Wow!

So, it's been an incredible long time since I posted! I apologize to anyone who's been getting incredibly bored waiting for me to continue on with my dramatically exciting life! haha! Kidding of course.... but anyway. Actually, right now my computer is out of sorts which leaves me to rely on kind quadmates. So this isn't an official post. This is just a promise to be up and running again soon. However, if you click here you will get a really funny take on some of the things we've been up to lately! Plus, you'll get to meet some of my friends! We're an "interesting" bunch.

There's a beautiful pic of me, just to add some "colour" to the blog! (I use the word "colour" very loosely due to the fact that I'm obviously ery white and am wearing a black t-shirt!)

Good Quote!

I found this quote in "The Jesus Creed" by Scot McKnight(great book). I think it was written by Mother Theresa and it has really spoken to me. I think the big thing I got out of it was the importance of prayer and how it can really affect your life!

The fruit of silence is prayer.

The fruit of prayer is faith.

The fruit of faith is love.

The fruit of love is service.

The fruit of service is peace.

Wow. If it were only as easy as it sounds written out in simple little sentences.

The Janet Section

Good Day blog readers!

For those of you who might just happen to take a look at the comments section of my blog, you'll notice the request of a gentleman who really wishes I had included a section on myself in the former blog, introducing my room mates. A strange request, I would think, considering the whole of this blog is really about me. However, I always want to accomodate people and I will now honour his request.


Janet -room mate to Ann and quadmate to Jacquie & Chantal

Janet is an "interesting" individual who enjoys music, sports, games, laughing and many other things. But on to the important part. Yes... Janet IS single (And the crowd cheered) !! She prefers men who... well... I'll be frank. She prefers men who are basically perfect in every way. So, if you think you fit this description, feel free to try to contact her and make your case. However, she's enjoying being single, so it might be a waste of your time.

(Note: This is just a joke intended to make people smile! Are you satisfied with that, Pat?)

My quadmates!

So, I guess this is a bit delayed since I've already been here for over a month. But this is a post to introduce my new room/quadmates! For those who don't go to Briercreat and, therefore, don't understand the terminology, I will give a definition:

Room mate: A person who resides in the same bedroom as another person.

Quadmate: A person who shares the same living space, but not the same bedroom.

So here are my room/quadmates!!


Ann- Roommate

aka. Coralee, aka. The Phantom

Ann is a bright student in a so-far-undefined-possibly-music program. We enjoy her company when she's around, which is infrequently due to a long-term relationship. She likes to sing, play the piano, do dancing exercises with Madria, and hang out at Darren's house. She also has a weakness for cinnamon buns.





Jacquie - Quadmate

Jacquie is a fun-loving girl who likes playing soccer and listening to country music. She is currently single and likes tall, athletic men. She is also responsible for the brown stain on our kitchen carpet, which is quite unrelated to her appreciation of art.







Chantal- Quadmate

Chantal is an expressive girl, full of energy(especially after a dose of Mr. Noodles). She is also single, and prefers men under 30 who are passionate in their relationship with God! She loves to sing, especially in the bathroom and, speaking of bathrooms, she is a very open person, willing to talk about anything and everything.

OUR LOVE FERN!

"OUR LOVE FERN! YOU KILLED IT! YOU LET IT DIE! ARE YOU GOING TO LET US DIE?!"

Haha! Just kidding! (Ok, for anyone actually reading this... this blog is basically for Sabrina's sake... so you can stop reading... or try to understand if you want... which isn't likely... but you can try)

So, as you can see, my poor plant is not dead... however, it looked MUCH better when I first got it! Yes, I do still water it. But there is the odd brown-looking stalk. So, I truly apologize... but.... well, remember when I bought that fish? I think it lasted a week. And remember when I told you about the 3 frogs I once owned? The first one got eaten by another one. The second one ended up nice and crisp under my little sister's bed. And the third I took pity on and brought back to the store. Well, yeah.... my track record with live things isn't doing so great! haha!

But here's a new blog for you! Does it meet up to your standards?! haha!

I miss you, Sabrina!!

What it means to truly LOVE...

So previously I posted about the "love of my life" here at Briercrest(which was obviously a joke if anyone didn't catch that... haha). However, this is unrelated to that and is something I've given some very serious thought to, lately. My thoughts are not completely gathered on this so it might be choppy, but I'll give it a try.

I've always struggled with the idea of being taken advantage of. Ok, that sounds wierd... but let me continue. But first here's an example(this is NOT a real story!): Lets just say that one day I bought this new car. It wasn't an amazing one, but it was new to me and really necessary for me to have. Then one day I hear about a need. Someone desperately needs to go somewhere and has no way of getting there. I know that I don't have time to take the person, yet I do have the car. So, thinking this is something God would want me to do, I lend the person the car. It comes back ok and I feel like I have helped someone. However, fast forward to a couple of weeks later. This person comes to me again. The need to go somewhere isn't quite as desperate. In fact, the person probably could find another way. However, I had let the person go once so it was easier for him/her to ask again. It's a fight within me, yet I can't find any reason to say no...... except that I feel taken advantage of.

This brings me back to my former point. Again this is a completely made up story and I don't have a car(sadly). Maybe it wasn't a great example, because cars are expensive and usually if ppl need to go somewhere we drive them. People sometimes "take advantage" of situations. I probably do so myself, although I really hope I'm careful not to. But the point is... how come it is so difficult for me to lend my stuff or let people take advantage of me in other ways? I think what it comes down to is pride. I hate to say this, but I'm so proud that it drives me crazy to think that people can take advantage of me. I never want to look like a fool. I never want people to think they can "put one over on me". However, what does Jesus call us to do??

Proverbs 25: 21,22 says "If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you."

Now, you think the burning coals is something that hurts the person. However, I learned somewhere that people used to carry coals in baskets on their heads so it was easier to make fires when they would stop. However, sometimes their fires would go out and they would have to go ask for some coals from someone else. Therefore you'd be heaping coals on their heads(in their baskets). You might not want to do that. But our reward is not here. Whatever the situation is, we are to help people. This may involve being taken advantage of. Someone may be using you for something material you have. Someone may be using you for some emotional reason to fill a void in their own life. There are tons of different scenarios where people might be taking advantage of you, whether they realize it or not. And we are to feed them, clothe them, befriend them as well as we are able. Therefore my pride has no place. I am to be a fool for God, for that is what it means to truly LOVE others.

Gratitude

I think this is an incredible song about how God provides for our every need. Joy (my little sister) brought it home and played it non stop! And I would just laugh at her and say 'yeah, yeah... good song'. Then when I was on my way out west, I finally actually listened to what the words were saying.... There I was, scared of being so far away and one my own, having no idea how I was going to pay for the full year.... Yet, I had so much to be thankful for! God had already provided for me in so many ways and has continued to do so as the weeks have gone by.

One thing I am extremely thankful for is my amazing family! They have all been such a big support to me, especially as I was getting ready to come to school. So this blog also serves as a big THANK YOU to them! I love you guys and miss you like crazy! Thank you for always being there for me! I know I don't express my gratitude half as often as I should. But, again, I love you all more than I can say. (I'm gonna publish this before I start crying!)


Gratitude -Nicole Nordeman

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead
And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
What we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You please . . .

Contentment

Bible school has forced me to really think about where I'm at in my spiritual life. There's so much on my mind that I don't even know where to start in dealing with it. However, what comes to mind first is the idea of contentment(This really doesn't have much to do with what I've been learning here... but it relates a little). Anyway, before this summer, I felt like I was always looking forward... almost waiting for something exciting to happen. I was looking forward to such things as: finishing highschool, going to camp, meeting "Prince Charming", etc... However, this past summer I finally realized that I was no longer doing that. It was incredible to realize that I was finally LIVING in the moment! I was completely content with what was happening in my life. I wasn't counting down the days to finish my job, even when it was stressful. There I was... I felt like I had finally reached something long sought-after. It was amazing! Yet I was scared.... What if I lost that feeling? I had no desire to go back to being discontent and living for the next good time. I didn't even want to go to sleep, when I first realized it!

Well, it really didn't take long for me to get over the anxiety. I realized that now that I had more control over it now. I still got down, but I learned to realize that I could be unhappy about something, yet still have joy deep down because I had God in my life and God is amazing!

Ok, now I'm going beyond that. So, I've had a couple months to live in the contentment. I love my life right now. I love Briercrest! I love my new friends! And I'm having an awesome time! You could say that I'm content with life. Things couldn't get much better right now, right? That's what I thought anyway.... however, now I'm not so sure. Yes, God wants me to be content with life. But that does not mean I can sit there and just enjoy life! God pushes us to do more than that. I can't just think that I've finally "arrived" so I can relax. I still have so much to learn..... My goal now is to push beyond the contentment and genuinely seek God's will more than ever before. God's plans for me are bigger than my own will ever be! So, how about I let him be in charge? :)

Dear Mom and Dad,

How are you doing?? I just thought I'd drop you a little note to tell you how I'm doing. I LOVE BRIERCREST!! This place is awesome! And it has the cutest guys, too!! Ok... I'm really just writing this cause I really wanted to tell you about this new guy I met. He's such a great guy! We have such deep conversations. We like all the same music.... he's even in a band. It's called "Pierce". Very cool. So, I'll just describe him for you. Don't be judgemental, though. He's an awesome guy! Ok, so he's got dreads.... red ones. (A very nice shade of red I might add. Really matches his complexion). And he likes to wear a little bit of makeup. But don't worry, it's very tastefully done. And he may have a piercing... or two... or a few really. But mom, remember what you said about not judging by appearance?? I'm just going by what you taught me... Oh... and he likes to wear those dog collar things... but not all the time. Sometimes he doesn't.

Anyway, I'll include a picture for you. So, that's about the most excitement for me at Briercrest so far! I'll let you know how things go....

Love, Janet

PS- Here's the picture


PPS- Do you mind if I bring him home for Christmas?

Saskatchewan vs. Ontario

Ontario
Saskatchewan


Yeah... the difference is fairly obvious! So, I wont bother continuing this post. :)

Relating to People

Ok... so this blog is experimental... as in, I have no idea where I'm going with this and I totally confused the last person I tried to explain it to. But here's another shot.

Lately I've thought alot about how I relate to people... especially male people. (Haha!) I was thinking about how frustrating it is sometimes to have good, meaningful relationships with guys, without being seen as flirting with them or having an interest in more than just friendship. So this led me to thinking about how guys and girls relate in general. I've often noticed that girls will hang out with guys when they know they are available... and vice versa! However, that might quickly end if they find out that this person of the opposite sex isn't available. Does this make any sense?

Well, my main point is (and I actually got this mostly from a friend!) God did not make guys and girls solely to look at each other as potential mates(or whatever you want to call them)! I believe that we should consider the opposite sex as we would a brother or sister. If God has plans for you to become more than that, He will make that clear to you. That doesn't mean we can't have crushes.... who doesn't?! haha! However, for myself, as a single girl, I don't want to walk in to every situation and look around to see which guy I might be interested in! I think God intends us to befriend everyone and lift each other up. The rest will happen in due time...

So I hope this made sense... let me know what you think.

LOVING IT!!!!

So, I think my last post has been up there for far too long!(sorry, Sabrina, I forgot to update! haha!) So, I thought I should throw out there that I really haven't been depressed for the last two weeks! Bible School is awesome!!! I love getting to go to chapel all the time! I love starting class with prayer and scripture! I love getting scripture memorization for homework!! Crazy! so yeah.... I don't have internet yet... so I can't do pictures... but I'll be back soon!!

Melancholy

Here I sit.... at 1:00 in the morning (don't believe the time at the bottom... it's not set properly)... contemplating life and feeling a little bit blue. I don't know why really. Because I'm actually quite excited to be going away to school and having new adventures. Yet here I am, wasting time instead of sleeping.... eating crackers and cheese whiz... which wouldn't even be necessary if I'd just go to sleep! No one's even up for me to talk to.... haha

Ok, I'm being a dork! But I guess I'm just feeling the loneliness set in already. I know I'm going to be fine and I'm going to love school and meet tons of people. But the transition time really sucks! I'd love to run back to camp and hide! I'd even take another week of working with PAT over this thought of the unknown just around the bend. (That was a joke, by the way)

Anyway, I'm gonna go to sleep and stop thinking....

Goodbye Camp... Hello Briercrest!

Wow... it's hard to believe the summer is over. It went by so quickly! I must say it's been quite an interesting summer. There's no way I could actually describe it in a few sentences so I wont even try.

So, now I'm off to school. I leave for Saskatchewan in about two days and I'm not ready at all, but it'll happen. I find myself with very mixed feelings these days. I'm excited, yet nervous. I feel like a wimp 'cause I'm older than most kids that go away to school for the first time... but I think part of it has to do with the fact that I can't just come home whenever I want. The price of flights definitely prevents that! But anyway, it'll be quite the adventure and I'll be fine once I settle in!

Anyway, enough of that. Hopefully I'll still have time to continue on here... hopefully I'll be able to afford internet, actually! Ok... I'm done....

The Bible is SO Cool!!!

And what sticks out to me today in coolness is the story of Rahab! What an incredible story! How come I didn't notice before how interesting it is?? For one thing, I love stories where a "girl" does something daring! Like in Lord of the Rings where the girl kills the big giant thing that couldn't be killed by a mortal man, or however it went. I love that stuff!

Anyway, back to Rahab. I don't think I ever took a close look at her role before. It was just a part of all that Israelite stuff. They marched around the walls, the walls came down, Rahab was saved.... cool. But, no! What Rahab did was so brave! It must have taken guts to hide two spies that had the city terrified! Then she defied the king of Jericho, who probably could have had her killed. Then she told them exactly what to do to get away safely, trusting that putting that cord in the window was going to ensure she lived out the week! What faith it took to believe in a God that was never even presented to her in glowing terms. (By "a" God, I mean "THE" God!) And to top it all off, even though she was previously a prostitute, she ended up in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

So, I don't think my brief explanation does the story justice, but read it for yourself(Joshua 2) focusing on her role in the whole big picture. I don't think I would have been as brave as her!

I Love Me!

Okay... so maybe that sounds a bit arrogant. But I've been thinking lately about all the time I've spent over the years being dissatisfied about who I am. We are told from a very young age how we're supposed to dress, how we're supposed to look, and how we're supposed to act in order to be accepted... in order to be good enough. I've done my years of trying... that's highschool for you. So now I've decided that I love me! This is the way God made me... this is the way He wants me.... He has a plan for me! He will continue to mold me, but my basic personality and character will stay the same. So I could spend my life wishing I were more witty or more beautiful or more anything.... or I could be happy being the person God meant for me to be!!

Here is my favourite song by BarlowGirl:

Mirror

Mirror, Mirror on the wall; Have I got it?
'Cause Mirror you've always told me who I am
I’m finding It’s not easy to be perfect
So sorry, you won’t define me
Sorry, you don’t own me

Chorus
Who are you to tell me
that I’m less than what I should be?
Who are you? Who are you?
I don’t need to listen
to the list of things I should do
I won’t try; I won’t try
You don’t define me; You don’t define me


Mirror I am seeing a new reflection
I’m looking into the eyes of He who made me
To Him I have beauty beyond compare
I know He defines me

Money: Could we live without it?

Although, I'm not incredibly concerned that I'm thousands of dollars short in the amount of money I need for school, I must admit to a little bit of apprehension. It's not easy to go a couple of provinces away from home knowing full well you don't have enough to make it through the year. Being at camp helps to keep me from spending what I do have. However, when it comes to thinking about things I'd love to have (ie. a digital camera!) I get a little frustrated about my lack of funds. Why does it seem like our whole lives revolve around money? I'm not suggesting that we dwell on it every moment or that it's in any way the most important thing in our lives. That would definitely be wrong. But if you think about it, money is a rather big part of our lives. Without money, we can't eat, we have nowhere to live, we can't be formally educated, we can't get clothes, we have no transportation, and, in some places, you can't even use the toilet without sticking a dime in! I am personally tired of adding up the numbers and seeing if I'll have enough for school. I'm tired of thinking about things I'd like to have and wondering if it's okay to buy them or not.

All this was going through my head the other day as I contemplated buying a digital camera. My frustration about money led me to wonder if I could ever live without it. Would it be possible to spend a year or even a month without using any money? (And living at your parent's house doesn't count!) I don't know if it's right to "test" God like that. And it's not likely that I'll ever try out this experiment that went through my head. But I'm sure there have been people who have had to live from day to day wondering where their next meal was coming from. Or wondering if they would be able to buy new clothes to replace tattered, holey ones. It would take such incredible faith to go from day to day trusting that God would provide.

In conclusion, I'm not a big fan of money.... I'm thankful that God continually supplies me with jobs, even before I really look for them! And I've determined not to "worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself". I'm also thankful to live in such a wealthy country. Although, sometimes I think it would be easier to live somewhere where I had only to think about buying food and clothing and not digital cameras and internet time!

My Glorious Time Off

This past Wednesday and late into Thursday, I took some time off. Pat was very, very, incredibly, very jealous but I know he would want to know EXACTLY how much fun I had which is why I am contructing this post.

I started out on Wednesday with two great friends in a nice, comfortable, beautifully black(matches with every outfit) Honda Civic. We drove for a few hours before coming to my cattage, which was wonderfully free of people. It was incredibly relaxing and I could do whatever I wanted without thinking the phone was going to ring. Dinner was especially and wonderfully free of phonecalls. After dinner my good friends and I had a relaxing boatride in my grandfathers boat and still the relaxing hours stretched out ahead of us. Then we played Axis and allies(actually we jumped on the trampoline but I figured if I said we played Axis and Allies, Pat would be more jealous). We continued on our night by singing songs around the fire. This gorgeous girl that Pat would really have been interested in came over from a nearby cabin to play guitar for us (really it was a cute guy... but don't tell Pat). We ate smores and other delicious foods before slipping out to our tent to play..... SLAPS! (currently Pat's favourite card game). I slept on the trampoline for half the night.... which I know Pat has been dying to do for ages. Too bad he didn't get the opportunity. The next morning we slept in as long as we could. Too bad Pat had to be up for breakfast here at camp. Then we headed out on our way to a destination that is beyond all destinations. This is the climax of the whole story, since this is what Pat would have enjoyed the most. Within the hour, we were well on our way to...... GALILEAN!!! Yes, we went to Galilean. We saw all the old sights and smelled all the old smells. It was an incredible experience. I must mention specifically seeing Ben and Randy, since I know Pat would enjoyed seeing them. Too bad he missed out. He would have loved it. Did I mention how much Pat wanted to go see Galilean? Well, it was alot, that's for sure. So we spent many a blissful hour there at Galilean before heading back to camp, having spent 33 hours doing whatever we wanted and being responsible for nothing and having no phones to answer.

So, yeah, overall it was a great trip and Pat really missed out. That's really too bad..... But here is the link to pictures from past summers so that Pat can remember all the great times and people.... and wish he could go to Galilean, too.

http://http://www.cssm.ca/galilean/photos

Summer 2006 Norland Quotes

"I've been thinking your necklace is a jellybean ALL day." - Pat

"You only play Slaps so that you can put your hand on mine." - Pat

"You are SO smart!" - Janet (to Pat)

"Ahhhhh, Ahhhh, Ahhhhhh!" -Jesse (in response to a single shadfly in the car)

"I'm Vesper Rock" - Alex

"I'm really blogged down" - Doug

"Cellphone....mashed potatoes...." - Pat

"I ate 5 chicken burgers and 4 pieces of pizza!" - Gilligan

"I'm not Canadian... I'm part Jamaican and part Torontarian." - Ty (camper)

" Just like in real soccer!" -Jesse (playing fooseball)

"That's disgusting!" - Gilligan (maintenance boy)


*Stay alert for more to come... the summer isn't over yet!

Blog (for lack of title-ing capabilities)

It's been awhile since I've written. It's not easy to have time for blogging when you're working at a camp. And then there are times when the internet just isn't available. Like when a tornado touches down 10 or 15 minutes from you and you take cover in the basement and don't have power for 3 days and run a full program with only a small generator that rotates between giving you water access and keeping your fridges cold. I could continue... but I'm more interested in a topic that has interested me lately(interestingly enough). Haha! Ok, that was a geeky sentence...

It's funny how we can read through the bible and learn something different each time or miss something that you would have thought to be significant. For example, on two different occassions lately I have heard about Paul having a "thorn". Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:7 "So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated" Read the surrounding verses to get the context, but from what I understand, Paul was afflicted with something to keep him weak and dependent on Christ. I find that so interesting because there have been so many times that I've asked God to take away my weaknesses(or my own thorns). I've thought in the past that I could do so much more for Christ if I wasn't insecure or shy or scared of new situations. There are many things about myself that I would gladly have God take from me. However, I have come to see that God made me exactly the way I am for a reason. If I wasn't scared of new situations, I would probably go into them without asking God for help. If I wasn't shy or insecure, I wouldn't see the ways God has worked in my life to put me in positions that I don't feel equipped for! And so, I would love to say, like Paul, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12: 9b, 10).