This Pilgrim's Progress

Selah

2012-01-25T23:28:00.002-05:00

Here is a concert you won't want to miss if you're in the area.
Anna and her hubby always seem to be busy organizing one major event or another for the blessing and benefit of many. This will be no exception - in fact, it just may prove to be the creme de la creme of their various & wonderfully creative ways of ministering to the world around us. I can't wait to talk them into helping me organize a Getty concert in Hamilton Place someday... :)
With Jacob Moon opening the show - we're getting a double whammy of song and superior sound AND musicianship that will inspire and infuse your soul with a whole lot of goodness.
Just watching him play that guitar of his is worth the price of admission! Bonus to have a smooth sounding set of pipes to go with it.
This is the write-up at www.Ticketwindow.ca
As part of our 50th anniversary celebrations, Dundas Calvin Christian School is pleased to welcome Dove award winning artists Selah to Canada . Selah is made up of the gifted trio Todd Smith, Allan Hall, and Amy Perry. From their inception, Selah has always been synonymous with hymns. In fact, the understated beauty of the trio’s 1999 debut, Be Still My Soul (Curb), helped initiate a hymn revival in Christian music that is still thriving today. Their discography has significantly re-popularized the church’s greatest songs while decorating the popular group with numerous Dove Awards, number one singles, sold out concert tours and over two and half million albums sold.
Opening the evening will be solo guitarist Jacob Moon. Stylistically, Jacob fits into the roots category, with some eclectic twists. His strong rhythmic sense is complemented by a keen ear for catchy melody and lyrical depth. The opportunity to hear and experience a Jacob Moon show is not to be missed.

Redeemer concert hall only seats about 1000 people.

Avoid disappointment. Order your tickets soon.

Kyria Blog: Assessing the Year that Was

2012-01-12T07:35:00.000-05:00

How I would love to kiss my mother again.

Kyria Blog: Assessing the Year that Was

Generations will reap what I sow...

2012-01-05T01:53:00.001-05:00

Readers will know that there are just a few singer/songwriters out there that truly inspire me and make me sit up, take notice and deeply affect my perspective.
Sara Groves is one of those artists.
This is one of those songs.

I can taste the fruit of Eve
I’m aware of sickness, death and disease
The results of our choices are vast
Eve was the first but she wasn’t the last

And if I were honest with myself
Had I been standing at that tree
My mouth and my hands would be covered with fruit
Things I shouldn’t know and things I shouldn’t see

Remind me of this with every decision
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know

She taught me to fear the serpent
I’m learning to fear myself
And all of the things I am capable of
In my search for wisdom, acceptance and wealth

And to say that the devil made me do it
Is a cop out and a lie
The devil can’t make me do anything
When I’m calling on Jesus Christ

Remind me of this with every decision
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know

To my great, great, great grand daughter
Live in peace
To my great, great, great grand son
Live in peace, oh, live in peace

Remind me of this with every decision
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know

Oh, remind me
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know
Oh, I may never know

These are profound and sobering thoughts for me us.

We're looking at the precious gift (& responsibility!) of grandparenthood

with ever increasing awareness and respect.

The two newest gifts of 2011...

Oh Giver of All Good. Make us wise and worthy of the task.

The But Uglies

2012-01-03T13:14:00.001-05:00

Made me think (and laugh) but also reflect with greater honesty.
Hope it does the same for you as we consider the possibilities for service and growth in 2012!

My mental health activity

2012-01-01T15:25:00.000-05:00

After the wonderfully wild 'work' of Carols & Classics, I went into hibernation and assumed a cozy couch post knitting with my lovely sister. Two whole weeks of wool, circular needles and navigating patterns while the rest of my family went to bat hosting various family gatherings... what a treat!
I even drove off TWICE to Mary Maxim in Paris, Ontario for supplies and against my previous vow, once on a Senior's Discount Tuesday. (evidently, time heals these wounds:)
Pictured above is the result of the first week: known as felted slipper clogs - and modelled by my hubby for whom they were created. He made a noble effort to contain his surprise and only cautiously suggested the likeness of Sasquatch ....

I know what you're thinking.
They're too big. Right?
That's what you're thinking.
And of course, until you put the project thru a very hot water laundry cycle where they just kinda melt and felt... they ARE too big.

But AFTER that very hot water cycle? - Ta Da!

A tight ball of compressed wool emerges from the machine. It is unfolded unto its full glory and the skeptics are silenced forevermore.
My beloved even had to wear them dampish like for a few hours to stretch them out a bit - just as my wunderbar knitting mentor/sister predicted.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but there's a glow happening here when I take time out

for knitting. It has grown on me.

I find it

"soothing"

truth be told.

There. I said it now.

And it didn't even hurt.

He's Always Been Faithful

2011-12-02T15:43:00.001-05:00

I'm packing a few friends in the car and we're off to see this Sara Groves Girl in concert.

I. Am. So. Stoked.

Carols & Classics

2011-11-26T19:45:00.001-05:00

Lilly designed this promo material. It advertises our church family's first ever Community Concert.
The church will be decorated beautifully - greeters will warmly welcome you in the name of Jesus as we join to celebrate the most incredibly loving event in human history - Emmanuel, God with us!

An hour and 15 of the most beautiful soul-enriching music; beloved carols blended with sublime excerpts of Handel's Christmas Messiah and scripture narrative sung by a 70 voice choir - adults & children; all accompanied by an amazing professional orchestra.

December 15, 16 and 17 from 7:30pm in my church.

Search Carols & Classics on Facebook for more details.

Baby Kae

2011-11-15T16:01:00.001-05:00

This little guy is a heart-throb

Dare I say it? I absolutely adore him.

He reminds me more and more of his daddy now -- not in appearance as much as manner.

But did this delightful Déjà vu compel ME to go to the lengths that

one of his daddy's co-workers did?

.... Scouring one textile store after another in search of fishing pictures
to adorn a personalized baby quilt?? Did I say that the co-worker was male?

....or that it was a mission lovingly & joyfully embraced with and by his girlfriend
whom we don't even really know??

The gift is a sort of precious humbling thing that brings tears to the eye.

Hardworking Sloths: Disguising Spiritual Laziness | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

2011-11-14T21:56:00.000-05:00

A Hardworking Sloth?

Yeah, I know it sounds like a contradiction.

This is an excellent article written by Carolyn Arends. She is one of my favourite singer/songwriters. She's Canadian. She's insightful, inspirational and a fellow pilgrim -- someone who lays out profound thoughts with the simplest turn of a phrase.
*sigh*

She completely nailed me to the floorboards with this one....

Hardworking Sloths: Disguising Spiritual Laziness | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Blessings

2011-11-08T23:33:00.002-05:00

I've posted this once already.
But I think we all need a reminder.
It's essential to remember this, that difficulties of every sort are precisely what God uses to draw us near.
Away from our small mindedness, our hand-wringing short sightedness to Grand Canyon type perspective.
On the one hand, I weary of needing constant reminders of the FACT that God is 100% in control.
On the other hand, a daily reminder packaged in a song as beautiful as this one isn't so hard to take.
Listen and Live well.
For His Glory.
Blessings by Laura Story

Carols & Classics

2011-11-06T00:16:00.001-04:00

In August just past (it did just pass didn't it??) I took action with a positively ancient pledge to organize the music in our music room. By 'ancient pledge' I mean: a good intention verbally expressed far too often and lain dormant for about five years, give or take a few.
I have more music than could ever be useful to me. I stare at shelves, boxes, binders, cupboards & corners FULL to be more precise and yet I can throw none of it away. I tried.
I just can't bring myself to do it.
The very idea is akin to discarding that collection of RSV bibles shelved unreachably in the home library.
Classified unthinkable in terms of squeamishiness.
But I digress so conveniently.
I sort of stumbled across a copy of Carols & Classics which I opened at the keyboard and to which I lost the remainder of that afternoon. Here's the online product description:
A rich treasury of choral works and Scripture for concert, pageant and service; suitable for choir and/or congregational singing, individual medleys during the season of Advent and Christmas, and in the retelling of the Christmas story. Blending the most cherished Christmas classics with beloved carols in powerful and unique combinations by Tom Fettke; ideal for medium sized choirs. 96 pages.

96 pages of sheer musical beauty. I was captivated entirely.

I blush ~~considerably~~ a bit to admit this.
Compelled in ways convicting but difficult to explain, my reality is such that I am now immersed (almost exclusively) in a new Community Concert project for December and thus.....
still staring at shelves, boxes, binders, cupboards and corners of music waiting to be organized.

A girl's gotta do what she's compelled to do.

That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
Details to follow, stay tuned.

2011-10-31T17:03:00.002-04:00

As per typical,

behind by almost a full season...

Songs & Stories Tour USA

2011-10-15T02:00:00.002-04:00

We're in Valparaiso, Indiana - "investing" in our marriage and other loves like golf, music, used bookstores, coffee shops, Amarone - the list goes on and on. There are just so many good things about this life isn't there?
We are drawn to this place in particular, 8 hours from home, to attend a concert at the Valparaiso Nazarene Church, one of the stops in a ten week Songs & Stories tour through the USA by Steven Curtis Chapman along with Josh Wilson and Andrew Peterson.
*sigh*
It was SOOOooo good. Man! Was it GOOD.
But I have to go to sleep first before I launch headlong into a recap. I have to golf tomorrow with my hubby and I want to beat him. On the scorecard that is. That's what I meant of course.
Here's a few snapshots we managed to snag tonight...

Andrew Peterson of Counting the Stars fame. He was OUR drawing card for sure!

This dude below with the cool hat played so many different instruments, he boggled the senses with his multi-talent. His cello playing alone was enough to render one weeping - it was 'plugged' and the sound of it resonated so deep I felt it rumbling in my chest. (We were in row 4:)

This Synthesizer man (pictured below) is Ben Shive, trusty sidekick to Andrew Peterson - shows up on all his albums including a soon to be released kids album called Slugs & Bugs Vol. 3 So much fun to watch in action. That little blue thing at his elbow is a teeny miked xylophone (like a Fisher Price toy!) that peeled out sound like church bells.

A long shot down the centre aisle of tonights venue.

These pic's tell a certain story about Daddy's Cinderella - perhaps I'll share that story tomorrow when I'm feeling a little less raw. There's a version of this song on Youtube as well. I'll post that tomorrow too. Tomorrow. What am I saying? It IS tomorrow already and I have a score to settle on some nearby fairways that require a good nights sleep! *sigh*

.....zzzz... shhh.... more tomorrow...

A first born son...

2011-10-13T21:01:00.001-04:00

.... for a first born son.

Announcing the 'early' arrival of Kaelan Eli - the stunningly adorable new life that has just increased the world population by one - swiftly changing the status of every single family member to which he is connected and enlarging hearts to dangerous proportions.

Welcome to our world you wonderful little world rocker.

Like many before you, you are born to a specific plan and purpose. May you grow to be as beautiful inside as you are right now on the outside.

But listen up now. We've brought in your cousin James (otherwise known as J.B.)

for comment on this extraordinary event...

Well, there you have it - limited vocabulary and all.

Cousin James is almost four months ahead of you in this family scenario - and he is obviously pleased

(it's written all over his face) that you have finally made your appearance and that you are (quite clearly)

his equal in charm, gender

AND good looks.

Size?

Don't sweat it. You'll measure up in no time!

Galactic God

2011-10-03T09:09:00.001-04:00

Got a free hour today?
This video will change you.
You will never be the same afterward.

The Global God Who Gives the Great Commission

Thank you Jon for sharing this.
It is a worship experience like none other....

All Creation Sings.

The Universe is His Symphony...

Praise him, all you shining stars! Psalm 148:3

Song of the Whales
Praise him, you great sea creatures and all deeps.... Psalm 148:7

Seriously, you cannot remain untouched by this... this... uhm... "experience" ??
Watch it and go have a blockbuster week!

Family Fete

2011-09-07T01:10:00.001-04:00

At a recent, long over-due Family Fest ~

I tried to honour my promise to snag a photo

of all the grandkids with their crocheted hat...

The adorable products of Tricia at L'il Ones Custom Crocheted Creations ~

(See facebook link in previous post)

But...

They were clearly NOT in the mood to have playtime trifled with...

Pfft!

*Sigh*

I surrender all (of my agenda).

And submit evidence of the ... utter futility of the moment.

I think I need a nap.

Summer and Sundays

2011-09-04T13:13:00.001-04:00

We've seen some crazy weather systems this summer.

One early morning in June (and I mean '1:30' a.m. early) we found ourselves ~ a small band of the PJ-clad and the utterly fascinated, woken from sleep and standing slack-jaw in front of an upper story bedroom window.

Slack jawed and naive I might add.

The violence & fury of thunder & lightning of that night (along with the hurricane force winds bowing our trees every which way) was matched, perhaps even trumped!

at the end of August ~

a storm we watched from a basement window this time around.

Saner yes, but not near as much bang for your buck as the saying goes.

And yet ...

Who can watch such a display of power and might and not feel very small indeed?

This is what I've come to appreciate most about Storms in general, whether they be spiritual, physical, emotional or geographical...

they put me in my place and in a proper perspective.

Dependent and very much at the mercy of the Creator of the universe.

The same One who scoops the ocean in his two hands,

measures the sky between thumb and pinkie,

who marches an army of stars out each night,

counts them off, calls each by name...

Calls each by name!

Seriously, who do we think we are?

Who even comes close to being like God?

We had a terrific sermon this morning covering

the comfort message of Isaiah 40.

What a great Word that is.

Need some encouragement?

You'll find it there in spades.

Happy Sabbath Rest to all.

Summer Sweeping By

2011-09-02T22:45:00.000-04:00

Four grandchildren are heading off to school for the first time this September.

Apparently, my angst over this fact shows up all over my face. Now, when this delightful passel of pure innocence barges through the door ~ all tripping over each other in the mad crush to be the first to update me with the latest school supplies, they check themselves. They even assume an apologetic tone and quickly assure me that they can still visit when they have holidays.
Pfft!!

I am trying to put on a braver face and act more mature.

The grandkids are wearing their crochet hat creations by Tricia.
As soon as I can recover the name of her business, I shall set up a link here.

L'il Ones Custom Crochet Creations

Thanks Amy! :)

One thing I AM celebrating with great pleasure

is the completion of my first ever blog book!

A Once-in-a-lifetime trip to England in 2008 with my baby girl was encapsulated in my first ever blog which in turn has finally become my first ever blog book.
I had set aside July to get that job done and missed that deadline by a mere three days.

160 high quality gloss pages showcasing more than 600 photos and accompanied with copious amounts of journalling and memories.

I am extremely pleased with the results. And trust me,

ANYONE can do this if I can.

Look up Blurb Booksmart and let your imagination go!

A fitting tribute to summers end may be a picture of my first ever sighting of the Cicada.

Who can even imagine the haze of those hot summer days without the piercing buzz of the Cicada?

One of these locust-looking insects woke me up at 4am from its perch on the foyer wall a few weeks ago and I simply had to take a picture.

Then I had to find some courage to 'dispose' of it somehow so I could get back to sleep.

This particular specimen was about two inches in length, VERY leggy and three dimensional.

I could not stomach the idea of splatting it against the wall so I swatted it with a wad of wet paper towel and scurried it out the front door.

*ish*

It was minus two legs ~ carnage I found in the morning. Ugh.

Cemetery Sentiment

2011-09-02T13:59:00.003-04:00

The monument went up this week.

We quite like it. Once the landscapers in my life have spruced up the grounds surrounding it, we'll re-post another portrait of mom's resting place.

To clarify, our sister's tombstone is flat and was right beside mom's 'plot' (that word just sounds strange in my ears) and it was moved to become the new foot-stone of a double side by side burial ~~plot~~ * spot/place/grave?! A headstone wide enough to straddle both spaces :) and engraved with Moms chosen scripture verse, turned out to be a convenient and meaningful way to respect our mothers' desire for a more 'family' oriented resting place.

I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank and recommend the services and staff of Kitching Steepe and Ludwig Funeral Home. Respectful, compassionate, professional, amazing....these are the words that come so easily to mind in describing our experience with them.

Supply of monuments is a new and welcome complement to their many fine ways

of assisting families with their final arrangements.

Union Cemetery in Waterdown is old, well-treed and now, almost at capacity.

When our kids were young we would often end our family picnics at the Dundas Driving Park with a walk through the old cemetery up on the hill. Many a pioneer cemetery in Ontario

(and almost ALL the ones on the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia) have been traversed in quiet contemplation by myself and camera and usually accompanied by someone(s) I love.

Laying the body of my very young sister in the ground (and her still born child before that) was an experience of the soul-shaping sort; one that sparked a yearning

to be found standing in a cemetery on The Day ~ that final day of this world as we know it.

On that day, at the sound of God's command and a trumpet call like something

OUT OF THIS WORLD,

(uhm...Duh! :)

I will see Jesus coming down from heaven and THEN...

all the dead in Christ will rise first!

And then, after that? Those of us who are still alive

and are left will be caught up together with the throng of rising dead in the clouds

to meet the Lord in the air!

.... and so we will be with the Lord forever.
I Thessalonians 4: 13ff

Yep. The Bible tells me so. And I believe it.

A cemetery will be a front row seat to the unspeakably spectacular.

The camera won't matter so much.
Being there with someone(s) I love, will.

Hummingbird Bumble Bee

2011-08-01T12:15:00.002-04:00

It's not what I had envisioned at all.
Immobile on a holiday Monday and wincing with every little turn of the back muscles.
Felled by the simple act of filling the kiddie pool with tap water, one (too heavy) pail at a time.
But look, not all is lost.
I am fixed to a comfy outdoor chair on the front porch.
Sans hurry and hassle, I've been able to spend time putting the final touches on my first ever blog book and I can pause randomly to marvel at the gardens before me with warm summer breezes on my face.
Moments ago, during one such break noting the brilliance of the purple petunia's cascading out of the urn, a very odd looking oversized bumble bee with an equally oversized beak suddenly appeared out of nowhere, relieving that same profusion of purple from some of its nectar.
I am amazed. A bumblebee behaving like a hummingbird.
A quick google confirms that that is precisely what it is.... a hummingbird bumblebee. The smallest bird in the world with a maximum length of 2.5 inches, is often mistaken for an insect.

Delighted to have witnessed this pleasure amidst the pain. That is a wonder-full treat!

The Cost of Discipleship

2011-07-27T07:35:00.000-04:00

Good morning dear reader. I trust you slept well last night and are enjoying your morning coffee - black.
:) ??
C.S. Lewis when tired and cranky? Not so much.
I should know. I've been ferreting my way through a whack of his stuff lately, celebrating the near conclusion of my first ever blog book: Off to England! Oxbridge 2008 -- an account of a two week adventure at the CS Lewis conference in Oxford and Cambridge, England with my daughter Catherine. It has been a marvellous summer so far recollecting that experience, through picture and journal and coming to the end of a project started so long ago.
All things in its appointed time.

Here's a bite size section of his classic Mere Christianity.
....You got that coffee going right?

*****************

The ordinary idea which we all have before we become Christians is this.

We take as a starting point our ordinary self with its various desires and interests.

We then admit that something else -- call it "morality" or "decent behaviour" or "the good of society" -- has claims on this self; claims which interfere with its own desires.

What we mean by "being good" is giving in to those claims.

Some of the things the ordinary self wanted to do turn out to be what we call "wrong":

well, we must give them up!

Other things, which the self did not want to do, turn out to be what we call "right":

well, we shall have to do them!

But we are hoping all the time that when all the demands have been met, the poor natural self will still have some chance, and some time, to get on with its own life and do what it likes.

In fact, we are very like an honest man paying his taxes.

He pays them all right,

but he does hope that there will be enough left over

for him to live on.

Because we are still taking our natural self as the starting point.

As long as we are thinking that way, one or other of two results is likely to follow.
Either we give up trying to be good, or else we become very unhappy indeed. For make no mistake: if you are really going to try to meet all the demands made on the natural self....it will not have enough left over to live on.
The more you obey your conscience, the more your conscience will demand of you.
And your natural self, which is thus being starved and hampered and worried at every turn, will get angrier and angrier. In the end, you will either give up trying to be good, or else become one of those people who, as they say, "live for others" but always in a discontented, grumbling way -- always wondering why the others do not notice it more, and always making a martyr of yourself. And once you have become that, you will be a far greater pest to anyone who has to live with you than you would have been if you had remained frankly selfish.
The Christian way is different: harder, and easier.
Christ says, "Give me All. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You.

I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it!
No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there.
I want to have the whole tree down. I don't want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self,
all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked -- the whole outfit.
I will give you a new self instead.
In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours."

C.S. Lewis Readings for Meditation and Reflection edited by Walter Hooper

Right now, I'm fussing over the chapter in the blog book about Ely Cathedral

(pictured on the horizon above).

Ely is a positively gargantuan Gothic Cathedral

built 1083-1375 A.D.

Our visit there was a worship experience like none other for both my little girl and myself.

Captured in no less than 134 digital photos during a one hour walkabout in spine-tingling wordless wonder that left us with an impression SO indelible - it makes me almost too fearful to even try (make record of it).

But I am pushing myself to get it down on paper and I've given myself the month of July to be done with this once and for all!

A far more ancient and demanding vow needs to be fulfilled this summer...

Organizing all the music in the music room.

Ugh.

I'm going for a Venti Bold Pike Place from Starbucks.

The Weight of Glory

2011-07-21T08:51:00.003-04:00

If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues,

nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness.

But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old he would have replied,

Love.

You see what has happened?

A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance.

The negative ideal of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily

of securing good things for others,

but of going without them ourselves,

as if our abstinence and not their happiness

was the important point.

I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love.

The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself.

We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ;

and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find

if we do so

contains an appeal to desire.

If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that

to desire our own good

and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing,

I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith.

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward

and the staggering nature

of the rewards promised in the Gospels,

it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires

not too strong, but too weak.

We are half-hearted creatures,

fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us,

like an ignorant child

who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum

because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer

of a holiday at the sea.

We are far too easily pleased.

That is an excerpt of The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis.

It shows up in the opening pages of Desiring God by John Piper as he expounds his description of that strange phrase "Christian Hedonism".

Desiring God is the upcoming bible study for small groups in my church family.

I sense something in the air.

There's a wind around us setting things astir.

With my beloved I will commit the remainder of my summer to:

pray specifically

for it to pick up speed,

point out truth

pin us down with conviction

prevail mightily over us and

push us forward.

When a child is born...

2011-07-19T15:43:00.003-04:00

This post is dedicated to my sister Pauline,

who became a grandmother earlier this month and who

now knows intimately,

the vast sweeping 'rebirth' of the heart

that the process brings to bear...

I will never EVER forget the weekend of our own grandparental coronation....

Inexpressibly glorious!

Three live births in one summer weekend, and one little body laid to rest.

...followed close by even more delightful little lives entering the family flock...

Seven with three in heaven.

Awaiting one little one still in his womb.... :)

And what's a 5th birthday anyway when we have all of eternity?

I can't help it.

I have to finish this post with the words of yet another song playing in my heart.

God of My Fathers by Andrew Peterson

from his incredible album Counting the Stars

God of my fathers

Huddled in the harbor

Every man an ocean from his home

Their captors could not keep them

When they heard the drums of freedom

The dream of a kingdom

In a land they've never known

And God of my fathers

Strangers in this country

Pilgrims on these dusty roads

Across the great plains

In the bellies of the steel trains

To stake a new claim

In that wilderness of hope

Like my fathers I am looking for a home

Looking for a home beyond the sea

So be my God and guide me

Till I lie beneath the hills

Then let the great God of my fathers

Be the great God of my children still

God of my grandfathers

Gone these many years now

I guess they're shining like the sun

And I envision them

Grinning at the finish

And they smile and they smile,

'Cause they love to see me run

CHORUS

Now we're counting stars and counting sand

Little feet and little hands

We're counting joys

We pray you'll know them

As you knew us when you wove us

As you hold us

Hold them, please hold them

Like their father, they are looking for a home

Looking for a home beyond the sea

So be their God and guide them

Till they lie beneath these hills

And let the great God of their father

Be the great God of their children,

Let the great God of my fathers

Be the great God of my children still

Counting the Stars

You must introduce yourself to this artist, singer-songwriter, published author extraordinaire.

You must and that's that! :)

Be blessed.

Some New Grand at Chesley

2011-07-08T19:52:00.002-04:00

First of all, I forgot to mention how our Coffeehouse culminated, and it needs noting.

Nieces Heather and Emily had worked feverishly on knitting an afghan for Grandma in the hopes of presenting it to her with time enough to enjoy it.

That timely moment as you know, never materialized.

So instead...

It was their decision to present the blanket to her dearest friends in her memory.

The way this knitting parallel keeps springing up unexpectedly in the fabric of our lives leaves me with a great sense of wonder and gratitude.

Like being wrapped up in a comfortable sense of the mysterious :)

Uncle Bert and Aunt Arien? We love you too...

Two days later, as if by way of divine confirmation that ALL of life at every stage, is safely in His hands, Pauline (& Gerry) became the fourth of Mom's children to be rewarded with the crown of grandparenthood!

Little Gideon Alexander arrived a month early and becomes the twelve great-grandchild in a growing family clan that continues to taste much undeserved goodness from a Faithful Father God.

Lindsay and Brad are the proud parents and are doing well.

The grand-parents are simply out of their minds with delight.

Yep.

We TOTALLY get it.

Is this little 6 pounder not the sweetest most alert preemie EVER???

First Annual Chesley Coffeehouse

2011-07-07T22:22:00.007-04:00

Without Mom that is.

She kept the tradition running for 35 years in a row.

As torch bearers, unwilling to let such a fine tradition die an ignoble death, we held our first Sunday Coffeehouse in her honour. Two precious family friends, Uncle Bert & Aunt Arien from Owen Sound (who know our Mom better and longer than anyone of us) happily*bravely accepted our invitation to submerge themselves in our mass gathering & share in our time of remembrance.

It started the week before the wagon train set out, a simple mass e-mail suggestion.

Sunday Gathering moves from Crooked Cottage 26
to Cottage 68 down from the Chapel.

Coffee and Juice are on the house.
Bring smiles and baked goods to share.

If everyone brings a bit we'll have a lot.

This was the Understatement of the Week.

Within 24 hours, the RSVP's were sailing thru cyber space at lightning speed, everyone ~~spurring~~ sparring each other on with the promise of a dessert

more elaborate and sinful than the last.

Citrus Cheesecake, Strawberry Trifle, Oven Fresh Cinnamon Buns, Mom's Famous Mocha Bars...

It was getting serious.

As one nephew observed, "My inbox hurts".

The whole thing somehow spun itself into a bona fide Bake-Off Competition with official prize ribbons (designed by Cathy) and awarded by self-appointed family 'dignitary' Sir William Casey the 5th and his faithful, taste-tester man-servant, Atchoo...

??? ...yep.

Clearly this family of ours was over-due for a reunion.

The next competition will follow a rule book

(now in draft mode if you can believe it)

and the one impeachable offence sadly but swiftly disqualified these contributions

sans discussion OR apology.

Hard core competitive. tsk. tsk.

Contributions in serious contention however....

Brittany said she'd bake three things and bring the best out of three or the least burnt. She scored honourable mention despite her lack of confidence...

Meanwhile, a thing of MAJOR attraction

was going down on the dock below...

Uncle Case was offering personal guided tours

of Chesley Lake in his motorboat.

The line-up was long and endless and
have the undeniable makings of a great Chesley memory.

A break for station identification while I pause for a

gander at some of the most highly esteemed little peeps

of my life:

*sigh* - have enjoyed several quiet conversations with our sweetpea JB,

the newest lamb-chop in the flock.

And now - the moment we've all gorged for.

Votes were tallied. Sir William Casey stood -- a hush went thru the crowd.

Third place goes to Andrea for the recipe Mom's Mocha Whatchamecallit

Second place is awarded to Sarah for the

instantly devoured Oven Fresh Cinnamon Buns

First place to (surprise, surprise) Michelle,

whose reputation for home baking is legendary and

whose Strawberry Trifle Delight was (yes indeed) incredibly awesome!

But wait!

What's this?

Michelle carelessly leaves her first place ribbon behind?

Lying neglected in the crumbs?

Not to worry.

It was promptly scooped up by Susie -

purveyor of no less than TWO

(albeit untouched) store-bought

(i.e. ruthlessly scorned) desserts.

Her very wide smile proves the proverb:

He who laughs last, laughs best!

You gotta love it.

I'm quite sure Mom would have approved.

Redress

2011-06-14T16:51:00.012-04:00

redress |riˈdres; ˈrēˌdres|verb [ trans. ]remedy or set right (an undesirable or unfair situation) : the power to redress the grievances of our citizens.• archaic set upright again : some ambitious architect being called to redress a leaning wall.nounremedy or compensation for a wrong or grievance : those seeking redress for an infringement of public law rights.PHRASESredress the balance take action to restore equality in a situation.
Summer breezes are here at last. My beloved and I went out for dinner last night with our son who is springing from the coop next week. It was a 'celebration' of sorts. I have to say this tongue in cheek because that yucky moment of reckoning with an empty nest and the cavernous hollow that is now our home - is unavoidably near. Yes, yes. I eagerly anticipate his wedding day and am thankful for the gift entrusted to him and his beloved to establish their new home together...but... yeah. Just ignore me please.
Entering the restaurant, we were forced to wade through a sea of what appeared to be high-school students dressed for a grad party or a prom night. Dressed for prom night? she writes ruefully. No. Decidedly undressed for prom night is more like it. Dressed to kill is most apt. What we were forced to take in with our eyes crossed the line of decency at least three miles ago. With a sorry mixture of sadness and anger, I resign myself to yet another cycle of angst over the way our world increasingly abandons all restraint in the arena of modesty and decency.Innocent and naive about their provocation? Baloney.
And not just our world "out there". No, sadly enough. Let's be honest.Our community, our church family, our moms and our daughters....And here's the killer: the silence on the subject is so - deafening. When did we raise that white flag of surrender? Why?

Something has to change.We have to.For our children's sake. For our husbands, our sons, for our witness, for God's glory.
Here's a link that might dispel any notion of this being a non-issue:Sisters, Show Mercy!

For My Beloved

2011-06-12T00:00:00.003-04:00

August 1980
We were only 20 & 21.
We went dancing in the minefields,
we went sailing in the storms...
and it was harder than we dreamed
but I believe,
... that's what the promise is for ...

... We bear the light of the Son of Man
   so there's nothing left to fear.
   So I'll walk with you in the Shadowlands,
   till the shadows disappear.
   'cause He promised not to leave us
   and His promises are true,
   so in the face of all this chaos,
   maybe I can dance with you...
   Let's go Dancing in the minefields
   Let's go sailing in the storms
   this is harder than we dreamed,
   but I believe -- that's what the promise is for.

(psst!... it is a great privilege, this growin' old with you. Just sayin').

Get the scoop on yet another songwriter/singer with GOOD stuff to tell: Andrew Peterson

Peeps of the Heart

2011-06-11T21:54:00.002-04:00

The call this morning went out sudden and urgent ....
Cousinfest today ALL day - issued by grandparental decree - to commence as fast as your mums and daddy's can get you here.
*******
It was sheer Delight.
Behold,
a Smilebox Slideshow to commemorate and demonstrate -
put to the strains of Here's to Song from CCS' first album: The Music Within.
The Chorus:
Here's to Song, here's to Time.
Here's to both with friends of mine.
Here's to friends who raise their voices high....
Kings have riches widely lain
Lords have land - but then again,
We have friends and song no wealth can buy.

By the way, the kids sport an eclectic array of clothing, requiring some clarification:
A teensy inconsequential spill on the front of Rachie's shirt caused a break-neck charge to my cupboard of 'spare' clothing --- which is code for 'dress-up' --- which is a highly revered past-time here. LOL.

Free photo slideshow made with Smilebox

Faith Without Illusions

2011-06-02T20:24:00.009-04:00

Feeling Derailed? Torn and thread-bare? A little - off the edge?

Do yourself a HUGE favour....
Faith Without Illusions
If every one in my church family would read through this article thoughtfully and prayerfully, I think we'd reap a heap of blessing!
Yes. It will demand some self-examination. Do not be afraid :)
No pain? No gain! ... a truism that actually finds its' root in scripture.
Holy Spirit, bring it on.

James Barry

2011-05-24T23:12:00.007-04:00

Can you believe this?

A new grand-son in the posterity - a namesake even!

Such big shoes to fill - a delighted grandmarmie muses....

But so clearly on his way to doing exactly that.
Thank You - Giver of Good Gifts.
You blow us away with Your extravagance.

Bird Brain

2011-05-24T22:57:00.004-04:00

For days now, I've had a colourful yet-to-be-identified feathered friend

trying to bust through my dining room window.

Very aggresively - on purpose - repeatedly.

I did the respectable thing and googled this phenomenon in search of a plausible explanation.

I like the way this guy put it....

http://ask.metafilter.com/26033/What-causes-a-bird-to-fly-into-my-window-repeatedly-with-reckless-abandon?

Here's one possibility: the bird is protecting a nearby nest from the

'threat' they see lunging at them in the reflection of the window....

their own. Hmmm....

As always, it brings to mind the words of a song I know, this one by Rich Mullins:

I'd rather fight You for what I don't really want than take what you give that I need,

and I beat my head against so many walls,

now I'm falling...

One thing is sure, there are legit bird brains out there and then there's those of us

who just act like we have one.

A word from the Pyro's

2011-05-24T08:38:00.006-04:00

Humiliated and humbled: sadly, not synonyms

by Dan Phillips

Once there was a man with much to boast of; and boy, did he.
The man was builder/conqueror/despotNebuchadnezzar. A dream, brought home by a genuine prophet, had warned him of the consequences of his arrogance and called him to humble himself before God (Dan. 4:2-27). Nebuchadnezzar shrugged off the prophet's pleas and doubled down (Dan. 4:28-33). The king was instantly humiliated by a word from Heaven, and spent seven periods of time (?; don't ask) living like an animal (Dan. 4:32-33), until he saw himself in true proportion to God (Dan. 4:34-36). Now Nebuchadnezzar wasn't so big, but God was.

In this case, Nebuchadnezzar was both (outwardly) humiliated, and (inwardly) humbled. That is, God undid him, and he received the message. It's actually a pretty happy story. Many believe ol' Nabu-kudurri-usur was saved through the encounter. Possible. Only God knows.

Most of the similar stories I know, first-hand and second-, do not yet have such happy endings.

I know of a number of folks who have been massively and/or repeatedlyhumiliated, but never humbled. I could name politicians past and present, preachers past and present, and people past or present. I could name a name leading the news recently. Some of these folks I've never met; some I knew (or thought I knew) as well as I will ever know anyone who isn't me.

In each case, the natural process of following (sinful) choice A led to (foolish) choice B, which then led to disaster. Anyone with two functional neurons to fire in sequence, observing the situation, could make the connection: A led to B; A is the root-problem. Humble yourself. "Own," then disown A.

But, see, children, here's a crucial axiom of fallen humanity. It should probably be added to the 25 Things I've Learned (which seem more timely than ever)... though that would mess up the title. But here it is:

Everyone caught in a sin will either repent, or double down

There's only one way to be rid of a sin, and that way lies through repentance. Repentance is the way of humility. Repentance loves God, so it hates the sin. Repentance sees God as big, so it sees the sin as despicable. Repentance admits culpability, because it craves forgiveness — and only guilty people can be forgiven. Hence the need for "owning" — for confession — and for "disowning" through repentance.

By contrast, refusal to be rid of the sin inexorably takes one in the other direction. All defenses go up, and all assailants must be repulsed. Rationalization, blame-shifting, evasion, equivocation, lies, excuses... all these and many other baleful tools lie in the arsenal of the unrepentant.

Solomon's words, however, stand as true today as they were when first spoken and written:

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy
(Proverbs 28:13)

...and its companion warning:

One who becomes stiff-necked, after many reprimands
will be shattered instantly— beyond recovery
(Proverbs 29:1 CSB)

The lesson to us is clear: we should humble ourselves, lest we be humiliated. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you," Peter admonishes (1 Pet. 5:6).

Refuse to do so, and we will learn Nebuchadnezzar's lesson: that "those who walk in pride he is able to humble" (Dan. 4:37).

The fall back lesson is no less clear: if it comes to humiliation, take the message to heart. Don't be the last to know. Don't wait until the saddest two words in the English language become your epitaph:

"Too late"

Blessings

2011-05-23T09:22:00.014-04:00

Some questions to ponder with me.... (please)

What if God's blessings come through raindrops?
What if healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know He's near?
What if trials of this life are actually mercies in disguise?

Yeah. What if? What if our little pea brain minds just don't think big enough? Past our own little world?

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

Cause, what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?
.......
What if?

God is Good. Not safe. No.
But Good, ALL the time.

Yet another great singer/songwriter, wonderfully employed to spread the good stuff around....

A Mom's Place

2011-05-14T04:03:00.009-04:00

We did it. We finally went through Mom's place.

Sorting, discovering, claiming, giving away....

Right now, the experience simply defies words.

The motherhood of all bitter-sweetness.

This heart is a torrent of feelings,

some piled high and some carved low.

But this head! ? ugh! ---

it just seems to run around in an irreverent sort of way,

playing hide and seek inside that place.

That space of tumultuous terrain.

Hence the 'no words' dilemma.

I'm glad to have this album of pictures to help me remember the way it was.

The song playing through the slideshow is

Perfect Peace by Laura Story.

It is fitting -- but again, only strangely so.

My niece Julia (or was it Emily?) found her grandmother's old, sun beaten calendar which,

on the day of her death records a curious but appropriate thought and prayer:

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

no mind has conceived what

God has prepared for those who love him"

I Corinthians 2:9

O Lord, lead me Home to heaven

by whatever way I must go.

Dear Refuge of my Weary Soul

2011-04-26T17:29:00.000-04:00

<a href="http://indeliblegrace.bandcamp.com/track/dear-refuge-of-my-weary-soul-live-feat-sandra-mccracken">Dear Refuge Of My Weary Soul (Live feat. Sandra McCracken) by Indelible Grace</a>
Indelible Grace

This exquisite rendering (by Sandra McCracken of Indelible Grace) of an old hymn written by one who suffered much, is just one more reason the Chicago conference proved such blessing and balm for our hearts.
Some hymns of long ago are simply heads and shoulders above the rest - this is one of them!
I'd write the words out for you - but she sings them so clearly, I think it would only distract you.
Please enjoy....quietly.

p.s. I have so many new (old) favourites again - I fear the Great Hymns of Faith Project may have to be trumped.

p.p.s......my beloved may not know that I've uttered such a thing.

Yet.

:)

The Power of the Cross

2011-04-23T09:51:00.001-04:00

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev'ry bitter thought,
Ev'ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the vict'ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Shedd Aquarium

2011-04-18T14:38:00.009-04:00

Out of chronological sequence, this post is hastily made to humour my little Julsie, sick at home
and in need of some distraction. As is her mama.

Love you sweet pea(s)!

A small disclaimer however...

Some pic's will definitely cater to intrigue but may likewise cause skin crawlage.

Viewer discretion is advised.

We were at the Shedd Aquarium with approximately one million others on a Saturday - the first day of Chicago's 'Spring Break'. *sigh* It was difficult moving about in the place, as vast as it was but here's the pictures I did manage to snag from a distance away. Elementary students and kids in strollers rule on days like this and it matters not that you're visiting from far away and have a one time chance to take it in (whine, whine). Conversely, an excellent zoom lens does a lot for delayed gratification.
These are frogs.
Yes, real live ones, though the one below looks like it's chiseled out of resin doesn't it? You will get the scoop on every creature where I was able to get close enough to an info plaque and capture a picture.... otherwise, you will simply have to make do with an amazing Amazon visual!

One of these innocent little frogs could emit a venomous poison 200 X more potent than morphine. Considering my recent experience with morphine in my mother's palliative care, that particular fact is phenomenal to me.

An Anaconda kind of nightmare.... I researched this on the net to give you some info and actually had to stop looking up sites and video coverage for fear of giving up my lunch. Enough said. I can't believe I stood so close to this thing - glass cage not-with-standing. This specimen was about 20 feet long and the thickest part of its belly at least 20 inches round.
I had to think about the serpent being cursed in the Genesis account of the Garden of Eden.
Now, the whole thing makes me shudder for more than one reason....

Distortion alert!

Flash photography is forbidden of course and because I had to use my zoom to get close enough to the display cases - you will see a lot of reflection in the glass.

Massive exfoliation and all without Norwex product and scrub mitt! :)
I'd love to know what this shed skin might be used for but as noted - I'm feeling too weak of constitution to go there just yet...

Seriously. This slithering monster actually instigates nausea for me.

Y'know? On second thought - maybe this part of the aquarium visit (the Amazon Rising bit) is not so conducive to my aim of cheering up the convalescent?

Gramma's tend to follow rules of their own making but yeah - it is what it is.

And I did warn you!

This not so little fella stayed burrowed deep in it's lair - highly reminiscent of the scene in Lord of the Ring II where Frodo gets 'embalmed' by the giant spider. Ugh. I actually retraced my steps, went back to it and used my flash to expose him. The unbelievable power of morbid curiosity....

Okay, so maybe not big enough to swallow Jonah - but definitely really big! The gal with the big hair wouldn't move. Besides, it's beautiful 'picture-worthy' big hair don't you think?

Measured in feet people - not inches eh? Let's not be daft.

And now, a kinder calmer sort of tour....

I found Nemo here!

A seahorse - I am so utterly fascinated with this creature... I had to look up some Wikipedia facts for both of us. But what should surface immediately before my unsuspecting eyes? -- a picture of seahorse soup! - such violence in the name of delicacy cuisine. I refuse to research any more information. Ignorance is bliss. This shall be my motto for the remainder of this blog post.

Brain coral. Coral is a living creature of the sea, but you probably knew that already.
Further enlightenment is now off limits to me.

Long ago, when we were much younger and more adventurous/foolhardy/risk-taking etc... Barry and I took a 2 day scuba diving course in a resort pool and then went on two dives at a forty foot depth by a coral reef in the Grand Cayman Islands.
It was a defining moment for us. Such a world of Wonder. We surfaced an hour later with eyes wider than saucers at the astounding magnificence & incredible natural beauty of the undersea world. Colours and creatures never before seen with our own eyes and so much richer than our imaginations could ever conjure!
The Creator was worshipped in this heart of mine like never before....

Jellies! Spineless creatures and easier to view :)

Attention: Trivial pursuit fans!

....the answer is D. a smack

Weird and weirder english names for groups:

A parliament of owls

A murder of crows

A scourge of mosquitoes

A walk of snails (uhm...shouldn't that be an 'inch' of snail?)

A crash of rhino's (now THAT I get totally!:)

A knot of frogs?

A bed of urchins

LOL

the English are so crazy

A Hawk training show with hawks that simply would not perform! The birds of prey looked much more magnificent perched on their trainers arms than this image allows.

The four big lumbering beluga's were on task however....

And the four dolphins were simply too quick for my camera. I could show you a lot of splash Jules, but you could do the same in the bathtub - not that I am recommending such a thing right now of course.

So there you go little grandpeep of mine.

I hope you feel better soon, leave me a comment if you can!

Enjoy a virtual cookie too.

These were sold in the Aquarium Cafe. Too cute, I needed a picture to remember them.

We spilled into the Cafe after our 4D Imax show Happy Feet, about - ? - you guessed it, penguins doing hip hop. 4D meant special effects like arctic air literally blowing around your legs in the theatre during one stormy segment of the show and feeling prodded in the back of your seat simultaneous to Happy Foot being grabbed by a hook. Oh. And thousands of bubbles floating thru the air of the theatre during a happy climatic moment in the film.

It was very cool.

The Palmer House

2011-04-15T02:08:00.006-04:00

The Palmer House is truly amazing for a whole lot of reasons. It's very old and has walls that could tell you quite the hair-raising tale; it is also recently renovated (2009) with great respect for it's original splendour, detail & glory. Above is a sketch of the original building before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 reduced it to rubble. That monstrous fire consumed almost 4 square miles of real estate on the Lake Michigan shoreline - claimed hundreds of lives and left about 90,000 people homeless.

It is considered to be the largest U.S disaster of the 19th century.

From Wikipedia:

Another example of Chicago's rebirth from the Great Fire ashes is the now famed Palmer House hotel. The original building burned to the ground in the fire just 13 days after its grand opening. Without hesitating, Potter Palmer secured a loan and rebuilt the hotel in a lot across the street from the original, proclaiming it to be "The World's First Fireproof Building".

Hence my shot of the incredible maze of iron foldaway staircases in every alley downtown!

Of 1639 rooms, we just happen to have the room FARTHEST removed from the elevators on the 17th floor.

This would not be so problematic if my hubby's left knee had not suddenly exploded with a very disagreeable & ill-timed arthritic flare-up and at which the notion of crutch or cane was quite frankly, dismissed.

Since I cannot carry him - our walkabout Chicago is somewhat curtailed - neglected runners sitting accusingly in closet. Now that he has bravely endured two days of major limpage thru McCormick Place without much improvement, we will have to make what remains of our city tour, a largely cab assisted survey.

Just have to say that 'hailing a cab' is somewhat exhilarating. I absolutely reveled in that experience and look forward to several repeats of it in the next few days.

We had to return early one evening from the conference so hubby could rest up and get some relief

and some quiet supper that wasn't exactly cafeteria style :)

I left him sitting in this eye-popping 'lounge' (pictured below) which is constantly abuzz with socialites while I waltzed about with camera in hand to secure my digital immortalization of the moment.

I went to this second level balcony to get a clear view of the lounge below...

The ceiling of this happening 'lounge' was painted by none other than the dude who also painted the ceiling in the Vatican. Or something like that. My source of that trivia is sleeping at the moment and Google is coming up dry on that particular detail - *sigh* you understand don't you?

Never mind that - Google Chrome uncovered something for us:

To understand why the Palmer House is so special, you need only enter the lobby. Its ceiling, resplendent with 21 panels of Greek mythological scenes that spring to life in rich paints and raised plaster, could rival that of the Sistine Chapel.
In fact, when the ceiling was restored a decade ago, it was at the hands of Liddo Lippe, the same master craftsman who repaired Michelangelo’s Vatican City masterpiece. Lippe worked flat on his back, raised on scaffolding, throughout the night so as not to disturb the guests. “We kind of made a show of him,” says Ken Price, the Palmer House’s director of public relations. “We’d roll out the scaffolding every evening around 9 and play Mozart while he worked on the ceiling."

Then there’s the Empire Room, reached via a prominent staircase in the lobby and through a set of black French doors. Open them, and you’re transported to another era, one where performers like Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, and Liberace entertained diners on a stage so close you could touch it. Frank Sinatra’s career kicked off here when he appeared onstage with Tommy Dorsey, so unknown at the time that he wasn’t even on the bill. This room, with its dramatic gold-tinged Ionic columns and gilded friezes, also has been meticulously restored. “The room was completely regilded,” says Price. “Teams of artisans and craftsmen—a virtual army of people—worked on it for nearly half a year to bring back its original grandeur, guided by original drawings and vintage photos."

Alas - a lonely but locked grand piano crying to be played above the din of socialites below.

Where is Mozart now she muses with a twinge of regret?

... only the slightest of twinges mind you. T'would be a far grander evil to be less than smitten for all the wonderful things my senses and soul have taken in --- not the least of which would be the music ministry of the Getty Band.
I know precisely where I am headed with the nourishment of the past three days.

Tomorrow? Millenium Park (by cab? hmmm....), the Observatory and maybe
the shoreline boat cruise for the history tour. Stay tuned!

CCS & The Getty's?

2011-04-15T00:18:00.002-04:00

Whaddaya think guys? The fellow in charge of Getty concert tours (Jani, with the delightful Irish accent and would you believe it? ... the sweetest impish look of a .... a leprechaun!) lives locally in St.Catharines and he happens to think a Southern Ontario tour for the Keith & Kristyn Getty Band is very plausible.

hmmm.... this has me mind a twirlin'....

The Gospel Coalition (TGC) Live!

2011-04-13T02:34:00.003-04:00

Or put another way, TGC from someone who is living the experience

for the first time and is VERY thankful for it.

There are approximately 7000 people registered and roaming at TGC here at the super conference aka Chicago's famous McCormick Place - a facility that makes the Metro in Toronto look like an exceedingly small fry with no biggy size option. Indeed, the spaciousness and beauty of this place make it rather difficult to believe we are in the company of so great a crowd. There are vendors and exhibitors abounding and a bookstore to rival Books a Million...

and with 35% off most titles?

I am utterly undone.

No.

I am tortured in the extreme.

Today's line-up of blockbuster experiences?

Roundtable Q&A What I've Learned from Years of Preaching Christ in the Old Testament featuring Phil Ryken, Alistair Begg and Mark Dever
Introduction to Conference by Don Carson
Corporate Worship with The Getty's
Studying the Scriptures and Finding Jesus John 5:31-47 by R.Albert Mohler Jr.
Getting Out (Crossing Over) Exodus 14 by Tim Keller
From Foreigner to King Jesus Ruth by Alistair Begg
Panel Discussion Preaching from the OT featuring Tim Keller, Lignon Duncan, Crawford Loritts, Don Carson, Bryan Chapell
Concert Sing Them Again: An evening of Old and New Hymns

The WOW factor antennae have not stopped vibrating all day long and my cup runneth over - is in fact, spilling all over the place!
Thanks to a dear friend back home, you are hereby supplied a link to a live coverage stream online: http://thegospelcoalition.org/conferences/2011-media

(Thanks Lilly)
Now those who truly desire to tap into this enriching spiritual feast can follow what's happening here without my having to sort through a pathetic convolution of notes.

As my hubby calmly suggested after witnessing my desperate hair-on-fire attempt today..

"we'll buy the CD"

There is also an Art Exhibit in the Grand Lobby entitled Resonant Vision featuring the work of nine Christians who make contemporary art. They were each asked the question, "How does your Christian faith inform your work?"
This is none too familiar territory for many of us and makes me eager to snoop around
and explore this exhibition;
particularly because it is a world that our 3rd year theatre/arts double major baby girl is pursuing with great gusto at Redeemer and one in which we need to gain a deeper understanding.

Dearest choir peeps, Voila! The uilleann pipes we spoke of once before while listening to the Getty's recording of By Faith --- played before our very eyes!

Part of the apparatus of simulcast wonderment was parked right beside our row in the Main Stage which by some feat of the miraculous, seated all 7000 of us comfortably and effortlessly.

A steady stream of Coach buses delivered and retrieved conferee's every half hour throughout day one;

a day that ran so smooth from an organizational standpoint - the team behind the scenes get a five star rating from the two of us and everyone else whose company and conversation was our pleasure today.

Tomorrow's schedule begins at 7am and culminates with a Getty Concert of Praise at 9pm.

This girl needs to go to bed

-- like right now :)

Toodles and sleep sweet, a directive I will surely follow if I can shut my mind off.

Conferencing in Chicago

2011-04-12T11:34:00.000-04:00

Well. We're here.
Strolling around the city block of the Palmer House in wide-eyed wonder as only a bonafide pair of country bumpkins could possibly do.
I've decided to wear my camera and take you along where-ever and when-ever I can. The conference schedule dictates that I will have to be highly selective and quick fingered in the reporting end of things if it's to happen at all.
I don't live here - in this lovely, windy city perched on the shores of Lake Michigan - brand new US territory for these two Canucks. The camera, lack of winter wear and croc sandals are a dead giveaway.
We've both agreed this is an exciting departure from our daily routine - and we eagerly anticipate many good things this week here at the Gospel Coalition Conference with the likes of Tim Keller, Alistair Begg and (be still(er), my wildly beating heart) Keith and Kristyn Getty leading times of corporate worship!

The Palmer House is an iconic, historic hotel with more than 1600 rooms. We are on the 17th floor and can attest to the power of wind running thru these many skyline buildings.
Time is too short for me to recap the particulars of the fascinating history of this Hotel but here's a clip from Wikipedia....

There have been three Palmer House Hotels at the corner of State and Monroe Streets in Chicago.The first (known as "The Palmer") was built as a wedding present from Potter Palmer to his bride Bertha Honoré. It opened on September 26, 1871, but burned down just thirteen days later October 9, 1871 in theGreat Chicago Fire. Palmer immediately set to work rebuilding, and with a $1.7 million signature loan(believed to be the largest individual loan ever secured at the time) constructed one of the fanciest hotels in post-fire Chicago.

There are train tracks running over our heads and below our feet. And pedestrians everywhere.

My beloved is eyeing the bulbs with incredulous envy.

More about the significance of the intricate fold-away staircases when I get back tonight. But think

Great Chicago Fire and you'll get the gist of it soon enough.

An important discovery.

The architecture in this city is a major visual delight. There's a 90-minute boat cruise of the shoreline that is fully narrated by those in the Chicago ~~hysterical~~ historical society that is calling my our name. :)

Around the house this weekend...

2011-04-09T20:06:00.001-04:00

It pains me to talk about it, but the unthinkable fact is thus:
Our second born son is springing the coop next month --- moving into a place of his own and marrying his highschool sweetheart the month after that. With our baby girl living in Hamilton most of the year, we are looking at a virtually empty nest.
There are some changes I do not wear well.
I think this may be one of them.

For whatever reason, our second born son pulled a Samson and didn't have a razor on his head for a full year. We didn't make much of it. By now, we are actually learning to discern the insignificant from the not so. Yet, I had been mentally preparing myself for the rather interesting exercise of trying to distinguish one from the other on the upcoming wedding photo's --- perhaps the thought occurred to him as well...

.... because he came home today a full pound of locks lighter.

Meanwhile, our first born and her hubby enjoyed a weekend away to celebrate their 7th anniversary. Seven years. A very nice number indeed and one we pray will only become fuller in every way possible. Their off-spring stayed here while mommy and daddy went to date :)
The pain of recognizing the empty nest syndrome was at least temporarily stayed.
They found the hand-puppets and quickly invented a show that repeated itself.

Somewhat endlessly.

I snuck around back-stage to capture just how completely absorbed they were in their impromptu story-telling effort.

We moved to the couch area so their audience of one could sit down and drink coffee while the animation of the show grew to fever pitch.

So much so that they practically put themselves to bed after lunch for some much needed quiet time.

I surely would have joined them had

Rachie not chose the opportunity to make much of her bruised daddy toe - the one that had the piano bench topple over it, requiring many fresh changes of Dora the Explorer dressing and applications of polysporin.

My own mom would be proud. She was a firm believer in the fact that a dab of polysporin along with a demonstrative kiss could solve most life-threatening situations...

It turns out to be a reliable remedy that works.

But I think it strange to use polysporin

... and feel such a stab of pain.

War and Peace

2011-04-08T19:31:00.003-04:00

Has anyone out there read this book?

The BIG Borders Bookstore was going bust and we just 'happened' to be there when it did.

The timing was ripe...

It was time to add another much considered Classic and have it grace the clutter of some shelf in the family library.

But I am waiting till summer to work up the courage to start that journey...

And Journey is an understatement for a volume like this - 1400 pages of fine print! WHAT was I thinking?

Only two other books in the library rival this heavyweight in content and page number:

The Annals of the World and Dictionary of the Christian Church.

Yes. This is what sets me quaking.

The gist of it...

At a lavish party in St. Petersburg in 1805, amid the glittering crystal and chandeliers, the room buzzes with talk of the prospect of war. Soon battle and terror will engulf the country, and the destinies of its people will be changed forever. War and Peace has as its backdrop Napoleon's invasion of Russia and at its heart three of literature's most memorable characters: Pierre Bezukhov, a quixotic young man in search of life's meaning; Prince Andrey Bolkonsky, a cynical intellectual transformed by suffering in war; and the bewitching Natasha Rostov, whose impulsiveness threatens to destroy her happiness. As they seek fulfillment, fall in love, make mistakes, and become scarred by conflict in different ways, these characters and their stories interweave with those of a huge cast, from aristocrats to peasants, from soldiers to Napoleon himself. Battles, love affairs, births, deaths, changing family fortunes, unforgettable scenes of wolf hunts, Russian dancing, starlit troika rides, the great comet of 1812 -- the entire spectrum of human life is here in all its grandeur and imperfection.

In his magnificent new translation, Anthony Briggs renders Tolstoy's masterwork in stirring prose both faithful to the original Russian and exquisitely accessible. New readers and rereaders alike will discover not just an exciting story but also a deeply rewarding meditation on the tension between free will and fate as the forces of history move inexorably forward. Epic and intimate, compassionate and engrossing, this is the must-read War and Peace.

Not A Fairy Tale

2011-04-08T13:53:00.001-04:00

Encouragement from our friend Holley

(Inspired for release by yesterday's viewing of Tangled....

....Disney's fairly fun & decent recounting of Rapunzel)

I remember staying up late with friends to watch movies

that always seemed to close with the same line...

And they lived happily ever after--

THE END

But real life often doesn't work that way.

We hope and dream
but things don't always turn out like we plan.
We face trials, hard times, and we ask, "God, where are you in this story?"
He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known,
to humble and to test you so that in THE END it might go well with you. Deuteronomy 8:16
God's path to "happily ever after"--to all going well with us--

looks different than ours.
But in all of it we can trust that He has our good in mind, that He knows where the story is going,
that He will love us and keep us every step of the way.
Easy?
Nope.
I've got a hunch many of your stories make Cinderella look like a sissy.
Something we do with a smile on our face the entire time?
Not unless you're as unconscious as Sleeping Beauty.
Worth it?

Oh, yes, because one day our Prince will come.
Listen, sweet friend, as I take your heart by the hand and whisper these words...
Your story has a good ending. And it's not over yet.

Springy things Part 2

2011-03-28T00:22:00.001-04:00

Changed the pilgrim road on the blog header.

(thanks for the subtle nudge Lilly!)

I like the new picture. It appears more trail than road - and I like the blue whatcha-ma-callit stuff forcing its way up through the earth. Our own woods along the south side of the house are very inviting too. Soon I will see trilliums by the thousands dotting the forest floor.

I had an awesome Sunday today. After worship, we celebrated our baby's 21rst birthday en masse.

I LOVE en masse occasions, full of fellowship, food, family and....

Ringlets???

Ah yes. I had asked the peeps to come over after having tried the 3rd generation foam rollers and finish the balloons off. Like. Love. Adore. Even li'l leapster slept on those things! *sigh*

But now it's time for bed. The sun has gone to sleep

and so must I.

Things of Spring *** Springy Things

2011-03-25T17:41:00.003-04:00

My Aunt Ria lives down the road from me. We have lived on this road together for more than ... for a very long time then. She has come to be synonymous with Forsythia and our first sign of spring. I cannot tell you how many times I would visit mom for her birthday on April 4th and find a spray of forsythia branches in the centre of her kitchen table ---
buds bursting forth with a brilliant yellow.

A sunny B Complex capsule in it's most natural form :) This year, I got to be the happy recipient of my aunt's thoughtful drop-in delivery and am showcasing it here in memory of Mom along with her favourite flower - the fragrant freesia in white and lavender. On the 4th, her offspring hope to spend some time reminiscing in her cozy little sitting room. I shall take a yellow sprig along for old times sake!

A barrel chested pair of morning doves have returned to their favourite section of eavestrough right outside the patio doors. I studied them for quite a while today as they set up their nest. I like them well enough - I don't like their incessant 5 am calls - conversely, that just brings the image of a BB gun to mind.

It was fun to see their frequent & fervent peering over the edge and imagine them tut-tutting over the shocking accumulation of snow on the back deck.

Julsie had to content herself with a pile of books while the housecleaning was being done.

Bring on the spring thaw!

I think if you were born in the late 80's, you might have some trouble identifying this next picture. I found them in the long neglected backspace of the bathroom closet.

Strips of flannel for rag rolling and foam curlers.

Yes sir-ree bob. Saturday evenings, all us girls lined up after our bath for a head full of foam rollers. Sometimes we even got to sit a spell under the oversized
helmut'ish'-looking Automatic hair dryer.

I took a bunch from home when I married and subjected my own daughters to the same Saturday evening ritual. I do believe those strands of blonde hair belong to our baby - who just turned 21 yesterday.

My kids can't quite believe ( or is it me?) that the curling iron only became a common household item in my teenage years. And it too, is already nearing extinction.

Apparently our four year old grand-daughter arrived in ringlets at church last week.

To my way of reckoning, there's only ONE way to put ringlets on a little head of hair....

:) some traditions never die.

Commencing May 3, Toronto's newly built Roundhouse Theatre is featuring a live performance of one of the most highly esteemed books ever read to my children as they were growing up. This beautifully illustrated hardcover of The Railway Children by E. Nesbit was the story-hour couch companion for one whole wintry month in 1990 - according to the inscription of the inside cover.

From the dustcover:

Life changes for Roberta, Peter and Phyllis when their father has to go away, and they and their mother move to a little cottage in the country. They become the 'railway children', making friends with Perks the Porter and with the Station Master, and waving each day to the 'Green Dragon' engine as it goes by. Soon every element of the children's lives is involved with the railway, and it is through the railway that their sadness is turned to joy.

One of the most moving of all children's novels, it is also full of fun and excitement.

The characters are vividly portrayed, and the reader shares every detail of their daily life.

I plan to see this play and thereby revisit a wonderful passage of time early in our married life -

one I'd really like to introduce to the next generation.

We'll simply have to take the Go Train!

Invaded * Loving it

2011-03-17T22:33:00.000-04:00

They are coming soon

We are ready

They've arrived!

All five of them

For a one night sleepover

*sigh*

Afternoon snacks and Tinkerbell on the Big Screen

The pictures speak for themselves.

These little peeps totally turn my crank.

The dirty little secret of loneliness

2011-03-17T15:27:00.005-04:00

I get this inspirational stuff popping into my inbox periodically. Almost daily in fact. It's from Heart to Heart with Holly. She's got the gift of encouragement in spades and thanks to God, she aces at the job.

I trust she will not mind me sharing it with you.
Once again, a perfectly timed piercing of perspective.
Be blessed and then...

Get out there and have a cracker-jack day!

The dirty little secret of loneliness
Posted: 17 Mar 2011 06:35 AM PDT

I pull my car into a spot, turn off the engine, and a feeling unexpectedly wraps itself around me.
Loneliness.
I brush it off--who has thoughts like that in the parking lot of her favorite coffee shop?
I think of my family, friends, all of you and shake my head. What's the matter with me?
But from time to time, loneliness pays me a visit. I don't ever talk about it.
I really don't even want to talk about it now. Oh,yes...
God isn't a big fan of my comfort zone.
What am I learning about loneliness?
First, it's universal. We all feel lonely sometimes.
It's not a personal reflection on us but rather
"Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy" (Proverbs 14:10).
So don't let the enemy trick you into believing it's about you--that it's some sort of sign that you're not
good enough, loveable enough, worthy enough. No, ma'am.
You just put on some pointy-toed shoes and kick those lies to the curb.
Elijah was a prophet in the Old Testament who challenged the prophets of Baal in a serious showdown and God made an incredible victory happen.

So what does Elijah do?

Hightails it to the wilderness and tells God he's done. He says, "I am the only one left..." (that's loneliness talking).
God's response is full of tenderness:
The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.
" Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
When we're lonely, the first thing we need is to sense God's presence with us. Yet even after this, Elijah repeats to God,
"I am the only one left...." Then God tells him that there are seven thousand others faithfully serving Him too.
Hmm, I'm thinking back to the coffee shop parking lot incident. Yep, loneliness distorts our perspective.
I'm learning sometimes we just need a little reminder of the truth--that God is with us, others are alongside us, and loneliness is just a feeling ---

..... not a fact about who we are.
Yes, amen, and who wants to go to my favorite coffee shop with me next time?
p.s. I feel like there's someone reading with an ache in your heart and a lie running through your mind that says,
"But I'm not loved. I truly am alone." Whoever you are, wherever you are, I want you to hear this loud and clear--that is not true.
You are deeply loved, valued, irreplaceable in this world and the heart of the One who made you.

My Mom's story...

2011-03-08T17:35:00.002-05:00

Catharina Verschoor was born April 4, 1939 - just when the dark clouds of another World War hung in hemisphere. She was born in Rotterdam, one of Europe's busiest sea ports - the thus one of the first targets of the invading Nazi bombers.

....In total, 1,150 x 50 kg (110 lb) and 158 x 250 kg (550 lb) bombs were dropped. Many of these hit and ignited homes, churches, stores, warehouses and schools resulting in uncontrollable fires in the city centre. Hooton states that bombs ignited vegetable oil tanks on the dockside, which caused fires that spread into the city centre, causing massive devastation. Although exact numbers are not known, nearly 1,000 people were killed and 85,000 made homeless. Around 2.6 square kilometres (1 square mile) of the city was almost levelled. 24,978 homes, 24 churches, 2,320 stores, 775 warehouses and 62 schools were destroyed.

Mom had outgrown her shoes by at least two years before Liberation Day in May of '45.

Imagining the heart agony of having to raise little ones in such a terrifying time makes me especially respectful of my grandmother's memory. All my photo's show a woman with a wide smile or full out in eye squinting laughter.

A seemingly stoic strength --- unfettered by woes past or present.

.... like the way I remember Mom.

*******

I hope to post My Mom's story incrementally - we are S.L.O.W.L.Y roaming through Mom's house, discovering, holding and savouring both the memory and the memorabilia.

*sigh*

Sara Groves

2011-03-07T21:47:00.000-05:00

You have to start listening to this gal.
You simply have to.

Be still my anxious heart....

2011-03-05T13:57:00.002-05:00

Letting God into my broken-ness and thanking Him for loving me through the message brought by the rich, soothing voice of Fernando Ortega.
Thanks again Lisha for sending it my way! I can naught but pay it forward....

The Law of the Garbage Truck

2011-03-05T10:05:00.020-05:00

Live every day as a gift from the Lord.

... b'cuz it is ... plain and simple.

(Thanks Corinne:)

In loving memory of a great fellow pilgrim. Experiencing a gnawing need right now for the inspiration she so freely and regularly dispensed among us, I've rifled thru my Keeper's File

for a fitting forward sent long ago and stored

for such a moment as this:

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.

We were driving in the right lane when suddenly, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded and missed the other car by inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, "Why did you just do that?

This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call,

"The Law of the Garbage Truck"

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks.

They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger,

.... full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it

and sometimes, they'll dump it on you.

Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, home or on the street.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets.

So.

Love the people who treat you right,

Pray for those who don't.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it.

Go and have a garbage-free day!

Just Think About It!

2011-02-24T11:10:00.003-05:00

Imagine waking up every morning, wandering into the bathroom, rubbing the sleep from your eyes and finding this post-it-note reminder on the mirror....

Good Morning! This is God.

I will be handling all your problems today.

I will not need your help.

So have a good day!

I love you!

.... an anecdote from Sunday's sermon last week at Covenant Presbyterian Church here in Naples, Florida. It was part and parcel of a thought-provoking exposition of Romans 5 concerning the issue of how we are viewed by Our Maker in heaven.

Our 'RIGHTeousness' doesn't depend on us.

God's love is unconditional.

(We don't truly 'get' the term unconditional do we?)

His grace is sufficient.

No matter how many times we falter,
he will persevere with us to the end.

To the end.

No matter what.

Christianity is not about a religion that does good.
It's not even about religion.

It's about a relationship with the source of all goodness.

It's about helpless children of the first Adam RUNNING to the second Adam for the righteous life that they can NEVER manufacture on their own.

Jesus loves me, yes I know.
For the Bible tells me so.

Enormously comforting I'd say.

To My Precious little Peeps

2011-02-24T10:44:00.002-05:00

From the land of sun and rolling waves, a grandma reads a pop-up book to her grandest of peeps to bring comfort to her soul and (hopefully), a bit of sunshiny happiness to her little people while we await our reunion on a couch nearby and more familiar....

One of the glorious acquisitions from the Borders Bookstore Blowout sale. A well-timed browse thru a bookstore gone bust. ..... At least in MY humble opinion.

By Mo Willems

Paper Engineering by Bruce Foster (geniously gifted I'd say)

Big Frog Can't Fit in...

She really wants to fit in. But how??

Will Someone PLEASE show her?

You see how poor frog doesn't fit in this book eh?

(Big frog is Canadian)

If only she were smaller she thought...

More bendable perhaps?....

But... sadly, she is not.

And Big frog can't stand it!

Fortunately, Big Frog has a few fabulous little friends....

They are thoughtful and hopeful, as good friends generally are. They are scheming up a solution.

It puts a little smile on her face...

And here it is.

So Simple really.

Yeah. Just Make a Bigger Book!

Aren't friends wonderful?

Heaven is for Real

2011-02-16T01:05:00.001-05:00

Heaven Is For Real

Just read it.

.... I'm still in a daze.

I have just been blessed in countless remarkable ways and find myself quite unable to comment further.

*********

My mom has just entered eternity.

Looking back, it seemed that she rallied to survive Christmas Day where she was given

the strength & grace to briefly meet with & visit one last time

with each one of her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

That night, (December 25th) we took her by ambulance to the hospital where she finally accepted the idea of taking some relief from the pain by way of morphine. She got two doses several hours apart and then, when the Ontario Patient Transfer Mobile didn't materialize at 7am as promised,

(she SO desperately wanted her own comfy bed/recliner) she threw back the thin sheet off the gurney

in that emergency cubicle,

ordered us to get her into a wheelchair and

bust her out of the hospital ourselves.

My bro Mark and I had stayed by her bedside overnight.

He cast me a glance that read10% skepticism and 90% worry.

Can we legally DO such a thing he seemed to be asking?

It didn't matter.

Mom was already trying to slip off the gurney solo to put her boots on.

Apparently, there would be no discussion. :)

Most of me was cheering her on. Yay Mom! You go girl!

Who's got time for pomp and ceremony when time is so short?

Mark went to warm up his truck; he pulled up curbside and together we helped our beautiful PJ clad momma into the backseat with as much dignity as we could manage.

She died five days later.

Remarkably, though she was physically able to make heavily assisted moves from bed to recliner,

she seldom spoke or communicated with us after that day.

Her eyes were often open but focused to something beyond us.

Approximately five hours before death - her friend Jane (from her Cancer support group) visited to offer those final gestures of good & godly love: hugs, prayer, foot massages....

The room was very quiet;

just a few of us were present when Jane looked up at Mom and asked her what she was smiling about. Her one word answer?

"Paradise"

"Paradise" was Mom's final and pretty much solitary

word that week.

My Mom was getting a sneak peek if you will.

**********

My beloved and I have recently developed the habit of enjoying morning devo's online, listening to the radio ministry of Charles Morris of Haven Today.

A ton of edifying resource material is recommended here and that is where

we first learned about this book.

It's the best $15.00 bucks I've ever spent.

I will quite frankly,

never be the same.

.... I dare to wager the same will be true for you.

The Knitting Thing Again....plus addendum

2011-02-03T21:01:00.002-05:00

Here they are.
My first (and surely, ONLY) pair of socks made by my own hand.

What fun. Seriously.
Competent knitter I am not, but still I enjoyed the process very much.

The thrill of accomplishment - the time it afforded me to simply sit quietly, creating * pondering * listening to music * OR best of all? * sharing comfortable conversation with those I love.
I was really hoping to have them done before Mom passed away, but I missed the mark by two weeks.
Not that it ever carried the threat of fret; by now we've learned a thing or two about this truth:
All things in the appointed time.
I first wrote about the Master Weaver here,
the One who knits us together in our mother's wombs,
the One who charts our lives and
carries forth every purpose laid out for us
The One of whom it is said: All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

I still can't fathom it all. And it doesn't matter that I do.
I can simply marvel instead. That does matter!

I post the following picture as proof that at my great age, I can be found practising the liberating skill of laughing at oneself more often. It was a quiet evening in early December around Mom's kitchen table, (the table with the really poor lighting) a decent enough place for six dice, not so for knitting on 4mm slick turbo needles.
After fixing the umpteenth slipped stitch, my little sister ran off to her place (it's attached to moms granny suite).
'Probably pouring herself a good stiff drink' me thought :)
A unique thought to think about a teetotaller but, oh well.
'I hope she pours a stiff one for me too!' me thought again, more sensibly this time.

She soon reappeared and with a great guffaw (and no helpful libation in hand), affixed me with a miner's sort of headlamp to address the lighting issue. She proceeded to play the iphone paparazzi and forwarded the end result. It was a great moment of comic relief - I think we made enough noise to even rouse Mom's curiosity from the bedroom.

We've spent quite a bit of time there again - at Mom's place.

It's so comforting to be at her place, among the things of Mom.

I will write about that soon, but I can't just yet.

Undragon Your Life

2011-01-19T09:46:00.005-05:00

We were sitting on the couch together this morning - him and I.
We watched this video together - him and I.
We felt inspired and encouraged at the same time, for precisely the same reasons - both him and I.
So we're sharing it cuz ... y'know?... that's just what you do with those you love - you share it.
**********

Only Jesus can free us from ourselves.
Pastor Jim Burgen tells the story of hearing about a character in the Chronicles of Narnia.

His name was Eustace Clarence Scrubb; his name tells it all.
He was a bratty, jealous kid. In "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," Eustace belittles and complains about Lucy and Edmund again and again until his monstrous evil character inside starts to show on the outside; he becomes a dragon.
Only Aslan can save.
We are all like Eustace until Christ comes to our rescue.

C.S. Lewis strikes again.
Voyage of the Dawn Treader is... "awesome, completely life-altering storytelling at its finest".
**********

So we finished watching it, him and I.
And he pulls an old smooth (almost forgotten) 1978 move -
he asks me out to a movie!
I am grinning. Widely.
Two cozy seats at some Silver City and a jumbo popcorn to share, coming right up! Happy Eeek.

One day at a time....

2011-01-10T22:51:00.000-05:00

My blog is my journal. A place where I unravel and 'process' - always agonizing overlong on most posts - tweaking, refurbishing and generally driving myself nuts.
My ever cautious Beloved (with the ultra private personality) often wonders aloud what possesses me to disclose so much of myself to just ... anybody.
But I simply replicate the now famous words of my late mother: that's just the way it is.
Apparently, many of mom's friends were also keenly aware of her decidedly firm state of mind on most issues - and somehow after the funeral, there was this old adage circulating...something about an apple not falling far from its tree. :)
So if I must, I shall wear that mantle with both pride and humility - if such an oxymoronic style exists.

I hope someday to have my daughter teach me how to convert this blog into a hardcover book, and then snippets of my earthly sojourn will remain on a dusty shelf in our home library for any interested persons of posterity.
The reader will know one thing for sure - for good or for bad, I'm an open book.
My hubby groans reading this over my shoulder.
The reader will know one other thing for sure - the discovery (in the past thirty years) of a divine sense of humour, living with my well/cleverly appointed other half. I could write a book about that.
Hence the groaning.

So. The next stage of my journey will be coming to terms of an earthly life without mom nearby.
I thought I'd feel run over by a truck by now. But no. I thought maybe I'd just feel empty. But no.
... At least not yet.
I feel too grateful to God for His overwhelmingly specific and speedy answer to our prayer(s) - for giving us the enormous privilege of waving her off on the riverbank - for bringing Nicole back into her life before having to leave it behind - for the realization of how rich she was in faithful, affirming friendship...

On Sunday, I could re-connect with my own church family - and then ultimate dessert!.... reveling in the company of my preschool peeps over dinner

and a delightfully squishy viewing of the Curious George Movie on laptop.

(Laptop just took on a whole new meaning :)

My conclusion thus far? It's not a crime against mom to 'enjoy' these first days of mourning.

On the contrary, I will 'credit' her by attempting to adopt her hard-won conviction of Matthew 6:34:

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Yep. One day at a time.

Walk by faith, not sight.

Processing Pain - the lighter side

2011-01-06T21:25:00.000-05:00

A True Story...

Three year-old grand-daughter Danielle,

one of five precious ones

so precocious...

... so wild in a wonderful kind of way.

She was processing the events of Christmas Day where she roamed among 75 relatives, each coping with the somber reality of having to say a final goodbye to (super) grandma;

the atmosphere heavy with tears and laughter in constant collision...

She found me at the kitchen table at the end of a day filled with fine food & finer fellowship.

I hoisted her up to fasten the last few buttons on her coat.

Out of the blue, she pulled my face close to hers (eyelashes almost touching) and exclaimed

"Grandma? We are ALL going to die!"

And then, without skipping a beat, she said -

.... Can I have some chocolate?

*sigh*

She does an aching heart so much good.

To my Ultimate Family

2011-01-01T11:29:00.000-05:00

The great dichotomy of this earthly life.

A journey of pre-determined time -

filled with both obstacle and opportunity,

pain (with purpose in it!)

joy mingled with tears,

Slack-jaw moments of wonder and worry

Panoramic experience so intense -

it physically hurts...

I'd like to 'present' my Ultimate Family with a prayer penned by Holley Gerth -

a writer for DaySpring who drops regular doses of inspiration into my inbox.

May the God of All Wonders gird us up for 2011

making us willing and able to Worship rightly with ALL our life!

Prayer for a New Year
Posted: 01 Jan 2011 05:33 AM PST
Lord,
There are many uncertainties in our world
but what matters most will never change.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday
and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

We believe You are with us, for us,
and surrounding us with Your love.
So do not fear, for I am with you…
I will strengthen you and help you. Isaiah 41:10

No matter what happens, You will guide us and fulfill Your purposes for us.
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until
the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Even in hard times we can be confident that we will have victory through you.
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37

We trust you will take care of us and bless us in more ways than we can imagine.
God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

We give each moment and every day to You.
Most of all, we give ourselves too.
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 5:10
Amen.

written with love for you by holley

River Crossed!

2010-12-31T01:26:00.003-05:00

Mom, surrounded by her children....

Newly arrived in the celestial city.

Safe in the arms of Jesus.

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.

They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10: 9-10

But now, this is what the LORD says -- he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name;
you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you...."
Isaiah 43

To all who have loved this woman along with us -
our sincere gratitude

for your faithful friendship and loving care.

God is very very good.

(p.s. He was so gentle too!)

The Journey

2010-12-30T02:25:00.001-05:00

Yay! Tonight it is MY turn to sleepover in Mom's room. We trade spots from bed to recliner. She sleeps most of the time now - an upgrade in morphine appears to keep her comfortable. When her eyes are open, they rarely focus on us - in fact, she seems to be looking past us. We sincerely hope she will soon see Jesus over our shoulder, reaching out to her.

This is a beautiful 12X12 giant card designed and crafted by grand-daughter Meghan for grandma - presented to her on Christmas Day. 34 love notes were attached inside; a favourite memory or thought expressed by each of her grand-peeps...

This is a painting commissioned as a 60th birthday present to Mom (a few years ago now!).

I remember the artist sitting down with us girls for a chat about Mom. She needed to get a sense of her personhood for inspiration before beginning. We think the end result was mighty bang-on.

At the time - I tried my hand at writing a story about the picture and now it hangs in an envelope behind the picture. I meant to scan the story and post it so you could read it for yourself, but being next door with Mom for most of every day now, I am forced to type it all out long-hand....this camera image didn't help much either.

The Journey

The woman placed her devotional on the table and settled back into the pillows of the settee.

She surveys the garden with contentment, her gaze finally resting on the wheelbarrow by the garden wall. Yes! Today she is definitely going to finish the planting of those bulbs. She pushes the comforter aside and pulls herself up to pick out the curled leaves in the topiary.

The garden is a source of never ending work but she remembers with a smile the feelings of pleasure & satisfaction it brings. She reaches up to feel the ruffle on the apron... almost dry.

"Time to change" she decides, "and get on with this day."

*****

I hear the screen door close behind the woman as she enters the house. I look around me at this place so lovingly tended. I think of the hands that never rest....always a project on the go!

Past the garden wall, out in the horizon beyond, the clouds are rolling back a new day....

Do I see the shape of angels in the clouds? So subtly God is bringing to mind: it is His mercies that are new every morning. The wind blows a refreshing breeze that scatters the clouds; soon the sun will warm my place on the garden path. My eyes are drawn to the movement of pant legs flapping on the wash line. The trousers are worn-looking and so oddly out of place in the woman's wardrobe.

They beckon me closer. I step up onto the porch and see close-up that the knees have been mended often. Obviously, the woman has had to wear these for a long time. The apron strings blow up past my face. My fingers catch the hem. It too says something about the woman.

The stories of service it could tell! They would be many, the sound of them so familiar.

My hand comes to rest on the antique shepherd's crook.

How this woman loves the theme of sheep and shepherd! I see it suddenly in more places:

the pillow tapestry, the flower pot...

Ancient words play over again in my memory,

"The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not be in want....Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Yes, that must be it! That is the source of the woman's secret strength.

I have an irresistible urge to tell this remarkable woman how much she is admired and loved.

I hasten through the door and call from the foyer,

"Mom?!"

The clock shows 2:22am. I must try and sleep with one eye on my beautiful Mom.

Thank-you Father. Please be gentle when you come to get her.