The First Snow...

There are many emotions that pass through me during the first snow of the winter. First I feel happy inside. The fluffy, white snowflakes falling gently to earth blanketing everything in a pillowy whitness makes everything seem...cozy. I look out the window and I smile.

Then my thoughts turn to the snow shovel I can see just out of the corner of my eye. This bring to mind a somewhat exasperated emotion. Not that shovelling snow is a horrid thing, I just get tired of it!

But then shovelling snow makes me think about skating out on the lake! Which makes me think of building snowmen, making the perfect snow angel and sledding! I feel a kid like giddiness swell up inside on me of all the months of fun to be had!

This brings me to thoughts of how long winter is. Month after month of snow and cold. I may be a Canadian but after Christmas is over I am ready for winter to be too. The emotion that comes with this train of thought is weariness.

But then I remember, "Oh yeah, Christmas! With that one words feelings of joy and thankfulness flood my being! I adore Christmas! I adore what it stands for, I adore the traditional activities that come along with it, I just adore everything about it!

And so I continue to look out my window at the first gentle snowflakes making their soft decent into the world and I continue to smile...

Full of crab meat and content

Today was a great day! First off I had an awesome hair and outfit day, that always makes a girl happy! Then I actually got to go to the adult Sunday School class because none of my students showed up (I know that may be a strange thing to be happy about but hey.) Then during church a whole whack of my youth group friends that I grew up with showed up! (You see my youth group pretty much married each other and now are all related so when one comes home they all come home!)

Then after church Debbie and I went to Rick and Colette's house for lunch. After lunch we wound up just hanging out all afternoon, talking and having a good time. We also wound up calling Cory who as well came to hang out. We hung out for so long that we all wound up staying for supper! (I used the phrase 'wound up' a lot up there, my English teacher would be angry!) We had a crab leg feast! Which reminds me, I think I may be intollerant to shell fish... but that's besides the point.

I love hanging out with Rick, Colette, Debbie and Cory. It just makes my day! it's amazing what a little fellowship with good friends can do for your heart and soul. After today I walked home content and happier then I've been for a few days. We had some good laughs, discussed some important points brought up in church today, I got to hold baby Jordan (he puked on me but that's okay, baby puke isn't that gross!) we played a game and I got to play with Trenace for a solid 20 minutes! It was a good day indeed!

Oh children

I havn't posted for a while. Mostly because I havn't known what to think or say. After writing my big post about finally being happy in Loon Lake I became very unhappy. Why is it so hard for me to be content? I know that if I did leave Loon Lake right now and pursue something else I would be often thinking back to Loon Lake and everything going on here. So why can't I be content here? It's a very strange thing.

Maybe I just need to go on a trip for a little while, I weekend away. Good thing Youthedge is coming up soon!

I've become involved in a lot of Children's Ministries this year. I help out at 2 different Kids Clubs and I teach Sunday School for age 6-9ish. There is also a bit of camp follow up going on that is kid friendly. Through all this I have discovered...I don't really enjoy children's ministry all that much. Now don't get me wrong I like kids and I like hanging out with them but I don't so much like teaching them. It scares me a little bit. Even though their cute, kids can be intimidating! Now that I know this about myself I still need to stick with all thes things I've committed to for the year. And that's okay, GOD can work even through me and my lack of kids skills!

The difference

Last year at this time I was already discouraged with living in Loon Lake, I dreaded going to church on Sunday morning and I dispised going to work. Last year at about this time I was looking for an out, I had mentally packed my bags and rented an apartment in Regina! You see I had moved to Loon lake very eager to do ministry. I had hoped to get involved in youth ministry, along with being involved in the church and other such things. Well to make a long story short, (because the long story is very long and very dramatic) things didn't pan out the way I had hoped last year. I was pretty much a very discouraged, lonely and unhappy girl.

I didn't want to. But I stayed.

This year, completly different story. I am very involved at church which makes me so happy, tomorrow is my first night of helping with a youth group, I enjoy the jobs I have (they works well with everything else going on in my life) and I am happy here!

So what was last year all about?

The main lesson I learned last year, that was so hard for me was not running away. Ever since I was probably 7 or 8 I have ran away from things that make me unhappy, or uncomforable. I have ran away when things get a bit too intense or me or scary. I have ran away from the unknown and untrusted. Over the past 16 years I have gone through a lotof runing shoes you could say! But last year when I was so unhappy, when uncomfortable situations were coming at me from allaround and when the first and only thing I wanted to do was tie on a new pair of running shoes and race away for all I was worth God firmly and lovingly said, "No. This time you stay."

And I did, for the first time in 16 years I didn't run away. I'm still here and glad about it! Isn't GOD strange? In a good way though! I'd say thanks to Him this girl has put away the running shoes, maybe I'll invest in some comfy slippers, moccasins even!

I am thankful for...

...a roof over my head on these cold, cold nights
...a job with which I can support myself
...my education
...my mum and papa
...Debbie, Colette and Rick...I would be lost without them here!
...the ways GOD has enabled me to serve Him this year in the church
...late night discussions about outreach and the church
...Jenny (You know I love you for calling me today!)
...my car
...my MRI being all clear and me being MS free!
...my SBBC family
...my Healing Hearts family

And that's just a start! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Fake eyes

About 3 0r 4 times a year I put on eye make-up. I take my time getting eyeliner on evenly, I pick out the shades of eyeshadow I think would compliment me that day and I blend it nicely. Sometimes I even put a little bit of mascara on, just for that extra umph. Then I look at myself in the mirror and I think, "Joni. This looks so fake." So I wash it all off.

A 3 year olds prayer

I have recently had the blessing of caring for the cutest 3 year old fostor boy during the day while his fostor mom is at work! He is just adorable and always says the cutest things! An example of this...

It's meal time and I ask him is he would like to pray for the meal. He gets a shy look on his face and says, "Yeeeeeessss" So I hold his hand, close my eyes and wait. That's when this little voice says, "Dank you for da pizza...dank you for outside...aaaaaaaand...dank you for pop. Da end!"

My heart done gone and melted just like the cheese on the pizza I had made!