Tea~Time

Tea, disguised as a cup of warm liquid is really an invitation. When someone invites you to tea, it isn't because they're thirsty. It might be because they're cold, but more likely it is because they want to spend time with you. You can't drink tea quickly. You hold it. Sip it. Sit with it. Savour it. Most people never pass up the opportunity to sit with a cup. It's a universal welcome and it is available to all of us.

But how many of us are so busy rushing to the next appointment in our day-timer that we lose the opportunity to sit, holding that cup?

My dear friend Maria and I meet regularly every 6-8 weeks for tea. We met over ten years ago and even though our circumstances have change many times over the years, the one thing that remains the same is our friendship! Even though there is a significant time period between each of our tea dates we pick up our conversation right where we left off. 

We chat about everything ~ families, joys, sorrows, world events, politics ~ both government and church ~ if you can name it, we've likely talked about it. No subject is taboo. We're just two women wanting to invest in the lives of each other. Our friendship is something that cannot be defined. Something inside just clicks.

If you have one close friend, consider yourself blessed. If you have two, stand up and shout!!! If you don't, then why not issue an invitation to a woman you have been wanting to get to know. You might be surprised to find out that she too has been waiting for an opportunity to get to know you.

oh and by the way, I am blessed!
 
Blessings

uh~oh?

uh ~ oh ?

friendly conversation
chit chat
laughter

 

wait

 

what’s that?
you don’t agree with my opinion?
uh ~ oh
what now?
why did i say that?
i must be wrong!
i must not know what i’m talking about!
i must find a way to fix this!

 

wait

 

i don’t need to fix anything.
i’m allowed to have a different opinion.
it’s ok when we don’t agree.
what i think counts for something.

 

because i count for something
i have value
i am loved

 

and even when we don’t agree,
we can still love each other.

{photo credit ~ dayspringcards.com}

 

blessings

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night

The other day, I was making random searches in Youtube and I came across this:

and it brought back a myriad of memories.

Anyone else remember the all boy band “Bay City Rollers”?

As a young girl I was totally infatuated with this Scottish pop band.   I was fascinated with brothers Alan Longmuir {bass} and Derek Longmuir {drums}, Eric Faulkner & Stuart “Woody’ Wood {guitarists} and who out there didn’t have a major crush on the cute lead singer Les McKeown.

For my 10th or maybe it was my 11th birthday, I got one of their albums for my present.  The picture in my photo album is so blurry as I was jumping up and down with pure excitement.  I have many fond memories sitting in the playroom, listening to their music and trying to sing along with all my favourites.

“Keep on Dancing”, “Remember (Sha La La La)”, “Bye, Bye, Baby”, “Give a Little Love”, “S-a-t-u-r-d-a-y Night”, “Money Honey”, Rock n' Roll Love Letter”,  and when they would sing “I Only Want to Be with You”, I would sit and dream of a life as a rock stars wife. .. .. . . .. 

Sadly though, their popularity did not last and by the late 70’s their time in the teen idol spotlight was slowly slipping away.  Their albums soon were replaced with heavy metal as my taste in music changed.

How about you? What music brings back childhood memories for you?

Blessings

Lessons Learned

It’s been an extremely lo-o-ong week. I have over committed myself. Again.

These past few days, I have been fighting the overwhelming array of symptoms caused by fibromyalgia, hypertrophy calcineurin arthritis, supraventricular tachycardia and hypoglycaemia . It’s been a daily struggle to give myself permission to stop. Just stop and rest these symptoms out.

I am one who would like to have some unlimited source of energy enough to ________ {fill in the blank}, and be the girl who never says no. After all, “you don’t look sick”.

With my people pleasing tendency, I struggle greatly if I feel I’ve let someone down. So I keep saying yes, which then leads to an extremely long week and end up struggling with my symptoms, creating another downward spiral. Of course, we all know that trying to do it all is a pretty unrealistic expectation for a healthy person, let alone one with chronic illnesses.

Sadly, it has taken me quite some time to look at what others are doing and actually say, I can’t do that, and that’s ok.

It’s been a hard lesson to learn.

Over a significant period of time I have come am coming to terms that I am not like many healthy people. Those who are so caught up in the comings and goings of the day that they don’t realize just how wonderful it is that they are able to get out of bed, complete their tasks without pain, remain focused and alert as necessary, eat what they want - when they want, and sleep deeply when their day is complete. While it is unfortunate that there are limits to my functioning, I know it could be much worse and for that I am grateful.  

 

I’ve learned, well maybe I should say I am learning to accept my limitations in what I can do and can not do, while still trying to understand that my worth does not come from that, but rather who I am in Christ.

And finally, I have learned to have a greater appreciation for my husband. Who, in addition to working full time, willingly helps with the housecleaning, the laundry, the dishes, making meals, the yard work and walks along side me to help me keep a healthy exercise routine.

Blessings

　

INFJ

After Krystle posted this, I was intrigued and curious to find out a little more about my own personality and see which letters I would get.

So I took the on-line quiz to determine which category of the 16 different personality types in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator that measures how people make decisions and perceive the world, I would fit into and learned that I am an
INFJ:
Introverted (I) ~ Reserved, listen carefully, prefer solitary activities, more comfortable when alone than when around other people, get exhausted by social interaction
Intuitive (N) ~ Introspective, rely on their imagination, absorbed in ideas, focus on what might happen
Feeling (F) ~ Sensitive, follow their hearts, keep feelings close to the surface, focus on harmony and cooperation
Judging (J) ~ Decisive, prefer clear rules and guidelines, eager to commit, see deadlines as sacred, seek closure

I’d say that is a fairly accurate description of my personality, and found this characterization to be quite interesting. As with anything there are strengths and weaknesses, things to be proud of and things to work on. 

How about you? What's your personality type?  Take the test and please share your results.

Blessings

Camping weekend

We spent an extended weekend at MacGregor Point Provincial Park biking, walking, playing games, swimming, campfires, and obviously camping! {hence the quiet on the blogfront}

Here's our weekend in pictures:

Our home away from home,

 Krystle & Darcy roasting marshmallows,

 Sasha going for a bike ride,

 reeds on the beach,

 picturesque Lake Huron,

and of course ~ us.

 

ahhh camping . . .. the slowed-down schedule, time together, appreciating nature's beauty and making memories.  Life doesn't get a whole lot better!

Blessings

A time to .. ..

Watching as the wheat is being combined I'm remininded of the passage in Ecclesiastes 3: 1 & 2a {New Living Translation}“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven..... A time to plant and a time to harvest..”

Each fall, my farmer-husband faithfully plants the wheat seed in the ground, watching & waiting as it grows. We then patiently, {he more than me} wait as the rains come, the snow coveres it, watch as it matures, until it yesterday, when it was time to harvest it.

One of the things I've learned during both planting and harvesting is that it's very important to stay out of the farmer's way during this time and just let him do his thing. It used to be a stressful time for me when the kids were younger, because Daddy was very busy and parenting our kids would become mostly my responsibility. {who am i kidding ~ this is still a stressful time ~ I've just learned to stay out of his way!} To be honest it is a little easier now to cope with the long work days and the stress he faces relying on the weather for getting the crops off ~ I have had more than 25 years of experience.

Wayne has the heart of a farmer; he loves planting, tilling, ploughing, harvesting, haying, absolutely everything there is about farming. While each season of farming brings different challenges, his patience throughout it all is remarkable. I doubt know there is anything else he would rather do.

Blessings