Joe's Space

I was listening to this song

I love where it talks about how there’s no luck in a four leaf clover or strength in a unicorn…these things are illusions.  I think of the things I’ve relied on in the past which have failed but in the end I find myself not lamenting on the failures or what could have been rather I find repeatedly a grateful heart to the one person who’s never left me nor forsaken me nor ever failed in any way no matter how difficult things have been.  I speak of Christ of course.  I can’t even think of the blessings in this life without knowing He’s been the source for it all.  No, there’s no strength in the natural things in this life but there’s a friend that sticks closer than a brother…that friend is surely Christ.  Why say all of this?  Well, my day started out with something that I don’t like to do much:  go to the Sheriff’s office to get my concealed weapon permit renewed.  I absolutely hate going down there…it never fails, I end up nervous and feeling like some kind of criminal or something…the Sheriff leads me back through the already old and somewhat dilapidated office to a back room which looks sort of like an interrogation room.  The bright side is I don’t have to go through all the processing I did before so it’s a fairly quick thing now.  The whole experience leaves me sort of ruffled and to make matters worse the construction down there made me have to park several blocks away…yuck!  I came away gloomy but then I started to think of how things not going my way creates sort of a tunnel vision…there’s no strength in these things, there was a shooting near our church…it’s a very rough neighborhood…there’s no strength in that but there is strength in God…how thankful I am that no matter what all I have to do is come home to my family and I see open evidence of the love of God for me…how grateful I am for the strength in these things!

  I have some more pictures of Japan to share today…these pictures really touch me, these are from Love’s perspective..she has an eye for our family and so there’s plenty of pictures with us in them…some make me smile others bring a tear to my eye…could the kids have been that young?  It’s only been a few years…how have they grown so much?  First off I’d like to show some of the ever present anime that you can everywhere in Japan…advertisements , magazines, comic books…anime is everywhere!  Now that I mention advertisements let me show a picture of this one for cell phones…it looks like these are all coming through the toll gate at a trains station …cute.  I love Tokyo so very much but what I love more is times with my family spent there .   I think of that utterly perfect weather I have to say it warms me up and then there’s the food which I really like too .  Lovely has learned to read some Japanese so this time we can enter little places like this and order .  Last time we tried to order we ended up with a rather funny story to tell instead.  My wife tried to ask for tempura shrimp(ebi) but instead mistakenly inquired asking for tempura hebi…the man looked terribly disgusted and said in Japanese that he had nothing to do with such things….notice how close those two words appear?  The problem is they may sound similar but the first one means shrimp while the second means snake!  LOL!  We still laugh about that to this day!  I remember we came home and were rather angry at the man’s rude response but when we related the story to my mother in law she couldn’t stop laughing…she then informed us of what we actually asked for!  Ah, good times!  Visiting Shibuya once…you always get an eyeful there.  You will encounter a lot but this time there was something that I found rather…well, exceptional on the weird scale !  Do you know what that sign says?  Free ham!  Want some?  LOL!  Other times he would hang dried squid around his neck and change signs.  This one still didn’t offer a deal I was willing to take him up on …I guess some people don’t mind taking him up on his offer!  Japanese books are read the opposite of ours…it made me wish I could read their language .  The traffic and sheer weight of humanity really didn’t bother me…it fascinated me..I don’t see that many people in our little town here in Montana…not even during rush hour !  I always feel that the Japanese are the best at presenting their products , I never tire of the fake food displays and amazing menus .  The stores beckon with their displays and even if I am not interested in their wares I love their style and the unique flair everything has .  I think that their language is exquisite in it’s delicate intricacy so often I found that I enjoyed taking pictures of things for that alone .  We also visited the place that was all about electronics…don’t even ask me to spell that!  Here’s a picture of me with the kids there .  Sometimes we found photo opportunities at unexpected times and places…these kids were playing on the route we took walking back to my mother in law’s house…just too good to pass up !  Did I mention there’s a lot of people in Tokyo ?  No seriously, I mean a lot of people !  We walked along here and found a relatively quiet area and much to our delight a wedding procession began !  Lovely and I acted like paparazzi but they didn’t seem to mind !  What a family !  It wasn’t just one but two weddings so we got to see a lot!  Such wonderful kimonos and such a smart looking couple .  It was an amazing thing to witness and somehow felt like both the ancient and the modern together as one beautiful don’t you think ?  We just loved the kimonos !  Where else in the world can you see things like this ?  We went with our friends that lived next door to my mother in law …I’m glad they were patient because we just soaked it all in.  Here comes the bride !  Look at the dress this lady had !  Some things make you feel blessed just to see such a thing… .  I never thought I’d leave America…small town America and see this…wow!  Gabby was small enough then to have a bucket bath at mom’s house …my gosh, always the charmer!  I walk to the ends of the world with that little girl…well, I guess I pretty much have !  Have you ever heard of the fancy Japanese toilets?  Some of those things make you feel like the captain of a starship!  Look at this toilet control panel !  There are some Japanese delights that I miss more than others .  Mochi is one such delight …ah yeah baby bring ‘em on !  They are so good!  I miss other things too .  I miss seeing the kids take in the wonder of it all .  Seeing it with my eyes is great but seeing it through theirs ?  Well, that’s nothing short of touching the face of God .  I love the city , I love the Tokyo Tower , I love the parks with things that are so strange to me even though I know the way the truth and the life I know there are so many that don’t and that gives me drive for the mission at hand…it’s not all sight seeing.  I love showing the mission field to my family like this .  Such amazing structures , such strange places The shrine here I felt very strong spiritual activity…if there are places that are haunted this place surely was …there were pinwheels that turned with no wind…I didn’t like it and we had to walk through there after visiting the Tokyo tower late at night…it was way creepy.  The view from the tower was breath taking …notice the grave yard far below .  My mom got to see it with us on our second trip .  We all wondered at the spectacle of Tokyo all around us .  Gabby felt the need to shop before we left …yep, she’s the daughter of her mother!  We walked back toward the haunted shrine…the tower was magnificent to see at night !  We did have meetings there…here we are with one of the churches groups we ministered to …no, the kids, Lovely and I aren’t in this pic…my mother in law is at the right in the back there.  Whew!  Time to end this one for this week!  God has been very, good to us and shown us many things, it never hurts to remind ourselves that He can do the impossible…He is our strength and our shield!  Have a blessed day!

Exciting title huh?  I betcha thought wow, this is going to be one of those deep blogs that leave me with insight to the meaning of life right?  Well, no, I’m actually referring to the weather we’ve got right now.  Lovely and I walked and when we started it was just a light mist but before we got very far it turned into a very persistent heavy and wet snow.  Veteran’s Day was yesterday of course and I can’t go on without saying something about that.  I’ve mentioned on some of my comments on people’s blogs about how sobering it’s been to me to know actual combat vets that are younger than I am.  I’ve seen these young men grow up…one I actually went to school with.  Now I see these young men who have seen actual combat and I just wonder how this could be.  The sacrifice of these young people astounds me and it’s so close to home…literally.  I have a subscription to the DoD’s website and therefore get updates of the pictures from the various military operations going on throughout the world to help me keep my mind on our troops.  It’s sad how we can forget just what the cost of freedom is.  I don’t care how you’ve served or where you’ve served…if you’ve served you’ve done something I deeply admire.  I’ve heard how these people don’t like being thought of as heroes but I pray they forgive me if I think that’s exactly what they are.  God bless you all!  I have a little video clip that you may or may not like.  I’ve not seen it used anywhere so I’ll include it here: 

Well, what else to do on a blustery and cold day before I have to go down to the church and record guitar tracks?  We’ve been plagued with technical issues thus far...nothing new there.  I guess I’ll put some more pictures of Japan..yes, that’s it, how unique for me LOL!  These are all my shots this time, none of them are Lovelies.  These are very springy in appearance though it wasn’t spring, still the weather was glorious.  If you like flowers you’ll love Japan I think , even the simple gardens and simple flowers have effort put into them that make them exceptional .  We would walk down the street and just revel in the beautiful colors , the bible mentions how we shouldn’t be concerned because if God clothes flowers like this how much more would he care for us?  That’s the Joe translation…not perfect but I’m sure you get the idea.  God is quite the artist you know ?  I found a lot that was artistic not just the flowers but the colorful markets .  I like how neither nature nor modern things seemed to clash .  I could be enjoying nature and not feel jarred from the wonder of it by saying hello to our favorite barbecue man ...yes, we bought him a Yankees hat..he mentioned he liked them so we got him an official hat...don’t be a hater!  LOL!  Perhaps some more flowers will calm you down !  Aren’t these wonderful ?  These grains were so perfect, I just had to take a picture of them .  If you have a photographic bone in your body it will be tickled in Japan, I guarantee it !  Most of these flowers and plants we saw on our walks to and from the train station from my mother in law’s house .  I think if I could garden like this I’d be in seventh heaven however in many of my gardening adventures the flowers would be dead if not for Lovely .  Surely if there were a little garden path to heaven it would look like this !  All of this beauty then there was a graveyard we walked by every day too with these to mark various graves .  They reminded me of giant pop sickle sticks!

One day we found ourselves with some time to visit a rose garden.  It was a steep climb to the garden but once there the view made it all worth it .  The varieties were amazing and not a single plant was disappointing so my shutter started clicking and didn’t stop for viturally the whole time we were there with some macros thrown in .  Every rose has it’s thorn I guess but with flowers like these it’s pretty hard to focus on the thorns .  Somehow it felt quite surreal ..can’t you imagine the cards painting the flowers red ?  Red and white weren’t the only colors however in fact, this yellow was really quite glorious .  Gabby made a friend here .  The little girl was wearing a hat because she decided to cut her own hair !  Gabby’s pink matched these wonderful blooms .  On the way out of the garden I got these three macro shots , and this .  At the top of the hill looking down provided a wonderful shot of Tokyo ...truth is it remains my favorite big city .  We walked home and again I was clicking away and the rain began to fall but I didn’t mind one bit !  These neighborhoods are so amazing to me..so very different from Montana !  Here even the sewer covers are artistic !  All the gardens are so nice .  The smallest apartment has a flower garden and there’s sort of a zaniness that tickles my funny bone too , I don’t think I’ll be buying one of those hats anytime soon!  It’s easy to recognize that this isn’t Montana at all .  I kept looking at signs and it took me a bit to realize no matter how hard I look I won’t be able to read it !  Nature provides a language all can understand , only God could design like this .  He doesn’t need pen or paper to make art and you don’t need to go to a museum or art gallery to appreciate what He’s made it’s all right there waiting for an eye that appreciate what He’s done .  My mother in law was amazed at these pictures because though it was not far from her house she never paid that much attention to it but for us it was all so exotic that we always looked forward to walking out the door to see what was out there .  I’m so glad that I was able to share in this with my family and thrilled I can share it with you now!  God bless you!

You know I had enough pictures to squeeze out one more entry on Europe but I feel the need to move on from it.  I give God all the glory for doing the wonderful things He has done on that trip and since but it’s time to move on.  The struggle with the flu has been a demoralizing thing on many levels but I refuse to believe the twisted perspective sickness brings.  It’s like blinders on a horse that narrows everything and increases selfishness.  If you really want to get past the limits of infirmity and personal problems you’ve got to look to God and other people out there and force your perspective to broaden again.  There’s no healing in selfishness or help in self pity.  I’ve been reading in the word of God about the ten lepers that Jesus healed in Luke chapter seventeen.  The ten lepers went along their way to show themselves to the priests that they’d been healed and one of them noticed that he’d been healed and came back to Jesus to thank him for the healing…one out of ten returned.  Jesus asked where the others were but of course they went their way.  I feel it’s so important to remain outward thinking.  Ever looking for reasons to give glory to God.  Christianity i not about manipulating God like some kind of lawyer seeking loopholes in the law to win a big case rather it’s about a loving relationship between child and Father.  Whole ministries are built on loopholes it seems whether that be healing, deliverance or prosperity but I feel that the strength of the church is found in righteousness that Christ provides opening the door to relationship with God via Jesus Christ.  Christ is and ever will be the way the truth and the life, the door to heaven and key to our relationship with the Father.  Church should not be founded on scare tactics and guilt trips to keep people giving and attending church.  Rather we should be united in our desire to please God, to worship Him and give Him all the credit He deserves.

I’m going to continue with my pictures from Japan at this time because that’s the last of all the pictures that I have from abroad.  It still gives me hope to return to other nations and as beautiful as things have been…there’s better things still in the future! Tokyo itself is a daunting city in size and scope, you could lose yourself here for years and not see it all but some things you should not miss.  China town in Japan?  Absolutely !  I had to go and see what Chinatown in Yokohama was all about !  There are fantastic restaurants galore and so many sights and sounds that have a flavor all their own .  I’m a chestnut lover from way back so you can imagine my thrill to find vendors selling big bags of chestnuts !  There are also plenty of comforts from home LOL!  I had to sample some coffee you know…just to make sure it was okay …mmm, yep, just fine!  I don’t know what these students were doing in China town at this hour…I’m sure they weren’t playing hooky..no of course not !  Maybe they wanted to check out the fantastic dumplings that are available …I first tried these in the Philippines and love them still…Lovely was thrilled to see them available.  You can see that they have all sorts of meats inside…nothing weird trust me …just look at how beautiful these steamed treats are !  Call me a sap but I never had the heart to ride in these …I figure I’ve got two good legs so why should I make someone cart me around?  The store fronts filled me with wonder and Gabby felt that she should go native to fit in .  The streets were so much fun to just take in as you walk along at your own pace .  I had to smile at the name of this restaurant …Tung Fat?  LOL, you’ve got to be kidding!  If you really get tired you can stop and receive a street side message…yes, it’s true !  That was our friend Annabelle receiving…a face message?  Even Gabby, road weary and sleep felt it was time for a bit of relaxation .  she expected the best and I think she got it !  We were pretty hungry at this point.  Everywhere you look there are advertisements for various dishes…not on a menu but in realistic plastic displays …does this one look spicy enough for you ?  Just look at these food joints !  Danielle and I were enjoying the perfect weather and the whole time in general .  Here’s some more fake food shots …a wide variety .  Finally we found a place to enjoy the food up close and personal …yum!  We made new friends wherever we went…I really love the Japanese people .  I can hardly believe how young the kids looked on that trip !  Finally it was time to head out of China Town .  Exploring the city was such fun to us hat it didn’t seem that we got tired easily .  Even Gabby did very well likely that was in part because she made friends wherever she went and she liked to sample the various treats that were in Japan too.  She also liked to make friends with the pigeons !  She didn’t know there were so many friendly children in the world before either !  Finally we came upon a park that had some unique things to see …it was near the harborso we could watch the ships come and go  .  You must understand such things are a novelty when you come from land locked states such as our own !  Ah the Japanese and their rules …goodness…it makes you wonder what you can do!  We passed a puppet museum but we didn’t go inside…rather we took a picture or two of the unique sculptures outside .  We then moved on to see the delightful flowers that abound everywhere …the Japanese take great pride in their gardens and every season seems to have one floral delight or another .  We also enjoyed witnessing the schools with the children with various uniforms or just matching hats .  There were always various activities that these kids were involved with so it wasn’t unusual to see them lined up heading out to one exciting destination or another …that kid in the back is mining for something in his nose I think….  They often let us know they were delighted to see us .  You might notice that I’m in some of these pictures…this is because these are all Lovely’s photos .  Gabby and Danielle…two peas in a pod , I love ‘em so much whether coming or going .  Danielle seemed to really bond with her little sister on this trip and that really blessed me .  Look, did you think Madeline was European?  Are you sure ?  I seem to be contemplating something here…think happy thoughts Joe !  We visited a school and they allowed us to sit in on some of the classes…the principle was very gracious to us as were the teachers…one of whom was a visiting teacher from America .  There were many times on the way home it was tempting to pick a flower or two but we behaved ourselves .  More students in such cute uniforms .  The last picture of the day is this nest with chicks that were likely about to fly the coop …they’re pretty darn cute don’t you think?  Have a blessed rest of the week my friends!

PS, I don't think anyone ever checks out my front page with the music so I'll put this here should you be interested...I don't like everything from this band but this song is getting a lot of time on my i-pod these days .

This has been some week.  Some kind of flu swept over my family like an unholy flood.  I’ve never had something hit so quick.  I was struck with fever and chills and fatigue that would come and go without any apparent rhyme or reason and then the our youngest came down with it….Lovely too all at the same time.  I have no idea if this is the swine flu or not and frankly I don’t care…I just want it GONE!  I got up today to see a note that our friend from Ireland won’t be getting his visa which on the surface is another slap in the face if taken out of the context of faith however I just don’t chose to see it without faith.  One thing I really believe:  though it may not appear today to be working out God remains in control and He has our best in mind…and He always wins!  Many times people take hold of faith and they are very controlling with it feeling that if they say the right sequence of scriptures they can back God into a corner with their “understanding” and get what they want but guess what?  It’s His word, you can’t use it to force God to do anything but you can submit to it, find peace and ultimately victory according to His plan and purpose.  Religion is all about controlling God, controlling circumstance…it’s about control period but I believe that real relationship with Christ is more about ending our fight with the Lord on everything and letting Him be what He is:  Almighty.  Bottom line is though the times might be troubled I’m not going to let my heart be troubled nor am I going to surrender my faith over these things.  I’m also not going to dwell on this for the whole blog which I’m sure you’re glad to know!

Edinburgh, Scotland holds many a wonder for people like me.  I long to see things that aren’t what I’m used to.  I don’t necessarily have to see a real live castle to be impressed.  Street corners like this look enough like a castle to fill me with wonder .  We really enjoyed the wonderful little cafes and restaurants as much as anything too .  We found one little Italian place that was an absolutely wonderful place.  Not only was the food and atmosphere great  but the staff was fantastic!  They were always very good to the kids and fun to talk to.  We left with full stomachs and a thirst to see more.  Walking along some scenes seemed to me to tell a story…this one sure did in my opinion .  I just loved this dog, he looked like a Scottish gentleman in his own right.  He wasn’t the least bit disturbed as people walked by.  Paths led in many directions but we chose the main thoroughfare this time and just took in the beauty of Edinburgh.  Each step held something delightful .  It’s funny that even the “new” parts of the city look far older than what I’m used to here in our state .  I think part of that is the use of stone for many places today…even the individual houses…that’s new to me and the intricate beauty of these buildings and the neat little gardens had a charm all their own .  They say every rose has it’s thorn but if Edinburgh has a thorn, I’ve not yet found it .  I really think I can safely say we all love Scotland and her people . 

No matter what we saw we always felt the call to Africa in all of this.  Seeing Joseph again in Ireland had stirred something deep in us all.  How ironic that though we were in Europe the cal to Africa was everywhere.  Part of this was that while in Ireland we worked with Africans…mostly Ghanaians and Nigerians .  But more it’s the move of God to put us back in Africa and Europe again.  Even the children had an uncanny grace to walk with the new people we were meeting …and my dear brother Joseph…well, he’s their uncle…no doubt about that!  Pastor Thomas and Edward our driver became more than just friends…we are all caught up in the plan of God together .  Watching my brother African Joe, hearing him preach…it grabbed us all and pulled us in

I don’t know how it’s all going to work out, I don’t even know what the rest of today holds but I do know that God is moving and I do believe that we will return to Europe and surely go on to Africa.  We are believing for this next year…perhaps as early as spring.  This is impossible with man but with God it is all indeed possible!

Is it just me or is this week traveling faster than I can keep up with it?  I know that the days are getting shorter but this seems ridiculous.  I don’t usually rant…perhaps I figure that if I mix that with my morning coffee it would blow up more than I want it too LOL!  But here it goes anyway:  I’ve strived to remain above and beyond politics and such on my blog because God knows the Internet is filled with enough of that crap as it is.  I guess if I wanted to include a late rant it would be that I wish that the closet activists if they’re going to go active on political things on their blog wouldn’t throw a fit if people don’t comment…if it’s your right to go active politically then surely it’s another’s right to not get involved for their own reasons and not be called stupid or have it suggested that they’re ignorant.  Freedom of expression and speech isn’t dead yet and therefore I feel everyone has their right to do as they please in this regard…there, I pray that wasn’t too painful!  Exit rant left…. 

Today I walked and was thrilled to see a herd of 20 antelope out in the field staring at me benignly.  I think that they are done mating now so they aren’t busy chasing each other and they are settling in waiting for the weather to get bad.  I just love watching them…even if they do eat our flowers on occasion….there are times when I wish I could have a taste of the peace they have…not getting too ruffled over anything and being happy if I could just sit out there and enjoy the sun and some greens while I watched the world go by.  Our scenery isn’t very nice apart from the antelope unfortunately because the terrible cold shocked the leaves on the trees so we have sickly, decaying greens and greys for fall this year.  It’s really saddens me to see the because the one nice consolation for it getting colder is the beauty of the fall colors…well, not this year.  This has had one positive effect however, it makes me enjoy looking over the pictures from Ireland and Scotland all the more.  Today I am pleasantly surprised to present the pictures I have of a very large botanical garden we visited in Edinburgh, Scotland.  I hope this provides a bright spot to your day today!

I’ve seen lots of lowers in my day some that struck me as quite exotic looking (I’m not expert on such things you know).  These greeted us as we entered the garden  …do you suppose those would work as a toilet brush?  Some flowers are standard even to an amateur like me but these seemed to be begging for a picture so I went ahead and took the picture   …I have no regrets about that!  Daisies…don’t you just have to love them  ?  Word has it the queen likes to visit on occasion…do you suppose she’s the queen of roses?  There was a little hut you could stop and sit in…the walls were covered with sea shells  and various pine cones …I’ve never seen anything quite like it.  The path had species of flowers from all over the world…trees too but here I am captured by the beauty of a lilly LOL!  There was a massive hedge wall that divided the flower part of the garden from the part that had more shrubs and trees…you could walk right through a square tunnel…I kept wondering when Alice would run by chasing the white rabbit !  There were little nooks with wonderfully fanciful benches you could sit at everywhere .  Why even think about the dead leaves outside when I can look at this ?  I have no idea what the heck this is…my first thought was perhaps chestnut but I don’t think so…anyone have a clue  ?  This picture seems red and green enough to be sort of Christmassy but I don’t quite like the shot that much .  The sun could be quite bright at times…in fact it was the brightest and warmest this day of all days…I thought this shot would never turn out but I liked how it ended up …weird aren’t they?  We actually got separated from the rest of the team and came to this huge green house…it reminded me out of something from the old version of The Time Machine …as long as the “Morlocks” don’t come out and eat us!  There were many stately trees in this area .  Some parts felt just like home while others were far more exotic.  Mike and Danielle got ahead of us and were looking around at this crossroads…the picture touches me somehow .  Other trees were far more exotic like this one .  It looks like something from a lego set but it could get quite large .  From far away it looks like a pine of sorts but closer you can see how really magnificent it really is …no it’s not a pineapple tree LOL!  It’s called “Monkey Puzzle”  and it’s got to be one of the coolest trees I’ve ever seen!  Of course there were butterflies !  There were some large fungal growths on some trees…I had to reach up as high as I could to get this shot…later we examined it and saw what looks like a stash that was likely from one of the large squirrels that abounded in that area .  These berries are actually quite poisonous…the person there warned us to be careful to keep the kids from eating them .  Not all the beauty was in the tree tops.  I looked down and observed these little gems .  This shot actually reminded me of something we’d see in Japan so I took it…I miss Japan too .  Wandering down the path I saw these little beauties peeking out and looking at us .  They had a wonderful waterfall in one area of the garden .  It makes me wish we were standing there right now!  It was hard to get off the path because there was a thick shrub that was along the path much of the way near the waterfall .  This area looked like surely Alice must be there playing croquet with the Queen of Hearts …but I just couldn’t find them.  Have you ever had an “oh wow” moment?  I think I just did !  Over the hill past the waterfall you could see the roof tops of Edinburgh .  These flowers seemed perfectly dried and spectacular though they were brown .  Some trees have real character…this is one of those trees .  This tree stood next to the exit…I think it’s got character too .  We were walking along and I saw more of the doors I like so much (yes, not only Dublin has doors LOL!)  The tree framed these well I thought .  God is everywhere…not just in churches or quiet meadows…He’s in cities too.  It might take some effort these days but of all the things He’s created people are the greatest creation of all.  We don’t always live up to what we were meant to be but He loves us no less and never stops having faith in us.  I hope this brightened a day or two out there.  God bless you, have a great day!

We skipped across the pond to Scotland…it was a far bigger deal then we would have thought.  The plane had trouble and we sat around for many, many ours in the Dublin airport after getting up long before dawn to catch the airplane in the first place.  The good news is that Scotland quickly made us forget anything that was unpleasant in a hurry.  Land of castles and ancient history…home of Loch Ness…truly a marvelous place.  We had more time to walk around Edinburgh then we did Dublin and we relished every moment of it .  One of our walks brought us to this wonderful bridge .  There were some nice shots near the bridge that presented themselves , but soon the amazing suburban area drew us away to explore .  The cobblestone roads seem to beckon you on and so on we went.  I notice knew for sure we were back in the UK…red mailboxes !  There are bed and breakfast places and hotels that are so very old here …it makes me wonder what the rooms are like.  We now had an all new perspective of the bridge !  Here we found a very old pier that reminded me of some of the wonderful places we’ve seen in Oregon .  It was actually quite cold and windy but this place had so much that made me want to get artsy with my camera .  I think this chain has been here for a while, what do you think ?  Yes, it’s old and worth seeing .  Little cottages like this were everywhere in the neighborhood .  They talk about the greens of Ireland but I’d say that Scotland has a few greens it’s self !  Care to walk the thin green line ?  Notice the float through the iron ring .  Hmm, this may be why stainless steel would work better …  A stylistic view from the pier to the bridge .  I think I may be developing a ring fetish now .  Yeah, I think Scotland is beautiful !  Our leaves are dying on the vine but there was some beautiful leaves in Edinburgh !  See I got a taste of fall…not nearly enough but still a nice taste .  I know this could have been taken anywhere but I like it so here it is .  Give way…yep, we’re in the UK !  A name like this…it’s got to be in Scotland !  A reminder of WWI sat in the center of this village .  Now I leave you with a parting shot of the bridge…my favorite shot actually .  Bless you all have a wonderful weekend!

I’ve tried, really tried to keep a positive attitude about the weather around here, I’ve intended to include a few pictures from around here but you know I just can’t do it yet.  We’ve had two major winter storms that’s brought feet of snow…you read right:  feet of snow.  Now a third winter storm is predicted and it’s got you guessed it:  snow.  Worse than the snow to me is the awful cold bundled with it.  Blame Canada I guess, these fronts are all from across the border.  I would feel bad about that but my wife has family in the Philippines so they’ve seen the floods that bring death and destruction so often.  Fortunately this year they weren’t directly hit by the storms that have made the news lately.  Maybe cold isn’t so bad!  God has continued to move in a very powerful way in our church and things are moving that I honestly thought would never move.  We have gotten some real work done on our ministry page and I thought I’d share the link to that site with those that might be interested:  http://eagleministriesinternational.com/.  I believe that there’s a real evidence of God doing something amazing here and I don’t think it’s going to just fade away, the momentum keeps building.  Our church is so small but again and again we find ourselves propelled into the nations of the world.  It’s not like a church that’s so big that if everyone gave fifty cents they’d by an airline ticket…we’re talking a handful of people, none of whom are rich believing God and then amazingly making it to places many only dream about.  All glory to God for that!  I salute those that are involved with ministry and I’m personally endlessly grateful to our little church but most of all to our great God!

I’m sorting through the pictures I’ve got and sharing them bit by bit.  Today I have more of Dublin streets.  I love the flavor of old Europe .  It all feels artistic to me somehow.  The narrow streets always make me curious as to what could be down that alley .  Seeing establishments that have been around for hundreds of years never gets old either .  If you get hungry you can often enough find yourself eating at a place that’s older than our Constitution!  We rounded the corner and our friend informed us that it was one of the oldest places in that area…lo and behold there’s a sign with our family name there …is it really our family?  I have no idea but it still tickled us!  I looked at some of these shot later and thought they were somewhat creepy but at the time I just felt a sense of wonder and desire to explore what’s on the other side .  Places like this always beckoned…I think I drank far more coffee in Europe then I do at home …but just look at this place…can you blame me?  People live with these wonderful little shops…the accent that sounds exotic to my ears and buildings like this… …yeah, I miss it!  Sometimes there’s modern art that provides some startling contrast…I just like how this shot presented itself .  Store fronts always caught my eye and I don’t think there was a way to take a bad picture here !  They had flowers hung everywhere that gave the sense of spring though it definitely felt like fall to me .  Just look at all the flowers on this building !  I think I’ve told you about my Dublin door fetish haven’t I ?  Some things are just beyond words …  Go ahead and share my fetish with me, !  We have an old mansion here in our city and this reminded me of it somewhat though I have no doubt this place is older .  I’m going to leave you with this glimpse through my eyes at Dublin and a reminder that God is on the move…it doesn’t matter how it appears or where you live…He’s moving.  God hasn’t forgotten about you nor loved you any less.  God bless and keep you!