Psalm 150

 
Psalm 150

1
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his heavenly dwelling;
praise him in his mighty heaven!
2
Praise him for his mighty works;
praise his unequaled greatness!
3
Praise him with a blast of the trumpet;
praise him with the lyre and harp!
4
Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;
praise him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5
Praise him with a clash of cymbals;
praise him with loud clanging cymbals.
6
Let everything that lives sing praises to the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.

Do you know what I wish? I wish I could dance! My feet never learned the freedom of movement that my children’s feet know so well. I was taught that this was something wrong to do and so my feet never were allowed to follow the music’s rythmns. It remains one of those things that I am most timid about. It is funny how some childhood training can be such an influence even into my adult life, suffocating that form of expression. There is nothing I like better – to watch the gracefulness of really good dancers. But no matter how I try, I can’t get my feet to dance.

But I think that one day I’ll be free to dance at last.

Someday, My Feet Will Dance !

Someday, my feet will dance,
Move in time to the music
That I hear,
That I feel,
That He plays.

Someday, my feet will be set free
Where now they’re still,
Fixed to the spot,
Bound invisibly,
Too timid to move.

Someday, my feet will move
To the rhythm makers irresistible beat,
To the uninhibited
Steps and rhythms
Of His dance.

I will dance, someday, in His house!
My feet, my whole self, will dance
Unrestrained,
Full of joy.
Dance for Him!

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July 10, 2003 Kieran is Born

I am a grandma again. Kieran David Leo Lanoie born this morning 8 lbs 1 oz. I just went to see him. He’s beautiful of course! Mom was still in recovery – a C-section. So I visited a few minutes with Kieran and David his dad. I’m bubbling – now I have to go and get back to work. Pictures will be posted. You can count on that!

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Ups and Downs

Today has been a day of real downers and real uppers. One of the real good things was having friends over and just having a very good time. We don’t do this enough. And it was so nice out. Can’t say the same for inside our house tonight though. Wish it would cool down as fast inside as out.

As for the downer stuff, well it happened. Sometimes I think the evil one likes to get his jabs in at us through the chinks in our armor. And it hurts when he gets through the defenses. And I suspect he knows my most vulnerable spot is my kids. So if he wants me to start worrying he knows how to get to me.

So help me to remember, God, your care for them and trust them into your care. And give me wisdom enough to know what to say and what not to say. Help me to be a firm but loving mom. And throw up your protective barrier around my little erring one.

Now goodnight all. I’m beat.

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Just Another Day

I just went to post and lost everything. Rats!…

This afternoon I had to buy a “new” fridge for the office. I am never a big spender so found one in the “Penny Pinchers” of our local paper. I went over to one of the worst parts of our illustrious city. The gentleman I bought it from has lived on that street for a number of years. He said he just “lost “his wife on June 1st so we sat and talked a bit while he wrote out the receipt. He said that his neighborhood was actually pretty safe. The news was on and he was pretty upset with the verdict in a well publicized trial. He felt that men should not be asking a “little” girl to go for a ride. Whatever happened in actual fact I imagine that the young woman will always be the most adversely affected. Life is a mess sometimes.

Tonight Leo and I sat and watched a movie. The kids all seem to have their own agenda tonight so we were pretty much free to do what we wanted for a change. Leo went to the Video store a few weeks ago and instead of renting a movie came back with half a dozen tapes. They were such a good deal. I’m not the only one in this house who likes a deal! The movie we watched was Instinct. It had a good story line although the ending was a bit implausible.

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Ten Things I liked the Best About the Congo

Ten Things I liked the Best About the Congo

Maybe its just the warmth of this night but I am reminiscing about some good Congo memories.
1. Walking in the light of a full moon hearing the people in the neighboring village sing and dance as the drums beat.

2. Walking at night under a sky so lit by stars that no full moon was needed to see.

3. The scent of Frangi pangi and coffee blossoms

4. Sitting around the fire talking to good friends, the kids roasting ears of corn.

5. Floating in small warm Lake Kwada while on vacation

6. The variety of friends – Congolese, Belgian, Portuguese, Dutch, American and British. Merchants and missionaries, priests, sisters and co -workers

7. New Years at Bobadi. Playing Monopoly with Pere Marcel translating the chance cards from Dutch for us

8. Riding my motorbike with the warm wind on my face, little arms encircling me as we ride.

9. Bananas – just at the peak of ripeness – a whole stalk hanging there. Pick and eat.

10. Incredible hospitality, incredible generosity

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Refugees – Waiting

Our congregation has chosen to sponsor two young men, refugees, to come to Canada. We have been in the process for four years now. The guys are from the Congo and are presently in the Cameroon waiting. They are in Cameroon because that is where they were asked to go to have their refugee interviews. Before that they were in the Central African Republic. They left for the Cameroon just before civil war broke out in earnest in the Central African Republic. Before that they walked about 300 Kms to leave the Congo at the height of the civil war in north western Congo. Their lives have been in limbo ever since.

These guys are fortunate enough. We send them the bare necessities they need to survive. And we have been able to help them enroll in carpentry classes and English classes while they wait. Can you imagine waiting so long with total uncertainty?

MCC is the organization under which we are sponsoring. They and we are getting frustrated to the point of looking for answers from some people higher up on the bureaucratic ladder. There is no reason for the long delays in getting refugees to Canada. These are legitimate refugees with groups ready to sponsor them and help them make the adjustment to Canadian life.

Proverbs 3: 27 to 28
“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say ‘Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.’ “

I don’t think the immigration people live by this rule! The whole system seems to be set up to keep people out not to help those who qualify to come.

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Steve McMillan Blogs

Steve McMillan up in Yellowknife,NWT is blogging. Link to Ponder this and have a read.

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The Wheat and the Weeds

I have been dialoging with Leighton on his The Cost of Community. Then this morning my reading was this: Matthew 13: 24 to 30.

Here is another story Jesus told: “The kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as everyone slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. The farmers servants came and told him,’Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds!’
” ‘An enemy has done it!’ the farmer exclaimed.
” ‘ Shall we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
“He replied, ‘No, you’ll hurt the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds and burn them and to put the wheat in the barn.’ “

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33 Years

Do you know that it has only taken 33 years for us to go from this to this! See we are still smiling! All in all it has been a good 33 years.

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Bringing Them Home – Maybe

Today we had a call from Jacques in the Congo. We are in the process of applying for visa’a for the younger siblings of Patrick and Christain to come and attend school here. They are in a situation that is not altogether safe, especially considering a lot of sexual/moral risks for young girls growing up there. Jacques has some serious concerns for his son and daughters.

Anyways, the papers we sent from here have arrived and Jacques sets out now for Abijan in the Ivory Coast with the children. That is a long trip with three kids and the end results are not a sure thing. It will be stressful for them I am sure. Our prayers are that they will be granted student visas.

I am also going to have to adjust to having three new members of the family if they come. And for that I will need lots of prayer. Leo will work harder to support a few more kids. I will have all the mothering issues that will most surely come up especially with two ten year old girls leaving their mother for a stranger at such a critical time in their emotional lives. Yikes! Pray hard!

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