Greatest Day In History

*The Greatest Day in History

Death is beaten, You have rescued me

Sing it out, Jesus is alive

The empty cross, the empty grave

Life eternal, You have won the day

Shout it out, Jesus is alive

He's alive

Oh, happy day, happy day

You washed my sin away

Oh, happy day, happy day

I'll never be the same

Forever I am changed

Blessings upon Blessings 

this glorious Resurrection Sunday 2015! 

*Tim Hughes - Happy Day Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

December Baby

Sunday. Coffee in front of a crackling fire. Music (not Christmas) playing softly on the iPod. Blanket tucked around my legs, a cat balanced precariously between my lap and the arm of my chair, hoping to overtake the position my laptop occupies. The house is quiet; hubby just left for early church. And I am staying home this morning, hoping to recoup what I lost during the night: a solid nights rest!

Maybe the frigid temps of the past several days have caught up with me. Walking around all tensed up in an effort to keep warm, wreaks havoc on the muscles. Accidently-on-purpose ingesting some foods with suspect gluten in them (darn those tempting holiday treats!)  certainly adds to the problem for it does not take much (gluten) to inflame my body and bring on a dreaded fibro-like attack. So this morning I sit in my chair by the fire and try to just rest and relax. I cannot let these aches get the best of me. For this, this Sunday marks the one week countdown to my birthday and I intend to celebrate ALL WEEK LONG.

I told my friend a few weeks ago as we began planning for my birthday party, that truly I am not 'turning' 55. Rather I celebrate reaching the end of my 55th year. Think about it. When we reach our first birthday, we are celebrating our very first year of living outside of mama's womb. Each year we are living out the birthday number that is to come. So in that aspect, I have been living out my 55th year since my birthday last year! I know, I know, that's just too deep to comprehend this early in the morning. We'll need more coffee.


So, yes, I am beginning the celebrating of my upcoming day, today! Why not? Why not have more than one day to be joyous, to play, to have fun? We do the whole countdown to Christmas and build anticipation with each snip of the construction paper chain, each opening of the Advent Calendar window. Blame it on being a December baby, who sometimes felt cheated out of the focal point of her birthday by a jolly fat man in a red suit, but I really want to have some fun with my birthday this year. Hence, the celebrating beginning today, the birthday party at the end of this week and then, next Sunday, special plans on my special day, with my special man.

I have a date with my sister for this afternoon. She is treating me (and herself, truth be told) to a production of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" playing at a local theater. We are excited. I have a fond recollection of this play, as eons ago, when I was a youth group leader, I cajoled 20 some teens and pre-teens, along with a handful of adults from our congregation to put on this same play for our church one Christmas. It was a crazy huge undertaking and I shake my head with wonder at the thought. There I was, this 30-something mother, with 20% organizational skills, and 80% spunk, pulling off a most ambitious production! But, pull it off, we did and it will be fun to sit in the audience and watch this play now. I am curious to see just how much of it I will remember!

Other plans for this week include some SELF PAMPERING. A hair appointment, shopping for something to wear to my party, a massage, maybe a mani-pedi, and certainly at least a couple of coffee dates with some sweet friends are all marked on my calendar for this week.

Yep,I will be living it up!

Sunday Morning

cork from Mad Housewife Wine bottle

I had a rough night. Perhaps I was still jazzed from the work-day event on Saturday, though I did allow myself a long hot soak in a scented bubble bath, along with candles, wine, chocolate and special music... But still sleep was late in coming. Then...around 2am I woke up itching.

I have one finger that seems to love to do a little hives-break out every now and again, usually after exposure to any chemicals. (Probably the bubble bath). The itching didn't subside so up I got to put some anti-itch cream on it. Nestled back down under the covers and was just about back to la-la land when my cell phone started buzzing and ringing.

What the heck? It's that new smart phone that I still have not figured all out yet and apparently it has some alarms set to alert me to danger! This was an Amber Alert for the Montana area and while I was irritated by the alarms waking me up even more, I said a prayer for rescue and safety and disarmed my phone. And once the adrenaline had stopped pumping tried again to find sleep.

lurking cat plotting evil

Then the unmistakable sounds of my cat alerted me to the fact that he had something to show me. Toddy makes this low-throated rumbly noise when he wants attention. This was an ongoing rumbly noise and I knew he was up to something. flicked on the light and saw the 'toy' he'd caught lying there beside him. I tried at first to ignore it all but as soon as I laid down and closed my eyes some very raucous playing ensued. I realized my only hope was to catch the 'toy'.

sister reacts to sight of giant spider on ceiling

Oh, husband, where art thou? I muttered, thinking of the engine light that came on the night I dropped him off at the shuttle bus and the giant moth the cat brought in and released that first night.Thinking of the ginormous spider that terrorized my sister and I one morning as we sat in the living room and the hair-rising rescue that took place in ensuring our safety. Thinking, husband, you so owe me, I set about to capture the mouse... and I will admit it was a teeny tiny mouse, but a rodent nonetheless and one I wanted G.O.N.E.

Without any help from Toddy, I caught the 'toy' using an empty nut container and it's lid, moved quickly and efficiently to the front door where it had a little flying lesson out into the night. Toddy was of course right at my heels wondering what Momma was doing with HIS Toy.... I scooped Toddy up and deposited him in the garage, locking his pet-door into the house. Oh what a mean momma I am but in the middle of the night this momma don't mess around.

This morning, all is calm and quiet. I have had a sweet email from my hubby, followed by my coffee and watched the morning unfurl before me as I sipped it. I have listened to an amazing choir of birds greet the day and also enjoyed the song "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord O My Soul) by Matt Redmond on YouTube. Soon I will mosey up the mountain to join my amazing brothers and sisters in Christ as we worship together. I know my beloved is likely doing the same in Honduras and I pray for his safety and blessings. May you all have a blessed Sunday.

Sunny Sunday

Well, hubby had a great camp out with T-man, his best friend from high school and I had a low key do nothing but relax Saturday! I was ready-- and eager for hubby's return on Sunday however and even more delighted when he suggested we take a drive to the lovely town of La Connor WA for dinner-- and to take T-man to meet his ride back to Seattle. 

the Rainbow Bridge at the edge of town

on the other side of the waterway is the Swinomish  Reservation. they were having some canoe competitions that afternoon. fun to watch! 

La Connor is one of those little waterfront towns that has really capitalized on the tourist trade, making the most of the canal that runs by the edge of town with several choice eateries boasting outside dining. Lots of fun whimsical shops, artists showcased at every other shop. It's the kind of place where you can wander in and out of stores, just feeling good to look at everything on display.

Lavender Garden~~ lovely to look at but beware of buzzing bees!

 For 25 cents you can sample some amazing olives, (we did) or ride a wild pony! 

We had a delicious dinner, outside of course, at one of the pubs, drinking in the sunshine and the good food. I had a Hawaiian Chicken burger, sans the bun, with terriyaki sauce and a pineapple and the fries. Along with a crisp hard apple cider, it was the perfect way to wind down the afternoon. Bruce had the fish and chips and I have to admit feeling only a little sorry for myself for not being able to indulge in even a sample. (pooh gluten intolerance!!) 

After that fine meal we HAD to walk it off!! And complain how full we were.... 

until we found the ice cream stand....

We bade goodbye till next time to the T-man and his friend, then strolled down the street to revisit a sweet memory from one of our earliest dates. 

We'd been dating for just a MONTH and it was Tulip Time in Skagit Valley. We enjoyed La Connor much the way we did this time; dining, window shopping, ice cream and a climb up the stairs for a better view of the town. And a nice lady walking by at just the right time, obliged us with our first 'couple' photo op!

...April 1994....  falling in love....

It was fun  to do the same thing this time.... and I have to admit how pleased and surprised I was that Bruce remembered all the details of that date so long ago!! 

18 years later.... have we changed much? 

Still in awe of how God brought us together... and how much deeper our love is for each other-- and our Savior, than back then. And how back then I thought I loved both Bruce AND GOD as much as was possible!!!!

We came home via Bayview State Park and the whimsical town of Edison, another favorite spot of ours. We caught the last streaks of crimson as we raced down highway 9 west to Deming and home.

 

it was a lovely day.

one of the best.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

my sister upon seeing all my pictures from the pony adventure, commented that if you flipped through them quickly it was like watching an old movie. I took that a step further and DID turn it into a little movie, complete with perfect soundtrack....   click on the link below to watch. enjoy!!

the love-burkes go rouge!

A Sunday Walk

what a beautiful weekend we were blessed with!  It was perfect for taking another walk.

Old Deming Rd runs parallel to the Mt Baker Hwy and the Nooksack River

I take a lot of pictures of the railroad tracks but I never seem to catch the train!

My husband, my best friend, keeps me entertained.

well, naps are what we usually do on sundays!

over the railroad tracks and thru' the brush!

perfect weather!

the Love-Burkes

looking for heart shaped rocks and other fun stuff

Bruce said he 'found' this rock with the strange message carved in it. I of course pretended to believe him!!

carving my own secret message on a rock.

picmonkey special effects.

What a wonderful weekend. What a wonderful day.

the day before he leaves

what a beautiful Sunday morning! 

Worship! A powerful message! Love and support from family and friends! 

Bellingham Bay

Bellingham Bay, facing Fairhaven

what a beautiful Sunday afternoon!

Coffee date! A walk through golden trails leading to the water! quality conversation laced with kisses and promises. greasy yummy fast food for dinner and more kissing. ;)

a part of the Interurban Trail

at Fairhaven Marine Park

 what a beautiful Sunday evening!

Birthday celebration for mom with pumpkin pie and whipped cream, hugs and laughter. 

looking pretty snazzy for 83!

it was pretty close to being a perfect day! ah, heck it WAS (IS)  a perfect day!

love~love~love where we live!

I want to say THANK YOU again to each and everyone of you for all your love, your support, your prayers, your gifts, your words of encouragement and just for being in our lives! This trip to Japan is so much bigger than we would have ever dared to reach for but God is able to do so much more than we could ever dare to hope or dream. I know, I KNOW, that with God NOTHING is impossible!!

 

Sunday Morning Coming Down

Well, okay, so it's actually Sunday afternoon by the time I finally sit down to write this. But it was beautiful up on the mountain this morning.

When I say 'up on the mountain' on a Sunday, I am actually referring to worship at the Kendall CTK campus. We love being there and love the people and the spirit of worship we can feel. Alive and free and full of energy and love and joy bubbling over! It is amazing to see, feel, experience!

We were doubly blessed this day because a dear friend went with us; his first visit to this church and I think he really enjoyed it. I meet a couple of new people today, who were visiting as well.

One of the fun things that has been occurring for me the last few weeks at this church is that I keep meeting people who are the same age as my son, who were friends with him when he was in his late teens. It gives me hope and joy when I see these 'kids' who have turned their lives over to Jesus. I pray that someone in Alabama will be Jesus to my son and be an encourager to him and as a result, he will be able to make peace and reconciliation with others. That would include me.

I don't talk about my relationship with my kids all that much, especially my son, because, one, it is painful to talk about, and two, I want to respect their lives by keeping things private. But, I would welcome prayers if you are so inclined. Prayers for healing and forgiveness and peace to come to my son. I hope that someday soon he and I would be able to meet face to face and celebrate together the life and family he has created.

My relationship with my parents was fraught with tension and hurts but I am so glad, so blessed for the healing God did in my heart before my father passed away. I am forever grateful for the fact that I was able to tell him I loved him and accept his "I love you" back. Forgiveness is such a powerful thing and I think sometimes we underestimate how freeing it is, how it plays such an integral part in healing and wholeness.

With Resurrection weekend approaching, I look at the Cross and the amazing sacrifice Jesus made for all of us so that we could experience forgiveness. It is too awesome, too wondrous for words. But each time I am able to offer forgiveness to someone who has wronged me, I get a very, very, very, small taste of what took place that day at Calvary. And as small as it is, it is still incredibly  powerful. Then I think: how much more is the gift that Jesus gave to each of us!

My prayer as we enter Holy Week, is for each one to know Jesus, the price that He paid for our sins, the forgiveness and wholeness He offers and the joy that new life in Him brings.

~ Peace and Blessings to all.