Appalachian Ambiance

Gabby's Mama Sews!

2008-07-14T11:14:00.003-04:00

Mama's first attempt at sewing resulted in this adorable little outfit. She did a great job!

Evensong

2008-07-13T22:33:00.006-04:00

I sit on my deck this evening, on my wooden glider that I love. Beautiful and bountiful trees grace my yard as it slopes toward the stream at the base of the mountain. A truly spectacular view!

Callie is beside me, her head rests in my hand while I stroke the sweet spot between her eye and ear. Oh, she does enjoy that.

The rain is falling softly. A tree frog has taken up residence in the reeds below the deck. He sings loudly; I imagine he calls his lady love to come and share the evening.

The fireflies are just coming out, twinkling through the rain in the waning light.

It is a good evening, a peaceful evening. And I am reminded of the words of the prayer I heard at Liturgy this morning:

For a day that in all things will be perfect, holy, peaceful and without sin, let us pray to the Lord.

Amen.

New Authoress

2008-07-12T22:57:00.006-04:00

I wanted to tell you all about a new author I discovered through through the blogging world: Claudia Mair Burney. She has been furiously writing this year and has had several books published. I had read an excerpt of one of them on her blog and I was hooked. Her writing is sassy, fun and oh-so-enjoyable. I think my favorite so far is Zora and Nicky, which is more serious and beautifully written.

She's categorized as a "Christian Fiction" author, but don't let that fool you. Normally, I would rather have a root canal than be forced to read anything from that genre, but she takes it up quite a few notches from the norm and it's barely recognizable as such. Here's her author blog.

I first met her through comments she left on other blogs I read. Claudia has an interesting faith journey which she documents on ragamuffindiva: pentecostal, Orthodox, Catholic, with a few stops in between. I relate to much of what she has written regarding her journey.

If you're looking for some light and entertaining summer reading with a twist, this might be it.

Cutie!!

2008-07-12T10:28:00.003-04:00

Weapon of Mass Destruction

2008-07-12T10:10:00.003-04:00

Yes, folks. This is, indeed, such a weapon. But oh, I do love it! It's a custom chromatic autoharp made by a luthier, Buck Lumbert. It has a spruce top, walnut chord bars, maple chord buttons and a maple back. I bought it used, but it's not even a year old. Beautiful sound!

Unfortunately, I have some chronic elbow and shoulder problems which were set aflame playing this bad boy. So, now I'm in physical therapy and being extremely cautious of how I'm using both arms. And if that isn't enough, I did something to my ankle tendon, too, causing a flare there. So as of Monday, I'll be in PT for three different areas of tendonitis. I might as well set up a sleeping bag and camp out at the therapist's office!

This will be a challenging weekend! Hubster is gone sailing for a few days and I'm here trying to rest these aggravated tendons, but still putting them through some stretches so they don't tighten up. Callie can't figure out why we aren't doing her normal walking routine and is a bit restless, and my youngest will be pushing little River out any day now.

Lord, have mercy! (40x, even!!)

How to End Theological Discussions According to the Corleone Family

2008-07-11T09:52:00.002-04:00

"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

We could learn a lot from those guys. For those that may be Godfather-challenged, it means, leave the bad, take the good. Simple, yes ... but after many years of theological volleyball, it works for me.

Lord, have mercy!

Gabby Girl

2008-07-11T09:47:00.004-04:00

Here's our little Gabby at five months now. We took her to the local Music Fest last weekend. She and I are dancing to Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." We had a great time, she and I!!

Mama is singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider." Another big hit!

Evening Walk

2008-07-11T09:40:00.006-04:00

We ventured out on an evening walk on the Appalachian Trail a few days ago. Lush beauty that just dazzles the senses! So much rain has made everything very green and beautiful. There's a pic of Callie on the trail and a view from the power line right-of-way, looking out over a village along the Susquehanna River. Bucolic bliss!

And Now For Something Completely Different

2008-06-24T10:28:00.003-04:00

"And Now For Something Completely Different" Does anyone remember that line? It was the usual segue from one sketch to another on Monty Python. Loved that show!

After I came to Christ many years ago, I wanted very much to sing and play hymns in worship of Jesus. I had no formal training, but was able to pick up piano by ear very quickly. I very much enjoyed playing; it was my gift of worship to Jesus and it was very personal. At some point, I was asked to use this gift to lead worship for my church. Intially, this was a good thing and very enjoyable, but that all changed when the church leaders decided they wanted to go in a newer style and be the first on the block to debut new songs put out by a certain ministry that shall not be named. For three years, I accommodated and worked hard to learn the new songs. When hubby took a job in another area, it was a relief to be able to stop, but the damage had been done ... I lost that love of playing for the Lord. It had become a job and the pressure killed my love for music. Or so I thought.

I've been looking at other instruments for some time now, primarily a dulcimer and autoharp. Lo and behold, there is a major autoharp festival this week in our area. All connections have been made and there's a rental harp with my name on it waiting for me at the beginners' workshop tomorrow. I think my love of music isn't dead, the wound suffered is healed and I'm ready to move on, with great excitement! Simple hymns are swirling in my head again, along with lovely little folk tunes, ready to be sung when I get this harp in my hands.

Blessed be the Lord.

Callie Update

2008-06-19T11:06:00.004-04:00

I'm worred about my dog, again. She has been stable with the EPI since winter, but is dropping weight again. This is not a good sign. In every other way, she seems healthy, happy and energetic and that is a good sign. We may have to have the dreaded blood tests again and see what's going on; she hates that, hence, I hate it ... moms are like that.

**UPDATE (again)** She is picking up weight again, just that fast! Methinks I may worry too much about this little yellow creature. Ups and downs are just part of the whole ugly EPI condition.

Discrimination

2008-06-19T10:44:00.002-04:00

Before I moved to this area, I held the position of a director of a crisis pregnancy center. I liked what I was doing and knew I had done a good job for the center. This small-town center was supported by all the local churches, regardless of denominations. Sure, there were the occasional conflicts over doctrine, but it was always able to be worked out for the greater good of helping women in crisis pregnancies.

When I came here, I wanted a break and took a position as an office manager for a non-profit. During the last year, I thought I'd look around and try to get back into CPC work, but what I found disappointed me greatly. CPC's in this area can't seem to 'play nice' with each other; specifically, the evangelicals don't want any type of support from the Catholic and Orthodox. I find this so sad and so detrimental to the pro-life cause. I don't really think the baby saved from a gruesome murder gives a rat's a$$ whether the person helping was from a Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Pentecostal, etc. background. Once again, the schism's ongoing affect rears it's ugly head.

Lord, have mercy!

So I'm looking outside of CPC work now for something a bit more meaningful that that of an office manager. But I find there may be another type of discrimination at play ... age discrimination. I'm 54 now and it's really easy to find a person's age online, even without paying for an internet search. As long as you have a phone that is listed, a person can use 411.com, put in a name and the phone, address and age bracket (within 5 years) comes up. Makes it easy for a company to practice this type of discrimination without asking the unlawful question.

In the end, I will never know if, indeed, age is a factor, but the bottom line is this: I trust that God our heavenly Father knows what we need before we even ask and He will be the one to supply what He wants me to have. Amen!

Gabby Girl

2008-06-16T14:45:00.006-04:00

Here's some recent pics of my little granddaughter. She's four months old now and has started "lounging" whilst sleeping. My daughter sends me pics just about every morning of her in this position - pretty funny! I've never seen a baby sleep like this before!

Here's one of her after dipping her hand into a bowl of icing her mom made yesterday. She had it up to her face before mom could do anything to stop her. Doesn't the look on her face seem to say, "Whaddaya gonna do bout it?"

And in a few more weeks, there will be a new grandbaby born to my youngest daughter, a boy named River.

Whew!!

2008-06-16T14:38:00.002-04:00

"Anonymity can be a good thing for a blogger unless the aim is to report all the news that is the news."

But I do have news ... good news! Last month I had my routine mammogram. Something didn't look quite right so an ultrasound was performed, which revealed a solid looking lump. Docs recommended an appointment with a breast surgeon for a possible biopsy. I made the appointment for one month after the initial tests. The surgeon was preparing to do the biopsy and had to perform another ultrasound to pinpoint exact location for needle place and found that the lump was gone ... not there ... nothing to biopsy! She wants to follow up in a few months, but for now, I'm fine and praising God for His mercy.

Ouch!

2008-06-02T16:03:00.004-04:00

I haven't had much to say lately; too many curve balls coming much too fast at me.

Anyway, if there's anyone out there, I have a question: is the rising price of gasoline changing the frequency of your church attendance? Have you considered attending a church closer to home, be it whatever, because of gas pump ouchies?

Inquiring minds want to know.

A Beginning

2008-03-29T20:36:00.003-04:00

Some members of the EU are making the decision to boycott attendance at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics to be held in Beijing this summer. Would that more countries would follow suit; including the US. But why stop with the opening ceremonies? Let's see boycotts of the entire event, including the broadcasts. Loss of anticipated revenue speaks volumes and commands attention.

An Empty Tomb

2008-03-23T15:44:00.000-04:00

It is the first day of the week. The feast is over. It is Sunday and the sun is rising in the east illuminating with its warm light the façade of the rock-cut tomb.

From the city several women are walking in a hurry toward the Garden of Golgotha, carrying in their hands jars containing precious ointments. They are coming to anoint their beloved one!

They are talking among themselves but seem preoccupied. They realized that they could not move the big boulder blocking the entrance to the tomb. Well, they might ask the soldiers to help them. That was a good idea if the soldiers were kind enough to do the job for them.

As soon as they set foot into the Garden, they could not see anybody. There was nobody near the tomb.... and yes, the tomb was open. The stone blocking the entrance had been removed.

They all ran. What happened? Who dared profane the tomb of their beloved one? Where were the soldiers?

They ran towards the tomb. They could not believe their eyes. The tomb was empty. No words came out of their mouths. They were speechless!

Then they were startled because they saw an angel sitting at the place where the body of Jesus had rested. He spoke to them. They were trembling.

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him" (Mk 16,6).

They came out trembling and ran down again to tell the disciples. They were sceptical. They could not believe what the women were saying. This was nonsense!

They were hysterical, that's why. They were having visions.... so Peter, John and Mary Magdalene ran back to the tomb. They all saw the empty tomb except for "the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen" (John 20,6-7).

Peter and John left but Mary wanted to stay behind. She stood by the empty tomb crying. As she cried her heart out she heard some movement next to her... she looked up "and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher).

Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, `I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her. (Jn 20,14-18)

Station XIV: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

2008-03-18T18:07:00.002-04:00

"Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus -- the same one who had first come to Jesus at night -- took the body and wrapped it in linen cloths with spices, a mixture of myrrh and aloes, following the Jewish burial custom. At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried. Since it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there,"(Jn. 19). "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, were there, sitting opposite the tomb."(Mt. 27).

We have joined you, O Jesus, on the Way of the Cross. The hours of suffering are over, "It is finished." From the hill of the Skull we move to the garden of burial. Hardly breathing, we wait for the Father's response to the loving and obedient gift of your life. On Easter morning you will rise again, the pledge of the Father fulfilled, a pledge you offer to us. For if we have been united with you in the likeness of your death, O Lord, we shall be so in the likeness of your resurrection (cf. Rom. 6).

Station XIII: Jesus' Body is Removed from the Cross

2008-03-18T18:04:00.002-04:00

"And when evening had come, Joseph of Arimathea, prominent member of the Sanhedrin, arrived and boldly went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate released the corpse to Joseph, who bought a shroud, and took Jesus down from the cross . . . "(Mk. 15). How violently was he nailed to the cross. How tenderly did his friends remove him. Tradition, ever conscious of Mary's presence, has passed on the sight of the mother receiving her martyred son. Michaelangelo's masterpiece, the Piet, has fixed this scene of indescribable pathos.

"We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who could have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people"(Isa. 53).

Station XII: Jesus Dies on the Cross

2008-03-18T18:03:00.000-04:00

Jesus was crucified with two criminals. Pilate had a sign posted saying, "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews." The chief priests, the scribes and elders continued their mockery. Mary and the faithful women stood in silence. "At last Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, ÎFather, into your hands I commend my spirit.' Having said this he expired"(Lk. 23).

"My God, my God, why have you deserted me? How far from saving me, the words I groan! I call all day, my God, but you never answer, all night long I call and cannot rest. They have pierced my hands and my feet: I can count all my bones. They look on me and gloat. They divide my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots"(Ps. 22).

Station XI: Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross

2008-03-18T18:01:00.000-04:00

Jesus is nailed to the cross. The feet which carried the good news from town to village, the hands which so often were raised in praise and blessing, which so often reached down to raise up the lowly, are now fixed in an everlasting embrace of all peoples of all times. Had he not said, "Now has judgment come upon this world, now will this world's prince be driven out, and I, once I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all [people] to myself,"(Jn. 12).

The script of the psalm is played out. "Here am I, now more worm than a man, scorn of mankind, jest of the people, all who see me jeer at me, they toss their heads and sneer, ÎHe relied on the Lord, let the Lord save him!'...I am like water draining away, my bones are all disjointed, my heart is like wax, melting inside me; my palate is drier than a clay pot, and my tongue is stuck to my jaw"(Ps. 22).

Station X: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

2008-03-18T17:47:00.004-04:00

This was the place of the skull, Golgotha. What was left of the condemned prisoner? His honor was shattered in the courtyard by the soldiers' taunts; his strength was left behind in every step of the death-march. Only his sense of modesty remained, and that, too, is torn away with his clothing. His stained, but seamless robe is still worth a soldier's bet. No one bet on his fate. That was certain.

"His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God, but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are, he was more humble yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross"(Phil. 2).

Station IX: Jesus Falls the Third Time

2008-03-18T17:44:00.002-04:00

His strength totally failed him. Tradition tells us that Jesus, utterly exhausted, fell for the third time.

Keep me, O Lord, from a total collapse of the spirit. Yet, "Strength is made perfect in weakness"(2 Cor. 12). I must come to know that "My strength and my courage is the Lord"(Ps. 113). "They who hope in the lord will renew their strength; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint"(Isa. 40).

Station VIII: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

2008-03-18T17:40:00.002-04:00

Luke writes, "Large numbers of people followed him, and women too, who moaned and lamented for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep rather for yourselves and for your children. For the days will surely come when people will say; 'Happy are those who are barren, the wombs that have never borne, the breasts that have never nursed.' then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us'; to the hills, 'Cover us!' For if men use the green wood like this, what will happen when it is dry?"(Lk. 23).

We have watered the Way of the Cross with our tears. For whom do we weep? For him, or for ourselves? Jesus is the green wood, the living vine, scorched by his agony. Apart from him, we are dead branches and doomed. Through him, and with him, and in him we have hope.

Station VII: Jesus Falls the Second Time

2008-03-18T17:36:00.001-04:00

"We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all"(Isa. 53). "For our sake God made him who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God"(2 Cor. 5). Laden with our sin, Jesus fell again.

Lord, we who call ourselves by your name and sign ourselves with your saving cross, continue to stumble and fall. You said to the paralytic, "Get up and walk . . . your sins are forgiven you"(Mk. 2). Heal our weaknesses with your saving word so we, like you, can get up again and complete our journey.

Station VI: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

2008-03-10T20:41:00.002-04:00

Legend has it that while Christ was carrying his cross, a woman named Veronica, moved with pity, wiped the sweat and blood from his face with her veil. As a reward for her kindness, his image was left on the veil. Perhaps the rumors of a true image of Christ, imprinted on cloth, lay behind this legend. Does such a burial shroud still survive? The name "Veronica" means "true image."

We are not embarrassed at a legend that tells so well the gospel message. Legends can be lived. Mother Theresa of Calcutta wiped the sores of the hopeless and the dying, because she saw the image of Christ in them, not in her towel. "As long as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me."