Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 10

Up North – Where Were We Wednesday?

LastFriday, Hubby took me and Hannah up north for Valentine’s Day.

Our first stop was the Ice Castle in Eagle River.

We each had to get a picture with the pooch.

She wouldn’t cooperate for a selfie with all three of us.

I hope you can read the sign about the Ice Castle. I was too lazy to type it here for you. But I did hear that they were going to dismantle it in another week or so.

Further up the road, we stopped at Bluff Valley Park, just outside of Bessemer. The joy of taking a dog on a road trip – lots of stops!

Then finally arrived at Black River Harbor on Lake Superior.

Even though I didn’t tromp all the way to the shore, I could still feel the awesomeness of the greatest of the Great Lakes.  

The stillness in the frigid air in the winter always stuns me.

Hannah was not nearly as impressed, but she was a good pup.

And had to make sure that Poppa came out of Joe’s Pasty Shop in Ironwood.  I hope I don’t have to rename this blog after Hannah? What do you think? 

Jesus Walks on Water, and so does Peter

Then Jesus made his followers get into theboat. He told them to go ahead of him to the other side of the lake. Jesusstayed there to tell the people they could go home. After he said good-bye tothem, he went alone up into the hills to pray. It was late, and Jesus was therealone. By this time, the boat was already far away on the lake. The boat washaving trouble because of the waves, and the wind was blowing against it.

Between three and six o’clock in themorning, Jesus’ followers were still in the boat. Jesus came to them. He waswalking on the water. When the followers saw him walking on the water, theywere afraid. They said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out in fear.

But Jesus quickly spoke to them. He said,“Have courage! It is I! Don’t be afraid."

Peter said, “Lord, if that is really you,then tell me to come to you on the water.”

Jesus said, “Come.”

And Peter left the boat and walked on thewater to Jesus. But when Peter saw the wind and the waves, he became afraid andbegan to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”

Then Jesus reached out his hand and caughtPeter. Jesus said, “Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?”

          After Peter and Jesus were in theboat, the wind became calm. Then those who were in the boat worshiped Jesus andsaid, “Truly you are the Son of God!” (Matthew 14:22-33, InternationalChildren’s Bible)

Anothergreat story, one you are probably familiar with. What does it tell us? That Jesuscan do anything – in addition to all the other miracles He performed, He canwalk on water too. He can even cause one of His disciples to walk on water.

Butwhat’s the real take away? Three simple words. “Lord, save me!”

Nomatter what you are going through, what battles you are fighting, you are notalone. Jesus is with you. You need only believe, reach out your hand, and say, “Lord,save me!”

Atthe time, it may not seem like He is there for you. You may feel yourself continueto sink in whatever trouble surrounds you. But have faith! God is with you.  

The Rescue of the Goose

 I’vebeen writing a lot about our little rescue dog Hannah, and as much as I want tokeep sharing about her, I thought I should tell you about another rescue dog.

Whenyou take a rescue dog into your home, you never know what you’re going to get.If you’re lucky, you might be told a little about their history and their previousfamily, but generally, even if you are told things, don’t count on any of it.

Youneed to be patient and diligent and remember the three 3’s. Something like – ittakes three days for the dog to just calm down, 3 weeks for them to adapt toall the new things in their new world, and 3 months to gain your trust. Or itmight take two years.

Twoyears ago, last fall, my son and his girlfriend adopted a beautiful coonhoundmix, named Goose. She had been surrendered back to the shelter twice. The peoplewho adopted her previously took one look at her and thought, “hunting dog”. She’sgot some of those instincts in her, but being a gun dog is not in her heart.She had probably been treated all right, but never as the family pet.

Myson and his girlfriend took her in and gave her a good home, all the attentionthey could shower her with, walks and runs at the dog park, new people to meet,lots of treats, lots of adventures. She was doing okay, but she remainedsomewhat aloof and skittish. She wouldn’t walk on a linoleum floor or go intoany kitchens. She wouldn’t relax at my house, no matter how many times she washere. She would come to us, but she didn’t care about being petted or hugged. Shenever completely relaxed.  

OverChristmas, her mom and dad gave her a new dog bed. Dumbest thing ever, but itwas like getting that bed flipped the switch. Reminded me of Dobby the house elfgetting a sock. Everything changed for Goose.

Shewas suddenly affectionate and wanted those pets and hugs. She trotted across linoleumand into the kitchen. She wanted to play with more toys. It was like she knew, aftertwo years of wondering, that she was in her forever home with her foreverfamily who would always love her. And she’ll never have to look back.   

Jesus Calms the Storm

Then Jesus got into the boat and startedacross the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake,with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples wentand woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? Youhave so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, andsuddenly there was a great calm.        

The disciples were amazed. “Who is thisman?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:23-27, NewLiving Translation)

Imagineyou are out in a boat on Lake Superior. Clouds gather in the sky, the windpicks up, and soon, waves toss your vessel. “The Wreck of the EdmundFitzgerald” starts eerily playing in your head.

Thisman you’ve been following, who has performed some miracles right in front ofyour eyes, is sleeping in the back of the boat. You look at your partners andwant to ask, “How can he sleep through this?” But a gust of wind knocks youover, almost tipping you overboard.

“Wakeup, wake up!” one of your friends shouts to the sleeping man, shaking him. “Weneed your help!”

Theman opens his eyes, rubbing his hands over his face. “What is the matter withyou? You’ve been with me all day and know how tired I was.”

“Butwe’re afraid we are going to sink. Can’t you calm the storm?”

Theman looks around, shaking his head ever so slightly. “This storm cannot hurtyou. Where is your faith?”

Youand your friends tightly grasp the sides of the vessel, staring at the man,trying to grasp what he means.

“Allright then,” he finally says. “Wind and wave, calm down so that my friends canrelax.”

Thewind and rain immediately stop. The boat, which had been tossed in the wavesseconds before, rocks gently in the water.

Whatwould you think at that point? Who was this man in the boat with you?

Ofcourse, we know it was Jesus, the Son of God. And that is why He was able tosleep through the storm; He knew that His Father in Heaven would protect Him.Are you able to get through the storms of life without worrying, withoutwondering where God is in your time of need? Is your faith strong enough?

 

Hannah Settling in at Home

            OnWednesday, when I wrote here about our new dog’s homecoming, I didn’t want tomention that at that point I was ready to send her back.

 Oh, she’s adorable all right and happyaround us, even does well on the leash. But as happens with most rescues, shehas got a history which I was just starting to figure out.

 The most annoying is that I think shewas trained to do her business on a piddle pad, as her previous owners were,perhaps, too lazy to take her out. It’s been an uphill battle, as we don’t wantto scold her for going on the piddle pads, if that’s what she’s been taught.So, it’s just been lots and lots of trips outside. Also, I bet from the stressof her trip here, she has been peeing a lot more than most dogs do. At least,she didn’t get diarrhea, which the rescue warned us happens in 90% of the dogsgoing to a new home.

 She has slowly been figuring it out,though. Yesterday, she actually started going to the door and waiting for us toget her outside, instead of just piddling willy nilly.

 The other thing is that she’s noteating. They told us what dry dog food she’d been getting (a cheap and horriblebrand full of grains and little protein). I bought it anyway, to use while graduallyswitching to something better. But she won’t eat either one. I got a freesample of another brand from our feed store and my son brought a baggie full ofwhat his dog’s been eating. She won’t touch those either.

 And she won’t eat any of the treats we’vebought her either. Another set back to the potty training – how do you reward afood-motivated breed, if she won’t eat anything you give her.  

 I’ve started feeding her a decent brandof canned food, but even that is hit or miss. She has been drinking a lot ofwater, though, so I’ve been mixing some water in the canned to make it nice andsoupy, and that seems to work.

 I keep telling myself, “She’ll eatwhen she’s hungry enough”. And she could stand to lose a few pounds. Also, sheis still urinating a fair amount and pooping twice a day.

 I have a few thoughts on this food situation.To be sure, she is a beggar at the supper table. She also has bad breath andsome gunky back teeth. I’m sure her previous owners gave her people food; maybethat’s all they gave her.

 And with the bad teeth, hard, dry foodis probably painful for her. Thing is, she doesn’t even try the treats we giveher, just sniffs them and refuses to take them.

 We’ll figure it out. She sees our vetnext week, so I’m sure she will have ideas.

 On a positive note, she gets along greatwith Emma. They aren’t buddies, yet, but every time they pass each other, theylook at each other with almost a longing in their eyes. As if they are thinking,“I want to be your BFF.”

 Our son was over Tuesday night withhis dog, Goose, and they did fine together too. Now she just has to meet ourdaughter’s pack of three dogs. I’m already trying to figure out the Christmas picturewith five of them under the tree!

 And one last thing. I told you lasttime that we put Dino down on January 4, 2023?

 Saturday night, after I got home with ournew little nugget, and she was resting, I read through her paperwork. Her birthdateis January 9, 2023, five days after Dino crossed the rainbow bridge. 

Even though we’ve had our struggles withHannah this week, she was born to come home to us.  

Corgi Comes Home

          

January 4, 2023, we had our beloved Dino the Wonder Dog put to sleep. Afterbeing our most faithful four-legged friend for nearly 16 years, it was time,and he was ready.

         Less than a year later, my heart started aching to have another dog in thehouse. Then last May, when we put down Cheshire Cat, leaving special Emma theonly critter in the house, it was too quiet.

          I started looking on Petfinder for a small to medium dog who was already fixedand got along with cats. So many sweet faces greeted me on my laptop, but nonesaid, "Take me home." Until this one popped up one Sunday afternoon.

         I started filling out the application before I even asked Hubby. My bad.

         I was interrupted by a phone call from my brother – he had yet another crisis.His crises range from his record player not working to being locked out of hishouse to not liking any temperatures outside, which fall under 28 degrees. Ican't remember what he had going on that day, but we had to run to his house totend to it. It gave Hubs and me a chance to talk about this nipper.

         Not that it mattered coz we all know that I get my way with most things, so Iemailed the application off shortly after we got home.

         Within an hour, the woman from the rescue emailed me back that she had multipleapplications for this pup, but I was at the top of the list, so I had to lether know ASAP if I was sure I wanted her.

         Really? With that face?

         The biggest hurdle was that she was in Oklahoma, or as the rescue calls it,Okla–hell–oma. Apparently, animals, in general, are not treated well there, andnone of the shelters will let Oklahomans adopt. Which sounds pretty unfair, butI don't know. I don't live there.

         Anyway, the rescue schedules transport, but it's expensive and took a few weeksto get set up. I think I saw that this rescue sent six dogs north in the truckwith our baby. Traumatic for them all, I can't even imagine. The poor littlepuddin' was terrified when I finally met her Saturday night at a gas station inWausau.

         But let's move on to the good stuff.

         She is a two-year-old Corgi mix. Ever since I was a kid, I have wanted a cockerspaniel, beagle, or Corgi. We had the cockers, Shadow and Pepper, from around1996 to 2007. They were good dogs but dumb as several boxes of rocks. I thinkI'm getting too old for a beagle, but two out of three ain't bad.

         She came with the name Jojo, which I was never a fan of. Who names a petsomething that rhymes with "no, no"? Luckily, she wouldn't answer tothat anyway, so we renamed her Hannah.

         We've had cats named Alice, Betty, Barney, Bam-Bam, Cheshire, Emma, Fred, andGizmo, plus Dino, of course. So I've been kinda going through the alphabet,which lands us at the letter H.

          I had an aunt named Hannah who never moved to America from Germany with therest of Dad's family in 1924. No one ever knew what happened to her, but I'dlike to think she survived the Holocaust, had several kids, and that hergrandkids are still somewhere in Germany.

         Thinking about Dad, though, I remember a story he told about when he lived onthe farm. They had a dachshund and a mutt, and one day, the wiener dog chasedsome rodent down its hole. The little dog kept digging her way into the holeuntil the hole collapsed on her. The mutt ran home and got Dad to rescue her.

         And since Hannah looks like she has dachshund in her, that name is a tribute toDad and his family in several ways.

         I'm still getting to know her, and this is getting too long already. Will tellyou more about her on Friday.

The Woman at the Well

Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tiredfrom his long trip, so he sat down beside the well. It was about twelve o’clocknoon. When a Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water, Jesus said toher, “Please give me a drink.” (This happened while Jesus’ followers were intown buying some food.)

          The woman said, “I am surprised thatyou ask me for a drink, since you are a Jewish man and I am a Samaritan woman.”(Jewish people are not friends with Samaritans.)

          Jesus said, “If you only knew the freegift of God and who it is that is asking you for water, you would have askedhim, and he would have given you living water.”

          The woman said, “Sir, where will youget this living water? The well is very deep, and you have nothing to get waterwith. Are you greater than Jacob, our father, who gave us this well and drankfrom it himself along with his sons and flocks?”

          Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinksthis water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give willnever be thirsty. The water I give will become a spring of water gushing upinside that person, giving eternal life.”

          The woman said to him, “Sir, give methis water so I will never be thirsty again and will not have to come back hereto get more water.”

          Jesus told her, “Go get your husbandand come back here.”

          The woman answered, “I have nohusband.”

          Jesus said to her, “You are right tosay you have no husband. Really you have had five husbands, and the man youlive with now is not your husband. You told the truth.”

          The woman said, “Sir, I can see thatyou are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say thatJerusalem is the place where people must worship.”

          Jesus said, “Believe me, woman. Thetime is coming when neither in Jerusalem nor on this mountain will you actuallyworship the Father. You Samaritans worship something you don’t understand. Weunderstand what we worship, because salvation comes from the Jews. The time iscoming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,and that time is here already. You see, the Father too is actively seeking suchpeople to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship inspirit and truth.”

          The woman said, “I know that theMessiah is coming.” (Messiah is the One called Christ.) “When the Messiahcomes, he will explain everything to us.”

          Then Jesus said, “I am he—I, the onetalking to you.”

          Just then his followers came back fromtown and were surprised to see him talking with a woman. But none of themasked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

          Then the woman left her water jar andwent back to town. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told meeverything I ever did. Do you think he might be the Christ?” So the people leftthe town and went to see Jesus. ( John 4:6-30, New Century Version)

Anotherone of my favorite Bible stories. Can you imagine having this conversation withJesus? When you found out who He was, wouldn’t you kind of freak out?

Itis a lot to read, so I don’t want to make this any longer than it is. Just thinkabout this simple encounter, and what it meant to the Sanitarian woman and whatit would have meant to you had you been there.

Silk Island - Cambodia blog entry #36

HereI finally am – blogging about what we did on our last day in Cambodia. Abittersweet day before the arduous journey home.

Inthe morning, we rode the tuk tuk to Silk Island, boarding a ferry to get there,yet another mode of transportation. Maybe someday, I’ll blog about that.

Watchingthe whole process of making silk was as exhausting as the whole trip had been.

Ialways wondered how those little silk worms made silk. Imagining them sittingin their tiny rocking chairs weaving with their 50 pairs of legs a thread theyexuded from some orifice in their body.

Imean, really? Do any of you know how it's done? And who figured out how thiswas even possible?

Sohere are the steps. First they grow silkworms, feeding them mulberry leaves –their favorite - until they are ready to make their cocoon.

Next, collect the cocoons and watch for them to be ready. I think we were told that thecocoon will shake when it is ready.

Thenthey boil the cocoons, which releases the sticky substance holding themtogether. This is the part where – believe it or not – PETA gets involved,claiming this is inhumane to the little silkworms. I don’t know. They are worms.Think of how many warm-blooded animals we kill in probably inhumane ways.

Onebonus at this Silk Farm is that they leave 30% of the cocoons alone to producemoths so that they can continue the process. So, I tell myself that some ofthose silkworms are going to make the metamorphous to moths and complete theirlife cycle.

Also,the worms who die get sold in markets for frying up and eating. Yes, a lot ofsilk worms die in this process, but at least they don’t go to waste.

Okay,so back to the process. After the cocoons have been boiled, they are stirreduntil they unravel and the silk threads are released.

Thethreads are dyed to make the beautiful colors you see in silk fabrics and then rolled unto spindles.

Thena group of women weave the thread on their looms. Watching them work so tediouslyat their looms was fascinating as well as tiring. Our tour guide said that theyweave 40 cm in an eight-to-ten-hour day, taking few breaks. Some of them workin teams though, such as a mother and daughter, so that they don’t get so wornout but they share the income.

Itwas impossible to not buy a handwoven scarf from them. They do get 70% profitfrom sales made at the farm. So I forked over $70 for a beautiful teal scarf whichI have only worn once in the four months since I’ve been home. 

Wat Samrong Knong - Cambodia blog entry #35

Well,here I am, finally winding down telling tales of my trip to Cambodia. It has beenfun reliving it and is hard to believe it’s been four months since I was there.

The last pagoda we visited was Wat Samrong Knong in Battambang.

Once again, we walked throughout the grounds of this religious site filled with fascinating buildings and statues, and we weren’t sure what they were all about.

The oldest pagoda in Battambang Province, it was built in 1707 by a monk named Thudong Chey. It was named Samrong because of the many Samrong trees growing around the temple.

Tragically, as at so many other sites in Cambodia, this one was used as a prison during the Khmer Rouge, from 1975 to 1979.

It’s estimated that possibly as many as 10,000 victims were housed here throughout those years. Many were tortured and murdered.

After the collapse of the Khmer Rouge, this pagoda was built to house the bones of those who had been killed here.

After witnessing all the atrocities that took place in Cambodia during the late seventies, and after reading about all the other genocides that have happened throughout history, I can’t comprehend that these horrors continue. And yet they do. And how close to home will the next one hit? 

 

Turning Water into Wine

          

          Two days later there was a wedding in thetown of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his discipleshad also been invited to the wedding. 

When the wine had given out, Jesus' mothersaid to him, “They are out of wine.”

“You must not tell me what to do,” Jesusreplied. “My time has not yet come.”

Jesus' mother then told the servants, “Dowhatever he tells you.”

          The Jews have rules about ritualwashing, and for this purpose six stone water jars were there, each one largeenough to hold between twenty and thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants,“Fill these jars with water.” They filled them to the brim, and then he toldthem, “Now draw some water out and take it to the man in charge of the feast.”They took him the water, which now had turned into wine, and he tasted it. Hedid not know where this wine had come from (but, of course, the servants whohad drawn out the water knew); so he called the bridegroom and said to him,“Everyone else serves the best wine first, and after the guests have drunk alot, he serves the ordinary wine. But you have kept the best wine until now!”

Jesus performed this first miracle in Canain Galilee; there he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.(John 2:1-11, Good News Translation)

 

Oh,gosh, there is so much in this short episode that I could drag it out overseveral weeks. Instead, you’ll get a long post today. Hope you take the time toread it all.

1.   Jesus,His disciples, and His mother, Mary, were attending a wedding. It was a time ofcelebration, and not just for one night like we are used to. The Jewishweddings of those days would last for days.

2.   Andbecause the party would last for days, the host had to be prepared with amplefood and beverages. But this poor host ran out of wine! Can you imagine howdisgraceful that would be? In our day and age, friends would bring it up yearslater – “Remember when John and Sally got married? They ran out of booze! Itwas a horrible party, and everyone bailed on them and went down to the bar.”Does anyone ever want that to happen at their wedding reception? So Maryappealed to her Son, knowing in her heart that he could fix the problem.

3.   Hisanswer to His mother shocks us. In most Bible translations, He refers to her asWoman, which sounds disrespectful to us, but it was how any son might call hismother at that time. In this translation, Jesus’ words sound even harsher.

4.   Atthis point, I picture Mary having the same look on her face that many mothershave worn over the years, thinking to herself, “My son may sound snarky, but Iknow my boy, and I know he will do right.”

5.   Jesustells the servants to fill a bunch of huge jars with water. Umm, according tothis translation, that would be up to 180 gallons. Wow! That could get a lot ofpeople good and drunk! And here’s where it really gets interesting – the wineJesus changed from the water was better than what had been served up to thatpoint.

6.   Turnsout this was the first recorded miracle that Jesus performed.

Thereis so much we can take away from this short story, but here is what just dawnedon me. We may not be drinking the best stuff now – we may have problems in ourlives and may be struggling financially, physically, or emotionally – but don’tleave the party, the best is yet to come.