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.