Happy Birthday Cyndy!

Happy Birthday Cyndy! I can not believe that we have known each
other for only 8 years. It feels so much longer than that. For those of
you who don't know Cyndy, she was my roommate at Bethany Bible
Institute in Saskatchewan. We have had some crazy memories. Ups
and downs, laughs and tears. When I think back on all of our
memories Cyn, I cherish them dearly. I am so excited to see how God
has directed you in your life. You seem so happy and content.

Thank you for being my friend. I hope that you have a wonderful
day filled with everything you love to do. Being with your family
(some of them), probably shopping, eating chocolate, eating apple
crumble, and we definitely can not forget your diet coke.
Love you Cyn and happy birthday!

M E X I C O ! ! ! !

As promised, here are a few photos from Mexico. We were there for
1 week. It was so nice and relaxing. We layed on the beach for most of
the week. We did 1 day trip to Xel-Ha (it was a snorkeling park) and
for the rest of the time, just stayed at our resort. Both Val (other girl
in the pictures) and I had to keep telling ourselves to relax. We both
work full time and our schedules are quite packed so we weren't used
to just sitting or lying there without having our days planned out.

Below, the building is the hut we stayed in. There were 4 rooms in
one building and our room was on the second floor facing the woods.
It was a very nice view and we spent alittle time out there. The
beaches were great. White sand and beautiful clear water. The water
was more clear away from the resort so we walked along the beach
one day and just enjoyed the scenery.

In the evenings they would have these dancers who did a mix of
swing and ballet. It was so neat. They would of course, include the
audience. Thank goodness I was not picked to go up in front of a
hundred people to show them that I have no dance moves at all.
It was quite entertaining at times.

So, do I recommend a week away in Mexico?? I certainly do. It
was such a great time and the weather was perfect and the food
was great. I totally felt safe the whole time and our particular
resort was so wonderful!

There it is. If you want to know more, please ask!

Happy Birthday to me!

It is official. I am now 27 years of age. I can not believe how
fast life has flown by. Yesterday, my family cooked my 2
favourite meals and we got to hang out for the evening.
It was so nice.

Yesterday was such a great day. I got to work (after a week

away in Mexico), and there was a present sitting on my desk

from my dear friend Annelise. Of course the day started off

with a long meeting (which wasnt so bad) and then when I got

back to my desk, a beautiful bouquet of Mexican Flowers were

sitting on my desk (thanks Jeff). And then my sister Julie and

my niece Bella got Gerber Daisies sent to me as well. It was so

nice. I wish it was my birthday everyday.

So tonight, a bunch of my close friends are going out for dinner

and then to see a local band (New World Son) at a Martini Bar

downtown.

Thanks to all my friends for being so great and encouraging

this past year!

(I will post Mexico pictures soon!!)

How can someone be so cute??

I just wanted to share some great pictures of my newest
niece. She is just the best little girl ever. Yesterday I went
over to hang with Mike and Julie (my sister, also in the
pictures) and I had Bella laughing so hard. It sounded like
one of those dolls where you press a button and the doll
giggles.Anyways, just wanted to tell you all how much I
love my Bella. Also in the picture on the top right is my
other niece Lauren. Also the most cutest little girl. She has
been starting to talk so it is so fun to hang out with her. The
things that girl comes up with is so hilarious!


We actually had snow in Ontario so Julie took Bella for her
first toboggan ride. As you can see from Bellas expression,
she wasnt exactly excited about it.

Love you Julie, Lauren and Bella!

One year ago . . . .

I can not believe that it has been one year since my Take Flight team left for Uruguay. What an experience that was? For those of you who don't know what this was, let me explain it to you. The highschool that I attended all those years ago has this program called "Take Flight". It is a discipleship training program for graduated students. It is basically a chance for these students to grow as leaders in the church and in the community. This past year, the programming team asked me if I would like to help lead the trip and I just couldn't turn down such a great chance to help these students grow and mature in their relationship with God.

Not only did I grow as a leader, but seeing the change in the students was such an encouragement to me. Remembering back in November when I first met the team, to remembering back when we said our final prayer in March, I can not believe the transformations I saw. Not only in the team but in myself. Myself, along with my good friend Jon Nauta led the team. Suzanne Klassen helped co-lead the team and then we had 9 students. Rory Schafer, Steve Postma, Jeff Komadoski, Craig Falk, Ben Ellens, Ben Janzen, Kara Gossen and Kate Riediger. They have all been such a blessing in my life.

Oh remembering the times. All the kissing (it is the culture to always greet one another with a kiss on the cheek). The interesing food we got to try and enjoy for the most part. The "crazy" kids who liked to attack some of the members of the team. Rory getting chased with grass and yelling in spanish "No more". The door to door experiences were so challenging yet so very
rewarding. The culture is so giving and welcoming.

The second week we got a chance to do more hands on work at a local church. We helped clean up the yard and do some painting and cementing. We did some more door to door evangelism. In the evenings, the kids in the area would come and sing some songs and play some games. That week was my birthday and the church we worked with made us some cakes to celebrate. I was so blessed by their generosity. They sang Happy Birthday to me like 3 times.

The last week before debrief, we got to work in a church with Alejandro. What an amazing man. The youth group was so great there. They have such a great ministry going on there. Again, we got to do more door to door. One of our translators got bit by a dog so that was pretty scary. She was very good about it. I would of completely freaked out.

I just wanted to thank the Take Flight team for being such a joy in my life. I have enjoyed getting to know each and every one of you. I have such amazing memories from our times together.

Please pray for the new Take Flight team leaving for Uruguay tomorrow. I pray for their safe travels and pray that they really touch the lives over there. I pray for the leaders, Brian Garden and Annelise Buma. Good luck guys!

My Vacation Spot

After numerous weeks surfing the internet to find a good deal on resorts, we finally decided on one. On February 25th, we will be flying down south to the Sandos Caracol Beach Resort & Spa in the Mayan Riveria/Cancun MEXICO! I am very excited to go to a nice and relaxing place and not worry about work and life! I have never been on a vacation like this before so it will be a new and exciting experience for me!

BUSTED!

The day had finally arrived. The day that I had been dreading for the past 10 years. I got my first speeding ticket. I was just cruising along anticipating a visit with my dear friends Alex and Carla and I see a white car in the distance. Well, by the time I look down to see how fast I am going, it was too late. I see the bright red lights of the brakes and the car turns around to chase after me. By this time, of course, I go down to the speed that I should of been driving in the first place. Do you know how hard it is to actually drive 80km on a highway? Seriously. No one actually drives that speed. So he busted me for driving 110km. Yeah, I probably deserved it because I do have a heavy foot but I was looking forward to seeing friends I hadn't seen in like 2 years. I tried to use that excuse and I really thought it worked until I saw him walking towards me with papers in his hands. He had me sitting there for like 25 minutes. How horribly mean is that? So because of my obvious charm, I got away with a $40 ticket and 1 point against me. I should be grateful to him because he said it would of been a $340 ticket with 4 points against me because I was driving in a school zone. Oh well, I can laugh about it now.

Leadership

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." - Phillippians 4:13

This verse has been going through my head for the last 8 months or so. My family has been going through kind of a tough time trying to understand the direction God has been taking us within life and within the church. I find it so hard not to put the blame on others mistakes and decisions and to really sit back and look at why God would of made this decision or put my family on this path. Is He trying to teach us something? Is He testing our faith? For me personally, I find it so difficult to just sit back and see where the pieces fall. I am a go-getter. When someone has hurt or disappointed people I love, I want to fix the situation right away. I don't have the patience to just sit back while they are hurting so bad. How do you get through a time like this?

Secondly, church. That word sometimes really freaks me out. How do you even choose the leaders in a church? I realize that no one is perfect and they are allowed to make mistakes, but at who's cost? Who do they think they are? What makes them think that they know better than others? One thing I don't get is how they can sit in a church service knowing full well that they have hurt or disappointed someone, and really ignore the situation and do NOTHING about it. This is something that I have been struggling with for months now. Around July, I made the decision to leave the church that I had been attending for the past 10 or so years. It was probably one of the hardest decisions I ever made because the congregation at the church was so amazingly supportive and encouraging, but I just couldn't sit in those services anymore.

Since then, I have been attending a great church. Yes, the church makes mistakes and it is far from perfect, but the difference is the leadership takes charge of an issue and deals with it right away instead of trying to hide it in a corner hoping that one day it will just be forgotten. They admit their faults and mistakes and as a congregation, they work on it and encourage one another.

I don't want you to read this entry and think that I am a bitter and unappreciative person when it comes to leadership in the church. I respect the role of a leader and I can't imagine how difficult it must be to have that kind of responsibility. I am simply saying that if you are a leader, it is your responsibility to deal with the issues in your particular church and not to hide and run away from them. That is the only way you will gain the respect you should have from your congregation.

My last 18 hours

I would like to paint you all a picture of the last 18 hours of my life. I get home from work and while I am coming down the stairs to my apartment, I trip and fall. Not just one or two steps. Five or six steps. The steps at my place are nice and cemented tiles so there is no cushion to them. So there I am, lying at the bottom of my stairs in complete and total agony. Not only did I bang my head, but I have bruises all down the side of my left leg, my knee is completely bruised and bleeding, the heels on both of my feet are totally bruised and the side of my left hand is banged up. When I finally had enough energy to get myself up (probably 15 minutes of just lying there) I went on my bed to rest a little bit more. So when it came time to go to bed, I could not find a comfortable way to sleep so it took my like 1 and a half hours to fall asleep and even then, I kept waking up through out the whole night. So when it was finally morning I went to get into my car and realize that it was broken in to and all of my cd's stolen and my car completely trashed. Thank goodness they didnt break anything but how annoying is that?? The drivers door was wide open and the crazy thing is that it was parked under the carport and my bedroom window is right there. So I get in my car and now I am heading to the one place I dread the most in my entire life. The dentist. I am like a child getting a needle. I have to talk myself into sitting in the chair, opening my mouth and letting them do their thing. But I think my luck is starting to get better because I have no cavaties. YEAH!

So, there it is. The story of my life. I guess it is good when you get to the point of laughing at yourself. I actually find it quite amusing that this all happened to me in 18 hours. Gotta love it!

New Years Resolutions

Is it just old school or do people out there still have New Years Resolutions?? I have been thinking alot about what I want to do differently in 2007. So, I have came up with mine. It is kind of lame and boring but I really want to get better at this. I want to really watch my spending habits and so I am writing down everything I spend money on and then at the end of the month I can calculate what I need to change and really watch. I have to say that I have been doing pretty good.

Now it is your turn. I want to hear what other people want to do differently in 2007. Tell me what your New Years Resolution is?

Christmas 2006

I can definitely say that this Christmas was very different from any previous Christmas that I can remember. Lots of emotions for my family, high and low, and to me at least, it just didn't feel like Christmas. But none the less, I had a great time with my family. I got a ton of great gifts from my parents and from my sister Rachel (we draw names and she picked me). So, for those of you who like playing board games, come on over.

Christmas is such a good reflection on life. You get to thank God for coming into this world and letting us have a relationship with His Son. It really is just a miracle of life. Sometimes I think and wonder why people don't believe in God. I mean, how could they not? He has shown His powers in so many miraculous and obvious ways. I know we struggle sometimes in whether we believe that there is a God or not, but I think that that is what makes us stronger and more in love with Him and what he represents. If God can forgive us for all the stupid and dumb things we do in life, than why not? Forgiveness is such a struggle. I was just talking to my friend tonight about forgiveness and what it truly means. I think I struggle with forgiveness. There are alot of things in my life right now that I am working through and forgiveness is definitely one of the top on my list. How do you start to forgive someone when they really betrayed you? You can say you forgive but the question is, have you really forgiven them? You become so bitter towards the person who hurt you, that it starts changing the person you really are. I don't even know why and when I became that kind of person. Have I really been hurt that much in my life? I think that is the question I keep asking myself?

You know, these blog things can be dangerous because I feel like I ramble on and on and you become quite vulnerable. I guess that isn't always a bad thing.

Hope everyone's Christmas was good and enjoyable. Now comes all the running and exercise to lose the pounds gained from all the chocolates and candy and Christmas cookies. I really think I ate more chocolate this Christmas than I have my entire life. I don't even like chocolate!

Til next time...

One Year ago....

One year ago at this time, my family and I were preparing our very first trip to Florida. It seems so long ago yet at the same time, it feels like yesterday! For those of you who don't know, my dad promised us (as kids) that when my youngest sister turned 5 years old, he would take us to Florida. Well, Suzie is now 21 so he was a little late. So when nothing was happening, I took matters into my own hands. I went on the internet and booked my family a condo and told them that I booked it for Christmas and that was that.

Going to Disneyland was amazing. We were like children again. It was so great. It was probably a little more fascinating because we had Josiah getting excited about everything. We had 9 adults and 2 children squeezed in a 3 bedroom condo for 10 days. I think the guys were about to go nuts with all the women but it was good for them. It was a good bonding time for our family. We felt a little sorry for the guys so one night a bunch of us went to see the Boston Bruins play and beat the Tampa Lightnings. We also got to see the Spring Training for the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. It was so cool. It would of been better if all the players were there but we can't always get everything we want.

So, this year we are just hanging around. In the cold. With out snow. Not on the beach. Bundled in sweaters. Not in tank tops. Eating turkey, not freezies. Sitting in front of the fireplace. Not on the beach. But still enjoying each others company!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Crazy story

I just experienced the most stressful yet hilarious morning. I left my house nice and early for work so I stopped at Starbucks to enjoy a nice coffee. On my way to work I look at my gas gage and it made me a little nervous because it was pretty much at empty and the light was on but I totally thought that I would have enough gas to make it to Grimsby so on I went. Well, by the time I got to Beamsville I was getting a little anxious because I still had another 8 and some kilometres to go. So I decided to stop in Beamsville to get myself some gas. Just as I was pulling off the highway and up the ramp, my car dies. There I am, sitting in my car on the side of the road wearing heels with no gas in my car. So I get out of my car thinking that I am strong enough to push my car across the bridge, down the bridge and into the gas station. Not going to happen. I couldnt even move my car an inch on my own. So I start trying to flag people down to help me. I couldn't believe how many cars passed right by me without a second glance. So, because of my unbelieveably good looks (haha), a young guy pulls over and helps me push my car across the bridge, down the bridge and into the gas station.

My words of advice: If your gas light is on and your needle is at empty, go fill up with gas!

Countdown begins. . . .

It is officially 1 week until Christmas Day. I cannot believe how fast December came and went. I have already been to at least 4 Christmas parties and I have 4 more to go (that is not counting our numerous family gatherings coming up). You would think I would be getting tired of them, but I am not.

Last night I had my Lifeteam Christmas Party and it was sooooo much fun (for those of you who don't know what Lifeteam is, it is like a Bible Study group that gets together on a weekly basis to encourage and strengthen relationships within the church and with each other). We played the game "Scruples" which is my new favourite game. We laughed lots and learned alot about each other. It was great! We also shared what we were thankful for this past year and what we were hoping for in 2007. It was really neat and encouraging to hear what my team was thankful for and also just to see what I said. I really didn't know what I was going to say until I was saying it. I think everyone in the group had said friendships. I was reading over my previous posts and I mention alot about friendships. I have come to realize just how important they are in one's life. I have been really blessed these last few months with amazing friends. I have made new ones and I have "rekindled" old ones. I think Christmas just brings this out in people. It is seasons like this when we think back on our year and reflect on all that God has provided for us. This has been one tough, challenging, frustrating, amazing, strengthening and encouraging year. Aren't those the best!

Sisters

I just wanted to say how much I love my sisters! It is the best feeling knowing that they love you regardless of your mistakes and countless mood swings. We are all quite alike so sometimes we aren't the best of friends but we always come together when we really need each other.

So, thank you Julie, Rachel and Suzanne for being the most amazing sisters! I love you all so much!

Christmas Party

On Friday night, I had my first Christmas Party at my place. It was alot of fun and it was good to have a full house. I love having people over. Here are a few pictures.

Have you heard of the game "Scruples"?? It is such a fun game and it is also a game where you can really get to know each other.

Above is my cousin David and his girlfriend Val. Thanks so much for coming both of you. Next picture is me and my friend Annelise. And then me and Steph.

Thanks everyone for coming! The food and the company was great!

Kamryn Loewen

I had the pleasure to go out for breakfast with my dear friend Janelle this morning. Her and her husband Rod and their daughter Kamryn flew all the way over from Saskatchewan to celebrate Christmas with Rod's family. It had been a long time since I had seen any of them. Little Kamryn was only a baby last time I saw her and now look at her. She is all grown up and talking. She is saying cheese to the camera. Thanks Janelle for an awesome time. The talk was great and it was so nice catching up with you. I hope you have an awesome time with your family and getting to know your new niece!

My apartment

I know I had promised some of you that I would post pictures of my apartment so here they are. I have been out for just over 2 months now and I love it. It has taken me sometime to really make the place feel like my own and I am still getting there. I have my dad over all the time with little jobs to do. So, there it is.

Confusion

Life is so confusing and unpredictable sometimes. Just when you think you have life figured out, something gets thrown at you and you are caught off guard. Do all things happen for a reason? I always thought of myself as a pretty decisive person, but these days I can not seem to make up my mind about anything. There are so many things going on in my life that I know I have to deal with but I hate conflict and I am not a huge fan of change. It is times like this where we really have to rely on God's strength and not our own. Maybe God puts us in situations like this to learn how to trust Him and depend on Him. God is pretty amazing!

Too many thoughts. . .

I was about to title this entry as "Thank God it's Friday", but then I realized that it is only Thursday. How much does that suck? Am I the only one who feels this week completely dragging?

Last night I kept waking up and falling back asleep, which also means that I had a number of dreams. Does anyone else wake up and feel like their dream was really happening? It is the most scariest thing because I had a dream that one of my friends died in a car accident. I actually woke up with tears. I guess that is a good thing about dreams, they aren't real.

Guess what tomorrow is??? December 1st. Which also means that Christmas is only 24 days away. Hopefully by then, (yes Cyndy) snow will be here so it will feel a little more like Christmas. It is already getting so busy with Christmas Parties and get-togethers. I love this time of year.

Yesterday, my friend had received a gift. An answer to prayer. It is so amazing how our God works. I am so encouraged by the power of prayer. God really does provide for us when we really pray and seek out His will for our lives.

So, there it is. A few of my thoughts for the day.