Earlier this month I began writing a comparison story of Mario's quest in the Super Mario Bros series and our quest as Christians, so imagine my surprise when I opened an email this morning and found out that one of the guys from school had used the comparison of Mario getting "flower power" to people receiving the Holy Spirit. When I read that, I laughed so hard. It was great, yet strange to know someone else had that strange mindset.
Time is going by so quickly! I'm going to the Island this weekend, then the following weekend I might be going to the Symphony of Fire, the weekend after that is my brother's birthday, then the following weekend is my friends' parents' anniversary, then I leave for school on Monday the 25th (Lord willing). So much to do, so little time!

I got lotsa stuff today for FGBI sports : ) I hate not having my own computer...I'm in such a rush. I've been questioning why I've been thinking so much about why I'm teaching Sunday School and thinking of teaching ESL when I know I'm not a teacher. My two thoughts are it's not of God or it's a way God makes sure I'm trusting Him, not me and my abilities. Well, gotta run.

And the money continuees to roll in...I got a call just after 7 this morning from my pastor who's moving this weekend. He was panicked and rushed and asked me if he could hire me to go clean his house. He told me that I had until 12 because that's when the other people were coming to move in. I agreed and a little over an hour later began my cleaning. With about 45 minutes left, I began to panick. There was still so much to do! I though I was just cleaning, but there was some packing to do as well. I didn't know what to keep and what to throw out. Luckily my mommy came to my rescue when she came to pick me up at 11:45. She came in and we got everything together just as my pastor came home to load the stuff into the truck. It was a lot of work, but it sure paid off. I got even more money than I had agreed to even though I had thought that what I was getting paid in the first place was too much. This can now go towards paying for all those lovely books I bought yesterday. Praise the Lord!

Leaving for school...so close yet so far away...1 month to the day.

Teaching ESL overseas...is this God speaking to me??? What to do? What to do?

God has given me so much today! Actually, it all started last night. We had such a wonderful time of worship at church last night...it was very evident that people were being very dependent on God...it was beautiful.
Today I spent more money that I don't have, but I belive it was a good investment. I went to our local Christian bookstore today to pick up a copy of The Bondage Breaker because it was on sale and I had heard good things about it. On the way, I decided that I would like to check out The Chronicles of Narnia, so I did. Turns out they were having a great sale on those (buy 2 get 1 free), so I got them all except The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe which was all sold out, but I ordered a copy of it, so my collection would be complete. Now, you would think that 8 books would be enough, but I also could not resist getting the C.S. Lewis Sinature Collection consisting of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and A Grief Observed. It was a box set. So ya...13 books for $147 and 1 more book on the way.
I got home and found a letter in the mail from school saying it would be best to make changes now if I was going to, so I did and guess what? I GET TO TAKE GREEK!!! I'm so excited...it didn't seem all that likely that I could, but I can!
I began to more seriously contemplate teaching ESL overseas. I would love to do it, but I need to get over this whole thought of it being something my parents wouldn't want me to do.
I also began to think of what I would have to buy to play sports this year...and how much it would cost. I then got a phone call asking me if I wanted to do another paper route, so I said yes, realizing later that that should cover the cost of my cleets, shin guards, and knee pads.
Yep, that's about it.

I woke up this morning and my thumb was a little sore. I looked at it and noticed a small white spot. I was not alarmed at all. I laughed actually. You see, I spent quite a few hours playing Super Mario World on SNES. I actually forgot that I had a SNES because my ex gave it to me to play while I was at work ( some job, eh?). I've never been too sure if he gave it to me or just lent it to me, but this morning I came to the conclusion that he gave it to me. He wrapped it up and everything before giving it to me. Anyways, so it's been about a year since I have played a video game and so my thumb (actually both thumbs) began to callous. Not a good sign...I should be doing more with my time. I did, however, get a couple more chapters read in the new book I'm reading for school. It's called Intimate Allies. It was hard to get into at first because it is a book for married people, but knowing that I have to finish it I kept reading and found that it discusses much about the Bible as well, so that makes it easier to read. I mean, I tend to find things in these marriage books that also teach me about my relationships with others, but I need to keep the message of the book in focus so I can write a review about it. Well, back to more reading and SNES! Will I ever learn???

Yay! Site is now updated! I'll have to add things later on, but this is good for now.
I taught children's sunday school yesterday. 3 movies came to mind: To Sir, With Love; Dangerous Minds; Sister Act 2. Now, there were only 3 kids, and they weren't THAT bad, but I learned very quickly that the program our church has been using with these kids has not been doing what it's supposed to do. Kids are so different these days and the programs need to be too. I'm going to try to leave the program up to the other teachers to do when I go back to school and make something up on my own. I know it'll be a lot of work, but I've got a lot of time these days.

For years I have wanted to have TIME to spend with God. Just me and Him. Now I have pretty much all the time in the world and I haven't spent NEARLY enough time getting to know Him. He showed me many things over the past year and helped me put some of those things into perspective this summer. One example of this has to do with my friends. I love them dearly, and I have spent much time and energy doing what I could to make life easier for them, trying to ensure their happiness. This summer I read a book called Shattered Dreams by Larry Crabb. I now realize that it is not always a good thing for people to be happy, that God is usually doing His best work in people when their lives come crashing down around them and they have nothing left, giving them no option but to turn to God. So now, no matter how much I want to revert to my ways of doing all I can to make life "peachy keen" for those I love, I now stand back and let God do His work. It's not that I have nothing to do with them. I'm still their friend, but I no longer treat them like helpess babies. I learned that this is how Jesus is with us. "Yes" answers to our prayers are often seen when we are new Christians (babies), but as we grow, Jesus holds back providing for what we see as our every need, so that we will seek God more and more, so that we will be ready when the time comes for us to move into our new Home.

I had such a great day today! One of my friends "kidnapped" me and took me to Mt. Baker. I was excited to be there, enjoying the beauty of God's creation, discussing how small we are in comparison to all that is God. I was enjoying relaxing for a while, but then the kid inside of me won over. I jumped of a ledge (not too high though 'cause I was just getting used to this feeling) into a snow bank. Snow in the middle of July! We had a short snowball fight before I claimed my freedom sliding down the icy mountain.
I have been so excited to return to school (FGBI in small town Eston, SK). Most of the people there I had not known before this year, but after 8 months of dorm life, I got to know some of them so well and have made some amazing friends who have impacted my life in a way I had longed for much of my life. The staff there is also amazing. They have so much wisdom and love that they pass on to us students. I have never related so well to teachers and staff members before and I have never even LIKED doing assignments before let alone ENJOYED doing them before. But life at FGBI is SO different from anything I've experienced before. We really are a family and God is our focus. Well, we try anyways.
That's more than I thought I'd write tonight, for my first blog, and I was going to keep going, but that's enough for now.