by jphilo | Jun 2, 2015 | Uncategorized
Every Wednesday I spend several hours with Mom at her new home in assisted living. Here’s a peek at what’s best about Wednesdays with Dorothy.
10. The staff at the assisted living facility is friendly to me and loving towards Mom.
9. Getting to know other residents who live there has been delightful.
8. Mom treats me to supper.
7. Mom’s favorite game is Rummikub and the primary colors on the tiles make me feel so happy.
6. Mom’s second favorite game is Uno, and when she wins she gives an evil laugh because she knows it will make me laugh, too.
5. At least once a visit, she looks around and says “I can’t believe Genworth* is paying for this” with wonder and delight.
4. Mom still has a great sense of humor. (See #6)
3. She takes great joy in looking at pictures of her great-grandchildren and showing off the cards and crafts they send.
2. When we are together on Wednesdays, I know without a doubt that I am where God wants me to be, doing what he wants me to do.
1. Mom loved and cared for me in my early years and being able to reciprocate that love and care in her last years is a gift to both of us.
*Genworth is her long term care insurance company.
by jphilo | May 29, 2015 | Uncategorized
This fantastic Friday, I am pleased to announce that snake sightings are within the normal range where I live and therefore, no snake warnings are being issued by the Gravel Road Snake Warning Bureau for Spring, 2015. This state of affairs is in stark contrast to the spring of 2009, when the proliferation of snakes led to the creation of the Gravel Road Snake Warning Bureau as is explained below.
Rest assured that this SNAKE WARNING is not meant to eclipse the swine flu pandemic. But I’m worried that the media’s narrow focus on all things pig and pork-related may have blinded us to a growing menace right beneath our central Iowa feet.
Since Easter, the number of squashed snakes on my gravel road has increased alarmingly. In one month, I’ve seen more of the flattened critters than in the previous eighteen years combined. In the newsletter put out by the vegetable farmers from whom we purchased our community supported agriculture (CSA) share, mention was made of the large number of snakes crawling around their farm, too. And in a casual conversation with someone who shall remain nameless (not because he or she is an anonymous source, but because I’m having a senior moment), an abnormally large number of snake sightings was reported.
Even though my level of credibility, manpower, or technological wizardry does not match that of government agencies like the CDC or the Department of Health and Human Services, I am hereby issuing an OFFICIAL SNAKE WARNING for my small town and the surrounding countryside.
The most important thing is that you DO NOT PANIC. DON’T hide in the basement or a windowless closet or interior room in your house until the all clear siren sounds. DON’T wash your hands frequently or stay away from crowds to avoid spread of reptiles. Just AVOID sunbathing on warm rocks. CHECK your shoes for sleeping snakes before you put them on and watch where you step when wandering in the grass. WHISTLE “Dixie” real loud before kneeling in your garden. This is a little trick I learned in South Dakota to scare off rattlesnakes. It works, too. In seven years, I never saw a diamondback.
There. I’ve done my civic duty, and I’m ready to enjoy a SNAKE-FREE weekend. I hope your weekend is, too.
by jphilo | May 27, 2015 | Uncategorized
Hi and thanks for stopping by the Gravel Road. I’ve been experimenting with my tried and true honey-oatmeal muffin recipe, hoping to make it better at fighting candida, a normally harmless yeast fungus that can exacerbate allergies if not kept in check. Coconut and flax fight candida while sugar (even honey, maple syrup, agave, and the like) feeds it. So this version of the recipe substitutes coconut oil for corn oil, adds shredded unsweetened coconut and ground flax seed, while cutting down a bit on the honey. Give it a try and see what you thing!
Honey-Oatmeal Muffins
1 egg, beaten 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup honey 1 cup soured rice milk*
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup oatmeal 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup ground flax seed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine beaten egg, coconut oil, sour rice milk and honey. Stir. Mix the dry ingredients together and add to liquid mixture. Stir by hand until dry ingredients are moistened, but batter is still lumpy.
Line muffin pan with muffin papers. Spoon batter into cups until they are ¾ full. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the edges turn golden brown. Do not over bake! Serve them warm. Or let them cool and store in gallon freezer bags. Makes one dozen.
*Sour rice milk by putting 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a 1 cup measure. Fill to 1 cup mark with rice milk and let sit at least 15 minutes before using.
by jphilo | May 19, 2015 | Uncategorized
A few Sundays back, our pastor spoke about the importance of leadership in the church and in individual lives. He then paid tribute to 10 people who had influenced his life in profound ways. He encouraged everyone listening to do the same thing. After giving the matter some thought, my list quickly grew to 20. Not being able to prune the list to 10, I solved the dilemma by making 2 lists: one of influential women and the other of influential men. To prove that chivalry is not dead, the women’s list comes first.
10. Mrs. Margarent Eggleston, Franklin Elementary 2nd grade teacher, who presented her students with oodles of opportunities to be creative…and let this girl use show and tell to hone her stand up comedy routine.
9. Mrs. Zoe Hemmingson, Franklin Elementary 4th grade teacher, who made social studies come alive for her students. 10 years later, she taught social studies elementary teaching methods at the college where I learned how to make social studies come alive for my students.
8. Betty Kingery, Westmar College elementary education professor who had taught elementary school for many years and passed her practical wisdom and humor on to a bunch of wannabe elementary teachers, one of whom wouldn’t have made it through her first year of teaching without the wealth of resources she provided.
7. Cheryl Gottschalk, the Harding County Schools elementary principal who gave specific feedback after every classroom observation and submitted my name to Who’s Who Among American Teachers. Until then, I had no idea whether or not my teaching was up to par.
6. Dr. Ruth Monroe, Westmar College theater professor. She was a strong, independent, creative, single woman who opened doors to the world to her students. She took us to the Guthrie in Minneapolis, to Broadway, to Washington, DC, and demonstrated how to mount professional productions in unusual and unexpected places.
5. Dorothy Pederson, head dietician at Brentwood Good Samaritan Center, who was my first boss. Under her tutelage, I learned time management, efficiently, and quality control. She promoted an insecure high school junior from dishwasher to assistant cook and made me feel competent.
4. Jane Bricker Lindell, who into our neighborhood between our 8th and 9th grade years. At the beginning of 10th grade, she suggested I read the textbooks and complete my assignments on time and then made sure I did. Because of her, I became a good student and had a magical high school experience.
3. Judith Markham, who was an editor at Discovery House Publisher when we first met. She encouraged me to pursue writing and publication through traditional publishing houses. She championed the book proposal for my first book, A Different Dream for My Child, and edited the project. Without her, I might not have become a published author.
2. Donna Hoey, my aunt and Mom’s younger sister. Words aren’t enough to tell what a presence this woman was and still is in my life. She was unconditional love, security, kindness, and stability to a little girl whose life was upended by her father’s illness. When she hugs me each time we meet, she still makes me feel safe. (On the left in the photo above.)
1. Dorothea Stratton, my mom who carried three young children and a disabled husband on her determined shoulders throughout the 1960s and 70s. Because of her, I am an educated woman. Because of her relationship with Dad, I understand what it means to love someone to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. (On the right in the photo above.)
Who are the people who profoundly changed your life? Give some of them a shout out in the comment box. I’m looking forward to meeting them.
by jphilo | Apr 24, 2015 | Uncategorized
Watching our children mature and strike out on their own is a great joy of parenting. This Fantastic Friday post first appeared in April of 2009, but our delight in the way the boys who once graced our home have become men continues. And our memories of them are still as strong and sweet as ever.
Our Boys Are Men
One of our favorite people in the whole world ate supper with us last night. Adrian, a Romanian foreign exchange student who lived with us for several months in 2001, was back in Iowa for a week before starting his new job in Singapore. He walked in the kitchen, and it was as if he’d never left, as if we were still an integral part of his life.
The best things about Adrian remained unchanged – his enthusiasm for adventure and travel, his love for his family and his delight in the people who have been part of his life. But, as we caught up on each other’s lives, we could see how our boy has changed. His story of landing his first job showed us how determined he’s become, how serious he is about contributing to society, how sober he is about the present financial downturn.
Allen’s attitude on the phone last weekend was a duplicate of Adrian’s. He was serious about life, grateful to have found his dream job in a down economy, responsible and optimistic, apprehensive about the future, but determined to move forward.
I reflected on their similar attitudes and realized what has happened to them since 2001. In spite of the times, or perhaps because of them, our boys have become men. Unless I am mistaken, they will be fine men, the kind who not only make the world a better place, but also find joy while doing so, even when times are hard.
Our boys are men, and my heart is glad.
by jphilo | Mar 9, 2015 | Uncategorized
When He had taken the book,
the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb,
each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 5:8
According to my mother, I was born talking. She loves to tell about the day she dressed me up in frilly pink dress, scraped my hair into two pig tails–though I dubbed them wiggle tails–and carried me into a store. The clerk made a great fuss, pinching my cheeks and cooing, until I piped up. “Lady, I know I’m cute.”
Abashed, the clerk said she didn’t think I could talk. Mom shifted me from one hip to the other and said, “She can’t walk yet, but she sure can talk.”
I like to think of my ability as a gift from God. A gift I continue using early and often by starting each day in prayer. I talk to God about the day to come, confess my sins, ask forgiveness (those two take quite a while), and share my worries. I spend much of the time asking him to meet the spiritual and physical needs of friends and family members who are sick, hurting, grieving, or wandering away from him. For good measure, I throw in some people whose lives have briefly intersected with mine.
Some of these people have been in my prayers for months. Years. Decades. Even though I lost track of many of them long ago. I keep praying for them because, if my brief glimpse of their lives is any indication, they are lost and have no one else praying for them. I have no idea if my prayers have accomplished anything. Or if they ever will. But since God endowed me with an abundance of words, praying for them seems to be a good way to share my gift of gab.
Then, during a Sunday school class in February, a phrase about prayer jumped out of the Bible and into my heart. Revelation 5:8 says that John saw the elders in heaven bowing before the Lamb of God. Each elder held two things. First a harp, which should encourage worshipers to sing to God, since what’s good enough to occupy us for eternity in heaven is certainly worthy of our time on earth. Second, the elders held golden bowls of incense which are the prayers of the saints.
Talk about encouragement to pray. Why would we all not raise our petitions to God when Scripture says that the prayers of the saints (that’s you and me and all Christ followers) are already in heaven? They are gathered in golden bowls. Offered as incense. Placed at the feet of Jesus by fellow believers who’ve gone before us.
To think that the prayers we’ve already offered for our friends, family, and neighbors, and in some cases strangers, are before Jesus this very minute is a source of great hope. We can hope that our prayers, raised out of compassion and loving concern for those God has placed in our lives, will be answered in his perfect time in marvelous ways we cannot imagine or conceive. The knowledge that we serve such a gracious God is motivation to lift our offering of prayer like golden incense rising to the Father and to the Lamb. Even when we aren’t sure what words to use. That’s rarely a problem for me, but if it is for you, don’t worry. Instead, call me. God’s given me more than a lifetime’s worth of words. I’d love to share them with you.
