The winter that would never end!

     “It was such a spring day as breathes into a man an ineffable yearning, a painful sweetness, a longing that makes him stand motionless, looking at the leaves or grass, and fling out his arms to embrace he knows not what.” 

~ John Forsythe

      Today as I type this post, I am once again quietly plagued, with yet another slowly developing sinus infection. Only on one side of course, the side I sleep on. Drats! 

This winter may never end, at least that's what most folks around these parts are thinking.

Currently, there is a thunder storm brewing outside, complete with visiting monsoon rains and rather large balls of hail.

Just two days ago, all of the accumulated winter snowfall on the ground finally thawed. Well almost. 

As today's weather forecast heads into the 25C range, the report for Saturday isn't wrong, but feels like it should be, with snow arriving again and temperatures spiraling back down to 1C. 

This has been the longest winter I've ever experienced in my whole life, not a bad thing, just l-o-n-g! 

Though, I am a snow-loving woman, I'm not totally sorry to see the snow disappear to expose the dead looking bush and bramble on our back property, for I have been enjoying observations of returning robins attempting to dig through the snow to the solid core beneath in search of nourishment. 

 

Oddly enough, even in extreme weather conditions, life in nature rotates with the seasons.

While local coyotes howl on the warmer spring nights, the horses must be fetched from recently thawed outdoor paddocks, with their softened (temporary) mud caked hooves. Much to everyone's dismay at the barn, this creamy muck adds great effort to their tacking up details, specifically having to ensure a proper cleaning, brushing and scrubbing of horse's feet, legs and tails, before any riding pleasures can commence. 

It's definitely been an odd year to say the least. 

This week, while the snow was "still" thawed, I threw in the towel and had my husband and daughter remove the spigets and sap-filled buckets hanging from our trees. 

I'm done with the boiling and stove top monitoring duties. It's time to roll up our sleeves and get outdoors, in a much different way. 

We have but a month on our open window timeline, at best, until the thick of bug season begins anew again, so enough of winter, let us begin clearing up our forest floor, and pathways out back before we turn into half eaten insect-pricked-pin-cushions. 

The broken branches now exposed since winter's frozen thaw, and those additional ones from last week's severe ice storm dearly require our attention. Many hands do make work light..

The incredible amounts of road salt and sand brought home this year from our vehicle's winter tires, has our garage and driveway begging for a good pressure washing. 

Our work efforts on our doorways' indoor carpets will have a slight reprieve, from the daily, sometimes twice daily vacuum sessions necessary these past weeks, from sand also entering on the bottom of our footwear. I've never seen so much of the stuff! Honestly!

All is well though with the changing of yet another season. After enjoying the winter sun's daily teasing, the freezing nights and continued snowy days seems to offer another story. Some want to ask about the obvious; "Are you really sure spring has sprung?"

Another sudden round of colds and flus has hit the entire area it seems, a concern as they always tend to be in our home.  

For me, cold or warm, I have a growing and grand desire to continue focusing on obtaining more fresh air, even if just having doors open wide (brrrrr) for a time. I'm wanting to begin placing outdoor furniture back on the decks (now that the snow left this week), and hoping to very soon take my daily cup of tea out on the back steps (think COLD butt!). 

I'm dreaming of the simplest of pleasures to begin again, just the ability to enjoy witnessing springtime buds aplenty, hearing the singsong of birds while nesting, and hoping to spot returning familiar little critters in our forest and meadow out yonder.  

Since spring has sprung, or is arriving so late here, there are yet so many things to look forward to observing, and enjoying ahead. And with spring, all things new and beautiful await our wintery weathered souls. Everything will begin feeling clean and fresh again, time will slow down just a little with the longer days allowing for respites before bed because the sun still shines, and everyone will once more begin migrating out of doors just because...

In light of all the good and evil happening in our world this past month, there is a pressing need to keep up the faith, for there is so much lately to ponder, much to continue offering prayer for, and still - so much to be thankful for. 

There is comfort and joy, and then very quickly, there is indescribable sadness that often lacks understanding.

Life is indeed very fragile... Everyday is an absolute gift... please remember to live it well my friends.

  

“Life is fragile and temporary. 

 The faces of today quickly become the faces of the past. 

 Sorrow, pain, and anger... it all fades- except love.  

Love is forever and there after, even when we've fallen to our graves.” 

~ Lee Argus

#1 Gratitude 2013 ~ A Father's New Year Blessing

It's New Year's Day, and for my entire life, it's been our family's tradition to ask my father for his "New Year Blessing". 

     For many years before our move east, my husband, myself and all our children, used to kneel before my father and obtain his blessing in this very special way. I miss that. I miss it because like my other siblings, we all live quite a distance away from my parents now, so this same New Year blessing now comes via the telephone. It's an okay substitute, sort of, at least being able to hear my father's voice, listen to his personalized blessing on me and my family, and still, I can kneel while obtaining it, just not in person. 

     And so, the beginning of a New Year is always special in our home, beginning with going to church to offer up our year, and then obtaining this very special fatherly blessing. 

     There was one downer this year though, we had a snow storm and we were unable to get out of our driveway, and over to our church. Ugh, I hate it when that happens to us, pretty or not, but that's life in a snow belt area. I'm sure we received grace for our good and pure intentions of getting there in the first place. 

Gratitude #1  for 2013 

.... is most definitely hearing my father pray over me, offering his new year blessing especially for me/us,  feeling his heartfelt emotion and the tender tone in his voice throughout. 

Love you dad! xox

Below is an original article my father wrote for our family newsletter, the one our family used to spearhead and publish bimonthly for about four years. He wrote about how this family generational tradition began, and how it continues today. 

Perhaps after reading this, your family might want to adopt such a perfect beginning to your own family's new year too. 

Blessings;
Renee

The Gift of a Father's New Year Blessing 

"When I was young, Father Meunier, our parish priest spoke one New Year's Day about the privilege of children obtaining their father's blessing for the forthcoming year. He explained how this was not just a new modern day phenomenon, it was actually centuries old, dating back to Abraham.

So this New Year's day after that particular sermon, my mother rounded up us four boys and said; "Go ask your father for a blessing. Kneel down in front of him, and God will support that blessing."

It became a tradition for me, and every New Year's Day, I went to visit my father and mother to wish them a Happy New Year, embrace them, kiss them, and kneel for my father's blessing on me and my family.

From earliest times, God's covenant of blessing was originally made with and was to pass directly through one family's offspring. Abraham's descendants received the blessing God had promised them (Gen. 12: 2-3). This was through generation after generation right up until the birth of the Messiah (Matt. 1: 2-16). In contrast, family members can experience a blessing through God's Son. This blessing can then be passed on to others by introducing them to Christ. To this day, Jewish families share the blessing every time they gather together.

Another spiritual meaning associated with the blessing is how another set of brothers, Ephraim and Mannesseh, God's sovereignty was picture in who first received their family's blessing and who did not (Gen. 48: 1-20, Romans 9:10-13)

Genuine acceptance radiates from the concept of the blessing, both for the asking by the children, and the giving by the father. It gives sons and daughters a tremendous sense of being highly valued by their parents and even pictures a special future for encouragement, love and acceptance. It can play an important part in protecting and even freeing them to develop intimate relationships.

As a father, I've always felt privileged to be asked by my children for a New Year's blessing. Because of distance with some of our children, they ask for their blessing by phone.

Now that my father has passed away, I miss his annual blessing. However, I can help think of him each time I am asked by my children for their blessing, and I'm sure God sends it through my father's and through me to them. In that way, I still obtain my father's blessing also."

© 10/01/2013 ~ PJF

(Please do not use this copyrighted article without express permission from this blog's owner. Thank you)

Gratitude 2013 ~ Make it a Lifestyle!

PLUS, an invitation, and challenge for you...

 Morning has broken...

Gratitude is a character trait and it can fast become a pivotal life skill type of virtue, that doesn't often come easy to many people, certainly there isn't physical evidence spilling from their mouth to indicate they have made it part of their everyday lifestyle. Yet, the heart does indeed recognize when gratitude is present, be it an emotion, some mental thanksgiving, or something more external. 

As mere mortals, we cannot always tell when someone is in the gratitude mode, perhaps expressions lacking for us to witness it. Is it there though? Maybe so.

When one blows dust off and cracks wide open a dictionary, and then begins browsing through to reference the meaning of the word, there on the page where its located, we would immediately learn it's a "noun", meaning an physical action. Therefore, having gratitude would indicate there must be an intent to perform that action, on purpose, in one's personal life.

 Sunshine is spilling everywhere first thing in the morning

The meaning of Gratitude is simply;

• ~ the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful
• ~ a feeling of thankfulness or appreciation, as for gifts or favor

Gratitude, if not already inborn in an individual's personality, should become a very important priority in life, a person's deepest desire to build up their thankful storehouses in both mind, heart AND action. 

 Sunshine at noon continues to offer cheery brightness...

As parents we know this entire topic is an important truth, and from the very early ages  of our children, we attempt to instill gratitude into our wee one's precious hearts, by first teaching them to say those first two words; "thank you". 

Having said that, we as parents also know it to be true that it is almost impossible to make that happen overnight. 

It must be an intentional personal action in our own lives, a habit worthy of pursuing, every single day, something to graciously ponder, to tweak and tune up often, to develop this character trait. 

So, as the horizon has come to enter into the fold of 2013, speaking for myself, I will continue to focus on my own personal list of thankful things, of blessings found anytime and anywhere, offering small glimpses here upon occasion, with designated posts titled;  "Gratitude 2013 - Making it a Lifestyle"...

My list of "Ten Things I'm Thankful For" posts will also continue to take shape during this upcoming year, however I will also double up my efforts to post a "Gratitude 2013" post opposite to those as I'm able. 

 At 7am the next morning, the moon continued serenading us...

Won't you consider joining me in this effort?  

To begin, I'm making it a goal to begin snapping a 2013 personal photo journal, featuring at the very least, one photo each day (not too difficult) spotlighting something I'm humbly thankful for. 

How about you? Come on along and join the fun, and please feel free to let me know if you do by dropping me at note; at ren (underscore) blk (at) yahoo (dot) com

Blessings;
Renee