First Picnic!

And it's still only MARCH!! I believe this has to be the earliest it's ever been possible. Well, the earliest it's ever been enjoyable anyway!! This is definitely the warmest, earliest spring we've had in a very long time. I don't ever remember the snow basically being gone by the end of March.

Check out this comparison ~ the first picture was taken March 31st last year. The second is from this afternoon:


It has been an unseasonably warm spring ~ for which I am VERY thankful!

Oh, make no mistake ~ I'm under no delusions that we're done with winter. We often get a couple of blizzardy days in early April. Sometimes even late April. And on very rare occasions, as late as mid-May! (thank goodness, that's very abnormal though!) So yes, I'm fully expecting at least one more snowstorm before we've managed to completely wrestle ourselves from winter's iron grip!

But until that happens, I'll be enjoying the unusual warmth. (While attempting to clean up all the pet "bi'ness" the melting snow revealed a while back that has now been suitably dried out by the sun. Blegch.)

Exploding the Myth of Safety

I like John Piper.

I read his blog, watch various Q&A clips, and consult his sermons from time to time. I'm looking forward to previewing his Blazing Center study for potential Sunday school material.

Him being a staunch 5-point Calvinist and me being somewhat Mennonite-ish ~ or at least somewhere in limbo between Calvin and Arminian in theology and leaning more towards the latter ~ we've had our arguments about free will and predestination. (in my imagination)

(We've graciously agreed to disagree.)

((although he concedes I am probably right.))

(((in my imagination.)))

Minor differences of opinion and interpretations aside, I have to say, I am a huge fan. It feels a little wrong to be a fan of a pastor and I'm sure he'd discourage this adulation, but when you find someone who so thoroughly studies and devotes themselves so openly to "rightly handling the Word of Truth," they become a contemporary hero of the faith, so to speak.

I'm currently reading his book Don't Waste Your Life* and I want to share a quote with you. It gave me the goosebumps. At the very least, I hope it will pique your interest and you'll check out some of his works on your own.

From the fifth chapter, "Risk is Right ~ Better to Lose Your Life Than to Waste It":

Exploding the Myth of Safety
"...risk is woven into the fabric of our finite lives. We cannot avoid risk even if we want to. Ignorance and uncertainty about tomorrow is our native air. All of our plans for tomorrow's activities can be shattered by a thousand unknowns whether we stay at home under the covers or ride the freeways. One of my aims is to explode the myth of safety and to somewhow deliver you from the enchantment of security. Because it's a mirage. It doesn't exist. Every direction you turn there are unknowns and things beyond your control.

The tragic hypocrisy is that the enchantment of security lets us take risks every day for ourselves but paralyzes us from taking risks for others on the Calvary road of love. We are deluded and think that it may jeopardize a security that in fact does not even exist. The way I hope to explode the myth of safety and to disenchant you with the mirage of security is simply to go to the Bible and show that it is right to risk for the cause of Christ, and not to is to waste your life." (p. 81, emphasis mine)

He goes on to give several solid examples of people in both the Old Testament and the New who did not have clear direction from God in a certain situation, but made a risky choice based on what they knew ABOUT God, leaving the outcome completely in His hands.

It's tough to come up with legitimate-sounding excuses for not openly sharing my faith in light of a statement like that.

(which is exactly what Mr. Piper is hoping we'll conclude)

((and I think he might be right))

With the attitude that whatever God does here and now with the decision we are making, whatever the outcome, He is right; He is sovereign over all, and we are entrusting our lives FULLY to Him and to Him alone...

...we spend our lives for HIM, capitalizing on each opportunity, not wasting a single, precious moment.

* You can buy the book almost anywhere online, and probably at your local Christian bookstore too, but you can actually download a PDF copy of the entire book FOR FREE here!

Practicing Gratitude.

I've been so thankful for the prayers that went up on my behalf last week while I prepared for the sermon I gave in church this past Sunday. I feel like it's a huge responsibility.

The studying, preparing and presenting is nothing, but "rightly handling the Word of Truth" is very intimidating. Not to mention the closer scrutiny I put myself up for by publicly declaring the things that I feel God has been teaching me.

So it was awesome to know I had friends, family members, church family members and Internet Friends uplifting me as I prepared and presented. If you are among that number,

THANK YOU!!!!

Your prayers were answered and it went well ~ I hardly even cried! (I'm a terribly emotional person and often feel like I'm blubbering the entire time, but this time it was really just at the very end, especially when I closed in prayer.)

Another thing I've really grown to appreciate lately is conversations and friendships that challenge me to examine my faith and to KNOW what and whom I believe. There have been several such developments over the last few months, and just in the last couple of days, I've had a very stimulating discussion with a bloggy friend about my last post. It's been wonderful to converse while supporting differing views, but still enjoying the exchange and remaining friends! I believe God is using people like her to sharpen and strengthen me and I love that!!

What are YOU thankful for today?

* Click the button at the top of the post to visit our host and check out other thankful people.

The beauty of being his helper

Since reading Tim Challies' book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment*, I have often visited his site. I came across this post yesterday and I LOVE what he has to say about biblical womanhood ~ the call to be a "helper" to our husbands.

"It seems to me that there are two aspects to this word, two different dimensions to consider. In the first place it is a term that implies some kind of a subordinate role and not a word that suggests absolute equality of function. After all, the woman is to be a helper to the man but the man is never commanded to be a helper to the woman. And so it is a role of service in which a woman is to serve her husband as a helper. I remember my mother explaining how this worked itself out in her marriage to my father. She saw that it was her task to help my father become what God wanted him to become. His dreams were to become her dreams. And she worked toward that goal, finding joy in what brought him joy, helping make him successful in whatever he put his hand to.

Culturally we may balk at such a thought. And yet the Bible makes it clear that this is her job. And what's more, the Bible makes it clear that this is a role that brings with it dignity. The word translated helper is used nineteen times in the Old Testament with SIXTEEN of those uses referring to GOD. If God is a helper, surely no wife would say that such a role is beneath her! It is strange to consider that there is a sense in which God subordinates himself to us so he can offer us his help. In Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood Ray Ortlund says, "It is entirely possible for God to subordinate Himself, in a certain sense, to human beings. He does so whenever He undertakes to help us. He does not 'un-God' Himself in helping us; but He does stoop to our needs, according to His gracious and sovereign will." In the same way a parent may subordinate himself to his children in order to help them, coming down to their level so he can answer their questions from a perspective that will be meaningful to them. All this to say that there is nothing dehumanizing or undignified in being a helper.

And so a woman is to help her husband, knowing of her equality in dignity and worth and yet willfully subordinating herself to her husband in order to serve him.

Where the first dimension of the word helper indicates a helping role, the second is that it indicates need. And I think too many discussions of the word helper stop short of this reality. These discussions spill much ink in describing the woman's role but not the reality that necessitates such a role. Said simply, a woman is to be a helper because a man needs help." (emphasis mine, except this last sentence ~ that emphasis is in the original.)

Isn't that beautiful? I like his point about most arguments about the definition of "helper" ending a little short and his conclusion that if a helper is needed, then the 'helpee' obviously needs help! But that's kind of an aside, as far as I'm concerned. I've never had a problem with the complementarian view. Specifically, what I love is how Challies parallels, in a sense, the role of a godly, supportive wife with what God does for mankind. What woman wouldn't want to strive to be this kind of a woman, for this to be true of her?!

Reading through the comments, I was excited to see how Mary Kassian, who has been featured from time to time on Revive Our Hearts, expanded and made this woman even more beautiful:

Tim, I think that much of the question regarding woman being called "helper" is resolved when we consider what it is that the Lord wanted woman to help man do. The Lord did not create woman to help man fulfill his selfish ends. Rather, she helps man fulfill his ultimate purpose of bringing glory to God. She is a helper "fit for him"--that is alongside/corresponding/counterpart to the male. She is the "matching other" that helps him display who God is (his Godhead/Nature) and what God does (His Power/Plan) (as per Romans 1:20). Woman helps man image/display truths about God that man would not be able to display in the same way were there no woman to "help" him. Man + woman displays God in a different way than man without woman. (And that goes for manhood and womanhood in general, not just in a marital relationship) By virtue of her womanhood, woman helps display the character of God (How the Father and Son interact) and the gospel ( the love story of the Bridegroom and his Bride.) That's what woman "helps" man do.

Boy, I hope someday someone can say I was this woman.

* You can read my chapter-by-chapter review of The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment here.

I have pride issues.

On Facebook the other day, I kinda made fun of my cousin who admitted she felt a bit wimpy after deciding not to go for a walk on a day when there was a bit of a breeze, even though the temperature was above freezing. I teased her a bit and said any day when the temperature was above -50 with the windchill was a perfect day for a walk.

Because, you know, I'm a hearty Canadian prairie-dweller. We THRIVE in our state of perpetual winter! We LOVE having snow on the ground 7 months of the year! We LAUGH in the face of icy highways and blinding blizzards....

Well. Did that ever turn around and bite me in the butt.

The very next day!

We'd had a beautifully sunny +10/50F the day before (Which is unseasonably warm this time of year. AND perfect for a walk!), but now it was snowy and blowy and just, well, miserable. Nowhere near -50 ~ actually only -14/7F with the wind ~ but that wind was gusting up to 56 km/h or 35 mph.

It was the kinda day when you want to curl up under a cozy blanket on the couch with a good book and a hot cup of tea and just stay there. Especially since your kids are all out of the house at school.

Oh, Internet Friends, it BURNED to have to admit that I was not likely going out for a walk that day!! It was excruciating!! Downright humiliating!

And so the shame compelled me to brave the elements, enduring the ice pellets stinging my cheeks and forcing me to walk with my eyes closed. BUT I WENT FOR A WALK!

And even shot some video.


To prove that I AM truly a hearty Canadian prairie-dweller, dang it!!

And also that I probably need therapy.

Practicing Gratitude

Wow, how is it that it's Thursday again?! I completely forgot about getting a thankful post ready for today, so here I am, scrambling, hoping to string some thoughts together quickly in the next 15 minutes before my girls wake up!

This week, I'm particularly thankful for the ways God makes Himself known to us. I'm preparing a message for Sunday morning (I'm asked once or twice a year to fill in while our pastor is away and this is one of those times.) about how God uses the wilderness experiences in our lives ~ some characteristics of the tough times, the reasons we might be in them, but most importantly, His purposes in leading us there.

Though I'm usually not thankful DURING the tough times ~ and I haven't even been through anything that some would call a REAL wilderness experience ~ I'm thankful that God loves us enough to bring us to a place where we are desperate for Him. We’ll never know that Christ is all we need until He’s all we have. And when He is all that we have, we find out that Christ really is all we need.

I don't LIKE that I have to be taught that over and over and over and over again, but I'm so thankful God loves me enough to keep repeating the lesson until I get it. When I think of how impatient I get with my girls when I have to repeat myself just once or twice, I'm humbled and awed by His absolutely amazing LIMITLESS grace. I'm so thankful He's a better parent than I am!!


* Click the button at the top of the post to visit our host and check out other thankful people.

How important is accountability?

Our closest family friends were over for supper a while back and as we washed the dishes afterwards, my friend and I talked about my blog, my desire to permanently change my attitude, and my desire to have that really deep, abiding, and fruitful faith. I confessed to her that I was concerned that my personal life wasn't actually reflecting the head knowledge I was sharing here on the blog and often in our Sunday school class.

Do any of you struggle with that, too? I feel like I'm doing all the right kind of studying and saying all sorts of great words (in my opinion, anyway!), but I'm not sure my life adequately demonstrates that I live by the faith I say I have, or that the limited knowledge I have gained over the last months is making a difference in how I live.

See, my problem is that I just don't even THINK about other people. I don't think I'm being particularly selfish, but I am decidedly self-absorbed. I have great intentions of making an effort each day or week to be a blessing to others, but I get so wrapped up in MY day, MY "to do" lists, MY agenda, that meaningful interaction with other people doesn't even cross my mind.

Add to that self-absorption my peculiar personality, which simply doesn't crave being with people. In fact, I have the opposite craving. I love nothing better than being alone. (which is actually a little selfish, because my main reason for loving it is because it means being able to spend MY time exactly the way I want to. ::sigh::)

So I said I needed some kind of accountability partner ~ someone to ask me periodically what I'd done lately in specific effort to be a blessing to those around me.

We must have been distracted at that point because I don't really remember the conversation going any further than this. And maybe she was simply uncomfortable with the idea of pointedly checking in on my spiritual life. Agreeing to hold someone accountable is a big responsibility. But I'm sure we'll talk about this again, and I want to be able to say I've done things a little differently since having this conversation.

And for those of you who read my blog and know me in real life, please consider doing me this service as well. I want to be genuine. I want my pursuit of holiness and my desire to bring God glory in everything I do to be evident. I want to love the truth, regardless of whether or not it always paints me in a good light. If I'm to reflect God, I will need to practice humility along with all these other "loftier" goals. If I am indeed blessed in order to be a blessing, I want to be that blessing!

And there's no better way to keep that in the forefront of one's mind than knowing that at any time, someone might ask how it's going!

A memorable first!

Today was an awesome day. The sun was shining. The snow was melting. The girls did a great job of cleaning their room. And we went for our first bike ride of the year. Our yard is a bit of a disaster still, but the mile road right next to our property is nice and dry, so I knew it would be perfect.

It seems other creatures felt it was the perfect day to be out and about too...

Tough to tell from this picture, but what we have here is our dog, Shadow, checking out a skunk who was, until just seconds ago, merrily toddling along the field, intending to cross the road in front of us.

Amazingly, Shadow never intimidated the skunk enough for it to spray him. I can't tell if that's an indication of incredible intelligence and intuition, or if he's just that stupid!

After a few moments, Shadow came jogging back to where we were parked on our bikes, seemingly curious as to why we were just sitting there. Peanut was extremely nervous, but I reassured her that as long as we just continued to move forward slowly, the skunk would do what it had intended to do and not bother us at all. I hoped I was right, because just sitting there and staring each other down was getting us nowhere!

I was right and the skunk moved on.

I can't say I really like the direction it's headed though. I would have preferred if it had been heading AWAY from our yard!!

Bear, the neighbours' dog who was also along with us, FINALLY noticed the thing after it was already in the field on our side of the road and proceeded to terrorize it a bit. The skunk apparently didn't enjoy his attentions as much as it had Shadow's, and a new, pungent fragrance perfumed the countryside for a bit. Thankfully, it didn't follow us home! (must've just been a nervous dribble...)

Ah, I do love the country life!! You just never know what surprising experiences the day will bring!

Is Deuteronomy trying to tell us something?

So today over at The Bible in a Year ~ and Beyond! we begin Deuteronomy. I'll admit I'm not excited about it. Deuteronomy is basically a 34-chapter "summary" of Exodus and Numbers.

But you know what I discovered in studying the first 3 chapters? While Deuteronomy might feel a little pointless since we just read about all these events and rules in the previous two books of the Bible (even though this time it's Moses remembering and recounting for the Israelites rather than him passing along instructions from God TO the Israelites for the first time), there IS a good lesson there! It also strongly suggests there is great value in recording the events in our lives when we felt hopeless and yet God used the circumstances to teach us, to grow us, to prosper us.

Because it is in looking back that we learn to anticipate the loving guidance of God's hand that will hold and protect us through anything the future has in store.

We may not see the name of Jesus on these pages of Old Testament "summary," but the Good Shepherd is still there!


You can read the whole post here.

Practicing Gratitude

I think I've seen this idea floating around the blogosphere ever since I started blogging way back in May of 2007 (!!), but never joined in the practice.

I think I will now. I think it's fitting for the pursuit of a new attitude. And really...

What better way to view the future than by recognizing God's loving hand in the past?

And so today, I'm thankful:

• For a husband who works so hard to try and make it possible to single-handedly support our family financially so that I can be a stay-at-home mom, even though that means we can't pay for many of the things we'd like to.
• And that he wasn't injured when he had a little mishap with the semi-truck one night last week.
• And that we can communicate well when it matters. We're realizing we've maybe lost a bit of focus on our relationship with each other lately and it was good to be able to sit down and really talk about where we feel weI've gone wrong and how we'd like I need to try and change.
• For two little girls who play AMAZINGLY well together pretty much all the time. I don't know if it's because they don't have any other options or because they just really enjoy each other, but I LOVE IT! They make my job easier ~ and make me look like I know what I'm doing!!
• For sunshine that's actually WARM again!! As long as the sun's out these days, the woodstove isn't needed and the furnace doesn't have to run at all either! YAY!
• For the muck and slush that signal the beginnings of SPRING! It's happening earlier this year than normal, which is nice because the last two years we've had very late, cold springs.
• That the pulp & paper industry's "harvest season" started early this winter ~ way back in December already. Because if we'd only started it towards the end of January like we did last year, this early spring would hurt a lot!
• For muscles that still work ~ despite the creaking, groaning, protesting joints! I started jogging again last weekend and though I can tell it's been a while, the ol' legs still work and are already getting stronger. The heart and lungs seem to be managing just fine, too!
• That God is good, that He is sovereign, and that He desires ME.

Man, it's always amazing to me how this kind of list could really go on and on and on. When you actually sit down to count your blessings, they so far outweigh the bad. What are the good things in your life today?

* Click the button at the top of the post to visit our host and check out other thankful people.

And then there were none.

As much as I sort of like to maintain some level of privacy and anonymity on my blog, I just had to share this video clip.

Two weeks ago, the grain elevator in the little village a mile away was demolished. At one time many years ago, this tiny little one-horse town WASN'T just a one-horse town and there were SEVEN grain elevators. This was the very last one.

Until February 24, 2010.

All the school kids were present to witness its exit from history and a substitute teacher shot this video ~ which features our Fidget at the very end.

The reasons behind the demolition frustrate the local farmers (and I won't get into that here!), but just the fact that our town's landmark won't be visible anymore from miles around makes me a little sad.

I loved watching the blazing pinky-orange sunrise reflect off its metal-clad sides in the early morning stillness...

...or its stark whiteness dividing a field of brilliant yellow canola blooms from the dark hills in the distance.

One of the views I've loved on my walks has now been forever indelibly altered.

I know I'll get used to the gaping hole in space, but I'll probably always miss the ol' elevator a little!

Sunday Song

This morning, virtually every song we sang spoke of the great hope we have in God and our reliance on Him during troubled times ~ something I struggle with A LOT, as you well know!

None spoke more to me than this one though. It was new to me and I gathered from the song-leader that he expected it was new to all of us, and yet we sang it like we'd been singing it for years. It was incredible.

O spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found,

Wherever human hearts and human woes abound;

Let ev’ry Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound:

The Comforter has come!

The Comforter has come, the Comforter has come!

The Holy Ghost from Heav’n, the Father’s promise giv’n;

O spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found-

The Comforter has come!

The long, long night is past, the morning breaks at last,

And hushed the dreadful wail and fury of the blast,

As o’er the golden hills the day advances fast!

The Comforter has come!

Lo, the great King of kings, with healing in His wings,

To ev’ry captive soul a full deliverance brings;

And through the vacant cells the song of triumph rings;

The Comforter has come!

O boundless love divine! How shall this tongue of mine

To wond’ring mortals tell the matchless grace divine-

That I, a child of hell, should in His image shine!

The Comforter has come!

Lyrics: Francis Bottome 1890

Music: William J. Kirkpatrick 1890

You can listen and read along here. I found a couple of YouTube videos, but none that I liked very much. This one is simple ~ just piano. No embellishments, no voices.

I hope it will be a blessing to you.

the time has come to say goodbye...

...to ValleyGirl.

I know, it's the end of an era, right?! CRAZY.

But don't be alarmed, I'm obviously not leaving the blogosphere. Geez, I'm not even leaving my URL! Just changing a few things, most notably my attitude and focus.

I've dwelt in the valley, trying to "prove my mettle" long enough.

Not that I've proven myself, by any means! But rather than merely accepting that those mountaintop experiences are only temporary and attempting to plod steadily through the valley until I might happen to have another one, I want to look forward to the next one! To count on it! And to look forward to the future with joy, not a sense of fear or borrowed disappointment.

And so today I'm officially putting ValleyGirl behind me. The idea hatched suddenly on my February 24th walk and has been brewing ever since. I simply want to have a new outlook on life. And as a reflection of ME, my blog has to, well... reflect that.

Over the last several weeks, my desire and prayer has been to become the Proverbs 31:25 woman: the woman who laughs at the days to come. I've had these recurring bouts of fear-related depression numerous times over the last several years (most noticeably ~ and frequently ~ since we bought the trucking company at the beginning of last year though!) and God brought me through a particularly trying month this last January, I believe, exactly to show me where I'm going wrong and that He wants to fix it. I always thought my "blues" came from discontentment ~ and I believe that's still part of it ~ but the underlying problem is fear. Mostly, fear that things will never change and that I'll never have the life of luxury I dream of having.

Since discovering I may be teaching this attitude to my children, I've realized how desperately I need to change. For myself, yes, but far more importantly, to leave a legacy of unshakable faith for my girls and to more likely be someone whom others WANT to lean on when times are tough. I have failed to support and encourage my friends when they needed it most because I've been self-absorbed. I have failed in my role to be a support and an encouragement to my husband at times because I've been worried and depressed. That needs to stop.

Him telling me that he was sorry he'd involved me in the company in any way because I obviously couldn't handle it was another VERY LOUD wake-up call!! This is not the woman who speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction; whose husband praises her!! (Prov. 31:26, 28)

So I am determined to become the woman clothed in strength and dignity ~ no matter how difficult I know it will be to even crack a smile at times ~ consistently, constantly, and confidently...

Laughing at the Days to Come.

Yes, I know it will take a while! But I think you've seen me grow here in my li'l Valley over the last year. Thank you so much for your thoughts, your prayers, and words of encouragement along the way. I'm confident there's more learning and growing left in me yet.

So today, I start a new journey. If you're coming along, hang on ~ it could be a wild ride!