Horizons

Patience

"A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us."

— Henri J.M. Nouwen

image jenniferferraro.com

Isn't it Funny...

How you can find yourself in situations that at one time you would never have been able to deal with, but you do deal with it & grow stronger, tougher & gentler all at the same time.

How the word humble & humbled can take on new meaning, again & again.

How being alone can mean being lonely in a crowd yet never fully alone because your conversing with God all the way through it.

How beautiful people are...especially children!  Children are truly GIFTS from God!  Open vessels wanting only to be filled with love, encouragement, guidance, & acceptance.

Religion today is not transforming people; rather it is being transformed by the people. It is not raising the moral level of society; it is descending to society's own level, and congratulating itself that it has scored a victory because society is smilingly accepting its surrender.


... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

Friend

"When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."


— Henri J.M. Nouwen (The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey)

Silence

                              
1799-1801 Oil on canvas, Kunsthaus, Zürich

Cinematic Orchestra 'To Build a Home' - Live At The Barbican

Stunningly beautiful song!

Pointing to the Cross

faithdoubtfaithdoubtfaithdoubtfaithdoubtfaith

I've been doing a lot more reading when I have a spare minute.  I have been pondering where the church is going, how it is led and how watered down the word of God has become.  Turn on the television or  go online and the majority of preachers/pastors promote themselves, their own theology, their books, their dvd's and draw you in with promises or answers to questions that ultimately leads people away from the Word of God!   

I have no problem with doubts, questions or fears that anyone...including pastors may have.  However, I do have a problem when their ministry becomes one that supports or encourages a person's doubts rather than redirecting them back to the cross.

"Christianity, if false, is of not importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it can...not be is moderately important." C.S. Lewis

We all experience doubt, we all go through incredible dry spells, dark times, but acknowledging that you will hold on to what feels like a thread of a promise, trusting God, you will come through it.

"Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says--'I cannot stand anymore.' God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him."

— Oswald Chambers

 If as a church or as a Pastor we can not be supportive of someone with doubts, yet continually point them back to the Cross, back to the Word of God then we aren't doing our jobs.  Our desire to nod in agreement, assure people that their doubts and fears are real, valid, and common, yet never redirect them back to the Cross in case we offend them, then ultimately, we end up adding to their fears!

Have I Mentioned My Amazing Sister Lately....

This is a recent article by the Halifax Chronicle Herald about my beautiful, talented sister! Her new magazine Flea Market Style has finally hit the newstands! I encourage you to buy it and support this magazine as it is, as far as I know, the first magazine to truly feature and value bloggers who share their decorating talent which would have otherwise gone unnoticed! Thanks to the wisdom of Mathew Mead the main creator! Enjoy!!!!


New Glasgow blogger lands in New York decorating magazine

Flea Market Style lists MacDonald as Editor at Large

By MONICA GRAHAM

Sun. Feb 21 - 4:52 AM


Linda MacDonald, a former nurse, caught the eye of home designer Matthew Mead when some American publications ran a story on a playhouse she had decorated for her daughter.

Flea Market Style is published by Harris Publications Inc. in New York.

Linda MacDonald’s career as a writer sounds like one of those Hollywood success stories in which a future star is discovered while sorting socks at the automatic laundry.

In MacDonald’s case, American home designer Matthew Mead discovered the New Glasgow woman while she shared her homegrown decorating tips with her sister through an online diary or blog.

"It was just her reading it as far as I knew," MacDonald said.

But one thing led to another until this month when the mother of three school-aged children and former nurse opened the premier issue of Flea Market Style to see her byline on five articles and herself listed as the magazine’s editor-at-large.

MacDonald profiled five decor bloggers for the magazine that was launched by Mead and co-editor Ki Nassauer, and published by Harris Publications Inc. in New York. There’s an article about MacDonald herself, a feature she wrote about a home tour and another feature about an antique shop in Great Village. The fifth article focuses on her daughter’s playhouse, decorated by MacDonald.

The playhouse was what first attracted Mead’s attention, after prominent American newspapers, magazines and home decorating websites featured her blog post about it.

Mead contacted MacDonald and arranged for a photo shoot last summer that coincided with a visit to Great Village. The meeting soon grew into a larger role for MacDonald, as she began blogging about the behind-the-scenes creation of the magazine.

The co-editors recognized that she had a good way of connecting with potential readers through her blog, and saw that the future of publishing relies on reaching out to the online community, MacDonald said.

But she didn’t start out to be a writer. She fell into decorating because it turned out that she was good at it. She and her husband bought and resold homes, which moved quickly after MacDonald redecorated them.

After a real estate agent suggested she go into business staging homes so they would sell faster, MacDonald took a brief course, but she is otherwise self-taught.

She found there was little demand for staging in the New Glasgow area, so she branched into decorating. The work allowed her to meet other people interested in restyling their homes on realistic budgets, and to be at home with her young children.

At her sister’s suggestion, she started the blog (http://restyledhome.blogspot.com) to share her love of what she calls "modern vintage" decorating style. When people other than her sister told her they followed it she put a counter on the site.

Then she watched as the number of visitors increased to 1,000 a month, leading to her gig with Flea Market Style. Readership increased to 1,000 hits a day as visitors began following her posts about the behind-the-scenes creation of the magazine.

"It’s a really innovative way to gain support for the magazine," she said.

MacDonald is uncertain if more issues of Flea Market Style will be produced, or if it will be a single-issue magazine, but Mead has already asked her to contribute to a Christmas design issue.

She tries to promote the inclusion of Canadian designers and attractions, because so many Canadians read U.S. publications, she said.

She’s grateful for the encouragement from the online decorating community.

"If you felt no one was reading, there wouldn’t be much inspiration to write," MacDonald said.

And she’s still amazed that the blog started as a small experiment and grew into something that she loves to do, and earns her an income as well.

"It blends decorating and writing, and it’s more fun than just choosing paint colours," she said. "I’m actually really enjoying writing, as much or more as decorating."

Monica Graham is a freelance writer living in rural Pictou County.

( mgraham@herald.ca)

Searching

Stand at the crossroads and look;

ask for the ancient paths,

ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls.

(Jeremiah 6:16 NIV)

The Purpose of Apologetics

This is a quote used on another blog in regards to the subject of apologetics. It's a great article and I found myself nodding in agreement. You can click on the title and it will link you to the article.

“How many hours in a day ought a man to give to [becoming acquainted with all the phases of modern doubt]? Twenty-five out of the twenty-four would hardly be sufficient…Am I to spend my time in going about to knock his cardhouses over?


“Not I! I have something else to do; and so has every Christian minister. He has real doubts to deal with, which vex true hearts; he has anxieties to relieve in converted souls, and in minds that are pining after the truth and the right; he has these to meet, without everlastingly tilting at windmills, and running all over the country to put down every scarecrow which learned simpletons may set up.”


- The Weaned Child, sermon by CH Spurgeon

See His Love Video (Kim Walker)

2010

          I love this note that Ella my six year old wrote to Santa on Christmas Eve!

Well, here it is, new years eve...on the cusp of a new decade. I remember so well, sitting with my parents, Andy & the kids...Sam my middle son was really sick, & together we rang in the new millenium, half expecting some weird y2k glitch to throw us into darkness, yet not really believing it would happen! We were in our newly built first home that we loved beyond compare & all in all, we felt pretty happy!

My children were so young then. Now my oldest Ben, will graduate highschool this year, enter university & somehow, we will find a way to adapt to having a young adult in our home, not the baby or little boy I remember & miss. However, I love having these amazing young men as my sons...they are such interesting people & I'm excited for their future.

This Christmas my kids gave us a video they made of the last nine years! We both sat in tears watching our life flick across the screen & the reality that the time was gone, to never come back, left us feeling sad. But on the flip side, we also felt really good, because we really have done the best we can and we have a lot of happy memories & fun times! We love our children more than anything...they have been front & center in every choice we have made, right or wrong.

So, as 2009 closes, I am grateful that tonight I went to church to welcome in the new year! I needed to acknowledge the significance of this decade...the changes, the joys & the sorrow we have experienced. I needed to pray & give thanks! I needed to pray for family members & most of all, I am just happy to be there. I also felt the loss of my old church, the people, the history. But, happy to pray for their continued blessings.

Sadly, as the evening closes out, I can't ignore the grief I feel for my cousin Shannon who lives in Northern Ireland. Here is a woman who against all odds is a fighter & survivor! She lost her 23 year old son suddenly & tragically here in Canada & had to fly home to Canada to have him buried yesterday. How does one move on from the loss of a child...I pray that she finds comfort in God, that somehow through her grief the love & comfort that I pray Jesus can give her, touches her somehow.



Hug your children, hug your loved ones...life is short, life is a gift & no matter how crazy your life is...there is a purpose & meaning to it.

Happy New Year!

Simple Plan - Crazy Official Music Video

This song is excellent. The lyrics are powerful!

Simple Plan - Lyrics to Crazy

Tell me what's wrong with society
When everywhere I look I see
Young girls dying to be on TV
They wont stop 'til they've reached their dreams

Diet pills, surgery
Photoshop pictures in magazines
Telling them how they should be
It doesn't make sense to me

Is everybody going crazy?
Is anybody gonna save me?
Can anybody tell me what's going on?
Tell me what's going on
If you open your eyes
You'll see that something is wrong

I guess things are not how they used to be
There's no more normal families
Parents act like enemies
Making kids feel like it's world war III

No one cares, no one's there
I guess we're all just too damn busy
Money's our first priority
It doesn't make sense to me

Is everybody going crazy?
Is anybody gonna save me?
Can anybody tell me what's going on?
Tell me what's going on
If you open your eyes
You'll see that something is wrong

Is everybody going crazy?
Is everybody going crazy?

Tell me what's wrong with society
When everywhere I look I see
Rich guys driving big SUV's
While kids are starving in the streets
No one cares
No one likes to share
I guess life's unfair

Is everybody going crazy?
Is anybody gonna save me?
Can anybody tell me what's going on
Tell me what's going on
If you open your eyes
You'll see that something

something is wrong
Is everybody going Crazy?
Can anybody tell me what's going on
Tell me what's going on
If you open your eyes
You'll see that something is wrong

Christmas is Near....

December is such a busy but fun month. I get melancholy every year because Christmas truly marks the changes from one year to the next. My older kids aren't as interested in the parade now, they attended to please me & their little sister Ella. Same with buying & decorating the tree. However, it is still fun & we spend more time than usual together so I always like that!

Santa Claus Parade with Ella & her cousin Sarah.

Ella & Ben made a snowman after finally getting some snow!

Sam positioning himself close to the snacks.

We had a lovely fire while we decorated our tree.

Ella under our newly decorated tree.

The finished tree!

Callum our cat peaking out from under all the tissue paper.

Another Fork in the Road

I am at that fork in the road...I look back & I see my accomplishments, my failures, the roads not travelled, the detours & where I came from.

As I look forward, I know I need more, I desire more, I want to claim my place in the world, come what may.

But there is always a fork in the road...do you take the road you know will please everyone but yourself or the road that pleases yourself & leaves everyone wondering. Both roads come with a price and you hope...leading you to the same destination. Isn't life a great adventure!

We shall see.

photo: hikenow.com

Delicate Threads

For the last ten years I have attended a local church, the only church that I have ever attended up till recently.  I recently decided to leave this church though hopefully not the friendships which are precious to me.  Naturally,  leaving that church has created quite a few thoughts in my head. It is long winded, but I have so many thoughts I need to get out...so this is more for me than anyone else.

We immigrated to Canada from Northern Ireland when I was a kid. My memories of Northern Ireland are vivid as are my experiences upon arriving here. My parents never attended church as we avoided the whole Catholic Protestant issue by avoiding church completely. So, my background within church is limited. Over the years, I have come to appreciate this fact when I learn about odd dogmas within the church that I hope will always feel foreign to me, even in churches that think or believe they have no dogmas, no agendas!

Until I joined this local church, I had ignored the pull to find a church, I tried to ignore the call on my life until I could do so no more. Once I went, I was really happy there for the first few years. I experienced a lot of healing and the preaching/teaching from our Pastor was what I needed at that time. I met some amazing people that have touched my life & made some great friends. However, like all things, people change, stuff happens, blinders come off, you get hurt, you are rejected within the church, your kids grow & demand something more for themselves, & suddenly you find yourself facing change, as uncomfortable as that is.

So now I find myself in this weird place of leaving my old church for a new church. For the last two years, I have attended church sporadically. The struggle to get my kids there was huge & this caused me a lot of anguish! I want my children to grow in their faith, to have that comfort & accountability that comes with knowing Jesus & they weren't happy. I knew we all needed a change.

I knew I was being called somewhere, but similar to long ago when I finally submitted to attending church for the first time, I finally came around to the idea of joining a new church but could not get my ass in gear to get out & "shop" around. Part of it was the whole idea of where do you sit, dragging the kids from one place to another, could I find a church close to home, would my husband like it enough to maybe attend with us? Plus, there is the leaving of people & a church that I care for. I was frustrated, but felt I could pray my way through this tough season.

I recently attended a church event in the city & had a lady unexpectedly pray & speak prophetically over me. Her prayers unlocked something within me & confirmed to me that I was being called somewhere else. This had the greatest effect on me overall & while I was absorbing what she had said & how I would work that out in my daily life, a good friend of some friends of mine shocked me by leaving our church & joining the one I had been feeling called to go. I had planned to try this church with my kids for the past year, but never did get around to it because I used the slightest excuse not to leave my house on a Sunday morning.

Because I now knew someone going, it took the fear factor away from something as simple as what door you use to get inside & where to sit. Then my closest friends suddenly decided to leave our church as well. However, my friends played no part in my decision, in fact, it was a bit of a stumbling block to going as we all felt awkward & worried that it would appear like a group defection. They knew about my angst, in particular when it came to my family & I knew their own personal pain & struggles, but never did I imagine them leaving as they always expressed their desire to stay & see it through. They were the ones who always encouraged me to stay, to be sure of my decision.

So, that long winded explanation leads me to this one main observation about church. It seems that my friendships outside of church, which are based on connections other than sharing the same church space each Sunday may actually be stronger & deeper than those within the church. Which leaves me wondering why??? Why? Leaving a church matters.

I worry that the fine threads that bound me to my church will likely wither & fade. Will we be reduced to quick hellos at the grocery store, awkward encounters, & the realization that we are more connected to the local body we worship at than anything else. It leaves me feeling hollow & sad. It feels like changing schools as a kid, worse still, it gives me that icky feeling I have had my whole life when religion & belief separates people. It is weird & I feel weird.

I loved my church & the people within. However, I struggled to be there. As I reflect on my departure, I realize that I overstayed my season. My desire to fight change, my desire to not rock the boat both within my family & friendships left me hanging on to long. With finally leaving, I'm realizing that if friendships are real, they will stay strong. If they end or fizzle out then the season was meant to end. I regret not realizing that sooner. I regret allowing myself to fall into a place of doubt. The path we walk isn't meant to be easy. We will ultimately hurt the ones we love, hurt people we never intended to...even if it is just by the fact that we leave our place of worship for another. The test in any relastionships when it goes through change is will it survive?

Do I know for certain that I made the right decision...no of course not! But when God is leading you somewhere and you receive such clear direction, you have to obey!  As a bonus, I love the thumbs up my youngest son gave me after his first visit to our new church. I love the fact that getting my four kids out on a Sunday morning is easier...not perfect, but definitely easier... I feel hopeful for my husband and children that where we are now is better suited to them. I was blessed so much by my old church when I first joined, now it is their turn...though, I have to admit, I am being blessed right along with them.

I could never have been prepared for this next step in my walk if it wasn't for the experience & maturity I gained from attending my first church. I will always be grateful for that. This church will always in my heart be considered my first home. I feel like I've left the nest to live out my faith with my husband & children in a place that suits us all. We are blessed!

Lest We Forget.....A Pittance of Time

This is a beautiful tribute written by quite a famous maritimer! You need to read what led him to write this song.

On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store's PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.

Terry was impressed with the store's leadership role in adopting the Legion's "two minutes of silence" initiative. He felt that the store's contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.

When eleven o'clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the "two minutes of silence" to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.

Terry's anger towards the father for trying to engage the store's clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was later channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, "A Pittance of Time". Terry later recorded "A Pittance of Time" and included it on his full-length music CD, "The Power of the Dream".

Church Unity?