It's been a Merry May

Allergy season is in full swing and I've been trying to stay away from too much sugar, but today I broke down and fixed myself a lovely chai latte with cinnamon on top!  Oh yeah…  We've had a few rainy blustery days mixed in with the sunny ones and hot tea is just the thing on those days.  And this?  Is a Morel Mushroom that Patrice found outside.  She fried up this little delicacy and it was outrageously delicious.  She just makes my life so much more exciting on so many levels!

I'm enjoying my days at school but I'm getting close to the finish line with most of my students.  I love having that little destination four mornings a week.  The kids are so sweet and the staff at the school are great.  Such a gift from God to have that place to go to and to give my week structure.  And this week I branched out a little and did a section of Luke for the Grade 9 class along with a "mini-seminar" to give them the basics of the memory technique I learned.

I only learned AFTER the class that there's a group in that particular class that makes everybody else feel stupid so I had VERY little response when I asked for volunteers etc.  So, that was an exhausting experience, but the Word of God is living and active… it went out and won't return void.  I'm grateful for opportunities to put to practice this skill and to just put the WORD out there.  I don't want to lose the stories and I find that they can get pretty sketchy when I don't review them often enough.  

And on that note, here's a picture of my sister.  Haha - Oma and I had tea with her recently and I took some pictures of her as I just can't resist her beauty.  And little Pupcake, of course!

And some beach time was spent with this friend. 

Oh ya, there was an amazing dance performance put on by Creator's and Patrice and Beth and Becca were in it!

And Patrice and I have had some fun adventures this Spring.
A day trip to Penticton where we celebrated the event with a dinner at a fun little Greek restaurant.

And last night, a hike along the lakeside to the dog park where the puppies played with great joy.

Beautiful Life

Oh it's just been the loveliest month.
So much life, fragrance and colour.

A hike with Patrice and the puppies in the fresh Spring air up at the trestles nearby was just amazing.
I'm so grateful I have so much mobility.
I just have to keep focusing on what I can do, which is really so very much.
Especially here at home where I have my vehicle to get around.

And this yard is a gift that just keeps giving.
The peace out here (when the sprayers aren't roving through the orchards or vineyards noisily spewing noxious chemicals in every direction) is so incredibly lovely.

And I'm just learning to live in peace, enjoying each day and trying not to look too far ahead.
Each day truly has enough trouble of it's own and I'm all for trying to obey Jesus' command to not worry about tomorrow.

This week was full of so much.

Ingrid's funeral was a beautiful, brutal thing.
So much loss for the family and for us.
That woman's life touched so very many people, mostly because she loved really, really well.
I wish I had taken better advantage of spending time with her during her journey here, but I don't always know how to do that, so anyways.  What I did learn from her was powerful and she was a gift to all.

I had the opportunity to share some 'Luke' in Anne Dyck's backyard to a lovely group of women.  It's getting easier in some ways and more fun.  I screw up some portions, but I just keep going once I regain my footing.

And I shared a section for Linda, John and Alia Munro last weekend.  I was on my way to a wedding and I got lost due to a detour so I just ended up at their home instead!  It was so fun to catch up with them and it was very gratifying to see how well Alia responded to the Word.  She sat so quietly (not always the case for her) intently staring at me and drinking it in.  She just interrupted once and that was because she wanted to know what a 'widow" was.  (story of the widow's son being raised from the dead).

I also shared some Luke at Book Club this week which was very well received.  We figure that we can be a more 'liberal' kind of book club by reciting portions out of books even if we haven't all read a book in the past month.  I just love those ladies and the time together was so sweet.  Sue McGl. brought up the point that she was reminded recently when reading the Word that we are ALL living epistles so that gives us more opportunities to meet even if we haven't read a "book-book"!

Anyways, life is full and beautiful.

I'm going to Patrice's dance recital today and that will be marvellous I'm sure.

May Jesus continue to guide me through my moments and days so that I can bring Him joy and glory.

Pure Goodness

Mother's Day has the potential of being a really difficult day.
Silly, I know, because I have the loveliest mother and I have the most amazing kids.
I can fully and completely celebrate Mother's Day, but in the past it has been a harder day for me.
Expectation and disappointment are waiting to manifest, looking for an opportunity to spoil the joy of just living and receiving love. I could feel the old, ugly feelings coming on last night as I thought about this celebratory day coming up again.
They were so real and so horrible so I pushed back and fought them off in the night just deciding to pursue a fun day and to make the best of it.
I hate even admitting that I'm so selfish that I have allowed this day to be so hard in the past.  But I am weak and He is strong.
And together we are letting Jesus be bigger inside of me.

And it was the best.
Church was great and the kids and I met at the park for a picnic lunch packed by Nicole and a game of bocce ball.

We had so much fun and laughed and laughed over that game.
Then we came home and put together flower pots and had a BBQ outside with Oma and Opa and the whole crowd.
The orchard is in FULL BLOOM!!
And the lilacs are in fragrant blossom.

These three kids are a huge gift from God and I just want to love them really, really well.
Throw expectations to the wind and receive their kindnesses which are really overwhelming.
In the past it's been such a torrent of emotions - lots having to do with the separation and my own insecurities and sadness.

But I want to begin to live more fully.
Releasing stupid expectations and allowing God to show me His goodness in new ways.
Looking for ways to love more and to stop thinking about how my needs are or are not being met and how well I perform at making Mom's day special.
She's just so easy to please and it's all about being together.
Showing honour and blessing the God in our midst who gave us this gift of family.

Tante Hilda carrying Sweet Pea around.
Elsie just loving all of us so very, very well.
Patrice working away in the kitchen.
Daniel barbequing the meat.
Nicole decorating the cake she made for me with flowers.

Dad walking through the orchard and braving the noisy crowd.
Mom wanting to be near us and laughing easily…

Guests added for joy and celebration,

Lana making people feel special with genuine interest and love.
Olivier enjoying Moose and being his easygoing self.
Becca coming late and sharing in the hugs and visits.

Dandelion Carpets

I am delighting in this Season… my drives to and from school and through the city are filled with such incredible beauty.

Rows of blossoming fruit trees arching over carpets of lush green grass covered with cheerful yellow dandelions.  

Lilac bushes bursting into bloom… 

Colour and fragrance everywhere.

It's outrageous, really!  

That I live here and get to enjoy this sweet season after a winter of warmth.  How my God spoils me…

The days are bright and they are getting longer and longer.

Ahhhh, my quest for light and warmth is fulfilled here, now!

School is wonderful and the freedom this job affords me is another gift.

I love the kids, I love the staff and I love my little work space.

And yet, in all of this there is a restlessness inside of me.

As much as I have so many friends and fellowship opportunities, I feel lonely.

Having experienced something this winter that was so much bigger than I am, that challenged me in huge ways and that stretched me further than I wanted to be stretched was a gift - an open door and so I sit on a threshold.

Wondering…

How do I walk away from that experience and utilize what God has given me?

What now?

I work so much better in community and when I'm here it's hard to put myself "out there"…

To ask for opportunities and to follow through.

I have loved speaking to the Grade 1 and 2 classes and have been well received, but I backed out of taking a school chapel and teaching some kids to memorize because it just feels overwhelming to take it all in hand on my own.

So I pray for wisdom and guidance.

Waiting for that voice behind me that will say  "this is the way, walk in it". 

I will continue to wait on God.

To faithfully serve Him day by day and love Him here and now.

Trusting for Him to look after my tomorrows.

Birthdays & Spring

There's been so much good.
So much of God swirls around me and too often I am unaware.
His great loveliness touches me in thousands of ways,
All the time.

 

I fight off the lies, the fear, the stuff that robs.
I worship, I pray.
I see the plaque in my washroom.
The one that reminds me to:

Wait patiently for the Lord
Be brave and courageous,
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
Psalm 27

And I am comforted.
As I wait for the resolving of issues,
for prayers to be answered,
for His Kingdom to come…

Meanwhile I am surrounded by life and am privileged to be able to enter in.
Even being able to pull weeds the other day was a gift and I was so conscious of it and so grateful.
I am able, all by myself, to go outside and perform this task.
My hands touching the earth, my body basked in sunlight and around me the world is bursting into glorious life.
I am able to do so much and I must guard against the lies that would tell me this is not enough.
It is so much.
It is temporary and it is my school.

I put on a most wonderful birthday party BBQ for my dear mama.
The day was absolutely perfect and we had such a lovely time.
The food was scrumptious - dear Daniel did the bbq'ing and Patrice had made a lovely three layer hummingbird cake with cream cheese frosting.

So we sat and gloried in the green of Spring and in the warmth of this new season.
We gloried in our togetherness.
We are alive now and we have each other and best of all we have God.
For such a time as this - to love, and to call forth His purposes, again and again and again until they come to pass.
Whether or not we are here on earth to appreciate their coming!

Saturday night gatherings enjoyed by "the clan",
revelling in the gift of friends gathered around a long table.
Laughter and sharing…community.

My birthday blessings included the joy of awakening to a kitchen decked out in balloons and streamers, a delicious waffle breakfast served by Patrice and a day with family.  Lunch at Mom's with the family and supper at Cactus Club with the kids followed by a movie about bears complete with popcorn.
I spoke that morning at church and felt a little confused by the difficulty I had in focusing but thankfully the Luke portion went well and I must, as usual, leave the results with God.

How can I be so blessed?
How can I return thanks to God by blessing others?

Fixing my eyes on Him.