Make life a little Funny

It's hard to be funny when you're not feeling funny, but I will try because I have 2 funny stories from  our house today.

First story is called "Wanna see something cool?"
I discovered that my new running sweater has little fold-over flaps on the cuffs to cover my hands when it's cold. I remembered this discovery as I was making the girls lunches and I wanted to show it off so I called the kids into the kitchen to show them - "Hey girls come here for a second." It took them a few seconds to come, so being the efficient mom that I am I grabbed the can opener and started open a can of mini corns. (Picture a messy kitchen with a lot of food waiting to be put away and dishes waiting to be washed. Oh and half a carton of eggs sitting open near the edge of the counter). Just as the girls arrived in the kitchen 3 things happened in very quick succession - I said " You wanna see something cool?" -my hand slipped off the handle of the can opener and hit the cartoon of eggs -the eggs and carton flew off the counter and with a splat hit the floor. We all stood and stared at it. There were no survivors ...."that is not the cool thing I wanted to show you." .....Laughter.... and now we have a few less eggs and a new quote "Wanna see something cool?"

Second story is called - Mom likes to play jokes.
I made an insane amount of puff wheat cake just as the kids were coming home from school. They all had a piece while it was still loose and sticky. Then to speed up the cooling process I laid the 2 pans on the snowbank outside. As I put them outside I told the kids not to let the dog out for the next bit. The kids went off to play and I waited till the right moment, when the kids weren't paying attention, to bring the cakes inside. I took the cakes out of their pans and placed them on a cookie sheet, then I returned the empty pans outside and let the dog out... and waited. Suddenly I heard "Oh no mom!! The dog!!" me - "oh no The dog!" ..... Am I a "bad" mother? :P
lesson to learn - Make life a little funny.

On a serious note  -pray for me to be a wise parent, it feels like a tough job today.

Precious Memories of Africa

I was just thinking back on my days in Zambia last November. I was trying to recall some of the most precious moments of those 2 weeks and this is the memory that came back; it happened on the first day we were there. It was a Sunday and that is the day that the kids have Awana club. About 20 minutes before the start time and I met Naomi. She was just wandering around so I asked her what she did at Awana. She told me about the singing, Bible lesson, games and Bible memory. I asked her which verses she needed to memorize.  She couldn't remember but she wanted to know what I was memorizing and she was very interested in my bible. So we sat down on the grass, ants running up and down my legs and all, and we opened my bible together and started looking for verses. I told her I was working on memorizing Isaiah 40:28-31. She wanted to memorize it too so we worked on it together. Then she showed me one of her favorite verses Jeremiah 33:3. This was a moment in time. I remember feeling warm, not just on the outside but on the inside, a precious moment I had waited for for so long. After awhile, Darcy, one of the other team members came by and did an impromptu dramatization of the Isaiah 40 verses. This made Naomi laugh. It had only been 20 minutes but that was enough time for Naomi to work her way into my heart and it was also enough time for her to feel that my Bible was her Bible. She held my Bible with a tight grip and walked off to Awana.

Isaiah 40:28-31
"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

Jeremiah 33:3
" Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Saturday Thoughts on Lent

Why do lent?

 I recently counted - I’ve been doing lent for 14 years, I may have skipped a year or two in the middle somewhere, can't say for sure. But, wow 14 - makes me feel old... I didn’t grow up “lenting”, I didn't even know what lent was until I was an adult and when I first heard about it I thought it was just for Catholics. I am not sure what got me to start, but must have been some encouragement from a teacher or a friend because we were at Bible school that first year. The first thing I lented was chocolate. I was pregnant with Ariel and it was not easy. I remember being at the prenatal class when someone brought chocolate chip cookies for everyone and I couldn’t have any because of the chocolate, well actually I wanted the cookie so badly I nibbled on the cookie avoiding the chocolate chips and eating the cookie parts, now that is desperate(and talk about taking a loop hole).  I am not exactly sure why I have a solid memory of this, it could be because I was ticked with myself for trying to be so ‘religious’ and there I was 'suffering'  or if I remember it because I formed a solid thought toward God in that moment..... Let's go with the second.

I do lent because it turns my thoughts toward God more often during the day. Lent is a fast and I say why not use a historical fast time such as lent to do what Jesus tells me to do. Sometimes I have reached the end of the 40 days only to find myself saying - "I'm glad that's over." It's not always easy but it's not a waste if in anyway I was turned toward God.

 During this lent season, as I shared on Wednesday, am taking on blogging each day. It seems strange but it is a sacrifice because I was getting so comfortable not being vulnerable and sharing my life and thoughts and challenges and for me it's important to be real and transparent, and my blog is a place for me to do that. Each time I blog I feel I keep the door of my heart open and it seems the mask layers can't build up as fast.

Are you lenting?

Why do you lent?

 

Are you Passing Altona?

Oh, yes I did!
Quick context for my story -- I have been working on keeping my promises and doing what I say I'll do. I have a lot of unfinished business over the years; things I've said I would do that I didn't do, so I am slowly trying to complete these unfinished promises. I'll tell more about  that another time but that needed to be said to explain why I was so..... 'crazy' yesterday.
I promised a friend that I would drop off some decorations for the valentines tea that she was decorating for. I couldn't help decorate because I was off to the city with the kids but I told her I would leave the doilies at the church..... ya sure! -Time to leave for the city, North bound we go, bombing down the highway. At about 20 min.s out I look down to the passenger side floor mat and there is the bag of doilies... aaaaahhhhh. I have to get these to the church!
Plan A) drive back to town to deliver them myself.... No, this would take too much time and the kids would have mutiny on me. The one hour drive is enough without backtracking....
Plan B) I'll call and say buy new ones and I'll just pay for these out of my own pocket.... Nope! The cell phone was dead and I left it at home ....  I need another plan. I needed to keep my word, there had to be another plan...... The south bound vehicles caught my attention ....
Plan C) What if someone going to Altona took these for me? ... but I don't know of anyone going to Altona right this minute from where I am (by now 30 minutes out). A brief and crazy thought passes through my mind ..... No, I couldn't do that - Stand on the side of the road holding a sign out to south bound traffic!!!! The thought went out and then came back in, out and in. I tried to ignore it. Why not, I could do this, someone would be bound for Altona..... Oh my, oh my, am I crazy? I would need a paper and a marker..... A confused Ariel passed me 2 pieces of her note paper and what do you know, I just happened to have one of my markers from work in the console.  I pulled around onto the southbound shoulder and marked the words, "Are you passing Altona?" ...Oh, yes I did!... As I stood beside the van; kids ducking low in their seats I waved my sign to all traffic... 2,4,6 maybe 12 vehicles passed. "I can do this. Be patient.", "I live a life worth writing about!! and I will keep my word."...... Finally a nice elderly man stops and agrees to take the rather small bag of doilies to a small town near their destination. The plan was coming together and I was relieved to know that I was closer to fulfilling my word and also freed from my rather embarrassing roadside job. From there I found a payphone and called our church secretary who helped the doilies complete their journey and YES they made it to the hall for decorating on time.
Big thanks to those that helped those doilies get to the church.

Oh and today's my Birthday -Happy Birthday to me!

Jesus didn't skip

Every year for advent we do something creative for the count down. A lot of people use chocolate calenders or tree ornaments. In our count down I prepare 24 things that we can make or do with or for someone, that won't take too long but is fun; one per day.(On another day I will post ideas I've had over the years) For now I want to tell you what happened as I was preparing this years idea. This year I have a plan that the 24 tasks will be written on one side of the paper and on the other side will be a potion of a larger picture and when all 24 tasks are done and flipped over we will have pieced together a picture. I didn't have a picture the size I wanted so being the creative me that I am I decided to start drawing. I wasn't really sure what I wanted and I'm kinda in a time crunch, as tomorrow is Dec 1, so I thought if I just start drawing things of Christmas I will have something in the end. First I started with a tree, then I put typical manger scene next to it, just the stable to start with. Then I started drawing in each person in our family and of course Mary Joseph and baby Jesus in a pretty little feeding trough. Everyone was in, I drew some stars at the top and ....... I stopped and looked at the drawing....... by the way I was skipping my devotion time to do this since I was feeling in a rush. Funny thing is Jesus wasn't skipping because he revealed something to me right at this moment as I was taking stock of what I had just begun to draw. There it was, I had roughly sketched my family looking straight at the Christmas tree with Mary, Joseph and Jesus behind us.The stable was so close to the tree that some characters of our family had to be drawn inside the manger scene, but still faced the tree.  At this point I realize I am not happy with what I have just drawn. I am actually kind of stunned as I see it. I try to see how I can re imagine what I am drew... change this person's body and arms, re draw that...I can't. It is very clear; what's been drawn has been drawn. We are so into the Christmas tree that we are not even aware of the birth of our savior. The sentence seems to echo in my mind. It's true of the drawing but is this truly how it is for us? What does this all mean? Do we cancel the Christmas tree?.... I think my family will have mutiny if that is the outcome. Jesus has a message for me in this and I will be asking him to reveal more.

 Jesus I want to face you not the traditions we've made up.

A Bear

Yesterday morning started out pretty normal. I woke up at 6:00 my dad was already up and had mate(green tea) ready. We usually sit at the table, drink mate, visit and then read our Bibles, and my dad reads the daily bread, but first we needed to take Zeke to do his business in the pasture(training him where to go). The dogs played and did their stuff and we came back inside. Then Dad looked back out the window and saw a black bear wandering in the yard, right were we had just walked. Can't believe he was there with us and we had no idea. Tito barked and attacked, Zeke started barking from a distance and then went to the opposite side of the house to bark--what a chicken! Can't expect too much protection from him. LOL I ran to get the cameras and to wake Ben and the kids. Soon we were on the front steps watching this authentic nature show before us. It was very cool. The bear seemed to have no fear of the dog or us, he just calmly sauntered where ever he wanted, at least until Dad shot him with the sling shot. Then he made a quick exit up the hill. We won't soon forget the experience. Thanks God for letting us see a bear.

In the Name of Creativity

"A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise." I read this on recipe site a while ago and now I can't remember where but I couldn't agree more, this is my view of cooking. It is what my mother instinctively taught me. I do few things exactly as I'm told actually. I like to be creative and try to do almost everything some way that maybe few people have ever done it. Things don't always go well though, for instance I came up with a really bad one the other night in the name of creativity, awful really. I was trying to make my own version of Kari Kari, which is a Filipino dish. I didn't have all the ingredients so as you can guess I either skipped them or added something similar, oh and I didn't follow the cooking instructions at all either. When it was all said and done I had a feeling it wasn't going to go well at the supper table that night. I contemplated not even serving it but I'd invested too much time, pride and ingredients to just toss it, so I looked at it more as a character building experience. My hunch-niggles where right, "what is this?", "It smells weird", "Is this all we're having?", "I'm not hungry." I forced the kids to eat it, I saw Ben grimace as he told me "It's OK....."(do you think he lied?), I Could barely stomach 1/2 my plate. Later that evening Ben said, "Can I just say one thing, can you not make that again." We laughed and I said "I know it smelled like dog food. I will never intentionally make that again."
Oh ya in the name of creativity I have made some pretty awful things, but I've also made some good ones I think.
Ok ok I have one more wipe-out story for you due to my over creativeness. Some of you will have witnessed this unfortunate birth of my imagination. In one of the first years when Ben and I came to this church I was in charge of something creative for the Purpose driven life and I created this huge globe, I think about 5 foot circumference, for the church stage. It was paper mache and tin foil. The skeleton of the globe was something like 6 hula hoops. Plus it had several directional arrows shooting out from its surface. Oh it was ugly, the tin foil kept falling off and I keep sticking it back on with a opened stapler or sticky tack, the arrows kept slinking lower and lower, some eventually pointed down and then fell off. Every Sunday it was up there I was so embarrassed by it but of course I kept those insecurities buried deep below my confident creators mask. I don't remember anyone ever saying anything to me about what they really though about it but I can only imagine how many other people have heard about it. Anyway I am laughing about it now because I feel like I was able to redeem myself with this last project that hangs on the wall. Besides why not laugh about it. If you remember it I am so sorry you had to endure it on stage all those weeks.
The trash heap is bigger because of me ;)

Funny - from my kids

Some day my kids are going to hate me for having a blog, but they make me laugh, I can't help but tell you about them.

Some of the things that make me laugh are the words my children mix up, or what they think is being said is not what really is being said. So funny what they say

My kids have all honestly said these

Tomatoes for Potatoes (they still get them mixed up) "Tomatoes and gravy."
crotches for crutches (We didn't correct his one for a while it was too funny)
6 white boomers sung as 6 white bloomers (from the Australian Christmas tune)
grill cheese are girl cheese at our house (the burnt ones are boy cheese)
"O Tannenbaum" sung distinctly as "oh tiny bum" (that was definitely sung for me ;P)
french immersion was french inversion (this took a while to correct, lol)
annoying and ignoring always getting mixed (One pestering the other in the back seat, "Mommy, she's ignoring me!")
pimple for Pupil (heard this one today)

A Baby in Another World

Today you are going to read my dream diary. I actually don't have one but I've often thought I should keep one, I dream every night and often when I tell them to Ben he is sure I have the strangest ones. Be warned my dreams can be disturbing to some.

I was at a gathering and I was in the kitchen I think, then I turned to find a baby in a cradle, the baby was a new born and had not been feed since it's birth, it had been laid in the cradle and abandoned. The baby was still alive but was turning blue from hunger. I brought it to my breast and what do you know, I had milk for it... lots of milk. The babies face began changing from blue to a beautiful blend of African and White skin, the baby was happy and so was I. I was bonding with the baby now and I was pleased when the unknown biological mother said "You can have it". The gathering continued and I let others hold my baby. At some point while the baby was elsewhere I discovered it was time to feed again -a nursing mother can just tell. But the baby was not around so I poured my milk(yes I mean poured) into an ice cream pail but it was watery almost all water, my mom was there I was calling for her to get a second container because there was so much. Then it was over, the dog barged into the bedroom chasing the cat; beautiful baby, watering milk, gathering, all disappeared into another world, a distant time.

Not sure why I wanted to share that with you.
Some might say "Too much information!" and I say oh well, that's just the way my blog is, that's just the way I am :P.
I found something odd and wonderful about it.

kids no flushy

Are you one of those parents that complains about your kids not flushing the toilet? You nag your kids day in and day out, but nothing changes?
I am a creative thinker and this spreads into our parenting too. You sometimes just have to find different ways to get through to the kids
Here is one I did recently. You might wanna try it, but don't tell them it was my idea.

We have dog as most of you know and he is large, ok he's not only large but he's hairy, lots of fur around his chin and mouth area. Since he is so big, when the toilet lid is open it is the perfect bowl height for him to quench his thirst in. Even though he has his own water bowl right next to the toilet, for some reason the savage beast prefers the toilet water. Not such a big deal maybe if that water was constantly fresh and in a clean toilet bowl. But that's not at our house. Now for any mother(or father for that matter) who has spent the last decade of his or her life working at ways to keep the house somewhat clean and fresh smelling, like I have, would agree that when toilet odor walks into the room you are comfortably lounging in, it's enough to make you crack. Crack down on the problem.
The problem
- kids no flushy
- kids no put lid down
- dog does as dogs do(very disgusting creatures)
- dog drink poo water
- dog fur near mouth soaked in smelly water
- dog drip water all over house
- poo smell wafting through the house
- mom smells it
- mom sees dog with wet face
- mom not going to nag again
- mom has fresh idea
....and so I got up from my spot, grabbed a paper, a marker, and some strong tape. I wrote a note and marched to the bathroom with no announcement of my actions.

Fast forward 1 hour-- Seraya went dashing to the bathroom, hand in position to prevent leakage, she paused to investigate my vandalism of the toilet, while dancing the pee dance. In dismay she looked at me with disbelief "but,..but,... mom!"

The note read:

Today

Our day began early today, we were in the van on our way at 4:29am to see our friend Del off at the airport. There really isn't a lot happening at 4:30 in the morning on a Saturday just in case you ever wondered. With the purpose of the morning complete we were well into the day -6:00am; --you, dreaming of free clothing, caterpillars and blueberry milk, --us, filing into The Original Pancake House for some breakfast and caffeine. It's amazing how one can be so hungry at that hour when not fully awake. I self severed myself some coffee and ... hello world, I was awake. Caffeine changes everything ... and so does food! After breakfast we "wasted" the rest of the morning together. It was awesome. We found a park to watch the ducks and geese and Minos in the pond. Then to the playground, we were so early that we were the only ones there, so we played ... play structure tag, a combination between Robin hood and Sky High superhero imagination play(I love my family) and races ... it was all fun and games until I twisted my ankle. But that didn't really stop the fun because next we were off to the mall, still arriving before it opened. Ben might say this is were the fun ended but tough for him he has 4 of us femaloids, and a little shopping never killed a man(that is not a fact, just an opinion). After some successful shopping(Ben with only slight burning in his eyes) we arrived home at 1:45pm. Still time to lounge at the pool which made my ankle feel a lot better. Summer is so good!
I want you to take note of the "wasting time" ... I will post more about this soon. It's something I'm learning to do, which is ironic to say because I am trying to "be" more instead of "do".
Oh ya and I love 29 degrees. It's hot today.

Photo found at http://www.pdphoto.org/index.php

The Provider

When it comes to getting meals on the table it's my job to provide(generally). But I was shown again who the true provider is...
Ben was sick for a week or so and I was doing double duty, taking care of the kids and Ben(I was actually sympathetic this time..LOL), taking care of all the details of a house we usually share. One day while Ben was sick I thought about asking God if he could send someone with a meal because I was getting a little tired...I didn't ask, but that day we got a pail of cookies, don't get me wrong I was very appreciative of the cookies but I distinctly remember thinking I shoulda asked for a meal .. we enjoyed the cookies none the less. Ben got better and then I was sick, in bed all day. I had no supper plan, nor did I want to think about it. I fell asleep saying to God "Today you can bring supper." ... Was I surprised when at 4:30 a friend arrived with a meal? .... Not so much surprised as completely delighted to know who my provider is. I was really excited for being sick. I thanked my friend for listening to God(she was thrilled because she had no idea that's what she'd done) and I thanked God for the food.

I know my provider ... Do you know Him?

Psalm 111

1 Praise the LORD.
I will extol the LORD with all my heart
in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

2 Great are the works of the LORD;
they are pondered by all who delight in them.

3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
and his righteousness endures forever.

4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.

6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
giving them the lands of other nations.

7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.

8 They are steadfast for ever and ever,
done in faithfulness and uprightness.

9 He provided redemption for his people;
he ordained his covenant forever—
holy and awesome is his name.

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
To him belongs eternal praise.

Inner City

I went to Winnipeg's inner city (North End) with some youth the other day and it was an eye opener to see how much we take for granted only a short drive away. It wasn't so much what we saw, though we did see women standing on the corners, working track as they call it, and boarded up houses, it was the realization of the environment kids teens and parents live in. The system is so messed up and it seems so little one could do to change that. Kids steal cars for the experience because they don't think they'll ever get a drivers license because they don't know anyone who know how to drive, thus no one to teach them, even if that "them" was willing. Or Young adults who don't get jobs because they have grown up in a neighbourhood where they never watched their family or their neighbours go to work, it's just not normal. Now the inner city minister who was touring us around was sure to tell us there are a lot of people living there trying to make their life work in their environment, but it is very hard by the sounds of it. There was so much more that was interesting and informative. This taught me to reserve my judgments of why people are in their self destructing lives. I feel more compassion now.

Visit an inner city where you are if you have a chance, it will help you better understand the people that live there.

Can Pinky Come Alive?

The other morning as one of my daughters and I were getting our breakfast, I was casually informed by her, "Last night I asked God if Pinky could come alive." Then she said "I don't think he will do it but I know he can." Pinky is a giant stuffed pink bear. It is amazing to observe the faith of a child. She knows she can talk to God about anything, ask Him for anything and if He says "no" that it makes no difference He is still God of all things. She increases my faith. No wonder Jesus tells us to become like little children. I want to be like a child?

26.2 Finisher

I don't finish things.
I'll start books, sewing projects, crafts, gardening and yard improvements or learn an instrument(organ, guitar, pan flute and penny whistler, I started them all). I'll start thinking great plans of how to do ministry better, parent better, disciple, save the planet, the list goes on but I often don't finish what I start. When I was a kid I took organ lessons but I never disciplined myself to practice so my organ teacher told my mom if I didn't practice I wasn't allowed to continue with lessons. I dropped out! I am 3 classes short of my bachelors of Christian studies! So many things I have not finished in life, and that is all behind me because I have a fresh start, I have something I have finished, something big.
5 months and approximately 350 miles of training completed, I disciplined myself and worked so hard to get to race day. This past Sunday I joined 13000 other people all in different races, and I was one of the 800(or so) who ran the full marathon. 26.2 miles completed! It felt so amazing to complete such a huge accomplishment. When I ran the 1/2 marathon 2 years ago it was about my marriage. I know that sounds funny but it was a lesson to me that even though it is hard and sometimes you think you can't go any farther, you can and I did and I completed that race(and my marriage is the best on the whole planet). But this race was about being able to accomplish anything. I believe that if i can set my mind and disciple myself to run a full marathon, I can accomplish anything, especially finishing a book:) It's a powerful feeling. If it is worth finishing I want to finish it. It was also about full filling hopes and dreams, you know that list you have, it might only be a mental list but some people write it out. It's a list of things you want to do in your life, well running a full marathon has been on my list for 8 years and it feels so great to have something I hoped for so long ago actually accomplished. One more thing as I crossed the finish line I was donned with a finisher metal and a t-shirt that boldly says 26.2 FINISHER across it. I'm a finisher.
So now I can say...
I finish things.
(now I am off to read the last few chapters of "Everything Must Change" by Brian McClarin which I start in January:)

4 kitties and an evening of perfect weather

Last Wednesday at breakfast Ariel told me that she had been listening to Jesus and when she had asked him when our stray cat would have babies(she was pregnant at the time) he said Friday. She then said that "Daddy always says that when I hear from God I should tell him. and if I don't know if it was just me or really God then he can help me know.... so was that God or just me?" she asks. I'm firstly amazed/excited that she has been communicating with God like that and then to answer her question I am wanting to say God but I don't know either so I tell her that we'll have to wait and see on Friday. Then as we are talking Ariel challenges me to ask God if it will rain on Friday or not because at that time I was wondering about the weather for the African Children's Choir that was planned for out doors. So I paused for a moment and to do that, I sensed God telling me that it will all be fine no matter the weather and after that I never worried once about the weather. When Friday came I had, what i can only explain as, a Spirit directed confidence to keep the concert out doors even though the forecast said rain and thunder storms. The Concert had perfect weather, really amazing. Then when we got home from the concert we all went looking for Milkshake the stray cat. and sure enough we found her under the stairs with 4 brand new baby kitties. I looked at Ariel, and I could tell she knew what this meant but I asked her anyway, "Do you remember what God told you?" she said "Yes". We have all been thrilled with God's reality this past weekend.... God still speaks.