Guess What I Found on the Newstand Tonight?!

Someone I know is now famous!!

Les' Eve

Tomorrow is the birthday of the most handsome, caring, creative, brilliant man I know...the one my heart loves! Happy birthday Les!! I love you more than words can say and am so proud to be your wife:)

Yes, I know, I'm way behind in updating this thing. I know you don't want excuses, but things have been hectic. I only have a minute here, so I'll just update you on the two most notable things on my heart:

Firstly, last week, Les was injured in a bit of a mishap that I don't have time to describe here, but the outcome was a fractured rib, a buckled rib, some nasty bruises and an wound that bled into his abdominal cavity. He's been in quite of a bit of pain ever since, so if you'd pray for my sweet man, I'd so appreciate it. Today he does seem to be feeling some relief - although he still has a ways to go.

Secondly, despite his injuries, Les insisted on taking me to the Brian Doerksen worship concert on the weekend, and it was amazing! I learn a lot worshipping with him:)

"The splendor of a human heart which trusts that it is loved gives God more pleasure than Westminster Cathedral, the Sistine Chapel, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Van Gogh's Sunflowers, the sight of ten thousand butterflies in flight, or the scent of a million orchids in bloom."
Brennan Manning

English Tea Lyrics
(Paul McCartney)


Would you care to sit with me
For a cup of English tea
Very twee, very me
Any sunny morning

What a pleasure it would be
Chatting so delightfully
Nanny bakes, fairy cakes
Every Sunday morning

Miles of miles of English garden, stretching past the willow tree
Lines of hollyhocks and roses, listen most attentively

Do you know the game crochet
Peradventure we might play
Very gay, hip hooray
Any sunny morning

(solo)

Miles of miles of English garden, stretching past the willow tree
Lines of hollyhocks and roses, listen most attentively

As a rule the church bells chime
When it's almost supper time
Nanny bakes fairy cakes
On a Sunday morning

Brian Doerksen in Concert

Les called me at work today with wonderful news. He has another date planned for November 25th. We just barely finished one date and already there is another one on the horizon?! (I'm liking this!!) Apparently Brian Doerksen is playing Saskatoon on the 25th and Les has gotten us tickets! Brian is a sincere heart, a husband and a father with a heart for The Father. Les had encountered him personally when he lived in B.C., and we both enjoyed worshipping with him last year at Breakforth. He is a talented worship leader and muscian and a tremendous songwriter. I'm SO looking forward to the 25th!

Boy Those Roses Smell Good

I just had the most wonderful evening and day with my handsome husband. It started when I came home from work on Monday to 2 dozen (!!) huge long-stemmed white roses (with just a hint of pink:) along with a love note written en francais from Les!! (remember when he said that if you don't use your French you lose it:)

For our anniversary he had also gotten me a gift certificate for Bev Ashdown's for a pedicure (those are one of the most relaxing experiences I can think of:) and an amazing card:)

Then Les took me to the Granary for supper (as is our tradition:), where we had the most delightful meal (although I'll admit I was over my carb limit...but it was our anniversary after all!) Then we did some walking and browsing and ended our time out with coffee's at the new Starbucks on Broadway.

The whole time I felt like we had this big secret compared to the rest of the world...here it was a weekday and we were out on a date...here it was a weekday and we didn't have to worry about getting to bed on time:) You see, Grandma had Amanda overnight and we both had booked Tuesday off, so we could linger Monday evening and spend Tuesday together.

We had such a good day Tuesday too! We slept late, had eggs for breakfast (in the middle of the week?!) then headed out to some shops we never get to, just to look. We even had another Starbucks...this time trying the Gingerbread lattes (yum)...and then picked up Amanda from school and I made a special dinner at home to celebrate our anniversary as a family.

Last night, I really had a hard time though going to bed. I didn't want it to be over...nor to face the reality of work and its hectic-ness today, but here we are!

Boy those roses smell good! :)

Saying "I Do" Was the Best Thing I Ever Did!

Today is the third anniversary of the day I married Les! And in that three years, my life has seen more changes than I would have ever dreamed, but also, in that three years I have experienced more happiness than I knew possible! My husband is a man of character and committment who does more than his share to take care of his family. My partner is a man of humour and optimism (especially when it comes to me) who holds me up when I can't do it myself. My friend is the only man I could ever share all my secrets and dreams with and know that I am safe. I am so grateful for you, Les. I love you and adore you even more than on that day when we first said 'I do.'!

Overheard coming out of my daughter's mouth...



You hope that your children internalize the things you try to teach them...but you don't know for sure...until, that is, you overhear them say something like this:

"I just don't get why (name witheld to protect a friend) didn't study for her test?! When I have a test coming up it just doesn't feel right to be watching TV or playing if I haven't studied."

Not bad for 10:)

Encounter

Encounter was very good tonight. I think I finally let God begin to break through what I've been carrying as we sang 'Blessed be the name'. In the message, the image of hands really spoke to me...

It Depends on Whose Hands It Is In

A violin in my hands will make a screechy
noise
But a violin in a musician's hands will play
a masterpiece.
It all depends whose hands it's
in.

A basketball in my hands is worth about
$29.95
A basketball in Michael Jordan’s hands is
worth about $33 million
It all depends whose hands it’s in

A baseball in my hands is worth about $6
A baseball in Mark Mcquire’s hands is
worth $19 million
It all depends whose hands it’s in

A tennis racket
is useless in my hands
A tennis racket in Pete Sampras’ hands is a Wimbledon
Championship
It all depends whose hands it’s in

A rod in my hands
will keep away a wild animal
A rod in Moses’ hands will part the mighty sea
It all depends whose hands it’s in

A sling shot in my hands is a
kid’s toy
A sling shot in David’s hand is a mighty weapon…
It all
depends whose hands it’s in

Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in my hands
is a couple of fish sandwiches…
Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in God’s
hands will feed thousands
It all depends whose hands it’s in

Some mud and some spit in my hands makes a
mud-pie
But some mud and spit in Jesus' hands
restores sight to the blind
It all depends whose hand it's
in

Nails in my hands might produce a
birdhouse
Nails in Jesus’s hands will produce salvation for the entire world
It all depends whose hands it’s in

I have no idea who first penned this. I first heard it tonight from an African-American preacher in a film clip. It appears that he added several examples that weren't in the original version I found as I googled it just now, so I added those in from my memory of his words. The message I heard tonight was to put everything in His hands so that we can take our empty hands and lift them up to him and point to His power and His goodness. It's all better in His hands. The only hand we can give Him is ours pointing to Him.

The Truth IN Love

Oy, what a day, what a week I've been having?! So I just pressed pause for a moment and got myself a Starbucks and did a little catching up in the blog world. ...And I came upon this post of what it means to speak 'the truth in love'. Now, I don't know the writer, but she is on several of the blogrolls of people I do know, and what she wrote really resounds with me on this matter...here's an excert:

"Many times when a person evokes or employs "truth in love," the emphasis is placed more on the truth aspect of the message than the love. But that's not how the sentence itself is structured -- truth is in love, inside of it. Love is what is encompassing it, surrounding it -- which should effect how this truth is delivered.

Which leads me to my problem. Whenever I see an
injustice in the world, I want to remedy it ... but remedying it doesn't mean emphasizing what I see as the truth at the expense of love.

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm big on accountability. There are few things I despise
less than someone who's a hypocrite -- saying one thing, while intending (or doing) another. My drive for accountability needs to be balanced with a drive
for showing love -- or compassion (not pity) -- for whoever my opponent is. This is huge!

Both of these elements -- accountability and compassion -- have to be a part of my approach. Without accountability, my compassion could easily
slip into condoning of actions and a general sense of apathy to what is right and wrong. Yet without compassion, my drive for accountability (and justice) is
useless, because it gets me nowhere"
From grrrlmeetsworld.com

Now there's some truth IN love!

Sherri Needs...

As I was checking out some other blogs today, Christy had posted this little exercise. I found some of her results funny, so I tried it myself. Here are the instructions: "Go to Google and in quotation marks put your name and needs. Example if your name is Fred put "Fred needs" and press enter. Then share the 5 funniest hits."

I'm sharing the top hits in the order they came up...it's eerie how google knew the kind of week I've been having?!

• Sherri needs prayers
• Sherri needs a break
• Sherri needs to learn that they are not "wrong" and there are a multitude of ways of reading it
• Sherri needs support now
• Sherri needs to duck out
• Sherri needs a year off also
• Sherri needs to explore technology
• Sherri needs to sneak out too
• Sherri needs her bandmates
• Sherri needs to forget the world
• Sherri needs to talk
• Sherri needs to stay in the corner before she gets hurt

...and my personal favourite...

• Sherri needs much Marketing at this point anyway.

Work continues to be full of pressure and stress these days...your prayers are so appreciated!

For a break, I took a couple of quizzes about career and personality while I ate my lunch...

...and how I became a CA, still remains a mystery to me?!

Your Career Type: Social

You are helpful, friendly, and trustworthy. Your talents lie in teaching, nursing, giving information, and solving social problems. You would make an excellent: Counselor - Dental Hygienist - Librarian Nurse - Parole Officer - Personal Trainer Physical Therapist - Social Worker - Teacher The worst career options for your are realistic careers, like truck driver or farmer.

What's" Your Ideal Career?

What? ...no accountant on that list?! Shocking!! (I remember one personality quiz I took a while back that actually suggested that the last thing I should be is an accountant or finance manager! ...things that make you go, hmmm!)

Your Personality Is

Idealist (NF) You are a passionate, caring, and unique person. You are good at expressing yourself and sharing your ideals. You are the most compassionate of all types and connect with others easily. Your heart tends to rule you. You can't make decisions without considering feelings. You seek out other empathetic people to befriend. Truth and authenticity matters in your friendships. In love, you give everything you have to relationships. You fall in love easily. At work, you crave personal expression and meaning in your career. With others, you communicate well. You can spend all night talking with someone. As far as your looks go, you've likely taken the time to develop your own personal style. On weekends, you like to be with others. Charity work is also a favorite pastime of yours.

The'>http://www.blogthings.com/threequestionpersonalitytest/">The Three Question Personality Test

Happy Thanksgiving!

I Am Blessed

I had a hard time going to sleep last night...you see, I kept replaying in my mind all the things that need to get done at work. Things would be busy no matter what this time of year, but add to that the fact that two of my staff are off sick and what lies ahead of me next week is daunting... And yesterday I learned that my IS Manager will be off for at least another week, if not two (his situation has gotten worse).

Now my heart and prayers just go out for these people who are off sick and that tops my list of concerns right now. But I also can't help but feeling overwhelmed and that there is no way that I can do all that I need to get done next week...in particular, handling all the technical things that must be done in the IS Manager's absense (especially with my current workload). Please pray.

So in the midst of this, the Thanksgiving sermon I heard last night told me to find the blessing in the midst of this current struggle, and trust me, I am looking it, so I'm pausing for a moment to list out all of the things I'm thankful for right now:

- God's grace and love.
- My handsome husband whom I adore and how he love me.
- Our daughter and how her character is growing.
- Our health.
- Our extended family and the fact that most of us can see each other this Thanksgiving.
- Friends who have been so there for me.
- Our home.
- That we have jobs.
- Amanda's school and the friends that God has drawn to her.
- A new small group.
- Tea ...I think I'll go and have a cup before I get into my 'to do' list today:)

Tagged

Donna tagged me to go through my blog archives, find my 23rd posting and to paste the 5th sentence from it below. Here it is....

"I have so many memories of hours upon hours spent playing and imagining!"

Now I'm to tag 5 others to do the same...so here's the list:
Jackie R., Carrie C., Gloria R., Arilee H. and Cathy J. If you are reading this and are so inclined, what is the fifth sentence of your 23rd post? (Participation is completely optional:)

Well, I made it through the inventory count!! ...enough said (I do believe that work has taken up more than its fair share of time already this week).

Les is at work and Amanda is at Grandma's, so I had the house to myself to do my workout this morning, then I showered and headed out to get my hair cut. I love getting my hair cut, I'm not sure why? It could have something to do with the fact that I enjoy spending time with my hairdresser or the fact that it feels so good to have her massage my head or just that right now I feel pretty:) Whatever it is, I'll take it!

There sure is a fall chill in the air today, so I'm off to make some macchiato's for Les when he gets home! Enjoy the falling leaves:)

Three Wishes

Les and I taped the premier of this show last night. Then we watched it together after his evening shift, and we both loved it! In truth, I was in tears more than once during the show, touched and moved by the personal stories that were told. I think what encouraged me most was seeing everyday-folk be inspired and join in in reaching out to one another:)

Grant's Wish
"It's a teaching tool," Grant says. "Yes, it's a television show, and we are using network dollars, sponsorship dollars, to do a good thing for people. But we live in an age where
people are not connecting the way they used to, not meeting each others' needs
on a basic level. My hope, when I first went to NBC -- I just said I hope that
people see this show and feel inspired to reinvest. That's my hope, that people
are re-energized."

After shooting several episodes, the recording artist and TV host says she has already seen that hope realized, to some extent, just among the people she and her team have met in the towns the show has visited. While only three wishes are chosen for each town out of however many hundreds or thousands are presented, Grant says many times other wishes get granted off camera and behind the scenes, as a result of people
coming together to share their needs. "