The Accidental Pepper

We have accidentally grown a pepper on our table in the window. It sprang out of nowhere - and Col has now bought four more pepper plans to keep it company - so what was our orchid table is now our kitchen garden.   More miracles in plain sight.

And our soup machine has collapsed and died. Poor thing. I hope I didn't overwork it.  We have another one ordered and hopefully it will be here with us next week. I can't imagine how I would cope without it these days - such an easy and pleasant way of getting our veggie quota.

It seems that Christmas may be cancelled this year - I think it all depends on whether the upcoming Lockdown works as planned.  But it suits me fine as I do not celebrate it - it is essentially a sungod festival, originating in the worship of the creation not the Creator. And marvelous though the sun is, it did not make itself, any more than I made myself. And for all its power, which is beyond my comprehension (I was never good at maths and physics anyway - I still feel guilty abour poor Mr.Capps who had to try to teach me maths), it is still a tiny detail in the immensity of Jehovah's creation.

Isaiah tells us that the universe came into being through the abundance of Jehovah's dynamic energy.  And I am grateful  for whatever boosts of energy He will give me now, as old age is like running on empty.  I was trying to get back to a little gentle exercise every day, and am now paying for it. I have had to take a full dose of painkillers and anti-inflammatories this morning (Thursday) and am hoping they kick in.  

But if Christmas is cancelled, who can calculate the effect on the economy?  Don't so many enterprises rely on the massive spending splurge that is Christmas?  Our local pub, an excellent one, is usually fully booked for Christmas lunch and dinners during December. And apparently the Christmas Panto keeps provincial theatres going.  And that is just the beginning... times they really are a'changing.

And if all this means that the Kingdom of God is imminent, then they are going to change wonderfully for the better. We need to keep firm hold of that thought, as we have some difficulties to get through yet.  And we are trying to give everyone in our territory that hope by letter witnessing. And I must do some more letters today.

We also have some stamps coming to us in the post - an emergency supply!

The Rainbow

"And God added: “This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations. I put my rainbow in the cloud, and it will serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth."" - Genesis 9:12,13

The Treasure Seekers were out on Thursday, under the tender beauty of this lovely rainbow.

Today - Monday when I am starting this - I hope to post a welcome card to a new sibling - and also to start on our new campaign as we try to tell people about the Kingdom of God by post.  Which is in harmony with Jesus's words at Matthew 24:14:  "And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

The end that will come is the end of all violence, all wickedness - not the end of this lovely jewel of a planet!  

It is Joyce's funeral today - in cyberspace - but I am having some trouble with the link - they ask you to try it out beforehand but I am not getting through, so far.

A lovely thought from the Circuit Overseer's last talk:  He used the comparison of the limpet - and he urged us to cling to Jehovah like a limpet to its rock.  Jehovah is called the Rock. He is completely reliable.  That was the title of the final C.O. talk on Sunday: The Rock.

Seeking for Gold

There was a rainbow arching over the treasure hunters on Thursday, and Col brought back a lovely photo of it - a rainbow, a few detectorists in a vast field (presumably searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow), and a lovely Autumn sky.  I hope to put the photo on my next blog.  And the Captain did find a rather lovely and very old silver coin that will appear on his blog in due course.

So I have to mention the treasure in God's word again, as it is there for every one of us. And it can be found, if we seek for it.   It can give us back the life and perfection that our first parents so tragically threw away.

“Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you," - Matthew 7:7

Which is why I want to blog the next section of our Watchtower study article about the resurrection.

This is a continuation of study article 33:  The Resurrection Reveals God's Love, Wisdom and Patience. It can be found here:  https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2020526#h=64

And it continues:

4. What questions will we consider in this article?

4 God’s promise to resurrect the dead raises a number of questions. For example, how will the resurrection likely take place? Will we be able to recognize our loved ones when they are brought back to life? In what ways will the resurrection bring us joy? And how can meditating on the resurrection build our appreciation for Jehovah’s love, wisdom, and patience? Let us consider each of those questions.

Why are these questions, and the Bible's answers to them so important?   Well, for one thing, what a comfort they can be in the face of the loss of those we love in death.  But knowing exactly what the Bible says is vital - which is why we are trying to tell people.  I noted this from Janet Frame's wonderful 3 part autobiography.  In  "To The Is-Land" , which deals with her childhood, she writes of the sudden death of her sister Myrtle  Her mother belonged to a religious sect that did believe that the dead would be resurrected here on earth - but...

When Janet Frame's older sister suddenly died, in her teens  - a heart attack while swimming - Janet writes movingly about her death and how it devastates her family. Then she says:

"After the inquest, when they brought her home in her coffin into the Sturmer-smelling front room and Mum asked, "Do you want to see Myrtle?" I said no. "We'll see her on Resurrection Day," Mum said, conjuring once again in my mind the turmoil of Resurrection Day, the crowds, the wild scanning of faces, the panic as centuries of people confront each other and only a miracle provides room for all."

That is not a comforting picture!  It is a frightening vision of chaos and confusion.  Yet the Bible assures us The Day of Judgment will last for a thousand years.  It will be such a joyful time.  The resurrection will proceed in an orderly fashion, with everyone being taught and cared for as they are woken from the dreamless sleep of death.

The Inspired Scriptures assure us that Jehovah is a God of order, not of disorder.

The Day of Judgement is something to be longed for, not something to be feared.  It will be a fresh start for all those who are resurrected.  And this Watchower article will help to explain why we can be sure of that.

Had a long talk with Bea of the North yesterday - and Jacks' operation has been a success, but we can't talk to her for day or two.  And Captain B has just returned from his voyage hungry so I must go and get him his tea.

Today was the last day of the C.O. visit - and we had two really encouraging talks from him this morning.

My unPart in the Kingdom Ministry School

The Ministry School was on Tuesday night this week, and I had a part as as Householder. But there was a bit of a last minute panic when the lovely young sister whose part it was went off air.  She had some problems with both phone and computer I think, and as her householder I was asked if I could step in. So I rushed through this script.  

Fortunately she got back online with her script and we even had time to practise via phone. A very good thing actually as, in my hurry, I had completely missed the point that this was a return visit, so I had no need for my unlikely setting in a hospital waiting room with my fellow patient improbably reading Richard Dawkins.

That;s a book that could only make a hospital visit even more stressful I would think, as it is seems to be telling us there is no point to any of it,    Given I wrote the script though, I thought I might as well publish it. It is similar to the one we did, except that she put that amazing and wonderful verse from Job, which explains exactly and simply that the earth floats in empty space, near the front of her script, and I put it near the end in mine. And she noted correctly that it was a return visit, which I failed to do.

So - this is The Talk Not Given

Sue:  Excuse my asking but are you waiting for the other Clinic?

Fellow Patient:  Yes.

Sue:   Thanks. That means there is no queue for me either - just the 2 of us here. Hopefully we won't have the usual long wait

FP:  I think you're right.  Though I have bought a book with me anyway.

Sue.  Anything interesting?

FP:  Its hard to understand - Richard Dawkins - and depressing really.  It all seems so pointless somehow if we just evolved and there is no real purpose or meaning to our lives.

Sue.  Oh yes, he is the famous Evolutionist.  But do you know that the Bible says the exact opposite of what Evolutionists are telling us?  It tells us that far from evolving, we were created perfect, and are in a continuing fall from that perfect state. And it assures of a rescue and a restoration, and that we can live forever on this lovely planet.

FP:  Of course i would love to believe that, but the Bible is a very old-fashioned book isn't it? And Richard Dawkins is up to date with current science.

Sue.  Yet please think about this. If the Bible is what it claims to be - a book inspired by our Creator, Jehovah, who is the Source of all wisdom, scientific and otherwise, would its information be out of date, or should it be far ahead of human science?

FP:  IF it is what it claims, it should be ahead.

Sue.  Yes. So may I quickly show you something, just one verse from the Book of Job, which was written 1473 B.C.E - one of the oldest books of the Bible.   It is about the position of earth in space, something that was not understood by Science until Isaac Newton in the 17th Century explained the force of gravity to us. Before that people had all sorts of ideas about the earth - famously that it was flat, and that it was standing on something, one idea apparently was that it was balanced on a giant turtle - though what the turtle was supposed to be standing on I don't know.  But this is what Job tells us, thousands of years ago:  Here at Job 26:7: "He (Jehovah) stretches out the northern sky over empty space, suspending the earth upon nothing".    Suspending or hanging the earth upon nothing.  Isn't that a completely accurate description of the position of the earth in space, and way ahead of the science of its day?

FP:   Yes. It is. I am really surprised by that. You have even given me a glimmer of hope.

Sue:  How lovely.  And I wish I could give you more, but I see the Clinic's nurse is calling me.  Look, could I leave this little contact card on the table here - you can take it if you want or just copy out the website address?  You will find a wealth of information about the Bible and science.

I am not sure on balance that I would have left the card.  I would perhaps just have given her the web address (given the current Covid circumstances).  But as I was mulling it over, I heard from the sister in question and left it there - my cards on the table, is it were.

Captain Treasure Hunter left very early with his sandwiches, metal detector and what have you and is hopefully having a wonderful time out there in the Badlands of Hampshire - designer coffee, we got it, or we did before the Covid crisis.  Oh dear.  I hope he has remembered those sandwiches...

A Failed Haiku

Yesterday I made myself do a final read through of the book that will not be called A Present from Betelgeuse - and I wanted to re-write the whole thing from beginning to end - or maybe to cut it down until it becomes a short story.  The short story form is the one I seem to be most happy with and if I do have the privilege of being published after Betelgeuse, it will be a collection of short stories.

This morning I was out on the balcony doing my studying and getting a measure of October sunlight, when I saw the material for a Haiku forming on the Green below.  Two chaps were out to fly kites, but were having problems getting them off the ground - even though its a windy day. As I was watching the birds soaring effortlessly over the struggling groundbound kites, I thought there is a Japanese poem in there somewhere if only I could write it.

It would be on these lines (and please bear in mind this is a failed Haiku):

Kites, manmade,

flap, groundbound

Kites, God created,

soar aloft.

Not that there were any Kites of that kind soaring over our Green - just seagulls and our little starling murmuration - they are Kites for poetic purposes.

Sunday morning we had such a wonderful meeting that I want to start the Watchtower study article in the blog.  It is about the Resurrection.  I wish everyone in the world would read it and think about it. The world's religions have taught, and do still teach, some terrible and wrong things about death and the condition of the dead.

The title of the Watchtower article we studied on Sunday is:  The Resurrection Reveals God's Love, Wisdom and Patience.  And it begins with the simple question, Why did Jehovah create life?  I hope to continue with this in my blog, but I have linked it in case you would like to know more right now.  It is vital to look up all the Scriptures, as the important thing is what they are telling us. They are Jehovah's message to us, to each one of us, personally.   You can click on the links to the verses on site - don't know if that will work blogwise, or not.

I hope you will see that Jehovah created us out of love, and that he made us to live forever on this lovely planet that floats like a blue and white jewel in a splendid universe.  Therefore where will he resurrect the dead?  And when?   As the article continues, we will see how the Inspired Scriptures answer those questions.

1. Why did Jehovah create life?

THERE was a time when Jehovah was alone. But he was not lonely. He was complete in every way. Nevertheless, God wanted others to enjoy life. Motivated by love, Jehovah began creating.​—Ps. 36:9; 1 John 4:19.

2. How did Jesus and the angels feel about Jehovah’s creative works?

2 First, Jehovah created a fellow worker. Then, by means of this first Son, “all other things were created,” including millions of intelligent spirit creatures. (Col. 1:16) Jesus rejoiced at the opportunity to work with his Father. (Prov. 8:30) And the angelic sons of God also had reason to rejoice. They had front-row seats, as it were, when Jehovah and his Master Worker, Jesus, made the heavens and the earth. How did the angels respond? They “began shouting in applause” when the earth was formed, and they no doubt continued to applaud each of Jehovah’s creative works, including his final masterpiece, humans. (Job 38:7; Prov. 8:31, ftn.) Each of these creations revealed Jehovah’s love and wisdom.​—Ps. 104:24; Rom. 1:20.

3. As indicated at 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22, what does Jesus’ ransom sacrifice make possible?

3 Jehovah intended for the human family to enjoy everlasting life on the beautiful planet that he had created. But when Adam and Eve rebelled against their loving Father, sin and death cast a shadow over the earth. (Rom. 5:12) How did Jehovah respond? Immediately, he stated how he would rescue mankind. (Gen. 3:15) Jehovah purposed to provide a ransom that would make it possible for Adam and Eve’s children to be freed from sin and death. He could then allow each person to choose to serve Him and to receive everlasting life.​—John 3:16; Rom. 6:23; read 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22.

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2020526#h=64

The ThreeScore Years and Ten Zone

More sad news from the Zone.  An old friend has just been diagnosed with MND.   That is such a nasty one, but we are all at the age where things start to happen.    The Biblical warning about "threescore years and ten" still holds good - and will until the Thousand Years  begins.  But how short our lives are now.  Here we are, with this amazingly complex brain, which I think science does now acknowledge looks like it was made to go on making connections forever, and yet, at best, we only last a few decades.

Seventy years goes so quickly.

If the current system of things on the earth lasts for 10 more years, will any of us Zoners still be around?  Not many, that's for sure.

But will it?  Who knows?  What we do know is that the last time the earth became filled with violence, Jehovah stepped in.  And we, the children of Adam, have never forgotten the Deluge of Noah's day.

This time though it will be a lasting deliverance.  We are assured that "distress will not rise up a second time".

And already the Kingdom of God, the heavenly government for whose coming Jesus taught us to pray, is operative on the earth, teaching millions of us, from every tribe and nation and tongue, to live in peace as the brothers and sisters we truly are.

I am trying to think what I did yesterday - cast my mind back all of 24 hours - think think - the Supermarket delivery came  - I got some sunshine studying out on the balcony.  Made us lunch and supper - veggie soup, fresh fruit (berries) salad for lunch, and pizza and yoghourt for supper.  Chatted to a friend on Zoom - oh and while I was doing so the phone rang, Captain B took it.  He said it was one of the congregation elders reminding me that I had a part in the Ministry School in November.

Reminding me?

Part??

November???

Panic.  Must ring him today and find out.  Where is that complex brain?   Clearly not doing all it should or could at the moment.  I am a damaged child of disobedient Adam, but, one day...   

Gold Diggers

Both of us were Treasure hunting on Sunday;  Col finding a gold sovereign - and me finding something infinitely more precious at the morning meeting.   He rang me - just before the meeting started - to say that, second hole in, he had found this gold coin. He was a very happy bunny.

And it is a lovely find.  Money was worth something back then.

Yet there is treasure even more valuable - the pure gold that is the knowledge of Jehovah, that is "a tree of life".   Gold can give us more comforts in our short lives now, but the knowledge of Jehovah can give us life everlasting - in perfection, in paradise - and more happiness than we can now imagine.

"Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who acquires discernment;  to gain it is better than gaining silver, and having it as profit is better than having gold.  It is more precious than corals; nothing you desire can compare to it. Long life is in its right hand; riches and glory are in its left hand.  Its ways are pleasant, and all its paths are peaceful.  It is a tree of life to those who take hold of it, and those who keep firm hold of it will be called happy."    Proverbs 3:13-18

Nothing you desire can compare to it.   And if one day we are looking again at these words from the vantage point of the restored earthly paradise we will see the truth of them even more strongly - and will be so so thankful that we did listen and take in this wisdom.

As Jesus himself said at John 17:3: "This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ."

And this treasure is there for everyone who will take hold of it.   The knowledge of God is being freely offered - even during this pandemnic.  We do beg you to listen. 

Having said all that I managed to arrive at the meeting half an hour late - a meeting at my own computer, and in my own home!   It wasn't that I slept in or anything - Captain Metal Detector's alarm went at 4,30 so that he could be on the far side of the Moon (or wherever) in time for the opening of the field. It was my computer that slept in. It took me over half an hour - in the end having to close everything down and re-start - before it would let me join my siblings at the meeting.

If Col had been here, he would probably have given it a firm jerk of its leash, said "Heel!" and it would have Zoomed me straight through.   I did at least use the time productively - cleared the airing cupboard for the next lot of clothes and did the ironing.

Apart from that, oh dear, a lot of dozing on the sofa was achieved. Though Captain Butterfly's supper was ready for him when he arrived - very late by the time his spaceship splashed down.  Chill cabinet curry, poppadums and yoghurt... heated up by my own fair hand.

I hope I can achieve a bit more today.  Though half the morning has already gone.  

There are going to be a whole new load of Covid instructions for us on the News tonight. I can no longer keep track as they seem to change all the time - as to be fair so does the situation. I have no wish to criticise the handling of this, as who knows?  Its not something we have faced before.  We intend to go on being very careful, which seems reasonable.  And it is definitely what the Governing Body of The Watchtower Society is advising us, as Jehovah teaches us to have great respect for the precious gift of life.

The Bea and the Bus

 Now, I like Bea (very much) and  I like buses too.  But which is best?  To quote Harry Hill, there is only one way to find out - FIGHT!!!!!!

And unfortunately Bea lost the fight... though to be fair it was really a fight between a bus and car that she got caught up in, but that would not make an alliterative title for my blog.  She - a passenger on the bus in question - had just got up to ring the bell for her stop when a car suddenly turned in front of the bus without signalling, forcing the driver to slam the brakes on - and mount the pavement.   Bea managed to hold on and not fall over, but her wrist was so badly wrenched that she ended up with a torn ligament, and is now in a sling for a couple of weeks.  Her right  wrist too.  No fun at all - and especially difficult when you live on your own.

And it would be a nightmare for me as not only am I right handed but my left arm is now quite crippled (since my fall).  It all makes me want to continue to stay at home, safely on my sofa, with a nice cup of tea. Of course, being me, I am probably more than capable of falling off the sofa, landing face down in my cup of tea and...  oh dear...    So what I really long for is the time when the Kingdom of God is ruling over us and the whole earth is being restored to the paradise it was always meant to be.   Stress and anxiety will be no more, as we head back towards the perfection our first parents tragically lost. Then our real lives on earth will begin.

As it is I have to go out today - Thursday - which is when I am starting this blog.   I have my eye test - overdue, but essential. And I feel I need to get there before everything is locked down again. I am hoping it doesn't rain as Captain Butterfly will be out a'detecting all day, and I can't drive, as they don't want you driving back with your blurry eyes.  So I will have to walk.  It will be interesting to see if I can manage it without an arthritis flare up (its not a long walk).  If so, then maybe I will risk re-starting my daily walk - just a short one, but better than nothing.

The walk, short though it was, nearly finished me off. But the test is done. I await results.  And the Captain found a very interesting buckle, which will appear on his blog in due time.

Yet another year has nearly hurtled by as my 2021 Diary arrived last night.  The doorbell rang while the Captain and I were both in our various Zoom meetings, and it was my Diary announcing itself.  It is the Wildlife Photographer of the Year diary - with some wonderful photos.  This year I am just finishing the RHS diary -wonderful plant illustrations. 

The Captain always finds me an interesting diary and orders it in cyberspace. My hero!

Spring forward, Fall back

Hopefully a picture of today's sunrise will head this blog, as the Captain was out on the balcony photographing it this morning.  As the Psalmist says:  "The heavens are declaring the glory of God..."  And I hope that the Captain and I have many many sunrises ahead of us...   though not in this system of things. I can feel everything in me wearing out.  The Captain himself, thank God, is doing a lot better. But at our age, who knows?  Not many for sure - our lives are so short now.  I can't tell you how quickly 70 years has gone.  Yet, at the same time, my 1950s childhood seems like the remote past.

I was watching The Great British Sewing Bee, which I love, and one of the young contestants asked the oldest contestant what it was like in the Sixties.   And I thought, yes, that is 60 years ago now - so its as remote from her as 1880 was to me... a strange feeling.  

I spoke to the siblings yesterday morning, and we realised we would have to re-schedule our Zoom chat, as John, on the other side of the world, is about to spring forward (timewise) into Spring, and we are about to fall back into Autumn.   As it is now, while we, his sisters, are sipping our morning coffee, he is in evening mode (though not in evening dress).

And I have re-started some editing work, so must have got a little bit of energy back from somewhere.  I made a veggie/bean chile yesterday to use up the vegs before today's supermarket delivery arrives. And, in theory, I am going to make a large fruitcake today - I have all the stuff on order.   I usually make two this time of year, as I have to make one for the AGM of Butterfly Conservation - we sell tea and cakes in the interval to raise funds - and make another one at the same time to re-stock the freezer.

But, no AGM this year.  And now I have got my important baking news out of the way, I will note that apparently Covid is raging in the North, possibly connected to the new student year starting.

Au Revoir Joyce

I heard yesteday that a sister in the congregation has died.  Joyce had just moved into a Care Home - she was not young - and I had been trying to ring her and not been able to get through.  The phone call told me why.   It is an odd feeling.  I feel sad, but yet relieved for her.  The painful struggles of old age are over and she is now sleeping safe in "the everlasting arms", and has such a wonderful awakening ahead of her when the time comes.

She will wake up and think how well she feels. Everything hurts when you get old and when you wake up in the morning its quite an undertaking to get yourself moving. I have a zimmer by the side of my bed so I can make a lurch for it first thing.   So the next time she wakes, Joyce will really notice the difference!  She will feel better, more alive, more full of energy than she ever has.  She will find herself springing to her feet. And you probably have to be in the Old Crocks and Crumblies Department as I am myself to fully appreciate what a miracle that will be.

Here is a promise of the resurrection of the dead - one of many. This one is from Isaiah:

“Your dead will live. My corpses will rise up. Awake and shout joyfully, you residents in the dust! For your dew is as the dew of the morning, and the earth will let those powerless in death come to life." - Isaiah 26:19

I think the King James says: "Awake and sing! all ye that dwell in dust."   It will be such a joyful awakening when it comes.

We heard yesterday that President Trump and his stunningly beautiful wife Melania have both gone down with Covid...  there has been some nasty gloating about it in cyberspace, which is very unkind.  It is a serious thing, can be life-threatening and life-changing. We should not be wishing it on anyone.

A letter from a friend about a rather disasterous camping holiday her grandson took - they were flooded out - reminded me of our faraway camping trips in our Expat years.  We used to go out with the Texans in the desert, in the Winter.  It was surprisingly cold at night - I remember the sand like snow on my feet in the morning.  We used to make a big campfire in the evening and sit round it eating Mary's wonderful Tex-Mex chile and cornbread.  And it did actually rain on us one time!  And it hardly ever rains in Saudi.  Though when it does it can be torrential, and you must never pitch your camp, or leave your car, in anything that could be a Wadi, a dry river bed, in case of flash floods.

How long ago it seems.

Captain Butterfly found an unusual, very old, and very tiny coin on his Treasure Hunt.  It will probably appear in his blog in due course. And Cheryl and Ian sent us another lovely Oz calendar with a letter card full of news. They too once lived on Planet Expat with us.  They left in style, sailing their yacht to a new life in Australia. There should be a blog somewhere in my collection about the evening we spent aboard when they were in Chichester.