Faith – movingforwardslowly

River Blessings

When doing my Sunday reflection this morning the thought of rivers came into my mind. I am still thinking about March as a month to honor my Scots-Irish heritage. River symbolism runs deep in many cultures, and the river is used symbolically in the bible as well. As I was researching rivers in Scotland and Ireland, I remembered the Riverdance show starring Michael Flatley. My daughter was in love with this show, and we bought her the VCR tape which we still own and can still watch on an old TV/DVD/VCR machine we still have. I took a picture of it. See below.

She is watching this today. Luckily the tape still works and so does the TV/VCR/DVD player. I wish we could buy another newer version of this same machine. It is made by Toshiba. When we bought it was being discontinued. We got the last one.

This coming week Saint Patrick’s day will be celebrated, and not necessarily in the way it was historically intended. However, we live in America and the year is 2026, so the spirit of celebration is one of happiness with family and heritage.

Cheers!

Scots Irish or Scotch Irish

https://www.jameswebb.com/books/born-fighting

With Saint Patrick’s Day being celebrated this month, I have been thinking about my heritage on my mother’s side of the family (the Irwin’s). She always said they were Scots-Irish. She even traced her family tree back to Rev. John Craig of Augusta county Virginia and the Old Stone church. She was able to visit it and take pictures before she died.

“The present building was dedicated on January 22, 1749 and is the oldest Presbyterian church in Virginia.” (https://www.augustastonechurchva.com/our-history)

The book pictured above was purchased by my mother and it came to me when she passed away. I read the book and enjoyed it. It contains a lot of good historical information about the Scots-Irish in America, and their influence on American culture.

Here is my great aunt Bess Irwin, and her sister, my grandmother, Myrtle Irwin DeVall. They were proud to be Scots-Irish and their father was an Irwin. . Their father was a teacher, and his father was a doctor.

I have decided to honor the Scots-Irish this month!

Looking Ahead to Next Year

Al generated image. I asked for a pistachio cake.

As New Year’s Eve approaches I am thinking about the year ahead of us. This is when I realized that my birthday will be on what seems like an auspicious date–02/26/2026. I will be turning 67. At first this scared me a little, though I know God will be watching over me as always.

Do numbers and dates hold power? I am inclined to think they do when I look around at the news and advertising media.

I decided to look up the date to see what I might find. An AI overview stated that it is known for celebrations like National Pistachio Day and Tell a Fairy Tale Day. This information made me laugh and put me at ease.

Then I looked up the day of February 26 in history and was pleased to see that in 1919 The Grand Canyon was officially designated, in 1929 Grand Teton National Park was established, and in 1933 the ground-breaking ceremony for the Golden Gate Bridge was held.

Now, I feel relieved that when the day is put into a bigger perspective, the day will pass like any other day. Perhaps I will eat a pistachio cake for my birthday, and maybe a fairy tale will be told.

Smile and Have a Happy New Year!

Sunday Reflection – A Season to Give

It is 2025. This garden picture was taken by me in my garden in 2010. It looks nothing like this today. Now I have family priorities that take most of my time.

I look back and I am thankful that at one time I had the luxury of playing in my garden for hours upon hours. I am thankful that I took enough pictures to look back at and be grateful for that time. I am grateful that my family allowed me this time.

This coming Tuesday 12/02/2025 is Giving Tuesday. Some of you, including myself, have already given to organizations or missions that speak to the heart. Though it is nice to have a day set aside to make sure in this season of giving that you remember others, especially those organizations that serve people who need help.

Count your blessings, and be grateful by giving to others that need your help.

Bright White Flowers and a Blessing

As I was fixing breakfast for my daughter this morning, I happened to glance out the kitchen window. Everything looked dull, especially since the overcast sky was providing little light. I spotted several bright white dots in the far right corner near the fence. I wondered excitedly if they could be the anemone Honorine Jobert I planted a good 20 years ago. I had to put my boots and a warm jacket on and go investigate. I wanted to be prepared, so I got out my old Nikon and made sure it had enough battery power. I then ventured out.

Sure enough I was right. There standing among all the evidence of neglect, multiplied by the browning and dying back that fall brings, was Honorine Jobert lighting up her corner of the garden. There were four flowers and several buds waiting to open. I took a few pictures to mark the occasion.

As I was heading back inside, I looked around the gloom to see if there were any more hidden surprises. I saw a single small white feather in the pond. I was surprised because just yesterday when I was researching Native American dream-catchers, I read that white feathers can symbolize peace, hope, and angels. With a sense of whimsy I would like to think that this white feather brings a blessing!

Moving forward…

Sunday Reflection: God is Good

This morning as I was drinking my coffee and looking out onto our deck,
I saw a trail of bright yellow cucumber flowers. 
They looked so pretty in the sunlight shining onto the deck.
Through all my neglect and amateur skills at vegetable gardening,
this cucumber plant has been a star performer bordering on miracle plant.

I looked away and then my subconscious told me to take another look.
I looked again and right above these flowers hung a new cucumber,
which I had not noticed the day before.
This has happened a few times with this plant.
I notice nothing, and then the next day I see a fully developed cucumber.
I have wondered is my vision so selective that I miss things.
I don't know the answer here.
I feel I must have a guardian angel watching over me to keep my spirits up.
It also makes me think I should not give up on future plans of growing vegetables.
I will show proof of produce that has been recently picked.
I won't show the ugly mess of pots and yellowed leaves.

This picture was taken by me today on my deck, including my most recent ‘miracle’ cucumber.

Sunday Reflection

My daughter likes to watch the Anne of Green Gables collection of movies based on the books by L. M. Montgomery. The picture I have featured here is from a Canadian government website. This house is a National Historic house based on the book. We visited this house on Prince Edward Island when my daughter was young. Her love of this story is still strong today.

Recently I overheard Anne ask Mirella if she can imagine being in the depths of despair. Mirella responded, "No I cannot. To despair is to turn your back on God." Hearing this got me to thinking about whether I agree with this.

Curiosity got me to thinking about other famous fictional characters' ideas about faith and belief in God. The Charles M. Schulz comic strip titled Peanuts came into my mind. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the whole gang are so famous that they have their own museum. https://schulzmuseum.org/
It is well documented that Charles M. Schulz, the creator of this iconic comic strip, did not shy away from including faith, spirituality, and theology in his comics. Here is one that I think is appropriate when thinking about Mirella Cuthbert's quote that is mentioned above.

I admire his open-mindedness and willingness to discuss religious beliefs. I think many people want to be considered “good” religious people. The trouble arises when we all have differing opinions about how “good” should be defined.

My personal opinion is that there are many roads that can lead you to God and salvation. Religions set-up their own system of beliefs and theories to point us in the direction they think we should follow. Reflection is all about considering your beliefs compared to other beliefs. This opens the door to modification if necessary and it can help foster a peaceful co-existence among us all.

(Today 8/09/25) I found the picture of my daughter in the carriage and my mom standing beside her. You can see the Green Gables house behind them. This picture was taken around 1995-1997.

The Healing Power of a Garden

Very prolific flower. Easy to grow. No problems. Honeybees love its scent.

Above you can see a black swallowtail butterfly and carpenter bee enjoying a blazing star. The middle picture shows my pond in its heyday. The third picture shows a clearwing moth enjoying a butterfly bush. The screenshot of the significance of hyssop according to E-Bible taught me something new today. I grew hyssop in my garden for many years. I loved it, and many butterflies of all sizes loved it. Interestingly, I saw very few hummingbirds around it, and this possibly was because the red cardinal flower held their interest (not pictured here.)

Hartell Reunion 1993

Grandmother & Grandfather Hartell’s church

I recently received some old family pictures from my stepmother Marilyn. She is my father’s widow. Most all of the pictures were from a Hartell family reunion that took place in Plattsburgh, Missouri back in 1993. I had forgotten the exact date, and the pictures did not help with this. Then I remembered the quilt square my cousin Pam had made for all of Florence Hartell’s grandchildren. Fortunately, she had written the date of the reunion on the back. I have taken good care of my square.

I was surprised to see the picture of my husband, Jim, holding our daughter Laura. She was 3 years old at that time. He is dressed up and smiling. I had never seen this picture before I received this recent package. I had to post this to show what a handsome man I married.

I was raised a Disciples of Christ. My grandparents Hartell attended the First Christian church in Plattsburg, Missouri. My parents, siblings, and I attended the First Christian church in 7-Corners, Virginia. I posted a screen shot of the Plattsburg church, and a screen shot about the Disciples of Christ faith. I was baptized in the First Christian church in 7-Corners, Virginia (Falls Church) I posted my grandparents church because several reunion pictures were taken there, and I remember attending this church from time to time when we were visiting them. The picture of my husband and daughter was taken in the general vicinity of this church.

Red Hats

I just finished reading Ursula K. Le Guin's book Voices. The priests in this book all wore red hats. They were called the Red Hats.

Coincidentally, I have been seeing a lot of red hats in catholic news these days.

The Red Hats in Le Guin's book were not kind men. I am not making any kind of comparison to the real cardinals wearing red hats and working together to pick a new pope in the Sistine Chapel.

Out of curiosity I did a quick search of catholic hats. I was surprised to find so many official hat names.