Ok Chrissy you got me thinking...

I went to the link you posted on your blog and took the test. (see results below) One thing that amazes me about God is just when you think you don't have a gift for something, He shows you otherwise or that you are capable at least of doing what you thought you couldn't. For myself I thought I would be ok as CE chair when I took it on at our church a few years ago. I love kids, I love helping others and nurturing. Boy did I suck. I guess I did ok at helping to devise a plan for our insurance company on CE issues but as for the rest - forget it. God being so amazing knew this and therefore put an end to my CE days. Praise God. So, then I'm thinking well, I do want to serve God and my church so I wonder what I can do. Again God took care of that for me. I love our Pastor. Chris is amazing - very smart, motivated, loving, forgiving and most of all driven by God to do His work. More than anything I believe this guy just wants to serve God - do ANYTHING God asks of him. So of course I trust the guy. That is I did until he approached me and asked me to consider the church treasury. Then I immediately thought Chris had lost his mind. So I prayed about it, thinking the whole time I asked for God's direction that I would say no. You see I failed math in high school. Had to get a tutor just to graduate. I hate math and anything to do with figures. Our family budget is a joke so what on earth was I thinking even considering this? That's just it - I was thinking "on earth" not spiritually. Now I know, if God wants you to do something, even if you think you can't - you can do it. He will see to that. I have been the treasurer for a year now (that is with great help from Ralph and Chris) and was just asked today if I would stay on for another year. Of course I said yes. I'll only stop if God directs me to. I am His servant - in all I do. I desire nothing more than to serve my God and do it willingly. My prayers were answered (and always are), because I have learned more as treasurer this past year and now love doing it more than I ever would have guessed. You see I based my ability (or lack there of) to be treasurer on my "earthly" experiences. He proved to me I have spiritual gifts I never knew of - see in administration (treasury) I only scored a 9, but He knows with His help I can do anything!!! And now I know it too. Oh and these were my test results. :-) M. (Thanks Chrissy)

1. Evangelism.............14
2. Prophecy.................9
3. Teaching.................11
4. Exhortation.............15
5. Pastor/Shepherd.......14
6. Showing Mercy..........17
7. Serving...................14
8. Giving.....................11
9. Administration........9

It's Christmas time again...

So, here it is November 26 and we decided to put up our Christmas tree and decorations today. We always have so much fun doing this. The kids helped us trim the tree and after all the lights were put up they were the ones to turn them on. They got so excited about making the tree look "pretty". My husband on the other hand got excited about his new Bing Crosby Christmas CD and very, very excited about the mistletoe. Christmas time excitement for some reason always makes him a little "randy baby". Anyway, Christmas time for me is a time of reflection. I remember Christmas when I was a child with fondness. The greatest thing for me then was being together with all our family. As a young adult I loved watching the excitement in my niece and nephew. Now, although I really love seeing my children's reaction to store displays, toys, presents, Christmas trees and other novelties, my greatest joy is sharing with them the story of the birth of our Lord. I love reading from Matthew or Luke on Christmas day with them. I love making a "birthday cake" for Jesus and having the kids sing Happy Birthday to Him. I love that my daughter is excited about being apart of our church's Christmas Eve service. I don't remember as a child really focusing that much on God - more commercialism really. We were really into Santa but our kids think (at our doing) that Santa is just a nice guy who likes to give more than receive and that he gives in the tradition of gifts being given to the Christ child at His birth. All of the kids gifts are from us but one. They each get one from Santa. It's hard when at daycare and school the focus is all on Santa but they do very well I think. If you ask Ceilidh who Jesus is she replies "God's son - he died for us". Noah always says to never fear "God will always protect us". " What is the true meaning of Christmas kids?" "We celebrate Jesus' birthday". I love hearing that from them. Anyway, tonight after the kids go to bed, Brad and I will watch the hockey game and then off to bed. Tomorrow we will probably watch a Christmas Story - which is a great movie about a young boy's memorable Christmas one year. I love that movie because it shows me that my past Christmases were never as messed up as this kids and that makes me feel all warm inside. Merry Christmas :-) M.

What is it about hockey???

This guy is my dad. His name is Jack. He died when I was 23 of lung cancer. He is the man responsible for introducing me to hockey. To be precise he introduced me to a rivalry between the Leafs and the Canadiens. From a very young age I can remember sitting around our small television that was in a huge cabinet style box. It had dials - no remotes (oh now here I going being all old again) and if anyone dared touch that dial during a hockey game they'd get their hand slapped away so fast it'd make their head spin. True hockey was when (back in the day) there were the original 6 teams that expanded to 12 teams in 1967 - I mean these guys didn't even wear helmets let alone visors etc. I really loved those games growing up. Then as I got a little older I was recruited to play net for my brother's street team. I KNOW he asked me to tend goal just so he could pummel me with pucks, balls, rocks whatever. But after some time of it I actually got to be pretty good. Later in school (house league) I played goal again and did some forwarding. It was great exercise, a great lesson in teamwork and good sportsmanship. I miss playing actually. So now that I'm old and fat and not nearly capable of fighting off speeding pucks to my head I watch my beloved Leafs every chance I get. I'm not going to see all the game tonight and I'm bummed but such is life. My husband is a pretty good player. He and our friend get together on Friday nights to "pass the puck" and I have to admit I'm kinda jealous. But I know if I did get the chance to play I'd just make a fool out of myself. So being a hockey fan who is also a mother I have of course passed on the hockey family tradition to my children as you can see. My husband would like to have both kids play. First they need to learn how to skate. Noah already knows quite well how to body check, trip, high stick and delay game!!!!! Oh well, off to bed now to dream of hockey. I don't know what it is that gets me going - maybe it's all the hot sweaty men (with no teeth) or maybe it's just a long standing love of the competition. And the fights are always cool too. M. :-)

Payback is a ...

This is my "daughter" Chrissy M Dennis. Isn't she beautiful and she's single!!! She's 21, smart, funny, just slightly clumsy but great at games. She's loving, caring and extremely sincere. Her faith in God is inspiring and I absolutely love how great she is with her "sister" Ceilidh and her "brother" Noah. God blessed us with the third child we thought we would never have in May 2004 and I am a richer person now for having her in my life. She and my husband get along soooooo well (he never bugs or teases her) and we thank God for her every day. I love Chrissy very much - just like she was my own and I hope she never gets tired of being a "Peters". Thanks Chrissy for the Michelle blog - you shouldn't have - really, you shouldn't have!!!! We love ya sweetie and hope you're with us for a very long time. Thanks for always lending me an ear when I need it too. Especially since I usually end up completely taking over the conversation every time we talk. God bless you girl and you really were too kind in your Michelle blog. I'm not at all like what you said :-)

I'm old and that's okay...(heck just look at my profile photo)

I really needed some mindless down time. So my wonderful (and extremely handsome) husband went to the video store yesterday and rented Ghostbusters. A classic. Of course I've seen the film about 30 times since seeing it in the theatre when it was released in 1984 (the year Chrissy was born!!!) but it is timeless and still quite funny (I think). Brad and I laughed quite a bit throughout the film. Chrissy did not laugh once (that I heard) and she commented after that the film "kind of" scared her. It is billed as a comedy. That's when I realized I'm old. Of course I already know I'm old but it's times like these that remind me just how old I am. I was in high school when I saw this film in '84. The jokes (I think) still work and it's silly which is always fun but for some reason Chrissy thought it was lame. So, even though I enjoyed seeing the film again and I did get some laughs out of it, in the end it just made me feel old and "unhip". But you know what else I realized...I like being old and unhip. I love where I am, who I'm with, the children God's blessed me with, the same man I've been with for 8 years, and the entertainment I enjoy whether it's lame to others or not. Sounds scary but I really do love who and where I am. Thank you Lord for making me old! :-) M.

How long can chicken pox possibly go on for??????

My poor child. She thinks these spots "are gonna be on me forever" and it seems like she just gets over the fever and then it's back again. Her brother keeps asking me why he can't have the spots. My husband is worried his baby may have long term affects from these pox and I am just exhausted. God has seen me through almost another week. Off Wednesday and today to be with my child - back to work tomorrow. I have decided to give up on Thursday night bible study all together because I've missed so much already and I just can never find a way to make it to the classes. I miss it though. The kids and I missed church last week and will again this Sunday as Ceilidh is still contagious and Noah may be. Oh bother. Well here's hoping Noah and Brad won't get them and then maybe I can take in a service! Man I'm sucky and whiny huh? Sorry. I guess I'm feeling sorry for myself and how selfish is that - just look at her face!!! Well I guess I better go check on her. I pray she can at least sleep through the night tonight - for her sake as well as ours. Heck, even Chrissy is sick!!! M.

Praise God

Do you ever say to yourself "how did I get here?" No, I'm not quoting the Talking Heads song I mean it. Often times I will reflect and say wow how did I get so lucky? Or how on earth did I get here from there? I know the answers of course. Without God I would be nowhere and I would have nothing. He has blessed me with an amazing husband who is better now than he ever was back then and thank goodness He blessed me with seeing me through the 80's & early 90's. God's grace is amazing. I look at my children and wonder why He chose me to raise these beautiful creatures of His. I look at the people I'm surrounded with and wonder why He feels I deserve to be in their presence. My church is awesome and I would be lost without it and the people who make it up. Now, 15 yrs ago I never would've said any of the above. My only interest was myself. My main goal each day was to wake up without a hang-over and to have enough money to purchase the necessities for another fun-filled night of illegal activity. I was NEVER going to get married (career gal) and I was NEVER going to have kids (rug rats). I was going to travel and become a professional student. Then God introduced me to death and then my husband. I never thought I'd ever survive losing my dad to cancer when I was 23. The same year he died I met Brad. Seven years later I asked Christ to be my saviour and my life changed forever and definitely for the better. I absolutely LOVE IT when I run into old friends who I haven't seen in a while and they say "what are you up to?" ... well I'm a Christian. I accepted Christ in 1998, got married in 1999, had my daughter in 2000 and my son in 2002 oh yeah and I'm our church treasurer. Their mouths always drop and then they smile and say "no way, not you, you're lying" I love it when that happens - because then I get to share my testimony. God works in wonderful ways. And He never ceases to amaze me - through good and bad, beautiful and ugly He is always there for me and He never lets me forget it. Praise God for what He has done and continues to do for me and my family. And praise Him for all He does for everyone else too. I just hope I'm doing what He wants me to do now - because that is most important to me. Not what I want but what He wants. Thanks to Him I got from there to here. :-)

M

Humble beginnings for us all

What a day...

Well, my daughter's tonsillectomy has been cancelled. She is quite ill with pox ALL over. Her brother is getting cranky and so is Daddy. Daddy has a fever and is starting to show some suspicious spots. I'm so worried about him. Today was kinda stressful and I'm down and worried about Ceilidh. But then, the most amazing thing happened to me...I'm in the drive thru at Horton's on my way home from Bella (nrsg home I work at) and I drive up to the window to pay for my large coffee when the two girls working the window say "It's paid for" I reply "I'm sorry, what did you say?" "It's paid for, that lady does this every day. She always pays for whoever is immediately behind her in line" The woman who was in line ahead of me paid for my coffee and she doesn't even know me. All she knows is that some stunned looking woman in a van behind her ordered a large coffee and she bought it for me. I can't even thank her. I immediately start to cry. That woman who I've never met and I'm sure I never will just completely made my day. God bless that wonderful woman. And I'm not excited because she saved me a couple of bucks I'm excited because she just showed me she loves me and I've never even met her. WOW. Now I feel like a heel. What good deeds can I do to brighten someone's day or make God smile???????????????????? M.

Well, here goes...

Ok, so this is blogging eh? Mmm. Well let's see. Today was a great disaster. Got ready to go to church and then noticed my daughter is covered in what suspiciously looks like chicken pox. Not going to church. Hate missing church. So after my husband and second daughter return from church telling me how great the service was, I leave with ill daughter in tow to the walkin clinic. Diagnosis confirmed. Home to calamine lotion, tylenol and baking soda baths. She looks so ill and yet is singing and laughing the whole day through. Her strength amazes me. I love her so much and just want to take away all her discomfort. But I can't. I pray she will get well enough, just in time to (wait for it) have her tonsils out as scheduled on the 30th. What kind of monster am I to put her through that? I'm sorry but this has been an extremely difficult week. The last few weeks haven't been much better. They say what doesn't kill us makes us stronger but what if it kills you a little each day? I'm tired, can you tell? I always feel even more "out of it" when I miss church. Our Pastor's sermons usually pump me - motivate me into action. Today the only "action" I saw was an ever increasing reading on an ear thermometer and "spots" appearing literally before my eyes. My son is coming down with this already. He's grumpy and worried about his sister and extremely upset (possibly even more than I) that he missed church today. I love God. He loves me and that is what ALWAYS gets me through. So, let's see what tomorrow brings shall we? M.

My blessings