God`s Beauty Is Simply Amazing

It is a peaceful morning, I hear the birds chirping announcing the arrival of Fall !! They have been very busy all Spring and Summer getting ready for the long Winter that is about to fold in on us! We are so blessed to partake of the beauty of each changing season. I know, I know sometimes we don’t’ have that same feeling when it is below zero temperatures and we are getting out in the cold and starting our cars on those cold brisk mornings!! When I look at the colourful foliage at this time of year , I tend not to think about the dreaded snow storms and blistery days that are to follow. I just stand and Wow at Gods artistry, and divine handy work!!! He created everything so perfect, and you know He even made man perfect !!! We were created in HIS own image!!! That I would say was meant to be perfect !! Needless to say man did not stay perfect, Someone came on the scene and messed that up for us !!! You know , that sneaky individual knew he was doomed himself and so he had to bring others with him !!! So now man has a choice, we either follow God in all His beauty or the deceiver in all his manipulating, conniving tactics!!!!! I myself prefer the former !!! He just continuously shows His perfection to us, by guiding our steps, preparing our path, and being there for us when we least expect it !!!! He is just so personal, He works on our behalf before we even ask Him to! When I am sad and maybe feel alone , he impresses on a friends heart to call , or show up for a visit!! He is so very awesome!!!
This reminds of me of a time when my mom was in the hospital after having a stroke! I was living in Ontario, and she was in Saint John New Brunswick! I felt very separated from her , and I would feel so very lonely at times! I would travel home for a quick visit as often as possible, it made me feel good just to be able to spend that little time with her , I , being the whiny kid of the family !! J Felt a little left out and jealous of my other siblings that got to spend everyday with her ! This one particular time on one of our visits just before she passed , my husband and I were getting ready to leave for our long trip back home and we were saying our goodbyes!!! I leaned over the bed to give her a kiss and tell her I loved her, but there was no response from her, her eyes just stared away blankly !!! Then My husband leaned in to do the same and when she heard his voice she smiled and looked at him, I couldn’t believe it! Of course my whiny selfish self felt very hurt in my heart, I tried not to let anyone notice!!! All I was thinking was about myself and how my mom doesn’t recognize me!! She has totally forgotten I existed!! I never voiced it to anyone, but that made my heart pain!!!! Did I say I did not tell anyone , I am sorry I was wrong , I did tell someone!! When I got home , I cried out to God and told Him just how alone and hurt I felt that mother did not acknowledge me !!! I told Him, I would have accepted it had she not acknowledge Wayne either !!! J O my goodness I didn’t realize what a cry baby I was. I poured my sobbing heart out to Him , I remember asking Him if He could just let my mom know that she has a daughter named Faith !!! JJ ( and now you are thinking , she has lost it completely ) J but it was just so important to me, that she hadn’t forgotten me !!!
Well let me tell you now, JUST how personal and wonderful God is , He cares about the little stuff , even if you are all laughing right now just reading this pitiful spoiled girls story !!! ( grinning)…..God may have smiled really big too, I don’t know !!! J But HE did it !!!! He really did!!!! Just 2 days later I was talking to my Sister Mildred on the phone , she told me mom said my name last night !!! She began to explain that one of mothers nurses asked her when she got to the hospital that day , if she had a sister named Faith !!!!! Mildred replied with” yes I do “, the nurse then explained about how she went to check on mom and mother looked at her and said “ Faith , you need to get some sleep !!!” That was all I needed, I hadn’t talked to any of my siblings or my husband about being upset over mom not recognizing me , everyone had enough to think about and I wasn’t about to look selfish and stupid !! I kept it to myself, and only shared with God!!! He really is that kind of a friend!!! Mom not only remembered me, she thought I was right there looking after her !!!! Now that is Gods sheer beauty !!!! Wow He amazes me and makes me feel so special, He makes me feel like # 1 instead of my biological # 17 !!!!! But don’t’ get me wrong though, 17 is still a great number , because it is mine and God gave it to me !!!But it sure feels good when He puts me #1 !!!! J

Apples n' something.....

A hurting heart is never welcomed into our lives anymore than a nasty rat is welcomed into our homes. It is not something we go looking for, but it is something we try hard to get out. Ignoring it, and hoping it goes away is definitely not the answer. People hurt us, and at times it is very hard to forget even after we think we have forgiven. We also hurt others, whether we realize it or not, we do, sometimes not intentionally but all the same we are not perfect, so like it or lump it, we have all wronged another at one time or another. Taking stock of our own lives and owning wrongs that yourself unintentionally or intentionally may have partaken in against another is a huge part of healing. It is very good therapy also to list as many positive characteristics as you can think of about the person or persons that may have caused the hurt in you. This may take some time since you are at the same time still dealing with the negative of a situation that has caused you so much discomfort and pain. Another very effective source of therapy, is to talk about it. Talk to someone who is not going to add to an already negative situation, but to someone who can be very neutral and only will give advice to help you grow. Those people can be very few and far between so be choosy in whom you indulge all your personal thoughts and desires to. There is just one very special person that you can tell it all to, and it will never ever be repeated, twisted or misconstrued!! He is what some call “ a friend that stickath closer than a brother”. Some call Him “The lily of their valley”, Others say He is “ their Prince of Peace “, but I myself like to use His real name, not that the other titles are not fitting for Him , they are , they sure are. He surely is my truest Friend I have ever had and ever will have , oh my, He definitely is the very “LILY of my valley“, and He will always be my “Prince of Peace“, cause that is what He is all about!!! Did I mention He is also “My Bright and Morning Star“??!! Yep He is all that and more,…. He is “The Great I Am”,…. “The One Who Was and Is To Come”….He has more titles than anyone I have ever known, I have also heard Him called “Master”, “Creator” and oh yes, lets not forget “Miracle Worker”!!!! But I, I call Him JESUS, because when I speak His name, demons tremble, minds are set free, bodies are healed, and every hurt I have ever had has to Leave and in its place is Peace , Peace wonderful Peace that comes down from our Father above!!! it’s a little like calling the exterminator to get the nasty rats out of your house that are trying to take up permanent dwelling there. When the exterminator comes in he asks you to leave for awhile until he is done what he has to do to kill the varmints that are trying to destroy your home. God does the same thing, He says in Romans 12: 19- 21.…Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine , I will repay says the Lord” if the enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him drink, for by doing so, you will heap burning coals as of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. It seems crazy to the normal mind, but the answer is just to do good and love….. I thought it was cute, when a lady at my daughter in laws restaurant wanted to give my daughter a gift. So she handmade her this lovely quilted bag. It was very pretty and it had a basket overflowing with apples on the front of the bag! The lady began to explain, how she thought the basket of apples was so fitting for Larissa, she continued with “ I knew your religion was Apples of something “ ! Of course we smiled at that, realizing she had heard it mentioned that Larissa was Apostolic Pentecostal !!! The innocence of such a kind heart, left a lasting Impression, it reminds me of the scripture Proverbs 25:11... A word fitly spoken, is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. One of my mothers favourite scriptures. Like the lady said after all we are Apples & something a.k.a Apostolic!!

a.k.a. crazy preacher

August 2, 2010 I took a stroll down memory lane along with a few of my siblings. Together we visited the resting place of my mom and dad, in the little village of Black’s Harbour, across from the little church that we had attended. A wonderful time was had by all, as we began to recall many beautiful memories about the conversion of our parents and older siblings. Arden led us to the spot where my mom and dad and eldest 2 brothers Vern and Willie were baptized in the Name Of Jesus!! While standing at the edge of the water, Arden conveyed to us a lovely story of how our dad was so fiercely against this so called Pentecostal experience. How he gave Rev. McElroy a very unwelcoming hard time every time he would call on our home. Mother was interested in learning more as was Willie, but daddy was not! Pastor McElroy was a persistent man and I am so glad he was. He never gave up on trying to win this family to God. Willie and mother had wanted to get baptized together , but daddy forbade mom from getting baptized by that crazy preacher, as he called him. The crazy preacher very wisely advised mother to go along with daddy’s wishes, but he informed her, ( I believe, through the gift of knowledge, given to him by God), with these words of Faith and encouragement, “I will be baptizing you and Ray together in these waters, very soon “! Wow, thank you God for men that are in tune with You and are not afraid to push a little harder to see souls born into the kingdom and lives truly transformed by Your Devine Power!!! Ok, forgive me I just had to take a little break for a glory spell there, as our sweet Bro. Ring would say!!
Now on with the story that Arden had told us. As Rev. McElroy a.k.a ( the crazy preacher) gathered the saints together at the water where we were standing that day, to baptize my eldest brother Rev. William Bustard. Arden told us to look over through the trees by the hill. As he pointed out the spot, he thought maybe was where my dad had hidden in the woods that day, to watch his boy go down in that beautiful name of Jesus! My dads life was touched in a great way from that moment on and he wasn't even aware that God had already slipped in and was drawing him by His Spirit. Arden said daddy’s words were…… “ there has to be something to this, cause Willie ain’t no fool!!!! “Ha ha …. No truer words were ever spoken. Needless to say, it wasn't long after, that the crazy pastor became my dad’s best friend and respected leader, as he took both mother and dad on a cold Wintery day and broke away the ice in the Bay Of Fundy and laid there sins to rest in the Sea of God’s forgetfulness never to be remembered again, as they were buried with Him in baptism, nevermore to be the same. What a beautiful story that was for me, and to be standing almost reliving, and envisioning the whole picture!
I think we need a few more crazy preachers today!!! And also more young men like my brother Willie, that realized he needed something more in his life than a life of alcohol and rough living. If he had not of stepped forward, and obeyed the drawing of God’s Spirit, then just maybe my dad never would have seen the light! Willie became a strong man in Faith, always looking and desiring greater things from God, I guess you could say that he too along with 4 more of my wonderful brothers all took on the title “crazy preacher” !!! I kind of like the sound of that!!! Thank you Bro. McElroy for setting such a great trend!

Through the eyes of an angel

Once upon a beautiful sunny summer day! A little blond haired, blue eyed girl was playing with her siblings plus friends in her front yard . A wonderful time was being had by all until the pretty little belle took some kind of a bad flip, thus ending with a badly broken bone at the elbow of her arm! Needless to say, the arm had to be set. The doctor insisted that momma and daddy take a walk way down the corridor of the hospital so he could do what he had to do.
When the parents returned, the arm had been set and the little girl was sleeping peacefully and comfortably. The doctor then began to explain, what he had done. After giving her a mild sedative he had to twist the bone into its proper setting and even with a sedative the child’s reaction can be very disturbing. He told the parents, they had a very special little girl in this child. In all his days in setting bones, he had never seen such a sweet, quiet whimper come from the lips as he quickly began to snap and then twist the arm into its proper setting! The Doc explained how the little girl jumped forward with her eyes bright and opened to there fullest capacity she whimpered, then looked at the Doc and back to sleep she went!!! The doc had thought he had seen an angel in those beautiful blue eyes that day, I believe he did! We call that angel Little T, she adds strength and beauty to our family circle! God gave her to us for a purpose, her beauty unfolds and displays itself in so many different capacities.
We as parents had better take inventory of what God has given us in our children! Each one was given for a purpose and we need to be aware of each distinct personality! The bible speaks clearly of children being a blessing from the Lord! Psalm 127:3
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
The Hebrews regarded children as a blessing from the Lord (see Gen. 13:16; Ruth 4:13-16; 1 Sam. 1:11). They are a reward and heritage, bringing joy to their parents. Rearing a child is a sacred responsibility, and parents must depend on the Lord to help them guide their children.
Thank you God for allowing me and my husband to raise 3 beautiful blessings from you. May we as parents recognize how precious these gifts are that you have bestowed upon us! May we never take them for granted, or become unaware of their beauty. They will not always give us the joys we would like, but when we see them in Your beauty, it helps us to keep our focus on the end result of what they can become!
So, hey doc, you not only seen an angel that day, you set the arm of an angel back into its proper place!!!

THE CHICKEN IS JUMPING!!!

Today is the Day The Lord Has Made , I will Rejoice and Be Glad In It !!!!…….Psalm 118:24. Everyday in our lives will not be a peaches and cream kind of day ! Some days will be more challenging than others , that is called LIFE !!! Whether you are rich or poor , young or old, a professional with a full time job or a stay at home mom with a full time job, we are all walking down the same path, called life ! It is no respecter of persons, sometimes it is kind to us and other times it is not ! How we handle it and our minds set, is what makes the difference. Many times we blow our something so simple into something way bigger than what it really is!
I am reminded of a little incident, when my son was around 21/2 or 3 years of age .We had just finished a lovely chicken dinner and was sitting relaxing together as we so often did as a family. When little Trenty got a case of the hiccups!! His dad and I watched him as he recognized this thing happening in his chest!. I guess it was a new experience for him , I am sure he had had them in the past but hadn’t thought about what was happening. I could see the look of astonishment on his little face as his diaphragm would contract thus causing his little head to jerk back and forward from the amounting pressure of the abrupt rush of air into his heart … (smile)….. He jumps up from where he was playing and very loudly announces to us all ….” The chicken is jumping, the chicken is jumping !!!” Of course we laughed at his perception of the dreaded hiccups! (It’s a good thing he hadn’t eaten beef, he would have been sky rocketing over the moon from the cow jumping !!!!) Hahaha…I am so thankful God gave us the little boy , with such a huge imagination, what a joy !!!
We as adults today , are so like this at times. We get a hiccup in life, which is just a common everyday occurrence with a simple explanation, but we blow it all out of proportion in our minds .We are all guilty, and we just need to slow down and take a moment or two to think things out and put them into perspective. Problems are usually never as drastically as they may seem at first. We will all have a bout of hiccups every now and again but remember they normally only last for a short period of time and will generally resolve them self!!

YOU DON'T FIND HUGS IN A BOTTLE

Another beautiful morning , the sun is
shining brightly , coffee is steaming in my favorite mug , hmmmm…. life is good , doesn’t get much better than this !!!! I am sitting here with my recent best friends, my pen and paper, enjoying sweet thoughts that have begun strolling through my mind. Thinking of some of the cute things our children come up with and how they can make us smile at any given moment , just because they are so innocently and honestly real ! Children just say it like it is , or what they think it is in their overly imaginative pure minds! One time in particular my little Trent came home from school after a long tiring day in a grade 2 classroom ! I had started him on vitamins that morning and was having a chat with him before he went off to his bus ! I asked him to try hard to focus in class today and to concentrate on his work , he wanted to know what focus meant ! I proceeded to explain as simply as I could ,that it meant not to turn your head and look around but sit straight and listen and then I gave him his vitamin as I hugged him before he went off to his bus and said this will help my big boy !!!! At the end of the day, as he was coming through the front door he starts telling me a little sarcastically , that I needed to take them vitamins back to the store ! Confused, I asked him why he thought that I should do that! he excitedly began to explain as he dropped his backpack on the floor, how he sat in his seat straight ahead just like I told him to do and when he tried to turn his head , it never stopped turning , all day long his head turned anytime he wanted it to !!! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, he actually thought the vitamin was a pill that would not allow his head to turn!! Sweetie the hug was to help you focus I explained smiling as I pulled him on my lap , the vitamins are to just help you to grow strong !!! He then looked at me with a sheepish grin and says , “ well momma!! you better give me more than one hug, cause that didn’t work either!“
There are far more benefits from inside a mommas arms than any bottle of "One a Days" could ever give!!! Sometimes our children, think momma’s have the cure for everything , and at times we do just with a hug!!! My boy is a grown man today, facing all the challenges that comes with running a household and life in general, at times I still see the little boy that thought the vitamin was the answer to his problem! But he soon discovered, you don’t find hugs in a bottle you get them best from momma’s arms and sometimes it may take more than one !!!!

ANY LIL SPOT WILL DO

Sitting at my kitchen table gazing at the leaves as they playfully dance through the air to the tune of mother nature and her whistling wind song ! My eye catches the glimmer of a glistening auburn beauty as it takes its rest on my glass porch table . Each leaf finding its own little spot on the floor of my step or on my little table caused my mind to slip away to the old homestead where I grew up . I remember sitting on the floor in a corner just listening to the talking and laughter . Our house always seemed full of both family and friends, so a little spot on the floor is all you could find sometimes ! I can almost smell the freshly baked bread , molasses cookies ( a favorite of all us kids ) , apple pie , and sometimes cinnamon buns . O how blessed and spoiled we were . Thanks Giving was always welcomed at the Bustard residence with pride and joy and thankful hearts and GREAT FOOD !!!
A time to reminisce and be thankful for family and friends and to count our blessings both big and small . In our home it was a blessing just to get a seat at the table when the first round of food was served ! Musical chairs was a daily game in our home , because just as sure as you got up , someone was going to take your spot . So you learned at a young age to get everything taken care of before you sat down , because the kids always outnumbered the seats !! And if you didn’t make it in the first round of seating , then you prayed there would be enough dressing and gravy left by the time it was your turn to fill your plate!. That is where we first learned to pray and believe God over the simple things . We needed to have simple faith just to survive !! ( laughing ) Of course I am jesting. We never ran short , there was always plenty for all!
Daddy was a real believer in “ the family that prays together , stays together !” Blessing at our dinner table was never forgotten or neglected ! It was not just said at Thanks Giving , it was even said over crackers and cheese ,while driving on a trip . Many times when company came to visit us when my dad was alive , it ended up being a prayer meeting . If one of us were sick , daddy would pray for healing . I can still see him standing in our driveway on a Sunday evening just before church, holding my youngest brother Morton in his arms after just running over him with his big old Pontiac car . Looking up to the heavens and asking God to not let his little boy die . Mom frantically wanting to get to the hospital and he doing what he knew to do best , calling on God first . We later learned that Bro. McNair who was the pastor at the time had turned the Sunday Night service into a prayer meeting !! Of Course God came through again , nothing short of another miracle ! Morton is now a very healthy world wide evangelist preaching the Word Of God , O how proud his daddy would be to know that his little prayer prayed in the yard is now a preaching machine for the God he sooo loved !!!!!!
So our spot we found at the old homestead growing up, is now a big spot in our hearts today! One of the greatest of ALL Thanks Giving dinners , will be at The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb , when we reunite !!AND Guess what ??!!! There will be a chair for all of the kids at that table and no one will take “My LiL Spot!”

Life is a cycle !!!

Wow it seems like just yesterday I found my little Larissa hiding in my kitchen cupboard , a favorite place where she loved to play ! The beautiful little blue eyed angel has now grown into a lovely young lady with a little blue eyed prince of her very own ! This little prince loves to visit his Nanna and play in her cupboard just like his momma used to do !! Life certainly does prove out to be a cycle , with precious memories folded into every turn of the wheel ! Children will often mimic our many actions throughout life , thus making us their greatest teacher and leader.What we are and what we do , does affect our childrens lives whether we like to admit it or not . Where we take them and how they are spoken too will have an everlasting affect on them, whether good or bad . All we can do is keep this in mind and lead them to the best of our ability with LOVE , discipline and mostly with the help of the LORD ! Because LIFE is but a cycle and I pray that our heavenly Father will find us all in HIS kitchen cupboard in the end !!!! :):)

17 is a good number

Where has time gone? As I sit on my porch alone listening to the birds chirpping ,busying themselves in their own little world of nesting , feeding , protecting their little ones .I start to think back to when I first took on the number 17 ,february 19th 1959!Of course I can't recall the first few years when the stork dropped me on my head into that crowded nest of birds, we call the bustard clan !! :):) But I can recall many happy moments throughout life and one thing is for certain #17 was no doubt just as good as any other number.... ,of that I am certain ,unless you were maybe the fabullous #1! but that spot was already taken by the one and only" William Henry" . I doubt the limelight stayed on him for long tho. as each one of us little birds were delivered one by one into this tiny little nest, the attention soon would have faded.It wasn't until 19 little ones were delivered safely each one on our own special little dates we call birthdays, that God said: "it is finished, there is no more room in the nest"!! So I guess I like my special # , simply because it is mine and God gave it to me !!:)

Bible

• Seventeen people and nations are present at the Pentecost: Galilee, Parthians, Medes and Elamites, peoples from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round to Cyrene, residents of Rome, Jews and proselystes alike, Cretans and Arabs. (Ac 2,7-11)

• Joseph was seventeen years old when he was sold by his brothers and escorted in Egypt. (Gn 37,2)

• The seventeen Judges since the death of Josuah until Samuel: Othonial, Aod, Samgar, Jahel, Deborah, Barac, Gideon, Abimelech, Thola, Jair, Jepheth, Abezan, Ahialon, Abdon, Samson, Eli and Samuel.

• Rehoboam, son of Solomon, reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem. (1 K 14,21)

• Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, reigned seventeen years in Isarel to Samaria. (2 K 13,1)

• The Ten Commandments of God were given in 17 verses to the twentieth chapter of the book of the Exodus.

• Jacob lived seventeen years in the country of Egypt. (Gn 47,28)

• The Pentateuch contains 5852 or 17x7x7x7+7+7+7 verses. 1533 verses of the Genesis can be also expressed like 17x70+7x7x7 or 17x7+707+707. The book of the Exodus contains (17+17)x(17+17)+57 or 1213 verses. It is 17x7 shorter than 666+666.

• The 17th book of the NRSV is the shortest