Friday, December 17, 2010

Question. After being told you have acute appendicitis and require your appendix to be removed would you:

a. Say ok to surgery
b. Say heck no and leave the hospital

...oh and they also told you that you could die if it wasn't removed.

At work the other day I watched a 20-something year old guy walk out of the ER after a visit from the surgeon who told him the above statement. He reasoned that he felt no more pain therefore he was fine. He said he was more scared of surgery than death.

After watching that play out I was just struck at how this guy's actions represents us as humans. You'd probably say you'd never be that stupid, that you'd never suppress crucial knowledge like that hoping that if you just ignored it, it would just disappear. I think we're actually very good at doing this, to our own detriment.
I've always hated math. I remember in grade 3 there was this one assignment I was dreading. I had the paper with all the questions on it, and since I didn't want to do it I shoved it as far back in my desk as I could. I figured I'd forget about it and the teacher would too. Quite the opposite. I couldn't stop thinking about it and the teacher definitely didn't forget. Eventually I learned long division.

Suppressing our emotions, duties, guilt is something we excell at as humans! We can be so skilled at lying to ourselves that we believe it. In every day life and in the academic world suppressing truth can have eternal consequences...depending on the truth you're suppressing.

Romans 1:18-20
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.


Like I was saying...suppressing certain truths can have huge, eternal consequences. Let's be honest with ourselves.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010


It's almost Christmas everyone...and I'm not ready. Mentally I'm ready, but I still have a ton of shopping to do and our apartment isn't even decorated save for a couple festive penguin figurines sitting in random places. It's time to pull up my socks in a big way 'cause its next saturday. CHRISTMAS IS NEXT SATURDAY!!
I'm goin home for Christmas too and boy its gonna be exciting. Details to follow.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Matthew 10:39 He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it
When thinking about missions and living a life entirely for Christ, I sometimes wonder if I'd risk my life for Him. Here's someone who not only risked but lost his life for the sake of the gospel. May we all be willing to joyfully live out our calling as James Garwood did.

Brown Trout | 1978 - 2010 from David Schulz on Vimeo.

Friday, November 5, 2010

some thoughts on STM


I've been thinking a lot about the positive and negative sides of Short-term mission (STM) trips lately. Short-term mission opportunities abound. You can spend a week to a year feeding the poor and preaching to people knowing that there’s an end coming and you’ll be sipping latte’s at Starbucks soon. I have done several (7 in fact) short term stints overseas since the age of 16. Whether it was running soccer camps for AIDS orphans in Africa or building a home for a family in the Dominican Republic, I've always come back with my eyes opened to the harsh reality of need in this world and felt so grateful for what I've been blessed with. These trips have shaped my character and I know that they’ve greatly affected the people I've gone with.

However, the feeling like I've gained more from the experience than the nationals did is sometimes overwhelming. Short term missions should be approached with caution. It requires a step back to examine the reason why we do missions at all in the first place. According to John Piper in his book Let the nations be glad!: “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever” (p.17).

Do groups of 20 or so people going to a place with no church and no sustainable economy for a week or two brings forth worship? Perhaps at first. The long-term repercussions may not though. When a community is now so dependent on the groups of westerners that come, it shows that the goal of missions has not been achieved. We go to make people rely on Christ not on us.
Building homes, healing the sick etc. are things we are called to do as Christians. We get joy by loving people through these acts of kindness. However, if we truly love the people we are ministering to we need to find ways to promote independence. Not an independence in the worldly sense but an independence where the nationals are able to teach their own about Christ. There needs to be a consistency at least in the missions or perhaps someone who can minister long-term. So that relationships don’t end when the plane leaves. So mentoring can happen. So great things will go down in the buildings we’ve built for them...for His glory.


There are several mission organizations who have found a way to do STM well- I'll post some later. For now here's some reading:
http://www.christiannewswire.com/index.php?module=releases&task=view&releaseID=14756

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Thanksgiving .. b-latedly posted

Great time eating, spending time with family and tromping through the woods. Thanksgiving 2010.



Wednesday, October 27, 2010


One thing that makes living in Toronto so great is my apartment. Actually, my room-mates are what make it great. The apartment has an amazing view and is in a great area of the city but the two ladies I share it with are truly what seal the deal for me. We're all very different from eachother. I'm a nurse, Caroline's a dancer/barista, Sarah's a soon-to-be teacher...but we do share some common loves...one of them being laughter. When we're all home it's not quiet!
Today I visited Caroline at her work, due to the fact we were out of coffee and I was recovering from nightshift.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

leaves. big, fat leaves.


The colours are almost at their peak around here. Lately I've found an amazing walking trail outside Toronto which ends at the perfect destination- Starbucks.I went there the other day for some alone time and was just amazed by the colours, the crisp air and the abundance of people wearing sweaters at starbucks. Yes!!
I was just reminded of God's faithfulness and love. He knows how much I love a good coffee after a fresh fall walk...such simple things..but little tastes of grace.

Monday, September 20, 2010

A free surf session with CJ Hobgood. Christian pro surfer. You're welcome!

CJ @ Yards from thegoods:CJ and Damien Hobgood on Vimeo.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

What the crap?!


Today felt like Fall. FALL!! As my friend Aban and I skipped merrily to breakfast we were first taken aback by the temperature. Then all the pieces started coming together..there was a red maple leaf on the pavement..cute curly haired children in woolly sweaters...overnight it had become fall. Sigh.
Don't get me wrong, I love fall! The cozy clothes, the perfect running conditions, school starting (even if I'm not in school anymore, there's just something about all the paper and pens around that excites me), the change was just so sudden is all.
So on this autumesque day Aban took me to one of her favourite stores called Eclectisauras in Cabbage town. oh and an amazing coffee shop called Jet Fuel. Such a hipster coffee shop, loved it. Anyways, Eclectisauras is just a wee place owned and run by a young woman who had a dream to open her own vintage shop. She told us about the nightmare it was to renovate the flat its in now, how she was in 3 car accidents leading up to the store's opening due to the stress and now how the hard work paid off. She loves her little shop.. and so did we!

www.eclectisauras.com

Monday, August 30, 2010

Leaving Your Blog Unattended

Right now, I am shopping with my cousins from Thunder Bay.
Meanwhile, back at the computer that I forgot to shutdown, my father is happily writing on my blog. He thinks that one of the dangers of blog writing is that you could forget to sign out and then someone - posing as you - could write something that might not truly reflect your paradoxical foolishness.

So, as I am merrily being lured to spend my hard earned dollars on that one item in a row of many yet to come - guaranteed to secure my momentary happiness... he is villain-like typing away. There is a odd smirk on his face. He thinks he is so clever. He is imagining what it will be like when I come and discover this. I don't think it will be as eventful as he imagines but let him type away. Small things amuse ... well you know.

The truth is... that my father is leaving me and we won't see each other for months. He is probably thanking God for me and praying that God would lead, strengthen, and bless me. He is probably fighting a tiny tear and remembering the days when I didn't live so far away, wasn't so independent and all that stuff...

Well, I will just let him play away... let him smirk like a little boy... and I will delete it later... when I find it.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Summer lovin



Aahh weddings. It's one of those events that seem to characterize summer, due to the abundance of people who choose to say their vows in warm sunny weather. Understandably so, and I look forward to summers due to the added romance we get to witness.
I always admire the people who are such risk-takers as to attempt outdoor weddings. Its such a gamble! However many do and all the outdoor weddings I've ever attended have had fair weather...I think God is at hand in this.
My friend Sarah and her then fiancee Andy (now husband) decided to take the plunge outdoors last Tuesday in Duluth, Mn. It was worth the risk for the end result was breath-taking. Sarah has always wanted a destination wedding on the beach. Both her and Andy love the ocean and travelling so it seemed a suitable idea to both of them. However due to family being unable to make the trip, the pair compromised and had a destination wedding 4 hours away in the USA, on the banks of Lake Superior.
The weather was perfect. I was so happy for Sar- it was a weird feeling to watch her walk down the sandy toward the man we talked and wondered about growing up but never knew. So cool to see God put the right person in her life at the right time (he always lived a couple kilometres from her her whole life). Marriages continue to be an added reminder of God's sovereignty and goodness. He can take two imperfect people from any background, match them up and make a team who will be happier and more glorifying to Him together then they were individually. A marriage where that is evident is awesome to witness.



Thursday, July 29, 2010

inked.

About 3 years ago my sister Lauren and I decided to get the word "faith" tattooed on our feet in memorial of our Mom who passed away from cancer in 2005. "Faith" was not only our Mom's name but it summarized her entire life. She loved the Lord dearly- it just radiated from her! So it was great when Mom's sister Kathy and her two girls Heather and Kaleigh decided to get the tattoos as well. Now we all have the same tattoos in different fonts (to personalize them a bit). It was a special day, and it sparked a lot of good memories about Mom.






Monday, July 26, 2010

"It all started out so positive...."

Today was another gorgeous day in T-Bay (rhyme not intended), so my Dad decided to try out his "new" boat and take us all fishing. I say "new" because it was my Grandpa's boat but due to never using it decided to hand it down.
Cloud lake was the destination and the day started out perfect: starbucks, picked up Rob (our chum and fellow-adventurer) and filled up on gas. I think I even announced in the truck: "this is all starting out so positive!" When we arrived at cloud lake it was a little windy but still warm and sunny. Perfect!
However, things took a slight turn for the worst when Dad tried starting up the motor. It sounded quite pathetic...instead of a roar we got a putt..putt.cough.death. So I decided to take some pictures for this blog to pass the time. I was in the middle of telling Rob to smile when Dad yanked on the motor stringer with all his might. Not realizing I was one foot behind him, his fist connected with my face/hand/camera sending my camera flying across the boat and my hat into the lake. Dang...
That was the worst of it though, I was able to rescue my hat and even though my camera lense is dented it still works..most of the time. We actually had a successful fishing trip- MariAnne had the blessed rod and caught 4 bass, I caught 1 and the boys caught nothin. (Secretly pleased about that) Jumped off the boat and swam a bit and that successfully redeemed what could've been a dicey fishing trip. The outdoors is so beautiful its overwhelming sometimes! Feeling so blessed to be here.





Saturday, July 24, 2010

Yart Sale

Today my friend Randi Lynn was selling some of her art at this community art sale in T.Bay. Right next to the "yart sale" was the finnish fair or something where all things Finnish were being displayed. I hope R.L made a killing today 'cause Yale ain't cheap! (yup she goes there, attending this fall!)

R.L was always artistic and over the years her talent has really developed. After majoring in fine art at Northwestern University in Minneapolis, Mn she found her own artistic style - then she applied to Yale for her Master's in Fine Art. Apparently they liked what they saw. So excited for her!




http://kablambo.webs.com/

Friday, July 23, 2010

This one's for you Beck...

So this is my second attempt at keeping a blog, I'm hoping this time I'll be more dedicated to it.
Basically I plan on doing random blogs on whatever I feel like and in the end keep my life going ons, interests, musings etc. somewhat organized. If other people care to take a gander I just hope they're amused at the very least!

What's in a name?
The title Paradox of foolishness came to mind when I was reading 1 Corinthians, specifically 1 Corinthians 1:18- "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." I'm probably going to blog about a lot of randomness but I want people to know that at the core of my life is Christ and without Him everything would be meaningless. Its the gospel that makes life have purpose and life and joy. To those that don't understand that truth... its just foolishness.


Who the heck am I anyways??
The name's Kathy Dibbley. I'm from Thunder Bay, On, Canada..grew there, went to school there.. but moved to Toronto over a year ago now. Getting used to city life has been an adventure in itself but throw in being a nurse in an ER and there's never a dull moment! You meet so many different characters in an Emergency Dept. and in Toronto, there's never a lack of diversity. I love it... it satisfies my cravings for change and excitement.
Toronto's a great place to be for a variety of reasons.
Reason #1 Amazing food. Enough said.
#2 Pearson Int'l airport (I love to travel)
#3 Most multicultural city in the world
#4 Music music music!!
Downsides- smog, traffic, lack of bush and clean water (eww Lake Ontario..)
Yup. You'll also notice my Surfline wigit sidebar thing- that's there because surfing is an amazing sport... and if you're ever craving the ocean you need to go to surfline and pretend your surfing. mmmmm surfing...

So this ends my first post! yay for blogging!! To all my faithful followers (that would be you Beck) stay tuned for more! lol
peace.