Does anyone miss the fact that that I used to blog and now it is months between blogs and even months before I viist here to see if anyone misses me? Two things are involved with my lack of blogging.  The first is that I don't think I have a very interesting life. The second is I am very busy with my non-interesting life?  How can that be? I will try to visit this blogsite to see if anyone misses me.  If there are any votes to encourage me to write again then, yes, I will write.  I actually do a fair bit of journalling; writing and from time to time a poem slips out.  I mostly like to read and do so every time I get a chance, in fact I think it is time I visited the library for a good historical fiction book.  I read a lot of non-fiction so it is time to escape into a fictional world for awhile. Maybe whatever I read I can do a book report here to give me something to blog about.  Let me know if you miss me I will be watching to see if I get any votes!

I attended an interesting play at the theatre last evening. It was written by a black woman in 1959.....called A Raisin in the Sun.  It has been on broadway and in film but this is the first time I had heard of it.  The performance at Theatre Calgary was well done and powerful. 

One of the lines of the  lead player  is "I didn't choose this world I just have to live in it."

 In this play the central figure is money and each person's dreams for it and how it will solve their problems. Throughout the play you experience their ups and downs and the conflicts that come when each person explores their personal dreams that would result if they had the money.  As it unfolds and the money disappears they realize that the richness comes not from money but in other forms. At the same time one shouldn't give up on their dreams or give up on each other.  We do need one another.

Of course it is not necessary to attend a play to contemplate  these truths.

No, we did not create this world --God did.  God created this world to be beautiful and in complete harmony.  We (mankind) meddled and it continues to be a marred version of what God created.  Does this allow us to stop functioning? Of course not!  We all have a purpose and we all have dreams; our goal is to mesh our dreams and our purpose to fulfill God's plan for each of us. The chasing we engage in  needs to include God first and then through His hand our direction will be guided when we trust Him with our lives. Will we falter and fail?  Yes, at times we will....if we recognise that we are still of worth to our Creator then we can pick outselves up and dust off to try again. When our dreams and goals are encased in our ego we encounter conflict all around us as we battle to become our own god.

Sometimes our dreams seem unattainable.  This can be because we are trying to be our own creator or we haven't been patient enough and prepared enough for God's timing. Our world and vision is so small in comparison to God's vison that we can't even begin to comprehend it but it doesn't mean we quit.  God can give us glimpses and allow us to be encouraged.  We are but a chapter in His-story, let us not give up trying to  make this world a better place to live in.

Making this world a better place can mean many diferent things use your imagination and God's guidance to explore the options that suit you in your circumstances.

We all have a dream of a better life................this is built into us at creation to have a hope of heaven...this hope and better life can begin right now here on earth exactly where you are.  Go for it!

 

WENDY GRAFFUNDER

(Oct 9, 1964 – July 4, 2008)

The Importance Of A Sister

©  Shiv Sharma

A sister is someone who loves you from the heart,
No matter how much you argue you cannot be drawn apart.
She is a joy that cannot be taken away,
Once she enters your life, she is there to stay.

A friend who helps you through difficult times,
Her comforting words are worth much more than dimes.
A partner who fills your life with laughs and smile,
These memories last for miles and miles.

When she is by your side, the world is filled with life,
When she is not around, your days are full of strife.
A sister is a blessing, who fills your heart with love,
She flies with you in life with the beauty of a dove.

A companion to whom you can express your feelings,
She doesn’t let you get bored at family dealings.
Whether you are having your ups or downs,
She always helps you with a smile and never frowns.

With a sister you cannot have a grudge,
She is as sweet as chocolate and as smooth as fudge.
Having a sister is not just a trend,
It is knowing you can always turn to her, your best friend.

 

Our youngest sister Wendy went to heaven to be with her Lord on July 4^th after a brief  -- 3 weeks and 3 days—fight with brain cancer.  In that 3 weeks we got to spend time with her to say goodbye and love her a lot.  This is what I read at her funeral.

Dear Wendy,

This is a sad day for all of us but I know you are in heaven with the angels and your Heavenly Father. We know you are safe and without any of the earthly troubles you had in the past few weeks.  We already miss you painfully and we don’t understand why you had to leave us now and go on ahead but we trust that one day we will understand.

I want to share some highlights of your life from my perspective.  We waited anxiously for you to arrive home at almost a month old as you were recovering from your first surgery accomplished at 2 days old.  Otherwise your life has not been about sickness except for the amazing case of measles our kids shared with you while you lived with us in Edson.

 I was the lucky older sister who had real live dolls (you and George) to play with since there were two of you. Many times I would take both of you out in the baby buggy up the bumpy gravel driveway.  Our house was lively with a two year old (Hilda) and “the babies” so I didn’t have much choice but to learn the diaper and bottle routine.   I guess that was when the bonding began with you.   Because you were only 8 years old when I first left for college and I missed some of your growing up years.  We were always happy to have you come out to stay with us some of the summers.

Your imagination and creativity came out in the massive village you created with your Barbie’s.  You would play for hours and create imaginary life with them. Your sense of adventure got you involved in a lot of things which impacted who you became.  Lots of nights of playing hide and seek or tag in the yard. Playing school on the porch with me as your teacher! I could go on but I won’t.

I got to know you again as an adult when twice you came to live with us.    We had a lot of fun times in our family when you lived with us; singing kid songs and doing kid things as our family was full of young children.  Ray remembers the rescue trip he made to get you from the Rogers Pass resort…we told you to call day or night if you needed help and you called at night! And the midnight run happened without hesitation.

We were excited for you when you brought Frank into our family – I am sure he was a bit overwhelmed (maybe still is!?). What a blessing when you discovered motherhood with Cayla and then Brinton and Riley. I was thrilled to come and assist you in the first few weeks when Brinton and Riley were on diaper and bottle demand.

Wendy, although you were always enthusiastic you created a quiet influence on people around you.  You didn’t need to preach your Christian values because you lived them.  Your ready smile brought people into your world and your confidence that assured them things were under control.  Your patience and strength are an inspiration to those who knew you. You involved yourself in your community and your family’s lives which is why we will miss your presence so much.

You also gave me the gift of working at Menno Simons Christian School as you continued to pester me to apply to work there. I finally gave in to your urging.  Thank you for that.

You were the prefect coffee time companion; the calm in a storm; you understood that giving of socks was a perfect  gift for birthdays, Christmas or any time; you shared some great reading with me as you lent me books you knew I would enjoy; you loved family gatherings and so here we are gathered around you today.

My sister and my friend my love for you won’t end.

Love Linda

Years ago you made me a calligraphy wall hanging showing charcoal drawn mountains at the bottom that has always been displayed near my bed. It says everything that we all need to know about life:

Yesterday is a memory

Today is an opportunity

Tomorrow is a mystery

After that is eternity

Make the best of your memories

The most of your opportunities and prepare for eternity

Then tomorrow will take care of itself.

My

I have not been very good at keeping up my blogsite so it is about time. I check other people’s blogs and visit my facebook friends from time to time to see what people I know are doing so I guess I better get back on the bandwagon.

Here’s my latest mind twister (I read about in the newspaper) --which is one of my favourite parts of the day……..my paper and breakfast…….not coffee because I don’t drink it unless it looks like an iced cap!

It turns out, it is a small world.

The "small world theory," embodied in the old saw that there are just "six degrees of separation" between any two strangers on Earth, has been largely corroborated by a massive study of electronic communication.  With records of 30 billion electronic conversations among 180 million people from around the world, researchers have concluded that any two people on average are distanced by just 6.6 degrees of separation, meaning that they could be linked by a string of seven or fewer acquaintances.

This was certainly brought home to me at my sister’s funeral on July 4^th.  She knew so many people from different aspects of her life – these individuals were all brought together for one event that she would have loved to have been an active  participant.  Some of us met people we never would have otherwise met.

It has been a sad summer for myself and the family as a whole. Grieving is never easy.  To make this blog not as lengthy I will give 2 sites to visit for different things about Wendy.

To read her obituary please visit my daughter-in-law's webpage at : http://next-best-thing.blogspot.com/

And to read Frank’s (Wendy’s husband) eulogy please visit our pastor’s blogsite at: http://www.stevemc.typepad.com/

I will add (in a separate entry) the words that I put together which includes a poem that I borrowed because it spoke what needed to be said about sisters. 

2 Corinthians 5:1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

Perhaps it is time I dropped in again and wrote something. Life continues to be both interesting and busy.  For those who drop in to see me this is what I am up to these days.

At the beginning of January I embarked on 11 weeks of teaching ESL at the Center for Newcomers. I have 15 students from 8 different countries.  They range in age from 60 to mid 20's.  I am thoroughly enjoying them, the teaching and the classroom experience. Preparing 3 lessons a week is a daunting task and keeps me thinking.  I teach Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights for two hours each time.  The time goes very quickly. Last week we tackled two full lessons of grammar......hhmmmm....I didn't necessarily like it in school and not so excited about it now!!  Amazing how we don't even think about how our English language is formed because we use it all the time. There have been a number of times when I have said, "I don't know if there is a rule for this, it is just the way we use our language and you will not know every rule but learn to know what sounds right and doesn't sound right."  Although they need to make a transition from the rules of their language to the rules of English it will eventually not be the rules that guide them but the instinct of what sounds right.

As I embarked on this I realize that my first experience of being immersed in a foreign language was when I was 15 and spent 6 weeks in Norway, where I didn't  know any of the language.   It was an experience that remains with me today.  I remember that even in that 6 week time period I began to piece together phrases and connections including going to the grocery store and camera shop on my own and being able to communicate sufficiently to accomplish what I went for.  Perhaps God had a plan even that far back to prepare me for my ESL experiences today??!!  My other experiences include a weekend at a francophone camp setting; and trying to learn Mandarin before setting off to China last year.  My own french language learning in school was unique too as our teacher taught more in an immersion style (long before anyone decided french immersion could be done).  This style of french teaching assisted me as my own children were enrolled in french immersion. I have been involved in language acquisition for a long time.

Taking TESOL training was much more God's idea than mine and I am still amazed that I got it accomplished.

So, it seems I have been brought along to the place where I belong;  teaching ESL.  I LOVE IT!

Okay, other than that, working at MSCS has been a blessing. I loved the 2 week Christmas holiday and will look forward to the other extended school holidays - especially 5 weeks in the summer. The staff and parents at the school are great and the environment is busy but enjoyable. I have had the chance to work together on a project to create an on-line registration process for this coming school year.  Still a few kinks to work out but it seems to be working out okay.  I get to use my creative juices to create a weekly school news to email out to parents.  So, if they will keep me I will stay.

I have completed a number of sewing projects over the fall and (mostly) before Christmas.  I jumped back from quilting to garment making and did some sewing for the grand daughters to make matching doll outfits for Christmas gifts.  I also did up some cushion covers for my Mom.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy the garment making until I got back into it.  I have some quilitng projects to complete and so will try to find time for finishing things before I start anything new.

With all this happening I did not get any Christmas letters out this year.  I had good intentions but it never happened.  I still have intentions of writing some letters to those who faithfully write to me even if I don't write back. Even my e-mail correspondence has been weak as of late and you notice how my blogging has died off!!

If I could figure out how to add a few hours to my days I would.....maybe my time committments will determine whether I choose another session of ESL teaching after this one is over. (The other plus of the ESL teaching is that I should be able to earn enough $$ to repair our deck this spring so I can enjoy it this summer!)

Thanks for dropping in and catching up with me....don't know when I will write next.........drop me a line or two.......

I guess it is time to add something here.  I realy don't feel like I have much to say. I have been using any of my 'thoughts' etc. on another blogsite called (www.ecfcommunity.org) where we are asked to comment on the thought/scripture of the week. 

So here I sit with a cup of 'authentic' chinese tea brought all the way from China. I'm not sure how my daughter managed to bring an unlabeled bag of loose tea and not be asked about it.   I find it a good tea for my stomach.

Anyway, for those who don't know I began my new job at Menno Simons Christian School (www.mennosimons.ab.ca) at the end of August.  It has been an interesting ride.  First, just getting to know people and names and a bit about the routine (what routine?).  The first big event is reporting each student through a data base to the school board on to Alberta Education (for funding purposes).  This required learning a new program as well as students names etc.   I tend to be a bit more computer oriented than the last people working in the office so it is paper heavy and I am trying to sort through and get more things prepared electronically. The next thing has been term reports and now report cards. Everyday is something new and that will be the case for the entire year. It is nice to have an easier and shorter drive to work.  The environment is great...I will try to get some pictures of the school to post soon.

More recently -- 3 weeks ago I rushed my husband to the hospital due to a heart attack.  He spent a week there and is now recouperating at home.  God is very good and answered the prayers of many.  I called on many friends far and near to pray that the Dr. would find NO damage when they did the angiogram...and they found no permanent damage. He is on medication to strengthen the heart but is very tired which is expected.

Lately, we've enjoyed our grandson's first birthday (Nov 3); the grandkids dressed up for Hallowe'en; my brothers newest bundle of joy -- William. I've volunteered with ESL conversation club at our church,spent way too much time on Facebook; got back into my MA studies; had family staying here and visiting in Sept for an aunt/uncles 50th wedding celebration; done some quilitng; and so on and so forth.   

We anticipate our household growing by 2 when our daughter and her roommate arrive here before Christmas; we are busy collecting airmiles (shopping madly at Safeway + buying gas at Shell) so another daughter and family can visit here from Halifax in the spring and we can see our grand daughters..one of them will be one year old in March and we haven't met her yet.

Keeping busy is never a problem, keeping balanced harder to do.

I will post some pictures from my fall garden before the cold and snow came.

  See it at www.mydash.ca  

Make a Lasting Difference with Your Life Spend your DASH on What Matters Most

"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered - how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath." Psalm 39: 4-5 In his teachings, Jesus often tried to convince people that their dash mattered, that the space between their birth and death - that innocent dash representing an entire life span - was extremely brief but immensely important and that one day God would ask us the important question, "How did you spend your dash?" This month, our church will go on an exciting journey to discover what is most important. Join us for a 7- week experience in mastering the art of making a difference. Make your dash count.

This summer I heard a comment by an individual that likened the walk with Christ to white- water rafting.  I hung on this analogy and have pondered it a lot.  Although I have never been white-water rafting I have watched video clips of it and been around waterfalls (on the safety of the shore)! People don’t choose to white-water raft just for something to do….…they are drawn to the adventure and the uncertainty and the ‘rush’ of the unknown.  Once they commit to the wetsuit and the lifejacket they will commit themselves to the others they are riding with as part of a team.  They will trust the safety features of their equipment and intend to make it safely to the end of the trip. They may think of the dangers and be prepared to tackle them, but are not likely to dwell on them or else they will never get into the raft.

So how does this work with stepping into the raft with God.  God has checked out all the safety features and knows how to handle the dangers. He is asking us to commit and come along for the ride.  The ride will be rough at times and may take away our breathe but there will also be joy and exhilaration at hitting the high spots and hurdling over the rough spots to the smoother waters. We will be awestruck at the beauty we see looking to shore during the peaceful slower moving waters.  At this time we will check out our safety equipment to be ready if the waters turn rough.  We will look to our God to instruct us and we will learn to trust His guidance.  Too often we whine and want to get off on the shore…when we do we rob ourselves of the experiences ahead which should only get easier with practise (maturity). As we feel more competent with each experience God can give us a little more responsibility to ride in His raft and He can allow us to mentor and instruct new raft riders.

So how do we get a ticket to ride on the white-water raft of life?  We make a commitment to Him to trust him and look beyond what we can do and make a committment to  let God use us for His purposes.  He will not ask you to do something unless He thinks you are ready for it. We don't have to think we are ready but God knows when we are ready. When we give ourselves into His hands He will mould us so He can use us.

“Interested people always have an excuse why they can’t do what they said they were going to do. Committed people, on the other hand, don’t know about excuses. All they know about is results - doing what they said they were going to do no matter what.”                                                                                                             Art Turock

 

August 10 – 12, 2007 in Clearwater British Columbia, the Graffunder family gathered to reacquaint and reminisce.   Over 80 people attended at one time or another. There were up to four generations of some families in attendance.  Many stories of the past were shared including everyone who attended the supper sharing the most interesting or unique thing about themselves.  Some of the cousins hadn’t seen each other for a few decades and so were in the same space as their spouses who had no idea who these people were!!!  Some people simply hadn’t changed much and so were easily placed or associated within a family. The weekend began with a casual Friday evening gathering as people travelled in to Clearwater.   Saturday morning dawned with a family breakfast of pancakes, sausage and lots of coffee.

There were games organized for the youngest attendees as the older folks continued to get caught up on each other’s lives.   The afternoon was left free to experience some of the Clearwater sights or just to hang out.  The evening brought everyone together for a fine supper, displays, photographs, games and door prizes for “the person that….”.  A few folks had to travel away early the next day so this was the last formal part of the weekend.   It seems that the general consensus is that this kind of thing doesn’t happen often enough so there are some interested parties willing to try to get another gathering again in the not so distant future.  Most everyone went away either wearing a T-shirt with a picture of the “10” Graffunder kids or a mug with the same picture.  Hopefully these memorabilia will encourage the family to stay in touch and organize another event soon.

Any 'family' who may be reading this and wanting a T-shirt or mug...I can conntect you to my sister who has a few remaining items.