A Grand Sunday!

An adventurous day today, as we started our day with Canadian Tire and 2 Walmarts in order to find tubes but finally we got them and we're on the road only a couple hours behind schedule.

Once we dropped off vehicle number one at the end of our path, we drove to St. Jacobs, got out our tubes and started to pump them up. I cheaped out (or was frugal) and went with the $10 tube but I fit the weight capacity so mine was a bit smaller than the others and didn't have oars, but still quite nice! 

As we headed into the water we found that we were knee deep in sewage but once we passed that and got in our tubes we began to float, it was slow at point, rocky at others but all in all it was a grand day on the Grand River catching up with friends, and meeting a new one! 

Dan, Caleb, Lisa and Trevor! 

- T.

Had a drink of water today?

The epidemic of hunger strikes the world each and every day in countries like Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. With the United Nations recently declaring two regions of Somalia to be in a famine that will most likely spread to its entirety within the next few months, it is a reality that plagues more than a million people in Somalia and even greater than that over the world and reminds me of the great urgency we have in front of us.

It is a reminder of those all around the world without food and clean water to drink, the same reminder was brought to mind as we experienced one of the hottest days in years on Thursday July 21, 2011. Conditions such as this have a great effect on those who are homeless and living in poverty, those who have no shelter from the heat just as in the winter risk death and disease because of extreme weather such as this.

As we are reminded what many face in the world I hope that we can join together in pray lifting up those who are in need, and support those in whatever ways we are able.

Here are a couple websites that are dedicated to raising awareness and fighting world poverty.

One International

Salvation Army - Poverty

The World in Action

- T. 

Beautiful...

Just a short thought, Lately I have been thinking about the vainness of humanity (myself included) and how we  judge based on how we look, what we have done and the things we have. We want to be accepted and loved but all too often we are willing to pay a price for this. Proverbs 31:30 gives a sharp reminder of different kind of woman "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised". As women we are more than our beauty, charm, and the many things we do. We are daughters of the King, children of God. Although we are all beautiful, we are so much more. When we look in the mirror some days we do not see this, we see the extra weight we put on over the winter, or acne we wish wasn't there. As we seek the Kingdom of God it is then we find truth and joy that cannot come from anything this earth has to offer. It is there we can see our beauty, I am not there yet. Some days I still look in the mirror and see a distorted image of myself. The one that is harsher than anyone else could ever be. But as I continue to walk this life I begin to see less of myself and more of Christ. Less of the person I thought I was and more of the person God has chosen me to be.

So this is just a small reminder that "There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion" - Sir Francis Bacon, a pioneer of the scientific revolution.

- T.

Another shot from painting this past weekend...

A poem sent to me by my friend Tiffany, written by Marianne Williamson.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear
is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness,
that most frightens us.
We say, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?
Actually who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people
won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine as children do.
We were born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

Sorry I have not written in a while I have many blogs floating in my head but little time to sit and write. 

I will get back in the habit !


- T.

Painting this past weekend, was a grand time!

The weekend before was swing dancing at the Jazz Fest and Wendy speaking at my Church in Dresden...  still waiting on photos from that! :) 

Love me by JJ Heller

Everyone should hear this song, its beautiful... Love Me by JJ Heller

I'm sure we've all felt this way.

- T.

Happy 144 Birthday Canada!

Well today is the day in which we celebrate our beautiful country! A country that has four seasons, opportunities for many different people, and one in which we are free to worship Christ. It is today I am thankful that as a women, I am considered a person, that although our country is not perfect, I am free to work and to many am considered an equal to men. It is in this country that we have mountains, valleys, forests, and fresh water. It is here that we experience the beauty of the city and the country. It is here that I was raised, and am thankful for. Today is the day we stop complaining [for even just one day] about all that is wrong with our country and our world celebrate this place that we call home.

A photo of some of us from early today!

- T.