I'm BA-ACK!

Well, that was an unofficial blogging hiatus.
In fact, I was tempted a few times to post this pic...

Except that we haven't really "gone fishing" ...

...We've survived furniture shopping with three girls 5 and under AND managed to decide on a lovely living room furniture set (since we've been married officially, as of yesterday, for twelve years now :P, we figured it was okay to replace our already-been-loved set with something new).

... We DID make it through the McDonald's drive-thru and headed to a park for a picnic. There was so much excitement in the air you'd have thought it was christmas!!! After finding a cool place to park, the kids jumped out of the van. Sweet K did her funky little dance, all the while exclaiming E-SITED E-SITED E-SITED (excited!! excited!! excited!!).

 

 

... Thanks to the generous use of Jon's parents motor home, we did survive a long weekend of camping in extreme heat and humidity. Usually we just take a gigantic tent, peg it down good and voila. Camping. However, this particular weekend was hot 'n steamy, MB style, and we were thankful for the reprieve. We had a great weekend of camping with my family. The kids loved playing with the cousins (6 kids, age 5 and younger!), splashing around in the lake, playing with Grandpa G's assortment of water pistols and so on.

In between the outings, we've eaten far too much ice cream :), kept cool with the water sprinkler, and enjoyed an unseasonably hot MB summer (which has been a welcome switch from the previous several rainy and wet and BUG-infested years!!). My flower beds are actually thriving; in fact some of my pots have suffered due to OVERWATERING. This is very unusual. They typically suffer from over-neglect!

We do some hanging out, some visiting with friends, and I'm trying to whittle down the stack of books that I optimistically signed out from the library but haven't had a chance to finish :).

These are sunny, funny lazy days.

And they are delightful :).

Thorns, Blooms and Grace

I was strolling through the gardens a few nights ago, and noticed something peculiar in my raspberry patch....

Now, as far as I know, lilies are not carried about by seeds.
Maybe they are, I don't know.
However, I do know that I have no idea how this lily bulb got transplanted smack in the middle of my prickly berry patch!

But there it was, blooming away as bright as could be.

And I thought about grace, and how even in life's prickly moments, full of thorns and weeds (you should see my raspberry patch, it has an abundant weed life!!), God's rich grace digs in deep and yields something so beautiful.
Even more breath-taking because of the pain surrounding it.

There have been seasons of life that I'd gladly have side-stepped - altogether uncomfortable and quite difficult. And yet, right in the middle of those pain-filled moments, God stepped in, and in His rich mercy, forged something even more wonderful than I could've imagined.

I am still tempted, sometimes, when I see the storm clouds gathering on life's horizon, to pray for an escape route from the coming storm. And yet, there is a knowing too, that the One who holds me is stronger than the winds that blow.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me
I will hide myself in Thee
Till the storms of life have passed...
And I'm safely home at last.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me
I will hide myself in Thee

Retreat

Hmmmm. I love a good retreat.

These days, I'd pick a cabin in the woods....

This would come complete with a hot cup of coffee, a lake or river nearby and a hammock nestled close by in the trees. Oh and a stack of really really good books. Oh and NO bugs! My loving family would be more than welcome to come along, but there would be PAQ moments for EVERYONE!!

...or...

a ride in a VW convertible...

Red? Model not included --- ha ha ha!

Or yellow perhaps? Cruising along the California coastline. Again, family is most welcome to come along, as long as we get to listen to my music.... with NO complaints :)!!

...or.... perhaps most realistically...

a trip to a favorite used bookstore which Jon & I discovered a few years ago when we were out and about, footloose and kid-free (they were staying at Grandma & Grandpa's), celebrating our 10-year anniversary :P...

... or try something new (I've only been wanting to go here for a few years now! It's an MCC based used book store in the north end of Winnipeg, with OF COURSE, a coffee house attached ;)....).

We all need a retreat... and our wee one is no exception!

Lately she has discovered our puppy's kennel!!! She LOVES tents and crawling through things, but this last week, if all is quiet, and she is no where to be seen, I go and check here....

Just this afternoon she discovered she was a wee bit lonely in there all by herself, so she managed to get her dolly in as well :).

Every one needs a little spot to call their own - even if it's just for a little while!

Retreat? Where would you go? What would you do?

Something we have to practice every day

Something shared...

with a friend....

is something....

blessed!

"Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity." Luke 6:38, The Message

Through the eyes of a child...

Yesterday morning me and my gals were getting ready to do a grocery and dollarstore run.

The excitement was almost palpable!

I had suggested the night before (after checking the temperamental weather to see if there was, in fact, sun forecasted for the next day) that instead of racing home after our shopping expedition was complete, we should pack a picnic and head to a park to burn off some steam first. (Not that I would have steam to burn off, more or less longing for a nap under a shady tree, but after being cooped up in a cart all morning, and getting along reasonably well, my girls would love to run free for a little while!)

Little M was still groggy from the night's sleep - and among her first words to me was this little revelation:

"Mommy, I've really seen some vans DO this. They really really do!! They drive into a McDonald's parking lot, and drive up to a little window. That little window OPENS UP and they pass McDonald's food INTO that van!! I think our van should try that. Yep. I really really do. I've really really seen that mommy." All the while she's super-animated, nodding and motioning with her hands about vans driving and stopping at a window and grabbing a bag for the road :).

I burst out laughing. Oh the magic of drive thru. I guess we've not really done that before - but somehow she's picked up on this possibility. I explained that yes, that there was, in fact, something called drive thru, and that though I already had our picnic packed for the day, we could try it sometime. Get McDonald's and THEN head to a park.

We went on to have a delightful morning and afternoon. And we (finally, around 1:30, which is pretty late with little ones and a baby who wasn't able to have her bottle because her mother forgot it at home!) managed to find a fun park to play at. But I can assure you, the PAQ at the end of the day was divine!!

The hunt for "One Word"

Oh dear. I read a post.
So many interesting thoughts start that way.
If only I could finish those thoughts too! Maybe.
Someday.
Anyway.

Inspired by a friend of mine to hunt for one word to live by, I was on a mission. My vocabulary isn't very extensive, but I do enjoy fishing around for just that right fit. Kinda look the BEST pair of jeans in your closet. Just gotta fit right. Or else it is a GRUMPY day all around ;).
Anyway again.

Ever since finding the word picaresque  in a novel (Angela Hunt, don't ask me which one, I was delirious with joy and fatigue at the time, probably read it during a mid-night feeding session!!) I've wanted to use it in a blog post. From the context of the book, I knew it had something to do with the concept of journeying. Exploring. Pressing on. Good thing I "googled it" before using it as my "one word." Ahem. This is what I discovered:

pic·a·resque

   [pik-uh-resk]  Show IPA

–adjective

1.

pertaining to, characteristic of, or characterized by a form ofprose fiction, originally developed in Spain, in whichthe adventures of an engagingly roguish hero are describedin a series of usually humorous or satiric episodes that oftendepict, in realistic detail, the everyday life of the commonpeople: picaresque novel; picaresque hero.

2.

of, pertaining to, or resembling rogues.

Origin: 
1800–10;  < Spanish picaresco. See picaro, -esque

—Related forms

un·pic·a·resque, adjective

—Can be confused:  picaresque, picturesque (see synonym noteat picturesque).

—Synonyms 
2.  prankish, rascally, devilish, raffish. 

While the thought of a satirical story of everyday life would be entertaining, I just cannot see myself as a really "good" rogue. I think I'm a bit to ... reserved ... for that. Sarcastic, perhaps. Prankish? Rascally? Probably not. 

So. Great word. I'm sure it would be fun. But, not my "one word."

I also thought about the word sojourn. However, apparently it has the connotation of "visit," as in "visiting a land for a holiday," and while this earth is not our eternal home, too much happens here to be a "visit." I prefer to reserve that term for the time I make it out to a quiet cottage, down by a lake, I will emphasize the word QUIET :). That will be a sanity sojourn :).

Then I thought about the word journey. I liked the adventure/epic theme in the first word. But somehow, journey just seemed overused. Kind of like my overuse of !!!! 

Kept fishing around. Pilgrim sounded a bit old-colony, and I kept thinking of that guy, some western fellow, (perhaps he was picaresque ;P), saying, "hey there, pil-grim." Ech.

But... journey... movement... a sense of adventure....

Pilgrimage.

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Many religions attach spiritual importance to particular places: the place of birth or death of founders or saints, or to the place of their "calling" or spiritual awakening, or of their connection (visual or verbal) with the divine, or to locations where miracles were performed or witnessed, or locations where a deity is said to live or be "housed," or any site that is seen to have special spiritual powers. Such sites may be commemorated with shrines or temples that devotees are encouraged to visit for their own spiritual benefit: to be healed or have questions answered or to achieve some other spiritual benefit. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim. In America, the term pilgrim is typically associated with an early colonial protestant sect known for their strict rules of discipline.

It is the progression from one point of being to another. From beginning to end. For me, it is the essence of the adventure each of us is on - the movement from not knowing God to a deeper knowing of Him.

There are all sorts of characters along this journey that play a part in this epic story. People that have drawn me near to the heart of God, either by their teaching or their example. Others that have driven me to God by driving me to my knees ;). There is risk and romance ;), love and pain, anger, brokenness, confusion, despair, hope. There is adventure. There are seasons of routine, day-in day-out normalcy.

Recently I reread a passage that has spoken to me on numerous occasions:

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you, 
   whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka, 
   they make it a place of springs; 
   the autumn rains also cover it with pools.^[d] 
7 They go from strength to strength, 
   till each appears before God in Zion. Psalm 84:5-7


There have been times when I would've preferred a safe, predictable life. And really, by many standards, that is precisely what I do have. However, blessed are those... whose hearts are set on pilgrimage... those who are not content with the "not knowing,"who are willing to risk going near the heart of God; risk the exposure, the awestruck wonder, the change.


According to my understanding, the Valley of Baka is a dry, desert place. Just like seasons in my life, where there are times of relational dryness. Things feel disconnected, especially, even most keenly with the One who knows me better than I know myself. In fact, I'd say most days, that's how I feel right now. And yet, even in the midst of those times, particularly because of those times, there are oases of learning and knowing and growing that can make it a blessed place. It has the potential to go deeper because it becomes something I am less tempted to take for granted.


It took a while for me to connect to the concept of moving from strength to strength. As a person who has struggled intensely with anxiety, I tended to think of life in terms of from catastrophe to catastrophe, with perhaps a little plateau in between. What a IMMENSE RELIEF it was for me to embrace the understanding that I could step from "strength to strength" while enduring the trial or valley that often lies in between.


Okay, there is much more I could say, but I think I've (sort of :P?) made my point.
If I had to pick a word, it would be pilgrimage. A journey with highs and lows, of many awkward moments (like the time I tore my shorts on a fence at a baseball game AND held them shut as I ran the bases or the time I tried downhill skiing and ended up in a fence), of many many many laughs and a few (more than a few!) tears too. At the heart of it - a growing, deepening, widening understanding of Who this Creator King is and how He is worthy of praise.

OUT OF CURIOSITY, WHAT WOULD YOUR ONE WORD BE!?

PS - You'd think that all I do all day is sit around mulling things over till I'm almost cuckoo :)!!! That is not the case. I actually do dishes, laundry, vacuuming, gardening, and a whole lotta child rearing in there too, just for fun :)!