Saskatchewan

When people first see or hear the word Saskatchewan they wonder who on earth would want to live on a flat barren wasteland.  In school I didn’t like Saskatchewan because whenever I had a geography test I would always spell it wrong.  And now this has been my home for the past 13 years, and it is not what people perceive it to be at all.

Our daughters have been involved in Brownies for the past year and at the end of the year they took part in a weekend camping trip.  Since I had not been that involved in events throughout the year, I thought I would help with the camp out.  My husband and I booked a site for our trailer at the same camp ground that the girls were camping at.  I had been to Struthers Lake years ago but I didn’t take the time to really explore what the campground had to offer.

As it turned out, they didn’t need extra help for the camp out so my husband and I had the weekend to camp by ourselves.  What a treat!  We brought our dog ‘Bear’ with us and spent a lot of time going for walks.

It is interesting having a pet named ‘Bear"’, especially when you are camping.  Whenever you call for her it freaks all the other campers out.

The trails around the campground were just beautiful!

We walked for hours on the trails; partly by accident because we were lost at one point.  The trails go on forever and then they would come out to an open field and you would have to figure out if you wanted to take one of the many openings or go back the way you just came.  We decided that another path would take us back a shorter route but it didn’t and then it started to rain.  But it felt so good just to be wandering around in nature that the rain didn’t really matter.

On Saturday night we had a fire going, I don’t know about you but I can stare into the coals of a fire forever.  Watching the flames dance and the coals flicker.

Every morning we were awakened by the same beautiful sound.  There was a mysterious bird that we continued to hear but could never see.  While we were watching the fire I tracked it down through the trees.

Not sure what it is; if you know please leave me a comment below, I would  love to find out.

We had a wonderful time of rest and relaxation.  Just what we needed before our big renovation started and we wouldn’t have the time to enjoy the peace and beauty that Saskatchewan has to offer.  If you happen to be passing through Northern Saskatchewan drop me a line and I would love to show you around so that you can see for yourself what this beautiful Province has to offer.

Crazy Glue is really sticky

This is a post I wrote for the Godly Girls Series over at Mel’s World.  But I woke up thinking about it so I thought I would share it here.

"Be still and know that I am God."

Has that verse ever lain heavily on your heart? For me it is like that verse has crazy glue on it and it is stuck to my forehead and it is never coming off. At first I tried to peel it off, but that was too painful, then I tried nail polish remover and that made my eyes water. Then I just hoped that if I ignored it, it would eventually wear off. Nothing worked, it is still there in bold letters across my forehead staring at me every time I look in the mirror.

One day I paused and stared at my image in the mirror. I had been so used to seeing these words on my forehead that I forgot what they said. "Be still", that was a hard one for me. I have so much on the go, so much I want to do for God. Stillness equals laziness and no one is going to accuse me of that. I have my family and house to take care of, a ministry, my husband's business, I teach Sunday School, volunteer at my daughters school, oh my, the list could go on and on. Why am I doing all of this? Be still. Be still. Well, no time to think about that.  "Know that I am God". Of course I know God, I accepted Him in my heart, got baptized, I even have a few T-shirts that will tell you about it. I remember something from the "Experiencing God" stuff that I am teaching at the church. There is a difference between just knowing and experiencing God. Am I really experiencing a living God actively in my life right now? Am I cultivating a growing and lasting relationship with Him? Maybe these words on my forehead are there for a reason?

Maybe God is trying to tell me something? I am going to promise myself that I will read these words each time I look in the mirror. (Then hopefully they will come off.)
As time goes by I pause to read the words -- first frequently and then not so much -- I feel like I have read them enough that I don't have to take the time to stop and look at them anymore.

Then one day a headache knocks me out, I'm bedridden---incapable of doing anything. Sound is too loud, light is too bright. I snuggle myself down under my covers, hiding myself from the world around me. My husband comes to check on me, as he lovingly wisps the hair off my face to look in my eyes he asks me what is on my forehead. What I thought only I could see it. He says he sees something so faint.
I have enough to deal with! Now other people are going to see it. What does it say again? Be...still. Well, at this point I have no choice my head is killing me. Be still and know that I am God. Hey, that is in the Bible somewhere, maybe that will help me figure this out. I ask my husband to bring me my Bible. It takes him a few minutes to find it, frankly I can't remember where I put it the last time I read it. When was the last time I read it?

There it is Psalm 46:10. It feels good to open my Bible, to search through it. I think I will read through the chapter to learn more about this verse. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. --I need to hear that. I feel so at peace as I spend time in the word. I close my Bible, hug it to my chest and thank God for who He is and is words to me. Now I understand, Be still and know that I am God.

This is a parody about what I have gone through over the last few years. This verse has laid heavily on me and I continually pushed it away and ignored it. I bought a mug and wall art with the verse on it. But I never took the time to understand it and why it laid heavily on me until my health deteriorated so far that I lost my job and I could barely function in my home.

Finally I had no choice but to be still and trust that He is God. That is a hard thing for us as women to acknowledge and respond to. But it has been very rewarding. I made myself so busy doing things for God that I forgot to include Him in His plan. Now I am choosing to do things differently and by giving Him the lead things that I would have never dreamed, hoped or dared to ask for are beginning to happen.

May you learn from my experience to slow down and let God be the God of your life.

Back from Holidays

We just came home from a great trip to the lake.  We purchased a trailer this year, we found a great website that sells repossessed items.  It was a great find, now we have something to travel in as a family to visit family in other provinces and when we start demoing our house we have a place to sleep!

We travelled a couple hours east to Tobin Lake.  What a great time as a family.  The girls discovered they love the game UNO.  We read a lot, hung out in the boat and went fishing!

I have to brag for a moment about the huge fish that I caught!  This is my husband with my fish.  It is a 14lb Walleye, that was 32.5” long.  That is a big Walleye.  Most of the Walleye that we have caught have been under 4lbs.  So this was pretty exciting.  The girls couldn’t believe it.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I pulled it up and this is what I saw.  A very memorable day for me!

We also spotted this bald eagle watching us as we fished.  So majestic as it sat in the top of the pine tree.  Beautiful.

 

 

 

A storm brewing on the other side of the lake got my attention.  It was awesome to see the strength of weather.  As I sat and watched it move closer to us I thought- no amount of money or power could change the fact that we would get wet.  How could anyone think that they in any way, shape or form could possibly be bigger or greater than God.

It was a great time to get away as a family for a time of rest.  One morning I spent time with each of my girls doing devotions.  Their knowledge and understanding of scripture is incredible.  I am a very proud Mom.

We still have a couple more camping/fishing trips this year.  I can’t wait for those experiences.  I am so thankful that we have found something to do as a family that we all enjoy!

God Knows Everything

I have been studying for the online Bible Study that I am leading in the fall.  Psalm 139 is an important chapter that we study.  So I thought I would start there.  I didn’t get very far when Psalm 139:3 stopped me in my tracks.

“You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am.”

I always knew about the “path” that I am continually trying to locate and stay on.  But telling me where to stop and rest was something I don’t ever remember reading or learning before. 

If I had to pin point my location on the path I would say that I am at a resting place.  I have tried fighting against this rest stop.  I can see the road ahead of me and I want to keep moving and reach for the goals that God has me striving for.

The more I fought the harder God tried to hold me in the resting place.  Why would I want to fight rest?  Looking back on the last two years I am asking myself a lot of questions.  Currently I am enjoying the rest.  I now know that this is a time of “being still” and taking time to study and prepare for what God has next.  I am enjoying it and treasuring this time that I get to spend with my Lord.  I am learning and growing tremendously; I have learned to be thankful for this time. 

The question arises again.  Why did I fight this?  Why did it have to come to the point of health issues and job loss for me to give in and give myself over to a period of rest.

As a society we are driven to succeed.  A period of rest could look like laziness and lack of dedication to the calling that God has placed on your life.  I was enjoying what I was doing for God, why would I want to stop?  I was helping people-- encouraging people to live their lives with and on purpose.  I won a National award for my book-- why would I want to stop when everyone was asking when my next book is coming out?

Now that I have chosen to stop and rest I have a clearer vision of what God has in store.  It is bigger and greater than anything that I was striving for when I was fighting the rest, and something I would have never seen if I didn’t have this time of rest.

Every moment you know where I am and why I am there.  May I continue to be obedient and trust that you know the path better than I may think I do.