A good Daddy

So what makes a good father?  Obviously, I am not an expert on fatherhood.

However. . . . I have had an amazing example of what a great father is.  My own father is 85 and 1/2 years old and each day we have with him is an extra special blessing from God. My husband too has been blessed with an incredible dad that has been an example to my husband as well as to us.

Let me tell you about my Dad.

I think the first think I can say about my dad is that He has a heart for God.  My dad LIVES what he believes.  You see, my dad is a man of limited words.  He definitely lives up to the quote "Share the gospel - and if necessary use words."  My dad lives a life that honors God and has shown that to not only us kids, but to all those he comes in contact with.

Taylor & Opa

My dad has a big soft heart.  I think one of my favorite images I have of my dad is him carrying around my kids when they were babies.  He is a big man.  Tall with large hands.  But when he carried my kids those big hands were as soft and gentle as any woman's hands could be.  Another memory I have of my dad is when I was young and my dad would be milking the cows, I remembered how whenever a cat or kitten would come up to where he was milking, he would spray them with the warm milk, which of course they loved.  One thing you can be sure to find is that on a relaxing afternoon or evening, you will find my dad sitting on the couch, with my mom lying beside him and my dad rubbing her hair.  That is something I remember from quite young and it still happens!

Look who Dad found at the Mennonite Heritage Village

Something that I love about my dad is his mischievous nature.   When I was young and we would go and visit my siblings who were married, I remember all the little tricks he would do while we were visiting at their homes.  Pictures turned around.  Items all switched around from their original places etc.  When I got my home, of course that trend continues.  You could always be sure to find caramel wrappers in the oddest of places after my Dad had been to visit.  When he is here for a visit, you can be sure that he and my son Peyton will "get into it" each and every time.  Sometimes it's a tickle fight.  Sometimes it's Dad getting him into a grip hold so that Peyton can't escape.  And no matter how tired Peyton might be, he always comes back for more!  And it always seems that Peyton tires out before Opa ever will!!!

My Dad is strong.  He is physically strong too, but what I mean is his character.  He is reliable.  He has always made me feel safe.  And it's Dad's strong character, his Godly character that gave me an incredible example of what I wanted to find in a husband.  Those amazing attributes that I saw and loved in my dad were characteristics that I wanted to find in a husband too.  And incredibly enough, the more years I spend with both my Dad and my husband, I am realizing that so many of those characteristics I love about my Dad are now also being display in my husband and the dad that he is to my kids.

Grandpa Klaassen with Peyton

You see, Keith is an incredible Dad.  And he had an incredible example of how to be dad from his dad.  And our children also have been blessed with an amazing relationship with Keith's Dad (Grandpa) And so many of these characteristics that I've described about my Dad are the same characteristics that my kids will some day share about their dad.  Keith is one of the most patient, gentle, involved Dads that I know.  He would give up any project or plans that he has to go and spend time with the kids.  The "daddy dates" that he takes Taylor on are always a time she treasures.  The time that he and Peyton spend down by the pond and stream here in Steinbach are treasured times.  The walks that he goes on with my kids at the cottage are always highlights for them, and of course the stories and treasures they come back with are testaments to that special time he has with them.




And of course, the Godly example that he is to them is the most incredible gift he is giving them.  One thing that Keith is always sure to do is to apologize to them when something has been misunderstood or something has gone wrong.  As he and I struggled through our difficulties in our marriage last year, he was always very quick to reassure the kids that he was not abandoning his family.  That besides his relationship with God, we were his first priority and that was why he was working so hard for us.  The way he talks to our kids about spiritual things warms my heart.  He has a gentle way of disciplining them, all the while teaching them about what God wants for their lives.

So I have been blessed with three amazing men in my life who exemplify God and who put their families first.  And my children have these amazing men who are showing them what Godly dads look like.

Truly I am so blessed.  I know that between my Dad, Keith's dad and my husband, my kids have gotten a really good look at what a Godly man and Godly Father looks like.

But thankfully, when they fail - and they do - I am sure my kids both know that the perfect example of a Father is our Heavenly Father.  And we know that He will NEVER fail.  I am so thankful for all the places in the Bible that show us what a Godly Father truly is.  God is love.  God never fails.  God is just.  God is faithful.  God is merciful.  God is relational - He want to talk to us and us to talk to Him.  God is always there for us.  And these are just a few of the things we read about God.  What better example than to have that example of what a Father is.  For those of you who do not have a relationship with your own father or perhaps have a broken relationship with your father, these are the things that even for those of us with an involved Father - these are things that we know to be true about God our Father.  We may be let down at times by our earthly fathers, but we can be assured that our Heavenly Father is all these things and so much more.  What a great promise.  And all we have to do is read through the Scriptures to know just what an amazing God He is to provide us with the perfect Father Figure.

So today, the day after Father's Day, I am thankful for the father I have had.  I am thankful for the father my children have.  But most importantly, I am thankful for my Heavenly Father.  He will never fail me.  He is always there.  And He will always be with me.  No matter what.

Truly I am blessed by the fathers I have in my life, but most importantly, for my Heavenly Father.  Oh how He loves me!!!

Can you hear it???

We have been so thankful for the schools that our children have attended over the years.  During their Elementary years, both Taylor & Peyton attended Woodlawn School, which is where Peyton is finishing his final year this year.  We have been so thankful for the leadership that the school has provided, as well as the amazing teachers that both our kids have had.  In this public school, it is so comforting to see the high percentage of Christian teachers teaching in our schools, and thankfully our children have both had many Christian teachers, who have impacted their love for learning greatly.

While we don't live close to Woodlawn, we do live within several blocks of the school and one of the things that I have always loved in spring and fall is the fact that on a calm day, I can hear their class buzzer from my yard.  I love being able to work outside in the yard or have the house windows open and hear the buzzer and look at the clock and know "Oh, they are going outside for recess now."  or "Oh it's lunch time there."  It just feels like I am connected to them and know what is going on, without actually being right there and hovering over them.  (Okay, stalking might be a better word! LOL)  Some days, I can hear the buzzer as loud as the children playing next door, or other times I really have to strain to hear it. When I do hear it clearly, I don't even have to be thinking about it but hear it and connect with what they are doing.  Other times I don't even hear it at all.

It sort of reminds me of my relationship with God.  Some days I feel like I am really connected to Him.  I feel like at every turn I am hearing His voice, or feeling His prompting.  Other times, I have to sit there and really wait and strive to hear Him. With the school, it is always there.  It doesn't move, but things interfere with my ability to hear the buzzer.  And just like the school, there are things that sometimes interfere with me hearing God's voice.  Sometimes I'm too busy.  Sometimes, I'm not listening.  Sometimes, I'm ignoring what I am hearing.

I've thought about those times at home when I've been waiting and wondering when I'd hear the buzzer from school.  Sometimes I'll hear it, sometimes I won't.  And it's the same with God's voice.  Sometimes I'll really feel connected with God, and other times I really feel distant.  Now, I can promise you this, if I was a teacher or student in the school, I would be hearing each and every buzzer that came.  (Especially that last buzzer of the day.)  As a Christian, I know that the more I am immersed in my relationship with God, the more I will be hearing each and every voice and prompt from Him.  It's when the things of life take over and I move away from Him, that the connection weakens.  But when I am sitting. . . .waiting. . . . listening . . . . straining to hear Him, I will.  It might not be right away.  But I can always know He is there.  And as I wait on Him. . . and I listen in the stillness. . . in the quietness of Him. . . I will hear His voice. 

For guests who come over to our home, they don't necessarily know what that sound is.  In fact, they might not even hear the buzzer like I do.  However, if I draw their attention to it, they will know what it is.  So too with hearing God's voice.  With feeling the Holy Spirit's prompting.  We need to know what we are listening for.  We need to know what we are looking for.  And we do this by spending time in the Scriptures. 

I LOVE Psalm 40:1-4.  It shows that if we wait patiently for the Lord, He will make Himself known to us.  But it takes time. . .

I waited patiently for God to help me; then he listened and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path, and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, of praises to our God. Now many will hear of the glorious things he did for me, and stand in awe before the Lord, and put their trust in him. Many blessings are given to those who trust the Lord and have no confidence in those who are proud or who trust in idols.

It shows the process of our relationship with God.  We wait on Him.  And then He answers.  He makes Himself known to us.  And once we have entered into that intimate relationship with Him, we can't help but sing a new song.  We can't help but praise the Lord.  

These days, as I work in the yard and garden, I eagerly listen for those buzzers at Woodlawn.  Just so I can feel connected to my son.  (Unfortunately, Taylor's school is too far away for me to hear those!)  At 3:45 I know that buzzer will ring, and he is on his way home.  I feel comfort in knowing what he is doing.  And just so, as we spend time in God's word, we will feel connected to Him.  We will feel the Holy Spirit doing great things in our lives.  We will feel His prompting to make changes and forge ahead on the path He has for us.  

Am I listening for God's buzzer in my life?  Am I making the effort to quiet everything else around me in order for me to hear Him?  Or is my life cluttered and noisy-ed by the busyness of my day, so that I cannot hear Him?  

Let's be sure to take that quiet time with Him so that we can hear Him when He is talking to us.  Let's commit to spending more time in the Scriptures so that we KNOW what His voice sounds like.  That we will do the things that He is having us to do because we have spent that time with Him.  We know His voice.  We have a relationship with Him that connects us together.

Longing for Home

Living in Steinbach is something I never in a million years would have dreamed I would be doing.  Growing up on a farm in southern Ontario, I was a farmer's daughter.  A home girl.  Sure, I had been to Holland with my family, but adventure was far from what I imagined my life to be.  At 18, I pretty much had a good picture of what my life would look like. I had my life mapped out and it had nothing to do with moving away from home. It had nothing to do with moving thousands of kms away from family!

God, on the other hand, had different plans for me.  He up and moved me first to Saskatchewan, where I met Keith and where he is from, then to BC and finally to Manitoba where we ended up (kind of by default!) here in Steinbach. Initially, Steinbach was just going to be a blip on the radar of our life until we decided where we were going to move to (my vote was Ontario!!!) but in the end, God planted us here in Steinbach and that is what we now call home.

Even though we have now put down roots here, and have made friends here in this town, and have our own little family - which thankfully includes our extended family in Taylor's birthmom and son, we so often miss our extended families that are in other provinces.  We often feel lonely here in a town that thrives on family and family gatherings.  I remember in the early days when we lived here in Manitoba, we would drive around Steinbach (it was definitely a form of self torture!) on Thanksgiving, or Christmas or New Years and see all the families doing the holiday things.  And here we were just the two of us.  Our families were far away.  I have to say those holidays were some of the most difficult times we have had.  Knowing everyone else around here was enjoying family time, yet we were just the two of us.  In the years following, we have been blessed to be able to create our own family times, and have also had many years where we WERE able to spend Christmas or other holidays with family, but I have to admit, many other times through out the year, I have a strong yearning to go home.

I am thankful for the relationships that I have with my family, and SO thankful for the conveniences of email and texting etc., but it truthfully doesn't bring my family here.  Sometimes, I'll have to admit, it is almost easier not to have contact with them because when I do, it makes me miss them even more.  I know. . . it's not being thankful for what I have - and it IS hard to do that sometimes!  It's hard always having to ask others for help.  With not having family around, we really never "dated" while we had kids b/c we never had family around to help out with the babysitting. When we need help with jobs around our home, we don't have family that can come on over in a pinch and help out. It's hard always having to ask others for help.  I know our kids have missed out on opportunities to live close by to their grandparents and their aunties and uncles and cousins.  When they have school plays or other events, they don't have family that gets to come and watch. Those things are difficult.

However, on the other side of it, we get to go on vacations to family that allow our kids to actually "live" for a week or two with their extended families.  We get to wake up with them and spend the entire day together.  We get to experience our families in a different way than those here in Steinbach do that see their families on a regular basis.  We long to be with our families, and when we do get those opportunities it's a celebration!  An exciting time to look forward to.  There is always lots of planning, packing etc. and a big anticipation for that reunion.

I was reminded of that last night as I spoke with my brother, making plans for when my parents come from Ontario to Manitoba.  We plan on meeting my brother in Saskatchwan where we will do "the exchange" and he will get to bring our parents to his home for a time of celebration with his family. But we are both eagerly anticipating seeing each other as well.  And when I told my kids this morning that Opa & Oma would be coming and they'd get to see some of their cousins, the excitement already started - even though the event is 2 1/2 months away.

As I thought about that meeting, I was struck by how excited I was to get to see my parents and my brother.  I thought about the possibility of heading home to Ontario in fall.  I thought about that longing I have to see and spend time with my extended family, and it got me to thinking about whether I long for Christ's return.  Am I longing for to head to see my Heavenly Father?  Is there that yearning to meet up in Heaven so that I can spend time with Him?  I get homesick for my family at times, but do I get homesick for Heaven?  For my Saviour?  I think at times when there are those voids in my life and I can't quite pinpoint that ache, I sometimes wonder if that isn't the void that we feel because truly as Christians we aren't complete until we are in Heaven.  We are here on earth for a short while and then our true destination is the day when we get to sit at God's feet and praise Him. 

Recently I read through 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 and was reminded of what it will be like to get to Heaven.  I truly believe that is the void we feel.  Sometimes there is a void in our lives that nothing and no one can fill.  As Christians I truly believe that is because we are not yet whole.  We are missing our communion with Christ!  In verses 5-7 it reads Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight!!!  I know there are days when I am consumed with my life here, but as I spend time in God's word. . . as I focus on praising Him, as I think about what Heaven has waiting for me, I DO get excited.  In part, it is for the human things.  I know the loneliness that I feel will be gone.  I know the aches and pains of this world will be gone.  When Keith went through his accident, I know Heaven became more real for him because He would have a whole body back.  He'd be able to walk and dance like never before.  Those are human images of why we want to be in heaven.  But when I think of the praise and worship that we will have there, wow, does that ever excite me.  When I think of standing before God and worshiping Him - that nearly takes my breath away.

And it makes me want to take every thing I hold dear and change my focus.  The packing and prepping that I do when I get to go see my family pales in comparison for what I need/want to do to get ready for Heaven.  I want to be the best.  I want to be able to present my best for Christ.  I want to be able to show Him, (NOW and then too) how much I love Him.  I want my life to be focused on the fact that one day I will get to spend the rest of eternity with my Savior.  The one who saved me from the worse punishment imaginable.  Recently, I heard the saying (and I can't quite remember who to give the credit to) that went like this:  It's not what I've done for You, Lord - it's what You've done for me.  Sometimes I get consumed by doing "the right" thing for God.  Making sure I do enough.  But really, if my focus is on what He has done for me, it completely changes my motives for doing stuff for God.  I am not doing it because I should or have to, I am doing these things out of pure gratitude.  And when I think of what He has done for me, I can't help but praise Him.  But serve Him.  I can only think of that moment when I will see Him face to face.  Sometimes I am just overtaken with emotion when I think of that moment.  It just humbles me, but wow does it excite me.

One of my favorite songs, if not my favorite, is a song by Mercy Me called I CAN ONLY IMAGINE.  Sometimes, when I get consumed by life I deliberately listen to this song because it completely puts things into perspective.  It makes me focus on the point of my life. Take a listen to it and see if that doesn't just get you excited to go to Heaven!!!

Today as you go through your days activities, focus on those things yes - but let's keep today in perspective.  Soon - we will be reunited with the One who saved us.  The One who loves us more than any other could.  The One our heart was designed to long for.  The One we are homesick for.  Let's be homesick for our Heavenly Father!!!!

Rhubarb Crunch

One of my favorite things about spring is RHUBARB.  You see, even when the ground is still cold and there are hardly any other signs of growth, if you look closely at a rhubarb plant, you will see signs of pink life.  Those little curls of pink starting to unfurl from the ground.  Ready to grow into magnificent leaves and brightly colored stocks.  Oh how I love the sight of rhubarb.

Of course the taste is amazing.  I remember growing up eating rhubarb pie and spreading Mom's strawberry rhubarb jam on a hot buttered margerined piece of toast.  Oh yum.  Better yet were the times when we were allowed to put some of that jam on top of a bowl of ice cream - PURE HEAVEN!!!  We always had plenty of rhubarb and I loved it.

Now, with my own garden, we bought two rhubarb plants about 7 or 8 years ago, not really having a clue what kind I was buying.  But I planted them and to my delight, now I realized they are the bright red colored rhubarb.  So sweet, and my kids actually take a bowl of sugar and a stock of rhubarb and dip and eat!  (still a little to sour for me
!)

So I thought I would share one of our family's favorite rhubarb recipes with you today.  It's quick and easy and OH SO YUMMY!  Best served warm, but still just as delicious chilled.  The kids love to take the leftovers for school lunches.

RHUBARB CRUNCH

This is what you'll need:

    8 cups rhubarb (chopped)

    2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

    2 cups oats

    2 1/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)

    1 cup melted butter

    2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Chop rhubarb and set aside. 

Mix together the flour, oats, cinnamon, brown sugar and melted butter.

Press one-half of crumb mixture into a buttered 9 x 13 baking dish.  

Add chopped rhubarb atop pressed-in crumb mixture in the baking dish. 

 Sugar Sauce:

2 cups granulated sugar

4 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cup cold water

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk sugar, cornstarch and water together in a glass bowl.

Microwave until thick, clear, and bubbly, approximately 3-5 minutes. Remove from microwave and whisk in vanilla. Pour sugar sauce evenly over rhubarb.

Top with remaining crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until edges are bubbling and crumb topping has browned.

 Top with Ice Cream and strawberry sauce if desired!  ENJOY!