And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

He who has not
Christmas in his heart
will never find it
under a tree.
~Roy L. Smith

“Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires; but what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded an empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.”
~ Napolean Bonaparte

40 below fashions ...

tips on how to dress for the elements ...

first you double or triple all the clothes you have on underneath your coat ...
add a vest over the layers, for a little extra ...
a touque on your head is a must ...
lastly, secure a scarf around your face - the mummy look ...

then with only eyes showing, you are ready to head out the door ... which is a bit frozen and you have to tug on for a while before it finally opens ...

this is how i have been dressing for the past few days ...

with the windchill, it is a bone chilling 40 below ... brrrrrrr ... and ho ho ho !!!!

Winter is the time for comfort,
for good food and warmth,
for the touch of a friendly hand
and for a talk beside the fire:
it is the time for home.
~Edith Sitwell

i take, He undertakes!

if you are still wondering what to get someone for Christmas ... i strongly recommend "Springs in the Valley" by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman ... even tho' it was first published over 50 years ago, the truths in it are timeless and timely!

here is yesterday's reading ... may you be blessed by it!


"He is faithful that promised." (Hebrews 10:23)

God's power will keep God's promises! Promises for the soul, promises for the body, promises for others, promises for our work, promises for our business, promises for time and for eternity: these are all ours! It is not your weakness that can defeat God's promise, nor your strength that can fulfill the promise: He that spoke the Word will Himself make it good. It is neither your business nor mine to keep God's promises: that is His grace.

The signed check is given us. How foolish if we fear to present it! Never yet has one single check been dishonoured! "He is faithful that promised."

I take; He undertakes!

We may pray much over a promise, and yet never obtain it. Asking is not taking. Beseeching is not claiming.

I clasp the hand of Love divine,

I claim the gracious promise mine,

And add to His my countersign.

I take, He undertakes.

I simply take Him at His Word;

I praise Him that my prayer is heard

And claim my answer from the Lord.

I take, He undertakes.

~Dr. A.B. Simpson

'tis the season for ... cookies!

look at the lovely homemade cookies my aunt gave me! i am just so blessed .... *smile* ... and now with my lower cholesterol readings, i can crunch away in true enjoyment - not fearing what the numbers will be!

then we received a package from my west coast sister ... there were all kinds of wrapped up gifts ... plus homemade surprises ... it made me smile ...

may the simple things in life - bless your heart today ...

I always believed that

the true spirit of Christmas

demands thought and effort

on the giver's part,

not just lavish spending.

~Inez Hogan

the good way

Ask where the

Good way is, and walk

in it, and you will find

rest for your souls.

- Jeremiah 6:16, NIV

talking about food ...

i got some good news last week ... my cholesterol is now perfectly NORMAL!!!!

YAY!

i was glad that a change of diet was all that was needed ... i was eating too many lean cuisine type meals ... leo doesn't eat normal at all - and the aroma of something cooking can actually make him nauseous - therefore i got lazy in preparing meals for myself ... the result - elevated cholesterol ...

now that i'm back on track, i can enjoy some Christmas treats ... not too many - but some!

YAY! thank you Lord!

Vegetables are a must on a diet.
I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.
~Jim Davis

tis the season ... to get our hearts ready ...

pic copied off 'net

There had been no peace on earth since Adam fell. But, now, when the newborn King made His appearance, the swaddling band with which He was wrapped up was the white flag of peace. That manger was the place where the treaty was signed, whereby warfare should be stopped between man's conscience and Himself, man's conscience and his God.
~Charles Spurgeon

December 1st ...

i know it's not officially "winter" yet ... but with the outdoor reading at
-20C, it doesn't have to be "official" here in our little town - it's here!!

thought i'd just update you on leo's doctor situation ... in case you were wondering ... he has an appt. in january with yet another newbie physician ... this will be his 3rd NEW doctor in 2 years ... tho' i must give thanks on this point - each one has added something positive to leo's overall care ... we keep praying ... and the answers always seem to come in the oddest ways and means ... must be "God thing" ... His ways just aren't our ways!

blessings on you!

setting our minds on Christ ...

God is still in control ... despite upheavel in our old world ... and hate being manifest in all kinds of ugly ways ... yet there is still beauty in the soul who makes God their place of refuge ... the God Who has always been there ...

Happy Thanksgiving

Psalm 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.(NIV)

Isaiah 40:28

our God is good ... all the time ...

for proof, check out my post from 2 years ago: http://saija.blogspot.com/2006/11/big-news.html

it's still a matter of huge praise for us!

blessings on your weekend!

brrrrrr

i bet you can feel the coolness of the weather in our little town ... the snow was crunching underneath my boots and the water has started to think of freezing up!

there is a stark beauty in the scenery ... the colours are faded - yet appealing ...

today was the first event of the holiday season ... our christmas craft sale ... the town was full of folks looking at what the local artisans had made or baked ... my aunt and i spent a few hours taking it all in ... and finding a few treasures ... it was fun ... *smile* ...

God's timing for my reading material is always spot on!!! and as i was reading louie giglio's book, this particular passage - at this particular time - is so worth sharing with you too!

page 49:

After an eternity of being God, He shows no signs of wear and tear. He has no needs. His accounts are in the black. He's the owner, not to mention Creator, of all of the world's wealth and treasure. He made the gold and silver, and the trees we print our paper money on. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and all the hills the cows are standing on. He holds the patent on the skies above - not to mention the earth, the seas and their depths below, the breeze, the colors of the sunset and every flowering thing. They all are His invention. His design. His idea.

God does whatever He wants. His purposes are a sure thing. There's no stopping Him. No containing Him. No refuting Him. No cutting Him off at the pass. No short-circuiting His agenda. God is in control.

lest we forget . . .

"TAPS"

Day is done...
Gone the sun...
From the lake...
From the hills...
From the sky...
All is well...
Safely rest...
God is nigh.

Thanks and praise...
For our days...
'Neath the sun...
'Neath the stars...
'Neath the sky...
As we go...
This we know...
God is nigh.

snow and ice make a manitoba autumn!

the streets here in our little town are icy and snow covered ... old man winter has arrived ... too early for my taste ... but i didn't get a say in it!

the snow does make me think about Christmas ... but it also makes me think of isolation ... i suffer a bit from that seasonal disorder, where i crave more sunshine and warmth ... it's a battle to remain positive at times ...

did you know that i've been blogging for 4 years now?

i started blogging just around the time when the seasonal sadness wanted to wipe the cheer from my heart ... blogging helped battle the blahs! ... the wonderful added bonus became YOU - my blogging buds ... at first i thought i'd be posting into cyber space ... a one way missile ... but i was blessed with "meeting" folks who have cheered my heart through the years ... encouraged me ... prayed for both leo and i ... recommended or even sent me encouraging books to read ... i mean the list has been endless ... endless eternal blessings ...

these past months my posts have been sketchy at best ... my visits to your blogs, haphazard ... i want to continue blogging, but one needs to have the desire to share ... i think i am going through a season of sadness ... now with winter weather arriving, the sadness is more melancholy ...

just keeping you in my loop ... which is sort of loop-ee at the moment! *smile* ...

blessings on your sunday ...

billy graham turns 90

billy graham's birthday is tomorrow - november 7th ... and he will be 90 ... if you want to leave a little "happy birthday" note, you can do that at http://www.billygraham.org/ ...

here is what dr. graham had to say about this birthday:

“I never expected to live this long, and it is hard to believe I have reached the age of 90,” says Mr. Graham. “Every day is a gift from God, no matter how old we are. I have discovered that just because we grow weaker physically as we age, it doesn’t mean that we must grow weaker spiritually. In fact, we ought to be growing stronger spiritually because our eyes ought to be on eternity and Heaven—on the things that really matter.”

i have been so blessed by the billy graham ministry over the years ... the decision magazines and books that they sent - i can truly say that God has used them in my life - to help me grow in grace ...

the world is a better place because of billy (and ruth - who has already entered into her reward)

may God bless billy graham ...

... and with Jesus

There is an infinite variety in the paths God makes, and He can make them anywhere! Think you not that He, who made the spider able to drop anywhere and to spin its own path as it goes, is not able to spin a path for you through every blank, or perplexity, or depression? God is never lost among our mysteries. He sees the road, "the end from the beginning."

Mystery and uncertainty are only to prepare us for deeper discipline. Had we no stormy sea we should remain weaklings to the end of our days. God takes us out into the deeps; but he knows the track! He knows the haven! and we shall arrive.

"and with Jesus

Through the trackless deep move on!"

copied from nov 2nd reading: Springs in the Valley

... pictures taken by my west coast sister ...