A Well Watered Garden

A few years ago when we went to Israel, I was fascinated by the Negev desert. When planning the trip I had anticipated seeing places like Via Dolorosa, The Garden Tomb, The Galilee, basically walking in the footsteps of Jesus. However if you ask me which place made the most impact on me – I would have to say the desert. In my mind, I had not visualised what I actually saw – miles and miles of harsh, mountainous terrain. When we stood on Mount Nebo and I looked across, I realised that only God could use this kind of land. With all the modern inventions, man can barely build roads through this wilderness. Of course this was where Jesus walked too. The nation of Israel wandered through the desert for 40 years. If you do a keyword search in http://www.biblegateway.com/ there are numerous references to the desert in the Bible. And this is where I find myself once again – the desert of my life. In these days, I have been drawn to the prophet Elijah. As I study the life of this prophet, ...

My Papa – affectinately known as Dr. Vixalo, almost 97 years old now, with his mind still as sharp as a tack,  was born, raised and lived all his life (except the last 13 years) in Portuguese India. I have many memories of him and one that came to my mind recently was his Medicine Basket. As a general practitioner, my Dad would have many visits from medical reps. As a little girl I would love to dig into his briefcase to find the promotional materials that he would bring home – pens, key chains etc. But in addition to these, he would also bring home free samples of drugs. These got thrown into The Medicine Basket. Every day after every meal we went through a ritual. The Basket was brought to the table and my Dad looked into it and looked at each one of us and decided what we needed. If he had heard me sneeze even once, I took an antihistamine. The maid was called and again her share of medication too. Sometimes he would give us a pill and say it was “just in case...” I laugh ...

So here I am fascinated by the Monarch butterfly that we saw at the conservatory in Niagara. I decided to do some research and used the ultimate research source - Google! I found more unanswered questions than actual information. What tells it to migrate? Why migrate and not hibernate? The Monarch is the only butterfly that migrates. How does it know where to go? Ever get lost? How does it take the same route? Why Mexico? How does it know it's way back? If you have the time, watch this short video and you will be blessed. These beautiful creatures were created and inspired  with a perfect migration plan and they follow it to the letter to fulfill and glorify their Creator.

   Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens...?   Job 38:37  So I just came back from a lovely weekend getaway with my husband. My favourite holiday destination - a room everlooking the Niagara Falls. Oh the joy of waking up and seeing the amazing falls. I am always amazed at the never ending flow of water. It keeps coming and coming... You cannot but think of God  and His Hand in creation. In my finite mind, that only holds limited possibilities and limited resources, I keep expecting the water from the river to dry up, but it doesn't and hasn't for the last so many, many years. Somewhat like God's grace. It keeps coming and coming. There is no end to it and the source never runs dry. I have been witness of His abundant grace even in these days. His Word, alive and true - my daily sustenance, phone calls and emails from caring friends, coffee appointments, times of prayer, facebook notifications! a wonderful family, food o...