KEEP CLIMBING

One of the volcanic mountains in Tahiti. I believe this is the church we attended one Sunday.

My Bible study is done on November 20 for this year.  We have a break for the holidays then.  When I don’t have a Bible study I feel spiritually dry. I sometimes read a Psalm and a Proverb each day.  Or I start reading through the Bible from this plan: http://static.esvmedia.org/assets/pdfs/rp.chronological.pdf . The pdf is only 2 pages so I can print it and then check off what I read.  One can start at any date and eventually one will read through the Bible.

I also find verses in the reading for each day that I can pray for my family.  I highly recommend reading the Bible every day for comfort and peace in our lives.    Maybe some of our older children would be interested in reading these passages each day.  At least they could give it a try.  After reading through the Bible I feel like I have climbed a mountain.  I'm weary and dragging but what you see and feel at the top of the mountain is worth it.

I wrote this blog in 2015.  It's about encouragement to get started in Bible reading and study. https://stowellbrown.blogspot.com/2015/01/how-sweet-are-your-words-to-my-taste.html

Psalm 119: 103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

 

ACCIDENTAL TOURISTS

One of Daniel Boone's homes

On Tuesday, February 20, I believe it was in 2006, we arrived in Jacksonville, FLA, located on the east coast of Florida. We were there to attend a Power Squadron Conference. Jacksonville is about the size of Seattle but with seemingly half the traffic.  We stayed at the Hyatt on the peaceful St. John River.  The hotel is the biggest convention center in Jacksonville, featuring a rooftop swimming pool, hot tub, and four restaurants, which we took advantage of.  The weather during the day was in the 70’s and it cooled to sweater weather at night.  While Chris was in meetings, I either rode the free trolley around town, (the driver tried to convince us we should move to Jacksonville), or I walked over to the outdoor mall 3 blocks from the hotel.  (A huge black man wearing a hat with ear flaps complimented me on my haircut.)  The Landing had many stores and every kind of food.  One night we took a taxi to the other side of the river and ate at the Chart House.  (The taxi driver tried to recruit us to move to Jacksonville too!)

We left early for the airport on Sunday, Feb. 25, to catch our flight from Jacksonville to St. Louis and then to transfer planes for a flight to Seattle.  Everything went smoothly until we got to St. Louis.  Our flight to Seattle had been cancelled because of snow in New York. Go figure!  

After standing in line for over an hour to talk on a phone to a ticketing and scheduling agent we were offered a flight which might as well have been to the North Pole by the way of Las Vegas and several other stops in between.  After serious consideration I made a desperate call our dear friends who were our neighbors in Spokane 30 years ago and who happened to live within 30 minutes of the St Louis airport.  There was no answer so I left a message on their answering machine.  Chris said they were probably at church.  We found out later that he was correct. Chris had a cell phone so I left a call back number. 

They set a beautiful table and fed us.

They came to the airport and picked us up. We made an emergency stop at Target to get clean underwear and socks and needed prescriptions.  We stayed with them Sunday night and Monday night. Chris was able to get seats on the Seattle flight for Tuesday morning.  We had a quick tour of the historical downtown on the way back from the airport.  

On Monday, Donna showed us all around the countryside while Mike was working.  We went out to the site of Daniel Boone’s house and historical buildings that have been restored and grounds that are used for student archeological digs.  

The church on the Daniel Boone property.

It was sunny but chilly.  Chris was glad he took his heavy coat.  My windbreaker of my jogging suit helped a little but I kept moving.  I’ll attach pictures of Daniel Boone’s house and the historical church which is on the grounds.  The tour guide played the organ in the church for us and rang the bell.  No pictures were allowed to be taken inside so we just have outside shots.

Me with Donna.

Our flight home went smoothly and our luggage was being stored for us in the baggage area at Sea Tac.  (We had tried on Sunday to find out where our bags were but the airlines didn’t know at that point.)  At least this time I wasn’t on the no fly list!  I thank God for that!

TO SHINE LIKE THE SUN

The above song, "On Eagle's Wings," my niece, Grace, plays and sings with her trio for various church offertories.  I was struck by the phrase that the "righteous will shine like the sun."  I found these two verses for that promise.  

Matthew 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Daniel 12:3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

HALLOWEEN-- WHAT IS IT?

Heather and Jes 1983

Halloween began as a pagan ritual performed by the Celts 2000 years ago.  The Catholic church created All Saints' Day to be celebrated on November 1. It was formally started by Pope Boniface IV, who consecrated the Pantheon at Rome to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs on May 13 in 609 AD. The two celebrations of the Celts and the Catholics became entwined.  In the United States in the 1930's unruly kids would turn outhouses upside down and vandalize.   Communities encouraged children to go house to house and receive candy in exchange for leaving their property alone.  The day has now evolved into Harvest Festivals held at various churches and schools. 

Other celebrations for the day include Reformation Day--Luther is said to have posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. Another possibility for the day, one blogger believes, is that October 31 should be "Bible Appreciation Day."  Click here.

I don't recall Halloween being an important holiday in our family.  The only Halloween I remember was my 4th and 5th grade years. My choice of costume was Peter Pan.  

In college 2 friends and I decided to trick or treat.  Here is part of a letter I wrote home:

When our son was in 5th grade his dad insisted that trick-or-treating was really extortion. Jes's choice was to never trick or treat again.   My granddaughters enjoy dressing up in costume.  Here are some pictures:

Sammy and Natalie

Sammy and Natalie

Natalie 2016

Natalie 2017

What are your thoughts on Halloween?  Do you have any memories you could share?

I KNEW YOU WERE A SHORTER CATECHISM BOY JUST BY YOUR LOOKS

Calvary Presbyterian Church Alexandria, VA

2005

Many years ago, to become a member of our Presbyterian church, we attended confirmation classes.  The classes involved memorizing the Westminster Shorter Catechism. The two questions and answers I managed to memorize have come back to me from time to time.  They grounded me and focused me on what is important in life.  I ran across this blog from Ray Ortlund today.  He relates a similar story to mine from Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield (Phillipsburg, 1970). Click here to read.

In my sorting I found pages taken from different Calvary publications picturing and noting the work in which the people of the church were involved.  I have also included a letter from Mrs. Treadwell exclaiming how easy it was to have my dad visit them because of his laid back personality.

Dave is in the top picture of The Session.  He's in the second row.

Dave was involved with at least four different committees

Letter from the friend of the family:

A METEOROLOGIST GOES TO WAR

David J.'s High School photo

After high school at North Central Dave receives a BS degree from the University of Washington. He would be employed  in Pullman.  See the letter below.

His military service would be served simultaneously.

He would marry Grace in 1939.  They would live in Spokane while he worked at Felts field.

An article appears in the Spokesman Review.

Dave and Grace would have their first child in 1940.

Newspaper article and picture 1942

He is called to active duty in 1942.

In uniform

Dave and Grace would be stationed at Ft. Lewis for training. He would write the above letter to his parents.

They would be stationed in California where their second child would be born. Next would be Alaska while Grace and the two children live in Spokane.

Next step would be California.  I'm not sure what the transition was from Spokane to California where their third child would be born in 1947.

If I find any more letters or articles I will add them later.

THEY CALMLY SANG ON

I saw this on Ray Ortlund's blog today:

John Wesley finally saw how little he knew of Jesus in the middle of the Atlantic, on board the Simmonds, when a storm suddenly broke out.  A group of Moravian missionaries happened to be having a worship service on deck at the time.  Wesley records that, when the storm became intense, “a terrible screaming began among the English.”  But “the Germans looked up, and without intermission calmly sang on.  I asked one of them afterwards, ‘Were you not afraid?’  He answered, ‘I thank God, no.’  I asked, ‘But were not your women and children afraid?’  He replied mildly, ‘No; our women and children are not afraid to die.'”  Wesley then knew that something was missing from his life.  He found it in Christ.  He found all he needed to face life and death in Christ alone.

As we are buffeted by the political storms hammering our nation, may we who believe in Jesus not yield to hysteria.  May we calmly sing on, because we have in Him a hope that nothing in this world can destroy.  Our serenity will make an eternal difference to others.

The Wesley episode narrated in A. Skevington Wood, The Inextinguishable Blaze: Spiritual Renewal and Advance in the Eighteenth Century (Grand Rapids, 1968), pages 105-106.