Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Haven’t we all experienced Christmases when time became our taunting nemesis with more to do than 24 hours a day allowed? Didn’t we wish for more hours in each day in preparation for Christmas-… so much so that the day after Christmas found us in pj’s, under the covers, completely immobilized?

Recently we discussed , on an earlier post, that COVID has forced us to change some of our Christmas traditions and how hard that can be. Certain stories or decorations or carols performed together make us feel like we’re ” calling the birth of God into existence again.”

Traditions feel more like ” a collapsing of time, a drawing in of the past and future into one long now.”

Minister Quinn Caldwell comments that ” theologians would say we’re stepping out of ordinary time, or what they call chronos, and catching a glimpse of God’s time, or what they call kairos.

In chronos, minute follows minute, and you can only go forward; that’s where we live most of the time. But for God, in kairos, every moment is one, and your first Christmas, your last Christmas, this Christmas and the redemption of the whole world are all happening right now, forever. ”

Caldwell goes on to explain that it is one of the reasons people love this time of year so much, that quality it has that, for many people more than any other time of the year, let’s us glimpse the world the way God sees it.

So until tomorrow…God, grant that the songs, stories, and traditions of this season might become passageways leading straight to Your Heart!

Today is my favorite day. Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday we finally got rain after a two month drought period-my flowers are so happy! Every now and then we all need a rainy day to curl up in a comfy chair or sofa and read a good book!

Dear Reader:

Today come take a little trip with me…make time for a pause to see the beauty of Christmas inside and out… if we miss it-we have to wait a whole year for it to come around again. So put all your God-given senses on high beam and open your heart to the start of Christmas!

In the title picture you can see my natural Christmas Pear Tree refuses to lose all her leaves-this tree seems determined to make the most of her fifteen minutes of fame in fiery red flames of leaves!

Yesterday I started out for Daniel Island ( Wellmore) to take Ben his Pepsi’s, cheese crackers, heavy shirts, cream for the arthritis in his shoulder and appointment time for his Cat-Scan next Tuesday on his shoulder.

We have had a time cementing the appointment because radiology was sent an order for testing his left shoulder-I had to let them know it was his right shoulder. ” Are you sure?” I was repeatedly asked and Ben confirmed the pain was in his right shoulder. Two times the order had to be returned for correction-it got so absurd it was funny-reminding me of the famous Abbot and Costello comedy sketch ” Who’s on First?”

Wellmore was decorated so beautifully… and then Ben told me when he went down to breakfast the cooks were singing Motown-he joined in and they video taped ” My Girl” -just having fun-one of the singers who took the video brought it for me to watch-hilarious-got a picture in front of the Christmas Tree.

So I left Ben in high spirits and started driving home. As I got to Hutchinson Square I pulled over snd got out-beautiful, fun and creative themes and decor covered the park-a fun wonderland!

As I put my pillows out-my grandchildren’s pictures displaying their first Christmas …the memories got the best of me and I cried happy tears/it all started eleven years ago with Eva Cate and here we all are! A miracle!

As the Christmas cards start to come in -have you noticed the photo cards are winning out over traditional Christmas cards… so am looking for a photo corner this year while still hanging the Christmas cards on the bannister.

So until tomorrow… Remember to give yourself the gift of time to experience the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches of this remarkable season!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Simply put… I am drawn these days more to nature… the woods… the wilderness. Simplicity… John the Baptist and his message of hope for the One Who is coming-Whose Presence will change the world.

Since COVID-19… our pastor, Jeff Kackley, has taken the early morning 9:00 service outside. When he called earlier this week he told me how this group of church members are really loyal now to this new ” tradition ” and he wants to continue it as long as possible… with exceptions to cold or rainy weather.

Jeff started off calling everyone last Sunday to the wilderness for support, simplicity and serenity. All three attributes are badly needed these days. And what is it about being surrounded by trees, woods, and birds… even an owl? Almost immediately one can feel the stress dissipating through our pores. Suddenly we are all breathing normally again.

John the Baptist-now he was quite a character wasn’t he-a man who lived along the fringes of society. He decided early on-that was where his lifetime niche would be.

Yes we all remember John. He lived in the wilderness, ate locusts and honey and wore camel hair clothing. He was sort of this eccentric character who told everyone to “prepare the way of the Lord” and get ready for the birth of a new king. And he promised that those who did prepare the way of the Lord, would see the salvation of God”

Now you might think he would have a tough time attracting listeners, much less followers, except perhaps extremists, but such was not the case-steadily his diversified followers were increasing. Why? He was promising everyday citizens that hope for a better life rested in the One Who was coming bringing change to the troubled world order.

He would speak gently, quietly, accepting everyone through their hearts-not faces or races. He wanted peace and love to rule over prejudice and hate. No more wars-instead love of fellowman would take precedence over greed and power.

Jeff took time to set the stage for Jesus’s arrival amid corrupt, immoral tyrants in high, middle and local political offices. It was as if Pandora’s box had been re-opened a second time spilling out so many troubles that the thought of a quiet, deserted wilderness and a man of God prophesying Hope was a powerful catalyst to the downtrodden and weary.

***I think that is why I jumped at the invitation to return to the mountains this Thanksgiving … I could feel the stress leaving at the sight of the first mountain range!

So until tomorrow… don’t we feel a similar desire to escape this complicated world and worship in the woods-find peace in nature… the wilderness?

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

I can’t believe it! A most wonderful Christmas present. Finally I have told my story! This would have been so overwhelming if Mollie hadn’t acted on this opportunity when she heard about the concept of StoryWorth and spear-headed the initiative-she selected one question a week for 52 weeks and that question popped up every Monday morning… bright and early. I tried to respond and send my response back immediately… though we had a week to do so. By the end of the year every part of my life had been covered.

Mollie told me the book had come in right before I left to go on the Thanksgiving trip and she wanted to know if I wanted to take it with me and share with Tommy and Kaitlyn but I was terrified I would leave it in the lodge room or forget where I put it… plus I knew we would be so busy it would be hard to find quiet time to spend on it.

After I got home… I stayed up almost all night reading it and praying there weren’t a lot of mistakes-one or two but overall just fine! What a relief! All the pictures were in black and white-a few were a little dark but considering they were pictures of pictures… pretty darn good.

Today I will share a section about the Christmas traditions that started when the grandchildren began arriving and how due to the pandemic and time… itself… how traditions change over time-much to our initial sadness but an important metamorphosis about life. Change is the one constant we mortals are guaranteed.

Until last year the grandchildren came to Boo’s house for their

stockings, a snowball fight, light refreshments and then to church to hear Boo tell her annual Christmas story-that tradition ended last year with COVID-19-Walsh and Mollie had the family Christmas Eve party at their house and that will continue this year -I will miss everyone but realize everyone, except me lives in Mt Pleasant-traditions change

Receiving Joan Turner’s hand-painted Christmas card of the mother dog…Lucy’s family who she saved off the Highway has changed this year too since Mickey-the last dog of the original litter passed away at Thanksgiving. But Mandy told me a new dog has arrived-so will have too see what this year’s card holds!

And who can forget Honey arriving with a pineapple, apples and greenery every year to create the best-smelling centerpiece around!

The longest Christmas tradition ( 31 years) is the Christmas Eve Storytelling at the Children’s five o’ clock service-last year I pre-recorded it and this year, weather permitting I will be storytelling outside… changes continue-but then so does life.

So until tomorrow…we must remind ourselves that change does not change tradition-it strengthens it.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Yesterday was such a perfect day… I wish I could have put a bow on it. The spirit of Christmas came early-the gift of time. As I went to pick up supper and was driving back home-the blues and the pinks in the setting sun, with one stray cloud floating by, gave me goosebumps.

Tommy brought me my perfect Christmas tree. He tells me I say that every year but this time it was spectacular!

As soon as the tree goes up… so does Ruthie-the rag doll representing the main character in the book based on an incident from author, Gloria Houston, about a special Christmas in her mother, Ruthie’s, childhood-set in the Appalachian mountains during WWI.

Honey and I decided to follow the route of the characters one chilly trip in January-and while staying at a familiar haunt ( Gloria Houston frequented) I wrote her a letter which she soon after responded to with much excitement. She invited Honey and me to Waynesville for a book reading and Ruthie’s 95th birthday!

Another special letter… like Bill Barutio’s a few days ago on the blog. We all immediately hit it off and texted each other until Gloria’s passing ( rare cancer) in 2016 ( 20 years after her widely acclaimed Christmas book was first published in 1996.)

It is hard to believe Gloria has been gone five years now. She was always sending me prayers for my cancer and interest in my medical procedures and hope for a cure! Gloria fought her cancer valiantly but time ran out before she could finish a sequel to The Year of The Perfect Christmas Tree.

So yesterday I took time to pause and remember the story and amazing people behind the tradition of having a rag doll named Ruthie the Angel on the ” tip tip top” of my tree every year!

Tommy, my tree-cutting and pulling Santa Claus , brought his two favorite elves to help!

Mandy and Eva Cate spent yesterday morning working on a Christmas float for their school-after lunch they said they would come help me decorate the tree.

Jake did a good job decorating but preferred climbing in the Pear tree!

Cousins Rutledge, Lachlan, and Eloise went to the fun Hidden Pond Nursery with mom! A great day for one and all!

So until tomorrow… Sharing Time is one of the best gifts of Christmas!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

A good night’s sleep and my mobile phone is much happier-no photo problems!

Yesterday the December Poster defined the month as one filled with joy, gratitude, and Peace. In November, our Thanksgiving or gratitude month brought us a new understanding of the correlation between gratitude and joy.

Remember Brene Brown concluded after much research that ” So often we think that joy makes us grateful, when in reality… it’s gratitude that brings us joy.” Grateful people are joyful people.

Now we are down to one word left on the December poster-Peace! This is the ” Peace on Earth… Goodwill to Man” month. I started thinking what word best correlates with ” Peace.” Immediately my first thought cried out ” Truth.”

At my grade school ( growing up) every year for the end of school-American History would be broken into units of time-American Revolution, Civil War, Westward Movement, etc.

My favorite unit was the Civil War Unit in the third grade. Each performance was filled with patriotic songs and our last number brought the audience to their feet! It was the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

Every refrain had the same lyrical stanza…

Glory Glory Hallelujah-Glory Glory Hallelujah-Glory Glory Hallelujah…HIS TRUTH is MARCHING ON!!!

Truth… it is a hard commodity to find these days! ( Much harder than my beloved Captain John Derst’s Good Old Fashioned Bread which seems to disappear first off Publix’s bread aisle.) Maybe truth, like other “goods” is stuck on a cargo ship or truck slowly but surely going bad…. while waiting to deliver.

…Because the intentional attack on truth today is one of the latest weapons against ” peace on earth.” I think everyone can agree that some of the things coming out of politicians’ mouths today would be ridiculously hilarious if not for the seriousness of the consequences.

I still believe ” God’s truth is marching on” -my concern is for the number of followers who have stumbled, fallen, or simply walked away from God’s truth.

We cannot redeem ourselves by our actions-good, bad, or indifferent-in scripture we are told God judges us through our hearts. And all of us, deep down in our hearts, know the truth-in ourselves and others.

If we want peace-we must find the truth and then keep the faith-God has already defined us… now we must accept His grace and that truth-we must put love of God, country and the ” common good” over politics.

So until tomorrow ” His truth is marching on” thank goodness!

Getting ready for Christmas progress report…

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday was my younger brother David’s birthday. David left us way too soon but our loss was Heaven’s gain-forever young…

Dear Reader:

As you can see I have gotten in the Christmas spirit-a little here and there-but I am steadily moving towards my goal.

But then last night some ” bad elves” took over my photo inserts and froze everything … half in-half out.

I stopped and tried everything I knew to get the pictures to transfer in full but to no avail. In my frustration I hit something that deleted the whole blog post.

Don’t you find it, a little ironic, that I choose peace to discuss today about this month-December-being the time of Jesus’s birth-Peace on Earth-and my blog post vanishes before my eyes-and doesn’t reappear anywhere in drafts?

Who knows if this title or second picture will ever emerge-but it is a poster that states December is the month to express Joy, Gratitude, and Peace. Brene Brown has already shared her discovery that gratitude and joy are interwoven. I happen to think peace and truth are the same.

So until tomorrow when I share my epiphany about the relationship between peace and truth… look for your own inner peace.

The Dalai Lama says it best…” Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace. ”

Today is my ” favorite ” day-Winnie the Pooh

I am grateful to all of you for being patient with me and my bad” computer elves” … so now with a deep breath and slight sigh of resignation… I hope I will leave all of you in peace… and my computer will get a good night’s sleep and be more cooperative today.

Dear Reader:

Remember as I was leaving for the mountains a week ago… I, incorrectly, predicted my beautiful pear tree would be devoid of leaves and color except for the mountain of leaves on the ground by the time I returned? Wrong!

There still were plenty of leaves on the ground but now the continuum abundance of leaves on the tree were a brilliant fiery red!

So instead of fretting about starting work on decorating for Christmas-the most beautiful decoration of all was taking Christmas red center stage-nothing manmade on the porch would come equal to it!

It got me thinking as I walked around my gardens and saw other natural Christmas decorations-especially if you just add a sprig of holly or berries or pine cones.

We mortals make life a lot harder than it need be-rushing out to spend money on new decorations when nature has already provided all the beauty we need.

I checked the buds on Big Red and counted 10 more beginner buds-timing is everything but with a warm front coming in this week the buds should take off-I put a wall decoration behind Big Red to pick up the brick wall but Big Red will always be the star!

Then I found two look alike wreaths-Bingo-entrance doors done!

Now I want a cypress garland for my mantle but both Lowe’s and Home Depot said some might or might not come in-both were pretty vague. Anyone found any around here?

So until tomorrow… timing in life plays a major role throughout our lives-we just need to remember to let God guide our sleigh!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Walsh showed me their tree-he said the kids ” decorated ” it bunching everything in one spot on the front-so after everyone went to bed Walsh and Mollie spread out the decorations around the tree.

Dear Reader:

I have had one reoccurring dream since I first laid my eyes on St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope in Trust, North Carolina. I imagine myself standing in front of it in the snow.

Several years ago a magazine photographer apparently did just that… Admiring this beautiful scene-I can smell the snowy pines and smoke from a nearby campfire, see red cardinals playing in the snow and hear the beautiful melody of Greensleeves or What Child is This?

I always wake up just as I open the door to the Chapel pulling me into its comfort and joy.

I have a feeling that the one time I am allowed to stay inside that little Chapel filled with glorious music, light, and warmth… it will be at the end of my passing… awakening this time in my new home.

A God Wink… I ” randomly ” discovered a very special message from Bill Barutio ( builder and owner of St Jude’s Chapel) It was sent to me about a year after starting the post. I was so nervous reading it-afraid I might, in my zest to tell the chapel’s story, overstepped boundaries or offended someone-instead this is what I read.

Dear Becky

Last month I searched ” Trust, NC” on Google to try to get an update on events in that special spot that we called home for almost 20 years. I was directed to your blog, read the archives, and was inspired to contact you. Thank you for your eloquent and heartfelt entries that describe the sense that Beverly’s spirit of hope and courage are palpable in the little Chapel and its setting.

I was saddened to read that, as Beverly used to say, the ” annoyance of cancer” has altered your life again. Please maintain your positive attitude. My wife, Nancy, and I are praying for you. We will also ask our friend, St. Jude, to intercede on your behalf.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any help.

Thank you for your tributes to Beverly and for your promotion of the Chapel. Beverly always believed that the Chapel would have a ” life if it’s own.” I am sure that she is smiling down on your efforts to assure that it does.

With thanks and prayers for a speedy recovery.

I remain,

Very Truly Yours,

Bill Barutio

……………………………………………….

Even now, a decade after Bill Barutio, Beverly’s husband and partner in building St Jude’s Chapel of Hope-wrote this ” Blessed Assurance ” note to me… it remains in my heart and soul.

So until tomorrow… ” One kind word can change someone’s entire day” ( This message sure did)

Today is my favorite day. Winnie the Pooh

Don’t forget to say ” Rabbit” ” Rabbit” on the first day of the month-especially December! We all want a joyous celebration of the birth of Jesus-being watched and adored by a loving Rabbit!

Dear Reader:

As I am writing this blog Monday afternoon… it is hard to believe I was still in mountains Sunday and in one day… my slower, relaxing mountain ventures have turned into washing clothes, unpacking and trying to find bags for all my ” katrillion” pumpkins inside the house and out.

I have made a conscious decision, however, not to let Christmas pressure me this year-as far as a time-table. Decorations will get done along and along… some things I simply cannot do by myself any more-so the tree will go up when it works out with my tree elves. Besides tomorrow is the first day of December-I have one more ” Be good to Boo Day-today”! ( Anne and I met at Oscars for lunch today and had such a blast … it has been a long time since we last ” hung out!”)

So visually the pause between Thanksgiving-and Christmas-looks like the calm before a storm -deceptively tranquil and bare except for light holiday pillows. So think of these pictures as the ” before” and in a week or so there will be the ” after.” Personally there is a certain beauty in the uncluttered before the decorations!

The only Christmas decoration to date is this old homemade light that was made one year by students taking ” shop” at school.

So until tomorrow… And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul!

One Dingle family is ahead on the Christmas To-Do list-family Christmas photos!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

HAPPY PAUSE DAY! Pick a day and Enjoy it!❤️