Still
i heard this song for the first time last night during a worship time at the international students ministry i am involved in.
Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
within your mighty hand
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God
Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know his power
In quietness and trust
it spoke to right where i was at. it was exactly the place where i longed to be, finding rest and being still before God, and yet i was so far from it with no idea how to get there. my brain is continually thinking about the next thing i need to do and everything else i have to get done before i leave on monday that i never just stop and just be and i cant keep going for very long when im not consistently spending time with God.
we had a time of quiet at the end of the worship time and for the first time in a long time i was able to quieten my heart and be "still"! i felt God's arms wrap around me like a blanket and i was safe and still and at rest even though i was in a room full of people.
i was challenged to take at least 10 minutes a day to just be still and quiet before God. i did that this morning and it was a beautiful thing and it certainly got my day off on the right foot!!
i had an interesting conversation with a friend about quiet times/devotion times. i dont know if its like this for you but i know it is for me...when ever i have too much to do or im rushed in the morning, the quiet time, the bible reading etc is the first thing to go! why is that? its the best thing to start my day with and i toss it out...it just doesnt make any sense!! a shower and a cup of coffee is what usually happens and a conversation with God on my walk to work. actually, its not usually a conversation, its usually me rambling on about one thing or another and often i dont wait for a response i just carry on with the next thing i have to do!
i think i have been challenged on enough things to keep me going for a while so im going to end here. especially as the clock has turned itself round to being way past my bedtime!!!
if youve managed to read this far...thank you!!!
until next time...
Beautiful Vancouver
here is a few photos of a couple of the guys i teach english with on a monday night and a couple of the students! it was my last night with them tonight which is sad but i will see most of them again in june!
check out that sushi!!!!
Powder Fun
ok, so jamie and i went snowboarding last night and it was so super fun!! it was snowing like crazy but the powder was awesome. i fell more times than i care to remember but laughed almost to the point of peeing my pants at every single one!!
we spent most of our time in the park...wow i sound like im really good!!! actually, my 3rd attempt at one of the jumps ended in my falling at the top of it and rolling all the way down...i looked like a snowman when i got up!!!
it felt so good to be up on the mountain again and it felt so good to laugh again, its such a release! it may be the last time before i go on outreach...im hoping i'll go once more but it was a good one to end on if i dont!!!!
until next time...
Farewell To Dave And Heather
i am happy to say that we still have dave and heather around for another few days but we did have their goodbye party tonight which was really fun!
theres lots of things i could say about dave and heather but for now i will just say i love you guys (i can say it directly to them on this because i know for a fact that heather will read this!!!) and i will miss you a lot!
pictures from top to bottom:
1. ryan, stefan, dawn and lorrain hanging out eating some great pot luck food and sipping on some incredible lemonade punch (made by jamie!!!).
2. dave!
3. pam and sophia. 4. wade, jonathan and leigh enjoying a huge amount of lego!
Let The Jumping Begin
i went snowboarding on friday evening and for the first time i gave the terrain park a try!!! it was a beautiful evening, not cold at all with an incredible view of the city so i thought, why not try something new where i would likely be spending most of my time on the ground!!
IT WAS SOOOO FUN!!!! i tried what they call the "small jump" first and that was what i stayed on all evening.
even though i fell pretty heavily on my last try it still made me feel great!! i guess thats the weird thing about extreme sports...even when you get hurt, for some reason you still love it!!!
i had a day of resting yesterday but im sure i'll be back out there sometime this week!!!
until next time...
In Good Company
well i just got back from eating huge amounts of japanese/korean bbq!!! oh it was good!!
the person who thought of combining japanese food and korean bbq was a genious!
my friend henry took me out for dinner and it was really fun. my left arm was aching more and more as the evening went by due to the fact that i had just got my typhoid shot 1/2 an hour earlier but oh well..
anyway, back to the copious amounts of food i consumed tonight...
i had never been to an "all you can eat" japanese place other than in japan so i was pretty convinced that it wouldnt be as good but i was wrong! it was definately just as good...great food, great company, great atmosphere, what more could i ask for...??!!!
so then...to top the evening off we went to death by chocolate for dessert!!! for those of you who havent been there i highly recommend it! i just added both places to the list of where i will take my mum in the summer!!!!
until next time...
Beef Stew and Dumplings
i feel like i should do a quick follow up on the "food glorious food" post and say that having talked about beef stew and dumplings so much ralph began to crave it and i reaped the benefits!!!
ralph made it on saturday for audrey, jo, wade and i and it totally reminded us both of jolly old england!
thanks ralph!!!
Snow In The City
we woke up to snow on the ground on friday!!
it was fun to look at but not so fun to walk to work in. it was all slushy because the sun was shining...yes thats right, i said the sun was shining!!! my shoes were drying on the heater for the remainder of the day!!!
lots on the mountain though!!!
the weather here has been stunning all weekend. it was so beautiful.
stuart and i went snowboarding on sunday and it was once again incredible.
perfect blue sky and great snow conditions. it got pretty icy by the end in the shaded parts but it was fun anyway!
until next time...
Food Glorious Food
ralph, audrey and i were talking today about the food we ate growing up! it is so interesting to see the difference between food types in what seems to be 2 similar countries...
we (ralph and i) ate beef stew and dumplings, audrey ate chicken and dumplings..
we ate sausage, chips and baked beans, audrey didnt!
there were things we as brits eat that she had never heard of never mind eaten and vice versa!!
fish fingers and chips
sausage rolls and chips
bubble 'n' squeak
ambrosia rice pudding (chocolate flavour)
chippy tea and a nicer dessert on friday nights!!!
ahh good times!
i have to say that audrey cooks up a mean mexican dish which i never ate growing up!!!! the beauty of diversity!
until next time...
Boxes
last night i began to pack up some of my things here in vancouver into various size boxes some of which will be shipped back to england...
i just returned from the post office having mailed my first box! it is extremely strange to be packing up to move and not putting all my things in YWAM storage just while i am on outreach. its going to take some getting used to!
there are a number of us leaving in the next few weeks heading off to all sorts of places and the realisation of it is beginning to hit home for me.
i emptied my draw at the office yesterday too which i have been putting off for weeks. as i was going through it i found things from 2 or 3 years ago which normally wouldnt be a big deal but because this chapter will be coming to an end soon it seemed to be slightly more emotional than necessary!
i think thats all i will say for now!
until next time...
The Cute Factor
apologies for not posting in a while!!!
some friends sent me this photo and i thought i would just share it with you as philippa and camilla are just so cute!
until next time...
Disappointment at Anfield
i am very sorry to say that liverpool crashed out of the champions league today.
i would have loved to have seen a repeat of last seasons win but it wasnt to be...
lets see what happens in our 2 remaining competitions!!!
congratulations to mike and heidi and any other arsenal fans that read this!!!
until next time...
