The trees

 All my life as long as I can remember I have loved trees. When the Dutch Elm Disease reached London back in the 1950s I watched as the disease took one tree after another all the way down Wellington Street. These beautiful trees down the middle of the road were gone so quickly and I think the city did truly mourn their loss. That is why London was called the Forest City and still has that nickname although heard less often now. 

In the readings today from Deuteronomy Moses tells us that God said:  Chapter 20, Verse 19: .... you must not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them ..... Are trees in the field human beings that they should come under siege from you?" Such beautiful words as we are now into the season when forest fires (many many of them natural caused by lightning strikes) are common throughout our forested areas. It is sad to see the trees burn but going to Obatanga Provincial Park just west of Wawa in Northern Ontario (nearly 10,000 hectares of wilderness) a couple of years after a forest fire we found fields full of orchids and other fascinating wild flowers Edward and I on our travels with our trusty canoe in the north. It was absolutely beautiful. Edward had never really traveled anywhere before we married and after we bought the car we went so many places like that to see the beauty of the world around us. The trees left standing were blackened but some recovering and new growth everywhere. It was both sad and beautiful all at the same time. 

Rereading the first five books reminds me of all the Laws that Israel was required to keep in the Promised Land. The last set of chapters continue with the laws and they were many. I still do not sense that God is yet telling Moses to tell us that He will send a Messiah to the people. To me the first Five Books of the Bible are telling me the ancient story of Creation and the length of time from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Deuteronomy is to me a very long period encompassing so much that has happened in the world since its beginnings. I remember as a child someone saying (I think he was a priest from another place (I was very young)) that a day at the beginning could have been many years as God created this beautiful world we live in. I think he might have been a student actually as I contemplate this individual and not yet consecrated as a priest (vague memory now from so long ago). I was a restless child always and my mother would hold me down in the seat to keep me quiet but this time I listened so carefully to what was said as I remember it still. I was maybe four years of age as I recall it was when I first went to kindergarten I think and was learning to sit still. But the laws that the Israeli people must obey are clearly outlined by Moses particularly in Deuteronomy. 

Yesterday a very busy day of weed pulling. The tomatoes are now free once again of all that weed that was amongst them. They continue to grow quickly with fruit upon them not yet ripe. We also planted an herb (Basil) in the shade that we bought grocery shopping. Still more weeding to do and perhaps some today; time will tell. 

I have not accomplished any work but did look at new matches as the beginning of the month passed and I did not do that. 

Solitaire puzzles to do.  

 

The Torah

The first five books of the Bible are called the Torah and are the foundational texts of Judaism - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Continuing reading Deuteronomy which, to me, represents Moses preparing the people of Israel to enter into the Promised Land and to hand over his leadership to Joshua. Perhaps one of my most vivid memories of Sunday School was the trumpets under Joshua that heralded that entry of the people of Israel into the Promised Land. At least that was the way that I saw it as a child. The reading is certainly not quite so direct but none the less it was Joshua who led the people of Israel forward into the land that had been promised to their forefather Abraham and continuing to his son Isaac and his son Jacob. In Chapter 10 of Deuteronomy the essence of the law is expressed by Moses to the people of Israel:  Verses 12-14:  O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. 

 Another busy day yesterday buying groceries and it poured as we rushed back to the car with our grocery cart but we had worn rain coats so somewhat ready for that. But it was a very heavy downpour. The tomato plants have enjoyed it for sure. Salmon for dinner with potato salad and lettuce salad. The summer meals are always somewhat simple but energizing. All of the vegetables are now grown in Canada as our growing season is now well past the length for producing food for the plate. So much of the year we must buy usually from the United States or use stored food which is fine but fresh is even better. 

No work done but winter is around the corner and lots will get done. I need to weed today and will do that. The heavy rain will make that an easy task. Perhaps two or three bags of gardening weeds for the pickup on Monday. 

One item we did get done was all that scanning that we needed to do and had collected up. We have a couple of big scanning projects - my husband's thesis still not yet done and some other items that he had done through the years but not published. Some pictures of flowers in the northern woods that I find to be exceptional we want to put into a book in his memory of all those travels we did by car and then by canoe into the backwoods of Northern Ontario. So much to do and time will tell how much I accomplish in that regard. 

Exercises done a while ago now as I awoke early. Breakfast soon but first solitaire puzzles.  

 

Obedience

 Chapter 4 of Deuteronomy and Moses is retelling the story of the Ten Commandments which God gave to the people of Israel to follow and in particular the first and second Commandments.

Chapter 5 of Deuteronomy  Moses knew he would not enter into the Promised Land and now as the time approached he repeated once again the commandments which must be kept at all times in all places through the generations beginning thus. 

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;  you shall have no other gods before[b] me. 

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 

Continuing to read and Chapter 9 details the consequences of rebelling against God. Moses again reminds the people of Israel that it is the wickedness of the nations that they are to displace because God is fulfilling his oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob their direct ancestors. All of the children of Israel are descendant of Jacob (God changed Jacob's name to Israel).  

These are stories I have heard and read so many times as a child and a young adult without really understanding I am thinking. At 80 plus I am reading once again the words of God as told by the writers of the Old Testament. As I looked at the news today there was an interesting article talking about "the Great Filter" and where Homo sapiens is with regard to existence in the universe. Scientists querying why we do not see other life forms like our own in the universe. Coming from a science background I am always mystified by stories like this as I always felt that the Bible clearly explained why we exist. To me it is a plausible story and the mystery that surrounds the first peoples of the world as told by word of mouth and later written down is exactly that a mystery to us that is solved as we read the words of the Bible. Belief in the Creator God has been for all time a lamp in the wilderness beckoning us back to the rules which God gave to the Israelis. The simplified story of Creation in Genesis was written to make us understand that we did have a beginning; the time frame totally unknown but is it something that can be reduced to a scientific explanation. Atheism is foreign to mankind as it blots out God and the words of our ancestors and must be avoided in my humble opinion. 

Yesterday I finished the cleaning and the basement is ready to go once again. Some shopping done and then a walk on the beach and kayaking completed the day. Dinner was late but greatly enjoyed as once again cold chicken and two salads to complete the meal. Summer is an interesting time with all the freshness around us. Because we live in a northern climate we really appreciate summer when it arrives although a lot of us have air conditioning which makes a huge difference. 

Solitaire puzzles to do. I did complete the Blake Newsletter yesterday and will submit it for review today.  

 

 

The beautiful world that the Creator God has given to us

 The last three chapters of Numbers organizes the Promised Land by Israeli tribes and includes the portion that lay outside of the Promised Land beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward. An interesting set of chapters as it is the final story of the first four books of the Bible talking about the family of Abraham, his son Isaac and his son Jacob's descendants whom God delivered from slavery in Egypt back to the Promised Land of their forefather Abraham. The Creator God has shown the world that He alone is the Creator and He continues to live amongst the Israeli people as said in Chapter 35, Verse 34: "You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell for I the Lord dwell among the Israelites."

 Deuteronomy is the next book of the Bible. The first chapter is a review of the happenings that caused the fourty years of living in the wilderness outside of the Promised Land. In the second chapter the land of Esau is ahead of them as the Israelites are living in the wilderness and God tells the Israelites to buy food and water from the descendants of Esau and to pass by them. As they continue in the wilderness the Israelities come to Moab but again they are to pass by as this belongs to the descendants of Lot given to them by God. Thirty eight years have passed in their travels in the wilderness and those who had disobeyed God were now dead and it is time once again for the Israelites to follow God's orders and return to the Promised Land. The review is very interesting and reading the Bible in this way one has a better picture than the daily readings. In my old age I am glad that I decided to re-read the Bible from beginning to end instead of just reading the Daily Bible Verse. 

The cleaning of the main floor was accomplished yesterday. Today is the basement and I shall soon set the Robot to its task of cleaning the rugs. This is still a warm spell and will likely last most of July if not all. July is our warmest month and the driest so I must water the tomato plants which are doing very well with fruit on them already. 

A walk on the beach last evening was most pleasant and it is the busiest that we have seen the beach thus far. It was very difficult to get a parking spot and one just appeared very luckily. We were rather late though as we had done some shopping. I needed a file box and file folders and that was accomplished. A cold dinner of salads (lettuce and broccoli with their extras folded into them) were delicious and cold chicken that we cooked yesterday and will last another day during this heat wave. 

Started a letter to my sister but did not complete it yesterday and will do that today. The time passes so quickly in the summer. 

Iran must not fire on the tankers and for that they have lost their right to ship oil once again. I agree with the Prime Minister on his statement. The NATO meeting sounds like it is going very well. The idea of NATO was totally defense against  aggression. Russia attacked Ukraine once again and killed people. Why do they not return to their borders of the 1990s which they agreed to. They have no right to attack the countries around them. They have plenty of land and there is no excuse for killing the peoples of Ukraine. They are satanists and not obeying the laws of God. 

God gave us such a beautiful world and my prayers are always that we can find peace in this world and live together as He commanded with love (respect) in our hearts for our neighbours.  

Solitaire puzzles are next.  

The commissioning of Joshua

 These chapters are very interesting in Numbers. Again women are mentioned as the only children of a line coming down from Joseph (Chapter 27) and the Lord has decreed that they should inherit their father's portion. God establishes the right heirs as sons and if no sons then daughters, and if no child then brothers and continuing back through the generations to establish the right heir. I never really understood burnt offerings before but the explanation in Chapter 28 is quite explicit and easily understood. These are pleasing offerings to God and in specific time frames, Sabbath offerings, monthly offerings, Passover offering, Festivals like the day of the first fruits. The idea of not working on the Sabbath at your occupations puzzled me as a child. For the burnt offerings it is mentioned that this is a pleasing odour to the Lord but not working is a holy convocation. A holy convocation is a sacred assembly or formal gathering of believers called together to worship God, for instruction or spiritual renewal. 

In the Christian world that I grew up in I was conflicted by this idea because people still did work and gradually it was defined as a needed service and so avoided conflicting with the holy convocation ideal. The Christian world has moved far away from that original concept of the holy convocation on the Sabbath (Chapter 28) (in the Christian world this is celebrated on Sunday for just the actual time of the service). I myself go to Church on Sunday with YouTube. I went through a period of time when I was nine and ten and found this idea of burnt offerings of animals that I saw on the farm and so many listed and I can see those reading now in Numbers. They were troublesome in my mind and I blocked out that idea of sacrificing animals and indeed refused to eat meat for a while. But hearing the stories of the First Nations and their thanks given to the animals which they ate was sort of a balm on that worrisome mind of mine. Moses is instructing the people of Israel because he knows he is not going into the Promised Land and must prepare them so that they continue to celebrate God as God has commanded. 

Packages mailed off to the Archives should arrive in the next week. The material that Edward carefully collected through the years can be useful to people researching the Kip/Kipp family name. He collected a lot of material in the United States where the Kip/Kipp families lived. Although I helped him to collect the material,  I did not absorb any of it particularly because I was not interested in genealogy but simply helping him with his collections. I do not know the Kipp families that he is related to and it just seemed practical to put it all in a repository where any of them can go and see it. At 80 my time is short ahead of me and I especially did not want to see any of it thrown away after all his work on it. 

Top floor cleaned yesterday and it is the main floor today. A huge amount of cardboard went out this week for the collection. We have replaced all of the drape rods and drapes in the house now pretty much. They were getting old and needed new ones. 

NATO will buy ten of the SAAB jets for reconnaissance which is good news as we had debated doing that as part of our fleet but really having them as NATO possessions is an advantage. Germany and France are very much moving to the forefront in NATO. France in particular is heavily armed and nuclear capable. The United Kingdom also increasing their military (they too are nuclear capable) and they too have an Arctic presence. I feel that NATO is progressing forward very quickly and in particular has command of the Arctic which is important as the ice melts. Canada will be part of that protection cover for the Arctic along with Norway, Sweden and Finland with Germany and France. The other countries in NATO are also committed but the heavy work will probably fall to the countries that neighbour on the Arctic plus France and Germany (and Denmark). We will hear at this meeting how much the United States will be involved I think as they too have an Arctic presence with Alaska. Greenland is also part of NATO and the protection plan but Greenland (protectorate of Denmark) has a very small population so need the support of the surrounding nations on the Arctic along with Denmark, Germany and France). I am sure we will hear quite a bit more on all of that. Russia continues to try and provoke NATO but NATO is a purely defensive organization. 

Russia still is living in the times of the 1800s with no concept of a world view that wants peace. I was pleased to see China say at the UN Security Meeting that it is time to wind down this war against Ukraine. Russia continues to murder the people of Ukraine and especially in Kyiv the capital. They are satanists. 

Probably not much work done today but time will tell.

Solitaire puzzles to do.