Sunday, August 28, 2011

'The Wise Woman's Stone'

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. 

"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone."

What is in your heart?

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Hot Air Ballooning

It was 3:38 am and I had not slept much. I had been bothered by a dream...more like a nightmare. There was a being, neither male nor female in my bed tormenting me. I cast it away in my dream by calling out to Jesus...I awoke with the name of Jesus on my lips, however muffled it may have sounded. After a few minutes of prayer, I dozed off again to awake at 3:38 am. Regardless of the dream, I got up to have a shower and start my day. Nothing was going to hinder me today, not bad dreams nor lack of sleep...Today I get to fulfill a dream...a good dream!

St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, a little town in Quebec, Canada holds a Festival of Hot Air Balloons every year. I am now living less than an hour away (if the bridges are open) from this little town and I upon first opportunity, booked an early morning flight.

At the VIP meeting grounds, I waited under the moon and stars for the sun to rise and the pilot to call us forth. Of course, morning sunrise is my favourite time of day, so waiting was no problem for me as I lingered in the glory of the new day. Others - wandered around half asleep in and out of the quonset hut with coffee and donuts in hand, trying so shake of their drowsiness. Despite this, there was excitement in the air for everyone.

Once the sun was up, we met with our pilot and headed off to the launching site. There are launching sites all over the little town. Fields, parks, and parking lots that were empty in these morning hours were slowly filled with trucks and trailors carrying balloons, baskets, and people all ready rise up. 


The empty spaces slowly filled with baskets (that are not as big as one would think) and colourful material that would unfold and be filled with air on the ground before they are filled with propane in preparation for flight.

People with cameras, professionals and otherwise, were taking pictures left, right, and center as the balloons unfolded. The mass of colours were delightful to watch unfold in the morning light. Some balloons were characters and it became a guessing game to accurately predict what would unfold. I caught the expression of a couple of little girls as they saw one of our favourite balloons near finish filling:

The balloon they were in awe of..."When pigs fly..."

After our balloon was filled, we got instruction on how to get in and out, what to touch and not to touch...and then it was time!

 In we got and off we went...


Now, I am not afraid of heights, but there is a period of time where instinct takes over and in the span about the height of a skyscraper, in the first few moments of flight, I felt slightly unnerved...Once I got past that I was good to go.

The view was incredible and it was suprisingly peaceful...



For my fellow Canadians...a welcome sight any morning whether on the ground or in the air...

For my American friends...


There were all kinds of great balloons. Approximately 120 participate in the festival (...which I highly recommend!), and I took pics of a few outstanding:

Pepe le Peu...

Sharky...

Balloons at a lower altitude have the right-of-way.
Right below us, one of my favourite traditional balloons...

The balloons can fly quite low, and we skimmed across the cornfields for a bit, about 1-2ft above the tops of the corn. It is poor etiquette to drag your basket through the crops, and a skilled pilot knows how to read the wind and mangage the balloon so this is avoided.

Our pilot...Jim is from Connecticut...Pilot for 30 yrs and a balloon inspector as well. We were in good hands.

Another shot of the tranquil masses floating along...



Balloons beginning to land...

Skimming just above the corn before we land...

We landed safely with only three bumps to the ground, basket upright.

After we got out of the basket, we helped the pilot begin to deflate the balloon and wait for the chase team to catch up with us. Once the balloon was packed up, we drove out of the field to the farmer's house to present the farmer with the traditional bottle of champagne (which, this time, was a local apple cider) and a certificate for a brunch at a local resturant.

My dream fulfilled, I fully intend to fly again. It was a wonderful experience that I would recommend to everyone!


Next...gliding.... ;)

Friday, August 19, 2011

Everything the Bible Says About Heaven

The title of this book caught my attention. I sometimes wonder about heaven and speculate on what it is really like...Are there really cute baby cherubs strumming harps on clouds?

Thankfully, Everything the Bible Says About Heaven does deny that myth because what you find is a great reference book scripturally documenting heaven from Genesis to Revelation .

Throughout this book, there are very few commentaries on the selected passages, which leaves opportunity for readers meditate on the Word and/or to engage in biblically-based dialogue about heaven.

I would highly recommend this book to be used in a bible study...One can explore what the bible says about heaven in a meaningful way as the editors have compiled the contents of this book with a sense of direction.

Chapter 1 - The Place Where God Dwells: Old Testament Visions of Heaven
Chapter 2 - Many Mansions: New Testament Visions of Heaven
Chapter 3 - Heaven in the Book of Revelation
Chapter 4 - Between Heaven and Earth
Chapter 5 - Answers From Heaven
Chapter 6 - Who Will Go to Heaven?

Like mentioned, this book is a scriptual reference, having little commentary, and leaves opportunity for some fantastic discussion. Check it out for yourself!


Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

They Did Not Realize

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
~John 21:4

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Just a Cloud

Really?!
quiet training, self-improvement, wandering, hatred, corruption, fools, pain, insecurities, clic, incompetence, manipulation, watching, life-lessons, pity, locusts, facade, disorder, apathy, resentment, peace, distance, torn, watching, stagnation, slow, self-awareness, boredom, water, incompetence, victim, hope. determination,   future, love, steadfastness, purpose.

Psalm 13
How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the LORD’s praise, for he has been good to me.

Featured Post

They Did Not Realize

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. ~John 21:4