Laurel Place

I've come to realize that I'm quite passionate about community. It's something that I crave and that I fight to maintain.

The cul-de-sac that my husband I live in, is one of the large reasons why I would like to never move. It has nothing to do with our house (although I REALLY love my home), it has nothing to do with the location (although the location is perfect for us at this stage in our lives), it's more about the other families who are our neighbors.

Over the past year, some of our neighbors have become our closest friends. It's not unusual for us to spent at least one afternoon/evening during the week with one of our neighbors. We've celebrated births, birthday's, we've helped landscape, done snow removal, played games, shared meals...the list goes on and on.

There's one particular family in our cul-de-sac that we don't see very often. With our different schedules it seems often the only times we ever connect is a quick wave as one is pulling into the driveway and the other pulls out. However, over the weekend this couple mentioned to us how sad they will be when/if they move, as they have never felt so loved and accepted by their neighbors! SERIOUSLY! We hardly ever see them, let alone spend anytime with them.

I've come to conclusion that building community doesn't mean that you have to be best friends. You don't have to spend loads of time together, or know ever detail about someone's life. You merely have to take the time to wave, to shout "hello" across the street, to shovel the sidewalk that connects the houses.

It's really not rocket science, and it certainly doesn't take much effort.

I love Laurel Place, and even now as it seems some changes will happen as new houses are built, and some original owners move on, I know that I will continue to love it. We're not only neighbors, we're friends. The bar for our community has already been set.

just bragging...

about my husband. I am married to the man who:

• worked long hours all week
• at 11:00pm Friday evening, drove to pick up friend who was stranded on the highway
  
• got up early Saturday morning to get ready for a day of quadding
• drove the opposite direction of the mountains to pick up his friends, before turning around the heading in the right direction
• suffered through seasonal/outdoor allergies all weekend without so much as a complaint or brief whine session
• let his wife tag along for a day of quadding through the snow/rain/sun/mud
• arrived home after said day of quadding, only to manually help neighbor back fill
• got up early Sunday morning to do BV's
• taught 2&3 year olds about Jonah and obedience
• vacuumed both the truck full of mud from previous day, and my vehicle
• had a neighbor friend over who's in the process of making some huge decisions
  
• cuddled wife before falling asleep

I am a blessed woman. The above list may be specific to this past weekend, but I could come up with a similar one everyday if needed.

best ever!

Since September, the grades 1-6 at DGCC have been learning about prayer. We've been using a great resource called PrayKids!. We've covered all sorts of topics from Praise, Confession, Thankfulness, Forgiveness, Hearing God, Agreement, and even Why Prayer Works. It has been so incredible watching students as they discover that they can indeed hear God when they pray, and see how their prayers make a difference in our church and city. And it's been amazing in my own life, as once again I've been challenged in my personal prayer life (I love how God works like that in children's ministry!)

This Sunday we're talking about Authority/Submission, a loaded topic for sure (at least with adults!). I'll be using an umbrella to illustrate how authority/submission works (when you submit to authority you're protected, and under cover etc.).

In my preparation for this coming Sunday I came across the best ever umbrella and must share it with you...I absolutely love it, and can't help but giggle when I see it!

On a more serious note: as I prepare to teach on Authority/Submission, know that I am being taught. Bring on the rain, because I am under cover!!!

spring has sprung

You know it's officially spring in Lethbridge, when the wind is really blowing, followed by rain/snowfall.

Today, I've chosen to embrace the spring storm, as every spring this seems to be the norm. I've come to the conclusion that there's no use complaining about the seasonal weather, but rather to expect and accept anything.

I love the following words found in Daniel 2:21
"He changes the times and seasons.
He sets up kings.
He removes them from power.
The wisdom of those who are wise comes from him.
He gives knowledge to those who have understanding."

How true. Despite my wishes for warm sunny weather, the times and seasons change. And although at times I would wish for control, I can rest in the fact that HE is.

And so, today I choose to embrace change, knowing that it's inevitable.

the reason why...

A little while ago I received mail from a local high school. Enclosed was a letter from a student attending there that my husband and I have the privilege of serving with weekly in children's ministry. The first paragraph in this letter included the following statement, "important people in my life." At reading this I was overwhelmed. This particular student has always been "too old" to be in children's ministry for as long as my husband and I have been involved, and yet, we were included in the list of "important people."

A few Sunday's ago, before church started, Matt and I were talking with some friends of ours, while their three young girls patiently waited. After our conversation, as we were preparing to head to our seats, one of their daughters asked if she could sit with us. During the course of praise and worship, their other two children ended up standing with us as well.

About a week ago, I went to listen to a certain grade six boy as his school band played at the local music festival. As I sat in theater waiting for them to begin playing this grade six boy proceeded to wave and flash the biggest smile ever.

And those are just a few reasons of why I do what I do...

thought of the day:

The next time you think you should disinfect before/after touching something/someone, eating, using the bathroom remember this:

Every square inch of the human body has an average of 50 million bacteria on it. Did someone say shower?

Perhaps (all things considered) we're a bit too freaked out and paranoid with our sanitizing wipes, lotions and gels...

how big is my world?

Often times I magnify my life to extreme proportions where nothing else matters...NOTHING (no one else would ever do this though...right?).
For example, if I'm having a bad day, and I'm really busy, and not feeling good, and my house is a mess, and my laundry basket if overflowing, and there's so much going on at work, you better believe that there is no one worse off then me.

HA!

Recently, I was challenged to re-evaluate my thinking. It all started when I was at my hairdressers (ever noticed how some of the best conversations happen in that chair?), and through various other conversations over the course of that weekend a common theme came up...life really isn't THAT bad...or at least not as bad as we tend to think it is. I mean, really, is anything that I'm facing that brutal? There are people in other countries who have literally lost everything and need to rebuild from scratch the lives they once enjoyed (ie: Haiti and Chile).

The whole, "woe is me" act that I tend to pull, is just that...an act.

The problem is that I've reduced my world to include...me. It's all about me. The only things that matter are me, my husband, our home, our jobs...
And the real problem is that the world is so much bigger.

What a humbling thought, to think that I'm actually NOT at the center of the universe.

When I take time to think about the children's song, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," I can't help but be in awe. Here I am, complaining about my teeny, tiny problems, mean while, God's listening, while holding the whole freaking world in His hands. And yet He doesn't brush me off, saying, "Catherine, I've got far bigger things to deal with." (in the same manner that I would respond to those in my world)

Ultimately, it all comes down to two simple (yet, not easy) commandments, "Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with with all your soul. Love him with all your mind," and "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39)

When I get my life in line with these two commandments, my world almost instantly grows, and suddenly everything isn't about me and my "huge" problems.

How big is my world? Hopefully big enough to include more then just me.