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From hearts of innocence

come words of simple beauty.

Last night we took turns praying for things/people that were on our hearts.

Bug wanted to pray for his sister, Rush.

His words were not many but so pure, simple and beautiful.

"Dear God, please help *Rush* turn and run back to you and have her make *4x4* run with her."

* 4x4 is my current blogname for Rush's boyfriend, at least until I can think of something a little better...who knows it make stick..
Posted by My Heart at 6:02 PM No comments: Labels: Bug, God, prayer, Rush


Sometimes you have to dig

through life that is...
No one ever said to me that because I became a Christian my life would be sunshine and roses and I am so very fortunate to not have had that misguided, preconceived notion looming over my head, especially this week.

Christian marriages have ups and downs and arguements and disappointments; children misbehave, act up...run away. Our houses aren't always spotless, our hair perfectly coiffed; we get runs in our stockings and, if you ask Lisa Bevere, sometimes our shoes don't even match and sometimes, life throws things at you that you never dreamed you would deal with (like when Rush ran away or..).

Take, for example, this past week. Dear friends of ours have been faced with the unthinkable, Our son, LilB, has been faced with the unthinkable.  His very good friend, and the son of the couple, I mentioned, was shot and killed on Thursday in a tragic run of horrific events that are just too complicated to delve into at this moment. He was a military man, a daddy, a husband, a friend, a son and his death is living a hole in everyone's life that was touched by him and his giant personality. No, life is not perfect or a cake walk because you decide to be a Christian - don't let religion tell you otherwise. It won't always be an easy walk but what differs is how you dig through it. The father of the young man, stood up in front of the congregation of his church 2 days after his son was shot, declaring the goodness of God.  That is how I want to be able to respond out of brokeness and grief.  Mr. Long (sr and jr) you are on my list of heroes...

Posted by My Heart at 8:59 PM No comments: Labels: daily, memories


What wonders my eyes have seen

So many wonders her eyes have seen... 
Dear Toby Mac,

My son, he's 8 and he thinks the world of you. He looks up to you as a role model; he dresses like you. He poses in pictures like you, sings like you. He has formed part of his identity around a man he thinks is a pretty cool dude and who he is pretty sure loves God just as much as he does and I admit, you portray an image that is cool and endearing and Godly and, I know you are only human so I don't expect super human acts of perfection but...

Please be the real deal. Please be being genuine and authentic. I am certain you are. Almost 100% certain. It's just...I'm his mom and I have seen the adoration in his eyes as he studies your moves on youtube, shows me that this is how you posed in a picture, diligently works at getting an outfit put together "just like Toby's" or proves yet again that the lyrics to your songs are etched deep into his precious mind.

Please don't do things that will simply and blatantly disregard the admiration you have earned from young guys, like my Bug. Again, I know you will make mistakes; it's not that...

It's just... please be the real deal...

Thank you for being a fun guy, with oodles of talent, that my son, who has music in his bones, can look up to just...well, I've said it all ready...

"Peace out, gangstah" {grin}
Posted by My Heart at 4:32 PM No comments: Labels: Bug, family


Family Jewels

And, no, I am not referring to Gene Simmons' show nor am I referring to pre-teen boys affectionate term for their...well, y'all know what I am not referring to.  What I am referring to is something that BigDaddy said to me after an amazing New Years Day visit with my cousin and her spectacular family, my aunt and uncle and my dad (all are equally spectacular).

On our way home, BigDaddy's eyes brimmed with tears as he quietly told me how amazing my family is. (yes, I ended the sentence there {Grin})  He said family events, in his family (moreso when he lived with his dad) involved eating, his dad and uncle getting too drunk and fist fights breaking out, threats of more severe violence and all that fun jazz.

My cousin and I had not been face-to-face in 21 years (to the day in fact) and it was as if we had never been apart, never a lull in conversation, joking, laughing, teasing...

My family loves to tease.

My family is ever increasingly precious to me and they bring me such joy and peace. I pray that your family is like that as well, that you know they are there through thick and thin, through joy and sadness, through laughs and tears, that time, distance and age shall never seperate you from those you love, that someone can look at your family and wish that that was what they had and that you never, ever take it for granted!

Anyway, getting back to my cousin, has anyone checked out her book? (the one I referred to here) We have read and re-read this book countless times...count.less!!!

The good news is...there is all ready another book in the works...not sure what it will be called or what it will be about or what the message is but, I can tell you this...it will be FAB. U. LOUS!!!

Posted by My Heart at 11:23 AM 1 comment: 

Arise and Shine

Things happen quickly around here; I am a person of action. I, after all, come from a church of action. You don't just talk about it, you don't just dream it; you get up and you do it.

So, last week, it was asked of me if I were able to attend this amazing conference that takes place at World Revival Church (if you haven't checked this ministry out before, you really should) for ladies. This meant a lot of time off work and just after our doctor getting back from holidays but, I have managed to get the time off and a bunch of us ladies are driving down to participate in a lifechanging (and I don't say this loosely) event called Arise 2012.

I am so excited to go. Not only do I know how amazing and fabulous the keynote speaker, Kathy Gray, is but I also know that she can preach something fierce! You will not be sorry to sit in a Kathy Gray sermon; she is full of life, preaching with vibrancy, authority and fire!  Not only that but, two pastors that I know, locally, including my very own pastor, will be speaking at one of the day sessions.

There is still oodles of time for you to get your registration in and make your plans to go! I know I would LOVE to have you there...maybe even meet some of you in real life (well, those of you I haven't all ready met =D )  The link on the words "Arise 2012" will get you there to learn about the conference; the link above that gets you to World Revival Churches homepage where you can learn all about their incredible ministry. (this is the same church that hosts the interactive church services once a month that I told you about, where churches from all over the world partake and participate in)

Check it out, gangstahs! =D
Posted by My Heart at 10:20 AM No comments: Labels: God


5 Question Friday

1. What is the weather like where you are and do you like it? Heh! I just sort of answered this question here as we have been having "stuhrange" weather for this time of year.
Let me see, our weather is about as reliable as the weatherman him/herself. Summers are either uber dry or you get webbed feet, and can range in temps from 20 C to 35 C, as an average. Falls are crisp and painted; Winter can be extreme (unlike this year, as outlined in the linked blog). Spring is puddles, puddles and more puddles, throw in one last major blizzard about April/May and then the nice weather comes out...
It may sound crummy, unreliable & not very inviting but, it is the weather I have grown accustomed to. Each season has its own special beauty mark...just one question though, WHAT is with the mosquitoes?! Anyone else have mosquitoes big enough to carry off small children?

2. When you're sick what do you seek comfort from?
It depends on the sickness but all in all, I want my Dad. I remember how he would stroke my forehead as a young child when I didn't feel good and his voice was soft, soothing and comforting. BigDaddy has tried but, in the height of an extreme fever, I may or may not have said to him, once or twice, "Just get me my dad! You can't do it right!" . Poor guy, and yet he still puts up with me.

3. What do you need to do before the end of the month?
Save up enough money to go to the Women's Conference I will be blogging about in a few days down in Kansas City, Mo. Arise 2012 at World Revival Church (if you wanna find out before my post)...maybe even a little bit of {quiver of anticipation} shopping money.

4. Have you ever served on a jury?
No, I got called to jury duty one time. The accused was charged with (and eventually found guilty of) attacking a corrections worker in the jail he was all ready serving a sentence.  When asked if I could be impartial, I had to inform them that several of my family (including my mom and brother) are corrections workers and, NO, I could NOT judge him with an ounce of impartiality (word? no? seems like it to me)

5. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
You have stumped the unstumpable (very much a word! Well, now it is!)
Ok, my animal is really a bird (counts right?). I would want to be an eagle. An eagle is a symbol of strength, beauty, authority, freedom and grace. An eagle can sense a storm coming and instead of running and hiding from it, he flies right into the center of it, using the currents of the storm to rise and fly higher ( I want to be able to say the same of myself, instead of running from the storms of my life that I used them to rise and fly higher)
I heard once, whether it is true or not is irrelevent to me because the image of it is just too beautiful to care,but it was stated that eagles will fly toward the sun when predatory birds are in pursuit, or have wounded the eagle, in order to lose them. I would like to be able to personify that in my life. That when predators are in pursuit or have launched their attack on my life, that I can fly directly to the "Son" and find my safety.

So...there you go...I thought I had no answer but I kind of like my non-answer answer...what say you?

You want to join in the fun? Hop on over to MamaM's blog, see her answers and read the answers of some other fantastic ladies!

Posted by My Heart at 11:44 PM No comments: Well, the weather outside is ________

You finish the sentence.

I know the Christmas song states it as "fightful" and... depending on your perspective, one could say it is so right now but...

Here in northern Canada, January usually brings us -40 degrees Celsius with winds that cut to your bone marrow and whip snow like teeny little ninja stars; where children brave the elements just for five minutes of fresh air by wearing about 8 layers of clothes and their scarves pulled up to their bottom lashes and their toques (snow hats) pulled down to their top (creating prime conditions for frosted lashes).  Bug calls this look being made into a ninja.

Well, this winter we have had, perhaps 2 days of weather that made you snuggle down and shrink into your scarf.  The rest of the days have been -10 C (14 F) or warmer and that was great for a time, albeit an unsettling visual as we are desperately lacking quantities of snow...

Now that it is January it is incredibly unsettling, while I still enjoy the warmth and not feeling like my appendages will shatter or fall off as I contend with the elements. Today, for example, was +1 C (33.8 F)... with rain, more like British Columbia weather (think Vancouver). Tonight, the rain has turned to a thinly veiled sheet of glare ice covered in slush and rain puddles. I drove 34 km/hr (which is roughly 62 mph) on my way home. If I dared to go even that 1 km/h more, I fishtaled, swerved, and slithered on the ice like an eel through water... (gross visual)

I have never lived a winter like this one, at least not in my remembrance. Some of our cute little old-man farmer patients tell me 1989 was similar...another told me 1967 in BC was the same.

It's unsettling. You may think I am insane but...the cold serves a purpose.  Viruses die. We get enough snow to sustain moisture the following farming season. Viruses die...did I mention viruses die...

Anywho, I am not all "freaked out and stockpiling canned goods and buying generators" unsettled but it just seems weird
Posted by My Heart at 9:53 PM No comments: I'm all a twitter Organizers I {heart}