It was a day...

of snow...

 

and showers... (baby, that is)

 meet Miss Ellie...

 and her cousin, Austin...(just like a guy...sleeping through the parties)

 meet Ellie's and Austin's folks....

A double shower for Marcus (and Alison) and his sister Molly (and Aaron) who both had babies born in September! 

It was good to share in that joy...the second of the day.

The first one, of course, was the 10+cm. of snow.

11/11/11...

Eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year.

Don't know that those numbers indicate anything of great significance or value but I suppose if one were the least bit superstitious, one might go out and buy a lottery ticket or something like that.

We didn't.

We did however, chat about things today, things that are of value and encouragement to one another.

We spoke too, of how sometimes things we say can be misconstrued by another just because we present our thoughts in a certain way.  Nothing really can be done about that, other than attempting to correct the person in what your intentions were....but if a person is thinking in a certain way about what you said, the thought pattern is probably there and won't be broken no matter what you say.  I know this all sounds vague and confusing but it is difficult being misunderstood.  Misunderstandings can cause hard feelings and that is not my intention.

I don't know.  I guess it is my fault for not being more direct and clear.  One part of our church Behavioral Covenant is to communicate clearly and completely.  Perhaps I wasn't as clear as I could have been and perhaps I expanded on my thoughts more than I should have.

I don't express my thoughts all that often to folks but when I do, I feel they are important enough to allow myself to be vulnerable with those thoughts and to actually verbalize them. And so I shall live with the consequences of that.

Oh well...blah....blah....blah....I'm just going on about nothing.

On a different note, I remembered my dad specifically today...his willingness to die for a cause that he thought was important.  He didn't die....then....but he was willing.  My dad was a very good and gentle man.  War was not who or what he was about but he was amongst the millions who gave up a part of themselves so we could live without fear.  I think that is pretty significant.

Sleep well...snow is approaching on this night of elevens.......

Reeling....

This past week has had me reeling....for various reasons.

Extra busy at work....followed by helping and meetings and thinking and praying and finally.....exhaustion.

Normally, going to the dentist is cause for a bit of anxiety.  Not today.  I gladly took those needles and being placed nearly upside down.  It was a rest!!!

I will be walking around with my head leaning more to the right now that I have two gold teeth on that side.  So don't make fun of me when you see me like that.  After all, my teeth will be worth probably a lot more than yours:)

May the God of peace watch over your night and keep you safe and warm...

A sense.....

I really enjoy it when I sense things....correctly.  Going into a church budget meeting can be pretty daunting but for the past few days I sensed that this would be a good meeting, one in which we could all sense God's presence.  I think that happened this evening.

It is always good when we can go beyond what we think is doable, giving us a sense that we are depending on God to provide for the church's needs.  Whenever we can offer a 13% missions budget to the congregation, I think that is a very excellent indication that God is in our deliberations. 

Figuring out what to do with the congregation's Sunday offerings is a difficult task, but I really believe when the "living on the edge budget" is presented to our congregational Annual Meeting, they too, will see how God is at work in our midst.

There were some other really good things about the budget too, but those will have to wait to be mentioned at a later date.  There is no limit to what we can do when we all begin to tithe our resources.  Over the years, we have found again and again that we just can't out give God.  Living off $9. of every $10. we make shouldn't be all that difficult, right?  But it takes us a long time to really believe in this truth....and we thank God he has patience with us until we come to this point.....and beyond.

Tonight, I believe I shall sleep well.

Ssssssssssss.....

24-Hour Precipitation Outlook

• close to 5 cm of snow from Saturday Overnight to Sunday Overnight

Not much more to be said for that statement.

Got your scraper, brush, shovel, mitts, toque, boots, scarf, hooded-jacket ready?

Not to mention winter tires, plus your usual array of emergency trunk accessories - sand, candle, snacks, blanket, hazard signs, flashlight, batteries, and a huge slab of Toblerone chocolate.

As the Scouts always say "Be Prepared"!!!

Hope your night is ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssnowy:)

Worth a lot more...

Yep, I got a 45 cent per hour pay increase, not to mention my new capped tooth will be gold-filled.

I'm going to be worth a lot of money at this rate.

I just hope my children don't count on much financial gain after we've left this old earth.  Husband and I figured our mouths will be worth a lot more than all of our possessions put together.  A bit scary to think of but a harsh reality of life.

Just goes to show you how much we depend on material wealth.  If we have loads of cash to hand over to the next generation, then we're considered good solid people.  If we don't have that kind of cash, we're considered duds.

But I would like to change that perception, right here and now.  We may not leave our kids a great or even a good amount of money when we die but we hopefully have left our children the things that money can't buy....memories (hopefully good ones), appreciation of the gifts we've been given, a good sense of who we are as people, and hopefully a faith that will one day sustain us in our time of need.  Can't buy those things.

So, low-income old age...here we come.  Perhaps not having a lot of money will put our children in good stead as they progress in life too.  You learn lessons of trust when you don't always depend on the god of money. God is their provider and I believe they have learned that.

Nite all.  Even if we aren't in the 61% of Canadians who will have a winter in the "south", we're content with what we have....and by many people's standards, that's a whole load of stuff.

In a fog...

My poor head has been in some kind of drug-induced fog since my double root canal yesterday.  A few pills to calm me down before the procedure then a few pills afterward with codeine to take the pain away plus four needles to numb the area during the procedure.

I made it to work....I think....but by 2 PM my head was on the desk and I was flat out sleeping...but only for a few seconds....I think....the phone rang and I was shaken into reality.  Scary stuff.

I actually got up with the alarm too this morning, although I really could have slept for another 8 hours, I'm sure.

Needless to say, I'm ready to slide into those comfy warm sheets and hit the pillow.

Perhaps I will experience more of tomorrow than I was able to experience this day.