I woke up convinced the sky had ripped in half. The entire house shook with the crack of thunder that came and sat on our house. Yes, I know thunder can't sit... but it hovered, for several seconds. In any case, I jumped pretty high- let out a yelp ( my rib has not fully recovered) and then got very excited about the prospects of a thunderstorm. What is it about a black sky, rushing clouds, cool wind, and sporadic rainfall that gets me pumped?? Storms display awesome, power-- uncontrollabe power, and that excites me. The power, wrath, love, creativity of God is on display, and we get to experience it everytime He feels like putting on the show...
In any case, I really couldn't stay focused in biology. I get really restless around this time- papers lose their importance, quizzes become insignificant, assigned readings? what are those?
So I went for a walk in the rain with James, played a bit of frisbee with Katrina, tried my hand at tennis, and basically waited until the last possible minute to finish up my paper. In hind sight, that was stupid. But, my justification for that is this: I really won't care about that paper in a few years ( maybe days) from now, but the great times had in weather like this.. well that's going to stick with me for while. There are only a few more weeks of school left- might as well make the most of it.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Life is Good
Their are a few things about this place that make life pretty nice.
For example, my room. I find it very comfortable and red. I like the colour red.
Going out with the girls for a drink.
Listening to Tamille and James when they are in their zone. When those two get together, the music they create blows me away.
When we congregate in the kitchen ( a cubicle measuring 3 ft by 5ft) it is a place of intelligent conversation, which is most likely stimulated by the smell of Robyn's cooking.
Walking to class in undpredictable weather. I enjoy that.
Drinking black currant tea with my roommate .
Dorm 34.
Dorm 37.
Getting together every Wednesday and having devotions.
Late nights with Katrina and Robyn.. and laughing a lot.
Jordan Bergsma's humor/English accent.
Free time.
A walk around the block.
Chillin with the Roman ghetto girls.
A quality history lecture by Provost.
Deborah Bowen- who stimulates her students to think more than any Prof I've had ( bar Craig).
A good "body shake" with Tamille.
The smiling face of Mrs. Chiang.
Events like the banquet.
Procrastinating- aka- writing this blog when i should go read "Passage to India"
That last one made me feel guilty, which isn't so nice, but I'm going to follow up on that feeling and get motivated to do some school work...
For example, my room. I find it very comfortable and red. I like the colour red.
Going out with the girls for a drink.
Listening to Tamille and James when they are in their zone. When those two get together, the music they create blows me away.
When we congregate in the kitchen ( a cubicle measuring 3 ft by 5ft) it is a place of intelligent conversation, which is most likely stimulated by the smell of Robyn's cooking.
Walking to class in undpredictable weather. I enjoy that.
Drinking black currant tea with my roommate .
Dorm 34.
Dorm 37.
Getting together every Wednesday and having devotions.
Late nights with Katrina and Robyn.. and laughing a lot.
Jordan Bergsma's humor/English accent.
Free time.
A walk around the block.
Chillin with the Roman ghetto girls.
A quality history lecture by Provost.
Deborah Bowen- who stimulates her students to think more than any Prof I've had ( bar Craig).
A good "body shake" with Tamille.
The smiling face of Mrs. Chiang.
Events like the banquet.
Procrastinating- aka- writing this blog when i should go read "Passage to India"
That last one made me feel guilty, which isn't so nice, but I'm going to follow up on that feeling and get motivated to do some school work...
Monday, March 12, 2007
Dance
Time is fricken flying. Time is fricken. Time is. Time. In a few weeks time I'll be 21. A few weeks ago, my friends were all in Florida. We anticipated the banquet for a long time, and now it's come and gone. Let's talk about that.
The banquet was excellent. As much as I dread the "dolling up" process- the evening itself was soooo great! The food was yummy, our table was hilarious, there was good music, and the dance was by far the highlight of the night. I think I forgot how much I love dancing. What a beautiful combination. After that- music alone seems naked. And since it's hard to dance without music.... the equation must look something like this : Music + Dance= heluva good time.
But again, there is a time and a place for everything, which brings us back to that wonderful word, TIME. So i suppose music on its own is good too, and I do dance to the music in my head quite often- which is technically dancing to no music.. so i'm going to say that they have a relationship similar to ( this is going to sound really nerdy, no offence to James, who does this often) fungi and algae. I mean, they can live on their own, and they do it quite well, but when you get these two together- wow. Harmony. Mutualism. Trine- I hope you nailed that one on the bio midterm this morning.
So, biology. That was my final midterm. Now all i have is 3 papers and exams to anticipate. That last sentence kind of reminds me of what Mrs. Chiang said the other day. We are always waiting for something else. Can we ever just enjoy the moment? The present? Doug- your blog says it best, (and i don't consider this blog theft, if I give you credit off the bat)
LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE PLANNING OTHER THINGS
Time fricken flies. Enjoy it. And make sure you dance every once in a while- simply fantastic.
The banquet was excellent. As much as I dread the "dolling up" process- the evening itself was soooo great! The food was yummy, our table was hilarious, there was good music, and the dance was by far the highlight of the night. I think I forgot how much I love dancing. What a beautiful combination. After that- music alone seems naked. And since it's hard to dance without music.... the equation must look something like this : Music + Dance= heluva good time.
But again, there is a time and a place for everything, which brings us back to that wonderful word, TIME. So i suppose music on its own is good too, and I do dance to the music in my head quite often- which is technically dancing to no music.. so i'm going to say that they have a relationship similar to ( this is going to sound really nerdy, no offence to James, who does this often) fungi and algae. I mean, they can live on their own, and they do it quite well, but when you get these two together- wow. Harmony. Mutualism. Trine- I hope you nailed that one on the bio midterm this morning.
So, biology. That was my final midterm. Now all i have is 3 papers and exams to anticipate. That last sentence kind of reminds me of what Mrs. Chiang said the other day. We are always waiting for something else. Can we ever just enjoy the moment? The present? Doug- your blog says it best, (and i don't consider this blog theft, if I give you credit off the bat)
LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE PLANNING OTHER THINGS
Time fricken flies. Enjoy it. And make sure you dance every once in a while- simply fantastic.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Ribs
What does it mean if you get two black eyes, a few twisted ankels, serious knee cap bruises, and a punctured rib? It means you are a spaz. I am a spaz. It just dawned on me yesterday too... as I stepped on Tamille's mirror and busted it ( for the second time) I don't know what my deal is- I used to be co-ordinated. Let's take a look at the punctured rib story. It starts with Ryan ( hey, i'm noticing a theme here with Ryan being in my blogs, and injury resulting) but anyways, he's sitting at the table, I am telling him a story. The story is irrelevent. My eggs start making some crazy noises, sort of a popping sound- which is my cue to go and flip them. I start my sprint to the kitchen, but the combination of wet socks on a slippery carpet is not good news- and I ended up flipping myself- with the only thing to break my fall being my clever little rib cage, which decided to snag on the metal tip of the chair. I think I hung there for a second, until my rib cage lost its grip, and then I hit the floor. Ouch. The popping sound at this point was either my eggs- now burnt, or my rib cage. Based on how I felt the next day, I am inclined to say rib cage. Anyways, moral of the story: watch out for Ryan
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Allright Mike- you wanted my next blog to be dedicated to you, so here i go.
Ode to Michael. I just asked Matt what word could be used to describe Mike. He said "mole". My thoughts exactly. I spent reading week working with this guy, and I formed some new opinions of him. Granted one wish- he would want to know everything, so that he could answer everyone. If he could control one element, it would be the wind, so he could blow annoying people out of his way. He chose strength as his super power so he could push annoying people out of his way. Granted another wish, it would be unlimited money, or that everybody just stopped caring about things. I'm not even going to explain that one. I don't think any of his ideas are good- but hey, this is Mike's story. Mike's daemon is a monkey ( read Philip Pullman's Dark Materials- a daemon is symbolic of your soul, but it's an animal that cannot go any further than 3 meters from you or you will feel pain,- and it can change into any creature depending on your mood, but must stay one creature once you hit puberty- very cool)So.. it's a monkey now, but it's still changing.. hahahaha
Mike just asked me to check out his beard. I guess this means he will stay a monkey.
Mike pulls weird faces. He says weird things. You think he's quiet until he crows like a rooster an inch from your ear. He's pretty good with a yo-yo. Matt just yo-yo'ed on Mike's head, and it got tangled in his hair.
Mike. You're my psycho brother- but I love you :)
Ode to Michael. I just asked Matt what word could be used to describe Mike. He said "mole". My thoughts exactly. I spent reading week working with this guy, and I formed some new opinions of him. Granted one wish- he would want to know everything, so that he could answer everyone. If he could control one element, it would be the wind, so he could blow annoying people out of his way. He chose strength as his super power so he could push annoying people out of his way. Granted another wish, it would be unlimited money, or that everybody just stopped caring about things. I'm not even going to explain that one. I don't think any of his ideas are good- but hey, this is Mike's story. Mike's daemon is a monkey ( read Philip Pullman's Dark Materials- a daemon is symbolic of your soul, but it's an animal that cannot go any further than 3 meters from you or you will feel pain,- and it can change into any creature depending on your mood, but must stay one creature once you hit puberty- very cool)So.. it's a monkey now, but it's still changing.. hahahaha
Mike just asked me to check out his beard. I guess this means he will stay a monkey.
Mike pulls weird faces. He says weird things. You think he's quiet until he crows like a rooster an inch from your ear. He's pretty good with a yo-yo. Matt just yo-yo'ed on Mike's head, and it got tangled in his hair.
Mike. You're my psycho brother- but I love you :)
Sunday, February 18, 2007
"If you don't know what you stand for, you'll fall for anything."
I have got issues. I've been falling a lot lately, and it's getting ridiculous. Maybe my shoes aren't that grippy. The fact that I can pass a sled down a hill with only my shoes on kind of leads me to that conclusion. But it's not just my shoes. Ryan thinks it's hilarious to scare me, mostly because I overreact. I tend to flip out, and then I land up on my back. Ya, I don't know- he gets a kick out of that. The worst case of falling I've had in a long time was just yesterday. I'm suprised my knees are still attached to my body, instead of locked into the ice on the Rideau Canal. Honestly-- who invented toe picks on women's skates!? I am cringing right now just thinking about that..
But let's get real. Clearly, whoever came up with the above quote did not have this in mind. I heard an excellent sermon today that made me think about this quote a little bit differently. The sermon dealt with how we are to run the race that has been set before us, and to throw off everything that ensares us on the way. The visual image was that of a man caught in a vice grip- which was slowly squeezing him to death. I've always thought of that vice grip as the things we are exposed to in this world- external things. Things we can just say NO to. But there is more to it than that. The pastor said, " If you let your life be run by your feelings, you will be slowly beaten to death by them." It's really hard to control your feelings, but God gave us a brain for a reason- thus we are able to KNOW what we stand for- rather than simply feel it.
So, once we are firmly grounded, standing strong, with little chance of falling- we are ready to start moving. Standing is great, but it indicates something that is static, immobile-- not the best strategy for completing a race. For the sake of my little analogy, I'll say the first thing i'm going to do is throw away my crappy brown shoes with no tread, because the last thing I want to do is wipe out before the finish line. Let the shoes be any type of sin you may struggle with. The bottom line is, they slow you down. Get rid of them. The next thing to do is focus. There will be times when the pressure comes from all sides, the vice grip tightens, and falling seems inevitable. Perseverance is key.
The minister told a short story ( a true story) about a man who took 4 1/2 days to complete a marathon. That is probobly THE slowest marathon run in the entire world. What makes it so remarkable is that the man had no legs. He chose to start a race that would take over 4 days to complete using his arms, while strapped to a saddle with wheels. Unreal. Why did he do it? Maybe what's worth asking is- how could he do it? One arm length at a time, he kept his mind focused on the end result, and he crossed the finish line- 3 days after every one else- but he did it. His success was largely due to his focus and perseverence.
We know what our focus is- and we refocus on it everytime we get together in church- bloody and terrible as it seems, the cross is where we find our hope. Because of Christ we can stand- and once know what we stand for, we can run. This run demands a lot. Casting aside the "weights" of the world, we run with the knowledge that if God is for us, who can stand against us? Some powerful stuff to think about- thank God we have that ability- the ability to KNOW what it is we stand for!
I have got issues. I've been falling a lot lately, and it's getting ridiculous. Maybe my shoes aren't that grippy. The fact that I can pass a sled down a hill with only my shoes on kind of leads me to that conclusion. But it's not just my shoes. Ryan thinks it's hilarious to scare me, mostly because I overreact. I tend to flip out, and then I land up on my back. Ya, I don't know- he gets a kick out of that. The worst case of falling I've had in a long time was just yesterday. I'm suprised my knees are still attached to my body, instead of locked into the ice on the Rideau Canal. Honestly-- who invented toe picks on women's skates!? I am cringing right now just thinking about that..
But let's get real. Clearly, whoever came up with the above quote did not have this in mind. I heard an excellent sermon today that made me think about this quote a little bit differently. The sermon dealt with how we are to run the race that has been set before us, and to throw off everything that ensares us on the way. The visual image was that of a man caught in a vice grip- which was slowly squeezing him to death. I've always thought of that vice grip as the things we are exposed to in this world- external things. Things we can just say NO to. But there is more to it than that. The pastor said, " If you let your life be run by your feelings, you will be slowly beaten to death by them." It's really hard to control your feelings, but God gave us a brain for a reason- thus we are able to KNOW what we stand for- rather than simply feel it.
So, once we are firmly grounded, standing strong, with little chance of falling- we are ready to start moving. Standing is great, but it indicates something that is static, immobile-- not the best strategy for completing a race. For the sake of my little analogy, I'll say the first thing i'm going to do is throw away my crappy brown shoes with no tread, because the last thing I want to do is wipe out before the finish line. Let the shoes be any type of sin you may struggle with. The bottom line is, they slow you down. Get rid of them. The next thing to do is focus. There will be times when the pressure comes from all sides, the vice grip tightens, and falling seems inevitable. Perseverance is key.
The minister told a short story ( a true story) about a man who took 4 1/2 days to complete a marathon. That is probobly THE slowest marathon run in the entire world. What makes it so remarkable is that the man had no legs. He chose to start a race that would take over 4 days to complete using his arms, while strapped to a saddle with wheels. Unreal. Why did he do it? Maybe what's worth asking is- how could he do it? One arm length at a time, he kept his mind focused on the end result, and he crossed the finish line- 3 days after every one else- but he did it. His success was largely due to his focus and perseverence.
We know what our focus is- and we refocus on it everytime we get together in church- bloody and terrible as it seems, the cross is where we find our hope. Because of Christ we can stand- and once know what we stand for, we can run. This run demands a lot. Casting aside the "weights" of the world, we run with the knowledge that if God is for us, who can stand against us? Some powerful stuff to think about- thank God we have that ability- the ability to KNOW what it is we stand for!
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