PSALM 84:11

PSALM 92:1

It is a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises [with musical accompaniment] to Your name,

 O Most High.

This is Dave's CD.  He and his dear musical friends, from different churches, different backgrounds, were no different in their desire to worship and praise and sing for the Lord.

  When I was reading Psalms this morning, this was dropped into my eyes and my heart.  I continue to feel blessed that I was part of this as a player and a writer. 

 THAT was an amazement for me.

And Dave is G..O..O..D!

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I'm leaving town early, EARLY, in the morning for Chicago with/for Bhutanese. Nine-hour drive. Driving around Chicago neighborhoods scares me; haven't done it for years, didn't enjoy it then.  So, please keep me in your heart when the Lord drops me in.  Will reach home late Sunday afternoon.  Believe me, that will be a BLESSED day for me.  [And seeing my dear husband adds MORE blessings.]

GOLDEN DAY IN GOLDENDALE, WA.

What a blessed day it was.  You see, back in 1960 I became friends with Delberta shortly after we moved to Klickitat.

Berta is a couple years younger than I am.  Our parents were friends, too, so I saw her and her family often.

One of the biggest blessings for me in Delberta was her skill in fixing hair.  I WASN'T good at it [still not].  When there was a special event coming up, I would go down the street to her house and she could take a time to curl my straight, straight hair.  What a treat!

I left Klickitat the day after I graduated in May, 1963.  Rarely saw any friends there ever again.  Except Susie.  [And now others who have been dropped back into my life after all these years, which I'll post about soon.]

Through Facebook, Berta and I became "friends" about 3 years ago.  What a blessing to "see" her again and share news and notes.  Even though I had driven out to the northwest a couple times since that FB contact, and was in her general area and we hoped to connect, it wasn't possible . With my timing, she'd always gone somewhere to be with kids or grandkids or great-grandkids.  [BUT I was important enough to be put first, doncha think?]

THEN this time, we arranged a visit.  I could go to Goldendale, WA, which is about 20 miles up from the Columbia River.  

She said I could bring a sister to spend the night.  So,  I took Niki with me.

We had a glorious visiting, sharing time. 

As sad as it is, Berta's husband died of cancer last February.  Of course, we talked about that heart-breaking event, and she always smiled while tearful.  We were able to touch hands and hug, holding hearts.

A guitar was in the living room.  That blessed Niki.  She played it, one of her favorite things to do.  Berta sings beautifully, as does Nik ... and the 3 of us sang hymns and worshiped and shared until about 1 AM.

[And why did I choose this post color, although it doesn't fit in perfectly?  Her living room drapes and lovely vase and flowers.  Couldn't not smile when I saw this.]

 
 Had a lovely night and long blessed morning. Then her mom took this photos before we hit the road.

We reached Niki's house later that Tuesday afternoon, both of us filled with blessing.  One wonderful part is that, in spite of the fact that they had never truly known each other before, Niki and Berta hope to stay in contact, and share music, and be friends.

And, nearly 50 years later, Berta and I have again become good and dear friends.  A true God-blessing.  I couldn't be much happier.

THE JOY OF THE LORD...

is my strength .... WAS my strength ... through the blessing of family and friends on this trip.  Would love to have pictures of all the dear ones, but don't; will share what I have.

 Jennifer

 Susie

 A spiritual warfare friend in northern MN that I hadn't seen since the Fall, 2006.  We lost our connection for years and, amazingly, found each other on FB shortly before I was heading in her direction.  We had a lovely breakfast together as I was heading West after leaving Susie's. 

My Dickinson, ND, friends Dave and I met in Uganda in '94.  First time I had a chance to visit them since '05.  A blessed night.

I posted about this amazing meeting the Lord laid in both our lives.  We have continued to talk... and will continue to do so.

Darlene

 Gayle

 Jody

This, Part A, ends and then, next, will be Part B.  And story after story that has not been posted already, connected to these people, will have to enter your lives, too, in the next couple weeks. 

Through this am filled with JOY,

 overwhelming JOY, after seeing my dear ones

 and meeting more.  

What a blessing.



 

PSALM 33:4

For the word of the Lord is right,

and His work is done in

faithfulness.

 

The Book of Revelation is filled with His word,

 His Work,  His faithfulness.

[The bookmark was a Christmas gift from one of my blog friends.  I use it constantly, day by day, and keep her always in my mind and on my heart. 

 A true gift.  A loved gift.]

JEDEDIAH SMITH AND ME

 

 Jedediah Smith has been one of my historic heroes for some time.  The reason?  Even though he was a mountain man, mixed in with piles of less-than-righteous explorers and hunters, he focused on the Lord.  He was seen with a Bible, was known as pious and very straight.  He refused to have any sexual relations.  He didn't drink or smoke.  Rarely had a sense of humor that fit in with the rest of the guys.  He didn't cuss.  He did what he thought was his leading by the Lord.  And he was all over the west portion of our country.  He was going over hills, around rivers and lakes, imprisoned in California [since he was considered an invader], and chased by a variety of civilizations.  He drew maps and put pieces together for the future members who would be hitting the trails to expand the U.S. territories.

Was he perfect in terms of how we would recognize conflicting cultural issues today?  No.  But, if nothing else, he was  young-ish -- 23 when he began to travel and 32 when he was murdered.  Yet he did more in that short time than most of us could even imagine doing in our present days... and we've got cars to drive, good solid roadways, cell phones that help us contact others if we are in any kind of need, and credit cards if we are out of cash.  He [and the others who were hunters, fur traders, trappers, explorers] had very little on a regular basis.  Yet, they accomplished so much that prepared our future.  Some good, some evil... but much done.

I have a book about him called "Men Against the Mountains" that was published in 1965.  Interesting.  Well written.

When traveling across Montana this post is in a rest area and I've seen it a number of times.  And, considering the mountains, the rivers, the hills, the boulders, the winter storms [with strong wind, ice, and piles of snow], the conflicts, the danger of being attacked by animals [which often occurred] and having a lack of helpfulness -- no doctors, hospitals or clinics -- I'm always amazed that he and the others made it.

The only bit I would like to see on these history posts was his Methodist faith, which was very strong and intensely focused on worshiping and serving the Lord.  Back in those years, the denomination was fairly new and very missions-oriented.  Jedediah fit into it quite well.

When I was wondering what I could share today, when looking through my hundreds of photos from the trip, this jumped out at me.  Not filled with easy sweetness and light, but a good reminder of what was done for us to spread out and prepare as a nation.

... And, in my heart, how we as individuals and families can step out to serve the Lord in ways that will reach out and plant seed into the lives of those nearby and far away.  That's one of my main goals of life.  Has been for years.  Will be forever.



 

SKY-FILLED JOY FOR ME

This may drive some of you nuts, but when I was driving [or walking or watching], the sky sent me beautiful sights. Believe me, I often pulled over to the side of the Interstate to take photos or even held my camera up to the window. [THAT is not wise or bright, but I couldn't not do it.] And the sky kept me moving forward.  The states I don't have that I traveled through are my Nebraska and Susie's Minnesota.  A matter of timing. The photos are mostly shown in the order I traveled.  Too many pics in your face, maybe, but short and easy to view.

 

[I wanted to write a story today since I have so many on my heart from that trip, but I'm still too tired since my arrival home on Monday.  So this is what touched my heart to share today.]