May 19, 2009 · 10:20 pm

Snow And Ice

I would post a picture but I have misplaced my point and shoot camera.  And besides, it is too depressing.  Everything is covered in snow and ice. 

Poor budding branches.  Poor frozen leaves.

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May 14, 2009 · 7:21 am

Quote from Eternal Echoes by John O’Donohue

 

Every day of your life joy is waiting for you, hidden at the heart of the significant things which happen to you or secretly around the corner of quieter things. If your heart loves delight, you will always be able to discover the quiet joy that awaits to shine forth in many situations. Prayer should help us develop the habit of delight. We weight the notion of prayer with burdens of duty, holiness and the struggle for perfection. Prayer should have the freedom of delight. It should arise from and bring us to humour, laughter, and joy. Religion often suffers from a great amnesia; it constantly insists on the seriousness of God and forgets the magic of the divine glory. Prayer should be the wild dance of the heart, too. In the silence of our prayer we should be able to sense the roguish smile of a joyful god who, despite all the chaos and imperfection, ultimately shelters everything.

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May 11, 2009 · 8:40 am

I Think

That this was one of the best Mother’s Days ever for me.  I think I may have said that before.  Maybe it just keeps getting better each year. 

I was preaching in the morning service at church and so of course what other topic was there that made more sense to speak on than women and how we are created in the image of God.  God has used brave and intelligent women in his story throughout history and he wants us to experience the fullness of who he created us to be.

And I got to preach to my children.  What mother can pass that up?  🙂

Then home to a good family barbeque.

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Eric was in command on the barbeque cooking up his bacon wrapped venison filet mignon, corn on the cob and a lake trout that Sara caught last summer.  Delicious! I even splurged in celebration of the day and had some of the dessert provided by Grace.  Plus ice cream. 

The kids got me some lovely gifts too.  A garden rake – and then Patrick raked the back yard.  A hanging basket of flowers that it is still too cold to put outside.  And a gift certificate so I can buy some more books.

The afternoon was beautiful and we spent a lot of time out on the back deck in the sun.  Kimia was toddling around and got her exercise going up and down the stairs – both inside and out.  Then she ran into a wall and got a big goose egg!  But that was after these cute pictures.

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Perhaps what made the day so great was just having my family around.  And that includes the two Conngolese guys that we welcome as part of us. And the kids farther away called and it was so good to chat with them.

I am so blessed.

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May 9, 2009 · 6:08 pm

Friends are so great

Today I was planning so many things to do.  Our turn for serving soup was here and I wanted to help.  However, I have a sermon to preach tomorrow and a LOT of studying to do to finish up my Greek course.  (It seems as if the closer I get to the final, the more stuff is filling up my evenings and keeping me from studying.)

Anyway, last night I went out.  My friend, A, was involved in a show with some of her art and I really wanted to go both to support her and to see her latest works.  So I did.  The glass of wine was a nice way to relax as I walked around with other friends and we took in the show.  I was so tired last night having spent a good part of the day in the OR.  And other friends were there and told me that I would only be needed for a part of the day to help in the soup kitchen.  That bit of news was such a relief. 

Then this morning I got a call and was told that so many other folks from church had come to help that they would not need me at all. 

There was another load lifted away!  I love to help and so I miss being there but this time studying and sermon prep did need to take priority.  I see this as one of the little ways that God watches out for me.  It might just look like luck to you but whatever, I see God in this.

So, I have been studying  pretty much all day, except for a trip up to Canadian Tire to pick up a few necessities. 

Now, since it is finally warm again, I might just take the bike out for a few minutes.

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May 6, 2009 · 10:36 pm

Who would have thought

Yesterday was shorts weather.

Today…

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May 6, 2009 · 10:26 am

Dilemmas

I feel as unsettled as the weather today.  Big black clouds loomed on the eastern sky and now it is raining.

There is stuff I’m having to deal with right now that looks as dark and foreboding as those clouds.  Stuff that makes me wonder how to live out my life in a way pleasing to God, in line with my ethics.  It is hard to even know how to live out my ethical beliefs in the best way – no clear cut answers to some dilemmas.  It is a bit hard to be specific about what is going on. 

Some of this is related to my profession and  may become public soon enough.  Some is church related and will never be known by anyone but me and some very close friends.  In both cases, if you are praying people, I need some guidance from God and would appreciate your prayers.

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May 2, 2009 · 9:02 pm

Quiet

My day has been quiet.  I had very few obligations today and even some of the things I intended to get done, I didn’t even attempt. (In other words I’ve sort of been lazy)

The day got off to a leisurely start at 6 am and for me this means I slept in a bit.  My biological alarm clock has a loud and persistent ring and I just wake up.  Made some very good strong coffee and sat and talked to God with no time constraints.  That was good. 

I did study.  I sat and wrote out vocabulary words and know enough to know I need to do that again.  So I will.  Till I think I know them.  Then I’ll do the quiz and realize that there are a lot of words I still don’t know. 

And the day held a few other things.  Reading for the summer course; looking up scripture passages for the Bible test I have to take.  I never was good at remembering chapter and verse. (I blame it on the fact there is a number to remember) It seems as if repetition is my destiny for the next few years.  Maybe it will do my brain some good. 

Then I sat and went over some issues I needed to discuss with a friend.  That took a couple of hours.  Stuff I need to deal with that will be a challenge for me. 

What a way to spend a lovely spring day!  Actually it was very windy most of the day.  I did manage to squeeze in a bike ride and in spite of the wind which made for hard pedalling on the way home, I was out in the sun and fresh air and remembered again why I love to ride my bike.

Then I re-potted some plants.  That was as close to gardening as I got today.  It is still way too cold to even think of putting plants outside.  But in the sun and the songs of the birds in the back yard there was the promise of warmer days ahead. 

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April 27, 2009 · 10:18 pm

And Back Again

And very tired.

Conference was very good in so many ways – in connections with people; in inspirational speaking; in challenging stories; in new ideas for old programs.  Oh, yeah, and the food was terrific.

My sister was there and I love being with her.  She amazes me with her energy and passion for the Sudanese families she has befriended, for the children she teaches and with her interest in helping other cultures.  I think I absorb energy just by being around her and come away inspired myself.  She gave me a new book called Sex and Money produced by The Voice for The Voiceless.  It is gut wrenching to read and look at.  It is pretty hard to stay untouched by the women’s stories and the photography.

It was also good to do some spiritual direction.  Listening and attending to the movement of God in people’s stories also nourishes my soul as does the privilege of praying with and for others.  God is good.

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April 21, 2009 · 2:24 pm

Off to Conference

So, in a day, I should be in Surrey for our church annual meeting and conference.  I haven’t gone as a delegate for – longer than I can remember. 

I am looking forward to this one.  There are people I want to see again, especially Randall and Lauralea and another of my former pastors, Keith Fullerton and his wife.  And I suspect there will be many others that I have come to know over the years.  That is the main attraction of these events for me – reconnecting with people, seeing where our separate paths have taken us. 

I sure do wish, though, that I had not come down with this stupid cold. 

Anyway, I’ll be taking off tomorrow at about noon and won’t be back till late Sunday night.  I’m hauling along my books so that hopefully I will get some studying done, maybe write one of the last two quizzes when I get back.  It will be nice to finish up the Greek course and get on with the reading for my summer course. 

And I want to be able to simply take a week or so to enjoy the spring and early summer that will happen so suddenly in the next three weeks.  I have a night at the lake courtesy of my staff that I need and want so badly to take advantage of.

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April 16, 2009 · 7:58 am

Memories

I decided to have Shredded Wheat this morning – not the preformed sort of sweetened little squares that are called Shreddies – but the bite sized shredded wheat.  As I poured boiling water over them and then drained the excess water away, the aroma reminded me so much of my dad.  He used to get the big bowl sized shredded wheat ready for us this way when we were kids.

A tinge of longing rose with the aroma.

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