For All the Saints

All Saints Day is November 1st.  It is a day to remember those who have departed the world before us and are in Christ's presence forever.  

My favorite departed saint to remember is my maternal grandmother, whose photos you will find scattered throughout.  In Lutheran thinking (following how the Bible uses the term), all Christians are "saints" because Christ has made us holy by saving us. We don't live it out perfectly (sadly, we often don't live it out well at all), but Christ is the Perfect One, the Holy One who makes us that way in God's eyes. 

For all the saints 

Who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith 

Before the world confessed;
Thy name, O Jesus, 

Be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, 

Their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain 

In the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, 

Their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, 

Fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, 

They in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, 

For all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But then there breaks 

A still more glorious day:
The saints triumphant 

Rise in bright array;
The King of Glory 

Passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth's wide bounds, 

From ocean's farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl 

Streams in the countless host,
in praise of Father, 

Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia, Alleluia!  --William Walsham How, 1864

W.W. How was born in 1823 in England and died in 1897 in Ireland.  He was an Anglican priest who rose to be a bishop.  

The Long View

 

"If I knew tomorrow were the end of the world,

I'd plant an apple tree today." 

(attributed to Martin Luther; 16th century German)  

Imagine

 

Imagine...

love that embraces the enemy

grace that preaches repentance

joy that strengthens during depression

peace that accompanies the conflicted

hope that enlivens the dying

Jesus gives this.  --Rev B.T. (c) 2021

Lilies on My Table

 Flowers I bought to off-set the wicked heat and drought outdoors. Set on our bird themed tablecloth, a gift to ourselves for our last anniversary.  They opened over a couple of days, just as the store promised.

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Refreshing Rivers

These pictures are from the White River, a tributary to the Salt River in Arizona. The Salt River and another tributary, the Black River, form the boundary between two Apache Indian tribes in Arizona.

Scarlet Petnstemmon

A Grand Canyon

A spot where you can drive down to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.  Not quite as "splendid" as in the National Park, but still beautiful.

At the confluence of Diamond Creek & the Colorado River, May 2019. 

Jesus, Refuge of the Weary

Jesus, Refuge of the weary,
Blest Redeemer Whom we love.
Fountain in life's desert dreary,
Savior from the world above.
Oh, how oft Thine eyes, offended
Gaze upon the sinner's fall;
Yet upon the cross extended,
You have born the pain of all.

Do we pass that cross unheeding,
Breathing no repentant vow,
Though we see Thee wounded, bleeding,
See Thy thorn encircled brow?
Yet Thy sinless death has brought us
Life eternal, peace, and rest;
Only what your grace has taught us
Calms the sinner’s deep distress.

Jesus, may our hearts be burning

With more fervent love for Thee;
May our eyes be ever turning
To Thy cross of agony
Till in glory, parted never
From the blessed Savior’s side,
Carved into our hearts forever,
Dwell the cross, the Crucified.

By Girolamo Savonarola; translated by Lady Jane Wilde, adapted

Girolamo Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar and preacher.  (In his zeal to reform the Roman Catholic Church, before Luther came along, he unfortunately destroyed some secular art in Italy.) He called for Christian renewal and expressed skepticism towards the culture of his day.

Fall Gardener

These are evidence of my Labor Day (early September) planting.  Here, the growing seasons are different than what most people in the northern hemisphere expect. 

This is a "scatter garden", where there are not organized beds.  In fact, vegetable & flowers grow among "volunteer grasses", which serve as "nursery plants" while the others get going.

This is a bee haven, something our world needs. The bees even like the grass heads.  (We have to let it grow longer because of our other plants.  Then we have to literally whack it off with clippers. We can't mow because there's always some other interesting plant coming up in the midst.)

(For your other November & Thanksgiving Day enjoyment, please select the "autumn" or "seasons" tag in the sidebar.)

Green bean flowers

Carrot plants

Pumpkin & flower

Black-eye Susans or purple coneflowers sprouting

Natural Wonders of America

The U.S. Flag featured at some of our public lands for the Fourth of July

(uncredited internet photos)

Flag Raising:  Old Faithful

Yellowstone National Park, WY

Ft. Union National Monument, NM

Southern Swamps

USS Arizona Memorial, HI

Grand Teton National Park, WY

Avenue of Flags

Mount Rushmore National Monument, SD

Storms moving in...

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Zion National Park, UT

Washington Monument, Washington, D.C.

Niagara Falls, NY

Devil's Tower National Monument, WY

Sagamore Hill Nat'l Historic Site

Long Island, NY

Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA

Half Dome at Yosemite Nat'l Park. CA 

Folding the Flag

at Ft. McHenry National Monument, MD

(where "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written)

Flowers at Home

If this is how nature looks while it's "groaning" (Romans 8; and we live in a desert, so we do see nature groan at its worst!), how much better will heaven be?

BACKYARD: Prickly pear cacti, African daisies, sunflower (another not blooming).

green bean plant (base of sunflower), pumpkin plant (foreground), marigolds (foreground)

OLD ROSE (bred for desert life):  Closer to "wild rose."

Related to fruit tree family (plum, apple, cherry, etc.)

From St Patrick

God, my God, omnipotent King, I humbly adore thee.

Thou art King of kings, Lord of lords. Thou art the Judge of every age.

Thou art the Redeemer of souls.

Thou art the Liberator of those who believe.

 Thou art the Hope of those who toil.

Thou art the Comforter of those in sorrow.

Thou art the Way to those who wander.

Thou art Master to the nations.

Thou art the Creator of all creatures.

Thou art the Lover of all good.

Thou art the Prince of all virtues.

Thou art the joy of all Thy saints

Thou art life perpetual.

Thou art joy in truth.

Thou art the exultation in the eternal fatherland.

Thou art the Light of light.

Thou art the Fountain of holiness.

Thou art the glory of God the Father in the height.

Thou art Savior of the world.

Thou art the plenitude of the Holy Spirit.

― St. Patrick 

“For that sun, which we see rising every day, rises at His command… - Greg Tobin, The Wisdom of St. Patrick from St. Patrick’s Confession”

The Golden Morning [Sun]

(apropos for Thanksgiving, though originally German)

The golden morning,
Joy her adorning,
On us is gleaming,
Rays brightly beaming,
With her beloved heart-quickening light.
My head and members
Lay deep in their slumbers,
But now awaking,
All sleep from me shaking,
Gazing on heav’n, I rejoice at the sight.

Mine eye’s beholding
God’s work unfolding,
Made for His glory,
Telling the story
Of all His power so mighty and great
And where the Father
His faithful shall gather
In peace, whenever
Earth’s ties they shall sever,
Leaving this mortal and perishing state.

Come ye with singing,
Our Maker bringing
Each good and blessing
We are possessing:
All be to God as an offering brought,
The best oblation
Our heart’s adoration.
Songs meet and thankful
Are incense and cattle
With which His pleasure most fitly is sought.

Evening and morning,
Sunset and dawning,
Wealth, peace, and gladness,
Comfort in sadness:
These are Thy works; all the glory be Thine!
Times without number,
Awake or in slumber,
Thine eye observes us,
From danger preserves us,
Causing Thy mercy upon us to shine.

Though all decayeth,
God ever stayeth,

Nor doth He waver,
He changeth never,
His Word and will have unchangeable ground.
His grace and favor
Are steadfast forever,
In our hearts healing 
Death’s pangs that we’re feeling,
Keeping us now and eternally sound.

Father, O hear me,
Pardon and spare me;
Calm all my terrors,
Blot out mine errors
That by Thine eyes they may no more be scanned.
Order my goings,
Direct all my doings;
As it may please Thee,
Retain or release me;
All I commit to Thy fatherly hand.

The good and healthful,
The harmful, unhelpful,
Thou my Physician,
Who know’st my condition,
Hast ne’er more chastened than any should be.
Griefs, though heart-rending,
All have their ending;
Though seas be roaring
And winds outpouring,
Thereafter shines the dear sun’s blessèd face.

Fullness of pleasure
And glorious leisure
Then will be given
To me there in heaven,
Where all my thoughts are directing their gaze.

--Paul Gerhardt, 1666.  Translation, composite.  (adapted)

Lord of All Hopefulness

[Happy Labor Day!]

 

 Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
Whose trust, ever child-like, no cares can destroy,
Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

 Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
Be there at our labors, and give us, we pray,
Your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
Your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,
Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Christ of St. John of the Cross, 1951
Salvador Dali; Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,

Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

---"Jan Struther"  (Joyce Maxtone Graham)* , 1931

*This authoress of many Anglican hymns was, actually, agnostic, although she regularly attended church.  We shall take her work in the fullest Christian sense.

It's Grand

Recent anniversary trip up to the Grand Canyon:

 

Elk

Scrub Jay

 

Mule Deer