Ruminations from the Temple

I'm always grateful to see the dogwoods I'm grateful for so many things this morning. I'm grateful for the beautiful and moving memorial service for Pastor Buntain last Sunday. I'm grateful for his legacy and the obvious 'fruit' of his lifetime of service to the Kingdom of G-d. (Here's a couple of shots from my view from the choir loft...) the beautiful pipe organ at Life Center the view from where I sat - it was packed! photo credit: L. Landry (this is only part of the choir - there were 140 voices plus the orchestra!) This week, I'm also grateful for the wonderful opportunity and blessing of being able to attend a week-long course in the Dead Sea Scrolls from the Spiritual Life Institute at St. Martin's University (Lacey, WA). It has been absolutely a thrill to watch three learned doctors teach on this interesting and stimulating topic. A true blessing! I'm grateful for the beautiful campus of St. Martin's Uni...

Have you had a good week? I'm grateful to feel grateful this morning. Things you appreciate tend to get better, things you depreciate tend to get worse. I'm grateful to be a part of the memorial service and night of honor for Pastor Fulton Buntain. May his memory always be blessed. I'm grateful for modern medicine, food supplements, over-the-counter cold medicine and laundry detergent. I'm grateful for flush toilets, chemicals that open clogged drains and cheap dry cleaners. I'm grateful for lattes from my bestie. I'm grateful for stimulating conversation with my good friend, Chuck. The difference between what I am and who I want to be  is what I do. I'm grateful for my laptop - love! Twue wuv. I'm grateful for friends who pray and are willing to help in times of need. I'm grateful for people who have good character, good intentions, want to think the best of others and exhibit fruit of the Spirit. I'm gratefu...

Well, it's father's day and our third day up in the northern neck of the woods. The threatening clouds spit on us for a bit, but then by afternoon the sun was making a brief appearance - yay! We started out with some breakfast in the historic Fairhaven district -  what a lovely, little touristy place.  The food was fabulous and the service better in this little 'hidden cafe'.  Lox and a schmear... yummy! A peek-a-boo view of Puget Sound from nostalgic Chuckanut Drive .  Just beautiful. The tide was w aaaa y out on Padilla Bay .  We availed ourselves of the informative interpretive center,  then stopped for some interesting pics. Lake Padden was next on the list.  We strolled for a bit along the waterfront amid the persevering joggers. Finally, we decided to check out some local wineries -  our favorite was Vartanyan Estate Winery in Bellingham.  We tasted some incredible wines  and ev...

Water, water...everywhere! Man, is it raining. Every kind of rain - drippy, muggy, misty rain. But mostly what's coming down is the famous Pacific Northwest drenching drizzle. Drenching the farmland that surrounds our resort, soaking the beautiful and lush green Mt. Baker Scenic Highway and just about drowning the Father's Day tourists down at Birch Bay. Here's our day two from the rather wet viewfinder: along the Mt. Baker Highway Nooksack River a wild river full of spring melt and rainwater regal cedar powerful whitewater Nooksack Falls snowmelt on Mt. Baker Birch Bay

Travel!!  This weekend my hubby and myself are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. Well, actually it was at the end of May, but this was the soonest we could get out of town. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time it was just he and I on vacation without kids. Amazing. We are enjoying the Homestead Golf Resort in the beautiful and quaint town of Lynden, Washington, up by the Canadian border. Our drive up was uneventful and sunny - how lovely! Upon arrival, we enjoyed a home-style meal at Dutch Mothers restaurant, then checked into our weekend digs. Here's a few pics from the initial walkabout:

A little bit of perspective is a good thing, right? I'm grateful this morning for the sun shining through my bedroom window. I'm grateful for the good morning kiss from my hubby and for the opportunity to celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary this weekend. I'm grateful for the most awesome-est, incredible, loyal, faithful friends anyone could have. I'm grateful for medicine that helps those of us with serious asthma to breath - and not die. I'm thankful for rescue inhalers. I'm grateful to not be bound by religious legalism and self-righteous motivation - it ultimately hurts others. I'm humbly grateful that I don't have to live up to someone else's expectations of who or what I should be, or that I have to remain in an abusive or manipulative situation against my will. I'm so very glad that I do not have to compromise my beliefs for others or that I'm in a situation where I cannot glorify HaShem. I am so very grateful for...

"One of the most difficult tasks in life is removing someone from your heart. But remember, no relationship is a waste of time. The wrong ones teach you the lessons that prepare you for the right ones." Facebook is chock-full of pithy wisdom. I'm sure everyone has a different experience on the social media giant, but my recent experience has been quite a lot of visually stimulating photos, either real or digital, paired with quotes that either cut to the quick or proclaim self-worth. Perhaps it is indicative of the times; it seems that so many people are desperately trying to hold onto whatever is good, right and healthy - to just not get lost in the crowd. Mental adjustments don't come from these types of things, however. Actual experience of sloggin' through the hard times is the only way to change our point of view and adapt healthy attitudes about ourselves and others. I am guilty, too. I have been known to put up heart-wrenching proverbial quotes fro...

How many ways can I be grateful today? I can be grateful for smiling faces and happy thoughts. I can be grateful for the little ways that the LORD is right there with me, even when I'm not aware. I can be grateful for warm feelings of love and care from friends both near and far. I can be thankful for the happy color pink. I am grateful today. I am grateful for purring cats snuggled up with me in the bed when I awake. I am grateful for soothing music. I'm grateful for good vitamins and food to satisfy my hunger. I'm grateful for the prayers of others on my behalf. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to pray for those in need. I am grateful to see new life abounding all around me. I am continually grateful for provision in my life. I'm grateful that my car runs and I have a roof over my head. I'm grateful for the warmth of clean blankets and hot showers. I'm grateful for refrigerators that keep my food from spoiling and ...

Just a few of my favorite pics from our walk-about in Portland this weekend. I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed hangin' out in the Rose City with my camera and great Jedi friends...