Providence 1975 to 1976 Chapter 3

So we continue on down this road towards a wonderful Hippie  style classic wedding. 

We had been living together since around August of 1973. And we decided to get married the following year....

I started purchasing Calico material for the brides maid dress' and of course I was planning on making them. We were planning on the wedding being about August...Long Story Short...I got very cold feet! Brrrrrrrrrrr.....

Instead of getting married I left the state.  Literally, I made a few phone calls packed up my stuff and got on a Grey Hound Bus and hit the road to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  I already had a job lined up,  I had called about renting a room, sorta long term....the old man that answered the phone, was mostly kind, somewhat gruff, but kind.  When I asked about getting a room he wanted to know why I was coming to Rehoboth at that time of year, I informed him I was looking for a job. Immediately he said, "I need a girl, I need a girl!" I had a job as a bartender, I was 19, and not old enough to even drink in the state, but he said don't worry it will be fine.  This from an old Greek, Papa John, as he was affectionately called by most all people in Rehoboth. I hadn't even told my parents I was moving...just up and left...went somewhere, where I knew no one and no one knew me.  I thought that, that was what I wanted.  Looking back, I am glad I had the experience,  but...

uncles, cousins and grandparents all went as a big group to Dewey Beach.  Dewey Beach, for those of you who aren't familiar with the lay of the land, is a bit further south of Rehoboth, actually you can walk to Dewey, bit of a long walk, but is do-able, and Lewes is about 11 miles north of Rehoboth.  Lewes is were the Ferry starts and stops and goes over to Cape May, NJ.

If you have never been for a ferry ride it is a lot of fun!

Ever since I was about 10 years old my family and aunts,  

  So I arrived in Rehoboth and it took about one week for me to acquire any friends.  Boy oh boy was I lonely!  But eventually I did make some friends.  After about another week a gentleman in the real estate business came in and he and Papa John were old cronies.  And the real estate man asked where I was staying and I told him at Papa John's hotel.  He then asked if I was looking for somewhere else to live and I said that I was but that it was a tad difficult since I didn't really know anyone in Rehoboth.  So he said he might be able to help me out a bit.  Well a couple of days later he stopped in and asked if I would be interested in sharing a top of the garage apartment with another girl.  Of course I said yes, however I would really like to meet her first.  So this was arranged.  That Friday I meet Andrea for the first time, we talked for five minutes and the next time I saw her I was moving into our new apartment that was about three blocks from where I worked and the same distance for her to get to her job.

It was a nicely furnished little apartment with a small combination dining area and sitting room, with a sofa bed, which is were I ended up sleeping, it was only fair, she got there first, we had a kitchen, pretty tiny, but it was a kitchen, a small bedroom and a bathroom with the shower on the left as you walked from the kitchen to the bedroom and the potty and sink was on the right with a door, the door being strategically  placed so that when you were in the shower and had the door open that formed a wall to block the shower and bathroom from view....It was tiny!  But it was ours and we were pretty happy there. 

Although, the very first night we were there, I had placed my purse on a chair in front of the window. Now remember I said this was a top of the garage apartment...there were steps that ran up the outside of the garage to a little landing where our front door was.  Well that window was right easy access from the stairs. Even though there was a screen there, that didn't stop whoever was in need of my little purse and it's contents.

Probably close to a month went by before I was called to the police department to pick up my purse that had been found in the canal.  The really rough part was that they had first called my parents, because my driver's license was in the purse, so they called my parents.  I am so thankful that although my youngest daughter has pushed the envelope on a couple of occasions, no one has ever left me thinking that one of my children was possibly drowned.  I can not even begin to imagine how upset my mom and dad must have been. Needless to say I did call and let them know I was alright and that only my purse had been stolen.  I was completely fine, and I would see them when they came to Dewey Beach in a few weeks.  I knew I had hurt them pretty badly and yes I did feel pretty sad about this for quite a bit of time.  

Well the summer progressed, I earned sufficient money as a bartender  to easily pay the my half of the rent, and spend money on developing my pictures.  When I was about twelve my grandfather had purchased a Kodak 110 Instamatic     camera  for me for my sixth grade field trip.  So I discovered that I could buy a detachable lens for this little camera...so of course I bought them, they came in a set, one converted it to a wide angle and the other converted it to a slight zoom.  I was in heaven!  And I took lots and lots of pictures.  This was in 1975, we didn't have digital cameras or smart phones...not yet.  Oh and I bought a 10 speed bike, I had to have wheels!

I had actually started my picture taking endeavors back in sixth grade and my love of capturing a moment just continued. I actually have a website where my pictures are for sale... http://rebecca-smith.artistwebsites.com/ I digress...
being a bartender at a seaside resort is a good way to make money, however, now as I am older I wouldn't suggest it for anyone who is walking with the Lord.  It will undermine your walk if you aren't really really strong..well that's  an oxymoron, if you are a strong Christian, you wouldn't be working in a bar.  

At this time in my life, yes I believed in Christ and God and the Trinity, but did I have a personal relationship with Christ, NO.  Sadly that was not something I was ever taught.

Back to life in Rehoboth Beach....Lots of sun and sand and fun (said tongue in cheek). I would really have to say the best thing to come from my time in Rehoboth was my photography.  
In my spare time I took pictures, I would get on my bike and ride up to Lewes, Delaware and go to the Air Force Recreation Base, the beach there was almost private, especially when you arrived early in the morning, and I did.
Do you know that when the sun is coming up you could probably take a picture every 15 to 30 seconds and every picture would be different.  I probably spent about $100.00 a week on taking and printing pictures. Some were good and some where not so good.  But I was learning.

After working for Papa John as his bartender I was able to land a job making blue jean skirts for a head shop that was just down the street.  Didn't pay really well, but it was a job.

Then there was the Henlopen hotel job.....
The restaurant was on the 8th floor of the hotel looking out over the ocean, and it was all windows.  The views were amazing, especially in the winter.  I really liked working there.  The scenery could not be beat and the tips where quite nice, it was a high dollar restaurant and the food really was good.  One thing that stood out was the oyster fritters served on Sundays only on the brunch buffet.  And we were allowed to enjoy them as well.  Oh, so good!

Shortly after getting my job there I met someone...someone that I really have to say was a person I would have been better off not meeting, however, there were some great learning experience in that time period and one very nice child was conceived during that time as well, but more on that in another chapter...

As I worked at the Henlopen I had also taken on another rental, you have to have heat and our little garage apartment didn't have heat, so I had to move.  And move I did.  I also acquired another room-mate. Living with a room-mate can be a very interesting prospect, and not always fun.  We really didn't know each other very well..but we managed.

After living in this rental for a few months I ended up moving again.this time to an amazing apartment in Lewes, the one wall was completely covered with sounding charts.  It would have been an awesome place to live had I had a car...alas I did not.  I did have my bike and that was it.

It was about this time that I started on my next adventure!

Remember I said earlier that I had met someone...well that will be the next chapter.

See you all then and be blessed.

Providence 1974 Chapter 2

This is pretty much what I thought I was!

I know I know I was actually a little bit passed this time period,  but who is really looking at the date.  There are people I know right now who really are just old hippies and it's 2015!  I digress....

As I was relating in the previous chapter,  I had a babysitting job with an awesome family not really very far from my parents home.  

One day when I was sitting for my little guy, whom I adored, and he seemed to like hanging out with me pretty much...there was a knock at the door, knock, knock, knock.  So I went and checked who was there and there was this man, well built attractive, hippy-ish looking man.

We talked at first thru the door.  Turned out he was an old friend of the family, for whom I was sitting.  So eventually I allowed him to come in and we talked and talked.  We got to be very close friends, we really seemed to like a lot of the same things, the same foods, the same music, although in all honesty I must say that he really educated me when it came to music.  He was a pretzel salesman during the day and a musician by occasional night, as well as a concert musician on some weekends.  

Do any of you out there have any idea how extraordinarily
flattering it is to a young girl, who has "Daddy issues," be treated like a young woman, with love and respect?  He was so kind and so dear.

I was still in high school, but a babysat a lot!  For me it was anything I could find to get out of the house.  While looking back on things I can see plainly that all I wanted was to get away and on my own...after I graduated from high school, I had a job at Bachman Pretzels (and no it wasn't the same company my friend worked at), so I was able to get a small two room apartment in the city.  I thought this was great!

But was it really?  I was so rebellious!  I was dating my friend at this point and it didn't take very long till I gave up my apartment and was living with my friend.  

He had a house that was very old, in the city, was only a few blocks from my old apartment, and within walking distance to many businesses.  Back in the middle 70's most people in that area went to the butcher shop and the farmers market, instead of the grocery store.  It was so much more personal and I really loved this. Plus I loved to cook!  Win! Win!

A fun story about cooking.....

Veal Stew

I had gone to the market and I really wanted to try my hand at making Veal Stew and I wanted to surprise my dear one...so I had everything I needed.  I started cooking and cooking and cooking...first of all I cut up and started with the meat and onions and garlic.  Because I knew that veal, from a shoulder cut was a bit tough I thought perhaps I should get that started so it could cook for a longer period of time.  So it could begin to get tender.

Next I added the carrots and turnips and potatoes and leeks and peas and skinless and seeded tomatoes...any vegetables I could get a hold of went into that stew.  I love stew and still do...any kind and all kinds. 

So while this simmered on our old converted stove, I say converted because it was originally an old wood stove that had been fitted with gas fixtures so that it now ran on gas but there where still the compartments for wood burning, just no longer used.  It was a grand old stove, I loved it and I loved cooking on it.

Okay so the stew wouldn't be stew unless I thickened it. So I got out my jar with corn starch and worked on mixing up my cornstarch and water mixture.  (This is no longer my choice for thickening stew, I have since found much better ingredients for doing this.)  Alright I knew that in order to thicken I needed a nice rolling boil...so I turned up the heat and let things warm up a bit.  Rolling boil achieved so I got my jar with the thickening agents and started to pour them into the stew,  something was going terribly wrong as I was stirring  the stew it started to boil up and up and over and over some more, and I turned off the heat and it kept boiling over and over and I had no idea what was going on!

What had I done?  Think...think....think...

I went to the cupboard and got out the corn starch...I didn't like having ugly boxes in my cupboard and I had a habit of dumping those ugly boxes into my pretty mason jars....let me tell you that isn't a great idea unless they are clearly labeled with what they contain...

Do you know baking soda doesn't thicken stew, but it sure makes a heck of a mess!  And to top it all off....do you have any idea how many parts there are to stove like I was using?  Oh My Goodness....tons and tons and tons of parts.  And they all needed to be cleaned.

Thank Heavens I had gotten an early start, my wonderful musician was not due home for at least three hours.  Now you may think the story ends here, but wait there's more.

I finally had finished cleaning up the stove.  That was one thing accomplished.  What was I going to do with all that stew?  It was a approximately a 20 quart stock pot that had been full...once it had calmed down it was now between 1/2 and 3/4's full, probably closer to 1/2.

I played with some spices and pepper and garlic, do you know that you can not hid the wonderful flavor of about a 1/2 cup of baking soda...you just cant hid it.

So I thought I would just see what my sweety thought of the veal stew.  He was due home any moment. When he got home he could smell the aromas of what had been a delicious soup. and he wanted some, I put some in a bowl and he tasted it and spit it out, you know how when you put something in your mouth and you kinda of have your lips pursed and it sprays everywhere...well that is what happened.  Of course I was giggling, you could say I have a Disney sense of humor...what ever could go wrong, does, and then it gets worse, and of course as long as no one is being injured, it just gets a life of it's own and gets funnier and funnier.   That is what happened; he wasn't angry, it wasn't intentional, it was a mistake, albeit a pretty funny one, once I was able to get thru all the telling of it.  Oh we did laugh about that for a long time, and he was a bit cautious tasting what I cooked for a little while, but eventually  he stopped doing that, much to my great joy. 

So whats next?  

I guess you will have to come back another day and find out!

Providence 1973 Chapter 1

GRADUATION!

Yay God!

And sadly, I must say, that this wasn't being said reverently.  

I was 18 and just graduated from high school. 

For most this is an amazing time! 

For me I couldn’t wait to move out of my parent’s home and out from under their thumbs.  My mother was a bit of a tyrant, who really liked things her way.  And it really didn’t matter whether she was right or wrong, it was only her opinion that counted.

Daddy was great, except he didn’t stand up to mother.  Sadly this was not an uncommon phenomenon back in the 70’s, when there was a second marriage and children involved.

There were times, I wondered what life might have been like had I lived in a normal family…you know, with one mother, one father, one sibling, and maybe a cat and dog thrown in for good measure.

Hmm…didn’t happen!

I had one mother, two fathers, and one sister to start with, and an afghan hound for a dog and then another afghan hound added to the first…do you have any idea, how much effort is required to have a handsome afghan hound, let alone two afghan hounds?  These two dogs where an extremely cruel joke to lay on any child or children, as was the case in our home.

Well I will back up a tiny bit…

My mother first married a career army man, and I frankly think that there was some of the same kind of thinking going on in her head as I had going on in mine when I graduated from high school.  Funny how I just this moment realized this piece of information.

Mother and dad married and shortly thereafter my sister was born.  21 Months later I was born.  When my sister and I were about five and three, we moved to Germany, Munich to be precise.

I can remember there were some interesting times, my father was an alcoholic.  Not unusual back then when you were in the service.

But apparently he took his last drink the day I was born.  And I think this may have been difficult for my mother, when Daddy was drinking she could control him in some ways, that she wasn’t able to when he was sober.  I know that sounds a bit off but, if that were not the case then why did she divorce him after he became and stayed sober?

Mother was the control addict, not daddy.  Mother was the one who decided my sister and I would answer, “Yes Sir, No Sir, Yes Mam, and No Mam.”  To our parents to start, and later to whomever we had contact.

Oh and we had a nanny, a governess, if you would, and someone who was from Germany and who spoke only broken English I believe, to start.  Elsa, someone from my childhood whom I would love to know if she is still alive.  I would love to reconnect with her, perhaps fill in some of the gaps.

Elsa took my sister on many, many, adventures!  We went to the Black Forest and saw where there were huge holes in the ground from the bombs during WWII.  She also hitch hiked, yes with the thumb out, with my sister and I to the October Fest.  She was definitely a very bright spot in our days as children growing up.

And then the sadness of moving back to the United States, my sister and mother and I living with my grandfather, who was an active alcoholic and not very nice when he was drinking, which was most of the time.  And were was daddy?  He was in Indiana.  At the big army base in Indianapolis, IN.

After mother had met a man whom my sister and I thought we had arranged for the meeting, which we really hadn’t, but we didn’t find this out till years later. 

Life did settle down a bit and my sister and I were enjoying life a bit….however we wanted to visit daddy.

And in 1963, daddy had a brief encounter with a fine women, and was then sent to Alaska, more in later chapters, maybe... Mother wouldn’t let us go to Alaska.  But when daddy came back to Indiana we were able to finally go for a visit.

                                                             

I can remember this so clearly.   
We  were able to go and see our grandparents, and great grandma Miller, who was quite old and still living by herself.  What a wonderful visit.  We also where introduced to our stepmother and I believe she was pregnant with a son, our half-brother, when we were finally allowed to go and visit our dad.When we got home we were introduced to Pun-ke that was his short name, and you really don’t need to know the long name…way to long.  This was our first Afghan. 

This dog certainly added a whole new dimension to our lives...this picture isn't of our Pun-ke, but he certainly looked a lot just like him.

My mother was able to get a really good price on him because his very first show, he lifted his leg on the judge.  This was a puppy class, but it still ended his showing days...So Pun-Ke ended up becoming a pet.  Now just try to imagine what a dog like this would need when he was walked in the rain, or better yet in the snow!  This was not a kid friendly dog, at least as far as his care was concerned.  Folks, never ever do this to a child or children, it really isn't a fair thing to do.

A few years go by and bring on Farrah...(this is not actually her, but it could have been...)

                                        She was a lovely apricot afghan who loved to play.  She had been abused, so once again my mother got a deal. Pun-Ke and Farrah played and played and now my sister and I had twice the amount of work....

Time went on, and my sister graduated from high school and went on to nursing school, two more years, I had a little job, I had a bike to get around on and a car at my disposal on occasion.  Was I happy?

No! I was probably pretty miserable as well as miserable to be around.

I had my baby-sitting, and some freedom when I was baby-sitting....

One of the family's I sat for had a friend that wasn't really to much older than I, or so I thought....10 years when you are 17 isn't that big a difference, at least that is what I thought and no-one could tell me any different!

Are you wondering where this is going to go....guess you will have to come back and see!

Prophets verses Psychic Mediums

What really is the difference between a Prophet of God and A Psychic Medium?

Have you ever been prophesied over?  Have you ever been to a medium?

A couple of weeks ago I was speaking with an acquaintance, and I was listening to her tell me of a relatives visit to a soothsayer.  Now I must tell you right from the beginning that this is a person that I admire.  Very good head on her shoulders; so I have to say this took me by surprise because she knows where I stand on my relationship with Christ, but then again unless you have really been taught about various things of the Bible, you may not be aware of what the Bible teaches concerning this subject.  So if someone you know approaches this subject with you and you are  child of God, cut them some slack.

I listened intently as she spoke, praying for wisdom on what to say or if I should say anything at all.   The later is where I ended up.  I acknowledge the conversation, but I did not condone what she was saying or tell her that was all a bunch of malarkey.

Instead I have thought long and hard about this and have spoken with someone, with whom I am friends and also someone whose opinion I greatly value.  Mrs. Virginia Hicks, if you have read my blogs you have heard me speak of her and you will also be aware of her absolute brilliance when it comes to dealing with real life issues.  And no Virginia, I am not blowing smoke.

Alright now we are going to go to the Bible for some instruction...Acts 16:  ¹⁶ Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” ¹⁸ She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

Okay now what do you all think about this?  The spirit that was in the woman was of the devil.  The devil is a tricky fellow!  He is constantly creating havoc and not a good kind of havoc. I now see that this statement is an oxymoron.  There is no such thing as a good kind of havoc.  It would be more like a wolf dressed as a sheep.

You all, that have read my blog before, know that I am BIG on definitions...so lets see what the various dictionaries say about this word. 

HAVOC 

From Merriam Webster.com :

¹havoc

noun hav·oc \ˈha-vək, -vik\

: a situation in which there is much destruction or confusion

Full Definition of HAVOC

1:  wide and general destruction :  devastation

2:  great confusion and disorder havoc

in the city

2 havoc

verb hav·ockedhav·ock·ing

Definition of HAVOC

transitive verb

:  to lay waste :  destroy

And from Dictionary.com :

noun

1.

great destruction or devastation; ruinous damage.

verb (used with object), havocked, havocking.

2.

to work havoc upon; devastate.

verb (used without object), havocked, havocking.

3.

to work havoc:

The fire havocked throughout the house.

Idioms

4.

cry havoc, to warn of danger or disaster.

5.

play havoc with,

1. to create confusion or disorder in
   The wind played havoc with the papers on the desk.
2. to destroy; ruin:
   The bad weather played havoc with our vacation plans.

    Alright what do you all think now?  Do you now feel that perhaps a soothsayer is only creating havoc.  Well that is their point, to create havoc.

When a person has a lot of trials going on in their lives, they may be inclined to head to a psychic, to find some direction and when all they have is havoc, they will probably head there again. However in doing so you will be going against what the Bible teaches on this subject. Now if you go to a spirit filled church, you may feel that there isn't any difference.  Well there definitely is a great deal of difference.  

A spirit filled prophet, is totally receiving their direction from the Holy Spirit.

A psychic is receiving their power from the devil.  

Please don't feel that I am being to harsh.  I am trying to tell you that if you play with fire (a psychic) you are going to get burned.

Lets put together some bible verses to show you exactly where the Bible does stand on this subject.

Leviticus 19:31 [Full Chapter]

“‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. 

 

Leviticus 20:6

“‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.

1 Samuel 28:3

[ Saul and the Medium at Endor ] Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.

1 Samuel 28:9

But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”

2 Kings 21:6

He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.

2 Kings 23:24

Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 33:6

He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.

Isaiah 8:19

[ The Darkness Turns to Light ] When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

Isaiah 19:3

The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.

Jeremiah 27:9

So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

 

 From Acts Chapter 8

Simon the Sorcerer

⁹ Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, ¹⁰ and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” ¹¹ They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. ¹² But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³ Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
¹⁴ When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. ¹⁵ When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶ because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
¹⁸ When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money ¹⁹ and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
²⁰ Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. ²² Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. ²³ For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
²⁴ Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
²⁵ After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

 

You should very carefully read these verses and understand that true prophesy comes from the Holy Spirit, which is a part of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

   

If you would like to discuss this further I am available to do so. And don't forget to speak life over yourself and your family and friends and co-workers. I will try to get into this subject in the near future.