Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Most disgusting thing in the world...
Yesterday morning I woke up with that terrible, tingling sensation in my upper lip. At first I thought it was my imagination, but before long, I realized that it was indeed that feeling that I hadn't missed at all in the last two years. It was, definitely, a coldsore. Now, if anyone out there has ever had one of these, you know that it is not fun. You feel like hiding in your house until it is completely cleared up. And, in fact, you even feel like hiding from the people/dog in your house, for fear that you will become the recipient (and cause) of one of the most disgusted looks of the year. Well, alas, I am an adult and cannot hide in my deep dark basement for the next week. I must face the world...big disgusting coldsore and all. I can't help but praise God this time though, because this time I am not getting married the very next day! That's right...two years ago, on May 13, I woke up at 6 in the morning with that same tingling feeling in my lip. Of course I panicked because my dream of being a beautiful bride was about to be shattered! I ran to my friend Kellie who is a pharmasist and asked her for something that would clear up a coldsore in 24 hours. She gave me some stuff that I thought worked and it was (mostly) cleared up by the wedding. Whew! Thank goodness for makeup, is all I have to say! Today, though, I am more certain than ever that it was God who saved me from my coldsore on my wedding day, because the medication that I received from Kellie has not been working at all this time! I have a huge top lip and am quite ugly (self-proclaimed...Nathan continues to insist that I am beautiful despite not being able to kiss me). So that is my story. It is sad, but true. So, if anyone out there would mind sending up a prayer for my lip, that would be great. I have a wedding to be at on Saturday in Hudson Bay (yeah, road trip with my sister!) and would love to be looking beautiful...Nathan won't be there to convince me otherwise if I am not. Thanks alot, guys. Have a great day!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Being alone vs. Being alone
Last night I was writing in my journal and was thinking about the two sides of being alone. On one hand, there's solitude.
Solitude: A spiritual discipline, designed by God, and practiced by Jesus, created as a means of developing and growing an intimate relationship with the Creator.
I have enjoyed practicing solitude very much in my life. When I was in high school, living on the farm (a secluded 10 acres with the closest neighbour being 1/2 a mile away), I would often wander out into nature and enjoy just being. I would go out to places where I knew that nobody would be able to find me and I would spend hours there. I would forget about time and not tell anyone where I was going. Sometimes I would take my journal and sometimes I would just take myself. I would go out there and just be with God. If I felt like praying, I would pray. If I felt like singing, I would sing. If I would have been a dancer, I'm sure I would have danced. There's just something freeing about being somewhere when NOBODY on earth knows you're there and NOBODY on earth can see you. There's a sense of being able to be completely vulnerable that can't be experienced when someone is watching. That's something that I really struggle with some days here on the bald prairie. You see, even if I'm out in the middle of nowhere, there's a pretty good chance that someone, somewhere, even if they're a couple miles away, can look out their window or out of their car and see you across the fields. There's no way of being completely in solitude out here (at least not that I've found). No trees...too many people. *sigh* It's one of the things that I miss.
The other side of being alone is being without friends.
Lonliness: Being without a support system of people, who know you beyond just the surface.
Loneliness is the other side of being alone. The best I can figure is it's the feeling that is experienced when you don't have those people who know you beyond just the surface. It's when people think they know you but really haven't had the chance to. As opposed to solitude, which gives life and hope, it's a hopeless feeling...much less lively. It's being alone and, instead of feeling free and perfectly yourself, you feel clouded and much less yourself. It's an interesting thing to think about. Both sides of being alone can look exactly the same from the outside, but are complete opposites in definition. I believe both can be experienced at the same time, too... It's such a strange thing to think about.
Solitude vs. Lonliness
Being alone vs. Being alone
Hmm...
Solitude: A spiritual discipline, designed by God, and practiced by Jesus, created as a means of developing and growing an intimate relationship with the Creator.
I have enjoyed practicing solitude very much in my life. When I was in high school, living on the farm (a secluded 10 acres with the closest neighbour being 1/2 a mile away), I would often wander out into nature and enjoy just being. I would go out to places where I knew that nobody would be able to find me and I would spend hours there. I would forget about time and not tell anyone where I was going. Sometimes I would take my journal and sometimes I would just take myself. I would go out there and just be with God. If I felt like praying, I would pray. If I felt like singing, I would sing. If I would have been a dancer, I'm sure I would have danced. There's just something freeing about being somewhere when NOBODY on earth knows you're there and NOBODY on earth can see you. There's a sense of being able to be completely vulnerable that can't be experienced when someone is watching. That's something that I really struggle with some days here on the bald prairie. You see, even if I'm out in the middle of nowhere, there's a pretty good chance that someone, somewhere, even if they're a couple miles away, can look out their window or out of their car and see you across the fields. There's no way of being completely in solitude out here (at least not that I've found). No trees...too many people. *sigh* It's one of the things that I miss.
The other side of being alone is being without friends.
Lonliness: Being without a support system of people, who know you beyond just the surface.
Loneliness is the other side of being alone. The best I can figure is it's the feeling that is experienced when you don't have those people who know you beyond just the surface. It's when people think they know you but really haven't had the chance to. As opposed to solitude, which gives life and hope, it's a hopeless feeling...much less lively. It's being alone and, instead of feeling free and perfectly yourself, you feel clouded and much less yourself. It's an interesting thing to think about. Both sides of being alone can look exactly the same from the outside, but are complete opposites in definition. I believe both can be experienced at the same time, too... It's such a strange thing to think about.
Solitude vs. Lonliness
Being alone vs. Being alone
Hmm...
Monday, April 30, 2007
A few new things...
It finally feels like stuff is starting to change and things are happening in life. Does anyone out there know the cycle that I speak of? Months and months will go by with what seems like nothing happening and then all of a sudden everything feels like it's changing!
This weekend we went on a junior youth retreat. We had close to forty 12-13 year olds up at Camp Arnes from Friday evening until Sunday noon. It was a busy weekend (needless to say), but it was also a good time of connecting, reflecting, enjoying nature, learning about God, and, even though it's near the end of the youth group year, learning names. We had the perfect leaders up there with us and the speaker was also a God-send. Last year, Nathan planned the retreat and spoke. This year, we were smarter and brought along Dan Derksen from Winkler EMMC to do the speaking. Much smarter!
When we got home from the retreat, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the entire world had exploded into a green, alive place. While we were gone, grass grew, trees budded, and the world became alive again. It was wonderful to come home to. This is my favorite time of year...
A couple weeks ago, I was invited to apply for a full time position doing reception at the company I am with. It was pretty much the exact job that I've been doing since September (and last winter) but it would be full time hours instead of half time. I thought about it and prayed about it alot and in the end decided that summer was just too important to me and working full time just wouldn't be worth the extra $$. That same afternoon that I declined the job, a friend of ours, Dwight, came by and asked if I would be interested in doing paperwork at the lumber yard where he is the manager. What a great answer to prayer! I hadn't really wanted to be done working all together, but wasn't really excited to be job-hunting either. The interesting thing about this turn of events, is that I'd often thought that it would be fun to work at a place like that, doing paperwork (like I am) or other. Now, my hours are super-flexible, I'm working with a bunch of guys who are very funny to listen to, and I enjoy the work. I started last week, and today was my 3rd day. God is so good!
Today, Nathan and I also took Lennox to the vet. The time had come for him to...umm...become neutral. He went in quite excited about the new place and came out slightly less excited. He has been sleeping and hardly moving since we brought him home. I suppose that is to be expected...
So that is life around here. No huge changes happening, but just enough to keep us on our toes and keep things interesting. It's a good thing too...we were beginning to get restless...
This weekend we went on a junior youth retreat. We had close to forty 12-13 year olds up at Camp Arnes from Friday evening until Sunday noon. It was a busy weekend (needless to say), but it was also a good time of connecting, reflecting, enjoying nature, learning about God, and, even though it's near the end of the youth group year, learning names. We had the perfect leaders up there with us and the speaker was also a God-send. Last year, Nathan planned the retreat and spoke. This year, we were smarter and brought along Dan Derksen from Winkler EMMC to do the speaking. Much smarter!
When we got home from the retreat, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the entire world had exploded into a green, alive place. While we were gone, grass grew, trees budded, and the world became alive again. It was wonderful to come home to. This is my favorite time of year...
A couple weeks ago, I was invited to apply for a full time position doing reception at the company I am with. It was pretty much the exact job that I've been doing since September (and last winter) but it would be full time hours instead of half time. I thought about it and prayed about it alot and in the end decided that summer was just too important to me and working full time just wouldn't be worth the extra $$. That same afternoon that I declined the job, a friend of ours, Dwight, came by and asked if I would be interested in doing paperwork at the lumber yard where he is the manager. What a great answer to prayer! I hadn't really wanted to be done working all together, but wasn't really excited to be job-hunting either. The interesting thing about this turn of events, is that I'd often thought that it would be fun to work at a place like that, doing paperwork (like I am) or other. Now, my hours are super-flexible, I'm working with a bunch of guys who are very funny to listen to, and I enjoy the work. I started last week, and today was my 3rd day. God is so good!
Today, Nathan and I also took Lennox to the vet. The time had come for him to...umm...become neutral. He went in quite excited about the new place and came out slightly less excited. He has been sleeping and hardly moving since we brought him home. I suppose that is to be expected...
So that is life around here. No huge changes happening, but just enough to keep us on our toes and keep things interesting. It's a good thing too...we were beginning to get restless...
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Whew...haven't posted since March, eh?
As I was going through the blogs that I regularly read, I realized that I everyone has posted at least once since the last time I did! I'm getting pretty bad at this. Oh well...when you don't have internet at home, it makes for a good excuse.
Easter weekend was good here in Altona. Nathan's parents and brother and their dog, Sheila, were out for the weekend. It was a short trip, but it was good. It was fun to watch the two dogs play and determine who was dominant. (Most of you can probably picture what that looked like!) The black dog in the picture us our Lennox and the golden retriever is Sheila. They look very calm and well-behaved in this picture, but they had food being dangled in front of their noses. We can count on one hand the amount of hours when they were completely calm through the weekend (except for sleeping). It was alot of fun though. Don't they look great together?
My Creative Memories business is kinda having a slow start. It's been fun, but I definitely haven't reached the "out of the investment hole" mark. It's coming, but it might be a while. I have another Get Together later this month, so maybe that one will help me out a little bit!
A couple weeks ago, I had a consultation with an oral surgeon...has anyone out there ever had their wisdom teeth out? How was it? Nathan was out of commission for at least 3-4 days when he had his out. Other people say they were back to work the next day. I am being put completely under when they do it because they have to cut them out, not just pull them. I'm not terribly excited about it at all. And cost...it is stinkin' expensive to have anyone even look into your mouth these days! We have insurance but how can the insurance company top out at $1000/calendar year? My wisdom teeth alone are supposed to cost $1650! So now we're trying to decide if we can wait until next year and start saving now! It's not like they're a real huge problem so I have a hard time spending that kind of money on it, but Nathan keeps reminding me that it's better to do it now than when we have kids and I'm 40 and we don't have the money and it's harder to take them. I guess. Ick!
Easter weekend was good here in Altona. Nathan's parents and brother and their dog, Sheila, were out for the weekend. It was a short trip, but it was good. It was fun to watch the two dogs play and determine who was dominant. (Most of you can probably picture what that looked like!) The black dog in the picture us our Lennox and the golden retriever is Sheila. They look very calm and well-behaved in this picture, but they had food being dangled in front of their noses. We can count on one hand the amount of hours when they were completely calm through the weekend (except for sleeping). It was alot of fun though. Don't they look great together?
My Creative Memories business is kinda having a slow start. It's been fun, but I definitely haven't reached the "out of the investment hole" mark. It's coming, but it might be a while. I have another Get Together later this month, so maybe that one will help me out a little bit!
A couple weeks ago, I had a consultation with an oral surgeon...has anyone out there ever had their wisdom teeth out? How was it? Nathan was out of commission for at least 3-4 days when he had his out. Other people say they were back to work the next day. I am being put completely under when they do it because they have to cut them out, not just pull them. I'm not terribly excited about it at all. And cost...it is stinkin' expensive to have anyone even look into your mouth these days! We have insurance but how can the insurance company top out at $1000/calendar year? My wisdom teeth alone are supposed to cost $1650! So now we're trying to decide if we can wait until next year and start saving now! It's not like they're a real huge problem so I have a hard time spending that kind of money on it, but Nathan keeps reminding me that it's better to do it now than when we have kids and I'm 40 and we don't have the money and it's harder to take them. I guess. Ick!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Happy Birthday
That's right, today is Lennox's First birthday!!!! He has been a great part of the McCorkindale House. Two pics of him (the first from last fall when we Got him, and the 2nd from just a few days ago.)
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
What to write about?
Writers block. Does it every happen to you where you really want to update your blog because you're tired of always seeing the same title sitting there but you never know what to write about? That's me.
Random fact: I used to use "writers block" as an excuse to sit and talk to friends all through creative writing class. It worked.
Anyway, so...what did I do today? Well, I came to the church (my only internet access) this morning at 8:30 and signed up to be a Creative Memories consultant. ("YEAH!") I'm pretty excited about it. My kit should be here by Monday. I'm excited to look through it. It's kinda crazy though how people spend so much money on "celebrating memories" when really they could spend a bunch of that money on actually making the memories. I like scrapbooking, but there is a line. I always say, "If I can't carry everything I need to scrapbook for an evening in one load, it's too much stuff. Makes me think about materialism. The speaker at a retreat we were recently at mentioned how North American churches have values that talk about materialism...churches in Africa shake their heads because that just isn't even an issue to them. They talk about other things that we don't even think about. Our culture is so materialistic. Some days I am actually interested in giving everything up and living simply. It would be interesting, wouldn't it, at least for a while?
I had a busy afternoon at work today. I was asked to work a couple extra shifts this week as soon as I walked in. Then, a couple seconds later, I was asked to work an extra shift next week. Then, partway through the afternoon, I was asked to work two additional shifts next week. Plus, for the whole month of April I will be working four mornings a week instead of three afternoons. I accepted all the shifts offered me, of course, because I can handle busy-ness, if I can see the end. At least that's what I tell myself... That, and Nathan and I are saving up for a something. So anyway, all these extra shifts were making me think $$$ (I know, completely counters my materialistic comments earlier) and then, at the end of the day, I was called into my supervisors office and she told me that I'd earned a raise! Whoo-hoo! So that had me pretty excited. It's been a good day. And now, I get to go home to my wonderful husband and watch some Lost (Season 2). Mmm...I love my life some days...
Random fact: I used to use "writers block" as an excuse to sit and talk to friends all through creative writing class. It worked.
Anyway, so...what did I do today? Well, I came to the church (my only internet access) this morning at 8:30 and signed up to be a Creative Memories consultant. ("YEAH!") I'm pretty excited about it. My kit should be here by Monday. I'm excited to look through it. It's kinda crazy though how people spend so much money on "celebrating memories" when really they could spend a bunch of that money on actually making the memories. I like scrapbooking, but there is a line. I always say, "If I can't carry everything I need to scrapbook for an evening in one load, it's too much stuff. Makes me think about materialism. The speaker at a retreat we were recently at mentioned how North American churches have values that talk about materialism...churches in Africa shake their heads because that just isn't even an issue to them. They talk about other things that we don't even think about. Our culture is so materialistic. Some days I am actually interested in giving everything up and living simply. It would be interesting, wouldn't it, at least for a while?
I had a busy afternoon at work today. I was asked to work a couple extra shifts this week as soon as I walked in. Then, a couple seconds later, I was asked to work an extra shift next week. Then, partway through the afternoon, I was asked to work two additional shifts next week. Plus, for the whole month of April I will be working four mornings a week instead of three afternoons. I accepted all the shifts offered me, of course, because I can handle busy-ness, if I can see the end. At least that's what I tell myself... That, and Nathan and I are saving up for a something. So anyway, all these extra shifts were making me think $$$ (I know, completely counters my materialistic comments earlier) and then, at the end of the day, I was called into my supervisors office and she told me that I'd earned a raise! Whoo-hoo! So that had me pretty excited. It's been a good day. And now, I get to go home to my wonderful husband and watch some Lost (Season 2). Mmm...I love my life some days...
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Some news and CONGRATULATIONS!!!
So, even though in my title "congratulations" came second, I must start with that. Congratulations to all my friends with exciting news in these past few days/weeks. Congratulations to my Marsha who is getting MARRIED!!! Congratulations to my friends Tim and Erica who are also getting MARRIED!!! Congratulations to those of you who are expecting (I can count five pregnancies just off the top of my head). Congratulations to those of you who have news that I just haven't heard yet! CONGRATULATIONS!!!
And now, for my news! Drumrole, please...
Actually, it's not that exciting. Forget the drumrole. Maybe just applause at the end...
I think I've finally found my "dream" job! I'll be working from home...whatever hours I want... I can have summers off...I can continue once we have kids...it's got great benefits (though not medical, and I don't think retirement either...)...
I am going to be a Creative Memories consultant! Whoo-hoo!
I must ask, does the beautiful, spring-like weather make anyone else super happy?
And now, for my news! Drumrole, please...
Actually, it's not that exciting. Forget the drumrole. Maybe just applause at the end...
I think I've finally found my "dream" job! I'll be working from home...whatever hours I want... I can have summers off...I can continue once we have kids...it's got great benefits (though not medical, and I don't think retirement either...)...
I am going to be a Creative Memories consultant! Whoo-hoo!
I must ask, does the beautiful, spring-like weather make anyone else super happy?
Friday, March 09, 2007
Where have I been?
These past couple weeks have been very busy. I checked my blog two days ago, and realized that I haven't updated since February! Now, I realize that some of you are thinking, "So what's the big deal? I haven't updated since January!" And that's no problem! No problem at all... I on the other hand have no kids to use for an excuse.
So what's been keeping me busy? Well, youth has been a big part of it. We were doing a pizza fundraiser (selling pizzas) and two evenings were full with making pizzas along with some of the youth. You can see some pictures on Nate's blog (follow link on the right side of my blog). On top of that, we have youth two days a week. Then, this past weekend was a church leadership retreat at Camp Arnes. It was really good. I came back spiritually refreshed, but not terribly rested. You know? I'm still working three afternoons a week, which is perfect. And other than that, I really have no excuses. I guess being busy all the time just makes me tired. : )
But today is a day of rest!!! And on my day of rest, I am baking buns and bread (both white and brown), doing laundry, cleaning the house, and doing some reading for a class we're taking at SBC next weekend! Sounds relaxing, doesn't it? I just can't sit still if there's work staring me in the face. You all know how it works when there's stuff that needs to get done but won't get done if you don't do it, right? I can't just sit and do nothing one day if I know the next day I'll pay for it!
Amidst this busy-ness, the importance of being still and knowing that HE is God has been made very real. I was having my quiet time the other morning and was watching the trees in our front yard and a verse came to me about God not being in the wind and earthquakes and fire, but in the gentle whisper. When there is such a gentle breeze that the tree branches barely move, it always makes me think of God being right there with me. This particular morning, this specific verse came to mind. When I found it in my Bible, I was surprised to find that it was in the chunk of Bible that I was going to be reading that morning! 1 Kings 19! I always love when things like that happen. It's like God is saying, "See, I am right here. I do love you. Please just be still and know that I am here." Mmmm...ok daddy.
So what's been keeping me busy? Well, youth has been a big part of it. We were doing a pizza fundraiser (selling pizzas) and two evenings were full with making pizzas along with some of the youth. You can see some pictures on Nate's blog (follow link on the right side of my blog). On top of that, we have youth two days a week. Then, this past weekend was a church leadership retreat at Camp Arnes. It was really good. I came back spiritually refreshed, but not terribly rested. You know? I'm still working three afternoons a week, which is perfect. And other than that, I really have no excuses. I guess being busy all the time just makes me tired. : )
But today is a day of rest!!! And on my day of rest, I am baking buns and bread (both white and brown), doing laundry, cleaning the house, and doing some reading for a class we're taking at SBC next weekend! Sounds relaxing, doesn't it? I just can't sit still if there's work staring me in the face. You all know how it works when there's stuff that needs to get done but won't get done if you don't do it, right? I can't just sit and do nothing one day if I know the next day I'll pay for it!
Amidst this busy-ness, the importance of being still and knowing that HE is God has been made very real. I was having my quiet time the other morning and was watching the trees in our front yard and a verse came to me about God not being in the wind and earthquakes and fire, but in the gentle whisper. When there is such a gentle breeze that the tree branches barely move, it always makes me think of God being right there with me. This particular morning, this specific verse came to mind. When I found it in my Bible, I was surprised to find that it was in the chunk of Bible that I was going to be reading that morning! 1 Kings 19! I always love when things like that happen. It's like God is saying, "See, I am right here. I do love you. Please just be still and know that I am here." Mmmm...ok daddy.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Is summer ever going to be on it's way?
February and March are tough months for me. Why? Well, the winter blues really catch up with me. It's not that I get really depressed (usually) or anything too bad really, but I just come to a point when I feel like if I look at the snow one more day, or have my breath taken away by the cold one more time, I could actually just explode! Does anyone else share this frustration?
Here's some tips on what to do when this happens:
Here's some tips on what to do when this happens:
- spend as much time as you can inside your warm house, wrapped in a blanket (preferrably a fuzzy one)
- read a book (try Lord of the Rings...that should take you until the weather is warmer)
- go on a vacation (for those of you who have money/time for that)
- plan a vacation (for those of you with less money/time)
- look back through your pictures and be reminded of what your yard looks like those 2 glorious months each year
- go tanning (I know, this is VERY bad for you, but it works)
- think about moving to the southern states and how it just wouldn't be worth it at all (health care, government, hurricanes, etc)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Tribute to my Valentine (6 days late)
Nathan. What a godly, supportive, wonderful, gracious, helping, encouraging, caring, fun-loving man. For those of you who don't know Nathan, he's my husband. We've been married for 21 months, and the honeymoon stage is still going strong. He is a youth pastor at the church we attend. He loves big tvs, technology, music, movies, youth, God and me. He is a very gifted public speaker, and is also a great leader. He can lead the youth in worship just as well as in crazy, off-the-wall events. He can make me laugh in almost any situation. He lets me win when we wrestle and even allows me the bragging rights afterwards. We have so much fun together. What a wonderful man of God. He is such a perfect match for me.
(pictures to come)
(pictures to come)
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