Tag Archives: postaday

My Experience on A Flight Yesterday. Write a Post in the Present Tense

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I am on a flight to Tel Aviv, at 37000 feet altitude. The sky is blue right to the horizon.  I am enjoying the brightness up here.  As I look below I see the snow capped mountains and the cloud filled valleys of the Alps.
 
 
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 Life is all around me inside the aircraft.  There are many families with young children on this flight.  There were prams and car seats folded beside the stairs as we boarded the aircraft.  In the past when Brendan and I took some of our children on holidays we would be the only young family on the flight.
 
Families are sharing their fruit and sandwichs   There is a pleasant waft of freshly peeled orange.  Mothers nurse babies.  Toddlers are being entertained with stories their mums are reading to them.  Women are standing in the isles, stopping to chat with friends.  I am thinking this is like a small community on an airoplane.  My neighbour says “I have never been on a flight like this, with so much activity.”  We quieter folk read a book, do a crossword, Sudoku or write on one’s i Pad.
 
It is three o’clock, prayer time?  It is the time Jesus died on the cross.  The men, with their hats on, are standing at the back and front of the aisle.  They read from their books of prayers.  I am reminded of the the Book of Daniel.  He was a governor in Babylon and was one of the Jewish exiles taken there when the temple was destroyed.
 
He did his job very well and other officials in the King of Babylon’s kingdom were jealous of Daniel.  They wanted to get rid of him.  The only thing they could hold against him was that he prayed three times a day.  He got put in the Den of Lions because he refused to stop praying or bow down to any other God.  And his God delivered him.
 
I think “Do I take God serious enough to talk to him three times a day.”  If  I love someone who loves me and has blessed me so much in my life, I want to spend time with him.  I am going to spend some time now reading from my book of prayers!
 
 
 
 

 

Appreciating my Parents after Rearing my own Children, DPchallenge

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I had two children of my own.  I was twenty four years old, and lived far away from immediate family.
My life experiences were living on a farm in a big family, going to an all girls school, and attending a new university in a small town in Northern Ireland.
 
Things were about to change.  There was turmoil in our country with bombings and shootings.  People were killed, buildings reduced to rubble.  The dark clouds gathered.  Even the weather portrayed the gloom and fear over the land.
 
I must have been affected by that fear in the atmosphere even though the town where we lived was a safe place.  I began to wonder how can I keep my two children safe?  What example can I give them?  Who is right in the middle of the war?  What values can I pass on to them.
 
I remembered back to my own upbringing by my parents.  Mum and Dad worked hard on a farm to raise  us ten children, eight girls and two boys.  They did not have much money.  They sacrificed their own comfort and luxuries to look after us.  Dad was a pioneer.  He educated all of us.  He believed girls should get the same opportunities as the boys.  They had quiet faith in God.  By their actions I know they were Christians, as the old chorus goes “They will know we are Christians by their love.”
 
I knew nothing about sectarianism and wondered why Catholics were fighting Protestants.  I began to seek God.  I began a journey of faith.
 
As my family and my faith in God grew I was able to appreciate the values my parents held and their willingness to lay down their lives to rear their children and overcome hard times, trials and disappointments.  Brendan and I did not want our children to grow up to be bitter and have hatred in their hearts for their neighbours.  We worship with and love Catholics and Protestants.  Our children have married into both groups.  
 
I did not appreciate my parents when I was growing up.  I did not thank them.  I did not honor them. I wanted to leave home and see what the world had to offer.  Now, as I have gone through the work of raising children I appreciate what my parents did for me.  I have a good heritage.  I honor them.
 
My mum died at sixty four.  She did not get to see all her grandchildren.  I could have died three years ago, but Praise God he healed me and I am alive to tell other mothers there is hope and life.  May you live to see your children’s children.
 
 
 

 

Do you Believe you will ever write a Book

Some years ago I was travelling home from America.  My family had send me on a holiday for my birthday.  I was sitting beside a lady who was writing on a small computer.  She was making notes for a book she was writing.  I was returning home to a houseful of children to be reared and there would certainly be no time for writing.  Have you watched the film “Cheaper by the dozen?”  The mother of the children wrote a book!  I wondered if I would ever write a book.  The only writing I was doing was jotting down notes about my daily readings from the bible.  My husband called them “My Rewrites.”  He teased me saying “Are you going to rewrite the bible.”
Ten years on, I was on my way home from Canada to Ireland.  What was I doing?  I was writing notes for my blog.  I would never have dreamed that I would be doing this.  With the quick advancement of technology over these last years one does not have to make reams of notes in books with a pen.  I can do much writing on my i Pad.  One can e mail, send pictures, take pictures, blog, all with the press of a button.  Brendan bought it for me on my last birthday.  As I sit to write, memories come flooding back to me.  The Holy Spirit brings things to mind.
I have resisted writing before.  I resisted thinking back to the past.  I did not have good memories.  I resisted writing letters to anyone because I wanted only to write if I had some good news to tell.  I did not have the peace, confidence or courage before.  God promises he will make a way when there is no way.
 I have resisted anyone loving me.  I have resisted showing love.  I was embarrassed at first when I visited Canada.  Waitresses in the cafes were friendly and smiling.  People talked about having fun.  A husband would call his wife honey.  A wife would call her husband sweetie.  I was embarrassed.  I have never called my husband sweetie in my life.
Maybe the Irish are too numb from pain to express genuine love.  It can be embarrassing to hug someone you don’t know.  We can be sharp to tear someone down with our tongues.  I want to speak kindly and be pleasant to others.  Very often we don’t say anything and retreat into silence because of fear of being rediculled or someone retorting in anger because they don’t agree with your opinion.
There is a saying that goes if you can’t say anything good don’t say anything at all.  Perhaps trust is broken and one cannot be open again.  One puts up the defences to protect ones heart from wounding.
But God has healed my heart and mind of past traumas.  “Perfect love casts out fear.”  I can now look back and remember the good.  A friend has come back into my life this last week.  As we talked she remembered good times when we met together with our children.  More restoration and healing for me.
There is a Psalm that describes how I feel.
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. (Psalm 126:1-6 NIV)

Blurb for book I want to write.

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My husband and I wrote a book called Staying Alive.  It tells about my journey from being diagnosed with fourth cancer to the head consultant writing me a letter to say he could find no trace of the nine centimetre tumour in my colon. Four years on, I am staying alive and I have produced this book about my family.
Whatever your views have been about having children up to now, this book about our big family will change your ideas forever.
I tell stories about life from day to day in our home, how God interrupted our lives and guided us on a journey we did not choose.  Scripture says I chose you.
Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10 KJV)
You will laugh, you will cry, you will have renewed hope and courage.  This book will bring healing to you, your marriage and your wider family.  My book tells of restoration of broken relationships by the power of God.  Barriers broken down and unity and love restored in family.
God came into my life and has multiplied me to become a tribe of forty nine.!  I have fourteen children, ten in laws, twenty eight grandchildren, one great grand child and counting.
The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.” (Isaiah 60:22 NIV)

Do you have Good Teeth? One of the Gifts of God is to Enjoy your Food

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Psalm 21v 1&3
 
 
The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give!
You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. (Psalm 21:1, 3 NIV)
 
Twenty seven years ago I was expecting my eighth child, John.  I remember reading the Psalm mentioned above.  A mother needs to give special attention to her teeth when she is expecting a baby.  I was going to my dentist.  He discovered one of my molars needed a crown.  He said I can give you a gold crown for this tooth, free.  Dental care is free when one is pregnant.  I remembered the Psalm I had read, “I will put a gold crown upon your head.”
 
Within two weeks I had a shiny gold crown fitted on my tooth.  People are often surprised that my teeth are strong after having fourteen babies.  I had a good dentist and rather than take a tooth out when it was decayed, he preserved it and fitted a crown.  I have a mouth full of gold crowns!  I have been blessed by God. 
 
When I was in Dawson Creek back in November 2013 one of my gold crowns dislodged from a tooth.  I was anxious that my tooth would be sensitive and if I got to a dentist it would be expensive.  Our host got a dental appointment.  He checked it out and suggested I wait to see my own dentist back home.  Thankfully I was not in pain and the appointment was 50 dollars.
 
Two months on, today, I got a new gold crown fitted.  My tooth is restored to better than before.  God is a God of restoration.  I persevered two months with a jagged tooth in my mouth till today I have a strong smooth,gold crowned tooth.  One of the gifts of God is to enjoy your food.  I enjoyed my dinner when I got back home.
 
Have you had a promise that God gave you, fulfilled?  Tell me about it.

 

 

COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW

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Today there is a display of colours of the rainbow in my living room.  My husband bought me a beautiful crystal bunch of grapes many years ago.  I had it sitting in my display cabinet for a long time.  
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About three years ago, after he was decorating our living room, Brendan decided to give the crystal  a more prominent place in our living room.  He hung it from an old gas light fixture on our wall.  It hangs like a bunch of grapes on a branch.  Brendan is very creative.
 
Later that morning he entered the room and there were flashes of rainbow colours all along the wall.  He called me to see the spectacle. Whow!!  It was special moment.  We watched as the lights danced along the wall when Brendan spun the grapes around.  The rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant.  
 
When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” (Genesis 9:14-16 NLT
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Weekly Photo Challlenge: Joy

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It is a new month, a New Year, and new beginnings.  I am getting rid of the empty boxes, bottles, wrappings, and cards.  The festivities are over.  It is time to recover

The Christmas preparations take their toll on ones strength.  One needs to be super strong to receive friends, family and give generously.
Did you know that joy gives one strength.  I was going through a difficult time and who does not have them, when I heard a voice say to me “The joy of The Lord is your strength.”
I built up my reserves of strength when I was in Canada in November.  I enjoyed seeing friends, making new ones and receiving love and kindness.  I enjoyed the beauty of Vancouver and the Rockies. We enjoyed the snow.
I particularly enjoy seeing the big trains at Whiterock as they trundle past and the whistle blows.  It is music to my ears.

Our Fourteen Children go to University

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Our Fourteen Children go to University!

Angela is the youngest of our fourteen children.  Today she got her A level results, two A stars and two As and shares top of her year in Assumption Grammar, Ballynahinch, Northern Ireland.  Angela is going to Edinburgh university to study Neuroscience.  Now I can say all our fourteen children have succeeded in going on to university, two went to Aberdeen, Abertay Dundee, Edinburgh, Liverpool, L S E London, Oxford Brookes, Peterhouse Cambridge, three went to Queen’s Belfast, Strathclyde Glasgow, St Andrew’s, and  Ulster University.

In Northern Ireland we have an excellent education system which is free up to the age of eighteen.   Our children attended various schools, Coleraine Inst, Loreto College Coleraine, Dominican Portstewart,  Coleraine High, St Patrick’s  Downpatrick and Assumption, Ballynahinch.  They achieved good results at A level. Thanks to all the teachers out there in all the schools our children attended.  Thanks also to friends of our children and their parents who welcomed them into their homes, helped with lifts and encouraged them.  Thanks also to the praying community we are in touch with at home and abroad.  We would not have succeeded without you.

There is a song which goes “Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.  Let them be lawyers and doctors and such”, sung by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.  My husband Brendan and I did not plan to have a big family.  We were open to have children and God blessed us with fourteen!  It would have be too daunting task if we had know beforehand.  Each addition to the family fitted in and the other children helped with the younger ones.  Our children, who have left university, work in various fields.  We have a doctor, a lawyer, a midwife, community child nurse, an artist, a design engineer, managers in tourism and commerce and volunteers in the third world.

We laid down rules for our children and expected them to kept.  They enjoyed school and flourished at reading, writing and arithmetic.  Raising the younger half of the family has been a challenge as they have grown up in the world of computers and access to the internet.  Knowledge has increased and we have access to it through the media giving our young people many choices.  Brendan and I hope we have helped our children to make the right choices.

It was not always work and no play for our girls and boys.  They were never alone and could easily play together. Our children were involved in various sports and music.  I said, “You can attend as long as I do not have to give you a lift.”  Thankfully they could walto the rugby, soccer or gaelic playing fields.  Many trustworthy young men worked voluntarily as coaches in these sports.  Some of my children liked music. They got a bus to orchestra practice or they could go rowing on the river nearby.  Some American friends introduced us to skateboarding and rollerblading so our boys really enjoyed those activities.  There was a swimming pool nearby where they all learned to swim.

When I was in India I saw how mothers had someone to help with their children, as well as extended family at hand.  When I told our friends there, that Brendan and I worked with our children ourselves, they could not believe it.  In India, ordinary people have servants for cleaning, cooking and helping with children. They do not have to be excessively rich either.

We are not perfect parents, our children will vouch for that.  All children need to forgive parents and also I have learnt parents need to forgive their children.  Brendan and I hope for the goodness of God in the land of the living.  We have been through many troubles but God has been with us when we were weak.  I am glad to be alive today to celebrate my daughter’s success.

Angela