Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

A sweet Christmas Godwink story in Squire Rushnell’s book ( God Wink Christmas Stories) touched me since my whole family is very dog loving… especially Tommy and Kaitlyn who donate time and money to help abandoned and stray dogs find their forever home.

In this particular true remembrance story the narrator reflects on herself in childhood as being ” one of those dorky kids who wore saddle shoes, painfully shy, and loved four-legged friends over the human race.”

Every December, without fail, she wrote to Santa and all she wanted was a DOG. But that wish was never granted because her mother interceded with an emphatic ” NO!”

But this didn’t stop the little girl from dreaming and praying so hard for a furry puppy under the tree. It never happened.

She understood her mother’s inbred fear of dogs but it still didn’t ease the Christmas morning disappointment. Her mother’s grandfather had tragically died after being bitten by a rabid dog. He had suffered a horrible death.

One day she asked one too many times… when her mother was suffering through a migraine and she screamed out- ” The ONLY way you are going to get a dog is if someone leaves it to you in their will!”

The little girl never asked again but then she did, indirectly, at least get to spend time with a dog- a former tenant had an elderly mother who needed a dog sitter. At twelve she could handle it and earn money at the same time. Since she would be keeping it at the elderly woman’s home… her mother agreed.

It was a wonderful little dog named Spotty ( mix of cocker spaniel and border collie) The bond between the girl and dog grew stronger with each visit. One day just before Christmas the tenant sadly disclosed that his mother had passed but left the girl something in her will… it was in the car.

Spotty jumped out as the door opened and she made a beeline for the girl. She was frozen in time as they hugged wondering if her mother would remember her off-handed” commitment remark. She was shaking holding the overjoyed dog. Time froze in the air.

Finally her mother’s strained voice whispered ” I guess I don’t have much choice.” It was the closest thing to a miracle the girl would ever experience. God had answered her prayer in the most unexpected way. Spotty lived to be seventeen and before she passed her mother could be caught sneaking Spotty an extra treat.

So until tomorrow…Under Reflections at the end of the story we have all heard ” God works in mysterious ways” … Rushnell reminds us God can move Heaven and Earth just for us. He will make a way where there is no way.” A way that ends with a snuggle and a lick on the face.

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Yesterday as I walked slowly around the yard… it was pretty depressing… the extreme cold , over Christmas, had left once beautiful hanging vines and flowering pots moldy, black, lying all askew … ” death” scenes at different angles. It must feel what police or detectives witness at a crime scene filled with carnage.

And because of the erratic weather and then my unexpected illness… pots had not been cleaned up… or put up… so the gardens resembled a devastated bombed out area.

The only flower still surviving intact is the camellia… the royal tea plant that serves as ambassador to a southern winter….

As I started through the garden gate an ugly brown dead-looking mum stared back at me forlornly. The least I could do I figured was give it a haircut… it was then I saw it… hidden deep inside protected by the ugly dead stems… life… vibrant green life.

After staring at this once beautiful vine daily that earlier hung proudly in my side garden…it’s deplorable condition now saddened me.

Then as I rounded the porch I noticed my spell-binding pink vine …just as gorgeous as the day I got it. The HOPE sign holding strong- I smiled… hope was alive and well indeed!

Today we see many sculptures of Janus, the Roman god, for whom January is named. The dual face looking back and forward… a metaphor for past and future.

I was thinking yesterday someone should make a ” Janus” gardener sculpture – to help us remember the beautiful gardens of past seasons and the future of even more innovative flowers and plants in the new year. The thought makes me happy!

So until tomorrow… Let’s be thankful for the beauty in our presence now… and not be in a hurry to toss poinsettias but enjoy every beautiful moment of joy they give us…

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

I don’t think I am alone in visualizing ( as an imaginative child) that I was in the manger with the Baby Jesus. Didn’t you ever transfer yourself there… staring up at the star… and then down at the child in the cradle… at the wearied but proud parents.

I walk around petting the grazing animals and suddenly drawing back in initial fear from three strangers riding camels from afar… regal looking with gifts for the baby… gifts that sparkle and shine. A hush falls over the stable and the omnipotent magnificent star seems to sprinkle magical star beams upon the scene.

Christmas starts with Luke’s version of the Christmas Story ( Luke 2: 1-20.) And then twelve days later… for many religions and denominations it ends with the Epiphany -a time when Christians remember the Wise Men or Three Kings who visited Jesus.

I started thinking this year … from manger scene to manger… Christmas plays out-comparing all the manger scenes it is hard to tell which scene starts the story and which ends it. Is this manger the beginning or the ending?

And does it matter? If you believe in Jesus Incarnate and God as One and the Same … then ” I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation: 22:13. There is no definitive ending… because each ending opens up another beginning!

*** Or as Jean-Paul Beauvoir reflects in my Louise Penny story… ” There’s always another story-there is more than meets the eye.”

And the Good News… Each of us exist because God lovingly decided to weave us into His Story.

So until tomorrow… Let us all give gratitude for being asked to become part of the Christmas story, God’s on-going story… through our faith that we, too, like the Three Wise Men , should know the difference as to whom deserves our homage and which things should drive us straight to our knees.

Today is my favorite day… with profuse apologies to Winnie the Pooh for forgetting to add his saying the last two blogs! Thanks Ann Graves for recognizing the omission!

Dear Reader:

I have a habit of pulling colorful modern mantras up when I see one that has the potential to teach me something new. I immediately begin researching the diversified thoughts behind the expression -in this case – ” Progress Over Perfection.”

I had read several explanations but I wasn’t overwhelmed with any and was just about to drop the idea… when a beautiful pendant with the words engraved on it appeared and the name Bryan Anthony’s under it- but that is not what made me stop and listen. It was the following passage below the pendant that held me captive ” listening” to the words… as smooth and melodious as an unforgettable melody.

When something speaks that strongly to one… it means we were supposed to ” hear it” and then absorb it. … And then share it… a great life lesson for a new year. ( I re-read it several times.)

When you feel far away from where you want to be and the pressure of getting it right consumes you, remember life was never made for perfect people.

It’s made for those with persistent hearts, for the ones who continuously show up even when the outcome is uncertain.

Life isn’t about having the right answers, it’s about finding purpose in the process. It’s about giving yourself grace in moments of growth.

On the days when you find yourself chasing perfection, learn to pursue progress instead. You’re free to move ahead right where you’re standing – the smallest step forward will always get you further than waiting in your worries.

As you lean into progress remember to show yourself kindness along the way. You’re still on a journey and cannot compare how far you’ve been with roads you’ve yet to travel.

You can move at a pace that is challenging but not overwhelming. You can find hints of light before things fall into place. Nothing has to be perfect in order to be enough-keep showing up with conviction and let yourself be a perfect work in progress!

So until tomorrow… I will carry this perfectly timed revealing ” God Wink” into the New Year… another lantern along an untraveled passage. What a light it shone!When we are supposed to pause and listen to God – He finds a way.

I got my best shot of medicine yesterday from a visit from Jo! We laughed and solved all the world’s problems … and she left behind stories… and trinkets to accompany the stories.

I know many truck owners with red trucks … who call their prized possession ( their truck) ” Big Red” like my geranium. So the perfect place for my new welcome mat from Jo ( with changing centerpieces) was right in from of the white bench… ” Big Red’s ” home.)

And I can’t help myself… a grandmother’s prerogative… so proud of Rutledge! Can’t think of a better trait as Student of the Month. Love you Rutledge!💗💗💗🙌

Dear Reader:

Don’t millions of Americans still recall last Saturday night ( well a few million might not remember-too much partying) all the excitement of bringing 2023 in as twelve strikes on the clock clang and January 1 officially began the New Year?

But within a few days… like now, we fickle humans have already turned January into our personal nemesis… blaming everything from diets already gone astray , exercising scratched from our daily goal to-do list, spending more time with family taken up by that one last drink after work before going home cave-in. The innocent month of January becomes our prodigal dumping bin for all our personal failures.

Over time poor January got so dumped on and blamed for humans’ personal resolutions gone astray… it now has the unfair title of being The Most Depressing Month of the Year. Or ” The Monday of Months.”

By now the whining starts with ” It’s so long, it’s so cold, it’s so financially tight… it’s so boring.”

It’s so long.” Well guess what… there are six more months just as long and no one complains about them… months like May or October ( our favorite month)

” It’s so cold” … seriously is that January’s fault? It’s like telling a baby in the womb they aren’t allowed to come in January because mom isn’t keen making the trip to hospital when it’s so cold and it’s just plain inconvenient.”

” Our checking account is so low… how are we going to make it?” Go look in the mirror and identify the person you see…as the one who completely, in bliss abandonment, way overspent the budgeted holiday amount.

” It’s so boring! ” Boring is as boring does. In my generation growing up ” telling adults you were ” bored ” got you in more trouble than bad language. ( though that was no picnic either.) “I still remember the time telling Grandmother we were bored one summer and before Ben, David or I knew what had happened we each had a rake cleaning out the two mules stables gagging at all the manure and then replacing fresh straw.

I remember Grandmother walking off chuckling… ” Never let it be said my grandchildren were ” bored” staying with me!” ” We can’t have that now… can we?” Very smart woman!

( I honestly don’t know how I survived from not being buried in the manure stables… if stares could kill… I was dead.” ) But… I also was never bored!!!

Starting out the New Year with a virus could have propelled me to sigh and blame January for a ” pity party” but January didn’t make me sick… a random virus did… and I have been beyond lucky not to have been sick before. What a blessed person I am!

I mustered up the emotional courage to start the sad process of taking off the ornaments and lights and Ruthie the Angel from the Christmas Tree. Ruthie got a longer reign than usual -she seems quite content now to return to her comfortable chair.

So until tomorrow… Come on… Give January a chance! Love it for ” What It Is”… time… life! ( Think about this…If once upon a time… on a normal day …if St Peter showed up and told us we would be making ” The Trip” – at the end of January with him … but if we wanted to skip January and go now we could … I have a sneaky feeling … most people would reply how much they love January and would be glad to wait… and be happy it has 31 days! ) 😂

PS I read that the third Monday in January has been dubbed ” Blue Monday” -the most Depressing Day of the Year! Knowing this I plan to wear red that day… and do something FUN !!!! Love you January!!!

Dear Reader:

I think part of my problem with my recent illness was my ego got damaged. You see I don’t get sick. I know this sounds bizarre to say from a long-term ( on-going cancer patient) but I can count on one hand how many times I have had any kind of virus-even a common cold in the past years.

I can be in room where everyone else gets sick from some virus… but not me. It is like life has given me a trade-off for living with cancer- cancer yes… viruses no!!!

Whatever ” bug” I had was brutal but swift. It hit without notice leaving me completely drained of energy but yesterday morning I woke up and immediately sensed that I was back in my body again… the worst was over… suddenly I was hungry. Always a good sign!

One very bright side of being sick ( I forgot to add yesterday) was that by yesterday I was ready to resume reading… my head was clear again. The greatest gift given a reader is a line or passage that makes you stop, put down the book and ponder the line.

Louise Penny is a master at subtle but powerful connections between her characters.

What I love about her latest book is her intentional fall-back in time to the fragile, horrific case that started the enduring, long-term relationship between Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir.

Throughout this novel a returning thought felt by Beauvoir during this horrifying case is deliberately and continuously included in the story… almost as a forewarning to the reader that whatever you are thinking about the case , at any point, is probably wrong. The thought that consumes Beauvoir is ” There is always another story, there is more than meets the eye.”

Louise Penny writes as if she is peeling an onion… slowly but deliberately taking off the layers of deception to final reveal the truth.

I find myself thinking every time I read Beauvoir’s recurring thoughts that this statement is so true of life. Outside our family and close friends… most of us just know the people around us at ” face value.” If we really knew the cleaner, the pharmacist, the insurance agent, the plumber or electrician… I have a feeling that we would all find another story inside them… that ” there is more than meets the eye” good or not.

We shouldn’t be too quick to judge a person’s actions before knowing the whole story or as Paul Harvey taught us … The Rest of the Story. It is always the story behind the story that surprises us.

So until tomorrow… Isn’t it nice to know that we are lucky enough to have God in our lives-for He is the only One whose judgement matters… why? Because God created us , knows our every thought and action… because He, alone knows each of our stories behind the story. He knows it all!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh ( and a blustery one) awoke to tornado watches and dangerous thunderstorms predictions-we did get some initial torrential storms but mainly just a rainy day… perfect for reading. Excuse me while I return to my book!

Dear Reader:

It is very easy to to get down when we don’t feel well. From what I have been reading… there are a lot of varied ” bugs” floating around right now.

First we had that record-breaking cold over Christmas and now we have see-sawed to near record breaking heat … these ” elevator” weather patterns release a paraphernalia of viruses. And unfortunately one decided to park itself inside me late Sunday night and early Monday morning.

But on the bright side it has given me the opportunity to observe nature… especially the subtle changes ( already) taking place in the extended afternoon light. On December 21 we observed the winter solstice ( shortest day of the year) On that day… by 4:48 darkness had descended.

Yesterday afternoon as I stared out my den window it was 5:15 and still one shaft of light was slowly fading. That’s a big difference already in a small amount of time. I love having more time in the afternoons. Definitely… a bright spot!

Even though the plants on the deck and gardens got “freeze-burned ” from the single digit nights around Christmas… I know that in the spring many of these plants will sprout one new green leaf and that is all it will take to return to life! Hope is alive… even if the plant appears ” dead.”

I had been sad about taking the ornaments off the tree… but happy about Mandy and the kids ( who helped me put it up) coming to help me take it down. So my ” bug and fever” bought me a few more days of watching the tree in the evenings.

So until tomorrow… an important bright spot has also been the calls and texts checking on me… makes one feel cared for… and that is very special. Thank you!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

I know some of you yesterday got different excerpts… after the original post. Anne asked if it was ” ghosties” popping up. I told her it was some weird fever that hit me early yesterday morning.

I felt I was in some kind of “La La” Land and just completely out of it. My forehead was burning… and I was out of Tyennol- My neighbor Vickie came by and told me she was running to the store to pick up some supplies. As soon as I popped two heavy duty tablets… I collapsed and fell back to sleep. Waking up around 11 and feeling ” human” again.

Louise Penny, like Tennyson’s New Y ear’s resolution … believes in the future being happier… not just happy.

Anne told me she had just read a January newsletter from Louise Penny… that she really liked… I felt the same way.

Live in hope… not an absolute hope but a shifting , changing, and adjusting Hope.

Penny uses her long journey with her adored husband’s declining mental health to express her ” view” on Hope.

1-When the first signs of mental decline hit-Louise prayed it wasn’t dementia.

2- When it was diagnosed as dementia Louise prayed for a slow progression

3- When it started progressing rapidly, Louise prayed Michael wouldn’t be afraid

-4- When nearing the end… Louise prayed she could keep him at home and that he would pass gently knowing he was loved ( all three came to pass! )

-5- Then ( Louise adds) “I hoped I would be happy… and you know what… I am”)

So until tomorrow… ” YES …hope shifts, we never need to lose hope… so everyone ( 2023) Have a Happier New Year!

” Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh … and getting happier as my fever has broken!

Dear Reader:

Had an unsolved mystery Saturday … when I thought my roof had gotten hit by a large branch or the sky was falling. Help Henny Penny!

I heard a loud thump ( or thud) and ran outside into the front yard… but nothing? I scurried around the house-checking hedges also…to see if a branch had rolled off the roof … again…nada. What?

I started back in the house still puzzled by that loud thump. After writing the post… I laid down on the sofa, napping, when from off in a distance … softer thumps -sounded. If it were reindeer on the roof/someone had gotten lost… certainly delayed!

I went to pull myself up when my foot hit something hard and squishy at the same time. Mystery solved!

It was the apple tree… It took me a moment to realize what had happened… on my way to climb up the steps to the dining room and check the centerpiece… there was the second ” culprit” apple lodged on one step!!

Another fell just as I looked at the centerpiece… the apple tree had lasted through Christmas but was now ready to say good-bye! ( It is amazing how loud those apples were hitting the wooden floors, rolling down the steps and under my sofa!)

I mercifully put the falling centerpiece out of its misery… the scent of spoiling apples made the den smell like a cider house! Even with my olfactory lack of full smell and taste due to years of chemo injections, infusions, and now daily tablets… the acrid tart smell was pervasive.

It drew my interest to learn more about the original significance of apples to the Christmas holiday. Here is what I learned…” Original Christmas tree ornaments used to be apples-to tell the story of Adam and Eve forced out of Paradise … and to speak about the temptations of the world after the original sin.

Apples were placed on pine trees and later white candles added but because ( before battery operated candles) they sometimes fell and burnt the trees or the heat from the candle light rotted the apples … they began to lose popularity.

They were replaced by handcrafted red glass balls and even today red Christmas ball ornaments are the most popular!

So until tomorrow… We must remember that love grows exponentially… like magic. And even though I was able to only get the last spoonful of ” Hoppin’ John’s’ yesterday at the Piggly Wiggly deli-I have no doubt it will not only bring luck this year to me but spread to others!!!

I replaced the Apple Tree with Lisa’s Hollow Tree nursery wreath that is just as green as the day it arrived! I believe these two centerpieces did so well because of the loving generosity of their benefactors-Honey and Lisa!

Dear Reader:

Yesterday I went looking for a new word or expression to start the New Year and its “beginning ” off today. Out of many ” tried but true” familiar greetings… one word popped up that hit the spot for me…“genesis.”

The term “genesis” can be traced back to the Greek ” gignesthai” meaning ” to be born.” When this term is written with a capital “G” -it refers to the first book of the Bible. When it is used in a non-Biblical sense… it means ” an origin” or ” new beginning.”

Isn’t there something so comforting about the process of ” wiping the slate clean” of all mistakes … and then staring at a clean board? A metaphor for each new year.

It takes me back to my elementary school days at Westlawn Elementary in Fayetteville, NC. I was one of those weird kids who loved to stay after school and help the teacher erase the two blackboards in our room.

My teacher would erase one board while I erased the other… I got to have all of my teacher’s attention for that precious time.

Of course we both had to wait for whoever had gotten in trouble that day to clean the erasers first. It was usually Freddie Jones. He wasn’t a bad kid… just a squirmy one who spoke before he thought and simply could not stay in his seat.

I still remember the scent of chalk as we waited on Freddie to take the erasers outside and clean them. At the end of each week… both Freddie and I would get a peppermint stick from the teacher’s secret ” stash” drawer.

Fridays, walking home with Freddie, eating our peppermint sticks …provides me ( even now) with one of my favorite childhood memories. No matter how the week had gone… good or bad… it was over and two shiny clean boards would await us Monday morning offering clean fresh hope and unexpected possibilities for the new week.

Well by now we know our two state bowl colleges fell short of victory Friday afternoon and night… but it wasn’t for lack of trying in either case. And the potential possibilities for the upcoming 2023 football seasons looks brighter than ever!

Kaitlyn had planned to birthday surprise Tommy with asking some friends to join them at Walsh and Mollie’s home ( this time around… much warmer) cook-out to watch the game. Mollie’s two sisters and their families were in town too so it was quite a crowd … plenty of good food and camaraderie… but unfortunately a different ending for the game as hoped.

This could be seen in the half-time photos and the closing minutes.

So until tomorrow… think about how many new possibilities you will experience this year and what new insights and knowledge you will add to your sense of ” being” ! What gifts await!

Yesterday ( New Year’s Eve ) felt like a balancing act… tetter-tottering- between the old and the new!

Whew! Almost forgot!!!How could I?

” Rabbit Rabbit!!!” Let’s make sure we start the first day of January off on the right foot ( a rabbit’s foot!) Say ” Rabbit Rabbit” first thing today and have a lucky 2023!

And guess what… 2023 is the YEAR of the RABBIT! How lucky is that?????