she graduated

 another milestone.  a new beginning.  a page turned.  Hannah did it.  all done her nursing degree at Western and just like that she's moving on and away from that student life.  not always an easy transition, i'm sure.  she's back home again to work and save and pay off debt.  a strategic move and one that we, of course, welcomed.  she has done it with grace and confidence and character.  

her graduation last month caused us all to pause and realize what Joelle missed by graduating during the start of a pandemic. too bad for sure.  she made the best of it of course, but it really felt like an important culmination of four years of determined effort and i was sad she didn't get to experience a typical graduation.  

congrats Hannah!  you're already an exceptional nurse and a gift to those you care for.  keep your humorous, compassionate edge and you'll be a ray of sunshine wherever you land...❤

just this

 today, just this.  

a newish and awesome song by the remarkable Lauren Daigle.  

she continues to shine like The Light she carries.  

this song is so sweet.  it resonates deep.

Thank God I Do

enjoy!

our Western adventurer

 this girl.  she's something.  her pictures are breathtaking.  her energy~ a little freakish.  her happy place~ the mountains and lakes and unspoiled creation contained within the beautiful province of BC.  

if only i had the superpower to move mountains.  i'd shift all of it much closer to home.  

keep the photos coming Joelle...living vicariously through your many adventures.  be careful too, k?! :) love you so much! 

this is fifty

 a few weeks back i left my forties behind me.  i'm officially living the next decade.  and this is fifty.  

Cree and i flying a kite here (with the flying expertise of daddy to get it launched and Hannah who assembled), but i love the image of being focused upwards. as i reflect on the days that lay before me, however many there are, i'm taking stock and reflecting on where i've been and how God has led my life for over 40 years now.  i've experienced both mountaintops and valleys, loads of twists and turns, and God has seen fit to remain faithful in His care over me through every season.  this decade i choose to continue to grow, to be shaped by Jesus, to be more dependent on His strength and grace and to be fully present, not looking too far behind or ahead, but focused on the purpose i strive to live out each day.  i will anchor myself more tightly to Christ, even if storms surge and currents pull.  i'll do my best to live in such a way that others are pointed upwards too~ that more may know of the transforming love and power of Jesus, and find their hope and purpose in and through Him also.  

asking God to carry me as i love my bunch....all seven of them, yikes.  i feel utterly inadequate most days, and yet know that "in my weakness He is strong".  i've lived it and know it to be true.  i pray this decade causes others to see more of Jesus through my own ups and downs and that my failures and missteps give testimony to the blazing love and forgiveness of my Maker.  for He has redeemed me, He has called me His own, He knows my name and He sees me right where i'm at.  wow...

Isaiah 43:1-5 in the Message says this,

"Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.  I've called your name.  You're mine.  When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.  When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.  When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end~ 

Because I am God, your personal God...
I paid a huge price for you...

That's how much you mean to me!  That's how much I love you!

I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.  

So don't be afraid: I'm with you."

so as surreal as it is to say i'm fifty, i'm super thankful to be here, and feeling determined more than ever to "press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

❤

photo credits to my dear Jeffrey