A Thanksgiving Prayer

American Thanksgiving is less than a week away and we are all looking forward to what is fondly called Turkey Day.  It is my favourite American custom which I have embraced with great enthusiasm not just because I love good food and good fellowship but because I love the opportunity to think about what I [...]

A Week To Remember

This has been a busy but wonderful week.
Wednesday evening we held a conversation on Turbulent Times Ready or Not, what we believe will be the first of many conversations focusing on future trends.  A group of 25 people crammed into our living room at the Mustard Seed House to hear Phil Bauntrager, the CEO of Sauder Manufacturing [...]

Quietness and Rest – A Great Christmas Gift

Maybe it is just because of the busyness of the last few weeks, or because Tom & I have just booked accommodation for our annual Advent retreat, but I have been thinking a lot lately about the need for rest and quietness in our lives.  I think particularly as we move into what is generally [...]

Fruit That Will Last

Tom and I are now at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg Virginia still trying to get our clocks turned around from the trip to Australia.  This is definitely not the best way to model a balanced way of life though I am really looking forward to our time here.
Part of my morning Bible reading was [...]

A Prayer for All Saints Eve

We are back in Seattle our heads still whirring with the disorienting experience of starting the day with a beautiful spring morning and ending with blustery autumn weather.  I am also adjusting slowly to the images of pumpkins on doorsteps and scary halloween decorations all over the place – not something that Australia has yet [...]

Reflections from the Week

Those of you who have been following my posts this week know that there has been quite a bit of diversity – some reflections on our time here at Tabor, some looking forward to the end of the month and our celebration of All Saints and Halloween, some sharing the resources that I have come [...]

Getting Ready For Halloween

One of the things that really surprised and horrified me when I first came to the US was the huge emphasis on Halloween.  Even churches organized Halloween celebrations with kids dressed as witches and no one thought twice about feeding the monsters that came to their doors trick or treating.
Today there seems to be more [...]

Love Has No Limits

You know that I am starting to recover from my cough and feeling more relaxed when I put up 2 blog posts in one day.  However I could not resist this heartwarming clip A Lion Called Christian. It brought tears to my eyes (maybe partly because I am missing our dog Bonnie who will give [...]

First Apple Cake for the Season

I just made my first apple cake for the season for our MSA Board meeting tomorrow.  It is a great way for me to relax once I have all my materials ready for the Board members.
Our apple crop is not as big as usual but there are still plenty to enjoy.  This recipe was given [...]

God of the Bountiful – A Harvest Prayer

This morning I was sitting in our breakfast room looking out on my gloriously productive garden and feeling a little overwhelmed.  Then I read through one of the prayers that I had written for our Celtic retreat in August and decided that it would be a good one to adapt as a harvest prayer.  God’s [...]