Liquid Sunshine

I always take the girls for a nice long walk when I get home from work on a walking trail that is just down the road from where I live. They love to stretch their legs after being inside all day, and I love it because they take care of all their "business" while we are out!

Well, we didn't have much luck last night because we got about half way down the road and the heavens opened. The poor girls didn't know what to do - I don't think they'd ever seen rain before! (Maybe it doesn't rain in Arkansas where they are from???) They were jumping and hopping around, trying to get out of it, and Gracie was shivering so bad I finally picked her up and stuffed her inside my coat. We all looked like drowned rats when we got home! I dried them off with a towel, and wrapped them up in a big blanket and we were none the worse for wear! Welcome to the Maritimes!

Did I Do That...?

Someone got a little carried away...can you guess who the culprit is?????

Gracie The Moocher

So I finally sit down to have my supper after our adventure in the rain, when I hear a knock on the door - it's Nancy and little Mattie from upstairs coming down to visit the puppies (Mattie is so in love with these puppies that Pastor Mike doesn't stand a chance!) I was talking to the ladies and trying to keep Bailey from licking Mattie to death, when I noticed that Gracie wasn't there. I decided to go get her so that Mattie could see her, and it's a good thing I did because when I went in the living room she had just snatched the piece of chicken off of my plate on the coffee table and was about to chow down! I didn't have time to take a picture because I was too busy trying to rescue my chicken! (I nuked it for about a minute and half after that - that should be good enough to kill any germs right?) Don't let that innocent little face fool you; that Gracie's a real moocher! (Note to self: Do NOT leave your plate unattended on the coffee table!!!)

Dogs Everywhere!

This is my baby girl, or "Little Mouse" as I call her. She's as quiet as a mouse, and I haven't heard her bark once. But the little mouse can roar when she needs to - every night when we get into bed she snuggles right up beside me and gives me this earnest look as if to say "You're not going to give away my spot are you?" and if Bailey gets too close, or too rambunctious on the bed, Gracie will snap at her and put her
right in her place!

Bailey is Gracie's friend, whom my friend Dianne rescued at the same time. Bailey is staying with us for a while until Dianne is able to take her - Dianne has two little puppy dogs at home right now, and is very busy with their care. Dogs, dogs everywhere!

My sister Doreen and her husband Paul came to visit on my first weekend home with the puppies - they have a 13 year old Cockerpoo named "Rumba" who wasn't quite sure what to make of all these new puppy dogs around!
We had 3 adults and 3 dogs in my little one bedroom apartment. Good times!

Gracie with my brother-in-law Paul. He has managed to win the heart of yet another woman in the Graham family. What kind of power does this man have???

The girls are a couple of couch potatoes, and love to chill on the couch and watch TV all day long while mummy is away at work. House training has been a bit of an issue, but mummy has come home from work for the last three days with no messes to clean up, which makes her very happy!!! Now if we could just get that down to a science for the rest of the time....As you can see in the pic, I had to move the coffee table because Bailey likes to run around on top of it when I'm not looking!


They both LOVE sleeping in the big bed with me, and when it comes bed time, Bailey sits in the bathroom doorway and howls at me as if to say "Are you ever going to be finished in there?" I can't let them in the bedroom by themselves because Bailey likes to steal my shoes and pee on the carpet. Such an unruly houseguest, but so cute!!! When we get in bed they snuggle up one on each side of me - Bailey stretched out full length with her head in my neck, and Gracie curled up into a little ball. I feel like a hot dog (no pun intended) sandwiched in between them, but I've actually been having some of the best sleeps I've ever had since I've gotten them - not sure if it's from exhaustion or contentment!

I hope I haven't bored everyone with all the inane details about my new babies. I'm acting just like a new mom! Something that all you dog lovers (ahem, Wendy) will totally understand!

Meet Gracie!

Some would think me crazy, but I fulfilled a dream of mine recently... I got myself a dog! I adopted Gracie from a Canine Rescue organization over a week ago. She is God's special gift just for me. As soon as I laid eyes on her, my heart was lost forever. She is wonderfully gentle, and I fall in love with her a little more each day. A sweet little girl, and I can't tell you what a joy it is to have her in my life.

Beyond Reason

I found these words from Joyce Meyer in her bible, and I wanted to share them because I think they tie directly into what I had shared in my previous post about always trying to seek understanding of things.  Check it out:

"In Mark 8:14-17, as in other Bible passages, we see that Jesus was able to discern the reasoning in the hearts of His disciples, who frequently did not act wisely.  They needed revelation, not reasoning.

In verse 17 Jesus said "Why are you reasoning...Do you not yet discern or understand?" That is what I used to do. I used to have a lot of problems with reasoning.  I was always trying to figure things out. Then one day the Lord said something interesting to me: "As long as you continue to reason, you will never have discernment."

Discernment starts in the heart and enlightens the mind. As long as my mind was so busy reasoning, God could not get through to me.

Reasoning is such a huge problem because reasoning is not faith.  Reasoning belongs to the mind of the flesh and does not produce good fruit.  When we reason to a point of being confused we need to recognize that we have gone too far.  At that point we need to pray for discernment and wait on God to reveal to us what we need to know.

You cannot have peace of mind and heart if you reason without God's truth to enlighten you.  If you lack peace in your life, it may be that you are trying to figure out too many things.  Stop asking, "Why, God, why?"  Just say, "Lord, You know, and I need to be satisfied with that.  When YOu are ready to show me, do so. Until then, with Your help, I am going to enjoy my life, trusting that You are in charge and that You will take care of everything that concerns me."

Peace Beyond Understanding

Many times  situations arise in our lives that we struggle to understand; I know I've battled with this of late.  As I prayed for understanding, the Lord began to speak to my heart.  The first thing that He began to show me was that I need to begin to pray for peace in the situation instead of understanding.  I'd been hoping that if I could somehow make sense out of what happened that I could find peace.  But I've realized that I need to seek God's peace that will go beyond my understanding.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, He spoke very clearly to me through a couple of books that I'd been reading about having idols in my life.  One book described it as having "excessive adoration or reverence of any person or thing."  I knew that God was putting His finger on an area I had not considered before.  It was amazing, but when I acknowledged and confessed it, I felt a release come over me that I haven't felt for a long time.  Gifts that had lain dormant were brought to life again.  I felt free somehow, and the barriers that hindered me were gone.

Shortly after that I was watching Joyce Meyer, and she had Phil Pringle on her program talking about wounded spirits.  One thing that Joyce said really stuck with me; she said that she finally came to the place in her life where she knew she had to stop asking "why?" and just let it go and accept the fact that she may never know the "why" for the things that had happened to her.  Again, our quest for understanding, that can be so fruitless in the end.  We have no idea what can be released when we open our hearts and obey without the full understanding of why.

God's work within, and the power of repentance and forgiveness fills me with reverence.  I feel that I've been given another chance at something that I thought was dead and I want to handle it with care.  Things might not turn out exactly the way that I want it to, but what can I say, I'm a prisoner of hope!  Like Lazarus, God can bring to life what seems dead and gone.  As long as I live He will never cease to amaze me...

Power In Weakness

I was asked to write a short devotional for our Go Missions Teams that are being sent out this year, so I thought I would share it with you:

It was another hot day in Mexico, and I could feel that dull ache behind my eyes that comes from being on a mountain at a 7,000 foot elevation in the sky, and from traveling for 14 hours in order to get there. I was still feeling a little traumatized and homesick after giving up my full-time job and leaving all of my friends and family to spend ten weeks in Mexico doing heaven knows what.

We had made our way to the church first thing in the morning, and I still had that queasy feeling you get in your stomach from being up way too late and getting up way too early. All I wanted to do was to go somewhere and hide for a little while, until I could get my bearings so to speak, and to get my feet under me. But before I could get lost in the woodwork, the pastor of the church came up to me and said “Kellie, I would like you to come and pray for a young lady who is battling with depression and suicide.” My first thought was “Oh God, I am not ready to deal with this. I don’t have what it takes to help this woman right now.” As Pastor Ted would say, I felt about as spiritual as a peanut!

Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever felt physically or emotionally worn out, and totally inadequate for the challenge that God has placed before you? Chances are if you are involved in a mission trip, and are reading this devotion right now, then you will know exactly what I am talking about. But let me tell you that you are in one of the most powerful positions you could ever be in. Bill Johnson says: “Everyone needs to know what it is like to minister out of weakness. Everyone needs to know what it is like to write a spiritual cheque that you don’t think you have the reserve of strength to back it up. It’s a big deal to step beyond what you don’t think you have the grace for, and see how God shows up and does a miracle.”

You know what, I put my hands on that young lady and I began to pray, and after a while I stopped, and the pastor said “She doesn’t really feel anything is happening, we need to pray again.” So I did, and I felt the power of God begin to flow through me. Finally, she began to smile and she said “I feel as if something has been pulled up through me and right out of the top of my head. It’s gone! I can feel it, it’s gone!” I watched the transformation come over her face as God set her free from the oppression that the devil had her under, and I watched her come to church every Sunday for the ten weeks that I was in Mexico. Not bad for someone who was suffering from jet lag and homesickness, and believe me, God can do the same with you, no matter how you are feeling. Just trust Him, get out your spiritual pen, and get ready to write that cheque from God’s million dollar bank account!

Through The Seasons

Thought I'd add a few pics from my deck - I will call it the 'My Deck Through The Seasons' or maybe 'Deck The Halls' montage.  
I got these beautiful red berries along the road in Cape Breton.  I kept seeing them as I was driving along, and finally I couldn't wait any longer, I just had to have them!  All I had with me was a little box cutter and I was standing in the bushes trying to cut off the branches and praying that no one would stop and catch me!  I know, I know, praying I wouldn't get caught swiping plants, that's a whole other conversation for later :-)

I had hoped they would last for the winter, but alas, the hurricane weather we've been having lately did a number on them, and I had to let them go.  

Actually, the weather has done a number on quite a few things on my deck recently.  The latest, my plastic angel that I had standing outside for Christmas.  She took flight last week and landed down in the woods!  I'm thinking that I'm going to let her have her freedom...

Home For Christmas

Time has gotten away from me and my blog is being sadly neglected.  I've got a lot of things bubbling away waiting for me to have time for a 'creative moment,' but they are hard to come by these days!

I've made a few changes, check out the blog list and the books I've added.   Just in case you don't know what to buy someone for Christmas, books are the way to go :-)

I'm going home for Christmas, were my childhood home waits along with my Mum, sisters and all their family!  Home, it warms the heart and there is nothing quite like the farm to bring peace and rest to my spirit.  

To all my friends and family, may you have a wonderful Christmas, full of laughter, special times and memory making fun!