First Snow Oct 29

Alise, Stace... Ben? Jeff? Eljabo?

Click on this

:D

have a nice weekend

T Out!

"smile"

I'm feeling border-line lousy
It might be the weather

I don't feel like talking to people

Knowing that, Montana Stace txtd this pic
with caption: Smile

And, I did.

Ah, friends...

Colin Powell's Take on McCain's Negative Campaigning

i really admire the way he speaks

today's quote

"Growth begins when we begin to accept our own weakness."
~ Jean Vanier

Obamakins are sweeping the nation!

Yes We Carve!

Now THIS makes me happy.

What a swell way to support your candidate.

Makes me wonder how McCain supporters might show their support...

perhaps by carving wilted old cabbages?

Blaise-ing a Trail...

"Kind words produce their own image in men's souls; and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used."
~Blaise Pascal

Yesterday at the Bog

Alise's Email.... the woman can Write!

Alise's email last night:

I ended up writing a letter to the editor for our local paper today. Guy wrote: "Where do you stand? The platform of life or the platform to take life away? Now, it seems that our government has decided to take God's authority away from Him by passing into law the right of a woman to take an unborn baby's life -- 50 million times since 1973." quotes scripture Matt 12:30 & Rev 3:13. then "This is pretty clear. The pro-choice people are lukewarm people. They are people who used the term 'pro-choice' instead of 'pro-abortion' because pro-abortion makes them sound like murderers. If a Christian votes for a pro-choice (abortion) candidate they are an accessory." more scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:12, Matt 7:22-23. "When you vote in November are you voting your party over your Christianity? If you vote for a pro-choice candidate you're voting anti-Christ." more scripture: "Jerm. 1:5, Psm 139:13, Acts 17:38 (sic -- it's actually 28 and it's wildly out of context). "So, on the day you go to vote, if you are a Christian, consider the consequences. Some day you will have to stand before the Lord to give an account as to why you were destroying His offspring."

My response:
This is a response to Pete Staud's letter entitled "Government taking God's authority away."

I agree with Mr. Staud that Christians will be asked to give an account when they stand before the Lord. The Lord has said that what we do for "the least of these" we have done for Him.

Unfortunately, the same party that claims to be pro-life has also supported pre-emptive war, which has slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. The same party that claims to be pro-life has supported the torture of other people, denying them basic human rights. The same party that claims to be pro-life has voted against measures that would provide health care to many of those same children who would be saved from abortion. The same party that claims to be pro-life has instituted policies that make it more difficult for a poor woman to secure prenatal care or a decent wage to support that child after he or she is born. The same party that claims to be pro-life has been inciting statements like "kill him" from supporters.

Mr. Staud says that if I vote for a pro-choice candidate, I am voting against Christ. Apparently he is forgetting the passage in Matthew 25 where Jesus said, "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."

Caring for the poor, the imprisoned, the sick -- these are also the commands of Christ. And sadly, the party that claims to be pro-life has failed miserably in these commands. By all means, when you vote, consider the consequences. And know that God's authority cannot be undone by man.

Little People

"20 Inches Under the Sea"

Neat-o street art

one this day in history...

Oct 7, 1939

Scarecrow beat out Tombstone

in the final auditions for "Third Friend"

taking his place alongside Tinman and Lion

in the film classic

The Wizard of Oz

Pathetique

not sure how to flip this vertically,

but you get the idea.

Poor Elmo.

Is he not an expert at playing the heartstrings?

He's up for an Oscar for this performance.

oct 1st

.

.
.

its drizzly out

.

the cool weather breathes

its here for the long haul

.

thoughts turn to candles and books

and long evenings of darkness

and hunting season

pumpkin pie

relatives

coffee

.

this moment,

as we lay down our tools

and head upstairs lunch,

is beautiful

.

*get your camera

lift this

take it with you*

a cat with no PhD

.

i ran across this this morning

it's a funny feeling to get insight from a "bad guy"

and it's encouraging to be reminded, again and again,

that you don't need special qualifications to be of service

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle."

"When you recognize that pain and response to pain is a universal thing, it helps explain so many things about others, just as it explains so much about yourself. It teaches you forbearance. It teaches you a moderation in your responses to other people's behavior. It teaches you a sort of understanding. It essentially tells you what everybody needs. You know what everybody needs? You want to put it in a single word? Everybody needs to be understood. And out of that comes every form of love. If someone truly feels that you understand them, an awful lot of neurotic behavior just disappears. Disappears on your part, disappears on their part. So if you're talking about what motivates this world to continue existing as a community, you've got to talk about love."

Dr. Sherwin Newland
Speaking of Faith, "The Biology of the Spirit"

indiana sunset

Wow.
unusual in Ind, Pa

after small group
at Grace

playing in my head

We learned this song in Gospel Choir.

It's stuck with me. It plays in my head a lot.

And, thanks to the fact that we live In the Future,
I can find stuff like this on YouTube. Sweet!

The Sound of One Flower Clapping

Montana Stacey Gives Marcie The Boot!

My pal, Montana Stacey, and I have a codeword for her social persona:

Marcie

... as in, Peppermint Patty's BFF.... who kind of....... letsherselfgetbossedaround..... at... times.


Therefore and in general, the world is not privy to her innermost thoughts. But, when one slips past the gate and escapes into neighborhood, its a keeper!


Imagine my delight, my surprise, when I got THIS in my inbox:


It is 2008 and we have an African American running for President of the United States of America. Wow, how our country has changed...In 1963 Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I have a dream" speech demanding/praying/pleading for equal rights for all Americans. That speech inspired and motivated many and gave people hope. Here we are 45 years later and most would say his dream has come true. Today we need change once again..this time most of the country is affected and we need to stand up and make this change happen for the future of our country and all Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.stated "I want to remind America of the fierce urgency of now."
These words ring true for all of us today as we set out to save our planet from global climate change,boost our once booming economy, house our homeless, and provide affordable health care for all Americans.
As a woman I will say I was very proud and supportive of Hillary Clinton and never thought I would see a woman running a sound campaign for President in my lifetime. What an inspiration for young women in this country and now I believe i will see a woman as president in this lifetime.
I am forever the optimist and am convinced that Americans are ready for a change and frankly we cannot afford to lose this time. I have been awake during an 8 year long nightmare wondering when it will ever end watching George W. making one bad decision after another. My hope is that Americans take ownership of our country and help the politicians to make these necessary changes. We need to create jobs for Americans, and we need to support legislation that helps to clean up and preserve our environment.
One of my favorite quotes said by Gandhi was "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." We can make a difference with minimal effort to reduce our carbon footprint and save our planet. Recycle, ride a bike, buy a hybrid car if you have the means, plant a tree, invest in alternative energy and most importantly remember two of my other favorite sayings:

1. Consume less and Share more
2. We all live downstream

As a manager of a retail clothing store I can say that my most common complaint is that we do not sell enough products that are made in the USA. Wouldn't it be lovely if our Levi's were made in Ohio instead of Vietnam? Are you willing to pay $10.00 more per pair? I can tell you in Missoula I am seeing the Eco Bulbs flying off of our shelves and we have a very conservative client base. Missoula is a bicycle town and I am seeing more and more Hybrid cars on the streets so I am seeing changes take place every day and that gives me hope for our future.
As Dr, Martin Luther King Jr. stated on that hot August day in 1963 "it would be fatal for the Nation to overlook the urgency of the moment." VOTE for change and do your part to help our country now.

~~~~~~~~

We said, Montana Stace.

And, she made it a group email, so the word, HER WORD, is out.

And that is what it's all about anyway.

Hi-Lites

Things that happened today:

Hiked on the trail @ Sarver

Listened to an exceptional episode of
speakingoffaith.org
~James Prosek
shared his thoughts on
life and fishing~

Picked up a hitch-hiker
on the way home

Did not get murdered

Rosie O'Donnell published
my comment
on her blog

taught Babs to cast
with a fly rod,
for about 9 minutes,
until she got bored,
as expected

so we moved on
to skipping stones,
discussing autopsies,
envying the kayakers,
and sitting in silence

later, we made a big salad
and John shot at chipmunks
while we talked about:
Heaven
bears
an Easter Bunny sighting
a witch
and
dreams we had as kids

and this evening
I made chili
with Babs' B-Day Honey
as the Special Ingredient