I'm so excited, because my friend Kevin is coming back on Friday from his missions trip to Japan. He was there ministering to children and families with an outreach program at a local church. It sounds like it was so much fun. I totally have a heart for Japan, and it's so interesting to hear what they've been up to. The trip is actually now officially over and they're de-briefing, but you can check out the OMF website for their journal entries and pictures.
The latest news in camp stories: The quiet game is popular! Ahahaha, it's hilarious, because a couple of girls in my afternoon class (who are, incidentally, the loudest) decided it would be a great challenge to play the quiet game. It all started because Monica had been jinxed, and the girl beside her kept telling everyone to say her name so she could talk. My assistant and I conveniently decided to forget her name. After that though, they all decided to try not to say anything for the whole afternoon. It was SOOOOOO quiet. I even reverse psychologized them, because they signed that they were going to do it until snack-time, and of course, I said, "I don't think you'll be able to do it." Which made them try harder, of course. Mwahahaha. So once again, weirdly, the quiet game has prevailed. It is so funny that kids love this game sometimes.
Favorite chant of the moment: Beaver chant! "Beaver one, beaver all, let's all do the beaver call. Ch ch ch, ch ch ch! Beaver two, beaver three, let's all climb the beaver tree! Ch ch ch, ch ch ch! Beaver four, beaver five, let's all do the beaver jive! Ch ch ch, ch ch ch! Beaver six, beaver seven, let's all go to beaver heaven! Ch ch ch, ch ch ch! Beaver eight, beaver nine, STOP! It's beaver time!!!!! Ch ch ch, ch ch ch" And it keeps going over and over, but that's the gist of it. It's so fun! And you can replace "beaver" with ANYTHING! "Kenji one, Kenji all, let's all do the Kenji call!" Ahahahaha.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Monday, August 09, 2004
Family Resemblance
I was showing my family pictures from the 2 weddings I went to this summer, and they commented on the fact that the 2 siblings in one picture really looked alike. The thing is, some people think they look totally different. It got me to thinking about my sister and I. Some people swear we look VERY similar. For example, one guy in our anthropology class came up to us one day and asked us if we were twins! (I may have told this story before, now that I'm typing it...) Alright, so apparently there is some family resemblance. Later on in the month, I saw an old friend at York while walking with my sister. I introduce my sister, to which he says, "Adopted sister?" Ahahahahaha. Apparently we look reaaaaaally different. Who the heck can make up their mind!? I think there's a resemblance, but then, I have a bias because I know we're related. Ahahahaha.
Low moment of the day: Cat attack = slight bleeding = sore arm.
Low moment of the day: Cat attack = slight bleeding = sore arm.
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Another weekend update!
It's another fun weekend in the bag! Saturday morning was fun rollerblading times with Ava, Mike and my sister. Mike ran. Mike runs fast. See Mike run faster than Ava and Michelle rollerblading. See sister skating circles around me and Ava. Thank goodness for Ava. Ahahaha. So basically, Ava and I are the slowest rollerbladers in the world. Mike is the fastest runner. And my sister is the fastest blader. Mike and my sister did 12K, although they kept coming back for me and Ava, so it was probably a little longer. Ava and I did 10K. After, we all went to go play tennis. My arm hurts today. Haven't played tennis since grade 10!!!!!!
Today was also really hectic. Church, 2 softball games (YEAH, GO Judges, GO Judges! Judges 1, Judges All, let's all do the Judges call....ahahaha) where I saw a friend from school and talked with a guy who knows another friend from school (hahaha, Chinese Christian community is large, but separation is usually only a degree or two!) a big prayer/commissioning service for my friend Tim who's going to East Asia for TWO YEARS on missions. Oh man, it was so exciting to thing about all the lives he'll impact, the friends he'll make, and the things he'll learn. I am so excited for him! At the service, I saw my newly married friends who seem to be enjoying married life, and I saw Chuck. It was actually good times. The butter tart certainly helped, ahahahaha. Oh man. Food will cure any ailment.
So that's the weekend. Plans for the week? Work. Airport on Wednesday to see my friend who'll be coming back from a missions trip in Japan, Friday will probably be a youth thing, Saturday my friend from Guelph, oh, SORRY, my TWIN from Guelph will be visiting hopefully. Lots of fun stuff. And Happy early b-day Nelson, in case I don't blog that day!
Quote of the weekend: "Maybe guy's gums and girl's gums are different."
P.S. Tom Clancy novel finished; it was fan-diddly-astic
Today was also really hectic. Church, 2 softball games (YEAH, GO Judges, GO Judges! Judges 1, Judges All, let's all do the Judges call....ahahaha) where I saw a friend from school and talked with a guy who knows another friend from school (hahaha, Chinese Christian community is large, but separation is usually only a degree or two!) a big prayer/commissioning service for my friend Tim who's going to East Asia for TWO YEARS on missions. Oh man, it was so exciting to thing about all the lives he'll impact, the friends he'll make, and the things he'll learn. I am so excited for him! At the service, I saw my newly married friends who seem to be enjoying married life, and I saw Chuck. It was actually good times. The butter tart certainly helped, ahahahaha. Oh man. Food will cure any ailment.
So that's the weekend. Plans for the week? Work. Airport on Wednesday to see my friend who'll be coming back from a missions trip in Japan, Friday will probably be a youth thing, Saturday my friend from Guelph, oh, SORRY, my TWIN from Guelph will be visiting hopefully. Lots of fun stuff. And Happy early b-day Nelson, in case I don't blog that day!
Quote of the weekend: "Maybe guy's gums and girl's gums are different."
P.S. Tom Clancy novel finished; it was fan-diddly-astic
Friday, August 06, 2004
Practicing my ASL!
Happy day, yesterday, I actually got to practice my ASL (American Sign Language). One of the volunteers, who was also a camper, has a brother who is deaf and knows ASL. It was really fun to sign with him, although in the spur of the moment, I found I forgot a lot of my signs. I need to practice more. ANyway, today though, the volunteer comes in and tells me his brother liked meeting me because I was perky! Ahahaha, apparently perky even when signing! And another assistant commented on my perkiness today. Am I really that perky? I felt pretty cruddy today. Wow. Perky. That's me! (roll eyes)
Yesterday was also a staff hang-out day where we went to the Putting Edge and challenged each other to some mini-golf. It was okay, but I had been feeling sick since the afternoon, so I wasn't as into it. And, there's something about those psychedelic little paintings and swirls that makes you dizzy after being in there too long. Eighteen holes seemed REALLY long.
That's about it. Why can't I remember any funny kid stories? I laugh at them all day, and when I get home, I can't seem to remember anything!
Latest read: The Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy. AHahaha, I can never get away from Clancy as much as I try.
P.S. I know you're reading this in Romania. Hope your trip is tons o' fun!
Yesterday was also a staff hang-out day where we went to the Putting Edge and challenged each other to some mini-golf. It was okay, but I had been feeling sick since the afternoon, so I wasn't as into it. And, there's something about those psychedelic little paintings and swirls that makes you dizzy after being in there too long. Eighteen holes seemed REALLY long.
That's about it. Why can't I remember any funny kid stories? I laugh at them all day, and when I get home, I can't seem to remember anything!
Latest read: The Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy. AHahaha, I can never get away from Clancy as much as I try.
P.S. I know you're reading this in Romania. Hope your trip is tons o' fun!
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
What's that smell?
I almost forgot to tell you my story from the Jays game day. I was at work and had sat on the ground and realized that I was probably sitting near something quite raunchy, judging from whiffs of gross odor I kept getting. Anyway, I actually attributed it to the wet ground (you know how sometimes the ground smells a little poo-ey after it's rained a lot). Later on, in the car on the way to the Jays game, I caught a whiff of something again. All I thought was, Oh oh. This has happened to me before, where I complained about a room smelling weird and then realizing that as I moved to another room, the smell was still following me. Anyway, I lifted my foot to my face and noticed there was some "mud" caked to the bottom of my foot. Ahahaha, then I took a huge sniff of my shoe. Well, it was a little close because it sure stunk a lot. I stepped in POO! I proceeded to step in many puddles and scrape my foot along the ground in the parking lot, but still kept catching whiffs at the Jays game. I can't believe how often I step in POO! I hate POO! I hate my neighbours dog that POOs on our lawn! BOOOOOO POOOOOO!
Weekend update with Michelle
No politics here, but I had a busy weekend! Sunday was my friend's sister's wedding! I showed up at their house early to help them prep, but after seeing such hecticness, I decided I should elope. Ahahaha, I bet every bride thinks she should have eloped at some point in the planning process. Anyway, I think something about seeing the behind the scenes process of a wedding sort of ruined the ceremony for me. The bride seemed SO stressed! I was supposed to do a reading during the ceremony, but the bride hadn't given me the paper with the reading on it, so last-minute, I realize this and go ask her where it is. I swear she looked like she was going to cry. I hope I never ever feel that way on my wedding day. If something goes wrong, I want to a) not know about it and b) not care about it.
Anyway, the reception was awesome though. They had it at St. George's country club (apparently it costs a hundred grand a year for membership!!!!!!!), so it was really nice. There's a guy from MCI that works there who was pretty funny. He was a good server. We had another guy, Mark, who we called grumpy Mark because Nancy dropped an hors d'oeuvre and he said, "BE careful," kind of menacingly. AHahahaha. On top of that, whenever we said thanks for filling our cups or what-not, he wouldn't even respond. Most of the other servers would nod, or say, "You're welcome" or whatever. But nooooo, not Mark. Because we felt shafted by Mark, we later made fun of his serving skills. The guy was trying to stack plates with the cutlery on it, so that his pile was all crooked. AHahaha. I think he was new. Anyway, funny server Jeff came along with wine every once in a while, and it was hilarious, because he offered the guy beside me wine, and he said, "Are you trying to get me drunk?" AHahahaha. I also want to share my wine experience. Everyone was drinking wine, so I thought to myself that maybe I had pegged wine all wrong and maybe it did taste good with dinner. So, I had some wine poured for me, and decided to drink it with dinner. AHahahahahaha. You know they came around so many times to re-fill wine glasses and never re-filled mine?! I took a sip, thinking it would taste good and almost spit it out. I just don't like it! Ahahaha, I love how I tricked myself into thinking that maybe it tasted good. It was the same thing with champagne. I figured because it was sweeter, that maybe I'd take it a little better, but after a billion toasts, I was just bringing the glass to my lips and then putting it down. Ahahahahah. I really just don't like how alcohol tastes!
Anyway, the funniest part of the night, and the most touching, was the father-of-the-bride speech. The best part was when he started telling a story about how when the bride was a baby, they were going through the airport and the lady at the ticket counter said, "Oh, what a beautiful girl you have! You're going to need a shot-gun to keep the boys away." Then he said, "Well, we didn't get a shot gun, but a machine gun." Ahahaha, if you've ever met Nancy's dad, you'll understand how absolutely hilarious this is. Anyway, apparently he had also told the groom this story about the shot gun when he was asking for Nori's hand in marriage. THe groom remembered thinking, "It's 10 minutes into our lunch, and he's just told me a story about a shot gun. Where is he going with this??" Yeah, good times. I cried a lot. It was really touching.
On Monday I had lunch with a good friend, and had a good hang-out time. I had a bacon and cheese omelette for lunch, and it was deeeelish. I love breakfast foods. Especially greasy breakfast food. I have to say, it was a very memorable day in more ways than the good lunch. :)
Then the instructing fun began for the week. My kids are fantastic in the morning, not-so-great in the afternoon. But it's been good. Lots of good stories that I can't seem to remember at the moment but will update as soon as I remember! Instructing is super-fun though! So much more control. So much more authority.
Anyway, the reception was awesome though. They had it at St. George's country club (apparently it costs a hundred grand a year for membership!!!!!!!), so it was really nice. There's a guy from MCI that works there who was pretty funny. He was a good server. We had another guy, Mark, who we called grumpy Mark because Nancy dropped an hors d'oeuvre and he said, "BE careful," kind of menacingly. AHahahaha. On top of that, whenever we said thanks for filling our cups or what-not, he wouldn't even respond. Most of the other servers would nod, or say, "You're welcome" or whatever. But nooooo, not Mark. Because we felt shafted by Mark, we later made fun of his serving skills. The guy was trying to stack plates with the cutlery on it, so that his pile was all crooked. AHahaha. I think he was new. Anyway, funny server Jeff came along with wine every once in a while, and it was hilarious, because he offered the guy beside me wine, and he said, "Are you trying to get me drunk?" AHahahaha. I also want to share my wine experience. Everyone was drinking wine, so I thought to myself that maybe I had pegged wine all wrong and maybe it did taste good with dinner. So, I had some wine poured for me, and decided to drink it with dinner. AHahahahahaha. You know they came around so many times to re-fill wine glasses and never re-filled mine?! I took a sip, thinking it would taste good and almost spit it out. I just don't like it! Ahahaha, I love how I tricked myself into thinking that maybe it tasted good. It was the same thing with champagne. I figured because it was sweeter, that maybe I'd take it a little better, but after a billion toasts, I was just bringing the glass to my lips and then putting it down. Ahahahahah. I really just don't like how alcohol tastes!
Anyway, the funniest part of the night, and the most touching, was the father-of-the-bride speech. The best part was when he started telling a story about how when the bride was a baby, they were going through the airport and the lady at the ticket counter said, "Oh, what a beautiful girl you have! You're going to need a shot-gun to keep the boys away." Then he said, "Well, we didn't get a shot gun, but a machine gun." Ahahaha, if you've ever met Nancy's dad, you'll understand how absolutely hilarious this is. Anyway, apparently he had also told the groom this story about the shot gun when he was asking for Nori's hand in marriage. THe groom remembered thinking, "It's 10 minutes into our lunch, and he's just told me a story about a shot gun. Where is he going with this??" Yeah, good times. I cried a lot. It was really touching.
On Monday I had lunch with a good friend, and had a good hang-out time. I had a bacon and cheese omelette for lunch, and it was deeeelish. I love breakfast foods. Especially greasy breakfast food. I have to say, it was a very memorable day in more ways than the good lunch. :)
Then the instructing fun began for the week. My kids are fantastic in the morning, not-so-great in the afternoon. But it's been good. Lots of good stories that I can't seem to remember at the moment but will update as soon as I remember! Instructing is super-fun though! So much more control. So much more authority.
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Annoyances and triumphs
I had a highly annoying annoying day yesterday. It rained, so we took the kids in at lunch to see a video in the gallery theatre. Now, there are gallery rules that we're all expected to adhere to. For example, not carrying backpacks, not wearing hats. We review the rules everytime, and the kids usually remember them all and are really good at sticking to them. Unfortunately, one of the counsellors that was with our group at lunch decided she didn't want to take her hat off (I have SO many other issues with this...i.e. she's SO girly-girl), I think probably because she didn't want everyone to see her hat-head. Anyway, the kids are all like, "Your HAT IS ON!!!" And I agreed with them and informed her it was an actual gallery rule. She made some excuses and didn't take it off. WHAT KIND OF STINKING EXAMPLE IS THAT TO THE KIDS?! Grrrrrrr. She's been driving me insane. Like, WHO bothers to ultra-match when working at a grubby art camp?? She comes in MacMaster or Roots outfits. She will NEVER mix Roots sweats with a MacMaster T-shirt. And she wears lots of pink. MATCHING pink, matching pink hat, matching belt. PUKE PUKE PUKE. Okay, so really, I'm just annoyed at this girl in so many ways. Ahhh, what kind of example is she setting if SHE doesn't even follow the RULES?!?!? Drives me insane.
On a brighter note, I had some good bonding time with my dad. We went to go see the Jays game against the Yankees today. GASP, we EVEN WON! It was kinda intimidating because the Skydome was pretty full, but there were SO many Yanks fans everywhere! But we kicked butt! It was tied going into the 10th inning, and then we hit a homer. Yaaaaay Blue Jays. There's something about really close games that gets everyone going. :) It was awesome. Who knew baseball could be so exciting! There were these teenage kids behind us too, who kept shouting, "De-rek, Je-ter, De-rek, Je-ter, YOU SUCK!" Ahahahahah, it was SOOOOOOOO funny!!!! And then someone started chanting, "Let's go Yankees, let's go!" So everytime they went to say "Yankees", these kids would shout "BLUE JAYS" super loud over them. It was pretty hilarious. Good Skydome times!
On a brighter note, I had some good bonding time with my dad. We went to go see the Jays game against the Yankees today. GASP, we EVEN WON! It was kinda intimidating because the Skydome was pretty full, but there were SO many Yanks fans everywhere! But we kicked butt! It was tied going into the 10th inning, and then we hit a homer. Yaaaaay Blue Jays. There's something about really close games that gets everyone going. :) It was awesome. Who knew baseball could be so exciting! There were these teenage kids behind us too, who kept shouting, "De-rek, Je-ter, De-rek, Je-ter, YOU SUCK!" Ahahahahah, it was SOOOOOOOO funny!!!! And then someone started chanting, "Let's go Yankees, let's go!" So everytime they went to say "Yankees", these kids would shout "BLUE JAYS" super loud over them. It was pretty hilarious. Good Skydome times!
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Smorgasbord
I rollerbladed almost 18K today. I am tired. I took a great fall at the VERY start of the day, as I wheeled towards Ava. My upper body stopped as I grabbed onto her, but my legs kept going out from right under me. I expect a bruised bum tomorrow. I was also kicked fairly hard by someone trying to demonstrate their vertical, and also banged in the mouth with a pop bottle. I also failed to win even 10 times out of a billion rounds of Signal. Sigh. I need my Signal partner back! :)
So, it was a fun fun fun day! I'm so sleepy and slightly sore. I'm hoping I don't have a billion bruises everywhere tmw.
On a side note, I saw Honey, but didn't think it was that impressive. The kid Raymond is the cutest kid in the universe though. I also saw Jet Lag with Juliette Binoche. I was watching the outtakes, and what I appreciate most about actors is when they're willing to laugh at themselves. It's also just so great when you can tell they're just in a giddy mood and can't keep a straight face. I really like people that laugh, apparently! Anyway, Juliette Binoche was laughing a lot, so I really enjoyed the outtakes. The actual movie, not so much. I almost think it's what Lost in Translation might be in France. Only I haven't seen Lost in Translation, so what do I really know! Ahahaha. At least I'm admitting I don't know anything. I also saw School of Rock with Jack Black. It was an okay movie, but Jack Black/his character just bothers the heck outta me. He really does seem like a lazy, obnoxious fellow. What is neat though, is that he knows all these clapping games and played with the kids. Awesome. :)
This week of camp was slightly rough. I had the 8-10 year olds who are definitely slightly harder to deal with than the youngsters. More attitude and whining. More talking back. Worst of all is how they ask every 5 minutes whether they're done their work or not. Ahahahaha. "Am I done yet?" Our response is always, "No, keep working on it." Without fail, every camper always thinks they're done/wants to be done before they actually are. The other counsellors and instructors and I were joking that we should put "No, you are NOT done yet" on a T-shirt and make it our staff uniform. That way we won't actually have to tell them.
Tomorrow, I'm teaching a Sunday school lesson on helping others. The lesson outline is sooooooooooo boring for this lesson. I decided that instead of colouring a boring picture, we should make those gift coupons where you put something you'll do for the person. You know, like, "This coupon is good for one __________". Yeah, I figured we can brainstorm ways to help people, and they'll actually end up doing it when people turn in their coupons. Yay! I hate teaching boring lessons, so I hope this will be fun!
So, it was a fun fun fun day! I'm so sleepy and slightly sore. I'm hoping I don't have a billion bruises everywhere tmw.
On a side note, I saw Honey, but didn't think it was that impressive. The kid Raymond is the cutest kid in the universe though. I also saw Jet Lag with Juliette Binoche. I was watching the outtakes, and what I appreciate most about actors is when they're willing to laugh at themselves. It's also just so great when you can tell they're just in a giddy mood and can't keep a straight face. I really like people that laugh, apparently! Anyway, Juliette Binoche was laughing a lot, so I really enjoyed the outtakes. The actual movie, not so much. I almost think it's what Lost in Translation might be in France. Only I haven't seen Lost in Translation, so what do I really know! Ahahaha. At least I'm admitting I don't know anything. I also saw School of Rock with Jack Black. It was an okay movie, but Jack Black/his character just bothers the heck outta me. He really does seem like a lazy, obnoxious fellow. What is neat though, is that he knows all these clapping games and played with the kids. Awesome. :)
This week of camp was slightly rough. I had the 8-10 year olds who are definitely slightly harder to deal with than the youngsters. More attitude and whining. More talking back. Worst of all is how they ask every 5 minutes whether they're done their work or not. Ahahahaha. "Am I done yet?" Our response is always, "No, keep working on it." Without fail, every camper always thinks they're done/wants to be done before they actually are. The other counsellors and instructors and I were joking that we should put "No, you are NOT done yet" on a T-shirt and make it our staff uniform. That way we won't actually have to tell them.
Tomorrow, I'm teaching a Sunday school lesson on helping others. The lesson outline is sooooooooooo boring for this lesson. I decided that instead of colouring a boring picture, we should make those gift coupons where you put something you'll do for the person. You know, like, "This coupon is good for one __________". Yeah, I figured we can brainstorm ways to help people, and they'll actually end up doing it when people turn in their coupons. Yay! I hate teaching boring lessons, so I hope this will be fun!
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Toeing the line clarification
Just to clarify, when I challenged people to strive for righteousness, it was in no way meant to imply that you can earn your salvation by doing good works or being a good person. It wasn't because I think that you can only be a Christian if you're a good person. I was just pointing out that there are higher standards that we are called to, and frankly, Christian or non-Christian, I see nothing wrong with striving to be better.
And I also wanted to say that I agree with Keith. Yeah, we all do have standards or "laws" that we live by. Mine are probably just different from other people's. And as for ever knowing the absolute truth, I agree that we're too small to ever understand God completely. That's why it's called faith, right? "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) I believe in God because I've looked at the evidence for Him not existing and the evidence for Him existing, and the evidence for His existence seems more convincing. It's not just head-knowledge though, I have a personal relationship with Him. I think it's actually a good thing that we can't understand Him completely though. Because if we could, wouldn't that make us God?
And I also wanted to say that I agree with Keith. Yeah, we all do have standards or "laws" that we live by. Mine are probably just different from other people's. And as for ever knowing the absolute truth, I agree that we're too small to ever understand God completely. That's why it's called faith, right? "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) I believe in God because I've looked at the evidence for Him not existing and the evidence for Him existing, and the evidence for His existence seems more convincing. It's not just head-knowledge though, I have a personal relationship with Him. I think it's actually a good thing that we can't understand Him completely though. Because if we could, wouldn't that make us God?
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
I want spicy!!
My junior assistant Mike is soooooo funny. He told me this story from last session, where his group was making nametags. Thinking he'd try to be funny, he made a nametag that said "Spicy". The kids didn't really get it, but did end up calling him Spicy for a little. Anyway, he finally gave it up because the kids really didn't think it was all that amusing for any reason, and he put the nametag in his pocket. Later on, one of the little girls goes up to him and decides she wants him to wear his "Spicy" name tag. She then proceeds to try and reach into his pocket, all the while yelling, "I want spicy!" Not exactly a great picture, but hilarious. Oh man. Kids.
On another fun note, today I bonded with 2 kids in my group as we sang Abba songs over lunch. One kid had seen Mamma Mia! and really liked the songs, and the other has a mother who's a big fan. Who would think I'd be sitting around with 8-yr-olds singing Abba?!
Thought of the day: God doesn't send people to Heaven or Hell. He just makes the rules. We get to choose where we go.
On another fun note, today I bonded with 2 kids in my group as we sang Abba songs over lunch. One kid had seen Mamma Mia! and really liked the songs, and the other has a mother who's a big fan. Who would think I'd be sitting around with 8-yr-olds singing Abba?!
Thought of the day: God doesn't send people to Heaven or Hell. He just makes the rules. We get to choose where we go.
Sunday, July 18, 2004
Missions
Today was a hectic day. We had a youth-led service at church, and there was a lot of last-minute stuff that was done. The theme was missions, and it went really well. The kids wrote a skit and put together funny Lego pictures illustrating some popular missions myths. I semi-led the worship and then did a 15 minute message/testimony near the end. I thought I'd post the gist of my message here, because it's something I really feel strongly about.
Missions: Spreading the Gospel, sometimes via educational, medical, or humanitarian means; a missionary duty or work; bringing others into a worship of God.
I think I started off thinking about missions primarily as a duty. It was something I did out of obedience. After all, all Christians have a ministry. Matthew 28:19 says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." Jesus commands his disciples to GO. Not maybe, if they feel like it. They're to GO. And it says further in verse 20, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." He's with them till the end of the age. Well, seeing as it's still not the end of the age, you have to assume that this is still supposed to be going on. All Christians are supposed to be GOing to the nations. So, looking at this command and knowing how many other verses there are about GOing, I knew I should be doing it, so I did things like sharing the Gospel a lot out of duty. I didn't quite enjoy it. Granted, there were some good experiences, but it can be rough. Doing things out of obedience soon gets quite tiring though, and I realized eventually that there were other aspects to missions. I eventually realized that it had to be out of love for people. This was fine, except that in this case, I was expected to love everyone. That included strangers I had never met from the other side of the world. THat included criminals and scummy people.
Thus, I came to the further conclusion that I had to do missions out of love, but that this love had to be an overflow of my love for God. If I loved God, I would love His creation, and the closer I got to God, the more passionate I would truly be about the things He is passionate about. If I viewed Christianity as something that was a bunch of duties and didn't do things like missions out of worship for God, Christianity would eventually become a burden that I carry, instead of a faith that carries me.
So, we get to the point in the present where as you may know, I am passionate about missions. I think they can never be emphasized enough in a church. It was so interesting then, to read this quote (This is one of my most favorite quotes ever!). "Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever." (Let the Nations be Glad by John Piper)
So anyway, we're all at different stages in how we think about missions, but the bare bones is this: We are ALL commanded to GO and make disciples. We are all given a ministry of reconciliation! How will they hear if people are not sent? I think if at all possible, everyone should go on a missions trip at least once in their lives. I can think of a million different excuses not to go. I don't have money. I don't have time. I'm not holy enough. I don't know enough. It's too dangerous, etc. etc. Well let me ask you a question. Exactly WHO is it that is going? Is it just you? Nope. We're empowered through His Spirit. He's the one that watches over us. Don't limit what God can do through someone who is willing to be used.
And so, here are some practical applications. Ahahaha.
1) Pray - about the possibility of being SENT, to GO on a missions trip/do ministry somewhere local, international, anywhere!
2) GO. Just do it.
3) Support a missionary financially. Send them on their trip, support them through prayer.
To conclude, my friend once said there are 3 types of people in this world. It was quite convicting:
1) Zealous GOers.
2) Zealous SENDers.
3) Disobedient.
"How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
'Your God reigns!'" - Isaiah 52:7
Missions: Spreading the Gospel, sometimes via educational, medical, or humanitarian means; a missionary duty or work; bringing others into a worship of God.
I think I started off thinking about missions primarily as a duty. It was something I did out of obedience. After all, all Christians have a ministry. Matthew 28:19 says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." Jesus commands his disciples to GO. Not maybe, if they feel like it. They're to GO. And it says further in verse 20, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." He's with them till the end of the age. Well, seeing as it's still not the end of the age, you have to assume that this is still supposed to be going on. All Christians are supposed to be GOing to the nations. So, looking at this command and knowing how many other verses there are about GOing, I knew I should be doing it, so I did things like sharing the Gospel a lot out of duty. I didn't quite enjoy it. Granted, there were some good experiences, but it can be rough. Doing things out of obedience soon gets quite tiring though, and I realized eventually that there were other aspects to missions. I eventually realized that it had to be out of love for people. This was fine, except that in this case, I was expected to love everyone. That included strangers I had never met from the other side of the world. THat included criminals and scummy people.
Thus, I came to the further conclusion that I had to do missions out of love, but that this love had to be an overflow of my love for God. If I loved God, I would love His creation, and the closer I got to God, the more passionate I would truly be about the things He is passionate about. If I viewed Christianity as something that was a bunch of duties and didn't do things like missions out of worship for God, Christianity would eventually become a burden that I carry, instead of a faith that carries me.
So, we get to the point in the present where as you may know, I am passionate about missions. I think they can never be emphasized enough in a church. It was so interesting then, to read this quote (This is one of my most favorite quotes ever!). "Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever." (Let the Nations be Glad by John Piper)
So anyway, we're all at different stages in how we think about missions, but the bare bones is this: We are ALL commanded to GO and make disciples. We are all given a ministry of reconciliation! How will they hear if people are not sent? I think if at all possible, everyone should go on a missions trip at least once in their lives. I can think of a million different excuses not to go. I don't have money. I don't have time. I'm not holy enough. I don't know enough. It's too dangerous, etc. etc. Well let me ask you a question. Exactly WHO is it that is going? Is it just you? Nope. We're empowered through His Spirit. He's the one that watches over us. Don't limit what God can do through someone who is willing to be used.
And so, here are some practical applications. Ahahaha.
1) Pray - about the possibility of being SENT, to GO on a missions trip/do ministry somewhere local, international, anywhere!
2) GO. Just do it.
3) Support a missionary financially. Send them on their trip, support them through prayer.
To conclude, my friend once said there are 3 types of people in this world. It was quite convicting:
1) Zealous GOers.
2) Zealous SENDers.
3) Disobedient.
"How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
'Your God reigns!'" - Isaiah 52:7
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Toeing the line
This is another one of my pet peeves that I've been thinking about. I get into discussions with Christians a lot about controversial Christian topics like baptism of the Holy Spirit, sarcasm, what movies are okay to watch...etc. Even within the Christian community, within groups of people who all read the same Bible, there are differing beliefs. Thankfully, most of these aren't anything serious that affect one's salvation, but they are interesting. A lot of the topics we discuss are sort of gray-area topics. What I mean by these topics is that there's kind of a gray area between Totally Right, and Totally Wrong. For example, sex before marriage. The Totally Right thing here is no sex before marriage. The Totally Wrong thing is having sex before marriage. Then comes all this gray area inbetween. What about everything up to sex? Is that still okay? Or even watching movies. How bad is too bad to watch? How much nudity/swearing/violence makes it too bad?
Well, these discussions and debates can be helpful in flushing out the issues, but I think it always comes down to this: Yes there is a line. No, we should not cross it. Does that mean we should go as close as we possibly can to it? Nope. God calls us to live lives of RIGHTEOUSNESS. Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." It doesn't say, "Don't think about totally sleazy things." That would leave too much open. Instead, throughout the Bible, God calls us all to live righteous lives. THAT is a high calling!
So this is my hope. Whenever you think about doing/thinking something and think to yourself, 'I'm not completely sure this is a good thing to do', don't do it. Why spend time debating? Most of the time, we spend it debating how close to the line we can get without crossing it, when we should really be worrying about how far away from the line we can get. Live righteous lives, and shine as lights!
"Be holy, because I am holy." - Leviticus 11:45
Well, these discussions and debates can be helpful in flushing out the issues, but I think it always comes down to this: Yes there is a line. No, we should not cross it. Does that mean we should go as close as we possibly can to it? Nope. God calls us to live lives of RIGHTEOUSNESS. Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." It doesn't say, "Don't think about totally sleazy things." That would leave too much open. Instead, throughout the Bible, God calls us all to live righteous lives. THAT is a high calling!
So this is my hope. Whenever you think about doing/thinking something and think to yourself, 'I'm not completely sure this is a good thing to do', don't do it. Why spend time debating? Most of the time, we spend it debating how close to the line we can get without crossing it, when we should really be worrying about how far away from the line we can get. Live righteous lives, and shine as lights!
"Be holy, because I am holy." - Leviticus 11:45
Thursday, July 15, 2004
SSS = Super Soccer Skills
At lunch, we play games with our camp kids, and today was no different. However, the kids decided they would play soccer in the pine tree grove today. Good idea? No, not at all. Mike, one of the assistants, had a fantastic goal where he kicked the ball, it bounced off a kid's head, and then off a tree, and into the goal! Yay Mike! Ahahahaha. The best play of the day was a kid that ran smack dab into a pine tree tho. He was GUSHING blood from his nose. Oh man. We laugh and tease him, but it looked pretty rough. Art camp has suddenly become a lot more hazardous!
So I realized that not everyone knows exactly what I'm doing this summer. I'm working at the McMichael again at the art camp. I'm doing 4 weeks of assisting classes, and then 4 weeks of instructing art! Send your kids! :) I'm pretty excited. We have access to some really neat and hardcore art materials, so these kids will be arting it up.
Other than work, I'm really involved in my church at the moment. I'm cheerleading our softball team on (YEAH, undefeated Judges!!!!!), working on the missions committee, and leading worship once in a while. Yeah, I'm actually becoming okay with singing in front of a crowd, can you believe it? Ahahaha.
I think that's about it. There's my life for you in a nut shell. I know, what an exciting summer! Although, I have to tell you the most exciting news of the last week. I started scrapbooking a little while ago, and lo and behold, 2 sweet ladies from my church bought me a whole fun scissors set! There are 18 of them on a wooden stand that rotates! How can I be this excited about scissors? No idea. I am in scrapbooking heaven though. They have all these different edges! Droooool. I wish I could post a picture, but my digital camera is nowhere to be found. But maybe it's better not to post it. You might all get too jealous. Yeah.
So I realized that not everyone knows exactly what I'm doing this summer. I'm working at the McMichael again at the art camp. I'm doing 4 weeks of assisting classes, and then 4 weeks of instructing art! Send your kids! :) I'm pretty excited. We have access to some really neat and hardcore art materials, so these kids will be arting it up.
Other than work, I'm really involved in my church at the moment. I'm cheerleading our softball team on (YEAH, undefeated Judges!!!!!), working on the missions committee, and leading worship once in a while. Yeah, I'm actually becoming okay with singing in front of a crowd, can you believe it? Ahahaha.
I think that's about it. There's my life for you in a nut shell. I know, what an exciting summer! Although, I have to tell you the most exciting news of the last week. I started scrapbooking a little while ago, and lo and behold, 2 sweet ladies from my church bought me a whole fun scissors set! There are 18 of them on a wooden stand that rotates! How can I be this excited about scissors? No idea. I am in scrapbooking heaven though. They have all these different edges! Droooool. I wish I could post a picture, but my digital camera is nowhere to be found. But maybe it's better not to post it. You might all get too jealous. Yeah.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Annoyed
I really just wish that when people say they'll do something, that they would actually do it. There is a little situation that is now worse than it had to be, and it could have been prevented had someone just done what they said they would, right away. Sigh. I'm ticked off, and having trouble forgiving them. I know I should, because I am forgiven. Sigh. Forgiveness ain't the easiest thing in the world.
"You look like a hot dog!"
Funny story! There's a smart-aleck in my art camp class in the morning and one day, when we were sitting at the carpet he turned around and looked at the boy sitting behind him and said, "You look like a hot dog!" AHahahaha, okay, so name-calling is inappropriate, but it's so funny, because this kid DOES kind of look like a hot dog! His face is so skinny. Now everytime I look at him, I think about hot dogs. Oh dear.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Physical pain
So some of you know that I have a bruised bum and injured wrist. What from, you ask? From falling down my stairs. Is this a regular occurrence? Actually, yes. Unfortunately. Ahahaha. I was dead tired after camp one day and was napping when the phone rang. Of course no one answers it in this house except my sister and I if we're home, so I picked it up, and it was for my dad. So, I start making my way groggily down the stairs to give him the phone when, BAM. I just hit the deck. Hard. My bum is now slightly bruised, and I landed on my wrist so it hurts when I bend it. Sigh. The life of a klutz. I think it hurt so much that I couldn't even think about it for a second. On top of that, I was so groggy that I didn't really get what was happening. It's so funny that it's hard to feel pain if you don't know you're supposed to be IN pain. Ahahaha.
To add to this bum/wrist madness, I went for a long rollerblade yesterday. It was really really fun, but really, my first time rollerblading for longer than a block. I used to "rollerblade" (i.e. for maybe 5 minutes TOPS) but would give up from foot pain. I think my rollerblades were actually too small for me. Anyway, yesterday we did 8km, ahahaha, which is 8km more than I usually do, and I survived, surprisingly. It was a little touch-and-go at the beginning, I think, but by the end, it was fun! After sweating up a storm, we went to the pool (we WALKED there, craziness!) and cooled off. Then we walked home. This is pretty much more exercise than I've done in ...well, a long long time. Needless to say, I was utterly exhausted yesterday, but I'm feeling very few muscle pains today. I was expecting super-duper pain, considering I'm so out of shape. A friend of mine keeps trying to get me out to the gym, and I keep refusing. Ahahaha, thanks for trying though! ;)
So yes, the summer fitness begins...rollerblading, swimming, maybe a little tennis, and chasing after children. Which is most intense? The last one! :)
To add to this bum/wrist madness, I went for a long rollerblade yesterday. It was really really fun, but really, my first time rollerblading for longer than a block. I used to "rollerblade" (i.e. for maybe 5 minutes TOPS) but would give up from foot pain. I think my rollerblades were actually too small for me. Anyway, yesterday we did 8km, ahahaha, which is 8km more than I usually do, and I survived, surprisingly. It was a little touch-and-go at the beginning, I think, but by the end, it was fun! After sweating up a storm, we went to the pool (we WALKED there, craziness!) and cooled off. Then we walked home. This is pretty much more exercise than I've done in ...well, a long long time. Needless to say, I was utterly exhausted yesterday, but I'm feeling very few muscle pains today. I was expecting super-duper pain, considering I'm so out of shape. A friend of mine keeps trying to get me out to the gym, and I keep refusing. Ahahaha, thanks for trying though! ;)
So yes, the summer fitness begins...rollerblading, swimming, maybe a little tennis, and chasing after children. Which is most intense? The last one! :)
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Let me be a woman, and will you JUST be a MAN??
Let me be perfectly honest from the beginning (as if I'm not honest on this blog!) and say that I think feminism is dumb. Dumb dumb dumb. I refer mostly to the equality issue. I definitely think men and women should have the same rights, but my issue is really with the fact that some women try to be men. We're just not men, and that's a biological fact. It's not about equality in some cases, it's about equity. The porblem is that in the workforce, for example, women are starting to compete with men at BEING men, and not just at the job. If a woman wants to be a pilot, awesome, but she should compete with men in being a pilot, not in being a male pilot! I think over the years, the gender roles have overlapped more and more, and I think it's hard for guys to be guys, and girls to be girls. Ahahaa, don't read anymore if you're going to be upset at my traditional gender role views. But I do welcome comments and feedback.
Anyway, I've been thinking about this lately because frankly, I've realized that I really appreciate gentlemen. I appreciate guys who initiate things, like plans, conversations, whatever. I appreciate it when guys hold open doors, when they do protective things like walking on the side of the street closer to the cars. I appreciate when guys are assured enough with themselves that they can do these things. Albeit, women haven't helped much to make gentlemen these days, as there's probably a fear about us biting men's heads off for treating us like helpless women. The truth is, I really don't think guys view us as really that helpless nowadays, and well, frankly, if you wanna carry my big heavy box for me, thanks! I have puny muscles. Maybe some guys do too, but probably not punier than me. Anyway, muscles are not my point. My point is that I think guys need to stop being afraid of being wimps. They need to initiate things.
Case in point: Relationships. I was reading a really ridiculous book on dating that we were thinking of lending to the HS kids at my church, and it got me thinking. Guys should initiate. Guys should initiate talking about boundaries in a relationship. Guys should initiate the relationship in the first place. I think what I've appreciated the past couple of years is men in my life who have initiated conversations with me about our relationship. Yes, the relationship-defining talk (the RDT, ahahah). We all know that tense point we all get to in friendships where suddenly, you're unsure whether you're just friends or not. The easy thing is to just let it go, for fear of causing weirdness. Sometimes, though, people will let it go because they're afraid of rejection, and frankly, it's easier to reap the benefits of a flirty friendship than to put your pride on the line to lay it all out. I'm so thankful that most of the men I know are willing to do it, willing to lay it on the line instead of stringing the girl along on some wild emotional ride (because that's what it becomes to girls...we're emotional!) where we debate whether he likes us or whether he doesn't, or how much he does, etc. Intimacy should match commitment, and I love it when a guy is willing not to be more intimate emotionally or physically with a girl until there is a definite commitment. Otherwise, you set yourself up for heartbreak. Flirting is bad bad bad! Anyway, I think nowadays, it's become the norm for guys to just sit back and let these women who have all this newly discovered power do the initiating, which is not such a good thing, in my opinion. I think the blame goes both ways though. The more manly the man, the easier it is for the woman to be a woman, and the more womanly a woman, the easier it is for men to be men.
I think it's important for us to figure out our roles as men and women, because I think there are Biblical roles for a man and woman in a marriage, and relationships before marriage are really like training grounds for it. In Ephesians 5, it talks about the roles of a husband and a wife. So many people take this verse out of context, and it drive me insane. I think it's the most romantic thing ever. It says, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." I used to hate this verse, and I used to think submission to a man was horrible. I truly did. But if you read on, things become clearer.
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself."
First, what I discovered was that submission is not a weak thing. This verse doesn't mean, "Women, do whatever your husband tells you to do." Have you ever tried to submit to someone? It's tough. You really have to respect the person you're submitting to. And that's the wonderful thing. My friend once said something along the lines of, "I don't think my wife will have any problems submitting to me, because I hope to be the kind of husband that she respects and who honours her above myself." I don't think I'll have any problems at all submitting, if my husband loves me as Christ loved the church! That's really a sacrificial, honouring type of love. I mean, Christ loved the church (us!) so much, that He gave up His life for it! That's love! And that's the type of love husbands are called to have for their wives. Really and truly, I once hated the thought of submission to my husband, but now, I'm looking forward to it with all my heart. (note: submission to husbands is based on their wisdom in leading as God wills)
So that was a long one, but I get going when something gets me. So really, women, will you just let the guys initiate, and men, will you just initiate!?
Anyway, I've been thinking about this lately because frankly, I've realized that I really appreciate gentlemen. I appreciate guys who initiate things, like plans, conversations, whatever. I appreciate it when guys hold open doors, when they do protective things like walking on the side of the street closer to the cars. I appreciate when guys are assured enough with themselves that they can do these things. Albeit, women haven't helped much to make gentlemen these days, as there's probably a fear about us biting men's heads off for treating us like helpless women. The truth is, I really don't think guys view us as really that helpless nowadays, and well, frankly, if you wanna carry my big heavy box for me, thanks! I have puny muscles. Maybe some guys do too, but probably not punier than me. Anyway, muscles are not my point. My point is that I think guys need to stop being afraid of being wimps. They need to initiate things.
Case in point: Relationships. I was reading a really ridiculous book on dating that we were thinking of lending to the HS kids at my church, and it got me thinking. Guys should initiate. Guys should initiate talking about boundaries in a relationship. Guys should initiate the relationship in the first place. I think what I've appreciated the past couple of years is men in my life who have initiated conversations with me about our relationship. Yes, the relationship-defining talk (the RDT, ahahah). We all know that tense point we all get to in friendships where suddenly, you're unsure whether you're just friends or not. The easy thing is to just let it go, for fear of causing weirdness. Sometimes, though, people will let it go because they're afraid of rejection, and frankly, it's easier to reap the benefits of a flirty friendship than to put your pride on the line to lay it all out. I'm so thankful that most of the men I know are willing to do it, willing to lay it on the line instead of stringing the girl along on some wild emotional ride (because that's what it becomes to girls...we're emotional!) where we debate whether he likes us or whether he doesn't, or how much he does, etc. Intimacy should match commitment, and I love it when a guy is willing not to be more intimate emotionally or physically with a girl until there is a definite commitment. Otherwise, you set yourself up for heartbreak. Flirting is bad bad bad! Anyway, I think nowadays, it's become the norm for guys to just sit back and let these women who have all this newly discovered power do the initiating, which is not such a good thing, in my opinion. I think the blame goes both ways though. The more manly the man, the easier it is for the woman to be a woman, and the more womanly a woman, the easier it is for men to be men.
I think it's important for us to figure out our roles as men and women, because I think there are Biblical roles for a man and woman in a marriage, and relationships before marriage are really like training grounds for it. In Ephesians 5, it talks about the roles of a husband and a wife. So many people take this verse out of context, and it drive me insane. I think it's the most romantic thing ever. It says, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." I used to hate this verse, and I used to think submission to a man was horrible. I truly did. But if you read on, things become clearer.
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself."
First, what I discovered was that submission is not a weak thing. This verse doesn't mean, "Women, do whatever your husband tells you to do." Have you ever tried to submit to someone? It's tough. You really have to respect the person you're submitting to. And that's the wonderful thing. My friend once said something along the lines of, "I don't think my wife will have any problems submitting to me, because I hope to be the kind of husband that she respects and who honours her above myself." I don't think I'll have any problems at all submitting, if my husband loves me as Christ loved the church! That's really a sacrificial, honouring type of love. I mean, Christ loved the church (us!) so much, that He gave up His life for it! That's love! And that's the type of love husbands are called to have for their wives. Really and truly, I once hated the thought of submission to my husband, but now, I'm looking forward to it with all my heart. (note: submission to husbands is based on their wisdom in leading as God wills)
So that was a long one, but I get going when something gets me. So really, women, will you just let the guys initiate, and men, will you just initiate!?
Saturday, June 26, 2004
First Friend Wedding!
SO I just got home from my very first friend wedding. You know, those ones where you get the invitation addressed to YOU, and not your whole family. It was so much fun. Good food, good friends, and who knew Steve Hayhoe could dance up such a storm?! Ahahaha. It was a good time. But it makes me think...we're all getting older...this marriage pool will start heating up soon!
I was thinking about this dancing business tho. Guys are really shy about asking girls to dance for fear of appearing to like them! And man, it was brutal, the guys we knew at the wedding all went upstairs and TALKED (BOOOORING) for the whole thing. No fun dancing, no fun jokes. Ah well.
Anyhoo, I was teary through most of the wedding. Not bawling, but definitely wet-eyed. It's amazing to see two best friends get married to each other. The Pastor did an amazing job, too. The best thing he said was that no matter how busy and important ministry seemed, Jamie (the guy) should always put his family first. I think this totally spoke to me, because I tend to put THINGS I do in front of PEOPLE in my life. I really don't treasure relationships in my life enough.
Another thing. I'm seriously thinking of eliminating kissing games from my wedding. You know, that thing that the bride and groom get ppl to do to get them to kiss. It was just getting ridiculous, because ppl could pay $5 per second after answering a trivia question correctly to get them to kiss, and man, some were really long. I'm not sure I want to stand in front of everyone for that long, kissing my husband. Although, maybe I would enjoy it, seeing as I plan my first kiss to be at the altar. Gasp. I know, you're all shocked. How can one wait that long? I figure it will be all the more special, and I won't be making out with other women's husbands (which all other men except my husband will inevitably be). Maybe I'll just enjoy it so much and we'll be making out the entire wedding! Ahahahaa. Right. On second thought though, I think I will enjoy it. So kissing games are in! Ahahaha. Bring your money, ladies and gentlemen!
I was thinking about this dancing business tho. Guys are really shy about asking girls to dance for fear of appearing to like them! And man, it was brutal, the guys we knew at the wedding all went upstairs and TALKED (BOOOORING) for the whole thing. No fun dancing, no fun jokes. Ah well.
Anyhoo, I was teary through most of the wedding. Not bawling, but definitely wet-eyed. It's amazing to see two best friends get married to each other. The Pastor did an amazing job, too. The best thing he said was that no matter how busy and important ministry seemed, Jamie (the guy) should always put his family first. I think this totally spoke to me, because I tend to put THINGS I do in front of PEOPLE in my life. I really don't treasure relationships in my life enough.
Another thing. I'm seriously thinking of eliminating kissing games from my wedding. You know, that thing that the bride and groom get ppl to do to get them to kiss. It was just getting ridiculous, because ppl could pay $5 per second after answering a trivia question correctly to get them to kiss, and man, some were really long. I'm not sure I want to stand in front of everyone for that long, kissing my husband. Although, maybe I would enjoy it, seeing as I plan my first kiss to be at the altar. Gasp. I know, you're all shocked. How can one wait that long? I figure it will be all the more special, and I won't be making out with other women's husbands (which all other men except my husband will inevitably be). Maybe I'll just enjoy it so much and we'll be making out the entire wedding! Ahahahaa. Right. On second thought though, I think I will enjoy it. So kissing games are in! Ahahaha. Bring your money, ladies and gentlemen!
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Grandmother insanity version 2.0
So I had typed up 3 paragraphs worth of amusing grandmother stories yesterday only to have my IE crash on me. BOOoooooooo computers. Anyway, so I'm going to type them again, but they really just may not be as amusing because I'm rather annoyed at this whole process.
She flew in on last Thursday. We picked her up at the new Terminal 1, which is beautiful! I LOVE the airport. First, the parking is utterly stupendous because there are electronic signs that tell you how many parking spots are available in each row. Each parking SPACE has a sensor above it to detect whether the spot is taken or not. We found a space SO fast, and SO close. I love love love this new technology. What got me the most though, was just a warm fuzzy feeling as I was standing in arrivals waiting for my grandmother. Everytime the doors opened and some more passengers stepped out to be met, their faces lit up. It was so great! It must be an amazing feeling to come off a long flight and know that you have someone that cares for you waiting to pick you up. It was so fantastic to see face after face light up, hug after hug exchanged, and just lots of relief and love. :)
I've also enjoyed my grandmother's love for the Lord. She walked into our house and said, "We should pray, because I got here safely!" She says grace before every meal, and although I didn't appreciate this as a child, I totally do now. I actually used to peek during grace to see what my dad was doing, and he was always making funny faces at me, so I just laughed. Now I appreciate so much more this giving thanks for the food that is before me. I really take a lot of things for granted, and I think my grandmother has helped me realize that. She is one strong-willed, energetic, stubborn woman!
SO that was the sentimental stuff. Now we get onto the craziness that has ensued from my grandmother's presence here. In fact, I'm actually even afraid that I may not finish this blog entry once again because my grandmother has a pea-sized bladder (even smaller than my best friend's!) and has to get up A LOT at night to go pee. Everytime she gets up to go pee, she comes downstairs to tell us to go to bed. Oh man. I mean, my parents don't even tell me to go to bed. They actually got chewed out by her! "Why don't you tell your children to go to bed earlier?" Oh dear. There are SO many amusing stories, but they can pretty much be summed up by this one sentence: My grandmother thinks in stereotypes. It is HORRIBLE! I'll give you some great examples later. But first the origami insanity story. You do the math: If little Johnny needs 20 boxes, and each box has a top and a bottom, and each top/bottom requires 8 sheets of origami, how many sheets of origami is that in total? I WILL TELL YOU. It is 320 finger-numbing sheets of origami insanity. If only I had a picture of one of these boxes to show you all. They're really nice and everything, but it was an origami factory. My poor sister folded all the sheets, and I assembled. What was even more annoying is that I would put together different colour combinations, and my grandmother would inspect. One I did was all cool colours, and when I showed it to her, she said, "Oh, that one's so DULL." Because it didn't have red. Or pink. Or anything like that. I rolled my eyes though, because I'm rather used to my grandmother needing things to be super-shockingly bright (even gaudy at times). What was the MOST MOST MOST annoying this was that when we were finished all 20 boxes, we laid them all out. And GUESS, yes, just GUESS which one she decided was her FAVORITE? GUESS. OHHHH my goodness. MINE. The so-called "DULL" one. The one she had previously almost convinced me to scrap because it was too dull. OOOOh man. So basically, life with my grandmother is this repeated, in different situations. OH MY. Here are two examples of my grandmother changing her mind:
Example 1: Church with my mom and my sister. They decide to get a sandwich and donuts. My grandmother picks a donut. They pay for the donut. She proceeds to accidentally drop the donut. They sit down to eat. My sister pushes my grandmother's donut towards her and says, "Here's your donut." Grandmother says, "No, I want that one," and points to my mom's. WHY did she CHOOSE HERS in the FIRST place if she wasn't gonna EAT IT? It wasn't even the dropping thing. She just CHANGED HER MIND. Between picking and sitting. GAAAAAH!
Example 2: Today, we were out for lunch. I asked my grandmother which fountain drink she wanted at the self-serve drink machine thing. I proceeded to read to her everything that was there. She proceeds to pick the Minute Maid Orange pop. I say, "Grandma, you know this is carbonated, right?" She says it's fine. SHE WATCHES ME AS I AM FILLING THIS LARGE CUP WITH FIZZY, BRIGHT ORANGE MINUTE MAID. AS I FINISH FILLING THE CUP, SHE MAKES THIS LITTLE SOUND, basically like "nah" in English. I stop filling the cup. "What's wrong Grandma?" "Oh, the pop is just so COLOURED." I say, "Grandma, everything is coloured over here." She wrinkles her nose. I am dumbfounded. Could she not have told me this AS I WAS FILLING HER CUP? Did she HAVE to wait until it was COMPLETELY full?!?!?! GAAAAAAAH. I had an epiphany at that point though. As you get older, you become more child-like. If my grandmother was 5 and had just changed her mind about her fountain drink, I would have made her take responsibility for her decision (BECAUSE I HAD EVEN EXPLAINED ALL THE DRINKS TO HER BEFOOOOOOOOREE!!!!!) and drink the drink. But, she is my grandmother, so I proceeded to dump out the drink and fill it with Iced Tea. She said, "Oh, that's much better, this one isn't coloured." I go, "No, grandma, this one is coloured too, just with a more natural looking colour." AHHHHHH!
Stereotype illustrations:
Example 1: We are making the origami boxes. My sister asks why we don't use the black origami. My grandmother proceeds to rant about how NO Japanese people like black, how it is ugly, how people only wear it to funerals, etc. etc. ALL Japanese people hate black. I almost wanted to raise my hand to say, "But grandma, I'm Japanese, and I wouldn't mind having black on MY box." GAAAAAAH.
Example 2: My sister, mother and grandmother waiting for the subway. My sister sees that the bench has one seat free, beside some Asian man with dark-coloured skin. She asks my grandmother if she wants to sit. The man is about to get up when my grandmother looks over at the bench, turns back and wrinkles her nose, saying, "No." She then proceeds to tell my sister about how (racism coming up here, don't read it if yo'ure going to be offended. And I really apologize for my grandmother's weirdness) black people in L.A. are dangerous. OH MY. WHAT a HUGE racist generalization! But it gets better. This is the clincher: She says, "When black people say, do you have change for ____ in L.A., they really mean 'Give me all your money.'" AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA. WHERE DOES SHE GET THIS?!?!??! My sister proceeds to explain that they really just WANT CHANGE. My grandmother says, "Oh, maybe in Toronto, but in L.A. they're trying to rob you." OOOOOH my. OH MY OH MY OH MY. Are all old people this WEIRD?!?!?! My sister did attempt to dispell this stereotype by telling my grandmother that we were all individuals and that she shouldn't generalize, etc. My grandmother ended with, "Yes, we are all individuals, but...." AHHHHH!
Example 3: We're in Cullen Gardens. We're walking along the path. Sitting in some open grass are two girls eating their lunch. They don't look very happy. My grandmother says (oh man, so much of what my grandmother says is lost in the translation), "I don't like the look of those girls." I ask what the heck that means. She says they're not like Canadian girls. I ask what the heck she means by "Canadian girls". She says they're not as happy and bright and cheery as Canadian girls. I go, "Grandma, those ARE Canadian girls. Canadian girls come in all different types. We're not ALL cheery." She responds with an, "Oh." and still looks dissatisfied.
Oh man. It's still okay because I have my sense of humour about everything. I couldn't stop laughing when my sister told me the asking for change thing being robbing thing. She's just extremely set in her ways, and although that doesn't excuse her horrible stereotyping, it helps me stay sane. Pray I don't lose my patience!
She flew in on last Thursday. We picked her up at the new Terminal 1, which is beautiful! I LOVE the airport. First, the parking is utterly stupendous because there are electronic signs that tell you how many parking spots are available in each row. Each parking SPACE has a sensor above it to detect whether the spot is taken or not. We found a space SO fast, and SO close. I love love love this new technology. What got me the most though, was just a warm fuzzy feeling as I was standing in arrivals waiting for my grandmother. Everytime the doors opened and some more passengers stepped out to be met, their faces lit up. It was so great! It must be an amazing feeling to come off a long flight and know that you have someone that cares for you waiting to pick you up. It was so fantastic to see face after face light up, hug after hug exchanged, and just lots of relief and love. :)
I've also enjoyed my grandmother's love for the Lord. She walked into our house and said, "We should pray, because I got here safely!" She says grace before every meal, and although I didn't appreciate this as a child, I totally do now. I actually used to peek during grace to see what my dad was doing, and he was always making funny faces at me, so I just laughed. Now I appreciate so much more this giving thanks for the food that is before me. I really take a lot of things for granted, and I think my grandmother has helped me realize that. She is one strong-willed, energetic, stubborn woman!
SO that was the sentimental stuff. Now we get onto the craziness that has ensued from my grandmother's presence here. In fact, I'm actually even afraid that I may not finish this blog entry once again because my grandmother has a pea-sized bladder (even smaller than my best friend's!) and has to get up A LOT at night to go pee. Everytime she gets up to go pee, she comes downstairs to tell us to go to bed. Oh man. I mean, my parents don't even tell me to go to bed. They actually got chewed out by her! "Why don't you tell your children to go to bed earlier?" Oh dear. There are SO many amusing stories, but they can pretty much be summed up by this one sentence: My grandmother thinks in stereotypes. It is HORRIBLE! I'll give you some great examples later. But first the origami insanity story. You do the math: If little Johnny needs 20 boxes, and each box has a top and a bottom, and each top/bottom requires 8 sheets of origami, how many sheets of origami is that in total? I WILL TELL YOU. It is 320 finger-numbing sheets of origami insanity. If only I had a picture of one of these boxes to show you all. They're really nice and everything, but it was an origami factory. My poor sister folded all the sheets, and I assembled. What was even more annoying is that I would put together different colour combinations, and my grandmother would inspect. One I did was all cool colours, and when I showed it to her, she said, "Oh, that one's so DULL." Because it didn't have red. Or pink. Or anything like that. I rolled my eyes though, because I'm rather used to my grandmother needing things to be super-shockingly bright (even gaudy at times). What was the MOST MOST MOST annoying this was that when we were finished all 20 boxes, we laid them all out. And GUESS, yes, just GUESS which one she decided was her FAVORITE? GUESS. OHHHH my goodness. MINE. The so-called "DULL" one. The one she had previously almost convinced me to scrap because it was too dull. OOOOh man. So basically, life with my grandmother is this repeated, in different situations. OH MY. Here are two examples of my grandmother changing her mind:
Example 1: Church with my mom and my sister. They decide to get a sandwich and donuts. My grandmother picks a donut. They pay for the donut. She proceeds to accidentally drop the donut. They sit down to eat. My sister pushes my grandmother's donut towards her and says, "Here's your donut." Grandmother says, "No, I want that one," and points to my mom's. WHY did she CHOOSE HERS in the FIRST place if she wasn't gonna EAT IT? It wasn't even the dropping thing. She just CHANGED HER MIND. Between picking and sitting. GAAAAAH!
Example 2: Today, we were out for lunch. I asked my grandmother which fountain drink she wanted at the self-serve drink machine thing. I proceeded to read to her everything that was there. She proceeds to pick the Minute Maid Orange pop. I say, "Grandma, you know this is carbonated, right?" She says it's fine. SHE WATCHES ME AS I AM FILLING THIS LARGE CUP WITH FIZZY, BRIGHT ORANGE MINUTE MAID. AS I FINISH FILLING THE CUP, SHE MAKES THIS LITTLE SOUND, basically like "nah" in English. I stop filling the cup. "What's wrong Grandma?" "Oh, the pop is just so COLOURED." I say, "Grandma, everything is coloured over here." She wrinkles her nose. I am dumbfounded. Could she not have told me this AS I WAS FILLING HER CUP? Did she HAVE to wait until it was COMPLETELY full?!?!?! GAAAAAAAH. I had an epiphany at that point though. As you get older, you become more child-like. If my grandmother was 5 and had just changed her mind about her fountain drink, I would have made her take responsibility for her decision (BECAUSE I HAD EVEN EXPLAINED ALL THE DRINKS TO HER BEFOOOOOOOOREE!!!!!) and drink the drink. But, she is my grandmother, so I proceeded to dump out the drink and fill it with Iced Tea. She said, "Oh, that's much better, this one isn't coloured." I go, "No, grandma, this one is coloured too, just with a more natural looking colour." AHHHHHH!
Stereotype illustrations:
Example 1: We are making the origami boxes. My sister asks why we don't use the black origami. My grandmother proceeds to rant about how NO Japanese people like black, how it is ugly, how people only wear it to funerals, etc. etc. ALL Japanese people hate black. I almost wanted to raise my hand to say, "But grandma, I'm Japanese, and I wouldn't mind having black on MY box." GAAAAAAH.
Example 2: My sister, mother and grandmother waiting for the subway. My sister sees that the bench has one seat free, beside some Asian man with dark-coloured skin. She asks my grandmother if she wants to sit. The man is about to get up when my grandmother looks over at the bench, turns back and wrinkles her nose, saying, "No." She then proceeds to tell my sister about how (racism coming up here, don't read it if yo'ure going to be offended. And I really apologize for my grandmother's weirdness) black people in L.A. are dangerous. OH MY. WHAT a HUGE racist generalization! But it gets better. This is the clincher: She says, "When black people say, do you have change for ____ in L.A., they really mean 'Give me all your money.'" AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA. WHERE DOES SHE GET THIS?!?!??! My sister proceeds to explain that they really just WANT CHANGE. My grandmother says, "Oh, maybe in Toronto, but in L.A. they're trying to rob you." OOOOOH my. OH MY OH MY OH MY. Are all old people this WEIRD?!?!?! My sister did attempt to dispell this stereotype by telling my grandmother that we were all individuals and that she shouldn't generalize, etc. My grandmother ended with, "Yes, we are all individuals, but...." AHHHHH!
Example 3: We're in Cullen Gardens. We're walking along the path. Sitting in some open grass are two girls eating their lunch. They don't look very happy. My grandmother says (oh man, so much of what my grandmother says is lost in the translation), "I don't like the look of those girls." I ask what the heck that means. She says they're not like Canadian girls. I ask what the heck she means by "Canadian girls". She says they're not as happy and bright and cheery as Canadian girls. I go, "Grandma, those ARE Canadian girls. Canadian girls come in all different types. We're not ALL cheery." She responds with an, "Oh." and still looks dissatisfied.
Oh man. It's still okay because I have my sense of humour about everything. I couldn't stop laughing when my sister told me the asking for change thing being robbing thing. She's just extremely set in her ways, and although that doesn't excuse her horrible stereotyping, it helps me stay sane. Pray I don't lose my patience!
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Watching colours...
So the latest thing that has got my attention besides Piko Piko Hammer (I'm on level 13...can't get past it!) is reading my friends' blogs. Only there's this one that changes colour, and I'm always logging on, trying to get it to stop on a pretty colour. I've decided I'm impartial to the blues. It's so funny, because I absolutely won't start reading the entries until I'm satisfied with the aesthetics! Ahahaha. I know, I'm rolling my eyes too! This is why girls classify cars by colour!!!
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