Superhero

I don't even know Heather...never met her....just read her blog a day or two ago....but she has moved me, and she is my hero. This Thursday, this beautiful young wife and mother will undergo surgery to remove a tumour from her brain. Read this courageous woman's words here. If you are a believer, crank up the YouTube video she shares (in her blog dated April 30th) and let your spirit soar for the One we trust in - regardless of our circumstances. And pray this week for Heather, her husband, and her children.

Church of the Future....

Hope you all enjoy a church service today and remember....the church of the future will be much different than it is today, as pictured below....

'Songs on the Internet' - Courtesy of Dave Walker

And if you would like to read a much more interesting blog than mine, click here . I could just read for hours! Even the comments to the posts are thought-provoking.

(Thank you to Underdog for drawing our attention to it.)

Would you like that in tens or twenties?

I was at a floral shop recently and decided it was time to cash in on a gift certificate I had won at least 3 years ago and which had lived in my purse most of that time. The sales woman graciously accepted the tattered paper with no expiry date, and I got myself a rather cool eclectic type plant for my living room (pictured here). It's just 3 stalks sticking out of stones and only requires water every 2 weeks, kinda like bamboo, but not. As she was wrapping it, I asked her what it was. My eyes lit up at her response. "A money plant." Well!! If there was anything we need right now it's money because we've purchased a car to replace our jalopy. I took the plant home with great excitement and have begun to watch it with interest (no pun intended). I have seen a silver dollar plant in outdoor gardens, but I am quite sure I can see new paper currency beginning to form on the stems of my plant! It's hard to tell whether the bills are going to be blue, purple, or brown.

Of course, if they are American bills they won't be so pretty, nor will I likely know their value until they're full grown, but they may be worth more in the long run. I am fertilizing the plant heavily and am hoping for a bountiful harvest. Don't bother asking me to 'loan' you the plant...although I'll give you 'credit' for asking. (Groan).

Here's a picture of our new used car.
We don't own a garage or carport. If you are observant, you will note that our driveway is directly beneath the birds' flight path to the birdfeeders and birdbath. That is why we chose a black car. We're looking forward to the quadrillion maple keys and accompanying sap in the next month or so. For those of you wondering about that Jaguar...at last word it has been sold and we will be letting it go in the next day or two. We already have 3 cars in the driveway, so it's okay. We'll deal with it.

All kidding aside, we are so grateful for this car now that our other one is not highway worthy. It is a wonderful car and we are not used to such luxury. It's funny but I always experience a feeling of guilt whenever I have anything nice. This feeling was more than punctuated after going on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic. We walked through the filth of garbage and disease, and observed the desperate conditions of poverty in leaky tin shacks that made my ugly, rusty, outdoor tool shed seem like a large, wonderful dwelling place. When I arrived home and walked through the front door of my home, I was overcome and had to weep because I felt like I live in a mansion and don't even know it. I don't think there is a night I lay my head on my pillow that I don't think of the homeless and the poor and the desolate, and wonder how it is that I can have a roof, a pillow, a warm blanket, and a full stomach. Why me? Why not them? So I have tried to make it a habit that if I am spending money on something that is other than necessity, I must also give as generously as possible to a needy cause. We live in a culture that seems to spend every paycheque soon after receipt and often on selfish, needless stuff. But are we not blessed so that we can give it away...and as we do so....we receive more to give away again?! I remember when we paid off our first house. We had no kids and had made it our goal to get rid of the mortgage. We did it, and I wanted to celebrate the fact. But somehow, being debt free at that time was not the wonderful 'high' that I thought it would be. It was actually rather empty. I realized why people with everything are not happy. That's not where the joy is. But when we learned to give without thought of return or recognition, it was more wonderful than receiving! It's not about how much you have or the size of your gift, but the attitude of your heart as you give. Jesus noticed the little widow who gave only 2 pennies as compared with the rich people who gave much....he noticed because he knew it was all she had...given with a generous heart*.

And so as I watch my money plant slowly grow, I will dream of ways to give away its bounty, but in the meantime, I'll check out my other resources....like my husband's wallet.

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' Acts 20:35 (New International Version Bible)

*Mark 12:41-44

Happy Earthday To You

I thought it appropriate to 'resurrect' (a popular term in April) my post from a blog I did last year about our Earth Day adventures. The weather is definitely better this year! Here it is:

Today is Earth Day. We bought a tree today…not to celebrate…but to replace a dead-as-a-doornail umbrella tree. It had served the Christmas lights well, but we didn’t care to look at dead branches for another season. The rainy day was perfect as the soil was moist for tree removal, and a new one would be automatically well watered in. So, in the cold rain, my husband yanked at the tree and twisted it back and forth to loosen its roots. Chipper (the resident chipmunk in the garden) must have thought it was an earthquake of a magnitude 10 on the Richter scale, as it was very close to her home. Within seconds there were dozens of earthworms that suddenly emerged from the soil all over the place and scattered very quickly in every direction! We literally had to move out of the way or they would have swarmed our shoes. I’ve never seen anything like it! Speedy worms!! We continued to work and must have looked like drowned rats as we were getting more soaked and cold by the minute. I began to prune a nearby rosebush, as my husband yanked on some stubborn roots, when suddenly I heard a “WHOAAAA!!” I turned to see him lying awkwardly on his back on the (very hard) rocks surrounding the pond, his hand in the cold water. After ensuring everything but his pride was unhurt, I returned to the trimming to hide my face, thinking it best to contain the hysterical laughter that wanted to burst out of me. Later that day, when I was sweeping up, I accidently (honestly!) moved the broom towards my hubby’s feet just as he was stepping forward, and he again went flying over some brick and landed on his back on the hood of the car. Don’t they say most accidents happen close to home?

We found a lovely new tree on this cold, rainy Earth Day and after purchasing it, realized we needed to fit this six-foot tree into our car. My husband decided to place the base of the tree on the passenger seat side, with the rest of the tree between the front seats, filling the back of the car. I was humbly relegated to sit in the back of the car sheltered beneath the wet dripping leaves of the tree. Of course, no trip on a Saturday afternoon is complete without going through the Tim Horton’s drive-through. We approached the Horton’s drive-through window, though I couldn’t see it through the soggy leaves, nor the person serving us. The server of course could not see me. I heard him ask, “Is that a tree?” My husband responded, “Yes, I’m just taking my tree out for a drive....... It’s Earth Day.” The young man handed over one coffee for my husband, and one for….........the tree.

Mhmm. ‘Tree-huggers’! You meet all kinds when you serve the public!
**I wonder if they have a "Take Your Tree to Work Day" ?????**

Drivin' on empty

We went to a car dealership on the weekend to test-drive a car, and ended up trying out a small, good-lookin' SUV instead, just for fun. (And no, we didn't drive that Jaguar to the dealership - we would appear too 'rich'). We jumped onto the highway, pulled off on the first ramp, and the vehicle started to die when we slowed down. We sat by the side of the road trying to get the thing started. It would turn over, then sputter and die. The gas tank was on empty! Soooooo we called the dealership and they said they'd be right there with some gas. Well, we were able to inspect every single part of this vehicle...and read the entire manual too while we waited! Finally, the dealership called back and asked for our whereabouts again. The sales guy had gone off on every ramp but the ramp we were sitting on. When he finally came, he poured the gas into the tank....and all down the side of the vehicle and onto the road.... The tank now registered fine, but the SUV wouldn't keep running. We managed to crawl along and stall, crawl along and stall for about 20 minutes while the salesman followed behind. We pulled into a parking lot to give up. The man kept apologizing - he couldn't get it going either - and because we had an appointment to get to, he told us to take his car and he'd get the SUV back to the dealership. We felt bad abandoning him there, but he said he was fine. We got into his very nice vehicle and I said to my husband, "Okay, nice car...where do you want to go?" We were good and returned it. We got a good chuckle out of the whole incident. Don't think we'll be considering that SUV, particularly when my husband has a habit of filling the tank only when it's hovering on empty.

Oddly enough, at church the next day, the Pastor's sermon title was 'The Need to Refuel'. His opening was a video clip of a powerful, souped-up vehicle that could do nothing because it had run out of gas. He asked us if we had ever experienced a stalling, sputtering vehicle that needed to be refueled. Mmmmmhmmmm. We were reminded that we Christians often carry on stalling and sputtering, but we don't take the time to wait in God's presence and have His Spirit refill and refuel us. Oh...we say that we spend time with Him. Doesn't every good Christian say that? We'd like people to believe we are dynamic, powerful, souped-up Christ-followers. We say the right things - we even do stuff that looks really good. But if we don't keep returning to the 'fuel pump' of God's Spirit, we're really not getting anywhere. It's His fuel that has the power in it. Our own strength doesn't take us far. It takes regular time apart with God and waiting in His presence, with intent, and apart from distractions, to really live a turbo-charged life. I wonder if I am even able to hear Him in the culture in which I live my life. I might actually have to turn off my cellphone, computer, and TV for a while each day because of the rest of the voices that call out for my attention from them. Ouch.

"I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." Ephesians 3:16- 21 (The Message Bible)

Now I ask you, why wouldn't we want to spend time with Someone who loves us that much?

R-R-R-R-oll Up The Rim to Win eh?

In Canada, Tim Horton coffee shops are right up there with Starbucks in popularity. And they are never more popular than now, during their Rrrroll Up the Rim to Win contest. We've won a lot of free coffees, but no cash prizes, cars, TVs or ipods. I heard that someone invented a tool to enable seniors with arthritis to roll up their rims more easily.

Check out these pictures of someone in our family with arthritis who can roll up the rim just fine, thank you.

I believe she prefers large double-doubles.

No problem at all with the rim-rolling.

Not sure if she won anything....she ate the evidence.

With our luck though, she probably had the most popular win that's hardest to swallow....

"Please PAY again".

Oh the irony...

Our car died on Resurrection Sunday. We had already been warned not to drive it on the highway because the rusty, holey, rear suspension could pop through the trunk if we hit a really big bump. It's actually been a really nice car and does not look anywhere near death, but much lurks beneath the system that can't be seen. After church, our daughter was driving people home and it suddenly died. The speedometer dropped to zero. No electronics. Nothing. Dead. Oh, my husband would like to resurrect it...just enough to get by until we buy another car. I think it needs to stay in the graveyard at the mechanic's yard. Let sleeping cars lie.

So ya, we're still driving the Jaguar and it will thankfully get our daughter back to college tonight. Ironic that we now need to buy a car....and here in our driveway is this Jaguar for sale at a good price for a Jag....we could even pay it off gradually through my husband's employer......but we don't want it! However, if we could use it for a few more months that would be quite acceptable!

We still have another jalopy that our son drives. My parents bought it new....22 years ago. You can imagine what it looks and sounds like....but it runs! So I will likely be borrowing that quite a bit this week. Hopefully, the extra use doesn't send it over the edge too! It will take a while to clean it out - I don't think our son has thrown any garbage out of it for at least a year. God keeps us humble.

One other thing died on Sunday - NHL hockey.

Toronto Maple Leafs - may they rest in peace......until next season.
(I wish I had a dollar for every time I've said 'next season...!!') P.S. Any comments regarding the Sens will be quickly deleted!!

I wish I was Jewish

According to the calendar, Passover began this week. I wish I was Jewish, because then I would already be steeped in the culture and understand the traditions. One of my best friends in elementary school (back in the dark ages) was Jewish so as a child I asked her a lot of questions at Passover and Hanukkah times because they celebrated a lot of rituals and traditions with each Jewish holiday. But I was floored when I spoke with her parents and brought 'God' into the conversation. They immediately bristled and spoke with disdain and disgust towards a God who would put their people through all that they had endured. My young mind couldn't grasp how their 'religion' didn't seem to have anything to do with God. It was more about heritage. I am only guessing, but I presume the Holocaust had a profound, personal influence in their lives.

I am learning some stuff lately that fascinates me. I've always known there is a ton of symbolism in the Bible and Jewish customs, but if you really start to examine it, if you didn't believe in God at all, you would find it absolutely uncanny....almost creepy..... how every part of the Jewish customs, rituals, and feasts that the Jews were commanded to practice not only foreshadow Jesus Christ, but all the events in Jesus life were perfectly timed in relation to these feasts. Even if you cynically think Jesus was a misguided lunatic who orchestrated it all to 'look' like the Messiah, he couldn't have orchestrated the timing of events in his life to perfectly fulfill all of these pictures found in the feasts and the prophecies written hundreds of years before his birth. When priests chose perfect passover lambs, they went to Bethlehem to get them. The shofur would sound at 3 o'clock to signal the end of Passover - it is finished - no more blood needs to be shed. Curious that Jesus walked through the whole Passover meal, fulfilling the whole picture within that Festival of Freedom; fulfilled other ancient prophecies while being tried and tortured; and then he died at exactly 3 o'clock. It is finished. As we were recently reminded at our church, Jesus was not killed by anyone. He was born to die, and laid down his life at the appointed time.

So, this really has nothing to do with 'religion' - Jesus actually saw through the religious people in his day. Blindly following traditions and rituals is meaningless unless we can 'see' the purpose and meaning in them.

This morning I have lost my glasses - can't find them anywhere! I could only see 'dimly' this morning as I searched the whole house for them. I wish they had GPS like a cellphone so we could find each other! I'm still looking (thank goodness for my contact lenses!). It is important for me to continue searching diligently so that I can see. I wouldn't want to go through my whole life seeing only dimly and missing the clear picture! Religion is said to be man's search for God and that all ways point to him. Christianity is unique in its claim that God started the whole thing. While we've been ignoring Him....seeing only dimly....He's been orchestrating throughout history an amazing plan to get our attention. Jesus and the Bible are like the GPS to help us locate Him...to see more clearly. He laid down a cross over the chasm between us and Him so we can walk over and reach Him! Mindboggling! Humbling! He lovingly wants me??!! And I would deserve this why?

I'm thinking Christians need to celebrate Passover along with Good Friday. Pass the matzos.

"Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't,
wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when
we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And
even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his
love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were
of no use whatever to him." Romans 5:7-8 (The Message Bible)