brief moment ...

"There's a budding morrow in midnight," so fold your griefs away, and wait for the bud to open, a fragrant and fair new day. Wait for the bud to open, cease to worry and grope, "there's a budding morrow in midnight," its name is The Dawn of hope. " ~ A New Trail.

"God will help us when the sun comes up." (Psalm 46:5, Spanish)

quotes from Springs in the Valley by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

Sunday ...

it is a melting type of -0C here ... and i just got back from a walk ... oh, how lovely it is to be out there enjoying time with God ...

walking/praying/walking/praying .... listening ... praising ...

it's Sunday in the world ... it feels different from any other day of the week ...

young love

i think this arrived in an e-mail, once upon a time ... i saved it because it made me smile ...

i came across it today ... thought i'd share with you all ...

thank you for the sweet sweet comments!

thank you SO much for your warm greetings and birthday wishes ... as i read your notes, my heart just over flowed with wonder of your online friendship and the sweetness of your words ... God has blessed me with a loving "blogging family" ... for which i am so grateful!

i had a most enjoyable birthday ... filled with phone calls ... visits ... happy e-mail ... and good food ... plus - the best of all - God's Presence throughout!

i am so blessed in this life ... and the life yet to come - is ever before me - as each birthday brings me closer to Jesus - who has saved my soul ...

now it is off the library, for what will most likely be a busy day ...

may the Lord bless your hearts - as you have blessed mine!

happy birthday to me ...

here is a birthday pic of me ... taken some 47 years ago ... mom worked nights in a bakery and the fad at that time was a doll wearing a cake dress ... her job had quite a few food related perks!


and this is me a few days ago ... enjoying some strawberries with cool whip ...yum!


there is a cheesecake in the fridge ... and a promise of 2 more cakes on their way here for tomorrow ... can anyone say "extra walks"!! ... calories don't burn off as quickly at 54!!! yup, that is my age now ...

happy birthday to me ...


The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been. ~Madeleine L'Engle

morning thoughts ...

i woke up this morning feeling so helpless and sad because of leo's chronic pain ... the pain which takes small bites out of him daily ... and my sister maria's continued physical decline ... she is scheduled for kidney dialysis - but other health and home problems keep her from much needed & required doctors' appointments ...

even when i wake in the night ... i pray for them both ... even as i pray, there is this lead weight in my chest and such a helplessness ... "what can "i" do, Lord?" ...

i want to do something, yet my doing is always thwarted ...

so i woke up feeling gloomy ... and told the Lord this ...

His Spirit within me said "saija - this is a NEW day ... a NEW morning ... take heart" ...

again, i realized that i don't need to carry the burdens of yesterday into today ... every day is NEW ... every day is a GIFT ... and every morning contains HOPE ...

i don't know what will happen THIS day ... i only KNOW the One who holds THIS day in His hand ... He is my Security ... He is my Hope ... He is my Redeemer ... He hears me in the night seasons ... and He knows leo and maria's pain - He knows and cares and IS in control ...

only Jesus can truly encourage the hearts of His redeemed ... so i write this little thought down, hoping it will encourage your heart this morning too ...

remember ... it is a NEW day ...


28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30

it's Valentine's day again

we recycle cards ... all types of cards ... we have every card we've EVER given each other saved and ready for re-use, to re-give to each other ... just one of those quirky things - maybe some of you guys do that too?

well i must qualify that ... i do make new cards, or buy new cards for Leo ... i get out more often - and he barely does anymore - so Leo's card store is: our card drawer!

now i'm finally getting to the point of this little post ... yesterday, before i left for work, i placed the card i had bought for Leo by his pills (i knew he couldn't miss it there!) ... and he had left his card for me on the sofa ... we exchanged cards without seeing what the other had picked out ... now take another look at the picture above - we both went with a white background, surrounding a simple heart insert ... and rather than a funny inner note - both cards included strong love sentiments ... *smile* ... i thought that was a neat little coincidence ... or is it just the 34 Valentine's we've shared together?

hope you all have a day filled with the sweetness of God's love for us all ...

* * * * * * * * * * *

Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so.

--David Grayson

You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.

--Jessica - age 8

If we discovered that we had only five minutes left to say all that we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that they loved them.

--Christopher Morley

onward and upward

May I run the race before me,

Strong and brave to face the foe,

Looking only unto Jesus

As I onward go.

~Kate b. Wilkinson

Any fixing of the mind on old evils beyond what is absolutely necessary for repenting our own sins and forgiving those of others is certainly useless and usually bad for us . ... We must try very hard not to keep on endlessly chewing the cud. ~C.S. Lewis

storm on the prairies

thursday and friday were beautiful days, here in my little town ... the sun felt warm on my face as i walked to work ... there was a freshness and even a hint of spring in the air ...

but that was then ... and this is now!!!

even tho' we only received a few inches of snow - there is a blizzard out there with highways closed all over the province ... it's the wind that is the culprit - making the snow swirl and dance to it's tune ... blinding the motorist and causing the wind to bite anyone who dares go walking in it!



as long as i don't have to go anywhere, i don't mind a day like this ... leo and i have been enjoying our saturday and the coziness of our condo ... he has been watching hockey ... and i have had my nose in a book (the Brushstroke Legacy, a novel ... by Lauraine Snelling) ... *smile* ... it has been lovely ...

here is a pic of my teenie tiny rose plant ... it brightens up the dining room table with it's offering of delicate little flowers ... it doesn't seem to mind the storm raging just a few feet away ...

i am still in hibernation mode ... now it's back to my book! blessings on ya!

Any proverbs about weather are doubly true during a storm. ~Ed Northstrum

looking back ...

this is where i blog from ... pic taken 5 minutes ago!

Susan, from penless writer, had a one year blog anniversary this past week ... as part of her celebration, she went back and shared various archived posts ... it's in a meme format ...

since i missed my 3 year blog-aversary in october, i thought this would be a good time to "look back" ...

Here are the rules: Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you have written, using these 5 headings ...

here are mine:

Link 1 must be about family.
i wrote about my grandmother in jan 2005: sentimental ramblings

Link 2 must be about friends.
my friends from work: my work buds

Link 3 must be about yourself.
my life at age 8: age of accountability

Link 4 must be about something you love.
i love reading. here is one of my "book reports": weight of your words

Link 5 can be anything you choose.
the joy of answered prayer regarding our condo. imagine only one more sleep


what i discovered after reading some of my archived posts, is that i don't post as much anymore ... even so, i hope that my blog blesses you as you come and visit with me ...


if you decide to do this too ... let me know, so i can come read your archived posts ...

new diet

my new diet involves chocolate ... chocolate bars ... chocolate chips ... chocolate covered marshmellows! .... and it is working just fine ... i have been quite happy lately ... i think it is because of the chocolate! *grin*

life has been busy in my little world lately ... it seems i have so many things i need to do, want to do and have to do ... the days go by very quickly ...

today was a work day ... which means the evening has been filled with the "need to's" and a few "want to's" ... this is just a quick post to say "blessings on your Sunday, blog buds" ...

There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles. ~Author Unknown