My normal life rhythm has existed of going flat out, then stopping.  For three years now, we have spent a week or two in Prince Albert every month, plus travelling across Canada to visit missionaries.  We have been going steady, with catch up days at home in between.  Some days off interspersed here and there have given us some rest.  We have taken vacation time, plus family time for the special holidays.
     Now here we are, in self-isolation, working from home.
     I thought it would be so relaxing.  The very thing I longed for, extended time at home to do whatever I wanted with no responsibilities beyond what I can accomplish around the house or on the computer.  But it's not as easy to "take it easy" as I hoped!
    One morning this week, I read Psalm 46 as part of my devotional time.  It had been referenced in a sermon I heard and it kept coming back to my thoughts.
"Be still, and know that I am God..." verse 10
     Although I had been longing for such an opportunity as we are experiencing with COVID-19, I am having a really hard time being still.  The pace we have had makes me anxious to do something.  I feel restless and antsy.  I especially miss the connection with people face to face!  When I am having a quiet time, it is so easy for me to be distracted, to feel my day stretch out with no specific structure and I feel at loose ends! AAAAHHHH!
     My prayer is to learn to be still.  To quiet my mind, to calm my soul.  I truly want to seek the Lord and know Him, to know my God.  The rest of that psalm is so rich and fits our global circumstance.  The world is in chaos; the nations are in turmoil.  People are fearful and it isn't always bringing out the best in humanity!  We need God.
"God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved."  verse 5
     This verse brought such comfort to me.  God Himself is with us, in our midst through this crisis.  Whether the virus touches us directly or affects us only through the current restrictions, God promises to be our refuge and our strength.  He is our very present help in trouble.  God has not changed and He continues to dwell with and be intricately involved in the lives or His people.
    He is a God worth knowing.  And I am choosing to press on to know Him more.

"...when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love...Therefore be imitators of God, beloved children.  And walk in love..." 
Ephesians 4:16b & 5:2

     Sunday morning.  The city of Regina has banned public gatherings of more than 5 individuals .  So we are self-isolating in our home when normally we would be heading to church.  Weird!
     My freezer has plenty of homemade deer sausage and other types of protein.  Our pantry has non-perishable items to last quite a while.  Our fresh items in the fridge will last a few days, but we are set.  And I still had quite a stockpile of toilet paper from Christmas so that's not a panic!
     There is a restlessness in me.  Just knowing I should not leave the house, or cannot meet with my fellow Healing Hearts church family, makes me feel unsettled.  Off.  Just being honest.
     Walter found a livestream church service online and we enjoyed some very uplifting worship music, Scriptures and words of encouragement about the hope we have in Christ even during a pandemic.  And the message given by the preacher was solid teaching from Ephesians chapter 4.  That is what I want to share today - what God is showing me through this strange time that is affecting our global community.
     "And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, building up the body of Christ..." 4:11 & 12
     I get excited reading about the church and how God wants her to function.  Even after 39 years of serving Jesus and being part of churches, I still look so forward to being involved and attending church worship services.  Not going to church this morning made me feel odd and empty.  It's more than a habit, but a longing of my heart to worship and fellowship.
     The Church, God's people, the body of Christ, are all interchangeable terms to describe those of us who follow and serve Jesus Christ.  I am very humbled to be part of such a noble and unique family.  And God gave these 5 main roles so that churches can be started and established in every nation.  God's only program is still to have all of us as Christians to spread the Gospel and see disciples made among every people group around the globe.  (That is the real "pandemic" that God wants to infect us with - to be filled with His Holy Spirit and have Jesus reign in our hearts.  Not my focus today!)
     The saints are to be equipped "for the work of ministry" as verse 12 explains.  We all have a part in the body to build up the body.  The 5 roles listed have specific giftings and responsibilities, but that doesn't mean they are the only ones in God's Kingdom to be ministering.  It is not an exclusive club who professionally minister.  Some of us happen to be in ministry as a vocation, but that doesn't exclude everyone to share the gifts God has given them to reach the world and bless the church.
     "...until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ..." 4:13
     Is the church just a nursery class?  Is it a daycare centre?  NO!  We all start as baby Christians, but the goal is that we grow up.  Many times the Bible addresses immature believers and tells them to stop drinking only milk, but to eat meat.  Don't stay the same.  Be changed by Jesus.  Learn how to be mature and responsible, just as we who are parents all teach our kids how to be adults.
    What are some of the signs of maturity?  Verse 13 above lists four that I notice.
1.  Unity of the faith
2.  Knowledge of the Son of God
3.  Maturity
4.  Fullness of Christ
     Here's where my gift and love of teaching comes in:  I like having specific points and explaining how they can apply to real life!
     Unity is an obvious sign of growing up.  This means we don't function as a self-focused individual, but become part of the body.  We may not always agree and think exactly the same as everyone else in our church, but we can be one, with the same purpose and priorities as our fellow believers.
     Knowledge is not just facts and information.  Knowing Jesus, the Son of God, is a relationship with a person.  Knowing Jesus means we connect with Him, hear Him speaking to us, which is another way of saying we pray, listen and read His Word to increase our understanding of Him.
     Maturity involves growing up, becoming outward focused, taking responsibility, committing to serving in our church, tithing and caring about others more than ourselves.
     Fullness of Christ is deep and I won't be able to adequately unpack all that can mean!  But simply put, measuring our maturity against the standard of Jesus - impossible to reach on our own strength - and being like Him more and more in our everyday life.
     Which brings me to what I feel God wants me to do as a grown up Christian during this pandemic and self-isolation season...
     God wants me to pray.  There are a lot of people, Christians and non-believers who are freaked out by all of this stuff!  There are medical people dealing with the virus head-on.  There are government leaders and church/mission leaders who have difficult decisions to make.  Lots to pray about!
     God wants me to shine a light on social media.  I want to counter act the negative and fear-based posts out there.
     God want me to have wisdom.  I won't take unnecessary chances in getting infected or spreading the virus.  BUT I will serve and help out where needed.  Contact me if you need something and I can help.
     God wants me to take care of my family.  That's my first priority in a practical sense.
     God wants me to continue to serve as a missionary along with my husband.  We aren't taking a break from our leadership unless the Lord directs us to.  Our ministry might look different as we travel less and do more from home. 
     BE BLESSED, my family and friends. The whole thing is to keep serving in LOVE!  That's what my opening verse is intended to convey.  God loves us and wants us in turn, to love others!
   

 

Time for an update on the Selkes...
Caylea got back home from her adventure in Costa Rica!  She's been planning to visit a fellow MK, her childhood friend, Emily, who married a Costa Rican and serves in missions there.  So when a very good price for flights came up, Caylea booked her tickets and flew off to San Jose!  She came back tanned, rested and loaded with picture and stories!
Walter got a call for a specialist appointment - March 17!  He will have another round of bloodwork and then see the internal medicine specialist.  We pray for some clues to what's happening in his system and some course of action.
The boys made plans to enter a Men's Bonspiel in Gladstone, MB and asked Dad to curl with them, as well!  So the weekend of March 13 & 14, we will be spending some special time with Mark and Amy, crashing their home and enjoying family time at the rink.
Daniel is finished his curling season for now but busy at Curl Sask at his day job.  He's also hoping to get some side work under the name "Dan's Ductwork", keeping up his skills as a journeyman in sheet metal.  Apparently, he went rock wall climbing with a men's night at his church (Compass Church).  Knowing how he doesn't love heights, I can't wait to hear how that evening went!
Today, I plan to type up the minutes from our NCEM Executive meeting last Thursday.  And at 5 pm, we have a funeral service for a dear saint, Rose Lagimodiere, who battled three different times with breast cancer.  The Lord took her home last Thursday morning. This is the first funeral of a Healing Hearts church member being held in our building in Regina.  The wake last night was sad, but one filled with hope as several pastors and friends shared the Gospel message and Rose's love for her family.  Her heart's desire was for her family to know and love Jesus, to straighten out their lives and go to church!  The family asked if I would sing a couple Gospel songs at today's service.  It is an honour.
Caylea developed a special relationship with Rose, having their cancer journeys in common.  When Rose was going through chemo, she was having trouble eating and keeping it down. So Caylea baked some oven bannock and took it to her. ( Hamburger soup and bannock was the comfort food of choice.)
Have a good day, family and friends.  The Lord bless you all.

So there is a saying about God's answers to prayer...
Sometimes He answers YES.
Sometimes He answers NO.
Sometimes He answers WAIT.
And sometimes He answers NOT NOW.
I am not sure what God is saying to us regarding Walter's health challenge.  Our prayer is to know what is going on with Walter's reaction to eating and for wisdom to know what to do about it!  It isn't really a YES or NO prayer.  The blood work results showed NO for diabetes or thyroid issues.  But apart from some trial and error with food, we don't know what is happening nor are we sure of how to treat or avoid reactions.
Fortunately, if Walter sticks to protein and vegetables, he feels pretty good. He has been low carb for over a year and found some success in weight loss and freedom from heartburn.  Now, he's wondering if he is having some reaction to gluten or sugars after cutting way back.
Walter says with this forced diet, he is destined to lose weight! 
My challenge is to cook for us both.  I like desserts.  Sometimes I feel hungry when we don't have bread or some form of carbohydrate in a meal!  But I am trying to support my husband by preparing meals and providing snacks that will comply with his needs.  Lord, help me be disciplined and creative! 
In the meantime, Walter is waiting for a call from an internal medicine specialist as referred by his family doctor.  We will carry on with life and travel and ministry.  This will just be another area that we know we need to rely on the Lord.  On Sunday we will be sharing about our ministry to the congregation at Balgonie Baptist Church.  Monday we drive up to Prince Albert for a few days of meetings and office work.  The Lord is our strength!

You would think I'd have a handle on patience.  I've raised three children (all born within three years of each other, so there's that!).  I have also had to wait for things:  buses, airplanes, at doctor's offices and ER's...but I am NOT that patient when it comes to waiting for...medical test results!
Walter has been having odd symptoms for the past couple of months so he was able to get in to see his doctor on Friday.  But being a long weekend, he got the tests done but now the clinic is closed today, which is Family Day.  Sigh.  So our plans for the coming week are on hold until we hear if something has shown up in the bloodwork.
Patience. 
Do I pack our suitcases?
Do I prepare meal plans and gather supplies?
I have battled worry all day.  It's not about the immediate plans; it's about the implications of Walter's health concerns on him, life and future!  But if I were to be telling someone else in this situation how to handle it, I'd say "Take a deep breath and pray!  God knows.  And He can be trusted to take care of you and your family."  And that's exactly what my mom texted me when I was lamenting.  Good advice!
So we wait another day at home. In the meantime, our son, Daniel spent the evening at our place Sunday and came over again to do some car stuff.  Then he stuck around and helped us finish putting baseboards around where we had replaced flooring over Christmas.  A wonderful Family Day!
"This is the day that the Lord has made.  We will rejoice and be glad in it!" (Scripture in Psalms and a chorus).  Maybe this day isn't turning out as I envisioned.  But the Lord has made this day and I can rejoice at His good plans and blessings!
Maybe tomorrow I will wake up and be that patient person I long to be!

Valentine's Day Musings
Today is the the 33rd Valentine's Day I have celebrated with my dear, sweet husband!  He has never forgotten a birthday, Mother's Day or this special occasion in all that time.  He brought me roses today...on his way back from a doctor's appointment.  Even in our old age, Walter is a real romantic!
This coming weekend marks 4 years since our daughter in law's younger brother Matthew, passed away suddenly from a virus that went septic.  He would have been 15 a month later, so that means he would turn 19 next month.  Such a difficult anniversary to remember.  Thus Valentine's Day isn't very special to Amy, as it is so close to this sad time of year.
For others who have lost spouses, it is a tough day.  The one who held that special place and would give flowers or some other romantic gift, is gone.  The loneliness can become more pronounced.  Memories can cause smiles and tears.  I am thinking of those who need that extra expression of love today!
For single folks who are not in romantic relationships, some feel a sharp pang on a day like today.  When Hallmark and flower shops do one of their highest income profit days, others are feeling alone and frustrated with all the emphasis on dating and love and marriage.  Why all the fuss? Valentine's Day wasn't even originally about that kind of love, anyways.
The original festival in Roman times was "Lupercalia...which celebrated the coming of spring, including fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery." (www.britannica.com)  According to one source, this pagan festival was replaced by Pope Gelasius to honour two martyrs of the faith, both named Valentine (killed by Emperor Claudius II). In the 14th and 15th centuries, it became associated with love and romance and "lovebirds" in early spring.  by the 18th century, England had adopted this occasion for gift-giving, cards and candies. 
I am blessed to be showered with love and gifts throughout the year, and especially to be honoured on Valentine's Day as my husband's sweetheart!
And to bask in the love of God my Father, who loves me with an everlasting love.
That's what I wish and pray for my family and friends today!

It was a roller coaster of emotions!  The joy of being in the arena in Melville, the pleasure of seeing our son on the ice among some top-notch curlers and the nervousness of the competition. 
We, the fans of Daniel Selke and Team Howard, sat in the same section and made plenty of noise when cheering.  Our family was well-represented.  My step-mom, Dinah, stayed with us for the three days.  Mark drove from Gladstone; Caylea drove from Nipawin; Walter's brother Ed was watching on line and I was texting updates to my sister and Mom.  (Paula surprised us by showing up for Saturday morning.)  It was an exciting few days!
The guys curled their hearts out!  Daniel had a great event and missed very few shots.  They won three games and lost three games...so with the triple knock-out system, after the third loss, they were done.  But the fact that they made it to Saturday morning was a huge victory in their first appearance as a team at the provincial Tankard!
So proud of the team.  And so exhausted after the emotional ups and downs!
We had a couple days at home to prepare for our next adventure - Phoenix!
For the past three years, we have flown to Phoenix to meet as an Executive Team from NCEM.  This year, we had Dan and Deanna Woodard as facilitators, helping us learn more about ourselves and each other and God.  The focus was on Crucial Conversations, Crucial Accountability and Core Values.  The last day we discussed some of our current challenges and brainstormed some possible approaches for solutions.  It was encouraging to find we are on the same page in many ways.  God has brought unity and understanding over the past three years of serving together.
Thursday evening, the Phoenix Coyotes played hockey and it was "Riderville Night"!  We wore our Rider jerseys and saw lots of other Saskatchewan fans in the arena.  Fun game.
We went to the Heard Museum on Saturday, to watch the Native American Hoop Dancing competition and check out the Native displays.  Great!  Then at 5 pm we went to listen to the "Liberty Quartet", a Gospel group.  Wonderful music.  But we who are considered middle-aged, brought the average age of the crowd at that church down to 70 years old!!!  It was an enjoyable evening.  As the concert closed, I leaned over to suggest "Let's eat at Cracker Barrel", and just then Jason said he was thinking the same thing!  Southern Gospel music...southern home-cooking!  Perfect.
Sunday morning, we attended the morning worship service at Siloam Baptist Church on the Gila River Reservation.  The Southwest Indian Ministry Center where we stay and hold our workshops, are part of a mission with staff who serve as missionaries around the world.  This center has missionary/pastors on reservations in the U.S. So it was special to experience the similarities to the First Nations churches we have attended.  Some of the folks remembered us from two years ago.  The pastor preached an awesome message on Revival leading up to their special meetings this weekend.  2 Chronicles 7:14 - "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  Powerful scripture that I remember from my first year serving at Morning Star Ministries teaching Sunday School.  We still need God's healing;  we still need to humble ourselves and pray and seek the face of the Lord!
Monday morning, our teammates were flying back to Saskatoon.  So Walter and I relaxed and cleaned up the lounge and kitchen we had used.  At coffee time, we went to say our good-byes to the SIMC staff before heading to Hobby Lobby.  Yes, we enjoy shopping at the craft and hobby shop!  Then we headed to Costco to replace Walter's carry-on luggage.  It had developed a significant hole and was not going to make it back home intact!
Finally, we still had the whole afternoon so we found a Zoo & Aquarium to hang out at.  It was a warm day, cloudy but so perfect.  We enjoyed the various monkey/gibbon/lemur section, many birds including macaws and parrots. We also saw some lions and tigers, but they are lazy and not too interesting to watch.  There was an indoor section of reptiles and a nursery of mammals.  Just as we came near a shelter, the heavens opened.  It actually rained in the desert!  So we ducked in and after about ten minutes, the rain shower passed by.  We decided to grab some lunch.  Near the restaurant was the aquarium section, so we wandered by the tanks of tropical fish, sharks and seahorses.  It was a delightful way to end our time in Phoenix.
By the time we drove to the car rental return, grabbed the shuttle back to the airport and got ourselves through security, we had about an hour to spare.  The final leg of the journey was a direct flight home.  We watched the inflight TV and napped a bit.  Landing at YQR at midnight, we retrieved our carry-on bags and texted for an Uber.  Home and in bed before 1 am.
And that's how it's done!