Good morning dear ones,
well OK it is not morning now and though it was my plan to get at this right after my quiet time ,but alas there were things that needed to be attended to: grapes, fresh picked from James and Esther's yard, need to be turned into raisins and plums, picked from Kay and Patrick's back yard needed to be frozen. I think the potatoes need to be brought in as well and stored, but I will need to call my dear daughter Miranda to find out what is best for them.
It was such a blessing to come home from our weeks away and discover that our garden and potted plants have not gone to the birds but are quite fine, thanks to David's brother in law, Patrick. I didn't realize how much that was a concern to me until I got home and saw it all.
So due to Patrick's care and diligence we are once again eating from our garden and enjoying it immensely! Yes! I am sharing with them too :)
This morning I woke up with a song, well actually, one line of a song, running through my brain. I love it when it is a song of praise, bringing my mind right away into focus with the Lord, and to an idea that the Lord has been formulating in my mind for a while. The line is ' Break my heart for what breaks yours....'
Now that may not sound like something too positive for first thing in the morning but it led me into my quiet time very nicely.
One of the books that I am reading regularly as part of my focus and meditation is Anne Spangler's 'Praying the Names of Jesus'. I was drawn to the last paragraph , pg 243
" Pray today for the grace to know how much you still need Jesus. Ask him or the grace to see beyond your wants to the things you really need-
more compassion
less harsh judgement
more generosity
less fear
more patience
less irritability
more faith
less doubt
Pray that Jesus will enable you to move beyond the kind of selfish praying we all do so that you can pray in a way that reflects His heart, letting whatever moves Him move you. Then pray for the privilege of joining Him as He seeks out and saves those who are lost.'
She suggests reading Luke 15: 1-7 and Luke 19: 8-9
Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path
ps 119:105
"My whole life I've been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted," Henri Nouwen said near the end of his life, "until I discovered the interruptions were my work!"
Interesting how the Lord answers our prayers, our questions and concerns.
This morning I had jotted a note in one of my books that the thing that I think of now is that I would be able to have the time left here on earth to get the things done that I want to do.....read all the books that I want to, quilt and sew all that I want to, learn as much as I possibly can about the Lord, spend time with my kids and their wee ones before they are all grown, learn how to write... Then I was waylaid by picking up this book by our pastor in Duncan, Mark Buchanan, called The Rest of God and stumbled upon this chapter 'Stopping to number our days aright!'
Pastor Mark makes this observation of Jesus' life: ...He lived life with the clearest and highest purpose. Yet He veered and strayed from one interruption to the next, with no apparent plan in hand other than His single, overarching one: get to Jerusalem and die.
Otherwise, His days ,were a series of zigzags and detours, apparent whims and second thoughts, interruptions and delays, off the cuff plans, spur of the moment decisions, leisurely meals , serendipitous rounds of storytelling.......Jesus was available-or not- according to some oblique logic of His own............The closest that we get to what dictated Jesus' schedule is His own statement in John's gospel: 'The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
continued and updated January 27/14
Is that helpful to those of you who feel that you never manage to complete the task at hand, especially those of you who have a houseful of little ones and the interruptions are continuous, even when you are sleeping.
I know that I use to feel that way and still do so often. Thinking that the Lord must have a plan and purpose for my life , if I could just get around to it.
Even though I am retired now I still live a life of interruptions . Interruptions of my plans! Or what I thought were mine and God's plans and purposes for me, for my husband and my family. But.............God's ways are not my ways and I am learning that when I pray and relinquish my life to Him I had better mean because He does, and He begins straight away to bring about His plans.
I was so thankful to come across this writing by Pastor Mark Buchanan that I quoted above, it has helped me so much to accept my life and not to pine for what isn't . I love the explanation of our lives as those born of the Spirit, and pray that I will remember this daily as my plans are interrupted and waylaid, so that I can enjoy the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life and then reach the final goal.....eternity with Jesus in Heaven!
A week ago tomorrow I went to Victoria and picked up alexis at the airport. Sheri had flown out with her and then turned around and took the next flight home. We now have Alexis at Granny and Poppy's 'summer camp' .
Though I am sure that Lexi is getting a wee bit tired from all the activity, I think Poppy and I are feeling it the most.
The summer is definitely a busy one
August 30 /13
It has definitely been a busy and wonderful summer, full of lots of activity and full of new life.
I left the island with Alexis at the end of July, spent a few nights in edmonton with her and Sheri before heading back to mom's at Breton and then down to Rocky mountain house to wait for Lily's birth.
Lily was born on the 7th of August in the week hours of the morning,. It was a blessed birth with no real difficulties, praise God! Lily Nevaeh, what a beautiful name for a beautiful weekend babe.
I had to leave two days after her birth, which was okay as kyleigh and Josh still had his parents there as well. Lily is their first gran child.
The day after Lily was born Rakel let me know that in the spring of 2014 I would be a granny to my 10th wee one, as she is now expecting as well. :) May get my twenty gran babies yet! !
Rachel, my dear daughter who gave me my first to grans made a fast run down to Rocky mountain house, spent the evening there with me and the girls , then we left Sunday morning to head up to high level. We had a great visit together, a rare time of uninterrupted visiting time! A real blessing to both of us.
Lord, You really have e given me an amazing family and I am so thankful for the time that we get to spend with them all. May we, David and I be a blessing to their lives and bring glory to You in all our ways. In Jesus' Name I pray.
It is so quickly coming to the end of November and the end of another year....a year that has been both challenging and a blessing. It was a year of changes, more than I wanted, but I guess that it is probably more than I really want at any time. I don't do change well, as most of my family can attest to I think, and am certainly not very gracious about it at times.
But God is good and keeps on changing me and requiring me to live outside of myself. To be my husband's helpmeet, my children's (though all are grown now) example of a follower of Jeshua, and a daughter of the Creator of the Universe.
O I wish and long to be able to remember whose I am and why I am to do the things that He wants me to. To be holy because He is holy! To love the Lord my God with all of my heart and all of my soul, and all of my mind and all of my strength. To walk in the way of the Lord and put others before myself. Then this path would be easier....I think!
