halloween

Last week when we went to the Superstore (oh the tired feet after that one) we bought two pumpkins. Thankfully Julie is tall; otherwise I'd have likely fallen into the pumpkin bin. My feet were off the ground and I was balancing on my stomach on a cardboard box. Not the brightest thing I've ever done.
Anyways, we planned on giving one of the pumpkins to the girls next door, but we forgot. So tonight we had 2 uncarved pumpkins and the kids were already trick or treating. So Nicole and I carved them (while listenging to Christmas music!!) and spiced up the pumpkin seeds and popped 'em in the oven and made the upstairs living room look gezellig for Julie's small group.
Bad night to have people over who will be ringing the doorbell when we didn't get candy to give away to all the obnoxiously loud kids dressed up in winter coats.
And on that note I'd like to say that dressing up for halloween when there's snow on the ground and it's minus degress is not the most fun experience I wouldn't think. Anyways, I'm going to post some pictures of our uber cool pumpkins here.

covenant awards

A few days ago we heard that the Covenant Awards were being presented at Centre Street. However, we thought it was all just gospel music. Yeah, we'd never heard of them before. But the radio announced that Starfield and downhere and Brian Doerksen etc. were playing and we thought "Dang, that's not so bad after all!" so we bought tickets to go.
(The Covenant Awards are like the Canadian Christian Grammy's)
We assumed that the dress code was formal, but the girl who sold me the tickets didn't know, so I called the church to find out, and they gave me some other number belonging to who knows who and the guy asked me if I was getting an award. Does my voice sound that great over the phone that people assume I can sing? Hmm...And, what difference does it make if I'm getting an award or not, since the dress code was formal? Of course he added that although it is formal, there would probably be some people in jeans. Jeans? To an awards show? What are these people thinking?
Well, Julie and I got all dressed up. But there's a problem with formal dresses, and that is the cold factor. So what do you think I did? Of course, I wore sweat pants under my dress. Julie thought I was crazy, but her cold legs convinced her to follow suit. And yes, we did take pictures of us looking absolutely ridiculous, but I don't have them on the computer yet. Patience, all, patience. Anyways, we jumped out of our sweats and left them in the car and met Christy (perfect timing!) at the door and we all went in.
It was a really fun night, and I am now a fan of people of whom I'd previously never heard. Like Amanda Falk. Way cool...great singer, and involved in a ministry that sounds awesome. Maybe I'll be involved in that, or something like it someday? I also liked Adreanne Lafleur, possibly because I think French is beautiful, and I could kind of understand it when she sang. Mostly I was just glad to have some French people representing, haha. The Joe was absolutely hilarious. I wish he lived around here so we could be friends and he could make me laugh all the time. "Half heart!" Random. Oh, and there was this lady dancing to him and couldn't help but burst out laughing. Maybe that is mean, but if you had seen her too you probably would have laughed. And I also really liked The Silent, and of course the fact that they're from New Brunswick. Quite enjoyable, and the lead singer has crazy facial hair going on. Crazy in a very well groomed sort of way. I wish I could have heard Shezza, but oh well. It's pretty cool that there's a category for Aboriginal Song though.
So I think that's all I feel like saying about the Covenant Awards. We're definitely going again next year (and we'll get cheaper tickets cuz we'll know about it early. Smart thinkers, us) so if you're in Calgary on October 26, you're welcome to come also.

Oh! And there is snow on the ground which is quite breathtaking. Ahh, snow. If only I had winter boots. *sigh* It's funny, usually I'm like "ugh, snow, grr" but not right now. Probably that will come in January. And February. And, come on, let's face it, August. October, though. Almost November. Sounds just about right. Have a blessed day; remember that God washes us even whiter than snow! What an amazing gift!

is God omniscient?

I think that OT Foundations with Rick Love is my favourite class. He really makes us think and question and go back to the Bible. Constantly. And I love it, but sometimes I wish he'd give us straight answers. Although, I'm learning that there are hardly ever straight answers. So it's a cool journey to be on.
Anyways, the current question I have (which maybe you can help me with) is how do we know that God is omniscient? Like where in the Bible does it indicate that? Because there are a lot of verses about Jesus being limited in his knowledge (I assume because of his humanity but he is also God incarnate) but where does it say God is omniscient? I think this really boils down to your theology on free will...but for now, some verses would be welcome!

sunrise

This morning as Ashley and I were driving to the airport we saw a prairie sunrise. It looked like the sky was on fire. You know how when you have a big bonfire the embers just glow? That's the same colour the sky was this morning.
Breathtaking.

Have you ever been blown away by God's love? Tonight at church it was suggested that Jesus may not have known if his separation from God would be temporary or eternal. That he knew he'd conquer death, but he was unsure of whether he'd ever be in such close community with God his Father again. I don't know if that's true or not, but the thought that he risked eternal separation from God, even momentary separation, is huge.
Amazing.

funny story

Last night Dan was sitting at my desk doing stuff with my computer and when he stood up, this string stretched from his butt to my chair. Obviously this surprised me, and I had an odd look on my face as I said, "What's on my chair?"
It was either gum or sticky tack, but since I have blue sticky tack and haven't been chewing gum, it was a mystery. Dan had been chewing gum earlier, but this gum was fruity and neither of us had fruity gum. This information took a little longer to attain than for you to read, because we were both laughing so hard. Dan went to the bathroom to try to get the gum off his pants, and I scraped my chair as best I could and then went to tell Nicole and Stawan the story.
Mystery solved! Through her laughter, Nicole was able to explain that she had (for some unknown reason) put her gum on the trunk, and Dan had sat there. I guess none of us saw the gum, and Nicole and Stawan had forgotten about it, so that's how it happened.
Wow, this looks like a really lame story now that it's written down. It was quite hilarious at the time, I promise.

reasons why i'm a dork...

...as of this evening. We'll limit my dorkiness a bit.
1. I am now addicted to Little House on the Prairie
2. I am a klutz. Now, anyone who knows me is already aware of this. So let me tell you my most recent story. About a minute ago, Julie's dad called. I answered the phone, which was a bit awkward since I had a brownie in one hand and a text book in the other, but the text book found a home in my lap, and life went on. Until the phone was for Julie, who is upstairs. I set down my brownie (very sacrificial, but I couldn't move the text book otherwise) and proceeded to rush upstairs calling out to Julie Spanish-style. I could hear her laughin, saying "since when does Meghan call me that?" when I tripped/slid/did-something-awkward that looked really funny down the 2 little steps into the living room (no, I did not fall) and passed the phone on to Julie. She couldn't even answer she was laughing so hard. And my chest began to hurt. Which is odd, because I laugh all the time. Maybe I had a chunk of brownie stuck and it was hard to breathe.

Ok, so far that's all I've got. But stick around, many more adventures to come, I'm sure.

snow

Oh, what a beautiful morning! Oh, what a beautiful day. I've got a beautiful feelin', everything's going my way!

So maybe it's a little odd that the theme to Oklahoma is in my head, but it is so beautiful outside right now! There's a light blanket of snow covering the earth. And it continues to gently float down.

There's something refreshing about the first real snow of the season. A little reminder of God's grace.

(Oh, and it certainly helps that we got our heat fixed, haha.)

Let everything that has breathe praise the Lord!

cold

I'm currently wearing fuzzy socks, jogging pants, jeans, a longsleeved shirt, 2 hoodies, and a vest. I was still cold, until I went outside. Now I am warm. Somehow my house manages to be colder than outside...

thanksgiving

So this was Thanksgiving weekend! And I determined not to do any work for the whole weekend, which was an amazing decision. I am thankful that my Saturday class got switched to next week.
Friday I had my first counselling and then the plumber didn't come and then my cousin did! So I got to see Jo again and we met her friend Charles. He kept us quite entertained until like 3:30 when we decided sleep would be a good thing, especially since they had to go to a wedding the next day, and buy a gift first.
Saturday I tried to sleep in a little, but the plumber was supposed to come in the morning. He didn't actually come until after 1, but he was quite attractive and we had a lovely conversation and he fixed our bathtub!!!!!! so it was worth the wait. Then Ash and I watched the 5 hour Pride and Prejudice with a few naps in there, even though it is my favourite movie ever. Then most people came home and we chatted late into the night again...
Sunday we went to church and then went to Kananaskis to go hiking. (my pictures from this weekend can be found here) It was a beautiful day, albeit chilly, and a nice hike. The goal was to see wildlife, and deer didn't count. But they had to, because all we saw was a chipmunk and 3 deer. We listened to Rascall Flatts in the car which made me smile. And we went to Tim Hortons for dinner, so I got a turkey sandwich. Not as good as a leftover sandwich, but it's good enough I guess. Then we stayed up all night talking and trying to get warm since our heater doesn't work. Julie had a space heater which we turned on in the basement living room and we all cuddled with blankets and fell asleep basically. Good times.
Monday we slept in...it was beautiful! And we made pancakes and talked (what is with us girls and talking, hahaha) and then went to Kananaskis again for another hike. I will admit, I am sore today. But I'd still go hiking again tomorrow. We saw an elk, a coyote, and 12 deer tonight! So sweet. And we brought back a CD Ashley had in high school and listened to S Club 7 and O Town and Destiny's Child. Oh man...that was weird/fun. Oh, and when I got home I talked to my parents, so that was nice. And I think they were pleased that I wasn't a mess on the phone, but there was no indoor stream to upset me, and it was actually warmer inside than out, so I was doing well, haha.
And now I'm going to post some pictures from this weekend here so check 'em out.
Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving everyone!

*random note, the last post was number 200*

life

I went to my first couselling session today. Surprisingly enough, I didn't cry (I know my dad must be shocked at this since I burst into tears when I talk to him on the phone about my landlord).
This is what I found out:
I'm healthy.
I'm mentally stable.
I'm constructively and positively handling issues in my life.
The same advice I was given was the exact same advice I'd given someone yesterday. I think sometimes I need to hear someone say it to me, because I'm too busy looking at the other person's situation. So that was kind of cool. I really wanted her to dig and find stuff in me, because I know that I have issues, but I feel like I'm dealing with them pretty well (which she and Jun have both confirmed). Maybe it's because during the times in my life when I really needed counselling and didn't get it I learned skills that help me process things and deal with them positively, and now I'm assertive enough to apply them to my life. I don't know. But I do konw that God is good.
Seriously, I rely on Him more and more every day. Giving Him every thought and emotion and idea and struggle and whatever. Rick Love's talk in chapel on Wednesday was a doozy. Love the unloveable. I know this is a theme that has been in my life since I was in Amsterdam, but he just happened to remind me right before the landlord issues arose. Praying for your enemies, or those who persecute you is really hard. And it's not something I ever want to say and not mean. I never want to pray words I don't truly mean. So when Merissa and I were praying for Reg, we were sobbing. Seriously straining to get the words out and truly mean them.
I am sure that God calls us to pray for the people it's hard to pray for and hard to love because it changes us. It's all about changing our hearts. And not to say that I'm not still mad at Reg, because I am. But God is working on me and my heart and my attitude, and it is already a lot easier for me to pray blessings on him.
So, I guess the conclusion is, consider yourself lucky if I've been mad at you recently, because I'm praying blessings on you, haha. But don't worry, if I'm not mad at you I'm still praying blessings for you too.
Praise the Lord. For never giving up on me, even when my heart is hard. For softening my heart and teaching me how to forgive. For giving me a peace (that people can apparently see in my eyes). For showing me what true love really is.

boys *angry face*

I've said before that seminary boys are all either married or desperate, and I stand by that statement.
Today as Merissa and I were walking to school to go to chapel (she came with me today so we could go shopping after with Ashley, which we never actually really got to (getting girls together usually involves more talking than shopping, at least for us)) and this guy from seminary, who will remain nameless, was walking by, and since we've had a few conversations I smiled a hello to him, but he ignored me. I shrugged it off, thinking he hadn't seen me. Oh, I was wrong.
After chapel he was asking Ashley if he'd seen her this morning and ignored her, and she said no, but he was sure that he had and asked if she'd been with us, and she said no, so he asked me, and I said, "yeah, I saw you outside and I smiled at you but I thought you didn't see me" and he said, "Oh, sorry. I didn't recognize you. Actually, to be honest, I was checking you out." And I was like "What?" and spun around and went to the bathroom (where I had previously been heading) because I did not know at all how to react to that. And of course I apparently turned red. Cursed pale skin. Anyways, I didn't really hear the rest of what he said, but Ashley told me later (as she was reliving the story to someone else to mock me *sigh*) but Merissa said really loudly just after he left "Who says that?" so maybe he heard it? Merissa thinks I should tell him he was rude, and Ashley thinks I should say to him next time he's talking to me "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, I was checking you out" but I definitely don't want to do that and lead him on. Anyways, that was my frustrating story of the day.
Yes, you're allowed to mock me, everyone else has.

Also, I would like to say I made Gilmore jump straight up into the air earlier tonight. It was hilarious. He and I have made peace and I'm nice to him when he's nice to me, and I kick him when he bites. It's a pretty good relationship. Tonight I even played with him a bit, which involved chasing him (he's very quick. I am not) and he'd pretend to bite me and run away and be scared when I chased him. Not overly amusing, I suppose, but I am pleased that we've reached a new level in our relationship, haha. Ashley says that secretly I don't hate him; I love him. Who knows, she could be right? He's still a stupid cat, except when he's really cute. And it was really funny when he punched me in the eye the other day. I probably should have been more mad, but it made me laugh really hard. Probably because he didn't have his claws out.

be still

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain
Leave to thy God to order and provide
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; the best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He hath the past
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the wave and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul; though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Majesty

Here I am
humbled by your Majesty
Covered by your grace so free

Here I am,
knowing I'm a sinful man
Covered by the blood of the Lamb

Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine
Since you laid down your life
The greatest sacrifice

Majesty, Majesty
Your grace has found me just as I am
Empty handed, but alive in your hands

Majesty, Majesty,
Forever I am changed by your love
In the presence of your Majesty

Here I am
humbled by the love that you give
Forgiven so that I can forgive

Here I stand,
knowing that I'm your desire
Sanctified by glory and fire

Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine
Since you laid down your life
The greatest sacrifice

~delirious