Happy Birthday, Becca!

Our sweet little Rebecca turned 5 in April! She is so excited that she is now 5. That means she gets to start Kindergarten in the fall - something she's been looking forward to for a long time.

Here are some pictures of her birthday party:

The Birthday Girl!

My little nephew, Aiden

Becca's Ladybug cake (I just couldn't get the icing red!)

Wee College Graduation

This past year, Becca attended Wee College. She felt so grown up each Wednesday morning I dropped her off. She had her backpack filled with her Bible, Wee College binder & song book. It never ceased to amaze me how many songs & Bible verses she memorized.

April 15th was her Wee College graduation. It was another opportunity for her to feel proud about herself & to show us, her family, all the things she had learned over the past several months. Here are a few pictures from that evening:

Resting Place

At our Care Group on Tuesday night, one of the ladies led us in worship. She read Isaiah 66:1,2:

"This is what the LORD says:

'Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?' declares the LORD. 'This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.' "

I've heard & read these verses before, they are underlined in my Bible. But I don't think I've really understood these verses before Tuesday night. Before, I always had a picture of God sitting on His throne in heaven with His feet resting on the earth - pretty straight forward, but never gave much thought to the rest of the words. Because of my friend sharing her insight, I now have a different perspective.

I now see the focus being more on: "Where will my resting place be?" The resting place that God is seeking is in our hearts. He is looking for a place to rest, to hang out. It was like the light bulb went on! The resting place is in our HEARTS! Not some place in outerspace but in my heart! Suddenly these verses became personal! So then I asked myself: "What kind of a resting place do I have for Jesus? What is the condition of my heart?" He wants to dwell in someone who is humble and is contrite in spirit and trembles at His word. (Contrite: caused by or showing sincere remorse; filled with a sense of guilt and the desire for atonement; penitent.)

God wants to dwell, live, hang out in our humble & repentant hearts. He wants us to tremble, to be in awe at His word. How many times in a day do I mess up, get mad at the kids, not have a loving attitude toward Jeremy? How many times in a day am I selfish with my sleep time, quiet time, wanting my space, what I want to do...)? How many times does my work or the computer (e-mailing, Facebook, even blogging) take priority over God or my family? What a disgusting resting place I've created for the One who is more important to me than anything! It doesn't sound very restful to me! "Maybe that's why my soul hasn't been at rest lately," she states rhetorically! I know when it's time to clear the clutter of my heart because my heart is unsettled, my soul is not at rest.

God asks us: "Where will my resting place be?" My answer, taking it one moment at a time is: "Here, O Lord, I have prepared a resting place for You. I will wait for You alone."

Resting Place
Heaven is my throne
And earth is my footstool
Where is the house you will build for me?
Whom of you will hear the cry of my heart
Where will my resting place be?

Here oh Lord
Have I prepared for you a home
Long have I desired for you to dwell
Here oh Lord
Have I prepared a resting place
Here oh Lord I wait for you alone
Copyright © 1991 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.

Be A Tourist In Your Own Town

In March, we headed to the Island for Jeremy's grandma's funeral (see previous post) and decided to make a weekend of it.

After the funeral & visiting were done, we headed down Island to my parents' place. The next morning, we (Jeremy, the kids & I, along with my parents) got up, packed our lunch & snacks and drove to Victoria. It happened to be the annual "Be a Tourist In Your Own HomeTown" weekend, so we took advantage of it. I don't know if other towns/cities do this, but if yours does, take advantage of it! It's a fun way to see all the touristy things without breaking the wallet.

Tickets books are $8/person. Each booklet has multiple coupons and you can use each coupon once. Some were free admission, some things were buy one, get one free (restaurants, candy shops, etc), some were simply discounts.

We decided to visit Miniature World, the Royal London Wax Museum and the Pacific Undersea Gardens. We'd been to the Undersea Gardens before but the kids love it so much we went again. I don't think I'd ever been to the Wax Museum & it had been YEARS since I had been to Miniature World (probably the same age as Daniel!). So it was great fun walking down memory lane and at the same time, creating new memories for my kids.

Here are some pictures from the day:

Space ship @ Miniature World

Becca & I checking things out at Miniature World We visited the Queen...at the Wax Museum!
Remember, all the figures are made of WAX!
Checking out the "Hands On" Exhibit at the Undersea Gardens

Throughout the day, we had a mixture of crazy weather: cold, strong winds, sun, snow, rain, snow...! For our lunch, we skipped the picnic in the park & instead had a picnic in the van! And we were especially thankful because that's when the snow hit! By the time we finished eating, the snow had stopped & the sun was shining again! Crazy!

On the way home, Daniel was falling asleep so to help keep him awake, we pulled over on the Malahat. The guys got out to give Daniel some fresh air. It had started snowing again so they had a little fun playing in the snow & taking pictures.

Daniel's picture of Jeremy

My Dad goofing around!

Daniel's turn to goof around!

"Freedom"

If you, or someone you know, has a disabled child, please check out Nancy's blog - The Olive Leaf Ministries. She has details there about a new Facebook page she has started to encourage and support parents of disabled children. Her own daughter has Autism and through the struggles & tears, God has taught her & her husband, Jimmy a lot of valuable lessons.

Click HERE to visit Nancy's blog post today & be sure to pass the word along!

Remembering Dorothy Mae Olson

I'm finally getting around to writing this post as I have recently found our camera & have now uploaded our pictures onto the computer.

In early March, we headed to the Island for Jeremy's grandma's funeral. It was a sad time because of the occasion, but it was good to see family we hadn't seen for so long. Here are just a few of the pictures we took.

Jeremy's Parents, Dennis & Audrey
Two of Jeremy's brothers & wives:
The oldest, Justin & Barb
The third oldest, Nate & Jen

Cousin Bryan & his wife

Jeremy & the kids with GG (Great Grandma)
This was the last time we saw GG (Spring Break '08)

He Had Compassion

I have a few other things I want to blog about and will get to those, hopefully, in the next week or so. But this morning, I wanted to share briefly what I read during my devotions this morning.

I have been reading through Genesis lately, but today I decided to read in Matthew. Our pastor is currently working through Matthew. I've been learning lots & am trying not to ignore the challenges our pastor gives us!

Matthew 9:36

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

We know from reading through the four gospels that Jesus was constantly bombarded with people. They wanted to be healed, to learn more about His teachings and just simply to be near Him. Jesus had compassion on the crowds of people. He didn't see them as being annoying people invading His space, or as ignorant people. Jesus saw the crowds of people as helpless (physically & spiritually).

Then I asked myself the question: how do I look at people when they're surrounding me, demanding me of my time, etc. Sounds like those "people" are my kids! I tend to get uptight & shoo them away when they are nagging, pestering, invading my space. When I get hungry, tired or busy, I like to have my space (both physically & mentally). It frustrates me when I have to repeatedly tend to my kids (usually for the same things over & over & over...) & all I want to do is be in my own little world.

That's when verse 36 really made sense to me - Jesus had compassion on the crowds of people because they were like a sheep without a shepherd. Surely I could try to have compassion on my kids when they crowd around me and when they continuously crowd my thoughts.

Lord, help me to have compassion on my kids & to not shoo them away. And help me to have compassion on others you bring across my path, to see them with Your eyes - to see them as helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Amen.