Tag Archives: surprises

Surprised by God

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This was the title of our Pastor’s sermon last Sunday. His closing remark was, “Let’s pray that we might be surprised by God once again.  Amen.

I almost always close my morning devotion time with an added prayer that God will send me a pleasant surprise that day. Upon occasion the prayer is answered.

Recently, I wanted to give a friend a book I remembered reading a long time ago, “Become a Better You” by Joel Osteen, Pastor and author. My friend has enjoyed watching Joel’s TV ministry, and I knew the book would make her feel better about some problems she is facing at this time.

In the retirement residence where I live we often get book donations for our library. It is my pleasure to help arrange the books on shelves at these times.

Before I could get out to buy “Become a Better You” for my friend, it came my way via donation. You can imagine my surprise to find this book in my hands without having to take a step out of the building, or a penny out of my pocket.

Pastor Duncan’s sermon last Sunday reminded me of how much I love being surprised by God.

Happy Tuesday.

Choose Happiness

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Happiness Day came and went without my knowing a thing about it…but I do know I was happy. Why? Because lately many things have happened in my life to put my happiness quotient over the top.

Things like surprise visits from family, an enjoyable planned visit, a St. Patrick’s concert that was full of fun, and other special little things kept a smile on my face and in my heart for quite a few days.

Of course many things happen to dampen one’s happiness, but given a choice, most of us choose to be happy if it is in the realm of possibility.

One thing that added to my smiles was learning that Finland is the happiest country in the world. Why would that make me happy? My grandparents and their parents were from Finland. I love Finnish food. I really like seeing a Finnish name on the back of a hockey jersey…doesn’t matter what team it is.

All I’m saying is I didn’t need a Happiness Day to make me happy. It happened without my knowing it. Keep smiling.

 

 

 

Eastern Towhee

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Yesterday I saw a different bird in the yard. It looked almost like a Halloween bird, with its black hood, black wings, and a streak of orange on part of its underbelly. It belongs to the sparrow family and yet I’ve never seen it before. It was my pleasant surprise for the day. It’s always nice to see something different in what can be the sameness of many days. Happy Halloween.

 

The Unexpected Gift

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Have you ever received more than you expected?  A week ago on Saturday I welcomed a sixth grandson-in-law into my growing family. Before the day was over, however, I was overwhelmed with the gift of another grandson-in-law…totally unexpected.

Amberley and Chris had married on the previous Tuesday in the Channel Islands…Jersey, to be exact. It was a small and private wedding, which, they tell me will be followed by many celebrations in various parts of the world where they have so many more friends and family.

Both sets of parents, along with siblings and a few friends attended this very special occasion. I do wish I could have been there.

Love knows no bounds when it comes to people meeting people. Chris is from Scotland, Amberley is from Jersey; one works in Houston, Texas, the other just moved from Dubai, and they met in Whistler, B.C. I hear it was love at first sight, and I don’t doubt it because it was the same for me when I first met this new family member.

If you can be hung over from an overdose of love, then I have the biggest hangover in history. But I’m not complaining; in fact I’m enjoying the after-buzz very much.

So, I guess the moral of this story is that you never know what’s waiting for you in each future moment.

Many congratulations and blessings Amberley and Chris and thank you so much for my unexpected gift.

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Pleasant Surprises

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I have discovered that by tacking a little request onto the end of my prayers that it also will be answered. And here is the request: Please let a pleasant surprise come my way, and help me to recognize it when it comes.

Well, let me tell you that that request no sooner was sent forth when an answer was on its way. I’ll only record one out of many pleasant surprises that have come my way since the first prayer.

My garage door refused to budge, would neither go up nor down. Luckily, it was open when this happened and I was able to extricate my car. I called the company who looks after garage doors and was told that the owner had retired and his son was now running the company. It was this young man who answered my call. He told me that it sounded like a simple problem that would cost a service call if he fixed it or I could follow his instructions and do it myself. And so at seventy-nine years of age, I fixed my garage door.

What a pleasant surprise to find I was capable of that, and that the young man was willing to give up a service call charge for what he knew was a simple fix.

Why not make your own request today? You may be in for a pleasant surprise.

Another Random Act of Kindness

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Last week, one of my granddaughters, her mother, and five friends went to the Air Canada Center here in Toronto to see Shania Twain. Courtney and her long-time friend had been adoring fans of Shania since they were eight years old, and are now in their mid-twenties. When they heard their hero was coming to perform in Toronto, they immediately ordered tickets. Top choice tickets were out of their price range and so they purchased balcony seats, but were not able to get all seven seats together.

The long awaited night arrived and the two girls were beside themselves with excitement…the rest of the group…a little less so, but excited all the same.

As the escalator ascended, a uniformed usher stopped them on their way to their balcony seats and asked if they knew where they were going. When they confirmed that they were on their way to the balcony, he said, “No, I am giving you tickets to the main floor.” Courtney couldn’t believe her ears but then said, “Oh, except there are seven of us.” With that the usher handed her seven tickets to the top choice area…seven seats in a row.

Needless to say, the group of seven was ecstatic with this change of events, and were totally taken with Shania Twain’s performance.

This is the second random act of kindness which has come to my attention within a short period of time…once again, doesn’t it make you want to pay it forward?