Postscript photos requested

Many friends requested a few more photos 

of my 90th Birthday Bash.

 I respond below with captions:

Leona with Myla, Makenna's baby sister  (Great-grands)










SIBLING LOVE!  Ephrem with baby Karis Leona:  (Great-grands)

  Daddy, Dr. Ed Choy (grandson) overnight tenting in Grandma's yard. Great-Grandsons Emet and Elijah dreaming of Redskins victories!)

Left:  Leona's home, "EAGLE SUMMIT" built for her by son Rick who owns it. He planned for plenty of room for family and guests who come to the Shenandoah Valley to visit her.
(Jeffrey D. Choy, grandson, fire-maker)

       Relaxing under the big tent while the kids enjoy the waterslide

Thanks, Uncle Jeff, (son) for the inflatable water slide and the big pavilion tent

Ted and Leona Choy: (way back when!)

 Parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of the

 current generations of the Choy Family

SUPER WONDERFUL MILESTONE BIRTHDAY!

About 35 Choy-related celebrants descended on my home, “Eagle Summit,” in Winchester, Virginia on July 12. With the exception of two grandchildren, one spouse, and one great-grandchild, all four of my sons, (l to r: Rick, Gary, Jeff, Cliff), spouses, children and their grandchildren from hither and yon were on hand to celebrate my 90^th birthday cum reunion.

Due to scheduling and distance, the family celebration had to be held later than my June 22^nd “real” birth date on which I already celebrated with great gusto.  Never mind—I'm planning to celebrate the beginning of my nineties all year and each day as a gift from our Loving God!

God has blessed me and my late husband Ted with 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren! (In the photo below missing were 2 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.)
 
 
  There were FOUR GENERATIONS of us celebrating! The three most recent infant great-grands were passed around for hugs and snuggles. Thankfully they survived all the love lavished on them! I joyfully turned my master bedroom into a mothers' and infants' nursing room for mommies Kara, Kelly, and Laura. 

Who could resist holding any of these little angels?

Family members smoothly divided the tasks for decorating, preparing a delicious festive meal, birthday cake, and setting up a pavilion tent in my yard where the adults gathered to 

relax while a huge inflatable water slide entertained the children. Everything turned out incredibly harmonious despite such a crowd. With the teenage grandsons, some of the great-grands spent overnight in two tents beside a campfire in my yard. Clouds threatened, but no rain spoiled the fun.

I was surprised with a “This Is Your Life” video production which we viewed on a sheet hung over the draperies in my living room—each family received a DVD copy. I had not seen most of those photos for decades! I was further delighted to be given a “snapfish” color pictorial book with another selection of memorable photos of my life from birth to the present. What a pleasure to view over and over!

(The new little lady above is my "namesake" --Karis LEONA Choy)

Families who came from a distance spent several nights filling up all my guestrooms and floor space for the overflow and we enjoyed a few extra leisurely days of meals and time together. 

Wouldn't you guess? Photos were taken by the hundreds throughout the weekend and many have been displayed on Facebook. It was difficult to limit myself with those above.

"Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!"
 I'm overwhelmed with God's goodness and mercy which has followed me through the mountains and valleys of my long life—especially the blessing of the love and thoughtfulness
 of my precious ever-increasing family.
 I declare with Psalm 103:5
 “[God] satisfies my years with good things,
 so that my strength is renewed like the eagle.”

LIFE'S a-MAZE-ing MYSTERY

Mazes always amaze me. They beckon me to a Starting point and assure me there is a Finish, an exit, an eventual victorious completion. 

Nevertheless they do everything possible to block me and make me turn aside, frustrate me, and even go backward. The destination is really not so far away. If I stand on tiptoe I can see it. Between here and there lies the problem. 

If I go straight forward I bump into a wall. I have to decide whether to go right or left. Whichever direction I choose, I hit another wall. I seem to make one detour after another and I feel as if I'm not making any progress. I keep hitting dead ends.

Not far from where we formerly lived, a famous interactive maze is made from a cornfield in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. It is one of the longest running corn mazes in the U.S. and the world! It is commonly called the “Amazing Maize Maze” or the Lancaster Corn Maze. “Maize” is what the Indians called corn. 

At this five acre location the walkway is 2 ½ miles between the tall cornstalks—and you can't see over them. Instruction and a game board is provided at the entrance and clues and Kernels of Knowledge help to guide you.

 You can choose your level of difficulty in advance. Easy can be finished in about 20 minutes. You can follow the yellow trails that will take you along the outside edge; Intermediate provides more adventure and excitement allowing you to finish in about 45 minutes; Difficult is the most challenging and can take 2 or more hours. Red signs of encouragement are posted along the way. Maze Masters are available if you become desperate or are lost, get claustrophobic, or feel a panic attack coming on. At the end you climb a platform, wave a flag, shouting “Victory!”

A maze is what life feels like for many of us even when we sincerely seek the will of God and are trying to follow and obey what we believe is His guidance. We pray, “Lead me in the paths of righteousness for Your Name's sake,” as the Psalmist prayed. “Make me to know Thy ways, O Lord, Teach me Thy paths, Lead me in Thy truth and teach me” (Psalm 25:4,5). But we still keep hitting brick walls and despair because we are not, in our estimation, making any progress. We just turn around and go another way. That turns out to be blocked too. 

We feel confused and forsaken. We may even feel like the people of Israel wandering around in the desert and the wilderness for forty years before they got to the Promised Land.

How we long for a direct, straight path to victory! That would be too easy. The Lord knows we need the struggle just as the emerging butterfly needs to exert effort as it attempts to make its way out of the chrysalis. Without the initial struggle it would not be strong enough to take flight. We need to persevere, learn to trust God no matter how it looks. 

God has His eyes on us; He's keeping track of us. “Thou art intimately acquainted with all my ways” (Psalm 139:3). That is the mystery of God's leading. Like in the cornfield maze there are red clues of encouragement and Kernels of Knowledge through the Scriptures, by the Holy Spirit, and from fellow pilgrims who are also making their way through the maze of life. We may complain that we didn't get to choose our level of difficulty—it is all too difficult.

Rest assured that you won't get lost if you trust God and keep moving. “The Lord knows the way of the righteous” (Psalm 1:6). He has a plan for your life that He will not abandon. God will send along “Maze Masters,” those who have gone through life's maze before, to cheer you on. 

Of course you'd like to have a map. You'd like to see the whole maze journey from above. You could get to the end faster that way and with less effort. A GPS would be better yet. You could just punch in the destination and follow it with ease. God know our ability, our stamina, our weaknesses, and limitations and takes in consideration what level He guides us to take. “He Himself knows our frame.” “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). 

Never fear! Keep going forward. God's leading may be an “aMAZing mystery to you and me at any given moment of our lives, but God has a perfect scenario He is working out for my life and yours. At the completion you shout "VICTORY!"

CHINA'S SUPER BRIDGE:Blog post Extra

If you are inclined to suffer from vertigo, you may want to skip this blog post! Otherwise, WELCOME to experience China's latest engineering marvel in her intense race to smash records and modernize and surpass other nations with her skills and technology. (Pardon the see-through over print...I told you it was made of glass! Photos were just too oversize.)

China Set To Open World's Longest And Highest Glass-Bottom Bridge

 

A bridge too far? China set to open the most terrifying walkway in the world, stretching a quarter-of-a-mile across a canyon at a dizzying height of 980ft... and it's made of GLASS

• The Zhangjiajie skywalk is set to open in July hovering over a 980ft drop

If you are terrified of heights you would be advised to stay well away from China's latest attraction.

The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon skywalk will hover over a nail-biting 980ft drop and is set to smash records to be the world's longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge.

The dizzying footbridge, which spans between two cliffs in the national park of Zhangjiajie, will be open to brave tourists in July.

If you have vertigo look away! The world's highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge is set to open in China in July

The dizzying walkway is suspended between two cliffs in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon area with unbeatable views of the national park

There are even plans to hold fashions shows along the sky-high pathway, which has unbeatable views of the national park that was the inspiration for the planet Pandora in the movie Avatar. 

Israeli architect Haim Dotan was behind the ambitious venture, which will easily dwarf America's Grand Canyon Skywalk which sits 718ft above ground measuring 68ft long.

Israeli architect Haim Dotan was behind the ambitious venture, which will easily dwarf America's Grand Canyon Skywalk

The terrifying platform is no quick stroll, stretching a whopping 1410ft above the impressive Hunan province scenery

Skyhigh fashion! There are plans to hold fashion shows along the bridge set against the picturesque Zhangjiajie backdrop

Visitors will be able to marvel at the stunning Zhangjiajie national park landscape, which boasts over 3,000 sandstone pillars, and was the inspiration for James Cameron's 2009 movie, Avatar

For tourists who catch the adrenaline bug from completing the transparent walkway, there will also be the opportunity to try the world's highest bungee jump. 

This record-breaking bungee will snatch the title from Macau Tower's 764ft-high attraction.

Last month a similarly scary walkway opened in south-west China in Chongqing, which extended 87.5ft from the edge of a cliff. 

Visitors are suspended in the air with 2,350ft of valley below their feet, leaving them feeling as though they are walking on air.  

Located in the Longgang National Geological Park, the bridge has been named Yuanduan, meaning 'at the 

end of the clouds'

With jaw-dropping panoramic views from its observation deck, it is the longest cantilever bridge in the world

The park is limiting it to just 30 people at a time to ensure visitors have plenty of room to enjoy the view

DEALING WITH BRIDGES

It all began when I sent a birthday card to a special friend with the encouragement printed on it: “Have faith in untraveled roads.” My friend was facing some potentially trying situations in the days ahead.

In fact, we all continually travel untraveled roads in our journeys of life. None of us knows what the future holds. Those of us who are “in Christ” must shoulder our backpack of God's promises and trek without fear but exercising our faith. When we meet the dangers and challenges of the road we will not be alone; Jesus is with us to meet whatever we encounter. 

The future is unknown to us but not to our Lord. Our Eternal God who is in the present moment is also in the future right now, He wants us to trust Him with what is to come. He has gone before us on that untraveled road and ordained each of our days: "In Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them" (Psalm 139:16). 

My friend and I admitted to each other that it is easier said than done to surrender our future into His hands. Rather, we are naturally inclined to go through “what if's,” to imagine all the unexpecteds that could lie ahead of us as the days on the calendar tick off. In our minds we try to cross bridges before we come to them. We have a bridge problem.

What is the purpose of a bridge? It is defined as “a structure built to provide passage over physical obstacles such as water, valleys, or roads.” A bridge is meant to facilitate movement from where we are to somewhere else. There are short bridges like small footbridges over rough terrain or a small stream. There are long bridges like the longest one in the world in Japan whose spans stretch nearly two and a half miles. There is the massive Golden Gate bridge, an architectural wonder. The Brooklyn bridge is touted as “the Bridge of Opportunity.” An ancient covered bridge in Venice, Italy over a narrow canal is called “The Bridge of Sighs.” It was built to transport prisoners by foot from an old prison to a new one. Sculptures line the inside depicting angry and sad faces; it is said that if one listens intently, he can hear the sighs of doomed prisoners from the past. The term “Bridge to Nowhere” describes an unfinished or abandoned bridge, or one whose purpose is lost. 

To bring it into the spiritual realm, by worrying about the future, we are not trusting God for something that only He has control over. This is especially difficult for those of us who are “in charge people.” We are, however, limited in our human nature by space and time. We can't see what's ahead. The future seems to lie in the dark shadows ahead of us and we don't have night vision goggles. So we try to cross bridges in our minds over and over before we come to them; we practice walking over these fantasy bridges multiple times. 

The facts are, we may not ever reach the bridge that we feared. Our own life is like a vapor. Or the bridge we have mentally built may turn out to be just a mirage when we come to it. Or the bridge we dreaded as something ominous may happily lead to something better and more wonderful, “a golden gate bridge.” Or the bridge we feared would be an obstacle, might turn out to be a “bridge of opportunity.” What we dreaded would be a long, long bridge with many spans, God may turn into a “short footbridge” easily crossed.

If we do encounter a difficult bridge, it need not be a “bridge of sighs.” What was meant for evil God is able to turn for good. If God does mean for us to cross a certain bridge, we may find that it is really a way of escape for us, a "bridge over troubled waters," and we will be thankful that God provided it to deliver us. 

God doesn't build a “bridge to nowhere.” He always has a purpose and He doesn't want us crossing bridges in advance. Worry is futile; it cancels our trust in God. “What if's” poison our attitude and threaten our peace. The Proverbs woman had it right. She is our example to do as she was said to have done in Proverbs 31:25, "And she smiles at the future...." When we allow God to hold our hand, we won't be afraid of any phantom bridges!

THE ROAD UNTRAVELED

Leona Choy

How can I follow

The Road Untraveled

without knowing where it leads?

It narrows at the crest of the hill.

I can't see beyond

to the Other Side

but I know it leads Somewhere

unfamiliar to me.

The ruts look deep

as if Someone has dragged

a heavy wooden object

slowly up The Road.

Since I must travel The Road

I'd feel better

if I could follow someone.

Now I dimly see

Someone ahead of me

standing at the top of the hill

arms outstretched

and I know He can see

The Other Side

from His vantage point.

He beckons, calling

“Follow Me!”

Now I can follow The Road

without a fear!

I don't need to know

where it leads

as long as He knows.

He has gone That Way

and already prepared

The Somewhere I will go

and that's enough for me!

SACRED DREAMS AND DESIRES

A GUEST BLOG POST

Often I discover gems in what my friends have written, and I have the joy of passing them on. This post is an example. I hope you will find it meaningful.

I am starting to truly believe that the secret of Life with a capital "L" is written on and in our heart's desires. 

These desires, the ones that are all-consuming, have a life of their own. They connect you with the pain and joy of the world and with God. They are sacred. 

 

The time has come to re-ignite the inward journey that leads us to explore these divine desires. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we can still pick up the trail right here and now. God is timeless and therefore God is ever-present in every moment. In this very moment we can dive deeply into our hearts and find God and explore those burning desires that are divine. Our desires are the map God gives us to find the only life worth living!

Don't just ask yourself what the world needs, or what's out there to do. It is vital, it is life-giving, that we first ask ourselves what makes us come alive, and then pursue that! What the world needs now are people who have come alive and are awake. There are enough “sleeping giants” and "deer in the headlights" kind of people out there. We need people who are burning with life, fire, passion, and love, who are seeking to fulfill the desires that God has planted in their hearts. 

 

I believe that God has in fact “rigged” the world so that life only "works" when we embrace risk as the theme of our lives, when we truly live by faith. 

 

All our attempts to find a safer life, to live by the expectations of others, just kill the soul in the end. That's not how we find LIFE, Life more abundant. And if there is any wisdom in these words from the years of living I have under my belt, I would say this: Don't ask yourself how or why you should follow your heart's desire; that question will cut your dreams off at the knees. The how is never the right question to ask. And the why questions just lead to chasing an elusive dream, like a hamster on a spinning wheel going nowhere fast. 

 

The most powerful question to ask is "WHAT?”

 

What would you dream for yourself? What does your heart truly long for? What do you feel God is calling you to be and do? What makes your soul sing?

I believe the deepest desires of our hearts were placed there by God to lead us deeper into Him and deeper into ourselves. That will thrust us out into this beautiful world to be and do something meaningful, something to please God because it has given us pleasure.

 

In my estimation, I feel our job is to ask what God wants us to do with our dreams and the desires He has placed in our hearts. 

 

As for the question of how? Well, that’s God's job.           (By N.C.)

I will add my bit:

IN PURSUIT OF DREAMS

Leona Choy

I have some dreams, Lord

leftovers from early years

just hanging there in midair

whose strings I can't let go

some goals that I can't meet

some desires of my heart of hearts

plans I can't complete.

I wonder now—

were they even meant

for fulfillment?

Perhaps some are my own

foolish fantasies

hot air balloons of self

launched from the platform

of my puny pride.

Is my chief distress

that they'll come hissing down

to my embarrassment

without accomplishment?

Then teach me relinquishment

to cut the strings

of those inappropriate dreams

and self-ambitious things

to let them go

and not despair

to surrender them

to Your sovereign care

and be content

to leave them there.

Yet—if perchance the dreams are meant

by Your Divine intent

to come to reality

for Your glory and not mine

inspire me, enable me, my Lord

to pursue them relentlessly

if need be

all the way from here to Eternity!

PRACTICING MY ABCs

I recall riding in street cars—no, not cars on the street, but streetcars. Yes, I can remember that far back, to my earliest childhood.

Streetcar or trolley is North American English for what Europeans call tram. Most of the original urban streetcar systems were dismantled in the mid-20th century. Today, only Toronto still operates a streetcar network essentially unchanged in layout and mode of operation. 

Hand in hand with my Czech live-in grandmother, Frantiska, we would walk two blocks to the streetcar stop. As a first grader I was along for the ride because grandma didn't speak English. I was her translator. Streetcars fascinated me. My mother recalled streetcars pulled by horses or mules. They were called bobtail streetcars. The advantages of eliminating animal drive power included dispensing with the need to feed the animals and clean up their waste. 

By the time I was born, streetcars had become propelled by electricity. They had no motor and couldn't come to the curb to pick up passengers because they had to stay on the tracks in the middle of the street. They had to stay connected by a rod or trolley pole extending through their roof to an electric line that was suspended above to receive its power. 

In the streetcars I was familiar with, both the wheels and the tracks were made of metal and together they keep the streetcar grounded. I didn't know the intricacies of how it all worked when I was a child. I only knew that at the end of its run, the uniformed driver with a distinctive hat needed to insert a long metal pole through a hole in the floor to switch something on the tracks so that the streetcar could go in the opposite direction on the same tracks. And he had to push the woven straw backs of every seat in reverse so the people seated could face in the direction the car was headed. 

The driver rang a bell with his foot as we approached intersections. I liked putting my nickel into the metal box at the entry doorway beside the driver. There was always a “ding-ding” as the nickel dropped to the bottom. The streetcar would begin to sway back and forth as we gathered speed. Fun!

A few years down the line the streetcars had morphed into rubber-tired vehicles that didn't have to stay on tracks, but they still needed to stay connected to the overhead power source. They could glide to the curb to pick up passengers. By the time I became a teenager, streetcars disappeared in our Iowa heartland town and buses with engines replaced them. They were not nearly as much fun.

But enough about the operation of streetcars—I want to make a spiritual analogy to our communication with God. He has ordained places where we meet with Him and worship Him collectively. Besides churches, there are personal places we establish where we habitually pray and listen to the Lord in quiet seclusion to receive His power for living. Of course we are in God's presence at all times. Jesus promised that He never leaves us or forsakes us. 

In some sense our communication with God should be as easy as our ABCs. We who know Him are “in Christ” and He lives in us. Jesus taught us that we are to “abide in Him and He in us.” Abide means to dwell permanently. It is unrealistic to imagine that we go in and out of His presence. “Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence?” ( Psalm 139:7-12) We are not to leave Him behind as we go off independently on our own power. We soon come to a standstill as would the streetcar if the trolley pole connection were severed.

The open secret is that we can and should live continually “in Christ” like the streetcar that is entirely dependent on being united to the power available above it. We must learn our ABCs: “Always Be Connected” to God's power. “Without Me, you can do nothing,” Jesus declared. “Pray without ceasing,” Saint Paul taught. Therefore, it must be possible to dwell in and to abide in Christ 24/7. Is it not possible to be in communion and communication with God through the Holy Spirit constantly through an awareness of His presence? To “practice the presence of God,” as intimately as Brother Lawrence so clearly explained in his classic book, no matter what our ordinary day brings? Can't we, shouldn't we carry on a spirit-to-spirit mental communication with God in both directions, speaking to Him and listening to Him continuously? Consciously or unconsciously, simply walking heart to heart with God regardless of what we are engaged in?

The streetcar has a spiritual lesson for us, if we have ears to hear, a mind to receive, and a heart to obey. Our communion with God need not be such a formal, compartmentalized struggle. As we maintain our connection with Him, we are propelled along joyfully and smoothly on His tracks in His foreordained direction. We have instant power available in time of need. We are kept in a position to obey His slightest nudge of guidance, to hear the slightest whisper of His Spirit.

Surrendering ourselves to stay on His tracks doesn't take away our free will. It is our decision whether or not to "step into His streetcar," to go in His direction. We don't have to deposit our nickel for the ride either—it is free to us, but it has been costly for Him; He paid the price at Calvary.