Proverb

"You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair."  (Chinese Proverb)

The Butterfly Effect

"With a little perspective," Jones said one day, "you can live a life of permanent purpose."

When I asked what he meant, the old man answered with a question.  "Do you sometimes find yourself unconsciously judging your actions by level of importance?"  I frowned a bit, not certain I understood.  "For instance," he continued, "the time you spend with friends is important, but the time you spend with family, is more important.  You might rank an hour fishing as very important, thirty minutes visiting a sick friend in the hospital much more important than the fishing, and a sixty second conversation with a convenience store clerk as not very important at all."

I nodded my understanding and he returned to his initial point.  "When you know that everything matters -- that every move counts as much as any other -- you will begin living a life of permanent purpose.  A life of permanent purpose will make you a better parent, a better spouse and a more valuable friend.  Your productivity and financial success will soar to new heights while the old days of uncertainty, doubt, and depression fade into the past."

(from The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews)

Theology

"Never rewrite your theology
to accommodate a tragedy
that is going on in your life."
(Rev. John Hagee)

Spring

This morning I was awakened by a chorus of birds singing.  It was a much better way to be awoken then by my alarm clock.  This spring I have been more cognisant of the birds who have returned to the area where I live.

I have also been more aware of the trees and grass turning green and flowers blooming.  Earlier this month I found some tulips planted at the school where I went to vote.  Two of the plants had already blossomed.

This year I am going to enjoy every nuance of God's beautiful creation to the fullest.

Thank You Abba Father for the wonderful creation you have made and for the ability to enjoy it.

A Life Well Lived?

Today I helped out at a funeral that was held at our church.  By helped out I mean that I did the multimedia for the service and handed out some bulletins.

The funeral was for a woman who had lived to be 102 years old and had lived in her own home until about a month before her passing.  I did not know this woman or her family.

As I looked through the bulletin prior to the service and listened to the eulogy given by a son-in-law and testimonies by two grandsons, the only things I came away really knowing about this woman were that she liked to cook and was good at it and she liked growing vegetables.  There were vague references to her hospitality.

There was no reference to her spiritual life, if she had one.

I came away from the funeral feeling a bit sick.  I was not so much sick because I was left wondering about this lady's spiritual life.  Rather I was sick because I was left wondering how comforting could it be to the family that the only memories they had of a mother, mother-in-law and grandmother were about food.

Now I am not naive.  I've attended funerals of unsaved people before, and I admit that I haven't come away from them feeling very uplifted or satisfied.  But none of those have been for people who lived to be 102.  Their eulogies were more meaningful in that they had accomplished more than just being able to make a lot of food and force people to eat it.

The irony of the day came when we went downstairs for the luncheon.  All of the food provided was store bought.  There were stale store bought subs that had been cut into wedges, pre-cut fruit and vegetables, and pastries.

I don't know how long I will live but I hope at my death I will leave a legacy that put something substantial into the lives of the people around me and that I made a difference because I lived.

Belated Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day.  It is not one of my favorite days of the year because I lost my Mom almost 10 years ago.

Yesterday I had lunch with a friend who had also lost his mother a number of years ago.  We discussed our mothers and how we dealt with the day.  He challenged me to recall a happy Mother's Day.  And sadly I could not remember one.  I could remember a Mother's Day that was really sad but not a happy one.

The realization of not being able to remember a happy Mother's Day was disheartening.  It is possible that because of mental issues that I deal with could have buried some of my memories too deep for me to recall.  Or they could have masked the good memories.

I have no doubt that I loved my Mom very much and I miss her deeply.  Yesterday I asked God to give my Mom a hug from me and tell her that I love her and miss her.

I'm not sure if I want to dig around in my memories of past Mother's Day.  Maybe it is just best to think of today and let God deal with my past.

I'm just glad I had the mother I did and thank God that He knew which mom was the best for me.

Belated Happy Mother's Day, Mom.  I love you and miss you.

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights

Today we had beautiful weather here in Edmonton.  The temperature rose to +14 C.  It would have been a perfect day for a walk in the ravine near my home.  Or I could have sat out on my balcony and enjoyed the day.  Or I could have gone to the library to pick up the books that are on hold for me.

I could have done all of these things, BUT!!!!  Instead I made the choice to stay inside my home and not even open the patio doors.  I was feeling tired this afternoon so I took a nap under the bed covers I've used all winter.

I did accomplish some things indoors today but I could have put them off for another day or for later in the day when it began cooling off.

I made some very bad choices today and I will live with some regret.  But I don't have to wallow in those bad choices tomorrow.  Tomorrow I can choose to make better choices.  This is a lesson I seem to have to learn quite frequently - making a better job of the choices I have before me.

Hopefully I'll have less and less "wasted days and wasted nights" to regret over and more and more "productive days and restful nights".

May you have a productive day and a restful night.

Be blessed.

Bless You

I'm back again.  I have been negligent in my writings.  But I'm going to be more diligent in my writing and sharing with my readers what I am learning and growing spiritually.

I just left a comment on the blog of my friend Brenda Leyland, "It's a Beautiful Life".  If you go to her blog she is having a special give away.  When I left my comment on Brenda's blog I had to type in a code.  The code was "bessedu".  There are a few letters missing but to me it said "bless you".

So today I wish to bless you and may you have an even more blessed day tomorrow.

A Joyful New Year

On January 1, 2011 our family welcomed another member with the birth of little Izabel Juliet.  She weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces.  She has lots of black hair and looks exactly like her brother did when he was born.

It was an exciting thing to be able to hold her when she was only a day old.

I am so thankful that God has given another precious gift to our family that we can rejoice in.

As we enjoy Izabel and the other great nieces and nephews, we also look forward to the next little one who is due in June.

Thank you God for Cole, Sara, Elijah, Izabel, Jaden, Lauren, and Joseph.  They are such a blessing to our family.

Old Age

Do you feel old as the new year begins?  Don't think of yourself as being old?  Think of yourself as being "chronologically challenged"?

Being "....challenged" seems to be the norm these days instead of being called "handicapped".

So enjoy your challenge in a positive way and make the most of it.  Don't let it be a negative thing that drags you down.