Lighthouse Keepers

“I still remember the days I spent praying, for what I have now” It was 20 years ago almost exactly...that I said my vows and thought life would be like most fairy tales. I would be waiting at home with an apron on for my husband to come home from work with his dinner on the table. The home would be spotless and tidy and there would be children running about in the most mannerly way. A perfect husband, a perfect home, a perfect life with all the perfect children we desired. Have you ever tried a Pinterest project with high hopes of it turning out just as you thought it would? And than it was the most tragic epic fail of your life? Well, that's how my marriage was...I was....and my non existent Children where. Once we were married, we tried to have kids right away. We waited and waited. AND waited. Nothing. There wasn’t much more I desired than to be a mama. And it was just not happening. My marriage started to hurt, I started to hurt and my relationships started to...

Is joy the same as happiness or contentment? What is Joy and do you have joy? Where does it  come from? Can we have joy in difficult times? I love people. There. The secrets out. I just love people. I really enjoy having one on one time with people. I love to see where they are at in their walk  with God. If I can sit down with someone and find out where they are in their faith, I walk away  blessed, and encouraged. But what’s the real reason behind this joy that I find? I’ll answer that yet. :) I’m a pretty happy girl if I can take a drive to good ole Tim Hortons, or if I can have a relatively  clean house, or if my children are having a good day, but that happiness is not lasting once the  children start crying all on the same day or even the same hour. Once the house needs to be cleaned  again (or you find out that there’s another whole area of the house that you didn’t get to), that  happiness is soon turned to unhappiness. Don’t even g...

It was a few weeks before Christmas. Money was tight, expectations felt high and then came that hydro bill for over $800. Long story short, I ended up snapping at the Hydro One employee on the phone and then hung up on her. As far as she knows, I have stopped feeding my kids so that we can forever pay the hydro bills. Truthfully, it was not her fault. She was simply the messenger and who knows what I did to her day.  Looking back, I am disappointed at how I handled the situation. I like to think that I learn as I go and have grown since, though I am sure I have more great stories to come.  It is that time of year again. We sing and speak of love, joy and peace. We prepare gifts and are full of excitement. Or are we really? It is also possible that we are busy, overwhelmed and frustrated. As we go to town, we see the hustle and bustle all around us. With the hustle and bustle, there is a lack of smiling faces. Chances are we will experience bad customer service, get cut of...

I’ll never forget the day when my second oldest, who couldn't have been more then four at the time said to me, “mommy are you happy at me?” And I immediately said “of course I am happy about you. I love you so much!”  Then she completely caught me off guard and replied “then smile at me.”    Even as I write this I feel the power of those words coming from my little girls mouth. It made my stomach turn.  It literally shook me and broke my heart that she could sense that I was obviously not happy and simply did not have joy right then.  I could tell her that yes I was happy but I knew she knew better. That day I realized that I had been depriving my sweet precious family of a vey powerful and wonderful gift.  The gift of joy. I had had a hard day..or probably a hard week and I had let it drain me of joy and happiness and my dear family had to feel the consequences of it. It was not fair at all. Since then God has so often reminded me of that day and I ...

  If you pay attention at almost any social gathering, you will most likely notice two different kinds of ladies. The first is a super social, outgoing, smiley, and friendly woman. She is at the heart of much of the talking and laughing that is heard in the group. If there is a social gathering happening, she is most likely going to be present and probably be the last to leave.   The second woman is not so easily noticed. She is quieter, may sit alone or with a very small group, and as soon as is polite to do so, you’ll see her heading for her vehicle.   We know enough about personality types (I hope) to appreciate the strengths in both types of women and so might conclude that some people are just happiest being alone and others need people. This is actually incorrect. God has created each of us to need community! There is a large difference between being social and participating in community.   The dictionary defines community as “a...