“…Hallowed be Thy name…”

Yesterday was Father’s Day. Some of these holidays seem so contrived. But the ones wherein we recall those who have played an important role in our lives, well, those days seem extra special. Sometimes my kids would joke, “Oh, it’s just another ‘Hallmark Holiday'” because they seem so contrived. And a lot of these days do. A friend posts on Facebook every day what the special cause or theme of the day is. Things like, well did you know that today (Monday) is “National Vanilla Milkshake Day”?  Our government took the time, some time in the past, to declare a national day remembering Vanilla Milkshakes. Seriously? Although I would admit it is a remembering I would enjoy…along with National Steak Day, or National Chocolate day…but, seriously? Is this what I need to remember on these days?

We can recall all sorts of father figures on Father’s Day. I grew to be exceptionally close to my stepdad, and always remembered him on Father’s Day, as well as several of my close friends’ fathers. They were a part of my youth and I always wish them happiness on Father’s Day. I have many special memories with my own dad. Moments of me standing on his feet to learn to dance. Sightseeing all the Missions in California. Waterskiing. Dates to Father/Daughter dances. Traveling in England and trying to sneak warm beer (yucky). Walking me down the aisle as I was married. I spoke to my dad, who will be 90 on his next birthday, as he was off to Sam’s Club to get some coffee, shop, then off to eat with his family. He lives on the complete opposite side of the continent from me, so it is rare anymore that we spend these sorts of days together. It was nice to chat for a few moments, as I rounded up our crew for my husband’s outing of shooting with his sons. It was his choice of what to do! And they sure enjoyed themselves. Immensely!

But when we think of Father’s Day, do we remember our Heavenly Father? Do we pray extra prayers of thanksgiving, to a God Who loves us so much, He allowed His Son to die for us? I thought of the joy on my husband’s face when we presented him with this floaty thingy for Father’s Day. I believe the proper term is, “Fly Fishing Float Tube.” Floaty thingy. (I do not fish. I accompany my fisherman, complete with my comfy chair that has a built-in cooler, and my Kindle. He fishes). My oldest son found one on Craigslist that did not break my secret-stash-budget and when I went to pick it up, found it had been used once! It was in perfect condition and my husband is so excited. It is, however, standing on its fully-inflated side along the back wall of my office at the moment. I need to find a better storage place for it, because soon it will smell like fish (if we are all lucky, Alaskan salmon!!). But I planned the purchase and had it hidden at my son’s house. When we gave it to him, he seemed to truly smile. And it just warmed my heart so much. He does so much for us, a simple thing like a tube to fish in was such a small gift. And it got me thinking – how do we gift God, Who gave us life??

We ask God to forgive us our many sinful ways, and to provide us with our “daily bread.” We ask for our lives be “on earth as it is in Heaven.” Wow. A pretty stiff order. What are our gifts to our Heavenly Father…the Name above all names….the Alpha and the Omega, on a daily basis, let alone a special day like Father’s Day?  I know I fail so miserably at giving thanks. I seem to always be asking for something from God. I find it hard to sit in His presence and just let Him surround me with His Grace and blessings. Silent prayer, wherein I am silent and the Lord speaks to me. Being a Child of God means I need to recognize His Kingship over me, His protection of me, and His many blessings and gifts for me, every day I breathe. Every, single, day. “Hallowed be thy name.” Have you ever stopped to think what that means? Hallowed is something that is sacred, holy, or sanctified. Many theologians say that when we use this phrase, what we are saying is, “Let your name be holy.” Per Matthew Henry (an English clergyman who died in 1714), “We give glory to God; it may be taken not as a petition, but as an adoration; as that, the Lord be magnified, or glorified, for God’s holiness is the greatness and glory of all his perfections. We must begin our prayers with praising God, and it is very fit he should be first served, and that we should give glory to God, before we expect to receive mercy and grace from him. Let him have praise of his perfections, and then let us have the benefit of them.”  I think that is just such a neat way to phrase what we are doing at the start of the Lord’s Prayer. We are giving thanks; we are praising Him. And this from one of my favorite Orthodox saints, “When I pray saying ‘Hallowed be Thy Name,’ the meaning of these words apply to me actualizing God’s blessings. Lord, through the cooperation of Your help, may I become blameless, just and pious. Abstaining from every evil, may I speak the truth, practicing righteousness and walking on the straight path. May I shine with prudence, be adorned with incorruption, and be beautified with wisdom and discernment. Overlooking earthly things, may I set my mind on the things above (Col 3:2) and be radiant with the angelic manner of life.” ~ St. Gregory of Nyssa

As I acknowledged my husband for the many, infinite ways he incredibly fathers our sons, and now our daughters-in-law, and grandchildren, I could not help but think of Our Lord.  How much more adoration and acknowledgement Our Lord deserves, on a moment-to-moment basis. Think of all the ways He Fathers us. Every day, every way, God the Father guides us and blesses us. I should kneel and “hallow” His name always. “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place, and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11)  I know I am woefully short when it comes to this aspect of my faith. One of the things I have decided to do is that each time one of these days shows up, a “Hallmark Holiday,” I will endeavor to make the day about God…I will try to relate even today, the national “Vanilla Milkshake Day” about praising God.  And today I will thank Him for the sweetness that is in my life, and pray for those who have particularly touched my life by their very presence in it. And we should all have a Vanilla Milkshake, and remember to hallow the sweet name of God, with every breath, with every day we have been blessed with.

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“..it will not return to me empty…”

I have been meaning to get to my blog much sooner than I have. And today, well today was one of those tech-filled days where I completely stressed out. Ugh. I was finally connected to someone on “Live Chat” who was close in age to me and was able to walk me through the process of detecting and eliminating malware on my new Macbook. So, what is malware? It is much different than a virus or spam. It basically is insidious programming hidden within something you download, upload, click on, share…on and on it goes. And when someone else clicks on it, they get it on their computer. Without you even knowing you have it. The good news? I have NO malware. The bad news? Facebook locked me out and accused me of having malware. I learned so much about Social Media today, that I did not want to know. Sometimes, being fat, dumb, and happy is the way to go. Know what I mean? Maybe we all need to rethink the idea of unplugging daily! I think it is ridiculous to assume we have privacy in any form these days. Even my parents, who are almost in their 90s and do not go on any sort of social media (well, my dad does email) are a presence online. Why? Because they were mentioned by someone; their names came up in some sort of online program (like, what is your mother’s maiden name, for security questions), or they were part of some sort of searching by someone, somewhere, at some time or other. Everyone is on someone’s data base and for a price, they share that information. To assume you can be anonymous is sort of being naive. Unless you have no social security number, no bank account, no recordable income, and live totally “off the grid,” you are on a data base. And today, I realized how very little privacy we truly have anymore. And I am bummed. I have a major headache. Ha-Ha. Me and technology – “not good bedfellows” – as they say!

The process required me to clean out and peruse my computer. Luckily it was fine. Then I moved on to my Facebook account. Wow. I tightened up my security and access, and then I began exploring my other settings. I did not realize how much they record for us. Every keystroke, every like or share, every post is logged. And they sell that information to advertisers. It is the sole reason Facebook and other social media outlets were invented – to sell to consumers by garnering lots of data about them and targeting ads aimed at all that data. We all participate in the ease of social media – like this one – at the peril of being sold something. We are a consumer-driven society. Many cities now produce nothing – no products whatsoever are manufactured in them. They are service-oriented. Banks of computers, tall buildings, and not one manufacturing job to be had anywhere. Nothing being made. Just data being manipulated.

For many years, we were a part of the dairying community in Chino, California. It was an idyllic time to raise kids on farms. We lived within an area designated as the “Dairy Preserve.” Our kids grew up running into the milking barns at 6:00am and helping the milkers, often ending with water fights using the many hoses they have in barns. We had an annual fair and festival and part of it was providing dairy tours. Our kids were in 4H and part of that was learning to be ambassadors for the agricultural community within Chino. This one year we assisted with the dairy tours. I was blown away to learn so many of the children on these tours, along with many of their parents, had no idea where milk or ice cream or butter came from. The kids, many of them, were scared to death of these cows. The loud sound of the milking machines, watching the cows be bathed as they entered the barns, and the clean up process after milking, watching a milk truck be filled with raw milk – these sights were completely out of context from the grocery stores and most people were blown away with the process. Watching calves be born was surreal for them. Riding on hay trailers and watching the “Hay Bucking” contests were a delight, but these people had no real connection to the dairymen or their life styles. Many saw these huge homes and barns, and assumed the dairymen were wealthy and just playing at farming. So very far from the truth of the matter. But my point in sharing all of this is that as we become more and more reliant on social media, computers, and technology, having cities where nothing is made but only data manipulated, separates us from the earth, from nature, from our humanity.

It is hard to find our way sometimes. But I know learning to be silent and still, waiting on God, is much harder in the midst of all the noise created by all this technology. We were all fed lies that technology would simplify our lives and free us up for more time spent in leisure. Well, I can attest to the fact that I have found a pencil and a piece of paper are much simpler than what I had to go through today, to “detect” malware on my computer. In the olden days, I could have opened an old metal filing cabinet, looked into a folder, and discovered any bad information. It was not contained in millions of 1’s and zeroes in a myriad of formats we call “coding.” There was much “simplicity” prior to all this technology. As it happens, I prefer simple. I use my mom’s and my grandmother’s cookbooks. The recipes are simple and the food they produce is delightful. We are growing our own vegetables. Simple, sweet, easy to access. I read recently that all the photos uploaded to social media platforms in one day are more than all the photographs in history, up until that day. Every day!! Think on that a moment. When I was first using a simple computer to type, 640K was a lot of memory. Now we are surpassing terabytes as “external, extra hard drives.” Because our computer’s memory is not enough!! Gigabytes for our phones! It is crazy. In all that data being collected, and all the busy-ness technology is creating, we are losing ourselves. We are losing that simple, sweet process of daily life done close to home, or at home, and in so much quiet. There is, however, always “Good News.”

The Lord waits on us; He is always there. He alone can still a beating heart and comfort a lost soul. He alone knows our needs. He alone can assure us that we are not what others perceive us to be.

“Behold, you will call a nation you do not know and a nation which knows you not will run to you, because of the LORD your God, even the Holy One of Israel;  For He has glorified you.” Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55 7-13)

And even if there is nothing hidden, nothing about anyone’s life that is not known, the Lord know us better than any social media does.

“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.”Psalm 139:13-14

I was railing against the machine, as they say, today, But then I realized that God truly has all this. I have nothing to hide from Him, and I should have no fear of anything on social media, or other technology platforms, if I am truly His daughter. I still would love to go off-grid, but that’s for another post! Ha-Ha!

Stop having a love affair with the couch….ouch!!!

One of the best things about living in a large state that is sparsely populated is that you get to meet some of the most interesting people, and see some amazing sights. This is a photo of a small town in Alaska by the name of Palmer. This was taken facing east, from the Pavilion in their downtown area. Downtown area. Full of traffic. Yeah, right! This is still something I am getting used to – a different definition of “downtown.” The wind was blowing (typical for that area) and we were attending their Master Gardener’s Annual Spring Plant Sale. My hubby and I had a date for the afternoon. We had so much fun talking to the gardeners and learning about what plants grow in what zones (how different it is from our last home in WA state, or before that in sunny SoCal).  One character was named Rex and he commented that his wife is the brains, he just lifts heavy stuff! I liked him immediately and after talking to him, we got two red raspberries for our yard, and one for our son’s yard. I love fresh berries!  We also purchased an Alaskan Tundra Honeyberry plant. If you love blueberries, you will love honeyberries!

It is so interesting to learn new ways of doing old things, like planting, and harvesting. It is also great to stretch your taste buds now and then. I have come to adore Halibut. I can honestly say that cold water fish are a delicacy I had never really known, until I sampled fresh, Alaskan fish. I have developed a love of Halibut, even though I find the fish themselves to be gross. And it does not help they are bottom-feeders and have both eyes on one side of their heads. Ugh. But man oh man, when my daughter-in-law batters and fries that with some broccoli and cauliflower (also battered and fried) with her home-made honey-mustard sauce (I don’t like honey mustard anything, but I adore her sauce) and we sit down to feast with a locally brewed craft beer, it doesn’t get much better than that! Alaskan summers at their best! Thank goodness for fishing charters because at $30/lb in the stores, you don’t want to waste a morsel!

Another of my favorite things about summers in Alaska is the wildlife and the fishing (my hubby could fish daily, if he could figure out how to make it work!!! Ha-Ha). We have had black bears stroll down our block; we’ve already seen a mamma moose have a calf at the local Lowe’s parking lot; and the long days of sunshine. The wildlife, yes, is amazing, but so are the many gorgeous views of green everywhere! There is simply no better place, in my mind, than Alaska in the summertime. It is stunning. Flowers and wild berries, trees of so many shades of green. And if you have a hankering for water, well, we have over 1 million lakes! There is water everywhere! We live across the street from a creek and less than a mile from a river, and less than 5 miles from two lakes. The area below is less than 10 minutes from my house.

I can get in my car and drive 10 minutes, and just 10 miles, up the road and gaze at this. I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams to call this place home. And I readily share it. This year, we are expecting quite a few guests, some of whom will be back-to-back. The furniture stores seriously have these sales around Memorial Day where they promote “guest sleeping options” with sales on blow-up mattresses, futons, fold-out couches, Murphy beds, bunk beds…you name it. So many people have Alaska on their bucket list and I am more than happy to show them around our beautiful state. Below is a photo of the local Reindeer Farm. You can go there and pet them, feed them, and look at all the babies. It is such fun! I firmly believe everyone should visit here at least once in their lifetimes. You will not regret it. Promise!

There are upsides to a small community; there are downsides. This state is the largest in the union (sorry Texas) and has one of the smallest populations. We are rated 47th in population, while being #1 in size. And that is good, but also hard. We have hamlets (villages) of people across the state, but many are accessible only by plane or boat. My son recently worked on an island for two weeks, accessible by boat or plane. They flew in, but their food/supplies had to be barged in. The island is inhabited by seagulls, sea lions, and puffins. No people. That is not uncommon in a state like Alaska. The fact of the matter is that it is a hard place to live in. It is nothing like the home we had in WA – on the 14th green of a golf course. In CA, we lived in a variety of places, even on farms. But there was no wild. But it was hard to find true wilderness in such a heavily populated state. There was no real weather danger, either. There were stores 10 minutes away. We have stores within 10 minutes here as well, but oftentimes the weather is too severe to get to them. This life is not for everyone. I get that. I still love it.

The same thing goes for how we choose to worship. My daughter-in-law described it to a neighbor by saying that we preferred a more “European” sort of Church. I guess that is true. But it is a little more than that. We love our Melkite faith. It is a different expression of Christianity. It is a much smaller community than say Roman Catholic or Pentecostal Christians. We are fewer in number and the form of worship is so very old and has not changed, nor adapted to more modern ideas of worship, making it as not well spread or known as others. (It is also historically an Arabic Church, from the Middle East). But the essence of it, and the root of it, is rich and full of our beloved Scriptures. In the early years of the Church, only the Holy Men of the Church could even read. To read was not something the common man could do. And that is one of the reasons the Icons in the Church became integral to people’s faith. They told stories of scenes from the Bible, and shared the lives of the Saints who went before us. And I love to share it with others. We have icons all over our home, and at times, it makes people uncomfortable because it is so different. It is like some of the road blocks I experience when sharing Essential Oils with people. They smell good, yes they do. However, their origins are ancient and the use of them is older than recorded history. But it makes some people uncomfortable, because it is different and people think it is a fad, or the latest thing. And it requires you to think differently about common practices in our homes and in our lives.

When you have a treasure, you want to hoard it. Protect it. Savor it. Like Rumplestiltskin and his golden thread. But there comes a time when you have to open the doors and share. There are so many instances when the small communities we all belong to become warped and sick, and doors need to be opened, the air refreshed and new blood needs to be allowed in. And then there are times when you need to move on, to experience a new treasure; opening your minds, hearts, and souls to something that is “other” to your norm. Like making a bucket list of places to see. And for me, I am wanting to share. My home, my faith, my oils, my life. Is it scary to share? It is!

I’ve been challenged lately to stop having a love affair with my couch. Now, realistically, I’m not in love with my couch. It’s okay, but not my dream couch. But I love being at home. I do. I have been a stay-at-home mom for most of my 31+ years of marriage. I have also homeschooled all our kids (our oldest son is 30). I am at home a lot. And I like it there. I got comfortable being at home. I am, by nature, gregarious. But as I have aged and been at home, I have discovered I like being alone a lot, too. More and more I enjoy the quiet of living in a more rural environment with the sounds of the winds in the trees all I can hear. Or being inside on a blustery, and very snowy day, with just the crackling of our wood stove to listen to. And to share what I want to share with others, well, that means I have to leave my house. I have to operate outside of my comfort zone. I also have to step outside of the small community I have developed for myself and stretch my social skills muscles. And it makes me uncomfortable…

There are groups that I need to get away from and out of, and that is also taxing. I am developing new contacts and learning to turn on those social muscles more. But I have to tell you, living where I do, it is sooooooooo easy to become isolated. So easy to see no one except my family on a daily basis. However, there is so much I want to share with others. I want to share this state with friends who have never ventured this far. I want to share my faith with those who have questions, or perhaps do not understand my Byzantine mindset. We are growing our vegetables from seeds in a raised bed garden! I would love to share that journey with people. And I very much want to share my healthier lifestyle since I have discovered Essential Oils and the many products I use, based on Essential Oils and the science behind them. I live pretty much a chemical-free life in what I use to clean my home, my dishes, my clothing, my teeth, my face, my body, my hair…all because of Essential Oils. Why would I not want to share all of this? Because it makes both me, and the person I am sharing it with, uncomfortable. Look, I don’t want to make money off anyone. I truly do not. So for the oils part, I just want to share how it has impacted my life for the better and how I have incorporated them into every aspect of my life. As for my faith, that, too, makes many people uncomfortable. I do not want to take your faith from you, nor do I expect you to “come over” to my way of thinking. It is just fun to share information and history and styles of worship. It’s fun to share new ways of doing old things…even eating freshly grown vegetables out of your own garden. The lotion you use – I make my own, using Essential Oils! Would you like to learn how? It’s time…I need to start…

Would you care to join me?