Long Live Lemons

It is hard to believe that the summer is already over half done. I am not going to complain about how busy I have been or any thing like that. I am just thrilled to be here and alive; everyday is an adventure, some days are a slow moving boring sort of adventure but an adventure none the less. I have read some good books this summer and grown a great deal as a Christian and a minister.

Remember Calvin and Hobbs? The boy and his stuffed wild tiger who hated school but secretly liked the neighbor girl Suzy. Bill Waterson compiled a collection of Calvin and Hobbs comic strips and called the book, The Days Are Just Packed; what a hoot.

I am trying not to over analyze my Summer but I do not want to miss the beauty and magic of everything that I am blessed to experience. I am grateful for trouble and hardships as well as blessings and creature comforts. I do think that this has been one of the most difficult summers financially but I am sure that things will work out somehow. I will keep trusting the Lord to help me out when I need it most.

Sometimes I think that the ones who have the least are the ones that manage best at squeezing every blessing and positive experience out of their difficulties. How many times have we heard stories of physically impaired people accomplishing amazing things because they just wont give in to self pity. People who seem to have less, finding and experiencing more in their lives. Heres to hardships, may the Lord make me more than I am because of them.

You know what they say about lemons...Lemonade anyone? How about lemon meringue pie, or lemon bars, or a lemon loaf with a sugary glaze over the top...mmmm.

I know It Has Been a Long Time; It's Churches Fault

Our hair salon to church remodel is moving along very nicely and things are really progressing. The church that I moved to was having services behind a tobacco outlet/liquor store and things were going pretty good. It was however getting too small for the growing congregation. We had over 50 people on Easter Sunday and typically run over 30, but the room was very small for a church; kids were forced to walk outside to get to the door that would take them to their Sunday School room, not bad in nice weather, but it was terrible in winter and stormy weather. In the spring Sis Chris would sweep and scoop water out of the youth room in order to have a youth service, because the rain and snow melt would seep in under the door; the door bottom was lower than the the level of the sidewalk.

So we are very grateful for all of the people and churches who sacrificed to help us get the down payment to purchase our new building. It was a Christian Science church for many years and then a hair salon, but the Lord knew it was going to be Riverside Apostolic one day and kept it for us.

There is still much to do like carpeting, a new door  and lights. So you pray for us; Br Peckham is a good pastor who loves the city of Marshfield. Any one need a Bible study?

Before 

Our 1st service (click on it)

We Saw This the Other Day

(Taken with my 200mm lens at max zoom)

We were out birding about two weeks ago and as we were driving through the George W. Mead wildlife area I spotted way off in the distance a "something" that I could not identify. So I took some pictures with my digital camera and zoomed in to see if I could figure it out and the "something" turned out to be  a small family of baby foxes.

I am sorry that the photos are not better than they are but a poor photo is better than no photo.

This is a previous post about foxes:
Crafty Beast.

(Cropped on the computer)

Whatsthis? (4reveal) Great Blue Heron

I have always thought that the "hairy"feathers on the back of a Great Blue Heron were sort of interesting. This photo was taken at Wildwood Park in Marshfield, WI. He was fishing at the edge of the pond and did not want to move so Mary took his picture. If you look close you can see long black hair feathers on the back of his head as well.

So check out this link to find out more; Great Blue Heron

Alrightnowyoutellme (10 reveal) Trillium grandiflorum; White Trillium

Yes I knew that this would be an easy one. Way to go if you said Trillium. The Trillium is unique in that it may take 17 years to mature, and the plant may live up to 70 years. If you pick a Trillium it will take approximately 7 years to bloom again. Because of the very long recovery time, if a plant is picked or disturbed, some states have declared it against the law to pick this plant.

The Trillium is an edible plant it's green leaves can be eaten raw or cooked much like spinach. This plant has some medicinal benefits as well. The Trilliums roots can be grated and cooked to reduce swelling, it can also be used as a diuretic, and even reduce abdominal cramping; (this blog post is in no way intended to be a resource for natural healing).

The Trilliums worst enemy is the White Tailed Deer; (also the enemy of the weary drivers across the state). Deer love Trilliums and can disturb large  percentages of Trillium beds every year. An interesting aspect of this plants life cycle is that ants distribute seeds by taking the seeds to be used as food for the larva. The seeds then grow where they are safe and away from the deer who are eating the blossoms of the mature plants, which could affect the plant for up to seven years. Young plants grow in the nutrient rich waste of ant colonies.Very Interesting! Who knew?

Whatsthis? (4)

Okay this is another test. Whatsthis? I know it sort of looks like a dogs back but it is not a dog or any other domesticated type of pet.

Birds Are Back In Town

House Wren

It seems like it has been a long and chilly spring. The Robins have been back for quite awhile but I was waiting for the House Wren to come back and sing his song every morning to wake me up. It seems like the House Wren never stops singing; all day long and almost all summer long they sing their little song, the song is a little annoying to some but I like it. House Wren Chatter

Indigo Bunting

Anyway, my wife had a birthday the other day and when she got up and looked out the window she saw an Indigo Bunting in the bird feeder. It was a real treat she loves Buntings but they never show up at our feeders. We had one stop by last year for about 10 minutes and we never saw him again, but this one stayed all day and into the next. We also have Orioles pass through but never stay. This morning I found one picking up nesting materials from around our deck. Nice, I hope they stay.

Here are some of the birds we have seen over the last few days.

Gold Finch

Hummingbird

Oriole

Purple Finch

Rose Breasted Grossbeak

Yellow Warbler

Alrightnowyoutellme (10)

I know that it has been a long time since my last post but I have been sort of busy remodeling the church. We have been destructing and constructing. It is really exciting to see the progress we have made so far. I will post pictures later.


Alrightnowyoutellme what this little flower is. This is way to easy by itself so maybe you could tell me something about the flower. I love seeing these in the spring, in the right areas they sort of blanket the ground with white patches of carpeting. When I was a kid my dad taught my brother and I the finer art of trout fishing, it was very exciting to get out early in the year (and fill up my waders with ice cold river water) and catch fish with my dad. These plants were almost always around in the early spring and then they would just go away until the next year.


So Alrightnowyoutellme.

Whatsthis? (3 reveal)

Good guesses everyone but the answer is Typha; remember the catail, bullrush thing? This is what it looks like just before it gets ready to be blown by the wind, which is how it's seeds get scattered.

Typha

How To Be An Insignificant Christian

I know that the title of this post seems very harsh and it likely is, but sometimes it seems that we need a wake up call every once in a while to cause us to realize that we could use a fresh inspiration in our Christianity. I recently got mine.

I was in the Goodwill store in Schofield the other day, and as I was standing there looking at the books, a childhood friend of my brothers came into the store and greeted me. His wife had passed away about three months ago from a heart attack. Phil looked empty and a little sad, he leaned on his cart and came over to where I was standing and gave me a weak smile. It was at that moment I had to make a decision. I could be caring and encouraging, or I could be an insignificant Christian.

A really good way to be an insignificant Christian is to be living, breathing cliché about other peoples  situations.

I understand that we often get uncomfortable and panicked not knowing what to say to help. Everyone understands that people pass away and I could have said something like "Well she is in a better place now" and ignore his suffering. Or maybe a "Hey all things work together for good", perhaps a  "This to shall pass" might help. Let's not forget that old faithful stand by, "Let go and let God." I must be sure to repeat these slogans to bring credibility to them; it will certainly begin to take hold in his heart after I repeat them a few times...(I jest).

Another really good way to be an insignificant Christian is to be sure that you have all of the answers and are ready to bless others with your vast life experiences.

There is nothing wrong with my admission that I can not imagine what he must be going through. I laid my hand on his back and told him that I would continue to pray for him; touching is important not just a pat on the back but a lifting of his heart.  We don't always have the right words, and Phil did not expect me to have all of the answers, he just needed a listening ear and caring heart. He is still hurting and I told him I would still pray for him.

Be Jesus to other people. After all Christianity means that we are trying to be Christ-like; if we are going to be like Jesus we must cast off the cliche'. John Maxwell says, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." It may take a little effort but the rewards of actually being involved with, and caring for others is life changing for both parties involved. It is not however for the faint of heart. You know how when a newborn baby arrives at home, there are going to be midnight feedings or hours spent trying to care for them to be sure they stay healthy and fed. That may be what we need to do at times to practice real Christianity.

Have a real genuine relationship with God and it will be easier to be significant in the lives of others.