The happy 6th birthday girl 

Two down..many to go. 

The good side. :D 

Random child's hat 2 

Random child's hat 1 

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Watched a documentary last week called The Corporation. It was actually very interesting, although as per most media type digs, can't totally agree with it. In the film they go through the start of corporations to that of the modern day ones. Everyone interviewed had their own notion of the problem and supposed solutions. But what was kinda bizarre were the suggestions a couple of people threw out. They were basically saying that the corporations are a bunch of control hungry monsters (no denying that)but that instead the government should stop being weak and step in and control it, and in turn be the power hungry beast, but wait..they seem to have forgotten that the government already is just that, and the government let it get out of hand in the first place. They made a lot of rulings that seemed simple to them, and non problematic, but if you give Sue a sucker, you better give Johnny one too. They allowed the corporations to act, each as it's own person. A person without moral values, unless the love of money is some kind of moral value..oh wait that's the root of all evil. The Corps (I like that name for them) got these "rights" under the..13th amendment, taking full advantage of what was set up for African Americans. The governments allowed the producing of goods without appropriate health tests, and the use of practices they know are harmful. The patent office also issued a patent on a living organism, which was something they never allowed before, as they believed that no one can own the patterns to life...so here we go. It's interesting to think of how things used to be, how they are now, and how we'd all die if it all just fell back to how it was. Alas, we're products of our society and as such, we kinda tend to depend on it, as flawed as it is. But yeah, I give the film a thumbs up, and we had plenty to talk and ponder about after.

Well the cleaning is calling, another Saturday almost gone, but the Lord's day to follow, yahoo!!

Jodypody

Sleeping_beauty 

Hmph 

"Modesty then, as I understand it here, and to discourse about it, is nothing but a strict regard to the decency, as decency is a strict regard to virtue, and virtue is a strict regard to religion; indeed they seem all, in some sense, to be synonymous, and to mean the same thing. It is true, honour and virtue may (speaking strictly) be said in some cases to be preserved, though decency is not so much, or equally regarded. But let all that plead the possibility of that distinction know that however possible it may be it is so far from being probable (that where decency is given up honour should or can be preserved) that they will find it very hard to have it be believed; as they that give up their modesty cannot be said to preserve decency, so they that give up decency will be hardly believed to preserve their virtue.

Hence modesty is become a virtue in itself, and, if it be not literally and expressly all that is understood by the word virtue, 'tis virtue's complete representative, it's true image, and they are as inseparable as the gold and the glistering."


"We are come to an age wherein it is not the mode to acknowledge and reform a mistake, but to add a front to the fact, and triumph in the crimes which they should be ashamed of. It seems below them to vindicate their character; they will rather illustrate it with the fault they should wipe off, and count the shame of it their glory." Daniel Defoe

Well, well, well. No excuses this time, I'm a bad, bad bloggerett. :D
I wish I had something to really say about what I've been doing with myself..but words kinda escape me. I did have a week in Edmonton, I could spend a little time going over that I suppose..

Edmonton was nice..Edmonton was grand, Edmonton was..well Edmonton. A week felt like a day, and now that I'm home it feels like the "day" was months ago. Amy and I got to hang out a lot, spent some time window shopping, watching Nick and a bunch of kids play video games, talking with various ppl and staying up way too late every night. We got to spend a night at D and J's, half a day at Kris', and the rest at the B's. Had a nice fellowship meal on the Lord's day following worship, and got to see all the brethren there and my mom as well. Monday was my last day, and the highlights would be going out for coffee at a nearby cafe, going to a movie and eating a very yummy pita? Well that or the pizza? Ok, forget the food, that didn't make the highlight, the highlight was being able to spend time with a great bunch of people at my home away from home. :D

Baillie is turning 6 close to the end of this month, and I'm not sure that I've picked my jaw of the ground yet. Belinda just got a good camera, so I'll be sure to post some pics from Bail's birthday party, when I get some. :) Dorry is due in about 2 weeks me believes..wow, so cool. That means little Emily is now over a month old, although she would have only been due right about now, interesting thought. Been taking the kids for a lot of walks lately. They now have the ability to keep up, which makes for an enjoyable walk, as we talk about the different things we pass..sigh, they're so old!

Well, it's been a pint,

Jode

Going on 14 years ago..wow 

Latest picture of Emily, who was able to return home with Manda today and is doing great.:) 

Ha! And I bet you thought it couldn't be done, but I'm here to prove you wrong. I've now doubled my current age and feel wise beyond my years..because I lied on a quiz..lied..I'd rather thing of it has preforming advanced testing and research. :P

Jode

You Are 40 Years Old

40 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

You Are 25 Years Old

25 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

So...now I'm 25 but don't believe it. The first time I took this quiz I rolled out at a 28..sure, I know I must be mature and all for my age (yeah, what a joke) but how did I end up being 28? Next round took me to 29, but then maybe I lied about something other than the stolen cookies, which tipped the scales still further. Next go I decided I was feeling young..ended up at age 4, all I had to do was run around after lunch, watch cartoons, eat ice cream like a pig, and steal the cookies once more..plus hate rock and hmm, live with parents and all that. Next go I decided I'd do my research..what is "Tiramisu" anyhow? Well sounded good to me, landed me at 26. Then for the final result *insert drum roll here* I moved back in with my parents and eureka! 25 :D Not like this changed the original decree of my twentythingth at heartedness.

Nite'

jode

So happy to see mommy 

Sawing logs 

Sleepy Emily 

I'm back. Back you ask? Yep, I was in Fort Nelson from Monday the 14th to Thursday the 24th. My mom came on Thursday (I believe) and stayed for the weekend and then we departed on Monday. I accomplished my main objective while I was there, and got lots of visiting time in with my mom, albeit, more time at the Soles' would have been nice.:) I don't know that I have much to say on it but for generalities such as "good" "nice" "short" so how do I sum it up without being general or too over detailed? I don't know that it's possible, but I'll try giving a short rundown of it.

The drive up was long, isn't every 11 hour drive considered such? But it was also uneventful, didn't hit any wildlife (saw some alive and dead ones, managed to stay on the road despite my mom's occasional wondering, and we didn't get run off the road by any Macs although we did pass a lot of them. I admit I also spent a lot of the drive with eyes closed, as my mom's driving style is somethin' else. ;) Also started reading Lion of the Covenant on the way, and thus far it has a thumbs up from me.

I spent much of the week and a half going through years worth of belongings; from piles of papers, clothing, books, magazines, socks and everything in-between, above and below, I went through it all. No doubt my mom will miss some items I disposed of, but I'll leave that for her to realize and she didn't really need them away..really. :D

After the allotted amount of time, and as soon as mom got a new part or two in the car we were off again for PG. However, due to some people who don't know how to order parts, we had to wait an extra day for them to order the right part in, as the first order was a no go. By the time Mom got back with the car, and we were all packed up and in order it was going on 4:00 pm. Did the late leaving time stop us? Never. I did however end up by driving for about half the trip, with us kinda taking turns as mom was pretty tired. I would say the biggest challenges were stopping in a standard (haven't done it in over 2 years) and drying out contacts, both of which were small obstacles. Didn't see any alive wildlife, which was also a good thing. As soon as we arrive I unloaded all of my stuff, got blankets for Mom, bid her farewell and hit the hay. She was off for Edmonton (to stay the weekend) before I woke up and I heard from Jord she had arrived safely.

Yes, I'm back.

The biggest news of the week is that I have a new little niece, a little Emily Price, and I have yet to hear the middle name. She's just small thing as she was about a month early, but thanks be to God, she's healthy. I'll be more than happy to post a couple pictures of her, as soon as I receive some..hint hint.

Well I'm off but shall return.

Jode

The buckle 


Here is the famous belt buckle of my father's that you may have read about in a couple of emails or posts . He received it from my mom as a present for father's day/his birthday, and we would sit for minutes (yeah, what kid can sit still longer than that?) at a time spinning it..I love the sound it makes. My sisters were kind enough to suggest that my mom pass it on to me..so for that I'm very happy. It was Mom's attempt at cow-boy-afying him..that's about as far as she got, haha. But yes, thanks to my wonderful sisters for being so unselfish as to let me have it, as I know it's very prized in all of our eyes.:)

Jode

Your Dominant Intelligence is Spatial Intelligence

You've got a good sense of space and how the world around you looks. You can close your eyes and "see" images. You have innate artistic talent. An eye for color and shapes, you're also a natural designer. Since you think in pictures, visual aids and demonstartions help you learn best. You would make a good navigator, sculptor, visual artist, inventor, architect, interior designer, or engineer.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

As you can no doubt tell, I decided to give my blog a bit of a face lift..as the grey just wasn't doing it anymore. So yeah, not done, maybe finish it later this week, as I have run over my deadline.:) Comments will be down as well..not like they're be missed that much..as I didn't have many, haha.

Anyhoe, hope you all have a great Lord's day, and perhaps I'll be posting later.:)

Jode

Well, tonight for bible study Mark read us a Micah sermon by Calvin. It left us all with a great big "wow", as his sermons have such a way of pinning us (as well as himself) with our own wretched, sinfulness. Some of his examples of human actions totally hit home.. I'll try to type a sample of it out, since sadly I can't find it online. I hope you find the these bits as edifying as I did.:)

Night to all, and adios,

Jode

The sermon is on Micah 6:6-8, preached Saturday, December 27, 1551 (Calvin gave daily sermons) It is also much longer than this, but here are some of the highlights.

*** Now Micah adds that the people think that they can appease God through ceremonies and similar things, in order to atone for offenses. But, of course what Micah is doing is introducing our human way of thinking, that is, our hypocrisy. For once we have persuaded ourselves to rebel against God and his Word, we begin to search for ways of exonerating ourselves before God. True, we cannot feign not to be sinners, or fail to confess our sins; but so long as God presses us and we remain committed to our own course, we will constantly look for ways to appease God. "True, I may not be able to deny that I am a miserable sinner, but consider what I can do in order to satisfy God." For since we are full of pride and lies, we think that we can pull the wool over God's eyes, rendering him content with frivolous things. And that is what Micah is addressing here. For after he condemned the people, he no doubt encountered the following reply: "True, God has granted us infinite blessings, and we have not acknowledged him as we ought. But there is no reason for you to condemn us as you do. You are right about our offending God, insofar as we have not been obedient to him. But our attempts at satisfaction ought to count for something. Of what value would it be for us to make so many sacrifices, if God were not compensated? You need to balance the good with the bad. For since you accused us of failing in certain areas, you ought at least give us credit for the services we render God." That is how the world thinks. It is confident that it knows how to appease God, whenever it has sinned against God.

.....For how many of us think ourselves acquitted upon hearing a sermon or mumbling a Pater Noster? As long as we put up a good appearance, we say:"Ah! That's good enough!" We must think that God wears blinders and that he cares for nothing more than our ceremonies. Now it is a great folly for us to interpret God's judgment in accordance with our fantasy. Why? Because, in the first place, we are carnal and therefore do not see our offences, unless they are thick enough to cut with a knife, as the people say. Of course they are relatively insignificant, we acknowledge them. But we overlook those that are full of evil affections, or that contain hidden evil thoughts, that constantly goad us to murmur against God, to become defiant, and to grind our teeth. Those things never surface. And why not? Because we are carnal. Now our Lord has a different eye that enables him to see with absolute clarity what we fail to see at all. Accordingly, since our eyes cannot see sufficiently to recognize our faults which God condemns, we have to learn not to daub our sins with our own concept of fairness or balance. For we must all appear before the judgment of God, whose ways transcend human thought.......

.....In the second place , love of self prevents us from recognizing our own sins, although we are able to recognize our neighbors'. For when our neighbors sin, we see it with clarity. Above all, whenever anyone commits an offence against us, whether unwittingly by shaking a straw at us in the wrong way, or by pointing a menacing finger at us, we consider it an irremissible crime. "Did you see that? That wretch deliberately offended me!" We make a mountain out of a molehill. But whenever we are guilty of any grievous or serious fault, worthy of casting our body and soul into hell, we deny and culpability and quickly dismiss it. We see it happen every day. Now do not suppose for a moment that God judges as we do. Thus, we must learn to divest ourselves of self-love. For it blinds us so powerfully that we are unable to perceive things as they are. What must we do then? When God asserts that we have sinned against him and have provoked his wrath against us, we must abandon any thought of how easy it is to forgive sins. Rather, we must realize that we have so utterly sinned against God as to be worthy of a pit five times deeper than hell. That is the first thought that ought to come to mind......

....Furthermore, as we daily realize how weak we are, may we turn to that one remedy which we know best provides succor: to our Lord Jesus Christ. And as he has once and for all united us to God, his Father, may we ask nothing but to live with our neighbors in complete justice, equity, and peace, in order that by his grace we may attain to that immortal glory in which we shall all be united in perfect joy, as he has promised us. And may God grant this grace not only to us, but to all people and nations of the earth, etc...... ****

Starts singin' a small world after all, it's a small world after all... I had a call from one of my distance education teachers earlier for some assistant in an assignment. When I was just about to go he asked if I was related to my dad, I guess he had known my dad from sunday school when my dad's family was attending the E Free Church years ago, when my father was a teen. I told Dan about my dad's passing away, as he had no way of knowing since he hadn't seen him in years. He proceeded to ask me if I was a Christian which I answered in the affirmative, and I told him I was Presbyterian. He then asked if I attended one of the two Presby churches in town, which I don't. Had a bit of a good discussion as to why not, although most of the talking was on my side. I talked a bit about the second commandment and how it applies to worship and how it applies to our not joining those denominations, but sadly I don't know how well he took that, as he seemed to skirt the issue by saying something like "well, it's good salvation is by Christ" which I whole heartedly agreed with, but it was in the ton of "I've heard enough, I have all that matters" but our love for Christ is shown by our fruit, so if we ignore the commands of God how would we respond to Christ when he says in John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Certainly our salvation is not of works, but rather it is shown through our works, works are the fruit of our faith and love, so how can so many people so easier toss aside the commands of God and claim to love him?

Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Anyhow, just a few thoughts.

Jode

So here goes another blog. :)

Last night Belinda was reading part of a book to me (while I was folding laundry) that she picked up at a library book sale. The book is titled something like "Motherhood Stresses". The lady was discussing the many ways that our society is different from the "old days". Mind you it was written in the 80's so still not entirely recent. She talked about how the roles in the family were different, as far as the men would do more household types of things, such as the grocery shopping. Of course it would be at the one grocery store in town, rather than the 5 major chain grocery stores and the guy would maybe pick between two brands (if there were that many) rather than say 40 brands of something as simple as oat bran. Oh, there's another one, laundry was much different as you only had maybe three pairs of clothes which would be due for a washing every couple of weeks.

It's true that our world is much more advanced, but also much more stressed out from that. No doubt the stress just comes from the sinful part in the world, not the advancements themselves, but from the misuse of them. We spend so much of our time working to gain things we don't really need and don't even highly value; in that work we strive and strive never really "getting ahead". Most of us work at building the things that other people spend their money on, rather than working to supply ourselves directly with the things we need, by growing our own crops etc. So we do this to turn around and spend the money on what those other people over there are working to make (buy no means bashing a lot of cool things ;) ). At the same time buying and selling homes, moving around and away from the family support system and buying the majority of our food in stores. But of course food growers are also trying to make more of a bang for their buck, so there goes our "better for you" foods and here comes the treated and over processed stuff, which only adds to our stresses and works to make our lives shorter. Ah yes and don't even mention the new illnesses and the hordes of crimes and unlawful laws that are raising their ugly but hard to ignore heads.

There are also the stresses of raising kids..all the millions of options of how to do it, but not many people around to show you how to do properly. So we pretty much start from scratch, largely depend on books for this knowledge as we didn't learn how first hand. But of course books on "how to raise a covenant child in a ungodly world" are few and far between when it comes to the specifics of educating them, trying to instill the desire to be faithful, as well as having some common link of knowledge with the other children in the church..all leading to a commonly held form of sustainable and desired unity (sorry if that doesn't make much sense, kinda complex for me to explain at 1 am ;) ). Most kids grow up in small families, never learning to care for younger siblings; not many teens who would rather help care for a little sibling than go hang out with friends of their own age. Most parents fret and fear the out come of their children's bodies and their happiness in having all the latest do-dads but never consider nurturing their souls. (of course she didn't really go there). Hm, kinda sad how little respect full time mothers receive from this world. People seem to have the tendency after hearing someone is a full time mother to drop the jaw and ask "is that all you do??" as though you live like a couch potato, who has nothing better to do than catch the latest Soap.

Kind of weird how the lady expressed how our society is going down in a lot of these regards, but then turns and praises a lot of the things that are taking us there. I guess that's a result of only seeing one half of the equation.

Anyhow, enough ranting on that for one evening, although wouldn't be hard to trail off for a couple of hours.

Been having a lot of good thought provoking conversations with M & B lately, about doctrines, day to day life, money, entertainment, education, family, children and everything in-between.

Okay, I'm off and no doubt you're very thankful as it was getting hard to endure another messy sentence after another..not to mention the confusion of thoughts. But remember this is my blog after all, and if you did endure it all..could have saved the time and skipped right to the end. :)

Chow main

Jode

Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

The five of us and Liberty 

As most probably already know, my father passed away on the 4th of this month. He died from the cancer I mentioned a few posts back, called Pleural Mesothelioma. I know that he is now free from all pain and worldly cares and sorrows, totally happy and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity. Many times I have seen God's mercies at work now more than ever and I know that this was the best for all of us, especially Dad who was bearing so much pain every day. It was becoming harder to talk to him because his voice was failing and the only question that would come to mind is "how are you?" but none of us wanted to remind him of how he felt or to make him repeat himself when we didn't understand. God is so merciful that he didn't have to endure this for years; sometimes the selfish side of me wishes he had..but I know in reality that we never wanted that. It's really hard to find the right words, so forgive me if I don't come across clearly. Despite whatever the expectations were, there was no knowing the number of days left, so when Mom called on Tuesday it still hit with a shock (to say the least) for all of us. Even after two weeks of realizing he's gone it still seems surreal, you realize it in a factual kind of way, but until you apply it to a memory or a new hole in your life it doesn't feel like this is reality. In that way memories are both joy and sadness, it only takes one memory to venture back into tears, but I am so happy to have all of my memories of times with Dad: steam rolling, spinning his belt buckle on his lap, cutting our pancakes, telling us to "rise and shine little pumpkin heads", even cold porridge has meaning to it. There's no one to call me "Jody-babe" anymore... I miss that one too. My dad had many gifts.. a strong love for God, a great sense of humor, a ready ability to teach, a variety quirks, and many practical skills which included training us in the way we should go. :) Haha, when we were little he made this spanking board..and with a marker wrote soft on one side and hard on the other, and inscribed it with verses from the proverbs, so that whenever we did something wrong we'd cry "the soft side daddy, the soft side!!". Funny, even that becomes more of a fond memory.

Well the laundry calls and I must answer, catch ya later.

Jode


Phi 1:20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. 23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

PS If you'd like to see more childhood photos of Dad and his siblings I have them up on yahoo here and sorry they're not really in any type of order yet. :)


. 


. 

The C's 

Me 

Resent visit 

Geneva 

A few highlights. :) 

Albany Wedding 

2 

Here we are in 2005, who else thinks we should be in flying cars by now that run on air??

I really liked 2004, went pretty fast, full of events, fun, family, friends. Just had a visit from Dor and Jord which was very enjoyable. :) They stayed for about five days, talked lots, watched movies, ate chocolate, did some clothes shopping, had some white hot chocolate(;))and last but best..lots of fellowship. The weather is once again cold for January, unlike the last couple of years in which the snow and cold couldn't decide whether to come or go. I think the wind is the worst of it, but that shall pass. Went to Albany, Edmonton and Fort Nelson. Attended two weddings, in the bridal party both times..added two family members and have two new little family members on the way. :D

I wonder what the highlights of this year will be, but Lord willing a trip to Edmonton will be one of them. :)

Jode

PS No, I didn't make any resolutions, never have, don't think I ever will. :)

Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

Sometimes life has such a dream like quality..I feel the same type of anticipation before entering sleep. When I'm trying to force myself to sleep, I know that if I just relax I'll drift off so quickly, I'll wake-up and wonder where my sleeping time went..and just when it was that I fell into slumber when I was so awake a moment before. So with life..I anticipate it's flying by, but day by day I wonder when it will start flying, I then turn around and see...where has it gone? It's been flying since the day I was born, and right when I thought it was standing still.

Jode

Thankful for: What time I have, that I can use it wisely, and for sleep..

Proverbs 3:24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

I'm here, I'm alive and I'm bloggin'. So new news, or old news. New news.. my parents have arrived in Calgary, and will take the second leg of their journey tomorrow morning, all the way back to the cold yet beautiful Fort Nelson..I'm not saying the beauty pays for the cold..but it should count for something right? I have yet to find out how the first part has gone, but for the fact that they've arrived.

I took out my sewing machines the other day, made myself some PJs, not big news but I was happy with how they turned out. Still have yet to conquer my serger, as it has been dropping some of my chain stitches, has something to do with the tension, but I have yet to line it up just right, and when I came close to perfect.. is decided to cut a couple threads so back to the beginning with rethreading. :D All this for PJs? Well that and experience, and at least the overlock part is functional.

Donated blood yesterday for the seconds time. That went well, only took 5 minutes and if it wasn't for having to do so much waiting I would have been out of there in no time. Oh, some photographer for a news paper came in to take a yearly photo of some poor person who is stuck to their seat so they don't have the option of running. Well this year that person was me, I just hope my photo doesn't end up in there..and if it does that it isn't accompanied by some great article about how I "rolled up my sleeve" for the x-mass season.

Ah, hm, I'm now drawing a blank so maybe I'll leave that as a short update? Haha I'm such a cheater, but alas life as been so smooth and fast, I can't remember what has happened. Oh, I did the yearly cleaning of the top of the cupboards..there's a thrill.

Off to sort emails or something. :D

Jode

Thankful for: Another weekend, that my parents arrived safely, that I'm able to spend some time on the net, that I don't have as many junk emails as I could have, haha.

PS Put up some newly scanned older photos, if anyone would like to see them just let me know so I can add your yahoo ID. My photos

Oookay, whatever it says. I figure by the end of all these quizzes if I don't know my personality yet I'm not very observant, and never will be.


Splash Mountain: Everybody's got a laughing place
to go-go-go-woah! You are a romp through folk
lore from the old south, a cheery log ride that
is always pleasant despite such unfortunate
circumstances like a five story drop into a
briar patch that proves to be more fun than
scary. You are casual, friend, warm, and
inviting, if a little reckless, it's always a
zip-ee-dee-do-dah day for you even when you get
yourself into some mighty steep trouble. What
movie you sprung from, Disney doesn't like to
tell, some consider it racist, but never you
mind, the critters inside of you (previously
stars of 'America Sings') are always cute and
you are just here to have a good time. You
love the camera and you live life to your
fullest, your thinking is that if 'you WILL get
wet' you might as well sieze the day!


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Blogging, a duty or a pleasure, you be the judge.

Well, I'm not sure that I'll ever quite understand God's providence. This morning I was on my way to get groceries, when I heard quite a loud continuous noise when I started to driver faster. I got some groceries and when I came out that's when I saw it. Yep, a nice big flat tire, I've never had one myself when driving, although I've had the "how to change" lessons from my parents. Oh great, (that's what I thought at that moment) what to do now? I don't have a phone..and I see no spare, I don't even have a key that will open the back of the van, even if I did see a tire. Well thankfully I wasn't too far from Tim Horton's, maybe a 10-15 minute walk. So off to Tim's I went in search of Mark. While I had a coffee Mark called his boss (who used to own the van) to ask him about the tire. Well turns out there was "convenient" spare pinned under the van, so after getting a good back-of-the-van-opening-key, I walked back, grabbed the manual and got to the first stage of tire changing. Some nice guy (yeah, pretty typical eh?) helped me while his wife went in to do her shopping. By the time the ladies came back out we had the itty-bitty "convenient" spare on (I have to call it convenient in quotes because it's such a sad state of a tire that if I didn't say it was a "convenient" tire, you'd never know it. :D) Then back home to wash my hands and off to the next grocery store..going no more than 50 kilometers an hour. I can say God is very kind, because it was a nice enough experience, no crashing, or being 50 miles from home (yah, so I have yank and canucks mixing with the miles and kilometers, but thankfully you can't sue me for it :P). So all in all it was good, but I'm still left wondering why..I guess I'll never know, or not in this life. :D


I've been doing a lot of thinking about this world lately and it's sad, sinful, wretched state. How as Christians we are no longer part of the world, no longer fitting into the mold of society. Sometimes I wonder how deep my feels are for the things of the world, in my heart of hearts, since the heart is so desperately wicked, who can know it..I know I'm not qualified(Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? vs.10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. ) I just pray that God will continue to soften my heart to Him and the things of heaven, and harden it to lusts of this life. Ah yes, to be a travelin' man (er woman, whatever).

2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

Jam 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

My dad is getting treatment in Mexico, but is still in a lot pain. I would write more, but typing with one hand and a sleeping baby can become quite the task.:)

Hope everything is running smoothly in your part of the world, as smoothly as it can.

Jode

1Ti 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

My kinda quiz, thanks Willena. :)



You are Eliza Bennett from Pride and
Prejudice! Yay, you! Perhaps the
brightest and best character in all of English
literature, you are intelligent, lively,
lovely-- in short, you are the best of company.
Your only foibles are that you stick with your
first impressions... and your family is quite
intolerable.


Which Jane Austen Character Are You?
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Well, what to say..sometimes words don't come so easily, whether I have something to say or not..and it can be even harder with a wiggly little Geneva on my lap. She continues to grow bigger everyday, and as she grows her smiles become bigger as well, although sadly they can be quickly accompanied by a much louder cry. :) Ah yes, the human plight, she desired to be entertained 24/7, so she isn't very content with the seat in front of the computer.

As most of my readers probably know, my dad has lately been diagnosed with Pleural Mesothelioma, which is a very aggressive form of cancer, caused by the inhaling of asbestos about 25 years back. It's still kind of surreal, even though I know the statistics... it's hard to believe my dad is one of them. I must say that seeing him going through all these trials the way he has and continues to... has made me so proud of him, more so than ever.. I'm so thankful to God for all of His goodness towards us..to know that no matter what happens..my dad will live
(1Tim 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.) . Far too often you see people going through these circumstances, but they can find no purpose in it but only fear, because they do not trust in the grace and mercy of God (Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ). They despair for they know not that all things work for the good of those who love God and trust in His Son (Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.) How I pity those people, for we have been shown..how thankful we must be, because as God's people there is always hope of life (Proverbs 12:28 In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.). Through these trials we draw closer to God, putting off the flesh and adding to our santification. My dad has truly shown this.

Psalm 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

May God truly bless your Lord's day, as you seek to honor him. :)

Jode

PS. Please keep my parents in your prayers.

Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Saturday, October 23, 2004

Look who's not dead, yup I'm still alive and pretty well. I'm sure so many things have happened since I posted last, and although I can probably name a few in some order, most of the details are lot forever, but perhaps that's not much of a loss... I guess we'll see. So then, I guess I haven't blogged since the end of August, which means that we've had 3 birthdays in the family since then, today's being Belinda's 28th, yesterday's being Calvin's 7th, and before that was Tam's 25th. Time flies when you're aging, or is it because you're aging that time flies? Oh well, either way it's a truth, whether you're bored out of your skull, or keepin' busy.

I joined the hospital auxiliary awhile back, volunteered in the gift shop a couple times. Had the joys of observing the lotto machine hard at work, I always wonder at that..that people can never keep track of the fact that for every $4 they win, they spend $8 on more tickets, and if they do keep track of their loses why on earth do they continue? There was one lady who spent over $250 on her visa..yeah that's right gambling can be an addiction, just another proof. I dropped the gift shop thing, since it was too hard to arrange getting there, but I did however replace it with going to a quilting thing every Wednesday. A bunch of ladies make quilts to sell in the gift shop, that works. So for about 4 hours I get to work around a bunch of chatty ladies with lots of history, travel, aches/pains, and fashion savvy. Why do I list fashion savvy? Well that would be because I've talked to one lady (or rather she talked to me) about how small her feet are, so finding shoes is rather hard, and I also learned all about her wardrobe, with the colors, and how nice it was..and so on and so forth, haha.

Went to my parent's place in Fort Nelson and back in 3 days, that was interesting and a good trip, even though it was really short and included a lot of sitting. It also included a lot of talking, which as you (whoever you may be) know, I like to do. :D So yes, we went for the sake of my popsy who's been having a lot of painful health problems for the last few months, with his organs, stomach etc. While Cheryl spent most of her time with my parents, I spent most of my time with my parent's computer. Ah yup, poor ol' Stupid was running out of space and causing my mom a headache, so in the short amount of time I had I did what I could. Got to see my aunt, uncle and a couple cousins, but that was pretty short. Things just aren't quite like they used to be, well they'll never be "like they were" again. Back on the road and with my dad in tow, we arrived back in PG, hope skip and a jump and I was back on the road again to Edmonton...sing it with me, Ooon the road agaain, juust can't wait to be on the rooad agaain..okay you can stop! (besides I don't really remember more of it) :D

Had a splendid trip to Edmonton, went with Dor, Kris and my best pal Amy to a Sarah Harmer concert. That was a lot of fun, very talented group of people..and Sarah had the cutest shoes..and I'm not even much of a shoe person. Other than that I'm a little short of details unless you wanted to know about everyone else that went to the concert, but assuming you couldn't care less, I'm ready to move on. Stayed at Jord and Dor's the first half of the week, than the B's till my departure. The rest of my visit we mostly just did whatever came to mind, a few crazy things, but nothing dangerous. ;) Oh, also got to watch the wedding video from PG, hopefully we'll be able to get a copy of that out to my sistas..would have already if the machine wasn't being a git.

News news, what else..well one of my cousins has recently married. I believe he is the first of my nonstep cousins to do so. Sadly I haven't really been able to get to know his bride, I have met her once at Jord and Dor's wedding, but it was the pretty short version of "met" kinda like "Hi, I'm Jody, and you must be Christy?" "Nice to meet you" * now keeping it moving down the receiving line. :D"

Parents are both in Edmonton right now, my dad is waiting for surgery, which will Lord willing take place today, but if you're short on those details you can read more on the prayer list. :)

Alrighty, well as for now that's all folks and here I thought I had nothing to say..

Jode

Hey ya'll I know it's been an age, but if you still check this I'm pleased to announce that Jordan and Doralynne are going to their first little babe. :) Yeah wow.. my Dorry, the little girl I used to play with for hours without fail is going to be a mother, life is so wonderful, can't wait for another little nephew or niece. Josh and Manda will also be having thier baby around the same time. God is so merciful, and continues to bless us with covenant children. :D

Well I know this isn't long but I plan on getting to bed early this evening, I'll try to blog again soon, although sadly no promises. :)

Jode


Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

"In this broken state of the church there is no difference between how we are to treat unfaithful churches and unfaithful individuals. If God has commanded us to withdraw from and avoid disorderly and obstinate brethren, how can we deduce that we are to tolerate disorderly and obstinate churches? If the church is so divided that gross sin and error is protected by false judicatories, then how are the children of God to obtain a lawful hearing for their grievances? Should they submit themselves to those who frame mischief by abusing their pretended authority? When the church is so broken and disorganized that disorderly and obstinate churches are going from bad to worse, the answer is not to plead for toleration. Such toleration proclaims a liberty to sin and promises ecclesiastical protection for unfaithfulness. When the hands of the wicked are strengthened and the children of God are encouraged to tolerate evil, true religion is destroyed and reformation is hindered. Thus, Scripture teaches that true religion ought never to require toleration and false religion ought never to be tolerated. Those who rightly understand the distinction between the broken and settled state of the church know that dissociation and separation are the only true means of reformation when the church has divided into rival judicatories and receded from the truth. "


Psalms 94:20 Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.22 But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.

Well believe it or not I blogged last Friday, then I went to take a look today and well, not sure what happened, I know I pressed post but computers certainly aren't the most reliable hunks of junk. :) Thankfully it was rather a boring post, so you didn't miss much. :D

At the present I'm sitting in front of the computer eating my lunch, with tons of things I must get done after lunch and this blog. Sadly (or thankfully?)I'm eating more than I'm typing so this will probably be pretty short.

Here am I, but where am I at in life right now? As everyone by now must know, my last two sisters are now happily married and in the process of setting up their homes. So that totals 4 sisters and 4 new brothers and Lord willing many little nephews and nieces down the road. Speaking of nephews and nieces, I have the cutest little niece upstairs right now, who goes by the name of Geneva Adair C. she was born July 2nd, the morning of Dorry and Jord's wedding. The weddings were wonderful, the company and fellowship great and although I missed seeing some people I was able to meet others. I wish time hadn't gone quite so fast so that I could have soaked in more of the moments but none-the-less I'm really thankful for all that came about, whether it went quickly or not. I'm now trying to pick up where I left off, albeit it'll never be the same, trying to get my room (wow, "my" room..hm) and the whole house in order, get back into the books, finish a baby quilt and keep up with the piles of laundry and dishes. Belinda and the babe are doing pretty well, I think she's recuperating quite quickly, so another thing to be very thankful for. :)

Not sure if there's bible study this evening, I had better find out..sorry that was just a side thought, not sure why I typed it. :D

Oh, another thing of note I suppose..I turned 20 last hm..Tuesday and no, it doesn't feel any different that 19, 18, 17 or 16 for that matter, I guess it's so much of one day at a time that you don't really feel anything until you stand back and think about how you pictured being 20..when you were 5 years old. I did have a good b-day, got to spend some time with some friends, just sitting back and talking, all the wedding stress having passed.

It was kinda odd getting back into chatting considering how I haven't really chatted for the last couple of months. You kind of become spoiled in seeing people in person, so that boxes are a bit of a rip off, but it beats only talking to them when you can see them in person every 2 years or more. Something to fill the spaces.

As for my reading, no fiction to speak of, but I did finally pick up Covenanted Reformation Defended, been a good read so far, really helps me to frame my perspective and to have at least a rough draft for explaining the principles of covenanting to others. I do however wish I was better with all the dates that belong to such and such events, oh well I guess just something to work on.

Lunch is gone and pretty soon the day will be too.

Take care everyone, it was great seeing ya'll and Lord willing it'll happen again in the not too distant future.

Jode

NOTE: z

No smoking around tellurianiam. Thankyou for your co-operation.

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The way it happened.

Friday morning (June 11th)arrived bright and early. Manda, Lonna, Ann and myself went to the Horizon Ridge clubhouse first thing to set up for the ceremony, while Tam tried to catch a little more shuteye. Of course the decorating took longer than planned, but at least it looked nice. :D So after setting out the chairs, lamps, trees with tulle/lights, aisle with petals, cake table, guestbook table and all that jazz we returned to the Prices about an hour off of our original course. Finishing up a rushed breakfast we gathered everything together and loaded up the van. We were to be at Amy Mill's for hair and makeup at 1:00pm, it was now about 1:30 and Kathryn Hart was to meet us there to curl/fix Tam's hair. So late we were, but we got right down to business, hair was fixed, makeup on, clothing and shoes all around, the guys had their ties and boutonnieres, the parents were also gathered and on to the pictures. We had at first allotted about 2 hours to photos but with running late we had to cut it to 45-60 minutes. We walked over to the building, since Amy lives in the same complex (if that's the right was to say it). As the guests were arriving we took a few shots in front of the clubhouse until our appointed starting time, but it turns out we couldn't start on time anyhow because Larry B. had to go pick up more people (there hadn't been enough room in the first car load) so we took about 30 minutes more of photos and proceeded with the ceremony. What to say about the ceremony..it was lovely..beautiful, the music was awesome..only complaint was having to stand in the aisle for over a minute so D. could take a picture. After the ceremony we then went across to a big treed lawn to take still more pictures of all types of groupings. While we the bridal party and family was doing that, all the wonderful ladies were hard at work setting up for the reception by preparing food and decorating the tables. The receptions was also very nice, toasts, pictures, cake etc. it all went swimmingly. The bride and groom took off at about 9 or 9:30 pm, cleanup started then a bunch of us went over to the B's to continue visiting, then off to bed. That was the day of the wedding and I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to get something up about it. :)
Jode

Wedding photos

Sorry there are only a couple on there so far. There are a lot more where those came from, just need to have them resized and posted..soon. :D

Jode

Yo all,

So here I am in the..well outside of the city of Albany. My parents, Tam and I are all staying out at our G & L's place. Tomorrow is the big day, the day of the wedding, we've been here and there and what seems like just about everywhere, buying this and picking up that. We arrived on Tuesday night, later than we were supposed to since there were a couple loops or ditches we had to climb though. :D Leaving Mark and B's late didn't really make for a great start, but we managed to get on the planes despite being the last on and having to run for our lives. We then landed in Vancouver and thought we had quite a bit of time, but still without delay we went to where we thought our bags we get off so we could check them through customs. Yep, that's right we "thought" but after having waited for over 15 mintues we decided that we had better get it in gear and find out what was up. After Tam checked with an Air Canada grumpy pants. On a side note there were quite a few of those (grumps), I say what is the world coming to when the only friendly ppl happen to be those waiting in a huge line and the only thing that really means "have a good day" are the napkins served with the pretzles? Well we found out where we had gone wrong..bags only come to this localtion when you're staying in Canada, but go to a whole other brake for transfers when going to the US. So off we went again going through customs, got Tam's visa stamped and that was followed by an interview at which she got another stamp. It was about 10 to 9am by this time and our flight was set to depart at 9..so we had the last call before we were only half of the way to our gate they were calling our names and we were certainly running for all we were worth. We made it just in time, although maybe just a tad stressed ;). Then to Chicago where we had a long layover that only became longer when our crew got stuck in Dallas due to thunderstorms. That added about 3 more hours to the waiting, so we just hung around with our bags, read, walked around, and I almost finished a bookmarker. So Albany at last with ppl to pick us up, the party which included Shawn's parents, Shawn's bro (Brian) Ed and the man himself (Shawn that is). Then to talk and bed. Next day we had a wedding shower for Tams, went to malls and ate ect. with Shawn's family and hit the hay once again. Today was rehearsal time and was quite busy much in the same way, with a dinner at Jen's and after all that a trip to Walmart. Tomorrow come wedding or bust.

Very tired, signing out, sorry about typos and such, haven't reread and too tired and tired to care, so make of it what you can. :D

Jode

You are a spork! You are a mismatched hodgepodge of a personality, and as such, utterly useless.

what kitchen utensil are YOU?

Hahaha, yeah that's me alright. ;)

Had a wonderful sermon today read by Mike G. and preached by Thomas Watson in 1689..the subject being "How we make religion our business", the text being Luke 2:49. He went through more points than I could poke a stick at, but the basics were pt.1 What is meant by religion pt.2 Why must we make religion our business and pt.3 What is it to make religion our business. We make religion our business when we devote our time to it, he used the example of a ship that is bound for a coast (heaven) and although contrary winds (temptation) may try to drive it back and may succeed in part, the ship still turns again and makes it's way to the coast. We seek first the kingdom of God. We don't tarry in the way on our journey. We put forth all of our might in serving God, redeeming study time, being zealous for His truth. Well anyhow, yeah it was very good, but we have company, so I better cut it short. :D

In case you don't read the rfw yahoo club, Tam posted part of The Unity of the Church by Thomas M'Crie on to it earlier, having to do with keeping covenants (the National and Solemn League). She then read it to me..very edifying.

"The continued obligation of our National Covenants is of greater importance than any particular measure adopted in prosecuting them. In what I have to say on this branch of the subject, I shall keep the Solemn League more particularly in eye, both because it comprehends the substance of the National Covenant of Scotland, and because it has been the object of more frequent attack. It is not every lawful covenant, nor even every lawful covenant of a public nature, that is of permanent obligation. Some of both kinds, from their very nature or from other circumstances, may undoubtedly be temporary. The permanent obligation of the Solemn League results from the permanency of its nature and design, and of the parties entering into it, taken in connection with the public capacity in which it was established. Some talk of it as if it were a mere temporary expedient to which our forefathers had recourse in defending their civil and religious liberties; and, when they have paid a compliment to it in this point of view, they think they have no more concern with the matter. This is a very narrow and mistaken view of the deed.

The most momentous transactions, and most deeply and durably affecting the welfare and the duty of nations and of churches, may be traced to the influence of the extraordinary and emergent circumstances of a particular period. The emergency which led to the formation of the covenant is one thing, and the obligation of that covenant is quite another; the former might quickly pass away, while the latter may be permanent and perpetual. Nor is the obligation of the covenant to be determined by the temporary or changeable nature of its subordinate and accessory articles. Whatever may be said of some of the things engaged to in the Solemn League, there cannot be a doubt that in its great design and leading articles it was not temporary but permanent. Though the objects immediately contemplated by it ? religious reformation and uniformity ? had been accomplished, it would still have continued to oblige those who were under its bond to adhere to and maintain these attainments. But unhappily there is no need of having recourse to this line of argument; its grand stipulations remain to this day unfulfilled.

The Solemn League was a national covenant and oath, in every point of view ? in its matter, its form, the authority by which it was enjoined, the capacities in which it was sworn, and the manner in which it was ratified. It was a sacred league between kingdom and kingdom with respect to their religious as well as their secular interests, and at the same time a covenant in which they jointly swore to God to perform all the articles contained in it. National religion, national safety, liberty and peace, were the great objects which it embraced. It was not a mere agreement or confederation (however solemn) of individuals or private persons (however numerous), entering spontaneously and of their own accord into a common engagement. It was framed and concluded by the representatives of kingdoms in concurrence with those of the Church; it was sworn by them in their public capacity; at their call and by their authority, it was afterwards sworn by the body of all the people in their different ranks and orders; and finally it was ratified and pronounced valid by laws both civil and ecclesiastical.

The public faith was thus plighted by all the organs through which a nation is accustomed to express its mind and will. Nothing was wanting to complete the national tie, and to render it permanent; unless it should be maintained that absolute unanimity is necessary, and that a society cannot contract lawful engagements to God or man, as long as there are individuals who oppose and are dissentient. Sanctions less sacred, and pledges less numerous would have given another nation, or even an individual, a perfect right to demand from Britain the fulfillment of any treaty or contract; and shall not God ? who was not only a witness, but a principal party, and whose honor and interests were immediately concerned in this transaction ? have a like claim? Or shall we "break the covenant and escape?" (cf. Ezek. 17:15).

Some of the principles on which it has been attempted to loose this sacred tie are so opposite to the common sentiments of mankind, that it is not necessary to refute them: such as, that covenants, vows and oaths, cannot superadd any obligation to that which we are previously under by the law of God; and, that their obligation on posterity consists merely in the influence of example.

There is another objection which is of a more specious kind and lays claim to greater accuracy, but which on examination will be found both unsolid and inaccurate. It is pleaded that it is only in the character of church members that persons can enter into religious covenants or be bound by them; and that the covenants of this country can be called national on no other ground than because the majority of the inhabitants in their individual character voluntarily entered into them. At present I can only state some general considerations tending to show the fallacy of this view of the subject. By church members may be meant either those who are in actual communion with a particular organized church, or those who stand in a general relation to the Church universal. But in neither of these senses can it be said that religious covenants or bonds are incompetent or non-obligatory in every other character. This is to restrict the authority of divine law in reference to moral duties, and to limit the obligations which result from it, in a way that is not warranted either by Scripture or reason. How can that which is founded on the moral law, and which is moral-natural, not positive, be confined to church members, or to Christians in the character of church members only?

The doctrine in question is also highly objectionable, as it unduly restricts the religious character of men, and the sphere of their action about religious matter, whether viewed as individuals or as formed into societies and communities. They are bound to act for the honor of God, and are capable of contracting sacred obligations (sacred both in their nature and in their objects) in all the characters and capacities which they sustain. I know no good reason for holding that when a company of men or a society act about religion, or engage in religious exercises, they are thereby converted into a church, or act merely and properly as church members. Families are not churches, nor are they constituted properly for a religious purpose; yet they have a religious character, and are bound to act according to it in honoring and serving God, and are capable of contracting religious obligations. Nations also have a religious character, and may act about the affairs of religion. They may make their profession of Christianity, and legally authorize its institutions, without being turned into a church. And why may they not also come under an oath and covenant with reference to it, which shall be nationally binding?

Covenanting may be said to be by a nation as brought into a church state, acting in this religious capacity ? the oath may be dispensed by ministers of the gospel and accompanied by the usual exercises of religion in the Church, and yet it may not be an ecclesiastical deed. The marriage covenant and vow is founded on the original law; and its duties, as well as the relation which it establishes, are common to men, and of a civil kind. Yet among Christians it is mixed with religious engagements, and celebrated religiously in the Church. Ministers of the gospel officiate in dispensing the vow, and accompany it with the Word and prayer. The parties are bound to marry in the Lord, and to live together as Christians. But is the marriage vow on that account ecclesiastical, or do the parties engage as church members only? The Christian character is, in such cases, combined with the natural, domestic, civil, political.

Much confusion also arises on this subject from not attending to the specific object of our National Covenants, and the nature of their stipulations, by which they are distinguished from mere church covenants. I shall only add that several objections usually adduced on this head may be obviated by keeping in mind that the obligation in question is of a moral kind, and that God is the principal party who exacts the fulfillment of the bond.

If there is any truth in the statements that have now been made, the question respecting the obligation of the British covenants is deeply interesting to the present generation. The identity of a nation, as existing through different ages, is, in all moral respects, as real as the identity of an individual through the whole period of his life. The individuals that compose it, like the particles of matter in the human body, pass away and are succeeded by others; but the body politic continues essentially the same. If Britain contracted a moral obligation, in virtue of a solemn national covenant, for religion and reformation, that obligation must attach to her until it has been discharged.

Have the pledges given by the nation been yet redeemed? Do not the principal stipulations in the covenant remain unfulfilled at this day? Are we not as a people still bound by that engagement to see these things done? Has the lapse of time cancelled the bond? Or, will a change of sentiments and views set us free from its tie? Is it not the duty of all the friends of reformation to endeavor to keep alive a sense of this obligation on the public mind? But, although all ranks and classes in the nation should lose impressions of it, and although there should not be a single religious denomination, nor even a single individual, in the land, to remind them of it, will it not be held in remembrance by One, with whom "a thousand years are as one day, and one day as a thousand years?" (cf. 2 Pet. 3:8)."

Let the fun continue. So the wallpaper was shipped off to the dump and it was onto the painting. At first Belinda was wanting to go with this cool stucco technique, but finding the tools became to hard, pricey and couldn't be done in the dark red we at first contemplated. So after Tam and I spent some time at New Look Decorating Center (awesome place btw) we opted out of stucco and thought we'd just get the red and see what comes of it. Well I wanted a coat of Fresh Start and then applied some red, which didn't turnout to be the same as the swatch, too much magenta I'm guessing so I turned to our left over paints and took a trip to Wal-Mart and got a can of a nice white type of shade. I applied that to the top two thirds of the walls and on the bottom half I smooshed (also known as fresco me thinks) some gray, with a hint of green and cream which gives it a marbled type of look (if you've ever seen our painted flours you'll have more of an idea of what I'm talking about). So yeah, the entry is now complete but for some touch-ups that I've been putting off, eh heh.

Next task on the project list was the upstairs bathroom which was in serious need of new paint since the old stuff was marked and starting to chip off here and there. Well after considering, Belinda consented to a nice looking green, Tam and I took another trip to Wal-Mart and got a small can..next day I started painting, didn't get far since the color looked minty. Now that may not mean much to some of you, but I'm not a fan of mint, and certainly not on our main bathroom walls. :D I then called Tam for moral support (haha, yeah I know faar too many details, but you can skim or skip it all together). :) Tried to see if it changed when it dried (nope) so I took another trip to Wal-Mart to play with the tints. Got the friendly, very helpful guy to add some black etc. then I compared the colors to a swatch and found it was almost a match for a bluesy/green, all I needed was one more shot of green, so it was perfectly providential. Ahh, much better..a bit darker than I had been going for in the first place, but hey it's not mint and that's a good thing.

Well back to painting the basement bathroom, I suppose I'll torture ya'll once or twice more with my renovation details later. :D

Jode

Busy busy. So today and the last couple of weeks have been my "get with it and paint" weeks, also filled with the normal household chores etc.

My project list started with our 14 ft. or so entry way which was covered in a pretty okay looking wallpaper for the 70's or whenever they pasted it up, but it had to meet it's end. I started by taking off about 12 little square mirrors that were stuck onto part of the wall. So yeah the wallpaper could have been easier for sure (or harder), but with my spray bottle and putty knife in tow I hit the walls. After about half an hour I had my method down, of getting it wet, peeling the top off, then spraying it again and peeling the second layer of paper off all the way to the top of the walls. The main challenge was the height, since my 8 ft. ladder plus me on the very top only equals about 13 ft. No, I was careful and didn't risk my life too often, when I could help it. After many hair pullings and sighs I had it all down, sanded the wall and applied my putty in the appropriate areas. I guess there was only one mishap in all that (not counting the stubbornness of the remaining glue). We have an alarm system right? Well I had the upstairs alarm pad hanging from the wall while I carefully removed the paper behind. I was cautious at that point to avoid getting any water in the back of it, the thought of putting a bag on it crossed my mind but "one thing drives out another" so I forgot. I started to rip the paper above it, spraying it well, when I heard a *beep..beep..I looked down and saw that the alarm must have got a bit of moisture in is from the mist. Well after a closer inspection off of my ladder I saw that it proclaimed to be armed; I hadn't pressed anything on it so I called Belinda figuring that she could rescue us from the impending noise. Well the buttons weren't registering, so I thought I'd open the door in the normal fashion of us coming home. The buttons still didn't work, the alarm went off, tried the downstairs' pad, it wasn't working either. It isn't hooked up right now to an alarm company, so noise is about all we got and either our neighbors knew it was us setting it off or they really don't care if we get robbed. After about 15 minutes of that is went silent again, until little Baillie decide to prance down the hallway where we have a motion detector, so off it went again. With silence once more, I called Mark and Tammy to see if they knew what to do with it, which they didn't... so we had to wait for Mark to get back. After the kids setting it off 2 or 3 more time, taking control, Belinda and I blocked of the area with chairs as reminds of why they're *not* to go that way. Mark came home and tried to unarm it but to no avail, he did however have the wits enough to shut of the breaker for it, now why didn't I think of that??

Okay, bedtime I'll have to post the rest of my doings in another addition. :)

Jody