Brothers in arms

 

The Bishop Shuffle

Each year around the end of summer, beginning of fall, there is a time of gathering for survival... Yep,yep,yep, I said "survival" and it has to do with warmth. We still have woodstoves and fire places that are some families only way for surviving the winter. It can actually be a very fun adventure because many of the places where you have to go "wooding" are high in the mountains or deep in the mountains where fallen trees need to be removed which make for excellent firewood. It is a cost effective way to provide heat throughout the winter which can become very cold. It is a time of family gathering and participating in an "historic" event. Yep, it is like going back in time to a degree, yet many have their trusty chain saws and power saws, but for our family it was a simple wood axe and a lot of man power. It is a wonderful place to live if you like adventures and the great outdoors. Some grow to hate it here but it isn't the place itself, they say it is the people, but not all the people only certain groups of people. What many do not realize is that those same type of people are every where, they are the ones that are miserable and seem to have an agenda of making everyone around them miserable as well.

Bishop is a great place compared to the cities across America because we still have the roots living that represent the truth of America and the dream of America. I am still proud to be an American and I pray for our country that we can get back on the right track to the great nation we used to be.

 

Changing Focus

When life seems to leave you with an impression that you can not change what is about to take place, then it is time to change your attitude. I had heard this growing up and the first time I heard it I can still remember thinking, “what do they know, they are so old nothing seems to faze them”. Well, maybe that is the key, the older you get the more you realize that there is always a tomorrow and tomorrows have a way of being open for new discoveries and new adventures.

Changing your attitude involves changing your focus, if you can take the negatives, such as two of my children moving away, and refocus your attention on something else for a few days; the stress and heartache have a way of disappearing for a little while. As the stress disappears and you refocus your thoughts toward something productive it gives the heart and mind a chance to heal.

There is nothing in life that is a guarantee that emotional calamities will not happen, however; there is a guarantee that if you can refocus your attention away from the calamity for a while, your mind will find an avenue to reroute those emotions and allow you the comfort of knowing, it won’t last forever. The pains and hurts have to disappear and something new will be on the horizon that will once again bring joy. It is when we remain in the middle of the calamity that we begin to deteriorate mentally and emotionally which also affects our health.

The mind plays such an important role in how we feel physically and how we feel physically can upset the balance of our internal thought patterns. This is where some people begin to have suicidal thoughts or thoughts of running away because they can not refocus away from the cause of their heartache. There are those who seek “escape” through alcohol or drugs and yes they achieve a short term fix but then they are plummeting into a deeper depression that becomes a serious life threatening disorder.

There are ways to refocus away from the heartache that seems so overwhelming and to change your attitude away from total negativity. In many eastern religions they practice meditation by focusing on inanimate objects and allowing our mind to think only on virtuous things. In the Buddhist tradition they call this Lamrim: The Stages of the Buddhist Path. I am not a Buddhist therefore I will tell you of another type of meditation that is more powerful and helpful than meditating on an inanimate object.

In Christianity meditation is a bit different because the focus is on the scriptures of the Bible. The Bible is the most read book in the world from the date of its first publishing to today. It contains words of wisdom that have reached beyond time and space and it is still relevant to today and this modern world we live in. When we meditate as Christians we are called to meditate on the things of God, the calling we have in His order and the gifts that He has blessed us with. The gifts referred to in this instance are that of love, joy, peace, forgiveness and longsuffering. The more we meditate on these things the more they begin to change our attitude and refocus us toward a more productive mental frame of mind. As we meditate we also pray and we give thanks for what God is doing in our lives. As we give thanks even for the things that are troubling us, we begin to feel a peace that is hard to explain. Some have posited this as the power of “positive thinking” but that does not even come close to the reality of what is taking place.

As we begin to meditate on the things of God and pray, we begin to feel the presence of God and His love toward us. The mind begins to “reboot” or “refocus” on the things that are good in our lives and thus we move away from the contentious or calamities that have broken us down. The more we reflect on the beauty of the love of God, the more we begin to value the life we have because it is through Him that we are made new. Changing our attitude begins in the heart and moves up to the brain and we begin to feel happiness again even in the middle of the calamity that we perceived as being hopeless.

How you feel mentally affects how you feel physically and if you feel you are so tired of living and contending just to stay alive, meditate on the beauty around you, the smile on a baby’s face, and the deep colors of the flowers that bloom, the blues of the sky and the sound of laughter. If you do not wish to meditate on the scriptures then mediate on those things that have brought you joy over your lifetime and make them a part of your present day.

You are more than just a woman, you are a beautiful creation of God, you are special in the eyes of Jesus Christ and you are more unique than anything else God has created. You have been blessed to be a woman because in you life begins again, whether it is in bringing forth children or showing others that life is precious and each individual woman has something to offer to make life more profound and ultimately glorious.

 

I am Woman

One thing I have learned recently that will now change my life forever is that you should never build your world around one single element. Some of us grew up in an age where the home was the first priority and children were the most important aspect of that priority. To have a family is part of the American dream. To have a close family is a tribute to the American family as life does not make it easy. The fast pace and the desire to succeed seem to spread the time with family thin and for some make it impossible to instill the family values that were easily passed down only 30 years ago.

Family, the concept of the American family living, sharing, growing and aging together is fading away and being replaced with the nostalgia of competing in a world for bigger, better and more expensive things. The present concept of; if we can't have the toys that sparkle and shine then we are neglecting some important aspect of life and the opportunity for our children to succeed in their desire to achieve success by virtue of what they have, what they possess, is a burden to heavy to place on women. If you can't afford to send your children to college, you feel guilty or you feel you have failed in life's expectation's, you have failed the most important role in your life and that is being "mother". This is a very sad impression now placed upon the American family and one that should not loom so ominous over our heads.

I am woman, only I learned a little too late that what I valued most was being a mother and I built my whole world around that idea. But first let me explain that at the age of 16, I had graduated from Ella Sarka Jones School of Fine Arts and had a teaching certificate. At eighteen I was teaching small children tap, ballet, acrobatics, jazz, modern dance and tumbling. It was that teaching position that gave me a great desire to want children of my own and I had just married the love of my life. The children started arriving just two years later in our marriage and we were blessed.

My children came first before everything else in my life, before my own needs and desires. I tried to be the perfect mom and I tried to make life fun and happy with our home being the one every kid wanted to come to. I tried so hard to achieve the best environment they could grow and develop in and become strong independent adults. I was the mom who home schooled and gave them a strong foundation to build upon, they were ~ are my life.

Beginning at the age of twenty years old when I gave birth to my first child I made a vow to God to raise them according to the Word of God and each one of my six children were dedicated to the Lord in a Church before witnesses as soon as they were 6 weeks old. For the most part, I accomplished that goal and our family has been close and when one grieves, they all grieve, when one rejoices, they all rejoice. They still quarrel but it is only between a couple of them who had sibling rivalries growing up, but they get over it and no one outside the family talks about their brothers or sisters in a bad way without being told what for and set straight....

Now I am entering a new phase in life, it started about 8 years ago when the last two were in High School, but I did not totally recognize how much my life was beginning to change. I took positive steps to help me through as my middle son joined the Army and headed out the door. I began to focus my attention on my own desires, those things that I had placed on the back shelf of my mind. I went to college through an online University and acquired my degree as a Legal Secretary. I had been working throughout the children's developing years but it was in our home as a secretary and manager of our home based business. There was a time when the children were very small that I owned and operated a Nautilus gym in our town and because I was the owner, my children came with me to work. Now it was the time to seek a different role in life because I wasn't needed as much in their lives so I went for an area of law that I was familiar with and could easily attain my goal. That wasn't enough though, at the same time, I entered another college program with United Christian Ministries International online and acquired my Certificate of Ordination, yep, I became a Minister. My goal for this degree was to be able to council children and young adults, not to become a Pastor of a church.

One thing I never expected or envisioned was the possibility of my children moving away and my not being a part of their lives any longer and that is where I find myself today with two of them and their spouses and that is where I have to fight my inner grieving which actually feels like mourning and be more than "just a woman".

HEY YOU UP THERE

Yeah, we also got some big rocks around here and you will always see rock climbers who come from all over the country to practice or learn to climb in our local big rocks. The most popular place here is called the "Buttermilks". Several movies have been filmed here including "Tremors" and some other funky ones. Many people come here and they camp out on the rocks, weird but what ever floats yer boat I guess.

Not too far from these rocks is a very private hidden secret water fall and woa is it beautiful....

Klondike

This is one of our local hang outs and no I won't tell you exactly where it is but it is a lot of fun. This young man is having a great time riding his jet ski and there are many other things that are a blast to do here like, sail boarding and wind boarding as well as skiing, tubing and well all kinds of fun in the sun. This is one of our favorite places to go during the hot summers and just kick back and see all the fun goin on.

Pow Wow

Okay, if you have never been to a Pow Wow, you are missing out on some fun and some pretty neat drum beats. Here is Bishop we have the Paiute Tribe which are a band of Native Americans that have been here for many many years. I know their history but I won't share it right now and I do have a lot of wonderful friends who live on the reservation. The two little gals featured in this photo happen to be more than just friends, they are my grand daughters. There mother made their costumes and they learned to "fancy dance" from her. What is really cute and funny is their mother, my daughter combined the Irish Jig (which is part of our heritage) and a few other steps she had learned from her Native American friends and she won a championship fancy dance first place.

There is so much to see in the Owens Valley besides the great outdoors, but you have to take your time and take it slow. We have some hidden water falls and other really neat sites to see. A lot of the beauty of the Sierra's are hidden away and we locals don't always like to tell you where they are. We are kinda funny that way.

Aside from big fish, deer, Tulle Elk, mountain goats, mountain lions, bears and cattle, it is a spectacular place to live.

HOLY COW (no such animal) MORE THAN ANOTHER YEAR GONE BY

Totally rad, after more than a year again, I am back at "Fairy Tales Come True"... Yep, yep, yep, it took signing up for another blog and the Fairy from this blog found me and here I am again.. Posting in pictures was a blast for a few years but then it got old, at least for me because I thought I had things that needed to be said about life. Now that several years have gone by since I first started this blog, I realize, I have even more to say. Go figure!

A lot has gone on since this blog started and a lot of unbelievable stuff was going on when I was first writing it. We have been involved with a legal battle with the United States Government and the Treasury that involves more than one presidency and a bunch of really crazy guys in Washington. But, I can't talk about that right now as it is "top secret". I have been chomping at the bits to get our story out there but all legal advisers can say is "not a good idea"... "Balderdash" I say..... When those in charge of our freedoms and rights have no problem with stripping you of everything, I think it is time for open battle where the public can see just what corruption actually goes on behind the scenes in the White House and clear around the world to a whole different culture of people.

We have been "kept in poverty" as it was explained to us because this way we can't make a living and also fight our own government for monies owed to us. Wow, now that's a thought isn't it, reality is a real slap in the face when some one else is pulling the strings. I'd rather be singing the old Pinocchio song "I got no strings to tie me down", but unfortunately, there are strings attached and I have to keep my mouth shut. Not cool, not cool at all.

Well stayed tuned world, we don't know what I might do now as they have backed us into a corner and the only thing we can do is fight to get out. Corruption in the higher ranks runs rampant and even the new administration has joined with three of the past and made our lives miserable. Who'da thunk, one man with a large family could cause so much attention in trying to save our own economy that they want him "out of the way and the problem dealt with". My, my, my, give America a kiss good bye because the American dream is being suppressed beyond recognition.

Prayerfully, I will be allowed to post the whole of the documentation and legal brief here at some point soon because I am tired of being pushed around by the thugs of Washington and placed in a position that jeopardizes everything we have worked our entire lives for.

TRULY AND TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE

I can't believe that over a year has gone by since I posted to this blog. The last time I did, I had become so frustrated with the fact that I could only post pictures with "captions" and could not edit or do anything else because I could not get into the "blogger dashboard". I had lost my password and no matter how many attempts I had made to recover it, I had no luck. The only way that I could access it was to post through "blogger bot" via pictures. It was a real nightmare. I am so thankful to see that it is now run by Google, yeeeeehawwww. Well now maybe I can have some fun at blogging again.

It is a brand new day! WHOA, PRAISE GOD AND THANK YOU JESUS....

Well our next big adventure is going to take us to Washington D.C., where we have to take on the powers that be and demand our rights as free citizens... Long story and can't tell it here...... Our little pug Twinkie, well, she didn't want dad going without her so she climbed into his suitcase, gave those sad little eyes her full effect and refused to budge..... 

The right to peaceful demonstration..... 

Yep, these kids were protesting taxes, especially the "death tax", they were pretty smart..... The old gent is a wonderful Christian Southerner who is a brother and friend to us and long time friend to those in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate was so quiet in the halls that we started singing "the old grey mare" and it was cool cause it echoed throughout the halls..... We didn't get kicked out either....yeeehawwww 

Okay now this is our Attorney and that is how you want to see you Attorney, All SMILES.... Praise God, he is a believer and is full of the love of the Lord... What a blessing he is! 

These kids were so cute, they had a message and they wanted it heard and they took their convictions to the Capitol..... 

Nice! 

This just looked like a quaint little picture and I think the bike idea is excellent as there is so much traffic in this part of Washington, its amazing..... 

Yep, thats our group all dressed up, briefcases in tow and well, lets see what we can do here.... 

It is amazing how much work and craftmanship went into this building, but what goes on inside, well that is what needs constant prayer..... 

Well, I think Washington D.C., needs an internal face lift too..... 

Yep, yep, yep, in May it was my 29th birthday, AGAIN!!! YEEHAWWW, I LOVE BEING 29, forever....... 

Psa 104:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. 

Psa 93:1 The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, [wherewith] he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
 

Psa 29:4 The voice of the LORD [is] powerful; the voice of the LORD [is] full of majesty.
 

1Ch 29:11 Thine, O LORD, [is] the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all [that is] in the heaven and in the earth [is thine]; thine [is] the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
 

How awesome are His Ways! 

Another adventure in May, this time it is target practicing. It is amazing to realize that this is probably one of the only towns remaining in California where we still have open range, hunting season and places to go where you can shoot and practice without paying a fee or becoming a member of a gun club. I am sure that this will change sometime in the near future but for now, it is a wholesome way to live and it teaches what the right use of a fire arm is for, hunting game for food. Whatever my kids hunt, they eat and they abide by the laws that govern our great territory. Praise God for the life He has blessed this family with, I cannot give Him enough Glory for the things He has done. 

Father and youngest son prepare for scoping in a new gun, actually not new but new for them. 

It is amazing what people bring out to our little local "sighting-in" ranges. I guess someone was tired of just looking at that old work out bench and decided to give it a proper job..... as a target....