Bake it and they will come....

And they did.

People bought stuff they shouldn't be eating....and I was the number 1 culprit.

All for a good cause though.  It was the Women Ministries major fund raiser today and was, as usual, a great success.  Lots of hard work, many laughs, great visits and wonderful fellowship.  People bought up loaves of Sweedish Rye bread like there was no tomorrow.  The pies and butter tarts, jars of chokecherry syrup and dishes of date cake....all were bought and I know, will be devoured.

Some of our ladies were too ill to come, having colds and flu.  But the ones that took on great chunks of extra responsibility showed themselves, once again, faithful to the cause.

Here's how it all went.....

See, we CAN have some fun at church events:)  You can tell by all the smiling going on!

Flying by.....

Several weeks have passed since I've written here.  When they say that times flies...it does!

Days run quickly into weeks and into months.  I can barely keep up the pace.

This week has me in meetings, doctor appointments, husband's physio, Kid's Klub, worship practice and of course, baking for this Saturday's Country Store...10 - 3.  There has barely been a spare moment!  It's difficult when you hear someone casually hinting that I may be lazy...but I suppose that would be their perception of me.  I do admit that I may have a bit of a lazy streak in me, the one that wants to sit with my swollen feet up and watch some telly or read a terrific book...or connect here on my blog...or do some picture taking...or coffee with my husband....or checking out Facebook....or....ya....just doing the stuff that I do and enjoy doing.  So when I hear those misconceptions of my person, I get to rethinking all that I'm doing because maybe, just maybe I AM LAZY.  I don't think I am but perhaps they think I'm lazy because a lot of the things I do are not directly church related.  Pretty narrow thinking on their part, I would suspect and a bit judgmental too.  So, I shall go about my daily run-of-the-mill tasks, attempting to live more wholly for others (I find that one hard, too) and slowing time down so it doesn't fly by so quickly....guess that would take some kind of supernatural effort on my part.  If it works, I shall quickly get a patent.

Tomorrow will find us getting our blood work done for our doctors appointments next week.  I will also be packaging up all my baking and setting up tables at the church for the sale on Saturday.  We always have a good time at that sale...a great fund-raiser too!

AND, today we had our flu shots!  Got yours?

So, enjoy your night!  It is a gift that allows our bodies to catch up a bit with the busyness of life.

And yes, it's that time of year again...see, time really does fly!

I'm ba-aaaaaaaaaaaaak........

Nope.  I'm not dead.  Haven't even moved away...nor have I been eaten by monsters.

That's been a four month drought here and I'm fearing any people who may have been following this blog probably have long ditched and left the premises, like I did.

I figured I'd just stop by here to say hello to myself and get the old "blog feel" back again.  Not sure if it will ever come back.  We shall see.  Certainly takes more effort than just looking at Facebook.  I have to get my old arthritic fingers moving again and my brain in gear.

Since June we have been on vacation, come home from same, husband had surgery for a hip replacement, granddaughter has moved to Saskatoon and son has come home for a nice longer-than-normal visit.  Some pretty big things in four months.

We experienced our first real flood when the rains came at Waskesiu.  It was an incredible experience!

After we got the rains out of the way...August was a beautiful month! And with the coming of September it just continued on and now into October.

Now to get husband walking again with his new hip and we'll be in business.  He seems to want to walk on that leg without his walker but the physio therapist will have none of that!  Easy does it, she says.  But through all of this, I have a new appreciation for the work of all health care workers out there not to mention single parents who have to "do it all"!  It's tough work...really tough work.  Physically exhausting. I can't remember ever being this tired, even when the children weren't sleeping through the night!!!  And it's mentally challenging just to stay on top of everything that needs doing.  Physically being care giver for this big husband of mine, doing all the household chores...cleaning, laundry, dishes plus all the cooking and grocery shopping, driving to and from appointments, and not leaving him alone for any length of time....well, to be honest, I'm just not used to being in a 100% do-it-all relationship.  We have always split responsibilities during our 45 years of marriage and now at 65, when I'm beginning to run out of steam, I'm required to do the whole enchilada.  Not for much longer, mind you.  But ya, a whole new appreciation goin' on here!!!  Hats off to care givers and all single moms!!!!!  I salute you!!!!

So, we shall continue on with physio appointments and enjoy son's visit with us for another week.  It has been very good.

It's 9:30.  Off to bed.  I shall get more pictures up here too, as I have time.  Nite!  This was the river last evening...

Pack...

Time to pack.  Hit the road.  Leave the premises.

The packing has begun.  I no longer own a suitcase as my old one fell apart.  Now I shall use see-through plastic containers for my stuff.  Then I shall have storage containers upon our return from vacation.  A good less-expensive alternative to buying expensive luggage that will never be used.

Granddaughter will apartment sit for a time too while we're away so we're attempting to make space for her to move in here for a month or so.  I commented to Ken that it's a good thing we're adaptable but the older I get, the less adaptable I feel.

So we will simply pack up, leave and not look back until the first of September...unless we get into some kind of weather phenomenon at the lake, then we'll be back before anticipated.  It's happened before and I dare say it could happen again.  One year our camper got smashed in two by a falling spruce tree (and if we had been it the camper at the time, you wouldn't be reading this blog right now!!!)

Adaptability.

Change.

Be prepared for anything.

By the time we leave for the summer we will have said farewell to son as he continues on with the tree planting contract in Ontario...then on to Toronto...and back to Boston area.  After that, we shall see where he ends up.

We have welcomed a new Congolese family to our church too, over the past few weeks.  Last night we held a "welcome" party.  They were totally overwhelmed by the generosity and love and acceptance and help offered by much of our congregation in one way or another.  The many, many gifts were a good indication of just how overwhelming it must have been for them!!!!  It made me feel that what I was doing was helping some folks right here in P.A. and not somewhere half a world away.  So, at one point, Jyselle the wife and mother of four of the children was saying thank-you in Swahili and then her husband, Bilile, would translate the Swahili into Lingala and Eric (who grew up in the Congo) would translate Lingala into English for all of us gathered there.  It was quite something.  We're learning a lot, as a group of church people, these days.  Serving others seems to be our theme lately...whether it's the community surrounding the church building or people who just happen to stop by.  Seems like we're starting to do things right in following the teachings of Jesus.

Now to continue packing.....I may post from Waskesiu at some point.  Perhaps download some pictures if I get a chance.  We're attempting to find a day next week to leave that doesn't have a rain forecast!

TTFN.

Ya....that's what I'm talkin' about!!!

The Conversation...

The folks from Gateway held a "Conversation" today for two hours..which included a brunch, of course!  We're Covenanters after all.  It's one of the things we do best - EAT!

But the conversation was specific in a sense.  We needed to talk about where we are as a church and where we perhaps are heading.  Now those of you who work for the government know that this kind of task can be daunting and usually is.  No different for a church body.  We did a lot of thinking.  We talked a great deal.  We listened to each other.  We took notes. We had room to disagree, too.

It gave us much food for thought and gave the Vitality Committee a great deal to go on with regard to leading our church into a healthy, missional group of people.

We reiterated what we have come to already know....that Gateway is a group of people, directed by God's Spirit, who genuinely care for people...in the church building and in the community. We care.  We love.  We act that care and love out in deeds.

So, what are some things that we don't know about ourselves.  I don't think we know or realize exactly how much of an impact we are having on our neighborhood...our children, our city.  We simply go about doing the things that are required of us.  Sometimes we are fearful.  Other times we feel totally inadequate...but we go anyway.  We do....anyway.  God's Spirit enables us as we do...and go.

The next steps of course will be the refining of what we are already doing.  Getting better at it.  Perhaps branching out into other avenues of the same ministry....all we need are willing hearts and hands and the jobs will be done....the Kingdom of God kinds of jobs like loving our neighbors, meeting their needs and those of their families.  It's hard work but is all worth it in the end...the end, of course, being the end of our lives as we know them.  But there will be folks to take up these challenges when we are no longer around.  They may be totally different kinds of challenges...they probably will be.  After all, Gateway is not the same church as it was when it began in 1947, or as it was in 1974 or in the year 2000.  We are a changing, growing, living entity where people come and go, where people are changed in the midst of that coming and going and where people can come into the presence of the living God.

It's all good...but ya....hard work....really, really hard work.  Loving takes lots of energy and time and so we continue on as a group of loving and caring individuals who allow themselves to be daily changed into the likeness of God.  As one gal put it today, if our hearts are turned towards God and our desire is to serve Him, good things will happen. (paraphrase)  And I totally agree!!!

Here we are, hard at work, talking and listening....

 There was food left over....imagine!!!!

 Some of us had naps:)

 Grandmas looked after babies.

 Some played "hide and seek".

 The adults did a lot of thinking...the kids just had fun.

New granddaughters were a part of the "Conversation" too!

So, you get an idea of what transpired for two hours today.  I think we are better people for having been a part of this conversation.  It was a place too, where new folks were heard and their opinions were validated.  That in itself, is worth gathering together!

I thank God for today.....