Roger's 25 Ways to a Happy Life

On August 12, 2010, a dear friend of ours went on to glory.  He left behind him a loving wife, 14 children and many grand kids.

Roger entered our lives some 15 years ago when he showed us a badly run down, fixer upper on five acres and suggested that the property was clearly a diamond in the rough and MADE for us.

Being city slickers for soooo many years before our leap into rural living, our only option was to believe him.  He was right.

We owe him a lot for wrangling us a great deal for the property that even came in much lower than the property assessment.

Over the past many years we have kept in touch, and have many good memories.

At his memorial service, he had asked that they add "Roger's 25 Ways to a Happy Life" to the bulletin.  I present them to you now:

1.  Take you wife out at least once a week --- even if just for coffee
2.  Learn to fly-fish and tie your own flies
3.  Own a convertible for at least one year
4.  Remember other people's birthdays
5.  Plant flowers every spring
6.  Learn three clean jokes
7.  If they created it at camp --- put it on display
8.  Never pass up the chance to buy some lemonade from a kid's stand
9.  Be kind to the poor in spirit and offer a word of encouragement
10.  Learn to identify the work of Rachamaninov, Bach, Mozart, and Sibelius
11.  Never make sport of someone who is trying to make an honest living
12.  Stop blaming others.  Take responsibility of every area of your life
13.  Avoid sarcasm and never take action when you are angry
14.  Make it a habit to do nice things for people anonymously
15.  Compliment at least three people a day --- make one of these your wife
16.  Tell your kids how terrific they are and how proud you are of them
17.  Watch for big problems.  They disguise big opportunities
18.  Take a year, in a half hour a day, to read the entire Bible

19.  Don't buy cheap tools.  Craftsman & Lee Valley tools are the best
20.  Learn to ride an Arabian horse --- then do so whenever you get a chance
21.  Start the day by praying aloud with your wife or a loved one
22.  Never underestimate the power of a kind word or deed

23.  Take time to smell the roses, examine the night sky, and watch a sunrise/sunset at least once a season
24.  Don't let kids record your voice mail greeting
25.  Never deprive someone of Hope.  It may be all they have.

Summer Camp 2010 - Part 2

There wasn't much down time at the camp for Genius and his Girlfriend.

What would you expect with a pack of young kids to entertain and 'herd' into different activities ... one right after another after another after another?

One of the events involved dressing up in clothes characteristic of another country.  Girlfriend donned the kimono of a Japanese girl.

With Genius' tanned skin, he decided to dress in the attire of someone from India.  At the looks of things, he even mastered their native dance!

All in all, they had a great time. 

I think that they are already planning to attend

again next year as leaders.

Summer Camp 2010 - Part 1

Genius and his girlfriend volunteered to be leaders at a Summer Camp put on collectively by many churches in British Columbia.  The Girlfriend captured 333 pictures during the week ...

Now before you close this post in anticipated 'viewing exhaustion", let me reassure you that I am only posting a few in Part 1 and just a few more in Part 2.  A nice number so that you can get a gist of the fun they had ...

Genius was Yellow team leader and was stretched beyond his comfort zone in many ways.

Mentally ... Spiritually ... and Physically 

The location was beautiful

Many acres of land to roam with lots of water for different activities

Even a giant ice berg in the middle of the lake to climb upon!

Genius was put through quite a few challenges ... many involving cool clear water ...

Did I say cool?  I meant COLD.

Church Picnic - 2010

For the past three years our family has hosted the annual church picnic here at our homestead.  Potluck was the name of the game, and there was a delicious assortment of main courses, salads and desserts to share by all.

And the ALL included some 87 mouths to feed.

And we had a wonderful time.

Despite the lack of rain, which led to the crunchy fields of dead grass, we still had to mow the entire five acres in preparation for the picnic.  Amazing how the weeds can spring up to 8 inches high with hardly a drop of water to nourish them!

Dan the Man (Dreamer's boyfriend) was a great help Sunday afternoon.  Setting up tables and chairs, vacuuming down cob webs and ... well ... cheerfully doing the needed Poo Duty.

With two large dogs ... someone had to do it!

One of
the picnic attendees was this little bunny.  He/she was a hit among the young and old alike.

I don't want to offend anyone by posting their snap shot on my blog without permission, so I have opted not to share with you my church family.  ... And unfortunately I forgot completely to take pictures of the wonderful spread of food .... But I did think that I would show you an idea I came up with last year.  Little plastic containers of Jello.  With only about an ounce or so in each one, the kids LOVE them.  Easy and well received.

They hardly compete with the other decadent desserts that were offered, but they provided a certain twist and I am all for thinking outside the box even if it is just a Jello box!

All in all
the picnic was
a great success.

With the help of the entire church family,
it is an amazing way to give of yourself
in the spirit of hospitality.

Be Not Forgetful to Entertain Strangers

 Hubby and I have spent the last 25 years trying to follow the commandment in the Bible that states that we should open our home and be hospitable .

Sometimes difficult, sometimes tiring, mostly with nothing more than humble food offerings, but overall doing our small part has definitely provided us with great rewards.

Although I hardly claim to be an expert in the field of hospitality, I do shout out its merits. 

The Bible says:

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Hebrews 13:2

That's a sobering thought.  It's often difficult to open your home to someone you don't know very well, isn't it?  Yet we are told not to forget to invite them over for coffee and conversation.

I found this wonderful quote on another blog that states:

Whatever we possess becomes of double value

when we have the opportunity of sharing it with others. 

Jean-Nicolas Bouilly

Not only are we told to invite them in and share what we have, but we are to do it without grudging or complaining. How many times am I guilty of fretting and fuming over cleaning the house before company arrives? And the screaming and yelling and bossing and fretting and fuming and then ...  And then I take a deep breath and greet the guests at the door with a smile? Yikes.

But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.    I Peter 4:7 - 11 

Let love be without dissimulation. [Dissimulation is a form of deception in which one conceals the truth.] Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.  Romans 12: 9-13

Give yourself over to hospitality ... you'll be glad you did.

Four Men in a Truck

Genius and three of his friends loaded a few of their earthly belongings into the Ford 150 and headed across the border to the state of Oregon.
Three Canadians and one big German.

 

Dan the Man (Dreamer's boyfriend) loves out-doorsy stuff.

The weather was perfect.  Not too hot ... not too cold.  White sandy beaches for as long as you can see.

They slept on the beach in tents, and ate well even while on the road and eating out of the back of the truck.

 

Genius and one of his best friends, BranYo

One day they rented an ATV ... at least I think that is what you call them ...

Paramedics were needed only when the ATV flipped and the German broke his wrist.

Other than that, all went well on the Western Coast.

Cardboard Testimony

Johnnie-Girl told me to look up CARDBOARD STORIES on youtube.

There are a few there to view, but I thought that I would tempt you with this one below.

Nothing like a good cry on Monday morning.

Money Money Money

Money is any marketable good or token used by a society as a store of value, a medium of exchange, or a unit of account.

He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.

Benjamin Franklin

Money is always there but the pockets change. 

Gertrude Stein

Yesterday Hubby came home with a crumpled paper bag filled with a wad of $20 bills.  I wasn't overly surprised as it is a fairly frequent occurrence in our home as Hubby is a professional gambler and he is very good at his trade and ...

*** NOT ***

The truth is, being a contractor, once in a very blue moon someone pays in cash.

There was one of those moons last night.

$10,000 in cash ... 500 $20 bills ... 100 piles of $20 bills

What a sight.

Now if you are pondering sneaking in and taking this loot, don't be so hasty.

Already in the bank and probably in their vaults.

Safe and secure.

And depends on how fast I pay our bills, maybe it is gone from there already.

Easy come and easy go.

Fun to photograph though. 

Don't Worry ... Be Happy

I love that jingle DON'T WORRY ... BE HAPPY.  That's just what God reminds us to do in His Word and we (or at least me) always forget to do.

If you honestly think about all those so called trials that you have faced in your life, the majority of them are either pretty silly or have worked out to a better end.

 

"Oh dear, Johnnie-Girl crashed our year old SUV through the garage wall and halfway into the next room."

 

"Oh my, Dreamer's dream of entering post graduate work in Detroit has been shattered by a single decision made by someone that doesn't even know her."

 "Genius cringed at the very thought of speaking in front of a crowd and now he is a gifted and requested speaker."

"Oh boy, my heart was infected by a rare virus
and now it has the functionality of a 75 year old."

~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~

Sing it with me now ... "Don't worry ... Be happy." 

God can help you along any of life's bumps and turns ...

It WILL get better

... probably different than you had planned ...

but most probably better than your wildest dreams.

It is a wonderful life after all.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

I was looking over a few blogs that I frequent and found information on this most innovative STREETWISE PLANE.  Not quite the level of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang that we were introduced to many years ago, but totally cool none the less. 

For just under $200,000 you can have one of these flying machines in your driveway.

Fueled by regular gasoline you purchase from your neighbourhood gas pump, this little baby is the wave of the future.

With 20 - 40 hours of air flight training, you can soar with the greatest of ease to destinations of your dreams.

The Transition by Terrafugia is definitely on my wish list.

Said to have comfortable seating for two, complete with air bags and a dual GPS:  One part road map ... one part air.

Unfortuantely I have already discussed it with my Hubby and he says nix to the idea.

But I would love to see pictures of you in yours!