A Missionary of Peace

Traveling right now seems like such a dream. What we took for granted can be taken away so quickly. Recently, I looked up travel guidelines in Europe and I was rejected at every turn.

There was the - does not allow U.S. citizens in (for such things as tourism). 

Then the - does not permit non-essential travel in between countries. 

Also the - have to take a negative co-vid test coming back into the U.S. as well. 

2 summers ago, my family hopped on a plane, touched down in Iceland for a few days, came to England, visited Scotland, and came back healthy and happy. 

Today, that would be impossible.

 But we are in a time where walls are around us and we can still find ways to breathe, defying the impossible by doing the impossible. 

Galatians 5: 22-23

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

There is no law. Against such things as joy. But are these rules today depriving us of joy? Sucking joy out of the life of traveling and meeting new people, seeing new places.

What about peace? Some people believe we are trying to make peace by making regulations that require us to attend faithfully to certain things: the putting on of the mask, the stay safe protocol, the washing of hands. Sounds kinda like rituals from the Bible....but - where do these practices stem from? I believe they stem from fear. Fear against the disease, the people around you calling you out, the economic turmoil. These rules then are against peace. Have you ever been in a store and seen someone without a mask? Your heart immediately jumps with fear for yourself or for others or for them. But what if you're the contender? All you see is judgement around you. Yes you are breaking the rules but you are standing up for true peace at the same time. A peace that is rooted in Jesus and has found freedom. Families are broken up from this, suicide rates and depression have skyrocketed. Yes there is a disease that is deadly and rampant more than others. But what we should really be watching out for is the disease of sin which thrives in times like these. Division. Strife. Anger. War of our minds. And we call for peace. A true peace is to look to Jesus for our rock to stand on in this crisis. He knows our time and when we shall go. Think of the missionaries such as Paul Brand who served lepers. Leprosy back in those days was a contagious disease you could never rid yourself from. Aren't we all missionaries where God has placed us? How can we virtually do that effectively? I believe God made me to be in the world but not of it. In the world, serving him. Right now, in most places, it requires a mask. Am I promoting peace by wearing one like everyone else? No, I am promoting a false sense of security, a fake peace that does not pass understanding.  

Here are some Lord of the Rings quotes which I thought fit admirably with these times:

Book 1 LTR - "Indeed in nothing is the power of the Dark Lord more clearly shown than in the estrangement that divides all those who still oppose him....our hands are more often upon the bowstring than upon the harp."

Book 2 LTR - Theoden, "But now my heart is doubtful. The world changes, and all that once was strong now proves unsure." - Helms Deep

After Pippin handles the Orthanc Stone - "I wish I had known all this before," said Pippin, "I had no notion of what I was doing."

"Oh yes you had," said Gandalf. "You knew you were behaving wrongly and foolishly; and you told yourself so though you did not listen. I did not tell you all this before, because it is only by musing on all that has happened that I have at last understood...but if I had spoken sooner, it would not have lessened your desire, or made it easier to resist. On the contrary! No the burned hand teaches best. After that advice about fire goes to the heart."

Sam - "Why to think of it, we're in the same tale still! It's going on. Don't the great tales never end?"

"No, they never end as tales," said Frodo. "But the people in them come, and go when their part's ended. Our part will end later - or sooner."

How will your part end?

P.S. If you got this far, then you read my 45 minute long crafted paragraph on peace in these issues. I don't rant or spew out words for those to lash back at. I merely sat down and these thoughts came to mind. I know a lot will not agree with some, most, or all of what I wrote. If you know me, I extremely dislike conflict. But as I've had to get used to it over this last year, I've realized how important it is to talk out and about it instead of hiding it away like a secret. I am not ashamed of the power of Christ. Or....what God can do through the well worded wisdom of J.R.R.Tolkien. 

Snow and Surgery...not correlated this time!

    

     It was mid morning and I wanted snow. I often crave snowy days and yesterday was one of those days. We didn't have anything going on or planned. So why not persuade everyone to go up 2 hours into the snow? It only took a couple minutes before everyone was scrambling for snow pants and gloves. Dad and Rose wanted to go cross country skiing and I wanted to sled. Rowan conceded to sled with me after I told him he'd miss out on some funny stories if he stayed home to feed his chickens. We played Christmas music all the way up to our first stop where we piled out to pick up some apples at one of the little fruit stands still open. Then we headed up the windy mountain pass; apple cores being thrown out the windows every 10 minutes. The parking lot was packed when we reached it but we managed to find a spot and had a lovely couple hours in THE SNOW. It was wonderfully cold and crisp and I marveled that everyone could keep their coats on. I wore myself out though and fell asleep early so I could be woken up early for my wisdom teeth removal the next day.... which was today. 

    Today I got all 4 of my wisdom teeth and did NOT go crazy afterwards. I went under and was on 3 different drugs/somethingsorother which they explained to me. However I just woke up and walked right out to the car where Mom was waiting. So much for that...I was looking forward to seeing what I was going to blurt out. Guess they didn't give me the nitrous oxide mix notoriously known as laughing gas. So I ended up sipping broth and almond/banana/berry shakes and watching the 2015 live action Cinderella which I love! It's been a good day. 

   Thanksgiving is coming up and I feel like I have an overwhelming amount of things to be thankful for. There are negatives in my life (of course, everyone has them) but not everyone needs to look for them! Psalm 100 is a tradition my family reads before the thanksgiving meal. 

PSALM 100

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 

Worship the LORD with gladness; 

come before him with joyful songs. 

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through

all generations.

Also (don't have a picture b/c it would probably scare some of you off;) Rowan (15) and Rose (13) killed one of our turkeys today for our thanksgiving feast. Next year there will be fresh turkeys you can buy from us for your Thanksgiving. Yum.

The view up to one of the sledding hills. Mt. Hood blanketed in snow.

    

INTERLUDE

I write a lot less than I used to...here's a excerpt from three years ago of me writing on thanksgivings in my life.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Ironic Thankgivings

Thanksgiving is a time of feasting, festivities, and thankful hearts. A time of remembering, savoring, and gratefulness. Generally, most people can create that atmosphere especially if there has been bountiful blessings showered lately on you by God.

"I'm so thankful for -."

"I just am so grateful to -."

"I feel blessed because -."

However, what if on Thanksgiving, something catastrophic happened? Would you still be gushing out thankfulness and joy? Our family has been put to the test for the third year in a row of a series of unexpected, unwelcomed events that have left us saying hopefully "could be worse!"

Two years ago (3 Thanksgivings ago now), we traveled up to Parkdale to spend Thanksgiving day up in the cottage. There was a thin layer of snow and so we decided to go sledding. Bad idea. We had to dodge rocks as we careened down patches of melting snow. Rose (age 8 at the time) decided to go higher than everyone else even though a certain person she should have listened to - told her NO. 

As Rose flew down the hill, she was obviously terrified, probably wishing with all her might that she had listened to the experienced, calculating person who told her NO. Slamming into a giant rock, she was thrown off the sled with a force that propelled her into the snow. Dad (who is actually the person who told her NO), ran to her rescue but it was too late. Her back pained her to the extremity. Quickly, Mom and Dad raced down to the hospital with her while the rest of us stayed at home trying to follow the Turkey Feast recipes (the turkey didn't turn out quite normal). Rose got a CAT scan and no bones were broken to our relief. However, she did have a sprain. They gave her some kind of pain killer which zonked her ability to function rationally. We never planned to have Rose crying "Mother's Turkey, I want Mother's turkey!" up and down the halls of the hospital on Thanksgiving day. But that's what Rose did. And we were thankful when the nurse asked the sly question, "Do you like your brothers and sister?'' And Rose retorted, "Of course!" That answer could be debatable in some moments. All in all, Rose recovered rapidly and by the time we headed down the mountain, she was back to her old self. We were grateful God had saved her from further harm.

 Last year (2 Thanksgivings ago), we traveled up to Parkdale to spend Thanksgiving day up in the cottage. Does this sound familiar? There was a thin layer of ice this time and unaware of impending disaster, we were playing tag with our dogs outside. Bad idea....again. As we raced up the stairs, Pearl dashed up behind us but then fell back with a sharp, high cry of pain. Her paw had caught in the opening slats between each stair. She wasn't putting weight on it so we rushed her down to the veterinary hospital. Do these verbs (raced, dashed, fell, rushed) give you an idea how hectic our Thanksgivings are? However, after the rush, there's always the wait. We waited and waited until the veterinarian declared our dog to have a "sprain" in her leg. He gave us some outrageously priced little pills to give Pearl who was doing her best to act injured. We had a crying patient on our hands for the next few days; she was worse than Rose! As we headed down the mountain, we were thankful Pearl was young and could heal easily and that she didn't need surgery.

This year, we traveled up to Parkdale to spend Thanksgiving day up in the cottage. There was no snow and no ice so we hoped there would be no worries. Wrong. Usually we stay in the warm car while Dad turns on the heat and gets things all warmed up. Well this time it seemed he was taking longer than normal. Finally Mom sent me in to check on him. I opened the door and coughed. The place reeked chemical stench. There was pure black cobwebs arranged all over the room, drifting down eerily as I walked around the place. Dad came out of the basement dusting his hands. "The oil furnace exploded," he said. Mom and everyone else came in with bags of luggage. "Take it all back out," Dad shook his head."We can't stay here." Here are the facts: Dad turned on the oil furnace but black smoke was coming out of the vents and into the house. It looked like the installation had fallen into the heat furnace and there were dead mice around its base. The whole house looked like Halloween in full decoration. Everything was covered in an oil base charcoal? I'm not sure exactly but we couldn't easily get it off anything. We're going to have to get professional cleaners to go through everything. As we headed back down the mountain after only an hour up at the cottage, we felt blessed that we weren't in the house when that happened and that our house hadn't burned down.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my family's crazy misfortunes and I hope you learned that there is always a "could be worse!" if you look hard enough. Next year, I'm hoping my family will stay home. I'll be in New Zealand so I certainly don't want to miss another ironical Thanksgiving. But if something happens, I'll let them tell you......

Avonlea

The Poetic Change of Autumn

 September. 

A pivotal month. 

A transfer to a different season. 

The hot breath of wind fades into a cold quiet. 

The leaves take their cue and fall, 

entranced at this new turn of events. 

The flowers fade and bow. 

Coldness seeps in at night. 

This happens every year. 

Every late summer I grab at the light, 

wanting to let it soak and leave me with the warmth. 

But it dwindles. 

I wake up early to feel the sun

becoming colder by the day.

I run outside and spend my life

In the dirt and moss and trees.

To catch this time of beauty, 

I stop looking at Hurry and Worry.

I turn my back upon those two.

I revel in grace.

Up alone in my tree

I read, until shadows hide the words.

I shiver and jump down.

The key has been handed over 

to the cold.

A Month of Housekeeping in a Gold Rush Town

     

     I started my day out like any day during Corona times - bored. I could make myself busy but intermittently would slip back into daydreaming. Later into the morning, I got a notification. That notification changed my future and sent me forward into the land of housekeeping. 

     Hailey and I set out on an adventure 6 hrs away in a western themed town called Winthrop. We cleaned rooms, scrubbed toilets, and made beds, but most importantly, we had fun. When we left, we told one of the employees there that we had fun and she wrinkled her nose and said we were weird. But seriously, how can you not have fun with a good friend and music? After work, we'd invariably head for any body of water we could find. In the dry hills around us, many lakes lent their waters to our tired bodies - wow not sure if that's too poetic a line for this narrative....but let's continue. 

     One hot day after work, we decided to go to Patterson lake. There was a trail head near the lake so we parked our car and started up the path. We realized a mile or more in that the trail was very long and steep, the sun was very hot, and there was no shade anywhere. The fact there was no people either told us we were being dumb. The main reason we started down though was that Hailey couldn't find her phone. Back at the car, her phone was found but then I went crazy. Somewhere down that barren mountainside, my phone had slipped out of my short's pocket. I panted back up that murderous incline, praying as I went. (I'd never lost my phone before so you can imagine my shock.) Finally I found it lying in the middle of the path. We then proceeded to swim in seaweed to cool off. Our phones were found. 

10 miles, 7000 ft maple heather pass

     The owners of the inn made the work fun by coming up with competitions and scavenger hunts against our roommates, Claire and Bekah. The first time, the goal was finish 2 rooms as fast as possible then it turned into a full out scavenger hunt complete with hauling 10 pound rocks up from the river to the lobby. Claire and I each had a rock and were literally shoving each other aside in the doorway. Another time, we had to take the river inter-tubes into the pool and paddle as fast as we could to the other side. This is all during the time we were supposed to clean rooms. Now do you see why we had fun? Oh yes and there were prizes at the end. Free coffee for the winners and even some money once. It was also the self satisfaction of knowing Hailey and I could clean 3 rooms in 36 minutes, 12 minutes a room. Usually our average was about 20 minutes per room. We cut 8 minutes off just by putting up with adrenaline. It happened on one of our competitions that Hailey spilled a full can of beer all over the place taking out the trash. Luckily it was on the tile not the carpet but it still reeked and got all over her shoes and my shorts. We smelled lovely that day - not. 

     If anyone's interested in going there and working, please get in contact with me and I can give you information. They really need people right now as housekeepers and it's an awesome opportunity (plus you make really good money). You do have to stay there for a minimum of 3 weeks though. Their season ends in October so you could do online school and live and work there.....caught your interest yet? Um there's also a bonus if you stay longer. Anyway, we had a blast and I'm sure you would too!

Reindeer heaven

Stock that cart Hailey!

And now for the best moments of our photo shoot:

Hailey is a good photographer. She matched my bag with the chair. 

A Cousin's Southern Wedding

   Disclaimer: I got 3 and a half hours of sleep and have been up 18 hours so far. I just ate a TON of sugar so I'm so ready for this next hour of writing. (If you get confused at all during the next whirlwind of words, just read this paragraph again and you'll get it.)

Karis and Bennett at a dance.

    I met my cousin Karis when she was born. I was a month old. We were very different in looks but as we grew up, we fed off each other's love for animals, dress up, and Jesus. We splashed in the creek, rode horses with friends, sang our hearts out in 80's bridesmaid dresses, and listened intently to wisdom. Karis was lots more level headed then me and I was delighted to find someone who would help me out with my yearly loss of my dorm keys at camp. 3 summers of, "Uh Karis, I just lost my dorm key for the whole week of Worldview. Can I borrow your key again?" (We shared a dorm). Thankfully I never lost her keys. She was always there to help someone out except when it came to Aggravation, the board game of our family. Karis would move out of her way to send someone back to home. It was almost unbelievable to see her go out of her way not to help but to hinder. Because in real life, she was nothing like that! If you want the spicy side of Karis, play Aggravation with her. Be warned: you'll be aggravated all right;))) (I'm teasing)

    Last week, we traveled 12 hours to reach Columbus, Georgia. Since our cousin's are Army kids, we've got to hear about their adventures in various states. This time we actually got to visit in person. Destination: Ft. Benning in the humid deep south. We had run-ins with giant cockroaches and a copperhead snake poised to strike. But we didn't go to see the wild creatures though it was pretty cool. We went to see Karis get married which was so much cooler! I was a bridesmaid along with four other lovely girls. None of us had ever been part of the bridal party before so it was a new experience for all of us to unfold together. Karis was a beautiful bride and Bennett will make a great cousin-in-law. 

   We spent the last day without Karis (or Bennett) for Necia's birthday. The picture is not complete. But in a way it is. One by one, cousin's will get picked off. Sadness. But I'm excited to do a selfie at the end. (haha teasing)

Left to Right: Faith, Bennett, Karis, Necia. Rehearsal Night.

Had to add this Pic. Faith and I on Karis's scavenger hunt. Found the mural!

If you're wondering why I don't have wedding pictures it's because it takes awhile to edit and make them look perfecto!

    

It's a Wrap

    Two days till freedom. The words reverberate, filled with importance. But when I think deeper, I find that freedom is not the right word. Let me explain.
   
    I worked as a cashier and porter at Chipotle for 8 months. The pay was minimum and sometimes customers weren't exactly friendly. Some were too friendly. Once, when I reached my hand out for the money, the man shook it instead. I think my expression added 5 years of joviality to his life. I liked working there though. I liked working hard. In conversations with my friends there, I'd ask them if they like working when it's busy or slow. Invariably, the answer is busy. When we had slow days, the time draggggged. I triple check my drinks, knowing already I hadn't sold any. Fun fact: since the virus, Chipotle has made even more money than they used to. Look up their stocks. It's amazing. Anyway, when we were busy, it was a challenge. Like a game. Except you also earned money and got to meet a lot of cool people. I quit tomorrow. I wanted summer vacation and am going to travel. But I won't be travelling all summer. There will still be days where I can forsee myself thinking, how will I get through this slow day?

    I said two days till freedom. Thursday - Chipotle will be done. Friday - Art classes end. My second semester of art was moved to Zoom in March. It was weird but it worked. Art takes a long time to even finish one project. It is slow but you make headway bit by bit and months down the road and soon, a beautiful butterfly emerges. When you're close to your canvas creating, everything is in your face. Art teachers always say to back up from time to time, look at it from a normal distance and understand only the artist or a critic will get micro close to your work. Enjoy the privilege of being able to understand your art process magnified close while at the same time being willing to look at it from the spectator's role. That was a whole chunk of words right there but let's move on.

    Art school will be done in two days, Chipotle in one. I'm finishing two major events and celebrating freedom? I think the word is completion. The fast job of Chipotle and the slow work of art are completed. Completion of something doesn't necessarily mean freedom from it. You can complete a homework assignment but later have it turned back to you with a bad grade. Even though you completed it, your teacher was the one in charge, not you. And in the long run, that is a good thing. I believe though these days have been completed, I don't think I'm entirely free from what I chose. God is my teacher and He can bring up instances from these months to help teach me in the years to come. Through that process, I am freed by His grace. He is the freedom I seek in my completion.

A Duck's Worst Nightmare

Yup those are teeth. Found in my backyard. So interesting!

Practicing for another upcoming wedding!

Here's just some pictures of my life when I'm not working. And of course the duck murder mystery later on. Enjoy:)

Archie.

On a walk. Lewisville Park.

What a Dad to take his daughter up sledding when she's been asking all winter.

Sledding through a tunnel gives a surge of adrenaline with the possibility you could get stuck!

Baby ducks

Why did we get baby ducks when we already have 6 ducks? Well what happened was everyone went to the beach except me. I had to work the few days my family was gone. In the morning, my grandma let the ducks out of their cage to discover one had been mutilated and killed. Two others had gaping wounds on the back of their heads. She's like, "Call Mom and Dad!" And I'm thinking, oh no that would ruin their vacation. So I told her no. The next morning, Grandma goes to the cage again and again there's a dead duck. Now she's like really, "CALL MOM AND DAD!!!" And I'm still like, "Yea???" Then, "Ok suuuure...before you lose your voice." My family came back home that day, thankfully for Grandma's sanity, and we turned over the wooden pen. We had guessed a raccoon or opossum but no one was prepared for what shot out of the abyss. A dark musky smelling mink sped through the grass into the woods. Rowan had his gun ready and took some shots but it was too fast. From the looks of things, it looked like the mink had just taken up residency during the time the family was gone. Gave Grandma and I a nice little murder mystery to work on. Anyway, seeing how we were short two ducks, we got four more. Two extra just in case the mink comes back.....

But don't worry, we got them a new shelter so the mink won't ever be able to come from under their cage and drag them to a morbid death. Also Grandma will be happy.

The shadow of Pearl and I.

Mom, Grant, and Shasta on a walk.

Above is a picture of a Venetian themed tea that we are doing at the tea house I work at! The owner hand painted all these masks and is selling them at Sweet Peas Tea Room. She is so creative!

Well there's my randomness for the day. Now I'm going to practice my piano, harp, and art...bye!