SOMETHING OF SUBSTANCE FOR NEW YEAR from Brother's Karamazov

Well, it is New Year's Eve and for the past twenty years while i was still married we decided not to go out but just have two or three couples in from the neighborhood rather than be on the dangerous roads. Another thing we loved was to go to a small country church and have a candlelight service, returning home early.

So as I sit here as a single woman tonight reflecting on what is important that i want to infuse into my daily walk with the Lord i think of passages from "the Brothers Karamazov concerning "elder Zosima's teachings. this is book I never wanted to read until my son Joshua urged me to. He keeps it on his nightstand to reflect upon the spiritual passages.

If you are a writer like me and if you love the written word...reading Brothers K will seem like a great accomplishment since Bob Hope used to say "Oh, you're reading Brothers K, see ya in FIVE YEARS." IT IS ONE OF THE LONGEST NOVELS EVER WRITTEN.BY FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY who is hailed as "the finest novelist of all time"
In fact he said "If I can finish this work, I will have expressed myself completely.

His impressions of God are expressed through the main character in his book named "the Elder Zosima, a devout Monk. Here are some of his teaching that i feel are worth listening to for our coming year.

QUOTATIONS FROM THE ELDER ZOSIMA'S TEACHINGS:
Can a man Judge His fellow Men?
Above all, remember that you cannot be anyone's judge. No man on earth can judge a criminal until he understands that he himself is just as guilty as the man standing before him and that he may be more responsible than anyone else for the crime. Only when he understands this can he be a judge. Absurd though as it may sound, this is the truth. For it is possible that , if I myself had been upright, this man would not be standing before me accused of a crime. if you can accept the responsibility for the crime committed by the man standing before you, whom you are judging in your heart, then take the crime and pay for it with your own suffering and let the accused walk away without reproach. and even if the law makes you his judge, you must still endeavor to act in that same spirit for when he leaves he will condemn himself more than you could have.
Attend tirelessly to good works, if before going to sleep at night, you remember something you have not done, rise up at once and do it. If you are surrounded by wicked ruthless people who will not listen to you, go down on your knees and beg them to forgive you, for if they do not listen to you, it is through your own fault. And if they should all turn against you and these evil men still refuse to hear your words, serve them in silence and humility and never abandon HOPE. and if they should all turn away from you and drive you away by force, prostrate yourself
on the ground when you are ALL ALONE, kiss it, and wet it with your tears, and the earth will bring forth fruit from your tears, even if NO ONE SEES OR HEARS you in your solitary retreat.

Have faith to the end. Even if everyone else on earth goes ASTRAY, give life to your faith and keep PRAISING THE LORD, EVEN IF YOU ARE THE LAST OF THE FAITHFUL LEFT ON EARTH. And if you find another being who has preserved his faith, there will be a world of living LOVE, for you will fall into each others arms and praise the name of the Lord with fervor. for IN THE TWO OF YOU his truth will have been fulfilled.

Love the animals: god has given to them the beginnings of thought and untroubled JOY. so do not disturb their joy, do not torment them, do not deprive them of their well being, do no...and that is true, alas, for almost every one of us. Do not work against god's intent. Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to the animals, for they are without sin, while you with all your greatness, you defile the earth wherever you appear and leave an ignoble trail behind you

Above all love little children, for they are sinless, like little angels, and they are there to arouse our tenderness, to purify our hearts, and in a sense to guide us. Woe to the man who offends a small child!! This is all i am going to say tonight. later i will talk about the Storm of the century and how i survived it all alone on Beech Mountain. This according to my late husband qualified me to be a TRUE MOUNTAIN WOMAN.

Matthew West: Give This Christmas Away f/ Amy Grant music video

Matthew West: Give This Christmas Away f/ Amy Grant music video

Beech Mountain sunset

This is the Mountain where I lived for fifteen years. I will be sharing many tales from there. I call it my Mountain of Salvation. God truly spoke to me there. I now live in sunny Florida, but am trying to figure a way to go stay there every summer, God willing.

Beverly Caruso is my pen name

This is the name I use for all my stories and poetry. Reason is that it is my mother's maiden name. She comes from a large Italian family of five sisters and three brothers. All have died except for one sister.

When Yolanda Caruso my mother was growing up, Enrico the tenor used to come to visit her father "Joseph Caruso who was first cousin to Enrico. When he played at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York city, his chauffuer would drive his to visit the family in Vineland. There were many Italians in Vineland who came from the old Country. In fact I learned from my relatives that the word "WOP" means "without papers".

Because of Beverly Hills and Beverly Hillbillies and then because of Caruso being a famous name I felt that it may help me in my writing. So far the world has not discovered me (ha) Mom went to Naples and brought back this Caruso Crest and gave one out to all the sisters and brothers. Mine hangs in the master bedroom over my desk.

hanging clothes

My late husband always made a pully clothes line for me wherever we were. This is a fancy mountain resort where no clothes lines are allowed. but our backyard was so full of trees and woods no one noticed.

there is a woman in Israel who also hangs her clothes out..I want to be her follower and have her join my blog also. she roasts her vegetables too and shows her life in Israel..You will meet her soon on here I pray. Till later...........your Mountain gal

Mountain woman hangs clothes Beech Mountain

This is my grandaughter, Jayna 5 years old

Shopping for a Coach

After trying to post a video and change my blog design I am totally frustrated at my lack of computer knowledge. So i will be out looking for a coach to show me all the functions of the blog. i really want to know.

I consider myself a smart person in that I love to write and to read really deep books. however they must be books that are written with humor, and wit and not a lot of words. Like "The Elements of Style" that classic paperback for Writers. I love to ponder and think, to imagine, to dance, to sit and reflect on relationships. Now I need to sit and read my Bible, which i have not done since trying to figure out this computer. if i sit and PRAY....THAT SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER....then God will send me someone to help me, it always happens that way.

My son is a big computer geek, a designer of software. He actually designs it and has many systems that work for people. I have looked at a lot of blogs and some of them are so eye catching. Soothing to look at. Like one family had dragged a beautiful couch outside in a big field of some sort. The whole family was sitting on the couch. So cute. That was the design of their blog.

Got to get going,to the park..Omega and I look for tennis balls there. The most beautiful park
Omega is my Jack Russell, so full of life and a frizbee champ..Talk to you later.......

Right now there is a war going on in my condo. there is always someone mad at someone. These are people who never learned how to forgive. so they are taking sides and there is a big split Blessed are the peace makers I say. I try to stay neutral. Then when I pray for them....pretty soon after lifting these folks up in prayer in my prayer group. We see Miracles happen and hearts are changed, people are changed and begin to love one another again. We need to stay on our knees. I willl let you know how God sends me a Coach...Till later...your Mountain gal

Getting Started

Now that I have this blog I need to learn how to navigate it and how to get some stuff in those blank margins..will someone tell me step by step how to do this as you would a child. I am all ears and eyes waiting for some helpers. For example I would love to post a link to a video of music I love. Step by step tell me how. thanks

O.K. Steve, Dear Deacon,
Here I am . It took a while so I am going to bed. Now, this mountain lover has to figure out what to put on here. If you can find a place to say something, please say it. I would like to know how to get our blog as well as my two son's blogs on here. Maybe this blog is a mind reader and will have it on automatically.

It is a beautiful night here in Paradise. Yes I live in Paradise