where

if, hypothetically, you could go anywhere in the world for a couple of days for free, where would you go and why?

changing shape

I've had this newspaper clip out in my wallet since Christmas:

"Statistics Canada has released results of the 2001 census showing several shifts in family demographics in the last decade:
* An increase in the number of common law couples from 6% in 1996 to 16% in 2001. (This compares with 8.2% in the US, 24.5% in Norway, and 30% in Sweden).
* An increase in the number of children living with common law parents from 3.1% in 1981 to 12.8% in 2001.
* An increase in the number of children living with lone parents from 12.8% in 1981 18.8% in 2001, and a decrease in the number of children living with two married parents, from 84.1% in 1981 to 68.4% in 2001."

Source: Kids First Canada.

get out

"The number of adults aged 20 to 29 still living with their parents has increased from 27.5% in 1981 to 41.4% in 2001 (with the highest percentage in Newfoundland at 50.9% and the lowest in Saskatchewan at 29.8%)."

Source: Kids First Canada.

prima

this afternoon after church, jodi, holly, and i ventured off to the big city of regina, saskatchewan, for some quality time. chapters bookstore (kind of like barnes and noble, for you americans... i love bookstores like chapters, they have way better selection than a library… except you can't take the books home for free, or just non-commitment borrow them either). anyways, looked through a bunch of awesome art books, found some neato journals (I have a real weakness for beautifully bound journals), and bought nothing. yay willpower! : ) some people think the real plus factor of chapters is the fact that they have a starbucks in them, but i'm not a coffee fan, books are much more exciting to me.

then later we went to value village (a thrift store)… and none of us found anything which is really strange, and to the cornwall centre mall. i found a really nice wool cable knit scarf at the gap that i had seen before Christmas that i really liked, but back then it was $58 (who pays that much for a scarf???). now it's on for $12, but they only had a black one, and i thought, what do i need another scarf for, and my peacoat is navy, so it really wouldn't match anyway. i did however succumb to the allure of some really good smelling and cool looking cranberry and spiced pear candles at the body shop that were on for half price that i had also seen before Christmas but did not buy. so that was my big purchase today, a couple of candles. i've never boughten candles before, i'm more of a cool lamps person, but now my room will smell lovely.

then, we went to this restaurant called "pasta prima" that none of us had been to before, and had a lovely supper. it was all homemade fresh pastas, super good stuff. so, yeah, if you're ever in regina, go to pasta prima.

notice

lately i've had a significant increase in web traffic. i'm not sure what this is due to, although i've noticed a lot of visitors surfing in. most of my referrals come off of tim's and kathleen's blogs, but lately i've also had a lot off of carly's, sarah's, and jenni's blogs. so, welcome here. and thanks to my referrers, you guys are awesome! : )

i've also had a lot of people surfing in off of google looking for lyrics, as well as other assorted searches such as:

a) various desktop themes
b) "worrying what other people think"
c) think outside the bubble school youth ministry
d) "never been willing to give up my heart "
e) "never had a boyfriend"
f) ohio driver's liscence template
g) yukon driver's liscence template
h) canada age of majority card template

just in case you are here because you were searching for something similar, i will let you in on a few fun facts:

a) you will not find any desktop themes here
b) don't do it so often, it's not worth it
c) hmm... yes i'm a youth min major. sometimes i blog about it. stick around, i love to think outside the bubble, although i live in the bubble.
d) oooo, tough one. something i struggle with daily.
e) yes. we're still out here. people like me. we're not freaks, despite popular opinion. hold in there. i'll blog about this another day. but, just to let you in on a little secret, it's not as bad as you think it might be. i'm willing to wait for the right guy rather than settle for the wrong guy.
f) no, i will not help you break the law.
g) see "f", and no, i do not think you should be looking for this.
h) see "f" and "g", and quit trying to break the law(!), it'll only mess up your life and get you in more trouble. trust me.

somehow, this increase in traffic makes me nervous. suddenly i think my entries should be more profound. suddenly i feel like i should have something interesting to say. suddenly i feel like i do nothing to deserve you reading this (13 hits from new brunswick in one day? i've never had a hit from new brunswick before!). there you are, somewhere totally random on this planet, reading this... my little random though.

leave me a comment. let me know that you read this. let us in on where you're from and how you got here. let me in on why you keep coming back. i'm interested to hear. : )

drastic

i've been meaning to get my hair cut for awhile. it was getting what i considered to be a little bit too long. i saw 28 days about a week ago, and so i was thinking i'd maybe get my hair cut like sandra bullock's in that movie, she had such great hair.

but anyway, today i, on the spur of the moment, went to moose jaw, and ended up getting my hair cut. drastic cut. like 8 inches at least. now it's shorter than sandra's, not by much, but still shorter. i've never had my hair cut this short in my entire life. well, i suppose maybe when i was a baby it was shorter. but this is drastic for me. shorter than shoulder length, with layers. usually i just get a straight cut with no layering.

i don't think guys understand what a big deal it is for girls to get their hair cut. or maybe it's just me... am i the only one who makes a big deal out of it? i mean, 8 inches is a lot of hair to get cut off!

but then again, once i got 14 inches cut off at once.

travel

i'm not going to my Gramma's... i needed to have a meeting before i left and it turns out the woman i need to meet with is out of town until tuesday.

but, that's okay, i'll go for my visit at the end of the month as i had planned earlier.

need to get some work done. today is a dry day.

"Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you..."
- Acts 2:3:6b

display ideas

for those of you who remember this, you might want to see this.

i encourage you all to replicate the apple display in your home. but not in your store. then i'd feel bad.

change of plans

i was supposed to be going to Montana this weekend and i was really looking forward to it, but the friend i was going with has decided to bail...so, a change of plans is being forced upon me. i was originally planning to go to my Gramma's for a week starting earlier this week and going through to next week, but decided to postpone that until the end of the month. but now, since my weekend is free, i'm thinking i might go. have to talk to my Gramma though and see if it works for her. she's 84, and still lives on the farm my mother grew up on in Manitoba (above North Dakota). she's one of my favourite people, we get along so great and have lots of fun together. : ) usually i go to visit once in the autumn and once in the spring, but i haven't been to see her since last march.

but, this next week i also need to have a little contact with my email to perhaps try and figure out some summer plans. i am in the midst of trying to figure out where God wants me to be this summer. i know that he will bless me no matter what i decide to do, but i worry so much about making the wrong decision. is it possible to go to the "wrong" place? i thought i had it figured out but people keep telling me to do different things and none so far stick out as a "that's totally it!" so i'm in limbo. i am hoping to serve at a church or a camp somewhere. maybe Canada, maybe the US again, we'll see.

so, i am worried about this summer... what to do, where to go. but, i do remember:

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because i am fearfully and woderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
-Psalm 139:13-14, 16a

the innocence of childhood

I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy
When death like a gypsy
Comes to steal what I love
I will still look to the heavens
I will still seek Your face...
because there are no words
Though pain is an ocean
Tossing us around, around, around
You have calmed greater waters
Higher mountains have come down
- Jars of Clay, "The Valley Song (Sing of Your Mercy)

i got the new jars of clay cd set today, "furthermore". there are two cds, one live from the stage and one from the studio, plus a bonus cd with a few jars songs on it and a few caedmon's call songs. i like this aforementioned song, as well as the new version of "love song for a Saviour." love song will always be one of my favourites. the innocence of childhood. God's great and unending love.

images

i'm actually hiding out in the library tonight... hiding from my roommates. well, actually, i guess i'm not technically hiding out, since they know where i am, but i am avoiding them. too much time in house makes me go crazy. although i do love it, it's lots of fun at the best of times... and i love my room, and i love cooking (as opposed to eating in the cafeteria, which does have it's benefits, but i like cooking), and etc. etc. : )

i am listening to my discman at the moment, although i'm superparanoid i'll start singing or something. i don't personally know any of the people in the computer lab i can see, so i don't want to make a bad impression ; ) on these people that i don't know too well! i took one of my ear buds out... just in case... then i'd hear myself singing.

got my links working, sorry they're such bad scans. i think the reflections of the tape work with the blossoms postcard, but not really with the other two. i'll scan before taping next time.

i should go. maybe get some homework done.

i'm totally random even at the best of times. i often wonder if there really is anyone out there who follows my train of thought.

new links

as time allows i have been working on expanding my blog a bit into other realms of me, so i've been developing some webpage content.

voila, here is my first somewhat finished page, some of my artwork linked up.

good stuff

i just wanted to say that i think carly's blog is an all-round cool blog, i'd like to meet this girl some day. found her blog by accident, but am loving reading her posts.

sometimes i get so lost in the little problems of my life that i forget all the joys. the joy of knowing Christ. the joy of knowing his love. the joy of living for him. the joy of being blessed by being able to go to an incredible school. the joy of freedom. the joy of life in Christ.

What do I have
If I don't have you Jesus?
What in this life
Could mean any more?
You are my rock
You are my glory
You are the lifter of my head
- Starfield, "Cry in My Heart

so blogger just ate my reflective, thoughtful post, so... maybe i wasn't supposed to post it?

it was about trying to discern God's will.

invite

i got invited to an artists' retreat at the end of march... i'm excited. i've never done anything like that before.

i, i, i survived!

quick update...

good friends are a blessing. joanne was waiting for me when i got done my interview. : )

i did indeed survive. i got a conditional pass... which pretty much everyone gets (you can get a clear pass, conditional pass, or a fail). most of the questions they asked me were on things like "how do you see the relationship within the Trinity?", "how do you recieve from God?", and "what was Christ's purpose for God while here on earth?"... not questions i was at all expecting but good ones to think about. hard ones to think about.

my conditional pass is based on the factor that i need to rework the sections of my paper on baptism, angels and demons, and the return of Christ.

I'm falling down
Tumbling after You
I'm overwhelmed
Trembling over simple truth
In all I've found
There's nothing that's more beautiful
Than what I've found in You
- Starfield, "Tumbling After

may You be honoured and glorified

today was a good day. not great, but good.

tomorrow morning at 11:30 CST begins my exit interview... 45 minutes that all potential B.A. graduates dread. anxiety.

what do i know? that God is as real as the blood in my veins, and that Jesus Christ came and died and shed that blood so that me and you can live forever with him... i know that the passion of God is a very real thing, that his grace and mercy are amazing, and that he continues to astound me every day with his love.

In my heart, there's a fire burning
A passion deep within my soul
Not slowing down, not growing cold
An unquenchable flame
That keeps burning brighter
A love that's blazing like the sun
For who You are and what You've done
- Starfield, "Filled With Your Glory"

everything

went to a surprise birthday party today which was fun. it was all people that i know casually for the most part, but never hang out with, so that was neat. played a big game of cranium, sometimes i feel so bad in trivia games because i always know all the answers (except for sports... that's my achilles heel), so my team pretty much always wins. in junior high we used to play trivial pursuit and iq2000, and the whole class would get into a big fight because they'd want me to be on their team.

but anyway, in other news, i think i figured out some big stuff... so that's good. life stuff. but then again, maybe i'm just on my way to figuring it out... but it is a road to follow down.

I want you to be
Everything to me
Inside my thoughts
And through my life
I want to know your peace

I want you to be
Everythign to me
No rival throne
No equal love
No other to compete
- Starfield, "Everything to Me"

good

last night i went to an even concert, and they were playing the new starfield cd before the show opened... so today i went and bought it. i'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for some new music to add to their collection. : )

I've been chasing after emptiness
Trying to tidy up this mess
And I swear I've been down this road before
I wanna get back to where it all began
When I would long for only You
- Starfield, "Can I Stay Here Forever"

february theory

welcome to february everybody, it's nice to be here with you.

february theory (it's nice to be loved) is what i would call my debut cd, if i had one, if i could sing as well as i do in my head. maybe i'll just burn a cd with love songs on it instead and call it february theory. if i had a cd burner.

it's nice to be loved. it's nice to know that people love you. it's nice to think that people might actually like you back. it's nice to get compliments. it's nice to realize that you mean something to people. and it's great to tell other people that they mean something to you. and february is a great time to tell them that.

"Don't be somebody's slogan, because you are poetry."
- Sandra Bullock, in 28 Days