The Non-Negotiables

Hi All! I don't have tons to say, but I have this overwhelming urge to express myself and you get the honour of being my outlet today! :) I saw a blog once where the writer had a 'Things I Love Thursday' segment and I thought the title was awesomely alliterative. Now, I am aware that today is Friday, but in my defense, I started to write this yesterday so I think this post is still valid! No promises that it becomes a weekly tradition, but - then again - no promises that it won't either! So what are some things that I love? I love having a home to call my own. Something awakened in me when I moved into my little basement suite. It's nothing big or fancy, but it's my home; a place where I get to cook and clean and live - where everything has its place because I put it there. I love that sense of ownership. I love that I have a fish. he's red and his name is Eric The Red and he's lovely. He nearly gave me a heart attack when I came ...

Lately my pastor has been talking about the importance of telling your story. We all have a story to tell, and when we take the time to really look at our stories, I think we would all find a similar theme: God's undying love working in the lives of humanity. It looks different in the life of every person, but He's there to be found if you search for him. All that to say, I thought perhaps it might be time to tell my story... I grew up with two parents who loved each other - as well as my sister and I - very deeply, who were both integrally involved in my upbringing, and who were able to provide for all of my needs during even the tightest and most strained seasons of our lives as a young family. Mom and Dad put Jenny and I through private education at our local church's school where we enjoyed the opportunity to have meaningful relationships with our teachers and with spiritual leaders. I always had someone to turn to, be it for help with my friendships, homework, or r...

They say that your character isn't made in the big moments of life - it's simply revealed in them. They say, rather, that your character is made in the little everyday, mundane, nothing moments: how do you treat your cat? What do you do in a minor ethical dilemma at the office? Who does your landlord say that you are? I don't have a cat, I'm still in school, and I live with my parents. Don't get me wrong - this is one hundred percent NOT a complaint! I've got a lot going on, and I am totally fulfilled, but this is a season of preparation and that means that a lot of the dreams and goals in life right now are like a plane in a holding pattern. I'm about to take off and soar into the unknown, but in the meantime, even the little everyday, mundane, nothing moments aren't what they'll be once I'm airborne. For now, my Life is in the Waiting. So who will I be in the waiting? Fearful?      Anxious?      Doubting?   ...

Wait wait wait!!! Don't run away - this is most definitely NOT one of my nerdy posts. Yes, it mentions organic chemistry, but I don't understand it enough to have any deep allegorical insights into the human condition after studying it. So you're safe. In fact, my lack of comprehension of this subject is what I want to talk about today. You see final exam weeks are about to start for university students everywhere, and, for me, this point in the semester is almost invariably marked by 1) hours of endless studying, 2) hours of guiltily procrastinating, and 3) hours of calculating what my GPA will be 'If I get ____ on the final'. Forgive me if I'm assuming too much here, but I think that's pretty much the way it goes for everyone. But maybe this next piece isn't the way everyone operates; maybe it's just me, although I doubt it. Inevitably, there are semesters that are just plain difficult. You have a lot of external commitments, or you've work...

Thinking about David today...You know, the man after God's own heart who managed to make every conceivable mistake under the sun, from lust to murder? Yeah him. What a guy! No really, I mean it. I heard someone talking about David today...about a time shortly after he messed up pretty badly. And since he was king, the punishment of the king became the punishment for his people. (side note for a second - that'll preach! Who am I responsible for? Who's looking up to me? My actions, public and private, affect those people! Word.) K sorry, back to the story: So poor, sinner, David is helplessly watching his people get ravished by a plague. He's shown remorse already, but justice is justice, and there's nothing he can do except pray that God gives him a way out before it hits Jerusalem. And sure enough, **queue God **, just in time the redemption comes! (who ever said that in the old testament God never showed mercy?!? False.) God sends a prophet to tell Dave the n...

Dear friend, It's been a while - I apologize. More than a few times over the past few months, I've started to write and one thing or another has stopped me from putting it up. You should see the list of partially-finished, unpublished posts I have going... I think there have been several things holding me back, but one of them is that I like for things to be made well, and every time I've started a post lately it just seems underdeveloped, incomplete, or just plain and lacking style. That being said, here's my disclaimer: I may be posting now, but that doesn't mean I've spent hours crafting this post. No, instead I decided that I might as well just write and leave the stylistic sentence structuring to someone more artistic than I. Don't get me wrong, I still like for things to be made well! A good Charles Dickens novel, for instance. That man knew how to write, and his stories were spun to perfection. Made well. Or my dad's Italian polenta and stew...