Marilyn Turk's Blog, page 4

The Lighthouse Keeper No One Knew About

Pencarrow Lighthouse, New Zealand

Mary Jane Bennett was New Zealand’s only female lighthouse keeper and was the head keeper of the country’s first permanent lighthouse.

However, for many years, her contribution went unnoticed.

Mary was the daughter of an English squire, where she lived a comfortable life of prestige. But when George Bennett was hired to work on their estate, the two fell in love. Mary’s father forbade the relationship, but the lovestruck couple would not be deterred. So George left for New Zealand, and shortly after Mary sailed to the country as well, taking the position of a governess to the future mayor of Wellington.

George and Mary married, and George took the position of the first keeper at Pencarrow Head lighthouse, which was initially a light in the bay window of the couple’s small dwelling. Although the view from the cliff was beautiful, the couple’s home was meager and constantly blasted by the wind. The nearest fresh water source as well as firewood required a hike across the terrain. In gales, the couple and their growing family took shelter in a cave, fearing the house would blow away. Appeals to the government for better quarters and a better light went unheeded for several years until a shipwreck with the loss of thirty live got the attention of the governor who then approved a new lighthouse.

Sadly, George never got to see the new lighthouse because his small boat was overturned when he was rowing back to the lighthouse during a winter squall. George drowned, leaving a pregnant Mary with five children to care for. With no widow’s pension, Mary became the lighthouse keeper. The new lighthouse was finally built, and in 1859, New Zealand’s first permanent lighthouse was lighted, four years after George’s death with Mary was its first lighthouse keeper. The lighting event was given a detailed description in the newspaper as a grand celebration with “hundreds of visitors” ferried to the lighthouse while a band played. Mary Bennett wasn’t even mentioned.

Old Pencarrow Light above, new light on shore

Fortunately for her, a new keepers’ cottage was built near the tower, and she began to receive supplies. Mary’s work was non-stop. In addition to caring for her children, she had to trim the wicks every three hours and clean the 180 prisms daily. Eventually, she was given an assistant keeper, a man, who resented having a woman as his superior and complained about her to the officials. However, Mary’s work ethic spoke for itself, and her keeper’s logs were considered “commendable, the lighthouse kept in an orderly and efficient manner.”

Mary’s desire was for her children to get a “proper” education, so after ten years as a single mother of six at an isolated location, she returned to England and reconciled with her father to live with him. But her father would not let her tell anyone what her position had been in New Zealand.  Her dedicated work at the lighthouse was considered inappropriate for the daughter of an English squire, so she was forced to tell relatives she was the widow of a wealthy New Zealand landowner.

Her three sons considered New Zealand home, so all three of them returned after they finished their education. William, the youngest, because assistant keeper at Pencarrow, the lighthouse where he was raised, from 1880 to 1885. He married and his children were born there.

Mary died in England in 1885. Her keeper logs and letters survived, but until recently, her British descendants did not know her story. However, in New Zealand, the generations of Bennetts passed it down.

In 1935, Pencarrow Lighthouse was decommissioned, and a new lighthouse was built on the shore below. The original still stands on the top of the cliff and serves as a daymark for ships and planes. On the lighthouse’s 150th anniversary in 2009, more than 150 Bennett descendants visited the lighthouse to unveil a commemorative plaque that pays tribute to George and Mary Bennett. Finally, Mary received the recognition she deserved.

“Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.” Proverbs 31:31

 

The post The Lighthouse Keeper No One Knew About appeared first on Pathways of the Heart.

They Didn’t, But He Did

One of the pitfalls of writing is the risk of being rejected.

No one wants to be rejected, and no matter how much you try to separate yourself from the writing, you take it personally. Reject my writing, reject me.

History abounds with stories of famous authors who were rejected multiple times before their work was accepted. Here are some of them.

Dr. Seuss – rejected by over 28 publishers, went on to write 60 children’s books

James Joyce

Pearl S. Buck

Joseph Heller

Louisa May Alcott – Little Women, a classic 150 years later

Agatha Christie

Tony Hillerman

Zane Grey

William Faulkner

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen’s Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected 134 times.

Beatrix Potter – anyone ever hear of Peter Rabbit?

James Patterson

Judy Blume

Madeline L’Engle

Rudyard Kipling

Margaret Mitchell – Gone with the Wind was rejected 38 times.

J.K. Rowling – perhaps the best known in this century, rejected by 12 publishers, has gone on to sell 450 million books

I only listed details about a few of these rejected authors, but you get it. Rejections don’t doom us to failure.

 

 

We all get rejected, and it stings. But as Christian writers, our perspective should be different. We write because we felt God’s tap on the shoulder that we should, that there was a story He wanted us to share something, either fiction or nonfiction. But not every agent or editor is right for your writing, so you will get rejections. However, when our writing is matched with the right agent or editor, it’s truly a blessing.

 

 

 

So here are some things to remember if you’re a Christian writer and you experience rejection.

“They” didn’t ask you to write it, but He did.

“They” didn’t care how hard you worked, but He did.

“They” don’t care if you ever write again, but He does.

“They” didn’t value your work, but He does.

“They didn’t see your potential, but He does.

“They” don’t know the future, but He does.

Bottom line, we don’t write to please people, we write to please God, therefore we must trust Him with what happens to our work. Meanwhile, “we” don’t know if the next submission will be accepted or not, therefore, we must keep trying.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23

 

 

Beacon of Freedom

Fairport Harbor Lighthouse, photo courtesy of Kraig Anderson

To many, lighthouses represented guidance and safety.

But to runaway slaves in the 1800’s, the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse represented freedom.

Built in 1825, the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse in Ohio is located at the mouth of the Grand River where it flows into Lake Erie.

Fairport’s townspeople were strongly against slavery and when the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850, the people were violently opposed to it. Tavern owner Samuel Butler became chairman of a citizens’ group that sought to repeal the law, and his Eagle Tavern became a safe haven for escaping slaves and the headquarters for those willing to help. Anti-slavery sea captains, sailors, townsfolk, and lighthouse keepers worked together to hide the runaway slaves and smuggle them aboard ships bound for Canada.

Fairport Harbor Lighthouse, 1859, photo courtesy National Archives

 

 

Often the slaves were hidden high in the lighthouse, safe from slave masters of the neighboring state of Kentucky, who roamed the streets of Fairport, searching for their slaves.

To these runaway slaves, the lighthouse was the last stop on the Underground Railroad and the first step toward freedom.

 

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Today is National Lighthouse Day!

Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. Photo by Chuck Turk

August 7, 2021

Last year most lighthouses were closed like many other public venues due to the Covid scare.

But this year, lighthouses have re-opened, giving us a chance to observe these icons of history in person.

 

If last year has taught us anything, it’s that we should take advantage of opportunities we have while we can. The people (mostly volunteers) and entities that maintain these lighthouses do so out of love for them, and the upkeep of these lighthouses relies on donations and visitor tours.

 

 

How many lighthouses are in your state? Have you seen or climbed them all? Do you have a favorite? Even though I’ve visited over 100 lighthouses myself, I hate to admit I still haven’t seen all the lighthouses in my own state, but I’m working on it, having visited the Key West Lighthouse a few months ago. In celebration of lighthouses, today I’m posting pictures of some of the lighthouses I’ve visited. I’d love to hear which ones you have.

 

Au Sable Lighthouse, MI, photo by Chuck Turk

Boston Light with Fog Bell, photo by Logan Lyttle

Montauk Lighthouse, photo by Chuck Turk

New Canal Lighthouse, Flickr, Creative Commons

Key West Lighthouse, photo by Chuck Turk 2020

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

North Point Lighthouse, WI, photo by Rosemary O’Connor

Point Betsie Lighthouse, MI, photo by Chuck Turk

Beavertail Lighthouse, RI, photo by Chuck Turk

Sand Hills Lighthouse, photo by Chuck Turk

Little River Light, lantern room, photo by Chuck Turk

 

Crisp Point Lighthouse, MI, Photo by Chuck Turk

Currituck Lighthouse, photo by Chuck Turk

Do Writers Read?

Of course, they do! In fact, reading is one of the requirements for the job.

So today, I’m taking a reader survey, since I’m also a reader and I’m interested in what reading habits you have.

Do you have a favorite place to read? (Inside, Outside, favorite chair, bed?) Do you have a favorite time to read? Morning, afternoon, night?Do you like to have music playing in the background? If so, what kind?Do you snack while you read? What’s your favorite reading snack?Coffee or tea?Do you use bookmarks?Do you read more than one book at a time?What’s your favorite genre? Romance, mystery, contemporary, historical, etc.?How do authors irritate you?Do you belong to a book club? If so, do you use discussion questions from the book?What do you wish authors would do more of?Print, ebook or audiobook?

 

My own favorite place and time for a print book is at bedtime or at the beach. However, I enjoy listening to audio book when I walk or ride in a car. I prefer instrumental music in the background, and I try not to snack, but sometimes grab some chocolate or a handful of pecans.

My favorite genre to read is historical fiction, mainly World War 2. I do use bookmarks for print, for my research books too. And I often have more than one book going at a time. For instance, I’m listening to The Hiding Place on audio, reading On a Coastal Breeze by Suzanne Woods Fisher in print, and also reading a nonfiction book for research called Last Train to Paradise. Of course, I read devotions in the morning with my coffee.

 

 

So what about you? Tell me about your reading preferences. If you answer and like bookmarks, I’ll send you one of my new ones!

 

 

A Lighthouse Perfectly United

Les Hanois Lighthouse—built by Trinity House in 1862—marks the shoals and reefs off the coast of Guernsey.

Situated at the western end of the Channel Islands, the white granite lighthouse rises from a reef on the southwest side of the Island of Guernsey. Les Hanois Lighthouse is important in the development of lighthouse engineering because it was the first to be built with all the stones dovetailed together both laterally and vertically, thereby making the construction one solid mass. The cement mortar in the joints formed between stone faces lock the dovetails so that the stones cannot be separated without being broken. This method became the pattern adopted for subsequent lighthouses built on sea rocks.

Previously, various methods of connecting the stones in rock towers had been used at other lighthouses. John Smeaton developed the use of granite blocks for rock towers, connected together with metal pins and marble dowels. Alan Stevenson used a similar method in the construction of the Skerryvore Lighthouse, while his father, Robert Stevenson, arranged stones of each layer in the Bell Rock, forming a series of dovetails which were then pinned together. It was  William Douglass, the 28-year-old son of engineer Nicholas Douglass, who suggested the unique dovetailing method.

A helideck was constructed above the lantern in 1979. Automation began at the Les Hanois Lighthouse in July 1995 and the station was demanned in January 1996. The station was converted to solar power with panels mounted around the lower part of the helideck support. The lighthouse is now monitored and controlled from Trinity House’s Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex, UK.

When I read about the way the Les Hanois Lighthouse was constructed in such a way that the individual stones united in one solid mass, I couldn’t help but relate the principle to people, and how much stronger we are when we’re united.

Many references to the importance of being together and working together can be found in the Bible, especially in the New Testament. After a year of Covid isolation, I believe most people are appreciating the opportunity to get together with others more than ever. And what is the ‘mortar’ that binds us together? Love. Love for our fellow man gives us unity as well as peace and make us stronger together.

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12

Trinity House Field Operations Technicians at Les Hanois, photo courtesy Trinity House, taken by technician Scott Tacchi.

Changes and Growth

Me on the gallery at Au Sable Lighthouse, MI

Hi Friends,

It’s hard to believe I started this website eleven years ago, but in those years there have been changes to the site, thanks to my awesome web designer, Rick Loe.

In addition to the changes in appearance, there have been notable changes in content. With over 300 blog post, I had to slow down to write books! In fact, I’ve had 17 published since I first began writing about the same time I started the website. Consequently, we’ve had to do some updating to the My Books tab.

Also, I noticed my last News update was about the 2020 Blue Lake Christian Retreat. Unfortunately, like many events, that one was cancelled as well. I am not sure when or if, after three consecutive, wonderful years, the retreat will be held again. Much depends on the venue, Blue Lake Camp, being open and available. They, too, are trying to recuperate from a year being closed. There are other venue possibilities, but Blue Lake was the most reasonably priced and adequate for our needs, so that is the preferred site.

After taking some time away from writing blog posts as often as originally (once a week every week) to write books, I will try to post more often. Since the lighthouse blog posts require more research, they are more time consuming, but I enjoy finding interesting stories to share. I hope you’ll continue to read the blog as I post new stories.

Please keep in touch, as I love communicating with you who are on the other side of the screen!

God Bless,

Marilyn

Me on the gallery at Little River Lighthouse, Maine

 

Old But Still Serving a Purpose

 

Today, I have a milestone birthday. I’ll spare you which one, but I’m still trying to accept my age. Birthdays are so looked forward to when we’re children, but as we get older, they’re not quite as exciting. Getting older is often associated with getting weaker, slower, forgetful, and losing one’s usefulness to society.

Unfortunately, some of our American lighthouses aren’t as useful anymore either. But in many parts of the world, lighthouses still provide a much-needed service to mariners.

One of those lighthouses is Ireland’s Hook Lighthouse, or Hook Head Lighthouse, the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the world. Situated on Hook Head at the tip of the Hook Peninsula, the black-banded lighthouse is in the southwestern part of County Wexford, on the southeast coast of Ireland.

The existing tower dates from the 12th century, though tradition states that Dubhán, a missionary to the Wexford area, established a form of beacon as early as the fifth century. The first custodians of the light were a small group of monks whose small monastery was situated on the peninsula. The monks who lived at this monastery lit warning fires and beacons all through the years to warn sailors of the dangerous rocks on the peninsula. Monks helped build the limestone lighthouse tower around the year 1200, and they served as the managed the light until they were replaced by the first lighthouse keepers in the mid-17th century.

The light was automated in 1996 and the last light keepers were removed. The old keepers’ houses were turned into a visitor center and the light station was opened to the public in 2001. The lighthouse is now remotely controlled from by the Commissioners of Irish Lights.

Thankfully, I’m not too old to go see it and climb the 115 steps to the top, and I hope to do that someday. Hook Head Lighthouse is about 800 years old, which makes me really young by comparison!

They will still bear fruit in old age. Psalm 92:14a

Are You Standing in Garbage?

“There I was, standing in a field of garbage,” the visiting missionary said. He was sharing a story about his search for a place to have an off-campus residence for some students in Africa whose college did not provide housing. The missionary and his wife wanted to fill a need for female students to have a safe place to live.

But the mission’s budget was small, and the possibility of providing such a place seemed unlikely.

He had gone to a vacant lot to see if there was any way they could build what was needed. But the lot was filled with trash, and that’s all he could see as their vision seemed farther away. But he heard a voice in his head that said, “Look up.” In his rational mind, he felt God was telling him to pray, to look toward Him. But he’d already prayed for hours about the situation. Still, he heard the voice again say, “Look up.”

This time, he did, and noticed an abandoned building on the lot next to the one where he stood. Was this what God wanted him to look at? He left the garbage lot and focused on the building. As it turned out, they were able to get the building and its property for a very low price plus be able to afford the renovations. Now they can house fourteen young women attending college and hope to be able to expand.

As he told the story, I thought about how many times I’ve focused on “garbage.” Not literal garbage, but the garbage that inhibits me from achieving my goals. Another word for that garbage is “stinkin’ thinkin’.” Whenever I focus on negative thoughts, I am unable to accomplish anything. Our enemy, God’s enemy, whispers these negative thoughts to us when we’re vulnerable. For a writer, it’s when our proposal has been rejected, our sales have been low, our book didn’t win an award it was entered in, or we got a bad review.

Our negative thoughts are compounded when we look at the success of other writers and compare ourselves to them. Another big no-no which, by the way, violates number ten of the Ten Commandments which says not to covet anything someone else has. I must confess to violating this rule, which leads to dissatisfaction with ourselves and what we’ve accomplished and makes us want to quit trying.

But the biggest problem is PRIDE. Really? How can focusing on garbage be prideful? Because we’re focusing on ourselves and what we can or cannot do, and not on God and what He can do through us.

Instead, we need to get rid of the garbage-thinking and remember, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

So, it’s not all about me? Nope. Never was. It’s time to dump the garbage where it belongs, back where it came from, and cleanse our minds with God’s air (mind) refreshener in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Have you ever focused on garbage?

 

When is a writer a success or a failure?

Success and failure. In today’s world, we are often defined as one or the other in whatever we do. Success can lift our spirits, motivate, and energize us, but failure can demoralize, depress, or stifle further efforts.

So what determines whether a writer is successful or not? The answer depends on your point of view, that term so prevalent in the writing world.

Success:

To publishers and agents, success in their eyes is based on sales. Did a book meet their expectations for sales or not? If not, they may not offer the writer another contract.

To a writer seeking publication or an agent, success is getting a contract.

To some writers, gaining a contract with a specific publisher means success.

To a writer whose book is entered in a writing contest and wins, they consider themselves (or their book) to be a success.

To a writer working on a piece of writing, whether a book, an article, or a blog post, finishing it is success.

To a newbie going to their first writers conference, success is getting an appointment with a faculty member.

To a reader, a successful author is one who is published, especially one who has written a book they liked. A writer who has published many books is very successful.

Failure:

 

To an unpublished writer, failure is not getting a contract and not being published.

To a writer who’s received a negative review, they’re a failure.

To a writer whose work has never won a contest, they’re a failure.

To a writer who has written one book, but can’t get started on a second, they’re a failure.

To a writer whose books haven’t hit the Amazon top 100, they’re a failure.

To a writer who’s published with a small publisher but not one of the big five, they’re a failure.

 

A change of perspective can change a person from a failure to a success.

So how does a writer change their perspective from feeling like a failure to feeling like a success?

Be thankful for the gift, opportunity, and freedom to write.Be thankful if you are contracted or published.Congratulate yourself for meeting goals, small or large, a sentence or a paragraph, a page or more.Enjoy the process, without worrying about whether the book will have great sales or not.Know that where you are in your writing journey is where God wants you to be. This is your journey, not someone else’s. God has given you your own style.Do not consider others better than yourself because it appears they have achieved more. Read #5.

Some well-known people had some worthwhile statements to consider about success or failure. Here are a few:

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” – Henry Ford

“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” – C.S. Lewis

“Failure is a detour; not a dead-end street.” -Zig Ziglar

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again. That is why I succeed.” -Michael Jordan

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

To coin a phrase from Theodore Roosevelt, true failure is never trying.

What about you? Do you consider yourself a failure or a success when it comes to writing?

May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. Psalm 20:4