held in hand

...I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you in the palms of My hands...Isaiah 49:16

Just a reminder that whatever life throws your way, you are safely held within the hands of your Creator. As friends and family you are held in thought and prayer...

Peru Beans...

It's not like I don't have enough blogs to manage... but in trying to keep things organized, I set up a blog addy for my trip to Peru. As a fundraising venture and an attempt at being creative and humourous, I posted my first ever fundraising auction to initiate the blog into reality. Have a peek...maybe you'll see something worth bidding on...regardless, hopefully you'll at least get a smile and a scary glimpse into my warped brain.

http://www.perubeans.blogspot.com/

Maia's Birthday Tribute...

For those of you who don't know Maia, here's 10 reasons why you should...

#10. She does great impromptu impersonations... like the walrus!

#9. She's a pirate... really!

#8. She has the coolest eyes EVER! In the battle of the blues, she wins hands down for best rims. Sorry model boy Steve!

#7. She invests in her friendships... like coming to the big "O" to reek havoc on the Muskokas and NYC!

#6. She'll do crazy things... like lay the smack on Hans Christian Anderson in Central Park, or posters in the subway.

#5. She sacrifices for her friends, even if it means stepping infront of a moving vehicle... but bears are different stories altogether!

#4. She is renowned for enlightening the world with her "Maia Facts"... I wouldn't be able to live without them!

#3. She loves Jesus...and she loves me! *sniff sniff* ferry rides across the Fraser... strolling the Fort... the memories are endless!

#2. She likes costumes and capes...and is willing to be a model for a student photographer time after time after time after...you get the point.

#1. She's one of the most beautiful people I know...both inside and out. AND she's single which means... AVAILABLE FOR TRAVEL TO AUSTRALIA! Sorry boyz, you'll have to wait til after the sand and surfing is complete...

Thanx for being such an incredible friend...I wouldn't change you for the world! It was tough stopping at 10 reasons why peeps should have a friend like you. Wishing I could spend your B-day with ya... but alas, memories of road trips and craziness will have to tie me over til our travels commence! We'll have a REALLY long time to play the question game!

i could be...

Today must have been a day of random compliments...if you can imagine, I was compared to Loralie Gilmore - I have NO idea why...And to top the evening off...a red hat...had to do something with the Simpsons...it was a cool analogy.
I am blessed to have friends who constantly build me up (buttercup!) encourage me, and share my randomness. Don't forget to take a moment to encourage those around you...oh! and I almost forgot - I posted some "new" old poetry. It's cheezy, but a fun way of getting some of the crazy stuff out of my head and into the world.

lest we forget

I had the opportunity of going to a Remembrance Day service at the Heritage Warplane Museum today. I got choked up looking at all the old veterans in their uniforms. The images that they have to take to their graves are unspeakable - the friends they have lost, uncountable...and yet we reap the benefits of the price they have paid for our freedom.

these are some of my favourite things...

I love the random things in life...
running into old friends in obscure places
snow in October
exchanging recipes with people in line at the supermarket
making friends with strangers on subways
finding $5 in a pair of jeans
snail mail from a friend on a bad day
Arwen's creepy fingers
dropping everything and going on a trip last minute
picking up an old journal
cutting off all my hair
2am, a shopping cart and a hill
watching Saturday morning cartoons with a box of cereal
my neice Maegan laughing
"save the plants" day with Monica
the New York massage chair
wild flowers on the side of the road
music that remind you of trips
Sudoku challenges against my dad
bean bag chairs and mr.knor
bengal spice tea
gifts just because
nicknames
the smell of the christmas tree
glow-in-the-dark football
evening lattes after a looooong day at school
Owen's froggy hugs
toilet paper and a bunch of youth
kissing statues in Central Park
getting snowed in
hugs from people I just met but feel I've known forever
tuesday morning prayer with my favourite ladies
an underlined verse in my Bible
clothes fresh out of the dryer
cheese sausages and an open fire
pulling out my scarf in the fall
old photographs
pink cheeks coming out of the cold
wearing costumes in fancy restaurants
chatting with someone who had the wrong number
"gong show" weekends
missing a flight
lasagna tops
pink housecoats and murder mystery
being stranded
the consequence can
climbing trees
story time
surprise visits
orange peels
homemade decks of cards
the moon's reflection in the lake
poker and teddy grahams
nicely-wrapped gifts
smoke coming under my cousin's door
singing off-key
broccoli cheeze soup
child art

Each tiny thread brings a smile - a memory...woven into the fabric of a life thrice-blessed! I could really go on forever about all the little things that make the big things so big, but for now I'll just take a moment to remember...and smile!

lost the plot

I remember the first time I heard this song was on the Newsboys "Take me to your Leader" tour. They had mixed the lyrics with footage of tragedies in the world. It so deeply impacted me that over 10 years later I'm still remembering the message. God has given us so much...and yet we continue to choose compromise. We continue to choose brokenness. We opt for second place. We're so distracted from what really matters in this life with "harmless" things that take our focus off our real purpose. The flesh that wars against the spirit...and I wonder, at what point did we get comfortable on the couch of the world?

When you come back again
would you bring me something from the fridge?
Heard a rumour that the end is near
but I just got comfortable here.

sigh.
Let's be blunt.
I'm a little distracted.
What do you want?

Headaches and bad faith
are all that I've got.
First I misplaced the ending
then I lost the plot.

Out among the free-range sheep
while the big birds sharpen their claws.
For a time we stuck with the shepherd
but you wouldn't play Santa Claus.

sigh.
Let's be blunt.
We're a little distracted.
What do you want?

Once we could follow,
now we cannot.
You would not fit our image,
so we lost the plot.

Once we could hear you,
now our senses are shot.
We've forgotten our first love.
We have lost the plot.

When I saw you for the first time
you were hanging with a thief
And I knew my hands were dirty,
and I dropped my gaze.
Then you said I was forgiven
and you welcomed me with laughter.
I was happy ever after.
I was counting the days
when you'd come back again.
we'll be waiting for you
When you comin' back again?
we'll be ready for you
Maybe we'll wake up when...
maybe we'll wake up when
you come back again.

lies.
Let's be blunt.
We're a little unfaithful.
What do you want?

Are you still listening?
`Cause we're obviously not
We've forgotten our first love
We have lost the plot.

And why are you still calling?
You forgave, we forgot.
We're such experts at stalling
that we've lost the plot.
lost the plot

When you come back again
would you bring me something from the fridge?
Heard a rumour that the end is near
but I just got comfortable here.


Lyrics: Steve Taylor, Peter Furler / Music: Peter Furler
© 1996 Dawn Treader Music (SESAC) / Warner Alliance Music / Soylent Tunes (ASCAP), Dawn Treader Music admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing. Warner Alliance Music / Soylent Tunes admin. by I.C.G.

we live in a broken world...

The following picture was a Pulitzer Prize winner taken in Sudan during the mid-90's by a photographer named Kevin Carter. During the famine, starving parents and children would make their way to food banks. This is a little girl he saw, crawling down the street toward the food bank...resting in weakness while a vulture waits in the wings for his next meal.

The photographer didn't even stay to help the child after taking the photo, and sadly committed suicide 3 months after winning the Pulitzer Prize due to depression and the haunting realization of the images he had captured thru his lens.
One doesn't have to look far to be overwhelmed with glimpses of reality in a world that is bleeding badly from wounds of sin. We can be shocked that Carter could see such suffering and walk away from it...but we do the same thing every day. The real tragedy is that we hold the only cure for a world broken in sin...