Summer!

A wedding shower for our daughter, complete with toilet paper dresses. She is the beaming one in the middle!

On one of our trailer trips I awoke to the raucous calls of seagulls...at 3:00 am no less.

When you want to buy a lure but you can't afford it, simply pull in a pike with said lure in mouth!

My boys and trees! They love them!

Spring is gone and we are into summer, but the air is cool mornings, and the river has not warmed up enough for any serious swimming. Fishing however, is great. And we are planning for our daughter's wedding. How exciting is that?

Thats MY word!

I love this word. When I found this little knick knack at Goodwill I knew exactly where it would belong. Ignore the Christmas motif, this is my word year round.

John 15:11 These things I have written to you, that My JOY may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

Galatians 5:22,23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self control, against such things there is no law.

James 1:2 Consider it all JOY my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Seems to me, God has offered me joy. I can experience it when I am walking in obedience to Gods Word, when I don't feel it, I need to check my barometer. Does it point to lack of commitment? Am I negligent in my Bible reading? Do I pray? Am I walking by the flesh? Do I trust God with the details of my life? Can I look at my trials as growth periods?

In all the ins and outs of daily living, of being a wife,of raising 7 children, of watching them take wings and fly, of being a good friend and neighbor, I see the steady thread of joy, and I love that word. It doesn't mean I'm always happy, doesn't mean I don't feel down sometimes, but it is what I strive for. I know God wants me to be joyful, and even when it is very hard, I focus on it. Whatever happens, I have a reason to be joyful. I have a Savior who loved me enough to die for me, numbers even the *gray* hairs on my head, cares for me more than the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. I have a loving heavenly Father who gives me good gifts, I have a comforting Holy Spirit who indwells me and helps me in my daily journey to become more like Christ. I am God's girl. And in the end, that is what matters most!


Anything less than joy, is doubting that He knows best for me

Music of The Heart

We are playing again. The older 5 children are grown and busy with lives of their own, but our 'little' guys are ready and willing to entertain whoever they can...and a band of 4 still sounds pretty good.

This guy has been playing since he was 16. That was a few days ago. He also runs his own music school and has an online store at www.afmusic.ca. Did I mention, I love him?

Budding musicians...budding? already very accomplished. They sure enjoyed playing for the receptive crowd at a local recreation centre.

And here I am...I enjoy playing the bass, but I enjoy more, the shiny faces of my boys as they do their stuff.

We play a lot of folk music, celtic, old time fiddle, but we always finish with Amazing Grace and the Old Rugged Cross. Those songs always bring tears in the crowd, and put a nice finish to whatever we present, because the best kind of music, afterall, is music from the heart....and that is my heart. To share the beauty of what Christ has done for us by shedding His blood on the cross for our salvation and His glorious resurrection. And Mr. Music Man as the people at the concert called my husband, always puts a few words in their as a finishing touch. (That's the pastor coming out in him.)