My cat, Robin, and I
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Readjustments
Oh Canada, my home and native land...it's nice to be home but at the same time very strange. I had a few side knocks today from things I had forgotten about in good ol'
Canada.
When Ann came to pick us up from the airport I immedietly went to the left hand side of the car to get in but over here that's the drivers side. Ann just laughed and said "you're not in England anymore Jenny"
Crossing the road is throwing me off. I've gotten so used to having to look right first because the oncomming traffic comes from that direction in England. Also I walked to the local corner store to rent a film - oh by the way, Steve and Heather you can rest assured that your debt for Hoodwinked has now been payed off! Thanks for thinking of me and leaving me a wondeful welcome home present in advance!! ;) lol - and I counted out the change I needed for the film and some water and got to the counter only to find my total wasn't correct. I'd forgotten about tax!! Grrrr.
Lastly I didn't know which mail box was ours. We have to collect the mail from a collection of post boxes at the end of the street. Each person has a key for their box and I went to collect the mail and had no idea which one was ours. I started randomly sticking the key in trying to guess at which one it would be but decided I should stop when people nearby started giving me strange looks.
It's great to be home but still very weird. I was saying to someone today that it's very surreal because everything immedietly comes back to you as the natural (aside from crossing the road and tax) but driving on the right side and the way houses look and which direction lights switch and stuff. But at the same time it feels like a bit of a jolt to the system. I've had two years of learning to undo these natural tendancies and when they just re-emerge like nothing's happened it makes me feel slightly disjointed.
I had an interesting night last night. I tried to stay awake as long as I could and made it until about 9. I decided that I couldn't stay up any longer as I wasn't fully aware of what I was doing anymore. I ended up passing out on my bed and was jolted awake about midnight by my cats crawling around on my bed. Then I heard the loudest sound I'd heard in a long time...thunder! There was so much of it and lightening too! Because I was so tired I had myself convinced there was a tornado coming! I then decided that if there was one there was nothing I could do about it so I crawled back into bed and figured that God would take care of it if there was one!
I woke up this morning about 6 and couldn't fall back asleep because I was paranoid that Stephen would sleep in and be late for his day camp. All the clocks had reset during the night because of the storm so I lied in bed trying to work out the time difference with my phone from England and then set the alarm to wake me up at what I had worked out to be 7 our time. Jet-lag does strange things to you!
After I dropped Stephen off I went for a run, I hadn't gone for almost 2 weeks so was starting to feel a bit lethargic. I then showered and got ready for the day and cleaned the kitchen. I had this all accomplished by about 11 and wasn't sure what to do with myself!! I'm never up early enough to accomplish that much in a morning and if I am I usually just lie around being lazy. I think I'll have to make sure I do more of that tomorrow.
I got roped into speaking at the day camp at Trinity Bible Church next week. The age group is 10 -14 year olds and the ladies asking me said they figured I was the expert in youth and thought they'd ask me to share about England. I'm doing that next Thursday so I'll have to prepare something for that.
Hmmm what else can I talk about...OH! How about wasabi ice cream. Just a little story for you from last week.
My last night in England Tim and Anna took me, Steve and Heather, Stephen, Lisa and Francesca to this amazing Japanese restaurant in Newcastle. It was fantastic! You ordered what you wanted to eat before you sat at the table and then when you sat down it was around this massive hot plate where the chef brought your uncooked food and prepared it for you right before your eyes. It was great! I had the fillet steak and Anna had a duck breast and we shared the two. YUMMY!
For dessert they had a selection of rather interesting ice creams. Black sesame seed ice cream, green tea ice cream and wasabi ice cream. I'd had green tea ice cream before so I thought that I'd try something new being the adventurous person that I am. I asked what wasabi was and our server said she couldn't describe it for us in English but that it was nice and not too sweet. I decided to give it a go. This massive dish of yellowish ice cream came out and I took a good size spoonful and tasted it. It was DISGUSTING! It tasted like horseradish. Not too sweet was an understatement. It burned up my nose!! Everyone else gave it a try and the combination we came up with was English mustard and horseradish. I ended up having the green tea ice cream instead.
When we got back home Heather and I looked up wasabi on google and found that it is one of the hardest plants to grow. It is a plant used to spice asian foods and has a very distinct flavour. Because it is so hard to grow, many people have started substituting horseradish and mustard because they are very similar in flavour. We hit the nail on the head with our descriptions of it! Not something I'll be ordering again!
Canada.
When Ann came to pick us up from the airport I immedietly went to the left hand side of the car to get in but over here that's the drivers side. Ann just laughed and said "you're not in England anymore Jenny"
Crossing the road is throwing me off. I've gotten so used to having to look right first because the oncomming traffic comes from that direction in England. Also I walked to the local corner store to rent a film - oh by the way, Steve and Heather you can rest assured that your debt for Hoodwinked has now been payed off! Thanks for thinking of me and leaving me a wondeful welcome home present in advance!! ;) lol - and I counted out the change I needed for the film and some water and got to the counter only to find my total wasn't correct. I'd forgotten about tax!! Grrrr.
Lastly I didn't know which mail box was ours. We have to collect the mail from a collection of post boxes at the end of the street. Each person has a key for their box and I went to collect the mail and had no idea which one was ours. I started randomly sticking the key in trying to guess at which one it would be but decided I should stop when people nearby started giving me strange looks.
It's great to be home but still very weird. I was saying to someone today that it's very surreal because everything immedietly comes back to you as the natural (aside from crossing the road and tax) but driving on the right side and the way houses look and which direction lights switch and stuff. But at the same time it feels like a bit of a jolt to the system. I've had two years of learning to undo these natural tendancies and when they just re-emerge like nothing's happened it makes me feel slightly disjointed.
I had an interesting night last night. I tried to stay awake as long as I could and made it until about 9. I decided that I couldn't stay up any longer as I wasn't fully aware of what I was doing anymore. I ended up passing out on my bed and was jolted awake about midnight by my cats crawling around on my bed. Then I heard the loudest sound I'd heard in a long time...thunder! There was so much of it and lightening too! Because I was so tired I had myself convinced there was a tornado coming! I then decided that if there was one there was nothing I could do about it so I crawled back into bed and figured that God would take care of it if there was one!
I woke up this morning about 6 and couldn't fall back asleep because I was paranoid that Stephen would sleep in and be late for his day camp. All the clocks had reset during the night because of the storm so I lied in bed trying to work out the time difference with my phone from England and then set the alarm to wake me up at what I had worked out to be 7 our time. Jet-lag does strange things to you!
After I dropped Stephen off I went for a run, I hadn't gone for almost 2 weeks so was starting to feel a bit lethargic. I then showered and got ready for the day and cleaned the kitchen. I had this all accomplished by about 11 and wasn't sure what to do with myself!! I'm never up early enough to accomplish that much in a morning and if I am I usually just lie around being lazy. I think I'll have to make sure I do more of that tomorrow.
I got roped into speaking at the day camp at Trinity Bible Church next week. The age group is 10 -14 year olds and the ladies asking me said they figured I was the expert in youth and thought they'd ask me to share about England. I'm doing that next Thursday so I'll have to prepare something for that.
Hmmm what else can I talk about...OH! How about wasabi ice cream. Just a little story for you from last week.
My last night in England Tim and Anna took me, Steve and Heather, Stephen, Lisa and Francesca to this amazing Japanese restaurant in Newcastle. It was fantastic! You ordered what you wanted to eat before you sat at the table and then when you sat down it was around this massive hot plate where the chef brought your uncooked food and prepared it for you right before your eyes. It was great! I had the fillet steak and Anna had a duck breast and we shared the two. YUMMY!
For dessert they had a selection of rather interesting ice creams. Black sesame seed ice cream, green tea ice cream and wasabi ice cream. I'd had green tea ice cream before so I thought that I'd try something new being the adventurous person that I am. I asked what wasabi was and our server said she couldn't describe it for us in English but that it was nice and not too sweet. I decided to give it a go. This massive dish of yellowish ice cream came out and I took a good size spoonful and tasted it. It was DISGUSTING! It tasted like horseradish. Not too sweet was an understatement. It burned up my nose!! Everyone else gave it a try and the combination we came up with was English mustard and horseradish. I ended up having the green tea ice cream instead.
When we got back home Heather and I looked up wasabi on google and found that it is one of the hardest plants to grow. It is a plant used to spice asian foods and has a very distinct flavour. Because it is so hard to grow, many people have started substituting horseradish and mustard because they are very similar in flavour. We hit the nail on the head with our descriptions of it! Not something I'll be ordering again!
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
A Tale of Technical Difficulties
So after a very long delay, about 42 hours to be exact, I have finally made it home to Canada. What an incredible crazy last two days! I had no idea that a simple flight home was going to turn into the longest delay I have ever experienced flying. I thought I had a bad job of it when I flew home in December with Air France. This one is definitely the new champion.
Stephen and I had no idea what we were in for when we once again started the trek to Glasgow with Steve and Heather. After they dropped us off we made our way through security and proceeded to our gate. We settled down and waited for our flight. Soon enough we were boarded onto the plane belted up and ready to go. The engines were running and it looked like everything was going to proceed as normal when suddenly the engines were turned off and our ears were greeted with an announcement from the Captain:
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your flight captain speaking, I’m afraid that there will be a slight delay in taking off but we hope to be with you shortly and up and running within 10 minutes or so”
Well 10 minutes turned into half an hour. Then we heard the next announcement:
“Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain once again. I’m afraid that we are experience a slight technical difficulty with the aircraft. It seems that one of the ignition systems isn’t running properly. We are bringing some technicians out to troubleshoot the problem and hopefully we’ll be in the air as soon as we can.”
Another hour later!
“Ladies and gentlemen we appreciate your patience in this matter. We are all in the same boat and want to get in the air just as much as you. It’s taking a lot longer to assess the problem than we anticipated so for the time being we are going to ask you deplane and you will be issued food vouchers and we will let you know what’s happening as soon as we can”
Our flight was supposed to leave at 3:00 but at 8:00 Stephen and I were standing in a line trying to redeem our food vouchers.
+004.jpg)
+003.jpg)
(Waiting in the restaurant for news of our flight)
It wasn’t until about 8:30 we were told that the flight would be cancelled completely and that we were to reclaim our luggage and they would sort hotels out for us at the desk in the check in area. So somewhat tired and a bit disgruntled about 272 passengers trooped downstairs as directed.
After receiving our luggage we joined a queue that ended up winding like a snake to the doors to have our accommodation for the evening sorted out. The only problem is that there were about 5 different airport staff floating around saying 5 different things. What was even more disturbing was the news that the search to provide hotel rooms for us all was proving very difficult as there didn’t seem to be any available! There was a medical convention going on that weekend in the city, as well as some sort of festival and a golf tournament. By the time 10:00 rolled around we decided that we would just camp at the airport. I’ve done it before, four times to be exact, and I knew that I would survive. We managed to group with another girl named Anna from Montreal. She was quite upset while we were claiming our bags so I said she could stick with me and my brother if she wanted. The three of us were given some more food vouchers and then took our things upstairs to camp for the night. We ended up parking in a small café area in the food court upstairs and slept in these padded bucket type chairs that we pushed together. It wasn’t very comfortable at all but finally I discovered that I could sleep if I lied on my back and let my feet hang out over the edge of the chair. I think I managed about 3-4 hours sleep. I woke up at 4ish completely starving and set out to use some of my voucher money.
+006.jpg)
+007.jpg)
+009.jpg)
(Sleeping in the chairs)
We had been told that our flight would be leaving at 1:00 and that we should check in our bags at 11. We went down at 10 since we were tired of sitting in these chairs, checked in and found our gate.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly and the plane showed up as well as the cabin crew. We were sitting there talking about how we were so relieved to finally be able to get home and sleep in a real bed and laughing about how ridiculous it would be if once again we got on and we heard the captain come on and announce the same thing!
Well…..sure enough, we hadn’t been boarded and ready to go for 10 minutes when the engines shut off again and once again we heard:
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain, unfortunately we are having another technical problem….”
Again, we had to deplane and wait in the lounge until we knew what was happening. We were told we would have an update at 4 and were handed some more food vouchers. I managed to find a phone charger so I was able to call people to let them know what was happening. At 4 we were told we would know in about half an hour. Finally at about 5 we were once again told our flight was cancelled but this time they would be bussing us to Edinburgh to stay in hotels there. We were to reclaim our luggage and head to the transit desk again.
This time we had a group plan! Stephen and I got the bags while Anna stood in line with our boarding passes to get us all a room. We managed to get near the front and had our rooms sorted out for us to stay at the Mariot hotel in Edinburgh. We then put our bags onto a bus and traveled to Edinburgh.
+011.jpg)
(Stephen and I on the bus to Edinburgh)
I was so glad to see a bed! We received a free meal in the hotel restaurant and Stephen went for a swim. I forgot to bring a bathing suit so I couldn’t swim but I was able to relax in the room. It was a very nice hotel and the beds were comparable to the one I stayed in at the Hilton in Boston.
The next set of information we received regarding our flight was that it was leaving at 9:10 the next morning and that we would be picked up from the hotel at 6. I was so excited. By this time I just wanted to get home as soon as I could! Not wanting to be late Stephen and I arranged for a wake up call at 5. We got down to the lobby by 5:45 and were ready and waiting. Just when you’re thinking it couldn’t get any worse….at about 7 one of the hotel staff came outside and said:
“Ladies and gentlemen I’m afraid there has been a delay..!!!!”
We didn’t end up leaving the hotel until about 8!! Insane isn’t it! We got to the airport for 9 and all pretty much ran off the bus to collect our luggage and run to the check in desk. There was only one staff member running it so it was moving very slowly. Apparently the airport staff had received word that we had been picked up on time, just a slight miscommunication!! In fact we even made the paper!
+012.jpg)
(Outside the hotel, waiting for the buses)
+013.jpg)
Despite the madness we did end up leaving that morning, though not at 9:10. We did get away for 10:20. Because of the way the schedule worked out and because they’d flown a new aircraft out for us to fly on we ended up flying directly to Ottawa first!! We were meant to stop in Halifax first and then Ottawa.
And the goodness from this madness you ask! Well because the delay was like 42 hours long, a rep from Zoom came on the airplane when we landed in Ottawa explaining we would be given letters of apology and a bit of compensation. When I got my letter I was so excited because everyone was given a free return trip with Zoom to be used within the next two years! This means that I don’t have to worry about how to pay for my plane ticket back to England in September and that I have a flight home for Christmas!! What a blessing out of crazy circumstances. I know a lot of people were muttering and laughing about the fact that they gave out a free trip when they’d never be flying with them again. Really though, I’m glad that I didn’t fly on an airplane that had problems and they staff really did do the best they could to accommodate us in such crazy circumstances. I really think God’s hand was very much in the entire situation.
Anyway, I’m home, safe and sound! I hopefully never have a tale to top that one. I don’t know what else could really and I’m scared to ask or think about it.
Tonight Stephen is taking me out for a meal since we haven’t had a decent one in almost three days!! He’s such a sweet brother. He brought me flowers into work one day while he was in England with me. What a cutie!
Stephen and I had no idea what we were in for when we once again started the trek to Glasgow with Steve and Heather. After they dropped us off we made our way through security and proceeded to our gate. We settled down and waited for our flight. Soon enough we were boarded onto the plane belted up and ready to go. The engines were running and it looked like everything was going to proceed as normal when suddenly the engines were turned off and our ears were greeted with an announcement from the Captain:
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your flight captain speaking, I’m afraid that there will be a slight delay in taking off but we hope to be with you shortly and up and running within 10 minutes or so”
Well 10 minutes turned into half an hour. Then we heard the next announcement:
“Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain once again. I’m afraid that we are experience a slight technical difficulty with the aircraft. It seems that one of the ignition systems isn’t running properly. We are bringing some technicians out to troubleshoot the problem and hopefully we’ll be in the air as soon as we can.”
Another hour later!
“Ladies and gentlemen we appreciate your patience in this matter. We are all in the same boat and want to get in the air just as much as you. It’s taking a lot longer to assess the problem than we anticipated so for the time being we are going to ask you deplane and you will be issued food vouchers and we will let you know what’s happening as soon as we can”
Our flight was supposed to leave at 3:00 but at 8:00 Stephen and I were standing in a line trying to redeem our food vouchers.
(Waiting in the restaurant for news of our flight)
It wasn’t until about 8:30 we were told that the flight would be cancelled completely and that we were to reclaim our luggage and they would sort hotels out for us at the desk in the check in area. So somewhat tired and a bit disgruntled about 272 passengers trooped downstairs as directed.
After receiving our luggage we joined a queue that ended up winding like a snake to the doors to have our accommodation for the evening sorted out. The only problem is that there were about 5 different airport staff floating around saying 5 different things. What was even more disturbing was the news that the search to provide hotel rooms for us all was proving very difficult as there didn’t seem to be any available! There was a medical convention going on that weekend in the city, as well as some sort of festival and a golf tournament. By the time 10:00 rolled around we decided that we would just camp at the airport. I’ve done it before, four times to be exact, and I knew that I would survive. We managed to group with another girl named Anna from Montreal. She was quite upset while we were claiming our bags so I said she could stick with me and my brother if she wanted. The three of us were given some more food vouchers and then took our things upstairs to camp for the night. We ended up parking in a small café area in the food court upstairs and slept in these padded bucket type chairs that we pushed together. It wasn’t very comfortable at all but finally I discovered that I could sleep if I lied on my back and let my feet hang out over the edge of the chair. I think I managed about 3-4 hours sleep. I woke up at 4ish completely starving and set out to use some of my voucher money.
(Sleeping in the chairs)
We had been told that our flight would be leaving at 1:00 and that we should check in our bags at 11. We went down at 10 since we were tired of sitting in these chairs, checked in and found our gate.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly and the plane showed up as well as the cabin crew. We were sitting there talking about how we were so relieved to finally be able to get home and sleep in a real bed and laughing about how ridiculous it would be if once again we got on and we heard the captain come on and announce the same thing!
Well…..sure enough, we hadn’t been boarded and ready to go for 10 minutes when the engines shut off again and once again we heard:
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain, unfortunately we are having another technical problem….”
Again, we had to deplane and wait in the lounge until we knew what was happening. We were told we would have an update at 4 and were handed some more food vouchers. I managed to find a phone charger so I was able to call people to let them know what was happening. At 4 we were told we would know in about half an hour. Finally at about 5 we were once again told our flight was cancelled but this time they would be bussing us to Edinburgh to stay in hotels there. We were to reclaim our luggage and head to the transit desk again.
This time we had a group plan! Stephen and I got the bags while Anna stood in line with our boarding passes to get us all a room. We managed to get near the front and had our rooms sorted out for us to stay at the Mariot hotel in Edinburgh. We then put our bags onto a bus and traveled to Edinburgh.
(Stephen and I on the bus to Edinburgh)
I was so glad to see a bed! We received a free meal in the hotel restaurant and Stephen went for a swim. I forgot to bring a bathing suit so I couldn’t swim but I was able to relax in the room. It was a very nice hotel and the beds were comparable to the one I stayed in at the Hilton in Boston.
The next set of information we received regarding our flight was that it was leaving at 9:10 the next morning and that we would be picked up from the hotel at 6. I was so excited. By this time I just wanted to get home as soon as I could! Not wanting to be late Stephen and I arranged for a wake up call at 5. We got down to the lobby by 5:45 and were ready and waiting. Just when you’re thinking it couldn’t get any worse….at about 7 one of the hotel staff came outside and said:
“Ladies and gentlemen I’m afraid there has been a delay..!!!!”
We didn’t end up leaving the hotel until about 8!! Insane isn’t it! We got to the airport for 9 and all pretty much ran off the bus to collect our luggage and run to the check in desk. There was only one staff member running it so it was moving very slowly. Apparently the airport staff had received word that we had been picked up on time, just a slight miscommunication!! In fact we even made the paper!
(Outside the hotel, waiting for the buses)
Despite the madness we did end up leaving that morning, though not at 9:10. We did get away for 10:20. Because of the way the schedule worked out and because they’d flown a new aircraft out for us to fly on we ended up flying directly to Ottawa first!! We were meant to stop in Halifax first and then Ottawa.
And the goodness from this madness you ask! Well because the delay was like 42 hours long, a rep from Zoom came on the airplane when we landed in Ottawa explaining we would be given letters of apology and a bit of compensation. When I got my letter I was so excited because everyone was given a free return trip with Zoom to be used within the next two years! This means that I don’t have to worry about how to pay for my plane ticket back to England in September and that I have a flight home for Christmas!! What a blessing out of crazy circumstances. I know a lot of people were muttering and laughing about the fact that they gave out a free trip when they’d never be flying with them again. Really though, I’m glad that I didn’t fly on an airplane that had problems and they staff really did do the best they could to accommodate us in such crazy circumstances. I really think God’s hand was very much in the entire situation.
Anyway, I’m home, safe and sound! I hopefully never have a tale to top that one. I don’t know what else could really and I’m scared to ask or think about it.
Tonight Stephen is taking me out for a meal since we haven’t had a decent one in almost three days!! He’s such a sweet brother. He brought me flowers into work one day while he was in England with me. What a cutie!
Friday, July 14, 2006
The end but only the beginning
This is it. My last day in England before returning once again to Canada for the summer. I thought I'd take a few minutes out of packing to write a few words. Only a few, though, I REALLY need to finish packing.
I can't believe this year has gone by so fast. So much has happened. A lot of which I think I need to sit down and process. This summer will be good for that because I'm hoping to have a lot of time to just be still. I really think I need it so I'm going to try really really hard NOT to get busy during my time at home.
I really have been blessed in so many ways through being in England and by so many people. It's been hard at times and I've been up and down a lot but God has been so faithful. He's been with me every step of the way and He's been stretching me and teaching me new things as I step into new experiences.
As I'm packing this morning I'm finding myself in a state of many different emotions. I'm sad to be leaving, relieved to have a break from the chaos that life can become, anxious to see how everything works out but trying to keep my anxiety in check while trusting God. I'm nervous but excited to see what's going to happen. Please keep me in prayer if you think about me at all.
I will see some of you soon and I will see some of you guys in September.
Much, much love and blessings
Jenny*
...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil 1:6
I can't believe this year has gone by so fast. So much has happened. A lot of which I think I need to sit down and process. This summer will be good for that because I'm hoping to have a lot of time to just be still. I really think I need it so I'm going to try really really hard NOT to get busy during my time at home.
I really have been blessed in so many ways through being in England and by so many people. It's been hard at times and I've been up and down a lot but God has been so faithful. He's been with me every step of the way and He's been stretching me and teaching me new things as I step into new experiences.
As I'm packing this morning I'm finding myself in a state of many different emotions. I'm sad to be leaving, relieved to have a break from the chaos that life can become, anxious to see how everything works out but trying to keep my anxiety in check while trusting God. I'm nervous but excited to see what's going to happen. Please keep me in prayer if you think about me at all.
I will see some of you soon and I will see some of you guys in September.
Much, much love and blessings
Jenny*
...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil 1:6
Monday, July 10, 2006
Could I
Kim McMechan
Could I just sit here a while
Knowing that there's nothing I need to say
Safe in the knowledge that You know my ways
Love me completely, no need to hide a thing
Could I just sit here a while
Letting You melt away all of my fears
I feel Your comfort when You are so near
I'll hide myself in this shelter You've made for me
Could I
Could I just kneel here a while
Doing what I was created to do
Bowing in reverence, I long to adore You
Willingly giving all that I can surrender
Could I just rest here a while
Letting You whisper my burdens away
In all of my journeys
There's no other place where I find refuge
Strength for my weary heart
Could I
Could I just sit here a while
Knowing that there's nothing I need to say
Safe in the knowledge that You know my ways
Love me completely, no need to hide a thing
Could I just sit here a while
Letting You melt away all of my fears
I feel Your comfort when You are so near
I'll hide myself in this shelter You've made for me
Could I
Could I just kneel here a while
Doing what I was created to do
Bowing in reverence, I long to adore You
Willingly giving all that I can surrender
Could I just rest here a while
Letting You whisper my burdens away
In all of my journeys
There's no other place where I find refuge
Strength for my weary heart
Could I
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Free
Free:
Not imprisoned or enslaved; being at liberty.
Not controlled by obligation or the will of another: felt free to go.
Not affected or restricted by a given condition or circumstance: free from need.
Not subject to a given condition; exempt
Not subject to external restraint
Not literal or exact: a free translation.
Costing nothing; gratuitous
Not occupied or used
Not taken up by scheduled activities
Unobstructed; clear
Unguarded in expression or manner; open; frank.
Taking undue liberties; forward or overfamiliar.
Liberal or lavish
Given, made, or done of one's own accord; voluntary or spontaneous: a free act of the will; free choices.
Not bound, fastened, or attached: the free end of a chain.
Foundation - The Basis on which a thing stands, is founded, or is supported
For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?
Psalm 18 v 31
"Whether we admit it or not, there comes for everyone the moment when personal existence must be anchored to a truth recognized as final, a truth that confers a certidude no longer open to doubt." ~John Paul II
And who is the Rock except our God?
Psalm 18 v 31
"Whether we admit it or not, there comes for everyone the moment when personal existence must be anchored to a truth recognized as final, a truth that confers a certidude no longer open to doubt." ~John Paul II
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Countdown
So, the countdown is officially on. In two weeks I will be heading back to Canada. HAPPY CANADA DAY by the way. I did wear red and white today in order to be patriotic. It's unfortunate, though, that since there was an England match on so was everyone else. Oh well, I knew who I was dressing for..."my home and native land!" Probably even more unfortunate is the fact that England lost their game today and so now everyone here is very down and depressed about it. Perhaps I should try to spread some of my patriotic Canadian joy. Or maybe not lol.
This past week has actually been one I enjoyed very much. It's strange because Lisa was away on holiday so it was just Mike and I, but I still enjoyed everything we did. We had our youth club on Friday night and it was my turn to do the talk. I was telling the parable Jesus told about the man who hired people to work in His vineyard and the man hired different people at different times throughout the day and paid them all the same amount. I didn't tell them it was from the bible but just told the story and asked how many of them thought it was fair. They shouted out their answers and started debating in an unorderly and chaotic fashion, as usual, but at least I knew they were listening a bit. I then talked about how that was a story Jesus told and at the end of it He said "the first shall be last and the last shall be first" and I talked about how today people think that those who are "first" are those who have achieved money and status, those who are famous, those who are successful. We think at the end of life it's those people who've had it the best and will go out with an applause. But I then said that none of that was what mattered. What matters is whether or not we have a relationship with Christ, and that it doesn't matter if we're the coolest or best looking or have the most money etc. Jesus came to hang out with the scum of the earth not the important people. What matters is whether or not we've met with him in our lives, no matter our status. I'm not sure how much of that got through to them as I was interrupted about 5 gazillion times in-between what I was trying to say. But I pray that despite the brokenness of my words and probably the tone of frustration that started to rise as a pencil was thrown near my head that somehow God spoke to them through it all. It was the last club for the summer.
As well, I guess I felt I was able to have some really good conversations with Mike. Nothing deeply profound and that I can remember specifically, but just open honesty about everything. It was good.
I'm feeling very content and peaceful at the moment regarding this summer. I know there are still a million things that I need to do, a lot of things still uncertain and yet to unfold, and it will be hard to be away from certain people while I'm back in Canada. I will miss Steve and Heather who I will only really see in transit as they're coming back and I'm leaving, I will miss the Hatch's and Sophie and Francesca, I've loved living with them this year. I've really become such good friends with them. I'll miss Sophie coming into my room and plonking herself on my bed to have a chat and I will miss straightening her hair for her. I'll miss Francesca's eccentric ideas and creative conversations. I'm also going to miss Russell, for who those who don't know and since apparently my reference to him in my last blog was very ***vague*** is a very good friend I met while at Capernwray who I am now going out with. (Was that forward enough ??) lol) It will be good to be home though, to see my family, go to the lake and lie in the sun -mmmmmmm-, to eat Moxie's white chocolate brownie and catch up with everyone back in Ottawa.
Despite the people I'm going to miss and the things I have to look forward and the anxiety that seems to take me up and down emotionally, I know that God has it in control and I can trust Him. I will try my best to keep giving everything to Him and letting His peace, which transcends all understanding, fill my heart and mind. (Phil 4:6)
This past week has actually been one I enjoyed very much. It's strange because Lisa was away on holiday so it was just Mike and I, but I still enjoyed everything we did. We had our youth club on Friday night and it was my turn to do the talk. I was telling the parable Jesus told about the man who hired people to work in His vineyard and the man hired different people at different times throughout the day and paid them all the same amount. I didn't tell them it was from the bible but just told the story and asked how many of them thought it was fair. They shouted out their answers and started debating in an unorderly and chaotic fashion, as usual, but at least I knew they were listening a bit. I then talked about how that was a story Jesus told and at the end of it He said "the first shall be last and the last shall be first" and I talked about how today people think that those who are "first" are those who have achieved money and status, those who are famous, those who are successful. We think at the end of life it's those people who've had it the best and will go out with an applause. But I then said that none of that was what mattered. What matters is whether or not we have a relationship with Christ, and that it doesn't matter if we're the coolest or best looking or have the most money etc. Jesus came to hang out with the scum of the earth not the important people. What matters is whether or not we've met with him in our lives, no matter our status. I'm not sure how much of that got through to them as I was interrupted about 5 gazillion times in-between what I was trying to say. But I pray that despite the brokenness of my words and probably the tone of frustration that started to rise as a pencil was thrown near my head that somehow God spoke to them through it all. It was the last club for the summer.
As well, I guess I felt I was able to have some really good conversations with Mike. Nothing deeply profound and that I can remember specifically, but just open honesty about everything. It was good.
I'm feeling very content and peaceful at the moment regarding this summer. I know there are still a million things that I need to do, a lot of things still uncertain and yet to unfold, and it will be hard to be away from certain people while I'm back in Canada. I will miss Steve and Heather who I will only really see in transit as they're coming back and I'm leaving, I will miss the Hatch's and Sophie and Francesca, I've loved living with them this year. I've really become such good friends with them. I'll miss Sophie coming into my room and plonking herself on my bed to have a chat and I will miss straightening her hair for her. I'll miss Francesca's eccentric ideas and creative conversations. I'm also going to miss Russell, for who those who don't know and since apparently my reference to him in my last blog was very ***vague*** is a very good friend I met while at Capernwray who I am now going out with. (Was that forward enough ??) lol) It will be good to be home though, to see my family, go to the lake and lie in the sun -mmmmmmm-, to eat Moxie's white chocolate brownie and catch up with everyone back in Ottawa.
Despite the people I'm going to miss and the things I have to look forward and the anxiety that seems to take me up and down emotionally, I know that God has it in control and I can trust Him. I will try my best to keep giving everything to Him and letting His peace, which transcends all understanding, fill my heart and mind. (Phil 4:6)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
