Friday, March 21, 2008

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

. . . .To Bernie and Terry. . . .



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZINHgXaLXlQ
Click this link if you don't have sound
or want to go to her YouTube yourself.




When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Isaac Watts, pub.1707

Copyright:
Public Domain
[words from Timeless Truths free online library]



When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.




from Adi's Grampa

A Post From Saija


at the moment - life is fast paced here at condo central ...

as i type this, i am 95% sure that i will be going to finland ... either next week or the week after ... for my cousin's funeral ... they have a different time frame for their funerals ... the service happens 2 or 3 weeks after the death ...

it will be a quick trip ... my companion will be my aunt maija (click here ) ... in fact, it was this sweet aunt of mine who called and asked if i wanted to go ... she was able to get me standby tickets for half price - making it affordable ... and this isn't even her side of the family - it is my dad's - my aunt maija is my mom's sister! she just has a tender, sweet, heart ...

so - i will find out on tuesday which weekend the funeral is on ...

leo is supportive of this trip, i wouldn't go otherwise ... he wants me to be there with the family ... and i was so gungho about it yesterday - so positive! ... but today, fear started taking bites out of me ...

i thought ... what if leo gets a fever? (i will be away for at least 12 days) ... what if my sister maria dies? what about the new doctor's appt.? the one i'll have to change ...

what if, what if, what if ...

then - like always - the Lord reminded me through His Word ... "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7 ... God hasn't given me a spirit of fear ... so if my feelings aren't from God - who is trying to butt into my spiritual heart? ... the heart that belongs to my Saviour, who has redeemed me for Himself ... He conquered sin, conquered death ... and He has given me His Holy Spirit to dwell within me ... that hard won peace that Jesus died for! there is no fear in Him ...

so i resolve to take the trip, trusting the Lord to have worked out all details ...

i will continue in prayer (could you pray for me too? and leo?) ... and i shall let you know how this all develops ...

oh - one more thing - leo would like to borrow someone's cat for 2 weeks - so he won't be so lonesome!

my tickets are bought ... i leave on the 25th ... my cousin's funeral will be on the 29th ... then, Lord willing, i will get home on 6 April ...http://www.saija.blogspot.com/

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Happy Birthday Nathan!!!!




Once in a lifetime you meet a really good friend. Well I must say that I have been blessed the last two years to meet several good friends!

Mrs Mac is one of these friends and she has been very unselfish with sharing her precious son Nathan who's name means "Gift from God" to me and all of her other blog buddies.

Well, today is a special day for the Gift. It is his birthday and he is twelve years old and it is the first day of Spring! How lucky could one little boy be?

He has his two buds in this card with him, his beloved Miss Lucy and his nephew, Jacob.

Now the baby behaved very well when I took him off of his Gramma's blog and brought him to Canada for a photo shoot but that Dawg!!!..Oh my!.. When I tried to haul her away she struggled so hard that she messed up Nathan's birthday card with her paws!

And how and ever she got green paint on her paws,I will never know! I have no time to be fixing that card, so the prints will just have to stay!


Now Nathan is so special to his family that Mrs. Mac has created his own post site on her blog,http://scentedgeranium.blogspot.com/ and these heartwarming posts are surely worth the read.

To whet your appetite, I am copying and pasting the titles of these posts.



Now these are all so good that I had a difficult time trying to pick out just one of my favourites to copy here but I finally managed to and here it is...


Ten years ago today our family life changed drastically. You see I gave birth to a little boy with Down syndrome and a myriad of other complications. For past birthdays I used to always remember the day before his birth ... doing so reminded me of a "normal" life without all the issues associated with caring for someone with so many medical/mental/physical problems. Today, I've changed and try to look forward ... not back. Life is "normal" now ... in a different, better way. My idea of "normal" has been upgraded to include a whole new set of thoughts. I can't imagine life without my little "angel" ... he adds a new dimension to life. His given name means "strength from God" ...Happy birthday little man!
Posted by Mrs. Mac at 11:25 AM Monday March 20 2006




Happy Birthday Nathan!! You are everybody's treasure!