NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS

Seems like every year when my family retreats to the cabins in Silver City there is some great, shocking, scandalous, or devastating event going on somewhere in the world being given 24-hour media coverage. In the ten years we've been going, our trip has coincided with such things as Princess Diana's tragic death, Bill Clinton's affair with Monica, the slimy, mud-slinging home stretch of two presidential campaigns, and the Sept. 11th World Trade Center horror...to name a few. This year it is the unbelievable devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Being that there are no phones, TVs, or radios at the cabins we are blissfully ignorant of the graphic details and constant talk of these events. I don't say "unaware" because, with the exception of Princess Diana's death, all the aforementioned were already in motion before we headed north. It is not until we come back to "civilization", and stop for our traditional burgers at Henry's Bar in Rockland, that we are brought slammingly back to reality.

This year, the burgers were hard to swallow while watching the scenes of immense wreckage, loss, and death on the TV screens at either end of Henry's dining room. And then last night, watching the senseless looting and violence that this type of catastrophe seems to bring out in some people. I don't understand it and it makes me want to bury my head, not only in the sand but in my hands and weep.

But our peaceful interlude of rest and relaxation in the UP helps me to lift my head, lift my eyes and prayers up to Him who knows all ... all the details, all the pain, all the horror and shock. The true Good News is that God loved the world so much, He sent His beloved Son to die for each and every person ever born so that, if they would just believe in Him and trust Jesus, they would not perish but have eternal life. And salvation is not just something reserved for after our earthly life is over. Walking with JESUS makes all the pain, sorrow, and hardship bearable.

I am daily convicted of the necessity of being faithful to share my faith in Him with those around me; to share the Good News with the lost and searching. There are people all around me who live in devastation and wreckage that has nothing to do with a hurricane.

SILVER CITY

Summer's end is always marked for me by our annual pilgrimage to Silver City, Mi. We, along with my extended family, stay in rustic cabins nestled right on the shore Lake Superior. It is a time away, looked forward to by all, when we can do whatever we want and eat more than we should. My children and their cousins mark their calendars and count down the days til they can romp and play on the beach, in the water, in whichever cabin has the best snacks.

I began this tradition and it has a lot of meaning for me besides the getting away. I came to these same cabins in 1965 and '66 with my parents, younger sister, (youngest sister had not made an appearance yet), and my paternal grandparents. I remember sitting up late at night listening to the adults talking, gathering driftwood for a fire on the beach, and the pet sheep the owners had at the time. Something like that kind of sticks in your mind. Years later, in my mid-thirties, I rediscovered this small resort while on a day-trip to Ontonagon and the Porkies with my grandmother. There was something so familiar about the place and Nana confirmed that it was where we had stayed in the sixties. I promptly went home and booked us two cabins for the following year. How wonderful that was to return there with my kids, their grandparents, and my grandmother! It has now swelled to booking four cabins and both my sisters have joined us. The price has gone up, the beach has shrunk, gas is out of sight but we all agree...this is priceless.

AUTUMN AWARENESS

The signs of autumn's approach are everywhere. Colored leaves on the ground at the end of our driveway, a completely red-leafed maple on our road, the temptation to turn on the furnace to take off the night's chill. The UPS truck roaring up the drive to deliver boxes of school curriculum. Shotguns, bows, and arrows being checked, adjusted, cleaned, and sighted. The oven giving off delicious aromas...

It was a great summer but it went by so quickly. I am hoping for a beautiful and prolonged fall with warm days and crisp nights...apple crisp, cherry crisp, blueberry crisp. Summer's bounty to enjoy!

GAS PAINS

Ouch! $2.79 a gallon and rising. Pulling up to the pump these days is a painful experience. I am having to carefully consider the necessity of every trip to town or church. Then try to consolidate as much business into each trip as possible. I find it ironic that the Driver's Ed. class Taylie is taking, which will free me up from some of the running around next year, requires me to drive 300 miles getting her there and back during the three week duration of the class.

I am very thankful I do not drive a gas-guzzling, nine mpg, full-size van anymore. My old lady Buick LeSabre gets 28 mpg around town. It may be square, but it gets me there...with change to spare.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

We are heading out for our first camping trip of the year this weekend. It is long overdue. With kids' summer jobs, it is not easy to schedule these things. We will go to one of our favorite campgrounds, Gogebic State Park. The fishermen will pre-fish (whatever that means!) before the Gogebic Walleye Tournament; our next, and annual, camping trip in September.

This is also our maiden voyage with our new camper -- new to us, anyway. After selling our vintage 1971 Holiday Rambler we bought a 1996 Wilderness. She doesn't have quite the character of the old girl's 70's avocado green and harvest gold. More like 90's country blue and mauve. But, I'm sure with time, she'll grow on us; just like the Rambler did.

I am looking forward to a quiet, relaxing weekend with nothing to do. It has been a hectic summer and an even crazier week. I will have the luxury of sleeping in if I want to. I will not have to drive anyone anywhere. I will be able to read without feeling like I should be doing something else. I will not have to answer the phone. I will not have to efficiently plan my day.

It'll be good to be the Queen for a day or two. :)

MARTHA MARY MOMENT

Wednesday, my busy schedule opened up unexpectedly and I had a choice to make: stay home and get caught up on housework and pay bills, or go to Ontonagon to see my grandmother. These things bore equal pressure on me because I was negligent in both. This summer has been so packed I have struggled to keep up, and unfortunately some very important areas have suffered. As I weighed my options, my conscience told me, "Look at what a dump this house is and those two bills are overdue! How could you have let that happen?" My heart quietly pointed out, "It's been a month since you've seen Nana. Housework and bills will always be here, but she won't." It was the classic Martha Mary thing. (Luke 10:41,42) Happily, my Mary heart won out and I threw some snacks in a cooler, the kids grabbed their swimsuits and towels, and we took off for Ontonagon (stopping in town long enough to pay a couple bills). :)

I am so thankful we went. The kids have not seen their great grandmother since before she fell, breaking her hip, last February and ending up in the nursing home. At almost 99 years of age, a person's resiliency isn't what it used to be and Nana has changed in physical appearance and strength considerably. I was a little concerned about how the kids would handle the nursing home, as it can be disconcerting at times. Once when visiting Nana, her roommate had kicked off her blankets, wriggled down in her bed so her nightgown was up around her waist, and was babbling in Finnish. I summoned an aide and wasn't too disturbed but was glad my kids hadn't witnessed it.

God is good. The nursing home was quiet, Nana and her roommate were both asleep (and fully covered) when we arrived. I gave the kids the opportunity to come, one by one, to the bedside and look at her. They were able to process what she looks like now, and their reaction, while she was asleep. They were startled and tears were in their eyes, but it was a good thing. I hugged them and talked with them and when I did wake Nana the kids were able to greet her without being hampered by trying to hide their emotions. They were relieved to find she knew them and still had her great sense of humor. We visited about an hour and I knew it was a blessing to Nana as well as to us.

My dad came to the nursing home while we were there and, when we left, we spent some time with him. Then we we headed for the beach. As I sat on the shore watching my kids swim, play and laugh together in that great lake where their great grandmother had once done the same, my heart swelled with joy and thanksgiving. I had made the right choice.

DEAL WITH IT

The nightshirt reads: Pull up your big-girl panties and deal with it! Cracked me up. I'm thinking of ordering them in bulk.

I have to admit this sleepwear admonishment applies to me as much, if not more, as it does to anyone I might direct it at. Especially lately, I have been doing a lot of whining, complaining, why-meing, resenting, and other such martyr mentality activities. I am ashamed of myself. A good part of the stuff that drives me nuts, I bring on myself. The rest of it...well, who am I to think I should not have trials, tribulations, irritations, insults, and abuse? My Lord Jesus bore much worse and without self-pity, resentment, and complaint. So, excuse me while I pull up my big-girl panties and deal with it...joyfully.

"I remember my afflictions and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him'." Lamentations 3:19-24