how to choose a wife part 1

the following is from a book my friend purchased at a thrift store that "shall-remain-unnamed-but-which-i-often-visit-in-my-hometown"...the book is called "how to choose a wife"...or maybe how to find a wife. at any rate, it was published in 1947, i believe. seriously. this will make you laugh and gag at the same time.

~Who's not interested in a girl who's a good companion? Perhaps she's read some of the same books you've read, and can talk intelligently (though not over intelligently) about their contents. She might be able to ride a bicycle as well as make a bed. Swim like a fish in the morning and bake a cake that'a a dream in the afternoon. Say...a girl like that dosen't need to be beautiful...she's tops already!

~ It may be that you'll get a chance to peek into her room. She may invite you there to see a book or a picture of something. While you're there, do a bit of checking up on her ability as a housekeeper. Is everything neat? Was the bed made without wrinkles? Are the curtains starched and clean? Is anything straggly or messy?

~When she opens her mouth, how does she speak? You know, in today's world of books, radio and education, there's positively no excuse for bad grammar. Yet, some girls are noticeably weak here. Is her penmanship above reproach?

~Can she write a check? Every girl ought to be informed about deposits and withdrawls. Has it ever occurred to her pretty head that it's infinitely better to pay cash for things if you can?

~Normal girls are interested in children.

~Normal girls are feminine girls and should dress like feminine creatures. They should wear frilly, swishy or billowy dresses. They should dress in lacy, ribbony blouses with pert bows and do-dads on them.

gargh

i have so much going on in my head right now. so much. get out! no, stay in...i want to keep some of you, thoughts. but not all of you. i wish i had a button that i could push that would take away all thoughts not in the wisdom of God and leave only those things which are of value in the perspective of eternity.

so it comes down to this:
Jesus wants your heart. Jesus wants to know what you are thinking. Jesus wants to hear you say "i love you" to him. Jesus does not want to lose this generation of young people to unfulfilling desires!

you and i are only complete in Christ. apart from him we have no wisdom, no fullness, no satisfaction.

now if only those things could make themselves manifest in my heart and life and everyone around me!!

this made me very happy

congrats you guys!
lovehearthugs for you both

"home is a concept"

i'm rediscovering my love for country these days. the more i live in other places, the more i realize that home is not a single place, but i still love land and get attached to it. i also love home.

The only ground I ever owned was sticking to my shoes
Now I look at my front porch and this panoramic view
I can sit and watch the fields fill up
With rays of glowing sun
Or watch the moon lay on the fences
Like that's where it was hung
My blessings are in front of me
It's not about the land
I'll never beat the view
From my front porch looking in

There's a carrot top who can barely walk
With a sippy cup of milk
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong
'Cause she likes to dress herself
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
And the view I love the most
Is my front porch looking in
~ lonestar

i stole these words but they're perfect for me right now

"I feel like the Lord is simply asking me, 'Will you wait on the promises when it looks like I am taking you in the opposite direction? Will you remain steadfast in doing what I called you to do today, and not worrying about fulfilling the promises yourself? Will you trust my leadership and my timing? Will you wait for me?'"

(thank you, charity)

p.s. check out dan's blog if you want to read a funny story

Jesus is coming back

honestly, i almost never thought about this until the last two years of my life. if i did think about it, i thought about it more in terms of the frightening events that would take place, and how i didn't want to be there to experience them. i never realized that the tribulation, the stories in revelation, are bigger than struggles and trials. it is all about Jesus, a lovesick bridegroom judge, returning to draw his people to him and rid the world of evil!! so end times is not scary, but exciting - Jesus is coming back to this world to set it right!

----------------------

i'd often think about being killed in a car accident before i got very old because then i wouldn't have to live up to anything - people would talk about my dreams and everything i wanted to do, and they'd make me a martyr and i wouldn't actually have to do anything.

i think this attitude is far too common. maybe not explicitly, but we're scared. we're scared of being called on to live holy lives; we're scared to live a life of significance and we're scared of failing. i think that's why people really want to believe that christians will be raptured before the tribulation. we want to get out while we can with as little effort required from us. i know this may be a subject where people will disagree with me, but i really don't believe God would give us the book of revelation ("blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near") and then be okay with us avoiding it or saying it is not applicable to us. We need to be ready for Christ's return and we need to know what God's plan for this world is if we are to live as effective and wholehearted Christians in it.

i guess that sort of turned into a rant. thoughts, anyone?

i give in - reflecting is part of being a teacher

my look back at 2006. my new years was radically different this year from last years. from thousands of young adults praising God in a huge auditorium, to watching fireworks at the forks outside in the cold. so maybe this next year will be radically different from last year as well.

memorable moments of 2006

- being a part of the one thing conference in KC (seeing tarah!!)
- talking about chocolate syrup and icecream at holly & phil's wedding
- road trip to SK to see a wedding and my lovely pregnant joanna
- scraping/scrubbing/soaking horse poop off stall walls as a fundraiser for camp
- watching gilmore girls in a field under the sun
- fire & bannock in the rain
- 4 weeks with a great group of teens
- seeing God's awesome creation from a canoe
- the longing to see my "kids" know Jesus' love
- sleeping on the beach and watching the sun rise
- falling on the ground laughing at gus-gus with jd
- stalking my future home, staring at it through the bushes :)
- taking another road trip to SK; meeting baby noah and abbi; surprising sally!
- going to newfoundland; knowing that God's glory covers the earth
- finding out that someone meant something to me that i didn't expect
- singing for sanctuary house of prayer
- seeing ken davis!
- driving my jetta
- playing games with my family (how about some memory, steve?)
- toboganning with crystal
- fireworks

for the church

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with POWER through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be FILLED to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his POWER that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

~

how many times have i read through ephesians? i probably couldn't even count. i know this was the first book of the bible that truly came alive to me, thanks to a great sunday school teacher. he took a class of gr. 6 students and went through the book with us, verse by verse. no lesson outline or games to play or watered down concepts. just the word.

yet, even having read this book so many times and learning from it, reading it again i am struck by how often we forget what we read. look at the words. the implications of what paul is saying are astounding!! the power that raised Jesus from the dead, is at work IN US! he wants to fill us with the FULLNESS of God! what is that? what is God's fullness? to tell you the truth, it scares me. if i would ever see or experience the fullness of God i don't know what i would do with myself! yet, this is what paul is praying for in the church.

let's believe that Christ's power and fullness are at work in us. let's pray in faith and let's enter a season of hope, knowing that God is generous and is able to do above and beyond what we can anticipate. let's trust him to answer and transform lives.

2007 - the year of sliding down hills

i can feel it - this year will be a toboganning year. the following is from my friend crystal's blog about our adventures this past thursday. she captures the story perfectly. enjoy!

Ode to the Death Trap.

What can I say? I owe 2 hours of fun and good times and bruises to...

The Death Trap.

Who knew that with only a few supplies, and the ability to look beyond the fact that we could hit a tree, Marcia and I could conceive one of the greatest wonders of the Modern World.

The Death Trap.

What is it? Oh, it is only something to be spoken of in hushed and reverent tones... Something of a mystery. Something that was built to last forever... or atleast until the toboggan finally breaks forever. (Toboggan by the way is a sled, not a tuque.)

How do I love thee Death Trap? Let me count the ways...

What was and is and forever will be... the Death Trap? Well, Marce and I decided to put together two forces that on their own cause enough injuries.. but TOGETHER. Together they cause the fastest thing known to man...

The Death Trap.

We took Marce's exceptionally long Crazy Carpet... (remember... hushed and reverent tones) and attached to my wooden sled... AKA the Torpedo. Now, it's important to know that the curved part of my toboggan was already partially broken due to a failed 3-person attempt down a very steep hill... Now latch the Crazy Carpet handles onto the broken part of the front of my Torpedo... and my friends, you've got yourselves a Death Trap.

I'm not sure when we actually decided that it would be a good idea to try it out. When we did try it the first time however, I remember that I was very afraid and would not do it on my own. "I'm not riding this Death Trap by myself" I believe I said. So, Marce and I got on together.

Marce also patented her own phrase that afternoon with "Sideways is NEVER A GOOD THING!" as our toboggan went sideways... now, the Crazy Carpet is accustomed to going sideways, it's in its nature... however, the Torpedo? The Torpedo is made of wood. And is a rectangle. And when we went sideways, the Crazy Carpet tended to vacate the area and the Torpedo would stick into the snow and send us FLYING down the hill on our own... sometimes still entangled together. Thus coining the line "SIDEWAYS IS NEVER A GOOD THING!"

There were several times when the Crazy Carpet came out from under the Torpedo and we'd end up rolling off several feet at a high speed. Or when Marce would come off from on top of the Torpedo and we'd come to a very abrupt stop as we'd discover human beings do not slide down the hill as well as plastic does. There was one unfortunate incident that I had some unintentional help in where Marce's face came in contact with the ground and slid several inches. Add in the time that we went over the ramp accidently and became airborne and slid several feet together on the bare snow perfectly before we realized we had been launched off the toboggan... Plus a desperate need to go to the bathroom, and you have yourself a side-splitting good time. Literally... That one time we got real close to the tree...

Crazy Carpet attached to the Torpedo (securely this time?)? Check.

Feet up? Check.

Fear? Check.

Let's go!