not all days are wonderful

yesterday i had a really bad day ...

it started out well ... i read the word, prayed ... leo and i had a nice chat about the devotional we had shared ...

then i allowed one teenie tiny comment to shatter my serenity and peace ... i decided to take this comment and run with it ... in the wrong direction!

sigh ...

do you ever do that? implode on yourself?

one moment i am a mature, responsible, faith-filled person ... and the next moment, i become a big baby in a sandbox ... wanting to smack the little boy sitting in there with me - making his mudpies - with my plastic shovel!

yup ... that was me yesterday ...

well the house got really really cleaned ... i do that when upset ... clean like a tazmanian devil ...

later when i ran out of things to clean - i prayed about my sensitive skin and lack of patience (note to saija: read your previous posted scripture verse!) ... and asked God to redirect my thinking ...

He answered with a little sermonette given by beth moore - that i just "happened" to come across last night ... i had never seen her little segment on wednesdays ... but i was sure all ears last night ... and yes, it did apply to me 100% ... go figure, eh?!!!

this morning i felt better ... however there is a little left-over tension around here ... that little boy in the sandbox with me? - well i did happen to kind of kick his mudpies to smithereens ... sigh ... i guess i best just help him build sandcastles instead ...

"Love suffereth long, [and] is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth ..." I Corinthians 13: 4-8

Romans 12:12

i've been listening to some interesting songs from youtube ... here are just 2 videos that i found ... both are interesting and uplifting in their own way ... they might be out of the norm of what you would expect from my blog ... yet i wanted to post the sites anyway! blessings on your mid-week!

click on name: i wish we'd all been ready

and

click on name: Jesus walks

storm clouds

last night our power went out as a wind storm swept in, bringing threatening clouds ... i ran outside to take pictures (of course!) ...



thankfully our power was only out 20 minutes and the clouds became less threatening as they moved across the sky ...


i found the scene around me breathtakingly beautiful ...

this morning i'm reminded of this chorus:

i just keep trusting my Lord, as i walk along ...

i just keep trusting my Lord, and He gives a song ...

tho' storm clouds darken the sky -o'er the heav'nly trail,

i just keep trusting my Lord - He will never fail!

blessings on your sunday!

update: driving to work i heard on the radio that a tornado touched down north of us, just minutes after i took these photo's ... i did think the clouds looked menacing - but? leo says we've already had 2 phonecalls to check on our safety.

better yet ...

the smile is back ...

my dental work went well ... yay!!! .... the old injured tooth got pulled, and it didn't hurt a bit! ... now i have a temporary bridge ... my dentist did a good job ... it looks normal when i smile ...

i am so glad that is DONE ... this first stage of it and the worst stage, since there was that *lovely* extraction to contend with ...

just think of all the years i've had work done on this ONE single front tooth ... and it all started with a playground accident when that boy directed his yo/yo towards me and chipped it ...

sometimes life is like that ... things happen that aren't our fault, yet we still have to deal with the consequences ... and it could be years or decades of fall-out over that one single event ...

the purpose? i don't know ... maybe to give empathy for others as they suffer far far worse things ... maybe to teach patience ... it could be many many reasons ... or no reason that i would understand at this point ...

i do believe nothing is trivial in God's eyes ... even a little 8 year old girl's chipped tooth ...

If you don't get everything you want,

think of the things you don't get that you don't want.

~Oscar Wilde

start your monday with a smile

sunflowers ...

yesterday i drove past fields of sunflowers ... i noticed that atleast they were enjoying our dry, hot spell ...following the sun, following the sun ...

this morning i felt cranky from the heat, impatient with leo, nervous about my dental thing on monday and now i'm rushing to head off to work in a few minutes ...

then i read Debra's post on following the SON ... isn't it just like God to use other believers to remind us where our hearts and minds should rest ... when i forget for a moment or even day - to leave my worries & cares with Him ... i just need to keep my eyes on the SON ...

angels watching ...

The Lord will command his Angels concerning you
To guard you in all your ways:
They will lift you up in their hands,
So that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

(Psalms 91:11-12)

i don't know what's up with me lately ... i seem to be tired, groggy and just not with it ...

example: last week while driving home from work ... i was doing highway speeds and didn't quite see this RED truck that was turning ... until i was almost IN his truck ...

recent example: this morning i almost collided with another vehicle at the gas station ... i was pulling away from the pumps and she was taking a shortcut through the pump area ... i was moving slowly, she was moving fast ... i braked, she sped up ...

tomorrow i have to go to the city for an appointment ... blah ... i better just pay attention, eh! i guess i am giving my guardian angels a bit of a work out these days ... i do believe God sends them to take care of us ... and that's what they have been doing lately! watching out for me when my brain is clogged with cotton balls ... or maybe just overloaded with the happenings of this past while ...

my brother visited ...

i've just had a wonderful visit with my baby brother ... my only brother ... he stopped over at our place for the night ... he's on his way to Astoria, Oregan to play at the Finn Fest 2006 ...

our visits are usually short in nature ... but always sweet ... with e-mail and telephones, it hasn't seemed like 2 whole years since our last face to face chat! years truly do travel at an accelerated pace after a certain age!

my brother tells the best stories ... the city he lives in had just hosted a large Finnish gathering (he was the Chairman of that), so he entertained us with one story after another ... i tend to like listening and he likes to spin yarns, so i think we both had a good time ...



he also had this neat little stringed instrument, called the Jouhikko, with him ...

it is an old traditional Finnish instrument, which has been revived in the past few years ... in fact it is being used in the theatre production of the Lord of the Rings ... so he played some toe tapping tunes for us ... it was wonderful to have a happy occasion with a sibling ... truly a joy ...

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future.
-Gail Lumet Buckley

"If Christians spent as much time praying as they do grumbling,

they would soon have nothing to grumble about."

-anon

back to our routine ...

today was my monday ... and it was a really wonderful monday! there was lots to do in the office - phones to answer, computer work to be done ... just busy, normal, pleasant type of work! i think "normal" is a good word sometimes ... after 2 weeks of abnormal ... i was so glad to be back at the salt mines in the park ...

leo had a good day at home ...

i guess after a highly stressful and sad period ... we yearn for the mundane everyday of life ... and we relish a day full of familiar routines ... then we pronounce it a good day ...

yup ... sometimes "normal" is the sweetest sounding of words ...

thank you Lord!

... time to smile ...

remember i told you about my tooth situation ... here ... well in the midst of all this chaos reigning in our lives, i went to see another specialist who also thought the nerve was cracked and my capped, front tooth needed to be pulled ...

i just thought - fine! i don't care! pull the silly thing ... i have had 44 years of problems with it and too much money put into it ... so get rid of it!!! it is not an important issue when compared to what else is going on at the moment ...

so with resignation to the fate of my tooth ... and maybe still just a little upset with the idea ... i went to staples to buy some photo paper ...

now i think that God has a wonderful way of making a person smile, even though everything around us says to frown frown frown ... and here is why i think that ... i had just gotten the news from the specialist that my front tooth needed to go, when lo' and behold, guess who served me at staples? a woman, in her late-20's, who had an absolutely engaging smile and warm disposition ... all that despite the fact her front tooth was GONE! i wanted to hug this sweet sales-rep who hadn't a clue why i was patting her shoulder and grinning ...

i chuckle as i write this ...

i wasn't laughing at the lady ... and most certainly God wasn't either ... just pointing me in the direction that my heart should go ... with a smile ...

p.s. the dentist will put a temporary bridge there the same day - that's the plan anyway!

storms of life

artwork by danny hahlbohm

is it just me, or does life seem to be getting more and more stormy these days?

have you read the headlines? watched the images on the evening news? do you shake your head and wonder where in the world will all this end?

it seems the stormier life gets, the more i cling to my faith in Christ ... the more comfort i find in scripture ... the more peace God gives to my soul ...

do you have a shelter in times of storm?

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
John 14: 1-3

If tomorrow starts without me ...

the poem i've posted is really as corny as summer in Kansas ... yet when a friend sent it to me last week, it was the instrument used to start the healing tears flowing ... and when i read it to leo, it did the same for him ... i wasn't going to share it ... but, it's usually the simple things in life that speak volumes ... remember to hug those you love this weekend ... that way, if tomorrow starts without them - you won't have any regrets ...

If tomorrow starts without me,
And I'm not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
all filled with tears for me;

I wish so much you wouldn't cry
the way you did today,
While thinking of the many things,
We didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too;

But when tomorrow starts without me,
Please try to understand,
that an angel came and called my name,
And took me by the hand,
And said my place was ready,
In heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
all those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,
A tear fell from my eye,
For all my life, I'd always thought,
I didn't want to die.

I had so much to live for,
So much left yet to do,
it seemed almost impossible,
that I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays,
The good ones and the bad,
I thought of all that we shared,
And all the fun we had.

If I could relive yesterday,
Just even for a while,
I'd say good-bye and kiss you
and maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realized,
That this could never be,
For emptiness and memories,
would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things,
I might miss some tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did,
My heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven's gates,
I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me,
From His great golden throne,

He said, "This is eternity,
And all I've promised you."
Today your life on earth is past,
but here life starts anew.

I promise no tomorrow,
But today will always last,
and since each day is the same way,
There's no longing for the past.

So when tomorrow starts without me,
don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me,
I'm right here, in your heart .

-Anon

Hope

this morning was the first morning that leo and i got to rest and just chat and read the bible together ... it was a good morning ... we both got to cry some too ... that was good as well ...

and this morning as i continued reading from billy graham's book "Hope for the Troubled Heart", i was amazed how the words seemed to be tailor made for our situation at this very moment ...

so i'm sharing with you again ... if it blessed my heart - my hope is that it blesses your heart as well ...

all quotes from HOPE FOR THE TROUBLED HEART by Billy Graham

"Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has done. Out of pain and problems have come the sweetest songs, the most poignant poems, and the most gripping stories." page 104

"We don't have a magic shield to protect us from problems. Ultimately, it's our attitude that counts - attitude toward ourselves and toward God. We can turn burdens into blessings, or we can let those burdens bury us." page 106

God works in unexpected ways to bring us strength and joy in the midst of suffering." page 109


"Without dark clouds in our lives we would never know the joy of sunshine." page 109

Leo's sister died unexpectantly yesterday, July 9th ...

it was massive heart failure ... she was 59 ...

we have yet to hear about the funeral arrangements ... she lived a good 3 days drive from here.

my verse for times like these is:

"weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning" ...

continual blooming

even though we have been having a dry, prairie heatwave - the various flowers keep popping up to delight us ... i am such a poor flower expert, that i don't know the names of many of them - and some i have never even seen before ... the previous owner of our rental had an amazing green thumb! *smile*, all we can do is enjoy ...

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining,
the breeze is blowing,
the birds are singing,
and the lawn mower is broken.
- James Dent

equal time for Ruth

i love ruth graham ... i've often said she was the original blogger ... though of course there were no blogs back then!

yesterday, as i was doing my multiple searches for a home to buy, and asking questions like - should we buy? build? what's out there for us? my usual multi-home tasking search ... i came across this timely article by ruth in decision magazine ... it's called,

WAITING FOR ANSWERS

Our son Ned had reached the point in life when he wanted a bicycle more than anything.

He had been playing with his friend Joel that fall and wanted one just like Joel's - today!

"No," Bill said, "Wait until Christmas."

And that was that.

So Joel lent Ned his new bike for a week. Before the week was over, Ned knew that Joel's bike would be too small for him in a few months. So he decided he needed a larger model.

The next week he saw one advertised with the works: three speeds, spring suspensions, butterfly handles, triple brakes, slicks.

This was the one he had to have, and it was still two months until Christmas!

Then I understood, as never before, why God does not answer all of our prayers right away. Today we may be beseeching Him for things that we would not want six months from now.

However, most of our prayers are not "bicycle prayers."

When we pray according to God's will (that the prodigal will return; that the sorrowing may find His comfort; that He will work each situation out for our good and His glory), we know that He hears us, for each of these requests is what He wants.

But at times He has us wait for the answers.

The Psalm 27 command "Wait on the Lord" reads in the old Book of Common Prayer: "O tarry thou the Lord's leisure."

And to many of us impatient souls, how "leisurely" He seems at times!

by Ruth Graham

p.s. ... that last sentence had me grinning!

Hope for the Troubled Heart ...

i'm reading Hope for the Troubled Heart ... a billy graham book ...

here is a little excerpt ... from page 99-100 ...

Pain can drive us in two directions. Either it can make us curse God for allowing our misery, or drive us to Him for relief. There is the expression, "God helps those who help themselves." I think a saying like "God helps us when we are helpless" is infinitely more comforting.

Sickness teaches us that activity is not the only way to serve God. "They also serve who only stand and wait." Man seems to judge active duty, but God shows us that He is also glorified through suffering.

Linda had been poisoned by chemicals, resulting in the destruction of her immune system, Making her allergic to the world." She was like the "boy in the bubble" who lived in a plastic enclosure to guard him from every atmospheric contaminant. Linda was in and out of intensive care and isolation units for five years of her young adult life. She said, "Most of the time I didn't think coherently. I was too busy trying to survive."

Linda struggled with one small goal during those years of intense suffering. She read one verse of Scripture each day and prayed for one minute. "And that was an overwhelming task," she said.

When she was able to leave the prison of hospital isolation, she began to reach out to others. She founded an organization called Direct Link, which links a disabled person to a source of help and support. She said, "The Lord gave me suffering so that I could help the suffering world of the disabled."

Jesus said, "What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight" (Matthew 10:27). What does this mean to us? It means, be quiet, listen to God when things are their worst, and you will be able to talk to others when you are better.

attitude

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the Mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

"Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-M-M, " she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today."? So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a ponytail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary,

for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

-anon

July 1st is CANADA DAY!

images of the land i love ...



from the maple leaf ...

to the mounties ...



from the serenity of lake louise ...



to a peaceful prairie scene ...

July 1st is CANADA DAY ... a day to celebrate "home" ... and to this immigrant child, Canada has been home for most of my life ... i love this country that has given me so much ...

i feel so blessed and proud to say ... i am a Canadian ...

quotes on prayer

artwork by C. Michael Dudash

Some people pray just to pray and some people pray to know God.
--Andrew Murray

Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan
--John Bunyan

Those who know God the best are the richest and most powerful in prayer. Little acquaintance with God, and strangeness and coldness to Him, make prayer a rare and feeble thing.
--E. M. Bounds

There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God.
--Brother Lawrence

warbling company

can you see the 3 small finches sitting on the railing? our fearless feline sure could!

we have a little footstool set up for him by the screen door ... last night he could barely keep still on it as he listened to these tiny feathered creatures, warbling to him! this went on for quite a while ... until i took a few pictures and they flew away ... they must have been camera shy!

these tiny birds reminded me of Jesus words in Matthew 10: 29-31: Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.

i love the way Jesus always used common examples to teach the multitudes that followed Him ... words that still give comfort 2000 years later ...

well it is my first day off, i'm having my first cup of coffee ... and soon i must go tackle my "to do" list ... blessings on your monday ...

plans and purposes

our coffee room ...

a glimpse into my day at the salt mines in the park ...

we had stopped for the traditional 3 o'clock coffee break ... our lunchroom looks out toward the lake ... the large lawn slopes down to meet the water, framed by forest on each side ... as we chatted about work (we stop from doing work, only to talk about work? silly people, eh!) we noticed a shy deer start to make her way across the yard ... she sniffed the air as she cautiously crossed from one forested side, to make her way to the other wooded area ... she had a slight limp - though she was healthy otherwise ... the serene scene played out like a disney movie ...

my work bud and i agreed - we definitely had the best seat in the house!

it's all about the flowers ...

as i sat on the couch praying this morning ... i hate to admit this - but my prayers were selfish ones - AGAIN ... re, a place for us to buy ... then i happened to lift my eyes up and gaze out the front window ... i saw bright red dots by the tree line ... i hadn’t noticed any flowers blooming there before, yet today the red was vibrant and in full glory ...

i put on some runners, turned on the digi and went to investigate ...

low and behold - there again were some glorious flowers (peonies this time) ... coming up without any assistance or fuss or bother - for me alone to breath in the fragrance and enjoy their beauty ... flowers that i hadn’t planted or tended ... flowers that none the less were in full bloom and healthy ...

so i hummed "my" song of this season ...

Consider the lilies, they toil not nor spin,
they bask in God’s sunshine, they drink in God’s rain
...if God cares for them in such marvelous ways ...
how much more? how much more? how much more?
will He care for you and supply all your needs every day

... sigh ... ain't that the truth! ... i need to be firmly planted in it ... resting in the knowledge that God has set all things in place ... i just need to enjoy the beauty around me ...

"Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now."
I Corinthians 13:12

p.s. yes, i have blogged about this "waiting time" before! ... what can i say - i'm a slow, impatient learner!

pain pain go away ...

i had my dental check-up 2 weeks ago ... no cavities … but there was a problem with an old injury …

as a kid i chipped my front tooth … it happened with a lot of help from a boy, wildly swinging a yo/yo in my direction … those darn boys!

… that of course meant a cap … imagine a silver cap, on the front tooth of a young, developing girl … things like that were not stylish in the 60s! … needless to say i never smiled widely ... i always tried to hide this glaring metal object in the middle of my mouth … i had it for 3 long years …

later the tooth died … so that particular tooth was a grayish colour for years …

a decade ago, i even had surgery on it – which was an annoyance plus discomfort!

… now it is acting up again … so today i saw the specialist ... he poked and prodded ... and now i'm to see yet another specialist ... blah!

this whole lifetime problem with that tooth has been a thorn in my side … it affected my self-image as a gawky adolescent … it even bothered me all through my teen years …

in relation to other problems in my world … this has been minor … yet minor can still be annoying! and it can affect other areas in our lives ... though we may think them of no consequence … before we know it, our whole outlook looks different when magnified through the glass of tiny problems … it can change something as simple as a smile (or lack of one) ... even domino into someone else’s life … “ why is that person not smiling at me?” “ why are they ducking their head down and not looking at me?” “ what did i do?” …

just a reminder to myself … everything is of consequence … yet everything also needs to be kept in the proper perspective ... even the most annoying everyday problems ...

Happy Father's Day!

here's a pic of leo and his dad ... both leo's folks are still alive ... they live a good 3 day's drive from our place ... with leo's health and the health of his parents being poor - well the visiting is all done via telephone these days ...

it's a blessing to still have a dad to wish "happy father's day" too ... my dad died in 2001, so of course i think of him even more on these types of occasions ... click here for last year's post if you want to see a pic of him & me ...

but tomorrow it will all be about the dad's that are still here ... the sweet dads, the grouchy dads, the funny dads and the sad dads too ... each man will have impacted his family in a HUGE way ... what a responsibility! and i hope that each dad will feel love from those around him ... after all, if a man does the best he knows how, with the abilities that God gave him - what more could a family want?

so give dear old dad a BIG BIG HUG ... i wish i could give my own dad just one more gentle caress ...

the Way ...

zap those pests away!

this is called a mosquito zapper ... ever hear of them? they are great!

i bought leo one for the summer ... they take two, double A batteries and you zap the annoying pests into oblivion ... what is cool about this gadget, is that you just swing in the general area and the "zap" noise will let you know that you found your target!

just be careful not to hit someone (or yourself!) with it ... last year i kinda got a racket mark on my arm when i accidentally on purpose swatted myself with one at work! oops! and owie too!

this year i thought leo needed one ... but so far the mosquito population has stayed very very scarce! do you think they heard about the zapper i bought? *grin*

checking out homes ...

we went looking at houses today ... poor leo is totally pooped out from going in and out of the real estate agent's van (total of 4 houses) ... he was already sweating profusely by the second house ... *shakes head, with sad look* ... it would have been easier if there was something to look at locally ... but we drove 40 minutes to a larger neighbouring town, to see what they had ... poor guy, eh ...

did we find our new home? i don't know yet ...

the one older type bungalow, that i liked, had this large, park-like yard ... and for us - that's a bad thing ... the exterior was maintenance free and the interior was nice - that was the good thing ...

hmmmm ...

this mornings devotions once again reminded me how God cares for the birds of the air ... and the flowers that bloom so beautifully ... about HOW MUCH MORE God cares for us ... the Word reminded me not to worry ...

i did find comfort in reading that passage from Matthew's gospel ... i always find comfort there ...

so i'm not worried ... but i must admit to being an impatient homemaker ... just looking for that "home" to make over! *silly smile* ...

spoiled cats and sunday evenings ...

picture our sunday evening ... leo was resting in the bedroom ... i thought i would read ... so i sat in his big boy recliner, opened it up and found a comfy position ... our fearless feline (who misses me when i am at work), jumped on my lap and fell asleep ... an hour goes by ... it's getting too dark to read comfortably ... what to do? soooo, instead of disturbing the spoiled fur ball, i call out to leo to come put the light on for me ... my poor gimpy husband makes his way into the living room ... s-l-o-w-l-y ... and turns the reading light on, plus positions it for me ... all for a cat who is blissfully snoozing on his mistresses lap ... silly cat people, eh!

sunday devotional reading ...

this was my morning reading ... thought i'd share before i head off to the salt mines in the park! blessings on your day!

Why He’s So Special

READ: John 1:1-14
I and My Father are one. —John 10:30

Some pretty good people have founded religions over the centuries. One religious leader spent a good portion of his life trying to find truth—an admirable quest.

Another religious leader was a teacher and a civil servant who drew up an honor code for his people—a respectable venture.

No matter how good any originators of world religions may have been, they cannot in any way compare with the founder of Christianity. The major reason is simply this: They are all in the category of “good men,” while Jesus is in a category by Himself—the God-man.

Jesus alone is Immanuel (God with us; Matthew 1:23), the Living Word (John 1:14), the Savior (Luke 2:11), and the Messiah (John 1:41). Only Jesus could truthfully assert His equality with His heavenly Father. “I and my Father are one,” He said (John 10:30). Only Jesus’ words are divine. His life was the only perfect one. Only Jesus’ death and resurrection provide life everlasting.

Jesus is unique in all the world. He alone is worthy of our worship, adoration, and awe. He alone is the perfect Man. The divine One. The provider of salvation. Don’t settle for anything—or anyone—less.

—Dave Branon—

Not all roads lead to God,
As many people claim;
There’s only one true way
—Christ Jesus is His name.
—Sper

Only Jesus can erase mankind’s guilt.

finding fun . . .

Finding fun in simple ways makes the happiest days.

A happy heart makes a cheerful face.

Proverbs 15:13

someone plants, someone waters, God makes things grow ...

it has been such fun to see what the flower beds are bringing forth! i went a little snap-happy this afternoon ... thought i'd share the beauties i'm enjoying!


my contribution to these blooms has been to weed the flower beds ....

then water as needed ...

and enjoy to my heart's content!

the flowers here at our rental place remind me of this passage:
"So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building."
1 Corinthians 3:7-9 ...

when i look at the delightful flowers blooming all around this place ... i will remember that we each have a unique task to do ... we are all connected to one another ... and it is God that "makes things grow" ...

just a thought ...

calmness ... this is what it looked like at work last thursday ... only one small cloud in the sky ... with it's mirror image reflecting back up from the water ...

tomorrow, after work - i head for the city ... the hustle and bustle ... busy people scurrying everywhere, kind of like ants ... which isn't a bad thing ... just different from my day to day ...

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27). He also said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

you know - sometimes my work and it's physical location, are restful to me ... there are blessings to be counted in the every day, if we only look for them ... sometimes they are as close as a walk outside the door ...

touring the petroforms

today was one of those days that made my job FUN! i got to go on a tour of the petroforms ... i was never really enthusiastic about seeing them, i thought of them as a bunch of rocks out on the Canadian Shield ...

but those "rocks" have a story behind them ... and the area itself was neat to walk on ... i love the pre-cambrian shield ...
it's amazing how this huge, sturdy rock formation is just within a stone's throw of the highway ... we followed a narrow path through the woods and voilá, within 2 minutes we stepped into another time and space ...

the petroforms would be of interest to history buffs - but the shield itself was what awed me the most ... God's handiwork was displayed in such raw grandeur ...

after much sun and walking, i shall make it an early evening!

tomorrow is another day in the salt mines in the park!