Mid-August Faves

 

I truly can't believe we are already into mid-August!

I love Summer and am happy it lingers into mid-September even though at church, we are gearing up for our Autumn semester of groups, Bible studies, classes and large group ministries.  We will be promoting our groups and ministries on Sept 6 and 13 and the ones I'm leading will begin Sept 21 and 22.  But for now? I'm pausing to give thanks to God for the past week and the many blessings He has brought into my life.....I appreciate this community of believers who give thanks and share FIVE of our FAVE blessings each week. We do this by linking up at Susanne's site.....join in!

Beginning of Stony Pond trail
1.8 miles to the pond

A nice bridge through a boggy area 

our backcountry destination: Stony Pond
it's so big...it's more like a lake....
it also goes off towards the right where the lean-to

• SOULSTEPS HIKE:  Last Saturday, I had scheduled a hike for my group and originally there were 4 of us signed up but 2 had last minute things happen so it ended up just being my friend Jill and I.  Jill is also a member of my Tuesday book group.  She's a lot of fun and a new Believer so sharing Scripture often happens on our hikes. We were the only people on the trail although a dad and his 2 young adult sons were staying in the lean-to for the weekend to hike and fish. But they stayed up at the lean-to the whole time we were down at the pond having lunch and meditating and enjoying the solitude.  The pond is in the Vanderwhacker Wild Forest Area of the central Adirondacks.   It was my 2nd time hiking in to this beautiful spot.  I took off my boots and socks for a bit and cooled off my feet and even hiked over to the edge of the lean to area with barefeet. There's just something about barefeet and pine needles coating the ground. It was heavenly and I'm thankful we had a great hike. This was the 18th trail I've hiked/led my group this year and my 21st hike (I've hiked 3 solo hikes this spring and summer). I'm thankful I live so close to the Adirondack Mountains. This hike was just an hour and 35 min to get to. 

Jill and me
total miles of hike: 3.6 
so we had time to pop up to Schroon Lake 
for a swim and rest in the sun before
driving back to our homes. 

• CHURCH WORSHIP: Sunday was amazing. Dave was in MA dealing with his mom so I went to the 9 AM service and sat with my pastor's wife.  I was able to freely worship and felt like a load had been lifted. The music was very touching and we both just cried through some of one song because it was just so powerful to think of God and His mercy and grace. We had an awesome conversation afterwards and I was able to also conduct an interview with a young lady who is joining the hiking group!  It was a pleasure to meet her and she had all the paperwork  filled out and is eager to start.  I'm thankful that we are in a wonderful church with supportive, encouraging friends. 

my church:  Grace Fellowship  (Latham site)

• SALE!  A couple of weeks ago, one of my fave online stores was having a good sale on clothing so I ordered a new skirt for autumn/spring/summer and a blouse and a cozy sweatshirt for winter.  On Tuesday they arrived, and everything fit perfect.  I'm so thankful for good quality  clothing that's on sale.  Here's what I bought (yes, I'm totally into the bohemian/casual look). 

• SPECIAL EMAIL:  I had a very touching email from our senior pastor. It totally made me get choked up, made me say "Thank You, God for Pastor RK" and showed me we have a trustworthy, safe senior pastor who is Biblically sound, wise and caring.  I'm thankful I received this personal email.  

• PERFECT TIMING TEXT:  While I was on the road yesterday to my childhood hometown to check my parents' graves, have lunch with an old friend, and do some antique shopping, I  was overcome with emotion after driving past an old haunt where I have some very bad memories...although the memories have faded...just seeing the spot really made me get choked up and I had to pull over on the side of the road. Just as I did, a text came through from my friend Joan and it was all about her devotional that morning and this song was featured.  She sent me a you tube version (Click on video above) and it just made me weep with gratitude for our loving Heavenly Father.  I honestly don't know how people get through life with out faith in Jesus/God.  I'm so thankful this text came through at the perfect time. 

That wraps up my week of things that made me smile and/or say "Thank You, God". 

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Monday Musings

 

Stony Pond 
north-central Adirondack Mountains
Saturday 15 August

It's been a while since I did one of the "Monday Musings" meme. I'm waiting for my oldest daughter to call me tonight, so thought I'd reflect on my Monday. 

For Today Monday 17 August

Outside our windows: it was cloudy in the morning with light rain and very high humidity and then this afternoon, the sun came out, the temp was about 80 and the humidity level when I checked my weather app around 4 pm said 77% humidity.  So of  course the central air has been on all day. 

I'm thinking about: a text conversation I had with one of my former members of my book group.  

I'm thankful for: new friendships

In the kitchen: I didn't follow a recipe tonight.  I decided to get creative. I made ramen noodles and while they stayed hot, I sauteed sweet potato, carrot, red onion, yellow pepper, roasted red peppers, zucchini, black beans, broccoli.  I added a drizzle of Tuscan Italian dressing and cracked black pepper and served this over the ramen noodles. On the side I had roasted kale with a drizzle of the Tuscan dressing and nutritional yeast (in place of parmesan).  Dinner was so good!  The protein is from the black beans although some of those veggies also have protein. Americans eat far too much protein (the wrong kinds as in animal products).  Since I gave up beef and pork in 2014 and 2015 respectively, I've had to be intentional about getting some protein each day other than in nuts. 

I am wearing:  grey cotton cargo shorts; a black "law and order Svu" tee shirt (I changed in to these clothes after my very hot, sweaty power walk at 5 pm); my Apple watch, my wedding and engagement rings, my birthstone, my silver-larimar thumb ring, and my blue/gold earrings from Venice. 

I am creating: a spreadsheet for my hiking group to make sign-ups easier come Connect Weekend at church in early September. 

I am going: to one of my fave Adirondack lakes tomorrow and in the evening, we have our church picnic for all volunteers/ministry leaders. My husband will go as he is in the choir and on the production team; I will go as a choir member and as a small group leader of an upcoming class, a Bible study/book group, and the Hiking leader. We usually have about 350 volunteers at our picnic.  They are getting it catered from Chick Fil A. 

I am wondering: how my cousin is doing and my Uncle Bruce.  My aunt Ruth (Bruce's wife) just passed away this last week. She was one of my mom's younger sisters. 

I am reading:  the latest Alex Cross book by Patterson and it's awesome; I just started the Gideon book I'll be leading for my Tuesday evening Bible study on Tuesdays starting in Sept, and I am reading various Scriptures on the topic of Hope. 

I am hoping: that my friend Joan and I can find a day in September to hike up Rooster Comb Mt together. 

I am looking forward to: the next SoulSteps hike on Saturday.  There were supposed to be 4 of us going and now it's down to 2 of us. 

I am learning: that sometimes keeping a slower pace is perfectly ok.

Around the house: I did a load of laundry, changed the bed sheets, cleaned the kitchen, went food shopping for the week, did a half hour of power walking, did my yoga stretches, dusted our bedroom and the guest room,  paid the cellphone bill, printed out needed materials for Connect Weekend, texted back 2 friends, organized the fridge and freezer, organized the basement pantry shelves, returned a book to the library, and cleaned the half bathroom. 

A favorite quote for today: 

One of my favorite things:  the scent of rain on a warm August night

A few plans for the rest of the week: tomorrow is the lake day followed by church picnic; Wednesday is possbily a solo hike up a mountain or going to the Philadelphia Orchestra Concert to hear Vivaldi's Four Seasons in the evening; Thursday is a trip out to Northville; Friday is a possible coffee date with my friend Lynn, and Saturday is a long hike into a remote pond up in the west-central ADK 

Have a great week, everyone!

2026 Book Review #27:River Sing Me Home

 

This book jumped out at me from the library shelves due to the title.

It's an historical fiction story based on the slavery of the Caribbean Islands and it takes place in one year, from 1834-1835.  Rachel, the main character, and her journey to find her children who were taken away from her and are now young adults, is based on a true story.

STORY SUMMARY 

On the Providence Plantation, on the island of Barbados, the plantation master gathered his slaves together to make an announcement. It is August 1834 and the King of England has just decreed an end to slavery.  The Emancipation Act of 1834 was going into effect the very next day.  

But the joyful cries of the slaves soon grew silent because the master also announced that although they would no longer be his slaves, they would be his apprentices.  They would need to serve him for 6 more years. And no one can leave. "Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived." (taken from the book jacket). 

So Rachel decided to run. 

She begins a desparate search for her children.  Five of them survived birth but were then sold to other masters/plantations. She wondered if any of them were alive. 

She was on the search for Thomas Augustus, Mary Grace, Cherry Jane, Micah and Mercy.  Were any of them alive? Where were they??

Rachel has to leave Barbados and travel to British Guiana and Trinidad.   She figures a mother cannot be truly free until she knows what has become of her children. 

The answers might be more than she can bear. 

Will they be re-united?? 

MY THOUGHTS

This is a powerful look at what the slaves in the Caribbean Islands endured and a history I never learned about in school or college.  I wonder why that is. 😢

The character developement is rich and complex and the setting is perfectly described. 

I love the themes of survival, hope, forgiveness, maternal love, the meaning of freedom, and resilience not just of individuals but of a community. 

This story will stick with you long afte the last page is turned. 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older. 

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9. 

where Love broke through

 

I'd been planning this hike for well over a year. When I discovered, through the hiking group I founded in 2024 (SoulSteps), that there was a member who was physically fit enough...and willing to hike outside the group....I was so grateful. I met Joan in the winter of 2024 when I spoke to a class at church about the group I was leading. In fact, her name was one of the first ones on the sign up sheet! 

Little did I know then what God was orchestrating.......

2 years of getting to know each other, mainly through the group hikes, left me feeling like I could trust her.  Trust is tough for me. As it is for any survivor of not only childhood s*xual abuse but church abuse as well. This summer? I was dealing...finally.....with the latter. I was feeling frustrated because my old methods of survival weren't working. The case came up in conversation after a small group of us were sharing about forgiveness. That led into this spiral of remembering things that belong in the darkness but needed to come out to the light. Things that needed to be exposed. Some were! I've written about the lawsuit here in the past...or at least have alluded to it..how I helped to advocate for a girl who had been abused by the hands of a deacon and how the leadership in that place, covered up the crime, claiming they would "take care of it". That's all I'm going to say about that case. It's really not my story to tell although I'm a a part of the lawsuit she brought forth. 

The part I had to deal with? The loss of old friends. The betrayal of leaders I once respected and although they gave us a difficult time regarding our decision to become members of a new church (the one we've been going  to and growing in since 2005), they did maintain the friendships via social media and when we would run into them at a funeral or a graduation party, they were always cordial. Until I stood up for the young girl. 

So....add spiritual/church abuse on top of s*xual abuse and it's damaging and difficult to navigate through life. (Yes, even with the healing I received through counseling and theophostic prayer regarding my own situation). But I always thought I was doing pretty well with it.   Until this summer  after praying a prayer of forgiveness,  when the enemy (Satan) really got into my head. And  3 weeks later..... still dealing with this....I finally had a hike that I didn't have to lead and one in which it was just a friend I  trust and me. 

I thought this would just be a fun day out with a good friend and a challenging trail to conquer.

Little did I know the challenge would be my heart. 

So..we started hiking in the morning and it was beautiful. The weather was perfect! 

about a half mile in from the southern end

the trail from the south
was to the left of the stream for
most of the first 4 miles 

the first glimpse from south trail
of Hoffman Mt (3693 ' elevation)
(no trail leads to the summit) 

And that's when Love began to break through.......

.........we had hiked, I think....about 4 miles and all of a sudden after trekking along next to a beautiful brook and through diverse terrain....I started to really process. We had been chatting, and there were silent times of just hiking, and I felt at home in this glorious wilderness and my body and mind felt safe.......and yet.......

.......there was this yearning to be at peace within 

............a yearning for God to touch me, see me, hear me, release me......

........................and a yearning to be free..........

The timeline is blurred in my head.......I can't remember tonight if what I'm about to share happened before we got to the Big Marsh (the halfway point) or after.  I think it was shortly after.......

first glimpse of Big Marsh
this is about 4.3 miles in 

another view....I love the mountain ridge

this was my fave spot on the entire hike
Hoffman Mountain and Big Marsh
I felt so safe here.......

and yet.............................



there were these tangled heartstrings longing to be made loose
and there was a yearning in my soul..................
for peace, joy, hope...................and I wanted to feel God

I usually feel closest to God in the woods and mountains
what was wrong with me???  Where was He? 

We continued hiking and Joan had been talking about something spiritual and I can't remember now what it was exactly but all of a sudden I heard myself asking

"they weren't really my friends, were they?"

my pastor's wife, my counselor, and 2 good friends (Joan being one of them) have been saying this to me over and over for the last month. it was finally breaking out of me......the realization that they were never true friends.

 Why? 

because true friends don't shun you when you stand up for Truth, when you show love to an abused girl, when you share your own testimony of your own childhood abuse making yourself vulnerable to more than 20 deacons/elders  and their wives and teaching them what to look for only to have them not take that knowledge and do the right thing....betrayal cuts deep and I was wounded and broken......

I had to sit down, so we found a perfect log off the trail in a little glen -type spot and just sat. My mind was racing, my heart was hard yet I felt like the pieces that were broken and tangled  were spinning all around trying to break free........and although I don't think my hands were clenched tight into fists like they've been during worship at church the last 3 weeks, they felt rigid.....I didn't want to break but I did want to break free..........I didn't want to cry and I was determined to not cry and show that depth of grief I could feel rising up in me ready to spill up and over........

Joan said she was going to read from the Jesus Calling devotional. I didn't want her to. I had started it at home while having breakfast and had to slam the book shut after the first paragraph......."Come to Me. Come to Me. Come to Me. This is my continual invitation to you, proclaimed in holy whispers". 

I felt tears welling up in my eyes.....I kept screaming inside my head "stop, don't cry, don't let go". yet my heart was aching......

........and she kept reading so calmly and quietly......." when your heart and mind are quiet, you can hear Me inviting you to draw near. Coming close to me requires no great effort on your part."  

at this point I could feel sobs rising up and out of me...I tried to stop them.......

..........and she kept reading......"Open yourself to my loving Presence so that I may fill you with My fullness. I want you to experience how wide and long and high and deep is My Love fro you so that you can know My Love that surpasses knowledge"  

I believe at this point I am fully crying and trying to stop but it isn't working. My heart had become so hardened I was afraid He wouldn't want me. What would Joan think of me?? I'm a small group leader! I need to get it together.......and yet.......

.........I felt the Spirit of God pulling those heartstrings like He did 30 years ago....only this time it was a lot harder........

............."This vast ocean of Love cannot be measured or explained, but it can be experienced". 

and then she read the Scriptures that went with the reading:

My mind was screaming "Are you kidding me? this was my journal writing a few days ago..that I wanted...needed.... to drink of the Living Water........"  

Was God showing up in this place? was Love really breaking through to rescue me like in the song I wanted to experience? 

Was Jesus really going to storm through the tower of my heart?

was He really going to break through? Wasn't He disappointed with me? Wasn't Joan wondering what the heck was wrong with me? 

and then this Scripture: 

And by then I was crying and wanting to pray......

it was God's perfect timing...and perfect place....when I  looked at Joan's face, I only saw the Love of God........

I prayed, releasing these old  hurts, old "friends" into His Hands for Him to pick up and you know what??

My thought that He couldn't hold my broken pieces and hold me at the same time wasn't an accurate thought. He can hold our brokenness and embrace us at the same time. He is mighty to save. 

I had to ask God to just take this from me and confess I couldn't do it anymore. I asked Him to make these memories and those people fade like the driftwood fades.........

..............and I felt free.......

I felt light in my spirit and just couldn't believe this was actually happening. 

Love broke through on that hike........

it still seems unreal........

I've since been able to share this with my pastor's wife (who was completely thrilled and so encouraging) and with Cheryl my counselor who was also so thankful and happy and was rejoicing with me.  And she explained that yes, I had major healing from the childhood trauma but that the beginning that I kept wondering about all summer???  

I kept hearing God whispering to me during my morning meditation and journaling to "go back to the beginning....it's in the remembering......go back to the beginning...."

I knew it wasn't my own beginning of abuse. I thought it was the time my little student was abused badly by her father and I voiced to my self that I would never tell anyone my secret and I would never trust God the Father ever again. 

But no.  Cheryl confirmed it was the beginning when I myself was 7.....because church abuse happened then too.  My pedophile was a youth leader. In  church.  And she said that is when I first experienced church abuse and now all these years later....another church abuse and that psychologists are now learning that that kind of abuse? from a church? is the most damaging of all.  

but Love broke through and I have experienced a joy, a hope and a peace that I haven't experienced in a long time. 

It's not fully over nor will it ever be......it cuts deep....but with clinging to Jesus the One who sets us free....the memories will fade and it might be 2 steps forward and 1 step back but the true work of letting go and releasing these people who really aren't friends is complete. 

When Love breaks through, your darkened soul becomes light because of His Light. 

And when you have a friend who shines that Light well and allows Love to show through......

there's safety in that. 

And that's freedom. 

and yes....we hiked the entire trail
and came out of the woods at 6 pm.