ECLIPSE PICTURES August 21, 2017 10:21 am

Chris and I were able to get some good eclipse images of the partial eclipse we had in our area.   I took the pictures on my I Phone while Chris focused the binoculars on a piece of white cardboard. Here is one raw picture,  one of Chris, and one where Chris enlarged one image in photoshop. 

Chris thinks the blue edge is probably the internal reflections from the binocular optics. And, contrary to popular opinion, it doesn't hurt a binocular to do this, but it can damage a camera sensor.

Psalm 8: 3 When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?^[a]

Psalm 148: 3 Praise him, sun and moon;
    praise him, all you shining stars.

GRACE

Roberta Grace 1917

Grace is a very popular name in our family.  On my father's side we have my great aunt Grace who was my grandfather's sister,  and my cousin Janet Grace.  On my mother's side we have my grandmother Grace Belle, my cousin Diana Grace, two nieces--Sarah Grace, and Grace.  

My mom, who went by her middle name, was born in Spokane, WA. on February 16, 1917.  She grew up in Spokane.  Here are some of the highlights of her life as recorded in pictures and print:

At 15 months she was a little sunbeam.

She received a baby doll and her older sister Evelyn did too. Evelyn's doll was Tootsie Margaret, Grace's doll was Hazel Rose. 

Here they were when they were a little older.  The family had a car wreck when Grace was 9.  She lost all of her eyebrows and had a scar on her forehead as a result.

Sister Ruth Jean was born 9 years after my mom. Both older sisters adored Ruth.

Grace attended Audubon elementary.  Front Row 4th from the left.

She listed all the names of her classmates.

She finished Havermale Jr. High in 1932

When she was 14 she had a poem published in the newspaper.

At North Central High School she was very active in everything from drama, (she was an assistant to the director), to tennis, and to the newspaper staff.

She was active in the Saint Paul Methodist church's youth group, Epworth League.  On Sunday nights they would eat onion sandwiches as that is all they could afford during the depression. The above must have been a cookbook published by the youth.

1935 High school graduation picture.

She was a January 1935 graduate in classical studies which included the study of Latin.

At some point she was in a Key Member Club.

She listed all of her activities in the 1935 North Central High School yearbook:

She was offered a scholarship to Whitman college in Walla Walla, WA. but it did not include room and board.  She did not accept the scholarship.  She did complete a course at Kinman Business University in Spokane.  Afterward she worked at a Spokane bank for 4 years and saved her money.  She attended the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. for 1 year before her marriage in 1939.

Wedding invitation

There were many newspaper articles published about her showers and also the wedding.

The only wedding picture I have.  Brother Davy has the original of the wedding party.

One year after the wedding my brother Jay was born on November 29, 1940.  I was next in July of 1943.  Then my sister Evy was born in October of 1947.  Brother Davy in April 1952 and brother Wayne was born in June 1956.  She had definite opinions about child rearing.  She lied to the pediatrician when he told her to bottle feed us.  She breast fed instead.  She taught us to pray before we went to sleep at night like this:

Now I lay me down to sleep

 I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  

Thy love go with me all the night

 and wake me with the morning light.

She didn't want any of us to be fearful as she was afraid of many things.  As a result we all went out into the world unafraid.  We flew off to Mexico, Africa, Europe, and the South Seas.  She insisted that all 5 of us complete college.  Evy was the only one to go on for a Masters Degree.  We are very grateful for a mom who kept us all alive, as well as fed and clothed, until we reached adulthood. 

She had many ambitions.  She wanted to become a teacher, a nurse, a farmer, and a musician.  She accomplished all of those roles as a wife and mother.  

Teacher-- She taught piano lessons as a volunteer.  She taught Sunday School, and Good News Club. She worked as an aide at Davy and Wayne's pre-school. She was a discussion group leader for Bible Study Fellowship.

Nurse-- She nursed me through a broken foot twice and a vicious dog attack when I was bitten on both arms and both legs.  She nursed Evy through 2 operations on the cyst on her neck.  She nursed Davy and Wayne though broken heads and broken noses. She nursed my dad through congestive heart failure and Parkinsons.  She nursed her father through dementia.

Farmer-- She always had plants around either in the yard or in the house.  She made a flower arrangement when I was about 5 that my dad photographed and thought it was so attractive.  He wanted her to have a florist shop. She also cared for many pets for us--  including rabbits, seeing eye dogs in training, cats, and a parakeet.  Jay bred white rats for awhile.

Photo of flower arrangement

Musician-- She played the piano for church and Sunday school.  She also volunteered to play at nursing homes. I hear she played her saxophone in the college band.

She was actually a pretty good seamstress making matching quilted bathrobes for herself and me when I was about 5.  One Christmas she made photo albums for the five of us.

She also did a cross stitch for Chris.

She did take part time jobs starting in about 1958 or so--she worked at a 5 and 10 cent store--Murphys, in Alexandria, VA.  And then of course her job as a pre-school aide at Davy and Wayne's pre-school. Later she worked as a secretary.

When she was almost 60 years old she attended Cañada College.  She studied Spanish, Music, Bible, and Child Evangelism. She completed a 2 year degree about the same time as my youngest brother, Wayne, completed his 2 year degree.  

In her later years she fought dementia.  She, like her father, wanted to keep going like she had when she was younger.  Grandpa wrote about how discouraged he was that he didn't have a specific job to go to.  I think my mom was discouraged because she could no longer keep her children at home.  She lost mental and physical ability and had difficulty accepting it.  She thought Jesus would come back before she died.  I pray every day that God will keep me in my senses so that I don't suffer like she did.  She was buried at Tahoma National Cemetery in August of 2001.  My dad said that he was glad that she didn't have to see the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Here is a link to her find a grave page.

DEFENDING THE GOSPEL

Here we are in the late 90's in Hell, on Grand Cayman Island.  

My best friend from high school, Nancy, wrote me a letter back in the 90's before we had e-mail.  She said that her family was going on a trip to-- what I read was, "The Grand Canyon."  Chris had never seen the Grand Canyon and we had vacation time, plus frequent flyer miles to use.  I wrote her back and told her we would like to join them at the Grand Canyon.  She wrote back and said it is Grand Cayman not the Grand Canyon.  I asked Chris if he would like to travel to Grand Cayman instead of the Grand Canyon.  He replied in the affirmative.  

On Grand Cayman Island there is a town called "Hell” which we visited.  I'm glad it isn't the real one.  I wouldn't want me or anyone to go to the real Hell.  But Jesus says you must be born again in order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven John 3:16-21.

So when false teachers, such as the Mormons or the Jehovah's Witnesses, come to the door, Christians must be prepared to give the true Gospel to them in love.  Here is a blog, which is helpful when talking to Mormons.  Here is a blog, which is helpful when talking to the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Chris still has not visited the Grand Canyon.

A SAD DAY IN AMERICA

Where have all the Christians gone?  Apparently the majority in the United States are following the ways of this world by everyone, "doing what seems right in their own eyes," Judges 17:6.  Not only do we have Islamic terrorist attacks, gang killings, road rage, assassinations of police officers, school shootings, destruction by anarchists, antifa (anti-fascists) carnage, and workplace violence, now we have white supremacist attacks. We have forgotten God.  Men have become worthless because they do not know the Lord-- I Samuel 2:12

I received this forward about the violence that took place in Chalottsville, VA.  It is from a high school and college classmate who is an alumni of U. VA.  Albert Mohler has written this blog about the brutality that took place. Darin C. Smith says this; Our nation was founded as a Christian nation in principle and practice. Other countries have long known and appreciated this fact. Displaying the American flag in all public places, including churches, reminds us why this country came, by God’s grace, into existence and who suffered for it. That is, because our ancestors wanted to be able to worship according to their conscience and not under the control of a state-run church.
It was this Judeo-Christian heritage that dictated much of what the Constitution entails. Most, if not all, of the problems we face as a nation can be traced back to the fact that we’ve pulled away from our country’s original values and standards.
Perhaps this is why Psalm 60:4 says:
You have set up a banner for those who fear you.

In Old Testament times, a banner was a flag. God has given a flag to those who fear him and him alone. To “fear” isn’t some Casper-the-Ghost-type reaction, but rather to show reverence and to be in awe of someone or something—that is, God.
In the Lord’s gracious providence, He saw fit to give birth to the United States of America—a place to which people can flee from the bow, from oppression, from tyranny, from bondage, and from servitude.”

But the American people have turned their backs on God.  Many churches are closing due to lack of attendance.  Seminaries are closing as well because of the lack of the need for trained clergymen.  Click here. Have we come to the tipping point where there is no turning back?  I believe that God can send a powerful revival if Christians will keep beseeching God and praying day and night.  It might even take some fasting to get our focus on God and what He can do in our country and in our lives.

POSITIVE THOUGHTS

Joni Eareckson Tada

Joni Eareckson Tada is one of my heroes.  Here is a blog about her 50th anniversary in a wheel chair as a quadriplegic. A young pastor in Virginia wrote it. He commented on her thoughts, observations, and her conclusions. They struck a chord with me because I have struggled with chronic pain for thirty-five years.  Relatives and friends have pressured me to expect miraculous healing.  I felt guilty because I wasn't healed.  I have confessed all of my sins in the chance that it was my sin that caused this pain.  Joni had gone through the same things.  We both have had to deal with this inconvenience.

Like Joni I came to the same conclusions.   God does not heal everyone.  He allows the messenger from Satan, such as Paul's thorn in his side, to keep us humble. We have nowhere to go but to the Lord.  I have found over the years that when I get bogged down with bad news -- in my own life, someone else's, or just in general in the world, that the best place to go is to the Word-- “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." 

Reading the Bible assures me that God is in control.  He has a plan and some day Jesus will come back and we will have peace on Earth. The Bible also assures me that God loves me.  If I obey Him and seek Him He will help me to finish well.  So when I need positive thoughts to crowd out the negative thoughts I read God's word and am given assurances that He is with me and will never leave me or forsake me.  Jesus bore a million times the pain that I bear.  I'm privileged to taste a little of His suffering. 

BIRTHDAY PARTIES

My grandparents on both sides did not have spectacular birthday parties.  Usually my dad and his 2 brothers would bring their mom candy, nuts, or fruit on her birthday and that was that.  I don’t even remember my other grandparents celebrating birthdays.  My parents never made a big deal of birthdays either.  I do have a few pictures of the birthday cakes I had in California and then in Spokane.   I don’t know why I have always  liked birthday parties.  

Our kids and grandkids threw a spectacular birthday party for me yesterday.  Heather asked me what my favorite ice-cream is.  I said rocky road.  Sammy made a cake with rocky road filling and served rocky road icecream with it.  I thought that when Heather and Jes cleaned my refrigerator, stove, and microwave that was my birthday present.  But then Jessica, Jes, Heather, and Jessie bought me  new sandals.  Samantha made the card and Natalie vacuumed and cleared off the dining room table.  Heather decorated the tables with bouquets of flowers. Jessie made the brisket.  Chris got me walnuts and some white stuff he used to clean the sliding door track.  Some friends of Heather and Jessie’s gave me a beautiful Starbucks cup.  Samantha drew and framed a picture for me. We sang the doxology for our grace.  Along with the brisket we had tossed fresh salad from Jes and Jessica’s farm fresh vegetables. There were also some seasoned green snap beans and also muffins.  

I think this was my favorite birthday party yet! Click here to see the pictures.