Let your burdens go!

Our God is an awesome God......................
Just reading about the boy diagnosed with type I diabetes.........his momma needs reassurance....
Was reading about how much a momma loves her kids ..............if she did really love them she wouldn't be exposing them to a drug house full of men..........
Thinking about the one with the job she dreads going to each day......
Thinking about the momma who lost her husband and baby daughter................
There is the husband who has been abandoned by his wife.......
Thinking about the child who desperately needs speech therapy ..... his parents are in total denial...........
Thinking about the papa who is leaning over the toilet.......sick from ear surgery.......
Thinking about the family trying to gain custody of children who are their ...kin....
Thinking about the husband whose shoulders droop and his step is slower .....going to a job where he not treated well.............

His word tells us not to worry............His word tells us he has a plan for us...even before we were born.............. Lay your burdens at the cross this morning............. take it all to Him.....you can have peace, understanding......healing....maybe even a tiny bit of joy....

Listen to the words of .... IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.......written by a man who lost his 4 daughters in a shipwreck..........................how could he write these words???  God gave him peace.............

Cabin fever!

I think these kids have cabin fever today, too!!!  It is the end of January and +6! Treacherous icy sidewalks.....water covered....  Friday no school and two days next week! Help!  Not bored .... everyone is restless...so need green grass....and abundant sunshine....
Late day momma's pickup.........sigh....

....Sleepless in Canada...

Sleepless near the Arctic circle................well, no, not really, but feels like it could be......

Cough, cough, try to breathe...............two mommas up with little ones tonight...cough-cough, too.............the result of one momma who brought a sick child to day home......

The wheezing that the meds aren't helping.........the smell of eucalyptus.....

I need sleep....I need to breath...............

....a little light....

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I loathe winter and the cold and I don't hesitate to complain about it regularly.   When people say how pretty it is out......it would be much prettier on a card.....not in my world.

Yesterday I had my black wool coat on and big flakes were falling....the children noticed the snowflakes on my coat and thought they were so beautiful.  Most times we don't really see the intricate shape of the flakes, but against the stark black of my coat, even I had to admit they were pretty.........they only lasted a moment before dissolving into a tiny droplet.

Even in winter................if the fridge is full, the pantry stocked, the bottles on the wine shelf in a row, a messy pile of wood on the hearth.......I do feel a certain contentment.......a gratefulness if you will for what I have.   I have a very warm down coat, warm boots...actually a lot of warm boots...for every occasion and level of snow..........

Even in this icy land of long dark below zero, bone chilling weather we do have much to be grateful to God for.............and living in a land where we know in August what is to come we prepare and have the means to do so...........

I will still complain and dislike embarking out of my warm cocoon, but I also will take the time to thank...............

Countdown.....4 more to go...

Four more days to go!
I don't want to feel stressed or overwhelmed by the season...........seems like we prepare and plan for so long....contemplate gifts...lovingly and carefully wrap them...plan meals, bake...and poof!  It is over.....the living room is piled with wrapping paper...the kitchen is your worst nightmare and the dishwasher is on it's second round!    

I don't want the stress...I don't want the letdown feeling when it is over.....I want the season to last and savor the event....I don't want the gifts and hustle and bustle and messy aftermath to overshadow The Birth.   

I want peace in my home, peace within our family, peace on earth.....His perfect peace.
Looking forward to a candlelight Christmas Eve service.....our granddaughter is hoping for a plastic candle...she doesn't think she can handle a real one....

Think of that pregnant young girl....most likely in labor traveling by donkey...no hospital..no room even in the inn....how overwhelmed she must have been...so young...so innocent....no real idea of what the birth of her child would mean to us....centuries later...The stable most likely wasn't nice and clean like the one we see at a church nativity..it was probably stinky, dirty, straw is prickly....  The Shepherds who visited lived with sheep and goats on hillsides....they most likely smelled terrible, too.....

Take time to breathe....take time to read that wondrous story again....the story of
Hope, Promise, Joy and Love......

Bah humbug!

Just reading an article on the evil's of Elf on a Shelf.....come on people...it's just an Elf!
I suppose one could get carried away and put the fear of Santa into your children sending them quivering in fear to bed to have nightmares of evil tattling elves...... or you can just have a little fun.   We just hide our elf and the children have to find him each morning.  Sometimes he does get into a little mischief...........   One issue I do have however, the children are supposed to behave or Santa will hear about it, but the elf can make a terrible mess....how does that work?  Lighten up momma and have a little fun!

When we were growing up my mom was very big on tradition and beginning new ones.
We had a little angel that we would hide.   The person who found it got to be the next one to hide it.   Sadly, one year one of us hid it too well and we never found it again.   

The huge thing is to find a balance at Christmas.   Where do you put your emphasis?
The importance is not to let elves and santa over shadow the the real reason for the season.
Gaze in wonder at that beautiful manger scene...........savor the dazzling lights...contemplate the flames from the candles and the fire place...and remember our Saviour came to earth as a babe.... a true miracle!

Funny........

It's that Fall time again......the time before the s.......  At least it is still warm and pleasant, even tho' the trees are naked....
Funny.....as I read previous blogs that I wrote... I wonder where all those words came from....some even are quite profound...I amaze myself....
And this blog is an echo of the last one I wrote.........I feel so burdened and tired...so many people needing our help and prayer.....One is facing serious surgery....one has cancer....one is undergoing tests to find why they can't balance their electrolytes....a marriage is struggling....children are the victims of divorce.....a man is homeless and to proud to ask for help.....O, Lord, we just commit all this suffering unto You....You are the great Healer, You, the one who created us....You know our needs.............