sunshine and greenery

life is good in arizona ... we have been enjoying the stores ... *smile* ... and swimming ... it has been such a blessed break from the bitterly cold at home ...

just saying HI from AZ!!!!

blizzards and plans

i'm not in arizona - yet ... Lord willing this time next week i will be ... *smile* ...

but before the vacation - there was a bit of a mini-blizzard that blew in, just before my birthday - it found me shovelling on the day of my birthday ... which was fine, it was a good opportunity to thank the Lord for strength to lift that shovel and clear our deck!!!  

thank you blog buds for the birthday greetings ... also thank you "annah" for your kind words - which encouraged me ...

i am starting to get butterflies in my stomach re the travel ... i get this nervous energy and tension before trips ... especially when leo stays behind ... we used to be good travelling companions ... he would drive and i would be the map reader and planner ... but that was a very long time ago already, time truly does go by quickly ... yet it seems that our lives can change in the blink of an eye ... one day - soon? - it will be in the "twinkling of an eye" that lasting, forever change will occur ... and the term 'saved' will mean something everlastingly wonderful ...

just wanted to post a little note here ... in case life gets hectic before i leave home on wednesday ... thank you for your prayers on my behalf - 'cause i know i have great praying buds who i've met through blogging!

whimsy in mid week ...

May you always have work for your hands to do

May your pockets hold always a coin or two

May the sun shine bright on your windowpane

May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain

May the hand of a friend always be near you

And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you

- Irish Blessing

doctor update

just an fyi re leo's newest doc ... we like him ... *smile* ... and all indications point to him staying in our little town ... yay!!!!  can't believe the day has finally arrived ... a doctor who has settled here ...  with his family ... by choice!

this was the 3rd time we visited with him since december ... he is trying some new things with leo, hoping to give him some relief from the day to day chronic pain ... 

after the past 4 years of revolving door doctors - we have some hope ... thank you Lord!

"if ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."  John 15:4

i like the word ABIDE ... i want to alway ABIDE in Him who has redeemed me ...

winter vacation

On the sixth day God turned to the Archangel Gabriel and said, "Today I am going to create a land called Canada . It will be a land of outstanding natural beauty. It shall have tall majestic mountains full of mountain goats and eagles, beautiful sparkling lakes bountiful with bass and trout, forests full of elk and moose, high cliffs over-looking sandy beaches with an abundance of sea life, and rivers stocked with salmon."


God continued, "I shall make the land rich in resources so as to make the inhabitants prosper, I shall call these inhabitants Canadians, and they shall be known as the most friendly people on the earth."


"But Lord," asked Gabriel, "don't you think you are being too generous to these Canadians??"


"Not really," replied God. "Just wait and see the winters I am going to give them!




this is an old joke, but it makes me smile ... canadian winters can indeed be brutal ... so, with leo's blessing, i will be going to arizona ... you know, to a desert place - to rest awhile ... i'll be travelling with a cousin - staying with another cousin plus i'll visit my AZ buds ... leo said he can manage for 2 weeks (i will have things in place to make him as comfortable as possible) ... Lord willing, i'll be jetting away at the end of the month ...

just thought i'd share my excitement of the day!!!  i can't believe that this will be winter #2 that i will get to escape to my favourite desert spot ...

... remembering emma-mummu ...

my aunt reminded me that it was 9 years ago today that my maternal grandmother died ... it doesn't seem so long ... yet, time is elusive and passes quickly without us even realizing it ... so i thought i would share what i posted about my grandmother back in 2005 ...

(i wonder if maria and emma-mummu have had a visit by now?  just thinking outloud ... )

 

 

Emma-Mummu died 3 years ago today, at the age of 92 ... she was my last grandparent to slip into eternity ... now that generation is no more ... she was a gutsy lady who left an imprint on the lives she touched ...

her life began in Finland and ended an ocean away ... in Canada ... a land she grew to love ...

a teenage mother at 16, she steadfastly waited for her fiancé to return from his adventures in America so that he could meet his daughter and wed her, his sweetheart ...

she was a hard working woman ... who kept the family farm going during W.W.II, while her husband fought to keep Finland safe from the Russian invaders, who were gobbling up all other neighbouring countries ...

my grandfathers health was a casualty of the war, so Emma-Mummu continued to work the farm, as well as nurturing 10 children (23 years span the ages of the youngest to the oldest) ... she was one strong women ... it was her indomitable will and sheer determination that kept the family fed and clothed ...

my own little family had immigrated to Canada when the news came ... my grandfather had died ... i was only 5, but i can still remember the cloud of sadness that settled over the house ...

a year later, Emma-Mummu came to Canada with her 4 youngest children in tow ... what a move, half way across the world, not knowing the language ... financial concerns were only one of many for her ... she left behind 4 adult children (plus their families), her siblings and lifelong friends ... she also left behind a half century of living, loving and even her own identity of self ...

a new chapter in her life had begun ...

Emma-Mummu was ever the survivor ... for the next 40 years Canada WAS her home ... she married again and lived happily with our step-grandfather for over 25 years ... they created a cozy little nest, where her large brood could drop by at any time and feel welcome ...

she cultivated a deep faith in her later years ...

she graced our lives with her vibrant spirit, quick wit and dry humour ...

i’ve reminisced about my Emma-Mummu this weekend ... like a cherished old movie, my times with her have mentally replayed over and over again in my mind’s eye ...

her life really could have been a movie ... it contained high drama, romance, comedy, tragedy and ended happily with a soul at rest with her God ...

social media

here is a good sermon in a minute ... my cousin just shared it with me today and i thought it was a good way of making folks think of HIM who came to REDEEM us ... you could tell she was giving the GLORY to GOD ... just sharing!

devotionals

i love the fact that there are so many good devotionals available to us ... in every form ... online, in print, youtube ... the formats really seem endless ... the Lord gets my attention - or answers a question - or gives a hug - through these means (and through my blog buds) ...

so i just wanted to share these good thoughts on forgiveness, from my "living truth" devotional  (http://livingtruth.ca/) ... 'cause at one point in my walk i had such a hard time forgiving myself - i needed to be reminded about what God does with our sin ... blessings on your weekend!!!!

What God does with our sin

"He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west so far does he remove our transgressions from us."
- psalm 103:10-12

Why do we find it so difficult to accept God's forgiveness?  First of all, we must still live with the inevitable consequences of sin, the domino effects that our actions have set into motion.  The man who repents of his adultery still must reconcile with his wife or face divorce.  The forgiven alcoholic who has lost his job must still face life without a pay check.  Forgiveness will not bring back the aborted child.  Forgiven people sometimes have been sentenced to die in a gas chamber.

Another reason so many of us are reluctant to accept forgiveness is because we think we deserve to feel guilty.  We think, it's not fair for me to be free of guilt, given the wretch I am.  But guilt can never pay for sins.  Guilt of the most torturous kind does not commend us to God - we don't make ourselves any more presentable to God by enduring the misery we know we deserve.  Our guilt cannot add to the value of Christ's death on the cross for us.

In light of God's grace, it is sheer arrogance for us to hang on to our guilt.  C.S. Lewis put it like this:  "I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves.  Otherwise it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him."

We might be troubled by our forgiven sin, but God is not.  Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, our confessed sin has been so thoroughly put away that it no longer presents a barrier to our fellowship with the Almighty.  Forgiven sin is only what we make it to be:  Either we can allow it to plague our conscience, or we can send it to where God has already put it.

When I was a boy of about ten, my sister gave me a Magic Slate.  I would draw pictures and write words and phrases on it, then lift the transparent page and watch what I had written disappear without a trace.  Just so, our lives are written on God's tablet, but he can blot out the words we have said, the thoughts we have entertained, and the deeds we have done.  Yes, the consequences of our actions may remain, but our sins themselves are no longer visible.  God has put them out of His sight. - Erwin Lutzer



"if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" - 1 john 1:9 -

the Potter ...

i feel so much better when i trust the Potter to do His work in me ... instead of trying to be the potter, and thinking i can do it myself ...

2010 card tree

i didn’t think i would have a full card tree this year ... i mean we are all cutting back on sending cards ... we do so much electronically or by phone – but look at this – a full tree again for 2010 ... ... this pic was taken today – and these are the last christmas decorations i have up ... i will be taking the cards down soon (sad thought – i like seeing them!) ... it was fun to read greetings and look at the cards ... one of my favourite christmas pastimes ... christmas cards seem to be something left-over from a simpler and slower moving time ...

happy new year ...

aren't these lovely?  a present from one of my young cousins ... one of those things that makes me smile ... i love flowers ...


the last days of 2010 ... and the beginning of 2011 ... have been very very nice ... we've had company every other day ... family/friends ... all folks who brightened our home with their visits ... *huge smile* ...


i'm not in the blogging mode, as i type this ... but i just wanted to post something 'cause my blog buds are friends (after so many years!) and i don't want to lose touch with you guys ... plus i noticed that i had only posted 48 times last year ... not much, eh? ...   i will try not to fade into the night of cyber space ...  poetic eh?  *grin* ...

my lack of posting seems to say i don't have anything to share about my life and my Lord - but i do ... His mercies are new every morning and He encourages me to lean on Him ... which i've been doing ... i think i have just been distracted in the past while, lost in thought sometimes ... and i'm sure that maria's death in july has played a part in my reflective, quiet spirit ...

yup - there is a season for everything under heaven ... i do pray that 2011 might have a season of pure joy in it ... for us all ... blessings on ya!
 

inbetween days ...

i hope you all had a peaceful and joyous christmas ...

every year is different, isn't it? ... our christmas was indeed peaceful, but leo had a flu of some sort - so the quiet was unsettling at times ... he is feeling better - back to the usual chronic stuff, without the extra discomfort - so we are thankful for that!

today was the first day i went for a walk, in over a week!  ... it really felt wonderful to get out and chat with the Lord as i made my way down familiar streets ... i think i get a little down when i don't go out!

this was also our first christmas without maria ... it's funny how she was in all our thoughts, but none of us wanted to talk about her alot - not knowing who we would make extra sad ... everyone deals with grief differently ... for me, i miss her - yet i am so gald she is not in pain anymore ... those last weeks were rough on us who watched her great discomfort ... i prefer to think of her being with the Lord and hearing her sweet laugh as she knows true Godly freedom in heaven ...

so now we are in the inbetween days ... last days of 2010 and looking forward to 2011 ... a good time to send out blessings to my blog buds - thank you for being so patient and kind towards me in 2010 ... your encouragement was always so appreciated ...


In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. ~Albert Schweitzer

grace is for everyone ...

leo and i were watching day of discovery this morning ... one of the songs they used was this one:

Some Children See Him

by Wihla Hutson & Alfred S. Burt 1951.

Some children see Him lily white,

the baby Jesus born this night.

Some children see Him lily white,

with tresses soft and fair.

Some children see Him bronzed and brown,

The Lord of heav'n to earth come down.

Some children see Him bronzed and brown,

with dark and heavy hair.

Some children see Him almond-eyed,

this Savior whom we kneel beside.

some children see Him almond-eyed,

with skin of yellow hue.

Some children see Him dark as they,

sweet Mary's Son to whom we pray.

Some children see him dark as they,

and, ah! they love Him, too!

The children in each different place

will see the baby Jesus' face

like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace,

and filled with holy light.

O lay aside each earthly thing

and with thy heart as offering,

come worship now the infant King.

'Tis love that's born tonight!

it just reminded me that Jesus came for everyone ... no one is outside of God's love, or more special than someone else ... we are all sinners ... and can all be saved by grace ... now that is a gift that only the foolish would refuse!

library nativity scene

i walked into our library the other day and look what they had on  display ....

isn't it sweet?  one of our local seniors made it ... lots of knitting involved, with whimsical looking charactors ... but it gets the message across ...  dont'cha love small towns ... *smile*

* * * * * * * *

Good news from heaven the angels bring

Glad tidings to the earth they sing:

To us this day a child is given,

To crown us with the joy of heaven.

~ Martin Luther

 my aunt was baking ... so she gave me some cookies ... i can't believe she still makes all those cookies at the age of 82 ... and as each year passes, those cookies become more and more special ...

* * * * * * *

Our hearts grow tender

with childhood memories

and love of family,

and we are better throughout

the year for having, in spirit,

become a child again at Christmastime.

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

tis the season ...

tis the season for hurrying ... for fretting ... for being tired and cranky ... ?

no no no ... !

tis the season for magnifying and thanking Jesus ... i always have to make a conscious attitude adjustment around the early stages of Christmastime ... to remind myself that i am not super woman ... that it's not a competition between who has the nicest decorations or who gives the best gifts ... rather, it's a time of thanksgiving to the ONE who gave up everything to live among us - us, who don't deserve the lavish love of a forgiving God ... yet it is His free gift to us through Jesus, the One and Only ...

above is a pic of our condo central, taken yesterday ... we do have snow, don't we?  ... and again this year - leo and i gave thanx for this condo that God made available to us, 4 years ago ... living in town has been such a huge blessing!!  especially during those stormy periods, when the highways have been slippery - i just lace up my boots and walk!!!

well, i walk in town ... but going to the city is another matter ... i was nervous about my first time out on the highways, on wintery roads, last week - thankfully i regained some winter driving confidence - and it went well ... i had to go to the city because of my appointment with the eye specialist ... remember that glaucoma thing i shared about?  well, the doc said i don't need lazer surgery - but i may need drops for the rest of my life ... he wants a few more tests done (in march), then we'll see ...

and have i shared that leo will be getting ANOTHER new doctor?  i think this will be the 5th new gp for him in 4 years!  we hope that this doc is good - and that he decides to make our little town his home ... hope hope hope ...

well, time to unwrap more of this new day that God has given to me ... blessings on all who stop by here!

thank God there is enough!

as the snow continues to fall in our little corner of the world, i pray that all my american buds have a wonderful and safe thanksgiving day ... blessings on ya!

scene outside my window this morning

"Thank God there is enough. 

In God there is enough love to cover every mistake,
enough light to brighten the darkest hour,

enough power to meet every need." 
~ anon

a good start to the week!

i thought i would share one of my morning devotions with you guys ... it's taken from today's reading in billy graham's "Day by Day" ... short thoughts - filled with big truths!  it would make a lovely present for someone ... blessings on ya!

"The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with  joy . . . "  Zephaniah 3:17

The world's millions could come down to the beach and reach out their hands to be filled with sea water.  They could each take as much as they wanted, as much as they needed - and still the ocean would remain unchanged.  Its might and power would be the same, the life in its unfathomable depths would continue unaltered, although it had supplied the needs of every single person standing with outstretched hands along its shores.  So it is with God.  He can be everywhere at once, heeding the prayers of all who call out in the name of Christ; performing the mighty miracles that keep the stars in their places, and the plants busting up through the earth, and the fish swimming in the sea.  There is no limit to God.  There is no limit to His love.  There is no limit to His mercy.

... my voice is small on earth - yet heard with love in heaven ...

have you ever had times in your life when it seems that your voice is so small, no one hears it?  when you call the maytag repair guy and no one comes ... when your normally speedy internet, just churns and churns, and the provider doesn't care ... when a loved one is in pain, and you can't do anything to help? ...


i have had so many incidents this past while, that it has to be more than coincidence ... it seems i'm under attack ... every day, my "smallness" shouts - "you have no voice ... it doesn't matter, so don't even bother trying!!!" ....


but it does matter - because though i may be small - the God i serve ISN'T ... and it is His battle, not mine ... i just need to keep my eyes on Him who redeemed me ... keep praying and keep reading my bible - which tells me that i was so important to God that He sent His only Son to die for me ...


the maytag guy may not hear me ... but God does!  the internet may be slower than molasses on a january morning - but God isn't slow to encourage my heart ...


yup - i need my focus on things that matter ... things that are eternal ... because though my voice is small and muffled on earth - it is heard with love and concern in heaven ...

my morning view

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  ~ Jesus ... (Matthew 11:28-30)

Operation Christmas Child

it's that time of year again ... time to pack a shoebox for little ones who don't usually get gifts at Christmas ... samaritan's purse  (http://www.samaritanspurse.org)  has been doing this for years now ... and so have we ... i love packing a box with school supplies, hygiene products, toys, hard candy - knowing it will be opened in some place like haiti - where the need is great ... samaritan's purse also includes the gospel message with each box ...

mid november is the deadline (there abouts) ... i have my boxes almost ready - i just need to add a few more items ...

if you haven't packed a box before - it is a good project to do with family, friends or just ' cause you want to! ...

blessings on ya!