bridges of madison county

Roseman Covered Bridge 1883

Did you read the book, The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller?  There really are covered bridges and the Roseman Bridge was on the cover of the book. This past week we were able to visit the bridges that are located in Winterset, Madison County, Iowa. 

Upon visiting the Chamber of Commerce in Winterset you are given a map to show you how to get to the bridges. None are being used anymore, but all are still intact and will probably be there long after the concrete and steel bridges, that replaced them, are gone. Some were tore down and built back up in another location to keep them preserved, others are in their original locations, sitting above the rivers that have been flowing below them for a hundred years or more.

Today these bridges mean more than just a mode of transportation of years gone by. They represent a love story thanks to the book.

Hogback Covered Bridge 1884

Cutler-Donahue Covered Bridge 1871

Holliwell Bridge 1880

where things are simple

As the summer winds down I realize that the camping trip we will be taking at the end of the month will probably be our last trip of the season. 

This made me reminisce about the many camping trips that I have taken over the years.  

Today I thought I would share pictures of the different campers that our family has owned over my lifetime.

Unfortunately, I was not able to find pictures of the first camper that the Preacher and I had. The camper where our son learned to love the outdoors and looked forward to having adventures.

Kuhn Family Vacation, Wisconsin, 1960's, Franklin Trailer

Kuhn Family Vacation, Lake Superior, late 1960's early 1970's

Lula Kuhn, 1980's, Brookville, Indiana

The Preacher, 2017, Golden, CO

Camping has been in my family for as long as I can remember. 

Thanks Dad and Mom for giving us the love of adventure, the appreciation of the outdoors and sharing the beauty of this country!

I need a break from all the noise.

I want to breathe clean air

   and swim in clean water.

I want to sit on the porch of an old

   cabin and listen to the stillness.

I want to be out where things are

   simple and every breath is

    a reminder that there is beauty

     and magic left in this world.

–Brooke Hampton

fear he is a liar

Fear came into our lives this past week. It came by way of a phone call. Fear has come in the past as a call and it again came to visit me. A battle was soon to take place. A battle between doubt, fear and faith. 

As I am listening to the person on the other end of the phone, fear is slithering through the line. Slithering as if he is a snake coming to attack. He is coming through the phone and wrapping himself around my mind and my heart. 

Upon ending the call I began to cry, to weep for the "what if". Doubt was creeping through my body, and at the time, I couldn't stop it. 

For the rest of the evening fear and doubt held me captive. All day Saturday I still felt like I was in their grip. Sunday was a mind-numbing day. It didn't help that the Preacher's sermon that day was on Unanswered Prayers. I kept questioning God, questioning myself, questioning the whole situation.

I remembered what the Preacher said in a recent sermon..."faith comes out of the pain". I had to find my faith again.

Yesterday the Preacher and I had a meeting to attend in Brighton. The drive to and from Brighton takes approximately 4 hours. On this drive I had tuned our radio to the SiriusXM station, The Message. It felt like every song was lifting the fear out of my heart and mind.

"Fear is a liar, He will take your breath, stop you in your steps; Fear is a liar, he will rob your rest, steal your happiness; Cast your fear in the fire, 'cause fear he is a liar; Let your fire fall and cast out all my fears, let your fire fall your love is all I feel." – Fear is a Liar, Zach Williams

Today I feel much better. Fear no longer haunts my mind and I don't feel its grip on my heart. 

I know fear and doubt will try to slither back in on another day. But with prayer, the words of truth that I find in the Bible, Christian songs, and the love of our family, I will fight to keep fear away. 

"This is how I fight my battles" – Surrounded, Michael W. Smith

action = prayer

a field guide to NOW, by Christina Rosalie, has been sitting on my book shelf for some time. The television sits upon that book shelf and every night while watching TV, my eye seems to be drawn down to its title. 

I purchased the book in 2013. I read a few chapters but life seemed to press in and I moved on to other things. So I never finished the book. 

I feel that the Lord is bringing me back to its pages. Maybe there is something that I need to learn from Christina's words.

I read the first chapter today which is titled Action. The author talks about documenting the now, the present. Action = a gesture or movement; the process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim.

My action right now is being in continual prayer. The Lord has been leading me to several scriptures and teaching me about prayer. And I have been praying like I have never prayed before.

When will the answer to the prayers come? I don't know. But prayer is the action that I am taking.

My gesture is to lay everything at His feet and like David says in Psalm 46:10, I am trying to be still and know that He is God. 

Leap with arms flung wide toward the heart of your life. Christina Rosalie

The heart of my life is my husband and my son and right now the only thing I can do is to fight our battles with scripture and prayer.

porter

Meet Porter, our newest border collie and member of the family. 

Our home is again filled with dog toys, barking, growling, cat and dog fights, dog treats, and water spills. It is also filled with a puppy that knows that he is loved and a puppy that gives that love back to us. 

easter

 

This is me and my family back in the late 1960's. I believe we are all dressed up ready for an Easter Sunday church service. 

This is back in the day where girls and ladies wore dresses, and boys and men wore suits every Sunday. Easter was the day you were able to get a new dress and, if you were lucky, you got new shoes too. Easter Sunday was the day when you were able to wear white because, you know, it was forbidden to wear white after Labor Day the year before. Spring, if only in name, was here!

Easter seemed to be a magical day in my childhood. We got up early, went outside to find the Easter eggs the bunny had hidden. If the weather didn't cooperate, he hid them in the garage, and mom always seemed to surprise us with something special. That might have been big chocolate bunnies, I even had my first white chocolate bunny, or maybe even real, live, brightly colored chickens from the five and dime store, Murphy's, or even a rabbit. We celebrated the resurrection of the Savior at the Morristown Christian Church, and then we had a large Easter dinner with lots of family surrounding the table. 

We may not get dressed up in dresses or suits anymore. The Easter bunny no longer visits our home since our son has left our nest. But Easter still is a special day. It's still a day to surround a dinner table with friends and family and it's the one day that reminds us that death has no hold on us and gives us the hope of living forever with our Father in heaven.

The Preacher and I hope that you have a beautiful Easter day.

my valentines

Pook's Crawfish Hole, Santa Fe, Texas

These two guys are my life. 

The Preacher has been, and always will be, my very best friend. It feels like life didn't begin until he and I were together. 

Through my son, I know what it means to be a part of one of God's miracles. He is what completes the Preacher and I.

Happy Valentine's Day my loves!

standstill

Last Wednesday, our Women's Bible Study group got together to drink some coffee and tea and go over the Discussion Questions from the book Love Does by Bob Goff. One of the last questions was "How are you engaged at this time in your life?"

At this time in our lives, the Preacher has been ill with stomach issues for several months, and it has gotten worse in the last few weeks. He has visited his doctor, seen a surgeon and was in the ER on one occasion. During these last few weeks, our lives have been at a standstill.

Last week, after the Preacher's appointment with his doctor, we went to a local bistro and had some breakfast. (I had breakfast, the Preacher just nibbled on my breakfast.) We always sit at the same table which is located next to the front window. Looking out, you see a statue of a pioneer man and wife representing the town's heritage. I saw that statue in a different light on that day.

It felt as if the Preacher and I were that statue. Standing there just watching the world go by with us stuck in this "what are we going to do" state of mind. The Preacher is in a lot of pain most days so doing anything other than work, is on hold right now. We work in the mornings and then, when the pain gets to be too much, we go and settle into our home. If you know us, you would know that this is not us.

I am not writing this to have you feel sorry for us. Not at all. I am writing this post to ask for prayers for the Preacher. He is so tired of feeling this pain. The doctors think that it is possibly his gallbladder so they scheduled him for surgery next week. Pray that the surgery goes well and pray that this will be the solution that he needs.

Thank you for your prayers

liars will be silenced

"...all who swear by God's name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced." Psalm 63:11

photos provided by Greg Furman from the A Caring Pregnancy Resource Center's Annual Fundraising Banquet

The Preacher and I want to thank Marilyn Musgrave for her tireless work through the Susan B. Anthony List. Thank you to the many volunteers of the A Caring Pregnancy Resource Center for the work they do here in northeast Colorado. And thank you to those who donated their time and money to attend our annual fundraising banquet. 

Through you, we pray that the mouths of the liars will be silenced. We pray that lives will be saved.

sunsets

The sunsets out here on the plains sometimes are just phenomenal. There is just something about how the sun slowly sets below the horizon with the clouds smeared across the sky and the sun begins to paint her beautiful colors.  They begin as a light pink, but then as you wait and watch, the sky shows off just how bright and beautiful it can become with it's yellows and reds, blues and oranges. Many a sunset can be quick and the sun seems to set ever so fast behind the western mountains and the horizon, but there have been a few that just seem to linger, letting you stand in awe of God's wonder.

The Preacher and I have always loved the sunsets. We love the sunsets more than sunrises. Mainly because, in order to view the sunrise, you have to get up early and we are not early risers.

We have traveled to many a place just to witness the sunsets. We have driven to the most southern point in the United States in Key West to watch the sunset. We have hiked to a mountain top to witness the sun setting. We have filled a picnic basket full of food, drove to a high point, ate our evening meal and watched the sun set. When we were building our cabin, we positioned the house on the property just so we would have the best view of the sunsets.

I don't know what it is about sunsets that seem to draw people into it's beauty. It could be the beauty alone, but more than likely it's a time to gaze upon the wonder of our Creator. A few years back, we had been shopping in Loveland, Colorado, which sits just at the base of the Rockies. When we came out of the store we were amazed by the sun setting over the mountains. The sun had gone behind a mountain but it's rays were shooting through the clouds up into the sky. It reminded us of what you might think it will look like when the Lord returns. And we were not the only people who noticed. I looked around and there were several people standing there, stopped in their tracks, just to view the wonder of the Lord's creation.

Out here on the plains, after a beautiful sunset has occurred, you can go on social media and there will be several people posting their pictures of the magnificence of the sunset that they just witnessed.

Wherever you are, whatever time the sun sets in your place in the world, stop, turn to the west and wait for it. Wait for that beautiful bright sun to go down, wait for the amazing array of colors to form, and thank God for His beauty and majesty.