Hey! hope you are having a wonderful summer - soaking up these last days before the crispness returns to the air and the autumn visual symphony begins.
While at the produce barn the other day, i was struck by the incredible freshness of our vegetables and fruits these days. and then it hit...the canning bug. Yes, i reasoned that we are but two living here...but it wouldn't heed me. So 13 jars of pickled cabbage and 13 jars of pickles later...hehe...we are now eyeing beets, carrots and pickles..mmmm. And while the canning food tastes SO good in winter, i must admit that even the aesthetics of rows of canned food on my shelves gives me joy!
I honestly thought this era of canning had passed...but with changing food needs, it woke up! Which is exciting! What other former joys might surprise me and return?!
So even in the midst of big changes, upheaval of kids moving out and such - new surprises await us! old joys made new again! New adventures await and i am pretty keen to charge out there and find them.
Keep your eyes peeled- you never know how joy will come and surprise you!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Jubilation or Jubilate Deo, if you prefer....
It has struck me lately as i've been reading psalms, that David (and Asaph and dudes) poured out his heart to God - all the muck, but also the boundless praise. Even between verses of his asking God to destroy his enemies- are interspersed with verses of confidence that God has good in mind for him, that God would indeed act on his behalf. pretty wild! (see Psalm 57:4-5)
But the part that has really impressed me was the creative expressions of praise that David gave to the created world.
For example: Psalm 96:11-13 "Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord for he comes, he comes to judge the earth."
Now hang on before you glaze over here....try to picture this! The sound of rejoicing filtering down to you as you sit out in your yard today, as you walk down the street...how about, the sound of cheering and celebration coming from the ocean or a lake. Imagine that! The sound building to a crescendo......
And on that walk through the park, it is faint at first and you look for birds, but the distinct sound of singing begins to register to you...until you realize it is the trees!!
The created world knows its Maker! (trees have measurable intelligence, i once heard) How much more can we know Him - He who loves us and sent his Son on the ultimate rescue mission, out of heartsick, lovesick affection for us...
Be jubilant, my friends. We have much to celebrate!!
tschus!
But the part that has really impressed me was the creative expressions of praise that David gave to the created world.
For example: Psalm 96:11-13 "Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord for he comes, he comes to judge the earth."
Now hang on before you glaze over here....try to picture this! The sound of rejoicing filtering down to you as you sit out in your yard today, as you walk down the street...how about, the sound of cheering and celebration coming from the ocean or a lake. Imagine that! The sound building to a crescendo......
And on that walk through the park, it is faint at first and you look for birds, but the distinct sound of singing begins to register to you...until you realize it is the trees!!
The created world knows its Maker! (trees have measurable intelligence, i once heard) How much more can we know Him - He who loves us and sent his Son on the ultimate rescue mission, out of heartsick, lovesick affection for us...
Be jubilant, my friends. We have much to celebrate!!
tschus!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Visiting....
Just got back from six wonderful days with our grown daughter in Ontario. I have to confess that i went with energetic notions of being wonderwoman to help her. Only to find that she has managed quite nicely on her own. Awesome! but also humbling. But isn't independence what we hope for? yeah..sort of...til it happens. Then we realize that our 'helping' portion of parenting only goes so far. (i know this sounds like awesome news to you parents with younger kids...) But somehow when it happens, you are taken aback. Instead you find something richer, new, more wonderful than you could have hoped for.
Friendship.
who knew?!! Just when one door closes, another opens. Oh, it's not easy to stop trying to 'fix' things - i blew it a few times - just ask Kaitlyn!! I did things i should have left to her....i moved things that weren't mine to touch. Yet, somehow in my eagerness to 'help', i mindlessly crossed the line.
So i am learning. slowly. very slowly, in fact.
i mess up more than i succeed. Then again, we are both learning. And with each child of mine, i will learn new things. I will learn to respect that they are under 'construction' in God's hands....kind of like their mother is!!
and it is very good...it is as it should be..
Philippians 1:6 - "being confident of this, that he who begana good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
That verse spoke to my heart when we sent Kaitlyn off to university about 5 years ago now. That from the start, God had undertaken to look after her development- using us for a season - would continue to refine her, polish her and change her until Christ's return. It gave me such peace!! we were simply handing her back to Him who let us dabble at being parents to begin with!!
HE would finish.
He would fix.
He would make sure it was done properly.
What a relief!
Oh we all do our best, but there are days we'd like to find some cosmic "undo" button for, aren't there? Days we cringe at our actions, words,etc. Knowing we have caused hurt, have done wrong and have generally blown it. But He takes all of that and turns it to rights by His grace and mercy.
Now if that isn't good to know, then i don't know what is!!
Ask him for wisdom as you parent- no matter how old your 'kids' are. Ask him to show you how to be a parent that loves Him first and foremost..."and all these things shall be added to you"
be at peace, my friend.
Friendship.
who knew?!! Just when one door closes, another opens. Oh, it's not easy to stop trying to 'fix' things - i blew it a few times - just ask Kaitlyn!! I did things i should have left to her....i moved things that weren't mine to touch. Yet, somehow in my eagerness to 'help', i mindlessly crossed the line.
So i am learning. slowly. very slowly, in fact.
i mess up more than i succeed. Then again, we are both learning. And with each child of mine, i will learn new things. I will learn to respect that they are under 'construction' in God's hands....kind of like their mother is!!
and it is very good...it is as it should be..
Philippians 1:6 - "being confident of this, that he who begana good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
That verse spoke to my heart when we sent Kaitlyn off to university about 5 years ago now. That from the start, God had undertaken to look after her development- using us for a season - would continue to refine her, polish her and change her until Christ's return. It gave me such peace!! we were simply handing her back to Him who let us dabble at being parents to begin with!!
HE would finish.
He would fix.
He would make sure it was done properly.
What a relief!
Oh we all do our best, but there are days we'd like to find some cosmic "undo" button for, aren't there? Days we cringe at our actions, words,etc. Knowing we have caused hurt, have done wrong and have generally blown it. But He takes all of that and turns it to rights by His grace and mercy.
Now if that isn't good to know, then i don't know what is!!
Ask him for wisdom as you parent- no matter how old your 'kids' are. Ask him to show you how to be a parent that loves Him first and foremost..."and all these things shall be added to you"
be at peace, my friend.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Defending Christianity - or not....
Psalm 2
1 "Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.
3 "Let us break their chains," they say,
"and throw off their fetters."
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them."
When i first read this, i was surprised. So often i hear people getting all 'lathered up' about "Defending Christianity!" and letting comments by nation leaders, government officials, the U.N., etc. make them feel as though Christianity has been compromised in some fashion. Did you read God's reaction to all this 'blustering' in verse 4.
Laughter. Scoffing. in verse 5 he goes to to 'let them know' HE and HE alone sets up rulers, and kings - not anyone else.
wow.
So we can rest easy that God's kingdom never was and never will be a political type of kingdom that has to shove it's way around to stay on top. God laughs at anything like that. HE IS .....and always will be. No one has any claim on him nor nudges him from his absolute supremacy in the universe. Comforting isn't it?
He is here to seek and save the lost. His Beloved. His children who have wandered far from him. Nothing else.
Yes, we need to pray for those misguided leaders - certainly! They are very dear to our Papa's heart! But fear them? naw...
May our God fill your heart with absolute confidence in His sovereign rule and his impeccable sense of timing in history.
Out.
1 "Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.
3 "Let us break their chains," they say,
"and throw off their fetters."
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them."
When i first read this, i was surprised. So often i hear people getting all 'lathered up' about "Defending Christianity!" and letting comments by nation leaders, government officials, the U.N., etc. make them feel as though Christianity has been compromised in some fashion. Did you read God's reaction to all this 'blustering' in verse 4.
Laughter. Scoffing. in verse 5 he goes to to 'let them know' HE and HE alone sets up rulers, and kings - not anyone else.
wow.
So we can rest easy that God's kingdom never was and never will be a political type of kingdom that has to shove it's way around to stay on top. God laughs at anything like that. HE IS .....and always will be. No one has any claim on him nor nudges him from his absolute supremacy in the universe. Comforting isn't it?
He is here to seek and save the lost. His Beloved. His children who have wandered far from him. Nothing else.
Yes, we need to pray for those misguided leaders - certainly! They are very dear to our Papa's heart! But fear them? naw...
May our God fill your heart with absolute confidence in His sovereign rule and his impeccable sense of timing in history.
Out.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
What? Me take a break? are you kidding?
I know i am as much to blame as anyone for the hectic lifestyle i've chosen- whether by being oblivious or just fearing too much quiet, but i read something recently that really rocked me.
I was reading "Christ plays in 10,000 places" by Eugene Peterson (and i thought I was busy!:P) About midway through the book, i read a section on taking a Sabbath. Ok, so i like the idea of taking a break, resting up so i can work better thereafter, but who has the time?
that's when he hit me between the eyes....
Eugene was talking about how even God took a Sabbath during his big creation week. And how God is always working, even now, in creation - oh maybe balancing stars, keeping the sun in the right spot and far deeper things, i'm sure. But perhaps our ceasing work for a day each week (no it doesn't matter which day) we respect that God runs the world and not I. I entrust my life and work and loved ones to his keeping while i keep his planned rhythm for my life. A day to step back from my busyness and appreciate his larger-scaled work in the universe. Get perspective again - yeah my role is smaller but it is a piece of his greater work- not something with no value. But as i thought about it, i realized it takes the pressure of MY having to keep things balanced. Of course, Eugene said it better, so i'll let him say it here:
"Sabbath is a deliberate act of interference, an interruption of our work each week, a decree of no-work so tha we are able to notice, to attend, to listen and to assimilate this comprehensive and majestic work of God, to orient our work in the work of God."
Oh, it isn't easy. I tried taking a Sabbath yesterday and had to stop myself several times when something "important that couldn't wait" came up. But the longer i hung in there, the more i noticed myself relaxing and enjoying the freedom. "Not today!" i said aloud more than a few times.
I'm not sure what your experience of Sabbath is like. When i think of it in reverse, i have to laugh. "I resist taking a break though my Boss insists that i do because I prefer to work 7 days a week."
I wonder how my stress level will change during this trial period? Will i crave vacations and escapes less intensely? Will i be able to keep perspective better during extra stressful times?
As for me....i'm taking the day off. My Boss is kinder to me than i am to myself. Maybe it's time to fix that.
Cheers!
I was reading "Christ plays in 10,000 places" by Eugene Peterson (and i thought I was busy!:P) About midway through the book, i read a section on taking a Sabbath. Ok, so i like the idea of taking a break, resting up so i can work better thereafter, but who has the time?
that's when he hit me between the eyes....
Eugene was talking about how even God took a Sabbath during his big creation week. And how God is always working, even now, in creation - oh maybe balancing stars, keeping the sun in the right spot and far deeper things, i'm sure. But perhaps our ceasing work for a day each week (no it doesn't matter which day) we respect that God runs the world and not I. I entrust my life and work and loved ones to his keeping while i keep his planned rhythm for my life. A day to step back from my busyness and appreciate his larger-scaled work in the universe. Get perspective again - yeah my role is smaller but it is a piece of his greater work- not something with no value. But as i thought about it, i realized it takes the pressure of MY having to keep things balanced. Of course, Eugene said it better, so i'll let him say it here:
"Sabbath is a deliberate act of interference, an interruption of our work each week, a decree of no-work so tha we are able to notice, to attend, to listen and to assimilate this comprehensive and majestic work of God, to orient our work in the work of God."
Oh, it isn't easy. I tried taking a Sabbath yesterday and had to stop myself several times when something "important that couldn't wait" came up. But the longer i hung in there, the more i noticed myself relaxing and enjoying the freedom. "Not today!" i said aloud more than a few times.
I'm not sure what your experience of Sabbath is like. When i think of it in reverse, i have to laugh. "I resist taking a break though my Boss insists that i do because I prefer to work 7 days a week."
I wonder how my stress level will change during this trial period? Will i crave vacations and escapes less intensely? Will i be able to keep perspective better during extra stressful times?
As for me....i'm taking the day off. My Boss is kinder to me than i am to myself. Maybe it's time to fix that.
Cheers!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
remarkable tapestry
Colossians 2:2 (Message) -"I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery."
Wouldn't we all like to have minds confident and at rest? i know i would! Paul seems to be telling something similar here to another verse of his in Philippians 4:6-7-
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."
With Christ replacing all other thoughts that barge and shove to be at the forefront, my mind is renewed and i have new hope, fresh courage and a renewed sense of my place in God's kingdom. When the Spirit helps us to focus our thoughts on God, in prayer, something wonderful happens - we are not thinking about ourselves as the central person in our lives! We have real, actual help - at a huge, cosmic, supernatural level!!!
But like Peter walking toward Jesus on the water, i can hear the wind, see the waves and lose focus on him. But his Spirit faithfully nudges my mind back to His promises, his assurances and the truth of my status as his beloved child.
Help us to keep our eyes on you, Lord, eager to see your kingdom come- in the now and the not-yet.
a little poem- (ok, i don't rhyme, so brace yourself!)
Weave me into your tapestry of love.
Use the supposedly broken threads and
loose bits of my life to
reflect your glory.
Grant me the forgetfulness of self
and wash over me, by Your Spirit, with renewed
devotion to you.
So your life can be lived in mine;
so my fingers, voice and work
can quietly proclaim you,
Who quiets our minds and restores confidence
in faith,
the One who loves, redeems and
makes all things new.
Wouldn't we all like to have minds confident and at rest? i know i would! Paul seems to be telling something similar here to another verse of his in Philippians 4:6-7-
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."
With Christ replacing all other thoughts that barge and shove to be at the forefront, my mind is renewed and i have new hope, fresh courage and a renewed sense of my place in God's kingdom. When the Spirit helps us to focus our thoughts on God, in prayer, something wonderful happens - we are not thinking about ourselves as the central person in our lives! We have real, actual help - at a huge, cosmic, supernatural level!!!
But like Peter walking toward Jesus on the water, i can hear the wind, see the waves and lose focus on him. But his Spirit faithfully nudges my mind back to His promises, his assurances and the truth of my status as his beloved child.
Help us to keep our eyes on you, Lord, eager to see your kingdom come- in the now and the not-yet.
a little poem- (ok, i don't rhyme, so brace yourself!)
Weave me into your tapestry of love.
Use the supposedly broken threads and
loose bits of my life to
reflect your glory.
Grant me the forgetfulness of self
and wash over me, by Your Spirit, with renewed
devotion to you.
So your life can be lived in mine;
so my fingers, voice and work
can quietly proclaim you,
Who quiets our minds and restores confidence
in faith,
the One who loves, redeems and
makes all things new.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Little crumbs
I have a wise friend who knows just the right thing to say - to encourage my faith and to nudge me forward with confidence. Remarkable how God uses her in my life and in the lives of so many. And in the midst of it all, she marvels at God's goodness in touching our lives...such humility!
Well, we were talking today and i was frustrated with my increased limitations lately and how it made things seem more challenging than usual. I have so much desire to serve God and felt hindered by his choice to keep me 'sidelined' right now. Then she said some remarkable things. get this! God asks us to use the energy and gifts HE first gives us...maybe not the ones that we prefer, but he does not stop using us just because we are having a rough time. So if he gives me less energy, then i can only give back to him what i have! Then she pointed out that he is using other gifts in me right now - ones that i don't usually use as much. HUH! i hadn't thought of that, but i understood that it was true.
Don't the most profound things often sound real obvious?
(except to ourselves!haha)
Just like when Jesus went to feed the 5000 - he turned to the disciples and wanted them to feed the people. They were dumbfounded at the cost, the difficulty of locating food way out where they were...and stood there. Then Jesus said, "give me what you have."
See?
So if you are giving what you have, living your passion for him fully and obediently, then there really isn't such a thing as not being usable!! how cool!
So when things don't go as planned, and we ALL have that...remember, give him what you have.
And in God's baffling economy, that will be enough.
Well, we were talking today and i was frustrated with my increased limitations lately and how it made things seem more challenging than usual. I have so much desire to serve God and felt hindered by his choice to keep me 'sidelined' right now. Then she said some remarkable things. get this! God asks us to use the energy and gifts HE first gives us...maybe not the ones that we prefer, but he does not stop using us just because we are having a rough time. So if he gives me less energy, then i can only give back to him what i have! Then she pointed out that he is using other gifts in me right now - ones that i don't usually use as much. HUH! i hadn't thought of that, but i understood that it was true.
Don't the most profound things often sound real obvious?
(except to ourselves!haha)
Just like when Jesus went to feed the 5000 - he turned to the disciples and wanted them to feed the people. They were dumbfounded at the cost, the difficulty of locating food way out where they were...and stood there. Then Jesus said, "give me what you have."
See?
So if you are giving what you have, living your passion for him fully and obediently, then there really isn't such a thing as not being usable!! how cool!
So when things don't go as planned, and we ALL have that...remember, give him what you have.
And in God's baffling economy, that will be enough.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Just some meandering thoughts of one who follows after God- chasing his footprints in the sand....
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering (brokenness) can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, Helen Keller
American blind and deaf educator
Isn't that something? When i consider the life she lived....blind, deaf ..it had to be tricky and it could have made Helen isolated. But she had a zest for life and a terrific mentor/teacher in Anne Sullivan -who nudged, prodded and kept reaching into Helen's world to release her from its limitations. remarkable! Whose Anne Sullivan are you? Whose Helen are you? We need each other - we were made this way. Oh we like to think we are 'all that' - independent, free spirited...but that's not really how we were created. we were created for community- a meaningful togetherness.
And as for brokenness, well, no one enjoys it. It's painful! It trashes our "i'm alright" image. It pokes holes in our pretending and pretenses. But maybe, just maybe, it makes us HUMAN as well. In someone truly broken, we see reflections of our brokenness and they cease to be our competition, but our journey mate...making our way heavenward together. And that seems to put a different spin on things altogether.
Love ya!
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering (brokenness) can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, Helen Keller
American blind and deaf educator
Isn't that something? When i consider the life she lived....blind, deaf ..it had to be tricky and it could have made Helen isolated. But she had a zest for life and a terrific mentor/teacher in Anne Sullivan -who nudged, prodded and kept reaching into Helen's world to release her from its limitations. remarkable! Whose Anne Sullivan are you? Whose Helen are you? We need each other - we were made this way. Oh we like to think we are 'all that' - independent, free spirited...but that's not really how we were created. we were created for community- a meaningful togetherness.
And as for brokenness, well, no one enjoys it. It's painful! It trashes our "i'm alright" image. It pokes holes in our pretending and pretenses. But maybe, just maybe, it makes us HUMAN as well. In someone truly broken, we see reflections of our brokenness and they cease to be our competition, but our journey mate...making our way heavenward together. And that seems to put a different spin on things altogether.
Love ya!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
not another blog!!!
Hello my friends!!
So yes, i decided that Facebook was not quite enough room for my 'writing' lifestyle and thus, here we are.
I'm excited to share poems- some that i've written, others not- as well as funny tidbits from my life and the swirl of life around me. There's always something happening that makes me think, "hm, i should write this down somewhere." Yes, i keep a quotebook- like certain offspring of mine also do. It seems, at times, that the oddest things are caught- whether by modeling them or by pure, shameless genetics!
It is the days before the Easter weekend and I'm looking forward to the renewal this season always causes in me. Maybe i just stop the rush of life long enough to reflect on where I am in life - midway, yikes- and start to think about what is worthwhile to use my time for- and alas, also what is not. At this point, it is not an issue of 'bad' things that i need to let go of, but rather of many good options--of which only a very few are BEST for me to focus on. But we each make those choices daily - so this is common to all of us.
Having enjoyed some 40 plus Easters, I am always amazed how they can seem new each year. But with God everything "is being made new" and in his infinite renewal of life, i am caught up in it.
Now to plan the table for our Easter dinner - i chose bright yellow with some soft green accents- to me those are the colours of renewal, of spring, of fresh beginnings. And with the salvation won on the cross, we live as people of that renewal- of the ongoing redemption that God is working in this world- one wee heart at at time.
i rather like that.
Happy Easter, everyone!
D
So yes, i decided that Facebook was not quite enough room for my 'writing' lifestyle and thus, here we are.
I'm excited to share poems- some that i've written, others not- as well as funny tidbits from my life and the swirl of life around me. There's always something happening that makes me think, "hm, i should write this down somewhere." Yes, i keep a quotebook- like certain offspring of mine also do. It seems, at times, that the oddest things are caught- whether by modeling them or by pure, shameless genetics!
It is the days before the Easter weekend and I'm looking forward to the renewal this season always causes in me. Maybe i just stop the rush of life long enough to reflect on where I am in life - midway, yikes- and start to think about what is worthwhile to use my time for- and alas, also what is not. At this point, it is not an issue of 'bad' things that i need to let go of, but rather of many good options--of which only a very few are BEST for me to focus on. But we each make those choices daily - so this is common to all of us.
Having enjoyed some 40 plus Easters, I am always amazed how they can seem new each year. But with God everything "is being made new" and in his infinite renewal of life, i am caught up in it.
Now to plan the table for our Easter dinner - i chose bright yellow with some soft green accents- to me those are the colours of renewal, of spring, of fresh beginnings. And with the salvation won on the cross, we live as people of that renewal- of the ongoing redemption that God is working in this world- one wee heart at at time.
i rather like that.
Happy Easter, everyone!
D
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