eats

I'm having a shindig here tonight. Only a few people are coming, but that's ok. We'll be high in spirit. (mood, no alcohol involved.) Starts with spaghetti dinner, and then going into various games that are always fun, like Scatergories, Rummoli, Texas Hold-em poker, Speed Scrabble, and various other fun games. Now I just need to make the spaghetti and sauce... hopefully that wont be too much trouble. I've never made it before, so it's going to be a new experience. Shouldn't be too hard. Boil some water, add some spaghetti, boil until stringy. It's not complicated like lasagna.

Anyways, I'm out.

stir crazy

so I'm bored. It's not that there's not much to do, it's just that there's few people available to do stuff with. Ah well. I'll be back in KW next week. I have homework to do. For correspondence, and reading for J-Term. I also have two other books on the go. Well, one's on the go, and one's not started yet, but it will be when I find the time to get it started.

I'm in the middle of reading some books. Firstly, I'm really enjoying the reading of "What's So Amazing About Grace" by Philip Yancey. It's spurned me to think about grace in a whole new light... coming from one who is legalistic by nature. There's a fine line that we need to walk in leadership. One one side there's legalism, and on the other side there's chaos... I like order so I mostly lean towards the legalistic side of things... I'm learning that there is grace available. Yes, I know, my last name's Grace. That is actually what started me thinking about the whole area of grace. Someone prayed for me last year and mentioned in their prayer that I am a man true to my last name. I began thinking, and sometimes it's hard to have grace. There's huge issues going on within the church right now. There's staunch legalism, and then there's grace, but there's always the rules behind it.... like I said, a fine line.

The second book that I'm going to read when I get around to it is "Boundries in Dating"... Yes, I know, why would I need to read a book like that when I'm far from being anywhere close to dating someone? I don't know why, actually. A friend told me that I HAD to read it, and it's had the recommendation of a few others, so I might as well read it. Kinda fits in with Spiritual Emphasis week this semester... First day: Dating; Second day: Singleness (I have to miss this one to take the train to Toronto... Perhaps someone nice will either record it for me or take notes); Third day [great band]: Marriage; Fourth day: Sexuality. Ah well.. I'm interested in most of those topics, so it should be a wonderful week had by all.

And I have two other books going on right now to do with J-Term: Arts and Symbols in Christian Worship. The first book is "The Heart of the Artist" by ... I forget his name, but he's the worship pastor at Willow Creek church. It seems like a good book. I just haven't found the energy to sit down and read a lot of it at once. The second chapter was talking about serventhood versus stardom, one thing that a lot of musicians have to face, and one of the areas that I struggle with in playing guitar/piano/sax in front of people. Sometimes I think I need to prove myself as a worthy musician, because not many people notice it cause they never ask... but I know I'm not the greatest musician, so I don't know why I need to prove myself. Do I want to be a star, or do I want to praise God? It's a hard question to answer in the middle of the dry spell that I seem to be in right now. I need motivation to sit down and intentionally spend time with God on a daily basis... not happening right now... Needs to. Soon.

The other one is "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Henry Nouwen. Nouwen wrote about how he saw the painting, and then spent two days in front of it looking at the intricacies of it... I'm not perceptive in that area. It's another area that I'm trying to work on. Group Dynamics showed me that I'm not perceptive, and that any things that I did pick up weren't good enough for me to get a better grade than I did, but I'm just thankful that I passed the class... barely. But anyways, perception in art is something that I don't get. I don't get how someone puts how they're feeling into a painting. I don't get how you can see so much from one simple piece of art. I don't get it! Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate a good piece of art, and good photography, I just don't get the feelings behind it. Maybe that'll change between now and a week from now when I'm at the Art Gallery of Ontario perusing the paintings there. We'll see.

Along with all this reading, I need to chart Philippians onto one page. This goes with my perception. I can't see how to break it up, other than the divisions that are already in the text... but that's not very creative, now, is it? I just keep remembering the concept of 'joy' from New Testement 2 last year. Arg. Ah well, I'll just read it another few times and then sit down and see what I can see, even if it's not all that there is with it... the author of the book that I have for this course keeps saying that the more you peruse a verse/chapter/book, the more God reveals to you. I guess that's true. That's how my entire focus shifted 2nd semester last year. Psalm 51:17 really affected me, and that seemed to start a whole chain of events leading towards the summer's events and everything thereafter.

So back to Philippians. Hopefully I'll see something more than words... Some meaning behind it. Something that hits me and knocks me out of my chair. We'll see now, wont we.

early preparations

I started Field Ed yesterday. I have all the templates on my computer, so I started the Plan for Learning... it seems kinda like a wash, you know, just putting stuff down in order to get the grade? I don't know what I'm going to learn. I don't know what's going to get in my way. I have trouble figuring out how I'm going to get to the place that I don't know if it even exists... It's a joyous occasion, you know... I've paid for my final two field eds already somehow, so I could do them both this semester if I find one that's a good enough fit for whatever I need to do.

I still need to apply, but I know that if I do this stuff now, I wont have to do it later. Maybe there's an application form online. That'd be nice.

Ah well... back to whatever it is I do around here. Maybe some Understanding and Applying the Bible... an ok course, but very monotonous and tedious... Argh.

ideal laptop: better model found.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10050727&catid=11520&logon=&langid=EN&dept=1

woot?

So I'm mulling over whether I want to splurge and get the 80 dollar router that's available at Future Shop today that could come out to 40 if I mail in the rebate. But the issue arrises, that there's a wireless router at school and at home right now, and I could probably find one for cheap if need be in the future.. it's just that this is available... now. Ah well. I 'll survive.

I think I figured out my network issues. ZoneAlarm's security was set too high. Ah well. That'll teach it to be secure. I have to have it on while I'm at home especially, because nothing will work if the router firewall's on. So I turned it off. Good work, Tim.

boxing day

The Future Shop boxing day sale is in 2 days... and I'm not going this year. That's right, you heard it right here. I'm not spending money on things that aren't priority items this year. There is a laptop, I believe the HP ZE5310 or something like that. It caught my attention from the flyer, but I can't afford it, so why bother looking... or lusting. Whichever the better terminology for this is.

My boxing day blowout from last year is still in saga... started with the no-name mp3 player that died on me shortly after purchase, and then went to the mpio that died 3 months after purchase, and I'll be getting back from San Diego sometime in the next few weeks... when I get back to school within the first few weeks. Maybe. We'll see how it goes. I'm not even sure if the warranty was still valid. Ah well, we'll find out, won't we.

I'm on my last assignment for unit 2 of my correspondence course. I've done 2 assignments in the past 2 weeks, considering that I only did 2 in the first 7 months that I had it, I'd say that this is a pretty good rate. Yay.

counter revisted

So I got a new counter. This one tracks distinct hits rather than visits. Well, it still tracks visits, but the distinct hits are a bit more manageable. It aslo knows what operating system you have, what resolution you're using, and how you got here! Even tracks the search terms from Yahoo and Google if people come that way... someone came from "Festivus yes" and "Bagels no" and meaning via Yahoo... go figure.

another simpsons episode that made me laugh

I was watching the Simpson's yesterday, and the episode was one that I haven't seen yet. It was quite funny, where the family was going to go to Dayton, but the kids weasled their way out of it, leaving Homer and Marge to go by themselves, (their flight was scheduled to go through Nome, Alaska, which I found funny), but they decided to go to Miami instead, triggoring Bart and Lisa to chase them across the continent in a Catch Me If You Can style... I found it funny.

Ah well.. that's it.

winter has arrived...

So there's a lot of snow outside right now. In your face dental hygenist guy who thought there'd only be a few flurries... HA! Sucks to yer asthmar. (misspelling intentional) And I had French Toast for lunch, and possibly Cream Peas and Tuna on Toast for supper.

It's been a week of odd dreams. The other night I dreamt that I was at Joy, and they made me put on a lifeguard shirt to go out into the water, so I went and met up with some people across the lake, but then some motorboat people came over and insulted us... so we went back, and I saw some people from Forest Cliff, I think... I don't remember clearly. Then I dropped off my lifejacket and went to get some ice cream. So I asked the girl if they still had ice cream, and they said, no, but that had something different. So I asked her what she'd recommend. But she said she couldn't recommend something unless she knew who I was. So I said, "Hi, I'm Tim from Sarnia." And she said, "Whoa, I don't need to know your whole life story" (thus shooting me down, in my dreams!), and then I said, I don't need any ice cream, I'll just take a pop. Then I saw Gord's brother and mentioned that I was going to pick him up the next day, he said he knew, and then I woke up, realizing that I had to be at Gord's place in 15 minutes to go pick up his brother. Wierd.

Then last night came the dream that I was at school and my parents picked me up, and for some reason, they thought that they were taking me home for good, but I didn't know that, so I hadn't packed accordingly. That's about all I can remember, but my sister said that I was talking in my sleep last night, so who knows what was going on.

Ah well... it's snowy outside. I may go out and shovel a sidewalk and/or driveway for fun.

T.

the foods i've left behind

So now that I'm home, I realize all the food that I'm missing out on at school just because not many people like it... like:

Cream peas and tuna on toast
Applesauce on toast
Fruit/Cottage Cheese/Lettuce salad
fresh grilled cheese from a sandwich maker... well, maybe a lot of people like this, but it's not easily acessible.
and French Toast... not many people seem to like French Toast at school this year. I have no understanding as to why this may be... whatever, they're missing out and I'm winning. Every time. Oh yeah.

a new hobby

So I'm home for Christmas. And I'm bored. So I picked up something new to do.

It's called every other day baking. So on Saturday, I baked a double batch of chocolate chip cookies. Yesterday, I created 2 dozen cherry surprises. Tomorrow... well, that's another day. Perhaps I'll bake some peanut butter cookies, because who doesn't like peanut butter cookies*?

So I went to London this morning. I was there and back within... 2.5 hours. It was thrilling.









*To those who are allergic to peanuts and any other nuts, this is not an attempt to poke fun at your life threatening allergies. I cannot fathom the pains that you must have to go through not to be able to enjoy such wonderful things as peanuts, and I can only sympathize with you.

correction

For those who decided that they need to call online journals by the hideous name, "blog", I have news for you... That is not what I like to call mine. I prefer the name Journal, because it's not as hideous.

Thankyou for your patronage.

laptopia

I've been looking at laptops for a while now, knowing full well that I have not the money to purchase one in the next year or so, but still looking, trying to find the best deal for the best quality laptop.

I have a few things that I'd appreciate on a laptop if I were to get one.

• Hard Drive: 40-60 gb
• Memory: 512 MB DDR
• Graphics: ATI Radeo (64 MB+)
• Sound: Onboard is alright
• Screen: 15 inches
• Processor: Athlon 2.5 GHz+
• Networking: 802.11 b/g as well as RJ-11 and RJ-45 (listed below)
  In/Out Ports: S-Video; RJ-11; RJ-45; VGA; Firewire; 3 USB; Parallel (optional); Notebook expansion port; Headphone out; Mic in
• Operating System: XP-Pro (upgradeable)

I appreciate HP the most out of all laptop brands because I've heard bad things about a lot of other brands, including Averatec, E-Machines, Sony, Comaq, etc...

So I scoured, and here's what I came up with as the ideal laptop of today for me.

But, as I mentioned earlier, I have not the financial means or phsyical requirement for a laptop at the present time, it's just something that would add to my slowly increasing technological mishmash of gadgets.

Perhaps by the time that I do have enough disposable income, the whole requirement figure would have changed.

a solution?

http://www.inicia.es/de/Turbo_J/metelev1_01.swf

a router or a blocker?

This router at home has the tendancy to block 90% of the information coming from the modem. So instead of downloading at 50 kb/s, I'm downloading at <5 kb/s.... Wonderful.

wireless?

So I got home today and set up my computer upstairs... but behold, no connection, so I come downstairs, and behold.. No connection... so Play around with the settings... a connection, but it disappears after a while (nothing new) But I try a cable, and it's a no go... this router and/or my computer's networking capabilities are whacked.

Ah well... finally got it, and in the middle I realized that it is my power supply fan, not the air intake fan or the CPU cooler. Perhaps I can do something to it without having to get a new one or fry the system... that'd be nice.

Ah well.. I'm out.

thud... thud... creak... thud...

For those who are fortunate enough to sleep on the top floor of a building that was built after 1975 with proper supports in the floor and insulation to boot and who fall asleep the minute their head hits the pillow, be thankful. Please.

For those of us who are stuck in the lower level of a building from the 60's that has no sound insulation and all noises are amplified 4-5 times approximately, and have trouble getting to sleep with noise going around... it stinks. Especially when people decide that they need to stomp down the hall upstairs at 12:30, or drop their chair repeatedly at an irregular beat close to midnight.

I have nothing against those living above me, I'm just the unfortunate sucker who has to deal with the noise somehow. I tried listening to music, but now it's keeping me up too. I've tried earplugs, but they're uncomfortable, so I can't sleep with them in... Arg. I'll be home to my quiet upper post-1975 room tomorrow... for a few days of peace anyways before my nephew arrives on Monday with my sister. Ah well... at least he knows how to sleep and can't stomp on the floor.

If only the money would come in and Lehman could be demolished internally and rebuilt into a wonderful apartment complex that holds 24 people, each having their own FULL SIZE desk, dresser, bed, private washrooms, kitchens, and living areas, ... that would be nice. Until then, if Lehman could hear my thoughts towards it, I'm sure it would try it's hardest to fix it... somehow.

toques

So it's been cold the past few days and I've done a lot of walking (approx 8 km in 2 days), and I've been wearing my toque because it's cold. So I get back to the school and take off my toque and everyone seems to argue with me that I got my haircut, though I haven't since November... Maybe it's just better to wear the toque or agree with their judgement of my hair.

Ah well. I bought my books for next semester today. A lot of money later and I'm back to the school with 6 books... 6 interesting looking books nonetheless. I'm thrilled.

egad! There goes my hamster!

Where have you gone?
Why can’t I see?
Am I so jaded?
Am I living a lie?
How often have you called me?
How often have I failed?
Will you lift me up?
Will you rescue me?

eeenneneheheneheneheneheneheh

That's as close to describing the sound that comes from my power supply every time I turn my computer on. But after a while, I just give it a little jiggle and it goes away. I have no clue what the problem is. It's a fan, perhaps... but if the bearings are shot, why does the noise go away? It's a power supply perhaps, but when the sound goes away, why does my computer still work the same?

I dunno.

I re-arranged the wires behind my computer tonight... except I put the rear surround speakers on the wrong sides... ARG! I'm just gonna leave them for the fun of it.

view 500

If you look down the page and the counter says 500, congrats. You get nothing but the joy of knowing that you were visitor number 500... technically not actually 500 because I come here 5-10 times daily to see if there's any new posts, but since anyone rarely leaves me a message, I just live in the knowledge that most of those 500 counts were me.

Ah well. Did you ever wish that the little Internet Explorer window globe thingy in the corner of your browser actually spun everytime it was loading, rather than whenever it felt like it?

wake up

Oh yes, I'm done... oh yes I'm done.... WAKE UP!

Sorry, that was from high school. You can ask me about it later. Probably wont think it's funny, but it brought back good memories today.

mp3 delivery!

My mp3 player was successfully delivered to Digitalway at 10:13 AM Monday morning. Yay.

always waking up tired...

Why on the nights that I actually try to get to sleep early and want a good sleep is it the hardest to get to sleep? Take tonight for example. I have an exam at 9:00 am (8 hrs 45 minutes from now), and I'm competing with noise from upstairs (the Daily Show's on at midnight) and down the hall (they're watching Aqua Teen Hunger Force) and I can't really go and tell them all to shutup, cause that would be cruel. And then I was overheating... For some reason, My room's the warmest it's been in a while, with the window open and it's -10 outside right now.

Arg... my room is working against my sleep habits. It's not good.

Also, my computer power supply fan is acting up again... I hate how I'll probably soon be on my 3rd case/power supply combo since I bought the computer less than a year and a half ago. Something's wrong with it. Perhaps it's the quality workmanship of the $50.00 case. Maybe it's also because my fan runs a whole lot louder than any other computer cooling supply that I've ever heard...

Arg.

dazed and confused

I woke up this morning wondering if I had 30 minutes until my exam started. But I didn't do anything about it... then I went back to sleep. So I woke up again at 9:15 thinking I might have missed the start of my exam, but I didn't remember Monday passing by, so it couldn't be Tuesday morning yet. I went the next 2 hours wondering if I was missing an exam until I asked someone to verify that it was indeed Monday.

I've had the hiccups all afternoon... since a meeting with the Dean of Student Life where we talked about a lot of stuff, and some of it was very encouraging, and other parts were hard to swallow, but I felt a bit better after some explaination was given. It's still hard, but it's setting in... somewhat.

these hiccups are driving me annoyed. Each one comes along with a huge belch. And I haven't heard of a sure-fire way to get rid of them. Ah well.

1.4 hours and I'll be done with Counselling Skills. I have the exam printed off in my folder ready to drop off. I'll be happy when that's done. I just don't feel safe with e-mail or the office taking it... I'd rather put it in his hand, seeing as it's 30% of my mark.

Ah well...

...

Here's a quote from Olu Peters from Acts... I usually get more quotes from teachers, but this semester was sucky. Ah well... it's a good one nonetheless.

"When we stop talking TO one another, we start talking ABOUT one another."

a few thoughts

It's snowing. I like snow. I just wish that we had more already, and it would get out of this rain phase where it snows and then rains within 15 minutes thing. hopefully it'll be a white Christmas for this year. It's not a regular happening around my place... it's only been a few times that we've had true white Christmasses, with no grass to be seen through the snow. A lot of times it's looked like it'll be a white Christmas, however with about 2-3 days left before december 25th, it rains for hours on end until there is not a pile of snow to be left. Ah well.

I have a take home exam due tomorrow. I've written it already, and I just need to edit it. I'm not sure if it's too long, or if I did something wrong on it, but I think it's full of details, which is what he was looking for. So I think I might just run through it quickly and make sure that it makes sense before printing it off and handing it in tomorrow night. I also need to start studying for Acts on Tuesday morning... so that's pretty much the rest of today and all day tomorrow.

Have you ever noticed that bands always mention the city that they're in during one of their songs while playing live and you always get a scream from the crowd because they love it? I wonder why it's so popular? Ah well... I just heard Big Tent Revival do it on their live CD... Memphis Tennessee.

I love hot chocolate. It's very good. I'm not drinking pop for some reason right now. I'm unsure as to the real reason other than I was just disgusted by the amount of sugar that the guy had in his pop in Supersize Me. So it's been since... October 28th I think when I had my last pop. I've had a few Nestea's since then, but otherwise, I've only had a few hot chocolates, some chocolate milk, regular milk, lots of water (2 glasses with every meal pretty much), orange and apple juice. The downside is that I have 3 bottles of US mountain dew to drink, and I think I might be offending Ryan by not drinking it.. I'll bring a bottle home for Christmas. And I'll find a laptop and put it on my lap while drinking the 'Dew. Then I'll be guarenteed not to have kids... just kidding. I want kids one of these days, I just need to go through a few steps before then... like finding the girl of my dreams, proposing, getting married and then waiting a while until I'm somewhat financially stable. Perhaps.

Ok... Inner thoughts are done now... Though I still wonder about my computer's inability to keep an internet connection for a long time. Stupid computer.

a question

So this morning at Lincoln Road, I had memories of Theology. The sermon was about Joseph and what God was thinking by choosing Joseph. So the pastor, Gord Martin, had a little panel consisting of 4 people from various walks of life up there to discuss some answers. So the question was posed, "Why did God choose Mary and Joseph to be the parents of Jesus?" You don't really think about the answer, you just accept it as the way it is a lot of the time, however there is a good theological answer.

Discuss.

a joke gone awry

So tonight, I went into Dan's room to get the phone out and had this brilliant brainwave. I saw some chairs there, and a curtain in his room, and decided to make a monster out of it. So I covered up the chairs, put shoes under the legs of the one end, made a face for it, and put a little speech bubble saying "feed me dan, I like socks" and had a little "Hello, my name is Marvin" tag on him... it was sad to see it go...

Ah well. Perhaps another day I'll make another monster.

I drove someone else's car up to the bus terminal tonight to drop someone off. It felt as if it was going to explode on me every time I sped up. It was also the first time I've driven in almost 2 months.

And when we got back, I watched Ocean's 11 in the Common Lounge with everyone. Good movie.

That's all.

banquified

Last night was the banquet. It was a wonderful time had by all. Or at least those who told me so... but there was probably some hesitence to tell all seeing as I had a part in organizing it... but that's ok. I know there were areas that could have been improved on... sound for one. it was kinda sucky. But the food was awesome. The times of fellowship and community were great, and I actually had a good time this year rather than a sucky time last year.

I was THE musician for the night, which was really wierd. I never play in front of people, partially because I'm not all that great, and partially because no one ever asks me. But that's ok. I found out that I was playing the piano for one song about 3:30, and it was being played at 8:30... that was an odd experience. And I knew I was playing guitar for O Holy Night, We Three Kings, and One Small Child since Wednesday or so, so they sounded a bit better. Ah well, every experience is an opportunity to grow and improve at my skills.

I'm not sure if I'd get involved in that again, but it was still fun. Just kinda annoying on the week before exams when I have a take-home due on Monday... Ugh. That's this afternoon's work. I think.

And I'm off now. Brunch is in 13 minutes. Yay.

blah

I don't feel like doing anything, but I know I have to.

I have to finish a few things in preparation for the Christmas Banquet tomorrow night. I signed onto the planning committee for some reason and got stuck with the program for it, which is the largest part that any students are doing. We've encountered some problems, but we've overcome them and we're looking towards a good evening full of good times with the community around here.

I'm listening to the album "Tree of Life" by Sean O'Leary, one of the adjunct faculty here at the school. It's a pretty good CD. Nothing super pop-starish, but that's not his style. I like it. I have a class with him in the J-Term; Arts and Symbols in Christian Worship. We're going on field trips for two days in that class. I'm very excited.

I have two exams left. A take-home that's due on Monday. So I should probably do a bit of work on that tonight in order to make sure that I have enough time to study for Acts... at least more than the 1.5 hours I had for the mid-term. Darn papers and procrastination.

After Tuesday morning though, I'm done and have 4 days to work on my correspondence before going home on Friday afternoon for 2 weeks. It's a short time, but it's a break nonetheless. I kinda miss home, even though when I get there, I'll want to come back, just because it's not as exciting sometimes. But it's home. The bed is longer than me, which is good, and there's the ability to be able to have food whenever I want it, rather than having to wait for set meal times. I've been doing pretty good at keeping to eating 3 times a day rather than continually. I've probably put on a bit of weight though. Ah well. I'll need to lose a bit and get in shape before Algonquin this summer.

I got my backpacking trails map today though. I'm excited. I'll probably look that over today. Hopefully it's helpful.

That's about all I have to say right now.

No word about the MP3 player since Tuesday. Should be arriving either tomorrow or Monday, if not before. I hope that they accept it... I don't want to have to pay for the return shipping... that'd stink.

Ah well.. off to other things.

a sigh of relief for pastors...

From GlobeandMail.com

"The government has said from the start that religious authorities will not be forced to marry couples if it goes against their spiritual beliefs. In the House of Commons Thursday, Saskatchewan MP Maurice Vellacott pressed the government to ensure also that secular authorities be protected from punishment if they choose not to conduct gay marriages.

"Will the federal government ... ensure that the appointment of any commissioner who objects to performing same-sex marriages on the basis of religious beliefs and conscience will not be terminated," the MP from Saskatoon-Wanuskewin asked during Question Period.

Mr. Cotler responded that the judgment makes it "clear that no official should be compelled" to marry a same-sex couple, "if it's contrary to religion or conscience.""

two computer related questions.

1. Why, when I have an HP Printer, does it require lexmark files to be running in the background in order for it to be recognized?

2. Why does my computer decide to refuse to recognize the Internet after a while of being on, even though it can reach the router and the modem? Also, why does the wireless card freeze every now and again?

Those are my two technological questions for the day.

a slow news day

through either a Royal Flush
or a Reproduction Hinderance.

...

update in general

Firstly: Mp3 Player status:
As of 1757 Tuesday, it had arrived in the destination country, meaning that it's in the States somewhere now. Should be in San Diego by Friday or Monday. Yay.

Secondly: School Related:
1 Class remaining
1 Take-Home Exam due Monday 1900
1 Exam Tuesday 0900
Done Tuesday 1100.
Home Friday 1600

the lost art of conversation

Conversation. It's been lost throughout the years as the attitude that all things must be done quickly in order to make progress. What happened to the days when someone would ask you "How are you doing?" and actually sit down and be willing to listen, no matter how you were actually doing, and no matter how long it took to get to the final point? It could take 20 minutes, it could take 2 hours, but either way, it's beneficial to both parties in order just to sit, take a break from the rush of life around you, and just work on your relationship, even though it might not be the focus.

I had one of those conversations tonight. 2 hours long, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was give and take. Nothing really got accomplished out of it, but who says conversations need to be productive? They just need to be a listening ear and a willing heart. And in the end, all will be... maybe not better, maybe not worse, but more satisfied.

hello

Ok, so I'm back... That last post was made in a moment of anger, even though I still think online journals are not a way to judge a person by because they're so impersonal. And I still recommend talking face to face with people in order to get to know them and understand them on a deeper basis.

Here's the story. I posted. I recieved persecution over said post due to miscommunication. I deleted post because it had the ability to be misinterpreted, and now I'm here. If anyone thinks that I'm ungrateful due to the contents of the post that has been deleted, I'm sorry that it may have come across that way. I'm not going to justify my post, because I don't feel I need to, however I will try to make things sound a bit more sincere in the future.

In conclusion, if there is a personal beef over something I've said, contact me in person rather than putting it here. I'd rather deal with it in private than in a public forum.

farewell

Due to the public nature of online journaling, and the availbility to all, and the impersonal nature of these posts, I will no longer continue to update this journal.

If this offends anyone, sorry. These are just words. People take words out of context. You need the feeling and expression that is only available through conversations face to face.

it has been a blah day

Today was the final day of Theology. We got our notes back (I got an OK), sat through an hour sermon on Jesus being the light of the world, and got out. I continued on to get a revised fee statement that included an extra bit for the honorarium. Then I went to the mailbox to get my Counselling Skills paper back. I expected 60-70 on it, got 80-85 on it. And now I'm in my room, not wanting to do anything, even though I need to study for a quiz tonight and somehow plan what dorm meeting's going to be for the evening. We're not having it in my room, for a change. We're not even having it in this building, as a change of pace. W00t.

Anyways, I'm out.. perhaps a nap.

duh!

http://www.mtbireland.com/dodge.html

tonight on fox... the latest craze in television dramas...

The LRC. It's a church, but not like any other church. It's a plymouth brethren church. That's right...

Ok, maybe I'm pumping up the church a bit too much. I went to Lincoln Road Chapel again this morning (5 weeks in a row, I think... a new record for church attendance in one semester - 7 times at one church so far at least) I like it there. It might be because it's not Grandview. I'm not bashing Grandview anymore because that's wrong. I just don't get along well with Grandview. It might be because it's Plymouth Brethren... I like the PB churches. This is different from most of them that I've been to, though. It's modern. It's big. Well, let's compare to my church at home.

Home:
30 people
small building
Hymns
different speaker weekly
2 services of 30 people.. the same 30 people, just in 2 services.

LRC
400 people
Large building (old Waterloo YMCA - the sanctuary's built on top of the pool!)
Mixture of modern and traditional
Different speaker weekly - 2-3 of them on staff rotating with a few others thrown in the mix.
1 service of 400 people

I think there's a few things I like over my home church.

1. There's people my age. I haven't met any of them yet, but it feels nice to be in a church and not be the youngest person there by 30 years. I hope to get a bit more involved in the 20's group next semester if there's the opportunity. Hopefully there'll be a 20's lunch soon. I just want to meet a few people that are close to my age from various places around KW to have a small escape from the Bible College environment, and maybe meet a few new friends on the way.

2. They have consistency in speaking. They follow themes, and it's Biblical teaching, and a few select people who speak regularly, so it keeps the flow. I'm not a huge fan of a different person every week who preaches the exact same gospel message in hopes that I'm saved after they speak. I'm not saying that's a wrong way to do things, because people have come to salvation through Christ in those services, it just kinda gets monotonous because the speaking's on one topic rather than a good mixture in order to edify our faith in the various areas of life. I'm not against one speaker having one or two sermons which he takes to different churches, at least in that way it's not the same people hearing the message all the time.

3. There's a mixture of hymns and choruses, and they don't try to make the music sound CD quality. It's a realization that the music is just something to help people glorify God through song / meditation on the words, not a way to make people fall in love with the band... though that might happen inadvertantly with those teenage girls and the guy with the long hair that plays guitar. But that's besides the point. The mixture of hymns and choruses realizes that there is value in both modern day songs of praise and hymns of worship to our Lord. You can't bash modern day choruses due to lack of depth, because a lot of them realize that all God wants is for us to be still and know that He is God... our words don't need to be many in order to do this. "You are God in heaven, and here I am on earth, so I let my words be few... Jesus I am so in love with you." ... and you can't bash hymns because they're old and sound better on organs, because there is so much theology in a lot of them that you could do Bible studies on finding the meanings behind the hymns. "Be thou my vision oh Lord of my heart.. Naught be all else to me save that thou art. Thou my best thought by day or by night... Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light." Wow. I love the implications that song has on how we see God.

I know it's a big church, and it's easy to become anonymous in it... the greeters sometimes don't seem like they truly care that you are there, however most churches greeters could fall into that category. But I think I like it. It's hard to find a church that you truly enjoy being in sometimes. Even though I have to take a 50 minute bus ride to get there every sunday morning and wait around for 45 minutes after the service to catch the 50 minute bus ride back to school, it's worth the wait.

blah

296 hits.

So today was a unique day. Firstly, I only got 5.5ish hours of sleep last night. It wasn't pretty. I was almost asleep then BAM! The Early Show was on and the laughs woke me up again. I just got dealt a bad hand for this year in the sleep area. The floor seems like it's going to fall in on me whenever anyone walks up there and any sound that is in that room amplifies about 4-5 times it's magnitude. Sucks to be me who has trouble getting to sleep with noise. I ended up asleep around 2ish after moving my mattress to the floor and taking a tylenol for the sickness I was feeling.

Enter this morning. I woke up at 7:30ish and just got dressed and went to breakfast. Had my raisin bran for the first time in a few weeks after doing a little bit of research on the regularity of defecation yesterday. I learned that it is considered normal to go from anywhere between 3 times a week up to 21 times a week (3 times a day). It's kinda freaky to me that people actually go that often, but I know 2-3 guys on dorm that go 6 times daily at least and wonder how I can't be dead by not going more than 2 times a week at most. But anyways, class this morning was all about incorporating the parents into youth ministry. Much like most of the classes that Dr. D taught us, this was a lot of theory as to why it's important to do this... I caught myself looking back on my 2 years experience in a youth group and thinking about how I did things wrong and what consequences those decisions made. Last week was on volunteers, and I know I did that wrong my second year. There was little to no accountability, and I found myself not wanting to be around certain people on the leadership because of the things they weren't being accountable for. It wasn't good. I know that in the future, I plan on having a covenant agreement with the other leaders in order to make sure that if they are in unrepentant sin, then there'll be consequences. But anyways, I enjoyed class this morning thrououghly. I really like Dr. D's teaching style. Everything becomes an opportunity for learning, and I like that. It shows good leadership skills. And we got the bonus of knowing that today was our last class because there's not enough material for next week, so no class.

Then comes chapel. This was the highlight of my day. I was expecting a good chapel because it was a Dr. D. chapel, and he said that it'd be different from the ones he's done before, so I was intrigued. It was on prayer. I mean, we've had a prayer chapel before, but that was practical praying, assuming that we know how to pray effectively. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just some people have trouble praying for long periods of time. But the message was about how to pray an hour each day. Praying for an hour straight sometimes brings it's hardships, because I know I have trouble praying for 2 minutes without my mind wandering in the middle. But it was on different ways to pray in order to make 1/24th of your day prayer. Scripture says "Pray continuously", which can be taken as constantly praying. But that doesn't mean we need to be on our knees 24/7. It just means that we need to be in communication with God continually. Listening, meditating, reading Scripture, supplicating, thanksgiving, confession, etc... I think that the Holy Spirit was there in chapel moving through the hearts of those who attended. It's at the point where no one's going to chapel because of papers, but we're pulling out of that crunch. And God still moves, of His own accord, not when everyone's attending chapel, but whenever He wants to.

Psych and Culture of youth: We watched Spiderman 2. I didn't really enjoy it. Then came a discussion about the culture as shown in the movie. W00t.

Supper.

Mall.

Pay It Forward.

Here.

Sleep?

facial hair

So I have a goatee, soul patch, and moustache right now. I'm not sure if I like it, seeing as the goat and stache are patchy and gross... Perhaps if I leave them long enough they'll thicken up a bit, or perhaps I was just never meant to have real facial hair.

I think I need to get a second opinion. Or maybe I'll just shave without one. Probably not though.

I'm singing Bass for a Taize service that i'm in tonight in Toronto for some school. I think it's the Anglican school of Theology, but I might be wrong. I just know it's in T.O. and we're not completely ready for it. God can work miracles, and I'm praying that He might tonight.

Anyways, I need to go iron some clothes so I can wear them tonight. And perhaps tomorrow I'll do laundry. I'm out of necessary items by then, so I think it's time.

update

As of today at 2:10 PM

• Nov 29: Theology (3)
  
• Dec 2: MuchMusic Analysis (??)
  
• Dec 6: Theology (3)
  
• Dec 7: Acts (3)
  

Exams:
Counselling Skills: Dec 13th 7-9 PM
Acts: Dec 14th 9-11 AM
Done.

takeoff

So anyone who was considering purchasing The Terminal for me, well, that spot's already been taken by the coolest floor on campus. No, I'm not talking about UWL, even though you're pretty hip, I'm talking more about Lower Lehman. I get back from a small trip tonight and there's something on the floor in front of my room, wrapped in the travel page from the paper with duct tape, and a thankyou card signed by all the guys on my floor. Inside was "The Terminal". I haven't watched it yet, but I'm thinking about it soon. I wont be in bed until late if I watch it tonight, but whatever. It's the best movie of the summer. Oh yeah.

leaving on a jet plane

So the Terminal came out today, and I haven't even gone to rent it yet. It's beyond the point of buying it because Christmas is upon us, and I'm too cheap to go rent it. However, my day has been feeling like one of those days where I'm just stuck in the terminal... perhaps it's been one of those semesters. People have been growing, arriving and departing around me, but I'm just sitting here, watching them go about with their lives. I think my flight's delayed or something.

I can't say that I've come out with any hard lessons learned after this semester. Well, I can, but the small things that God teaches me, I don't remember. There's something about making progress and then sinking back to the place where I was forgetting that there's even another way out of the hole that really discourages me. Perhaps it's that I have a horrible memory, or maybe it's that it was held back for making an impact on my life so that I'd change and grow.

I want to grow. I want to change. In Christ we're a new creation. As Paul writes, the old has gone, the new has come. Why does the old hang on so violently, not letting the new come in. I'm not bashing old things, because some old can be good. However the hurtful old things, the things that cause me pain to this very day, the things that cause others pain because I don't let them go... they can go away. I wish I had the ability to just vent to someone. Let them know everything that's gone on in my life, and just have them there to listen. But I know the feeling of being on the receiving end of that, and it's burdensome. I don't want to burden anyone with my load.

I want to be able to realize that Christ has taken my load off me and I am free to traverse the valleys and peaks of life without hinderance. I want to be free.

update.

The following list is what remains.

Nov 25th: Psych and Culture of Youth (12)
Nov 26th: Acts (12-15)
Nov 29th: Theology (3)
Dec 2nd: MuchMusic (10)
Dec 6th: Theology (3)
Dec 7th: Acts Book Report (3)

= 43 pages of typing left. Not too bad.

Last year I had 60 pages due in 2 weeks

This year it's not nearly as bad and not all due around exam time.

It makes me happy.

ugh again

So it's now Friday, and there's only 3 weeks left until exam week and then I'm home on the 18th, most likely 19th, pending on what the 'rents want to do.

Unfortunately, in that 3 week period, I have a lot of stuff due.

Nov 22nd: Theology - 3 pages
Nov 22nd: Counselling Skills - 6 Page (BOOK REPORT)
Nov 25th: Psych and Culture of Youth: 12 pages
Nov 26th: Acts Paper: 12-15 pages
Nov 29th: Theology: 3 pages
Dec 2nd: Psych and Culture: 5-10 pages
Dec 6th: Theology: 3 pages
Dec 7th: Acts Book Report: 3 pages

Of which, I've only started the Counselling book report, and the psych and culture focus group. Arg. It's going to be a long 3 weeks. Pray?

quote

The other day in chapel we had a little encouragement-fest where we each had a piece of paper taped to our backs and people had to go around writing on them out of encouragement, so in the mass confusion, I was written on all over the place (on the paper that is), and came out in the end with quite a few really encouraging comments on it.

The one I liked the most was this:

"May the peace of the Lord be with you in all the days of your life. A peace that only the Lord Jesus Christ can give. You are a great man of God. May God bless you all your days as you continue to bless him with your life. Remember behind all the shadows there is a light."

I can't go into details, but that last sentence struck me. All I can see is shadows right now. Issues not dealt with in the past are coming to the forefront. Papers and assignments are all due in the next few weeks. I really, honestly wish that I was in Europe right now travelling without a care in the world... but I'm not. I'm in school, and even though the darkness is shrouding in around me right now, I can be assured that there is a Light shining. I've been constantly reminded about this light for the past 2 days, and it amazes me how much of an effect that the Light has on my thoughts... the darkness goes away, even if just for a time, but it's gone and I'm left with the peace of the Lord.

ugh

I can't help but be discouraged after getting out of class this afternoon. We were talking about ministry and what the culture thinks about church. Right now we're at a point where about 2% of teenagers in this country attend church on a regular basis, and it's getting to the point where most churches are stuck in a rut where they do things the way they do because they've always done it that way and any other way that they could do things is not going to work because they have never done it before. In other words, people can't adapt. We have to adapt ministry from the way of the past to the way of the future without removing any of the relevance and spiritual formativeness from it.

A point was brought up that the number of people who believe and then go to church is much smaller than the number of people who belong and then become believers because of being within the church context. Where has the grace gone so that we're stuck refusing entrance to the church for those who try and come in off the streets not wearing a suit and tie? People have lost their faith because of people ignoring them every Sunday. People have become discouraged and switched churches because of the little tiffs that are theoretically stupid and have no validity to have. People just don't go to churches because they don't like the staunchness that it's become. Even in the large churches that have "greeters", people have been so frustrated because they're just another statistic, not a person.

Where is the happy medium? How can people feel like they belong before believing when churches today aren't accepting? Look at Jesus. He accepted everyone, even though society didn't. Look at the apostles, they had a hard time accepting the Hellenists in the daily feedings, so they appointed deacons who were all Hellenists to take their stead. So if our leadership has a hard time accepting, what do we do? Appoint people gifted in that area to take over. What a joy it will be when all people are accepted and feel like they belong in the church. Then, maybe we can evangelize within the church again.

it all started with the furnace

Here's the story, starting with the most recent events.

I came home from Zehr's yesterday and the guys were standing outside because the fire alarm was going off.

Why?

Because the alarm short circuited.

Why?

There was water seeping through the floor

Why?

There was a lake of water on the floor upstairs

Why?

The radiator was leaking.

Why?

They turned on the furnace.

Why?

It broke 3 weeks ago and we just got it back yesterday.

There's the furnace saga. Hopefully it's done now.

oh no! you killed the original alfalfa!

So I went to Canapalooza tonight at the school. Not in it's entirety because I felt guilty for skipping one guy's house while canvassing the neighbourhood with flyers last week because he was outside with his son, but I went to the second half at the chapel anyways. And I dressed up like Alfalfa. I had the suit jacket, white shirt, pinned-on red bow-tie, hiked up socks, black shorts, and dress shoes, as well as the gelled hair parted in the middle with the white scalp line showing. I tried to get the pointy hair, but I didn't have strong enough gel. Ah well. I still somehow managed to win the prize for best costume. Wierd.

Ah... Little Rascals. How I miss thee.

...

so I got to grandview this morning and sat down expecting something close to a normal worship service, if there is such a thing... and I was all good until out walks the 30 person choir all dressed somewhat the same and moving in something close to unison. I'm not against choirs, I was in one in high school which I miss greatly. It's just when churches go for the show mentality. Then the music was all like the CD, which there's nothing wrong with, except I kinda like when churches make the music their own with their own styles and rhythms. I like cd quality music when I'm at a concert or when I'm listening to the CD, not when I'm in a worship service.

Another issue that I might have is the music played during the offering. It was jazz. I felt like I was in a lounge, not in a house of worship for that time. But perhaps I'm not the one to judge these things.

and your little dog too!

I'm not a huge fan of daylight savings time. It just makes things way more complicated than it should be. Arg.

I think I'm going to Grandview today, though I said that I'd never go again because the worship pastor has used theologically unsound terminology the past two times that I've been there. Darn Bible college, takes the enjoyment out of church sometimes. If only I had a vehicle, or a ride to somewhere that wasn't grandview.

book report anyone?

so I'm reading the NIV Application Commentary on Acts. I have 200 pages left to read before I can even think about starting my 3 page book report due on Tuesday. I'm at the point where I've given up on reading it in it's entirety, and I'm just leaving it to reading the periocopes and the "Contemporary Significance" sections... perhaps that'll cut down 100 pages of reading at least. Hopefully.

the leaves have fallen

So I was wondering when the leaves would fall off the trees, cause it seems like hardly any of them have, even though the ground is a sheet of yellow and orange maple leaves. It looks really cool. All week I was thinking "It's October 2xth. Why haven't the leaves disappeared yet?" Then comes last night. Around 1:30 this morning, I'm woken up to huge cracks of thunder and lightning and pouring rain. I'm just waiting for the fire alarm to go off, because it seems to like going off early morning in the rain... though I'm generalizing from the one time that it's done it. When the storm finally passes so it's just a bit of lightning and rain left, I get back to sleep. Upon waking up this morning, I look outside and there's bare trees out there. So I guess rain and wind help the leaves go falling down. I'm glad that they've fallen in a way. It shows that time continues, and the seasons keep changing, but in a sense, the beauty that was while the leaves were completely yellow and scattered throughout the courtyard and on the trees is coming to a close, and winter is coming soon.

How often do I hold onto a moment because I like the beauty of it? Maybe not even the beauty, but I just hold onto it because of some unknown reason? I think I'm like that one leaf that you see still hanging on for dear life when the snow's falling because it's not ready to let go. I need to let go and let the seasons change. I think I've held onto so many seasons within myself that I have years of leaves clinging to my branches, not allowing the fresh growth to come out when I hit spring. The leaves that are there are dead and withered, and the only thing that's keeping them there is me... all beauty that was once there is gone, but I hold onto the beauty.

I need to let go. I need to regrow.

w00t!

So I've finished my Theology Chapter summary on The Origins of Humans and the purpose of creation. I forget what I wrote, but I know it was a 3 page paraphrase of what was in the 30 pages of the chapter in the text. w00t! Now to do:

• Theology Book Report
• Acts Book Report
• Study for Acts
• Study for Counselling Skills
• Prepare a devo for Monday night care group... I think we're watching Joan of Arcadia and discussin'. I may have put that in another post, I don't know. I'll find out later.

Booyah - Unordered List!

I don't think the counter's accurate, because I'm about half of those visits that it shows, checking to see if anyone has commented. So comment!... your salvation does not depend on it, so I wouldn't worry about it that much. If you feel like commenting, feel free to. Otherwise, be a silent stalker, and I'm perfectly fine with that.

happy reformation

Happy reformation weekend. I hope you're all reading your Zwingli, Calvin, Luther, and Wesley to get caught up for the festivities on Sunday. I'm sure there's more names, but I didn't take History of Christianity, so I don't know much about that topic.

I have a headache right now. I think I'll take a tylenol and then have a nap for a while. I read my Theology chapter this afternoon, and all that's left to do is summarize it. And then comes the book report for Theology (read 100 pages and summarize), book report for Acts (read 300 pages and summarize), study for Acts (intro and 1-8), study for Counselling Skills (everything since the last quiz, which I haven't read anything from the text for yet...), and prepare a devotion for care group on Monday night. I think we're going to watch an episode of Joan of Arcadia and discuss it. I have 54 hours left in the download of it, but that's ok. I'll survive. Speaking of which, only 35 minutes left in the Survivor download. I'm huge into bandwidth today. Wondrous, let me tell you.

Ok, I'm out... TTYL.

i did it

I broke the washing machine. I put my coins in so I could start 'er up this afternoon, and well... the coin mechanism got stuck with my 1.25 stuck inside it. Needless to say, I wasn't pleased. So my clothes are in upper lehman right now washing in their machine. I'll bring them back down here to dry in 6 minutes or less.

I was just in the shower and thinking about the effects that the internet has had on my life, and they're quite numerous, not saying that it's good or bad, but I'm just saying that I could say that part of my teenage years was shaped around the internet and the time I spent on it. Interesting story. I wont get into it now, but I was thinking that it would make a good paper for a class of some sort. Unfortuately, I don't have a class like that this semster, or else I would get writing. Maybe I'm just thinking of ways to procrastinate right now.

4:17 left. I'm waiting anxiously.

4 minutes! Ok. I need to get a life. .. and here I go.

random

anyone see the eclipse last night? It was pretty cool. It's kinda funny how for the first part, the moon gets black, and then in full eclipse, it's yellowish orange. Go figure. I guess it's not happening for 3 more years now. Ah well, no worries.

I had class this morning. It was wonderful fun. Or something like that. The president of the college saved me though. Brought back memories of this summer at church when my salvation was prayed for weekly.

consider yourself counted.

So I added a counter today out of a fear that no one ever reads this. I'm not sure why I did it, seeing as I know my popularity doesn't come from having a lot of people read my thoughts, because I'm ranked 2nd and 1st on two different RA rating scales, but it's out of interest and procrastination moreorless. I have this book report due tomorrow that I've only written about 1/2 of... I'm thrilled, let me tell you. It's going to be a fun night.

mpio doesn't suck as much.

So within 6 hours, I sent an e-mail, got a reply, filled out a form, sent it back, and got another reply from MPIO today. Wow.

Hopefully I can get a new MP3 Player or something like it to replace the one that died on me. I'm still in shock.

Back to homework.

journal me

I'm a part of a webring. It's not the thing that I would expect myself to be a part of, but it's there. Though I kinda feel like a stalker, going through and reading everyone's stories and comments from around the school. I'm not remembering any information after I read it because my short term memory sucks, but it still feels that way when I click next on the blogring in xanga. No, I don't have another journal over a xanga, this is my only one... though I do have a profile over there so I can comment on other people's lives.

Is this another world? Do people actually take what was said in their journals and apply it to their lives? All of this is just words on a screen. Supposedly words can hurt. I think it's true. It's happened to me in the past. I've gotten to dislike talking to people on MSN because it's not personal at all. I wish that I could have them in front of me or beside me. I know it puts more awkwardness into the whole mix because of the whole being right beside them thing, but it's worth it. The feelings that are portrayed by their tone of voice, body language, choice of words, and look in their eyes is all worth it just to know that you are appreciated and respected by another in this world.

When it comes down to it, would I rather have a friendship with people or a friendship with a name. People are better. No offense to those who I only talk to in name, but I get more out of my real person conversations.

If you read this from EBC, come talk to me. I'm here, though in the cool of the ghetto, but I do welcome visitors on a regular basis (for those who get over the fact that they have to do negative work to get down here.)

If you're not nearby, no worries. I'll see you sometime.

gasp!

Finally, I got a response from Digitalway/Mpio regarding my MP3 player. I now have to call the centre in the states, but at least I know they still exist and may care about my problem. I feel so loved now that I have less than 3 months left on my warranty.

bookmarked, part IX

For those who complained, here you go. I hope you enjoy the extra 5 minutes of copying and pasting that I put into this project.

http://www.geocities.com/timio74/bookmark.html

fire!

So it's 2:26 am, and I'm awake. I was asleep, but now I'm awake. at preceisely 2:14 AM, the fire alarm went off, and it's cold and rainy outside. It was a false alarm, but the fact that it went off is stupid. Ah well...

back to bed.

bookmarks galore.

http://www.geocities.com/timio74/bookmark.html

omg lol

I wonder what this world's coming to... my mom's gone into shortform internet lingo...

"C U L8R,

Mom"

What's next? lol. brb. cya. rofl. ttyl.

I'm scared at the possibilities.

dentistry

I saw "The Dentist" last night, and it was a bad movie. Never ever ever ever ever ever watch it, even under fear of death. The only good part was the teenage girl beating up the dentist when he tried to kill her. Other than that, it was pure bad... so bad I was turned away or had my eyes covered for a lot of it.

Ugh.

bookmarked

I was so bored tonight that I was going to make a website devoted to my bookmarks folder in Internet Explorer... Unfortunately, I was about 75% done and I accidentally clicked on a link and it lost all my progress... ah well. Maybe some other time.

some random bookmarks from my folder for the time being.

http://aaotracker.4players.de/buddylist.php
http://www.dnscc.ca
http://www.ebcollege.on.ca
http://www.geocities.com/worstworship
http://www.lincolnroadchapel.ca

busted

Go to www.jesusforguys.com and check out the video under the download section. It's quite good.

a judge, a prosecutor, a defending attorney, and me

So I was reading through 1st John today as I was waiting for classes to be done so we could get setting up for chapel, and the following verse struck me up side the head as I was reading: "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and no only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:1,2)

So here's the picture that came to mind. I'm standing in a court room in the centre of the room, just in front of the fence that you see on most TV shows in the court room. Ahead of me, sits God in His majesty. I just see the bench and behind it all of God's glory. To my left, there's the prosecutor, Satan and he's trying to convince God that I'm guilty for my sins. He's right, I have sinned, and I am guilty. He tells God about the things I've done that I've known were wrong at the time, the things I've done wrong that I don't even realize that I've done wrong, the flaws in my character, and through all of this my pain gets greater as I remember all of these. They hurt, they're sharper than a sword piercing my heart...

Then I look to my right. There stands Jesus. He is lowly, no glamour, no glitz, but something draws me to look at him. He tries to convince God that I don't deserve death. God asks why. Then, Jesus stretches out his arms, gets nailed to the cross, and dies. I break down crying. Why would someone do this for me? How could someone look beyond the filth that so stains me, inside and out? But after this one, solitary act, I am washed. The blood that stained that very cross cleansed me and made me free. Satan screamed. I look up at the bench and beside God, there stands the resurrected Jesus, smiling at me out of love and faithfulness. "You are loved", is all he says. I can't understand it, but it frees me. I believe.

toques and other such things

I realized tonight how much I value my toque. I know it's only a material thing, but my grandma made it years ago, and I grabbed it out of the grab tin at Christmas, probably at least 5-6 years ago. I think I've only had about 4 toques in my life, and this is the one I've placed the most value on. Partially because it's warm, but partially because my grandma doesn't make toques anymore since the blinding of her one eye a few years ago. So it's something that's reminiscent of times that can't be had anymore.

I was upset greatly over the fact that I thought it was gone. For a few minutes, it was on the side of a road about a 15 minute walk from campus and we weren't going to turn around because the driver was in a rush. It was there, in the dark. Taken from me in a rude fashion and let go out the window. It's a petty complaint, but I was upset greatly with a person for the first time in a long time over one small action like this. In the end, it was only a prank, and I was forgiving, but it still was a cruel joke to mess with my emotions like that. I like my toque. I love my grandma for making it for me. ... my eyes are almost tearing up as I write this, but it's true.

I'm grateful for the warmth this toque brings... but even more, I'm grateful for the love that God gives and the warmth that my relationship with Him brings me.

procrastination, makes it happen.

For some reason, I have no motivation at the present to complete a project that's due in less than 48 hours. I have to type out my philosophy of ministry which is 5-7 pages on how I "do" youth ministry. I have the introduction down... kinda like a research paper essay, but much more personal. I hope I don't leave it til tomorrow night and be rushing around like a chicken with my head cut off. I'm already doing that with time and the lack thereof for me. I've been "go" since yesterday before chapel, pretty much with doing sound, having class, RA meeting, class, all rez, paper proposal, sleep, class, sound for chapel, lunch, meeting with Marjorie, and now I'm free and not really looking to do much... though I need to be over in the chapel in a few minutes to do sound again for a ministry team for Thursday's chapel... and then supper, then RA prayer, then I can do homework, maybe. And tomorrow has the joys of Living Stones and SLT meeting taking up 4-5 hours of my day. w00t! I'm not complaining, just writing out my life so I can visualize how busy I am. I can't get into the state of scheduling my life on Outlook because that goes way too indepth... but it might make things easier... but I never work when I want to because my brain shuts down 5 minutes before I sit down.

Ah well... life continues.

what am i doing up so early?

So I'm awake at 12:05 AM and I'm at school. Something's wrong. Perhaps I haven't gone to sleep tonight, and I have class in a little over 8 hours... Oops!

So here I go, with a stomach ache, and a cold bedroom... no working furnace yet. Hopefully soon. At all rez tonight, there was a protest by some people on my floor, and we did a charity case by giving out blankets and soup to all of Lehman. Twas funny. Mission to the Projects.

workload

So I have a few things due this week... only 4 or so. Not bad compared to other years, but one of those things is worth 45% of a mark. Wonderful! I still need to do a Philosophy of Youth Min and find a bunch of things to shove into my appendix (not the body part which I thought was going to need to be removed last week, but that's another non-story).

My floor's really cold right now. I'm doubting the furnace has been turned on yet, so it feels like the next ice age is upon us (not saying there was an ice age or anything, but it's just a figure of speech). And I've had complaints already in the 3 hours that I've been back on campus. Ah well, they'll survive. I think I may go get some straws.

It feels wierd being back. Not that I don't love being here, because I do, but I got used to being at home with more distractions than just a computer. I had TLC and CBC and CTV, etc, etc, etc to keep me distracted, as well as Garrett screaming every now and then, sometimes out of annoyance, other times out of joy as he slowly works his way to free speech in the affairs of his life. Everytime I saw him though, I couldn't stop thinking about Freud's theory of the oral and anal stages... I know it's an implausible theory, but it still came to mind. Stupid psych and culture of youth.

I didn't end up taking the retreat that I wanted to last week to myself, which is kinda disappointing... it's my own fault, seeing as I had all the resources I needed, (Bible and Sunfire), it just didn't come to fruition. That's my new word. Fruition. It doesn't make me feel smarter to use words like that, but it's still something cool. I like expanding my vocabulary. I wish I could find a real test at Scrabble. Someone who knows their dictionary and can give me a challenge. Not now, maybe in a few weeks when the workload's a bit less... but perhaps it will be a bit more.

Speaking of workload, I was looking at the schedule for next semester and it seems like I only have to take 3 classes that are offered and the rest can be Bible Electives, but one of my manditory courses is the same week as SLT training and it's the only time that it's offered while I'm here, but I'm not sure if I can get out of training or if I have to extend my schooling by a semester in order to get all the classes I need. Arg.

Ah well. For some reason I see a lot of contemplativeish journals from people in school around this time. Might be something in the food.

glassificiation and teenaging

So I got my new prescription for my new glasses today, and let me tell you, I thought it was a mistake made by someone who's not me, but the difference was like night and day between that prescription and this one. I was just testing differently that day, and there's no mistake about it. I don't know what the numbers mean, but the first time the one number was a 075 and this week it was a 025. Wierd.

And I just started reading "Canada's Teens: Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow" by Reginald Bibby, and finished reading the introduction and first chapter, which covered about 40 pages of the book. It was all statistics about the values of today's teenagers. I was a bit bored by them, but it was interesting how the guy wrote 50 pages on statistics... and from what I'm told, there's much more coming in the future of this book. Wierd.

ugh

So I've spent about 8-10 hours working on this calendar for youth min, and I'm still not close to being done. I love how 25 hours will probably end up being 30-40, just like 10 hours ended up being 15-20 for the last project. If only I could just do it on the computer and save myself lots of time by just putting schedule every week and it's done 52 times, rather than me having to write on this huge piece of paper 52 times. Then there's the highlighting, and making sure that all my weeks add up to 35-45 hours. I'm aiming for an average of 40... so I have between 25-30 average right now. Hopefully I can figure out something else to add so it makes up for where I missed.

Then there's the paper that hasn't been started yet. Hopefully I get on that before the weekend... but that's almost here, and I haven't started reading any books that I brought home with me either.

Ugh.

people are dumb.

It's true. People are dumb, more specifically, Christians. We say we follow all of God's commands, like love your enemy, flee from evil, cling to what is good, forgive as the Lord forgave you, etc... but we don't. Where's the grace? Where's the love? Where's the hope? You can't find it by walking into a church. You can't find it by going a Bible college.

Grace is a huge issue where I struggle. God had grace, and he gave it to us. I'm just permanatly reminded of it as I sign my name. That's probably a good thing. Though I'm more likely to look for what's going wrong rather than what's going right. I'm judgemental, methinks. In more ways than one. It sickens me that I still have this urge to give high fives to people standing around me as they raise their hands in worship because I was brought up with charismatics not being right. I know better now, but conditioning says elsewise. I grew up with a judgemental family. And I started judging... but I learned. I still judge. Not as much as in previous days, but it's still there. Someone does something that doesn't compute in my head, and I'm thinking that they're a heathen. Well, maybe not that far, but it's still something that I need to work on. Thankfully God has grace... unfortunately I don't exercise that trait enough... sound familiar?

a song for study

(to the tune of ten little indians)

needs, autonomy initiative
industry, indentity, relationships
legacy, reflection: Erikson's
Psychosocial development

Here's something I wrote for the forums over at Patdryburgh.com.

".... The biggest issue in worship today, worship being defined as any time we come before God and give glory to His name, is the people who take not the subject (being God, which is non-negotiable in a Christian setting), nor the setting (being the building, time, decor), but the style, which is the most negotiable part of worship and throw it out of proportion.

Some people like hymns, others like choruses, good for them, but does that mean that we should make a seperate service for each style? Absolutely not! In Acts, it talks about the believers coming together and breaking bread, not going to one going to a service that sang the Psalms and another that sang the prophesies.

This whole denomination thing and all the arguments and splits that come from the style of worship is a load of garbage. God wants unity, not separation.

This brings the question "is there only one way to worship God?" Absolutely not. The only requirement is that we worship God in spirit and in truth. Can we do it laying flat on our faces? Yes. Can we do it repeating the same line 5 gazillion times until the guitarist passes out from exhaustion? Yes. Can we do it with an organist? Yes. Can we worship while taking communion? Yes. Can we worship while talking a walk through nature? Yes. I heard the line, "worship is a lifestyle", and frankly, I agree with it.

What am I trying to say? I'm not sure, but I know that there is a simple solution to all the problems that are faced within the body of Christ, and all it takes is realizing that God and all He's done for us needs to take the forefront of our worship and anything beyond that doesn't matter."

one final one

Belches

it sounds really loud
coming from the depths of me
silly, gassy boy.

another haiku

E-Mail

checking constantly
there never is any for me
why do I bother?

a haiku

Heartburn

it hurts a whole lot
deep down in my esophagus
burning up my throat

guilty for being loud?

Ok, why, when my floor's loud do I feel an extreme sense of guilt, even though it's before quiet hour? These guys are rarely loud, but then we're mini-golfing in the hall during dorm meeting and the ADSL has to come down from her apartment and tell us to be quiet... Arg. And now I feel really bad because of it... even though it's not necessarily my fault, because we were completely within the rules...

Arg.

so...

a needle pulling thread.

Third Day ROCKED!

We had a blast driving up and back in the two cars we had. w00t!

the period of twenty four hours that follows tomorrow

What a title. It makes no sense as I sit here thinking about it, but anyways....

Tomorrow includes Grandview; Homework; and last, but not least, THIRD DAY AND TOBY MAC at Wonderland. I'm thrilled completely. There's 4/5 RA's from EBC going, and a bunch of other people too. Yay.

triunity

I was actually intrigued today by a textbook. This is not normal because textbooks are supposed to be boring and full of information that you'll never ever use again in your life except for the next exam. That being said, I was reading Theology for the Community of God by Stanley J. Grenz and the chapter about the Trinity was this week's reading. So I started reading, expecting to be bored and confused, but it was an actually interesting chapter. I was shocked!

Then when it came to the paper that we have to write on each chapter in this book, I did over half of it without even looking at the text book because it had interested me that much. This is a strange occurance, I must say. Never before have I been that intrigued by a chapter in a text book that I HAD to read that I would remember that much immediately thereafter reading it.

Wow. This is truly a historical day.

coffee

So we had the coffee house tonight. I'll have to say that going into today, I wasn't sure it would be a big hit. Because everyone goes away on weekends around residence and not many commuters like to participate in events for some reason, I don't understand why... but still.

Anyways, in the end, we ended up putting a tonne of time into it today, as well as a bit of money, but it was for the enjoyment of the crowds. By the time it was finished at 11, there had been about 50ish people through, 10-12 open mic acts, and a 45 minute set by Pat Dryburgh. It was a good time, I think.

Anyways, I'm probably off to bed soon... It's late and I've been up too long today, seeing as I had no classes and got no homework done... though the RA's did get some thoughts down for our first chapel on NOVEMBER 30th. ALL ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO COME. It's going to be a really good chapel. If you don't go to one EBC chapel this year, this is not the one to miss.

got arachibutyrophobia?

Check out the phobia list and see what you have.

the ra theme song

To the toon of Mmm-bop by Hanson.

"There are so many RA's in this school
There are 5 and they're pretty cool
We wrote this song to let you know
That we're here to help you grow (here to help you grow... woah)

We're kinda like the parents round this place
so brush your teeth and wash your face
We can help you with other stuff
Cheer you up when times get tough (When times get tough)

Chours

RA's doobie da ba... etc (do yeah eah)

All of the RA's know first aid
Alicia Brian, Tim, Cheryl, Dave
1 Corinthians 8:6
1 Life; 1 God and man He kicks (man he kicks)"

we're eating what?

Toast Headcheese Sandwiches for brunch...
Anchovy Stew and Olive Bread for supper...

Hopefully it's just a joke and we'll get good stuff. I'm confused.

a break from the drone.

So I'm in the middle of working on my Youth Min assignment that's due on Thursday morning, and I'm not even half way through it. Hello my next day and a half's worth of work. Goodbye free time. Woot. Now I just need to convince the rest of my mind that I kinda need to do the work and not play for a few days in order to get it done. Yay!

I think I may be going to Wonderland on Sunday for the Third Day Concert with a few friends. That should be fun, though it's going to cost a bit of money. And as we realized today, 4/5 RA's will be at the concert, leaving one to man the fort. Ah well, these kids are big kids and I trust them... for the most part. I still don't know who prank called me the other day, but I'm not as worried about that anymore.

Ah well. Gord'll be here in 2 hours for coffee, so I can get a bit more work done until then.

Yay.

ugh

Theology was long and tiring today. All I wanted to do was to fall asleep, but I can't do that to the guy who once babysat my mom and whose wife was my grandparents housekeeper after she became a Christian. So there I was sitting in Theology for 2.5 hours... waiting for the end to come. It finally came, 15 minutes early or so. Wonderful!

Unfortunately, I'm kinda tired due to midnight and the fact that it's against me sleeping. Last Monday night was people screaming and running down the hall upstairs at midnight. Last Tuesday night was people laughing and talking really loudly outside the campus centre at midnight. Last night was people screaming down the hall from me at 11:40ish, and then loud conversations going on above me at guess what time.. midnight. It's always right when I'm almost asleep, so it takes me longer to fall asleep. And of course, I overslept this morning, by getting up at 9:45ish instead of 7:30, which I wanted to get up at. So I missed breakfast unintentionally. Ah well, I'll survive.

So after all that, I have no motivation to do any work on anything right now, so I wont be doing any work on anything until tomorrow afternoon sometime. I have a nice project worth 20% of my mark due on Thursday morning, so that's going to take up a lot of the next few days. But other than that, I'm free of due dates until next Monday with Theology.

crank yankers

Someone decided to crank phone call me last night around 11:30. I don't know who it was other than they had the alias Andre somthing and their number was a KW number. As to why someone wanted to do something that stupid, I don't know... What frightens me more is that it could be someone from school who somehow found a way to invade my privacy and really disturb me. Thank God for his peace, or else I'd be a wreck right now...

Arg.

if we are the body...

I got the Casting Crowns CD today. And I was listening to it, and heard the song, "If We Are the Body" and the lyrics finally hit me. Though it's been played a lot in recent weeks as they've become more popular, I haven't really been paying attention to the lyrics.

But I like the chorus...

"But if we are the body,
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way."

And the bridge...
"Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ"

the changes that 3 weeks bring

So I returned home last night after 2 hrs 15 minutes riding in the back seat of a dodge spirit to find out that the two huge pine trees in front of my house are no longer there. That was wierd, but I coped. Then I walked into the kitchen and noticed that there's no longer any kitchen cabinets, not even a sink! I guess my parents packed everything including the kitchen sink for their trip this weekend. Ah well, they left me money for food seeing as the kitchen's kinda out of commission.

I think I'm donating blood this afternoon with Katie and Amy, pending on availability, and then I'm going to the Christian Book Store to research youth devotionals for my Youth Min project that's due on Thursday worth 20% of the mark... ugh. I hate early due dates.

Then I need to return home and read... A lot. Hopefully I'll get my Theology done too so I don't need to worry about doing it on Sunday Night/ Monday morning.

the past and it's ramifications on today's living

I was sitting in class and we read the stories of two people... Jeffery Domher and the lady who wrote Fried Green Tomatoes. They both were plagued by hurts as a child, however their lives then were on two different ends of the spectrum. And then it went on to talk about how their lives ended up after what their childhood had put them through.

That triggered memories of events that happened in my childhood that could be considered abuse of different varieties. So I spent the first half of class dwelling on those events and getting depressed. Then I got to the point that I couldn't deal with it anymore, so I just prayed. (Why I didn't pray earlier than I did, who knows) The feelings of pain and remorse went away, and I carried on in class, though we only had an extra 35 minutes after break.

So I came back to my room and started talking with a friend, and they mentioned how the things they did as a child don't bother them anymore. Why? Christ intervened between then and now and He's forgiven all of the insufficiencies in life. So I thought, and between all of these things that I did that weren't the smartest thing to do and now, Christ intervened in my life. I rededicated my life to God because I didn't understand that salvation was a permanant thing originally. But it is and I've been forgiven by the grace of God and have no need to remember those things that happened to me that were adverse to "normal" living because those things are just now tools for the devil to try and tear me down and take my trust away from God.

May the name of the Lord be praised now and forevermore. Amen.

sympatico and it's relevance to ministry

I'm not sure if there is a correlation to ministry for my stuff working, but I got back from ministry team auditions today in which I auditioned and then got roped into doing sound for the rest of the day. I don't really want to be on a formal ministry team, this semester anyways, just because I have 6 classes going as it is and a tonne of reading to boot. I just wanted to say I could play for chapel. I hope they don't try to put me on a drama team because I really suck at it and have no time this semester for it as it stands.

But anyways, when I got back, I was ready to go to sleep because it seems as if everyone's against me getting to sleep before midnight as of recent days, but out of a false hope, I checked to see if the light was on the modem... and lo and behold, it was. It's like the phone checking by false hope. At least all is working and now I'm not mooching off of someone else's connection.

Woot.

Now, I think I'll go to sleep.

beep..... beep...

So the theoretical fire the other day has had some lasting ramifications. The people who repair smoke detectors are now on their second day of working on them. This means that every 4-5 seconds, there's a beep in the storage closet right beside my room. I have some music drowning it out right now, but I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with this. At least I have class from 1:30 today until tomorrow sometime.

why me?

So, this week has been full of support calls to various divisions of Bell. Tuesday was for the phone line that was 36 hours late in arriving, and Today was for the Internet that is 24 hours late in arriving... so after 2 support calls today, I find out that the problem's on their end and I have to wait another 72 hours until the internet's up and running.

Until then, I'll either be mooching or making due without. Though it was nice to download Survivor this morning and watch it. This season looks like it's going to be better than the past few seasons combined... The videography looks pretty cool too.

ugh

overwhelmingness ensues from within me.
projects and assignments due weekly.
where did my time fly?
reading is what holds me nigh
free time.. not today, you'll see.

the past

Today in one of my classes, we had to think about what factors shaped who we are as a person from our teenage years... It hurt to remember some of the things that happened and a lot of the trials I went through.... but all is well now.

wired...less the wires.

Hi Folks.

I'm utilizing my new wireless card now by mooching off of the folks upstairs. From one end of the hall to the other, I'm averaging about 1-2 mbps, which is still better than nothing.

By the end of the week, our floor wont have to mooch anymore because we'll have our own connection... 7 computers wireless... If only last year was like this. It's cool.

And to make things even better, our phone was hooked up tonight! Only 36 hours late, but better late than never. Yeehaw!

T.

school

Hi Everyone (if anyone's out there)

I'm at school now and have been for over a week. It's been alright so far, with a week of training, and a few days of MEGA so far. I start class this aft, so that should be exciting. It turns out that my floor's the smallest guy floor, and the second smallest floor on campus. It's ok, the 8 of us will survive.

My phone's getting hooked up this morning and then the Internet (we're going wireless) is going to be in on Friday. Hopefully all goes well in the process.

Anyways, enjoy your time wherever you may be.

T.

mpio sucks

Just so you know, I bought an MP3 Player from Future Shop back in January and it stopped working a few months later. So I e-mailed MPIO in June, and got no response. So I called two days ago and they said that they'd get back to my message in 24 hours... No luck there, and no answer to my second e-mail... I have this feeling that they're just stretching the warranty until it runs out and I'm out 160 bucks...

Yeah right. I'm going to get this figured out somehow.

war [reprise]

So I have a bit of clarification on This Post from a few months back, seeing as I saw the episode again.

Bart and Milhouse get in trouble for sneaking into the Flander's house and trashing it including Ned's Beatles shrine. So they enroll in two supervised activities, the Little Indians and Calvary Kids or something to that extent... it goes from there and they end up in a huge war over candy selling in Springfield, and then the whole town starts beating each other at the Isotopes game...

But they realize that it's stupid, so here's the dialogue that ensues

Sideshow Mel "Let's join our hands together in song"
Sea Captain "Not a hymn to war like our national anthem"
Mel "But a sweet soothing hymn like the national anthem of Canada"
Oh Canada...
Milhouse "We've learned that war is not the answer"
Bart "Except to all of America's problems"

cheesecake, noise complaints, car sickness, and Edelweiss

I had a fun, lovely 24 hours. It was quite exciting, let me tell you. I spent most of yesterday packing, which is a thrilling experience for those who don't know the joys of packing for 8 months. It's like moving without the furniture.

After the packing, we had some visitors over from the chapel. They're new to the chapel and the area, and it was quite cool hearing them talking about their conversions a few years ago in Quebec and baptism stories as well. It's not often that you hear testimonies over ham and potatoes. I was blessed by that.

Then I went off to Narnia to get some gas and then to the grove to pick up Kyler and then onto Florist Cliff for the Deeper Concert. It was a thrilling show. Well, first off Disoriented Youth, a band out of Stratford that includes many songs with screaming and incomprehensible words opened up, and I was in the room for maybe 5 minutes or less when we decided to go outside and wait for the second show. Finally, everyone came out for the second show and it started. I can't really say it was better than last week's because the sound was a bit off... if only they had a pro sound guy like myself up there... Yeah right, it was so much better than I could do, so who am I to complain? Kyler seemed to like it, which is all that mattered to me, because I like it either way. And for those EBC types, I saw Pat Dryburgh there as well as a new student who's coming in next week. It was cool to be able to see someone from EBC before, well... tomorrow. I guess I could have waited the extra 2 days, but ah well. It was unexpected. Oh, and the camp got their first noise complaint of the summer last night. I was surprised it took that long for them to get it... There's loud music playing for the last two nights until 10:00 - 10:30 each night. Once for the concert and once for the Luau. Ah well.

It feels wierd going back to FCC when I'm not there for a whole week. It's like a shortened coming home. No offense against Kyler, because it was lots of fun having him there, but I can't socialize like I'd like to when I have people to entertain. But it's ok. I got to see many people that I wanted to see and say goodbye to them because I don't know when the next time that I'll see them all will be. Hopefully sooner than later, but if I don't see them, Heaven's one of those places that will be rocking with all my friends.

I took the back way home from the grove, after realizing that the subdivision across from Kyler's does not go all the way through and getting extremely frustrated with the grunge on the inside of my windshields. I wasn't feeling all to great to begin with, and for some reason I took Blackwell and Kimball as a part of my journey home. Bad ideas.... Blackwell made me feel like I was on the high seas, and Kimball made me feel like I was in a boat hitting speedbumps every few seconds... If only money grew freely on trees. I could invest in those roads, but it doesn't, so I shall not drive them again.

Upon getting home, I had some peach cheesecake. It was delicious. MMmm.... peach cheesecake. That followed the peach pie that we had on the weekend. I had to hold myself back from having the whole pie. I pretty much threw the last piece at my mom so I wouldn't eat it.

And another wierd dream for those who get good laughs out of my subconscious.

I was in this great hall supposedly at Forest Cliff, and the Deeper band was playing Edelweiss for some reason and the Nazi regime marched in, and I started shooting the camp's air rifles at the stucco cieling but not at the Nazis. Then they left, and we sang a reprise of Edelweiss and I looked outside and it was snowing. The gator had cleared the one sidewalk, but they asked us to shovel another walk. So we get over there, and all of a sudden this mini back hoe shows up and morphs into a huge front end loader and clears the sidewalk for us... then I woke up.

i'll educate your face with my fist

I'm not very excited to return to school this fall, but I am. I've had an odd summer. I've been tired with little to no energy to get around. Well, sometimes I've had tonnes of energy to spare, but I've been out of it a lot. And I've hardly done anything on my course that I wanted to get a lot of it done by now... perhaps I'll get to work on it now, after remaking my bed for sleep tonight.

Probably not though. Most likely tonight will consist of sleep, tomorrow of packing and forest cliff concert, and then thursday will be packing, friday will be going to school.

Wow. It's that close already. Where'd the summer go?

ugh

I just found out that a guy from school's mom died last week and then his brother took his own life the next day. That's crazy and very tragic. It hits me in a completely different way. I can't comprehend the pain and feelings that would be going through his head right now. All I can do is pray.

email update

Hi Everyone!
I know I haven't been keeping in contact much this summer, and for that I apologize profusely. I haven't been to my old capacity of writing e-mail and being online, etc.
Just for the general populace to know, it's been a different summer for me. I came into the summer completely expecting to be working at the travel centre again, however that fell through and I began May unemployed with no prospects. No matter how hard I tried to find employment, there were no bites. I did receive two jobs through the Odd Job Squad at the Student Employment Centre in Sarnia. The first was ripping out drywall and carpet after the floods in may with Winmar, and the second was two weeks of moving computers around in an upgrade at Basell in Corunna. And in late May, I recieved an offer to mow the lawn on a weekly basis of a nice lady I know in Corunna. However, that is where my official employment ended and the rest of the summer was free.
So me being the type who doesn't like sitting around doing nothing, ended up volunteering as a lifeguard at camp for a week thinking that I'd look for a job when I got home. However one week turned into two weeks, turned into 7 weeks out of a possible 10 that the camp ran this summer. It's a completely different atmosphere than being paid. I enjoyed being at camp because I wanted to, rather than being at a workplace because I had to be there. So in the end, I lifeguarded for 3 weeks, counselled for 3 weeks, and my final week was spent as kitchen host. It was a summer for growing and learning. Hopefully I don't have any more unemployed summers in my future, but I'm highly ready for more learning experiences and chances to grow in who I am.
So now that August is drawing to a close, where does that leave me? I'm returning to Emmanuel Bible College this Friday for a week of Student Leadership Training so that I will be prepared to enter into my new role of Resident Advisor for this coming school year. I'm excited at the opportunity that I have to serve in a different yet similar way to camp. I know that it's going to be a challenging year at some parts, however I'm ready to get in there and have a blast in combining school work with relationship building and growing as a part of the community of believers that EBC is.
For those who pray, I appreciate your prayers towards this fall. Pray that the school year goes well. Pray for the floors in residence that they grow into a cohesive family of friends within a short period of time with little to no difficulties. Pray for me as I go into a leadership role on the floor that I'll be living on, and that it doesn't interfere with my school work (taking 5 classes, plus a correspondence course) and that I may be able to get my work done with little to no procrastination. I appreciate your prayers and e-mails, even though I may not reply immediately, I do read every e-mail that comes into my inbox and appreciate the thought and care that was put into writing it, no matter the length.
I hope all your summers went well and you're ready to dive into whatever September may hold for you.
Thanks for all that you've meant to me in the past, and I hope our friendships will continue into the future.
Tim

-- Tim --
"But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lose all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in Him..." - Phillippians 3:7-9a