Favourites

Hello, Friend

Posted on by Joy / 5 Comments


What a difference a friend makes!

Earlier this week, 5-year-old Little Man face-timed to show me the gap where his two bottom teeth belong. They’d actually been wiggly and loose for close to a month! But he’d refused to let anyone touch them. Then, he was play-fighting with his best buddy when both teeth got knocked out. One was found. One wasn’t. We will leave it to the tooth fairy to decide what to do about THAT!   



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A friend is a gift you give yourself.

Robert Louis Stevenson

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Recently, the Cowboy and I were on holiday where we met new friends, from England, who introduced us to teatime. 

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Of course, we know the English love their tea, but my goodness, I had no idea how enchanting the ritual of teatime could be. 

I have never been a big fan of tea, but I am now on a quest to learn all things tea. Stay tuned as I continue this adventure. 

Hmm … maybe I’m trying too hard?

And, if by some miracle of cyber magic, Lin & Dave, Kate & Russ are reading this, let me say again how much we enjoyed your company. Part of the reason our holiday was so enjoyable is because of the dinner companions we looked forward to every evening.

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Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.

Helen Keller

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The deepest of friendships call for the deepest kind of sharing, in good times and in bad. My little cache of treasured friends, who have walked with me through deep and muddy waters, who are there to pray when I have no prayers left, who by their very presence bring life back to my soul … those friends who turn up when life is not pretty, bring a rare beauty to the world.

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What a difference a friend makes. Old friends, new friends, treasured friends. I hope you have a few.

And, if you’ve found me, here in this big virtual world of overwhelming words, I hope you know … you’ve found a friend.

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The best thing I heard all week went something like this:

3-year-old to her Daddy: Daddy, when I grow up I will be an astronaut.

Daddy: Honey, if you want to be an astronaut you will have to go to college, study hard, get a job, and stay physically fit.

3-year-old: That’s just four things.

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay 

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Life is so Daily/Uncategorized

Free Afternoon

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I find myself with an unexpectedly free afternoon.

But then I start wondering, is it really and truly free?

Because, all the things.

There are always so many chores on the list that could be filling this time. But, who ever thinks, I have a free afternoon! I can finally clean out the fridge. Yippee!!

That might be the responsible decision, but would it be wise?

Wisdom and responsibility.  Two entirely different things.

We spent a recent evening with a lovely young couple whom we have known for many years. In fact, we knew the young man as a child.

But, something about that evening made me feel … beyond my youth.

As I’ve mulled this over since, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because this boy we knew has become a responsible husband, dad, and businessman. His son will soon be driving! They have navigated their twenties and are forging fearlessly through their thirties.

Being responsible.

Making good decisions.

Becoming pillars of our society.

They are ready for the baton to be passed to them. In fact, I think it already has. My generation can breathe a sigh of relief.

They are well on their way to wisdom too. And wisdom doesn’t just happen. It is something to be sought. It is learning from life experiences. It is a conscious thing. A choice.

Those people well into their life experience, whom we admire for their wisdom, are people who consciously sought and learned it along the way. That’s not to say that every octogenarian is full of wisdom. Some people only learn enough from life experience to become wily. Wisdom isn’t even on the spectrum for them.

So where does that leave this fifty-something grandma of five? Perhaps somewhere near the realm of wisdom, with the option of being responsible.

Because, you and I both know … that fridge isn’t getting cleaned today.

photo by Pixabay
Favourites

I Used To … But Now

Posted on by Joy / 8 Comments

There is something about getting older that is so freeing. It’s not that I think I have “arrived”, but there is a quiet confidence and contentment that comes from having lived this long, and in looking back and realizing that many things have been accomplished. It’s like looking back down the trail of a mountain you’ve been climbing, seeing the winding rocky path zigzag down and out of sight, and thinking … “Wow, I’ve come a long way! I did this!”

It’s worth celebrating.

Today I came across some lines I wrote in my 40’s. Some of them might still be true, but most I’d amend to reflect how I’ve grown into my 50’s. For example, the first line I used to be playful but now I’m grown up I would amend to say, I used to be playful but then I grew up, and now I am goofy with my grandchildren. Sometimes in life, things come full circle.

Here’s where I stood in my 40’s, with the amendments of my 50’s tacked on:

 

I used to be playful but then I grew up, and now I am goofy with my grandchildren

I used to observe but then I spilled, and now I observe to serve

I used to be a child but then I wished for childhood, and now I enter childhood on a whim

I used to have a good memory but then I was happy, and now I keep the joy

I used to live in my imagination but then I couldn’t always get there, and now I go when I want

I used to obey my mother but then I asked why, and now I think for myself

I used to think I was better but then I knew I was not, and now I have compassion

I used to read to my brothers but then I read to myself, and now I read for myself

I used to dream but then I wished, and now I see what could be

I used to be afraid but then I knew, and now I go anyway

I used to wonder but then I searched, and now I choose what to know

I used to shun beans but then I ate them, and now I choose not to have them

I used to think she’d kill me but then I knew it was me, and now I’m strong

I used to not be good enough but then I thought I was, and now I know I always have been

I used to hesitate but then I waited, and now I listen first

I used to tell but then I asked, and now I listen to hear

I used to feel but then I let myself feel, and now I know where feeling will take me 

I used to giggle but then I laughed, and now I burst into unladylike guffaws

I used to be optimistic but then I didn’t know, and now I trust

I used to have opinions but then I stated them, and now I don’t have to

I used to be in charge but then I lead, and now I walk alongside 

I used to hate meal clean-up but then I liked my kitchen, and now it’s just part of me

I used to crave knowledge but then I acquired discovery, and now I pray for wonder 

 

I still have quite a bit of mountain left to climb, but looking back on the trail I’ve already trekked, I am heartened. I can do this. Bring it on!

 

Photo by Pixabay

 

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Guests

Guest Post – Easter Weekend

Posted on by Joy / 1 Comment

My guest this Easter Weekend is a new voice in the blogging world. Her words ring with truth, hope, and gentle authority. Please welcome Jenna from Authentically His.

 

Easter has always been my favorite time of year. It’s the underlying promise it holds, that makes it by far the greatest time of year.  Since I was a little girl I could feel the earth vibrating with this expectant promise. You can feel it in the air.

HOPE.

It holds a joy that can. not. be. contained. HE HAS RISEN!! He has risen indeed.

But before that glorious third day ….

Promise.

Expectation.

Heartache

Love

The love of a Father SO great, that he sent his son to die for me. For you. We hear that often. It’s easy to become conditioned to the Bible stories we grew up hearing. To regurgitate truth and not take the time to stop, slow down, and remember.

Our Jesus, sent to earth because he loves YOU much. Choosing to go to the cross, to bear the weight of our sin, so we could LIVE. So we could walk with him and intimately experience his presence. So we could LOVE him freely, and walk in the freedom he offers us. Our Jesus, suffering a death more painful than we could imagine, so we could have beauty. So we could walk through life knowing confidently WHOSE we are and WHO we are.  This is Promise.  This is Expectation.

Jesus, a man much like your husband, your brother, your friend. Except he was God’s son, so distressed “his sweat like drops of blood fell to the ground” (Luke 22:43), prayed for his cup to be taken. Yet amidst his anguish and pain, submitted to the will of his Father.  This is Heartache.

O’ the Blood of Jesus,

O’ the Blood of Jesus,

O’ the Blood of Jesus,

it washes white as snow.

 

There is forgiveness in the blood of Jesus,

There is healing in the blood of Jesus,

There is power in the blood of Jesus,

it washes white as snow.

Love.

A love so pure, it can’t be contained. A love so strong death couldn’t hold it. A love that sets the captives free and covers the sinner in forgiveness. O’ the blood of Jesus, O’ the love of Jesus. Do you know it? Have you claimed it … for you?

We are never so broken that Jesus can’t heal us, and we are never so healed that we don’t need Jesus every moment of every day. He has promised to go before and behind us. To be the lifter of our head.

Stand firm, dear one, and KNOW He rescued you because he delighted in you (2 Sam 22:20).

It doesn’t make life easy by any means, but O’ the Blood of Jesus, carrying us through the seasons of pain and hurt. The seasons of drifting and wilderness wanderings. He never leaves us on our own. His love covers us and holds us tight when we can’t see anything but darkness.

In a world overrun by social media. Where your feeds are full of perfect people in their perfect homes with their perfect jobs and their perfect bodies. Where insecurity will claim you and comparison will choke you. Where the enemy will whisper ‘you will never be good enough’ —  O’ the blood of Jesus.

In that marriage that, to the outside world is full of smiles and banter, but in reality is hanging on by a thread and you don’t know if you can move forward another day —  O’ the blood of Jesus.

When your house is a disaster, and you’ve yelled at the kids for the umpteenth time in the last hour. When you feel like you’re failing as a mom, a homemaker, a wife — O’ the blood of Jesus.

In addiction, and brokenness, when you feel too far gone to be worth saving —  O’ the blood of Jesus.

You are covered in his promise. We can live in hopeful expectation, because our God is good and he works all things together for good, according to those who love him. We can’t avoid heartache. We live in a fallen world, full of pain and hurt. But once you experience the love of God, you are never the same.

The love of God changes you, instantly, from the inside out. You are fully accepted, approved of and wanted. Once you let his love find you, once you choose to accept it and let it wash over you, the world and all its glitter fades in comparison to the treasure you now hold.

This love causes your heart to naturally turn towards its true intended subject of worship. And when it does, all the other details of your life fall into alignment. Life issues and wilderness seasons don’t disappear, but their impact is so much less life altering because you. are. loved.

Everything He does, He does because He LOVES MUCH. Let us slow down enough, this weekend, to be reminded of that love. To sit at his feet and let him wash us in his presence. To not just be a spectator, but a participator in this thing called life and CHOOSE to be loved.

O’ the Blood of Jesus, O’ the Blood of Jesus, O’the Blood of Jesus, it washes white as snow.

So “be strong and courageous…the LORD your God will be the one who keeps on walking with you—he won’t leave you or abandon you” Deut. 31:6 (ISV)

“And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end of the age” Matt 28:20 (ISV)