blacksmith shop

There was a time when this building was painted with pride.

It stands empty, damaged and dying, awaiting disassembly. A blacksmith shop, remnant from the time when our hamlet was new. It really is too far gone to be salvaged.....

blooms in pink

blossoms of blue

tales from the travelers three

Norah was gazing upwards at an unusually bright moon, "I can see all the buggers on it!" (craters)

May we always take the time to look heavenward

and give thanks for the gifts of the fourth day!

Celestial Paths

Oh! Thou who taught my infant eye

To pierce the air and view the sky,

To see my God in earth and seas,

To hear Him in the vernal breeze,

To know Him midnight thoughts among,

O guide my soul and aid my song.

Spirit of Light, do Thou impart

Majestic truths and teach my heart:

How vain my powers, how weak my frame;

Teach me celestial paths untrod-

The ways of Glory and of God.

George Crabbe

******

"Well" said Tommy, insisting that he needed bubbles in the bathtub for his boat to float on, "The Dawn Treader was floating in the white lilies".

"Well" said Marten, insisting that he did not want bubbles in the bathtub, "Sometimes the water was actually very clear- and they could see little people on the bottom of the ocean". (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Narnia)

daffodil

It is not the beauty of the flower alone - it is the surrounding colours that enhance it.

two by two

wildflower

I thought these were jack-in-the-pulpits but apparently they are not.

There are dozens of them growing along our back fence line.

more when I find out what they are...

aah...thank you dad and Sarah...

trout lily!

tiny things

Tiny things in vivid colour.

out of doors

We move outdoors, for school work, coffee time, bible stories and play. Suddenly daily life extends beyond four walls.

irregular little chap

He is hot and cold, never indifferent, always passionate!

He wraps his little arms around my neck 30 times a day and whispers,

"I love you mom, hundreds and thousands".

Sometimes, when he is angry, he wants to move far away, "to Flowida".

He tells me in a serious voice, "God doesn't want you to kick yer mudder, or bite yer mudder but God wants you to list'n to yer mudder and love yer mudder".

I smell the warm and dusty outdoor scent of little boy on his neck and hold him close.

Thank you Lord for this child-

warm, alive, and loving.

Savour the moments.

regular sort of chap

The Robin is just a regular sort of chap but loved because he "brings good news" of a season of new life.

impressions (of tears)

David Faber was on Focus on the Family the past three mornings. He spoke of his childhood in Poland as a young Jewish boy. Sole survivor of the Nazi atrocities in his extended family of 82. A heart breaking story. A wrenching story that has been retold seen the beginning of time and is presently being acted out in so many places around the world. It is incomprehensible that man can treat his fellow human beings so brutally. These tales are understood by the refugee women that we are hoping to bring to Canada. Understood by the Cambodians, the Rwandans, the Sudanese, the Chinese.

And how is it that we live here in peace? Under a thin veneer of civility or are we different to the core? Certainly we are blessed. How do we as christians respond? Should we not carry the weight of their sorrows on our hearts? Educate ourselves on these subjects? Seek out organizations that assist the victims? Shout it from the rooftops? Support wherever we can? Pray, pray, pray!

It is weighing on my heart....

early spring

Magnanimity

As spring comes we become more aware of the magnanimity of nature, a sort of elemental big-heartedness and inclusive impartiality that is a reflection of the character of God. Spring sunshine will not fall on beautiful graceful birch trees alone, but upon the less lovable scrub pine, alders, and willows, too. April showers will not pick and choose, playing favorites with the daffodils and crocuses, and shunning objectionable dandelions and lowly violets, blessing the arbutus and avoiding the bloodroot and wild strawberry. The great sun will warm the acres of saint and sinner alike. Warm rains will beat with equal benefit upon the gardens of the grateful and the grumbling.

Harold E. Kohn

Definitely an early spring.

Today a day of gentle rain and bejeweled buds.

The precipitation is good for the gardens and the fields

(and good for those of us who have indoor work to accomplish).

colours of spring

easter monday

Everywhere is visible the story of Easter.

From death new life.

Through His death eternal life.

"The stone is lifted from the tomb,

and Christ is risen from the gloom

In bursting bud, in leafing tree,

in singing bird and winging bee,

In grass with gleaming dew-gems set,

In pansy and in violet,

In each fair fragrant lilac spray

That gives its sweetness to the day-

Christ is now risen and new birth

With singing fills the joyful earth!"

Edgar Daniel Kramer

He is Risen

Last years second-chance pansies are blooming again.

Plucked up, discarded, mercifully replanted and flowering again.

Mercy and Grace

Free

(related to entry: may 26, 2009)

Beatitudes of the Risen Life

Blessed is the man whose heart todays burns as he walks with Jesus by the way.

Blessed is the man who having not seen yet believes.

Blessed is the man who hears the voice of the Risen Lord saying, "Peace be unto you."

Blessed is the man who accepts the glorious Master, Jesus Christ, as his Lord and his God and worships Him.

Blessed is the man who thus lives the power of the endless life through fellowship with the Risen Lord.

Blessed is the man whose words and deeds are day by day and every day a witness of the living and loving Lord.

Blessed is the man who obeys the Risen Lord's last great command and commission, "Go ye into all the world and preach my gospel," for unto him shall be fulfilled the Lord's promise, "Lo, I am with you always ,even unto the end."

Oliver Huckel

alive in Him

Dormant is not good enough.

What I have been struggling with is dormancy. The branch exists and is alive but might as well be dead. The promise is that it belongs- but the threat is that it can be pruned off, cut off, tossed aside.
So, how do we show that we are alive in Him? Because we belong to the tree? Or because their is evidence of Life in us?

Why is it that we all have different expectations of what being alive in Him means?

How do we renew life in ourselves and our children? By the Son's light of course. The nurturing of the Spirit. Word, prayer, and praise. Love and leadership. Yet often it seems such a struggle. For one's self and as a parent. How does one inspire children to reach up for His light?

march ends like a lamb

March did not stop frolicking like a lamb
ending with a splendid 15 degree day.

We are home.
The house was tidy and welcoming,
tulips on the table.
It feels good to be back in routine again.

Spring is just beginning,
tulip bulbs sending up green leaves
unfurling as they poke through the soil.
Creation renewed, refreshed,
full of promise.

Isn't it often that way with our hearts?
They lie dormant in our chests
then with the warmth of the Son
hearts are moved, expanded, stretched.
Lives renewed, refreshed,
living on the promise.

Seasons of faith.