Stillness, Solitude and Silence....

I have just shut myself in the office. I can hear the kids voices just outside my door. I am watching the rain soak the earth outside. I have turned on my playlist of praise music. The Old School Bus Ice Cream is closed today because of the rain.
My brain appears unable to function. I am making much effort to will my fingers to type. I am desperately seeking three S's - stillness, solitude and silence. They are out there somewhere, floating just out of reach.
I am reading about Elijah, standing on the mountain before the Lord. "And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice..."
My to-do list is overwhelmingly long, the phone is constantly jingling for my attention, the pressures of trying to be everything to everyone are weighing on my shoulders, the desire to scream and throw something is becoming more and more attractive, and did I mention the kids? Through my rain-soaked window, I can glimpse the peaks of the Rocky Mountains, and God's still small voice whispers in my ear, Lift your eyes up to My mountains, where does your help come from? It comes from Me, maker of heaven and earth.

We all belong to each other

We became member of Mountain Baptist Church in Canmore last week. We first attended this church when we moved to Canada almost 8 years ago. We have been attending on a regular basis for the past 2 years. Our pastor, Trevor Sato, has made an irreversible imprint on our lives. I am so thankful for God's leading in bringing our family to this family. I look back on the last two years, the good and the bad, and by God's grace, we have grown so much. This humble man has directed us upward on more than one occasion. He has taught me true application of God's Word, he has taught me how to listen, how to be still, how to worship, and how to really see God.
We have learned and experienced grace. God's judgment is truly an awesome and powerful thing to understand and to fear. However, God's grace and mercy brings one to his knees.
I attended a Christian school when I was young, a few years of public school, and then on to Christian university. This was all a part of God's plan for my story and I am grateful. However, both of my Christian education facilities had a lot of rules, and I mean, a lot of rules. These are important, I am not degrading that, but I experienced a lot of frustration trying to live the "good Christian life". I never felt like I was good enough.
Trevor stripped all of those rules away, and looked at my heart. Blue and I received marriage counseling from Trevor last year. He showed me my heart, my needy heart, that wasn't needy at all, but was full. My heart was already full of Christ, His joy, His peace, and His love. I was not and would not ever be in need of anything else.
The mission statement of Mountain Baptist is this: To Become and make disciples of Jesus through authentic relationships.
Authentic relationships with our co-workers, with our neighbors, and with our fellow Christians, that will bring glory to our God.
"Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other."

Life lessons to be learned...by a three year old

Blue tells me that my blog is too serious, that I need to write something funny. Well, I guess I am a serious person, but I would like to be a funny person too. So, I tried to think of something funny to write about...
The last few weeks have been a series of attempts to potty-train my two-year old son, Forest. We have experienced victories and failures, and I am sure you all can see where this story is going.
One day, I was trying the "let him run around with nothing on" plan. I was in the office trying to get some work done. Meadow and Forest were at the kitchen table, playing with playdough. I hear Forest start to cry. Now, when you have been a mom long enough, you can distinguish your children's cries. So, I was sure this was not a cry of pain, but maybe of frustration. I decided to keep working and wait it out. The crying became more intense, and when I called to Meadow, there was no answer. Reluctantly, I ran to the kitchen to see what the problem was. There was a distinct smell as I walked into the room, and I looked over to see Meadow rubbing her hands together. There were brown smears on the wall beside her.
"Meadow, what happened?"
"Mom, Forest pooed, and I thought it was brown playdough, so I tried to form a ball. It isn't playdough, mom, it has nuts in it! I tried to wipe my hands off on the walls!"
Forest may still not be potty-trained, but it was still a very successful day. My daughter had learned an important life lesson: how to tell the difference between poo and brown playdough - look to see if there are nuts!!

If only we all knew

The man approaching the ice cream bus was, well, weathered. I would never venture to guess his age because I somehow knew that I would be wrong. I instinctively felt that he was much younger than he looked. He was unbelieveably skinny. He wore a faded denim shirt, only one button holding it together. As he stepped up onto the deck, the wind caught the shirt and that last button released its hold, revealing a rib cage without an ounce of fat. His wispy white hair was covered by a straw, cowboy hat. When he smiled at me, I nearly stepped back, there were only a few teeth remaining.
"Today is a special day and I am treating myself to some ice cream," he grinned.
I just stared at him for a moment. He sounded as if he may be a bit intoxicated, but his blue eyes were as clear as the sky above.
"Ice cream is always a great treat," I replied. "Why is today special?"
He gave me his order, and as I began to scoop, he tells me that today is his birthday.
"Well, Happy Birthday!" I exclaimed.
"It is my last one" he stated.
That sentence got my attention. I turned to look at him.
"What makes you say that?" I asked
I felt frozen as he proceeded to tell me that he has liver cancer, and has been given only a few months to live. I placed an extra scoop on his cone, and looked him right in that clear, blue eye.
"Do you know where you are going when you die?"
"I have a one-way ticket straight to hell" he laughed.
"Jesus loves you, and you actually have an advantage because you know when you are going to die. Many people do not know. You have time to accept God's great gift and spend eternity with him."
I spent the next few minutes explaining how he could know that he was going to go to heaven.
He smiled and thanked me. As he walked away, I thought to myself how different this world could be if only we all knew. Life is a precious gift that humans often take for granted.
"...For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."