2007: THE CRAZIEST YEAR OF MY LIFE (so far)

In the last 365 days, here is where the good Lord has brought me (in order):

• Toronto

• Vancouver

• Panama

• Vancouver

• Toronto

• Vancouver

• Colorado

• Vancouver

• Whistler

• Vancouver

• Toronto

• East Asia

• Toronto

• East Asia

• Toronto.

A lot of people travel more than this, I know. I suppose travelling needs to be differentiated from moving though. For me, I've moved at least four times in the midst of all the travelling. For a creature who is a homebody by nature, this is an amount of packing, unpacking and moving that borders on being classified as extreme!

Still, I'm deeply grateful for this year. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have been in all these places, for all the people I've met and all the lessons I've learned. I'm grateful for my parents who've allowed me to journey away and keep welcoming me back, even when I come back worse for the wear. And I'm very grateful for Tim, who's persisted in courting me through all these changes of distance, time zones and my moods that fluctuate faster than either of us can keep track of.

At the end of this year, my heart is full of praise because I know God that much more intimately. And Jesus is my heart's treasure more than ever.

I'm tired, yes. But His grace is allowing me to rest now. And by His grace, it's going to be a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
~Genesis 28:15~

THE FOOL'S EXCHANGE

How is it that the grandeur and splendour of a natural wonder like Niagara Falls has attracted such an odd assortment of businesses? It is sad to see that so many "attractions" that have sprung up in the downtown part of Niagara Falls are really distractions from life: Ripley's believe-it-or-not, wax museums, haunted houses, tatoo parlours and more recently, the much celebrated casinos. It's like all the weirdest stuff, the out-of-ordinary, the ghoulish and fantasy have all collected right beside one of God's amazing creations. It's just bizarre. On one hand, you have the magnificence of what God has to offer. And on the other, you have the pitiful emptiness of what humans have to offer. The clincher is this: the experience God offers is free, while the other option will cost you your wallet (and maybe more).

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
~Romans 1:22-23~

WORD OF THE DAY: FRANGIBLE

(from dictionary.com)

frangible \FRAN-juh-buhl\, adjective:
Capable of being broken; brittle; fragile; easily broken.

me.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
~2 Corinthians 4:7~

ALL THINGS NOT EQUAL

I bought a bunch of bamboo a couple months back. Since they were too long, I cut off some inches from the bottom before I stuck them in a vase of water. They have now happily grown a healthy entanglement of roots.

The short bits that I cut off, I stuck in their own little glass container with some pretty white pebbles to keep them standing straight. I'd seen a friend do this before and hers started to grow leaves. I figured I might as well give it a try too. I put my little "garden" next to the sink in my bathroom. I like how it greens things up.

Anyway, they have started to grow leaves. What intrigues me though is that some of them have leaves about 3 inches long, while others are only just starting to show a little nub. In observing their growth, I've realized that God's creativity extends to the timing of things. I mean, He could easily make them all grow at the same rate - and the human perfectionist in me would be more satisfied if that were the case - but He doesn't.

In the same way, I think He allows people to grow at different rates as well. Too often, we are tempted to compare ourselves with others (imagine one bamboo comparing itself with another one!) and we might even complain that God's not being fair, but reality is that His love and grace is just as plentiful for each of us and that He is glorified in the variety and differences.

God...makes things grow.
~1 Corinthians 3:7~