~Many Congratulations!~

Congratulations to JT and Johnny on your baptisms! Thank you for sharing your declaration of faith with all of us!

Happy birthday to Alexis! I hope being 23 treats you well, and that God will lead you on exciting adventures in your life post-Waterloo.

My parents are coming VERY soon! Yay!! I'm really looking forward to seeing them...they have never been up to Waterloo just for fun, and I'm so glad that we will be spending Easter together. It's also a beautiful sunny day and a wonderful time to be in K-W. Praise be to God for helping Mom get over her flu! Now we can all enjoy our time together to the fullest extent =)

To the loyal readers of this blog, I wish you a reflective, thankful, and joyous Easter as we celebrate what Jesus did for each one of us so many years ago... God bless!

~Delerious~

What can I say...I am just utterly and simply, deleriously thankful and overflowing with joy. Why? My cup has been filled! For today, I have seen the Holy Spirit moving mountains in peoples' lives! What an awesome God we have, who cares about us so much that if we could even understand one millionth of the love he has for us, our heads would simply explode. I already feel like my head's going to explode...I am so...what can I say? Pumped? Burning with passion? Fullfilled yet hungry for more?

I could write and write about what the Alpha sleepover was like this weekend...about the great talks, the informative videos, the bonds that were made and the friendships that were deepened....about the hilarious comments and skits on modified Bible stories, making me laugh the hardest I have in a while....about the prayer and the peace in knowing that God was with us...Emmanuel...but right now, I think that I don't have words to express or summarize the joy I feel inside my heart right now.

Abba, Father in Heaven,
I have been a Christian all my life, yet you never cease to blow me away, and I know you never will. How exciting it is to be in the service of the King! Not only that, but to be called your daughter. Lord, I thank you for filling us up today, with the joy, peace, faith, and presence of your Holy Spirit, who works wonders and transforms lives into beautiful works of art. Oh Lord, if only the whole world could know the joy of spending life with you! If only the whole world could experience how real you are, and see the miracles and love that you shower your children with. Tonight, I thank you for every person in our Alpha group. Thank you for creating a place where talking about you is not taboo but is the most natural thing in the world...because our relationship with you is the most natural thing in the world. Thank you for the joy that you share with me when I have answered your call...Lord, don't let anything hinder the lines of communication between me and you. I always want to hear what you have to say...and make me willing to always do what you want me to do as well. For better is one day in your house than a thousand elsewhere, Emmanuel.

In Jesus name I pray,
Amen

~The End or the Beginning?~

The Monday I got back to Waterloo from reading week, my friend Lucie casually mentioned how our biology 331 term lab report was due the week of March 14th.....I had totally forgotten about it being due so soon! Needless to say, I flipped out. The only thought running through my head was, "I'm going to die! This is the end!"

You see, I was already mentally gearing up for two weeks of a life that would not be my own =P The first week, I had a midterm, a journal-style lab due and two assignments, one of which took me around 10 hours to do. The next week I had three midterms, some dealing with material I had no clue about, and this was closely followed by another journal-style lab...now add this term report on top of things? No way!

Another thing was my baptism. I knew that this was a step that MUST be taken now, because I had been putting it off much much too long. And yet, somehow I had to write down my Life Story, prepare Alpha notes, attend a baptism class....my head was spinning just thinking about it.

Now here it is: March 16th. This is the ill-fated day when my biology 331 lab is due, in less than 4 hours. And here I am, calmly eating breakfast and writing this blog entry. How is this possible, you may ask?

Truly, God came through for me in a big way, supporting me every step of the way these past two weeks. In a way, I am very grateful I had to go through this. Through it all (except for my initial freak-out), I never felt stressed about the humungous load I was carrying...because it wasn't ME who was carrying it, but God who kept re-filling me up on His Holy Spirit. He helped me overcome the tiredness that accompanied my sickness...and I got even more than I bargained for. Not only did I get through it, unscathed and unstressed, but it feels like God has helped me retrieve the focus that I thought I lost when I came to university.

There is so much to be grateful for! Besides this miracle in my life, I am thankful for the opportunity to get baptized at Community fellowship, with so many friends to encourage me, my cousin and his wife who came to our church for the first time, and watching God speak to other people who came to watch through the service! Indeed, we serve a living God...a God who heals! I don't know how many of you reading know about Mrs. Armstrong? Well I have some super-duper news for you! Keep up your praying because her bone marrow transplat was cancelled!! Why? Because she suddenly and unexplainably started responding positively to the chemotherapy. Praise God for surrounding this family with His love!

So, is this the end or a new beginning? I see today as a day FULL of new beginnings...of new-found focus, new found miracles, new adventures in sharing God's love. Maybe today be a day of new beginnings for you as well!

Alas...couldn't help myself =) Feel free to copy your own into your own blogs...

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Marianne
2. Mari-J
3. MJ

THREE SCREENNAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. JoyfulJangle
2. MJ_Rhapsody
3. mhepples

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. The joy in my life from knowing Jesus
2. I love to teach and am comfortable speaking in front of crowds
3. My ability to express myself by playing the piano

THREE THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Sometimes I don’t listen as much as I should
2. I find my own voice rather annoying!
3. How I need so much more sleep than other people

THREE THINGS YOU ARE PICKY ABOUT:
1. Floors…must be clean and void of hair
2. Dust…not good for my asthma
3. Dental hygiene (oh dear…I see a theme!)

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Canadian
2. Scottish/Irish/English
3. French

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. The beheadings in the Middle East
2. Climate change – it is scary how caught up people are with their own lifestyles, including myself.
3. My friends not getting a chance to know Jesus.

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. Sleep
2. Vector
3. My daily bread =)

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. PJ top
2. PJ bottoms
3. Glasses

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS/ARTISTS (why only 3?!?):
1. dc Talk
2. Switchfoot
3. Yoko Kanno

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS (I can't choose only 3... so I'll list my current faves – dido that, Vicki!):
1. "Redemption" - Switchfoot
2. "My Little Flower" – Yoko Kanno
3. "Filled with your Glory" - Starfield

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT YEAR:
1. Alligator fingers with Vicki!
2. Fasting for God and not related to 30-hour famine
3. Baptism! (not really “try”, but come out to CFC this Sunday at 10:15 am!)

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. God to be in the centre of it – very well said Vicki
2. To each be selfless
3. Very open communication and good conflict resolution

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE:
1. I really should be doing a lab right now…
2. I have been to Lord of the Dance
3. I ride my bike in the snow

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS THAT APPEAL TO YOU ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX:
1. Smile
2. Eyes
3. I don’t know…this is awkward!

THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN'T DO:
1. Chin-ups
2. Aim while throwing
3. Stop liking chocolate ^_^

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. music, music, music!! (piano and dancing)
2. Movies
3. Board games with friends

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO BE DOING REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Celebrating after having finished my mega-lab
2. Playing board games with my friends
3. Eating ice cream

THREE CAREERS YOU ARE CONSIDERING:
1. Being a high school bio/chem teacher
2. Teaching in international schools oversees
3. Motivative speaker??

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Asia! (Japan, China, and Hong Kong mostly)
2. Australia!
3. British Columbia

THREE KIDS NAMES:
1. Mila
2. Caleb
3. Elijah

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. See my close high school friends come to Christ
2. Get married and have a family
3. Accomplish the purpose that God has set out for me

THREE WAYS YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY:
1. I have shorter hair than most girls =P
2. I loved Ninja Turtles growing up
3. I drive manual transmission (it said “stereotypical!)

THREE WAYS YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A CHICK:
1. I cry very easily in movies
2. I love flannel PJ’s with stars and animals on them
3. I am utterly and hopelessly addicted to chocolate

THREE CELEBRITY CRUSHES:
1. Orlando Bloom
2. ………….Jet Li……. (don’t laugh at me!)
3. I had a crush on Aladdin growing up…does that count?

Also...

You are a sock. You are a cozy, fuzzy, warm-hearted person. A lot of your friends describe you as a hopeless romantic. You fall for the opposite sex very easily. But be careful, because usually you don't know what you are getting into, and because you are very sensitive, you can get hurt... especially in early relationships. Also, don't exclude the cold-hearted from your "want-list", because they just might be looking for a kind person to warm up their heart.... or a sock to warm up their feet. Most compatible with: Toilet Paper. Click here -- What Random Object Represents Your Inner Self?

~Baptism~

Hello one and all! This is a special invitation to any readers in Waterloo to attend my baptism! It will be THIS SUNDAY at Community Fellowship Church (www.communityfellowship.org) at the 10:15 am service. That is the second service =)

I hope that you will be able to come out and celebrate this day with me!

Just for interest... ^_^

You Are 26 Years Old

26 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?