Who God Wants Me To Be

Lately I've been thinking about this statement, "I am on a journey to discover who it is God wants me to be."

Last year I stood by and supported my girls while they worked hard to learn the world of modeling and to be models. I stood by proud as I watched them win awards, be recognized for their inner and outer beauty and even accomplish getting modeling contracts.

This year I have stood by and supported my hubby as he has had the opportunity to work together with some incredibly talented people to collaborate on a album that is a dream come true for him. I've seen him work hard, learn new techniques, and then be able to sit back listen to the beginning stages of an incredible album that God has ordained to take us to places we've never been before.

But ... what about me? Do I get a turn? I have LOVED every minute of seeing my very most favourite people in the world see their dreams come true ... but still .....

Some of my dearest friends know that it has been a desire of my heart to join with other believers in a small group setting to study and learn together and pray together. When our girls were babies the group we were traveling with got the band together often for these times and kept promising that the mom's of the group would have the same opportunity while the dad's watched the kids. It never happened. About 2 years ago a friend invited a few of us to her home and we were able to bond, begin learning from each other, study the Word and pray for each other on a fairly consistent basis. Unfortunately, this time ended. I decided that with my schedule, the best way to join a small group would be an online group. I found one, bought the book, got my user name and password and began reading. Unfortunately I travel with a hubby who runs his business off this laptop, with one daughter who is taking an online course on this laptop and another daughter who keeps her "social life" running with this laptop. I'm last to get to use the computer. I've only been involved with my book club a couple of times. One more disappointment.

But ... my Father knew what I needed all along! The last week and a half have been spent at the beautiful Shell Lane Studio in Kensington, PEI where we are surrounded with nothing but water, red sand and incredibly talented people. Just the setting is enough to make you relax and take time to reflect. I was in charge of keeping the meals on the table, the house tidy and the kids moving forward with their schoolwork. One morning, while drinking coffee in the comfy country kitchen, God began to speak to me through Dan (our producer and good friend). I can honestly tell you that more was accomplished in those couple of hours than years of small group could have accomplished. The difference was in the timing and the attitude. Bottom line ... I do know who God wants me to be ... and I am already everything He wants me to be! I am a spiritual being with the purpose of intersecting with human experiences. So simple, so deep, so completely life-changing. Everything I do, every encounter I have is by Divine Purpose. I AM everything HE wants me to be!! I am already accomplishing His purpose for my life ... simply by living my life as a spiritual being and having human experiences.

I'm not sure if that speaks to you or even if you understand it, but for me it has been life-changing!

Fortunately/Unfortunately ...

I distinctly remember being in grade 2, sitting in a circle with my classmates, with my teacher reading a book to us to teach us the meaning of the words "Fortunately" and "Unfortunately". It was something about a man who ... "Fortunately got to take a ride in a hot air balloon. Unfortunately the balloon failed and began falling. Fortunately it landed on something soft". You get the idea!

Well ... the last couple of weeks have gone something like that! Fortunately we planned a great fundraiser at our home church to raise the money to finish the new album my hubby is working on. We had some great things planned for the concert. Unfortunately on the morning before the concert, the company we were getting the snow machine from called to say the snow machine wasn't working. Fortunately we were able to locate another one on the morning of the concert. It was on a truck travelling on the 401 and had already passed Belleville, but fortunately the driver agreed to pull off and drive back to Belleville to drop the machine off! Fortunately we had some great help getting the concert to run smoothly. Jeff and Carolann McCann have joined our team and they were instrumental in getting out the advertising, securing the snowmachine, helping serve coffee and cheesecake prior to the concert and making sure the concert was LIVE via the internet. Fortunately all aspects of the concert seemed to run smoothly. Unfortunately we came in quite a bit shorter financially than we had hoped.

Fortunately we had a completely uneventful drive to Charlottetown over the next couple of days. Fortunately the guitar player, Tom Vitacco from Chicago (worship pastor at Willowcreek) arrived just fine as well. Unfortunately the plane our producer, Dan Cutrona, took from Toronto was delayed by two hours.

Fortunately Tom spent the next two days laying down all the guitar parts to the drum and bass tracks Andrew and Dan had recorded in Toronto the previous week. Fortunately they sounded amazing! Unfortunately while Tom was flying home on Wednesday morning we discovered that somehow the hard drive would not transfer the guitar files! Unfortunately we spent the next two days trying to figure out what was wrong. We finally gave up! Fortunately Tom agreed to record the tracks in the Willowcreek studio and send them to us as soon as possible. Fortunately Andrew was able to add his vocals to the tracks over the next several days without any trouble.

We packed up and were ready to leave mid-afternoon on Monday, but decided to listen to what we had accomplished in 8 days first. The van was completely packed, the kids were ready to go and yet here we all sat in the studio listening to this incredible production! Words that come to mind are "stellar", "sensational" and "brilliant". We were all moved to tears. When we had finished listening, I honestly felt like I had been to the best concert in my life! Fortunately, you too will be able to enjoy this production in the spring of 2008! Andrew along with Dan Cutrona and Paul Milner are a winning team! I'm sure the Father was grinning from ear to ear!

Fortunately we live in the beautiful country of Canada. Unfortunately, if you are travelling in Canada in November you can expect to experience all kinds of weather within a 24 hour period. And we did!!! On the drive home we experienced dark clouds, sunny skies, heavy rain, fog, freezing rain and lots of snow! Fortunately we arrived home to our sparkling Christmas lights (see previous post!) without any trouble ... tired, but with a sense that we had accomplished what God had set before us to do.

Countdown 'til Christmas

Just the other day, in the middle of a busy homeschooling morning, Savannah took a break and left the schoolroom. I heard her pause outside the door, gasp and then whisper, "Does Mom know?" At that moment I knew my Christmas-loving hubby had started the decorating for Christmas! My hubby has always LOVED Christmas and so I always let him do every bit of the decorating. This year, since our schedule is so hectic, he decided to decorate early so that whenever we ARE home, we can enjoy the season! By evening on OCTOBER 22 our entire house was completely sparkling waiting for Christmas to arrive! What a joy it is to come home after a concert and/or a long drive to a beautifully decoarted home!

ps. Just for the record, he also disassembles all the Christmas stuff!!

Where did Summer go?

Wow! I can't believe how fast summer came and went! It's true that "time flies when you're having fun!"

In July, we flew to Alberta and took part in a couple really fabulous events. The Canadian Gospel Music Celebration happens every year in Red Deer, AB and it is always a joy to get together with so many other people who do exactly what we do. We connected with some old friends, made some new friends, and poured into the lives of some friends who have been hurting.

The next weekend we had the opportunity to be at the Sandy Creek Gospel Jamboree and what a pleasure that was! Again ... new friends, old friends and the opportunity to watch my hubby in action. This event was outside and it was about 37 C the entire weekend! All the "performers" stayed at Briercrest College, which are great accomodations, except they are not air-conditioned! We managed to get a little fan for our room that sounded like a Cessna plane getting ready to take off. Don't ask the Beene family why they had one less fan in their room and we had one extra!

Of course, we also did concerts in several churches as well. It is always a thrill to sit back and watch my hubby take people on a journey. He really can make people laugh, make them cry and he is always sensitive to God's leading and is able to say the right thing at the right time to make a difference in somone's life. What a joy! He has also added some new songs to his repetoire this summer and people are LOVING them!

Back at home, we took a couple days of "family" vacation. We drove to Niagara Falls and met my hubby's parents and his sister and her hubby and kids. On the way there I chuckled to myself as I looked around our car ... Andrew was listening to a podcast on his new iPod, Savannah was watching a movie on her portable DVD player, MacKenzie was listening to her MP3 player while playing her Gameboy and I was reading a book. Interesting way to take a "family" vacation, but at least we were all in the same place! We enjoyed a couple days of swimming, campfires, shopping and a bit of sightseeing.

The last few weeks we've been home getting our office in order after having both computers crash!! uuggh! Andrew has been busy on the phone and making arrangements for our fall tour dates. We're got some great new additions to our team, some great new opportunities and some great new ideas! It's been exciting to watch as God has put this all together and it will continue to be exciting to watch where He's going to take us with it all!

The girls and I have been concentrating on schoolwork and I have to admit that I LOVE it when our house has a smooth running routine. Both girls are diligent workers and I really do love spending time with them. I'm so thankful that God put it in our heart to homeschool and then gave us the abilities, tools and schedule to do so.

Just a bit of an update .....

Winnipeg

These are some pics of my family together in Winnipeg ....




Our travels recently have taken us to Northern Ontario and to Winnipeg. The reason for the trip was a bit of business, a bit of ministry and a bit of spending time with family.

My mom and dad drove up from Iowa and brought my sister and her little girl. Them coming to Winnipeg was especially poignant because Andrew and I were on tour in Winnipeg on the night my mom called to say my sister had been rushed into the hospital for an emergency C-section ... at only 24 weeks pregnant. Alandria Grace was born weighing only 2lb 4oz. I was able to visit her once she came home from the hospital nearly 3 months later. I have seen her a few times since then and my sister has been faithful to e-mail pics nearly every week and even a few videos, but Alandria has always been too young to really remember me or know who I was. Not anymore!!

Alandria is now a beautiful blond, blue-eyed, feisty 3 year old. Despite being born so early, she has no physical or mental limitations at all! She talks just about as fast as her mother and has a stubborn personality, ALMOST as strong as her mother's!! We enjoyed a few short days together going to church, playing in the park, playing in McDonald's Playland, reading books, playing with Polly Pockets, visiting the Manitoba Children's Museum and the Assiniboine Park Zoo. What wonderful memories that I am sure she will remember as well!

My Mother's Day Gift

So, my 13 year old daughter saved her money and bought me the most wonderful gift for Mother's Day ... a trip to my friend Tammy's Spa for a facial! Now, Tammy and I could talk for hours about absolutely nothing, but when she started the facial, I was so relaxed that my brain seemed to turn off! There was no need for words! I came out feeling wonderful and my skin even looked much better! Wow ... I highly recommend that you indulge yourself or at least you'll know what to ask for when Mother's Day rolls around again!

Canadian Model and Talent Convention

After 6 months of planning, my hubby and I had the opportunity to go with our daughters to the Canadian Model and Talent Convention (CMTC) in Toronto. This is a 4 day convention where 250 of Canada's top models and actors/actresses (and their parents) come to learn, compete and meet with over 50 of the world's top agents. Our girls each competed in a few competitions and Savannah even took home First Runner up in Runway and First Runner up in Photograph! MacKenzie's age group (12 - 15) was huge and the competition was very stiff. We attended every seminar possible and met many wonderful, wonderful people!

At the end of the 4 days, 8 agents asked to meet with MacKenzie and 13 asked to meet with Savannah!! Lots and lots of girls were leaving in tears because no agents had asked to meet with them, so we felt very, very honoured. Some of the agents want to have indepth interviews with the girls right away and spoke of possible print jobs and some acting ones for Savannah. Other agents just wanted to say that one or both of the girls were beautiful and they were looking forward to watching them grow and working with them in the future. We will have an interview next week with our local agency, Mode Elle, and get direction about which opportunities to pursue.

We had decided that just attending the convention, learning all we could and competing to the best of their ability would be enough. Getting 21 call-backs between the two of them at the end was certainly the icing on the cake!

Several things about this process have amazed me ...

*God provided every single cent we needed to go to this event! The details about how the money came in, the exact amount and at exactly the right moment could only be accomplished by God Himself!
*There are so many very normal, but wonderful people that are part of the modeling industry.
*How my girls were so very content to be themselves and did not feel pressure to wear what the others were wearing or look like some of the other girls.
*How my girls came running to me after each competition with smiles and hugs to let me know how it went when I didn't see any other kids hugging their parents. (we must be doing something right!)
*How many people knew us by name! Every day there were two or three families or agents that approached us and called us by name. I think that's Favour!
*How excited the agents were to find out the girls were homeschooled!
*How exhausting sitting in seminars and waiting in lines can be!

From the moment we began this process we have asked the Lord to open the right doors, close the wrong ones and to give us wisdom. He's been Faithful to do just that and we will continue to be sensitive to His leading.

Home ...

I'm thankful that the Lord has CALLED us to do what we do. I can't imagine trying to do it without His strength, guidance and provision!

*7 days away from home
*7 nights in motels
*sharing a motel room with the 3 people that I love more than anyone else in the world, but still, that's 3 more people than me in one small room!
*setting up, sound checking, "performing" (see a previous post!), and tearing down gear 6 times
*listening in awe as my sweet hubby expelled every ounce of energy each night to give folks an unforgettable concert. His voice still makes the hair on my arms stand up!
*sharing our testimony over and over, watching hope spark in people where there hadn't been any hope for a long, long time
*listening to heartwrenching stories of heart ache, disappointent and, of course, mental illness
*driving hundreds of kilometers and seeing thousands of acres completely flooded and knowing how devasted the farmers must be
*encouraging a hotel clerk who had been married to a youth pastor who abused her
*encouraging the grandma beside me on the plane who seemed frightened by every bump ... her hubby of 52 years had recently passed away and she was learning to live life alone
*encouraging the young dad beside me on another flight who woke up in the morning in Calgary and decided to move to Toronto that very day to be close to his little girl. He was so disraught about his decision. He was from a broken home and was fighting hard not disappoint his mom or dad and at the same time be a father himself
*doing laundry in a filthy little laundryroom in a tiny motel in the middle of nowhere (the INSIDES of the machines were clean!)
*dragging bags of groceries from motel to motel in an attempt to eat a bit healthier and save the expense of restaurants


We also did get to connect with my cousin and her sweet family over a meal. We reconnected with some awsome fans. We had a picnic in a hotel room with some old friends. We got to share the stage with one of our all time favourite groups ... Double Portion! We got to spend some time with our dear friends, Dr. Richard and Elaine Horner, who drove in from Edmonton to be with us.

We flew from Saskatoon to Calgary yesterday afternoon before catching our connection to Toronto (I know that route doesn't make sense, but try and tell that to WestJet!). In Calgary airport they have a Chili's, one of our all-time favourite restaurants, so we sat back, relaxed and enjoyed a delicious meal. We were wandering around, doing a bit of shopping afterwards when MacKenzie came running out of a shop saying they had just called our names over the loud speaker. I walked calmly to the gate wondering if they were going to upgrade us or something. The desk clerk picked up the phone and started yelling, "Cancel baggage removal ... they're here!" She asked me for our boarding passes. I gave them to her and reminded her that we had another hour before we flew. Oh no we didn't! There is NOT an hour time difference. The plane was loaded and they were waiting for us! In fact, they were just getting ready to remove our bags from the plane because we hadn't shown up! We nearly missed that flight!

We arrived in Toronto at midnight, got our bags (yes, they were all there), jumped in our van and headed home. We pulled into our driveway at 3:00am ... tired, but with a sense that we had accomplished what God had sent us to do. We are blessed indeed!

Adventure to SK

Just a quick overview of how our quick tour to SK is going.

-we left for the airport a tiny bit late and 10 minutes down the highway, the traffic was STOPPED. There was a huge accident and they were rerouting all the highway traffic. Thankfully my hubby knows the back roads and so we were able to make up some time on them.

-In the middle of Toronto, in bumper to bumper 140 km/hour traffic, a man decided to run across 16 lanes of traffic. We were in the 8th lane across and he ran in front of the car in front of us. We all jammed on our brakes, but thankfully we were fine. Unfortunately sirens started screaming right afterwards, so I think his venture across the Westbound lanes was not so successful.

-We got to the airport 50 minutes before our flight, so were anxious, but everything seemed to go fine.

-After checking in, we noticed our boarding passes weren't right. I didn't have the seat the my hubby had paid extra money and spent a bunch of time on the phone to get.

-After boarding, the lady who had my desired seat, realized I wasn't with my family and offered to change seats with me! Yahoo. Great flight, nice movie.

-Got into Saskatoon and went to pick up our rental van. They wouldn't accept our 25% coupon because it was issued in another province even though we had called ahead to check.

-Went to baggage claim and got our lugguage ... all but our gear box arrived safely. After much frustration with Air Canada Baggage Claim, we left without our box. They assured us it would be in Prince Albert by the morning. It wasn't. It didn't arrived until 4pm and our concert started at 6:30pm!

-Everything else has been wonderful! The people, the pastors, the concerts ... incredible! Looking forward to what God has in store for the rest of the week!

Thank you Lord for Freedom!

Thanks to Teena's hubby for the reminder!

Listen to "Ordinary Miracle"

Amazing ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMqn0pdCNRM

Ordinary Miracle

This week the girls and I had a movie day while dad was away on business ... just us girls, take out pizza and a couple movies we've been wanting to see. One was "Charlotte's Web". My mom had read the book to my girls once when she was visiting, but we hadn't seen the movie. When the movie ended with Sarah MacLachlan singing "Ordinary Miracle" I was so drawn in! Time stopped and the hair stood up on my arms as I listened to the beautiful words.

Lord, open our eyes to see all the "Ordinary Miracles" you've provided for us.


Sarah McLachlan Ordinary Miracle

It’s not that unusual
When everything is beautiful
It’s just another ordinary miracle today
The sky knows when its time to snow
Don’t need to teach a seed to grow
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

Life is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday
Open up and find a way
To give some of your own
Isn’t it remarkable?
Like every time a rain drop falls
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

Birds and winter have their fling
But always make it home by spring
It’s just another ordinary miracle today
When you wake up everyday
Please don’t throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
Cause we’re all a part
Of the ordinary miracle
Ordinary miracle

Do you want to see a miracle?
It seems so exceptional
That things just work out after all
It’s just another ordinary miracle today
Sun comes up and shines so bright
And disappears again at night
It’s just another ordinary miracle
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

How to weigh yourself ...

I'm glad I found this out! I can't believe we've been doing it wrong all these years! We've got to get the word out!

HE IS RISEN!

How can two kids be so different?

Anyone who has been a parent for any length of time knows how incredible it is that kids can be so different. We have two beautiful children who have the same mother and father, same geneology, same home setting, even same schooling and yet, they are soooo different.

A friend was playing in hockey finals this last week and the reaction when the game was tied was hilarious!

MacKenzie ... "Well, that's nice. Then they BOTH won!"

Savannah ... "Kyler's team should have won. He should NOT have been given the 3 minute penalty for only standing up for himself! If he hadn't had that penalty, THEY WOULD HAVE WON!"

I suppose it's the same with our Heavenly Father ... he's done the same miraculous things for all of us, provided a way of salvation for all of us and yet we all react in such different ways! I wonder if He chuckles at it sometimes?

Testimony Recorded

While we've been able to travel and share Andrew's testimony from coast to coast, it has always been a dream of ours to have the testimony recorded so that it can go where we cannot. This past Sunday saw that dream become a reality. The power of God was so strong and following the testimony we had the opportunity to pray with several folks!

Andrew has the most phenomenal friends on his worship team and they all were so supportive. It really gave him strength to be honest in front of our home church.

We had a chance to listen to the first copy today and it was just as powerful today as it was on Sunday morning! I'm always amazed at how the anointing can be transferred via CD!! How does God do that??

I'm just believing that so many people are going to be encouraged, given hope and SET FREE from this!

Spring is in the Air!

Today we enjoyed the first day that it actually felt like spring ... there's even that special smell in the air! The kids rode bikes all afternoon, we opened all the windows and aired out the house, we BBQ'd for supper and, of course, the first chance I had, I threw a load of laundry in so I could hang it on the line! That has to be my favourite thing in the world ... hanging laundry out and seeing others do the same. I have no idea why, but it just feels good!!

Here's a poem sent to me by a friend last year. I love it!

A clothesline was a news forecast

To neighbors passing by.

There were no secrets you could keep

When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link

For neighbors always knew

If company had stopped on by

To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the fancy sheets

And towels on the line;

You'd see the company table clothes

With intricate design.

The line announced a baby's birth

To folks who lived inside

As brand new infant clothes were hung

So carefully with pride.

The ages of the children could

So readily be known

By watching how the sizes changed

You'd know how much they'd grown.

It also told when illness struck,

As extra sheets were hung;

Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,

Haphazardly were strung.

It said, "Gone on vacation now"

When lines hung limp and bare.

It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged

With not an inch to spare.

New folks in town were scorned upon

If wash was dingy gray,

As neighbors raised their brows,

And looked disgustedly away.

But clotheslines now are of the past

For dryers make work less.

Now what goes on inside a home

Is anybody's guess.

I really miss that way of life.

It was a friendly sign

When neighbors knew each other best

By what hung on the line!

An Alien on our Roof

If you are driving anywhere near our home, you might think there is an alien on our roof! It's a funny looking silver thing that appears to be hugging our old TV antenna. If this is an "alien", then I've suddenly taken quite a liking to these intruders! This one in particular
allows me to access my e-mail in an instant, download a video of my niece in Iowa in about 10 seconds, and help my kids do research for their schoolwork. It also allows my hubby to connect with his ministry team, download new songs, and send posters for upcoming concerts in an instant. Oh, this alien is the most beautiful of all creatures! It's actually a receiver for our wireless internet! This little creature delivers 799 kilobytes per second onto our computer. Oh, if I could, I'd hug that little creature!

Savannah has a Beautiful Brain!

Savannah was invited to go with her good friend, Brittany, to participate in a study being done at our local university. Their involvement included showing up, laying in an MRI machine for about 75 minutes, watching cartoons, following some lights with their eyes and GETTING PAID FOR IT! They each came home with $50 and a CD ROM with nearly 200 images of their brain! What is so amazing is that we had just finished a whole Science unit about the brain! I love the way God orchestrates the paths of our life!

At the end, when Savannah was handed the money, she was happy to inform them that she would be available any time they needed her!

Well said ...

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company . . . a church . . . a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past . . . we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude . . . I am convinced that life is 10%what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you . . . we are in charge of our Attitudes.”


Charles Swindoll

First Fashion Show

So, last weekend both our girls were in their first fashion show! I thought preparing, setting up and doing a concert was a lot of work, but a fashion show is an unbelievable amount of work! Thankfully there is a whole team of people working together to make it happen.

MacKenzie and Savannah had to be at the mall early to get hair done, then it was off to make-up, grab a bite to eat and be ready for the runway by mid-afternoon. The show was complete with lights, dry ice (smoke machine), loud music and a huge audience! Both girls did fabulous ... knew their cues, held their heads high, walked with confidence. We were the proud parents in the front row with the video camera!

I am confident that the "X factor" that people see in the girls is actually the light of Jesus shining through them!

Performance or Ministry

My hubby's thoughts ...

"When Savannah our youngest daughter was 6 she did something that I will never forget. She went out one summer day and got a couple of my speaker stands, cables, microphone and a couple of empty boxes. She put the empty boxes on the top of the speaker stands, hooked up the cords to them and set up her microphone. She placed some chairs on the ground because she was set up on the deck. She plugged in her CD player and put on some music (can't remember who) and then invited me and my wife to come enjoy the show. For the next few songs we sat outside in the summer heat and watched Savannah (cowboy hat and all) sing and dance all over our deck. The joy that I felt as a father as I watched my child perform for me was outstanding! Now others who may have walked by or drove by on the street may have laughed or thought that it was so amatuer and immature, but to me, I was lost in her performance (show). In fact to this day I still have pictures in my scrapbook right next to pictures of different friends of mine from the Gaither Gospel Series and awards and such to remind me of that day. The funny thing is, the picture of Savannah means more to me than all of the awards and the so called fame that I have received so far. The reason why is because she loved me so much that she performed or put on a show for me. In my concerts I take people on a musical journey, but I perform for only one and that is my Heavenly Father. I think that He has a picture in His scrapbook of all of us from concerts and it is there because He knows just how much we all love Him."

Smarts

A lot of people seem to think that intelligence is a score you get from taking tests at school. However, tests only cover little bits of your vast and complex nervous system.

Some people are quick learners. Others have great memories. Some are real good at getting answers to math problems - so long as they're not geometry.

Some people are socially smart. They can wrap anybody around their little finger, while other people are always stepping on somebody's toes.

Some people have perfect pitch. There are the mechanical geniuses who can fix anything with a screwdriver and some bubble gum.

Some people write wonderfully creative stories, and still flunk English because they have bad memories when it comes to remembering spelling and commas.

Some people have extraordinary coordination and can perform fantastic gymnastic feats. There are some who have a hard time learning to type.

Some people have great intuition, or a foolproof sense of direction, or unbreakable concentration.

The next time they pass out tests at school, ignore that sinking feeling in your stomach. Remember, you are getting tested on certain abilities - but there are a whole lot of ways to be smart.

Taken from: Blood and Guts by Linda Allison

Friends ...

I am so blessed to be surrounded by friendship! I'm not talking about the kind of friends who ask how you are, but really don't want to know. No! I'm talking about the friends who say, "I know something's wrong so let's talk!" I'm talking about friends who we can share absolutely anything with and know that they really do want to know.

Our family has friends who have stuck by us in the best of times and the worst of times and have never ever failed to rejoice with us or to sympathize with us. We've walked along beside them and wept or triumphed with them as well. I really doubt that most people in life ever are blessed with this deep of friendship ... the "drop everything to be there" kind, the "rescuing" kind, the "here's my shoulder ... go ahead and cry kind", the "I know you're facing something that scares you to death ... let me walk beside you" kind, the "don't worry about anything ... I've got it under control for you ... you just get better" kind. Ahhh ... we are blessed!!

We also have friends whom we've know for a little while ... maybe a couple years who have the same wacky sense of humour as we've got! People from coast to coast who we get together with and it feels like no time has passed since we were last together! We've created so many memories with so many incredible people ... usually over food!

And then there are friends that we've only met, even this week, whom we feel like we've known forever!

I celebrate you ... all my friends!

" A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."- Arabian Proverb

Ahhh ... we're Canadians!

This weekend we have had the most winter weather I remember in a long, long time! It snowed and snowed and snowed!! And then it blew and blew and blew! Now it is very, very cold. I decided it was a good time to stay indoors and read a good book, however my family disagreed with me.

We bundled up in the warmest coats, snow pants, mittens, hats, scarves and boots we could find, picked up a couple of the girls' friends on the way and headed over to the local golf course for an afternoon of tobogganing. We were freezing cold, but the laughter was contagious! There's nothing like kids with rosy cheeks laughing their heads off! What a memory we created! We only decided to leave when it was snowing so hard that we couldn't see the kids at the bottom of the hill while we stood at the top!!

Then we headed home to shovel out our driveway ... again! Ah, yes, we are Canadians!

A thought for today ...

The last few days I can't get out of my mind how we, as "church-goers", are quick to fight against "issues" (homosexuality, abortion, divorce), but we have forgotten that it is our mandate to LOVE! We have no idea who may be struggling with this in their lives, past or present, and our first and foremost mandate is to LOVE them. Just a little food for thought.

John 13:34 and 35 ..."A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (NIV)

More exciting news for my husband ...

Artist Hits #90 on US Charts (Powersource Magazine)
Press Release
.....

"Candle In The Window"
from Andrew Martin's Christmas CD "The Gift Of Love" has hit #90 on the US National Charts. This is an amazing feat for an independent Artist!
"Congratulations!" From MSB Agency

Mark Shaw
email: mark@msbagency.com
phone: 613-572-2041

MSB Agency

Exciting news for my husband!

CMC Distribution To Release “First Stage” Project ...

This March CMC Distribution (Canada’s largest distributor of Christian music) will be releasing a compilation of Canadian Southern Gospel and Country Music to be called “First Stage”. The project, set to release March 6th, 2007 will feature 15 songs from artists from across Canada. The roster of featured performers will include multiple (GMA Canada) Covenant Awards winners like The Torchmen Quartet, Marlene O’Neill, Andrew Martin, The Master’s Four and Canada’s Double Portion. The project will also include tracks from The Young Street Vocal Band, Freedom, High Valley and Sweet Presence. Executive Producer Martin Smith describes the project as an introduction to the great wealth of Canadian Southern Gospel and Country Music. “Our hope is that through First Stage retailers, music fans, the media and concert goers will discover the diversity and strength of Canadian music. We believe that the album will be a great introduction to the abundant talent to be found in Canada”, says Smith. The album will feature both original songs and songs made famous by artists like Rascal Flatts, The Isaacs, Josh Turner and Gerald Wolfe. For a retail store near you visit www.cmcstorefinder.com

We are excited that Andrew's song, "BRAND NEW START" will be included on this album! Be watching for it in your local Christian bookstores!

My mom and dad

My dad and mom, Rev. Charles and Janice Rutter, live in a small town in Iowa and pastor a thriving church. My dad is an excellent leader and anointed preacher. My mom is his "right-hand man" at home and at church. She also works part-time at home teaching piano lessons as well as at a facility for mentally challenged people. This May they will celebrate their 40th Wedding Anniversary! They were able to come and spend 8 days with us at Christmas and it was just wonderful!