Treasure Hunts & Outside

The children in the neighbourhood have been busy over the long weekend creating Treasure Hunts for each other.  It shows their creativity both to create the clues, and to decipher both what the clues might mean & how their environment could be perceived.

 Here they are looking for clues they think are under somebody's shoes.

Seems the children like to congregate in our yard since its the largest on the block and not full of stuff.  Its a great place for tag, soccer, Dead Ant Tag,  and just goofing off.  But then the neighbours' draw is that most of them have trampolines and a bunch of stuff.  So they wander between the yards, playing well together and having a lot of fun.

Slightly different topic:

I was shocked, to say the least, when one of the moms stopped by the other day to say "It is such a beautiful sight to see your children out in your yard playing."  She was referring to our children playing out there on a daily basis when the other children are off to school or stuck in their houses doing homework.  Our children love to play outside and are often seen out there even when the weather isn't exactly the nicest (in my estimation, anyways).

The compliment came just as I finished reading "LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS: SAVING OUR CHILDREN FROM NATURE-DEFICIT DISORDER   by Richard Louv  and was feeling like my children don't get into nature enough.  They could get out into creation more, do more hiking, more sitting under a tree to watch the squirrels, etc and I don't set a good example in that department, but nonetheless it was nice that somebody took the time to encourage me that I'm on a good path.  Thanks, Britt, you blessed me.

You Owe Me!

The Sun doesn't say to the Earth 

"You Owe Me!"

*****************

Do I think anybody owes me anything because of the work that I do

as a wife/mother/sister/daughter/friend/citizen?

In what spirit am I serving?

Whiffen Spit

An actual place name;  popular for a walk here in Sooke.  It appears as though its more popular to walk dogs than to take children though.  But Gaelyn was able to tell basically every person that was walking their dog that it was a 'Cute Dog' (even if it wasn't cute to the rest of us......like Banjo, hey Layne?)

Laars is NOT a walker.  He always wants to hitch a ride.  He'd rather pick flowers, but the rest of the gang is always walking too fast for him to enjoy the flowers to his hearts content.

Found a shelter to play on and in.

Laars' find was an acorn and a little carrot.  Mama said 'Yuck' about the carrot so he traded it in for a rock.

This Rock!  Mama got to carry it in my pocket for the rest of the walk.  I think it's still in my pocket!

 

Hey, I lost my shoe!!!

                           'Twas a beautiful walk. 

Botanical Beach & Cuts

Yesterday we drove out to the west coast of the westcoast.  That's the west side of Vancouver Island.  Everette's mom, sister & her dh were supposed to meet us out there in the afternoon, but they weren't able to find us until the end of the afternoon when we returned to our van which they had parked right behind.  So, at that point we stood around the parking lot eating wraps, oranges and corn chips with salsa  while visiting.

Below are some pics from our family's day at the beach.  It was a couple of km walk down to the beach from the parking lot.

We missed these big rain forests.

Laars with his walking stick.

Loads of tidal pools to observe.

Unfortunately this baby octopus was dead.  We found him/her just on wet sand, probably where a small pool of water used to be.

smokin' an orange segment.

Sights on the drive home......

So, that's what we did yesterday (Sunday). 

Today was Victoria Day, what we usually call May Long Weekend.  We decided to spend an extra night at Hales, get another visit in with Mom Johnson this morning, hang-out and get some hairs cut. 

this is the pile of hair cut from my own head.

      And............

you'll have to come back tomorrow to see.........

Do You Have a "Nature Deficiency" ?

I think The Health Ranger, Mike Adams, is my favorite on-line writer about issues pertaining to health. I've shared his thoughts before, and here is another article I wanted to share with you. It is something I definitely have a deficiency in, and I get chilled just thinking of going outside here today on Cape Breton. Seems the older I get, the more I hate to be cold.

I'm still dreaming of a warmer location to reside in, and a huge part of the reason for that is because of the health benefits that are easier to attain there.

Anyways, here's the article by Mike. Not really anything profound.....just common sense that no longer is common!

Heal yourself in 15 days by correcting your "nature deficiency" (part nine)

I'd also add that sleeping with our windows open can certainly improve our health and sleep. When we sleep with the windows and doors closed, we are obviously breathing in stale air all night long. When our body is in a prime cleansing cycle, we should be aiding it in its job by providing fresh live air. You'll have a better sleep, and wake up totally refreshed.

Stop Building Disease (Part 3 of 3)

Hope you enjoyed these 3 videos, like Everette & I did.

It really isn't hard to start taking care of ourselves and get back to more natural means. It requires thought and de-programming, but it is possible.

Not only in our health, but in our spiritual life and emotions....everything......we have been programmed to live an unnatural and denatured life. But YOU can come away from all of that. Take charge, and start thinking for yourself. Get back to listening to your heart.

You can watch other videos by Thomas Lodi, MD here

Crisp Sunrise

God's Mercies are New Every Morning!
And His Faithfulness is Evidenced by the Sun that Rises Every Single Morning!! Thank You, Lord.

Question for You: What reminds you about the faithfulness of God?

Who Wouldn't Want a Free Book?

Thanks to Marla you can get yourself what sounds like a great read, about something I'll bet the majority of us Christians could benefit from.

click here

I've read Gary Thomas' book Sacred Marriage and thought it one of the best reads on Christian marriage. So I look forward to reading this new book of his.

I already agree with Gary, that we tend to feel bad about feeling good and enjoying pleasures. But I don't think God intended that.

I often think about His Own Lavishness. Why did He create such incredible beauty in the depths of the earth, such as stalactites & stalagmites, that only He has enjoyed until the last few hundred years? He's Extravagant. Because He likes beauty and abundance and all things lovely.

Check out Dany Sternfeld's Flickr pics for some beauty!


Question for You: What makes you think about the Extravagance of God?

How Great is Our God

We were fortunate enough to be introduced to a DVD of Louis Giglio while we were in AZ last winter, and the whole family was ahhhhed by Louis' talk. Today, while I was visiting Astronomy Picture of the Day Mitchell was "Ah, remember that really cool talk about "If Earth was the size of a golf ball? That was so cool, I wish we could watch it again!"

Well, mama found it on YouTube, and thought I might as well share it with those of you who have never heard of this phenomenal show. It really makes you marvel at the creativeness and utter awesomeness of God. We feel so incredibly small, and yet so incredibly special to God.












Question for You: What part of these videos spoke the most to you about How Great is Our God?

Worship Part I

So, the Lord had one-at-a-time given me 3 words. Life. Freedom. Victory. The fourth and final one was Worship.

I had been feeling this word for some time, knowing that there was so much bound up in this activity. I got the feeling that this was really the pinnacle, the thing that held so much truth, so much simplicity. Life & Freedom & Victory all bound up in one aspect.


In Luke 4:8 Jesus said, "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only."

Why should we worship the Lord our God?

Psalm 104:1
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

Psalm 8
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!



Rev 4:11
"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being."

Rev 4:8
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

Rev 4:11-14
I looked again. I heard a company of Angels around the Throne, the Animals, and the Elders—ten thousand times ten thousand their number, thousand after thousand after thousand in full song:

The slain Lamb is worthy!
Take the power, the wealth, the wisdom, the strength!
Take the honor, the glory, the blessing!
Then I heard every creature in Heaven and earth, in underworld and sea, join in, all voices in all places, singing:

To the One on the Throne! To the Lamb!
The blessing, the honor, the glory, the strength,
For age after age after age.
The Four Animals called out, "Oh, Yes!" The Elders fell to their knees and worshiped.


Isaiah 6:3
And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."



Deuteronomy 32:1-5
Listen, Heavens, I have something to tell you. Attention, Earth, I've got a mouth full of words. My teaching, let it fall like a gentle rain,
my words arrive like morning dew,
Like a sprinkling rain on new grass,
like spring showers on the garden.
For it's God's Name I'm preaching—
respond to the greatness of our God!
The Rock: His works are perfect,
and the way he works is fair and just;
A God you can depend upon, no exceptions,
a straight-arrow God.
His messed-up, mixed-up children, his non-children,
throw mud at him but none of it sticks.


And how were we to worship Him?

In John 4 it says that "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

The Message says, "It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."

What does that look like? There are lots of things that worship entails.


Psalm 105: 1-6
Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name!
Tell everyone you meet what he has done!
Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
translate his wonders into music!
Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,
you who seek God. Live a happy life!
Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;
be alert for signs of his presence.
Remember the world of wonders he has made,
his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered—
O seed of Abraham, his servant,
O child of Jacob, his chosen.

from Psalm 149
Praise the LORD.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and harp.

For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with salvation.
Let the saints rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.
May the praise of God be in their mouths
and a double-edged sword in their hands,



Psalm 146:2 (NIV)
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.


Psalm 34:3 (This was at the top of Everette's and my Wedding Invitations)

Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.


Psalm 5:11
But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.


Psalm 106:1 Praise the LORD.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

2 Chronicles 7:3
When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
"He is good;
his love endures forever."

Exodus 34:8
Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

2 Chronicles 20:18
Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD.

Worship isn't necessarily still, or quiet, or well-behaved. It isn't necessarily solemn, or organized, or pretty. It is being raptured in the awesomeness and holiness of the presence of the Creator of the Universe. It is being abandoned, being undone, losing oneself in the beauty of Him, the Savior of ones soul. The Giver of Life. The Freedom-giver. The Victorious One. WOW!!

Question for You: What does worship look like to you?

For God so Loved the WORLD!

Where did I ever get the idea that the WORLD in John 3:16 meant 'all the inhabitants; all the people of the world'? When I ask people around me, they also seem to have absorbed the idea that God loved (just) the people in the world, and that's why He sent His Son into the world to die for them.

But wait! If we read a bit more of the scripture and take it for what it really says, we come up with quite a different idea.

John 3:15-17 "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so also is it necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him would have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that every one who believes in Him would not die but would have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world so that He would condemn the world, but so that the world would be saved through Him."

Sure, John is talking about salvation being available for people through the sacrifice of Jesus. But, that's possibly not all. It says that because God loved the world so much.... The word translated for 'world' here is the Greek word "kosmos". That means the worlds systems....not just the people in those systems.

So, is it possible that Jesus didn't just come to save the people of the world (like I grew up assuming) but that He actually came to save the whole world/universe/space?? Could it be that He intends to save ALL that He created?

Ron McGatlin in The Seventh Millenium writes "As men receive Christ Jesus into their lives and then yield control of their lives to the Spirit of Christ within, the will of God is done from heaven on earth. The kingdom of God from heaven rules in the world and the ways of God redeem and restore the kosmos." Ron continues, "In every instance the word translated "world" in John 3:16-17 is "kosmos". The key to the redemption of the world is the salvation of man. Thus man's redemption is the world's only hope."

Wow!

While we were in Arizona this winter, we were priviledged to hear a dynamic Jason Westerfield speak. Anyways, he gave testimonies about places where the earth and the economy improved around places where revival had taken place. Places like villages in Guatemala where people had had supernatural experiences with God, and then the ground itself started to produce more vegetation, and more crops for the farmers! Can you believe that? I certainly do. Why wouldn't it? If Jesus Himself came to give us life, and that life more abundantly, then why wouldn't it effect the land and atmosphere around us? More crops would make those farmers' lives more abundant, that's for sure.

I heard a story thru Bill Johnson that a flowering cactus (I believe that's what it was) that's been located in a prayer room of theirs, has now been blooming something like 11 months of the entire year!!! Where normally it would bloom for a short period once or twice a year. Believe me....praise changes the atmosphere, and that plant is thriving on it.


Question for You: Have you seen or heard examples of the earth/nature being supernaturally renewed in connection to revival in an individual, or community, or country?