House Husband Duties (minus the Husband part :P)

Okay, today was a pretty relaxing day in the sense that I had nothing important to do haha. However, remember how I said I had to contribute to the household now that I'm driving? Well, today was the full initiation for me as I had to do some grocery shopping at Wal-Mart and Sobeys. It was actually more stressful than I thought it would be as I had a list of things to buy and when I couldn't find the exact thing I wanted, I would call my bro and ask him if it was okay if I found a substitute. Haha...and then there's the price checking and the budgeting happening in my head. I didn't want to spend too much money as I had added to the list of things to buy and I didn't want my bro to think, "why do you always add things on? Do we need all this stuff?" Man, the pressure! It took me 1.5 hours to get the pressurious grocery stuff done but it was a relaxing type of pressure. I'd take that kind of pressure over the classroom any day haha.

When I got home, my bro asked me, "Why didn't you buy more stuff? I thought you'd buy some lunch stuff for yourself".....and then I had to explain that I didn't want to to add on too much as everyone seems to think I'm a spend-a-holic! :) Well, now I know, I can add on baby!!!

One of the things I bought today that was an add-on was a new lamp for the living room. It was only 12 bucks and it's pretty nice.

We shared one the white peaches Jenny gave me today and it was super deliscio!! :) Man, I wish we had more than 2 of these in our house....*sigh...why are fruits so good?

Speaking of food, tonight is steak night with zuchinni and mushrooms. It smells so good...I can't wait to eat dinner tonight!!! :)

Cleaning Fruit Racks

It's funny how since I've been driving I've been finding myself contributing more to the household. Yes that's right, I went out a few times this week just to buy some fruit for this household. I bought some apples and bananas. The funny thing is, my bro came home with bananas the same night so we have tons of those!! I also relectantly purchased pineapple because once that fruit is cut in this household, it's gone by the next day! We love our pineapple and I find it funny how it disappears faster than mango in our household. I also purchased some cherries and those are expensive!! However, it was worth it because they're freakin' sweet...tasting that is!!!

I found myself finally doing some cleaning yesterday too so praise be to God that I'm not as lazy as I could've been when it comes to getting down to business.

I also purchased some discounted DVD racks from Home Outfitters for myself and my eldest bro. It was important to go there because I already have one from there so my new racks had to match my old one. Well I guess Home Outfitters isn't going to be producing anymore? These racks were discounted and were tucked away in some corner so I take it they won't be stocking these racks iin the forseeable future.

Man Builder 101

Yesterday was the first day of our Men's Group Meeting and I think I ate too much food that day. :P Can we make a pack to NEVER bring chips ever again to those kind of events? Heck, anytime our church meets at a friend's house, can we just not bring chips?!?! I can't say "no;" I have a weakness to potatoes. :P

So it looks like we're going to go through "Wild at Heart" and it will be interesting becuase I've read this before...but I'm interested in seeing what my brothers will get out of this bad boy. I really loved this book and I know a few others in the group too...Steve really pushed for this one so I hope you get a lot of it! :)

On another note, I've lost the list of qualities I made a few years ago detailing what I'm looking for in a woman. I think I wanted to update the list anyways by adding a few things and taking a few things off so it's about time I made some changes. Just being at the Men's thing last night made me think about it a lot more...maybe she's out there...but better yet, maybe she's in my face but I just don't know what I'm looking for....hence the need for the list.....:)

For those who were asking, the girl on my wallpaper is a clone of Wolverine nammed X-23--she is not Wolverine's girlfriend or anything!!! :P She's probably like 14 years old...but she's just as deadly as the original Canucklehead. Isn't she wicked? Man, I love the claws in her feet!!! :)

And as for the picture, it's the cover art from Annihilation # 1: a cosmic crossover in the Marvel Universe. I wasn't going to pick this up but man, I bought issue one and I loved it! We haven't had a Marvel Cosmic Event in ages...who remembers the days of the Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War and Infinity Crusuade?!? Oh baby...I have missed the heroes in space....welcome back Silver Surfer!!! :)

Something Nice

One of my youth asked me how I was doing and that's so different because it's rare for a youth to ask me when it's usually me who asks them about their lives. I told my youth last night that I was in the process of figuring things out in my life and that lately, I've not been doing so super. I basically said I hoped I could spend some more time with God to get things together. The youth said this to me:

"oooo of course u can because you have Sundays and Fridays. Try to fit time at night before you go to sleep and alwayz think about Him whenever you're doing somthing because He's in you....okay, I don't know where those words came from!"

Haha, it was nice for the youth to say to me and it actually did really encourage me. I've been doing a lot better in general because right now I'm just relaxing and having a good time with friends from school and from church over the course of these past few days. And as for where those words came from, they came from God!! I know You were speaking to me Lord through this teen God and for that I thank You.

I think I need to pick up a book during the remaining time of my break. I'm thinking it's finally time to read "The Sacred Romance" that Gooi bought me oh so many years ago!

On another note, I have been looking at Digital Cameras and Electric Shavers for the past few days and have come up with nothing. I really want the electric shaver but have not been able to bring myself to buy it....I'm really debating...for what it does, I don't know if it's worth it. Besides, I do like the smell of shaving...I have no idea why....I think shaving cream smells good...makes me feel like the man I am!! Haha. The shaving cream and the use of a razor is just such a guy thing. The only reason I want the electric one is because of convinience.

As for the Digital Camera, I think I can wait 'til Christmas. I want one for that ocassion. I need to stop buying all these gadgets and toys for myself haha. At least it shows I just don't rush into purchases all the time....giving it lots of thought!! :)

Searching for It....

I feel like the weight of the world is crashing down on me
And somehow I just don't believe this how its suppose to be
All this expectation on the way I'm suppose to live
Becomes my minds distraction with nothing left to give

[Prechorus]
You said your burden is light & Your load is no more
You said your ways are right & in You I will soar

[Chorus]
I want to be free, Free to dance & free to sing
Free to live & learn & free oh, free to be me

I feel like my heart is being beat down into the ground,
In you I'm longing for some peace to be found

Lyrics above taken from "Free" by Shawn McDonald

My Decision:

"If I can't have what I want, I won't settle for anything less......" --Unknown

@ camp

Note to self: next year, bring own toilet paper. This one ply stuff is ripping me apart from the inside......

This is How it REALLY Is...

Okay so most people who've come up to me think I'm a woman hater now because of what I've been writing on my blog and because of the response I've been getting from my fellow friends but really, I'm not. If there are any lies going around about me now being a woman hater, you must rebuke those that are saying such things!!! :P

I'm not a hater; I'm just really frustrated okay? :P Not to say that I'm not ready to move on 'cuase I am. God has really been healing me in a lot of ways and He reminds me of why things happen for a reason. I just had conformation of why things are the way they are recently. I knew it wouldn't work out and I'm glad I got out of it before things got worse. Jesus, help me to trust in You for the best blessing. I'm ready for whatever you have in store for me so if it's in Your will, bring it on!!!

So I'm sitting at the church right now while the kids are watching "Finding Nemo" for probably the 20th time, but it's raining out and we can't go outside and play games. I just finished preparing stuff for YAC though....you know, like getting slides together for my set together and I'm doing a talk on Spiritual Warfare so hopefully I can prep the kiddies for camp by giving them info on demons and opression and such haha. Do you think they'll take it well or will they be peeing in their pants? :) Either way, this discussion will be interesting mwahaha.....:)

I'm Old Enough to Know Better

Is it just me or do a lot of girls like to play games? I swear there are so many mind bending activities that girls like to put us through and for what cause? For example, there's the blame shift game. A girl can do something wrong and then when you get upset about it, they make you feel like crap becuase you got upset with them in the first. The one who offends becomes the victim!!! :P

Don't get me started on trying to decide where to eat or what to do for an activity. When you ask a lot of girls what they want to do, you get a "oh I don't care...you decide!" When you make the push for something you really want to do or for a place you really want to eat you get a "oh, I don't feel like that today...why don't we go do this....." And sometimes, they won't make the follow up suggestion right away. The guy has to make 10 suggestions before a girl will tell us what she really wants to do. If you wanted to do that in the first place, why didn't you just say so in the first place?!?!? :P

There are many games assoicated with manipulating us dumb-headed boys. Don't get me started on "The chase" for a girl....are you interested or are you not?!?!

When I was younger, I had a lot of female friends and honestly, I didn't think that men and women were that different in terms of being friends with each other. Boy, was I ever retarded! Jon Chu and I have had talks about this....it really does seem like "men are from Mars and women are from Venus!!!" Will we ever fully understand each other?!?!?

I'm getting too tired of all of this. I am so burnt out from activities associated with relationships. Seriously God, this is my prayer....if you want me to marry someone in my lifetime, please give me the strength to do this because I am definitely running out of it on my own......

Drive Shaft

Well actually, not Charlie's band from "Lost" but I was forced to drive last night as I lost my precious gold necklace with jade cross on it after Tony's birthday/housewarming party. I called Tony and Jenny to see if the thing was anywhere near them, but there was no luck for me there. I decided to drive myself (despite it being (3-3:30ish am) to find the necklace. Thank you Jesus!!! I found it lying about where Jackson was parked--it must've fell out of my pocket when I got in his car. That necklace is worth $$$ so thank you Jesus that the necklace was found and thus I can avoid a lecture from the mother. :)

Speaking of driving, today I had lunch with Jon Wong and Alicia and I got to drive around town. First I picked up Allie and then we went for some Diner Deluxe action, then to Sunridge Mall and then finally to my place to watch Office Space. Now I can FINALLY say I've seen the movie and understand what people are talking about when mentioning things from the flick! :P Good times; good times!!! :)

So PTL, it turns out I'm not as bad as a driver as I thought as I haven't crashed yet. Keep me safe when on the roads I pray Lord. Amen. :)

Zoo Trips Make Me Tired and Weary! :P

So today was Zoo day at DVBS and it was aight. The kids Jon and I had in our group were a handful and they weren't really into the whole animal thing so I can really relate to them. The Zoo was never one of my favorite DVBS trips because of the fact that we have to walk so so much to see these animals and for what--to stare at it for 10 seconds and leave? Not much of a reward for such effort! :P

What I do like about the Zoo is the cool playground. In past years, we just spent an hour or so there and talked while the kids played and this year was no different! We even ran into Alice and Karina Kung there too! I'm still anticipating the day where I'll see a Panda and a Cheetah though...definitely two of my favorite animals!! :) Oh well, at least I saw the Zebra and the Lions! :)

On another note, I finally got my insurance for the Civic! :) I went driving today adn things went rather smoothly. I was quite nervous at first since it has been 6 or so years since I've last driven. In fact, today was the first time I've ever driven by myself! I still need to practice everything but it'll take a long time until I'm comfortable on the roads completely let alone the church parking lot! :P

I'm Just a Dead Man

Wow, I just opened up 11 figures from the new Marvel Legends set I ordered. I payed for these bad boys in April and just got them tonight. My hands are sore and it took me about an hour to carefully open stuff up! :) Finally a HAVOK figure!!!!! :)

Today was a day out with the guys as we played some Tennis and went out for Chinese food. I can't wait until our fellowship/bible study/cell group starts meeting up regularly on Wednesday; I already feel such blessings from these hang outs. :)

I'm tired today. This will be a busy week again as I have to get all the planning for Social done this long weekend. I can't wait 'til camp is over in a sense because it'll mean I can finally have a TRUE holiday break....but then again, I can't wait for camp to begin period as it will be very rewarding I'm sure. I want to meet God and I need to prepare my heart for it.

On another note, what's wrong with me? Okay, it didn't hit me at first but I've just gotten myself out of a 2 year relationship (but in fact my heart has been committed longer). At first, I wasn't in anguish but why does it feel like a part of my soul is missing now? I feel like I've lost a best friend. Is it crazy to be in love with someone still after all this? Can I ever let myself become vulnerable again to anyone or is this the untimely end of Kingston? :(

Answers

It's been very interesting to see how God's been answering things I've been praying about in the past week. Okay--I'll admit it--I'm one of the worst people to ask to pray for things. Usually when I hear a prayer request, I say a quick prayer for the person so that I've "done my task required" but I honestly do it half-heartedly (sorry!).

Well I've been praying all week for the jobless to get interviews and that's what He's been doing for my friends. I praise God becuase I really did pray for Andrew to get a decent job this week! I know it's not about me...it wasn't me that got him that job...but maybe I could've been a better supportive brother in doing what I could and praying is about all I could do.

I've been praying for Robert's dad all week too and praise God that things look pretty clear. It looks as if the chemo has been successful!!! God keep him healthy!

There have been discouragements about the no pastor issue at CPC and it was really sad for me to feel them but it worse to hear them from others. God is so good though because of the prospect of a potential pastor coming on board at CPC soon. I've been praying for that lately too.

There have been other things too but I won't get into details about it all. God is so ready to pour out His blessings on us and that is just so exciting!!! Hmmm..what else to pray for?! We definitely need new and younger leaders and new musicians!!! :P

On another note, today was the first day for a few new leaders in DVBS and I'm glad to have you all on board. I really pray that you guys will become better friends and that everyone will be plugged into the body with each other. I have a real big heart for this one youth who hasn't been plugged into many of our youth and it breaks my heart seeing that person living life like a lonely soldier. I pray that no one has to live life that way....because we're called to be a body and to find strength in each other. Man, I can't believe DVBS is almost over...You guys are great haha!!! Keep up the great work! :)

We also watched episode 2 of Angel Wars today and man it was SO GOOD! Daniel said that they can't watch it at South E. Free becuase it's too violent but really, this cartoon is WAY better than Veggie Tales....more violent..haha...well it's not that bad...it's just a cartoon. :P I mean come on...there was fighting in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and that's a Christian allegory!! I don't think we should limit ourselves by only watching Veggie Tales all the time at church.....:P

Yeet Hey Ah!!!

Mmmmm...oh baby, I love the taste of fresh pineapple!!! Too bad it's full of what asians call "hot air".....and no, that's not gas for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about! If it wasn't for this "hot air," I'd eat endless pineapple! :)

Today at DVBS, we went to Let's Play and let me tell you the place has gotten worse there! They used to be awesome but the ball lounging area is now gone and clossed off, the four square is gone and so are the basketball nets and this makes the whole place smaller. The staff was actually not as friendly as they could've been and the food was still a bit slow....but they've always been that way haven't they?!?! Still, things went by really fast today...especially with the game of "leader tag." Poor Sunny had a fever though...what a trooper.....:)

I had a great talk with Auntie Anita today about topics ranging from ministry and relationships and a lot of other things. I hope Grace makes the choice to become a YAC leader as her mom is very understanding and supportive of it. Looking back from when they were all kids, who'd a thought that some of these would be considering joining YAC leadership?!?! I just pray for them all to make the right choice for them...whatever that may be. I have a feeling at least 2 people might say no to the invitation...but if that's in God's will, that's still the right thing. I have a feeling at least 2 will say yes. The other two, I have no idea but I'm hoping for the "yes." :)

We picked up our new car today and boy do I love the smell of a new car. We have been very faithful to Hondas in this family so I figure when I buy a new car, it should be a Honda as well. I love it! I just hope I will be satisfied driving the old car of ours....heck, I hope I will get lots of opportunities to drive it!!!! :P


Well tommorrow is the Amazing Race so I hope to see you all there! It starts at 6:30pm. Be prpared to get some exercise!!! :) I was going to make it like the reality show but to simplify things, the game has been altered to one giant task full of riddles.....:P That's all for the clues I'll give....and remember your change (nickels, dimes, and quarters), or else you need to bring your fully charged cell phone....:)

Reality Sinks In

So it's been a confusing week. Honestly, the last week has been so frustrating for me and it's funny because Martin talked about how life can be like this at YAC last week. There is so much noise all around us. There's what God tells us, what we tell ourselves, the voices of the world and other noises we hear when we journey in life.

I wish information didn't circulate so easily. It's not that I'm a private person...haha...far from! I love telling everyone what's on my mind any given moment! However, sometimes the less people around me know about things, the easier it is for me to make a decision. There's just so many people pulling me in different directions. One thing I remember is that I only need to take information in account when it's from a CREDIBLE source. Also, though I take into account all that is spoken, I must remember that it is ME/I/KINGSTON that makes the final decision. It's my life; I'll have to deal with the consequences of my decisions. Still, I'm loving every moment of all of this I'm frustrated with. I'm really showing my true colours to myself. I think I'm a bigger coward than I thought. I think I don't honestly know what it is to be a true man....(though I'm learning!!!). Please be patient with me--I'm a work in progress!!! :)

Super Trooper feeling Grey.....METALLIC GREY!!!

Today was SUPER FUN at Riley Park but let me tell you, I was EXHAUSTED today. Everything about me is tired.....but then aren't we all just super tired? What makes me any different than anyone else? I want to ask for help but how can I ask for help from someone who's already drained as much as I am? :P

GOOD NEWS ALERT: As of the end of the week, we will have a brand new 2006 4 door Honda Civic (in metallic grey)!!!! My bro said I can start driving our old car probably Saturday....I'm scared but supe excited!!!!! :) Thank You JESUS!!!! :)

So since my blog is about Runaways I guess I should mention that I picked up the latest issue and they killed off a character from the cast and this was quite a good issue. I won't say who the character is since a lot of my closest CPC friends follow this series with me. All I can say is I was deeply moved!! I can't believe this series has been out for 3 years now...crazy!!! And I just picked it up last year too! :P I love Runaways!!!!!!

Neglect part 2

I know I just blogged on Friday, but I feel like I've been neglecting blogging for so long. I've just been busy.

The wedding was awesome on Saturday. Congrats to AC and Flora....I seriously had a blast (despite the hot weather!).

Sunday was Joshua's 1st birthday party and even though it rained hard and we were all hiding under a rain filled tarp with freezing water dripping down my arm and into my armpit, I'm glad we did it together as a family! Good times and good memories! :)

Today: I can tell I am getting a bit crankier these days. At least I'm not taking it out on the kids. Sorry if you all thing I'm just a bit of a pain to be with right now...please bare with me! :)

It was also Tim Ng's last day in Cowtown with us so I wish you a safe trip back to Dallas, TX. It was fun playing pool today. I wish bowling worked out though haha.....man, I'm itching for some 10 pin baby!!! :P

Continuing the Chain

Gracious God,

Have Your hand upon James and may he find comfort in you during this time on need. Father you are the God of restoration and so we pray you would restore James completely in the name of Jesus. You are the maker of all things and we know that everything that happens in this world must submit to You and so we pray God that You would heal and restore your faithful servant James Chan. God you are so Holy and worthy of all praise. Help James and His family duirng this time. Tony said maybe things just haven't been happening for awhile and that we're due for a miracle. Let there be a miracle Lord. Thank you.

In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Neglect

Sorry blog for neglecting you; it's been quite busy for me lately! :)

It's cool reading about everyone making efforts to become healthier. My prayer is that we can all have a healthier lifestyle. Diets and attempts to lose weight fail, but if we encorporate healthy decision making in everyday life, perhaps we can live as healthy people for the long run.

The summer is really bad for health for me because I actaully eat worse because at DVBS, lunch is provided and I am no longer as in control of what food I partake in. Also, the trips to the ice cream places have been increasing as of late so I actually get worse in the summer.

Looks like I'll have to wait until DVBS is over to become healthier. I hear of plans to buy another car for this family...maybe used. This will be for me to get to Marion Carson in the upcoming school year and I'm hoping to drive myself to the gym or something after school to get healthy. We'll see what happens though. God, I hope you can get this car for me.....:)

I Honestly Had No Idea

Today's trip to The Adventure Zone with the DVBS kids was super fun! I'm tired...but I just had to blog about it before hitting the sack. The highlight of the day was the conversations we oldies had with the youth about who they hang out with. I was quite shocked to find out that a lot of them hang out with each other without us even knowing. Some of the kiddies hang out before YAC (like Jiffany and Tanya) and hey check out this group that went to The Stampede together yesterday: Leon, Livy, Priscilla, Joey and Nathan Banh! Crazy!!! I'm glad you guys are hanging out and I pray for the friendships to grow stronger amongst you brothers and sisters. Now...if only Nathan Banh came back to YAC...man I have that guy on my heart.....

Had some Broken Plate food action with Crys, Geo, Karen and Tim Ng today and as usual, the food was AWESOME! Made a dent to the plastic today....but it was well worth it! Flaming Cheese, Mousaka, lamb, chicken, steak, rice, baby corn, carrots, bean sprouts and Tzaziki sauce baby!!! And of course, to top off the night, we had some Marble Slab....we even saw Brian Yan and wife--ee Michelle there too!! :) Mmmmm...two times in a week!!! I love having Marble Slab by my house!!! :)

Well that's it for tonight. I'm heading off! See ya'll at YAC!

PAYCE!!!

P.S. How ironic...I actually got the closing "payce" from Runaways and hence, my blog has become a Runaways themed blog...man, have I forgot to mention how much I love this title? One more week until we find out with one of our merry heroes bites the dust! Please don't let it be Nico or Molly! :)

Okay...now I can say it for real:

PAYCE!!!

Hooray for Change! :)

Welcome to the Runaways Street Team!!! I defnitely felt a need for change and after seeing Alicia's new layout, I finally had the inspiration I needed to do something about the longing I had! :)

I hope this doesn't feel like my new layout is forcing you to check out what the heck Runaways are...but then again, maybe I am trying to promote the book. :) It's the only graphic novel EVER recommended in the top 10 American Young Adult Library Services Association. Sweetness....I can't wait to be a teacher and promote this series to my students! :)

This is my favorite series right now....I love it more than X-Men!!! :) ...well, I love the cocept the best...the characters...maybe X-Men still rank #1 :)....However, this series is fresh, exciting and definitely one of the best kept secrets out there right now!

So spread the word...the Street Team is here to stay baby!! :) Be checkin' us out! :)

Return of the Mack!!

...well not exactly...but it was the return of William and Benny this week at DVBS. Haven't seen William since 2002 and Benny since 2000 or 2001!! Wow, is Benny tall now! And and as for William...he's still short as ever!!! :)

I was so excited at first that I was going to call Crystal on Monday morning but I didn't want to wake her up so I didn't end up doing that. However, Crys stopped by MOnday morning and I just pointed at the kids as she walked in and said, "You were right--it is them!!!" Haha...I had made a prediction that they would return because I received some registrations with Chinese names on them and I had no idea who they were. They were late registrants so I had to "pre-approve them" as our program is technically full right now. All I knew at the time was that one of the kid's names was Benny and that both had been here before...so hence the precition!! :)

Crystal brought her photo album today to show pictures to William of all of us when he was younger as he doesn't remember any of us! Man, what a bad memory that kid has. The only thing that could've made the whole event much cooler was if Philip came to church to see the kid....well guess what?!?! He stopped by today to pick Karen up!! You should've seen how happy Phil was to see this kid...haha....what a reunion! :)

Words from Plumb

I can’t do this
I can’t do this
I can’t do this by myself
I can’t do this
I can’t do this
Oh God I need Your help

P-Up-His-Nose

WANTED: Mandarin speaking Volunteers needed for DVBS. Only requirement is that you speak Mandarin! COME ONE; COME ALL!!!

Hmmm so DVBS stories to tell:

1) Some kid got a pea stuck up his nose. He or a friend inserted it up there. It started to bleed but he didn't tell anyone what was wrong for two hours. AD (Auntie Daisy) successfully fishes out for it. He was warned not to put anything up there again.

2) The same kid with the pea up his nose turned on his only friend at DVBS today. The friend is a cute kid and he ended up befriending "Ho-Ho" and they were going to play chess. Pea-up-his-nose kid knocks all the pieces over while they two friends play chess. He tells his now "ex-friend" that his mom doesn't want to pick up cute kid anymore and only pea-up-his-nose kid.

3) The kids were building machines out of K'nex and had to present their machine to the class at Spaceport. One of the groups builds a small snowplow device to which Jackie (this is one of the eldest kids who likes to make himself feel better by either bringing his ego up or deflating other people's egos), publically asks, "why is your device so small?" He probably asks this because his model is bigger. One of the group members of the snowplow device who happens to be 6 years old just simply says, "because it's not real" with a look on his face which gives the impression that he wants to add, "you stupid idiot! It's just a model..of course it's small!" This was right in front of everyone and all the leaders laughed because Jackie got burned. Haha...despite that, I still love Jackie. You know I have a sore spot for the meaner kids! :)

4) Mandarin kids prove that they're from mainland China. Some of them are the nicest kids but they have shown their true colors already in the span of a few days. During a craft, a few kids went and stole some glitter for a "non-glitter craft." We told them they had to ask....it's called politeness and manners people!!! Next day, during quiet time, we usually offer coloring sheets to kids while they wait but these kids decide to take one of every page and fold them up and take them home. NO OTHER KID HAS EVER DONE THAT IN THE YEARS OF DVBSes I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN. Haha...Still....the pages have scripture on it so let's hope that will plant seeds in them lol!

5) And then there's the Mandarin kid who doesn't speak at all. On his registration, his name is listed as "Yuexuang." However, he does have an English name and my class and I on the first day were trying to get him to tell us his name. He said it so softly, I asked him to repeat it over and over. The class kept thinking his name was "Kermi." Jon Chu and Eva and I thought it was "Hermi." We called him that and all the students called him that for the first 3 days. When we did a craft though, he wrote his name as "Heming." LOL..we've been calling him Hermi lol....how terrible is that?!?! :P


I simply have to ask, David/Calvin, are you sure you handle this? What have you gotten yourself into!??! WAHAHHAHA!!!! :) We only had 28 kids this week...we will have about 43 kids in week 5!! So these youth ain't seen nothing yet! :P DVBS is going to be a blast/tiring haha.....


In unrelated news....I'm so into this one song right now..it's a year or two old but it's really ministering to me so I think I will introduce it soon. I can see longevity in it. The tune is Tim Hughe's/ Newsboys' "When the tears Fall." I usually listen to the Newsboys version 'cause that's the CD I gots. :)

In other news, I know after the trip to Orlando, I said I didn't want kids. That was practically true even though I said it in a joking manner. I'm started to like them again but you know, I'm not ready to have kids. I'm not ready to get married. And yet, those are two things I want the most in my life haha. I think I'm obsessed with the idea of commitment...but I'll be caught off guard if ANY WOMAN can make me her slave!!! :P

"What it Feels Like When Doves Cry"

Man I love that song. I actually like a lot of Prince's music...despite him looking/being a freak lol. Gotta love "Diamonds and Pearls," "Purple Rain" and "Kiss" too!!

I have no idea why I blogged about the above--it was completely random. I was trying to come up with a title to my blog entry this week and that's what came to mind so I just blogged about the artist known as Prince! :P Maybe "What it feels like whn doves cry" comes from the fact that DVBS started today and unsurprisingly, I'm mad tired! Haha...good job everyone who volunteered today! You did a GREAT JOB!! Now let's see if you can keep up the hard work and excitment! :)

I was really worried about DVBS yesterday because I felt unprepared. I was really distracted during "Superman Returns." However, after coming home from the movie and Tony Romas, I managed to get my act together and do some planning before it all began today and surprisingly, that put me at ease and I was able to sleep without any problems. I know a lot of the youth couldn't sleep last night but I'll bet they'll be sleeping tonight! :P

Most of the kids are really well behaved this week. A few ESL kids to deal with too. Any suggestions on how to help quiet/shy ESL kids? All they do is stare and watch and that's not just at lesson times, it's during lunch and when they are hanging out with friends too. :P The least they could do is smile and nodd. :)

Oh one last thing, one of the most annoying kids is back again this year and there is the possibility that he will be here for 6 weeks. God give me patience and love....it's funny how the most annoying people can bring out the truly ugly side of us....:P I find myself seeing myself for who I actually am through these types of people....:P

The Future is Here

Don't we all wish we had a worship leader like Lincoln Brewster at our church? Dang, this guy can really play......:)

In other music news, it seems that Something Like Silas is renamming their band to Future of Forestry!??! Okay, this seems so weird to me not because of the name change, but because of the name they chose. Jon Wong asked me why bands are namming themselves with nature/environmental themes these days and I had no answer. Apparently, the band got it's name from a C.S. Lewis Poem. Hmmm....they still sound pretty good though despite the name change...in fact, I've previewed two of their tracks on their myspace site. Hmmm..I love this band so much because they have a Chinese Song Leader. His wife (who was half white/half Thai), left the band..so it'll be weird getting use to not hearing her vocals...but I'm still putting in my pitch for Future of Foresty!!! :)

Everyone Would Be Better Off if They Just Knew A......

Today was kind of interesting because Matt and I ended up having lunch with some old friends from Dief/S JAM at Fujiyama. Wow...it's been years since I've seen some of you hasn't it? It all started with me going to church last Sunday and seeing Jonny Eng with some chick who looked like Patti. I proceeded to say "hi" and called Patti's name but it turned out to be Patti's sister Anne haha...they look so much alike from a distance! :P That's when Anne tells me Patti's back in town from school this week...and the rest is history....:P

I thought Patti went to Edmonton but I guess I've been out of the loop because now she's in...San Jose?! Yeah...she's going to become a Chiropractor! That's good news for me because I believe there are too many crooked workers in certain professions that milk us for what we're worth. I believe that every one of us should know someone who is a good friend in the following professions (to avoid being milked of our money): Chiropractor, Dentist, Mechanic, Lawyer, Computer Guy, etc., etc.......That's all I can think of but I'm sure there are a lot more. Seriously, take the Mechanic for an example who might say, "Yeah, your fribillator is 5 inches too close to the engine and it will require me to order three extra parts to fix it only it'll take 4-6 weeks for the parts to come in. You have to fix this or you risk death!!! You could get it fixed and wait the required time for the parts to come in or you can order an entirely new fribillator but that will cost a significant extra amount! What would it be?" Come one, do I know if this guy is conning me or not? There's no way of proving so. Which is why we have to take our workers here at their word. Sound familiar?!?! Hmm...'Nuff Said!!! :)

Speaking of which, does anyone even know what the heck a fribillator actually is or do you think I made that word up?!?! :P

"True Love Waits"

Now I know most of you who have heard this song on Shine have complained that it was overplayed when it was released but really, maybe they should be playing this song on secular radio. I was on the bus today and it was scouging hot!!! Man I need a car.....

So anyways, on the bus, there was this teeny couple who came from the YMCA at Crowfoot and started to lie, grope, and french in each other's arms right in front of me. C'mon here people! What is going on here? Doesn't anyone have any self- respect anymore? Fine, if you're going out, you can do those things if you want but why do it on the bus and how old could these guys be? 14? 15?

Fine, a lot of couples I know (Christian and Non), believe that premarital sex is not a good thing. Many do what they want but feel they're fine as long as they don't have intercourse....because having intercourse is "crossing the line." Why is it then that most couples insist on getting as close to the line as possible but still try not to have sex? Really, is it really that different morally? Do you think it is morally any different to God if you've had intercourse or if you're already lying in bed naked together and "only" heavy petting?! Sheesh, talk about a false sense of reality.

Hmmm...yeah, I'm venting...sorry! I'm trying not to appear judgemental...because I'm not judging the people...I just hate how society has made everything "okay." However, I do have to take a stand here. Was reading some scripture last nite and of course seeing what I saw today just kind of made me think....

What did I read? Well I copied and pasted it below.... :)

1 Corinthians 5: 9-13 (The Message) : I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn't make yourselves at home among the sexually promiscuous. I didn't mean that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort. Or with crooks, whether blue or white-collar. Or with spiritual phonies, for that matter. You'd have to leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn't act as if everything is just fine when a friend who claims to be a Christian is promiscuous or crooked, is flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can't just go along with this, treating it as acceptable behavior. I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don't we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house.

Interesting....is this extreme or is this not God's standard? Makes me think of cleaning my act up myself....

A Boy Nammed Shirley

Have I introduced you all to Kingston's childhood best friend? His name is Furry Shirley. Legend has it that a certain boy nammed Kingston nammed him Furry Shirley all by himself but he distinctly remembers his brothers helping him name the bear. Why was this boy bear given the name Shirley? This is still unknown. I wish I could say that this bear has seen better days, but it really hasn't. It's always been just as old and run down for a teddy. It was given to Kingston by a customer at our restaurant in Moose Jaw. We used to be right beside the Fire Station so Fire Fighters would hang out with us all the time either at the restaurant or in the back courtyard. So anyways, one of them gave me Furry Shirley I believe. Despite its rough appearance, Furry Shirley and Kingston hit it off very easily. However, because of aging, Furry Shirley was only recently taken out of hibernation in the basement garbage bag full of stuffed animals for pictures. If any of you wish to meet Furry Shirley, you may book him for an appointment via Kingston's cell/email/blog/etc. However, if you choose to do so, you must be very fragile with Furry Shirley as he has a weak neck. Apparently a certain little boy strangled onto Furry Shirley's neck with extreme force due to the fear of the dark. Thanks for reading. :)

Still Searching for It...

Today we went to The Broken Plate for lunch and went shopping for Flora/AC's wedding. Hooray...at least we got them what they wanted haha. Hmm....I think this is the most I've ever prepped myself for someone's wedding in terms of purchasing the right gift in advance! Lucky them!! :P

I've been thinking about the possibility of joining a small group with Tony, Kenric, Milton, Geo and a few others starting in a few months or so. I really have been praying for some stronger friendships with my brothers at CPC lately. I've also been praying for people I can be accountable to in various areas of my life. I've had some accountability in the past, but they've all fallen through. Not that my partners were never trustworthy--because they definitely were VERY trustworthy--but the accountability just died down. No communicaiton = no accountability. It's just that simple!! :) It's time for brothers to stand strong. Let's stop being boys and let's be Men. Let's stand together guys!

I'm in a place right now of extreme discontent. Now don't get me wrong. Man, I love the way things are going with YAC and my relationship with brothers and sisters have been improving over the course of the last few months. I'm living with God on my mind daily and doing my best to honour Him but there's this feeling of discontent with my life. Is it just fear of the future? I have no idea. I'm really confused still about what I want in life. I can honestly see the possibility of me leaving my life in Calgary to persue other things but what Karl Feltmate said this Sunday was very interesting to me. God desires things for us but things aren't "going to work out in God's will no matter what we do." He took the stance against fatalism and said that even if God wants something, if we don't do it, it ain't going to happen even if God wants it to. Interesting. Maybe the part of me that believes in fatalism believes that if I won't want to live God's will, He will do it through someone else....but I don't want to miss out. I want to live God's will in my own life....I want to be as close to my Father as possible!

I have no idea what this life is about but there has to be something more doesn't there? I don't know...I'm just becoming really disatisfied with the mundane routine. Am I meant to just live this life of 9-5 work and struggling to pay off debts or is there more? Is there more? God is there more?

PUMP UP THE POWER!

So I went to go visit my kids on Wednesday at Hawkwood and it was really funny becuase Sarah also blogged about seeing her former students haha. I walked down to Hawkwood during noon and my former partner teacher let me open the doors for the kids to let them in after the lunchbreak. When I opened the doors, the kids didn't really notice at me at first but then a lot of their eyes lit up and yelled, "Mr. Wong!!!" Haha, and yes, some of them hugged me silly.....oh the joys of putting me in awkward situations haha...thanks kids! :) I wonder if I will visit them again before school is up. I called up one of my friends from the education program and she's been visiting her kids at Hawkwood weekly. Apparenlty some of my students have been asking her if I was coming in so good thing I did.....but do they deserve one more visit?!?! :) Hehe....

Today, I had a fun time painting and decorating with a lot of the youth and other young adults for DVBS. Thanks to everyone who came to help out today! It may not look something Sarah has ever done for DVBS, but this was honestly the most meaningful time of decorating I've ever been a part of because we got to do it together. You all have a piece in all of this and your fingerprints are definitely already all over DVBS! Thanks peeps! I'm looking forward to working with you all. 1 more week 'til DVBS! Hope you're all pumped!!!

So tommorrow I get to meet everyone at Marion Carson and honestly, although I'm nervous as heck, I'm doing very little to prepare for my time in meeting my principal and partner teacher. It's like if I'm nervous, you'd think I would do something to prepare myself to make me not be nervous?!?! Well, I don't know...what can I do? I'm just praying that I can appear to be genuine to the staff and that they'll warm up to me quickly. Oh God let this upcoming semester be an enjoyable one.....

What?! Tommorrow is YAC already?! Where does all the time go?! Dang, no more sitting at home and sitting at the computer/TV all day anymore haha. No more relaxing and playing/listening to music. It's been a real blessing to have this time to relax...but it's now GO TIME!!!! ALRITE!!!!!! HERE WE GO!!! I'M PUMPED; CAN'T YOU TELL? :p

Old Reliable....

Oh man, I had some dreams about church again. This dream had Leo, Geo, and a few others in it but it was mainly about a group of us reorganizing our church. Apparently the renovations happened already in dreamworld and we were just moving things and such. This was happening on a Friday and we were getting late for worship practice as it was 6:55pm and YAC was gonna start at 7:30pm. Now when we were getting ready to go into the sanctuary, the "doors" weren't opening up. It was like everyone had to wait in the foyer (just like we did at First Alliance), only I had to wait outside too even though I was the worship leader!! I was thinking I was going to be late for practice but for some reason, no one would let me in. The doors finally opened to the band playing and I was rushing to get into the sanctuary. Now some of you are aware I had a dream about a stage being an island in the middle of a room with ppl surrounding it but this stage was completely different in this dream. The stage was a big U shape in this dream and ppl could either sit in part of the U shape or gather in the middle with the stage surrounding them. The worship band only occupied maybe half the U ....but before the night started, I got to practice one United song with the team and all I remember about the team was it was a huge team. Leo was on guitar and support singing, Sarah was support singing and Jiffany was on the piano. That's all I remember. Also, this United song we were practicing wasn't even a United song...as in, it doesn't exist in real life! Haha...but in the dream, it definitely sounded like a United song and we were pulling it off! I was so disorganized in this dream. I couldn't even find my song sheets. I do remember Leo and Sarah continued to sing when I left to go find the song sheets and they were singing the bridge of this song in my dream. The words for the bridge I can actually remember and they were:

Let Your Glory Fall
Above all
In All the Earth

And it just kept repeating. When I woke up, I had the tune in my head, but now I can't remember it at all. Dang it memory, why have you failed me!?!?

Actually speaking of memory, I remember learning in Psych how easily memory fades and is lost forever. In fact, according to this theory, people who remember things from the past actually don't memorize them completely that accurately. Especially with the factor of time, more of the memory is lost and we tend to fill in the blanks with whatever we want; we fill in these blanks with distorted facts and thus make our "experiences" in our memory more in our favour. Even the person who constantly repeats the past events in their heads can distort the facts. That's why even eye-witness accounts in the courtrooms aren't completely reliable. In fact there have been cases where there have been eye witnesses and just for research, facts were distorted and the eye witnesses started to say, "Yeah...I remember things being that way...." even though the facts were distorted on purpose. So how easily the mind fools you hahaha. I don't know why this all came to mind but maybe it'll help all of us think twice about our "oh so reliable memory."

Well honestly, when I dream about CPC, I'm more and more excited about things for us!!! All Aboard the J Train!!! Woot Woot!!!!

Something Divine About Hockey?

Well it's been a long and fun ride, but I guess it ended in heartbreak for us Oilers fans. It's okay though, it just wasn't meant to be. I didn't think Cam Ward was going to win the Con Smyth but particularly in this series with the Oilers and with the first series against Montreal, I believe he was the difference maker without a doubt....so how fitting for it to be him to win. Congrats to a brother in Christ! :) Maybe God just wanted it all this way....I have been finding rest (though it's painful) in the lyrics of Mainstay's song "Take Away:"

It's all from Your hand
and there's nothing that's mine
and all that You give
You're free to take away

That song applies to my life more than in just hockey :).....what a powerful reality this song portrays.

For those of you who were trying to call me while the game was on...I just have to ask why? Haha....it's game 7 and there is no way anyone who is an Oilers or Carolina fan would would answer the phone at that point...you're crazy! :P

After the game, I basically went to bed and had about 12 hours of sleep...well I tried to. My cold is disappearing but my cough is gaining strength so I was up for a large portion of the night coughing my brains out. I hope I get significantly better within the next day because I called my former partner teaching and told her I was going to go visit the kids tommorrow. I think I'll still show up even if I'm coughing badly. I just need to bring lots of cough drops haha...:) Or do you think that's a mistake to go? 'Cause after all, I could be going there and giving the kids all my germs right? :)

On a final note, I love my dp of the X-Men but I really can't stand the way Bachelo draws Iceman...he looks like a moron!! :P The rest looks decent though...and who's that girl beside Cable?!?! Arg...I guess I have to wait 'til August/September to find out....:P

Orthodontics No More!!!

Hmmm...I've been changing my display picture a lot on my blog lately. This picture is pretty sweet though...it's the first cover of a mini series coming out soon which talks about some of the untold stories of the original X-Men: Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman and Angel. If the cover is any indicaiton of the artwork in this series, I may pick this up because it's gorgeous!

So I'm at Marion Carson for next year and am working with a grade 6 class. I find that ironic 'cuase I was praying for a grade 4 or 5 class....and yet I received my last choice. Oh well, I'll trust God knows what He's doing. At least he gave me a male partner teacher this year!!! :)

Question, since when has it become okay for everyone to be so overcritical of others? Man, I get it, we all have faults but do we all need to be pointing EVERYTHING wrong with each other? I know I'm guilty of this but who'd a thought that everyone else seems to be struggling with the same thing? :P

I'm rereading a book I own for the third time and it's funny because even after the third time, I receive so much from the book. Maybe I read it too fast the first few times around. I'm currently just reading one chapter at a time and just stopping after each one...maybe this is the best method of reading for me.....

Last week, I remembered that I had an orthodonist appointment set for today but I was distracted by a lot this week and I absolutely forgot about my appointment this week. I put the appointment on my calender in my cellphone and it gave me a 1 hour notice to remind me of my appointment. Dang, when I heard the sound, I put on clothes and ran out the door to make it in time for the bus and I was late too. Dang, I was contemplating whether I was going to leave the house today but then I saw the rain and the wind and thought I'd stay home haha. Oh well, that was my last appointment to see Dr. Yue as he was proud of his work on my teeth and we shook hands and wished each other well and went our seperate ways!! :)

One more thing: GO OILERS GO!!!!!! WE WANT THE CUP MORE THAN CAROLINA DOES!!!!

What's Happening!??

Hmmm what's the low down right now?

The Oilers won today (which I knew they would). Will they win Game 6? Man I hope so. I don't want to bother God with stuff like hockey games but I find myself praying unintentionally during these things. Isn't that how it works though? Even "nonreligious people" pray too.....when they're faced with problems...you will find that any normal person will just say something like "please let this work out, please...." Who are they pleading too? Themselves? No...to some sort of higher power...must be wired into us; must be human nature....:P

My sore throat is so annoying but I'm praying for it to go away. I'm eating Pei Pah Ko and Stepsils and drinking lots of water. I'm also gargelling salt water and it seems to hurt less.....so maybe I'm fighting things off well. God, please take it away so it doesn't bother me during worship leading this week.

Why has blogging died down? Not many are blogging or leaving comments.....have ya'll become that bored of blogging already? Or are you all just too busy to blog? Say it isn't so!!!!

I'm Back!!!

Hey gang,

I've so missed the blogging world. Can you believe I have been without the internet for just 5 days?!? That's crazy...I don't see how anyone can go cold turkey fromt the 'net and survive!!! :P

Speaking of cold, man, it's freezing here! My hands are cold as I type this. Don't get me wrong, I love it....I'd rather face extreme coldness than extreme heat. At least I can wrap myself with layers in the freezing temperatures where as in the hot temperatures, you can only take off so much! I wonder if we could take off our skin, would we feel cooler?! :)

One thing I missed the most about Calgary is the Chinese food. Dang, at Disney World...I was getting sick of this "white food." Haha...and not just "white food," but over-priced "white food." Although, we did go out for Pasta and Mexican once in Orlando....the Pasta was very plain and sucked crap but the Mexican food was the best I've ever had. And for those of you who were wondering, yes, I had Mole Sauce in my Mexican dish! Mole Sauce was covering my entire dish!!! :) My dish was drenched in Mole!!!! (That's pernounced "Mo-lay") :)

The rides at Disney World were okay. Soome were lame because they were just kiddie rides, but these ones were visually very nice....just no sense of scariness. There were a few roller coasters in pitch black and that was freaky!!! We were just anticipating drops but you can't even get ready for them because you just can't see anything! Not that there were drops, but the fear of not knowing if there were or when they'd occur was the scariest feeling ever! I think that's when you have the most fun. Maybe every ride should be pitch black in a building just to freak us all out!!!! :)

Is it Over?

Watching that Hockey Game was so Heart-Breaking last night. It wasn't just the fact that we had a 3-0 lead and lost the game, but the fact that Rollie The Goalie is now out of the season brings trouble for the Oilers. Stupid, stupid, stupid....like my bro said, it's okay if the 'Canes would've scored the winning goal on Conklin, but why did we have to lose the way he did!?!? What a terrible end to a great game. I was so upset....my mind just kept pondering....heck, I can tell you for a fact that I was dreaming about game 2 and The Oilers winning and watching the press conference afterwards where MacTavish and team get interviewed about how they overcame difficulties. Crazy. We can still win game two...but without Roloson, is the dream over?! I hope that the Oilers can overcome the odds once again......

Actaully, there was one other thing I dreamt about just this morning. Becuase my mind was so on the Oilers stuff, I woke up at 10am and emptied my heavy bladder and tried to go back to sleep--and I did! In fact I dreamt about going to this made up fast food joint and meeting up with Grace Hung. She was the same sweet girl that we all know in my dream except she opened up to me about personal things in her life. For example, she starting smoking in front of me and confessed to me that she had been seeing someone for quite some time at school. I wasn't mad about the dating, but I asked her, "Is he the one who got you hooked on the cigarettes?!!" And she insisted that it wasn't but in fact it was JON WONG who got her hooked!! I know this makes no sense to us in reality, but in dreamworld, I reflected back to a moment where I remembered Jon Wong telling Grace Hung in a conversation where she was in grade 6 or so that it's okay to try things out in order to know for a fact that we don't like those things or not. And so he let her try a cigarette and ever since then, Grace was addicted to the darn things. So messed up!! I woke up after this.....

Another dream I had this night was Steph Ng rebuking her old way of life and she returned to the church. In fact, she started hanging out with us but on the day she decided to come back to CPC, I was just hanging out with Leo, Geo and Linda. Leo and Linda decided to go home after lunch and Geo left without giving any explainations. So there I was with a returning Steph Ng...only, it wasn't much of a celebration and no one was around to hang out with us. I even tried calling Jackson and Jenny in my dream...I thought, "Is this what Steph came back to? I wouldn't be surprised if she just went back to her old life right now..."

So yeah, I had a lot of memorable dreams last night. What an active mind I have. These are subject to inturptratations.....I already have my own but you're welcomed to offer any insights! :)

That's it for now folks....I'll be off to DisneyWorld tonight with my VERY GOOD FRIEND for a week! Take care of Calgary for me and I'll see ya'll when I get back!!! :)

Reunited

It started with going to The Cheesecake Cafe with Tammie on Thursday, but it seems like I've been on a streak lately--whether intentional or not--in meeting up with old friends. I got to see Alicia on Friday and then today, I saw Alicia's friend Sheryl who I used to see a lot of in Machall awhile back. She was working at CIBC and that was the one place I didn't expect an English major to be!! :P I also saw Jon Skeith today at the Citywide Prayer Youth Rally and that was awesome because I haven't seen him since Cathie's wedding reception. The guy had just finished working as an intern at his church which was surprising to hear becuase he was the guy who had dreams to be a vet!!! It's so cool because as I was talking to him, I really got the sense that ministry was a better fit for him as a career and as we talked, Jon told me that he really thinks God is leading him towards something better now...something like ministry! God Bless his soul! That was really encouraging! Good for you buddy and I pray that God will continue to guide you and bless you in your career decisions.

I just tingle inside after hearing this from Jon because his stories really represent a part of me that wants to go into ministry as a career as well. I really wanted to be a teacher but now that I'm in this whole thing, I can honestly say that within the last 8 months, I've been dreaming of what life would be like being in ministry as a full time career. I wish I was really sure though....because I'm not. The pros and cons of ministry as a job have been weighed in my head over and over again for who knows how long. The fact is though, I'm scared. What am I scared of? Scared of telling my family that this could be a path I want to choose. Scared of what this would mean financially as I'm already a certain amount of money in debt due to student loans. Scared to admit to my loved ones that maybe I was wrong for being so set on being a teacher. Scared that this means my love life needs to be put on hold. Scared that maybe I'm crazy for having to have pondered such a decision for the past 8 months. Scared that if I make the choice to switch focuses on my career that maybe I'll realize maybe ministry isn't what I want latter down the road. Haha...I'm being crazy right now...it's late night isn't it? :P Really though, maybe I'm not crazy enough to drop everything right now and switch focuses but it's something to consider down the road. I mean, look at Uncle Gordon. He switched careers very recently so it is never too late to do so if I choose to do so. We'll see where God leads me! :) Keep speaking ot me Lord and may my ears be open to it......

So speaking of the rally...man it was freaking sweet!!! Thank you God for allowing me to go and experience something like that. I don't know what it was.....it wasn't the band. I mean they were musically really gifted and all, but it wasn't like that was the most inspiring part to me. It wasn't the fact that they could play United songs that are "too hard" for us to do at church. It wasn't the fact that we were at a gorgeous new gigantic church. There really was something so real about the prayers I heard today. There were prayers cried out of desperation and truly a longing for God to move in this city. That desperation is admirable. Jon Skeith was one of the guys who went to the front to pray for us corporately today and I heard the cries of his heart. I heard high school students acheing for just the movement of The Holy Spirit and I just couldn't believe how much they wanted God to move. It was so encouraging. I really prayed my heart and soul out today too. It was a taste of what my prayer life could be and things have been getting better with it over the past month or so, but it was a glimps of how awesome prayer can be! So things are good and they are just getting even better....God keep stirring me...keep stirring this city....may there be a massive movement of your power across Calgary....we need you more than ever.....thank You Lord....For Your Namesake Lord....Amen....

Cutting the Grasses

Hello Blogging World!

Wow, it was really hot outside today wasn't it?! Haha...I went to Cheesecake today with a friend for lunch and when we got back into the car a few hours later, it was boiling in the car! In fact, my friend drove with me holding the cheesecake that I bought to take home out the window because I feared it would melt in the car lol!

Well I blogged about how great it was that we got our lawn cut by paid workers a few days ago but after this morning, I'm not so sure. I couldn't sleep in today because the lawn cutters came and were mowing the lawn or something today at 9:45am or so and I had a hard time maintaining constant sleep. I could've sworn they were here on Monday too haha....but I don't know, maybe they were doing something else but they were doing something noisy around here and it was annoying! I guess after thinking about it, I think it was the same when I lived in Sandstone. Everyone around me loved their lawn there so they would be up early (they were all retired folks), just to mow it!! In fact they would only seem to mow the lawn on early Saturday mornings....so I guess with here, even though they ruined my sleep today, lawn mowing occurs not just on Saturday (aka "Sleep-In Day"). Okay that's enough talk about lawn mowing.....:P

Man, watching game 7 of the 'Canes v.s. the Sabres was intense. It's going to a great final this year but I know it'll be equally frustrating! I kind of hope the Oilers won't win the cup until I'm back from Disney World, but if they do, hey, at least my heart will not be as strained from watching this series.....haha....go OILERS!!!! I can't wait 'til Monday for game 1!!! :)

By the way, the cheesecake I ate today was Jamaican Banana Cheesecake. Does that matter if I tell you that? :P

"It's Showtime Folks!!!"--Sting, TNA Wrestling

After watching "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" a few weeks ago, I finally got down to watching "Snatch" yesterday...both were made by Guy Ritchie (Madonna's husband), and I honestly really liked both of these flicks. I think I like "Lock, Stock..." better though because I liked all the characters and the concept better. Jason Statham was featured in both of these movies and because Kenric asked me how Transporter and Transpoter 2 were, I decided to download these flicks and watched them today. Wow, I've just watched 4 movies featuring Jason Statham and man what I love about this guy is his accent. People with British or Australian accents are so cool...because we're not used to hearing these guys around us in a typical day in Canada, I swear I could listen to tapes of these British/Australia peeps talking. :P

So anyways, Transporter 2 was a lot better than the first so if you watch the first and are disappointed, don't let that stop you from watching the 2nd one. I guess the action sequences were just way better and not as cheesy as the first one. The story just flows a lot better and we get to see more nice cars in the second flick!!! :)

I haven't been doing much at home these last few days. This is the one week were I haven't done much because most of the DVBS work has been taken care of in terms of prep. Just got to decorate the sanctuary but that won't happen 'til I'm back from my trip to Disney World. Speaking of which, that's in less than a week!!! :P

During my time at home, I've had some time to do stuff....some things I enjoyed (like the movies), but some I regret. For example, I dug back into my junior high year books as I thought this would be a good idea to reminise on the past. However, for some reason, this activity didn't do very much for me. I actually ended up reminising on the bad things about junior high. I read some of the comments that people wrote to me in my yearbooks and now looking back, I just think "What the heck?!?!" Did they mean to insult me then? Maybe I was blind then but reading things now, I think to myself, "Is this how I was preceived?!?" I don't miss junior or senior high one bit. School was just so lame. I already had the prespective of the outside world and the future in my mind while all these people were just looking to do anything for a good time. That you Jesus for elementary schools!! :)

I really feel for the youth right now at CPC...there's just so much around their school to influence them and I really just pray for them that though I want them to have a good time, that their relationships with Jesus will define who they are. God keep them safe. Junior/Senior High schools just create such a false atmosphere as to how the world is. Priorities are definitey shifted. What this generation will go through will likely be more terrible then anything I had to endure so I'll definitely keep you guys in my prayers......

Wow, that was negative....haha....don't worry...it's all good. I guess I was just so different before coming to know Jesus through the relationship I have with Him now. Who I was back then, and who I am now is vastly different.....I guess opening up the doors to the past can be painful still, but God just has shown me that in my brokeness He took me in and truly made me a new person....Hence the verse in 2 Corinthians: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation--the old has gone, the new has come!" Thank God for the new me!!! :)

It's Tuesday Already?!?!

Well, it really feels like a Monday to me. Usually Monday, is the day I take to relax and recooperate from the loss of sleep due to the weekend. However, yesterday was the DVBS shopping day and I can't believe how early I woke up...I am not ready to be a teacher. I wish I chose an occupation that didn't require me to wake up so early in the morning! :P I usually am psyched for DVBS around this time as being lazy and having no work to give me a purpose in life sucks but I am really enjoying my months off this time around...I am not ready for DVBS to start.....:P

Speaking of which, I've been thinking about next year and I just need to get through the next semester becuase it's going to be stressful. I'm really praying for a great partner teacher/principal/school again. I was blessed this year but next year is a very important year isn't it? :)

I've been thinking about school also because I processed my student loan for the next year and this is going to be my last loan!! Hooray!! I can't believe the debt I will be in but hopefully I can pay it off in a few years. So yeah, I guess that's why my mind is in school mode.

This year will be another milestone year of my life....a lot of it has to do with because of the graduating and looking for a job thing....it's like I'm going to be introduced into manhood honestly! I guess after that, all that there's left to do is get married and have kids right? Haha...well no! Those steps can't be the end in our journey of life can they? A part of me is eager to get all those things done so I can rest easy in my comfort zone and be secure in the safe little world I will create for myself but the other side of me is looking forward to the prcoess of it all....whether it'd be fast or slow....God wants us to enjoy the process of getting the job we want...and getting the woman we want! :) Just gotta live it one day at a time and rest in God's goodness each and everyday right?

I have to honestly keep reminding myself to do that becuase I'm just such a mess. I'm usually the rational guy and act accordingly to that but I'm also the spontaneous guy...just look at the purchases I make...you think if I thought it through, I'd buy everything I own today? :)

PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE......

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rosedale are my Mommy and Papi!!!!

So watching X3 for the 2nd time was pretty fun with the church peeps this weekend. I know some of those I watched it with liked the second one better, and I can understand why that is. However, I'll have to say the third one takes the cake for me!!! The good thing about watching it for the second time was that at the end of the credits, there was an extra scence and I HAD to go watch it again to catch it! So if you haven't watched X3 but plan to, make sure you stay for the closing sequence!

We went to Montana's for eats after that and I had the Riblets (1 lbs.) and it only cost $7.99 for it when the menu said $12.99...I have no idea but SCORE!! Nice deal...maybe the mean waitress liked me....:) What was bad about the experience though was sleeping with "rib gases" in me. I wasn't farting or anything...(jeez you guys are sink for thinking that!). However, once in awhile, I'd let out this burp and it would taste aweful....have you ever had a gross tasting burp? Well, I went to bed and woke up for church the next day with the aweful taste of pig lard/bbq sauce in my mouth...it was a nasty after taste....jeez, remind me not to eat ribs before sleeping again...that was really disgusting guys! :P

Hey so it appears that Gavin Rosedale and Gwen Stefani had their baby on May 26th and that's crazy because that's the same day as my brother's brithday. What's crazier is the fact that they had a son and nammed him KINGSTON! YES, I'm famous!!! What a great choice in name by the way guys; that's freaking awesome!!! :)

Haha...my bro finished watching Lost season 1 in 2 days and a bit. He seemed quite satisfied in it all. He got hooked during season 2 so now that he's watched the prior episodes, he doesn't have to keep asking me questions about why things are the way they are...and now to get my other bro to finish the season (not that he's started haha...but he wants to)!!! :P

It was fun to watch Prison Break with you new watchers at Phil's haha. Oh the suspense! Go LINCOLN!!!!! That name rocks....I want to name one of my kids that so I can call him "LINK" for short haha....

Well that's it for now guys...gotta get dressed as Louise is coming to pick me up to do some DVBS shopping! Have a super day everybody! :)

Flooding in the Air!!!!

Yesterday was my bro's birthday so we watched X3 and it was a good experience. Ooops, i just realized that I read someone that we need to stay until the credits are done to catch something from the movie but I forgot about that.....hmmm..I'll have to get it the next time then hahaha. We were quick to leave the theatre.

We had to drive my bro home and then to downtown to get to church and this for me was really agonizing because we had to drive in rush hour traffic towards home first and then try to make it into the downtown area where there were a lot of traffic problems that day. I was getting cranky on the way to church and I kept thinking, "Dang, I can't wait to get there!" Only when I got to church, I saw how bad our church was leaking. What was beautiful about the experirence was seeing the church people care so much abou their home and try to get everything organized. I just couldn't believe it at first. That part was amazing now that I think about it. My initial thoughts were actually ones of shock though. Crystal noticed how shaken up I was and a part of it was because I was in the car for so long and all but a part of it was just seeing the church so vulnerable. I know it's not about me placing hopes in a building or anything...but man, I've come to think of this place as my home (no matter how creepy it is at night!). I can now imagine how shocked I'd be if my real home went through this. It just got me really shaken up. I just felt this vulnerability.....

YAC was pretty fun haha. Because of the flooding, KFC was cancelled so a lot of kids were told it was cancelled that night for YAC too haha. So really, because of YC and flooding, I think over half of our kids were gone. We had a good turn out though as Brenda, Jiffany, Zevida, Agnes, Florence, Enoch, Daniel Mok, Truman, Kendrick, Kenric, Crystal, Hannah, Geoffrey, and Andrew participated (Did I miss anyone?). Haha....it turned out to be a blast and my only regret is that more of our youth couldn't participate in this disgustingly fun event. I don't think most of them have seen this stuff so it was a real shocker for those who were there. One of the hightlights of the night: Truman eating sardines WAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Jenny, if you read this, can you send me the pictures you have of the night please? :) Or was it from Geo's camera? Geo, if it's from your cam, can you send it to me please? Haha...I just don't know who's it was.....:P

Hmmm...I wonder how those YC people are doing...God keep them safe and all the blessings upon them!

I'm a bit sad that I didn't go to YC but it's weird because I really think I needed to be here in Calgary. I had some good FELLOWSHIP time with some brothers and sisters...yes apparently we do talk about God and give each other encouragement! :P Sam, seriously, the talk we had at BPs was very nice in putting a certain thing into perspective in my eyes. I actually had a good opportunity to talk to a few of the youth about life, love and ministry so that was fun! I'm also very thankful for a talk with Crystal too I had at dinner time. It was nice talking about relationships. Haha, is this what we've been reduced too; are we just hoplessly addicted to love? LOL...I swear, it feels so good but yet it's all so foreign and so scary at the same time! Ahhh God is so good......praise You for the pouring that's been placed in my life and other people's lives around me lately....You're so GOOD!!!!

What a Relief!!

Desperation, Needing U
Every last breath
I scream for you
Shatter me into a million pieces...Make me new

Crush me, tear me, break me, mold me
Make me what U want me to be
I am ur's for U to use
Oh, Take and Replace me with U
---From the song "Replace Me" by Family Force 5

Look I know some of you hate reading spiritual posts, but honestly, the most exciting things in my life are from God right now. I've been listening to lots of new music from bands I've never even heard of in the Christian Rock scene, and man, there are A LOT of EMO bands out there! :P

Speaking of God, I found myself worrying about DVBS numbers and finding van drivers. Seriously, we talk about how great having vans are but they don't help if we don't have drivers!!! :) I found myself becoming very worrysome but God reminded me that if we just not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and petition submit our requsts to God, we should have peace that transcends all understanding and so I thought, "Why am I so worried?" Geez...relax! So I prayed about things last night minus the worry and hence, most of the stuff has been taken care of with the van drivers at least! So I guess I should just relax and let the registrations fill up right? :)

Wow, is it really two more weeks 'til Orlando time? Is it really just over a month away until DVBS hits high gear? Wowsa, where is all my time going?

I'm thankful that we've finally reached the end of season finales this week because my heart can finally take a break and I can now take some time away from the idiot box. Kenric's mom cooked us dinner for the big Wednesday finale and we got to watch Lost and American Idol. Taylor Hicks?!?! Can you say "worst idol ever?" Or is Fantasia worse? Tough choice......and Lost was really confusing but very, very suspensful....dang, I can't wait 'til season 3..I feel like things are exciting again...but you know, you just know that things won't be explained and when they are, they will just take forever doing it....how annoying, yet how excitingly suspseful....oh the irony...:P

It's Been a Nice Day Off....Or Has It?!?! :)

Wow, what an exciting ending to 24! It's been a slow season (if I compare it to the rest of the seasons I've seen of the show), but it was a good ending and I am definitely anticipating season 6. Too bad we'll probably have to wait until January 2007! :P

The hockey game was really intense today. I was satisfied with the victory of the Hartford Whalers---I mean, Caroina Hurricanes! :) Hmmmm...this will be a close series I think but hopefully it will be the 'Canes vs the Oilers for the cup baby!!!! :)

I finished "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" and now am reading "Boy Meets Girl." What I like about Josh Harris' writing is that he reminds us that though he believes his suggestions are accurate, they're not universal because we're all so different and come from different walks of life. A lot of what he says is true and I have no problems agreeing so I recommend this for anyone who has an open heart/mind in regards to wanting to learn more about healthy relationship forming. Anyone want to borrow the first book? :)

A verse I read today during devos today that spoke to me:

“Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2 (NLT)

God knows I hate it when I've done something or came up with an idea and someone else takes the credit so how much more would God hate it if I tried taking the credit for his glorious work? Yup, God help me to never try to brag about something as if it were me but may it always be about you Lord.....it sounds so cliche, but I honestly pray for a level-head because I know how easily it is for anyone to be deceived by their own hearts....

Seriously, I honestly thought that with the youth, I would have a lot of things I could reach them with because of the life experiences God has allowed to happen to me. I found myself talking to one of the youth about a situation that is happening in her life which happened to me. I thought that if I told her my experience and the lessons I've learnt form them, it would be enough to spark some common sense into her. Boy was I wrong! I wonder if what my experience had any significant impact on her at all. Did she just take it with a grain of salt? I always justified my experiences with the fact that I could tell my stories to others and that they would be impactful to the youth I worked with one day and now that I'm here, I'm questioning things. God, was I really as unreachable when I was that young too? Are those experiences really to be inspiring to others who may face the same as me? God, you sure you want me to be a youth leader? I know it's not about my words, but I just really pray that you'll have control over this person's situation and please don't let her make the same mistake as I did......if it's avoidable, please don't let her fall for the same trap....In Jesus Name.....

"Oh the Clever of Me!!!"

That is a quote I'm borowing from Stef Newbs but it certainly describes my actions yesterday....:P

I ended up going to 7-11 yesterday after dinner and I was wearing my Oilers jersey that too. Man, lots of people stare at me when I've been wearing that jersey. It wasn't just at sev, it was also during dinner too. Anyways, this one guy who was staring at me then says, "Hey go Oilers eh?!" And he raises his hand up wanting a high five. Now honestly, I really am not a high five person. I have friends who are and yes, that's great and all, but I really am not that type of person. Why? Because high fives are so open ended. When you proceed to give someone a high five, the beginning usually works out well but everyone has a different way of closing their high five. Honestly, it's too hard to anticipate what "kind of high five" a person wants to give...hence, the reason why I hate them. The person had his hand up in the air vertically so I made contact with him like a normal high five. End of story right? Actaully, he wanted to proceed to step two where as I was already in the process of ending so that was awkward......dang it, can't we just all decide on one form of greeting in this world? Awkward hand holding is not a position guys should place themselves in. :P

Now, that's not the end of my story. Some of you probably know that at my house, we don't usually eat anything unless we're in the kitchen or on the dinner table. We actaully avoid eating in our living room area haha as to prevent getting a mess anywhere but let's just say I had an incident with my slurpee last night....my blue slurpee.....thanks to everyone who helped me clean up...it doesn't look like the Shout spray has bleached my carpet! :P I didn't knock over all my slurpee...there was about 1/4 left before I picked it up. When we were cleaning, I put the cup on the kitchen counter and after mad panic, I realaxed with my hands on m hips only my elbow hit the slurpee cup on the counter and guess what...haha, yup, the rest of the slurpee came crashing down onto my kitchen floor. It was honestly one of the funniest things ever. I wasn't that embarassed....come on, we all need to have a good laugh at ourselves....but it's funny how things work. Sometimes I think the Lord teases---wait! I mean, tests us.....The Lord tests us....:P

Has anyone picked up Starfield? Have it on preorder but I read some reviews on it and it's mediocre..I'm thinking of picking up The Elms' new disc. I listened to it last week but have yet to buy it.....maybe I'll do a swap and not pick up Starfield and pick up The Elms....:P

FREE

By Shawn McDonald




I feel like the weight of the world is, Crashing down on me
& some how I just don't believe, This how it is suppose to be
All this expectation on, the way I'm suppose to live
Becomes my minds distraction, with nothing left to give

You said your burden is light & Your load is no more
You said your ways are right & in you I will soar

I want to be free, Free to dance & free to sing
Free to live & learn & free oh, free to be me

I feel like my Heart is being Beat, down into the ground,
In you I'm longing for some peace, to be found
I know the heaviness that's, making me cold
Is stealing my youthful soul & making me old

You said your burden is light & Your load is no more
You said your ways are right & in you I will soar

I want to be free, Free to dance & free to sing
Free to live & learn & free oh, free to be me


Shawn McDonald talked about in an interview how becoming a Christian Artist, there were different expectations of him. Don't you just feel the same pressures when you take on leadership roles on stage or in the spotlight? It's a feeling like you can't screw up anymore. This song totally speaks on that issue and it's my prayer for all of you (and me), who feel those very pressures to experience freedom from that....... may we be free to be who God has made us to be and to let go of the controlling expectations that we and the world entices us with.....

Talk to me while I'm on the can Okay?!?!

So things have been very relaxful at my Cousin's place here in Regina. Jarrett is always at school and Alexis is the cutest baby ever. I saw my 2nd Aunt and Uncle today but the time was cut short because I was in the middle of watching Prison Break and 24 lol and I had to fit a meal with them in between the transition from Prison Break to 24 lol. It's all good because we're going to a restaraunt for dinner tommorrow so no TV as a distraction. :P

When Jarrett came home from school today, it was funny because I was in the can and he was looking for me. He went downstairs, and I could hear he was looking for me and my bros told him I was in the washroom. Jarrett thought it was okay, he could wait for me in the hallway.....but then he came up and started talking to me about how he had a spelling test coming up and said, "You know what Kingston? I'm glad when you visit...I don't get to see you much." Haha...what a kid...love him to death. He's surprised me because he's really smart and a very eager to learn student....he's the type of kid any teacher would want. So there you go, it's not just Alexis I love....:P

I wanted to do lesson planning and/or read in the car or in Regina but that hasn't happened yet. I want to enjoy my time off...despite knowing the fact that I have self-imposed deadlines to meet! :) Haven't done either....haha....Currently, I'm reading "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" and it's good because it has reminded me of a lot of the reasons of why I've been doing the things I've been doing. Honestly, a part of me has wanted to follow my heart more than my head with this stuff...but I know, the book offers explanations of emotional barriers with great reasons as to why we need to keep implementing them. A lot of the stuff I'm reading, I already beleive in but it is very encouraging to know I'm not the only one who beleives in these certain standards the book talks about.....:P I plan on reading "Boy Meets Girl" afterwards. Good stuff to read if you think you're ready to date....you could be surprised....:P

I am glad I didn't play football then if the mosquitoes are out and attacking you all haha. I don't have any yet. So are we still going to play every Sunday if those bloodsuckers are out? I'd rather blade and escape from their grasp! :)

Travel Time

I'm really excited to be leaving tommorrow to go visit my cousin's family in Regina and as well as for my trip to Orlando next month. However, a part of me is still kind of "Meh" about it all because I am not looking forward to the travel time. It's going to be 7 hours in the car going to Regina and it's nice and all but you know....just nothing to do. Maybe my family should get a car with a TV in the back to keep little ol' me occupied hey? Haha. That's about the same time span my flight to Orlando will be too.

One bad thing about vacation time is that all we do is sit and eat. Man, no time to get excercise and everyone in this family is getting or is already fat so we really don't need anymore weight gain do we? Haha....looks like the parental genes are catching up with us.....NO!! Fight it!!!! DAHHHH!!!! Impossible to resist!!! :P

"Break the Spell of the Typical"--Mutemath

So it took awhile, but I'm caught up on blogs. :P Jackson's Wednesday post brought up some really good points. I think so much about what God wants me to do. Honestly, I feel like I have so much figured out. I want to be a teacher. I want to get married. I want to settle down and just enjoy life. Simple right? It's all figured out?

Is that what God wants though? I have no idea.....I mean, I have all these plans for my life, but if that's not what God wants, how can I honestly say I'd be happy with my life? Can anyone say they'd be willing to just settle for a mediocre life and be happy with it especially if it were outside of God's will? I don't want to be in that zone; it's scary to even think about...

The last chapter of Velvet Elvis talked about how we need to as Christians not just think about getting into heaven but rather we should be thinking about how to bring heaven on Earth as it is now. It really spoke to me. Am I doing anything to fight against the hell on this Earth that people are creating? What am I doing to fight against poverty? injustice? Am I doing anything to fight this or am I just living the typical life and trying to fend for my own personal happiness?

Sometimes I think God would be the most pleased with me if I just went to some third world country and became a missionary...:P...or even a full-time pastor. Haha!!!! Then, reality sits upon me. Those plans I've made....yup, they conflict with possibilities of ministry as a career. Oh and can't forget those student loans too....yup I'm tied down aren't I?

Man things couldn't be even more confusing! Wait, God, they could be couldn't they? Lord, I'll just be content with the current confusion and ask for you not to allow anymore in my life for now...thanks Lord....

Can I be honest here?

So today, I was hoping on doing some lesson planning for DVBS but I ended up not doing so because my bros had the day off (for whatever reason). We went for lunch at Deerfoot Mall for all you can eat dim sum and we were so full (and we only ate 2 plates of food!). I think it's the grease really.

After that, we went to the post office and I picked up a package for yours truly. What can be better than the feeling of opening a brand new set of packaged figures?! Yeah baby....it was seriously fun fun! I love my new Street Fighter figures!!! :)

I took a nap today too...but it was on the ground on my back...hasn't happened like that in a long time. Haha.....I was surprised when I woke up that I fell asleep like that. :P

So I'm really frustrated about round 2 of the playoffs right now. Well, Carolina at least is getting the job done but it don't look good for the Oilers, Avs or the Sens. I think the Sens have the best chance of turning things around but man oh man....this is a really frustrating series....:)

I've also been looking at booking airplane tickets for the past few days...as some of you are aware, I may be going to away next month. It's frustrating becuase there are so many things to take care of...hmmm...well hopefully it all works out...with booking hotels, activities and plane tickets. If not, at least I'll be able to visit my cousin soon. I leave this Sunday......Saskatchewan, here I come....:)

Are we really better off going to church???

Oh baby, I'm so tired. I don't know why. I can barely think straight. It's not that I haven't gotten enough sleep today; I slept well actually. Still, as I was reading Holepuncher's blog, I couldn't agree more...maybe I'm tired too because of the church cleaning on Saturday? My immune system was definitely weakened that day becuase of the dust and all. I was sneezing all night and even on Sunday too as I probably didn't get enough sleep becuase I had to go to church the next day too. My allergies have cleared up (thank you Jesus!) with some good rest, but I'm fatigued. Church is great for the spiritual growth right but is it to benifit us mentally, physically, psychologically? Oh baby, after this weekend...I'm beginning to think otherwise! :P

Yesterday, I went to the comicbook conevtion in Calgary and it was the biggest one I've ever been to. Hopefully, next year, things will work out better as the main artist I wanted to see (David Finch) didn't show up and the sketch I wanted from Takeshi Miyazawa. AHHH!! You jerk!! The highlight was definitely getting Omar Dogan to draw me a sketch of Cammy in her Shadowloo outfit...oooh baby! :P Grace bought me a couple of peices inked by Art Thibert and he signed those bad boys....what a day to waste $$ and hang out with the nerds! Thanks to all those who came with me; it was a sweeter experience because of it!

That's all I can type right now...man, my brain's fried...see ya'll later! PAYCE!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!!

Hey gang,

Man, I'm up early.....but hey, don't forget, Saturday is Free Comic Book Day!!! This is the 5th one they've had...but can you believe that I've never gone to this event!?! I must be Petarded. There are 28 different comics you can potentially grab all for free on this day! I want to grab Runaways/X-Men basically because although X-Men is my favorite team in the whole wide world, Runaways is definitely the best thing Marvel has right now; they're becoming one of my all time favorites. So this is the crossover of a lifetime baby!!!

"What's the big deal about comic books anyway?" you may ask.

Here's an answer from http://www.freecomicbookday.com:

Comic books are an original American art form, created in the early days of the twentieth century. They are fun to read, featuring a wide range of diverse storylines that capture the imagination of the readers, and have survived: the dominance of radio, the ubiquity of television, the spread of color and sound motion pictures, the rise of videogames, and the Internet. That's worth celebrating in our book, and as this site continues to grow and evolve, you'll see even more information about this wonderful medium.

So there you have it folks. For more answers to frequently asked questions about this event (such as which comics are be given away, which stores are participating, etc.), follow the link below!!!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY FAQ

So go have fun. In fact, go hit a comic book store and spread the love! Bring someone on a hot date to some of the coolest stores around in Calgary!!! :) Have fun!!! :)

ALL ABOARD!

Hooray, I've got the DVBS poster all finished and it's going on display soon. Once I have the brochures printed off, then we're really ready to go aren't we?!?! It took me 3 hours to do something so simple, but man, I'm glad it tuned out okay. I honestly don't have Sarah's art skills but I made up for it by getting lots of bright neon poster paper. So though Sarah's art skills weren't avaliable to draw people's attention to the poster, perhaps my neon sign will!!! :) It's all coming together thank you God...but man, so much to do still.....

To everyone who gave me some advice and questions about my previous post, thank you all...REALLY! Don't get me wrong guys, I'm not a mess about the whole "hiatus" with the love of my life...but it does get hard when what feels like the other half of your soul is somewhere else.....HOWEVER, man, it's been so great lately. I've told some of you already about this but I'm honestly just having a GREAT TIME WITH GOD. I just have been spending more intimate times with Him and finding those MOMENTS with Him...where I just sit there and enjoy His presence. Even if I say nothing...I get goose bumps all over and I sit there and am in complete AWE of His Majesty and Wonder. Those moments are so precious. I feel like I have fallen in love with God all over again and that never gets old does it? I know Christianity is not about the feelings and because of that I never complain much if things are going crappy spiritually...but man, I LOVE THIS FEELING!! Keep it coming Lord!!!

Pray For Me.....

If there's anything that's been on my mindset the most these last few years it's described in the lyrics below. I honestly only have been listening to this tune for the last few months, but it feels like it describes the journey I've been on what feels like forever. We're bound by time aren't we? Even if you find the one who can reach the deepest part of your soul--the one that makes you happy to be alive--isn't timing everything? Don't we have to follow the rules and restrictions bound to us to receive The Blessing? Timing is just one of those factors that make all the difference....

Pray for me
By Plumb

Here is where the road divides
Here is where we realize
The sculpting of the father’s great design

Thru’ time you’ve been a friend to me
But time is now the enemy
I wish we didn’t have to say goodbye
But I know the road he chose for me
Is not the road he chose for you
So as we chase the dreams we’re after

[Chorus]
Pray for me and I’ll pray for you
Pray that we will keep the common ground
Won’t you pray for me and I’ll pray for you
And one day love will bring us back around again

Painted on our tapestry
We see the way it has to be
Weaving thru’ the laughter and the tears
But love will be the tie that binds us
To the time we leave behind us
Memories will be our souvenirs
And I know that thru’ it all
The hardest part of love is letting go
But there’s a greater love that holds us

Here is where the road divides.....


All we can do is pray that it will work out. Just one more year..one more year....and maybe our roads will merge again, and we can finally walk on THE ONE AND ONLY PATH we want to take.....