Cooking With Ruth

God Works all things for good

2005-07-04T21:41:00.000-04:00

Hello friends
Ok, here is what has been happening lately. As many of you know, the team and Matthew have arrived safely in Pakistan. Joe and I, on the other hand are still here in Cananda!! What happend, you may wonder. Well, we were all ready and on our way, showing our tickets and what not, the agent tells me that I cannot go! I asked why and he said that since I am not Canadian, I need a travelling pass or visa to travel through the European countries. That for sure was a shock to us. Something that we never expected to happen. To make the story short, we tried very hard right and then to get me another flight but no such luck. In doing all that, Matthew ended up missing his flight but thankfully got another one in a few hours without any extra charge. Both Joe and I ended up staying here. I was VERY upset, angry and frustrated. Then of course the people at the air-port aren't the most friendly and helpful. Anyways, Thursday and Friday were very tiring. Lots of running around at the terminals inorder to find some help re my next flight.
As of now, I have talked to Matthew a few times. Everybody is doing good. Is safe and having a good time. Joe and I fly on this Wed around 11:40pm. First flight is from TO to Hong Kong (19 hours). 10 hours waiting at the air-port there and then final flight (9hours) to Karachi). Yes, a VERY long one but that seems to work for now. SO please pray for us. I am a little nervous to travel with my little son. I have never done this before. So pray for the strength. God is good and has been teaching us to trust in HIM and know that He is faithful. Today I can say that whatever has been, it's good becasue I know that we are in HIS Hands. He has a reason for all this. Praise God! Thank you all so much for your prayers, love and support.
God is good
Standing on His promises
Ruth

Getting ready for home!!

2005-06-22T16:41:00.000-04:00

Hello hello everyone!
It's been a while since I last blogged. I am realizing how busy life gets when you have a little baby! Believe it or not, it seems that all I am doing is feeding Joe, changing him, bathing him and comforting him when he needs me. It sure is a great learning experience for me and I do really enjoy being a mom. :) God's also teaching me of His unconditional love and that He is always there for me whenever I need Him and even when I think that I don't need Him. What a wonderful Father!!
Aside from all this, we are pretty much all ready to go home. I can only imagine what it would be like to see my mom and dad!! Can't wait to see them! I praise God for all the wonderful people who He has brought along to go with us. What a great team that we have going with us!!
We got Joe's passport today. Praise God! God has been so faithful to us throughout these years and its all because of Him that we are who we are.
Tomorrow I am off to Toronto with my bro-in-law (very cool guy) to pick my passport. On Monday we are off to the Cuthills. You know one thing about these people, they are never tired of having people over to stay with them. They are amazing people. Very kind. May God bless them. Yeah, can't wait to see them and hang out
Love and prayers
Ruth

Joseph our Joy!

2005-05-27T14:27:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone!!
O wow I am so excited already! :) Yes, our little one arrived on May 18th, 5:05 pm. It sure was a neat experience to deliver him. Not too easy but it's worth it. Joseph is so cute. Matthew and I love him so much! I can't wait till Joseph grows up and learns about God's everlasting Love and Faithfulness! I love getting up at nights and taking care of our baby. I sing to him, pray with him and for him. Last night he only woke up twice and mom and dad enjoyed their long sleep hours. :) Today I read Psalm 139 with Joseph while he was being breastfed. O it's great! God is so good and faithful.
I have been feeling quite good. Thanks to all of you out there who always prayed for me and my family.
Matthew is so wonderful and is a great dad. I can't wait to see Joe grow up and play with us. Also it won't be too long till we go to Pak and see my dear family. Please do continue to pray for us. Check out: matthewcook.blogspot.com for tons of great pictures.
God is great

Pakistani Clothes are cool

2005-05-09T12:16:00.000-04:00

Hello hello!
Yes, I am still pregnant! :) To be honest this pregnancy has been so much fun and I love every part of it! I am in my 39th week which means I have about 12 days left...I think. Yes, I am counting my days and can't wait to have our baby!! I just so want to hold our little precious one!! Then I am looking forward to taking care of the baby, getting up at nights, feeding and changing the diapers. O it will be a whole new experience and I am just blessed to be able to experience it! So yeah, please do keep praying for us as our times is coming up. We are excited!
Matthew is so wonderful and is a huge support to me. I love him so much and thank God for him. I know he'll make a wonderful father. :)
Enjoy the pics below.

Dina and us in our Pakistani clothes.

Wendy (Dina's mom), Dina and me.

Us in our Sarees.

Matthew (in his shalwar Qamiz) and me.

Me and my big belly!I love this pic because it shows how much my belly can stretch!! God's works are so amazing!! I never thought how big I could get! O it's so amazing and I love it!!! :)

In Toronto with friends

2005-05-06T10:54:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone
I thought it's been a while so I should blog. As many of you know, we have moved out of our apt in St. Caths and are now living with our family (my in-laws). It's been great fun and of course cheap too. :) We also got to give our cat away to the Human society and now we found out that he has been adapted!! I do miss my little orange cat :( but I know that I'd enjoy having my baby more especially since my baby won't bite us ! :)

By the way, below are the pics of some of our friends who are going to Pakistan with us. We were down in Toronto last week and had a riot! We stayed at the Cuthills (they are cool). On Friday afternoon we went out to eat at the Indian restaurant and wow the food was yummy :) Praise God for their visas! It's going to be so much fun. I can't wait to see my dear family!!

Me, Bethany Martin, Ben Inglis, Todd Anderson, and my dear husband.

Our friend Ben in his royal Pakistani clothes. Doesn't he look great? By the way, we got these clothes for a really good price. :)

9 months over!

2005-04-22T13:33:00.000-04:00

Ok, today my 9 months of pregnancy are over and I am super excited that God has brought me and the baby safe thus far. If it wasn't for His grace, I wouldn't be where I am today. I am sorry that I can't post my picture today not because I look big and chubby :) but that we forgot our camera in some friend's car and now its in Peterborough! O well, nothing has really changed. I still look the same...I think. :)
So according to our little calendar I have about 28 more days to go but of course it's not too accurate since babies show up whenever. So far, I am super excited and confidant in the Lord. I am ready to go into labor in fact I can't wait! Thanks again to all the prayer partners.
I had my baby shower on Tuesday and it went really well. All the women were very encouraging. We got tons of baby stuff. It's been just amazing to see how God has been showing us and our little one (to come) His faithfulness. Great is HIS Faithfulness!!
We are almost ready to move in with the in-laws and its exciting.
Anyways, this is about it. You all have a good day and I pray that you experience His everlasting love and never ending faithfulness

Changes

2005-04-18T13:48:00.000-04:00

Today is a beautiful sunny day and I am so glad that the snow has disappeared :) Lots is happening here with us. Matthew and I are getting very busy as the time comes closer for our little precious one to arrive. Tonight we are going to St. Caths general hospital for the maternity tour which should be fun. Tomorrow the chapel ladies are throwing me a baby shower which is super cool too :) On Wed I have a doctor's appointment and we get to discuss lots of things regarding delivering and what not! O my, I am so excited and can't believe that times has flown by so fast! I am still enjoying being pregnant. I love feeling the baby kicks and moves. O the LORD is so wonderful!
This coming Friday I will be finished my 9 months of pregnancy! I used to think that the baby is born after 9 months...Not quite true. It takes 36-38, 38-40, 40-42 weeks! Isn't that crazy? I don't think I have that much patience to wait that long! We'll see when our baby decides to arrive. :) So yeah, since We don't have much time left, we decided to move out of our apt (in St. Caths)at the end of this month and migrate with the in-laws. This again, is a blessing because we'd be getting so much help there after the baby has arrived. So our last 2 months before we take off for Pakistan would be spent with our dear family in Welland which excites us. On Sat (16th) 2 of our friends, Anita Clark and Warren came down to see us. It was a blessing to hang out with them for the day. They also helped us move our big stuff which was great. We had goat curry for lunch and then we were off to Niagra Falls. That sure went by fast and we had TONS of fun.
Anyways, I think this is what keeping us super busy but things are going well. God continues to show us HIS Faithfulness and we praise HIM for HIS never ending love and everlasting kindness

Our weekend in Scarborough

2005-04-11T12:01:00.000-04:00

Hello Hello
Matthew and I went to Toronto for the Missionfest (8-9/04/05). The best part was to hang out with the Cuthills in Scarborough. They are Super cool people and I miss them already! :( Their kids are the cutest ever! So yeah, we stayed over at their place and had a great time of fellowship. Hayley and I went to Value Village there and bought ourselves very cool and cheap Pakistani clothes which we wore on Sunday at their church. Not only that, we had samosas (pakistani snack food) and chai as well. Since Hayley and I looked so good and Pakistani we got tons of pictures taken. Here are a few for you to enjoy:

Hayley and I in our pakistani clothes.

My hubby and I.

I will post more pics later on. Anyways, I am still pregnant and in my 34 and a half week:) Those of you who are praying, Thank you very much. God is good and we are blessed to be HIS. O by the way, Matthew and I are moving out of our apartment (in St. Catharines) by the end of this month. This is very exciting for us because we will be moving in with the in-laws and it's super cheap! Besides we get to hang out with them before we depart and they get to be with their grandchild as well. God's works are amazing! So yeah, we'd be there until we leave for Pakistan (2 months). Good things are happening.

On 27th (Wed), we plan to come up to Ptb to speak at Edmison Heights.
Ok, I should go. Will talk soon

Fun Pregnancy

2005-03-30T11:36:00.000-05:00

It's been fun being pregnant. God's been so gracious. Thanks to all who are praying for us. I thnak God for my wonderful husband too who is so good and kind to me. He'll be the best dad ever! He is a ton of fun :)

7 months pregnant.

8 months pregnant. I can't believe that I am in my 9th month!!

My dear mom and cute nephew. We are leaving for Pakistan on June 30th. Can't wait to see my family!

Photos/Peterborough friends

2005-03-18T17:54:00.000-05:00

Jordon, Mel, Me, Luke and Josh, hanging out at KLBC.

Having dinner at Curry Village (Ptb) with friends.

Mel Bee and Me.

Me, Aunt Deb and Matthew.

Peter and Dorthy Kerr, Ruth and Matthew.

Rachel and Dan Sargeant, my hubby and me.

A Date to Remember

2005-03-10T14:59:00.000-05:00

You guys want to hear something really cool that happened on Tuesday? Well, Matthew took me on a very special date. The only thing I knew was that we are going to Brampton. Nothing else. It was all supposed to be a great surprise. I tried to guess as much as I could but didn't get any answer right. I was really excited and couldn't wait. So guess what? He took me to the COOLEST Indian restaurant ever!!! It was AWESOME!!! I ate more than he did! :) So my belly looks even bigger now :) Then We decided to go to the 'Silver City's Famous Players' to look for a Washroom since the place we were going to was somewhere around there. So we went in and to my surprise, after using the Washrooms we continued walking in toward the cinema. Then I figured we are watching a movie and it was' Bride and Prejudice'!!!! O I was SUPER excited!! Matthew said it took him a long time to search where it was being played and Brampton was the closest place we could go to. Isn't that awesome? The movie was great and we loved it. I must say that this date is unforgettable! Matthew is SO awesome and he totally surprised me and I loved it! I LOVE him. :)
In other news, yesterday was our first prenatal class. 7-9. It was awesome to meet a bunch of pregnant women and their hubbies. Learned a lot of cool stuff. I can't wait till the next class! I have been feeling awesome! I can't wait till the little baby cookie arrives!!!
I am almost done my 30th week! Only 10 more to go. Woohooo!!:) The baby is getting bigger and I can feel it. It's SO wonderful to know that there is a life growing inside my womb! I just can't get over God's miracles! The baby kicks more frequently and harder but it hasn't hurt yet :) O I love it. I wonder what our baby will look like. Me or Matthew? Or a mixture of both :)
I also got to talk to my wonderful dad on the phone a few days ago. I cried lots too :( I can't wait to see my family!! They are all well and are excited that we are coming home soon. :)
I guess that's all the news I have. This week has been super busy. In about an hour, I am going to go for a walk with our neighbor lady who gives me free piano lessons. That should be fun. Tomorrow we get to see Andy Mack. Yay!! He is a cool dude. :) Hey you all have a fun weekend.

Fun Times

2005-03-04T09:24:00.000-05:00

I think I should try to blog more often. Need to discipline myself. Anyways, it's getting pretty busy here it seems. Time's flying by and I am getting very excited that Matthew and I are going to be parents soon! We were up in Ptb on Tuesday and Wednesday. Had a blast with a bunch of friends. It was good to see our great friends, Josh and Lori, Jen and Jordan, Todd, Aunt Deb, Dan and Rachel, Our Klbs teachers, Braidwood people, Mel Bee (she is so cool)and Of course Ben who was a great surprise to us. Many of them, we hadn't seen for a while so got to hang out with them. The reason to go up there was that Matthew was doing his Pakistan presentation. It went very well and we were greatly encouraged through many of them. Our God is so good. We really needed that encouragement from our friends and God took care of everything. One of our friends, Lydia, gave us a very beautiful baby blanket that she had knitted for our baby. How precious!! Anyways, It was fun. We got home quite late and guess what? I slept (literally) for 24 hours!!!! (edit: 12) Who can believe this? The next morning I for sure felt great! It seems like these days I need more sleep. Getting tired is quite easy :) I like it. Thank you SO much to all who are reading this blog. Most of all, to those who are praying for us. Prayers are working for sure. Glory be to God!

7 months = over!

2005-02-25T18:54:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of me today, at the end of 7 months!

I am so happy today!

2005-02-02T13:16:00.000-05:00

Ok guys this may sound a little crazy but I am going to tell you anyway. I haven't been able to sleep for 3 days. Either my back was soar or my legs were, but last night when I went to bed I noticed that I wasn't feeling that bad. And I had the best sleep ever!! Today is a new day and the sun is shining. I am SO thankful to GOD for the goodnight sleep and then a very beautiful day. What an awesome GOD that we serve! His mercies are new every morning. :) So yeah, my point is that it is easy to take things for granted and not appreciate them. Let's not forget that all good things are from our Father in heaven.
In other news, I am getting really excited about our baby. I have a wonderful husband and now I can't wait to have a wonderful child! O how blessed I am! Every time I feel the baby kick/move, I have a riot :)
We are also getting excited about going home, Pakistan. I haven't seen my family for about more than 3 years and I just can't wait till I see them again! Please pray for us.
So in the past, I used to bathe my cat but I hadn't done that for months. Today I finally decided to do that again. It was FUN! He still liked it. He is so clean right now. :)
Anyways, you all have a wonderful day. Enjoy HIS blessings.

I am SO blessed!

2005-01-28T11:55:00.000-05:00

Hello every one!
Hope every one is well and enjoying life. I am just So happy and thankful that the LORD has blessed me so much with so many wonderful blessings :)O where do I begin? Well, today I am 6 months pregnant! Yup, the 2nd trimester is finally over! :) Both Matthew and I are so happy that we get to be parents soon :) What a miracle it is to have a baby inside my womb! God is SO wonderful and HIS works are amazing. I have been feeling REALLY good. Pregnancy is SO much fun especially if you look at it with a right motive. I know that my pain that I ever had through this and the pain that is to come is worth going through. O I can't wait!!
I am blessed to know that many people out there are praying for me, my husband and our new baby (that's on his/her way). I can see that God is answering all those prayers and has HIS Hand upon us. Thanks to every prayer warrior :)
God is also showing us that HE is not just faithful in providing for our needs but in providing for our baby's needs as well. How awesome! We got a real cool stroller and a baby car seat. Not only that but Matthew's parents got us TONS of cool and cute baby clothes. All things want to make me have a baby right away. If u know what I mean. :)
In regards to my family, they are all well and good. I talked to them on the phone today and it was just wonderful to hear their voices again! I thank God for the phones. Anyways, they are excited that we are finally going home soon, in July!! Woohoo!!! Can't wait to see my beloved family!
O I could just go on and tell you all about my crazy stories and how my LORD is SO good and Faithful to us. Today is such a bright and a sunny beautiful day and I am so thankful to be able to enjoy it :)
In closing, everyone take care. Always remember who our GOD is and who we have become in HIM. HE is ALWAYS Faithful and will never leave nor forsake you. WHY? It's HIS WORD and Promise. Now the question is how much do we actually trust in HIM and in HIS Word...Something to think about.
Anyways, I am done for today. Talk to you soon

Back again

2004-12-29T15:02:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to update you folks on what's going on and how things are here. We are still in St. caths. I am enjoying being pregnant. It's TONS of fun. A few days ago, we got the baby ultra-sound done. It was AMAZING!!! We actually got to see our baby move and we praise God. How exciting and amazing that there is a new life growing inside my womb!! What a wonderful GOD who does miracles!! O I can't wait till this is over and we have our first child in our hands! :o) Thanks to all who remember us in prayers. They sure are working.
For the past week, we stayed at Matthew's parent's place which was a blast! It's SO cozy and comfy there. We got bunch of baby clothes and baby necessities. I got cool maternity clothes. Yay!! Now we are back to our place and are going to be visiting with our friends in Ptb this Friday. I can't wait till our friends up there see me belly!!! :o)
On a side note: My husband is an awesome man. I LOVE him TONS. Thank you Matthew for everything. You are the best!
I guess that's all for now. I am gonna go and have a little rest. Everyone be good and take care.

Blog time

2004-11-08T08:42:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!
It has been a while since I last posted. Life gets so busy with things around you. O well, now I should be able to write a little since I got some time. Life is good because of my God and savior - the Lord Jesus Christ. I notice that when I am not delighting in Him and His Word (in other words, if I lack my total devotion to Him) I feel far away from him. There is no peace in my life, no contentment, no real joy. Instead there is anxiety, fear, and stress...If u know what I mean. My point is that it is because of HIM, in HIM and through HIM that I live. Without Him there is no reason to live. It is all about our wonderful savior who graciously showed His Great love for us. So much that He died on the Cross for me! What a savior! This morning I read a reading from Desiring God and the title was 'Dying for the glory of Christ' . The whole reading is just wonderful. Then near the end he mentions Phili 3:8. Counting everything but loss for the sake of knowing Christ. This passage from God's Word is my favorite one and it's just a great reminder again to remember why I live. It's to reflect the glory of Christ.
Anyways, in other news, God has been good to us and continued to show us HIS Faithfulness and kindness. I got to hear my baby's heart beat for the first time and it was a MIRACLE! So amazing how it is the LORD who gives life. I never understand when people in ignorance do not acknowledge this great miracle of GOD.
Ok, I think I am done. Everyone take care and pray for us
in Christ alone

My Heavenly Father is Faithful

2004-10-05T09:57:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I last wrote in here. Past few weeks have been quite busy but fun as well. From Thursday till Sunday I was visiting with my friend Betty in Mississauga and had a good time there. Meanwhile Matthew went canoeing with the Cook-boys-clan. Anywho, we are both back now which is good :)
In other news, yesterday we found ourselves quite discouraged. We had a few financial struggles and weren't sure how things would work out. We realized that our GOD is Faithful and will NEVER forsake us but at times our weakness was and still often is to forget what the LORD has done for us in the past - His blessings and HIS goodness to us. We humans get all anxious and stressed out just because in our thinking we can do nothing and worry what may happen. We forget our sovereign LORD who is in totally control of all things. Who is aware of all things that come our way. We forget the promises that are found in HIS Word and that's where we fail to trust in HIM and HIS Faithfulness. Anywho, we devoted ourselves to prayer and asked the LORD to be our strength and help us. Sure enough, the LORD answered our praise! HE encouraged us through many good friends. The most amazing thing was that our Christian neighbor came up and both her and I went for a walk and ended up talking about it. I wanted her to pray for us. The LORD really showed me kindness through her. It really hit me how she herself didn't have enough yet she wanted to help us! Since we didn't have enough grocery for this week, GOD through her provided for us quite a few things. How amazing is HIS way of working out all things!! Then she also said that she can give me piano lessons, something I had always dreamed about! Praise GOD! HE wasn't just done with us there. HE continued showing us HIS great mercy. Also, turns out that Matthew got paid since he hasn't been for the past week. Wow!! We were just amazed to see how GOD has provided for us and took care of our matters. How Faithful is the LORD!! Even-though at times we are unfaithful to HIM yet HE remains Faithful. So yeah, just wanted to share this with ya'll to encourage you that our LORD is with us ALWAYS no matter how hard things may look and HE will NEVER let go of us.

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to HIS
riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father
be glory forever and ever. Amen."
Philippians 4:19-20

2004-09-27T08:13:00.000-04:00

The Group

A little update

2004-09-23T16:18:00.000-04:00

Hey there folks,
It's been a while since I posted here but it's crazy to see how life can get sooo busy at times! O well, it's all good and fun. Ya'll heard the great news of me being pregnant. Yes! We are Sooo excited! God is So good to us and we praise Him for His blessings upon us. We can't wait till we have our first born in our laps! Please rememeber to pray for us.
Anywho, I must go back to finish some school work. My beloved husband should be home soon :)
Ruthie

2004-09-17T19:46:00.000-04:00

Hello....me is Ruth!

Graphite Retreat

2004-09-13T09:03:00.000-04:00

So here I am back to my town again. It's always great to be home. Past few days, we were up at Bancroft Bible Camp for our Klbc orientation retreat. It was a blast! Got to meet the new students and hear their testimonies. I find it amazing how the Lord directs each one of us and leads us to where we ought to be. What a wonderful Father who is in total control of all things and who is sovereign! Anyway, I enjoyed my time up there but I am glad to see our kitty (Caedmon the great) again. He seems quite crazy and I wonder if he's gone mad...Perhaps not yet. :) He is too cute.
In other news, God is our Refuge and Strength. He has been our great Comfort and Peace. It really comforts us to know that our heavenly Father works out all things for our good. Praise be to God! We start Awana (Kid's club/programs) today and I am looking forward to it. Pray that God would be glorified through this ministry and that kids may come to know CHRIST. It's gonna be a crazy busy day today but it's all good. Ya'll have a great day. May HIS ever lasting Faithfulness and never ending love be our Comfort
In Christ alone,

Our Canoe Trip

2004-09-07T16:12:00.000-04:00

The long weekend was tons of fun. Both Matthew and I went canoeing with the youth group from our church. It was awesome. I had never gone canoeing before, so I was looking forward to it. Anyway, Kevin and Jim (who sort of directed it) took turns driving one van and Eric (the youth Director) drove the other van. In total we were 11 people. After 4-5 hours of driving, we arrived at Parry Sound, unloaded the vans and got in our canoes.
Man, did we ever keep canoeing! I think it was about 2 hours or more. Then began the portage which was 1 Km. I almost died! We each had to carry a HUGE bag pack and little things. Others carried canoes. About half way through, I cried coz I was all in pain already. The point is that it was TONS of hard work. We canoed again for quite a while and then portaged and canoed and finally we arrived at our beautiful island. O it was amazing!!! We unloaded our stuff and had the fire going. It was a beautiful weather. We ate supper, drank tea/hot chocolate. There was a big rock on our island and we stood on it and enjoyed GOD's beautiful and amazing creation. At night, it was just super cool to see TONS of bright shining stars. Our GOD's Creation is awesome and we praised GOD.
The next day, it was our free fun day. We went canoeing and exploring around. Did a whole lot of other things. Went swimming. Some guys in the evening caught fish and we had a yummy dinner. On Monday we prepared to leave again. By 9:00am we were ready to leave. This time it didn't seem as bad or hard. I was SUPER happy to see our vans again. :) It was over. I had a lot of fun. It sure was a neat and fun experience. Now we are home. I have pain all over me but it's alright. Tomorrow both Matthew and I leave again to go to Graphite for 3 days. It's our orientation retreat from Kawartha Lakes Bible College. Should be fun. Time goes by so fast. It's crazy. Anyways, I should stop here. Peace out

God lifted me up

2004-09-02T11:36:00.000-04:00

It is amazing how GOD brings us HIS encouragement and Comfort to us right when we need it! These past few days have been a bit weird for me. I mean, laziness took over me and in result I stopped growing spiritually. It seemed like there was no desire whatsoever to just sit down and be still. Deep down in my heart, I knew that I need to have my time with my LORD and I need to get back on track but I seemed to be so weak to do anything on my own. I started thinking of the sweet moments of prayer and communion with my LORD and how GOD had not stopped showing HIS goodness and kindness to me throughout all these years. It was a struggle to get back on track. Finally I went into my room and asked the LORD to help me, sustain me and nourish my soul. O our LORD is Faithful. HE lifted me up, encouraged me and revived my soul. It didn't just end there. As I was sitting front of the computer and e-mailing some friends someone knocked on my door. It was a post man. I opened the little package that I got. It was from India! A wonderful missionary lady named Elizabeth had sent me a CD which was called 'Worship'. Right away I listened to it and o wow, the songs were based on the wonderful Psalms that talk about being thirsty and hungry for the LORD, and worship. It almost made me cry to think, that the LORD continued to encourage me and Comfort me. What a wonderful Father I server! HE always knows my anxious heart and knows how to sustain and heal me when I need strength! But then yesterday too was a day of great encouragement for me. My father in law, spoke on Ps 27 and it was beautiful. It is true that the LORD is my Light and my Salvation. Whom shall I fear? So the point is that HE never forsakes us even though when we are unfaithful. When we are weak, HE lifts us up!
In other news, I am reading John Newton's biography and it's wonderful to see how GOD amazingly worked in his life and totally changed him. Our GOD can do all things. So amazing! An-other exciting thing is that we are going up on a canoe trip and we leave Saturday morning. I am very excited. I am sure that I am going to enjoy it lots since my husband told me that it'll be a lot of fun. :)

God is Our Refuge

2004-08-30T14:58:00.000-04:00

Now Playing: Cross Movement - I am that I am
Salam ya'll
It's been a great weekend for us. Both Matthew and I went up to Peterborough to attend John McDermott's Free-concert. We also got to see bunch of our great friends and some of our teachers from Kawartha Lakes Bible College. It was awesome! The Sermon on Sunday was great. The preacher talked about Ps. 46. What a wonderful Psalm! It is So true that the LORD is our Refuge and Strength. Without HIM we cannot do anything. It's is only through HIS grace and Christ that we live. Again without HIM there is no meaning to life, nothing to live for. It is So easy to forget this great truth. To forget HIS kindness and goodness that HE has shown to us in the past. Therefore we are reminded over and over that HE is with us, our stronghold and a very present help in trouble. This really does comfort my heart, the heart that often gets very anxious. How awesome it is to know that the GOD we serve is with us. HE will NOT leave us nor forsake us. He's gotten hold of us and we are secure in HIS Mighty Hands!Praise be to GOD for HIS never ending love and ever abounding Grace and Faithfulness.
In other news, life is great because of my sovereign LORD who has given me a purpose to live for. I am blessed to be HIS daughter and Matthew's wife.
May HIS everlasting Peace rule in our hearts and calm our anxious hearts. May we truly believe that HE is our strength and our Refuge.

Bathing Caedmon the Great!

2004-08-25T14:39:00.000-04:00

Cats are SO cute! I love our Caedmon. He is So nice and TONS of fun. Today after cleaning our house, I decided to bathe Caedmon since he was getting a little stinky and since Matthew was getting allergies. I had always heard that Cats usually don't like to be bathed BUT it is not true in our Caedmon's case. I was a little scared what he might do when I first put him in the water but the moment I put him in the lukewarm water he loved it. He stayed in until I was done bathing him. He tried to get out once, but I wouldn't let him and after that it was great. I was also able to put the cotton balls in his ears so that the water wouldn't go in. Then of course I gave him a little treat. Right now as I type this, he is asleep on my lap. He is SO cute my goodness! Thank you Matthew for buying him. O by the way, last night we had a good sleep because Caedmon didn't bother us at all until it was time to wake up. So great! Anyways, cats are great pets and our Caedmon likes baths.

Pictures of the Kitty!

2004-08-23T18:11:00.000-04:00

I wants chicken, I wants liver, meow-mix, meow-mix, please deliver...

Caedmon The Great

2004-08-23T05:48:00.000-04:00

Guess what guys? My husband Matthew bought me a baby-cat! (Thank you SO much Matthew) We named him Caedmon and he is super cute. The first night he was awesome and slept through the whole night without making any trouble. Woke us up around 6:00 am or 6:30 which was great too because we have been trying to discipline ourselves to get into a habit of getting up early but it hardly worked until our Caedmon the great arrived! Last night we went to bed a little late and our Caedmon wasn't in the mood of sleeping...I guess he was hyper or something to that effect. Anyhow, he woke up quite early. But guess what? Once we did wake up, he went to sleep. I think he is a little crazy BUT we love him. After Matthew left for his work, both Caedmon and I went to sleep and since I was Super tired, I didn't mind sleeping with my cat. He was right beside me and it was SO cute. Anyways, it's great to have our first pet with us. He is TONS of fun to play with and I really wish and hope that we'd be able to take him to Pakistan with us.
well, other than the news of Caedmon the great, all is well. Just had a wedding to attend on Sat. It was beautiful. So awesome how GOD puts 2 people together from totally different places to meet and get married and so on! HIS plans are awesome and wonderful. I am so blessed to be in HIS Mighty Hands

HIS strength is Perfect when all my strength is gone

2004-08-20T10:07:00.000-04:00

Goodmorning ya'll
It is a new day today. So beautiful, bright and breezy. It's just awesome to think how the LORD is in control of all these things! What a wonderful Creator we serve! Anyways, back to my topic. It's funny how at times we feel that we are unable to do the task that God has given us. For example, evangelism, telling the lost souls in the darkness about our precious redeemer and savior - Jesus Christ. Personally I know that this is and should be my burden to tell people what GOD has graciously done for me through Christ but it is sad that at times I don't have enough courage or boldness to speak up for Christ. I feel so weak. I feel weak today especially because I do want to go out and meet some new people today. There is this specific place where I often go and am trying to build relationships with new people so that I may win some for Christ. I do know one thing that my task is to go and share with others, and GOD will do HIS part of saving the lost just as HE did in Acts 2 and saved three thousand souls!! What a Comfort to know that our LORD is Faithful and gives us the strength. It is good to know that His strength is perfect when all my strength is gone. If HE is glorified through my weaknesses then I am blessed to be HIS child and servant. So please pray for me and for each other. We as God's children and His servants must serve HIM faithfully. I hope it made sense what I tried to share with you folks.
May HIS Peace rule in our hearts and calm our anxious thoughts.

Our awesome GOD

2004-08-17T11:59:00.000-04:00

Wow! It's been almost a week since I last wrote in here! It's so easy to get caught up with the different things that are going on in your life. O well, I am here now! Lately I have been thinking about our God and the various ways that He is described as . For example, the Book of Romans talks about GOD as being the God of righteousness (3:21), of righteous judgment (2:2,5), God of both the Jews and the Gentiles {of all} (3:29). It speaks of Him as being the ONLY ONE (3:30), eternal (16:26) and Only wise God (16:27). Our God is awesome and is able to strengthen us (16:25). He is the God of Peace (15:33), and God of Hope (15:13). How wonderful it is to belong to Him and to take refuge in the shadow of His wings (Ps 36:7)! He is the Lord Almighty (Gen:17:1) and we are to abide in the shadow of the Almighty (ps. 91:1).
This morning I read 2 different verses that encouraged me and I would share them to encourage you.

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?..." Gen 18:14
"...All things are possible for him who believes." Mark 9:23

May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and Peace

Delighting in GOD

2004-08-11T17:57:00.000-04:00

Now playing: Be thou my vision

Today is a very beautiful day here in St. Catharines, I think. :) I got a few things done but as soon as the afternoon arrived, I went for what I thought would be a "little" snows but it got to be pretty big actually. I had an awesome sleep but I felt bad. :( O well, next time it shouldn't happen.
So I read Psalm 37:4 today. What a wonderful verse with a great promise! This verse had always been very encouraging to me. It says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and HE will give you the desires of your heart." I had to stop and think what it means to delight in the Lord. I came up a few thoughts. It's perhaps taking joy in the Lord, rejoicing in Him or being happy in the Lord...that sort of idea. But then I wondered what it means to take joy in the Lord. There could be so many ways to answer that but I thought of one way and it is to take joy in Him even where things seems to be going in some other "directions". It's like what the psalmist says in Psalm 46:1: " God is our refuge...therefore we will not fear thought the earth gives way, thought the mountains..." It is to take total confidence in who our GOD is and what He can do. Also we take joy in or delight in Him by obeying His commands which shows my total obedience to God. Once we seek GOD and truly understand even a little bit, we come to realize by the power of the Holy Spirit that we'd want to obey God and hate our sin. As it says to hate what is evil and to cling to that which is good. Only God is good and we are to cling to Him. The last one I thought could be delighting in Him by enjoying HIS presence. Taking pleasure in just being with HIM as we devote ourselves to Him. That would also include our prayer and devotional time with Him. O it's so true what the Psalmist says in Psalm 16:11 : "In your presence there is fullness of Joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore."

Ruth the Cook, signing off.

Cultures are neat

2004-08-10T14:19:00.000-04:00

Now Playing: Billy Joel, Piano man

Alright, I am going to write a bit about cultures...I think. :o) Today I spent quite some time reading "Cultural Anthropology". It's right on in evaluating and observing various cultures/their thoughts, ideas, values and so on. Since I come from pakistan and am in Canada for the purpose of studying at Kawartha Lakes Bible College, I can see and understand the differences between the 2. The Book talks about how at times we don't even take time to think and observe why the certain cultures act/think/eat (and so on) the way that they do. Rather we act in ethnocentrism - the belief that one's own culture is superior to all others. Or viewing the rest of the world through the narrow mind of one's own culture. I remember in the past where people have asked me questions regarding my culture and at times they have just found some of the answeres to be quite weired eventhough they were quite normal to me. Instead of understanding, what often happens is that people consider certain cultural practices to be "uneducated" or "uncultural". O it would be so nice if we'd, instead of making our judgements/assupmtions, understand and take time to observe why certain people do things in a certain way or different than us. I think, observing different cultures help one understand his/her own culture. This also helps us appreciate the various people/cultures/styles around us.
One thing that I really do want to mention is that I am blessed with a wonderful husband, Matthew. I thank God for him. I really appreciate the fact that he understands me, my culture/my people and is willing to learn about us all and be a part of us. This is something that both my dear family in Pakistan I and greatly appreciate. So wonderful!
Anyways, I should get back to my work. I just thought to share how neat cultures are and how much fun it is to observe different cultures/their beliefs and values and so on. I pray that we'd appreciate our cultures and learn from eachother - the good things!
In Christ alone,

Why is God so gracious to me?

2004-08-09T08:18:00.000-04:00

Now Playing: Elton John, Your Song

Asalamwalekum friends! :o)
I really enjoy reading blogs by my buddies AndyMack and Justin Gurr.
Hmmm...I always wonder how and where to start! O yeah, um... we (my husband and I) watched "X-men 1" on Sat. That was so cool. It sure would be neat to know how to do those cool tricks. I wouldn't mind having the metal come out of/through my fingers...I guess. :o)
Anyways, enough about the movies I should get back to my real "title"/ topic. So, yesterday was a day of great conviction for me. At-least that is a sign that the Holy Spirit is still at work :o) Do you people ever wonder why GOD is so good and gracious to you? I do and I did yesterday. Just seeing the displeasing things that I do, I wonder why GOD would not cast me away? Why does HE keep putting up with me? He doesn't have to be merciful to me but HE does. The sermon yesterday was somewhat about humility. Being nice to people instead of demeaning them or belittling them. Man, I am guilty of this! I realize that this world is so self-centered including me. All I want is to please myself. I wonder how often we think of others. I am not by any means trying to put anyone else down but I am speaking about a human nature that I have and so does every one else on this planet who claims to be a human. :) As long as you get the point. Anyways, God's Word is full of HIS great and encouraging promises and therefore we aren't to put ourselves down but to BE very gracious and thankful to our LORD JESUS CHRIST who gave Himself up for us. What an example to follow!! I don't know, all I am trying to say is that God is SO patient with us. I am so glad that our GOD is a GOD of grace and mercy. Peace and Joy and ALL comfort. He is not a GOD who'd leave me and forsake me. His promises are what I am to cling to. He is our Hope. What a comfort in knowing that through Christ, God sees me as a righteous person! What a vast understanding to comprehend! This is what lately I have been challenged with. GOD'S Grace is marvelous and VERY BIG! Ok, that's all for now. May God rule in our hearts as we claim HIM to be our KING
Peace out ya'll :o)

My First Blog

2004-08-06T21:19:00.000-04:00

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea," Psalm 46:1-2

So here I am writing my very first blog! So exciting! :o) Hmm...what shall I write? O yeah me and my coolest husband in the world just finished watching 'The Graet Escape'. That was a wonderful Movie for shizzle. Matthew made the most delicious pizza I've ever had! Honestly, I am not lying this time! :o) Right now I am listening to some Indian music and it makes me feel like home. O by the way, I am a Pakistani Princesses and married to a Canadian prince of mine. God is SO good. I have tasted and seen that the LORD is good for shizzle.
I went to the Mosque in St.Catharines today. It had been a long time since I went back so it was good to see some old Muslim friends. Anyways, I guess that's about it. I should get back to some fun stuff. May the GOD of Grace and peace be with you all.
Peace out! pray lots.