Thursday's Thoughts

All this pain
I wonder if I'll ever find my way?
I wonder if my life could really change at all?

All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found?
Could a garden come up from this ground at all?

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

Oh, you make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new
Making me new

You make beautiful things
(You make me new)
You make beautiful things out of the dust
(You are making me new, making me new)

You make beautiful things
(You make me new)
You make beautiful things out of us
(You are making me new, making me new)
Oh, you make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

Gungor-beautiful things.

"From this side of glory we see the tapestry from underneath, and it is full of knots and twisted threads and frayed ends that lack meaning and beauty. From God's perspective , it is all under control." -Charles Swindoll
Another death , another cancer victim. Thoughts swirl through my head and I wonder why? Another day I shouldn't have said that, I wish I would have done something more. Why is it so easy for me to sin and so hard for me to find freedom? And I'm learning that the adventure to follow Jesus does not mean I am in the back seat of a limousine, waving to others like royalty. God is leading me through rough waters. The storms of life don't pass and then never show up again.
"Just cling to the knowledge that you could be in no safer place than the storm of His making. You are safer and more secure in the tempest with Jesus than you could ever be in the calmest place without Him."-David Jeremiah
As the song says you make beautiful things out of the dust, you are making me new. Painful at times , beautiful at other times. It is not for me to understand but to rest in the loving arms of Jesus.
May you walk encouraged today.

Thankful For:
The rain to water the garden
The sun to grow flowers
Longer days of daylight
Rudy and I are still cancer free
Grandchildren who remind me boogers are a fact of life.

Mother's Day Memories-Thursday's Thoughts

The grandchildren were over for dinner the other day. I made all their favourite things. Rice with roast chicken, cut fresh veggies, and their favourite desert, chocolate chip cookies. A few veggies were eaten , the rest Nada. Instead of taking this personally I thought back to my kid's and when they went to visit their Oma (step Oma). They were much too excited to eat, more than food was their desire to have the attention of Oma and Opa. Forget the well balanced meal, love me Oma. So out came some treats...gotta feed them something and memories were made.

And as I started to focus on Mother's Day this Sunday and memories of childhood, my focus kept coming back to my dad and the gentle man he was. And I knew I needed to change my focus.And I picked up this book and words so aptly written spoke volumes to my heart.
"We cling to the present out of wariness of the past. We cling to the surface of fear of what lies beneath the surface"Frederick Buechner.But what if we did not have to be afraid? What if we met our memories , when they arrived , with the confidence of one who is held-not haunted -by Providence? What if we took the hand of Jesus and lingered long enough with each memory to be comforted , or taught, or forgiven, or released, grateful for where the stories have brought us, for what our past has made of us, for the way our memories connect us to one another and to the larger story God is still writing even now.?
Whatever the old address of my memory may be, they were given as a means of life , not death. My times are in his hands, and nothing he has brought or allowed was meant to destroy, even those things that wounded deeply.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn , for they shall be comforted...Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:3-4, 6

Wounds take time to heal. There is no magic formula, no pixie dust to spread and make all things wonderful. Our stories are all unique, no two the same. Our memories vast like the ocean.
I search my memory to remember my past to move on to the future. And each day like the click of my camera, I process , I delete and I print . Each day I am learning that memories of childhood have made me the person I am. My memories a rags to riches story, written through the sacrifice of the cross. A unique void only God can fill.

May God erase all your bad memories of childhood that leave you in bondage. May he grant you a child if you are childless. May he bring back your lost child into His kingdom. May he give you power to overcome addictions and bad habits. May he comfort your heart in mourning. May he give sleep to the weary. And peace of mind to the confused. May he erase all unforgiveness from your heart. May he give you joy overflowing. May he protect and guide you. May his peace rest in your mind and heart. Amen.

 

60 Minutes of your Life

What would you do if the first hour of everyday was scheduled with purpose?
Looked for some ideas on line...
How much does the first hour of every day matter? As it turns out, a lot. It can be the hour you see everything clearly, get one real thing done, and focus on the human side of work rather than your task list.
Remember when you used to have a period at the beginning of every day to think about your schedule, catch up with friends, maybe knock out a few tasks? It was called home room, and it went away after high school. But many successful people schedule themselves a kind of grown-up home room every day. You should too.
1.Don’t Check Your Email for the First Hour. Seriously. Stop That.If you need to make sure the most important messages from select people come through instantly, AwayFind can monitor your inbox and get your attention when something notable arrives. Otherwise, it’s a gradual but rewarding process of training interruptors and coworkers not to expect instantaneous morning response to anything they send in your off-hours.
2.Gain Awareness, Be Grateful.Robbins suggests setting up an “Hour of Power,” “30 Minutes to Thrive,” or at least “Fifteen Minutes to Fulfillment.” Part of it involves light exercise, part of it involves motivational incantations, but the most accessible piece involves 10 minutes of thinking of everything you’re grateful for: in yourself, among your family and friends, in your career, and the like.
3.Do the Big, Shoulder-Sagging Stuff First
4.Choose Your Frog"Choose your frog, and write it down on a piece of paper that you'll see when you arrive back at your desk in the morning, Tripani advises."If you can, gather together the material you'll need to get it done and have that out, too."
5.“Customer Service” (or Your Own Equivalent)
By Kevin Purdy


So maybe you don't agree with all of these items , that's okay, it's somebodies point of view , just like my writing is.
My curiosity was inspired by my conversation with a friend the other day. In the form of a question. How are you? Wow , that was loaded with ammunition.Why? Because lets face it we all put on a happy face before our last look at ourselves in the mirror as we head out the door, and our typical response is always , I'm just fine thank you. Every things good, I'll be alright. Like when I'm sitting in Church Sunday morning , being inspired to let go and let God. And I say yes, and I'm feeling so good, and less than an hour later I'm wondering what happened? If only I could plug into Church everyday, catch a church service to set the grove for the day.Or would that just end up a roller coaster of emotions that end after each service is over?
If I think about it for myself , I think I need to have a routine everyday, starting with God. Hello my friend, it's me Margret, yup me again. And then throughout the day take time to check up on my friend again. Take some me time, take some giving time, take some silence time.
What our your thoughts?
Thankful for

 1.Good Friday-Joint Langley church service at -CLA service was amazing , check it out on line

2.And Easter Sunday NLCC church service, Pastor Matthew preaching check it out on line, he is so amazing.

3. Herb and Rosalie Ekkert who hosted 40 of us for Easter dinner.

4. Mattias and Stacey, nothing like young love

5. Kerry and Dan, so glad you could join us

6. Ben and Katie, and the joy you bring to family dinner

7. Being an Opa and Oma , I'm blessed everyday

8. Munchkin smiles

l0. La Conner tulip Festival

11. Sharing it with this special guy by my side.

 12. Ivy Inn a great bed and breakfast getaway.