Engagement Photos--"I Prayed for This Day"

Two sets of parents were praying for their children to find God's will in spouses. 

When Sam asked Caitlyn's dad back last year if he would give permission for Sam to date his daughter, Caitlyn's dad told Sam, "I've been praying for this day."

And without reservation, he agreed to let Sam date his daughter. 

Sunday our son Tim took some engagement photos for the happy couple before he set off to return to  Ranch Haven in western CO. I loved this one!

 And this one. 

And this one! I haven't seen Sam looking this happy in a long, long time. 

I think Caitlyn has done wonders for him. 

And did I mention that Caitlyn is one of my very favorite names? When I wrote stories for my children about themselves and their adventures, I sometimes changed their names, and I renamed Crystal as Kaitlyn, only with a K. And now don't we get a real Caitlyn (starting with C, which I like better) for our family!

When Sam was first telling me about this girl from his church and how he was starting to date her, I asked him what attracted him to her. 

Now my Sam, if you know him, (or even if you do not know him) is not into a lot of mush or gush. But since I really wanted to know, one thing he mentioned was, "She loves God and she loves people."

And I think, when it's all boiled down, isn't that what Jesus said was the most important thing? 

 

 

When Eggs Are Gold

Eggs was the one grocery commodity that President Trump mentioned in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. That was the night Jonathan suddenly remembered Trump would be addressing Congress and pulled up the live address--just in time to see Rep. Green brandishing his cane and shouting at the President! We watched as Speaker of the House struck the table with the gavel and gave a warning and then called the sergeant-at-arms to conduct the disorderly member of Congress out of the room. We gathered around and watched the rest of the address--grateful for both the Vice-President and Speaker of the House solidly backing the President from behind him, as well as the side of the Congress that backed him for such things as putting a stop to fraudulent and wasteful government spending, banning trans men in women's sports, and deciding that under his administration there will only be two genders--fancy having to be courageous enough to say that!

 

 One would think eggs are worth their weight in gold!

At the birthday party Crystal and I hosted yesterday afternoon for our pastor's wife, Mrs. Ambrose, one lady told me that eggs were $9 a dozen around here! We can be thankful we have our own chickens. Even the guineas are starting to lay--see the smallest, more pointed egg below.

So when I was thinking of party favors for the attendees, I decided to simply give each lady a choice of something home-raised--eggs or honey.

I purchased some 3-for-a-dollar cartons and packed four different colors of eggs in each one with a decorative rosette in the middle. The ladies loved them! After all, that was $3 worth of eggs right there. 

I took out to our chicken coop a girl who came to the party and let her gather the eggs from the nesting boxes. 

About ten ladies attended the party, and what an enjoyable time we had, reminiscing about favorite birthday memories. My memory was about how we sisters used to almost always sew each other new aprons and pot holders for our birthdays, and Crystal told about how Grandma Morley used to sew a new pair of pajamas for each of her 50 plus grandchildren's birthdays!

I had found strawberries and blueberries on a good sale at Murdo grocery store on my way home from a lymphatic treatment, and I made a fruit plate with them with an idea I got from Pinterest for the mandarin flower in the center. 

Just another golden delight in the middle of a South Dakota winter!

 

 

 

 

Sunday Blessings

Sunday morning we watched another wonderful service at Beavertown God's Missionary Church in Pennsylvania, something we watch online most Sunday mornings since with the time change we can watch the eastern service before leaving for ours out here in the West. 

I was carrying the laptop around with me, and ended up setting it somewhere so we could watch the special song by the Anthony family. Too weak to stand and watch, I sat down on the floor and Jonathan sneaked this photo! I've known Mrs. Anthony from my youth, and we've known the family for many years, watching their children grow up and marry. My son Tim worked for a year on a ranch in Arizona with the Anthony's son Daniel and his family. 

This time it's just the one daughter singing with them, the daughter who a couple years ago lost her soon-to-be-fiance, Isaiah Rodriguez, in the boating/swimming accident while he was on the PR group from Penn View. I watched as the three sang "As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee. You alone are my heart's desire." 

It was a priceless testimony in song. May God bless these wonderful people!

March 1--Holiday Unique to Wales--"Do the Little Things"

I am a descendant of a Welsh immigrant, and my mother (pictured below with her new grandson Titus) is his daughter. But I don't remember ever hearing before that March 1st is a Welsh holiday called St. David's Day.  

I found this out yesterday (one week post-chemo) when I was taking a rest in a recliner and decided to look at a Missouri Life magazine that our pastor's wife shared with us. 

Well, there was an article by someone whose family was so busy going their separate directions that they had no time for any family traditions. Upon beginning to research her roots in Sweden, this lady began some new traditions with her family based on some Swedish traditions she had discovered. 

Now I am not from Sweden, but my grandfather, Ronald James Edward Morgan, immigrated to America from Wales about 1920, and my mother has always had utmost respect and pride for her father. The idea of creating a Welsh tradition in our family sounded fascinating. Still crashed in my recliner (after nabbing my laptop), I started researching Welsh traditions--and music--and trivia.

I discovered that the flower of Wales is the daffodil--so I asked Jonathan to please bring back a bouquet or pot of daffodils from his trip to Pierre today, to celebrate St. David's Day tomorrow. (Unfortunately, he could not find any at any of the stores he checked in Pierre.) Daffodils are worn in Wales on St. David’s Day to show pride in Welsh heritage.

 Today, still under the weather with my chemo side effects, I found it delightful to make little homemade cards with pictures of daffodils I found in my file, the flower emblem of Wales, to send to my mom, two aunts, and their cousin Kathy--all descendants of my great grandfather Evan Morgan of Wales.   

I also sent a copy of the letter I enclosed to a friend of my grandfather Morgan, a friend whom he met in Wales and who has continued to be in touch with my mother. 

I found some interesting Welsh recipes to try to cook, although some of the seaweed and clam ingredients may be a little unusual and hard to find! I plan to make a recipe of Welsh cakes (like biscuits chock full of raisins or currants and fried in a pan like pancakes and then sprinkled with sugar) which I really want to try.

It would have many of the same ingredients as the raisin bread I just made this week, but made in a different way. A chicken leek Welsh recipe sounds tantalizing, as well as lamb stew, the national dish of Wales since Wales has more sheep than people! Right now my sister Iva is raising sheep, and maybe she could share some mutton with us! (Are you on, Iva?) 

    I suggested to Mom and family that next time we get together for a Morley reunion, we have a Welsh heritage theme. This might include singing of Welsh hymns such as “Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah,” “Once to Every Man and Nation,”“The Ashgrove,” and “All Through the Night.” We could research the history of the Welsh revival and share stories of that. 

One quote from the Welsh revival is, “What we need is a fresh vision of the Cross. And may that mighty, all-embracing love of His be no longer a fitful, wavering influence in our lives, but the ruling passion of our souls.”

    Mom suggested some of the clan might want to put together a few Welsh costumes at the reunion for the youth to wear! I am excited about this idea!

    In honor of our Welsh heritage, I discovered that a favorite saying on St. David’s Day in Wales is the following, “Do the little things.” These are said to be the last words of the patron saint of Wales. I thought that was a wonderful quote which reminded me of how Jesus said that if we hope to enter heaven, we must become as little children, humble and trustful in Him. He also said that we must be little in our own eyes rather than proud and self-promoting or self-sufficient. Our smallness reminds us to trust Jesus alone for our salvation.

   Speaking of little things, the name of a village in Wales is not so little. In fact, it is the second longest village name in the entire world, spelled Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwy. It is 58 letters long. We should have young people try to pronounce that at the Welsh reunion!   
    Wales is home to many Iron Age forts, Roman ruins, and over 600 castles! I would love to visit Wales and the castles someday.
    I feel blessed to have a Welsh heritage and to be one quarter Welsh!

I signed my cards to my mother, aunts, and their cousin with this Welsh closing--
    Guda’r holl gariad [Welsh for ‘with all my love],
    Anna [Anwen in Welsh]

But what I liked most of this whole little bit of research I did while I was feeling weak and miserable with chemo was the little saying, "Do the little things."

The things that no one notices, little things that just simply need to be done, and the extra little details to make the ordinary special. Do the little things instead of pining for great things. If you do the little things well, Christ promised great things will be in store.

Making homemade cards from paper and seed catalogue pictures was a little thing. But it gave me the most delight I've felt in a long time--and helped me get through another day of chemo misery.

Placing my feet right now in the warm sunshine on a chair next to a quilt book is a little thing--but it warms my heart and reminds me of the love of God that extends from America to Wales to Ukraine to Israel to Russia to Africa and to all the ends of the earth--

His love that so often is exhibited by those who simply serve humbly, doing the little things rather than the great things, but knowing that "doing little things with great love," as Mother Teresa once said, is what makes little things great. 

O God, Your Face is Beautiful to Me!

Why are poems (with bits of free verse) coming one after the other to me in the last 24 hours?

This one started in the middle of my early morning--after a rough night. 

Your Face is Beautiful to Me

 

O God, Your face is beautiful to me

Although with feeble eyes, it's One I cannot see.

Unseen, yet loved, encased in mystery,

My God of love, Your face

is beautiful to me.

 I stand at kitchen window, seeing naught

But You--

The view

Is hidden from my eyes of flesh and not

one I can describe

to any tongue or tribe

Except for this one thing-- 

My heart takes wing

From flesh and earth and dust

When once I see with trust

The look upon Your face, the smile,

That gives me strength to trudge a mile 

Footsore and raw

With every flaw,

Inspired, though, by what I saw

A moment ago

By my window. 

For a Most Miserable Night

Tonight was one of the most miserable nights I've spent after chemo. Nausea, acid reflux, headache, exhaustion, hot feet with neuropathy, messed up innards and other ailments. It's a relief that last week's chemo is supposed to be the last for now. 

Tossing and turning in bed, I started thinking of an idea for a poem, knowing some people are going through far worse problems than chemo, but I couldn't seem to get any words to rhyme until I got up and came out to my notebook and pen. 

And even then, with my heart walking in the shoes of any who are hurting so much worse than I...it flowed a bit more like free verse, without perfect rhythm, but maybe that was as it should be.

 

O God, Are You Enough?

When life is reduced to misery 

 and pain,

When I experience heartache again,

and again,

When I feel that all my efforts

are in vain,

O God, are You enough?

When those I love elude me

or forget,

When tears run down my face in silent

rivulet,

And when I try to thank You but

can only fret,

O God, are You enough?

When words have hurt and crushed me

to the ground,

The things that others say go round

and round,

Or when cold silence speaks more icily

than sound,

Are You enough, O God?

When no one understand where I

may be,

And I am all alone

in misery,

When hunger drives me to 

a helpless knee,

O God, are You alone enough?

When loss and grief have entered 

my own door,

I cannot find whom I have long searched for,

And darkness settles chilly

more and more,

Is God the Lord alone enough? 

God of holy trinity, when my heart is stone,

Melt it with Your gentle love, and my spirit own.

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost--I am not alone!

Now speaks my heart in joyful song--

God's presence rights my every wrong.

God is enough, though nights seem long.

I reach across a chasm wide

To welcome my enemy to my side,

God is enough, I cannot hide

His love, His everlasting grace,

Together with Him we take our place--

My God has shown His matchless face!

 

Cardinal WIngs Over Snow--Keeping a Warm Heart in Winter Cold

  Last week bitter cold settled over most of the country, including Missouri where several of my family live. Earlier in Virginia, my sister Dorcas sent photo after photo of the severe ice storm that knocked out power for their county and a neighboring county. Electric trucks and personnel were coming in literally from out of state and as far away as Texas to help get the power up and running again. Some people were out of power for days. 

Dorcas thought no fewer than 25 trees had fallen across their own long driveway alone, to say nothing of other countless trees down, including a giant tree in whose branches her boys had built a tree stand up in the woods. That tree went over, tree stand and all. Her boys spent much time clearing their drive and dealing with the wrecked tree stand and other storm related things.

Later two of my sisters-in-law in Missouri were sending photos of the cardinals that came to their bird feeders every day.  

Early last week here in South Dakota the thermometer read minus 29 one early morning. No cardinals around in temperatures like that! 

  

I tried not to be jealous of my family in Missouri with those bright red, beautiful birds that cheer the winter season back east and in Missouri. Here we just have a single woodpecker, and that's all, for months. We just send pictures of milk frozen to the sides and rim of the stainless steel milk pan when Danny comes back to the house with the goat milk in sub-zero weather!

I revel in the beauty of the photos--unbelievable beauty of God's creation. And how do such small creatures survive the bitter cold?

With a little research, I discovered several ways that birds stay warm--besides the obvious way of escape to warmer climate by migrating, of course.

First, birds seek shelter. They look for holes in trees, brush piles, sheltered spots under the eaves of buildings. (Jonathan discovered this phenomenon a couple weeks ago when he went to Martin, SD, to install a steel door in the all-purpose building. All the way down the middle of the building were tell-tale-bird droppings from where swallows or sparrows had been roosting at night. As Jonathan finished installing the door, anxious birds were swooping about him, unsure what had happened to their entrance to the building where they found shelter each night.)

And I think to myself, in the winter season of our lives, when we are fighting cold shoulders and bitter distresses and unbearable odds, we must find shelter in Jesus. He is the Door to a warm and sheltered spot--near to the heart of God. 

Seeking shelter helps birds stay out of the wind. There are times that a person cannot escape wind or storm. Sometimes things happen that you cannot prevent; people say or do things that you cannot control. Things happen so fast, you are blown a few hundred feet down the road before you can catch your balance.  But there are also many times that, with just a little wisdom, prudence, foresight, and humility a person can avoid a fight, a storm, a pitfall, and disaster. 

When the wind starts to blow, we can be humble. We can look for shelter. We might back out of something. We can wait before we react. We can pause to pray, or we can sleep on major decisions. We don't have to sit on a branch alone in the wind, just letting it whip about our ears and hearts while we helplessly freeze to death, blaming the cold air and the wind. We can find shelter in God, in humility, in a small and humble place.

Second, birds that stay north all winter fluff their feathers around their bodies, which keeps cold air outside and traps warm air inside. 

God has given the birds their own feathers to stay warm. They hunker down in the cold and fluff their feathers, and it's better than any winter coat we humans could ever invent. Some birds, such as the American goldfinch, also grow more feathers in the winter. "Studies show that most winter birds have 35-70 percent more feather mass than summer birds. Both outer contour feathers and underlying down feathers are increased. What’s more, birds further increase the insulation value of their plumage by fluffing, which makes the plumage thicker and increases the depth of the heat-trapping layer of air next to the skin."

God has given the birds beautiful feathers to stay warm, and He has given us, His people, promises that we can rely on. When the cold comes and the winter winds blow, we need to turn to His promises and start fluffing them up to our attention. 

"He has said, 'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.' So we may boldly say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" Hebrews 13:6

"Even to your old age, I am He. And even to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you." Isaiah 46:4

"I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, am the God of Israel."

Fourth, "birds as diverse as kinglets, titmice, bluebirds, grouse, and penguins go one step further to reduce the amount of heat they lose. They huddle together." Birds know the value of a flock. They stick together in cold weather. If one of them can pack 30 percent of its body surface tightly against one or more neighbors, then heat loss can be reduced by 30 percent. Creches formed by both young and adult penguins are based on this concept."

"Ever notice that nearly all of the birds that hang around in the winter do so in flocks?" Having other birds around makes it less likely that a predator such as the Lucas cat will pounce! There is safety in having other birds around to warn of danger or traps. Flocks of birds also keep each other in the loop as to where food is, and that leads us to the fifth point. 

To keep warm, birds eat as much as possible. They look for seeds and will flock to feeders where black-oil sunflower seeds, millet, and suet is placed. They know how important it is to stay nourished. And as Christians, we are not unaware, are we, that in the bitter cold seasons of our lives, we have the choice and opportunity to nourish ourselves well on the Word of God? Daily, perhaps several times a day, we ought to turn to that sacred Book to feed ourselves on its nourishment. Likewise, we should turn to the hymns and songs of faith and hope to encourage ourselves in the Lord, as well as choose good books and stories of overcoming faith to nourish our souls and spirits. Let us learn from the birds to seek out adequate nourishment during our bitterly cold seasons of life. God's Word in both the Bible and hymns of faith and godly books and biographies of God's people will warm our hearts. 

Additionally, some small birds such as kinglets and chickadees can drop their body temperature and go into controlled hypothermia to save energy. Even mourning doves can reduce their body temperature on cold nights.

I've often wondered, how do bird's feet stay warm? 

I didn't know before a little research today (while I am sick with chemo and the family is gone to church) that birds have specialized scales on their feet and legs to reduce heat loss. And I couldn't help thinking of the armor of God--which Paul urges God's people to put on, in order to stand when the evil day comes. The breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and the shield of faith.

 

Birds also have

 a counter-current heat exchange system in their legs and feet—the blood vessels going to and from the feet are very close together, so blood flowing back to the body is warmed by blood flowing to the feet. In the winter cold, birds "lower their leg surface temperature to below that of their plumage surface, retaining heat at their core."

 Birds "do get very cold feet: the surface temperature of their toes may be barely above freezing even as the bird maintains its core body temperature above 100°F (38°C). But most birds don’t succumb to frostbite because there is so little fluid in the cells of their feet, and their feet are mostly tendons and bones with little muscle or nerve tissue."

 

I found it fascinating that while a bird's feet may be near freezing, its core temperature remains warm, keeping the bird alive. How important it is to keep our core beliefs, even if peripheral things may have to be worked out or conceded in order to survive! At the core, we must keep God's truth alive in our hearts, and keep His Word warm within!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/how-do-birds-survive-in-very-cold-temperatures/

• https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/science/how-birds-stay-warm-when-the-weather-turns-cold/ 

  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/why-dont-birds-get-cold-feet/