Beautiful Increase

My eyes are filled with such splendour.

This muted winter beauty...
The hills, the clouds, the trees, the lake, the snow, the creek, the ice, the water, the sun, the moon, the colours the shades, the sheep, the donkey, the dogs!
Amazing and so extraordinary, transforming daily, these shades of grey.

Year by year awareness grows and my eyes take in more glory.
HE becomes more and more beautiful
Majestic Creator, Genuis, Artist Extraordinaire
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful.

The more beautiful He becomes the more I love Him
I praise Him more and see even more beauty
And love Him even more.
Overwhelmed am I and so full of wonder.

This Artist Divine
The Creator in whose image I am made
Surrounds me with His glory
Tangible glory
My eyes are so full of Him
My heart expanding and eager.
Expectant...

I delight as I abide
Under His shadow
Under the canopy of clouds and blue

Learning to rest
To trust
To wait
To praise and worship.

I look at Him.
Because "those who look to Him are radiant, their faces are never covered with shame."
I get to choose to look at His glory and goodness and away from my own inadequacy and "unfinishedness".

I will keep looking up and around.
He is everywhere and He is truly beautiful.
Mysterious and HOLY, perfect and awesome.
And in love with me.

Oh my.
This is pure
goodness.

Answers

Elsie is soldiering valiantly on at the apartment downtown.
Her days have been full and busy and the Lord is strengthening her daily for the task.
And of course, the tenants are growing to love her.
She really is quite irresistible and she loves so very well.
I love to see her coming to life as she looks after the needs of the people and the building which is at the age where things constantly need replacing and fixing.

She's presently caught up in another seriously strange fiasco with some tenants that are positive that the people in the suite above them are spying on them.  There is even tin foil on their bathroom ceiling perhaps to run interference?

Oh my.  Poor people.  Apparently this has been a problem for several months now.

So dear Elsie has been dealing very kindly with both couples and we are praying for a good outcome.  In fact, the couple that is being accused are strong Christians and one of them is a counsellor so he has been praying with Elsie and encouraging her!  How amazing is that.

 I tried to get a hold of Interior Health but the response is slow.

We've also been having other answers to prayer, as in the new tenant we allowed in (with a hearing ear dog and lowered rent) has proved to be a HUGE BLESSING!

He has been involved in apartment management and knows the ins and outs of care taking and is keeping an eye on things for Elsie and he's only been in there a week.  He has alerted her to different important things that need attention and he has made himself available to her for counsel and advice whenever she needs it.

God is truly answering our prayers for help and is turning the tide at the apartment.
Right now our big request is for a quiet good tenant in the two bedroom suite above Elsie.  She's a little gun-shy of having noisy people up there after the prostitute etc. incident when the noise rarely stopped.

I'm trusting God that even if the suite remains empty for another month, income is not the most important thing with the apartment.  We are reestablishing God's Kingdom there, and it is about righteousness and peace so He has the authority and the ability to bring the right person (people) at the right time.

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

Meanwhile, Elsie and I took a mini vacation with Oma and Tante Hilda on Saturday and whisked them away to Summerland for lunch at a lovely restaurant.  It was a rainy, cloudy day, but the lake was lovely and again the car was filled with hymns of praise and times of prayer.

Hot tea, caesar salads and cheesy French Onion soup were enjoyed and the atmosphere was so cozy.

Carpe Diem!!

  Even when the clouds are hanging low and the rain is pouring down!

There is beauty to be seen and fun to be had.

More and more GRACE!

I am surprisingly happy to be here this winter.

The beauty is breathtaking and the cold isn't getting into my bones like it has in other cold seasons. 

Just look at my cozy little nest all tucked into the snow under the huge blue sky. 

I simply love it up here.  

And I get to host fun dinner parties when I have energy and when the Lord so kindly connects all the dots for me.  

This little dinner here with these beautiful people was one of those nights when heaven touches earth and God just shows up and kisses everybody with His Great Kindness. 

And I had a divine connection with this beautiful couple at the mall.  

A short, blessed meeting to connect about our common love for Israel.  

I heard this fellow play and sing scripture songs at a church on Sunday night with his lovely Jewish wife.

Someone gifted me with his CD which I have been playing in the car and I somehow really wanted to meet him and get more of those CD's to pass out.

The Lord is waking us up to the importance that Israel plays in these days and times and he and his Jewish wife are part of that plan. 

So here we were, enjoying a green drink, talking about Israel and having a little prayer meeting. 

Then there's my "book club".  

As you can see we are really serious about our books.

In actuality the books were shoved off to the end of the table and we spent a wonderful evening together laughing uproariously, sharing our own real life stories and rejoicing that one of our precious members is publishing her book which is coming out in FEBRUARY which once again affirms us as a "book club".

Of course there were lots of treats to eat and we ended with a sweet time of prayer.  We all just really, really want more of God and what He has for us.  

Here we are Father, your handmaidens...

In love with the Living WORD. 

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

And here is my precious friend.  So full of God and grace and wisdom and courage.  She makes my winter bright and beautiful with her presence.  I was driving up my driveway as she was coming down.  What a sweet smile to brighten my day. 

Winter Grace

I just really know I'm to be here for this season, in the midst of the snow and cold with my wheelchair pushing through slush and over ice and through puddles.
There is so much grace for it though and i'm just drinking in the winter beauty.

Last night Elsie, Mom and I gathered for another prayer and praise meeting at the apartment and it was precious.  We made many scriptural declarations and filled the atmosphere with faith and God's sweet presence.
We had soup and toast while cupcake lay in his bed on the table watching us.
We are just a unique delightful little bunch - unconventional but joyful.
Overcoming and believing and trusting and praying.
It's that bootcamp thing, not easy but incredibly good.

As I went out to my car in the winter dark there were lovely large wet flakes falling, lit up by the street lights and it just felt magical.  I'm so glad to be here for this season and that is a testament to GOD and how he equips us for the jobs He has for us to do.  Elsie came out too and said it reminded her of our time together in England many years ago one December.

I awoke to a fresh snowfall, covering every branch and coating the ground with beautiful white.  It makes the green trees stand out with their dark branches and I was even up early enough to see a little sunrise peeking over the mountains.
Pink skies and purple clouds.

We, as a family, have entered a new season.  It is just very obvious that there is an urgency to align ourselves with God and to take the land by force.
Reclaim our inheritance so that God's Kingdom can advance here.
In the city, in the downtown core where the darkness seeks to take ground.

My sister had a powerful time of worship with my little auntie who lives just across the street.  Tante Hilda babysits Pupcake and this is another connection that is very life-giving.  Here is a little excerpt of a note Elsie wrote to me after their evening together...

I know we know about praise... but it's so encouraging to hear it again.  It's warfare when nothing else works.... Lets continue to praise Him... especially in the face of what is impossible for us.  Angels are released! 
Tante Hilda and I had a praise party at her place after I came to get Pupcake from her last night... and we really praised and in between we prayed for Patrice and Dad and others and then praised some more.  We were loud and joyful and she had a show on for Pupcake the whole time... and after we had prayed all of a sudden there came on the tv people singing  beautiful hymns.   We were even more filled with joy....  It was so sweet and joyful!    It was an open heaven.  There must have been lots of angels in her place!   Lets continue to praise God!  Amen.  Love you so much Karen.

More than Ok

One morning recently I woke up early and was restless in my thoughts.

It was difficult to reign them in and to focus on the devotionals I often read as I begin my day and to pray with any sort of clarity.

My mind is a busy place.  Ridiculously busy at times and this was one of those times, making it really difficult to focus.

So I left the house feeling off.  

Slightly guilt stricken for not being able to connect with God and for beginning my day without clarity and some sort of a spiritual connection.  

I hadn't driven far when I just thought I'd ask God if we were ok. 

You know, like if you're with a friend and things are feeling off and you want to make sure you haven't offended them or something.  

The response I got was immediate and I sensed Him saying to me 

"We're MORE THAN OK!!"  

It was like He was throwing back His head and laughing and letting me know that the fact that I pursue Him and seek Him and desire Him is a very, very good thing in His books.    There was some sort of an invitation to dance with Him and twirl with total abandon and joy.  

I was surprised and delighted and so relieved.  

Able to drive on enjoying Him without that wedge of confusion and a vague sense of guilt.  

Enjoying Him. 

"Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."  

It's a pretty awesome calling on our lives.  That little line there is taken from the Westminster Catechism and it sums things up quite succinctly.

I fail constantly in this calling, but I am pointed in His direction.  

He is my North Pole. 

It is my desire to glorify God.  

It is my privilege to glorify Him and to be able to enjoy this Creator and Lover of my Soul who just constantly blows my mind with His desire to walk in close, abiding relationship with us.  

He's Listening

I'm often telling people that "it matters" when we pray, when we gather together in His Name.

I know this on one level and therefore I speak it out.
Because we all need to be encouraged in this midst of this strange and "otherworldly" battle to keep on keeping on.
Even when our lives sometimes feel insignificant and our prayers at times feel powerless.

He is listening and watching and responding.
The Great I AM.
And THAT is just incredible.

But we don't really "see" Him doing this listening and watching and responding if we're just looking in the natural realm.  So we need to exercise our faith muscles and we need to rely on others to help us in this battle when we are feeling weak.

So I've got this great friend who is a servant heart if I've ever met one.  She humbly pours out her life for others, not expecting any accolades, and gives generously of her time and energy and resources to all sorts of people, all the time.  She's truly incredible and somehow God gifted my life with her.

This friendship kind of surprised me as it grew out of our daughters attending the same grade in the same high school, and there wasn't a whole lot else that connected us other than that.

And God of course.  That's the best part, really.

So we have met, mostly in my vehicle, for visits over coffee that we pick up at a drive through.  Sometimes we find a pretty place to park so there's "coffee ambiance" but our last stop was in front of a mountain of snow in a parking lot. We're pretty flexible like that.

First our daughters were the common link, but of course when God's involved there is always a whole lot more that comes up and for some reason this dear soul has carried me in prayer and in a whole lot of other practical and beautiful ways over the past 7 or 8 years.  Her compassion towards me (and others) astounds me and I am so grateful to have someone who cares for me on the level that she does.

She sent me a note of encouragement the other day and it provided a powerful infusion of courage and faith into my spirit.  I'm hoping that it's ok that I post excerpts of her note here because we all need to be reminded that it matters that we intentionally worship God, at all times and in all circumstances.

"The last couple of times we've gotten together I've wanted to tell you this impression or whatever I had recently...  Fact is, in words it doesn't sound like anything new but it was the way it came to me - with such clarity and strong impression...  Anyhow we were driving home from Vancouver this last time and maybe I was in pain or something, but, as my own pain sometimes makes me think of you and pray for you - I thought or prayed - why Lord does Karen have to have this pain in her wrists?  And strongly the answer came - her praises give me glory.  Not a new thought I know, except that it was a definite answer to my question - a thought with such clarity.  And the glory referred to was that God was getting glory and attention by the heavenly population who were so honouring God through your praises.  I am sure that is not a new revelation to you - or to me, at least in theory - i.e. that God gets glory through out praises.  However, it was that the heavens were aware of your praises in spite of your pain, and God was getting attention.  

This is not to say I will not continue to pray that God will make your hands and wrists like new but perhaps it will lend encouragement, as it was instructive to me, to give praise to God in the midst of pain..."

So I'm encouraged.  To praise Him.
All of the time.
Because He's worthy of all of our affection.
He's just simply marvellous.

Reclaiming the Land

We have had some intense times at the apartment as we've been reclaiming our inheritance and praying for the removal of any unwholesome presence from that place.

There have been police involved
The extremely noisy and chaotic removal of a prostitute
Big messes that need to be cleaned up...

Very unsettling, especially for Elsie and we are in training as to how to reestablish this place under God's rule.  We felt like we kind of moved on our own accord in trying to get the keys back - felt pressured because of the other tenants feeling unsafe and so on, but we are learning.  It created quite the fiasco!

Mostly we need to stay in a prayerful attitude and to wait for God's timing.

That's what we're doing in regards to the alleged drug dealers that have taken up residence in another suite.

Our hands are tied in many ways, but God's are not.
He is great and mighty and the apartment is ultimately His.
So we are trusting Him to give us wisdom and to work on our behalf.
We want to re-establish His presence in that place so the dear tenants can experience the peace of God and will be drawn to Him.
Even that precious "woman of the night" who needs healing and deliverance.
We are praying for her and for the other fellow that she weaselled her way in with.

As much as you never want to experience this kind of stress on your property, it has certainly forced us to look at things more closely and realize where we have abdicated our authority and have not properly stewarded our building.

So we are repenting and getting back on track.

God is kind and faithful.  We are all precious to Him.
We want to do things His way...

"Your Kingdom Come, Your Will be done,
Here on earth as it is in Heaven'.

Sibling Unity

Last night my dear brother, sister and I met at the apartment in the dark of the evening..
Her suite is decorated so beautifully and it just felt cozy to sit there in the lamplight on this cold winters night.
Tucked in, away from the blanket of snow that still covers the city.

We just decided it's important to pray together.
Reclaiming our inheritance, so to speak.
A "different" sort of spirit seems to have taken over that building while we have abdicated many of the day to day responsibilities  of running the place to someone else.
Now that someone else is gone and we are back.
In full force.
With God.
Because He is GREAT and greatly to be praised!

So we lifted up the building and the renters before our Lord.
Each of them is so very precious to Him and we must not lose sight of that in the midst of the kaffufles we are being forced to deal with.
Renters bringing noisy, unsavoury characters into the building at all hours, causing anxiety and distress to those in the nearby units.
Apparent drug deals going down right outside the building with possible dealers in the building.

We're asking God to do what we cannot do.
To remove wickedness from our midst and to establish the building on righteousness, justice and goodness.

We are asking for His Spirit to move in.
To bring His sweet Shalom to those who are needing it.
To re-align the building for His Kingdom purposes.
To surround and protect.

It was so precious to pray in agreement with my siblings.
To hear their humble prayers mingled with mine.

We boldly proclaimed God's word out of Psalm 91, 71, 27 and Zepheniah.

We prayed for our family and our family line.
Repenting for sins and calling forth salvations and alignment in the lives of those we love.

What a sweet sister,  What a precious brother.
These ones who have journeyed with me and have gravitated in and out of my life since I was born.  They have always been there for me.
They have ALWAYS loved me.

We share a powerful legacy of those who have loved God and suffered for Him.
Those who have prayed us into the Kingdom and who have lived beautiful lives of humility and righteousness.

They've given us the legacy of laughter and love.

And tonight we were all invited over to Daniel and Nicole's for a wonderful dinner and a fun little visit in their cozy home.  

What a great family I have!

Leo and Pupcake weren't quite sure if they should be friendly or not.

So they weren't. 

But Elsie and Daniel got along just fine!

Oh, and just for the record, we've already had TWO WONDERFUL answers to prayers prayed last night!  

And I know there are lots more coming. 

He is great and greatly to be praised!! 

SNOW DAY!

Oh the heaven's have opened and dumped massive amounts of snow upon our little valley.  Schools were closed and apparently cars were all over the roads and stuck in ditches.  

Thankfully none of us in this house had to go to work today!  I cancelled a dr. appointment and just spent the day drinking tea and admiring the falling snow that was creating a thick carpet of white that just kept getting thicker and thicker!  We stayed home as cozy as bugs in a rug.  Every so often we would venture out to watch the dogs frolic and leap through the shoulder high snow. 

The trampoline looks like someone made a giant cake that flopped! 

So maybe I should have inquired of the Lord regarding possible travels to Hawaii this winter as well?

New and Fresh

I'm spending a sweet time here with the Lord and was drawn again to Psalm 71 because when I looked at my clock this morning I saw 7:17 and it reminded me of how often the Lord gave us those numbers when we were in Jerusalem.

So I'm just "standing" on that whole passage to begin my year.

This verse popped out at me:

"As for me, I will ALWAYS have hope.
I will praise you more and more"

The combination of hope and praise - absolutely vital.
Always hope and more and more praise.

His personal word to me this morning was full of the exhortation "do not fear".
He's got things covered.
And if God has things covered, there truly is nothing to fear.

"I have become a sign to many,
You are my strong refuge
My mouth is filled with your praise declaring your splendour
ALL DAY LONG"

Herein is the key to life and to having the ability to change the atmosphere wherever I show up.
As I praise Him, my focus is on Him and not on myself or my problems and then His light begins to permeate the space I am in.
We all have the opportunity to become a sign to many and to draw their focus to HIM!

Glorious King, Magnificent Creator, Savior, Blessed Redeemer!!
He is outrageously wonderful and deserves our praise and worship.

So this is how I am beginning this New Year.
The year where miracles will rain down.

HE IS THE SOLUTION TO EVERY PROBLEM!!

HE IS SOVEREIGN.

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

The eve of the New Year was spent at the apartment where Elsie just moved in and took over the position of Manager.

We are reclaiming the territory and establishing God's Kingdom there through prayer and praise and repentance.  I feel new beginnings on so many levels and am excited to see what God will do there.