Sunrise, Sunset

He slowly walked towards the shoreline with a chair upon his back.

Every effort to quicken his steps were met as one in the twilight of his years. Golden highlights painted the eventides transforming the quieted shores.

At dusk, the Senior Citizens of this small coastal town are similarly drawn like ones waiting for the concert to begin. Some sat in cars, some upon the sand dunes, while others stood gazing towards the horizon, yet all for the same purpose. To watch the great conductor of the universe play out his magnificent concerto.

(words and photo by Mrs. Lisa Hollinger)

Is this the little girl I carried?

Is this the little boy at play?

I don't remember growing older

when did they?

When did she get to be a beauty?

When did he grow to be this tall?

Wasn't it yesterday when they were small?
Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise, Sunset

Swiftly flow the days.

Seedlings turn over night to sunflowers

blossoming even as we gaze

Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise, Sunset

Swiftly fly the years

One season following another

Laden with happiness and tears...

(Song by Fiddler on the Roof)

From the rising of the sun to its settingThe name of the LORD is to be praised.

Psalms 113:3

That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is no one besides Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other,
Isaiah 45:6
So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun,
For He will come like a rushing stream
Which the wind of the LORD drives.
Isaiah 59:19

Mirth At All Times Together

Pleasant Wit, and harmless fun...

And a dance When day is done

Music friends so true and tried...

Whispered love by warm fireside

Mirth at all times together...

Make sweet May of Winter weather.

(Alfred Dommett

1811-1887)

~Photo's from our delightful travels to the Oregon coast~

Sunsets Red and Quiet Air

(Photo by Mrs. Hollinger)

February 8-18th

Cold, crisp and still~ frames this time of year. The snow continues to visit us off and on for short durations holding frosty blankets upon the mountains with green and white patches woven in.

Sunsets red and quiet air;

Ponds are ice and trees are bare;

Fields are frozen far and near;

February, days are here.

Bitter cold the night draws down

On the country and the town,

But in cheerful warmth we sit,

And the nursery lamp is lit.

Then, when mother stops our play,

Father puts his book away

And he makes upon the wall

Shadow pictures for us all.

There a rabbit wags its ears

Or a grinning face appears

Or a swan with feathered wings

Ships and many other things;

Last of all a night-capped head

Then we know it's time for bed.

K. Pyle.

Februare Fair And Bright

"One month is past, another is begun...

Since merry bells rang out the dying year, and buds of rarest green began to peer, As if impatient for a warmer sun; and though the distant hills are bleak and dun;
The virgin snowdrop, like a lambent fire, pierces the cold earth with it's green-streaked spire
And in dark woods, the wandering little one may find a primrose."

Feb. 1st. 1842 ~Hartley Coleridge

(photo by Mrs. Lisa Hollinger)

~Our beautiful lake with snow still on the mountains~

If Candlemas Day Be Fair & Bright

"Winter will have another flight
But if Candlemas Day be clouds & rain
Winter is gone & will not come again."

Historically Reference

This month derives it's name from the word Februare, to purify;or from Februa, the Roman festival of expiation, which was celebrated through the latter part of the month. In ordinary years there are 28 days in February but in leap-year 29. ~Diary of Miss Edith Holden 1906

Feast Days etc.

Feb. 2. Candlemas Day

Feb. 14 Saint Valentine

Feb. 24 Saint Matthias

February 1-7th.

It has been lightly snowing off and on the past week or so. Like a beautiful glass ball turned upside down, carefully shook, the slow falling snow gives peace and delight. Sometimes icicles hang at great lengths from our roof and sugar powdered evergreens grace our property giving our gingerbread home story book charm . We hold our breath hoping not to wake from this wonderful dream we call "Our Mountain Home".

"On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and become a stately cedar. And birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shade of its branches."

Ezekiel 17:23

This Is My Beloved And This Is My Friend

My beloved is dazzling and ruddy, Outstanding among ten thousand...
Song of Solomon 5:10

This verse continues on and applies the same today as it did so many years ago when my husband~Brian and I first married. This verse came to my heart then as it does today.

~I want to honor my husband with words of praise~

Hearth & Home~I have been blessed with not only a manly, ruddy, rugged outdoorsy type husband but a true gentleman who exemplifies Christ's kind love, servants heart and wise caring leadership. I remember our daughter telling some friends that she could not recall my husband ever raising his voice at her, which amazed and seemed unheard of to them.

He willingly consistently spends hours at a time any day of the week, giving ear to our children's needs and he knows how to have fun too!

Winter Games with a new twist~With my husbands creative imagination during this time of year, we have seen incredible castles of snow, SUV size animal figurines and some of the funniest winter creations I have ever seen. Long before it was fashionable, he created his own interpretation of indoor sports and games including golfing (throughout the house with croquet pieces), bowling (in the kitchen), water balloons and tents so intricate they filled a living room. Designing adventures from a simple deck of cards, he kept us on the edge of our seats, wondering if we would find the golden treasure or explode from a hidden bomb~all from the safety of our home. With homespun puppets, family radio shows and zanny, elaborate costumes, he has given our family hilarious days of fun, imagination and filling our lives with great joy.

Man of Honor~Brian, tries with all his heart to consider all sides wisely and carefully before making decisions. Rarely has he missed the mark nor have I known a kinder man with such humility.

Honor from the Fields~Many men have asked to work with or join him in business for they say he is "fair and good to all". Presidents of company's including a Senior Corporate Attorney who have known him for many years told me my husband was "the most honest man they have ever known in business". I attribute this to his desire to honor the Lord including wisdom and understanding gained from adversity in the "Entrepreneurial World" and life. He has a humility that is beyond many.

Honor at the Gates~During this February Season celebrating "Love", I want to honor my husband as he continually glorifies God daily through the way he lives before us. He intently seeks the Lord and sacrificially sets aside his own plans even at great expense. My husband has spent years faithfully counseling men in their times of need both personally and in business.

I praise the Lord for my husband's steadfast strength standing for what he believes is God's highest plan. Even when the roar of adversity bellows fiercely in his face~he stands still and waits patiently upon the Lord.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge

Psalms 45:10

Though he is quiet and gentle in spirit, he is a Noble Man.

He lays his life down for Christ and family with a servant~leaders heart as I have found only in scripture of such

noble

men of honor.

The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life

Proverbs 22:4

To Climb The Trackless Mountain All Unseen

With so much to look forward to~a special outing with my son.

"To sit on rocks; to muse o'er flood and fell;
To slowly trace the forest's shady scene,
Where things that own not man's dominion dwell,
And mortal foot hath ne'er or rarely been!
To climb the trackless mountain all unseen,
With the wild flock, that never need a fold;
Alone o'er steeps and foaming falls to lean;
This is not solitude:'tis but to hold
Converse with Nature's charms, and view her stores unrolled."

Byron.

Though we do not consider nature in the feminine form, this is an inspiring poem. We praise our creator God for expressing his love by leaving his handprint in all of creation.

"When one asks, Where is God~I cannot see him?

I shall answer, 'His arms are all around you,

from the highest mountain

to the smallest vein of a leaf.

All of nature shouts.

Do you not hear?

Can you not see?

Open your heart,

His love calls".

by~Mrs. Lisa Hollinger

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

Job 12:7-11