Monthly Archives: October 2003

October 19, 2003 · 12:24 am

Bits and pieces of my Saturday

This afternoon all but one of my kids were at home.  Eric and Michelle came up to help celebrate their nieces 5th birthday.  Since it is Eric’s birthday on Monday, Dave and Annette and Kieran as well as Rachelle were here too and we ordered in some Chinese food to celebrate.

There are some birthdays that are significant in that they make you feel really a lot older.  No! I don’t mean the person having the birthday who should rightfully feel a bit older.  But having a child who is suddenly out of his twenties and into the 30’s.  Now I feel my joints starting to ache just thinking about that!  It really doesn’t seem like 30 years since we took that little guy home from St Pauls Hospital.  At least he is still not too old to give his mom a hug.

This afternoon I went and shared in the celebration of a 50th wedding anniversary.  The couple have been friends for a long time. Their daughter is a very good friend so it was a great way to spend part of the afternoon.

I also got to watch some volleyball.  There was a tournament on and my daughter was in it playing for St Mary’s grade 9 team.  I had never seen her play volleyball before – usually just soccer – so it was fun to see her in a different sport.  I like the way she serves.  She looks very smooth and powerful – spins the ball a few times and then wham!

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October 19, 2003 · 12:05 am

Temptation

Our study group is going to be discussing Chapter 4 of The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancy.  I reread it tonight in preparation for tomorrow.  The whole outlook on the temptation of Christ in this chapter was enlightening to me.  I see myself so much in this quote from this book:

“My faith suffers from too much freedom, too many temptations to disbelieve.  at times I want God to overwhelm me, to overcome my doubts with certainty, to give final proofs of his existence and his concern…
I want God to take a more active role in my personal history too.  I want quick and spectacular answers to my prayers, healing for my diseases, protection and safety for my loved ones.  I want a God without ambiguity, One to whom I can point for the sake of my doubting friends.”

So Jesus refused the temptation to coerce, to manipulate and force obedience instead sticking to his original plan of creating a people who would choose to follow him out of love.

Lord, forgive my wanting to tempt you to do exactly what I want you to do.  Teach me to love you and so return to you the worship you want from me.

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October 17, 2003 · 10:41 pm

Settled Down – – NOT

Tonight has been one of those nights when I am dealing with problems too big for me to know how to handle.  There are some very mixed up people in this world and my daughter seems to have them as roomates.  Then I have to help her deal with the consequences – very tiring because I can’t do much over a phone.  It is a very mixed up situation and I don’t know that I can handle it.  And I thought things were settling down on that front.

Anyway, when I can’t handle things at least I have a God who can.  Sometimes I just wish I knew what he is trying to do!  Help me to be patient God and trust you to take care of all the junk that seems to be raining down on my world right now. 

God,
I know you are with me,
And her.
Even when she doesn’t know
That you are.
Protector,
Like a thicket hedge
Surround my child.
Keep those evil forces out that would
Destroy her spirit
By sheer frustration.

God,
Her life has not been
An easy gift.

But a gift it is.

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October 17, 2003 · 12:45 pm

Soaring

I had a big procedure to do this morning.  It went well and I was done in time to sneak home for a short lunch break.  On the way, and it is just a few minutes to my office, ( I can walk it in 20 minutes ) I was surprised to see an eagle soaring above the river.  I don’t think we have them this close to town that often.  Huge black wings with white tail feathers – magnificant to see.  On my way back I am taking the camera but I don’t know if it will still be around.

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October 15, 2003 · 11:59 pm

A Birthday Not Forgotten

Two years ago today our first grandson was born – Logan.  I can still remember the Monday morning, the c-section since he was in distress, the rushing off to the hospital, me telling my staff as I rushed out the door that I was going to the hospital – I had just heard that the baby would be sent by ambulance to Saskatoon and did I want to se him before he left.  I can still remember the tiny long little guy lying in the incubator, tubes everywhere, oxygen tent around his head, touching his little hands since that was about all there was to do.  Then my son coming in he looking so proud and worried and so full of hope that all would be well, prepared to accept the fact that he might be going to  face raising a very handicapped son because he already loved him.

Logan was born with one of those chromosome abnormalities – Trisomy 18 – rare in a child born to young healthy parents;  to a mom who had taken every precaution she could to have a healthy baby.  Trisomy 18 is not compatible with life.  Logan’s life was short – two days.  Two days that changed our relationship with our kids forever.  We saw our son become more of a man as he became a father and had to deal with birth and death all within a few short days.  And we saw our son loving and supporting the woman who bore him this child through this grief. 

Now we have a second grandson three months old.  And another joy for us – one month from today we have a wedding going on! 

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October 14, 2003 · 7:24 am

Sunrise to Sunset

The sun is just coming up reflecting gold on the leaves and grass.  The moment will be short lived. Just long enough for the sun to rise over the horizon and the low clouds.  It’s too bad that my kids and maybe kids everywhere aren’t up to see the beauty right now.  Do they notice it?  Or are they too busy with the stuff in their lives to take time to see the beauty God has created around them?

As I write the golden few moments of the sunrise have changed into the light of day – less golden but making everything more clear in general.  I think I like the moment of sunrise best, fleeting as it is.  We need the brighter light of day to get stuff done, but the really glorious moments of sunrise and sunset showcase the beauty of the earth and sky.

We have those moments in our lives that we showcase too – the births and the deaths.  Yet they are just that – moments.  We celebrate them with great joy or great sorrow.  Yet in between there is the long stretch of plainness that makes up most of our lives.  We need to learn to live through these dull periods of life searching out the beauty that is there – there but not highlighted.  We need to take the in between moments and create beauty out of them too.

Maybe learning to see the beauty in life is one of the gifts we need to learn to pass on to our children.  We pass on the cynicism and complaining easily enough.  We take great pains to pass on the need to make a living but we don’t teach how to take what they are given and make the living happen.  Because real living involves seeing our world and our lives as things which God has created for his glory.

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October 14, 2003 · 7:22 am

Psalm 19

 

Psalm 19
1    The heavens tell of the glory of God.
        The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship.
2
    Day after day they continue to speak;
        night after night they make him known.
3
    They speak without a sound or a word;
        their voice is silent in the skies;

4    yet their message has gone out to all the earth,
        and their words to all the world.
    The sun lives in the heavens
        where God placed it.
5
    It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom
        after his wedding.
    It rejoices like a great athlete
        eager to run the race.
6
    The sun rises at one end of the heavens
        and follows its course to the other end.
        Nothing can hide from its heat.
7
    The law of the LORD is perfect,
        reviving the soul.
    The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy,
        making wise the simple.
8
    The commandments of the LORD are right,
        bringing joy to the heart.
    The commands of the LORD are clear,
        giving insight to life.
9
    Reverence for the LORD is pure,
        lasting forever.
    The laws of the LORD are true;
        each one is fair.
10
    They are more desirable than gold,
        even the finest gold.
    They are sweeter than honey,
        even honey dripping from the comb.
11
    They are a warning to those who hear them;
        there is great reward for those who obey them.
12
    How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
        Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
13
    Keep me from deliberate sins!
        Don’t let them control me.
    Then I will be free of guilt
        and innocent of great sin.
14
    May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart
        be pleasing to you,
        O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

 This Psalm was part of my daily readings for yesterday.  And the day fit the psalm.

As I have been thinking about it, I can picture David on a day as he describes in the psalm, maybe with the hot sun in the sky, sitting somewhere contemplating God in the midst of the nature all around him.  Sort of like I was doing while I was out walking yesterday.  God’s majesty is easy to see in nature some days.

Then I think David is brought back to his relationship with the Creator, his God.  The God that knows him and what he is really like, and David knows he needs to constantly seek forgiveness and he needs God’s presence to keep him from his sins – both the unwilled and the willed ones  – just like we do.

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October 13, 2003 · 11:02 pm

A long weekend Monday

Today was a quiet and sort of lazy day for me and I enjoyed every minute of it.  It is nice to have an extra day to the weekend.

This morning I started out with meeting with some friends to discuss the third chapter in Phillip Yancy’s book The Jesus I Never Knew  over breakfast.  It was good – both the breakfast and the time together. 

When I got back home it was almost noon and only Sara was home.  Her “boyfriend”  came over and they didn’t seem to need my company.  So I spent some time cleaning up some garden stuff and then decided to go out to the Little Red River Park for a hike through the woods.

The wind over the past week has pretty much stripped most of the leaves off the trees.  They were crunchy underfoot.  The colours are quickly changing from bright oranges and yellows to dull and dusty greys but the sky is clear and bright blue today and the temperatures are still warm.  Beautiful day to be out walking. 

I have posted some of my pictures of autumn under photos on my side bar.  Hope you enjoy them! 

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October 12, 2003 · 12:04 am

Thankfulness

 

I guess this will be the big theme for this weekend for us Canadians.  You Americans can pick it up later on when we are already gearing up for Christmas.    Our Wal Marts are just one step ahead of yours.

 

I don’t gush thankfulness.  Oh, there are times when I am full of thanks and it bubbles out but they are the times when some big event has just turned out as I would like it to.  Most of the time my thanks is for smaller more ordinary things.  The things that go on and make life what it is.  The things that give my life direction and meaning.

 

Just this morning, I was thankful for the sun on the golden leaves.  Thankful for the good cup of coffee in my hand as I watched the sun come up.  Thankful for the good nights sleep, a warm house and a comfortable and safe bed to sleep in.  For the place that I call home where I feel safe, where I can relax, where I can sit at my computer with it’s high speed access and communicate at ease across the globe. 

 

I’m thankful that I have family that are important to me and to whom I am important too.   I’m even thankful that they need me and feel at ease enough with me secure enough that I love them to unload some of their burdens on me.  And I am thankful that I can pass on their needs to God.  And that he listens to me and helps me carry whatever burdens I have picked up.

 

I am thankful for the work I have to do.  Not everyone has a career they enjoy.  Not everyone has seen God work through them as they practice their line of work seeing God use what I have to offer is a blessing indeed to be thankful for.

 

I am thankful for friends.  I am thankful for the mutual love and care we can give each other.   And I’m thankful that I can make new friends and that some friendships grow and become deep and meaningful.  I am thankful that I am married to my best friend and that our marriage is still full of love and mutual respect.

 

I am thankful for my senses and that all are still working adequately.  As I start to see the changes that age makes, the senses of sight and hearing, touch, smell and taste become more precious.  I can’t count on things lasting forever so I will be thankful for each day that I have them.  And every day that I can still think and react appropriately, I will be thankful for my mind; for the ability to learn new concepts and skills, for the pleasures of reading and listening to music and laughter at a good joke.

 

 The list could go on at length because there are so many things that I live with each day that I need to appreciate and give thanks for.  So many little things I live with and assume will go on and on when I know that they cannot.   So I will give thanks for each day I am given, for each moment of good health, for each moment when my mind is clear, for each moment when I can move around on my own, and in my times of distress, for each time when God shows me my utter dependence on him. 

 

I will thank God for his never ending provision of all I need. 

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October 11, 2003 · 3:01 pm

Look what I found

Checking out some links from Vivid, I came across this version of the Lords Prayer – in language only a post-modern could (might be able to) appreciate.  Thanks to Brianna at her site.

Let us Pray.

An Other who art in nothing
Narrative is thy (language) game
Thy societal construct is
No more or less real than any other
Give us this moment our perceptions
And deconstruct our stories
As we deconstruct those who out-narrate us
Lead us not into metanarrative
But deliver us from (un) reality
For thine is the societal construct
From interlude to interlude
Nihil

~Edward Green

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