A birthday tribute to my 'oldest' friend, Faazhya

Happy Birthday Faaz!💜🎈🎉🎶
November 2, 2017
A rich history of friendship:

Faazhya is my 'oldest' friend, going back to kindergarten. Her parents eventually became friends with my parents as well. I spent many nights at my friend's place on El Carmen St. in Arima, Trinidad. They lived in this charming house with a beautiful garden surrounded by a low fence. They would often invite me to a beach hotel in Mayaro on weekends and treat me like their own daughter. 
After kindergarten, we attended the same elementary and high schools.
Faazhya and I could talk for hours on the phone and we loved to poke each other in the back seat in their car when we spotted a cute guy as we drove home from school (which was often!). Her dad often gave me and my sister a ride home.
Our first 'separation' was in high school where we were placed in different classes and thus developed new and different friendships, but always maintained our connection.
Their family first emigrated to Canada and were instrumental in helping my family to follow a couple of years after. Her entire family has always showed kindness to me and made me feel like part of their family.

Faaz and I at my 10th birthday party at Pro Queen St. Arima

Faaz visiting me from Canada at Cocorite St. Arima

Faaz and I celebrating at get togethers in early years in Canada

Faaz and her treasures: her grandchildren

Faaz and all her family members 

So from toddlerhood to over the hill women, we still hold hands and look to each other for comfort and counsel and belonging. Life events have separated us frequently but nothing can break that bond so tightly knit as children.
We bared our hearts to each other and still do. We've disappointed each other and ourselves at times, but that is part and parcel of our humanity.

I treasure the day when she also became my sister in Christ and embraced the faith so dear to me. 
Her joys are my joys, her sorrows are my sorrows.
I uphold her family in prayer along with mine.
Let me tell you about the Faazhya I know:
She was a pretty, vivacious and bubbly teenager. And smart!
She was sensitive and when she crushed on a guy, geez, we never stopped hearing his name!
She was a chatterbox and it would take her a couple of hours to drink a glass of chocolate milk because of that!
She never put on airs even though her Dad was the mayor of our town. She was always down to earth and real.

In later years when life events crushed us both, I saw a courage in that woman that amazes me. She persevered, trusted, and walked through that fire with determination and that passion burning in her for her children and grandchildren. She laid down her life for them. She lived a sacrificial love. 
She is a thinker and ponders deeply on issues affecting her life and those around her. She is quite an eloquent woman and I know that God has a platform for her to share with wisdom what He has done in her life. All of my family members think of her as family as well. Proof in point: my brother had a crush on all my 'best' friends except Faaz, because she was like a sister.😀
As a friend, she has been loyal and faithful and is someone I can just sit with and be silent and feel at home and safe.
She is Faazhya and I am so glad she calls me friend.

Faaz, I am so proud of you and I love you deeply even when separated. Thank you!
Allow me to give you a blessing straight from today's Scripture verse of the day:

And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (God’s people),

Ephesians 1:18 AMP

Psalm 90:12-17

So teach us to number our days,

That we may cultivate and bring to You a heart of wisdom.
Turn, O Lord [from Your fierce anger]; how long will it be?
Be compassionate toward Your servants—revoke Your sentence.
O satisfy us with Your lovingkindness in the morning [now, before we grow older],
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad in proportion to the days You have afflicted us,
And the years we have suffered evil.
Let Your work [the signs of Your power] be revealed to Your servants
And Your [glorious] majesty to their children.
And let the [gracious] favor of the Lord our God be on us;
Confirm for us the work of our hands—
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.

👐Father, I commit Faaz into Your Hands this day and ask that indeed she will see Your favour towards her displayed in her life and in those she loves dearly. May You restore the years the locusts have eaten and bring light where there is darkness, hope where there is despair, Your Presence where there is desolation. Grant her the confidence in Your love for her to approach Your throne with boldness as she intercedes for her loved ones. May her greatest pain now be transformed into the greatest blessing for others and use her as a platform for Your glory. Strengthen her and cover her with a keen sense of the Cloud of Your Presence. Provide for her daily needs as she seeks first Your kingdom and righteousness. Equip her for the days ahead as she tends to her Mom. And Lord, thank You for blessing me with a faithful friend, so strong and true.
I now entrust her to You who knows and loves her completely. In Jesus' Name, Amen.💜💝

 And my song for you (as well as me!): Back to Life by Anthony Evans

[Verse 1]
I breathe out, confusion
I breathe in, Your truth
I breathe out, all my fear
I breathe in, Your peace
I breathe out, confusion
I breathe in, Your truth
I breathe out, all my fear
I breathe in, Your peace

[Chorus 1]
And I, I'm coming back to life
I'm feeling hope arise
Because of You, only You
Jesus...
I, I'm leaving the rest behind
My heart is satisfied
Because of You, only You
Jesus!

[Verse 2]
I lay down, my weakness
I take on, Your strength
I lay down, my defenses
I step into Your victory!

Happy Birthday Bev!

Sept. 13, 2017

Happy Birthday, dearest Bev…

With Love, Thoughts and Prayers and Gratitude

A tribute to a legacy of beauty, inside and out

According to “Behind The Name Meaning”, Beverly derives from a surname which was originally derived from the name of an English city, itself meaning "beaver stream" in Old English.

Stream. 

What a lovely word to describe you. 

When I think of stream, I think of flowing water that signifies life. 

I think of sun sparkling ripples. 

I think of joy and strength and hope. 

I think of the quenching of thirst. 

I think of beauty.

I see all of these qualities emanating from you: your thoughtful and selfless giving; your words of encouragement; your love of creation; your words of wisdom. From the comments posted on FB, it is obvious your life is producing ripples that give life to others.

Like the stream, you have been buffeted by some cruel winds; eroded by sharp rocks; and even had ‘garbage’ thrown at you. 

But like the stream, you kept flowing with grace and determination; the garbage gets left at the side and you flow around and over those rocks.

When I look at the picture above I see those beams of sunshine illuminating all it touches and my blessing for you flows from this. May His Son light up your life with hope and beauty and may you feel and know and comprehend His light, His love in you and for you:

Ephesians 3:16-20 (AMP)

¹⁶ May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, ¹⁸ be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; ¹⁹ and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].²⁰ Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us.

Sita

 💜💜💜

My Firstborn is now 24. Wow!

Happy Birthday to the finest 24-year-old I have ever known!

Proverbs 4:23 (AMPC)

23 Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.

From my little sailor boy at 6 months (Yes, I know, it should have been a lil' lawyer's suit. Who knew?):

To the law student in Sept. 2017:

Your 24th year was marked by some special events, like that internship to Spain!

Preceded by that epic coffee house fund raiser where you and your bro sang!

And Sarah's graduation:

Nate, I don't know of anyone in our family who is not proud of you and your work ethic and character, in fact, for the person you have become. I'm still stunned you are my son, and that is because you are who you are in spite of my flaws as a Mom. 

You are who you are because of His grace.

Don't ever forget that.

Be grateful always for His grace, His obvious Hand in your life.

One word keeps coming to mind as this new door to becoming a lawyer has opened.

Wisdom.

Son, when God asked Solomon what he wanted, he did not say 'riches', but wisdom, and God was so pleased that He gave him the fame of being the wisest the world had known and more riches than he could have asked for.

Re-read Proverbs, and soak yourself in wise words.

Spend time with your greatest mentor, your own Advocate (Lawyer), our Lord, and learn from Him.

Apply His Word to your everyday life, let Him transform you into His image day by day.

However, that comes with a cost.

The cost of discipleship. The pain of cleansing and the breaking of pride.

Yes, wisdom comes from a humble heart that is receptive to teaching.

You will work in a culture hostile to Him, and therefore to you as you seek to follow Him.

You will need His wisdom on how to live and respond with His heart and voice.

Memorize these words and apply them in the upcoming years:

15 

Psalm 15:1-2 (AMP)

1. O Lord, who may lodge [as a guest] in Your tent?

Who may dwell [continually] on Your holy hill?

2. He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness,

And speaks and holds truth in his heart.

Hosea 10:12 (AMP)

Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate];

Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness.

Break up your uncultivated ground,

For it is time to seek and search diligently for the Lord [and to long for His blessing]

Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you.

3 

Micah 6:8 (AMP) 

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion),
And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?

St. Thomas More is considered the patron saint for Catholic lawyers and one of his prayers align with mine for you:

"...Pray that, for the glory of God and in the pursuit of His justice, I may be trustworthy with confidences, keen in study, accurate in analysis, correct in conclusion, able in argument, loyal to clients, honest with all, courteous to adversaries, ever attentive to conscience. Sit with me at my desk and listen with me to my clients’ tales. Read with me in my library and stand always beside me so that today I shall not, to win a point, lose my soul.

Pray that my family may find in me what yours found in you: friendship and courage, cheerfulness and charity, diligence in duties, counsel in adversity, patience in pain—their good servant, and God’s first. Amen..." (3 Prayers by St. Thomas More for Catholic lawyers)

So Nate, I look forward with you to what this coming year brings with its many challenges and new opportunities. Remember He walks with you and never leaves you. Let your default become turning to Him first instead of trying to manage your life. Soon you will find that your life was never your own to manage contrary to popular thinking. It was always His.

In Him you will find your purpose and joy!

I love you!

Now let's see if I can find a song for you. Hmmm.

God I Look to You by Brian Johnson, sung by Jenn Johnson, from the album "Be lifted High"
God I look to You
I won't be overwhelmed
Give me vision to see things like You do
God I look to You
You're where my help comes from
Give me wisdom, You know just what to do
I will love You Lord my strength
I will love you Lord my shield
I will love You Lord my rock
Forever all my days, I will love you God
Hallelujah our God reigns
Hallelujah our God reigns
Hallelujah our God reigns
Forever all my days Hallelujah

Prayer:
Father, I come to You with heart so full of gratitude for Your obvious Hand on Nathan's life. Indeed, You have taken him through a roller coaster and he has responded with a heart to serve You where You have gifted him. Will You please go before him and work out all the details that are needed to thrive for You in Ottawa. May all weapons formed against him to sabotage Your purpose for him come to naught. Equip him for all that lies ahead. Grant him wisdom and humility of heart. May he be known as a man of integrity who is just and loves You and walks humbly with You. Guard his relationships and may he seek to impress noone but You. Thank You for Sarah and her family and his close friends who desire his 'good' and thank you for Daniel who loves his brother with all his heart. Thank You for Mike who lays down his life for us. And Lord, thank You for gifting me for a little while with this very special child, now a man in his own right, Your man.
Now I commit his 25th year into Your Hands, To You, O God, be the glory forever and ever, Amen.

Always, with Love, Thoughts and Prayers,
Your Mom.

My last born turns 19! Happy Birthday, Daniel!

Verse of the Day - February 17, 2017

Who shall ever separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].

Romans 8:35,37 AMP

What a year it has been! Milestones.

You graduated high school and are now a college student at University of Guelph-Humber!

So proud of you!

And here are some pictures that chronicle your journey since then:

And you sure can sing!

https://www.facebook.com/trinisita/videos/1915030061846780/

And truly it has been a milestone year in more ways than one. 

A year of devastating losses in friendships, but oh, the growth that has resulted in you!

I watched you behave like a class act.

You acknowledged your responsibility. You repented.

You strove to resolve conflict biblically while others took to social media bullying.

You continued to show grace even when your mama bear wanted to go shotgun. ;)

You strove to find community to grow in grace and left what you can now discern as toxic behind.

Yes, this year's events took its toll on all of us, but we can say, like Joseph did, "what was meant for harm has turned out for good..."

You are truly a courageous man. You fought with your will and all of your heart. You are a fighter. Passionate and determined.

It soon became apparent that you earnestly desired to pursue righteousness.

I love this quote by Frederick Buechner. Use all that is given to you, joy and pain, to the utmost for His glory:

While you will always be my 'baby' with that special connection, you are now a young adult male, and just as I watched your big brother in amazement, I now look at you and my heart smiles. Always.

And yes, what God allows in your life always points to your purpose. When our pain is filtered through His eyes, healing happens and ashes turn to beauty. As Pastor Furtick recently preached, our circumstances reveal God pulling us into Himself, aligning us with His perspective, so that we can be launched in His time, like an arrow being pulled back, in the exact direction and towards the exact target of His purpose for you.

Here was the Bible reading for your birthday which I always believe God means for you:

Psalm 36Amplified Bible (AMP)

Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.

36 Transgression speaks [like an oracle] to the wicked (godless) [deep] within his heart;
There is no fear (dread) of God before his eyes.
2 
For he flatters and deceives himself in his own eyes
Thinking that his sinfulness will not be discovered and hated [by God].
3 
The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4 
He plans wrongdoing on his bed;
He sets himself on a path that is not good;
He does not reject or despise evil.

5 
Your lovingkindness and graciousness, O Lord, extend to the skies,
Your faithfulness [reaches] to the clouds.
6 
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God,
Your judgments are like the great deep.
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
7 
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8 
They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house;
And You allow them to drink from the river of Your delights.
9 
For with You is the fountain of life [the fountain of life-giving water];
In Your light we see light.

10 
O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness (salvation) to the upright in heart.
11 
Do not let the foot of the proud [person] overtake me,
And do not let the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 
There those who [are perverse and] do evil have fallen;
They have been thrust down and cannot rise.

I have highlighted the verses I desire for you to take into your heart in this new year. May you see 'light' in His light. May you never be driven away from God because of people who do not practice His love correctly, including me or those in church, or your peers or professors. For as the verse of your day says, 'nothing' can separate you from His love. You are loved, period, regardless of your inconsistent behaviour. Because that is Who God is. His love can never be modified or adjusted like humans do.

My prayer for you:

"Father, what a hard year it has been from a mother's perspective, to watch others hurt your child, to watch your child hurt, and to want to take 'things' in hand with a sword. 

But what a delight to see how Daniel handles people with grace, the same grace that You show to me. I ask You to pour more and more of Your grace into his wounds. I pray that You redeem his wounds for Your glory in the gifts that You have given him in music and words. I pray that you give him a hunger for You above all else. I pray that You bring into his life a few friends who will have the same hunger for You and Who love You above all else, friends who will share his creative and artistic passion. 

May Daniel be catapulted by Your pull into Your purpose for Him when he has fully submitted to Your realignment to His will. Please hold this 'arrow' of Yours, Daniel, close to Your heart, until that time comes when You know he is ready. While he is being pulled back, give him a heart that is content, teachable, humble and contrite. May others confirm Your giftedness in his life as he seeks. Above all, will You please speak to him personally and let him know, "This is the way. Walk in it."

Give him wisdom to discern destructive influences in his life and courage to stand against them or leave behind. Protect him in a college culture that is hostile to You and Your Word. May Your Word that he has read and memorized come to life and be appropriated into his character.

Thank you so much for this son who always makes me feel loved and cherished.

I commit him into Your loving care as always, because in You he is perfectly loved.

In the powerful Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen."