Perspective

Every thorn has its rose.
Every down has its up.
Every half-empty glass
Is a halfway filled cup.

Turn a frown upside down
And you have a happy smile.
Heavy burdens strangely lighten
When you go that extra mile.

Every dark and stormy cloud
Has a lining silver clear.
Every night at its blackest
Has a dawn shining near.

Every storm has a rainbow
When the sunlight shines through rain,
And the wise who know this secret
Look for beauty in their pain.
-J. Richard

We Remember....The Great Wars

I was thinking today...of the wars of yesteryears. When my grandfather and great-grandfather before him and many others fought in the Great Wars. Fought for our freedom. Fought for the peace we have today. The ground was soaked with the blood of thousands of my countrymen. World War 1 would not have be won if our men had not fought. As it was said of the Canadians on Vimy Ridge. "The French could not take it, the British could not take it, but you Canadians were such fools that you didn't know when a place couldn't be taken." So the "fools" took it and paid the price. Over 3500 Canadians were slain in that battle. But they took the ridge and turned the tide of the war.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

by Major John McCrae

They were brave, they were men of courage. And back on the homeshore thousands of mothers, sisters, wives and sweethearts endured the agony of not knowing if they would ever see their men again. They were women of courage. I know my country wasn't the only one fighting and we couldn't have done it without the help of the allies. But for now I'm talking about my country. :)

"Teach them it must be lived for as well as died for, else the price paid for it will have been given for nought." Teach it to your children what they fought and died for. Pass it on to the generations that follow of the price that was paid so that they could live today.


And yet another great War is being fought today. A greater war. A war fought within the breast of every person that walks this earth. A silent war. And yet one of greater consequence. The fight between good and evil. Who will be victor? Who will claim the prize? Who will be defeated? The battle cry is sounding. Will you hold the fort? Will the line hold? Will it be unbroken? Will you gain the victory on the side of right? If God be for us, who can be against us? Do not loose courage, hold your ground, do not give up. The fight is always hardest just before victory. Keep the faith my brother, my sister, keep faith.

And so we remember...

Philippians 4:4-20

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

A Peek into My Life...





And so I thought I would do one of these posts. I know I'm sort of a recluse and don't share much about my real day to day life. But I guess I'll bite the bullet and here goes a little bit of a look into my life. Hope you like it! :)

Trying to write about a day in my life is a feat. I thought it would be something interesting to do though, as I like reading about other people's lives, so I will attempt to write!

My day begins around 6:45am when my alarm goes off, quite often jarring me awake. Though sometimes if I'm awake already I'll shut it off before it goes. I lay down for a few more minutes til I am fully awake, and then the day begins.

I don overalls for the barn, prepare the buckets, and head out into the slight chill of of this beautiful October morning. The air is so crisp and delightful smelling, the sun is just rising in the eastern sky. I drink in the beauty of it all. I love the early mornings.

The cows don't seem to have thought the night was cool enough to stay indoors, so there isn't much to do in the area of mucking out the stalls. I call them and they come in. The milking routine is fairly regular, washing and feeding them. I settle to milking. Just one cow is being milked at the moment as the other milker is old and I recently dried her up, and the other cows are heifers, plus a young bull, which aren't being kept here currently.

I love the calmness and quietness of the morning as the steady streams of milk fill my pail. I squirt milk down the throat of our stately cat "Prince George" who is perched next to me awaiting this very occasion.

It doesn't take long. I finish with the watering and feeding, unlock the cows, make sure all is well and then head into the house. I strain the milk, wash the pails and then set the milk to cool.

I quickly change and head downstairs. Family devotions is next and then breakfast. It's eggs and toast, sauerkraut, and tomatoes. Yum. After eating, I quickly prepare for the day. I check into the office. Time for work to begin. It's 9:30am.

I won't go into complete detail of my work day. Typically I work with my dad and brother. But they are away (or were anyway). So most of the business responsibility falls to me. I do have help, this is not a single-handedly run business. The days have been extremely busy. It's rush, rush, take calls, take orders, check emails, answer questions, or try too. Fill orders, check, package, double check, ship. The couriers come after lunch. So the mornings are busy, and the early afternoons are hectic. It's wonderful though to have a delicious hot meal to stop and take in the midst of it all. Mom cooks for all the workers usually. Afterwards we hit the grind again. When the couriers finally come, usually too soon for us. We get things out the door and then drop into our chairs for a few moments and breathe again. It's 3pm. We tidy up. Finish any unfinished orders that didn't get out.

Around 3:30 I head to the house, sink into my office chair and tackle paperwork. Sometimes there's more than not. Usually I'm wrapping up by 4pm. I check my emails and chat to my friend. Check my regular haunts...blogger, facebook, Homeschool Alumni, sometimes a few others. At 5 I wrap up and head to the kitchen. Mom and sisters are gone to take care of our horse at my brother's farm. I decide on supper after some humming and hawwing, Biscuits and baked apples. A new delicious invention of mine. The family arrives. We settle down to a yummy supper. It's somewhere between 6 and 6:30.

Immediately afterwards I once again prepare for the barn and repeat this morning's barn routine again. Loving the quiet stillness of the evening. It's nearly dark, if not dark already. The stars are beginning to twinkle. I come in to a warmly burning fire in the fireplace. We settle for evening devotions. It's been a busy day. We're all tired. I struggle to keep my eyes open. After worship is over I head to my room. It's about 8:30-9pm. I'll shower, and then curl in bead and read, write things (like this) :D, and study my Bible, journal etc...Between 10 and 10:30 I turn out the lights and crawl under the covers. Sometimes it's closer to 11, but I aim for 10:30 so that I can get the needed rest. Tomorrow is another busy day. It does not take long to...fall...asleep....

This leaves out millions of little details. The fun conversations we have while working, the interesting phone conversations, annoying customers, or customers who make you laugh. Visits with a neighbour who comes in to use the phone. And many other little things that make life worth living. The goodness of my God. Who truly is good to me. The time spent in prayer while working, the love in my heart for family, friends and everyone. The encouragement and strength that the Lord gives me for unknown situations. I'm loving my life. It's beautiful. Because God has given it to me.


Wait

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Is. 40:31

I prayed to be given patience, and the Lord told me to sit still. I prayed to be made tender, and the Lord gave me suffering. I prayed for joy, and the Lord told me to joy in whatever circumstance I found myself in. He did not give what I expected, but He gave better than what I wanted.

It's seems that it is quite common for the Lord to tell us to wait. Many times I wish He would just say yes or no. Instead of this agonizing wait. We humans are so impatient. We want our answer now. But often the Lord will not give us a clear cut answer. He wants us to trust Him. "It would be so much easier..." I cry. The Lord's way is easiest in the end. How do I know I am not wasting time?!" The Lord never wastes our time. If He says wait. Then it is not a waste of time to wait. "How do I know that I don't have it all wrong. Is my imagination playing tricks, or is it really God?" This could never be the imagination. If it is. God is all-powerful, He is taking care of you. It will all be perfect in the end.

"It would be so relieving to have the answer now!" You are not ready for the answer. It would be like tearing a rosebud open before it's time and then expecting it to be beautiful. It's not. It's ruined." Trust Me. The rose will open to full beauty in My time. It will be perfect. I am preparing Your heart for that time. You have nothing to fear my child.

The Nightmare

It's a beautiful night. The sea is as calm as glass...stretching as far as your eye can see...it's calm...it's silent...but lo...not all is calm and silent...there is a struggle going on...you're in the water...you're sinking...choking...silently pleading for help...all of a sudden before you is a raft with people on it....Thank you...help...you breathe a little easier...but no...it's not help...they watch you in silence as you struggle...they see you...but they do not see your struggle...they do not see the water...they do not see you sinking...you reach for the edge of the raft...you fingers grasp the edge...relief...but no...they pry fingers loose and push you back into the water...over and over this happens...the agony in your soul is so intense...can you not see?...do you not care?...they do not see the pleading in your eyes...they do not hear your silent cries. The raft disappears....you awake...it was a dream....a nightmare...

The sea...is life...the water...is pain..struggle..hurt...you silently plead for help...but your silent cries are not heard. The agony in your heart is so intense you feel it will choke you. Will no one help? Only you do not awake and find that it was a dream...it is all to real...all to intense...all to much a reality.

Ah, there is One to help...One who walks upon the water...say His name...He hears the tiniest cry...He will come walking to you upon the water...He will lift you up and cause you to stand. The water will become dry ground...firm beneath your feet...walk...run...leap...sing for joy...you've been rescued...by One who walks upon the waters...and subdues them under His feet. He will give you strength to walk upon the hills as deer...and you will be able to say..."He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters." Ps. 18:16

You will say with King David "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever." Ps 30:11-12

He Was Better

He was better to me than all my hopes;
He was better than all my fears;
He made a bridge of my broken works,
And a rainbow of my tears.
The billows that guarded my sea-girt path,
But carried my Lord on their crest;
When I dwell on the days of my wilderness march
I can lean on His love for the rest.

He emptied my hands of my treasured store,
And His covenant love revealed,
There was not a wound in my aching heart,
But the balm of His breath hath healed.
Oh, tender and true was the chastening sore,
In wisdom, that taught and tried,
Till the soul that He sought was trusting in Him,
And nothing on earth beside.

He guided my paths that I could not see,
By ways that I have not known;
The crooked was straight, and the rough was plain
As I followed the Lord alone.
I praise Him still for the pleasant palms,
And the winter-springs by the way,
For the glowing pillar of flame by night,
And the sheltering cloud by day.

Never a watch on the dreariest halt,
But some promise of love endears;
I read from the past, that my future shall be
Far better than all my fears.
Like the golden pot, of the wilderness bread,
Laid up with the blossoming rod,
All safe in the ark, with the law of the Lord,
Is the covenant care of my God.