24/7 week of prayer

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land" 2 Chronicles 7:14

For this entire week the 24/7 prayer room is open at our church. It is open to everyone...not just members of our church, not just believers, not 'all star' prayers ;) Anyone is welcome. It truly is an amazing experience...I cannot even begin to explain. Don't come with an agenda...come to listen, come to worship, come to create, come to speak. You will be blessed...

Don't do drugs

One of my 'classic lines' when I walk in the front door is "Mum, guess what happened TODAY??". According to my mum, I always have a story. I'm not sure if it's because I get into random situtations or if it's more that I love telling stories and try to make even the simplest story entertaining (yes, embellishment IS a key component of story telling...haha).

However, today there is no need to embellish THIS story. It all started while Jessica and I were waiting in the truck crossing border line....

Jessica and I decided to take a little shopping trip down to good ol' Bellis Fair. Everything was going according to plan. We arrived at the border and were waiting (somewhat) patiently in the line up that seemed to stretch on forever!! While we were talking in the car I noticed some type of officer (he had those fancy pants and a hat on) walking around looking at vehicles. Suddenly he looked at my vehicle, walked over and did the 'roll down your window' motion. Naturally I complied (it's the border...you do whatever they say). "Hello there ma'am" (Americans talk funny sometimes...haha). "Hello" I replied (I know, so original). "Where are you headed today?" he asked. "Bellis Fair" I responded. *Now, I should mention at this point that I'm kind of wondering WHY he is asking us these questions BEFORE we get up to the border and I'm ALSO wondering WHY he hadn't stopped to talk to any other people in their vehicles*. "Do you have any narcotics in your vehicle?" "No I do not". NOW, what REALLY threw me for a loop is the question he asked next!! "Would you LIKE to have some narcotics in your vehicle?". *WHA?! Hold up, I'm thinking. Is this some sort of trick question??* "Uhh, no I would NOT like to have any narcotics in my vehicle!" (Good answer, I thought to myself). "Well, I'm kinda wondering if you wouldn't mind..." *insert confusion for Maia and Jessica* "You see, we are training some of our sniffer dogs and I would like to hide some narcotics in the side door of your car". "Oh" I responded (this sounded exciting to me) "Ya no problem, go ahead". He then proceeded to open my rear passenger door and hide a packet between the seat and the door. As SOON as he closed the door Jessica and I burst into fits of laughter.

"Why on earth were WE chosen?!" "Do we look like people who would be sneaking narcotics into the US?" were the questions that flew back and forth. "Gosh, I wonder what kind of drugs they are??" "Do you think they would notice if someone peaked at the drugs??" "I have never done drugs...I wonder what they look like??" Then "Imagine if they had a voice recorder stashed inside the drugs...they'd have a hay day listening to our ridiculous banter!!".

We were very excited as we approached the border guard in his booth. I suddenly turned to Jessica and asked "What if that guy isn't really an officer?" "What if the dogs DON'T come and we sneak narcotics into the US!!" "What if there are reminants of the narcotics IN my car afterwards and, on the way home, we are pulled over and arrested for supposed drug possession!!"

After what seemed like hours (ok, it was a matter of minutes) we FINALLY approached the booth. Then we saw it...the dog. He was sniffing the cars in the other line ups. The officer and the dog started walking towards our car *This was it!!* "Excuse me, could you please turn off your car" asked the border man (that was a new one). "Oh, sure". The dog made his way around my vehicle...his nose eagerly attempting to get a whiff of something, somewhere. For some reason I felt nervous. I knew I was hiding something illegal (and I knew that THEY knew that) but I couldn't decide if I wanted the narcotics to be discovered or not. Suddenly, the dog began barking and scratching at my back door!! The officer opened up the door and took out the narcotics "Good girl, good girl!!" he loudly praised the dog. "Thank you ma'am, you can go". I attempted to start my car...no luck. Oops, guess you have to put it in PARK in order to start it *yay for me and my shining moment...* ;)

My other half of crazy...

Megs and I have been friends for 8 years. We first met at youth group and ended up leading a small group for teen Alpha together. I think we knew that it was going to be a long lasting friendship when we both realized how hyperactive we got together at one of the Alpha retreats. Megs is DEFINITELY more crazy than I (it's true!!) but when I'm with her, I rise to the occasion!! My mum always knows when I've hung out with Megs because she says "you're wired...you've been with Megs, haven't you?" (haha). Anyways, over the years we have developed a strong friendship...one that is FULL of laughter, randomness, deep discussions, shallow discussions and just enjoying one anothers company :) It is a worthwhile investment and a friendship that has carried me through many difficult times. Here are some random photos of us just because :) If you want to see a WHOLE ALBUM check out our facebooks :)

plea sack chore rage

I'll admit...most of the time I still feel really young. Every once in awhile I think to myself "Gosh, I'm a university graduate! Heck, I'm a TEACHER! When did that happen?!" However, there are times where I begin to notice that I AM in fact getting older. For example...it's so strange that some of my youth girls, that I've known since Grade 8, are graduating this year!! Or when I go to certain concerts (and go all crazy in the mosh pit) I look around me and most of the people look 16 or younger. Yesterday I went to visit a friend who is currently living in the dorm I lived in my first year. We walked into her dorm and she said to her roomates "Hey! My friend used to live in this dorm!" "Oh really!" they responded, "when??". I thought about it for a minute and said "uhh, six years ago". "Oh" *pause* "that was awhile ago".
Today Kayla (who is graduating from high school this year) and I took the skytrain into New Westminster to look at grad dresses. I decided to get into the 'grad spirit' and try dresses along with her (always fun). I found myself gravitating towards the more 'practical' dresses. Dresses that could be worn to more than just the grad function itself *a sign of aging according to my Mum*. A lot of the dresses were beautiful! But some gowns looked like something that Malibu Barbie would wear to her prom! I saw girls trying on dresses so puffy that they'd have to turn sideways to fit through the door! Or the popular 'mermaid style' dress where (according to the sales associate) you kinda lean back and 'fall' in order to sit down! The ladies were very helpful and would 'ooh' and 'ahh'. "Grad is a night you'll remember!" they said. "Ohh I bet !" I replied and smiled at Kayla. It's good to know that, even though I could be teaching these 'soon to be graduates', I could actually still pass for one!!
I'm sure this is how it will always be. That, no matter what age you are, you still feel young. When I turn 40 I'll probably think "WHAT?! I'm 40!!" Or, if/when I ever buy my own house I will say "Since when am I responsible enough to purchase my own home! Who in their right mind is letting me do this" BAH! Ahh well, I think I'll stick with the infamous expression and always be young at heart. Besides, who am I kidding?? Me? Grown up? Never! ;)

those summer blues...

Megs informed me that an update is long overdue. My life, as per usual, has been very 'full' and I'm really enjoying this year (both the joys and the challenges). Some highlights from the past week have been: having a good chat/dinner with Jess, being reminded of how dependent I am on God in my ministry to youth, attending The Core conference on helping hurting teens (no, we were not trained how to hurt them...haha), going to a Mexican Fiesta party at Mel's and meeting new people/playing the telephone pictionary game (what?! that said ocean space, not outer space?!), getting to know people in the church better at the 'Guess who's coming to lunch?' event, spending lots of quality 'snuggle' time with our new baby, grunting and pretending to be all 'manly' with Mel while watching '300' with 14 guys, going to an avacado themed party at Liz and Anna's, catching up with Kayla and sharing what we've been learning about in 'Velvet Elvis', teaching sex-ed to a bunch of Grade 6 students, swimming laps with all of the elderly people while a techno version of ABBA broadcasts in the pool, going for a windy walk with Corrie, bringing Kristian some 'treats' (candy and beef jerky) to help cheer him up after a hard day at work, feeling like I'm back in Noah's day ABOUT TO DROWN IN ALL OF THE FREAKIN RAIN and longing for summer...

I can't wait for summer. I love summer. Summer makes me happy. I really do enjoy each of the seasons. I love the vast array of colours that Fall presents, Spring signifies 'newness' and some of my favorite flowers (daffodils, cherry blossoms and tulips) finally make their appearance. And then there's winter with its chilly nights, warm drinks, scarves, mittens and blanket of snow. And then, summer :) Summer means warm nights, bonfires, camping, walking barefoot in the sand with the sunset as your backdrop, relaxation, tube rides and drive ins. Summer makes me feel alive. I'm waiting in anticipation...