today

i sort of wanted to go to work today
thought the phone would ring at six
bracing myself to face the world


instead i woke at seven
sleeping bear beside me
another day of my own


stocked up the cupboards
raisins and dates, oats and bran
baked a loaf, sipped some tea
sweet lemon fills the house


smells like spring out
birds chirping, warmer breeze
sky still dark and moody but such we have come to accept


pondered hopes, wondered what the summer might bring
spring puts such thoughts in the mind
ran along the shore
how blessed i am to be able to feel my heart
pounding in my ears
as the waves pound below and the rock towers high


husband's tomato soup, crackers and tangy goat cheese
fresh water, good music
time to be still


this is the good life, in all its ups and downs

tea and theology

Last fall a couple friends at church and I started thinking that we really wanted to start a women's small group. Our little church is really young and small, but it's still, as with any church, not really that easy to cultivate deep friendships with people beyond Sunday morning small talk. You need to get beyond that.

So we started to meet in January. We had a book, but as the weeks have gone by we've strayed farther and farther beyond the book into so many topics. And it's so good. There were 6 of us a few times, but there has consistently been 4 for the last 10 weeks, and these 4 women are awesome. We talk about the daughters of Eve, aka women of the Bible, which is the subject of our book. But this leads into so many other discussions..

love
marriage
the exclusivity of Christ
heaven
baptism
career choices
homemaking
birth control
pregnancy
weddings
engagements
dating
men
spirituality
worship
food
cooking
sex
books
childhoods
homeschooling

and more and more. I am so thankful for these ladies and the thinking that they have inspired in me, the ponderings as we discuss what it means to be a Christian woman today... in St. John's, in Newfoundland, in Canada, in society. Two grad students- one arts and one science; an accountant, a nurse, one dating, one engaged, two married, one pregnant.... there's a lot of ground to cover.

It's fun to walk this road together.

It's really special to have some kindred spirits in St. John's who share my faith and who I can have these deep talks with. I've been waiting for this. Praying for this.

May we keep growing.

weekend togetherness

I'm sitting here at our kitchen table quite content. It's raining outside, on top of the snow and slush.. it's grey and brown and there's not a speck of green out there on this April 2. But that's alright.

I am happy that it's the weekend. I'm glad that last night, after a failed movie attempt and some waffling around over plans, I ended up staying in with Brian and making dessert together. Bananas Foster. Yummy- it involves bananas, Dutch banana liquer, brown sugar and butter and vanilla ice cream... and lighting all of the above on fire (minus the ice cream). Fun!

Saturday mornings at our house involve crepes and jam, coffee and goodness. It's becoming a little tradition that I love. Even if Brian has to go in to school like he did today, it's still a chance to linger over steaming coffee together and bask in weekend relaxedness. Also makes me appreciate days off, since I work some Saturdays and a lot of weekdays.

Mom and Dad Claus are coming in 3 weeks and I'm looking forward to having some family time! Sometimes its a bit lonely on this island when our closest rellies are 3000 km away.

Looking forward to spring so very much. It's sneaking up on us very slowly. The days are longer. The furnace doesn't fire up quite as much. There's not quite as much of a chill in the air. Yesterday I walked for about 20 minutes without a toque (before it got too chilly again). It feels so strange to walk around bare-headed. I can't even imagine exposing my white legs in shorts! Haha. Or a T-Shirt- what does that feel like again?

I am thankful for the flexibility of my job right now and that I can avoid working a lot of nights and weekends-- a rarity for nursing. I'm glad that I can be in church on Sundays and in my own bed at night.

A very happy anniversary to my dear Mum and Dad today-- 28 years together. Love you both so much and so thankful for your marriage. I know you will have an awesome time roadtripping down in Arizona next week. Off into the sunset you go!

So there's a lot to be thankful for. I had a bit of a rough time recently. learning to be patient- what else is new.. I tend to be a bit impatient sometimes. And then get a whole string of events planned out in my head of how things might end  up being. Need to be reminded once again that it's not up to me.. and sometimes there's nothing I can do but watch and wait and learn and be still. Treasuring the here and now, while acknowledging the 'wait' and 'not yet'...