...across the room to share some insights....

Sometimes when thoughts continue to surface a lot I just have to get them down on paper somewhere and that is one of the reasons for this blog. This topic has been on my mind and I take that as indication that there is someone out there also thinking about these things that may be inspired in some way by reading my thoughts. So here we go again!!

I don't know how many times I have been asked to pray for someone, be there for someone in great distress all the while thinking to myself "if only you would be honest with yourself and God you probably would not be in this place" and yet knowing that if I were to say something like that it would not be received in the spirit I would want to give it. Often these people tell me "I've prayed and prayed and nothing happens. Nothing is going the way it should. Nothing helps!" I have experienced this in my own life too! I have discovered that God requires me to deal with sin in my life if I want to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him.

A devotional I read talked about King David in Psalm 66:18-19 who said...."If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened....." NLT. The article addresses the problem of willful sin in our lives and that a holy God can not disregard that. It is impossible to have a truly intimate relationship with God unless we are willing to be absolutely honest with Him, and pure in our hearts, thoughts, and actions. Sin has to be acknowledged and dealt with if we want God to answer our prayers. He loves us so much and wants to clean us up, forgive us, and enjoy a relationship with us. But as the article stated "God does not wink at sin!" Let us not be deceived into thinking that we can indulge in sin in one area of our life and still have an open honest walk with God.

In order to know what God's standards are we need knowledge which comes from searching the Scriptures..."Rightly dividing the Word of Truth" 2 Tim. 2:15. That means using God's Word as our absolute authority; not what society would like us to believe. God's instructions for us are really straight forward and are not suggestions. He doesn't say "You know people, maybe it's not that nice to commit murder. I wish you wouldn't do it." In Ex. 20:17 He says "You must not murder". God does not say "Aw people, it's probably not that great of an idea to commit adultery unless you just don't get your needs met in your marriage. In that case, well, maybe I could look the other way". He says "You must not commit adultery". That's in Exodus also and of course the Bible is full of God's instructions on how to live and conduct ourselves. I think the amazing thing about God's instructions to us is that He has given them to protect us and to give us the best life possible!

If we are followers of Christ then we have the Holy Spirit in our lives who helps us to understand the Scriptures and apply them to our lives. He will convict us of wrong doing and help us to deal with all of our sin, wipe us clean, and restore us into a clean, pure relationship with God. There is no better place to be than in a right relationship with our Creator!

Be blessed as you allow God to "search me and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Ps. 139:23

...across the room to defend my love of animals...

I LOVE animals. I like dogs, cats, horses, deer, squirrels, and rabbits to mention a few. Mostly I enjoy animals at a distance although I will pet them, sometimes hold them, and feed them. I respect that they are animals, and not humans and am very aware that I do not know how their minds work. So I give them space to be animals. They are interesting creatures to me and I could watch them for hours and in the case of small animals, play with them for long periods of time. I just simply enjoy them. I love the smell of horses and I also love the different sounds animals make. Two summers ago an enormous brown bear came bounding out of the woods as I was riding my motorbike down the road. I had no time to be afraid because I was so mesmerized by how shiny his fur coat was as the sun shone down on him! Later, when I realized how close we had been to him I thought about the danger aspect of this huge animal. He was absolutely STUNNING! I do not own a pet but have in the past. I soon realized that if I did not train this dog he would run my life, destroy not only my property but other people's as well and terrorize everyone that came to my door. As much as I loved him I did not have the time I needed to train my dog properly or spend the time I needed to spend with him so I gave him to a family who could and would. This is really just an introduction to what I really wanted to talk about but it is a very honest rendition of how I feel about animals.

I have a few friends in my life who enjoy walking as a way of getting some exercise, fresh air, social interaction, and the parks in our city. We enjoy a walk in a different park each day of the week. Our city has created some areas of some of our parks as off-leash areas where people can take their dogs for walks and consequently we often meet up with them on the trails. It is nice to see people enjoying the outdoors with their pets and exercising them. So what is my problem? My problem is that although I love animals like I mentioned earlier, I do not want them jumping on me, slobbering on my clothes, barking or growling at me or any of the friends I am with. As I said before, I don't know what these animals are thinking, what their past history is or what they are capable of. Our city bylaws state that owners of pets are in violation of the bylaws if their dog bites or chases a person, if they bark or howl in such a fashion that it disturbs a person, or causes a person to fear for their physical safety. What I find extremely frustrating is that when a big dog runs at me, jumps on me, barking and growling so that I feel threatened enough to ask the owner to please call off their dog their response is FIRST "maybe you shouldn't be walking in the off leash area if you don't like dogs!" Is there not even ONE owner of a dog smart enough to realize that their pet is capable of terrifying people and that just because someone is afraid does not mean they hate animals? It seems like every person I have met that is not in control of their dog will always blame ME for being in the wrong place and being a dog hater. They will defend their dog in the most ridiculous ways. For instance, this week a dog tall enough to lick my elbow was barking and jumping up on us and the owner told us "he's just a puppy!" So now we're supposed to be OK with all his drool on our clothes and scratches on our hands, not to mention the barking and growling!! Of course we are forever being told not to use the parks as well! I have NEVER experienced an incident like the above with the owner apologizing for their pet's behaviour. NEVER! NOT EVEN ONCE! Isn't that sad? REALLY! I am about ready to start carrying a club! It will not be used on the dog because I believe that the owner is responsible for their animals behaviour and I would use the club on the owner, not the animal! LOL! Thanks for letting me vent! Wonder whose "puppy" I'll have to fight off next week?! Oh, by the way, my jacket is in the washer as I write this!

..across the room for a disposition to show kindness....

I looked up the word "Grace" on my Thesaurus today and this is what I read....a disposition to show kindness.

This reminded me of a story a friend of mine related to me this week about her experience in the coffee shop drive through line up. She uses these few minutes in the line up to apply her make up and she did so this particular morning as well. I guess she didn't see the car ahead of her pull away and didn't proceed forward immediately, apparently causing the woman in the car behind her great anxiety. She became so anxious in fact that she shouted at my friend "It's not going to do you any good anyway!" My immediate response to her story was outrage that any woman could say something like that to another woman, and then outrage that someone as nice as my friend would have to endure that kind of rude behavior! If anyone oozes grace, it would have to be this friend.

It made me think and wonder what I would have done. Said. I thought about all the drivers that day that I regarded as nuisances on the road by driving too slow, too fast, in my way, not driving they way I felt they should drive and I thought about my reaction to them and the thoughts I entertained about them. It was not good. I'm afraid most of the time my disposition to show kindness is limited to people who are nice to me. I'm afraid that way too often I make assumptions about people's motives that I have no business making. After all, these people are total strangers to me. How could I possibly presume to know their motives.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately which reminded me of a saying that has been popular for many years and has appeared on keychains, clothes, mugs and a whole host of gadgets. Often only the first letter of each word is used.....WWJD....meaning "What Would Jesus Do"? I don't own anything with those letters or words but it has been on my mind lately and the last two weeks I've tried to remind myself when I get irritated or impatient with people to consider WWJD? It's been a real eye opener for me and a way of helping me reconsider before I make up my mind about total strangers.

Who knows, I may just develop a disposition to show kindness like my friend, smile, wave and pay for the lady's coffee just like she did!

...across the room for some very good tarts....

I FOUND THIS RECIPE ON THE INTERNET BUT UNFORTUNATELY I DID NOT SAVE THE SITE INFO SO AM NOT ABLE TO GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. THIS IS NOT MY OWN RECIPE. JUST SO YOU KNOW.

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened

1 package (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar, divided

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Chips

1 cup REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips

2 teaspoons shortening(do not use butter, margarine, spread or oil)

Directions:

1. Beat 3/4 cup butter and cream cheese in medium bowl; add flour and 1/4 cup sugar, beating until well blended. Cover; refrigerate about one hour or until dough is firm. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; press each ball onto bottom and up sides of about 36 small muffin cups (1-3/4 inches in diameter).

2. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine egg, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla in small bowl; stir until smooth. Stir together milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Set aside 1/3 cup chip mixture; add remainder to egg mixture. Evenly fill muffin cups with egg mixture.

3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until filling is set and lightly browned. Cool completely; remove from pan to wire rack.

4. Combine remaining 1/3 cup chip mixture and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 30 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Drizzle over tops of tarts.

...across the room to attend.....

ATTEND: meaning....

verb: To go or be together with;

to supervise or take charge of;

listen, hear, harken, care for, tend, mind,

watch, cherish, cultivate, foster, minister, nurse, nurture, serve, defend, guard, protect, safeguard, shield, supervise,

accompany, bear, chaperon, join, link

Some time ago, as I was praying for a friend of mine who was going through some personal struggles I heard myself asking the Lord to “attend” to my friend in her difficulties. While I prayed a visual of my mother came to me and as I continued to pray I imagined that God was attending to my friend the way my mother used to attend to me.

I come from a family of six. As we were growing up most times if one of us caught a cold or flu we would all take turns being sick. At our house as soon as someone was sick my mother would open up the davenport in the Living Room, a room we were not allowed into during the week, and make up a bed. On a little table by the bed was a glass of 7-UP and beside the table a bucket! Most of our bedrooms were on the second floor so having the sick child in the living room on the main floor was much more convenient for my Mom to look after us. Throughout the day she would come into the Living Room to wipe my face with a cool cloth. If I had a fever she would pour a little Wonder Oil onto my forehead and let it trickle through my hair. Since Wonder Oil is largly alcohol the cooling sensation was heavenly! By the way, you could buy this concoction in the grocery stores back then! I think it is now probably only sold in pharmacies. If my tummy was really upset she would make a drink that consisted of 1/3 cup warm water with a little sugar and a small amount of wonder oil in it. I couldn’t wait for her to offer this drink to me because it felt so good going down! Sadly, many times it would come back up almost as fast as it went down! Hence the bucket! Sometimes she would come in to sponge bathe me, change my P.J.’s, comb my hair, and fluff the pillow. She always made me as comfortable as possible and she did it with such tender loving care. My sisters and I have often commented on how when we get a bad cold or flu we still wish we could have our mother around to attend to us, with the Wonder Oil in hand!

I can’t begin to tell you how this visual affected my prayer for my friend! I just KNEW God was right there with her in her trouble, comforting her in her pain, soothing her weary soul, infusing her with strength in her struggle, and pouring on the oil of joy for her inner pain. That's when I knew that my friend was in the best hands possible.

God is SO GOOD!!

..across the room to make "The List".....

What a treat it is to have a whole weekend to focus on the things that we are thankful for. I really do think this warrants some kind of list. Here is the beginning of my list. My very random list....

1. My heritage 2. Quality bedding 3. Laughter 4. God 5. Bread

6. Perfume 7. Amazing husband 8. Music 9. The miracle of a changed heart thanks to Jesus! 10. Cheese 11. Holidays 12. Money

13. Great friends 14. My awesome family 15. Motorbikes 16. Knock Knock Jokes 17. AC 18. Paintings 19. Red Rock 20. Candles 21. Water 22. Sneezes

23. Fans 24. Hugs 25. Words 26. Naps 27. Sunshine 28. Roads 29. Curves in roads 30. Me!

...across the room to share some memories...

AHHHH the memories we keep!

Tonight as I was cleaning a cupboard I came across a "treasure box" of mine and found some surprising memories lurking in there! Like....a birthday card from my sister Jean (now in heaven). I had sent her some scented candles, socks and home made cookies for her birthday one year. In her birthday card to me a few weeks later she wrote..."love the socks! Candles smell sooo good (not terribly eucylyptusee), cookies only mildly tasted of eucylyptus HA!. I decided for my next b'day I would like one of your famous choc. cream pies! Ha!"

My Mom stayed with our girls for a few days and left notes for me, mostly crazy humour type notes. An excerpt from one page went like this "I owe you a wooden spoon. No, I did not hit either of your daughters over the head with it. I'll explain later, if you must know!" And another excerpt "Boy! This house has some weird goings-on. All of a sudden the radio in Peter's office is on, so I go and check the switches, OK, that says OFF. I know I'm not very smart, but I can read enough to understand OFF or ON, LEFT or RIGHT, FOR or AGAINST, but do you think that idiot machine would shut up? No way! So I did find one button so it was at least quieter, and I shut the door, so I could watch T.V.!"

Then there was the note from my niece Jordana who had just visited our place "Auntie Elayne: I like how we played tag first day if you read this you are tagged. I love you! Jordana".

This last excerpt is from a letter my sister Phillis wrote to me quite a few years ago: "Have you managed to pick up some furniture yet? If you wait a little longer I may have a lovely green floral set. Only slightly?? used. You could build your living room around this couch and chair. Believe me I'ld like to build a room around this set and seal the door so no one would ever have to look at it again!!"

My Mom wrote lots of letters after we moved and I cherish them so much now that she is gone. One letter in particular mentions my sweet Aunt Kay who was succumbing to dementia. She wanted my Mom to take her to the post office so she could cash her pension cheque. When they got to the lawyers office which was their first destination that day she wanted the receptionist there to cash her pension cheque. Then she told another aunt that she and my Mom did not go to Mr. Doerksen's funeral, they just went to his social (she meant the viewing). So she kept Mom in stitches some of the time and completely at her wits end the rest of the time but gave her lots of material for her letters to me! Thanks for the memories everyone! There are many more where those came from :)