SimplyLife

Who's hiding in your family tree? Someone famous perhaps or a notorious outlaw? Maybe an interesting army general, or the guy that lost the family fortune may lurk in your family history. My own family has some interesting characters--no surprise, and it's been quite entertaining and rewarding to discover the journey of my family throughout American history. My mother is the chief genealogist of our diverse tribe, and has spent countless hours tracking down dead people from all over the world. I tapped into her expertise to share the basics of uncovering your family history. Below are some FAQs of the budding genealogist. 1.  Where do you start? Start with what you know, like your immediate family. It gives you an opportunity to write down all those birthdays forgotten every year. Once essential dates are found (which include marriage, and death dates if applicable), you can branch out...so to speak. Your parents most likely have information on their siblings and grandpar...

Lots of animals rely on camouflage for survival. One familiar resident in our yard is the horned lizard. They can be difficult to spot since their skin color is almost exactly the same shade as the dirt. They are perfectly colored for their environment. Predators such as falcons, roadrunners, and snakes must have sharp eyes to spot them before they dart away. People are much the same way.  We work to be unique, but we really want to fit in, not make waves, or stand out. It's about survival, just like the lizard. We don't want to become someone's prey--to be ridiculed, shunned, or passed over for promotion.  The immutable and eternal truth of God's Word is in direct opposition to popular culture's views on morality or right and wrong.  Jesus doesn't lead us to an easy road, where we can become invisible, go along with the crowd, or retreat from the action. We are to be visible--identifiable in the crowd.  "You are the light of the world—like a city o...

As I've written before, Cochise County doesn't have a long history of law and order. From the early days of the Apache wars to wild times in Tombstone, there's a healthy supply of interesting tales.  Cattle rustling was one enterprise that the Indians, Mexicans and Americans seemed to enjoy.  The terrain is well-suited because of the multitude of canyons, arroyos, and undefined borders which benefited rustlers.  Black Jack (Photo: Wikipedia) Curly Bill's gang (of the OK Corral shoot out fame) headed an active bunch of rustlers whose most famous exploit was killing a group of Mexican smugglers in Skeleton Canyon. After that awful deed, they proceeded to steal 300 head of cattle in Mexico and jubilantly returned to the Tombstone area with their catch. The Mexican vacqueros pursued the bovine bandits back into the U.S. and recovered the cattle and managed to rustle 200 more head on the way back across the Mexican border.  This only escala...

The high desert spring is in overdrive. Because of some significant winter rains, our area is unusually lush. The roses are especially nice, the first blooms just emerging. I was counting the buds on the bushes along with the red yuccas, excited about the potential of so many blooms all at once. The buds are tightly wrapped cones of color, expanding each day toward the burst of full flower. Montezuma Rose Photo: L. Wallace The roses, iris, yucca, prickly pear, salvias, etc., etc. give everything they have to bloom. It's their crowning achievement and singular task that accomplishes a dual purpose. They produce the beautiful flowers that feed the bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, plus reproduce despite windy, dry weather and pests. And so it should be for us, using the gracious gifts God has given us to build up the body of Christ--the church--our brothers and sisters. These gifts disciple believers and bring others to Jesus. In the church, we need to be...

 T he Creator of the universe planted a perfect garden in Eden for Adam and Eve to enjoy. He walked in the garden with them every evening. Then they believed Satan’s lie and their relationship with God was broken. They lost the garden. The Creator came back to this sin-filled earth to rescue us and as He finished his earthly ministry, it was in another garden—the Garden of Gethsemane.  Jesus knew what faced him in the next few hours.  He would be arrested. He would be beaten and spit upon.  He would be accused by the religious leaders of his day, who would lie through their teeth about him.  And then he would be nailed to a cross and hung to die like a common criminal. It was all for you, and it was all for me.  Jesus didn’t run away and he didn’t give up, even though his most trusted disciples fell asleep during their Master’s greatest time of need.  He could have said it wasn’t worth it anymore, especially since the men he’d spent th...

Bonsai is the fascinating Japanese art of shaping trees into miniature works of art. Tiny trees are potted, then trimmed, wired, and slowly formed into stunning displays. The process is not weeks or months, but years. Long years, patient years. It requires an artistic touch, understanding form, balance, and negative space. The gardener must understand the tree--diseases, light requirements, fertilizer. The gardener must also know how to bend the branches and know how much the tree can take. The gardener already sees in his or her mind what this tree can truly look like at its maturation. It's not for the faint of heart, nor the hurried. As a gardener, I admire the skill of master gardeners who painstakingly create such beauty. The photos bear out the long process from the 10 year-old azalea on the left to the mature trees below that are 50 years or more. Azalea - 10 yrs old Photo: E. Morse I can't help but compare these intricate works of gardening art to the patient te...