August. Adios. Auf Wiedersehen.

It came and went real fast, the month of August. And we lazed through those sunny days, waking up late, planning our days as the clock ticked. The weeks of no schedules, no agendas, no must-do lists.

But September rolls around tomorrow, which means we have only a few more timetableless days before returning to school next Tuesday, and routine sets in. It'll be good, though. For a few days, anyways.

Last Thursday, we made the annual pilgrimage to the Pacific National Exhibition, locally known as our very own PNE, and this year celebrating 100 years. After the initial shock of outrageous parking and entrance fees, we did have a fantabulous time, and covered a lot of ground in the few hours that we had to spend there. Lumberjacks, Superdogs, Street Stars and the parades are always high on the priority list of things to see. And we weren't disappointed. We, of course, paid a short visit to Gospel Booth.. sponsored by the local assemblies in the lower mainland.. where scores of free gospel literature is handed out to the masses of passersby, and we viewed firsthand the detailed and insightful display of Noah's Ark. VERY impressive.

We meandered away from the hustle and bustle of the Midway to view the Sand Sculptures, and were fascinated by the creativity and talent of the fifteen international contestants. Although he didn't place as a final winner, my favorite by far was a chap by name of Niall Magee, hailing from, yup, you guessed it, Ireland. From County Wexford, to be precise. "Coontee Wexferd", as he pronounced it, with his freckles and red hair, to boot. But it wasn't so much his heritage that appealed to me as his sense of humour. His sculpture was, interestingly enough, a grenade. Now we Irish folk know how to have a blast!

The girlies enjoyed the Kidz Discovery Farm tour yet again this year, where they planted seeds, pulled carrots, gathered eggs, milked cows, sheared sheep and earned a free chocolate milk for all their hard work.

Never a dull moment at the PNE. Lots to see and do. Plenty of places to spend your money too, if you have any. And what's a day at the fair without a bag of cotton candy.

PURPLE cotton candy, this time, if you can believe it. Purple fingers, purple tongue, purple teeth.. but she's still purple pretty, don't you think??!!

The greatest of these is... LOVE.

First Corinthians 13 is widely known as the Bible chapter of love. But reading the verses again this morning drew fresh thoughts and new challenges.

It is quite interesting to note that the word is mentioned a total of nine times throughout the thirteen verses that make up the whole chapter.

So what then, is this "charity"?

Here are 7 positives and 7 negatives.

Love IS:

1. LONGSUFFERING. Am I always patient, and quietly waiting on the Lord?
2. KIND. Am I always caring and thoughtful, considering others before myself?
3. REJOICES IN TRUTH. Am I always honest, and happy to be?
4. BEARS. Am I always tolerant and forgiving?
5. BELIEVES. Am I always faithful to my God and His word?
6. HOPES. Am I always positive, even when life is disappointing?
7. ENDURES. Am I always persistant and diligent in my daily christian walk?

Love IS NOT:

1. ENVIOUS. No room for jealousy or resentment.
2. PROUD. No room for self-exultation or conceit.
3. ARROGANT. No room for disrespect or bad manners.
4. SELF-SEEKING. No room for ego or selfishness.
5. EASILY PROVOKED. No room for anger or bad tempers.
6. EVIL. No room for sin.
7. REJOICES IN INIQUITY. No room for revenge or retaliation.

And so, challenging my heart this morning, how do I measure up? Is my life a sweet-smelling savour in the presence of the Lord, or is He too often deafened by the clanging symbol and the noisy gong?

I fail. Many times over. And so I pray that the Lord will FILL me with this charity. That my life for Him will be so taken up with what LOVE IS, that there will be absolutely no room for what LOVE IS NOT.

Welcome Back!

Woohoo.. my camera's back home again, and I'm one happy little photographer! And it came home just in time for some special occasions and celebrations.

A Carleton friend turned 40 (another one bites the dust) so we had cause for some indulgence in the form of some cream-puff, caloricious birthday cake. Here's the latest 40s recruit, with a bunch of lovely ladies. Some 40ish, some not!

The weather here has been hot and humid, so a day at the waterpark seemed to be an appropriate card to pull this week. And so the outing was planned for yesterday, Splashdown Park, with some delightful company. All the kiddos had a ton of fun and stayed cool.

Look at the smiles on those precious little faces. Even in the line-ups they were happy as could be! This was waiting their turn for a ride in the Black Hole tube slide... definitely a favorite with ALL of them!

A sleepover ensued. It appears, however, that there was not much shuteye done at all last night, but instead an abundance of chatting and giggling and a general evasion of the whole going-to-sleep concept. Followed by a way-too-early up-with-the-birds top o' the mornin' to ya.

But for now the four of them are having fun... crafting, giggling, dressing-up, giggling, jumping on the trampoline and doing lots of little-girl things together. I can already tell, though, in view of the one or two near-meltdowns this afternoon, that tonight will be an early night for my girls!

Days of Cameralessness.

Camera was officially admitted to the Repair Shop yesterday. Expected discharge date... four weeks. So here I am. Cameraless for the next month. Argh.

The month of July certainly flew by on wings. Hello August already, which most surely means that September is just around the corner. Funny how swiftly time marches on. More hurriedly it seems, the older I get. Yikes, not that I'm up for discussing that. But regardless of age, it is a fact that we are consumed by time. Driven by the ticking clock, the days, the nights, the seasons. Be here, be there. Today, tomorrow. A time to be born. And a time to die.

In eternity, there is only forever. Time without end.

And so in TIME, we must prepare for ETERNITY.

All of us are born sinners. All of us deserve eternal punishment for our sin. But the Lord Jesus Christ died for sinners. On the cross at Calvary, He suffered the judgement of God for our sin. And by accepting that the Lord Jesus took MY place, I can rest assured that MY sins are forgiven. I am redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, and promised a home in heaven.

What must unending time in heaven be like? Such joy it will be to gaze on my Saviour's face, to dwell in His presence, ungoverned by time. Praising the One who loved me and gave Himself for me. Forever and ever.

But to think of eternity in hell... weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, the place of interminable torment where the lake of fire is never quenched. The eternal destiny of the Christ-rejectors. Forever and ever.

Take a moment today to prepare for your eternity.

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins,

the just for the unjust,

that He might bring us to God.

1 Peter 3:18