Click to ENLARGE!

I'm still laughing and just so had to share this with you. I just recieved an e-mail from a dear sister (she would like to remain anonymous), but who was so excited because she stumbled across something, quite by accident...this just cracks me up!...she was reading this blog and came across a picture of a Lemon Meringue pie that I had made...she said it looked so good she absent mindedly clicked on it...and much to her delight IT ENLARGED!

I'm still laughing...with tears!

You girls are just a tonic to me....honest!

Soul Food

I have had so much enjoyment recently, reading leisurely through the Psalms. One of the many things that I appreciate about the Psalms is that they always seem to “meet me where I live”. No matter what situation I am experiencing or facing, no matter where my emotional dial seems to be set, the Psalms have the ability to speak directly to me and bring me great comfort and direction and…joy! I believe that this is because the Word of God speaks directly to my soul – “For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

I always smile whenever the psalmist speaks to his own soul, I guess I can just relate - I mean sometimes we just need to give our soul a real good talking to - but here’s the thing…we need to allow God to fill our hearts and minds with His Words before we ever undertake to use our mouths to give our souls counsel! The alternative is downright dangerous.

The danger comes when we counsel our own soul apart from the counsel of God. Such was the case of the man who, like the psalmist, counseled his own soul, saying, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” This counsel was dangerous, because that night his very soul was required of him! (Luke 12:16-20)

When the psalmist questioned and spoke to his own soul, he questioned and spoke from what He knew to be true about his God and pointed his soul in the right direction… “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 42:11)

God has a soul. (Isaiah 42:1) Jesus has a soul. (John 12:27) Mary, the mother of Jesus, had a soul. (Luke 1:46) The psalmist had a soul. (Psalm 42:5) There are lost souls and there are saved souls. (Luke 19:9-10)

Our souls are the deepest part of us, the real you, the real me. It takes a Living and Active Word to penetrate that deep and reveal the real you...the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Without the Word of God, we will be speaking dangerous counsel to our souls.

Listen, more than ever before, our souls are in desperate need of a Living Word being spoken to them - and it has always been God’s intent that He speak to our souls. It was our souls that died back in the garden of Eden and it was for our souls that Jesus died - to buy our souls back from death and breathe His Life into them. It is the soul that experiences eternity with... or eternity separate from God. It is to the soul that the beauty of creation speaks (Romans 1), that we may see past creation to the One that creation points to.

Beginning in June, I hope that you will join me here for "A Summer in the Psalms". Along with the psalmist, we will pour our hearts out to God and enjoy Him as He ministers to and counsels the very deepest place within us...our souls.

Undisturbed

How could an entire week have passed by? Oh, I know...we are presently knee deep in floor renovations in our home and every room seems to have been turned upside down! Carpets, underlay, floor tiles, are all flying out the back door as we prepare to have the hardwood installed.

I have slowly been able to eek out a little corner for myself in the dining room, surrounded by boxes and displaced plants and lamps and such an odd assortment of ...STUFF! My chair sits on the bare plywood and sometimes the wheels get caught on the parts where I pulled the underlay staples out and a dent was created. I can still prepare my weekly Bible Studies here, but it seems to be right in the path of all that goes on (Canuck playoffs and hungry men in the kitchen don't you know) and, oh, will I be a grateful girl when all this has been completed! Even my little sewing room has been gutted and...well you get the idea! My kitchen seems to be the only place that is recognizable (and tidy) these days so cakes and soups and all manner of baked goods seem to be produced, simply through sheer avoidance of the other rooms, if nothing else!

I've taken a picture of the corner of our fireplace mantel...it was the only place in the house that seemed, well...undisturbed!

Indulge Me!

OK, you are just going to have to indulge me on this one...did any of you watch the 6 o'clock news on Global tonight? Did you happen to see that precious 11 week old baby girl that was there to see the game with her 'just as precious' mom and dad? THAT was my grand baby girl!...her first TV appearance, I might add, and tip-to-toe in a coordinated pink Canuck ensemble! I can hardly stand it! They put Vaselined cotton balls in those little baby ears and put a pink Canuck's toque (had to use spellcheck for that one!) over top to hold everything in place and keep out the noise and this little darlin' thing is good to go...and Grand Ma and Grand Pa are just stupid over all of this! Like I said...sheer indulgence!

Why Blog?

Monday, April 13, 2009

I am having such a blast with you girls that are responding to this blog! Only God knows where He is going to take this, but already it is beginning to build CONNECTION between us sisters…how great is that?

I am very impressed with those of you who have persevered through and actually left comments…without mentioning any names, I will say that I had the best laugh last week when one dear sister (OK, so it was Angie and she gave permission) attempted numerous times to type in the “word verification” prompt in order to leave a comment – the instructions were to “type the characters you see in the picture above” so she typed in the word…saw the little man in a wheelchair and typed in “wheelchair”. When it didn’t work she tried again by typing in “wheelperson”….bless her heart, she figured it out (ignore the wheelchair!) left that comment...and we can’t speak of it without squealing in laughter over it.

Just one more, honest! Another unnamed sister (haven’t asked permission) and I were talking, and as serious as she could be, let me know that she had just connected with the BLOB….I couldn’t resist and asked “the what?”…. “the BLOB”, she said just as dead pan straight as she had the first time…needless to say I was just in stitches! Listen, I count myself among your number, this is the girl who had to leave a comment on her own “blob” under the name “anonymous” because I couldn’t figure out how to put my own name in…it was the wheelchair comment sister (Angie) that explained that I just had to click on “name”!

Listen, I want so much for this blog to be a blessing and encouragement to you…it is my way of connecting with all of you through the week, where you can drop in anytime you want and have a visit. Let’s face it, e-mail accounts get way too full, phone calls can many times be inconvenient, websites are just one way communication, but a blog can be very interactive. It is a place where we are able to connect with one another, share insights, encourage…

Leaving a comment is really easy…HONEST! All you do is…
1. click on “comments” at the end of the post that you have just read.
2. write your comment in the box entitled “leave your comment”
3. type in the word verification
4. Click on your selection under “choose your identity”
(I would suggest Name/URL, then type in your name in the box labeled “name”)
5. Click on Publish Post and that’s it!

Now, for those of you who are joining us in our weekly study through the book of John, I have just had my breath taken away with a fresh revelation of 16:7-11…can’t wait to see you all on Thursday!

Resurrection Power

This morning as I awoke, I began to think about the disciples of Jesus and what their first thoughts must have been...that first morning they awoke after the crucifixion. For them, it truly was ‘mourning’.

They had been with Jesus for about three years; they had heard Him speak, had witnessed the signs and wonders and miracles. They had walked with Him and talked with Him and had heard Him declare that they were His own.

Among the many things that Jesus had spoken to them, was that they were not to let their hearts be troubled, that they were to believe in God and to believe also in Him. Jesus had told them that He was going away to His Father’s house and that He was going there to prepare a place for them and would surely come again and receive them to Himself…that where He was, there they may be also. John 14:1-3

Jesus had told them these things so that His joy might be in them, and that their joy might be made full. John 15:11

How could their ‘mourning’, the day after the crucifixion of Jesus, become joy?
What was this joy that Jesus had; this joy that He wanted to give to His disciples that their joy might be made full? Because whatever that joy was back then, it most certainly is for us today!

It was joy that enabled Jesus to endure the cross…
“…Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame…”
Hebrews 12:2

What was the joy that Jesus saw on the other side of the cross that was so powerful to have caused Him to endure the cross and despise its shame? It was the joy of sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God…
“…and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2

Is your mind like mine and just reeling back to “…that where I am, there you may be also”? Girls, we are looking at the Resurrection Power of the cross this Easter full in the face…let the reality of it just wash over you and penetrate into every part of your being. I can hardly catch my breath…Jesus said that He spoke these things so that His joy may be in us, and that our joy may be full. Oh, that our joy would be full today – and I do mean Today…this reality of our place with Jesus is not just some far off day…
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…”
Ephesians 2:4-6

He who experienced death, but death could not hold Him, now gives us Life together with Him. He gives Life! The joy set before Him…the gift of Life! Jesus said…
“I am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25-26

What need could not be met in the mighty acts of God through the cross and the resurrection. There is nothing in our lives that the power of the cross and resurrection could not speak to.

There is the “surpassing greatness of (God’s) power toward us who believe…in accordance with the working of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places…”
Ephesians 1: 19-20

Resurrection Power…may this be yours this blessed Easter season.
May God bless you this Easter; may the cross of Christ and His resurrection become more and more precious to you. It is what I pray for myself, what I pray for my family, it is what I pray for you.

How Deep the Father's Love for us

How deep the Father's love for us,

How vast beyond all measure,

That He should give His only Son,

To make a wretch His treasure.

How great the pain of searing loss,

The Father turns His face away,

As wounds which mar the Chosen One,

Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon the cross,

My sin upon His shoulders,

Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice,

Call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there,

Until it was accomplished,

His dying breath has brought me Life,

I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,

No gifts, no power, no wisdom,

But I will boast in Jesus Christ,

His death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give and answer

But this I know with all my heart...

His wounds have paid my ransom.

(A song, by Stuart Townend)

A Walk Around the Garden

I just came in a few moments ago from an afternoon walk around the garden. Through the kitchen window, the heather had been beaming at me all morning as it tucked itself up close to the Forsythia and my garden clogs were waiting impatiently at the kitchen door, warm from the morning sun and inviting me to slip my feet into them...and so I did.

As I entered into the backyard, I was looking over the Hydrangea that I had cleaned up yesterday afternoon, and was pleased to notice that the warmth of the sun had already encouraged more growth, with the promise of abundant blooms yet to come.

And what a surprise I had when I looked down and was greeted by an abundance of little pink flowers! They had just begun to "show" themselves the day before, but today they were definitely "showin' off"! This particular plant had been given to me by my mother-in-law when they had moved homes a few years ago. It has deep green and burgundy elephant-ear foliage and then these lovely little pink flowers.

As I made my way towards the heather, I passed by the rhododendron and the new green growth of the day lilies. The lilac is full of buds and even the lavender is beginning to fill out. It is at this time of the year that I have to be most careful in the garden because half the time I forget what I planted and divided the Fall before, most of them still hiding themselves under the earth. Too many times, in my Spring enthusiasm, I have dug up and tramped over new growing plants, so I tend to literally "tip-toe through the tulips" as I check out the action in the garden.

My Auntie Annie's red roses are showing good promise. After she had passed away, I had taken three cuttings from her favorite rose bush, stuck them in the ground, prayed for a successful harvest and then watched as one by one the plantings perished...all except one. And last year, that one was vigorous to say the least! But I still kind of hesitantly approach it every Spring, kind of edging my way up to it, not knowing what I might be met with after a long and cold winter. Yesterday, my new little granddaughter had her first "walk around the garden" with her new grandmother (me), and I showed her Auntie Annie's rose bush, I think Auntie Annie would be pleased.

As I finally approached the heather I just stopped and drank in the colour of it...after a Winter of greys there is nothing like the deep color of heather - soon the forsythia will be a bright yellow next to it and the two together are one of my favorite combinations of Spring. I came prepared with scissors and began to snip away at little sprigs here and there, I don't think it minds, I can even go so far as to say that perhaps it takes pleasure in spreading its Beauty around.

Once inside, as I wrapped a little ribbon around the stems and secured it with a pearl pin, I began to think about my study in John 15 this past week, where Jesus describes Himself as the True Vine and the Father as the Vinedresser. Jesus said, "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples." When heather blooms, it proves itself to be heather...but when we bloom, when we "bear fruit", we prove ourselves to be His disciples. It cheers me to know that it is to my Father's glory that I bloom and bear fruit.

So... I was thinking...just like the blooming heather drew me out into the garden for a closer look, wouldn't it be wonderful if I was to bloom in such a way that others are drawn closer to the True Vine and the Vinedresser?...and all to His glory!

Artist Bags and Altered Books

Hi! It just occurred to me that I may have been a little "blogligent"... (a play on the word "negligent") because I never did show you the Artist Bag that I made from the fabrics I had purchased a few weeks ago at the Secondhand Shop (March 7th blog post). I really had fun making it and it has fast become a little creative centre where I can plan my gardening, sewing and decorating projects. It holds all of my magazines, journals, pens, pencils, scissors, ruler, glue and a few other little odds and ends.

It was originally going to store everything that I would need for making Altered Books, but those supplies have already happily found another home! I did make my first little Altered Book though, it was made as a memory gift for a family member and measure's just 4" x 4". It too was enjoyable to make and it was good practice for the others that will follow.

Hey, I was just thinking that the Artist Bag would actually make a really good Bible Study Bag...what do you think?