A Really Short Story ... Rubber Bands

I haven't been writing of late with  this being a rather tough term at school,but here goes it on a Friday morning ...

http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=rubber%20bands&order=9&offset=60#/d2dvyvg

Just one of the many joys of life, as I find, is cracking open those crispy little fortune cookies,with the crumbs going everywhere and scooping out the small bit of paper inside. There are those odd times where they tell you things you weren't ever aware of before.

And so I said: "What is it that it tells you?" to my smallish friend. Her name was Charlie. I called her Charles. It sounded much more sophisticated, in my mind.

"It says: good luck and good fortune are coming your way." she said, and ate the cookie shards all in one bite.

I carefully halved mine, and used my ring finger and thumb to pull the fortune from it's hold,trying not to make to big of a mess. And so, I looked at it. And it told me.

"The rubber bands are headed in the right direction."

To which I, and my friend, so very intelligently replied:

".....whut?"

The Klamath Tribes Restoration Pow Wow Parade 2011

This weekend is the Klamath Tribes Restoration Pow Wow, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Klamaths regaining tribal status! To celebrate I'm offering pictures to this years parade ....



Yes .... Oregon Duck fans abound here!


More pictures are at my other blog:

Thundercatt99.wordpress.com

Day 6: Modoc Rim

The adventure this time was to take a rutted out dirt road through woods and meadows to Modoc Rim which overlooks Klamath Lake on the East high above Highway 97. I could see someone went ahead of me and they got stuck in the mud twice. The second time they were stuck so bad I decided to park the Zuzu and walk the rest of the way about a mile or so. When I finally got there, lo and behold I saw a mud caked Marty the mailman and a friend! Naturally we all wondered why each of us were up there in that extremely remote area! It goes to show that you just never know who you might meet and where!

The picture above is the view from the Rim looking southwest towards Modoc Point. The one below was shot looking directly west at Mt. McLoughlin and the Oregon Cascades.

Which way to go? These decisions come up all the time out here, although this time the decision was made for me soon, as the road to the right led directly into an springtime swamp. Tomorrow I think I'll take an easier trip ... However, that "Whats down that road?" question constantly comes up ...

I will be there for you ...

A quote I just had to share ...

"No one enjoys walking people through dark valleys or through painful reactions, but love says, I will be there for you. I may not know what to do or what to say. But I just cannot let you go through this alone!"

~Wayne Jacobsen

A Blessing for the New Year

We, as a family, rang in the New year at the Klamath Tribes Pow Wow in Klamath Falls, Oregon. It was a great time kicking off the New year with Friends!

Allow me to share this blessing with you all ....

A Blessing for the New Year

May the light of your soul guide you.
May the light of your soul bless the work you do with the secret love and warmth of your heart.
May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul.
May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those who work with you and to those who see and receive your work.
May your work never weary you.
May it release within you wellsprings of refresment, inspiration and excitment.
May you be present in what you do.
May you never become lost in the bland absences.
May the day never burden.
May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams, possibilities and promises.
May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.
May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.
May your soul calm, console and renew you.

- John O’Donohue

This poem is an excerpt from the book “Anam Cara”

http://www.johnodonohue.com/

I’ll hold onto your head!

A mini bedtime story ... On one occasion, Peppermint Patty said to Marcie: “I'd like to read this book, Marcie, but I'm kind of afraid. I had a grandfather who didn't think much of reading.”

She continued by saying, “He always said that if you read too many books, your head would fall off.”

Marcie responds, “you start the first chapter, and I'll hold onto your head!”

Chiloquin Pow Wow 2010

It was a great 2010 Pow Wow this year!! It’s Pow Wow time here in the metropolis of Chiloquin, Oregon, but I figured I would share anyways. The Restoration Pow Wow is always a big event every year in this former Rez town.

The event was large this year. At least 50 vendors surrounding the powwow dancing grounds offered food, shawls, jewelry and other goods. Rain drove the event indoors Saturday but that didn’t seem to dampen the spirit of the event. More than 100 dancers filled the dancing grounds and celebrated throughout the day. Looking forward already to next years …. Of course!

For more pictures check out:

http://thundercatt99.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/pow-wow-time-in-chiloquin/

If They Only Would Be A Christian ...

Some thoughts early in the morning … have you ever met a person or been friends with someone that every night would leave you praying that if they could just be a Christian, that would be it. they’re such a good person! They’re nicer than my Christian friends! (etc. etc.) I have more than a couple friends of mine that are closer to being like Christ than people in my church that claim to have an “intimate” relationship with Him yet are unable to back it up with their words and actions. and occasionally that leaves me thinking, if they would just believe….

Why is it that this frustrates me so? That i believe that they are “depraved” and yet those that claim to be seeking after God are further away than those that have no care for Him at all? I must apologize, this is a difficult topic for me to convey in mere type, but do any of you get what I’m saying? I feel ashamed to say it, but there are times when I come across a non-Christian who shows Christlike character and I think “They are more deserving of God’s saving grace than I am!” Anyone relate to this?

teach us to number our days ...

I must admit that much of my life is spent thinking about the past or planning the future. Many times, whether I'm spending time with the kids, doing the day to day things of life, my mind is elsewhere, thinking of the "next thing" I need to do.

The Bible clearly warns us against this type of thinking:

"So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12; NKJV; Emphasis mine).

Further, James tells us:

"Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that" (James 4:13-15; NKJV).

These verses were brought to the forefront of my mind when I stumbled upon the following poem:

First I was dying to finish high school
and start college
And then I was dying to finish
college and start working
And then I was dying to marry
and have children.
And then I was dying for my children
to grow old enough for school
so I could return to work.
And then I was dying to retire.
And now, I am
dying...
And suddenly I realize that I forgot to live.

- Anonymous

My heart attack and hospital stay really shook things up and caused (maybe forced?) me to take a step back and ponder things. Tragedies happen, divorce, business failure, and on and on. The next "big thing" can crumble in no time. Its in the small everyday things where life is at. Just wanted to encourage each of you - don't forget to live ... Have a blessed day!

Made it to 54!

Hey it didn't look to good 11 months ago!

I've never been one to struggle with regret or the feelings like I haven't ”lived”. Part of my personality thrives on change and new experiences so I often incorporate new things into my life naturally. As I was writing this birthday post, I couldn't help but think of so many things that I still want to do. I've had so many opportunities so far, but I don't ever want to stay content with the past, but continue to experience new things and challenge myself in new ways. Sure there have been plenty of sorrows the past year, along with joy and even accomplishment. As a Pastor friend of mine said years ago, ''Stop reminiscing the past, breathe the future'' And thats what I'll do!

Thanks to all who have sent me birthday wishes .... They mean so much to me! Be blessed!

Better To Light Candles

Better To Light Candles

Merle Shain

It is better to light candles
than to curse the darkness.
It is better to plant seeds
than to accuse the earth.
The world needs all of our power
and love and energy,
and each of us has something that we can give.
The trick is to find it and use it,
to find it and give it away.
So there will always be more.
We can be lights for each other,
and through each other's illumination
we will see the way.
Each of us is a seed,
a silent promise,
and it is always spring.

Have a most blessed evening everyone!~ Tim

Kindness

Kindness

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.

~ Naomi Shihab Nye

A Cool verse! / 2 Corinthians 1:4

Justa verse we need to be reminded of every so often ...

"He [God] comes along side us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so we can be there for that person just as God was there for us." 2 Corinthians 1:4 [The Message]

The Gifting of Friends

The Gift Of Friends...

There are days when
bubbling from us comes
the innocent child within,
who giggles at the little things
and wears a silly grin.

There are days when
melancholy comes to
visit for a while;
the mind feels tired, the body weak;
we have no strength to smile.

There are days when
joy abundant
grabs a hold of you and me;
wraps us up in all it's splendor,
lifts us up and sets us free.

There are days when
sorrow wraps us
in its cloak of grief and fear,
'till our hearts ache to the breaking,
'till our eyes can't shed a tear.

There are days when
love bestows us
with its wonderment and light;
with its beauty and its mystery,
its power and its might.

And there are days when
life rewards us
and seems to make amends
by granting us a marvelous gift,
the precious gift of Friends.

by: Karen Schaefer