Happy Birthday my baby

There's this Mama I know that totally puts my work ethic to shame. She's the mama bird that lives with her babies in the eaves trough next door. I just watch her and feel tired! Every moment of every day I see her fly out of the nest and return to chorus of chirps and cheaps. I'm not sure how many babies she has but they sure are loud when she comes back with food! 

Coco reminds me of a baby bird. Always ready to eat and so dependent on her Mama. This past year it was her dependence on me that forced a change in my character. That, and my utter love for that chubba bubba. Before she came along Steve and I were quite free to indulge whatever desire we had and do whatever we wanted to do basically. Once she arrived though, my life simplified. I had one task: keep our new baby alive! I found motherhood more sanctifying than getting married in that regard. Probably because my lifestyle so drastically changed in an instant. Honestly it was the hardest thing ...and I definitely wasn't prepared for it. Every day felt like ground hog day and I thought I was going to lose my mind from lack of adult interaction and from looking at the same four walls day in and day out. I wasn't prepared for that because motherhood was my dream! My whole life I had dreamed of being a mother in an almost romantic way so when it was incredibly hard at first, I felt shocked, upset at myself, overwhelmed and tired. I had expected to have a baby and still be able to do all the things I did before. Just with a baby strapped to me. Corrie was not that kind of baby though - she loved her schedule and her own bed and hated the car with a passion! Therefore, trips out were few and far between in those first months.

Thankfully, God gives the grace needed in every stage of life. It became clear He gave me a baby to reveal my selfishness and other sins I wasn't as aware of. I realized how much I relied on my job as a nurse for my identity and purpose. I realized what a gift it was to have minimal distraction to commune with God. Before Corrie came along I never spent an entire day at home, now that's usually all I do (since we have one car). I realized I had been running, running, running and needed to just stop! I appreciated the focus Corrie now gave to my life. Focus on my role as a wife and mother and focus on my relationship with God.

Tomorrow is Corrie's birthday. This time last year I was in labour and had no clue how my life was about to change. Thankfulness for her and God's perfect plan is what I feel when I reminisce about this last year. I love being able to be a Mom! Happy birthday Cocos.

This picture makes me laugh. I just had to share it with the world.

When the Daddy's away...

In an unfortunate turn of events Corrie and I have found ourselves without our beloved man of the house for the next little while. He had to fly to Korea this morning to be with his Dad who is very ill with cancer. This is one of those moments in life that catches you off guard but we're trusting in God and praying our way through this time.

I don't cope well on my own for long. I like it for a little bit and then the cabin fever hits hard. So today despite the rain/snow me and Corrie went out to Chapters. 

We got soaked but came home happier with a fun bath mat and 3 new books. 

Then I put that little babe to bed and decided to make chocolate chip cookies. After the first batch I knew my mind wasn't in the game because they came out flat as pancakes. I realized that when I split the recipe in half I forgot to split the amount of butter in half...soooo they're delicious...but they may kill you. Heart attack in a cookie!

Corrie and I are going to plan the rest of our time together now. Looking forward to some sweet Mama and Coco time.

Dear Nursing Student:

                           

Last night a friend who is currently in nursing school approached me because she had an 'emotional nursing question'. Apparently earlier that day during her clinical time in the ICU drop down unit, she had a patient who was palliative, only he didn't know he was palliative yet. Yesterday he was telling her his plan to live into his 90's, meanwhile she knew he was about to receive the news that he was expected to only live another four months. She said she couldn't stop thinking about him and asked me how I handled sad and difficult things I'd encountered as a nurse. 

Immediately so many of the saddest and most confusing scenarios I had witnessed came to mind. Seven years working fulltime in an emergency department will expose a person to many strange, sad, horrific, and humorous things. Many times I would walk out of one heartbreaking encounter and into another one within the same hour. Kind of like when you're learning to surf and really all your doing is being hammered by one wave after another. It's quite the beating.

Anywhere in the hospital you will encounter suffering and as a Christian nurse you have a unique opportunity to witness to others in your reaction to suffering. 

First thing I told my friend is that it's a good thing she is sad.

Sometimes when you work in an environment like the hospital it becomes so commonplace to see people in pain or dying that it's easy to become callous. I've found that I'm a better, more loving nurse when I don't harden my heart - and let empathy overcome my instinct to shield myself from emotional pain. Loving people always means pain for you but it's worth it. 

When you see things so awful you question everything - take it before the Lord. Every nurse has that patient they'll always remember. A case that shook your foundations. When you encounter that patient it's ok to say to God 'I don't understand...but praise your name, You do.' Cry to Him. Pray to Him. It helps to have that category to put things in. The category where God knows things we don't and has a plan and purpose we don't know of. 

Community is huge. Your church family and fellow believers are there to help strengthen you, to worship with you and to pray with you. Don't be an island or a lone soldier. You're not strong enough. It may be tempting to stay home on the days you're off because you're so tired, but you will be depriving yourself of refreshing fellowship and biblical teaching.

Don't over work yourself. Take your days off and go look at beauty or do something you absolutely enjoy. Above all read your bible and pray! There is life outside of nursing, it's easy to forget that sometimes. Go to an art gallery, listen to music, run by a lake...whatever reminds you of the life and beauty God intended when He created this world, do it. Remember there will come a day when there will be no more sickness and dying. A day when nurses will be out of a job.

Psalm 62 : 8

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. (ESV)

  

                        

Water colour cards

They say it takes three weeks to turn something into a habit so if that's true this triathalon training business should really start to feel like second nature soon. I hope.

Already I've started to feel the positive effects of consistently working out which is encouraging. On the days I really don't want to leave the house I tell myself that I never regret going but I always regret not going.

Anyways, I'm honestly loving being on maternity leave. It's so amazing to have this precious time with Corrie and be able to watch her change and grow. She's getting more and more mobile lately and her personality is definitely starting to show. She loves to do an extremely high pitched squeal from across the room and looks for your reaction. She loves to laugh and be tickled. Now she wants to walk everywhere with the help of me or her Dad - that can be a workout in itself! 

She still loves her naps. And so do I :) Those little breaks in our time together gives me some alone time to read, write and lately paint! I've been having some fun trying out water colour paint and making my own cards. I have a ton of weddings coming up so I'm hoping to give them out to the newlyweds. 

Struggles and Triumphs

So it's Friday and I feel exhausted! This entire week has been really tiring for some reason. As a result I don't feel like I did the greatest with my training regimen. Mostly I failed in the nutrition/diet department..which is probably why I'm so exhausted. My bad!

There were two big triumphs for me to be happy about though.

Triumph #1 : I swam!

I swam about 1/4 of a mile in half an hour. Felt like a huge newbie but the cute old ladies there were not intimidating and made for a welcoming environment to start out in.

Triumph #2 : I ran the farthest I've ran since I found out we were expecting Corrie.

8km to be exact. I gotta be honest though, it wasn't 8 km straight..I ran to my friends house 4km away..had coffee and a chat then ran back.. Still! I'm pretty happy since the farthest I've ran up til now was about 5km.

Things to work on and things to celebrate. Trying to stay thankful and not beat myself up about my failures. Thankfulness is way more motivating I find :)

Here's a pic of my running buddy during the last leg of our long run :

First Swim

1st week of Triathalon training felt pretty good! Last week I mostly got my diet under control, ran a couple times and planned out a rough training schedule. Today is Monday of Week 2 and I started it off by going for a 1/4 mile swim. 

I have never swam lengths in a public pool before. I felt like a huge newbie and was sure I was breaking some rule or code of conduct but no one yelled at me or gave me dirty looks so I think I was ok. It took me roughly 1/2 an hour and I didn't really know what to do so I just swam back and forth 2 lengths easy then pushed myself for 2 lengths...til I had done 21 lengths. I was really tired at the end and almost inhaled water a couple times trying to catch my breath. Apparently swimming is the part of the Triathalon they recommend getting a coach for and I can see why. 

Just going there and swimming felt like a triumph! I walked out of there with goggle imprints on my face, wet hair freezing in the cold air and a smile on my face. Then I went to Starbucks and got a breakfast sandwich and a cappucino to celebrate. First swim done!

Tryin' a Tri

Well, we're about 1/2 a month into 2016 so I thought I'd get cracka-lackin on my New Years' resolution to train for and do a Triathalon. Every year for the past probably 4 years I've resolved to do one only to find an excuse not to do one. But not this year! It's gonna happen. To help keep me on track I've decided to blog about my successes, failures, and feelings during the whole training process.

Why am I training for a Triathalon?

For the shear fact that it's hard. 

I love running, I somewhat enjoy leisurely swimming, and I really don't like biking. So training for all 3 at the same time should require a lot of mental toughness and discipline.

I've found that being disciplined physically results in other areas of my life becoming more disciplined.

This is probably just me, but I need to exercise in order to be organized in all other areas of my life. I have spiritual goals and family oriented goals and in order to achieve them I need to exercise. 

I want to live a healthier lifestyle.

This is to value the life and body God created and to praise Him. 'When I run I feel His pleasure.' Is what Eric Liddel said in Chariots of Fire and I would say that too. When I run, I feel like I'm using what God gave me, finding joy in it and serving Him by serving others with the new energy I get from exercise. 

When I exercise I want to eat better..I crave pure water and veggies and fruit. Better diet has all sorts of advantages and now that we have a daughter there's an added incentive to looking after myself. 

So now what?

First - I gotta get a plan.

I have 7 months approximately until the Triathalon. It's been 7 months since I gave birth to our baby girl so I'm still not 100% where I was before my pregnancy. I'm going to start out by building habits.

Plan to work out.

I'm going to start out by running 3 times a week, swimming 1 time a week and doing home workout videos 2 times a week. Sunday is rest day. 

(Biking will be added to the regimen next month)

Plan to eat better and drink better.

I'm going on a sugar purge. Sugar is my addiction that I need to get rid of. It's ruining my life I just know it. So this week I'm cooking and baking sugar-free substitutes for my favourite goodies that will give me energy as well as kill my cravings. I baked sugar free pumpkin cream cheese muffins and sugar free chocolate chip cookies today. They taste great and I don't miss the guilt from eating real cookies full of sugar.

Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. 

Here are the recipe links to the baked goodies I tried:

Pumpkin - Cream cheese muffins:

http://www.veggiebalance.com/gluten-free-pumpkin-cream-cheese-muffins/

Sugar and Egg-free Chocolate chip cookies:

http://deliciouslyyum.com/unbelievably-healthy-chocolate-chip-cookies/

I'll check in later to tell you all how it's going! I'm excited! Can't wait to get in Triathalon shape!

Fixer Upper

           I've been on a homemaking kick lately. Or a nesting kick..there are many terms people use for it. This came as a result of watching many many episodes of the show 'Fixer Upper' on HGTV. I've been just mesmerized by how Joanna and Chip Gaines take homes that are seriously falling apart and make them into the most gorgeous, personalized homes for families. It inspired me, what can I say?

BEFORE:

AFTER:

      'The beauty is in the details' is a true saying. When Solomon built the Temple he didn't just erect a building filled with only the bare minimum practical necessities. He poured his time, his best resources and artistic creativity into designing and building a house for the Lord. How much attention we give to our creations reflects how much we truly care about them or who we're creating them for. It's a way to reflect Christ who has 'gone to prepare a place' for us, and who created a beautiful world out of chaos.

Walking into a home that has clearly had a lot of love and thought put into it is so comforting. I've been reminded lately that homemaking is a skill. It requires study, organization, coordination and creativity...it's a big responsibility! But an exciting one. What kind of job is there that can have such a loving, personal influence on someone? Whatever stage of life you're in, you can create a space where people can be welcomed, and fed both physically and spiritually. It can be tempting to think there's no point in decorating but there is! We've been created by a very creative God - as Christians we can point others to Him through our creativity. We can love others through our thought to detail. 

images courtesy of http://magnoliahomes.net

Birthday

My birthday recently passed as did one of my best friend's. She has a cool tradition of looking back over the last year and listing off all the things she's learned. So this year I want to do the same!

Since I spent most of my 27th year pregnant or with a newborn a lot of my learning experiences are related to that. So here's some things I learned and am thankful for:

1. Being handed your new baby is the most intense, wonderful, and heavy experience ever.

2. Certain experiences will awaken emotions inside you you never knew you were capable of.

3. God gives the grace you need.

4. Hold onto things with an open hand and be ready to roll with whatever big life changes God blesses you with. 

5. Momma's need encouragement!

6. Exercise and eating healthy are disciplines you'll thank yourself for later 

7. Canada's raw landscape is beautiful

8. I love living by the water

9. I'm such a sucker for surfing...love watching it..following the WSL... everything about it

10. I love being married and who I'm married to! Our differences are crucial.

11. Labour is as bad as people say. (I feel like they need to debrief you more after labour...that's a crazy experience! Some women must get PTSD from labour!)

12. But nevermind labour...the 1st month after your baby's born is hard! They should make epidurals for the whole first month post partum haha but seriously...

13. Don't be defeated by your short comings and failures. Learn from them, trust God, be thankful and continue to go for it. 

Now on to learning some more, can't wait to see what my 28th year will bring!

Baby Girl

June felt like the longest month I've had in a long time. It felt extremely full and busy, but in reality it probably wasn't. Steve and I welcomed our first child, Corrie Faith, into the world June 2nd. She entered the world quite dramatically, after 12 hours of labour via emergency c-section. Since my epidural stopped working I went under general anesthesia for the c-section so my first meeting with Corrie is very dream-like. I remember it though...and the intense and immediate love I had for her.

Since that day little Corrie has occupied all my time and thoughts. It's been an exhausting intro to parenthood but so good! When I feel like I'm so tired I can't move I just see her little face and suddenly I can do whatever she needs. I definitely appreciate my parents in a new way. It's hard caring for a little human! Speaking of my family...they were such an amazing support this month, God's gift of grace to us. They loved on us and especially Corrie like crazy and now that they've gone home we miss them so much.

A new chapter of life, and I can already tell its going to be the best.

It never stops

When we initially told my Dad and Step-mom that we were expecting they congratulated us, then my Dad said something along the lines of: "and now let the worrying begin".

I didn't understand exactly what he meant but gradually I started to get it. At first I was worried about miscarrying, then if baby was still alive in there and then after she started kicking I'd worry if I hadn't felt her in like 1/2 an hour. Did you know babies sleep in the womb too? 

Lately, I've started thinking about how much I just like her being in there. I just carry her around and she's safe, sheltered, and fed. I can't wait to finally be able to see her and hold her, but I can't help but be more aware than ever just how unsafe and impure the world is that she's entering. It's a beautiful world created by God, one that I'm excited to show her...but one I'm also afraid of her experiencing due to its imperfections. 

I want her to have a perfect world. Wouldn't that be nice? These thoughts have been stirring in me a more intense desire to be closer to God. Sooner or later my baby is going to discover her Momma is as flawed as this world is. I just also want her to discover Christ and the hope of He gives to her and all of us. I want her to see purity in me because of Him. 

I definitely can't protect her from everything, but when the worrying starts I can pray to the one who can. Who already knows all the hairs on her head..and who loves her more than me.

I never anticipated how motherhood would ignite a new passion and appreciation for my Saviour. I'll have to thank Baby later.

Psalm 103

Lotsa love

Valentines Day just passed. I was working for the majority of the day, and it was a cold, looooong day. Steve and I hadn't made any plans for V-day other than we'd celebrate the next week when I was off. So when I arrived home after work and felt heat streaming out of our living room I wondered if  there was a fire. Technically, just many little fires. Candles! Everywhere!

Steve really out did himself this year! Such a sweet guy. :)

In other news, I'm now 26 weeks preggers! Things have gone relatively smoothly thus far. Baby is extremely active and shares her Momma's love for chocolate judging by the excited kicks I get.

Lotsa love :)

Guess what Alicia

You'd think by now I wouldn't be surprised by anything. When you work in an Emergency department you see a lot of strange and shocking things, yet even after working in this dept. 5 years I still get grossed out and surprised to see things like a nurse strolling through the ER holding a bag of ice covering someone's amputated fingers..
Nasty..
One of the biggest challenges I face on a regular basis is just trying to keep confused patients in bed. I don't blame them, those stretchers were not made for long stays.

So one shift, not too long ago, I had a very pleasantly confused gentlemen as a patient. This man had been brought in during the night by EMS after being found in a bad state in a subway station. He had got into some kind of altercation which left him with facial fractures and a subarachnoid hemorrhage ..he was bleeding inside his brain.
This guy couldn't tell me where he was or what day it was, although he knew he had been in a fight and lost. He was determined to get out of that stretcher!
So to keep him safe, the doctor ordered a sitter to stay with him. Eventually a short, energetic man arrived and promptly got to his job of keeping Patient X in his stretcher. This sitter took his job way too seriously though and every time Patient X so much as scratched his nose, he would jump up and say 'No Mr.X! You must stay in your bed!' To which Mr.X would respond by swinging his fist at him.
It was getting to the point that the sitter was actually making Mr.X pretty aggravated. They would just sit there glaring at each other.

Eventually the sitter requested to go on his lunch break. And both me and Mr.X was like, 'yes! Please go!' The bad part was that just as the sitter went for lunch more patients started pouring in and I had
to attend to them.
I had been gone less than ten minutes when I noticed trail of blood leading from Mr. X's room all the
way down the hall. Mr. X was gone! And his IV was dangling from his IV poll..saline solution
pouring all over the floor.

All I had to do was follow the trail of blood and I found Mr.X. He was all the way across the ER scaring some visitors when both I and security arrived to escort him back to his room. I was so frazzled at this point! I started scolding him: ' Mr. X I told you not to get out of bed! You could've fallen! Man you're fast! I was gone like two seconds!'
And he was just laughing and responded, ' not fast enough or else I wouldn't of got in that fight!'

True..

In any case, I finally got him back to bed and his IV put back in. The sitter came back from break shortly after and asked, 'did he behave for you?' And I was like: 'no! He was very bad!'
Mr. X just lied there, eyes closed..smirking

Anniversary

Steve and I celebrated our 1st anniversary on Easter Sunday. Yes, Jesus did eclipse our celebration. I hope that is the theme of the rest of our married life together too - Jesus eclipsing all the good and bad.
It was a lovely year. We heard horror stories of first years of marriage but to our relief ours was great. We had so much fun getting to know each others' quirks, being able to snuggle together for warmth during an epic winter, being work out buddies, devotion buddies...everything buddies!


Some highlights and things I am thankful for:

- our Costa Rican honeymoon
- Steve's cleanliness
- watching seasons of  24 together...until someone got impatient and then watched waaaayyyy ahead of me.
- winter fireplace snuggle times
- lazy morning breakfast and coffee together
- when Steve talks in a Korean accent...kills me every time!
- shopping for our new home and decorating
- excited greetings when either of us return home from work
- working out together
- Steve saying, 'please don't steal the blankets tonight'. He's so polite
- Steve making Korean barbecue for dinner
- snowboarding trip for Valentines day
- serving together at church
- praying for our friends and family every meal
- love our apartment
- Penny - the dog we pretend is ours but actually lives upstairs with our landlords
- debriefing about our day before we fall asleep


Of course, things weren't all rainbows and butterflies but we definitely learned from the hard times. We went out for dinner and reminisced about the past year at the Keg Sunday night over nice juicy steaks. Then, to start off year two, we're heading to California next week for some good times with Dad and MariAnne and some surfing and fishing :)

Edith Schaeffer

thisisglamorous.com

Last night I was talking with a friend over a bowl of delicious ice cream while she did her family filing. Somehow we got onto the topic of home making and then onto Edith Schaeffer. This is the second time this friend has referred to Edith but this time she got out her book, 'The Hidden Art of Homemaking'. While flipping casually through the pages I felt like I had stumbled onto a gold mine! Just reading small portions of her book encouraged me to be the best wife and homemaker I can be for The Lord. What a lovely, wise woman. So today I thought I'd share some Edith Schaeffer quotes. Here they are:

“A Christian, who realizes he has been made in the image of the Creator God and is therefore meant to be creative on a finite level, should certainly have more understanding of his responsibility to treat God's creation with sensitivity, and should develop his talents to do something to beautify his little spot on the earth's surface.”
― Edith Schaeffer, The Hidden Art of Homemaking

“I am sure that there is no place in the world where your message would not be enhanced by your making the place (whether tiny or large, a hut or a palace) orderly, artistic and beautiful with some form of creativity, some form of ‘art’ (p. 213).”
― Edith Schaeffer, The Hidden Art of Homemaking

“Interior decoration is not just one's artistic efforts, but it is that which your home (even if it is just a room) is. If you are 'decorating' with clothes draped on every chair, with scratched and broken furniture- it is still your interior decoration! Your home expresses you to other people, and they cannot see or feel your daydreams of what you expect to make in that misty future, when all the circumstances are what you think they must be before you will find it worthwhile to start. You have started, whether you recognize that fact or not! We foolish mortals sometimes live through years not realizing how short life is, and that TODAY is your life.”
― Edith Schaeffer, The Hidden Art of Homemaking

“It seems to me that whether it is recognized or not, there is a terrific frustration which increases in intensity and harmfulness as time goes on, when people are always daydreaming of the kind of place in which they would like to live, yet never making the place where they do live into anything artistically satisfying to them. Always to dream of a cottage by a brook while never doing anything 

to the stuffy house in the city is to waste creativity in this very basic area, and to hinder future creativity by not allowing it to grow and develop through use." pg 66”
― Edith Schaeffer, The Hidden Art of Homemaking

“Is a Christian- one who communicates daily with the Creator- to divorce himself from the things God created and intended man to have, and which demonstrate the fact that man has been made in the image of God? In other words, are we who have been made in the image of our creator to be less creative than those who do not know the Creator? The Christian should have more vividly expressed creativity in his daily life.”
― Edith Schaeffer, The Hidden Art of Homemaking

Spring cleaning in the winter

Have you seen the movie: 'The Secret life of Walter Mitty'? I haven't, but I've been told by my Dad and sister that I am a female version of Walter Mitty.
Like Walter, I have an over-active imagination but in real life I play it fairly safe and am a bit shy. If you could just see my day dreams or my dreams you'd be inspired to write a screen play. I'm sure of it! In my mind I'm basically a dragon slayer.
Honestly, I can escape from many a situation into my world of fantasy or musings. It doesn't take much to make mind go off on a tangent. There has been many, many times that I refocus on the present to realize someone has been trying to get my attention for a long time.
What if that someone is God?
In yesterday's sermon, Pastor Julian was preaching on Luke 8: 1-21 and he brought up a good point while reflecting on the parable of the sower. Often people, like me, who have grown up in the church their entire lives can start becoming unresponsive to the gospel. They are like the seed that falls upon the good soil but gets choked by the thorns or the : 'cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature' (Luke 8:14 ESV). Julian challenged us to look at our priorities and declutter our lives to give ample time for reading the word, fellowshipping and being at church. 
What if you're at church but ... you're not at church?

I realized today, as I day dreamed out the window while I was supposed to be studying, that by day dreaming during the service I am exactly like that seed that won't mature. The decluttering needs to start before the church service though. My world view and musings are constantly being influenced by the secular music I listen to, Pinterest, Netflix ..etc... All those things, cumulated together, take up hours of my life. Seemingly harmless, but I know myself, and I know that the 'cares and riches and pleasures of life' are what I'm focussing on more than Christ. 

I also need to declutter my attitude. 

I have not even cone close to being completely sanctified. Yet, I subconsciously think that because I grew up with sound teaching I can now coast. Such a dangerous and presumptuous mindset! I encourage you pastor's kids and all of you who grew up in Christian homes to not adopt this prideful attitude. 
By not being present in corporate worship and during the teaching of the Word spiritual growth can definitely be stunted, you miss out on so many blessings and doubts and misgivings start to grow. Satan knows a vulnerable person when he sees one. I write from personal experience!

So decluttering isn't just good for a home decor show. Sometimes to see Christ clearly you need to purge your life of everything your looking at instead of Him. As for my day dreaming...well  I know taking notes definitely helps me focus!


Luke 8:15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

An ice storm and a trip to the beach

oh hello again.
I've sat down quite a few times to type something since I last posted and felt speechless. Like I don't know how to gather my thoughts.
A lot has happened though that's made me thoughtful and thankful.

Let's start with Christmas.
It was our first Christmas together and Steve and I made plans for making it one to remember! Well, all those plans got flushed down the drain when a massive ice-storm hit 3 days before December 25th knocking out our power...and all of our area of the city's power. My iPad also got stolen. I slept over at my friend's apartment one night and while we were out Christmas shopping the next morning someone broke in and ransacked the place. They stole some very sentimental and special things from my friend and my iPad. Not cool.
The day after this happened my sister flew from Honduras to spend the holidays with us. She said the power outtage reminded her of Honduras so at least she felt right at home.

(My friend Peter's house covered by a fallen tree)

It's amazing how fragile our society is! Take away electricity for a couple days and it's all pandemonium and chaos! The local mall seemed like the local charging station. Every outlet in the mall was being used to charge people's phones, laptops..etc.  But I digress..

Friends of ours from church let us stay with them because they still had electricity. That ended up being lovely. Church family to the rescue! In an attempt to not let our Christmas decorations go to waste we loaded them up in our car and took them with us! It was a lot of work and driving but we did celebrate Christmas....and all the extra work that went into it definitely was a bonding experience.

Fast forward a couple weeks later and Steve and I were in Florida, enjoying a lovely visit with my
parents. The rest and relaxation there was amazing. I got to run by the ocean every day, Steve fished
and we both got a break from our schedules back in Toronto.
I love being able to step back once and awhile to re-evaluate life, and that's exactly what I did in Florida. Before the trip I felt like I was drowning in tasks and responsibilities and guilt. I was overwhelmed. Going to Florida felt like hitting the reset button. Sitting by the ocean, I only added one thing to my agenda: to enjoy God and worship Him.

I miss the beach right now, and the simple, peaceful life down south. There, I was reminded of God's presence though - and that He is with me...everywhere I go. So I got home to start 2014 with a renewed sense of peace and purpose. I could easily get overwhelmed again but relying on God's strength both eases the load and gives courage.
No ice storm or first-world problem is capable of taking us away from our Saviour.

Psalm 100 : 5 (ESV)
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

First Interview!

I've been meaning to do this for awhile : interview my sister for this blog! She's pretty busy down in Honduras so it was nice of her to take the time to share about her life and ministry there. Thanks Laur!

Here it goes:

How did you end up in Honduras?

Wow. This could be a very long answer but I will try and sum it up! The Lord definitely started pulling on my heart when our family began travelling to Mexico to minister alongside MITC. I knew that I loved experiencing cultures and languages but truly fell in love with Latin culture. I think it was the passion I saw for Christ and the joyfulness in the simplicity of life. I remember telling the Lord, even being so young, that I would love to serve Him somewhere in Central America if He desired to send me there. I truly believe the Lord gave me the desire of my young heart, even being young in my faith. 

     At times it was a struggle through university because I knew my desire for serving cross culturally. It was a great time of trust, and I am so thankful that the Lord kept us in Canada and living with my Dad. His timing is perfect.

      When I graduated university it wasn't until the summer that the Lord directed me to Honduras. I was visiting my sister in Toronto when the school contacted me. I remember telling Kat that I was interested in pursuing the opportunity. From there I applied and then was travelling down to California to visit some good friends. Long story short- I was told, while travelling near L.A., to keep a phone nearby in case they called. I got the call while driving in car full of friends. We pulled off the highway and there I interviewed for the position with the principal, director and administrator of Pinares. The Lord's hand was clearly carrying the whole process and gave so much peace! I accepted the position without even warning my family. From there I had two weeks to get back to Thunder Bay pack up and fly to a new, completely unknown home. God was so gracious in the way He clearly directed the whole process! What a peace and joy He gives when walking freely in His spirit!  

How would you describe your ministry there? (what are you doing there to serve God?)

The main ministry is teaching here at Pinares. I am so blessed with 18 energetic fourth graders. It is such a blessing to be able to pray with them and over them. We talk about God and we are able to integrate the bible in all subject areas. It's a huge blessing! 

     Another main ministry is sports. We are just finishing up basketball season with the highschool girls. This year I was able to work alongside a new teacher who is an amazing basketball player. We work with an awesome group of girls who definitely come with their challenges. They are definitely teenage girls. Next week we are playing in the national tournament for their division. It has been so wonderful meeting them for lunches and just talking through life with them. Working them to the ground isn't so bad either! They have grown a lot. 

    In a couple weeks I will begin coaching the senior girls soccer. That season is longer but is also an excellent challenge. I work alongside a Honduran guy who is a husband of a coworker. This is my 3rd year working with him and he is a big blessing and has taught me a lot about coaching and spanish. In all leadership positions I feel that I fall so short, and that is when God reveals himself so clearly. 

    Another ministry is leading a small group for some of the teachers. We are currently going through Galatians for You by Tim Keller. There are some very wise and very christ-like examples in this group. This has become one of my favourite nights of the week. We pray and seek God in all areas of our lives presently. Such an awesome time of fellowship!

    Other than that there are different ministries that we are involved with in the city and on the mountain. There is somewhat of a group home for teenage girls who have nowhere to go just down the road. We try a couple times a month just to visit and love on them. 

List of Favourite things about life in Tegucigalpa:

This list could go on for awhile.

1. The mountain : I never cease to be in awe of God's beauty up here. We can go on early morninng runs, hikes, and watch the sun rise. There are pine trees everywhere. Flowers grow wild on the side of the road. etc.etc. I have to stop and watch the city as we drive up the mountain everyday. The views and majesty of the mountains will never get old. 

2.The people : Honduran people have a special zest for life. We have workers at the school who are into their sixties and have labored so hard their entire lives. They still play and laugh like little kids. It is normal to see them joking and wrestling around. Hondurans love to find joy in the blessings from God. They are also very "tranquillo" (chill) in general. They are also some of the most hard-working people I have ever met! Some of the nannies I work with leave there homes at 4 am to catch a bus up the mountain and don't return home to their families until 7 at night. I aspire to have this kind of servant and joyful heart. 

3. Food : At the market you can buy so much fresh fruits and vegetables without putting the slightest hole in your pocket. Food here is so fresh and cheap. My favourite food is fruits, therefore there really couldn't be a better place to eat. 

4. Community : We live in a gated area for safety with a giant gringo family! Our apartment has a key that hangs outside so that if the door closes it still welcomes anyone who needs a haven. This is normal where we live. Houses are always filled with people eating and visiting eachother. The biggest connection of course is Christ. There is a unique and special love that we have for our Pinares family here that is only on account of the love of Christ. It's pretty cool to watch it in action. 

5. Coffee... but I see there's another place to talk about this below!

6. Lifestyle: There is a saying here that goes TIH. (This is Honduras) There is nothing here that is graven into stone. Plans change multiple times a day just because of different things that occur. Hondurans are the masters at this because they do not worry. They don't stress and do not let a little schedule change (or a big one) affect their attitudes. People come first here. If you are late for a meeting that could change the world but you see your friend's Grandma selling flowers, of course you will stop and talk to her about her day. I love this. A couple weeks ago I was trying to get out of our gate to get to the city for church but there was a herd of cows. The guard calmly asked me to come and help get them off the road. There we are with sticks making noises I've never heard so that they could move. Is it normal for Honduras? Absolutely. For North Americans? Probably not. The lights go out regularly and our running water goes off at random times. What do you do? Whatever you can in the moment and just roll! 

(this list will stop here because there are a lot of random blessings to add) 

Has life there changed you?

I hope so! haha I pray that I have changed and will continue to change by God's grace. Thanks to God especially for Honduran and American friends- there is a consistent fellowship here. The Lord has definitely shown me that sacrificing for others and loving others in Christ is what it is about. I have become more accustomed to talking to others about Christ and freely with strangers. I have been humbled in everyway through working in different jobs here. It has shown me how much I need a savior and I need God's grace each day. It has also grown my trust in Christ, especially through prayer. It is not the safest place to live but it is certainly the best. I have personal friends who have been taken for ransom and some I have met who have been shot and survived. The Lord has shown so much grace to me just through being robbed a couple times. He has changed perspective on an urgency for the lost, and just walking where He leads fearlessly.

How's the coffee?

Perfect. A weakness. A daily desire. A huge blessing. An excuse to go visit with friends. haha But seriously...you need to come and try it. Two words: Espresso. Americano. 

Has your view of God changed by being there?

Yes. This is an answer to prayer. I feel that the more time I spend here the more in love I am with God. I think it is especially working with and alongside so many people. I see how the Lord is working in their lives. I watch kids and teens from broken and desperate situations surrender everything to Him. Then to see them be filled with joy and a desire to serve Him is unlike everything else. I see Him in the streetkids we get to visit. I see Him even in the boys who are addicted to glue. The Lord made them and loves them. He has revealed Himself and continues to reveal Himself daily. 

I see God more now as a source of joy, a savior, a daily necessity, grace and forgiveness. 

Favourite verse(s)? :

This year this has been a big life verse: Hebrews 12:1-3

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

-I love the visual of not being dragged down by the darkness and sin around us. We are to fix our eyes on Him!

Any song recommendations/ music artist recommendations?

Since we are on the latin subject here are some good worship artists! Music here is also a huge blessing..did I mention that? 

Christine D'Clario: Magnified/Magnifico, Gloria en Lo Alto

Evan Craft: Despiertame Hoy

Tercer Cielo: Creere, Latin America 

Jesus Adrian Romero: Dame tus Ojos, Mi Universo

Ways to beat the blues

'How did you get sick?!' was my Father's reply this morning when I told him that I was twenty-six. At least I'm not so old that my hearing's gone like some people. :)

Today I am twenty- six, and I do not feel much different. However, sometimes when I think about how much has happened in the past twenty-six years I get concerned. A lot has changed and happened! Can I handle another decade or two or three or four or five? That makes me sound like my life is really hard. It is not. I just have average first world problems for the most part mixed with blessings galore. I can sometimes focus on the few negative things even though I know life is beautiful thanks to Christ.

Steve, my husband, pointed out today that I can dwell too much on the negative. Steve is generally an optimist and I love that I'm married to him. He can always turn my raincloud into sunshine. I prefer to think I'm a realist though. The reality being that there is so much sin, and life is hard sometimes! It can be overwhelming. Steve also pointed out that its in those times of feeling overwhelmed that I'm listening to myself not preaching the truth to myself.
So after pondering this, and deciding that he was right again, I thought of ways to get my focus off of negativity and onto Christ and heavenly things.

1. Recall scripture. I love that so many times there's the phrase: "But God..." in the bible.
example: Ephesians 2:4-6 '4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,' (ESV)
That phrase: "But God" can come after any negative thought and suddenly you're thinking about how the power of God trumps anything bad that can happen or is happening.

2. Pray

3. Christ. Just remember the hope there is in Christ.

4. Seek Fellowship. Don't hide in your basement all alone with your thoughts, go talk to a solid brother or sister in The Lord who will preach truth to you when you can't. Be with the church.
5. Appreciate God's creation.



This was this view I woke up to this morning. Steve whisked me away to Niagra Falls for my birthday and just being around such a majestic and powerful display of God's power in creation made me thankful and amazed.

6. Worship. 
11 Psalm 30:11-12
'You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
    you have loosed my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!'

These pointers are nothing new, but hopefully you are reminded of ways to be encouraged or how to put whatever is heavy on your heart into perspective.

Running

I've been trying to change for the better, physically, lately. Running a lot. My friend and I signed up for a half marathon in October and I'm hoping it will go better than my last one (no drinking a large coffee and eating a chocolate chip cookie right before the race starts).
With running, improving is an objective and measurable goal.  On our early 0545am runs, my friend and I often discuss why running is a good and worthwhile discipline. "I heard John Piper runs", "I feel so much better after" etc. The great thing is we can see when we are getting faster and running farther.

Why is it that the most worthwhile objectives are the most difficult to attain?

Running is a constant reminder to me of our spiritual journey.  It is opposite of our nature to act and think like Christ, yet it is our goal as Christians to strain towards Christ-likeness. Like looking at an Olympian in peak fitness and then looking down at your own meager fitness level. When we see His perfection in comparison to our current state we yearn to be rid of all our sin and filth.  God awakens in us that small part of us that knows we aren't as we should be. That there's something better. That if we remain the same we will waste our lives.
I'm reminded of Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit". Gandalf proposes a grand adventure to this comfortable Hobbit. He is the last person in Middle Earth who would want to go fight off a dragon and reclaim dwarf treasure! It is the exact opposite of his nature. Yet Bilbo does go. Gandalf awoke that tiny adventurous part of him that knows there is something much bigger than his simple life. The hardest part was getting him out of that Hobbit hole! (Much like getting me out of my bed at 0530 am to run!)

I just want to encourage my fellow believers to persevere. Do not be discouraged if your old nature kicks in and you feel so far from being like Christ. His grace is sufficient.  There's a part in the movie "Chariots of Fire" where Eric Liddel falls during an important race but then you seem him look up, get back on his feet and take off. He won that race somehow. Gives me goosebumps every time I see that part.
Christians are not to be stagnant; we were made for a higher purpose. Christ calls us out of our hobbit holes to do hard but amazing things for His kingdom.

Philippians 3: 13-14
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining  forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.