KEEPING HEALTHY

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Our little Jasmine Elizabeth has had to have shots today but it still smiling. This is always hard on mom and dad too. When I took my blog book over to the Nursing Home they really loved the pictures of the babies. I was really surprised how interested they were in it.

Just took some old clothes over to the fire hall. They take them to a second hand store. Sandra brought some things over too, some for the sale at our church next Sat. Sandra will help with the plants and Randy and I will do the books. The man who did them for the last five years just died. He was a very jolly person and he will be missed.

When something like this happens I realize what is really important in life. I have so much to be thankful for; especially my family, and I am also reminded that I have to take responsibility for my own health through diet, exercise, and enjoying life.

I also believe in the power of prayer and I believe that the spirit within each one of us can connect with God, who is Spirit. I think there is a praying instinct that is a natural human urge, with which we are born. I am thankful for doctors and medicine and all they can do. Yesterday I went to the health food store to ask about something I was taking for digestion and found that even though it said wheat free it was not good for celiac people. This is something I bet my doctor does not know. I was very happy to have found this out.

MY GOOD CHINA

My good china, such as it was, is now being crowded out by books. Books to me are a clue to life as I read the thoughts of others and learn about their experiences. I am not a scientific person but would confess to live more by emotions and imaginations than facts. I focus on what I have learned by experience and often turn to religious language to express my belief.

William James in his book "The Varieties of Religious Experience" records the experiences of other people as expressed in diaries and memoirs and published accounts. We can be trapped into having a detached view especially when we look into the practices of an ordinary religious believer who is content to accept the Bible without studying the history and the theology that it was based on.

We all experience an awareness of the sacred in different ways when a sense of awe and wonder fill our being. Many people might say, with good reason, to look for God in the church is the last place they would even think about looking. Does the liturgy give us the freedom to ask questions and to explore the unseen reality.
This is not to say that religion in all it's different forms does not have its own integrity and to worship with others enriches our spiritual being.

I know that times have changed from when it was a common practice to go to church, whereas must people are too busy or have been abused by religion so are completely turned off, or accept life just as it is.

Yesterday I took my book, Blog To Print, to visit the golden oldies in the nursing Home and I was amazed at the interest they had in it. They asked many questions about the pictures and we had to go through it page by page. I am a little disappointed in the pictures and I should have put more effort into editing it. I want to do it again and maybe Theresa will help me. I find myself a little afraid of the computer, afraid if I try something new I will lose what I have done. Right now my mouse has turned off so I guess it needs new batteries, and it is too early to muck about in the bedroom where dad is still sleeping.

"For an instant I thought of fire, the next, I knew the fire was within myself."
R. M. Bucke quoted in "The Varieties of Religious Experience" by William James.

"The True mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible."
Oscar Wilde, The picture of Dorian Grey.

I am reading "The Constant Fire" by Adam Frank.
Beyond the Science vs. Religion debate.

MY SALVATION

My greatest longing is to be calm and peaceful and to not be afraid.

It has taken years for things to begin to fall in place as I am slowly learning to trust that in this world there is a spirit of goodness that will bring us all into the light.

My salvation is not in a church or even in a religion,
not in a creed not in a church
but in the Healing Power of Grace.

I am thankful for the many different churches we have attended and for the many different people I have meet with whom I shared laughter and tears. I have learned to draw strength from the well of living water that Jesus offers to me daily but I have also learned to draw strength from the courage and faith of others.

Life can be stressful and demanding and there have been times I would have liked to run and hide. On that wet and miserable night that I went to church complaining within myself that I wished I had not volunteered to put on the coffee. My attitude stank. Yet a complete stranger speaks into my life; deep into the heart of my soul, and pours love like a healing oil on all my sadness and my grumpiness.

There are no words to express my feelings which is often the case there are no words to express the reality of truth. It cannot be grasped because like a cobweb it is so very fragile.

For a brief moment in time I truly believed that I was worthy of being loved.

I compare it to a vision or a dream of being in a beautiful garden, so fragrant and full of life. Birds and butterfly's, bees and lady bugs, worms and bugs; all creatures great and small. I feel inadequate to be in charge of all that I see.
There comes a presence that I feel beside me, that I cannot see but I know is there.
Jesus has come to visit my garden and enjoy it with me.

Salvation is just a word but it can be experienced as being loved for who you are!

MY BOOK ARRIVES! ! !

I saw the mail truck out my window so went running full speed down the stairs so excited expecting to see my package with my blog printed. What a disappointment when all there was was two bills which I slowly picked up and slowly went back up stairs. About 20 minutes later as I went back down I saw a package outside the door. "It's here! It's here" I yelled to dad. I wanted to laugh and cry as I opened it and saw the picture of Morgan on the outside and Ben on the back page.

Prophecy
This all happened because of words spoken to me by a man with the gift of prophecy. It was a rainy miserable night as my friend Cathy and I started to the Vineyard Church in Cloverdale. I was going early to put on coffee which I did very quickly. There was a group gathering around the visitor and Cathy pushed me to join them. The next thing I knew our minister came and took my hand and brought me forward. I was asked my name by the visitor and then he started to pray and speak words of faith to me.

He said that "I would be given spiritual eyes to see the promises and purposes of God fulfilled in my life. My daughter your feelings of loneliness and grief will be replaced by the spirit of rejoicing! You will know my voice and you will weather the coming storm [would that be lung cancer}; your harvest is coming.

I have a picture he said of a old fashioned desk joined with others with a hole for the ink-well. Things you learned a long time ago will come back to you. You have the ability to write, not just to journal, because you have a creative spirit and you will be a blessing to others. Your words will be published. Right now the Lord is cultivating the ground around you and removing weeds. Let faith arise!" With those words I gently fell under the power of the Holy Spirit and experiencing the joy of peace.

As a child I lived to write stories but had been told that they were silly so had never thought of myself as a writer. Since I heard these words I have written different stories especially what God is doing in my life. I have shared them with family and friends.

I know that I am loved by God and Jesus is very real
as a child I loved to talk to Him.

SILENCE

No phone calls, no mail, no friendly hello's with neighbors that was yesterday. We did have a thoroughly enjoyable visit with Madie as we talked a lot about the past. She is doing well and it is hard to believe she is 94. We had to laugh at times we all forgot names and places. She was amazed at how many grandchildren we have. 19!

I would be happy if I could be that healthy at 94. She still likes to bake and she is an excellent baker. I do not really like handling ordinary flour and with gluten-free you never know just how it will turn out. A minute to long in the oven and it comes out so dry. Right now with my friend Deborah who sends me home with goodie bags and things I can now buy I can avoid baking. Dad is happy doing the dishes as long as there are not a lot of them.

I am reading today about our two selves in "Healing and The Jewish Imagination" There is a contrast between the two selves within us all; the one that pursues mastery and control of the world and the other self in search of covenant, love and commitment. It would seem to me that when one overpowers the other the world becomes "sick" and yet both are needed and are gifts of our Creator. We will never discover the mystery of the divine without letting go of reason and control. Questions are good but demanding answers has never worked since the time of Job written generations ago. An ancient book in the Bible about an old man yet one that we can all identify with, unless you have had a perfect life and have never cared about the suffering of others.

"Science is meant to help us know and repair God's world." Science can not give us a complete picture so we have turned to philosophy to help us understand why we act like we do and why are we here? Even Judaism is struggling with tradition versus modern thought. This book is challenging how well we know ourselves and how willing we are to admit our weaknesses in certain areas. "The self that knows that he or she is sick is the one that can be healed." Which brings us back to responsibility.

Today I will be at the meeting of the United Church Women and tonight we have our Mennonite Home group. Great people in both.

As I post this blog a note comes up about simple cookie recipes. lol

THE ARRIVAL

Butterfly's are coming to our garden but to see a humming bird is a rare sight.

Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time,
carrying our hopes for joy, love and celebration.
The hummingbird's delicate grace reminds us that
life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal
connection has meaning and that laughter is life's
sweetest creation.

With high hopes I race to beat the mailman home to our house; but no mail at all!

This seems to be the promise that was the garden of Eden but now we know that much of the world suffers in the darkness of despair. Thankfully there are some who are trying to help and some progress is being made. The homeless in Vancouver will soon have to leave the homes that were built to keep them off the streets during the Olympics but which are now too good for them. Publicity is now making us aware of these problems.

I wonder if we all do not have to be shaken out of our complacency to alter the course of our lives or the lives of others. Like the article in the Sun reminds us even in our mature years we are called to take risks. Risks with the one life we have to live.

Choose life the Bible states as we journey from creation to experiencing revelation and finding redemption.


Today we will be delivering cards by mail and to our friend Madie Dunlop. who looked after Sandra when I went back in the hospital after having her, for a week. Then off to the library.

WAITING

Computers that do not work and parcels that do not arrive force me to wait for dad to open his eyes and for the mailman to arrive.

Yesterday, I was very disappointed and had to talk to myself to get over it and find something healthy to do. Such a beautiful spring-like day it was a joy to be out in the garden and muck about. Dad also fixed the pond so we hear the sound of the running stream again. I do my bread deliverer and take cups over to the church and after a late lunch at Whitespot end up at the dollar store to spend all the money I had left over!

Still a beautiful day so decided i needed a bit more of a walk. Came across a man laying down on the grass by a broken whiskey bottle. I picked up the grass and looked into his eyes and said I was sorry he was not doing well, but did not attempt to help him. As I started to head home to get help the firemen arrived and the ambulance.

Yes I have learned my lesson about not trying to pick people up.

This morning as I walked I was thinking that to be spiritual is just to be completely human and that was what Jesus was trying to teach us. I think that old age can help in that process if we do not become bitter or expect to much of ourselves!