Rock Badgers

The rock-badgers are but a feeble folk, yet they make their house in the cliff", Proverbs 30: 26.

I think you're like that!

My  brother  in Christ David  C  Brown

sent  this  comment on  my  earlier  post.

Thank  you  David  for  sending  me  this  verse,

and  thought.

This  is  absolutely  true.

I  am  feeble  and  weak

and  live  on  a  craggy  cliff.

Christ  is  the   ROCK

on  which I  have  built

my  house.

Question

What  does courage  mean  to  you?

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I  am  unable to  comment  on  blogs

which have  comment boxes

like  so (above) and  if  they

don' t  have  an  anonymous

option.  Blogger is  not

accepting  my  identity

in  this  type  of   format.

Pop up  comment  boxes 

and  others  are OK.

Do  others  also  have   a  similar  problem?

It  is   the  true  nature  of   mankind to  learn   from   mistakes not from   example. FRED  HOYLE

 Very  true  in  my  life.

Today  was  a  very  anxiety  filled  day.
But  I  grew  in courage.
Learnt  about  the  deceitfulness  of  the  human   heart.
Betrayal
Trust
Forgiveness
Confronting   difficult issues.

At   times  I  felt  like   a  paper  boat being  swooshed  down  a  storm   drain.
But  Jesus  was  in   the   boat.

I  am  still  confused but  confident -  I  don 't  know  how   the   two  reconcile.
Weak yet  strong
Ignorant  but  informed.
Cautious but  calm.

Thank  you for  your  prayers.
I  took  the   bull  by  the  horns  and  gave  it  a  shaking.

My  strength  is   not  my  own,  it  came from  the  Lord.


The  ground  is   very   slippery
for   my  feet.
Voices  muffled for  my   ears.
Colors  misty  for  my  eyes.
I  need  prayers.
I  will  read  from  my  favourite  book  of  the  Bible tonight.
The  Book  of  Proverbs.

Joy in the morning

These  are  some   photos  from

February  2011.

Shopping   in   the  old  city  market.

Our  Canadian  friend  Megan

What  women  want.

Colorful  fabric

Scarves

Megan  bought   some  to  take  home

Fabric  store

Sisters  in  shopping

Dear  friends  thank  you  so  much  for  your  prayers.  By  Monday  afternoon my  pain  started to  decrease. It  was  just  a  miraculous  answer  to prayer. I  was  in  such  pain  that my   mind  was  torturing me  with   all  kinds  of  fearful  thoughts. My  caregiving and  church  responsibilities  lay  heavy  on  my  heart and   i  was  wondering  how  on  earth  would  I  be  able  to  fulfil  them.

The  Lord  had  mercy and  lay  His  hand  of  healing   on  me.The  Bible  says  He  does  not  allow  testing  more  than our  endurance.

Today I  did  not  have to  take  any  medication, whereas  yesterday  I was  unable  to  take  a  single  step  without  piercing  pain.

Praise  Jesus . It  is  His  doing.

Need an Isolation Retreat

I  am  not   too  good  these  days.

Got   a  cold  and  feel  rather  low.

In  times  like  these  I  want  to  go  into  an

isolation  retreat in   a monastery.

In   the  begining  of  September  I   helped  my  friend  Diana  in  a  Bible  School  Project.  Here  is   a  short  video clipping from  our  classes.

Rain washed country side

I  returned  from  Lucknow  late  evening on

August  15th (our  Independence  Day).

It poured  heavily  all  day and  I  missed  the  earlier  buses. Sonia  and I  waited more than 2  hours at  the

bus station , once  I  got  a  seat everything  was  OK.

In  spite  of  rain, I   had  a  lovely  time  with  Sonia and  her family. I  will  post pictures  of  the  places  we  saw. I  was  visiting after a gap  of  10  years, much  has  changed  in that  city.

I  travelled  by  a  very  comfortable AC bus and tried to take photos through  the  closed  windows.

Lucknow is  205 kms (kilometers) from

Allahabad.

These  pictures are of  the  River  Ganga flooded

in  the  middle  of  the  monsoon. All  the  low  lying  areas  and  villages  are  submerged.

The  village  roads  were  very  muddy  and  slushy.

While  the  cities  and urban areas  are  developing at  a very  fast  rate and  everywhere you can see signs of wealth, prosperity  and  advancement, the  villages  are  far behind and  neglected.

Before leaving  I  had  made  arrangements  for Mama  and  Aunt  Maya , ensuring  their  comfort and  ease (even Sheeba). Mama  was  very  worried and  kept  calling  me  on my  cell   phone.

On entering  Lucknow we  passed   through

a newly developed area which  is  a  memorial park, I told  her  so. Mom was   puzzled  by  that   and  thought  the  bus  driver  was  taking  us  through a  wrong route. She  rang  up  my  sister  and  brother-in-law and  had  another  person  call  them.  So there  was  a lot  of  telephonic activity during  my  approach to the city.

My  mother was  only satisfied  when  I  told  her that I  had  met Sonia and  Abner  at the bus station.

Up till then my  poor  mother  was  thinking  I  was  lost, kidnapped  or hijacked!

After  all   I  had  left  town after  ten years.

Hello from Lucknow

Hi  friends,
I  was  unable  to  post   throughout  the week  as  my   Internet  connection  was  down.

Yesterday  I  travelled  to  the  state  capital Lucknow  for   a  short  holiday  with  my  sister Sonia  and  her  family. The  journey  by  a  comfortable  AC  bus  was  very  pleasant and  Sonia  and  her  son   Abner  received  me  at the   bus  station

We   are  having  a  good  time and  will  be  going  out   to  visit  places  in  a  skirt  while. I  am  taking  photos  which   i  will upload later  ON.Have   a  good  weekend  everyone

Clayton 's Story

I  know  this  soul  stirring   video  will  touch  your  heart.  Clayton  is a  teenager who  has  suffered  from leukemia most  of  his  life. But  death  and  suffering does  not  frighten  him.  He  is a  living  example  of  the  Bible  verse ,"For  me  to  live   is  Christ  to  die   is  gain". (Phillipiann 1:21)

Clayton inspires  me  to  live  my  life  in  a meaningful way ,keeping  eternity  in  perspective.  Many  of  us  are  suffering  or  have  loved  ones  who are  at  eternity 's door. Clayton   will encourage  you.

Sunday June 12 is Pentecost Sunday. God  has  given  me  an opportunity  to  share in  church.

I had  my  blood  pressure  randomly  checked   and  found  it  was  high  specially  systolic. I  am on medication,  perhaps the   holiday  treats  with Sonia  and  Abner  affected  it. I 've  cut   down  on salt  drastically
and we  are  eating   low  calorie  food, which we  usually  do.

Thought Seeds

I' ve  been  slow  in  composing  posts

this  week.

The  temperatures   are  rising

its  around 110*during  the  day.

So  I  get  tired   easily.

We  use  the air convector  cooler,

( almost  everyone  I  know  has

air  conditioners but  I  can 't

afford  one).

 The cool  air of   the   water  cooler

flares up  arthritis.

My  right  hip,  left wrist ,

arms  and  knees  have  been

quite  painful because  of  that.

I  tried  to  bear  the  pain, but 

it  got  me  so  tired  and  stressed out

 I  had  to  take  pain killers.

Pain  tires  me  out   easily.

I  think trees are  like

God  's giant sculptures.

I like  photographing  them.

This  one  is  outside  a

shopping mall

I  visited  with  my  nephew  Ashish

when  he  was  here  in  February this  year.

Its  an  ancient  banyan  tree.

(Megan, Sonia, Ashish &  Abner)

My  adopted sister  Sonia, hubby  and son  Abner

are  arriving  on Saturday

for a  summer  vacation with us.

We  are  so  excited.

I  am  getting   the  house  ready.

(me,Sonia,Ashish & Abner)

Keeping   the  house  dust  free is   such  a  task

with  strong  dust  laden  winds 

blowing most  of   the day.

We 've had dust  storms  too.

Last  evening   we  had  surprise  rain

which  cooled us  off.

After  the  rain we  sat  out

on  the  patio

enjoying   the   cool  evening

before  the  mosquito attack.

Trust  you  all  are  safe  and healthy.

I  read  the  following very  instructive

and  inspiring story on

my   friend  Elizabeth 's  blog

and  I  want  to  share  it  here.

THE  PLANT

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.

Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you." The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed.He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. 

Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.

By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.


Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however, he just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.

Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful -- in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Behold your next Chief Executive Officer! His name is Jim!"

Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed.

"How could he be the new CEO?" the others said.

Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!"

* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.
* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment.
* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective.
* If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.
So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

Hold My Hand

My  dear  blog  friend Doris  of

"Hold my  hand" A  social worker 's  blog"

gave  me  this  award.

Thank  you  Doris.

Your  beautiful blog  has  a  therapeutic  effect  on  me.

Your  stories are  so  heart  warming 

and  inspiring,

I  can 't  miss  any  of  them.

I have  to state 5  things  about  myself

I  love  to  wear  high  heels,

but  because  of  arthritis  can' t  wear  them  anymore

My dream holiday would be

visiting  the  rural (villages)

of  Europe specially

Italy, France, Greece and  Spain.

I enjoy reading, but  blogging

uses  up  a lot  of  my  time.

Mint  is  my  favourite

candy flavor.

This  Good  Friday  service

I will  be  speaking  on

2 of Christ 's words  from  the cross-

the first  and  fifth.

I  want  to  pass  on  this  award  to 

all my dear  blogfriends.

You all  are  much  more

creative  than me.

Please  take  a  moment  and  watch  this

very  creative  video.

Our  Frangipani tree  is  blossoming.

It  reminds  me  of the  novels  of 

Somerset Maugham,one  of my  favourite

authors.

His  novels are set  in South East  Asia

of  the early 1900s.

The  frangipani flowers adorn his   gardens.

Aloe Vera is  doing  good.

We   have  while and red  Lillie's

All is Well

Dear  friends, God  is   so  good  to  us.My  nephew  Ash  (short  for  Ashish) and  friend  Megan  arrived   safely on  the  afternoon  of  Feb 24th.  Their    train was   2  and  1/2  hours  late and   I   received  then  at  the  train  station.While  I  was  waiting  I  took  some   photos  which  I   will  post  later  on.

Ash brought   us  lots   of  gifts ,  it   was   like  Christmas. The   best  thing  is  a  commode  raiser for  Mama.  Specialized  health care  equipment  is  not   easily  available   in  India  as  it   is   in  Canada.

Yesterday  Sonia arrived   with  her  son Abner -  and   so  we  are   having   a  mini  family  carnival. In  the  evening  we  went  to  a  very  posh   shopping   mall so  close  to my  house,  but  for   the  very  first  time.  I  never  thought   of  entering  it  before.  Megan  and  Ash  were  so   happy,  they  said  it  is  like  a mall  in  Canada. I  took   photos  with my  cell  phone.

Then  Ash ordered   lots  of   pizzas  from Dominoes. We  ate  so  much and   have  tons of  left overs  to  finish. Oh  we  are  just  enjoying   ourselves.

Megan  loves  Allahabad  and   our   food.  She  likes   our  cooking. And  praise  God  she  has  not  had  any   health or tummy  problems, I  was  worried  about  that. She  is  drinking  our  filtered  and  boiled  water  too.  She  loves  my  dal (lentil soup). This  morning  we  bought   a  Muslim style  curry  for  breakfast  with  nan,  , it   was  spicy but  Megan ate  it  and   enjoyed  it.

Ash  and  Megan  have  gone  to  take  a  tour  of  the  All Saints  Cathedral -a heritage  tourist  site  of   our  city. We  are  having  our  baths and  getting  ready . Later  on  we  will go  shopping in   the old  part   of  town.

In  the  evening  I want  us  to  go  to  the  Horticulture  and Flower  Show.  I  have  so  much  so  share.

Sonia 's  cough  is   better, but   she  looks  quite  weak. She  needs  a lot  of   rest which   is  impossible   for  her.

With  all the  activity  and   walking  my knees were  very strained  and  I  was  in  a  lot   of  pain. I  took  Ash 's  Tylenol capsules  but   they  did  not  work, this  morning  I  got  my  paracetemnol and  I  am some  better.Ha-ha!.

The  weather is  perfect,  we 've  had  some   rain  too.

Thank  you  for your  prayers.  Namrita  is  better  and  misses   us   all.  Ash  and  Megan  had   a  lovely  time  with  her family   for  6  days. They  are   taking a  lot  of  photos.

Wish  we were  all  together.

Roses are for Valentines

To  tell  you  the  truth  I  am  not  a  great fan  of  Valentine' s  Day.
Love  means  never  having  to  say  'HappyValentine 's Day ' So  says  Seema  Goswami and  I  somewhat  agree  with  her. 
Well  first  of  all there is  the  sheer  pressure  of  it. All  the  entire  world seems  to  become  a  part  of  a  giant  global conspiracy to  turn  14th  Feb. into  a  day  for  celebrating  romantic  love ,  sh e says.Read  the  rest  of  her  article entitled BIN THE  RED  ROSES.
http://seemagoswami.blogspot.com/2011/02/bin-red-roses-love-means-never-having.html
In  case  you  think  I  am  the  Grinch  who  stole  Valentine 's Day  I  am  sharing  my  lovely  V roses  from  my  garden.

Had  a  very   peaceful  and  happy  day  today. Applied  henna  to  my  hair and  paid  some  bills. Now  I  am  going  to  make  minestrone  soup  for  supper.

Tomorrow  my nephew  Ashish (Ash  for short)  and  his  friend  Megan are  going  to  begin  the  first  leg  of  their  journey  to  India  from Canada. They  will  arrive  in  Kolkata  Wed 16th midnight.  From  their  they  will fly  to the  NE  to  visit  my sister  Namrita  and  then   come  to  Alld. on Feb  24th. We  all  are  so  excited.  And  I  am  busy  preparing.

Megan  is  a  Navigator' s  missionary  in  Ottawa. This  is  her  first  trip  to  India. I  am  really  interested  to  know  how  she  will  react and  what  her  observations  and experiences   will be   on  the  short  trip. I  am  making  so  many  plans to  give  Ash  &  Megan  a  good  time and  also  ensure  their  comfort  and  safety in  an environment  which  is  so  different  from  theirs.

I 've  had  many   foreigners -missionary  friends  come  and  stay with us.but  they  were well  settled  in India  and  knew how  to  take  care  of  themselves  etc.  Megan  is   brand  new - , hope  she   will  have  a  positive  experience.

Please  pray for  Ash  and  Megan  as  they  begin  their  journey tomorrow.

The Paint Job

The walls have been painted. Now we are working on the iron frames or grille. The can of aquamarine color got over very quickly 2 liters of it. When I sent the man to fetch some more from the paint shop, he returned with paint from another company. We are using Nerolac and he got Asian Paint. The can also looked old and rusted. He tried to convince me otherwise but I did not listen to him.
He returned empty handed saying they would get the paint the day after tomorrow. Whew, this guy is a major dealer and he doesn' t have enough stock!

Anyway I asked Pradeep ( the head painter who was the only man to show up today) to paint the kitchen and bathroom doors with the chocolate brown color we had. He did that and my kitchen cupboards too.

Tomorrow he will do the Ivory doors and windows.
After 28 years of pale colors , its taking some time getting used to the dark color. In the dark it appears as if the door is open, specially the kitchen back door.

This is Pradeep. He is a nice guy. His mother lives with his family (wife and 3 daughters).

He is concerned about his mother and treats her very well. I told him him to send all his 3 daughters to school an d educate them at least till Class 10 - Junior High. He agreed with me. Literacy is very important to survive in the the modern world, we have to spread this message specially girl child.

Its sad to see these men painting and beautifying other people' s homes while they live in very humble and ramshackle abodes. But at least they have a good means of livelihood. I gave away lots of old clothes to these men.

A Facebook friend from Kerala told me that the wages for daily labourers is very high in that South Indian state.The 100 per cent literacy, affluence and Communist government has contributed to it. If I was living in Kerala I wouldn 't be able to afford house painting at all. I would have to do it myself LOL.

Pradeep brought us these bottle gourds from his neighbour' s garden.The neighbour has an abundance and he gives them away free. We were so blessed we gave away lots of gourd pieces and I made veg soup with gourd, spinach, carrots with onion and garlic and a little seasoning. I also made dal (lentils ) with gourd and today a gourd stir fry (sabzi) I like it , its low cal. You can make a yogurt salad (raita) with it.

Sheeba likes to sun herself on the porch.

Today the neighbour' s wandering dog Naughty attacked her and pulled out a tuft of fur from her neck. . thank goodness I saved her in time. He is jealous of her. Poor gentle Sheeba she was so shocked she did not want to go out of the house for some time.

On Dec 2nd World Disabled Day was observed all over the world and in India. The plight of 70 million disabled people in India is pathetic. 2 % are educated and only 1% find employment. The government and social groups are slowly trying to empower physically challenged people but its just a drop in the ocean. Here are some statistics of which I am also a part.

NUMBER CRUNCH

70 million disabled people in India

95% of the disabled have no access to education, health care and employment

150,000 are disabled due to injury to the spinal cord

10,000 spinal injury cases are reported every year due to road accidents. 82% are men between the ages of 18 -30 years.

Ouch!

Today after the painters left I went to the market to buy some groceries.

I had 3 bags so I took a rickshaw home. I asked the rickshaw driver to take me through a side road which I know is in a state of disrepair. It is broken and pebbly , full of pot holes ( but a shorter route). Many of our city roads are in this condition.

(web photo of a rickshaw)

The rickshaw lurched on a stony patch and one package started to fall. When I leaned down to get hold of it I could not balance myself and fell right off the vehicle onto the road, with all my bags flying around and my handbag under the wheels of the rickshaw.

I took the impact of the fall on my left elbow and shoulder and was in such pain, I could not get up. Two very kind gentlemen (family people) immediately came to my rescue and helped me up. They picked up my things. I was worried for my handbag as it contained my cell phone , ATM card and cash, but it was safe. I thanked the men profusely, they were so concerned about my well being.

When I got home I did not tell my Mom about the fall , she would get very disturbed. Good she did not notice my muddy clothes with ketchup on them. A small sachet of ketchup had torn open and stained my jeans. There is big gaping wound on my left elbow where the skin scraped off. I washed it off with Dettol. But I could not apply the bandage all by myself . I had to take Mom 's help.

I told her I had scraped my elbow 'on ' the rickshaw.Please God forgive me for not saying 'under it '. She was very alarmed and asked me a few questions like Did you slip ? I could honestly answer ;"No ".

I have pain in my left shoulder, elbow and arm also back, but I am glad no bone is fractured or cracked. I can swing my arm up and down , I have movement, although its painful. I have taken a painkiller and rubbed a pain ointment. Got to grit my teeth and bear it. Both my knees hurt too.

Praise God I am in one bruised piece. This is the second time I have fallen off a rickshaw. Once Sonia and I were in a rickshaw with my then 9 or 10 year old nephew (he is 23 now) , the rickshaw wheel broke landing us on the road. But no one was hurt in fact we got up laughing to hide our embarrassment.