Thank You So Much

I spent Christmas with Jon and Katherine at her parents home with the rest of the family , Mike, Ann, Karen, Loic,and his brother Yann(can't remember how to spell his name), not to mention pets Maggie and Oliver.
Oliver was fully recovered from his over indulgence, and subsequent treatment of a four pound box of dark chocolate a day earlier. Oliver will eat anything including panti hose and j clothes. He seen here protecting a tin of cookies hoping they are for him.



Later I was pleased to visit old friends the Allen Family. Kinza was faithfully practicing her latest piece on her brand new violin.



Carol-Ann thank you for your loving hospitality,and letting me play with Mini to distraction.



This little girl with her bear would make my Sam proud as she carries on the Mr.(Ms.?) Bear tradition. The similarities are amazing.



I gotta get me one of these little darlings!

Silent Night

Wishing all my friends the wonder and joy of the Presence of Our Savior throughout all the celebrations of the season. God Bless us everyone. Thank You Jesus for saying yes.

Christmas Wonder

A woman and an angel, a Promise and a Star.
A Word too great for any mind to hold.

A tax law and a journey, a stable and some straw
These tell the Greatest Story Ever Told.

Sing Glory in the Highest, He is come our Great Messiah,
Come bow before this awesome Majesty.

Mighty God and fragile baby, here a lowly manger holds
It's still the Greatest Story Ever Told.



He was just an ordinary baby, but that's the way He planned it
Maybe ... anything but common would have kept Him apart from the children that He came to rescue
Limited to some elite few , when He was the only child that asked to be born

And He came to us with eyes wide open, knowing how we're hurt and broken
Choosing to partake in all our joy and pain.

He was just an ordinary baby, that's the way He planned it
Maybe...so that we would come to Him and not be afraid

He was ordinary with exception of miraculous conception
Both His birth and His death He planned from the start

But between His entrance and His exit, was a Life that has affected
Everyone, who's ever walked the earth to this day,

With no airs of condesention He became God's pure extension
Giving you and me a chance to be remade.

He was just an ordinary baby, that's the way He planned it
Maybe...so that we would come to Him and not be afraid.

I just really liked this picture, and it is true that all creation rejoiced at the coming of our Beloved Savior.

Today I am on my way to Toronto for Christmas. It is pouring rain, which is better than blowing snow. More later.....God bless us everyone.

Dreaming

I had a dream about this little baby. Actually I saw three of them and the red bow was in her hair. Hmmmm....... Wishful dreaming I think.

Sarah's Dinner

Last Saturday my lovely niece Sarah and her husband Mike had the family over for a little pre- Christmas dinner celebration.


Thank you so much , it's always fun to be with you .


Nephew Adam, Niece Holly,and myself with our 'cracker crowns'.


Sisters!




More Sisters ! I know you are as close as we are . A very good thing.

Visitation

The boy child would be 9 years old in the morning. This child of sadness found himself in the midst of a house filled with shadows belonging to others he was supposed to trust. He could not as yet understand his world or even wonder at the why.

December 13th. 9 pm. Bedtime in his home.

He came softly to the living room, though no such thing as real living was ever allowed to show itself . He came to his young mother to say his goodnight.

Suddenly, this boy child dropped to his knees in an attitude of worship, covering his eyes from the brightness he alone was beholding. The mother watched, her heart pounding with a different kind of fear and trembling at her own awareness of the Presence of the Supernatural all around.

She too found her knees as did a little sister.

This mother saw nothing with her natural eyes but her recently awakened spirit was filled with awe and wonder.

Afterwards the child told his story through tears."I saw the stable ! I saw the baby Jesus , the wise men and the Angel."

Even as he recounted his vision, this mother recognized truth as it was written upon her heart. Jesus had visited . He had found us in the night in the lonely frozen wilderness of Winnipeg.

This is a true story and even as I write this , the remembering is strong upon me. This event took place 33 years ago tonight. Tomorrow the boy who is a man, has a birthday.

His path has led him far from his mother and she wonders every year on this day if he will ever remember that night so long ago.

For now, she continues to hold this child of her youth in her heart and before the Lord , loving him from a distance, praying for restoration asking Jesus to visit the boy, now a man. Perhaps this year he will remember.

THE LIFE APPEARED

This week brings to memory the passing of my little Aunt T. three years ago December 4th. In the early hours of this morning I was looking at that morning again in my memory. Some things stay very clearly no matter how much time has passed.

It was around 4 am. and I heard her coughing. I jumped from my bed and dashed to the kitchen, peered around the corner. I was about to ask her if she needed any help, but the coughing had ceased, so I quietly tip toed back to bed. I did not want to rouse her if it was not necessary since her pain and the wandering it cause her to do would mean a very long day. Then I heard a little more coughing and waited again. Silence.

Later that morning , around 9:20 am I went to put the coffee on. I peeked around the corner into the living room where we had her hospital bed set up, to see if Aunt T. was awake yet. Much to my horror she had passed away, and it was very obvious that this was so. I was freaking out and I was so scared ! I tip toed over to her almost afraid that if it was not really true and she opened her eyes, she would surely wonder what I was doing.

Anyway, that was three years ago, and this morning I was asking and wondering why I did not go and rouse her when I first heard her coughing. Was I being selfish in not wanting to wake her just so we could all get our rest, or was it meant to be the way it happened? Well, I wished I had done so, since then I would have been with her all the way home.

But I digress. As I was asking the Lord about all of this He very clearly showed me the truth of her final moments. THE LIFE APPEARED !!!



This is so amazing ! I can't tell you how many images of death and dying fell to the dust in my mind .

1 John 1:1-2 - The Word of Life

1That which was from the beginning, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life.
2The Life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and proclaim to you the Eternal Life`, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.


The Life appeared : was made manifest, to reveal,to remove the lid ,the act of divine revelation. TO BECOME VISIBLE !

So once again I knew, Jesus Himself showed up , once again in triumph , escorting another dear one into Eternal Life. ( I guess He did not really need my help. )

No wonder John the Baptist leapt in his mothers womb at the greating of Mary when she went to visit Elizabeth. The Life appeared !

Lord I do not want to live a life of dullness . Awaken my heart and my hope once again to be stirred to passion at the approach of Life Himself.

From a very early age I have been a puppy person.


When I was 4 years of age the little black dog who is the mother of this puppy was killed by a car out in front of my kindergarten. I remember running home in terror screaming, when some 'big' person told me my dog was dead.

My parents told me it was not my dog that had been in the accident, but 'Character' never came home again. My parents tried to protect me by telling me she had gone to a farm. That is all I remember about that, but it has left a mark.

Four was a very bad year for me in more ways than I want to recall, though I somehow made it through my first year of school and as a reward for all my hard work I remember getting one blue star at the end of a very messy printing scribbler.

This one below did not even belong to us, but I remember insisting that I wanted him in the picture as you can tell by the grumpy look on my face.


Then I had my very own best friend for a while . I still miss holding him close and taking him everywhere . He was such a good boy.



Sam has earned his wings