New Blog

In case some of you missed it...I've made the big blog switch...follow me over here!

What Else is Red? (this is a link...you click on it, and it will take you to my new blog)

Introducing...

When I was in kindergarten, a very popular question was, “What is your favourite color?” (I guess we were learning our colors so we would naturally choose a favourite one) As I recall, teachers would ask this, parents might ask…but usually it was a very important question when finding a new friend. “What is your name and what is your favourite color? Blue? Ok, we can be friends.”

A very popular favourite color was the color red. Therefore, I hated red. It was too popular for me…kinda snobby. I’d sooner choose less popular colors to be my favourite, like orange. I couldn’t give red the satisfaction of being everyone’s favourite.

Red has grown on me.

It is a purposeful color…stop signs…ambulance lights…brake lights…

It is a yummy color…strawberries…apples…cherries…lollipops…Kool-Aid…you see juicy and red and your mouth starts to water!

It is a memory-filled color…who doesn’t remember coloring with a red crayon…wearing a red shirt or red pair of pants…or red shoes…using the red teeter-totter in the playground…

It is a random color. Describe anything with the color red, and it becomes a random, simple object of beauty. The red kite. The red wagon. The red _______. (you get the picture)

As I thought about what the name should be for my new blog, I had many thoughts and went through countless options...Experiment of Experience was the first serious one I considered. Then I thought of doing a blog focused around the blessing in my life...which was a good idea, but not really what I’m going for. And then I was reading my Bible one day and I read about the Red Kite. (it’s a bird that the Israelites were either supposed to or not supposed to eat, I can’t remember which) Anyway, it hit me that that would be a great name for my new blog! The Red Kite! So I went to create it and low and behold, someone else had snatched that one up! Arg! I finally find a name that I like and it’s gone! So I tried different things, like The Red Wagon. Little Red Wagon. The Little Red Wagon. Nope. Nothing. Finally, I shouted in frustration, “What else is red?!?” (well, I didn’t really shout, but I was getting pretty annoyed that all the good names were taken) And my new blog name was born.

What Else is Red?

What does it mean, you ask? Well, I was going with the red theme, because of what I said before. “It is a random color. Describe anything with the color red, and it becomes a random, simple object of beauty.” My blog is pretty random. Sometimes it is completely shallow and fun. Other times it is deep. It’s about my life. It’s about my thoughts. It’s about me. Simple, beautiful, random.

So I invite you, each and every one of you, to join me as I move from Second Street and explore all things simple and beautiful and random. Continue to get to know me as I grow (not literally) and explore and experience new things.

What Else is Red?

Sidenote: I’ve gotten over my prejudice against red and quite enjoy the color now, though if the choice is between a red sucker and an orange one, I still choose orange every time.

............................ Alone............................

She stands in a field

alone and still
her back to me as I watch.
she looks to her feet
the ground cracked and dry
how she longs to help
with her tears.
but choking them back
she looks up instead
where to struggle to now?
the field around her is vast
an expanse with no end
yet all she knows
is a box
she sees no expanse
just a trap with no door
how will she move from this place?
she frantically pants,
fear clutching her chest
squeezing and not letting go
I see nothing but beauty
yet for her it is pain
she struggles to breathe
as she pounds.
there is no escape
no cry from her lips
can’t she see that
she’s nothing but free?

Niki
February 18, 2007

Life continues...

Nathan and I have been continuing to enjoy our lazy evenings together. It has been 6 months now since we’ve worked in the church, and, therefore, 6 months since we’ve had weekly evening events. We have developed quite the routine. I am usually home from work before Nathan, so I get supper started and then go and pick Nathan up. If Lennox hasn’t been walked, Nathan (or I) will take him for his ½ hour walk, while supper is cooking. Then shower, eat, and dishes come next (in that order). Once dishes are done, I get relaxed for the evening and join Nathan in the living room for either some tv or video games (Rock Band these days) or some reading of whatever book we each happen to be interested in at the time. These are our three usual evening activities, but sometimes we trade in the “usual” for an evening out with friends or for me to work on a craft-type project that I have on the go. Oh, and every week or so, our favorite tv shows (Chuck, Private Practice, CSI) are joined by some serious Canasta games. We have had a running score since Jan 22, 2005…that's four months before our wedding. Currently, Nathan is trying desperately to catch up from being behind me by 30,000 points. He’s done well with catching up, and I think he’s only behind by about 15,000 points now. Good times. Especially good times if Nathan is winning though…

(this is our score sheet - the back of an old Bethany memo)

Hmm…what else do we do? Oh! On Saturday, we were sitting around doing our usual Saturday things (watching Uber-guide and Driving Television – can you tell we have peasant-vision?) and I was just antsy to DO something. (sidenote: I’ve been getting that way a lot lately – antsy - so much talk and thought of excitement in California soon and not much excitement in the everyday these days.) So, upon Nathan’s suggestion, we scouted out the nearest travel agency downtown and picked up a bunch of travel brochures highlighting tours of Europe. I managed to sneak a few South American brochures into the pile too, but we put them away pretty quickly when we saw that they were more than twice as expensive as Europe…who knew? Anyway, so we planned our 30 day European tour and then decided at the end of a couple hours that we should probably spend our money on school and not on traveling…we wouldn’t take out a loan to travel, so why would we spend the money we have now and find, in a year, that we have to take out a student loan because of the traveling that we did? Hopefully we’ll be able to travel with some extra money (???) to celebrate Nate’s MA in two years…

The house has been on the market for…6 days now, I think. Well, today is the 6^th day. We’ve shown the house once and had two phone calls. We will possibly show it two more times this week. That’s pretty encouraging. Let’s hope people don’t get used to seeing the “For Sale” sign and forget to think about buying it! We’re not too worried. The market is pretty good in town these days (so we hear) so there shouldn’t be an issue with selling it.

(Don’t worry, this is not where we have the “For Sale” sign currently…I just had to get a picture of the whole deal before the sign went out to the curb…)

Any takers?

The Mop is in need of a Trim…

Any suggestions for a new cut and/or color would be appreciated! I’m tired of the same old thing! I need something drastically new! Help!

(send links to pictures you find that you think might work)

(This is right after my shower, so it's kinda like a 12 year old boy's hockey hair...but that way you can see how TOTALLY UNMANAGEABLE it is!!!)



Prayer Request…please take a minute right now to pray with us that the right person will come along and buy our house. We are putting a “for sale” sign up today/tomorrow. If anyone knows of anyone looking for a house in my town, go ahead and tell them about us!

Some things I think about…

Does God give dreams that He doesn’t allow his children to realize?

Is it possible to have a dream that you find looks completely different in reality than it did in your dream?

Is there a difference between striving toward your goals/dreams and living fully in the present with what God has given you? Can you do both at the same time?

Sometimes I think about what I would like my life to look like…who doesn’t do that sometimes, right? I have things in my mind that I would like to see or experience. I have certain ideas about what I would like my life to look like. At 60 or 70 or 80 years old, I don’t want to look back on my life and wish I’d done things differently…wish I’d had a different life. I’d like to live without regrets.

I’ve always assumed that to not have children would be to have regrets one day. There was a time, not that long ago, when I couldn’t picture myself going through life, especially after 30, without children and eventually grandchildren. I thought my life would be a waste if not for children to raise and love.

And then God got into my mind and shook everything up (we need a good shake every now and then, and I don’t think He minds accommodating that). Really, what is my purpose here? Is it to live out my dreams (as I see them), or is it to be fully available to God, for Him to use for His purposes? I do believe that God gives dreams and gifts. And I do believe He gives them for a reason. For the longest time I thought that meant that my life would go according to my dreams...I dream and long to be a wife and mother, therefore I would have a husband and children and live the cookie-cutter life (complete with white picket fence).

But what if God has something different for me? What if my dream of motherhood will take on a different form than pregnancy and birth and children filling my home? What if I will be a “mother” to others who are not my children? What if God has something different and better for me? I know what I dream...but what if I’m not seeing the big picture? Do I actually trust that God’s way is better than mine? Mine looks pretty good…and I’m sure it would work and I would have a wonderfully happy, fulfilling life. But is God going to use me in some other way if I make myself available to Him?

Perhaps…

O Canada!

Of all the things I'll miss about Canada...

• Carmilk bars
• Heinz ketchup
• Canadian Currency (specifically loonies and toonies)
• Good iced tea
• Canadian culture
• Eh?
• Health care
• CBC
• Tim Hortons' chili with country bun
• Spruce/pine trees
• learning French from shampoo bottles/cereal boxes/everything
• Canadian Lumber, Canadian Tire, Real Canadian Superstore (etc)
  
• Holidays that, according to my calendar, are only Canadian...

St. David's Day
Easter Monday
Victoria Day
Canada Day
August Long Weekend
Labour Day ("Labour" spelled with a "u")
Thanksgiving Day (in the thankful month)
Remembrance Day
St. Andrew's Day
Boxing Day

• Small towns with 30 people, not 30 000 people

I will not miss…

• The winters.
• cold
• snow
• wind
• ice
• freezing rain
  

ICK. When I walk outside and the wind is blowing my hair and cutting into my skin and the ice makes walking and driving near impossible and I shovel the driveway, only to have the wind throw the snow right back in my face and small icicles form on my eyelashes within seconds…I just remind myself that next winter I won’t have to deal with any of this.

I’m hoping that being away from winter gives me a new appreciation for it. Otherwise, I’m not sure how I’ll be able to come back after two years!

Seriously?!

“I defile my tongue with sub-par coffee once a year because maybe, just maybe, I’ll win…another sup-par coffee?” - Nathan

All I can say is, “seriously?” Does Tim Horton not send any winning cups to Manitoba??? I won every time when I lived in Saskatchewan! And I hear someone in BC is on a winning streak…but Manitoba? Nope…I’ve been trying to win a new vehicle in Winkler for four years now! I’m not sure I’ve even won a donut in all those hot chocolates! I’m beginning to feel like my tongue is being defiled as well…

Excitement at the Post Office

I saw the most interesting thing in the Post Office this morning. I am so glad I got there at the minute I did. I’m glad I didn’t have to wait for parking so that I could see this. This, to me, is what small town life is about. This is what small town life, with a lot of seniors, is about. I burst out laughing (inside, of course – but my laughter almost exploded to the outside) when I saw this. It was kind of weird and kind of gross…and definitely made me never want to get old. But the lady was so sweet. She must have had a hangnail that couldn’t wait, because I walked into the post office to hear the unmistakeable sound of nail clippers. I followed the noise with my eyes, and there before me was a little old lady clipping her nails. Right in the middle of the post office!

Am I the only one with a sad, twisted sense of humour, or do you find that as hilarious as I do? Please tell me I’m not alone?

Stones

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
...
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
...
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
...
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak...
(Ecclesiastes 3)

As Ecclesiastes puts it so well, there truly is a time for everything. And in the past months/years, I have been learning to embrace each season as it comes. Of course it makes perfect logical sense, but to really live by this is much, much more difficult.

Fall was a season of lightening the load; of humbling myself; of allowing people into the secrets and receiving their care and support. There were a few months when I felt that I needed desperately to share what was happening in my mind and heart. (I was about to explode if I hadn't!)

In the weeks that followed the sharing of these "secrets" as I called them, I felt such tremendous relief and encouragement. It was the season for sharing, or "to speak" as Ecclesiastes puts it, and I embraced that. A time to scatter the stones which were my thoughts, and trust that they would fall on the right ears.

And now I feel that I am entering a season to be silent. A time to gather these "thought stones" to myself and to ponder what they mean and what God is saying to me through them. It's time to turn these things quietly over in my mind and with those close to me.

I assure you, God is moving. He is doing amazing things and I want to respond faithfully and with worship.

Will my blog be silent? No. Will I not share what God is doing? No. But I will be treading lightly. I will be holding certain thoughts close. Do I regret anything that I've shared here? Not at all. Thanks for riding along this journey with me. I invite you to continue with me as I enter a new phase of life in just a few months.