Marvelous Me

Marvelous Me!

Today is my birthday.  A day to celebrate my birth.  I awoke to the sounds of my grand-daughter’s voices on the phone wishing me “Happy Birthday!” as a bird in a nearby tree sang a melody so sweet. After breakfast I was pleased to see a beautiful e-card from my daughter telling me of her love and thanks and many other Birthday wishes from friends and family greeted me on Facebook as well.  Going to the kitchen to refill my coffee cup, I stopped to re-read a Birthday card a friend had sent me in the mail a few days before and then the phone rang again with a surprise call from another friend singing “Happy Birthday” to me.  I am so blessed I thought…

This all reminded me that it was not “just another day” of life, it was an anniversary of the day that one of God’s wondrous creations was brought forth into this world.  Yes, I am one of God’s wondrous works, and so are you.  Psalm 139:14 says:  “I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works!”

A good friend sent me a Birthday card that said: “You’ve been on God’s mind since before you were born.  Today is just one more of such days ahead”  Yes,  Psalm 139:17-18  says:  “How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God!  They are innumerable!  I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!”  Imagine…God’s thoughts towards me, and you, are more than all the grains of sand in the world!  That is an incredible thought!

Before I, or you, were even born, God saw us and fashioned us in the womb.  He, the Creator of Life, designed each of us and fashioned our days before we even came to be on this earth !    Read it in Psalm 139:15-16 !
And, Jeremiah 1;5 says:  “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart”

Through His word, God is telling us that we are all special to Him.  Each one of us was thoughtfully created by Him to fulfill a specific purpose.  We are always on His mind, and it is His hope to lead and guide us to a future that is for good. His plan is that we will do all the good works He prepared beforehand for us to do and that will bring Him glory.  “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  Ephesians 2:10 [NIV]

Yes, you and I are marvelous creations.  We were created by God, for God.  It’s not about us.  It’s all about Him, in us.  That is what makes me–me, and you–you, and I am so glad to be reminded of that on this day of my birth!

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.’”
2 Cor.4:7 [NKJV]
What is the treasure that we have?  I believe it is the “one pearl of great price” as spoken of in Matthew 13:46.

If you would like to see just how much God loves YOU personally–visit this link
http://www.smilegodlovesyou.org/GodLovesYou.html

Fragaria of Rosaceae

“Fragaria of Rosaceae“
one of God’s marvelous creations

“Doubtless God could have made a better berry (than the strawberry), but doubtless God never did”

William Allen Butler

It’s June, and that means it’s Strawberry and Rose Festival time here in Portland!
With the Rose Festival happening this weekend in Portland, we are also being invited to honor the Strawberry, as June is it’s month and time to shine, in Oregon.

Actually, the strawberry should feel right at home here in the City of Roses, being that it is a member of the rose family.   Fragaria, commonly known as the Strawberry,  is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. This marvelous work of God,  the originial strawberry, is known as the Woodland strawberry and grows wild all over the Northern Hemisphere.  It serves as food to many animals in our forests, woods and plains.  It was first culivated in Europe where it eventually became the Garden Strawberry that we know today, a fruit that is much larger than the Woodland.

The Woodland strawberry’s fruit is strongly flavored, and is still collected and grown for domestic use and on a small scale commercially for the use of gourmets and as an ingredient for commercial jam, sauces, liqueurs, cosmetics and alternative medicine. [taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_Strawberry]

This month, Strawberry Festivals abound in mary areas, beginning June 5th in Lebanon, OR where they serve the “world’s largest shortcake”, to St.Paul Oregon’s Strawberry Festival at French Prairie Gardens June 11th thru 19th,  Gales Creek Strawberry Festival on June 12th ,and Dixie Mountain’s Annual Strawberry Fest on Father’s Day, June 19th.  This is the time that we should plan to enjoy these tasty strawberries perhaps with some shortcake, whipped cream or ice cream and attend at least one of these festivals that usually have lots of fun activities besides eating strawberries.

Just thinking about that plump, juicy, red fruit causes my mouth to water and most people I know feel the same. Since June is my birth month, I share a special affinity to strawberries and roses, and I surely do plan on enjoying both of them this weekend !  I hope you will make plans to do that also.

For more information visit these links:
Lebanon Strawberry Festival
St.Paul Strawberry Festival 
Gales Creek Strawberry Festival
Portland Rose Festival 
Oregon Strawberries

Lemons, Life and Lemonade

If you have a lemon, make lemonade.
Howard Luck Gossage

I just learned that the 8th Annual National Lemonade Days, a yearly fundraiser to help fight Childhood Cancer, is almost upon us, actually beginning this weekend, Friday June 10th through Sunday June 12th.  If you live in Oregon you might want to visit a local stand either to volunteer to help or just to donate to the cause.  My search turned up stands in Sherwood, Canby, and Oregon City but perhaps you might find one or two in Portland or you might want to get involved by setting up your own stand.  (See link below for information)

Alex Scott started her Lemonade Stand when she was 4 years old.  She had been diagnosed with cancer just before her first birthday and she told her parents that she wanted to sell lemonade to earn money to give to the doctors to find a cure.  Alex bravely continued fighting her cancer and selling lemonade at her stand every year until she passed away at age 8.  By then she had raised over one million dollars for cancer
research and in her name, her parents carry on her mission through the Alex Scott Lemonade Foundation.

Alex is an inspiration to me, for this young girl took what life handed her and did something good with it.  She lived out the quote “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” (Dale Carnegie)  Although Alex’s life only lasted 8 years, she continues to live on through her Lemonade Stands and in the memories of those she helped through the money she earned for cancer research.  I would say Alex Scott was truly one of God’s wonderful creations and I am blessed to learn of her and of the work that continues on in her name.

Alex was right to choose lemonade to sell.  Who doesn’t love a tall glass of tart and tangy lemonade on a hot summer day?   It is a refreshing drink, one that is a joy to the senses, however those beautiful, golden yellow, sour fruits called lemons can be used for so much more than lemonade.

The lemon, another of God’s wonderful creations, is actually a tree and a fruit.  It is both a small evergreen tree and an oval fruit that probably orginated in the Middle East.   It’s exact location is not known, but it was probably India.  Orginially it was used as an antiseptic and antidote for poisons.   Columbus brought it to America in the form of lemon seeds and with it’s increase and growth, especially in Florida and California ,it
came to be greatly used in all kinds of cooking, beverages, bath products, cleaning supplies, and so much more.

Visit these links for more information on the wonderful Lemon and Lemonade Days !

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation–Fighting Childhood Cancer–See how you can help
http://www.alexslemonade.org/about

Lemonflower–recipes, tips, history, uses and more
http://www.lemonflower.com/

24 Handy Lemon Tips from Green Living
http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/136/1/24-handy-lemon-tips.html

“Paper or Plastic?”

"JellyFish" from Plastic Bags Washed Ashore Exhibit--PCC

“Paper or Plastic?”
That used to be a frequent question at the checkout, and often still is.  Many of us choose plastic since those little bags with handles hold so much and offer us the ability to carry quite a few, easily, at one time.

Recently, though,  stores have given us the choice of purchasing reusable cloth bags in order to save the environment by not using plastic and saving paper.  However, that presents us with the problem of remembering to bring the bags with us to the store, and so often, because of the busyness of our lives, we choose to ignore environmental good just to keep from adding one more “thing to do” on our list.

I was guilty of this, until Sunday, when I visited the “Washed Ashore” project at PCC Sylvania campus.  A visit to this project, which shows the harmful effects of plastic on sea creatures, changed my thinking about using plastic bags.

Artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi, who headed up this project, said she wanted her life to make a difference, and I believe she is accomplishing that goal by not only using her artistic talents to create beautiful sculptures from garbage but to also tell the world how harmful plastics can be to the life in our seas.  Many of  the amazing sea creatures that God created  are being harmed daily because of plastic !  Plastic pollution is a big problem worldwide and affects over 200 species.  It is killing our seabirds, sea turtles, whales, seals, fish and coral reefs.  Plastic is moving into the food-chain as fish and birds think it is food and ingest it.

I, for one,  was not really aware of all of this until I learned about it while visiting the “Washed Ashore” project.  I will say that this information has now changed my thinking about using plastic bags at the store.  For when I learned how many giant sea turtles die because they eat plastic bags that they think they are jellyfish, I decided I could do something to stop that from happening.  So, from now on, I will carry cloth bags with me when shopping and maybe through doing this I can save at least one turtles life.

I would encourage you to visit the “Washed Ashore” project which is on display at PCC Sylvania campus until June 10th.  This beautiful display of gigantic art carries a powerful message to all of us, to stop and think about what we can do to save all the wondrous works God has created.

For more information follow these links:
Washed Ashore Project:  http://washedashore.org/

PCC Washed Ashore Project: http://news.pcc.edu/2011/04/washed-ashore/

Remembering Our Wonderful Rivers

The song of the river ends not at her banks but in the hearts of those who have loved her. — (Buffalo Joe)

Des Plaines River Lake County, IL

A river is a natural watercourse.  Just as the song “Ol Man River” says “it just keeps movin along”. No matter what happens,  unless some natural disaster prevents it or a man made dam stops it, a river will always keep moving forward, flowing toward another river, or towards something bigger perhaps, like the ocean, a lake or sea.

Rivers are wonderful works of God and there are so many that they cannot be counted. There are thousands of rivers all over the world, all flowing forward, some fast, some slow, some big, some small, but they are all moving, constantly moving–forward. That is so inspiring to me, and I think we would all do well to pattern our lives after the rivers, to focus each day on moving forward, whether it be slow or swift.

I have many fond memories of rivers, having grown up very near to one.  My childhood home was very close to the Des Plaines River in Illinois and as a child I spent a lot of time sitting on it’s banks fishing in the summer or ice skating on it in the winter.
The Des Plaines is a slow moving river that begins in Wisconsin and flows through Illinois to meet the Kankakee River which eventually becomes the Illinois River that flows into the Mississippi River.

Rivers inspire me and I actually enjoy a visit to a river over one to the ocean.  Probably because a river seems more like a friend you can sit down and relax with. During the course of my life I have been fortunate to visit quite a few rivers all across our country. While living in Iowa I was able to enjoy the Iowa River, Cedar River and Mississippi River all which were close by and though each was different in its own way, the one thing they all shared was that forward movement that is so inspiring !

One summer my grandsons and I made it a point to visit one “Creek a Week”.  It was our part of our “Tuesdays Discovery Days”. Being that Tuesday was my day off from work, that was the day we would go on adventures. This particular summer we became intrigued by all the Creeks in Johnson County that seemed to flow out from the Iowa River, so we decided each Tuesday we would visit one, take a picture and explore. It was such a fun summer and even though we never did find all the many Creeks, we have many memories that are priceless.

Here in Oregon, we have the Williamette River which ranks 19th in volume among U.S. rivers.
It’s forward movement carries it to the Columbia River and then eventually to the Pacific Ocean.  I would suggest that you take some time to get to know this River that is in Portland’s backyard.  Visit it, sit on it’s banks, watch it flow, investigate the life it carries along, and give thanks for it’s constant forward motion.  Then, perhaps, make it a point to visit as many rivers as you can this year, just to see their beauty, feel their differences and note their purposes.  I am sure if you do, your life will be enriched by all these wonderful works of God–our Rivers !

As David Brower said in his Foreword to Oregon Rivers by Larry Olson and John Daniel:

“Witness for them. Enjoy their unimprovable purpose as you sense it, and let those rivers that you never visit comfort you with the assurance that they are there, doing wonderfully what they have always done.”

Williamette River Portland, OR.

Ol’ Man River

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ol%27_Man_River

Williamette Riverkeeper
http://www.willamette-riverkeeper.org/WRK/index.html

List of Rivers in Oregon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_of_Oregon

Lovely Lilacs

I am thinking of the lilac-trees,
That shook their purple plumes,
And when the sash was open,
Shed fragrance through the room.
- Mrs. Anna S. Stephens, The Old Apple-Tree
This quote by Anna S Stephens speaks my thoughts as I sit at my dining room table enjoying my morning coffee.  Anna S. Stephens,(1810 – 1886) was an American Novelist and Magazine Writer who obviously loved lilacs.  I can imagine her feelings as she penned the words, most probably while sitting near a window overlooking lilac bushes, just as I am now doing.

I am sharing a moment in time, just as Anna did so long ago, and it is as if my beautiful lilac bush is speaking to me, inspiring me to write.

“Good Morning” it seems to say,
“Wake up and enjoy this day,
For my blooms are limited in their stay,
and these fragrant flowers I bring you in May,
will oh,so soon, be gone away”

Yes, lilacs are one of the wonderful gifts God has given us, and we can give thanks to Mary Foster for bringing them to Oregon so long ago when she and her husband traveled here on the Oregon Trail.

Mary brought one of the first lilac bushes to Oregon in 1843 and it still lives at the Philip Foster Farm in Estacada, Or. The Foster Farm is a National Historic Site because Philip and Mary Foster were early settlers who played an important part in Oregon’s history.
The Farm has several annual events of interest to all.
Visit their website for more information:  http://www.philipfosterfarm.com/

We can also thank Hulda Klager, who was known as the “Lilac Lady”.  Hulda loved lilacs and she began hybridizing them in 1905, 15 years later she had developed many new varieties and began sharing them.  Though she passed away in 1960 her lilac gardens live on at her now historic home in Woodland, Wa.
An annual “Lilac Days” is held there to view the 3-1/2 acres of lilacs that Hulda left for all of us to enjoy.
For more information visit their web site at:   http://www.lilacgardens.com/history.html

Lilacs are not only fragrant and beautiful, but they are also edible and can be candied to use as colorful decorations on cakes. They have a lovely lemony taste that would make any cake or cupcake a special treat.  The flowers or buds can be used in baking but also can be used to make fragrant lilac sugar, syrup or jelly.  Visit this link for some fun to try recipes:  http://greenbotanicals.blogspot.com/2008/05/lilac-flower-recipes.html

The Greater of Great

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!
 ~John Muir

I can only imagine what John Muir, the Scottish born,American Naturalist, who lived a good part of his life in the wilderness, was looking at when he wrote these words.  Perhaps it was one morning when he awoke while working on a sheep ranch in California, or while watching the sun set in the Yosemite valley during one of his exploration trips.  In any event much of John Muir’s life was spent in “studying the inventions of God” as he put it, and I am sure the sun was a big part of that study as he explored the nature that he loved from 1867 until his death in 1914.

The Sun…we long for it on cloudy days when it hides from us, yet when we are driving into its setting brightness at day end we often don’t appreciate it, and with good reason!
Since the sun sometimes seems to become so bright just before it sets, it is often difficult to see anything very far ahead of us and that makes driving hazardous.

This was my experience a couple of days ago when I had enjoyed a beautiful sunny day and began driving home headed west.  The sun in all its bright glory was beginning to descend, outlining the mountains with threads of light and bringing John Muir’s quote to life in my mind.

I love the beautiful sunsets we often have the joy of experiencing here in the Pacific Northwest and, like John Muir, I have often captured their beauty in words or photographs while sitting on a beach or relaxing at home.
However, today, the sunset was not something I was enjoying, as it was inhibiting my driving and even though I had my sun visor down my visibility was so limited I nearly ran a red light!

Thankfully I was able to arrive home safely without any mishaps and I immediately I set out to search for a pair of sunglasses to put in the car for the next time I might have a similar encounter with my sunny friend in the west.   I also decided to do a search online for some facts on this great light, the Sun, which is one of the wondrous works of God.
I invite you to check out these links to see the interesting information I found on the Sun at
“Windows to the Universe”– a site by the National Earth Science Teachers Association and
“Universe Today”–A List of Ten Interesting Facts about the Sun

Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.
Genesis 1:16 [NKJV]

You might also want to read more about John Muir at:John Muir Biography

Stressed to Blessed in One Minute

After all, I don’t see why I am always asking for private, individual, selfish miracles
when every year there are miracles like white dogwood.
 ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The day had been a bit stressful as I hurried to get my grand-son to his dental appointment on time.
Our preplanned itinerary had been changed by circumstances out of our control and this had caused me to pick him up late.

In order to save time, I decided to take an unfamiliar “shortcut” that might possibly assure us a timely arrival. Neither grand-son nor I had ever visited this dental office before so we were traveling in unknown areas with bad weather, heavy traffic and stress as our companions.  Not a very delightful trip to say the least!

However, as tense as it all was, we did make it with two minutes to spare, and one of those minutes I used to admire a beautiful Dogwood Tree that stood just outside the dental office.

As my grand-son hurried up the steps to go inside to check in for his appointment, I chose to stop for a moment and enjoy the beauty God had placed in my path.  That moment in time was a blessing because it took my mind off the cares of the day and focused it on the beauty of nature.
As I snapped a picture of the white blooms I realized that this White Dogwood tree had changed my stressed day into a blessed day.

I have to agree with Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the Dogwood Tree is truly one of God’s miracles and I am glad I had the chance in the middle of a busy, stressful day to experience it’s beauty and be blessed.

The White Dogwood is called “the SuperStar of Flowering Trees” because of it’s varied beauty.  It not only blossoms in May with with beautiful white flowers, it also makes a bright show of red in the fall with it’s colorful leaves and again in the winter with bright red berries that cause a splash of color against it’s silver bark.  Although the berries are poisonous to humans, they are not to birds and squirrels who enjoy eating them during the cold months of winter.  The Dogwood bark is said to have medicinal qualities and it’s wood which is very hard and strong is often used to make walking canes, golf clubs, or longbows.  Since Dogwoods are small trees they are perfect decorative addition to a small garden, patio or deck area.

Informative links on the Dogwood Tree:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogwood
http://oregonstate.edu/trees/broadleaf_genera/species/dogwood_spp.htm

Anne Morrow Lindbergh Biography:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lindbergh/sfeature/anne.html

A Tribute to Loretta

Loretta Dorothy Dietmeyer Cliff

A Tribute to Loretta

Although women were marching in New York, demanding the right to vote, and Ford Motor Company had just manufactured its 1 millionth Model T, things in Wadsworth, Illinois in 1915 remained pretty ordinary. You rose before dawn, worked or went to school, and went to bed shortly after sunset. Not much time was spent socializing and news from the outside world was limited as radios did not become readily available until the 1920′s and then not many people could afford them.

It was at this time that Loretta Dorothy Dietmeyer was born. Her arrival came in the fall at her parent’s home in a small country village about 50 miles north of Chicago, Illinois.

World War 1 was going on at the time and life was hard.  Loretta’s dad was a poor farmer trying to support his family of 5, as best as he could. Her mom spent her days caring for Loretta and her 2 siblings, cooking, preparing food for storage and making clothes by hand.  There was no electricity or indoor plumbing and travel was by horse and buggy.

In the coming years two more boys would be born to the family and life would get harder during the Great Depression of 1929.

As Loretta grew she attended a small one room school house quite a few miles from her home.  She and her siblings had to walk several miles to and from school each day in all kinds of weather. There were no such things as school busses, cars or bikes and often the harsh winters prohibited anyone from traveling anywhere.  Loretta loved school and she did well in her studies, but after finishing 8th grade she had to quit because the family couldn’t afford to send her on to high school. She then went to live with her Aunt and Uncle on their nearby farm and did work for them for her room and board. Children often had to do that during the Depression time to help relieve the financial burdens of the parents who had big families. Loretta’s sister had already left a few years earlier to stay with another Aunt since she hadn’t done as well in school.

It was at this time that the family moved from the village to a home in the country.  As the years went by Loretta’s dad had to go on public aid to support the family and even though in 1930 President Hoover said “Prosperity is just around the corner” life for Loretta and her family continued to be difficult for many years, especially with the start of World War II in 1939.

When I met Loretta for the first time in 1944 she was 29 years old.  She was the beautiful wife of Erling who had been drafted by the Army because World War II was still going on and she was the mother of a curly headed little girl named Frances, who was 5 years old .

Loretta had such a wonderful smile I couldn’t help but like her and as the nurse put me into her arms and said “Here is your baby girl”, I was so glad God had picked someone as special as she to be my mother for I felt safe and loved.

Every time I had a birthday I celebrated another year of life, and my mother celebrated another year of motherhood. That, to her was Mother’s Day.  The celebrations went on for 56 years and then she left me to go to her heavenly home.

Each year on my birthday as I thank God for another year, I also give thanks for my mother and for the love and care she gave to me.  I also take time to thank God for creating her and choosing her to be my mother, for she was truly one of His wonderful works !

“The moment a child is born,
the mother is also born.
She never existed before.
The woman existed,
but the mother, never.
A mother is something absolutely new.”
–Rajneesh

Spider! Friend or Foe?

Often that word puts fear into our hearts or automatically causes us to jump and say “Where!”

Last night I saw this in action as my grand-son caught sight of a spider in his room.  
This tall, confident, 17 year old young man instantly turned into a wide-eyed, freaked-out kid as he described seeing a “giant spider” crawling on the window sill next to where he had been sitting.

As he searched for something to do away with this unwelcome visitor to his room, he adamantly related his dislike of spiders, all kinds of spiders, but especially big ones !
 
By the time he returned to his room armed with a can of Raid in one hand and a fly swatter in the other, I am sure the spider had quickly made its escape to a less threatening environment, but just in case he hadn’t, my grand-son liberally sprayed the inside and outside window with a vengeance.  

As I assured my grand-son there could not possibly be any spiders around now for miles away because of the smell of all that spraying he did, I returned to my computer in the next room and began to wonder about the good of spiders. Surely there must be something good about them because, after all, they are God’s creations.

So, putting my homework aside for a moment I decided to do some quick research on spiders because even though I had often been told they were good and shouldn’t be harmed, I had never really studied them nor given them much thought unless I saw one scurrying across my path or spinning a web on my patio

My quick research told me that:

There are at least 30,000 different species of spiders in the world all of which prey on insects–not humans! Well, that’s a #1 good thing about them!

Spiders do away with a large number of disease-carrying and crop-destroying insects.
In fact, if every spider ate just one insect every day for one year, all those insects would weigh
as much as 50 million people. Wow! Second good thing!

Gardeners love them for they weave intricate orb shaped webs that catch plant eating insects.
 
Lawns like them because they keep the tiny insects in them under control.

In fact, spiders are the most important predator of insects in the world, but because of their scary looks they often are not very appreciated, except by birds who love to eat them.

So even though my grand-son might not ever see their worth, they do have a place in this world and are good in many ways.  

If you don’t agree, just ask “Wilbur the Pig” whose best friend was a spider named “Charlotte” !

Master Gardeners: http://cemadera.ucdavis.edu/newsletterfiles/Master_Gardeners_Articles4133.PDF
GardenWeb:  http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/orglawn/msg052209439900.html?6   
Homeowners Column:  http://web.extension.illinois.edu/champaign/homeowners/000819.html
Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte%27s_Web