My first Christmas in heaven

My   Mama 's  first Christmas  in  heaven.

Memories  of  last  year  and  the  years 

beyond with  my  beloved  family makes 

my  heart  well   up  with  emotion and 

deep  feelings.

I   thank  God  for  each  life.

Never Grow Old

Today my  Mama completed

her  first  month in heaven.

Of  course  she  doesn 't  care  about

time  in  heaven,

 because there

are no  calenders and   clocks 

there. Only  God 's  perfect

time and  season.

I  wonder  what timelessness

and  eternity  feels  like.

I  am  sharing  a  Jim Reeves

song entitled

Never  Grow Old

in  the  memory  of my  mother.

I  remember  a  few  months 

back she  was  lying  in bed

and  I  played this  song  for  her

on YouTube.

She  always  loved

the Jim Reeves  version.

These  things  I have  written  unto  you that  believe  on  the  name  of  the Son of God;that ye may know that ye have  eternal  life, and  that  ye  may  believe on  the name  of  the  Son  of  God.   1 John 5;13

Sunday Blessings -Keep your eyes on Jesus

Our  Sanctuary

Megan  brought  us  a  word  of  encouragement  from  the  Bible last  Sunday She  spoke  about  making  Christ  the  focal point  of  our  lives and  receiving our  sustenance  and  from Him alone.Trying  to  nourish  ourselves  by   'digging   our  own  cisterns ' will  not  satisfy  us. Keep  your  eyes  on  Jesus ,for  He  is  the   Water  and  Bread  of  Life.
Megan  spoke  in  English while  I   translated  her  message into Hindi.

Nephew Ashish  greeting  the  church  family  and  sharing  words  of  blessings.

Chandi,  Milka and Abner

Sonia had  to  leave  just  before  church because  Abner  had  school  on  Monday.

Me, Sonia, Ashish  and  Abner

We  bid goodbye  to Ash and  Megan last   night  - they  left   for Delhi and  Agra ( to see  the Taj Mahal)

They  will  fly  back  to  Canada  on  Tues   morning.

We  are  missing  them  terribly.

Today  is  my Dad 's  7th  death   anniversary.

I want  to  share  a page  out  of  the  devotional

Experiencing  God by Henry and Richard Blackaby

Be Blessed

Sowing Seeds of Righteousness

But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. (Proverbs 11:18b)


There are many ways to invest our lives, but none offers greater reward than devoting ourselves to the pursuit of righteousness. Every area of our lives should reflect the holiness of God that is ours by salvation: our thoughts, so that nothing we think about would be inappropriate for a child of God; our actions, so that our lives demonstrate that we serve a holy God; our integrity, so that we are above reproach in all our relationships.


Are you taking God’s righteousness in your life for granted? Righteousness is something you must allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. Instead of sowing holy thoughts, are you allowing evil and sinful thoughts to grow in your mind? Are you allowing lust to grow unchecked within you? Does enmity, bitterness, jealousy, or unforgiveness remain in your life? Jesus said if we seek first God and His righteousness, everything else will follow (Matt. 6:33). There is great reward in sowing righteousness. What_are you presently doing to plant holiness in your life?_(1 Pet. 1:15). How are you putting righteousness in your mind so that your thoughts are holy? How are you cultivating righteousness in your relationships so that you maintain your integrity? Are you instilling righteousness in your activities so that your life is above reproach? If you want to harvest righteousness in your life tomorrow, you must plant seeds of righteousness today

Welcome to Ashish and Megan

Ashish  and  Megan  arrived  on Feb 24th

Their train  was  late but  they  got  here safely

Family  and  friends  want  to  see

their  photos so  I  am 

sharing  them  for  everyone

 Finally  I 've  been  able  to  download  pictures  from  our   4  cameras ( 3  belonging  to  our   guests  and  one  of  mine and  my  cell  phone  too). I  am  sharing   a  few  of those.

 Ash  and  Megan  in  their  air conditioned  coach  on the  way  from  Assam  to  Allahabad.

A  train  view  of  the  Indian  countryside

All is Well

Dear  friends, God  is   so  good  to  us.My  nephew  Ash  (short  for  Ashish) and  friend  Megan  arrived   safely on  the  afternoon  of  Feb 24th.  Their    train was   2  and  1/2  hours  late and   I   received  then  at  the  train  station.While  I  was  waiting  I  took  some   photos  which  I   will  post  later  on.

Ash brought   us  lots   of  gifts ,  it   was   like  Christmas. The   best  thing  is  a  commode  raiser for  Mama.  Specialized  health care  equipment  is  not   easily  available   in  India  as  it   is   in  Canada.

Yesterday  Sonia arrived   with  her  son Abner -  and   so  we  are   having   a  mini  family  carnival. In  the  evening  we  went  to  a  very  posh   shopping   mall so  close  to my  house,  but  for   the  very  first  time.  I  never  thought   of  entering  it  before.  Megan  and  Ash  were  so   happy,  they  said  it  is  like  a mall  in  Canada. I  took   photos  with my  cell  phone.

Then  Ash ordered   lots  of   pizzas  from Dominoes. We  ate  so  much and   have  tons of  left overs  to  finish. Oh  we  are  just  enjoying   ourselves.

Megan  loves  Allahabad  and   our   food.  She  likes   our  cooking. And  praise  God  she  has  not  had  any   health or tummy  problems, I  was  worried  about  that. She  is  drinking  our  filtered  and  boiled  water  too.  She  loves  my  dal (lentil soup). This  morning  we  bought   a  Muslim style  curry  for  breakfast  with  nan,  , it   was  spicy but  Megan ate  it  and   enjoyed  it.

Ash  and  Megan  have  gone  to  take  a  tour  of  the  All Saints  Cathedral -a heritage  tourist  site  of   our  city. We  are  having  our  baths and  getting  ready . Later  on  we  will go  shopping in   the old  part   of  town.

In  the  evening  I want  us  to  go  to  the  Horticulture  and Flower  Show.  I  have  so  much  so  share.

Sonia 's  cough  is   better, but   she  looks  quite  weak. She  needs  a lot  of   rest which   is  impossible   for  her.

With  all the  activity  and   walking  my knees were  very strained  and  I  was  in  a  lot   of  pain. I  took  Ash 's  Tylenol capsules  but   they  did  not  work, this  morning  I  got  my  paracetemnol and  I  am some  better.Ha-ha!.

The  weather is  perfect,  we 've  had  some   rain  too.

Thank  you  for your  prayers.  Namrita  is  better  and  misses   us   all.  Ash  and  Megan  had   a  lovely  time  with  her family   for  6  days. They  are   taking a  lot  of  photos.

Wish  we were  all  together.

House Call

This evening I called a leading physician

on a house call to see my mother

as her symptoms persisted.

I have consulted him before

and Mom had her hysterectomy in his

hospital.He is specially

good with geriatric care.

He diagnosed her with

the Irritable Bowl Syndrome.

That laid a lot of my anxiety and depression to rest.

As I was suffering from fear and trepidation

imagining the worst.

Thank you for praying for us.

This can be handled with

medicines, suitable diet and stress relief.

We just have to note the food items

which set off the IBS.

I will study it on the Internet too.

If anyone has had experience dealing with

it. Your advice will be appreciated.

*********

On Saturday night we had a mighty rain and thunder

storm which knocked off our electricity for

14 hours. Not too bad.

It could have been worse.

Family Album

Today is
My adopted sister Sonia 's birthday.
Here she is with her husband and 7 year old son Abner.
It is also my younger sister Namrita 's son
-Mishael 's birthday. Mishael is 12 years.
I don 't have a photo to post.
I have asked Namrita to send me a photo.
She has Internet on her Sony Erickson cell phone and not on her computer. They are both busy working people and parents.
Namrita is a laborious home-maker.
She says she does not have time for the Internet.
So she 's got it on her phone.
She also does not want her boys to be distracted
by the www while they are at their studies.
Tomorrow is my late father 's birthday.
This is an old photo of us on holiday in Kashmir.
I am the one in the front and sister Anju is at the back.
We were enjoying the snow on a glacier in June.
Namrita wanted to see photos of my other sister 's family
in Canada, so I am posting them here.

Niece and nephew, Mahima and Ash


Ash, home from College, carting wood into the house
This photo was taken last April when the
snow was melting in New Brunswick.
Anju is wearing a shawl from India.
It has tiny mirrors sewn into it.


Mahima, Anju and Prem with a friend 's dog.

Brother and sister at Christmas

Ash in Halifax with a friend from College

Mahima with a church friend 's grand daughter

On their veranda

This is summer

Hey guys we miss you all.

Papa too.

A Birthday Party

On Dec 31 was my cousin Antim 's birthday.

He is the youngest of 6 children, so he

was named Antim which means Last.

Here he is with his fiance Smriti.

He is a dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon.

Smriti runs a computer training school for women.

There were more than 50 guests .

Plenty of cake to go around.

They laid out a lovely dinner

prepared by professional cooks.

Antim 's sister M is a singer, actress and movie maker.

She lives in London. This is her fiance Andrew who is also

a musician and composer.

Some more relatives from Amtim 's dad 's side.
His Mom Aunt Joy is related to us.
You can see her at the bottom right of the picture.
The man with the camera on the left is
Rajat whose wedding I could not attend.



On the left bottom corner is Dr A,
Antim 's brother . He is a reputed
eye surgeon and he told me he plays
more than 10 musical instruments.
The girl in the white jacket is Dr A 's daughter.
She is a medical student and plays
badminton very well.
These are all very successful and accomplished people by the world 's
standards, but rate low on the spiritual scale.
Year 's ago when we shared the Gospel with
them they called us mad and crazy.
But now they respect us and even though
our lifestyles don 't match
there is fraternity and brotherhood among us.

Quick Note

I want to wish all my buddies a

VERY HAPPY AND PEACEFUL

2009

Thank you for your greetings.

_________________

This is quite a crazy time for my family and me.

My Dad 's elder brother 's widow

80+ year old Aunt Virginia was in pain since

Dec 21st.Mama and I are her only relatives. (She does not have children

and her brother 's children don 't care.)

We got a doctor to examine her and it was discovered that she has

fractured her hip bone and needs to have a steel

rod inserted through surgery.

On Dec 31st we got her admitted in the hospital.

Jan 1st was a crazy day as we had to arrange for a

blood donor. My Pastor and his wife were a tremendous help. Around midnight he found a donor.

The surgery was scheduled for Jan 2nd at 9 am.

We all assembled in the hospital ,

the nurses prepared auntie.

Prayers were said and we waited for them to wheel

her into the OT.

After a long wait (10.30am)

they told us that the operation

has been postponed till Jan 3rd. as

one of the surgeons on the team took off on an emergency leave.

So we have to go through the whole process this morning which is very draining emotionally and physically.

_________________

Apart from all this I 've been

trying to juggle other activities like

a birthday celebration

a wedding reception

a pre-wedding ceremony (today Jan 3)

a cousin 's wedding (Jan 5th)

Hospitality

guests and visitors

Taking care of Mom 's needs and

house chores.

Sonia is a great help.

________________

PRAYER REQUEST

Please pray for Aunt Virginia.

The doctors have cautioned us that the surgery

is risky due to her age is weak physical condition.

We are very anxious and worried because of that.

Golden Day

If my Dad was alive it would have been my parents

50th - (Golden )Wedding Anniversary.

They were married on 24 Dec 1958

in my church.

We have preserved the wedding invitation.

The above photo was taken on Christmas Day 1978

It was a very nostalgic day

for Mama and me.

If things were different we would have had

a large family get-together and celebration.

Here they are with their beloved

grandchildren Ashish andMahima

about 8 years ago.

It was a cold January day

and they are warming themselves

with a charcoal fire
____________________________

Thank you for praying for the difficult situation we were

facing. The Lord is gracious to us.

The couple involved came to us

and invited Mother and me for Christmas lunch

and they spoke very lovingly.

We were not surprised because they are God 's children -

and He answers our prayers.

This made our day golden.

God bless your Christmas with peace and joy.

Stories of Courage and Challenge

During my blog travels around the world I come across stories and posts which lead me to thank the Lord for all the blessings He has given me and reach out to people around me. They are like guideposts.

Read about GAIL 'S visits to 2 special ladies. She is a new friend of mine. Gail was a nurse in Saudi Arabia and now lives in the USA.

(photo courtesy Felisol)
FELISOL my Norwegian sister describes a visit to an island garden in Norway. ..called Mangela.She 's got beautiful photos of the garden on her blog. It was planted by a man called Aasmund Bryn.


In 1965 at the age of 35, doctors pronounced him terminally ill. Bryn, a horticulturist took refuge in this island away from the hustle and bustle of life. He planted seeds which gave him the courage, strength and determination to battle his disease and purpose to his almost ending life.


The result was a unique garden with plants from all over the world.

(photo by Felisol)

Bryn survived his illness and is now almost at the end of his life in his 80s.

You can check out their WEB SITE HERE

Brother Jim serving the Lord in Mexico has a very good post on POVERTY and a moving video called An $8 Hotdog. You must watch it.
It encouraged me to be a good and responsible steward of what the Lord has given me.

My heart was strangely warmed by all these posts.

Matchmaker...Matchmaker

These photos are about 28 years old

when color film was a rarity in India

we three sisters were studying in a Convent

and life was young and fresh L-R Anju, Amrita, Namrita holding baby Raj our cousin

L-R Amrita, Namrita holding Raj and Anju
(names shortened for security reasons)
The reason for posting these photos is that last weekend
Aunt Ree, Raj 's Mom rang me up and asked
me to find a 'nice girl ' for him.
I must add that I was quite flattered by her confidence in me, it must be the grey in my hair!
In India traditionally arranged marriages are popular, but of course a lot of young people are going in for love marriages and partners of their choice.

Aunt Ree 's husband Uncle R is my Mom 's first cousin. They are very affluent. Raj, now 28 years old has a good job, and since he is the only child, he is a good catch.

Unfortunately they are traditional Christians...upscale by the world 's standards but nowhere in God 's kingdom.

I gave her polite answers. Mainly because we move in born-again circles and suggesting matches these days is pretty dicey because if the marriage develops problems, you can get blamed.

This afternoon Aunt Ree called again and said she found 2 local girls.

Girl A works in a private institution

Girl B works in a Government institution

She wanted Mama and me to help them make a choice.

We could have done Eena...Meena..Mina...Moe

because we don 't know the girls and their families are known to us only by their names.

But she really insisted that Mama give her some input, since she is the eldest cousin sister and has married off her daughters very well.

I prompted some guidelines to Ma

1.Don 't look for a girl from a wealthy background as you already have enough so you don 't need a dowry or more stuff.

2. The girl should be of sound character , God-fearing and good natured. (They know our testimony - we have evangelized them)

3. The girl should be well educated and compatible with your son.

But she wanted to choose between the girls working in the

a) Private place

b) Government concern

We sided with the Government as the salary is higher and there are additional benefits plus a life-long pension.

Now lets see which side the camel lies (English translational of an Indian proverb)

I 'll be sure to post the wedding pictures and more.
_____________________________

Yesterday there was a bomb scare in a posh business building a short distance down our road.

Someone called an air-hostess training centre that they were going to blow up the building in 20 minutes.

There was high panic and the place was evacuated.The bomb disposal squad examined the premises and found nothing, it was a hoax.

But every call has to be taken seriously.

Timeless Thursday

Kathryn of Pure Wells
gave me this award. Thank you Kathryn. I find your blog very inspiring and uplifting spiritually.You are a sweet heart.
Last weekend Prem, Anju, Ash and Mahima visited Prince Edwards Island.Here are some photos they sent.Wonder if Aunt Martha made her own chocolate.

Home spun fabric

Lobsters on the go.

Smile Please!
I love the Anne series. The charm and innocence of the old times is to be savored in these books. I treasure the old time values and traditions people like these upheld.