Just Read a Good Book

waking up in the sun

first crocuses of spring

I read The Shack - it's a keeper.

It resonated with me.

It resonated with my journey of faith, my relationship with God.

My motivation for reading The Shack was rather childish. It was contraversial. Various Christian publications, particularly The Banner and the Christian Courier, published such strong but diverse opinion pieces about The Shack that I had to read it and see what all the fuss was about.

Man, there is so much stuff in this story - so much food for thought, so much to flesh out, ponder and really sink my teeth into. I need to read it again, probably several times. I need my own copy - I need to highlight portions, scribble in the margins - it's a keeper.

The impact of The Shack is simply a renewed resolve to dig into the Scriptures and get to know my Creator and Lord. Life is about relationships, most importantly my relationship with my Creator, Savior and Guide. Life is about me letting Him - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - reign in me.

That's the focus of Alpha too.

Take Hold Of God And Pull

monarch feeding on coreopsis

I was baking muffins this morning listening to the Selah CD entitled Hiding Place when I began to cry and at the same time worship God. These feelings were not completely unexpected, they were not unwanted. I knew they would come. Liz has died.

Take Hold Of God And Pull

This is the title of a book on my parents bookshelf while I was growing up. I never read it, I never asked about it, but it stuck with me. I connected the title with my Mom - it suited her.

Take Hold Of God And Pull

I hate death. It hurts.

death is not God's will - Life is!

death is our God given curse - Jesus is our God given mercy and grace

Jesus is life

we are created with eternity in our hearts

Take Hold Of God And Pull

Are you sad for the one who has died? I'm sad for the ones left behind. The valley of the shadow of death is walked by the living - the dead in Christ are free, whole, alive, in the presence of their Creator and Lord, secure. I can't be sad for them.

Take Hold Of God And Pull

I love to sing. I've discovered I cannot really sing just anything. Songs must speak to my being or speak for my being to be sung well. Melodies and harmonies need to give life to the lyrics; sometimes they simply have to give expression to my feelings. Songs are my medium with God; my prayer, my praise, my life line to my Creator and Lord.

Take Hold Of God And Pull

After my Mom died, I hid from God behind a wall of distrust - I was angry and confused - I did not understand the magnitude of God's grace in Jesus Christ - I was afraid. I didn't want to hurt anymore so I closed off what feelings I could. Songs broke through - songs of praise, songs of grace, songs of God's people and their walk with their Father in heaven - songs broke through.

Take Hold Of God And Pull

Liz has died - I will sing through the pain, I will sing through the confusion, the anger and the tears. I will hold God to his word: He will turn my mourning into dancing, dress me up with gladness and I cannot be silent forever.

Take Hold Of God And Pull

Selah sang these with me this morning - I sang through tears - I held onto my God and pulled.

I Bless Your Name (chorus)

I bless your name

I bless your name

I give you honor, give you praise

You are the Life, the Truth, the Way

I bless your name

I bless your name

lyrics of Wayne Goodine, sung by Selah

All My Praise

I will follow You through green pastures

and sing hallelujah to your name

I will follow You through dark disaster

and sing hallelujah through the pain

and even in the shadow of death

I will praise You

and even in the valley I will say

Holy, my God

You are worthy of all my praise

Holy, my God

You are worthy of all my praise

You are sealed on Your throne in heaven

and You see all of us down here

and You have promised You will not abandon

so I shall not fear

You made every star

and You taught it how to shine

You knew my name before there was time

and all this was just part of Your glorious design

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Lyrics by Audrey Hatcher, sung by Selah

Take Hold Of God And Pull

Search God's Word for His promises and hold tight; they are yours.

Take Hold Of God And Pull

Off to the University of Calgary

Sorry about the lack of a 'puttering in my garden' picture, but since the new hard drive/server was set up, the folder with my garden photos has disappeared. I haven't bothered to check to see if I have any saved on disc. The reason for this post is simply to make available to family a glimpse of Christine's apartment.

You see, I'm just back from Calgary, having settled Christine into her on-campus apartment. We set aside four days to set up house, grocery shop, run around campus getting 'stuff' done, cook/bake food for the freezer - bascially settle in. It was fun.

Anyway here are the pictures.

entrance from hallway

coat closet and bathroom sink

(toilet and shower are in separate room past sink)


kitchen

(sink is between fridge and stove)

eating area

living room

living room

bedroom

(originally designed as a two-person apartment)

Adding some finishing touches

poppy

It has been quite sometime since I updated my blog.

The living room has been painted a new colour, yellow. I miss my red - but red would have been too dark. The room lacks punch, which will have to come by accessorizing, a slower process than painting.

pictures still need to be hung

plants need rearranging

so it looks very yellow still

The kitchen has also gained a few additions

new bar stools

they swivel

new blinds

still needs valance which I hope to make and match with other window treatment

new clock too

We reused the old cabinets by putting them downstairs in the laundry/furnace room.

tall uppers organize wall above freezer

short uppers organize above washer/dryer

Slowly but surely

Gerber Daisy

It's Sunday morning and after a very busy Saturday of cleaning, rearranging, and beginning the process of putting the house back together, here are the results.

Rene was able to have the fridge and stove operational before he left on Friday. We do not have the sink hooked up (so we took the opportunity to change our minds about reusing the old faucet and bought a new one), and the dishwasher, microwave, and lighting fixtures need installation - still we made due and have moved in.

Esther is partially moved back into her room as well. She gave her floor and walls a good cleaning before bringing in the bed and her clothes. This week she hopes to bring in the rest of her funriture and hang up shelves and pictures.

Without focusing at the clutter and lack of railing along the landing, this gives you an idea of what you see as you enter the house.

Enter through the doorway, look to your left and you see the kitchen.

Stand at the sink and this is what you see. The dishwasher is waiting for it's turn to be installed.

They're here!

asiatic lily

With out any furthur ado, here is the results of day one - cabinet installation. Definitely open concept. I love it.

looking in from the hallway

looking in from near the sliding doors

the whole thing - with out doors obviously

The cabinets are next

mandevilla

By looking at this flower, you would think I've been very busy in my garden. I wish it was true. When we arrived home from the West, my garden was dried out and looking awful. Besides watering and later rain, the garden has been neglected and will remain so until October when I expect a layoff from work for a few weeks. This mandevilla, however, was babysat by my neighbour while we were away because I intend to bring it indoors and I didn't want to lose it. The rest of my planters had to fend for themselves.

The renovation moves along - fresh paint on the walls and brand new floor. The space has 'shrunk' with the dark colour scheme but I'm expecting it to 'open up' again when the cabinets get installed. That should begin tomorrow.

The living room's progress is slower because the kitchen prep was the priority. It is drywalled and quite cozy as a separate room. We've definitely changed the traffic flow of the house, which was our intent.

here's the kitchen side ready for cabinets

here's the dining side with the just delivered dishwasher