April was a Busy Month

It is hard to believe that there are only 4 more days in April! What a month! First of all we celebrated Elaine's birthday, then our 39th wedding anniversary, and coming up is my birthday at month end. On top of this was the 2 week stint slinging steel. Elaine says that if I ever consider that again, I am in BIG trouble. Little trouble I can generally handle, but BIG trouble is a little terrifying.

The number of birthdays shall go unmentioned.

The 39th wedding anniversary is worthy of a couple of comments. Elaine was out seeing the world as a nurse and ended up in Kenora, Ontario. My cousin April got us together for a bridge party and Elaine and I kind of hit it off. We were engaged for a year, saved up the required 25% for the down payment on a house ( a whole $5000)! We got married in Cardiff , Wales and toured Wales and the Midlands of England. It's hard to believe that occurred 39 years ago!

It was not always easy as you can see in My Testament, but with the help of the Lord, we managed to pull through the "tribulations".

During the 39 years we managed to raise two sons, both of which we are very proud of, and have been blessed with 5 grandchildren.

A few people have asked what I would do different if I could do it over. The answer is "not a whole lot" The only thing that I would change would be my activities with the Lord Jesus. I walked away from Him and can now see what experiences that I missed. I guess it's better late than never, but that is one thing I would definitely change. The other thing would be to avoid the materialistic trap that I found myself in. It was expected as a manager that I should live in a certain neighbourhood, have certain toys and a certain life style. Materialistic things may feel good at the time, but the feeling doesn't last.

I would put more time in with the family, and less time in hunting and fishing. That was my escape from my work. I believe now that I would reshuffle my priorities and try a different, not-so-demanding type of work, where the family would come first. Correction. Jesus first, family second , others third and self last. There is not much point in thinking back this way, but it does serve a s a reminder on where the priorities should be.

Some of our friends were shocked when we told them that we had downsized to a trailer. We both found that the size is to our liking. It is easier to care for and we could start living closer to nature.

The Lord has been very good to us over the 39 years, even though we forgot to thank Him. Again, look in My Testimony for some of the details. By tithing and donating to various charities, we always seem to be ahead on cash. Even though we did not believe it possible, we were able to pay off the mortgage and become totally debt free in the midst of a recession/depression. In the bible, there is only one place where the Lord challenges people to "try Him" on this matter. We did, and He responded.

I guess I am starting to ramble a bit. It is probably due to sleep depravation. Anyway, I stuck it out, the tank is rebuilt and I am now back on the Acreage. Life is Good!

I missed all you folks out in Blogland.