Namakan

Namakan means sturgeon, and that is a stodgy name for one of the most beautiful places on this blue and green ball we call Earth.

God made a little bit of perfection here on the border between Canada and Minnesota.

Lots of history: a dam built, a paper/timber industry spawned, Voyageurs created.

The skies of the north do tint the water a most reflective lightness. The rocks and white pine give an edge to the beauty, perfectly complimentary to the expanse.

Clear cold water filled with walleye and bass. Bald eagles swoop in for a visit. Really. Gulls chat on rocks, but their population is limited. (Must be the wolves and bear!)

Sky changes, lush green, changing water, beautiful expanse.

I wish I could describe it.

It's nice that two countries can share such a place.

Such beauty should be shared!

Thank the Lord for His ingenious artistry.

Ed and I had a marvelous time on the Scout trip to Voyageurs National Park.

Tomorrow my dear ones will all be home, Lord willing.

*sigh* 

High Note

This week culminates with a BANG!

Ed and I are headed to the North. We will be doing another scout outing, and I'm looking forward to seeing the sights on the border.

Mish-mash will occur around here with others coming and going, dogs and cats watching each other!!?? No, they have a sitter for the odd hours, yet it will be turbulent over the next few days.

So excited already for the return of all the travelers.

Absolutely beautiful midsummer evenings, and I've been biking. The rides went well, but what an ACHE since! Maybe a day's rest or so will help me get the kinks worked out.

When you don't ride bike for awhile you forget that the trees breathe rich and fragrant oxygen at you as you pass them. Really.

Sandhill cranes were just south of here this morning. They were nosing around. Huge birds.

Back to packing.

Pyramids?

Destroy

Bitterness

I suspect that there is no one who needs to look very far to uncover an incident in his life that brings a sense of bitterness to mind.

It is a deadly stress. (Along with guilt, anger, lust, greed, envy, and fear) 

I was reading about bitterness in several books. They all agree that harboring bitterness affects health, digestion, and the bones. It's ugly.

Why then, do we find it lurking behind a curtain of thoughts? Why wouldn't we purge it from our hearts and minds, never to re-visit the terrible memories?

Why would we knowingly jeopardize our lives with unresolved heartache?

It's one of those things that can only be fought with spiritual grace and power. The human condition, evil, is prone to breed all sorts of bitterness, just as we deal with sin. People without Christ have little spiritual power to fight the bitterness monster within.

They can drown it in addictions. They can wallow in it. They can try to forget----but then it pops up again, the dark grimace fleetingly showing.

Better to deal with it. Better to forgive, to love, to find the source of destruction and give it to God. He may direct you to embarrassing confessions---but what freedom and joy will follow!

Let God work it out of you. Be free of that pain through His might.

Daily choose to forgive. Each new moment of painful memory choose God's power over destructive evil. This is one of those battles that must be fought minute by minute.

And don't let down your guard! When that enemy jumps out at you be ready for it. Choose righteousness.

Wide is the Gate...

Matthew 7

Retirement

Maybe I've had a taste of retirement the last few days, and I really don't think I'm going to get so much done during that phase of my life as I had thought.

I've been cleaning, sewing, ironing, reading, watching some of Caryl Matrisciana's DVD's, and having fun with friends. (Too much fun!)  I've been picking up sticks in the yard, too, after a powerful storm went through during the night Monday.

Fireworks were great, but they didn't play "What a Wonderful World," or "Funky Town," which we had been accustomed to hearing during the show! (I can't explain it, but hearing those songs once a year in that setting was sort of an Independence Day thing). The fireworks were lovely, and a little mouse ran under our lawn chairs in consternation at the hoards of people invading its territory.

I did take the time to listen to the Pipedreams organ concert (it was online) at the National Cathedral yesterday and it was excellent. I just wish Ed could have seen a duo playing the "Stars and Stripes!" Hope it's recorded, and easy to find.

It's been hot. That's not news to my American readers.

A tornado warning was issued for the region where Ed and Cherie are at camp last night. No news is now good news, and I assume it passed over with out harm. Oh the stories we'll get to hear!

I really can't wait for tomorrow, to fetch them from camp. It just isn't so wonderful when they are away!

Word from the Ukraine is that my children are completely thrilled to be there. I'm thrilled that they get to see a very different country, and have a fantastic life experience!

I signed up for a "Lazy-man's Triathlon" at the YMCA this summer. All I've done so far is walk 2 miles (I need to do 26), swam 1 mile (I need to swim 2.5 miles) and no biking yet (I need to ride 117 miles!!!). There are six weeks to complete it and I am on my third week already.


Hmmmmm. I'd better get in gear.

I'm blaming the heat. And my bike is not exactly in great shape. My wonderfully mechanical husband was going to take a look at it and get it ridable today.

Next week I'll have to show some real discipline.

Perhaps that is what retirement is all about? Practicing discipline! I need to get in practice.

We'll be a Mystery...

One of the things said by Warren Smith, who was a speaker at the conference last Friday, was that we will be a "mystery" to the world in the last days.

Don't you think you are a mystery to people who seem to espouse beliefs opposite of yours?

Well, that's a good thing!

Today there is an article about Noah's flood in a British newspaper. (Sort of :))  You can read for yourself and decide. Britain's Atlantis.

Here is another article I think is appropriate for our own American situation over the last few days regarding court decisions. Jonah Goldberg.  From what my liberal friends are posting on the net I think there needs to be some sanity and balance injected into the fray.

Being a mystery is okay.  We must be winsome and loving, helpful and serving, compassionate and knowing. Those things may be mysterious to a dark world, but they are also appreciated.

The Mystery is Christ in us. That the Holy Spirit can help us, lead us, and indwell us is the purest mystery.

We, God's creation, can know God!

That is a wonderful mystery.