Beauty in Harsh Conditions

When I was out for my walk I came across these snow drops. They were growing out of a bunch of twigs and a tangle of dead grass and pine needles. Beauty came through in spite of harsh conditions.

Life is like that. There are difficult days and trying times, but when you have Jesus you can have true joy regardless of circumstances. Like delicate little snowdrops the joy presses through the dificulties.
Praise the Lord! His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness!

Here is a Video of Veritas singing Great is His Faithfulness. Beautiful!
(How could I not include this song it was running through my mind as I am sure it was yours. ~smile~)

Take Care! Be Safe! You are Loved!
Liisa

Trying to Be a Blessing - From a Distance

These days are lonely and discouraging for so many and I have been trying to find ways to be a blessing to them - from a distance.

Seniors especially find these days difficult, they often live alone and they have to be especially careful during these days which isolates them even more. One of the things I have been doing is sending out cards to them. Everyone needs to know that they are being thought of and that people care about them. I am actually in charge of care ministry at our church so the cards in the picture are ones I sent out from the church. But I also enjoy making cards so I will be sending out some from my hubby and I as well.

I have been calling a special friend every day or so, she is in her 80's and she says the days are very long for her and my calls brighten her day. I am planning to call one or two members of our church family as well each day so we can all stay in touch and encourage each other.

I have had some other thoughts on how I can be a blessing to others from a distance. Prayer is the most important thing I can do for others. I have been taking a lot of walks and when I go alone I use that time to be in prayer for others.

I have also been sending emails to family, friends and church family throughout the day just to keep in touch and let them know I am praying for them. Technology is so helpful in these days  - as I said before I am still hoping to be able to find a way to have Bible study with the ladies online.~smile~ My sister has been using facetime (?) or Skype - Not sure how either of those work as I am technologically challenged but I know it is a blessing to my Mum as she feels like she has someone over when she can talk to them "face to face".

For the children I miss so much from Children's Church I am taking a page from some of the local churches and planning to put together some online materials and email them to their parents so they can print out lessons and activities for their children to do on Sundays.

I am also planning to call the seniors home where my friend and I do hymn sing and see if anyone there might appreciate me reading to them over the phone - especially the Bible. I am also going to offer to write letters for them if they would like to dictate it over the phone. Many of the seniors are no longer able to write as their hands are too sore or shaky. 

On my phone call list are also my neighbours - just to check in on them and see if all is well. I am going to do my best to reach out to them with the gospel. Not force it on them at all but as God provides openings I will share with them some encouragement in that way and let them know that I am praying for them too! ~smile~

I am busy sewing fabric masks for family and for people in our church and our community. The verdict is out whether they are really a benefit or not. I think they are saying if you are healthy you should not wear one but that seems to be because they are afraid people will stop social distancing or touch their faces more. However they are also saying if you are caring for someone ill you should wear at least a fabric mask. So if it can help even a little in that scenario I am thinking it can be a benefit just when you go out. We watched a Doctor from South Korea who recommends everyone wear one and a hospital in Toronto is where I got my instructions on how to make them. They are asking people who can sew to make and donate masks to the hospital for approved visitors and to distribute to people in the east end to help with community spread. I am too far away to donate to the hospital but  can make them for our people here.

I will keep on the look out for other ways I can be a blessing and just pray that God will use me for His glory and as a  light shining for Him!

Take Care! Be Safe! You are Loved!
Liisa

A Different Kind of Sunday

Not being able to attend church has been a hard thing for me. I miss my church family. I so miss worshiping with others and for the foreseeable future we are barred from doing that. I know and understand why and I respect the decision but it is tough.

So we do the next best thing. Our church live streams the service Sunday mornings. There is worship, prayer and a sermon and we can all virtually gather together at the same time though from our own living rooms. It is strange how much this helps us to feel like we are still with our congregation. It is a blessing and I very much appreciate the men who put so much into making this happen. It is alot of of work.

It is so important to keep fed spiritually during these difficult days. If I am not filled right up spiritually how can I be a light shining for others to see?

Some other ways I try to keep close to God are to spend time in prayer and Bible reading on my own and with my hubby every morning, it is a special time.~smile~  I read books by trusted authors and devotionals, I call church family - just talking to each others rather than just emailing is quite encouraging. I hope to find some way of meeting with my Bible study ladies all together online so we can continue to be a blessing to each other as we study God's Word together. Oh I miss that so much!!

So there are many ways to keep fully fed spiritually and I am so grateful for that. Technology while not always a good thing is a very real blessing in these days!

Take Care! Be Safe! Jesus loves you!
Blessings,
Liisa

Keeping a Sense of Normal in the Craziness

I was watching a vlog from Our Tribe of Many yesterday.  They are an awesome family and you can check them out here. Anyway, she was talking about the kids and said they are bringing a sense of peace and normalcy to their lives by doing their hair in the morning and getting all dressed for the day.

I needed that for me! Mind you, I do get up and get dressed first thing in the morning and do my hair but I had been just throwing on work skirts and older tops since I was not going out anywhere, well except for a walk or two. I realized that I should stop that. No one outside the house will see me but my hubby does! I should be making the effort to look nice for him.

Today I made a point to get up and put on a nice skirt and I put a pretty sweater over a t shirt. I felt renewed! I know it is silly that clothes make such a difference in your mood but they really do. Life seemed more normal, I felt happy and raring to go instead of dragging myself around.

The picture above is from my walk this afternoon. So pretty! It was a wonderful time. Fresh air and the birds were singing their little hearts out all over town!

So what else happened today? Hubby and I finished setting up my new sewing room! We have had a spare room that has not been used in years except as a catch all room.We have been working for quite a while emptying the room and stripping the wallpaper the previous owners obviously super glued to the walls. My wonderfully handy hubby repaired cracks in the lathe and plaster (we have a 100 plus year old house) and we painted it a fresh bright color called birch bark. It is such an awesome color - in the day it is so bright in there that it looks like a light is on. Just a soft sunny glow about it.

Anyway, today we cleaned it all up and I washed the floors. Hubby put in a corner cabinet for me and a long table for my sewing machine. I love it. It is so bright and cheery and I finally have a spot to sew where I don't have to worry about putting away the sewing machine so we can use the dining room table. I am so looking forward to sewing some skirts. I have had tons of fabric I found at a second hand store for a long time and I can finally get busy in my own sewing room! How awesome is that! ~smile~

Today for dinner we had potatoes, sausage and sauerkraut. ~mmm~ My hubby is German so we eat this often. The neat thing is my hubby made the sausage and he has in the past made the sauerkraut. I don't mean he cooked it I mean he created it. Seasoned pork, ground it and put it in the casings. We are blessed with friends who have taught him these skills and it is a real blessing. I am a big fan of being able to do all you can for yourself. I hope to be able to learn more and more!

It is a hope of mine that I can find a lady from the near by Amish community who will teach me the skills she has. They have had so much knowledge passed on to them. My friend lives in a wee town in the midst of the community and she is quite close to her neighbour who is a sweetheart. I wonder if she may be willing to teach me. Hmmm.... something to look into when all this is over.

Anyway, it was a beautiful, productive and happy day here in my home.
Take care! Be safe! Jesus loves you!
Blessings,
Liisa

Lesson from a Squirrel

So our world is facing times called unprecedented, never before seen, first in our lifetime and we are. Never in my life have I seen something like this. The whole world is touched by this terrible Covid 19 virus. So many have become sick, so many have passed away. There is fear of what the future will hold post virus for our economies. It is so easy to obsess about it, to be consumed by it and so easy to become completely stressed by it all. It is everywhere you look and affects so much of our daily lives.

So where does the squirrel come in? Well I was feeling stressed and nearly overwhelmed by news reports, reports from friends etc. then I looked out the window. In our backyard was the cute little mama squirrel. ( I feed her peanuts - don't tell my neighbours!)

She looks like she is wearing a vest from pulling out her fur to make her nest. She was quite busy collecting peanuts (wonder where those came from...shhhh!) and hiding them away for later. All afternoon whenever I looked outside there she was busy about her business. I suddenly had an a-ha moment. You know the ones where you get smacked in the face by a truth God has likely been trying to show you for sometime.

She knew what she should be doing and she was doing it. I realized that no matter what is going on in the world I need to be doing what I know I should be doing. I need to carry on with my life. I need to keep my eyes on God, I need to spend lots of time in His Word and in prayer. I need to look after my husband and my home the very best I can. I need to be a light shining for God even if I can't leave the house much. I need to be kind and loving when I do. I do need to keep up to date but I do not need to obsess and worry. I know Who holds my future in His hands, He loves us and I can trust Him.  I need to live my life in a way that is pleasing to God and my husband.

What a tremendous relief this was to me. I needed to have my focus readjusted and my priorities put back on track. God is so good and He knows what I need before I do and He even provides lessons from cute mama squirrels who may get too many peanuts from some where!

Anyway, this just really spoke to my heart and I wanted to write it down here.
Take Care! Be Safe! Jesus Loves you!
Blessings,
Liisa

I am Back and I am Just Me

I stopped blogging because I heard a pastor (not ours) say that blogs, vlogs and all social media is all about ego. People who do these things have big egos and just need to tell everyone how great they are. Those words kept popping up in my mind and I had to wonder is that what is behind my desire to blog?

 I thought about my attitude when I write and it truly comes from a desire to just record the goings on in my life. It is helpful to me to be able to look back and see how I did things and when and I really hope that one day my future grandchildren can look at this and see me and my life. I wish I had a diary of my beloved Nanny's life. She is gone now and I look back at pictures and wonder what her life was like, what she did in her home each day, what her thoughts were. We were really close but still I would like to know more about her. Maybe my grandbabies will want to know about me one day.

I also realized that because this is a public blog I could worry about what people will think and tend to over think what I am writing and how it may sound to others. This could make the blog less about me and more about how I want people to see me.

So ALL that said..... I am back and I am just me. The good, the bad and the ugly! hahahaha!

I am just going to do what I want to and not worry about what others think. I know I am not displeasing God and my husband has encouraged me to start blogging again after I talked it over with Him and those are the ones I need to worry about.

Ok....here we go!

Blessings,
Liisa