Friday, June 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Happy Anniversary, Chris and Julene
We remember watching your lives intertwine and begin to weave together as you shared your dreams for the future and we've been inspired to see how God has prepared you and led you to follow those dreams. As I was thinking about this, I realized that a good number of them have come true in these nine years! Maybe it's time to come home now? (grin)
I must say it's been an adventure just watching the two of you . . .
I must say it's been an adventure just watching the two of you . . .
On this special day we are so grateful to see how your relationship has only grown sweeter over the years. You have both been willing to learn from each other and allowed God to join your two lives in a way that brings joy and meaning to the people you serve in a foreign place.
We thank God for you and for the blessing of being your parents . . . and grandparents of the other part of your realized dreams. Our hearts truly are full!
Wishing you a wonderful day, remembering and looking ahead to what's in store!
Love, Mom and Dad
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Bud
THE BUD
Back door slamming, he bounced in
Front teeth missing, what a grin!
Mysteriously hiding something behind him –
Should I ask where he had been?
The yard is exciting, there’s much to see
Then, oh so proudly, he handed it to me -
A beautiful rosebud in perfect splendor
With words shyly spoken in awe and wonder
“It smells like strawberries!” he said,
“And I wish it could stay like this forever!”
The look in his eyes, the sound of his voice -
Oh, sweet little boy among boys!
In the evening as I tuck him into bed
And watch him drifting off to sleep,
I remember the moment and the words he said
I ponder the things I’d like to keep -
The things I wish could stay forever,
His purity and innocence, his unspoiled joy
But the world is waiting, with all its wonder
And like the bud, he can’t always stay a boy
At the end of the day I won’t know where he’s been
And as I reach to smooth that wisp of hair
A prayer rises up from deep within,
“Dear Lord, please always keep him in your care.”
Front teeth missing, what a grin!
Mysteriously hiding something behind him –
Should I ask where he had been?
The yard is exciting, there’s much to see
Then, oh so proudly, he handed it to me -
A beautiful rosebud in perfect splendor
With words shyly spoken in awe and wonder
“It smells like strawberries!” he said,
“And I wish it could stay like this forever!”
The look in his eyes, the sound of his voice -
Oh, sweet little boy among boys!
In the evening as I tuck him into bed
And watch him drifting off to sleep,
I remember the moment and the words he said
I ponder the things I’d like to keep -
The things I wish could stay forever,
His purity and innocence, his unspoiled joy
But the world is waiting, with all its wonder
And like the bud, he can’t always stay a boy
At the end of the day I won’t know where he’s been
And as I reach to smooth that wisp of hair
A prayer rises up from deep within,
“Dear Lord, please always keep him in your care.”
Based on an experience recorded on June 8, 1989.
He was six years old . . . my bud.
Anneliese
Friday, June 5, 2009
Small Things
The tiniest parcel I ever got came in the mail . . . it was about3 1/2 " X 5" . . . about the thickness of a folded up paper inside. I never would have guessed. A tiny card inside . . . a fancy tiny bag with a draw string . . . something wrapped in orange paper . . .
A beautiful hand-crafted necklace . . . sent half way around the world! How did she know it would match everything I wear? Good things do come in small packages! Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Show Time
It was a beautiful, sunny day as we drove into town in the early afternoon last Saturday. I felt a little bit like the country mouse going to the city as we drove through the bustling, narrow streets of Vancouver. Although I partly grew up in this city and even worked downtown for a bit, now when I go back, I see so much more than I ever did then. I love how the trees have grown, the old multi colored three story houses with their slapped on paint and little ' attic rooms for rent' along 1st Avenue and, as you come closer into downtown, the magnificent view of Canada Place and the Science World Globe.
We drove past GM Place and found some underground parking at Pacific Center. For several hours we enjoyed browsing and shopping – we ran out of time, so we scrapped the fancy dinner idea and had fish and chips on a little sidewalk patio along Pender Street. This gave me a good chance to just watch all the people hurrying by on their way to the show.
After dinner we joined them with excited anticipation of what the night would hold, our “Christmas gifted” tickets for Il Divo, safely tucked away. You could say it had been a long wait but well worth it!
I learned that Il Divo is a group of European/American males who perform an updated classical/pop version of classics from the past few decades, a number of Italian or French love songs and others that are new to us. Their names are Urs, Carlos, David and Sebastian. Guess which one is the American? Actually I kept thinking he looked like Kevin Bacon and we had a little laugh about that.
If you have never heard Il Divo, they sound very much like four Josh Grobans. And if you have never heard Josh Groban, you’ve really missed something!
It was wonderful to sit back and enjoy the amazing vocal harmony and orchestra conducted by Dr. Calvin Dyck. Yes, when they introduced the maestro, I felt like, “Wow! - OUR very own Calvin Dyck!” (our claim to fame here is that Dr. Dyck took our daughter through her Grade 10 Royal Conservatory in violin.) Simply said, we’ve never heard or seen anyone who exudes such a contagious joy when he performs! Obviously, from as far back as we were sitting , I couldn’t see him, but he made a difference - I’m sure.
I think my favorite songs were “Can’t live, if living is without you”, Amazing Grace and Alleluia. Oh, and a song dedicated to all mothers, was Mama!
It was a wonderful evening! The only thing that would have made it even better, would have been if our kids could have been there with us!
Addendum: On Sunday morning, I came downstairs after my shower and my Hon had me come outside where he had set our new little Bistro table for breakfast. It was the first time we had breakfast on our patio. Can you believe it? I must say that being empty nesters is not all bad!
We drove past GM Place and found some underground parking at Pacific Center. For several hours we enjoyed browsing and shopping – we ran out of time, so we scrapped the fancy dinner idea and had fish and chips on a little sidewalk patio along Pender Street. This gave me a good chance to just watch all the people hurrying by on their way to the show.
After dinner we joined them with excited anticipation of what the night would hold, our “Christmas gifted” tickets for Il Divo, safely tucked away. You could say it had been a long wait but well worth it!
I learned that Il Divo is a group of European/American males who perform an updated classical/pop version of classics from the past few decades, a number of Italian or French love songs and others that are new to us. Their names are Urs, Carlos, David and Sebastian. Guess which one is the American? Actually I kept thinking he looked like Kevin Bacon and we had a little laugh about that.
If you have never heard Il Divo, they sound very much like four Josh Grobans. And if you have never heard Josh Groban, you’ve really missed something!
It was wonderful to sit back and enjoy the amazing vocal harmony and orchestra conducted by Dr. Calvin Dyck. Yes, when they introduced the maestro, I felt like, “Wow! - OUR very own Calvin Dyck!” (our claim to fame here is that Dr. Dyck took our daughter through her Grade 10 Royal Conservatory in violin.) Simply said, we’ve never heard or seen anyone who exudes such a contagious joy when he performs! Obviously, from as far back as we were sitting , I couldn’t see him, but he made a difference - I’m sure.
I think my favorite songs were “Can’t live, if living is without you”, Amazing Grace and Alleluia. Oh, and a song dedicated to all mothers, was Mama!
It was a wonderful evening! The only thing that would have made it even better, would have been if our kids could have been there with us!
Addendum: On Sunday morning, I came downstairs after my shower and my Hon had me come outside where he had set our new little Bistro table for breakfast. It was the first time we had breakfast on our patio. Can you believe it? I must say that being empty nesters is not all bad!
This is true romance . . . do the women swooning over Il Divo really know?
Monday, June 1, 2009
Grief Shared
These days my thoughts have been with several friends and family who have had to say goodbye to someone very special. I keep thinking about a quote I read in a novel called Finding Anna. This is a historical/fiction story about the family life of the hymn writer “It Is Well With My Soul” before the loss of his daughters at sea. I wanted to check on the exact words, but I must have lent the book to someone.
The idea of the quote that stuck with me goes something like “I don’t know which pain is harder to bear, that of losing what you’ve always loved or that of not having had the chance to love.” We can never say which pain is harder . . . that of losing a husband when you’ve just begun your dreams or when you’ve lived your dreams together. When an accident takes the life of a son, who's grown up to be a godly young man, or when you’ve had to lay a little one to rest before he ever had a chance to know right from wrong.
As my heart goes out to those who will always remember, even when friends and family forget, I want to share this story today.
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” . . .
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days . . . when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died . . .” (John 11: 1-44)
Can’t you just feel the desperation in her words? She knew how much Jesus loved her brother, so how could he let this happen? Her next words, however show that even though she is grieving, she still believes. “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” In reviewing this story, Max Lucado points out that “mourning is not disbelieving.” It is okay to grieve. We see this when Jesus begins to weep with her . . . with them.
Doesn’t it surprise you that Jesus wept even though He knew what was about to happen? In just a few moments Jesus would command Lazarus up from the grave and they would all be together again. Yet He grieved, experiencing the pain of separation.
For those of us who have said goodbye to loved ones, one day it will seem like just a few moments went by, when “The Lord, Himself, will come down from heaven, with a loud command . . . . and the dead in Christ will rise. (1 Thessalonians 4:16) So we grieve, but not as those who have no hope.
The idea of the quote that stuck with me goes something like “I don’t know which pain is harder to bear, that of losing what you’ve always loved or that of not having had the chance to love.” We can never say which pain is harder . . . that of losing a husband when you’ve just begun your dreams or when you’ve lived your dreams together. When an accident takes the life of a son, who's grown up to be a godly young man, or when you’ve had to lay a little one to rest before he ever had a chance to know right from wrong.
As my heart goes out to those who will always remember, even when friends and family forget, I want to share this story today.
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” . . .
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days . . . when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died . . .” (John 11: 1-44)
Can’t you just feel the desperation in her words? She knew how much Jesus loved her brother, so how could he let this happen? Her next words, however show that even though she is grieving, she still believes. “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” In reviewing this story, Max Lucado points out that “mourning is not disbelieving.” It is okay to grieve. We see this when Jesus begins to weep with her . . . with them.
Doesn’t it surprise you that Jesus wept even though He knew what was about to happen? In just a few moments Jesus would command Lazarus up from the grave and they would all be together again. Yet He grieved, experiencing the pain of separation.
For those of us who have said goodbye to loved ones, one day it will seem like just a few moments went by, when “The Lord, Himself, will come down from heaven, with a loud command . . . . and the dead in Christ will rise. (1 Thessalonians 4:16) So we grieve, but not as those who have no hope.
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