~Summer~

It's been ONE HOT SUMMER already! 

blinds down, fans on 

canoes and kayaks tied to docks

ubiquitous RVs escaping the city

sweaty faces

barbeque steak

smoke from nearby wildfires 

helicopters with suspended water buckets 

fan blowing cool air at midnight

hot sun on bare skin, sunburn

sticky legs on a car seat

hot air assault in the parking lot car

mosquito bites

relaxed bodies

hope  for a bountiful garden

children's laughter on a swirling tire swing

vrooming boats

splashing in a pool

sprinklers spraying in the early evening

swatters thwapping pesky flies and mosquitoes

slurping watermelon

popping open cans of Bubly

klinking ice into glasses

laughter around the table

barking dogs

flapping flip flops

droning lawn mowers

humming fans

crunching crisp, cold grapes 

savoring sweet warm raspberries 

dipping, splashing paddles into the river 

camping supply lists

grandchildren holding fishing rods (with Opa's help)

little faces beaming after "I got one!!"

kayakers waving

adirondack chairs under the big tree near the river

snakes in the grass, looking for moisture

 tiny, thinned out carrot toothpicks 

geese on the rivershore

mama duck leading playful ducklings on a river excursion

thirsty gardens after too much heat 

wilted lettuce

It's been ONE HOT SUMMER already! 

This is my latest Five Minute Friday entry. FMF is a writing community sharing five minute freewrites . Just write, no editing required. Come join in! 

~Recover~

 I do love a good challenge. I’ve completed a few this year, but this move has really caused me to lose my rhythms, be it regular reading times, yoga, walking and more! I am tired, my schedule is a mess, and my will power is drained. And the continued Covid craziness has definitely done a number on my mental health. Such a rollercoaster of emotions!

 I haven’t yet found my way back to a daily schedule. How will I recover what had seemed like such a strong start to 2021? My will power muscle has depleted, and fatigue has set in.

The meaning of the word ‘recover’ is closely linked to the word ‘recuperate’. This makes sense. According to Drew Dyck, author of Your Future Self Will Thank You, the way to recover willpower is to rest, to meditate, to quiet the mind. Studies show that this results in more focus, less stress, more impulse control and increased self awareness.

To recover the life I envision for myself, I also need to tap into the power of habit, because, as John Ortberg says, “Habits eat willpower for breakfast!”. For this, I will need to grow my self control muscle, a muscle that weakens immediately after use but strengthens with frequent use.  It is important, therefore, to only create one habit at a time. I cannot change too many things at once! I must prioritize what’s important to me. I must pace myself. 

 I can begin to create those habits I’ve lost, one at a time.

Recover is a hopeful word. 

This is a writing challenge from Five Minute Friday. Write for 5 minutes without overthinking. Join in! 

Five Minute Friday:: Observant

 The other day I entered a small room, Cabin #1,  which held a specifically designed enclosed tank of water with enough Epsom salts added to allow one's body to easily float on the surface. This was my first ever experience of float therapy, and I was intrigued. I had heard about this from a few friends, and now was my time. 

“It would be helpful to do a body scan as you’re beginning your float”, the attendant advised at the conclusion of her orientation. She exited,  quietly closing the 'Cabin 1' door behind her. 

I stepped inside the tank, closed the door, and lay down in the foot deep skin temperature water. In a few minutes the light would go out in this soundproof capsule, and it would be pitch dark and quiet. For ninety minutes.  

 As I adjusted myself to the floating, I wondered whether I was totally relaxed. I thought I was. After all, I do know how to relax.  However, as I scanned my body, I observed that there were muscles which were still tense, especially my neck. It was as if I didn’t trust that the water would hold me if I totally let go.  After all, it was up to me to make this floating thing work, wasn't it?

My head sank a little deeper into the water when I relaxed my neck. The stiffness melted away. I felt so much more at ease. I scanned myself from my toes to my head slowly, so that every part of me was allowing the buoyancy of the water to do the work.

What a marvelous sensation it was. 

It is true that,  especially after a stressful time, the best thing we can do is slow down, be still, and be observant. Let go of whatever we are holding onto so tightly.

This was a good reminder to me to do the work of slowing down. Checking in with myself regularly is important. 

I may need to schedule another float therapy down the road. 

Photo by Kushagra Kevat on Unsplash

Join in on writing for five minutes every Friday. https://fiveminutefriday.com/community/

Five Minute Friday:: Once

 Another Friday freewrite coming up! That's 5 minutes of writing, with no (or little) editing. Come join in with the community of writers here. 

Once

Just once, stand still and observe the happenings outside your kitchen window.

Just once, put yourself in someone else’s shoes and see what happens to your perspective

Just once, say yes when fear makes you want to say no.

Just once, do what you said you’d do for yourself today.

Just once, go out in the freezing cold for a brisk walk.

Just once, send that card telling someone how much they mean to you. 

Just once, say “Thanks for that, I’ll definitely think about it”, when you just want to dismiss the unsolicited advice.

Just once, stop fretting and tell your soul to trust, really trust.

Just once, stop yourself in mid thought and ask if you are liking the way you are heading.

Just once, just do it, without over thinking.

Just once, make that appointment you’ve been putting off, but is taking up too much space in your head.

Just once, believe that the whole world is in His hands, not yours.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

 Just once, go for a walk alone in the woods.

 Just once, belly laugh. 

Just once, dance like crazy alone in your kitchen.

Because sometimes

Just once is enough to keep it going.

 

What would you recommend doing just once? 

Five Minute Friday:: Sunrise

Each day, the sun rises and each day the sun sets.

 I often ask , "What day is it, anyway?" We laugh about it, but I actually do lose track of the days! 

 Most of what I do revolves around home and sometimes it seems all my days are the same. I'm definitely not complaining, because I am enjoying the freedom to create my own schedule. 

 From the rising of the sun to the setting down of the same, 

the name of the Lord is to be praised. Psalm 113:3

Years ago in the 70’s (my teenage years) the church I attended sang a lot of  ‘scripture in song’. The songs were taken directly from the Psalms-- it was easy to memorize a lot of verses that way! The lyrics were sometimes repetitive and had simple melodies.  Many of them were reminding us of the goodness of God and how trustworthy He is. 

It’s funny how those songs come back to me often. I am currently reading through the Old Testament, and often come across a Psalm that is so familiar to me. The song plays in my head as I read.  Those simple choruses, straight from the Bible, were a gift to me.

It’s more important than ever to keep myself immersed in the words of Scripture, reminding myself how much God loves the world, from everlasting to everlasting. Sunrise and sunset on repeat!

Photo by Syahirah Salleh on Unsplash

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. Feel free to join in!

Then and Now

While working at decluttering a home a few weeks ago, I came upon stacks of old newspapers. This particular article had been torn from a page in our local paper dated Tuesday, January 13, 1976! It was a fascinating read. 

We probably have all heard of people or organizations  on social media whose personal articles, interviews, opinions, and more have been 'taken down' by 'fact checkers' simply because they have the power to do so.  

This published article below was spurred on by the death of the Chinese premier Chou Enlai (China's head of government from 1949-1976)  who who was apparently revered in the press for his intelligence, wit, and accomplishments, but hardly a journalist thought it important to mention the evil regime he was a part of. The italicized words here are excerpted directly from this newspaper editorial. I have highlighted some of the words in red ink. This is a timely reminder to us all. 

Selling One's Birthright 

 .... Just what is it we as journalists are here for......? 

We are here to make sure there is never one single, undisputed version of the truth handed down from the government to the people, to be accepted without question. This is the sole reason we make such pests of ourselves around the politicians and the police, and the reason we often draw attacks from the Chamber of Commerce types for being "knockers, not boosters". 

In short, we are the guardians of pluralism. And the Chinese Communists are the open and sworn enemies of pluralism. In China, a single institution, the Communist Party, controls every school, every press, every loudspeaker and every pen in the land. All books, all paintings, all music, drama and ballet are judged by a single criterion; whether they express the approved ideology.... 

The Chinese communists intend to do far more than merely make life difficult or impossible for independent thinkers, as the Soviet government did to Alexander Solzhenitsyn. They intend to make it impossible for independent thought to exist. 

Remember, independent thought is not a universal trait: it takes a special environment to survive. It is only possible where every individual is a member of many different institutions - family, church, club, labor union, trade association, state -- all making different and sometimes conflicting demands on his loyalty, forcing him constantly to choose and decide between different values and alternatives. 

Under the Chinese system, every institution in the land, including the family, is considered to be a local branch office of the state. The Chinese attitude towards the press was expressed perfectly by a Chinese journalist who was asked by a Western journalist whether a government-controlled press was consistent with liberty. 

"But  of course," he answered. "Here, the government serves the people, and the press serves the government. What could be simpler than that?"

But it doesn't work that way. No government, no matter how chosen, can ever "serve the people" so completely to be above criticism. If that attitude had prevailed in the US, the Watergate scandal would never have been brought to light. 

There is one right way for human beings to live, and that is the state of having no one right way to live forced down their throats. Even the Christians, who believe in God's plan for mankind, accept this: in their belief, God chooses to allow Satan to exist and tempt mankind, so that he may choose the good of his own free will, rather than accept it blindly. 

It is a strange symptom of the malaise of our times that many Western intellectuals seem to have a death wish: a desire to destroy the very social system that made it possible for them to become intellectuals. They tire of the pain of thinking, the hardship of choosing, and the constant frustration that comes of being responsible for the fulfilment of one's own dreams. They seem to want to give it all up for a system that offers security and a sense of common purpose --at the expense of thought. 

This, to our minds, is a perfect example of selling one's birthright for a mess of pottage. And journalists especially should keep this in mind... 

We cannot leave it to journalists and mainstream media to give us both sides of a story anymore. It's important to continue to exercise our right to freedom of speech, which includes the right to access various opinions and information so that we may determine the truth for ourselves. The information is out there. It should continue to be accessible. 

A free press is the unsleeping guardian of every other right that free men prize.

 ~Sir Winston Churchill

Five Minute Friday:: Design

 We are all designed differently, and we are all a masterpiece. I know it doesn’t always feel that way, but that’s the truth. 

We are God’s workmanship/masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:10) We are created in God’s image. We are all a beautiful work in progress.

 Another word for masterpiece is poem. Have you ever thought of yourself  as a poem? 

We are designed for community. We are designed for relationship. We are designed to be emotional. We are designed to be free and uninhibited. We are designed to be safe. We are designed to need each other. We are designed to love, to cry, to laugh, to share, to forgive, to create.  

God’s design for the world has never changed. We are promised that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth—the kingdom of God is here and is coming. How wonderful is that?!

Have you ever pondered the way you were designed? Have you ever wished your design was different? Have you ever been complimented for a personality trait you may have, perhaps one you have berated yourself for? It’s a lovely feeling when someone sees the uniqueness of you and encourages you, isn’t it?

And God saw all that he had made and it was good. And when he had created humans, it was VERY good. Your design is VERY good.

Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash

We are a divine work of art

C.S. Lewis

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. Freewrite for five minutes on a given prompt. Feel free to join in!

Five Minute Friday:: Fix

 “I just want this thing fixed!”

How often have you heard this statement? No matter if it’s a car problem, a relationship issue, a chronic health condition, or a world gone crazy,  we just want things to work right again so that we can be on our merry way!

What happens when that ‘thing’ doesn’t get fixed in three easy steps? What if it takes a whole lot more work than we had anticipated and maybe the solution is still a mystery? How do we continue to trust and believe that it will be fixed? How do we react when we think of the possibility that it won’t be fixed?

 I struggle with this one since I do have a chronic health issue for which there is no simple solution. It’s taking a whole lot of personal research time, a good amount of medical and naturopathic visits, money spent on supplements and prescriptions, and  much  battling fear and disappointment. Sometimes it seems there will be no fix after all is said and done. Yet, I still carry on, sometimes actively pursuing health, sometimes resting in the good times, and sometimes questioning again when my symptoms flare.

 How do we live when the healing is not in the now, but in the not yet? I fix my eyes on Jesus, the one who gives me faith to believe. I must come back to the truth that God loves me, no matter what things may look like. And as I continue to do what I can, I come back to trusting the One who knows me best and loves me most - He is my healer.  He has promised to be with me always and forever. I am never alone in my fear and dread. I continue to be grateful for the good times. 

I am looking forward to the time when all will be well! Because one day it will be. 

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. Feel free to join in!

Photo by Julie Molliver on Unsplash

Five Minute Friday::Fresh

Fresh is best. 

Some of the best tortilla chips I've ever tasted are made right in our very own city. Fresh Is Best tortilla chips are crunchy and light, and full of flavour. No other chips measure up to those. 

This reminds me of the Israelites wandering in the desert after leaving Egypt. It wasn't long before they were grumbling, missing the food they remembered enjoying back home, quite certain they were going to die out in the wilderness. God then caused quail to fall at night and manna to appear after the dew each and every morning, (except the Sabbath), and instructed them to gather just enough for each day (no hoarding allowed) and extra the day before the Sabbath. If they gathered more than they needed, the extras would rot. It seems that God believed fresh is best, as well. 

He promises that His mercies are new every morning. A fresh encouragement for each day sounds like a good thing to me right now. 

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:22, 23

 This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up! Write for 5 minutes on a selected topic, and share it with others. Feel free to join in!

Five Minute Friday :: Cancel

A few days ago, your future days on earth were cancelled, the candle of your life snuffed out too soon, it seems to me. My friend of almost forty years, husband to my childhood friend. Your smile, your twinkling eyes, your voice that was always warm and friendly towards me, I will miss these all. Never mind that you were suffering from the effects of cancer medications that were so hard on your body, yet kept you alive for many more years than you would have had. You never dwelled on your own pain when we visited as couples. The four of us visited in each others’ homes, camped together, talked about our kids and grandkids, laughed and reminisced. Remember years ago when cancer hadn’t reared its ugly head yet, we laughed our way through an intense tennis match? I may have wanted to win more badly than you (I think you won ;) That is such a sweet memory. Bob E, I will never forget you and the gift your life was to me, even though we lived a province apart and only really visited once or twice a year in the last 30 years. Rest in peace,dear friend, where sickness and pain have been cancelled forever. . . . This post is part of the Five Minute Friday link-up and you are welcome to join!

~Build~ (Five Minute Friday)

I’ve been thinking lately how to build a better life and realize that a lot of it has to do with habits.  It really is the little things, it seems.

I have started reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, all about how small changes can make a big difference in your life.  His life and his research shows that improving just 1 percent each day for one year will make you 37x better by the time you're done, and getting 1 percent worse each day will result in being at zero. 

"If you want to predict where you’ll end up in life, all you have to do is follow the curve of tiny gains or tiny losses, and see how your daily choices will compound ten or twenty years down the road.” 

James Clear believes we should be more concerned with where we're heading than our current results. This makes a lot of sense to me, when considering things we have control over (choices). For example, choosing to eat healthy food  today doesn’t really make much of a difference, but continue that habit tomorrow and the day after that, for one year, and your body will thank you - you’ll feel different than you do now! Speaking kindly to yourself today might not change your thought patterns, but if you did that everyday, what changes would you experience after a year? How might spending regular time in spiritual disciplines change your spiritual life?   Doing yoga three times this week might not make you feel calmer and flexible after 7 days, but continue that habit for 52 weeks, and you’ll see a difference. I know that I must apply this habit building concept to writing, because I tend to think about  and read about writing more than actually putting the pen to paper!

“Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it. Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.” 

I’ve been challenged to think about the habits I am making. Are they leading me to a better life? This book is motivating me to be intentional about my future. I look forward to learning how to design and build habits to set me up for the life I believe I was created for. It's never too late to start. 

This post is part of the Five Minute Friday freewrite. Write for 5 minutes, no editing required! Please join in! 

~Influence~ (Five Minute Friday)

Influence

My parents’ love and care for animals when I was growing up, has influenced me to value them and see them as an important part of creation. My dad was a gentle man who was always kind to animals. He never kicked a dog or was rough with any animals (or people). My mom has the softest spot for animals. I’m sure she gives them human qualities without even thinking about it!

This past week my husband and I were away for a week, visiting my elderly mother and other family and friends in Alberta, about an 8 hour drive from where we live. I had asked a good friend in my semi-rural neighbourhood if she would watch our little chihuahua Enzo. She happily agreed. She is a kind and caring person, so I had no qualms. In fact, this isn't the first time she’s helped me out in this way. As everyone in my family knows, Enzo is a big part of our family. He was a rescue dog at one point. It’s a long story, but let’s just say, we love him to bits and he’s a little coddled, haha!

Midweek, my girlfriend called me on my cell.  I knew something was up. “Enzo is lost!”, she said, obviously quite upset. Enzo is not an outdoor dog by any stretch. He wouldn’t survive long in our Canadian winter. “He bolted when my son let him outside, after I left to go to yoga”. She had scoured the neighbourhood.

Now, Enzo has never bolted before. He was obviously distressed at my friend leaving without him, I surmised.  I gave her the name of our vet clinic (which was on the dog tag), and asked her to call them.

My mom was with me when I heard the news. “Oh no!” she gasped. I felt sick.  My first response was to quietly pray and then text other family members as well, via WhatsApp (they all know Enzo). Her first response was to pray audibly, right then.

Happy Ending! Within minutes, my friend texted me back and said that she had called my vet. A kind soul in our neighbourhood had found Enzo and taken him to the clinic, where he was waiting to be picked up.

My mom and I hugged (and I may have shed a few tears).

My mom’s influence in my formative years has given me a firm foundation that God is interested in all that goes on in our lives, including the ‘little things’ like little lost pets, lost keys, or an available parking spot.

a loved dog

a tiny dog! 

This post is part of the Five Minute Friday community.   (I'm a day late, I know!) You are welcome to join in, too!

~Potential~ (Five Minute Friday)

Here's another Five Minute Friday freewrite (don't think too much, just write!)submission. This is what came to mind when I thought of the word 'potential'. Not an easy subject, but here goes. 

A potential human being or a human being with potential? Years ago, when I was expecting my first child (he’s now 34!), my girlfriend invited me to a coffee meeting in her home where she was going to show a video and have a discussion about it.  I can’t remember the name of the video but it was a documentary about a journalist who was investigating the abortion industry and wanted to decide for herself what she believed about it. That intrigued me.

 The part that is most vivid in my memory is watching a young woman having an abortion-- she was 17 weeks pregnant, emotional, awaiting a doctor. The abortion procedure was shown.

I was exactly 17 weeks pregnant, as well.  At this point in my pregnancy, I could feel my baby move regularly. It was all too much for me and I remember not being able to hold back my sadness. I cried. I think it was an ugly cry. I left the room. 

 I don’t remember much more about the video, but it really did change my life. From that point on, I became involved in a Prolife center for several years and later, a Pregnancy Care Center, because I was passionate about women being respected by having the right to know the truth about abortion.  It really does stop a beating heart and doesn’t allow a little human being, with so much potential, to live. 

Photo by Nikola Jovanovic on Unsplash

~Complete~ (Five Minute Friday)

It's time for the Five Minute Friday where I set my timer and write what comes to mind from a given prompt. I'm doing this to get my creative writing juices flowing. Sometimes it ain't pretty! Here goes! 

I am completely unsure of what to write about for the word Complete. Complete is a difficult theme. There are so many different angles to take. Complete can be used both positively and negatively.  

That is a complete mess!

I’m completely befuddled!

Completed work is the only acceptable work if you want to get an A.

I am complete in Him.

You have completed the exam.

Don’t start something if you can’t complete it.

I’m completely in love.

He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it. (Thankfully!)

I’m a great starter but sometimes I find it hard to complete things. Can you relate? I enjoy knitting and I usually have several projects on the go. Sometimes they sit in my knitting basket for a long time, because I’ve lost interest in completing them. Yes, sometimes the Second Sock Syndrome hits and  a half completed sock languishes on-the-needles. Such a sad sight. Sometimes I even forget what pattern I was using, so I have to look it up again..it’s been that long! 

I often get excited about new activities to pursue, but after a time, I lose interest. I may not have really completed learning about it, but the passion wanes for a time, sometimes longer.

I guess that’s just part of my personality. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

There, 5 minutes of writing completed!

~ Rain ~ (Five Minute Friday)

Rain. All of us experience rain in our lives, metaphorically speaking. When the storm clouds threaten, we might even see the ominous sheets of rain from a distance, knowing that they're moving our way and soon we will be in the middle of the mess, soaking wet. Or perhaps, we find some sort of shelter that keeps us from experiencing the worst of it. 

Rain. It is a gift as well. Who doesn't love to watch seeds sprout and grow into plants? Who doesn't love to walk  barefoot on a thick, green, healthy lawn? Who doesn't love the fragrance after the rain? Without rain, none of this would happen. 

I love to camp, and it's funny that we always hope it won't rain when we go on a holiday. But, you know, there's nothing better than seeing the sun break out after a downpour, and inhaling deeply of the fresh air after the rain. 

I've decided to join the Five Minute Friday link up, and this post is my contribution. :)

Five Minute Friday: Breathe

Without thinking too much about it, after reading Paula's post,  I decided to take the Five Minute Friday Challenge - writing for 5 minutes on the word of the week, like a freewrite, so no editing allowed! Here goes...

Breathe. 

Just breathe. How many times have I said that to myself? Just breathe. Take a deep breath.

Sometimes circumstances are such that I feel my thoughts spinning or playing over and over like a broken record. Maybe it’s something I said that I regret. Perhaps it’s something I did that I can’t undo. And so I get on this track that’s moving so quickly, I can’t get off. Does that ever happen to you?

Sometimes I just need to take a step back and breathe. Slow my thoughts down and then sit myself down and tell myself the truth. Is this a life or death situation? Is this the end of the world as I know it?  Will I become homeless through these actions? Will I ruin someone’s life? The truth is, it’s uncomfortable, I am sorry I made that decision, and yes, it even hurts a little. Especially when it’s not the first time it’s happened. Big reveal: I’m not perfect. 2^nd Biggest Reveal: And that’s okay. In fact, it’s good. Can you imagine how much pressure there is on having to do everything right ALL THE TIME?

So, after a ‘cool off’ period with myself, somewhat like being penalized in a hockey game (mind you, I have rarely played hockey!), I calm down and it doesn’t seem like such a big deal anymore. What was I all flustered about anyway? It was one little mistake.

And I breathed. 

***

There.. that wasn't so bad ;)