My kind of camping......

Now this is my type of camping!  Grace had a great time with her mommy, her auntie and me while we were scrapbooking!  This little camping chair will be used for real "camping" with mommy and daddy in the future, but this weekend it was Grandma Lyn's type of camping - 4H camping (Hilton, Hyatt, Holiday Inn, Hampton.... well you get the idea!).  Grace did so well for the entire weekend.  She ate, slept  and played like a champ!  Her cousins came for a visit and we all went swimming in the hotel pool.  The pool was a bit cold for Grace but she spent a small amount of time playing in the water.   Meanwhile, the adults all managed to get some serious scrapping done!

These weekend get away times are so good for me.  Even though I managed to eat more junk food than I should and sometimes stay up much later than normal, I come away feeling rested and revitalized.  I am so blessed by this group of women!  Although we are all a diverse group, it is wonderful time of laughter, talking, sharing and fun.  Everybody needs these times to just stop and breathe out.  And to also breathe in!

Last Wednesday at my small group, we talked about slowing down and not getting into the habit of being so busy. Taking a breath that calms us.   At a recent HUB meeting (my Sunday night "church") they played a song that I was not familiar with.  The chorus of that song went like this....

River of God flood over me and lift my feet off of the ground

Carry me out into your sea and in Your presence I'll be found

The song really touched me and as the chorus played over and over, I very clearly heard "I will carry you into my SEE!!  Wow!  Doesn't that change the entire meaning of that verse?  When so much of the world - our news, what we read on the internet - is so challenging, it feels like waves of darkness just pouring over us.  But if we stop and breathe in Jesus, it is is HIS river of the Holy Spirit that will flood over us.  And when our feet are lifted off of the ground, we won't just be carried out to sea....we will be LIFTED UP into that place where we can SEE from the Lord's perspective!  From that place, things just don't look so dark and/or so bad.  Now that is a breather that so many of us really need!

During my weekend scrapbooking, I had a really odd thing happen.  My current scrapbook that I am working on, just sort of "exploded".  The pins that hold the pages together must have been defective.  During the night the book blew apart and all of the pages scattered on the floor with the back cover on one side of the chair and the front cover on the other side of the chair!  When I looked closer I noticed that the pins were actually bent and broken.  I was not very happy about this, since putting those slippery, plastic pages into the correct order and keeping them that way is no easy task!  Fortunately, I had happened to bring along some extra pins for the album.  So I was able to recreate the album with a bit of work.   I was thinking about the amount of pressure that it took to break that book and how much pressure so many people are feeling right now.  It seems like the message to breathe and allow the river of God to lift us up to see the truth of things from Jesus' perspective (not the news media) and to spend time just basking in the presence of Jesus, is the only thing that will keep us from exploding!  I for one, am very grateful for the timeliness of this message.

The weekend away highlighted just how much pressure I had been feeling building inside of me. I was able to step away and breathe and consider how much I need the presence of Jesus to change my viewpoint and be refreshed and revived.  The scrapbooking sure helped me blow off some steam also!
Whether you are a true "camper" or like me, prefer hotels, I highly recommend time away to breathe in the presence of Jesus.  Things sure look much brighter when you return to your daily routine!

Jesus, thank you for the reminder that you are watching over all of us.  You flood us with your love and your peace.  More than that, you lift us up to help us see things with your eyes.  Holy Spirit, bring us into places and times of rest so that we can breathe in your presence and also release those pressures of our world.  Thank you Jesus for time spent with friends and family.  Amen

Mothers day......

Well it wouldn't be Mothers Day if I didn't share a picture of my very dear mom.  This picture is the last picture I have of my mom and I together.  It was taken at the end of March and less than 2 weeks later, mom had died.  When I was getting ready to leave (which had gotten harder and harder in the last couple of years of mom's life), mom just hugged me so tightly.  I told her that I'd see her in just a few months (I had a trip planned for early June).  But I think that we both knew that this was really goodbye. I cherish the time that I did have with her in the last years of her life.  Even though it was quite a drive, I usually managed three or four trips a year to visit.  And we had some wonderful, amazing telephone conversations.  Ken would say that I "burned up the lines" to Minnesota.  Seriously, our phone bill was often our largest expense (long before cell phones when we paid dearly for long distance).   I am so thankful for my mom and the wisdom and strength that she sowed into my life.   I miss her every day. 

Just found this snapshot of me and my little sweeties in the summer of 1982.  Doug was just a couple months old and Gwen was just 3.  In case you don't recognize the location, it is Brookfield Zoo.  I love this picture! This was among the first of many, many adventures that Ken and I had with the kids.  Even with Doug's health issues over the years, we always managed to go to parks, museums, zoos, playgrounds, and lakes/pools.  Being a mom was just exactly what I had always thought it would be.  I continue to love everything about this mom thing.

I have been thinking about this Mother's Day celebration.  I mentioned yesterday that I think this was a hard day for my mom, who grew up not even knowing her mother.  We are also very aware that my daughter-in-law Susie is walking through this day, her first Mother's Day, without her precious little boy.  And there are many others who have always wanted to have children, but are now childless.  Children who don't know who their mothers are, living in foster homes or orphanages.  So, while I think that it is good to honor and remember our moms, it just might be better to do this every day rather than just one day a year.

Tonight I was at a Worship meeting and these words just really stuck with me........

Jesus, You are good to me.  When I don't understand, I will choose you.

I will see this season through, and I will fix my eyes on you. 

I need more of you.  Living breath, breathe on me.  Living water, rain down on me.

I will not be quiet anymore.  I will not be silent anymore.

I'll lift my hands, my life and my voice to give you glory Jesus.

There is nothing worth more than your presence.

So, here I am, lifting my voice..... well typing words on a page.  But, none the less, I am sending my thoughts out into cyberspace for all to see and read and consider.  Even these thoughts about Mother's Day.  

Jesus, thank you for this special day to remember and honor and think about those we love.  Holy Spirit, when days are hard and we feel like the only person out of sync with the world, turn our thoughts and our eyes to Jesus.  Thank you that when we do this, you will be there!  Amen