Thoughts and Such
December 19, 2024
Merry Christmas everyone! We retired to Tennessee coming up on four years in April ’25. The years do fly. Golly, they do. Without family in our area we keep connected with FaceTime (Andy, youngest son, Liz and Liam pictured from Canada) texting and calls. Looking forward to a possible future visit in Spring ’25 as our kids and grands gather from the far north…Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin. We'll meet in the middle somewhere.
Quilting, drinking coffee with a cozie, water aerobics and line dancing, several different Bible study groups and more quilting have kept me moving since we returned from Ireland. And this..
A new book is percolating in my head. The outline is about completed, the theme is set, and the working title is Filling In the Blanks: Getting Unstuck From a Life Unwanted.
Filling In the Blanks will be different from Missing Pages (a memoir of difficult times in our family Missing Pages link ).
FITB will be based on personal thoughts, personal experiences and Bible study on John Chapters 13-17. It will be published under my name. Starting in 2025, segments of FITB will be offered on Thoughts and Such.
Until next time, consider The One Who sent Jesus, the God-Man, in the flesh. Our hope and Emmanuel. This verse makes me love and thank Jesus every day I draw breath.
“This High Priest [Jesus] of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15 NLT (brackets mine)
Nancy
November 8, 2024
Favorite Places in Ireland
My 30-second talk about Ireland is failing. Friends and family are polite and ask questions, so I continue sharing until their eyes glaze! You, my reader, are a silent audience; so I don’t know if you read to the end. Thank you, if you do.
My favorite visit was the Aran Island of Inis Mor off the west-central coast. We ferried over taking 45 minutes on a glassy Atlantic Ocean. No Dramamine needed! Inis Mor felt like a step back in time, with the Aran Sweater Market, a few deli-lunch options, and vans for hire to take you to the ruins of a Catholic church and cemetery, plus the 15th-century coastal fortress of Dún Aonghasa. The picture from a distance does not begin to show the immense size. My phone camera is zoomed in a far as it will go to catch John at the top, facing me to the left.
The Aran Islands are famous for their hand-knitted sweaters. The sweaters are known for their patterns, designs, and embossed decoration. Sheep are no longer farmed on Inis Mór and few sheep are left on the other islands. Tourism provides the islanders with a living. I proudly own a certified Aran sweater and bought some yummy yarn.
During our two-week tour, special guides with local knowledge joined us to provide additional history and insight into Irish culture and history. After we docked on the island, we walked a short distance to the Inis Mor community center to meet Deirdre Ni Chinnéide, an islander, composer and singer, and psychotherapist during the Bosnian-Croatian war. She returned often to the island to heal from the stress of providing therapy, a place of isolated peace and strong community support. She lives there today and goes to California during the winter.
A typical greeting is, "You are most welcome here. Where are you from?" As each tour member would respond, she had a comment about their state, showing an interest and knowledge about the US. After she talked to us about the island's history, she asked if any of us had Irish roots. Several did based on their genealogy searches, as do I. She looked at a lady sitting in front of me and said, "You have an Irish face." They chatted for a minute then her gaze moved to me.
"You have a very Irish face and are a twin to my Irish friend on the mainland. Let me get a picture of you to send to her!" I was shocked and delighted to talk to her about my doppelganger in Ireland. We all have one, you know. Sadly, I did not get a copy of that picture.
"To end our time together, I want to sing you one of my songs." She moved to the back of the room turning to face us in the door frame leading into a large empty community room. Her voice was pure and high, sounding otherworldly with the natural acoustics. Everyone was moved with tears as she ended.
“I will sing for you…as the ocean meets the shore.” Unforgettable.
Nancy
November 2, 2024
Jesus Days: Ireland
Day 3
You know what they say about traveling overseas then coming back with so much to tell your friends and family.
“Prepare your 30 second trip speech”, they say, because anything more and your listener’s eyes glaze over and their brain shuts down. Has someone who has gone somewhere exotic done this? They are full of all the things they saw, ate, and, of course, travel drama. Have they rattled on and on about the wonders they experienced? And you haven’t asked them a single question.
Beginning of October we went on a tour group for two weeks to Ireland in the south, west, north and Dublin. My favorite area was hard to pin down. Every area had rich, old history and 8th century churches. And the food and travel companions were great as well as an excellent tour guide. The Cliffs of Moher…
Oops, 30 seconds is up. But hey, what about you?
Nancy
On our Ring of Kerry county tour. Beautiful cliffs and blue atlantic! Stunning
November 1, 2024
Jesus Days: Anniversary
Day Two
“I am the living one. I died, but look-I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.” Revelation 1:18 Jesus
Today is the first anniversary of my mom, Dee Snow’s, graduation to heaven. I am assured she stands before her Lord and Savior, Jesus. Mom went to the hospital on a Sunday and died four days later, one day before her 94th birthday, which makes her 95 tomorrow. She endured a laborious difficult death making me pray for a speedy passing. Her unconsciousness made exchanging last words impossible. We felt relief when she was gone because her suffering in this life was over.
Her long life took her through many joys and sorrows of caring for her family, including her extended family. If she told me once, she told me many times that she was only a caregiver, especially when Dad needed care for Parkinson's and dementia. The past year, I focused on the mom and grandma she was early in her life.
Dee Snow is more alive now than she was in life. And for that, I thank God.
Nancy
Below: Nancy, daughter Rachel, Dee Snow and granddaughter Raven at Lucas and Melissa's wedding in September 2017.
October 31, 2024
Jesus Days: Spirit-Living
Day One
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.” 1 Corinthians 2:12 Paul
“...for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made know to you.” John 15:15b Jesus
This morning, the opening words to an unfinished song came to me. At daybreak, my front porch invites me to watch the wind whip the treetops around. Closing my eyes, I hear the dance of the fallen leaves of autumn along our gravel drive remembering the past weekend.
I held my great-nephew for the first time. At five months old, Artie is sunny and smiley. Thinking about the gift of our first meeting, the words came as I pictured myself held by God.
And I heard, “I am a child in the arms of a holy God.”
God loves His children and delights in their smiles and all the sounds they make, even when words can’t be formed or understood. I love Artie this way. During the day, Artie was passed around from delighted relative to relative. Eventually, he had enough and screamed in exhaustion. His parents held him, reassured him, and rocked him with care, as our God does when we are screaming senselessly at the troubles of life.
I know a hard truth about living in the kingdom of God by faith in Jesus Christ. I accept God’s wisdom while rejecting my natural wisdom and thinking, which is contrary to God’s ways. (1 Corinthians 2:12) That's hard.
My holy God reigns above and beyond what I can comprehend, yet He freely gives me His Spirit so I am not left alone wandering in a wilderness of my making. God is higher than my imagination yet closer than my skin and the beat of my heart. I can’t fully understand this dichotomy but grasp His unconditional love through the power of His Spirit.
The Christian life in Jesus is a narrow, hard-packed road of daily surrender, daily turning from my way, and self-determination. This life is not easy but it is good because ‘I am a child in the arms of a holy God’.
Do you scream and struggle with the unfairness of life’s troubles? Are you looking for a way out of the pain of illness, desertion, or disappointment that has lasted years? Do you know this Jesus? Like Artie, surrender to be held in the arms of a holy God. He never leaves or walks away. My promise from God’s lips to your ear.
Nancy
Jun 14, 2024 Dressing Up or Putting On?
Two eventful months have gone by since my last entry. Our family celebrated my Mom's life with an informal gathering after she passed away on November 1, 2023; the day before her 94th birthday. I don't recall hearing some stories told by her siblings, but they sounded just like something she would say or do. We looked at pictures of years gone by and precious relatives that had passed on.
Our longtime camping friends visited from Wisconsin. We packed six days of Dollywood, hiking Tennessee State Parks, Chattanooga Ruby Falls, and the Incline Railway, and our favorite; hanging out by the campfire in our backyard roasting s'mores and telling stories from 25 years ago! Remember when? So much laughter and a few tears.
Slow but steady, as the back creaks and John's tractor runs, we are working on landscaping around our house. We added 2.5 acres for a total of 6.5. We feel rich in the land, mostly trees, wildlife, and privacy.
What do the last two months have to do with my title? Dress Up or Putting On? Being busy and distracted, even with good things, leaves me dry as a writer. No ideas for an article or writing motivation, until one morning this past week.
"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." Romans 13:14 (italics mine) How do you put on a person or their characteristics? Like a stuffy suit or scratchy sweater? Or a much-loved dress hanging in the closet for 51 years? I thought of my dad's mother, Cora Elisabeth Armor Snow; a seamstress taking in alterations to supplement her husband's railroad pension. At 72 years old, I didn't know what a creative person Grandma Snow was. She was simply my little old Grandma and I was only 18 in 1972. The picture below shows our fondness for each other. She didn't talk about personal things or current events, but when she bent over her sewing machine, it sang! All her love and creativity went into the garments she put together. And every time I walked up to her house to visit, she was standing at her open door, smiling and saying, "Well, there you are. Come in."
I was married too young and pregnant with my first child. She made my wedding dress from a pattern but the hat was her creation. I dressed up for my wedding but I put on heaviness inside that was thinly veiled. It should have been the happiest day of my life. It wasn't, except for the love of my family and friends, and a very special Grandma. My groom and I would be divorced after six years and three children.
I played dress up and didn't know how to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I put on Jesus by His Spirit, looking forward to His wedding when He is united with His bride, the church. Until that day, I read, pray, confess, and celebrate with Joy the wedding clothes I will wear at the wedding supper of the Lamb. No more dress up. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ!
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." Revelation 19:7
April 19, 2024 Cheeky Squirrels
Occasionally, I spend the morning on our front porch listening to the bluejays and crows. The background noise lets me know the chickadees and nuthatches are near but hidden. I see the flash of grey and white extended wings that land up a tree by the feeder. A mockingbird is about to give a thrilling concert of bird calls. My favorite. A flash of red drops to the ground. Mr Cardinal checks out my offerings.
I'm not anti-squirrel because their antics make me laugh, jumping from tree to tree while chasing each other around, fluffy tails twitching and dancing. But my bird feed bill is getting higher because the little buggers clean the large feeder out in one day. My sister-in-law is fighting the squirrel fight and clued me into a spicy additive or spicy bird feed that will deter the squirrels but is safe for the birds.
"Works for me", she stated plainly.
So I bought a small bottle, put on rubber gloves, and mixed it in. Finishing up, I washed my hands several times but the heat stayed on. I know because I rubbed my eyes and it burned a bit.
I caught six of my squirrel family, chowing on the seed spread on the ground. The birds aren't bothered by the spicy heat, or so the directions on the bottle tell me.
I know there is a spiritual analogy in here somewhere. I'll give it a think and get back to you soon. Until then, whatever joy life brings your way, be thankful. God is so good.
PS The wasp was polite and sat in the chair nearby, minding his/her business. I did too.
March 1, 2024 As Time Goes By
A year ago, we moved into our beautiful Tennessee home and filled it with boxes and boxes of items that had not been unboxed for three years. Unpacking was a stressing but settling into our beautiful home was a blessing. Still is.
We uncovered forgotten treasures and items that quickly made their way to the trash or resale box. Before you know it, the house was filled with familiar paintings, furniture and plans for landscaping. Landscaping is mostly complete in the front and, this spring, a firepit area is a glem in our eyes. Anyone love s'mores, tall tales and laughter around a mesmerizing fire?
Have you made a physical move, changed jobs or had a life-altering event in the last year? Did you think you would survive it? Or are you going through more adjustments and challenges? Even positive changes are stressful.
I cast that stress into a well of thankfulness to the Lord and draw out joy and contentment plus the knowledge that we can share our home with friends and family, and the occasional deer, bear and a plethora of birds. I look forward to our hummingbird friend's return and wildflowers coming up soon.
"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3:1. Thanks be to God!
February 3, 2024 Just another Saturday
Yesterday, I worked on winter clean up in our wooded area. Over an hour later, I am still huffing and puffing and castigating myself for being fat and out of shape, of which I am neither. But I entered my seventh decade last year. Stiff joints and achy muscles are a result of lopping off branches, bending over multiple times to pick them up and cart them to the burn pile.
Instead of moaning and groaning about not being young and able to work outside all day, which I never did when I was younger anyway, I turn my focus to giving thanks for what is. What is sounds like this.
"Thanks for my strong 70 year old body, Lord."
"You have faithfully kept me strong and healthy through the years so that I can work physically in the yard for an hour or two."
"I can walk the hills of Tennessee around our neighborhood and not die when I become a bit breathless."
"You give me rest, heating pads, and Your words to encourage me when I am weak."
My soul lifts when I thank my Savior Jesus for all things, especially His love and mercy to me, a complaining sinner!