When Life Is Not What We Hoped For...

During this Lent season, my home church is doing a series dealing with grief, depression, and the trials of life. So this Sunday March 3, 2013 - the 3rd Sunday of Lent our topic was - "When life is not what we hoped for or expected". I think this is a very relevant topic because if we are honest with each other, none of us could say that life is or has been all that we had hoped for or expected. We all have disappointments, heartaches and trials that shake us to our core when we are in the thick of it. So in this blog post I want to share some of what was taught at my church on this topic.

Thought for the week - A clear conscience makes a soft pillow.

Psalm 13 How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

 I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Pastor Ben was our speaker today. Here is some of what he said.

We are learning how to walk with people in brokenness, when people are hurting. Walking with people when life isn't what they had hoped for or expected.

There are many examples we could think of. A few of them are singleness, infertility, divorce.

We need to see people with the eyes of Jesus. See people as Jesus does. We are learning to be the "hands and feet" of Jesus.

Listening to People -

We need to learn to listen to people, really listen, focus your attention on them as they are speaking and gauge your response to them by listening to their situation.

Too often we have solutions to offer before we have even listened to the person who is sharing their problem with us.

We need to talk about things that matter, really matter. 

We need to get beyond talking about sports and the weather - go to a deeper level.

Don't demand that they tell you everything. You need to earn the right to have people open up to you.

Talking about real stuff is scary - we are afraid we will not have solutions to the problem.

We need to become vulnerable - 

We are all broken, we are all in a hurting world.

Do not judge or label people because of the situation they are in.

God's Will - God's Ideal Will / God's Permissive Will

God's Ideal Will is no sin, sickness or disease in our lives. But He has given us the freedom of choice to live our lives according to our own choices. We have the freedom to choose good or evil. This is where His permissive will kicks in. We experience brokenness. He has allowed these things into our lives as His permissive will. He will use all of our brokenness for good if we allow Him to. 

God can take the bad stuff and make good come out of it. God grieves the evil and brokenness, but He allows it.

Humbleness - 

Walk humbly with people.

Don't assume you know the mind of God.

Listen to their heartache.

God is always at work!

John 13:34 

 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

The Clock my Mother Gave to me.....

For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

My Chime Clock

Time is ticking away...
This chime clock pictured here was given to me by my mother this past Christmas. Each of my five sisters also received a clock just like it. It is a beautiful gift which I will treasure for many years to come.  My mother is currently 85 years old and so this clock is a gift that means a lot to me and whenever I look at it, it is a reminder to me of my precious mother.
In its own sort of way, a clock tells a story. It reminds us of the lives we have lived as well as how fleeting time really is. For those of you who read my blog regularly, you will know that I recently turned 50. Much of my life is behind me and Lord willing, I have much life to look forward to yet here on this earth, and then eternal life awaits me with our Lord Jesus in heaven. We have seen our babies boys grow up to be fine young men and our baby daughter has grown up quickly also and has become a beauiful young gal, and I am reminded of my child who has already gone to be with the Lord.  So many memories to cherish.
In the book of Ecclesiates we find a very insightful passage on "time".
Please take the time to read these verses from the book of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclestiastes 3:1-11
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 
 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
  A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
  I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Walking the Path of life...

Isaiah 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

 Life is like walking down a path.....how far down the path am I, how far are you??  Life is also similar to running a race. Are you in the first lap of the race or are you in the second lap - perhaps nearing the end, running ahead with strength as you are about to cross the finish line! We do want to finish strong!

Whether we are in the first or second lap of our race here on earth, we must stay focused on the goal - living a life that pleases the Lord Jesus and to be welcomed into heaven when our life here is done.  It is important that we continually choose to stay on the path where we pursue righteousness not turning to the right or to the left  but constantly listening for the voice of the Lord Jesus saying - This is the way - walk in it!

It is a life of living intentionally!

Deuteronomy 5:32

Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left

A Veggie Tales Fan!!

Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
 We are Veggie Tales fans! What is Veggie Tales you ask? Veggie Tales products are geared for children to teach them valuable lessons while having fun at the same time. Books, toys, DVDs and videos. Many of the DVDs  tell Bible stories and others just teach valuable lessons. Over the years as our boys were growing up, they have enjoyed many of the Veggie Tales videos and DVDs. I have even heard many parents say that they themselves find these movies quite entertaining. As I have written before, our daughter has down syndrome and therefore learning comes harder for her. But Veggie Tales helps her to better understand the Bible stories and life lessons. She just loves every single one of the movies Veggie Tales puts out. I am always on the lookout for the next DVD to come out. Soon to be released is one titled -  The Penniless Princess which I hope to get for my daughter shortly.
So just to give you an idea of what I am talking about I took a picture of some of my daughter's Veggie Tales treasures.

The stories are played out by many veggie characters - Larry the Cucumber, Bob the Tomato, Junior Asparagus, Laura the Carrot, Mr Nezzar etc. If you have never seen any of the movies I would highly recommend it especially for children under 14.
Some of the Bible stories are Esther - the girl who became Queen, Josh and the Big wall which is the story of Joshua defeating Jericho, the story of the fiery furnace in Rack, Shack and Benny, the stories of Gideon, Moses,  also a couple tell the stories of King David and the stories of Christmas and Easter. These movies can in no way replace the direct Bible teaching that we as parents are called to do with our children. And of course it is also advisable to discuss the content of a movie with your children before and after having viewed it.
So what is my personal favorite? It has got to be Princess and the Popstar. It is not one of the Bible story ones ( though I like them a lot also).  I like this one because it teaches little girls that the famous life is not really a fun life at all. So many children want to grow up to be like Hannah Montana etc and they idolize these celebrities. This Veggie Tales DVD teaches children the truth about the awful celebrity life and the joys of the simple life and  having a family who loves you. In the story a girl named Princess Poppyseed lives on the farm with her parents and many siblings. She wishes she could be famous like Vanna Banana - her favorite child pop singer. She has all Vanna Banana's posters and music and one day by chance, Princess meets Vanna Banana on the playground. Vanna is in town to give a concert. Vanna Banana longs for the simple life of family having seen  Little House on the Prairie on TV. Vanna dreams of having brothers and sisters and a pony etc. but all her life consists of is practicing for her next music show and performing in front of millions of people (people who do not know her and she does not know them). So when Vanna and Princess begin to talk on the playground, they discover they look almost exactly alike and they each have what the other wishes they had and they decide to switch places. So Vanna Banana experiences the ordinary farm life with a loving family and Princess experiences life as a famous person - dressing in rich clothes and singing in front of a huge crowd. Each girl realizes that the life she was longing for does not fulfill her dreams, and the story of course ends in a happy way.
So if you've never watched one of these DVDs with the children in your life, may I suggest  you do - you would have fun and it would make their day if you did!

Where did we all come from??

How did the planet Earth get here and how did you get to this planet? Was there a big bang or how was the earth formed? Where did we all come from? Scientists are searching for answers to these types of questions. The answer of course is in the Bible. We only need to read our Bibles as all these questions are directly answered for us. The reason people want evolution and the big bang to be true is because they do not want to be accountable to God for the way they are living their lives. If they refuse to believe in God, they somehow assume that they then will not give account. That is a lie of the devil. God is true, the Bible is the true Word of God and whether you choose to believe it or not does not change the fact that it is true. It remains the truth whether you and I choose to reject it or believe it. Our choice to believe or reject the truth of the Bible determines our destiny.
Genesis 1: 1-2 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Day 1 - God forms day and night.  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Day 2 - God creates the heaven we call sky.  And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.  And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Day 3 -God made the seas and the earth, grass and fruit trees.  And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.  And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.  And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
Day 4  - God created the sun and the moon. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,  And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Day 5 - God creates the birds and the sea creatures, whales.  And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.  And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying,  Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
Day 6 - God creates human beings ( Adam and Eve) and the animals in the world. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Day 7 -  God rested from all His work. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Aborting Girl Babies- it's just Wrong!!

It's pretty hard to believe and very sad indeed to hear that here in Canada, people are aborting girl babies just because they are female. I heard about it again a couple of days ago on my local radio station - a discussion on this very topic. I find it very hard to hear these kinds of stories. I am firmly opposed to abortion and in my opinion this should not be happening here in Canada. It is unimaginable to think that anyone could disregard life like that.

According to the radio story, this practice of aborting a girl baby is being done in greater proportions by immigrant families, where in their home countries this type of abortion is an acceptable practice.  It was reported that it is even showing up in the statisical data that has been collected by the government of Canada. It was said that these immigrant families see the birth of a daughter  as a burden. They worry that a daughter will somehow dishonor the family - perhaps by adapting to the secular culture of Canada.  The daughter will not make the family's riches increase while a son will be able to earn a higher income and so the family's riches will increase and he  will be able to take care of the elderly in the family. The radio story went on to say that the birth of a son is preferred as the family name can be carried on to the next generation through a son. A son is considered a benefit to the family much like a retirement plan is a benefit to be desired.
The report stated that some hospitals in Canada are trying to discourage this practice of aborting the baby girls. If the hospital becomes aware that a family is looking to know the gender of the child simply for a possible gender based abortion, the medical professionals are refusing to inform the parents of the gender of the child until such a time as abortion would be illegal here. The problem obviously lies with the fact that people who favor abortion do not place value on the unborn human baby's life.
God is the giver of life. It is his decision to create a new life. God is the one who made us all and He is the one who invented the family.  No one should take it upon themselves to make the choice to end a human life that God has lovingly created. The Bible says very clearly that we shall not kill or murder anyone. Deuteronomy 5: 17  Thou shalt not kill.
Just to prove to everyone that God values human life, He writes in Revelation 13:10  He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
I would encourage anyone who is looking to have an abortion to stop that idea from going any further and rather seek help from a Christian friend and Pastor. Pray to the Lord God in Heaven, He will help you in your situation when you seek Him with your whole heart.

Heroes of Faith - John Wesley

Hebrews 12: 1-2 says  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God

I believe that we can learn much from the Heroes of Faith who have gone before us.  John Wesley is just one of those heroes and in this post I want to share a little bit about him. John Wesley was born in England on June 28, 1703 to his parents Samuel and Susanna Wesley. He was the fifteenth child in the family. He is a brother to Charles Wesley who also would be in the group of the Heroes of Faith.

John Wesley spent much time preaching. He was married to a widow named Mary Vazeille when he was 48 years old. The marriage was a heartbreaking one and he had no children. This wife left John Wesley after years of unhappiness and sorrow  in the marriage. This shows us how God uses broken people. God often uses people with hardships in their lives and sends them out to proclaim the gospel. John Wesley travelled on horseback, preaching two or three times a day, preaching some 40,000 sermons during his life as a preacher. John Wesley finished his life strong and when he lay dying on March 2,1791 he said these words: "The best of all is, God is with us."  Then he lifted his arm in victory and he raised his voice and with a loud voice he again spoke the same words -  ‘The best of all is, God is with us"  and so he passed into the presence of the Lord into Heaven.  He died at the age of 88 years.

I want to post ten of John Wesley's well known quotes - many of which have a direct Biblical message bound up with in them:
1)  Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth.

2)  Earn all you can, give all you can, save all you can

3) By salvation I mean not barely according to the vulgar notion deliverance from hell or going to heaven but a present deliverance from sin a restoration of the soul to its primitive health its original purity a recovery of the divine nature the renewal of our souls after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness in justice mercy and truth.

4)  Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.

5) Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing

6) When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart.

7) My ground is the Bible. Yea, I am a Bible-bigot. I follow it in all things, both great and small.

8) Once in seven years I burn all my sermons; for it is a shame if I cannot write better sermons now than I did seven years ago.

9) Justifying faith implies, not only a divine evidence or conviction that ''God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself',' but a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for my sins, that He loved me and gave Himself for me.

10) I desired as many as could to join together in fasting and prayer, that God would restore the spirit of love and of a sound mind to the poor deluded rebels in America”

Pictures from Around my Garden.....

God has really been showing his Hand at work in my garden as it is growing and maturing through the summer. The Bible says our lives are like the grass and flowers.  God gives us our alotted time here on earth and then we pass away to our eternal home.

Psalm 103: 15-16 says As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.  For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

Please enjoy these pictures from around my garden. May God Bless you with joy.

Flowers - God has given us so many different colors and kinds of flowers to enjoy:

The Vegetable Garden

Isaiah 40:8

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever

My Vegetable Garden - Sowing and Reaping

I enjoy having a garden and seeing it grow. This picture here is of my vegetable garden. Among other things I planted potatoes, tomatoes, peas, beans, corn and onions. My garden doesn't look quite as good as I had hoped since we got frost here about two weeks ago and it damaged a lot of the plants. Then last Sunday we got a big rain mixed with hail so the garden is now regrowing from both the frost and the hail. I am hoping to get a better picture of my garden in a couple of weeks or a month when the plants have had time to mature. The Bible says our lives are somewhat like a garden and that we will reap what we sow.

 Galatians 6: 7-10 says :
⁷ Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
⁹ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
¹⁰ As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

If I make the comparison to my garden, I can expect that in the later part of summer I will be able to pick peas from the peas plants, beans from the beans plants, and tomatoes will grow on the tomato plants. I do not expect to harvest any beets or zucchini since I have not planted that kind of seed in my garden.
If we sow good seed in our lives, that is we walk in the Spirit, we fill our minds with Scripture, truth, pure and lovely things, we will reap, the fruit of the Spirit.  Galatians 5: 22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

On the other hand if we fill our minds with evil and with things of the world, that is we live in the flesh and fill up on the sinful desires of the flesh, we will reap pain and misery like it says in Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption

Galatians 5: 19-21  Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,  fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,  idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,  envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 The works of the flesh can respresent weeds, the unsaved person which Jesus says will be reaped at the end of the world.
 Good seed represents the people saved by the blood of Christ, those who will reap life everlasting with God in the heavenly kingdom. ...but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Matthew 13:38-40
³⁸ The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
³⁹ The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
⁴⁰ As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.



I added a picture of my garden today July10, 2012. It has been really dry and hot out here for quite some time now.

Baby Darcy...

April 20 - Today is the birthday of my baby named Darcy. Darcy was born in 1995 but went to be with Jesus before being born. You see Darcy passed away while within my womb and was born a couple of weeks later.
Darcy was loved and would have been a much welcomed gift into our family here on earth but that was not God's plan for our baby.
Here is some of our story - My husband and I were blessed with twin babies in 1992 and what a joy and blessing that proved to be.  The twins were soon to be three years old so I was excited to learn that I was pregnant again. But the excitement slowly faded after a while as I realized things were not going so well and wondered if perhaps the baby was gone. I knew needed to get to the doctor. The doctor checked and made sure baby was still in the womb and asked me a few questions. He wanted to know what I was thinking and I answered that I think my baby is dead. Then he asked " Why do you think that?" to which I responded - "I feel so empty inside."  To the mothers out there reading this, you will understand what I am saying. When you have a living baby growing inside of you, it is an indescribable satisfying feeling. So now since my baby had died, I felt empty. I could feel that the soul of my child had departed. The doctor immediately sent me for an ultrasound test which proved my fear true. My baby had died but was still in my womb. Next arrangements were made to induce the baby to be born. So baby Darcy was born at 12 weeks into the pregnancy. And so the grieving process began. We were fortunate to have the hospital give the baby to us to take home with us and we were able to give it a proper burial in a safe place.
Many people will say that it is only fetus, some kind of tissue and not a real baby. I will be bold to tell you that without a shadow of a doubt, it is a baby. From the point of conception it is a baby. We got to see our baby born at 12 weeks but having died possibly at least 2 weeks sooner ( the time of death remained unclear). We could clearly see the baby's eyes, little nose, chin, arms, legs. It's all there right from the very start but grows and matures with time.  So I would like to encourage anyone considering abortion to definitely not have the abortion. That would be taking a life which God has tenderly created with purpose. The commandment of God is that we do not put to death another person.
Family and friends were very kind to us in our grief. As I was in the process of grieving, one day I remembered the ultrasound that the hospital had done and I started to wonder if it would be possible for me to obtain the pictures of it as a tangible memory thing for myself. I contacted the hospital and they agreed to allow me to have the ultrasound pictures for a small fee. I treasure those pictures.
Job 1:21 says - Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Heavenly Father, Thank-you for baby Darcy. Thank-you that Darcy is safe with you and someday we will meet our precious baby. Blessed be the Name of the LORD! Amen.