Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

A few weeks ago I took a leap of faith and cut back all the brittle brown stems on ” Big Red” my ” historic geranium. It looked sad and pathetic then but the gamble paid off… green stems are now producing green buds who in turn produce fresh, bright red blooms.

The other evening, after closing up the other apartment side, I turned on the porch lantern and stood there awestruck. The filtered lantern light lit up one fresh bright red bloom…even casting a shadow.

I ran to get my mobile phone and took a picture …thinking it would never take without a flash spoiling it … ( darkness had fully descended) but it did-with a visual clarity that took my breath away.

I had heard artists and photographers talk about the magical ” Golden Hours” ( the first hour of light just after dawn-the last hour of light before sunset.) I had not heard of the magical ” Blue Hour” -segment of time just after sunset dusk… when the sky is indigo and inky but in my case it was just plain dark outside when I took the picture.

The ” magical” blue in this picture is nestled beneath the bloom inside the stem and leaves-a glowing blue light? Do you see it? Nothing was there-rechecked it the next morning … Anne goes for ” UFO?” Why not?🤣 As good a guess as any?

The longer I live… the more convinced I am that we are surrounded by magic every hour of every day… and to see or experience it… we must believe that the extraordinary dwells among the ordinary. And remember to stop and take a second glance at the world.

So until tomorrow… ” Life is too short to miss the magic of each and every day. ”

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday Jo Dufford surprised me by celebrating ” It’s Not Your Birthday … It’s You’re Alive and Thinking of You” Day! Jo knows exactly what I have been talking about in this blog post… if you don’t see magic… Make It! Give it to Someone Else! I just happened to be the happy recipient!

The bag was filled with all kinds of surcies… including a miniature garden gnome and a large one-they explained in a message that they normally lived underground helping seeds and bulbs grow-sprinkling their magic! But when they appeared on top of the ground they brought good luck! Thank you dear friend!!! You made my day!

Anne is stretching her indigo ideas into making Carp ( fish) kites. An upcoming theme at the Public Art Works Center is ” Release” and one of Anne’s kites ” Carp Koinibon” ( center piece for the exhibit) is called ” Catch and Release” -remembering ” Children’s Day in Japan May 5. Children have to learn the art of finesse in elevating these fish kites …picking up the wind, running backwards and finally releasing screams of joy!!!

Before signing off this evening my friend Libby and her wonderful family needs prayers-lots of them!

Libby tripped down some stairs in her son’s house …broke her right arm and fractured a vertebra in her neck. She was rushed to one Columbia Hospital and early in the morning rushed to another where she will remain in one of the trauma unit floor rooms for now.

Good news… she has avoided surgery-at least for now… while her recovery is watched and evaluated. Of course casts and braces are in order and then lots of recovery time.

Libby’s amazing daughter, Betsy, a Junior Ya, has kept the rest of us up to date on everything and Libby is coherent… nothing short of a miracle. God has heard our prayers! The Power of Prayer is a force of the Divine!!! Let’s keep them coming! Thank you… accompanied by praise!

**** Libby is 3rd from the front…

Dear Reader:

I am just not quite ready to send Lincoln back into the recesses of my cranium treasure memory ” attic.”

When I saw this ( title quote) reversing the assessment of our homes…using human feeling by letting our home assess us… I knew Lincoln’s creative wit and unique perspective had nailed it again.

We have all heard ” design experts” encourage us to let our homes reflect our essence and personalities. If I had to assess my home it would be … shabby chic, ( emphasis on shabby/ old) a lover of primary bright colors, ( orange and yellow) bright cushions… flowers everywhere, and pictures of flowers and framed photos of family… with open windows letting light in and books everywhere! After all… they are my best friends!

Now let’s pause and think… if something happened to us and we were gone… would our house, our home be proud of us and who once lived here. Would perspective buyers feel the happiness and love that dwelt here?

Visitors and tourists feel this when touring the Lincoln Historic Home place in Springfield, Illinois. Before “President “was added to his title… Springfield remembered Lincoln as devoted husband, a fun, adoring father and popular neighbor and community leader.

Amy Robach, GMA reporter, visiting the Galápagos Islands, showed us their oldest giant tortoise …who was alive when Lincoln lived! Mind-blowing!

*If only this tortoise could talk!”

So until tomorrow… ” The strength of a nation lies in the homes of its people.”

Today is my favorite day. Winnie the Pooh

Remember… when we take time to add flowers, bushes, trees, and gardens around our homes we are , in a sense, sharing the love we feel toward our home with family, friends, neighbors, visitors and even just people passing by…

Dear Reader:

I knew I couldn’t let Presidents Day come and go this year without paying tribute to our greatest President-Abraham Lincoln.

Last night I tearfully ( assassination scene) finished watching the History Channel’s three night documentary simply titled: Abraham Lincoln-based on the award-winning author, Doris Kearny Goodwin ‘s bestseller Leadership in the Turbulent Times.

It stars actor, Graham Sibley, as Lincoln and what an amazing ” Lincoln he is!” The mini-series is filled with surprises and new insights. But then isn’t that true of great men… they never give up, in spite of failures and losses because they know they are following a destiny. They won’t be deterred and centuries after they are gone, we are still learning from them.

I knew Lincoln wrote amazing speeches but his delivery became a calling card for the public who wanted to hear his homespun humor jokes, his quick-witted retorts, his stories, and his growing reputation for saying more in less time than any other politician or noted speakers of his day.

As I watched one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, re-enacted splendidly, it was obvious that Lincoln instinctively understood when to play which ” card” of his speech or notes. Before movies, pro-sports, television, etc. – political debates and public speeches drew large crowds who wanted to be entertained. This style of speaking…Lincoln practiced until he became one of the most popular speech writers and deliverers… like storytellers and comedians knew… timing is everything in an one-liner. Examples:

” Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

” He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.”

” When I do good… I feel good -When I do bad I feel bad… that’s my religion.”

Today writers are famous for keeping a pad and pen in tow, especially in the car, because don’t we get our best ideas driving? Lincoln kept pen and paper in his coat pockets. While walking the streets, if he got an idea for a speech, he wrote it down and put it in his 🎩 top hat ( the perfect place unless he ran into too many women and politely tipped his hat too sharply. )

Though not formally ” schooled” Lincoln’s greatest discovery became books. His speaking ability stemmed from his lifelong love of reading-he was never far from a book throughout his life and he was a lifetime learner.

Upon entering the White House, secession started from the slave states and Lincoln realized it would be his responsibility as Commander-in-Chief that would make or break his Presidency.

He had little military experience so he turned to books to give himself a ” crash” course ” in military strategy and by the end of the war Lincoln truly was the commander-in-chief.

Lincoln just didn’t believe in short speeches he realized that the first words in a speech should be sparse and simple… and the same with the ending. Therein lay the memorable words.

” Fourscore and seven years ago ” concluding with ” Government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

So until tomorrow… Remember to keep it simple… because in simplicity lies greatness.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

For my last ” Lincoln” quote… it must be applied to a wonderful lunch date with none other than my ” sister” Brooke at Oscars yesterday. It was a last-minute happy coincidence when Brooke had to come to the Home Depot for new carpet. We had just enough time to eat and laugh and talk before Brooke had to get home to meet the painters-but it made my day!!!

Lincoln said it best: ” The better part of one’s life consists of his ( her) friendships!” So true Abe… so true and so honest!

Winnie got her hair cut and now feels like a new ” woman”

Dear Reader:

In Charleston … yesterday, Presidents Day, meant no school if… the assignments for Tuesday were complete. So Sunday night… Eva Cate face-timed me that she finished her Cold War project so she and Jake could come visit me yesterday. Happiness is my grandchildren visiting Boo.

I had an earlier morning appointment so Mandy and the kids came on and I met them at the house… sunshine, 70’s and the new Laurel Street Park had just opened to the delight of ” holiday” kids, lunch out, ice cream … followed by the kids and Mandy helping me fix up another section of the garden!

It wasn’t until they started to leave that darkening clouds drove the blue away and the winds picked up… still the ” half and half” day worked in its timing.

As I waved goodbye… and took a picture (title photo) of the darkening skies… I remembered a little short story with a lot of relevancy to life in our country today.

One day the Sun in all her radiance was shining high in the sky, when a massive Storm Cloud formed right in front of her. The Storm Cloud said, ” I’m more powerful than you! I can raise mighty winds and pummel the earth with my rain. “

The Sun just smiled , which infuriated the Storm Cloud even more. The Storm Cloud said ” See that little boy? Whoever can get his jacket off is the most powerful.”

In his pride the Storm Cloud summoned all of his strength and rolled himself out across the the entire skyline, spitting and raining on the little boy, trying to blow off his jacket. The boy held in tighter . At the height of his triumphal display, the Storm Cloud realized he had spent all of his power and now was evaporating away.

The Sun kept shining patiently, radiating her light and warmth. The little boy started to sweat. It was getting hot. The little boy took off his jacket!

Obviously the moral of the story … when you try to force anyone in your life to do what you want them to do… they are going to hold on tighter.

How many of us as parents learned this lesson the hard way when we told our teenage son or daughter we disapproved of their girl or boyfriend… they just grew closer ( and yes, unfortunately, tighter 🤣)!!!

Like the Sun we must be patient ( pray a lot) and keep our conversation ” light.”

And until tomorrow… I just try to remember Grandmother Wilson’s mantra about arguing… ” It’s easier to catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”

Personally… with all the split views today on seemingly everything… I listen for the ” We the People” candidates over ” I’m the Person ” ones….

Every time any of the children/ grandchildren come see me I feel like Piglet…” I just want to be sure of each… and hug them.”

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

The sun was out yesterday and the temps hovering near 70… a perfectly beautiful day! I walked around the yard assessing the state of the garden… pretty rough… it is definitely going to require some laborious weed pulling and lots of hacking away and cutting back dead stems …to let the colors of new life emerge.

I think I was so lost in thought over the amount of clean-up that lay ahead… that I backed up to the yellow bench and just plopped. Soon I realized that something kept sticking me in the back… thinking it was broken stems or sticks I turned around and to my delight saw only glorious azaleas nudging me as their stems were growing through the spaces in back of the bench.

I think God was telling me to quit whining and instead see what lay ahead of all the hard work… nature at its most beautiful-the very azaleas that make Summerville famous-make me love my hometown even more.

Strange that I associate azaleas with home because today the azalea symbolizes ” remembrance of home or the desire to return to it. ”

I started walking around checking out all the different color azaleas unfurling their blooms…in the front, side, and back yards. The word Azalea” comes from the Greek word ” dry.” This is is because azaleas grow better in dry, sandy, well-drained soil. And that is what Summerville has in ” abundance ” another symbol of the word ” azalea.”

Today advertising has jumped on the word ” Azalea” to promote Summerville housing, neighborhoods, subdivisions, apartments, festivals, Azalea Square with all its name-brand retail stores and restaurants. But to me the only real ” Azalea” place in town is Azalea Park. Breathtakingly beautiful in early spring… as I type the azaleas are popping open like popcorn in a skillet!

Another week like (the one forecast for this week) and the park will turn into a fairy land! Azaleas reflecting off ponds and white bridges showing visitors sixteen acres of water, sculptures and azaleas of every kind.

It took a far-sighted mayor, by the name of Grange Cuthbert, who took a leap of faith just as the Great Depression hit in 1929… to envision the park as an azalea filled site to attract visitors to Summerville to help boost its economy. Using WPA grant monies workers were paid 10 cents an hour to plant azaleas ( including his own son)

But this vision would never have come to pass without the help of nursery expert ( and philanthropist) George Segelken who provided 33,000 azaleas to the park. *** He also propagated the” Pride of Summerville ” ( A salmon pink shade azalea)

So until tomorrow… If you are feeling nostalgic and homesick, plant an azalea bush or send an azalea bouquet back home to one you miss… to one you love-tell them of your ” abundance” of love for them.

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

When Tate Nation… sent Rutledge a personalized congratulations note on learning the Presidents … he also generously sent me three notecard paintings on Pretty Place. I sent one to Honey since Tarshie married there and Kaitlyn since she fell in love with it the first time she discovered it on line…. years ago.

Pretty Place Chapel is located in Camp Greenville in the mountains near the state line between South Carolina and North Carolina. It takes one’s breath away. The drop-off scenery is spectacular.

Tate’s two daughters attended camp there every summer …so each summer ,while picking the girls up , he got to feel it’s sacred presence repeatedly.

For me Pretty Place is one of God’s best ” Winks” … a reassurance that HE purpose fully shows us what “For the beauty of the earth” is all about…

*** It was so generous of this giving Charleston artist ( Tate Nation) to share so much of himself and his talents with an old friend and her family. Thank you Tate!

When I see examples of this kind of giving…I remember all the candlelight Christmas Eve’s services… where we held the candle light ceremony over the grandkids’ heads to get them to behave for the last carol Silent Night.

Then last Christmas the service was held outside… and I must admit-it was even more beautiful in the woods! These words came back to me…

” A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle” -James Keller/

Even in an Alzheimer’s ward… the most beautiful truths can be revealed… according to scripture…” Love your neighbor as yourself.”

So until tomorrow… One day a visitor was walking down a dementia hall… when she heard a woman calling out…

” Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!” She went into her room and said, ” I am not Jesus, but what can I do to help you?” The resident replied, ” If you’re not Jesus, who is? ” -Peace

Today is my favorite day/Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Yesterday as I was taking photos of my gorgeous pink camellias … abundantly filling every stem… I happened to glance down and in almost a mirror effect… many of the camellias had gotten blown off the gigantic bush/tree. The ground beneath was filled with them-in every stage of development.

The cause…Literally the last two days have been “Winnie the Pooh Blustery Days.”

As beautiful as the camellias were on the stems-over 10 feet tall… the ground beneath my feet was covered too/mimicking a newly wed’s bedroom covered in rose petals.

But the title photo made me sad … these two camellia buds stayed tight in their ” cocoons” too long-without taking the leap of faith to unfurl and bloom for all the world to see. As a result of a wind storm they were separated from their secure stem before blooming.

The Risk to Bloom

” And then the day came

when the risk to remain

tight in a bud was

more painful than the

risk to bloom! “

Haven’t we all faced dilemmas that place us in similar tight bud situations? Do we take a risk for an unknown opportunity that might help us bloom – or painfully stay holed up , tight as a bud” watching the world pass us by?

Haven’t most of us witnessed a family member, or friend, or even ourselves change our lives with a leap of faith toward trusting in love again, moving to a new destination to start over with a fresh start or begin a new career with room for advancement?

Stop and remember the precise moment when ( in your life) the status quo became more painful than the leap of faith into the unknown.

So until tomorrow… Trust in God… imagine God softly urging you to feel a relief of freedom more precious and powerful than anything you have ever experienced. Open up your bud and BLOOM!

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh

*** Don’t we all love to hear friends or family (take a second glance at us and sincerely say-) ” You look terrific… like you are in full bloom! ”

Dear Reader:

Isn’t it wonderful when we experience those days when everything just seems to fall in place. You don’t have to listen to ‘ elevator’ music’ for half an hour before placing an order on your phone, you are waved to a teller at the post office ( in front of others) because your package is so small and light. Or your favorite gas pump opens up just as you pull in to the gas station.

Nothing earth shattering -still it just feels like the universe is blowing you a kiss.

And then… there are the other days when nothing goes right. I call them dangling participle days… in a nutshell… crazy confusing. A participle is supposed to describe a subject noun or even object noun -instead it just dangles by itself not attached to any noun. Example: Eating pie in the rain, a rainbow was seen.

Who was eating pie? And since when do rainbows eat pie?????? ” Eating pie is just dangling out there in the universe somewhere… but the noun is absent from the sentence … completely clueless…

Eastern North Carolinians and Piedmont South Carolinians have a twang all their own -For me…even decades after moving to the Lowcountry… my accent is a dead give-away. Especially with dangling participles.

Grandmother Barbour and some aunts/ uncles rarely added an ” ing” to any participle or noun… for example …kindling just sounded like kindle… the boys had to bring in logs for the fireplaces in the winter… but we girl cousins got by with just bringing ” kindle” in to start the fire.

So I grew up thinking starter wood was ” kindle.” Imagine my surprise when suddenly several years back everyone was talking about getting a ” Kindle” for Christmas… a computerized e-reader to replace books.

Even after I figured it out and even got one for Christmas… it sat in a drawer and collected dust. I liked kindle ( starter wood) but not Kindle readers. Why? Three reasons.

Senses of sight, smell, and touch. I love feeling a book, especially a beloved, well-worn hard cover book-I love the touch of turning pages, the smell of libraries and the sight of beautiful covers and drawings within the covers. That is what makes a book magical!

In a novel I finished reading …a young woman brought life back to a Scottish village (where the villagers had been without a library for years since funding stopped in lieu of computerized reading.)

But after several months of providing books to the village through a large van, a bookmobile, an amazing metamorphosis happened. The book mobile owner witnessed the following…

” As Nina looked around the little village in the sunlight she noticed…Everyone was reading! People out in their gardens, a woman in a wheelchair by a war memorial, a little girl swinging, in the bakery, and coffee stand. A mother excitedly ran up to Nina and yelled-” My kids have almost stopped playing Minecraft-they are now reading books about it… truly a miracle!“

An older man told Nina he couldn’t remember when he stopped reading but he thought it was when he just stopped seeing books around…he went on… you know , on the bus or train everyone used to read books. But now all everyone was doing was fiddling with their phones.

…Or holding up a metal barrier ( tablets) so I couldn’t see what anyone was reading and converse about it. Was it good or should I read it? It was as if suddenly, one day, the books simply disappeared. It was so lonely! People lost contact with other people.

As I read those passages I knew exactly what he was feeling-it was exactly what I was feeling… dull gray or black covers on reading tablets make barriers to those around you… a beautiful cover book invites conversation.

So until tomorrow… my kindle firewood ignites a fire… my abandoned Kindle Reader took the spark out of my great love -reading! So Bye Kindle!

Today is my favorite day! Winnie the Pooh

Remember… when you are down or having a crazy ” dangling participle” day -Take Merlin’s advice… learn something new! Or go to your garden! Either way… just smile!!!

Dear Reader:

Have you ever taken a moment to wonder how a ” President’s Day” idea got started?

President’s Day was originally established in 1885… in recognition of just one President-our first… George Washington!

It remained that way for almost a century… until 1971 when some political holiday committee decided to honor all U. S. Presidents, Past and Present, while also creating another three-day weekend for the nation’s workers.

( Now the apostrophe came after the ” s.” ( Plural Presidents’ Day … on the third Monday in February. )

In education, however, schools usually take a four-day weekend. Friday and Monday off. Sometimes one day might be designated as a ‘ Teacher Work Day’ -usually the Friday before the weekend so ” plan ahead ” teachers …wanting to join their families in the mountains for the last ski trip of the season… save their one ” personal day ” for just this occasion! The day has grown in popularity!

*** And since Gerald Ford was a natural athlete in just about every athletic endeavor he certainly would have approved-he loved skiing in Vail, Colorado with his family as President.

This year Rutledge’s third grade teacher got her class interested in learning all the Presidents using author-Will Cleveland and art illustrator, Tate Nation’s mnemonic picture-story device in their highly popular book… Yo Millard Fillmore! So much fun! Rutledge was the first boy to learn them all!

Yesterday I surprised Rutledge with Presidential ” surcies ” for being the first to learn all the Presidents…including 4 Presidential dollar coins-only given out after identifying the coin Presidents from my clues , a football with four collegiate football players who went on to become President of the United States, ( thanks Anne for the help) a children’s book on the Presidents and best of all … a personal note from Tate Nation , the illustrator of Yo Millard Fillmore and friend of mine! We did many workshops around SC together!

I think perhaps there should be one small change in the title of our upcoming holiday-Instead of Presidents’ Day… it should read-Prayers for the Presidents’ Day.

Every President, who has ever sat in the Oval Office deserves (but more importantly) NEEDS our prayers. Personally speaking I wouldn’t wish that job on my worst enemy and I never cease to be amazed that anyone is willing to take it on. How many problems can one person consume without a break-down these days? How does anybody sleep?

So until tomorrow… let us pray for our leader in these turbulent times…that God be with him, guide him, and protect this country as we try to mold our democracy to conform to our Founding Fathers’ hopes and aspirations… hopefully exceeding and broadening our perceptions of equality in the process!

Today is my favorite day- Winnie the Pooh

Hope in the form of yellow daffodils

Dear Reader:

Some of you might remember when I received this real live succulent ” pumpkin planter ” from Susan Swicegood this past Halloween! She also gave one to all the family ” gals” and theirs lived a reasonable time but most got a soft place that turned ” bad” soon after.

Mandy was able to transplant the succulents to another planter and they are thriving… but my pumpkin decided it wanted to see Thanksgiving, Christmas, a New Year and now Valentine’s Day… all intact… can Easter be far behind?

Hearts are like my succulent pumpkin… Valentines is over… but the human heart keeps beating and every day of every year we breathe… we have an opportunity to use it… to tell someone we love them, to do a kind deed, to console another, to reach out a helping hand. Love always wins out in the end… and if we don’t see it or feel it… we know it’s not the end … we have time to keep looking and searching. To become love ourselves! ❤️💗

And one important thing we must remember… love does not require constant chatter… some of our greatest feelings of love have been directed at newborns, gazing in the eyes of our adoring pets and visiting the elderly by simply sitting with them and holding their hands. Silence is not only golden… it carries love in its greatest essence.

Have you noticed that the longer we live-we know more but speak less? Yet this doesn’t diminish our feelings of love. The very fact that sound always ends in silence doesn’t make music any less precious to our hearts and soul.

So until tomorrow… over time the heart expands from within and our skins thin to the point that we become one lone element-our search for love is over… we have become love.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh