Glory

Here is our amyrilus in all it's glory. There are 4 blooms on each stem and another stem coming up the middle. Thank you Gerry and Linda for the bulb you brought last November, it is a gift that gives and gives. I wish I knew how to keep these bulbs from one year to the next, I would like to try with this one.

Romanced

As I mentioned earlier I am working through the book "Captivating" with a group of lovely ladies. The chapter this week is on being romanced by Jesus. One assignment was to listen to the words from the Phantom of the Opera song, "All I Ask of You" as Jesus speaking his love to me. Youtube it, it's incrediable, if that doesn't work for you, here are the words. Of course you'll need to substitute Jesus for Raoul and your name for Christine. WOW!!!

Lyrics to All I Ask Of You (Phantom Of The Opera) :
RAOUL
No more talk of darkness,
forget these wide-eyed fears;
I'm here, nothing can harm you,
my words will warm and calm you.

Let me be your freedom,
let daylight dry your tears;
I'm here, with you, beside you,
to guard you and to guide you.

CHRISTINE
Say you love me every waking moment,
turn my head with talk of summertime.
Say you need me with you now and always;
promise me that all you say is true,
that's all I ask of you.

RAOUL
Let me be your shelter,
let me be your light;
you're safe, no one will find you,
your fears are far behind you.

CHRISTINE
All I want is freedom,
a world with no more night;
and you, always beside me,
to hold me and to hide me.

RAOUL
Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime;
let me lead you from your solitude.
Say you need me with you, here beside you,
anywhere you go, let me go too,
Christine, that's all I ask of you

CHRISTINE
Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime;
say the word and I will follow you.

TOGETHER
Share each day with me,
each night, each morning.

CHRISTINE
Say you love me!
RAOUL
You know I do.

RAOUL &
CHRISTINE
Love me, that's all I ask of you
[ All I Ask Of You (Phantom Of The Opera) Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

Seasons

How is it that so much time passes between posts? The truth is that I’ve written several posts and decided it was wiser not to post them. Some have been little soap box speeches about things I feel strongly about and others have been more personal comments about things I’ve been struggling with.

Lately I have been working through a book called Captivating with a group of wonderful women. Some of the journaling is tough, painful and yet very needful. Some is joyful, refreshing and reminds me of how blessed I am. This is the third time I’ve journeyed through this book and each time I’ve discovered more about who I am, who I am not, and most importantly, who God is.

If life is like seasons I think each season can be broken down into months. I haven’t enjoyed this past season much, too more unsettledness, uncertainty and upheaval. Some thrive in these circumstances, stepping up to the plate and battling to make the best of things. Not me, I prefer routine and order and planning things out and watching those plans unfold. I know that a rut, a routine, feel safer to me and I know why. But that’s for another time. Months….?? I think this past while has been a November. November ushers in months of cold, dark, dreary days. I am ready to move out of that space!! I think April and May are my favorite months. But March brings with it whispers of warmth, new growth and sunshine. Our girls were born in May and April, what wonderful blessings they are! Thank you Lord that March is just around the corner, prepare my heart for what this season will unfold. One of the joys we look forward to in March is meeting our newest grandchild face to face. What a joy our little people are!! They have a way of pushing aside our veneer and exposing our hearts. With each one of our grandpeople I very clearly remember a time of sitting quietly, holding this little person in my arms and connecting heart to heart. Maybe I spoke words to them but what I said wasn’t important. It was the wonder of holding this new little being, created with reason and purpose, that drew voluntarily from my heart the delight of committing to this little one my love and all that love encompasses.

Yes….. whispers of warm, new growth and prolonged sunshine.

Waves of Time

We are almost half way through Oct. and I’m wondering where the time has gone. It’s been awhile since I’ve written here. Sept. is a blur, but moments of time are carved into my mind. Smiles, hugs, words and looks, I’ve wondered why some have had such a lasting effect, I can’t yet make sense of it. I may in time, and if I don't they will simply be stored with my treasure of memories. Let’s start with the end of Aug. and a wonderful visit to Nova Scotia.



We marveled at the tides, walked on the ocean floor, felt the roar of ocean, enjoyed the musicians and the smiles of the people who live there, the experience was heart warming and peace filling.




Shortly after our return we said, “We’ll miss you Dad. Thank you for showing us how to live life well. We will meet again and go to one of those big banquets together.”





A few days later, wedding of a beautiful young friend.






We managed to squeeze in a family photo. We are as mixed up as we can be but it shows the interweaving of family, that’s good.

Then comes the challenge of figuring out life again. We are still working on that.

We have been reminded that the people in our lives are very important. As we approach Thanksgiving I want you to know that I am very thankful for you!

Wonderfully Made

This little poem is posted on my desk, I thought you might enjoy it.

God is crazy about you
He sends you flowers every spring
and a sunrise every morning
Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen
He can live anywhere in the universe,
and He chose your heart

Evicted

I would like to introduce you to the little fellow that we’ve been trying evict. Each year this creature, or one like it, seems to make our upper deck it’s home. It is pleasant having creatures around but when one must be mindful of them much of the time it makes it less pleasant. We have a bin on the deck for chair cushions and he likes to hide underneath it. When we open the bin we must be careful not to move it or push on it for fear of smushing him.



Then, on those balmy summer evenings he likes to climb onto the window ledge and feast on those little flies that come with the fall of evening. Well, we’ve hurt him once and had to remove him too many times to count. Closing the window involves a toad check, we must be mindful of him. Well, it was time for the deck to be repaired and there he was. It seemed that his coziest stop was about to be removed. Gord moved him downstairs to one of the most lovely flower gardens, but the next day he was back on the upper deck. Now some of his boards had been removed but he seems to like the view and often perches himself on a beam just outside the patio door.



Now…. we need to be careful not to step on him when we go outside, ever mindful of this little creature. Ray came to help Gord with the deck, he moved him downstairs, the next day he was back again. Somehow, he climbs about ten feet up the wall and reclaims his domain. It would be better if he moved, less stress for the humans who live here, surely he sees the wisdom in that. But moving isn’t easy………………

The irony of all this is that I haven’t seen him for a couple of days and now I’m wondering where he is or what could have happened to him. Yup, I miss him.

A God Surprise

Last Thursday, one week ago, Gord and I went to Switzerville to pick up Mom and Dad Wilson and then head to Toronto. Just before we came to Mom and Dad’s house we noticed a group of animals in a field behind a barn. At first we thought they were cattle but second glance made it clear to us that they were deer. Gord pulled over to the side of the road and we counted them, there were 27 deer in that field, 10 in the next and 3 in the field across the road from the Wilson house. We saw 40 deer grazing freely and peacefully on the tender green grass that had been hidden by the heavy snow of winter. It was an amazing sight! And it was 4 o’clock in the afternoon. We felt very privileged to see that some of nature had emerged from the woods to relish the hope of spring. Yes, of course we had our camera with us, we were headed to the homes of our grandpeople, it was in a bag somewhere in the van.