Laminin

Louie Giglio is such a dynamic speaker...you gotta check out this vid.

What's on your cardboard?

I watched this movie on Joshua seller's blog, and I couldn't help but post it on my blog too...watch it and weep!

It's official!!

Well, I'm please to report that I've made it out alive from the ridiculously long Convocation ceremony, and I now have the official piece of paper that I worked four years for. I must admit, after my name was called and I walked across the stage to get hooded and shake some man's hand, I walked right out the door and was on my way. There's no way I had the attention span to sit through a few hundred names being called and watch them all walk across the stage. Afterwards, we did the whole picture thing and the bought a frame for the most expensive piece of paper I'll ever own...we must keep it in good shape!

All in all, I'm glad I went, but I'm even more excited for the coming years. It seems like just yesterday I was unpacking all my stuff into my first year residence...and now I sit here four years later with a plethora of knowledge, a piece of paper (my degree), many fun stories, and a great experience overall. I'm excited to see how the Lord will use these past 4 years and the many experiences I had here in London, for the future. I sure learned a ton...about the world, myself, but more importantly, my Saviour.

And to those who are about to enter this chapter in their life, I have just one thing to say. The very FIRST thing you do when you enter your dorm room for your first year of college/university, put your bible on your bed and hit your knees in prayer for the coming years. Take a stand at the beginning...let people see that you are different. Trust me, it'll be a lot easier down the road when making harder decisions, as you never compromised on the small things at the beginning. If you're willing and wanting to let the Lord use you, I have no doubt that He will.

Below are some pictures of the day, enjoy!

Above: getting "hooded" as I walked across the stage.

With my degree

Family potrait, minus Eric.

After the ceremony.

My kids! (well, GOD's children actually)

Each Wednesday I head to London to hang out with some of the most incredible students ever...it's such a privilege and honour to be apart of youth ministry at Harvest Bible Chapel, London. I never would have thought the Lord would have used me in this ministry even going back a year ago, but I'm so SO thankful that I obeyed His call in serving the students at Harvest. Every student that walks through the doors of the Youth for Christ building on Wednesday night is such an encouragement and blessing to me personally...the Lord increases the love I have for them every single week. It's incredible -- thank you Lord! The group started off small at the beginning of the year, but the Lord continues to be so faithful in growing His church and leading more students to come out each week. I just pray that we as leaders are seeking the Lord and directing these students down the path of righteousness, as really it's about the quality of the disciple, not quantity.

Our nights are normally structured as followed: arrive anytime after 6:30pm, games start at 7pm...we usually try and play a couple big games that everyone is involved in and geared toward developing teamwork. Following games time, we sometimes have a quick mixer/announcements, then a time of worship through song. Next, we have a time of teaching, then branch out into small groups. This year, my small group was the grade 11 and 12 girls...all such lovely young women, whom I love dearly. If you ever think about it, just pray that the Lord would continue to provide me with wisdom and discernment when talking with these girls.

Below is a picture from last week, but many of the students are missing. I hope to post more soon.

Sweet Surprise...

Well, I have a bit of time to kill before my fabulous friend Steph (featured in the picture) arrives here...she decided to make a surprise appearance in Sauga city tonight...driving all the way from London because I selfishly wanted to see her. Tomorrow morning we plan on treking up to Harvest Barrie as a good friend of ours (Sarah) is on the worship team, then we're heading back to her place for a feast. Sarah has three little kiddies that I'm stoked to play with them...such sweet kids!

Wow - as I'm typing this, Steph arrived! Must go!

Proof?

Just take a look around you...He's everywhere. We serve a living and active God, who desires to have an intimate relationship with us, His children. How deep the father's love for us...

"Quotes"

One little secret about me: I love a good quote. I love quotes that take a moment to sink in and digest. I do enjoy funny quotes, but I especially appreciate quotes from invidiuals whom have much Godly wisdom. Individuals such as Piper, A.W. Tozer, MacArthur and the like.

Here are a few of my favs:

"The holiness of God is the most fundamental reality of all. It refers to the reality that God is utterly unique and in a class by himself—that's his set-apartness—none compares with him. There is no other Creator, no other sustainer, no other final measure of good and evil. He is utterly set apart in a class by himself, unequaled, unrivaled, totally underived, absolute in his being and perfection, without beginning or ending or improvement. In a word his holiness is the supremacy of his infinite worth among all that is." John Piper

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose"
Jim Elliot

"You can't learn while you're talking" Beth Moore

"To inculate me from the praise of man, He baptized me in the criticism of man, until I died to the control of man" Francis Frangipane

"God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the call."

"The main thing is to keep the Main Thing the main thing" (referring to the Cross)

"God’s holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable… Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard" A.W. Tozer

"Hast thou no mercy, rendering none."

Treadmill thoughts...(my thinking time)

People are different, cultures are different, but we all have the same need...Jesus Christ. My last night in Thailand I had the opportunity to have dinner with three Thai girls (plus Bec), where we were able to encourage each other and share what the Lord is doing in our lives. It was incredible. They had just gotten back from a missions trip to Burma (when the cyclone hit) and their passion and love for the Lord was so evident. Although these girls have so little in the material sense, they truly do have so much -- an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. I think it puts a lot of us to shame here in the Western world. I was sharing with someone the other night about the conversations I had with these Thai girls and how their relationship with the Lord was so encouraging to me, and his response: "Canada/north America is one of the hardest places to be a Christian". After some thought, I realized this statement does have some truth to it. If you think about it, here in Canada we have everything we "need" - clean water, great food, and a solid roof over our head that doesn't leak at night - all of which aren't the case in Thailand (and many other countries). Anyhow, our lives here are so abundant and filled with "stuff," that it's so easy to feel like we don't "need" the Lord...it's so easy to push Him aside and do thing on our own. Rely on our own wisdom (or lack of). I'm guilty of that for sure. We (myself included) so quickly rely on our own strength and depend on ourselves to get through each day...it's almost scary. It blows my mind that we can trust God with our eternal destiny, yet fail to trust Him with the small details of each day.
Anyhow, my thoughts are a bit scattered right now, but I guess I'm just "wowed" how Christ's love truly transcends all borders. Christ's love is universal. He IS love. I may not have been able to speak Thai(at the dinner, one girl translated), but I pray that each person I came in contact with during my time there saw just a glimpse of Christ in me, the hope of glory. Perhaps it was just a smile I gave them, or a little wave, whatever...I just pray that Christ's love shone through.

More thoughts to come...

Livin' for eternity,
A



(these are the three Thai girls I had dinner with)

You just can't stop Him.

During my time in southern Thailand while staying at the hotel, we had a few english stations on the television. Anyhow, as we were flicking through, American Idol popped on and the performance I have posted above was playing. It was incredible. Here I was, sitting in Thailand, watching American Idol...hearing them sing "Shout to the Lord," with millions of people watching worldwide. All that ran through my head was...Nothing can stop Jesus Christ. No secular television show can stop the power of our Lord.
Apparently, this was the second time they had sung the song. The first time was at the end of one of the shows (but they substituted "my Sheppard" for "my Jesus"), but due to popular demand (topped the itunes charts)...they brought the song back one more time WITH the correct lyrics.
God will let nothing steal His glory. And if we don't cry out to Him, the rocks will.
Go Lord go!!

We ride elephants, not cars.

Today was incredible!! Bec and I had a super early start this morn and decided to trek over to the mountains (on her motorbike) to visit the elephant camp. But, I must mention one thing first...motorbikes here in Thailand, I think, must be made specifically for the Thai people, whom are a wee bit smaller than us white folk. So, it was absolutely hilarious trying to get two white girls up this mountain to get to the elephant camp, while all the Thai people are buzzing by us. I could have run faster than the bike was going...apparently there's a weight restriction that we didn't know about! ha! Bec pretty much had her legs down trying to push us up at points. Too funny.
Anyhow, once we arrived there, we were greeted by about 10 elephants just bathing in the river...not more than 10 feet from us. When they stretched out their trunks you were close enough to touch them...super duper cool. Then we get to watch the elephant show for an hour, seeing them do a ton of neat tricks -- play soccer, paint pictures, throw darts, stand on their rear legs -- definitely have pictures to come. Toward the end, the elephants come right up to you in the stands and you can take pictures with them...I stood in between four of them, then they proceeded to wrap their trunks around me!! I think I half excited and half freak right out, as I thought they could squeeze the life out of me!
Following the show, Bec and I went on an elephant ride for an hour through the Thailand jungle...absolutely incredible. There's just something about walking through God's creation on the other side of the world, on top of an elephant, that cannot be described. I had never really been through the jungle here yet, so to be able to do that on the back of an elephant was amazing. It undoubtedly gave me a whole new perspective on the Lord's incredible creation. Pictures to come as well.
On our way back down the mountain (WAY easier going back down...) we stopped in at one of the national parks, which had a total of ten waterfalls. We didn't really realize this national park was more of a "hiking" thing, and trying to trek through the jungle/park with flip flops (and ponchos) was quite the adventure. It seemed as though we were making our own path half the time two as we hiked up to see the top waterfalls. The verse that was rolling through my head the entire time was "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matt 7:13,14) The path to the narrow gate is undoubtedly harder and far less travelled...and that truth came alive to me today like none other.

Anyhow, all in all, it was a fantastic day. We ended with grabbing some dinner at the local night market, then enjoyed the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. Very cute - recommend it for sure!

Tomorrow is my last day here...not too much planned, perhaps stopping by the silver factory for a bit and maybe the night market, but that's about it. I have to gear up for my 20 hour flight back home!

See y'all soon!

Much love,
A

Mother's day lovin' from Thailand.

Well, since I'm not able to be at home with my mom today on mother's day and I've had some time to think about what a wonderful mom I have been blessed with...I thought I'd share a few of these thoughts with y'all.

1) My mom's servant's heart is incredible. She puts everyone before herself daily, without expecting in return. Her desire to serve others and serve at church is encouraging and contagious!!
2) Her humility. To me, humility is knowing our place before God (very low and dependant) and before man (considering ourselves less than them). My mom is a great example of humility for me...
3) Proverbs 31: A Wife a Noble Character. Need I say more? I'll let that speak for itself. Give it a good read...
4) Her continual and unconditional love for me, regardless of the amount of times I screw up and times where I think I'm always right (when I'm not).
5) My mom is hilarious...one of the few people I can bust a gut laughing with. That's so important. Her humour is matchless (although I think I come close sometimes)
6) Her patience. I think she models that for our entire family.
7) Her love for the Lord and discipline in her walk with Christ.
8) When people say "Wow, you're so much like you're mom!!" I take that as a HUGE compliment.

I could go on, but I will stop for now. In Proverbs is says "train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is older, he will not depart from it" (22:6) My mom (and dad too!) did a great job as parents, raising me and directing me in the way I should go...and I pray that I will never depart from those ways.

Hopefully you'll read this sooner than later mom...so HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! Love you!

It's my last day here in Koh Sumai...yesterday was great (and first day I was feeling well). I rented a seadoo for a bit yesterday, so Bec and I had a grand time on that. We of course had to follow that up with a nice Thai massage and a beautiful Italian dinner. Nice life eh? I can't complain!

Ok, I'm off!

Thai Flu -- watch out.

For almost four days now I've caught a brutal case of the "Thai Flu," or so it seems...hopefully nothing more serious. It's put a whole new meaning to the word "flu bug" for me. I will never again complain about having the flu in Canada now that I've experienced what having Thai flu is like. Guaranteed. You can hold me accountable to that. I think it's just this bad because I just have no anti-bodies or defence mechanism to fight of this bad boy.
My diet: bread and flat gingerale. Tonight I thought I'd try and eat a 6 inch sub from Subway...stupid stupid me.
However, the weather here in the South has been fabulous. I've managed to sneak in some sun and work on my tan, so that's been nice.

Anyhow, once my health is back to normal and my brain is functioning, I do plan on posting a few things for y'all to read.

Don't forget: Mother's day on Sunday (note to self)

Please pray for my health as the Lord leads...and that Bec STAYS healthy.

Much love,
A.

Lessons Learned?

1) "Im almost done" or "just a couple more minutes" in Thailand translates into 2 hours later. If you struggle with patience, don't come to Thailand. haha.

2)When driving through the mountains, there's no where to stop for the bathroom.

3) "Squatty Potties" don't always have toilet paper. A squatty potty is pretty much a hole in the ground...the name explains it all really.

4) Thai people don't actually eat Pad Thai...SLIGHT disappointment.


Anyhow, those are just a couple of the things I've learned the past couple days. We are back safe and sound from Burma..the cyclone didn't really affect us. Every Sunday night there's the huge walking street night market which was really neat to check out once we get back from Burma. Yesterday was a pool day...we just crashed a local hotel pool, so that was pretty sweet. We had been busy travelling around the city for the past week, so a quiet pool day was much needed. In the evening, Bec and I went to the Chiang Mai night safari, which was, well, interesting. It wasn't exactly what we had expected...but it was cool seeing all the animals. No cool pictures though...it was too dark and no flashes were allowed. Bummer for sure. The motorbike ride there and back was very exciting though. We had seen lots of signs for this "night safari", so we figured that last night we'd just drive to the streets where we saw these signs, then just follow them...apparently that wasn't the GREATEST idea, but hilarious nonetheless. We made it there before closing, so mission accomplished in our minds.
In a few hours we're taking off down south to Koh Sumai island for the week. We're just going to be lazy and enjoy the beaches...perhaps go for a Thai massage, as that's super popular to do here. We had one a couple days ago and it was fantastic, so we're going to go again in the south. Pray for good weather and no more cyclones!!

Anyhow...must go pack! Not sure when I'll get Internet access again, but I'll try to keep you posted as best as I can.

Sending my love back to Canada,
A.

Another funny, well, sort of.

As mentioned in the previous post, we (5 of us) are en route to Burma today with the ONLY purpose of renewing Bec's visa. It's about a 4 hour drive to the Burma border, then we'd check out a town just on the other side for a bit, then head back that evening. Anyhow, we get about an hour away from the border - keep in mind that the roads aren't all nice and paved, so it's really quite the trek to get to the border - and all of the sudden Bec lets out a wee scream. Instantly I knew it was because she forgot her passport. And sure enough, her passport was left in Chiang Mai...which was the entire point of our trip. ha!! I definitely let out quite the awkward laugh at that point. Anyhow, to make a long story short, we're currently stuck at a small border town on the Thailand side of the border, waiting for Bec's passport to arrive on some random bus in a few hours. It'll be too late to cross the border by the time it gets here, so we're stuck here in Chiang RAI for the night. We'll head over to Burma tomorrow. Needless to say, it's been quite the adventure. Gotta love travelling with Bec... :)

Not to worry, we're all safe and sound here for the evening...I'll report back later.

Quick funny story for you...

So, over the past few days I've been trying very hard to learn and practice the Thai language...I'm very keen on being able to speak a LITTLE bit of Thai. Anyhow, in my desire to speak or answer in Thai as much as possible...I've had a few funny slip ups. I've learned words like "hello" "thank you" "thank the Lord" "very very hot"...anyhow, I was walking out of a store the other day and meant to say "thank you" to the store owner as I was apparently really excited about what I bought...but instead, I bellow out "THANK THE LORD"...Bec quickly ran off, and I stood there looking a little stupid. With 98% of the population here Buddist, it was quite funny.

Well...off to Burma.

Adios!

Chiang Mai's national pass time: Shopping

Yesterday was a fantastic day of shopping. Bec, myself and 3 other American missionaries hit up all the local hot spots to get some fun stuff. Our first stop was the silver factory here...5 pieces of super nice silver jewelery for around 30 dollars, Canadian...you can't beat those prices in Canada!! After that, we checked out a couple "Saa" paper factories and had the opportunity to actually see the Thai people make the paper. The amount of work that goes into making saa paper really makes you appreciate it a heck of a lot more. I took a picture of each stage of the process, hopefully to post shortly. There were a ton of cool photo albums, picture frames, and stationary to buy...plus stacks and stacks of saa paper (great for scrap booking). Following those factories, we went to this incredible wood/handy craft village...for sure a highlight of my trip here so far. The village was lined with the cutest stores and factories all with handmade wooden things (mainly mango wood)...it beats anything you'll find at Ikea, hands down. The prices were great - so much I would have loved to ship home for my mom, but at the end of the day, it's really all just "stuff" and abundance. Things we really don't need, ya know? It's very easy to get caught up in all the shopping and buying stuff because the deals are fabulous and the quality is great...but you are quickly brought back to the reality of abundance of our Western lives when you see the conditions that a lot of the people here are living in, and what they have to survive each day.
The Lord held off the rain the entire day, so that was a huge answer to prayer. It started to pour just as we were going home, which meant last night was movie night. Bec was also showing me some pictures of her last year here in Thailand, which were amazing.
Today a bunch of us are driving across the border to Burma...will report back on that later.

All my love,
A.

11 hour time change, killer.

Never in my life have I woken up at 4am, 5am or 6am and actually been awake and ready to take on the day...except while here in Thailand. Definitely gives me a few more hours in the day.
The past couple days have been sweet -- not overly touristy, but more so just enjoying the slower pace of life. A couple days ago we hit up one of the malls here in Chiang Mai, which is similar to the malls in Canada, for the most part. It's 4 floors, and the top floor is where the Thai people mainly shop, so you're able to bargain with them, which is sweet. Bec speaks Thai, so we get a better deal automatically, also sweet. We also went and got our nails done (TONS of little places around here to do that)...we thought it was a pretty good idea for our upcoming trip down south to the beaches.
A couple nights ago we hit up the night bizarre -- the streets and open yards are lined with stands of local, handmade stuff. Lots of great stuff for super cheap prices, thanks to Bec. On Sunday evening there is the main "night market" where two main streets are shut down and the Thai people set up their little vendor stations to sell their stuff. I'm excited for that. It'll be different stuff and more selection than the night bizarres (which is already huge in my mind).
Yesterday morning when Bec and I were heading out to her Thai lesson a scorpion greeted me at the door...i freaked. They tried to convince me it was just a cricket, but trust me, I know a scorpion when I see one. Bec saved the day and got it away. There are little lizard type things that crawl around the walls and ceilings of the house, but they seem to be pretty harmless.
Yesterday Bec took me on a huge motor bike ride around Chiang Mai, so that was a ton of fun, although my butt was killing towards the end. Motor bikes rule the road here -- there are a ton with no rules -- which makes for a good time. I also get some reading done (This Present Darkness, Peretti), which I'm thoroughly enjoying.
Today the plan is to meet up with a few other American missionaries and go to the silver factory, which is a little ways away I think. I'm excited for that...lots of handmade stuff, but nice silver.
Anyhow, must get going...everyone seems to be waking up now and the day is starting.
I'll try to post a few pics in the next day or two!

Sending my love from Thailand,
A.

ps - I don't read over or proof read these posts - sorry!!

Chiang Mai, Thailand!

Well, after 20 or so hours of travelling, I finally arrived in Chiang Mai last night around 9:30pm...what a relief! It was so great seeing Bec and getting to see where she's lived for the past 8 months. I was able to meet a few of the friends here that she does ministry stuff with, so that was pretty neat. Most of them can speak a few English words, so I was able to communicate a bit. One of Bec's good friends that she met here, Kate, joined us for a quick late night dinner at one of the local Thai restaurants...definitely a "local" type place. I think my meal was MAYBE a dollar Canadian. At that point I was so hungry I would have eaten anything.
Today it was pouring rain (this week is supposed to be a bit rainy), but apparently pouring rain doesn't stop bec and I from going out on her motor bike to get food...we were SOAKED. Since food is so cheap here many people just eat all their meals out, or get fresh food that day from the markets. We went to the market too for a bit after the rain calmed down...definitely different than anything I've ever seen. I was just casually strolling down the isles of the market, and much to my surprise, there was a row of pigs heads there, just waiting to be purchased I guess. For the first time in my life I'm pretty sure I was speechless and didn't quite know how to react. Needless to say, I will not be eating pig head while I'm here. sorry.
We went to a nice coffee shop this afternoon and just enjoyed the afternoon. In a couple minutes Bec and I are going over to Kate and Tiff's house (two thai girls) where we'll be making them Canadian food, and they'll be making us Thai food. I'm pretty excited. They both speak pretty good English too, so that makes things easier!! I hope to learn a thing or two from them....

Livin for eternity,
A.

ps - the pace of life here is sweet...way more chill and relaxed than us crazy Canadians.

Taking on Hong Kong....

Hello from Hong Kong!

This is the first of two stops before I finally make it to Chiang Mai. I've survived the longest flight, which only ended up being 14 hours...6 of those hours I managed to score a first class seat!! So I was able to kick back and enjoy, not to mention the movie and TV section was FABULOUS! There was probably 100 options or so to watch, including new releases. Very exciting for me! I was able to soak in a few Friends episodes, so was sweet.
I have about an hour to wait until my next plane takes off to Bangkok, where I'll then be running through the airport 'Amazing Race' style in order to catch my next flight. I'll have an hour to get all my luggage then check back in at the domestic gates...will I make it? Time will tell I guess!

It's definitely weird travelling by yourself...I'm not nervous, but not having a conversation for over 14 hours with anyone is rather lonely! No one really spoke english around me on the flight.

Well, I think that's all for now...I'll check in a bit later once I get to Chiang Mai.

Only 5 more hours until I see Bec! I'm SO excited!

Finito!

Well, four years and $60,000 later, my undergrad career is finally done. I can't even begin to describe what a sweet feeling it is. This time next year, I'll be finishing up teachers college and entering the "real world," which I'm so incredibly excited about. It's hard to believe four years in London have come and gone so quickly...it has certainly been a ride. The Lord has worked in ways I could have never imagined possible and radically changed my life, especially within the past year. I entered university loving the world and everything within it, but Praise the Lord, He captured my heart during that time, and I'm leaving as a new creation. Over the past year I've been involved with the youth at my church in London and have LOVED IT. Wednesday = youth night = my favourite night of the week. It is truly such an incredibly privledge to be able to serve the students and establish relationships with them. Witnessing Christ work in each of their lives and seeing a growing desire in their hearts to put Him first, has been a huge encouragement for me. We're just called to plant seeds, and may never see the fruit that God produces from that seed, but the Lord has so beautifully showed the growing fruits in the lives of many of our students here in London. I just love them! I'm so excited for the summer ahead and the many events there are in store...it's going to be great!

Are you Amazed?

Procrastination

If you're in the market for some good, healthy procrastination, blogging is a great option. In an attempt to not study my 130+ pages of class notes, I've decided to give you a sneak peak of my upcoming trip to Thailand. I will first be flying into Bangkok, but then quickly heading north to a city called Chiang Mai to meet up with Bec. We'll be staying in Chiang Mai for the first bit, with a short trip over to Burma (to the left of Thailand) in order for Bec to renew her Visa.
While in Chiang Mai, I will definitely be soaking up the Thai culture in one of these markets. My bargaining skills will undoubtedly be put to good use. Rumour has it there are tons of sweet deals, so I plan on leaving some extra room in my suitcase. Not too sure about enjoying the food in these markets though...I may just have to get over my dislike of seafood in order to survive my three weeks in Thailand. Also, I've heard that the smell in these markets can be slightly overwhelming, so I'll be sure to report back on that. The whole experience will be good for me though...definitely will expand my horizons and 'Western' perspective.
My trip wouldn't be complete with checking out the Maesa elephant camp, so that's on my to-do list for sure. In just a few short days that'll be me riding on the elephants through the Thailand jungle.

Toward the end of the three weeks, Bec and I plan on travelling to the south of Thailand (Koh Sumai) to enjoy a week on the beautiful beaches. We'll most likely be staying on the Chaweng beach (featured in the picture), which is the largest beach on that island.

Apparently there is snorkeling, scuba diving, and surfing in that area, which are also on my to-do list. Since we'll be travelling in the off-season, the beaches will not be as busy and the prices substantially drop...big bonus for my student budget and Bec's missionary budget. All in all, I'm pretty stoked about this whole trip... travelling to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Burma and Koh Sumai is going to be an "experience of a lifetime" (quote Bec). I'm so excited to be able to see how Bec has lived for almost a year now...all the phone conversations and emails will suddenly come alive. It's going to be great!!

Highlights from Sarah and Ryan's Wedding...

Rach and I before the ceremony

Ryan kissing his Bride.
Me, Sarah, Rach and Jeff after the ceremony
Rach and I overlooking the golf course, pre-dinner.

A few more highlights from the wedding.

Jeff and I...hor d'oevres outside before the dinner
Lauren, Me, Jeff and Rach
Cutting the Cake
Bride and I
Deep in thought.

Sunday afternoon pondering

I'm going with a number format today, just because there's a whirlwind of thoughts flooding this head of mine, so I think numbering these thoughts may be for all our benefit:

1) Church was fantastic. The sermon title: "Beautiful Grace." Need I say more? You gotta check out Romans 5, if you haven't done so already. Inspired by God, Paul does an incredible job of illustrating just how disgusting we are in our original sinful state: enemies of God. But He then provides such amazing and awesome contrasts of God's grace in our lives. Once we truly understand just how wretched we are, then we can only start to comprehend just how AMAZING God's grace is. At one point in the message Pastor Robbie referred to how short our lives really are, and that really the only thing that matters at the end of the day is what we have done for Jesus Christ. In an instant, when our lives here on earth end, we will be asked: "what have you done for Jesus Christ?"...and man, I'd be lying if I said a question like that doesn't instill some fear in me. Perhaps I need to ask myself that question more often, as it really helps to keep an eternal perspective I think.

2) ONE exam left this week...then I'll officially have that B.A. I've been working towards for 4 years. Next up: teachers college. VERY excited about that.

3) I'm beyond excited that this time a week from now I'll be in the air flying to Thailand. Many updates on this to come during the time I'm there. I'll for sure be blogging and putting up some pictures while I'm there. Stay tuned...

4) Last night I was at my first wedding. Adear friend of mine, Sarah Nowell, was getting married. She looked absolutely beautiful, and the wedding a blast! It's so evident that Christ is at the center of their relationship, which made the wedding an even greater celebration and a blessing to be apart of. Unfortunately, the wedding ended a bit early for me, as my body decided that it wanted to take a trip to the hospital. For those that aren't aware (and because I don't want to explain this story a million more times), I have a heart condition called S.V.T., which basically creates a closed circuit of electricity in your heart, causing it to beat uncontrollably (as in 240 beats a minute). In order to convert the heart back to its usual rhythm, you need to get a needle of some sort, or be to paddled/shocked. Anyhow, it was my first ride in an ambulance, so that was kinda cool, and the nurses got a kick out of me being all dressed up with my hair done...so once I was stable, we were able to joke around a bit. They released me in the middle of the night, so thankfully, I was able to sleep in my bed! It's undeniable that God had His hand over the entire situation, and all is well today...just super tired.

Anyhow, the books are calling me for this one final exam.

Livin' for eternity,
A

A Weekend Synopsis...

Although Friday started off a bit shaky - still suffering a bit from vaccinations for Thailand -- Saturday quickly rolled around and things kicked into high gear. The Saturday evening service at Harvest Oakville was fantastic. Pastor Robbie is doing a series on "Beautiful Salvation, Beautiful Saviour," which is taking the church through Romans 5, and really, I am yet again reminded of what a privilege it is to open God's Word and worship Him. More specifically, the message was on the "Beautiful Love of God", and it absolutely blows my mind how while I was still a sinner, Christ loved me enough to send His only son to die for ME. Insane. Unfathomable. In verse 7 Paul provides a fantastic contrast -- how it's so unlikely that we would die for a 'righteous' person, how we wouldn't dare die for a 'good' person, YET God shows his love for us that while we were still sinners, He died for us (v. 8). WHILE we were still sinners, thus not even a bit good, or even close to righteousness, Christ STILL died for us. Talk about beautiful love eh?
Afterwards, I went to a super fun wedding shower for a good friend from the good ol' MBC days. It's always so nice meeting up with these girls who I don't get to see that often, yet still able to pick up right where we left off. The wedding in this coming Saturday, and I'm STOKED. It'll be the first wedding I attend that's actually for a good friend of mine.
This evening I was able to meet up with an aunt of mine and my grandparents at Milestones for a sweet dinner...always sweeter too when someone else is footing the bill. ha! Always a pleasure seeing them though. I truly have an incredible family.
Tonight was also young adults night at Harvest, also a great time. Solid teaching and a great time of worship, not too mention the stellar fellowship.
All in all, great weekend!

And hey, random quote for ya: "You can't learn while you're talking". This is a good one for me, as it always seems way easier for me to blab on than to actually listen and just quiet myself.

Only two exams to go until I receive that piece of paper I've worked four years for!

Livin' for eternity,
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Treadmill thoughts...

Second to driving, running on the treadmill is one of my favourite times to just think or reflect on whatever may be on my heart. Recently, I finished a bible study, "Jesus the One and Only," examining the life of Christ primarily through the gospel of Luke. In this life where I am seeking to become more like Christ, doing a study such as this was absolutely incredible. No where will you find a better example of love, humility, wisdom, discipline and obedience than in the life of Jesus Christ.
Currently, a good friend and I are working through the Psalms of Ascent (120-134) - a study called "Stepping Up" by Beth Moore. Also a fantastic study. During my little jaunt on the treadmill this morning, Psalm 123 as at the forefront of my mind, which mainly talks about our eyes looking up to the Lord, our God. God calls us to look to Him, seek and find in Him, but he wants us to approach on His terms based on who He really is. Not as we think we'd like to make Him. Stay with me here...let me explain. We are not presented with a functional god who will help us out of jams or an entertainment god who will lighten our tedious hours. We are presented with the God of exodus and Easter, the God of Sinai and Calvary. If we want to understand God, we must do it on his terms. If we want to see God the way he really is, we must look to the place of authority -- to Scripture and to Jesus Christ. And hey, do we really want it any other way? I dont think so. We would very soon become contemptuous of a god whom we could figure out like a puzzle or learn to use like a tool. No, if God is worth our attention at all, he must be a God we can look up to -- a God we MUST look up to. The moment we look up to God (and not over at him, or down to him) we are in the posture of servitude and humility. I dont mean that God can't or won't get us out of jams, but if that's all we make of Him, I think we've missed the true enormity of God.
I think what is missing and unexplained on the pages of Scriptures is in some ways just as inspired as what you find in ink. Who else is so brilliant, so multidimensional and gloriously mysterious that you could spend your entire life studying and never grasp His vastness?

And so it begins...

Well, I have come to the realization that this journey the Lord is so graciously taking me on and His faithful process of santification is simply too exciting to keep to myself. My heart is ready to burst like old wineskins (Job 32:19), so I felt as though blogging may be a great option to share what the Lord is doing in my life, along with the many other random assortment of thoughts that flood this brain of mine.

My days as an undergraduate student are quickly coming to a close, and my days here in London are few. I'm on the cusp of entering a new season of life, with the summer quickly approaching and the start teacher's college in September. In a few short weeks I'll be taking off to Thailand to visit one of my bestest -- I'm STOKED! I'm super excited to share some of the adventures Bec and I will partake in during that time...no doubt, the Lord has some exciting things in store.

On that note, I must be off to my second last class of my undergrad career!

Livin' for eternity,
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