Cottage Bound

We left last Thursday morning.  Six bikes, five bags, four kids, three bags of food, two dogs and one tent trailer all headed up north in search of some sunshine and a view of the lake.  The sun began to peak through the clouds and by the time we were north of Barrie there was blue sky all around! 

A new little lighthouse on the shore

Perspective always changes the view

The first Inukshuk of the summer

Just a great shot

Flying a kite on the beach

Should I be worried that I missed this?

A new friend has moved into the birdhouse

We had three glorious days of rest and relaxation.  There really is nothing better than family devotions in muskoka chairs and singing amongst the trees.  God is good.

Finally Spring has Sprung!

Yellow Double Tulips - So Beautiful

This year the spring has been so slow to arrive that I thought maybe we might miss it altogether.  Finally though we got some sun and things have began to warm up a bit.   Well, it did for a few days when I took these shots.  Since then we have had nothing but cold rain!  But I am not going to dwell on that fact.

I took these shots while the sun was out and I was weeding in my garden.  It was nice to get my hands dirty. 

My Snowball Bush is the only thing I want to see that even resembles snow!

I will miss this tree when we move.  It is so beautiful when it is in bloom.  Round balls of delicate white flowers.  I may just have to plant one at our new house.

These are white trillium that have decided to make an appearance!

 

 

 

If it ever stops raining I will take another picture of these little ones.  They are in full bloom now and I love them.  So if the sun is out in your neck of the woods take some time to get out and enjoy all the beauty around you. There is so much to see.  God really has outdone Himself.

What do you say?

What do you say when your five year old daughter asks,  "Mommy, why would people be happy and cheering that they killed that man?"

Do you try to explain the terror that people felt on September 11th?  The devastating loss of hundreds of innocent lives?  Do you make excuses that the man is evil and full of hatred? Do you explain that his whole mission in life was to create a "holy war" and to continue to take innocent lives?  Do you say that there are reasons?  Do you say they had to kill him or he might have killed someone we love?

What do you say when you know what Jesus said?

      "You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.'

 "But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  

- Matthew 5:38-39

 

 "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.'

 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

- Matthew 5:43

"Father, forgive them,  for they do not know what they are doing."

- Jesus, on the cross

He is Risen!

The Morning after the Night Before

Our house is quiet, as I sit and watch the Robins run across my back fence in the rain.  The gray mist that covers our neighbourhood is indicative of my mood.  I have just spent wonderful, uninterrupted time in my bible and yet I am pensive, agitated and restless.  As the steam from my fair trade coffee rises in the air, I am realizing that I am not sure I have a full understanding of what it must have been like for the disciples and His followers the day after they watched Jesus crucified on the cross.  Can I ever really understand the hopelessness, confusion, and utter loss that they must have felt as I stand here on this side of the cross?  Maybe I need more days like this.  Days in which I see the world in light of His death.  It is hard for me to imagine.  What if His story ended at the cross?  What if my world's reality ended with Christ's death.  The harshness of that statement is difficult for me to fully comprehend and yet I know that for many today that is their reality.  Many of those I love and admire, live day to day in the reality that Jesus Christ was a historical figure, who was a good teacher and whose life ended,  period.  My heart is heavy because I am not sure I can understand what life would be like if His story ended with his death.  Our world is too broken, the grief is too much, the injustice so overwhelming that when I allow my mind to live in his death, life just seems like the weather today, cold, damp and endlessly gray.

For me, tomorrow can't arrive soon enough.

Good Friday - Reflecting on His Grace

The sounds of music, have filled our home since early this morning, as Jason, Liam and I spent time recording a new song that my husband Jason wrote called "Yes, this is Grace".  Jason has posted the recording as part of his Free Art Friday series.

You can listen to it here.

Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.

   About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"

   And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, "This man is calling for Elijah."

   Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.

   But the rest of them said, "Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him."

   And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

   And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 

  - Matthew 27:45-51

The Hiding Place

I have been a little lack in writing mostly because of the move but I had to let people know about this deal.   Corrie ten Boom's The Hiding Place is one of my favourite books and they are offering it for free this month over at Christian Audio.   You can get this free audio book here.

If you have kids I would say that it is suitable for middle school kids and up.  We read this book to our older crew (ages 9-14) last year (it was too old for TJ age 4) and it led to some fantastic family discussions.  This true story about Corrie's life and how she used it for God's Kingdom has some very intense scenes of cruelty and evil that happened during second World War.  It truly is an inspiring book that shows of how there is "no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still."