Remedy - David Crowder Band

If you have ever even remotely enjoyed any of David Crowder's music, run...do not walk...to the store and buy his new CD entitled 'Remedy'. In my humble opinion, this is his best CD yet....uplifting and challenging.


"...Here we are
Bandaged and bruised
Awaiting a cure.....
....Here You are
Our beautiful King
Bringing relief....
....You're the remedy....
Let us be the remedy
Let us bring the remedy...."

Remedy, Written by David Crowder

"...And so we must choose
What our hands will do...

And the problem it seems
Is with you and me
Not the Love who came
To repair everything....

Where there is pain
Let us bring grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Let us be brave
Where there is misery
Let us bring them relief

And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Oh surely we can change
Something."

Surely We Can Change, Written by David Crowder

Smoothin out the wrinkles

Perhaps it's because it's only been a few weeks since I was filling in holes and cracks in the bathroom walls with this......

.......that I wondered when I saw an advertisement for this beauty product yesterday.......

..........for 45 bucks, does it come with a free putty knife?

Facebook...or MyFace....or Spacebook

The older generations are getting into Facebook too.......

(......but maybe all generations are losing it....)

Ready for pumpkins....not

About a month ago....when it was still blisteringly hot....my daughter made the remark, "I'm ready for pumpkins now." She had started seeing some seasonal reminders at the lovely market where she works and started longing for the sights and smells of autumn. Of course, what she really meant was that she was anxious to get back to school because she loves it. Too bad for most (but not all) of us who love summer and never want it to end...or at least would like it extended until November 1st (when I traditionally put up the Christmas tree).

I didn't realize until last night how obvious and deliberate I have been in my opinion about the end of summer. I sit on a Board, and last night a fellow Board member very kindly said, "Lyn I remember something about this time of year.....that it's a difficult time for you....but I can't remember why." She was gently trying to learn if perhaps I had lost a loved one at this time of year and the memories were flooding back. I laughed and told her not to feel bad for me. For the last several years my personal 'revolt' against the beginning of school and routine has been to take the first week of September off of work. I was never ready to leave the lazy, laidback summer days of blank calendars, and jump into tearing around, making kids lunches, driving them to school through all the traffic which just increased by 90 per cent, going to work, then picking them up, keeping their schedules straight and making sure we knew all the important dates and things they needed to remember, etc. and ad nauseum. (And we've only got two kids!) So my revolt was to get them to school and then have the rest of the days of that week to rejuvenate myself emotionally, spiritually, mentally and physically...which I really should have been doing all summer...and prepare myself with 'new year's resolutions' (which I'd get a second shot at in January). It was my way of saying summer's not over yet and I have one more week before I must jump into organized chaos like everyone else is this week.

I am quite enjoying our half-empty nest now. Our 'kids' take care of themselves. Our most difficult tasks these days is opening our wallets for them, or handing them the keys to the car. September is not the stress it used to be. So I'm saving my holidays for better things...like scraping paint in the bathroom (which is still not completed).

The past few days have had that distinctive cool September edge to the mornings and evenings where my body has shivered and been drawn to the jacket that hasn't been touched for so long. I find it so difficult to give up warm summer evenings filled with crickets and fireflys, garden candles and gurgling of water as it spills into the pond; evening drives with moon roof open exposing stars and meteor showers; ice cream, freshly picked fruit and the freshest of vegetables. I refuse to exchange sandals for socks or nylons until my toes feel like icicles.

I actually do love the changes of the seasons here in Canada, once I've accepted that there's nothing I can do about the cold when it sets in. They remind me of God's faithfulness. Even if seasons seem to come earlier or later from year to year, even with 'climate change' and what we do to destroy our environment, seasons always arrive one way or another in the way that is customary in your part of the world. I don't remember an autumn here that the leaves didn't start to change colour even if it remained warmish. I don't remember a fall when the days didn't get shorter, even if we stretched daylight savings time on the clock. The plants still die in the winter season as seeds and bulbs lay beneath soil insulated by snow, waiting for warmer and longer days when they will miraculously burst into life in my favorite of all seasons...the season of new life. I wait all the long winter in anticipation of it. I don't remember a spring that never came, even if it was late or early or seemed shorter or longer. They are faithful to come. The universe is orderly and the sun and moon are set in their place. Does that excite you? Does it make you think that there is a God in control even when the events in our lives seem somehow out of sync, when we're not sure why things aren't the way we planned?

Gaze up into the sky and stare at the stars or the moon for a while. Always in their place. Always. Why? Rest assured. In chaos, in anxiety, in confusion, and in loss. He is there. Holding it all in place. Even more amazing....He tells us He desperately loves us. And that is very cool....cooler than snowcones and icicles in winter!

"...The moon keeps track of the seasons, the sun is in charge of each day..." (The Message Bible, Psalm 104:19)

" Thank the miracle-working God, His love never quits. The God whose skill formed the cosmos, His love never quits. The God who laid out earth on ocean foundations, His love never quits. The God who filled the skies with light, His love never quits. The sun to watch over the day, His love never quits. Moon and stars as guardians of the night, His love never quits..." (The Message Bible, Psalm 136: 4-9)

Watchin' you like a hawk

My husband called to me the other day to grab my camera and come to the living room window. I obediently hurried and did so and this is what I saw.....

He was surveying the neighbourhood from this unexpected 'perch'. It wasn't his first visit around here. Not long ago we saw him pursuing a squirrel. Being as I'm a songbird and chipmunk lover, I don't want to think about what he enjoys eating. I have to admit he's rather handsome. My research tells me he's probably a Cooper's hawk and I guess over the last few years with the banning of pesticides, these hawks now frequent city neighbourhoods in addition to their country territory. And why not? With crazies like me around who continually fill bird feeders....with backyards and front yards full of rodents and birds.... it's like fine dining for the likes of this creature. I just purchased a finch feeder that accommodates up to 16 finches because there are over a dozen beautiful goldfinches dining at any given time....either on the feeders or on the coneflowers.

Last evening my husband called to me again to grab the camera. This time it was a skunk ambling around the front porch and garden! He paused for a long drink from the birdbath that is at ground level. It was too dark to get a good shot of him....and I wasn't about to go outside to get closer. I was glad I had just brought the dog inside. Now if this hawk was nocturnal and enjoyed skunk souffle, he and I would have an understanding..... (I don't mean that. The skunk was rather adorable).

(Thank you Wikipedia)

My bird and nature watching must be rubbing off on my husband. I mean....for his first reaction to be for me to grab the camera, rather than to run out and chase the hawk off of his 'new' 'precious' car....that surprised me. (He insisted we replace the whole bumper of the car after we recently got rear-ended while driving to a funeral, even though I really didn't notice that much damage to the bumper to warrant all that insurance money.) However, as soon as that hawk glided silently and smoothly off....he was out there inspecting the car for scratches!

I'll check our policy...but I don't expect the car insurance covers damage from hawk talons....or other messes!

It's a bird....it's a plane...

Our community looks forward each year to an airshow held to raise funds for the United Way. It's well attended in part because the Canadian forces Snowbirds are featured. Friends of ours live on farmland within sight of our small airport, so they kindly host a BBQ each year for friends and family to gather for a wonderful view of the planes as they perform their precision aerobatics overhead. This year I attended the BBQ and once the action began, I moved to the edge of the property to attempt some digital shots....you know....take 75 shots to get 3 good ones.





I snapped away and marvelled at the skill of these pilots. For nine pilots to fly wing-tip-to-wing-tip and be so precise in their manoevres...it always astounds me. My favourite move is when the planes fly towards each other at high speed, and though you are sure they will collide, they of course never do. I wonder just how much time and effort is involved in the mechanical work on the planes to ensure their safe operation, and the training of the pilots to learn their stuff so well.














As I leaned on the fence, the crew flew off into the blue, out of sight for many minutes as they regrouped. Something else caught my eye in the field and I turned to watch it. I had to smile. Because it was something that could boast far more flying precision and skill than the planes and their pilots....far more flexibility, agility, and ability, and didn't require refueling....didn't require a pilot.




A lowly dragonfly. It dived and swooped with great speed, then hovered before careening out of sight. Everyone's eyes were on the skies, searching for the airplanes....but here in a farmer's field was an aerobatic wonder that no one paid any attention to. And yet if truth were told....it was upstaging the entertainment by a longshot.












Hummingbirds are another tiny creature whose antics and abilities amaze me. No creation of a *man's hand can ever match these insects and birds that we often give no thought to.


How is it that we recognize the work of a *man's hand....we marvel at the awesomeness of his creations; his amazing abilities and skills and knowledge. We peer into the clouds, shielding our eyes from the sun as we strain to see men and women's skills displayed in the air. But did we miss seeing those clouds.....that sun....the trees....the breeze......the grass brimming with life above and below the soil, as countless insects, birds and animals far more complex than anything a man could ever create, fulfill their role in the chain of life? Why don't they amaze and astound us? Worse yet, could we believe that there is no intelligence, thought, or design behind their creation? Do the planets randomly align themselves in perfect, continuous order? Is it coincidence that the sun stays exactly where it needs to for this earth to survive? Could I believe that an airplane needs intelligence behind it to be created and function as planned... but an insect, bird, animal, human or universe does not....they just.....happened?







I'll never forget the Toronto Airshow we attended several years ago. The announcer excitedly shouted, "And now folks....here are......your CANADIAN SNOWBIRDS!!!!!" With no word of a lie, at that very moment, a flock of Canadian geese flew in formation across the waterfront in front of the thousands of spectators who erupted in applause at these true Canadian birds who gracefully displayed their elegance. No airplane can ever duplicate the natural ability and complexity of a bird.



For those who believe there is no God, I give them credit for their strength of belief. I could just never summon enough faith to become an atheist. I'm a stargazer and a birdwatcher.




*man (mankind...includes women :-) )