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“Do you wish to be great?  Then begin by being.  Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric?  Think first about the foundations of humility.  The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.”

Saint Augustine
november 13, 354 – august 28, 430

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These eggs are pretty.  Not?

Eggs remind me of my grandma.  Let me explain…

My maternal grandparents had a grainery which was a short walk from their two story
white farm house.  They also had a white shed that had little cubbies for the hens to lay their eggs.
As a small, tow-headed girl with time to wander, i would always go into the chicken’s building
when we would visit.

Memory leaves me with the sight of nice looking chickens sitting on their nest, and i was afraid to
bother them because i thought they might peck me.

What i would like even more was to play in the grainery.  There were sacks full of grains stacked
in a room of wooden poles and beams and a wood floor.  I remember the beautiful delicate light and
the most wonderful smell of the grains.

In the summer there was a special treat to be had in my grandma’s garden.  I would find the green
tops of her carrots and pull out a couple of small thin ones, take them over to the pump…work the
handle a few times so that i could wash them off with the cool water and then eat them.

Last time i saw her house was a few years ago.  My cousin lives next door and grandma’s  house has
been sold.  It is now an office of some kind.  It was a sunday, and so i couldn’t get inside to see it.

Part of me wants to have one of those days back, to be able to go and see my grandma.

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Below is some information that i found online this evening.  here

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Ben Holtkamp was my grandpa Henry’s father.  It appears my grandpa was named after 
his uncle Henry.  I already had the information that Ben and Caroline had eight children.


My grandpa, Henry Holtkamp, and my grandma, Cathrine Marcus, had seven children,
one of which was my mother.  I assume that Henry and Catherine lived in the same house
that Ben and Caroline had lived in previously, and where little Henry grew up.

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The posting of the Champoeg quilt show is now finished.
Twenty photographs in all.

If you want to take a gander, head on over to daisies and dandelions.

For those that might want to look later, i put the link gadget
at the bottom of this blog, with all the other gadgets and doodads.

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“For a short time we lived quietly.  But this could not last.
….White men had found gold in the mountains around the land of winding water.”

…….quote by Chief Joseph

about the photo . a bracelet that used to be in my mom’s small collection of jewelry. 
and “gold” is the photo prompt this week at three from here and there.

this is what i’m thinking…

for me to agapao God and others, it must come out of my decision to believe in God and Jesus the Christ.
i can not see any other way that i could possibly do this without God’s direction and power.  if it is to come out of any goodness, than that goodness must be God’s in me.  it must be from God as to have an affect that includes all four together of the heart, soul, mind and strength.  something that can only happen when i am with God and for God.  and the heart, soul, mind and strength must all be involved and worked together in the right kind of balance/miracle that is agape.

so, i am thinking that the only way to do as commanded, to agape Love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to agape Love my neighbor as myself, is know that God is alive and active, and He is the one working this through me.

God will able me to Love Him, because of His Love that He gives.   it is like a circle of Love that starts with Him, works through me, and goes back to Him, only this is more and better than i can put into words.
Who and What He Is, works a miracle mixture in and through us and with us.   agape.

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i added this photo to the collection at daisies and dandelions.

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Lord, thank You for this new day.
Your Light scatters the darkness from around my feet.
Your Love keeps my soul alive.
You are Almighty God.

You want everyone to come to You,
to be with You, and I know that You are waiting for them.
Your Grace is beyond measure.
Thank You for Your Love and Grace.
Thank You for Your Mercy and Light.

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csLewis with his friend, Ernest Moore, in 1917. Ernest lost his life in 1918 as a second lieutenant.

As i read this chapter, i was brought into the reality that it was actually
written for radio broadcast during war time.  The references to battle and
the enemy are what the listeners in England were living.

Lewis had been in ww1 and had lost close friends.  Then during ww2
he had been asked to speak to an audience of his people, living in the midst
of that war, about the meaning of Christianity.  He, not being a scholar on
the bible, spoke his thoughts on what he believed to be true without
getting much into the less important things that people can also fight over.

While speaking of these things, he also spoke of things that the people
needed to hear during this time.  He spoke heart language, directly into their
circumstances, words of encouragement and enlightenment.

Words that are still true,
and words that the heart still needs to hear.

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people go along
along they go
making marks
upon marks
pushing growth
into dirt
in the way
from here to there
from there to here

*
leaving traces of themselves
for others to discover
reap the benefits,
and add to the mix


The marks
the traces
begin
to sprout
adding growth
adding life


count the traces
like tree rings
so many years,
for experience,
each one
bringing us
round again,
starting point
to stopping point:
wholeness


full circle now
into the arms
of One
Who began it all

* added verses (growth and life) by Beth, Glynn, Maureen and Karin, via comments.

part of the one word postings at Peter’s place.

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i had made some of these potholders several years ago.  a friend from work had made some and
gave them to peter and i as a gift.  i liked them so much that when they started to wear out, i really
wanted another pair, and so got the instructions to make them myself.

it has been quite a few years since i have made some for myself and for my mom, and others.
the one that is finished, in this photo, is one that i had made and was never used.  and the other one
i had started and didn’t finish.

a few weeks ago i was invited to a friend’s house to do crafts.  she gathers a few friends every
couple of weeks for crafty thursday.  i didn’t have any craft thing that i was working on, so i dug
into my material stash and pulled this out.  now i’m back into making them.  it’s a good thing too,
because the pair that i made a while back are now starting to wear out.

i tell you, these are the absolute best potholders that i have ever used.  totally bendable and just the
right thickness.  i usually sew them together by machine, but, this time around i’m stitching them by
hand so i can easily transport and work on them.

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i am daisies and cornfields
lightning bugs and mourning doves
i am as simple as they come
and there’s just one

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