Thursday, November 22, 2007

memory lane ... one year ago today

taken this morning from my living room window ...


just sharing my post from November 22, 2006 ... it's a day of thanks - and we are certainly thankful!!!

on November 22, 2006 i wrote:


it is 1:28 a.m. ... and i can't sleep! so i thought i would check to see if blogger would allow me to post ... yay, i'm in!

so here's my story that i wanted to share:

well it happened today ... just like that ... snap ... done deal!

we bought a condo!!!!!

and it’s the bungalow type we really hoped to get ...

can anyone say "Praise the Lord!!!" ... and say it with real heart & feeling? well i sure can!

the day started like any other, with me drinking coffee and watching the Lord paint the morning sky ...

when leo got up, we had our devotions and prayer time ... and we prayed for a condo, like we always do ...

w-e-l-l ... today we got a call from an acquaintance ... one who wasn’t even sure of my name ... and she asked if we’re still looking for a condo ... i said yes ... she gave me the particulars ... what followed was fast paced, steady chain of events .... i went and looked at the place ... then told the people we’d take it ...

later in the evening, i came back with leo to sign the papers ...

if the paper work can hurry through, the condo is ours as of December 1st ... next week friday ...

can you believe that? when God gets something going, well it GOES ...

and can you see the HUGE grin on my face? and the praise in my heart? and the joy in leo’s eyes? cause that is what the rest of the evening was all about!

we are absolutely thrilled to bits and saying "thank you Lord" with every breath ...

end of story ... now maybe i can go get some shut-eye!

20 comments:

Mari said...

Hi Saija - what a beautiful picture. Glad you have been in your condo for a year - lots of things to be thankful for. Have a blessed day!

Ramblins of a middle-aged goddess said...

I remember a year ago too!! You were so happy!! Boy how times flies by. I love the picture but I dont want anything like that here and I am pretty sure it will not happen!! Smile!!
Hope your day was grand. Sandy

Cathy said...

Wonderful, thankful memories! Happy for you. Pretty picture too.

Catherine said...

Such a gorgeous view! Congratulations on your condo anniversary! :)

Saija said...

mari ... i can't believe it's been a year ... it's nice to finally not be living out of boxes! :o)

Sandy ... and i'm still happy ... despite the bumps in the road!

cathy ... it was just gorgeous this morning - a wintery wonderland!

catherine ... isn't it? i do cut the houses out of the pics, and try to showcase what i think is splendid ... :o)

OldLady Of The Hills said...

How WONDERFULLY Exciting! That is just wbsolutely fantastic! I hope ALL will go perfectly and that you will be in your NEW Home before the blink of an eye!

Thanks so much for your visit and your kind words too! Hope to see you again, soon!

Anonymous said...

A year already! I remember that post so well (: What a spectacular picture, Saija! We have no snow at all right now. I'll have to get my camera batteries charged in readiness for those frost/snow pictures because I just started blogging again.

Anonymous said...

I am not a blogger but I like to read your blog and some of the other ones in the Christian net work. I've had this little poem stored away on my computer for quite some time and I thought you might enjoy it. Jackie

THE WEAVER
My life is but a weaving
Between my Lord and me,
I cannot choose the colours
He worketh steadily.
Oftimes He weaveth sorrow,
and I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
and I, the underside.
Not till the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.
Author Unknown

Anonymous said...

Oops - I went looking to see if I could find the author on line and did so here it is again with the proper credit given where it is deserved. Jackie

THE WEAVER
My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me,
I cannot choose the colors He worketh steadily.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride
forget He sees the upper but I the under side.

Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly,
shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needed in the Weaver's skillful hand,
as threads of gold and silver in the pattern life has planned.

Benjamin Malachi Franklin (1882-1965)
U.S. Library Of Congress, Washington DC, Card # 20060727210211

~~Deby said...

Wow...beautiful picture and wonderful news....I am so happy for you BOTH........can't wait for the updates...
Deby

Mimi said...

what a wonderful anniversary... I did not know you a year ago... but it was fun reading how excited you were in anticipation of your new condo... and now how happy you are in the memories of how quickly God does work when he is ready to reward you and fulfill one of your desires...
I have missed you for a few days as I was visiting my oldest daughter and her family for Thanksgiving...
so glad to be back catching up with all by blogging buds!!!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving

Anonymous said...

I very vividly remember reading this post a year ago and how excited I felt for you. You and Leo finally leaving the rental that smelled of cigarette smoke and moving into the condo by the river, was such fantastic news.
Your blog has been such an inspiration to me, and during this time of thanksgiving I give thanks that I happened to find your blog. You truly have demonstrated to me the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 where it says to give thanks in all circumstances. I know it isn't easy dealing with Leo's chronic pain situation, and the frustration of losing yet another doctor, yet with the Lord's help you carry on with grace and dignity, always giving praise to God.
You and Leo have a special place in my heart and my prayers continue to be with you.

Saija said...

Naomi ... hope your thanksgiving was a blessed one! this post was actually my thankful heart from a year ago ... we're still loving our condo!

sabine ... :o) ... wasn't it an exciting time???? i was SO thrilled!!! especially with how perfect God's gift was!

Jackie ... thank you for that really encouraging poem! i actually blogged about tapestries back in january 2005 (see archives) ! blessings on you ...

Deby ... that was last year's post that i repeated ... but all the excitement to how we found it, is in my archived posts (see sidebar) ... it truly was a SUPER event in our lives! and still is!

mimi ... thank you so much for your faithful prayers on our behalf ... i am always so humbled by that ... and i read your other note on my previous post ... blessings on your weekend!

nellie ... awww, you made me tear up! i appreciate the encouragement - tho' it amazes me that everyone doesn't see my silly sinful self through some of my posts ... thank you for lifting up my spirits! blessings on you too!

Unknown said...

Beautiful picture and what a neat story from your memory lane. I didn't know anything about blogs a year ago & I am so happy to have met you and happy for you and Leo.

Anonymous said...

Lovely and aren't you so glad to be settled in such a gorgeous place? Something to be said for snow, trees, etc!

Anonymous said...

Dear Saija'
I have had you and your beloved Leo on my heart all day ... I had a bad toothache and then an extraction this past week, the pain was BAAAAD in my jaw, my eye, my ear and even my neck hurt! I can't imagine living with such pain every day and I am thankful for ALL that GOD has allowed dentists to learn about fixing such problems. Leo is well named for lions are considered among the strongest creatures in God menagerie... Leo would have to be to endure such pain every day. I whimped out in a week.
I always seem to think that MY OWN troubles are the worst ...Then I look at some one else's (like Leo's) and feel less alone on this "JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE and GOD'S REFINEMENT" (different for us all) ...... [My husband is not saved - despite years of praying (he is a wonderful moral man, a hard worker, and a very fine husband, father and friend - but can't & won't share God's love with me). My 35 year old daughter thinks she is a lesbian (because she was raped as a little girl and hates all men) and my grand son has very severe Ausbergers Syndrome, my younger daughter and son-in law can't seem to conceive a babe - no how - etc etc etc...] All that to say; NO ONE GETS A FREE AND EASY TRIP on this planet. HE is going to mold us like it or not because He loves us and we have invited Him to do so when we invited Him to be our Lord.
We may leave Him, temporarily, through discouragement or bad attitudes, sorrow over circumstances, grief for our losses, hurt feelings and other assorted boo hoos (...BUT HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US) if we love HIM and we let HIM He will gently drag us back to where HE wants us to be (sometimes protesting) and say into our heart "TRUST ME, you will only have to put up with all this stuff till I am good and ready to bring you to your real home with ME". There, there will be no unsaved husbands, raped lesbian daughters, no troubled grandchildren, no baron-ness or sadness no terrible chronic back pain or lack or financial worries etc. etc. etc. ........ just JESUS and HIS LOVE, HIS GRACE, HIS, MERCY, HIS JOY, HIS BEAUTY.
Saija, you are so right we see our life through a dark glass, but some morning will see clearly.
May God bless you both with all the good things He has planned for you and thanks for the blog that encourages others. Jackie

P.S. This passage is one of my favorites!

Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. (Don't ya love that word - mine?)
2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour.

WOW!!!!

Felisol said...

Dearest Saija,
sometimes times just fly. These have been such days. I will thank you properly for the opportunity for me and Gunnar to go to concert with your fabulous brother Ari on the net that is.
I have enjoyed reading about your Mom, but not yet been able of getting hold on the English translation.

It seems only appropriate that God grabted the daughter of Suomi a home in such wonderful surroundings.

Coming from the land of ten thousand lakes, here must be the place for you and Leo to root.

I'm off to my mom's and a very ill favorite uncle.
Please pray for him, he deserves only the very best but now he is in need.
Yours Felisol

Saija said...

nancy ... it has been a blessing to meet blog friends along the way! blessings to you! and thank you for the encouragement ...

elizabeth ... amen! i do feel blessed ... :o)

jackie ... thank you for sharing ... sometimes this walk can be sad when we see how loved ones around us are behaving or the difficulties they encounter ... i'm sure your knees must be worn out in prayer for those you love! and even those you meet along the way, like us ... thank you for the prayer ... i am reading an excellent book i think you would enjoy - called "the UPside of DOWN" by Joseph Stowell - it is VERY encouraging ... blessings on your weekend ... i know there is always a blessing to be found in ones day!

felisol ... i think he's pretty fabulous myself! 10 years ago Guitar Magazine called him the best unknown guitarist in north america ... plus he's a really great guy ... ... and i hope your uncle is comfortable today, it is always sad to watch a loved one suffer ... ((hugs))

auntibeck said...

I think your Label: memories -- would be more aptly labeled "Miracles!"

Saija said...

antibk ... amen! how true!