a song for every day: February 2006

don't really feel...

...like blogging at the moment but thought I would and see how it goes as I finish munching on my weird lunch...meldly of veggies, millet, beans, tahini, pears etc. There's been a lot going on lately. Last weekend Fri. night and Sat. Andy and I attended a parents conference put on at our church. So glad we went. I found intriguing the talk about the societal shift from caring about the grand overarching (meta) narrative (hence valuing and building into children who will carry that on) to valuing individualism (kids/teens feel more left out and like there is no place for them and 'no one cares'. The shift took hundreds of years and it has created 'adolesense.' That is a very rough explanation of that.

Andy and Sarah...AA tried some orange pop from Mexico.

That same day at Tacos Subrosa, Abb. When we crossed the US border we saw El Nopal rest. and got 'inspired' to go out for Mexican. We got Sarah and ended up here. Very friendly people here.

Mt. Baker Day Trip

And here we are at our turn around point. I was a bit jealous of Andy on his skis. Walking downhill is VERY anti-climactic. He has skins for his skis so he can ski up and take them off, lock his heels in and ski down...great fun. We ended up 'bumming it' down some steep sections. Kinda fun in an out-of-control-I'm-getting-snow-up-my-jacket sort of way.

The group...some of them...check out the snow balls on the left.

I think this is Shuksan.

Yahoo...had the opportunity to go snowshoeing (Sarahless) at Mt. Baker with a bunch of people from church. I love those clouds. It was an awesome day. I was severly hot as I had Andy's huge plastic boots (for ice-climbing) on and too many pants etc...de-layering some helped and my feet never got cold. The weaher wasn't as cold and windy and predicted.

One couple we were with brought their dogs. This is Chinook. This photo makes me smile.

And the sun came out...

Sneaky. This is the photo to go with the post where I talked about under-dressing us when we went for a picnic at the lake. It's sunny yes, but so cold and windy. Probably pieces of nuts from the trees in her hands.

Enjoying a cool and crisp reading moment outside a couple weeks ago.

Closer...did you notice in the last photo, the rock in Sarah's hand?...she likes rocks.

Being gentle with the flowers. We walk around the tree looking for 'more' flowers. I say, "Where are the flowers?" She finds one and signs 'more' and we hunt for another. Thank you God for flowers. (I say this a lot too).

Crocuses. If you read my mom's blog, I took this a day before (or on the same day) she took her crocus photos.

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Hi...just wanted to say hi. Talk more later. May you know God's smile over you today. Goodnight.

a little blog from my marathon day

...beautious weather today, thank you God. Got to bike across town to my Mom's Conference. Andy took Sarah to his Mom's to be babysat. Conference good...learned about building up kids emotionally, about feeding kids and some on how to be a good wife and mother. Pumped breastmilk before lunch during a break and that worked out well...had a quiet spot and read my Bible. Lunch was good...lasagna et al. Had a veggie one with only cheese on top I opted out of. Then got a ride with my Mom to Mom A's and chatted with her till Sarah woke up - 2.5 hr. nap or longer she had. Then TRIED to catch the bus...we were at the bus stop and I was like, "oh, we have 7 min. to wait, let's keep walking and get to another stop." We walked too far...the bus turned left the street behind us. So, 'we' ran as it was dusking. The other title to this blog would be "Sometimes I run out of necessity." I could write a small book on mis-reading bus schedules and mis-reading maps. Home. Then call Danny's cell phone and Andy answers...D and AA were climbing today in Squamish. An accident has closed the road since noon and they don't know when they'll get home. I have a lot of collecting things to do. Tired Mom Kathy (at Conference all day too) takes care of Sarah while I pick up my HEAVY bike from the church and get Sarah's bed, bike paniers, cooler, diaper bag, other bag from Abrahams house. Just enough time to be goofy with Sarah, put away a FEW things, bath and goodnight Sarah and here I am.
Kinda glad Andy's not home yet cause I feel like the liklihood of snapping could be quite high with the need for sleep I think I have.
Yesterday the sunshine energized me and I worked too hard in the kitchen ...arms sore now. Canned beans, made granola bars, washed dishes (that's officially Andy's territory...I can rinse though), cooked rice etc. It was fun though. Had I blogged yesterday the title to it would be WHAT WAS I THINKING? The sun so bright and I so warm working in the house made me think that it was SPRING (there are crocuses blooming mind you). We would have a picnic like we often too...boring eating in the house all the time. So, off we go to the park. It's incredibly windy...I am wearing a linen shirt and flannel shirt over top - that's it. Sarah's dressed slightly better....jogging pants, dress, turtleneck and knit hoodie, fleece blanket and nylon wind blocking blanket over legs. We consume our cool chilli and potatoes by the lake and return home promptly. Did look around a bit a the park for a wind sheltered area...no luck. Got out later dressed up better for a run...then I was removing clothing...the wind had died down.
Anyway, all this makes me think I will sleep incredibly well tonight.
I want to end off with a quote...
"Truth consists in the mind giving to things the importance they have in reality." ~Jean Danielou
And also a scripture a friend brought to my attention...I love the last part about life that is truly life...
I Timothy 6:17-19 NIV
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."
...not so little the blog actually was.

Where's Sarah's nose?

Grma Kathy and Sarah reunited after Grma's big trip to Alberta.

Reaching for the sunshine one morning...note the growing golden locks.

We could see Mt. Baker from the Lake...the weather has been improving...yeah.

focus article

Our church has a monthly newsletter...here is an article I wrote for the Feb. issue.

“Under (Christ’s) direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Ephesians 4:16 NLT

My 16 month old daughter, Sarah, is finishing up her nap just through the sliding door next to me as I type here. My husband Andy, is just finishing up at work in Aldergrove where he builds kitchen cabinets. I attended another Design Team meeting at church this morning and write this article in hopes of connecting with you - the church body - a bit about what we do as a team.

Part of what I was created for?

I was looking back at an email I sent Lyndon several months ago.

“Another thing I love/would love to do, which ranks pretty high up there with outdoor ministry, for me, is planning worship services. Years ago I used to sit in church and wonder if there was any job that consists of this (planning times of worship for people...).”

So when Lyndon asked me to be a part of this Design Team which gathers every Thurs. for 2 hours for the purpose of being involved in crafting Sunday morning services (primarly second service) I was thrilled.

I have been encouraged by this group of people and it has been like a care group to me. I’m thankful for the openness and honesty of others in the group as to what spiritual lessons they’ve learned over the years. I smile when I think of the times of laughter we have together and also the non-rushed focused times of prayer around church life, services and group huddles around various team members to pray regarding specific personal concerns.

I’ve tried to keep what I call ‘short-accounts’ in this meeting – and in life in general – which for me means following what I believe the Spirit is leading me to do and say…and this always feels good.

We’ve gotten to know each other better through creative get-to-know-you/teambuilding activities, bounced many ideas off each other during brainstorming/dreaming sessions and discovered that almost everyone on the team has a soft spot for chocolate.

It is exciting to see how God has used the different people on this team – their unique gifts, talents and ways they think – to contribute to our experience of life together on a Sunday morning. We have discussed and often pray for the right balance of prayerful planning and flexibility and willingness to do what the Spirit may be leading on the ‘spur-of-the-moment’.

I can become a little overwhelmed with the enormity of what we are doing or hoping to do in these meetings. We are listening to God, asking what he wants to accomplish on a Sunday morning – relying on him for inspiration, ideas and resources to make it happen. Would you pray for us, as God prompts you, on this listening journey? And when God speaks something to you – regarding our services - please share it, for we need all the parts of this body doing their own ‘special work’ so we are healthy and growing…” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT).

This is a pretty awful picture of the design team I am part of at church - we help plan creative elements to the Sunday morning services. L-R: Derek, Me, Kristy, Doretha (with husband Lyndon (worship arts pastor) in front of her), Sherinne, Diane (with husband Chris (lead/senior pastor) in front of her).

Last Wed. night, Andy and I went to a concert...Starfield and Riley Armstrong. We'd seen Riley lots years ago and I was interested in Starfield. It was interesting being with a whole host of VERY energetic young people...and cool to see how Starfield led the 'evening of worship' as they called it...nice to have words on the screen to participate...

in the paper

Sarah and I (along with others) made it on the front page of our Abb. News paper yesterday. :)

big 'ol day...first nations

Hey. Andy's sick so I am doing a lot more these days . He has a nasty throat soreness. Sa and I are good so far. So, here's the run-down of my day. Chopped about 2.5 inches of my hair in the bathroom this morning because the heaviness was getting to me. Can't make it to the salon as AA's not up for babysitting - the cut will do till I get there...or maybe it's good enough. Did dishes, breakfast (sunny boy cereal), tea, laundry, bread (machine). Then AA drove us to city hall so we could participate in this walk called "Walk to Whistler - Spirit of BC". It was howling wind all night and during the day - with rain - and as Andy drove away Sarah's wind/rain shield on the stroller was blown off partially...are we crazy? Anyway, caught the end of the pacific mennonite children's choir singing at the opening and flag raising and then about 8 of us walked to the ice arena. I ended up talking with a lady named Ruth-Ann...who is the wife of Paul Wartman, the president of Columbia Bible College...crazy...good to talk to someone. I walked from there...after a 'warm-up' break and nursing and bathroom for me...through the park to the Trethewey house where there was more going on. I did a rock painting - used a sharpie on a rock to draw a fawn (symbol for gentleness) - and ate some bannock while looking at pictures of Sumas Lake, which is now a "fertile farm grounds". Then home, Sarah to bed after soup. Then I got ready to go ice skating (free skating during certain time block today too) but it was over so I kept driving to something else I'd heard about - Sumas First Nations Art, craft and bake and garage sale. Got the tail end of it - no more bannock left it seemed :) - and saw nifty things including pine needle baskets and dragonfly/bead necklace things. Bought a leather piece to make a pouch and some beads and a used book on finding cutthroat in our area - for AA. Seeing these first nation people reminded me of my time at Blueberry Bible Camp in 1999 and the darkness that seemed to plague the first nations community up there (Fort St. John). Then home for Abrahams quiet hour...all of us sleeping. Then made dinner - a complicated curry thing - with baked yams and potatoes and steamed brocolli. More dishes, laundry and baked chocolate chip bars, played with Sarah, cleaned up, bath, bed...realized I forgot about a party I'd said I'd go to. Called the person - sorry Keela, Cherise - wouldn't have worked anyways with Andy sick.
So, that's the day. No pics... I brought the camera, but it was so wet, I didn't think of getting it out. Thank you God for strength and provision and some neat moments of family togetherness today. Sarah kept giving Andy books to read, but I'd explain that Dad's throat was hurt so he can't read. "You'll have to read it to Daddy, show him your favorite pictures." And she did a bit. We are so thankful for Sarah. I said today that if you name a child like way after they were born I'd name her something that meant joy because she is so extremely joyful. Goodnight.