God and a Watered Path

"See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up;
do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland"
Isaiah 43:19

The post-modern world is an increasingly dry wasteland... God is already in the process of creating a pathway through this desert. We travel with water! It wells from springs within us. So this promise of deliverance through the dry wasteland is as much a part of the journey as it is our future. The spirit through us is already creating streams in the desert. The more we submit ourselves to God and pour out what is within us, the more drinking water there will be for the world.

In the first Exodus God created dry land in the midst of the sea. Now He will create rivers amidst the dry land:

'For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground.
I will pour out my spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
They will spring up like grass in a meadow,
like poplar trees by flowing streams.'(Isaiah 44:3-4)

See, He has already begun!

(Exerpts from ANCHOR All Nature Sings for Wednesday, August 26, 2009)

Yellow, Brown and Orange

Observing the sunflowers growing along the back fence in our garden and later enjoying the gorgeous display of a profusion of colors at Minter Gardens, I felt drawn to the yellows and oranges somehow. Is fall in the air already?

This outline of a huge maple leaf with tiny boxwood was very impressive.

A Thankful Heart

Each little flower that opens
Each little bird that sings-
He made their glowing colors
He made their tiny wings...

Embracing what God does for you
is the best thing
you can do for Him. Romans 12:1
- from The Message - Eugene Petersen

And as Madame Blueberry knows:
... a thankful heart is a happy heart...!

I love the way our 4 year old grandson beautifully sings these great lyrics from one of Madame Blueberry's movies:*

I thank God for this day,
For the sun in the sky,
For my mom and my dad,
For my piece of apple pie!

For our home on the ground,
For His love that's all around,
That's why I say thanks every day!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!
I'm glad for what I have,
Thats an easy way to start!

For the love that He shares,
'Cause He listens to my prayers,
That's why I say thanks every day!
*Veggie Tales
Yes, today, with God's help, I will embrace what He does for me
because that's the best thing I can do for Him! Wow!

Special Occasions

Special Occasions come in myriads of shapes and sizes and encompass a vast array of emotions. It seems to me that a special occasion requires people, frequently involves flowers and almost always includes food...oh yes food! It always requires food!

Life is full of special occasions - humble or extravagant, with few or many, short or long - everyday is full of special occasions. A quote from one of Jan Karon's books sums it up quite well:
"Bottom line, wasn't life itself a special occasion?"


These hydrangeas were the backdrop for tea on the deck with two very special friends the other day.

This was a sample of the food we enjoyed as we shared our mutual summer experiences together in the pleasant warmth of the afternoon sun.

Just over the past days we've enjoyed coffee or lunch and fellowship with so many different groups of people. Each occasion was special! Today was special. Our two local grandsons along with our daughter and son in law came for lunch. What fun to see the joy in these little guys, to experience their hugs, to put them down in our beds for a nap, to barbecue burgers for supper and just to hang out together. What a celebration. What a special occasion!

And yes, when I could eat those ruby red cherry tomatoes off the vine, warmed by the sun, when I could deadhead the petunias after a huge rainfall coaxing them into further bloom, when I could pull out a few more weeds and tidy the yard...these were special occasions today! I am grateful. Thank you dear Lord.

"...and the place thereof shall know it no more..."

Many times in the last few years, I've noticed, when I'm reminded of something from the past, whether visually or just mentally, the Scripture from Psalm 103 just springs out of my mouth - sometimes as a whisper, sometimes as a shout, sometimes simply as a thought: "...and the place thereof shall know it no more."

This happens,for example, when I drive past the condo where my parents lived in their last years. Whoever may live there now of course has no idea of all that may have transpired there over the 14+ years that my parents lived there together. Life goes on...moves ahead relentlessly as it picks up momentum with each passing year. Who knows what happened where I now walk and live and work and play?

It's interesting that these thoughts come to the surface frequently now, thoughts I rarely entertained before. Could it be that witnessing the departures of my parents and so recently, my sister Erica, plus the fact that I'm chugging right along adding another birthday every year,has something to do with this?

In Psalm 103, the Psalmist - King David in this case - reviews the blessings God lavishes on those who follow His ways, citing the gracious, loving, merciful and forgiving nature of God. And yet... "As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place therof shall know it no more. (But then... )But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; to such a keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them." vs 15-18 KJV And so it is.

Scrolling through some of my photos I reviewed our trip to southern Manitoba a year ago. We visited the two major places where I spent the first sixteen years of my life before my family moved to British Columbia.

This is a picture, taken last year, of the house in which I spent my first six years. The print I have in my family album shows a beautiful house. I remember it as being yellow in color. My mother, who by this time already had five young daughters had done all the painting herself. The house had green leafy vines creeping up this southern-facing wall. My Dad told me years ago that they had bought this 40-acre farm for $1,800. Until I was born my parents with my two older sisters had lived nearby in a tiny house on a 10-acre parcel of land. Dad had bought that place in 1937 for $25, cash plus he gave his 1928 Whippet Super 6, valued at $150, in trade..."and the place thereof..."

Both my parents arrived in southern Manitoba as children, with their families, after fleeing Russia on the heels of the Revolution in 1923. My paternal grandparents are buried in the tiny village of Gnadenthal where we visited the cemetery. I was intrigued today as I checked the Scripture passages chosen for each marker. Although the inscriptions are in German, my first language, here is how my Grandmother's reads in English:
...that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. Philippians 3:9 NIV. I am blessed!

Another beautiful surprise and blessing was the realization that engraved on my Grandfather's marker, was the Scripture reference from John 11:25 KJV:
Jesus said unto her,I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live... Now this is the identical inscription that can be found on my parents markers which we placed at their burial site so many years later. My mother quoted that verse a lot...and the place thereof...

Just before the Christmas of 1949 my parents moved us into a beautiful brand new 4-bedroom house. It was a perfect place it seemed - close to school, close to church and close to the small downtown area -everything within walking distance in our little town. We sisters all think of these ten years as "Golden Years". Here is what the house looked like last year at this time - a few changes,otherwise very recognizable...and the place thereof...

*

Cookin' Hot

We're setting new records this summer in the Fraser Valley with prolonged periods of extremely hot weather. Check the thermometer:

This weather is very stressful for the flowers and shrubs. Never mind the "shrinking violets" - my rose bushes and hydrangeas are taking a terrible hit inspite of daily watering. This gorgeous bloom is hidden from direct sunlight and so is fairing ok so far. Up till now the hydrangeas were stunning and the roses languishing right from the start. Now both are in trouble. But when the temps will drop and we'll get a good west coast down pour again they will rebound. Always hopeful in Abbotsford!

Taking a picture of the thermometer reminded me of this shot I took a week before Christmas when we were experiencing unusual amounts of snow and below normal temperatures!

Sisters

My sisters are one of God's most special gifts to me. He gave me four wonderful sisters-two older and two younger. Looking through some quotes about sisters I found these reflecting my sentiments quite closely:

A sister is a gift to the heart,
a friend to the spirit,
a golden thread to the meaning of life. ~Isadora James


The best thing about having a sister
is that I always have a friend. ~Cali Rae Turner

Siblings are the people we practice on,
the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation
and kindness and caring-
quite often the hard way. ~Pamela Dugdale

And then to add a bit of levity to this all I dare not omit:
Sister to sister we will always be,
A couple of nuts off the family tree.~Author Unknown


On May 30 my post read: "Roses for my Sister." Four weeks later, Erica passed away from this earth and entered into the presence of the Lord Jesus. It is a sobering thing to "lose" a sister. And yet, I haven't lost her at all. She's only gone ahead to where we all want to be. What great provision God has put in place for His children. For as we read in the Scriptures:
To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. - This provides great comfort and hope and assurance.

During this time our four year old grandaughter, visiting us with her family from Mexico, cheered us on in many ways. She delighted in choosing flowers for tiny bouquets. This is the combination she picked on her last day of their visit. Erica would have enjoyed it. Just yesterday my six year old grandaughter who lives near by delighted me with her joy and exuberance in going out into the garden with me to pick another tiny bouquet similar to the one in the picture. This time we took it to the gravesite and placed it at Erica's marker. It was a beautiful moment.