Thank You

This year has been simply amazing. The program at the U of A is perfect for me, Edmonton is a great city, I’ve met some beautiful people, my roommates are fabulous women, and I’ve met a wonderful man. I have not faced many struggles this year, which has caused a new challenge in my relationship with God.

I find it much more difficult to be actively thankful than to be actively dependent. When life is not going well, I run to God. I talk with God. I feel closer to God. I don’t have to make an effort to do this; it’s just a natural reaction. When things are going well, I forget to be thankful and to live out that thankfulness. Being grateful is something I have to consciously choose to do.

What is active thankfulness? At church we talked a bit about praise and how praise is not limited to singing worship songs on Sunday mornings, but how our whole lives should be an act of praise to God. This is how we can thank our maker.

Our attitude in all of this is crucial. I don’t think I should live an honorable life with an attitude of reciprocity…as though I’m obligated to be holy because God is good. “Well, I really should do (insert holy action here) because God has blessed me so much.” Because sometimes, in my pride, I will feel that God is not good. My feelings shouldn’t cause my actions of thankfulness to fluctuate. I’ve got to remember that I am not God…I have to trust that He knows better than I do.

Paul and Silas (Acts 16) had this amazing faith so that even when they were locked up in jail, not knowing what was coming next, they were praising God. This blows me away! I can see myself racing to God for comfort or for direction or for deliverance…but they’re singing praises! Knowing that God is good in a time when it would seem (to our human eyes) that He has forgotten us…I wonder if I could ever come to this place.

Pleasing Pizza

For the past two weeks I have been eating nothing but pizza (except at breakfast time, though I have considered it). I LOVE pizza, and here are the reasons why:
1) It contains all four food groups: vegetables/fruit, milk/milk products, meat/protein, bread/cereals.
2) It is fantastically delicious
3) It is mighty simple to throw together (an asset during exam time)
4) You can put ANYTHING on a pizza…so it never gets boring. Seriously, if someone can name one topping that would not work on a pizza, I will give you a prize (keep in mind that there is such a thing as dessert pizza…so fruit and chocolate are not out of the running).

I sometimes shake my head at recipe books that contain recipes for pizza…here’s my recipe: figure out what you are craving, and then put whatever that is on top of a pizza shell.

But…in case anyone is at wit’s end as to what sort of pizza to create, this is what typically ends up on mine:
-Tomato sauce and/or light Ranch dressing
-Shrimp and/or tofu (thanks to Heidi for steering me away from red meat)
-Jalapeño peppers (thanks to David for encouraging the use of anything spicy)
-Tomato pieces (ditch the juicy/seedy part…it’ll make your pizza pie a soggy mess)
-Green peppers (important to incorporate a colour other than red to make your supper esthetically pleasing)
-Old cheddar cheese
-Avocado and/or artichokes (trust me on this one)

Cheers!

Baby Elias

Who knew such a little gaffer could bring such joy and entertainment? This handsome young chap is my nephew, Eli...and I love him!

Step Back

I should be studying right now. Exam week tends to be the time that I choose to catch up on everything I have been putting off. So I decided to start a blog. I didn't know what to name it...but I've been thinking a lot lately about how busy people are. We choose to fill up our schedules, sometimes with "noble" tasks, sometimes with self indulgent, meaningless crap. Either way, it can't be a good thing. It is simple to become distracted from what actually matters.

We live loud lives. I'm scared of the silence...I might learn something valuable; I might feel convicted to make a change; I might be encouraged to become uncomfortable. The noise prevents this from ever happening...it is safe and predictable. Loud lives have the ability to masquerade as being exciting and stimulating. But eventually it becomes monotonous, stale and shallow.

I was talking with the youth pastor at church in Red Deer (hi Rick). We were discussing the fear that we have of becoming so distracted by everyday life that we forget these two things: to love God and to love people. Doing this is not boring...this is real excitement. It's also scary as heck. Scary is good!

I am beginning to understand the value of taking time, even a small moment in the day, to "hush" up. To reflect, to be thankful, and to listen...shut out the noise for a time. This also sets a focus for the rest of the day.

I like the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38 - 42: Martha is one busy woman...flying around preparing (supper? In my mind she's running around in the kitchen like a mad woman). Anyway, she's bustling about while Mary is sitting at Jesus' feet listening to what he was saying. Martha gets a little ticked off and says to Jesus, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Jesus answers her by saying, "Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her."

Priorities. Where are mine?

Okay, so as a side note...I am technologically challenged, so it may take a while to figure out how to spice up this blog.