Finally have access to some real time in front of a computer with internet access. This trip has been incredible! We loved our drive here through the New Hampshire and Vermont mountains and quickly cut across I-90 in New York to celebrate Canada Day with Keith's mom Dorothy & step-father George. They live on the Hamilton Bay and we are so impressed with the beauty that is being restored to that part of the city. What we didn't enjoy at all was the noise that our 20 year old Volvo made as it chugged into their driveway.
Not knowing much about cars we assumed it was the transmission and the death of "Vanna" (our endearing term for her as I just couldn't get the term "put this in the van" out of my vocabulary after driving a van for 10 years, thus we called her "Vanna"). We feared the worst and knew that having to find another vehicle was going to be a more expensive proposition that we wanted to consider. George has a good friend who has a large mechanic shop in Hamilton and Vanna was towed in. Great news, it was the U joint. They decided to fix all three (Volvo's have three - who knew?) and after $410 and many phone calls and impatient waiting for it to get done we were back on the road yesterday and spent last night sleeping at the Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
This was our touristy reward for camping. It is water slides and wonderful touristy time together. Alinea & Jacob are in their glory.
I am so excited to be able to spend time with my family as my father is already in South Gibson, PA (near Scranton) with my sister Denise & her husband Andrew and their beautiful baby girl Marybeth. We have not been all together for years. Ali & Jake are attending camp for the week and Keith & I are camping on the grounds as they have a camp ground attached to the camp property.
We sure do appreciate the prayers and are so enjoying our family and friend time.
One of the highlights of the trip for me was Thursday night when I was able to spend the night in Oronto, New York on Lake Ontario (yes, the gorgeous house was RIGHT on the lake) with my blogging/Path friends Deb, Erin & Lynne. We had such an amazing time together and it felt so good to just be "me" and not "mom" for a night.
Hope you're all enjoying your summer too!
Friday, July 06, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Holiday
Well, the Volvo is FINALLY repaired and we are heading out tomorrow as planned. One week in Ontario with Keith's family and a week in Northeast Pennsylvania with mine. My sister Denise and her husband Andrew are working at a camp there and Ali & Jake are going to attend Junior Camp. My father Erv is coming from Wisconsin to join us. It should be a wonderful time for all. Happy Canada Day & 4th of July - enjoy the celebrations and we'll be checking in from time to time as we have internet access.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Afraid to Be Alone
Peter has been talking about Life Together, Bonhoeffer and community at church lately and this quote just sprang out at me today - from inward/outward
Many people seek fellowship because they are afraid to be alone. Because they cannot stand loneliness, they are driven to seek the company of other people. There are Christians, too, who cannot endure being alone, who have had some bad experiences with themselves, who hope they will gain some help in association with others. They are generally disappointed. Then they blame the fellowship for what is really their own fault. The Christian community is not a spiritual sanatorium. The person who comes into a fellowship because he is running away from himself is misusing it for the sake of diversion, no matter how spiritual this diversion may appear. He is really not seeking community at all, but only distraction which will allow him to forget his loneliness for a brief time, the very alienation that creates the deadly isolation of man.
Source: Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Many people seek fellowship because they are afraid to be alone. Because they cannot stand loneliness, they are driven to seek the company of other people. There are Christians, too, who cannot endure being alone, who have had some bad experiences with themselves, who hope they will gain some help in association with others. They are generally disappointed. Then they blame the fellowship for what is really their own fault. The Christian community is not a spiritual sanatorium. The person who comes into a fellowship because he is running away from himself is misusing it for the sake of diversion, no matter how spiritual this diversion may appear. He is really not seeking community at all, but only distraction which will allow him to forget his loneliness for a brief time, the very alienation that creates the deadly isolation of man.
Source: Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Savage Joy
Real Live Preacher has been one of my favorite reads for years now. Every so often he opens the door of his heart on parenting his three daughters. It is always a beautiful thing.
As Alinea and Jacob have so recently grown past the stage of needy childhood I resonate so deeply with these words:
I was drawn to my little girls in those days in ways that are quickly fading as the three sisters grow into young women. Our biological connection showed itself in my love of the smell of their scalps, my physical and intense need to hold them, and my desire to feel their small bodies pressed against my own as we watched movies together on the couch. And I always had a strong attraction to the sounds they made. Their voices were a kind of OM for me, a sound from below all sounds, a noise from the foundation of my existence. Hearing my daughters play was a joyful thing, and the ache of its absence will never heal. It is a wound I will carry as long as I walk this earth.
The best things are like this, aren’t they? They are savage and untamed. Like a great sunset, they can be discovered by chance and enjoyed, but never owned. Like love they can be received but not bought. The best things in life ride a ticklish wave along the surface of your skin, leaving raised hairs in their wake. They move through the world leaving no visible sign. You cannot follow them, nor anticipate their direction and wait for them in a blind.
You will come across spontaneous, unique moments of joy like this now and again. They are Life’s gifts to us all. They come to the washed and the unwashed, to the common and the sophisticated, to the rich and the poor, to the just and the unjust.
Moments of savage joy are there for all of us to find. If you haven’t seen one lately, you only need to slow down a bit and keep your eyes open. I can give you no counsel beyond that. But if you come across a moment of wild, untamed joy, for God’s sake eat it; drink it; hear it; receive it. This is the stuff of life. It doesn’t get any better.
You can read the whole post here: Savage Joy
As Alinea and Jacob have so recently grown past the stage of needy childhood I resonate so deeply with these words:
I was drawn to my little girls in those days in ways that are quickly fading as the three sisters grow into young women. Our biological connection showed itself in my love of the smell of their scalps, my physical and intense need to hold them, and my desire to feel their small bodies pressed against my own as we watched movies together on the couch. And I always had a strong attraction to the sounds they made. Their voices were a kind of OM for me, a sound from below all sounds, a noise from the foundation of my existence. Hearing my daughters play was a joyful thing, and the ache of its absence will never heal. It is a wound I will carry as long as I walk this earth.
The best things are like this, aren’t they? They are savage and untamed. Like a great sunset, they can be discovered by chance and enjoyed, but never owned. Like love they can be received but not bought. The best things in life ride a ticklish wave along the surface of your skin, leaving raised hairs in their wake. They move through the world leaving no visible sign. You cannot follow them, nor anticipate their direction and wait for them in a blind.
You will come across spontaneous, unique moments of joy like this now and again. They are Life’s gifts to us all. They come to the washed and the unwashed, to the common and the sophisticated, to the rich and the poor, to the just and the unjust.
Moments of savage joy are there for all of us to find. If you haven’t seen one lately, you only need to slow down a bit and keep your eyes open. I can give you no counsel beyond that. But if you come across a moment of wild, untamed joy, for God’s sake eat it; drink it; hear it; receive it. This is the stuff of life. It doesn’t get any better.
You can read the whole post here: Savage Joy
Monday, June 25, 2007
Healing but never whole
It always gives me peace to find out that maybe I'm not the only person who struggles. My friend highlighted this poem on her blog today and wrote so honestly about her own struggles in marriage. She remembered reading this poem way back before she was married and how it returned to her at just the right time.
It's timing for me is perfect too:
Marriage
It is to be broken.
It is to be torn open.
It is not to be reached and come to rest in ever.
I turn against you, I break from you, I turn to you.
We hurt, and are hurt, and have each other for healing.
It is healing.
It is never whole.
by Wendell Berry
You can read what my dear, deep friend Claudia Mair wrote about Wendell and marriage here: Wendell had it right
It's timing for me is perfect too:
Marriage
It is to be broken.
It is to be torn open.
It is not to be reached and come to rest in ever.
I turn against you, I break from you, I turn to you.
We hurt, and are hurt, and have each other for healing.
It is healing.
It is never whole.
by Wendell Berry
You can read what my dear, deep friend Claudia Mair wrote about Wendell and marriage here: Wendell had it right
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Living so far away from family our kids are given lots of $ gifts from the grandparents and since we started the "share, save, spend" back last Christmas our son Jake has been saving his pennies. We had told him if he saved 1/2 of the cost of a Nintendo Wii we would pitch in the other half. Well, today he called our bluff and we are now have our Mii's bowling with the best of them.
It is a happy day for the Turner children. I on the other hand never realized virtual bowling can cause back pain... sigh. You know you're in REALLY BAD SHAPE when you hurt your back playing video games...
It is a happy day for the Turner children. I on the other hand never realized virtual bowling can cause back pain... sigh. You know you're in REALLY BAD SHAPE when you hurt your back playing video games...
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Making Bubbles & Bubble Wands
I am in charge of the bubble booth at our kids carnival this weekend and am doing research on the best, least expensive (read FREE) ways to make bubbles in big batches for lots and lots of kids.Here's what I've found:
Magic Bubbles - Creative Kids At Home
Bubble Town - Bubble Making Solution
Bubble Town - Bubble Making Device
eHow - How to make a giant bubble wand
DIY Bubbles & Bubble Wands
Martha Stewart Living - Bubble Wands
WikiHow - How to Create and Use a Large Bubble Wand
One of the reasons I love living in St. Stephen
My friend Dan wrote this gem about one of our town gems Dot, our local crossing guard (who by the way is the TOP crossing guard in all of Canada!):
DanWilt.com :: Conversations On Emerging Worship - Moments in Time - Dot the Crossing Guard"
DanWilt.com :: Conversations On Emerging Worship - Moments in Time - Dot the Crossing Guard"
Friday, June 08, 2007
Did you really need a sign to tell you?
Saw this on the island the other day and it gave me a good chuckle.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Obvious Mistake
Some of the stuff I
learned early on was useful,
she told me,
but most of it was
obviously meant for
someone who was not me.
STORYPEOPLE - Brian Andreas
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Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Takin' the ferry today
I got an invitation to join my beloved on the Big Island today - we are taking the ferry to Grand Manan. It's a major sea-going vessel and I have to admit I am a bit nervous as I don't know how my constitution will respond to those waves! I am excited to see the Swallowhead Lighthouse and maybe spot some wild life. I am still on the "Great Puffin Hunt"Last night when we were doing the food collection we got to see a mother wood chuck carrying her baby right across Main Street. I was so afraid they were going to get smushed right in front of us. I think I might have dived right into traffic to stop it. More to keep my kids from having to be a witness to it than to save the wildlife, but that might have motivated me a bit too.
Hope you have a glorious day! I'll post pictures, promise!
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
A Better Storyteller
Too many wonderful links today! LOVE Donald Miller!!
A Better Storyteller | Christianity Today: "'The chief role of a Christian,' he says, 'is to tell a better story.'"
A Better Storyteller | Christianity Today: "'The chief role of a Christian,' he says, 'is to tell a better story.'"
It's all about mission
Bart Campolo has linked to a good friend of his in Toronto who is doing amazing missional community work - amazing article!
Anglican Diocese of Toronto: "It's all about mission, says speaker"
Anglican Diocese of Toronto: "It's all about mission, says speaker"
Hunger Awareness Day
Helping with the local food drive here tonight - I'm sure your community is doing something special today too - please be generous and share with the hungry in your communities!
Hunger Awareness Day
Hunger Awareness Day
Want to be perfect?
Reading today from "Praying with Jesus, Eugene Peterson" - June 5th. I was surprised by the tone of this small/mondo beyondo verse:
"If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." Matthew 19:21
The young man thought he had kept the Levitical command, "Love your neighbor as yourself," but it had never occurred to him that his neighbor might be the poor man, and love might have something to do with how he spent his money.
Who are some of the unseen neighbors in your life?
PRAYER: I know the commands, O God, but I need your help in seeing the people and circumstances where my obedience is commanded. Open my hands that have been clutching possessions; open my eyes, too long blind, to certain neighbors. Amen.
"If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." Matthew 19:21
The young man thought he had kept the Levitical command, "Love your neighbor as yourself," but it had never occurred to him that his neighbor might be the poor man, and love might have something to do with how he spent his money.
Who are some of the unseen neighbors in your life?
PRAYER: I know the commands, O God, but I need your help in seeing the people and circumstances where my obedience is commanded. Open my hands that have been clutching possessions; open my eyes, too long blind, to certain neighbors. Amen.
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