Calling in The Reapers

Calling  in   the  Reapers, a  painting  by  Jules  Breton  (1859) was  added  to  Napoleon 's   collection. The  statuesque  figures  and  clear  expressions  on   the  faces   of the  reapers enhance   the  painting.
Makes   me  think of  Ruth  gleaning   the  fields  of  Boaz. There  to  be  a  camaraderie  existing   among   the   women.

"Great  friendships with  women are  life' s most  difficult and  caring  intimacies. If I  work harder at  them I hope  to  have  them  forever".
Wendy Wasserstein - American  playwright

Sunday Blessings - Mother

I  wish  I  had  a time machine

which could  bring  these

moments back  to  life  again.

I Have Kept The Faith

Today  my father  completed  8  years  in   heaven.
"The course that I was set I have finished, and I have kept the faith. The future for me holds the crown of righteousness which God, the true judge, will give to those who have loved what they have seen of him. "
2 Timothy 4;7,8 (J B Phillips New  Testament)

Here  are  some  old  b/w and  coloured  memories

1950

My  father  loved  the  outdoors.

He  was  a  hunter and 

enjoyed  sports.

Mom & Dad  with  daughters

Amrita  and Anjali

All  5  of  us.

(I am   the  middle  daughter)

Grandpa  enjoying our grapefruit with Mahima

The  family enjoying  the  warm

winter  sun.

(L-R)

 Mahima, Uncle Kenneth, Aunt  Virginia

Amrita, Ashish,Mama, Papa,

Aunt Sybil and  Anjali

My Dad  stood by what  he  believed.

Here  is  a  poem by Patience Strong,

sharing  the  same  sentiments.

If you believe-

Stand boldly by the  things that you profess.

Let  your No be definite,

and let  your yes be yes.

Do not swing between two points.

Be firm in word and deed-

Faith is futile if it does not

work in time of  need...

So give your witness without shame-

and let your life your faith proclaim.

Rememnbering Dadi , My Grandma

      My  Dadi   who  passed  away  25  years   ago   cherished   me   the  most. I  was  very  timid  and   had  low  self  esteem  while  growing  up.
She  was  always  there  to  calm  my fears  and  treat  me  special.  She  even   made  special   food  for   me if  I  didn 't  like   the  food  others  were   eating.
She  had  a  great  sense   of   humor  and  was  a  prolific  letter  writer.  She  made  me  address  her  letters. She  wrote  one  letter a  day  at  least. Her  handwriting  was  so  neat.  She  took  care  to   dress  neatly  too.I  have  preserved  some  of  her old  saris  and   wedding  veil.

I remember   her  boarding   school stories.  The  tricks  she   and her   friends  used   to  play  on   their  classmates  and  how  she   got married  to Dada.  Both  were  very  young and  it  was  a  conservative  arranged  marriage.

My  Dada  was  a   Methodist  minister  and  she was  his faithful  godly  wife.She  enjoyed   life  and was   cheerful  and   happy  till  the  end.

The  blossom cannot  tell  what  becomes of  its  fragrance as it  drifts   away,just  as  no  person can  tell   what  becomes of  their  influence as they  continue  through  life.

Birthday House

This year  God is  giving  opportunities of  celebrating the  birthdays  of  some  of  our  family  members and friends.

In April  we invited  my  mother 's   friend Miss  Jha to  celebrate her  birthday. She  is  a  retired teacher. She  tried very   hard   to  find  a  post  retirement  job , but  was  not  successful, so  she  is  returning  home   mid-August.

In May  we  celebrated  10  year  old  Simran 's  birthday. She  is  my   cousin' s   daughter. They  have  a dysfunctional  family. Her father  was  not  even  home  for  her  birthday.  We   are  praying  for  this  family  to  be  saved.

Last  week  on July 21st we celebrated  Auntie  Maya 's  73rd  birthday. For  lunch  I  made  a dumpling  curry  called   KADHI.  We  were  expecting  her  family  and  friends to  visit   in  the evening  so  I  got  the  house   ready  and arranged  for   snacks  and   cold  drinks. Auntie is  suffering  from 5  kinds  of  medical  problems   and  is  on  a  restricted  diet.

It was  a very  hot  and   humid  day (like   today)  and  I  was  extremely   exhausted.

Her  son   said  they  would   bring a home made  packed  dinner   eat  with  us, so  I  also  made   CHOLE  PANEER (with  cottage  cheese). And  kheer  or  rice  pudding  for  dessert. (Check   out  the  recipe  links)

It rained  heavily  that  afternoon.  Out   first  visitors  were  Diana   and  her  son  Ben. They  are  Americans. Di  is  married  to  the  brother  of  Auntie 's   son-in-law. Lovely   Christians. I  meet  them  occasionally. Di  brought  Auntie  a  lovely  eggless  cake  and  sugar free  cookies  and  a bouquet. They  sat   for   an  hour  and  a  half while  it  poured  outside. We  had  a good   time.

It  rained  so  hard   the  streets  got  flooded and  so  for a  while  we   thought    Auntie 's  son  and daughter and  their  families  would   not  be  able  to  come.  But   they  did  come  a  bit  late  after   the  downpour  abated  and  we  had  a  second  round   of  celebration. Her  daughter  brought  steamed   savoury  snack  called  DHOKLA

Auntie' s daughter-in-law  brought   us   dinner,  but   i was disappointed  that  they  did  not   eat  with  us. I  had   cooked  lots of   food.It  sort of  hurt  me   too. But  they  are  known   to decline eating outside  their  home. Strange  behaviour.

In  all  cultures   eating  together  has   great  value  and it  brings  friends  and families   together. One   feels  hurt  when  a meal  is  rejected. Remember  the  parable  of  Jesus  .   Luke 14:12 -24   A  rich  nobleman invited  his  friends   for  a banquet and all   of them made  lame  excuses not  to  attend. So  he  directed  his  servants  to  bring  in   the  lame, lost  and   poor  from  the  streets . These  so called  rejects  of  society became  his  honored   guests.

This  story   is  interpreted in  various  ways.

God  invites  us  to  be   part  of  his  family  and have  fellowship with him, but   if  we  reject  his   invite, he  will  call  others, maybe those whom we  don 't deem  worthy.

God   gave  the  nation  of  Israel a  special status of  being  his chosen people,  they  spurned  the Messiah, Jesus  ,his Son,   and  now  the invitation is  open  to  all  people  of  the  earth. They  are other  deeper interpretations  of  this   story  , but  I won 't  go  into  those. You  can  share   your  views  on  this  if  you  like ,  I am interested  in  knowing them.

The  birthday  girl  with  her  eldest 

grand daughter Alisha

Auntie, Diana,  Ben  and  Mama

I  wanted  to  take  some pictures 

but  as  I  was  getting up  to  it,  a

friend  called  me  and while  I was talking  to her 

all  the guests  left.

Cool Memories

 Sonia,  her  husband and  son   Abner   arrived  on  Saturday. The  house  seems  full  and  lively. Avinash left this  morning - his  leave  ends  today. Sonia  and  Abner   will  stay till  the  second  week  of  June.
Abner is  attending  Vacation  Bible  School every  morning  from  7 to 10 .30 am.
Its  a  time  for  Sonia  and  me  to  get  away  from  our   daily mundane activities.  There  is  a lot  of  therapeutic  sharing  among  us  women too.
 Daytime temperatures  are over  110* F  with  high  humidity. Can' t  escape  that. The  monsoon  rains  will   arrive by  mid June if  all  goes well.

I lost  my  Internet  this  weekend and  it was  restored  yesterday.

Thank you for   praying  for  me. This  Sunday we  had  a  glorious service  with guest  speaker  Sunil Joy. We  had  a new  family  visit and  lots  of  lively children in  the  audience. I  enjoy  the  presence  of  children in church  services. They  are  our  future.

I want to share some photos of the  Horticultural Show we  all  went  to in the  last  week of February when nephew Ashish and  friend  Megan  were  with  us.
They bring back cool  memories  in  this  heat. The  temperatures  were  in  the  70s then.

(me, Sonia and  Abner)

Megan and Ash

Megan looking  at  Terra  cotta artifacts

Terra cotta  idols

British physicist Stephen Hawking

declares

"There is no heaven

it 's a fairy story".

1 Corinthians 1

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”[c]

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.



26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

(New  Testament)

Sunday Blessings -Keep your eyes on Jesus

Our  Sanctuary

Megan  brought  us  a  word  of  encouragement  from  the  Bible last  Sunday She  spoke  about  making  Christ  the  focal point  of  our  lives and  receiving our  sustenance  and  from Him alone.Trying  to  nourish  ourselves  by   'digging   our  own  cisterns ' will  not  satisfy  us. Keep  your  eyes  on  Jesus ,for  He  is  the   Water  and  Bread  of  Life.
Megan  spoke  in  English while  I   translated  her  message into Hindi.

Nephew Ashish  greeting  the  church  family  and  sharing  words  of  blessings.

Chandi,  Milka and Abner

Sonia had  to  leave  just  before  church because  Abner  had  school  on  Monday.

Me, Sonia, Ashish  and  Abner

We  bid goodbye  to Ash and  Megan last   night  - they  left   for Delhi and  Agra ( to see  the Taj Mahal)

They  will  fly  back  to  Canada  on  Tues   morning.

We  are  missing  them  terribly.

Today  is  my Dad 's  7th  death   anniversary.

I want  to  share  a page  out  of  the  devotional

Experiencing  God by Henry and Richard Blackaby

Be Blessed

Sowing Seeds of Righteousness

But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. (Proverbs 11:18b)


There are many ways to invest our lives, but none offers greater reward than devoting ourselves to the pursuit of righteousness. Every area of our lives should reflect the holiness of God that is ours by salvation: our thoughts, so that nothing we think about would be inappropriate for a child of God; our actions, so that our lives demonstrate that we serve a holy God; our integrity, so that we are above reproach in all our relationships.


Are you taking God’s righteousness in your life for granted? Righteousness is something you must allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. Instead of sowing holy thoughts, are you allowing evil and sinful thoughts to grow in your mind? Are you allowing lust to grow unchecked within you? Does enmity, bitterness, jealousy, or unforgiveness remain in your life? Jesus said if we seek first God and His righteousness, everything else will follow (Matt. 6:33). There is great reward in sowing righteousness. What_are you presently doing to plant holiness in your life?_(1 Pet. 1:15). How are you putting righteousness in your mind so that your thoughts are holy? How are you cultivating righteousness in your relationships so that you maintain your integrity? Are you instilling righteousness in your activities so that your life is above reproach? If you want to harvest righteousness in your life tomorrow, you must plant seeds of righteousness today

My cousin Vijay

The morning dawned cold and foggy but the sun came out at noon.
It was still too cold for Mama to venture outside but after my devotions I sat out on the porch to talk to the Lord. I had just begun my conversation when in rode cousin Vijay in his big van.

I had met him him at (cousin) Dr A 's birthday party - he is his elder brother who now lives in Dehra Dun (Doon). Vijay was singing worship songs at the party which surprised me because their family is traditional , nominal Christian - just good church going people.

Vijay is a pop singer, impresario and film maker and it surprised me to see him sing only worship songs for almost 2 hours I was there. He sings just like Elvis Presley by the way.

When I remarked about the change in his music genre , he said he was a pastor and was singing in churches and Christian events and people were blessed and healed by his music. I couldn 't believe what he was saying. Actually the pastor bit was a joke.

Vijay is a very light hearted and jovial person , a great story teller - no one can get bored in his company. He is in his late 50s but looks very young and fresh.

Vijay is singing for the glory of the Lord but he himself doesn 't have a very vibrant relationship with Him. I encouraged him to get on the path himself - the path he was pointing out to others. He is not doing it for financial gain or anything - he says God used sinners and prostitutes for his glory , so he is using me.

Well he knows all about the steps to salvation and his wife , who is a skin specialist and served in the Leprosy Mission (Christian) Hospital as doctor and Director before moving to Dehra Dun , is a believer

Anyway he stayed for a long time and went in and sat with Mama while I brought out tea and cake. We talked abut the old times, family memories , happy and sad . Theirs was a dysfunctional family , but they managed to stay together - 6 brothers and sisters and parents. And although they were never united in thought or action , they all pitch in to help and support each other financially and otherwise - they all are doing very well professionally. They may not agree with each other but they wear out the storm together.

Time went by very quickly but I d id'nt bother to start lunch. Later on I just made yellow rice with potatoes with yogurt raita and poppadoms.

Well, we shall pray for my cousin, that may truly know the God he is praising with his voice and talent.

It is so easy to point the way to others and not walk on it. Many people are afraid of accepting Christ as their saviour for they think He will require a hard thing of them, like going off to be a missionary in the jungles of Jharkhand. And I think that 's what is preventing Vijay from making that decision. A gross misconception.

God is not a killjoy fact He fills our lives with joy.

O taste and see that the Lord is good. (Bible)

Vijay with his wife

Mother and daughter - who is studying in St Stephen 's college New Delhi.

Here is another report about our price rise.

The prices quoted here are much less than what I found in the market 3 days ago.

Onions - Rs 60 a kg

Tomatoes - Rs 30 per kg

Fresh green peas Rs 25- per kg

A small bottle gourd Rs 15 - 20

We have mostly greens growing in our garden

spinach

mustard (sarson)

green soya or dill

fenugreek

bathua leaves

radish

very few aubergine

little green beans

tomatoes

the carrot are not ready yet

the cauliflower are almost over.

We harvested some sweet potatoes.
Read this news story if you have the time.

Allahabad Prices
Here is a news report about how poor shanty dwellers are trying to survive.

A Christmas Wish

Today I have a special

Christmas wish.

I wish for a holiday reunion

with my 3 sisters and their families

in a tourist resort

where all of us

can relax and have fun

and no one would have to do

the cooking and cleaning LOL.
There 's a special kind

of freedom sisters enjoy.

Freedom to share the uttermost

thoughts , to ask a favor,

to show their true feelings.

The freedom to simply

be themselves

My elder sister Anjali with her family

Younger sister Namrita at a

school picnic


With a friend

She was with us last
winter with her 2 sons.
Today is her birthday.

Sonia came with her son and husband
just for 24 hours.
They were on their
way to M P state
to spend Christmas with
an aunt and her family.
Here they are waving goodbye
as their left
for the railway station
to catch a train this afternoon.

I have another Christmas wish and this is for the whole country

I just wish the prices of onions,garlic and vegetable may come down.

In the past one week food prices have sky rocketed and poor and middle class people are really suffering. Onions and garlic which is an essential part of our food is literally bringing tears to our eyes. Its going to be a bland frugal holiday season. They say the situation will remain the same till March. Read more about it HERE and THE PRICE MONSTER

I wish Santa would fill my stocking with onion, garlic and fresh ginger etc. LOL.

Sunday Blessings- We are Family

I scanned some photos from the 80s to show you our family and friends. My sister Anju and I were in University and sis Namrita was in school. We lived in a small flat - 9 of us, space and privacy challenged, but we never missed it as we were all so happy together.

We were newly born again belonging to a traditional Christian family and being a part of God 's greater family gave us new life and energy.

Above L-R (front) Papa, Mama, Amrita, Grandmother, Anju, Uncle Kenneth (Papa 's elder brother) his wife Aunt Virginia

Back row- Namrita, our friends Alex and Korah, Aunt Sybil and Sonia

Here we are with our friends George and his sister Antima. George had Afro style hair. You can see my sitar at the back and my sister Anju 's batik painting of the horses.

Again one big happy family.

There some more people in this faded picture. We are celebrating Papa' s birthday- in the centre is the cake.

On the extreme left is Uncle Ariel (Papa 's younger brother) and Aunt Marjorie (Papa' s elder sister) both are with the Lord.

All of the elders are with the Lord now and my sisters are with their families , we miss them so much. Life feels incomplete without them.

Now its Generation Next.From tomorrow my niece Mahima is starting University. Here she is with her brother Ashish. God go with you Mahima.

The following devotional from Joni Eareckson Tada spoke to my heart , specially the questions are something to think about.

_______________________

Grow in Grace"

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory."--2 Corinthians 3:18

I received a letter from an old school friend the other day. After twenty-five years of friendship, it was good to read that she is still growing in the Lord. But I was especially touched with her closing salutation, "Grow in grace." It made me think: Just how have I grown in God's grace over the last year? Is this something that can be measured?

Bishop J.C. Ryle puts it this way: "When I speak of growth in grace, I mean an increase in the degree, size, strength, vigor, and power of the graces that the Spirit plants in our hearts. When I speak of a person growing in grace, I mean simply this-that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, and his spiritual-mindedness more marked. He feels more of the power of godliness in his heart. He manifests more of it in his life; He goes on from strength to strength, from faith to faith, and from grace to grace.

"Is your sense of sin deeper than it was last year?

Is your hope brighter?

Do you sense more of the power of godliness in your heart?

We can be transformed into His likeness; something fundamentally different can happen in our lives from year to year. Change is possible, and a new and improved you is within reach. This is how it happens: Behold the Lord's glory and you will grow in grace.

Lord Jesus, I behold You today in all of Your majesty and splendor, Your excellence and purity. Transform me into the person You want me to be as I grow in Your grace.

I have made an entry on the Scarf Sisters blog too- go if you Here wan t to see how I made a HOTWICH