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!

Remember The Maginot Line

“Remember The Maginot Line”. This is what the Lord said to me a couple of weeks ago when I was at the front of the church during our worship service. I hadn’t thought about the Maginot Line for years, but I knew exactly what He was talking about the moment that He said it to me.

“The Maginot Line” was a defense system that the government of France had built along its’ border with Germany, because after WWI they were determined that their country would never be invaded again by Germany. They erected a series of fortresses, walls, and bunkers, stretching all the way along the border and ending at the alpine forests where the mountains began. These fortresses were manned with French soldiers who stood guard at all times. The line was named after a famous French general, Andre Maginot.

As the Second World War started, the world watched as Hitler and his armies first invaded Poland, and Czechoslovakia, and then set their determined sights on France. The French people were assured that their country remained secure because the Germans would never get past the impenetrable wall of the “Maginot Line.” They could sleep at night because there were soldiers standing watch at all times. What they did not take into account was that Germany had planes that could fly over the Maginot Line, and they had tanks that they were able to maneuver through the thick pine forests, and up the steep inclines of the mountains beyond the end of the line. Within a matter of hours and days they had broken through the famous Maginot Line, and very quickly made their way to Paris.

The German Nazis used a battle technique called “blitzkrieg”, which operated on three basis foundations – the elements of speed, surprise and confusion. They would move in with great speed with their planes and very agile tanks, seemingly coming from nowhere, and cause such confusion and panic among the civilian people, that the defending armies were practically powerless to defend themselves because they were unable to operate around or through the fleeing masses of people.

Do you have areas in your life that are not so much areas where the devil attacks you, but that are more like immovable walls that are built up before you, and regardless of the amount of prayer or what strategy you use against them, you just can’t seem to get past them or around them? Do you ever hear things go through your mind like “You’ve been in debt for years, and you always will be.” Or “You’ve struggled with this problem/relationship forever; nothing is going to change.” Or even “You have been praying for that unsaved person for years, and no prayer or no word that you say is going to make any difference.” Massive, imposing, unmovable walls that you keep coming up against time after time, and no amount of praying, or reasoning, or strategizing has seemed to change anything.

When the Lord spoke those words to me that day, He told me to spread my wings and get ready to fly. We need to remind ourselves that even though the enemy may have built up incredible walls against us, the Lord, in an instant, can cause us to fly over those walls or go around them in ways that the enemy never imagined. He can cause such confusion among the devil and his demons that they will be unable to fight against us. Prayers that have seemingly gone unanswered for years will suddenly break through.

So, if you are facing some seemingly immovable walls that the enemy has built up against you in your life…just remember “The Maginot Line.”

Sharing Heaven

I decided to share my little piece of heaven with some good friends, so we moved the table outside and had a great evening together! God has blessed me with the richness of wonderful friends...

My Haven

I’ve decided that I’m going to give it a go at resurrecting my blog, and I thought I would start out with these pictures of my deck. I call it “My Haven”, and that is what it has been to me this summer.

There is a scale that I have seen before where they measure the amount of stress in your life by certain life events that happen to you, like losing a job, getting married (or divorced) etc. I looked back over my life this year, and here are a few items on the list of what I have gone through:

-Quit my job in order to do missions work
-Lived in a foreign country for 10 weeks
-Returned home and found out that I had to move out of my apartment
-Was jobless for two months
-Lived out of a suitcase for two months
-Moved into a much smaller apartment and had to downsize in a major way
-Started a new job
-Went through some very painful relationship issues
-Was in a car accident and totaled my car – did not find a new one until five days before Christmas.

In reviewing this list, I think I must have racked up a few points on the scale!

In some ways, it has been a very difficult summer, a difficult year actually, but when it would all seem to be too much for me, I would go and sit on my deck for a while, and somehow I would make it through.

I remember reading in one of John Eldredge’s books where he wrote about the grief that he experienced after his best friend died, and he said that the only thing that would really help him was to be outside, to be surrounded by nature. It was the one thing that seemed to bring him healing. I feel the same when I sit outside and I listen to the birds, and watch them flit among the trees, or see the sunlight filtering through the leaves. It does something inside of me. It feeds my soul.

It was a bit of a transition to move into an apartment that is much smaller, but what I did not take into account when I moved in the winter, was this wonderful deck that I have. It’s like having an extra room, and if there was any way that I could move my bed out there, I would!

It’s been a bit of a quiet summer actually – much different than any I’ve experienced for a long time. I’ve spent many evenings out on that deck just thinking and praying, and sometimes I feel guilty when I see how busy some of my friends are, but when I think about the fact that I spent last summer living in a house with nine people (5 of them children), living on tortillas and beans, and doing children’s VBS programs every other week, I don’t feel so guilty any more! I just say “Lord, there were a lot of twists and turns in the road that brought me here, but I am thankful for ‘My Haven’.”