Icicles in the Shadows....

Wreath on a Neighboring House

My New Year's wish from Art Zee....

1-02-08
To PapaPops,
This has been a very busy few weeks for my wife and me. At Thanksgiving we welcomed guests from several States. Then we began to prepare for Christmas, with another family gathering at that time. I’m sure you know what that’s all about – gifts to buy and wrap, a tree to bring in and decorate, a cantata to prepare for, and present, in the Church Choir, and…!

Here’s something that’s a bit unusual for me, -- I sat down to write a few lines of poetry for one of our dear friends that came to see us. What do you think of this? –

Friend, it’s so great to welcome you today,
Where you live is to us, so very far away;
But now we can meet and catch up on “old times,”
Sing a few songs, and make a few rhymes!
We can eat here today, with family and friends,
Enjoying old favorites, establishing new trends,
Knowing the value of direct communication,
Whether home every day, or on a vacation!
-- yours truly, Art Zee

What do you think of that? Did I do Ok for a “beginner?”

Although the time has been busy, it’s been good. Isn’t that the way with you? For us, it’s especially great to get together with some of the family members that we don’t see often, and even some old friends. We never know, at our ages, just how many more times we have, do we?!?

Speaking of that, I do apologize to you for getting a little testy, my friend, when I wrote you over a month ago. It’s really quite unsettling to consider the shortness of life, isn’t it, especially after retiring, and realizing that we’re “winding down,” in our lives now. There are so many interesting things to do, and places to go, that I can’t imagine how anyone deals with the aging that seems to come to people in their last years, with illness and even severe limitations…. “Last years” makes me shudder! Doesn’t it do that to you?

I think you really meant it when you said, “I certainly do not pretend to be better than others, nor to have any special ‘in’ with God….” Perhaps I was a little hasty, -- didn’t mean to accuse you, really. Please accept my apology.

You also wrote, “I know that when I complete my earthly journey, I will be at home with the Lord. …I have NOT worked for it, because I couldn’t succeed in a million years, and neither can anyone else.” I do admire you and appreciate your work, PapaPops, and would think that if anyone can earn a heavenly home in the “great beyond,” it would be you.

How can you say that you couldn’t do that “in a million years?” Haven’t you given you life to serve God? Then shouldn’t you expect Him to give you some reward for that? When I had a very devoted employee in my business in the past, one who had been with me for a long time and did good work, I made it a point to give that person some special recognition. Is God like that, with those that work for Him?

And now I wish you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!
-- Art

A Happy New Year Wish...

...for you, as expressed below:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A “Happy New Year” is our wish to you,
Dear family, and friends, and all of you who
Live near us in miles, or very far away,
Whose acquaintance we’ve made some other bright day.

Your year almost past now – happy has it been?
Think about it, please, as you wipe the slate clean,
To enter so soon a completely new year, --
We hope each day brings you true happiness and cheer!

Joy and real blessings may here fill our lives,
Through work, and accomplishment, husbands or wives,
Sports, recreation, concerts, and all
That transforms the humdrum, removes bitter gall.

But always we’re reaching for something that’s higher,
More beautiful or pleasing, our heart’s strong desire;
Whatever it is that we longingly want,
It can’t make us happy, and true joy it may daunt.

For all that this world affords us at times,
There’s something far better in Heavenly climes,
Awaiting each one who in God now will trust,
Approach Him through Jesus, His Son – that’s a must!

We meet the true God, and our Savior, His Son,
In the Book that God left us, finished and done,
Genesis to Revelation, one Bible, one God,
Salvation the theme, and Christ’s grace we applaud!

-- Poet Les
(12-29-2007)

Merry Christmas

To All Who read this blog today

Christmas Day

Dec. 25, 2007

-

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU

-

-

Merry Christmas, Ho! Ho! Ho!
So much to do, so far to go!
Christmas comes but once a year,
So praise the Lord, speak words of cheer!

The love we have for you today
Faintly reflects divine love’s display,
Suggests the greatness of His Love,
Who gave us Christmas, came from above!

The reason for the season, noted,
Is found in Scripture, often quoted;
A Baby born to bring us peace,
And from sin’s grip, divine release.

If you on Christmas Day this year,
Are filled with doubt, real dread and fear,
Then find your Peace in God’s dear Son,
With the old now gone, new life’s begun!

-- Poet Les (12-25-07)

Christmas Colors Dim and Bright

Scene beneath a tree

Star and bells

Tree and lights in the shadows

Star in the sky

Christmas Signs and Decorations

Bright and Beautiful...

Royalty in a Basket...

The Snow Came Down Today!

SNOWFLAKES

Snowflakes white, snowflakes bright,
Floating down through day and night,
Filling up my view today,
As winter’s beauty they portray.

A world of silence, cold, relentless,
All driven by the wind and scentless,
As in my house I contemplate,
How snowflakes’ beauty becomes ornate.

They come from high above our heads,
Cover lawns and walks and sheds,
Now make of all a wonderland,
Where grime and dirt are covered, banned.

Tomorrow’s sun will glisten white,
As snowflakes lie so meek, contrite,
Until comes Spring, then melt away,
To come again another day!

-- Poet Les (12-16-07)

My Apology to Art

To Art,

Needless to say, I was saddened by your response to my last e-communication with you. If I have offended you by some way that I have expressed myself in writing to you, I apologize sincerely, Art. I am well aware that I am imperfect, and therefore I may be vulnerable to offending others. However, if you or anyone at all is offended by the Gospel of Christ our only Savior, then I really cannot help that.

I didn’t originate or formulate the Gospel. Instead, it came from God alone. What is the Gospel? It is the wonderful plan of our great Creator God, devised and implemented for our redemption. He revealed it to us in His Book, the Bible, and in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ. He is expressing His great love for you and me, Art, through that plan, -- His love for all the world!

Friend, I want to make it clear that I certainly do not pretend to be better than others, nor to have any special “in” with God, apart from His love and grace, which are available to all. I do know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I am now a child of God, by grace through faith in His Son. And I know that when I complete my earthly journey, I will be at home with the Lord. You, too, can know that, Art. Anyone can. I have NOT worked for it, because I couldn’t succeed in a million years, and neither can anyone else.

There’s more that I want to write you, Art, if you’re willing. You sounded very skeptical when you wrote me on the 27th. You had asked me about the end of the world. Would you like to know more? I don’t claim to have all the answers, but would be glad to pass along to you some of the Bible teachings that I have learned. They can be of tremendous comfort and encouragement to you, Art.

I sincerely care about you, as well as the many other friends that I have known over the years. My desire is to know that you will prepare your self now, to join me someday in the Heavenly mansions that our Savior went to prepare.

Sincerely,
PapaPops

Family Get-together at Thanksgiving 2007...

Preparations -- Table for sixteen
Thanksgiving Day, in our
Kitchen!

Picture-takin' Poppa

Working up an appetite!

The Consummate Competitor

Adoring Mother

Two brothers and a nephew.

The newlyweds among us!

Art Gets Upset at Me

Hey, PapaPops,

That’s a lot of fancy jargon you’re writing there. Now why don’t you just come down off your soapbox. Come on down to earth where most of us live, and spell it out clearly, about the “end of the world,” “eternal life,” etc. (if there is any such thing)!

In fact I’m getting upset at what seems to be your exclusivity (pardon me for a big word)! Do you think you have a special “in” with St. Peter, or whoever is in charge up there, if there is an “up there?”

Do you think you’re so big and important that you’re going to be in “bliss,” “happiness,” etc. beyond everybody else someday? What about me -- what will happen to me? What about all who have not heard this story of “redemption,” as you call it, or had any interest in it?

Frankly, I’m beginning to think you’re a little daffy if you know what I mean! Maybe you’re “gone off your rocker,” as some people put it.

Just take a walk, and cool off, will you? -- Art

In from the cold...

These hanging baskets of tiny flowers were outside on our lawn
all summer, and now we have brought them in
to our cool entrance-way to the kitchen

here at the Parsonage.

Notice the close-up below.

Close-up

By our door, having been brought in from their Summertime place

on the lawn. We're not sure what kind of flowers

they are. Can anyone identify?

End of the World -- a Reply

Dear Art,

That was a good letter from you. I could enjoy commenting on a number of things to which you referred. But probably the most salient aspect of your letter, as it appeared to me, was when you asked about “The End of the World.” That topic is significant because of the great pressures that exist today between peoples and nations, and various threats of aggression and retaliation, whether ostensible or actual. This seems of greater intensity today, compared to past times, because of the added capacity that exists to destroy other nations, and perhaps even civilization itself!

Now the Bible has two pictures of the future – one is a picture of immense fulfillment, eternal joy, and incomparable happiness, for all human beings who “go God’s way” in this life here and now. The other is a picture of terrible judgment, unbridled and unending wickedness, complete confusion, unmitigated regret, etc., for all who “go their own way” in this life.

Art, you asked in your recent letter, “Does God have a plan to bring about the end of the world?” In answering that, I would say “Yes.” But usually that idea is based upon an attitude of fear. Even the Bible speaks about a time to come when conditions on earth will be so difficult and prospects for the future so threatening that “men’s hearts will fail them, because of fear” (Luke 21:25, 26).

However, as Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon said so long ago about the true and living God, -- “[His] dominion is an everlasting dominion…and he does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say to him, ‘What are you doing’?” (see Daniel 4:34-35)

Certainly God is good. All that He does now and all that he will do in the future is according to His own perfect and righteous plan. I take that from a study of His being and character in the Holy Scriptures. If we know that He is in control and we trust Him, there is no cause for the fear about which I was writing!

There is no one else who has unlimited wisdom and ability as our great Creator God does. He doesn’t want any of His [human] creatures to face “terrible judgment, unbridled wickedness, complete confusion, and unmitigated regret.”

But God wants human beings to experience, instead, what I described as “immense fulfillment, eternal joy, and incomparable happiness.” The latter can be ours if we listen to God, i.e. if we pay attention to Him by reading and believing His Word the Holy Bible, which is His “Owner’s Manual” for human beings. And above all else that we may factor in, surely we need to focus on knowing and doing His will – being available to fulfill His plan for us, right here and now!

Art, my friend, the God of the Bible, Who is the great Creator and Redeemer, indeed has a plan for history. He is interested in you and me. His deep interest is in each human being on planet earth, now and for the future. He has made us in His image, and expects us to take responsibility for our decisions, especially for the decision whether we will “go God’s way” in this life and leave the results to Him!

Above when I wrote that perhaps human beings could destroy “even civilization itself,” I was only expressing a conjecture made by those who have an inadequate view of God and what He is like. He has given us in the Bible a trustworthy revelation of His acts and His plans, so far as we need to know them. And that Book indicates that God will someday in the future judge this world and destroy it, but will in its place create “new heavens and a new earth” (see Rev. 21:1).

So when you look at this scenario, there is nothing of man’s ability to destroy civilization in it. God’s Book shows that He is involved in His creation; and this aspect of His character is called His immanence. At the same time we see that He is above His creation and separate from it (i.e. not dependent on it for His own existence), and that is known as His transcendence. He is deeply interested in this world, and especially interested in you and me, so He sets up the rules, (surely we need to know our limitations), and we ought to keep them! At the same time, He is kind and merciful toward us, so that we can trust Him to be fair and loving toward us at all times.

Now, Art, this brings me back to the tremendous declaration of God’s love to all human beings in these words: “For God so loved the world [men and women, boys and girls everywhere] that HE GAVE His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him [GOD’S SON] will not perish [be lost forever at the end of life on earth] but have [has now, that is, and always will have] eternal life!” (John 3:16).

Then, Art, if you ask, “is the world coming to an end? I’d say “Yes.” If you ask, “Is it something to be afraid of?” I’d say, “Not if you rightly understand God’s program of the ages, and get in line with His plan of redemption!”

If you ask, as you did, I believe, “What is this world coming to?” I’d say, “It’s coming to Jesus!” Dr. Adrian Rogers used to put it that question-and-answer exchange on his radio broadcast, “Love Worth Finding”. And that is because the Lord Jesus Christ not only lived here on earth for thirty-three years, was crucified, and rose again, but He is going to return to earth to rule in perfect righteousness. And that is the best future this old world can ever hope to have, before it is finally destroyed, and a new heavens and new earth created.

I hope that this information is useful to you. And I trust that it gives you some reassurance about life on earth, -- that life and its outcome are not random, but that the great Creator God Himself is in charge! He has a wonderful purpose for all His creation. And He loves you and me, Art, so that He has a truly amazing plan for your life and mine!
Here’s hoping that you will recognize Christ for Who He is, and will give the allegiance of your life to Him.

Sincerely, -- “PapaPops”

The End of October....

Last pickings from our 2007 Vegetable Garden, which I picked before going to bed on the night of October 28, 2007. Amazing!

Our little neighbor in costume, at our house
on the evening of October 31, 2007

Our whole neighbor family -- with Grandmother, at our house on the evening of October 31.

The Candles and the Lights -- in late September

First of October -- Pole Beans
Still Thrifty

Art asks about the End of the World

Hello, PapaPops,
Here’s what I’ve been doing, -- my wife and I attended a Portland Symphony Concert, and it was wonderful! Then I dug out some old classic books, and did a little reading. One was Pilgrim’s Progress, -- remember that? It was right in the midst of our library selections, jut waiting to be picked up. It reminded me somewhat of the things you were writing about in your last letter to me. It’s quite mysterious though, isn’t it – strange names for characters and places – “Hopeful,” “City of Destruction,” “Slough of Despond,” etc.?!?

The other classic book I’ve started recently is In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon. That’s quite famous, too, isn’t it? Seems to me that it has something to do with acting today like Jesus might act, in various situations, if He were here in the world, as we are. Is that about right? In fact, I’ve just done a little searching, and find that this book, written in 1896 was, by one hundred years later, the tenth most-read book in the world. Amazing! It seems to have an odd twist to it – a tramp comes to church, speaks to the congregation, and then dies there! Don’t know whether I’ll get through it or not, but at least I’ve started. I think my wife said that she read it, many years ago.

No, we’ve done no traveling recently, but next Spring we may “pull up stakes,” and set out. Bryce Canyon sounds good. Would you recommend it, PapaPops? And Pike’s Peak must be magnificent, too, especially if you see it from the right spot! And what about the Grand Canyon? And Yellowstone National Park, etc., etc?

As far as a new career is concerned, I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. Too many things to do, and I want to go at my own pace, at least for awhile. Then of course there are the “Honey, do” lists. I suppose you know all about them!?!

Here’s something I’ve been thinking about – when will the end of the world happen – in our lifetime? And under what circumstances will this happen? I’ve heard some rumblings that sound pretty ominous. Have you? It just occurred to me that perhaps you’ve made a study of this for your preaching work. Does God have a plan to bring about the end of the world? Or is it possible that mankind will cause such a thing to happen by improper and undisciplined uses of power, such as nuclear power? What can you tell me about this?

It really is scary, isn’t it, when you think of the countries that have large armies? And then of course, there are so many countries now that either have missiles with possible nuclear warheads on them, or are working on getting them “as we speak!” What’s the world coming to, anyway???

Now, PapaPops, I’m not interested in just a lot of speculation about these matters. But if you can give me some reliable and trustworthy information about future happenings, I’d like to know about it.

Thank you very much. And “so long” for now!
Your friend, -- Art