I have always loved White Gift Sunday. It is about giving what we can, no matter the size, to help others. We don't need to know what people have done because it doesn't matter. The importance is we bring what we can. And if we can't bring anything, we bless and honour what we do have and appreciate the gifts that we do have.

It is a moment to think about what we can do differently. I remember going to an Angel tree and choosing to buy a gift for someone who was my age, when I was a child.

When building a house, or anything really, it is important to have a strong foundation. When playing Jenga, you need to start off with a solid tower and it is only later that it will all come crashing down.

Starting off with the knowledge of God's love is our foundation. We can build on that and create a wonderful community together and keep it strong by growing and adapting together.

Here is an idea. Have one person start a making up a story. Then someone else takes over and keep going until you have a complete tale. Wasn't that fun?

I think we all know what homesick feels like. It's an uncomfortable feeling that makes us sad and worried, all at once.

It can manifest in different ways for different people. I can feel scared when homesick. I can feel alone.

I read the story of The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield. He illustrates that feeling well because even if we are enjoying ourselves, homesickness can overwhelm us. And we can be scared that things will be completely different.

Feel homesick, don't worry. We all understand.

Peace and love,

Michelle

Hats are something that we don't wear as often. People used to wear hats every single day. Now, we tend to only wear them when necessary. In summer, we put on a hat to shade us from the sun. In the winter, we wear tuques to keep our head, and ears, warm. In fall and spring, we might wear a hat when it is raining but not if it is windy!

It is interesting to think, however, that we still associate certain hats to jobs: police cap, firefighter's hat, chef's hat (also called a toque), etc.

We talk about wearing

This can be a tough Sunday. We acknowledge pain and suffering and we also honour those who didn't return or who returned forever changed. When the world is hurting, it affects us all. We can not go on in the same way.

I read a book where the characters abilities were affected by war. Normally, they could walk hundreds of miles in a day but in times of war, they can only walk as fast as any other person. They are unable to do all they can because of the situation in which they find themselves and so they have

When I picture a tree with flowers, I think of this tree from the Lord of the Rings movies. It starts off bare and, by the end, is covered in flowers.

I talked about in the service about a tree that grows a flower when someone does something nice for someone else. It is the idea that we can create a more beautiful world by doing service to others. And that people can see how that service can affect everyone.

Now, it is not always easy to see how the things we do impact others. Wouldn't it be nice to

Hallowed, Hallow's Eve, Halloween.

We say the word "hallowed" in the Lord's Prayer but do we stop to think what it means? And how it is related to October 31st?

Hallowed is revered, holy, or saintly. It calls into view things that we hold dear and evokes a time when these things can feel closer to us.

We talked about the "thin" places in our lives when we are close to that which is hallowed. These places can pull us out of our own world into another.

I like to think that music and books can also create these thin

We talked today about giving abundantly. This is not something that we can easily understand.

Maybe if think more about sharing what we have. Or maybe if we think about showing the love that Jesus taught us. Or maybe if we think about just doing good.

Giving doesn't always mean money. It can mean talents, it can mean time, it can mean anything that we have to share with others.

When I read through what I was talking about, one thought kept popping in my head: magin penny. I remember when I was little and learning this song. It was

Moments of gratitude.

I have been feeling overwhelmed lately. I know that many people are in the same situation. This past year and a half has made us all realize that it is very easy to feel a lot.

It is hard to feel connected with people when I have to communicate over a screen with friends and family. I have had to make some hard decisions and am moving towards a better place.

I am grateful for the small moments when my cat, Mason, makes me smile. He wakes me up in the morning and greets me at the

The move from Thanksgiving to Thanks-living.

It should not just be a day, it should be a lifestyle.

Moving from just giving to living.

We are not happy because we say thanks, we say thanks because we are happy.

I hope that you had a moment to say and give thanks this past week.

Now, find those small things that make you smile and say thanks.

Keep smiling. Keep living.

Peace and love,

Michelle

This was World Communion Sunday.

It felt strange to celebrate communion again. It was not easy. We had to adapt and change how we did things. It was made even more difficult because we could not all be together as a community.

This is not something new but it is something we have to continue to deal with. I hope that you were able to find a moment to take some food and some drink and think about all those around the world who are also celebrating.

No matter when it happens, no matter how it happens, no matter where

We talked about Esther and Purim today in church. I have always like the story of Esther and we have made Hamantaschen in Sunday School before.

Esther was pretty brave to stand up to the king. I know I get scared when I have to talk in front of people…what scares you and how do you overcome it? Sometimes we talk about Esther as a superhero, like we did today. She didn't have magic powers but she used the powers she did have.

We can all be superheroes. Maybe we can't fly or shoot lasers from our eyes, but we

Welcome back to church! I know that children and youth are in a difficult situation and we are not able to be together in person right now.

I hope that you were able to listen to the blessing of the tags. We are all feeling so many emotions about trying to find what this world is going to be and it can be very scary. Let yourself feel those feelings. They are valid and important. We are all scared too. Just remember that we are not alone.

Those words are repeated multiple times in the new creed of the United

Words, the power of words, the power we give to words....

I remember when I started to see how many words there were in the world. They are everywhere! And some words can feel more powerful than others. Right now I can think of pandemic, quarantine, etc. Before this past year, I only read the word quarantine in books and attrributed pandemic to the past.

If you watched the service from the 12th, I used a book to talk about words (I am a bibliophile). This is probably one of my favourite books. When we read a book that has

It's labour day long weekend and some of us want to try to squeeze out one more camping trip. Others might be heading to a game on Sunday....

Kids are also going back to school, most this past week. It has been a crazy few years for our kids. In, then out, then in, then out...it wa shard to keep track of what was happening day to day.

It is going to be scary for some people. Some people are not comfortable with the situation. Others are uncertain but glad to have the social aspect of school again.

Because, yes,

It was my birthday on August 28. The summer doesn't end until my birthday, at least for me. There is still time to hang out easily with people, especially outside! It is still August. And it is time for me to make plans for the coming year. Even though I don't go to school anymore, it still feels like my year begins now.

I can make plans but I know that I might not be able to do everything I want. I was looking through papers and found my plan for 2019-2020. I only got a couple of things done.

Most of us have heard of Greta Thunberg. She has made an impact on the world, even though she is still a child.

It can be hard to imagine who one person can affect change in the world. It has happened and it will continue to happen. It is up to us to listen and take action.

It is taking us out of our own small world to understand that every action we take can affect the whole world. They can be small or big. It is up to us to make a choice to change.

It can be overwhelming.

I had the chance this week to go on a trip. The first big trip in a year. I drove up to Saskatoon to visit my brother (where he lives) and my parents (who had come from Victoria). Somewhere I really wanted to go, even though the weather was not great, was Wanuskewin.

We had visited before and it was somewhere that I needed to see again. It is a place of learning and healing.

In 2017, they welcomed a herd of buffalo back to the area. I watched a short video of the celebration. It was winter and dark,

I have been posting activities or links to events and books, but for the next few, I just wanted to talk. Well, as much as a blog is talking to people, from a distance.

We have all seen a rock. Maybe just a pebble, something stuck in our shoe. These can be shiny or dull, pointed or round. Rocks are everywhere, enough so that we even have a province whose nickname is "The Rock" (and I think it was even before a person took that name too...).

I was thinking of a book, and forgive me but I cannot remember

I cannot believe that it is August already! This summer has just flown by. I don't have a specific activity to do but I wanted to post a link to a great site which gives you multiple options to do in Regina each week. I have linked the page for the Long Weekend, but feel free to use it again for your other weeks.

I miss seeing your faces and enjoying the wonderful energy that each person brings to the group. I really hope that we can get together soon! Maybe we will bump into each other at one of