O Love, O Light, O Joy, O Cross

1.O Love, that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

2.O Light, that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine's blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

3.O Joy, that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.

4.O Cross, that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Poultry Pantaloons

Three of my favourite summer things, eating zucchini bread out of my hand. Today was so windy, deliciously so, and their petticoats were swishing about them like, well, feathers in the wind! What a beautiful way to spend time!

An Auntie by Any Other Name

This morning, I sent off a lovey greeting to my nieces, and in response, received one of my own.

They called me Poppy Petal Pie.

Isn't that lovely!

The name fits like a glove!

World Wide Web of Spiders

Every year, I befriend a garden spider, or two, name them, and relegate them to the role of shepherd/shepherdess of my pesky garden bugs. Pictured above in his carefully folded rose leaf home, is King Henry VIII, a large beauty who did ample service during the summer of 2008.

The following summer I had Haddasah, a real beauty of pure white with a slight raspberry pink stripe on each side of her abdomen. She was gorgeous, dainty and was as elegant as a spider could possibly be.

 

Joining her a few weeks later was a black hopping spider named Zipporah, a swarthy dark lady with a rather furry complexion, and one who fiercely guarded her babies. She was too savvy to be captured by a shutter.

This summer, I found another mammoth garden orb spider who was eating her weight daily in unwanted bugs, perhaps even a rodent or two, judging by her size. Her name is Esmerelda. She is lovely, just as long as she stays in her neck of the woods (translation: eaves!)! 

Prayerful Conversation with GOD

“Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one's heart, it's pleasures, and it's pains, to a dear friend.


Tell him your troubles, that he may comfort you; tell him your joys, that he may sober them; tell him your longings, that he may purify them; tell him your dislikes, that he may help you conquer them; talk to him of your temptations, that he may shield you from them; show him the wounds of your heart, that he may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, your instability. Tell him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself and others.

If you thus pour out your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there will be no lack of what to say. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People who have no secrets from each other never want for subject of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back, neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of the abundance of their heart, without consideration they say just what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God.”

~Francois Fenelon~

Artists of Distinction

There are few pleasures more enjoyable to me than to spend time with my nieces, watching them express themselves verbally, artistically, mentally and above all, virtuously.

We just completed a paper project, each of us choosing our own colour and style schemes. Each one turned out so uniquely and positively gorgeous, at least I was stunned by them.

 What was even more perfect was the laughter and memories that are cut and glued into the project.

Thank you little LadyBugs for a perfect day!

Presence and Privilege

"Waiting on GOD--presence and service--is not the means to an end, not a trade off for a special commission. To be present for Christ and responsive to His requests, however large or small, must be privilege enough." David Timms

Ode to Joyous Nature

This morning was pure delight as I sat in the midst of three 9 week old pullets enjoying their ritual of search and peck followed by a dust bath. The little satisfying chirps, trills and clucks performed a symphony easily rivaling Beethoven's 9th.

Dust Baths

After a few moments, the orchestra was enhanced by a fledgling white crowned sparrow who edged closer and closer, uncapped feathers sticking out here and there like porcupine quills!

Shortly thereafter, a hummingbird hovered overhead and then lighted on an overhead branch. He joined into the music with his marbled throat clicking together.

I was stunned by the beauty of the moment, surrounded by five uniquely beautiful birds who were performing music composed by the unseen Maestro.

Cutting Culinary Teeth on a Michelin 4 Star's Whisk!

I just had a delightful date with my two nieces. With towels slung over shoulders and muscled determination, they emerged fourteen egg whites and ten egg yolks later as 5 Star Pastry Chefs in my book!

Chocolate meringues

Poached Vanilla Meringues

The dessert called for three separate receipts; the base layer as a rich chocolate meringue, the middle layer as a poached vanilla meringue and a creamy poured vanilla custard bathing the entire presentation. Each step took intense preparation and pleasure as I watched them try to master perfect egg cracking, and as they saw the physical properties of the egg whites or egg yolks change into a different form. After the first two stages were complete and while waiting for step three to commence, I told them how proud I was of them and the products they had created and ended by remarking that most Moms and Aunties start out by teaching pancakes or something equally simple, but "No"! I was giving them one of the most difficult receipts to master according to french pastry chefs.

Dust Baths

From little fuzzy golf balls...

to feathered bones!

Not Knowing

894. Not Knowing

By Mary Gardiner Brainard

Not knowing the things that shall befall me there.—ACTS XX. 22.

I KNOW not what will befall me: God hangs a mist o’er my eyes;
And thus, each step of my onward path, He makes new scenes arise,
And every joy He sends to me comes like a sweet surprise.

I see not a step before me as I tread on another year;
But I ’ve left the past in God’s keeping,—the future His mercy shall clear,
And what looks dark in the distance may brighten as I draw near.

For perhaps the dreaded future is less bitter than I think;
The Lord may sweeten the waters before I stoop to drink;
Or, if Marah must be Marah, He will stand beside its brink.

It may be He keeps waiting, for the coming of my feet,
Some gift of such rare blessedness, some joy so strangely sweet,
That my lips shall only tremble with the thanks they cannot speak.

O restful, blissful ignorance! ’t is blessëd not to know;
It keeps me still in those mighty arms which will not let me go,
And lulls my weariness to rest on the bosom that loves me so.

So I go on not knowing,—I would not if I might;
I would rather walk in the dark with God than go alone in the light;
I would rather walk with Him by faith than walk alone by sight.

My heart shrinks back from trials which the future may disclose,
Yet I never had sorrow but what the dear Lord chose;
So I send the coming tears back with the whispered word, “He knows.”

A Quarter Thankful

Three months ago, I had been given a chest of drawers by a family who was moving out of state. I had used the bottom two drawers only to store a few linens as I prepared for an upcoming move of my own. With my move only three days away, I, in turn was donating the chest to another family, with a quick last minute drawer check prior to pick-up time. Lo and behold, what should I find but a quarter in the

top drawer! I chuckled to myself and thought that perhaps GOD had deliberately stashed this, and that it probably made up the lack of what was necessary for a load of laundry. Just out of curiosity, I went to my coin purse and checked. Sure enough, I had five quarters! With this sixth newly discovered treasure I was able to do one final load of laundry before flying out! Isn't GOD marvelous! I love that sense of humour!

Empty Key Chains

I hold in my hand an empty key chain. No keys, no car, no home are among my possessions. Yet as I was contemplating this new phenomenon, I realize that I do have something that does not show up on a key chain, seemingly invisible. That is, the goodness of GOD, a life lived for Him, to be pleasing in His sight with the imperishable qualities of a gentle and quiet spirit. The phrase "in His sight" refers to the fact that He sees all, everywhere, every moment, which in turn means that I need to be pleasing Him in all things, everywhere, every moment. He will record my actions that are done exclusively for Him and will reward accordingly. I need not be concerned with tomorrow as long as I daily apply these principles.

25"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
30"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'
32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:25-34

Make No Moosestake!

What decadent culinary deliciousness!

Although that sentence may seem a redundancy, believe me; it is not!!

What I refer to is a simple matter of beef stroganoff, and yet, it simply is not beef stroganoff. First I started with browned moose steaks cut into ribbons, sauteed portabello mushrooms, leeks, garlic, salt, beef broth reduction, whole grain Grey Poupon mustard and thick sour cream. All this baked in a low oven for two hours while the house filled with the delightful and amazing aroma!

Oh joyous senses! What mouth-watering succulence as I ate the 'near' stroganoff over a bed of Montebello pasta (produced in Isola del Piano, Italy since 1388)!

The flavour and aroma were positively memorable! I defy that even the Italians would be hard pressed to create such exqusite shoe leather!!

Well Doing

Oh Dear!

True to it's mission of "Building Charcter...One Story at a Time", I have come across another gem with a beautiful truth to learn and share. This quote is from the book 'Clean Your Boots, Sir?'

"Look here, remember this: you do your best where you are, and that will fit you for doing something better when GOD shows the way; and there are golden opportunities in most people's lives."

This came as such a sweet reminder to not grow weary in well-doing. Just keep living for the Lord and allow Him to work in you and through you!

Seep'ifme

As I lay nestled on the floor of two little boys in my care, watching the starless night shining bright as day, I heard a little voice quiver and call for his mama. I snuggled up next to him and rubbed his back in the hope that he would return to blissful slumber. As his breathing became methodical and heavy, I stole back to the warmth of my bed, but he bolted upright and said "Snuggle'. I returned to his side and resumed my attempt to lull him. Almost immediately, his breathing was sleep derived, waiting just a moment longer before stealing to my now cold bed.
I had barely pulled the covers over my feet when the little voice spoke once again, saying 'Seep'ifme'. This time when I layed beside him, he entwinned his small fingers into my hair with the other hand just above my heart. He called my name many times, roaming his hands to make sure that he was holding me before resuming a firmer grasp.. I reassured him when he spoke, soothed him in the silence and watched his face as it pressed close to mine.
This child needed nearness, something he unconsciously craved despite his sleep talking state.
Of course, I was glad to oblige him as I realized that not only was I comforting this child on a human level, but GOD himself was accomplishing the same with me, yet with far surpassing abilities. What a delight! I was reminded of the words to the hymn 'Abide with me' and offered them in supplication.

Psalm 121

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From whence shall my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;

He Who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He Who keeps Israel

Will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun will not smite you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

The Lord will protect you from all evil;

He will keep your soul.

The Lord will guard your going out and coming in

From this time forth and forevermore.

A Must Read

I just finished reading 'Joel...a boy of Galilee' by Annie Fellows Johnston and was amazed at how beautifully woven this story wrapped around the life of Christ on earth. The tender perspective from this little crippled boy as he struggled with not only the lameness, but the source of it and the bitter revenge that consumed him, until he met this most singular Rabbi.

Read this story and look at Jesus in a new light.

I Need a Hero

Reposing in the Refiner's Fire

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!

What more can He say than to you He hath said—

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,

For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;

I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;

For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;

The flame shall not harm thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

“The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,

I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

Lilac Melodies

Sometimes, flowers from a friend is just what the heart needs to sing again....even if it is only a pix!

The Pain and Pleasure of Learning

If I knew what my moments, days, months and years would have consisted of, would I have willingly faced them? Would I be willing to relive those same time frames with all the lessons given and learned, wounds received and inflicted?

I have had the luxury of reading several Lamplighter Publishing Rare Collector Series books this week. They are beautiful books from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries that portray Godliness and the beauty of Biblical character qualities couched in the loveliest stories. More than once, the parallels of my days have corresponded amazingly with these books.

While reading "Joel...a boy of Galilee", I was given a new peer perspective of the life of Christ. All these scriptures pooled together in an instantly new, spider webbed understanding as I filtered it through my own recent events.

• Christ came at the 'appointed' time. He did not drag His feet despite knowing the pain He would endure.
• He humbled Himself every moment.
• He never explained Himself or tried to defend Himself. He just praised GOD, spoke from the Bible while being a living example.
• He asked once for relief, for GOD to take the cup from Him, but then asked for GOD's will to be done, not His own.

How often have I come up against a struggle or pain in my life and asked GOD to please remove it!? I cannot count how many times I have lived this scenario. Life is painful at times....but it is nothing in comparison to what Jesus chose to endure. If we are to be like Christ, then we should expect nothing less than what He experienced.

Hebrews12:1-7
Jesus, the Example


1Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;
5and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
"MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD,
NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;
6FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,
AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
7It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Here is the closing paragraph from Lamplighter's "Sweet Revenge" which has become a dear prayer:

     'And Martin Hope is going his way unnoticed except by the One Who takes note of all that is done for His sake. The people of Brentwich love him because he is the best friend they have when their poor bodies are overtaken by pain and weakness. Foxy loves him in return for the unwavering devotion which he has ever shown as a friend; but no one thinks of making any sort of fuss over him, and he never expects or wants it. He pursues his way, doing 'whatsoever his hand findeth to do with his might', and leaving the results in the hands of Him who never forgets the humblest service that is rendered to Him, and in His name.'

Touched by a Patch of Grass

Despite the oddity of this picture, I saw a tender sweetness in it.

Here is a screen for smoothing the lawn prior to and after seeding

and in the midst of it all is a thriving patch of grass

fulfilling what it was designed to do, namely, GROW!!

The grass did not take inventory of its locale, its environmental properties,

or the contribution it would have on the surroundings.

Instead, the grass just did what it was hard-wired to do.

It grew and subsequently gave me great delight

and gave me a sweet lesson!

IF....In the Midst of it All

I memorized this poem in seventh grade and it has been the most singularly useful piece of knowledge from my elementary education (aside from rudimentary math skills!) and has been one of my anchors in difficult times. This week could have been one of the worst imaginable, yet GOD has sustained me with His stength, confidence, incredible love and Words in His love letter to me. I am amazed at His faithfulness, His nearness and tenderness in a troubled time.

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

GOD's Rosebud

A new minister

was walking with an older,

more seasoned minister

in the garden one day.

Feeling a bit insecure

about what God

had for him to do,

he was asking the older preacher

for some advice.

The older preacher

walked up to a rosebush

and handed the young preacher

a rosebud and told him

to open it

without tearing off any petals.

The young preacher

looked in disbelief

at the older preacher

and was trying to figure out

what a rosebud

could possibly have to do

with his wanting to know

the will of God

for his life and ministry.

But because of his great respect

for the older preacher,

he proceeded to try to unfold the rose,

while keeping every petal intact.

It wasn't long

before he realized

how impossible

this was to do.

Noticing the younger preacher's inability

to unfold the rosebud

without tearing it,

the older preacher

began to recite

the following poem...

"It is only a tiny rosebud,

A flower of God's design;

But I cannot unfold the petals

With these clumsy hands of mine."

"The secret of unfolding flowers

Is not known to such as I.

GOD opens this flower so easily,

But in my hands they die."

"If I cannot unfold a rosebud,

This flower of God's design,

Then how can I have the wisdom

To unfold this life of mine?"

"So I'll trust in God for leading

Each moment of my day.

I will look to God for guidance

In each step of the way."

"The path that lies before me,

Only my Lord knows.

I'll trust God to unfold the moments,

Just as He unfolds the rose."

Silent Shearing

Today I learned and experienced many things first hand. During each moment, I realized that my day today was nothing in comparison to the Suffering Servant. Here is how Isaiah described Him in chapter 53:

"He was despised and forsaken of men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face,

He was despised and we did not esteem Him

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him.

And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to His own way;

But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall upon Him.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth."

This evening, the only one I could turn to was this Suffering Servant, so I sang to Him

"What a friend we have in Jesus,

all our sins and griefs to bear,

what a privilage to carry,

everything to GOD in prayer."

"Consider My Servant..."

"And the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning from evil.'
Then Satan answered the Lord "Does Job fear God for nothing? Hast Thou not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Thy hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse Thee to Thy face.'
Then the Lord  said to Satan 'Behold,  all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.' "

I trust GOD enough with my days, that if God should see fit to test me all the way to my earthly grave, I long to hear Him say as he did regarding Job...

"Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God."

The Clarity of Dimentia

On the bus ride home this evening, a new rider got on board and sat at the front side-facing seats. After about sixty seconds he spoke up and mentioned that the previous bus just passed him by, though he was standing at the stop. Nobody responded to this lost hagaard man with what appeared to be beginning stage dimentia. He was pleasant and well-dressed, just slightly askew.

After a long, silent moment, a mentally handicapped woman sitting across from him responded that it had passed her by too. After a few more sentences, an ex-con on parole joined in the conversation about the inconveniences and heartlessness of public transit.

These three had a common denominator: a lack of social inhibition. Dimentia, mentally handicapped and law-breaker mingled into a lovely exchange that any of us riders could have nodded in experiential agreement with and participated, but nobody spoke.

I smiled from my seat near the back and wished I could have put in my two cents worth! Mass transit is terribly inconvenient and sometimes down right insulting to both freedom and schedule, yet it does bring some joy and amusement when you strike up a conversation with a common denominator!

Seeking

My name means 'seeking one' with the literal translation being a bee.

It has always been my desire to seek after the things of GOD, to put Him first in my life. Although I frequently take hold of the reigns to steer my way through life's obstacle course, I do revert to my overlying commitment to GOD.

I found this fabric and loved it not only for its blue and white qualities, a favourite of mine, but because it represents me in so many aspects. I am going to embroider about a third of the bees to add additional texture and dimension, eventually making it into a tablecloth for tea.

The Lap of Luxury

Sweet Zoe!

Apparantly, she got separated from the herd and was crying like a baby. Her mom, Oreo, kept on eating. My sister, the "Nanny Goat" went into the pasture, squatted in the grass and called her name. Zoe came at a dead run, crying, with lop ears flopping up and down. My sister picked her up, Zoe tucked her head under my sister's chin, heart racing and nickering sweetly!

Oh to know the sound of the shepherd's voice!

No Kidding!

Oh! The patience of mothering....

......and the sweetness of nap time!!!