In yesterday's blog post I shared two photos of the Windsor Mansion Ruins near Port Gibson, Mississippi. You may have noticed the bright red streak that highlighted one of the pillars. As I was trying to capture an overall scene of the ruins, looking for a composition that included many of the pillars without distortion, this red vine shouted to me. So after I took a number of photos of the group of pillars, I moved so I could concentrate on this one pillar and the contrasting vine. Nature is relentless in recovering in spite of our human construction and destruction. Plant life will grow nearly anywhere. I'm glad I was there in November as I think the red autumn color contrasts more than what I imagine summer's green would be.

The pillars are all that's left of the Windsor Ruins, a mansion that was built just prior to the Civil War and completely destroyed in a fire in 1890.

The 17,000 square foot mansion with 29 forty foot tall columns was built 4 miles east of the Mississippi River on a 2600 acre cotton plantation by Smith Daniel who died just after its completion at the age of 34. The mansion was used by Ulysses S. Grant during the war as a command post. In today's currency, the mansion would have cost nearly 5 million dollars to complete. The property remained with the family until 1974 when they donated the site to the state of Mississippi.

After Thanksgiving, we drove from Natchez to Nashville on the Natchez Trace, the longest National Park, 440 miles. We went out of our way near Port Gibson to visit the Windsor Mansion Ruins, photos of which I will share tomorrow. But the first thing we saw as we turned into the short road toward the ruined mansion was this enormous oak tree. There are many ancient oak trees in the southeastern US, but this one is huge, much larger than the one in McMinnville that is more than 150 years old. Judy is standing near the tree to provide some perspective on the size of this tree. The Windsor Mansion was built during 1859-1861 and although I cannot find specific information on this tree, it must have been here long before the construction of the house. What stories could it tell?

I read something the other day that everything you own will someday be owned by someone else. I like to think I'm going to be able to pass my prized possessions to my children and grandchild and friends. But I discovered when I began to deal with my mother's things after her death in 2015 that there may be no room or desire for someone else's prized possessions. They just become things. So we gave my mom's furniture away, and was so disappointed when the new owners didn't seem to treat the things we had given away with care or respect. They were just things to them. Unwanted stuff.

"One man's junk is another man's treasure", so the saying goes. I wonder if we won't end up with more junk than treasure.

Bailey's Harbor, Wisconsin.

The Winter Rain by Wendell Berry

The leveling of the water, its increase,

the gathering of many into much:

in the cold dusk I stop

midway of the creek, listening

as it passes downward

loud over the rocks, under

the sound of the rain striking,

nowhere any sound

but the water, the dead

weedstems soaked with it, the

ground soaked, the earth overflowing.

And having waded all the way

Across, I look back and see there

On the water the still sky.

Today is the fourth Sunday after Epiphany and the Gospel Lesson is a familiar passage, not only to Christians, but to many others. Matthew 5:1-12, commonly called The Beatitudes, is the initial portion of the Sermon on the Mount. Rather than an exhortation to take on certain qualities, I hear Jesus recognizing qualities and needs that are already present in his listeners.

So Jesus sits on a hillside where anyone and everyone could belong and he is surrounded by a crowd.  They wanted to be there to hear what Jesus had to say.  But I suspect there was the sneaking suspicion that they felt they didn't belong near this man of God.  The Pharisees insisted that God's favor was given only to those who obeyed God's law, but here was a whole crowd who didn't measure up.  There was the businessman, living in a dog‑eat‑dog world, who has lost friends but made money.  There is the young couple who couldn't resist each other sexually and were worried about someone finding out.  There was the woman scared of dying.  There was the one who couldn't help passing along the latest gossip.  They want to be there to listen to Jesus, but if anyone finds out who they really are and their weaknesses, they don't know if they'll hear humiliating laughter or screams of scorn.

I like the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases this portion: "You're blessed when you are at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you, You're blessed when you're content with just who you are--no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought." The passage continues, including

There are those who long to do right, they're going to do it.

There are those who banish feelings of revenge and ill will, they will be forgiven themselves.

There are those who have integrity within, they will see God everywhere.

There are those who work for peace, they are God's sons and daughters.

And to everyone of you‑‑‑God bless you.

Do you hear how I believe Jesus personalized these Beatitudes and included all who were gathered on the hillside, whatever their need, whatever their hope?  Here, where they thought they didn't belong, with just a few words Jesus included them all in the Kingdom.  This is what it is all about.  Jesus took what was true in their lives and turned it into blessing and the source of happiness.  It is not just a matter of sappy, shallow happiness.  It is not about becoming something different so that you will belong to God.  Happiness comes from God's blessing upon us, not by our actions.  The blessing of God is not earned.  It is a gift, a wonderful, undeserved gift.  It is like a kiss, given ‑‑because of who you are, in spite of doubts and fears, with the faint awareness that you are okay after all.  God pronounces his blessing upon who we are‑‑on the God‑shaped‑ness of our lives, where we have been kissed by that sense of wonder and awe.

Here we go with another image that is not my usual subject, or at least not my usual way of seeing. But what appeals to me is the asymmetrical position of the window and the electrical socket, the peeling paint, and the color (in differing values) on the window trim, the wall, and even hinted at on the outlet. The blue of the window shade mimics the blue on the wall. And in this horizontal image, there are strong vertical elements, even the window crank, and then there is the horizontal line in the window and the shadow. In my class this week, we are examining where we personally see beauty and why we see certain things or scenes as beautiful. This scene did catch my eye.

Resuming the "Window" theme: This window was nearly hidden in the shadows. Usually, windows are placed to add light to the building. I'm not sure that was accomplished. Someone was real proud of it and wanted you to know it was there with the red painted frame. So I admit that I am fascinated that a fairly non-descript, common window receives an attention-getting frame.