Is This a Perfect Day?

Did I have a perfect day? Well, it’s not over yet, but let me see what it has been like so far.

It’s  been raining for hours so it’s getting to the standing water stage but before it was that bad I had decided to check my blood pressure. That’s the little gauge that decides for me whether I should go for a walk or not. Yup, the numbers were creeping up again. Not into the dangerous zone, fortunately, but nevertheless: excuse the old dried out term, prevention is better than cure.

               My daughter graciously offered the use of her umbrella and even though getting a little wet has never bothered me, I accepted. I called my good ole buddy, Kasa. She wasn’t bouncing all over with enthusiasm like the day we went to the park in the city so was more manageable.  Off we went. Wasn’t long before that trusty umbrella was blown inside out and had to be hurriedly put away. Wasn’t long either before my running shoes were letting my socks get soggy, but hey you can’t walk in boots can you? I made it to the intersection and back, wet feet and all. Was it a perfect day, so far?

               It was a mighty fine day to be editing the sequel to Two Mother’s, Twin Daughters. www.marilynshistoricalnovels.com I don’t need to look for any excuse to write but you mean I have to go through the whole manuscript and find all the times I used the word ‘just’ unnecessarily? That is not all, what about, ‘really’ and ‘very’, and countless words that end with ‘fully’? Gulp, or was that a sigh. I thought I was a pretty interesting storyteller but taking out those words is sure tightening up my yarn. Oops, I better go back and take out that ‘pretty’, also. I’m working on it folks, but this old girl has a lot more to do before you can get a peek at the book about Emily and Alice.

               Right now, I’m waiting for hubby to come home. BLT sandwiches is on the menu to celebrate our own tomatoes ripening, but after that, whoopee, we are planning to head into town and buy a beautiful blue Volkswagen Tiguan AWD. 2009. Now you wise guys know we aren’t rolling in the bucks because of me being the author around the place, but, hey, I still think I’m having a perfect day because I have the peace of God in my heart in spite of the ups and downs of life. How about you? 

Who Will Help Us With Our Problems?

It was a super-nice day and a Sunday afternoon, besides, which meant time to do something fun and relaxing. What should it be? Both hubby and I agreed that it would be great to take a walk in the park, so what if the city was 45 km. away.

 Now I have this real special dog. Some of you will remember Kasa as a cute small white puppy however she did some growing since then, but of course I wanted her along. With the help of a nice blue tarp for the back of the vehicle, she happily came for the ride.

 Right from the beginning things didn’t go quite as expected. First of all Kasa, who is an overgrown puppy is used to our boring country roads and would walk sedately enough, but these new trails with wonderful strangers to greet and especially all those dogs to make friends with, oh boy oh boy, was she ever excited! I quickly handed the leash over to Stephen, this super enthused ‘pal’ was a lot more than I could handle.

Diversion number two: A friend we hadn’t visited with much for several years because he lived elsewhere, stepped up to us. “Can I walk with you?” Sure, of course.

 Problem number two. The first one was a too rambunctious dog, you got that, right? Well now it was two men that had strong long strides that I could hardly keep up with. I was panting slightly on the inclines, but didn’t say much because my inherited blood pressure problem could use a workout, right. Right? Just as a side note, my B.P. had dropped to the normal range by the next morning. Yippee! Even my pills hadn’t coaxed it to do that.

 Hmm, problems weren’t over, though. On the way home, the car sputtered and died. My better half filled the rad with water but that didn’t help for long. So there we sat with the hood up, wondering what to do. Pretty soon a friend came cruising along with his family on the way to evening church. Sure, he would give us a ride home. There was even a place for the mutt behind the back seat of that roomy SUV. We joked about her sitting on the laps of the teenage girls on the back seat who were all dressed up in their Sunday best.

We got home in time to listen to the inspiring service over the phone and just as the last song was being sung a neighbour called.

  “Was that your car I saw beside the road?” Well, to make a long story short that friendly neighbour helped to haul it home.

  So did you read between the lines? Who will help us with our problems? God will. He doesn’t always give us such immediate or fun solutions, but often enough that we know He is in control so I’m gonna just keep trusting Him.  

Eat What's Set Before You--Or Choke On It!

I love having BnB guests. I love scurrying around in anticipation of wonderful new visitors coming to our home and getting onto exciting and sometimes amazing topics. It has been the joy of my life to open our home to guests and I have frequently called it my dream job.

So, why such an odd sounding title at the top of the page? Well, we are kind of out in the boondocks and sometimes a week or two passes between company arriving and I get involved in other things. You can guess what happens then: housekeeping doesn’t and can’t remain absolutely top priority. But when I hear guests are coming whoopee, I love to whip things into shape, and add my special loving touches here and there which are only for them.

I did it again last Friday. Then they texted about the time we were beginning to expect them. ‘Oh sorry, we didn’t realise you were so far from the city. It won’t work. Have a nice weekend,’ or something like that.

Glup. Well, I decided not to choke on what was set before me and told my friend “I guess we’ll be sleeping in a bed and breakfast tonight,”

Remember you’re always welcome to ‘get away from it all" at Hollyhock Haven BnB.  We’re on Air BnB in Alberta somewhere. 

Am I Still in One Piece?

Who knows, I haven’t had time to check. The children arrived like a flood of enthusiasm and mischief, and no, I can’t keep track of all they got into, but soon my head was whirling. They are good kids, don’t get me wrong; among the sweetest on the planet, but oh my, what a lot of inquisitiveness. It didn’t help of course that we hadn’t seen each other for a while.

www.marilynshistoricalnovels.com

Now, what did all happen? Besides jumping on the bed and trail mix scattered on the floor, and clods of dirt being playfully thrown in my direction while I was working in the garden?  Oh, yes, there was also a one-man army with a water gun spraying his defenseless sisters … 

What was it that made this day so memorable?

Oh, I know: when the six-year-old gets off the bus and flies across the yard, arms opened wide for a Gramma sized hug. When three little children all want to crowd on my lap at once: that’s what I remember the most.

Oh, yes, I am  in one piece and the smile still lingers…www.marilynshistoricalnovels.com

Fluttering About

Hey, I'm back! I like to think that someone noticed that I haven't written for a while. Maybe they even thought I had died or something??? Nope, nothing like that happened although flying away to Glory would have been a whole lot of fun. Well, maybe. I hate to think of the tears streaming down the grandchildren's faces that Grammie went so soon. Well, I think we are all satisfied that I am still here, tapping away at my little ole laptop, but I did have a metamorphosis kinda. I wondered if I'd be able to spell that word. I'm -thankful for auto correct. Well sometimes. On my phone it gives me pretty goofy suggestions-object!!

Okay, okay back to the topic at hand. I was and was not all wrapped up in a cocoon for the last few months. I was hidden away from the blogging world, yes, but on the other hand my butterfly wings were getting a real workout. Summer is such a fun time out here on our acreage, and this year is was more lively than ever with having to juggle three balls, gardening, babysitting and hosting guests in our bed and breakfast.

I thought sadly that writing was going by the way side, but why should it? I have more than ever to write about. Don't I? 

Tears in Heaven

Heaven is supposed to be a happy place but seems to me the luster had dimmed somewhat that day long ago, and the sparkle had gone out of the eyes of the ones circled around the throne.   Ten thousand angels with drooping wings were pleading with Jesus.

               “Don’t go, please don’t go. You’ll meet with suffering and persecution down there.”

               “They’ll never appreciate you as much as we do.”

               “Jesus, You told us yourself that You’ll be crucified. That is so unfair, so unjust! Surely there is another way.”

               Then Jesus met His Father’s love-filled eyes and the power in that beam caused the voices around Him to become like an indistinct murmur.

               “I’ll do anything for you, Father, absolutely anything,” He communicated wordlessly just as His Father knew He would.

               Jesus had died and rose again, as predicted, He had suffered scorn and reproach, been spat upon, beaten and His crucifixion was more brutal than any before or since because He carried your sins and mine to the cross with Him.

               Just as He knew would happen, the scorn and rejection did not vanish with the resurrection, but He had left the peace and joy in Heaven for our sakes, not His. 

               Saul was a particularly zealous enemy of Christ, and while still a young man, took care of the coats of those who were deliberately hurling stones at a follower of Jesus to kill Him.

               That was only the beginning of Saul’s evil campaign; later on, he marched off to Damascus with the intention of irradiating as many Christians as possible. However, the Heavenly Father loved that fiercely determined young man. He saw that he was sincere—but mistaken. Acts 9 NKJV - The Damascus Road: Saul Converted - Bible Gateway

            

   Things changed radically for Saul. Even his name was changed, and the newly converted Paul worked tirelessly for the new Master whom he adored.

               Adored, you say? Isn’t this the same man who was bound and determined to go to Jerusalem even though he had been warned repeatedly that he would face bonds and imprisonment there? https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjxsKrUrszUAhUHx2MKHYFgDQAQFggoMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbiblehub.com%2Facts%2F21-11.htm&usg=AFQjCNG_6wSo-X2XC7zTiyM0mnbMKhNcGg&sig2=w87sfmwbYFGDv56rGWxTLQ biblehub.com/acts/20-23.htm  Wasn’t he being a stubborn old codger to go against the advice of so many of  brothers and sisters in Christ? I don’t think so. Take note of how much the fellow believers loved him, how they wept over him, and eagerly hung on to his every word even long into the night.

               Remember how he persecuted the church? Here was a man who, in worshipful adoration, was trying to make amends. Here was someone who was so grateful he would do anything for the One who had came down from Heaven to rescue him.

            Do you remember how the angels may have pleaded with Jesus not to go but He went anyway?  Few of us have been asked to sacrifice as much as Paul was, but he caught the vison of what Jesus had done for Him and couldn’t do enough in return. 

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What Do You Have to Offer

Don’t be ashamed of your past, don’t be ashamed because your skin is darker than mine—I’m not white either, but peaches and cream!

               The white race should collectively hang their heads if they think they are superior. We are historically known for being assertive and materialist, for getting things done, but is that really what counts?

               You have traditions, gentler customs than we are known for, and it brings tears to my eyes and I’m not the weepy type. Some of you come from cultures that deeply respect your elders, may God bless you.  When so many from the same area are sweet and mannerly, I know it’s more than just a coincidence.

               Okay, it’s time to get more specific. I was reading Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul Book 2 just now and these Native American’s girls had the custom of spending one day alone, each month, during their menstrual cycle to contemplate on what kind of person they wanted to become. Was that part of your lineage? Just imagine the quality of character that could develop from taking the time to prayerfully meditate beginning in your formative years and continuing throughout life.

               Now, let’s go way across the ocean, to the other side of the world, and learn about a different group of women. These wonderful African ladies obviously valued children highly: well before the child was born, even before conception had taken place, they would go off alone to listen to the song of the infant they hoped to carry.  All throughout the pregnancy, they will sing this song, and teach it to the old women and midwives in the village. At birth, the child is greeted by ‘their’ song and soon all the village learns it so that at every high point, or time of distress, it is being sung to the growing child and later adult.

Doesn’t that sound so peaceful and loving? Doesn’t it seem like a beautiful way to knit family members, a village, together? I only wish I knew more details about these wonderful people, where they came from, what their names were, and so on.

               Lift up your heads, you ‘colored’ people, you have so much to offer! (And don’t forget we are actually more colored than you. We blush with embarrassment; turn green with envy, blue with cold, pale with shock, you name it!)

If you like this author how about checking her website: www.marilynshistoricalbooks.com