A Ministry of One - Yours!

Our son and a couple of his buddies have begun a simple ministry of helping the homeless in our downtown. Today was the fifth month that they have loaded their cars up with boxes of fresh, hot pizza, lots of clean dry socks, cases of bottled water and a variety of jackets, hats, mittens and other clothing. Friends, family and co-workers have donated these items as well as the cash for the pizzas they take to serve.

Some who have donated have asked just how they handle their distribution. That’s the reason for the photos today. As you can see, it is a casual mingling. You would be hard pressed to pick out the guys who are doing the serving.

This is a simple yet effective effort proving that large organizations with tons of overhead are not needed to serve those in our midst who have basic needs. It can be as simple as handing out pizzas and dry socks, knitting warm mittens and hats for less fortunate kids or making cozy lap quilts for our elderly shut-ins. There are plenty of places and ways to plug in where your own special talents can be put to work.

Or as Christopher likes to say: It takes “just one” to make a ministry.

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Morning Coffee - Waking up in Iowa

 

One of the Bridges of Madison County, Iowa

St. Charles, Iowa

Presbyterian Church turned Visitor Center

 

Birthplace of Marion Robert Morrison

Winterset, Iowa

May 26, 1907

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Chasing Steeples

 Jim and I just returned from a 3 day drive down the east side of Iowa.  It is such a beautiful area – following the Mississippi river - I never get tired of driving it.  And when we take these drives we become steeple-chasers.  Now we aren’t on horseback and we rarely encounter hurdles but we do, as the name suggests, chase steeples.  The Iowa country side is the best for seeking steeples; they dot most every country road.

 

Most often these country churches are Lutheran as the Scandinavians were major immigrants to the farmlands of Iowa.  But closer to the River we found historically significant Catholic Parishes.

  

This church was the most interesting.  St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in the area of Garryowen, Iowa just south and west of Dubuque was established by Irish immigrants from County Limerick in 1838-1839.  The parish was founded by the Father Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli, OP in 1840.   (More on Father Mazzuchelli can be found here.)

 We found St. Patrick’s only because we first saw the steeple of St. Lawrence Catholic Church.  While stopping and admiring this church, a retired Pastor - and now caretaker of sorts - came out to visit with us.  He gave us some history about both St. Lawrence and then he mentioned St. Patrick’s church and suggested that we search it out.  We followed his directions and found the church nestled way off the beaten path.  Mass is still offered in both churches.  And both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Getting off the highways always provides interesting discoveries.

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On the Road

The beauty of Iowa

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A "sound heart and merry throat"

 

"When piped a tiny voice hard by,

Gay and polite, a cheerful cry,

Chic-chic-a-dee-dee! saucy note

Out of sound heart and merry throat."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The chickadees are becoming my favorite bird. There are certainly birds showier in color but nothing beats the spunk of a chickadee.

When I fill my feeders, it is the chickadees that jump right in and start eating the fresh seed before I’ve even finished. Most other birds stay at a safe distance and don’t venture near the feeders until I am long gone. But not the brave little chickadee.

And when he finds the seed he wants, it is very often a huge find. How he is able to handle those large seeds and nuts with only his little beak and the branch of a tree is beyond me. But he does.

What a fun – and very motivating – little bird!

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Rookie of the Year!

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Family Traditions

Yesterday Noah had the opportunity to help his Grandpa while learning a little more about his Great Grandpa and Grandma Meyer.  He took his job very seriously.

It was a beautiful day!

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The Art of Backroad Travel

“Travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. Travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.” – Freya Stark

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From the Country Roads of Iowa

Even the brown fields of Iowa are beautiful right now - in their own way. There is something calming about the drive up and down the country roads. The numerous (and I do mean exceedingly numerous) little prairie cemeteries are much more visible when not hidden by crops and leafed out trees. It is a stark reminder of just how difficult life was for the early settlers of this land.  We owe these pioneers so much!

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Taylors Falls - St. Croix River

A beautiful day for a drive to Taylors Falls with granddaughter, Meghan.  I was so concentrating on the rainbow that I almost missed the falls (on the right) entirely.  The water was definitely "ice blue".

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My Feathered Friends

This little chickadee did flit down to the feeder a couple of times but never landed. Maybe next time.   Although just watching them from that close vantage point is very fun!

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At the Feeder Today

I filled the bird feeders a bit ago.  It's sunny outside and the temp is almost 40 - a beautiful Minnesota day!  The best thing about being at the feeders today was listening to the birds sing.  They have begun their spring songs and it sounded so wonderful.  I stood out there for quite awhile just listening.  I put the feeder on the ground not too far away and waited.  The friendly chickadees always come.