the trail / my favourite things

the trail
always
leads to surprises
and laughter
suspense
and fun

with Bethany it is always
lined with adventure

we head off
on Celina
and Angel
following the path of leaves
and earthy smells
where the wolves and moose
have gone before




today the sun is golden through the
naked branches of the poplars and birch
the large cottonwoods cast shadows before us
and the firs glisten with the sparkling dewdrops
today every jewel is ours
the horses are crowned in their glory
and Bethany
bareback on Angel
leads on

my girl is very careful
with her mama
but her taste for adventure
takes us off the worn path

here the trail disappears
the horses also eager for adventure
wind through the underbrush
down steep ravines and up tall peaks
the three dogs
weave in and out with us
tongues long
tails high

my heart races within me
as we pass landmarks
I have memorized some 30 years before
wandering on foot 
throughout all those years with Eduardo
or the children
seeking treasures
old log cabins
ancient firs
sleeping bears
hidden deer
moose
owls and eagles
with their song
and dance
and that of our hearts

on horseback I feel
like an early explorer
the air thick with its wildness
my pulse matching
that of Celina's

Bethany calm and graceful
before us leads on
while my heart wants to burst
from my chest
for the pure delight
of these moments together

and then
just when I am not sure

where we are

we burst out of the wildness
back onto our home trail
and my heart settles
and my smile can't stop
as we pass our sleeping cottonwoods
golden chantarelles
jewels still sparkling

horses hold such power
beneath and within

my fear says
so much could go wrong

God says
perfect love casts out all fear

His perfect love
His perfect gift of today

His perfect blessing of my daughter

these lovely horses
these dear sweet hounds
His majestic beauty all around

I hold His love

my fear is lost in the wind
I rejoice in the adventure
with Bethany
on our
trails

my favourite things

my favourite things / goat play dog play

goat play
dog play

Eduardo tells his students
about how he loves his children
and how this Spring
he had 21 new kids
born at home

and they say 

Wow! So many children!
and
Who looks after them all?

Why the nannies of course!

and then he laughs
and tells about the goat kids

I love when he laughs at his own jokes
even if they are corny

that means he is happy

and that means a lot

today 33 chileans
will be able to laugh at their own jokes
and no matter how silly
I know their wives will smile along

69 days trapped

Mario Sepulveda
was with God
and with the devil
and said
he reached out to God


God says
call out to Me in your day of trouble

I will deliver you

and you shall glorify Me


today
as each one was pulled out of the pit

I wailed

and laughed


and drank salty tears
all the while thanking God
that each family was spared

the sorrow that could have been


the simple things
will mean so much to them now


I am sure Florencio Avalos
will watch his son's every game
Omar Reygadas
will treasure holding his great grandchild


I think there will be more play
more hugs
more joyous tears
more mercy


more value placed

upon each newborn day

after crying 

and rejoicing
for the 33 miners

I went out and worked hard
carried fence rails
trimmed goat hoofs
debudded horns

then sat and rested and remembered
the miracle

and watched
the goat play
and dog play


my favourite things

 

gold/my favourite things

gold

I hear the streets
of heaven
are paved
with it.

here
it is
some men's pockets
some churches
some rich people's homes

when I walked my trails
for many days now
the gold
did fall
from heaven
and rich was I...
my path before me
paved deep in the lustrous colour
that makes some people
thieves

rich was I
the air fresh and deep
with Autumn's mystery
like that of heaven
all shut up
until that day
when we will walk
those glory streets

and when we do
we might just find that it is Autumn there
and the gold the same
we walk through now
the glory all around us
the brightness
the sweet aroma
the peace
the abundant joy
for all the beauty

And God said
it was good

when I get to heaven
and walk those streets of gold
will it be with thieves who line their pockets
or with those whose eyes do see His Glory
and say...
it is good

our
God
is
good

I hear the streets of heaven
are
paved
with
gold

my favourite things

bare feet / my favourite things

bare feet

there is something about feeling the earth between your toes
or the loose sand
or wet grass

Jaime always liked bare feet

at his wedding
I found him coming out of the garden
toes dancing in the coolness of the morning

he carried the smile
he's always carried
bit his lip
and still had the youthful twinkle
in his eye
that said

this is just how I like it

it couldn't be better

Jedaiah would throw off
his shoes and socks
when the first grass
began to
green
after it had  played
hide and seek with the snow
from October
'til May

my little boy would race his sisters
around the snow piles
and the laughter that
lifted in the air
was painted with
the same colours
as Jaime's
silly grin
on that wedding day

I like the mud between my toes
in June
when the sun is hot
and we play in
the slimy clay
baths

one is never
too old
or too young
to feel the earth
between
the toes

Jesus
took
a basin of water

a towel

and

dusty worn out feet

tired with the heat
of the day

and not just play

Jesus
washed
them

I wonder
if
He
liked
to
go

barefoot ?

my favourite things

sour dough / my favourite things

I have been making bread
all week

it is a busy process

I put away my yeast
and instead have starters
for sour dough

two starters
from two friends

I have doubled the amounts by adding
flour and water

mixed it smooth
to look like pancake batter

saved some 'levain'
in the fridge

and let the other be warm and grow
waited eight hours
and fed it again

all week I have been feeding my levain
and waiting

smelling it
watching for it to rise and double its size
looking for it to collapse
waiting for it to be bubbly and wrinkled

I think it is dead

It has no life
gives off no sweet odour

lifeless

useless

I checked the part
I put in the fridge
the half I fed and put aside
to rest

It still had bubbles
and a pleasant odour

I will try again

I think I watered down the food
not enough sustenance
I starved it
maybe I did not keep it warm enough
I missed a few days
didn't measure just right
I am sort of a 'throw in this and a bit of that' kind of person

but there is a better way
it is already proven
it would have made my levain grow
given it bounce
given it life

the
Red Rooster
Bakery
said

my risen dough
when ready
should feel soft
with a body to it
just like a baby's bumb

(makes me smile to remember
all my Afrikan babies and TLC)

I am going to try again

remembering
my husband's happy heart
for a good loaf of bread

I am going to make a good levain
feed it well
let some rest
and watch
for the bubbles
and the wrinkles
and the pleasant odour

time with Jesus
resting in Him
being filled with His joy
getting old and wrinkled
being a sweet savour
to those around us

feeding on His Word
waiting on His Spirit

good levain

sour dough
my favourite things





I am making sour dough bread... or rather... trying!
It is a balance between feeding my starter or starving it, watching it bubble and grow and smell yeasty or seeing it lie flat out, unmoving, useless and dead...my heart is the same way...do I let God feed me so that I am alive and growing in Him or do I seal myself off and become useless to His Kingdom and to those around me?
I want to be good levain, alive, and bubbly, so I will unscrew my cap that keeps Him out and let Him feed me by His Spirit through His Word... I want to make good loaves, over and over again!
There is a hungry world out there!
He is the Bread of Life!
 
from the fisherlady

watching the stars/ my favourite things

it was August
years ago
that Nao Takashima
from Osaka
visited us

with her came origami animals
calligraphy
Japanese lessons
and cooking

she rode to the Willow
with Jedaiah by day
and by night
we lay on the fields
and watched  the Milky Way
and the dancing Northern Lights

She had never seen the stars
nor heard of the Northern Lights

twenty-eight years
and she didn't know their existence

she had never seen the dark

in Osaka night never comes to the night sky
in the brightness of the city
the stars lay hidden

but we found them that August
in a little village of no consequence

except for pornography scandals
and weed busts
we were unknown

it was there that Nao found in the night sky
the stars that had always lay hidden from her

it was there in that little town
that she found the Light that lighteneth all men
and she grew as a tender reed
and bruised so easily

She poured her heart out in service on the farm
and in our home she created word pictures
in her tongue
to bless

but she never understood about the Shepherd

Jesus as Lord and Saviour... yes
Master and Creator of the universe... yes
Almighty God...yes
Everlasting Father... yes

But Shepherd... no

I asked her if she might calligraphy in her tongue
"Jesus, the Good Shepherd lay down His Life for the sheep"

she was deeply hurt at my request and offended

she said it wasn't possible to put the Holy One in the dirt
amongst lowly animals

It took many hours to help her see
that Jesus IS the Good Shepherd
Who lay down His life for the sheep

That He chose to put aside His royalty
and His Heavenly Home

And that we are the sheep
the people of His pasture

That the Good Shepherd always comes to find
that which is lost

and brings it Home

Nao made our word picture
at last with a joyous heart
and with understanding

the day she left
I stood and waved
while our eyes met
and our hearts joined
like the Milky Way
stretched out across the sky

She has a brightness now that will never leave her
it is as the Northern Lights
dancing that night
in a town of
little consequence

Jesus
born in Bethlehem

and the star shone
over the stable where He lay
The King of kings
came down
to us

His brightness can be seen in the darkest hour

watching the stars
my favourite things

Autumn/ my favourite things

Autumn

her name was fresh
on the morning dew

we saw her
coming ...
in our hurry
to be gone

but for her
the morning
was lazy

so we waited

in God's time
she showed herself
wiggling with joyous anticipation
for the warmth
of her mother's milk
for the exhilaration
of stretching out her long legs

a gentle beauty
like laced frost in the early mornings
of golden leaves
against blue skies

she arrived
jubilant
strong
dancing

while in the womb
God knew her
in the secret place
He formed her

five months
we waited
through the long
hot summer
we dreamed

and now
at summer's end

she came

we held her
loved her

and

in her quiet beauty

Bethany called her...

Autumn

my favourite things

the things that "Wow!" me

Through my 'favourite things', I will share the little things that happen through each day that "wow' me and remind me that we have a Great God, who loves us, and who calls us His children. And this is the love of the Father, that He loved us... and called us His children.
I have been twice ransomed/ redeemed/ adopted... first into a forever family who gave their lives for me and second into the family of God, by the finished work of Jesus on the cross, who died to take away my sins, rose, and has gone ahead to prepare a place for me and for all those who call on His Name. He has not left me comfortless, but has left His Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth, to correct and instruct me, to heal and comfort me, to give me abundant joy and His peace. My faith is a gift from Him and my prayer for you is that you will find him Faithful and also put your trust in Him...Jesus said, "You believe in God, believe also in Me."
He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the same Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. He will Always be there for you! Trust Him! I know you will be blessed <3

my favourite things/ a list

my favourite things

it isn't difficult
to make a list

the problem is
its length

it
won't
fit

my favourite things