Darkness

Moonlight, nightlight, starlight... What is the common theme in theses words. That's right they are all compound nouns :P I know that's what you all thought too. Okay so the other common themes are that the have light in them, but they also only exist in the darkness. It is winter, I work 12 hour shifts, so I fancy myself to be an expert on darkness or at least night.

It is in the darkest night that the smallest light makes the largest difference. No one cares about turning on a light when the sun is shining bright. Moonlight and starlight are best experienced in the vast spaces of darkness. My farm was the best for this or the drive between Moose Jaw and Assiniboia just the hills and you and vast amounts of sky. When there is no moon the stars shine even more brilliantly. It is as if a jeweler has taken the finest cuts of diamonds and infused them with light then scattered them across a black velvet canvas. The brilliance is accented only by the darkness, without that darkness it would not have been as brilliant.

Counting my blessings

I like posting thankfulness. I complain too much as it is.
#21. Went for coffee with Kamelle after a night shift. She so gracious, loves me even though it seems like she always gets me when I am super tired.
#22. New friends at work who I can relate to and go out with.
#23. Ginger ale to relieve nausea.
#24. A new knitting project for home!
#25. Portable Knitting project, 1/3 done my scarf!
#26. Cool weather. (hats and scarves season)
#27. More organized than less.
#28. Friends who I can connect with even when I don't see them for months.
#29. All night worship sessions.
#30. Finding forgiveness and mercy for myself and others.
#31. Books on tape!

I could write more but I am going to have a bubbly bath(#32).

More to Be Thankful For!

Here we are posing...

...and here is an action shot of us knitting!
It was hard to capture this photo, but I waited all day and got it:)

#11. Yarn - fun for cats and People.
#12. Having Oriol live in my basement and still share life with me!
#13. Mama - She cooks me yummy food and loves me even if i'm whiny.
#14. Papa and his crazy commando stalking in the park. Such a fun walk in MJ. We walked in the park and Dad and Luke(#21) tried to sneak up on us, so we tried to hide from them. Super great weekend!
#15. Being at rest and peace in my house even if someone else would think "Have you done anything today?" - Yes I did my dishes! :P (insert lip flapping noise here)
#16. Kitting needles!
#17. Realizing you are really nerdy and surrounded by nerds when your friend comes up and starts laughing at you while you are knitting(#18). Of course she's laughing because she was downstairs knitting. So then she comes up and you watch a movie and knit. How much leisure can you pack into two hours?!
#19. Friends who sell you good cars for a cheap price!
#20. Cozy hat from Farmfest!

Appreciating my Life!

I think I don't fully appreciate what I have some days. For instance I am sitting here blogging in the middle of the day with no worries. I don't have to make supper for anyone, not even myself actually cause I have a free supper meeting. I have no children to interrupt my peace and quiet. I can make coffee dates for almost whenever I want. I really appreciate the liberties I have. On the other hand I know when the day comes I will fully embrace the joys that the other life brings.

Well now more about me. Someone gave me a fantastic silverware tray. How do these people know when to come? I am currently waiting for something to arrive from someone.

In my singleness I can see the provision that God has made for me. He gives me the best surprises whether it is through people or natural circumstances (ie. sunshine pouring through a window and hitting my face.)

I need to be more thankful and remember the good things about my day and life, especially work. I shall start today.

#1 I am thankful that my work is looking at ways to improve our organization so we can care better for our patients.
#2 The man in the hallway calling out, Jesus where are you? how do I get to Jesus. I just want to go home, I am sick of this world.
#3 My very own home and all the dreams I dream about it knowing that I have many years to implement them.
#4 Airplanes flying overhead, I feel like I am in my father's childhood home.
#5 My mama and #6 papa cause they love me.
#7 My older brother, he is very interesting and has taught me not to quit even when it sucks. I should tell him.
#8 My sister, she almost always sounds happy to hear from me. Usually if it is the 3rd phone call of the day she starts to wain:)
#9 My little brother he is very giving and sweet, any takers ;)
#10 My future dog, who I am sure not matter how well passes the dog tests will be like Parker :)

That's it for now time to organize the house and throw out the clutter.

Weird

I am up because i canor sleep. When I wake up these days all I can think about is research nurse patient ratios. Such a keener:)

A little game from Puddles ;)

1. Who are you to me?
2. How Long have we known each other?
3. When and how did we meet?
4. Choose a nickname for me and explain why
5. Describe me in one word
6. What reminds you of me?
7. If you could give me a gift, what would it be?
8. Do you think you know me well?
9. When was the last time you saw / talked to me?
10. What was the funniest thing we did together or said to each other?
11. What do we talk about all the time?
12. Do you think we will always be friends?
13. If you had to throw something at me, what would it be?
14. Are you going to write the same note so I can write crazy stuff about you too?

Photos from my life

So proud

There are two sides to this word in my life. The first side is the pride side. his is the side that jumps to judgments and conclusions far to quickly and something the Lord is graciously working out.

The other is me being proud of people. I feel very blessed to be walking and encouraging friends when they are in deep &*^%. Yep super proud of my friends and praying daily for God's victory and purpose to be established.

REQUIRED! NOT AN OPTION, hmmm

He has shown you o man, what is good. This is what the LORD requires of you, to ACT justly, to LOVE kindness and to walk humbly WITH your God.

Pondering the last 30 years!

This is from last year when I went adventuring with God to England.

I should do a collage of pictures to show all of you what a cute child I was, but instead I will offer thoughts of God's grace and mercy on my life. (skip to the end for the really important part, if you don't want to read the whole thing).


Let's start from the very beginning...
0 years May 12th 11pm I am still in my mommy's tummy and it is snowing out. I decide to wait until the 13th, knowing that it will be the perfect mother's day gift (besides the doctor figured mom was faking (having false contractions) and had to warm up the OR since the labor room was already in use.) So at 12:08 a.m. May 13, 1979 I was born into this world. So if it snows tomorrow consider it my 30 year reunion with the storm that brought me, but can't take me out:) Matthew and Tamara rejoiced knowing that I would be the perfect little sister :-p

At age one I did many things such as sleep, eat, pee, and poop yes I was a princess. (I have no idea I was one.) Good times were had by all. When I was 19 months old my second brother Andrew came into this world, but he only stopped to say hello than he went back to Jesus. Sure am looking forward to meeting you Andrew.

When I was two I did some things, let's speculate. I grew up on a farm so I probably ate dirt, Dad would bring home wild bunnies that he found in the field. Did you know that bunnies can scream when they are scared.

Ages 3-5 I continued the trend of being cute. I had these ringlet pigtails that were to die for. My little brother Luke was born. I think when I turned 6 I asked Jesus to come into my heart. I remember it quite distinctly. I was at and AWANA meeting and they asked who wanted to stay. I thought I was going to miss out on snack and games, which was a huge ordeal for me. Actually because of that specific circumstance I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I met Jesus that night. This would send me off on a Journey that I would never forget nor regret.

Ages 6-18 These years were highlighted with struggles such as not being excepted by my peers, who were also my relatives, but also with sweet meetings with Jesus at Glad Tidings Bible Camp(GTBC). GTBC is a dinky little camp with not much to boast for except Jesus, great people, swimming pool and a horse program. They might have more now, but that's what was ther when I was growing up. Glad Tidings is where I would meet with God. I would be convicted that something was missing and that ask him in again. Finally when I was about 12 I quit asking and just believed that he was with me.

Those of you who are ancient like me will remember the song The Champion by Carmen, which is about Jesus victory over Satan. Our camp staff performed this and at the end I ended up having extreme pain in my back. My cousellour asked if she and another staff could pray for me. This was my first encounter with Satan not being pleased with my choosing the kingdom of light. After they prayed the pain was gone. This memory is also very vivid to me. I remember sitting on a wooden chair in the camp kitchen by the phone and them laying hands on me.

Skip ahead, in grade 8 I transfered to Assiniboia from Limerick, best decision ever! In grade 9 I became involved with student council at the encouragement of my principal Robert Demerchant. (If you ever meet anyone by this name and his birthday is May 13 tell him Sherry Palmer says thank you for believing in me.) I started hanging out with the Apostolic church youth group, cause I had made my first friend and her name is Hannah. I know that I had other friends, before this but she was the first person I felt really got me.

At the beginning of my grade 11 year life sucked Hannah moved, a student died, my Grandpa died (I began to find out how messed up people really are), my friend's parents were killed in a car accident and on the day of their funeral I got braces. (The braces stayed with me till the 2nd year at Bethany.) Let us say that this was a low point in my life. For the first time in my life I was really angry at God. In February that year I went to Bethany to Youth Advance this is when I heard with the ears of my heart God tell me that He loved me. I was a mess. This is the year I also started thinking about going to Bethany.

In grade twelve I applied for the nice people awards since I wasn't that strong academically and I got one:)

Okay no more play by play I am starting to bore myself. I went to BBI and learned about having friends, God's grace and in between my 2nd and third year I learned what speaking in tongues was all about. That was interesting to return to BBI the following year not really knowing what it meant and really having no one there who understood what I was learning. I would love to say this is when I began to really dig deep into God's word and find whatever, but it's not. God and I do things a bit differently. I hear him in music and people more than his word, but He has instilled his word in my heart so that I can test what is true and what is not. I met some cool people from a little church called Hope Fellowship, they were Rachel, Grant and Oriol. Rachel and Oriol lived with me in 2002-2003, when Rachel abandoned us for Kevin. Then Roxi moved in and we all moved in with Carrie and Goldie. For the next 4 years we learned what it meant to be family and some of what it meant to communicate. We prayed, laughed and cried many tears in those 4 years.

Now after 7 years of roommates I am living on my own! Very bizarre and exciting. I am much blessed.

Hope Fellowship is where God has planted me for the last 7 years and it amazes me how much like family it is. I definitely have a love/struggle relationship with my church as a whole, but it's great cause that is where I am learning what it means to love unconditionally. Do I succeed at it? Somedays, sometimes not so much.

**** This is what I really wanted to highlight.****

Tomorrow I will be 30. I have a deep desire to marry, but this is not yet my lot in life. Am I bitter? No. Am I apathetic towards marriage? Honestly, somedays. Do I believe in a sovereign lovgin Father, who knows me better than I know myself? DEFINITELY. If I could gove a gift to people on my birthday it would be this. See what you have and rejoice in it, because there is a day coming when you will long for what you had and wished that you had embraced the moments you were given. This is what I have learned in my singleness. Rejoice and be glad about your life, cause really who else will.
p.s. I have really wonderful fantastic friends now, who are literal answers to literal prayers prayed by a girl and her mom when she was 5,6,7,8,9,and 10. Jesus loves you, really.

Blessings up you and those you love. La Heim!

A song that blesses my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bTjDace9nY

MY Kitchen!!

This is a picture tour of my kitchen. The other two rooms are slowly coming
together so you'll just have to wait or come over to see:)

This is the shelf that I will be growing my fresh herbs on, mmmm!

This is the table that I eat at and occasionally store my mail on;)

This is where I prepare all sorts of yummy goodness.
Soooooo FUN!

...and yes my kitchen is lime green with a hint of neon:)

2 more days!!!!!!!!!

I will be sleeping in my very own apartment in 3 nights!

Moving in T minus 7 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am soooooooo excited to move. I have been approved for parking and will be the official renter and sole occupant of my apartment. I plan on having multiple late night dance parties with myself and baking at 2 a.m. when I am on night shifts as well as leaving things wherever(only for a little but cause I think, no I know it would drive me insane to be messy all the time. I am planning on turning over a new leaf. I am going to be organized. That's right I who was voted my senior year "Most likely to be lost in her room" am going to be organized. I even have a plan. It involves puchasing wonderful baskets and labels. See my problem isn't that I can't organize it's that once I am organized I forget where to put things back :)

I am so excited so if anyone wants to join the moving party we will be starting at around 11 am or noon. I can't get my keys till 9am.

Moving

I am officially moving out on my own! After 6-7 years of living with the same roommates i am going to spread my wings and see how I like to fly. Still loving the work I do and learning how not to be a complaining nurse. I have found a couple of good examples.

Loving what God loves!

So I was reflecting on who people are. What we like, dislike, how we act and the way we even look. I think of the saying a face only a mother could love, ouch. If I pause to think, I/we are people only God could love. I know that there are people who think I am fabulous/fantastic and other positive multi-syllable words, but when you separate the good from the bad, God still loves the bad part of me. he loves me when I swear, screw up, watch movies that are inappropriate. He doesn't say apologize and than I will love you and feel mushy gushy for you, He just loves me. It is this love that grows in me a desire to change. I don't want to mess up and do hurtful things, I want my lover to have the best not the rest ;)


So this is my challenge to myself and those that would dare to pick it up. Don't judge how God is working in the people around you, believe that He is and love them like He does.

Sorta Bust and a quick update

I am officially done nursing unless I didn't pass the RN exam. 3 cheers for me.
I have a job at St. Paul's hospital. I like the work, but I love days off:)
I am going to push the 10km to August and hopefully run a 5km this April or May.

I love my friends and miss them dearly, but I love my new friends too.

I got to worship and pray 2 night in a row till 130-2 am and we started at like 1030pm. (I must be a shift worker now.)

I am holding sleep a little looser now and trying to hold Jesus a lot closer. Actually I am trying to hold everything a lot looser.

We had a great discussion about the kingdom of God and what that all means. It was good to talk about sharing what we had and learning to use what God has given us. I think just being more aware is a great way to learning how to share and realize that I own nothing, I am just borrowing it from the Father. Yah it's been a good few days off.

10 km or bust!

There is nothing to motivate sticking to a goal than posting it somewhere the whole world can see. So the plan is to run a 10km race on May 24 I just need to get that day off than I should be good to go:) So far we have walk/run about 4 km according to the tracker I used to map the route we did, so I am feeling like this is doable. Anybody want to jump on the bandwagon? Sarah? Nin?