Baptism bawling

I admit, I cry a lot. I cry at movies, and I especially tear up at parent-offspring or loved-ones separation. Bambi's mom dying? Bawled. Message in a bottle? Bawled.

And I also cry at God's grace, His love, His mercy...for everything He is. I cry out of gratitude that He died on the cross in my place. I cry out of shame that He even had to do that. And I bawl my eyes out when I see how REAL He is, in the lives of others. The 6 testimonies at the baptism just had me bawling up a river. One after the other, they came up, each with their own stories of God's work in their lives. Some went through really dark moments, and others didn't. But the thing that tied them all together was that each of them realized their dire need for Jesus Christ in their lives.

I know there's historical evidence for the existence of Christ. I know there are accounts of His miracles, His death, and His resurrection. The thing that proves His existence to me, though, is His transforming work in the lives of countless millions of people, and His transforming work in my own life. He is REAL. And He is so good.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Were we really this nerdy?

It's funny, I spent some time looking over the old high school yearbooks a couple days ago, and just finished watching the MCI Formal video. I'd like to share with you my favourite quote from the video:

Katie: My favourite memory of Martingrove was when we were at Queens and Jeff Wentworth was running around in sine curves, like y=sin x, and if we wanted him to go faster, we'd have to name a faster sine curve.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Were we REALLY this nerdy??? I mean, I know I joke around about the parabola game we played in Rushby's class, but ahahahaha, running around in sine curves, that's a new one!

And speaking of funny, Madagascar was HILARIOUS! A hypochondriacal giraffe (whose birthday gift to the zebra is a rectal thermometer, ahahahah), hippo with wicked dance moves, and psychotic penguins...what more do you need??! AND, can't forget the king of the lemurs singing, "I like to move it, move it, I like to move it, move it" in an Indian accent. Claaaaassic. And even more classic, fun times dancing in the car to rockin' oldies. Man, we grew up with the best music, ahahahaha.

And now I'll leave you with a quote that you may not really find funny unless you understand what a true nerd Nancy is...

"I'd like to say thanks to Mr. Ovas, because I had him in grade nine, and he was the one who made me love science." - Nancy

Am I impulsive?

Nope.

I think sometimes I wish I was spontaneous and impulsive, but I think too much about everything. I wonder if that conflicts with my heart. Anyway, sometimes I think to myself, why can't I let myself make spontaneous, totally crazy decisions, without thinking about the consequences? Am I going to regret not being spontaneous later in life? It's funny, in The Prince and Me (can't believe I'm going to quote from this movie!), the king says to his son, "It is at the end of a man's life that he realizes what was truly important." Will I look back and regret not being more spontaneous and crazy?

Like, why didn't I just buy those cute pink shoes? Ahahahaha. Nooooooo, I'm kidding, not silly, spontaneous shopping decisions. But yeah....sometimes, I wish I would stop trying to be so thoughtful and common-sensical.

Boo-yah York!

Yeah, I was watching The Prince and Me (gotta love the teeny-bopper flicks!), and so much of it was filmed at York! Yeah!

So alright, since it's already half out, I will tell everyone my embarassing story from grade 5. I live in the ghetto, well, the sorta-ghetto. I can see the apartment with the highest homicide rate from my backyard. See, ghetto. Anyway, in grade 5, my 2 other cute asian (wait, is there any other kind?!) friends and I decided to form a club.

Are you ready? It was called.....




The Girls in Da Hood.


Sigh.

I think Boyz in the Hood had just been released. But notice we have Da, not The, as I keep pointing out in my very non-ghetto way of talking. Anyway, the most embarassing part of this was that we wrote this ridiculous rap that we did all the time. It rhymed, but made absolutely no sense. I refuse to print the pathetic lyrics, and I will never EVER utter them out loud again, ever, so consider yourselves VERY priveleged if you happened to hear me say them last night, ahahaha.

So I'm a Girl in Da Hood. AHAHAHAHahahaha. I tried to act tough, but James and Kev laughed at me. :P!

Man, I can't believe how much I love to laugh. I LOVE laughing. I totally thank God for such a deep joy and optimism that I have because I hope in Him. Yikes, I'm uber-happy!

On a more negative note, Boo John Legend for your songs with sketchy lyrics! Stop singing about cheating, BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. :(

Too nice to blog...but I'm addicted

Being at home makes me blog too much. What am I talking about, I blog anywhere.

This weekend was uber-fun for competitions and games, but it was also nice to hear someone speak from God's Word. Our speaker talked about Jesus' compassion, where He healed the man with leprosy and brought a person back to life. He also talked about how fierce Jesus is...He was a man on a mission, and no one was going to get in His way. It's neat especially in Mark 5:1-15 where the demons even acknowledge Jesus' power and have to beg Him not to send them out. He does all this and lives His life in this amazing way...but then the 4th session really got down to the heart of the matter...HOW does He manage to do all this?

He folded His hands in dependence (prayer) first, and only then did He open His hands to serve others.

Our speaker gave so many examples of how Jesus was on His knees in prayer before and after anything He did. It really convicted me of how little I pray, and how little I really trust God for. I think it really relates to all this support-raising that I'm doing. I really need to fold MY hands in dependence and pray about everything I'm doing. THAT'S when I can tap into the most amazing power ever. THAT'S when I can find peace, because I'll know it's not me.

Thanks for reminding me that I'm SUPPOSED to suck at support-raising, Kev! :) Because only when I give up and stop taking over, will He take over.



Yay John Legend and K-Os July 15th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Naoms, bring your camera, we'll figure out something to make this a hilarious outing! ;)

This will brigthen your day...

This will cheer you all up.........










Nah, I'm kidding, I know my beautiful smiling face won't do it for you. As beautiful and smiling as it is. Ahahahahaha. Oh dear.






No, this is the REAL thing that will brighten your day. It's the cutest baby in the world (until I have one)!


OH man, please, this kid is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute. Where do I get one?

I'm really stressed...

To be totally honest, I'm stressed. Support-raising for going a year overseas is nerve-wracking, but I know it's because I keep trying to do it on my own. I know I need to keep a Biblical perspective of money, but it's hard, and I'm so not good at initiating conversations or appointments or gah, anything. Gah gah gah gah. Give me Peace, Lord.

"The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petitition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus."

- Philipians 4:5-7

Competition central

a.k.a. We need to have our own C&C retreat!

The highlight of this weekend was all the competitions we had! Basketball, cake presentation, potato peeling, etc. The classics were the stork competition, where you stand on one foot and aren't allowed to touch anything with your hands or feet. You ARE allowed to pretend kick other ppl to try and make them lose their balance. Naomi was sabotaged by Kevin, who is a cheater (this was also a theme of the weekend!), and that in combination with a corrupt judge (James, tsk tsk), resulted in Kevin actually winning the stork competition. AHAHahahah. Congratulations, stork king!

We also did the cake/dessert presentation again, where I think Naomi should have won, but it was close. Once again, Kevin cheated by using illegal ingredients. And the funniest competition of all was presented by Jess, who suggested we all stick our arms in the air straight up to see who could keep them like that for the longest. My fingers started to go cold, but I was sticking it out, when the ppl who already lost decided it would be fun to bounce a huge bouncy ball off of us. Ahahahaha, now, when your hands are in the air, there's no defending yourself. It was pretty hilarious. I'll have to post pics later. Once again though, Kevin cheated, so really, I think I should be the winner of this competition. He totally PUSHED MY ARMS DOWN! I know, gasp.

Other highlights include "Holla back girl" ahahahah and the shopping cart move, as well as Laura's shoplifter move. AHahahahah. And Benny politely asking the girls to attempt to be quiet, as our noise travelled not only through OUR cabin walls to outside, but also through THEIR cabin walls INTO their cabin. AHahahahahaha.

I have discovered what a medical romance is, exactly, and let me just say that who KNEW a tan could be described as the colour of nutmeg, that hair could be the colour of fresh corn (how ROMANTIC! AHAHAHAHhaah), and that you could have blocked saliva ducts. Now THAT is an unfortunate unfortunate medical problem. I didn't actually read it, I just looked for classic highlights like the ones above. Ahahahaha. BLOCKED SALIVA DUCTS! OH man. I don't know which is worse...this one with all these cliche lines, or the title of a different story, Baby of Shame. AHAHAHAHA. PLEAAAAAASE, stop the medical romance madness. Ahahahaha. I don't know how you do it, Naoms!

More great learning experiences later! :)

What IS MARRIAGE THEN?!?!

I read in the newspaper yesterday that the divorce rate in the States is up to 60%!!!! Can you even believe it? Honestly, what in the world is the purpose of marriage nowadays anyway! People move in together before they're married, so obviously it's not just to move in together. It used to mean commitment for life, but with a divorce rate that high, obviously that's not what it means. But marriage IS supposed to be life-long committment. It's supposed to mean, yeah, having your first opposite-sex roommate. It's supposed to mean that you don't go running off to get a divorce at the first fight. I mean, there ARE cases in which I think ppl can be divorced and should be divorced, but HONESTLY, these easy divorces nowadays just make it too easy for people not to work through their problems. John Legend sums it up so well (Yay, been on a John Legend kick lately...he's coming to concert...anyone wanna go??? Haha, and Billy Corgan goes on sale tmw, gee, wonder who'll be first in line!).

Stay with you

We've been together for a while now

We're growing stronger everyday now

It feels so good and there's no doubt

I will stay with you as each morning brings sunrise

And the flowers bloom in springtime

All my love you can rely

And I'll stay with you

Oh I'll stay with you through the ups and the downs

Oh I'll stay with you when no one else is around

And when the dark clouds arrive

I will stay by your side

I know we'll be alright

I will stay with you

Though relationships can get old

They had a tendency to grow cold

We have something like miracle

Yeah, I'll stay with you

Oh I'll stay with you through the ups and the downs

Oh I'll stay with you when no one else is around

And when the dark clouds arrive

I will stay by your side

I know we'll be alright

I will stay with you

And there will be heartaches and pains, yes it will

But through it all, we will remain

In this life, we all know

Friends may come, they may go

Through the years I knowI will stay

And in the end I know that we'll find

Love so beautiful and divine

We'll be lovers for the lifetime, yeah

And I'll stay with you

I will stay with you

If John Legend can sing about it, we can do it. Ahahahahaha. Anyway, I guess I just love seeing married people who admit they've had problems but have worked through them. And that's not to say they'll never have another problem in their marriage ever, but when you commit to be married, you commit to working through those problems with each other. So goodness, PLEASE, don't add to these ridiculous divorce statistics! Working through problems in marriage is great, because if you don't and decide to get divorced because you can't work through them, well, most likely those things will follow you into other relationships, anyway.

And as a disclaimer, I am single, so I really don't know what it's like to be married...but I know married people who talk about this, so I feel slightly informed. Anyway, so please forgive me if I sound misinformed or sound like I think things are so easy (i.e. have a problem, work it out, etc.). I know they're not. They require work. So I just think we should commit to working it all out.

My York crew!

I don't feel like I blog a lot about my York crew, so here they are! :)

Matt's joining CCC, too! :)

Yay, me and Becky! I love you Becky! And yay, Charlene! :)

Amanda in the middle, is in East Asia where I'll be next year! And Jen and Mel in this pic are off in the fields, too!

A regular Thursday at York...

And this is Danielle. She makes the best apple dip in the entire universe. It's a cream cheese, sugar, caramel, Skor bit concotion that makes any apple taste GREAT!

Random ramblings

Guess who got a response from her MP? Yes! Moi! I think I'll frame it. Ahahahahahaah.

I love conversations where you just KNOW God was glorified. Love 'em!

I need to stop saying, "Never" because God has a sense of humour, and He'll just put me in a situation where I can't say, "Never".

Sweet family stories make me tear up.

I love the church ladies.

Gas lawnmowers have to have their engines primed (OKAY, HOW was I supposed to KNOW this??? I tell my inept lawn-mowing story, and EVERYONE says, "Didn't you prime the engine?"). NO I did not prime my engine because I am an inept-grass-cutter. But I know now what to do. Oh, and another tip, clean up those pesky branches before you cut. Hmmmm...

I think I bruised my upper spiney bones from too much weight on the bar, owie.

Retreat this weekend! :) I'm having some difficult talks with ppl...prayer for wisdom would be muchos appreciated!

"You can't be half Christian. You either are or you aren't. That's like saying you're half pregnant." - Brian Doerkson. So make your choice already.

A Perfect Eternity

I heard Michael Coren speak recently and first, he is hilarious (but then again, I laugh at everything) and politically outspoken, which I love, but second, he said some fantastic things.

"God doesn't guarantee a good life...He guarantees a perfect eternity."

Most of his talk, though, was centred around the question, "Are you complete?" Do most people think they are complete? Are they content with their lives? But REALLY, are you REALLY complete?

I think it's so amazing to be able to say that YES, I AM COMPLETE! At times when things seem to be falling apart, I can say for certain that there are Strong, Capable Hands holding me together. And though I may crack, I will not ever completely crumble. I was made complete when I accepted that nothing I could ever do on my own would ever make me deserving of spending eternity with God. I was made complete when I accepted the free gift He held out to me, His gift of forgiveness. I can't be complete on my own.

So, are you complete?

I am.

I love thuglums

As pointed out by a few people, I like to make up new words, and this is my newest: Thuglums. It's derived from the English words thug and hoodlum. Fill in the rest. ;) Anyway, my inspiration for this word came from the kids I met today tutoring. Aaaaattittttuuuuude! Ahaahha, but I think they're great already, even though they won't do homework and just talk to each other. I'm praying this'll be a safe place for them to learn to work hard, and to experience God's love. I think it'll be super-hard. But I love it, even though some of these kids aren't much more mature than my grade fives. They were all giggling at a diagram of ovaries today. Oooooooooh boy. But yeah, it's interesting to be back in the same kind of environment I grew up in. It's a lower income area, and I know all those kids really come to play ball, just like in my area. I think I'm going to go pay a visit to my middle school teachers for some teaching tips.

Today made me feel old though. These guys are so young! Plus I was dead tired from working out (not even crazily, I'm just super-unfit!). Thanks for putting up with the whining, Cosma. I swear one day I'll be a lean, mean, running machine, and maybe I'll be fast enough to run away from geese.

"Come out, your teacher's at the door..."

Imagine with me if you will...you're at home, relaxing after causing a ruckus at school, when suddenly, there's a knock at the door, and it's your teacher (make that TWO teachers) standing at the front door.

This was the scene Friday night. First, I had a rough week. My kids were hyper, but one in particular was just testing me. None of the kids did their homework, and it was just crazy. Anyway, we sat down and had a class discussion on it all on Friday, and then I dismissed them, except for one kid who was supposed to have a detention with me. Anyway, he's there for maybe 10 minutes, when he decides he doesn't want to be there. He looks at me and inches towards the door, smiling his creepy smile. I ask him to sit down and he does. But then he gets up later again, and this time he SHOOTS out the door and runs down the hall, picking up his bag on the way. Laughing the whole way. GAHHHHH I was so upset. All my kids left and I had a cry about how I totally felt like I can't be a teacher. It was rough. Anyway, he's at risk of being kicked out of the school, so I didn't know what to do exactly. My teacher came back and came up with the suggestion that we go visit him and either make him serve his detention right outside his house, or make sure he understands that he can't just run off, etc.

Which brings me to the scene where my teacher and I stood outside his door and let him know he'd be making up the time big-time. I can't even believe I visited a student's house as a student teacher. CRAZY. So that was my Friday. I was really upset all that night. I was tired, and all I wanted to do half the time was cry. Being tired can really make a girl emotional! So that was Friday, and he's still driving me nuts. It's May, and it's not like he had a lot of motivation to work in the first place, but he's just really distracted and lazy right now. I wish he would try. He's a smart kid. WHat's the problem?!?!?

Being Politically Active!

I just wrote an e-mail to my M.P. Roy Cullen concerning a Bill, which I'm quite upset at the guy about. I thought he voted Nay, but apparently he voted Yea, big boogerhead. Anyway, since I know all about government now that I've taught it, and because I'm talking to my kids about rights and responsibilities, I thought I'd exercise my freedom of speech and write to him to give him a piece of my mind. It was fun! I'm sure he won't write back personally or anything, but I think this beats e-mailing celebrities (wink, wink), because I'm doing my part to change the future of Canada! My little, itty, bitty part. Yes. I love voting!!!