Ten Thousand Angels

As quietly as December slipped in, so it now draws to a close. The shortest day is behind us, meaning that with small increments daily we are on the upward swing again.
I want to take this opportunity to wish anyone who travels here a Christmas that draws you into a closer relationship with our Father. What a gift He has given in His Son. To be washed clean came at a high price, but one given freely, with love for us His children.
Stand in awe, what grace!
My heart overflows with joy and it sings His praises (only in my head as the tunes I seem to make up are not very good ) Music is such gift and one of my absolute favourite songs, sung every year by the Men's choir in Neerlandia is: He could have called Ten Thousand Angels, instead He chose to die for you and me. It makes me cry (happy cry) every time.

Ten Thousand Angels

They bound the hands of Jesus in the garden where He prayed;
They led Him thru' the streets in shame.
They spat upon the Saviour so pure and free from sin;
They said, "Crucify Him; He's to blame."

CHORUS: He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free.
He could have called ten thousand angels,
But He died alone for you and me.

Upon His precious head they placed a crown of thorns;
They laughed and said, "Behold the king."
They struck Him and they cursed Him and mocked His holy name.
All alone He suffered ev'rything.

To the howling mob He yielded; He did not for mercy cry.
The Cross of shame He took alone.
And when He cried, "It's finished," He gave himself to die;
Salvation's wondrous plan was done.

A Gift

One morning while watching the deer,my eyes wandered to the edge of the bush, and wow, what an amazing sight! A lynx was lying down quietly observing the scene. When the deer were startled and started to move away,the lynx sat up and became a bit wary, but not before I was able to capture him with my camera! This is a rare sighting, one I was blessed to enjoy also a few days earlier when a mother lynx and three kittens crossed the road in front of me. I captured that on film as well, however I was still trying to drive the van and photograph at the same time, so they are not the greatest pictures. My neighbors tell me it is not very often that the lynx comes around, and when they do they usually stay out of sight of people. I'm hoping they make another appearance this winter! One day I will get a camera with a better zoom range, so I can stay out of sight too, as the minute I stepped out onto our deck to get a better picture,the deer scattered and he melted silently back into the forest.

winter wonderland - gift of a redpoll

December slipped in so quietly...

It is hard to believe that it is December already! There is very little snow and there have been very few cold days. An amazing fall that I'm very thankful for.
Now winter beckons.
Frost fingers spread about on the deck, in wonderful lacy patterns, the air is crisp, and the songs of the chickadees all make for a grand entrance into winter. Each season brings with it the artwork of God that no man can match.Spruce branches are tipped with white as if delighting in being dressed for the christmas season.The Blue Jays, Evening Grosbeaks,and Pine Grosbeaks wing their way back toour feeders. I love the lights,sounds, songs, and smells of December.
I will always cherish the childhood memories of Sinterklaas, when I was growing up. I'll never forget the delight of the one box of mandarin oranges that our (big) family got to share. One orange each, carefully peeled, carefully segmented, and then each little piece savoured to the last drop. Those oranges were so much better than the ones I gobble up without a thought today!! And the 'appleflappen','oliebollen'and fudge candy that mom made. Hers were the best! Memories make them the best, and I can honestly say, I've never tasted better.
I loved the days of hiding in one's room, making homemade gifts, or even pretending too, while getting some quality alone time, when you legitimately could tell others to stay out! I remember sneaking jello pkgs with a sister in the 'cold storage' room, and tearing off the corners and pouring a little powder on ones tongue to savour! Bad, but so good!!
One winter memory I will always cherish is, going deep into our back 40, and climbing up tall spruce trees, that were blanketed in snow then scrambling to the outermost branches and sliding down the snow and landing in the deep banks below the tree. Your faces often got whipped with the cold white snowy branches as they sprang back up, but it was exhilarating! The way the snow fell around the trees also made wonderful snow caves at the base of the trunk of those trees with the wider spreading branches. We had to dig tunnels to get in, but once in it was a ready little room, often blanketed with pinecone husks.
We didn't have the modern winter toys..but boy did we have imagination, and a grand forest to play in! The wonderful thing was coming home, if you were too early to go inside , you could go into the little barn, crawl into the hay with a cat or two or three, listen to the other animals contentedly munching and making soft noises. The cows, the sheep, the chickens, all in a small shed like barn. Kind of like a landed Noah's ark, with the chickens in an upper deck, above the calves, the cows in stalls beside them. Ok, so I stretch the imagination just a little...
Once inside, Mom would often make us hot chocolate, and always provide us with fresh baking!
This acreage at Linken Lodge also gives me those warm, protected and loved feelings.
Though my baking will never be like Oma's, please come visit and linger over a coffee or two, share some memories, and help us make new ones!