Quote for the Day

Angie sent me this quote for my quote book.  It's a keeper:

I have learned that faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse.  (Phillip Yancey)

So true...

We went up river Friday and Saturday.  Spent time with the clan MacDonald.  Took Jack, Ivy and Afton to Tim Horton's in Bristol.  They are so cute!  They savoured their hot chocolate and tried to savour their donuts, but I think they were too tasty.  The afternoon was so warm that Afton and Jack and I were out on the deck sunning ourselves, doing word search puzzles.  It was Saturday and it was a peaceful Sabbath rest for me -- spending time with a few grandchildren.  What a better way to rest?  Croy continues to call me 'Ba Ba' instead of Gram Deb.  Apparently it means 'Grandmother' in Russian or something.

Today was a quiet day inside, studying and teaching.  It has rained all day long.   Thankful that we didn't receive much of Superstorm Sandy.   Our prayers are with our American neighbours who have suffered such devastation and loss.  May God keep you in His tender care.

Heartland

This property is truly like Heartland.  Today alone we've had the Friday morning gals drinking coffee, eating coffee cake and learning about resting from Genesis 1, to Ann's piano lesson and Janet White #1's guitar lesson, to Mallory (Verna) with her hands in the sink doing several loads of dishes, to Carolyn coming to visit and having a mid-day slumber party with Mallory upstairs, to Ann coming back to retrieve a song she needs to sing, to tea sampling and smoothie making in the kitchen, to Cuz C. and W. erecting a huge pumpkin man in their yard, complete with scary face that turns and looks at us while we do dishes, to playing fiddle on the deck with W., then a bass/piano duet inside the house, to Carolyn helping Granny with Microsoft Publisher at her unit, to the random walker found on the deck, to Jed outside raking leaves and on and on.  Mallory -- what do you think?

The activity here this week has been unbelievable and varied.  I love it!

Yesterday I cooked squash -- lots of it and put it in the freezer.  Thought of you, Natalie.  Wish you were here.

Boston

We just got back from the Boston area -- Danvers, Middleton and Ipswich, MASS to be exact. A Congregational Womens' Retreat held at a convent for retired nuns, a beautiful place in a seaside town by the Atlantic. Our traveling band (Doug, Deb, Cheryl and Max) arrived at Lisa's house in Danvers on Thursday night and were treated like royalty, then traveled on to Ipswich on Friday night. Each of us had a private room (what a treat), and we joined the women of Middleton Congregational Church for the next 24 hours. And what a 24 hours it was. I was speaking on The Joy of Encouragement, and they truly encouraged us. Funny how that works -- you go to encourage others and end up being encouraged yourself. There's a verse like that -- 'he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.' I shared for the first time from my blog with the ladies -- I shed a few tears and I saw a few tears in the crowd as well. Nurse Cherry cried quite a bit, as I read the memories of a hard time we all shared together. Thank you, women of Massachusetts, for your kindness to us. We are looking forward to our next trip south next spring, God willing.

Island Living

Well we did it. Traveled to PEI for the weekend. The last trip for the season. Boo hoo! Left Freddy Beach at 8 pm and made it across the Confederation Bridge through high winds. To Canoe Cove but we couldn't get in the camp road; the gate was locked. So we had no choice but to park on the road and set up camp. Not alongside the road -- ON the road, since there was no shoulder. Doug tried hooking up the generator to the RV so we could get heat for the night. No such luck. Not enough juice. So we piled on the blankets on the bed like two peas in a pod in the Princess and the Pea's bed of bedclothes. And had a great sleep, despite the 45 degree Fahrenheit temperature inside the RV. I made coffee the next morning by boiling water in the tea kettle on the propane stove and pouring it in the electric coffee pot, letting it drip naturally into the pot below. We drank that beautiful coffee in bed. It was much too cold to sit at the table. We finally made it outside where it was a bit warmer and took a hike to explore the land. We found some people and finally made our way down a road to the camp and plugged into the electricity. The next night our temperature came up to a balmy 66. Just like Florida. I led music all weekend long and had some awesome musicians play with me. I love a good band. I love a good island. I love a good man. That good man and I returned on Sunday night to the mainland, with yet another experience under our belt.

Looking forward to one last hurrah with our beloved home away from home -- our motorhome. Will it stay warm enough for us to enjoy one last weekend before putting our 'toy' away for the winter? Stay tuned....

Memories of Summer

My life is so varied that I can't even believe it some days.

 Like this week: coming back from Coldstream (wherever that is), where we had the 5th annual Thanksgiving Family weekend, joining up with R & S who were using our house for the weekend, preaching at a local church where I'm serving as the 'interim pastor', to radio shows and software, studying Genesis, and teaching music, counseling and walking with friends, business oppportunities, childrens' book publishing calls, meetings with the elders to brainstorm 'fun' nights, to sitting with my father watching "Parenthood" on TV (which was dealing with breast cancer tonight), to talking to a friend about her friend that was just diagnosed with breast cancer.

 And then I sat down at the computer to blog and saw this email:

 "Hi Deb, Just a note to let you know you are of the hook for singing at the Sea Dogs Game this month, they found someone else, their loss. Thank you for offering, L."

 This makes me laugh, because I could just see me singing "O Canada" at centre ice at the Sea Dogs game in Saint John. Maybe next year.

Is my life full of variety?  I think so!   One minute I'm laughing and the next I feel like crying for someone....

 "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you"

This is your Life by Switchfoot (with lyrics)