Safe

Tonight I am suddenly overwhelmed with the safety of this place.

For all of life's harshness, there is the piercing gentleness of the loon's sympathizing melancholy.

For all the rough waters, the storms you didn't see coming, there's the exquisite calm of the bay at sundown.

For all the crazy ways our crazy lives make for crazy-making hurry, there is here, by the water's edge, something holy -- time.

And it seems that it comes around me like a force field, a barrier, a castle's moat. Here, I am away and safe for long enough to rest and heal and find my soul again.
Not crushed.
Not in despair.
Not abandoned.
Not destroyed.

(2 Corinthians 4:7-10).

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Celebrating Abby

Dinosaurs and caterpillars.
Fairies and kitties.
Cuddles with Gramma on a Saturday morning, lazy.

Exquisite laughing.
Favourite pajamas.
Turning dandelion extractions into grand adventures.

A thousand kisses, like this...
Loving you all the way to the moon and never back!
Twirly dresses and favourite blue jeans.

Purple and pony tails and practicing ballet.
And making "Gramma's home!" such a trumpeted event.

Being all you all the time in that wonderful five year old way that nuances so vividly, so honestly, with a capacity to love that makes this older heart remember that that's what it's all about.

Keep imagining it, Sweetie, that sensational world you play in. Thank you for inviting me into it, to play with you, and love with you.
Keep imagining, and in all the ways that matter, as you grow and are unleashed to be all God created you to be, you will make the best parts of your five year old world come true for those He gives you to love and lead.

Happy Birthday Abby girl! What a gift you are to my heart.

Gramma
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Soon

Just a few more days of sunshine, with the odd shower thrown in. Yup, that oughta do it!
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Returning to Cottage Normal...Almost

It was a perfect day for putzing, rainy and cool. So Ken putz'd at the back with plumbing, and I putz'd at the front with construction clutter and random furniture placement. When we were done, the washing machine was ready for the next sunny day, and the main room was more habitable.

Caught two mice last night, saw a huge fish jump out of the water, had a nap....yup, starting to ease back into "cottage normal".

it is wonderful to have the most disruptive part of the bathroom project done. And even more wonderful to have been able to work through the cramped quarters and lack of facilities, with Colin and Cindy and Isaac and Allie, and have all of us keep our sense of humour, and realize that we can work well together even with all that.

Now Ken has the fire on and soon we'll start our evening game of Scrabble. Normal never felt so good.
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The Chaos Before The Serenity

Every cottage season has its work projects. That's just the nature of things when you've inherited vinatge property with "rustic" buildings that need attention.

And every once in a while the attention required is, um...... significant. Such as when you discover the supporting beams across the entire back of the structure have rotted away. And while there's joy in taking certain risks, the thought of the toilet crashing through the floor while one is seated upon it, isn't exactly the kind of adventure you hope to write about in the cottage log.

So this year, my arrival to this place of serenity has been somewhat chaotic. Outside walls have been ripped away, indoor amenities have been removed altogether, and six people are trying to work and live and fit into the same space as I normally have mostly all to myself.

Its all going really well. I guess if you can get along with relatives in a crowded, construction messy cottage, with no one having a shower in going on four days, having had to make extra trips into town, and hiking up the back hill to the biff...and you're still laughing and playing Scrabble and racking up points for how many mosquitoes you've squashed before bed...then that's probably the best kind of family to have.

Everyone's working very hard, contributing their bit and working as a team. Colin, Ken's nephew, has excellent skills for this kind of project and has basically taken the lead. Some of it is just simply brutal grunt work, like crawling down in very squishy places under the cottage. But it's coming together. Every once in a while, someone stops and says giddily, "It's happening! It's happening!!!"

So this is the chaos before the serenity. Making memories.
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Summer Sabbath Letter to One Sensational Church

June 19, 2011

Dear Cherished Friends,

Later this afternoon, I will get in the car with Ken,

and we will drive for about two and a half hours

until we get to a marina. Then we will load

everything into the boat and ride for another

half hour over the water until we get to a dock.

That dock is a holy place for me. And after we have unloaded and settled in, after we have had our first dinner together, looking out over the water, I will gather my Bible and my journal, and maybe a few jujubes, and head down to that holy dock.

One of the things I will do on that dock is talk with God about you. I guarantee it. Because in that quiet, mystic place, I always pour out my deepest longings, and bring to Him my most valuable treasures….and without question you are top on that list.

As we all head into our summer Sabbath, whatever the official start date of holidays, or wherever our times away may take us, I am praying special prayers of restoration and recharging for each of us. I am praying that all of us will have more time to just sit and be with God, to meditate on His goodness, and let the light of His righteousness shine deeper into our souls. Time for growing intimacy with God. And intimacy with God is essential for any follower of Jesus who wants to build their heart bigger for Him.

Whenever we can find ourselves together at Highview, and I do trust you will make every effort to do so every Sunday you are in town, we will be having our own “fun in the sun” by pulling together various parts of our Bible that talk about the sun, about sunshine, sunsets, light and brightness, by means of our summer series Here Comes the Sun.

I think this makes perfect sense. Not just because it’s summer and we normally see more of the sun over the summer months. But also because one of the Bible’s prevailing pictures of God is that He is light.

And as we make our way through these teachings, we’re going to find out more about this God of light, His power, His protection, His Sovereignty, and His holiness. Each Sunday that we are together, our study of different texts in the Bible – all dealing with sunshine and light – will help us learn more about the character of God. And to know Him is to love Him.

And while I am eager to get away and rest, spend time with my exceptional husband Ken, have grandchildren visit us, feed the chipmunks and gather blueberries, I find myself also excited about what is waiting for us next season. This is unusual, people. Normally round about now, I just want to make sure all the loose ends are tied up before I go. I don’t want to think about August and the next season until I get back.

But the significant and frequent acts of God I have seen first hand in just these last two months, and even more concentrated in these past three weeks, not to mention all that God has done over this entire past season, leads to me to believe that there is good work ahead. People to love, souls to journey with, hearts to build.

You are such a blessing to me! You are truly a Hebrews 13:17 kind of church. I love how you respond to God’s work in your lives, how you love each other, how you continue to press forward to all God’s called you to be, and all He’s called us to be as a church. I commend you for your faith,you’re your diligence, for your perseverance, for your faithfulness.

Thank you for being a church that I can’t wait to get back to,

for whom I will be praying earnestly,

thanking God for you on every remembrance,

as I sit in that quietness,

on that holy dock.

Honoured to be serving alongside of you,

Ruth Anne

Tied Up At The Dock

For the simplicity of it
The off loading and unplugging
The fierce gentleness of a space that asks nothing of you
Just gives

For blueberry therapy
And still water healing
And cool breezes restoring
And expansive sky reminding me of just how big You are

And the seagulls and jenny wrens and humming birds and redheaded woodpeckers
And the water snakes and snapping turtles and salamanders and toads
And the otter and the beaver and the red fox and, yes, the bear

For the boat
The ride
The wildness of Your Spirit over the waves
And then....

Tying up
Just like that
Simple and snug and so secure

Being quietly
With You
Who loves me.
You must,
To give me this gift
Over and again, summer by summer
Tied up at the dock
With You

RAB11

Psalm 113:3

From the rising of the sun
to the going down of the same
the name of the LORD is to be praised.

Gentle Father,
I can't wait
to revel in the glory of You
by sunrise
by sunset
and let it be
enough for me
to sit.

RAB11