Last Day

Today is the last day of 2013.

Nickelback sings the song

“If Today Was Your Last Day”

and a few different lines of the lyrics really speak to me;
each day's a gift and not a given right
try to take the path less traveled by
against the grain should be a way of life
what's worth the prize is always worth the fight
leave your fears behind
do whatever it takes
every second counts
‘cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
would you live each moment like your last?

But what if this was actually my last day? What would I want to say? I guess what I’d really want is to make sure that YOU, knew that…

 

You are God’s child.

John 1:12

You are Christ’s friend.

John 15:15

You have been justified.

Romans 5:1

You are united with the Lord, and are one with Him in spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:17

You are a member of Christ’s body.

1 Corinthians 12:27

You have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.

Ephesians 1:3-8

You have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:18

You have been redeemed and forgiven of all sins.

Colossians 1:13-14

You are complete in Christ.

Colossians 2:9-10

You are free from condemnation.

Romans 8:1-2

You are assured that God works for good in all circumstances.

Romans 8:28

You are free from any condemning charges.

Romans 8:31-34

You cannot be separated from the love of God.

Romans 8:35-39

You have been established, anointed and sealed by God.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

You are confident that God will complete the good work He started.

Philippians 1:6

You are a citizen of heaven.

Philippians 3:20

You have been given a spirit of power, love and a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7

You can find grace and mercy in time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16

You are born of God and the evil one cannot touch you.

1 John 5:18

You are the salt of the earth.

Matthew 5:13-14

You are a branch of Jesus Christ, and a channel of His life.

John 15:5

You have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.

John 15:16

You are a personal witness of Christ’s.

Acts 1:8

You are God’s coworker.

1 Corinthians 3:9

You are God’s temple.

1 Corinthians 3:16

You are a minister of reconciliation for God.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

You are seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.

Ephesians 2:6

You are God’s workmanship.

Ephesians 2:10

You are may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Ephesians 3:12

You are do all things through Christ, who strengthens you.

Philippians 4:13

Who I am in Christ...

But, for today, He has given me a voice. And with that voice I will speak of His great love for me and for YOU.
You are loved more than you know!
Your life matters.
You have eternal significance ~ not because of who you are, what you do, or how you do it, but because of the One who made you.

{And, of course, I’d tell my family that I love them more than they know!}

If today was your last day… what would you say?

Blessings

Monday!?!

It’s one of those mornings… AND it’s a Monday.

Tell me, please, who out there loves a Monday morning; {even with a nice steaming hot cuppa tea sitting right beside you} especially the Monday morning after the week after Christmas. Today is a day of mixed emotions.

These few days between Christmas and New Years can feel heavy.

The gifts are unwrapped, only a few crumbs of all that baking remain, and the kids have headed back to their own homes.

This is an awkward in-between time … a difficult season, and I’m struggling.  It’s the kind of morning where throwing out confessions feels freeing. Don’t judge...sometimes it’s just good for the soul.

Confessions like;
I haven’t cleaned in two or three Ahem, ten days.
Or, that my counter is full with dirty dishes, again, and the laundry has actually piled up!
Or, I could somewhat-embarrassingly confess that I don’t want to wash my hair today because I am exhausted from the previous week to even give myself some self-care.
Or that I am glad to have my house back to “normal”.
Or that I counting down the days until the hubs can head back to driving bus.

It has been a busy, fun-filled, laughter ridden, over-eating, family-loving, time together, well spent, week.

annnnnnnd, I am exhausted!

oh, don’t misunderstand me, we had an amazing Christmas!

… and yet …

How do you overcome the after-Christmas blues?

Blessings

Puppy Love

We brought her home 5 years ago today, and named her Sasha.  

According to wikipedia a best friend (friendship), is someone with whom one shares the strongest possible kind of friendship. Even though she is not a person, I would consider her my best friend and here's why:

each and everytime I come home, whether I’ve been gone all day or for less than a minute, she greets me with such genuine affection by wagging her tail and running all over expressing her excitment;

just spending together is enough, whether we are walking down the country roads, sitting on the couch or heading our for a road trip, never caring the destination; 

she gives me her unconditional love and loyalty.

She's become such a part of our family, that I truly cannot imagine life with out her.

Blessings

Christmas 2013

Breakfast was served on the table with care

while beautiful Christmas music filled the air;

Then presents were given first to the dad

 then to our girl and he did not so bad;

 from daughter to mom, given with love

 and from me to our other son, whom we belove.

 Each brother gave a gift; from one to the other

 and even the puppy got one from the mother.

Many wonderful memories we made that day

 playing several different games while we laughed away!

Our day was such a delight; Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!

Blessings

Merry Christmas!

To: you

 

From: us

Blessings

Beautiful View

With the snow that gently fell overnight, I knew I had to get my camera and head outside to take some pictures of the glistening trees

 and the snow covered ones

 the winter wonderland

  and the cozy farmhouse

 Blessings

Fabulous Fantastic Favourite Fiction Five

Regular readers will remember this challenge and how I accomplished it by 28 weeks and then gave myself a new goal and completed it before the year was even up!  So, I thought I‘d share a few of my favourites.

The Trophy Wives - Kristin Billerbeck
Haley Cutler is the consummate trophy wife. Perhaps was is the more accurate term. Haley married Prince Charming when she was only twenty—back in the day when highlights came from an afternoon at the beach, not three hours in the salon.
Unfortunately, after seven years as Jay Cutler's wife, a role that provided significance and what she thought was love, Jay walks out, and Haley finds herself with few life skills that translate to the real world, not to mention a sense of amnesia about who she used to be. But before Haley can find her way, she must meet with Jay's lawyer, the strikingly handsome Hamilton Lowe. Although she can't stand his self-righteous contempt for her divorce, she takes his suggestion to attend a group at his church called "The Trophy Wives Club," a Bible study composed of women who have been dealt a raw deal. Haley's never been into the whole Jesus thing but could really use some friends to walk her through this phase (how do you apply for a credit card anyway?).
As Haley begins to realize that she really can stand on her own two feet, she also learns that sometimes in losing we find the real reward . . .

The Truth about Dandelions - Hayley Linfield
Mara isn't a slut; she just can't find what she wants. She wants to forget her mother's death, her father's hypocrisy, and the plane crash that follows her. As a child she couldn't understand why the grass never got cut, and now as she gropes her way through university life, all those weeds, those dandelions, have stayed with her, haunting her dreams.
She can't see a way out of her dark hole until she gets hit by a car on an Ottawa street and starts spending time with Jack, the guy behind the wheel. Kind, thoughtful, and a virgin - he's the last person she'd ever expected to fall for.
As she opens up to Jack, the wounds she’d been trying to ignore surface, and she’s forced to finally choose between running from or facing the past that’s been haunting her all her life. Through nights out looking for release to the ultimate event that forces her to face herself, Mara finally learns the truth about dandelions.

Trust your eyes - Linwood Barclay
Thomas Kilbride is a map-obsessed schizophrenic so affected that he rarely leaves the self-imposed bastion of his bedroom. But with a computer program called Whirl360.com, he travels the world while never stepping out the door. That is until he sees something in a street view of downtown New York City. Thomas's keen eyes have detected an image in a window...an image that looks like a woman being murdered.
Thomas's brother, Ray, takes care of him, cooking for him, dealing with the outside world on his behalf, and listening to his intricate and increasingly paranoid theories. When Thomas tells Ray what he has seen, Ray humors him with a half-hearted investigation. But Ray soon realizes he and his brother have stumbled onto a deadly conspiracy.
And now they are in the crosshairs...

Family Pictures - Jane Green
The gripping story of two women who live on opposite coasts but whose lives are connected in ways they never could have imagined. Both women are wives and mothers to children who are about to leave the nest for school. They're both in their forties and have husbands who travel more than either of them would like. They are both feeling an emptiness neither had expected. But when a shocking secret is exposed, their lives are blown apart. As dark truths from the past reveal themselves, will these two women be able to learn to forgive, for the sake of their children, if not for themselves?

The One Good Thing - Kevin Alan Milne
For as long as Halley Steen has known her husband Nathan, he has carried a handful of stones in his pocket. Each day he uses those stones to remind him to follow the Golden Rule, moving a stone from one pocket to the other with each act of kindness. So it's not unusual that Nathan stops to help a stranger on the side of the highway while on his way to his son's football game one Friday evening. But that one act will change all of their lives forever, when a car hydroplanes off the road, killing Nathan instantly.
As Halley and her children Ty and Alice struggle with their grief, Nathan's spiritual legacy lives on. A Facebook page appears, where countless stories about Nathan's selfless acts are shared. But among them is one that stands out, from a woman who says that Nathan saved her life. Neither Halley nor her children have ever heard of Madeline Zuckerman. But soon Halley discovers years of e-mails from this woman to her husband on his computer that refer to "our little girl." How could her husband have kept the secret of this other child for their entire marriage? Why had he lied to her? Was he not the man she thought he was?
Only thirteen-year-old Alice maintains unwavering faith in her father. She knows there's an explanation. When she sets out to find Madeline and learn the truth, she will start to unravel the complex story of The One Good Thing Nathan Steen did that had the greatest impact of all.

Blessings

ps.  How about you?  What was your favourite read this year?