Mid October Hello

                     I am not sure what has happened to my week.

October is half done. Half way- like my feelings for it. I am sorry to anyone who welcomes it wholeheartedly, I simply find summer with the exception of the unduly hot days, to be my favourite.
The fact that I have half way warmed to fall is progress, and that is after all what we should strive for, right?

                               

         This beautiful, old building is a two minute drive from my house. 
It recently opened as a furniture resale shop and art gallery. I have to tell you that when I spied the sign as I sat at the lights one day, I could barely contain my excitement...so much creativity and  inspiration so close to home!

               
                              here is a glimpse of what's inside...and it became clear as I         chatted with the owner that I would pop in quite regularly!

  
              I will share more of this artful place another time...
                             

for now just sit here  a bit....

because sometimes life is simply heavy...

take a load off...

speaking of; I have been reading this book..

Yancey's writing is compelling and honest.

I cannot decide which excerpt to choose, so if you can, find a copy.

It will bless you.

because there are some things that can only be shared

 in a true heart to heart with our heavenly Father in prayer.

Prayer is an expression of who we are...we are a living incompleteness. we are a gap, an emptiness that calls for fulfillment...(Thomas Merton)

More Than Froth and Bubble

There was a very intriguing package waiting for me when I arrived home after my week of cooking at camp....
           

My girls ohhhhhed and ahhhhhhhed with me, as we admired it's contents.
 such a special treat from a sweet, young blogger.

                                      

I love connections and connecting...my favorite aspect of blogging is this,
so to be able to have a tangible reminder in my hands of connections, and how important they are, makes me so happy....
                     thank-you again Megan for the give-away.You are so kind.

although there was a lot to catch up on after a week away, we made time to get out on the water on a near by lake...

my philosophy; 

work will wait....children grow up too quick.

so make the most of moments....before they are gone, 

and you wonder where they went.

filling a barrel with bubbles yesterday...(a game for the kids at our family reunion)

                          as I watched I thought of the quote...

            "Life is mostly froth and bubble,two things stand like stone,

            Kindness in another's trouble, courage in your own".(Adam Lindsay Gordon.)

                                                                                                                                 

   I'm thankful for a life that is rich, and not just froth and bubble.

for relationships that are meaningful but also teach me grace and mercy.

I'm thankful for the unknown, because I know the Hand who holds it will never stop holding me.

So I pause here on the threshold of a new week....breathe in peace...

                                                            and slowly exhale.

                            

Wrapping Up

Peace is a belief that exhales....( Ann Voskamp)

I hold onto this peace, here on this last day of elementary school.Yes finally, here in Canada school lasts until the end of June and resumes again in early September.
My two youngest are wrapping up their grade five and seven years.             

Wrapping up like I did the date loaf I baked last night. I sliced some and put it on a pretty plate and sent it with my daughter to give to the teachers. 
                           

The wrap up of another school year is significant. It makes me feel wistful and nostalgic.
Yesterday when I went to lunch duty at our school the children had already helped the teacher pack up the classroom. They were ready to move on.
 One teacher is retiring this year after teaching for twenty seven years here at our school. Long enough to teach some of her former pupils children.
                                                                                                              

Life is a continual forward motion. It's current can fluctuate between surging and ebbing but it must go forward. We must  go with it, or we will suffocate. 
Like breathing,we draw in, but if we never breathe out....release,relinquish,rest. We will eventually die from our own selfishness and refusal to accept the inevitable.

I am learning how to do this. I am learning that the peace in breathing out is so much sweeter than the breathes i inhale. It is still a journey I am on, but as this month wraps up  
I vow to remember that letting go and giving must become as natural as breathing in order to bring peace and serenity to this heart.

my peach colored rose..,

I wrote the above yesterday,on our last day of school. Now, here the house is quiet,while most of them are still sleeping. The back packs have been banished to the closet for some much needed rest too. The summer is having a soggy introduction as the rain keeps on. Everything is lush and silent. Here waiting, between the wraps and the 
 breaking in of summer.

A Special Brew

      recipe for a happy day...             

                         Steep fully
                           

                             in the present           

                                                                       

                             and savor,
        
                           

entwining

each sip slowly  
















                           around your heart....
                                    

           You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless
till it rests in You. Who will grant me to rest content in You? To whom shall I turn for the gift of coming into my heart, so that I may forget all the wrong I have done, and embrace You alone,
                          my only good. Saint Augustine~

         

530-morning quiet time,531- clean windows,532-barbecuing burgers,533-music,534-piano notes,535-Sunday worship,536-learning always learning,537-cleaning up yard,538-son feeling better today,539-people who drop in to say Hi,540-peace about the unknown,541-exciting engagement announcement,542-great weather for hubs to take motor cycle to work,543-laundry flapping.

A Balanced Philosophy

Never be so observant you can't focus,
Or so focused, you can't observe. L.M.

Ha, how appropriate that this is what is in my head as daughters goof off in kitchen while making Sunday supper of nachos...." Mom how long?( in the microwave she asks?)

A fulfilled life is a steady walk of balance.

Reminds me of this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LSR7Rx0W34
 we watched it on live television a few months ago.I remember watching in awe as this man, a 7th generation stunt walker made history.
http://www.squidoo.com/flying-wallendas

Balance brings us harmony, and also creates a sense of order in an often rushed and chaotic world.

"There is a ditch on both sides of the road,"this is how  my husband will often sum up a discussion about things that just can't be solved with pat answers. He says it , his Mom said it, and it was a phrase passed on, for it's  simple but real reminder to keep our lives balanced and in order.

Are you like me sometimes finding it hard to know just where that balance is?
 I like to be busy, but not so busy that I feel overwhelmed in the moment!
 I like holidays and down time but too much, can make me long for the rhythm of routine.
 I love being around people but too long, and too many people, make me crave quiet.

Thankfully we serve a gracious God. He holds the tightrope we are on and balances each step.

May your week ahead bring you a beautiful bouquet of balance!

                                                                                      

 To everything there is a season......

and a time to every purpose under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3 :1

 so much gratitude here tonight....
91.a wonderful week with eldest daughter home, 92. that the little 'fender bender' she was in tonight on the way back in torrential rains  wasn't worse.THANK_YOU LORD!93.that these things help us become who we are,94.that I felt compelled to pray as she left,even more than usual for some reason,95.Mom and sister day fun, a few days ago,96.a free night in a hotel with sweet friend and four little girls with us 97. helping Carroll with a wedding she was catering and how weary can mean a job well done. 98.impromptu date at a local cafe I had never visited...sooooooo up my alley; filled with unique, one of a kind things...99.me:)100.Quiet Sunday afternoons,101. Scrabble with youngest when everyone else was away,102.second daughter cleaning bedroom without my prompting!103.everyday miracles like tidy dresser drawers,104.for kids who play practical jokes,eg: I was away for one night, and I have often said that whenever I'm away and come home, it doesn't take long for me to look around and sum up the order of their days.This time my son decided he'd hang bathing suits out on the clothes line to see if I would ask what they were up to.Didn't work so well this time, I saw them and thought 'that's funny my daughter hasn't worn that one in a while:) but it sure made me smile that he went to this trouble for me...:)





 

Heart Murmurs

please listen to the music..

                                   
                                                     


 After all ,I muse, I knew that time would steal you from me,
I have been preparing myself for this for so long.

You never, really, were solely mine.
Your heart danced ,and I watched as you followed it's lead.

I could never call you back, and pretend it's all okay.
For life is not merely a stage on which we carry out our whims.

It is much more than that.
The ache and the longing accompany deep emotions.

In order to have peace, one needs to release our fears.
Believe in Hope.

Then dear child, and only then,is freedom found.


 
I wrote the above a few days ago. I was feeling a wave of fear/anxiety about the future, and all the unknownsit holds. Then I had to remind myself that God has ordained my/our destiny.Although we are allowed to choose, the outcome isn't some random happening.http://bible.cc/psalms/139-16.htm

gratitude today:41.grace from others, for others, and from Above,42. making sweet potato french fries with sweet husband:)43. and another little indulgence;making tea balls( and thinking about my mother as she used to make them too)44. hosting a family from church that we don't know very well,45.shelter,it's really windy today,46.soft hearts 47.the lure of words,48.reading good writing49.beds that are made ,50.the privilege to be at home.



 

The Quest of Contentment

Contentment; it really feels like that elusive attribute to me sometimes. This is the thought I have while I pull out my trusty garden journal and jot down what to plant where and what not to 
                                                                plant there.

  

    Does a human being ever reach that pinnacle of contentment here on this temporal planet?


       I have felt like I am often dancing around contentment in my quest for purpose,
                                         voice and expression.


Don't get me wrong, being a mom is definitely the vocation and epitome of contentment for me.

But some aspects of contentment are that proverbial "pipe dream" that "pie in the sky" maybe
 " some day "dream.
I used to be discontented with my house. I thought I should have a charming two story ,rambling, stone mansion. Instead it is a simple, unpretentious ,brick bungalow. And believe it or not I am actually content with it! It has some uniqueness just like me ,and it is home sweet home.

There are some physical attributes that took me a long time to chalk up to being content about, but thankfully age brings a certain degree of wisdom and I realize what a futile battle some things are.

 

"There is nothing like the thrill of the hunt" oh how I have discovered this to be true, as many times when I have been searching for just the right item for my home, I discover after I have gone ahead and purchased my treasure, I find out my treasure was the quest not the destination.

 

Godliness with contentment is great gain.....1 Timothy 6:6 This is my goal, that thing I strive for as earnestly as this flesh lets me. Thankfully His grace is abundant and His mercies new each and every day as I walk in step with the Spirit towards eternal contentment.

                             

 

Some Things Never Change

                                                   please listen to the music...

Beginnings and endings, the ebb and the flow,
The joy and the sorrow the stay and the go.
Life has it's seasons of storm and calm
Time to move forward,or look back upon

I pray I may never selfishly hold
What was never mine, but borrowed gold.
I'll keep my hands open and trust the great Giver,
While I savour the moment that He has delivered.L.M.

Enjoying a wonderfully, busy week here before it changes .

How are you spending yours?

After All This

After all the miles we drove, and after we were delayed at the border for almost three hours.

After arriving late because the GPS we were using was set for the scenic route, and missing Casting Crowns.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS_4VAX1a_A&feature=related

After we've left the Dad's to set up alone and we've run crazy, through the dark, in a theme park we've never been to just to realize it is way bigger than first imagined.

After a new day dawns , and we ride more rides than a child can dream of, and we've attended sensational concerts and listened to powerful speakers who've challenged and encouraged us.

After I've pined just a little; that second daughter was not able to join us for this...

                                              

After we're on the road towards home and we've stopped at a mall which has a Macy's and JC Penny and we've proved once again that shopping IS an art.(especially on a time crunch)
After we've had a late dinner and we pull into our drive this side of midnight,

After coffee next morning and I've marvelled at how everything has grown  and I've popped in to see my mother-in-law next door and tell her about our trip.
After the laundry has been washed, dried and folded, after we've tackled some of the weeds that threaten to besiege the place, with a fury.

After we've gathered, husked and blanched all that corn...

                                                                                                                                 


                                                    I pause, I place the flowers on the table in
                an attempt to replicate the calm I feel.

                                                                                                                                                               

                                        

                                                            

          I reflect on the wonderful vacation,time spent with friends,memories to treasure.

                                            As life's wheel, moves ever forward.