We spent Day 5 of our 30th anniversary trip at Icy Point Strait. We visited the fishing village of Hoonah and ate fresh snow crab before embarking on a whale watching trip. What a glorious day! As you can see from Steve’s pictures, the ship captain knew where to find whales.
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The cruise got underway on a beautiful clear Friday afternoon 10 days ago. We sailed out of Vancouver and headed north toward Ketchikan. Steve and I spent much of the first two days searching for telltale signs of whales. We saw a few dolphins and some seals, but no whales.
On Sunday we docked in Ketchikan. We spent the morning walking around this quaint gold mining town. We ate fresh king crab for lunch before taking in the Lumber Jack show.
Steve and I are in the midst of a 15-day trip to Canada and Alaska in celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary. So far Steve has taken 782 pictures. I promise I won’t post them all, but I will share a few of my favorites.
We began our trip last Thursday by flying to Vancouver, Canada, by way of Chicago. I’ve heard horrors stories about O’Hare; however, our experience was wonderful. We arrived 30 minutes ahead of schedule and more than our hour before boarding began for our flight to Vancouver. We had plenty of time for the short walk to the gate and to get some breakfast. We arrived in Vancouver shortly before noon local time. We had a bit more than 24 hours to explore Vancouver before boarding the cruise ship that would take us to Alaska.
Vancouver is a beautiful city, with a mix of hundred-year old buildings and new, modern skyscrapers. The city is very clean, and they take their recycling seriously. Steve got fussed at for not properly deciphering the instructions on a series of recycling bins at the McDonald’s where we ate breakfast Friday.
After checking into the hotel, we ate lunch at an authentic Irish pub a block from our hotel, and then bought a pass for a “hop on, hop off” bus tour around the city. Because we bought our ticket late in the afternoon, we were allowed to use it the following day. We stayed on the bus for both of its routes Thursday, and on Friday we took the bus to Stanley Park.
We hopped off at the first stop in Stanley Park intending to spend 30 minutes exploring the area before hopping back on and riding to the next stop. Things do not go as planned. We walked about half a mile downhill to visit Beaver Lake, then we decided that we did not want to walk back up the hill to catch the bus. Rather we decided to walk to the next stop. Thirty minutes later with the stop nowhere in sight, we realized that our reasoning had been faulty. We eventually made it to the stop, having walked about 3 miles through the park.
Stanley Park is beautiful, and I highly recommend spending time there if you have an opportunity to visit Vancouver. We were particularly intrigued by the nurse trees which root themselves in dead tree stumps.
Our hotel was located next to Canada Place where the 2010 Winter Olympics medals were handed out and about 2 blocks from the Olympic cauldron. We visited the site and made a quick trip to the Canadian Mountie store before boarding the ship.
We were off for our Alaskan adventure!
Everyday and especially on Mother’s Day, I thank God for my mother. I have learned many lessons from Mom that have served me well throughout my fifty-two years of life.
A love of reading. We had lots of books in our home, and mom liked to read to us. I can still remember her reading “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” and “That Quail Robert” to us when I was in elementary school. My sisters and I are avid readers, and my children have inherited the love of reading as well.
The joy of sewing. When we were small, mom sewed a lot of our clothes, as well as costumes. I still remember the Red Riding Hood cape she made Jeanne and the purple floral jumper she made me when I was in first grade. When I was in high school, she taught me to sew. I’ve made some clothes, but my real joy has been in making costumes for my own children and uniforms for girls in my Missionettes clubs.Thanks, Mom. Happy Mother’s Day!
Cancer and unemployment are the difficult things in my life right now, and grandchildren are the phenomenal blessings. Through these ups and downs, I am learning to trust God and am reminded that he is with me through all the circumstances of life.
A year and a half ago, Steve and I were blessed with the news that our first grandchild was expected. That joyful announcement came at a time when we really needed some good news. We were approaching the first anniversary of Steve being laid off, and his parents’ health was of great concern. The expected baby was a reminder of God’s great love for us.
The intervening months were stressful as Steve’s unemployment stretched into a second year and his father passed away. Whenever I felt like life was just too difficult, my spirits would be lifted be the mere thought that a baby was on the way. Daniel’s arrival ten months ago brought great joy to our lives. We love that little boy with all of our hearts. We thank God daily that he is a healthy, happy child.
About six weeks ago, we learned that my sister has breast cancer. Although they caught it early and the tumor was rather small, the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and has been diagnosed as an aggressive form. Fortunately, the cancer has not spread to her organs. She is facing months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. It will be a difficult time. I will do all that I can to support her, and I pray that she will experience God’s presence in a new and powerful way as she deals with her illness.
My sister’s cancer diagnosis, along with Steve’s continued unemployment—now well into its third year—can be a heavy burden to bear. The past few weeks, these burdens have felt overwhelming at times. I know I have to trust God for my sister’s health and my husband’s job situation. He is faithful to send bits of encouragement to remind me of his faithfulness. For example, one day last week the number of page views of my blog was unexpected much higher than normal. I was delighted. The next day was even better, setting a record for my highest number of views in one day. It wasn’t a big thing, and it didn’t change any of the circumstances of my life. However, God used this small thing to remind me of his love for me and to help me feel relevant.
I called my sister today to share with her some unexpected good news Steve and I received yesterday. She shared with me that the original diagnosis of Stage 1 cancer had been overly optimistic; after her lumpectomy, the cancer was reclassified as Stage 3. God knew that I would receive this discouraging news today, so yesterday he sent us the good news another grandchild is on the way.
Little Daniel will be getting a cousin in December. The new little one is due on December 27th. A Christmas baby to look forward to! It doesn’t improve my sister’s health or increase my husband’s opportunities for gaining employment. It does, however, remind us that we are blessed and have a great future ahead of us. We will continue to trust God for the strength to face each day with grace, knowing that his love for us is immeasurable.
Today is Good Friday. It marks the celebration of the greatest act of love that the world has ever known. Jesus Christ, the son of God, paid the price for my sins on the cross at Calvary. Without Jesus’ sacrifice, I could not have forgiveness for my sins.
Thankfully, Jesus’ death was not the end of his life. Jesus battled Satan and overcame death and the grave. On Sunday we will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the grave. How wonderful it is to serve a Saviour who not only bore my sins but who is alive forever more.
In celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection, I am sharing one of my favorite Easter hymns. I hope that each person who reads this has received Jesus’ free gift of forgiveness of their sins and the promise of eternity in Heaven. If you have not done so, please consider doing it today. Your life on Earth will be happier, fuller, and more satisfying, and you will get to look forward to a future in Heaven.
May you have a blessed Easter weekend.
He Lives
I serve a risen Saviour, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living, whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.
Chorus:
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.
Verse 2:
In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And tho’ my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that His with me, thro’ all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing will come at last.
Verse 3:
Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.
Lyrics and music by Alfred H. Ackley
Steve and I are in the stage of life where our children have left home and are starting families of their own. We became grandparents nine months ago. Most of our friends are grandparents or about to become grandparents. It is a wonderful time of life.
Yesterday, I attended a baby shower in celebration of the impending arrival of a friend’s first grandchild. The mother-to-be, Jessica, is a former student of mine. She and her husband glow when they speak of their son, growing in his mother’s protective womb. Although the child won’t be born for a couple more months, he is very much loved–not only by his parents, but also by his grandparents and great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. From the first announcement that a child was expected, all who know this family have rejoiced with them and celebrate that a new life has been conceived.
We experienced this same joy and anticipation during the months leading up to Daniel’s birth. We loved our yet-to-be-born grandchild from the first moment we learned that wonderful news that our beautiful daughter-in-law was pregnant. We waited in eager anticipation for the arrival of the “expected” baby. Every moment we spend with him is one of joy and pleasure. We are thankful for this wonderful gift God has given our family.
We spent this afternoon with our grandson and some extended family members. One of them gave Daniel a beach ball to play with. Daniel squealed with delight as he held the ball. When it rolled from him, his father would pick up the ball and bounce it off Daniel’s head, eliciting howls of laughter. We delighted in watching the pleasure Daniel derived from the ball. His pleasure was contagious and brought smiles and laughter to everyone.
As parents and grandparents delight in their offspring, so God delights in and loves his children. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!” (1 John 3:1) As much as we love our children and our grandson, our love does not compare in magnitude to the love God has for us.
God loved us so much that he sent his son to take the punishment for our sins, allowing us access to God and a future with him in Heaven. “For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) God offers his salvation to all. God created each person that has every lived to be his child and to enter into fellowship with him. He desires each of us to accept Christ’s free gift of salvation and to become a child of God.
If you would like to experience the delight that comes from being a child of God, you only have to admit that you are a sinner in need of salvation, believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins, and confess Jesus as Lord of your life. It’s the best decision you will ever make. Won’t you become a child of God today?
A few days ago AOL posted an article entitled “10 Things HR Won’t Tell You about Your Resume.” The article was condensed from a Reader’s Digest article (April 2011). In it the following quote was attributed to former HR executive Cynthia Shapiro, “Once you’re unemployed more than six months, you’re considered pretty much unemployable. We assume that other people have already passed you over, so we don’t want anything to do with you.” http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/04/05/10-things-hr-wont-tell-you-about-your-resume/
As the spouse of one of the 6.5 million long-term unemployed persons in America today, I was appalled. Our nation is in the midst of one of the worst recessions we have ever faced. Employment figures for March showed that 13.5 million Americans, or 8.8% of the work force, are currently unemployed. They comprise individuals from all age groups, races, and socioeconomic classes.
I would wager that most of these 13.5 million individuals are jobless through no fault of their own. Many, like my husband, are highly educated. Others got their training on the job. Most of them worked hard and did their jobs well until the economy collapsed. Some of them may have been passed over by potential employers, but many haven’t gotten jobs because there simply aren’t jobs in their fields at the moment.
Haven’t Reader’s Digest and AOL heard that you don’t hit a man when he’s down? 13.5 million Americans are down on their luck now. They don’t need HR experts to make them feel worse than they already do. How about giving them a bit of encouragement? Tips on how to stay busy and feel relevant while unemployed would have been much more helpful.
I’m not an HR expert, but I have some tips that I’d like to share.
I’m praying that the economy improves soon and that Americans who want to work will find jobs. In the meantime, I hope these tips help those of you who are out of work tostay busy and feel appreciated.
Do you have tips would you like to share?
The Beatitudes from Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount:
You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only than can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are–no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being “care-full,” you’ll find yourselves cared for.
You’re blessed when you get your inside world–your mind and heart–put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
You’re blessed when your commitment to god provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
Not only that–count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens–give a cheer, even!–for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
Matthew 5:3 – 12 (The Message)
May your life be truly blessed this week in all the ways that matter. May you feel God’s presence in your moments of grief, disappointment, and weaknesses. May you know that God loves you far more than you can comprehend and that He will never leave or forsake you. May you bask in His presence as you read His word and spend time with Him in prayer.
The world offers no peace, no contentment, no satisfaction compared to what God has offered mankind through His son Jesus. If you haven’t taken the time to know Jesus and to make Him your Lord and Savior, please consider doing so today. Only when you do so will you be truly blessed.
You know spring has arrived when the ice cream truck begins making its rounds. One made its first appearance of the year in our neighborhood last Saturday. We let it pass our house without stopping but several of our neighbors flagged the driver down to purchase his sugary confections. Apparently, the warm, sunny day brought ice cream trucks out in full force across our community. Our pastor noticed one in his neighborhood and made mention of it in his Sunday sermon.
The coming of the ice cream truck stirs excitement in the hearts of children and adults alike. We hear the truck long before we see it. The familiar music wafts through the air, and we run outside to see if the truck is headed towards us or if it is passing us by. When I was a kid, we used to send one sibling outside to signal the driver to stop while the rest of us looked for change with which to make our purchases. It didn’t matter that our freezer was always stocked with ice cream and probably a couple of boxes of frozen treats. The coming of the ice cream man was an event no one wanted to miss.
We introduced our oldest son to the ice cream truck the summer he turned two. Chris was a bit scared by the loud music, but he was thrilled with the treat the ice cream man gave him. We probably only made a couple of purchases from the ice cream truck that summer and fall, but it was enough to make an impression on our son. At that time we lived in north central Florida where the ice cream season is quite long. Yet, at least four or five months passed between the ice cream truck’s last appearance in the fall and its re-emergence in the spring.
I’ll never forgot the day in early March when we heard the sounds of the ice cream truck coming down the street. Chris knew exactly what the music signaled, and he was determined to buy ice cream. The twins were nearly a year old. I had just settled them into their high chairs and given them teething biscuits to chew on. This was the first time I had put them in their chairs without another adult being present. I explained to Chris that we would not be able to buy ice cream this time, as I couldn’t leave the babies alone while I looked for money and went outside. Chris seemed to understand and ran off to play in his room. Or so I thought.
A strange noise coming from his room alerted me that all was not as it should be. I ran down the hall in time to see him escape out his bedroom window. Fortunately, the window was very low to the ground. I ran back down the hall to the kitchen to check on the babies before dashing out the front door to find my two-year old chasing after the ice cream truck. I caught him in the next door neighbor’s yard and carried him home as he kicked and cried. All the while I was praying that nothing bad had happened to the twins. I found them just as I had left them, happily chewing on their cookies and making as big a mess as possible.
As the lure of the ice cream man was more than my two-year old could resist and I didn’t want a repeat of the day’s events, I developed strategies to cope with the ice cream truck. I tried to learn the ice cream man’s routine and timed errands to coincide with his visits to our neighborhood. For those times when we would be home, I kept a bowl of change by the front door to simplify the ice cream buying process. If the twins were awake, I would put them in the playpen while I went out with Chris to buy ice cream. On the occasions when they were in their high chairs, I positioned myself at the front door where I could keep one eye on the twins in the kitchen and the other on Chris as he ordered a “fudgy cicle” or whatever treat he wanted that day. The ice cream man usually managed to decipher Chris’ order, but on occasion I had to yell it out from my post at the front door.
We managed to get through the summer with no more escapes out the bedroom window. By the next summer, all three little boys anxiously watched for the ice cream truck out the front window as they stood on the back of the couch. They would climb down and run to the front door as soon as they heard its familiar music. The bowl of change was always close at hand. Those are memories I will cherish all my life.
What are your favorite memories of chasing the ice cream truck?
Susan's Reflections 
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