The First Real Snow!

December first, and it's the first day its really snowing! It's so pretty outside. The trees and grass are covered in a layer of white. The first snow fall is always welcome. It wouldn't feel like the Christmas season without the snow. I love the lights that get put up on houses, and down city streets. The city always looks so pretty during winter. There are always many activities going on too. There is the Santa Claus parade, skating at the forks, tobogganing all over the city, the Christmas program and the play at church, and the family gatherings. There is so much to do! My family used to go chop down our own Christmas tree when we lived in Alberta. It's amazing how so many traditions and events revolve around the birth of Jesus. Christmas is so festive!

Two and a half weeks!

The countdown is on. Two weeks left of school, plus a half week for exams. I can't wait! I think it will be so relaxing to go home and not have to worry about studying or completing assignments. I'll probably have to get a job though. I mean I won't have to, but I like to spend money so it will probably be a good idea. I'll also have to buy Christmas presents, which will cost more money. I haven't even bought any gifts yet. The more I think about it, the more the Christmas season sounds stressful. I guess any situation can appear stressful or relaxing, depending on how you look at it. It will be a good feeling to finish off well this semester. It will also be so nice to sleep in my own bed. Maybe I can get a job with some friends, that is always fun.

Autobiography

Attending Simonhouse Bible Camp as a kid, Julia never thought she would ever be a counselor: “It never crossed my mind.” It was not until she reached 15 that her mother suggested she apply to be a counselor. Her friend applied as well, and they excitedly embarked on the adventure that is a camp counselor.

During the first week of staff training, the staff went around in a circle to say why each had chosen to go to camp. One counselor said that she had told God she would give the camp three summers, so she was back for summer number three. Julia was impressed this girl had gone for three summers. She silently prayed to God “That’s great Arlyn wants to do a three summer deal God, but one summer is enough for me.”

The kids came and she was a counselor-in-training (C.I.T.), which meant she spent every week in a different cabin with a different counselor helping them out. She made a lot of friends, and felt really encouraged in her faith. She could not believe how much fun she had during the summer. She knew she would have to go back.

The second summer she went back, she was a counselor in her own cabin. She had a lot more responsibility and she was stretched in her faith. She was a mentor to both her C.I.T., and to her campers. She learned how to take care of other people. She learned how to comfort homesick girls, take girls to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and clean up messes when the girls did not wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. She learned how to love kids who were not always easy to love, and listen to kids who needed someone to talk to. It was a very challenging summer for Julia, but she found it very rewarding.

She had put in two summers to camp. She knew God was revealing to her that He knew better than she did what was ‘enough’ for her. He had placed the camp on her heart, so she went back again.

Her third summer, she was a counselor as well as the camp lifeguard. She had even more responsibility and even less time for herself. She had never felt she had served God so much in her life. It was another fantastic summer.

Camp has been a growing experience for her over the past three summers. She could not believe she had made it to three summers after she had specifically told God what she wanted. “God knows what you can handle, if you try to tell him any different, he will stretch exactly how you don’t want to be stretched, but in the end, you will always be better off for it.”

Bordertown Cafe

Tonight I have the pleasure of seeing a play at Bordertown Cafe. Bordertown Cafe is in Winnipeg and all the acting and theater students are required to go. I'm excited, I like watching live performances. This summer I went to Beauty and the Beast at Rainbow stage and it was amazing. I'm not really a movie person, but live performances I'm all over. I appreciate the work they put into sets, costumes, and choreography that much more when I can see it for myself. I'm hoping the play is entertaining, and that it will be a good night.

Fire Alarm

Last night I was woken up at 3:15 by a screaming fire alarm. The alarm is unbearable which forces people out of the building faster. I didn't even mind leaving the warm but excruciatingly loud building to stand outside. Everyone was wide awake, first because of the sound, and second because of the cold air.

The first time we had the fire drill I completely freaked out because the sound isn't like any fire bell I've ever heard before. I somehow ended up sitting on my roommates lap covering my ears and squeezing my eyes shut. Thank goodness we had had a previous drill, otherwise I wouldn't have recognized the drill and who knows how I would have freaked out at 3 in the morning.

Starting Over

She will never forget the first morning she woke up alone. The family had returned to their normal lives one by one over the past month. The last one, her daughter, had left yesterday.

The house was cleaner then it had been in a long time, and the fridge was loaded with food. Baked goods, assorted veggie trays, and casseroles were ready to fall out if the door were to open. She sat down at the kitchen table like she did every morning. Three bouquets of flowers took up all the room on the small wooden table.

Nancy strolled into the kitchen sitting up on her hind legs, begging for her breakfast. “I guess it’s just you and me now cat.” she whispered to her. The cat meowed back. She always had something to say back.

She dished out the cat’s breakfast, but wasn’t hungry herself. She didn’t bother making breakfast for herself if none else needed to eat. She wandered into the living room and thought she would see what was on TV.

She sat down in her soft chair, and gazed across the room at the big empty green chair. “I guess I get to choose the program she thought.” She knew how to use the remote. She was the one who would turn the TV down when the phone rang, or off when he had fallen asleep in his chair. She didn’t know what kinds of programs were on TV though. She had only ever watched the news or politics with him, or the cartoons with the grandchildren. She hadn’t realized there were so many other kinds of programs on TV. She found a rerun episode of the young and the restless. She really enjoyed watching the TV.

The phone rang. It was her daughter telling her she was home safe. They didn’t talk for too long before her daughter promised to call back every Wednesday and hung up. Her youngest son had also promised her he would be calling her once a week on Sundays. It frustrated her to think they were worried about her. She had taken care of herself for most of her life. And up until a month ago she had been taking care of her 95-year-old husband as well. She was happy to talk to them though, and find out what was going on in their lives, even though they lived so far away.

She watched TV longer, then got up in time to make lunch. She knew Irene was coming over on her lunch break, Irene had promised she would come over throughout the week. Although her oldest son wasn’t legally married to Irene, she considered her a daughter-in-law.

A neighbor came over in the afternoon for tea and a visit. She watched TV for the rest of the evening before going to bed.

Slowly her routine came together. Sophie called Wednesdays; Robbie called Sundays. Ron came into town every second day to visit, get groceries, and pick up her lotto tickets. Irene came for lunch during the week, and she had three different neighbors who would also visit throughout the week in the afternoons. She fed the cat and let her out morning and night. She read the paper every morning, and watched TV in the evening. She waited up late on Friday for her super 7 numbers on TV, and played NCI FM bingo on Saturday mornings.

She is happy, and she hardly ever feels alone.

Santa Claus Parade

I went to the Santa Claus parade on Saturday with my family. I was really excited to go because I hadn’t been to a parade since I was young. We got there late and ended up standing behind rows of people. I couldn’t see anything unless the float was on a big truck. I’m also too big to sit on my dad’s shoulders. It was very chilly as well. I had thought I dressed warm enough, even wearing long johns under my pants, but I was frozen. We ended up leaving early and missing the end of the parade. I thought it would be fun going with my family, but I think parades are a kid thing. You either need to be a kid (that way everyone lets you stand in front to see, and you catch all the candy) or you need to be with kids (to watch how amazed they are by all the floats and characters). Also, it helps if you’re dressed warm enough.

Rumors

I realized I didn't blog on Friday, because I had a lot going on, so tonight I will write an extra long blog, because I have a lot to say!

No one I talk to ever knows where Providence is. I always get strange looks when I tell relatives, friends, and hairdressers where I go to school. Even the U of M librarian hadn’t heard of Providence. If anything, people think I’m referring to a school in the U.S., Providence in Rhode Island, which is a highly regarded school. The other night I was at a friend’s house and there were some other people there as well. I watched one boy I know come in. I was talking with some friends so I didn’t go greet him right away, but I noticed he was staring at me. Finally he came up to me awkwardly and I excitedly asked him how he was and what he was doing this year. After staring unresponsive at me for what must have been 20 seconds, he asked “Julia?” I was really surprised he didn’t recognize me so I confirmed who I was and asked if I looked different.

He told me I didn’t look different but he thought I was going to school at Harvard in the U.S. so he didn’t think I would be in Winnipeg. I laughed pretty hard when I realized that there was a rumor going around that I go to Harvard simply because people mixed up Prov. with the school in the states. Its pretty rare rumors are flattering!

The Italian Crucifixes

Apparently in Italy crucifixes in classrooms are banned because they hider children rights to freedom of religion. Parents are upset because they want their children to have a choice whether they want to believe or not. Crucifixes are pressuring the kids to believe in Christianity.

Crazy! These parents are concerned for their children so they choose to ban crucifixes? Why not porn or degrading music if they're so concerned about their child's moral.

The Greek Orthodox and the Catholic church are uniting together to take a stand against this. Bishop Nicholas from Greece, is worried that at this rate kids "will not have any worthy symbols at all to inspire and protect them."

I don't believe the symbols will protect anyone, and to me thinking they will is idolatry. I think they are a good thing though, because they are a reminder of Jesus, and what he did for us. I am surprised something like this would happen in such a 'catholic' country like Italy. To me this emphasizes how much power a symbol of a cross must have if satan feels the need to try to get rid of them.

November 11th

Today is remembrance day, and while I didn't attend a service I did donate a moment of silence. I was walking along the highway during this minute of silence, and I absorbed the view of fields around me. I never really understood when I was younger why I would be 'thankful' for someone who fought a war half way across the world before I was born. Now, thanks to history class, I have more of an understanding on why those wars were important to Canada. I'm so thankful we live in a free country. A guy from my church was deployed to Afghanistan last month; I can't even imagine doing something like that. I really am thankful for all the men and woman who have spent time trying to make the world a better place.

Car Shopping

I want a car so badly! The problem is I can't afford one.

I have been pretty spoiled since I got my license two years ago. I can't recall a single time when my parents refused to let my take the car. I drove to school, work, and anywhere else I needed to. I always had that freedom.

Now that I don't have access to a car, I feel trapped! I have a couple friends with cars at Prov., but I feel like if I suggest going somewhere it means I am 'using' them, even though I am not. I could buy a cheap car, but there is the whole issue of insurance, making sure its safetied,having winter tires, and gas. Also I don't want a car that will break down on me all the time.

I guess this means I am just going to have to deal with being 'trapped', and hitching a ride where I can.

Pool Night

Tonight is a Monday so it is care group night. I always have a night class before a care group, and an 8:30 class the next morning. This means I never really look forward to them because I am tired, or I know I will be tired. I have a bad attitude I guess. I always have fun when I am at care group though. I like being with the other girls in my dorm! Tonight I am especially excited because we are using my suggestion! We are going to have a pool tournament in the student life center. I was getting pretty good at pool not to long ago, but I haven't played in awhile. I hope everyone else likes it too!

Art Corman 1914-2009

Arthur Myron Corman, a hardworking trapper and family man of the north, passed away peacefully at the age of 95 surrounded by his family in The Pas Hospital on Friday January 2, 2009. He entered the hospital a day before, after falling and suffering a heart attack.

Art grew up in the Winnipegosis area, but later moved to the north to work in mining, diamond drilling, and trapping. His hard labor rewarded him with a long healthy life. He lived in Herb Lake for 9 years before moving permanently to The Pas commuting to his trap lines in the Snow Lake area. He didn’t retire until he was 75. He was a wise man who loved to talk to anyone, especially about politics and religion. Everyone was welcome in his home, unless you disagreed with his opinions. At Christmas he would go to the bank and take out money to give to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; and buy boxes of chocolates and whiskey for his company. This would give him time to spend with his family, instead of shopping, and meant he didn’t have to worry about what to get. He did not believe in worrying, which is why he claimed he lived so long.

Art is survived by his wife, Anne Corman; children, Ron Corman (Irene Bjarnson), Robert Corman, Sophie (Greg) Chartran; grandchildren, Greg Chartrand, Carri (Jack) McDonald, Annette Chartrand, Tammy (Peter) Posillipo, Trudy Chartrand; and great-grandchildren, Julia and Jackson McDonald, Devon and Luc Posillipo, and Seth Chartrand.

Edible Animal Flesh

Eating meat has always grossed me out. The thought of eating muscle off of an animal is revolting. I have been known to eat chicken but as of late, all meat is unappealing.

People tease me about being a vegetarian, but I'm not, I try to get my daily protein. Killing animals isn't my main concern, although I think slaughterhouses are disturbing. I used to say I never liked the taste of meat, which is true. I've tried most meat, and I just don't like the taste of it. The main point that turns me off of meat though is the thought of eating something that used to breathe, eat, and go to the bathroom.

I've seen kids in The Philippines fight about eating the eye of a fish, and enjoying soup with half formed chick fetus's as the delicacy. (Maybe that's why I don't like eggs either.) You think I would appreciate the "packaging" of meat we have here.

I know it's supposed to be a normal part of life to eat meat, so I try. One of my favourite meals I like to make is sweet and sour meatballs, just don't ask me to eat them!

Procrastination

pro·cras·ti·nate (transitive and intransitive verb)
-postpone doing something

I am a procrastinator. To be honest though, I like to think of myself as a productive procrastinator.

pro·duc·tive (adjective)
- producing much

I have two term papers due next week; one I haven't started yet, and the other one is almost halfway done. I had plenty of time today to work on either of them. Instead I've been vacuuming, cleaning, doing laundry, and I went to the gym. I also had three classes today. To me these are reasons to justify not doing homework. Ordinarily I'm not big on chores, but when I have something else I don't want to do, they seem like a better option. Well at least tomorrow I'll have no excuse. I'll have to start working on my homework!

Life is a Party!

The Halloween party tonight, was fantastic! I had so much fun decorating, seeing all the costumes, watching/playing the games, dancing, and visiting with people. I couldn't help but notice there were many people just sitting around, not doing much. If that's how they have fun then that's great! I have to be honest though if people weren't having a good time, it had nothing to do with the party. The party is what you make of it. Life is what you make of it! If you want to sit around like a bump on a log complaining about everything, then that is your choice. You can have fun at whatever you do even if it might seem "lame". The next time you feel like complaining, don't. Think about instead what you can do to make it better, and you will always have fun!

Baking

I can't even remember the last time I baked anything. So when I was asked if I wanted to help bake some cakes for the Providence Halloween party I was pretty excited. Apparently it's not like riding a bike because I could not crack the egg. Luckily Sarah was there to save the cake from eggshells. I love the smell of something baking in the oven!

Don't worry if you're planning on eating the cake I only had a small part in making it. It's going to be great! The whole party is going to be great so I encourage everyone to come out who can!

Camper Cards

Well it's that time of year, end of October, getting ready for Halloween, and the camper cards get mailed out to the counselors. I recieved 42 newsletters last week meaning I have to attach a personal note for all of the campers I had over the summer, and then mail them out before October 31. This is an extremely time consuming task, and time is something I've been lacking lately. Once I get going I enjoy writing to all the campers. I have a little bit of a basic format, telling them what I'm up to, reminding them what they did this summer, encouraging them to come back , and I try to give every girl a different Bible verse I think applies to them.
I've only written seven so far, and the huge stack of letters remains looming over me, literally; they're on the shelf above me. The work of a counselor is never finished!

Garbage Picker

I was just minding my own business, sitting in my room doing homework, when my roommate comes in panicked. She realized she had left her retainer on her tray at lunch so it had likely been thrown out. Being the empathetic person I am, I laughed. Then I suggested she ask the kitchen if who ever was doing dishes had found it. She wasn't up for that idea, but knew her dad would kill her if she didn't try to look for it. I told her we had to look, and the worst that could happen would be we'd have to dig through the garbage.

We ended up having to dig through the garbage. It was really disgusting, you would not believe how much food people waste. There was a whole slice of bread, a whole slice of pizza, and even a whole wrap amongst the lunch scraps. We started getting worried as we were able to see the bottom of the garbage can. Finally I found the retainer, with someones banana peel, spaghetti, and rice wrapped around it, but it was fine. She was really happy to have her retainer back. She put it back in her mouth right away! Just kidding; she's boiling it as I type. It wasn't too bad digging through the garbage, but I don't recommend you try this at home.

What to Wear?

This weekend my friend came to Winnipeg, and I went to meet her. She's getting married in May, so she wanted to do her wedding dress shopping. I was really excited to go with her, her mom, another friend, and one of her friends I didn't know. It was really exciting to look through all the dresses and see her try them on. There were some really beautiful ones, and they're were some straight up ridiculous ones. After a few hours, shopping lost the glamor, we were starving, and all the dresses had started to look the same. We decided we were going to look at one more store, but my friend thought she would just have a dress made because she wasn't finding anything. We ended up going in and couldn't find a whole lot. I pulled out a dress that was really different than the kinds we had been looking at and convinced her to try it on. She came out looking stunning! It was the dress for her! It was even on sale, half the price of most of the dresses she'd been trying on. I can't wait to see her walk down the aisle in the dress I picked out for her.

Costco

Who doesn't love Costco? My grandparents think its the greatest thing ever. Whenever they drive into the city they always want to take us to Costco for supper, mostly because it's cheap.

I've noticed that if you were to try the samples they always have, it's pretty much like eating a meal.

My grandparents took us out tonight to eat there, something that used to embarrass me. Most families go out for supper somewhere nice, we don't even go to a real restaurant. One time when my grandparents were visiting, my grandpa wanted to take us to Costco to eat but he didn't have a Costco card, and my parents were away. My brother and I ended up following my grandpa, who sneakily entered the wrong way, to make it past "security" into Costco. We ate our food, and then for dessert, he pulled McDonald's apple pies out of his jacket pocket. He's definitely a one-of-a-kind guy, but I love him.

Home away from home away from home!

I like being at Prov. and hanging out with my new friends, but I still miss my friends in the city (Winnipeg). I was asked at supper if I wanted to tag along and go to the city with some people. I still have homework to do but I couldn't turn down the offer. We drove to the U of M campus and I surprised my friend in dorm.
Thank goodness my friend is letting me use her computer so I can do my blog!
It's nice to be able to catch up with my friend and just have a relaxing evening in her dorm and meet some of her friends.

Gossip Girls

My roommate and I were talking on Tuesday night, and we decided we needed a change. We had just finished gossiping pretty harshly about someone and noticed our gossiping was getting really out of hand. That statement is really funny for us to think about because my roommate has never been one to gossip her whole life, and I am usually very careful about what I say about others. We agreed to make a complain/gossip jar (like a swear jar) and for every time we complain or gossip, put a quarter in the jar. When we have enough money we’ll buy a fish! I’m sure I could quit gossiping cold turkey, but I hope my roommate can’t, because I really want that fish!

God's Calling Me!

So I finally feel called in my life. I mean I'm always listening for God to tell me what to do with my life, or at least I've always felt I've been listening, but nothings ever been really clear to me. Today at chapel though, I felt really clearly what direction I should head.

It was really hard for me to decide what to do after high school because I didn't know what I wanted to study, or where. To be honest I don't have a clear reason for choosing to come to Providence, and I really like it here, but I sometimes question if I've made the right choice. I've always had an interest in drama and journalism, but I've also always had an interest in guiding kids (from the experience of volunteering at kids clubs and as camp counselor) and thought maybe I would be a teacher like my mom. Plus I'm a fan of the whole summer vacation deal. I wanted to do many other things too like a lawyer, doctor, astronaut, entrepreneur, and many others, so I've been having a hard time to narrow my path of interest. For as long as I can remember though, I always thought in the back of my head I would be a missionary. When I would think about what career path I wanted to follow, I would always think about whether or not it would be useful as a missionary. I've probably started thinking this way since grade 3, when we billeted a Philippino woman from YWAM, who had come to do her outreach to the native reserve beside my town. A couple years later my family ended up doing a YWAM outreach to an orphanage in The Philippines.

Today, in chapel, I felt clear as a bell that I was needed in Africa. My friends have always teased me that I'm going to be a missionary in Africa, but secretly I've always believed them. I'm a lifeguard, so I've been taking first aid courses for a few years now and it's always been interesting to me. This has played a role in helping me decided that I want to take nursing (something I've never really considered before) and work at an orphanage in Africa! I think God has always put that on my heart, but its such a radical idea it would be hard to follow; I haven't been taking it as a serious option. I can just imagine my extended family's and friend's reactions; they would think I'm crazy. But I can't follow them, I have to follow God, and what he's placed on my heart.

Failure is Not and Option

I may have quit things in the past, (like figure skating, piano lessons, gymnastics, guitar lessons, soccer, ringette, baseball, you get my point) but fail? NO! I am not a failure. So why did I completely blank on my calc midterm today? I can't fail that exam, I don't like to fail.
Nevertheless I'm pretty sure I did. I knew the stuff I blanked on too. It was the easy stuff. The stuff I waved my prof on about when I asked him questions before the exam. I knew how to do it!
The point of the exam is to demonstrate what I have learned. That wasn't an accurate representation of my knowledge. I know I know that stuff and my prof knows I know that stuff; why then do I have to determine my mark through a failed exam?

I built these walls, well I decorated them

Last night I finally reached my breaking point, I was fed up with my bare looking room. I had tried to brighten it up by putting up pictures, but there were still so many bare spots. I had meant to bring more pictures or something else to decorate my room with when I was home for thanksgiving, but I forgot. My roommate had offered me construction paper, and at first I politely declined, but eventually I gave in. I ended up using the construction paper to make a pretty border around the room. Then, because I'm a knitter, I used some yarn I have to make a big squiggle pattern on my wall I organized my pictures around the yarn. I know what you're thinking, "Construction paper and yarn? TACKY!" but I have to say, I like it!

Vintage 21

Today I was showing the vintage 21 videos to a couple friends, and I don't think they found it as funny as I did. These videos are on You Tube and I guess to some people can be considered controversial. Personally I find them hilarious. The videos are done by a youth pastor, and they're supposed to represent how the secular world views Christianity. He's taken clips from the movie The Greatest Story Ever Told, and he's dubbed voices over top to change the "Jesus story" to what non-Christians might view as the "Jesus story".
There's one part where I think in the movie Jesus is greeting all of his disciples, but in the vintage 21 videos hes telling each of them what they've done wrong since he's seen them last, "Andrew you said a naughty word when you hit your finger with a hammer, James you laughed at him when he hit his finger".
I think it's a funny way to open up non-Christians eyes to see how silly it is to think that Jesus only allows us to have fun if we're "laughing at how dumb the devil is", or we can only be Christians if we "wear a t-shirt with (Jesus') face on it". Some people think the videos are making fun of God, but i think you don't know God very well if you think those videos are how Jesus lived here on earth.

Everybody wants to go to Heaven

Why are people uncomfortable with Christianity? Why aren't non-Christians searching for God? Why don't they worry about what happens after death? I think they are searching for God on some level, but they're scared of what they'll find.

I asked my dad how people could believe in aliens or ghosts, but they couldn't believe in God. He told me it's because ghosts and aliens don't require a commitment, believing in them doesn't change your whole life.

I was at a party over the weekend and my friends boyfriend (we'll call him Jim) asked what I would do if one of my friends was gay. Because he was intoxicated I told him my friend wasn't gay and shrugged him off. He continued to follow me telling me I would be really sad because my friend would go to hell and I'd never see him again. I told him that just because he would be gay didn't mean God wouldn't forgive him if he asked. Jim responded by telling me it says gays can't go to heaven in the Bible. I finally recognized that Jim wasn't trying to bug me about about some friend being gay or just talking nonsense from being intoxicated; he was curious about heaven and hell.

I quoted Romans 10:9 to him and I explained the best I could that being gay was a sin along with pedophilia, murder, stealing, and lying, and that we've all sinned. All sin separates us from God, but through Jesus we can be forgiven. He argued with me saying he didn't believe that God could forgive someone as evil a murderer. I told him" God knows your heart and knows if you honestly want that forgiveness. If you truly do ask for that forgiveness you'll want to live your life to honor Him, which includes abstaining from a gay lifestyle, if you were gay, and therefore you would go to heaven."

His girlfriend and a few other friends had come up to us and started begging for him to shut up. My friends know I'm a christian, and because of it they act like there's an unwritten rule not to talk to me about God because I'm going to condemn them to hell. I wish they would understand I'm not trying to condemn them to hell just because I'm helping them to recognize they're not living for God; I want them to go to heaven. I get really excited when I am able to talk about God to non-Christians, particularly my friends. I just wish everyone else wasn't so uncomfortable.

Prodigal God

Over the weekend I was able to go home. So of course I had to bring homework, and of course I didn't start it until Monday. As I was sitting in my room trying to focus before I had to head back to school, I could hear my dad put in a DVD in the next room. I'm not really sure what this DVD was for; my parents host a young adults group every other Sunday so it could be for that. Nevertheless I found myself distracted listening to a lecture called the prodigal God.
Every time I heard the parable of the prodigal son, I've always found myself more curious about the older brother. I felt he was never really explained well enough to me. This DVD talked about that story of the older brother. The older brother is supposed to represent those who are seeking to receive their inheritance from their father by following all the rules. This older brother could be called a christian, or someone who is living for the lord. The older brother could be compared to the Pharisees as well when Jesus told it.
In all of the the other parables about something being lost, there was always someone to find it. In the prodigal son no one goes looking for him. This is because it is assumed that the older brother's job is to look for his lost brother. It is his responsibility to look for him no matter what the cost is to bring him home. It was his job to bring him home just like it is our job to bring our lost "brothers and sisters" to Christ.
Jesus is our big brother. He earned his inheritance by following all the rules, but at his cost, he came to look for us, so that we can share his inheritance in heaven.
I had never had that parable explained to me like that, it really makes me look at the whole parable differently.
Too bad it distracted me from homework.

Karaoke Night!

For this blog entry, I was asked to observe a particular scene and to describe what was going on. I started out in the student lounge center, but I didn’t notice too much activity. Later on I attended the student Karaoke night, and I realized that is what I wanted to describe.

The hosts looked nervous as they began warming up the eager crowd, who were still awkwardly filing into the room. The audience continued to watch attentively as the hosts gestured to the sign up sheet, begging someone to write their name and choose their song for karaoke. One of the hosts improvised a commercial to entice the audience to help themselves to the refreshment table. To demonstrate how great the food was, he shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth and slurped some juice. While the other host offered a corny joke to encourage the crowd, two brave boys crossed the room to sign their names.

The two boys excitedly chose their song and did some warm up stretches while the host invited them on stage. The crowd cheered, showing their support. As the song began to play the boys moved their bodies to the beat. They belted out the song loud, humorous, but good. Reacting to their audience the proceeded to ham up the song with dance moves and even a kiss on the nose from one boy to the other. The audience ate it right up, and other people began approaching the sign up sheet.

Two girls performed a Beyonce song, which included some dancing. Then two boys sang a harmony to a James Blunt song. Two STUCO leaders dedicated the Carrie Underwood “Before He Cheats” song to all the males in the world. The performances were hilarious; the audience was clapping and singing along to the songs. The atmosphere was light as nervous audience members would volunteer to perform the karaoke, and find themselves going up second and third times. It was quite amusing recognizing some of the people and watching them perform.

All of the performers had talent. Whether it was their singing ability, their dance moves, or their ability to captivate the audience with their ridiculous behavior. The laughter from the crowd poured out of the room.

After awhile, another event was announced to be taking place, and the crowd began to dwindle. Some left for the event and some people had just grown tired of the songs. Others, didn’t know when to quit. I was apart of the clean up committee, so I was there until the bitter end.The room, which had been so clean to start with, was covered in popcorn, and juice stains. The audience had moved in and out of the room like a hurricane.

The evening was a fun community event that had everyone laughing together and sharing his or her talents with each other. It didn’t matter if you couldn’t sing, or dance, no one was judging. Everyone was welcome there, and that’s how a community should be.

At what point is someone your friend?
Is it the moment you remember each others name?
The first time you laugh or share a sad moment together?
Is it the moment you have each other on Facebook?
What makes someone truly your friend?
Because I have moved a lot I feel like I know quite a few people. I have definitely had some good friends in my life. There are some people who I've never shared a struggle or sad moment with, I still consider them friends. There are others where its felt like everything they've been there for is the hard times, I still consider them friends. There are those who I've just hung out with at school, but I still consider them friends. There are some people I have on Facebook who I wouldn't really consider my friend. A true friend should be someone you can share your entire self with and be totally comfortable with them. If you don't share your entire self with someone are you still true friends?
I guess friendships have levels, its hard to share everything about yourself with someone else, because everyone is different. Not everyone will support or understand every single thing you do. That doesn't mean you should change yourself so you can have a "true" friend.
That's what I like about Jesus, he's the one person that knows my true potential and encourages me to change myself to live up to it. He knows what will make me happy. He's a true friend.
A few weeks ago my friend and I were changing our pants in the back of her car while some other friends waited outside in the parking lot for us. When they came in, one of the boys asked "isn't one of you religious?" (he was assuming religious people are against changing their pants in the backseat of a car in a parking lot). Everyone pointed at me.
"I'm not religious, I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!" I responded, and everyone burst out laughing as though I told the funniest joke.
Some people don't know what it means to have that true friend. I feel sorry for them, that's why I try to be that true friend for people. That they can understand through me what it means, and hopefully that will lead them to Jesus to have as a true friend.

This weekend I got to go home to Winnipeg. It was great! I got to babysit my little cousins on the Saturday morning. They are twin 2 year olds named Ashley and Julia and they're the cutest little girls. They adore my 15 year old brother and watch him constantly. It was cute because my brother had taken off his shirt to show them how big his muscles were, so they decided they wanted to take off they're shirts too, to check themselves out. They can be pretty loud running around screaming but I don't see how you could ever be angry with them. It's funny how I got to visit a lot of friends over the weekend and went quite few places, but the best part for me was hanging out with my family.

This is the video I was talking about on Tuesday that my roommate and I made. We had so much fun doing it. I figure it has something to do with communications and media being a music video and all. Lets compare the real music video to our video in words.
First of all if you don't know this song, which is probably normal, it's called one time by Justin Bieber. He's a fifteen-year-old kid from Ontario Usher chose as an "apprentice". Don't ask me how I know any of that.
His video communicates to me, that he is in love with a girl, and all the other girls call him, but this girl is the one he chooses. He's going to be her "one guy" she'll be his "number one girl". To me he's communicating he's popular with the ladies.
In our video, we didn't have a specific goal we were attempting to communicate with the audience. We definitely didn't want to communicate the same message as Justin because; we're not interested in having a number one girl or being popular with the ladies. To prevent that from being shown, we tried to include a few boys in there which may have just been more confusing to the audience. I guess the purpose of our video was to entertain us, then to entertain an audience.

Hopefully this video works for you! If it doesn’t I’m uploading it to You Tube, so you should be able to find it if you search my name.

Filmaking

My roommate and I decided to make a music video. Don't worry we're not singing. We are however dancing, and performing all our own moves. It's to the song 'one time' by Justin Biber. We've got about 43seconds done so far and it looks phenomenal if I do say so myself. I don't know why I never thought of this before, it's so fun. I love playing around with the clips to make them match the song. Gotta love that Mac, it makes everything so easy. Who knows maybe we'll start our own show! We made 2 episodes of our own t.v. show when we were 10. Maybe its destiny!

Auto Drama

For my acting class this evening I have to perform an auto drama. When I first heard this I so confused. All I understood was we had to make our life a metaphor and in an abstract theater way, we have to perform a high point in our life. I know, sounds confusing.

I decided that the metaphor for my life would be 'my life is a move'. By move, I'm referring to the term changing of permanent address, which I've done a lot of. My parents helped me develop this idea, thank goodness! I've decided to bring in a suitcase and pack for 'moving to Prov.'. Each object I pack will have relevance to a place I once considered home. This allows for me to talk about each place and how it was important to me. After I finish my talk about each place, I will rip a piece from this paper heart I have, and stick it on the object I'm packing. This is supposed to represent that each of those places have a piece of my heart, and a piece of who I am. Hopefully that's abstract enough.

It sounds like a good idea in my head, so we'll see how it plays out.

You shall have no other gods before Me.

What do we live for? As a Christian, the obvious answer without thinking is Jesus. But if we are to think about how we actually do live instead of how we should strive to live, what are we living for?

Our world revolves around money. That's what we live for. Why do we go to school? To be educated, so we can get a good job and support ourselves. That sums up the first 25 years of any North American citizens life. Everything we do costs money. We need money if we want to own anything, go anywhere, or have food and clothes. We don't even realize how dependent we are on money.

What if we switched everything around and became dependent on God. If we counted on God to provide us entertainment, food, shelter, purpose. What if we counted on Him to take us places and what if we learned from Him.

It couldn't happen though. Because that's not safe. We're secure with the way we live, being able to compare our lives to one another and measure how good our life is. If we lived totally 100% dependent on God there's no telling what our lives might look like. The unknown can be scary.

Advertising

I was watching the commercial for slap-chop in the gym this morning. It has the same guy from the sham-wow commercials. At the end of the commercial they offered the usual bonus cheese grater gift with the slap-chop and then they doubled the offer. I found myself thinking wow what a good deal! Then I realized I wouldn't order that by itself, or even with the cheese grater, and what would I do with two sets. For me this wasn't a good deal at all, I knew that from the beginning; but as they made the offer 'better' and 'better' I believed them.
If you ask anyone they'll probably tell you commercials and ads don't work on them. They only work on everyone else. If everyone believes that though, then who is left to be the everyone else that the ads work on? And yet if commercials didn't work, why would company spend so much time and money making them. It's because they do work, we just don't want to believe it. We're affected by all kinds of things around us. It's like my mom always says "garbage in, garbage out'. Be careful what kind of garbage you put in.

JOY

Last night was probably my favorite night at Prov yet. I started off going swing dancing with some friends, and it turned out to be better than I expected. After dancing, my roommate and I hosted a movie night for the girls in my dorm. It was a lot of fun spending time, and building community together. We had stayed up til 2am so we could go to the worship concert. It was phenomenal! To be worshiping God with others who also truly love Him, at 2 in the morning is incredible. I felt really close to God last night, and close to others, which brought me a lot of joy! It's awesome to have a strong community for God here!

Fact or Fiction?

I've become obsessed with a particular news story that happened just over the summer and am constantly looking for more details without success. The story is about a 17 year old boy who allegedly stabbed and murdered his father on June 25. The boy then lived with the corpse in the house before eventually cutting up the body to fit in a bag and drive the remains two hours away to bury. This boy is from the area of Charleswood in Winnipeg, which is home to a lot of my friends, and 10 minutes from where I live . The rumor going around, is the boy who did this is the same boy who sat right behind me for my last semester in high school. According to this rumor I spent an hour everyday, five days a week, with a murder staring at the back of my head. I don't know how accurate the rumor is because the police aren't allowed to release names until he's 18. It's an awful story. It's scary to think what the people around you are going to do with their lives. Some may do great things, others horrendous things, or maybe others spread vile rumors. I hope for the sake of this boy that he wasn't involved in this crime, but I can't help searching for more information everyday to learn the truth.

Freahmen Retreat 2009!

This past weekend I went to the freshmen retreat that took place at Red Rock Bible Camp. It was beautiful there! We played some crazy 'annual freshmen' games. Some people had to race to see who could hold the most toilet paper in their mouth, others had to break the egg saran wrapped to someones head with a fish, and we all had to do fear factor and eat a lot of disgusting stuff. (I could still taste that raw onion the next day.) I had to wear a diaper filled with a disgusting concoction while my partner ate from the diaper filled with the same concoction. Overall it was a lot of fun and we had some good speakers from the school. The retreat was supposed to help you refocus on knowing God, knowing others, and knowing yourself. What I took away from the experience was that God always wants to be drawing near to us, and we can be afraid of that without knowing. That's something that I want to work on so I can experience God in new and closer ways. I wasn't all that excited to go on the retreat, but I'm really glad I did!

Ye of Little Faith

I noticed today from the Winnipeg Free Press, that the soup kitchen in Winnipeg is not receiving as many donations as regular. They believe this is mostly due to the fact that the economy is not doing well and people are holding onto their money tighter. I think that's the most important time to give, when you can't afford it. It shows your faith to trust that God will take care of you if you make yourself vulnerable to him. Isn't that what we're supposed to learn from the parable of the poor women? She only donated two coins while the pharisee donated much more, and yet Jesus said she had given more, because she had given all she had.
I remember learning it's easier for a camel to get through the eye of the needle then for a rich man to get into heaven. I was also told though that it's okay to be rich as long as you hold all of your possessions in an open hand, instead of closed fist. God didn't intend for us to worry or be stressed. When my 95 year old great-grandpa was asked why he thought he lived so long he replied "It's because I don't worry". So if you are concerned about the economic times, give it to God. He will take care of you, it is mentioned in Luke 12:22-30. The ravens do not sow or reap or have a storehouse for food, but God feeds them. The lilies grow but do not labor or spin and the bible says even Solomon wasn't dressed as beautiful as them. God loves us so much more than ravens or lilies, so why should we fight that? Clearly God wants to take care of us. We just need to give him the chance instead of worrying about how we can take care of ourselves. So do not hold onto your money tighter, try giving to someone less fortunate and let God worry about the rest.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!

All my life I've felt I was being prepared. Swimming lessons to prepare me for lifeguard courses, t-ball to prepare me for baseball, handwriting in grade three to prepare for middle school, essays in grade 6 to prepare for high school, and all of high school was supposed to prepare me for college. So why do I feel like I'm not prepared enough?
I would always complain that I didn't want to be prepared for everything. But now I understand the need for the process. I am amazed at whats expected of me for this semester. Its truly overwhelming. I know I'm capable of completing every task, so that's what I will focus on. I'm in the process of making lists so I know whats due when. It helps to make things less overwhelming, and of course it prepares me for this semester!

18 and life to go

One of my friends recently became engaged. She's 18. I'm also 18 and the thought of getting married right now is terrifying. I've never been in love so I guess I just don't understand what kind of place she is in. The only guy I've ever wanted to spend forever with is Jesus! Don't get me wrong I do want to get married one day, but I feel like there's so much I want to do before then. Realistically I could probably do everything I wanted to while I was married; like traveling, going to school, or working and volunteering. But with marriage comes huge amounts of responsibility; like paying bills, and serious commitment. I know I'm not near ready for that, but I am happy that my friend is; and I couldn't be more excited to be her bridesmaid.

Blogging

I honestly do enjoy writing. So why does writing this blog every day seem like such a challenge?
I guess I prefer to write about events, fictional stories, and other people. I'm not used to writing down my thoughts and opinions, and especially not used to sharing them on the internet. Writing about me is way out of my comfort zone. I don't even like to talk about personal things to people. Maybe that is why I like writing and reading. It takes the focus off of me and puts it somewhere else. I'm looking forward to sharing, or venting, or ranting, or whatever it is blogs are for. I'm hoping it will help me be more comfortable with who I am, and be more open with other people.

Amazin' Corn!

This weekend I went with a few friends to this huge maze made out of a corn field. This was my third time going as I had made it an annual tradition with one of my friends. It's a pretty cool place and they sell fantastic mini donuts. So far I've never been able to make it from start to finish. Halfway into the maze we split up into two groups of four. The team I wasn't on found the exit and spent half an hour waiting for my team to finally give up and use a cheater path to get out of the maze. All of my friends in the first group had never even been to the corn maze and they managed to find the exit. I was a little dissapointed but I'm not too upset about it because there is always next year.

Bad Things and Good People

My devotion today was about adversity and it came from Isaiah 43:2-3. It talked about how God is not a magic genie and won't make bad things go away, but he will help us endure them. It brings around the question why do bad things happen to good people? When everything is going peachy keen, it's easy for me to accept that we're all bad people and deserve what happens to us. But, when I remember little kids in Africa starving, or sick kids with cancer, I can't help thinking they don't deserve that. I can't help thinking there are a lot of things that happen that no one deserved. Like Jesus being nailed to a cross. He was punished for being the only perfect man. That's the perfect example of a bad thing happening to a good person. I guess the only thing for me to do when I feel life isn't fair, is to look at how he handled life not being fair. He submitted himself to Gods will. It's hard to accept and endure the bad things, but all I need to do is try; because God will be there through it all; and his will is perfect.

First Day at Prov.

I've never written a blog before, but I have to start one for a course I'm taking , writing for the media. I figure since I'm starting a blog at Prov, I should begin talking about my first day at Prov.

Monday morning I woke up planning to get ready for school. I was going to do laundry, clean, pack, and meet up with a few friends in the evening to say goodbye. No sooner had I eaten breakfast than my mom informed me I was supposed to have moved into dorm at Prov. a half hour earlier, I had somehow gotten the date mixed up. I threw enough things in my suitcase for the week and left for prov. I figured my roommate, being my best friend, would be wondering where I was so I sent her a text to let her know I was on my way. Her reply was that there was a waiting list to get into the dorm and because I didn't show up on time they had given my room to someone else. I was completely upset and my mom comforted me telling me it was probably joke. I believed her so I relaxed until we arrived at the school. She sternly approached the girls doing registration and told them she was not happy that my room had been given away. I was really embarrassed because she had just finished assuring me it was a joke and knowing my friends dad, I believed it was a joke. The girls assured us that I was rooming with my friend and we were both embarrassed. I headed up to my dorm to find my friend's dad changing my name on the room door to another girls. I have to say moving into Prov. was more memorable than I would have expected.