Lamentations 3:22-26

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

The Eskimo Chief and John 3:16

Early in the last century Hans Egede, a Danish missionary, left his native land to preach the gospel to the Eskimos of Greenland. He labored and toiled for years seeking to instruct them in the truths of Christianity, and yet he saw no apparent results from his arduous and self-denying efforts. Eventually he became so discouraged and depressed by the indifference of the people that he decided to leave the country. The text he selected from which to preach his farewell sermon was, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and in vain." Isaiah 49:4.

Egede was succeeded at the station by Mr. Beck, another Moravian missionary. On his arrival he bagan to tell the Eskomos of God's wondrous love to the guilty sinners as revealed at Calvary's cross. When Kajarnak, the chief, heard the missionary reading the blessed and glorious words of John 3:16, he exclaimed, "Read it again." Beck read the "wonderful words of life" again and again, and Kajarnak burst into tears and wept like a child. God's holiness and righteousness did not move him; the terrors of law and of hell made no impressions on him. But the matchless grace of God in giving His only begotten Son to die that he might be eternally saved completely broke the stony heart of the Eskimo chief.

Thousands on earth praise God for John 3:16, and tens of thousands will do so in the glory. And yet no unsaved person understands the saving truth underneath the words of this "miniature gospel," as Luther delighted to call it. Every word in it is full of the deepest significance. "For God so loved the world." Then God loves you, O unsaved fellow traveler to eternity. However careless and indifferent to your eternal interests, God loves you. He hates your sin with a perfect hatred, but loves you with an unmeasured wealth of love. "Prove it," you say. That can be easily done.

"That He gave His only begotten Son." Loving and giving are inseparable. Here, then, is love that "passeth knowledge."

Why did God give Christ to die?" may be asked. That you "should not perish, but have everlasting life." Sinners are perishing, fast perishing in their sins, yet it is not God's will that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9).

It is His desire that "all men" should be saved (1 Timothy 2:4-6). At an infinite cost He has provided salvation for all. Everlasting life as a free gift can be obtained as you read these lines, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath everlasting life." John 6:47.

"That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." How grand and glorious! Could anything be simpler and freer? No works of merit are necessary. No tears need to be shed, no prayers be made in order to possess the pardoning mercy of God. Salvation is "not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8,9. "Whosoever believeth in Him" who made atonement for sin and paid the ransom for our deliverance "shall not perish but have everlasting life." Everlasting life is not given to those who believe in their believing, nor to those who believe in themselves. We are not saved because of our believing, nor on account of anything we may do or feel. Through believing on Christ who gave Himself a ransom for us, and "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26), we obtain eternal life.

"Whosoever" takes in all kinds and classes of sinners. None are excluded. "I am not sorry enough," says one; "I am not anxious enough," says another. God is "anxious" to save you now. Whatever you have or haven't, whatever you are or aren't, "whosoever" embraces you in its grasp. You are invited and commanded to believe on Christ, without any qualification whatever. YOUR NEED IS YOUR CLAIM.

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isaiah 12:18. Don't delay. Time is short. Eternity is drawing near. The Lord Jesus is coming, and you may be left behind for judgment. Let the Saviour into your heart. May you, before you lay these words aside, be enabled to say, "God loved - God gave - I believe - and I have everlasting life."


by A. M., from a gospel paper

A Brings Home Trouble

One Saturday about a month ago, A was driving home from running errands and phoned saying he was "bringing home trouble". Hmmmm....

I asked if it was alive. It was. K gleefully ran down the road so as to more quickly meet whatever it was he had. It was 2 calico kittens, madly trying to escape a cardboard box.

Since building the little barn last summer, A mentioned we needed to expand our cat population to keep up with the mouse population. We did have 2 toms, Socks and Skittles, but Socks disappeared over the winter and had been gone for months. I said I wanted a calico kitten. He brings me two! (What a guy!) K and I decided to go with flower names for the females, and continue with the candy theme for any males that come our way.
So - the kittens adorning the top of my blog are Daisy, the long haired one on the left, and Lily, on the right. Cute, eh?

Wouldn't you know, within a week of getting the kittens, Socks reappears. He's grumpy and has the loudest annoying meow, and is now missing part of his ear. Last week he attacked Lily and K was heartbroken to discover her bleeding on the ear and paw. I jokingly advertised Socks to give away on Facebook, and actually had some takers!, but none were local. (No, I don't want to travel 6 hours in the car with a grumpy tom cat! I like my skin in one piece, thank you very much.) We haven't seen much of him since he attacked Lily. Perhaps he has a guilty conscience?


Daisy, pre-pounce:



Lily:



A Very Dirty Dog Indeed:

Breakfast To Go

On any given school day morning, someone at our house is probably having this for breakfast.

First, pop a whole wheat English muffin into the toaster. (We use the No Name ones from Superstore, which seem just as good as the much more expensive name-brand ones.)




Then pick a jumbo farm-fresh free-range brown egg. Yum!




Next, spray a small bowl with non-stick spray, crack the egg into the bowl, and scramble with a fork.




Zap the egg in the microwave for 30 seconds on full power.




Immediately place a slice of cheese on top of the egg so it starts to melt.




Once the muffin is toasted, assemble and enjoy!




Or if you're running to catch the bus, slip it into a sandwich bag, grab a juice box, and go!

Time Marches On . . .

Wow - does a year ever go by quickly! One short year ago I posted about my mom, the day after her birthday. The other day I was going through pictures and came across this one of her and I taken in August of 1980 (I was 13). It's one of my favorites. Mom looks just like I remember her in this picture - happy and smiling. How I miss her!




I just realized that in this picture, Mom was the age I am now. How weird is that? She sure looks better than I do - she had hardly any gray hair! Wonder who I can blame for my early gray . . .

That was a long break from posting!

Under threat from the Chatty Housewife, I'd better get something up here quick! She said that if I don't post again soon, it's off with my head! (Actually, she didn't say that.) By the way, Chatty, it was nice to see you again.

We got back Monday from beautiful British Columbia. We flew out on Thursday for Richmond's Bible conference.

I have never really flown before, nor have C or K. So - flying was quite a novelty for us! It was really, really neat to be able to go that far away in less than 3 hours!

One of us had to sit in another row, so A sat in the row in front of us, which probably worked out well for him - he was able to take a nap. When they weren't looking out the window, C and K were plugged in a lot. J tried to get a little sleep, too.





J and C have aversions to having their pictures taken. See what I mean?



Window views:





Once we arrived, and picked up our luggage, we had a short wait outside before P & P came to pick us up. There were bright yellow tulips blooming at the airport - what a refreshing sight for us, having left Manitoba with snowdrifts still in our yard!

K quickly made some feathery friends. She makes animal friends everywhere.





After P & P picked us up around 3, they took us to Stanley Park to have a look around.








Soon it was time to get to the hotel, and get changed before going to the meeting room for supper and prayer meeting. The following pics are taken throughout the weekend.









The meetings were really nice. Reading meetings were on Ephesians 1. There's an awful lot to soak up in Ephesians 1!

K enjoyed the pool at the hotel.



The following pictures were taken by K. It's always interesting to see what kids take pictures of.


















We definitely want to make another trip west in the not too distant future, once the Aeroplan miles add up again. We want to have a good visit with P & P & Baby B, and they promise to show us the sights in their area. Can't wait!