Mr Bean: Ya missed him

Mr Bean makes me laugh most times. That's probably an indication of my intelligence level.

Have you seen the one where he's in the church service trying to stay awake and attempting to fit in with what the others are doing and singing? Ya gotta laugh....particularly if you've been in some of those kinds of services.


Unfortunately, the hymn used in that clip is a beautiful one. I refuse to let the memory of Mr Bean ruin it for me when I hear it!

Now, we don't sing hymns much in our church any more. They have gone by the wayside with the organ. But this past Sunday we sang that hymn that Mr Bean tried to sing. I'm happy to say, I blocked Mr Bean out of my conscience entirely and drank in the words of that hymn. They speak everything that I live and breathe about my Creator. I wonder at times if too many of us are as self-absorbed and oblivious to God as Mr Bean was in that clip (and likely most of that audience with him!).

God is referred to as the 'Father'. To some of us, He either doesn't exist....we don't care or aren't sure He exists.....or we think of Him as a distant entity out there somewhere that might respond to desperate pleas, and we hope that if there's a heaven, one day we'll make it there.

Jesus is the 'Son'. Most understand that he was an actual historical figure that lived and breathed, had a lot of influence, and died. Whether we believe he was actually God and is our Saviour....that is our choice.

But what about that '3rd' part of the Trinity that we read about in the Bible? The Holy Spirit. We often forget about Him. He's the one that Jesus said would be with us when he left the earth.  He would be our Counsellor, would teach us all the things Jesus had said. Jesus was exiting the scene, but he wasn't going to leave us on our own. He was leaving his Spirit with us to be close to us and mediate to the Father for us. That's a pretty cool deal.

Most of us are looking for someone who is completely trustworthy, is there for us when we need them, loves us unconditionally, and understands the deepest parts of us. Hello? That one we need is here with us - closer than our breath - and offers much more than a human being ever could. He speaks into the deepest part of us...confirming the mysteries of a Creator's love on a personal level. He may not be visible...like the wind.....but I can see his affects in my life and in those around me. I don't want to become indifferent to his presence or unresponsive to him - ever. Really, why would I not want someone who loves me that completely?

Here's that hymn for your listening pleasure - All Creatures of Our God and King - as sung by the David Crowder band. And....because Mr Crowder doesn't 'let loose' in it as he is capable of ....I have added a second link with another of his tunes. If you are a person who is getting to know your Creator, your heart can soar while you listen. The third link is the funkier version - definitely no organ.

Making scents of it all

Can I see a show of hands? How many of you are allergic to, or extremely sensitive to strong scents?

Ahhhh. I see....quite a percentage of you.

Perhaps you're like me. Not allergic, but starting to be bothered when you have just walked through a fog of someone's perfume, cologne, deodorant, or lotion. The office I work in has tried to become 'scent free', but I always know when a certain few are in the office that day because I can smell their trail even if they have walked through ten minutes earlier. (Picture a wolf....nose to the air). I kid you not. This could be amusing if it wasn't for others in the office who....if they catch that trail of scent....may end up leaving work and spending the rest of the day in their bed, lights out, blinds drawn, and dizzy with a migraine. Those same migraine-prone people have to sit out of meetings and listen in on their phone at their desks if the 'scented' ones will be attending the meeting. Several months ago, the smell of the perfume of a very sweet co-worker whom I love reminded me....seriously....of cedar chips. Every time that dear woman got near me, I was reminded of our dearly departed guinea pig.

A friend at my church can often be seen moving about to another part of the congregation because she is affected by scents as well. It makes it very difficult to be seated when you're not sure if you are going to react to the person next to you!

Since I have observed what these people go through, I've become more aware of strong smells. We've all walked by someone while shopping who takes your breath away and leaves you choking in a cloud. I've been served by a waiter whose very strong, sickening cologne overwhelmed me every time he attended to the table - at a place where you should be free to savour the aroma of the food.

When I was home from work with my first child I did some volunteer work in the evening tutoring adults who wanted to improve their literacy. One dear, kind man in his 50's (somehow that seemed old back then....sigh), came to our home some evenings and we sat down at the kitchen table to work on improving his reading skills. Unfortunately, he would wear strong cologne every single week and I would literally have to keep leaving the room wanting to be sick. Today, I would have no problem respectfully requesting that he not wear any cologne, however back then I was too timid to say anything.

I'm glad the government in this neck of the woods has banned the use of pesticides on our lawns. I've known people who had to lock themselves literally in their homes when their neighbour got their lawn sprayed because they would be ill until the residue had dissipated.

I love the scent of lovely candles and flavoured coffees, but there are those who can't enter lovely candle/gift shops due to those smells either.

I guess I say all this to make us all more aware of the affects we can unknowingly have on others or on our own health. And don't forget....what you may think smells wonderful and you douse yourself in it, might smell horrible to someone else (cedar chips or incense, anyone?). The next time you walk by a young guy and you think.....why does he smell like my grandfather?....you'll remember...... what's Old (Spice) and was shunned, is new again, thanks strictly to clever advertising and, dare I say, the gullible. (I have actually always liked the smell of Old Spice....my dad used to wear it!).

I have personally been on a mission within our home to eliminate products with chemicals. It's been an education! There has been an incredible amount of stuff gathered from our cupboards and taken to our city's hazardous waste disposal depot. It's been a challenge to find replacement products without harmful ingredients and it's still a work in progress. I will try any product once that someone has personally recommended to me or that I have read up on, and if satisfied, I love to share what I have found with others.

So, over the next many posts, I hope for your reading pleasure and education, to feature a different 'green' product each post that you might like to try in place of something potentially harmful you might currently be using on a regular basis. We all have to use cleaning and hygiene products (pleeeeeeease), so we might as well be supporting great companies who produce products that nourish and don't harm.

Makes scents.....don't you think?

Not enough

A friend sent this link to a little video in an e-mail (thanks Paul). While I watched it, I thought the images shown are but a tiny drop in an ocean of the wonders to be found on this planet alone.

Though creation is vast, it works together in symmetry - interconnected and dependent on the laws of nature to provide in so many ways.

If one planet is so amazing
(....just the birds and flowers alone in my yard are amazing!!) .....
the balance so delicate and stunning.....what must God be preparing in heavenly places?

I can't begin to imagine.


There's not enough.......
words.....
images.....
time.....
books.....
space.....
room, in my tiny finite mind......
to comprehend enough....
of how big God is.

Click here and let your imagination soar.

If Earwigs Could Fly

I thought seagulls only ate fish and chips.

I also thought they were only nuisance birds.

I formed my opinion of them long ago when, at the beach, a seagull had the nerve to dive at my two-year old son to try to grab the soother out of his mouth. I was not impressed. I've been at the zoo and had them swoop down at my lunch. Of course, there are always flocks of them in town at burger joints, peering in car windows, waiting for a french fry to drop and then.... look out.... as six of them dive for it at once. "MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE!" (Just ask Nemo when you find him)

But tonight my image of them softened. As I sat sipping my tea on the front porch this evening, I watched a couple dozen seagulls circling our neighbourhood. I immediately wondered who had put french fries out in their trash, but then noticed these birds continue to glide and then pause midair as they gulped bugs that were flying about. They continued for a good hour until they moved on. Far above them, were swallows swooping and diving after bugs as well.

Last night, our resident bats (no, they don't live IN our house) started the night shift early before dark, performing their acrobatic feats and plunging from high in the air to then skim the surface of the back lawn. (That would be the yard that when you walk through the grass or garden, swarms of mosquitoes emerge). It must be a buggy season...what with our hot, muggy, rainy summer.

So imagine if earwigs could fly?!!!!  Between swallows, seagulls and bats, we'd be rid of them in no time!

Mmmmmmm. Maybe not. My imagination is conjuring up images of walking into a flying swarm of earwigs and it's a despicable sight.

We'll be thankful things are just the way they are. Someone must have been thinking when this whole interactive chain of nature was conceived.