A complaint free world?

I haven't posted in awhile because, well, my life has been pretty uneventful since my last post. I'm looking forward to a much needed mini-holiday with my family in Edmonton this weekend. I don't think the whole family has spent more than a couple hours together in months and miraculously we all have the weekend off. So I'm looking forward to some bonding time whether that be during the 12 hours of driving we'll be doing or through the much anticiapted Ikea stop!!

I was watching Oprah this afternoon (yeah that's right), and acutally I was kind of inspired. She had invited a pastor to talk about his challenge , a complaint- free world. He started this challange in his church and gave them bracelets to remind them. He challenged them to wear the bracelete for 21 days, if you catch yourself complaining you switch the bracelet to the other arm and start over. The goal is to keep the bracelet on the same wrist for 21 days. I don't agree with everything that the church is promoting, however the concept is great. We can't change the world as some are saying with this campaign however God can! I catch myself complaing a lot.... it's either the weather that's too cold, the week that is too long, the weekend that is too short, that everything is too expensive, or that life is just too hard! Yet what if I disciplined myself to Praise God and thank Him for what He has given me instead of begging Him to give me what He hasn't. What would change in my relationship with Him if my focus was Praise? Would people notice? Think of the example that would be of pointing people to Christ! How exciting! I want to give this a try so call me on this if you catch me complaining. I ordered some of the free bracelets they are giving out! I ordered 10, does anyone else want one?

It's official!

Yes.... that's right. It's official... I'M GOING BACK TO ROMANIA! The long awaited package was sitting in my mailbox as I opened it with glee this afternoon. I was so excited I screamed a little and did a little dance in the living room! I leave on June 28 and the summer ministry lasts 5 weeks. I haven't decided yet if I want to stay longer or not, that will probably depend on my job. The joy in my heart right now is insurmountable and my desire to hug those kids and tell them again how much God loves them is growing so strong! I never in a million years thought this is where I would be at this point in my life. It amazes me how God uses us in ways we never thought we could. When I think about it too much I get a little nervous .... okay a lot nervous. However my excitement is much stronger, that God is letting me be a witness to His incredible work in the lives of those children! How did I get to be so blessed?

Babies, birthdays, and special moments

The days were quite full last week, family was out from BC so we spent a lot of time partying. My cousin Chrystal stayed at my place in the city for the week, we had lots of fun catching up! We spent our time playing our favorite card game "Phase Ten", watching some good movies, trying to make a first class meal for ourselves (note the emphasis on the word trying, our desert was pretty much a disaster), and of course what girls do best; talking. During the week we also had quite the loewen get- togethers. Faspa at Aunt Mary-Anne's to celebrate grandma's 80th birthday, this also inculded oohing and aahing over the new babies in the family. We had a baby shower for cousin Jocelyn and little Aiden on Wednesday, and of course the big celebration on Friday night at the Drop-in centre in Warman. There we put on a small program for Grandma which included a funny skit put on by the cousins (at least I hope it was funny!!) , a slideshow, a few songs, and a poem. Good times are always had with the loewen gang, I am so thankful that our family is still able to get together and celebrate.

Yesterday was also a pretty good day, I had the day off work which was really nice. My mom took me out for lunch and we had a good talk, I love her so much! The evening was spent with friends, dinner out at Chianti's, and then and time of sipping Timmy's and singing worship songs. I love times like that!! Oh and the flowers are a gift from my roommate; how sweet!!

I have been anxiously awaiting word on Romania stuff but still nothing has come. It's hard for me to wait patiently because I like to have my life figured out however God always seems to point out that He is the one that needs to have control over my life, not me. It is forcing me to trust God because time is slowly creeping away and so much stuff still needs to be figured out. There seems to be a lot of things in my life right now that I catch myself worrying about, however His words from Isaiah have been a good reminder for me;

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10