Monday, October 30, 2006

Good Quote


"Well, I like have a photographic memory, but I just can't remember what's in the picture." -Jeff Poe

Saturday, October 21, 2006

As Promised

The Loop

River Shot

It was gettin' warm

On top of a waterfall

Lookin down

In the shadows

Pretty Tree



"Little Jerk"

Friday, October 13, 2006

A Little Too Ironic

Our "local" news comes out of Buffalo, NY. As you may or may not already know, they got a bunch of snow last night and it was pretty bad with downed limbs, powerlines, etc. Well, this is all the news has been reporting. During the news today, one anchor was saying not to use water unless it's an absolute emergency (I did not catch his reasoning for this). As he was saying this the lady anchor with him was taking a drink of her water. I'm wondering if that was an emergency. O the irony. Have a great day everyone. much love

Thursday, October 12, 2006

See The Morning


This is Chris Tomlin's newest CD. Now that you know, go out and buy it. You won't be sorry.

Awkward Fundy Analogy

Monday was a great day for a hike. We went to Fundy and hiked a trail we wanted to do last spring, but it was still closed then. It's a good thing it was closed becausee I can't imagine doing that hike in snow. Anywho, it was a 7.something kilometer hike (roughly 3.5 miles). The first 2k were down hill, followed by 2.5k of climbing over rocks and a path along the river, and finishing with 2.5k uphill. That was killer. Not to mention we were going at a fairly quick pace because we were afraid we were going to run out of daylight, and we almost did. We didn't get there until about 3:30 and the info sign said it was a 3-4.5 hour hike, so we booked it and got done in 2.5 hours. We had less than 30 min of daylight to spare. It was a beautiful day and we got some good pictures which will be posted on here sometime this weekend.

Now, for the funny story of the day. We were at the end of our hike and I was dragging. Jeff was leading the way and I was oblivious to all that was going on around me. All of a sudden he turned around and was like "Sh sh sh..turn around turn around." Of course, I could not just turn around without first looking at why I was turning around. There was a woman scampering into the brush, getting dressed and a man scurrying up the path, also getting dresses. They were having sex on the public trail! And we caught them! I don't know what this guy was thinking but he just kept going up the trail a few yards ahead of us like nothing happened, as he left the lady back in the woods. What a jerk. Luckily, I did not see anything, but Jeff did get a full moon from the lady. Lucky guy. Anywho, that's our funny story.

Of course, you can't spend a day enjoying God's creation without coming up with some sort of spiritual analogy. The trail we were hiking was anything but smooth. There were roots, rocks, boulders, streams, rivers, and puddles all to avoid. This made it difficult to check out all the scenery because we were having to watch our every step. We could only get glimpses of what was ahead. If we focused too much on what was way ahead of us, we were sure to trip and fall or at least stub our toe. Get where I'm going with this? It is not bad for us to look ahead in our lives to what the future will bring. But, it is important that we do not get so caught up in what is going to happen, that the problems of today trip us up. I've caught myself doing this lately. I am looking forward to being in ministry. God has given me this passion and I can't wait to do this with my life. I look forward to that so much that sometimes I forget what I can be doing now. God not only has great things for me when I'm out of school, but He has great things for me now. I need to be pursuing these moments just as passionately as I'm pursuing being in ministry full time.

And that was our Fundy experience. Have a great day everyone. much love becky

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

House


Get this video and more at MySpace.com

I was actually looking for some funny clips from House, but I came across more videos like this. It got me thinkin. Now, anyone who watches House knows the majority of the show is just hilarious. 'House-isms' are way more frequent than all the sad, depressing stuff. Because the majority of the show is so funny, it becomes easy to overlook some of the more sad stuff. I don't want to pick apart House...I love the show. I'm simply using this video as an analogy. Many times people's lives seem great. We tend to see a person's jokes and smiles and ignore their struggles. We like to see only what we want to see, when so often there is so much more going on. This is not to say everyone has some deep, depressing secret, but don't overlook a person's struggles. There's very possibly way more to the person. Just a thought. much love

Saturday, October 07, 2006

More Than a List of 'Don'ts'

Too often people look at being a Christian as a list of 'don'ts.' This, to me, is one of the biggest misconceptions of Christianity. It's not only non-Christians who take this view, but many Believers do as well. It can be so easy to look at our lives and think "I'm not struggling with anything...I don't gossip, I don't lie, I don't drink, I don't commit adultery, I don't swear, I don't get angry, I don't yadda yadda yadda....I have a great relationship with God." While refraining from all these things is great and something the Bible calls us away from, I do not believe that simply living by a list of 'don't' brings upon a great relationship with God. Now, you might be saying, "well duh," but, if you really think about it, how often do you see Christians living their lives this way? There's a whole lot of stuff they don't do, but what are they really doing for God? What evidence is in their lives of a relationship with Christ? Even more than the outward expression of a strong walk, what are they doing in their personal lives to grow in their relationship with Him? What's really going on inside their heart? A person knows when their doing for Christ, and when they are just following a list of 'dont's.'

Why do I bring this up? Great question. I bring this up because I have come to the realization that this does a pretty good job of describing me. I've heard a lot of sermons lately which are a call from sin, into a deeper walk with God. As much as I desire a deeper walk with Him, I don't believe it is because of something I am doing which is keeping me from this, but rather what I am not doing. Suru, I'm going to Bible college over 3,000 miles from home, in another country to become a youth pastor and possibly serve overseas. Yes, I'm serving as the Spiritual Life Association President on campus. I've seem to got the outward expression down. But my personal life is bla. It's been bla. How do I make it not bla? How does anyone make it not bla? You've got me. I like to think this is just something we go through. Just another phase in this journey. But at what point does a 'phase' become a lifestyle; a lifestyle that is hard to shake?

Maybe you're reading this thinking 'wow, she's messed up." Maybe you're reading this thinking "I've been there." Or maybe you're reading this and you're tihnking "That's where I'm at." I'm writing this for those of you with any one of these thoughts. My biggest struggle has always been a lack of transparency. I've always tried to be the strong one; the one who has it all figured out. But I don't think I'll have anything figured out until I admit that I have nothing figured out. So this is me, laying it out there. This is me being honest with myself and with you.

God is good. I'm so thaknful for His faithfulness. He never let's us go. He never gives up on us. That is powerful. An illustration of this which has been coming to mind time and time again recently is one Erik shared with us in youth group a few years back. Just like a spit ball sticks to a wall (or ceiling) like glue, so God sticks to us. He doesn't let go. I keep picturing those giant spit balls on the walls and ceiling of the youth room. It's a good reminder of His faithfulness. What an awesome God we serve. much love becky

Friday, October 06, 2006

I Should Blog About That

I use this phrase many times throughout the week, yet, as one can see from the lack of newness on our blog, that I rarely do what I say I should do. So, for your reading pleasure, here are some of the stories/events/etc which I have said I should blog about recently. Enjoy.

The Synagogue Experience
Yesterday we went on a field trip to a Synagogus in Moncton for our World Religions class. It was a very interesting experience. I learned a great deal more about the Jewish faith through this trip. The rabbi reminded me of Ben Stiller when he played a rabbi in some movie (I can't remember the name). He was a pretty funny guy (not to the extent of Ben, but the same idea). It was a little nerver-racking at first because we were all trying to be on our best behavior, making sure with did not come accross offensive. It was difficult to act all prim and proper when the rabbi was making jokes about some of the querks of his congration, and sometimes his faith in general. I enjoyed this. Every religion and congregation has its own little querks, and I liked that he was not ashamed or embarressed to point these out. Another thing that stuck out to me from this experience was that the people in his congregation actually enjoy being a part of the serivce. There are very few Jews who would rather just sit and listen to the rabbi for the length of a service. I believe most Christian churches can learn from this. As a guest lecturer in one of our classes pointed out, a lot of Christians have 'Pew-monia.' I cannot write this post without mentioning the ritual baths. This is simply a bath located in the Synagogue where members wash themselves before prayer and women cleanse themselves in this bath after their mentruation. The rabbi told us that women are not allowed to have sex while they are on their period, and have to go through this ritual bath before they are allowed to again. Now, he also informed us that there have been men who are known to have been impatient and met their wives in this ritual bath. He even said there were roses leading up the door one time. Our class enjoyed the story, so I thought you might as well.

Extensive Three Game Season
I decided to play softball this year. It was a good time indeed. But, as the title informs you, we only played three games. Softball if just wrapping up in these parts when we get here for school. I am happy to announce that we went undefeated. That's right, we beat the same team three times to go undefeated for the 2006 softball season. Our first "tournament" consisted of a double header @ ABU. I caught the first game and most of the second game. I actually pitched (i should mention here that it's slow pitch) the last two innings of the second game...something I haven't done since jr high. It was a lot of fun. I even struck someone out. Go me :) Nicole and I both hit homeruns that game. This was my first ligit homerun in my entire softball career. I was pretty stoked about that. Because I have not caught since June of '04, I was incredibly sore after a mere 10 innings of squatting. I could barely move for 2 days. It was patheitc to say the least. Our second "tournament" was supposed to be another two games against ABU...this time in Sussex. Our first game was scheduled at 8 am, but by 9:15, we realized ABU was not going to show. So, we eneded up playing only one game at 2. We might have a chance to play a couple coed games this Tuesday. I am very excited about that because my gear finally got here this week...of course after our final game (or so we originally thought). I'll let you know how those games go and possibly have a few pics as well.

YAY for Canadian Thankgiving
Today is the start of our four day weekend for Canadian Thankgiving. It is going to be nice to have a break from classes. Jeff and I don't have any big plans. Tonight is date night which will be spent eating some yummy food, watching the Twins (hopefully not awtching them lose AGAIN), and watching the Little Mermaid. Saturday we will be watching college football...the Oklahoma-Texas game is on TV. Jeff is super excited about that. Sunday we will be celebrating Thankgiving with our Canadian family, the Carruthers. We do everything with them because they rock. Monday we are hopefully going to spend a few hours at Fundy. It's really pretty here right now and I want to get some pictures before all the trees are empty. Tuesday I will probably be playing softball in Truro, Nova Scotia. That's what our weeknd looks like as of now.

Living on Cmpaus is Sweet Indeed
Yes, we are loving being on campus. It is so much differnt than last year, but that is a good thing. We are actually involved and are building some great relationships. Life can get hectic with poeple constantly knocking on our door and calling us (thanks to Jeff's job), but overall it has been a great experience thus far. Every once in a while I go on duty with the female RA. That's always a lot of fun. We look for people making out and what not, but we haven't caught anyone yet. I'm looking forward to the awkwardness of when we do someday. I'm convinced it will happen.

Gettin' In Shape
I never thought it would actually happen, but it is. And it is about time. I have not done much of anything since high school and it shows. Softball helped to get the kinks out of my laziness (if that makes any sense whatsoever). Jen Carruthers and I have been walking a few nights a week. Jeff and I have started running everynight. And now, basketball is starting. Last night was the first open gym I had been to and I thought it was going to kick my butt. Thanks to the three things previously mentioned, it did not. I actually felt pretty good out there. I still have a ways to go before our first game in two weeks, but I'm getting there.

Cozy Little Apartment in Ingersoll
There's not much to say about this, but check out the pictures. It is really messy, but I figured you would want to know what it usually looks like so I didn't clean it. Also, there is another bedroom and a bathrrom which are not pictured.

I'll Be Home for Christmas
That's right, we will not be spending this Chrsitmas in Sussex. We have plane tickets to Oklahoma for break. We haven't gotten a ticket yet, but I will be spending a week of that time (Dec 26-Jan 2) in Oregon. YAY!!!! My sister will be back from New Zealand for a a bit and I really want to see her while I can. That is why I am going. Of course, I am excited to see everyone else while I am back there as well.

I hope you have enjoyed this update. There will be more to come soon. And I really mean it this time. Have a great day everyone. much love becky




Jewish Calendar from the Synagogue

Kitchen/Dining Room

Bedroom

Living Room

Living Room...check out that sexy couch

Office

Office

Office