where you go ...

i have always loved the book of Ruth ... and i've always admired Ruth's commitment to the family she married into ... just like when we "marry into" God's family, by placing our faith in Jesus, The Messiah ... i want to keep going on that path - towards a land i've never seen before ... yet a land that will be my forever home ... that land? heaven ...

But Ruth said:

“ Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.

Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The LORD do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.”

Ruth 1: 16 & 17

nice enough for a walk ...

it was a balmy -1C today ... or 34F ... really great weather for a walk ... i even took my camera, hoping that the batteries would work in this "warm" weather! and they did ... so come along and see where i trekked too ...

i stitched 2 pics together in this "blue sky -white field", photo ... notice the tracks? they are ones made by snowmobilers ... who are out in full force - enjoying this break from the extreme cold!

and check out this little plane with it's skiis! it was parked at the town docks ... i don't know where the pilot went to ... maybe for lunch at one of the river side restaurants?

the fishermen were out in full force too ... there are quite a few ice shacks on the river ... they have little stoves in them ... and holes in the floors to access the ice ... they park the shacks out on the ice until March ... all they need to do is re-drill the holes in the ice (it freezes back up quite quickly!) and enjoy fishing in any type of weather!

except for the brisk wind, it was a lovely little walk ... these are the days one has to take advantage of ...

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see. ~John Burroughs

Betty Stam

"When we consecrate ourselves to God, we think we are making a great sacrifice, and doing lots for Him, when really we are only letting go some little, bitsie trinkets we have been grabbing, and when our hands are empty, He fills them full of His treasures."

written by Betty Stam in her college years ... she was martyred - 1934 - in China, along with her husband John, for their faith.

walk worthy

" ... walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love ... " Ephesians: 4: 1b - 2

doctor up-date

my heart was uplifted this week by hope to answered prayer ...

we have been in limbo regarding a family doctor for leo (the doctor he was seeing, left at the end of November) ... we had hoped that the physician who saw leo at emerge in august - and who diagnosed leo's pneumonia - would become leo's new doc ... since his practise was in our town (instead of 25 minutes away) that would have been GREAT! but he wasn't taking any new patients ...

well, wednesday as i was rummaging around in my purse, my hand came up with the item i wanted and something extra ... stuck inbetween my fingers was an appt. card from leo's last doctor's visit ... i thought maybe i should phone the clinic since it may have been God who put the phone number right in my hand!!! i pray for timing in everything and i pray for wisdom - was this coincidence? or God saying, it is time ...

so i called them to see if there had been a replacement yet for leo's family doctor ... the girl said they were indeed booking appts for patients to see doctors ... she named a few who leo could see - and would you believe one of them was that emergency room physician!!! he has office hours in the clinic on fridays (and in our town, mon-thurs!) ... i immediately asked to be booked in on a friday (in April) for leo's next regularly scheduled time! ... back in november & december, this doctor was only in our town and NOT in the neighbouring one, where leo's chart currently resides ...

what a blessing! a doctor who has already seen leo and who we thought was good ... :o) ... maybe, LORD WILLING, we may be able to move leo's chart back to the clinic in our town ... and save that 25 minutes (one way) of travel for leo ... wouldn't that be an even bigger blessing????

YAY ...

just sharing God's prompting and easing of a care ... it was just the encouragement that we both needed to carry us through to spring ... and thank you so much for your prayer on our behalf! hope is a wonderful thing to receive from the Lord ...

i'm going for lunch with my old work buds today, even tho' the windchill is MINUS42C!!!! they live 25 minutes from our town and are driving here, because they know i don't like to drive on days like this, aren't they good friends? ...

blessings on you!

we're talking weather today ...

this is where we are at ... at the moment!! it is quite cold and definitely no ice melting prematurely here in the prairies ... hoping that you all are cozy and warm, wherever you may be!

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

Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal underneath, for the instinct to be half asleep all winter is so strong in me.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

chit chat from the land of ice and snow

some scenes from my wintery world ... i took these photos the other day ... on my walk ... can you just see the crowds of people? *grin* ... pretty quiet, isn't it? the kids are back at school and the parents are back to their daily routines ... the weather has been mild (due to change tonight tho', -30C), so i've taken advantage of it and just enjoyed my little town ...

2008 has had a quiet start ... leo started reading through the bible this year (by himself) ... i did that in 2007, so this is my year to pick a book and try to study it in more depth ... i am starting with Revelations ... it has always intrigued me ...

the library is still fun ... i enjoy my part time hours ... tho' i must admit to being tired on the weeks i work 3 days - what a wimp, eh?!!! i still feel young, tho' my body gets tired a little faster, reminding me of my own mortality ... i mean, my 54th birthday is just around the corner - i think i will turn those numbers around and make it 45 ... *smile* ... maybe that'll give me more energy? do you think?

just a little "hello" post ... and blessings on ya for the week to come!


"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." ~Jesus (Matthew 6:19-21)

be not weary ... to cheer - cause i do feel weary ...

Be Not Weary

Yes! He knows the way is dreary,
Knows the weakness of our frame,
Knows that hand and heart are weary;
He, 'in all points,' felt the same.
He is near to help and bless;
Be not weary, onward press.

Look to Him who once was willing
All His glory to resign,
That, for thee the law fulfilling,
All His merit might be thine.
Strive to follow day by day
Where His footsteps mark the way.

(first 2 stanzas of Be Not Weary ...
written by Frances R. Havergal)

books i'm reading ...

i found this book at the library a few weeks ago ... and would you believe, i am the first one to take it out?! it's been in the stacks for a year - what a shame that no one else has picked it up! it's a book on personal revival that Anne Graham Lotz wrote after 9/11 ...

i've never read anything by Anne before ... she writes with an intensity and the same honesty that all the Grahams' seem to have ... the book jacket says "we are living in a generation that desperately needs a fresh vision of God" ... she uses Isaiah's words throughout ... this is a book that i plan on buying, so that i can underline and also read it outloud to leo!!!

* * * * * * *

speaking of which ... leo and i are reading the Hidden Price of Greatness ... this too is an encouraging read ... the authors profile folks like Francis A. Schaeffer, the Cowmans', Spurgeon and Fanny Crosby ...

each chapter is on a different person ... and since some of the folks like Fanny Crosby and Charles Cowman struggled with disabilities - leo was able to nod in agreement as i read about some of their difficulties and also spiritual triumphs ...

so what are you reading lately?

grace ...

i love grace ... God's grace ... as the hymn says "grace that is greater than all my sin ... "

God doesn't want anyone to be separated from Him ... He seeks us out ... and if we listen, we can hear His voice ... but He waits for us to accept His gift - it is never forced on a person ... we must make a choice ...

that is what grace is all about ... thank you Lord for opening my eyes ... so that i could see ... life with you was free for the asking ....

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2: 8-9

“ Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.” Hebrews 4: 7b

just thinking outloud ...

isn't this a neat photo? it's another that i snapped along the way to the city ... the scene has a beauty to it - even though it is stark in nature ... it almost looks like a black & white painting ...

Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within its heart.
~Charles G. Stater

to me, winter portrays a life that doesn't have Christ in it ... or one who hasn't grown in the Lord ... it can be beautiful and admired, yet there will always be something missing ... when Jesus enters - spring begins and makes the soul alive with blossoms that usher in the wild and wonderful colours of summer ...

winter sea scape

it's a sea of snow ... can you see the "waves", created by the wind? this is what the landscape looked like as i drove into the city today ... yes, you read right - i FINALLY went to the city .... and what a blessing! i got to see all the siblings except for my west coast sister ... the siblings WERE the reason for this trip ... my youngest sister lives in the far reaches of northern manitoba and she came down south for a few days ... it was a quick trip, but i'm so glad for the real life hugs and kisses ... *grin* ... just thought i'd share ...


You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

January 1, 2008

His Banner Over Me is Love

He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep,
His banner over me is love.
He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep,
His banner over me is love.
He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep,
His banner over me is love.
His banner over me is love!

He is the Vine and we are the branches,
His banner over me is love.
He is the Vine and we are the branches,
His banner over me is love.
He is the Vine and we are the branches,
His banner over me is love.
His banner over me is love!

He calls us to His Banqueting Table,
His banner over me is love.
He calls us to His Banqueting Table,
His banner over me is love.
He calls us to His Banqueting Table,
His banner over me is love.
His banner over me is love!

i'm so glad to be under Jesus banner of love ... it's the only safe place to be!

how was your first day of 2008? ours was quite nice ... we had some very welcome company (my brother plus my aunt & uncle) ... and many telephone visits (good ole phone!) ... so it was a very good day and great way to start the year off ...

well now that i've posted ... i think i'll just go get the laptop and do some blog visiting ... so i shall see you shortly!

blessings on ya!