The Week That Was

Welcome to my library on this last day of 2011!

This week: Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and moving my mother.

We had a restful Christmas Day, skipped church, and then drove all over town looking for a nice place for lunch. All our favorite restaurants were closed, but their employees deserved a holiday too. My husband and I plus half the town of Springfield found Elmer's open and enjoyed their Christmas special.

A few of you know my mother Alice. I'd appreciate your prayers as she adjusts to her new home. Well, actually, she is not trying to adjust. She wants to move back to her apartment where she lived for twenty-nine years. Based on this length of time, I'm sure you can visualize the treasures and 'stuff' my sister and I uncovered as we cleaned her apartment. I'm thankful her new home is down the street from me. I know the staff will take good care of Mother and she will have fewer decisions to make. She loves walking, so I'll get more exercise this new year.

New Year's Eve means I finish the book of Revelation and the next day I begin with Genesis again. I love reading the Bible through every year. Will you join me? You're always invited to tea in the library as we share 'bread' as secret Christians in China call their most treasured book, the Bible.

I sincerely wish you all a New Year filled with meaningful relationships and contentment.

Love, Juanita

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A True Story

"That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.

"Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. 

"Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."

"Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, "Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased."

"When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

"They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.

"After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.

"All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.

"The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them." Luke 2:8-20 NLT

Merry Christmas, my friends.

Juanita

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Faith, Hope and Charity

Good Morning.  What are you hoping for today?

Sunshine?

Good economy?

Finding that lost cell phone or maybe your lost pet?

Finishing your cup of coffee before it gets cold?

Hoping to finish your to-do list before you write the next one?

Receiving no more unwanted political phone calls today.

Will our dear Daisy dog escape once again from her pen? I hope not.

I hope the bouncy brown squirrels will always come to my library window to entertain me.

                Our American purple beauty berries are in full bloom now.

This life is definitely full of concerns, but none mentioned above are very important. I see no eternal value in any of them, except maybe our to-do lists.

What activities are truly valuable? I challenge you to make a list starting with faith and ending with love.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Merry Christmas!
Juanita

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The Delight of Decorating

Joy to the World, the Lord has come! And He is coming again! An exclamation point is the symbol for an emotional or powerful statement. I shout the words again - Joy to the World!

The joy of decorating for Christmas lasts all day or, for a few of us, all week. Do you have a garage full of decorations as my friend, Jewel does? The shelves in our guest bedroom hold many boxes filled with décor, plus the overflow hides in the barn. Thank the Lord for barns!

Use this time to reminisce about the people who gave you special decorations. My family and friends gave me awesome treasures that I display every year ~ a giant snow globe from Brad and Dawnita, a large wire angel from Trudy, a glass Christmas tree from Aunt Mildred.

Mother gave me an angel dressed in white fir. It now looks suspended over the Christmas tree in the dining room. My cousin, Roberta, gave me several pen and ink Christmas drawings that she drew. I'll find more gems today as I continue unpacking boxes.

The view after dark from my library window is a gorgeous site: three multicolored, glowing Christmas trees, one for each of the famous wise men who brought Jesus expensive gifts that night so long ago. 

Looking for joy? Give three gifts to the needy in Jesus' name.

Feeling stressed from your many holiday plans? Sit and rest awhile with me. I will pour us a cup of Lady Grey tea.

“God bless us, every one.” ~ Tiny Tim

Merry Christmas! ~ Juanita

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The Beauty of Moss

A special friend, Dianne, came for tea in the library this fine morning. I'm glad you joined us as well. We relaxed in the maroon upholstered chairs and enjoyed the colorful shades of autumn from the window and talked about her unusual sighting of the blue jay in her yard. Blue jays are supposed to stay east of the Rockies, but one came to Marcola for a visit and caused excitement for the local bird lovers.

With the dried leaves off the red chestnut tree, the dreadful moss became exposed. Dianne, with her artistic eye, exclaimed how the moss made a beautiful picture. I captured the scene for you and now I must agree with her observation. Another picture to frame.

Yesterday, the star magnolia tree wore a green dress. As I looked out the library window today, that same tree displayed half light yellow and half lime-green colors. “What a difference a day makes”. In another week, this tree will become bare except for the fuzzy pussies which announce the promise of future spring flowers.

European hornbeam trees line both sides of our long, narrow driveway. The neighbors say people stop and take pictures of the eye-catching scene, especially in the fall. Now the leaves are golden yellow and are so beautiful to see with half the leaves covering the ground and the driveway. The only feature that would make these trees more desirable is if they flowered in the spring.

“If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?”

Enjoy your day and your chocolate.

Juanita
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A Special Day for Giving Thanks

Good morning to each of you!

I would like to introduce you to Sarah Hale. She wrote, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”.

Sarah was a poet, a novelist, and an editor in the middle 1800's. Through her repeated efforts of contacting President Lincoln, Sarah Hale finally convinced the President to declare a specific day of thanksgiving to God for all the blessings we receive. Until the fourth Thursday in November was made a national festival, states celebrated on various dates and other states did not officially regard any certain day.

I hope your Thanksgiving Day was all you wanted it to be.

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High.” Psalm 92:1

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 118:1

Juanita

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Racing Leaves in the Wind

From a distance, the lawn in our grotto area now looks yellow, not due to lack of rain, but because the Jacquemonti birch leaves lay on the ground in a thick cover. The stark white trunks against the background of the rock wall make a sharp contrast. I decided one birch tree would look lonely, so we planted three. The round table I placed in the center of them makes a perfect place to serve drinks at summer picnics. I leave the table there year around. In twenty years, the table might be permanent as the trunks grow into the table, making a conversation topic of what came first: the chicken or the egg, or the trees or the table. Okay, maybe not.

We display three permanent deer in our front yard, a buck, doe and a fawn. I declare them my favorite because metal deer do not prune my roses. They make a great picture in the shady area and appear alive at first glance. My cousin Morris drew a bull's eye in the dust on the buck and forced me to give the buck a bath.

You can see a new duck in our pond celebrating the game this weekend.

We cannot depend on our rusty old weather vane to show us which way the wind blows. We watch, but never see the cocky rooster move in a wind storm. I notice the wind blows from the west today because the dry yellow leaves all run to the east.

Speaking of the wind, our wet American flag wrapped itself around the pole on the pump house a moment ago. The wind came and worked a miracle. The flag now hangs unfurled. I wish our government's problems could be fixed that easily. Blow wind, blow!

“The Lord be with you all.”

Juanita

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What is the View of Your World Today?

Tea is ready.  My friend, Patty made delicious chocolate biscotti for dunking.  Perfect combination.

I possess a new view in my world today because my husband trimmed a huge, fifty-year-old cherry tree in our back yard. Every year, this giant sprouted fewer leaves, no cherries, and looked unhealthy. I recommended a severe pruning. Time will tell if this action will produce new branches next year. If nothing else, we now own beautiful cherry wood. I might become a woodcarver, but do I need another hobby?

With the tree dramatically lowered, I can see blue-gray mountains in the far distance covered with evergreen trees. Because we planted so many trees on our property, we must look up to see into the distance. But looking up is good, right? As a little girl, I laid on my back on the front lawn, watched the clouds move and looked for Jesus to appear as He promised. Today, when I discover a beautiful cloud formation or an amazing rainbow, I still anticipate that glorious day.

If you fly, we agree the view from a 747 takes your breath away. Last week, I beheld two worlds as we jetted to California, one below dark, stormy clouds and another above white, fluffy cotton balls. This inspiring scene at fourteen-thousand feet elevation went on forever.

I wonder how Christian astronauts contained themselves as they saw what God created from a different vantage point on their way to the moon. Bill Anders, Jim Lovell and Frank Borman on the Apollo 8 mission to the moon in 1968 read the Scriptures in Genesis, chapter one, describing the events of creation.

 Keep looking up.

Juanita

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To Be or Not To Be Born

Good afternoon, friends. I recommend strong coffee for this discussion today.

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Thursday that for states to enact constitutional amendments that say human life begins at conception is “an extreme and radical step.”

When I hear people discussing life beginning on day one, day ninety-one or day 271, I always remember King David's conversation with his God. I read it again today and want to share these beautifully inspired words with you.

     “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.

     "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

     "You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

     "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

     "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!”
Psalm 139:13-17 NLT

Debbie and many others holding their opinion are extremely wrong and uninformed, not because I say so, but they are in error according to God's Word and He says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for instruction . . .” 2 Timothy 3:16.

Why would anyone dare to argue with God, their creator?

Sincerely, Juanita

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The Glow of the Morning Sun

Welcome, welcome to my library today.

The morning sun shines low in the sky creating long, dark shadows in my grotto. It streaks through the tree branches and forms a bright spotlight on the trunks of white paper birch trees. Brilliant sunlight causes three white trunks to glow in the darkness. This scene reminds me of a dazzling reality Peter, James and John experienced centuries ago. 

 

A red twig dogwood bush also glows this morning. In spring and summer, tiny leaves and insignificant flowers are not worth mentioning, but now naked and bare, red twigs glow in the sunlight. Remember our Sunday School chorus, “Sunlight, Sunlight in My Soul Today”?

Have you ever seen a huge number of little birds fly in formation? They don't fly in a “V” as geese do, but thousands of them fly in a sheet. In a split second, they all turn left, then turn right. I question who blows the whistle to signal time to turn. They don't come here to perform, but I've seen them several times flying over fields along I-5. They are so fascinating to watch, but they take flight in a flash with no time to take a picture. I searched the Internet for a picture of this fascinating display to show you, but none could be found.

I hope your day is full of sunshine, inside and out.

Sincerely,

Juanita

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To Clean or not to Clean

Hi, let's have tea together.

Do you want payment for cleaning your house? No, I don't mean paying someone else to do it. This week, I've been preparing for a large group of ladies at my house for ministry training by Marguerite. Fifteen ladies became a definite incentive to clean places not touched by human hands in several years. My cleaning list included a hunt for cobwebs and cleaning windows with the magic, tacky rags I recommended recently.

I'll tell you a secret. (Men, don't read this paragraph.) My favorite husband doesn't carry a coin purse (purse?); so, he lays lose change all over the house wherever he takes off his pants. Years ago, I began claiming this money as my special fee for cleaning up after my dear husband. It's low wages, but stealing it makes me feel good and he never misses it. If you multiplied the weekly heist, I'd be rich after these forty-eight years together. I also keep the 'clean' money found in the washing machine.

One special place I needed to dust was this library. Several ladies acted excited to see where I sit and write my letters to you. I wonder if they got the same thrill as people do visiting Robert Louis Stevenson's home in Samoa? You must know I'm teasing. But I really have been to Samoa, another ministry trip many years ago.  I took my tennis racket with me, but it was too hot to play on that South Pacific island.

We don't need the sun to make sun tea. I proved it this weekend. If I'm not careful, I'll be sounding like “Hints from Heloise”. Please forgive me.

You know the Oregon State beaver, but have you met the OSU catapiller?  Harold doesn't know what this feller becomes.  Do you?

Thanks for joining me in my tidy library this week. Can you stay for another cup of hot tea?

Juanita

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Propagating Roses is Easy

Welcome, I'm glad you came to visit.

It's too late to alter the layout of my library. We didn't think to design the placement of our windows to give us pleasure of seeing the sunrise in the morning or watching the sun set. I see one alternative and I imagine you're way ahead of me on this one. I might go outside early and actually be in the moment. This week, the sun rises at 7:25, which certainly is not too early for us, but we'll need to wait for partially clear skies in the morning to see a gorgeous sunrise.

Last year, I planted twelve Robin Hood roses, making a carefree hedge down our long driveway. I hope the people in the new subdivision, formerly a filbert orchard, will see and enjoy them as well. To make a portable greenhouse, I placed a 30-oz. clear plastic peanut butter jar over three cuttings. I find this an easy way to start own-root roses in the winter. This system brings success every time. By late spring, the trimmed twigs will show new growth and you can remove the jar.

                                      Robin Hood Rose

Looking out the window now, I see blue sky and not one cloud, making the perfect day to plant a new row of pale pink Baby Blanket roses using the plastic jar method. I enjoy this rose because it continually blooms all summer long and still blooms in October after the rains arrive. My friend Vicky gave me a start from her Baby Blanket rose bush many years ago.

Today, the view becomes brighter and more beautiful the longer I sit here, but we valley people know how quickly our weather can change. I need to move outside without delay while the sun is still shining.

Let's do it!

“Go the extra mile, it's never crowded.”

Juanita

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