there is joy to be found in sorrow

It would be fair to say that my life is pretty crazy right now. All of a sudden, I am engulfed in camp--happily engulfed, mind you. I have a tiny flock of LDP's following me (and Joey) around and listening when we tell them to do something. There are only three girls in my care this year, but that in itself is a blessing in disguise. For undisclosed reasons, my energy levels have plummeted abnormally low as of late. Three girls is a wonderfully close and comfortable number to have!

In other news, my family has experienced yet another crisis, and it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel in this one. It's hard to see my family mourning... hard to see two young girls being ripped away from those they love. I found comfort in three different places. First, in the song "Mighty to Save", second, through Colossians 3, and third, by listening to the Hutchisons sing of God's providence. All three hold deep meaning to me... and I am too tired to write it all here now. Needless to say, God is GOOD and He will act to preserve His great NAME.

I will post at a later date because my body is trying to convince me it's natural position is supposed to be horizontal.

Fraud isn't Fun.

I feel very lethargic this morning. It's a beautiful day outside, I've got the day off... so why do I feel so blah? It may have something to do with Mr. Unknown who hacked into our Rogers account through the phone and proceeded to order 3 iPhones. It's a little shocking to open up your online bill and find out that it's $500 bigger than normal. What??? I couldn't have used THAT much air time...

Joey contacted the Rogers help center to see what the inconsistency was all about. The first clue that it was fraud was that our address had been changed from MacG to some apartment unit in Ontario. Hmmm... either Joey was on something when he gave the information, or our Rep was on something when he took the information. Thankfully the person (we'll call him Mr. T) recognized the foul play right away and put a pause to our account. Joey didn't have to argue his point at all--Mr. T was quite willing to explain what had happened and get someone from the Fraud department on our case immediately. And he should have... it was our Rep that did not follow protocol and let Mr. Unknown abuse our account.

Joey and I have been speculating as to WHY our Rep didn't see the error in this situation. First off, obviously Mr. Unknown called in with the right information--which is completely disconcerting. Rep doesn't get criticised on this point. But when Mr. Unknown asked how many phones can be linked to an account and then ordered 3 of the most expensive phones, Rep should have clued in. WHO in their right mind would EVER need 3 iPhones??? It seems even more ridiculous when you consider that Joey and I have the cheapest phones we could get... We think that Rogers people get some sort of benefit with the more they sell (or something like that). Therefore, Rep was quite happy to sell 3 iPhones. Cha-ching!

The whole problem doesn't seem so bad right now... I talked to my mom about it, and she reminded me that Mr. Unknown's offense isn't against me, but against God. I suppose our role is to forgive Mr. Unknown, even if he never knows or cares to know how we fared out in the end. If I don't forgive Mr. Unknown because I won't get any credit if I do, then I'm worse than Rep seeking benefits by selling more iPhones.

That's it for news today. Joey and I are going to the Zoo today to hopefully see something other than monkey bums. Enjoy the warm weather!

I've never been this homesick before

I'm sitting in the kitchen at camp with a happy boy who's slurping mushroom soup. Conner doesn't like mushrooms, but he's always very quick to defend his appetite for the soup that bears the name because "it doesn't actually taste like mushrooms!" I enjoy the time I get to spend with this kid.

Today was a day of janitorial duties--like sweeping and mopping the dining hall, kitchen, and main hallway floors, vacuuming the entire second level, cleaning up messiness that gets overlooked during the week. Camp season is nearly upon us! Promotion Sunday will take us by storm, and then we'll be hopelessly lost in the middle of IT. Despite the natural oh-my-there's-no-time-left-to-plan reaction, I'm really looking forward to the summer. Bring on the campers---and please, PLEASE bring on the warm weather! (sometime? SOON??)

Last weekend Joey and I went to Saskatoon for a wedding of a friend of mine from Millar. I've decided that road trips are simply marvelous--on a double-lane highway. I'd rather not have any more near-death experiences, thank you. I'm convinced that some people actually believe that they can win in a head on collision. Sheesh. The wedding was splendid, but the company I kept was even better. Hubby and I did a little shopping at Old Narvey... I mean Old Navy... ate a little green peppercorn cheese & wasabi peas... and drove through a town engraved deep in my memory.

Oh, on a side note, isn't it strange how everything seems so MASSIVE and AWESOME when you're little? And then you see those things when you're all growed-up, they really don't look impressive at all. In fact, they seem quite disappointing. I wish I still had the ability to think everything is cool. Anyways... back to our trip...

During a pit stop in Yorkton, Joey observed an elderly fellow teaching a young gaffer NOT---let me repeat that---NOT to wash his hands after using the facilities. That is nearly nauseating. Ewww. It is so gross that I'm going to stop talking about it at this moment.

In other news, Joey and I have been studying up on the Emerging/Emergent Church. What to say, except that there is a lot of twisted theology lying behind many of the hip new preachers and authors that are being so widely publicized. It is vitally important to research where a person stands on foundational Christian beliefs before you start to promote him/her all willy-nilly! I suggest checking out lighthousetrailsresearch.com and challies.com for more info on this postmodern fad.

Hmmm... It's 5:51, my back is aching because of poor posture, and it's FRIDAY. So...

The End.

this is life

Joey and I have been pretty busy lately. There is so much to do at camp--mostly maintenance stuff. Joey's been working hard outside, getting an undeniable farmer's tan. I've been working hard inside, getting unbelievably sick of computers. It can easily start to feel like a simple "day in, day out" type of job if you loose perspective of the greater purpose. I nearly tremble in fear when I think of what God will do here this summer if the leadership are living in obedience to Him. Again, I am reminded that He is calling me to be obedient, and that is all. He will do the rest. It's not up to me to change the hearts of unbelievers!

In the midst of all the busyness, we've been able to find time to rest and recoup. Last weekend we went to Weyburn to visit my parents. We got there completely exhausted from the week, and one would think that our visit would have been a joke as a result. Not so! My parents are also full-time missionaries in their church and with my relatives, so they know well the demands of ministry. We vegged out with them and never felt a twinge of guilt. Oh, how I love my family! The pictures above are from our Weyburn trip.

God's grace is simply overwhelming. In all my years of studying the word of God, I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of this wonderful truth. In preparation for LDP 2009, I've been working my way through Romans, Galatians, and all the other Epistles. I've just finished both Romans and Galatians--such jam-packed books! The overwhelming truth in both of these is the enormity of God's grace! As Christians, we can so easily strive to live our lives so that we measure up to a specific standard, and then call it a day. This is such a heinous distortion of what Christ came to earth to defeat! Christ brought life to all--that means we are no longer held captive by the Law, which only reveals the sin in our lives and has no power to save us. Christ's righteousness has been credited to our account, and we've been considered justified. No more of this beaten-down, robotic adherence to all of the arbitrary laws tacked onto the Law! Because of His sacrifice, we are counted righteous and FREED from the Law of sin and death. It's such a hard thing for me to understand. I so easily slip back into mindless law-obeying behavior. I need to live every day, every moment by faith in my Savior rather than in false confidence in my own flawed self.

These are just some the thoughts that have been swimming around in my head lately. If anyone has anything else to add--their own struggles, lessons they've learned--please feel free to leave a comment. Remember, as Christians we are on this glorious journey together. Though, mind you, everyone's at a different place, learning a different lesson. I have faith that God is a good God who is painstakingly composing every story.

at the mercy of God

Snow doesn't seem quite as threatening when there's no need to go anywhere, at least in an automobile.  Joey and I are doing quite well, thank you, nestled at the top of our hill. The view from our "chalet" is really quite breathtaking--about as close as we come to mountains in this province.  We're basically living in one big room, and it's fantastic.  It's very cozy, and the cat seems to think it's the cat's meow.  With all the room to roam about, Sheba's become even stranger than she was before.  She's taken to staring me down, torpedoing herself across the floor and jumping starfish-style in the air, the only reason being to intimidate me.  She also loves to propel herself onto our bed and roll, jump, and claw furiously at whoever or whatever she finds there.    She's also acquired a couple admirers, but that is not so pleasant.  The sound of toms battling it out for our pretty little feline is an eerie sound to wake up to in the night, especially if your having strange dreams.  Little do they know she's spayed.  Take that, smelly cats.

Joey and I have started to read John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress together, spurred mostly by the comparison of The Shack to this timeless classic.   Apparently the former "has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" did for his."  Thanks, Eugene Peterson, for that quote, but I beg to disagree.  Show me how The Shack reiterates Scripture through and through, accurately quoting from Old and New Testament alike, focusing on the depravity of humanity, the judgment of God, and redemption through Christ's death and resurrection, and I might believe you.  Maybe the book is supposed to reflect today's generation, which is admittedly different from John Bunyan's, but that still disturbs me.  God does not change--EVER--which leads me to believe that the way we relate to Him should not change.  Ahhhh... I get too caught up in my own words.  I believe and serve the God who beautifully knit together the entire Holy Bible, which is sufficient for salvation and for every other thing I need in this life.  I will leave it at that for now.  

Because my understanding is limited, I will devote myself to the Word of God, and no one else's.  I will not even go to John Bunyan for Truth... just the Word.  

I need a new hobby

Packing is not really that fun.  Oh, I'm sure that no one ever thought it was, but I just needed to remove all doubt.  I've done the tiresome task roughly 10 times... ok, it's probably more like 15.  This time is a little different, though.  Instead of having a deadline a month away (which is stressful enough), our current goal is LESS THAN THREE DAYS AWAY.   Joey gave his two weeks notice at work a week ago, and work decided to let him go a week early.  So, now we are chucking things into boxes in a much less-than-orderly fashion than meets my standards. 

Sigh...      it will be over soon.

the city will be forsaken

Joey and I are certain of God's calling in our lives.  Yesterday we found out that Joey has been officially accepted as the assistant director at Valley View Bible Camp.  Waiting on the Lord seemed to be taxing my patience, but now that the answer has come, I'm realizing that we actually didn't have to wait that long.  Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness!   

After putting around the house for a few hours, mopping floors and doing absolutely anything we could to take our minds off the board meeting that would decide our fate, I suggested to Joey that we pray.  Nestled into each other on the couch, we bowed our heads and Joey led out.  His prayer was short and nearly painful in its passion.  He struggled with words, and ended with, "God, I don't even know what to say right now..." The phone rang as soon as he trailed off...  One word: yes!

Now we are going to enter a VERY busy month-or-so... moving takes time.  Oh, and I suppose we'll need to find a place to live before we move, won't we?