He is my Refuge

Hola from Guatemala!!

2008-06-29T16:03:00.000-04:00

HI EVERYONE!

We made it safely here in Guatemala City very late on Friday night (about 1:00 a.m. Ontario time). The airplane ride was cool... I especially like the take off and landing (the rest of the ride is just like riding on a train). It was expecially neat when we flew in the dark... seeing all the lights over the cities was beautiful!! It was also really cool to see the clouds from the other side (they look the same, by the way!! :o) ). Anyway, we stayed at a seminary in Guatemala City on Friday night and travalled to Cubulco the next morning. We arrived here in Cubulco around 1:00 yesterday afternoon. We met Lia and the kids (Nico met us in Guatemala City). The driving is CRAZY! We thought we were going to crash a couple times on the way up the mountain... it's quite the experience!! Anyway, last night we also went to the market... its very unsanitary there!! There was a table full of vegetables and right beside it there was a mound of garbage... quite gross actually... it also smelled very bad there... what can you expect really? Last night and this morning we went to church, which is right down the road... the services were in Spanish and are no longer than our services in Ontario.It's awesome to listen to people worshiping God in a different language! The singing is also really neat to listen to...Spanish is a beautiful language! It's kind of neat to experience. I've already taken about 300 pictures... crazy, eh?! The people here find us very interesting to look at... everywhere we go, people stare at us... Lia says she doesn't even notice it anymore. The kids (Ellen, Nico and Jesee) are all very sweet... Lia is also very nice and easy to get along with... The lives that the people live down here are completely different than what we are used to! WE HAVE SO MUCH!! We don't realize how blessed we are!! Some of the people just live in little huts... not weather proof at all... the sanitation here is also unexistant for the most part. I wish I could upload some of pics that I took... yesterday, I got a picture taken of myself with a security guard holding his 'bazooka'... a HUGE rifle!! All of the businesses around here have their own security guard... Anyway, this afternoon, we are going to trek up the mountain and tomorrow we start working... I'm sure the next 2 weeks will fly by... love you and miss you guys!! Hopefully I'll get another chance to write another note in a couple days... SEE YOU ALL IN A COUPLE WEEKS! Anything exciting going on at home?!

2008...alreay??

2008-01-06T15:05:00.000-05:00

Wow... another year come and gone... crazy!

2007 was a good year... a very quick year, that's for sure! Every year I say the same thing 'wow, I can't believe it's been a year already!'.

January 2007: I don't remember much about January 2007... that's how good it was, I guess :P

February 2007: February 2, 2007 Esmé Margaret Elizabeth VanDyk was born. Although she had some heart complications, everything is now under control... what a blessing!

On Febraury 17th, a group of us piled into a huge van at 1:00 in the morning and drove down to South Carolina for a week. The trip was done to help out Greenville Seminary... we had a blast down there and I still think of the trip often... I would love to see the seminary and the progress they have made in the last year... God has blessed them from what I've heard!

March 2007: I started my new position at VanPelt's Office Plus as their Inventory Controller and stopped working for the Ontario Early Years Centre as their Volunteer Coordinator.
This was also the month that I got in my car accident and pretty much totalled my car...grrrr...still upset about that one! (going to court in a couple of months to fight that ticket!).

April 2007: ??

May 2007: New Jersey for the May 24! We went white water rafting and did a lot of driving... met some cool people and had an all in all great time!
May 27th marked the date of my confession of faith
May 31 was my 19th birthday... eeeek! that means this year I'll be 20!!! :P

June 2007: SUMMER STARTED!

July 2007: More summer stuff, I assume... July 1st at Port Burwell...always a fun time!

August 2007: Family vacation at Limberlost Point on Commanda Lake... we had a great time with family...remember Kristen?? the mice were happy to see us :o)
And of course, August always brings TAMARACK! Another great year, with great speakers too! (Bylsma, Anema, and Pipa). What a blessed week!

September 2007: September means Labour Day, which in turn means Port Burwell...again! Always a great time when you're hanging out with other Christian youth!

October 2007: October was Thanksgiving... which meant the hike at Rattlesnake Point...
That is the only thing I remember about October...

November 2007: This was the month of our long anticipated banquet... sooo much preparation and it was over just like that! Good times for sure!

December 2007: Well, December was a good month... Christmas and all of that stuff... carolling to the seniors in our church, youth group Christmas party, family Christmas parties, you know... all the fun stuff.... and then of course New Year's Eve... fun times at the churchwith our youth group.

All in all, another great year full of blessings and things to be thankful for! Can't wait to see what 2008 holds for us!

Still Blogging :o)

2007-06-26T19:45:00.000-04:00

Alrighty...people have been bugging me to blog again...so here it is. . . I don't really have anything particular to blog about. Life is good! The job is going well. . . not much to talk about there... Something to be thankful for is that SUMMER is here! I absolutely loovve summer! Everyone seems to be in a much better mood. . . and who wouldn't be??? There's something about summer that is just soooo relaxing and laid back . . . vacations, holidays, camp fires, singing. . . can't wait until Tamarack! I'm probably going on holidays with my family this summer too. . . we go up near North Bay. .. it's always an awesome time! We have a boat so we pretty much spend the whole week water skiing and stuff. . .sooo much fun!! The long weekend is coming up which means Port Burwell...always a good time! Anywho, not a very exciting post . . . but that's all for now. . .
ohhh yaaaa. . ..

GO CRIMSON TIDE. . .WOOOHHHOOOOO!

(you need some fans, eh?!)

time to post again...!

2007-04-25T17:20:00.000-04:00

It has been well over a month since I last posted anything on here...anyone still checking?? I think that Facebook pretty much took over our blogger world... anyway, I did get my car fixed...it's now good as new! yaaayy...you don't realize how much you depend on your car until you don't have it for 4 weeks...whheew, I'm definintely glad to have it back!! My job is going fairly well right now...I'm learning LOTS of new things! I just found out a while ago that the lady who I am training to be an assistant to, is moving to Papua New Guinea in August...AHHHH!! That means even MORE responsibility for me!! I am being trained on making the weekly schedules (which can be quite the job at times...!) and I will also be a night supervisor every Monday night...hmmm...not really sure what I think about that yet.. :o). I can't wait until I know it all and am confident enough to do everything without someone sitting besdie me!! Other than that, there's nothing too exciting going on in my life...SUMMER is almost here!! I'm pretty excited about that! I lloovvveee summer! Next month I'll probably be going to New Jersey for the long weekend for a conference there...we're going to be going white water rafting...woohoo...who wants to come?? That will be pretty sweet...! Anywho, I think that's about it...sorry no pics, when you have dial-up, you're kind of restricted when it comes to high-tech things like uploading pics... :P

Car Accident...

2007-03-22T09:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I got in a car accident... it was my fault. I'm ok and so is the other guy, something to be thankful for! I was turning left out of the wendy's parking lot on talbot st. in st. thomas at around 12:40. There was construction blocking the far right lane to the left... I looked and didn't see anything coming, so I pulled out...right into a minivan that was going about 55km/h. The front end of my car banged into the bumper of the minivan, then flung around and then my front end hit the back of the minivan... I hit my head on my window...luckily I did not go unconscious or anything... I just have a big bump on my head (accompanied by a headache, of course!)and a soar jaw. The other guy (a teenager driving his mom's minivan) was really good about it... right away he asked me if I was ok, and after that, he didn't really say much...another thing to be thankful for! As far as my car goes, the police officer told me it would be a write off...but my dad seems to think it's salvagable...even if i have to put 3 grand into it, it'll still be cheaper than buying a new car...Anyway, here are some pics...

Romans 12:9-21

2007-02-28T14:36:00.000-05:00

I came across the following text when I was reding my Bible last night and found it very helpful and an excellent reminder...

Behave Like a Christian

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”says the Lord.
20 Therefore “ If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Just an FYI...

2007-02-15T18:06:00.000-05:00

Hi guys... here is a link to the blog for those who are on the Colombia trip... keep praying for them!http://www.missiontripcolombia.blogspot.com/

Esmé Update...

2007-02-03T08:48:00.000-05:00

Just a little update on Esmé… she was moved back to the St. Thomas hospital, so that is a good sign in itself. However, she is still hooked up to an oxygen incubator and she is being tube fed… After undergoing the tests in London, they determined that she has a defective heart valve which they hope will heal itself within the next fourteen days. Without the incubator, she turns blue, which is why we are definitely thankful for such advanced technology! Please pray for Esmé and Dan& Mel as well, as they struggle with going home every night without their precious baby. Mia and Ksena are staying at our house for a few days, so hopefully that will help them some. This is a great reminder that God is so good. When little babies are born, a lot of the time we just take for granted that they are in good health, that they have ten fingers and ten toes. Dan & Mel have been blessed in the past with two healthy little girls, what a great blessing, eh? We can only pray that Esmé's condition will improve and that Dan & Mel can soon welcome her into their home and introduce her to her two big sisters! Here is a picture of little Esmé:

HEY EVERYONE--- I'M AN AUNT AGAIN!

2007-02-02T13:57:00.000-05:00

My sister, Mel just had her baby early this morning...another girl!! We haven't been allowed to see her yet because she has a heart murmur... the following was taken from Mel's blog:

Esme´ Margaret Elizabeth
Was born at 4:08am this morning
Weight: 7lbs.12oz.

Esmé has a heart murmur, so she is being admitted to London Hospital for further testing (since St. Thomas has limited equipment) Mel will not be admitted to London, but her and Dan will be able to visit Esmé in London.

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well” - Psalm 139: 13-14

Derek: A diehard leafs fan...or is he?!

2007-01-31T13:12:00.000-05:00

I found this pic hanging around... lol... check out the hat!

How City/Country Are You??

2007-01-27T11:36:00.000-05:00

HOW CITY ARE YOU?
[ ] I've been to Starbucks more than once in my life-
[ ] I link arms whenever I walk with someone
[] I shop at AE, A&F, or HCO
[x] I own 2 or more polo shirts
[] I will never be caught without my cellphone
[ ] I gel or blow dry my hair on a daily basis
TOTAL: 1

[ ] I wear flipflops no matter what the weather
[] I own an oversized pair of sunglasses
[ ] I own 1 or more pairs of ripped jeans
[x] I layer my shirts
[ ] I will do anything to get the best Myspace pic
[ ] I had a "Myspace mirror pic"
TOTAL: 1

[ ] When I'm not drinking starbucks I prefer water
[ ] I get annoyed with tom-boys
[ ] I own an oversized bag or purse
[ ] I have seen every episode of Laguna Beach
[ ] My new addiction is 8th & Ocean or the Hills
[ ] I say "lol" in every sentence of every online conversation
[ ] I own tight jeans
TOTAL: 0

[ ] I wear large necklaces
[ ] I own an iPod/mp3 player
[x] The internet = survival
[ x] One of the sports I play/played is football,Baseball,Basketball
[] I have more than 1 AIM screen name
TOTAL: 2

[ ] I have said "lol" or "OMG!" in a real conversation
[x ] I love shopping
[ ] I shop whenever I have a chance
[ ] I own a bathing suit that cost 100 dollars or more
[ ] I have watched the Simple Life
TOTAL: 1

City = 4 X 3

I'm 12% city
***add x's & Multiply By 3 & Put "I'm % City***------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOW COUNTRY ARE YOU?HAVE YOU...
[] ridden a horse
[ ] owned a horse
[ ] owned land
[X] been 4wheelin
[] said "ain't"
[ ] been cow-tipping
[ ] been deer hunting
[X] been swimming in a lake..
[X] caught a fish
[] seen a deer get skinned
Total: 3
You ...
[X] have worked on a ranch or on land
[X] have lived in a house in the middle of nowhere
[ ] have been duck hunting
[X] have went swimming in a river
[X] driven or have owned a truck
[] own/ed a rebel flag
[x ] like to fish
[ ] have a funny accent... or thats what people tell you
[ ] own/owned a pair of cowboy boots
[] own/owned a cowboy hat
[x ] own/have owned a big dog..
[X] sometimes say "y'all
[] have gotten made fun of for sayin "y'all"
Total: 7

You also...
[] cuss when you're mad
[ ] dipped/ chewed
[X] go to church on sunday (going to church makes you country??)
[ ] owned/own a hunting dog
[ ] have riddin a horse to somewhere in town
[X] have gone on a field trip to a farm/ranch
[x ] have eaten deer/elk meat
[] have shot a gun
[ ] own a gun
[X] park your vehicles in the yard
Total: 4

You...
[] have gone shopping...for a gun
[ ] get the kids in your family a toy gun for christmas
[ ] wear long sleeves even in the summer
[X] know what stirrups are
[ ] have fed the deer.
[ ] had dog named Bociefus.
Total: 1

Total it up and multiply by 3...
15x3

45% Country... (and PROUD of it!)

Summer . . .

2007-01-16T13:30:00.000-05:00

I'm at Mel's house right now, so I'm going to take advantage of the high speed internet! Here are some pics from August... We (Me, Lyd, Jen, Derek, Tim and Aaron) went Up North with my family this past summer to a camping ground near North Bay. With my family, it takes us like 6-7 hours to get there, but with Tim driving, it took us only 5 hours (mind you, that is straight driving...not even a bathroom break!!). We left at 5 a.m. and were there around 10 a.m. We spent 90% of our time there on the boat. . . it was a BLAST!
(btw, all of these pics are courtesy of Jen VDW, thanx jen!)

woohoo...go jen!

hey derek...skiing without a boat?? wow...you're talented!

me...

Tim knee boarding.

Lyd knee boarding!

and of course... washing our hair!!

I didn't get any pics of Aaron doing anything... thats b/c he pretty much drove the boat the entire time...but he definately enjoyed it!

No...we didn't color cordinate on purpose!

A Couple of Riddles...

2007-01-09T18:59:00.000-05:00

(1)
The person who made it doesn't want it...
The person who bought it doesn't need it...
The person who is using it, doesn't know they're using it...

(2)
What is more powerful than God;
More evil than the Devil;
The poor have it, but the rich don't;
If you eat it, you'll die.

New Years Eve/Day

2007-01-02T09:25:00.000-05:00

So New Years Eve was a BLAST! We ended up hanging around the church instead of going to Joel’s because there were so many people, and it worked out really well. I think there were around 40 people there…wow. The guys brought in a bunch of couches and stuff, so comfortable seating was not a problem… Before our party, we sang at the old age home…where several of the people there reminded us not to get drunk . . . lol. We had good food and played a bunch of really fun games, and before we knew it, it was midnight… woohoo. . . hugs all around. A few people slept over at my house that night… we actually were asleep before 4:00. . . so that was good! The next morning rolled along and with it came church… at 10:00! We were almost late for church, but they started a few minutes late, so we were ok! After church, we all went to scotty’s for lunch…well, as soon as lunch started, we realized that we had to leave already to set up the gym, so I skipped lunch… we got to the gym and set up, waiting for people to arrive… and boy, did they ever arrive! We had over 170 people at the gym and probably over 200 at the skating rink! At the gym, a bunch of people played volleyball and hockey… I think there was even some lacrosse going on… great fun. After the gym, we went out for supper… we were going to go to Boston Pizza… but it a little bit full, so we ran across the road to a ‘lesser-known’ restaurant and got served promptly… great service! After supper, we had an hour to kill, so we went to my house to play some pool and uno extreme… yeah! We then left for skating and I think its fair to say that everyone had an amazing time there… the ice got bad very quickly, but I guess that’s what you can expect with 200+ people skating on the ice. The caretaker of the ice was saying that we are the biggest crowd that comes out on the ice there every year… which is no surprise really! Anyway, now I am at work (yes, yes, I know…get back to work) and I have very sore muscles and am extremely tired and have that ‘I didn’t get enough sleep this week’ tummy ache… and I am very bored with nothing to do here, and 3 more hours to go until I can go home…for a couple of hours and then go to other work…yay. Anyway… I think it’s fair to end this post saying that it is amazing that we can attend youth group outings like this… meeting so many new people, strengthening relationships with old friends, making new friends… wow, we are blessed in many ways!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

stuff...

2006-12-28T11:35:00.000-05:00

Yes... don't worry people, I'm still posting... I've just been CRAZY busy lately... last week I worked 54 hours, I was pretty tired by the end of the week, but hey...big paycheck. Anyway, this week has been crazy too, but in a good way. Monday of course was Christmas Day. After church, we went to Joel's and played games and stuff... then we went to Wayside for Christmas Dinner... I must say, my mom definately makes a better turkey dinner (and its cheaper too!! It cost us $20 a person to eat there on Christmas Day...ouch.)! Then on Tuesday was the annual Boxing Day Conference in Cambridge... good times all around... found some great deals in the mall there too! Tuesday night we slept over at the Feijer's and then went shopping again on Wednesday... then we went home and I had to work until 9:00 last night... I have a day off today and then I have to work tomorrow from 4-9 then I have another day off on Saturday, so I'm getting spoiled! Oh yeah, I'm supposed to put a plug in for New Years Day... All are invited to join us on New Years Day for our annual gym/skating day. The Arthur Voaden gym will open from 1:00-4:00 and then skating is in Port Stanley from 7:00-10:00. All are also invited to join our youth group for our New Years Eve party at VanDyk's house... if you need directions or anything, leave a comment and I'll e-mail them to you. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and will have a blessed New Year!

Caroling/ Gift Exchange

2006-12-09T09:42:00.000-05:00

Last night, we had our traditional caroling/ gift exchange night with the young peoples. It was a lot of fun! While caroling to the seniors, I had to wonder how many of them actually enjoy the singing… I guess it all depends on who is in the group… (whether or not the group can actually sing!!). We had a pretty good group… and the best route…lol … we went from St. Thomas to Port Stanley, to Fingal, to Iona, to Wallacetown to Iona Station… and we figured out that we pretty much drove by everyone in our groups houses… wow… it’s not like we all live near each other either!! It was quite the hike, but we definitely had good times… I have a new appreciation for the song ‘we wish you a merry christmas’ lol… Scott has a cool version of the song and me and Lyd were having fun singing with it!! Wow… anyway, we made it back to Joel’s for the gift exchange by 9:10ish (after digging Scott out of a snow bank after a lovely fishtale in the church parking lot and after watching the guys push Esther out of the ditch…). We then had our gift exchange… woohoo… I got a sled, so of course, Lyd and i HAD to try it out! But we soon found out that Joel doesn’t have any hills in his yard… so we tried the ditch… that amused us for a while, but we decided that pushing eachother around the yard was a lot more fun!! Soon after, we made our way to hockey… (very wet, cold and shivering!) that was pretty uneventful for the most part… I guess that’s all for now… (don’t forget to enjoy the snowy parking lots!!)
later…

Random Pictures...

2006-12-08T09:09:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I'm using derek's laptop ... gunna upload some of his pics...

ok, so that's typical... this was the number one picture in his 'my pictures' file.

hmmm let's see what else he has for our viewing pleasure. . .

ok... here's a good one:

Before:

After:

It's a good thing Lyd doesn't check my blog too often... hehe...anyway, now we all know what Derek does for fun...

Ok, that took too long... time to log off... (woohoo, snow day today!!!)

woohoo!

2006-12-05T13:25:00.001-05:00

I've had 1000 hits on my blog! woohoo!

(wow...big post!)

Hockey

2006-12-01T13:43:00.000-05:00

Ok . . . here goes another attempt at uploading the pictures to my blog:

Wow . . . what a lovely shot . . . (this pic took 6 min. 23 seconds to load...)

and that's all folks . . . none of the other pictures want to show themselves. . . maybe some other day. . .

Not really a hockey picture is it? Well, if it helps, this pictures was taken in the penalty box at the arena...

Have a good weekend...

Laying Low...

2006-11-27T22:06:00.000-05:00

Alright, people are complaining that us St. Thomas people are 'sleeping' aka not blogging, posting comments, etc. . . you see, this is how it works. . . we hang out and stuff like crazy for about a month and a half, our families get all upset because we're hardly ever home 'and when you are, you're talking to your friends on MSN' , so we lay low for about a week and a half . . . it seems like we all get 'the lecture' at around the same time, eh? Anywho, we went to hockey on friday night and I took a bunch of pics. , so I tried to load them to my blog, and it froze my whole computer, so you'll just have to wait for a while . . . maybe I'll load them one by one... how's that for a post? Anywho, bedtime now... later days.

This Week...

2006-11-22T13:43:00.000-05:00

So my parents are gone this week...which gave me an excellent opportunity to book off work on thursday to babysit my little sisters...a day off...wow, what am I going to do with myself?? I think I'll do some scrapbooking...Jen finally gave me some pics from up north(august) I would upload them onto my blog, but it would take forever since we're on dial-up... those were definately good times, though! I MISS SUMMER!

Time for a Post . . .

2006-11-14T11:15:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in about a week, but that's because I haven't really had anything to post about... I worked another 50 hours last week, but I'm getting a break this week, so it's all good! I finally bought a CD player for my car but I still need speakers for it since the back speaker is blown...yupperz, lots of fun. I can't believe people are already preparing for Christmas! At work, we're playing Christmas music already, some people already have Christmas lights up... wow, people are getting ready for the most celebrated holiday in the world . . . and it's still a month and a half away! Lynnette & Karissa are coming over this weekend, which promises to be lots of fun...can't wait guys! anyway, I think that's it for now... have a great week guys!

Michael Coren

2006-11-08T13:26:00.000-05:00

Many of you know of the great speaker, Michael Coren who has his own talk show and speaks on the radio. . . I came across an interesting article that he wrote . . . he is talking about his reaction to the movie Passion of the Christ:

"As I watched the video again another reality embraced me, like the arms of a loving mother around an eager if sometimes foolish child. It was that Mary is not merely a background figure in a magnificent drama but is the divine conduit for salvation. In other words, she is sublime and perfect and with us forever. The mother of us all.Through her eyes I saw the life and death of Jesus once again, with all of the human as well as Godly suffering that it entails. I use the present tense, because although Christ died for us so long ago, He still lives. His sacrifice exists in the present and can be witnessed every day by us all. Yes, even by me.Mary weeps for her son. Her tears and His blood mingle to soak the world in hope and love. Within their grandeur all despair is smothered and all sin cleansed. Yes, I see it now. I see it so clearly. Perhaps one day I’ll meet Mel Gibson and be able to thank him for what he has done and tell him how his screen meditation helped to change me. Also apologise to him, for not understanding what he was saying. "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you. But only say the word and I shall be healed."

This is MICHAEL COREN talking! He never used to be Catholic, but the video apparently 'changed him'. . . I haven't seen the video myself, but I don't think I want to. . . like Pastor John said, if I watched the video, I would be afraid that every time I read about the crucification or heard a sermon on it, etc. I would picture the video and all of its physical elements. . . it is true that the physical suffering of Christ was only a very small portion of the suffering that Christ endured. His Spiritual suffering was much more intense! Can you imagine being seperated from God? Can you imagine crying out in agony 'My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?!' Christ suffered the agonies of hell just to save us. . . sinners. Wow, what a sobering thought!

Another Thanksgiving Day Pic . . .

2006-11-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

Lyd, Jen and Me

(Thanks for the Pic. Karissa!)

Weekend

2006-11-06T14:27:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was Sola Scriptura . . . excellent speakers, great topic . . . all around good conference! On Friday night, a bunch of us watched the guys play hockey till midnight, then we went to Tim Horton's (of course!)It was fun . . . Jen left for South Carolina on Saturday . . . I think she made it there safely . . . haven't heard otherwise! Hope you're having a great time, Jen! On Sunday afternoon, we went to Westerveld'd for lunch and we went to the cloff after lunch, it was pretty fun, eh guys? (just a little bit muddy) on Sunday night, coffee house was at VanDyk's . . . it was pretty fun . . . playing fouseball, eating good food, all around good times . . .

Good times . . .

2006-11-01T15:03:00.000-05:00

Last night after the Reformation Rally (which really was quite good!) A bunch of us had a really good time doing . . . stuff . . . lol, lets just say 'payback' for a certain couple of people who shrinkwrapped a few of our cars a while back. . . wish we got a picture guys!

All Hallows Evening (a.k.a. Halloween)

2006-10-30T13:11:00.000-05:00

I was just reading up on the history of Halloween . . . I've never been trick-or-treating myself, because my parents say that it is a 'celebration of the devil' (not that I'm disagreeing with them). There are a bunch of different stories about how halloween came to be . . . the celts would paint scary faces on pumpkins and gourds to scare away evil sirits on the night before All Saints Day. They would also dress up and wear scary costumes to scare away the evil spirits. . . there are many other stories as well... on halloween the faeries would disguise themselves as beggars and go door to door asking for treats. Those who gave them food were rewarded. Those who slammed the door tended to experience some unpleasantness. . . hmmm ... On Halloween, 1517, Martin Luther began trying to reform the Catholic Church. His reformation ended up as the Protestant Church, the followers of which didn't believe in saints. No saints meant no All Hallows' Day. No All Hallows' Day meant no Halloween. .. there are bunch of interesting takes on this 'holiday', you should check them out. So . . . tomorrow night, you all are going to church to celebrate the Reformation, right (not halloween!)?

Well . . .

2006-10-26T13:33:00.000-04:00

We're in the midst of re-doing our 'play room' . . . it's more of a rec. room . . . we painted the walls blue and green (woohoo!) and yesterday dad and Derek layed down the new floors (hard wood laminate). It's looking really good . . . ya'll should come over sometime soon and check it out . . . after we get our POOL TABLE that is . . . my dad found a really great deal on a pool table, so he bought it of course . . . we get it on Saturday . . . I'll have to brush up on my 'billiards' skills before any of you guys come over to play it with me!! Anyway, this week has been pretty crazy, but it's almost over . . . next weekend is Sola Scriptura, can't wait, it'll be good for sure! Take it easy . . .

Good Times in Copetown

2006-10-23T12:58:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, I went up to Copetown to visit Lynnette & Karissa for Karissa's 17th birthday. It was tons of fun. On Saturday we surprised Karissa by picking her up from work. She had no idea we were coming at all this weekend! Saturday night, we made our way over to Vineland for the night and then drove back to Copetown again. Sunday morning we went to St. George for church. . . at 8:45 in the morning! Wow . . . not used to having church that early! Anyway, we got fed REALLY well this weekend (Thanks Mrs. Feijer!) and right now I'm really tired . . . and hungry. It was an awesome weekend and I can't wait till we can do it again guys! (My house next!)

Today I . . .

2006-10-20T13:59:00.001-04:00

Went to work from 8:30 - 12:30, am at my sister's house now, will be workling from 4-9 then I'm going home!

Today I . . .

2006-10-20T13:59:00.000-04:00

Went to work from 8:30 - 12:30, am at my sister's house now, will be workling from 4-9 then I'm going home!

Today I . . .

2006-10-19T13:08:00.000-04:00

...am going to work at the O.E.Y.C. from 4-8. . . easy day!

'Awesome'

2006-10-19T09:59:00.000-04:00

This word is defined as:
awesome
A adjective
1 amazing, awe-inspiring, awesome, awful, awing

inspiring awe or admiration or wonder; "New York is an amazing city"; "the Grand Canyon is an awe-inspiring sight"; "the awesome complexity of the universe"; "this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath"- Melville;

Hmmm... I think that in our daily language, we overuse this word a lot! It is often used in the wrong context and I've noticed lately just how often we say something is 'awesome'. (ex. Slurpies are awesome!) Are they really? . . .

Today I . . .

2006-10-18T13:53:00.000-04:00

went to work from 8:30 - 12:30, am painting our play room, will be going to my 'other' work from 4-9, then will be headed to Bible Study . . . (we're studying the R.C. Sproul video series on 'The Holiness of God', excellent series!).

Thanksgiving Day Hike

2006-10-17T13:38:00.000-04:00

My Car

2006-10-12T17:36:00.000-04:00

A 1998 Honda Civic LX . . . been saving up for it for a long time and now I even know how to drive it! (It's a 5-speed)

Blogger Begins...

2006-10-12T17:05:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! Welcome to the blog of Kara . . . I decided that having a blog on blogspot was more ideal than having one through hotmail. So, how is everybody? Enjoy the snow that came down today . . . me neither! That means that summer is officially over...how were your summers? Mine was pretty amazing! I did sooo much!The summer started out with a new job, I loved my job sooo much . . . no night shifts, no weekends . . . wow. I’m still doing the same job but I’m just working in a different building, at the Ontario Early Years Centre. I love the job, but it’s only part time, so I’m also working part time at VanPelt’s in the printing/ copy department as well. I like that department, it’s pretty cool, very fast paced. Anyway, August was a crazy month... at the very beginning of August, I attended the FRC Youth Camp . .. It had a really great speaker . . . Dr. Beeke. He had some real eye opening speeches. A couple of weeks later, I I went Up North to Restoule where my family rents a cottage . . . me, Lyd, Jen, Tim, Aaron, and Derek all hung out and it was an amazing half of a week! We went water skiing, knee boarding, swimming, fishing, boating . . .wow, it was awesome! And of course, at the end of August we went to CAMP TAMARACK!! It was pretty awesome! The speakers were amazing!! I love camp for many reasons, but most of all because it seems as if the Holy Spirit is everywhere you go . . .I remember sitting outside one morning reading the Bible wrapped up in my blanket and just thinking, wow . .. I NEVER want to leave this place! I remember flipping through passage after passage of scripture and not wanting to stop . . . wow, it was so amazing... that is what Tamarack is known for . . .the working of the Spirit . . . and it almost seemed as if the devil was totally absent from camp ... what an amazing thing! That is also why I love not going back to school . . . I do not miss the worldly atmosphere at all! The Summer was a very refreshing time for me both spiritually and physically, hanging out with all of my friends, all the time was also an amazing experience... anyway, I better be signing off now, God bless...