God's joy and mercy

I do not write like my husband does, I am a little more on the deep side, so forgive me as I revel a bit in God's glory and his peace.

For quite a while, at least since this last May, I have been searching for answers, searching for understanding, going through an abyss of grief and wondering what it all means and why I have to go through it, and where was God in this journey I was to take, not of my choosing. For months I have been in my own dry desert, treking forward but with no feeling inside one way or the other that God was with me. I had to my amazement quit listening to him and myself, had stopped trusting in him and myself. This year was a year of change, all too much and all too soon, with no time to digest it all.

Here it is 8 months later. There was a bible study at one our churches. I had not attended one yet, mainly I did not know they were having them on Sunday after church, which is the only time I could attend, and it also meant that I did not join Don in his church for that day, but God was pushing me towards going to one of our smallest churches in a mid winter storm, snow blowing everywhere making it hard to see, but I still made it. It was in this bible study I was reminded of three men who were thrown in the fire and God, instead of plucking them out of the fire, instead of dousing the fire, walked with them and helped keep their clothes from catching fire. The point being, God walked with them, they were not alone. And so once again, I am reminded of God's love for his children, and once again reminded of his faith in us and how he works through others. It has not been easy living here in Dundee, it can be a little on the lonely side, at least for me it has been, which has left me more to think and ponder a bit.

I am reminded every week, living here among these people, of God's grace and mercy, his loving kindess and forgiveness. The grief I have felt this past year no longer tears at me. I have given that grief over to God and said to him once again, I do not know who to deal with this by myself, please help share with me this burden and graciously he has taken it once again upon himself to do just that.

How I have been feeling these last few days reminds me of a song that we have sung at church;
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart, a fountain ever springing! All things are mine since I am his! How can I keep from singing?
Blogged by Anna

The Bullhead Feed

One of the things I have decided to do while on this internship is to engage in community interaction as often as I am able; and one of the most popular community activities in Dundee is the annual American Legion Bullhead Feed. I had never eaten bullhead before last Friday night, and as a matter of fact, Anna had never eaten Bullhead before last Friday either. But since some of the members of the community said the Bullhead Feed is something not to be missed, I convinced Anna that we should go down to the Legion Hall and give it a try.

As luck would have it, the big night of the Bullhead Feed there was a snowstorm. Still, when we got to the Legion Hall there was no place close to the building to park, so we ended up walking a half block to the building. I know that doesn't sound inconvenient, but in the middle of a snowstorm it felt like a bit of a distance. Mind you, the Legion Hall is only four blocks from our house, but since the temperature was in the single digits, and it was snowing like crazy, Anna and I opted to fire up the Iron Prairie Schooner and venture into the fresh powder.

In case you didn't know, a bullhead is a kind of fish. As it turns out it is apparently what they call here in Minnesota a "rough fish" or a "junk fish" because it is not as desirable to eat as many other species of fish. The most sought after fish around here is the Walleye, but apparently they are too expensive and prized to catch a bunch of them for a mass feed. The bullhead are plentiful, and apparently they just seine the lake to catch whatever they need. I am told that when one goes walleye fishing around here, nine times out of ten you will catch lots of bullhead and very little walleye.

So with that as background, it is hard to understand why the bullhead feed here in town is so popular. In a town of less than 100, the legion commander reported that they had fed 175 people that night! When Anna and I got there we met some people that had come up from a town over 20 miles away to eat this bullhead, and they were filling their plates for a second time when we sat with them. They mentioned over dinner that they normally make the rounds to all of the bullhead feeds in the area, and there are about ten of them. They were comparing the way the fish is prepared, and the side dishes, and pronounced the Dundee bullhead feed as "pretty good." Along with the fish, there was homemade potato salad and baked beans, as well as buttered bread. Not a healthy fare, to be sure, but "pretty good."

As far as the fish itself goes, it was served deep fried, and tasted okay, but it was rather greasy and bony, so I think I still prefer walleye. I described it to Anna as fish that tasted as if it had been left in a Skipper's fryer too long. It was okay, but not great. We, of course, told the natives that we enjoyed the bullhead feed. That isn't a lie, because the fellowship was great. A lot of the people we have met from town were there, and they were happy to see that we were willing to try their bullhead. All in all, a successful first bullhead feed. Please pass the walleye! Blogged by Don

A Real, Live Blizzard!

Well, we are currently experiencing a blizzard here. It is the 12th of January, and it is snowing hard, with wind blowing at between 45 and 50 miles per hour. The radio has been announcing cancellations all afternoon, and school is canceled around the area. The cold is not what bothers people, but what happens in a blizzard is visibility is drastically reduced. Anna and I were visiting a church member when the blizzard hit, and when we headed for home we had trouble seeing where the turn was. It would be a real problem if a school bus couldn't see where the road was and went into a ditch with a busload of kids, so that is why schools are closed.

With the wind whipping that hard we are getting some impressive drifts around the house. The snow piles that Wayne has made as he has scooped out our driveway on previous snow storms are doing a great job of steering the snow from the driveway, which is what he said they would do, but everywhere else in the yard we are getting some heavy and deep drifts. I don't know if the pictures do them justice, but here they are anyway.

In the meantime we are spending our time indoors at home, which is fine with me because it gives me time to play with my new toys! I purchased three of the volumes of the Saint John's Bible, with four more to go to complete the set of seven. They are beautiful, even if they are only shadows of the stunning originals. Here are some pictures of that, too, so you can see a little of what I'm talking about. It will be fun to read from these books on feast days at church! That's why I got them. I hope all is well with you. Winter here in Minnesota sure can be cold! But then, I knew that already. Blogged by Don.