Skydiving Link

Check it out! I'm thinking of a weekend in October.


Skydive SWOOP

Skydiving, Anyone?

I want to go Skydiving.
Does anyone want to join me?
Let me know!

Restoration

Today I needed to be reminded that God is a God of restoration. I needed to know that treasured relationships can be restored. I needed to be reminded that my Grandpa (who died a year ago today) has been fully restored through Christ and that Grandpa is praising the Lord for eternity. I needed to be reminded that He has restored my life and has been faithful. What joy I have in Him!


Psalm 71

1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.

2 Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness;
turn your ear to me and save me.

3 Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.

4 Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of evil and cruel men.

5 For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD,
my confidence since my youth.

6 From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother's womb.
I will ever praise you.

7 I have become like a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.

8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.

9 Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

10 For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.

11 They say, "God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him."

12 Be not far from me, O God;
come quickly, O my God, to help me.

13 May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.

14 But as for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.

15 My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
of your salvation all day long,
though I know not its measure.

16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD;
I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.

17 Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

18 Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come.

19 Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
you who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like you?

20 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.

21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.

22 I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.

23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I, whom you have redeemed.

24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion.

2007: A Year End Review

1) Where did you begin 2007?
At "699" in Guelph!

2) What was your status by Valentine's Day?
Single!

3) Were you in school anytime this year?
January - April; September - December

4) How did you earn your money?
Camis

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Yes - car accidents do that to you.

6) Did you have any encounters with the police?
Again, yes... car accidents do that.

7) Where did you go on holiday?
North Carolina, Parry Sound, Heather's Cottage & Ste Sault Marie

8) What did you purchase that was over $1000?
Tuition and my Macbook

9) Did you know anybody who got married?
Rachel & Matt!

10) Did you know anybody who passed away?
Yes, my Grandpa.

12) Did you move anywhere?
From "699" to my apartment.

14) What concerts/shows did you go to?
NORAH JONES with Heather!

15) Are you registered to vote?
I certainly am.

16) Who did you want to win Big Brother?
I didn't watch it!

17) Where do you live now?
A basement apartment on Robinson in Guelph.

18) Describe your birthday.
Trish and Lo picked me up and we went to church at Grandview. Then a bunch of people went to Mongolian Grill in Cambridge for lunch. Then we went back to Guelph and played at the park. Then we had a BBQ at 403. And last but not least, Heather and I watched Singing in the Rain.

19) What's one thing you thought you'd never do but did in 2007?
Facebook is not the place to discuss that. If you really care, you can ask me. But as for something fun, I got spontaneously got a piercing. :o)

20) What has been your favorite moment?
It happened during a late night chat.

21) What's something you learned about yourself?
I don't like to ask for help, but stepping out of my comfort zone keeps me humble and reminds me I can only rely on God.

22.) Any new additions to your family?
Craig proposed to Tara. Dave and Katie are a close and cute item.

23.) What was your best month?
I had an excellent summer... but December seems to stick out too.

24.) What music will you remember 2007 by?
-Norah Jones
-Hillsong
-Colbie Caillat
-Basically anything Heather or Alex played in the Rabbit.

25) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
Well, that's not really my thing.

26) Made new friends?
Yep! Julia, Em, Lauren

27) Best NEW friend?
lol, I LOVE ALL MY FRIENDS.

28) Favorite Night out?
One of my favourites because of how much time I spent laughing was at William's in Hamilton with Trish, Lauren & Heather in May. Another great night was Norah Jones in TO with Heather.

29) Something you look forward to before 2008?
My last night's sleep of 2007, ha ha.

30) Where will you start 2008?
At Amanda's with close to 20 of my closest friends!

Last University Lecture

Today I attended what is likely to be my last university lecture at the University of Guelph. I sat, listening to my favourite professor EVER, discuss the symbolic image of a tree; the tree's roots grow and the tree goes through seasons and changes. How fitting. Wow.

Insane!

Check this out:

http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf

Free Rice:

http://www.freerice.com/

Sites to Visit Daily

Here are six sites you should visit daily to:

Fight Hunger

Fight Breast Cancer

Support a Child's Health

Support Literacy

Protect Endangered Habitat

Give Animals TLC

Promises of Fall

On Friday as I walked out of the science complex, I was greeted by rainbows. God's reminder of His promises.



Today as I stepped off the bus on my way home, I smelt the season of Fall for the first time. How refreshing.

Convocation

I just applied to graduate! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!

MACBOOK!

I got a MacBook and I LOVE IT!!!

Snapshots

A wonderful beginning.

The fabulous five characters.




A masterpiece ending.

Tally

Yesterday at work I went through my binder to tally up exactly how many different scripts I have for when I'm making a reservation for someone. And the grand total is:

23

"Liz speaking...

... where would you like to reserve?"

As of tomorrow, I will be trained to receive calls for:

-Ontario Provincial Parks [76]
-Ontario Backcountry trips [9]
-Conservation Areas (for regions of: Thames, Grand River and Toronto) [13]
-Haliburton Highlands Water Trails
-Nova Scotia Provincial Parks [20]
-Nova Scotia Backcountry trips [1 park; hiking, kayaking and 2 roofed facilities]
-Washington State Parks [58ish]

I do not think Camis can train me on anything else for the summer. I started working on April 30th and I am only now officially completing training. Wow!

Now, for your reading enjoyment, I could go into all the different policies for all the different parks and types of accommodations (ie. campsite, backcountry, yurts, cabins, cottages, group facilities and marina slips), but that would take a lot of your time, considering I can count at least 15 different scriptings I use (and I know I'm forgetting a few). Fun, eh?

One thing I will mention is this. If you are planning on going camping and you do not know exactly what date, park and site you would like, check the websites first or call the information line (for camping in Ontario, it is 1-800-ONTARIO). Then call me and I promise I will be very friendly and polite!

One last thing. I do enjoy my job. I enjoy talking to different people and I enjoy my co-workers.

And to put a smile on the faces of my co-workers...

"Unfortunately Sandbanks is full for the entire summer. [...] Yes, completely booked!"

I've Decided...

I've made the decision. I'm going to purchase a Macbook.
Thanks to those who gave me good advice!

They're coming out with a new operating system in October, so I may wait. But I'm definitely excited about this! AND, I've picked up 4 extra shifts and a few hours on top of that this month to put towards it! Woot woot!

Poverty

I received an email today from the President of Campus Crusade for Christ Canada. What he shared in the email really gripped my heart. Here it is:

30% of the 260,000 men, women and children who survived the holocaust are now living in poverty.

Wow. That means approximately 78 000 holocaust survivors are living in poverty. These individuals lived through one of the most horrific ordeals of all time and as if that was not enough pain to go through, life is still difficult because many of them lack many things I have that I take for granted. I've been sitting here thinking about that for a few minutes and I really have no words to express how I feel about it.

Campus Crusade for Christ in Canada wants to offer support to people by providing for their physical needs. If you are interested in being a part of that, you can go to the giving website.

Here is what they are doing:

"Campus Crusade's partner agencies will send 28 containers of humanitarian aid to Israel in the next 12 months - 2 of these containers have just been shipped out and more are getting ready to go. The containers are filled with food, clothing, school supplies, medicines and essential medical supplies. The contents will be distributed by 30 Evangelical Jewish Christian Congregations throughout Israel to refugees and holocaust victims who are devastated by these desperate conditions of poverty."

I'm reminded to count my blessings.
I'm also reminded to pray.

Thinking

I have been reflecting on the sermon I heard yesterday. Andre spoke about the fear of God. Last summer during my own personal reflection time, I spent a little while learning about God's character. I hadn't ever really put much deep thought into it before last summer and I was glad to dive into it, especially learning about what it means to fear God. When I think of my own fears that I struggle with, there is a great amount of negativity that surrounds such ideas. But when I dove into fearing God, I learned that I need not be afraid that God will strike me down with a lightning bolt, nor should I be fearful He'll send His wrath out when I mess up. Rather, I learned that it is standing in awe, in reverence of Him and His amazing creations and loving Him with all that is within me. It is a deep respect; a desire to do my best to honour Him. I have people in my life that I have grown to love so deeply and I respect and admire them so much that I do not want to mess up to disappoint them. It is a fear not of my loved ones personally; it is a fear of displeasing them. And I think it is the same for God. I don't think He wants me to be afraid of Him, but I do think He desires me to love Him so much that I will use that passion and that love to avoid sinning to the best of my abilities. He knows that sinning is inevitable for me, but through Christ, He has extended grace to me to forgive me.

How often do I marvel at His creations? I remember standing out on a Lake Ontario boardwalk earlier this month with Heather and looking out at the water that beautiful day. How could I stand there and not believe? But what about the "little things"? How often do I stand in awe? Not nearly enough. No, not enough at all. I think deep down my heart is telling me I need to start acting and expressing my awe, my fear of God more.

Hmmm, yeah.

Below are some of my notes from last summer.

Seeking Out God’s Character

Deuteronomy 7:9

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.”

• God is faithful.
• God is always trustworthy.
• God is timeless.

Joel 2:13

“Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.”

• God is gracious.
• God is compassionate.
• God is loving.
• God is patient.
• God is powerful.

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

• God is loving.
• God is merciful.

1 John 4:8

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

• God is love.

Therefore, God is: faithful, trustworthy, timeless, gracious, compassionate, loving, patient, powerful, and merciful.

Deuteronomy 6:2

“…fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, so that you may enjoy long life.”

• We are to fear God so that we may enjoy life, which means, we are to respect Him and obey what He tells us to do.

Deuteronomy 6:13

“Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.”

• We are to serve God and only God.

Psalm 34:11

“Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”

• We have to learn the fear of the Lord. It is important to seek God out and learn of his character and learn how holy he is.

Romans 8:15

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

• The “fear of the Lord” does not mean to be scared of God. Rather, God gives us a freedom through being a child of His, through Jesus.

1 John 4:18

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.”

• God is love (1 John 4:8), so fear in the sense of being afraid is not of God.

Perhaps a definition of “fear the Lord” means that we are to be aware of the presence of God and His power in our lives, reminding us to obey and stand in awe of Him. We should also remember we are called to honour and respect Him and to try to possess His characteristics.

So why do we doubt God? Everyone must because even Peter, Jesus’ close friend and disciple doubted. Peter saw Jesus’ miracles and literally walked on water with Jesus, yet Peter still doubted (Matthew 14:29-31). So obviously we’ll doubt too. That does not give us an excuse to doubt, but rather should stand to remind us of our imperfections and reliance on God, and also encourage us to continue to trust so that we may not sink, but continue to believe in our Lord. Without catching a glimpse of what it is like to sink, we would not understand what it means to have faith. Do we become less of a person or Christian if we doubt God’s power? I believe we would only become less if we choose to continue to doubt God, rather than repent, which means “to make a change for the better as a result of remorse for one’s sins” (www.dictionary.com). Do we insult God if we lack faith in Him? It saddens His heart, yet He still forgives, and still chooses to show us why we should place our trust in Him.

Matthew 27:50-51

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.... “

“Jesus’ sacrifice not only covers our sin, but it also makes the way clear for us to come to God to ask for forgiveness! By the curtain of the temple tearing in two, it was the beginning of having a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ – no longer did people have to approach God through a priest. If God has done all this for us, why are people afraid to come to Him to receive forgiveness from their sins? A father does not arouse fear in the child who is obedient and doing right, but in the child who is doing wrong. If you want to be free from fear of the one in authority then repent, ask for His forgiveness, and He will receive you” (Written By: Jonathan Christopher jc@feargod.com Visit our web site at www.FearGod.com).

1 John 1:8-9

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. “

Laptops

So I've decided and received the blessing to buy a laptop.

The issue right now is this: Do I purchase a MacBook or a PC?

Any opinions with reasonable and logical explanations would be welcomed and appreciated! :o)

Irritated, But Blessed

Things that are irritating me tonight:

(1) I can lie in bed, absolutely exhausted, yet be wide-eyed.
(2) While lying in bed exhausted and wide-eyed, I cannot stop myself from thinking.
(3) If I do dream at night, the dreams are weird and horrible. I wish I could dream about "raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with string... these are a few of my favourite things..."
(4) Feeling awesome one minute, then tearing up, ready to bawl the next minute (especially at work when I have to sound happy on the phone).


Some good things about today:

(1) I made an appointment to have my first-ever professional massage next week. For those who know me really well, that is a rather huge deal for me!
(2) I picked up an extra shift tonight at work, which equals more money for me (and potentially closer to a new laptop).
(3) I received some positive feedback at work tonight from my employer and a customer. And my co-workers are super nice and super helpful!
(4) I was able to sleep-in this morning and enjoy my very comfortable bed.
(5) I received three voicemail messages while at work tonight. It was nice to hear my friends’ voices.
(6) A friend gave me the opportunity to see Hillsong United live for free. Unfortunately I have to work, but what a nice offer!


I always find it helpful to reflect on my blessings when things don’t seem very fun. Despite some challenges, I am thankful that God is faithful and continues to provide wonderful blessings to me. :o)

Now… I’ll try this bed thing again… good night!

Our Happy Day!

I have been wanting to post about the Happy Day I shared with Heather on Friday, May 11th, but I have been busy with training and life. Heather totally beat me to it on her blog, so here is the link because she did such a great job outlining Our 'Norah Jones' Day!


And please note that anything Heather said about me, I reciprocate back about her.

Thank YOU, Heather, for a wonderful day! Happy Birthday!

Week 1 of Training

The first week of my summer job training is complete. To bring everyone up to speed, I am working in Guelph this summer at Camis Inc. My position is a Call Centre Agent and I will be booking campsite reservations for parks across Ontario, Nova Scotia and Washington State. Perhaps that sounds pretty easy, but the training is pretty intense and very extensive. I felt like I was back in school this week, memorizing 76 Ontario Provincial Park names and locations and writing tests at least once a day! Crazy!

Today we learned about Washington State Parks. Unfortunately, I do not think I absorbed much because my brain was already operating at its maximum capacity. I sat at the back and Emily started drawing fun pictures...

This is a family who enjoys camping in Washington State.

Random information about Washington State:
Park names include Cape Disappointment and Deception Pass
(I thought that was funny).


This is a couple from Idaho and they want to go camping.
(Camis also books sites for Idaho)

I think I am going to enjoy my new job and the people I work with. I had a blast with my training group this week. Emily, thanks for keeping me entertained today when I could no longer process anything!

I'm off to bed... finally... good night!