fresh flowers for August 5

A Bouquet for Today
©2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

There are many little flowers that have come my way this week. So I thought I’d send you a bouquet today. Hope you are all having a marvellous summer…

Flower #1

My little girl needs a tissue as we are driving down the road towards a day at the beach. Knowing I have no tissue in my purse (the brand new red one – hee hee) and that there isn’t any in the glove compartment I hand her the closest equivalent that I can find, a dried out, but clean, baby wipe. She flips. She turns into the drama queen and insists that I check out my purse and the glove box. I assure her that this is pointless because I am very aware of the contents of the purse and the glove box. She carries on. As calmly as I possibly can I assure her once again that I can be trusted and at this moment in time the baby wipe is all I can do.

I am struck by my own whining, crying and carrying on when God has already assured me that this is what is available for the moment and I better make the best of it. What I have in my hand may not be what I want or even the best tool for the job but it does what’s necessary and it’s better than wiping snot on my sleeve.

Flower #2

Son #2 has a bad habit of repeating himself. Especially when there is something that he really wants. On the same road trip as above he decided he is hungry and chips are the only thing that will satisfy him. We tell him he’ll have to wait. There are no stores between home and the beach. Grandma may have chips along but we’ll have to wait and see, at any rate, Grandma is bringing the food and we’ll have to be grateful for what we get, etc, etc etc. None of our responses are good enough and he keeps asking what we cannot possibly give him. We are not the source of food this day, we can’t procure food for him and the incessant begging is making us want to withhold anything that might be available. When Grandpa and Grandma arrive at the beach the first thing Grandpa does, not knowing any of this, is pull out a bag of chips. Does son #2 realize or care that they’re there? Nope, doesn’t even notice as he is caught up in the joy of being at the beach, seeing the relatives, and all that. Not until much later does he realize that what he asked for was given and he almost missed it.

Do I do this? Naaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwww, she says as she hides her face in shame. ‘Nuff said.

Flower #3

I had the honour of being a bridesmaid for my friend this weekend. Her husband passed away suddenly three and a half years ago. From that time she has steadily held to a promise that God gave her shortly after her husband died. We got to witness the fruit of her perseverance on Monday. Holding on when things look exactly the opposite of what you’re believing for. Persevering in prayer. Going beyond the point of giving up and not giving up. These are things that I can learn from my friend.

Flower #4

Sometimes God doesn’t make things clear in the way you think He should. Sometimes you just need to keep walking step by step, moment by moment and as you do the next flower in the bouquet pops up. We are learning so much from our house adventure that I can hardly believe it. I am grateful for the lessons that I am learning. My deep desire is that I will ‘get it’. Whatever it is that God is trying to teach me as He shapes and moulds my character to look more like Jesus is what I want and desire more than anything else.

Until next time have a flower filled week

a new day

Not sure what happened here but it definately disappeared!

decision, decisions

Why couldn't decision making me just a teensy bit easier? Especially when I have so little control over the outcome anyway! Trying to understand what God's plan for our house is has been VERY perplexing (see that post a little farther down). We have three ways we could go. Three good ways. Three ways that have good results. Three ways that can further the kingdom of God. Three ways that work. Two of the three ways have plenty of support and encouragment from people whom we love and respect, discerning people. The third way doesn't have a lot of support but would be really easy. What to do? I hate making decisions. Especially when they're all pretty good choices. I feel like I waffle with the breeze depending on what is happening that day.

The one thing that I know is that God is in control. I'm certain that moving is His idea not mine. I'm just not certian what His plan is... The three choices are:

1. To stay where we are, not move. (not really a choice if I believe what I just wrote up there, hey?)

2. Retain the house and turn it into a revenue property, providing the bank likes that idea.

3. Wait for the sale of this house and then not have to care for it any more.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - could use some clarity!!!!

maybe we should take a vote................

perplexed but not despairing

Don't ya just love that phrase. The Lord has highlighted it to me in a big way this week. I don't think I have ever noticed it before. It's smashed in between 'pressed on every side but not crushed' and 'persecuted not abandoned'. It was so encouraging to think that the wise men and followers of Jesus sometimes wondered what was up with whatever was going on. (that's 2 Corinthians 4 by the way).

On another note, we just had a delicious time with our friends from Airdrie whose house we are in the process of buying. Our current plan is to rent out our house and finalize the deal on their house. So if y'all know of 4 singles of the same gender that want a lovely house to rent, we've got one... If you've been praying for us in this house adventure keep praying! If you haven't been, please start!

Sparrow, see what you have to look forward to in moving adventures - perplexed but NOT despairing! Lots of great character building stuff!

fresh flowers for July 29

Followers
©2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

I have two very devoted followers whose number often increases to five throughout the day. The youngest two, however, are by far the most faithful at this time. So faithful in fact that they often cause me great frustration, I can’t even go to the bathroom without interruption. On the other hand when they aren’t following me around they are quite often doing things like distributing the dog’s food to the kitchen floor, flooding the bathroom, eating markers or taking adventurous trips around the neighbourhood. Having them underfoot isn’t always a bad thing.

I realize that my main role in life right now is to train these disciples of mine to do exactly what they’re doing. Following my example as I follow the example of Christ. That realization often brings me to my knees as I fall so far short of being a godly example on many days. Trying to teach the not-so-simple concept of obedience is a moment by moment training exercise for them and a character building experience for me. I can take some comfort in the fact that I remember the precise moment when my eldest son grasped the concept of obedience. It was a marvellous thing.

I got to thinking about all this in light of Jesus and his disciples. I wonder how frustrated Jesus got with these guys when they just didn’t get it. The twelve were full grown adults not small children and yet you can see as Jesus spoke to them that His words were often simple and He repeated Himself a lot. I can also see how He drew away by himself to commune with His Father, perhaps to get away from the hard-headed lot that was assigned to him and get a bit of a breather. No wonder he was asleep in the boat during the storm, he was most likely exhausted from suddenly having twelve kids at one time!

I can take courage from Jesus’ work with His disciples. They turned out pretty good in the end for all of their ineptitude and screw-ups in their early days. This example of my Lord patiently training up his spiritual children in the way they should go gives me good reason to stay in the trenches with my little ones. I’m not sure who gets trained more, them or me. After all I have to be a good example to follow. It makes me cringe every time I reprimand one of my kids for doing something and then realizing that I’m the one who showed them how to do that, ouch.

Whether you are a parent or not, being involved in the discipleship process is something all of us are assigned to do. Don’t lose heart, 2 Corinthians 4 says that though we are outwardly wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. Our light and momentary troubles are gaining for us an eternal glory that FAR outweighs them all.

New Bloggers on the Block

Two more fabulous people from our extraordinary community of believers are now blogging:

The Inner Room and True Beauty...Always Blossoms From Within

Speaking of our amazing family wasn't tonite good, sorry to anyone who has no idea what I'm talking about. We had the most bestest worship time that I've been to in a long time. Haven't danced so hard in a long time, guessin' I'll be a little stiff tomorrow, but it was worth it!

Shopping Challenged?

I am shopping challenged. I needed to pick up a couple of things at Wally-world and the purses caught my eye. I've been wanting to buy myself a cool purse for a long time and I actually had some money to do it today. Most of my purses have been pretty boring and I use them for a looooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggg time. My current one will probably never fall apart. Anyway I loooked at quite a few and narrowed it down to two I liked, both red! I couldn't decide. I got my kids to vote on it. That wasn't productive *******sigh********** I didn't buy anything. Perhaps this is why my closet is so pathetic. I think perhaps I need some help, I probably shouldn't shop with my children along either. Though Chris did find a pretty little bracelet that he thought we should buy for me. Maybe that was making up for his comment earlier when I first stopped to look at the purses - he said, "Mom, you don't need a purse." Kinda throws a bit of cold water on the shopping fire. I could lone him out if anyone needs help curbing their spending hee-hee

A Lesson from the Phantom Menace

We've become Star Wars fans over the last few months. We still haven't seen Attack of the Clones or the Revenge of the Sith but my son has watched The Phantom Menace at least a dozen times now. There are a lot of interesting tidbits in there to chew on. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmm.............

One of those things is Quigon's (not sure how to spell that) insistence on training Anakin Skywalker, who later becomes the evil Darth Vader. I couldn't help but notice a little something that bothered me about that whole thing. Our church is really digging into understanding submission, authority and that sort of stuff. It's been humbling for all of us. One of the things I'm learning in the process is that submitting to authority (whether they're right or not) keeps me in a place of protection. A theme that comes out in the Phantom Menace is Quigon's rebellion against authority. Obi-Wan Kenobi encourages him to submit to the Jedi Council and listen to their advice. Quigon won't do it because he is so convinced that he is right, not just about Anakin but obviously in previous things as well (Obi-Wan chastises him and reminds him that he would be part of the council himself if he wasn't so stubborn). Yoda and the rest of the council listen carefully to Quigon but then say to him that they will keep their own council. Yoda sees the beginnings of the dark side of Anakin right from the beginning. If the council had continued to walk in their authority they would most likely have saved themselves a lot of grief. Yeah, yeah and then there wouldn't have been the rest of the movies and George Lucas wouldn't have made so much money - it's in the script, I know!

Anakin's accidental heroism and Quigon's death seem to bend the council a little. It also moves Obi-Wan (Quigon's padawan learner - or disciple) into the same place that Quigon formally occupied, a stubborn willful Jedi knight. The power of apprenticeship is obvious both in a good and a bad way.

Just a few thoughts on Star WArs. I'm sure someone will have something to say about this sacred cow being touched **grin**

okay, haven't got anything really profound to say, just want people to comment and remind me that I am not invisible. That message on Sunday was something to ponder but it's still so in my head and heart that I can't think of what to say about it. Just the words to that song...

O Lord, my ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen....

You're worthy, you're worthy, you're worthy
You're worthy to be praised, forever and a day........

fresh flowers for July 22

Plan A or Plan A?
©2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

So have you ever made a plan that turned out exactly the way you planned it? Very rarely this has happened to me, very rarely, but it’s happened, usually when I am complete control of the situation, which doesn’t happen very often. Most often the plan I make is vastly different then the end result. Sometimes they don’t even look remotely the same. It makes for a lot of fun when you’re quilting but for the rest of life it can be a little troublesome. I’ve been pondering this in relation to this house adventure. (yes, I’m still on this house thing, maybe I’ll make a whole book just out of this experience, who knows!)

I just read a fun little book called, Sisterchicks in Sombreros by Robin Jones Gunn. While being a light-hearted read it held out to me a few excellent lessons that I needed to learn. (Who needs theology books, read a great novel!) One of the sisterchicks was trying to explain her new romance with God. One of the things that had sparked this new passion was her prayer for God’s dreams for her to be accomplished. You’ll find this idea in the scripture embedded in the Lord’s prayer – Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven – and in Proverbs, “Many are the plans of a man’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

The idea that God is dreaming dreams for me made my heart smile and I began to pray this way as well. What is God dreaming up for my family with this house business. We have had a plan that looks like selling our property. But what if God’s plan is not that? Many people have encouraged us in considering making it into a rental property because of our proximity to a local technical institute and the bus routes to the university and downtown. So we’re pondering that, asking God for wisdom. At first I thought this is Plan B, not Plan A. After reading this little tidbit from Gunn’s book I wonder if this is God’s Plan A and has been the whole time. Perhaps there are lessons we need to learn as managers and stewards, time will tell.

We know from experience that God’s timing and agenda are much better than ours. He is extremely organized and detailed. When we were first married and praying that we would be able to have children we were convinced of the way it should happen. God wasn’t particularly interested in our timetable. The timing of our first baby’s arrival was perfect. Kelly was finished school and had a great job. I was in a working situation that I desperately wanted out of. Along came Josiah, just at the right time. Our Plan B, God’s Plan A.

I’m not sure why I find this so difficult to grasp……oh yeah, I have control issues! Anyway, for all my flower friends, today, ask God to bring forth His dreams for you, and recognize them for what they are. Each day is an adventure waiting to happen. What are we going to do with the opportunities presented to us today? Pray for us as we discern God’s plan A for us and our house. Blessings on all of you, pick lots of flowers, dream big dreams!!

Sweetness


There isn't anything much sweeter to this mom than seeing my kids enter into relationship with their heavenly Daddy. At the beginning of the worship time this morning my little 18 month old turned his face to heaven and lifted his hands as the worship leader invited us to join in. It was beautiful.

This afternoon my little girl was playing off by herself when we heard her singing. Suddenly we tuned into her words. She was singing a prayer asking God to sell our house, then the song changed and she started singing His response to her which was, "I will, I will, I will........"

mmmmmmmmm

YEAH ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just finished sewing myself a T-shirt that actually fits........perfectly! I had to tell the world. I am extremely unconfident in sewing garments for myself. I have had ZERO luck with knits to date and today, I conquered the mountain. I am so proud of me!

was just typing the word wedding and it came out weeding, not too different really are they? The wedding just begins the weeding process in our lives.......

have a happy day *****flowers to you**********

fresh flowers for July 15

Becoming a Son-Worshipper
©2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

A flower popped up in my shower this morning. My feet looked like they were really dirty but when I got down there to really take a look I realized it wasn’t dirt it was tan lines from my sandals! That got me to thinking…….

I have never been a sun-worshipper. Didn’t do the go out and slather yourself in oil so you can cook (not mentioning any names here of people who do that :)). However, for many years I spent all my time at the swimming pool, first as a patron and then as a lifeguard and swimming instructor. Needless to say by the end of summer I had a Malibu Barbie tan (unfortunately not the figure – hee hee). But as an adult I have withdrawn to the indoors. I’m not much of an outdoorsy type. Not so long ago as I was praying I heard the Lord whisper in my ear that as we move over to the new place I was going to become a gardener, in fact, I would learn to love gardening. I laughed out loud. Here’s why.

My mom and dad are avid gardeners. They grow absolutely gorgeous, productive gardens. They love being out there, puttering, weeding, watering and all that green-thumbish sort of stuff. I, on the other hand, have not acquired that love. I garden only when I have to for survival. When we bought our present abode Kelly and I were thrilled that there was no garden space, no one would require this of us, no one would expect us to grow a garden, happy day. However, one of the things that we felt we were supposed to do as an act of faith in this house adventure was to plant a garden at the new house. Our friends were happy to let us do that. So my mother-in-law (also an avid gardener – over 800 bedding plants/year) went over and did the deed. Now it’s been up to me to care for the thing. My dear friend planted my flower beds at our house to up the curb appeal (they’re mostly full of perennials so I haven’t done much with them), once again, it’s up to me to care for them.

Now here’s the kicker, I have been taking care of them and I have been enjoying it – gasp! I have all kinds of ideas about transforming our new back yard into a lovely garden paradise. I’ve been working out in my own backyard, pulling weeds and trying to make the weed and dirt patch look as nice as possible. I’ve only killed one potted plant that I received this year (1 out of 7 isn’t bad – okay 5, 2 got stolen), in fact they are thriving.

So, as I’ve followed the directives of the Lord, spent time in the sun, the mark of the sun is on me, I’m no longer pasty white as I have been for years. The rays of the sun are bringing out the colour in me. I know that as I spend time with the Son, His mark will remain on me as well. The colours that the master gardener has planted in me will come out to bless other people with their beauty just as the flowers bloom in my garden. I am convinced that it is a good thing to be a Son-worshipper. I want His mark left on me.

in need of encouragement

Carebear, here's the link to that post on Intent. And for anyone else who cares to read it!

Anyway, today I could use some encouragement. My site is dedicated to the encouragement of others but today I could use some. This house selling thing is weighing heavy today - or should I say house NOT selling thing. Our friends have moved, they gave us keys to their house. We can go and start doing whatever work needs to be done as we please, but somehow it just doesn't feel quite right when there's absolutely nothing happening with our own home. We haven't even heard from our real estate agent in the last 10 days. There's a house 2 doors down from ours that has been for sale for about a year already. This is not encouraging. One street up things are moving, but not here.

My sister is in the hospital trying not to have a baby (she's only at 32 weeks). It's hot and my house doesn't have air-conditioning. The kids don't want to go outside because it's either too hot or too many bugs (can't say I blame them).

Okay I guess that's enough pity party for one day. Sorry. This is me today.

not so fresh flowers for July 11

A few flower petals...

Well friends, flu bugs and family affairs managed to combine and pluck the flowers out of my brain. So I will resort to amusing you. Hope this will hold you over until Friday.

This morning I was sweeping my floor and came across a piece of Barbie ‘food’, a little bit of plastic bacon. My little girl was playing with her Barbies in the middle of the floor so I tossed it over to her. She immediately put it in her mouth. (Keep in mind she is no longer a baby but a big girl of 5 years). “Honey, that was just in my sweeping, it’s dirty don’t put it in your mouth, that’s yucky."

“It’s okay mommy, I’m washing it.”

The following comes via a friend, enjoy….

LIFE IN THE 1500'S

Most people got married in June, because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children! Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

family

The calendar finally has blank days ahead, I'm so thrilled. Life has been so incredibly busy these last few months, every day filled to overflowing. I just got caught up on reading all the 'family' blogs - that would be the Hope section on the side. I belong to an awesome family of believers and just want to tell you and the rest of the blogging world how wonderful you are.

The great mystery is - who is 'the blogless one', they say that they have a blog but I can't get to it. What do we know for sure:

-it's a she
-she has children
-she is wise
-she knows words to songs
-she has bought and sold houses

Hey maybe she's the Proverbs 31 woman in disguise. So I have my suspicions, what's YOUR best guess?

fresh flowers for July 1

Moving – Life and Death?
©2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

This week has been a slightly more restful week. The whirl of school is over. The open house was on the weekend. I can see the end of calendar days packed with writing and appointments. My husband and I had a lovely chat the other night and had come to the same conclusion in our own space – that we were still on the right track with the whole house thing even though it’s frustrating and slow and nothing like we thought it would be.

This morning I was commiserating with the Lord and wondering what the big deal was anyway. It’s just a house, not a life and death thing, the fate of the world doesn’t rest on whether or not we move, so why does it feel like such a big deal? The Lord broke into my thoughts right there. It IS a big deal, it IS life and death, the fate of someone’s world DOES rest on this transaction. There is a territorial battle that is going on for the land that we occupy and the land that our friends have occupied. Then He brought to mind the scripture in Acts 17. This is what it says:

Vs 26-28 “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.”

Then He reminded me of a childhood friend. We went to school together, played in the band together and then my family moved and I didn’t see her again until she showed up one day at a ladies event in my church. We were shocked to see one another. Over time she, her husband and her boys have all crossed over from death to life and are now bringing life to others that they meet. The reason that she came to life is because of the people who live in the house that we are hoping to move in to. God made sure they were living there so that my friend would come to know Him. The reason that any of us lives in any given place is so that the kingdom of God is advanced. We are here to bring life to those we meet in the communities and circles that we live and move in. God will take us from place to place so that His mission is accomplished.

Is the work that God planned for us done in this place? We have no idea. Do we love this community and the people we have met here? Absolutely. Yet we are just as happy to go to this new place if that is where God is asking us to be for the next season of our life. We will continue to learn the lessons that He has for us in this process. And in the end we know that His ‘plans are to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future.’

Happy Canada Day!!!. I’m sure glad that my grandparents made that move!

Lani

My friend and I. What a blessing she is to me! Thanks Nin for taking the picture! 

great quote

I picked up this quote from Intent:

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."

Helen Keller

fresh flowers for June 27

Not Forgotten
©2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

On Father’s Day the kids in our church had a special presentation to make to their dads. One of the older classes came to help out with the younger kids. The fellow assigned to my 2 ½ year old wasn’t familiar with our family and was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to help Samuel find the right guy. As he expressed his concern to the teacher Samuel tugged on his hand and told him, “It’s okay, I know who my daddy is.

Sometimes I forget who my Daddy is. Just in case you’ve forgotten, too, let’s remind ourselves. He’s the guy who can speak and worlds come into order. He’s the guy who can measure the waters of this world in the palm of His hand. (To give yourself an idea of how big God really is, try to see how much water you can hold in your hand!!) In the meantime He tells me to cast my cares on Him, He takes care of flowers and birds and keeps enough oxygen around so we can breathe.

So why do I get so uptight when the little things aren’t going the way I thought they should? Why do I get fearful? Why do I worry? Has my Daddy forgotten about me? I don’t think so. The words to a song a young friend sang to me the other day seem to say all that is in my heart. You and I are not forgotten, even when we sometimes forget who our Daddy is. The song is called, ‘Not Forgotten’ by Jaylene Johnson.

When the branch is brittle, and the roots are dry

Bough breaks, leaves are on the fly,

Need to be reminded, that it’s ok to cry

Need to be reminded, there’s someone bigger than you and I

He sees me and He hears me and He knows my need

And as I wait He pours His healing over me

I am not forgotten

When the day is weary and the road is long

Load is heavy, birds have lost their song

Need to be reminded when I'm too weak to stand

Need to be reminded I'm held by strong and mighty hands, and

He sees me and He hears me and He knows my need

And as I wait He pours His Healing over me

I am not forgotten

When the branch is brittle

I am not forgotten

The roots are dry

I am not forgotten

Bough breaks

I am not forgotten

Birds are on the fly,

He sees me and He hears me and He knows my need

And as I wait He pours His healing over me

I am not forgotten

He remembers me

I am not forgotten

He remembers me

we are wimps

I know that some will disagree with me but I can't believe how wimpy we Canadian people have become! I got to watch a play the other night that depicted the life of settlers to our fair but harsh land. The powers of nature that they had to overcome without benefit of electricity, heat, running water, air conditioning, power tools or pants. I was whining to myself the other day because I had to turn on my oven to cook supper which was going to heat up the kitchen to a nasty temperature. Along with that I needed to run the dishwasher, once again causing heat in my kitchen. Suddenly I stopped and chided myself. If I really don't want to bake bread I can run to the store and get some. If I want to get cool I can go somewhere that is. I can throw my clothing in a machine that takes care of the washing for me - no heating water, scrubbing with harsh soaps and then hanging things out.

We complain about our weather and at the same time have a weird sense of pride on how cold it really can get here, like we have something to do with that. But for the most part we run from our heated houses to our heated garages to get into our heated cars then drive to another heated parking spot and complain to everyone we see how bitterly cold it is! Yeesh

That's my argument, we're wimps, at least I am.

on raising boys to be men

Obviously, to those who know me, my boys are not yet men. The oldest of the four will turn 9 next week. They are pretty boyish boys and for the most part I like it that way, except when I find them on the roof of the garage or playhouse. I'm trying hard to let them be boys but sometimes I wonder if I'm up to the task.

After this morning's worship service in which we commissioned our men to be men (the wild things they were called to be) to be warriors and all that I wondered about how to do that, exactly. We took them to the Gardiner Dam today because the spillway is open for the first time in 10 years. It was fabulous, they loved looking at all that power and wanted to get as close to it as possible. I was reading at Intent tonight and followed her links to two excellent blogs written on raising boys. So, all my friends out there who are raising boys take a look at these and let me know what you think. I know I was challenged!!

Mere Comments - Why I'm Raising Violent Four Year Olds
Wittingshire - Raising Men

If for some reason my links don't work go to Intent
and use hers.

fresh flowers for June 17

Covering and Authority
©2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

These days we seem to get hung up on semantics (the meaning of words). Not long ago I read a comment on someone’s blog (web log) about covering, challenging someone to show him where it comes up in the Bible. That got me to pondering because we talk a lot about covering/authority in our church. I asked God to show me what that was all about, I figure He’s got the answers to all the questions and would leave out anyone else’s opinions. This is what He showed me.

The only inferences to ‘covering’ that I could think of were about head coverings and the imagery in Psalm 91 about Jesus’ covering us with his feathers as a hen covers her chicks. This was supported by my concordance. The imagery in Psalm 91 is about protection. When I looked up the word cover in the dictionary it said; protect, shelter, screen. However, there are some other definitions that are a little more forceful such as “supporting force protecting another from attack” and “protect from a commanding position”. Being ‘under cover’ means “to be hidden or protected by, with outward show of friendship.” These definitions alone makes me desire to be under another’s covering. But as was mentioned, the Lord does not command us to come under cover. It does however command us to come under authority!

Here’s where things got very interesting. As I pondered the word cover and the challenge to see that in scripture I heard the Lord whisper to me, “Change the word cover to authority and then take a look.” When I did that the Bible practically exploded with examples of God setting up and taking down authority, commanding us to come under authority, showing authority structures and the benefits of submitting to them. If you look up the word authority in the dictionary you will find this definition; “power or right to enforce obedience; this power as delegated”. Now if someone who is in authority is ‘covering’ you, they are your supporting force protecting you from attack. They have the right to enforce obedience but they are also covering your back, protecting you, shielding you, taking the hit for you. They are the one who will give an account and will take the blame if something goes wrong, they carry the responsibility. That is not a bad place to be at all. The opposite of that would be, no back up, in no man’s land with no one watching out for you, as in, “You’re on your own kid!” I don’t particularly like that picture.

Now let’s take a look at scripture. Right in Genesis God begins setting up authority/leadership/rulers starting with Adam. He was to have dominion, or rule, over all the earth. He was to take care of it. God set up authority throughout the Old Testament: kings, priests and judges. He told the people that they were to submit to these authorities unless they were in direct conflict with him (i.e. Daniel). In Zecheriah 9:10 it shows God deposing authorities and declaring His dominion from sea to sea, Revelation shows the last days and the new rule and reign of Christ. Moving on to the New Testament we are familiar with Jesus commanding his disciples to ‘give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s’. In Colossians 1:16 it says that Christ created and established all rulers and authorities. I looked up ruler and leader as well, their definitions were, respectively; “person exercising government or dominion” and “one who gives guidance by going in front”.

Further to this reference is made to children obeying parents, husbands being the ‘head’ of the wife, Christ being the ‘head’ of the church, master/slave relationships and submitting to one another. There is no question that authority and covering all over the scriptures, you cannot get away from it. But just to make sure that we don’t miss it, I will write out for you Romans 13:1-7, it reads as follows:

“Everyone (this means you and me) must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servant, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour.”

Now just in case you think that all this applies only to civil governance, read Hebrews 13:7 and 17, “Remember you leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

There you have it. I am no great theologian, but I like to let God show me what He’s thinking about things. If something in this bit speaks to you and helps to clarify the confusion then it has done some good, it certainly did that for me. Perhaps you will need to go and repent to those God has put in leadership over you. I realize that not every church leader is perfect but God doesn’t actually make much allowance for that, we’re told to respect them anyway (check out David’s respect for Saul and his admonish to his men to respect Saul, even those he was demonized and the spirit of the Lord was no longer with him). Perhaps God will call you to be in leadership, give you authority to rule or lead, do you want people to follow you? You need to provide them with a good example to follow (go back to Hebrews 13:7). Let’s see if we can get this thing right.

Note: I used “The Oxford Dictionary of Current English” and the NIV translation of the Bible.

bouquets for my husband

My husband said the right thing today and deserves recognition for it.

I was getting dressed this morning and he looked at me and said, "You're not fat."

our declaration

Our church, along with MANY others are participating in a consecration fast for our nation. Watchmen for the Nations has been sending out devotionals for kids that we have been using every evening to help ourselves and our children understand what this thing is all about. So far we have contemplated the Levites and their choice to choose to follow God, Shadrach, Meschach and Abednago and their stand for what's right in the midst of opposition and Daniel's desire to separate himself from the 'worldly' standards and do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The latter two examples both took their stand saying that even if God did not choose to save them from death they would trust him anyway.

We talked about the testing of our faith in our family. We chose to agree together to trust God for the sale of our house before the end of this fasting period and that even if He doesn't we choose to trust Him anyway. This is our declaration.

confessions of a housewife

This is for you Sarah!! I washed my upstairs floors today. I love hardwood, I love that I can wash it and not vacuum. I hate vacuuming. My confession is that I actually washed the floor in MY bedroom. I think the last time it was washed was when we painted it and I'm NOT gonna confess how long ago that was. The rest of the floors get washed (I won't say regularly but it happens) up there cause with dogs and kids it just needs to happen. But not mine. I wonder if there is some psychological thing that happens there. It felt good to do it I must say. So lest you were thinking that I'm some perfect housewife, there ya go. I'm not. This is truly a meaningless post if ever there was one, but it's my life for today, besides doing a field trip with one of my kids, that was fun. I must contemplate a meatless supper????????????????

the start of consecration

Everyone is in bed, sleeping. We have had no vomitting or diarrhea now since Saturday night. Just maybe we are finally on the mend.

Today was the beginning of the fast called by Watchmen for our country. Our church is participating in it and as a family, we are participating. We've decided to give up meat, desserts and any type of junk food or candy. Who know it may be the start of something we've been wanting to do for a long time. Watchmen sent out a devotional guide especially for kids for the fast, we went through the first one after supper, it was really good.

In preparation I also discovered a couple of good websites for recipes! For soup, click here, for vegetarian info and recipes (including stuff for kids) click here!

A dear friend just called to encourage us and pray. Mmmmm, God is good. I needed that, better than chips and cookies!

I've been Book Tagged

I've been tagged by Sparrow at Intent
for the latest book meme.

Total books owned, ever ~ oh my goodness, just for fun I figured I'd count just what is in our bedroom in the tiniest bookshelf, there's over 100 there. We've given away tons, and then there's kids books. We are both avid readers and our kids love books, it's gotta number over 1000.

Last book I bought ~ Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel

Last book I read ~ Like all the way through? Hmmm, I think it was a novel I picked up called Secrets of the Heart by A. Lacy (a mail order bride historical novel) It wasn't that thrilling but it was good for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

5 books that mean a lot to me: As Sparrow said, the Bible is a given soooooooooo....

1. The Chronicles of Narnia (the set): I can read those a hundred times and never be bored.
2. Lucy Maud Montgomery's books, particularly the Emily Series - Emily is an aspiring writer, an orphan and an 'unusual' child, her story touched my heart (it was from this series I got the inspiration for 'fresh flowers').
3. Out of Control and Loving It and The True Measure of a Woman by Lisa Bevere - really helped me get a handle on my identity as a woman, a wife and a child of God
4. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, don't know if this counts since it's a devotional but it always blesses me, I used to have 2 copies, now I have none, I am sad about that.
5. 'fresh flowers - an inspirational journal' written by ME!! That may seem a little self-centered but it was a dream come true to print that book and have my name on it. It means a HUGE amount to me.

So now I have to tag other people to answer the questions above. Then you tag someone else! So I'm gonna tag..........Worship Warrior, CWG, Camille, Sarah and Robyn! Have fun

today...

I wish I had a picture of what was happening in my eldest son's room right now (my camera's out of film). Three of our 4 boys are sitting around together listening to DC Talk and enjoying each other's company waiting for their older cousin to arrive. We've had a pretty good morning. Watering flowers, pulling grass by the fence, playing in the water and quietly, unintentionally enjoying each other. I needed to do that today. I woke up in a funk, feel like crying over nothing, life seems very heavy today. Maybe I should have been washing my floors this morning, which is what I intended to do, but I hung out with my boys instead. I don't do that very often. It was nice. It was nice to think that my little girl is hanging out with her grandma working on the quilt that we started this week.

This afternoon I hope that I can go with my mom to the MCC sale and see the quilt display, they have a bunch of heritage quilts there this year that I'd like to peruse. Usually I go to scrapbooking for the summer but this year just wants to be quilting and more quilting. I'm good with that...I'm getting better with today.

fresh flowers for June 10

Smoke
copyright 2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

Smoke. The smell of it permeates and infiltrates like nothing else I know. Last fall my mom and dad had the task of helping my dad’s sister move into a nursing home. They also had to clean out her house, disburse her goods and sell the place. It was a lot of work. My aunt has never been married, has no children and has been a heavy smoker for all of her adult life. She has also lived in that house for as long as I can remember.

The cigarette smoke was so heavy in her house that it absolutely affected every single article in her home. It crept into closed containers, linens, wood, packages wrapped in plastic even the food that was in the freezer. It coated walls and windows and everything else that was in her home. We were the recipients of some of these articles. Being non-smokers we were very sensitive to the odour that adorned these goods. Unfortunately there was very little that we could selvage and find usable because of the smoke infiltration. I was shocked that the pre-packaged freezer food was affected, but it was. I tried bleaching things and cleaning with powerful cleaners, nothing worked to remove the smell. I was disappointed because there were some articles that we were given that would have been very useful to us.

This persistent invasion of the smoke got me to thinking about my relationship with Jesus. My desire is to make a difference while I’m here. I also desire that my life would OBVIOUSLY reflect the life of the Spirit in me. I want the scent of Jesus to permeate my life and my family like that smoke did.

So maybe I should follow my aunt’s example:

1. Stay in one place for a long time – sit at Jesus’ feet, let His presence coat the ceilings and walls of my spiritual house.
2. Take in Jesus every day, breathe out His thoughts so that they get into every aspect of my being, even the hidden things, the closed things, the things that are packed away that I never use, all of it saturated with Him..
3. Be persistent – so that no matter how hard anyone tries to remove the scent of Jesus from me, they won’t be able, too.

Maybe if I do these things people will know that when I walk by, or stop to talk to them that they will smell the scent of Jesus on me, hear Him speaking through my voice. Maybe they’ll see the evidence of years of being near Him on my fingers and on my face. I think that is how I’d like to be.

an update on the day

Well, got the poop cleaned up. That was really yucky. The house is tidied up but now we don't have to show it because the potential buyers didn't want a two-storey. Oh well, it's clean. The laundry pile diminshed to a reasonable size. That was a LOT of bedding, etc.!! Since I didn't have to go so crazy on the cleaning, getting ready to show thing I could take time to work on a project for our pre-school teacher and start a little quilt project with my girlie. That was fun. Read the same book to Sam about 15 times. Nobody's thrown up so far today, though they still aren't eating and have fevers.

Found out another friend has a blog! Visit my friend Camille at Mad and Restless

Found a great site for soup recipes!! click here.

I hope you can see the links! Anyway, the grace came through as needed. Thanks for praying, I might need some more before the day is over!

grace needed

Need a little extra grace today. Up last night with puking kids and noisy puppies. Have cranky, whiny children at home today. Need to get the house into 'show' condition for tonight. Meeting with real estate agents. Have to decide who we're going to go with because we have to list the house on MLS tomorrow if it hasn't sold by then. Daughter just yells that there are poop stains all over her rug. How has this happened? She has it on the bottom of her shoe and she's making more mess as she goes. Heavy sigh. The laundry mountain isn't getting smaller due to the puke and night-time peeing accidents. I need help...I'm tired...discouraged.....

Just one of my many blessings! 

counting my blessings

I am trying to practice what I preach to my kids. Don't look at what you don't have, look at what you DO have. I must confess that I have been looking very much at what I DON'T have...namely a buyer for our house and some finances to get through summer camp, an upcoming wedding and a few other things. So, here are some of the many blessings that I have......

1. A wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord, a wonderful Saviour to me........
2. I am blessed to be able to worship with my godly husband in harmony this morning
3. I am blessed with gifts and abilities that allow me to express creativity in many forms.
4. I have five children that are a joy to my heart.
5. I am blessed to be at home being a keeper of the hearth.
6. I am blessed with a warm supporting family, both blood relatives and spiritual family.
7. I have a wonderful, warm, comfortable home that should we have been completely delusional and God doesn't really want us to move I will continue to be completely content in.
8. I have running water, electricity and heat.
9. I planted a garden with my mother-in-law on Monday and actually enjoyed it!!
10. We have all the big repairs on the house done, including the kitchen roof, which we got done BEFORE the rain started!
11. I have friends who teach me how to do HTML stuff on my blog and find me pretty flowers!
12. Did I mention that I have a wonderful saviour.

Go on, I dare you to count your blessings with me today. Let's change our hearts and our attitudes and be thankful, in spite of the cool, rainy weather. Which I think calls for roasting a chicken and making an apple pie. Anyone want to come for supper? First one in can come on over!

new look

My buddy at In Search of Truth made me a new and different look! Flowers, I finally have flowers! I'm excited, it doesn't take much. Now he and Sparrow at Intent
have shown me how to do the linky thing! Look I learned something new today!! I also sat down and played the piano today. Not bad for a cold and rainy day. Made bread, sewed, napped. Not a bad day at all.

Be Still My Soul

These are the words to a hymn that my husband came across this morning during his time with the Lord...

Be Still, My Soul

Be still, my soul! the Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain

Leave to thy God to order and provide

In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul!

thy best, they heavenly Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end

Be still, my soul! thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past

Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul!

The waves and winds still know

His Voice who ruled them while He dwelt below

Be still my soul! the hour is hastening on

When we shall be forever with the Lord,

When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot,

love's purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul! when change and tears are past

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

things and stuff

Some of my friends have begun their own blogs and you might want to check them out...

Liven forgiven - ninmoore.blogspot.com
Care Bear - carebearsunshine.blogspot.com
Living by Faith 2 - hearherwalk.blogspot.com

Where am I today, hmmmmmm. I started working through a bible study book that I was supposed to have worked through last year (little procrastination happenin here). I'm on a chapter about repentance. Seems to be a theme. It sobers me to think that my sin, no matter how small causes a rift between God and I. If I want my prayers to be heard then I must have a clean heart, keep accounts short. Just realizing how much I need a Saviour once again...

fresh flowers for June 3

REST
copyright 2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

Rest. Quiet, quietness, ease, tranquility, slumber, calm, calmness, peace, peacefulness, relaxation, recreation, state of inactivity, interval, hush, stillness, stop, stay, to be supported, upheld, cease from exertion, to refresh oneself or recover strength, not agitated or troubled, relieve or reassure. These are a few of the words in the dictionary and thesaurus that define rest, both as a verb and as a noun. Don’t they sound nice? They make you want to find a spot in which to repose and have a cup of tea.

I’ve been contemplating rest this week and have had a few interesting thoughts along the way. On Saturday, as I was driving Abby to ballet, I passed by a garage sale. I saw a chair. Not just any chair but a chair that Kelly and I have been looking/waiting/praying in for almost a year now. Kelly has not had a ‘chair’ in our home for a number of years. We ditched the one he came with after it collapsed. After we refinished our floors last summer we set out on a quest to find him a chair that he could sit in as we drink our tea late at night when the house is quiet. We’ve left a spot in the living room for it. We researched the on-line catalogues to find what he wanted. It was expensive. A few weeks ago we found a similar chair that was less expensive but the wrong colour. I really wanted to get him his own chair. Then I passed by this garage sale. The chair was sitting in the driveway, it was extremely inexpensive and very much what we’d been looking for. He was very excited when I brought it in. He’d been paying bills while I was away and getting a little uptight. He had just fought his way back to a place of rest in his spirit when I showed up with a place of rest for his backside. It was very fun.

On Monday a friend called to offer us another place of rest. A bed. At first I thought we didn’t really need another bed but when she described it to me I thought we should probably take a look at it. We haven’t seen it yet but it seems to be fitting a pattern for me.

As we anticipate the opportunity to move we’ve had to think a lot about where our kids will rest at night. What are the best possible combinations so that everyone will get the sleep they need and have a place of rest during the day?

I have been working hard at trying to be at rest about the house situation. As I’m writing this our house is not yet sold. I really want this whole transaction to be done but I have no control over it, I must rest, as in ‘not agitated or troubled’. So today I thought I’d take some time to research the word in the dictionary, thesaurus and in the scriptures. I already shared what I found in the first two. I’ll share what I found in the scripture and let you draw your own conclusions about the rest that you need today.

What can rest ON us:

*unfailing love (Psalm 33:22)
*favor of the Lord (Psalm 90:17)
*Spirit of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2)
*Christ’s power (2 Corinthians 12:9)

What can we rest FROM?

*labour (think Sabbath rest)
*life – the scripture comments about those who have gone to be with the Lord being at rest
*war
*weariness
*heavy burdens

Where can we find rest?

*at the end of life – rest from our labour on this earth (Job 3:17, Deuteronomy 31:16)
*in knowledge of God’s care (Psalm 16:9)
*in God alone (Psalm 62:1, 5)
*if we dwell with Him we find rest in the shadow of His wings (Psalm 91:1)
*in choosing and walking in the ancient paths (Jeremiah 6:16)
*in Jesus (Matthew 11:28)
*after obedience (Joshuah 21:44)

In repentance and rest we find salvation! (Isaiah 30:15)

Rest came after:

*obedience
*war
*working
*life was over
*on the 7^th day

Random Thoughts:

*The sea cannot find rest because there is never a cessation of motion. (Isaiah 57:20)
*Hebrew 4 exhorts us to do all we can to enter into God’s rest.
*Matthew 11:28 beckons us to come to Jesus with our weariness and heavy burdens so that He can give us rest.
*Rest is a gift and yet is something we must look for.

*It can be withheld if we choose to be rebellious against the Lord. (Exodus 17 is the example and then Psalm 95:11 says how God felt about the Israelite rebellion)

*David was a man of war and the Lord would not let him build a house for His name, it was his son Solomon, a man of ‘peace and rest’ (see 1 Chronicles 22:9) that was given that privilege. (afterthought – being of the Anabaptist heritage in which peace-keeping/no arms is a foundational element makes me wonder if those who have chosen to NOT bear arms, all those, not just Mennonites, will have a special commission from the Lord in the rebuilding of the Davidic tabernacle – just a thought)

That’s all I have, happy pondering…

Lani
The flowerlady

House Update, etc.

Here's the current bit.

1. Our financing has gone through! Yeah!
2. We placed an offer on Sam and Vi's house and it has been accepted!
3. Still gotta sell our house.
4. I realized I needed to repent...

My head knows one thing and my flesh says another. This ought not to be. James would say I am being double-minded and therefore I should not expect the Lord to answer my prayers. My head knows, through God's word and through MANY past experiences that God will do what He says. He has repeatedly told us to rest, that HE would sell our house and this would all happen. My heart and flesh have steadfastly refused to believe that even though I have declared with my mouth that this was true. I have been harbouring unbelief in my heart and should not expect that God would hear my prayers and answer them. Many of you are watching, waiting and believing with us that all of this would come to pass. Today, I have repented of my unbelief and will turn my heart to the Lord who know the times and places in which He wants us to live.

The other thing I realized this morning is that this isn't all about ME!! Surprise, surprise. Kelly pointed out to me the other day that Sam and Vi have way more at stake here than we do. They have a set moving date, they are going, house sold or not. They will be the ones left with the burden should our house not sell (not that God couldn't sell it to someone else). They are firmly convinced that the deal will go through, and are standing with us to give us the blessing of their home. I have been very selfish in my prayers, thinking only of myself and the effect that this has on my family. So I had to repent of that, too.

So there you have it. the house update!

Here's a cool little aside. Our friends were just approved for a Habitat house. Their future home will only be a few blocks away from us. They are worship leaders. We are worship leaders. We have friends who are worship leaders that already live a block away from our new house. We have other friends a couple blocks away that are worshippers. And I just found out another couple who recently started attending our church live in the area and are worship people, too. HMMMMM think God may be up to something here? Maybe a little transformation of Pleasant Hill to become what its name says it is, a pleasant hill (for those of you who aren't familiar with our fair city, Pleasant Hill is probably the poorest, economic zone of our city).

flower delivery for May 27

Trusting?
copyright 2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

Imagine the scent of a tightly closed flower bud. It’s hard to do because you can’t really capture the scent of the flower until it fully opens. That’s what my faith regarding all of this house business is like right now. I’m guarding my heart carefully and my faith has not exactly burst into bloom as of yet. Kelly told me I needed to write this struggle so that there would be a witness when God does what He’s going to do regarding our living accommodations. Yet another unusual flower in my garden, please bear with me.

God does not always answer prayers the way we think He should. I’m sure everyone knows that. Our last few weeks have given me sufficient evidence to firmly believe that. God is wild, not tame doing our bidding, but doing as He pleases. There are several scriptures that support that. In Proverbs it says, “Many are the plans of a man’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” We have an amazing tendency to believe that we are in control when in fact we are not. I love the verse in Acts 17 that states that God has planned the exact times and places where we will live. Isn’t that just mind-boggling? So where is my struggle?

Exhibit A: Kelly had heard from the Lord that we would conceive in March. We did. When I first started having difficulty the Lord assured us that the baby was okay, it was. When trouble kept coming I had no assurance that things would be fine in the way I thought fine to be. In fact I had had a feeling that things wouldn’t be ‘fine’ soon after I found out I was pregnant. We prayed fiercely, but our baby was gone. Things didn’t go the way we wanted them to.

Exhibit B: Kelly and I each heard individually from the Lord that we needed to pursue getting a dog. We laid out some very specific criteria about what kind of dog we would have. We prayed fiercely, we got exactly what we wanted. Things went the way we wanted them to.

Now here we want to buy our friend’s house, the bank system has been extremely slow in working out our financing therefore making things drag out to even put an offer on the house we want. We have to sell our house. We are convinced that we need to try selling it ourselves so that God will get the credit and not a real estate agent (though we have nothing against real estate agents, we don’t want to pay that high commission, we’d rather have that money go to paying off some debt). Real estate agents are telling us that we are crazy to try selling it ourselves and we really need their help. It’s tempting. It would probably be easier in some ways. We have a limited time frame that we’re working in. We know that if any of this happens it will be because God wants us to live in that other house.

So I struggle in my trust/faith. Will the outcome be like Exhibit A or B or will we have a C which is….who knows what? Kelly is convinced of what He believes He’s heard from the Lord. I feel a little out of control because I am! The message the Lord has been giving me all week is to trust Him. I’m not doing a very good job of that. So this ‘flower’ is a declaration of what we believe that God has said, that our house will get sold quickly and we’ll be able to move. I guess you and I will have to wait and see what the outcome is. We will continue to pray fiercely. These have been great lessons for the kids as they’ve been included in all our praying and have faithfully prayed for the dog, the baby and the house.

In the meantime I’ll be keeping my house in its current pristine condition in hopes that it will make a difference to someone who may want to buy our house. What will the fragrance of this flower be? I don’t know, I hope it will be pleasing and that we will have done what was asked of us. When it comes down to it, that’s all I want anyway.

boys will be boys will be boys

It would appear that it doesn't matter what age you are, if you are male, you are likely to think that whoopee cushions are a hoot! A couple of weeks ago we went to a little marriage retreat. At this retreat they gave each couple a gift bag at the end of the day making sure that there were boy and girl things in each bag. My dad received a minature whoopee cushion. On Sunday he tried it out on my second youngest, he thought it was pretty funny. On MOnday he tried it out on my oldest but it didn't quite work. However, they went on their monthly trip to the dollar store and he pointed out a full size one to my eldest explaining what it was. He was thrilled and bought it on the spot! He immediately began making rude noises with it wherever he could much to the amusement of the entire household.

On Tuesday evening he tried to get his aunt but she was too smart for him. On one occasion he had hid it and his baby brother saw him hide it. My sister and I couldn't figure out why the baby was throwing himself at the towel on the bench until we discovered said whoopee cushion. He was trying to make it go!! A day or two later the baby got hold of it and figured out that if he put it on the floor and laid down on it he could make it do the funny sound. Much giggling ensued!

Friday it goes to school as a show and tell presentation!

The next Monday the other grandpa finds himself the victim of the whoopee cushion! He thought it was funny, too.

Today the baby found grandpa's miniature cushion and figured out that it works just like big brother's. Cool. ppppppphhhhhhhhhhhhhtttttttttttttttttttt

Boys will be boys whether they're 72 or 17 months!

Check It Out

Choosing Home - a great website (check my sidebar for the link) is having it's grand opening on June 1st! Make sure you check it out!

fresh flowers for May 20

One Little Life
(a memorial for our baby)
copyright 2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

Flowers and grief are often seen together. This week has been no different. As we wrestle with the grief over losing our baby we (Kelly and I) are looking for the flowers God is going to pick for us through this experience. We have been given one already.

I did quite a bit of research on miscarriage as I went through the last few days. My doctor explained some things to me and the research I did confirmed what he told me. Miscarriage at this point in pregnancy is largely due to chromosomal abnormalities. That means that when the sperm and egg came together something misfired and pieces of information that were needed for sustaining life went missing. Everything can continue along until that bit of information is needed, when it isn’t found life cannot continue.

We have been greatly impressed by the Lord over the last number of months on the importance of good communication. So much misunderstanding, hurt and rejection occur when information is lost or miscommunicated. We spend a lot of time being jealous of the other body parts and withhold our bits because we misunderstood someone else’s bit. This ought not to be. All of our little bits are vitally important to the process of producing life in our families and in the church. When bits are missing for whatever reason the production of life stops and the life cycle must start all over again.

The scripture in 1 Corinthians where Paul speaks about being all part of one body is such an important principle to grasp. Each and every one of us is vital to the life of the church, whether it is in our home, in our neighbourhood or across the globe. God has fashioned each of us with an important role to play. As I lay resting, contemplating the loss of one we’ll never know I pondered at the impact that his/her life has made.

This little one expanded our hearts and those of our children, we were all hoping and dreaming about what our family would look like when he/she arrived. Because of the walk that we have chosen over our convictions about conception and life, this little life impacted others and made them consider their own convictions. This little one positively impacted the faith of at least one other person whom God told to pray at a certain time helping her realize that quickly obeying is vitally important. We now know what it is like to walk through this process and will have compassion and empathy for others who will walk this path as well.

That’s a lot of impact for a tiny life that we only knew for a few short weeks and never experienced the light of day. Each one of us greatly impacts the life of others whether we know it or not. We are walking, talking living epistles of Jesus Christ to those we meet and interact with each and every day. Let’s not only be careful how we walk but let’s do it with purpose, knowing that we can make a positive impact on those we meet. Let’s leave behind the jealousy and choose to believe the best about everyone we meet. When we hear something that doesn’t quite make sense, let’s dig a little deeper and seek to understand what was really being communicated. Let’s learn to listen both with our ears and with our hearts. Let’s seek to understand and to be understood. Let us love one another so that ‘they’ will know we are Christians.

Blessings as you walk.

some slightly better news

Our prayers for a dog have been answered. We will be picking up an 11-week old puppy (Bichon/Shitzu cross) this weekend. A good lesson in answers in prayer for the kids, we're praying that we'll be able to teach our kids through the difficult and not so difficult situations. What God allows in our lives, He equips us for, whether it is pleasant or not.

sad news

The pregnancy counter is now off due to the unfortunate fact that our baby has gone to be with Jesus. I guess that's good news for our baby, but we're kind of sad.

13 Years Today

We have been married for 13 years today. What a gloriou*es 13 years it has been! I have the most wonderful husband in the world and everybody ought to know!!

ps - my generous little girlie has been showering me with anniversary gifts that she made as I'2m writing+96
33 any weird 7stuff is co//8ourtesy of Sasa/h/ just one- /more4blessing of 13 years....02

lessons from leviticus - cont'd

Well, I'm actually done reading Leviticus and forgot to put some of the interim stuff up here that I gleaned. it was really very interesting and relevant to current life. These are some of the things that come out.

1. Same-sex anything - really NOT a good idea. God is totally NOT for these types of relationships, nor for incest or beastiatlity.

2. Land usage - hmmm, perhaps if we employed some of these land rules the rape and pillage or our soil may not be so bad as it currently is.

3. The year of jubilee and debts - now this would be revolutionary. Land being retained by original owners, purchasing the crops off said land and then it reverting back at the year of jubilee. Once again, some serious issues in our country would be non-existent if we employed these principles.

4. All that infectious disease stuff - if you're sick - STAY AWAY from other people until you are well! That isn't rocket science.

5. Giving of the tithes and honoring the Lord because He is worthy and it belongs to Him already - the priests are taken care of , the people and the land are blessed. It is all makes a lot of sense.

fresh flowers for May 16

Poverty and Plenty
copyright 2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

I noticed a profound difference between my daughter and myself the other day. One I can’t say I’m terribly proud of. I could blame it on being Mennonite. I could blame it on my parents or something else if I really tried but when it comes right down to it it’s my own grid of thought that has done me in. I and none other is to blame.

My little girl got a groovy little gift from her grandmother for her birthday. It was a decorative box that held all sorts of little treasures; stickers, glitter, sparkly glue, markers, a bunch of little posters to colour and the box itself was made of little fuzzy posters on each side that she could fill in. What fun for a five year old! She immediately started working on it, gleefully colouring, stickering and glittering everything up.

When a friend or her cousins showed up she encouraged them to colour, sticker and glue with all her stuff. She was thrilled to be sharing her treasure and was quite happy to give away the things that had been created to her equally thrilled playmates.

As I watched her use up all the little vials of glitter and glue my own heart had a pang. I wanted to tell her not to use it all up, to save some, to be a bit more cautious. Then a little voice in my heart asked, “Why? Why should she hold back, she has no reason not to believe there will be more glue and glitter and stickers in her life? She is enjoying her treasure and sharing it with those around her, let her be.” I felt thoroughly chastised. When I told my husband about it he made my chastisement even more clear. “You, my dear, are still holding on to a poverty mentality."

Oh dear. I thought I was done with that but obviously not. While it’s true that the last number of years have had us counting every penny and being very careful with what we have I thought I was conquering that thing. Apparently I still have a ways to go on this one. I like to hoard, stash, eek things out to make them last as long as possible. Not that this is always a bad thing. I remember road trips with my family, I could make a bottle of pop and a bag of chips last longer than anyone else. Of course I’d have to fight off the scavengers who ate theirs in a matter of minutes, but I could hold my ground.

How do I live frugally, being a good steward and not give into the mentality that continually tells me, “there isn’t enough?” To be perfectly honest, it is something I still struggle with. I am glad that I have many ‘stones of remembrance’ to look back on. There are many places that I can point to and show my children how God faithfully took care of us when we couldn’t take care of ourselves. Our faith seems to be put to the test in this area quite often. One day I’ll be free of that nasty little voice. Until then I’ll sing with the psalmist, “I lift my eyes up, unto the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from you, maker of heaven, creator of the earth.”

I hope today you’ll live in the glorious treasure that God has given you, not holding back but living and giving freely with a full expectation that there is more to come. I hope that’s where you’ll find me.

walking by faith and not by sight

I've been on a bit of a computer fast over the last few days, I must say, it does free up a lot of time. Know what I've been doing with all that time? Cleaning!! Yup, the energy levels are starting to perk up a little and the drive to get it done has kicked in...why you may ask? Well, we're hoping to move, this is yet another fantastic journey to test our faith and see if we'll stick our faith where our mouth is. Here's what has happened so far...

1. We are perfectly content in our home, realizing it is a bit small for a family of eight but we can stack the kids for a couple more years yet.
2. We are planning for upgrades, renos, etc., realizing we'll probably still have to move in a few years.
3. Friends call, they're moving, would we like to buy their house?
4. Naaaa, too much work, could never happen anyway, we're self-employed - banks don't like us, etc.
5. They have us over for supper, we look around, we were told to go with an open heart.
6. We talk, discuss the house, realize if we don't try we may regret it. The house appears to be a good size, the yard is big, it's already survived four kids, the price is good, we have friends in the area - downside that looms up to have us run in fear is.......................not there.
7. We continue to pray and start talking to some of our mentors/parents, etc. They appear to be in agreement that this could be a good thing for us.
8. We're shocked.
9. Selling our house could prove to be difficult, causes much anxiety for wife and husband (LOTS of work to do to get ready to sell)
10. Cleaning and lists begin.
11. We talk to the bank, they didn't even laugh at us. We still need help but not as much as we thought.
12. Wife goes to a quilting thingy and a friend there says she has friends who are looking for a bigger house in our area, blah, blah, blah - looks like there is the possibility of potential.
13. Plenty of people are confident that this thing is for sure going to happen.
14. We're shocked.
15. Wife's faith is definately less than a mustard seed.
16. We may even get a dog out of the deal.

Anyway, here's the first installment on this journey to see what God will do. He's done some pretty amazing things before (ie. Red Sea, creation) so we'll see what He does with this...hope you enjoy the ride.

an old dog and new tricks

My son taught me a lesson today. He showed me something he had been working on on the computer yesterday. He played around in Word and made all these cool things simply by accessing the drawing toolbar and having some fun with it. I felt downright silly. I've been on the computer for eons and have never even touched that toolbar to see what it did. I don't usually take time to 'play' with stuff like that and now my almost 9 year old has shown this old dog that she has a few tricks she could still learn...

fresh flowers for May 8

Asking for Blessing
copyright 2005, Lani Wiens
a fresh flowers original

Yesterday I asked God for a flower for today. Normally I don’t have to ask, they just arrive, however, this week my brain has been very busy mulling over a situation and I hadn’t seen anything yet. I almost missed this one, God not only has a sense of humour He made sure I got the message. Here’s what happened.

Samuel has a strange fascination for stealing his younger brother’s drinks. I am continually retrieving Sasha’s cups from Samuel’s grabbing hands. This time the circumstance was a little different he was actually asking if he could take Sasha’s milk. He asked Sasha, “Please can I have your milk?” While Sasha is not well versed in verbal skills he had no problem communicating that he did not want Samuel to have his cup. So Samuel turned to me and asked me if he could have Sasha’s milk. I declined. He kept trying. Finally I said to him, “Samuel, why don’t you just ask me if you can have your own cup of milk? Then you have one and Sasha has one and you’ll both be happy.” At first this didn’t seem like a very good idea to Samuel and he kept trying to convince Sasha to hand over the cup, nicely. I laid out the idea again. He thought about it and then finally asked me for a cup of milk, which I gave him. Everyone was happy.

In the middle of all that I was still mulling over my situation and having a conversation with God about it. Telling Hm obvious things that He already knows. Reminding Him that similar situations had been fixed in this way or that way, letting Him know that I would be happy to have that person’s resolution to my problem. The light dawned on me after I finally tuned into my sons and their discussion about the milk. After I had come up with a very workable solution for them to both win in the situation I clued into the applicability of my own musings. Sometimes I’m a little dense.

I was asking God for someone else’s blessing rather than asking for one of my own. God has a desire to bless His children we forget sometimes that we can ask. Jesus said, “You have not because you ask not.” Suddenly I could take a new perspective on my situation, I could simply ask God to bless me in that situation anyway He chooses, He is quite capable of working it out and I don’t need to point out to Him how He can go about doing it. More than that, He has said that He wants to help me work out stuff like that and is perfectly willing to do so. I don’t want to be jealous of someone else’s blessing, I want for them to enjoy it. I want to have a blessing that is designed for me and I would hope that when it comes someone else won’t want to take it from me because I won’t be willing to give it up.

Today, make sure that you aren’t going after someone else’s blessing, if you are, repent and stop what you’re doing. Ask God for your own blessing and be content with what He has in store for surely it will be good. We serve a great and mighty God who gives good gifts to His children. Ask for it. Be blessed as you wait.

Ps. It’s not too late to order your copy of the first edition of ‘fresh flowers – an inspirational journal’. For more information e-mail me, laniwiens@yahoo.ca.