In Toronto..

We've been really enjoying our time here in Toronto. We attended my cousin's wedding yesterday. It was beautiful and the reception was great fun. Today there'll be lots more visiting as all the uncles and aunts will be heading here (the bride's parents home) in a little while. We've been having fun talking politics. Some of our relatives are strong Liberals and some are strong Conservatives - makes for lots of fun. It's fun to throw a little western perspective into the mix.

It has been the first time Ladger has met our Ontario relatives but he's doing quite well in keeping up with who is who. Meanwhile it sounds like our boys are doing just fine with Grandma and Grandpa. Apparently Rory's been missing us though and that's sweet to hear. We'll be flying out tomorrow and will see them around suppertime.

BTW, I managed to whip most of our place into shape without getting too grouchy *grin*.


Technorati tag: General

Getting Ready to Go....

Today is the day before our trip to Toronto and it's the day I'm most likely to be surly, impatient, harried. Why? Well, I want to leave the house spotless. Partly because I wouldn't be surprised if Ladger's mom will come over for one reason or other (she's already talked about coming over so the boys can sleep in their own beds)and nothing makes me more uncomfortable than that and partly because I don't like leaving my house in an 'unfinished' state when I go on a trip. So between internal pressure and external possibilities I have my hands full.

And little boys have a way of getting in the way of housecleaning. I've already had to clean up a few extra messes this morning. Paxton thought it would be fun to crunch all the beautiful wrapping paper I was using to wrap up the wedding present and dump out my vitamins all over the place. Last evening he brought in a pile of grass sod and dumped it in my kitchen after I had spent quite awhile carpet cleaning (three times over).

So I need to alter my goals and let go of my own agenda and pride. I don't want my last day with the boys to be a miserable day. Maybe I can get the house into decent shape and still enjoy the boys being around. Maybe I can find ways for them to help me and just maybe God can give me the grace to show them the kind of love He shows me every day!

Technorati tag: General

The Good Life...

Lately I've read a couple of posts relating to 'blogger envy'. So here I sit with a blank mind and sure I'd love to write something brilliant (*grin*) but I doubt that's gonna happen today.

But I'm content. I just have to remember why I started this in the first place - it wasn't to gain the attention of oodles of people all over this globe. For me, it's a chance to capture moments of my life, my kids, my thoughts and be able to share the joy I find in my day to day life with any who would like to share in it.

And so I sit here in my office having stayed up late for the last few evenings to catch up on my bookkeeping...tired but content. I hear the hum of a tractor as Ladger is working in the orchard - evening out straw clumps left over from our flood. Paxton is humming to himself as he watches Dad out the window. Rory is off with Grandpa - not sure what they're up to exactly. And so, having taken a few minutes to appreciate the life that is mine, I'm off to accomplish great things in my house.

Technorati tag: General

If you haven't read it yet...

Last night I stayed up late to finish a book. That's one thing my husband doesn't understand about me... How do you explain being that involved in an unfolding drama that your own need for sleep is forgotten for awhile? I've been reading the series A.D. Chronicles by Bodie & Brock Thoene. I love it particularly as it's full of tidbits on how to understand some stories of the Old Testament as a foreshadow of Jesus' life on earth. That understanding adds such a rich dimension to understanding the life of Jesus. And it adds a wonderful dimension to this series of books. Go read them and enjoy the wonder of Jesus' days on earth.

"And then The Light came to earth as the prophets foretold in Holy Scripture. Born as a man named Yeshua, which means "Salvation", He lived among us.

The Angel of the Lord. El Shaddai. Adonai. The Way. The Truth. The Life. The Living Word of God. Saviour. Messiah. Redeemer. The Anointed One. El Olam. Ancient of Days.

So many names of grace and beauty to call Him - as many names as there are human needs to meet. And so The One Lord of All Eternity came to our world to ask each heart The One Question: Who do you say I am?

This is the story of the battle between The Truth and the Father of Lies. Each fought mightily for the souls of mankind.

Those who witnessed the conflict firsthand could not comprehend how ancient this war was, nor what the outcome meant for generations yet to be born."

...excerpt from the prologue of "Third Watch"
Technorati tag:books

Busy Days...

This week was busy. First of all, every morning we hosted a 5 day club and had 11 kids by the end of the week (including my boys). It was great to have such nice weather for the whole week. And... Rory asked Jesus into his life on Wednesday as he and I were working through the lesson from the day before.

Wednesday evening I went to splurge club and had a nice evening out with some girl friends.

Thursday, Ladger and I left the boys with Grandma and Grandpa and went to the annual customer appreciation event at our local fertilizer supplier (Wiens Agritec). First the guys went on a crop tour and while they talked farming, ladies went for an afternoon of pampering. I enjoyed the works: a pedicure, manicure, massage and jacuzzi. When the guys got back, we boarded the bus and headed to SaskLanding. We enjoyed four holes of golf (most of the ladies had golfed very little if at all - so it was pretty funny). I loved it and would love to take it up sometime. And then we headed back to a huge tent and enjoyed a 'redneck barb-b-q'. The food was excellent and we enjoyed the live band. And then quite a few couples played a round of mini-golf while enjoying the music and the beautiful evening. Things wrapped up with fireworks and we headed on the bus for home.

So the next few days will be busy as I get ready for our trip to Toronto for my cousin's wedding. Last night the boys did well staying overnight at Grandma's for the first time and so I'm feeling a bit better about leaving them for a few days. In no time at all summer will be half over and that is just hard to believe!

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I never know what I'm going to find next...

The other day the phone rang and I went to answer and saw this. Paxton obviously thought his playdough telephone should work just fine.

What's in a picture...

Many looked at this picture and found reason to scoff. But maybe those folks have never been to a rodeo. Cowboys aren't known for being fashionable but that doesn't keep us from donning our cowboy hats and boots and getting into the spirit of things. One minute media is saying that Stephen Harper is too serious looking and the next they turn around and look for opportunity to make him look ridiculous. What's ridiculous is an 'objective' media making sport regardless of the suitability of dressing in western gear in the context of the Calgary Stampede. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for some of our elite media to kick up their heels and live a little.

As election draws nearer we're going to be hit with all kinds of typical media bias. Here's a link to a good article entitled "Scary Evangelicals"



Technorati tag:Politics

Great White Combine...

This has been the year to top all years in my short history of farming. It started with baseball sized hail and 6 inches of rain in a matter of minutes that caused a flash flood through our yard in June. And then it hailed again a few weeks later on another field. Yesterday it hailed once again and we have yet to see how many fields were affected by this latest storm. As the summer progresses, hail becomes more damaging as crops try to mature and lose the chance to recover.

This last time may have caused irreparable damage and that's why hail is called the Great White Combine. It reaps our crop for us.

I was explaining to Rory about what hail does and why Dad's feeling a little blue today. Before I knew it Rory had great tears falling down his cheeks and he told me he was going to find a way to fix our crops. I told him nothing can be done and then he said "But God can fix them!" And right then he prayed that God would. And then he bounced up and said "I"m so excited because God's going to fix our crops". I love the faith of a child!

Meanwhile I pray that the Great White Combine would leave enough for us to harvest this fall.

Technorati tag: Faith

The Sky is Falling....

It's quite a change in pace from reading Thoene's book "Second Touch" about lepers in Jerusalem nearing the time of Christ's crucifixion to Nino Ricci's "Where She Has Gone" to Andrew Murray's "Absolute Surrender" to John Piper's "Don't Waste Your Life" to Galdone's "Henny Penny". But I have to admit it's fun to read to the boys even though I just get to a good part in any of the books I'm reading and I can count on someone bringing me a book of their own for me to read. But I don't know how many more times I want to retell the tale of Henny Penny and her gullible friends Ducky Lucky, Cocky Locky, Turkey Lurkey and Goosey Loosey. It's just too much of a mouthful to get all those names in there.

Our dryer is on its last legs so I'm really avoiding it this summer. And that's been fine except that we're supposed to get rain today and I need to do quite a bit of laundry. Hopefully the rain'll hold off until my clothes get a chance to dry a bit.

And then this afternoon, it's off to town to play for a wedding. Most of it is classical music and so I've been enjoying brushing up on some pieces that I haven't played in awhile.

I'll try to come up with a more interesting post when I get a chance to read something a little deeper than how Foxy Loxy really outwitted Henny Penny and friends and how it all started 'cause she jumped to a wrong conclusion when the acorn fell on her head.

Technorati tag:books

Here's some pictures from camp: I was surprised at how much Rory enjoyed archery.

Ready...aim...shoot!

And here's Paxton and his duck at our cabin!

"I must, I may, I would, I shall...

be filled with the Holy Spirit." I've been working through "Absolute Surrender" by Andrew Murray. He lists these as four steps we need to take.

1. "I must..." - that's easy for me. There's no question in my mind that I must if I wish God to use me (I've been thinking in context of leading worship in a few weeks in particular)
2. "I may..." - that's harder for me; to not have doubts that God will indeed empower me through His Spirit.
3. "I would..." - willingness, I am willing but at times I drag my feet and wonder what God will ask of me so I'm still working on this one.
4. "I shall..." - I'm also working on this one; to step out in faith and claim God's promise.

As I started praying and working through these, I found myself having some difficult days. I found myself discouraged because of so many failures in my life as a mom and a wife. But I press on because I know that I cannot live as I ought unless the Spirit that resides in me has His way in my life.

Technorati tag:books,faith,Andrew Murray

Soccer season is over and we've got lots of great pics but this has to be my favorite!

An Evening Out....

On July 4, many of you celebrated but four of us celebrated a different event here in Canada. We went out for a birthday dinner and talked almost non-stop about things like post-modernism, philsophy, world views, evangelism, church etc. Now that's my idea of a party! *grin* So I've got lots of thoughts mulling around in my head. Hopefully, one day I can sort through some of it and write a post touching on some of the issues we talked about.

But if you'd like something to wrap your mind around while you're out enjoying the sun this summer, here's a link to one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed a debate between him and Morgentaler at the University of Saskatoon in my college days. And I drank in his lectures at our college when he came for a few sessions as a guest. I found this link at Apologia Christi. Here is Dr. William Lane Craig with "Politically Incorrect Salvation"

Family Camp...

We just got back from a great time at Westbank Bible Camp.

We left Thursday to get there in time for supper...a Mennonite favorite - homemade peroghys and vorscht. Peroghys are tiny dough pockets filled with a potato and cheese mixture (or cottage cheese, potato and bacon, etc) and vorscht are farmer's sausages.

On Friday, Rory and I went horseback riding. He loved it as we went throught a small creek with the horse and most of the trail was fun. I didn't like going downhill though because our horse decided to head down a different path (steeper) and while I was trying to keep him under control Rory was really scared. But as soon as we reached the bottom all was well again. That afternoon, the husbands looked after the kids while the ladies were treated to an afternoon at the pool with a foot spa, fruit platters, ice cappucinos, Josh Groban playing in the background - very nice. And then Rory came swimming with me and had a blast in the pool.

On Saturday, the guys got to go golfing in the morning and they had a good time. And that afternoon (after a short nap), Rory really enjoyed archery. He also spent some time at the creek trying to catch fish. And then he tried ziplining for the first time - really cute! Paxton got to try jumping on the trampoline which was really fun for him. (Rory was on there every spare minute too). And then they fed the kids and took them off for a time of games while the adults enjoyed a banquet - tender roast beef and roast potatoes with all the fixings and cheesecake for dessert.

We had a campfire each evening and lots of crazy songs. A kid sitting beside me kept telling me how 'stupid' the songs were. I guess it looked funny to him to see a bunch of adults having so much fun singing about a moose who spilled juice on his head and other such silly songs.

I'm so glad we went as we got to renew some friendships from last year and met some new families. We had good discussions and motivational chapel times. All in all, it was a weekend jam-packed full of good times.

We just got back early Sunday afternoon and are having a lazy day catching up on some rest before heading into a new week. I hope you all had a great weekend!

It's our 9th anniversary today! And I get to pull out my wedding album and reminisce and share a couple with you.

In this photo, Ladger had a funny expression when I kissed his cheek - like I surprised him - I should try for that look today...hmmm....

BTW, I read an excellent post today at Mommy Life by Barbara. The topic was specifically how to deal with the 'submission' verses in light of feminism. What she writes captures the spirit of what I wish to be in my own marriage - a great challenge!

We're not really rednecks but...

we are down to earth country folk with some quirks!

To borrow from Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might be a Redneck If...":

You might be a redneck if you swerve to get roadkill. (Now Ladger doesn't swerve to hit all critters but gophers.... I've learned not to try to put make-up in the vehicle as he aims for gophers on the road every time!)

You might be a redneck if you pass cars in the ditch. (This one was Ladger's and I really wonder how he drives when I'm not around!!)

You might be a redneck if you wear rubber boots with your dress to get to your car...and then change into good shoes. (That's what Ladger thinks I should've done all those times I had to walk to the vehicle on his parents yard. I refused and so now he usually picks me up - yay for chivalry! Now we have a garage on our yard and that has made a difference too.)

What do you do that might be considered 'redneck'?

Democracy Hypocrisy

Polls are just a semi-accurate picture of public opinion on any given issue. But even so, what is clear from the polls is that we are a nation divided on the issue of a redefinition of marriage. But our government acted as if it had no other alternative. Maybe a referendum would have shown that a majority of persons in this country would change the marriage definition but we weren't given the chance to find out. At the very least, some effort at trying to represent all interests fairly would have been in order.

I think it is a very sad picture of democracy when a government in power can push forward its own agenda especially on social/ moral issues such as the recent change to the definition of marriage. Our current government has decided that one minority group's concerns to be valid while a larger minority group (those who believe that the Word of God is the basis of morality) is not worth listening to. Since when is that a good democratic process?

It only goes to show that the strength and integrity of a democracy is in direct correspondence to the strength and integrity of its people and its leaders. If nothing else, we can see clearly the problems inherent in relativity and tolerance. When government decides where we are to stand on moral issues it has chosen a side and has been intolerant of someone's position in the process.

Despite claims that freedom of religion and speech will be protected - our freedom has been eroded. How long before that freedom will be eroded even more for those who don't fall in line with what is deemed to be 'politically correct'? What happens to nations that turn their back on God? History can give us a pretty clear picture if we're willing to take a look.

politics

Close To You...

Here it is as I sang it this morning. It was a blessing to share it with our congregation - many encouraged me to keep on writing. A special thank you to those who took the time to give me your thoughts on the lyrics!

Close to You

verse 1
The morning sun is rising
From the dancing of the stars
And breezes whisper softly
Of Your presence in my heart
I can nearly touch the heavens
You are so near

chorus
Close to You
There's no place I'd rather be
That's where Your Spirit's calling me
Close to You
This world is not my home
I know where I belong
Close to You.....Close to You.

verse 2
Like rippling waves in wheatfields
Move by the slightest breath
Your Spirit gently moves me
Bringing me to newer depths
From the desert of my soul
Your beauty starts to grow

Bridge
On a day long ago
As the skies turned dark
And a veil was torn in two
You hung
There on a cross
Bearing my sin
Turning my eyes to You

verse 3
The pain You bore in my place
The shame You wore alone
And so I cry out and healing waters flow
In Streams of loving mercy
Running down over me

Mixed Up Day...

My day hasn't gone as planned at all. I really wanted to get a good day to focus on catching up with housecleaning. But... Ladger went spraying and so he needed lunch. I was talking to his mom and found myself volunteering to Barb-b-q for everyone. So most of my morning was spent filling the fuel tank on the halfton with diesel and gassing up the truck and then loading up the gear and barb-b-q and then preparing the lunch. And then we got out there and started cooking and the guys decided they'd better finish up as the skies were blue. Sure enough, we hurried through lunch...accompanied by thunder and lightning in the west (pretty really), packed up and headed home. So it turns out I wouldn't have had to bring a lunch out to the field at all. If I hadn't gone to the bother, the guys would have come home for lunch and I would have had the morning for other things. Oh well.....

Canada Day...

Today's the parade and Rory's in it! He's so excited - too funny. He's on the float with AWANA and he is determined to take my recorder so he can 'play music'. I guess he figures that's what you're supposed to do if you're going to be in the parade.