You might know of the grocery store, St. Vrain Market (on the corner of highways 36 and 7 in Lyons). It is now under new ownership and a lot of  work has been put into the store. Newly renovated and branded, the exterior as well as the interior is beautiful.

I designed the logo with color and scenery from the St. Vrain river valley in mind. These elements really set the tone for the natural and crisp feel of the store.

Brianna and Sailor. Getting back on the horse is easier when he's this small!

By Amanda Gallen, a Queenslander with two of our two-year-old Morgans.

Waking at dawn on our first day at Judy Oldmeadow’s farm was very special. I looked out the cottage window to the beautiful valley below. I woke my daughter Brianna so she could also experience the moment.

We had brekky, dressed quickly and went to the paddock to see our horses Sarge and Ava. They’d grown so much since we last saw them!

They were in a paddock with the other foals. We walked in and sat on a log. The herd noticed us and came over – our babies leading the way.

They smelt us from head to toe. So inquisitive! This was something I really wanted Brianna to experience.

Our week was full of adventures; childhood memories Brianna will never forget. Judy put her in charge of the farm’s smallest horse – a Shetland pony called Sailor.

It was just what Brianna needed. She gained so much confidence with a horse that was just the right size for a beginner. She fell a few times, once quite heavily. No broken bones; just one of those needed-to-happen experiences.

Brianna went very quiet after that and returned to the cottage for a rest. But she came back ready to regain her confidence.

I played with my babies and watched how they fitted into the herd. Observing lots of mare behaviour, I decided that human mothers would do well to act like mares. That way, our kids would get what we say first time, rather than wear us into the ground.

While most foals are well behaved, some don’t learn quickly. Sarge is one of them; he’s covered in bites as he just doesn’t move fast enough!

I rode with Judy – right inside the herd of mares and foals. I felt like I was running with the wild horses in The Man from Snowy River! It was an amazing buzz that kept a big smile on my face all night.

Judy worked with Ava and decided she was ready for saddling. Ava’s a clever filly and we even had Brianna sitting on her and walking around.

Though Ava was excited to have Brianna up there, everything was done with the utmost attention to safety and I wasn’t at all concerned.

I’m very happy I bought her.

I could go on and on about our lovely horsey experiences. Suffice it to say the farm truly felt like heaven to me!

Ahh…It’s weird to be back home after being back home.  I’m glad I get to sleep in MY bed though.  Here’s my quick wrap up…btw no signs of H1n1 yet…

This this nothingness? Imagine driving 6 hours of this.  Yea, I do past through San Antonio and Austin…but mostly..it’s this..NOTHINGNESS.  Thanks Pandora for keeping me company/sane.

My mom and I at her favorite restaurant. OLIVE GARDEN.  No she isn’t Kendra from Girls Next Door but she looovesss her some OG.  BTW do my mom and I look familiar?  It’s probably cause you see “sets” of Asian moms and daughters EVERYWHERE: mall? check. universities? check.  nail salons? different ethnicity but still..check.

So every morning I was  home my mom made me these things called turnip cakes they are made with turnips, green onion, and chinese sausage (little heh).  I top it with Frank’s Red Hot and it’s really good!  They usually have these at dim sum places!

I spent a ton of my time with my friend Danny.  He’s a hardcore pirate fan so of course, why not try on a little boy’s pirate bathrobe?

Danny’s family also provided food this whole weekend for our gang.  They usually are uber stocked in the fridge department.  Look at this baby.  Toasted bread, turkey, gravy, stuffing, and cranberry relish. I may have had another half sandwich after this massive thing. DELISH.

Dessert? HECK YES.  But first let my friend Sara pose with a mini pumpkin pie…cause mini anything is cute right?

Don’t judge.  I had to taste everything: pumpkin bundt cake, cheesecake factory pumpkin cheesecake (THE DEVIL! IT’S TOO GOOODDD), and pecan pumpkin pie.

Let’s not forget to pose with random wedding flower arrangements found at the house.  This lumberjack here is my bff in the whole world!  I make her do poses.

The night before we left we went to a new place called Euro Gelato.  I got the pumpkin and chocolate peppermint gelato.  It TASTED good but the consistancy wasn’t usually what I am used to…BAH. 

I had tons of fun with my dear friends.  Half of them still live in the Valley but the other half are all over Texas/Arkansas. I know I should taken more pics of people or food (don’t lie you want more food pics) but alas, the weekend went by too fast.  Back to reality!

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Oil on Rives BFK Paper, 3.75 x 5.5″, 2009

OH Alb Valley Railway, how much do I have to pay for privilege of the tracks and a swift gettaway? My lover lay behind me, probably sleeping as we speak. I want to go where I won’t whisper; I am hard granite with a streak of brilliant quartz that must’ve fooled her. Babe but amethyst is cheap. She sought me like a new cure for a problem that ran deep, and much too deep for me to handle but I like to take these things. She’d blow me like a candle and I’d listen to her ring and rattle sob and cry, lying naked side by side: silhouettes in tv light, trying to work up the might to move my arms so I can fall, answer the softly beckoned call, to go to sleep and leave it all for mornings, when the light streams in and lets you see that no one wins and everyone is lonely and thinks no one understands.

She was probably lonely but not much like me because I think she kept it bottled, tightly like she does. Lonely people see it deep down in each other’s eyes; they hear it rasped and breathed away in otherwise nondescript sighs. And I met her at a party and thought, fuck it, what’s to lose? We lived like Caspians for seasons, watching early morning news and meeting friends at local concerts, getting drunk and probably high. Every word of every story that I told her was a lie but still she pressed herself against me, and all my friends know I’m weak. She pressed her finger to my lip and told me sharply not to speak.

In most parts of the Las Vegas valley you will find properties for Rent… In Summerlin you can rent a one bedroom, one bathroom with no garage for around $700 a month (condo).  Bump up the rent to around $1200 and you can rent a place that’s a single family residence that includes 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a 2 car garage.  You want a bigger place with a pool is going to cost you around $1800.  Some parts of the valley are most expensive than others but all in all rents in Las Vegas can be pretty steep.  The heartbreak for me is that many folks looking to rent have lost their homes to foreclosure and have to deal with the sadness of moving from their home, then they have to find a place to rent that will allow them to bring along their pets.  It’s a tough find sometimes.  Give me a call, I’ll try to help if you’re looking for a rental.  I also help buy and sell properties for people.

Penny O’Brien with RE/MAX Experience

http://www.PennysProperties.com

The other day I had an interesting conversation with one of my local card shop dealers.  We were talking about the upcoming Philly Show scheduled for next weekend and I learned some inside stuff that I normally don’t hear.  It seems like almost every dealer is angry with Hunt Auctions.  My local shop owner has been in business for over 30 years and has been attending The Philly Show for almost as long.  After Hunt Auctions purchased the show in late 2008, they immediately raised the price of what it would cost for a dealer to setup.  According to the shop owner, he would normally pay around $700.00 to setup his booth.  Since he has a lot of stuff, he usually takes up two spots.  For next weekend’s show, it will cost $1,050.00 to setup.  He told me that I shouldn’t be surprised if half the dealers don’t show because of the price.  He also told me that Hunt Auctions doesn’t advertise the show.  I probably advertise more for the show here then they do at all.  Even though  MAB-Celebrity has been bringing in bigger name athletes like Mays, McCovey, and Fisk, they haven’t been making very much off of their sales of tickets.  One athlete got paid $25,000.00 to sign autographs for only 14 people that purchased tickets.  I’m no expert in math, but I can tell you that those 14 tickets didn’t amount to anything close to 25k.  It will be interesting to see how many dealers actually show next weekend.  This is why The Hobby is heading towards being 100% run over the internet.  I’ve talked about The Philly Show many times because its one of my favorite shows.  I’d hate to see it go down hill like this.

Update:

I also find it disturbing that they still don’t have a list of dealers who plan to attend on their website yet.  They usually have one up by now.  Perhaps they don’t want people knowing how few of them there will be.  MAB-Celebrity doesn’t have Cole Hamels on the list anymore but Hunt Auctions still does.

“The pathway is broken
And The signs are unclear
And I don’t know the reason why You brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I’m gonna walk through the valley
If You want me to

Cause I’m not who I was
When I took my first step
And I’m clinging to the promise You’re not through with me yet
so if all of these trials bring me closer to you
Then I will walk through the fire
If You want me to.”

-If You Want Me To

Return of Migrants : Kashmir is under the control of India………………… Daya Sagar Sharma

A Look Through the Mist

The upper reaches of areas of Doda, {Bhaderwa/ Kishtwar/ Ramban } Rajouri, Poonch, Udhampur, Kathua too are affected by militancy as are areas like Baramulla, Kupwara , Anantnag, The muslim population in these areas too is reasonable large. The people are poor and good number is Hindu in these areas. So far the official data as is available does not indicate appreciable displacement / migration from areas outside Kashmir valley though there have been many brutal killing and rape cases there. Under the circumstances all Kashmiri { Valley }Muslims are being misunderstood by the other world as being fully involved in pushing out Kashmiri Hindus from valley. Where as the truth is not so. Delay is causing a great damage to the good will of Kashmiri Muslims as well as the ties between Hindu & Muslim could weaken more out of ignorance. Though the number of Kashmiri Migrant families that actually migrated from 1989 to 1991 { majority being Kashmiri Hindu …Pundits } from Kashmir valley is not known , the Kashmiri Pundit families who have got them selves registered as Kashmiri migrants { some also call their self as internally displaced } may be over 50000. The number of muslims / Sikhs / non Kashmiri speaking Hindu may be hardly 2 to 3 percent of this number. So when we refer to the return of Kashmir Migrants to Kashmir valley , it is taken as with reference to return of Kashmiri Hindu to Kashmir Valley { that too particularly Kashmiri pundits }. Local Hindu from Kashmir Valley is out for over 20 years. It makes the out side world think convincingly that India has some serious problem in J&K. The question that more disturbs is that when 500000 to 600000 Indian tourists { nearly 90 percent non muslims } can visit Kashmir Valley for leisure and vacations { including honeymooning } every year over a period of 4 months , why can not the safe return of Kashmiri migrants be made possible ?. In case some one contests that since the majority community { muslims } of Kashmir is not for India the Kashmiri Pundits so are not safe in valley. In case for argument sake it is accepted then the another question that rises is that how are 500000 to 600000 Indian tourists { nearly over 90 percent non muslims } are visiting Kashmir Valley for leisure and vacations { including honeymooning } every year over a period of 4 months ? Some KP migrants do argue that the tourist Indians visit Kashmir forgetting their identity ? This way one would even conclude that 100 crore “Indians are migrants” as regards Kashmir Valley . This is not a convincing plea. Rather it more questions the seriousness of New Delhi in cooling down the turmoil in JK. The foreign countries under the circumstances are getting the impressions that {i} it is only Kashmir valley that is disturbed and Kashmiri majority { muslims } had not accepted 1947 accession {ii} it is only Kashmiri Hindu { Pundits } who express rights over the land of Kashmir valley and oppose the separatist movement {iii}Jammu and Kashmir State { Particularly Kashmir region }is under the influence of separatist and externally sponsored terrorist activities {iv} the GOI has no control worth providing socio economic security to the Kashmiri Hindu or those who dare profess Indian nationality in Kashmir. Where as the facts are surely not like this. Yes one could say that New Delhi has not so far set the return of Kashmiri Hindu to valley as its first priority. No doubt as regards the economic and social support to Kashmiri Migrants Government of India has been reasonably considerate in sensing the miseries of those Kashmiri Pandits who had to run away from Kashmir Province in 1989/1990. Some of them still staying in the tents and one room tentaments provided by the J&K Government at Nagrota, Muthi, Mishriwala and Roopnagar near Jammu. POJK is under the control of Pakistan but Kashmir is under the control of India. POJK Displaced persons were displaced in 1947 from Pakistan Controlled parts of Kashmir { Jammu and Kashmir }.Sensitizing the conditions for socio economic return of POK Displaced Persons does have international compulsion . But Kashmiri migrants are away from their own homes in Indian controlled territories of the day. Government of India proposed { 2004/2005 } to add one more pacca room to the one room accommodation already provided to migrants and laying foundations of multi storey pucca apartments in 2007 for Kashmiri Migrants outside Valley have surely been wrong signals { indirectly strengthening terrorist / separatist cause signaling that GOI is not hopeful for ensuring the safe return of Kashmiri Hindu to the Valley even after 20 years } to the World community. Kashmiri kids who were in primary class in 1989 are now { 2009 } the thinking youth force of Kashmir valley. The way time has been lost has made many of them to start thinking of some dispute regarding their Nationality. Non Hindu Kashmiri is regularly so mis informed after 1989 about the intentions of Bharat Sarkar that they do not much believe in confidence building efforts of the government officials as well as the security forces . They doubt the trueness of government loyalists. The local Kashmiries are getting more and more confused ; more and more misinformed. Those who are staying back in Kashmir valley and are in teens / twenties this day have very less positive information about Kashmir being India. Enough rearing grounds have emerged for anti India forces ( Pakistan, foreign mercenaries and local insurgent/ Pakistan loyalists) to win confidence/ sympathies against India. The socio political environment in J&K is deteriorating. Any more delay for return of Hindu migrants would dismantle the communal matrix beyond normal reconstruction. The Kashmiri Hindu migrant kids of 1989/90 too are the youth of the day. They too carry horrifying memories of 1989/1990 when their parents had to run away carrying what ever they could pick. All these years it is the Kashmiri Pundit who has conducted more of the seminars, workshops, conventions on the subject of Migration from Kashmir valley . Surely Pundits were forced by the circumstances to paint the secularism of Kashmiri muslims that rough {may be were under compulsions to speak not good about the secular credentials Kashmiri Muslims }. Under the present circumstances they will not find it easy to live with the post 1990 Muslim Community. Unless assured of ultimate social security and economic benefits .Some migrant leadership may not feel the prevailing security conditions worth taking risk of losing the benefits in education, business , jobs and sympathies they are presently getting as migrants. The response the Prime Ministers package for the Kashmiri Migrants has got could make some to even infer that the Kashmiri Migrants too do not appear to be that much interested for return to Kashmir. Migration has not taken place due to economic reasons and hence government of India should not hope possible return in economic packages only. There fore some hard decision will have to be taken. Government of India must set return of migrants to Kashmir Valley as priority number one. Delay in their return is causing more and more damage to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as a whole..

 ( * Daya Sagar is a social activist and senior coloumnist on Kashmir affairs dayasagr at yahoo.co.uk }

If you are planning a European tourist destination, you should consider the Aosta Valley region of northern Italy bordering France and Switzerland. Depending on your specific interests, this beautiful area might be an ideal vacation spot. You can get classic Italian food, and wash it down with fine local wine. Although it is by far the smallest Italian region, the Aosta Valley boasts about 150 historic castles, forts, and towers. Its Alpine skiing is some of the best in Europe.

The medieval village of Bard is quite near the northern border of Piedmont. In addition to its historic homes perched on a mountain overlooking a gorgeous gorge you can visit the Twelfth Century Forte di Bard that held up Napoleon’s military progress for almost two weeks. He had it destroyed. The fort was reconstructed in the Nineteenth Century.

St. Vincent, a spa resort for well over one hundred years, is home to the Casino de la Vallée. It is one of the largest casinos in all Europe and a favorite of jet setters.

Breuil-Cervina at the base of the Matterhorn is a skiing village that was founded in the 1930s during Mussolini’s rule. There are some 200 kilometers (120 miles) of ski runs on the Italian side of the mountain, which are said to be best for intermediate-level skiers. Experts definitely prefer the Swiss side of the mountain.

The city of Aosta has about thirty five thousand residents, more than one quarter of the region’s total population. It was a Roman garrison two thousand years ago. The Arch of Augustus commemorates Rome’s victory over a Celtic tribe. Be sure to see the Eleventh Century Gothic Collegiate Church of Saint Orso. The Porta Praetoria (Pretorial Gate) is still in good shape, some two thousand years after construction.

We end our tour of the Aosta Valley at Courmayeur on the sunny side of Mont Blanc. Yes both easy and difficult ski slopes are lacking and it is often overcrowded. But it’s beautiful, and nightlife abounds. In the summer you should take the Telepherique de l’Aiguille du Midi and enjoy the spectacular view of a French glacier.

Aosta Valley cuisine is strongly influenced by five hundred years of French rule. The real Fontina cheese comes only from the Aosta Valley. See our companion article I Love Touring Italy – The Aosta Valley for a sample menu and more information on Aosta Valley wines plus an in-depth examination of the area’s tourist attractions. Very little Aosta Valley wine is sold in North America. So that gives you another reason to visit this beautiful region.

One of my favorite shows to attend is The Philly Show which is held at The Valley Forge Convention Center in Valley Forge, PA.  Before Hunt Auctions purchased the show last year they would only get one or two autograph guest to come over the whole weekend.  After Hunt Auctions acquired The Philly Show they have been able to bring in a bunch of big ticket athletes for collectors to meet ranging from Willie Mays to Frank Robinson.  The next Philly Show takes place on Dec. 4-6 and is a must for any Phillies fan.  Check out the lineup of athletes scheduled to attend.

Saturday 12-5:

• Pete Rose
• Mike Schmidt
• Todd Pratt

Sunday 12-6:

• Steve Carlton
• Scott Eyre
• Keith Moreland
• Shane Victorino
• Cliff Lee

I enjoy getting in person autographs, because you can obtain cards almost anywhere you live.  It doesn’t matter if you have a hometown card shop or not.  Collectors can always go to the internet.  Meeting athletes like this can’t be done all the time.  The dealers must do well at these shows if Hunt Auctions continues to bring in big celebrities like this.  I plan to attend Saturday and hope to get some great autographs and photos to share.  I might also bust a box or two   You can learn more about the show from MAB Celebrity and The Philly Show’s site.  More autograph guests could possibly be added in the future.

The town or village of Orosi seems worlds away from San Jose or the cities that surround its perimeter, although it is less than 40 miles from the city itself. It is another world altogether

The mountains that surround the valley, and the clouds that linger above act like a container holding the energy in. It is a place where both people and the town dogs stroll down the middle of the streets, stopping and greeting along the way. it is a place where nothing much seems to be in any sense of a hurry. It is worlds away from the city and i feel different here. On Sunday after a first communion or confirmation at the old church girls in fancy white dresses and boys in their new suits walked through town on their way home with their families.

I fall asleep listening to the crickets or something that sounds like them, rain a bit on the tin roof, the occasional barking of dogs, and wake up to the birds, the rooster who does not know when to stop, church bells on a sunday morn, a dog barking, a voice outside, eventually a car and then happy sounds as the pools at the springs next door come to life with children playing.

The sky is grey, a bit of blue this morning which raised the mood. The damp air turns to mist to drizzle to rain and back again, moisture is contained in all. Water flows through the drainage gullies beside the roads , and puddles abound on those roads that are unpaved. All is green and lush, and the sky is grey. The tops of mountains that surround come in and out of view, shrouded by the clouds. I am told that the tallest volcano in the country is near, and for the moment, i will just have to believe it. The rainy season is coming to an end, and the air hangs heavy. The rain permeates all, a dampness to all i touch and to the air i breathe.

The valley acts like a container, holding the energy in. From the centre of town you can not see out, beyond the lush mountains that surround. The sky on Sunday was heavy, holding all in with a solid mass of grey above. And in the rain, i become sluggish myself, not venturing beyond the core of the town or often the hostel where i stay. I feel like i am in a fishbowl of green, being observed by all around – an outsider, a solo gringo woman, some say hi and others look away.

I know it is not as isolated and contained as it appears. There is movement here, but it is calm and seems at peace. I am here, outsiders come and go, to visit, to`study spanish, but i do not believe overwhelm the place (and i sense mixed feelings about our presence). The green bus goes through town throughout the day, taking people in and out the town to Cartago, a city and the world beyond. Yet, the cities seem a world away.

I write this on my first full day here, and i feel contained and slow.

(I will upload photos eventually – but this is a small town with old computers and slow connections)

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There are thousands collections of Live internet TV hosting sites and video feeds. You can Watch Live streaming TV Stations or channels from many source. But to search and point your intended channels sometimes is very difficult since one site can offer thousand of free TV sport channel in just one day.  So Here, we provide summary of links that will provide free live streaming TV sports. In this site We focus on the  Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, soccer and other more spesific segment. Most watch free TV stations we cover for  Sport here are from, USA & Canada and some other popular sports in Europe and arround the world. Check out our featured free tv sport online live stream today 24 November 2009 (11/24) for NCAA Basketball – Mississippi Valley State vs Saint Louis.  We will find the links from ustream, justin tv, p2p, sopcast, tvu, tvants, uusee, etc. So don’t need to worry about miss one of our favorite TV sport game match, we can now catch them online, usually just 24 hours later it will be stored in the hosting site, it depends on their policy. You can easily select and click to watch NCAA Basketball – Mississippi Valley State vs Saint Louis and others sport channel online stream here.

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Some of the better-known towns in the Val di Sole region of Italy include Croviana, Dimaro, Male, Vermiglio and Pejo. If your holiday search involves history and culture, you’ll be happy to know that within these towns are some of the oldest European histories. The first recorded history starts thousands of years before Christ when the Celts came and made the valley their home. Next, the Rhaetians and Romans set up their respectable empires, taming the valley into something livable and productive.

After the Franks and bishops of Trento passed their rule here, the place succumbed to Austro-Hungarian supremacy. With the passing of both World Wars, Val di Sole has encountered some of the most illustrious historical events in the world. Today, visitors can visit these fortresses and bastions to relive the days of castles, fortifications, churches and treasures. Val di Sole has one of the topmost concentrated records of living history in Italy.

Within the valley there’s so much to see. You’ll find the St. Maria church at Pellizzano worth your time. Or, you can venture to the old town of Male with its Museo della Civilta Solandra and Parish church. A day-trip to the St. Agata in Commezzadura or an active day-hike or cross-country ski from Croviana to Dimaro will illustrate the living history of the Val di Sole region.

If you’re more into architecture and castles, you won’t want to miss the Castle of Ossana and Parco della Pace or Pejo’s troubled past. A quick stop at Cusiano to the painted cycle dedication to St. Maria Maddalena is worth a snapshot for the photo album too. With all this history plus skiing, the Val di Sole remains one of the hottest Italian winter spots.

If you’re more into searching out nature over history, Val di Sole can keep you from idleness. There is the Adamello Brenta Natural Park to the south and the Stelvio National Park to the north, where over 35% of the land is still protected. Together, these two parks are the Val di Sole natural wonders. The Adamello Brenta Natural Park, for instance, houses an alpine wilderness and brown bears. The Stelvio National Park is much larger and runs from the Peio to Rabbi valley. The park boasts some of the largest populations of wild animals in all of Italy and perhaps all of Europe.

Once you’ve tasted the history and natural beauty that is Val di Sole, Italy, you’ll enjoy the mountains and valleys even more by skiing and other snow activities. The ski area offers over 380 kilometers of ski runs at a fraction of other Alp resorts. Downhill skiing, ski mountaineering (see below), cross-country skiing (55 kilometers worth), snowshoeing and Nordic excursions make Val di Sole unbounded. Plus, it’s really easy to search out the lifts by way of the Dolomiti Express train once you’ve bought the Superskirama Dolomiti Adamello Brenta Ski Pass. The

I AM FEELING GOOD

Short Fiction   -   Pure Romance   -   A Love Story

By 

VIKRAM KARVE

Dear Reader, it is a cold morning and during my morning walk this story, one of my earliest writings, suddenly came to my mind and then perambulated in me. It made me feel good. I am sure it will make you feel good too!

I felt good.

My eyes feasted on the snow-clad Himalayan Mountain peaks painted honey-gold by the first rays of sunlight.

Behind me, deep down, was the resplendent Doon valley.

I breathed in slowly, mouth and nose together, relishing the pure, cold, nourishing mountain air.

I felt on top of the world, literally and figuratively, as I stood high in the middle of nowhere on a refreshingly cold bright morning, undecided what I was going to do, or where I was going to go.

What greater freedom than not having anything to do or anywhere to go!

I felt I was flying like a bird in the sky, with no one to take my freedom away.

“Something exciting is going to happen today,” said a tingling sensation within me, as if I were on the top of a high roller-coaster ready to plunge into unknown depths.

Suddenly, at the spur of the moment I decided to visit Victor, and with a spring in my step started walking towards Landour.

“Who’s Piyu ?” I asked Victor, picking up and opening the book lying on the bedside table.

“Piyu?” Victor said, his voice feigning ignorance but his eyes gave him away.

“Yes. Piyu! It’s written here in this book…‘ To my darling Victor, with fond memories of those wonderful moments at Port Blair. Love Piyu ‘… And Wow! Look at the lovely cursive feminine handwriting. So delicate. If her handwriting is so beautiful, she must be really gorgeous. A real beauty! Tell me. Who is she?” I asked teasingly.

“Shalini, you shouldn’t pry into others’ private matters,” Victor said.

“Private ? This is no personal dairy. It’s ‘Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov’. I’m taking it to read.”

“No,” Victor shouted and started to move his wheelchair towards me.

I know I had touched a raw nerve.

“I’m sorry,” I said and gave him the book.

He opened it and stared at Piyu’s handwriting.

“I thought there were no secrets between us,” I said.

“There aren’t,” he said.

“Except Piyu?”

“Please Shalu…….”

“You want to tell me about her?”

“Okay,” Victor said. And then he told me. About Piyu. And him. And their days in Port Blair. Maybe not everything. But whatever he wanted to tell me, he told me.

“Piyu ? A funny name?” I said.

“That’s what I called her. Like you call me Victor.”

I left it at that and said, “Now there are no secrets between us?”

“No! Now there are no secrets between us!” Victor said and gave me the book, “Read it, Shalu. There’s a story called ‘The Darling’. You’re just like the heroine. Always trying to mother me.”

“That’s because you are a naughty boy,” I teased.

“Naughty boy? I’m almost an old man. You should play with girls of your own age.”

“Play? You think I’m a small kid to play Barbie Doll? And you’re not that old either. You are just thirty.”

“I am twice your age.”

“Girls mature faster,” I said. “And your mental age is the same as mine.”

“Come on. You’re just a kid compared to me. I am a man of the world with a lot of experiences.”

“Like Piyu ………” I bit my tongue and said, “I’m sorry.”

“Piyu is a closed chapter,” Victor said.

“I’ve forgotten her,” I said “Piyu will never come between us again.”

“Promise?”

“I Promise.”

“Shalu, why don’t you come to meet me more often?” Victor asked.

“I don’t want to disturb you too much,” I replied.

“Disturb me?” he smiled. “It is impossible to disturb me. You see, I never do anything. Every day is a holiday for me, from morning to night, from the moment I get up to the moment I sleep, there is nothing to do, nothing to look forward to…”

“Don’t speak like that,” I said.

“Okay. But please come more often, Shalu. You make me feel good.”

“You too make me feel good!” I said.

It was true.

Talking to someone who needs comforting seems to make one’s own troubles go away.

“I’ll come on Wednesday. We’ve got a holiday,” I said.

“Promise?”

“Yes. We’ll discuss Anton Chekhov,” I said holding up the book.

“The Darling?”

“The Darling!” I said.

“Okay. Bye. Take care,” he said and lovingly looked at me as I began to walk away.

Victor had come into my life on a cold and rainy evening just a few months back.

I had slipped and fractured my leg playing basketball. It was a simple fracture.

Victor was convalescing from a severe injury to both his legs. His was a complex case, and for months he was confined to a wheelchair not knowing whether or when he would be able to walk again.

Actually, his name wasn’t Victor – he was Vivek – but everyone called him Victor, so I too started calling him Victor.

At first I called him Victor uncle. But as our friendship grew, somewhere on the way, the ‘uncle’ dropped. And now there were no secrets between us.

On Tuesday evening I rushed to see Victor bunking the self-study period.

“A clandestine visit,” I joked.

“Better be careful, Shalu. If your warden finds out, she may think something.”

“Let her,” I said, “I came to tell you I won’t be coming tomorrow.”

“Oh, no! I was looking forward to discussing Anton Chekhov with you.”

“Daddy is coming to Dehradun for some urgent work. He wants me to meet him at the station. He rang up the Principal for permission.”

“That’s great. I’m dying to meet your Dad. Make sure you bring him up here to Mussoorie.”

“I’ll try,” I said.

“You must. I want to ask him for your hand,” he said, tongue-in-cheek.

“How cute,” I said coyly.

“I’ll miss you,” he said.

“Take care.”

“You too take care. Okay Bye,” I said and rushed back to my hostel.

On Wednesday morning I left Mussoorie at six by the first bus and reached Dehradun railway station just in time for the express from Delhi which steamed in at eight.

Daddy was the first to get down from the AC coach and the moment he saw me his face lit up and he gave me a tight warm hug and smothered my cheeks with kisses.

“Please Papa,” I said embarrassed, “People are looking.”

“I feel so good when I see you, Shalu,” he said.

Papa kept the bag he was holding next to me and said, “Look after this. I’ll get the rest of the luggage.”

He beckoned to a porter and went back into the coach.

“Rest of the luggage?” I wondered.

Normally Papa travelled light, with just one bag.”

Soon there were three bags, a basket and a tall young woman with a small child in her arms standing beside Papa.

“Shalu, this is Ms. Bhattacharya. We travelled together from Delhi,” Papa introduced the woman, who smiled a sweet hello, and we began following the porter to the exit.

I looked at the woman through the corner of my eye. She was a real beauty, fair, with a skin like smooth cream. She looked straight ahead, as if looking at a distant object, and walked on expressionless.

But I noticed the way my Papa stole glances at her when he thought I wasn’t looking and I knew that she was much more than a mere fellow passenger.

I felt a tingle of excitement. Something was brewing. Maybe Papa was falling in love. Ten years after mummy had gone.

My father walked with a spring in his step, pulling his stomach in and thrusting his chest out.

“You seem very happy, Papa,” I said mischievously.

“Yes. Yes.” he said, “I’m so happy to see you, Shalu. You look so good.”

He opened the door of the taxi and looked at her, trying to mask the undisguised love in his eyes. It seemed a desperate case of thunderbolt.

I decided to have a bit of fun, quickly got in the car, and said, “Thanks, Papa, for treating me like a lady.”

Then I looked at the woman and said, “Bye Auntie.”

“Auntie is coming with us,” Papa said, “Shalu, you sit in front.”

“It’s okay, I’ll sit in front,” Ms. Bhattacharya said.

“There’s place for all of us at the back,” I said. “We can keep the basket in front next to the driver.”

I shifted, she sat next to me with the baby on her lap, Papa next to her on the other side and we drove in silence through Palton Bazar towards Rajpur road.

I kept quiet, waiting for Papa to tell me everything, but he too remained silent, probably because of the driver.

He got off outside an office. “You two can go to the guest house and freshen up. I’ll join you after finishing my work.

We sat alone at the breakfast table. The baby was sleeping inside. I looked at Ms. Bhattacharya. She looked so elegant yet youthful.

Late twenties? Maybe! Or maybe a bit younger.

I was dying to ask her everything, wondering what to say, when she looked into my eyes and spoke softly, “Shalu, I want to be your mother.”

I was touched by the way she phrased it.

I can’t begin to describe the emotions I felt, but instinctively I blurted out, “Why didn’t Papa tell me?”

She touched my hand and said, “He felt shy, embarrassed. You know how he is. He wanted me to tell you. And leave the decision to you.” She paused, and said; “I know it’s difficult for you. I promise we’ll do what you want. But try to understand. Your Papa feels very lonely.”

“And you?” I asked.

“I am lonely too,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Suddenly she started to cry into her handkerchief, “I’m sorry,” she said, got up, and went into her room.

I sat confused.

She had been so calm and composed. And suddenly she broke down.

Had I said something wrong?

Maybe I was too young to understand. All I wanted was that Papa should be happy, everyone should be happy; even she should be happy.

Ms. Bhattacharya came out of the room. She had washed up, done up her face and looked so beautiful, so vulnerable, that I instantly felt like hugging her.

Something inside told me that she would make Papa very happy. And me too!

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just that sometimes you wait for a moment and when it comes you don’t know what to do with it.”

 “I like you,” I said. “I know you’ll make Papa happy. Only I wish Papa had told me. Shall I call you mummy?”

She smiled, “Come on Shalini. Be my friend. Call me Priya.”

“Okay,” I held out my hand, “Priya, let’s be friends. And you call me Shalu.”

“Shalu, actually even I wanted your Papa to tell you,” she said.

“He must’ve been embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed?”

“To tell me that he’s fallen in love at his age.”

“He’s only 43.”

“And you, Priya?”

“28. Oh come on, I shouldn’t be telling you my age.”

“You look 25,” I said.

She blushed. The baby cried. She went inside.

I went into my room and lay on the bed. What a day! I just couldn’t wait to tell Victor all this. He’d die laughing. Maybe I should marry him. We are so happy together. If Papa can marry Priya, why can’t I marry Victor?

They – 43 and 28 – Adult Love!

We – 15 and 30 – Puppy Love?

It’s not fair, isn’t it?

I drifted into sleep.

When I woke up, Papa was sitting beside me on the bed.

“It’s past one,” he said. “Let’s go for lunch.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Papa?” I asked.

His cheeks, his ears became red. He avoided my eyes.

“I guessed it the moment I saw you two at the station,” I said.

“You’ve really grown up, Shalu,” Papa said. “I’m so happy you have accepted her and your little brother.”

“Brother?” I said dumbstruck, and slowly comprehension dawned on me. I closed my eyes. All sorts of thoughts entered my brains. And suddenly everything was clear. “Oh yes. My little brother.”

Lunch passed off in a trance and soon we were on our way to Mussoorie. I’d wanted to go alone by bus, but Papa wouldn’t hear of it. He had work at the site office near Mussoorie and Priya wanted to see my school. She hadn’t been to Mussoorie before.

It was almost five when Papa got off at the site office and we were cruising on the Mall on the way to my school. Priya was looking out of the window as if searching for something. Suddenly she asked the driver to stop.

“I have to get something. Please look after the baby for a moment,” she said.

I took the baby in my lap and saw her enter Hackman’s, the biggest departmental store in Mussoorie.

She returned fast. “A small gift for you, Shalu” she said giving me a gift-wrapped packet and an envelope containing a greeting card.

I opened the envelope. It was a ‘Thank-you’ card.

She had written a message on the inside of the card:  “…To my darling daughter and friend, Shalini…”

I kept on starting at the beautiful handwriting, unable to read further.

Instantly, I recognized the same unique familiar lovely cursive handwriting, so feminine, so delicate.

Tremors started reverberating in my stomach, like a roller coaster. My pulse was racing. The car negotiated the steep road past Picture Palace up the winding slopes of Landour.

“Priya, look,” I said pointing out of the car window, “that’s the oldest building in Mussoorie. It’s called Mullingar. Isn’t it just like the Cellular Jail?”

“Yes,” she said.

“You’ve seen Cellular Jail?” I asked.

“Of course,” she said. “Many times.”

“You’ve been to Port Blair?” I persisted.

“Yes. I’ve lived there. It’s a lovely place,” she said.

“How lucky,” I said. “I’ve only seen pictures of Cellular Jail.”

Silence. Pregnant silence.

Then I spoke, looking at her child seated on her lap, “Baby. He’s so cute. How old is he?”

“Six months,” she said.

“You haven’t named him?

“Oh yes,” she said, “we call him Baby, his real name is Vivek.”

“Vivek?”

“Yes. Vivek ,” she said “It’s a nice name, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I answered.

I patted the driver on the shoulder and said, “Seedha Le Chalo. Jaldi. Drive fast. To Landour Hospital.”

“Hospital?” Priya asked flabbergasted.

“I want you to meet someone,” I said.

The car stopped outside the hospital. “Come,” I said, and Priya holding her baby in her arms followed me towards the door of Victor’s room.

I opened the door and said, “Come Piyu. Go right in. Your Victor is waiting for you, for both of you.”

I didn’t wait to see the expression on her face.

I quickly turned and ran to the car and shouted to the driver, “Driver – jaldi karo. Be quick. Take me to the site office. Fast.”

As the car descended down the steep slopes of Landour, past Char-Dukan, towards Picture Palace at the end of the Mall, I took out Anton Chekhov’s book from my purse.

I’ll have plenty of time to read it now.

Maybe I’ll keep it as a souvenir to remember Victor.

I opened the book, read on the first page: “To my darling Victor…Love. Piyu.”

I took out my cell-phone and sent an SMS to Victor: “Happy Reunion!”

Then I turned the page and began reading Anton Chekhov’s enthralling short story ‘The Darling.’

As I write this I am feeling good.

Yes, I am feeling good.

Don’t ask me why.

Happiness goes when you speak of it.

VIKRAM KARVE  

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Appetite for a Stroll

http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

vikramkarve@sify.com

อันดับ # 1 ในทวีปอเมริกาเหนือโดยผู้อ่านนิตยสารสกี, กวางย์รีสอร์ทในยูทาห์เป็นที่ตั้ง 300 นิ้วของหิมะประจำปีพร้อม 2,026 ไร่สภาพภูมิประเทศ skiable. กวางย์รีสอร์ทยังจัดโอลิมปิกฤดูหนาว 2,002 เกมส์รวมทั้งสลาลอม, ทางอากาศและกิจกรรมเจ้าพ่อ. อ่านเกี่ยวกับรีสอร์ทและอ่านเคล็ดลับและเทคนิคสำหรับการซื้อตั๋วยก ส่วนลด กวางย์รีสอร์ทในยูทาห์.

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ออนไลน์ช้อปปิ้งการต่อรองราคาสินค้าตามฤดูกาลสามารถบันทึกคุณเงินดี. ไม่เพียงแต่ในตั๋วลิฟท์แต่บ่อยครั้งที่คุณกำสามารถพำนัก, ตั๋วลิฟท์ airfare, คุณเช่ารถเช่าและสกี. เมื่อคุณหนังสือเหล่านี้ส่วนในวันหยุดของคุณทั้งหมดเปอร์เซ็นต์ ส่วนลด ที่คุณสามารถบันทึกหลายร้อยดอลลาร์. สำหรับการรวมองค์ประกอบ vacation สำหรับกวาง Valley เริ่มค้นหา 2-3 เดือนล่วงหน้าถ้าไม่.
หากคุณยืดหยุ่นกับตารางเวลากวาง vacation สกีย์ของคุณทำไมไม่มาในฤดูปิด. อัตราการเล่นสกีที่ถูกกว่าปกติเนื่องจากเป็นที่พำนักและ airfare. สิ่งที่ดีเกี่ยวกับการเล่นสกีที่กวางย์เป็นรีสอร์ทที่มีจำนวนเงินสูงสุดของ skiers ต่อ diem ที่ป้องกันไม่ให้เกินความแออัดและสร้างยกน้อยมากบรรทัด.

Daily Bible Reading, Thoughts, and a prayer for November 21st

Today is the 21st of November.  This is the Daily Bible Reading, thoughts, and prayer starter for today.  Today we are reading from the Contemporary English Version Bible.  We’ll begin today from Ezekiel 42:1-43:27.  We will continue with James 5:1-20, Psalms 119:1-116 and Proverbs 28:6-7.

Ezekiel 42:1-43:27

 ^1-2After the man and I left the temple and walked back to the outer courtyard, he showed me a set of rooms on the north side of the west building. This set of rooms was one hundred seventy feet long and eighty-five feet wide. ³On one side of them was the thirty-four feet of open space that ran alongside the temple,  and on the other side was the sidewalk that circled the outer courtyard. The rooms were arranged in three levels ⁴with doors that opened toward the north, and in front of them was a walkway seventeen feet wide and one hundred seventy feet long. ⁵The rooms on the top level were narrower than those on the middle level, and the rooms on the middle level were narrower than those on the bottom level. ⁶The rooms on the bottom level supported those on the two upper levels, and so these rooms did not have columns like other buildings in the courtyard. ^7-8To the north was a privacy wall eighty-five feet long, ^9-10and at the east end of this wall was the door leading from the courtyard to these rooms. There was also a set of rooms on the south side of the west building. ¹¹These rooms were exactly like those on the north side, and they also had a walkway in front of them. ¹²The door to these rooms was at the east end of the wall that stood in front of them. ¹³The man then said to me:

   These rooms on the north and south sides of the temple are the sacred rooms where the LORD’s priests will eat the most holy offerings. These offerings include the grain sacrifices, the sacrifices for sin, and the sacrifices to make things right. ¹⁴When the priests are ready to leave the temple, they must go through these rooms before they return to the outer courtyard. They must leave their sacred clothes in these rooms and put on regular clothes before going anywhere near other people.

 ¹⁵After the man had finished measuring the buildings inside the temple area, he took me back through the east gate and measured the wall around this area. ¹⁶He used his measuring stick to measure the east side of this wall; it was eight hundred forty feet long. ^17-19Then he measured the north side, the south side, and the west side of the wall, and they were each eight hundred forty feet long, ²⁰and so the temple area was a perfect square. The wall around this area separated what was sacred from what was ordinary.

 ¹The man took me back to the east gate of the temple, ²where I saw the brightness of the glory of Israel’s God coming from the east. The sound I heard was as loud as ocean waves, and everything around was shining with the dazzling brightness of his glory. ³This vision was like the one I had seen when God came to destroy Jerusalem and like the one I had seen near the Chebar River.

   I immediately bowed with my face to the ground, ⁴and the LORD’s glory came through the east gate and into the temple. ⁵The LORD’s Spirit lifted me to my feet and carried me to the inner courtyard, where I saw that the LORD’s glory had filled the temple. ⁶The man was standing beside me, and I heard the LORD say from inside the temple: ⁷Ezekiel, son of man, this temple is my throne on earth. I will live here among the people of Israel forever. They and their kings will never again disgrace me by worshiping idols at local shrines or by setting up memorials to their dead kings. ⁸Israel’s kings built their palaces so close to my holy temple that only a wall separated them from me. Then these kings disgraced me with their evil ways, and in my fierce anger I destroyed them. ⁹But if the people and their kings stop worshiping other gods and tear down those memorials, I will live among them forever. ¹⁰The people of Israel must suffer shame for sinning against me, so tell them about my holy temple. Let them think about it, ¹¹then if they are truly sorry, describe for them the design and shape of the temple, the gates, the measurements, and how the buildings are arranged. Explain the regulations about worshiping there, then write down these things, so they can study and obey them.

    ¹²The temple area on my holy mountain must be kept sacred! This is the most important law about the temple.

gutter twenty inches wide and twenty inches deep, with a ten inch ledge on the outer rim. ^14-17The altar rested on a base and had three sections, each one of them square. The bottom section was twenty-seven feet on each side and three feet high. The middle section was twenty-four feet on each side and seven feet high, and it had a ten inch rim around its outer edge. The top section, which was twenty feet on each side and seven feet high, was the place where sacrifices were burned, and the four corners of the top section looked like the horns of a bull. The steps leading up to the altar were on the east side.

 ¹⁸The LORD God said:

   Ezekiel, son of man, after the altar is built, it must be dedicated by offering sacrifices on it and by splattering it with blood. Here is what you must do: ¹⁹The priests of the Levi tribe from the family of Zadok the priest are the only ones who may serve in my temple–this is my law. So give them a young bull to slaughter as a sacrifice for sin. ²⁰Take some of the animal’s blood and smear it on the four corners of the altar, some on the corners of the middle section, and some more on the rim around its edge. That will purify the altar and make it fit for offering sacrifices to me. ²¹Then take the body of the bull outside the temple area and burn it at the special place.

    ²²The next day, a goat that has nothing wrong with it must be offered as a sacrifice for sin. Purify the altar with its blood, just as you did with the blood of the bull. ²³Then choose a young bull and a young ram that have nothing wrong with them, ²⁴and bring them to my temple. The priests will sprinkle salt on them and offer them as sacrifices to please me. ²⁵Each day for the next seven days, you must offer a goat and a bull and a ram as sacrifices for sin. These animals must have nothing wrong with them. ²⁶The priests will purify the altar during those days, so that it will be acceptable to me and ready to use. ²⁷From then on, the priests will use this altar to offer sacrifices to please me and sacrifices to ask my blessing. Then I will be pleased with the people of Israel. I, the LORD God, have spoken

    ⁵While here on earth, you have thought only of filling your own stomachs and having a good time. But now you are like fat cattle on their way to be butchered. ⁶You have condemned and murdered innocent people, who couldn’t even fight back.

 ⁷My friends, be patient until the Lord returns. Think of farmers who wait patiently for the spring and summer rains to make their valuable crops grow. ⁸Be patient like those farmers and don’t give up. The Lord will soon be here! ⁹Don’t grumble about each other or you will be judged, and the judge is right outside the door.

    ¹⁰My friends, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They were patient, even when they had to suffer. ¹¹In fact, we praise the ones who endured the most. You remember how patient Job was and how the Lord finally helped him. The Lord did this because he is so merciful and kind.

    ¹²My friends, above all else, don’t take an oath. You must not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. “Yes” or “No” is all you need to say. If you say anything more, you will be condemned.

    ¹³If you are having trouble, you should pray. And if you are feeling good, you should sing praises. ¹⁴If you are sick, ask the church leaders to come and pray for you. Ask them to put olive oil on you in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵If you have faith when you pray for sick people, they will get well. The Lord will heal them, and if they have sinned, he will forgive them. ¹⁶If you have sinned, you should tell each other what you have done. Then you can pray for one another and be healed. The prayer of an innocent person is powerful, and it can help a lot. ¹⁷Elijah was just as human as we are, and for three and a half years his prayers kept the rain from falling. ¹⁸But when he did pray for rain, it fell from the skies and made the crops grow.

    ¹⁹My friends, if any followers have wandered away from the truth, you should try to lead them back. ²⁰If you turn sinners from the wrong way, you will save them from death, and many of their sins will be forgiven.

 ¹Our LORD, you bless everyone   who lives right

   and obeys your Law.

    ²You bless all of those

   who follow your commands

   from deep in their hearts

    ³and who never do wrong

   or turn from you.

    ⁴You have ordered us always

   to obey your teachings;

    ⁵I don’t ever want to stray

   from your laws.

    ⁶Thinking about your commands

   will keep me from doing

   some foolish thing.

    ⁷I will do right and praise you

   by learning to respect

   your perfect laws.

    ⁸I will obey all of them!

   Don’t turn your back on me.

    ⁹Young people can live

   a clean life

   by obeying your word.

    ¹⁰I worship you

   with all my heart.

   Don’t let me walk away

   from your commands.

    ¹¹I treasure your word

   above all else;

   it keeps me from sinning

   against you.

    ¹²I praise you, LORD!

   Teach me your laws.

    ¹³With my own mouth,

   I tell others the laws

   that you have spoken.

    ¹⁴Obeying your instructions

   brings as much happiness

   as being rich.

    ¹⁵I will study your teachings

   and follow your footsteps.

    ¹⁶I will take pleasure

   in your laws

   and remember your words.

Proverbs 28:6-7

⁶It’s better to be poor

   and live right,

   than to be rich

   and dishonest.

    ⁷It makes good sense

   to obey the Law of God,

   but you disgrace your parents

   if you make friends

   with worthless nobodies.

Daily Bible Reading, Thoughts, and a prayer

Thoughts from Prayer for November 21st Bible reading

There were a lot of things that jumped at me today; this 840 foot square that is the temple; I don’t know, sometimes when I’m reading those dimensions I’m trying to picture them in my head, but I can’t quite get a context I guess, but today when I saw the square I began to see, wow this is like a thousand foot square, that’s big, that’s a big building.  That’s all I got there’s nothing spiritual there.  LOL. 

But I really did see James being his blunt self; be patient until the Lord returns and I like this, think of the farmers that wait patiently for the spring and the summer rains to make their valuable crops grow, because I believe we are in the season of harvest, and I don’t mean than in some mystical way.  Literally this is the season of harvest and it’s drawing to its close.  And we go into the winter months, so I believe this is our season of harvest too, it’s our invitation to gather, but it’s also an invitation to prepare.  It’s our invitation to finish well which is what I have been saying for the last month or more, encouraging us to look into that context how do we finish this year strong as opposed to in utter chaos through the holidays?  How do we enter this season of celebration for the birth of our Savior without going crazy?  And the shopping; and the family, and in every other possible way, how do we enjoy peacefully, steadfastly, what we are really here for, what the purpose really is and then go into the new year without thousands of dollars of more debt and on and on and on, how do we finish well?  And this is different for everyone; so I can’t sit here and say this is how you do it, I know that the Lord is giving me personally strategies in my life and in my world the way that I live to finish strong, so I can begin strong next year.  And so it is a seasonal thing and I think that is what James is alluding to, process, but you have to begin the process sometime, right?  It doesn’t just begin itself you must begin the process.  So if you haven’t; start now, today’s good, now is good, right now is good, start now. James says in once sentence he sort of sums it all up; if you are having trouble, you should pray.  I like that kind of stuff about James.  He’s pretty direct and I’m not a super direct person, but I can handle that, and I like that.  So; if you are having trouble; you should pray, and let’s do that.

Prayer for November 21st

(Prayer) Jesus; thank You, every day begins with a thank You, we are so grateful, we feel such a heart of gratitude towards You, for all that You’ve done and I know that “all that You’ve done” has become a cliché, but God when we think of all that You have done in our lives, it has great significance.  You are the King of Kings; and You are our leader, and we march at your command, and we are looking for your instructions.  Lord; reveal to us by the power of Your Holy Spirit how it is that we individually finish strong this year.  How do we do this God in our lives?  We invite You Holy Spirit into our lives; into every part of our lives, show us where we are to go, we love You Lord, we worship You, and we pray these things expecting that You’ve already begun to speak.  In Jesus name we pray.  Amen.

Have a great day.  And I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.

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Daily Bible Reading, Thoughts, and a prayer for November 20th

Today is the 20th of November.  This is the Daily Bible Reading, thoughts, and prayer starter for today.  Today we are reading from the Contemporary English Version Bible.  We’ll begin today from Ezekiel 40:28-41:26.  We will continue with James 4:1-17, Psalms 118:19-29 and Proverbs 28:3-5.

Ezekiel 40:28-41:26

 ²⁸We then went into the inner courtyard, through the gate on the south side of the temple. The man measured the gate, and it was the same size as the gates in the outer wall. ^29-30In fact, everything along the passageway was also the same size, including the guardrooms, the walls separating them, the entrance room at the far end, and the windows. This gate, like the others, was eighty-five feet long and forty-two feet wide. ³¹The entrance room of this gate faced the outer courtyard, and carvings of palm trees decorated the walls of the passageway. Eight steps led up to this gate.

    ³²Next, we went through the east gate to the inner courtyard. The man measured this gate, and it was the same size as the others. ³³The guardrooms, the walls separating them, and its entrance room had the same measurements as the other gates. The guardrooms and the entrance room had windows, and the gate was eighty-five feet long and forty-two feet wide. ³⁴The entrance room faced the outer courtyard, and the walls in the passageway were decorated with carvings of palm trees. Eight steps also led up to this gate.

    ³⁵Then the man took me to the north gate. He measured it, and it was the same size as the others, ³⁶including the guardrooms, the walls separating them, and the entrance room. There were also windows in this gate. It was eighty-five feet long and forty-two feet wide, ³⁷and like the other inner gates, its entrance room faced the outer courtyard, and its walls were decorated with carvings of palm trees. Eight steps also led up to this gate.

^38-39Inside the entrance room of the north gate, I saw four tables, two on each side of the room, where the animals to be sacrificed were killed. Just outside this room was a small building used for washing the animals before they were offered as sacrifices to please the LORD or sacrifices for sin or sacrifices to make things right. ⁴⁰Four more tables were in the outer courtyard, two on each side of the steps leading into the entrance room. ⁴¹So there was a total of eight tables, four inside and four outside, where the animals were killed, ^42-43and where the meat was placed until it was sacrificed on the altar. Next to the tables in the entrance room were four stone tables twenty inches high and thirty inches square; the equipment used for killing the animals was kept on top of these tables. All around the walls of this room was a three inch shelf.

⁴⁴The man then took me to the inner courtyard, where I saw two buildings, one beside the inner gate on the north and the other beside the inner gate on the south. ⁴⁵He said, “The building beside the north gate belongs to the priests who serve in the temple, ⁴⁶and the building beside the south gate belongs to those who serve at the altar. All of them are descendants of Zadok and are the only Levites allowed to serve as the LORD’s priests.”

 ⁴⁷Now the man measured the inner courtyard; it was one hundred seventy feet square. I also saw an altar in front of the temple.

    ⁴⁸We walked to the porch of the temple, and the man measured the doorway of the porch: It was twenty-four feet long, eight feet wide, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was five feet. ⁴⁹The porch itself was thirty-four feet by twenty feet, with steps leading up to it. There was a column on each side of these steps.

 ¹Next we went into the main room of the temple. The man measured the doorway of this room: It was ten feet wide,  ²seventeen feet long, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was eight feet. The main room itself was sixty-eight feet by thirty-four feet. ^3-4Then the man walked to the far end of the temple’s main room and said, “Beyond this doorway is the most holy place.” He first measured the doorway: It was three feet wide, ten feet long, and the distance from the doorway to the wall on either side was twelve feet. Then he measured the most holy place, and it was thirty-four feet square.

 ⁵The man measured the wall of the temple, and it was ten feet thick. Storage rooms seven feet wide were built against the outside of the wall. ⁶There were three levels of rooms, with thirty rooms on each level, and they rested on ledges that were attached to the temple walls, so that nothing was built into the walls. ⁷The walls of the temple were thicker at the bottom than at the top, which meant that the storage rooms on the top level were wider than those on the bottom level. ^[l] Steps led from the bottom level, through the middle level, and into the top level. ⁸The temple rested on a stone base ten feet high, which also served as the foundation for the storage rooms. ⁹The outside walls of the storage rooms were eight feet thick; there was nothing between these walls ¹⁰and the nearest buildings thirty-four feet away. ¹¹One door led into the storage rooms on the north side of the temple, and another door led to those on the south side. The stone base extended eight feet beyond the outside wall of the storage rooms.

¹²I noticed another building: It faced the west end of the temple and was one hundred seventeen feet wide, one hundred fifty feet long, and had walls over eight feet thick.

    ¹³The man measured the length of the temple, and it was one hundred seventy feet. He then measured from the back wall of the temple, across the open space behind the temple, to the back wall of the west building; it was one hundred seventy feet. ¹⁴The distance across the front of the temple, including the open space on either side, was also one hundred seventy feet.

    ¹⁵Finally, the man measured the length of the west building, including the side rooms on each end, and it was also one hundred seventy feet.

   The inside walls of the temple’s porch and main room

 ¹⁶were paneled with wood all the way from the floor to the windows, while the doorways, the small windows, and the three side rooms were trimmed in wood. ¹⁷The paneling stopped just above the doorway. These walls were decorated ^18-20with carvings of winged creatures and had a carving of a palm tree between the creatures. Each winged creature had two faces: A human face looking at the palm tree on one side, and a lion’s face looking at the palm tree on the other side. These designs were carved into the paneling all the way around the two rooms. ²¹The doorframe to the temple’s main room was in the shape of a rectangle.

   In front of the doorway to the most holy place was something that looked like

 ²²a wooden altar. It was five feet high and four feet square, and its corners, its base, and its sides were made of wood. The man said, “This is a reminder that the LORD is constantly watching over his temple.”

 ²³Both the doorway to the main room of the temple and the doorway to the most holy place had two doors, ²⁴and each door had two sections that could fold open. ²⁵The doors to the main room were decorated with carvings of winged creatures and palm trees just like those on the walls, and there was a wooden covering over the porch just outside these doors. ²⁶The walls on each side of this porch had small windows and were also decorated with carvings of palm trees.

James 4:1-17 ¹Why do you fight and argue with each other? Isn’t it because you are full of selfish desires that fight to control your body? ²You want something you don’t have, and you will do anything to get it. You will even kill! But you still cannot get what you want, and you won’t get it by fighting and arguing. You should pray for it. ³Yet even when you do pray, your prayers are not answered, because you pray just for selfish reasons.

    ⁴You people aren’t faithful to God! Don’t you know that if you love the world, you are God’s enemies? And if you decide to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. ⁵Do you doubt the Scriptures that say, “God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us”?  ⁶In fact, God treats us with even greater kindness, just as the Scriptures say, “God opposes everyone

   who is proud,

   but he is kind to everyone

   who is humble.”

    ⁷Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you. ⁸Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you people who can’t make up your mind. ⁹Be sad and sorry and weep. Stop laughing and start crying. Be gloomy instead of glad. ¹⁰Be humble in the Lord’s presence, and he will honor you.

¹¹My friends, don’t say cruel things about others! If you do, or if you condemn others, you are condemning God’s Law. And if you condemn the Law, you put yourself above the Law and refuse to obey either it ¹²or God who gave it. God is our judge, and he can save or destroy us. What right do you have to condemn anyone?

¹³You should know better than to say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to the city. We will do business there for a year and make a lot of money!” ¹⁴What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears. ¹⁵You should say, “If the Lord lets us live, we will do these things.” ¹⁶Yet you are stupid enough to brag, and it is wrong to be so proud. ¹⁷If you don’t do what you know is right, you have sinned.

Psalms 118:19-29¹⁹Open the gates of justice!

   I will enter and tell the LORD

   how thankful I am.

    ²⁰Here is the gate of the LORD!

   Everyone who does right

   may enter this gate.

    ²¹I praise the LORD

   for answering my prayers

   and saving me.

    ²²The stone that the builders

   tossed aside

   has now become

   the most important stone.

    ²³The LORD has done this,

   and it is amazing to us.

    ²⁴This day belongs to the LORD!

   Let’s celebrate

   and be glad today.

    ²⁵We’ll ask the LORD to save us!

   We’ll sincerely ask the LORD

   to let us win.

    ²⁶God bless the one who comes

   in the name of the LORD!

   We praise you from here

   in the house of the LORD.

    ²⁷The LORD is our God,

   and he has given us light!

   Start the celebration!

   March with palm branches

   all the way to the altar. ²⁸The LORD is my God!

   I will praise him and tell him

   how thankful I am.

    ²⁹Tell the LORD

   how thankful you are,

   because he is kind

   and always merciful.

Proverbs 28:3-5

³When someone poor takes over

   and mistreats the poor,

   it’s like a heavy rain

   destroying the crops.

    ⁴Lawbreakers praise criminals,

   but law-abiding citizens

   always oppose them.

    ⁵Criminals don’t know

   what justice means,

   but all who respect the LORD

   understand it completely.

Daily Bible Reading, Thoughts, and a prayer

Thoughts from Prayer for November 20th Bible reading

So Ezekiel is having a detailed vision to say the least; a temple that will be built, in all of it’s glory, and he is just visualizing it, at this point.  I think the thing that just jumped off the page for me today was just the last phrase; James is a very direct book, very pointed, which is fine.  But it kind of summed itself up in verse 17 today “¹⁷If you don’t do what you know is right, you have sinned.” It’s just kind of that simple; it’s not a complicated thing, do what you know is right and you know; I mean your heart does tell you, you have a sense if you slow down and listen of what you are to do.  God is not silent; He is not hidden, He is available to us.

Jill talks a lot when she does concerts about the presence, and not some mystical, I mean the closeness, the availability of God, and how she spent her life struggling through acceptance just believing that she had anything to offer.  She grew up feeling pretty much like she was maybe almost good; Good, but not quite good enough, so sort of secondary, kind of not quite there, but okay.  And she grew up feeling that that is pretty much how everyone, including God himself looked at her.  That every time she did something wrong that Jesus was crying, and this is something a lot of us have been taught through the years, so she felt like a disappointment all of the time, and that God would continually withdrawal, so she talks about parenting and the idea that okay, your kid’s coming home from school, and you get the idea that to teach them a lesson you are going to leave.  Maybe not far; maybe just down the street, but you’re going to get in the car and leave, and these little ones are going to come home and be scared to death, running all over the house looking for you; not knowing what to do.  And then a little later after you feel they have been scared literally out of their minds your going to show up and tell them see, this is what happens when you are bad.  This is not the way that God operates with his children, and so, he is available to us, and guiding us to all good things, He’s our Father.

Prayer for November 20th

(Prayer) And so; Father God, we come to You understanding what we are without You, we understand, but we embrace who we are in Christ and the love that You gave when You sent Your Son for us to rescue our hearts, to rescue us and completely change the entire playing field.  We are not who we were; we are something more, Your children, so guide us today Father, show us what is right.  Help us to know inside what is right that we will not sin against You, and guide us into all truth today, take us to where we are going God, take us to what we were born for, lead us to why we are here, so we can live the rich life which is our true destiny, what is the truth about us, as opposed to taking the time to try to get somewhere, anywhere, but not really knowing where that is.  God; we want to live purposeful lives and You have created us for a purpose, lead us there.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Have a great day.  And I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.

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