what's up in my world? well ...

i had some disappointing condo news again today ... 2 condos we previously thought might be available in late spring - most likely won't be ... the condos belong to little old ladies (yes, much older than me!) and they aren't sure about nursing homes ... well the story weaves around family issues as well ...

as i said, the news was disappointing ... but my heart did not get down or fret - in other words, i wasn't personally disappointed ... it was another "wait" from the Lord ... He knows better than i do - so i can also safety "trust" in the outcome ...

i may just have to unpack a bit more ... maybe ...

our rental has been a good spot to rest, reflect and read! the 3 "R's" ... not that it is a perfect spot ... the previous owner was a heavy smoker ... and even though the carpets have been washed, there is still a certain staleness in the air that i haven't been able to get rid of ... i woke up at 3 a.m. last night (i've done that for the past few nights) and i could smell it ... it will be wonderful when i can open windows once again ... to let the fresh air bath the house ....

you know, i really needed this time of rest before i head off to the park and another season of work ... i've so enjoyed my 3 R's ... would i have preferred that we were already in our condo? YES! am i down about it? NO!

life is more interesting taking the long way round ...

desire

what if God is all that i desire in this world ... nothing else ... just Him alone?

how will i live? how will i behave? if i only seek God's approval, no one elses ...

He promises to give us our heart's desire, if we ask Him ... in prayer ... believing ...

my heart desires You - Lord ... and You Alone ...

He is the same ...
yesterday ... today ... and forever ....

our little rental home

you know what is great about renting? if something goes wrong in the house, you can call the landlord! and that's exactly what we did today ...

the weather has turned mild and the snow is melting quickly ... so we got some water in the basement ... which made for wet rugs and boxes ... i wasn't sure what our young landlord could do, but i gave him a call anyway ... he was here in a jiffy, jumped on his little dozer and scooped all the snow away from that particular outside wall ... then he made sure the water was draining away from the house ... he thinks that should fix it ...

leo was pretty thrilled that he didn't have to do anything about this particular problem!

at the moment we are content to wait here until we find a condo to buy ... speaking of which, i guess i should up-date you re my timely conversation post ... we did end up going to look at this unit ... the view of the river was lovely and the condo was well kept ... BUT (you knew there was a but, right?) there were 10 steep steps to climb to the front door ... and that is too much for leo ... so this one wasn't meant for us ...

i should really claim Mark 11:24 regarding a condo ... "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." ... though i always feel so self-centered when ask the Lord for more - when He has already blessed me beyond measure ...

just my little ramble tonight ...

do you think?

do you think the birds are flying north yet?

*smile*

on course

You're blessed when you stay on course,

walking steadily on the road revealed by Yahweh.

You're blessed when you follow his directions,

doing your best to find him.

That's right - you don't go off on your own;

you walk straight along the road he set.

You, Yahweh, prescribed the right way to live;

now you expect us to live it.

Oh, that my steps might be steady,

keeping to the course you set;

Then I'd never have any regrets

in comparing my life with your counsel.

portions of Psalm 119, from the Message

Spring!

my west-coast sister took the above picture yesterday ... spring has sprung in her part of Canada ... i stuck my nose to the screen and tried to inhale the fragance - but alas, all i inhaled was computer dust!!!

though i am believing that soon, very soon - spring will arrive here in Manitoba too!

check out last years praise post on the arrival of spring ... click here ... it applies to this year too! may God grant you springtime in your heart as well ..

Your time has come,

now hasten little snowflakes,

To vanish quite away;

The spring-tide hours are sounding gentle warnings

Forbidding you to stay.

~ M. E. Hathaway

next, please ...

this is our lovely backyard scene ... very peaceful ... very tranquil ... but still quite bland in colour! that's the thing about March ... a person's eyes become starved for more ... we know that there are more colours than just - brilliant white, muddy brown, muted green!!!

4 seasons are a complete meal ... but towards the end of this particle repast, i am craving the next course ... that lovely and delightful springtime ... spring with it's warm sunshine and light rain ... the air takes on a new aroma of promise ... it delights my heart ...

who else but God could have come up with 4 seasons ... each with something to offer ... something to teach ... and something to look forward too!

It was one of those March days

when the sun shines hot

and the wind blows cold:

when it is summer in the light,

and winter in the shade.

~Charles Dickens

good reads

i am so enjoying Breaking Free by Beth Moore ... here's a little bit from this morning's reading:

"A profound change occurred in my daily approach to God when I realized God wanted me to walk with Him. For years I asked God to walk with me. Talk about the clay trying to spin the Potter! I wanted to take my feet of clay and walk where my heart led and count on the Potter to bless my sweet-if-selfish little heart. My clay feet got scorched walking through some terrible fires sparked by the misguided passion of my own heart. Finally I realized God's blessing would come when I did what He said. For safety and the pure enjoyment of God, we are so wise to learn to walk with God instead of begging Him to walk with us." page 186 in Breaking Free.

she says things that we might know - but she verbalizes it in ways that hit home the lesson of maturing in Christ ...

i noticed that Billy Graham's site ( click here ) was offering a Beth Moore book ... if you are interested in trying out this author ...

* * * * * * * *

have you ever visited Osray's being there blog? he makes me laugh and think ... i love it when someone reaches the respectable age of 74 and is still in the stream of life, blogging and encouraging us younger ones!

* * * * * * * *

well blogger is giving me a tough time at the moment (i think they are working on something) ... so i think i should sign off - hopefully i won't lose this post! blessings!

have i told you about .... ?

have i ever told you about one of my sweet little sisters? no? well i guess today is the day ...

we'll call her Maria in my blog ... she is the first of mom's children from her second marriage ... my brother and i thought she was just the cutest baby ever born ...

Maria was also the most mischievous little girl ever born!

she wanted to experience every aspect of life ... to explore ... to travel ... to meet new people ... and more than once, some of these activities got her into a real pickle of a problem ...

but i totally fell in love with my little sister in those early days of taking care of her ... and it broke my heart when at the age of 3, she became a diabetic ... it was before the time of disposable syringes ... the needles seemed huge & heavy ... her little body seemed so small and fragile, as mom would inject the insulin into those tiny little arms ... we all soon learned about insulin reactions and diabetic shock ...

maybe this caused Maria to want to live, love, and experience everything life afforded in such a driven way ...

did i also mention that diabetes is an unforgiving disease? unlike the saving grace of God - diabetes does not give a person much grace, or many chances ...

over the years, Maria has slowed down considerably ... the disease taking over and ruling everything except her sweet spirit ...

i spoke with her this morning ... she tried to catch her breath, as with drug slurred speech she described her doctor's visit yesterday ... she is retaining so much water that her heart is having a hard time keeping things going ... she is pretty well house bound and losing her vision ... she is slowly losing her life too ... she just turned 41 last week ...

Maria is one of the bravest and sweetest women i know ... but for the sake of honesty and not to make her out to be a saint, she has also lived hard and wild - only to return again and again into the waiting arms of Jesus - who has unconditionally saved her soul ...

i feel so very sad this morning as i think of her ailing body ... yet i do rejoice that her Hope IS in the Lord ... and that Hope won't disappoint ...

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2 Corinthians 1:2-4

Satisfaction . . . 

snow in the desert

it rained/snowed in Arizona yesterday - after 143 dry days ... my cousin e-mailed me that there is even snow close to Phoenix ... in Carefree and Cavecreek (their elevation is a wee bit higher than that of Phoenix) ...

i love the desert scenery ... even with the snow ... it becomes 2 worlds that have gotten together for a photo-op ... and as long as it is a short photo-op, it is enjoyable ...

did i mention that i love the desert? ... *smile* ... when we used to go down south, the verse about Jesus going into the desert area to rest a while seemed appropriate ... Arizona was a place to recharge our batteries ... leo felt better there because of the drier climate ... we also found a large and lively church to attend ... we used to call our AZ time a vacation from pain ... it wasn't really, but leo would try to "pretend" that the pain didn't control our activities ...

kinda miss those days ... or maybe it's the healthier leo that i miss ...

just thinking outloud ... maybe because it snowed here too this weekend and poor leo couldn't find a comfortable position to be in ... pain is a cruel companion ... i'm so glad the Lord does away with it "on that Day" ...

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelations 21:4

we matter ...

i went for my first good long walk in the neighbourhood today ... even though it was cloudy, the temps were mild and the snow has begun to recede ... it truly felt like a lovely spring day in my corner of the world ...

before i left for my jaunt, i gave my aunt a call ... just to chitchat ... i mentioned my walk, and she told me to be careful when i crossed the highway ... *big grin* ... then leo told me to take along my ID and cell phone ... *another big grin* ...

it's a blessing to have people who care about my well being ... in my small circle, i matter to them ...

we all want to matter to someone ...

even though my heart is blessed that i have dear ones that care, i was thinking that the very BEST is - i MATTER to GOD ... i live a small-town life and my name will never be a household word ... yet i MATTER to the God of the Universe!!!

and YOU matter to this same God in the very same way... now that is awesome star power ... *huge grin* ...

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

to lighten your load ... smile

Everyone smiles in the same language.

~Author Unknown

goodbye Dana ...

i just heard on the news that Dana Reeve died late last night of lung cancer ... she was just diagnosed 7 months ago and was 44 years old ...

i was telling leo that she was a wonderful role model for the caregiver - optimistic and never seemed to tire ... when her husband died, i thought that she might actually be able to enjoy life and see to some of her own interests ... but our life and times are not in our hands ...

still i can't help but feel sad for the tragedy that the reeve's family has seen ... especially the 13 year old son left behind ...

all this is a reminder that life is so temporary ... "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)

monday morning chitchat

yes, i am still excited about having high speed and the ability to check out websites that load with the click of a mouse ... i'm a simple soul it seems! it doesn't take much to make me happy ... i'm content with what i have! especially now that high speed is part of the having ... *smiling, shaking head* ...

did you watch the oscars last night?

i watched it and was 65% entertained by it all ... the show was l-o-n-g, as usual ... it did give this country mouse a little glimpse into a totally different lifestyle ... i enjoyed the old hollywood look of elegance ... though the amounts of money displayed in hair, make-up, clothing, gift bags - i cannot fathom being spent in one evening ...

in our real world - it snowed ... everything is covered and brilliantly white ... i had my morning devotions with a world so clean and bright, i should have worn sunglasses! only thing bad about this brightness, it shows the dust bunnies and their hiding places ... sigh ... i best get to it ...

blessings on your monday and week!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

afternoon chitchat ... i went out to shovel and after about 10 minutes i ended up with the shovel handle in one hand and the scoop part stuck in the snow! ... oh oh ... time to quite shovelling i guess!

did i mention that leo and i are reading "The Purpose Drive Life" by Rick Warren? we must be the last people in North America to read this wildly popular book ... we will try to keep to the chapter a day schedule ... we started on March 1st ... it really is an excellent read!

time

TIME ... we all think we have lots of it ... sometimes time drags for us ... or we may wish for times' past ...

there are times when we want to wake up a month in the future ... TIME ...

our only guarantee when it comes to TIME ... is the moment we are living in ...


"Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time"
Colossians 4:5

bible meme

A Bible Meme

i've been tagged by Linda ...

1. Who is your favorite Biblical personage, other than Jesus?

i have to say David ... he loved the Lord with all his heart - yet he was human and made grave errors in judgement ... and sinned big time ... despite all that, God kept on loving David, kept on forgiving David ... i think i've learned more about myself and my relationship with the Lord - by reading about David's life ...

2. What is your favorite book of the Old Testament?

Psalms ... it speaks to me when i am happy, when i am sad or depressed ... it seems to be the place i go first for whatever emotion may be rolling through my innerds ...

3. What is your least favorite book of the Old Testament?

Lamentations? *smile* ... i don't think that there is such a thing as "least favorite" for me ... maybe just "least read" !!

4. What is your favorite non-gospel book of the New Testament?

i love Paul's writing ... so i probably turn to one of his letters as different needs or questions arise ... in these days that we are living in, i think Revelations is the one i would most like to understand!

5. What is your life verse?

i have "seasons of life" verses ... i don't think i have ever had one verse to blanket my life ... some of the seasonal verses i've shared can be found in these posts: abiding; treasures on earth; small faith but in big God ...

6. Tag five people who might want to play.

if you're reading this - please play along if you have the time ... and let me know - so i can read your bible meme thoughts ...

(p.s. did i mention how much i am enjoying my high speed ... *huge grin* ... )

move over dial-up, high speed has arrived!

i got high speed installed yesterday!!!! YAY ... finally ... one of my big big computer desires ... YAY again!!! ... i was so enjoying my internet time last night, just checking different websites that used to take forever to load ...

sigh ... i'm so happy about it ...

timely conversation

my morning sky ... God's artwork is just amazing!!! don't you think?? ...

just wanted to share an interesting conversation that took place a few hours ago ... i don't know if this will go anywhere or not - but it was timely!

i was picking up my aunt at the bus depot this evening ... just hanging out at the counter as i waited (the bus depot is actually a gas/convenience store) ...

i struck up a conversation with the young woman who was the gas jockey (or so i thought - turns out she and her husband own the place) ... ours is a small town, so of course there are the questions of where do you live? how long have you lived there, etc. etc ... i told her that we had just sold our house and that we were renting ... of course she knew our landlord ... in a small town you never can bump into someone who doesn't know someone you know! ... i mentioned that we were looking for a condo to buy ... she said, "oh, my husband and i were just talking about putting our riverfront condo up for sale".... ? ... ok ... we exchanged phone numbers ...

now i don't know if this will go anywhere or not ... it's just very interesting timing ... i don't normally hang out at the gas bar during evening hours .... plus this was the first time my aunt EVER took the bus ... and why would the conversation get around to this topic with a total stranger ... ?

wouldn't it be a hoot if this turned out to be our place?

we do have other possibilities ... but still? i will let you know if anything comes of this ... it was just one of those interesting occurrences that made me wonder - was this a God-thing?