C.S. Lewis quote

i took this sunrise picture on 08-08-08 and this C.S. Lewis quote caught my eye today ... so i merged them together ... though the people i want to reach with this quote, are the ones who most likely won't get it ... sigh ... how blind are those who refuse to see ...

consider the lilies

                                                               poster by saija

i took this picture the other day of some of my lilies ...

don't they make you smile ...

Consider The Lilies - Joyful Singers 

Consider the lilies
They don't toil or spin
And there's not a king
With more splendor than them
Consider the sparrow
They don't plant or sow
But they're fed by the master
Who watches him grow

We have a heavenly father above
With eyes full of mercy
And a heart full of love
He really cares when
Your head is bowed low
Consider the lilies
And then you will know

May I introduce you
To this friend of mine
Who hangs out the stars
And tells the sun when to shine
He kisses the flowers
Each morning with dew
But He's not too busy
To love me and you

We have a heavenly father above
With eyes full of mercy
And a heart full of love
He really cares when
Your head is bowed low
Consider the lilies
And then you will know.

                 ~ anon

canada day pics

today we are 145 years old as a nation ... happy canada day to us!!!  here are a few pics of life over the past few days!!!    and happy upcoming 4th of july to my american buds ...

here's my cousin's puppy ... we were trying to get her to go swimming, but it seems she just didn't want to - no matter how we enticed her!

my lilies ... there are 6 different varieties of them in my garden ... they are something that the previous owners planted, and i've enjoyed ... thank you Lord!!!

this is my front deck hanging plant, the one i see as i sit here typing ... i love these colours ... they make me smile ...

last night leo and i enjoyed the town fireworks ... we can see them very well from our deck ... the town is just hopping with summer people and visitors from all over ...

today the canada day parade walked by our door ... i love small towns for the simple sweetness of occasions like this!!

I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.  That every man may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil - this is the gift of God.

 ~ Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

posters and books

i made another poster ... i am slowly learning more about my photoshop program ... and mostly enjoying the process! 

i've also been reading gracia burnham's 2nd book, to fly again ... gracia is the new tribes missionary, who along with her husband martin,  was kidnapped by muslim extremists in manila in 2001 ... martin was unfortunately killed during their rescue  and gracia was shot in the leg ... i read her first book, in the presence of my enemies, detailing their year in the jungle ... and now this second book talks about her life back in the states and without her husband ... she learned so many lessons along the way ... talk about baptism in fire!

the other busy activity here in middle earth, is the celebration of my uncles 90th birthday, my aunts 85th birthday and their 67th wedding anniversary ... my cousins are holding an open house on saturday and we've all been doing our part to help get things ready ... happy occasion ... *smile* ...

blessings on  you ...

abiding ...

i took this picture on vancouver island ... and i bumped into this verse this morning ... so i thought i'd put them together ... to remind myself to ABIDE in HIM - so that i can WALK just as HE walked ... our walk is our proof of the love we have for JESUS ... it's not a works thing i speak of - but a love thing for our Saviour ...

i do like that word ABIDE ...

and here is a picture of my first rose of the season ... isn't it perfect?!!!   it makes me smile - and just be grateful for all i have, and the blessings i enjoy ... for which i THANK HIM for ...

my little post of praise for this day ... blessings on you ...

quotables

the flowers pictured above were taken in april while i was in BC ... the flowers here in middle earth are just opening up ... i feel like i have enjoyed a lovely lllooonnnngggg springtime - watching buds burst with colour all over north america ... quite cool ...

my poor blog is suffering ... i do compose posts ... but only in my head ... and i do wonder how my blog buds are doing, then life happens and i don't go check ... *frown*

i was at my eye specialist yesterday ... he put me on the glaucoma eye drops ... i have to learn how to put them in at bedtime ... hopefully they will make the eye pressure go down ... a new phase in life ...

just a short post ... i wanted to end with some quotes that my heart responded too ... blessings on all!!

* * * * * * * * * * *

"To hold on to the plough while wiping our tears - that is christianity."
~ Watchman Nee, martyred for his faith in 1972 china

"God never abandons us when life becomes difficult.  He is always with us and wants to help us, even when things seem to be going wrong."
~ Billy Graham

"We must live so close to God, that we become restless until God's will is accomplished through us."
~ life application bible commentary

home again ...

i had such a blessed and joyful experience on the westcoast ... it was GREAT to visit with my sister & her hubby and also with my brother ... yay!!!!  leo missed me ... he was fine at home and i talked to him a couple of times a day ... thank you alexander graham bell for that little telephone invention!!!!

i took TONS of pictures ... i mean my camera overfloweth!!! ... i probably have atleast one picture of every flower on the island!!!!  and the beach was an amazing place to get interesting shots ...  i just made the poster below - the Lord WAS faithful all during the trip, i felt very much at peace ...

i have to admit that i was GLAD to get back to our sunny and expansive sky here in middle earth! ...will share more later ... blessings on ya!

was it a morning like this ...

this song is powerful and uplifting ... it made me smile and say "thank you Lord!" ... wow, i love Easter mornings - as a saved sinner, i really feel redeemed!!!  HE conquered death, so that we can live ...

Easter ... it makes me think of being ready ...

i'm reading/studying the gospel of matthew in my devotions ... at the moment, i'm in the week before the crucifixion ... those poor disciples, with their expectations of an earthly kingdom, boy were they disappointed and confused when Jesus died!!   but praise God for miracles!! ... their disappointment fled when the incredible happened - Jesus actually rose from the dead!   just like He said He would ... they were shocked ... just as shocked as we will be when Jesus returns again - just like He said ... i mean, i believe it as a future event - but what if this is the year it actually happens?  i will be so surprised!!  because it is something way out of my normal expectations for a day - to be transformed in the twinkling of an eye - so, as i think of this Easter time, i also wonder ... is He coming back soon?

record setting day in the prairies ...

guess what i did today?

washed windows!!!!

earliest ever ...

it was 20C ... so i went for a walk afterwards ... talk about smiling faces everywhere ... and bikes ... and mom’s pushing strollers ... and t-shirts instead of parkas ... ? ... manitoba? in march? ? ? ?

we even set a record yesterday for the earliest day the thermometer reached 20C/68F in the 140 years that records have been kept in this area ...

tomorrow the forecast is for 26C ...

 

had to share!!! wa hooooo!!!

 

 

"... my heart exulteth in the Lord."  1 Samuel 2:1

He thrills me ...

i went for my walk today ... and it seemed that the snow was melting at a faster pace than my walking!!!  truly a beautiful day here ... 12C or 54F ... i mean really amazing weather for the prairies in march ... and it is forecast for the same highs (or dare i even say it outloud - HIGHER temps!!!) ... wow ... it's these little things that make me happy ... sunshine, health to walk ... reading the bible with my husband ... having family and friends to email, phone and visit with ... God's blessings are boundless and on a daily basis ... i thrill to be HIS child, basking in HIS Sonshine ...

i've finally been feeling better the last few days ... the cold that followed me back to canada made me a very lazy girl!!!  i was tired all the time - it was nice to have an excuse, anyway!!!!

i made a fresh poster from one of my AZ pics ... i'm glad that i dwell in GOD and can take JOY in HIS will ...

blessings on your sunday ....

winter vacation

leo is sending me away for a winter vacation - again ... i feel like the most spoiled of women sometimes ... he assures me that he will manage - and we do have all our 'helps' in place ...

so i shall once again be a very scarce blog bud ... blessings on you guys, as i go in search of palm trees and desert flowers ...

where to find comfort ...

when the going gets tough

... the tough read the bible.

strength for the day ...

i was listening to a sermon by david jeremiah (author of Slaying the Giants in your Life) ...  his message was the inspiration for the above poster ... 

the thought he left at the end of his message on worry was: “Don’t worry about anything, Pray about everything” ...

by God’s grace, we can try to do that daily ... especially since we serve the God who is “I AM” ... He’s not “I WAS” – tomorrow is finished ... or “I WILL BE” – that is the future – but I AM, as in the present – so He gives us the strength for today ...

first post of the new year

well look at that ... it's the 11th already and all my thinking of posting haven't made it onto my blog ... i guess i better just tap tap away to remedy that ...

it's been a wonderfully mild start to the year ... today is the actual first wintery day ... it's blowing 'n snowing and just plain COLD out there ... we were due!!! 

yesterday when leo and i went to his doctor's appointment, i was wearing a light fall jacket and just so thankful that leo didn't have to venture out in below zero temps ... then to top off our 'good feelings' - when we walked into our small town clinic, the doctor was already there waiting for us - early - with leo's chart under his arm ... can you get any better than that???  i think not!

i hope that the new year has had a good start in your world too ... blessings on ya!!!

happy new year!

it really is true that as a person ages, the world spins faster and faster ... i just add my voice to everyone elses' and say 'i can't believe the year has ended' ...

my devotional reading for 2011 was Oswald Chambers "My Utmost for His Highest" ... each time i use that devotional - i am challenged in numerous ways to stretch and grow as a believer ... the devotional can be found on www.rbc.org as well ...

i'll close out my 2011 blog post with a shortened version of oswald chambers' last page of the devotional:

You shall not go out with haste, ... for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard"  (Isaiah 52:12)

Security from Yesterday.  God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.
Security for Tomorrow.  God's hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.
Security for Today.  Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.

Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him ...

blessings on my blog buds - old and new - in 2012 ... may Jesus be your security in all storms - and the centre of all your joys!

a new year approaches ...

i just finished watching the movie "soul surfer" ... wow!  i was so uplifted by the message that came through loud and clear ... it's amazing how the Lord turns adversity into opportunity ... sadness into joy ... and that He knows our load limit - and promises to limit the load!

blessings on you ...

the fullness of His time ...

nothing is ever by accident ...
           and everything is on time ...
                for those who wait on God's timetable ...