"time flies"

And the world spins madly on…
And on.
And on a little bit more.
It’s the middle of August.
Before I know it, I’ll be hugging my siblings goodbye as they venture off to Briercrest…
I don’t like the thought of that…
but I guess they deserve their turn to be hugged goodbye instead of always doing the hugging.
And Kyle will be back in classes – buying books, writing papers, absorbing tidbits of info
(because who really absorbs it all? Be serious).
But things won’t change much for me… which is new.
Fall has always consisted of new beginnings, (new outfits), new adventures…
But not so much, this year.
I love my job, it’s just a strange feeling…
Growing up.

I look forward to buying books, learning things, hopefully finding a stage with a spotlight where I can play make-believe in front of an audience again.
But until then, I’m content.
… a strange feeling, growing up.

I want to learn.

so... I want to learn about photography. I want to figure it out... so I will.


Shannon - if you read this, thanks for taking the time to patiently explain the different settings to me. I really appreciated that.



Here are some of my favourite's (so far)...

Ode to the "Rom-Com"

I find it appropriate to write a blog solely devoted to the fabulous world of romantic-comedies... or girly movies. May I share my favourites? I'll start with some classics...

8) Sleepless in Seattle - wow. They don't even SEE each other the entire movie and your heart is just pulled RIGHT in! Major props to the ever-lovable Tom Hanks.

7) When Harry Met Sally - Once again, thanks Meg Ryan. How cute is this? Friends finally figuring out that they are meant for one another. Dang.

MORE RECENTLY...

6) America's Sweethearts - LOVE John Cusack. Seriously. I love him. haha. This movie is just... funny, wonderful, once again with the "finally figuring it out!" Great timing julia roberts!

5) Notting Hill - who HASN'T dreamt of meeting a major movie star and falling madly in love? It's always a shame when your hollywood lifestyle pulls you apart - but there's nothing quite like the moment when Julia is asked how long she'll be in England and she says... "indefinitely".

4) The Wedding Planner - "you saved... my shoe". Hell ya, he did! Matthew McCounaghey, thank you for showing me the importance of only eating brown M&M's... LOVE it!

3) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Day - how hilarious is this? "Princess Sophia"... "Benny boo boo boo!" Kate Hudson is so fabulous in this... and SO gorgeous! Jealous. Once again, the rom com king, Matthew McConaughey - let's get a round of applause...

2) Never Been Kissed - Drew Barrymore. QUEEN OF THE ROM-COM... I don't think I've disliked a single movie she's been in. Never been kissed is just... wonderful. I love that she can be an idiot, look unattractive and still be awesome. How brilliantly endearing... the baseball field scene at the end just SLAYS me everytime.

AND THE NUMBER ONE, MOST FAVOURITEST GIRLY MOVIE OF ALLLLL TIME?!

1) Ever After - Might not even count as a Romantic Comedy, but I don't care. The perfect Cinderella story... and I could almost quote the whole thing. "I will not yield!" "then you don't deserve her". I want to BE Danielle duBarberaque (or shall we say Nicole duLancre?)

So there you have it... I would watch them all RIGHT now if I had the chance!

21 years.

The past year has been… quite something. There were ups and downs that I never would have seen coming, and yet, looking back fills me with such a joy and – maybe more accurately – peace.

I’m learning, growing, changing, and that’s just fine by me! Jeremiah 18 says “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ So I went down to the potter’s house and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed in into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?’ declares the Lord. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.’”.

That’s me. I’m the “house of Israel.” God, the potter, is shaping me ‘as seem(s) best to him’.

I like that. And yes, it’s sometimes painful realizing that you don’t know everything (and sometimes it feels like I don’t know anything), but that’s alright – God knows. For this next year of life, with all of the excitement and change, I’m going to continue to trust that God knows exactly what my finished “pot of clay” will look like – and I’m sure it will be quite wonderful.

For Michelle

I realize I'm a terrible blogger.
I'm aware of it... there's no need for an intervention.
I want to do better... keep things up-to-speed.
Even if the only people that follow my blog are Whitney, Michelle, and some Random girl from Korea, I'm STILL going to try harder! ha HA!
*cue heroic music*

So, I'm sure all of you are dying for details on my life, and here they are: I've been sick this past week with a cold, the light in my room has been extremely unpredictable lately, and I'm finding that my feather comforter is just too dang hot at times.

How's THAT for an update?

I'm going to be 'illin at the Kawkawa booth (11am-3pm) and Power to Change booth (3:30-6:30) tomorrow at Missions Fest, and I'm looking forward to it. I've never been on the "info" side of Missions Fest... I'm kind of a big deal, I suppose.

Is this good for today, Michelle? I wanted to give you something NEW.
"Here's lookin' at you, kid."

Merry Christmas to all!

Technically I should have written something yesterday, but with all the "shenanigans and goings-on" there was really no time.

I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone once again! It amazes me every year.

Here are a few things I will miss terribly until the season rolls 'round again : the music, the decorations, the movies, the smells, the celebration, the family time, and how for one brief season people everywhere are drawn towards the story of the Christ-child.

Now, if we would only spend the same time in praise and adoration in August as we do in December...

I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas, and that God blesses you richly in the New Year.

- J

Christmas in New York

New York is lovely in the winter time... especially when it snows in Times Square... ... this I now know. I had the privilege of adventuring there with two wonderful girlfriends of mine: Natalie Rutherford, and Jill Wiebe (aka - Rabbit and Jack).

We really took New York by storm... or it took US by storm! We arrived on Thursday evening, and by Friday we had seen The Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Central Park, Statton Island, Empire State Building, Ground Zero, and whatever the "hop on, hop off" bus had to offer.

We wasted NO time, leaving us completely exhausted by the time we'd arrive at our Jersey City "Econolodge" at the end of the day. Cue: tv special on the history of felines.

It was thrilling... honestly, there are few things that compare to the sights and sounds of Times Square in early December - a seemingly unstoppable tizzy of activity; an overwhelming flurry of every type of person you can think of - and then the snow fell, reminding me that this was no circus. This is New York City... where people live life everyday, just like me.

I rode the subway and thought of that song : "give me Your eyes for just one second. Give me Your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing. Give me Your love for humanity". There's a lot of hurting people there, just like here. They need to know Christ's love, just like I do.

I (heart) NY.