Little Luxuries

In the midst of an intense deep freeze here....
                                                   

but silver linings seem to find their way through to my soul somehow...                 

welcomed daughter Katrina home for a week as she took a break from her studies and life in the city....

love hearing her play the piano again...                                   

white flowers in the winter....could not resist them even if I tried...
             
than I read this timely post...

                                 simply adore the crisp white blooms...

warm muffins on mornings when buses don't run and schools are closed due to cold...
              

hanging laundry out in the winter....yep. I'm that crazy....but look I don't have to go out to hang it up....my clothes line comes inside...
pretty neat...huh?

                         " the winter sun has gold in it"...is a quote my mother in law taught me....

and last I 'll share my concluding line with a conversation I had with my daughter this week...

"I have learned there is always something in your life that keeps you on your knees....always something that keeps us from being okay on our own....
somehow only there do we gain proper perspective"....
                                    

Warmest of wishes to you and all your week brings....Lucy~

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)

Ask Him

 Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find,knock and
                the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

I love that verse.  It speaks volumes about God's character and His interest in the little details of our lives. Although it doesn't mean we will get all our prayers answered the way we want them.  It is saying that how can we expect God to answer, when we haven't asked. Yes, He knows our desires, but praying about them requires humility and surrender to His divine will.

           so  ask, I have a feeling He won't be surprised.:)

The Worth In Words

WORDS.......thinking about words. Thinking about the power they hold.
Imagine a world without them. Sometimes I wish I could retrieve mine.Words that came out wrong,words that should not have been uttered.
Sometimes I am glad I spoke the words I did. Thankful for the Spirit's guiding in tact and letting me bless and encourage someone who needed to hear words. 
I think I forget the power of words until I've been wounded by them.Then again the lack of words can also be hurtful. 
So much power in our words....and our perception of them.

prayer-
May the words I speak this week be from you Lord. Season them with your grace and kindness. Make them rich with the hope found in you. Make my ears deaf to words that would discourage or tear down. May I hear the words that are spoken, and may my heart listen before I respond with words of my own.

began this book recently...don't get a lot of time to read this time of year,but I am finding it to be one of those
that will keep me up at night...
                                                             

                                                                     

still counting gifts abundant...

574-
the scent of lilacs on my bike ride,575-the skies canvas,576-my children,577-being a mother,578-my husband,579-that they love to give gifts,580-trees in blossom,581-visiting greenhouses,582-praying through some tough situations,583-a God who cares about "little things,"584-kids who are diligent with homework,585-my mother,586-selling birdbaths,587-friends who call,588-kids with God-sized dreams,589-baking at night sometimes,590-spontaneity,591-artists of the every day,592-daughter reading Bible at the table in the morning,593-the wedding we were at recently,594-the three reunions we were at the last two days,595-community and all it's facets,596-the way the past defines me,597-the way it doesn't,598-our youth group in our barn watching a movie,599-the strength in numbers sometimes,600-more weddings coming up,601-sunny decks to sit on and visit sister's family,602-other people's excitement,603-freedom to live in peace with our neighbours.

                                    the bleeding heart must be the most vulnerable of all flowers....

Prerequisite For My Day

Give me your eyes of grace, Lord.

                                         
I need them to see through this day.

Give me your hands of mercy, Lord.
 I have much work to do.

 Give me your feet of faith, Lord.
 The road before me is long.

 Give me your lips of truth,Lord.
 Someone needs your hope.


Give me your heart of love, Lord.
Without it I am void,

For all I have is nothing
Without love to spur me on.


                                                                       

    Love bears all things, believes all things. hopes all things,endures all things,love never fails.
                 I Corinthians 13

341- baby lambs still living, ,342-flowers,343-tea with daughter,344- young love,345-children who are diligent with school,346-exams went well for them,347- a good book to read on a snowy day,348-hugs,349-laughter,350- sharing concerns 351- praying for people who have shared,352-family time,353-summer dreams and plans....

A Prayer For You

Sometimes I say a prayer for you,
I pray for what ever it is that you're feeling right now.
I pray about your unknowns ;and also for the knowns.
I pray about the bridges and dams that must sometimes be resurrected.
I pray that you never feel like you are walking alone.
I pray about the stormy seasons that are sure to come.
And I pray for the sunny weather times, when it's easy to forget to pray.

Sometimes I say a prayer for you,
I Want You To Feel Loved.
I pray that shadows never stay longer ,than the sunshine.
And I pray that although seasons come and go,
That your heart always stays open to love
And that your eyes always stay closed to faults.

I say a prayer from the bottom of my heart for you, and I thank God for you today.


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I am celebrating my first anniversary of blogging! What a crazy, fun year. Thank-you for coming with me.

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God ,Thank-you that when I call on you
You never say you're too busy.

You are never distracted and unable to hear me.
You don't say' what was that?'
I can't believe you'd ask me that!

You are there.
You hear every prayer on my lips.

Once!! The very first time!

It's that simple and that complex.

Thank-you, your daughter.


          It really 'hit me' today when I was praying just what a beautiful blessing
                         our direct line to heaven is.

 

 

 

 

 

81.shopping with daughter,82.visiting neighbour recovering from a bad horse accident, 83.that time heals,84.opportunity to share faith through the crisis,85,lovely fall leaves,86.canning the last beets from the garden,87.girl untangling yarn 88.girl knitting,89.nourishing muffins,(carrot pineapple)
90.books that make me ponder.




 

It's That Time Of Year...

With the evenings getting dark so early,
I find myself indoors more, sipping tea, rearranging surfaces for the inevitable emerging of fall....
                                                                              

                              

I like the effect of mixing real and artificial flowers.....Not quite so predictable.

 

    it didn't take long too add a few touches of fall here...leaves and an aromatic candle...

I love my hydrangea against my sea green walls......










                                                                                                         

    I was happy to find this picture at the thrift shop recently.Great addition to my kitchen.










,



Each night my heart kneels down to pray;Thank-you Lord for this day.
For all the blessings it has brought;lovely things - real and thought.
But teach me ,Lord, that thought things end unless I leave them with a friend.
So help me, please,to store away a part of You with them each day,
So they will one day come to feel You hold the key to thoughts made real. (June Masters Bacher)








 

Desperate Times

"Pray for rain" her last words ring in my head as we parted.We had just had a "catch up "conversation as  our lives had taken different directions and our paths didn't seem to cross quite as often anymore.
Her request feels like a reprimand. I'm the one who should be saying this. I'm the one who believes in the power of prayer.
It's not that I've given up praying for rain ,I still do.But one thing is certain  our heavenly Father knows we have need of all these things.Matthew 6:8

Do the desperate times make me pray harder? Or do they make me trust more? God is good. It's that simple or complicated.It depends on my outlook and how I view my world. Faith is believing in what we can't see. I can implore the heavens to water the earth or I can simply with childlike faith, rest in the knowledge of His goodness.

              
                Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,
prayer is not designed to inform God, but to give man sight of
          his misery; to humble his heart, to excite his desire,
     to inflame his faith,to animate his hope, to raise his soul
                         from earth to heaven.
                                  ( Clarke's Commentary)

Many kinds of Hunger...

This profound image reminded me of this quote I love..............
LORD,Give bread to the hungry and hunger for You to those who have bread."
                 Catherine Doherty.



Help me Jesus in my small way feed the hungry.
So much hunger Lord....physical, emotional,spiritual.
All knawing inside needing fulfillment.
Help us define our hunger and turn to You for the ultimate fulfillment.