what a year it has been

as the new year quickly approach us we tend to reflect on what the last year of our lives has held for us.

here is a little video snapshot of some of the monumental events that took place globally in 2011....



on a more personal scale, what are some of the monumental events that took place in your life this year?

sisterhood.

365 days of love.

a year ago this weekend i packed my belongs for the forth time in a year and moved home. this past year has been a whirl wind of events, a lot has taken place. from an outward appearance things look relatively the same, however, internally the amount of growth and self discovery this past year has held has been unbelievable.

i think the biggest lessons i have learned are about love.

i have learned what it means to love someone. not the kind of love that lasts for only a short period, but the kind that you walk through thick and thin for. the kind that has had hard conversations, conflicts, and honesty that doesn't always feel that nice. i think sometimes in order to really experience love for someone you need to walk through the low parts of life and in time come out soaring higher then you ever have before.

i have learned how to say good-bye to love. this is usually not an easy choice to make and it usually hurts like hell. but in time comes freedom, strength, and empowerment.

i have learned what it means to receive love. funny enough, everyone wants to be loved but it's usually the hardest one to learn. i am lucky to have family and friends who have poured out endless amounts of love on me. it's an overwhelming feeling to be so loved, but it's one that i have started to embrace with open arms.

still looking for a home, in a world where i belong.

tuesdays tune:
switchfoot - where i belong

tasty food

my roommate and i have decided to start our own cooking show. if you are lucky, you will at some point receive one of our ridiculously hilarious home videos shot from high class video camara, also known as my iphone.

on tonight's menu....

- blush mixed with gin, it's gross, don't try it

- portobella mushroom caps stuffed with feta cheese and steamed spinach

- homemade sundried tomato and garlic hummus with cucumbers.

for more woodsie (yes, we did name our house 'the woods') visit my roommate nicole's blog at http://ritchie-n.blogspot.com/

i am thankful

today i am thankful for....

my family....

friends like these....

these experiences....

i have a lot to be thankful for. to all my canadian family and friends,

happy thanksgiving!!

Setting The Bar High - Stephanie Style

my dear friend stephanie lives a lifestyle that i am usually madly jealous off. whenever steph isn't in school she seems to be off gallivanting somewhere in the world, she is a traveling fiend!

she has a list of over 20 countries that she has explored. she seeks out all their hidden gems and has some amazing stories to tell of all the places she has been.

to my amazement she is yet to experience what is right in her own backyard, which brings us to where steph has set her bar. only having experienced 3 of canadas provinces, steph hopes to check off a few more in the next few years.

here are a few of the places i would recommend, miss kokonas;

- seafood chowder in nova scotia

- beautiful churches in old downtown montreal

- the northern lights in the northwest territories (i haven't been there but have heard amazing things)

- a visit to Anne and her 'lovers lane' in cavindish, pei.

- deep freeze temperatures in manitoba

- niagara falls in ontario

all the best to you with this adventurous goal. i look forward to writing an update post about all your canadian excursions.

join me in my challenge to have an entire month all about 'me'.

snooze, snooze, snooze. reset alarm clock for 15 mins later to avoid hitting snooze for the forth time which leaves me feeling lazy. ---> grab some quick food from the fridge (aka unhealthy crap) because i'm running late from my 'snooze' overload. don't forget to grab my gym bag before i leave the house to workout after work. ---> drag my butt to work and take a tiny cat nap on the couch with the kids while watching a movie (this is a HUGE no, no. don't tell my boss). ---> leave work with the intention to go to workout, but don't go because i'm so tired. it's the thought that counts...right?! ---> pack my nights full of hangouts and don't get home until late. ---> stay up until 12 on the computer checking facebook and think to myself, man i'm going to be dog tired when my alarm goes off at 5:30am tomorrow. ---> 5:30 comes ....snooze, snooze, snooze...

things that are missing from the above list...

1) working out; no Lo, the thought doesn't count, get your butt to the gym.

2) sleep; i feel like i am literally dragging through life. no matter how much i try to convince myself i am a person who only needs a few hours of shut eye a night, it's not true. sleep is important and i need at least 6-7 hours a night.

3) time to myself; this excludes my computer. with my laptop comes facebook which technically is not time to myself, it's time with myself and my560 best friends!

this brings me to the point of this post. september has been a brutal month for self care and i am literally am exhausted. have you ever felt like you are on a conveyor belt and you riding along and though you feel like you need to stop for a rest, things just keep motoring on?? it's so tiring! thus i am declaring the month of october as the 'me' month. i'm going to look out for what is best for me and getting a grip on life again.

sometimes love is intoxicating

tuesdays tune

the script - nothing

there is something about irish accents that i can't resist. i love this band. i hope you do too.

a funny reflection

gather round, it's story time with Lo...

early this evening i was chatting with my friend, Des, who is currently at the hospital with her sister who is in labor. des was saying how she felt like she was going to pass out from the whole experience. i couldn't help but laugh thinking about my exact reaction to first time i witnessed a birth.

a few years ago (which means i was only 20, just a young thing) i was doing my practicum at an adoption agency when one of my clients went into labor. as my clients liaison between the hospital and the adoption agency i was thrown into the position of 'birth coach' when she suddenly went into labor 4 weeks early.

in the moment i thought i was the coolest thing ever knowing that i would have the best story to tell at school the next morning. i mean come on, who actually gets to deliver a baby during their practicum? maybe someone who's taking midwifery, but i'm a social worker, that's far from anything medically related, but i digress.

things were ticking along just fine until it came time to breathe deep and start pushing. i was really good at the early parts of the labor like, rubbing her back, being an all-star encourager, and ordering around the nurses getting my clients needs met. however, when things started flowing (in all sense of the word) i froze up.

i was perfectly fine staying up by my clients head saying things like 'breathe'. all the while i think i was actually reminding myself out loud to keep breathing as i couldn't believe what was about to happen. the doctor then reached over, grabbed me, pulled me down to 'her opening' and stated, very unprofessionally i may add, 'young lady, you should watch this as it will be the best form of birth control you will ever get'. he was right.

the whole ordeal ended with my face losing all coloring and the nurse grabbing me a chair as i almost fainted. not only was this experience the most nasty thing i have ever experienced, it confirmed my desire to adopt children.

people afterwords would come up to me asking me things like, 'was it the most amazing thing you've seen?'. i would pause and tactfully respond with 'no'. it's all sloppy, not pretty, there's a lot of pain and screaming involved, and gross spewing everywhere.

so for those of you who are about to have a baby... well congrats and ignore everything i have just said as i'm sure your birthing experience will be the one exception to everything i have said. however, in my personal opinion, who ever said that child birth was the most beautiful, miraculous thing, had an interesting view of beauty.

i look back on this experience and laugh in disbelief that i actually got to witness it. i am pleased that i will likely not have to do it again and if i do i will likely be the one screaming in pain, not having to witness whats going on.

do my thoughts/opinions on this topic make me any less of a women?? am i the only female that feels this way?

1951

happy 60th birthday to an amazing man!!! what a blessing it has been to have you in my life Pops, i love you dearly. here is to another amazing year.

Comments

i have had about 6 people in the last week say 'i read your post and wanted to comment but couldn't figure out how'. i have done my research and i have figured out a easy way.

steps:

1) click on 'comment as' and pick anonymous.

2) write your comment - leaving it anonymous or signing your name
3) write out the word verification

DONE!

it's as easy as 1, 2, 3! now you can feel free to leave as many comments telling me what a nut case i am.

Setting The Bar High - Lo

i think that there is something incredibly powerful about sharing your hopes and dreams with people. it allow people to see what you hold near to your heart, creatures a sense of accountability, and empowers you to achieve your goals when you publicly declare them.

thus leading me to my new idea. i want to create an avenue for people to declare what they are striving towards. we are all very capable of achieving whatever we want and too often we sell ourselves short.

stay tuned as i capture people 'setting the bar high' and declaring what they are striving to reach.

a location issue.

how would one that lives by this.....

become really good at this...

i think i was born in the wrong place. don't get me wrong, i am extremely grateful for the beautiful mountains and my current surroundings. but you know that pull that high that some people get when they are in nature?? i get that when i am around the ocean. i was to be in the water. have you ever heard some one say 'i need to go for a run to clear my head'... i feel the same way when i swim, it help me sort through my brain.

if i could dream big (and unrealistically) and do anything for a living, i think i would want to be a pro surfer. i have only surfed once in my life but i loved it. the high that surfers must get when they are 'getting tubed' in a wave (yes i am up to date in my surfer lingo), that's the type of nature that gives me a high.

if you had nothing holding you back and were able to do absolutely anything you wanted for a living, what would it be?

a gnarly transformation

have you ever had the chance to see someone progress at something from the starting point, when they are only so-so at a skill, to a place where you are amazed by whatever it is they were training for?! check this out...

my 'little' (but not actually so little) brother scotty, or youngin' as i tend to call him, loves to snowboard. he has always been pretty good, but so are a lot of people that live in the rockies like we do. last winter i remember going snowboarding with him and standing in the snowboarding park freezing my butt of taking picture of him doing this...

it took forever to get this picture and i remember being nervous for him to do this 'crazy trick'. once we got this picture we were all smiles and we thought he was the bomb!

i look back now and laugh at us. i laugh at how extreme i thought youngin' was for executing what i thought at the time was a stellar trick. that was only 6 months ago. he now lives in New Zealand and is able to snowboard all year round (as it is winter there right now). look at how far he has come in only 6 months, do you see now why i laugh at the above picture...

these pictures are kind of small unfortunately but i can assure you that they look pretty 'gnar' (translation: gnarly, meaning high on the scale of dangerousness and coolness) as the kiwi in my brother would say.

what exactly causes someone to be able to progress so quickly and continue to experience things in life that bring extreme excitement?

it may not be the classiest way of saying it but youngin' makes a good point, 'it's all about having balls to just do it'. for those of us without balls, guts will do just fine. if you are willing to step out of your comfort zone and do things that might be scary as all get out, you too will experience a gnarly transformation.

if love's a fire, then our desire is to burn untamed

tuesdays tune
josh garrels - million miles

it's been far to long since 'tuesdays tunes' has been published so i thought i would bring it back with a bang. his voice is heavenly. turn it up loud and enjoy your gloomy day (that is if you are where i am).

a must read for females young and old.

sisterhood everlasting, a story of change, long lasting friendship, challenges, laughter, hard times, tears, new experiences, tragic loss and unconditional love.

'sisterhood everlasting' is the fifth and last book in the 'sisterhood of the traveling pants' series. it was a book that captured my attention and enabled me to function as i couldn't stop reading it. it's one of those books that you can't wait to find out what happens, but you savor every word as you don't want it to end.

while reading the book you are drawn in and become part of the sisterhood along with Tibby, Lena, Bridget and Carmen. you will find yourself rooting for them in times of excitement and grieving for them as they face life's hardest moments.

it's a book that is guaranteeing to bring a time of reflection on your own life and your relationships. be prepared to be challenged to reevaluate what you hold most dear to your heart.

though it is in a series of books it's not the kind of series that you must read all the books to fully understand what is going on. sure, it helps a bit with character development to read all the books, but i guess what i am saying is 'well i haven't read any of the other books' isn't a good enough excuse. if you are a female, you should read this book.

just a little reminder...

moving forward

the hardest part of moving on

is letting go

and finding the courage

to forgive

to regret

to love

to hurt

to hope

to feel

to rebuild

to trust

to LIVE.

twelve days.

it's crazy that a person, who in the grand scheme of things you've had very little interaction with, can flip your world upside-down, steal a part of your heart and leave you changed forever.

sometimes the thought of it all leaves you excited with butterflies in your stomach. sometimes it makes you feel sick with questions, frustrated, and wondering if you will ever forget about that person.

i can't stop watching this movie trailer. i anxiously await august 19th to arrive so i can be first in line to see this movie. maybe because part of me can relate to it.

are we gonna do this or not?

tuesdays tune
thompson square - are you gonna kiss me or not?

for all you country music loving folk, here's one for you. it's a cute song, i currently have it on repeat... maybe you will too, it's catchy!!

whys?

"I lay my 'whys?' before Your cross in worship kneeling, my mind beyond all hope, my heart beyond all feeling; and worshiping, realize that I, in knowing You, don't need a 'why?'"
{Ruth Bell Graham}

lets not try to figure out everything at once.

tuesdays tune
the nationals - fake empire

i love all the different instruments in this song. beautiful.

Scotty - tip's for your 20's

today my 'little' brother turns 21. the age of officially becoming an adult all around the world.

though i only have 3 1/2 years on you little bro, i thought that in honor of your coming of age i would share of few tips of things you will probably experience now that you have fully entered into adulthood....

1) the best is yet to come. highschool was a few years ago now, but that old saying 'highschool are the best years of your life', well i think they got it wrong... the 20's are better.

2) change is inevitable, embrace it the best you can. people will come and go and your address is bound to change at least 10 times in the next decade. some change you will welcome with open arms, some not so much. though it's hard sometimes, for the most part, change is good for your soul!

3) it's okay to question and seek out different possibilities as to what career path you will take. this is what your 20's are for, to learn more about your gifts and then to see where they may take you. if you get into something and find out it's not for you, don't stress, switch it up. you are still young and have time (even if people tell you you don't).

4) surround yourself with people who love you. this may seem like obvious advice, but i say it because it's important, REALLY important. find a few friends who will have your back, who will love you no matter, who share similar life morals as you and will do life you with. keep them close and life will be a lot more enjoyable.

5) don't live to work, work to live. don't take your work home with you. the habits you form now will likely affect you (and your future family) later on in life. this is a hard thing to master in our society, so start now and hopefully you wouldn't struggle with it later on in life. there are WAY more important things in life than work.

6) don't rush. we seem to always want to get married fast, buy a house young, and have life figured out. the years you have as a single, independent young man may be limited, so enjoy them.

7) as cliche as it sounds, take time to find out who you are. embrace time spent by yourself, travel lots and pray like mad. these three things i have found helped me start to get to know myself and to start building a solid foundation.

Happy 21st Birthday Youngin'!

ministry of presence.

this resonates with my soul. this is how i want to live whether i am living here or some far off land. i want to live like this....

'more and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. it is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. still, it is not as simple as it seems. my own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. it is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. but i wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them. -Henri Nouwen

amor.

after months of planning it's finally here (almost). on friday a team of 110 people will pile into ten 15-passenger vans and 2 u-haul trucks to drive 2660 km's to tijuana, mexico. for the past couple months a team of us have kept very busy planning and organizing a trip for sr. high youth to build houses for impoverished families in mexico. in only four days we will build 6 houses, eat lots of mexican food and be changed forever by the local mexican familes.

i have been on this trip 9 times before as a student and leader. people often say things like 'wow, you are going to make such a difference in the mexicians lives, good for you' and while that may be true, i have come to realize that they make just as much, if not more, of a difference in my life. i have a lot to be thankful for. i am a rich canadian compared to most of the mexican families that be build for. but these people we meet while down in mexico are rich in community and in love. we have a lot we can learn from them as far as how to priorities things in life and how to care for people.

heres a little itinerary of what we will be doing on the trip so if you are interested you can follow us!

friday (25th) - sunday (27th)
our long 40 hour drive down to mexico. we will be driving 14 (ish) hours a day and sleeping at churches at night on the way down. we will be crossing the border into mexico on sunday afternoon and then setting up camp in mexico on sunday evening.

monday (28) - thursday (31)
the hard work starts, and well finishes too i guess. like i mentioned before, we will be building 6 houses in the four building days.

friday (1st) - monday (4th)

we head back home with a one day stop in L.A. to check out the beach and six flags.

if you think of us please pray for safety while driving, crossing the borders and of course for while we are building in mexico. please also pray for a unity in our team and that we would be touched and influenced by the mexician families we meet.

thank you to those who have made this trip (and others) possible for me for the past 9 years. i wouldn't have been able to do it without your continual love and financial support. it's because of you that i get to do what i am truly passionate about!

check back in a couple weeks for pictures (!!!) and an update on how the trip unfolds!!

mucho amor a usted!!!

forever could never be long enough for me.

tuesdays tune.

train - marry me

a beautiful song....

sexual exploitation awareness week.

fyi, sexual exploitation isn't something that only happens in far away impoverished nations around the world. it's going on here, in canada, in alberta, in calgary. it's a huge problem.

people often think that unless you are standing out on the corner wearing skimpy clothes selling yourself then you aren't being sexually exploited. that's a lie. while that is a form of exploitation, there's a whole lot more to it and a lot of it is secretive, behind closed doors.

when you are starving and have no where to stay for the night and someone offers you a floor to crash on in a warm house and a little bit of food in exchange for sex, that is what sexual exploitation is. it's exchanging things such as money, food, shelter, drugs, for sex.

sometimes it's hard not to think 'well get a job, take care of yourself, you don't have to do these things'. but it's not that easy. when you are being exploited it is usually about taking your power to chose away.

i work at a treatment centre for sexually exploited youth (under 18 years old). every time someone asks me where i work i get a little bit nervous for their reaction. a lot of people just look at me with a blank stare and so 'oh wow' and then quickly change the topic.

i realize that this is not an easy issue to talk about and it usually is rather uncomfortable. however, as cliche as it sounds, you should know that the youth that i work with are just like you and i, just like your daughter or son. they love to play 'crazy eights', paint their nails, watch the little mermaid, and sing karaoke!

i wish sometimes that people could come to work with me and hang out with my youth, they would quickly realize that, yes they do have some issues, but don't we all?

although it may be an awkward topic to talk about, i encourage you to google 'sexual exploitation awareness week', lots of articles will come up as it is, like the the title of this post says, sexual exploitation awareness week. educate yourself in what's going on in your city.

here is a link to a article from CNN. it's from the united states, however i don't think there is a huge difference from us to the them, the issues are one in the same. take a look....

http://hubpages.com/hub/CNN-documentary-Selling-the-girl-next-door

learning to heel.

my friend just got a new puppy and she was telling me all the trials of training her new family member. she explained how no matter how hard they try to slow the dog down and have him listen, it literally is impossible.

as my friend tells me her stories i feel as though i can relate to her furry friend. i feel like a dog on a leash that is running full tilt but it's owner keeps saying 'heel'. i have an eagerness for what is next in life.

i have been given a very vague glimpses of what possibly could be coming my way. i want those things now, not later.

i need to learn how to heel. to be patience and wait on His timing, not mine. this is hard, very hard.

how do you sit in the moment and treasure it for all its worth without always look forward for what is to come?

chicken noodle soup.

home sick from work feeling like death is upon me. laying in bed feeling achy and very ill, longing to be at my parents house so that they could take care of me like they did when i was little. then comes a knock at my door, my roommate walks in carrying a tray with crackers, chicken noodle soup and mango juice (my favorite). how luck am i to have the best roommate ever who will dare to walk into my germ infested room to take care of me. not to mention that today is her birthday and how does she spend it... caring for me. thanks nic.

Sylvia.

meet my darling sylvia.

she is eight years old.

sylvia lives in uganda.

sylvia loves to sing, tell stories, and play with dolls.

she has a mother and a father and two siblings.

her father is sometimes an employed laborer.

sylvia's house hold duties are gather firewood and hauling water.

for the past 2 years i have felt that i should sponsor a child in a far off country. i kept putting it off, thinking i wouldn't be able to afford it. well that is a lie. after keeping track of what i spend a month on dining out i quickly learned that i could in fact afford not one but probably several sponsor children.

so i did it. no more procrastinating. that is how this beautiful little girl from uganda came into my life. i am currently in the process of writing my first letter to her which will include some pictures of my family.

there are plenty of different organizations in which you can sponsor children through but after doing much research i chose to go through compassion. i have also had a few friends who sponsored children through compassion and they have had nothing but good things to say about them. many of my friends have actually had the chance to go visit their sponsor child and have said it was life changing. i hope to someday have the same opportunity to meet little sylvia. this is why i picked child from africa.

if you have ever thought about getting a sponsor child, do it. don't procrastinate like i did. when i signed up it was like a rush of excitement. i can't wait to be able to communicate with this little girl on the other side of the world.

music to my ears.

i have been slacking a lot lately when it comes to this little blog thing i got going here, please forgive me.

listen to this little tune and get carried away in it's heavenliness!

on friday a thief, on sunday a King

tuesdays tune

john mark mcmillan - death in His grave

on friday a thief
on sunday a King
laid down in grief
but awoke with keys
of hell on that day
the first born of the slain
the Man Jesus Christ
laid death in his grave

a lesson in obedience.

recipe:

- 24 giant hockey bags
- 4 people courageous parents
- 12 carry-on bags
- heaps of faith and obedience to the Lord
- 8 young children
- a lot of unknowns
- 12 airline tickets

- piles of excitement

- a huge language barrier

- a pinch of nervousness

last weekend my dear friends trent and kerrie berstad (and their 4 kids), and stuart and carie mcallister (and their 4 kids) left on an adventure of a life time. They packed up everything, sold their cars and said goodbye to the comfy life they knew in north america and moved to el salvador for a year.

both families have had a heart for el salvador for some time now. i remember hearing trent say this is what God has shown them is the next chapter for their families, that's why they are going. It might seem crazy to pull 8 small children out of school and to uproot their whole lives, but in reality it is just an act of obedience.

while in el salvador they will be working with the locals to develop their community in ways that are long lasting. both families want to educate the people of the town so that when they leave they can continue the work that they start.

when the Lord calls and we listen and act, crazy things will happen.

please keep both the berstad's and mcallister's in your prayers. if you wish to follow/financially support them in their adventure they have a blog that they update with lots of pictures!
http://www.elsalvador1.blogspot.com/

heaven song.

You wrote a letter and You signed Your name

i read every word of it page by page

You said that You'd be coming, coming for me soon

oh my God i'll be ready for You

i want to run on greener pastures

i want to dance on higher hills

i want to drink from sweeter waters

in the misty morning chill

and my soul is getting restless

for the place where i belong

i can't wait to join the angels and sing my heaven song

i hear Your voice and i catch my breath

'well done my child, enter in and rest'

tears of joy roll down my cheek

it's beautiful beyond my wildest dreams

i want to run on greener pastures

i want to dance on higher hills

i want to drink from sweeter waters

in the misty morning chill

and my soul is getting restless

for the place where i belong

i can't wait to join the angels and sing...

i want to run on greener pastures

i want to dance on higher hills

i want to drink from sweeter waters

in the misty morning chill

and my soul is getting restless

for the place where i belong

i can't wait to join the angels and sing

no, i can't wait to join the angels and sing my heaven song

ella ella, ay, ay, ay

tuesdays tune
glee cast - singing in the rain/umbrella

i'm a huge fan of mashing-up songs. When the hit tv show did this catchy one i had it on repeat for weeks afterwards. be sure that you watch the video too, it's the best part!

ps- who knew that gwyneth paltrow could sing?!

sabbath. revisited.

earlier on this week i had posted about how i am currently studying and trying to understand the meaning of the sabbath and what God's intent is for this day. i have learned a lot in the lat couple of days. though my understanding of everything wasn't completely right in my previous post, i wasn't completely wrong either.

i had lunch yesterday with a friend, who also is a pastor at our church, to see what information he could give me and to ask for some guidance as to where to find more scriptures on the sabbath. check out what we came up with...

the sabbath is something that God gave to us. it is not a day that we are to take specifically to give back to the Lord. if we are truly living a Godly life we shouldn't need a specific day to honor and worship the Lord, we should be doing this on a daily basis. the day of rest was more of an act of obedience to God by the israelites. back in the day people worked 7 days a week to make ends meet. by God saying to only work 6 days a week and rest one day this could possibly leave the israelites out one whole days wages. not only are they out a days wage but everyone else around them is busy doing things to further themselves like working and getting other tasks done. taking a day to rest took a great deal of courage and faith from the israelites to believe that God was going to provide for them.

a lot of text that is written around the sabbath may seem outdated when it talks about things such as plowing the fields and working servants. however, the more i read about God's objective for the day, the more i truly believe that it is a message that people of today desperately need to hear. it's a scary concept for some that work like mad all the time.

in leviticus 25 it talks all about how every seven years was to be a year of the sabbath rest. people would rest for a whole year, that's crazy! you were not to work at all and if you did, you could be killed. you were to to live off what your land had provided you from the year before. of course there was always worry from the people that there may not be enough crops produced to sustain them but in leviticus 25:21 it says 'I will send you much blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years'.

our society is so money and success driven that sometimes i think we forget to rest, to really live. we are all about 'one upping' the guy next to us that the things that are most important like taking time to spend with your family gets pushed aside.

i encourage you to take a day to rest, slow down. don't do anything on your 'to do' list, get that stuff done another day. don't do anything that will further yourself, you can do it tomorrow. take a day to just spend with people you love and to do things that will allow you to rest and honor the true meaning of the sabbath.

lift my heart and my hands to show my love.

tuesdays tune

phil wickham - divine romance

this song is so simple but still so elegant. take a listen...

The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty’s all I see
the brightness of Your glory has arrived
in Your presence God, i’m completely satisfied

for You i sing i dance
rejoice in this divine romance
lift my heart and my hands
lo show my love, to show my love

a deep deep flood, an ocean flows from You
of deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room
Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life

late night chats.

my all time favorite thing about living with my best friends is;

when they come wake me up in the middle of the night and crawl into bed to chat. even if i'm dead asleep, i'm always happy to listen when that door creeks open at the wee hours of the morning. whether it's to tell me something super exciting, to ask my advice on a situation, ask me for pray for them, or even to ask my opinion on an outfit for an upcoming event. it is sweet bliss knowing that a few of your closest friends are just a few steps away and that you have access to them even at 12:08 in the morning.

that is my favorite thing about living with my best friends.

sabbath.

sabbath is a day of rest that is set aside specifically to only worship and honor God. in the ten commandments the fourth on the list is to 'honor the sabbath day, keep it holy. work six days and do everything you need to do. but the seventh day is a sabbath to God, your God...' (exodus 20:8). do you celebrate sabbath? do you set aside one day of the week to do nothing but honor God?

i was speaking with my friend about what it really means to honor the sabbath and asked her what it would look like to her if she were to take a day to do nothing but honor and worship the Lord. she told me that she would probably go snowshoeing, i love her response. it wasn't the response i was expecting to hear. for my friend, being out in nature, by herself, having time to reflect is her act of worship, her way of spending time with the Lord.

i think that typically when we think about practicing the day of sabbath we picture being in church worshiping and fasting all day. for some this certainly could be a way to honor sabbath, but it's not how everyone does.

to be totally honest, i don't really practice sabbath. i don't really even know much about what it means to honor the day of sabbath. but as i continue to study what the meaning of sabbath is in my personal devotion time, the more eager i become to actively start practicing sabbath.

some of the things that i might do on the day of sabbath…
- go for a hike in banff
- go for a drive in the country
- go for a swim (if you know me, you know i’m a fish. i can just swim for hours and it clears my head, allows me to think and pray, sort of like people that like to go for a run).
- play my guitar

if you practice sabbath what does that look like in your life? what are your thoughts on what it should look like?

First Fab Five Fridays For 2011.

i'm not a huge fan of making new years resolutions. actually, come to think of it that's a lie, i really am a fan of the 'new beginnings', i just tend to keep them to myself. maybe i'm scared to voice them in case i fail?

i'm so sick of the 'i'm going to go to the gym 4 times a week for the entire year' answers that everyone always gives. lame, lame, lame!!! those high expectations often leave you feeling like a failure when the first week of the new year passes and you haven't stepped out of your house. by week 2 of the new year you are feeling discouraged and defeated, what a fantastic way to start off the new year, not. again, i repeat, lame lame lame!

this year i am going to set some 2011 goals. i am going to give myself a whole 365 days to fulfill them and this way i will hopefully skip the defeated stage. here are my fab five goals for 2011....

1. read more. i always hear about these amazing books that my friends are reading and i feel like i'm missing out. that needs to stop. my goal is to read 6 books this year. i know what you are thinking, 6 books isn't very many. 6 books is a lot when you have a hard time making time to read even one. this means that perhaps some book reviews will be coming your way.

2. become a certified scuba diver. being able to breathe underwater, what's more cool then that? i think i have convinced my father that he too should become a certified scuba diver so it will be a fun father-daughter activity. to complete your certification you have to do 5 open water dives, which means maybe there will be a nice little scuba diving vacation down south in the near future??

3. take surf lessons. i took a lesson when i was in costa rica years ago and loved it. i am going to become a pro surfer this year.

4. travel. i have been itching to get the heck outta dodge for far to long, it's time to scratch the itch. it has been a dream of mine since i was a fetus in my mothers womb to go to africa. i need to go there. now. i hope to get away for 9ish weeks. i would like to spend 4 or weeks in africa volunteering with an organization that i am yet to find. 2 weeks touring around africa seeing the sights and possibly visiting a friend in madagascar. then on my way home i want to stop in England/Ireland to visit some friends and do a bit of touring there. if i am unable to gather the money in time to go before the end of 2011, my goal is to have my flight booked to go in early 2012.

5. become debt free so that i can do all off the above. this takes some financial planning and dedication to staying as far away from the mall as possible. so far i am off to a good start. Lord, please keep me on track!

as i read through my goals and ambitions for the year i'm realization it may be and expensive year, yikes. but if, or should i say when, all things go as planned it will be a good year full of adventure!

what are some of the things on your 'to do' list this year?

a blast from the past. 2010.

here's a little look back some of the exciting things happened in my life and the lives of the ones around me from 2010....

in january i took a big step in 'growing up'. i packed everything up and moved ship to a new city for no reason in particular other then to live somewhere new. though it was an interesting transition, coming from a city that i was born and raised in to a city were i only knew a few people, it was an experience i would never trade. although i would never be caught dead cheering for the edmonton oilers, the city itself was great, i loved it. when i moved back home to calgary later in the year i think i left a piece of my heart in edmonton.

february was a month full of cheering, tears of happiness, and a much needed vacation! the vancouver 2010 winter olymips took place this month. canada took home 26 medals in total, 14 of those being gold (which was the most gold for any country!).

my family friend amy gough competed in the womens skelton for canada which made it extra exciting to watch. and who would forget the amazing gold medal win by the mens hockey team. i think that most canadians had tears in their eyes when sydney scored the winning goal in overtime against the united states. such a proud moment.

i was also privileged enough to get the chance to take a little vacation

down to phoenix to visit my aunt and uncle. when we weren't laying by the pool with strong margaritas in our hands we could be found doing our thing at the mall. a blissful, relaxing time away.

yeehaw cowboy. july, as it always is for a calgarian (even when they live in edmonton) is the cowboy month. i am a huge fan of the calgary stampede and make it a priority to get down to the stampede grounds at

least once a year. this year my family (minus the youngest member of our clan as he was gallivanting in europe for the summer) got tickets to the rodeo! it was a great afternoon with lots of horse poop and mini doughnuts, yummmmm!!

fast forward a few months to august. i took a trip that every girl must take at some point in their 20's... a girls vegas trip!! myself

and 3 of my closes girlfriends ventured south for 4 nights to the city of sin. it was some of the

most fun i have had in a long time. all night dance parties, laying by the pool in the blistering heat and lots of shopping. we stayed on the strip at the flamingo hotel (which by the way has the best pool ever, i would highly recommend it). i checked off an item from my 'to do before i die' list and went to a cirque de soleil show. we saw 'zumanity' which was a bit scandalous to say the least.

34 x 5 + 52 - 198 = 24. that's the magic number that i turned in the month of november. it was low key which was such a blessing! i celebrated the magic number by spending my time with my close friends and family. i was spoiled beyond belief, and it was great!

december was a month of crazy busyness! i moved (for the 4th time in a year) into a

townhouse with 2 of my best friends. we are still getting settled in, collecting all the little household items that are needed. it has always has been a dream that one day the three of us would have a place together, now it's coming true, crazy!

well there you have it folks, the low down of some of the exciting things that 2010 held. what were some of your highlights?

i hope that you had a wonderful year in 2010.
i look forward to the adventures that 2011 is sure to hold. all the best this year!