For advent

Being intentional about Christmas. Thoughtfully approaching the season. Purposefully remembering to bring the Gospel into our Christmas celebration. Living in the joy of the Virgin Birth. That's how I want to spend this Christmas season. One of the ways I want to do that this season is to keep up a little bit of an advent blog. Why? Because I'm a bit of a writer...it helps me organize my thoughts. Because Steve did it a couple of years ago and I truly appreciated his thoughts. Because Tasha will get after me if I go too long between posts and will keep me accountable. Christmas in community for me.

So the last couple days I've been thinking about advent and what that means. Growing up in the church, we've always had the advent wreath and lit the purple candles on the four Sundays prior to Christmas. I didn't really question it - which is odd for me - but I don't think I've ever fully understood what it was all about. My mom bought us advent calendars - she would send me one when I was away at college so that I wouldn't miss out - and even though I knew it was important and had to do with the meaning of Christmas, I was just happy to have my daily dose of chocolate! Of course, with my personality, I can only be content with that for so long and so here I am, contemplating the meaning of advent.

So far, I've put a few things together. From what I know about the English language (it's more than it sometimes sounds!), the word "advent" means beginning, coming, or preparation. So, in my mind, putting it all together, the advent of Christmas would be the 'coming of Christmas' or 'preparing for Christmas.' See, I'm on my way already.

At Journey, we're celebrating advent as a family. Now, if Advent is preparing for Christmas, I'd say this Sunday was a good start. Troy's teaching time was titled "redefining Superman" and he basically spoke in monologue type from the perspective of a jr. high Jewish boy living shortly after Jesus. From this boy's perspective, he retold the Gospel, the whole life of Jesus, including all of the boy's thoughts on his birth, his life, his ministry, his death, the fortelling of his coming as told by the prophets and the Jewish people's understanding of what that should look like compared to what it did. It was fascinating.

It was so refreshing to look at the entire life of Jesus at Christmas time. The birth of a baby in a manger is only a part of the story that is the wonder of Christmas. Immanuel. God with Us as a child, a Son, a man, a Messiah, a sacrifical lamb, and a Savior. We have the privilege of knowing how the story finishes when we're looking at the beginning and, unlike an abused children's story, it only makes it better!

The thing is that the Jews, anyone who knew prophecy, were expecting something completely different. Jesus was unexpected, unassuming, and unpredictable in his birth and his entire ministry. Who would have thought that the child would grow up to die as a criminal on a cross, a sacrifice, and in that would restore something so broken by sin? If I were plotting to takeover the world, that's not the way I would have done it. Yet God knew.

I think in all of my contemplation over the weekend, the thing that has struck me the most is the prophecy and the fullfillment of it that we see through Scripture. How detailed a plan was this that it could be foretold hundreds of years in advance!? Psalms. Isaiah. Zechariah. Detailed images of how the King would come. Nothing was left to chance or by accident. Nothing was out of the sphere of influence of our God. That, in my mind, is a reason for peace at Christmas!

The 'biggness' and mystery of my God amazes me!

And so as I prepare for Christmas, instead of stressing out, I choose to walk through the season with one picture in mind: an image of a King who has it all in control but gave it up as a gift for many.

For anyone else who wants to find out more about advent, here's an advent website

The Countdown to Christmas

I love Christmas. I'm one of those people who doesn't mind that Christmas decorations have been up in the mall for weeks already and who has had Christmas carols playing as soon as I could get away with it. I WILL put up a Christmas tree and see no reason to wait for December 1st, to begin revelling in the season. I love the lights, the songs, the eggnogg, the laughter, the traditions, the time with family, and, most of all, that each day of it is a reminder of the best gift of all, a child born in Bethlehem.

Now that it is December, my goal is to take a walk through the Christmas season and intentionally think through the things that we do, remembering that the focus is not commercialism but Christ.

Today, I found an article from Radiant Magazine that I wanted to share. It explains some of the origins of some of the things we do...

The Season of Superstitions
By Cara Davis

Now that local radio stations have started to play non-stop Christmas songs, do you ever wonder how some of our seasonal songs came to be? Or what “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” has to do with the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ? What many don’t realize is the same question could be asked of Christmas itself. What does Christmas have to do with the birth of Jesus? Strangely, almost very little. If you trace the history of Christmas, you’ll find that this cultural celebration is filled with just as much superstition and folklore as Halloween! Hold on to your cider, here are some top Christmas myths and superstitions.

When Christmas Isn’t Christmas
During the first three centuries after Jesus’ birth, Christmas wasn’t in December. It wasn’t even on the calendar at all! ChristianityToday.com reports that the birth of Jesus was originally celebrated along with Epiphany, one of the earliest established feasts. However, many church leaders opposed the idea of a birthday celebration at all because the culture celebrated birthdays of pagan gods and rulers like Pharaoh and Herod.It was only after Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the empire’s favored religion that Christmas was celebrated on Dec. 25, in the year 336. That date also played host to two festivals surrounding the worship of the sun, including the winter solstice.The winter solstice was seen as an especially evil time, so as centuries passed, people would gather in one another’s homes for protection, according to Snopes.com. Folklore and superstition would develop over the years, as people would participate in a number of charms and rituals thought to ward away evil spirits.

Decorating Against Witches
Holly and mistletoe were brought into homes, thought to protect against witches and lightning. Mistletoe was also thought to be a cure for poison, epilepsy, barrenness and whopping cough. Ivy was considered back luck inside the house, but good luck growing outside of the house as protection. Evergreens brought from the church were especially lucky. Some would keep them up in the house year-round.

Eat, Drink and Stay Single!
If pudding was being made for Christmas dinner, each member of the household was to stir the mixture three times to ensure the prosperity of the family. If an unmarried girl didn’t take her turn stirring, she could forget about finding a husband in the coming year.

Good Ol’ St. Nick
Stockings were hung over the fireplace in remembrance of St. Nicholas, who by legend tossed gold coins down the chimney of three unmarried women, who were being courted but had no dowries. The coins (which miraculously fell into stockings hung by the chimney) supplied the dowry and secured their right to marry.Another “miracle” was attributed St. Nicholas when, by oral tradition, he saved his hometown of Myra from starvation by seizing grain off a ship. The stolen cargo was never reported missing, so it was counted as miraculous. St. Nicholas died on December 6, 345 or 352, according to ChristianityToday.com.As tradition was passed down, the Feast of St. Nicholas was established on Dec. 6, until church reformers banned the feast in favor of an alternate celebration of the Christ child, or Christkindlein, who reportedly brought gifts to children on Christmas Eve, much like St. Nicholas. This character eventually developed into “Kriss Kringle,” who is identified as the mythical Nicholas figure as well.

Christmas = Xmas?
So what about the word "Christmas" itself? Many are offended when the word is abbreviated as “Xmas,” but that term is neither modern nor disrespectful, according to Snopes.com. The origin of the first letter of the Greek word for “Christ” is “chi.” The Greek letter is represented by a symbol similar to the letter “X.” The abbreviation was not used to take the “Christ” out of “Christmas.” However, many still prefer not to use it.

And Finally, A Pop Quiz!
These are just a few of the superstitions and folklore that surround what has become a secular, commercial celebration. Take the time to read the Bible’s Christmas story (Matthew 1-2) this season. You get extra credit if you identify this statement as true or false: The Bible says three wise men traveled from afar on camels to visit the infant Jesus as He lay in the manger.

Cara Davis, editor of Radiant, is celebrating the reason for the season in warm and sunny Florida, where it doesn’t feel like Christmas.

Pictures are Posted!

For anyone who cares, a whole bunch of pictures taken on my last work trip in Ontario with the Christian College and University Fairs are now posted in my shutterfly collection.

As if by looking at that adorable shot you could resist checking out the rest of them!

Why I Try To Avoid the Doctor

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

...to all of my American friends! Enjoy!

Hope comes in the morning

From my morning reading:

"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling." Ephesians 1:18

The contrast between what we see ourselves to be and what God's Spirit promises we will be like blinding sunlight striking the eyes as the shades of a darkened room are suddenly raised. But the power and blessing of God are intended for you!

That's power - the power of God both birthing and bringing about. It's God at work in human clay, shaping, molding, and fashioning until the earthdust of our humanity becomes a treasure chest of diving wealth.

How Sweet It Is!

The battle of Alberta. The clash of the titans. The war of the worlds. Okay, so maybe it's not that big of a deal but as an Edmonton fan living in Calgary, anytime that the Oilers and the flames meet, it's a big deal.

It's even better when Edmonton comes out on top!

Thanks Sykora, Roli (my hero) and the rest of the boys in blue! Today, I'm a happy lady!

CCUF Final Thoughts

So I was cruising some of my favorite blogs - yes, I read yours - when I came across my friend Tim's blog about the fairs. I couldn't have said it better myself. Here's his final CCUF thoughts.

Current Read

Revolution Of Character, Dallas Willard and Don Simpson

As one of my fellow CCUF travelers said, it's one of those spiritual formation type books. Go figure.

Past Reads

Last Light, Terry Blackstock

Night Light, Terri Blackstock

I've read these in the last couple of days on the recommendation of a few friends. Interesting concept...

But I Like The Cookie!!!

This is one of my favorite scenes from Over the Hedge...once I found it, I had to share!

Home, home on the range...

Back on the prairies. Back in cowtown. My own house. My own bed. It's funny, reflecting on it, it doesn't seem like it's only been 10 days that I've been gone. We filled the days so full that it seems like I've been gone so much longer. It's like getting on the plane in the airport in Calgary (or off in Toronto) sent me into some sort of timewarp in which time moved in a much different way, only to be corrected when I got back on the plane in Ottawa and landed again in Calgary.

Coming home is definitely something I've met with mixed feelings. I know I've said it before but there's something great about the community that's built on the fairs. It's there that I find that I have peers. it's also on the road that I find parts of my job that I'm really good at and respected for...things I don't always see at home. It's funny because it always takes me a little bit of time to get warmed up to the idea of going away again, especially on this fall stretch. It's like I forget just how much fun it is until I get there and am back in the middle of it...plus it's a nice break away from the daily grind of the office.

My top 10 2006 CCUF East Highlights

1. As always, I am blessed by the recruiters and other enrollment personnel from across the country. Peers and friends. If any of you are ever in Calgary, you have a friend in me...can anyone name that song?
2. Starbucks...or, as I mentioned earlier, St. Arbucks.
3. My roommate, Steph.
4. Having my eyes opened to new possibilities.
5. Students and parents searching for next steps...and the role I get to play in it whether they come to ABC or not
6. Seeing God answer prayers in many ways.
7. Great coffee (or should I say Oh So Good coffee) in Ottawa. Thanks for the inside scoop, Tim. The Indian restaurant was amazing too! I guess it shouldn't surprise me seeing as how we were separated at birth and all!
8. My new scarf from a street vendor in Ottawa...oh, and the tea store!
9. Taking pictures, especially Ottawa at night.
10. My funny plane trip home. Quick story...one steward and I got chatting. He asked me if I was part of a youth group and somehow in conversation it came out that he thought I was 17. Sorry, just 10 years off. Anyway, it started this whole bet with the flight attendants about how old I actually was. I guess the guy that was the closest won $1 on my old age! I should be flattered considering I had only had 2.5 hours of sleep the night before after 10 days of travel and had almost poured all my water from my waterbottle on the floor at the security gate of the airport out of frustration!

Okay, I said that I would only use 10 but I just have one more that needs to be included.

11. The answers to the question of the day. While some days I racked my brain to find questions, it was continually a privilege to hear the answers of my fellow travelers and get to know them better by their responses. Yes, I know, I'm obviously too relational for my own good sometimes. So many good conversations came out of this. One that really surprised me was Friday's question. I had specifically saved it all week:

If money wasn't an issue but you still had to work a 40 hour work week, what would you do with your time?

Basically, this was an opportunity to give in to the passions and dreams on our hearts. A couple said they'd stay recruiting and that made me happy. While there are ways this could be integrated into my current job, I knew my answer easily. I would love to do something that got me mentoring, discipling and much more deeply involved in spiritual formation...in the life journey of those around me. What surprised me was my passionate response when talking with Nathan. It was then that I realized that I would specifically like to use this to encourage and build into the lives of young women and girls. I saw so many students on this trip dying for something more, lacking in confidence and struggling to find some purpose in life. I wonder how many of them doubted their worth and feared for them - what ways would they strive to find worth and to bury the doubt they feel? It rips at my heart. Yes, I ended up in tears it ended up so close to home. The thing is, each girl I met is a valuable, captivating daughter of the King and I want them to know that...and then I want to help them find their place in His Kingdom work.

Okay, that's enough for now. You'd think after talking all week, I'd be a little more at a loss for words. Afraid not.

*I was going to post pics but blogger is acting up again. I'll get them in asap!

Gridblog: Seize the Day

Okay, Tim, so I'm a little late on this - it's not Friday - but hopefully it's a better late than never sort of thing...you can't scare me away that easy.

Seizing the Day. Living in death's light. Living today...and loving it.

I wish I could say that this is where I live. That each day is lived in such a way that I would be satisfied if it were my last but I'm not, at least not as completely as I would like to.

I think of my grandma. Every time I see her, she talks to me about being thankful to live another day. After all she's been through in the last several years of her life, she realizes that each day is a gift from God.

I struggle with that right now. Whether it's that life just seems so hard or just so far from what I'd hoped it would be, I'm not living with near the God-focused contenment I wish that I could. Right now, life feels like a day by day, step by step trudge, an uphill battle with boots that are too big, carrying a load far beyond my strength...and so each day I come to Jesus and pray that he'll sustain me, knowing in my head, if not my heart, that He is far more able than I could ever ask of imagine.

See, here's the thing. As much as it's a struggle, I'm still struggling. I'm still looking to Him and trying to focus on the things that I'm thankful for. A while back I posted about being thankful. Right now, that's how I work to live today. Being thankful for all things, the big and the small. Each night, I make a list of the things I'm thankful for. I have a friend who asks me often, holding me accountable to living a life of thanksgiving. At the end of my life, when all is said and done, at the very least, I want to be known as someone who is thankful.

Right now, I think if I'm intentionally thankful, the rest of it will come...the contentment, the strength, the joy and peace that only God can bring. Only by living my life in His shadow will I ever truly be ready to live life in death's shadow...and be able to seize the day.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

We watched Mission Impossible III the other day and found a great quote.

"It's completely unacceptable that chocolate makes you fat."

Exactly!

Gridblog...the return

Okay, it's been a while since we've done a gridblog. For those of you who are new to this whole thing, we pick a topic and blog on it on Friday. It's a chance to do some discussion even though we're not in the same place. Join in. We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Here's this week's topic:

“Living in light of death” or “Carpe Diem” or “Sieza le day” or “In Remembrance.”

See you tomorrow (providing I've got internet access on this wild and wooly road trip).

My life's ambition

So today's question of the day was this: if you could have been cast in any movie, what would it be? It could be a cameo appearance just to get you on the set or you could go ahead and take over the lead roll. Remember, you're acting the part, not living it (big difference!).

This lead to a bunch of interesting conversation although don't they all!? Anyway, I had a hard time deciding what movie I would want to play a part in. Top Gun? Tomb Raider if it meant I got to tour some of the set locations and do some of the amazing stunts...providing I was in good enough shape. Pirates of the Caribbean or Lord of the Rings just because I think being a part of the process would be so cool.

And then it came...Finding Nemo. Cars. Little Mermaid. Shrek.

I COULD VOICE AN ANIMATED FEATURE LENGTH FILM!

How cool would that be!?

People say that I look like Cameron Diaz and if she can do it (a la Shrek) than so can I!!

So there you have it. My new life's ambition. I want to voice a cartoon...no wait, it sounds better if you say animated film. Yes. That's what I want to do when I grow up.

Welcome St. Arbucks*...

...patron saint of all things caffeiney, milkey, caremelly, and (at Christmas time) gingerbready goodness. Mmm...coffee.

A welcome guest on our bus trip today!


*Thanks to Joe for the new name!

On the Road Again

Yup, on the road again - not the Willy Nelson song but it's my life. Currently in snowy Barrie, ON for the Eastern portion of the Christian College and University Fairs. It seems to always snow when I'm here. It didn't start until after the evening and so it didn't have any affect on our event today...still lots of interesting people to chat with. Other than that, it's pretty safe to say that so far the trip has been good...did I mention flying into TO with Lanny McDonald on a trusty Westjet plane? He was going to the Hockey Hall of Fame inductions this weekend.

The one thing that really surprised me when we got here is just how much this seems like home; "this" being this group of people. I only see most of them on these tours and yet in many ways I feel more at home and more myself here than anywhere else. Perhaps its the shared experiences of both travel and work. Perhaps its that we're all brothers and sisters in Christ. All I know is that I am thankful for these friends and am looking forward to enjoying the good times ahead.

Happy Belated Birthday

To all my childhood friends on Sesame Street - they celebrated their 37th birthday yesterday!

I Live By Grace

Silently Affecting Others For Christ. Check out this article by Gary Thomas.

Starbucks anyone?

The funny thing about this cartoon is that it showed up taped to my office door thanks to some anonymous newspaper cutter-outer...I didn't do it. Even better is that I had this same conversation with a friend of mine not that long ago...why is it that a tall is a tall if really it's a small?

Congrats, Keith

One of my favorites, Keith Urban, won male entertainer of the year at last night's CMA awards while Rascal Flatts, another fav, won group of the year!

Here's the rest of the award winners.

Bond, James Bond

All I have to say is:

Casino Royale

Nov. 17, 2006

Who's with me?!

In the news...

It seems like this has been a long time coming and yet here it is in the news. Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity on Sunday and sentenced to hang for the 1982 killing of 148 Shia Muslims in a town north of Baghdad. I don't know how I feel about capital punishment but I am grateful to know that the reign of tyranny at the hands of this man has been stopped...how many will follow in his foot steps is yet to be seen.

Welcome, little friend

My good friends, Fred, Tasha, and Samantha Best

welcomed

Nathan Mark Best

into their family this past Friday, November 3, 2006.

He weighed 8lbs 7 oz

and is perfect!

As I looked down at him, holding him my arms, I couldn't help but think of the Psalmists words in Psalm 139, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be," and be thankful.

*Tash, I hoped the pic was safe to post since you already had it online...if you want me to change it, let me know!

Coffee Art

Even my good friends at Starbucks don't serve it up like this!

I Love Football

Especially when turnover mad riders stun the stamps - if it's not the Eskies, a girl can still go Green! Besides, it's NOT the Stamps - and I get to watch a fourth quarter thriller in the East - even if it was the Argos that pulled it out. Wouldn't it have been something to watch a Winnipeg-Saskatchewan Grey Cup. I would have loved it. Mmmm.....Grey Cup! I love being Canadian!

Yuck!

Heather and I have mice in our garage. I'm not talking cute little mickey-mouse type mice. Not Stewart Little. Nope. Just plain old rodents. Truthfully, they've been there for a while but we pretty much just hoped that they'd go away. No such luck. Last night, however, we came home to find that our peanut-butter baited traps were quite effective...two mousetraps, two dead mice. We got 'em. The problem is that now we have to get them out of the traps and set them again. Now I may be a farmgirl, I'm willing to kill them with a broom if I have to, and I don't crawl up on the table when they run by but somehow the idea of possibly touching one, even a dead one, to let it out of the trap, completely grosses me out. I guess a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do...here's to two more dead mice tomorrow.

It's So Scary

I hope everyone is recovering from their post-Halloween sugar hangover. Once again, the little kiddies were out in full force getting treats and playing tricks...although neither happened at our house!

In honor of the "holiday," I figured it would be worth sharing some of the scary Halloween trivia I found over the last 24 hours.

• Halloween is the second highest spending holiday for North Americans, second only to Christmas
• Halloween ranks 8th on the list of card sending holidays. Who sends cards on Halloween is what I want to know?! (You can admit it if you're a card sender.) Seriously, I don't want cards when there's that much chocolate around!
• British Columbia is the province that will spend the most on Halloween
• Quebec is the province that will spend the least
• Only 54 days left until Christmas...

Current Read

Kitchen Table Counseling: A practical and bibilical guide for women helping others, Muriel Cook and Shelly Volkhardt

Question of the Day part II

Okay, so I posted my questions/anwers and now I need to think up MORE question for the Ontario tour...HELP!!!

Anyone got any questions?

Question of the Day

One of the "roles" that I adopted as leadership on the Christian College and University fairs was providing the question of the day. Seriously, it came about totally by accident. Let me explain. Julie and I had been asking random questions on the bus, one of them being 'if you were an animal, what would you be and why?' That sort of random. Well, that night at our event, I decided we needed something fun to distract us so I asked EVERYBODY. All the recruiters and even some of the students. It was a fun distraction - fun for me to see the conversations spurred on because of my randomness but also interesting to learn about my fellow travellers. You can learn a lot about someone by asking something that random! From that night on, of course, they expected a question at every venue...not that I minded all that much.

Of course, they expected me to have answers to the questions I asked too. Go figure. In my current state of self reflection, it was interesting for me to find that I learned a bit about myself by my answers.

Question: If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

Answer: No, I'm not a flamingo and I won't stand on one leg so you can decide!I decided that I would be a koala bear (or a panda bear) because they are soft, cuddly and cute ('cause I'm cute) but feisty when they need to be. Plus, they eat relatively healthy stuff and live in warm places. I like warm. One of the girls added that they're a somewhat motherly too. I could add that to my description. They don't call me 'momma stacey' around the college for nothing!


Question: If your life is a TV show, what would the theme song be?

Answer: "Waiting for the World To Change" John Mayer, from the Continuum album...'cause I'm resltess and feel like I am waiting for the world to change...looking for my part in the process

Question: If you were a cartoon character, who would you be and why? Which cartoon character best reflects your personality?

Answer: I choose nemo. I like a little bit of adventure and am more than a little bit curious, asking "why" and learning all I can. Like Nemo, I feel lost and lonely a lot of the time but I know my daddy (abba Father) is always looking out for me.



So does anyone want to share their answers to these questions? I'm curious now. Or, if you have a good question, I might just be game!

CCUF west photos

Okay so I finally got the pictures up...even before I got my laundry done!

They're in three parts but are all at the same spot.

If you still have photos for me to add, just email them over and I'll get them included.

Enjoy!

Gridblog Mystery

Okay guys, so I've been away for a while and haven't had much opportunity to be snooping around the blog world to find out what's been going on. I confess, I've missed a couple Fridays. However, now that I'm home and it's Friday, I've realized that there just doesn't seem to be a topic for me to ramble on about. I don't have any question ideas right now but would sure love to chat with y'all about something...any ideas? Gridblog topic anyone?

Current Read

The Devil Wears Prada, Lauren Weisberger

CCUFairs West

I'm home again after travelling Western Canada with the Christian College and University fairs. I've been back in my office listening to the sounds of students in the halls. It's good to know that some things never change.

Anyway, it was a great trip! What a privilege to travel with 30 brothers and sisters in Christ from across the country who are also involved in the same work - recruiting for Christian higher education. I could say so much but it's probably safer to let the pictures do the talking. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words!






Well, once again blogger is causing issues as I try to post pictures. Pretty quick, you'll be able to see more at my shutterfly account.

Current Read

Inside My Heart: Choosing to Live with Passion and Purpose, Robin McGraw

Only In Abbotsford

Maybe it's just me, but I've never, ever seen these before:

Lay's potatoe chips in Curry flavor!!!!

I thought it was the funniest thing...my fabulous friend Kelly figured there was a blog post coming on...so here it is!

Current Read

In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories, and Prayers (Mother Teresa)

Westward bound

Well, so far we've been in 3 provinces and only have one more to go. I don't know how many miles via bus this. All I know is that it's been 8 venues, lots of days on the bus and I don't know how many miles, far too many Denny's meals, lots of granola bars, church on the bus, praying together, laughing together, chatting together, just plain old being together as recruiters who understand what this life is about, and coffee. Phew! I'm tired...and there's more fun to be had!!!

Congrats Smytty!

Okay, so, preparing for teaching the professional development sessions on Thursday night, I missed the Edmonton-San Jose game. While I was sad to miss the game, I knew I needed to work on the session (which, by the way was such a good thing for me). I didn't realize how much I'd missed until our orientation meeting with the whole team on Friday night, when I heard, from a friend of mine who had been at the game that:

Ryan Smyth scores a natural hat trick, the fastest hat trick in Edmonton Oiler history, just over 2 minutes, beating Wayne Gretzky's previous record, scoring his 500th and 501st career goals and helping the Oilers take the lead! Seriously! How do I miss these things!? Not to mention that they came from behind 4-1 to win it 6-4 and that San Jose, favored to win the cup, just creamed Calgary earlier in the week. I hate missing things like that...

But I wouldn't have minded missing this! The Eskies lost to Toronto again to sucessfully eliminate themselves from the playoffs. That stops the longest run of successive playoff appearances in the CFL at 24 years. How do you go from winning the Grey Cup one year to missing the playoffs the next?!

Ah, at least there's hockey. I'm off to watch Edmonton and the Avalanche in my hotel room!

Goin' to Winnipeg...

Say it like the commercial. Come on, you know you want to. Yup, going to Winnipeg. Actually, I'm here and it's cold. Not just "Winterpeg" cold like some people call it but "Winderpeg" cold. Because of my slight stature, people sometimes joke that a good strong wind would blow me away. I didn't believe that was possible. Now I do. Me and a whole cart of luggage, boxes and display material. It can be done. And it's cold. Did I say that already!? There's even some of that white stuff on the ground...you know what I'm talking about...my momma told me not to use the "s" word or she'd wash my mouth out with soap.

Things are coming together. Tomorrow Tim Kantel (the amount of similarities between the two of us are kindof freaky actually!) and I are going to present for the day. Who would have thought just 3 years ago that I'd be teaching people how to do my job!? Not I! Wish me luck. Off to prepare...

On the Road Again...

Could be an old country song...or it could be my life. Sometimes I feel like a travelling salesman...oh wait a minute...hmmm...okay, if anyone's interested, here's my travelling plans for the next couple weeks. I'm off with the Christian College and University Fairs. Here we go...

Thursday, Oct 12 Calgary to Winnipeg…travel and prep
Friday, Oct 13 Winnipeg Pro-D Training Day for 1st Year Recruiters
Saturday, Oct 14 Winnipeg Grant Memorial Baptist church
Sunday, Oct 15 Regina Celebration Lutheran Church
Monday, Oct 16 Saskatoon Saskatoon Christian School (2 events)
Tuesday, Oct 17 Saskatoon to Edmonton…driving day, pro-D sessions, etc
Wednesday, Oct 18 Edmonton Millwoods Christian School (2 events)
Thursday, Oct 19 Lethbridge Park Meadows Baptist Church
Friday, Oct 20 Calgary Masters Academy
Saturday, Oct 21 Calgary First Alliance Church
Sunday, Oct 22 Kelowna Trinity Baptist Church
Monday, Oct 23 Burnaby Carver Christian High
Abbotsford Northview Community Church
Tuesday, Oct 24 Surrey Pacific Academy Christian School
Wednesday, Oct 25 Abbotsford to Calgary…flying home!

What's interesting is that on this one, I'm more than just a representative for Alberta Bible College. I'm also representing Christian Higher Education as a whole. I'm representing, for a lot of the people that I'll meet, obedience to Christ and submission to his will when that my look much different than what the world expects. I'm also a leader among my peers. This time, I'll even be a bit of a teacher (I hope!). I feel the responsibility of this and am excited by the challenge.

I'm sure I'll have stories and pictures to post along the way!

Happy Thanksgiving

It was so nice outside on Sunday that I made my family take pictures. We haven't done family pictures in forever! Look how cute we are!!

My sister, Tara.

Me! My brother took it and I'm convinced he's a miracle worker. I don't typically find myself overly photogenic but I actually like this picture!

My brother, Cody.

I've said it before but this year I'm reminded again just how thankful I am for my family.

Gridblog: Thanksgiving

So I mentioned in an earlier post about my mixed feelings about Thanksgiving - I'm thankful for a day set aside but I'm saddened that we need to set a day aside in order to be thankful. Does that make sense? Anyway, I've faced this reality in my life. Over the summer, I made a commitment to myself to find at least one thing to be intentionally, deliberatly, thoughtfully thankful for every day. My confession is that it has been a hard thing to do consistently. It's not even just the hard days that it's difficult but the good days and the in between days. It's just hard to take the time and remember that I'm not in control, I am thankful and choose to recognize the Giver of Good Gifts. So I'm thankful for a day to stop and be thankful and again choose to be more intentional in every day. For this thanksgiving, I'm thankful for (in no particular order):

• my family - that we like eachother, that we're all still on this earth and can spend time together, for the support and care we provide for each other and for continued health in the midst of struggles. After the year our family has had, it's hard to take this for granted
  
• for Jesus and the life that He bought for me by His death
  
• for opportunities to partner with Him in restoring the kingdom
  
• for the gifts and talents He has given me and for opportunities to put them to use
  
• for my church family and for the risks we have with starting a new church community
  
• for the students at ABC - it's amazing how intwined our lives have become. They grow on a person...kind of like mold...the penicillin producing, good kind
  
• for my coworkers at the college and the team that's building
  
• for good friends
  
• for a great roommate and a beautiful home to share
  
• for hope 'cause even when things are crappy, there's something to look forward to
  
• for music...ah music
  
• and for silence
  
• for the great outdoors and the chances to get away from the city to be in it
  
• for sports
  
• for good books
  
• for children
  
• for a country that's not at war (and I pray for those that are)
  
• for the freedom to speak freely
  
• for summer, for the sun and for warmth (I hate the cold) and for a fireplace in the winter
  
• for coffee
  
• for food in general, let's be honest
  
• for technology that makes staying in touch a little easier
  
• for creativity
  
• for my car
  
• that God's in control
  
• that I'm not...and that I'm learning to accept that
  
• for having so many things to be thankful for
  
• for chocolate
• and that Edmonton beat Calgary last night. I love Roli the Goalie!

Gridblog for Friday

There's no surprises here. This week we're talking about what we're thankful for. Stay tuned. We're blessed people so it's bound to be good!

Let the games begin...

I feel a little weird writing this post. Most of the blog posts I've read concerning this have been the men excited and the women complaining about losing their husbands but here I am finding something good about the fall - the NHL begins again. Last night the fun began. Ottawa beat Toronto...surprise! Are there still Toronto fans left in the world? Poor, poor, hockey fans. It didn't really feel like a real start though. Tonight's the night for me - Edmonton and Calgary face off at home...and for anyone who might be confused, that means they're playing in Edmonton.

Thanksgiving comes early for the Sparshu family

No, I'm not talking about dinner. Our family got some terrific news this week and, since our family is well overdo for some good news (it's been a pretty rough year!), I couldn't wait until the actual holiday to share. Is it odd to anyone else that we have to actually set aside a day to be thankful? Kindof sad, isn't it? Oh, but I digress...back to the good news.

Just about a month ago, my dad had surgery for prostate cancer. He's been healing well and has seemed to be more patient through the healing process which is all good news. Of course I could be making assumptions on the patience part since I'm almost four hours away and hear stories via phone conversations but again, I digress. Back to the story. Here's where the really good news comes in. This week he went for his follow up appointment with the doctor and I think we were all relieved to hear that everything looks good and as far as they can tell THE CANCER IS GONE and everything is clear!

Our God is the great physician!

This makes me appreciate my momma!

"Cause she loves me more than this (and a whole lot of other things too)! Okay, so maybe I just have a warped sense of humor and really enjoy Pearls Before Swine. They even have books. What would be better than that.

The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney, Randy Singer

A Passion for Fullness

That's what I've been longing for lately. Peace. Joy. Rest. The abundant life. Instead I feel this restlessness. Like there's more to life than what I'm living. Like this life, as it is, is not enough. I don't mean to be ungrateful or grumpy but I just feel like there HAS to be more. My prayers have been for this abundance that Christ has promised us - not for a "happy" life or for even better circumstances but for the ability to live a life of joy as Christ intends for me. Chocolate can't provide that (although it is a nice distraction from time to time). All of that is just a preface to the real post going on here. Check out what I read as I was getting ready for the day today:

"God's purpose in pouring His holiness toward us through His Son and by His Spirit, is to save us:

to restore all that has been eaten away by the locusts of sin;

to refill all that has been eroded by the streams of unrighteousness;

to rebuild all that has been broken down by the destructiveness of hell's operations;

to recover all that has been decayed by the works of the flesh."

(from A Passion for Fullness)

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

Psalm 51:12

That's both a prayer and a promise of which I can be assured!

Gridblog: Living Forgiven

Hmmm...well, without having read anyone else's thoughts on this one, here I go. What a great topic!? What a great big ole' can of worms we've opened here!? Let's see if I can keep it short 'cause really I'm supposed to be on the road...here goes nothing.

Living forgiven. Because I am forgiven. Reflecting the forgiver. Extending forgiveness to those God has forgiven and longs to forgive. Experiencing freedom.

I could probably stop there and have summed up what I need to say. It's in the details that I think we get bogged down though. What does it mean to live forgiven? I think that it's in the freedom found there that we are able to live lives that are full and abundant as Christ promised. I think it's there that we realize who it is that we are created to be and find a richness to our own selves that we never would have imagined. It's like looking into a mirror that is finally clean and pure and seeing the reflection that we were intended to see all along. We shall see ourselves as Christ sees us. The things is, as I'm learning, that our living forgiven is not just an inward thing. There's outward ramifications to this whole thing. That's where extending grace and forgiveness come in. How can I not forget those who sin against me if I am fully realizing the full extent of what has been offered me by my Great forgiver? How can I not become more like Him in that area too? An how do I not share what He's done with those around me? How can I not live a life of hospitality and authenticity with that kind of freedom? How can I not?

I love reading the book of Romans on this one as Paul talks about the free gift given, about the grace extended and about the new life of freedom gained. It's because of forgiveness, because of this freedom, that I can be united with Christ. In Romans 6:5-6, Paul says, "For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, tht our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."

It is by His death and resurrection that forgiveness finds its place in our lives. Let's be honest, the cross was not an easy place for Christ to head to but he surrendered and gave us something so beyond imagination. I think of all the petty things I have trouble forgiving people for, and want to hold on to and realize that somehow, in my reflection of Christ, I need to surrender that to Him too...no matter how hard it seems. I guess what I'm realizing that forgiveness is about transformation - mine and the world's- because God wants to restore us all. I'm realizing the forgiveness, while free, has significant implications for how I live my life.

If I really live with thoughts of the cross in my mind would I live my life the same way? I think not. Time to be a little more deliberate and live like the forgiven child of the King that I am!

Journeying Onward

Okay, so here's a little bit of excitment in my world - Journey's official public launch is October 1st! I can't wait to see what God is going to do. We're anticipating big things. I don't really know how that will be seen - whether it will be the number of people there, seeing new faces who have never been to a fellowship of believers before, even just one, come, finding an increased passion fill our number - but I anticipate it none the less.

One of my roles at Journey comes in the form of the servant evangelism director. I'm still figuring out what that title means but I do know that its finding me more and more at the place where my passion and the needs of our community are meeting. I'm learning more and more about what it means to be a follower of Christ through this whole development process and, again, am excited about how God will continue to teach me, mold me, grow me and use me for His kingdom as I am willing and open to His movement. It's an exciting thing.

One of the things I've decided to do as a part of this role is to start a NEW BLOG specifically dedicated to Journey Church as a resource for all things "servant evangelism" related. What I'm hoping though is that it will go even beyond the community of Journey and that it can spur on good discussion throughout the kingdom about this aspect of our faith...'cause we're all on a Journey To The World. So I would appreciate people checking it out, sharing their ideas and growing with me - how's that for a straight up plug!? I wonder how that would fit into a Marketing 101 class. Just remember that the blog, like me, is a work in progress. Anyway, here's hoping that y'all will join in on the discussion!

Isn't he cute??!!

Foccacia bread

I found a great recipe for the stuff that's super good and super easy. I substituted regular old olive oil instead of the garlic stuff they called for and it was still yummy!

What's entertaining?

So I've been thinking about this for a while as I look for things to do and look for things that are fun. What's entertaining? If a group of twenty-some things are planning to get together, what do they do?

I enjoy a good cup of coffee and a visit. Movies are good on occasion - when there's something playing and you really don't feel like being chatty-sociable but like to be with other people, out and about. I've got a couple of friends that enjoy playing games which has been fun. Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and Tribond have been some of our recent adventures. Going out for dinner once and a while is fun. A good wander in Chapters is always fun too.

How about when I'm on my own? The TV is on for company quite often (my list of "friends" is in a previous post). I'll read. Perhaps I'll blog or see what other distractions the internet can provide. Occasionally I'll cook, play with photography or something else artistic.

Typically though, its about being entertained. About something keeping me preoccupied. About some form of technology.

I've been struggling with this lately and I'm curious what it's all about. When I was growing up on the farm, it seemed easy to find something to do to entertain ourselves. I say seemed because it was a different time and a different place but it did. There's no hay bales to climb on in the city - at least none that I know of. Bike rides are different and can you see the stars in the city? Do they even exist? Why did it seem easier to come up with things to do, particularity things that didn't cost money and were just plain inventive?

What is there to do for fun?

When did I lose the ability to think of my own fun?

Here's what I mean. A friend of mine came in to the city for the evening on Saturday. We had no idea what to do. None of the old stand by options held any appeal. There were no good movies playing at the theatre. We didn't want to go to the mall since there's far too much risk to spend money there. We ended up having a nice dinner and conversation, renting a movie and going back to my place. While that was good (I especially love the conversation part!), I wonder what it is that keeps us from knowing what to do in the company of others? When did we forget about good and fun? How is our community so falsely shaped that the "mundane" of life isn't worth doing together? What is there to do in this city anyway?

I know there's probably people with young kids that actually wish they had the time to be asking this question! Truthfully, I bet they face it too. Let's just say that someone offered to take those kids for an afternoon, what would they do? Go to a movie? Go the mall? I wouldn't be surprised if grocery shopping or paying bills ended up on the list.

Seriously, I'm wondering where there's creativity in the whole thing and when mine disappeared!

I joke that I don't get out much. That's not necessarily it but I do want to get out well if that makes any sense. I want to enjoy life with the people around me and I've got this sneaking suspicion that life is more than the movies played or the displays in the mall. Yes, it's a part of it and I'll admit I love both BUT I'm convinced there's more. I just need to figure it out. I want to be able to use my mind in different ways than what its used at work. I think that's freeing too (Trivial Pursuit can be fun, folks, as long as you avoid the American history...unless of course you're American). Being creative together. Fun!

But how!?

Perhaps someone can share some ideas that will inspire something new. Perhaps we should even do a gridblog on this sometime! Anyway...

Speaking of entertainment, know what day it is? Tuesday. Chris Tomlin CD release day. And guess what!? I can't go pick it up until tomorrow. After all that!? Arg.

Know what else? I finally entered the world of the ipod. Yes, I know, congratulations are in order. I picked up my ipod nano yesterday and spent the evening playing with music and podcasts so that it was ready to rock 'n roll (yes, the pun was intended).

See what I mean...it's all about technology.

Current Read

Eat This Book, Eugene Peterson

From the mouth of Nelson Mandela

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, now our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be. You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so the other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us...and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

I'm a believer!!

Sing the song with me (for those of you too young, think Shrek)...Yes, I saw their face, and I'm a believer...we may not have Pronger, Peca may have jumped ship but I believe! Yes, I know it's only the preseason. Yes, I know that the points don't really count...heck, they don't even exist. Yes, I know that teams are still testing players out and shuffling rosters. But I also know that last night, my Edmonton Oilers took the first go at the battle of Alberta, sitting most of their starting line while Calgary heroes like Iggy and Kipper did see action. That's right, our second string beat the Calgary flames. Take that calgary fans! See you again on Saturday...

For next Friday

GRIDBLOG: Next Friday September 29, 2006: “Living Forgiven”

So that's what's up next week. I don't think there's anything for this week so I guess I'll just have to find something fun, or maybe even inspirational (yikes!), on my own. Wait for it....

Blogger Templates?

So I normally just rant and ramble, not really expecting a response but this time I need a little help. I've noticed some of my blogging counterparts have figured out how to change templates to more fun and exciting ones than our blogger given options. "How do you do it?" I ask! Even better, how do you do it without losing all your links, etc? Where do you find all of your fun fonts and backgrounds? Can I use my own pictures to create boarders, headers and backgrounds?

Will someone please share some wisdom with me?

The problem with pre-purchasing!

So yesterday, I went and pre-purchased Chris Tomlin's new CD that releases next Tuesday, Sept. 26. It's great! I got it for a great price and all I have to do is walk in on Tuesday and pick it up. The problem is that I have to be patient...and I'm not. I don't know if I can wait until Tuesday....Oh sweet Tuesday, please come...

Finally!!!

Tie Domi retires from NHL What more do I need to say? I shouldn't pick on all those poor leaf fans, however, if there's leaf fans around, they probably deserve to be made fun of. Oh, I love the NHL!

Meet My Friends

I know it might sound weird but being a single woman who spends a lot of time alone when I'm at home, I've found that I like to have the TV on as company. It's like having friends visiting that I don't have to pay attention to (sidebar: if I have friends over, I LOVE to pay attention to them). Even though I don't always pay attention, there are shows that I enjoy watching. Seeing that this week seems to be fall premiere week, I'd let you know who some of my favorite TV "friends" are:

Tues: NCIS, House
Wed: Criminal Minds, CSI: New York
Thurs: CSI, OC, Grey's Anatomy
Fri: Numbers
Sun: Cold Case, Without a Trace

Of Course the favorite of them all doesn't start until January...Keifer Sutherland and the cast of 24 will be back!

Want to find out the fall schedule for yourself? I went to TV.com: Fall Schedule 2006 for a pretty descent list.

One Big Happy Family!?

Today we, Journey, had our first "dry run" with our equipment. The start was a little rocky - the equipment got held up at customs crossing the boarder - but we're ready to go for tomorrow morning...we think. It was an interesting day and I'm convinced that we were all living with a wide range of emotions today - excitment and anticipation, increduality that we're finally at this stage of the game, overwhelmed as the bigness of the task ahead - the physical set up alone not to mention the growth of the kingdom, and a whole lot of wondering. I've got to confess that I feel inadequate to the task but, as I said today, it reminds me to pray more because the God that I know IS adequate, in fact, He is more than sufficient! Yes, yes He is.

All of this has got me thinking about the church. I know, this is not new at all but as I watch the dynamics of our fledging group and hear stories from churches across the continent, I can't help but wonder about the struggles and victories that our church family will face.

It's a little scary to me. Being involved in ministry, especially in leadership, is, well, scary...and yet somehow I'm not willing to give up on it all. I can't. To be honest, sometimes I wish I could. I wish I could be someone who goes on Sunday, participates in the activities and goes to small group and then goes home but I don't think I can. I believe that it's my responsibility to be involved at a deeper level. Perhaps I see the scary side of it all so that I can be a support and encouragement to those who lead ahead of me and an example to those who lead beside me...if that makes any sense.

This thing we call church can be scary. It's probably the only place where your whole person is involved, particularily in leadership...which I think leaves a lot of room for some of the best wins and highest amount of satisfaction but also the greatest amount of pain. I've seen how mean people can be and I pray that somehow our body of believers will be different. Oh, I know that's probably wishful thinking seeing as how whenever you get a group of people together, you're going to get the best and the worst of what's there, like family, but a girl can hope, right?

Really, what is the church? I'm learning that it's so much bigger than programs, buildings, the songs we sing, the clothes we wear and pretty much anything that could be considered a political hotbutton. I wonder what it would be like if we had God lead our church. Not that that's not our intention but I mean, if he really lead our church, God came down in the flesh. What would that look like? Would he use powerpoint to project the scripture? Would he worry about which kids' toys were available? Would he care if the chairs were in rows or straight? Would he even use chairs? Sometimes I wish I could look from a totally outside perspective and see what we look like...what sort of image of the kingdom do we portray? I'm not saying that what we (the church in general...I'm not necessarily analyzing anyone specific here) do is wrong, necessarily, I'm just trying to think this all through. Bear with me.

So here's some things I know for sure that church is:

Church is people: fallen, broken, disfunctional, weird people. Let's face it. At some point we just need to realize that we don' have it together. Might as well get used to it. Quite frankly, this is just practice for when we're all "stuck" together in heaven...for eternity. I don't care what church you go to, what your social status is, where your kids go to school, or what sports team you cheer for (really!), if we can't get along here what's it going to look like in heaven. Perfect? Well, we might as well get started!

Church is on a mission. We're here to participate with God in his mission to reclaim his kids' for the kingdom. If what we're doing accomplishes that then let's keep going. If not, let's rethink it. Sounds simple, right!? Let's get on it!

Church is about love...'cause God is love. We show love to Him, to each other and to the world around us.

Church is about worship. That's the loving God part. How we do that IS NOT limited. Every day in every way. In everything you do, do it to the glory of God.

Church is about a journey. No one's perfect. We're all growing and learning in different ways and in different areas. I think it's exciting that we get to do it together. Seriously, put this into the context of family - obviously easier if you have a good one - and see what that looks like. Take a grandma with her grandkids. She doesn't think they're stupid 'cause they don't know stuff yet. No, in fact, she delights in the process of their learning...and she learns new things too. Big sister, in between fighting, helps out little brother, even though she's not done learning yet either. It's about a process and we're always moving...always.

Church is about doing life together. It's NOT just a Sunday morning activity...or a building. Seriously, look at the church in Acts. They ate togther, sang together, worked together, shared what they had...they did life together...and because of that they got to know each other, care for each other, trust each other and love each other more. No one hurts alone. No one celebrates alone. No one does life alone.

Maybe as I keep going, I'll think of more things to add to the list of what church is...or maybe this is enough. I don't know. I'm still figuring this out too. What I do hope is that as our little church launches and grows, that we will continue to seek God and His kingdom first.



*Okay Tim, it might be time for you to call for a Gridblog...look what happens when I'm left on my own!!

Sort of like watching a train wreck

You know it's not going to be pretty, you don't really want to see the end result and yet you can't really look away! That's sort of how I felt watching the Eskies play the Ticats earlier today...granted I only watched the first half but it was enough to get the picture! Skipped the second half to go watch Over the Hedge but I digress. Back to the CFL. I enjoyed Moss when he played for Edmonton and I have to admit, he was in fine form tonight...finally as far as the Ticats are concerned!

I am an Edmonton fan win or lose BUT I will suggest that it's time for the Eskies to buck up, tighten up the chin straps, pull up their socks and play like the Grey Cup Champions they are before they miss the playoffs altogether...time to play some football!

Current Read

The Hobbit, (the genious) J.R.R.Tolkien

...I included the genious part. I don't think that's the way it would be written in a proper bibliography but just this once, I'll move away from convention for the sake of making a point!

He Ain't The Leaving Kind

They tried their best to drag him out
Of a courthouse down in montgomery
Now they want to kick him out of school
And take him off our money
They can take those words off of paper and stone
But he aint gone, no

He ain't the leavin' kind
He'd never walk away
Even from those who dont believe
And wanna leave him behind
He ain't the leavin' kind

She stayed mad at him for a lot of years
For taking her husband
Started losing her faith and thinking that
Her life meant nothin
But when she looks at those kids
She raised all by herself
She knows she had some help
Yeah she knows

He ain't the leavin' kind
He'd never walk away
Even from those who don't believe
And wanna leave him behind
He ain't the leavin' kind

No matter what you do
No matter where you go he's
Always right there
With you

Even from those who don't believe
And wanna leave him behind
He ain't the leavin' kind

By Rascal Flatts (Me and My Gang, 2006)

It seems like this has been exactly the message I've needed to hear lately - He will never leave, He's all I need, no matter what season of life I'm in, whether trudging through or flying high, He's all I need.

What the heck are the Islanders thinking?!

So it's one thing to fire your GM after one month. It's another thing to make your backup goalie the GM. It's completely unprecedented and potentially ridiculous to sign anyone to a15 year contract in the NHL but that's exactly what's happened.

Check out the full TSN article here TSN: DiPietro signed for 15

Good news

Here's some good news to report: My dad came through surgery with flying colors. Today he was sitting up in bed and "setting up his office" so he could get some work done...as long as the nurse doesn't find his cell phone. He's got a long way to go but he's in good hands. It's so good to know that God has him in his care!

By the way, he is one of those people that inspires me too...and in so many ways, I'm just like him. I saw that again hanging out with him in the hospital. I am my father's daughter!

Gridblog #2: Inspired

Wouldn't it be something if I had to tell you that this is a belated gridblog post because I wasn't inspired to write about who inspires me!? Fortunately, that's not the case. Just a bad case of no-internet-access-itis.

So who does inspire me?

My Grandma. I wish everyone could meet her - of course the selfish part of me wants to keep her as my hidden secret! She's raised 5 boys; 5 high energy, accident prone, farm boys. She's been instrumental in the lives of all of her grandkids. She's survived a huge heart attack and, in some ways, come out stronger. She's a cook, a seamstress, a painter (which by the way, she started after she retired), along with a number of other things! Most of all it's her faith and outlook on life that inspire me. I want to be like Grandma! That said, I have a fantastic family and, in their own way, each one inspires me at different times and in different ways.

I've been thinking a lot about living life as a servant as I live out my faith. About how life as a follower of Jesus includes service. Mother Teresa has always inspired me but lately her life has been even more inspirational to me. I can't even imagine living through sacrifice for others the way that she did. Because Jesus did. Because He is our example.

With that in mind, it would be completely unrealistic to say that the life and person of Jesus are anything less than inspiring! To love like Jesus loves, serve like he serves, live like he lives, accept as he accepts, believe as he believes, obey as he obeys, sacrifice as he sacrificed (in a manner of speaking)...while I aspire to that, I know that I have a long, long way to go!

Moses, David, Esther (love that there's some inspiring women in the Bible!), Mary the mother of Jesus, Paul, Timothy, Noah...the story of our world, of real people, as recorded in the Word of God gives me a "road map" for how to live and breathe.

Some of my students at the college inspire me. Each are so unique and have different barriers to overcome and dreams to reach for. Their love for life, service and each other is inspiring to me. Being a little bit removed from that point in life, it's easy to forget what it's like to feel like the whole world is infront of you - yes, I know I'm not that old - but they remind me and inspire me to look through their eyes and see what they see.

Little kids - like Madalyn, Sidney and Aiden - inspire me too. Jesus talked about living like a child, about having faith like a little child. Watching them, I see what he means. Oh to be that innocent and excited!

This might sound silly, but people who really believe in me inspire me. In my relationships with people around me, I believe that people will reach the expectations that you set for them. Set the bar high and they'll reach for it. Set it low and they might reach it but the odds are pretty good that they haven't reached their potential. I'm like that. I'm a high achiever. I'm thankful for those around me who believe in me, who see my potential and encourage me to reach it...they make me believe that I do have potential and to see it lived out in my life. They inspire me to find more in myself than I thought was there because they believe that it is. For those people, I am thankful!

To steal from John, movies inspire me too. I love the stories, the characters and the lives portrayed. There's something about a good movie, in my books, that will engage, teach and transform. For me, it's never just brain candy or a time to check out - although sometimes it's a nice escape into someone else's world - it's a time to learn and see another side of life that I may not have found on my own. Each movie, in it's own way, says something about life and about how the writer, even the culture at large, views life. To have an opportunity to dialogue after with others that have seen it only make it better! I feel the same way about books - fiction, non-fiction, classic or contemporary. It doesn't really matter but each page is an opportunity.

I know I could keep going. Walk through church history a little and you'll find some amazing heroes of faith. The women's suffrage movement is full of people that took a risk for what was right and fair and good. There are scientists, writers, inventors, composers, musicians and entrepreneurs who inspire me by not only their creativity but their willingness to risk. Leaders of some of our contemporary churches, in North America and beyond, grow my picture of leadership and of Kingdom work. Refugees and those in some of the poorer countries of our world inspire me for their perseverance and fortitude...I feel so small in the grand scheme of things but by the example of those around me am inspired to become a little bit more each day.

Stamps 25 Eskies 36

How sweet it is! The losing streak is over for my Eskies and there's some sweet icing on this cake; they beat the Stamps to do it! Ah the taste of victory. After sitting through their loss at the Classic last weekend and dealing with all the Stamps fans in the days to follow, today's victory is sweet. Plus, it means that we can't count them out of the playoffs just yet.

Read the TSN write up!

Only the beginning!

Katie introduced me to Arrested Development last night. We watched the first 3 episodes of the first season...there's 3 seasons! Seriously laugh out loud funny! Fairly random...okay, completely random but I can't wait to watch the rest of them. You know what the best part is? That Katie's introduced them to me and we can watch them together. I know this will sound totally cheesy but it's so nice to have a good friend like Katie around...it's not just everyone that I can sit in comfortable silence with, watching something like this and feeling comfortable to laugh right out loud while drinking yummy tea. That's my idea of a good night!

Thanks Katie!

Gridblog topic

Remember the gridblog? Here's this week's topic...

What inspires you?

With explaination please... can't wait to find out on Friday.

So if it's not called a herd, what is it!?

This conversation from the long weekend really does deserve a post all of it's own. A few of us were sitting around playing Trivial Pursuit on Saturday and one of the questions spurred an interesting conversation, one that, oddly enough, I had been a part of before. On this day, however, we took it to a whole new level.

Here's the question...if you have a group of certain animals and it itsn't called a herd, what's it called? If you want to sound really educated, ask what the collective noun would be for specific animal types and see what people say.

Remember, this isn't Trivial Pursuit but a random conversation starter inspired by the game.

Here's some of my personal favorites:

A group of Rhinos...a crash. Ironically, they are one of the fastest moving animals in relation to their size but can only see about 3 feet ahead of them because their eyesight is so bad. What would a group of rhinos running really fast do...they'd crash! Smart, huh!?

okay, here's more:

A group of buzzards...a committee. Anyone thinking of one too many committee meetings?

A group of cats...a clutter. No kidding!!!

A group of coakroachers...an intrusion. Tee hee.

A group of parrots is company...oops...a company.

Anyway, we chatted through a whole bunch of them and then my friend, Kim, asked "hey, what would a group of donkeys be?"

We all thought about it and decided that it should probably be herd, like horses or zebras. We checked the internet but couldn't find anything there either. So much for technology.

Kim decided she had an answer though....

"How 'bout a whole lotta ass!?"

Love you, Kim! Thanks.

That 'bout sums up my weekend :)

Current Reads

How To Find Your Mission in Life, Richard Nelson Bolles (The 'what color is your parachute' guy...that book's on the list too)

















Strengths Quest": Discover and Develop Your Strengths in Academics, career and beyond, Don Clifton, Chip Anderson and Laurie Schreiner

This one picks up where I left off with the Marcus Buckingham one earlier in the summer. Now that I'm on this train, it might be tough to get me off! I love this personality stuff and this specific strengths stuff has been incredibly helpful to me, both personally and professionally!

Some Like It Hot

I have a confession. I am one of those people that thrives off of a 30 degree day...a whole labor day weekend is nearly perfect! Love it! I love the labor day weekend anyway but to have weather that great is seriously somewhere near heaven!!!

I think I have grown to love the labor day weekend a lot more since working at the college. For one thing, we are always done registration on the Friday of the weekend and so for the first time since last labor day, the pressure is off, even if it is only momentarily. What's done is done and they're here....They're here! I love my students and they've all come home. So there it is, my kids are home, the new ones have arrived and no one is pestering me for guestimates ('cause that's all they are!) about numbers for the fall! So point number one is that there is no stress. Point two is that my kids are back.

Then there's the fact that its typically still warm - this year even hot - and it's three whole days for me to enjoy doing exactly what I want to be doing. I travel throughout July and miss the July long weekend, I'm too flustered to really enjoy the August one if I'm not on the road for that tone too but then there's September and it's mine! Whoa hoo...summer and freedom, the way it was meant to be. Are we noticing that I thrive in the summertime yet?! Ah sweet glorious summer...I should live on the beach forever!!

So let's summerize (get it...oh the cheese) my hot labor day weekend for you...

Wander the mall with Lisa on Friday. Fun conversation. Didn't spend money but really could have! If I had a million dollars...sing the song...there you go, that's more fun already, isn't it!?

Sister showed up for the weekend. Spent Saturday with her and a bunch of friends, including a great friend from Edmonton (yes, they are great up there too!) who is practically my cousin, making cards, drinking coffee and just generally enjoying each other's company. Then a few of us BBQ'd and played Trivial pursuit in the evening. We keep playing these crazy thinker games that most people wouldn't get into but really do seem to enjoy ourselves. I think part of the trick is making up our own rules...and in trivial pursuit, hints always help...well, most of the time they help (starts with L, ends with door...how can you not get El Salvador out of that!?).

Sunday we went to Oak Park in the morning and I got to play the grand piano. What a morning! Steve preached a fantastic sermon. I'm going to miss learning from him and with him every Sunday morning when I go to Journey! Anyway, then we went to Sikome lake afterwards. Growing up, a typical Sunday afternoon would often include taking the boat and going to the lake. While we didn't have the boat, it was just so great to be back on the beach. I really am a summer girl!!! So we enjoyed the sun, the fun and, again, good friends. Isn't that what summer is all about!? Oh how I have missed those days...but there they were. To top it all off, I actually slept a full 7.5 hours that night (that's a big deal in my world, okay!?).

Monday the fun kept going with the labor day classic football game. Now, even though the Eskies lost, I had a great time and, to Tara's relief, I didn't get us beat up...as much as I did want to get a little bit of chatter going with the loudmouth behind me. Thank goodness for self control!
A jam packed weekend and yet I came back to work on Tuesday feeling far better than I have in a long time!

Photos to come later...I can't seem to make blogger's picture poster thinger work...arg! Maybe tomorrow....

Gridblog #1 The Bible Story and it's Authority

So Tim has started this gridblog thing (I'm feeling all technological savvy being included, by the way) in which a few of us folks with blogs will take a different topic and post our thoughts. This week, he picked the authority of the Bible. I guess since it was his idea, he can pick whatever topic he wants but, wow, he sure didn't start with an easy one!

After one of my busiest weeks of the year, I'm not sure I have much brain power left and of course I'm writing late Friday night 'cause this is all the time I've got. I'm not complaining though, because I realized that the beauty of this is that several people have already posted on the topic already so all I have to do is read theirs and add my two cents worth...and believe me, it's worth it! A whole two cents. Keep reading now. I dare you!

Tim started it off with a bang saying: "The bible is often confusing, often seems outdated, and often offers seemingly insurmountable challenge; but the idea it offers - of a God son sent to earth for me, of an answer for the darkness of my heart, of a grace for my unfaithfulness, and of a community to walk the journey with - these are things I am willing to pursue, even though sometimes I can only sense just a whisperÂ….even though the vision often seems so faint."

So true!

John talked about how the Bible exists to point to Jesus. All my Bible college study says he's right. The Old Testament explains creation, the fall (the purpose of his coming) and is prophecy of his arrival while the New Testament describes his life, ministry and eternal rule. The thing is, as Angie alluded in her post, I wonder if we always take it that way. Of course, maybe that's an issue for a whole different topic. Stay focused, Stace, we're talking about the authority of Scripture for life...or perhaps we're right on topic. Oh boy. This could be harder than I thought. So much to say and so little time!

Scripture. It's a book - words on paper - written by a bunch of guys, some of them pretty uneducated, about things that don't really seem to come all that naturally or make all that much sense. Some of it is just down right absurd.

Feeding five thousand people with one lunchbag?
Loving my enemies? I find it hard to love my family sometimes...and they're pretty special.
Everlasting life?
Creating the world in 7 days, no 6 and one of rest, just by speaking?
A God I can't see?
A flood, 40 days of rain and a big boat that saved it all?
A small man killing a giant?
Battles galore?
Plagues?
Wait a minute...you say there was a baby born in a manger?
And he became a man who was - or claimed to be - the son of God?
He died on a cross?
He rose from the dead?!
For me!?
He loves me?

Are you for real?

Why should I believe it?
You tell me it applies to my life? You've got to be kidding me?!
You say it changes my life? Really?!

Here's the thing. I believe that it's authoritative because it's so much more than words on paper. I believe, by faith that defies logic and reason, that Scripture and all it contains, is true.

Sure it was written by a bunch of seemingly random, undeducated guys but you know what? I'm pretty amazed at how similar their stories are. As eyewitnesses to the things they recorded, they have authority. Today we have eye witnesses testify at court cases, in insurance claims, and any other issue where truth is in question. We believe the testimony of eyewitnesses. ..even with the risk of them making mistakes. By their very proximity to the action, their testimony is validated. Yes, eyewitnesses can make mistakes but I happen to have a belief (and maybe this is the faith part) that these were specially chosen and inspired witnesses.

There's more (and I love this part!). As a fan of the classics - Shakspeare, Homer, Dumas - I recognize that it's pretty impressive that their words have carried over the past couple hundred years virtually the same but get this: there is no piece of literature in the world that is as old, has been translated into as many languages and has remained as true to the original as Scripture. We're talking thousands of years worth of people taking those words to heart. Before the printing press was created ittraveledd by word of mouth. Are you seeing how amazing that is!? Did you ever play that telephone game as a kid? You know, one person starts at the end of a line with a message and you see how close to the original it is once it's been whispered through the whole line of people? Same sort of thing but on a much bigger scale!! And this time the message stays the same.

There's all sorts of scientific, scholarly answers as to why I should believe the Bible but I don't think they answer why I do. While this may sound weak or ridiculous, it's because I need to believe it. Because nothing else makes as much sense. Because when it comes down to it, that hole that people talk about is real and can only be filled with Jesus and the Bible tells me about him so....okay, you get the point. I've seen it lived out in people's lives. I know it's made a difference in my life...just not as often as I would like. So yes, it should be authoritative, it should make a difference, but what's the reality?

I want, more than anything, to be a living reflection of the words there. To take it to heart, not just 'to head' and to live it out. Several other contributors have mentioned ourfascinationn with the word itself, so much so that we forget the Truth it points to. We are at risk of getting so caught up in semantics and rules that we forget the heart of the text - Truth, Jesus, the Kingdom.

Okay, maybe I do need to go to bed now 'cause I think I'm just rambling, so let me leave you with this: If we agree that the Bible is true, the question becomes not if it is authoritative but how we read it, live it and convey it so that the REAL story of Jesus is what the people around us see when we reflect it. That is relevant...no matter who, what, where, when or why!