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Sunday, July 22, 2012

THE WAYFARERS

Hello dear friends!   Here's a  picture of some of the flowers I picked by the wayside.   I love these type of bouquets so much.  Their unabashed  lovely disorder just speaks to my soul. I hope you will bear with me today, because this post will be rather disjointed, I have so many things I want to express.   I guess you could say that my thoughts are wayfaring.

First, he had some rain!  Hurray!   I wish that I could share with you the joy it brought.  It wasn't really enough to do any good, but it was so pleasant to hear the rain falling upon the roof, Jamie and I went out and stood in the middle of the yard with our faces uplifted to the heavens, just rejoicing in it.   And after the rain. it was as though the world rejoiced also.   The birds came out and started chattering excitedly and flitting back and forth.  Mr. Rabbit came out from his abode under the raspberry bushes and hopped about the yard. He was so cute, I forgave him for eating all my beans and cabbages.  I wish I could have taped it for you.  I would have entitled it Joy!

All that are fans of Tasha Tudor are familiar with this quote:


The gloom of the world is but a shadow.
Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. Take Joy!


~ Fra Giovanni~


I always try to live each day like this.  I have to admit there are some days that it is easier said than done.  As a matter of fact, during one dark period of my life, the only good I could find in the day was that I awoke.  And on some days, I rather hoped I wouldn't.  But like the warmth returning after a too long winter, ever so slowly I was able to once again find joy  in the simple little things that make a life.

So how does one climb out from a deep dark depression to become what some may think of as a bit of a frivolous , happy-go- lucky person?   One word - faith.  Now, my faith, may not be the same as yours, you may not even worship the same God as I, but I truly believe that to live life without some sort of faith in something bigger than our own little selves must be a to live a life without hope.

Isn't religion a funny thing?   Everyone is so sure that their way is the only way?  I used to feel so inadequate, when I talked to or read blogs from Bible scholars.  Some people are just so knowledgeable and can quote scripture for hours at a time.   They always know just how to pray and can give a verse for any situation.  I could study until Kingdom come (and I may very well do) but I'll never be  one of these types.   Just never been any good at memorization.   But I get the gist of the Bible.   And that's is to love thy neighbor and follow the commandments and to not judge people to harshly.  And to be thankful for all the He has given us.

My mother is always arguing that I need to attend a church.  I do not,  by the way.   I understand the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy, but I fail to see, how attending a church that I do not feel part of, that has made no effort to make me feel a part of, makes the Sabbath holy.  She argues that it isn't supposed to be about me, but what is the purpose of a church but to bring its parishioners closer to God?  So that they can have a personal relationship with Him?  Cannot my family by ourselves, worship and praise the Lord without the aid of a minister or a church building?   I may be wrong, but this I do know, no amount of church attendance (and I attended every week, plus twice during the holy seasons for thirty years)  every brought me closer to the Lord.  But hey, if you find church a solace or a prerequisite to being allowed into Heaven, I will not argue with you.  Just being honest here about my faith and I will freely admit, I do not have the answers.

In catechism we were taught to love, honor and fear the Lord.   I always got the fear part, and even the honor part. But the love part was difficult.   I could say I loved God, but I didn't really feel it. It wasn't until I went on my own journey of discovery that I learned to think of Him as a loving parent, that really wants the best for us.  Now I would say, I have the faith of a  small child.   A child doesn't second guess it's parent, just accepts what they are given.  It's simple, there aren't a lot of rules to my faith.  I just am thankful for all that is given and TRUST. 

So each day I rejoice in the little things, like wayside flowers, and send up thanks to the Creator.  I have conversations with Him all day long.  "Just look at that beautiful  sunset, God, thank you for sending it my way!''  "Well I really messed up there didn't I?  Will You please show me how to fix it?"   Some may think that this is too simplistic and some make think it is disrepectful, but that is how I  have a personal relationship with Him.

So here I arrive at the subject of personal relationships.  Recently my son and I had a conversation about a friend of his that had committed suicide when he was in high school.   He said, "You remember her don't you?   She was always hanging out at our house, because she liked to feel part of the family."   I'm ashamed to say, that I vaguely remember the girl, there were always so many children running about our home  back then.   I wish I had known her situation, I would have given her extra attention.  We had a rather unconventional home life.  There were always gangs of kids hanging around.  I allowed them pretty much free range of the place.   The math geeks were allowed to write out a complicated math equation on the upstairs hallway wall (it had ugly wallpaper I was going to strip anyhow), the musicians  played in the garage, and it was sort of a home for the broken hearted girls that had a case of unrequited love for either one of our own boys or one of the other boys that were always there.   Many an afternoon some sweet little girl and I would sit together on the settee in my bedroom watching an old movie,  knowing that I was tending to a love lorn little soul.   My neighbor, who was a teacher, always felt it was her duty to warn me that so-and-so didn't come from the right family or that they had a substance abuse problem.  But they never had any problems while they were at our house and who knows?   Maybe just hanging about a "normal" family and eating cookies fresh from the oven was what they needed.  I never regretted that I didn't shelter my children from the unsavory facts of life; that some people have problems.  They all grew up to be wonderfully compassionate people.  It didn't keep them from accomplishing much in their young lives, from attending good universities, and none has ever gotten into trouble with drugs or alcohol, so I guess it all turned out OK.  As they say the proof is in the pudding.   I loved my little adopted wayfarers and think of them often.  I gained so much from them being in my life.  I hope they look back on those days fondly, when crazy Mrs. Z. used to let them camp out on her hard old Victorian sofa, when their parents kicked them out of the house. 

Since we are the subject of friendships, I would like to talk about blogging friendships.   I hope everyone that visits here, feels welcome.   Some of us may not have much in common, except for the fact that we both read blogs.  But if you leave a comment, I will do my best to answer it,   and if you'd like to talk about something different, don't be afraid to mention it.  If it's personal you can always send me an e-mail.   If you feel that you are out of the loop, I'm sorry.  Sometimes, it just happens that a post isn't relevant to everyone.  It's not deliberate that I'm leaving you out,.   Being an outsider all my life, the very last thing I would want to do is to make anyone feel like they are standing on the outside looking in.   Everyone is welcome to join the party here.   Just leave a comment.  If you leave comments regularly, don't be surprised to find your blog listed over in  my blog roll.   Speaking of which, I don't follow blogs because of two simple facts.  One, I don't know how, and secondly, ever since Comcast switched to Xfinity,  my e-mail is so slow, that I try to eliminate as much of it going to the mailbox as possible.   So if the number of followers is something you value, and I comment often on your blog, or you see your blog listed on my blog roll to the right, just  mentally add one more to your followers -me!  











47 comments:

  1. Very well written Jane! You are correct, the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. I go to a catholic mass daily, but I prefer the quiet (short and sparsely attended) mass on the weekdays, and not so much the sunday mass...because I like to go and visit Jesus quietly. For me, I loved the verse in the Bible, something like "I rejoiced when I heard them say, let us go to the House of the Lord".

    If I had lived in Jerusalem during Jesus' time, I would hope I could've been one of the women going to the house He was staying at! Then, I realized that I can be one, running to my church. I truly believe Jesus is present in our tabernacle, body, and soul, and divinity. That He wanted to be so present to us, that He is not just (only) in His creation, but there. That is my belief. And a church/congregation is run by people who are imperfect. So I have changed parishes frequently until I get the church that teaches correctly. So many water down the faith, in my religion!

    We had rain also...and ditto on all of that! :)

    And the love part is the most important. That is what your household had when you were raising your kids! The other kids who came over, that will forever be in their memories, your kindness, even after you forget. I will pray for that girl's soul. So sad. But I belief Jesus appears to people at the "hour of their death" and shows such love to them, and right then, they can say yes, be sorry for anything they have done, and like the good thief, have eternal life. love,andrea

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    1. You have given me much to ponder about attending church, Andrea. Thank you! I would love to find a church that I feel the presence of the Lord in, I need to keep looking. I believe as you do about God revealing himself at our hour of death. I'm sure that our Savior has granted grace to the poor young girl and she has found the home she was always seeking. I must believe this or it would be too much to bear.

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    2. Hi Jane...you're so sweet. Yes, it aches my heart to think of young people who feel despair. My daughter says there are kids in her catholic school who feel that way. They obviously don't feel loved!

      I never realized Jesus was God (always taught that God was up there in the heavens) until I read fulton sheen's "life of Christ" book. My husband was converted by reading wayne weible's book on medjugorje. (even though we both had a religion...we seemed to lack faith!) So I think there is something that triggers this gift of faith!

      I've been to catholic churches where I felt the priest didn't know Jesus was God! (and didn't follow the teachings of my church). These are the shepherds that Jesus warns against, that mislead the sheep...in any religion. Jesus knew Judas would betray Him, yet he kept him as an apostle, to show us that there will always be Judases! love,andrea

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    3. Hi Andrea! Yes, we must always extend our hand to those broken souls. In truth, it benefits us more than them.

      We always have to be aware of what we are being taught. That's why I'm a little frightened to join a new church. Never know what kind of kooky one you might get involved in. Here's a true story of something that happened to me this past year, that illustrates God works in mysterious ways:

      I really want to belong to a church, so when some ladies knocked on my door to tell me that they were starting a new church and that I was welcome, I was elated. So that night I prayed that God would show me if this was the church. Well, about 2 or 3 in the morning, I jumped out of bed and said "lay lines". I didn't even know what a lay line was but remembered reading something about them in a book review either Shara or April had given. So anyway, I went to the computer and typed in Port Austin and lay lines. Well the first article was about how Port Austin attracts people who are into the occult because of the lay lines running across it. A few clicks later there was an article about this church I was considering. It's one of those goofy new age ones. Even found a video on Youtube of one of their sermons all mixed into numerology. God does indeed work in mysterious ways!

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    4. Wow...that is scarey Jane! God protected you. We have to learn to let our guardian angel guide us...I always forget to do that! But I do remember to thank my angel.

      In my church, if a parish is not in line with church teaching, I know to beware. How sad we have to be on guard these days! love,andrea

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  2. Dear Jane ~ What a fantastic, uplifting and encouraging post. So full of faith, hope and living your life as you see fit as a believer in God and thankful for all His many blessings. Not feeling pressured to 'do it' as others do, but as your conscience guides you.

    I am so glad we have connected, sisters in our beliefs and in a lot of the way we live our lives.

    I love your sweet bouquet.

    Have a wonderful week ~ FlowerLady

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    1. I am so glad I count you among my friends dear Rainey! It was a good day, when when we found each others blog. How many years has it been, anyway? Don't you think that wild flowers look grand in a pewter jug? I'm quite pleased with the composition, if I must say so myself.

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  3. How do you comment to a post that has touched my heart so deeply?

    I am in a transition at this time my dear Jane, that it is so hard for me to connect. Yet, I do find Our Lord everywhere, and I do speak to HIM daily and at every moment. I believe in meeting with Our Lord quietly, like Andrea shares, but yet, I do get such an amount of joy when I sit with others and raise our voices in worship. Much prayer during this time of transition, that is for sure.

    In regards to your wayfarers, I am not blessed with any through my children, but I do find myself speaking to others often and sharing a bit with them. I have met so many people, that I know blessings are abundant when I allow His Spirit to guide me.

    Blogging...oh that ever unending question - to blog or not. Well, like you know, it is a subject that is very dear to my heart, but yet, I have found ladies like yourself Jane, that have taught me so much during this time. I feel quite blessed to count you as a 'blogging' friend and look forward to your posts when they appear.

    Continue to share Jane...continue to be yourself and allow Our Lord to live freely within you.

    much love to you Dear One,

    Maria

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    1. See? Now today I really wish I was good at Bible memorization, Maria. So that I could quote the verse about praying unceasingly and joyfully to you. It's easy to be faithful when times are easy, but those times when the going gets rough, well it's easy to turn away, I know from experience. Have to look at it like God is testing us. I'd say the harder the test, the more He has confidence in you.

      Sometimes, when I comment on your blog, I'm afraid I say too much. It is just that I see a bit of myself in your struggles. As you well know, I am not the one to quote the Bible to you, I let others that are more knowledgeable do that, but never think that I do not pray for you and your family.

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  4. I really like your "wayfarer" flowers...what a great way to describe them.

    A child-like faith is so important and I hope you're able to continue to grow in that simple faith. We tend to make everything complicated, including religion, when it doesn't have to be that way. I truly believe in keeping it simple when it comes to our faith and how we worship.

    Online friendships have become important to me and I'm happy to count you as one of those friends.

    Have a great week, Jane!

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    1. And I'm happy that you are my friend also, Sandra!

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  5. Jane, thank you for sharing on your faith to overcome. Blessings.

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  6. I really enjoyed reading all of your thoughts, and could really relate to what you were saying. I too have conversations with God throughout the day, and think of him as a Father, I like the simplicity of that relationship, and have always held to the belief that God is not a God of confusion. Maybe it has come after years of teaching the children's church, and pulling out the basic truths from the bible stories to share with the kids.

    I love that you opened your home to your sons friends, I have the same policy here at our house with my teens friends, they are always welcome. They love to come here and eat and chat, and I just love them all.

    Your flowers picked by the wayside are so beautiful, and I am happy to hear you had some rain, I can just picture that little rabbit!

    I always look forward to your posts, as well as your comments on my blog, and really enjoy our blogging friendship. :)

    Hope you have a nice week, and maybe some more of that rain!

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    1. "God is not a God of confusion." I like that, April. Thanks for that!

      I know all about your welcoming your children's friends into your home. And it all looks so fun, I wish I was one of them!

      From your lips to God to God's ears about the rain! :)

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  7. Hi Jane,

    I so love the honesty and simplicity of this post! As a person who has battled depression for so many years, I know how it is the simple things in God's creation that lifts my heart out of the darkness! (and they are FREE).

    I am a misfit too. But so was Jesus wasn't He? It sounds like you got a lot of religion, but not much truth from attending church. Some people attend church every time the doors are open, but do so for all the wrong reasons. Usually, it's to meet up with their friends, or to look like they are being holy. I struggle with church attendance as does one of my closest friends who also attends there. (we always sat together). But I knew her heart and she knew mine, and we knew we were there only for God, and we knew we could worship Him anywhere also. I recently (after ten years) returned to the church, and so has she a couple years ago...we sit together again. She is one of those who can pray and quote scriptures like that, but she refuses to follow man's (churchy) laws too. I think that makes a person more, not less of a true follower of Jesus!
    Personally, when I blog..I use biblegateway for scriptures to copy and paste because usually all you have to use is one or two keywords to get the right scripture. I am like you...I FEEL the scripture, and mostly cannot find the correct words of it in my memory ;) It is not so much in my head as it is in my heart.
    You and your family sound like us. Neighbor kids came from all over and often spent the night because they did not want to go home. They felt safe and loved here; and they still remember us, even though we don't always remember them right away :) We never had any problems with bad behavior either, even though some of them never got taught anything from their own family.

    So glad you finally got some rain! YaY God! I saw on the news how dry it has been on the lower part of the state, and thought of you and much of our family there...praying for more rain. That little bunny sounds adorable, I could picture you and Jamie out there amongst the birds and the bunny having a joyful time...it made me smile alot ;D

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    1. Hi Lisa! I suppose I could do with a church buddy. Strange that we feel we need courage to attend church, what's wrong with that picture? I really feel that I need to physically attend a church, but am leery of the local ones. We only have two in our village. One is more of a social club and the other is Roman Catholic.

      Thanks for the link. I waiting for the day the Holy Spirit imparts in me all the Bible verses that I need to fight satan. I know somewhere in the Bible it says that!

      I think most of all the children with bad behavior just need someone to extend the hand of love. Just like that movie It's a Wonderful Life, you never know how some simple act that you don't even remember can change another's life.

      PS: Like you, I felt an instant connection of friendship. Thanks for the kind words!

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  8. Funny, I never noticed you weren't listed on my follower list. After leaving my first comment, I had to jump back over to my blog and check...I guess I don't pay that much attention to numbers.
    I've always had you listed as a friend in my heart since we've [met] though! ;)

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  9. Hi Jane! I agree with so much of what you have said ... I also do not attend church. One reason - because I work on Sundays - and another reason, when I moved to Colorado, I just could not find one that I felt "fit". Plus I just hated how when I went to a church for the first time, I basically felt attacked for being a newbie. Anyways, I feel close to God without going to church. I think it is great your sons friends felt like they could come over when they were little. We lived out in the country, but never had any friends come over ever. My mom wasn't the friendliest person, so it is no wonder no one wanted to come over! When/if I have kids, I know I will do that differently!

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    1. Hi Jane! I don't think people realize that when you live in a really rural area your church options are few. Many of these little rural churches are "run" by the same families for generations. And they don't want anyone new coming into to upset the status quo. In essence, they are not true churches at least not what the Bible meant by the Church, so I am going to stop apologizing for not attending one. I think a good many ministers need to read the letter to the churches in the first chapters of the Book of Revelation and refresh the memories to be quite honest.

      We can learn from example what not to do, as well as what to do. My mother was verbally abusive and at times I have caught myself when I said something hurtful to one of the boys. Always envied those who write so glowingly of their mothers. Mine still has the power to cut to the quick, as a matter of fact, I'm recovering from something she said to me on Sunday. I don't think that she is aware that her words are as hurtful as anything she could do physically.

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  10. Dear Jane,

    I wish I were close enough to give you a big hug! I think that the Lord loves wayfarers, don't you?

    I agree that your young friends were very blessed to have open doors and welcoming arms; I'll bet that they still remember those special times, and the listening ear that you gave them.

    Mothers can be very harsh unknowingly; I was getting a little uncomfortable by the end of our visit, trying to make sure that everyone minded their p's and q's, lest Grandma's wrath fall upon them! :)

    Love,

    Marqueta

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    1. Thank you Marqueta! I can feel it from here. I guess we all want our mother's approval, even when we are grandmothers!

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  11. Thanks Jane! I was hoping you'd have a suggestion. I think I will go ahead and skin them when I do can the tomatoes. But I won't strain them. I did notice other recipes always skinned them, and thanks for telling me why! I wish recipes would always tell the "why"! Congrats on your first tomato! Mine will be finished when yours get plenty. love,andrea

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  12. Hi Jane - I love your post; its so full of honest simple compassion. I am a Buddhist but also lack the memorisation skills and so can't quote much of anything! I know in my heart, however, that compassion and kindness are the most important things we can bring to this world. There are people that may say I am not a good Buddhist because I do not meditate and I am not that knowledgeable in the texts but I truly know that this is mny spiritual path. As you said, it is so important for everyone to have some level of spirituality so that they have the capacity to reach out to others.
    You must have been a lovely person to your 'Wayfarers' and I am sure it has taught your sons so much.
    Lily. xxx

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    1. Hi Lily! I think that compassion is the common thread throughout all the religions, don't you? Who knows? Maybe if we started there the world could achieve peace. We are in the same boat, people say that I'm not a good Christan, because I do not go to church and because I do not condemn certain groups like the homosexuals. I refuse to judge anyone. Are we not all imperfect? So I'll continue to love the wayfarers and let God sort it out. If I'm wrong, I suppose I'll find out in the afterlife.

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  13. Hi Jane! This is such a beautiful post today, I think that is one reason I have always loved your blog so much. I have always felt your hospitality and have always sensed your kindness and desire to help others. My parents were a lot like that too when I was growing up. My friends were always welcome and my parents cared about them and their lives. When they passed away, many of my friends and my brothers friends were there and told us stories of how my parents had helped them in ways we never knew. I found out for the first time that my father bought my best girlfriend's first car! She came from a struggling single parent family and she desperately needed a car to go back and forth to work and school when she was 17. Her job helped her mother to pay the rent. I am sure you had more of an impact on these kids than you will ever know. Everyone needs someone to look up too, someone to help them feel safe in the world, something to aspire to. I'm sorry I haven't been over to visit the last few weeks. I just had about a thimble full of energy and found it so hard to keep up with my blog and writing. But I am feeling much better now and hopefully will get back up to speed soon. I am so happy to hear you had some rain! We have been having rain but it is not consistent. We will have clouds roll in, the weather radio will start beeping and a tremendous storm that will rage for a half hour and then it suddenly stops and blows away. I would love to have a gentle rainy day. :) Have a lovely afternoon ahead my friend! Delisa :)

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    1. Hello Delisa! I'm so glad you are feeling better. I suppose the ghastly weather hasn't helped any this summer. Hope you will soon feel up to writing your blog again. I miss your love words of inspiration and am anxious to see what your needles have been up to! Knitting baby sweaters here.

      Would have loved to have met your father. He sounds like just a wonderful man. I've lost contact with my dear wayfarers. So many moves between us all. Now my wayfarers are of the feline persuasion. They are quite the little ingrates. Once I substituted some cheap cat food for the expensive one I was feeding them and they refused to eat it! They have become quite demanding. If I get up late they are waiting on the porch to scold me and ask where's there dinner.

      I'm afraid we only had the one rain. Yesterday was the perfect hang the laundry outside day. It was close to 100 and windy and of course, very dry. The clothes dried almost as soon as they were hung up.

      Well you have a nice evening, Delisa. I'm going to watch the Tigers. They traded for some high priced guys today. I know we'll have a better team, but I kind of liked it when there was an underdog to root for. The better they get, the less interested I am in them!

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  14. Oh Jane, I could write you a long letter on my experiences with this and some day I will take the time to do so in a more private form.

    I just want to say that I am proud to call you my friend any and every day!

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    1. Whenever you want to share Shara, I'll be here. I really didn't do anything. It was my remarkable children that brought the wayfarers home. They all are such sensitive souls. All I did was keep the cookie jar stocked, took time to talk to them as they passed by and kept bedding for those that needed a place to stay.

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  15. Hey Jane, Wednesday greetings to you. Hugs....

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    1. Oh thank you! What a nice way to start out the day!

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  16. Thank you for the inspiring blog! And it plucked bouquet of wildflowers, it's so beautiful! Ah ... your blogs cost me a lot of translation time. I love it SO!

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    1. Sorry for being so long winded Jedidja! Next time I'll write a nice short post, promise. There's Google translate available at the top of the page, but as I've learned from reading yours, Regina's and Inez's blogs, sometimes it things get lost in translation. It can be a bit frustrating.

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    2. I am thinking of you. So wonderful to have a far away friend!

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  17. Hi Jane! Well....different philosophies do confuse me in understanding them. I like the olden days when you didn't know the personal lives of writers, actors, etc!

    That is something about the pyramids! I guess we humans aren't so complex after all, if we fall prey to the same temptations to glorify ourselves!

    Speaking of 5 and 10 stores...we have dollar stores, but now we have 5-below stores! Who knows what will be next.

    I'm from the Pittsburgh area of Pa, so I used the term, pop too! ha.
    my husband is from Philadelphia, and he says soda (and so do Delawareans).
    To me, a soda was pop poured over ice cream! When I moved here (and also met my husband) I was teased alot about "pop"!
    love,andrea

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    1. It's funny how people right away pick up the use of "pop", and tease you about it!

      I suppose Massachusetts was more of a breeding ground for L. M. Alcott's dad's beliefs. I saw a documentary on the arts and crafts movement in New England. It was interesting! And here I thought arts and crafts meant shopping at Michaels, Jo Ann's or the like! love,andrea

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    2. That's neat about the Mayflower Jane! Also interesting that the people were not what we think. I was reading about Shakers...and they certainly weren't what I thought they were. And some of those communes...it would've been nice if I learned something more in elementary school! love,andrea

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  18. Thank you Jane for your hugs.....

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  19. It's even worse over here in England. The 'Church of England' and the Methodist church (two of the largest denominations) are full of liberal post-modernists who are challenging the truths of the bible and who are determined to preach this new-age gospel of theirs. There is so little choice of where to go and worship.
    However, there are some churches who truly follow Christ and in our rural county, we have quite a lot of new growth. My husband and I have not been attending church because of the poor choice, but things are changing!
    Blogs like yours helps so much when fellowship is needed - thankyou.
    Kate

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    1. Hello Kate! I remember that the Archbishop of Cantebury called the virgin birth a legend. It's hard to know who to believe when the archbishop says something like that! We really need to delve into our Bibles and learn what is true for ourselves, that's for sure. Here in the USA we have a lot of churches that teach prosperity doctrine. Basically, acting like God is a big cash register that you pray to and become rich. It's appalling! And some of these ministers are very popular and respected. But then, we know that this is to be, so forewarned is forearmed! We need to guard ourselves from not falling into these lies.

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    2. Oh yes, Jane. I remember when the Archbishop called the virgin birth 'a legend'. I also remember that very soon afterwards, the cathedral was hit by lightning!
      We don't seem to have much in the way of prosperity doctrine - yet. But give it time ...... (sigh)
      Kate

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    3. Really? Guess that was a clear message from Above. Sometimes I think that these televangelist in America are just modern day snake oil salesmen. But there are some honest, humble little preachers out there. Just have to work at seeking them out.

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  20. dear jane
    what a beautiful post.....i have read again......i love your wildflowers!!!!!!
    have a nice week my friend,
    love regina

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  21. We too have housed some wayfarers over the years. And some of our kids have been wayfarers for a time for some reason or another. Life is not always a picnic. Nice if we can wave in passing at those who are strolling through life but also necessary to stop and help those who are in the ditch, changing a tire in the rain. Your flowers are beautiful. Anita

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    1. Hi Anita! I always found that those that we are helping have always enriched our lives far more than what little effort it took to help them. I could have used that tire changing help BTW, several times in the past couple of years! Ha! The were some wonderful men that lived in WI that used to drive around in the snowstorms with their tow trucks, gladly pulling those out that slid into the ditch for free. Weren't they wonderful?

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  22. I really enjoyed this! I need to come back and leave a more thoughtful comment, until then, I believe that God gave you a special heart and soul to minister to the people who have come across your path! (I am envious of your bumper crop of tomatoes---we had such a scorching summer that our tomatoes weren't even half the size of what we had before---and hardly any tomatoes at all.)

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  23. Hi Jane! I figured you were having it colder then us! It never fails here though, winter eventually comes! It will be welcome to start gardening...soon enough!

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