“The RoseBouquet”

One site that I came upon last week which made a fine impression on me, is one for mothers on raising godly children. This mother of ten has some sound advice; RaisingGodlyTomatoes I agree with her principles!

I’ve just done a check for other sites of this nature, and here’s one that comes fairly close. It has a store, and it seems their large family is all involved, and that they attend a church that stresses the importants of godly families. BooksonthePath.com

Another site that I want to recommend is a NEW online bookstore called, Disciples’ Cornerstone.

Always remember to check sites out with your own due diligence!

In looking for a “joy” gem in my Bible reading, (something I like to do several times a week), I found this passage in John 16, that gives us a special insight into how Jesus tried to prepare His friends for what was to happen at that particular Passover.

He said to them plainly as they shared their last Passover meal together, “In a little bit you aren’t going to see me any more, but after a little while you will see me. In fact,” He added, “You are going to weep and mourn while everyone else is rejoicing. But hold on. Your grief is going to turn to fantastic joy.”

Jesus said their switch from grief to joy was going to be like a woman in childbirth. The pain is horrible, but afterwards, when she sees that baby, the mother is filled with great joy and happiness. It’s all worth it then.

Because we know how the events played out - like knowing the end of the book or the movie, - we marvel at the denseness of these disciples or friends. But they didn’t know what He was talking about. We might say they had no clue. Yet that is exactly what Jesus was trying to give them in this conversation. Plain truth clues.

So I am asking myself now, am I ever so obtuse? Does God ever try to make things plain to us, and we just don’t get it?

It’s time we sit up and pay more attention. We whine that we don’t know why certain things are happening, but maybe the Lord Jesus has been trying to let us know and we just didn’t clue in.

That horrible Passover weekend has become our happy Easter weekend in countries where Christians are predominant. For that matter, even in areas where Easter is not politically correct, individuals can celebrate it Easter and Christ’s resurrection their hearts.

Easter weekend is almost upon us, and many people go through their traditional celebration exercises - perhaps even mindlessly. Some make sure chocolates and eggs, and new spring outfits show up at the right times, either as gifts or for themselves. In some families it means a big gathering with plenty to eat. Lots of visiting.

I prefer to pause and see if there is some spiritual truth gem I can open my eyes to, and start living by. In this passage I think is the very gem for me this Easter. I’m willing to share it with you here, if you don’t mind ignoring the eggs and bunnies, and feasts.

Jesus told His friends that you are going to have a hard time here for a bit, but the joy that follows will be out of this world and so marvelous that you’ll forget all the pain you’ve gone through. Just think; it was true for Him, and it was true for those poor disciples, and hallelujah, it can, and is going to be true for us too! We can experience this transformation in our lifetime, and then the ultimate JOY when we arrive in Heaven.

If you are going through a period of suffering that seems like the blackest night, please take heart. Joy comes in the morning! It will totally eclipse your present torment and sadness and grief. If it doesn’t happen in your lifetime, rest assured it WILL happen when you wake in Gloryland.

I’ve decided to pay attention to the contrast of grief and joy this Easter weekend. It will show up in various programs and the Easter morning drama at church, I’m sure. But I also want to listen for the personal applications the Spirit of God may want to reveal to me.

May you get your portion of that wonderful joy too!

To read sample chapters of my first novel online, start at the Index

To order the e-book to download and read on your computer; the Order page
(or if you email me, we can make a deal and I’ll send it to you on CD).

To order the softcover paperback from Booklocker use; Booklocker

My Pen Pal Betty was a marvelous guest. Very agreeable, and so gracious and eager to see all that we wanted to show her. Dad most especially likes to show off his crafts and how-he-does-it. We did not really talk about my online efforts at all as she is one of those who has no use for computers. If she needs something, like ordering flight tickets, Betty calls on her brother Fred.

It was a wonderful chance to catch up with her though. I first knew Betty when we both lived in London, Ontario. Her family lived in the apartment below mine, and Betty was only 12. They were a very quiet family because her mother Rose was deaf. They spoke to each other in sign language. Then they moved to Vancouver, and for a number of years I lost track of them.

One day I got a letter from Betty. She wanted to be Pen Pals. I always enjoyed letter-writing so that was no problem to me. Not long after that she got married. Most of her letters were about Alan and their BIG cat called Ladd. (He passed away more recently).

In 1998 Dad and I drove to B.C. and spent three weeks looking up relatives and my various pen pals, and generally set ourselves free after 14 years of caring for Mom at home. At that time Betty took us out to a fine restaurant, and a tour of the VanDusen Gardens. Also to visit her Dad, Fred Sr. and her brother’s wife Regina, and their little daughter Devon. (Fred Jr. was away on a brief trip at the time). Betty’s mother Rose has died a few years earlier.

It was on this visit when Betty brought along a family history book a cousin on her mother’s side had prepared, that I learned of Rose’s colourful past. Rejected by her step-mother, Rose had run away as a teenager. She was married to a man with the surname Rose, and had five children. He was abusive so she walked out with some of the children, but they were taken away from her as wards of the court. Rose joined a gang (no one is sure if they were hippies or what), but they traveled all over the States, and she had at least two more children that have come to light, as one of Betty’s half-brothers has done research.

Eventually Rose came back to Vancouver, and met Fred, who was not deaf, but had been to the same deaf school as she. With him, life settled down and she had Fred Jr. and Betty. Because Rose had never talked about her past this little family had no idea what she had been through. Rose’s brothers and sisters had no idea either!

My heart goes out to Rose in retrospect, but I also thrill at what a lovely woman Betty has become. She works in a nursing home and dotes on her dear seniors. She just butters love all over them!

Spring is busy melting away our huge quantities of snow. Lots of it disappeared last week. The streets and most of the sidewalks show through now, and the drifts on the lawn and garden are shrinking. Going for a walk is a renewed pleasure!

Yesterday I heard and saw two Canada Geese that are back. Other birds are chattering neighbourly in the trees too.

Whatsmore, I gave into a spring yen last Saturday and painted the kitchen and dining room walls a peach-pink.

Website wise? Renovations are continuing on all fronts. The forms are working on the genealogy site! Hallelujah! Now I’m starting on a shopping cart there. I’m still doing templates in the Azaleas section of my business site, which gets to be fun as I experiment with graphic headers. On this site, Ruthes-SecretRoses.com I’ve moved over to updating the article section. The indexes are just about done, and I believe the rest will click along nicely at a good pace.

In my novel marketing hour I’ve been fixing up the Intimacy sub-domain, and have those uploaded now. Guess it’s time to switch to promotional and marketing efforts during that time now. This section is all about developing intimacy with God through prayer and faith in Jesus Christ His Son. Some pages are expansions of articles you have seen here. I do take time and space there to explain some theological viewpoints, so it is a bit heavier reading there, but every page invites the reader to order my novel too, so this is hopefully going to sell more books.

Besides all that I’m working on other’s sites on different evenings of the week. I’m pleased with how the work on tracts is coming on the WesternTractMission.org site. Work on a friend/client’s site is still in the layout stage, but the work on another ministry site, Generosity-Alive.org has stalled now for 3 weeks over a technical problem. Photos don’t show up!

I try not to toss out prayer requests too frequently so they get glossed over, but if you are one of my praying friends, I would invite you to ask for a breakthrough on this, and for much wisdom as it is suppose to be up to me to write profiles on various needy missions and ministries, with a goal of attracting generous givers to support them. This site involves learning to work with a content management system called Mambo. It looks to be quite wonderful, but my learning curve hitches can be frustrating. My patience is stretched there!

(value of links is not guaranteed)

Searching for missing adoption records?
records-search.net gives access to public records for a one-time fee of $34.95
celebrities.adoption.com Just for curiosity’s sake
answers.uk.com/services/adopt1.htm may be great for United Kingdom residents
rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson31.htm links to some startling stories!
records.com appears free at first, then they want a fee - might be worth it?
IWasAdopted.com a free service that has great testimonials.
findmybirthparents.com - charges fees, but appears successful.
http://www.adoptiontriad.org/bio.htm has links to touching stories

Ah, but it takes Cindi’s List site to come up with the longest list of links to adoption search sites.
CyndisList.com/adoption.htm This will keep you busy if you are serious!