still believing …

 

“I believe in the sun – even when it does not shine;
I believe in love – even when it is not shown;
I believe in God – even when he does not speak.”

 

“But those who, when full, enjoyed God in all, when emptied and poor, can enjoy all in God. They can sit down upon the heap of the ruins of their creature-comforts, and even then praise the Lord, as the God of their salvation, the salvation of the soul, and rejoice in him as such, in their greatest distresses.” (Matthew Henry)

 

“Though the cherry trees don’t blossom and the strawberries don’t ripen, though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty, I’m singing joyful praise to God. I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Saviour God.” ~ Habakkuk 3:17-18 (The Message)

a little more sunshine

To think back five years ago – makes me think of the warm (okay, hot) summer sun. But aside from that I think of the family and friends that gathered to show us their support and encouragement for the life that me and Scott were embarking on together.

So far, so good – it seems. What else needs to be said when ‘the husband’ brings home a few gerber daisies!! Thanks Scott! (not only for the flowers, but for putting up with me!!)

sonshine in a cup

Well, just moments ago an unexpected delivery was made to my door! I shall call it, affectionately, ‘SONshine in a cup’. Yup, there’s nothing much that can beat a surprise like this! There is something true to that saying of: “good things come in small packages” after-all!

So, thank YOU for delivering cup that is overflowing!!

time goes by

So, I recently had a conversation with someone about certain ‘hurts and pains’ never really ‘leaving’ us, always being a part of us. During the conversation I tried to be as ‘positive’ as I could, knowing that a little encouragement can sometimes go a long way. But, since that conversation I have sat and thought a bit more about it. Mind you, before you get all hyped up for some ‘deep’ stuff to flow out into this blog … I’ll warn you now, it’s not really that much.

I guess one thing I’ve come to re-discover is that it’s not only the ‘hurts and pains’ that stick around, there are ‘joyful healing’ moments that stay close (we just have to let them). I guess the ‘trick’ is that we need to take every bit of ‘life lesson’ that we receive and use it to build us into the person that God has called us to be. And, in the mean time, share some of those ‘experiences’ with those around us to build up, strengthen and encourage them in their life journey. Perhaps I need to work on my ‘sharing’ a bit more, I’m sure that won’t come as too much of a surprise to many of you. So, I guess while I have you here, I’ll ask that you say a ‘little’ prayer (not to minimize the power of prayer) for me – to give me courage to ‘share’ in those ‘God-moments’ that come by.

For me, an ‘obvious’ life-lesson that comes to mind today would be one that I’ve journeyed with for 27 years now (yes, much to my surprise as well, I am getting old). As time goes by and circumstances change, the life-lesson seems to grow, shift and change … I can’t help but see God’s hand in it. I won’t go into ALL the details of all the things I’ve learned along the way, but it does make me chuckle to realize that 27 years ago I was more than distraught to find out that as a seven-year-old the plan of having a sleep in day on a holiday Monday was ‘crushed’ in the wee hours of the morning … and now, this past holiday Monday I found myself up at nearly the crack of dawn anticipating what the day (with God in it) would hold for me! Do I hold a bit of regret in that, yeah at times I do – but I guess I also have to remind myself that I was a seven-year-old still ‘learning’ to experience all of the joys that life has to offer – even at what seems to be the worst ‘times’.

So, I guess that might be what I’d want to remind you of today, perhaps you’re having a thought that my seven-year-old brain was holding on to … that ‘this’ could be the worst time ever. Well, I’m pretty sure if that’s the case you’re not likely going to want to hear me say what I’m about to say … In the moments of what could seem like the worst time ever, don’t forget to open your heart and soul to experience what could be the best ever. Take the moments God has given you, fill your chest of treasures even if it feels you have to dig deep for them. I’m pretty sure, in the end, you’ll be blessed beyond measure!

Blessings to you on your journey …

happy birthday!!

Well, today’s the day that we should all join in singing the wonderful ‘Happy Birthday’ song to my lovely friend, Carole.

I won’t spill the beans (or anything else) on her age … I’ll have a few moments of kindness (I’ll try and make up for such silliness throughout the rest of the day).

Happy Birthday Carole, hope YOUR day is a fantastic one!!

a little ‘spring’ in my step

So, despite the snow on the ground (where the heck did that come from??) a little ‘spring’ was added to my step today.

I was surprised by a little splash of color!

To ‘you know who you are’:

Thank you for demonstrating encouragement in a tangible way!

Your friendship and encouragement is, without a doubt, a gift from God.

Thank you for allowing God to use you.

palm sunday

… in the sun!

It was nice to enjoy the warmth of the sun today!

Experiencing the warmth of the Son during ‘worship’ this morning was more than uplifting for the soul.

Our God is an awesome God, ‘why not’ praise Him!

a great evening with ‘Watoto’

Here’s a hint … ‘watoto’ is Swahili for ‘children’ … so there you have it … I was able to enjoy an evening with the African Children’s Choir tonight. For those of you that know me a ‘hint’ … you can only imagine how much I enjoyed my evening! So much so, that I really have no words … I’ll leave you with a few pictures though … the young eight-year-old boy that’s ‘front and center’ for most of the pics – and wearing a perma-grin … his name is Innocent and he wants to be a pilot when he grows up. A few other stories that ‘caught my attention’ were of James (who stood on the far left of the group) and Vincent (who stood on the far right of the group). Go figure … ‘James Vincent’ … then in a row in front and standing more central to the group was a young boy named “Jimmy” – his name of course also caught my attention, and only to find out when he told us his story that he was now 10 but at the age of five was left abandoned on the side of the road in his home-town.

Bless the children …

a walk in the park!

So I've decided to join Sue-Ann and 'the boys' to support my uncle and all those affected by Alzheimers walking on Saturday, May 10th in the Walk for Memories ... it'll be my third year ... it's a walk to help raise funds for the Alzheimer Society - a good cause that provides support to those who have been affected by the disease. If you're interested in supporting me in the 5k walk (and supporting my uncle in his walk through this disease) click here and make your pledge on-line (you'll even get your tax receipt via e-mail almost immediately).

Want to support? click here

time for everybody to sing!!

the long and winding road …

Well, as with most ‘last days’ go … we were up and at ‘em early – grabbed a bite to eat, went through customs, found our luggage and then we were off on our way for a bus & boat tour of Miami while we waited for our ‘journey home’ to start. Our flight home actually took us back through Chicago … with a few delays here and there – it meant we didn’t get ‘home’ ‘til close to 1am. A long day to say the least … but still, fun!

days of ‘Freedom’ coming to an end

Our final day at sea, lots of stuff to keep us occupied. Our list of ‘things to complete’ kept us busy for the day. Some of the things we managed to do today was take in “Freedom Fest”, the circus, ice-skating, mini golf, the flowrider, meeting ‘the captain’, watching a dance troupe from Lloydminster, Alberta! Tonight’s show featured another comedian and a duo-acrobat team. All fun!!

moments with Flipper’s look-a-like

A day in Cozumel, Mexico, found us spending time with Athenea the dolphin. Another great experience. We spent about an hour swimming and playing. It was only a 5 minute taxi ride from the port so after our time at ‘the park’ we went into town to do a bit of shopping and walking around before we go back on the ship for the final time … the next time off will be in Miami …

We shopped ‘til we dropped today – and I mean dropped! Either way, it was a good day all around – yet again!

a ‘heck’ of a good time

We checked out Grand Cayman today – started off in Georgetown – toured a few coral reefs (saw some fish, sea turtles and ship wrecks). After our semi-submarine ride we drove to the turtle farm and saw some improvements to this park since our last visit here of nearly five years ago. After this we made our usual stop in Hell and sent a postcard home! Didn’t buy many souvenirs here this time around, figure there’s only need for one set of souvenirs from Hell! We then did a wee bit of shopping near port before we got back on ‘the boat’. It was a lovely day weather-wise for us, it was sure nice to not see rain. The clouds were a welcome break from the direct sunlight though! This evening’s show was called: "Once Upon A Time”, as per usual the Freedom Dancers and Singers did an awesome job and kept us well entertained.

 

 

 

 

the back roads of Ocho Rios, Jamaica

So, it was my first time ever in Jamaica. I had a blast … another ‘culture’ day for me …

Peter was our tour guide today, it was great to experience the sites with him and to be ‘educated’ along the way. The ride was a bit bumpy, started off rainy … but not too long into the ride the sun came out and smiles were on everybody’s faces. We did a bit of ‘off-road’ touring … without a GPS! We stopped at Dunn’s River Falls – but didn’t venture climbing it like many people did … unfortunately I’m a little weary of ‘wet rocks’ ever since my June 1, 2008, episode! If that date was taken off the calendar – I just might’ve ventured the climb. None-the-less, I still managed to take a few photos while walking alongside the river. Beggars can’t be choosers I suppose!