staining away ...

i know i have been a bad blogging bud lately ... when my brain works coherently and i form actual blogable thoughts - well i don't have the time! ... then when i do have time, i am a tired girl and my brain is non-functional! do you get like that too?

i have posted an elegant (?) pic of me and some of the work i've been up to lately ... yesterday was a good day for getting some of that staining done (notice the fancy saw horses ... *blush* ...) ... all the fresh air and exercise (up and down on the ladder) created one tired lady at the end of the day!

as i putter with odd jobs around the house, i count my blessings ... my thoughts are never far from the folks in the Mississippi River basin ... i cannot even begin to imagine their tiredness and loss of any normal lifestyle ...

so as i start my last weekend at the park, i thank the Lord for my work routine, my home routine ... and even the uncertainities of our life ... knowing that tomorrow is an unknown, today is all i have - and each moment needs to be cherished and enjoyed ...

p.s. the bears were by last night, they left their calling card (a shovel full of poop!), i told Leo that they were admiring the staining i had done - since the deposit is right on the spot this picture was taken!

the storm

we are watching CNN, along with everyone else ... how sad ... how heart wrenching to see so many lives impacted by this storm ...

someone has said "Never doubt in the dark what God has taught you in the light." ...

let's keep praying ... keep giving ... keep hoping ...

Come Again!

that thought fills me with joy ... He WILL come again!
and when IS He coming? the bible says "when we least expect it ... "
and when do we least expect it? why the moment we are now living in ...

He who promised

i like the part about "HE who promised is faithful" ... i get the picture that we aren't as faithful at times, we just need to "hold on" to the One who is!

i'm getting ready to dash off to the salt mines in the park ... next weekend is my last one there for the season ... how quickly this fleeting thing called "summer" is going ...

old friends from out of town are dropping by tonight - it will be lovely to see them ... so i best get my day started ... blessings on your Sunday ...

restless spirit

i confess to feeling restless ... maybe it's the hint of fall in the air? maybe the thought of work ending for another season? ... just that little restless tingle in my body ... i want to blog about 6 different topics - all at the same time ... i want to make those phone calls to family and friends, to touch base ... but i don't have anything to offer ... just this nervous anticipation ... you'd think i would outgrow that kind of stuff! *smile* ...

so i think i'll just go grab the cat ... a book ... some tea (green mint tea) ... and try to soothe my restless ole heart ...

* * * * * * * * * *

Come Thou Fount

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,

Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;

Here by Thy great help I’ve come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,

I shall see Thy lovely face;

Clothed then in blood washed linen

How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;

Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,

Take my ransomed soul away;

Send thine angels now to carry

Me to realms of endless day.

yard work, anyone?

i've been busy doing yardwork during my days off (tomorrow is my monday - i like to confuse the issue sometimes *chuckle*) ... so when a friend forwarded one of these fanciful pictures - i thought ... ya! there IS a way to eliminate yard work and still have a house!

forgiveness

just a thought ... a simple deed with a huge promise behind it ...

the way

Pleasures of earth, so seemingly sweet,

Fail at the last my longings to meet:

Only in Thee my bliss is complete;

Only, blest Lord, in Thee

-Anon

Happiness depends on happenings; joy depends on Jesus!

just a reminder to myself ... when i get upset about the work not done ... when i fuss about the here and now ... i need to step back and see the big picture ... get my heart in synch with the Lord's ... and be the type of woman God wants me to be ... may my joy always depend on Jesus!

Happy Birthday Mom!

a fresh photo ... taken this afternoon ... of my mom and me ...

AND would you believe that TODAY my mother turned 70???? i know that i am biased, but i think she looks wonderful ...

age really is just a number ... some folks are ancient at 30, while others are still growing and learning well into their 70’s and 80’s ... my mother is a perfect example ... up until 6 years ago, she knew nothing about computers ... now she is on her 3rd computer, has a digi camera and e-mails her articles to the Finnish newspaper she writes for ... all of us kids are impressed!

it was nice to spend some time with mom as she enters another decade ... since we live well over 2 hours from each other, time is a precious commodity ... i am so glad that she has e-mail ... that helps keep us connected ...

if the Lord allows me to reach 70, i sure hope that i have some of that zip and zest for living that bubbles over in mom’s heart ... what an example of vibrant living she is!

Happy Birthday Aiti ... may the Lord continue to bless you!

the tree

my sister sent me this picture the other day, along with a note that said:

"I see this tree every day on my way to and from work on the bus. It just keeps sprouting a new branch to stabilize...it is the least perfect tree I have seen. It stands alone and high above the others. I like this tree alot."

i told her she should start blogging ... :o)

10 years ago ... a meme

i was tagged by blogging bud Gayla ... i had been reading these little tidbits in blogdom, and was going to "get tuit", so thanx for the push Gayla ... *smile*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

10 years ago ... we had a house full of company from Finland ... we were working on staining the cottage ... and i was finishing off my summer season of work in the park ... leo fished whenever he could ...

5 years ago ... we had company from Arizona ... my Arizona bud and i drove to thunder bay to tour and visit, which included coffee at my dad's place (he died a year later) ... finished another season in the park ... leo fished when he felt up to it ...

1 year ago we had company from Finland ... i'm still working in the park ... and leo and i are looking at our list of household "to do's" - which seems extremely long ... leo only goes out fishing on "perfect" weather days ... i discover blogs and think about jumping in with one of my own ...

Yesterday i chauffeured my aunt and uncle into the city, to save my uncle the drive (he was diagnosed with CA this summer) ... coming home, i admired the way the yard looked and the staining we had accomplished ... prayed about God's direction for us ... checked houses on the internet ... checked in with blogging buds, who have come to mean so much to me ...

5 snacks i enjoy are... ice-cream, raisons, raison toast, apples, carrots.

5 songs i know all the words to... Annie's song, Silent Night, Away in a Manger, i got you babe, Jesus loves me ...

5 things i would do with 100 million dollars... WOW, that is a whole chunk of change! ... philanthropy would be my most pleasurable hobby from that point on!

5 places i would run away to.... ancestral home in Finland, Australia, Tahiti, deserts of Arizona, somewhere totally foreign ...

5 things i would never wear... piercing anywhere on my bod, 4" heels (like i used to in my 20's, since i am short!), weird English type hats, no bikinis or thongs in public (and the public thanks me! and that counts for 2!)

5 favorite TV shows... Survivor, the Amazing Race, CSI, Entertainment Tonight, local news ...

5 bad habits... trying to "fix" all our problems, thinking that i have the solutions to problems, worrying that i have the wrong solution to problems, realizing i know nothing about the problem, worrying about the problem ...

5 biggest joys.... taking problems to the Lord! (since i already messed up the fixing part!), good friends and family that love me, the joy of learning new things, my blogging world, a home in heaven ...

5 favorite toys.... computer, digital camera, pvr receiver (i love that pause live action stuff!), scanner, cell phone ...

5 people I tag to do this ... why you, and you, you, of course you and hopefully you too ... let me know when you post it ... :o)

seasons of change

there is still a month of summer left ... yet i feel the winds of change starting to blow ... maybe it's just the thinking about selling our cottage that has made me grind my teeth at night and be a little scattered brained during the day (good thing leo doesn't comment here ... he'd ask "only a little scattered brained?" - in a loving way of course!)

i feel that it is "meme" that wants to sell and move into town ... more than leo ... i feel so selfish ... mind you, we haven't put the for sale sign on the lawn yet ... or even found a house in town ... BUT ... one moment i am packing, and the next moment i look all around me at the warmth of the logs on the wall and the peaceful serenity of the world outside and ask "why? would you want to move" ...

all of this has been seasoned with much prayer and earnestly asking the Lord for possibly a teensie little e-mail with marching orders on it!

we have decided to do a list of the pros and cons ... maybe that will clarify the thought process ...

sigh ... would you pray for us too ... if leo were healthier, then these questions wouldn't all carry so much weight ... but he has been on a bit of a decline in the past 3 years - and that has me concerned ... and i want to be in town, rather than the country living we have so enjoyed for over a decade now ...

these are my thoughts, as i prepare for work ... oh, my work ends on Labour Day (how fitting!) ... another season of change ...

hope you have a wonderful weekend!

summer's last hurrah

I knew, by the smoke that so gracefully curl'd

Above the green elms, that a cottage was near;

And I said, "If there's peace to be found in the world,

A heart that was humble might hope for it here."

Thomas Moore (1779-1852)

our anniversary ... number 31 ...

1991 in Finland

You fill up my senses

Like a night in the forest

Like the mountains in springtime

Like a walk in the rain

Like a storm in the desert

Like a sleepy blue ocean

You fill up my senses

Come fill me again

Come let me love you

Let me give my life to you

Let me drown in your laughter

Let me die in your arms

Let me lay down beside you

Let me always be with you

Come let me love you

Come love me again

that's the song i heard for the first time, on my wedding day ...
that's the song leo heard for the first time, on his wedding day ...

"Annie's Song" by John Denver ...

such sweet sentiment ... BUT, allowing that sentiment to become lasting love is another story! our lives are a work in progress ... our marriage is the same ... sometimes it's cotton candy and ice cream ... other times it is cod liver oil and spinach ... but always there is prayer woven in and out of that fabric ...

thank you Lord for being the glue in our marriage ... the Constant ... may we finish the course with Your blessings ...

shall we stain?

we are slowly working on staining the house ... and believe me when i say, i look nothing like this picture of a very clean, tidy, young woman painting ... generally i wear half the paint and my hair never stays tied up for long ... i spill, drip, trip and smear ... wouldn't you like to have me painting your house?!!!!

anyway, i do fine with areas that you can give yourself freely too ... applying the stain with gusto, no fear of spreading it anywhere except where intended ...

but all that has changed this summer ... leo's heart is really in helping and getting this work done, but his body has gone on strike ...

today was the "stain the window trim" day for leo ... my job was the stairs ...
w-e-l-l ... leo's back seized up right after he got the stain stirred ... he valiently tried to do the trim, but then he got really bad spasms where he crouched and couldn't breath ... i continued my work ... it's best that way, since i can't do anything but encourage him ... this went on for about half an hour ... there was no way he could stay on the ladder ... try as he did ... sooooo after my steps were all done ... guess who did the fancy pants window trim? moi! no spills, drips or stain on the glass ... i couldn't believe it ... neither could leo ... and i actually did look like a clean, grown-up person after the day was done ... huh! go figure!

"Learn the lesson and forget the details"

- John Mason

carefree memories

i’m the eldest of mother’s children ... 2 of my sisters could actually BE my children! and the 2 that are closest in age to me, well - i still have them beat by over 10 years ...

needless to say, i was the built in baby sitter! in those days the diapers were washed in a ringer washer, rinsed 6 times, then ironed ... there were endless bottles to clean, pabulum to be made and someone’s diaper always needed changing!

i loved my sisters and usually enjoyed helping out ... but i was only a kid myself and needed some kid time, without the worry of babies & bottles ...

so the Lord blessed me with a friend who cheerfully took me away for some summer weekends ... weekends at the cottage ... weekends full of being catered to by my friend’s mom - pizza’s and other goodies that were definitely not a normal part of my life ... swimming in the placid waters of the bay, sharing girlish secrets, lying on the grass watching the clouds go by ...

some of my most carefree childhood memories are wrapped up in the picture i’ve posted of that very cottage ... my haven of rest ... as i look back at it now - i smile at the kindness of my Heavenly Father ... giving me a place where i was able to run free, without a care, and just be a kid.

i refuse

here is a little poem that i had posted near my computer one winter ... nothing profound in the verse or wording, just an attitude that i want to cultivate daily ... it was written by the world famous "anon" ... :o)

I Refuse

I refuse to be discouraged. To be sad, or to cry.
I refuse to be downhearted, and here’s the reason why

I have a God who’s mighty, Who’s sovereign and supreme,
I have a God who loves me, and I am on His team.

He is all-wise and powerful. Jesus is His name.
Though everything is changeable, My God remains the same.

My God knows all that’s happening; Beginning to the end;
His presence is my comfort; He is my dearest Friend.

When sickness comes to weaken me, To bring my head down low,
I call upon my mighty God; Into His arms I go.

When circumstances threaten to rob me of my peace;
He draws me close unto His breast, Where all my strivings cease.

When my heart melts within me, and weakness takes control,
He gathers me into His arms. He soothes my heart and soul.

The Great "I AM" is with me. My life is in his hand
The "Son of the Lord" is my hope. It’s in His strength I stand.

I refuse to be defeated. My eyes are on my God;
He has promised to be with me, As through this life I trod.

I’m looking past all circumstance, to heaven’s throne above;
My prayers have reached the heart of God, I’m resting in His love.

I give God thanks in everything. My eyes are on His face;
The battle’s His, the victory mine; He’ll help me win the race.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!!

smile

standing out in a crowd

to smile ... and have a happy countenance, regardless of circumstances ... helps a person to stand out in a crowd ...

the grass withers and the flower fades

there are so many texts in the bible that speak of the grass withering and the flower fading (Isaiah 40 and the Sermon on the Mount mention this thought) ... the Lord compares it to our lifespan ... how quickly we here one day, and the next we have left earth's stage ... the flowers are earthly beauty - which in our culture is so valued - but that too fades quickly ...

so why do we fret and fuss so over things that are only temporal? why don't we enjoy the journey more and trust in Him who walks beside us?

just wondering outloud ...

monday greetings ....

cool statue, isn't it? the pic was taken by my sister, who just bought a digi camera ... she has been sending the neatest stuff ... AND since she lives a long 3 days drive from here, i have been enjoying the glimpses into her world ... those digi cameras sure do make the distances disappear when pictures appear in my mailbox ... *smile* ...

today is my friday ... and there is much to be done as my "weekend" starts ...

just wanted to post something for those of you drinking their Monday coffee ...

as for me - well "hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work i go .... hum hum hum" ....

remember my thermometer?

i would like to re-introduce you to my thermometer! this photo was taken a few minutes ago ... i was sitting on the swing, just enjoying a beautiful, bug-free evening .... *big smile* ... those of you who met me during the winter, got to see a different version of our outdoor thermometer ... click here ... the 25C shown in the pic above (about 80F), is a far cry from the -48C this poor thing registered in january!!!!

what a difference the summer sun makes ...

kind of like our hearts sometimes ... we go into this deep freeze of coldness and spiritual blahs, thinking we will NEVER claw our way out ... then the Son shines into our very soul ... and everything looks different ... even though it is still the same old heart and same old soul - there is a change ... things start to blossom and grow ... life seems worth the living again ...

Lord bless your weekend ... Lord bless your heart and make you a blessing to others ...

Summer fun

if you were wondering what a day at a Canadian beach looks like ... here it is ... can anyone say moose? :o)

The Faith Expedition

check out Becky's blog at The Faith Expedition ...

her post on "Trusting The Man That Died For Me" just blessed my heart ...

a morning thought

sometimes i forget that the God Who is so personal to me ... is the same fierce God of the Old Testament ... the One who breathed all things into existence ... the same One who promises to return ... the One who knows the thoughts and intents of my heart ... i was in Isaiah this morning ... a prophetic book ... the verses once again reminded me that my trust is in THE Lord of the past, present and future ...

"... thou has been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat ... " Isaiah 25:4

"He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces ..." Isaiah 25:8

"and it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us ..." Isaiah 25:9

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord God is everlasting strength." Isaiah 26: 3-4

dog days of summer

i don't really know what the phrase "dog days of summer" means ... but it came to mind this morning, as did this picture i had scanned last winter ...

it's a warm day here in Manitoba ... i have "staining the house" on my brain plus other chores that need doing, but my body is saying - swimming would be more fun ... *smile* ... well true as that may be, i think i will just have to do things i should today ...

back to the dog days of summer - does that just mean that we are tuckered out by warm weather? or does that mean the last days in the season?

just wondering ... but now i need coffee ... maybe my brain will kick into gear then! maybe?