, made an observation today that made me pause and reflect.

Sharing Strength 

Kind Promise:    I will share strengths compassionately. 

My neighbor, Cindy gave me some basil. Cindy and her dog often visit me on their way to the park. Cindy chats about retirement and kayaking while her dog stands calmly at her side. Their rent-subsidized building is managed by the same company as mine. Cindy was on her way to deliver a batch of basil as a gift to the staff. As she separated a few sprigs for me, she explained that she is growing the herb in pots on her balcony. She has been surprised by its abundant growth and is happy to share.

Jenson shared this incident, as an example, of her friend’s giving of time, establishing a  relationship, and sharing from one’s personal abundance as this month’s “Kind Promise.”

Kind Promise:    I will share strengths compassionately. 

Her neighbor didn’t rush in and drop the herbs with her and dash out…letting her know how many more items on her check-off list still needed addressing…but instead she gave the gift of her personal time thus building an on-going relationship with another, and then she shared the one thing (in her personal life that helped identify her) that she had in abundance. Her herbs.

The origin of the word compassion means – to love together with strength and equality.

So if we take time to stop and listen to life…it is telling us to practice true compassion… where we are connected with and equal to each other in an abundant relationship.

Compassion is not one person doing something to help, sometimes out of guilt or forced obligation, but it is sharing our strength with another so our weaknesses and strengths balance…and achieve equality.

Compassion is a partnership…not a solo act.

I grew up having much compassion for my mother and her struggles with her physical challenges…but looking back now in reflection…my mother provided much compassion for me throughout our lives together. Her personal abundance was perseverance and faith and she generously demonstrated these “abundances” in how she lived each day of her life.

* I found this picture over the weekend…it was just marked Becky-three months old (since mother also had a toddler…my brother Ben who would have been about 2 1/2 years old… the circles under her eyes (once again) demonstrate that mothering is the hardest job in the world…all mothers deserve much compassion from everyone!

These gifts she shared with me have sustained me through some of my darkest and most challenging days.

Connection + Abundance + Equality = Strength.

So until tomorrow…Let us remember that strengths are to be share compassionately with one another.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* I kept Eva Cate and Jakie for John and Mandy to get an evening out…and ended up having such a fun time. Jakie got off schedule and was having trouble getting to sleep…so Jakie, Eva Cate and I all ended up on her bed…talking and listening to Jakie laugh who thought it was funny to share a bed with his sister.

Eva Cate and I propped up pillows around him and went into the living room to see if he would fall back asleep on Eva Cate’s bed…I kept walking by but nothing moved and I didn’t hear anything…finally I tip-toed in and there was Jakie, wide-awake lying on top of one of the propped up pillows calmly watching television from the open bedroom door.

I started laughing and Eva Cate joined in the fun….Taking time to listen to the sound of grandchildren’s laughter is a definite must-do when ‘we stop to listen to our lives. ‘

Dear Reader:

It is always a little bit of a “let-down” when the Ya’s separate to return back to our individual lives and homes each time we get together. We plan for weeks ahead and then poof…it’s over.

In the past I have handled it differently almost every time. Sometimes I just kinda retreat for about a day and “chill” …and then get back with the ‘program’ called life.

Other times I go into some kind of hyper-active state and work until I hit the wall…but this time I took the middle road…and decided to just calmly go about turning up the notch on my happy room and home….just being kind to myself and surrounding myself with some of ‘my favorite things.’.

…Buying some foods I like, taking time to decorate which I love, and especially surround myself with flowers…lots and lots of fresh flowers. (Having a garden has really helped out here) Scented candles help also. Then I put on some music to match my mood and bingo…everything settles back down and home feels like a home again.

I have given so many “Boo’s Garden” mason jars away this summer but yesterday I decided to make one for myself, after finishing up with working in the garden, .and it, too, put a smile on my face.

Transition periods are sometimes the toughest times in life…aren’t they? We get caught between nostalgia of the past, problems of the present, and uncertain futures. Thank goodness, to date, I have never gotten lost in a transition period permanently…and in fact many of them have turned out to be bridges helping me over troubled waters into a whole new world of experiences beyond.

Yesterday morning when I went out on my deck to eat breakfast the skies had clouded over and a slight breeze had picked up…my chimes were singing to me and the tall pines were swaying… everything, at that very moment, just felt right with the world.

I remembered an earlier blog entry this week when Madeleine L’Engle asked readers to recall a time when words broke down and they experienced the “end of words” in their life. I think that is what happened on the deck.

The quiet and solitude was so beautiful…it seemed to totally consume me and carry me to a place of peace where words were not needed to convey inner feelings.

A favorite quote came to mind…”If God had wanted to be a big secret, He would not have created babbling brooks and whispering pines.” ~Robert Brault,

So true…can’t we just feel God’s presence in nature….His communication taking the form of a singing bird, scampering squirrel, barking dog, swaying wildflowers, or thumping pine cones?

So by the end of the day yesterday I was past the transition and settled back in…smelling a hamburger with onions grilling on the stove, a beach book and a Hersey’s candy bar, cold diet coke and more flowers…emails and phone calls from family and friends welcoming me back home….it’s nice to be missed.

I watched God grow larger again as my worries started to dwindle….

“You can tell the size of your God by looking at the size of your worry list. The longer your list, the smaller your God.” ~Author Unknown

To top the day off…a blue moon was expected…I had about given up hope of seeing it when (around 10:00) I found it peeking through the clouds and whispering pines….so beautiful…and it was so happy it even wasn’t blue…until 2018 blue moon!

By 10:30 the blue moon had finally cleared the tall pine trees…I had taken my Iphone over to the club to try to catch it in the open and here it came…magical moonbeams in all their glory…we should have had a ‘moonlight waltz’ tonight at the club and “danced by the light of the moon.”

So until tomorrow…When going through a transition period…feeling a little down…be kind and gentle to yourself. Surround yourself with your favorite things and soon all will be right in the world…God’s world. My one last concern?

“I just hope God does not get bored of dreaming me”. ~Author Unknown

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

* Janet Bender commented that the blog today is “soothing” and it reminded me of one of my favorite songs...”Soothe Me Baby” by Sam and Dave….if you are in a soothing mood…take a minute and go back in time with this oldie goldie!

SAM AND DAVE – SOOTHE ME – YouTube

* Today is August 1…the first day of a new month…so say RABBIT -be kind to each other…and have the best month ever.

*And don’t forget the official launch of Ohm radio station is today…after the partying and celebrating… the following link has a schedule for you to follow starting bright and early Monday morning.

Here’s just some of what you’ll find on the Ohm Radio Charleston schedule

* Honey says that mountain morning glories are starting to come into their own…pink and purple…so beautiful.

Dear Reader:

What a ride the Ya’s have been on….the past two days have been a whirlwind and we wouldn’t have had it any other way!

When James Taylor started his first song of the concert…Secret o’ Life from his album James Taylor’s Greatest Hits…the lyrics hit me (once again) like a ton of cement!

I had forgotten how beautiful these lyrics were and the theme rang true for each of us…as we were pinching ourselves that we were all here together again….after some trying life challenges…and listening to this beautiful song sung by such a kind-hearted entertainer.

Our “James,” like us, is part of the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation…so as we look and listen to this popular entertainer…we are reminded that all of us have gone through our own “fire and rain” by this stage in our lives.

This truth makes for a  special kinship and bond among us survivors of life...still here...still smiling... and still dancing to James Taylor!

 In the song Secret o’ Life…Taylor reminds us about the most important things we should remember as we ‘slide and glide‘ through life…and these are:

1) Enjoy the ride…don’t try to overthink it…just go with it (Live in the moment)

2) Keep our hearts open to love

3) It’s okay to be afraid…just don’t let it stand in your way

4) Everyone should know that love is the only road

5) Time isn’t real..it’s just our point of view -how it feels to you

6) The Secret o’ Life is enjoying the passage of time.

* Take a minute and enjoy the song once again

James Taylor – Secret O’ Life (With lyrics) – YouTube

…………………………

Since time isn’t real...let’s go backwards through yesterday…preparations for the pre-concert activities concluded at Jackson’s house where she had a wonderful buffet and drinks for all of us Ya’s and brother Ben…who gave us a little musical concert before the concert…setting the stage with his birthday James Taylor cap worn backwards. Libby’s gift was the hit! We were ready! (* Brooke was really in the “spirit” as you will see!)

Libby had brought cupcakes and we again celebrated Ben’s birthday and we had something else to celebrate too…Ben has found or perhaps the more accurate description…a publisher has found Ben and his story he is writing about his experiences in Vietnam and his struggle since….so stay tuned in…there’s never a dull moment in life unless we make it so!

Pre-brother Ben’s arrival… we girls were guests of Cara…Brooke’s beautiful step-daughter-who works at the Palmetto Dining Club for lunch. (She had reserved a whole room just for us and we were treated like royalty…valet service..the whole works)

Eva Cate had her princess camp this summer and we had our “Princess Luncheon” ….thanks to the adorable Cara. Thank you, darling, for making us feel so special…it set the tone for  this most memorable day. We love you!

* I, almost forgot…we lowcountry gals were so proud that James Taylor brought the Lowcountry Voices on stage and they shared two songs, along with Taylor, and the crowd to standing ovations! The first song was Shed a Little Light…a tribute to the AME Emanuel Church… with lyrics like:

*Ties of hope and love, sister and brotherhood, that we are bound together
in our desire to see the world become a place in which our children can grow free and strong.
We are bound together by the task that stands before us and the road that lies ahead.
We are bound and we are bound.

* This is the video from last night Libby just sent and I updated it so you could see how wonderful this group performed for the “Emanuel Nine” and how generous and giving James Taylor is for all the right causes.

James Taylor and Lowcountry Voices: “Shed a Little Light …

So until tomorrow…Like the last song of the concert says:

Just shower the people you love with love, show them the way that you feel.
Things are gonna work out fine if you only will do as I say, just
shower the people you love with love, show them the way you feel.
Things are gonna be much better if you only will.

SHOWER THE PEOPLE James Taylor – YouTube

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* And speaking of love and a whole community being showered with blessings…aren’t we so proud of our Vikki  for taking on the hugh task of fund-raising enough money to create a community operated and owned radio station?

In one article I read… it referred to the founders as the “Radio Rebels“….since Vikki and Lee are included in that description…I think the world could use more of them!

August 1…for the first time you will hear the voice of Ohn ( translated….the “sound of everything.“) *Don’t forget to stop and thank Lee, Vikki, and the countless others for making this dream a reality!

For more information about Charleston’s newest radio station “of the people, by the people, for the people“….click on this link.

Vikki Matsis and the Ohm Radio crew launch a commercial …

Dear Reader:

I think sometimes God must let out a big chuckle at us humans for trying to take control of Creation and make it our own. We act like the obnoxious bully in the elementary classroom who was always trying to take credit for another student’s work.

In man’s zeal to uncover the secrets of the universe…he forgets that on the grand time-line of life…we humans are the late-comers. Yet we are also the bullies who like to take credit for this life that existed billions of years before we even came on the scene.

In the article from Awakin Weekly: “The Surrender Experiment”  author, Michael Singer, makes this observation.

Life rarely unfolds exactly as we want it to. And if we stop and think about it, that makes perfect sense. The scope of life is universal, and the fact that we are not actually in control of life’s events should be self-evident.

The Universe has been around for 13.8 billion years, and the processes that determine the flow of life around us did not begin when we were born, nor will they end when we die. What manifests in front of us at any given moment is actually something truly extraordinary—it is the end-result of all the forces that have been interacting together for billions of years.

We are not responsible for even the tiniest fraction of what is manifesting around us. Nonetheless, we walk around constantly trying to control and determine what will happen in our lives. No wonder there’s so much tension, anxiety, and fear. Each of us actually believes that things should be the way we want them, instead of being the natural result of all the forces of creation.

Once again God is trying to show us that He is in charge and the world will get along just fine without our interference….(based on man’s sometimes harmful interventions in past history) this is a very good thing!

Singer adds:

There is much evidence that life does quite well on its own. The planets stay in orbit, tiny seeds grow into giant trees, weather patterns have kept forests across the globe watered for millions of years, and a single fertilized cell grows into a beautiful baby.

We are not doing any of these things as conscious acts of will; they are all being done by the incomprehensible perfection of life itself. All these amazing events, and countless more, are being carried out by forces of life that have been around for billions of years—the very same forces of life that we are consciously pitting our will against on a daily basis.

If the natural unfolding of the process of life can create and take care of the entire universe, is it really reasonable for us to assume that nothing good will happen unless we force it to?

Surrendering power to another is definitely not one of man’s greatest strengths since we see “surrender” as failure. But let’s pause and think about this a minute….haven’t we all experienced “melt-downs” when nothing seems to be going right and we have just had it?

We find ourselves sobbing like a child until we feel that inner peace and understanding envelope us… when we finally turn over the “reins of the world” back to God and say simply “I surrender.”

Suddenly we feel the weight of the world lifted off our shoulders and we are so thankful for Someone greater than ourselves for picking up our “burdens” while (simultaneously)  letting us know  that “Every thing will be all right.” 

Madeleine L’Engle explains it best with the expression: “the end of words.”  No longer are we trying to get the last word in…the last word back at God…instead we have reached the point where ‘words break down’ and only silence and adoration remain in God’s Presence.”

So until tomorrow…Let us re-think the word “surrender” and now see it as another word for “trust”…trust that God can and will take care of us in our greatest hour of need.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Wasn’t the moon beautiful Tuesday night?

Dear Reader:

The garden is teaching me valuable lessons in humility and just “being”…mattering to myself and not depending on others to define me.

Take this beautiful lily, it has just completed one full cycle of life… from blooming (back in early spring) to producing new buds once again and re-emerging in hot July… and its blooms are just as beautiful as in May.

Flowers don’t bloom to leave a lasting impact about their very existence on others…they simply live their life activity versus the outcome, their existence versus their impact.

Haven’t we known people, friends, who were terrified of retiring from their careers, because, in their opinion, it meant losing their relevancy and impact in their carefully constructed world? Some of the retirement blues stem from the thought that  extra time might actually force them to stop and re-introduce themselves to themselves…

Every day I walk over to the passion flower vine, filled with buds about to burst open, to hopefully see them all blooming at the same time. To date it hasn’t happened…perhaps it will or perhaps the buds will just fall from the stem… the vine doesn’t know that its potential blooms are having such an impact of anticipation on me….it is simply being what it is. And regardless of future blooms or not…it is beautiful just the way it is…at this very moment.

Aren’t we all guilty of living our lives, at some point or another, for the impact we wish to establish/and/ leave in order to justify our very existence?

We hear retirees say things like “I just want to stay relevant.” The problem is “relevant to what…to whom?” Shouldn’t our mere existence be enough to be relevant to those we love and who love us back….to God our Creator?

Irrelevancy can bring with it the opportunity to finally be free to be who we really are. We can discover that adjusting to not being that important (as defined by our jobs and society)   matters more than mattering.

We need to get to the point that we can listen to a problem and not feel like we have to jump right in and solve it…alongside the understanding that we, perhaps, could spend our time better connecting to a stranger, sitting across from us on a subway, while he tells his story and we simply listen and give him our precious gift of time.

Yesterday…Cindy sent me an interesting article on the lives of Jeremiah Dixon and Charles Mason, British astronomers and surveyors, who produced the famous survey line…today known, as the Mason-Dixon line. (* Monday was Jeremiah Dixon’s birthday…July 27, 1733….thus the impetus for the article.)

I erroneously thought (at one time) that perhaps the two surveyors who drew this famous line separating (what is today) four U.S.  states….Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia… consisted of a northerner and southerner.

Instead…both men were British and they left England to perform this task for the Royal Crown…(since this famous survey line was completed a decade before the cry for independence was even heard in America.)

Thus…there was no way either man could possibly know the future impact that this famous Mason-Dixon line would come to symbolize by the time of the Civil War….becoming a cultural boundary between the U.S. North and the South.

Like Mason and Dixon…we should simply live our lives to the best that we can and not worry about future impacts concerning ourselves and/or uncontrollable situations we find ourselves in.

I am sure both Jeremiah Dixon and Charles Mason, if given the opportunity, would rather have been remembered for their astrological interests than a surveying project. They were both “star gazers” who preferred the vastness of the universe over restrictive boundaries and lines here on planet Earth.

So until tomorrow let us write a memo/ reminder to ourselves to live each day of our lives fully…without worrying about future impacts we wish or hope to leave…life is intended to be lived in the “now“…not the “perhaps.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* “And we’re off!” The “groupie” Ya’s are off to see the Wonderful Wizard-James Taylor in concert tonight in Columbia! We are having lunch today at the Palmetto Club….thanks to Brooke’s beautiful sweetheart of a stepdaughter’s generosity…Thank you Cara!

And then everyone is meeting at Jackson’s for a pre-concert gathering with food/drink/fun…even brother Ben is bravely going where no man has gone before …with the Ya’s to the concert!

We’re spending the night at Jackson’s and will head back later Thursday…will share some of the antics surrounding this nostalgic two day get-away with you in Friday’s blog.