It's so cold....

I'm waiting for Ladger and Rory. They went to pick up some seed (beans) that they want to try on a few acres this year. They've been gone all day and it's been quiet....very strange feeling. Paxton's been good although he's wanting me to cuddle with him lots - so I didn't get tons done today. Tomorrow, I have a couple of music lessons and then its off to practice for Sunday after lunch. Seeding is on hold for a bit as it's snowing today. It is so cold outside - I ran outside briefly to get some meat from the freezer in the shed. Other than that, I'm glad I didn't have to go anywhere. But as an extrovert, I'm starting to get a little droopy (downright sleepy in fact)with no people contact all day (talking people that is). Once Rory gets here he'll have lots to say and I may be wishing for a little quiet again.

IQ

I took the classic IQ test at Tickle. Here's the description I got back.

Your Intellectual Type is Visionary Philosopher. This means you are highly intelligent and have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways. Like Plato, your exceptional math and verbal skills make you very adept at explaining things to others — and at anticipating and predicting patterns.

I like that!

I've been tagged...

I've been "tagged" by Sparrow to answer some questions.

Here's the scoop on how to play: I pick 5 occupations out of the list below and post my answers. Then I tag 3 other people to post their answers on their blog. If I tag you, and you don't want to be a part of this, then that is okay. Just let me know and I'll tag someone else.

The "questions": If I could be a scientist...If I could be a farmer...If I could be a musician...If I could be a doctor...If I could be a painter...If I could be a gardener...If I could be a missionary...If I could be a chef...If I could be an architect...If I could be a linguist...If I could be a psychologist...If I could be a librarian...If I could be an athlete...If I could be a lawyer...If I could be an inn-keeper...If I could be a professor...If I could be a writer...If I could be a llama-rider...If I could be a bonnie pirate...If I could be an astronaut...If I could be a world famous blogger...If I could be a justice on any one court in the world...If I could be married to any current famous political figure...

If I could be a psychologist: I wonder if I would drown in the sorrows of people. I could never be a psychologist without freedom to point people to Christ in whom hope can be found.

If I could be a librarian: my list of books to read would grow too huge. And I'd constantly be in trouble for talking too much (and probably too loud)

If I could be married to any current famous political figure: I'd have to say Steven Harper, hopefully the next Prime Minister of Canada. I love his eyes.

If I could be a professor: I'd love to work in a small university and have opportunities for much interaction with students on subjects like history, philosophy or theology. The idea of helping young people sort through some of the hard questions would be a constant challenge and search for deeper truth.

If I could be a writer: I'd love to write great fiction - to write compelling, realistic stories because those are the ones that move me. I love having my heart engaged: moved to tears, laughter and warmed by honor and strength of character.

Now I get to tag three people: Carol from Carol's Storybook, Geannie from Look Into My Eyes and Amie at Boy Story.

Soccer Mama!

My extrovert personality has gone and done it again - dived into something totally new with no experience or skill. I signed Rory (4) up for outdoor soccer this spring. I got an email asking if I'd be interested in coaching a team. I seriously had a good laugh at the idea and then.... You got it, I agreed to it. I don't think I've ever played a soccer game in my life. But how hard can it be with four year olds, right? Well we shall see soon enough. Tonight was a coaching class and I enjoyed it immensely and learned lots. I have a week to practice before it starts. Rory can't wait...or so he tells me every day.

We had a great church service yesterday! The message was on the meaning of the cross by one of our congregation. He said the cross was a mirror to our souls. Scripture says that Jesus was disfigured so much that he barely resembled a human being.

And that is a picture of our own depravity. And it's when we acknowledge that truth that we can humble ourselves to receive the remedy...at the cross. But that's why the message of the cross is hard. We don't want to consider ourselves depraved - it's counter culture and cannot exist with pride which roots itself so deeply in our hearts.

Some might think that admitting our depravity means we are of no worth and valueless. But just the opposite is true. The suffering of Jesus on our behalf gives us our worth. What are we worth to Him? His life.

Crucified, laid behind the stone
You lived to die, rejected and alone
Like a rose, trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

Our Creator loves and values us and was willing to pay the highest price He could pay. The question is what will we do with the cross?

The other blessing I received was being part of our worship team. It was amazing how the music worked so well with the message. Just before the message we sang Lenny LeBlanc and Paul Baloche's song "Above All" (quoted above) and as a response we sang "My Jesus I Love Thee".

I love thee because thou hast first loved me

And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree

I love Thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow

If ever I loved thee, My Jesus, 'tis now

Here's the interesting irony.

Christians believe that we are depraved but that our lives are valued as incredibly precious.

Secular humanists believe that we are basically good (with the possiblity of evolving into better) but that our lives are without intrinsic value - our value depends on what you can contribute to society - no contribution equals no value.

My Day...

I can hear Rory singing to the top of his lungs "Small and powerful". He's watching the Save'ums (cartoon). Paxton is relaxing with his duckie and a bottle of juice. It looks like I may have a few minutes to spend here. It's a beautiful today and Ladger is starting out by spraying and if the wind picks up he'll switch to seeding later. He has his lunch with him so I feel like I have a big free day ahead of me. (I've already finished helping Rory with his school work).
So I can:

• do three loads of laundry (and airdry them)
• rotortill and weed
• plant potatoes
• practice music for tomorrow
• pick out music for next week
• finish taxes (I did a bunch last night when I couldn't sleep at 5 am)
• play with the boys outside
• be a Momma bear for awhile (referring to Molly's post about the importance of roughhousing with our boys)
• read a little
• pray a lot

Maybe you can hold me accountable. Tonight I'll check in to see what I've managed to do and then be sure and let me have it if I've slacked off :-)

Update: I did one load of laundry. I did weed but didn't rotortill. I didn't plant potatoes. I did practice and pick out most of the music for next week. I didn't touch the taxes. I did play with the boys outside and roughhouse for awhile. I didn't read at all. I did pray a little.

But I would live my life in total frustration if I lived by a to do list. Here's why: yesterday afternoon as I was diving in to more laundry, I got a phone call from my MIL. She was in town and couldn't turn the ignition to start the car. She wanted either Ladger or his dad to come to her rescue. Well they're seeding so I packed up Paxton and drove out to the field to speak with Ladger and he suggested that I go to town (surprise, surprise!) and gave me a couple of ideas to try. So I went back home, changed and drove the 20 min to town. I got her car started with no problem. Then since I was there I decided to pick up a few groceries so it wouldn't be a wasted trip. Then by the time I got home it was time to prepare a supper and drive it out to the field. And just like that, there went my list of to do's down the drain. I know everyone has the 'unexpecteds' happen. But for me it feels like the norm:

• something breaks down and I need to go to town for the part
• trucks need to be moved from one field to the next and I need to help out
• fuel is needed and I need to drive out to the field for that
• Rory is tired of going along in the tractor and I need to go pick him up

So it's either be a little less efficient and stay flexible and in a reasonable humor about these 'extras' or it's have a to do list that never gets done and deal with frustration and discouragement. It's my experience that most things get done as long as I keep plugging along and not forget to enjoy the moment. Blessings to all who benefit from lists and to all who, like me, don't use them for one reason or other!

This was an ad we received in the mail (for seed treatment). Can you guess who it made me think of? Click here to see.

Personality

I took a personality test yesterday - I think I keep coming up with the same results. I must truly be an ESFP.

Extrovert versus Introvert. There's no doubt about that!
Feeling over thinking.
I'd like to think I'm logical but yeah, I guess that would be true too.
Sensing versus Intuition. No idea.
Perceiving versus Judging. I think that's probably right too.

But an Entertainer?!! Part of the description includes smooth, clever, witty. I don't really see myself that way. The interesting thing is that Marla Swoffer has put together a site called Type Blogs and it seems clear that there are far more introverts with blogs than extroverts. Maybe all those extroverts like me are just procrastinating :-) Or maybe we just can't be bothered looking too deep. But it is interesting. There's only one other ESFP out there so far.

First Day of Farming!

The anticipation is now a reality. Ladger has been working hard at getting everything ready to go and this afternoon he is out on the field just up the ridge from our place. (I can see him going back and forth as I write). He's spraying today - it's best to zap those weeds before seedlings push their way through the ground. He'll do a bit of spraying and then he'll be in a hurry to seed (he'd love to do both operations at once as our window of opportunity is small). Who knows what will take place once we get into the season. I may even end up helping out by doing some seeding to give Ladger a chance to get some more acres sprayed.

Rory's little heart is broken though. He was so set on going with Ladger but we didn't allow him because the first day is always a little more difficult - adjusting things, concentrating on how things are working, etc. He doesn't realize that missing out today doesn't lessen the fact that he'll get plenty of opportunity to go.

Monkeying around and Practicing too!

I'm back - it took me awhile this morning to figure out where I went wrong with my computer. I've been trying everything I know of to get this computer running better - it's been so sluggish lately. Virus checks, system scans, spyware scans, etc. And then I deleted my cookies and had set my computer wrong for receiving them. Sometimes I wish I understood more about how a computer works so that I could get to the source of the problem quicker. But I don't want it bad enough to study up on it - got too many other things on my plate right now.

I'm so excited to have been asked to accompany a violinist for a musical special this Sunday. He's playing It is Well With My Soul set to the classical background of Moonlight Sonata - which is a favorite of mine! I conscripted the poor guy into our worship team this Sunday too. :-)

And I'm getting together with my keyboardist this morning for a chance to work out her part in our worship team. Rory can't wait because he's hoping she'll bring her son who is a year older. He calls everyone he likes especially well 'his cousin'. He's been doing that ever since we went on our trip and met his real cousins!

Parties and ......

Last night was our splurge party and Rory was excited about it all day. He got a balloon earlier from town and brought it to me and 'donated' it to the party - cute! Ladger tried to tell him the party was just a bunch of ladies - not interesting for him but Rory didn't believe him. But he was at Grandma's until 9:30 pm and so he just got in on the tail end of the evening.

We had a great time playing "Cranium" - a mix of Trivial Pursuit, Charades, Pictionary types of questions.

Now it's time to buckle down and get taxes done and then three months of entries need to be made so I can get the GST report done too. And I have to pull some music together for two weeks of leading a worship team. And I still need to decide on new accessories, lights and mirror for my 'new' bathroom. And Ladger's hoping to start seeding next week. Busy. Busy. Busy.

Check it out!

Cathie Jo writes a great post "When the Enemy Whispers". Here's an exerpt:

Sweet sister know this - the enemy can’t know how you will react after you fail. His only fear is that you will not listen to him and run straight into God’s arms for His mercy and forgiveness. What he wants more than anything is to keep you ignorant of God’s covenant promise. He wants you living under the law, where our minds, souls and spirit will condemn us. His joy is if he can get you wallowing in your grief, and working hard to earn God’s forgiveness. But the truth is God never intended that, nope. He calls you to a feast and as your enemies sit back
to watch you suffer judgment, but what they see is Him feeding you from His table

Now go read the rest of it and be blessed!

Today's an awesome day! Can't you just feel it?

I have been up to my eyeballs in paint for the last few days. And I am now finished except for painting a decorative shelf to go with my new bathroom look. I love the ceiling. After I stripped off the stippling, Ladger asks what I would think of using a faux finish for it. He said it might be a good 'opportunity' - bless him. So I painted the ceiling the same earthy yellow as the walls and this morning I painted with a light creamy color on top of it and rag-rolled. I'm so pleased with it I keep going in there just to look at it again :-) Now my house is a complete messy zone so I have lots to do to get 'er in shape for Friday's splurge club. At the rate I'm going I'll have to host the party in my bathroom because that's the only room that's looking decent. I hope you're all having a great week - can't wait to catch up with some of you more once I've got some more time on my hands.

Which Denomination fits best...

Here's the results of a quiz I've taken:

Rank Item Percent
1: Baptist (Reformed/Particular/Calvinistic) (100%)
2: Congregational/United Church of Christ (90%)
3: Presbyterian/Reformed (90%)
4: Eastern Orthodox (81%)
5: Anglican/Episcopal/Church of England (77%)
6: Pentecostal/Charismatic/Assemblies of God (70%)
7: Baptist (non-Calvinistic)/Plymouth Brethren/Fundamentalist (68%)
8: Anabaptist (Mennonite/Quaker etc.) (67%)
9: Lutheran (67%)
10: Seventh-Day Adventist (65%)
11: Methodist/Wesleyan/Nazarene (62%)
12: Roman Catholic (59%)
13: Church of Christ/Campbellite (47%)

I was raised in a baptist tradition - guess it stuck with me, eh?

I must be crazy!


I have company coming Friday so I got into my head that it would be so nice to have my guest bathroom painted. I've had the paint for awhile and it just seemed like a good motivation to get at it.



So yesterday after I measured and plotted and planned my orchard all afternoon, I got busy all evening with the prep work so I could start painting this morning.



I'm going to do the walls and ceiling a caramel color and thought I'd start with the ceiling. It's a good thing I did because our stipple ceiling came off in huge patches. So guess what I had to do - strip the stipple off the ceiling. I just finished and thought I'd take a break and tell you all just how crazy I am! I'm really going to have to motor now to have that bathroom done by Friday - Yikes! Ladger's coming for lunch any minute now...hmmm. I wonder what he's going to think :-)

The Treasure Hunt is On...

I love treasure hunts. My sister and I spent hours in summer making treasure hunts for each other. The final clue led to some candy carefully hidden. It had to be hidden well because my brother's fun was in finding it before we had a chance to reach the end. And boy did we get mad at him sometimes.

Spring is like a big treasure hunt for me (and no little brothers can spoil the prize at the end this time).

I rejoice over every little sign of life from tulips poking their heads through the earth to the tiniest buds popping out from dead looking tree limbs. I love pushing aside a mound of leaves from the base of a perennial and see brand new green leaves coming up. I love the flowers I have started from seed and daily look for signs of new leaves and growth. Stirrings of life amidst death and decay. There is no doubt that life is a very beautiful and precious thing.

If This Were a Perfect World...

What comes to your mind when you think of a perfect world? Many of us would probably think of things like peace, love, harmony; the quality of our relationships having the most importance.

Here is the irony. We live in a society that promotes self-centeredness. We all have an idea of how we want to be treated by others. We consider it our right and we'll fight for that right regardless of how it affects the 'rights' of others. And so our life becomes a string of struggles to bring everyone alongside us in our efforts to make ourselves happy. We can either become arrogant and intolerant of those who do not play the game our way or we can become self-protective with all our defenses up to keep people out if they don't play the game our way. Either way, it's about what we need; we want. Like Toby Keith's song "I want to talk about me, me, me, me".

It's a subtle thing but for a society that longs for peace and harmony - we certainly go about it in a funny way. Everyone knows its hard to get along with someone who is thinking primarily of themselves in everything they do. We can spot it so easily in others and it offends us. And so we live in constant conflict and turmoil knowing that there must be a better way.

And then we meet our Creator and learn something about ourselves. We learn that we are as proud and self-centered as all those around us. We want our way. We want to be happy. We want joy. We want to have good relationships. And Jesus tells us to give it all up and trust Him to meet the needs we have. Huh? We are now to live as if others are more important? We are to serve others? We are to treat others as we would like to be treated rather than insist that others treat us like we would like to be treated? We are to submit? We are to obey?

Submission. Obedience. Humility.

Self-reliance. Independence. High self-esteem.

Which set of words appeal to us? We cannot have a relationship with God without the first set. It is because He is God and because He loves us that we can trust Him with complete abandon. And as we allow ourselves to be loved by Him, He transforms us - one day at a time; to be more selfless and more dependent on Him; to learn to love like He does; to be like Him. And that is the secret to fulfillment, joy and peace unlike anything this world knows. Our Creator knows us. He loves us. He enables us.

If we pursue fulfillment, happiness, contentment, peace, healthy relationships then we find disillusionment, conflict, and the pain of dysfunctional relationships.

BUT if we submit to God's love, all of the things we long for, happen; a byproduct of fulfillment, happiness, contentment, peace, healthy relationships with those around us.

If this were a perfect world, we'd all live in close relationship with God and with each other. Oh yeah, that's what heaven is all about.

First official....

day of spring for me - that is the first day I get to do a bit of yard work. Every year it seems I have trees, shrubs and perennials to relocate. I guess that's what happens when you don't hire a professional landscaper to help plan your yard properly. Today I conscripted Ladger to help me move two bigger trees that are going to end up too close to other things - way too hard for me to do by myself. I also did some planning for where I was going to plant the twenty trees I have ordered new this year. Fun, fun, fun....

Coffee break...

Last night Ladger came in at 10 pm (2 hours later than I'd expected) and I was upset. So I've been pondering what has me on edge these days. First of all, I recognize a pattern - I get this way every spring because of the dramatic transition in my life. In a couple of weeks(we hope), Ladger will be on the field every day all day seeding. I will be bringing meals out to the field and possibly going to get fertilizer once a day (which means driving a grain truck which I haven't been driving for awhile). It means that I'm on my own with the kids for several weeks.


And I start doubting that I can handle everything on my plate right now - overwhelmed! But I need to remember that I've been through this transition time before and it has always worked out- one day at a time. And most of all, I need to give my worries over to Jesus. I need a fresh perspective and a spiritual recharge. So where's my Bible, notebook and cup of coffee?

Boys...

I always expected that boys might mean any number of things...including who knows what in pockets,etc. The other day, Rory came in the house calling for me,"Come see my little friend".

Uh oh! I went out to the living room and beheld my boy stroking the fur of a ....dead mouse - UGH!

He was surprised at my negative reaction and went to the bathroom to 'clean him' because "then my nice little mousey will be clean like me, not yucky! See, (he raises his shirt) I'm not yucky!"

I didn't want to discourage his kindness to that poor little mousey so I humored him by providing a towel and a little bed for him. But I told him he couldn't keep him because if he was dead he had to go back outside. "Why, Mom?" So I explained that God made us from the dust and when we die our body turns back to dust when it's put in the ground and then we go to heaven where we get brand new bodies someday.

Later I heard him talking to God: "Please look after my nice little mousey" And with that he took him by the tail and tossed him outside.