HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY SIS!!!

Today is my younger sister's birthday. She's turning 18, and it's so hard to believe my baby sister is that old!! We were talking on the phone today and she remarked that is just seems like yesterday we were biking around the neighbourhood, and now she's legally an adult and I'm in my twenties!
This is the most recent picture of my sister and I that I have with me. This is us at our grandparent's house after church in the spring of 2005:
And here we are growing up:

...getting ready to go biking: (you've got to love the fashion of the early 90's!)

...first day of kindergarten for me:
...until I was 13, I had a VERY pink room! My sister and I used to read together at night in my room:
... we were both flowergirls at a friend of the family's wedding:
... I still have that brown bear! (and I'm pretty sure my sister still has her white one!)

No one ever believes that we are sisters. We're often asked if one of us is adopted- I think it's the hair colour that throws everyone. The complete polar opposite hair colour may be the most obvious difference, but there are many more. In fact, I completely understand why people are shocked when they find out we're sisters. My sister is loud, bubbly, and one hundred percent a CITY GIRL whereas I am shy, quiet and a country girl. In fact, since our family only has one car and I worked longer hours, my sister would usually drop me off and pick me up at work at the barn. She flat out REFUSED to even get out of the car because of the mud, hay and horse smell. Her dream car is a red convertible; mine's a dark blue Ford F150 truck. I'm never seen without a book in my hand; she would die without her cell phone.

Isn't it incredible that God creates so many people, with so many different personalities, interests and appearances, and He loves us all?!? He loves and treasures each one of us.

In His love-

*L

Trust and Obey...it's so simple!

One of my all time favourite hymns is "Trust and Obey". I love it because it so clearly describes the way I want my life to be as Christian- a believer and follower of Christ. At the church I attended when I was growing up this hymn was sung a lot, but at my current church I hardly ever hear it.

Trust and Obey- John Sammis


When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet.
Or we''ll walk by His side in the way.
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

"It is the Lord your God you must follow and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him".
- Deuteronomy 13:4

Have a safe and blessed week!

Trusting and Obeying Him-

*L

Yet another prayer request!

Over the week-end, I received an interesting e-mail from my friend Jordan. We met in my first year of university, and we're not close friends, but we get together for coffee or to play squash sometimes. He's very adamant on his stand that God does not exist, and he knows my stand and that I'm a Christian. We respect each others stands, and the topic of religion doesn't usually come up. I've been praying for Jordan, of course, and lately every once in a while he'll ask a question. I'll answer it and he'll think it over, and usually that's the last I'll hear about it.
The e-mail that he sent me was a list that is circulating around the Internet. Some guy has written a list of 150 points that he feels disprove Christianity and the Bible. Jordan forwarded the list to me, with note saying that he'd read the list and was wondering if I would go over it and then discuss it with him. I was shocked, not only at the list, but at Jordan's openness to talk about it. I've only had the chance to read a few of the points, most of which are either uniformed or are taking a verse out of context.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
-Colossians 3:16-17

So, pray for me and pray for Jordan in the upcoming weeks!

Love In Him;

*L

Less worrying, more praying!

For Christmas, my Aunt Mary (that's who I got my second name from!) gave me a desk calendar with a daily prayer on it. Since things have been so chaotic lately, and I'm still worried about what will happen after I graduate, today's prayer was especially reassuring:

"When Your purpose is revealed to me, Father, help me to accept my responsibility and do Your will. Amen".

It was such a great reminder that I should be spending less time worrying and more time PRAYING!!

Waiting to do His will-

*L

Minnows and the Value of Patience

A friend and I have decided to do a small Bible study on some of the traits we feel are important as Christians. We met up a few days ago and discussed the importance of patience.
After our meeting, I thought about one day last summer when I took little Diane to the beach. The first few days that we chose to go it poured rain, so we kept having to postpone the trip. Finally a day came when it was beautiful and sunny out, so we packed up our bags, grabbed a towel and headed out to the beach. After a few hours of beach volleyball and tossing around a Frisbee, we decided to go swimming. Diane spotted some minnows swimming around in the shallow part of the water. She was bound and determined to catch one. Diane armed herself with pails, small plastic shovels, and eventually a Ziploc bag and set to work. I helped for a bit and then sat and enjoyed the rays of sun the Lord had provided us with! This was around eleven in the morning, and apart from a small lunch break, Diane diligently worked on catching a minnow until I had to drag her out of the water at four that afternoon.
At around three that afternoon, Diane still hadn’t caught anything. Three boys arrived at the beach with their babysitter and came bolting in to the water with their own pails. I was sure that all the running would have scared away any potential minnows for Diane to catch. Instead, one of the boys threw his pail in to the water, looked into it and said “Hey, I caught a minnow!!”. He’d been in the water no more than two minutes! Diane just looked at the boy, looked at me, mouthed the word “WHAT?!” and rolled her eyes. I couldn’t help it; I had to laugh. An hour later we still didn’t have any luck, but it was time to head home. (Well, actually, she caught one minnow but it was dead, so Diane decided that that didn’t count).
I think we’ve all had times like Diane, where we’ve worked really hard and been really patient, and then something fantastic happens to someone else really quickly. It can be so discouraging! But the Lord tells us to never be discouraged, for He had a plan. There are also many references throughout His Word, telling us to be patient. At a time when a lot of people are making resolutions for the new year, I took a look at my own ability to be patient. I can be incredibly patient with other people, but I have almost NO patience at all with myself!
My friend and I finished our study by reading the following verse:

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love”.
- Ephesians 4:2

In His Love;

*L

How Great Thou Art

Today in church we sang one of my all time favourite hymns: How Great Thou Art. I know a lot of people like the newer songs, but I love the older hymns.
Here are the lyrics to How Great Thou Art:

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

The speaker today spoke about how our resolution for the year 2007 should be to glorify God in all we do. Let’s carry that message with us in to the new year, and remember how great He really is!

I’ve way over-scheduled myself over the Christmas break, and I’ve just been running all over the place, but luckily tomorrow is completely free for me, so I’ll have to sit down and write about what I’ve been up to!
Love In Him-

*L

The REAL meaning of Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Mine definitely was. My family arrived around 1 o'clock, and stayed until around 11 ,and I don't think the conversation stopped the entire time!
My grandmother gave me a Christmas card with this on the front:

C- Counsellor
H- Healer
R- Redeemer
I- Immanuel
S- Shepherd
T- Truth
M- Messiah
A- Almighty
S- Saviour

I'm saving the card to bookmark the Christmas story in one of my old Bibles.
I'm off to make cookies for the barn Christmas party tomorrow evening, but if I don't burn the house down (haha) and I have time later tonight, I'll write up another post.
If not- may you all remember the real reason we are celebrating this holiday!

Lots of holiday love...

In His Name-

*L

What happened to Christmas spirit?

I’m back in Ottawa for Christmas, and it has been a crazy past two days! Christmas dinner is being held at our house this year, so my parents have been frantically preparing food and cleaning the house. My attempt to help my mom cook just ended with me being in the way, so I ended up running errands.
There’s no a speck of snow in sight, so it looks like it’s going to be a green Christmas. I heard on the news that the lack of snow is causing a decrease in the Christmas cheer people feel, and donations to charities are down. I definitely experienced that today. While running errands, at two different stores people completely cut me off in line. One woman actually cut right in front of me as I was about to put my purchases on the counter. I couldn’t believe it! Usually in Kanata we’re pretty friendly, but people would crash right in to me and not even say anything. Then, when I was in the parking lot, a man driving an SUV backed out of a spot, hit the car parked behind him and just took off! Didn’t even stop to see if the car he hit was ok, and there was a significant CRUNCH when he hit. There was a couple getting into their van close to my spot, and I overheard the wife say “can you believe that guy?” and the husband say “I know, so much for Christmas spirit”. I just couldn’t wait for all the madness to be over!
Of course, it was just as crazy at home. There wasn’t anything left for me to do, so to get out of the way I went hiking for a few hours on some trails close to my house. People were out walking their dogs and taking kids for a hike, and every single person I passed on the trail greeted me with a “Merry Christmas!”. So, maybe the Christmas spirit is still alive!

“And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn”.
- Luke 2: 7

~Merry Christmas~

Celebrating His birth-

*L

Two Envelopes

I love to get mail. Well, not all mail- the bills I can live without. Thursday morning when I went to check my mail, I found two envelopes. One contained a cheque from a bursary I had applied for a long time ago (sometime in the summer I think) that I had completely forgotten about. It wasn’t a lot of money, but it will definitely help replace the dent in my account from all the application expenses. I’ve been praying a lot of my finances, and the Lord answered my prayers!
The second enveloped contained my invitation the annual Christmas party that all of the “barn girls” have every year. I’ve grown up with these girls; I’ve known most of them since I was six years old. There are about twenty of us (yes, twenty!), and we all hung out at the barn as kids, and now that we’re older, most of us work there as a part time job. With university, marriage and jobs, a lot of us have left, but we all still stay in touch. We usually get together in smaller groups, because it’s so hard to always organize get-togethers when there’s so many of us. However, every Christmas for as long as I can remember, we’ve all gotten together. It’s the one time every year that we’re all at the same place at the same time (except for horse shows or sometimes on week-ends at the barn), and it’s always one of my favourite things to do at Christmas. I’m so excited; I’ve missed all those girls so much! Someone will always pull out pictures from our younger days (always good for a laugh or two!), plus there’s nothing better than being surrounded by your best friends, especially at Christmas time.

God is great!

~Merry Christmas~

In His Love;

*L

One more week!!

I can’t believe how quickly December is flying by! I was shocked (and slightly embarrassed!) when I checked my last post and realized it was almost a week ago.
My exam last Wednesday went really well. It was the exam I was the most worried about, so it was a major relief to have it done. Since I had such a long break between exams, I studied all day Thursday and Friday, and took some time off this past week-end to hang out with my friend Jaimie. We used to swim together and lived together in residence in first year, but we really haven’t hung out a lot lately.
In our first year, the big trend (and our unofficial floor theme) was to collect lists. We had all kinds of lists: “what they never told you about university”, “you know you’re a student when…”, “signs you’re Canadian”, “you know you were born in the 80’s when…” and so on. Jaimie collected them all at the end of the year, and we were going over them and choosing all the ones that applied to us. It was so funny how our lives can be made in to lists that apply to so many other people.
If someone made a list “Signs you’re a Christian”, I wonder how many I’d be able to tick off. What qualities would be on the list? If someone else were to look at the list and think of you, what qualities would they chose for you? Just something to think about in the upcoming week.

Hope everyone has finished their Christmas shopping. I haven’t, and I’m already dreading hitting the mall to finish it up. Can you believe we celebrate the birth of our Lord in one week!?!

Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.
- John 14:6

~Merry Christmas~

*L

Exam Fever

Usually the vibe at the library is very amicable, but all sense of decency goes out the window December 1, when the dreaded “Exam Fever” hits. The popular saying “all’s fair in love and war” should be altered to say “all’s fair in love, war and exams”. You snooze, you lose- the best tables, books and computers are taken at early hours that most university students haven’t been awake for since high school. Luckily for me, having my own apartment means I always have a quiet place to study during exams, so I haven’t had to endure the madness since I lived on campus in first year. Unfortunately, I needed to look up some research papers not available in the online catalogue, so I had to brave the madness this morning. Just as I nabbed the one last reference computer, some guy walked in who apparently was there for the same reason I was. Out of all the people using the reference computers, he chose me to hover behind. I can’t stand people who hover and constantly read over your shoulder- it drives me up the wall! It actually makes it harder for me to work because I keep focusing on how annoying it is someone is reading over my shoulder that I can’t focus on my work. Poor guy, his tactics were backfiring!
On the walk back home, I was still steaming over “Hovering Boy” when I realized that sometimes someone always looking over your shoulder isn’t a bad thing. God is always looking over us, keeping us safe and in His loving arms. Now THAT is something that doesn’t annoy me!

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
- Isaiah 41:10

I have an exam tomorrow afternoon, so keep me in your prayers!

In His Loving Arms-

*L

A Season of Loss, A Lifetime of Forgiveness

A few weeks ago I went shopping at a second hand bookstore and came home with quite the loot. Showing an uncharacteristic restraint, I managed to ignore the stack while I was studying, but today (and by today I mean Friday, because I’m posting after midnight!) I took the afternoon off from reading textbooks and decided to read for fun. A while ago I heard about a book called “A Season of Loss, A Lifetime of Forgiveness”, and I've been wanting to read it ever since, so I was excited when I found a copy at the store. It was such a great book- it tells the story of late NHL-er Dan Snyder and how his family was able to come to terms with his death.
The book really made me think about the power of forgiveness. I think that forgiving someone for something that they’ve done is a really hard thing to do. Looking back at the bad things people have done to me, I’m not too bad with the forgiveness part, but I’m bad at the forgetting part. I can only truly “forgive and forget” with my very close friends.
There’s a comedy movie that my friends and I love to watch, and one of the main characters is a rock star who has no talent what so ever. She writes a song about forgiveness, and the main chorus line is “Forgiveness- it’s more than saying sorry”. Truly forgiving someone is more than just saying “it’s OK”. I’ll be praying that I’ll be able to show people forgiveness. It amazes me that the Lord will always forgive me. We are so lucky that the Lord forgives us, time and time again.

I just looked at the clock and I didn’t realize that it was so late, so I’m going to cut this short!


“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you”.
- Matthew 6:14


“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you”.
- Ephesians 4:32

In His Love;

*L

Making the Time

This afternoon I was studying at the kitchen table and Jack decided he needed attention. He weaved in and out of the table legs meowing, but I just ignored him and kept working. Finally, he got sick of begging, and went for a much more obvious approach: he jumped up on the table, knocked the pen out of my hand and plunked himself down on my notes. He looked so cute and I haven’t had the time to play with him lately, so I took a break and we played with his toys for a while. That reminded me again of how easy it is to forget about the important things and how easy it is to over-schedule. Sure, playing with my cat versus studying for an exam is a no-brainer. There’s another kind of studying that I sometimes don’t make time for- my Bible. It seems that every time I start cutting down the time I spend on my devotions and readings, the Lord always manages to send a gentle reminder.
I finished studying the chapter I was on and then grabbed my Bible. Jack cuddled up with me and we made the time to study my Bible. It was such a nice break; I hardly spent any time studying my Bible yesterday, and I missed it. The day felt weird without it.
So, how do you make time for the Lord? I guess I have to thank Jack for the subtle reminder that I’ve been neglecting some things lately! Although I have a feeling the Lord might have been behind that one.
As for my presentation last Friday: it went remarkably well. My voice came back somewhat, but luckily the room was big enough that we needed to a microphone, so that helped. I usually don’t get nervous doing public speaking, but I was shaking when the person before me was talking. I just closed my eyes and prayed like crazy, and I really felt like the Lord was giving me strength as I spoke. (And I had even more luck, because I managed to escape relatively unscathed when I had to defend my research with questions from peers and the board of professors!).
I can all things through Christ who strengthens me
– Phillipians 4:13

In Him-

*L

Hard Times

A lot of things have polar opposites- there’s the obvious North and South Pole, but there’s also black and white, warm and cold, up and down, ying and yang, happy and sad. But does that mean that for every good moment there is a bad moment too? Lately I’ve been thinking about the hard things we go through in life. I’ve had really good moments in life, but also some really bad moments.
For the past few days I’ve been studying from the book of Job. Job is described as being blameless and pure, a man who fears God and shuns evil. He has to go through many trials- losing his wealth and family, painful sores. Yet he never blames God or curses Him. That made me think about how I handle bad things in my life. It’s odd that during deaths of family members, choosing a university and a program that hardly anyone supported or wanted for me, an injury that resulted in me losing my swim career and chance at a national spot and almost losing a semester of school in the process- big, life changing moments, I’ve relied on God. Even during my teen years when I tried to walk away from God, I still knew in my heart He would sustain me and watch over me. But last week my faith was weakened over something much smaller. I guess “the rest of my life” isn’t small, but what I saw as a bad thing was really a blessing. I’m finishing a degree, and I have so many options and exciting things ahead of me. When I should have seen that the Lord has provided me with many paths to take, I chose to see and focus on the negative. So, it is my prayer lately that I keep the same faith that Job had.
Following the theme of opposites, I have good news and bad news. The good (no, fantastic!!) news is that….my applications are done!! Done, done, done, in the mail, done!! I mailed them yesterday, and I felt like I just floated out of the post office! It was such a relief to have them all done and not have to worry about finishing them anymore. Now I just have to worry about the results-haha!
This week has definitely been the busiest of the year. Due to the fact that we all overload on our courses, the exams for my program are scheduled a week early, giving us time to properly study for our elective exams. So, this week I’ve written three exams in four days, with my last one this afternoon. Then, tomorrow morning I have my thesis presentation. Three and half years of work is culminating in one presentation tomorrow, and I am SO nervous! So, here’s the bad news: I woke up yesterday with an awful cold, and I’ve completely lost my voice. In about fourteen hours I have to stand in front of all my classmates, the head of my program and a panel of professors to discuss the implementation of mandatory physical education in schools, and I can’t talk!! I’ve been drinking tea and honey like crazy and doing every trick I can think of, so hopefully I’ll wake up in the morning with my voice back, loud and clear.

Job’s friend Eliphaz talks in Chapter 5 about the faithfulness of God. He says:

“He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He bestows rain on the earth; He sends water upon the countryside. The lowly He sets on high, those who mourn are lifted to safety”.
- Job 5:8-11

Trusting in the Lord’s faithfulness-

*L

Waiting patiently can be so hard!

Doesn’t it just make it worse when everyone around you is having fantastic luck when nothing right is happening for you? That’s been my past week.
I’m embarrassed to admit it, but lately I’ve had the attitude of “who cares?”. I’m being honest on this blog, even if it paints me in a bad light. I’m usually a very organized, responsible person- the kind that gets their homework done and finishes assignments days in advance. Definitely Type A, and a textbook-definition eldest child. Lately…not so much. Last Friday I found myself sitting in class, staring out the window half the time and the other half of the time I sat their thinking “who cares?? I mean really- in the grand scheme of things, it is crucial that I learn about long term athlete development?”. For the first time in my life, I actually don’t care, and to be honest, it scares me. This is new, unfamiliar territory for me.
I’m also panicking over my future. My typical Type A self used to have it all planned out. I knew exactly what I wanted, and had my entire life plan mapped out. Now, it’s just a bunch of murkiness. I have about the next 24 hours planned, and that’s it. Teacher’s college applications are so stressful I think they’ve taken about ten years off my life. Plus, after paying for them I have officially emptied out every last penny in my savings. Then, I found out yesterday that the number of applicants admitted has dropped. One school dropped their admittance from 800 to 150. So, not only am I completely broke, but my chances of getting in have been slashed dramatically.
I’m really starting to wonder if my whole degree is worth it. This summer at the youth centre, I organized a basketball league. I’m a terrible basketball player, but I would always warm up with the kids and shoot baskets with them. The janitor at the centre one day was helping me with my free throws, and he made a comment about how women needed men to teach them about sports, to which I replied “you do realize you’re talking to a female human kinetics student”, to which he replied “yea, but no one will hire you, because you’re a female in a male business”. I thought he was just being a jerk, so I ignored him. Later that summer, I organized a mini-NHL tournament, and the kids picked their favourite teams, and the programmers at the centre were the general managers of the teams. One of the girls at the centre one day told me “hey Lauren, you’re the first female NHL GM!”. I was telling this story to two male friends the other day, and they told me that that would never happen in real life because a female would never be hired by a pro-sports team. We got in to this major debate over this, and I think I came out on the losing end of that argument. My dream job, my reason for picking my degree in the first place, was to work for a pro-sports team. This just made me feel more frustrated and confused.
For some odd reason, I’m one of the only ones in my group of friends to go to university. Some went to college, others didn’t pursue post-secondary education. Most of them are married or engaged, they all have real full-time jobs and are so much farther ahead in their lives. My friend Erin is getting married this summer, has an amazing job with an amazing salary, and just bought a house. A HOUSE!! I don’t even have enough money to make rent to the end of the year. I just feel as though the past four years aren’t really doing anything for me.
Right about now I just want to scream to God, “alright, I know you have a plan for me, but I’m sick of waiting! Just show me the way. Make it clear, let me know it’s all going to work out!”. I sound like such a spoiled brat, complaining over stupid things, most of them trivial in the grand scheme of things. But, this is where I’m at right now, and I’m going to be honest, even if it’s ugly. Besides, it makes me feel better to type it all out.

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him”
- Psalms 37:7

Waiting patiently for my Lord-

*L

E.E. Cummings has it right!

I'm taking a class called "Gerontology and Exercise", and today's lab portion was done in the pool. We'd just finished a project about class and exercise planning, so we were putting our skills to use by trying out our aquatic program. The class is mostly comprised of girls, and every single girl, except for two, showed up in (I kid you not) scimpy bikinis. The only to who didn't ? Mal and I; the two Christian girls in the group. It was like a game of "spot the Christian". It was an exercise class!!! What were they thinking?!?!
Sorry if this sounds whiny, but lately I've been really frustrated. I've actually been taking a lot of criticism this week about taking a stand, or being a "good girl", and it's just starting to wear on me.
I've got a stack of reading to get to, so I've unfortunately got to cut this short. PRAY for me, because this has been a trying week!

"To be nobody but yourself- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting".
- E.E. Cummings

We are so lucky to have to Lord on our side in this fight!

Love In Christ;

*L

Confessions

I have a confession to make- I have an addiction to Post-It notes. I can’t get through a day without using them. I use them to write little reminders to myself, post favourite quotes on my mirror, write questions on my class notes so I won’t forget them, leave people notes, bookmark pages, leave reminders on my calendar and day planner…they’re everywhere! I have a collection of Post-It notes: big ones, medium sized ones, little ones, standard yellow, neon, pastel coloured, flower shaped, heart shaped, standard square shaped. It’s definitely becoming an addiction. I even get a little giddy when I see a new design or colour in the store.
Sadly, I spread the addiction, and my friend Ellen fell prey. When we used to go to the same church we would leave each other Post-It notes in our devotion notes and Bibles. Sometimes we would find them right away, sometimes we wouldn’t find the notes for weeks or months. They were always fun to read, and I think I’ve kept every one Ellen left for me. Ellen and I haven’t seen each other in years, but every once in a while I’ll stumble across an old Post-It. The other day I was flipping through the Bible I used when I was younger, and I found one of those notes. It was a simple note that Ellen had left- in the middle of the Post-It were the words: “Put God in the centre, and everything will come together”.
Here’s my second confession of the night: life for me has been pretty crazy lately, so I’m guilty of not putting God “in the centre” as much as I should. I’ve let my deadlines, applications and studying overtake my life. The newspaper, my future after graduation and my school work are all very important. They deserve my time, effort and dedication. But so does my Heavenly Saviour!! I have to admit, I felt more than a little guilty after reading Ellen’s note. That made me think more about how easy it is to slide God down our priority list.
The first draft of my teacher’s college applications are done (finally!), my reference letters have all been sent out, most of my articles are done for the paper, and I spent the whole day making study notes. Why is it so easy for me to get all of those things done, but my Bible sits unopened and my devotion book has no entry for today in it?
Guess where I’m headed now? I’m spending the rest of the night with the best textbook of all- the textbook for life that the Lord has given us!

“He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken”.
- Psalms 62:8

Love In Christ-

*L

Application anxiety

So, it's official: if I ever hear the word "application"again, I'm going to be sick! Journalism applications, teacher's college applications, internship applications...and when it couldn't get any worse, I had a meeting with my academic advisor yesterday, and guess what she gave me? My application to graduate! AH!!
I guess when it rains, it pours, because this week is insane. Essays due, applications times a million (a hyperbole here and there never hurt anyone!), labs due, a looming deadline at the paper, and one of my friends is going through a really rough time right now, so I'm trying to make time for her too.
So...please pray for me!! I'll pull myself away from applications in a day or two to actually write a better entry! I have to say one thing- I don't know what I'd do without the power of prayer, because I've been praying like crazy lately!

Love In Christ-

*L

Marvelling at God's creation

I snapped these pictures last fall on my way to class. My apartment is really close to campus, and I walk along a path everyday and this is the view I get to see:


Every day that I walk the path I always think about how amazing God's creation is!
Now that winter is closer and closer, and it's getting colder, I thought it would be neat to share some pictures of nicer weather!

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
- Psalms 139:9-10

Seventeen

When I was growing up, one of my favourite songs was about a girl who was seventeen and thought she had her life planned out. The song focused on how naïve the girl was, and how when she would grow up she would realize how silly she was when she was seventeen. When I was in my teens I never realized how true the song was. When I was seventeen I definitely thought I had everything figured out- I wanted to work for a sports team or be a writer. Because of my late birthday I was seventeen when I started university, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do after my four years were up. Well, I’m in my fourth year and in my twenties, so even though logic would predict that I should have “it all planned out”, I’m just starting to realize that I really, really don’t.
This afternoon I sat down with all my applications for all my options after this year is over, and it suddenly hit me that I have absolutely no clue which option I want the most. I’ve always been incredibly organized and had everything planned and mapped out, and now I don’t.
I knew from the time I was little I wanted to be one thing- a vet. As much as I love cats and dogs, I wanted to do large animals, and eventually open my own farm and practice. That fell through (which is a long story, which I’ll save for another day). When I was fourteen I started to help coaching the younger kids on my swim team, and when I was sixteen I got promoted and got my own group, then when I came to university I got hired to coach here for the city team. I completely fell in love with coaching and teaching, and most of my jobs have involved one of the two. I’ve worked my way up through the ranks and I’ve been working on my national coaching levels, and I really love it. I’m not coaching this year, and it’s incredible how much I miss it.
Now, switch over to my other career option- journalism. Ever since I was little I’ve loved reading, and that led to a love of writing. I’ve written my whole life, and was the editor of my high school newspaper. After a lot of hard work, I got the job this year of sports editor for my campus paper. Even though I’ve done a lot of writing in the past, this is the first time I’ve been paid to do it. The job’s been challenging, but in a good way, and with every article I get more and more comfortable with the job. Earlier this week I received an e-mail asking if I would interested in covering a story about a presentation the GM of the Peterborough Petes is making on campus later this week, and I jumped at the opportunity. This will be my biggest story yet, so I’m excited! I can definitely see myself doing this for the rest of my life.
Sitting beside the two big piles of applications to teachers college and journalism school is a mish-mash of applications for other random programs. I decided to get my degree in Human Kinetics so I could eventually work as a physical trainer for a pro sports team, and even though I somewhat changed my mind, I’m still applying just to see what happens. So, right now I have no clue which path I want to take. Now more than ever I’m so happy that one day I stumbled across Jeremiah 29:11. Even though I, for the first time in my life, have no idea what’s happening next, I know the Lord has everything all planned out. All I need to do is pray and trust.
I know I’ve been rambling, but I just had to write this all out, in the hopes it would help clear things up! I just re-read what I wrote, and I actually do have my life together, but I just think today was one of those overwhelming days. Oh, to be seventeen again!

“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not harm you; plans to give you hope and a future”.
- Jeremiah 29:11


Trusting in Him-

*L