Summertime

"That beautiful season the Summer!
Filled was the air with a dreamy
 and magical light;
And the landscape
Lay as if new created 
in all the freshness
 of childhood."
  -  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Buttercups

George Elgar Hicks

-

"To everything there is a season
and a time for every matter or
purpose under heaven."
Ecclesiastes 3:1

Vladimir Volegov 






"I know I am but summer to your heart,
And not the full four seasons of the year;
And you must welcome from another part
Such noble moods as are not mine, my dear.
No gracious weight of golden fruits to sell
Have I, nor any wise and wintry thing;
And I have loved you all too long and well
To carry still the high sweet breast of Spring.
Wherefore I say: O love, as summer goes,
I must be gone, steal forth with silent drums,
That you may hail anew the bird and rose
When I come back to you, as summer comes.
Else will you seek, at some not distant time,
Even your summer in another clime."
-  Edna St. Vincent Millay

 Daryl Urig






"Summertime...and the livin' is easy..."
- George Gershwin

"Live in each season as it passes: 
breathe the air,
 drink the drink,
 taste the fruit."
–  Henry David Thoreau

Oaks of Righteousness

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree...

Estimated to be at least 235 years old,

this towering giant white oak tree in 

 Richland (Buena Vista Twp) New Jersey

died recently from unknown causes.

The township is currently raising money

to preserve the tree as an historic

landmark and a work of art.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

-Joyce Kilmer

Robin Hood and his band of merry men would feel quite at home
in this magnificent ancient oak tree in
 Nonington, Kent, England

"...that they may be called
oaks of righteousness...
Isaiah 61:3




In the Holy Bible,
the Terebinth, or the mighty Oak, is symbolic
of the life-sustaining, enduring righteousness 
of Jehovah God.

The leafy branches of an old oak tree

provide a shady rest for tourists

at Tel Abel Beth Maachach, in the

Upper Galilee region of Israel.

Heal Our Land

ALMIGHTY GOD,

our HEAVENLY FATHER,

we come to YOU

in the name of the

LORD JESUS CHRIST,

REDEEMED BY HIS BLOOD,

COMMITTED TO SERVE

AND FOLLOW HIM.

We come to YOU as 

YOUR believing people;

YOUR representatives here on earth,

the agents of YOUR government in the earth.

We lift up to YOU this nation of ours,

the United States.

We thank YOU for the many centuries

of special grace and mercy

that YOU have granted this nation.

We thank YOU for the godly seeds

that have been sown over the years

by men of faith who have

followed in YOUR footsteps-

labored, sacrificed, prayed,

and given for YOUR kingdom.

Washington Crossing The Delaware

Emanuel Leutze

(1851)

LORD,

we desire that these godly seeds

shall develop into a harvest

that shall be reaped for YOUR purposes.

We ask YOU

to extend YOUR grace and mercy

to this nation.

We ask YOU

to send a mighty visitation

of the HOLY SPIRIT,

that will overthrow the strongholds

of Satan, and uplift and

glorify the name of the

LORD JESUS CHRIST.

We ask YOU

for a mighty floodtide of spiritual revival

that will sweep across this nation,

casting down everything that opposes itself

against the knowledge of

GOD.

And we commit to YOU now

specifically the forthcoming election

and all of the political processes involved.

We take our stand in JESUS' NAME,

against every satanic principality and power

that would seek to exercise control 

in these elections.

We break their power;

we release the elective and governmental processes

from their control, and we put them in

YOUR HANDS.

We pray that YOU will guide and overrule.

That YOU will raise up men and women

of YOUR choice;

put down those who will oppose and stand against

YOUR purposes,

and bring YOUR purposes to fulfillment

in this nation.

LORD, we do believe that YOU have a special destiny

for the United States, and we pray that nothing

that Satan will do will be able to hinder that destiny.

We also pray, LORD, for the relationship

of the United States to Israel.

That YOU will keep YOUR HAND upon it,

and that YOU will also guide and overrule,

to the benefit of Israel.

That this nation will not turn against Israel,

or take it's stand among the enemies of Israel.

That YOU will graciously use this nation

continually to support and uphold

YOUR people, Israel,

and their state.

LORD, we ask all these things,

believing them to be YOUR will

and believing them to be for

YOUR GLORY,

in the precious, all-prevailing 

NAME of JESUS CHRIST,

YOUR SON, OUR SAVIOR.

Amen.

(Derek Prince Ministries)

Independence Day 2016

"...proclaim liberty throughout all the land

 unto all the inhabitants thereof..."

Leviticus 25:10

I’m thankful for America:

The way of life we’ve known

And all the precious freedoms 

we can call our very own.

I’m thankful that we have a voice

 that we are free to use

And pray to God for wisdom

 in the leaders whom we choose. 

 I’m thankful for those patriots

 who loved honor more than fame,

Who instigated laws which

 have preserved America’s name.

May it  be always  possible—

Down through the years—

that we through conscientious effort keep

This land safe and free.

   - Ethel D. Posegate

Happy Birthday

America!

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

-George M. Cohan 



God Bless America !




 

Summer Down The Shore With Lucy

Building Sandcastles

Suelynn Cotton

When I was a little girl, summertime mean't,

 "going down the shore"

 as we say here in southern New Jersey.

 Dad and Mom took us on a day trip

 to swim and play 

on the sandy shores of Avalon, or

sometimes to Margate,where the 

lonely relic of Lucy The Elephant, 

once a major 19th and early 20th

century, Atlantic City area tourist attraction

stood weathering just off the beach.

 Vintage Postcard Featuring

"Lucy The Elephant"

Margate, New Jersey

 I  can clearly remember

 Mom occasionally and loudly reminding us kids,

"Stay away from that elephant!"

as we played on the beach.

Wading in the ocean and allowing the waves 

to carry us back to the shoreline was fun,

  but so were the endless hours of

making sand castles and collecting sea shells.

 I always had such a good time.

 I never wanted to leave the beach!

On The Beach

Margate, New Jersey

Although I remember her standing

 in weathered condition near the beach,

 Lucy was the innovative brain child of

a man named James Lafferty, who in 1881,

 designed the elegant elephant by the sea,

complete with her ornate howdah,

as a novel approach to sell real estate,

and to attract tourists spending their

summer vacations down the shore.

While she was never used as a hotel, as
she was sometimes portrayed on
shore postcards, over the years

 Lucy served as a restaurant,

 business office, cottage, and a tavern.

By 1969, however, the forlorn 
elephant structure had fallen into
such a state of serious dilapidation,
she was scheduled for a date 
with the wrecking ball.

Lucy 

(1969)

Fortunately, that same year,
in an effort to save this historic landmark,

 a group of concerned Margate citizens 
banded together and formed the

  the Margate Civic Association,

which would later become known as
the Save Lucy Committee. 
  
In 1976, Lucy was designated
a National Historic Landmark. 

Through much time, effort, and perseverance

on behalf of many dedicated people,

today Lucy has been fully restored to

 her former Victorian era glory.

The iconic pachyderm once again proudly stands as

 a popular tourist destination near the beach.
Lucy even withstood a brush with
Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when the
storm made landfall near Margate.
 
Lucy The Elephant will always be
 a special part of the unique history
of the New Jersey shore,
a memory of simpler times,
and the happy, carefree days
of my childhood summers.

Lucy Today

June Brides and Blooms: Featuring The Legendary Beauty Of Elizabeth Taylor

June roses are blooming,

and wedding bells are ringing...

"Father of the Bride"

Movie Poster

(1950)

Gorgeous Elizabeth Taylor

"Father of the Bride"

 Barbie Doll

The spectacular

Elizabeth Taylor Rose

Beautiful Elizabeth in the movie, 
"Father Of The Bride"
(1950)

Another look at the beautiful
Elizabeth Taylor 
"Father of the Bride"
Barbie Doll

Voices From The Wilderness

Annie Dillard

“I am a frayed and nibbled

 survivor in a fallen world, 

and I am getting along...

Tinker Creek, Virginia

...I am aging and eaten and have done

 my share of eating too.

 I am not washed and beautiful,

 in control of a shining world

 in which everything fits,

 but instead am wondering awed

 about on a splintered wreck I've come to care for, 

whose gnawed trees breathe a delicate air, 

whose bloodied and scarred creatures 

are my dearest companions, 

and whose beauty bats and shines

 not in its imperfections

 but overwhelmingly in spite of them...” 

-Annie Dillard

 Walden Pond

Concord, Massachusetts

“Be yourself- 

not your idea of what

 you think somebody else's idea 

of yourself should be."

Henry David Thoreau

1817-1862

“What lies behind us 

and what lies ahead of us

 are tiny matters 

compared to what lives within us.” 

Henry David Thoreau 

Eleanor Pruitt Steward

1876-1933

 “To me, homesteading is the solution

 to all of poverty's problems,

 but I realize that temperament

 has much to do with success 

in any undertaking,

 and persons afraid of coyotes

 and work and loneliness

 had better let ranching alone.

 At the same time,

 any woman who

 can stand her own company,

 can see the beauty of a sunset,

 loves growing things

 and is willing to put in

 as much time at careful labor

 as she does over the washtub, 

will certainly succeed;

 will have independence,

 plenty to eat all the time,

 and a home of her own in the end.” 

-Eleanor Pruitt Steward 

 A Herd Of Wild Horses

Sweetwater County, Wyoming 

"Fried potatoes, onions and fish. 

You can't beat that!"

-Dick Proenneke

Alone In The Wilderness

Richard Proenneke

1916-2003

  Richard L. Proenneke National Historic Site

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska

“If I'd been afraid

  I never would have started out

 in the first place." 

-Emma Gatewood

Grandma Emma Gatewood

1887-1973

At age 67, she was the first woman to hike the 2,168 mile

Appalachian Trail, solo, from Georgia to Maine, in 1955.