normal is nice ...

i had the best of days today ...

it was a lovely fall day weather wise ... 15C or 60F ... perfect for walking to town and doing some shopping (i found some bargains so cheap, it felt like a gift!) ... paying bills ... plus cashing my first pay cheque of the season ... *smile*

i finished cleaning out my flower beds ... it was so warm by the side of the house, i think i could have suntanned!

AND i got to go for a bike ride!!! that's an extremely rare event these days since it has cooled down considerably ... the picture i posted is from my usual biking route ...

i was in and out of the house ... but even so, i did manage to do the laundry and usual housework ... plus chat with leo and play with scooter ...

i mean it was a really lovely, normal type day ... which i am so thankful for ...

written down my day sounds as exciting as watching paint dry ... *grinning* ... but there is something to be said for paint drying - it refreshes everything ...

just sharing the sweetness ...

Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance.

~Epicurus

when is a bird bigger than a mountain?

this mornings daily bread just spoke to my heart ... about our attitude ... about faith ... about how we perceive our problems ... just had to share with you guys ... blessings on your mid week!

READING: Isaiah 40:12-13,25-31

He . . . sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. —Isaiah 40:22Question: When is a bird bigger than a mountain? Answer: When the bird is closer than the mountain.

In reality, the bird is not bigger than the mountain, but it sure looks that way when the feathery fellow is perched on my window ledge and the mountain is far away in the distance.

Sometimes we perceive God this way in relationship to our problems. The troubles facing us seem huge because they are so close—like a big black bird with beady eyes and a sharp beak waiting for a smaller animal’s weariness to turn into helplessness so it can devour it. At such times, God seems as far away as a distant mountain, and we perceive Him as being small and unreachable.

The prophet Isaiah changes our perspective by asking these rhetorical questions: “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?” (40:12). The Lord “gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength” (v.29).

Just as a bird is never bigger than a mountain, no problem is ever bigger than God. It’s all a matter of changing our perspective. — Julie Ackerman Link

The problems that we face each day
Can seem too much to bear
Until we turn our eyes to Christ
And trust His tender care. —Sper


We worship a God who is greater than our greatest problem.

safe harbour

"The brightest souls which glory ever knew

Were rocked in storms and nursed when tempests blew."

~anon

Jesus is the Way Maker

this pic reminded me of a chorus we used to sing ... way back ... do you remember it too?

O here comes Jesus
see Him walking on the water
He'll lift you up
and help you to stand ...

O here comes Jesus
He's the Master of the waves that roll
O here comes Jesus
He'll save your soul ...

Jesus is the way-maker
Jesus is the way-maker
Jesus is the way-maker
He made way for me ...

Once the sun refused to shine
in this sinful heart of mine,
Jesus, He made a way for me ...

a gift ...

a little outing ...

park near our condo, pic taken today

i got leo out of the house today... yay!!!! ... it was almost 2 p.m. before we left home to vote, but leo was motivated to go ... on the way home, i asked him if he wanted to continue on for a little drive ... i could show him all the new houses that had gone up over the summer ... surprisingly - he said ok! so i leisurely drove the car on the same streets i ride my bike ... we chatted about all the new construction ... leo even asked if i would go around the block on the newest street -where most of the development was - he wanted a better look ...

i enjoyed having leo out somewhere with me ... somewhere other than a doctors' office ... i am on my own so much, that it thrills me when leo wants to come along!

that was my sweet moment of the day ...

just sharing ....

Love puts the fun in together,

the sad in apart,

and the joy in a heart.

~Author Unknown

thanksgiving in Canada

it's a long weekend here in canada! our thanksgiving, long weekend ... and i choose to be thankful! being thankful makes one happier ... feel less stressful ... and it is the only thing that can part the clouds on darker days ... a thankful heart ...

God has done so much for me ... Thank you Lord!!!!!!

faith vs fear

are you feeling some bits of fear trying to settle in the pit of your stomach?
the uncertainty of tomorrow?
the world we once trusted in - turned upside down? ...

these are the times when faith grows -
because what we can physically see and touch, has let us down ...

these are the times when our faith looks up -
because these are the times when our faith is all we have ...
YET ... faith is all we NEED ...

isn't that the truth of it?

when all is stripped away - it's our faith that will hold everything together ...

BE BLESSED ...

the zigzag path

We climbed the height by the zigzag path
And wondered why - until
We understood it was made zigzag
To break the force of the hill.

A road straight up would prove too steep
For the traveler's feet to tread;
The thought was kind in its wise design
of a zigzag path instead.

It is often so in our daily life;
We fail to understand
That the twisting way our feet must tread
by love alone was planned.

Then murmur not at the winding way,
It is our Father's will
To lead us Home by the zigzag path,
To break the force of the hill.
- anon

Simply following God is the true philosophy of life.

... politics!

while the U.S. vice presidential debate was on last night, we had our own debate on tv, here in canada ... the candidates for prime minister ... all 5 of them (4 men and one woman ... and just an FYI, we have already had a woman prime minister about 15 years ago) ... it was a round table format ... i checked out both debates ...

to be honest - i don't care for debates ... i guess because i don't like arguments ... i like discussions ...

then there are the spin masters afterwards ... twisting whatever was said to represent the view they want the masses (us) to believe ...

there really are no unbiased reporters out there ... lets face it, we ALL have our opinions ... which make it difficult to see clearly ... or report accurately ...

i will be so glad when our elections (14th) and our neighbours elections are done, then hopefully the solutions for pressing problems will be the #1 concern for our elected members ...

Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long,

has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.

~Richard Armour

today ... faith enough for today ...

i thought this was such a timely and spot-on reading from Springs in the Valley ... so i'm sharing with you guys ...

September 30

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" (Psalm 43:5)

The other evening I found myself staggering alone under a load that was heavy enough to crush half a dozen strong men. Out of sheer exhaustion I put it down and had a good look at it. I found that it was all borrowed: part of it belonged to the following day; part of it belonged to the following week - and here was I borrowing it that it might crush me now! It is a very stupid, but a very ancient blunder.
- F.W. Boreham.

You and I are to take our trials, our black Fridays, our lone and long nights, and we are to come to Him and say, "Manage these, Thou Wondrous Friend, Who canst turn the very night into the morning; manage these for me!"

Sparrow, He guardeth thee;
Never a flight but thy wings He
upholdeth;
Never a night but thy nest He
enfoldeth;
Safely He guardeth thee.

Lily, He robeth thee;
Though thou must fade, by the Summer
bemoaned,
Thou art arrayed fair as monarch
enthroned;
Spotless He robeth thee.

Hear, thou of little faith;
Sparrow and lily are soulless and dying;
Deathless art thou; will He slight
thy faint crying?
Trust, thou of little faith!
- R.G.W.

time time time ...

yikes ... the time has really flown by these past few days ... i have barely been online!

on monday, i took scooter in to be fixed ... poor little guy didn't know what was going on ... but he has certainly bounced back quickly! we hope that he quits his aggressive biting soon ... otherwise, he can be a sweet little guy ...

then on wednesday, we went to see leo's doc ... this is the new doc since april ... he will be moving to another town, but i think that we will stay put ... the clinic is only 2 streets away, and there should be someone there to take care of leo ... hope hope hope!!!!

today was our condo assoc meeting (of which i am secretary) ...

there just seems to be something happening all the time ... plus i have been really pooped out lately? fighting a cold, maybe? or is it fighting old age? *laughing* ...

a quick FYI for those of my blog buds who wonder what's up with me! hope to visit y'all soon!

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

Psalm 27:13

that's what i love about the bible ...
it always gives us something to hope for!

blessings on your sunday!

chit chat

i was feeling restless yesterday ... the fall weather always brings that out in me ... so i decided to take a drive to our old neighbourhood ...

it is only 10 minutes from our town, yet when i drove over the narrow bridge - it felt like a different world ...

i had plans of visiting old neighbours ... we do keep in touch with them and enjoy their sweet friendship ... but no one was at home ... nor was anyone home at our former cottage (they live in the city and just come out on the occasional weekend) ...
so i parked the car on the road, and did a little walk about on that piece of land that had once been so familiar to us ... one which we had lovingly called home for over a decade ...

the trees we had planted were huge, making the yard feel quite private ... a secluded, mature property ...

and it truly felt odd to be in such a familiar spot - because it felt unfamiliar too ... it had once been a well loved spot, with much of our hard work still on display ... yet - it was definitely NOT home anymore ...

maybe when we get to heaven ... our real destination and our forever home, we will look back at our life on earth and feel the same way ... it was once a place we called home - but not anymore!

just sharing and thinking outloud ...

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in.
Aim at earth and you get neither.
~C. S. Lewis

fears vs security

Let not your heart be troubled ... Jesus said that some 2000 years ago ... and we still need to be reassured in todays' climate of uncertainty ...

words of comfort are needed more and more as our world encounters upheavel on a daily basis ... i especially feel for our neighbours to the south - bank failures and natural disasters seem to be the norm rather than the exception...

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 ... again, Jesus reminds us of what is truly important ... our spiritual lives aren't temporary ... they are eternal ...

did you know?

the whole world is aware of the up coming election in the States ... the headlines and controversies are daily news ... it's all so addictive to watch ... i admit that - really fascinating drama ... plus, since we are neighbours, we pray that whoever is elected president - keeps our borders friendly ...

now i have to ask my american blog buds this question - did you know that we here in canada will also be going to the polls? to elect a new prime minister?

yup ...

tho' our process is quite different and much shorter ...

prime minister harper called an election last sunday (sept 7) ... we go to the polls on october 14th ... of this same year ... that means a little over 5 weeks of politicking ... we'd all be comatose if it lasted much longer!

we already know how we'll vote ... according to the polls, so do 3/4's of the folks contacted ...

just an FYI post for my non-canadian buds! ...

blessings on your weekend!

september 11th ...

7 years ago i was on my way to thunder bay ... to visit my dad who was dieing of cancer ... it was to be the last time i saw him ...

my cousin had offered to ride along - to keep me company for the 8 hour road trip ...

as we tuned into the radio morning news - the events of september 11th unfolded ... we listened in shock and horror ... even contemplated turning around and going home ... after all, thunder bay was so close the U.S. border ... and the U.S. was under attack ...

however, we decided to continue on ... i felt better after calling leo (cell phones are wonderful creations!) ...

such sadness and fear were created on that day ... 7 years ago ...

but days like 9/11 also bring our beliefs to the forefront and strengthen our faith in the One who never changes ... and is Eternal ... regardless of what happens here on earth ...

today my cousin and i will take a shorter road trip ... into the city ... i know we will be talking about that other trip ... and remembering ...

yes ... remembering ....

patio is full of ... flowers!

in july i shared a little picture of a lone petunia, blooming in the crack of our little patio ... now it's september ... see what the lone petunia started? ... it grew all on it's own ... and others followed suit ... i didn't plant a single flower that you see in the posted picture (i mean who would plant flowers in the cracks of a patio?) ... they just popped up! bright splashes of colour ... enough to cheer any heart ...

nature encourages me ... especially since i know the One who created it all ... He does very good work indeed! ...

and even though in life "stuff happens" - like leo's newest doctor, moving on and making us decide whether to follow him - or look for a 3rd new doctor - in 2 years . . . ? ? ? ? ... there is still a rhyme and reason to our lives, if we trust the Gardener ...

even though it looks odd to flower in unconventional areas - i think God loves placing bright colours in otherwise gray spots ... it encourages others to bloom ... maybe turn those gray areas into flower gardens ... flower gardens that God designed ...

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station,
through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.
~George Washington Carver

fragile

life has been busier in my little world ... we have had some company - folks we haven't seen for a long time ... old friends from leo's healthier days ... and even from my high school years ... it was so much fun to touch base ... i so enjoyed cooking and baking for friends ...

we used to have quite a bit of company ... i miss that ...

but mostly i have been in a "non-mood" lately ... quite lethargic and lacking in motivation to do much of anything ... i have been reading good books - as always ... but i haven't had the concentration to pray as i did earlier in the summer ... life seems more fragile ... so there should be more urgency to pray - yet i'm in a cocoon ... or fog ... ? ... do you ever get like that? ...

for those of my blog buds who have asked me how i am ... i really am "fine" ... just trying to shake the "nothings" ... and claim God's promises to lift the fog ...