Worship with Others Leads to Longer Life, Studies Show

 

Being part of a faith based based community and attending services four times a month has been found to increase longevity. Above is a photo of Saint Coloman Church in Schwangau, Germany. The church is named after the Irish monk, Coloman. I think it fits this subject of my post today.

In my AARP bulletin a while ago an article lists 99 tips for longer life. Tip number 99 states: "Pray for longer life. A 2016 study followed 74,534 women for 20 years; those who attended religious services more than once a week enjoyed a 33 percent lower mortality rate than those who skipped church."
That  lower mortality rate of 33 percent is huge!

The AARP list was written by Mike Zimmerman who has written a dozen books on health. Though the title of the tip says "pray" the tip itself says attend religious services.

Dan Buettner's new book "The Blue Zones: Secrets for Living Longer from the Healthiest Places on Earth" lists in his Power of 9 "Belong. Being part of some type of faith-based community and attending services four times a month adds to the longevity of the Blue Zones populations."

The above photo is a synagogue in Romania.

I am also in what we call a "small group" in my church, where the 25 members meet once a week in fellowship and I agree with the leader who says we are family. We help each other in every way needed. We are supporting a refugee family from the Ukraine and found them housing here. Then a wildfire here forced them to move and we found them another home. Imagine the anguish of worry about the war, and having to move repeated times. At church we create families.

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20.

Above is a photo of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, my beautiful lady. Yes, I do feel she is mine and of course she belongs to the world. I visited her a dozen times when I lived in Paris for two summers, listened to several free organ recitals and felt uplifted whenever I entered this Cathedral. My husband and I were also in Paris for one Christmas and he went to a midnight service in the vaults below the church. He told me it was very dark and cold and he sipped from a small bottle of Grand Marnier to keep him warm. I hope Notre Dame will be beautifully restored to its original design.

Remember, gather together in church, temple or synagogue, the rewards are great in this life and the next.

Yacht Harbor, Long Term Friends and Antoine St. Exupery

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Three of us long term friends enjoyed a get together at the harbor last week, you can see my friend standing at the top of the deck. Antoine  de Saint. Exupery in his "Wind, Sand and Stars" wrote "Old friends cannot be created out of hand. Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions. It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning, to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak." Aren't his thoughts beautiful? He is well known for writing "The Little Prince" and sadly he died when his small plane crashed during WWII as he was helping in the war effort.
 

Restaurant where three of us celebrated a friend's birthday. The restaurant above is at the yacht harbor and we sat on the outdoor deck in ideal weather.

The birthday girl is on the left and that is me on the right.

I am on the left and friend on the right. We three have been meeting since 2009 and before, don't recall the exact year and we have been friends for longer than that. We met at work and during the worst of covid we met on Zoom twice a month. It is so worth it to have long term friendships, they are special.

Thanksgiving and a Pupaversary

 

We are celebrating Thanksgiving here in the USA on November 23, plus this is the 7th anniversary of my dog Bounce's Pupaversary, when we adopted him from the shelter on November 23. So this is a big day in our home.

 

Can you guess what the above photo is? I think it looks weird if you don't know what it is, it is Bounce's birthday cake toy, which we will give him Nove. 23, he loves these and has had 4, this is the brand new one still with tags on. It plays the happy birthday song and he likes to grab a candle and carry it around.

 Psalm 100 - "Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

 Bounce on his Pupaversary on November 23. It is a love fest between him and his people family.

Sunsets, Heart Shaped Leaves and Ephesians

 Here are sunset and heart shaped leaves photos from my neighborhood walks. 

I find these leaves fascinating and have shown you photos of them in past years. These are photos I took this week.

 Here are some leaves in a row in the gutter.

Enjoy your sunsets and sunrises and beauty all around you. 

Here is a Scripture favorite of mine: "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19

Gold Leaves, Poem by G.K. Chesterton

 

Gold Leaves by G.K. Chesterton

Lo! I am come to autumn

When all the leaves are gold;

Grey hairs and golden leaves cry out

The year and I are old.

In youth I sought the prince of men,

Captain in cosmic wars,

Our Titan, even the weeds would show

Defiant to the stars.

But now a great thing in the street

Seems any human nod,

Where shift in strange democracy

The million masks of God.

In youth I sought the golden flower

Hidden in wood or wold,

But I am come to autumn,

When all the leaves are gold.

Thank you to Epoch Times for showing me this profound poem in your recent Life and Tradition section. The photo was taken in Connecticut by my husband Will years ago. The words "Grey hairs and golden leaves cry out, the year and I are old" resonate with me as a senior citizen. I find this poem to be very beautiful and profound and hope you like it too.

Brushing My Dog's Teeth, Is That Strange?

 

Can you believe I brush my pup's teeth once a day? Does that sound crazy? The veterinarian told me to do that to save Bounce's remaining teeth. Before I adopted Bounce I would never have imagined brushing a dog's teeth. No one I know does that. My friend has a German Shepherd (Alsatian for you European friends) and says her dog would not let her do that.

According to veterinarians small dogs have more tooth problems than larger dogs. Bounce is a 14 pound ChiWeenieCorgi. ChihuahuaDachsundCorgi. Before I adopted Bounce from the shelter, he was neutered by the shelter and several teeth were pulled. He was five then and is almost eleven now, and a couple years ago had to have a couple more teeth pulled, poor guy! He still has plenty of teeth I am happy to report.

Ever since then I use chicken flavor dog toothpaste and brush his teeth once a day. He doesn't mind it, yum, chicken flavor. My sons told me I am a saint for doing that. But I want Bounce to keep the rest of his teeth.

Do you brush your pup's teeth?

I saw dolphins in the ocean today

 

Walking with my pup Bounce today along the ocean I saw dolphins swimming near shore. I did not take photos since my camera doesn't have a powerful zoom lens, so I found these photos online to post.

The above photo looks like what I saw, they may be feeding or playing or courting, and I do love dolphins. They are so sleek and beautifully made for their environment. "He hath made everything beautiful." Ecclesiastes 3:11