Holy Sabbath

  Another Holy Sabbath day.  How beautiful the morning drive was through the mountains of South Eastern Kentucky this morning.  Tall trees stood against a dark blue sky, another glimpse of God's majesty.  The bite in the air, the frost on the ground, and occasional sunrays piercing through the tree tops, brought a calm serenity to our hearts.  A small grey squirrel, with a walnut in his mouth, ran to safety in front of us.  We talked of God's beauty all around us.  When the service began, we felt God's presence and His beauty surrounded us once again.  Yes, another Holy Sabbath.  I would to God that everyone could have a Holy Sabbath just like today.

A Tall Cedar grows high in the sky on Goodin Ridge.

Most things change with time, landscapes, buildings, and people.  In McCreary County, Kentucky a few things remain the same through generations and seem an endless reminder of the past.  A few years ago we went hiking in McCreary County along with my husband's dad, who was around 80 years old at the time, and his wife.  We could see this tall cedar tree from the road.  His dad insisted that we walk through briars, sage grass and undergrowth to get to it.  You see, it held fond memories for him from his childhood.  It stands in the midst of his grandpa, Tom Goodin's old homeplace; this Tom was my husband's great grandpa.  My husband's dad was named after him.  We hiked over to it, and it was breathtaking.  I couldn't take a picture of the whole tree because of it's height, but, I got a nice shot of the upper portion.  The old house was gone, no trace of the smokehouse, hen house, hog lot, or anything else that left evidence the old homeplace existed, except for this tall cedar.  No aged trees stood around it, only a few saplings and younger trees.  I don't know exactly how long this tree has been standing on the old Tom Goodin homeplace on Goodin Ridge, but, Tom's generation comes down like this, Tom Goodin, his son Wess, his son Tom, his son Bob, his daughter Selina, her son Timothy.  That is six generations.  Whether it stood before that,  I don't know.  I thank God a few things remain to remind us of those that came before us.  We all go.  They went.  So will we.  Will there be anything still standing to remind those that come after us that we were here?  Only God knows.

Remember Now Thy Creator- Ecclesiastes Ch.12

  1. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
  2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
  3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
  4.  And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
  5. Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail:  because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
  6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the cistern.
  7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was:  and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:  Fear God, and keep his commandments :  for this is the whole duty of man.
14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.  Ecclesiastes 12: 1-7 and 12: 13-14

Caught acting like sisters.

I Didn't Tangle them up, You Did.

A few years ago, we were getting ready to have a Holiday dinner at our house and we had so many guests coming that we had to set tables up in the garage,  living room, and kitchen.  When we celebrate the Holidays at our house, I like to decorate every room, so my two sisters came to help.  While I was working on something else, they were busy decorating the garage.  I heard a lot of laughing and grabbed my camera and took their picture acting like sisters.  It is fun to look back at.  Christmas brings out a little bit of kid in all of us.  Oh, how we thank God for Christmas!

Kentucky Skies

  After the rain, came the cold wind and dark clouds, and painted the vast horizon with hues of purple, pink, and blue.  The long evening hike we envisioned quickly turned into a short walk.  The wind whipped at our faces, sharp and cold.  Inside a warm fire was waiting, and all was well.  This mid November day started out with a misty rainy morning, then broke into a partly sunny  afternoon, and ended with a cold blast of winter this evening.  How quickly things change under Kentucky skies.  How quickly things change in our lives.  We thank God, that He ever works in our changing lives.

A Little Country Church at the Head of a Hollow.

Ryan's Creek Baptist Church

  In Williamsburg Kentucky at the head of a hollow up Ryan's Creek, off Hwy 92 West stands a little country church, where the pastor and congregation still love the Lord. We were blessed to have gone there again this morning.  The winding country road leading to the church crosses many acres of farmland and runs along side Ryan's Creek at the foot of tall mountains on either side.
   Fog arose across the mountains and a misting rain fell as we drove to the church this cloudy November morning.  Though dark was the morning, we knew a warm and bright worship service was awaiting inside.  You see, we've been here before.  This morning was just what we needed to fill our hungry souls.  We had a good Sunday School lesson, the choir sang joyously, we had prayer requests and testimonies, altar prayer, and old time preaching.  I wish everyone had an old country church they could go to where the people still loved the Lord.  In times like these they stand as a beacon of refuge and hope.

A Gift From a Friend, that Reminds us of the Gift From a True Friend.

   We received this lighted praying hands sculpture as a gift from a very special friend.  Each time we look at it we are reminded that the One we pray to, is our True Friend.  He gave His life for our sins, He gave us grace for our condemed souls, and mercy for our shortcomings. 
   His name is Jesus Christ.  He is our Lord, Our Saviour, Our True Friend.
If we love Him, we will live for Him, if we are a friend to Him, we will praise Him.  And in the end we will see Him for ourselves and not another.  He is the Light of the World.

A Beautiful Day in November and a Long Walk Thru the Woods

    The morning broke with fog rising over the hollow and soft rays of sunshine warming the fields and our hearts.  After a quick breakfast and coffee, we got in the old pick up and drove to the back of the farm and parked it on top of a little noe, crossed the fence, and walked down into the woods. 
    We followed the creek, around cliffs and rock and down to the lake.  Tall hemlock formed a thick canopy over our heads, but, gentle rays of sunlight pierced thru the lacy evergreen limbs and warmed our bodies.  We crossed the creek several times and stopped in awe of it's beauty.  Water, clear as crystal poured over the wide ledges of the creek like small waterfalls. 
    Leaves from tall hardwood trees gently wafted to the ground in the slightest breeze, as if to say this is what I was created for, and it is my honor to do it.  A woodhen across the creek hammered loud on a hollow tree and sent echos thru the woods.  A school of shad swam the cool waters and darkened the water wherever they went.  A Kingfisher flew over the backwaters of the lake that backed up into the creek, dipping down close to the water looking for food.  A small bush grew over the creek, and sunlight reflected off the water onto the backside of it's leaves, like diamonds casting shodows in the wind.  God's beauty was all around us, and we were in awe of His creation.

Meet Mortimer Snerd.

This is our latest yard sale find.  This ventriloquest doll is Mortimer Snerd, from Juro Novelty Co. 1969.  We bought him thinking our daughter might use him working with the children at church.  She says that our grandson may also be interested in this ventriloquist doll.  That would be great, he could have a lot of fun with it.  We looked online and saw many ventriloquest sites, some even have videos and books teaching the art of throwing one's voice.  Timothy, your Papaw thinks Mortimer is a fine dresser, what do you think? This ventriloquest doll is not particularily valuable, sells new for less than sixty dollars, some however are quite valuable, and collectible.  We had another beautiful day today and we thank God for it.

Farm Life, Beauty in all it's Simplicity.

Living on a farm is one of God's richest blessings.  We were blessed to have raised our daughter on a farm where she could run, play, ride her bike, have pets, enjoy nature and learn how to work a farm.  She's pictured her; so very much a little lady, yet she learned how to grow a garden, clean out barn stalls, strip tobacco, and how to feed cattle.  She hauled her cat in her wagon, and her little dog trailed behind her wherever she went.  She learned to fish and shoot a gun, and did them well.  She learned compassion from caring for birds that had fallen from nests, to feeding a baby fox that had been left behind by it's mother when dad's hunting dogs spooked them.  Farm life is beauty, in all it's simplicity.  And we thank God for it.

Helping Papaw put in his Fall crops.

A farmers work is never done.  Just after the Summer crops have been harvested, the Fall crops have to go into the ground.  One proud Papaw shows his grandson how to rake turnip and mustard seed into the ground.  His mother looks on, wearing her dad's army boots.  Ah!  Life on the farm is good.  Another one of God's many blessings.  Time goes on and years pass by, seemingly in the blink of an eye.  So, if you are blessed to get to spend time with your family and grandchildren, cherish every moment.

A Thing of Beauty, A Bridge Most Needed, and A Means to Survive.

 This beautiful bridge was built during the great depression era accross the Cumberland River connecting Whitley and McCreary counties in Ky.  Until this bridge was built, vehicles had to take a ferry boat to cross the river.  One of my favorite uncles, Finley Jones helped build it.  Times were hard and the government project that funded this bridge put many in the area to work, and put food on their tables.  The bridge adds to the natural beauty of Cumberland Falls State Park. When we go thru this area we are always in awe of God's beauty and His Magesty.  We see His handiwork everywhere we look.  On nights of a full moon, the moonlight shines thru the mist and becomes a moonbow over the falls.  

The Two Prettiest Flowers in the Garden

   Two very precious ladies, my Mother-in-law and Mammo Cloud stand among the beautiful flowers in mammo's flower garden.  They did everything together for as long as I can remember.  They picked wild greens, and strawberries, and shared a love for gardening and preserving food.  They milked the cows, churned butter and made buttermilk.  They loved God, beautiful flowers, family, friends, and one another.  They have gone on before us, and I know they walk among flowers so pretty, that one cannot even imagine.

Ironing the Old Time Way

When we were kids we had to help with the chores, and ironing was one of them.  I can remember heating an old iron on the heating stove and ironing pillow cases when I was only around 5 or  6 years old.  I didn't know how hot the iron needed to be, sometimes I scorched things and caught a scolding from mom.  We drew water from a well, washed clothes in a wringer washing machine and scrubbed work clothes on a washboard using lye soap.  We didn't care a lot for those chores, we'd much rather been guarding the chicken coop from hawks or sweeping the yard.  We did have a little grass in the yard and mowed it with a rotary blade push mower and cut the taller grass with a reef hook. We hoed the garden and had a hard time telling the young corn from grass and young beans from morning glories.  There were lots of good times, though,  like picking black berries, wild greens, and long walks in the woods.  Playing was a big part of our day.  I remember playing outside in the summertime until it got so dark we couldn't see and had to go inside.  We went to sleep on summer nights watching lightning bugs and listening to whippoorwills and katydids.  What simple times they were back then.                                                                                                      

The Man who Built Grasshopper Nests

1950's was a time for families.  This picture was taken at our uncle's home, at a family get together.  His old homemade campershell for his pickup served as a picnic table.  The man in the forefront of this picture is my dad.  Dad had worked in the coal mines for many years and had survived a few cave ins, with many broken bones and injuries.  He had a wife and nine children to raise and kept going back into the mines in order to feed his family.  We lost dad when I was six and my sister was three.  Dad was one of our best friends, because he always took time for us.  He would sit down in the tall grass in the edge of the yard and break off the long stems of Planten; the one with the fuzzy tops and show us how to make grasshopper nests.  Of course he was only playing, who ever heard of a grasshopper nest?  We made our grasshopper nests and sat them throughout the yard, and waited, but, never caught a grasshopper in any of them.  Dad was a kind and fun loving person and a good Christian man.  He was a strong democrat and my mom was a strong republican.  When election day came around they always went to vote, knowing that they each were canceling the other's vote.  Dad went on before us, fifty years ago.  Sometimes it seems like another lifetime.  We thank God for letting us keep him as long as he did, but, most of all we thank God that we can see him again.    If there are any dads out there that read this, please take time for the little things with your children, because the little things are what they will remember the most.  The grasshopper nests never caught a grasshopper, but, they were built with love.  And they are some of my fondest memories.