One Part Inspiration...

My LIFE  . .. .so far.... You are born. You grow up in a loving family. And suddenly , You start discovering your own path. You choose a career. You study to become what you decided to pursue. And suddenly , You graduate and can put some letters behind your name. You become employed in your field. You work to become an expert. And suddenly,  You receive your 20-year pin from the organization. You fall in love You get engaged and plan a wedding. And suddenly,  You are a newlywed. You begin your married life You plan to have a family. And suddenly,  You are a mom. You decide to expand your horizons. You add to the family tree. And suddenly. Your family has grown to five. You mother your kids. You watch them grow and expand their horizons. And suddenly, You are an empty-nester. You see your kids fall in love You see them commit to each other. And suddenly, Yo...

When my sister and I were young, we used to play house.  One of the most common statements we made was " Let's pretend that didn't happen ".  This meant, that we had a do-over.  The script just wasn't making sense, or it wasn't fun any more and we needed to start again.   Unfortunately, this cannot be used in real life.  " Let's pretend that didn't happen"  just doesn't work.  It may not be fun any more.  It may not make sense.  But a 'do-over' isn't an option.  Your only choice is to deal with the life script you are given.   In the past few months, I have had several conversations with people whose life scripts took a very different turn than what they had envisioned in their 'playing house' days. Some experienced loss of relationships.  Others lost loved ones much too soon. Others are dealing with financial or health issues.  They each could say "I never would have imagined this is how my life would turn...

Every Christmas season, I choose carols to present at the special events.    One of the songs, which isn't sung much anymore, is " Good King Wenceslas ".   Truth be told, I have always found it sort of hum-drum. The melody is repetitious and I have never heard a version of it that captured my imagination. The story of Good King Wenceslas is about rich king who saw a poor man at The Feast of Stephen and decided to give him help. He enlists the help of his page-boy to go and bring him tangible help. Although I have sung it many times, it was always without much spirit. However, last year, I was struck by a vivid picture within the carol and it became a game-changer for me. Wenceslas and the page are about to go out into a raging storm.  I imagine it was the kind of blizzard in which you cannot see anything.  The kind of blizzard threatening the very life of the person who ventures out in it. The page says [voice trembling - my interpretation]: ...

Fall has arrived.  The summer, with it's busy schedule has been put in the drawer, along with the shorts, and t-shirts and bathing suits.  Mornings are darker, evenings are shorter, and there is a drawing in of sorts. The arrival happened quietly. One day the summer sun and whispering breezes enticed us to the beach, and the next morning, the fog had rolled its carpet of mist upon the fields. Left behind are the memories of the milestones we celebrated during the spring and the summer, and just ahead are days which have ushered in another season in our lives. Just as the fog obscures our view, the coming season of our life is shrouded by mystery.  It is only by walking towards the concealed that the reveal will take place.

When we first began our adventure at  The Pokeaway, the drive to get there seemed long.   It is only 10 minutes from the nearest Costco,  but for many of my drives out there,  there was a certain spot on the trip where I began to question  whether I had missed the turn off.   And then a few kilometers later, there it was.   If I just stayed on the road, and didn't panic,  the turn off would appear,  and soon, I would arrive at home. I find myself doing a mental check each time I travel this road.   "Remember?  This is the spot in the road, where you feel like  you're never going to get there.   Stay on the road, and soon enough, you'll see the turn off". This internal conversation has happened in my head for four years.  And then a couple of weeks ago,  I saw this sign posted beneath the speed limit sign.   I just had to jump out and take a picture of it.  ...

This is one of our experiments this year.  My husband likes to plant things and started really early with veggies and flowers.  The only problem was that our dining room/hothouse was so encouraging, that the plants bloomed too fast and it was too early to put them in.  So we resorted to Plan B:   Take the rest of the flower seeds and throw them in the ground and see what happens.   To help the new plantings out, we put in some petunias, and rosemary to fill in some of the gaps. To my surprise and delight, the nasturtium, marigolds and something else which I can't quite identify yet, have stuck their heads through the ground and begun to grow. This, in spite of the very thick, clay-like soil.  I have been encouraging them by watering them, and weeding around them whenever I water. I call it "My Little Girl's Garden"    My other favourite part of the garden is 'my little'girl'.  My daughter gave her to me a few years ago for a ...

When the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, they were instructed to take " twelve stones  from the middle of the Jordan,  according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites... [carry] them over with them to their camp, where they [would] put them down." [Joshua 4:2-9]   The purpose of this exercise was to have a visible reminder of where they had come from, who had led them, and who would still be with them in the land in which they were arriving. In my life, I have always believed in finding ways to mark events.  It's a way of following the Israelite example of taking a stone from the river to mark a significant passage of time, or a lesson I have been learning.    For instance, I had for many years, a wooden cottage that lit up from the inside.  I bought it at a time when our family was going through some very deep waters and I wanted a visual to remind me to HOPE in God.  Another time, I bought a special clock to mark the 15th an...

A couple of weeks ago, one of my groups and I made a Top Ten Happiness Scale. It came as no surprise that ' things ' and ' stuff ' didn't get on the list. There was no ' big screen t.v.' or 'in ground pools'.  No one listed 'a new ipod' or 'a laptop computer'. Most of their list had to do with events shared with family and friends - like Christmas, or graduations, or trips, or neigbourhood BBQ's. What amazes me even more is that the people in the group are all dealing with significant losses. And yet, for the most part they accept what life has handed them and fill up their hearts with simple joys. I am always inspired by them. I have been thinking about contentment a lot in the past several months.  I have a tendency to make things or events the focal point of happiness, when really it is a decision of the heart to find contentment.  Even the apostle Paul referenced this struggle: " But I said it, not because I h...

I am a modern history buff - especially when a central character is involved.  I am drawn to watching history unfold before my eyes.  When Oliver North was summoned to testify on televised hearings before a joint Congressional committee over the Iran-Contra scandal, I found myself glued to the proceedings. On the day OJ Simpson was found 'not guilty', I didn't go anywhere until I saw the results with my own eyes.  I have watched presidential proceedings, royal weddings, and state funerals. I am not sure why, but somehow the action of watching these events makes me feel a part of them. A few weeks ago, when Whitney Houston died, I couldn't stop tuning into the variety of coverage on the history of  her life. I wouldn't call myself a fan, but there was something that tugged at my heartstrings about her death.  I had seen her interviewed several times, where she spoke glowingly of being a Mom and how much she loved her dau...

I was thinking about this post the other day.  I haven't looked at it since I posted it, but I wanted to know what I'd written and how I'd done.  Things I wanted  to do in 2011 and how it worked : 11. Go for more walks .  Yes, I definitely went for more walks. It was one of my favourite things to do with my friends who came to visit.  Especially since we have a dike to walk along, that makes you feel like you are walking inside of a postcard.  10. Get organized .   Hmm..well, I'm not sure about this one.  I have organized a lot of things.  I think I should have been more specific.  One of the differences between now and then, is that I have more of a feel for how to make things work here at The Pokeaway. 09. Make a difference. I think I made a difference.  Especially at my work.  Using music to connect with people, is an easy way to make a difference - even if it is just in giving people opportunities to have new and i...

My daughter phoned me the other night to ask me for a few ideas on friendship.  She had to write a paper on it.  I started brainstorming ideas with her.   After several minutes, she said maybe I should write the paper for her.  We laughed about that, but since I have given a lot of thought to the topic of friendship over the years, I thought I'd write about it in this venue. Friendship is something that fuels our lives - and if we are honest, sometimes drains us of that same energy.  When I was younger, I had one view on friends.  I divided people into two categories -' acquaintances' and 'forever friends'.  However, as I have had more life experience, I know that there are nuances to friendship which do not fit into the 'either/or' of those divisions.  Here are some that I have experienced.  You can add your own - I don't mind. Sports Parents - Friendly people [if you are lucky enough to have your child on a supp...

Every Easter Sunday, I imagine those ladies making their way down to the tomb, knowing that they did not have the physical strength to do anything to that heavy stone.  Why did they decide to go anyways?   Probably, because they were women.  They thought that they would just go there and hope for the best.  Maybe their conversation went something like this " We need to get there and embalm the body before it's too late to do so.  Let's just make our way, and maybe those big strong men guarding the tomb will help us move the stone." Women are generally known for being movers and shakers in the world.  Once women decide to do something, they don't let anything stand in their way. As the Mama said on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding": 'The men may be the head of the house but the women are the neck and they can turn the head anyway they want . ' The women weren't about to let a little thing like a heavy tombstone stop them from this important ...

As the end of the year approaches, I find myself looking back through the kaleidoscope of activities, new experiences, the peaks and the valleys, and trying to define what it is that the year of 2010 meant. Some of it defies recognition. Until you slow down a little and see it for what it was, such as enjoying the decorations of the house on the corner.. Some of it was grabbing what was given to me at the moment and trying to soak it in like a sponge because the moment was fleeting, such as seeing this sunrise on my way to work that morning. Some of it was going through the storm, and learning to trust that there would be a rainbow. A year ago, we had not begun taking the roof off The Pokeaway. We were anticipating what might be ahead, but really had no idea of what we were about to encounter. It still looked like this: Morphing it into our own place has been a process, which has been all at once pleasing, painful, and productive. No windows. No doors. Half a roof: Praying that the...

"Said the robin to the sparrow I should really like to know Why those anxious human beings Rush around and worry so Said the sparrow to the robin, Oh I think it must be That they have no Heavenly Father Such as cares for you and me." Elizabeth Elliot "All your anxiety, all your care Bring to the mercy seat And leave it there. There's never a burden, He cannot bear There's never a friend, like Jesus." Edward Henry Joy

I said I would teach the Large Group lessons for Kindergarten and Grade Ones this year. Our church has several services. So when I teach, I do the same lesson twice - once for the early service once for the later service. This week, I was to teach about Elijah. I'm not sure who learned more -the kids or me. I have always been a bit intimidated by Elijah. He is such a powerful figure in the Bible. He doesn't let anything get in his way. Bad behaviour? He calls it like it is. A widow needs daily provisions? Elijah's her man. Just make him some bread, and the oil and flour will outlast the famine. Trusting God to send the fire in front of hundreds of people, who are watching to see if God will show up? No problem. Elijah has the faith of the Energizer Bunny. He is in great shape. He runs everywhere. Miles and miles without fatigue. His faith is so legendary, he even shows up in the New Testament. Truly, Elijah is the go-to guy for God. Like I said. Intimidating. ...

I had headed out early to teach piano. In those days, I started at seven a.m. I taught three lessons before breakfast. The car radio was already on when I headed home. The eight-thirty news was on. I don't remember much of what was said, except for the words " In all my years as a newscaster, I've never heard or seen anything like this." I hurried home to tell my husband. He already knew. I found him with the kids, in the recreation room, watching the events unfold. The television was showing the raw footage of ash-covered, in-shock people, stumbling through the streets of New York. And other people wandering through the rubble at the Pentagon. And a plane destroyed in Pennsylvania. Although it was half way across the continent, and although many of my loved ones lived so far away, the events of the day made me want to gather everyone who was dear to me under cover. Reluctantly, I sent the kids off to school. All morning, I made phone calls to my family, to ...

One can't help but notice the daisies growing spontaneously around our area. They grow everywhere: along the freeway, in fields, and in ditches. They don't spend a lot of time thinking about where they grow. They just grow. They don't concern themselves about standing straight and tall. They bloom in wild abandon. And when they are cut and brought home, they don't apologize for the odd spider they carry with them. They just let their happy faces smile into the eye of the beholder. They don't care if they live in a fancy bouquet, or are grabbed by the handful and put in the first vase available. Sometimes I wish I had the wisdom of daisies.

I will miss seeing views like this on my homeward-bound route each afternoon. My job at this end of town has come to close. As I reflect on the past year, and what it has meant to work there, I count it a blessing to have been able to work with such great people, and to have been given the scope I had to explore a fresh occupational pathway. I know I did things differently than other people. But I had a very patient co-worker, who coached me through many twists and turns. I treasured the gift of enjoying such variety in my work. It was a 'very good year' (to quote Frank Sinatra). Some of the highlights for me were: Listening in as the Gr. 2 teacher read to the class, before I went off for some one-to-one instruction with an E.S.L. student. [Some authors write children's books for adults who are reading them.] Having creative license to put up a bulletin board or two. Practicing my techno-skills. For instance, I found out how to fashion a template for the Track Meet...

I had an 'aha' moment tonight describing to my husband a driving adventure I'd had with my son while he was driving down a main thoroughfare in our town. Up ahead was a stop light. At the stop light was a cement truck - first in line to go once the light turned green. We were at least six vehicles behind the cement truck. My son saw the light turn green and began accelerating. The other vehicles didn't accelerate as fast as he did. He approached the vehicle in front of us much too quickly for my liking. I began my famous side-driver routine: grabbing the seat handle, followed by grabbing the door handle, followed by the arched back and pretend brake being driven into the floor by my left foot. My son did not understand my reaction. He felt I had perhaps 'overreacted'. I tried to explain to him the cement truck would accelerate slowly, so there was no point in accelerating that quickly when he was so far behind the truck in the lineup. He would end up plowing in...

Today we pulled nails. Lots of them. . Some were insanely long. Some were insanely hard to pull because their little heads popped off before the job was finished. Many weren't even nails. Lots of what held the house together was screws. All kinds of them. We also pulled insulation. We made the pile outside even bigger. Then we stacked all the garbage we'd exposed in the bin , swept up, and went back to our temporary abode. Dusty, and dirty, and looking like a little like we had faded into the drywall. There are many layers to a house this age. When we first looked at the house, it had wallpaper and paint. Now after many hours of hard labour, it is mainly boards and studs. Covered up windows are now just exposed wood. Water damaged insulation has been discarded. Wires which go nowhere are visible, and completely unservicable pipes are unmasked. We've found lots of hidden treasure. There were pennies and hair dryers behind studs, baseball cards under the flooring, and Yaht...