Last Post for 2 weeks

Tomorrow we leave for Calgary and then we fly out from there to Boston on Tuesday. I have no idea if I'll have the opportunity to update this blog during that time but I will if I get the chance. Blessings to each of you who come and read on a regular basis. I will miss interacting with you and will have tons of catching up to do when I get back.

How toxic are we?

We have poison in our soul. That's not a pleasant thought but the truth is everywhere for us to see.
Poison in our soul pours out when we speak:

• in angry words
• in malicious conversation
• in scorn
• in laughter at others' expense
• in little white lies (big lies too)

It's in our attitude:

• a cold shoulder
• non-chalance
• non-caring
• bitterness
• spite

Poison in our soul dictates our actions. It colors our perceptions and clouds our thinking.

And yet we hold our poison close, like a prized possession that gains a stronger foothold in our life like the Ring in the Lord of the Rings. And all the while it destroys us - our relationships, our peace of mind, our contentment and our self. We become dry when we long for refreshment. We want to be loved but we can't reach out. We're lonely but we pretend to be too busy and fulfilled to have time for people. We want peace and we fight so hard for it but then wonder why it eludes us. We need purpose but can't discover it. We want to be happy but find ourselves with all kinds of different addictions for momentary fragments of ...something; a rush that can't last. We say one thing and mean something else entirely and just wish that someone could understand us despite ourselves.

Evolution may try to promise us wings one day, but it has no answer for the poison in our soul. But our Creator know about it. He became human Himself in and lived an unpoisoned life among us but our poison killed him. We hated Him for pointing out our poison by living a perfect life. We rejected Him because we feared and hated Him. He knew us and we didn't like what He saw in us. He loved us and we couldn't accept it.

But His death became our hope; our antidote. Our Creator wants to claim us as His people and rid our souls of the poison; a lifetime of detoxification. He promises to plant trees in the barren wasteland of our soul. Without poison, those trees will flourish and our lives can become a garden of beauty:

• love
• joy
• peace
• gentleness
• long-suffering
• patience
• kindness
• meekness

Beauty from ugliness. It's the reason we love fairy tales; our hearts are drawn to the possibilities and the hope of a 'happily ever after'.

We all have poison in our souls. Call it the human disease; call it sin; call it the harsh reality.

But don't hang unto it. Whatever you do, don't hang onto it.

Seek the only One who doesn't offer promises that can only be empty without first offering a cure. Seek God. And you will find Him. And the blessings are beyond anything we can even begin to imagine.

One of the highlights of my trip out east is visiting with my friend Carol - too bad all of you couldn't join me....but you can visit her here! She has many excellent thoughts on parenting - go check her out if you haven't already. I really enjoyed today's post on how important those early months are - I'm not that far from those days with my own boys.

Here are Ladger and I, Paxton and Rory and Ladger's parents.

I mentioned a flyswatter placed as an ornament on my Christmas tree earlier - this one's for you G~

This is what Rory likes best it seems - creating havoc!

Panic attack and hot water!

A few months ago, we booked a flight to Boston and at the time I remember checking to see that we all had our birth certificates, etc in order. All was well....until Wednesday night when Paxton was dumping out my wallet and I realized my birth certificate wasn't among the cards. And then yesterday I had to work so I couldn't go on a serious hunt until 5 pm and I didn't stop 'til I found it at 8:30 pm..............in my sewing basket!! Huh?!!

So now my stress can go down to the normal high stress about getting everything ready for our trip

This morning is busy as I want to get the house in order (after I ripped it all apart yesterday). Ladger needed me in the office at one end of the house and then I heard glass breaking. I rescued Paxton from the broken glass he was standing in (no injuries) ; cleaned it up; went back to help Ladger; heard a cry from the other end of the house. It was Paxton again - somehow he'd climbed into the tub and turned on the hot water. Do ya think he might want some attention? Needless to say I might not 'accomplish' a whole lot this morning!

This little cartoon was in the Jan 21 Prairie Post. That's pretty much how many of us see the new casino planned for Swift Current.

Inconsistencies and Biology 101

Think Pink is a new read for me and I'm really enjoying it. This post titled "The Meaning of Life" was an excellent portrayal of society's inconsistency!
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I was telling Rory that he can talk to Jesus anytime. He said, "but I can't see Him". I told him that it's because He's everywhere and in our hearts. Rory says, "I hope He doesn't get hurt in the blood and in the kidneys and in the pee." (We've been talking about how the kidneys clean the blood and the clean blood goes back to the heart and the leftover waste gets peed out)
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Well I gotta go as I have lots to do in the next few days as I get ready for our trip out east.

Hey, it's year end. What do you expect?!!

I'm late showing my desk as I don't have a digital camera but here it is!! But I'm afraid that no desk is as cute as the one here (Jan 16 entry).

Maybe Dinosaurs were Gay...

Let's suppose that marriage becomes a generic term for all sexual unions with a commitment. It wouldn't be inconceivable that the gay community could consider their sexuality to be 'evolved' and by implication beneficial for any person. If it's a positive relationship for one, why not good for many; maybe even for everyone? What if we evolved to the point that homosexuality became the norm for human relationships? By evolution's standards we have just ensured our extinction. Procreation is a fundamental necessity in any species' survival.

I'm not an evolutionist but if I were, I'd have a concern about homosexuality being considered an equally viable lifestyle. We do not find examples of it in nature. Everywhere I look there is a male and a female counterpart in the reproductive process. This leaves us in a dilemma as to how regard homosexuality in light of the laws of nature.

I am a creationist because I believe that those laws of nature were put in place by a Creator God and I believe the Bible is His Word to us. I believe He designed this world and created us with the ability to procreate and that He was pleased with His design. But the people He created rejected God; didn't want to live by God's design with the rules intended for our well-being. Every manufacturer gives along a written instruction booklet for the proper use and understanding of their product. Why should we be surprised that God might do the same?

So what does the Bible say?

"But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful,
wicked people who push the truth away from themselves. For
the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this
knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created,
people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They
can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and
divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing
God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or
even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas
of what God was like. The result was that their minds became
dark and confused....That is why God abandoned them to
their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the
natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with
each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual
relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men
did shameful things with other men and , as a result,
suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly
deserved. When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned
them to their evil minds and let them do things that
should never be done." Rom 1:18-21,26-28 NLT

If God's Word were not true, then incidentally no one should have nothing to fear from those who live by it because of all people, we acknowledge that there no room for judgment (or hatred in any form) as each one of us falls so far short of God's design. I certainly do! We should be the last people on earth to treat any person without love, consideration and kindness.

If God's Word is true, then I would be the very worst of hypocrites to say nothing; to live and let live... and call it love and acceptance. It is because I do care (and care deeply) about individuals and society as a whole that I must speak up even at the risk of offending. This is simply not about begrudging financial benefits, fair treatment and equal opportunity. It is about ensuring a healthy and viable future for our society; for my children and yours.

And dinosaurs...well, who knows why they're really extinct?

Ready or not...

Here I come. Nope, not with more on the same-sex marriage issue. But literally about hide and seek. How long has it been since you've had the joy of hiding in a closet or behind the TV to let your little ones have the joy of hunting you down? I love it when they find me and I scare them silly with a big 'Boo'! As we all laugh ourselves silly.

......Really? It's been awhile?

Well then what are you waiting for? Go find some youngsters and be silly together - you'll be glad you did.

A whale ?

Rory had a good laugh when I jumped into bed beside him for a nap. He said I was like a big whale!!

How far does the pendulum swing...

We are on the brink of establishing a new precedent in this country. We are considering a change to the definition of a word that has been understood for centuries. Marriage. It's a union between a man and a woman sanctioned by the state and ordained by God. Now we want to change that definition to include a union between a man and a man or a woman and a woman.

Why?

Because there are a group of people who feel marginalized and set apart as different from the mainstream. And they want to be accepted just as we all wish to be accepted. For some reason we hope that legislating acceptance will make a difference. But since when is it possible to legislate fairness, kindness, love and acceptance? These are matters of the heart. At best, law can offer recourse for those who have been treated unfairly and unkindly. And those laws are already in place...for all of us.

We need to be concerned with whether it is truly necessary to change such a basic concept in our society. There will be many ramifications with such a precedent. Have we truly explored those?

All of history shows reactions to social injustices that swung the pendulum too far and eventually there is a reaction that goes the other way. Look at Russian history for example. The Tsars were the rulers of the day and there were definitely problems with a huge gap between a wealthy nobility and impoverished peasantry. Eventually, the common persons overthrew the government, killed many of the nobility and established a regime that became a ruthless dictatorship. I'm speaking of the Russian revolution and Communism. The opressed became the opressors. Was reform necessary? For sure. Did the reform really improve society as intended? You tell me.

Won't the pendulum swing too far if we protect the concerns of one group to the point of rejecting the rights of others in the process? Do you think I'm overstating the problem?

It is no secret that evangelical Christians in this country are concerned about the issue of same-sex marriage. And honestly, I know there are cases of hatred and alienation that are not OK by any standards. Christians do live by a moral code (the Bible) that clearly does not accept homosexuality as a life choice ordained by God...sanctioned by the state though it may be. If that religious belief is considered 'hate' and therefore 'criminal', freedom of religion and speech have been very seriously undermined. It is simply not true to say that a moral and religious conviction precludes hatred and rejection.

I have other moral and religious convictions too. I believe that every single one of us is far removed from what God intended for us to be. I believe that not one of us should pick on issues like homosexuality to live in judgement of other people because there are so many ways that we fail to measure up.

"Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires.
Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry...
get rid of rage, malicious behaviour, slander and dirty language... Don't lie to
each other..." Col 3:5-8 (just one example of the kinds of things
that do not please God - how many of this one list are we all guilty of?)

God doesn't get hung up on our sin and leave us without hope. His arms are outstretched, willing to embrace all that turn to Him. And then He starts the work of transforming our lives into what He designed for us to be all along - holy, pure and without blemish. We just have to be willing to let Him.

Please do what you can...

The question of redefining marriage is up in Canada and those who want the definition to remain the same (union betweeen man and woman) need to speak up. Those who want it changed are certainly speaking. Here's a link with some ideas of what we can do. Let's swamp Ottawa with our voice!

Blizzard

We're in the middle of a blizzard today. Ladger spent a couple of days in Saskatoon for a crop production show and just got back last night. I'm so glad he wasn't on the road today - it's a white out - I'm sure the visibility is close to zero. But we have nowhere to go and I couldn't be happier to have my family all home and ready to spend a day or two housebound.

When Mennonites first moved to the prairies they built their barns on to their homes. No wonder! In weather like this, they didn't have to go outside to look after their animals. I can imagine that no amount of scented candles would kill the odor though.

This is the house (with barn attached) that Ladger's grandpa grew up in. It's still standing.

Here's the color scheme (and motif) I'm planning for our guest bathroom. I know the colors don't show exactly but the beige towel is actually warmer than it appears here.

You gotta watch this...

I had to watch this a few times to learn this neat little way for folding shirts - cool!

Our boys have moved up...

Rory is now graduated from a toddler bed to a twin-sized loft bed (yep, we finally got it finished) and Paxton graduated from the crib to the toddler bed. Let's just say that it has been real interesting getting Paxton to stay in the bed - he loves to 'pretend' he's sleeping and as soon as I leave he's running about the house. Let's just say he's loving his new freedom and I'm not enjoying it quite as much!

But it's been easy to get Rory to bed - he loves it with the new Hot Wheels bedding he picked out and everything! All I have to do now is put up the wallpaper border - black and white checks and figure out something for the window.

Precious thoughts

There was some great food for thought in today's sermon. Pastor John said something like:

"The cross labels sin as evil and abhorrent to God but it labels people as
precious to Him."

But we can become so clever at rejecting people in a way that 'seems acceptable'. We are masters of avoiding people we don't like or being conveniently pre-occupied with something when we are nearby. We've got indifference down to a science. After all who expects us to like everyone?!! But the message of rejection comes through all the same. We so easily give the message that people don't matter to us and that we can get along just fine without them.

Certainly I have felt the sting of rejection and know how devastating it can be. I just read this account of a young person's rejection a few days ago. And I know most people have stories of rejection in one form or another. What a tragedy it is to treat each other in such a way!

Certainly there is nothing of Christ in it. If I seek to be like Him then I must become aware of the times I do not treat those who are precious to Him as I ought to. Do people walk away from being with me having a stronger sense that they are lovable, worthy and precious? Or just the opposite?

Dear Father, help me see people as you see them. Forgive me for the times I
give a messge of rejection to people for whom you gave everything...your Son's life.

Eau de Toilet

Yesterday, in a quiet moment, I decided I'd better see what Paxton was up to. He came out of the washroom with his hair all slicked back and holding a comb that was wet with water - toilet water, as it turns out.

Yesterday was the first day back to school because yesterday the windchill got to -40 degrees celsius. And it was my first day back to teaching music lessons. I work with such an awesome bunch of kids!

I just about finished recording all the songs needed for our worship team for Jan 16, 23. It took awhile because either the boys were sleeping and I didn't want to disturb them or else they were awake and ......well let's just say I didn't want a lot of yelling in the background of my recording :-) But I should finish up my last song this morning and then on to CD they go - just in time to hand out Sunday to the team members that want them. So I will write a bit more when I get a chance later.

A snitch of conversation...

I never imagined in my wildest thoughts that I'd ever be called "mama" by a precious four year old. Mom or mommy, yes...but Mama?!! It makes me feel like the "Little House on the Prairie" with Ma and Pa. So here's a snitch of conversation yesterday:
Rory says, "Don't worry Mama, I'm going to be nice today. God likes me when I'm nice."
"Who told you that?", I ask.
"God told me", he replies.

What could I say to that? I decided I'd better leave it alone even though I want to be sure that he knows that God loves him even if he's not so nice.

I took the Christmas tree down yesterday. I love putting it up - it's so neat to fill the house with Christmas! I love taking it down - feels so fresh in the house to have all that space back again!

One of the blogs I read every day is finished until further notice - I'll be watching for your return, Carol!!

Gophers and Aircraft Carriers

Last night Ladger and I watched Pearl Harbor. Rory watched a bit of it too and I kept up a running monologue to help him understand what he was seeing. We got out an encyclopedia in the middle of the show to look up aircraft carrier and Ladger read that article to him during commercials. At some point, Rory told us that it was bad to shoot people - "They should only shoot gophers, Mom! Gophers are bad." So then it was a discussion about the food chain - how gophers aren't bad; there are just too many of them because there are not enough foxes, owls, etc. Does that sound like anyone else's movie night at home?

Postscript: I just have to share my own gopher stories with you. When I first moved to the Saskatchewan Prairie I thought gophers were kinda cute...gasp! But they started looking more like rodents all the time as I started seeing holes eveywhere on my lawn...under the new trees I'd planted, in my flower beds, by the house making a way for mice to find their way inside our home, etc. I got fed up with them enough to set my very first trap. And I kept checking to see if I got one. And one day, sure enough, one of those critters was dancing around and I panicked. After all I wasn't expecting him to still be alive!!! Ladger wasn't home so I called his mom and she said to kill the critter with a stick. I was in utter shock at this barbaric thing I was about to do - I couldn't just let that poor gopher suffer all day 'til Ladger got home. I must have smacked that poor gopher a half dozen times 'cause I couldn't get up the nerve to hit him hard enough to ....well, you know....hurt him. But finally the deed was done. After that I learned to shoot a gun.

I picture myself as quite the redneck as one Sunday after church, Ladger and I were seated at dinner when I saw him...that critter that was being so elusive and driving me crazy!! He was running around and I'm certain he was laughing at me! That did it! I hauled on my rubber boots...wonderful complement to my dress.....and out with the gun I went. I got him too! Then I was finally able to enjoy my dinner.

Happy New Year!

I went outside this morning at 7:30 am to do some staining and varnishing - I'm almost done. I've been doing the work in the shop which is next door so it was a fair walk in snow and wind to get there. It was reading -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Farenheit) when I left this morning (probably colder with windchill factored in). But I enjoy the solitude of the shop as I'm working away. I came back home to find everyone still sleeping like bugs in a rug. I was glad to get that work out of the way so I'd be free to do my housecleaning and maybe even get my worship music onto CD's to hand out to team members so they can be prepared ahead of time. So I'd better get at it, eh?