The Missing Caption.

"Lovely photos, thank you darling" I beamed at the Captain as he put his Jewels of Autumn photos on my blog.   "But isn't there a missing caption?"  

 "How do you mean?"

"Well, why didn't: "The Fairest Autumn Jewel of All"  appear under the picture of Mrs.Captain Butterfly resting from her strenuous 10 minute hike?"

"Do you want to know?" asked the Captain, looking prepared to tell me.  

I decided to drop the subject.   They don't make these cameras the way they used to when I was young.

Yesterday was a happy day.  Sylvia and I practised our talk in the Museum garden, then had coffee in the little cafe.   And Mick and Micah came round in the afternoon.  It was such a comforting visit.  The Inspired Scriptures tell us that the elders are like "streams of water in a waterless country, the shadow of a heavy crag in an exhausted land".  They are a refuge from all that besets us in this system of things.

They emphasised that whatever help Captain Butterfly and I need in our tribulations - be in lifts to hospital, shopping, whatever - they are there to help.  Always.    I don't know how to thank Jehovah enough for the congregation family, and for sending his Witnesses to my door all those years ago.   The best thing I can do is listen to Him, obey Him, and get out there myself.   And try to give a good talk on Thursday night.

Sylvia will be very good for me, as I am supposed to be learning to use an outline, not a script.  I like everything written out, word for word, and stuck to. Sylvia improvises continually and confidently. So this should be a useful learning curve.

The Jewellery of Autumn

The Captain took me for a walk at Pulborough Brooks today.  And we lunched off a cheese veggie bake with salad.   It wasn't much walking, but it exhausted me.

It was a very grey morning, with a bit of drizzle now and again, but the jewels of Autumn really glowed.

Hedge Bindweed, Calystegia sepium on Brambles

Bramble, Rubus fruticosus

Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica

In which we meet a pit bull, and a rescue is required.

The Team of Steve and Sue galloped to the rescue Saturday morning.  We were out witnessing, when an elderly lady - well, ahem, a lady of my age - hobbled past with a lively and friendly young puppy, of the pit bull type, on a lead.   We all said hello went past, puppy lunging joyfully at us all, then we heard a cry for help.

We looked back. The pup had pulled the lady over.   Steve righted her, one of the sisters grabbed the dog, and Steve and I walked the lady back home.  Me walking the lady, Steve walking the dog.  She confided in us that the pup was her daughter's. The daughter would not get up in the morning so she had to take the puppy out. At six months, it was already too strong for her.

I only wish I could offer to walk it for her, but I am in the same position as the poor lady - we have both had our knees replaced and are convalescing. She will have to chivvy her daughter, whose dog it is, out of bed in the mornings.

And talking of parents and children, there has been a story in the press over the last week about a Jehovah's Witness couple who took their very sick child from a British hospital and took him to Spain - his mother's country - for further medical treatment that he was not being offered here.   They have been hunted across Europe by the police and have now been arrested and taken away in handcuffs ...  so have been separated from their very sick and very young son at the time when he needs them the most.

We really do live in the world that George Orwell saw coming in 1984.

They are Jehovah's Witnesses - therefore members of my own worldwide family.  This clearly has nothing to do with our beliefs or their not wanting treatment for their child.  They want treatment for him - proto beam therapy - which, it is alleged, was not being offered in the UK. And they took him abroad so he can have it. Wouldn't any parent do the same?   They had taken him straight to a hospital, where his condition is said to be stable.  Its heartbreaking.  But a reminder of how much we need the loving rulership of the incoming Kingdom of God.   It will reunite parent and child, not separate them.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/01/ashya-king-parents-court-madrid

The Murmuration

murmuration of Starlings, Sturnus vulgaris

The skipping waves are rolling in today, looking very lively, sparkly white on turquoise. We shopped and I am preparing the curries for tomorrow.   The little starling family we first met on the pier about 12 years ago has now grown into a murmuration and murmured across our Green this morning, Captain Butterfly and camera in hot pursuit.

I love to see them doing so well.

I got a pretty card from Krysia, one of her paintings and some of her poems. She can write too!

Lovely meeting last night, of course, and I hope I will be back on the work tomorrow morning.  Mick said he will ring me and he and Micah will come round. They would love to see the Captain too, but I don't suppose he will want to be there.  Its hard not to give up hope sometimes, but I must remember the Inspired definition of love. It does not give up - it "hopes all things".   It is sometimes difficult to keep going, but looking out on the sparkling sea, one of Jehovah's grand creations, is a great help.

I gave Sylvia her copy of the talk, so she can be learning it, but I forgot the brochures for Maggie!  They are now inside my Watchtower magazine, as I don't think even I will manage to forget that on Sunday.

The Talk

Today I must finish my studying for the meeting tonight and get my talk written so I can give Sylvia, my householder, a copy, and we can decide when and where we will practise it for Thursday week.

The assigned talk is:   HOW DO WE KNOW THERE REALLY IS A DEVIL?

And the assigned material is taken from "Reasoning from the Scriptures" p361 par.2 - p362 par.2:   

"The Bible is the chief source of evidence. There he is repeatedly referred to by name (Satan 52 times, Devil 33 times). Eyewitness testimony as to Satan’s existence is also recorded there. Who was the eyewitness? Jesus Christ, who lived in heaven before coming to earth, repeatedly spoke of that wicked one by name.—Luke 22:31; 10:18; Matt. 25:41.

What the Bible says about Satan the Devil makes sense. The evil that mankind experiences is far out of proportion to the malice of the humans involved. The Bible’s explanation of Satan’s origin and his activities makes clear why, despite the desire of the majority to live in peace, mankind has been plagued with hatred, violence, and war for thousands of years and why this has reached such a level that it now threatens to destroy all mankind.

If there really were no Devil, accepting what the Bible says about him would not bring lasting benefits to a person. In many instances, however, persons who formerly dabbled in the occult or who belonged to groups practicing spiritism report that they were at that time greatly distressed because of hearing “voices” from unseen sources, being “possessed” by superhuman beings, etc. Genuine relief was gained when they learned what the Bible says about Satan and his demons, applied the Bible’s counsel to shun spiritistic practices, and sought Jehovah’s help in prayer.—See pages 384-389, under the heading “Spiritism.”

Believing that Satan exists does not mean accepting the idea that he has horns, a pointed tail, and a pitchfork and that he roasts people in a fiery hell. The Bible gives no such description of Satan. That is the product of the minds of medieval artists who were influenced by representations of the mythological Greek god Pan and by the Inferno written by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. Instead of teaching a fiery hell, the Bible clearly says that “the dead . . . are conscious of nothing at all.”—Eccl. 9:5."

Study No.25: Use of an Outline...  this is a difficult one for me. Do I yet have the confidence to work from an outline, rather than a full script, which I prefer?

Setting:  Making a return visit to someone who showed interest.  I am going to call back on Sylvia and we will talk...

This is very timely, as we, the children of Adam, are busy memorialising World War 1 - "the war to end wars" - when, according to an article in The Independent recently - there are now only 11 countries in the world free from some kind of conflict.

What is the force that is pulling the strings?  Or rather, who?  I hope my Bible-based talk will help identify him. But it won't unless I get it written!

I am very much enjoying The Great British Bake-off - and the accompanying Guardian blog.   A comment from the blog today:  "Mary's look at the mention of sesame seed ice cream was her best since the legendary store bought fondant incident of 2014."

Indeed.

The Captain is coping valiantly.

The God of all Comfort

Jehovah is the God of all comfort and I had such a consoling call from the congregation elders today. And we have had calls and emails from family and friends.  And Linda came for lunch. So it has been a good day.

We had torrential rain.   The evening sky is full of clouds, and the sea is a pale clear blue.  The Captain spent a lot of the day at Arundel, but came back to have lunch with Linda and me.  It was leek and potato soup, with Linda providing an olive focaccia, and mousse from Waitrose for afters.

Now I am trying to think what I have done today. Shopped in the morning, made lunch, chatted with Linda and did my studying. We are both sitting at our computers this evening.

We are reading up on the options for the cancer treatment, and none of them seem any fun.

The Big C

Now that Captain Butterfly has blogged about the problem, I can too.

So Friday was a memorable day.  He was waiting for me in The Street, as our congregation coach arrived very late, and when we got home he told me that the results of his biopsy were not good.

You can see the Captain's Log for details.

On the plus side, as you will see, if you do, this has been caught very very early, and should be treatable.

Well, we are now into the Death Zone.    And no mistake.

He is being brave and stoical and sensible about it - as he always is.   But I did notice he had done some mad comfort shopping during the day. The fridge was full of sweet desserts, and the freezer was full of choc ices. He is usually rather stern about such things.

I don't know what to say.  Except that I must trust in Jehovah with all my heart.   He loves Captain Butterfly even more than I do.