Praying for Cranberries

1 Dec
A Few Thoughts
Patricia Franklin
 
In the crisis center where I volunteer, we are very busy this time of year. Each family or client can receive a food sack once a month and used clothing every other month, i.e., a pair of pants and 2 shirts per person, a coat or pair of shoes once every six months. We can process about 100 or more families through the system in a 3 hour time period. Donations are mostly from churches, local  food stores and people who know why we are here. This organization was started several years ago by a few downtown churches, and has spread throughout the community.  I work at the front counter, where we keep a file on each person or family. Our clientele is steadily growing as the economy worsens and the holidays approach.
There are some very sad cases, many due to health and family problems, some jobless, elderly, homeless, etc.  In my position I don’t always know the details about the client. We have to work pretty fast, so there is not much time for conversation. But once in a while it seems like time stands still for a moment and you are struck by a particular person. For instance the other day a woman came in on a cold day and said she had no sox and asked if she could just have a pair of sox.  She was thrilled when the woman from clothing came out and handed her two pair of used sox.
The other day, a quiet middle-aged man came up to the counter and I asked “How are you today?”  Quietly he answered, “Well, not so good.  Things have been better. My back is bad, my legs…. and lots of things… but I pray a lot.”  Then he stood quietly waiting for me to fill out his paper work.  I said to him, “I’ll pray for you too.”  He started to walk away and suddenly turned back and said “Today I’m praying for cranberries.”  I stopped and looked at him as he walked away and tears came to my eyes as I thought.  “Of all the things that he must need, he simply prayed for cranberries, wanting this simple little thing for himself.” 
I don’t know what he got in his food sack that day, but with a lump in my throat, I went home that day praying with all my heart that he would get his cranberries.
 Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it’s needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! Regard prisoners as if you were in prison with them. Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them had happened to you.
Hebrews  13:1-3   The Message

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Kathy

29 Nov

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Originally I planned to write about the good aspects of aging. I was inspired after a relaxing visit with my friend DiVoran. Then as often happens to me, my mind turned in a new direction. I want to tell you about someone named Kathy.

In the early eighties I was working as a unit secretary at our local hospital. One of my duties was to answer the intercom system when a patient would press the call button. Kathy was frequently in and out of the hospital for tests and pain management. If I remember correctly she was in her late thirties. She was a very humble person and instead of demanding medication she would say, “I hurt real bad”. Kathy had been subjected to a myriad of diagnostic tests but no actual diagnosis was made. Often the staff, myself included, would shake their heads never sure if she had a very low pain tolerance or just liked pain meds.

One of the diseases for which Kathy was tested  was Lupus. She had many symptoms and especially the pain but all the tests were negative. I suspect what Kathy suffered from was Fibromyalgia. At the time Kathy was ill I am not even sure Fibro had been recognized as a legitimate medical condition much less any treatment plans or support groups.

Years have passed since that time and on the days I am dealing with my own health issues, I sometimes hear Kathy’s voice in my mind, “I hurt real bad” and my heart says forgive me, Kathy I just didn’t understand and I whisper to myself, “I hurt real bad too.”

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Our Trip Across America-Part 8

28 Nov

A Slice of Life

  Bill Lites

Now we headed North, up the beautiful California coast on California Hiway #1. We stopped to tour the famous Hearst Castle in San Simeon, which is one of the largest private residences ever built in the United States. It was built by the newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, and is absolutely amazingly beautiful.

 

 

We were told it was started in 1919 and work continued until around 1947.  At some point during the construction Hearst named the project “La Cuesta Encantada” but it is now commonly called Hearst’s Castle.  Most of the elaborate furnishings were collected by Hearst during his many Worldwide tours, stored for years, and were then painstakingly incorporated into the design of this huge construction project.

 

 

 

   

 

 

We continued up the California Coast Hiway to Monterey Bay, CA and visited the Monterey Sea Aquarium.  What an unusual and informative place that is.  The tide pools are home to many sea creatures who come and go with the high and low tides.  The Kelp Forest Feedings of the multi-variety of fish was most interesting and we all loved the show.

 

 

 

Then it was on up North to San Francisco where we ate seafood at the famous Fisherman’s Wharf, took a tour of Alcatraz Island, and DiVoran’s favorite visit, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Square.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was to visit with DiVoran’s folks in Fort Bragg, CA about halfway to the Oregon border from San Francisco.  That visit was what I considered an epicurean delight.   Her father, Ivan, showed us how to pick the kind of wild mushrooms that we could eat with our charcoal grilled steaks..yum!  We also ate fresh salmon caught by Ivan (the master fisherman) during an ocean-fishing trip on his commercial salmon fishing boat. Then there were the driftwood and Jade rock hunts on the beach, lead by DiVoran’s mother Dora.  To top it off, we were treated to fabulous 4th of July fireworks display.  What great fun, and a wonderful visit.

 

 

 

         —–To Be Continued—–

 

 

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Skinny Jeans for Seniors

26 Nov

My Take

DiVoran Lites

On Mondays I go to the Titusville Art League for what I call, “Inspiration Monday,” where four of us, or three, or two meet to inspire each other and to enjoy the blessing of friendship and company. We look after each other too.

Karen comes in first. She has a long and fascinating story to tell about why she’s late. She comes to our town for the winter and goes to Ohio for the summer. She has discovered black Gloria Vanderbilt jeans that fit like no jeans I’ve ever seen before in my life.

Bess came in with her trellis ribbon at the ready to crochet the most gorgeous, light-weight, three-strand necklaces you ever saw. She taught us how to do it and even supplied the ribbon.

Agnes didn’t come. She’s a retired nurse, who once had cancer. She now often looks after her, “young minister’s little wife,” because she now has the monster disease. Agnes is the fashion police and worries when I wear baggy pants, which I do a lot because praise God I’ve lost weight (on purpose).

I’m DiVoran. You know me. I’ve just published my first book, Sacred Spring, my painting buddies helped me paint the cover. We talk about everything and help each other and say outrageous things to make each other laugh.

Karen, Bess, and I went to Valentino’s for lunch. Bess and I had minestrone and Karen had chicken wings. We shared a basket of garlic bread with a small squabble about who would pay for the garlic bread. Each one wants to give something.

The restaurant was as dark as a bar but we didn’t have to see each other. We knew we all had white or gray hair and a wrinkle or two. Karen and I sat side by side with Bess facing us. When it came time to leave, my hand fell on a set of keys on the seat between us. Oh, I’m glad I felt those keys.

We went to Beall’s as usual because they have sales on Mondays. I didn’t stay long, but when as I left the store, I checked my keys and guess what, they weren’t mine, they were Karen’s. I rushed back into the store looking for white hair above the racks. At last I spotted her and strode over to the skinny jeans department to give her the keys. She grabbed me and hugged me. We both knew she or I or anyone would have been capable of losing the keys and having to launch a frantic search to find them. Friends look after each other sometimes, but there is one who is always taking care of his children.

“For thou art a gracious and merciful God.” Nehemiah 9:31

 

 

 

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OBERAMMERGAU

25 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

                                                 

 

My husband and I (and later our daughters, as well) were blessed to have spent six years in Germany.  Except for a couple of short trips with my Aunt Jessie to Mexican border towns, I had never traveled outside the United States.  So the prospect of spending YEARS in Germany was quite an adventure for me.  Fred had never lived in Germany, but had spent some time in Italy and Japan with his parents in his growing-up years.

It’s very hard to say “where” our favorite place in Europe was.  So many places we were able to visit, and they all delighted us.

And yet, one of our very favorite memories is of the town of Oberammergau, Germany.  It is beautifully situated in a valley between mountains.  On our travels, we had visited there occasionally, but since we were in Germany in 1970, we decided to go see the Passion Play that the town presents every 10 years, on the even year.  We had always enjoyed staying in B&B’s on our trips, rather than fancy hotels, so we were pleased to be able to get a “package” that included two nights stay in a home with a German family.  We learned that the man of the house had played Jesus in the 1960 performance.  We would have breakfast in that home, but the other meals were to be taken in the restaurant at one of the hotels in town.  The Passion Play was an eight-hour production, with a lunch break.  That gave us some time to explore the town and it’s shops, mostly appealing to tourists.

We found the house where we were to stay, and found that half of the house was the barn for their animals, with only a wall between it and the residency.  Made for some interesting sounds and smells!  Our room was on the top floor – essentially the attic – with a shared bathroom down the hall, and a balcony outside our room.  The bed was comfortable, with an  comforter to keep us comfy and warm.

 

 

 

We had reserved seats in the huge theater, especially built for the Play.  All the seating area, except for about the first 10 rows, were under cover.  But those rows of seats and the stage was open to the air.  Our tickets were for the first regular showing of the Play of the season – May 22, 1970.  And we were quite glad that our seats were half-way back the theater, since we had a snow fall during the performance!  We were amazed to see the actors, including the children in the play, remain in their assigned positions even with the snow falling on them!

 

The entire play was spoken in German, but we had a handbook that gave the dialog in English.  Actually, we didn’t need to refer to it too much, since we knew the story line!

 

 

It was an extremely moving and wonderful performance.  It touched our hearts, and brought us again to our Savior’s feet.  We are so thankful to have been in that place at that time, and  able to experience that Play.

 

 

 

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Circles

23 Nov

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

“Will the circle be unbroken

By and by, Lord, by and by

There’s a better home a-waiting

In the sky, Lord, in the sky”

My family as far back as I can remember loved to sing hymns and this one was sung frequently. As a child I didn’t understand the point but last Sunday, watching my youngest grandchild’s baptism, my

heart-felt the circle of faith being completed for yet another generation. It was a wonderful and emotional. One circle was complete but soon these children will begin their own circle of faith.

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Our Trip Across America Part 7

22 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

 The next morning we headed West again, this time on I-8 across the desert, thru Yuma and El Centro.  It was so hot, even with the car A/C on full blast, we still had to continually suck on ice cubes to try to stay cool, and we were still hot.   I kept expecting the engine to overheat, but luckily it didn’t, and we finally came out of that desert heat into the cool of San Diego, California.  Wow, what a relief that was after several days of blistering heat!

 

 

 

 

DiVoran and I were married there while I was in the Navy, and we lived our first eight months there before I was shipped out to Japan for a six month cruise of the Far East.

We visited DiVoran’s brother David and his family who lived in Bonita, which was just south of San Diego, almost on the Mexican border.  He had a Mexican housekeeper named Angelica who hadn’t been in the U.S. very long.   She had come from a rich family in Mexico and didn’t know the first thing about house cleaning, but boy could she cook!  She made the best Chili Rellanos I ever ate.  David’s house was so close to the border that he said he could sometimes see the Mexican illegals walking thru his back yard on their way to town to look for work.

 

                    

Our next stop was up the coast about 125 miles to the city of Inglewood, where I went to college and to show our kids the hospital where they were born.  And, of course, the donut shop where I had my breakfast most mornings during my college years.

 

 

          

 

We also looked for the three houses in town that we lived in during the 8 years we were there, but could only find two still standing.  Boy, had that area changed!  Somewhere in the Los Angeles area, our A/C fan belt broke and I was so glad it hadn’t happened while were crossing the desert.  Here again, things worked out, as the spare fan belts were in the tool box and I was able to change it myself without too much delay.

 

 

From there we went out to Diamond Bar, a suburb of Los Angeles, to visit Terry and Mary, some of our friends from Titusville.  I had worked with Terry, and our kids had grown up together.  They took us to one of their favorite restaurants called Pinnacle Pete’s, where we were treated to wonderful Mesquite grilled steaks in a very relaxed atmosphere.  When we walked into the dining area, we were surprised to see the ceiling covered with ties.  I asked “what’s with all the ties?” and was told that it was a tradition to bring unsuspecting friends there for dinner, after which the waitress would bring your check and a big pair of scissors and cut the tie off of anyone wearing one.  It would then be stapled wherever there was an open space.  What a hoot that was!

 

        

 

 

—To Be Continued—

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Nature’s Thanksgiving

21 Nov
A Few Thoughts

 

Patricia Franklin

 

 

English: Fall leaves in Eugene, Oregon

English: Fall leaves in Eugene, Oregon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

Sitting in my backyard near the Rocky Mountains on a quiet Sunday morning, trying to absorb the waning rays of the Autumn sun, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the peace and quiet of nature around me.  Even the birds were silent.  “This is God’s creation in silent and awesome worship,” I thought to myself.  The bare branches of the trees and bushes, a single flower, and even the browning grasses are reaching quietly to the heavens in praise. 

 

 

The many words and songs that we think are essential in our Sunday worship were absent, and blessedly so.  The awesome silence made the beauty of nature stand out in its simple, beautiful thanks and praise to God.  A quiet breeze comes up and whispers its praise.  Suddenly the cry of a bluejay pierces the stillness in a heartfelt “Alleluia” to its Creator. Even a little yellow butterfly (In November?) comes fluttering around and about and then it is gone. … maybe searching for its Maker?  

 

 

We are a blessed, yet thankless generation rushing along, worrying and searching for what…. the gifts of the Creator?  They are all around us, but humankind passes by unaware, living in a noisy, self-absorbent little world of its own making.  Yet nature itself is crying out in silent praise and thanksgiving to God.

 

 

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your Creation that never forgets your Goodness, and cries out to you in its quiet, simple and humble way.

 

 

Fallen Leaves

Fallen Leaves (Photo credit: MSVG)

 

 

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Adventure

19 Nov

My Take

DiVoran Lites

 

Some sail the seven seas,

Others find it on their knees

They say, “God bless you,” when you sneeze.

How about a tropical breeze?

Should I climb mountains

Or scale high rocks?

Or run a-pulling up my socks.

Or go down in caves spelunking for free

What adventures are waiting for me

Where do I go and what do I wear?

Thank goodness I have some pretty good hair.

Will someone go with me

Or do I go alone

Incommunicado or take my cell phone

If I could ride horses in meadows so sweet

Or eat just the veggies eschewing all meat

If I got tea and scones with Devonshire cream

If silk saris and music were part of the dream

If I slept on soft sheets and read novels all day

Now that’s an adventure

I really might stay

So what do you think an adventure might be

For a little ole, stay at home lady like me?

 

 

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San Jose

18 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Will

 

Do you know the way to San Jose…………

 

My husband had just completed his basic military training in San Antonio, Texas, and was assigned to San Jose State College for one year of meteorology training.  We were both excited about the prospect of living in California for that year.  I, personally, had only been to California a couple of times, and looked forward to the time.  We had visited my brother and his wife in Inglewood the Christmas before we married.  But that was a LONG time ago.

We drove with our belongings to Albuquerque, New Mexico for a visit with my parents, then on to Colorado Springs where my husband’s youngest sister was getting married.  From there we drove to northern California, and San Jose.

We were able to acquire a small one-bedroom apartment near the college.  That was a good thing – Fred wouldn’t have to drive to the campus, fight to find a non-existent parking spot, and then find his way to classes.  He could just walk to class.  The city public library was nearby as well – and I walked there at least once each week.

We had a little time before he was to begin his summer classes, so we began exploring.  We found Mount Hamilton – not too far away – and it had an observatory on top of the hill.  It was fascinating to us to look over the valley – and sometimes see a light plane soaring by – below where we stood!

 

 

We drove down to Monterey to see that beautiful Pebble Beach Golf Course on the ocean front.  Gorgeous!

 

 

One of the most wonderful aspects of San Jose was the climate.  After growing up in dry New Mexico, hot and humid Texas was barely tolerated.  San Jose had nearly the same humidity level as Albuquerque – nice and dry.  However, just a short drive over the mountains – and you found yourself at the Pacific Ocean!!  What a treat!  For someone who never grew up around water, the ocean was fascinating.

We often drove to Muir Woods for a day of exploration.

 

 

 

We took another couple from the meteorology class with us to Half Moon Bay for a picnic on the beach.  Someone had purchased a $1.50 paper kite and string – and we played it out at least a mile-and-a-half!  Such fun!  Except when it was time to retrieve it.  We should have just cut the string and let it float away.  But we took turns reeling it in – took us an hour and a half!  Whew!

We found that, after living in New Mexico, where the mountain peaks top out at 10,678′ the mountains in that part of northern California were just glorified hills.  But that was okay – it was better than flat-land Texas.

Fred’s classes were intense during that summer session.  When it was finished, and before he began his Fall semester, for relaxation he built our first stereo system.  He did a masterful job.

California will always hold a special place in our hearts.  Not sure we would want to live there anymore, but we hope to go back for a visit at some point.  I’m trying to twist his arm into letting us take a cruise up the west coast – from San Diego all the way up to Seattle, Washington.  I would love that!

 

California, here I come……

 

 

 

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