A string
gently plucked
hammered in a whirl
of thunder
painting pictures
with horsehair
and a thousand tiny vibrations
voices
from a realm
known only by our souls
and the Creator
calling
screaming
whispering
to those who listen.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
For the sake of a post. :-D
This one is dedicated to Brittany, lol
You are not the only one who has weird thoughts a little too late at night. :-D
You are not the only one who has weird thoughts a little too late at night. :-D
I walked
My destination
Nowhere in particular
I talked
one sided conversations
My thoughts were quite conspicular
The empty air
at times worked best
As subject to my musings
It always stared
Intent interest
At my complex confuselings
Ah yes tis true
Some raised eyebrows
Some quick and awkward glances
They had no clue
I did expound
on Elephantilish romances
Senile, you say?
If but you knew
The half of what I'd like to share
Perhaps you'd stay
And listen to
My conversations with the air.
My destination
Nowhere in particular
I talked
one sided conversations
My thoughts were quite conspicular
The empty air
at times worked best
As subject to my musings
It always stared
Intent interest
At my complex confuselings
Ah yes tis true
Some raised eyebrows
Some quick and awkward glances
They had no clue
I did expound
on Elephantilish romances
Senile, you say?
If but you knew
The half of what I'd like to share
Perhaps you'd stay
And listen to
My conversations with the air.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Freedom
She walks a long dirt road
Her bare feet leaving scuff marks on the dry soil
and softly crunching the leaves in her path
She knows not where she heads
Only that the wind and sunshine tell her she must
Her small feet walk faster
Drumming on the hard earth
The song of Freedom
She walks in endless circles
Her feet no longer small
Trapped by winters cold embrace
And the constraints of responsibility
She knows not why she walks
Around and around again
She has no reasons for life's dull equation
Only that she must
She walks away now
Taking with her only the ever present mud
Sticking to her shoes
And her heavy heart
She knows not where she goes this time
Only that this road will not lead home.
The only sounds is the mud squishing beneath her
And the birds beginning their songs of spring.
She walks the city streets
Her heels beating a tattoo on the gray pavement
Matching the hollow beating of her heart
Both drowned out by the songs of the city
All vying with each other for her attention
She knows not which song to follow, only that
The song of summer is now quiet in her heart
Waiting for the silent moment that never comes.
She walks quickly
Her tired feet trying their best
To run away from the slavery of her mind
The songs of the city have turned to screams
She knows not where she is walking to
Only that there is no escape
The chill of the autumn wind
Wraps it's icy fingers around the body she now hates.
One last time she walks
This time she knows her destination
Trudging through the snow and wind
Howling to match the screaming of her mind
Filling with their cold dances
The footprints left as she walks
The only way out is now clear
As the icicles hanging from the roof
Of the Church she passes on her way
She knows not why her feet stop
Beneath it's tall steeple
Only that the song she hears inside
Is a song she once knew
The song of Freedom
Her bare feet leaving scuff marks on the dry soil
and softly crunching the leaves in her path
She knows not where she heads
Only that the wind and sunshine tell her she must
Her small feet walk faster
Drumming on the hard earth
The song of Freedom
She walks in endless circles
Her feet no longer small
Trapped by winters cold embrace
And the constraints of responsibility
She knows not why she walks
Around and around again
She has no reasons for life's dull equation
Only that she must
She walks away now
Taking with her only the ever present mud
Sticking to her shoes
And her heavy heart
She knows not where she goes this time
Only that this road will not lead home.
The only sounds is the mud squishing beneath her
And the birds beginning their songs of spring.
She walks the city streets
Her heels beating a tattoo on the gray pavement
Matching the hollow beating of her heart
Both drowned out by the songs of the city
All vying with each other for her attention
She knows not which song to follow, only that
The song of summer is now quiet in her heart
Waiting for the silent moment that never comes.
She walks quickly
Her tired feet trying their best
To run away from the slavery of her mind
The songs of the city have turned to screams
She knows not where she is walking to
Only that there is no escape
The chill of the autumn wind
Wraps it's icy fingers around the body she now hates.
One last time she walks
This time she knows her destination
Trudging through the snow and wind
Howling to match the screaming of her mind
Filling with their cold dances
The footprints left as she walks
The only way out is now clear
As the icicles hanging from the roof
Of the Church she passes on her way
She knows not why her feet stop
Beneath it's tall steeple
Only that the song she hears inside
Is a song she once knew
The song of Freedom
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Take her furniture, and search the house for Bibles!
Said the commanding guard. Tears filled Mrs. Lu Ying's eyes as she watched four Communist guards ransack her home.
"I found it!" yelled the guard. But just as the guard held out the Bible to give it to his commanding officer, Mrs. Lu Ying bravely grabbed it back from him.
"This book contains all I need to know about my dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and I do not want to part with it," she said passionately while holding her Bible close to her chest.
"Take her outside" yelled the commander. "We'll see how long she wants to hold on to her book about Jesus."
The four Communist guards took Mrs. Ying into the street, mocked her, spat on her, and beat her until she could no longer stand. "Do you still believe in your book of myths?" laughed the guards.
Through a swollen, bleeding mouth, still holding her Bible, Lu Ying repeated her statement of faith.
The guards grabbed an iron bar and smashed the bones in her hand, causing her now crippled hands to lose their grip. The Bible fell to the street and was confiscated.
Nearly twenty years later, a mission courier delivered Mrs. Ying a Bible. Her eyes filled with tears. She clutched it with her deformed hands and whispered, "This time I'm not letting go."
Many people have a full grasp on a half-truth. Whether they are athiests or agnostics, Buddhists or Hindus, all the dedication they can muster cannot transform their false beliefs into facts. Their sincerity is no substitute for the lack of substance. In contrast, Christians have the unchanging certainty of God's Word to back up their beliefs, and they know that God's Word is truth. We cannot afford to to handle the Bible carelessly, though others come against us with all their might. Are you as tenacious in holding to God's Word as you hold to other valuable possessions in your life, such as money or your reputation? Let all else slip from your grip; yet hold onto God's Word at all costs.
~Taken from my Devotional: Extreme Devotion, by VOM
"I found it!" yelled the guard. But just as the guard held out the Bible to give it to his commanding officer, Mrs. Lu Ying bravely grabbed it back from him.
"This book contains all I need to know about my dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and I do not want to part with it," she said passionately while holding her Bible close to her chest.
"Take her outside" yelled the commander. "We'll see how long she wants to hold on to her book about Jesus."
The four Communist guards took Mrs. Ying into the street, mocked her, spat on her, and beat her until she could no longer stand. "Do you still believe in your book of myths?" laughed the guards.
Through a swollen, bleeding mouth, still holding her Bible, Lu Ying repeated her statement of faith.
The guards grabbed an iron bar and smashed the bones in her hand, causing her now crippled hands to lose their grip. The Bible fell to the street and was confiscated.
Nearly twenty years later, a mission courier delivered Mrs. Ying a Bible. Her eyes filled with tears. She clutched it with her deformed hands and whispered, "This time I'm not letting go."
Many people have a full grasp on a half-truth. Whether they are athiests or agnostics, Buddhists or Hindus, all the dedication they can muster cannot transform their false beliefs into facts. Their sincerity is no substitute for the lack of substance. In contrast, Christians have the unchanging certainty of God's Word to back up their beliefs, and they know that God's Word is truth. We cannot afford to to handle the Bible carelessly, though others come against us with all their might. Are you as tenacious in holding to God's Word as you hold to other valuable possessions in your life, such as money or your reputation? Let all else slip from your grip; yet hold onto God's Word at all costs.
~Taken from my Devotional: Extreme Devotion, by VOM
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
SD photos!
Rather than subjecting you all to several hundred SD photos, I decided to share some facebook albums, that way you can view them at leisure!
Enjoy!
South Dakota Story
South Dakota Sequel
This is the Year
Random shots
Calling out Your name
We have only Started
Enjoy!
South Dakota Story
South Dakota Sequel
This is the Year
Random shots
Calling out Your name
We have only Started
Saturday, July 05, 2008
The End..... or the beginning??
In case any of you didn't know it, :-P We're home now.
It was an incredible trip. It taught me a lot about God, and showed me a lot about myself, so now the challenge is to bring those things home with me.
Your prayers are still appreciated, this is probably the hardest time for the whole team.
God is so good, and it is really exciting to see what He is doing in Okreek. I am so glad to be a small part of it.
Please keep Okreek in your prayers too, that the seeds we planted would be germinating and taking root, and when Melany, Leah-Beth, Daniel and Andrew come back to live there in the fall, they may reap a great harvest.
Thank you all so much for your support and being a part of this team.
It was an incredible trip. It taught me a lot about God, and showed me a lot about myself, so now the challenge is to bring those things home with me.
Your prayers are still appreciated, this is probably the hardest time for the whole team.
God is so good, and it is really exciting to see what He is doing in Okreek. I am so glad to be a small part of it.
Please keep Okreek in your prayers too, that the seeds we planted would be germinating and taking root, and when Melany, Leah-Beth, Daniel and Andrew come back to live there in the fall, they may reap a great harvest.
Thank you all so much for your support and being a part of this team.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
So last night Dawn and Elise both went to the hospital, and came back with the official news. Strep throat!! Right now they are the only ones that are sick, but a lot of people have been fighting sickness on and off and have sore throats and whatnot. Since strep throat is really really contagious, please PLEASE pray for the last couple of days. We really want to finish strong here, but Mrs. Heisler especially has huge shoes to fill so we are going to need a lot of grace. The doctors said she is allowed to work again tomorrow, so hopefully she will be able to come with us again. Her and Elise are both feeling a lot better this morning but they are still sick.
Thanks again for being with us in prayer. God is good.
Thanks again for being with us in prayer. God is good.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Prayer and whatnot
Hello all
We are nearing the last few days of our missions trip... I can hardly believe it.
Things are going well, but please pray especially for these last few days, that we may be able to use every single minute and that every word that comes out of our mouths will not be from us but from God.
Also please pray for the team still, it really is hard to live with people in such close quarters for two weeks at a time, and often tensions build up over little things. They are all amazing though and I have an incredible bond with them. Amazing what the fellowship of the Spirit can do.
Pray for a release for the people of Okreek. We have seen and heard the devil in ways that are really scary. There are kids here who really do have demons living inside them. Pray for wisdom, and that if it is God's will, Someone may be able to cast them out. But more than that, pray that Jesus will come and live in these kids and completely change their lives and the lives of those around them.
The devil is so real. But there is no room for darkness when a heart is filled with light.
We are nearing the last few days of our missions trip... I can hardly believe it.
Things are going well, but please pray especially for these last few days, that we may be able to use every single minute and that every word that comes out of our mouths will not be from us but from God.
Also please pray for the team still, it really is hard to live with people in such close quarters for two weeks at a time, and often tensions build up over little things. They are all amazing though and I have an incredible bond with them. Amazing what the fellowship of the Spirit can do.
Pray for a release for the people of Okreek. We have seen and heard the devil in ways that are really scary. There are kids here who really do have demons living inside them. Pray for wisdom, and that if it is God's will, Someone may be able to cast them out. But more than that, pray that Jesus will come and live in these kids and completely change their lives and the lives of those around them.
The devil is so real. But there is no room for darkness when a heart is filled with light.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Wow.
Yep
You guessed it.
Monica got her purse back.
God is amazing.
I am so drained right now. Physically, but mostly emotionally. I can't even begin to tell you all the things that have happened even just in this day, but all I can say is God is amazing.
So amazing.
Please keep praying.
You guessed it.
Monica got her purse back.
God is amazing.
I am so drained right now. Physically, but mostly emotionally. I can't even begin to tell you all the things that have happened even just in this day, but all I can say is God is amazing.
So amazing.
Please keep praying.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Ok so maybe not
Hello again.
Yes I was going to stop posting... hehe. Maybe not.
I just had another prayer request. Monica's purse got stolen today. A couple days ago a huge amount of money was stolen out of it, then today they took her purse. So please pray for peace for her, and if at all possible that she could get it back.
What do I mean if at all possible.
Good grief.
Let me re-phrase that... if God wills it in this amazing plan I am seeing unfold, that she oculd get it back. :-)
He has answered pretty much every prayer we've had so far. Today my small group went from 2 kids to 7. :-) Thankfully Kramer took some of them so I only had 4.
Anyway, on that note:
I wish I were a toilet scrubber
That is what I really want to be
For if I were a toilet scrubber
Everyone would want to scrub with me!
This is what you call, "working with a will" Courtesy of Joel and Kramer (yes he's my cousin)
Yes I was going to stop posting... hehe. Maybe not.
I just had another prayer request. Monica's purse got stolen today. A couple days ago a huge amount of money was stolen out of it, then today they took her purse. So please pray for peace for her, and if at all possible that she could get it back.
What do I mean if at all possible.
Good grief.
Let me re-phrase that... if God wills it in this amazing plan I am seeing unfold, that she oculd get it back. :-)
He has answered pretty much every prayer we've had so far. Today my small group went from 2 kids to 7. :-) Thankfully Kramer took some of them so I only had 4.
Anyway, on that note:
I wish I were a toilet scrubber
That is what I really want to be
For if I were a toilet scrubber
Everyone would want to scrub with me!
This is what you call, "working with a will" Courtesy of Joel and Kramer (yes he's my cousin)
hmmm
Hello!
Things are pretty awesome over here. VBS is going well, but yesterday we only had a couple of kids, so pray for attendance, but pray also that we look at souls not numbers. In a way having less kids gives us a chance to focus more on each of them individually.
Please pray for energy for the team in the next two weeks! We need it.
This is an incredible team though. (I think perhaps I've said that before maybe? lol)
The worship and stuff is awesome... they are sing-out-loud-people just like us. :-)
I am not going to post all our crazy stories on here right now in the interest of time, and just because it's more fun to tell you. Ask me about hall moniters... (which I didn't end up being because I am now on the cleaning and lunch prep teams instead) and about room cleaning...
The hotel we are staying in is AWESOME too... lots of stories behind that one. :-)
Anyway, now that you are all annoyed and curious... lol
I just wanted to let you know that everything is really going good. We are definitely having our challenges... (pray for patience for me!!! :-) But God is doing amazing work.
However, I am really feeling right now that I need to be here and only here. I don't know if you know what I mean but sometimes it just really hard to focus and for that reason I think I am going to try and stay pretty much completely off the computer... sorry to dissapoint you all! It will be very hard for me but honestly I think it's what I need to do right now. I may post updates if anything big and exciting happens.
But never fear! The On Call blog is being updated, so now you can get the "official" news!
http://blog.oncallforchrist.org/
I am not saying I won't post anymore, I'm just saying I need to be here. If you don't understand, don't worry about it. :-P
Things are pretty awesome over here. VBS is going well, but yesterday we only had a couple of kids, so pray for attendance, but pray also that we look at souls not numbers. In a way having less kids gives us a chance to focus more on each of them individually.
Please pray for energy for the team in the next two weeks! We need it.
This is an incredible team though. (I think perhaps I've said that before maybe? lol)
The worship and stuff is awesome... they are sing-out-loud-people just like us. :-)
I am not going to post all our crazy stories on here right now in the interest of time, and just because it's more fun to tell you. Ask me about hall moniters... (which I didn't end up being because I am now on the cleaning and lunch prep teams instead) and about room cleaning...
The hotel we are staying in is AWESOME too... lots of stories behind that one. :-)
Anyway, now that you are all annoyed and curious... lol
I just wanted to let you know that everything is really going good. We are definitely having our challenges... (pray for patience for me!!! :-) But God is doing amazing work.
However, I am really feeling right now that I need to be here and only here. I don't know if you know what I mean but sometimes it just really hard to focus and for that reason I think I am going to try and stay pretty much completely off the computer... sorry to dissapoint you all! It will be very hard for me but honestly I think it's what I need to do right now. I may post updates if anything big and exciting happens.
But never fear! The On Call blog is being updated, so now you can get the "official" news!
http://blog.oncallforchrist.org/
I am not saying I won't post anymore, I'm just saying I need to be here. If you don't understand, don't worry about it. :-P
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Prayer request
Hey everyone, just one more prayer request for you guys.
Mrs.Dawn Heisler was really sick this morning, she is feeling better now, but please pray especially for her and the other members of our team that are sick because there are quite a few of them. For those of you who don't know Mrs. Heisler she basically holds our team together... she does all the cooking and is doing some of the messages for site 1 and she just does SO much for our team. I think this is why the devil is especially targetting her.
Thank you guys SO much for your prayers, you have no idea how much it means to us that we have people at home being a huge part of this ministry and fighting our battles with us from home.
In Christ!
Heidi <><
Mrs.Dawn Heisler was really sick this morning, she is feeling better now, but please pray especially for her and the other members of our team that are sick because there are quite a few of them. For those of you who don't know Mrs. Heisler she basically holds our team together... she does all the cooking and is doing some of the messages for site 1 and she just does SO much for our team. I think this is why the devil is especially targetting her.
Thank you guys SO much for your prayers, you have no idea how much it means to us that we have people at home being a huge part of this ministry and fighting our battles with us from home.
In Christ!
Heidi <><
Day 1 of VBS!!!
Hello again!
Just a super-quick update to let you know that our first day at Okreek went amazingly well.
Usually the first day is one of the toughest so we were prepared for the worst but everything went super smooth and we were able to totally reconnect with the kids! There weren't a lot there, but it helped to have lots of 1-on-1 with the ones that were.
To be honest, I was a little worried that my little friends wouldn't remember me, or would pretend not to, since that is what they do a lot, but as soon as I stepped out of the car Brailei was there with a hug and Mallory went running off to hid between the vending machines and make me come find her. :-) So needless to say that was awesome. I only had those two in my small group, plus Katie, my awesome assistant who is seriously one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. Apparently though, my group is supposed to be the biggest by the end! I have like 5-6 year-olds I think. Site 2 with the older kids also had a great day, I think they started with no one there at all, then prayed and ten minutes later 6 kids showed up! So that was good. I think they had a really good day.
Please keep praying for:
Structure (once we have a lot of kids and everything gets a little less "new" it gets a lot harder for things to run smoothly.)
The people who are doing the messages/puppet shows (give them a good message... I know some of them are a bit nervous right now about it.)
Unity on the team!! This one is very important because I think the devil is going to try his best. This is an awesome team, and we get along super well, but when 10 girl are sharing one hotel room and one bathroom... yeah. Especially since everything went so well yesterday, we really can't let our guard down for things like that.
SALVATION FOR OKREEK!!! Please pray especially that we get a chance to witness to the adults there, and just for a bigger vision than these two weeks that we have here now. God can do amazing things.
So I guess that update wasn't quite as "quick" as I thought, lol
I need to go get our hotel room clean... we have a little competition going on... winners get taken out to ice cream, lol. Except Kramer (Andrew Williams) and his room just spent about as much money as the ice cream would cost buying a massive bribe for Monica, our "judge"
:-D She took it, but they didn't win. hehehe
Yes, this is an awesome team. We have a lot of fun.
Just a super-quick update to let you know that our first day at Okreek went amazingly well.
Usually the first day is one of the toughest so we were prepared for the worst but everything went super smooth and we were able to totally reconnect with the kids! There weren't a lot there, but it helped to have lots of 1-on-1 with the ones that were.
To be honest, I was a little worried that my little friends wouldn't remember me, or would pretend not to, since that is what they do a lot, but as soon as I stepped out of the car Brailei was there with a hug and Mallory went running off to hid between the vending machines and make me come find her. :-) So needless to say that was awesome. I only had those two in my small group, plus Katie, my awesome assistant who is seriously one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. Apparently though, my group is supposed to be the biggest by the end! I have like 5-6 year-olds I think. Site 2 with the older kids also had a great day, I think they started with no one there at all, then prayed and ten minutes later 6 kids showed up! So that was good. I think they had a really good day.
Please keep praying for:
Structure (once we have a lot of kids and everything gets a little less "new" it gets a lot harder for things to run smoothly.)
The people who are doing the messages/puppet shows (give them a good message... I know some of them are a bit nervous right now about it.)
Unity on the team!! This one is very important because I think the devil is going to try his best. This is an awesome team, and we get along super well, but when 10 girl are sharing one hotel room and one bathroom... yeah. Especially since everything went so well yesterday, we really can't let our guard down for things like that.
SALVATION FOR OKREEK!!! Please pray especially that we get a chance to witness to the adults there, and just for a bigger vision than these two weeks that we have here now. God can do amazing things.
So I guess that update wasn't quite as "quick" as I thought, lol
I need to go get our hotel room clean... we have a little competition going on... winners get taken out to ice cream, lol. Except Kramer (Andrew Williams) and his room just spent about as much money as the ice cream would cost buying a massive bribe for Monica, our "judge"
:-D She took it, but they didn't win. hehehe
Yes, this is an awesome team. We have a lot of fun.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
We're here!
Hey Everyone!
A couple journal entries from our trip so far!
Sat June 14-AM
So here is my first noble attempt at keeping "updated"!!! Apparently I have the official role as a "hall moniter" so keeping a journal shouldn't be too hard... :-)
So, we are finally on our way to SD!! WE had a really nice couple of days at the Haines', just relaxing, hanging out, and doing some prep work. Thursday night we walked down to the retreat center in the dark and did some praying and singing. I reall can't say enough about the prayer times here. Everything and everyone is covered in prayer, and everyone at home is praying too, it really is an amazing feeling. God is with us in an awesome way. Sata is fighting hard against this trip though, a couple people were and are sick, people got stranded/locked their keys in the car after the retreat, and both our major routes are flooded right now, so we're taking a detour! We really feel it too, people are tired and feeling kind of oppressed. Even I am, after being so excited, finding myself looking for fault in everything, thinking that the schedule is not as good as last year, and even.... *gasp* missing everyone at home! :-P But there is also definitely a spirit of excitement, even more so because we can see the devil working extra hard against us. I think God has something incredible planned for this year, especially because Melany is going back in the fall to do her student teaching and Leah-Beth and a bunch of the guys are actually going out too, to work there and do mission work. I am really excited about what God is going to do, and it is AMAZING to see the On Call team and especially our wonderful cousins!!
Sat June 14-PM
Well we are getting close, we are very much definitely in SD nopw. I had forgotten how absolutely amazingly gorgeous it is out here. Especially now, when the sun is setting in the huge expanse of sky and giving the grass as far as you can see a sort of golden glow... It's been a long day, but thankfully I have in my posession the amazing talent of complete laziness, so spending a day sitting around, eating, sleeping, talking, and being amused by my ridiculous cousins is not entirely beyond my capabilities. :-) I will be very ready to get there though... with the detour we are going to be driving for 15 hours. :-S Oh... and I HATE JUNK FOOD!! Right now I am craving mashed potatoes like never before... :-P
Sun June 15-PM
It's been a good day... I usually did not like Sundays here because they are so very different from ours... but today was good. We had "team church" where we spent a couple of hours in the word and Andrew "preached" a sermon for us... it was good. Not like your sermons though Dad. :-) Then we spent most of the day so far doing orientation stuff and now I think some if not all of us are going to Okreek for a while. They are figuring that out right now while I type. The schedule is definitely different this year, and at first I was not too happy with it, but it helps to hear all the logistics behind it so I think it should be pretty good. I really miss the team members that aren't here this year though... :-( But it's a good team and I really am having an incredible time. There is something very special about having your life completely and totally focused on God for two weeks and spending all your time either worshipping or serving. I hope I can bring some of that back.
Anyway, congratulations if you got through all of that, and I will try and keep updated whenever possible, but the schedule is pretty crazy here so yeah. I always love emails though! :-) Thanks to everyone so much for their prayers, and please keep praying especially for health in the team! It is getting better but still there. These next two days are going to be huge too, it always takes a couple to getting everything running well and I'm sure things will be pretty crazy.
I love you all!
Heidi <><
A couple journal entries from our trip so far!
Sat June 14-AM
So here is my first noble attempt at keeping "updated"!!! Apparently I have the official role as a "hall moniter" so keeping a journal shouldn't be too hard... :-)
So, we are finally on our way to SD!! WE had a really nice couple of days at the Haines', just relaxing, hanging out, and doing some prep work. Thursday night we walked down to the retreat center in the dark and did some praying and singing. I reall can't say enough about the prayer times here. Everything and everyone is covered in prayer, and everyone at home is praying too, it really is an amazing feeling. God is with us in an awesome way. Sata is fighting hard against this trip though, a couple people were and are sick, people got stranded/locked their keys in the car after the retreat, and both our major routes are flooded right now, so we're taking a detour! We really feel it too, people are tired and feeling kind of oppressed. Even I am, after being so excited, finding myself looking for fault in everything, thinking that the schedule is not as good as last year, and even.... *gasp* missing everyone at home! :-P But there is also definitely a spirit of excitement, even more so because we can see the devil working extra hard against us. I think God has something incredible planned for this year, especially because Melany is going back in the fall to do her student teaching and Leah-Beth and a bunch of the guys are actually going out too, to work there and do mission work. I am really excited about what God is going to do, and it is AMAZING to see the On Call team and especially our wonderful cousins!!
Sat June 14-PM
Well we are getting close, we are very much definitely in SD nopw. I had forgotten how absolutely amazingly gorgeous it is out here. Especially now, when the sun is setting in the huge expanse of sky and giving the grass as far as you can see a sort of golden glow... It's been a long day, but thankfully I have in my posession the amazing talent of complete laziness, so spending a day sitting around, eating, sleeping, talking, and being amused by my ridiculous cousins is not entirely beyond my capabilities. :-) I will be very ready to get there though... with the detour we are going to be driving for 15 hours. :-S Oh... and I HATE JUNK FOOD!! Right now I am craving mashed potatoes like never before... :-P
Sun June 15-PM
It's been a good day... I usually did not like Sundays here because they are so very different from ours... but today was good. We had "team church" where we spent a couple of hours in the word and Andrew "preached" a sermon for us... it was good. Not like your sermons though Dad. :-) Then we spent most of the day so far doing orientation stuff and now I think some if not all of us are going to Okreek for a while. They are figuring that out right now while I type. The schedule is definitely different this year, and at first I was not too happy with it, but it helps to hear all the logistics behind it so I think it should be pretty good. I really miss the team members that aren't here this year though... :-( But it's a good team and I really am having an incredible time. There is something very special about having your life completely and totally focused on God for two weeks and spending all your time either worshipping or serving. I hope I can bring some of that back.
Anyway, congratulations if you got through all of that, and I will try and keep updated whenever possible, but the schedule is pretty crazy here so yeah. I always love emails though! :-) Thanks to everyone so much for their prayers, and please keep praying especially for health in the team! It is getting better but still there. These next two days are going to be huge too, it always takes a couple to getting everything running well and I'm sure things will be pretty crazy.
I love you all!
Heidi <><
Monday, April 21, 2008
the whole day...
So I guess it's time for a new post. :-P
I don't really have anything to put on here... so I thought I would share something that I've been thinking about lately.
In one of my devotionals, there is a story about a communist soldier who wrote a letter asking for help in being a Christian. He had heard radio broadcasts and believed in the Jesus they proclaimed.
One of the things he asked was that they would teach him how to pray.
The soldier had never been in a church, but he said that he thought prayer meant, "to be able to speak the whole day so that after everything you say you might be able to add 'Amen'."
Wow. I'm afraid that's a far cry from the things that come out of my mouth every day.
Obviously, not everything we say is a prayer because we are not always talking to God, but I think this challenges us to lift our standards of speech, and prayer, waaay above what they are.
Here is what the devotional said:
Prayer is not natural. In fact, it doesn't come to anyone naturally because it is a supernatural experience. God gives us a spiritual desire to communicate with him. Like mathematics or language, prayer is a learned skill. the more we practice prayer, the more natural it becomes. The young believer in this story defined prayer as affecting every aspect of life and, thus, making one's whole life a prayer to God. How are you growing in your own experience with prayer? Are you out of practice? Starting today, ask God to give you a supernatural desire to speak with him and make prayer a natural part of every day. then start practicing. May your life be a prayer.
Some food for thought anyway.
I don't really have anything to put on here... so I thought I would share something that I've been thinking about lately.
In one of my devotionals, there is a story about a communist soldier who wrote a letter asking for help in being a Christian. He had heard radio broadcasts and believed in the Jesus they proclaimed.
One of the things he asked was that they would teach him how to pray.
The soldier had never been in a church, but he said that he thought prayer meant, "to be able to speak the whole day so that after everything you say you might be able to add 'Amen'."
Wow. I'm afraid that's a far cry from the things that come out of my mouth every day.
Obviously, not everything we say is a prayer because we are not always talking to God, but I think this challenges us to lift our standards of speech, and prayer, waaay above what they are.
Here is what the devotional said:
Prayer is not natural. In fact, it doesn't come to anyone naturally because it is a supernatural experience. God gives us a spiritual desire to communicate with him. Like mathematics or language, prayer is a learned skill. the more we practice prayer, the more natural it becomes. The young believer in this story defined prayer as affecting every aspect of life and, thus, making one's whole life a prayer to God. How are you growing in your own experience with prayer? Are you out of practice? Starting today, ask God to give you a supernatural desire to speak with him and make prayer a natural part of every day. then start practicing. May your life be a prayer.
Some food for thought anyway.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Corny?? I think so, but some people like it, so for lack of anything better:
Hypocrites Prayer
I would walk from coast to coast
if I needed to
to get to You
But You said You're always close
so pardon me
while I watch TV
I would fight world poverty
clothe and feed them
just like Jesus
But Canada is rich and free
we have homeless too
but they have no excuse
Dear Jesus thanks for everything
for friends and food
You are so good
But I really need a bigger screen
a better yard
a faster car
If I could live on hundred lives
I'd live them all
for You my God
But we only go around one time
I've got so much work
I'll have to cut this short
So may Jesus Christ be magnified
the glory be
eternally
And don't forget this faithful child
as You can see
I'll always be
Amen.
I would walk from coast to coast
if I needed to
to get to You
But You said You're always close
so pardon me
while I watch TV
I would fight world poverty
clothe and feed them
just like Jesus
But Canada is rich and free
we have homeless too
but they have no excuse
Dear Jesus thanks for everything
for friends and food
You are so good
But I really need a bigger screen
a better yard
a faster car
If I could live on hundred lives
I'd live them all
for You my God
But we only go around one time
I've got so much work
I'll have to cut this short
So may Jesus Christ be magnified
the glory be
eternally
And don't forget this faithful child
as You can see
I'll always be
Amen.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Someone like Jesus
painted on jeans
and a painted on smile
she'll strip off all the layers
but you'll never see her soul
she's looking for love
in all the wrong places
there are so many like her
with their blank pretty faces
because she needs Someone
to see through the lies
straight to the heart
laying broken inside
to take all the pain
and wash it away
Someone to heal her
Someone like Jesus
her empty laugh
is a desperate plea
for someone to come and see right through
the girl she pretends to be
she lives her life
no hopes or dreams
she tries to smile
she'd rather scream
she needs Someone
to see through the lies
straight to the heart
laying broken inside
to take all her pain
and wash it away
Someone to heal her
Someone like Jesus
that was her
she just walked by
the sword you hold can pierce
the darkness in her eyes
you can show her what it means
to finally be free
she's right there
do you dare?
will you be
Someone like Jesus?
and a painted on smile
she'll strip off all the layers
but you'll never see her soul
she's looking for love
in all the wrong places
there are so many like her
with their blank pretty faces
because she needs Someone
to see through the lies
straight to the heart
laying broken inside
to take all the pain
and wash it away
Someone to heal her
Someone like Jesus
her empty laugh
is a desperate plea
for someone to come and see right through
the girl she pretends to be
she lives her life
no hopes or dreams
she tries to smile
she'd rather scream
she needs Someone
to see through the lies
straight to the heart
laying broken inside
to take all her pain
and wash it away
Someone to heal her
Someone like Jesus
that was her
she just walked by
the sword you hold can pierce
the darkness in her eyes
you can show her what it means
to finally be free
she's right there
do you dare?
will you be
Someone like Jesus?
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
The following is a letter from a governer named Pliny to the Roman Emperor...
... on the growth of Christianity less than one hundred years after the crucifixion of Christ.
Please read, it's really great.
"I have never been present at any of the Christian's trails, and I am unaware of the methods and limits used in our investigation and torture. Do we show any regard to age or gender? If a Christian repents of his religion, do we still punish him or pardon him?
Currently, I am proceeding thus-- I question them as to their religion; if they state they are Christian, I repeat the questioning, adding the threat of capital punishment. If they still persist, I order them to be executed. I do not believe that their stubbornness should go unpunished.
I recently questioned a group of Christians who, after interrogation, denied their faith. From this event, I could see more than ever the importance of extracting the real truth, with the assistance of torture, from two female prisoners. But I was able to discover nothing except depraved and excessive superstition.
I therefore thought it wise to consult you before continuing with this matter. The matter is well worth referring to you, especially considering the numbers endanger. This contagious superstition is not confined to the cities only, but has also spread throughout the villages.
Nevertheless it still seems possible to cure it."
Wow. Hearing the stories of the persecuted from the "other side" definitely gives a whole new perspective!
I wonder who those two female prisoners were... isn't it an amazing thought that someday we will meet them?
My first thought after reading this was, "wow we sure proved him wrong!" and in essence this is true. Christianity has thrived and is a main religion today.
But I was thinking about it, I'm wondering, is it still possible today to "cure" the dreadful disease of Christianity??
Is it possible that maybe the torture and "capital punishment" hasn't been working, so perhaps their is a better way of ending this "depraved and excessive superstition"??
Maybe by a show of acceptance, mixed with a healthy dose of tolerance and "religious freedom" we can rip the heart right out Christianity and change it into a mundane, "safe" religion reserved for Sunday only.
How contagious is our Christianity?
How many numbers are "endangered" by us?????
Please read, it's really great.
"I have never been present at any of the Christian's trails, and I am unaware of the methods and limits used in our investigation and torture. Do we show any regard to age or gender? If a Christian repents of his religion, do we still punish him or pardon him?
Currently, I am proceeding thus-- I question them as to their religion; if they state they are Christian, I repeat the questioning, adding the threat of capital punishment. If they still persist, I order them to be executed. I do not believe that their stubbornness should go unpunished.
I recently questioned a group of Christians who, after interrogation, denied their faith. From this event, I could see more than ever the importance of extracting the real truth, with the assistance of torture, from two female prisoners. But I was able to discover nothing except depraved and excessive superstition.
I therefore thought it wise to consult you before continuing with this matter. The matter is well worth referring to you, especially considering the numbers endanger. This contagious superstition is not confined to the cities only, but has also spread throughout the villages.
Nevertheless it still seems possible to cure it."
Wow. Hearing the stories of the persecuted from the "other side" definitely gives a whole new perspective!
I wonder who those two female prisoners were... isn't it an amazing thought that someday we will meet them?
My first thought after reading this was, "wow we sure proved him wrong!" and in essence this is true. Christianity has thrived and is a main religion today.
But I was thinking about it, I'm wondering, is it still possible today to "cure" the dreadful disease of Christianity??
Is it possible that maybe the torture and "capital punishment" hasn't been working, so perhaps their is a better way of ending this "depraved and excessive superstition"??
Maybe by a show of acceptance, mixed with a healthy dose of tolerance and "religious freedom" we can rip the heart right out Christianity and change it into a mundane, "safe" religion reserved for Sunday only.
How contagious is our Christianity?
How many numbers are "endangered" by us?????
Monday, February 25, 2008
Musings
So basically sometimes I do math. (sometimes.) And sometimes my brain gets so full of random different things that something has to kind of spill out before I can continue whatever I was doing. (like math) And so sometimes I write stuff like this. Sometimes. See what you think. Helpful criticism is also always appreciated. (sometimes) Just so you know.
Sometimes
I wonder why
Things fit so perfectly
Like a puzzle
With one piece missing.
Sometimes I wonder
Will we ever be happy?
.........
Why do you
put up with us
God?
..........
Sometimes I wonder
If a flower knows
What it's here for.
....To look pretty?
Sometimes I wonder
Can this go anywhere
Safe?
And sometimes I wonder
Should it?
and Sometimes
I wonder why
Me anyway?
I wonder why
Things fit so perfectly
Like a puzzle
With one piece missing.
Sometimes I wonder
Will we ever be happy?
.........
Why do you
put up with us
God?
..........
Sometimes I wonder
If a flower knows
What it's here for.
....To look pretty?
Sometimes I wonder
Can this go anywhere
Safe?
And sometimes I wonder
Should it?
and Sometimes
I wonder why
Me anyway?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Wow
Malachi 3:3
says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for
her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over
the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver,
one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where
the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there
in front of the fire the whole time.
The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding
the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire
time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined? He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God
has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His
image in you.
says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for
her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over
the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver,
one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where
the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there
in front of the fire the whole time.
The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding
the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire
time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined? He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God
has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His
image in you.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Blink (written after seeing the aftermath of a car accident)
What did you think
When you woke up this morning
What were your plans
For this day bright and new
A tiny speck
On the world as it's turning
Yet somehow you thought
It revolved around you.
Then you blinked
Turned around
All you knew was upside down
Like the glass
Lying shattered on the ground
What's prestige?
What is power?
What is money now?
As the lifeblood slowly fades
From your face
The disguise is wearing thin
The mask is ripped away
Who were you?
Who was this man?
You convinced yourself to be
What were the lies?
The empty life
That you simply couldn't see
Until you blinked
Turned around
All you knew was upside down
Like the glass
lying shattered on the ground
What is prayer?
What is Jesus?
What's salvation now?
It's too late.
When you woke up this morning
What were your plans
For this day bright and new
A tiny speck
On the world as it's turning
Yet somehow you thought
It revolved around you.
Then you blinked
Turned around
All you knew was upside down
Like the glass
Lying shattered on the ground
What's prestige?
What is power?
What is money now?
As the lifeblood slowly fades
From your face
The disguise is wearing thin
The mask is ripped away
Who were you?
Who was this man?
You convinced yourself to be
What were the lies?
The empty life
That you simply couldn't see
Until you blinked
Turned around
All you knew was upside down
Like the glass
lying shattered on the ground
What is prayer?
What is Jesus?
What's salvation now?
It's too late.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Randomness
Ok, so I was going through some files on my laptop and this was kind of interesting... sometimes when I am trying to write essays I get sort of a brain-fart type thing and something like this comes out:
from the deserts of ardgrid at the north end of marsupial regime, the order of the juplingals remains firm.
the day is hot and all around are feeling the sweat of their bodies sticking to the clothes on their forehead.
by why, say, am I writing this? i must confess, my friend, that when the snow is falling, the fireplace is cosy, and there are essays to write, one has no better occupation at all then spewing forth nonsense from the depths of one's soul.
but minutes are precious, they say, and i know in my heart that once they are gone they are irretrievable, so i suppose at this moment the "history value and preservation of a family" is much more important then the order of the juplingals. Unfortunately for them, as they must now remain forever in the recesses of my imagination, to wilt in the hot summer sun until there is nothing left of them but a small slimy puddle in the back of my brain.
from the deserts of ardgrid at the north end of marsupial regime, the order of the juplingals remains firm.
the day is hot and all around are feeling the sweat of their bodies sticking to the clothes on their forehead.
by why, say, am I writing this? i must confess, my friend, that when the snow is falling, the fireplace is cosy, and there are essays to write, one has no better occupation at all then spewing forth nonsense from the depths of one's soul.
but minutes are precious, they say, and i know in my heart that once they are gone they are irretrievable, so i suppose at this moment the "history value and preservation of a family" is much more important then the order of the juplingals. Unfortunately for them, as they must now remain forever in the recesses of my imagination, to wilt in the hot summer sun until there is nothing left of them but a small slimy puddle in the back of my brain.
Monday, January 28, 2008
A quick post
I wrote this a couple months ago when there wasn't anything to do at work.. I would call it Prodigal, but that's way too Cliche, so you can call it whatever you'd like. My Mom didn't think it made any sense but I thought I'd post it anyway to see if ya'll could figure it out. :-)
Take me
As I am
Where I stand
Hold on.
Running
Afraid to see
That I am free
Let me go.
Chase me
Take my hand
Help me stand
Bring me home.
As I am
Where I stand
Hold on.
Running
Afraid to see
That I am free
Let me go.
Chase me
Take my hand
Help me stand
Bring me home.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Quote of the day
"When I grow up I am going to get a season's pass to Pizza Pizza!"
Courtesy of Mark William Luimes
Too much snowboarding or what?
By the time he grows up they might even sell seasons passes to pizza pizza!
:-P
Monday, January 21, 2008
To all my devoted fans... smrk
Hello everybody. Just so you know you are still allowed to read and comment on this post despite it's title. :-) I am sort of curious if anyone ever reads this blog, seeing as I haven't been the most faithful in keeping it up. You see, I have this problem of doing amazingly exciting things so often I don't have enough time to post on them! Which I consider quite a pleasant problem really.
I have been snowboarding 3 times so far this year... emphasis on so far. :-) (I am going again tomorrow, and then next week to Mt. Tremblant!!!)
They were all great days, though some had *herm* better conditions than others. I must say I have never been snowboarding completely soaked through on hills so icy and bumpy that it felt like my brain was rattling around in my head... :-) But I thoroughly enjoyed that day, and all the others... January 21st was one of the best snowboarding days ever. I missed going with the whole group of us like last year... but the people I went with are awesome and we had a great time.
But anyway, this past weekend I had a sweet 16th birthday party with Ashley and Janelle. I think it was probably the best turnout I've ever had to a get together. It was a great night... I had so much fun. The next day was amazing too... we went to the Vrooms and played capture th flag, told "stories" by the campfire and hung out and sang inside. By the way, I love singing!!!!!
I think it is the greatest thing that I have friends who don't think it's stupid to sing and that we can stand together and sing our hearts out in praise. Those are the times when you can feel God so close... right with you in the room... and know He is pleased.
I know I don't say it often enough, but I really appreciate my family and friends in a huge way. You've probably all heard me say it but going on a mission's trip is the best way in the world to learn what an incredibly awesome and DIFFERENT life we have. It's so easy to complain... until you have a tiny glimpse of the reality of what so many people live with, even here in North America.
Have you ever really wondered why we were put in the family and country we are? Why God has given us this amazing childhood and growing up surrounded by freedom and family and friends who love and desire to serve Him?
I think He is going to do something amazing with us.
I have been snowboarding 3 times so far this year... emphasis on so far. :-) (I am going again tomorrow, and then next week to Mt. Tremblant!!!)
They were all great days, though some had *herm* better conditions than others. I must say I have never been snowboarding completely soaked through on hills so icy and bumpy that it felt like my brain was rattling around in my head... :-) But I thoroughly enjoyed that day, and all the others... January 21st was one of the best snowboarding days ever. I missed going with the whole group of us like last year... but the people I went with are awesome and we had a great time.
But anyway, this past weekend I had a sweet 16th birthday party with Ashley and Janelle. I think it was probably the best turnout I've ever had to a get together. It was a great night... I had so much fun. The next day was amazing too... we went to the Vrooms and played capture th flag, told "stories" by the campfire and hung out and sang inside. By the way, I love singing!!!!!
I think it is the greatest thing that I have friends who don't think it's stupid to sing and that we can stand together and sing our hearts out in praise. Those are the times when you can feel God so close... right with you in the room... and know He is pleased.
I know I don't say it often enough, but I really appreciate my family and friends in a huge way. You've probably all heard me say it but going on a mission's trip is the best way in the world to learn what an incredibly awesome and DIFFERENT life we have. It's so easy to complain... until you have a tiny glimpse of the reality of what so many people live with, even here in North America.
Have you ever really wondered why we were put in the family and country we are? Why God has given us this amazing childhood and growing up surrounded by freedom and family and friends who love and desire to serve Him?
I think He is going to do something amazing with us.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
~Extreme Willingness~
"My dress" the young girl murmured, her words slurred through swollen lips. "Please give me my dress. I want to hold it. "
The Christians surrounding the girl's bed were sad. Because of her extensive internal injuries, doctors could do nothing for her. Weeks ago, the believers had bought her a while dress to celebrate her new life and pure heart in Christ Jesus.
Her father had not been pleased with his daughter's decision to follow Christ. one night, in a drunken rage, he attacked his daughter, beating and kicking her. He left he lying in the muddy street to dies.
When she did not show up for church, her Christian friends went looking for her. They found the girl unconscious, lying in a heap, her formerly snow white dress now covered in blood and mud. She was brought to a doctor, but her injuries were severe.
Now she was asking for her dress.
"The dress is ruined," her friends told her. They tried to talk her out of it, thinking that seeing the ruined dress would break down the girl's spirit. With the simple faith of a ten-year-old, she whispered, "Please, I want to show the dress to Jesus. He was willing to bleed for me. I just want Jesus to know that I was willing to bleed for him."
Shortly afterwards, the young girl died.
God is not interesting in our ability. We may be talented. Resourceful. Wealthy. Professional, popular, and punctual. Offering our carious abilities in God's service, however, is nothing like offering our availability. Our abilities are about ourselves--- we can see ourselves doing this or that for God. in contrast, our availability is about God alone--- we can only imagine how God will use us in His service. Being available to god means being willing to obey no matter what the cost. God wants our willingness to serve him regardless of our specific abilities. How do we become so willing? that, too, is God's gift. He gives us the "want to"--- the will or desire to be available to him.
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so
Much seek to be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is pardoning that we are pardoned.
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
St. Francis of Assisi.
(All of this is taken out of Extreme devotion-- a book I highly recommend.)
The Christians surrounding the girl's bed were sad. Because of her extensive internal injuries, doctors could do nothing for her. Weeks ago, the believers had bought her a while dress to celebrate her new life and pure heart in Christ Jesus.
Her father had not been pleased with his daughter's decision to follow Christ. one night, in a drunken rage, he attacked his daughter, beating and kicking her. He left he lying in the muddy street to dies.
When she did not show up for church, her Christian friends went looking for her. They found the girl unconscious, lying in a heap, her formerly snow white dress now covered in blood and mud. She was brought to a doctor, but her injuries were severe.
Now she was asking for her dress.
"The dress is ruined," her friends told her. They tried to talk her out of it, thinking that seeing the ruined dress would break down the girl's spirit. With the simple faith of a ten-year-old, she whispered, "Please, I want to show the dress to Jesus. He was willing to bleed for me. I just want Jesus to know that I was willing to bleed for him."
Shortly afterwards, the young girl died.
God is not interesting in our ability. We may be talented. Resourceful. Wealthy. Professional, popular, and punctual. Offering our carious abilities in God's service, however, is nothing like offering our availability. Our abilities are about ourselves--- we can see ourselves doing this or that for God. in contrast, our availability is about God alone--- we can only imagine how God will use us in His service. Being available to god means being willing to obey no matter what the cost. God wants our willingness to serve him regardless of our specific abilities. How do we become so willing? that, too, is God's gift. He gives us the "want to"--- the will or desire to be available to him.
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so
Much seek to be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is pardoning that we are pardoned.
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
St. Francis of Assisi.
(All of this is taken out of Extreme devotion-- a book I highly recommend.)
Monday, November 26, 2007
Story...
Hello,
I know Bethany posted this on her blog quite a while ago but I was just watching the video again and I thought I'd share it here, so those of you who haven't watched it can see it, and those of you have can see it again!
If you have time, please read it and watch the movie, it's an amazing story. Makes me teary-eyed every time I see it.
[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]
I know Bethany posted this on her blog quite a while ago but I was just watching the video again and I thought I'd share it here, so those of you who haven't watched it can see it, and those of you have can see it again!
If you have time, please read it and watch the movie, it's an amazing story. Makes me teary-eyed every time I see it.
[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]
I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.
But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''
But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''
"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''
Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''
That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''
How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.
``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.
``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''
Check out the movie at the site: http://cjcphoto.com/can/
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Minutes.
Their life is bright
their newlywed.
They're holding hands,
not looking ahead.
Some guy's been drinking,
he's on his way home,
and one minute later,
She's all alone.
An ordinary minute,
of an ordinary day.
An ordinary minivan,
that took his life away.
And if she could do it over,
She'd do it just the same,
and cherish every minute
because a minute changed
her life.
Living with the grief,
he can't drink away the pain.
Every time he closed his eyes,
he lived it all again.
He's running from a shadow,
of the man he'll never be.
He finally makes a choice,
it's the only way he sees.
and in an ordinary minute,
of an ordinary day,
with no one there to give him hope,
he took his life away.
And if he could do it over,
it would not turn out this way...
So cherish every minute,
because the minutes change
your life.
Where are your minutes going?
This is a question I have to ask myself, I'm afraid I spend more minutes staring at the wall then I do actually doing something really worthwhile.
I think we underestimate the power of a moment.
their newlywed.
They're holding hands,
not looking ahead.
Some guy's been drinking,
he's on his way home,
and one minute later,
She's all alone.
An ordinary minute,
of an ordinary day.
An ordinary minivan,
that took his life away.
And if she could do it over,
She'd do it just the same,
and cherish every minute
because a minute changed
her life.
Living with the grief,
he can't drink away the pain.
Every time he closed his eyes,
he lived it all again.
He's running from a shadow,
of the man he'll never be.
He finally makes a choice,
it's the only way he sees.
and in an ordinary minute,
of an ordinary day,
with no one there to give him hope,
he took his life away.
And if he could do it over,
it would not turn out this way...
So cherish every minute,
because the minutes change
your life.
Where are your minutes going?
This is a question I have to ask myself, I'm afraid I spend more minutes staring at the wall then I do actually doing something really worthwhile.
I think we underestimate the power of a moment.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Turning over a new leaf.... page..... window...... thing
Hello everyone!
Suffice it to say that I have been recruited to rejoin the reincarnation of blogging. I would like to mention that I never actually stopped blogging, although perhaps my records record a rather poor recording.
I shall promise to strive valiantly in the health and well being of this newly awakened monster, and keep it well fed.
My only request is that you, my beloved readers, inspire and encourage me with oodles of comments and thus aid me in this never ending quest.
That is all for now.
Suffice it to say that I have been recruited to rejoin the reincarnation of blogging. I would like to mention that I never actually stopped blogging, although perhaps my records record a rather poor recording.
I shall promise to strive valiantly in the health and well being of this newly awakened monster, and keep it well fed.
My only request is that you, my beloved readers, inspire and encourage me with oodles of comments and thus aid me in this never ending quest.
That is all for now.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Hello
Hey everybody... who actually still checks this.... here's the post I promised.
Actually, I was working on doing a nice long picture post for ya'll of my summer, but I can't come back on here until I'm caught up on school so you might have to wait a while. I will do it though.
So I'll just leave you with this:
You may never have to face the decision of whether or not you will die for your faith, but every day you face the decision of whether or not you will live for your faith.
I forget who wrote it.
Actually, I was working on doing a nice long picture post for ya'll of my summer, but I can't come back on here until I'm caught up on school so you might have to wait a while. I will do it though.
So I'll just leave you with this:
You may never have to face the decision of whether or not you will die for your faith, but every day you face the decision of whether or not you will live for your faith.
I forget who wrote it.
Monday, July 23, 2007
hello and goodbye
Hey, I have been requested to make a post before I leave on vacation.
I must apologize to all my faithful blog-readers for the rather poor showing lately... I have been really busy, and, well, it's summertime. :-) Hopefully when school starts again it will get a little better, but this summer I've been gone pretty much as long as I've been home!
So anyway, I'm off to Algonquin park and to the cottage, so I'll talk to you all in a couple weeks.
Have an awesome summer!
Your friend and sister in Christ,
Heidi <><
I must apologize to all my faithful blog-readers for the rather poor showing lately... I have been really busy, and, well, it's summertime. :-) Hopefully when school starts again it will get a little better, but this summer I've been gone pretty much as long as I've been home!
So anyway, I'm off to Algonquin park and to the cottage, so I'll talk to you all in a couple weeks.
Have an awesome summer!
Your friend and sister in Christ,
Heidi <><
Saturday, June 16, 2007
South Dakota update...
Sorry I haven't updated anymore... I haven't even written anything down I've been so busy... today was saturday so we all had abreak and that was pretty awesome. Tomorrow we're going to the badlands! Like, the real badlands, not the ontario badlands. :-)
I really don't know where to start... there are so many things I could say, so many stories I could tell. I'm going to talk about the team first for a while.
The team here is awesome. I knew people for 3 days and felt like I'd known them forever. Everyone shares with eachother, has a common goal that unites us, and of course the obvoius we are all spending 2 weeks together together so it's pretty hard not to get to know people. :-)
The thing I think brings us together the most though is prayer. Every morning at 9 we have at team meeting where we sing some songs, get updates on everything, and pray. Today we prayed for 45 minutes... it didn't feel like 45 minutes at all, everyone just shared what was on their heart and honestly we could have prayed for another hour and not felt it. Andrew and Sean were joking that they could have went to Macdonalds and come back and everyone would still be praying. But there is so much to pray about...
These kids have just broken my heart. They are absolutely adorable, and love nothing better than to hug you... but their lives are so incredibly messed up. I'm at site 1 so what I have to say is about the younger kids, but there are some pretty incredible stories about the older ones too.
Just to give you a little taste of what these kids lives are like, I had two little kids the first 2 days, they were twins and their names were Jaydin and Junior. Jaydin just loved me and she was one of the cutest little girls I've met. She doesn't come anymore, because she keeps getting beat up by a bunch of other girls a little older than she is. This is a 5 year-old I'm talking about! She is living a life of fear! But the saddest thing is that I know the girls who beat her up and I love them as much as I love her! One of them, Shelby, is going for an open heart surgery on Monday... her fourth one. She is 7.
Joshua is probably one of my favorite kids at vbs. He is totally attatched to Kramer- a.k.a Andrew Williams, and I'll never forget it, we were having a water balloon fight and a bunch of the guys grabbed Kramer and carried him over to the little kids so they could all throw water balloons at him, and then Josh comes running up and throws himself infront of Andrew, trying to protect him... he did it twice... I just pray so hard that he could have that same devotion to Christ.
Joshua's Dad is in jail. His mom is moving away, and she doesn't love him, so she is leaving him behind to live with his Aunt.
These kids are Okreeks future... they want so badly to believe but there are so many things holding them back.. peer pressure, their parents, the Sundance religion that they follow... please pray that God will claim these kids, all of them, and tell Satan he can't have them!
Sorry this is so sporadic I'm just saying random things that come to my mind, and honestly I have so many more things I could say, I've hardly gotten started, but none of them would come anywhere near experiencing this, being with these kids, getting close to them, seeing the hurt and depression and fear on their faces, and then watching some of those same faces just light up when we sing, or when Sean plays with them, or they beat up Brian... :-)
Just keep praying. Please keep praying. I don't think I've ever felt the power of prayer as much as I have this week... Mrs. Dawn Hiesler, our amazing cook and an amazing lady was feeling really really sick one morning, and we prayed so hard for her in team meeting, and by the end f it she felt way better, and she was almost completely well by that night! You can try and explain it any way you want but that was God's hand.
Pray for our team too, 2 weeks is a long time to spend together, and 9 people is a lot to share the same shower. :-) (that's just our room, we have the big suite) Pray for our unity, help us not to get frusterated with eachother, and pray for us to be quieter cuz we have been having complaints since people got home really late some nights and then weren't very quiet.
And most of all pray for the round on which our seeds are being planted. We have such an amazing message to share with these people!
Love you all a lot and here's a hug for you. (( ))
Heidi
I really don't know where to start... there are so many things I could say, so many stories I could tell. I'm going to talk about the team first for a while.
The team here is awesome. I knew people for 3 days and felt like I'd known them forever. Everyone shares with eachother, has a common goal that unites us, and of course the obvoius we are all spending 2 weeks together together so it's pretty hard not to get to know people. :-)
The thing I think brings us together the most though is prayer. Every morning at 9 we have at team meeting where we sing some songs, get updates on everything, and pray. Today we prayed for 45 minutes... it didn't feel like 45 minutes at all, everyone just shared what was on their heart and honestly we could have prayed for another hour and not felt it. Andrew and Sean were joking that they could have went to Macdonalds and come back and everyone would still be praying. But there is so much to pray about...
These kids have just broken my heart. They are absolutely adorable, and love nothing better than to hug you... but their lives are so incredibly messed up. I'm at site 1 so what I have to say is about the younger kids, but there are some pretty incredible stories about the older ones too.
Just to give you a little taste of what these kids lives are like, I had two little kids the first 2 days, they were twins and their names were Jaydin and Junior. Jaydin just loved me and she was one of the cutest little girls I've met. She doesn't come anymore, because she keeps getting beat up by a bunch of other girls a little older than she is. This is a 5 year-old I'm talking about! She is living a life of fear! But the saddest thing is that I know the girls who beat her up and I love them as much as I love her! One of them, Shelby, is going for an open heart surgery on Monday... her fourth one. She is 7.
Joshua is probably one of my favorite kids at vbs. He is totally attatched to Kramer- a.k.a Andrew Williams, and I'll never forget it, we were having a water balloon fight and a bunch of the guys grabbed Kramer and carried him over to the little kids so they could all throw water balloons at him, and then Josh comes running up and throws himself infront of Andrew, trying to protect him... he did it twice... I just pray so hard that he could have that same devotion to Christ.
Joshua's Dad is in jail. His mom is moving away, and she doesn't love him, so she is leaving him behind to live with his Aunt.
These kids are Okreeks future... they want so badly to believe but there are so many things holding them back.. peer pressure, their parents, the Sundance religion that they follow... please pray that God will claim these kids, all of them, and tell Satan he can't have them!
Sorry this is so sporadic I'm just saying random things that come to my mind, and honestly I have so many more things I could say, I've hardly gotten started, but none of them would come anywhere near experiencing this, being with these kids, getting close to them, seeing the hurt and depression and fear on their faces, and then watching some of those same faces just light up when we sing, or when Sean plays with them, or they beat up Brian... :-)
Just keep praying. Please keep praying. I don't think I've ever felt the power of prayer as much as I have this week... Mrs. Dawn Hiesler, our amazing cook and an amazing lady was feeling really really sick one morning, and we prayed so hard for her in team meeting, and by the end f it she felt way better, and she was almost completely well by that night! You can try and explain it any way you want but that was God's hand.
Pray for our team too, 2 weeks is a long time to spend together, and 9 people is a lot to share the same shower. :-) (that's just our room, we have the big suite) Pray for our unity, help us not to get frusterated with eachother, and pray for us to be quieter cuz we have been having complaints since people got home really late some nights and then weren't very quiet.
And most of all pray for the round on which our seeds are being planted. We have such an amazing message to share with these people!
Love you all a lot and here's a hug for you. (( ))
Heidi
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
South Dakota!
Yes! We do have a computer out here! But don't expect too many updates cuz I'm really busy and there are about 34 of us.. :-)
I've been keeping a journal so I'm gonn post what I have so far if I have time to write it all out, we have to go to the reservation at 12:10.
Friday June 8 10:10
WE had a good yearend program, said a million goodbyes, and we are on our way to South Dakota! I love dirving at night... I love the lights, and watching the sky turn from blue to turqious to grey, and finally to black. I found out that with a little pusing and shoving I can fit my feet in the tiny space inder the middle front seat and stretch! w00t! There are 6 of us in this car and it's really squished, but not unbearable. I am now going to attempt to get some sleep.
2:00 (AM)
We crossed the border at around 12:30 with no problems! The stars are gorgeous but I ahven' gotten much sleep.
5:30 (American time)
We are parked beside a cornfield watching the sun come up and waiting while Melany calls the retreat center to get directions on how to get there! Exciting... breakfast is calling me... so is my toothbrush. :-S I think I got around 3 1/2 hours of sleep... so I'll survive anyway.
10:30 We're sitting at a rest stop on the second leg of our journey with the whole team and much more leg room. :-) There are 12 of us in the van... 11 girls and Andrew. :-) I had many good intentions of doing a pile of history, but so far I've read part of a chapter and studied for a test, then found out I'd already taken it. Grr...
It's a beautiful day, I smell really bad, and it feels like lunchtime!
12:20
We had a bit of car troubles, but it was just the fuel pump has probl;ems so it needs to be kept pretty full. But we stopped and I got a peanut fudge iced cream... mmmm... and then Lee-bee and I split a hamburger. In the car. That was an adventure. The music is playing, the wind is blowing, and life is pertty awesome. But I wish Jessica was here with us! :-( (Glad to hear you got your job Jess!)
Sunday June 10 8:30 (AM)
We got to South Dakota last night around 10... the scenery around here is incredible! We stopped by a river surrounded by these awesome hills, but our camera was still packed... Scott got some awesome pictures though. The hotel is very nice. Today really does not feel like Sunday, and I really realy don't like it. there is no church here in Winner ~ Where the West Begins~ a.k.a. Where Nowhere begins... So we will be having a service of our own up in the biggest suite, which is also the room I'm staying in. Scott is going to be speaking for us so I'm praying for him. It still doesn't feel quite right to be out here in my shorts and T-shirt though... and I'm really really gonn amiss my Dad's preaching. Not to mention I seriouisly doubt we're gonna have chicken soup for lunch! :-D But God is here without these people, and He's in my heart, and I guess I can have Sunday without chiken soup. :-)
It's Jacobs 16 birthday today... I really hope it's a special day for him! We are gonna do our part though... Yesterday on "the sly" or the not-quite-so-sly we bought him a cake and a helium balloon and some pop and stuff so we're gonna throw a little party.
11:22 pm
today went well. Everyone went out for lunch so that's a bit awkward, but they were all ok with Liz Jay and I staing at the hotel and the Williams stayed with us. Scott's "sermon" was really good. We sat around and jammed for awhil so that was cool... some people here are really really talented! I'm looking forward to tomorrow, finding out what it's all gonna be like. We had a pretty awesome lightning display... what an awesome God.
Monday June 11 10:30 pm
Today was good... we went to the resercation for the first time. It wasn't quite a normal day there because the kids were checking and styff so ti wasn't the regular schedule, plus I went shopping for groceries and stuff. There weren't a lot of kids, which typical for a first day. So I didn't have a group... I'm supposed to be the leader of a small group of like 3-4 year-olds.
I guess I should give a bit of an overview of our schedule. 9:00 we have team meeting which are prayer and worship times as well as updates. I really love the prayer times we have together. Then we split up in to devotional small group, I'm in Andrew's group and so far it's been really good. The after that is pretty much whatever needs to get done before we go, then lunch, then we go. Like I said, we haven't getten into our schedule there yet, but the idea is skits, games, message, small group time, then prayer, craft and snack time. Everything is really well organized. After that the team has supper at the communtiy center and then goes and hangs out with the kids. We come home around 9 and then hang out and maybe go for ice cream or something. Thing sare really well planned and structured, I can tell they've done this a lot of time before. There are a lot of rules, but they are reasonable, and really help keep things together. I'm really tired but there's like 2 people ahead of me for the shower so it will be awhile... that's what happens when you have 9 girls in the same room. :-P We did some more jamming too.. I really wish I'd brought my violin because then I could actually play something... I am learning some more guitar though. I don't know how I'm gonna survive 2 week without the piano... I miss it so much!
Well that's all I have right now.. congratulations if you actually read the whole thing!! :-)
Hope everyone's doing great out there... I miss you all and please keep praying for us here and for the kids at Okreek. We are doing an awesome thing there.
Love you all!
Heidi <><
I've been keeping a journal so I'm gonn post what I have so far if I have time to write it all out, we have to go to the reservation at 12:10.
Friday June 8 10:10
WE had a good yearend program, said a million goodbyes, and we are on our way to South Dakota! I love dirving at night... I love the lights, and watching the sky turn from blue to turqious to grey, and finally to black. I found out that with a little pusing and shoving I can fit my feet in the tiny space inder the middle front seat and stretch! w00t! There are 6 of us in this car and it's really squished, but not unbearable. I am now going to attempt to get some sleep.
2:00 (AM)
We crossed the border at around 12:30 with no problems! The stars are gorgeous but I ahven' gotten much sleep.
5:30 (American time)
We are parked beside a cornfield watching the sun come up and waiting while Melany calls the retreat center to get directions on how to get there! Exciting... breakfast is calling me... so is my toothbrush. :-S I think I got around 3 1/2 hours of sleep... so I'll survive anyway.
10:30 We're sitting at a rest stop on the second leg of our journey with the whole team and much more leg room. :-) There are 12 of us in the van... 11 girls and Andrew. :-) I had many good intentions of doing a pile of history, but so far I've read part of a chapter and studied for a test, then found out I'd already taken it. Grr...
It's a beautiful day, I smell really bad, and it feels like lunchtime!
12:20
We had a bit of car troubles, but it was just the fuel pump has probl;ems so it needs to be kept pretty full. But we stopped and I got a peanut fudge iced cream... mmmm... and then Lee-bee and I split a hamburger. In the car. That was an adventure. The music is playing, the wind is blowing, and life is pertty awesome. But I wish Jessica was here with us! :-( (Glad to hear you got your job Jess!)
Sunday June 10 8:30 (AM)
We got to South Dakota last night around 10... the scenery around here is incredible! We stopped by a river surrounded by these awesome hills, but our camera was still packed... Scott got some awesome pictures though. The hotel is very nice. Today really does not feel like Sunday, and I really realy don't like it. there is no church here in Winner ~ Where the West Begins~ a.k.a. Where Nowhere begins... So we will be having a service of our own up in the biggest suite, which is also the room I'm staying in. Scott is going to be speaking for us so I'm praying for him. It still doesn't feel quite right to be out here in my shorts and T-shirt though... and I'm really really gonn amiss my Dad's preaching. Not to mention I seriouisly doubt we're gonna have chicken soup for lunch! :-D But God is here without these people, and He's in my heart, and I guess I can have Sunday without chiken soup. :-)
It's Jacobs 16 birthday today... I really hope it's a special day for him! We are gonna do our part though... Yesterday on "the sly" or the not-quite-so-sly we bought him a cake and a helium balloon and some pop and stuff so we're gonna throw a little party.
11:22 pm
today went well. Everyone went out for lunch so that's a bit awkward, but they were all ok with Liz Jay and I staing at the hotel and the Williams stayed with us. Scott's "sermon" was really good. We sat around and jammed for awhil so that was cool... some people here are really really talented! I'm looking forward to tomorrow, finding out what it's all gonna be like. We had a pretty awesome lightning display... what an awesome God.
Monday June 11 10:30 pm
Today was good... we went to the resercation for the first time. It wasn't quite a normal day there because the kids were checking and styff so ti wasn't the regular schedule, plus I went shopping for groceries and stuff. There weren't a lot of kids, which typical for a first day. So I didn't have a group... I'm supposed to be the leader of a small group of like 3-4 year-olds.
I guess I should give a bit of an overview of our schedule. 9:00 we have team meeting which are prayer and worship times as well as updates. I really love the prayer times we have together. Then we split up in to devotional small group, I'm in Andrew's group and so far it's been really good. The after that is pretty much whatever needs to get done before we go, then lunch, then we go. Like I said, we haven't getten into our schedule there yet, but the idea is skits, games, message, small group time, then prayer, craft and snack time. Everything is really well organized. After that the team has supper at the communtiy center and then goes and hangs out with the kids. We come home around 9 and then hang out and maybe go for ice cream or something. Thing sare really well planned and structured, I can tell they've done this a lot of time before. There are a lot of rules, but they are reasonable, and really help keep things together. I'm really tired but there's like 2 people ahead of me for the shower so it will be awhile... that's what happens when you have 9 girls in the same room. :-P We did some more jamming too.. I really wish I'd brought my violin because then I could actually play something... I am learning some more guitar though. I don't know how I'm gonna survive 2 week without the piano... I miss it so much!
Well that's all I have right now.. congratulations if you actually read the whole thing!! :-)
Hope everyone's doing great out there... I miss you all and please keep praying for us here and for the kids at Okreek. We are doing an awesome thing there.
Love you all!
Heidi <><
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
The Spanish Brothers:
Announcing... THE SPANISH BROTHERS!
Drama...
Adventure!
Romance...
Come join us for a peek into the lives of 15th century Spaniards...
Witness the journey of two brothers and the lives they come in contact with, as they are forced to choose between Roman Catholicism, and Christianity... the cost of which is pain,
Torture and imprisonment,
And for many, ultimately Death.
Ok, so these pictures aren't from the actual play, and the play is kind of over already, but it gives you a little taste of it... and I think Janelle got some of the real thing which she will hopefully post.
Drama...
Adventure!
Romance...
Come join us for a peek into the lives of 15th century Spaniards...
Witness the journey of two brothers and the lives they come in contact with, as they are forced to choose between Roman Catholicism, and Christianity... the cost of which is pain,
Torture and imprisonment,
And for many, ultimately Death.
Ok, so these pictures aren't from the actual play, and the play is kind of over already, but it gives you a little taste of it... and I think Janelle got some of the real thing which she will hopefully post.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
AOC
Ok.... after an incredible weekend I'm back to normal life again... blegch.
I posted all my pics on this link so anyone who want to can see them and like 600 more...
http://allontariochoir2007.blogspot.com/
Unfortunatly I didn't get any of my group... go lime green! And our devos were awesome.... everything was awesome! It was just so incredible to meet like 90 people you didn't know at all, and just feel this bond between you all, because you're all Christian, homeschooled, and musical! Though after hearing some of those people I didn't feel very musical... lol
Anyway... you can check that out... and comment here. :-)
Monday, April 23, 2007
Ben's Party!
Hey!
Ben's 17th party was this past saturday... Awesome day! Here's him with his crybaby and kutless book we got him, once I finally got a picture that actually had his face on it... grrrr
The weather was amazing! We played volleyball for awhile after we got there, and then went on a hike, which I didn't get any pics of. It was great, except for all the swampy areas... and my feet (as well as some others I think) got kind of cut, not to mention filthy... :-)
The next few pictures speak for themselves... wow. Awesome job Mrs. Schouwstra!!
For some reason all the guys decided to do some push-ups for the benefit of all us girls... hehe
Except Ben it seems... lol
More volleyball after supper... exciting games eh?
Hmmm... I wonder what that yellow object flying through the air might be...
The awesome picture I got of Andrew's jump-overhand... (or is there a better name for it??)
And of course... tackle football!!!!!!
"Who's idea was this anyway?? probably that guy in the red shirt with diesel on it."
Need I say anymore? :-) Awesome times...
Ben's 17th party was this past saturday... Awesome day! Here's him with his crybaby and kutless book we got him, once I finally got a picture that actually had his face on it... grrrr
The weather was amazing! We played volleyball for awhile after we got there, and then went on a hike, which I didn't get any pics of. It was great, except for all the swampy areas... and my feet (as well as some others I think) got kind of cut, not to mention filthy... :-)
The next few pictures speak for themselves... wow. Awesome job Mrs. Schouwstra!!
For some reason all the guys decided to do some push-ups for the benefit of all us girls... hehe
Except Ben it seems... lol
More volleyball after supper... exciting games eh?
Hmmm... I wonder what that yellow object flying through the air might be...
The awesome picture I got of Andrew's jump-overhand... (or is there a better name for it??)
And of course... tackle football!!!!!!
"Who's idea was this anyway?? probably that guy in the red shirt with diesel on it."
Need I say anymore? :-) Awesome times...
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
some of you have seen this but I thought it was pretty funny
Ways to Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity:
1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.
3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.
4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."
5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone Has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Smuggling Diamonds"
7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."
8. Don't use any punctuation
9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.
10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."
12. Sing Along At The Opera.
13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme?
14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play Tropical Sounds All Day.
15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.
16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.
17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"
18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking
lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"
19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, "Due To The Economy, We
Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."
20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of
Insanity.......Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
A thought...
Here I am
on the shore
write my name
in the sand
make my mark
on this world
that will forever stand
The tide comes in
wave by wave
grain by grain
it's all erased
and there's nothing left to see
because what I used to be
was written in the sand.
One hundred people came before
to write their stories here
to make a footprint on the shore
and leave a legacy
but as the sands of time
go shifting by
they are one
by one
Forgotten
on the shore
write my name
in the sand
make my mark
on this world
that will forever stand
The tide comes in
wave by wave
grain by grain
it's all erased
and there's nothing left to see
because what I used to be
was written in the sand.
One hundred people came before
to write their stories here
to make a footprint on the shore
and leave a legacy
but as the sands of time
go shifting by
they are one
by one
Forgotten
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Weekend!
Alright, I have been requested to post on this past weekend, so I'll try and do it without being too long and boring...
Friday night we hung out and James and Justin's place, went quadding, (!!!!!) watched an old western movie, until Melissa came and picked us up. I won't say too much about that night except that it's amazing what you can talk about when hyper/tired! I learned some pretty good lessons that weekend, like the fact that Janelle kicks with her legs, "your eye is hitting my hair" not to mention all kinds of amazing noises... lol
Saturday Justin James and Marie came over and we hung out and jammed together, went GTing/snowball fighting and then walked into town for a very late lunch/snack... hopefully someone will post pictures of the food cuz it was amazing! And Melissa, you really shouldn't belch in public like that... :-D
Pizza that night was really good... especially Melissa's piece eh Melissa? :-D It was homemade and me and James and Melissa stuck bananas in one piece... for Janelle. :-) But I guess cheese whiz and bananas is just too much eh James? :-D After that we watched POTC2, which for em was quite a dissapointment, cuz I really liked the first one... it was ok though. Sunday my family was at Melissa's place too cuz my Dad was preaching, and Albert came, and we pretty much just sat around in between services, unless I'm forgetting something, and then after second service James and Justin and Amanda came and we jammed some more and then went outside for a campfire! After which I watched a game of pool, then we all went to bed. We woke up the next morning at the insane hour of 5:15 and had an interesting time waking Mark and Albert up... my brother sleeps pretty soundly I must say! :-D and then we drove down to snow valley for the last (*tear*) snowboarding of the season.
It was a totally awesome day, the only bad thing being the fact that everyone seemed to be killing themselves... it was actually pretty amusing how we all fell, then rented helmets... and fell again! I did a pretty nasty one, it's very weird feeling looking up and seeing your board kind of over your head and thinking "I hope I don't break anything!" I pulled a ligament or something in my leg, but otherwise it was ok. And I was very glad for my helmet as I totally smoked the back of the head at the end of the day... So needless to say I'm a bit of an old lady right now! James and Justin also had some pretty nasty falls, I didn't see either of them but I saw James right afterward...hope your ankle feels better and I'm glad your competition wasn't today after all! :-D
Now unfortunatly I have to go back to real life, after having all my family over for the week before that... check out my facebook for some pictures.
Friday night we hung out and James and Justin's place, went quadding, (!!!!!) watched an old western movie, until Melissa came and picked us up. I won't say too much about that night except that it's amazing what you can talk about when hyper/tired! I learned some pretty good lessons that weekend, like the fact that Janelle kicks with her legs, "your eye is hitting my hair" not to mention all kinds of amazing noises... lol
Saturday Justin James and Marie came over and we hung out and jammed together, went GTing/snowball fighting and then walked into town for a very late lunch/snack... hopefully someone will post pictures of the food cuz it was amazing! And Melissa, you really shouldn't belch in public like that... :-D
Pizza that night was really good... especially Melissa's piece eh Melissa? :-D It was homemade and me and James and Melissa stuck bananas in one piece... for Janelle. :-) But I guess cheese whiz and bananas is just too much eh James? :-D After that we watched POTC2, which for em was quite a dissapointment, cuz I really liked the first one... it was ok though. Sunday my family was at Melissa's place too cuz my Dad was preaching, and Albert came, and we pretty much just sat around in between services, unless I'm forgetting something, and then after second service James and Justin and Amanda came and we jammed some more and then went outside for a campfire! After which I watched a game of pool, then we all went to bed. We woke up the next morning at the insane hour of 5:15 and had an interesting time waking Mark and Albert up... my brother sleeps pretty soundly I must say! :-D and then we drove down to snow valley for the last (*tear*) snowboarding of the season.
It was a totally awesome day, the only bad thing being the fact that everyone seemed to be killing themselves... it was actually pretty amusing how we all fell, then rented helmets... and fell again! I did a pretty nasty one, it's very weird feeling looking up and seeing your board kind of over your head and thinking "I hope I don't break anything!" I pulled a ligament or something in my leg, but otherwise it was ok. And I was very glad for my helmet as I totally smoked the back of the head at the end of the day... So needless to say I'm a bit of an old lady right now! James and Justin also had some pretty nasty falls, I didn't see either of them but I saw James right afterward...hope your ankle feels better and I'm glad your competition wasn't today after all! :-D
Now unfortunatly I have to go back to real life, after having all my family over for the week before that... check out my facebook for some pictures.
Anyway, that's about all I have to say, thanks so much guys for an amazing weekend and being amazing friends!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
yes I'm alive!
Hey everybody, sorry it's been so long, our computer went screwy and I've been really busy.
Since it's been so long I'll just give you guys a bunch of blurbs that sum up my life in the past few weeks.
> Blue mountain was incredible awesome and 100 times better than last year! :-P I was planning to use Yvonne's blades, but then Miriam found out how insanely expensive it is to rent blades there so she rented a board and I used it! The first lift up I was totally freaking out, I was so scared! (It was my second time ever going) Thankfully after a few runs I was really glad I did it and had an awesome day other than it being so freezing cold! Minus 30 with the windchill! But it was great, and the night before was great too, jamming with Janelle Miriam and James, then hanging out by the train and having a snowball fight... and another rather unpleasant incident that will remain private. :-)
> Janelle you throw an awesome party! :-) Highlights would be... walking under the stars and again the next morning, throwing snowballs... :-) Creaming all the guys in capture the flag, "Skating" and I think my favorite part was after we walked and everyone went inside to finish the movie except me Miriam Janelle James Ben and Jon stayed out and James relit the fire (and melted his snowpants... whoops! :-) and talked out there til like midnight! Good times...
> Yesterday was snow valley and was awesomely incredibly amazingly great! (enough adjectives do you think?? :-) I completed my goals of turning on a double black diamond without wiping out and hitting and landing some jumps, and was pretty proud of myself until I saw my little bro who went or his first time ever doing an indy and snowboarding at least as good as I do on my third time... I must admit I'm pretty proud of him. :-) It's in the family man... lol
James and me rode switch down easy does it, that was pretty fun, except when it gets slow you start wiping out a lot... but it's worth it. :-)
> Last night we went to Timmy's since Catechism was cancelled and that was pretty awesome lol I won't say any more about it cuz Janelle is gonna post on it. :-D Oh and Janelle and I landed an awesome 360 in the parking lot! hehe perfect end to the day.
>I am very happy right now because I spilt a cup of water on my laptop last week, and I thought for sure it was totalled... don't laugh it was horrible. But this morning my Dad brought it in my room and it's working and I didn't lose anything! w00t!!! And the advantage of the whole thing was I did it right before I was supposed to give a 2 minute speech for drama so I had a good excuse not to! :-) Unfortunatly I have to do it this week. But still.
Anyway, I'll stop talking now and you guys are officially updated! Comment! :-)
Since it's been so long I'll just give you guys a bunch of blurbs that sum up my life in the past few weeks.
> Blue mountain was incredible awesome and 100 times better than last year! :-P I was planning to use Yvonne's blades, but then Miriam found out how insanely expensive it is to rent blades there so she rented a board and I used it! The first lift up I was totally freaking out, I was so scared! (It was my second time ever going) Thankfully after a few runs I was really glad I did it and had an awesome day other than it being so freezing cold! Minus 30 with the windchill! But it was great, and the night before was great too, jamming with Janelle Miriam and James, then hanging out by the train and having a snowball fight... and another rather unpleasant incident that will remain private. :-)
> Janelle you throw an awesome party! :-) Highlights would be... walking under the stars and again the next morning, throwing snowballs... :-) Creaming all the guys in capture the flag, "Skating" and I think my favorite part was after we walked and everyone went inside to finish the movie except me Miriam Janelle James Ben and Jon stayed out and James relit the fire (and melted his snowpants... whoops! :-) and talked out there til like midnight! Good times...
> Yesterday was snow valley and was awesomely incredibly amazingly great! (enough adjectives do you think?? :-) I completed my goals of turning on a double black diamond without wiping out and hitting and landing some jumps, and was pretty proud of myself until I saw my little bro who went or his first time ever doing an indy and snowboarding at least as good as I do on my third time... I must admit I'm pretty proud of him. :-) It's in the family man... lol
James and me rode switch down easy does it, that was pretty fun, except when it gets slow you start wiping out a lot... but it's worth it. :-)
> Last night we went to Timmy's since Catechism was cancelled and that was pretty awesome lol I won't say any more about it cuz Janelle is gonna post on it. :-D Oh and Janelle and I landed an awesome 360 in the parking lot! hehe perfect end to the day.
>I am very happy right now because I spilt a cup of water on my laptop last week, and I thought for sure it was totalled... don't laugh it was horrible. But this morning my Dad brought it in my room and it's working and I didn't lose anything! w00t!!! And the advantage of the whole thing was I did it right before I was supposed to give a 2 minute speech for drama so I had a good excuse not to! :-) Unfortunatly I have to do it this week. But still.
Anyway, I'll stop talking now and you guys are officially updated! Comment! :-)
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
snow valley!
Ok, I have been requested to write a post on yesterday!
Well first off, IT WAS AMAZING!!!! I learned how to snowboard and I love it!
It was so good to go after three times being cancelled and *ahem* excuse me while I brag for a minute... I got my blue stripe on my first time ever! And I'm really proud of myself. However, I also wiped out several hundred times... and I'm so sore today that only things it doesn't hurt to do is smile and wiggle my fingers and toes. :-) But it was totally worth it.
Unfortunatly I didn't get to see you guys much in the terrain park, which I was looking forward to, but I saw you a bit and I was very impressed. I would've liked to hang with you Janelle and Melissa but I really didn't mind cuz I had an awesome day so don't feel bad! Oh and thanks Tim for finding my hat back. :-)
I found out I can go to blue mountain! w00t! Looking forward to that!!
Oh, you know something kind of amusing? I had lip balm in my pocket, and one time I was going down family I saw this thing on the ground and as I passed I'm like "hey that looks like my lip balm!" Sure enough, it was out of my pocket... but by that time I was passed it so I pretty much gave up on ever seeing it again, which actually wasn't that heartbreaking, cuz hey, it's lip balm. Anyway, on my very last run of the entire day, I was again going down Family, for like the gazillionth time that day, and I again passed something... you guessed it! My lip balm! So I went back a little ways and picked it up just for fun. :-) I just found that kind of amusing... but I am in a mood where I am finding a lot of things kind of amusing so maybe it is maybe it isn't.
Oh, I was looking back over old posts today, and I noticed that my post used to all average like 45 comments each... hmm.... something happened there... :-) (HINT HINT)
And that's all I have to say so have a good one!
Well first off, IT WAS AMAZING!!!! I learned how to snowboard and I love it!
It was so good to go after three times being cancelled and *ahem* excuse me while I brag for a minute... I got my blue stripe on my first time ever! And I'm really proud of myself. However, I also wiped out several hundred times... and I'm so sore today that only things it doesn't hurt to do is smile and wiggle my fingers and toes. :-) But it was totally worth it.
Unfortunatly I didn't get to see you guys much in the terrain park, which I was looking forward to, but I saw you a bit and I was very impressed. I would've liked to hang with you Janelle and Melissa but I really didn't mind cuz I had an awesome day so don't feel bad! Oh and thanks Tim for finding my hat back. :-)
I found out I can go to blue mountain! w00t! Looking forward to that!!
Oh, you know something kind of amusing? I had lip balm in my pocket, and one time I was going down family I saw this thing on the ground and as I passed I'm like "hey that looks like my lip balm!" Sure enough, it was out of my pocket... but by that time I was passed it so I pretty much gave up on ever seeing it again, which actually wasn't that heartbreaking, cuz hey, it's lip balm. Anyway, on my very last run of the entire day, I was again going down Family, for like the gazillionth time that day, and I again passed something... you guessed it! My lip balm! So I went back a little ways and picked it up just for fun. :-) I just found that kind of amusing... but I am in a mood where I am finding a lot of things kind of amusing so maybe it is maybe it isn't.
Oh, I was looking back over old posts today, and I noticed that my post used to all average like 45 comments each... hmm.... something happened there... :-) (HINT HINT)
And that's all I have to say so have a good one!
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