Change

Change for me is never easy. I like change to a point, but find it hard to be brought out of my comfort zone. 

In the past several years there have been many changes in my life. There are been lots of finishes ~ things ending.  Some of those finishes have been good and necessary, others, well they have been harder.

My kids are growing up {okay, they have grown up} and are making their own way in this world;   people I always assumed that would be a part of my life have left;  and a new season of my life called menopause is making itself at home.

Many changes. 

There is the popular cliche of a new door opening when one closes and I think there is something to that.  Just as Ecclesiastes tells us ~ there is a time for everything ~ a season for all activies. When one thing ends ~ when it finishes ~ I believe there are and can be something new we are called to.

The writer of Ecclesiastes, right after the infamous “there is a time” verses said this, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  Ecclesiastes 3:11 {New International Version {NIV}}

Change can be hard.

I don’t always want to let go of what was ~ the familiar.  But remembering that when one thing is finished in our lives there will be something else waiting for us.

As we turn the calendar over and say good-bye to summer, and hello to autumn may we realize that change is a natural process and may we be reminded there is a time for everything.   Life is to be lived and enjoyed to the fullest.  Enjoy each and every moment even when they change.

Blessings

Beautiful Thing ~week # 35

These past few days I’ve been struggling with sleep.   So when the Farmer’s alarm goes off at 5 AM, I am usually awake but not nearly ready to start the day. However, we’ve been making the most of those early mornings by sitting together, enjoying a cup of tea and chatting about what the day ahead could look like.  

So many people seem to have misconceptions about what it actually is that farmers do all day…

We’re 3^rd generation farmers and have been blessed to have raised our family on the farm which has been in his family since 1927.  There’s something unique about country living, with each season bringing different challenges to deal with, to talk about and to work through together.  He has a heart for farming and couldn’t imagine doing anything else, giving us a laid back lifestyle with quite possibly the best view around.  

  

What was your beautiful thing this week?

Blessings

Sleepless in Zurich

It has been a long time since I have had nights like the last few. Perhaps you know the kind.

I was so tired. Not one ounce left in me. All I wanted to do was sleep and yet, sleep evaded me. I tossed and turned. I got up to walk around the house a bit, trying to keep as quiet as I could, had a cuppa tea, read my Bible, and sat there thinking that all this would surely help. It simply had to make me tired enough for sleep to come more easily.

All to no avail.

Why is it the nights can stretch long as if they have no end?

The dark and quiet enveloped me and all rationale thoughts had left. As the night stretches, longer and longer, my thoughts seem to go places I know they shouldn’t venture. Scenarios begin to raise up in my mind like a 3-D movie. Scenarios, which in the daylight I know are preposterous, and yet in the dark seem to become reality.  My heart pounds. My stomach tenses. The tears begin to roll.

There will be nights like these in my life. Seasons where the night is longer than a 24 hour day. Nights where the shadows seem to shout their “what if” scenarios in my head so loudly they seem to be fact. And thankfully, this is only a season and this too shall pass.

What do you do to help yourself go back to sleep?

Blessings

It is what it is

When you look at me I seem healthy and strong. I look like your average 40 something woman. 

But if you watch long enough you will see that I favour my right side. That I try and not lift things, especially over my head, and on some days you may see a slight {or pronounced} limp.  If you listen you would likely hear a loving if not determined man say to me, “No, dear, I will lift that for you”.  At those times if you look closely you will see my eyes fill up with tears. For I simply struggle with letting other do things for me that I should be doing, it just doesn’t seem fair.

What I see, is others giving me the what’s wrong with you look, without asking. The why you are not doing what you should.  What I hear, is the whispered words behind hands.  {Real or Imagined}

It’s simple, we don't know what to do with people who don’t look sick.

Whether it is with pain, depression or something else internal if it is not visible to those around “You must not be that sick!”  is the message that is pushed.

And yes your right, I could be a lot sicker. But it is still a struggle.

I truly do trust God. I know He has a plan for me {Jeremiah 29:11}  I am not alone. {Hebrews 13:5} I know that with every fibre of my being. I believe He is with me with all of my heart!

Sometimes life can be overwhelming. When those times come upon me, I tend to question:
“Where is God in all this?”
“Can He see all that is happening?”
“Does He care about all that is going on in my life?”
“Is He at work?”

While the answer to each of these questions is a resounding, “YES!!”, it is the last question that I want to address. At those times when God’s work seems hidden, may we remember then that He is always at work. He is never idle. Jesus Himself assures us: “Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” {John 5:17 {NIV}}  There is never a day that God is not at work in each one of our lives.

We need to open our hearts and minds that there are so many who struggle. And so many hide the struggle. Even though we may not be able to tell what the people around us are going through, we should still be kind. Because it is what it is...

Blessings

mhmm monday

From this website comes a unique way to make cookies.

Fudge Marble Patti Cakes

Ingredients:

1 package (18.25 oz) Duncan Hines Fudge Marble Cake Mix

1 large egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 tbsp water, divided

1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove chocolate packet from cake mix box.

Combine dry cake mix, egg, oil and 3 Tbsp. water in large mixer bowl. Beat until smooth.

In a small bowl mix chocolate packet and 1 tbsp water until thoroughly combined. Add about 2/3 cup of the yellow cake batter dough to the chocolate mixture.

Mix the chocolate chips, if using, to the yellow dough thoroughly and then lightly swirl in the chocolate dough. Don't over mix here because you want to keep the marbling effect!

With a #20 ice cream scoop (or 1/3 cup measure) drop the cookie batter on to parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for about 14 minutes, rotating baking sheets at the halfway point. Cookies should be light brown around the edges. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.

Enjoy!

Blessings

Beautiful Thing ~ week # 34

Does anyone remember that cartoon back in the 60’s called “The Jetsons”?

Well neither do I really, except that it aired through re-runs during the Saturday morning cartoons.

It was this “space-age” cartoon family sitcom projecting their lifestyle into another time period. The Jetsons lived in a futuristic utopia in the year 2062 with elaborate robotic contraptions, aliens, holograms, and whimsical inventions. It all seemed so futuristic with their moving sidewalks, flying aerocars and of course the PicturePhone Direct.

And yet, here we are less than some 50 years later with a few of these “futuristic” things already in place. The videophone or as we call it skype is one such item that I’ve certainly come to appreciate.

With our one son living in Orillia, needless to say, I am so thankful for skype. It gives us that opportunity to not only chat with each other but for me to see him as well; and this week we spent time together catching up. Sure we could just talk on the phone but seeing him, somehow, makes all the difference.

What was your beautiful thing this week?

Blessings

Choice

This was posted on the Max Lucado website and it really resonated with me and I knew I wanted to share it...

I Choose Love… No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.
I Choose Joy… I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.
I Choose Peace… I will live forgiven. I will forgive so I may live.
I Choose Patience… I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so, Rather complain that the wait is to long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
I Choose Kindness… I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for that is how God has treated me.
I Choose Goodness…I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I accuse. I choose goodness
I Choose Faithfulness… Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My friends will not question my word. And my family will not question my love.
I Choose Gentleness… Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it only be in praise. If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
I Choose Self-Control… I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

We all have choices to make each day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace.

What choices will you make?

Blessings