April 1st.

A day for jokes, pranks, subtle lies and general unabashed tom foolery.

So, keep an open mind and be ready for those crazy newspaper headlines that say:

"The City Engineering Department has declared a "Toilet Tissue-less Month" for the City of Prince Albert. All households will refrain from using toilet tissue for the next month as a way to begin our new Green Enhancement Policy. Everyone is asked to co-operate and will be fined accordingly if not in compliance with these new procedures. "

Ya, stuff like that.

I remember back when I was younger, the local radio station announced to the general public that they were to place paper bags over their phones as SaskTel would be blowing out all lines that day!" Some folks fell for it......

Me. I'll simply call my brother and wish him a Happy Birthday. I've never tricked him as he's certainly no fool.......too bad though that our dear mother couldn't hold out 'til April 2nd! He's carried around that fate for let me see, 65 years!!!!

Happy Birthday, Garry. You've managed life well and I'm proud to be your sister!

It's all about the love...

Pastor Randall once again gave a message of hope and love.

We're not talkin' ordinary love....as in, I LOVE sweets, I LOVE my new car, I LOVE how my hair smells.....no, not that kind of love.

We're talkin' extra-ordinary love...as in, sacrificial love, loving the unloved and unlovely, loving first and not expecting others to love us first or even love us back at all, love that comes from the Spirit of the Living God.

There is no other love like that. It goes against the natural grain of human beings. It's an inside out, backward, opposite kind of love that isn't always shown by people. In our humanness, we don't always think of others before ourselves. We don't always love those who hate us or condemn us or make fun of us or spit upon us.

Jesus did. Jesus loved like that.

Jesus offers us that kind of love too, the kind that gives life to people, not judgment...... and hope instead of ridicule.

The Spirit of the Living God is like that. It is extra-ordinary and allows us to love in extra-ordinary ways.

Pour it on me Lord...............

In the dark....

It's Earth Hour.

I'm looking down the street and I don't see many lights on.

All of our lights are off in our house. TV and computer are still on though.........guess I'm a flunkie.

I really do wonder how we will begin to manage more respectfully, the resources we've been given. We use electricity with abandon not to mention fuel, food and water.

I'm attempting to use less water...shorter showers, never leaving the tap running uselessly, less water to wash dishes (don't use dish washer). We send all paper products, plastics and cans to recycle facilities. We don't leave lights on when we're not in the room. Stuff like that.

Next it will be fuel consumption. I don't relish the thought of walking everywhere but it would most likely be better for me.......perhaps a bit unsafe.....but better for me, physically.

I do think we need to do this Earth Hour thing at least once a day and see if we can get into good habits.

We'll have to do something. The rest of the world is watching........and we need to be better stewards of all God has given us.

Just waitin'......

Not sure what for. I do know I'm waitin' for my body to start acting normal, as in no wheezing or coughing up a vat of phlegm.

Funny when your body isn't cooperating, it sends messages for your brain to nearly shut yourself down. Can't do much of anything. Tired.

I'm waitin' to get better.

Perhaps I'll take on the world when I'm feeling up to it, but then, I never was one to take on the whole world. I don't mind thinking up things for others to do to take on the world but I'm no heavy weight (so to speak, of course) myself.

Perhaps I'll just stay tuned in my little corner and wait.

God must want me to do something more with my life. Sometimes I feel like he has me by the hand but I have blindfolds on and I'm not sure if I want to take them off. Sometimes it's more scary knowing where you're heading than not knowing.

I think I'll just keep waitin'..........and peek out from the blindfold once in a while, you know, like watching a horror movie with a pillow over your face.....peeking......peeking.....until the scary part is over with.

Not sure why I feel like that. God knows.

The girl.....

How wonderful to have Brittney here with us this week. She's quite a lovely young lady this granddaughter of ours.

So, it's hair extensions, make-up, vampire books and giggling...not to mention what to wear skiing or shopping or to the show.

Reading 'til 1 in the morning because she just simply HAS to see what is going to happen to Bella. Will Edward always be there for her or will being a vampire make it impossible for their relationship to continue. Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

It's simply a MUST read........

Then it's catching up with friends on the phone and calling to see if Mom is missing her......as much as she is missing Mom.

She's looking forward to spending time with us at the lake this summer. We'll see how the fishing expedition goes this year. Perhaps a hat with a net will be in order......and not a net to bring the fish in from the water either!!! I'm talking like an apiary hat, the kind you wear when you work with bees. Ya. That's what I'm talkin' about.

Hope it warms up soon so we can have water in the lake, as opposed to ice.........

Break...

We were away for Easter. It's good to be home again though. It was a good Easter. We had never, in all of our nearly 40 years of marriage, been away from home for Easter. It was different and it was good. Attended a different church on Easter Sunday. Sometimes, those times make one so appreciative of what one has. Not that it wasn't a good service, but I wasn't celebrating Easter with my own church family. Church family is important to me and I miss not being with them on important occasions.

I not only had a break from P.A. (not that I need one) but it was a break from blogging. I know I never have anything of great significance to say here but they're my thoughts and that is why I blog. It was a good break from even my own thoughts!

My break from work. Well, that's a whole different story. I went back to work today with 224 emails to be read. Some, I simply deleted. Some, I read and filed. Some, I read and kept current. Others await me tomorrow. I somehow don't feel like I can keep up with everything these days. Perhaps it's because I've been so exhausted and sick that I simply don't have energy to even think about involving myself with extra things. I don't want to let people down but I know I can't do everything I used to do. It just isn't happening.

What do we do when we find we can't do all we used to do.

Relax, I guess. It's the only option left open...........

God will help me with the rest of it. Perhaps it is he, who wishes me to take a break from things that aren't really necessary. Guess I'll eventually find out.

Until then, I'll go to bed and have a good cough.........still.

ditto....

today was the same as yesterday.....except no flowers!

Cough.....cough...

cough........cough................cough..............cough.........

cough.....................cough...........cough......cough...........COUGH......cough...

cough.....cough..............cough.......cough..........cough.........cough......

Ya, well, that was my day.

Hope.....cough........yours was.......cough.......much better.

A dear friend even sent me flowers.

I'd still rather......cough....cough....cough...be at......cough....work.

March 18, 1917

This is my mother's birthday. She would have been 91 today. Missed St. Patty's by a day. But they called her Patricia anyway.

I think of all the many things about her that stay with me today. Her laugh. I can still hear her laugh. When she said something she thought was funny, she'd laugh and laugh - even though those around her didn't find it funny in the least.

She was good and kind. I liked how she treated people. She had the gift of hospitality.

She loved me, not so much in outward ways, but in ways I knew, deep inside me, that she cared about me.

She was a really great cook. She would have been proud of our children. They both now are great cooks, too.

She loved my Dad. That was always evident. They teased one another quite a bit too. Sometimes she could take it...........other times...not.

So, here's to my dear mother, Pat, who brought me into this world, and changed it to some degree, by simply bringing me into it. I thank her for the life she's given me and all she did to make my life a happy one.

Today, I thank God for my Mother......and wished she were here so I could say "Happy Birthday, Mom!"

Here's t' me Irish roots...

T'was very likely a wee bit of a pub like this one where me dear relatives would stop in for a pint 'er two before headin' home.

This is in County Down where my maternal grandmother was raised. Makes me wonder if they had passed this place or walked this road. Most buildings are very old in Ireland, so it is quite possible. I remember her speaking of Ireland like a fond and distant memory and when she and her brothers would gather together, there would be much singing and laughing and getting out the whiskey and whispers of their homeland. They would speak of her lovingly as a goom would speak to his bride. Gently and sweetly. Perhaps they were thinking of a scene like this one.

There was talk many a time of their poverty as children, of the despair of the people in Ireland until decisions were made to leave and head for a more prosperous life in Canada. One of Grandma's brothers stayed in Belfast where he was a policeman with the Irish Constabulary. He would have been my great uncle Jack (John) Riddle.

I love my Irish roots. I love the Celtic heritage that belongs to me, that runs in my blood and makes me yearn to see the Mountains of Mourne and the green and softness of her valleys.

Of course, that's only a half of me. The other half being English, made for an "interesting" childhood with my high-spirited Mother flying off the handle one minute and laughing the next while dear Father would sit quietly by and nod in his ever-so-calm English ways. Oh yes. Those were memorable days growing up. Listening to Mother on one hand handing down the stories from her own mother, talking about the ruthless ways the British treated her people, the tyranny and bloodshed and starvation that seemed to never end. And we won't even get into the Catholic vs. Protestant delimna. Being from County Down, we all knew where she stood on THAT issue. Dad would simply tease her all the more about how good the British were and say we lived in a different country now, laughing all the while and making Mother more furious.

Ah yes, they loved each other. My hot-tempered Irish mother and my quiet, fun-loving dad. They made a great pair! Patty and Philip. How Irish and English can you get???

So, I wish all of you fair weather, good fortune, potatoes in your bin and a pint a waitin' for ya' at days end!

Cheers!!!! And a Happy St. Paddy's day to all!

Where is the church heading?

As I continue to read son's theology class papers, I am getting a somewhat better grasp on historic Jewish culture and how it relates so definitively to Christianity. In one of his classes he had to visit a synagogue and speak with a rabbi. He found it very, very interesting to see how, yet, in this day and age, they read over the scrolls, discuss them, differ in their opinions, and still be one undivided (for the most part) group.

They, the Jewish scholars and rabbis have done this over the many centuries in order to keep up with each new generation, to be current with new thinking and not be left behind in thoughts that have begun to be somewhat irrelevant for a changing culture of Jewish people....all the while keeping their faith in God.

Sometimes, we as Christians, find it difficult to hear the words of Jesus in today's context. Perhaps we need to do more dialog within all churches to see where this new generation is heading and meet their questions head on.....to reason together and talk and talk and talk some more because they DO have questions. Questions that need answers.

Are we missing the mark? I wonder what we can do, (other than being judgmental!!!), to help people in this day and age to see where Jesus can fit into their changing world. We know Jesus won't change.....but the world does. Are we up for that kind of dialog?

Just another thing to think through........as I cough my head off.

Spruce Sunday

I like to think that if Jesus had lived over here in Prince Albert back in the day and he rode into P.A. on a donkey, we would have had spruce branches strewn on the road for him. I would have done that anyway. The fragrance of the boughs wafting in the air like sweet-smelling incense. Their softness and richness of green would lay before him like a deep, beautiful pile carpet.

I know the church calendar depicts tomorrow as "Palm Sunday", but to make it just a little more personal for me this year, I'm going to think of it as "Spruce Sunday".

I really don't think he'd mind one bit, because I would be remembering how on that ride into Jerusalem, he was in his last days here on earth. He was gearing up for what would be the greatest show of affection this world has ever seen................ or ever will see. I like to think of him as riding that donkey into my town, just so I could prepare the way for him, as he would be preparing a way for me.

I most likely won't make church tomorrow, but in my heart I will think of Jesus and his trip to Prince Albert, coming just for for me....on Spruce Sunday.

Jesus' last days in Jerusalem will be talked about, read about and thought over in the next few days by those who are his followers......me being one of them. It will be a sombre week ahead...........'til Sunday!

Thump...thump....thump....

What do you call it when your husband beats you on the back?


In my case, it's called physiothumpery.


Works well. Except if he does it while watching TV, it's kind of hit and miss while he tries to answer the Wheel of Fortune quizzes.

I am one blessed person to have a man like I do.

He's a back thumper, and a super rice pudding cooker (adds orange rind..yum), he BBQ's steaks to perfection, washes clothes and even irons if needs be..........and much, much more.

And he loves me...........as I do him.

Puff

Got antibiotics.

Got steroid puffer.

Got Ventolin puffer.

I'm good to go..............but not quite yet to any particular place other than bed.

Take care out there wherever you are. There's no place like home....there's no place like home.....there's no place like home.

A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-

choooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I'b tick. aaarrrrrrrruuuuuuuuugggggggggggggg

cough@#!%!% cough&*#%$@&^ cough#%(#$%^$

barrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk

barrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk

I'b goigg to be bedder sood............................

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaachoooooooo

Lord hab mercy od be add pass the kleedex.

I'm not going to be sick...I'm not going to be sick...

As Dorothy did, I clicked my red shoes together....but it doesn't seem to be taking me anywhere but the sick bed.

I didn't order this. My lungs feel like they're being turned inside out.

Maybe by tomorrow, I'll be feeling fine....feeling fine.....feeling fine.......click, click, click.

So, whether I'm sick or well, tomorrow will be a new day. Yes it will.

And God will be a part of it.

Oh, I CAN'T be sick tomorrow either. It's Relay for Life Chili Bistro. Shoot.

Interesting.......

In our Sunday night "book reading" a bunch of us gals are doing, we're reading a really different book, the title of which has totally left me. I've only sat in on two sessions but this book gets us all thinking and thinking pretty hard too. It is challenging us in ways I had never before figured I COULD be challenged. I have been taught Biblical truths but never been challenged to think these things through myself. It's all good.

I'm beginning to think that God is really so much bigger than I ever thought was possible. There is so much more to Him. There is so much more to the spiritual world than we can imagine.

We even got talking about various theories, "the Chaos Theory" and "The Quantum Theory of Physics" and how they relate to our thinking of God and the universe. We first decided that we need to look up what the Quantum theory actually involved. I did manage to look up several articles on this theory and I even read "Quantum Theory for Dummies" but alas, I'm even more of a "dummie" than the book can reason for. Like I've said before, I don't DO math!

I believe this is why Scripture states, " 'Come, let us reason together' says the Lord."

We're sure reasoning together, that's for sure. I think we're in the middle of a "reasoning epidemic" within the church. I do think God is wanting to expand our feeble little minds!

I'm still singin'..

What an evening. What a jazz evening. My friend called and asked if I would accompany her to a jazz night as her husband wasn't into this kind of "stuff".

Who in their right mind would NOT go to a jazz night. It brought back fine memories of a year ago at our conference Annual Meeting and the "jazz coffee house" we had in our church basement. It was so very cool.

So, last evening was somewhat like that. The trio of gals "Arioso" and a trio of guys "The Jazz Guise" to be exact. The gals sang stuff from the '40's by the Andrew's Sisters....I was singing away to myself with them. When I was small, the radio was on from morning 'til night in our house. We didn't have TV. Not only that, but my Mom sang these songs all day long too. I learned them all. So, it was kind of a walk down memory lane for me. Then came the songs from the '60's and my teenage years...."It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...cry if I want to, cry if I want to, You would cry too if it happened to you!" Oh ya. Good times.

Then the fellows played and the pianist sang "Mac the Knife" and James Taylor's "Fire and Rain". Wanna' sing? Let's do it.......Ready.........

"Fire And Rain

Just yesterday morning they let me know you were
gone
Susanne the plans they made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this
song
I just can't remember who to send it to

I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never
end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find
a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again

Won't you look down upon me, Jesus
You've got to help me make a stand
You've just got to see me through another day
My body's aching and my time is at hand
And I won't make it any other way

Oh,I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would
never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find
a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again

Been walking my mind to an easy
time my back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows
it'll turn your head around
Well, there's hours of time on the telephone
line to talk about things
to come
Sweet dreams and flying machines in
pieces on the ground

Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would
never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find
a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you,
baby, one more time again."

It's great to have friends who think about me 
and ask me to enjoy a special evening like this with them.

Talk about talent here in P.A.  Incredible!!!

God gives good gifts to his people....and the people use
them to benefit others.  I'd go back to hear them in a 
second.

Ya, I'm still singin'....."Don't sit under the apple
tree, with anyone else but me....anyone else but me......
anyone else but me, no, no, no......."

"Oh the shark has, pearly teeth dear,....."

It's good to sing too, don't forget.....and it doesn't
matter what others think about your singing either!

La, la, la, la, hummmm, hmmmm, hmmmm, da, da, da...

It was a very good day.

God always comes through. He hears us and answers. Not sure how that works but it does. The spirit world is difficult to understand and talk about at times because what we know about it is very personal and individual and unseeing.....yet the ways we experience it are within us, deep within us, in our hearts and minds and souls........converging all together in a one-ness. As I said, it's difficult to explain.

That kind of "one-ness" happened today at World Day of Prayer. There were Covenanters, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Catholics, Mennonites, Nazarenes, Anglicans and folks from the United Church. Most likely other folks were there too, representing various other denominations but today we were all simply one body....the Body of Christ.

I liked it because God was there. It's a little more difficult when you're leading a service to get a feel for how God's spirit is moving, as you're always making sure everything is running smoothly, but today I felt his presence in ways I'm not even quite sure about, but they were good ways.

People said it was meaningful to them. Some talked about their friends who had been with them at the last year's service but had since died. Others spoke to me who were very old and beloved friends of my late parents. It was kind of like a reunion of sorts. Churches coming together each year and saying hello to fellow believers whom they haven't seen since last year's service.

We read the liturgy. We sang the hymns. We greeted one another "in Jesus Name".

Another "World Day of Prayer". Will it have brought us to our knees?

The whole world....

heh heh heh I'll bet you thought I was singing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands".....

I was, sort of. Well, I may as well sing it now that I've said it......

There. I just sang it.....like perhaps you just did.

So, where was I going with this....oh ya, tomorrow is World Day of Prayer.

Many, many countries will be hosting the the very same service that my church will host tomorrow. All over the world, hour after hour, God will hear the cries of his people for the same things.....the pleas for justice and mercy and hope and new life.

I feel like I'm such a small, yet important part of the big picture. My friend and I will co-host this event at Gateway tomorrow at 2 pm and many people from various churches in Prince Albert will also be a part of this gathering. But I like to think of the entire world engaged in this...all of us together, in one day. Now, THAT'S the big picture!

I'm praying for God's presence. I'm praying for his Spirit to overwhelm and enter in and become part of people's very fibre. I don't really think we realize how vital prayer is, how great things can come from small talks with God.

Reading liturgically is not typical of our church but we will forge ahead and trust the words will be meaningful to everyone present. It's just good to be together as THE CHURCH universal.

World Day of Prayer....coming to a town near you. Tomorrow.

Time to plan.

This can be a very good time of year.

We begin to think ahead to warmer weather and leaves and birds and flowers and no snow and heat and V--A--C--A--T-I-O-N.......in the summer sun.

The lake awaits us.
The trailer too.
Oh fish of the North
We'll cast for you.

The plans will slowly begin to fall into place, Lord willing. It will be a lovely five weeks off.

I'll be prayin' for enough trees to shade us from the wilting heat, enough summer showers to keep us cool and enough sun to give our bodies adequate Vitamin C for the whole year.

I don't want much, do I, but I shall ask Him nonetheless.

It's all included in the plan.

Times are a changin'......

Life just continues on and the constant barrage of change in one form or another makes for an exciting existence.

It is not for the faint of heart, this living.

We get pushed at, prodded along, rooted up, scraped up, smashed down, sat on, moved over and sometimes we even have a good time.

Did I say life is not for the faint of heart? Ya.

So, dear Aunt Connie will be trying out Abbeyfield on April 1st.....for a couple of months, I think.

I know she will enjoy it and she won't have to worry about being cared for anymore. I mean there are simply some things we, as lay/non-medical types cannot do for her. Her meals will be taken care of and she'll have so much less room to worry about keeping tidy. That's important to her.

I'm trusting for God to direct her in all of this. I pray that his hand will be upon her, in yet another change that this life is sending her way. But, if I know her, she'll eat it up, perhaps spit some back and go on with her life.

That's the way she is.....always able to cope with whatever life throws at her.

Quite a woman!!!

The girl.

Well, that was one great weekend. Have you ever seen that show "Meet the Fockers"? Well, the weekend wasn't at all like that!!!

Son had lady-friend with him and we all met in Regina at daughter's house.

Yes, it was one great weekend.

I now am totally convinced daughter has the gift of hospitality.......not to mention cooking!!!

I think I'd like to have a weekend like that again in the very near future.

Well, other than son's car not starting today and daughter having to offer up her car for him to drive so he and lady-friend can visit her young brother in Bible college 3 hours away to the west.

Ya, other than that, I mean, it was a super weekend.

Did I mention the 80km/hr winds Sunday?????!!!!