Corner View: Postcard (from a POW)

 I was going through some boxes yesterday

looking for some postcards

I had gotten when I was much younger.

 I wanted them for this corner view topic.

I didn't find them (yet).

But I discovered something I didn't know I had:

a postcard from my father

to his parents

when he was a POW in Germany

in WWII.

I have taken photos of both sides

with close-ups of parts.

Bad Orb was the name of the camp

where my dad was imprisoned for 4 months.

Notice he says  never give up twice:

once at the top--"Never give up hope."

and on the last line -"Never give up."

I tear up at "I pray every night & have faith

that God will bring me home to you all again."

 As regular readers of my blog know from previous posts,

God did bring Dad home,

and Dad honored that with becoming a Methodist minister.

By the time Dad was captured the Germans were struggling

with feeding and clothing themselves.

Red Cross was no longer getting through to the camps.

Packages were sent, but they never made it.

But Dad survived.

For more Corner View postcard ideas,

check out Francesca's Fuoriborgo

Barn Charm--Quaker City barn

I pass this barn every time I go to our place

at a near-by  Seneca Lake.

For those of you familiar with this area:

It's at the bottom of the hill from the Quaker Cemetery.

You turn left to go into Quaker City.

I've wanted to take a photo of it for a long time.

However there were always several people out in the yard

next to the only spot where I could pull over.

A few weeks ago, no one was home,

so I took advantage.

I didn't press my luck and get out of the car though;

it's a busy section of road.

No fancy techniques--I'm not that far along yet.

Just a simple barn in the beautiful hills of southeastern Ohio.

Check out more at Barn Charm.

Knowing God's Word

Did you know there was a Psalm that only had two verses?

I didn't.

It's Psalm 117.

But David makes up for its brevity

by creating 176 verses two Psalms later in Psalm 119.

I have been slow in my journey through Psalms

and manage one to three a week.

I am taking 119 in sections.

So far I've read 50 verses.

The first 50 are about following the precepts,

ordinances,

testimonies,

 commandments,

and laws

of God.

David begins with

BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, to be envied)

are the undefiled (the upright, truly sincere, and blameless)

in the way [of the revealed will of God],

who walk (order their conduct and conversation)

in the law of the Lord (the whole of God's revealed will).

A mouthful huh?

My Bible version gives interpretations of words

for clearer understanding.

Actually, at times I trip over the extra  words,

and have to reread the verse without them

in order to understand !

He goes on to write in verses 2 - 5:

Blessed are they who keep His testimonies,

and who seek, inquire for and of Him

and crave Him with the whole heart.

Yes, they do no unrighteousness

[now willful wandering from His precepts];

they walk in His ways.

You have commanded us to keep

Your precepts,

that we should observe them diligently.

Oh, that my ways were directed and established to observe

 Yous statutes [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them]!

Skipping to verse 10:

With my whole heart have I sought You,

inquiring for and of You

and yearning for You;

Oh, let me not wander or step aside

[either in ignorance or willfully]

from Your commandments.

11) You word have I laid up in my heart,

that I might not sin against You.

12) Blessed are You, O Lord,

teach me Your statutes.

15) I will meditate on Your precepts

and have respect to Your ways.

16) I will delight myself in Your statutes;

I will not forget Your word.

Statutes according to Webster:

a formally established rule; law; decree.

I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of Old Testament law

versus Jesus' teachings.

I feel that it's all good

and I can learn from all of it.

What I have gotten from these verses:

If we want to be truly blessed and happy,

we will live according to the "whole of God's revealed will."

We do that by studying His Word

and spending time praying and quietly listening

to Him.

I do believe He 'talks' to us.

No, I've never heard a booming voice

heralding down from the sky.

It's a quiet voice inside me which I've learned to listen to

and to trust.

It's taken me years to get to this point.

                                                              I've been stubborn and proud.

Both have cost me

not because God  punished me,

but because I walked away from God's will

to follow my own will.

But I'm listening--truly--

and learning.

Well . .  most days.

I have had a rougher time having devotions

in an open schedule summer

than I have had in heavily scheduled school time.

But if I slide, I make up for it with double or triple it,

because I believe that the more I learn His Word,

the better I can live His will for me.

I can also fight the bad better by speaking God's Word

in the midst of 'trials and tribulations'.

That Word issuing from my mouth

strengthens me and enables me to remain steady,

knowing that He is in the midst of the problem

and is working on my behalf.

As verse 16 says ". . . I will not forget Your word."

Well I have to learn it to remember it, huh?!

I like this photo because the pole appears to be leaning.

Actually it looks as if the wire is pulling it downwards.

That's how I feel my life is when I'm not spending time with God

and reading the Bible.

I get pulled down by situations and people--get pulled down by "the world."

Anyway,

this is my "Psalm of the Week."

It's a little late since the new week has already begun,

but I still felt I was to write this post.

I hope this week is a good one for you all.

I have a lot going on this week.

My daughter and her two children are returning,

so she can help out with a situation at the family company

and also spend more time with all of us.

Blessings.

Visit from Texas and grandkids' photo attempt

.

My daughter and her family flew up here for a company picnic.

She has begun to work for the company

 that's been in her dad's family

for four generations (counting her brother and her).

She's doing her work from Texas via computer,

and it was decided that the company picnic

would be a good time for the other employees to meet her and her family.

"Time flies" and all too soon

it was time for them to leave our place at the lake

and head back to her dad's and stepmom's.

But wait, I had to have a picture of all the grandkids together!

Right?  Right!

 Here are the results:

"Come on Addy! Get out here for a picture!"

"Are we forgetting someone?"

"Oh, yeah,  baby Abby."

Now Addy is here complete with two Barbies

and baby Abby has been carefully put in Peyton's arms.

But uh oh!  How did Dillon get cut out of the photo?

All five grandkids finally.

But Aaron's waited long enough and must resume playing with his truck.

The others: "Hey Aaron, what are you doing? We're trying to get a picture taken here!"

The newest addition to the grandchildren list:

Abigail Elizabeth at a little over 4 months old.

(Aaron is her older brother.)

Here Abigail (Abby) and I are checking each other out!

This trip was the first time we met!

Quick moment between mother and daughter

 before she and family left to go back to her dad's.

The next day he drove them to Columbus airport

to catch a flight back to Texas.

This was two weeks ago, but I'm just now getting parts of it posted.

Hopefully, she's coming back with the kids at the end of this month! 

(Husband will not be able to take off more work.)

I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

Corner View: Before and After

One side of my back patio area is finished.

I still have to post photos of the other side,

so that you all can give me ideas on what to do

(as suggested by some of you).

Before:

Work in early stages.

Leg belongs to husband who is building a low brick wall.

Plants ready to be dug into the ground.

Plants laid in pots but not in place yet.

After:

I did more pots this year,

so that I can easily take them with me

if we move this summer.

Close-ups of antique school desk.

For more Corner Views check out Francesca's Fuoriborgo.

Barn Charm--a flip, a flag, and a quilt

This week's Barn Charm is a bit late.

The last few days have been spent at the lake place.

The following barn was one of about 8 that I took photos

on that Sunday drive over a week ago.

It's quite a hodge-podge, huh?

I wonder why all the boards are bowed out at the bottom

like a flip hair style?

Also, the red side here looks like a pleated skirt to me.

Sorry for the antenna in the photo,

but it didn't look like a good place or time

to get out of the car.

This is the flag that is on the front of the barn.

It looks small here.

If you look closely, you can see hay stacked inside.

This is the picture on the side.

From the car it  looked like a quilt design.

I guess it still does on close up,

but it's not typical of the 'quilts' painted on barns in our area.

I think it's cool though.

Join Barn Charm for more views of barns

in the states and Canada.

4th of July and Psalm of the Week

As we head into the celebration of our country's independence,

there is much on my mind.

However, the words are not flowing;

too much buzzing inside me, I guess.

I will try though.

Last Saturday,

I was taking my son's kids for a golf cart ride in our campground,

when we saw this huge flag. 

The kids were ecstatic!

All three understand the significance of our flag

and they thought it was totally awesome

that someone hung a big one up between two huge trees.

Of course they wanted to check it out.

Of course Grandma wanted a picture of them in front of it.

Of course I couldn't get them to look at me all at the same time.

But I've come to like the 'imperfect' photos.

Some of my favorites don't show the child's face.

Being a child is being spontaneous

and I enjoy catching a glimpse on film

of my grandchildren's spontaneity.

Below are two examples.

I'm chuckling at Peyton's stance.

She saluted instead of put her hand over her heart.

I didn't tell her to do anything.

She just did what she thought best.

And I like it.

Dillon has found something in the grass interesting

and Addy's wondering what's going on next door.

In this next photo,

something distracted Peyton, but by golly she kept her salute in tact!

Dillon is trying to pay attention.

Addy is doing her model pose.

And Grandma?

Why she was smiling of course!

(You'll have to take my word for it.)

We have much to be thankful for as a country.

I hope and pray that we don't lose sight of that

and in doing so lose what has made this country great.

As an individual, I have many blessings.

Sometimes in dealing with my chronic illness,

I lose sight of some of them.

It's easy to get depressed.

But then my faith makes it easier to become 'undepressed'--

(not a real word).

I am heading down to the lake and I'm not feeling well.

But one of my most favorite times

is watching the fireworks off the Big Island at Seneca Lake

from our boat.

I'm not missing it.

We will be back and forth for a few days,

so I may not be posting or commenting until Tuesday.

I will try to make the Barn Charm because I have so many

to choose from now.

I read Psalm 118 this week

and it really ministered to me.

I will share parts of it for the Psalm of the Week section.

O GIVE thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!

Let those now who reverently and worshipfully fear the Lord

say that His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.

Our of my distress I called upon the Lord;

the Lord answered me and set me free and in a large place.

The Lord is on my side;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?

The Lord is on my side and takes my part,

He is among those who help me;

therefore shall I see my desire established

 upon those who hate me.

It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord

than to put confidence in man.

The Lord is my Strength and Song;

and He has become my Salvation.

I will confess, praise, and give thanks to You,

for You have heard and answered me;

and You have become my Salvation and Deliverer.

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

This is from the Lord and is His doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day which the Lord has brought about;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

O give thanks to the Lord,

for He is good;

for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.

Psalm 118: 1, 4-8, 14, 21-24, 29

Blessings to you all this 4th of July Weekend!

Be safe, be thankful, and have fun!

Corner View: Box of Tricks

The theme for Corner View this week is

 "A Box of Tricks."

The intention was for each of us to interpret that any way

we wanted.

This should be an interesting week!

I have two suitcases that I keep full of special 'stuff'.

 This suitcase was part of the set

given me by my parents when

I graduated from high school.

That was 39 years ago.

This suitcase was mine when I was a little girl a long time ago.

You can see the age not only in the metal but also in the design of the latches.

Inside these two suitcases I keep clothes, scarves, aprons, and jewelry.

Some were mine; some were my mother's, some were my daughter's,

and some of all three were made by my mother.

The old blue suitcase from my childhood has special lacy-type

tissue paper, a bag of potpourri, and two pages of explanation

on top of the clothes and other treasures.

The items are all for dress up. 
My daughter had hours
of fun with these.
Some of the items came from trips
her father's parents took
all over the world.

The vests and hat in these two photos
are examples of those.

The majorette dress was part
of a play outfit that she wanted
and received as a gift.
Note to daughter (who reads my blog), "Sara correct me
if I'm wrong."

 This was a kimono my mother-in-law brought back from a trip for me. 

This dress was part of a princess outfit my mother made

for my daughter for Halloween.

There is a cape and wand that go with it.

(Mom made the wand too.)

They are shown in the last two photos.

 Mother made this pink dress for me for May Day
at my high school my senior year.  We senior
girls danced around the May Pole. I think we
were in a girls' club of some sort headed by
the eccentric English teacher Mrs. K.

Here is a glimpse of some scarves.

I actually put some back in my closet;

they are back in style!

Here is an over view before I folded everything back up

and put them away in the suitcases.

There is much more that I didn't 'highlight'.

A few pieces of jewelry my mother
gave Sara to play with.  I'm fairly
sure mother was
responsible for turning
 my blue suitcase into
a treasure case for
my daughter to play
make-believe. 
Sara liked to dress up in my mom's
and my dresses and pretend to
be a secretary or a business woman.
There were high heels and purses too, but they have disappeared.

Clip-on earrings of mom's.  She eventually pierced her ears.

Now:

Ta Da!!!

My middle granddaughter is shown playing dress-up.

She spent five days with me last summer.

One afternoon I surprised her

with my suitcases of tricks and treasures.

The trick part is being able to 'become'

anyone you want to be.

The treasure part is that each item

has a special significance and memory.

The cape and wand in these pictures

belong to that one dress that mom made Sara.

Addy Jane at 3 years of age.

The heels are princess ones.

I hope you enjoyed my interpretation.

Thank you mlle paradis for choosing this fun theme.

Thanks to Francesca for showcasing everyone's.

Check out Fuoriborgo to see more corner views.