Trying this again...

Maybe it's time to take up blogging again. I'm going to give it a try. I've missed being challenged to think of "that was cool" moments each day.
Here I go, and I'm going to start from yesterday. :)

That was cool! Day 1:
-Coming out of the airport gate to be bombarded with hugs from my parents.
-Throwing around the frisbee with my dad in my parents' backyard. That was special.
-Seeing pictures of my family in a livingroom. It's nice to be in a home with things that are recognizable.
-Starting Tim Keller's new book "The Reason for God". I am thankful for good theologians who aren't wishy-washy. yay!

Day 2:
-Sitting around the lunch table with my parents and Hannah, with our hands held as we give thanks to God for the good food.

Those were cool moments!

This is what happens when you live with someone who has the same weird sense of humour as you. I give you, "The Tale of the Kitchen Oven"!

The End

Pam the Crossing-guard

I have been wanting to blog this for quite some time now, and this evening, while trying to procrastinate and clear my foggy head (tis the season to get sick!), I have decided to brag about my neighbourhood crossing-guard!

My 6 lovely housemates (it sounds like a lot, but it really isn't!) and I live down the street from a small primary/elementary school. On the corner, every morning and afternoon, stands the crossing-guard. During the past year and a half that we've lived in this neighbourhood, we've had the pleasure of building a relationship with the crossing-guard. Last year, when walking home, I'd stop and talk to Brian, a very nice middle-aged man who was very open about stuff in his life. It was always a highlight to come home from class! Brian got a new job last year, and the other day one of the girls ran into the kitchen and said, "I saw Brian and his wife at the grocery store!!" We were so excited that he had a gotten married!!

This year, we've had the joy of having Pam as our crossing-guard. It's been neat to build a friendship with her over the year. In October, I walked into the kitchen to find a big bag of cookies... from Pam! She's also made us chicken sauce, bread, candy-bags, and more cookies! We've even talked about going to play bingo together some night! Pam is very generous- she put together 200 bags of Halloween candy for the kids at school, and after handing them out with her and having a lot left-over, she told me to take them to class! It's gotten me thinking about the impact that people can have on eachothers' lives. Living in a house with Christian girls who really make an effort to build relationships with everyone they come in contact with has been very impacting in my life. Some days when walking home, I'm tired and in my own headspace. There are days when I am not in the mood to stop and talk to someone, but then I am reminded that they are people too- with hurts and a history and a need to be shown real love. And it's amazing how it can change a glum face into a smile when one stops and gives the crossing-guard a hug and asks how her day is going. Pam is not a house project. She's a lady who we have the opportunity to show the living love of Jesus Christ to every day of the semester. Someday we'll all move away, or Pam will get a different job, and what will she remember about her time at the corner? Everyone walked by her with their heads down, muttering a 'thank you' for stepping out in the street to stop the cars? Or that people looked her in the eye, gave her a pat on the arm and said, "Have a great day, Pam."

Some recent pictures

Back Attack!

wow... so it's been over a month since I've posted, and I guess I deserve a good hand-slapping from BB, since I have not posted 'that was cool' in over 31 days. sorry! Last month seems so far away and much has happened!

I am back in K-town, after traveling through 10 states in 15 days! Love the life of a transient child. Just to prove how adventurous I feel, here's a story:

On Sunday afternoon, Tommy and Jenny dropped me off at Philadelphia International Airport, where I caught a connecting flight through Boston back to TO. I got into Boston and found that my flight had been cancelled. This wouldn't have been a problem, except that I had clinical at 8:30 the next morning, and I was in Massachusetts and not Toronto, and then I had a 3 hour busride back to school from the city! hehe! I collect-called my housemates to tell them that I would be getting in rather late/early. Then I sat in the terminal for a few hours with no money, no phone, no one beside me, and no one really knowing where I was. I felt so alone. I didn't want to go back to school. The States feels more like home every time I am down there, even though I don't think I belong there permanently. I started praying and thanking God that He knew where I was and was there with me. It was a neat experience to have to stop and sit and be reminded of the changelessness and presence of our Lord. I am so thankful for His faithfulness!

I got into Toronto at 10:30pm, caught a cab to the bus station, got the last bus to school and was standing on my frontporch at 3:30am. Praise God for His provision. I was worried that my first day of rotation would be intense and I would make a med-error from lack of sleep, but it turned out to be a pretty low-key shift and I was on adrenaline for most of the time! yay!

On Wednesday, I met with a friend to talk about things we wanted to share about Urbana at fellowship. I was scheduled to give my testimony that night and thought that I would focus on some things that I have been challenged by since my time there. When Lois and I sat down, she said, "E, we can do the talk together, you can do it, or I can do it." "The TALK?" I said. "Lois, I could never do the whole evening talk by myself. I don't have the confidence. I don't know what I would say." At that point, a friend arrived and we started talking about spiritual gifts in the body of Christ and the need for us to be interdependent and not independent. I started getting excited. An hour later I was asking if it would be okay if I gave the talk! God has a neat sense of humor. :) It was so exciting to get up there and talk about something that God has been laying on my heart. And I didn't even break out in blotches (what I do when I get excited/nervous)!

Alright, there is much more to say, and many 'cool' moments to report on, but it is 1:30am, and I am hearing talk of an 8:45 pancake breakfast, which I don't want to miss! Thanks for reading!

206/365

-The way that the sun hit the cathedral near my house, as I walked home from campus in the late afternoon. amazing.

-Hating the sinful nature, but rejoicing that Christ covers over my wretchedness and forgives me. I'm so tired of my pride. ah! I just want to love Jesus with all of my heart and not get caught up in the things of this world that I think will satisfy me. I can't wait for Heaven!

205/365

The generousity of a friend in letting me borrow her car, so that I could get some needed errands done without taking too much out of my morning!

Talking with Rachel and Hannah on the phone and getting excited about seeing some family at Christmas.

204/365

Waking up in the morning to hear cars driving by on a wet road. Getting that little jolt of excitement that perhaps this might be the day that snow is on the ground. Sitting up in bed and peering out the window to see whiteness covering the yard and sidewalk! Walking with Em to the library and smiling as she purposely walked through a patch of fresh snow... "because no one has touched this piece yet. It's fresh!"

203/365

On Monday night, my housemates and I threw our second annual formal Christmas party! It was so much fun! Cool to see tons of people from all places in life crammed together in my house, and praying that they could feel the presense of the Holy Spirit in the way that my housemates and I welcomed them.

202/365

-Email: the fact that my family is dispersed around the globe, but we can email everyone when we're in need of prayer (in this case). That 'reply all' button that one can click to share their thoughts and encouragement. God's hand of protection for His little children. The cross of Christ- where His love held Him, so that He could experience suffering and know more than anyone what it's like to hurt.

201/365

Walking home at night, caught up in my thoughts, and then glancing upwards and seeing a star-filled sky. Why is my head down so much of the time? There's so much beauty when one gazes upwards.