Summer shies away
while autumn draws nigh and cool
I bid sad farewell
To the season’s warm sweet smells
Of late August blooms, and sigh
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Joyce E. Johnson © 2015
Archive for August 2015
Farewell to Summer’s sweet end
There came…
There came a brave little chipmunk
just half the size of a skunk
to our picnic in the park
from his home in the dark
to eat the crumbs by the trunk.
He stuffed his mouth and searched around
for more breadcrumbs on the ground,
scampering here, running there.
There came his friends. He had to share,
but to their delight, the bowl they found
was filled with food for our dog, Maggie
who stood watching, her tail a wagging.
Bread crumbs eaten, they tried hers too,
a different taste, but guess it will do.
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Joyce E. Johnson © 2015
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Rocky Mountain National Park – 100 years
This year (2015) marks the 100th year since RMNP opened and declared a national park in 1915. We live in Loveland which is only about thirty miles from the park entrance and every time we go up we are in awe at all there is to enjoy and photograph. Longs Peak (14,000 + ft.) and other mountain peaks, their majestic beauty, the wildlife, and wonders of nature and environment always makes us so thankful for what we have in our own ‘neck of the woods’ to the west.
No matter what kind of storms or situations come such as the devastating flood in 2013 that washed away so much of the pristine natural areas we find that in time nature restores and replenishes all, eventually. Much of it returns and comes back in a new or different way like the re-channeled Big Thompson River. Work is still being done on roads, campgrounds, and monumental markers of significance that was affected during the flood. RMNP and the town of Estes Park has seen record attendance this last summer bringing in the much-needed revenue to fund and support the projects still in construction. But, whatever the storm took from us there will always be the magnificent awe-inspiring mountains that welcomes visitors each year, and us who live near them who never tire from seeing all God has created for us to enjoy.
For more information on Rocky Mountain National Park and the 100th anniversary celebration you can find it here
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Joyce E. Johnson (2015)
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The games we played
The floor was our playing table. It was not cards or dice we held in our hands, but Jacks. Not the Jack of cards, but those tiny metal objects with spokes poking out from the center. The other thing needed for the game was a small rubber ball with a good bounce.
With our playing hand full of jacks we threw them out onto the floor. One by one we picked up a jack after tossing the ball six to eight inches from the floor, and catching the ball before it bounced twice retrieving both in the same hand.
When a player collected all the jacks with the ball bouncing just once the turn moved to the next player. If the ball bounced twice before retrieving the jack the player was out of the game. And like cards or dice we played to win, as it soon turned into a competitive match with our opponent.
There were as many different variations to the games of ‘Jacks’ as there are to a deck of cards, or pair of dice. When we completed each round we continued on to a harder game, like scooping up all the jacks in one swipe before the ball bounced even once.
If we dropped or moved a jack in the process of picking one up we were out of that round and would have to repeat that game at our next turn. The turn then went to the next player. The better we got at these games, the more fun we had, and new ones were invented.
In the game, ‘Around the world in eighty days,’ the player tossed the ball, picked up a jack and with a swift hand encircled the ball before the ball bounced twice. If at any time the ball was dropped, or hit a jack the player was out until his/her next turn.
In the game, ‘Pigs in the basket’, the player had to pick up a jack in one fast swoop before the ball bounced once. The process was completed with each jack in the same manner. Then, the player advanced to the next round as the player attempted to collect all the jacks in one swoop before the ball bounced.
In one game the player grabbed a jack, and tapped it on the floor before the ball bounced.
The trick to playing these games well was not to scatter the jacks so far away that they became unreachable to a quick hand, yet not have them so bunched up as to touch and make it more complicated for the player to retrieve the jacks without disturbing or touching another in the process.
Today, these games may not be known to most kids who play digital or arcade games on their tablets and smart phones, as my grandchildren do, but when I was a child Jacks was one of my favorite games. A set of jacks and ball were one of the most affordable, inexpensive games.
One day when shopping at a hobby store I found and bought the above large decorative ‘Jacks’ to display and use like bookends. On another occasion when going through some kept mementoes from my childhood I discovered I still had a few from my old set even though I keep a newer set and ball for my grandkids to use. But, they just can’t ‘get into’ the game like I once did. 🙂
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Joyce E. Johnson (2015)
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Two brothers, two nations, and what divides them
She was hated by one, yet loved by another; the God of the father of her illegitimate child. The Egyptian maidservant approached his tent with trepidation.
Abraham didn’t want to do it, but he had no choice if he wanted to keep Sarah happy. Hagar and Ishmael would be cast out, homeless and destitute, they set out alone in the barren wilderness with no promise of a future, and certainly none of the ‘promised inheritance.’ That was reserved for Isaac, Abraham’s legitimate son and rightful heir to the Jewish nation of God’s chosen to inherit His coveted blessings.
Hagar could not bear to watch Ishmael die, the first-born son of a Jewish father. There was not enough food to sustain them both, so she chose to die, so he could live.
Was it an omen of things to come, a future not yet prophesied? She gave him what was left of the rationed bread, then walked away alone to die. But, the God of Abraham did not walk away from her. He heard her cry, and saw her tears. He spared them both, and the Palestinian nation was born. But, their God was not the God of Abraham.
This story is not fiction, but true. The bible does not give the date and time of this historical event which separated two brothers, and divided a family. Yet, each of these two boys would lead their own to the creation of two cultures and two nations living side by side. It was hate then that sent her away, and it is hate today that divides them still.
But, although Abraham and Sarah made mistakes then there were other decisive moments later that proved and tested the faith and strength of a man obedient to God who was willing to sacrifice his beloved legitimate son, Isaac on an altar to God. But, God stayed his hand in time before Isaac was slain. A transition and period of time in between events shows Abraham’s strong character and maturity changing forever the direction of his life, his descendants’ lives and ultimately the destiny of Israel’s.
Today, centuries later we see still the turmoil and unrest in the Middle East as reports come almost daily of terrorist’s acts, missiles and rockets fired at Israel, and new threats of war as tensions rise and Iran promising the destruction of Israel, a country blessed by God since its creation. There is no ‘deal’ or treaty that will work to stay the hand of a country like Iran that seeks to destroy another.
It is not just the prophetic events that unfold before our eyes, but the same hatred and animosity that has prevailed since Abraham’s time. We can pray for the peace of Jerusalem, the Middle East, even the world, but unless the tide of hate turns, and evil is eradicated completely there will always be those who bear the kind of hate and evilness that wishes only to destroy life, not preserve it.
You can find the stories of Abraham in Genesis, chapters 21: 1-20, and 22:1-14. of the Old Testament, NIV
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Joyce E. Johnson (2015)
Reflections 
