Is She Old Or Young?

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired. Isaiah 40:31 (Amplified Bible)

I could not find the quote I was looking for but the verse above did explain in part what I am experiencing. In Godspell there is a song called Bless The Lord and the words explain what I am feeling:

He clothes thee with his love

Upholds thee with his truth

And like an eagle he renews

The vigor of thy youth

When I was young I felt so used up and vile yet my body was in it's youth. I did not notice this bodies' youth. I only saw ugliness. Now the wear of years of depletion are showing it's consequences on this abused temple. I am taken by surprise when age reveals it's lines, wrinkles, lumps, bumps, scars and sags on this face and body. I find it interesting how I can feel so full of Life at this time yet see the reflection that I do. I know how I feel is of God. It is His Life that fills me with energy that is difficult to contain. The Word of God is eternal and Scripture (Jesus-the Word made flesh) fills this aging vessel. I feel youthful and excited to share His Love and Eternal Life with others. So I am not going to focus on a mirror that shows me a reflection of this fleeting world. I am going to revel in the Life that pulses through this body directly from Holy Spirit, God Himself. I choose to reflect His Life and not human flesh. I will Live in accordance to His Word as best I can and pray this decision to walk in the promise of Eternal Life will shine His Love onto the darkness bringing others into His eternal glory. Hmm maybe I will even start jogging again (that is if these old worn out knees can handle it and I can fit it in an already very busy day-and mostly if I am brave enough to try it out again-I will think about it- but I should just do it)

A voice says, Cry [prophesy]! And I said, What shall I cry? [The voice answered, Proclaim:] All flesh is as frail as grass, and all that makes it attractive [its kindness, its goodwill, its mercy from God, its glory and comeliness, however good] is transitory, like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely [all] the people are like grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah 40:6-8 (Amplified Bible)

Angels At The Nails

Here are some pictures from two different years, two completely different people,two different cameras and I hear there are more out there as well. God sometimes lets His angels be seen to help further His Kingdom. And if you want to 'feel' Jesus' holy angels make sure you get yourself to 'The Nails.' It is going to be great. I am so excited. Bring a friend and enjoy.

Wanna Have An Extra Encounter With God?

Are you run down? Feeling disconnected? Needing some redirection and grounding? Have I got a place for you. An experience... to break through those chains that are binding you and blocking the Life that you are meant to live. Get yourself to the next Encounter Weekend Friday April 20th 7PM & Saturday April 21st 9AM at The Life Centre.

My husband and I love these weekends. Every time we go through one we feel renewed. God takes us deeper in our relationship with Him and sets us free in new areas of our lives. It is like our yearly or biyearly cleansing. 'Stuff' can build up in our spirit and a good flush can do amazing things to set us farther along our Christ like walk.

If you are interested in this Encounter with God contact Terry Boudreau at 613-834-6585 ext. 27 or tboudreau@lifecentre.org. See you there.

WooHooooo-A Body Image Story-Finally

Well Tracy, I said I was going to share this quite a while ago then we lost our Internet for over a week and then our computer went down for a couple of days but we are up and running again. Now I am going to have to recall what I was going to share with you. Hmmm. Oh yeah you had asked the ? who is 'open' in the change room and who is 'closed' and for me that brought on initially a joking response but afterward I had some 'body image' thoughts to share.

When I was young early teens and twenties I was very concerned about how I looked. I was trying to do everything possible to look OK. I spent so much of my time, energy and resources on how I looked. Nothing was ever good enough and no matter what I did I just plain looked awful. That was all I could see. Then after I had my first child I went completely the opposite. I took a stand- to be a 'natural woman' and let my body be the way God designed it. Under arm hair, leg hair, no bra, and on and on. Rick is so.... gracious is all I have to say about that! I will never forget the look on these teen girls faces when we were at a local swimming pool. The poor girls were so repulsed by me with hair on my legs and probably a few other observations they made when looking at me. I got "disgust" and "repulsed" vibes from many sources not just at the pool.

To make a novel -a smaller novel- I will move on. After many years of therapy(for anxiety & depression) I would find myself still struggling with -what is the purpose of trying to look OK vs. I am the way I am can't you accept me. And although I was not 'owned' so much by these issues they were still there. But see it is still my way what I deem to be right or wrong given whatever frame of mind I am in at the time.

When I gave my Life to Christ ALL of that changed. He is the purpose. He is the meaning. And He brings a balance and sense to my functioning that brings the Answer to my struggles even though it is hard to put into words what the answer is.(if that can possibly make any sense) I will try to explain. Now, I use various products for my face and hair and alter the 'natural' way my hair and body would well 'naturally' uhhh position itself; within moderation for the purpose of Christ. Jesus wants me to love my husband. Part of loving my husband is looking socially acceptable. Jesus wants me to attract people to Him through my life. I have noticed that there are not too many people attracted to a life that is distasteful in any form. Do I have distaste in my life? You bet ya. I am far from where Christ would have me be. But I am striving in Him.

These are just a few of the thoughts that have allowed me freedom from being owned by the issue of looks and at the same time being free to put some effort and investment into presenting myself as uhh socially acceptable. I could go on and on with many more thoughts(they help me understand what I am doing and why) but I find my thoughts take away from the real healing that allows me this freedom. My healing really is a gift from Christ Jesus. His purpose and healing power brings every situation that I surrender in obedience to Him into a state of wholeness that is hard for my human mind to share. But I must because His Love bursts forth from my heart and I am compelled to do everything I possibly can while I still have breath to share this Amazing Love of Christ.

So whether it is how I present this body to others or learning to look after 'things' better or how and where I spend my God given Life energy and resources it all has real purpose that is grounded in Truth. And I am so thankful He has healed it all up and I am slowly but surely realizing it. God is so Good.

I pray this is somewhat on topic. I am skipping over quite a large topic here. And the whole 'looks' thing can also get into another area that I think our society struggles with which is body size and shape. Having recovered from a 'prison of thoughts' that held me captive depending on- a number on a scale, a size of clothing, the amount of body fat content I may be carrying at any given time, what I saw when I looked in the mirror and more to the point what the image of myself was. I find that all of these issues are put in their proper place in Christ. He is sovereign. He has won the Victory and all we need to do is pick up His trophy as we cross over His finish line into Freedom. I know on some days this can seem like such a hard thing to do while we are living here on earth. But Holy Spirit gives me the sense it is possible. It is achievable. And His Love shines through it all. Thank God. OK I am really rambling now. Got to go.

Fffeeww!

I am finally all caught up-for now on the blogs after being 'off' for over a week. It was nice to re-e-connect with you all.

The Nails-Imagine You Were The One...

Easter is almost here. Can you believe it! If you want to put something really meaningful into your Easter than plan to come on out to one of "The Nails" productions. This is a riveting, dramatic portrayal of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of a local blacksmith. Imagine you were the one who made "The Nails" that crucified the greatest man that ever lived.

This is a FREE event held at The Lifecentre 2214 Innes Road on Thursday April 5th at 7PM & Friday April 6th at 6 & 8PM.

Come on down and check it out. My family used to come several years every Easter before we ever attended TLC and we loved it and still do!

Becoming Partners

"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18 (NIV)

My husband and I just became partners of our local church The Life Centre. I have been going there for a few years now and finally the time has come. I am so used to living a lie of 'the outsider' 'does not fit in' 'never part of' that when Christ's Truth invites me into a family of believers and seekers it is an experience that is still quite new to me. I find the old lie trying to find its way back in to the shadows of my mind the odd time. The interesting thing for me is that Christ is lighting up so much of my mind there simply isn't much room for those lies to hide. I am far too busy filling my thoughts with His ways and exploring Scripture that there just isn't much room for darkness. And thank God for that. I am going to continue to learn what it is to follow Jesus and I am going to continue to work on making my everyday life reflect His love. I am excited to be a part of this new Church family. I look forward to learning and growing here and being able to help others do the same. Wow what a gift.

Reunited And It Feels So Good

I am oh so thankful and happy to be back. I must go through a 'catch up' on all of your blogs. I love to be able to share with you all and I look forward to getting back into the swing of things. I do have an essay for OSB due tuesday so I may be a little slow getting into full swing but it sure is great to be back.

Cut Off

Holy Mollee! Do I ever feel cut off. Our Internet service is down and it has been quite difficult for me. Blogging is one of the ways that I share and fellowship the love and challenges that come with learning to walk as Christ did. I am so thankful for this blessing of sharing our experiences and I will be back on-line ASAP (should be next week).
A special thanks to Laura, Jeremy and Nat for the assistance on Sunday.
Christ's love to you all.

Just Sing

Two of our kid's were arguing this morning so I called them upstairs and made them sit together in the hall right by me. The words that came to me were "until 'your relationship' is more important to you both than 'your way' you will both stay (it even rhymed-how cool is that-I could of even broke into a rap song or something-that always drives them nuts but I find it often breaks the fight) Anyways, they continued battling for a bit and they continued to sit. Well the next thing I realize they are singing together (don't be a chicken bock bock bock bock don't be a chicken bock bock bock bock don't be a chicken bock bock bock bock don't be a chicken be bold be a bold believer be a bold believer be a bold believer amen amen....) Then Ezra says to me, "mom now we got it going" and I replied, "you got it going eh? OK well of you got it going then you can go." Then they happily went back to their play.

It really hit me, wow, how effective that was. No wonder God calls us together in fellowship often and instructs us to give thanks and praise and worship together. My goodness He really knows what He is talking about eh? 'Can you imagine what it would be like' (as John the Baptist - Al - will be singing soon in 'The Nails') if every time we started to argue everything stopped and we sat down together until we made the Christ like decision for relationships over situations? Oh my gracious God that is what it is going to be like in heaven and that is exactly what happens here on earth when we choose "thy will" instead of "my will."

So lets all sing it now ( to the tune of if your happy and you know it clap your hands) here we go a 1 and a 2 and a 3 Until our relationship is more important than our way, until our relationship is more important than our way, until our relationship is more important than our way, lets sit still together until that day!

Parenting Series Blogs Closing

I will no longer be sharing what I am reading in regards to parenting. It can be an emotionally charged subject with very strong opinions and I am by no means an expert. I want to learn and grow in Christ like living and I am not here to argue parenting styles or anything else for that matter. Life is too short and there is far too much of the Lords work to be done through us for me to get caught up in "my way" vs. "your way" especially when "I" don't have "a way." When we embrace, it is all "His way" I know we will see "thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven". So, I pray that all who are searching for guidance and answers find them in Christ as I am learning. I pray "the peace that passes all understanding" to carry us all through as we learn and grow in Christ. I pray for the protection and blessings from Christ Jesus for all families. In Jesus' mighty name I pray. Amen

Beautiful Friends

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10

These two ladies I am blessed to call my friends. We have known each other for over ten years (13 & 11) We finally found a time that we could meet at Starbucks (yes it was Starbucks and not that other unmentionable place-although I would take where ever if it allowed us to have some time together for a visit) Our lives are very busy all of us with families to care for so the time we get to share is very precious indeed. Over the years these women have at many times shared their sisterly love with me and I have been privileged to know them. Jesus has shown His unconditional love to me through the sharing of our friendship. I pray that I can give them the kind of love they have shown me and that I can express to these precious women how dear they are to me. I hold you both in a very special place in my heart. Thank you Karen and Patti for being friends with me. Thank you Jesus for putting such special people in my life.

Parenting Week # 3

"It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."

Genesis 2:18

This weeks reading resources: Growing Kids Gods Way by Gary & Anne Marie Ezzo chapter 2

Main points for me:

When there is harmony in the husband-wife relationship, there is an infused stability in the family.

Principles to guide your family

By God's design husband & wife relationship is the first social relationship established in Scripture

By God's design husband & wife relationship is primary in the network of dependent relationships (much of child's basic security depends on what he observes between mom and dad. Went he sees love and affection he feels more secure.

husband & wife relationship must be viewed as the priority relationship in family

all other family relationships are subject to husband & wife relationship. (parental authority is God-given and necessary to enforce God's moral law in the life of a child. Structure and order are important to child development.

child centered parenting creates problems

separates husband & wife relationship and Scripture says "What God has joined together let no man separate" Mark 10:9

reverses the natural process of moral development by prematurely creating a false sense of self- reliance. (child thinks they are self-sufficient before they have established the needed self-control. Self-reliance without self-discipline is dangerous for children

child centered parenting fosters family independence not family interdependence (robs the child the opportunity to learn to invest)

magnifies the natural conflict between the natural way of the child and his need for moral conformity

can be close to idolatry (child's happiness greater goal than his holiness) God not the child needs to be the center of the family universe.

Achieving a Balance and meeting needs.

Life does not stop when we have children (just slow down)

Date night a good idea

Do special things for each other as well as the children

Invite friends over and have children help prepare things (learning to serve others)

Couch time- kid's see mom and dad together enjoying each others company

Observations in our home

we have improved greatly in our parenting skills as we are learning a more Biblical based way of parenting but there is still so much work to be done and room for improvement (baby steps)

This one was tougher for me because I began my parenting as a child centered parent. I did not know anything else. All I knew was that I was terrified and so I needed to hold on to those children with every once of my life energy so they did not get hurt. Well I have learned that doing anything with my strength my way hurts myself and those I love. Even when I am doing it with all the good intentions of my heart. Hmmm let me reflect on this for a moment my pettily human strength vs. God's omni-everything uhh which one would I choose for these children I Love so dearly-I guess it is a no brain er eh.
I am slowly healing from my lack of abilities and Christ is guiding us to all He has for this family. The children are such terrific troopers and God's Grace is truly amazing. So much to learn! Thank you Jesus for the opportunity to grow in Your ways for they really are the only safe place in this world and eternity.

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." Acts 16:31

Precious Memories With Family Sans One

"Now I'm turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends. " Acts 20:32 (the Message)

Today we went sledding and it was so much fun. I am so thankful for this gift of family our Lord has blessed me with.

Here are some pics. of our winter fun.

1. Had to give hubby a kiss for all the fun we were having.

2. Elisha and Rick wrestling in the snow.

3. Jacob on sled (no fear-despite mommas fear)

4. Momma, Elisha, and Ezra on sled.

5. Cutie hubbilius wubilious.

6. Rick and Donna.

7. Momma-Rick and Elisha are having issues with mommas fashion statement-santa hat in march, colorful wool sweater, leopard print mittens, and "rescue hero" style boots (my feet never get cold in those babies) for some odd reason neither my husband or daughter think I am going to make it for the Gap advertising campaign and I just do not understand why ;o) 8. Momma and Jacob on sled.

Jordan is away at Scout camp so we do miss him but we are looking forward to his safe return tomorrow and we will get to hear about all the fun he had then.

Honoring My Dad and Step Mom

"Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you." Deuteronomy 5:16 (NIV)

I love you Dad and Mom. I thank you for taking me in after the death of my mother. Dad I thank you for not giving up when the world got really tough (understatement to say the least). I thank you for being a kind hearted person. Mom I thank you for taking on the responsibility of looking after another child after you had already had three of your own. Your "staying power" is a blessing I carry in my heart. I thank you both for your commitment to each other even when times got rough. I thank you both for working things out. These are just some of the things I see in you both that remind me of the Love of Christ. I pray that you both feel the arms of Jesus holding you warm and close in His Loving and protective arms. The world without His Loving guidance and protection is such a cold and empty place. You are both dearly Loved by Rick and me and our children. This is a big e-hug to honor and remind you of God's Love.

A Prayer For Sultan

"may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ," Ephesians 3:18

I was running to church (literally) the other night when I heard a bus approaching. Even though I was past my stop and had no plans to catch the bus for some odd reason I stopped, turned and waved at the driver. Most drivers would not even stop but for some reason this one did. As the bus pull up I read that the sign said out of service. The driver opened the door and asked me where I was going. I said I was just going up the street to the church. He said I could have a ride IF YOU WILL PRAY FOR ME! I told him I would be happy to pray for Him. I asked what he wanted prayer for. I told him there is nothing that can separate us from the Love of Christ. I told him I was so thankful that Jesus paid the price for our sins because we all have them. He dropped me off right at the church and would not accept my bus tickets! I asked him his name and he told me his name was Sultan. When I got into the sanctuary I looked at the clock and it was exactly 6:45PM. The time I had agreed to be there. I realized I would have been late without that ride. What a blessing. Thank you Sultan. You are in my prayers. Thank you Jesus for giving me the privilege to pray for someone.