Liebster Award

About a month ago, my cousin's wife who has a great blog over at Little House on the Circle nominated my blog for a Liebster Award.  This is not a competition; the Liebster Award was created to recognize and/or discover new bloggers and welcome them to the blogosphere.  It's actually more like a chain letter whereby you nominate other blogs that have fewer than 1,000 followers, and encourage those bloggers to nominate others.

There are various slightly different versions of the rules out there on the internet, but here are the ones I'm going by:

*Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to his or her blog.

*Display the award somewhere on your blog.

*List 11 facts about yourself.

*Answer 11 questions chosen by the blogger who nominated you.

*Come up with 11 questions to ask your nominees.

*Nominate 5-11 blogs that you think deserve the award and who have fewer than 1,000 followers.  (Please do not re-nominate the blogger who nominated you.)

*Go to their blogs and inform them that they've been nominated.  

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Thank you SO MUCH for nominating me Jeannie!  It has been so cool to be able to get to know you through our interactions through our blogs.  I always enjoy your bits of humor that you inject into your writings and LOVE getting a glimpse into your family!  Thank you for sharing and being open!!!

Here are 11 facts about me:

1.  I am the oldest child and the middle child. (My dad remarried after his first wife passed away, so I have 4 siblings who are older than me, but I am the oldest of "the second batch")  :-)

2.  I have followed in my mother's footsteps by leaving home and moving far away.  My mom came to Canada from Holland, to end up marrying my dad, and staying in Canada.  I moved from Ontario to Saskatchewan, to end up marry my husband and staying in western Canada. 

3.  I love gardening.  I could spend hours just sitting in my backyard enjoying my pond, gardens and the sounds the birds bring to my garden.

4.  My favorite color is green.

5.  I always wanted to be a teacher, but never went to university.  However, years later I have been blessed to become a preschool teacher, as well as now teaching piano.

6.   I love music and when I am home often turn up the tunes which motivates me to get my work done!

7.  I enjoy scrapbooking and card making.  However, I don't take enough time to do either of them.  Some day. . . . 

8.  I hate exercising.  

9.  I have traveled to Holland, Venezuela, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Germany and United States.

10.  I hate to clean house!!!  When I was younger, my mother was a cleaning machine, and now my sister own's her own cleaning business, but my version of cleaning the house is making sure things have been picked up and put away, the floor is vacuumed, and nothing has been moved on the furniture or else you can see the dust rings!  LOL - well it's maybe not quite that bad - but I really do NOT like cleaning.

11.  I wish I could move back to Ontario.  While I am thankful for where I am in my life, if I could change one thing, it would be to move back to where my family is.  I love my family in Saskatchewan, but it is still too cold there for me.  So I would love to move to Ontario to be close to my family there.

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Here are the answers to the questions that Jeannie asked me:

1. What quality do you like best about yourself?

I think the quality that I like about myself is that I am empathetic.  I’d like to think that I try to understand others’ feelings, rather than projecting what I feel onto them.  Having been through many situations, I feel I am a good listener and try to understand the person who is sharing.

2. What have you done, or learned to do, that you never thought you could? 

I never thought I could have gone through some of the difficult situations that I have experienced over the past 25 years.  My husband had an accident that left him an incomplete paraplegic and ended up in a wheelchair, I have experienced infertility and all that goes with it, we have gone through the process of adoption, and I have struggled with depression, panic attacks and anxiety.  I never thought I would be a strong enough person to go through those things – yet God gave me the strength whenever I needed it. 

3. Why did you begin to blog?

I began to blog because I had just come through a difficult time in my life and wanted to share some of the things I had learned going through those struggles.

4. What do you like most and least about blogging?

I love being able to share my journey with others.  I love seeing how God directs different people to my blog and uses what He has put on my mind to encourage others.  I think the thing I like least is the feeling of “having” to write something. When I started, I found it easy to blog almost every day.  But some weeks, I find it difficult to even blog one day.  But I am realizing that it’s me who puts those expectations on myself.  So now, I’ve really been trying to write more what God brings to my mind rather than what I want to write about.  So many times I’ve started a blog only to delete it because it just didn’t feel right.

5. What was your favourite book when you were younger, and do you still like it?  Has it stood the test of time?

My favorite book(s) were the Laura Ingles series.  They have ABSOLUTELY stood the test of time.  My sister Linda gave them to me as Christmas and birthday gifts and eventually received the whole series.  Now, my daughter and son have read them as well.  In fact, a couple years ago we went to South Dakota and did a tour of where the Ingles families lived and were raised.  VERY COOL!

6. Are you active on social media like Facebook and Twitter?  If not, why not?

I am on Facebook, but wouldn’t necessarily say active.  Up until last summer I was active but ended up closing my account for a time.  I found it occupied too much of my time/thoughts.  Now I basically use my FB to promote my blog – with the odd interaction otherwise.  

7. What would you like to have inscribed on your gravestone?

She brought joy to our world.

8. If you could have a famous person (living or dead, real or fictional) as a next-door neighbour, who would it be?

David Foster. . . . I would be blessed by all the music that would be coming from his home!  Mind you I might not want to teach piano if he lived there!  LOL

9.  As Anne of Green Gables said, "Which would you rather be if you had the choice--divinely beautiful or dazzlingly clever or angelically good?"

I would say angelically good – since I find it so difficult to be that!!!

10. What would an ideal day look like for you?

If I could describe the perfect day it would be Saturday in July. We would spend the morning doing yard work outside. The temperature would be about 25C.  My husband and kids would be home and in the afternoon we would be hanging out in the back yard.  We have a pond with Adirondack chairs around it, and we would be sitting there watching the kids swim in our pool.  I’d be sipping on a strawberry daiquiri and have steaks marinating ready for an outdoor meal on the deck.   Wow. . . . I am almost there!   :-)

11. What is your favourite piece of music?

Classical would be Claire de Lune – Claude Debussy, Christian would be I Can Only Imagine By MercyMe. 

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Here are the questions I am asking of the people I am nominating:

1. If you could be anywhere else right now, where would it be
2. What do you love about where you are at in your life right now?
3. What has been your favorite or least favorite post that you have blogged about?
4. How long have you been blogging and what prompted you to choose this road?
5. What is one word that your friends would use to characterize you?
6. What is your favorite quote or Scripture verse?
7. What is something you fear?
8. Tell us about an event that changed your life.
9. What is your favorite season of the year and why?
10. Name one person that has been an important role model in your life.
11. What is a good book that you would recommend others to read?

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Thanks again Jeannie for nominating me.  This has been a fun journey and I've enjoyed thinking through these questions and being able to put some of my thoughts on paper.

For those of you reading this, why don't you consider heading on over the Jeannie's blog at Little House on the Circle  I know you will enjoy your time there!!

Have a wonderful summer!!!!!  

EXPOSED!!!!!

As parents, we come across numerous times in our kids' lives that while serious, we can hardly keep ourselves from bursting out in laughter.  You know those moments. . . . when your child has disobeyed, or done something they shouldn't have. . . . and it is definitely time for them to learn a life lesson, but the picture before you, just causes your spirit within to laugh because of the absurdity of the situation.  Years ago, my sister had sent my daughter a box of 1000 stickers.  My daughter and I had talked about how she could use them for pictures or decorating letters etc. but I didn't want to see them on the walls etc.  Yes, she nodded her head in agreement.  After finishing up the dishes, I returned to the sitting room where my not quite one-year old son was resting in a bouncy chair, to find him covered in stickers.  Over a hundred of them for sure.  I needed to deal with the disobedience, but OH MY was that picture priceless! 

I had such a situation again the other day.  My children are older now - and of course much wiser than my daughter was at 3 years old!  As we sat down to supper one evening, I looked across the table at my son and saw that his eyes looked different than usual.  Now, if you have met my son, you know he has these beautiful long eyelashes than any of us girls would crave to have.  They are full, dark and beautiful.  But that day, there was something off about how he looked - almost as if he had make up on or something.  I couldn't quite put my finger on it, and when I asked him if he had makeup on, he said no, and asked why I thought that.  I told him it looked darker under his bottom lashes, but he said no, and since I really couldn't put my finger on it, I left it.  He had had a play at school that he had performed a couple days earlier, and I thought perhaps he may have had makeup on that day and it still lingered a little.

Later on that evening. . . the truth came out.  As I was finishing up teaching piano, my husband came with my son and commented that my son would have to tell me what had happened. As he came into the piano room, I saw dark streaks running down his face!!  Completely surprised, but not wanting to laugh, I asked him what happened. He said he and his sister had been playing downstairs and he had gotten hurt.  He had started to cry. . . . and that is where the supper time lie began to unravel.  As the tears rolled out from under his lashes, mascara began to wash off of his lashes, leaving a trail of black streaks.  His lie had been revealed.  In broken tears, he admitted to me that he had lied at supper about the make up and that he had indeed been looking through my makeup basket and found a bottle labeled mascara and read that it was for eye lashes.  He said he had put some one, but thought no one would ever find out.  Well, I have to admit, laughter was welling through my heart!!  The sight of him standing there with big black streaks running down his cheeks was quite comical.  However. . . . the issue behind those streaks was not comical at all.  Of course we dealt with it at that moment and you can be sure he will NEVER be trying my makeup again, or at least lying about trying it!!!  After we finished praying about it, he asked me, "Mom, how do you always find out when I'm lying.  Even when I am sure you will never find out, most of the times you do!"  Ah my dear son. . . . that is just what a mother does!  Okay, so that's not what I told him - but what I did tell him is that God knows it's my job to care for and teach my children, and I truly believe that God brings incidents like this one to my attention, so that I CAN teach them.  That I can train him in the way that God wants him to go.

In the days following this episode, I couldn't help but smile as I envisioned his streaked face.  But it also made me think of how we perceive God.  I know my son does things at times that he is SURE we will never find out.  But am I not like that with God?  As I thought about that, I initially thought that no - I wouldn't do that.  But as I thought about what it would be like to have my whole life laid out before God.  Laid out there bare for Him to see.  All the deeds.  Good, bad, ugly.  Right out there bare for Him to see.  How would I feel?  As I pondered over all those things that I would love to sweep under the carpet, I was struck by how absurd that thought was.  Because all my deeds ARE laid out bare for God to see.  In fact, it's more than my deeds. It's my thoughts.  It's the motives behind my deeds.  It's everything.  I truly think that most times, I deceive myself by thinking that God is not aware of what I'm doing.  I go about my daily activities really doing as I please.  I'm not saying that it's all wrong things or negative things. But I just do as I please.  I haven't really given my day, my moments over to God.  And in the process, I do mess up.  I do go about doing things that really do not bring honor or glory to Him.  And I ignore the fact of how it affects Him.  In my previous post, I commented about what God must have felt when He created Adam & Eve only to have them choose Satan over obedience to Him.  And yet. . . so often that is what I do.  Oh it might not be that big deliberate heinous sin, but it's those little ones.  The ones we tend to think aren't so bad.  The ones that we really never even ask for forgiveness for because we see them as not too bad.

Like my son, I think I can hide from God. I can just ignore those areas in my life that need His attention!  I ignore the subtle areas that don't "appear" as gross sins, but that really are what color my very existence day to day.  

Hebrews 4:12-13 reads like this: 

¹² The word of God is living and active. It is sharper than any sword that has two edges. It cuts deep enough to separate soul from spirit. It can separate joints from bones. It judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart. ¹³ Nothing God created is hidden from him. His eyes see everything. He will hold us accountable for everything we do.

WOW!  If I truly lived my life with those verses as my motto, I think my life would be a very different story.

Sometimes there are areas in our lives that we aren't even aware we are hiding from God.  Areas that we need God to expose and show us. But as verse 13 states He will hold us accountable for EVERYTHING we do.  Not just the stuff we are aware of, but everything.

Won't you join me today to ask God to expose those things to us?  Let's keep these verses in the forefront of our minds as we go about our every day lives.  Let's give God all those areas of our lives that we'd rather hide, stuff down.  Let's give them to Him and ask Him to take control of those areas.  With His strength, we can conquer these areas too, and bring Him glory in doing so.  Let's get God to get right into those ugly spots of our lives - visible or invisible - and have God take over.  Let Him change us so that we can face God each day knowing we are striving to become more and more like Him.

Let's expose our lives to Him - so that those "black streaks" in our lives can be wiped away.  Replaced by the glow of serving Him!!!

Give it up!!!!

Give it up.  Isn't that a funny saying?  It can mean so many things.  Sometimes you hear someone say "Give it up for so and so" which means give the person a round of applause - cheer them on!!!  Sometimes, you hear someone say "Give it up" and it's laced with sarcasm because they just want you to stop doing what you are doing.  Another time, you might hear someone say "GIVE IT UP!" in a demanding tone, and it means give it to me right now!!!!

Today, my "give it up" means to just stop trying.  Just stop.  Just give it up!  Let me explain.

This weekend, I had my heart stomped on.  My feelings crushed.  You know what I mean.  Those times in your life when you have given your whole heart to something.  You have tried so hard to accomplish something.  You have persevered and in your own mind felt that you really had conquered what ever it was that you were working toward. It might be a project.  It might be a recipe.  It might be an attitude you were trying to eradicate. It might be a friendship you were trying to work on or repair. It might be a character trait that you were working hard at trying to change.  Whatever it was, you were feeling pretty good about what you were doing, and how you were really reaching that goal.  And not proud in a bad way.  But feeling thankful - grateful for whatever your accomplishment had been.

And then in one foul swoop, those feelings were crushed.  Your efforts were trampled on.  You were made to feel that all the efforts you had worked on so hard and long were all for not.  Someone or something crushed your spirit and that joy that you had been feeling was stamped out in one action. . . in one sentence. . . in one look. . . in one mocking laugh.  The joy, the accomplishment you had once felt was sucked out, and all you were left with was a void.

And you just want to throw whatever it was that you were working towards, what you were working on, you just want to throw it away.  Well, that is NOT the "give it up" that I was thinking about either.

Like I said, this weekend, I had my feelings crushed.  My spirit bruised.  And I was broken.  I just wanted to walk away and forget what I had worked on so hard. I began to nurse a "poor me" complex.  I began to nurture the "I'm no good for anything" complex.  I began to sing the song "Why even try????"  All those things swirled around in my head.  I started becoming more and more negative.

 As I nursed those thoughts in my mind, and justified them, and rationalized them as being "truth", the thought crossed my mind of what God must have felt when Adam and Eve sinned.  Here he had made the most beautiful perfect creatures.  He had given them everything they ever could have wanted.  He even gave them each other - when in fact He had created them for His own pleasure.  God saw everything and it was GOOD!   And in one fateful moment, all of that was lost.  A snake slithered it's way into Adam & Eve's life and took everything precious that God had created.  It was gone.  With one small bite.  Perfection was lost.

I thought about that agony.  I thought about how I would feel in that situation.  How I was feeling in my own present situation.  And I wondered to myself, how would God deal with this situation? And as I wondered about it and thought about how God dealt with sin entering into His perfect creation, I realized that God did not wallow in self pity.  God did not become angry and destructive.  God did not close Himself off.  Instead, God created a way of redemption.  God created a way to fix the mess that had been made.  He went (and I mean no disrespect of God in saying this), He went with plan B.  We messed up and He provided away out.

As I thought about that fact, and I thought about the negative feelings swirling around in my heart, the words GIVE IT UP SHARON resounded in my head.  STOP THIS already!  Sure you had your feelings hurt.  You were crushed. . . but give it up.  Shake yourself off and move on!  You have the choice to sit here and wallow in your self pity, or you have the choice to brush yourself off and move on.  GIVE UP the "right" you feel to be angry.  GIVE UP the justification that you are feeling to close yourself off.  GIVE UP any negative responses to this and THANK GOD FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR YOU!!!  Thank Him, that He provided a plan B for you.

So today, I sit here, still bruised. . . .still hurting. . . still crushed. . . . BUT I will give it up and not allow those things to define me.  I will not let that situation color the rest of my week.  I will not let it affect the relationships that I have with those around me.  Because if I do that, ultimately Satan has won yet again.  So today, I will look in the mirror and say to myself "Sharon GIVE IT UP! There is so much more out there than feeling negative."  And when I think of all the blessings God has given me, I cannot help but "give it up".  I cannot help but begin to let go of the anger.  Begin to give up the resentment.  Give up the right to retaliate.  I am giving up all those things to FOCUS ON GOD - what He has for me.  He has never failed me.  He has never given up on me.  He has never disappointed me.  So I will focus on that today.

As I sat and gave this to God this morning, the image of a blank easel came to my mind.  It was as if God was telling me, "Sharon, Give it up.  Today is a new day.  You have a blank canvas before you.  What are you going to do with it?  What beautiful masterpiece are you going to create for Me today?"
So today - I WILL give it up.  I will give it to God and let Him take over!!! Regardless of what happens around me, I will strive to be thankful for each and every blessing that God brings my way.  The other stuff - I will try to give it up!!!  Give it up. . . . and let God. . . . !!!!

Psalm 31:14   But I trusted in you, O LORD: I said, You are my God.