Monday, December 25, 2006

leaving on a jet plane...

Well...today has finally come. It still feels surreal, but I will be heading out to Peru this evening. CRAZINESS! I'm packed to the gills, gravol in hand, somewhat ready for the 70 or so hours of travel that this trip will entail. Who knows what lies ahead...maybe I'll meet Kronk or a talking llama...maybe my luggage will end up in Spain...maybe I'll become a local puppet celebrity and never return...or maybe I'll arrive back in one piece!
To keep on top of the craziness, check out the Peru blog @
http://perubeans.blogspot.com
Thanx for your thoughts and prayers, and see you on the other side!

Sunday, December 24, 2006

O come let us adore Him...


May we never cease to be filled with joy...

Thursday, December 21, 2006

the world stopped for 30 minutes...

Tonite I did what I should have done a looooooong time ago... use the massage I got for last Christmas! Yeah, WHAT WAS I THINKING?!!! My mom had the brilliant idea last Christmas to give me a gift certificate to Scape Spa, so when I got back from my mission trip to Mississippi I could relax and unwind (two words I am still trying to locate in my life dictionary!) One thing led to another led to failed good intentions, led to this Christmas and one week before this certificate expires! Nothing like trying to relax under pressure...So I booked it into my crazy hectic schedule... battling work, a head cold, and my trip to Peru ever so much closer than before. I won't go into details... I don't even need to know them... but I will tell you this - IT WAS AMAZING! This wasn't a white walled room with fluorescent lites and a butch named Olga pounding away at your aching muscles! It was a home transformed into a little country getaway... complete with hydropool, fireplaces, lounge chairs, water in wine glasses, and AMBIENCE! I hadn't even had my massage yet and I was already relaxed.
For thirty minutes all the busyness of the season, my schedule, my tension... it disappeared. MIRACLES DO happen in the 21st century! And in those moments I thought to myself - I could get used to this. If I was rich I would come here EVERY DAY! From manicures, to pedicures, to facials, to body wraps... I could do this! And in the moment she was done, reality slowly crept in. All the things I had been at want to complain about seemed so trivial. The thought entered my mind of starving children in Africa being fed for a month for the cost of my 1/2 hour of relaxation. Of those who will spend this holiday season on the streets. Of those who will have an empty place in their home, having lost loved ones throughout the course of the year. Of those confined to beds and medication.
It didn't make me feel guilty for having a half hour to myself... although I will never feel comfortable spending that much money on myself on a regular basis when there are people who have real needs to be met in the world, it was a treat! It just helped put Christmas and life in general in perspective. There is way too much we have in our lives to be thankful for... too many people and moments to share with them that we take for granted. When one gets a grand view of what truly matters and what they actually have in life, complaining is silenced.
THANK YOU GOD FOR ALL YOUR BLESSINGS! May my life and my mouth never betray my gratitude.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Just because I can...

So it's not so busy right now...good luck trying to convince any of you of that! Anyways, I finally posted stuff on my flickr account...I'm in the midst of a massive upload. Please be patient if you're wondering why I haven't posted something of you yet! I AM ONLY ONE PERSON WITH SO MANY HOURS IN A DAY!!! Anyways, take a peek...maybe you HAVE made it already!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyespyphotography/

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

enter at own risk

Welcome to my life the last couple of weeks. For those of you who know me - this is no surprise. But I just want you to know my usual level of random accidents and blunders has been at an all-time high! I dread getting out of my bed in the morning! I don't even want to go down the list of the crazy things that have filled each day, but to give you an idea of the tip of the iceberg, I shot my finger with a power nailer the other nite. Yeah...ouch! As a sidebar, I was thanking God this morning that our bodies heal themselves. Could you imagine what they would look like if, after poking all kinds of holes through the skin layer by way of our bumbling human nature, they would't heal? I think I'd pretty much look like the walking duct tape chick!There has been a plethora of stuff that has made my life in recent weeks a long *sigh*...I ripped my favourite pair of shoes while playing soccer (after forgetting my indoor ones at home)...I broke a Christmas ornament I had just bought...I forgot the present I was driving an hour to deliver (I only got 20 minutes down the road thankfully)...and then to top it off, I woke up to find a hole in the butt of my favourite jeans...DANG!
All this has compiled to make me feel like my head is seriously not attached. I think this is my brain shorting out before the major crash...or maybe life forms on other planets have been doing science projects while I've been sleeping. THAT'S IT! I've had enough! Tonite it's one eye open!

Friday, December 08, 2006

my rant

OK...this is the first and only official rant I am going to allow on my blog in regards to the following topic. You can thank the mailman for this one. It started off as an average day....getting ready to do some chillaxing after work, and I'm sorting thru my mail. There's never anything good in there...bank statements and bills mostly, but today of all days I got this...I don't know about you, but it seems like everywhere I go people are throwing singles things at me. From blind dates, to speed dates to internet dates...EVERYONE seems interested in finding me a match (maybe it's the challenge of finding the needle in the hay field!) From my mailbox, to my inbox, to telemarketers, friend or stranger, I can't seem to escape the massive influx of "opportunity" to meet "the one"! I know my friends are only trying to be helpful and have nothing but "good intentions", but complete strangers offering assistance in my plight?!!! HONESTLY! WHERE DOES IT END?! Do I even dare ask...
The convenience of hooking up has become like ordering fast food. Type in your interests and what you're looking for and bang! you have a list of potentials. I can't tell you the number of friends that have found their significant others this way. Maybe it does work...it is that easy...maybe I should jump on the band wagon and get the fact that I'm single dealt with so we can all move on from this point! There are times I feel as if I have a sign on my forehead that says "I am not complete...please fix me"...
Except for I don't need to be fixed...I am right where I should be and am in the time God prepared for me. I know it may be hard for a lot people to imagine, but you can be content as a single person! So often times we look at what we don't have yet, that we miss out on what we currently hold in our hands. I think that is what frustrates me the most about dating services...curing singleness becomes the focus, not serving in singleness. People tend to be discontent with where they're at, and aren't REALLY trusting and resting in God. I read an interesting verse in 1 Peter 4...
"trust your life to God...for He will never fail you."
From one single person to another, this goes for marital status too ya know! God knows the desires of our heart. He created us and knows our inmost thoughts and being. Do you not believe He is turning to good all things when you love Him? Single life can be hard...I've been there...done that...still doing that! But when you stop making that search the priority of your day when you wake up, you'd be amazed at what God will unfurl in your life!
For all the friends of single peeps... I truly believe you have good intentions, and desire nothing but happiness for your friend. Maybe you DO have Mr. or Mrs. Perfect right under your nose... but in all your matchmaking, please keep in mind the heart of the one you're trying to hook up. Mine sometimes feels like it's on the end of a yo-yo... up, down, up down with possibilities and potentials and everything else that goes along with the volatile unknowns of the dating scene. Blind dates, especially with a mutual connection are ALWAYS tense. There's the "surfacy fact-finding" phase. The "trying to see why my friend thought you were perfect" phase...and then there's the "awkward" phase when it doesn't work out, and relaying that "gently". Sometimes they're successful...most times they're just a funny story. My book hits stores just in time for Christmas!
And for the rest of you who find me too picky, or the runner up for ice queen...I AM!! Ha...I'm joking! I just want you to know that it's not a matter of me not wanting to get married or being afraid of that holy institution. Rather, it is a profound respect for the relationship that keeps me from filling the space with the next available bloke with a heartbeat. To dispel the myth, my "list" is short. I do not hate guys. I am not Ms. Independant for life. I have a great capacity to love and be loved...but all in good time...in God's time. And maybe the irony of that will lie in someone setting me up...than we'll all get a good laugh!
So that is my rant in brief...be content in WHATEVER state you find yourself...God has purpose and plans for you life. Sometimes those are best accomplished single. Sometimes married. But focus your eyes on Christ, not on your circumstances. You won't be disappointed at the adventure and the perfection of His timing!
Sidebar for all my single peeps trying to get out of that "blind date gone wrong"...did you know that there is a service available to break up with people? From emails to phone calls, you can get someone else to do the dirty work...lovely!

Thursday, December 07, 2006

you know you're getting old when...

...your nephew starts getting grey hair!

Kids Christmas programs are priceless! I was so proud of my nephew, Owen, who landed a part in the play this year. He got to be a grumpy old man...classic! He's really paranoid about what people will think of him, so he was a little leery about having grey hair until people started telling him how cool it was. Peer pressure starts so young!

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Cast into space...


Just thought I'd let you know I've been cast...PODCAST! Crazy times! I had the opportunity to share what God's been doing in my life @ Revolution last nite. In classic fashion, I left my notes at home. Guess God had something different He wanted to say! I've linked the addy to my cyberspace debut for your listening pleasure...be gentle! I am a total rookie at this!

http://www.switchpod.com/users/brantfordrevolution/Anne_Marie_Dec6_20006.mp3

Monday, December 04, 2006

All I want for Christmas is a brain...

My brother has my name for Christmas, so the chance of my actually receiving a new brain is highly unlikely. But today I feel as if I could really use a new one. Why you ask? I enter exhibit “A”, one of the most mindless things that I have done in my life so far...
As most of you know, I am going to Peru over Christmas. Special times. I also shoot weddings...also special times. Through a series of unfortunate events, I put one and one together and realized I had double booked myself. There is no easy way to try and do both when you’re on the other half of the hemisphere - even if you are the master multi-tasker! What to do…
I can honestly say I began questioning if God was really calling me on this trip. Not to mention feeling absolutely HORRIBLE that I had managed to put myself in Peru on a bride’s BIG day. Classic blunder…I guess you’re all wondering how this is going to end! Enter my best friend for today...His name is Jon G. He is an AMAZING photographer (and personal friend) who has helped me on a bunch of weddings. Talk about calling in a favour! Thanks to a VERY gracious bride, and his mad photography skills, I will be able to go to Peru. Although content and willing to stay behind to fulfill my commitments, I cannot tell you how grateful I am that this has worked out. God has some amazing things instore for this trip...I’m overjoyed to be a part of it.
However...I must remember to pack my brain!