Thanksgiving

As I contemplated this past Monday, well technically Tuesday here in Australia--Monday back in Canada was Canadian Thanksgiving, I pondered a few things.

It is interesting that whilst Canada is celebrating Thanksgiving as they head into the bounty of their Fall (Autumn) harvest, 'down under' we are heading into Spring and the warmer weather, but whatever the season, there is still so much to be thankful for.  I also think it is important to look at the little things as well as the big things; a perspective that my Mom always maintained.  I am pretty sure that I have shared this in previous blog articles, but Mom knew that God was interested in all things in her world; the little things, like being on the look-out for her for the right parking spot at the shopping center so she could park the van with no dramas or at which table she should sit at when she went to a function as well as the big ticket items - her family--her children, her grandchildren, her siblings and extended family and her friends.  Of course, one of her big ticket items was Dad, her husband before he passed away.

Spring is often a time to do some stock take and clean out the dust bunnies that have found a hiding space during the cooler weather and also to tidy up and throw away clothes and items that you have not used or worn in a while.  You may have heard the saying that if you have not used it or looked at it in over a year, chances are you never will.  This is a challenge for me, indeed!  But alas, I am endeavoring to have a go.

More on that later, but I wanted to go back to being thankful for the little things first.  So, Peter and I watched a movie recently which was about a young man who had the ability to travel through time.  No, I am not going to recommend the movie 'cause whilst its message was ultimately a good one, well, let me just say that I would have been embarrassed several times if Jesus had watched the movie with us; which He actually did, right?  I am getting off track again.  So, the young guy could re-live moments of his day and correct things that he wished he had done better or help out others along the way, but alas, in the end, he stopped his time travel but made a conscious effort of being thankful for each day and all of the moments in each day, some good and some not so good.

No, not a new approach at all, one that we should be exercising every single day but alas, life gets busy and hum drum or hard and we lose our grip, we lose hope, we lose sight of what is important to us.  We continue to do the same thing every day and expect a different outcome.  HELLO?  Sometimes we need a reminder, a wake-up call and at times, these can even be painful ones, too.

So, as I have begun the process of my spring clean, this is a great opportunity to take stock of my own life and clean out any dust bunnies that are lingering there, too, metaphorically speaking.  In addition to the clean out, it is a timely opportunity to reflect on the good stuff, too.  In fact, I came across a very special gift yesterday - more like a treasure, a keepsake - that allowed me to do a bit of time travel of my own.  I hope that some of my dear friends and colleagues from ODSP read this blog post actually because I am incredibly thankful to all of you who took the time to write a message to me.  Your words were a timely reminder of who I was and gave me the courage to return to the present stronger, and although change can be scary and hard and it usually does not come without a cost and pain, it will be worth it.

Only as high as I reach can I grow,
Only as far as I seek can I go,
Only as deep as I look can I see,
Only as much as I dream can I be.

I mentioned in my last blog article, I have started looking for a new job and yeah, it is scary, but I know that I could not continue to do the same thing every day and hope for a different outcome and I shall challenge myself to look for the little things as well as big things to be thankful for each and every day.

Knock Knock

My journey continues but thankfully I believe I am getting somewhere, but what a wonderful reminder on Sunday that I do not need to strive in my own strength, but to float down God's river of life to His destination for me.

I loved the analogy that Julianne gave about floating, too, because it reminded me of what my Dad taught us as kids when we first were learning to swim.  To this day I can easily float on my back in the water with my hands by my side or even like Dad used to, with my hands raised behind my head - chillaxin (is that a word?).  Deep breath in and hold and relax and it worked like a dream.

Julianne had given us a hand-out with reference notes on her message and she used this simple piece of paper to help us remember how hard it gets to hold the piece of paper with our hands extended out in front of us while she listed all of the many things that we may be worried about or upset over or causing us stress and frustration - our arms were feeling the pain of the burden of holding up that measly little piece of paper by the time her exercise was done, but it got the message across - loud and clear.

As I continue to float each day, I am trusting God with my destination but I was also encouraged by Holley Gerth's recent blog post, that even when I am not sure what the next step is, to take one step forward and trust that God will make the next move for me and that is exactly what I am doing.

What does that look like for me?  Well, even though I was a bit scared at the idea of doing it, another friend reminded me about what I would do if I was not afraid and I do not need to be afraid, right?  Exactly!  No, not always easy, but I will daily remind myself that God is in my boat and He will calm the storm; maybe not right this second, but I will remind myself to float.  Even when the wind comes and the waves rise and I cannot see the horizon for the mist, just keep my eyes looking upward.  An appropriate song - Hillsong United - Ocean.  I remember Dad taught us kids to float to relax but also to be prepared in case.....well, you get the picture.  Swimming whether it be the dog paddle or front stroke or even the back stroke takes more energy and you would become tired sooner, but laying on your back and focusing on your breathing is calming and it is easy to stay afloat!

So, while I float, I have started knocking on doors and submitting job applications and praying that God has my next destination already worked out.  If I am to stay or go, I know that He will guide my steps.  

His Mercies Are New Every Morning

This is a short story about a gal whose name is Rebecca.  Her year started out okay but then she learned the news that her Mom's condition had worsened - you see, she had cancer which had metastasized and spread into her liver, kidney and blood.  Rebecca had married a man who did not live close to her Mom and siblings, so she knew that she wanted to go and spend some time with her Mom before her condition really deteriorated.  What a blessing that time was - a real special gift that she will forever treasure in her heart - memories that can never be taken away.  Rebecca's Mom passed away and the celebration of her Mom's life was amazing - whilst she was sad that her Mom had died, she was happy at the testimony of her Mom's life - her legacy lives on.  Even in the midst of her Mom's passing there were some other challenges that befell her but God stood by her and kept her strong.  She would grieve later.

Later came and she returned home and thought her life would return to normal if she could even remember what that was, but alas, more disappointment was coming her way.  Just when she thought she had endured all the pain she could, she encountered more loss.  Her job.  She asked questions, lots of questions and felt lots of pain in the process of being moved out of her job, being assigned to a completely different role and unsure of her future vocation, but the one thing she does know, "His mercies are new every morning." 

Rebecca is still grieving the loss of her Mom and others including her job, but she is so thankful that God provides strength for each new day in the midst of this season.  He provides this strength to her by way of the support of a loving husband who has been there through it all, caring and praying friends and family, a loving and thoughtful church family who have encouraged her to remain in Him and her beautiful children to whom bring her so much joy and she is so proud!

Rebecca has sought professional help through this journey as well and continues to do so; something she would strongly recommend to anyone experiencing grief.  It is not a sign of weakness, but rather of strength to pursue healing and wholeness.  Rebecca would like to encourage anyone travelling along a similar path; that pain is uncomfortable but a necessary part of the process; that has to be walked through.  There is no defined schedule; we are all unique.  It is important to be patient with yourself and recognise when you are having an off day, that is okay - something Rebecca has to remind herself of, too.  She believes the pain never truly ever goes away - some wise women from her church shared the analogy that the scar is still there; she will not feel it as much some days and other days, a memory, smell or sound may cause the pain to come to the surface again.  Never be afraid of the tears - by suppressing the pain and the tears, they will only cause more pain.  Rebecca is continuing to see a counsellor to help her process her grief.  She is very grateful for the men and women who provide such a valuable and delicate service to those in need.

Rebecca is thankful because He will turn her mourning into dancing.....in His time....

My Condensed Story Of The Past 12 Plus Months

So yeah, where do I begin?  I am really not sure, so I will start somewhere.  A lot has happened since my last blog post and I really do want to write more for the rest of this year.  I will start here and reflect more over the past 12 months plus in other blog posts.

The past 12 months plus has had some highs but a lot of lows and challenges, too and the stresses continue, but I am pressing on with God's help each day; sometimes I take it one hour at a time and sometimes I take it one moment at a time.

Timeline to give you some perspective of my story. My Dad passed away very suddenly Aug 2011; my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer early 2012 and her Mom (my Grandma Mason) passed away May 2012.  Mom underwent horrific chemo and radiation treatment and mastectomy of one breast and the chemo left her heart damaged.  Mom maintained an amazing attitude as always and recovered from her surgery and treatment and we thought she had beat the horrible disease.  My family and I (husband Peter and step-daughter Chasely) travelled to Canada in December 2013/January 2014 to visit Mom and family and friends and later in 2014 Mom learned that the cancer had metastasized to her liver, kidney and blood.  Not the news Mom or our family wanted to hear.  Mom had a couple of chemo treatments but these were to go on for many weeks and the odds of remission very low and had made her very sick in a very short time frame, so Mom opted for quality of life.  What an incredibly brave woman our Mom was and to her dying day.

I flew to Canada early Feb 2015 which enabled me to spend some quality time with Mom and those memories will always be so precious to me.  I am so grateful for the time I was able to spend with Mom and the opportunity to be able to help her in the days leading up to her passing.  A friend gave me some great advice and that was to journal about my visit with Mom - precious writings, indeed.  Many special moments shared.  Another friend encouraged me to video Mom, too along with the photos I took and one of my projects is to create a movie of Mom (but I think I will need to invest in a new computer to do that - my faithful notebook/laptop that still uses XP is close to calling it quits I think).

My beautiful Mom and I - we had lunch with her Red Hat Mama's.

Jessie & Jake Wish Memphis A Happy 1st Birthday With The Help Of SendOutCards

As is indicated in my "about me" paragraph at the top of my blog page, my husband Peter and I have two puppy dogs - Jessie and Jake who are Kelpie/Cattle Crosses. We love our puppies a whole lot and they are, in essence, our 4 legged children. Peter has a gorgeous daughter, my step-daughter; but we do not have any children of our own (not by choice per se); however, I do not want to get off topic.  I have written about the puppies in the past and some of the challenges we have had; e.g. neighbours complaining about them barking and finding rental properties that are pet friendly and adjusting to our dogs being outdoor pets.

Jessie and Jake

Although my puppies will always be my favourites, I love most any dog and a lot of animals; e.g. cats and horses and I came across a couple who live in Michigan, USA who have Siberian Huskies and they share their lives with their puppies via various social media networks - YouTube and Facebook just to list a couple.

I started to follow them over a year ago I believe and they lost their eldest puppy Shiloh in Jan 2013. Shiloh was gorgeous and she was the eldest in their pack of 3. Last year Jessica and Jamie decided to increase their pack size to 3 again and acquired an adorable girl Memphis who just turned 1 on the 4th of April. Because I appreciate the time and effort and smiles and laughter the whole pack bring to me (& even Peter sometimes), Jessie and Jake and I decided to create a special birthday card and video for Memphis's 1st Birthday and used the helpful online service of SendOutCards to make it happen, complete with a tasty gift of dog treats for Memphis to share with her siblings, Shelby and Oakley.

Front cover of Birthday Card

The inside of card complete with code to scan to view video!

The Siberian Huskies are called Gone To The Snow Dogs and you can view them on their YouTube channel and in the about section when watching a video, click more and it lists all of the other websites they have up and running, too; including a channel Without The Snow Dogs.

They posted a video of Memphis opening up her presents on her birthday and Jessie and Jake's gift arrived in time to make the video and if you do not wish to view the whole video, you can go directly to 3 minutes 10 seconds that shows the card and gift.

Happy watching and Gone To The Snow Dogs were pretty happy to have reached 50,000 subscribers on YouTube just  prior to Memphis's 1st Birthday - How cool is that?

If you are a pet owner and reading this blog article, make sure that you give your pets an extra hug today and let them know how much you appreciate them; after all, they give their unconditional love to us daily, an analogy of God's love to us!