A Tale of Magic

Once upon a time, there was a Dane. This was no ordinary Dane though, for he was Great! A very Great Dane!

Yes indeed, my beloved Sam is back to stay for the week and my laughter has shaken the walls due to his antics! He loves retrieving his toys, but the only problem is that he only enjoys this activity INDOORS. He manages his horse stature quite well, however, and folds himself neatly in half going around all the corners.

Although he is adept at keeping himself contained, there is only one thing affected by his goliath size. He has the unique ability to flip on the light switches with his tail as he walks by. At least he has limited magic powers!

At the moment, he has discovered the large 110 gallon fish tank along with a new branch of physics that he was previously unaware. How do those hand size creatures stay suspended? How come they limit themselves to an invisible wall? Why I am barking and growling at something that could get lost inside my facial flaps? Why do they seem to hop and dart when I bark?

Oh my goodness....he is hilarious!

We went for a walk this evening. It is very comforting walking something that could eyeball a moose, not to mention any unwanted men!

Korean Sign Language

Yesterday was a favourite co-workers' last day after many years of service. To me she was like the famed Charlotte of Charlotte's Web who made the world more beautiful, who saw the value of each of us and who worked tirelessly for the company without seeking any acclaim. She truly was a model employee and friend.

We had a going away party for her, unexpected and unplanned since she really wanted to walk away quietly. She deserved fanfare. She earned the right to know how valued and loved she was and will remain. She needed to know the imprint she made on our lives.

My Korean friend asked if I would create a sign to hang up, so I asked if she wanted it to say something in particular. She said to create whatever I wanted; she just wanted a sign. So I did what anybody would do, naturally! I googled 'English to Korean', typed in my English sentences, hit the translate button, copied and pasted Korean characters onto a word document, decorated it with graphics, sent it to a colour printer, and had it ready for when my friend came back to pick it up. Naturally.

그리고 당신의 친절, 당신의 근면 주셔서 감사합니다 모든 것을 당신이 우리를 받고 있습니다. 우리가 당신을보고 싶을거야!

The look of stunned surprise on my friend's face was priceless as she asked how I managed to create the sign. I modestly repied, 'I told you I was trying to learn a few Korean words!' Of course I showed her my secret, which delighted her. She asked me to replicate the sign in English so our co-worker would have an understandable keepsake, but took pride in her Korean presentation!
I just figured that if the sign was birthed from a Korean idea, it would be an even more fabulous memory if it came from the heart AND language of the giver.

Fare thee well Onalee: Thank you for your kindness, your diligence and for everything you have given us. We will miss you!

An Afterthought of Challah

After writing about the littlest challah, I reflected back on my day to discover that there was not a single moment that I could look back on to discover the purpose of why GOD changed my plans. I could not think of any great contribution I made, any words of wisdom I imparted, any incidents where my character really shined as a beacon.

When you relinquish yourself to be used for GOD's purpose, it does not matter if you see the end result; rather, it is a matter of being faithful and trusting Him.

Today at work, I received a bit of feedback on yesterday which made me laugh! My supervisor was speaking to another supervisor about yesterday, saying how cranky and irritable she was. I immitated one of her moments (call it comedy relief) and finished by saying that I appreciated her honesty and willingness to admit her irritability followed by her moving on with a sense of humour. We all laughed, but my supervisor interrupted us to say that I had the audacitiy to close our day yesterday, thanking her for her patience with me when it was she who should have thanked me for patience.

Perhaps it was nothing, or perhaps it was just a gift of a glimpse; I don't know. What I do know is that I gave the whole portion willingly. Soli Deo Gloria.

Arctic Currency

Living up in Polar Bear Country, everything costs more. I don't know who is ultimately responsible for the cost increase, perhaps the transport through Canada or out through the Pacific to get here, perhaps the cost of import tax from foreign countries, perhaps the cost of feeding sled dogs and their mushers. Perhaps, it is the misconception that it should cost so much more.

So, I made a decision. I decided to try my hand at arctic gardening, for better or worse, setting a limit on how many plants I would purchase, how much soil, and how many pots to fill. I left with two fewer pots than alotted, but an overall price tag that made me rethink my decision to 'experiment'.

Who knew that $180 would purchase so little, yet provide such delight! Every day, these little plants have visibly grown. So far they have handled huge wind gusts, cool night temperatures, a cat who occasionally nips them, and a twenty hour span of daylight. Morning and evening I check on their progress and enjoy the sweet perfumed faces cheerfully nodding back.

I have a few months of summer ahead to keep my little garden thriving. Next year, I hope to improve on what I have learned and hope that I can put down floral roots alongside my own, but in a place of our own!

The Littlest Challah

I wasn't suppose to work today. I had plans. Lovely plans. Plans to fill and enjoy my one day off this week; but GOD had other plans.......

You know, the whole concept of giving and sharing begins before we can crawl. We reach out to a parent to cuddle, parents plop food in little cherub mouths, and infants offer a gooey, partially munched bite to the parent. From there, our sharing experience expands to toys, time, parents, really anything we label as 'mine'!

Sharing and giving are things that we prescribe to neatly packaged and purposeful exchanges, things we deem okay to give. Anything outside this orderliness is referred to as stealing or being taken from us.

Challah is the Hebrew word for 'portion' and is also used for the Sabbath bread baked each Friday. Traditionally a pinch of dough is portioned off and thrown to the back of the oven as an offering. Strange, how we are okay with segregating what we 'give' and what we withhold for our own use. GOD is our generous benefactor who exemplifies generosity to perfection, yet we beneficiaries ration out what we give, how often and how much, a mere pinch of challah.

So, back to this morning ... My church was having a fund raising event for missions that included box lunches, car wash, rummage sale etc. Since I did not have anything to contribute to the sales, I offered to bake for the workers. Last night I ironically prepared challah dough to make into coiled orange buns and mollases ginger cookies so that I could bake them fresh this morning, all the while thinking about the concept of portioning out what we give to GOD and others. However, just before midnight, I received a phone call from work asking me to cover the 6 a.m. shift.

GOD reminded me that He knows the plans for me and orders my footsteps accordingly and that there is joy in serving Him when it is done for His glory. Giving up myself is usually the greatest and most costly gift of sharing because it relinquishes 'my' rights. No matter what my hand finds to do, if my motive is to showcase GOD's love for others, then it really does not matter whether the pastries go to the church group or the work group, it does not matter whether I spend time with one cause or another. GOD will utilize the littlest challah or the biggest challah to its most effective purpose.

If the mail man always delivers, then doing GOD's work will always deliver the results He desires! Give GOD the whole Challah and let Him do the portioning!

I Left Bearing Gifts....

....but that is the end of the story. Let me start at the beginning.

Sunday morning. It starts out blustery but beautiful, with leisurely enjoyment of the quiet. A breakfast of deconstructed french toast made from bite sized chunks of almond croissant, fresh raspberries and creme anglais poured atop. Savoury and sensational!

Hallelujah, Amen. Church started out with many "Hallelujah, Amen"s between songs, during songs, and just to share the joy of worshipping together.

Monochromatic Hair. Everyone has black to dark chocolate hair no matter what age. There are three of us however who do not fit into this theme. I have brown hair, there is an African-American middle aged man with salt and pepper hair, and there is one elderly Korean lady with a lovely shade of lavender!

A Creed of Tears. Without fail, the congregation recites the Apostles Creed in Korean and without fail, one or more people are moved to tears, not just one or two drops, but the full hanky wiping multiple eye mopping tears. This happens every Sunday.

Touching Base and Keeping Up With The Jones. What do you go to church for? It is obvious that these congregants are here to impact each other. They serve one another tirelessly. They express great joy with one another. They insist on taking each others best interest to heart. There is no competition. They are genuinely encouraged by each other and saddened by each other's griefs. Yet, in the midst of it all, they individually take responsibility for themselves and are not needy or demanding of each other. I see the ministry of Jesus prevelant in their lives.

Rubber Meets the Road. The sermon was on Isaiah preparing the way for Jesus so that people would recognize Him when they saw Him. The ending of the serman was a challenge for us to reach out to others so they can see the Jesus in us. During the fellowship meal afterward, several ladies expressed themselves with great friendship toward me, making sure that I understood that they desired me to come back each week. I received a Korean key chain from one lady. During the evening meal, provided every few months for newcomers, the kindness continued. Photographs with the pastor and his wife, a mug and pen, picture of Jesus with Korean words underneath reading "We love you, we welcome you, we bless you." There were smaller words that my friend was trying to read without her glasses; I offered to read the Korean characters to her so she could translate them to English. A sweet moment of shared laughter at our Konglish conglomeration conundrum! The meal and events were hosted by all the elders and their wives, the truest picture of servanthood. They exemplify Christ-like living.

Football, Woodpeckers and FKPC. Pastor Kang spoke to us newcomers through a translator (except when he needed to correct the translator's translation which was quite amusing). He spoke of the Dallas Cowboys being his favourite team and how they use helmets to protect their brains from the obstacles they face on the field. He spoke of woodpeckers hitting the tree at 20 times per second and how their skull absorbs the impact. He moved on to say that we have a hundred more obstacles in our day than the Cowboys or a woodpecker and that Jesus is our helmet to protect us, ending by saying that the FKPChurch was blessed to be walking this road with us.

Have I told you how much I love this church?

Parking Spaces, Raindrops and Ineptitude

What are you thankful for today?

This morning I woke up heavy hearted, feeling the full gravity of my inabilities to make it through the day without Divine intervention and strength. As I drove to work, I confessed that I was incapable of the day's battle, especially after not recovering from the previous few days, weeks and months of challenges. I implored GOD to provide strength, to make His presence obvious. I stopped my prayer mid-sentence, realizing that yesterday I had not given the same fervency to prayer. The difference? Yesterday, my morning started off with a certain level of self-confidence and self-sufficiency. I was not anticipating any struggles and was feeling a certain level of assurance. Today, I knew that I had nothing apart from GOD.

Picking up mid-sentence, my prayer had none of the former tone, but rather turned into confession of my independence and praise for the rain that was going to bring the final budding into spring, for the parking space at work, that in Him I move and breathe and have my being, that He is always present, always faithful in guidance, support, protection, strength etc. and that I need to be more diligent to seek GOD's face and acknowledge His unceasingness toward me.

It is a happy dependence on Someone whose strength is inexhaustible, whose love is limitless, whose mercy is unending, whose forgiveness is inexplicably tender, whose compassion is showered upon me every moment.

Good days and bad, HE IS THERE. His emotions are not altered or swayed, He does not forget me on sunny days. He doesn't ignore me on rainy ones. HE NEVER FAILS.

We search our whole lives and bemoan the fact that we cannot find someone to love us like this, but we forget that whether we acknowledge GOD or not, He is fully present and lovingly engrossed in our every moment.

Tomorrow, the battle garments will be on. It may be a day of peace or it may be active duty. Either way, my Captain will go before me, beside me and bring up the rear. I will look to Him in peace and prosperity as well as in pitfalls and poverty.

I Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you."

Visiting Korea

The past three Sundays have been magnificent at this Korean church. Though I cannot speak or understand Korean, the congregation speaks the language of Heaven and my heart is able to comprehend. There are times when the preacher is imploring us with words I long to understand, but my eyes sting with tears and my heart fills with renewed devotion each week under his Divine inspired teaching. I cannot explain how there is such a connection despite the language. It feels like I am a curtain away from the Holy of Holies.

Today, I did miss a few cues. The congregation is so reverent that I am unable to discern between reading Scripture and praying, and when we had communion, their bread magically disappeared, though I never saw when it happened....we were just all of a sudden getting ready to pass out the cups. The beauty of the communion portion however was the reverence they gave to the elements. All the servers donned white, plain gowns and gloves. The way the pastor spoke and the way the elements were handled was as if this was the first time they had experienced communion. It was beautiful and full of meaning.

I also witnessed a parent/baby dedication. The parents stood before the pastor, raising their right hands and agreeing to raise their child to love GOD. Afterward, they knelt before the alter while the pastor blessed the child. The final touch was giving the mother a flower bouquet and both the parents a beautiful certificate to commemorate their commitment.

I shared a hymnbook with my seatmate---they each bring their own copy with them to church. Although the hymns are sung in Korean, they fortunately have the English words underneath for those hymns less familiar to me. There was one chorus that I did not know, but I smiled at the tune of "Go tell Aunt Rhody, the old grey goose is dead", realizing that many of our hymns have humble origins!

For fellowship meal after the service, we had seaweed soup with thin bits of beef here and there. My friend said that after a mother gives birth, she eats a lot of seaweed soup due to the high iron in it. It was very tasty! Also served was napa cabbage with spicy red sauce, rice noodle salad with bean sprouts and sesame, and watermelon slices for dessert. The meal is always simple, yet very satisfying.

The congregation is mystified that I would attend a non-English church, but when I express appreciation for their reverence and heart for GOD, they understand. Now they are just working on setting up a translator, and I will keep inviting others to join!

A Touch of Spring

I believe it is safe to tsay that Spring had decided to move into the neighborhood and stay for a few weeks. Here are the multiple choice options for you to decide which belong to my Arctic Spring, and which does not!

The truest harbinger of spring!

Feeding of the five thousand feathers from a single loaf of rye bread!

Solitary flight of a Swan

Frozen ocean

Birch Bark

Ice Crystals pushing up in the pond crevices

Kite flying from a local club

So......which one photo doesn't belong in my Spring?

Walking a Clydesdale

For the past eight days, I have been the owner of a delightful dog and enjoying all the chores and joys that accompany said ownership.

Due to the size of this magnifiscent beast, I discovered more humourous moments than expected, such as this photo suggests:

I never expected to be eclipsed by the shadow of a dog, but he has about 30 pounds on me. When he stands on his hind legs with front paws on my shoulders, I can look directly at his rabies tag. NEAT, considering that his neck still has another eight inches before reaching the bottom of his jowls.

Sam loved, adored and was overjoyed with Morty, the lion cat! Morty, however felt that Sam was more like a mangy giraffe with slobber. Eventually, they did learn to relax around each other, one by toning down the intensity while the other realized there was nothing life-threatening. Here they are playing with a laser dot together.







We played soccer together, ran and walked about seven miles a day, retrieved thrown toys, played hide and seek, watched the clouds float by, listened to birds and enjoyed nature. It has been a lovey week full of laughter and companionship. I will miss you, Sam!