What the duce?

2007-03-10T08:45:00.000-08:00

So Abbie and I had the pleasure of moving last Friday. We were thrust out of our quaint little home on Larkfield road, leaving the familiarity and safety of Sydenham behind us, and headed south for the mean streets of Belmont. Handshakes and shifty looks go out to Andrew Thomas McCann and James Peter MacPhee (or McMac Moving Mayham) for using their man muscles to capacity to help us wee girls lug all our stuff to the new place. It was touch and go for a minute there carrying the couch up the hill on James' back, but he pulled through. What a little trooper.
At first the thought of moving did not appeal to me in any way, Abbie almost cried when she first heard we had to go. But now that we're there I have to say that living less than a two minute walk to the church is the best thing ever. Plus the house is really nice. It's larger than the other one, has three bed rooms, and a gas range. The only problem is storage space. But really, I would live in filing cabinet with a family of staved gophers if it meant living so close to the church.
So here are pictures. The one with me in it is a picture of the dodgy alley right next to the Stormont Inn that we have to walk by to get home. Can you say, paramilitary activity boys and girls?

Dublin and a Haircut

2007-03-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

Hiya

Last week was half term break so we decided to take a wee trip down south and visit Dublin. Not only was this my first venture to Dubs, but it was the first time I've been in Ireland proper. Sadly I did not get a stamp in my passport, because as everyone knows, the more stamps you have the better a person you are. Anyway, we got to the bus stop at 7:08am in order to get downtown and catch another bus at 8. This was our first mistake. It was way too early and we were all really cranky. I slept through a good portion of the 3 hr bus journey and when we arrived the weather was wet and miserable. It wasn't raining that hard really, but it was spitting all day and the sun never came out. That aside I love Dublin. The city has a great feel and an identity of its own that Belfast lacks. It was very trendy and felt a lot safer. I would very much like to take some more time there on a nicer day.

We saw the book of Kells, which was astounding. The detail and the intricacy is unbelievable. We went to Temple bar and St. Stevens Green and a few pubs. All in all it was a fun day.

And I got a haircut. Not in Dublin.

Tuesday night we went to the Duke Special concert. People back home probably haven't heard of him, but he's class. His actually name is Pete Wilson and he goes to CFC. I take care of his kids on a sunday - so we're pretty tight. He's got a very distinct sound and is a great performer. Check out his myspace at http://www.myspace.com/dukespecial

If anyone is interested check out Joey and James' myspace as well. They've got some pretty funny videos of us shaving Joey's head. Go to www.myspace.com/lpstanton and click on the links to them.

Happy Singles Awareness Day!!!

2007-02-15T03:59:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, I just noticed how long its been since I last posted anything. Just so you're not worrying, I am alive and well. We have a conference coming up this weekend which I'm doing catering for so I'll be pretty busy. And we're going dancing again on Friday. Since taking lessons we've learnt a bunch of moves that makes us look very impressive I must say. When I get home we all must go salsaing together.
Sorry this is so short but I have to go.
Love you all.

Salsa dancing and late nights

2007-01-28T13:51:00.000-08:00

On friday night Abbie, Adam, James, Indya and myself went to our favorite spot, the Empire, and went Salsa dancing for the first time. The evening started out with a quick lesson (which I had to sit out because James wasn't quite ready to get on the dance floor without at least one drink in him). Then the floor was opened up to general dancing. It was so much fun. As you might expect there weren't enough guys to go around, but I did dance with both Adam and James (not to mention Abbie and INdya) which was great. But I have to say that my favorite partner of the night was a guy whoes name I never caught. Piret, a girl who comes to CFC who worked with me on Panto was there. She's a dance teacher and had a bunch of her dance teacher friends with her. I said hey, and we chatted a bit and I told her how much fun it was to watch her dance so well with her partner. That was all she had to hear and she went straight over to him and told him that I wanted a dance with him. He led me out onto the floor and I had the time of my life. Even though I had never done it before because he was such a good leader it seemed so effortless to actually dance well. We were spinning and moving all over the place. I was dissapointed when the song ended but I did grab him one more time right before we left. Any boys who are reading this take note: guys who can dance well and are strong leaders are very VERY sexy. And you have the pick of pretty much any girl in the room. Learn how to dance. You want to sweep a girl off her feet, I tell you that is a good way to do it. Now Piret is offering us interns free latin dance lessons. Our first one is on monday. I'm so stoked. I even bought a new jacket and skirt for the night, and if you'll refer to the pictures, yes those are heels I'm wearing. We didn't actually get any shots of us at the Empire, those are all of us at home afterwards. We stayed up until 4:30am that night eating and talking. It was so good.

You can run, you can hide, but you can't escape my love...

2007-01-22T06:24:00.000-08:00

I know I've been remiss at updating this thing lately, and I extend my apologies to all my faithful readers. I could blame it on being busy but that would be a filthy lie. The real reason is that I've finally given in and have starting using myspace. Don't fear, I will still be updating old bloggy here, but the novelty of myspace (now that I've figured out how to use it) is still fresh and exciting.
If anyone is interested here is the address
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=109431421
And hey, if you have a myspace add me as a friend. So far I only have like 12 and they're all my friends here so it's a little pointless.

Okay, as for the happenings here over the past few weeks...
My camera has arrived. Woot Woot!!! It is so sexy. I'm still learning how to use it properly but the pictures it takes are absolutely amazing. Here are some pictures of Adam and I making some home-made sushi. (It's no 33b, but it was still pretty darn good.)

In church we've started a series on Nehemiah. We've gone through the first 3 chapters and looked at how God put a passion in his heart (to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem), then God impressed on him to take action, then how he actually had to step out and do the work. You know how in your life you hear a few sermons that will always stick with you? Well these are it for me. Ever since I've gotten here I've been challenged on what Christian’s role is in social action. Jesus talked a lot about the kingdom of God on earth, and for a very long time I thought that meant getting as many people as possible to say the sinners prayer and get 'saved', to see how many people you could sign up for the club. I've come to believe that he was talking about much more than that. I don't mean to downplay the importance of each individual making a personal commitment to Christ - that is the only path to salvation I believe, but I think the concept of the kingdom of heaven on earth has more to do with feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and standing up for the oppressed than I have realized in the past. As westerners even the least of us has been given so much, and I believe we will be held accountable to that. What will we do with the resources we have been given? What legacy we leave after we're gone? I've heard it said that the Clinton era of the US will be judged in history by what it did not do in Rwanda and what it did not do about the aids crisis in Africa. Do we as the body of Christ want to be judged by what we did not do in the time given to us? By what injustices we let stand? Or by how many people we let starve? I know we can't help everybody, but I believe that we all have the responsibility to do what we can to see God glorified in the earth.
These have been the thoughts that I've been wrestling with lately. Please post your comments and let me know what you think. And please pray for me that God would sort all these things out in my life and that I would be moved to action.

North Coast Retreat

2007-01-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
I've just gotten back from our third retreat. We went up north to Whitpark Bay Youth hostel just up the road from Giants Causeway. It was a really good 2 days with just the Equip interns, then we moved on to Bushmills Youth Hostel to meet up with YWAM and Sword of the Spirit interns for the next few days. The retreat content itself was really good - I'll post more about that later. We ended up going to Giants Causeway twice in two days, and just in case you haven't had your fill of my Giants Causeway pictures yet, here are some more.
At one point Nathan, Peter, and James were standing at the end of the causeway and a huge wave came up over the edge and completely engulfed them. They all grabbed onto each other so none of them were ripped out to sea (thank goodness) but they were totally drenched.
It was a really good time.
Oh ya, interesting news, I bought a Canon Rebel XT DSLR camera. I'm so excited, but extra broke now. It's 8 mega pixels, comes with two lenses (including a wide angle and a macro), two tripods, and a bunch of other stuff. Ooh, the excitement. I wont get it for a few weeks still but when I do I am going to have so much fun!

Happy 2007

2007-01-01T06:02:00.000-08:00

O' Lord the waves cry out your name
And the trees bow before you.
The animals sing your praise
And the flowers release your fragrance

O' God you are Lord of heaven and earth.
Your presence fills every inch of this land.
Like rain your presence seeps into the ground.

The stars speak of your holiness.
The clouds declare your gentle hand.
The storm rages with your jealousy,
And the lightening crashes with your power.

You are in all places.
You dwell among all nations.
None escape your gaze, and all are known to you.
If men fail to sing of your goodness and speak of your love,
The rest of creation would burst to try to describe your glory.

But never let it be that the privilege of men becomes the duty of rocks.
Let it never be that the painting can’t recognize the artist.
Let it never be that the bride turns her back on the groom.
God, stir in her heart and put a new song on her lips.
Renew her passion for him.
Let her reflect his light.

Lord you presence fills this land like water fills the sea.
Your breath blows through this place like the wind blows on the hilltop.
May your name be praise in every nation by every tongue.
O' God you are the Lord of heaven and earth.

Adam's b-day

2006-12-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

We went to the Empire for Adams 18th birthday. It was tonnes of fun. (Even though I'm holding a cigar I wasn't smoking it - don't worry!)

My arms are going to fall off...oh ya, and Merry Christmas!

2006-12-23T15:54:00.000-08:00

I just carried Gill (Nathans gold fish) from his house to my house. I'm baby sitting while everyone from his house is over seas. Nathans plan was to put a bunch of food in the bowl and hope for the best, but I offered to look after the little guy. Now 5 blocks may not seem like a long way but when you're carrying a fish, its GLASS bowl that is full of water and rocks, and it's 12am and you're tired then it can be quite the task. The whole time I was worried that some ruffians (and by that I mean 10 year old kids) would come and push me over and kill Gill, but luckily it turned out to be uneventful and I made it home safe and sound.
So tomorrow is Christmas eve and to make up for years of not going to Christmas eve services at home my punishment is to go to 3 tomorrow. 2 in the morning where the kids are going to be singing song for the adults then a really short message is preached. The third is at night and it's a traditional carol service. I have to say though, I do like how the Irish do Christmas services. After each one free mulled wine is given out. Usually one glass of wine wont affect me, but two that early in the morning - you never know. In between services we're all going to Janene and Chris' house for more drinking and eating. Christmas morning Abbie, Joey, and myself are opening presents together and having breakfast. I have to say that I love our tree. It's only 4 feet tall and we dont have any ornaments so we tied thread to anything in the room and hung it on the tree. My personal favourite is a Magners label I tore off my beer. At 10am there is another service which we may or may not go to, then it's off to Joeys host family for dinner. Boxing day I'll be at the children’s pastors house for lunch then another house party. After that I have no plans until new years eve when I think I’m going to a Bluetree concert then James gets home on the 1st so we're having a party at my house, then we go on retreat on the 3rd. And that's pretty much it.
Those are my Christmas plans. I hope you have a great holiday season. Merry Christmas!

Panto pants

2006-12-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

I thought I should take a wee moment to catch up with everyone. I've been really busy with the church Pantomime, so I have. For those who dont know CFC is putting on Snow White and the 7 Dwarves. It's a full on production that last almost 2.5 hours. We've been working on it since October and I have been doing everything from props, to painting, to costumes. But what my main job has been is Stage Management. It's been going really well and Bronwen is ASMing and she is such a star. It's been a lot of fun, but I've been putting in too many 12 hour days and staying up way too late at night. I'm going to try and get some pictures of the set because it is really amazing. So ya, I have to go run another show now so I'm off. This is our last one then it's just strike and cast party. Woot Woot.

God has green eyes

2006-12-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

The other day in classes we had a lecture on the spiritual discipline of prayer. Precilla Reid spoke. She talked about how living a life of prayer isn't just about closing yourself off in your room for hours at a time every day, because who really has the time to do that? And if you do then that's great and keep it up. But I think for most of us laying aside an hour a week for prayer can be hard enough. Living a life of prayer is more about just communicating with God throughout your day. Paul (or Peter, I can't remember) called it praying continually. It's like having your best friend around all the time. She gave this example. She was driving in the car alone one day and she was praying for someone about something serious. As she drove she saw a massive rainbow stretch across the sky and she interrupted her prayer to point it out to God and to thank him for it. She quoted this guy who said "I never pray for longer than 5 minutes, but I never go for longer than 5 minutes without praying." Isn't that fantastic! Think about it - if you're in that much contact with God throughout your day how much faster will you hear his voice? How much more will you be lead by the Spirit? How much easier will it be to avoid those temptaions and traps that ensare all of us?

Everytime I hear this song I think of God. I sing it to him. So the next time I heard it I pointed it out to him and let him know what it means to me.

GREEN EYES - Coldplay
Honey you are a rock
Upon which I stand
And I come here to talk
I hope you understand

That green eyes, yeah the spotlight, shines upon you
And how could, anybody, deny you

I came here with a load
And it feels so much lighter, now I’ve met you
And honey you should know, that I could never go on without you

Green eyes

Honey you are the sea
Upon which I float
And I came here to talk
I think you should know

That green eyes, you’re the one that I wanted to find
And anyone who, tried to deny you must be out of their mind

Cause I came here with a load
And it feels so much lighter, since I met you
Honey you should know, that I could never go on without you

Green eyes
Green eyes

Honey you are a rock
Upon which I stand

Retreat Photos

2006-12-05T13:30:00.000-08:00

So here are the pictures you've all been waiting for in livid antisipation. Of course they dont do the actual moment justice, but you'll get the general idea. And there are two of a water wheel thrown in there just for good measure.

Crosslinks Retreat

2006-12-04T03:40:00.000-08:00

I spent this weekend back in Annalong with all the kids from Crosslinks. I have to say I was not looking forward to going at all and James, Adam, and Joey talked their way out of coming so I was left to hang out with new people, and really who wants to do that? The minibus ride up was terrible. I wanted to go home so bad. The kids were loud and violent, and annoying. No matter how much I tried to talk myself out of my bad attitude it just wouldn't go away. When we got there we played a bunch of 'get to know you' games which were a lot of fun. After that I got into it and the rest of the weekend was really fun. I appreciated getting to know the kids and realized that they are really good, fun people. I also got to know the other leaders better and am going out with a girl from Sword of the Spirit called Nina on Monday. We had several sessions about identity, culture, unity, and peace. It was really interesting to hear what people from Belfast think about their own city and the situation here. A lot of them said that Belfast isn't a good place to raise a family and that it's still so divided that there isn't much hope for unity. It is really cool to be a part of west end kids, east end kids, and Chinese kids coming together. Lots of the youth here have never mixed with someone from the other side of the city, so what these kids are doing is actually a brave and gutsy thing. Some of their friends wouldn't understand it.
Nina, Elaine and I were sharing a room and I decided it would be a good idea to get up early Sunday morning to see the sun rise. Unfortunately it was really cloudy so instead of a glorious red sun peaking over the water we just got a slightly less dark cloudy sky. But Nina and I went out later around 10 and got some really nice pictures. It was so windy rough I actually got blown off of the boulder I was standing on. The internet is really slow right now, so I'll have to post my pictures some other time.
So all in all it was a really good weekend. I had a lot of fun and made some new friends.

I can't keep my eyes off of you...no, I seriously can't. It's distracting during worship.

2006-11-27T05:51:00.000-08:00

Well I cooked my first ever thanksgiving meal the other day. It went surprisingly well. Everything tasted pretty good and no one got food poisoning, so all in all I count it a success. Nine of us including myself dined on turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, peas, corn, carrots, stuffing (thanks Mom), butternut squash soup, cranberry sauce, and dessert. We had 4 courses in total (Does beer count as a course?). When we were done we played a game similar to Cranium that Joey taught us. It was so funny. I had a lot of help from Adam and Bronwen especially and it was really good fun. The house was a disaster afterwards and Abbie and I just finished cleaning. I know the timing is a bit strange as thanksgiving was over a month and a half ago, but we didn't have enough time to do Canadian thanksgiving, so we did American, and a few days late at that because we have had a busy week and that was the only available day. But the Irish and the one Aussie enjoyed their first thanksgiving ever and I didn't hear too much "that's not how Mom used to do it" from the North Americans. Now I have to do something even more amazing for friends Christmas dinner.

Work

2006-11-25T10:55:00.000-08:00

You know how when a group of people is put together to do a task and there are always people who work as hard as they can to get what they need to get done accomplished well and then there are others who don’t really do anything and when they finally get off their butts to start working they drop it half way through and you find them 20 mins later watching tv in the other room? Well I’ve run into that situation a lot lately, and those of you who know me can guess which of those two categories I fit into.
Tonight CFC held it’s 6 TroyToy. TroyToy is an event that uses drama, music, dance, multi-media, and several other creative ways to touch youth and tell kids about God, a few of whom gave their lives to the Lord. We got there this morning at 10am and set up sound, lights, stages, moved chairs, were security guards, tore down, loaded trucks, set chairs back up… you name it, we did it tonight. Now everyone worked really hard at one point or another but I felt several times that people were sitting down and chatting or taking really long breaks when there was clearly more work that needed to be done. At one point I was hauling stacks upon stacks of chairs back into the sanctuary while about 5 guys were standing in the same room as me just talking to each other. When we were all done it was midnight and Elaine (bless her heart) bought us beer and food. I was really tired and cranky so I just went home. As I was walking my feet were sore, my hands were blistered from all the heavy lifting, and my back was tight. I spent a lot of time wording this blog. Making sure that I would get across eloquently my distaste for poor work ethic. As I was passing under a streetlight I looked at my palms, red and sore, and God spoke to me so clearly – if this is the only price I have to pay to see people saved, it is a very low cost. All of the sudden I was confronted with my own selfishness. I was knee deep in self-pity because I thought other people weren’t pushing themselves as hard as I was instead of rejoicing that a few more people felt God’s love and accepted His hand. And by His astounding grace God decided to give me a part, however small it was, in touching their lives. There are believers in this world who sacrifice their freedom, their comfort, their very lives to tell others about Jesus. All I did tonight was sacrifice a little bit of time. Not even a full 24 hours.
The work I did tonight I did with a poor attitude, but thankfully God still uses us even though we don’t quite get it yet. Next time I find myself in a similar situation I’ll just look at the palms of my hands and remembering the blisters I’ll thank God that He sees fit to use me to bless people, bad attitude and all.

Every fat person can curl...that's not how that was supposed to come out...crap

2006-11-22T08:31:00.000-08:00

Mom left this morning. It was great having her here. We went to Giants Causeway on Saturday. The bus ride up was nice and sunny and gave us some good chatting time but when we got to the Causeway it was rainy and cold. Still a good experience, but I spent most of the ride home complaining about how cold and wet I was. Sunday was spent as all my Sundays are, at church doing various things. Monday (my birthday) at staff meeting Bronny brought me a cake and Paul Reid led the staff in a rendition of happy birthday. Then Mom and I spent most of the afternoon making dinner for the Source students. We were waiting for the water to boil and kicking a soccer ball around in the sports hall. I didnt know that Robin Mark was recording in the studio next door and I was giggling loudly. He opened the door just as I was beside it retrieving the ball and laughing and he gave me the look of death. I felt so bad. So we stopped playing. It was pretty funny. Then Tuesday I spent in class and Mom met up with us afterwards and about 10 of us went to the hotel for a drink then back to my house to watch some friends. Then at 6:45 this morning we went to the airport and said goodbye. It was a short trip but a good one.

I've learnt so much in the last little while, it's been hard to process it all, but I wanted to share what Adrian spoke about in class the other day. As always I wont capture this perfectly so bare with me.

FASTING
I've never really understood fasting. I knew it was Biblical - something Jesus practiced himself and something that he expected his disciples to practice as well (Matt. 6:16 'when you fast and pray...'). But I didn't get why it was so important. I've heard it said that God answers your prayers faster when you fast because it shows him you are serious about your faith because you are making a sacrifice, or that by denying the body you are bring it into submission to your spirit. These things are both good and probably true, but I still didn't really see the application to my own life.
When I first decided to try to become a goalie in soccer I wasn't very good. I had some natural ability but I had to put a lot of practice into it. I remember me and my Dad going out into the field at Sam Livingston School and he would shoot at me over and over again. First he would shoot it right at me so I would get used to handling the ball. Then he would shoot it a bit wider so I would have to move back and forth. Once we got that down I started to make diving saves. Then one day in our backyard we practiced slide tackling for hours until I was comfortable at that. We would do the same thing over and over again. When game time came I didn't know exactly what the strikers were going to do but because Dad and I took so much time practicing I could react no matter what they did. I could dive, jump, punch out the ball, slide tackle.
The same principle can be applied to the spiritual disciplines, including fasting. In Mark 9 the disciples are arguing because none of them were able to cast out a demon from a young boy. Jesus came and drove it out of the boy. Later the disciples asked him why they were unable to do the same. Jesus replied in verse 29 'This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.' What is interesting here is that Jesus didn't stop to pray and fast before he cast out the demon. He didn't have to. Jesus led a life of prayer and fasting so he was prepared when things got tough. He had practiced his slide tackle.
Fasting, prayer, study, meditation. These aren't things that you do for the first time when you desperately need them. We need to live a life of the spiritual disciplines so that when we are required to walk out the hard parts of life, when more is asked of us then we know how to give, we're already prepared.
And don't get me wrong. If you're facing something really hard in life then you may need to fast a pray more than normal. When the championship game is coming up you don't stop practicing - you run the extra laps, and train that much harder.
When we decide to follow Christ we lay our life at his feet. He doesn't just require you in the moments you can't do it yourself, or in the moments you feel his presence like a cloud around you, he requires you at all times. The mundane, the boring, the ordinary. I don't know if I'm getting across what I want to here. There is something inside me that I really want to share, but my words are so inadequate. Jesus gives life - abundantly. Isn't that what we're all searching for?

I hope at least part of that made sense. There's more that could be (and probably should be) said about this subject but those are the only words I can get out at the moment. So if that wasn't helpful then I'm sorry, please feel free to ignore it. C.S. Lewis said that all our prayers are in some form heresy because none of us have our theology exactly right. So take from that what is right and throw the rest away.

I've read some amazing books recently that have made me think a lot about...Well everything really. I highly suggest you grab a copy of Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. The same guy who does the Nooma videos, which are also excellent. And Adventures in Missing the Point by Brian McLaren and Tony Compolo. Give 'em a read and tell me what you think.

Lots of love

More Crosslinks Photos

2006-11-16T11:03:00.000-08:00

So for Crosslinks this week we had to choose an object and take 10 different pictures of if to get us thinking about new perspectives and angles. So I chose a tea pot. These were some of my favorite shots. The others are of a wall and the hand grips of the wooden benches we put out every sunday for the kids to sit on. I really like taking close ups of things, if you haven't guessed that already.

Attempt to Upload Pictures #15

2006-11-16T02:42:00.000-08:00

Well here are some shots from Enniskillen. I didn't take any because I felt like it was sacreligious or something to take pictures while I was supposed to be quietly waiting on God. But luckily for me Adam took some, and here they are. Enjoy.

Retreats and conferences and work, oh my

2006-11-15T05:14:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry it's been such a long time since I've posted anything. I've had a busy week.
From monday to Wed. we went on a retreat to a place called Enniskillen. While there we got to practice the spiritual disciplines we've been learning about in class. We observed extended periods of silence, participated in Biblical meditation, and had times of prayer. I think the greatest experience I had was on the second day. We had 6 hours of complete silence where we got to engage with God on our own. The first 2 hours I went into the forest. At first I walked around a bit, then I went off the trail into a wooded area, found a comfy looking tree and sat up against it to read Scripture and pray. Let me tell you, no tree is comfortable after 2 hours. I tried really hard to hear from God, to be open to whatever He might say...nothing. So I got up to go back to the cottage but I realized I was lost. I wandered around a bit more, chased a frog, found a cool walking stick, was attacked by several bushes, and eventually found my way back to the path. I got back to the main complex in time for lunch, chicken soup and a bread roll. While we were all waiting in the hallway for our meal, not talking to eachother, Joey was so into his oun little world that he walked into the womans bathroom. We all tried to laugh as silently as possible, and after about 10 seconds of him not realizing what he had done I went in to get him out. Oh, it was funny.
Anyway, after that Adrian had set up prayer stations based around the elements. There were applicable scriptures to fire, earth, air, water, and wood (which isn't an elemnet). I started at the water station and right away heard God speak to me as clearly as I have ever heard Him. It was really cool, because if I hadn't taken that time out to be still in front of Him I really dont think I would have been able to hear what He wanted to say to me. If I had quit after the first two hours then I would have missed out on something special. It really made me understand in my heart why quiet time is so important. I ended up staying in the prayer room for the rest of the afternoon. It was really great.
The rest of the weekend was fun and the location was beautiful. I'm having trouble posting pictuers so I'll try again on another entry.
Then from Thursday till saturday there was a conference here featuring Erwin McManus and Phil Baker. They were speaking on the church in the future and the future of the church. Thet both come from a post-modernish point of view, which I have been reading a lot about lately. I got so much out of it. They were both extreamly good speakers, very funny and engaging, and had a lot to say. But they both came from a place of love and were very positive as opposed to some of the literature I have read that seems to only condem what they felt has been wrong about the past. Both are published authors and I highly recommend getting ahold of some of their work. Or you can get their podcasts of every sunday service. I really want to listen to everything they said again and sort through it some more. After I collect my own thoughts I'll tell you more about it.
Then the past three days have been filled with classes, work, and more work. So this is really the first chance I've had to do anything. Mom is here in two days which is absolutely insane. It's going to be good to see her. And I turn a whole 23 years old on monday, so this is a big week for me.
I'm going to have another go at my pictures now.
Love always

More Giants Day Picks

2006-11-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

Best Quote to describe Giants Causeway:
"In a place as beautiful as this you've just got to hold a woman."
-Joey Mawson

My trip up north

2006-11-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

Today James, Joey, Nathan, Myself and our new friend called Karen went up north to the Giants Causeway. The drive was really beautiful, the lush rolling green hills, the sheep, and of course the water. But once we got there I was really blown away by the causeway itself. For those of you who dont know it's made up of these huge hexagonal stones jutting out of the ground. I've heard it called "Gods cigarette carton" which is pretty much what it can look like from some angles. Scientist think that it is some sort of lava formation but the myth behind it is that there was this giant in Scotland and one in Ireland and they built this thing to cross over. The history is more complicated than that but I dont feel like writing it all down, so look it up if you're interested. There is a similar rock formation directly across from it in Scotland so I'm told. To sit there and watch the waves crashing onto the shore and clamber over the massive stepping stones was really something. We didn't have a lot of time because Nathan had a meeting tonigt and it's about an hour and a half drive so next time I go I want to spend a whole day. I'm going to try and organize a whole day trip up there for when Mom is here. Right close to it is also Dunluce castle which we saw from the road but didnt stop at. Its in ruins but it still looks pretty spectacular. The north coast is really stunning and these pictures dont do it justice at all but here is a small look at what this land has to offer.

Things I miss about Canada

2006-10-31T05:05:00.000-08:00

1) Dryer Sheets
2) Tumble dryers to go with the dryer sheets
3) Reese Peanutbutter Cups
4) Hot water from the tap
5) LOST
6) A freezer
7) The rockies
8) Hockey
(Please dont be offended that your name was not on this list. I decided to keep it to none living items)

Thats pretty much it. And evern those things I dont miss too much but if I could have them while I'm here it would be cool.

The reason I'm thinking about this stuff is because Beth Wheale just visited me for the weekend. It was pretty cool to be able to sit on a park bench in Belfast with a friend from back home. It's great to have her so close and I'm hoping to get over to Scotland to see her before my time here is up.

I'm on term break right now so I dont have any classes today and most activities at the church are cancled this week so for the most part I'm just hanging out. But I do have a few dinner dates and a girl from church is going to take me up north for the day. Then on monday we are going on our second retreat, this time to the interior where we'll be in the middle of no where surrounded by a forest and have at least one full day of silence (I think). So i'll let you know how that goes.
My neighbours dont like me already (which seems to be a trend for me). She came over and yelled at me because she thinks we were too loud. If we were then I truly appologize and will try to keep it down in the future, but we were just sitting there watching tv, and at a very reasonable volume might I add. She also made the comment that she thinks too many boys come over, so I think the real problem is that she is jealous that we have so many strapping young lads come visit us and she isnt invited.
Hmmm...what else has been going on? I bought some track pants to play football in. The kids I play with are so flipping good. And I havent really played in some time so I'm really bad right now. But its good fun and its pretty much the only excersize I get besides walking. I'm all sweaty and gross when I'm done and it feels so brilliant.
Everyone have a good week and I'll send some retreat pictures as soon as I can.

One month later...part 2

2006-10-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

I can only post 5 pictures on one entry so this is a continuation of my last post.

After classes yesterday we went bowling. I was really terrible, but I did get a strike using my left hand.

This is Bronwen. She's pretty much my favorite Irish person. She is one of the most giving, loving, kind person you will ever meet. When I come home I'm going to steal her and bring her with me.

After bowling some of us went to the pub at the Park Avenue Hotel right across from the church. The other day we went to this bar called The Point, which apparently swings a little to the loyalist side of things. We try really hard to stear clear of anything that may show support to one side or the other. Oops.
Ya, so things are still going really well. I'll be speanding the next two nights watching Cambodian dancing then on friday Beth W. is flying over from Scotland to hang out for a few days. Then pretty soon my mom will be here.
One month down, nine more to go.

One monthe later...

2006-10-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that I've been here for over a month now. It seems so right and natural for me to be here, but at the same time so strange to think that I am in Europe living for a year being taught by some amazing men and women of God how to lead and serve and grow for His kingdom and glory. I have been so blessed, not just by the people over here, but also by everyone at home before I left and while I've been away. Thanks for your e-mails, phone calls, letters, and prayers. Kepp them coming!
I've been wanting to show everyone what I've actually been up to lately, but for some reason parents dont really like relative strangers taking pictures of their children then posting them on the internet, so all I can show you is some Crosslinks stuff. So here are some of the pictures that I have taken in conjunction with my photography course. Our homework was to take pictures of our families. This obviously poses a slight problem for me as my family is quite a ways away. So instead I took pictures of my friends.

I know the spider web isn't a friend, but I thought it was cool, even though the lighting isn't that great.

Biblical Meditation

2006-10-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

We had a guest speaker today in our spiritial formation class becuase Adrian is in Dublin. He spoke on Biblical meditation and I was really impacted, so I thought I would share some of what he talked about. I'm not going to be able to capture everything that was discussed, but here are some thoughts for your consideration.

Dave started off by saying that hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life.

"For most of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim through our lives instead of actually living them."
I dont know who that quote was by, but I think it's brilliant.

What makes your life crowded? What are you rushing to get done?
Dave challenged us to intentionally slow down. Get in the longest line at the grocery store then let someone go infront of you. Drive in the slow lane the entire time and dont speed. Find ways to train yourself to wait. I thought this was really interesting because I love to be busy, always having something to do, someone to see, another e-mail to write. People often equate being busy with being important. I know I've done it. But to be still and really spend time with God one on one - that is a real challenge. I think most people (myself included) are scared that they might find out something about themselves or about Him that they dont like, or that makes them uncomfortable.

The next thing he asked us is how do we see the Bible. I've actually been thinking about this lately. We went to the source to see what the Bible says about itself.
As it turns out there are 7 points of interest:

The word is a...
1)Lamp (Ps 119:105)
- Guidance
- Reveals
2)Bread (Luke 4:4)
- Sustenance
- Staple food in our diet
- Leaves you full and satisfied
3)Mirror (James 1:22-25)
- Shows us who we are
- Reflects Christ
- Reveals both the good and the bad so we can improve what we see
4)Scalpel (4:12)
- Cut through sin
- Used to heal
5)Sword (Eph 6:17)
- Weapon
- Protection
6)Hammer (Jer 23:29)
- Tool for construction and destruction
7)Fire (Jer 23:29)
- Refines
- Consumes
- Spreads

So the question is, if the written word of God is all these things then why do so many Chritians no engage with the Bible besides on a sunday morning?

I was very impacted by that statement. I believe that everything on this list is true, yet I dont set apart time everyday to indulge in the word of God. I do once and a while, I read a few chapters, do a small study on a particular subject. But God gave us the book as a whole. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says All scripture is God breathed and is useful for the teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Gods word is given to us not to inform, but to transform us from the inside out. How can it do this if we dont rest in it? God desires to change the way we think, that our minds become in line with the Holy Spirit.

Ruminant animals, like sheep and cows, have several stomachs. To eat they will chew some grass, swallow it, regurgitate it, chew it some more, swallow it over and over again, until they have broken it down enough that the food is actually absorbed into their blood stream. In the same way we need to meditate on the word of God until it is completely absorbed into out being.

If you're anything like me you can get pretty distracted when you read the Bible, so here is a process that Dave Suggests to help you meditate. Of course this is not the only way to do it, but I tried it and I really like it. And remember, this type of meditation isnt about clearing your mind or achieving some sort of higher state, its about filling your mind and soul with the word of God.

1) Choose a verse or passage.
2) Read it slowly several times.
3) Underline key words and phrases.
4) Write out the text several times.
5) Use the scripture as a means to pray.
6) Understand the context of the passage.

After his talk was done we went off to put into practice this meditation. I studied John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" -Jesus
I didnt get any revelations or hear Gods voice in a distinct way, but it felt so amazing just to slow down for 15 mins of my day and concentrate on God. Just be with him. To let the word wash over you. I really loved this exercise and am going to challenge myself to continue to practice it over the year (you can ask me how its going to keep me on track).
The Bible is God breathed. It is the transforming, sustaining, refining, weapon it claims to be. Read it. Know it. Live it.

Love you all