I learned something new this time of canoeing.
I really do love the water and I really do enjoy getting out.
Here I am as we moved through the water, it was calm, warm but not too warm.
Just a comfortable 75 degree day. We always wear our hats because of the sun.
And of course our life jackets. I do not know how to swim so for me it is a ‘comfort’ knowing if I fell in someone could grab me, they always say, float on your back and relax. Um… in case they don’t understand ME falling into the water does not equal a time of relaxation.
The water was full of snags and trees and this year it was lower than normal as we have had little rain.
There wasn’t a lot of activity on the water either except for a few other rafts, canoes or boats.
The water was beautiful and the scenery was a mix between trees, grasses, personal homes along the rivers edge and some wild life, such as Eagles, deer and geese. Before we even started our ‘trip on the water’ an Eagle flew over our group and almost circled us.
It was a sign… all would be well.
The landscaping in this part of Central Oregon includes old rustic snarly trees.
It also includes the tall trees reaching to the blue skies and wispy clouds.
We followed the rivers trail as it winded through waterways that were open sending us into more beautiful scenes and homes along the waters edges. I couldn’t take many pictures of the homes as they were personal property and I was sure they would not appreciate their home on my blog. I will say most of them were beautiful and most were very expensive along the waters edge. The exception was this old beat up shack that remained on waters edge with a do not enter sign on the side of the home. We wouldn’t dare.
I did take assorted photos of different scenes.
These kind of snags can turn a canoe or a kayak in the wrong direction so we had to be careful.
Contrast between dark and light the top picture was from two years ago the bottom picture was from this year, the weather and the current of the water along with the wind always bring to us challenges. Even though it is calm we always are aware of the dangers beneath the bottom of the boat. The current can change without one knowing it and you have to pay attention when on the water, it is easy to relax too much and then get into trouble.
Can you imagine the nice relaxing moments spent as one would sit on this ‘bench’ and watch the world move by with clouds and trees and other boaters passing on the water. I just loved the look of welcome.
The grasses were very strong. We held onto them at times along the waters edge as we waited to load onto the boat or off the boat, they were a good thing to keep us stable.
The water stayed very calm and slow moving only toward the end did we feel we needed to work a little harder to paddle to shore when it was time to get off and out for the final time on the water.
Each time we go on our annual canoe trip I learn more about myself and my ability to be brave, and to push myself in ways I never thought I would or could be pushed.
I am not a camper and this was our last camping trip in a tent.
Next year we will have an RV for comfort and for better rest and of course a bed and bathroom is always nice to have at our age. Tent camping is for the younger ones who don’t mind sleeping on a cot or on the ground, we are in our 60’s now and we require our comfort as if we were at home.
I loved the trip this year other than a few ‘glitches’ that made us leave early. It was fun.
Not too hot and not cold other than the firsts night in the tent.
The time together with friends and family was precious and well spent. We packed up and headed home and as we entered our familiar area I took pictures for the there is no place like home.
A farm not far from our home.
The bridge not far from our home.
Another canoe trip is over and we wait till next year.
The whole purpose of the word prompt is to write for five minutes without editing.
Just free style writing.
The word for the day is: Learn
I had to learn how to enjoy the water.
The older I have gotten it is peaceful, calm and very refreshing to be out in the wind and air.
I am not a swimmer so water scares me especially if I cannot touch the bottom.
If I ever dumped out of the canoe I would be terrified.
Each year we take a canoe trip, and we camp for a few days spending two days on the water.
I have shared about it before, one year we got dark clouds and rain.
One year one of our team dumped their canoe and what could have been a scary part of the journey ended up fine for that year, but it was and could be very dangerous.
We have hiked some, and also gone in town for pizza.
We have a great time of laughing and enjoying each others company.
I haven learned to trust the canoe, the man I am with who is my husband and the knowledge of those around us as I sit inside this canoe and learn to enjoy the peaceful water.
Anytime we learn something new we take a chance and we change.
We come out braver and more bold and more ready and willing to do it again. I am glad I was not afraid to learn to a new thing.
It has become a great blessing to me.
I was not home on Friday to do the writing, but I am now,
so let’s see what can happen in five minutes.
The word for the day is : Here
Dictionary. com says it means: in this place, in this spot.
In this present life or existence; in this world.
Here:
We are here now, in this house we have purchased 20 years ago.
Someday we know we will move into something new, something easier to manage but for now.
This is our home.
But really home is where you make it.
Home is where you learn to live together.
In the good times and in the bad times.
In the healthy times and in the not so healthy times.
Memories shared ‘here’ together becomes part of our life long history.
We have many memories ‘here’ in this house that we call home where we have spent together with our grand children and their parents.
We have wonderful memories of meals shared, where laughter and stories were part of our meal time.
I know in my heart another home would be also a place for memories because a house is not our home.
We are here in this home right now, to pray for, to love on, to encourage and build up, to admonish and to challenge those who we love and hold tightly to.
HERE in this home. We do family. We do relationships. We do love.
And sometimes when our hearts get hurt and we don’t know the words or the feelings,
we fall on our knees and pray for those who we hold near our hearts.
I was listening to my car radio the other day and a favorite Pastor of mine came on with a wonderful lesson.
I was actually surprised and happy he was on the radio teaching.
His name was Ron Mehl he was the Pastor at Beaverton Four Square church, Beaverton Oregon.
There is a website called Heart of the word which is the continuation of his ministry.
https://www.compassion-ministries.org/heartnewsletter.aspx
http://www.compassion-ministries.org/products/
I always loved his teachings as he was a man on a journey fighting leukemia, always praying for healing and always trusting in God’s process and time.
He was not just here playing games, he was here to share God with who ever would listen.
He passed away many years ago but I still enjoy his teaching and listening to his very gentle voice.
The title of the talk for the day was ‘Lessons to be learned by the hero’s of old’, sharing about the prophets of the Old Testament and how we can learn from their stories.
In the book of Hebrews which is in the New Testament and in chapter 12:1-3 there is the growing and living by faith chapter that tells us we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses who have gone before us.
It is always good to remember our walk of faith has purpose.
1st thing to remember: he said recall what we have learned.
Remember the former days of our lives and how God has blessed us.
Remember how he delivered us.
Elijah heard the still small voice and listened.
Mary listened and believed in the miracle she was to be a part of.
Shadrach said going into the fires: We will not be broke down.
Each of them said, “Lord what do you want me to do?”
2nd thing to remember: he said to walk by faith and listen to the voice speaking to us.
Surrender to the plan even if we don’t understand it, we know our problem and He knows how to fix it.
3rd thing to remember: he said remember God always comes through for us, we must learn to resist great doubt.
He is faithful and will come through in his time and maybe not ours.
4th thing to remember: he said we need to learn to say, “God persist in our hearts. Teach us to be faithful.
I will trust you and will not quit even when I don’t fully understand.
No matter what I will trust in you.”
5th thing to remember: he said to stand in your faith.
Stand firm always.
As you pray for your family, your friends and others.
Remember to say,
“Lord you are the only one who can make this happen and then step back in trust.”
Daniel in the Old testament prayed and a nation was changed.
He said to remember the former days and how far we have come.
He always comes through as a rescuer for us, even when we don’t expect it to happen.
He said, learn to not ask so much and just trust him.
We are called to endure and wait, living by faith and trusting and believing.
Real love always includes sacrifice.
Sacrificial, biblical love. Giving up what we love the most.
It is not friendship love, it is love that gives deeply from a bleeding heart.
The heart of the word, giving up oneself so that others can be healed and blessed through the message.
The word for the day is TRY, there are many directions I could go with this one little three lettered word.
I remember as our children were growing up, they would get frustrated in doing something and I would say to them, “you just need to try” and soon they mastered the frustrating moment.
It is pushing oneself to do more, to do better, to risk and maybe move from your comfort zone.
To ride that bike and do it well, to dive in that water, to step foot in a plane for the first time, to learn to hike rough terrain or climb into a hot air balloon. (No I have not done that)
To write that first blog post and push publish.
To try it and to take a risk and force yourself to step in to place you have never been before.
In seven days we are heading off to our ‘favorite canoe trip.’
Four days away from noise, and words, and internet and hot showers as I like them and my favorite bed and my kitties and my comfort zone and place of safety.
The first time we were planning on going I didn’t want to.
I strongly dislike camping. I was afraid of the water.
I was not knowing what we would do in a canoe all day long.
It was not looking like any thing I would enjoy.
My husband said, “just try it.”
So we went on our first trip and you know what? I enjoyed it a lot.
I forced myself to ‘try’ something new.
I so enjoyed seeing the outdoors and feeling the wind and warmth and watching the birds fly over our heads.
I so enjoyed hearing the lapping of the water when we moved the canoe with our oars.
I sat in the quiet and felt blessed and full of peace.
I told myself it would be a new adventure and it would be an experience I could write about.
The word try is challenging.
Anytime we do something new we have a choice.
The big decision is whether we will try to do it with a good attitude.
We continued to walk on the edge of the town of Astoria.
It was about 76 degrees outside with a refreshing cool breeze.
So nice to get away from our high temps in town.
We stopped and had lunch at a brew pub.
The wait was very long as they were busy with a lot of people wanting something to eat.
The cool ‘beer’ was refreshing and the ice water was nice.
After we ate our long awaited lunch we continued our walk to other ‘view points’.
This is another water picture of the ship and the type of wood structure the seagulls were resting on.
The ships were very amazing and we could walk up close to them but not enter. It was close to the museum and if one had tickets to the museum they could enter the red boat.
We chose to not do that this time.
As we continued to walk we noticed one of the buildings had incredible art work on the outside.
Notice the kitties in the picture and the faces in the windows, it is a very interesting picture.
I stood for quite some time just looking at each detail, it was amazing to see the creative pictures.
A very cool red door was nearby one of the pictures it brought a whimsical look to the building for sure.
The trip was fun and we had great times of chatting and sharing together. Another day of our coast trip to Astoria.
The flag on the ferry boat waving in the wind reminding me always to say “God bless our America.”
This last weekend we took a day off and went ‘sight seeing’ on the Oregon Coast.
My favorite place to go.
Our journey included a drive to Gearheart which is a lovely little beach town full of quaint little beach homes nestled among the sand and grass. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of them.
After doing a bit of geocaching which the guys love to do we headed on to Astoria.
In Astoria we were amazed to find some wonderful ships on the water just moving so slow through the waves and current I could have watched them all day long.
They were large in size and amazing to look at then we walked down the trolley car track to see other ships. Here I am walking down the track watching my steps on the uneven wood.
As we headed to the other side of the tracks to see more we enjoyed the cool wind in our faces.
This is the trolley car when it’s picking up people along the route.
We were going to ride it then decided to just walk the track to our next viewpoint.
The trolley was very crowded.
We came around the corner and as we were looking over the waters view point I looked up and saw this mother seagull protecting her babies. She stood up and made all kind of noise to let us know we were close.
We had never seen a seagull and babies in a ‘nesting rest’ spot before it was very fun to see.
The babies had their soft feathers and it only looked like it was two of them. High on a perch over the waters edge on a large piece of wood. They were very cute and very quiet.
The ferry we were heading to see was this one, a Coast Guard ferry we were not allowed to enter.
It was very pretty sitting in all it’s glory against the blue water and landscaping.
Here is another large ship in the water. Amazing to see as it moved slowly into the channel.
At one point in time there were four of them waiting to enter the channel many miles away from where we were standing. So big this picture does not show how large it really was.
This is the top of the ferry boat. Amazing and very high.
If you look closely there are four ships out there far away from us.
The top of one of the ships we were standing next to not far from the very high Astoria bridge.
It was amazing to see the barge ships come through that very high passage way. We watched them move so slowly and yet so guided by a plan and a destination. Amazing to be a part of and watch and very refreshing out in the wind by the water.
It didn’t take me long to think of this song and this lady when I saw the word for the day.
We are blessed beyond all blessings because in our land and in our country.
We are free.
Free to walk down the road and shop in any store.
Free to write words on a blog on cyber space.
Free to worship in whatever church we choose.
Free to say and think whatever we decide.
Free to drive down any road on any road trip.
Free to ask for coffee or tea or pie or donuts.
We are free.
May we never ever forget how precious that is.
Now sit back and enjoy this wonderful song by Lynda Randall.
The word for the day is: Hope
I have a deep appreciation for this word.
Without it, we despair and we anguish over what is taking place without anything better changing for us.
Hope gives a refreshment.
The Bible says: Hope deferred makes a heart faint.
That means when we make it wait and wait with no idea of change we get sad.
Hope: the Spanish version is Esperansa.
We used to have a patient who came into the pharmacy where I worked and her name was Hope. I always loved it and when I asked her the Spanish version it was so pretty when she said it with her beautiful accent.
Dictionary.com says: it is expectation – the feeling that what is wanted can be had and or event’s will turn out for the best. I can certainly relate to that one after watching my husband go through a full knee replacement recently.
The expectation that he would be able to walk without pain and to exercise without deep distress.
It was a trust issue and also an expectancy on our part to see ‘how he would feel’ after the recovery process.
It has not disappointed us.
Sometimes the hope it takes for us to receive what we have been waiting and longing for is our ‘reward.’
We hope our children will turn out to be ‘good citizen’s and great parents’.
We hope our health will hold up till our retirement days so we can travel and do fun activities.
We hope our money will hold out so we can be free from anxiety and worry and do all that we ‘hope’ to do.
So much to hope for, may our heart’s not become faint as we wait to see what is a head of us.
Hope is also my ‘word’ for the year.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12
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Philipians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength. ==================== Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." Courage is not the absence of fear but it's taking action in the midst of it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure.
It's your heart, not the dictionary that gives meaning to your words. Matthew 12:34 (msg) version.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below you will find a few of my favorite websites or blogs. They have given me encouragement and challenged me on this journey.
Ann Voskamp's blog A holy Experience This image of a bleeding heart represents a journey of healing from brokenness to wholeness. Some of my favorite books: One thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Married over 46 years and entered into my 65th year of life.
I am a mother of two and grandmother of six and mom to two very spoiled kitties. I love to worship and encourage and of course write whenever I can find a topic or subject to share about.
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Thank you for visiting my blog.
I hope you find it encouraging and that it gives you
'Something to think about'. The vision for this is to challenge the reader into a new and different way of thinking. I appreciate and always value your comments. Having others walk alongside and join in the sharing is part of the process.
Thank you for joining me... on this journey. As we get encouraged ~ Lord help us to encourage others. "And the day came when the risk to remain a tight bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Anais Nin my blog button The crosses are found on a beach at Winema Christian Camp on the Oregon coast.. a place to relax and find God in the process. My favorite place ....to rest and restore my spirit.
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