Boys are stupid...

Okay...what is up? I cannot tell you how tired I am of hearing of guys who can't think farther than themselves and end up stomping on some poor girls heart - however inadvertent it may be. Before you take this as some anti-guy blog...I just want to assure you that there are enough of the male species in my "friends" category whom I love and respect, who are SUPER-QUALITY and remind me that Mr. Perfect is nowhere near extinct. I'm just venting...disappointed at hearing a friend's broken heart on the other end of the phone...hoping that maybe people (on both sides of the gender scale) would be a little more considerate of the other person's heart BEFORE they move solely by emotion and do something dumb. This is coming from someone who over-analyzes things to the point of nausium...but you can never be too careful with someone else's heart. They are easily broken - and what takes moments to break often takes a long time to piece back together.

best friends, beetles, and boy drama...

Well...it's been a while. Craziness has once again invaded my so-called life and left me exhausted - but I am grateful for the ride! One of my best friends Maia, from the Fort Crew in BC, just left today after a two-week stint in the epicenter (insert definition for all my BC buds: (ĕp'ĭ-sĕn'tər): the center of everything. aka Ontario...ha!). My VW bug Casper felt like our home as we toured the countryside and ventured east coast to NEW YORK CITY! (Check out the upcoming slide show on my "thru the lens" link!)

We started the week with a bit of Shake- speare with Lady K and Mer (see... I can be cultured!), and after getting a little (but expensive) tune-up on my car, we headed north to the cottage. This has got to be one of my favourite places in the entire planet...FOR REALS! The weekend was jam-packed... highlites included movie nite at Kinmount (Mark sat thru the ultimate chick-flick... He needs to be cloned!) Bengal spice tea and midnite chats on the dock, ATV rides thru mud and mess, a boat cruise on the Muskoka lakes with a brief stop at Muskoka Woods - the ultimate of summer camps, plus running into Santa...and who can forget the nite at the Rockcliff! I never anticipated a game of pool could be so "interesting"...(I'm glad Megan was there to lay the smack down!) But in all this, just hanging out in the "quiet" north with Kent & Joyce and the girls was AMAZING!
We got home late Sunday nite only to leave first thing in the morning for NYC! I LOVE that place! Tuesday we spent the day doing a psycho tour of the city. We took the Statton Island ferry to Jersey and got a nice waterside view of Lady Liberty and the city. Met some helpful and interesting folks on the tube...one guy named Reggie even got off his train and navigated us thru the different trains to the Central Park stop. Did a little loop thru the park - even laid one down on poor Hans Christian Anderson - before doing a speed walk window shopping trek down 5th Avenue, Times Square and Broadway. We ended up seeing Phantom at the Majestic. Although our seats were up in the nosebleeds and the Phantom had Kermit tendencies...it was a good show. I can't tell you how grateful I was to get 45 minutes to sit on the train back! Although I am disappointed I have not made it up the Empire State Building yet...I'm a huge "An Affair to Remember" fan...next time maybe!
We were able to spend some time Wednesday hanging with Karen and her girls (they make fine subjects for photographs!) before heading back to Canuckland...


With all the excitement I just mentioned...wait! There's more! During her two weeks here, Maia was getting texts/calls from a certain someone back home...drama! drama! drama! Will a boy finally cut in?...All I can say is this has been the summer of boy drama on all sides of the map - from set ups to broken hearts! It was nice to share in this together... seeing as a few provinces seperate us from getting together on a regular basis and chatting it all out over a cup of tea and some dutch cookies. Two weeks was a reminder of the friendship I used to enjoy out west... and I miss the nearness of friends. NEVER TAKE THOSE TIMES FOR GRANTED!!! Maia and I took every opportunity in the two weeks and filled it to the max. And although I am EXHAUSTED... it was worth the fingerprints of blessing my life has from this dear friend.
I LOVE YOU MAIA!!! REMEMBER... all information revealed is privileged and stays in the safety of Casper... hee! hee! Oh the question game...

living free...

I thought I'd write an entry that would enable me to post a picture of Michael Scoffield...isn't he "dreamy"?!!! But for reals...there is a point! (and it's not that the 3rd season is just around the corner!)

“The problem with the North American church is that it is content to be saved but not free.” - BB

I went to Revolution last nite, and as per usual, was changed and rearranged. God has been doing a pretty intense reno job on my heart...and although it’s usually inconvenient and uncomfortable, I’m sure I’ll be happy with the new me. ANYWAYS... last nite was all about freedom, so I figured I’d jot a few thoughts with the “free world”...
As we were worshipping I got this picture of these slaves standing at the edge of a river with all their belongings in hand. The water was pretty disgusting (envision the Grand River and then times the pollution by at LEAST 10!) but on the other side was this land that resonated light and freedom. The river was too treacherous to try and cross holding anything...it required leaving everything behind. Some of the slaves tried to get across the river carrying some of their stuff...only to be swept away or drowned trying. Others set up camp at the river, with freedom in view, unwilling to part with their possessions. And some abandoned their belongings on the shoreline and without looking back, swam to the other side. In this moment God was asking me "What are you willing to abandon to be free?"
So often as Christians we enjoy salvation, but we live in bondage. WE CHOOSE to hold onto the things that hinder our walk with God. It could be past sins, guilt, pride, fleshly desires...the excuses to keep them are endless "It's too hard...", "It's not really that bad...", "It's not like it's going to kill me..." How quick are we to obey when God reveals something in our lives that needs to go? When is the last time we sacrificed something we wanted for God? Remember...it cost Christ EVERYTHING. He gave His life!
When I was in Cali God gave me a verse in 1 Peter 4...
"You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy..." -NLT
The great thing about abandoning your own desires on the banks and pursuing God is that you will live life in abundance! God is going to be the one in charge of looking after your needs! Pretty sweet deal if you ask me (you just have to trust Him with that one!) God doesn't just save us from our sins...He wants to give us the fullest life possible. It reminds me of the animals adopted from shelters by Hollywood stars. You can save a stray from being beaten, give it some space on your back porch and feed it the cheapest dog food you can afford...but when God saves us He wants to hook us up with the mansion on the hill, with steak for breakfast, weekly groomings and playtime in the afternoon. It's funny to think that most of us CHOOSE the backporch because we think it's better...or go back to the owner who beats us. (And we thought animals were the onese who were stupid!)
The wonderful truth for today is that Christ has set us free...now we have to start LIVING free! And once you've tasted freedom...the desire for others to experience it will be overwhelming.
"Jesus paid much too high a price for us to pick and choose who should come." -Casting Crowns
Back to the picture I saw while worshipping (I'm ALL over the map today...that happens when I have too much to share and not enough space or time to get it ALL OUT!!!)...When the slaves started coming out on the other side of the river, all their filth and rags transformed into brightness the moment they emerged from the water. It takes that step of faith in abandoning what is familiar and trusting God's way is best before He can recreate you inside and out. He desires the best for His children. God wants to give you abundant life...but it will cost you something. It will cost you what you are currently holding so God can fill your hands with some better. It requires taking off the old favourite sweater and letting God give you the one you can't afford that's WAY better in the long run...but it means giving up something you aren't really ready to part with. WHY CAN'T I KEEP BOTH!! you might be asking...because you can't! It's 200 degrees in this world and you shouldn't be running around wearing two sweaters! (There's the hole in my analogy...I hope you can still salvage my point!) Anyways...back on track...these things may not necessarily be "sins", but they are currently hindering you in your walk with him. So often we are afraid of letting go because we think this is the best we'll get...like we're gambling or something. I can tell you it's worth it to give it up (I'm currently working on living that one out!)
"Dear children...keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts." - I John 5:21
If you can do this, you will experience freedom in your life as never before. See you on the other side!

Hellooooo loooong weekend!

I got the amazing treat of being able to hang out at the cottage all weekend! We left Thursday nite and stayed til Monday...it was AWESOME! Minden got hit with some wicked storm the nite before we arrived - trees were everywhere and we were without hydro until Sunday nite (for all you city folks that means no showers, no flushing toilets, no stove, no lites, no tv, no nothing!!!) It was an adventure! (We DID have a generator, so before you think we were pioneering it up there...we got to plug in our fridge!)
Besides stumbling over EVERYTHING in the house to try and get to your room at nite, and depleting the lake with bucket after bucket to manually flush our porcelein...it was an amazing opportunity to hang with friends. Candlelite is definitely a favourite...not to mention our wicked awesome campfires, and the fact that boats don't need hydro! Everything was cooked on the barby (we didn't suffer in the food department, that's for sure!) and we got to squeeze in a Kawartha Dairy....always worth the drive!
The thing I love most about Minden - besides being near water (I'm part mermaid, I'm sure of it!)and the fact they now have a Tim Hortons - is the awesome friends we have there. Over the years we have been able to establish some fun friendships, and it is ALWAYS cool to see those relationships deepen and grow each visit as we share in our victories and defeats of life and faith.
God has brought some really cool (and crazy) people into my life - to encourage, challenge and build me up in my faith. Nothing beats a late nite game of sardines, or a chat by the lakeside - infront of a blazing inferno that looks like it could engulf the tree at any moment, or by moonlite on the dock (what time is it again?!)
Some of the weekend highlites (besides quality time with Kent, Joyce, the grandkids and Junie B. Jones) include:
...the chance to hang out with a fellow saucy sista Lindsay who somehow seems to awaken the Katie within me (my wickedly mischievious alter ego!) We made a few waves on the lake this afternoon trying to dump each other off the seadoo...and practiced the art of throwing your head back and just laughing...looong story!

...having a nice chat AND getting my make-up done by local artist Emmy Lester...too bad all I was going to do was pack! It should be interesting to try and duplicate her work of art (I may look like a panda when I'm done) but the attempt of trying to be more "girly" is there!

And to top it off...having the opportunity of spending quality time with my lil' sis whose husband stayed home for the weekend! Between Bella's naps we had lots of time to chat (often to the wee hours of the morning) and lots to chat about. Having just come off 3 weeks on the road with my other sister, it was a great opportunity to catch up!
God continually reminds me how much I am truly blessed. I have friends and family who love me and want the best for me...who bring sunshine in the rain, and a good laugh when ya need one! Never forget to absorb all the awesome blessings that God places in your lives each day with the family and friends He threads thru your life. They are gifts - each unique - to help shape your heart and mind.
Thanx again to all my friends up north for making this weekend a refreshing time for me...you are treasured!

Speaking of Doors...

So I wrote all about doors yesterday, and then went to Revolution for a bit of healing time, and God spoke to my heart "YOU ARE A DOOR!" Let me explain...
A friend of mine had received a vision while we were worshipping about a red train (representative of Christ's blood) going thru the streets of Brantford. We have been praying that God would have breakthru in our city...so this was encouraging! He also mentioned these storehouses full of treasure that God wanted to pour out on our city. COOL...
And then I saw these giant doors...the treasure behind them was so vast that as soon as you opened the door it spilled out - kind of like in the Richie Rich comics (now there's a vintage read for ya!) And God spoke to my heart...YOU ARE THE DOOR TO THE TREASURE! Not just me individually, but Christians across the planet. God has been sowing awesome treasure into His people...some choose to keep it inside to themselves, and are like a chest of buried treasure - full of wealth but serving no purpose to change a life or be a blessing. He is calling us to be an open door that He can pour His treasure thru...
You want to see change in your family? city? school? country?...it starts with you opening the door of treasure that God has planted in your life. If He gives you a revelation or encouragement from His Word...share it! Has He carried you thru a struggle? Encourage others thru your testimony. Has God been blessing your socks off? Give generously!!! We're not meant to be rooms where everything is under lock and key...we're the door! God can only fill the room so far. And when you open the doors and let the riches flow out to those around you, He can fill it with more treasure!
So as cool and trendy it may be...DON'T BE A PIRATE!!!

When God Closes a Door...

Doors are wonderful things...they often lead to new places and exciting adventures. In my lifetime God has led me thru some super cool doors ...Bible School in England, youth ministry in BC, Revolution - just to name a few places...I don't know where to begin when it comes to the doorways of friendship that I've been blessed to walk thru! I often feel like I'm in the factory of Monsters Inc., countless doors at my fingertips - all leading in different directions - each unique...each requiring faith to open and take the first step in.
The most recent door in my life had windows in it. I could see inside, and imagine what it must be like to be on the other side. Anticipation is a lovely thing. So is trust. I've been learning a bit of both at the moment! As promising as what I saw inside may have been, God kept it closed...maybe for the moment...possibly forever.
Not all doors are for us to walk thru. In fact, there are countless doors God will walk us by before getting us to the right one. (It's kinda like someone walking you thru a car lot to a brand new vehicular someone bought for you, and you’re passing by some sweet looking rides wondering if that’s it or if what you got’s better...what a tease!) Some of these doors look really good to us...they almost seem perfect...and although there may be purpose for passing this way on your journey of life, they are a passing moment leading you to another destination.
When you feel like God is closing a door (or not even opening it for that matter!), don't forget trust. This is the One who created your heart, knows your desires and has only your best in mind. As hard as it may be to "pass up" a door, may you live in the faith of a little child, holding the hand of your heavenly Father and believing what the Word says...He is the Father of Lights who gives perfect gifts to His children. You will never be disappointed.