October 15, 2017 Sunday #Jesusthelight#Sweetestday!#Beirut#trains&hydroelectricity!

Get Faith
Psalm 27:1  "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom (or what) shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"  Could you ask for more in your life than someone to light a path for you to see the way to go and save you from all harm - for ever!?  Our Saviour - Our Jesus, Lord there is none like you!  All of my days, I want to praise the glory of your mighty name.

On this day
1983  Was a Saturday and Sweetest Day.  I was cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, between sweethearts at the time - so no plans for the day.  Andy and Alice came home and gave me candy and a card, I guess I was the sweetest that day. (They didn't want me to be left out.)  I even went bowling with them that night.  I did send a note to an old boyfriend Denny.  I don't see it on my calendar today, is it still a "Hallmark" holiday?  Happy Sweetest Day!

1983 - U.S. Marines killed five snipers who had pinned them down in Beirut International Airport.   If you are interested look up this topic and see how many times this has happened.

Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls was founded in 1883. Businessman Paris Gibson visited the Great Falls of the Missouri River in 1880, and was deeply impressed by the possibilities for building a major industrial city near the falls with power provided by hydroelectricity.^{[28][29][30][31]} He returned in 1883 with friend Robert Vaughn and some surveyors and platted a permanent settlement the south side of the river.^[13][28][29] The city's first citizen, Silas Beachley, arrived later that year.^[13] With investments from railroad owner James J. Hill and Helena businessman Charles Arthur Broadwater, houses, a store, and a flour mill were established in 1884.^{[13][28][29][30][31]} The Great Falls post office was established on July 10, 1884, and Paris Gibson was named the first postmaster.^[32] A planing mill, lumber yard, bank, school, and newspaper were established in 1885.^[28][31] By 1887 the town had 1,200 citizens, and in October of that year the Great Northern Railway arrived in the city.^[28][30][31] Great Falls was incorporated on November 28, 1888.+
 GN system map, circa 1918; dotted lines represent nearby railroads
I would love to take this rail ride!!

Enjoy the day!  Make it memorable!  

October 14, 2017 Saturday #AMyoga#betenderhearted!#swim#warhorses#Hellgate!

Get Fit
I am going to do AM yoga every Saturday for the rest of my life!  So there!

Get Faith
1 Peter 3-8 "finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers (and sisters), be tenderhearted, be courteous."  This is, of course, a great idea.  If we could only spread this around to all the world.  It starts with you and I.

On this day
1982  Alice and I went to the high school to swim.  After summer is over (for a while) you want to keep up that healthy feeling that you got from being so active.  Alice and I were not exactly "swimmers" like laps or anything, but we did look for classes to keep busy.  It usually wore off by Christmas and then came back like gang busters in the spring when we needed to get "back in shape". Did you do the same thing?  Do you still? 

1066 - The Battle of Hastings occurred in England. The Norman forces of William the Conqueror defeated King Harold II of England  Anything ring a bell with this?  no, me neither, just another war.

  Here's what you missed.

Great Falls Montana
Politically, the future site of Great Falls passed through numerous hands in the 19th century. It was part of the unincorporated frontier until May 30, 1854, when Congress established the Nebraska Territory.^[25] Indian attacks on white explorers and settlers dropped significantly after Isaac Stevens negotiated the Treaty of Hellgate in 1855, and white settlement in the area began to occur.^[13] On March 2, 1861, the site became part of the Dakota Territory.^[26]The Great Falls area was incorporated into the Idaho Territory on March 4, 1863,^[27] and then into the Montana Territory on May 28, 1864.^[12] It became part of the state of Montana upon that territory's admission to statehood on November 8, 1889.<sup>[12]   This was a lot of territorial hodgepodge!  

The Treaty of Hellgate was signed in Hellgate on July 16, 1855 between Indian commissioner Isaac Stevens and the Native American tribes located in western Montana. The treaty was ratified by Congress, signed by President James Buchanan, and proclaimed on April 18, 1859.[1] Had to see where Hellgate came from, so ominous!

Enjoy the day!  Make it memorable!</sup>  

October 13, 2017 Friday #workout#imitateJesus#prayersforLois#Hosni#MissouriRiver!

Get Fit
Did a series of stretching and strengthening exercises - Corset, Gravity Drop, Alternating Overhead press, Warrior 11, Butt-Wall Squat, Plank etc.  It is a great workout!

Get Faith 
Ephesians 5:1-2  "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."  It is certainly good advice and for a good reason!

On this day
1981  I worked with a lot of interior designers from JL Hudson Company for many years and on this day I noted that a lot of them came into the shop to design picture frames and look for prints from our old print collection.  One lady, Lois Erickson was VERY selective, and very conservative.  It so happens that she is a member of my church and unfortunately had a bad stroke many years ago and is immobile in a wheelchair.  She is in the same living place that my mom was in till mom passed.  Lois is still there and not very happy.  My Pastor asked if I would like to take her communion and I did for a while but she has gone farther away from reality and won't respond to anyone anymore.  I don't blame her.  I wish better for her.

1981 - Egyptian voters elected Vice President Hosni Mubarak as the new president one week after Anwar Sadat was assassinated. Read about Hosni Mubarak's time in office on Biography.com. He served as Egypt's president from 1981 until February 2011.

Great Falls Montana
The Great Falls of the Missouri River marked the limit of the navigable section of the Missouri River for non-portagable watercraft,^[22] and the non-navigability of the falls was noted by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 2012 ruling against the State of Montana on the question of streambed ownership beneath several dams situated at the site of the falls.^[23] The first steamboat arrived at future site of the city in 1859.^[24]
1891 bird's eye illustration of Great Falls

Enjoy the day!  Make it memorable!  Happy Birthday Lindsay A!

October 12, 2017 Thursday #Yourup#I'msorryyouaremad!#waterandciderandchicken#Oktoberfest!#Whosonfirst

Get Fit
Here's the deal today - you tell me what you did for exercise today!

Get Faith
Proverbs 15:1  "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."  You gotta love Proverbs.  This is something we know but is so hard to apply.   When someone is angry with you and yelling (for example) the last thing they want to hear in a soft voice is "how can I help?"  I'm sorry but I think the better thing is to interject with "excuse me I have to take this call" and run away.  Anger seldom lends itself to reason I have found, and you can quote me on that.

On this day
1980  I met a guy in my guitar class and we started hanging around together.  He was a it older than I and later I found out he was pretty active in many important things.  On this day he picked me up and we went to Bay City for the dedication of the new Water Treatment Plant there.  He had been involved somehow, he might have been an engineer. (I wasn't much on details in those days).  Afterward we went for a ride to see the fall colors, hit a cder mill near Vassar and then went to Frankenmuth for dinner.  That was a nice day, thanks Bob.

1810 - Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The royalty invited the public to attend the event which became an annual celebration that later became known as Oktoberfest. Did you know?  Now you do!

Great Falls Montana
Meriwether Lewis was the first white person to visit the area, which he did on June 13, 1805, as part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.^[15][16] York, an African American slave owned by William Clark and who had participated in the Expedition, was the first black American to visit the site of the future city.^[17]
Following the return passage of Lewis and Clark in 1806,^[18] there is no record of any white person visiting the site of the city of Great Falls until explorer and trapper Jim Bridger reached the area in 1822.^[13] Bridger and Major Andrew Henry led a fur-trading expedition to the future city location in April 1823 (and were attacked by Blackfeet Indians while camping at the site).^[19] British explorer Alexander Ross trapped around Great Falls in 1824.^[20] In 1838, a mapping expedition sent by the U.S. federal government and guided by Bridger spent four years in the area.^[13] Margaret Harkness Woodman became the first white woman to visit the Great Falls area in 1862.<sup>[21]  Wow this is a lot of racial information, oh and gender too.  What is the point?

Enjoy the day!  Make it memorable!  Happy birthday to Mark and Beckah!</sup>

October 11, 2017 Reprint from 2015

Get Fit
Going to a birthday party and will insist on a very small piece of cake and a tablespoon of ice cream.
Are you laughing at me?


Get Faith
Matthew chapter 11:1   "After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee."  His work was never done and He calls us to remember to reach out to one another continually as well.  Your kindness and caring is your gift to others.  Share it freely and remember who it comes from.


On this day
2009   I took Mom up to New Baltimore for breakfast after church and then went pumpkin shopping at the area farms.  Such a beautiful time of year for that occasion.  I have made up for all the bad times Mom and I had when I was a teenager.  Now we can sit and laugh at the good times we had.


1929 - JCPenney opened a store in Milford, DE, making it a nationwide company with stores in all 48 states. Makes me want to go shopping there, for historical reasons.


Parenting
My daughter finished reading my book and came out of her room crying.  The end is sad, as is a lot of things in life, but it wasn't the end.  She wrote a wonderful book report on facebook and shared her opinion of my story.  Then I cried.  She is singularly the best moment of my life, all of them.


Book Club - The Other Irish by Karen McCarthy
I'm not a fan of politics - I do get outspoken about my opinions and then regret that I shared them usually.  We all have opinions - you know the saying.  This book is telling me where all these crazy politicians sprang from, and although they have the same heritage they NEVER share the same opinion.  Have you ever been in a room with two Scots arguing politics?  Bad.


Jekabpils Latvia - more history
Due to Latvia's strategic location and prosperous city of Riga, its territories were a frequent focal point for conflict and conquest between at least four major powers: the State of the Teutonic Order (later Germany), the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sweden and Russia. The longest period of external hegemony in the modern period began in 1710, when control over Riga switched from Sweden to Russia during the Great Northern War. Under Russian control, Latvia was in the vanguard of industrialisation and the abolition of serfdom, so that by the end of the 19th century, it had become one of the most developed parts of the Russian Empire. The increasing social problems and rising discontent that this brought meant that Riga also played a leading role in the 1905 Russian Revolution.  It is good to get a perspective of this with Russian history. 

Enjoy the day!  Make it Memorable!  Happy Birthday to Jan, Tom, Marilyn and Keith!

May 5, 2014

Did some dancing with Rita Marino.   Remember her from West Side Story?  Well we did a little salsa, samba, rhumba  and weights.  Nice way to wake up the muscles and energy!


Mark chapter 6 - this is the story of feeding 5, 000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.  We try to find earthly reasons for this working - but with God all things are possible.  You can do less than this with the same results.


On this day:
1975 - Waynette and I went to the Holiday Inn to hear Tom King and Judy Dery entertain.  Judy was later in the play Menopause the Musical, she was the earth mother and she is still active on TV ads and out at Meadowbrook.  Keep an eye out for her.  Waynette and I also went to a place called The Trio out on Northwestern Hwy. after.  I don't believe it is there anymore, maybe under a different  name, but it was a neat place back then.  What are some of your old haunts?


1957 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologized to Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, the finance minister of Ghana, after the official had been refused service in a Dover, DE, restaurant. What an embarrassment. 


Parenting - I admit I have a mixed bag of beliefs.  I have always believed in equality for races, genders and life styles.  On the other hand I do not believe in entitlement for anyone to have those equalities. Achieve what you can, live the life you want and don't expect anyone  else to be responsible for any of it.  You will be happier with yourself and less disappointed in others.


Ethiopia  -  Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uWJHHY__K_Q


Hope this is the right one.  Loved this video!  Hope you can watch it!


Enjoy the day!  Make it memorable!    Happy Birthday Jesse and Rena!!

October 9, 2017 Reprint from 2014

That 2 year old tired me out yesterday.  Slept in today.  Maybe a walk later.


John the Gospel - chapter 16 - Jesus spoke plainly to his disciples about who he is.  The Son of God.
We are not promised a rich easy existence here, we are promised peace of heart and mind.  This life is all about how you perceive it - glass 1/2 full or 1/2 empty.  "In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."  verse 33.


On this day:
2010 On this day a lot of years I was working the craft show at church.  Every year each circle had a different task, on this one Grace Circle had the door admission.  Mom's circle Hope, had the lunch. They gave up doing the craft shows, apparently people aren't excited about handmade kitchen towels anymore.  My friend Monna has taken the lead position with Mom's group as they are all in their 90's now and only one is capable of doing any tasks.  Yesterday Monna took Mom to her circle meeting along with the cake I baked, and I got to keep Abel, Monna's grandson.  Nice trade huh?


1635 - Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, was banished from Massachusetts because he had spoken out against punishments for religious offenses and giving away land that belonged to the Indians. Williams had founded Providence, Rhode Island as a place for people to seek religious freedom. First guy to fight the system?  Did he also write that song, Trailer for sale or rent?

Parenting - AND I got Abel for the day.  What a great happy kid.  We played outside for most of the 3 hours he was here.  We did go in when any of the lawn services showed up in the area (even a couple houses down) because, his Papa told him to go in the house when someone is cutting the lawn.  He would watch out the window until they left and then announce "outside".  When I was exhausted and sat on the swing outside he came and took my hand "play".  Great up bringing on this guy!  And a great physical trainer.