"Looking Good From a Distance" by Julie

PEDEGOEest I will go...in keeping with the vehicle theme--I thought this was a good one     by Julie:

http://pearlsinanutshell.blogspot.ca/

Sunday morning I came out of the house, ready for church and saw one of our neighbours  washing/polishing his truck .. It was gleaming  white in the morning sun.

I greeted him and asked...   "Didn't you just wash your truck yesterday?"

He replied, "Yes, but I wasn't quite finished and missed a few spots !"

I called back .. "It looks perfect to me !"

His response... "Yes, it looks good from a distance!"

I quipped , "That's how most people see it !"

He smiled. "True!"

I immediately realized what a great analogy this was.  A sermon in a short  spontaneous conversation.

I thought of how we are so careful in how we present the part of us that others see. We fuss with our hair, our clothes, keeping  our words and facial expressions kind and friendly.   We try to please those around us, doing the things expected of us, performing the good deeds that will be favourably received and duly admired.

At a distance ... we look good !

But what about if someone looks closer ...  all the way into the heart that is carefully concealed from other people who are impressed with their view of us.   But there is One who is not distracted by the outward, nor does He judge by how we look at a distance.  He examines our heart - close up!

God is not concerned with how we look at a distance - in fact the outward isn't His concern at all  - He desires our 'heart' beauty!  

  Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel.... but let it be the hidden person of the heart... 

1Pe 3:3,4  

God is the examiner of the heart ... the One who desires to 'clean' what others may not see -- what we ourselves may ignore or justify!   

  Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart. 

Ps. 26:2 

There really isn't anything God misses ... we have no 'heart spots' we can hide from Him. 

  For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Heb 4:12 

What does God require of us ? 

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart...." 

Duet. 10:12

  

What is the best spot remover for our hearts ?  

  How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

   Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. 

Ps. 119:9,11

May we allow our heart to be  'cleaned/polished'  in such a way that we can say to the Lord , 

as did  King David .. 

 You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.  

Ps. 17:3

Julie

Take care, and have a wonderful Sunday...

Hilda

Driving..."Miss Hilda..."

PEDEDGOest I will go...and how I learned to drive.

Oh, yes...to sit behind that wheel...Seems like it’s most people's dream--old and young.

Old: I was thinking back to when my father-in-law turned ninety-seven, January of 2010, and he just had his car insurance renewed! He thought that this would be his last year of driving. The urge to drive fast was still in him. We stopped in to see Mama Betty at the hospital. Father-in-law, Jacob, was there as well. He had come with his scooter. On the way out of the hospital, he said, "This thing goes fast!" And sure enough, before we even got to our parked car...he was gone! And in the far distance, all we could see, was a red flag madly waving in the air. 

Young: I was thinking back when I was nine. Our friend, Onkel Chnalce (Cornelius Unger), stopped in for a quick visit--probably for a few rounds of maté (South American drink) and to see my mother, before going on a short errand. 

I asked if I could go with him in his gray VW bug. I liked the car, it held many special memories for me. You see...he had bought it off my mom, after my father passed away.

So...driving along, with the windows rolled down, on a warm summer day in Buenos Aires, and after having driven for...I would guess, about half and hour or so, he stopped in front of a big house, and left me to “mind my own business.” 

Oh...when the cat’s away the...

...and play I did. I moved over to the driver’s seat and like children will do...pretended to drive. But, this did not look “cool” enough. So I took one of Onkel Chnalce's cigarettes, and pretended to "smooook" and drive.  

I can’t for the life of me remember if I lit it or not. Knowing me...I don’t remember coughing...? 

It was a good thing that he had taken the keys with him! Who knows what I would have attempted...

The next time I had the chance to drive--for real--was my second summer in Canada, when I was twelve. I had asked my stepfather if he could teach me how to drive. 

The 1953 International farm truck, with the orange cab and green box, happened to be sitting on the yard, so that was the choice of vehicle. I didn’t object, I just took my place at the edge of the seat, right behind the wheel, and my stepfather in the passenger’s seat. He then began to instruct me on how to drive a standard farm truck. Shifting into gears was not a problem for me. I had been observing his driving in the past, so a couple of tries and I was ready to go.

I had wanted to go straight, but no...apparently that wasn’t a “big enough” of a challenge. He suggested that I drive between the chicken coop and the work shed. With not too much space between the buildings and barely being able to look over the steering wheel, I managed to drive between the buildings and stay clear of the ditch to my left. It was a little scary, but I did it!

               This is what the truck looked like after I was done!--Ha, ha!

After that, I spent many hours practicing on my own. Not with the farm truck, not with the two toned green 1956 Pontiac, and not with the 1951 navy Chevy pickup that was on the farm when my mother and I moved to Canada, but with the new 1960 light blue Chevy pickup that my stepfather bought in 1961. (Thanks, Allan H., for helping me out with the makes and dates.)

And practice I did! At first I went around and around our yard, and when that got too monotonous, I was allowed to drive around and around the field, next to the farm yard. I headed north, and then right, driving next to Peter and Anne Toews’ barbed wire fence, and then south, back towards our yard. 

Nothing mattered...I kept on driving and I was in my glory! I felt very grown up. 

This is the closest photo I found in Yahoo.com

I don’t recall ever driving the truck on those endless prairie roads, except for the little stretch between our field and my cousin Heidebrecht’s driveway when I would go over to play...and...oh yes! I did drive on the “out of the way” road when I would make lunch and take it out to the field where my Mom and stepfather where working. That piece of land was only eighty acres, so I don’t recall being there that often. 

But...I have to admit that my Mom drove her share between fields, because even though the land that my stepfather owned was all around the farm yard, you still had to go onto the road to get to another piece of farm land further away. 

Before she left the yard she would check to see if the road was clear...any faraway dust cloud in sight--a sure sign of an oncoming vehicle. Most of the time the road was clear, even though it was a secondary road (Hwy. 724). When we did hear a vehicle drive by, we would check to see who it was.  Left, would take us north, to La Glace, where I attended grades five to nine. Right, would take us south, to Wembley, to where the tall elevators stood, where the farmer’s grain was hauled to. 

The distance that she drove, without license...! was less than a mile (we learned to measure in miles once we got to Canada). On that short stretch home, would you believe it, she was stopped by a cop! Were did he come from!?

He had questions, to which she had no answers--pretended that she didn’t understand English! He only gave her a warning and then left. My parents figured that one of the neighbours must have reported her to the police. Who knows...?

Drive safely and enjoy the sunshine...

Hilda

Last Car Show at Minter Gardens...

PEDEGOest I will go...to the Car Show at Minter Gardens.

I took these photos for those of you who couldn't/wouldn't make it.

Surprise, surprise, look at all those cars. It was a lovely day and the last car show at Minter Gardens... 

 The parking lot was full and overflowing! We didn't have parking problems, we walked here.

 Lovely color...oh no, what happened to my PEDEGO!

 This is what Peter drove while we were dating, and this is what we drove all the way to Winnipeg with after our honeymoon. It was jammed packed!

Now this would have been better...

 Cars, cars, cars and more cars...

 He's still busy...

 My maternal grandfather, Heinrich Franz Janzen, had an estate close to the city of Omsk, in Russia. On Sundays, he...no, his driver, would take the family to church in a covered carriage pulled by the finest horses. The seats were covered in blue velvet. During the church service, the drivers designated job was to look after the horses and carriage so no one would steal them. On his farm, grandfather had between 80 to 100 stallions. They were his pride and joy. Three days after his death, the Bolsheviks came and stole all the horses.

 And on a happier note...look who came to Minter Gardens! From sshortest to tallest: Julia, Leah, Emma and Linda Klassen--my niece and her girls, my grand nieces. What a nice surprise!

Wishing you a safe journey...
Hilda

Manning Park/Dia del Amigo...

PEDEGOest I will go...and this time we made it to Manning Park! No, no, not on my bike, but with the trailer.

But, first of all, I will wish you all a happy "Dia del Amigo" (Friend's Day--Spanish). I would not have known about this, except, my brother, Juan, skyped this afternoon and clued me in.
This is what I found in Wikipedia:
In Argentina, Friend's Day is often a good excuse for a friendly gathering and greeting both current and old friends. Since it is not an Argentine public holiday, people tend to gather during the evening.
Friend's Day has in recent years turned into a very popular mass phenomenon. In 2005, the amount of well-wishing friends led to a temporary breakdown of the mobile phone network in the cities of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Córdoba and Rosario, comparable to the one experienced in 2004 on Christmas and New Year's Day. Seats in most restaurants, bars, and other establishments are often completely booked a week before the celebration. 

And so I will say to my family in Argentina and Brazil: "Feliz Dia del Amigo!"

And to my childhood friend, Betty, in Buenos Aires: "Feliz Dia del Amigo!"

         Betty loves to travel with her friends...
Here she is at the St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.

...and Peter and I love to camp, read and watch our son, Michael, do the dishes! We've got it made!!!

We camped at the Coldspring campground.

        He doesn't just read the Mennonite!         "Oba Schmocke Bein!" Ha! (But lovely legs--Low Ger.)
You may wonder how we made it to Manning? Well, look...in the distance, there's my Chevy Silverado truck! I tell you, it's got power! Now we can pull the trailer up any hill.
Strange, how at the beginning you feel guilty after having bought something, and with time--sad to say--that feeling goes away...

                       She looks pretty pleased...! Seeing the Similkameen River brought back childhood memories of living in Wembley, Alberta. I would spend many happy hours--all by myself--looking for the right rocks, or watching the Suckers swimming around. "No, you can't eat them, they taste like mud!" I was told. And maybe I wasn't all by myself...One day, on our way home from school, my sister, Erica, and I spotted a cougar close to the road. He had actually spotted us first. We stopped dead in our tracks, and waited very quietly and very scared, until the cougar turned around and walked away. With jelly-like legs we quickly walked across the bridge and home.
Every time I asked if I had to be afraid of anything in the woods, the answer was: "The only thing you have to be afraid of are the mosquitos."Peter and Michael went for hikes while I kept reading... ...or taking photographs.....or looking for Peter through the trees......jumping from one rock to the next...Thanks, Lydia, for lending Michael the tent. 
Michael: "Make sure there's no food left outside, I don't want any bears hanging around at night!"Michael, the avid reader and writer...He will be teaching grades five and six English in Istanbul come September. And...just in case you didn't quite see what Peter was reading...It's one of the text books that Michael will be teaching from.Yes, Judy, you've got him hooked!

What a lovely surprise awaited us when we drove in. These sunflowers were left at our front door. Crystal vase and all! You will have to let me know if they are from you...Perhaps we shall meet at Minter Gardens tomorrow afternoon at the car show...or, perhaps you can drop in tomorrow for coffee...E-mail or give me a call...the table is almost set. No worries, I will return the vase...
Somebody must have known that it was "Dia del Amigo" today, and any day is okay too... 

Hilda

P.S. Monday-Wednesday is chemo week again. It's every 28 days until the end of October.