Memories of Uganda

As we get busy decorating and preparing for Christmas 2009 I can hardly believe that two years have gone by since Rick and I were a part of a Global Build Team for Watoto Childcare in Uganda.

It was a true supper of thanks giving we shared in one of the Watoto family homes. The smiles on the faces of these children stand as shining testimony of how the love of Christ can change a life.

As i cherish my memories and hunger to return, I know that Rick and I will follow where ever our Lord leads us. That we will see many places, and meet many people. The time is ripe for us to listen closely to His voice, for we are called to be about our Father's business.

When He asks, let me once again reply "Here I am, Lord. Lord, send me."

To God be all the glory!

I did it! With time left to spare, I completed the National Novel Writing Month Challenge to write 50,000 words in the thirty days of November.

There is more yet to be added, and lots of rearranging and editing ahead, but I can say, for the first time in my life -

"I wrote a novel!"

Well, actually, I should say "God wrote a novel using me."

to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty,

power and authority,

through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages,

now and forevermore! Amen.

Jude 1:25 NIV

The Beauty of the Cross

Last Monday, on his day off, Rick ran a power extension cord from the barn to the new cross overlooking our valley and outlined it with Christmas lights.

When we were coming home from small group study on Monday night, this was what we saw from the far turn onto our land.


In the darkness of the night, nothing else could be seen.

The cross defines us. The cross refines us. The cross leads us home.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18 NKJV

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

December is just around the corner and the women at Exemplify Online have planned fun and interesting link-ups to help us celebrate the Christmas season all through the month.

Click HERE for a schedule of events and get ready to join us as we aim to live lives that glorify Christ, during this season and all days.

Word Filled Wednesday - Acceptable Religion

External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.
James 1:27 Amplified

In Canada we celebrated Thanksgiving in October, and in the United States they will gather tomorrow. Let's be thankful for the abundance the Lord has provided for us in North America and remember that He has called us to share with those who have not the bounty we are blessed with.

is hosted today by Susan at Forever His

I'm talking marriage

Good morning!

I'm talking about marriage again at Exemplify Online. Come visit me there and then take a look around at all the other wonderful words by the rest of the Exemplify Team.

I know you'll be blessed.

Lingering

Autumn still lingers
long after it's time for leaving is due.
God holding back the snows
that surely will come
but now the leaves still crackle under foot
each day another gift
another reason
to give Him praise.

I Have Decided

I woke this morning with this old song playing through my mind, perhaps because I have been writing about my time of salvation as I work on the NaNoWriMo challenge:

I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.
Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

Word Filled Wednesday - Clean

But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. Malachi 3:2 NLT

Christy is hosting us this week at Critty Joy Come join us!

Tuesdays Unwrapped - Home

I am planning to spend today unwrapping the gift of being home on the land the Lord has given us after a week in the Chicago suburbs. I am again far from the noise, the rush and the tension of too many people in too little space.

I am back in the middle of my own life with time to stretch and expand into the things God calls me to here.

I cherished the opportunity to plant a goodbye kiss on the lips of my husband as he left for work, then walk out into the chill of the morning to capture this sunrise.

Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy. Psalm 65:8 NLT

Join Emily at Chatting at the Sky to unwrap more gifts and add your own.

Going Home

By six this evening I will be on a plane flying back to Manitoba, back from the pit of sadness that lives and breathes and surrounds my family and back to this valley, back to my land, my husband and my dog Faith. Back to open spaces of time to rest at the feet of my Savior. Back to my life.

Thank you Lord for the plans you have, I pray I was faithful to complete the tasks you set before me in a way that honoured and pleased you.

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes,in undisturbed places of rest. Isaiah 32:18 NIV

Battle position

While I've been here at my mother's, helping her, keeping her company and simply being the presence God has asked me to be, I haven't been able to write during the daytime hours. In order to keep up with the NaNoWriMo challenge I have been up late into the night , writing after Mom has gone to bed.

With each passing day I have grown more weary, from tension that has no release here, from sadness and from lack of restful sleep.

Last night, as I sat down at my laptop my flesh was screaming "Give up and go to bed!" The spellchecking parts of the software have ceased to function and it felt like my brain had as well. I did NOT want to write a word, but knew that I would feel better if had put something in the bank.

500 words, 620 words, they came slowly, and many times I almost stopped, telling me self I would make up for the shortage another day. But I am too stubborn to allow the enemy to manipulate me, so I pressed in and pressed on and just short of 2 am I had slightly surpassed my goal for the day.

My Lord is at work here, taking me on this journey, and even if I don't know where He is leading me, I will take my battle position at the keyboard, and in the strength He gives me, type on!

Thanks for the food!

In my desert time here in the place I grew up I have been thirsty for a bath in the Holy Spirit and hungry for more daily bread. I am here by God's design, to refect His love.

I am so grateful for emails from two dear friends who have fed me the following:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 1but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13 NIV

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV

I pray that God's richest blessings touch my friends today, and that His Word also satisfy their spirits.

Tuesdays Unwrapped - Life

In the midst of the heaviness and sorrow that clings to my aging parents, the Lord delighted me today by popping up a picture of our granddaughter on my laptop as a reminder of life.

What a wonderful gift to unwrap!

"There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot" Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 NIV

Join Emily at Chatting at the Sky and share what you unwrapped today.

Here I am!

I'm over at today at Exemplify Online today, blessed to be part of the Marriage Channel Team. I've written about being how we have been made for each other.

Stop by for a visit, and while you're there, check out the other channels and the magazine. We have an amazing group of women writing to reflect His glory.

Relying on Him

I'm back in the states for a week to check on and care for my parents, dad in the care home and mom at her apartment recovering from her last chemo treatment.

I feel helpless and sad and miss my husband already.

The Lord has again placed me in a position where all I can do is reply on Him. Isn't that where we should always be anyway?

I remember when I was tring to write about the people of Uganda I said:

"When you hve nothing but God, He is always enough. When you try to place others things above Him, nothing is ever enough."

I need to listen to my own advice.

Today I am joining in on the fun and interesting blog reading at Elizabeth Esther's The Saturday Evening Blog Post

This is where bloggers gather on the first Saturday of each month to share their latest and greatest blog posts! This is the day to share posts from the month of October.

I chose a post about the seasons turning for it speaks of giving praise to our Lord.

Come on by and read what other bloggers have shared and add your own favourite post too!

The Empty Cross

Even the sun itself will bow
for no power on earth, or hell below
will stand in the presence of The Christ.
Victorious on the those sticks of wood
His blood was shed
and yet remains
ever a reminder of His great love.
But don't look for Him there.
The cross is empty, the tomb vacant.
All He claimed to be, proven.
Risen. Alive. Glorified.
When troubles come
and come they will
look to the empty cross.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 NLT

Communion

We have entered into a covenant relationship with our God through His broken body and His blood. We seal and dedicate ourselves to that covenant each time we take communion.

Rick and I have entered into a covenant relationship with each other, with Christ as our center.

We are also in covenant with the couple who joined us on Monday. We pray for, encourage and hold each other accountable before God. We learn what it means to love one another. Jesus is also at the center of this relationship.

We are in covenant with the land the Lord has entrusted to us as well.

Part of our journey Monday included sharing communion with each other, our friends, our land and our Lord. As we stood around the hole we had dug to hold the cross that now stands overlooking our valley, we broke matzos, giving a piece to each person and placing a piece in the ground. We passed a glass of sweet Jewish wine, each taking a swallow, then poured the rest atop the matzo in the hole. Then the cross was lifted up.

We placed a bit of matzo and wine in the ground before we hammered in each scripture coated and anointed stake. It was communion with the land, in rememberance of the One Who provided.

And when He had given thanks, He broke [it] and said, Take, eat. This is My body, which is broken for you. Do this to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance. Similarly when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying, This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink [it], to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance. For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and proclaiming the fact of the Lord's death until He comes [again]. 1 Corinthians 11:24-26 Amplified

Word Filled Wednesday - Faith

Yesterday we buried scriptures as we staked out our land, as we prayed and dedicated back to the Lord all that He has given to us. Rick felt led to also bury 4 significant stakes as pillars of truth holding a canopy of God's blessing and protection over us.

The pillars are love, faith, compassion and integrity. Pictured above is the stake for the pillar of faith, with the following scripture upon it:

We live by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,

with which you can extinguish

all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Ephesians 6:16 NIV

In him and through faith in him we may approach God

with freedom and confidence.

Ephesians 3:12 NIV

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

And without faith it is impossible to please God,

because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists

and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 NIV

is being hosted this week at Penny Raine

It Begins and Ends Here

Yesterday was a day of prayer and declaration. Dear friends joined us as witnesses while we staked, claimed and blessed the land the Lord has given us to steward.

Our prayer journey began with the raising of the cross our friend had built for us. It will now stand forever overlooking our valley, reminding us and all who pass that life begins and ends at the cross of Christ.

The cross is empty because He lives! It will take all of my remaining days to unwrap all the glory in that truth.

Join Emily at Chatting At The Sky and share what you're unwrapping today.