We canoed on Lake Eaton and walked on the Wild Walk at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake
I like sitting by the campfire late at night. JoAnne likes to read, sometimes even sitting in the car to get away from the bugs or the rain. Both of us love to canoe around the lake. I nearly finished one book this year. JoAnne pulls out her recorder and plays folk songs, gospel choruses and patriotic tunes by ear at the campfire. I roast marshmallows for s’mores.
For us camping is an Rx of sorts. Being a pastor is a very public vocation. So as part of our vacation time JoAnne and I try to get apart in the Adirondack Mountains. Getting alone as a couple like this provides a good antidote to the high level of people time that is normal for pastoral life. It gives time to process, time for extended devotions, and time to read. We always find it a bonding experience too. Whether it’s canoeing as a tandem, setting up camp together, enjoying a meal out at our favorite Italian restaurant in the Village of Tupper Lake, eating ice cream at Hoss’s, or holding hands watching the stars, we find ourselves drawn closer together in the Adirondacks.
This year we camped again at Lake Eaton State Park just Northwest of Long Lake, NY http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24464.html . Even though we had multiple rainstorms, we still had a great time. I had just finished sealing the tent fly again when the first downpour came. Amazingly, it didn’t rain during campfire times at all and I was able to gather wood at the right stage of dryness so that it would burn in spite of the dampness. But it did rain at suppertime twice. Trying to cook in a rainstorm is the pits so we ate out for supper both evenings; chili dogs and ice-cream at a corner stand one night and Italian at Little Italy the next http://littleitalypizzeriainc.com/Tupper_Lake__NY.html .
Probably the highlight of the vacation was the trip to the Wide Center in Tupper Lake. We highly recommend it http://www.wildcenter.org/ . They have a new section called the Wild Walk that has been a huge success. Thirty-five thousand people have visited the center in the twenty days since the Wild Walk opened. We took the walk and highly recommend it. The people who conceived this place have great imagination and make it so much fun for children. This year the theater inside featured an award winning film about climate change.
As you know, I like to walk. When I walk, I look for beauty and joy. Today, on vacation, I walked out toward the beach, there was a wild yellow daisy flower in bloom in the sand dunes. It was beautiful! I learned by online research that its name is beach dune daisy (Helianthus debilis). Finding beauty in unexpected places is a habit I try to cultivate. When such a serendipity happens, it always makes me philosophical too because I think the experience confirms one of my maxims for life.
“Always be looking for and appreciate unexpected sparks of joy!”
One’s approach to a walk is a clue to how you live
I’ve observed in this regard that one can learn much about a person’s approach to life from the way they approach a trail walk.
I meet some people who are always walking with friends. That tells me that they are people-persons who are energized as much by the conversation as by the walk. I bet they appreciate connectedness in other areas of life too.
Other walkers and runners are always alone. There might be many reasons but at the very least they don’t mind being alone. More probably, like me, they relish it as a time for thinking or just drinking in from nature or perhaps praying, as I sometimes do. These kind of people find joy in times of quiet.
Some people out on the trails are out more to “get the job done,” the task of getting in their exercise, that is. They usually have earbuds and don’t want to even give you the time of day lest you delay them. I imagine they are very task oriented people in other phases of life as well. I always pity them in a way as they miss so much by seldom stopping to look or listen. I’ve observed that it is hard for very task-oriented people to find a rhythm in life that includes time for contemplation. But they might reply to me that they enjoy the physical high that comes from aerobic exercise.
Have you noticed that people view the conditions for walking differently too.
I comment to some about the day and they will always be enthusiastic about what a great day it is to walk, even on winter days. These have learned to enjoy the moment.
Other people find something wrong on the best of days; they may note the bugs or the heat or the cold or the rough trail or too many bicyclers or doggy dodo or whatever. Though, frankly, those kind are usually not consistent walkers.
There’s a difference in what is appreciated on the walk too.
Some are always observing whatever nature has to offer that day.
Others are not observant of nature at all.
Some may be only looking for deer and so most days they are disappointed as one only very occasionally sees one while on the trail.
Appreciate the joys the moment brings
It’s the same in life. Some are constantly discovering new blessings in different areas of their lives. Other people seem only to be able to focus on troubles; the bugs and poison ivy patches of life seem to be everywhere for them. Still others are looking only for one or two kinds of rewards in life so they are frequently disappointed as usually the kinds of things they look for are infrequent occurrences.
Michael Cannon Loehrer put it this way, “If people only allow their hearts to enjoy what delights them, they will soon become bored most of the time. If we train our hearts to find joy in drudgery, we will rest content with whatever comes our way and our lives will remain on an even keel. Complainers bounce between ever increasing extremes of delight and despair” (From the book “Porch Talk with Gramps on Parenting: A Framework for a Functional Family”).
For example, I love to observe birds. And thankfully spring days like we have been having in May are the peak of the season for that. But not every day or every walk is ideal for bird watching. For example, one day, I forgot the binoculars. Don’t ask me how, but it happened. So I watched for what I could see with the naked eye. I peeked over the bridge over Salmon Creek and thought I saw movement. So I moved to the other side and had the privilege of watching a young mink forage along the edge of the stream for five or ten minutes, a once in a lifetime event. If I had remembered the binoculars I probably would not have looked in the streambed. I chose to enjoy what was available and was rewarded.
Another day it was windy and my walk happened midday, neither of which is best for birding. But the sun was out and so were the reptiles. That day a tree frog hopped across my path and I saw a black snake sunning himself on the edge of the road. I took pictures of both. I chose to watch what was moving and enjoyed the walk more for it. Choosing to look for the joys a moment offers is a great habit to cultivate. As I say:
“Always be looking for and appreciate unexpected sparks of joy!”
I’m posting a few pictures of things I’ve seen on walks, especially flowers found in unlikely places or trees growing in unusual forms. I call this gallery “Serendipities.”
I love a good walk. It gets the heart pumping and fills the lungs with fresh air. It eases the tensions of to-do lists and day-to-day circumstances. Sometimes I pray aloud on my walks too. Here in Northern CT, we are blessed to live near the Granby Land Trust area as well as a rail trail. So I have places to walk. I walk for exercise first, but I love the fresh air and I love watching nature, especially birds, plants, rocks, animals and flowers and trees.
Today I walked farther than usual, hiking to Carpenter Falls, a beautiful hidden falls near the top of Broad Hill. Because of the rain last night the creek there was running a little more than usual too. One has to hike down into the small gorge to see it. The collage and the gallery with this post are from that spot today.
This spring the birds have seemed more abundant than usual. Probably I have just been walking at better times. I keep a journal of my bird walks, jotting down the species seen on each walk when I get home. In May I have seen about 36 species of birds on my walks, and I seldom stop just to bird watch for very long. I mostly just glass what moves.
I also had the unusual privilege of observing a small mink hunting up the shore line of our local creek just as I looked down from the Broad Hill Road Bridge. He darted in and out of holes in the rocks both above and below the water searching for prey. Once he swam across a section to a small group of rocks he wanted to check out.
Sometime during the later years of my service at Kirkville I became an annual visitor at the train show on the NYS Fair Grounds. When I arrived in CT, I was delighted to discover that there was a huge train show at the Big E grounds. Well, technically, the show is in Massachusetts as the Big E is a couple miles north of the state line, but it hardly takes longer to drive there than it did to the fairgrounds when I lived outside Syracuse. I was also very impressed that this train show is at least twice the size of the Syracuse one, occupying four large buildings on the Big E grounds.
This year I went on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 25, as Saturday it snowed most of the day. The number of train displays and vendors is overwhelming. All gauges are well represented. I walked for hours just to pass by the various displays. I wasn’t looking for much in particular this year. I just wanted to enjoy the show. But I did make a few discoveries.
I enjoy the dioramas. Usually they are small showcases of the very best modeling skills. Usually they are in HO gauge but they don’t have to be. Soon after I walked in, I saw the one that I photographed. Snow scene ones are relatively rare. This one used multi-levels creatively and it featured the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad. That was a key North-South railroad in the area just east of Syracuse back in the heyday of railroads. I took pictures as the train passed even though I only had my phone camera.
I found a couple passenger car trucks for a rail car that I am working on. My brother, Phil is a train collector and a recent large purchase of his included incidentally a couple unpainted passenger car shells that had been altered to 2 rail. He donated them to me and I’m hoping to completely redo one of them inside and out for my 3-rail Tuscan Red Pennsylvania passenger train.
When I was a pastor in my first parish, one of the men was a painter at American LaFrance fire truck company in Elmira. I’ve been wanting a 1920’s era fire truck for my Christmas display. I found an American LaFrance model. The model itself will be rare as it was approved slightly before the company filed for bankruptcy and no more were made after the first batch. As you can see by comparing the picture of the box with the model, I have some work to do on it to add the accessories.
I also found two more early 20th century vehicles for my display. The Lipton Tea truck is a 1927 Talcott. The other is a Ford but according to the vendor, it also may become a rare item as it is a toy fair model. But they will both look good on my old time Christmas display, don’t you think?
One of my hobbies is model trains, specifically, O-gauge trains running around my Christmas tree. Yes we had a Lionel train which we three Jones brothers shared when I was a boy. But what really started me back in this hobby was the gift of a Lionel train much like the one we had which I received from Bill Quick while I was serving as Pastor at Kirkville Community Wesleyan Church. I promptly ran it around the tree the next Christmas and I’ve been running trains every Christmas since on increasingly more complex set-ups.
The first evolution
One big evolution happened when I moved the trainsets upstairs to the remodeled living room at Kirkville. I was already running two trains. I decided to build a second layer and started collecting ceramic buildings, little figures and antique car models. I had two long bridges too. Then I started inviting children from church over to see the trains. I let them run them too. Of course, they would wreck them occasionally, but I have only had to make major repairs on two cars in all the many years that I have been doing this.
Children in CT love it too
When I moved to Connecticut, God blessed us with a large parsonage living room and my set got even bigger. In the gallery you can see the first two steps in building the multilayer setup. I found my first Dept. 56 buildings (the Cadillac of ceramic Christmas buildings) on a yard sale in our own neighborhood. Again, I invited children from church to come and run the trains. They have so much fun and it is a joy to work with them. This set has only one bridge but it has more room for vignettes. In the gallery are pictures of Shannon and Sam playing with the trains. The Mandirola boys, Schantz family and the Griffin’s also stopped by to check it out but I didn’t have my camera going.
Sam went for hands on
My grandson, Sam, was much more interested in the train set this year too. But he had his own way of investigating it. He wanted to get right in it and touch things. I learned from the preschool teachers that this is a preschooler’s tactile way of learning so I tried to facilitate it as much as possible. It was great fun.
New this year
This year I purchased my first engine specifically decorated for Christmas, a Lionel Santa Flyer. I also added a city block of stores that I made from Ameri-town parts. I started it years ago but this year a change in configuration of the upper track made room for it for the first time. In addition, I purchased new track for the inner lower loop. Last year that loop was hardly operable. This year is was a star. The fastest engine did not derail on it even though it was the tighter loop. It was Lionel Fast Track. If it holds up to the wear and tear of being assembled and disassembled for a couple years I will be a fan for sure. Also new this year, and something I have been watching for, was a ceramic building train station. At last I have a train station for the upper level too.
My Grandson Sam is a hands-on guy. He was not very interested in running the trains, though he did that briefly once or twice. He liked the whistle on the train a little better, which is the main reason he might run a train at all. But the main thing he wanted to do this year was pick things up and look at them. So I tried hard to remember the story about the father whose wife kept complaining that he and the boys were destroying the lawn with their sports. The father had replied, “Right now we’re raising boys, not lawn.” So I let Sammie right into the middle of the trainset so he could touch some things. Of course, I had to supervise so he didn’t try to pick up things that were glued down or wired in. But he found plenty of things to touch.
His favorite spot was the left side access alley. I can barely fit in there as it is made just as a place to access electrical switches, position village items and retrieve derailed cars. But Sam found it a great corner, just a boy’s size with lots to touch. He loved the tunnel which he could reach from there. He took one car from the train and pushed it back into the dark. There was a little grade and it would roll back out. He liked the imitation pine trees too. It was pure joy having him visit, a highlight of the season.
Someone is way overdue for a Grandpa post. I am so much enjoying being a grandparent. And on November 17, 2014, our second grandchild was born, a little girl, Annabelle Jocelyn Stater, 6 lbs. 11 oz. One of the special moments over Christmas was being left in the Stater dining room holding Annabelle. I rocked her in my arm, looked at the tree and Sammie’s new oversize Melissa and Doug creation while listening to Christmas music playing from the iPhone on the table.
But back to the story. We were awakened in the wee hours on Nov. 17 by a call from Keely and Mark that they were going to the hospital. We left quickly. But Annabelle did not wait. She barely waited for the doctor to arrive. Mark accidentally dialed JoAnne as we were walking out of the hospital parking garage. JoAnne answered and heard the baby’s first cries. Keely and Annabelle were released from the hospital the next day.
JoAnne and I will also remember it for the very busy week that it was. I officiated at one funeral later that same day and met with two different families about funerals that I had yet to do. Besides that I ended up making at least three trips to the hospital in the first two days to visit and or pick up JoAnne. In addition, our choir was gearing up that week for a special presentation on the Sunday before Thanksgiving the next Sunday.
But we certainly had some very special blessing for which to give thanks the following week on Thanksgiving. The attached pictures are all from Annabelle’s first days.
The last daily bloom faded away one day this past week ending another season of daylily delight. Growing the flower technically called hemerocallis is a pastime I inherited from my grandmother, Jessie Isaman. Watch out! Growing daylilies is catching; my daughter has the bug as well.
How it started
I started growing daylilies while at my first church in Bentley Creek, PA. When I visited my parents, I would dig up a shovelful from the huge clumps on the farm and transport them to my parsonage in northern Pennsylvania. When I moved from there I took a shovelful from each clump and threw the daylilies in a crate in the back of the moving truck. In spite of being packed away in the closed up semi-body for a month, every plant lived. They are tough. I had the start for a new daylily garden at my second parsonage in Kirkville, New York.
How it grew
While in Kirkville, I discovered a daylily farm at Grace Gardens on Angus Road just off Route 14 south of Geneva, NY. Over the years that I lived in Kirkville I purchased many more daylily varieties and planted them around the property until I had more than 30 varieties. A few more came from Roots and Rhizomes by mail. When I moved to my third parsonage in West Granby Connecticut, my plan was to take a shovelful from each clump and pack them in the truck again. But this time, I was using a moving company and they would not do that. So, I clipped a double fan or so from each clump that I had dug and gave the rest away. I filled my car trunk and brought them with me. Some ended up at my daughter’s house. Most of them form the nucleus for my collection here.
My latest additions
This summer, I was meandering home from an Adirondack vacation when I drove by Jim’s daylily farm in Ticonderoga, New York. He has the healthiest daylilies I’ve ever seen and lots of them. Though his lot space is limited, every square foot was growing daylilies. I brought the car to a screeching halt, turned around and somehow found room for about six new varieties on top of all our camping goods. My wife was not so happy about some dirt that filtered down through. But then I’m not noted for keeping my car pristine. I’d rather carry some things that I need and clean up later. Anyway, with these new additions, I now have about 40 varieties of daylilies here at West Granby parsonage. Fortunately, there’s lots of room. Of course, the beds are young, so the displays are just getting started. Here are a few pictures from this summer.
A few weeks ago I stopped by the Hartford County 4-H Fair to see the exhibit of one of the families in our congregation. Griffin and Connor were working hard and doing great with their animals. Their grandma, Carol, a former 4-H organizer, took me around and introduced me to some of her friends. I love fairs anyway as they bring back memories. I exhibited Guernsey cattle at the Steuben County Fair in Bath NY as a teenager, both in the 4-H and open division. Many nights, I also watched over all the cattle our farm sent to the fair—memories. JoAnne and I dated at fairs.
While I was walking around at the Hartford 4-H Fair I came across another exhibit that I found fascinating. Bob Whittier was exhibiting his partially restored 1921 Republic truck. I chatted with him for a while and learned, for example, that the original headlamps still work. I also learned that the truck was the main source of transportation for the US military in WWI at which time they were called Liberty Trucks. He cranked up (literally) the engine and it purred. He plans further restoration of the roof.
My wife challenged me on Facebook to list the top ten books that have influenced my life. I don’t necessarily take up every Facebook fad. But this one I consider a very thoughtful and potentially helpful exercise. One of the proverbs I heard along the way is “Leaders are readers!” I agree totally. This challenge is also in keeping with one of the goals of my blog, to record the books I have read and comment on them. So here goes:
The Holy Bible – KJV Thompson Chain Reference. I was given this for Christmas by my parents when I was about 12 years old. It represents the Bible-learning culture in which I was raised. It was my earliest textbook for studying the Bible. I still treasure it and use it occasionally.
The Holy Bible – NIV 1984. This version of the Bible became the translation that I read day after day, the version that molded my mindset and helped me communicate the Gospel to a generation that had never heard of King James of England, nor did they understand his language. Now I read and use the 2011 NIV since I follow the Reformation principle that the Bible must be in the language of the people. But the 1984 version will always be in my heart.
Growing Spiritually – E. Stanley Jones. I was in seminary, I think, when I read this devotional classic. I was captured and challenged by the practical Wesleyan theology, poignant illustration from life, and excellent thinking by one who has become one of my favorite devotional writers. This book prompted a definite step forward in my own spiritual growth.
Developing the Leaders around You – John C. Maxwell. During my first pastorate I began to be mentored by the speaking and writing of John Maxwell. I didn’t know how much I needed it. I now have a dozen of his books that I have read and I still consider this one among his very best. I also have a shelf full of others on the topic of leadership. This book started me on a whole different journey of not just doing well myself, but enabling others to do well. This intentional focus as well as trying to teach church leaders to do the same has added untold dimensions to my ministry and extended its effectiveness many years. It has enabled me to be a factor in launching or enhancing the ministry of many others too.
Communication: Key to Your Marriage – H. Norman Wright. With this book there was a companion volume The Pillars of Your Marriage. They were not deep, but they were practical. They were intended for class use and included discussion questions too. I interacted with these books and other similar ones at a time in our marriage when I desperately needed to learn more about how to have a successful marriage. They were very helpful both to me personally and in my ministry over the years to others.
Secrets of the Vine – Bruce Wilkinson. Sometimes you are looking for books that will prod spiritual renewal in your life. This is such a book. I have now read the book at least three times. The first time I read it, I wrote in the cover, “I finished this book today…it was a life-changing experience.”
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership – John C. Maxwell. This is John Maxwell’s classic. It has helped me immensely to understand leadership and learn to practice it. I am still learning and growing. This book confirmed for me that leadership is one of the three most essential areas of understanding/preparation needed by pastors. (The other two are preaching/teaching and counseling/personal work.)
Fresh Faith – Jim Cymbala. One of the areas I needed to grow spiritually as a pastor was faith. Reading Jim Cymbala’s testimony-laced books is one of the ways God has helped me to do that. It is challenging and inspiring to read what God is doing at Brooklyn Tabernacle and it makes one pray for greater faith.
Just Walk Across the Room – Bill Hybels. Another of the great mentors for pastors today is Bill Hybels. This book is among his best. It is such a practical and everyday approach to reaching other people for Jesus. I think it is evangelism as it was meant to be. It has helped me to look for opportunities daily to be a blessing for Jesus’ sake.
The Purpose Drive Church – Rick Warren. I had already been a pastor for 15 years when I read this book. I immediately said that it was the best book on how to do church that I had ever read. As far as I am concerned, it has not had a rival until Andy Stanley’s Deep and Wide came out in 2012. Warren helped me to understand that discipleship was crucial and that I needed to help people step by step to move closer to the church as a part of their spiritual journey.
I’ve read so many books over the years that I can’t be sure I haven’t missed one somewhere. I reduced my library by more than half when I moved in 2013 and I still have four floor-to-ceiling bookshelves full in my office. I have tried to choose books for my top ten that represented important areas of reading. The best books often prompt us to read more by the same author or more in that subject area. All of these books have done that. And I keep buying new books and reading more. I admit that the time I now spend on social media has cut into my reading time, but it has not eliminated it. I am still completing new books! How about you?
