God
There are phenomena that sometimes manifest in the sky seem supernatural, although scientists often have other explanations. I rather think they are supernatural…as in coming from God. Such occurrences were first reported by mountain climbers before the era when airplane travel was common. I’m sure they still see them today too. Climbers would reach a mountain’s summit and suddenly see what seemed to be a figure standing in the distance. I must admit that such a sight would be a little disconcerting, but I wouldn’t mind seeing one. In the mid-1700s, members of a French scientific expedition ascended Pambamarca, a mountain in Ecuador. It seemed like a normal ascent, but when they reached its peak, they witnessed the sun breaking through the clouds, casting their shadows and encircling their heads with halo-like rings. Maybe that is how it happens, but I would say that the conditions would have to be exactly right for this to happen, and I think that is God. I can only imagine their thoughts at that moment…probably fear mixed with curiosity.
The mountain tops are not the only place this has been seen. Now that we are in the era of travel by planes, passengers gazing out of airplane windows have observed not just the aircraft’s shadow but also a rainbow ring encircling it, resembling a halo. Again, scientists have a tendency to explain this away, but I believe rainbows come from God. The phenomenon is known as a glory, pilot’s glory, or pilot’s halo. This phenomenon is not caused by the plane’s shadow itself but often appears alongside it, hence the name. That is part of the reason I don’t think it is an optical illusion. If it is, why don’t more people see it, more often?
A German physicist in the early 1900s, named Gustav Mie, went so far as to develop a mathematical formula to describe the scattering of light by water droplets in the air. I can’t imagine what mathematics would have to do with it, but the thought captivated him anyway. According to an article in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, “glories are produced by the backscattering, or angular deflection, of sunlight by minuscule water droplets in the atmosphere—droplets so small they measure just tens of wavelengths in diameter.” Scientists believe that the size of the rings varies with different wavelengths of light, depending on the average diameter of the droplets and their distribution. To observe a glory, one must be positioned directly between the light source and the water droplets, which explains why glories often appear alongside shadows. That’s where I start to think things would have to be a “little bit too perfect” for this to be coincidence.
Mie’s mathematics did not fully account for the workings of glories…little wonder there. In the 1980s, Nussenzveig and NASA scientist Warren Wiscombe discovered that the light contributing to a glory often does 
not pass through the droplets. A 2014 article in Nature magazine believes that wave tunneling is primarily responsible for glories. This process supposedly occurs when sunlight comes close enough to a droplet to induce electromagnetic waves inside it. These waves circulate within the droplet before escaping, emitting the light rays that form the bulk of the glory observed. Believe what you want, but I think that these are little gifts from God.
My nephew, Steve Spethman is a man of many talents. He is quite crafty. In addition to forging knives, he made reindeer this year. He also does metal art and made a dragon. Steve has always kept busy. He is an honorable man and has taken very good care of his family. He and my niece, Jenny Spethman have taught their children the importance of hard work and integrity. They have also taught them the importance of having God and the most important part of their lives. No matter what happens in life, you can get through it with God. Steve and Jenny know this firsthand, because their first daughter, Laila lives in Heaven, and they look forward to seeing her again when they go home.
Steve and Jenny have five children, Xander, Zack, Isaac, Laila, and Aleesia. They have always had a full house, because not only did they have their children there, but they also had their children’s friends. The Spethman house was the place to hang out…from friends, to girlfriends, everyone wanted to be at the Spethman house. Of course, in life, all things are subject to change, and this year 
has really been a year of change for Steve and Jenny. This summer Xander and his girlfriend, Alli Simpson moved to Colorado so she can go to college. That was really hard, because the kids were at Steve and Jenny’s every day. Their son, Zack graduated from high school and got his first full-time job. Their son, Isaac is buying a house and will moving out within the next couple of months. While Steve and Jenny aren’t officially “empty nesters” yet, they are feeling that status knocking at the door. Still, they have led very busy lives with all those kids, so they are seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel, bittersweet as it is, after having five kids.
These days, they are actually spreading their own wings a little bit. They decided to take a little getaway this 
year and took a trip to Las Vegas…just the two of them. I’m sure that felt strange. They have been doing a little gardening this year, and that has been a pleasant experience. They are both pretty artistic, so their gardens are beautiful. Things are different in a number of ways, but one of the biggest is that Steve is used to having his boys there to help him with things, but now the boys are having him help them. Oh, how the tables have turned. Today is Steve’s birthday. Happy birthday Steve!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandniece, Manuela Ortiz, has had a very exciting year. She and my grandnephew, James Renville are buying a house. The house belongs to his mom, Toni Chase currently, and it is the house where James spent much of his childhood, so it is really a cool thing for his to be buying this particular house. There are some renovations, repairs, and updates that they want to do, so they are working on those, and they aren’t in a big hurry to move in. They want it to be perfect for their move. It is a nice house, and we are all excited for 
them. James and Manuela met in 2019 and married in July of 2021. They have been living in an apartment, and now they are ready to have their own home.
Manuela has been working for the Wyoming Housing Network as a housing counselor. They have been so happy with her that she was recently given a promotion to the title of House Education Manager. We are so proud of her. Manuela immigrated to the United States from Colombia and had originally wanted to work in the United States to learn English. Her plan was to use English, as a way to be a more valuable asset to her employer back in Colombia, but God had other plans for her. Her Spanish and her mastery of English landed her the job she now has because she is able to be not only be a help in the housing market, but to cross a language barrier for people who really need that assistance. Of course, God also had the plan of a match made in Heaven for her and James…a match we are all very happy about.
This last summer, Manuela took James to Colombia to meet the new extended part of his family. It was his first 
visit to Colombia, and his first time to meet any of her family, except for on Skype. As it turns out, James and Manuela’s mother, Consuelo share the same birthday. That made a June trip to Colombia perfect, because they held a birthday party for both of them while they were there. The trip was so much fun for Manuela and James. James loves to travel, and Manuela had a great time showing him all the sights in her homeland. I’m sure there will be many return trips in their future, and before we know it, James will be as fluent in Spanish as Manuela is in English. I’m so glad they got to make the trip. Today is Manuela’s birthday. Happy birthday Manuela!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My sisters, Cheryl Masterson, Caryl Reed, Alena Stevens, Allyn Hadlock, and I decided a while back to start a Sisters’ Book Club. The idea was to pick a book that we all would read, and then we would discuss the book over dinner. We decided to start our book club with books about the Presidents of the United States, and our first book was, of course, about George Washington. We decided to take turns picking the book, and I found one called “The Spiritual Journey of George Washington” and was so excited that I sort of cut in line, because I am the second sister and should have chosen the second book. Thankfully my sister Cheryl forgave my infraction of the rules among sisters and let me go first. Thanks, Cheryl.
This book told of so many amazing things that George Washington did. The most important thing was he Devotion to God. George and his wife, Martha set aside time every day to have Bible study and devotion. They did this as a couple…in full agreement. It was such a strong act of faith and loyalty to God. These times with the Lord truly shaped the kind of man and president George Washington. George Washington had no children of his own, but he raised the two children Martha had from her first marriage. Those children grew up to be respectable people who lived proper lives. He never shirked his duties to Martha’s children. He was a good father, and they loved him very much.
As a soldier and later a General, George Washington was totally a totally amazing “miracle man” without a doubt. He never “sent” his men into battle, he “led” his men into battle. He wasn’t sitting on the sidelines where it was “safe” but rather he was in the thick of it…so much so, that after a battle, his clothes and hat often had bullet holes in them, but he was completely unharmed!! George Washington even had two horses shot out from under him, but he was unhurt. In one of the battles he was in, an Indian warrior, who was a leader in the battle, later said, “Washington was never born to be killed by a bullet! I had seventeen fair fires at him with my rifle, and after all could not bring him to the ground!” The he went on to say, “Listen! The Great Spirit 
protects that man (indicating Washington) and guides his destinies…he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire. I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle.” Another Native American chief in the same battle, Red Hawk also claimed to have shot at Washington eleven times without hitting him. That must have been a terrible shock in the midst of battle, nevertheless, Red Hawk was convinced that the Great Spirit was protecting him, so he stopped firing. There are many other examples of God’s hand on the life of our beloved first President and military hero. While Washington died young by today’s standards, it did not die in battle. Rather his death was caused by a combination of a severe cold or flu, followed by an ancient practice of “bleeding the patient” and the lack of a suggested tracheotomy that likely would have saved his life. Our first meeting of the Sisters’ Book Club was a huge success, and we are moving on to a book about our second president, John Adams. Stay tuned.
In the days, and even months, leading up to Christmas, most people are trying to get ahead of the game by shopping for gifts for family and friends, and then squirreling them away to await the big day of reveal. We all hope we have found that perfect gift for our loved ones…that gift that tells them how much we love them. Some people are very crafty (a skill I have mastered…a few times, but not too many). Those who are crafty find themselves able to give that unique gift that comes from both the heart and the hand. Still, every gift sent from the heart is loved and is a blessing.
While the gifts are a blessing and something we want to give, they are, nevertheless, a big job, that grows bigger as our families grow. Still, would we want our families not to grow. Of course not!! Each new person is a blessing, and each is very loved. Still for those of us doing the Christmas shopping, trying to get ideas without giving ourselves away, and trying to keep those gifts hidden, it is not a project without a little bit of stress…especially as Christmas draws nearer and nearer. Oh, and don’t forget the monumental job of wrapping all those gifts. I was commenting to my daughter, Amy Royce, that wrapping was something I was going to have to “make myself” do, and she told me to wrap them as I get them!! Oh, to be so organized, hahahaha!!!
Most of us put up our Christmas decorations shortly after Thanksgiving, but there are those who can’t wait that 
long. They might put their decorations up right after Halloween. I don’t think I would go that far, but it doesn’t really matter, either way, decorating is a big job…even for those who love it. Some people have kids to help, or grandkids who come and help. That makes it easier, but others do their own decorations. No matter how you decorate, most of us are just happy to have the decorating done…while trying not to think about the work ahead of us when it’s time to take it all down again.
Now, we have arrived at the big day…whether you open gifts on Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day, or a combination of both. We hope our gifts are well received, loved, and not duplicated. Even if they are duplicated, it’s not the worst thing to happen. They can be exchanged, so all is well. Everything that has to do with Christmas has been done…or has it. So often, the real reason for the season…the birth of Jesus, is all but forgotten. How sad that is!! We focus more on Christmas movies, shopping, Santa Clause, and the Grinch, than we do on Jesus. There is nothing wrong with those other things, but we really need to know that the true reason for the season (whether Jesus was born in December or some other time of year) is to remember that God looked down on this messed up world and saw the family that He loved. He knew that we were lost, and 
without a Savior, doomed to Hell. That’s when He devised a plan to save us. He sent His Son, Jesus to be born a baby, grow to manhood, and then die on the cross as a sinless sacrifice for us!! We weren’t worthy, but like any Father, who loves his children, God chose to buy us back, and Jesus was the payment!! How can we possibly go through this season without remembering the birth and sacrifice of our blessed Savior. Remember the reason for the season!! Merry Christmas everyone!!
Friday, May 16, 1986, found the Cokeville, Wyoming law enforcement officers all out of town. It wasn’t normal for every officer to be out of town, but Cokeville was a small town of just 535 people, and normally a quiet place, where nothing ever happened. It was a peaceful place where everyone knew each other. It was a great place to raise a family. Everyone went to church together, worked together, and played together…on a normal day, but this day was not going to be a normal day. This was a miraculous day.
That day, around 1:00pm, David Young, a disgruntled and mentally unstable former Cokeville marshal; his wife, Doris; and his youngest daughter, Princess, known as Penny; entered the town’s only elementary school with an arsenal of weapons and a gasoline bomb in a grocery cart. David Young had initially planned to involve longtime friends Gerald Deppe and Doyle Mendenhall. They had invested money with him in a get-rich-quick scheme that he had called “The Biggie.” This, however, was too much for the men, who eventually refused to participate in the event. Both men were handcuffed in a van outside the school.
No one saw this coming. Why would they? Nothing like that had ever happened in Cokeville before. There was still an air of innocence in the town…until that day. The trio entered the school, and Doug Young began threatening the people. It was at this point that Penny also refused to participate and after her dad said she was “no daughter of his” she left to tell the police. Unfortunately, other than the office personnel at the police station, there was no one who could really help, but help was on the way, nevertheless.
As the events unfolded, the Youngs took the school hostage. They had a bomb, and it was leaking gas. The children were getting sick, and teachers felt led to open the windows. Children later said that they saw people dressed in white told them to go near the windows. One teacher felt led to make a box with tape on the floor so that the bomber was in there by himself. No one was allowed in but Doug, the bomber and his wife, Doris. When the bomber went to the restroom, he put the string that would set off the bomb on his wife’s wrist. She forgot not to move her arm up, and she accidently set off the bomb. She was killed. A bomb expert who examined the bomb said that there had been gunpowder under the bomb, and had it not become wet with gasoline, it would have been as if the air was on fire. He also said that several of the wires were cut, and there was no explanation as to how that had happened, but it meant that the bomb didn’t have its full force. The students said they saw beings of light all around the bomb when it went off. Doug came out of the restroom and saw that he had failed. He went back in and fatally shot himself, after shooting one teacher in the back, somehow missing his spine by about an inch. Other 
than that teacher, no one was injured. The bomb did go off, but most of its power was miraculously thwarted. Afterwards, everyone who was there, told the same stories of people dressed in white, and beings of light. No one wavered about what they saw. No one changed their minds. You can believe what you want, but as for me…I believe God sent His angels and gave them charge over the teachers and children at Cokeville Elementary School that day. And the angels bore them up and kept them safe. Glory be to God!!
Story by guest writer, Corrie Petersen
Today is a special day for a special person in my life. My mom’s birthday is today, and I am so grateful for all the things she has done in my life for me and everyone else. She is such a caring person, and she is a Godly woman. She has taught me to believe in God and trust in Him because He will make all things come to pass.
As of today, she has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren with two more great-grandchildren on the way. She loves spending time with all of us and she does all she can to make sure she does just that even though two of her grandchildren and her other daughter, my sister, Amy, and her husband Travis live in Washington State. She loves to visit them in Washington and she and my dad are planning a trip to see them next year.
The past six years have been a roller coaster of events. From me starting college for a nursing degree to all the great-grandchildren that have come along. We’ve experienced some not-so-fun things as well including a death in the family and my dad had a heart attack, but the good thing is that God helped us through each of those days. I know she has helped my family when I was not able to be there for them due to school. Nursing school takes a lot of time, energy, and dedication and during that time, she helped my family in so many ways that I don’t know how to thank her for what she did for them.
My mom has been retired for a little while now and I am positive she and my dad love the retired life they are living. They love to travel and hike while on the way. They bowl together, they hike together, and they go to family events together and they would not have it any other way because they love being together.
Today is my mom’s birthday. Mom, I hope you have a wonderful day. I love you so much.
Today is Saint Patrick’s Day, but I don’t believe in Luck. I believe in blessed. Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations are all about “the luck” of the Irish. I’m not real sure where that idea got started, and I know that it’s all in fun, but luck isn’t real, and blessing is. Saint Patrick was born in Britain, but he was kidnapped by Irish pirates at 16 and enslaved for six years. They took him to Ireland where he was enslaved and held captive for six years. Patrick writes in the Confession that “the time he spent in captivity was critical to his spiritual development.” Often it is when we are our lowest time, that we finally look up and find the Lord. He explains that “the Lord had mercy on his youth and ignorance and afforded him the opportunity to be forgiven his sins and convert to Christianity.” While Saint Patrick was held in captivity, he was assigned to work as a shepherd, but while there, he also strengthened his relationship with God through prayer, eventually leading him to convert to Christianity.
After six years of captivity, Patrick heard a voice telling him in a dream that he would soon go home, and then that his ship was ready. There was no “luck” to it. God spoke to him in a dream, and he obeyed. He was blessed with his freedom. He immediately took action, and escaping from his master, he 
travelled to a port, two hundred miles away. Once there, Patrick found a ship and with difficulty persuaded the captain to take him. After three days of sailing, they landed, presumably in Britain. Odd that they didn’t seem to know. All the passengers and crew left the ship, walking for 28 days in a “wilderness” and almost starving to death. After Patrick prayed for sustenance, they encountered a herd of wild boar, and since this was shortly after Patrick had urged them to put their faith in God, his reputation as a man of God grew. By the time Patrick arrived back to his family, he was a young man of twenty years. Patrick continued to study Christianity.
After making his escape, Saint Patrick, who wasn’t a saint then, made his way back to Britain, but Ireland beckoned him, and he would eventually go back there. Patrick had a vision a few years after returning home, “I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave 
me one of them. I read the heading: ‘The Voice of the Irish,’ As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea, and they cried out, as with one voice: ‘We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.'” A.B.E. Hood suggests that the Victoricus of Saint Patrick’s vision may be identified with Saint Victricius, bishop of Rouen in the late fourth century, who had visited Britain in an official capacity in 396. However, Ludwig Bieler disagrees. I guess we will ever really know.
Acting on his vision, Patrick returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary, and that is how he became a patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick actually never used a four-leaf clover, but rather he used a three-leaf clover as a way to help people to understand the Trinity (Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
My mom, Collene Spencer went home to be with the Lord, eight years ago today. It’s so hard for me to believe she has been gone that long. That was the day my sisters and I officially became adult orphans. It’s a strange thing to think about, after having your parents with you most of your life. I think that the things I miss most about my mom are her faith in God, her natural goodness, and her humor. Mom’s humor still makes me laugh today. She really was kind of a natural comedienne. She loved to laugh, and even more than that, she loved to make others laugh. She was known for the funny faces she made, and the goofy things she would do.
Mom was the true middle sister. She had three older sisters, Evelyn Hushman, Virginia Beadle, Dolores Johnson, followed by brother Larry Byer. She also had a younger brother, Wayne Byer, followed by three sisters, Bonnie McDaniels, Dixie Richards, and Sandy Pattan. I think her humorous side might have come from her brothers, both of whom were hilariously funny. I could say they were a bad influence on her, but even with their mischievous personalities, they were really a good influence on her. The three of them were always in some sort of “trouble” with their mom. Not real trouble, just mischief. There was never a dull moment. That’s how it was when Mom got her girls laughing too. Never a dull moment.
My mom loved to sing, and she made sure that our days started off with something like “Keep on the Sunny Side” or “You Are My Sunshine.” Even if we didn’t “feel” sunny, she tried to bring out the sunshine in a cloudy day. We didn’t really know just what a wise woman our mother was, but looking back, I wish we had known. Starting your day with a smile is probably the single best way to start your day. Life isn’t always easy, but living life with a smile on your face gives it joy. All too often, we try to be far too serious, and we miss out on all the 
funny parts of life. Mom didn’t hold grudges. She just wouldn’t allow those kinds of feeling to ruin her day or her life. She tried to teach that to us too, and I like to think she succeeded. We may not jump out of bed with a smile on our faces…at least not before a few cups of coffee, but we are all happy people, and on occasion, we still sing those songs, because it reminds us of our sweet mom. It’s really hard for me to believe that Mom has been gone for eight years now, but it is really easy to believe that she is in Heaven, because it was Jesus in her heart that made her so happy. We love and miss you everyday Mom, and we can’t wait to see you again.
To call the Pearl Harbor attack, a “mistake on the part of the Japanese,” seems like a case of serious misinformation, on the part of the one who made such a comment, Admiral Chester A Nimitz. Nevertheless, that is what he said on Christmas Day, 1941, after he toured the destruction of his new duty station shortly after his Christmas Eve arrival. Anyone who would have heard Nemitz comments probably thought the new Commander of the Pacific Fleet might be just a little bit “off his rocker!!” Where everyone else saw all the ships sunken and knew of the 3,800 men who lost their lives that day, and in their minds, there was nothing good about all this, so what was the admiral thinking.
Sunday, December 7th, 1941, found Admiral Chester Nimitz attending a concert in Washington, DC. He received a page and was told that he had a phone call. On the other end was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who told Admiral Nimitz that his new assignment was to be the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Admiral Nimitz flew to Hawaii to assume command of the Pacific Fleet, arriving to see such a spirit of despair, dejection, and defeat. It seemed that everyone thought the Japanese had already won the war. As the tour boat returned to dock, the young helmsman of the boat asked, “Well Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this destruction?” The admiral’s reply shocked everyone within the sound of his voice. Admiral Nimitz said, “The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make, or God was taking care of America. Which do you think it was?” Shocked and surprised, the young helmsman asked, “What do mean by saying the Japanese made the three biggest mistakes an attack force ever made?”
What was meant, is really the difference between the thinking of an enlisted man, and the thinking of a great strategist, such as Admiral Nemitz was. I’m actually quite sure most of us would have fallen more in line with 
the enlisted helmsman…basically seeing the trees and missing the forest. So, Admiral Nemitz had to enlighten those around him. The first mistake made by the Japanese, is actually one I had heard before, and likely the “best” mistake for the people concerned. The attack on Pearl Harbor took place on a Sunday morning…when many of the men who might have been on the ships, were on leave. In fact, nine out of ten of the men stationed on the ships were on leave. That cut the loss of life down by 90%. As Admiral Nemitz told the people, “If those same ships had been lured to sea and been sunk–we would have lost 38,000 men instead of 3,800.” Now the Japanese had angered the “Sleeping Giant” that was the United States and left the majority of the fighting force to exact their revenge.
Of course, that was only their first mistake. Their second mistake was that when the Japanese saw all those battleships lined up in a row, they got so carried away sinking the battleships, they either didn’t notice, or forgot about the dry docks opposite those ships. Leaving the dry docks, meant that instead of towing every one of those ships to the America to be repaired, they could simply be raised from the shallow water they were in, and one tug could pull them over to the dry docks. Any salvageable ships could be repaired and back out at sea by the time they could have towed them to the America. Add that fact to the already established fact that Admiral Nemitz already had crews ashore anxious to man those ships. They were ready to fight.
The final mistake made by the Japanese was that they were either unaware of or forgot about the above-ground fuel storage tanks located just five miles away over the next hill. In fact, every drop of fuel in the Pacific theater of war was sitting out there in those tanks, and even if the ships were ready to go and fully manned, the lack of fuel would have prevented an attack on the Japanese fleet.
While everyone around him was thinking of the devastation and the defeat of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Nemitz saw the three biggest mistakes of the Japanese government, or as he preferred to call it, that 
“God was taking care of America.” I tend to agree with Admiral Nemitz in that I, too, think it was God taking care of us. My thought is that the Japanese knew about the dry docks and the fuel storage, but in their “excitement” at pulling off the surprise attack, they forgot all about them. Of course, there is that first mistake of planning an attack of God’s Day. Seriously, they chose to take on the whole Pacific Fleet…and God too!! Wow!! It’s hard to be more “stupid” than that.
