December '09 Odds & Ends

We are having a blizzard. This is what I woke up to at 7 a.m., and I couldn't really open the door but managed to stick the camera out. It is still snowing. I have lots of work I brought home from the office, and I'm going to put on a pot of soup later. Don't you wish you were here? ;-)

Ken made an excellent Santa at my office open house last week.

The tree is up, most of the presents are purchased or made, and I'm trying to enjoy my laid back December. There are advantages to not being a pastor in December.

I think I should go put some Christmas music on.

What are you up to today?

Pondering a Pile of Dirt

Isaiah 61:1-4

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

Not far from here is a fragrant, flower-covered hill that is perhaps 25 or 30 feet high at the top. I couldn't really capture the glorious color, but these pictures give you an idea. It is large enough to be visible from a distance.

Isn't that glorious? You cannot see it in the photo, but this little hill sits off the side of the road because of nearby construction. Last year the beautiful mass of color was just unsightly dirt and debris left over from excavations, and bulldozers unceremoniously piled it on the side of the road. I remember driving past and thinking that they should have at least put it back from the road a bit. I wondered if someone would eventually move it.

Winter comes, as always here, with plenty of ice and snow. The unsightly brown hill became a mound of glistening white. As the first hints of spring warmth arrived, bits of green sprouted here and there.

Then one day, seemingly overnight, I drove by and saw that the ugly and useless pile of dirt had become beautiful--covered with green grass, purple phlox, and wild yellow mustard! I wish I had taken a picture then. The mustard plants soon disappeared and the phlox seemed to expand daily to eventually cover the hill in a fragrant mass of color.

I don't know if some anonymous nature lover decided that the ugly dirt pile needed to be something else--and spread phlox seeds all over--or if somehow it just "happened" as seeds that lay dormant were stirred up, left to the sunshine and rain and--voila--something beautiful grew.

Phlox grows wild here and right now it can be found in many fields, ditches and tall grasses.

I do know that what was a pile of dirt and debris a short time ago is now so lovely that I stopped to take a picture, and I've seen others doing the same. I pass this mass of flowers almost every day and I always feel a little lighter of heart, wondering how such a thing came to be.

The words "beauty for ashes" kept coming to mind. Beauty for ashes? When one is in a metaphorical ash heap, it is hard to imagine beauty. The Isaiah passage is one that Jesus quoted, saying that it was fulfilled in him. The Lord Jesus Christ is the One who heals, consoles, comforts, and transforms us.

I choose to consider this metaphor of new life as a special gift of God to me in difficult days. Each time I pass it (almost every day) I pray that the Lord will give beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, a garment of praise instead of a heavy spirit. I ask that for myself, and I ask if for others who are waiting for the promise of beauty to be fulfilled.

I am praying for you. According to the passage, the end result, friends, is that God is glorified. May it be so!

Spring Has, at Last, Sprung at the Owl Backyard

Should you be inclined to click on the picture to enlarge it, you will see Trinity's swing and the ever-present dandilions. The crabapple tree is gorgeous, and I could not do it justice in a picture.

Thankfulness 12

My Christmas cactus is confused and has been blooming steadily since Halloween. It is amazing and beautiful. A nice sight in the window as I looked out the the ice pelletws and snow falling outside!

Late Summer Colors

Acts 14:17b "...He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”



This basket of ripe peaches sat on our table during  last weekend's camping trip. I was struck by the beauty of the varied hues--no tweaking needed!

In our backyard, the blackeyed susans are in bloom. Because of their shady location, they never bloom till the end of summer when, at last, they cannot help themselves!

The beautiful clusters of choke berries are gleaming in the sun, even as the leaves begin to have a slightly yellow tinge.

The season when Summer eases into Fall is one of the most beautiful times in Wisconsin. The Canadian geese are beginning to gather and take short practice flights, honking their way across the sky. Soon they will be gone.

The corn has tasseled and begun to change from verdant and shiny to brown. When I first moved to this part of the state, I watched for the corn harvest, only to be surprised at how many fields of corn remained till cold weather. After the sweet corn was harvested and filled the stores, I discovered that most of the corn still stood in the fields--for dairy cattle. When the stalks and ears turn crisp and dry they are harvested for silage.

The sweet corn crop has been remarkable--so sweet and juicy! The tomatoes are ripe and I hope some of my church folk remember that their pastor loves garden tomatoes! The wheat is harvested, but the soybeans are still green and growing. This makes for beautiful landscapes of color on our rolling hillsides. They will gradually change over the next month or so to yellow, gold, orange and brown.

The temperatures are erratic too. It is going to be 90 today, but the nights are cool and next week is forecast to be sharply cooler. I do love the crispness of fall, the colors, the nostalgia that somehow always arrives on the wind, the awareness (sometimes melancholy) of change and time passing. I love fall clothes--sweaters and boots and jackets--and the scent of smoke on the air, the orange pumpkins in the fields, the anticipation of frost and then--winter. Not anticipating that so much.

God is in the reminders of constancy even in the change. The cycle of seasons will remain long after my life is gone and no one remembers my name, except God. Meanwhile, I'm going to buy the last fruit, and ears of corn, and tomatoes, and put off storing my summer clothes till frost is in the air.

The Queen Anne's Lace by our little creek is going to seed.

I hate to let the warmth go. At the same time I am anticipating the next season--in the earth and in my life.

Change is coming. I feel it. Do you?

August Wildflowers

This time of year reminds us of how people manage to put up with Wisconsin winters. August has been beautiful so far with mild days of mostly low humidity and cool nights. The corn that did not get washed out in the spring rain is tall and tasseling. The farmers who did get flooded out planted soybeans, one of the lovliest crops in the country. A close look at this field will reveal corn stalks sticking up in the soybean plants. Well, I guess not every corn stalk was killed by over watering!

If you look closely between the tree branches you will see the doe and fawn in the meadow.

We decided to try to get some seed pods from the abundance of wildflowers that are lining our roadsides and blooming in ditches. Queen Anne's Lace (I love the stuff) is everywhere, and alongside are purple and yellow blossoms I can't identify.

When we came home we tossed seeds down the hill towards our little creek. We will see if any grew when next summer comes around.

Below the Office Window

If you want to see some really spectacular photos, go here to Jules' photo blog,

"The Way I See It."

A Little Bit of Spring

Earlier it was raining and I heard a clap of thunder. Now the sun is out and it is almost 70. However, I am expecting an ice storm any time now. That is because this morning I started my winter clothes annual migragion from my closet to the basement.

It was a brash move, but life is not worth living without some risk in it, don't you agree?

Here are a few indications that spring has indeed sprung at last here in Wisconsin.



My Christmas cactus (which actually bloomed at Thanksgiving, as usual) got confused. I guess it was so joyful at the sun coming through its window that it managed to push out one flower in celebration of spring's return.



I picked the pussy willow branches to add to a spring boquet on the altar table.



Here is a close up.

And outside my office window the daffodills and the tulips are FINALLY about to pop!