Straight From The Hart

My Mother’s Song Books One of my earliest and fondest memories is watching my mom sitting at the kitchen table  writing down the lyrics of her favorite songs in a brown composition spiral bound notebook as she listened to them on the radio.  Obviously it took many “listenings” for her to eventually capture all the lyrics. She had been doing this for years as a young teenager before I was born and accumulated a big stack of those little notebooks you could probably buy at the “dime store” in those days for a nickel. My mom, who is only 16 years older than me, was born Wilma Lorea Dame and now widowed as Wilma Lorea Ward, was married to Fritz Rowden when Lois and I were born, and then to Clarence Lindsey, the father of my 5 handsome brothers. Several years ago I asked her about the books and found out she had thrown many of them away after my sister had transcribed them into a computer program.  It took me a while to convince her it wasn’t the lyrics that I wanted.  It...

The Seasons Of Our Life In late 2010 I began doing an in-depth study on the seasons of our lives. All the properties of seasons, how they come in cycles and how they change.  Sometimes predictable but not always.  Each season has it's pros and cons. I did this in order to be better pastor to the people in my church who were going through their own seasons of change.  Some were getting older and having to give up routine activities.  Some were dealing with the sudden onset of disease or sickness.  Some were dealing with family changes - marriage, problems with children, etc.  Some were dealing with financial issues, loss of jobs, accumulation of debt, etc.  And of course some were dealing with the loss of friends or family, through death, or divorce, etc. Seasons are cyclical, but our life seasons come and go in different ways than the normal seasons of the year. New relationships can be forged.  Broken relationships can be mended. ...

I found this on a fibromyalgia  blog and realized it is the epitome of my obsession about worms, and other things.  Made me realize I am not crazy because I am always looking for worms and can spot one a mile away! Hypervigilance:  a state of being constantly tense, on guard, and exceptionally aware of the environment. Some researchers believe that hypervigilance is a feature of fibromyalgia  and  chronic fatigue syndrome . Some research supports this hypothesis, while some does not. The idea is that our brains become overly aware of things, which can include painful stimuli, noises, bright lights, and general activity. That could explain why our bodies react so strongly to sensation that most people wouldn't experience as painful, as well as why we're sensitive to noise, light , chaotic environments and more. With hypervigilance, not only do you notice things more readily, you're likely to be unable to divert our attention from them. When something is ...

Straight From The Hart By Joan Rowden Hart Reflections on Cemetery Winds. For the rest of this week,  and over the holiday weekend, most of us will  visit a cemetery or several of them.  Some will come bearing floral sprays and vases to place on graves of loved ones.  Friends will meet and greet, some will shed tears, but all will feel the inevitable winds which seem to always blow through a cemetery. Some time ago I stood in one of our local cemeteries,  and after arriving back home, I went to my computer and wrote the following reflections on my time there. I enter the cemetery, and it lies silent before me.  The tombstones stand as sentinels as if there is a need to protect the stories that the upright stones would tell. So I stand in the quietness of this place,  and while my eyes are looking at dates and names and epitaphs, the ears of my soul are straining to hear the hidden secrets of the lives of those whose bones now lie bene...

You can't be all things to all people, You can't do all things at once, You can't do all things better than everyone else, Your humanity is showing just like everyone else's. So: You have to find out who you are, and be that. You have to decide what comes first and do that. You have to discover your strengths, and use them. You have to learn not to compete with others. Because no one else is in the contest of "being you". Then: You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness. You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions. You will have learned to live with your limitations. You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due. And you'll be a most vital mortal. Dare to believe: That you are a wonderful unique person. That you are a once in all history event. That it's more than a right, it's your duty, to be who you are. That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish. And you'll be ...

The yellow flowers, so bright and gay, Appear at dusk, then fade away As sunshine warms their brilliant bloom. They gladly shine, yet know their doom. Their beauty lasts but for a day, But, oh the joy, they bring our way As one by one their blooms unfurl In rapid succession they seem to whirl Away from the stem, their petals spread Like buttery swirls on morning bread. In silent concert they nod and dance In worship to God, not here by chance. And just like them, God plants us here To serve Him first, our purpose clear. Too soon we fade, our life like mist Above the ground the rain has kissed. We bloom in beauty, and when we're through We pass away like morning dew And all we are, and all we say Will be forgotten in just a day. But what we do, and the lives we touch Will be our legacy and can mean so much. So we must bloom and share our beauty And worship God, which is our duty And brighten lives, though for a day To...

Straight From The Hart By Joan Rowden Hart Fibromyalgia Awareness Month I’m going to deviate this week from my usual theme of writing about Lebanon’s  history and people in order to address a current medical issue. May is Fibromyalgia Awareness Month and I hope this column will help to educate us to  understand this growing health problem which affects so many people here in Lebanon. The American College of Rheumatology estimates that fibromyalgia affects between 3 million and 6 million Americans, mostly women of child-bearing age and older, but also men and even young children and teenagers. Fibromyalgia, also called “fibro”,  is not a disease, but a syndrome, meaning that it exhibits a specific set of symptoms that take place together. Although fibro is not characterized as an arthritic condition, for purposes of diagnosis and treatment it  falls under the medical umbrella of rheumatology. We have come a long way in recent years because doctors used to tell a patie...