The Light

There are days when the light flowing into the house is just right.  It illuminates. An ordinary object takes on marvelous qualities.

Isn't life just like that?

God takes ordinary people and when they allow themselves to be used by Him and infused with His Light...they shine...from within.     Ordinary people resembling their Maker and doing extraordinary things.   Even when the mountains shake all around them, and the waters roar.   God is in the midst of them.

Perseverance

I found this post in the archive, written last spring but it was never published.  Hmmm.  

Look at this beautiful tender little thing.   So lovely in all its purple-ness.   It wasn’t supposed to be….  There has been no sign of life in this little pot since I transplanted the little corms.  I had all but given up on it but couldn’t bring myself to toss it out.  

These two little pots were planted at the same time.   A friend gave me a hanging basket but I left it outside a little too long.  I knew the nights were getting colder and then one night it froze.   Many of the tender little plants perished but I knew these were a bit hardier than the rest. One year they bloomed in the garden after surviving the winter in the composter…I thought they were dead.  This time, I rescued them from the big pot, composted the excess soil, and replanted them in smaller pots to bring inside.   I planted them at the same time and kept the pots side by side on the window sill.   They received the same light, lived in the same temperature, and similar moisture….which can be sporadic at best in this house (Not all plants are compatible with that lifestyle). 

Occasionally the leaves die but the corm survives.  It can hibernate, I guess.  

This morning I saw these three little sprouts.   So small.  So timid.   The other one is so green, so lush and I’ve been enjoying its blooms for some time already.  Weeks, in fact.  It just goes to show that some plants need a little more time, patience and understanding than others.  And you can’t rush it.  You can’t make it grow.  You can want it all you want, but it will do it when it’s good and ready.   And in God’s time.  Isn’t life just like that sometimes?

God has a plan.   And you can’t make it happen.  He has a different plan for each person, likeHe did for each of these plants.   I got the exquisite joy of finding it today.  We all “bloom” at different times and under different conditions.   We have everything we need inside of us to become what God had planned before the foundations of the earth were laid.   And in His time we will bloom beautifully in the perfect spot.   And it will bring Him exquisite joy to watch us unfurl.  

NeedToBreathe

We saw NeedToBreathe on Saturday night at the Phoenix in Toronto.  One of two stops in Canada.  Sold out.
It was SUCH A GOOD SHOW!

Favorite tracks?

Loved their cover of "Folsom Prison Blues" and the unplugged version of "Slumber".  They played so many of my my favourites: "Something Beautiful", "Lay Em Down", "Washed in The Water", "Tennessee" (It was awesome live! really got the crowd going :), "Devil's Been Talkin'",  "A Place Only You Can Go"....

They played a lot of songs from the Reckoning and the Outsiders.  You could hear the crowd sing along, especially on the more acoustic songs, especially on "Slumber".  They finished that song without any amplification.  The entire room went absolutely silent in order to be able to hear them, and then slow began to stomp on the wood club floor and sing along. You could see how much the band loved that! Those moments are cool.   

Ben Rector opened and was one of the most fun opening bands I've ever seen...never having seen or heard him before.   He did a great cover of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"...not reminiscent of the 80's at all.   So fun!

Going to Toronto on our own was such a fun full day outing. Such a deep breath. A reprieve. Swallowed up by the masses and yet completely alone with each other.  For an entire day without anyone noticing.   Anticipating it for weeks..and then, just like that, it's over.   And you just have the sweet memories.

I am playing these two albums back to back all day long.   Not tired of them.

At all.

Something Fun

I thought I'd post reno photos on my new second blog, SugarToo.

Let's see how long it takes before you find it!  :)

Keeping It Up

I find that most days it takes some effort to be positive.  It is quite easy to be negative, I think it is a default position in many people.  Once in a while that really discourages me.   A couple of low blows can fell anyone I suppose, but it always takes me by surprise when it happens to me.

The people around you will almost always mirror what they see in you, and so...being positive has great consequences.    It's amazing what you learn when you have a room full of toddlers in your daycare :) 

This week I read a devotional about "being the aroma of Christ".   2 Cor 2:15 is one of my favourite passages.  I want to be a pleasing fragrance to God and I'm supposed to bring that fragrance to the world.  There are certain ways I must carry myself if I want to glorify God in that way. It sound like it's all about me....it's sooo not.   But then again, maybe it is.   Why do I get so discouraged when other members of the body of Christ behave badly and  ungracious.  It makes me wonder why I feel like I have to try so hard, and other people get to walk around just being...themselves?   Everyone experiences disappointment, unmet expectations, and times when life just doesn't go their way.   Everyone needs compassion. And none of us have a monopoly on Grace or Mercy.  A friend reminded me the other day that "cynicism is from the devil".  Blunt.

2 Cor 2:15 reminds me that it isn't about me. (Phew!) It's about living for the audience of One, and about being obedient.   It's about taking daily vitamins that provide stamina: surrounding myself visually with the Life sustaining Word, I don't bind it on my forehead or on my door post but I do write it on file folders, cubicle wall, and key-chain.  And I listen to music that reminds me of the unfailing promises of God's presence, power and righteous right hand.  And...I continue to be thankful for the good people God puts on my path.   I seek them out and hear the words that God might be speaking through them, to my heart and to my soul. And I make cards and I make muffins.....(look out when I start baking!)

It's about focusing what I'm called to do, instead of focusing on the circumstances around me.  I'm called to be the "aroma" in spite of what is going on around me, and maybe, especially when things "smell less than fresh" around me. I can't change people or their outlook on life, but I can maintain mine. If I look down, I'm going to start sinking.  In the meantime, I can take shelter in the refuge His wings, I can look up to hills because that's where my help is going to come from.  That...I think...is looking on the bright side! 

Random Bits of Life

I was surprised to find that  45 photos downloaded just now.   One of the boys needed shoe photos for an art project.   I loved the random collection that I found, and am glad for the moments I went back into the house to get the camera because I saw something I loved. Simple things.  Simple moments.  Breathtaking moments.   If I blink, I miss these moments...

• Ray went for a run and I went for the sunset.
• I love the delicate curl.
• You know I love that place.
• I couldn't scrape those flowers away without capturing them first.
• I couldn't protect my bleeding hearts from the killing frost.  Beautiful, but deadly.
• I promised "befores"...I'm packing AND emptying random cupboards.
• Apparently my refrigerator is not frost free.    Reminds me of Superman's fortress of solitude.
• ...and then there are those shoes.