When it's hard to imagine

As I've looked back at the past 6 weeks since the new year turned, I think about the "label" that I gave 2015.  Imagine. 

But I have to admit.  It's been hard to "imagine" these past 6 weeks.  Its been hard to think past the walls of my mind.  I've been struggling.  To get rid of the blackness.  To be rid of the winter and ice that clings to the walls of my heart.  And each day that passes, it gets more and more difficult to try to imagine.

There ARE light days.  There are days when the sun is able to peak in.  But many days its dark.  Many days the difficulties get the best of me.  Many days, the old nature takes over and I lie in the darkness thinking "I cannot imagine in this darkness. I cannot open my eyes to what might be." 

Imagining can be difficult.  You see imagining means opening my heart to the possibilities.  And opening my heart risks being hurt.  Imagining means opening my mind to other things.  And I am scared.  I am scared of becoming vulnerable and finding myself in a darker spot than the past.  I am scared of allowing myself to feel. . . to hope. . . to imagine.

But it's when I hang on to the those old dark places, that the imagining gets crushed down.  The darkness that surrounds my thoughts make it hard to imagine.  But what is imagining?  Is it holding on to something tangible?  No.  It's thinking about something that isn't.  It's hoping for something that you can't yet see.  Imagining CAN be done in the dark.  Imagining CAN be done when my heart is in a dark place.  I just have to imagine.  I just have to push away the darkness even for a minute and open my mind to the possibilities.  I just have to open the door, just a crack to let the sun start to peak in.  To let it warm the dark spots. Let it warm the icy grip that the past has on my heart and to let it start to warm even the smallest spots. 

And the days when the darkness isn't so overwhelming? Allow the sun to illuminate the joys that life brings.  Let it begin to warm my heart into a glowing ember of joy.  Of thanksgiving.  and imagine all the things that could be.

I can imagine in the dark.  And I can put my hope in the LIGHT!

Answering God's call (updated video included)

So I have had a decision placed in front of me.

I will place my response on this platform.   Please listen to this video and see what God is calling you to.

http://live.passionconferences.com/atl2-session-5/   (This was only recorded today, so it is not yet on youtube but please copy and paste into your browser to hear an incredibly powerful message from Christine Caine!!!!)


Please copy and listen to it to understand a little of my journey.


My answer is YES Lord. . . . I have decided to do the work God has called me to do.

This is the new link.  It's about an hour, but well worth it!!!! PTL!!!

(Christmas) 2014 = = = = = wiped out

So yesterday I got a call from my mom in Ontario.  She informed me she was WELL on her way to cleaning up all the decorations from the past holiday season. (Ok, truth be told I was pretty jealous!!!)  About a week ago, my son got an email from my Dad sharing that he had put away all the outside Christmas lights and the house was "back to normal".  (obviously, they don't have little ones begging, pleading, whining to keep the lights and glitz of the season glowing!!!  :-)  )

So, (with a renewed energy from my mom's motivation) after the phone call yesterday, in a fervor, when my husband had taken the kids to the pool, I madly dashed around our home, dismantling "christmas".  (You'll notice it is WITHOUT a uppercase C - because these window dressings are NOT Christmas!!!!)  I tore down the garlands, took off the shelf decorations, removed the wall decor, took down the lights (BELIEVE ME = the tree was already removed to the end of our driveway by the 28th of December!!!!) and as I scoured the walls, shelves and tables, I stood in the middle of the kitchen proud as a peacock, that I had dismantled christmas before the kids were able to come home and complain!!!!

Sure, it was all sitting down in the basement in a heap.  But upstairs?!?!!?!  There was no sign that christmas had ever happened at our house.  (And BOY OH BOY - if Keith turned on the outside lights. . . . . .not a good scene!  ;-)  )  And so, in my proud moment, I continue to pack away the remnants of the past 8 weeks.  The twinkling lights.  The sparkly garlands.  The shiny balls.  The decorative ornaments.  All. . .  packed. . . away.  Back into the darkest recesses of our basement.

And with the beads of sweat still trickling down the sides of my hairline, the truck rolled in and I quickly placed myself in front of the TV to see if anyone would notice the transition.  (You see, when I put UP the decorations, my son hadn't even opened the door and he noticed the joy and sparkle and shine of the decorations. He couldn't contain himself and was quick to announce to everyone - ITS CHRISTMAS!!!!) 

Yesterday however, it took about an hour before he commented, "Mom, why did you take down the garland around the door?". . . . . and with a sudden start, came the realization that all the holiday decorations had been removed.  But, it took my kids to tell their dad (about 4 or 5 hours later!!!!) that the decor was removed, to which he commented, "Oh ya, I guess it just looks like normal."

So all that to say. . . . . . .

What do people see in us?  When we are on the mountain top, it's easy to exude joy.  To radiate God's love and endurance.  What about when we are in the valley?  Do we quickly strip away the "decorations" and "show" people that God has "abandoned us?"  Despite the dark moments, are we still able to sing God's praises? 

Please don't misunderstand me.  I don't mean that we have to be all smiles when dark times come our ways. God gets that these are tough times!!!!  But are we still able to direct the sparkle and shine of God's love towards Him?  Are others still seeing the outwards signs that "God is in us"?  We can be sad.  We can be lonely.  We can be hurt.  We can be broken.  But we can STILL direct our praise and gratitude towards Him - the one who made us.

As Christians, we don't want to ever take down the "trimmings" of what God has done for us.  We may be fighting difficult battles, but does our heart reflect what God has done for us?  When I am going through a dark time in my battles, do I try to focus on the positives rather than the negatives?

From September to December, I went on a 100 day journey of praise.  It was so easy to say "my day stunk, but I am thankful it wasn't as stinky as other days."  Okay so not those words, but it was easy to draw negativity into what was supposed to be gratitude!!!  "I am as sick as a dog, but thankfully I am still alive."  Do you see what I mean?  It doesn't seem like drawing glory to God!!!  It doesn't  seem like we are drawing attention to the wonderful things that God has done for us.  Because THERE ARE SO MANY!!!!

As I have taken down the trimmings of our holiday, I have become acutely aware, that I do not want the glitz and glamor of a life lived for God to go away, just because we aren't celebrating His birthday.  I want EVERY DAY to be a day that we showcase the God that sent His Son to die for us.  Let's not get bogged down by the mundane things of every day.  Let's IMAGINE all the amazing things that He has yet to do through/for/with us.  Just because the decorations are gone, it doesn't mean the joy has to be gone. 

The joy is not in the trimmings.  It's what is in your heart!!!!!!!!  Is your heart full for God?  Then share it!!!!  Let's not strip down the decorations that we put up in 2014.  Let's add to them.  Let's share with others the joy of 2014 and encourage them to see all that God has prepared for us this year in 2015.  It's a good year.  It's a new year.  It's a year of God's continued  GRACE. . . . FAITHFULNESS. . . . FORGIVENESS. . . JOYFULNESS!!!! 

It's a good year.  Let's make sure others know it's because of God's great love for us!!!!

GOD IS GOOD!!!! 

~ i. m. a. g. i. n. e. ~

First of all - Happy New Year!  I trust you were able to bring in the New Year with joy and celebration.

Don't you love "do overs"?  Oh how I have often needed a do over in my life. 

I love to look at a new year as a "do over".  A fresh start.  A new adventure.  And I guess that's where the whole concept of New Year's resolutions come into play.  Do you make New Year's resolutions? I can't say they are a bad idea, but so often I have made these promises to myself because of the fact that we have a new year and with it new opportunities. 

However, I know for myself, more often than not, I have failed - and usually miserably - at those resolutions.  I think somehow when i get to that new Year, I think that magically, I am going to possess some new power that will enable me to meet this new challenge and that because of the new set of numbers on the calendar, I will somehow be able to conquer this challenge because of the new numbers.

Alas, I fail.  I have failed.  So for me, I have often started a new adventure BEFORE the new year.  I guess for me, I need to think about my resolution.  I need to make it at a time when there is no pressure.  I need to go into my new idea having given it a lot of thought.  So for me New Years isn't about new ideas or new adventures.  It's about continuing on in the strong resolutions I made the past year and trying to make them better.  Trying to do better with the things I started working on the previous year.

However, what I do like to do is give my year a name.  A label.  An "umbrella thought". And so for the past few months, I have thought and prayed about what 2015 would be for me.  In 2013, my goal was PRAYER.  It was something that God really impressed on my heart to do more of.  And through that year and this past, it has been something I have been privileged to do more of.  Coming to the Throne of God is such an honor and privilege and it has really been a source of comfort and strength to know that God has provided this way for me to talk to Him - DIRECTLY TO HIM!  Wow. . . . even typing that overwhelms me!

Last year the label I put on 2014 was BE MORE.  And in some cases, it was truthfully a be less comment!  Be more caring.  Be more thoughtful.  Be more patient etc.  As you can see that really encompassed a lot of things, but probably the biggest thing for me was be more open to what God wants of/for me.  It has been a year of growth.  One that I have seen God's hand work in so many different ways.  A year that I have felt His presence probably more intimately than ever before.  It has been a year that I have felt more in tune with Him than I ever have, yet more aware of how far I am from where I should be in my relationship with Him.  But definitely a year where I have felt more in love with Him than I ever have.

So, as I thought about what my "label" would be for this year, I thought about the past several years and the journey God has taken me on.  And I think in the past, I have always limited God in my own mind.  I either have not been open to where He would take me, or have not truly believed He could do the things He says He could and would.  I have contemplated Heaven more in the last few months than I have in a long time.  I have imagined what it will be like to sit in front of our Lord and Saviour and sing praises to Him. 

So this year, I have decided to label my year "Imagine".  Imagine all that God wants from me.  Imagine all the things God is going to accomplish through me.  Imagine the relationship that I am going to have with Him.  Imagine. . . Imagine. . . . Imagine. . . . all that He has in store for me this year.  I am excited about this label.  I am excited for all that He is going to bring me this year.  Good, difficult, stretching.  I am excited for it.  Because I know this to be true:  that whatever God brings my way, He will be walking beside me each and every step! He will be there!!!!  I know it doesn't make this an easy year necessarily.  But I know it is going to be one of growth and closer intimacy with Him.

In the book, Oh, the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss, I love the following statement:

I do have to say the book puts a lot of emphasis on doing things on your own - under your own steam - and that's not what I'm advocating!!!  But I love this concept of looking big.  Looking for the amazing things ahead that God has for me. 

So as I start out my days in 2015, I can only imagine the things God has planned for me.  I can only get excited for the places He will take me.  It IS scary to think of what some of those places might be, but truly, I am excited.  I am fully confident that He is going to help me BE MORE this year as well.  I can only IMAGINE the things, people, places, situations that He is going to place in my path this year to help me be more of a follower for Him.

Join me won't you?  In imagining all that God has in store for us.  It's a great day to IMAGINE!!!!!

Wednesday's Weigh in #4

Wednesday. . . . it comes around every week. . . and each Wednesday, I have the time to look back and reflect on my week.  The good, the bad and the ugly.  Where I've been, where I should have been, and where I desperately need to be.

They are good days - Wednesdays.  Days that I can see the positive week past, yet start over to renew my resolve to do better on the things that went badly.  For me here in my home, Wednesdays are a day of calm.  No teaching until later in the day.  Generally a day to do and plan as I please.  That's not to say they aren't full, but generally a stress free day.

But as i look back, I am so easily taken with the failures.  I so easily see the miss - steps.  The miss-takes.  The miss-erable failures.  And believe me, it's easy to do that.  In some respects, it's easier to do that than it is to focus on the good things that happened.  Why is it easier to believe Satan's lies than it is to believe the truth of God?  I guess that is our fallen nature.  That is what happens when our ears aren't tuned to God.  It happens when we allow ourselves to be lured by the serpent.  It happens when we focus on ourselves, instead of our creator.

Today I dreaded stepping on the scale and weighing in.  My week - was dreadful.  Mistakes made.  Harsh words spoken.  Unforgiving heart.  Walls built back up. 

As for my physical journey, well that too seemed to falter badly.  Exercise got put off one too many days.  Too many sweets needing to be baked. . . . and ultimately sampled.  Too many unhealthy choices over the course of the week.  I disappointed myself.  I let my guard down.  I gave in to the temptations around me.

So, today.  With another clean Wednesday slate, I sit here and have a choice to make.  Do I let the disappointments from last week, weigh me down and stain the future of this week?  Or am I going to take hold of this clean start and forge ahead with new resolve to do better this week?  A choice so seemingly easy, yet difficult.  Truth or lies?  What am I going to believe? 

Why does it always seem to be a difficult thing to focus on the positive? On God's truth?  Why do I keep focusing inward instead of upward to Him?  Oh, if I could only learn that lesson.  If only I could see me how HE sees me.  How He MADE me!!!

And yet, as I stepped on the scale today, I could hardly believe my eyes.  With all the failures of the previous week, with all the emotional struggles I'd battled with, it was as though God was telling me, you need to focus on the truth.  Not lies.  Focus on ME, not the deceiver.  See?  While he is getting you to focus on the negative, I am the Positive.  I am the Truth.  And with all the negativity, with all the lies that Satan tried to throw my way - there it was.  The truth.  Despite my week of "failures", I had shed another two pounds.  (Believe me!  I got off the scale several times to make sure there was not something wrong!!)  It was as if God was telling me, "See?  It is all just lies.  You are not a failure.  Focus on me.  I am the Truth." 

Psalm 139 (The Message)


God, investigate my life;
    get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
    even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
    I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
    before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
    then up ahead and you’re there, too—
    your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
    I can’t take it all in!

^7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
    to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
    If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
    to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
    you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
    At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
    night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

^13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.

^17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
    God, I’ll never comprehend them!
I couldn’t even begin to count them—
    any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
    And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
    all the men and women who belittle you, God,
    infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
    see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
    Your enemies are my enemies!

^23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
    find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Wednesday Weigh In #3

As I lay in bed this morning, I dreaded getting up, knowing today was my weigh in. I've taken to only getting on the scale once a week and so I knew today was the day. I was feeling much like this above image.  Surely it is going to take Keith, Taylor & Peyton to get me off the ground.  I am never going to get healthy.  It's just not possible.   And yet, those were lies Satan was telling me, because in fact this week had gone fairly well. 

The week had gone remarkably well in the exercise department.  I actually feel like I can get on the treadmill without feeling like I am going to collapse after 10 minutes!!!  I've been able to increase my speed and this morning, I was even able to run (6mph) for 6 minutes out of my 20 that I worked.  I was impressed with myself.  Total this week, I was on the treadmill 4 times, with 2 times being for 1/2 an hour.  Now, I know for some of you, that doesn't sound like much, but for me, any day I am up and exercising is that many more minutes than I have done in the last year. 

My daughter asked me why I didn't just wait until January and make a new resolution to eat healthier and be healthier and I laughed at her and my comment was : BEEN THERE DONE THAT.  But generally by February (okay, let's be truthful - Jan. 15!!!) that resolution has hit the toilet and is long gone!!!  This time, I feel it has been different.  It is more about my spiritual journey than anything, to be quite honest.

I am excited that I am taking this body that God has given to me and treating it with respect.  I love watching what I am eating.  So often in the past, I just ate - giving no attention to what or how much I was putting in my body.  Now, as I track my daily progress with My Fitness Pal it helps me to stay accountable with everything.  Whatever goes into my body, I track the nutritional value.  If there's no room for extra calories after supper? Well, then there's water for a snack.  But if I have an extra hundred or so calories that can be consumed, or extra protein, carbs etc. I can see what kind of a snack I can have after supper.  It's true:  I'm a nutritional information junkie.  And I LOVE that my kids are starting to read it too.  The other day, Peyton picked up his box of Chocolate Cheeries, and just about fell off his stool.  "Mom do you KNOW how much sugar there is in here?!?!? "  (Um yes son I do!!!LOL) "Well, at least there's lots of healthy vitamins in it.  That kind of cancels out the sugar right?!?!?"  Well, not so much.  But at least he's looking!!!!

One of my goals through all of this is to be able to get back to being able to do 4 miles of running.  Years ago I was up to being able to do that, but I was also about 30 pounds lighter.  I don't have unrealistic goals either.  I'm not really setting a time frame for myself, but it would be really cool to be able to do that by spring.  If not, that's okay.  The truth is, that my main goal is just to eat healthier and be more active.  If that translates into weight loss and me being more fit, I am all about that.

When I was young, okay into my 30's (that's young to me now!!!) my mom would tell me - just wait till you are 40. You won't be as thin as you are now! I thought it would never happen.  I could never be overweight to the point of needing to lose 30 pounds.  But as I've watch myself change over the last 3 or 4 years, I've realized I am there. 

HOWEVER, I am resolved, to not let myself stay there.  I WANT to be healthy.  I WANT to be around for when my kids grow up and get married.  If there's grand babies, I want to be able to be healthy enough to play and run with them.  I may be old and grey when that happens(because THAT had better not happen too soon!!  LOL), but at least I will be healthy and can be outside playing.  I am not going to give in to the stigma that just because I am 40+ there is nothing I can do about it.  Yes, things change when you are this age.  But it just means I have to pick up and work harder.

One little side/spiritual note that has come along with walking on the treadmill is that I have found it to be a wonderful time with God.  No one else is in the house and it is just my time that I am able to talk openly to God and share my heart.  Crazy as this sounds, I look forward to these mornings, when I can go downstairs first thing after the house is quiet and spend that time with God.  The steady pace of my feet often help me to pray and focus. Where as other times when I am somewhere else, I am too easily distracted.  I love it and look forward to going down to "walk with God". 

One other thing that I have been struggling with is trust issues.  If you read my God Knows blog, you know that I have been struggling with some tough emotions.  This week as I have prayed, I have struggled to "trust" God.  This has started a couple of weeks ago, but continues with the thoughts of "I know God CAN, but WILL He?"  And so as I shared my heart, I am on a journey to try and trust God with these intimate emotions.  Sometimes all it takes is to share those things that are so tied close to our hearts, with the One who already knows where we are at.  He knows, but He just wants to hear us share them with Him.  I do have to admit, yesterday after I had spent some time crying out to God and sharing my heart, it did feel better.  Had anything changed?  No, and maybe even got worse.  However, it was such a relief to know that God had heard me and HE was in charge.  Not me.  Yes I needed to do my part, but God will do the rest.  And so I have tried to leave it with Him.

And as I write about that, I was reminded of my "issues" last week - an attitude issue.  I am happy to report that while it isn't perfect, God has been gracious and things have been better.  Not with out their fall down flat on my face moments, but still it is better.  Every day, I am consciously trying to do something tangible that overcomes this attitude.  It's working.  God has been gracious and for the moment those walls are coming down. I praise God for that.  I know I can't let my guard down.  Because if it was a problem before, I know Satan will try to use it against me again.  That's the sneakiness of Satan.  BUT My God is greater than him, and with God's help, I will continue to gain victory over these areas of my life that need HIS touch!!

So I leave you with this today.  God can do anything!!!  He loves you.  He wants the best for you.  And while we (OFTEN) don't understand His ways, He loves us and is growing us into His image!!!

Blessings on you today and through this week as you strive to serve Him and bring Him joy in all you do.  Let HIS light shine through your life!!!

God knows!!!

As I sat staring out the window, trying to figure out the feelings that were rumbling around in my heart and head, I started to feel very alone.  These were things I really couldn't share with anyone.  Feelings that came from deep inside.  Feelings that, if voiced, would be judged.  Would maybe even be condemned.  It felt like there was no one who could understand the agony of emotions curled up in a tiny ball, and imbedded in my very being.  No one would get it. 

As I stared at the tall lonely pines in our back yard, the feeling of isolation, sadness, loneliness settled in.  I didn't want it to take root there.  But who would understand?  IF I even dared voice my feelings, who would even understand the anxious thoughts that lay there, taunting me?

So I prayed.  I prayed that God would take the tangled mess of emotions and hold them.  Heal them.  I unleashed the emotions I was scared to vocalize to others - to God.  He knew them before they left my lips, but I emptied my heart to Him.  As I lay my fears, my agonies before Him, a chickadee landed on the railing of the deck.  The feeder was empty.  Nothing left.  As I watched it disappear into the pine trees, I happened to see it sitting on an outer branch cracking something.  A seed. Where had it come from?  Certainly not the empty bird feeder.  Perhaps a stash of seeds left by a hungry squirrel.  But that chickadee had it's food.

And as I thought about the little scenario played out, I was reminded of the verse in Matthew. 

Matthew 6:25, 26 (MSG) “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

 

I count, far more to God, than even those tiny little birds!!! There is nothing that I can struggle through that God doesn't care about.  There is no hurt, no ache, no burden that God doesn't see.  He notices them all.  He cares for them all.  He understands, no matter how crazy I think my emotions are.  He gets it.  He knows.

 

Psalm  56:8 reads: You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.

It is so comforting that, even when I can't make sense of the struggles I'm feeling, God knows.  He gets it.  And I can always always go to Him, because He loves me.  He cares for me.  He aches for me.  

 

 We all know the verse: Cast all your cares on Him (God) because He cares for you.  Not an easy verse to conquer, but a comfort none the less. God cares for us.  And He wants to hear our aches.  He wants to have us unload those burdens on Him.

 

So remember with me today, won't you?  God knows.  And He cares.  He's waiting to wrap His loving arms around us and comfort us.  And say, "I get it!!  I know your pain.  Remember, I am right there with you!!!" 

 

Wednesday Weigh In

Wow.  I can hardly believe we are at another Wednesday!  Sometimes I really have to wonder where the days go.  It seems that one week just melts into another and here we are four days away from December!?!?! 

As I've been thinking about how fast life seems to be passing, I have really started wondering what I am doing with it!  I have these ideas of what I would like to do.  Sometimes it's during that day.  Sometimes it's in a week or two.  Sometimes it's a bucket list kind of thing, but recently I've been reminded how quickly time is passing.  And each day that passes is one I'm never getting back.  The things I didn't do that day, have one less opportunity to get done. 

My kids are growing up so quickly.  I've started to realize that my baby is no longer my baby.  And I need to get a grip on that.  We've been struggling through the issue of responsibility.  My daughter has always been way more responsible than my son - maybe it's a boy girl thing I don't know.  However, I am realizing that it is in part due to how my husband and I treat him.  We have not taught him responsibility.  We don't want him to feel the sting of a consequence and so we "help" him out.  We make it so that he doesn't really feel the consequence - thus producing a child who doesn't know how to be responsible.  Case in point: My children both have agendas from their school.  Each day they are to bring them home for the parents to look at and sign.  In my son's class, if they have it signed 3 days in a week, they get "Fun Friday" which is a free time class that they can do as they please (within reason of course!)  Yesterday my son came home and was in a panic by about 5 o'clock.  He didn't have his agenda for us to sign, and he hadn't brought it home on Monday either.  My first reaction was to send my husband to the school to see if they could find it. "Thankfully" he was not yet home (I was teaching and couldn't go) and he didn't arrive home until 6 pm or so, when the classrooms would be closed.  My next thought was to write his teacher a letter explaining that Peyton had forgotten, and making excuses etc.  After taking some time to think about this I realized we were just making excuses for him and trying to fix something that actually required consequences!  If he missed a class time of fun, surely it would not scar him for life.  So this morning we told him, that he would be facing the consequences this time and we would not be fixing it for him.  (Let me tell you, it makes a Momma's heart break when you see those tears stream down his face. But I KNOW in the end, he will learn his lesson). Each day I "baby" him, is one less day that he has to learn responsibility.  I know it's better for him to learn responsibility sooner than later!!

As I've thought about the passing of time, I've started to wonder what I am doing with each day.  How I am making each day count - in my life, in my family's life, in my walk with God etc.  It has really challenged me to take a step back and look - really look into what I am doing with my days here on earth. 

And so with those thoughts in mind this week, my Wednesday weigh in is more about my heart than my health. I have started to ask God to show me the areas in my life that need changing. Rearranging.  It is terrible.  Awful.  You know - those things that you KNOW need it, but now God just keeps dangling them in my face.  The afternoon that I was wrestling with some of this, there was one specific thought, rather attitude, that kept nagging at me.  Start here.  Start with this one.  This is the one that if you truly want to change, needs to change first.

I have to tell you, I am still struggling with it.  It has a tight grip on my heart.  It's something, I don't want to break.  I don't want to give up.  I want to hang on to it because it gives me a certain amount of power.  A certain amount of control. That I like. That makes me feel like I am in charge.  But I know it's something that God is calling me out on.  And so while changes have not come too easily, I continue to pray that God will help me WANT to change.  That He would change my heart first so that I can surrender that stronghold to Him.  That attitude that is quite truthfully rooted in sin needs to be loosed.  I'm not quite sure how to do that because it has such a grip on my heart.  However, as I've been praying about it this morning, I feel God telling me this:  do ONE THING today to change that attitude.  Don't just pray.  Take the first step.  Do something small that will start to kick out the stronghold of that attitude.  And each day, take another step.  Regardless of how tiny it is.  But CONSCIOUSLY each day, do something specific that deals with that attitude.

So today, that's my weigh in.  And I'll come back to you next week with a response as to how it has gone.  My gut reaction is to think "Well, it likely won't amount to much" but I know if I think negatively, it will get negative results.  So I promise, I will share with you how well I've done this week!  ;-)

As for my health challenge, this week has been a fairly good week.  I've been on the treadmill 3 times this week.  My goal is 4 times each week, but seeing as this is my 2nd week doing this, I'm happy with 3.  My son keeps me motivated to do squats, so I've been able to do them 5 times this week - and I'm still able to stand!  HA HA!  For the most part we've eaten healthy.  My portion sizes are staying down, and while I've had a few "give ins" (especially on the weekend - I find that the most difficult!) I am proud of how I have stayed the course so far.  This week, I didn't have any weight loss, but I did lose an inch in my waist and that excites me!!!  And the other thing, I find I'm actually enjoying walking on the treadmill!  Go figure!  But what it also does is motivate me to watch what I'm putting into my body. If I am going to work so hard to be on the treadmill, I surely don't want to mess it up by eating things that are going to hinder all that hard work!!!

So that's my week - past, and what I hope to do in the future. 

Trusting you had a good week as well!!!  One last little tidbit I thought I'd share is this.  I was listening to Christine Caine's podcast on CHANGE this past week and got some really great thoughts, one of which I'd like to share with you.  "We cannot go out and change the world if we have not changed on the inside.  "Love the Lord your God with all YOUR HEART"  Change has to start with the heart.  It comes from the inside out.  You reproduce who you are not what you want."  So I am asking God to change me from the inside first.  Another of her comments was this:  "The more I allow God to change me, the more God can use me."  WOW!  It's scary, but I want that.  I want that for you too!

If you are interested in listening to Christine's podcast about CHANGE, you can find it here : Christine Caine  The Change message is from November 17, 2014.


Blessings on you as you seek God's direction in YOUR life!!!!

My body - the Holy Spirits dwelling place. . . ?!?!?!

As some of you know, these last few weeks I have started on a journey to become healthier.  This is not just a sudden idea I had because of the numbers on the scale.  However, that certainly did help.

Over the last several months, maybe a year, I have been exploring what the Holy Spirit means to me and how that affects me.  As I've started to become so aware of the Holy Spirit in my life, I've realized that my body is the dwelling place for Him.

In 1 Corinthians we read “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).  WOW!  As Christians, we have the Spirit of God living in us.  That concept has blown me away.  And as I've thought about that concept, I've thought about what kind of vessel am I.  What am I doing to my body that brings honor to God?  How am I treating my body that dishonors God?

So it was with those thoughts in hand, that I have chosen a path to bring honor to God by creating a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit that brings honor and glory to God.  He is using my body to share the Holy Spirit to others, and if I am treating my body with disrespect and abuse, what does that say to others about where the Holy Spirit is living?

I am not an avid runner.  In fact, for the most part I do not even enjoy exercise.  I enjoy eating well.  I love my sweets.  I like my glasses of wine.  I love just sitting around and hanging out.  And all these things in and of themselves are not wrong.  But what I have started to realize is that any of these things IN EXCESS is bringing dishonor to God.  First of all they are becoming my idols, and second of all it is disrespecting the body that God has given to me.

In my journey to this point, I have realized that it is a laziness that I have allowed to come over me that has gotten me to the point of being overweight.  And as I've thought about my body being a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, I have really been challenged as to what I am putting into my body.  What I am doing with my body.  How am I honoring God by what I am doing to or with my body?

In Psalm 139, we read about how wonderfully created we are.  God didn't randomly put us together.  We are His workmanship.  In Ephesians 2:10, it states "we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  How can I do good works when I am not taking care of the body that God has given to me.  How can I hear what the Holy Spirit is telling me, when I am filling my ears and head with things that are not God honoring?  What am I listening to or watching?  If I am filling my thoughts with things that dishonor God, why do I expect to be able to hear Him when I have filled my head with garbage?

I want my temple to be a place that brings honor to God.  I want the food that I eat to be healthy.  I want what I watch and listen to to be things that allow me to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to me, rather than to cloud and muddy up my thoughts.  I want this vessel that God has created in His image to be just that.  I don't want it to be something I have created.  What I have ruined.  I want it to be something that brings honor and glory to God in EVERYTHING that I do. 

When I think of the temple of the Old Testament, it was a place that was made of the finest, most exquisite materials.  It was a place that was the most magnificent.  Why? Because it was where the Holy Spirit rested.  God even gave very specific instructions for the Tabernacle and how it was to be built.  It was the place that God chose to meet the Israelites. It was a place where they could meet God and worship Him.  And that is what God has done with our bodies.  Our bodies, as Christians, are where the Holy Spirit is.  We don't have to look for Him.  He is right here present in our bodies. 

And so I come back to the question - how am I treating the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit?

For me it means eating healthier.  It means getting fit and not allowing myself to become lazy.  It means being so careful of what I watch and listen to.  However, even more, it means becoming aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life.  And by spending time in the Scriptures and in prayer, I am able to take that time to open up my heart to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to me.  I am stripping away the things that clutter that communication.

I realize this was likely a jumbled mess of thoughts and bits and pieces, but I trust that you are able to understand my journey just a little bit and to see how truly we are so blessed to have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. The apostle Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body”. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Wednesday's Weigh In

I know. . . I know. . . You thought I was going to tell you my weight right?!?!?! Nope.  Sorry not that!!!!!  :-)

Okay, so you can hardly believe it.  I'm still alive.  Haven't blogged in weeks and you all thought I had run away from home.  :-)

Okay, so maybe not quite that bad. 

I have taken a bit of a hiatus.  For a couple of reasons.


1.  The first being that I realized that my blogging was becoming a bit of a God for me.  ???  I know sounds a bit crazy, but I'll try to explain.  When I started blogging, I just wanted to share some of the things God had taught me over the past several years.  I wanted to share the journey that God had brought me on and if in the process of that God used what I had said, great.  However, over the last several months, it was becoming something different.  It was becoming . . . . shall I say. . . a popularity contest.  Oh, not for anyone else.  Just for me.  I wanted to be this amazing person who touched everyone's life by what I was writing.  It was becoming more about me, and less about God.  More about what people would think, rather than what God wanted me to share.  So I took a hiatus.  I stopped looking at the stats and gave this back to God. 

2.  Second, I was feeling more pressure to keep up the writing every so and so many days.  And as you can tell, that still goes back to number one, about the whole focus being misconstrued!!  So I took some time to breathe.  Truthfully, I have enjoyed the break, but I have also enjoyed doing my 100 days of Praise on my Facebook page as well.  I'm on day 58 and it has been such a refreshing thing to focus on thanksgiving and praise.  So many times it has changed my demeanor for the day. 

So today, I thought I'd share with you my new "journey" I am starting on. 

A little more than a week ago, I stepped on the scale to see numbers I hadn't ever seen before.  Aghast, I stepped off and hoped for the error sign on my digital scale.  Hmmm. . . . no error. (sometimes if the scale has been upright along the wall, the first reading is often incorrect - usually higher - and it shows that an error incurred).  Unfortunately, this time there was no error reading.  So I stepped off and got on again, in the hopes of a new number. . . . No.  Really???? Step on again a few minutes later - perhaps that would change things. . . . still no. . . . .

So for a day or so, I sat down in the dumps.  I'm old.  I'm fat.  I'm ugly.  I'm awful!!!  The lies came pouring in like a dam had just broken.  As I sat at my desk, the devotional calendar from Sarah Young read like this:  (based on Psalm 89:15, 16  1 John 3:19-20, Jude 24-25, Psalm 41:12
"FOCUS YOUR ENTIRE BEING on My living Presence.  I am most assuredly with you, enveloping you in My Love and Peace.  While you relax in My Presence, I am molding your mind and cleansing your heart.  I am recreating you into the one I designed you to be.    As you move from stillness into the activities of your day, do not relinquish your attentiveness.  If something troubles you, talk it over with Me.  If you get bored with what you are doing, fill the time with prayers and praise.  When someone irritates you, don't let your thoughts linger on that person's faults.  Gently nudge your mind back to Me.  Every moment is precious if you keep your focus on Me.  Any day can be a good day, because My Presence permeates all time."

Well, let me tell you, that was certainly NOT what I was doing.  I was allowing Satan's lies to worm their way into my mind.  I was NOT focusing any part of my being on God. 

So as I prayed and thought about where I was physically, I made a decision to start to live healthier and start to work on my body.  Not because I was believing Satan's lies that I was an awful person, but because I started to realize that I had started to use food, and a lifestyle of laziness to make excuses for myself.  I had used the past years of anxiety and depression to justify allowing my physical body to become what it had.  I was not honoring the temple that the Holy Spirit was dwelling in.  I was treating it with disrespect and selfishness.

As I was looking through a variety of health websites, I saw several proclaiming the "sure fire way" to get healthy.  The 5 foods you should never eat.  The 3 exercises to become lean and fit.  And then there was the one that actually caught my attention for real and I opened it.  "The one thing that is keeping overweight people from getting healthy."  I opened it and was amazed to find out that it wasn't over eating.  It wasn't lack of exercise.  Do you know what it was?   LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY!!!!  For those of you who have a gym membership.  For those of you that walk regularly with someone else.  For those of you that are involved in a weight loss program, you know that value of accountability.

So, today I am starting something called Wednesday's Weigh in.  OH don't think for a moment, I'm going to be telling you what the numbers on the scale are.  NO WAY!  :-)  Not even Keith or my kids see that.  At least not yet!  However, every Wednesday, I am going to share how my weekly journey has gone in the "getting healthy" department.  So for today, I am going to share with you, what my plan is.

1.  I am using myfitnesspal.com to track my progress.  The food I eat.  The exercising I do. etc.
2.  I am starting to exercise more regularly.  My goal at this point is to walk (and eventually run) 4 times a week.  I have the luxury of having several mornings without students, so my goal is to be able to walk at least 20 minutes on those days.  I am also starting a squat routine that hopefully I'll be able to stick too.  Thankfully I've found one that is slow going and I still am able to walk after 3 days of doing it!!!! LOL
3.  I am starting to eat healthier.  Now. . . that doesn't mean every meal will be like that.  (Today I had a wonderful lunch with an amazing group of friends, and chocolate cake is NOT on the healthy list, but it was amazing.)  Like I said, it just eating healthier.  So today, instead of drinking pop, I drank water instead.  Instead of having double of what I normally would have of the pulled pork, I had a respectable amount.  Instead of a second bun, I had lots of veggies - no dip.  Little things like that.  Small steps that I know will in the end make my body much healthier.  The ironic thing is that during this first week of trying to do better, Keith just found out that his cholesterol is too high and he needs to be eating healthier as well - so it was perfect timing that we both have made this decision at this point!!!!

So my Wednesday weigh ins, will be how I am doing.  My exercise progress.  My healthy eating progress. But also my spiritual progress.  How my week has been and the things that have gone well.  As with my 100 days of Praise, I plan to focus on the positives.  I plan on sharing the good things.  Not to say that every week will be great progress.  but I KNOW that every week will have something positive to share.
 

I'd love to hear about your week as well!  Let's start sharing our journeys.  Let's start becoming accountable to those around us.  In our health walk.  In our family walks.  In our spiritual walks.  Let's weigh in with each other and be accountable to each other for our healthy growth - both in spirit, mind and body.

Let's weigh in together and grow together in our journeys.  I'd love to hear how YOU are doing!!!



Blessings on you as you seek to follow God's journey for you!!!

*Hugs to you*

Playing a new tune

Today, I am getting my piano tuned!!! YEAH!!!!  It should have been done already three months ago, but it's one of those things in life that you don't realize it isn't quite right, until it is really quite wrong!!  Through the summer when the kids and I would play on it, it really didn't sound that bad.  However, listening to 34 students playing on it, well, let's just say, my ears are ringing a little due to the bad vibrations.  And don't get me wrong.  It's not their faults!  Okay, well usually it's not!  ;-)

As I was thinking about getting my piano tuned, I realized how I was rationalizing not doing it.  It's not cheap to get it done.  To the students, it really doesn't make a difference.  To my life in general, it doesn't even make a difference whether the notes are all exactly in tune or not.  But when I listen, really take the time to sit and listen to the sounds those strings are making, I can so easily hear where there is discord.  Certain notes are worse than others.  But the strings are definitely out of tune.  And admittedly, the piano is old.  Almost 25 years old.  But it's not the age that makes it sounds bad.  It's the lack of attention I've been giving it.

So today that is over.  Today my piano will ring out with perfect sounds.  My piano technician is a miracle worker.  (It truly amazes me how he can twist and turn those pins and make the strings sound all the same!) Sometimes, he really has to fight with the tuning pins to get them to move.  Other times they glide with ease.  Some keys have three strings that need to all be tuned to the same pitch.  Others have one big string, but are difficult to hear.  Amazing what he does to make each tone sound perfect.

It is so cool how our spiritual walk is the same.

We can live our lives, day after day, and not realize how out of tune we are.  We go about our daily routines, and not even notice that we have let our walk with God slide.  Or perhaps we hear it, but don't bother to do anything about it, in the hopes that it will get better.  We glide along each day, okay with how our relationship is with God.  But sometimes, it takes someone else to notice how badly out of tune we are.  Sometimes it takes a good long look into the mirror to examine where we've gotten out of tune. 

Not everyone might see that our spiritual walk is out of tune.  On the outside, we are shiny and black.  One might look at us and think "Wow.  Now she is a polished Christian.  Just look at what she is doing."  But when the keys get struck.  When the chords are played.  When the piano is played, and not just looked at, the evidence is there.  We are not in tune at all.

And what does it take to get us back in tune?  Back in a right walk with our Saviour? Well, truthfully, sometimes it all depends on how badly out of tune we are.  Sometimes those tuning pins really need to be tugged on.  They have to be turned an awful lot in order to get us back in tune where we should be.  Sometimes, it's just a slight tweak.  Sometimes our own spiritual tuning pegs don't even want to be turned.  We fight against the changes that we need to make in our life.  And so the song our life sings is sadly out of tune.

However, when we let the Master Tuner take charge and make the necessary adjustments, when He plays the music, it sounds heavenly.  It's the Hallelujah chorus.  Sometimes it might just a be a little turn, sometimes a complete round, but if we allow God to change us - to make those adjustments, we begin to realize that the music that is coming from our lives is something that God is pleased with.  In fact, it is God Himself who is streaming from our lives.  The music that is coming from within us, is the Holy Spirit flowing out of us.  BUT, we need to be able to realize that we have to be tuned.  We need to take the steps to allow the Master Tuner to do His job.

And, the tuning process, like with my piano, is not just a once in a couple year process.  It is a regular maintenance.  Something that has to happen regularly in order to keep those songs of our lives completely in tune.  If we neglect it, we get sorely out of tune.  But if we allow God to be the master tuner. . . . If we allow Him to make those necessary adjustments, He WILL be honored by the music our lives are producing.  I can't guarantee it will be an easy process.  It might even cost you something.  But the end results will be more beautiful than you can imagine. 

The music you will be playing will bring honor and glory to your master Tuner!!

Home

Today in church we sang the song "I Surrender All".  I have heard much more amazing and moving renditions of this song, but today I was reminded for several reasons of home.  This is another one of those songs that I remember Dad singing.  I remember singing in our brethren assembly without instruments and pure hearts just belting out this tune.  Not always in tune, but the heart completely in tune with God.

So two things came to me today. . . How much I miss my family. . . . my "home".  Not the physical home, but the companion of my siblings - that "home" feeling.  My growing up home has long since been sold, but the "home" feeling of us being together.  I missed that today.

This week a friend of Peyton's buried his grandpa.  His friend's mom buried her father.  I am so blessed to still have my father alive. But it got me to thinking about home.  Panicking just a little bit to have that "one more chance" with my dad - just in case.  And so today as I imagined him singing beside me, I could help but feel a little nostalgic.

Our youth pastor shared a sermon today about temptation. And I guess with it, the relationship that we have with God -  and how temptation plays into that relationship.  I have also been thinking of my relationship with God and wondering how I can even call it a relationship at times.  But today as we listened to Pastor Kent talk about temptation, I was reminded that if my relationship with God is what it is supposed to be, temptation - while still a temptation - will become less so.  When I am accessing the Holy Spirit within me, and letting Him spill out in my every action, emotion and being, temptation becomes less and less.  Not that it won't be there, but the Holy Spirit is stronger.  The temptation becomes just that.  A temptation.  And the Holy Spirit gives me victory. 

I so long for the day when I am Home with God.  The day when I can just sit and praise my Saviour.  I know for now, the Holy Spirit is in me - directing me - motivating me - hopefully flowing out of me.  And hopefully because of that  I will be able to resist temptation.  Don't get me wrong.  Temptation will always be there while Satan is rampant.  However, if I am tapping in to the full power of the Holy Spirit that God has promised me, I too can resist the devil - and he will flee from me!!!!  I long to be Home in Heaven to be able to experience that full surrender to God.  Without distractions. Without temptations.

But I guess for now, I will claim the power that God has promised - the Holy Spirit in me - and work towards that Home going with Him.  I look forward to the day when I can sit and just praise Him.  No worries or distractions.  No temptations.  No decisions to make.  Just pure praise.  I can only imagine how awesome that will be.  All my focus, my energy, my thoughts - everything will be focused on my God.  I will be HOME with Him. forever. . . . .

Forgiving. . . . sort of. . . .

I have been thinking and reading a lot about forgiveness lately.  A few situations have arisen as of late that required me to request forgiveness, but also to extend forgiveness to others.

When I first started this blog, it was one of the things I was struggling with the most.  Forgiveness and what it means.  What it meant to me.  How it affected me and my life.  How my forgiveness affected others. You can read about my thoughts here - forgiveness. 

Recently I found myself thinking about what an apology looked like, and how the words I'm sorry can be said in so many different ways.  Someone might offer an apology that really isn't an apology.  And as I thought about two little words that made a world of difference in an apology, I realized that I have done this many, many times when I have "apologized" for something.

Here they are - the two small words that make a world of difference in an apology.  Two words that make an apology a genuine selfless acknowledgement, or that can change it to not being an apology at all!

IF and THAT

Those two little words can take an apology from an admission of guilt, to word spoken still out of defiance, but made to look like an apology.  Think about it.  If you were to hear this from someone:

I'm sorry THAT I hurt your feelings.  

That statement takes ownership of the action.  It is admission that you were wrong.  You are truly admitting that there was an error on your part and you are requesting forgiveness for the issue.  However, if you hear this:

I'm sorry IF I hurt your feelings.

Well, that is a completely different sentiment. There's no admission of the actual act.  There is no acknowledgement of any wrong doing.  It is simply an IF you did something wrong, or hurtful or whatever the case may be.  The words "I'm sorry" are in the statement, but truthfully the statement does not take ownership of what has happened.

As I thought about these two little words, I have realized how often I think I have spoken the word IF in my apologies.  And quite truthfully, there is a level of defiance in those kind of "apologies".  I will apologize, but seriously, I am NOT willing to make an admission of guilt.  I do not want to acknowledge that I did anything wrong.  I'll say IF when I say the words I'm sorry because apologizing is the right thing to do, but I sure don't want to acknowledge that I am wrong.

Do you see the difference?  Changing that one little word in an apology makes a world of difference.  It shows the contrite heart when you use the word that instead of if. 

One thing that we have often shared with our kids is to not tack on the word BUT after an apology.  That is another word that changes the tone of an apology BIG time.  I'm sorry for hurting you, but. . . .   The word but after an apology is an attempt to justify the reason for your mistake, for your actions.  If the apology is genuine, there should be no need to justify your action because the apology is taking ownership of the offending action and there COULD be no justification since the action was wrong.

As I've thought about the whole concept of forgiveness, I enjoyed reading through the various scriptures that speak about forgiveness.  First and foremost, I am grateful for God's unending forgiveness.  But even more, I am thankful for the example that He has left with us on how to forgive.

In Micah, the verses read as follows:

Micah 7:18-19

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.  You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Not only does God completely forgive any of our messes, but He DELIGHTS to show mercy.  Wow!  That's powerful to me.  So often I tell my kids I forgive them, but truthfully, I still want to make their lives a little difficult to show that I didn't like their actions. (I know - vindictive - not a quality I'm proud of and not a quality that exemplifies God's forgiveness of me!!!) But God, well He doesn't do that.  Not to say that our actions don't have consequences.  They do, but quite truthfully, we don't get any of those consequences the way we truly deserve!!!  Because actually, we deserve the punishment of hell because of our actions.  BUT, God in His mercy allowed His Son to become a man, come down to earth and DIE FOR ME!!!!  WOW!  Sometimes that very thought just blows me away.

No matter what I have done, or will do, Jesus already died for that.  What mercy!!! What LOVE!  What an example for me to follow.  The example of extending forgiveness is incredible. 

So as I've thought about forgiveness, I've sat in awe at the magnitude of God's love for me.  And you can bet I will be saying to Him, sorry THAT I have messed up again and not IF.  And I certainly won't be qualifying my actions!

But not only that, in extending my forgiveness to others, it must be done with the same heart, and attitude that God has forgiven me.  Endless.  Without strings.  Out of love.  All those things.  I must forgive others in the same way as He has forgiven me.

What an example.

What an expression of love.

100 Days of Praise - Join me, won't you???

Here in Manitoba, we are enjoying a BEAUTIFUL fall weather.  This weather completely reminds me of fall at home in Ontario.  One of my favourite memories growing up was when we we go for fall walks.  We didn't really do big birthday parties in our family, so one thing that I did often ask for around the time of my birthday was if we could go walking on a trail near our farm.  I would invite my friend Janice to come along with our family and we would go for a Sunday walk through the bush.  The colours were always breathtaking with the sugar maples being in full colour.  There was a little pond along the way that we would sometimes stop at as well.  That was always a fall highlight for me!!

So hopefully you won't be too upset with me when I tell you that as of today, there are only 100 days left in 2014!!!  So, that means only 94 more days till Christmas. 

My motto for this year was BE MORE.  That has taken on a variety of meanings for me, but the main one has been BE MORE GRATEFUL.  Back in May my niece Karin started doing 100 happy days. Now for the average person it would take some dedication to post something happy for 100 days.  But what amazed me is that she and my nephew not only have a 3 year old daughter, but they also had just had twins.  It amazed me that she was able to share with us these 100 days of happiness besides all of her regular busyness!  I always looked forward to reading her thoughts!

A week ago, my sisters and brother challenged me to list 3 things that I was thankful for for 10 days.  As I realized that 2014 was slowly drawing to a close, I decided rather than do this for 10 days, I would take the lead from Karin and close out the year with 100 days of Praise.  I have so many things to be thankful for and I believe it honours God when we share them with others.  I won't nominate anyone to do this along with me, but wouldn't it be awesome if we could all take those few moments every day to share our moments of praise together? 

Join me won't you?  I do this on Facebook, so if you are interested in joining me via Facebook and I haven't friended you yet, message me and we can connect!!!

Let close out 2014 praising God!!!!!

Fall colours at our lake

Nothing like a fall sunset at the lake

Ready for fall harvest near Keith's parents in Saskatchewan

A Hutterite Crew ready for fall harvest near Main Center, SK