To the Moon

Right off Kit Carson Rd. rests a quiet and humble Inn, the El Monte Lodge. I check it at the office and take the gravel driveway. On the left are six units, individual adobe style duplexes. It is very homey looking. My room for the night is uniquely decorated and the artwork isn't even nailed to the walls. There is a keva fireplace in the corner that looks inviting and cozy. As I walk out of the doorway, before me is a lush grassy yard. Huge cottonwood trees loom around the perimeter. Between two limbs hang two swings – one wooden on twice, the other a modern child's basket swing. A grandfather walks along, holding the hand of his toddler granddaughter. A dog comes trotting to the scene when he whistles. They reach the swings and he tenderly places her within the care of her swing. He pushes the swing gently and then higher. “To the moon,” he shouts! “Higher” she cries between giggles. “To Venus!” he declares. She has a big, toothy grin and the cutest dimples. “To Mars” You can just see the love between the two of them.

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By light of a kerosene lantern a dim and soft shadow is cast upon the wall. It is still except for the hand that moves across a paper. A young girl of eighteen sits to document the days events and imagine upon the olden days. She has lit the lantern for nostalgia's sake. Its scent is an unusual encounter in the year 2010. Though somehow it's different sitting on a Tempur-pedic bed with the convenience of a light switch two feet away. So much has changed since her childhood, let alone since that of generations' before her. Within the last few years has come the invention of person laptops, DVDs and BlueRay, cell phones, mp3 players, and electronic storage devices of all kinds and minute sizes. Just to name a few items. Let alone the attitude of kids' these days or the fast-paced American rat race. Times are unreal. How they have advanced. But is progress good or bad? Sometimes she wonders what it would be like to grow up in the 1920s when life was “hard,” yet simple. People seemed to be so much happier. To put in a full day's work of manual labor and then come home to a hand made meal and sit before a blazing fire to darn socks. To see far away pictures only in expensive books or museums and dream of traveling. What would it be like? Children of today will never know. That past generation is fading and it is up to us to preserve what knowledge of it is left. It is up to you and me to learn for ourselves and teach future generations. Once it's gone there is no turning back to recover it. Let's do our part. Let's be the best people of character that we can and change the future for good.

Home

Home is where the heart is, but she just couldn't wait to get out of this God forsaken land. Jane's husband was a building contractor and this around they were in the desolate New Mexico desert. Sure, they had a nice house, but you couldn't enjoy it with the wind constantly blowing. Dirt devils were all too common and you could rarely find a day to open the windows and let fresh air in. But every day, just as the sun crept low in the sky all would still, long enough for you to grab a rocker on the back porch and watch the sunset. That was the one thing she admired about the desert, the beautiful colors caused by the dirt particles in the air. It looked as if God took his paint brush and smeared soft streaks around. The subsiding winds rested long enough to honor the dying light and then the temperatures would drop so drastically that you'd best find shelter and warmth. Even in the summer the desert became an icebox at night. For miles, as far as the eye could see, nothing dotted the horizon; the land was barren and no vegetation existed. They were blessed to have a well that had a mysteriously abundant supply of pure water. (.M.Ja.18.10.) Until they could return to the wonderful and green Northwest, she settled to be satisfied and grow where she was planted. Idaho was where they had left behind their hearts and dear precious friends and loved ones. How could one not desire for a land where color is abundant and natural lakes are plentiful. You could actually enjoy being out of doors and breathe air without fear of choking to death. It was a glorious land that Jane missed tremendously. But she daily chose to be happy and a pleasant person, rather than bitter. Shouldn't we all decide to be a joyous person, whom is the sunlight in a cloudy and gloomy world.
Through Christ I can do all things.

Commitment

New Year's Resolution. I contemplate upon the past year just before the clock strikes midnight. I contemplate upon what the coming year and decade will hold? So many unknowns in life, so many changes just around the bend. I pray to God and commit my life into His hands. For He knows me best and what I can withstand. I choose to let Him lead me every step of the way

Joy

Joy in the Journey. Patience is having tolerance while expressing joy. Joy unspeakable.

Moments

Moments come and moments go. But memories come and stay for a lifetime. Memoirs for an eternity. I am convinced to write down my stories as much and as best as I can. For when I look back at my great grandfather's Navy stories from 1910 it is an avenue to the timeless tales of old. Of days gone by. How we must record what we experience today for those of tomorrow. :) What a joy! What a privilege to hand down

On Eagle's Wings

[(written on 1-4-2010 by Caley Janelle Schumacher. Inspired by Junelle Pellow McCombs.) Before me is a scene that is almost too amazing for humans eyes to behold. The grandeur is overwhelming. Through a meadow of lush green grass, runs a young boy around the age of three. So sweet and innocent. He blazes along with a forest of evergreens on either side and the silhouette of glorious mountains looming beyond. The ripple of a brook inside the woods echoes softly through the rustling limbs. The sky is a clear baby blue and a few fluffy white clouds spot the horizon. An eagle soars above on a gentle breeze, gliding as if there weren't a care in the world. For not even the fall of a sparrow goes unnoticed before our Maker and He cares for everyone so tenderly. The sunbeams cast upon the eagle's glossy feathers and a perfect shadow falls upon the field. The little boy sees the shadow and begins to chase after it. His small steps are many, but he doesn't give up or lose heart. He stumbles over a mound of dirt and a prairie dog curiously appears. A rabbit pauses by the trees and watches the young lad as he races by. Then a cloud shield the sun and just in time to give the chubby legs a rest. But my thoughts still linger upon the eagle's shadow. How uniform and perfect it was, how realistic and true. We need to be parallel to the Son, so that His rays of character may cast perfect representations of Him through us for others to see. Let us be true to His likeness.] ['But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way fruit appears in an orchard - things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.' (Galatians 5:22-23) 'Summing it up friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.' (Philippians 4:8)]