thoughts

Prairie Boys Bike Tour

2008-07-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

Well us prairie boyz or in my case, girl. Don't have much for down hill biking on the flat plains around Edmonton. However, Nelson, Kamloops, and Canmore have some great trails to ride.
Our tour started on the 16th of July. Splitting the 12 hour drive in half we each took a shift. Nelson was a sight for sore eyes. It was beautiful. Like hitting the beach in Miami but with colder more clear, sharkless waters :) They had it all from a beautiful small town with white sandy beaches and of course the Sacred Trail Bike Shop. Having down hill bikes we can feel any kind of incline or leveling of the ground when riding...so to solve the problem of hiking our bikes up the mountains around Nelson we decided to shuttle it. This is what we did in most cases if not all. We 4x4'd up the poorly kept logging roads most of which were abandoned. We had run in's with many a fallen trees, which eventually made their way rolling down the steep side of the road.
These trails were quite the sight. Good rocky down hill, single track and the like. How could I ever go back to Edmonton after being spoiled in the hippy populated Nelson, BC. After a few days of biking we packed up our whole operation and headed to Kamloops, but not before stopping in Ainsworth to check out their hot springs.
These hot springs were like no others. They had caves where you would wade into. We found the point at which the hot springs started...the source. It was great. The caves were all natural. After this hot springs detour no other hot spring could ever compare.
After arriving in Kamloops we found a beautiful campsite not even 10 minutes away from Harper Mountain. This mountain was where we spent the majority of our biking. Not only could we 4x4 shuttle all the way up to the head of the trail, but the whole mountain was covered in trails and North Shore. North Shore being built bridges, specifically placed logs even spirals as a neat way to get down a drop or steep hill as seen bellow. I did it three times. Amazed every time by how fun it was.

Sad as we all were after 4 days in Kamloops we headed on to Canmore. Canmore is close to the town of Banff. Being located in the mountains we were disappointed to find they had only two down hill trails. One of which was well worth the coming for. Technical at first but half way down became the most flowy trail I have ever been on. Two thumbs up for the trail builders on this one. They called it the Reclamer.
Canmore is home to an Olympic park for cross country skiing. In the summer, they use it for cross country biking (lots of peddling and up hill). However, they did have some dirt jumps in their set up that were the smoothest I had ever been on. They had the perfect lip. Just right for me to learn how to jump with my bike.
I do believe with that hot weather and pushing of my bike up hill to take the jumps over and over I lost some weight. Only to gain it back with hardy camp stove cooking :)
We were only on the trip from the 16th to the 25th. But it felt like forever. I was the best vacation I had ever had. The guys and I ripping down the trails at lighting speed. Out of the three places I found that I liked Kamloops for its biking. I would like to live there some day if it weren't for the absolutely horrid set up of the roads. You get lost with in 10 minutes of being in the silly city.
My bike is now clean and I'm back to my old routine. Its to bad too. That precious dirt and mud collected from those great trails. I should have kept some to remind me of the fun times that we had. On the Prairie Boys (and girl) Bike Tour.
Live long and...bike!

2008-03-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from the most beautiful little town called Dewberry. I know for a fact that we were really blessed to be able to come into the small town and have a good time, and I really hope that we (the Vanguard team) were a blessing to the people of the church there.

I had a great time Friday night when we first got there on Friday. They are such great kids, I was so happy to be able to talk with them and really enjoy their company as well as get to know them at the same time. I loved the youth, they are great kids.

On Saturday night after the movie at the church we went outside and saw the Northern lights. They were so beautiful. I haven't seen them in a long time. I think the last time I saw them was on my 18 birthday and I'm…oh wow I'm almost 20. What age would you consider "old" ?

Our friend Neil, from big cities will probably need therapy from his traumatic experience of just coming into the small town of 200 let alone seeing a cow being castrated. Oh and I must mention the fact that we saw the beginnings of a cow giving birth. Neil stood back to watch and I'm glad because I don’t think anyone on the team knew CPR. He found the gold fountain coming from the cow very interesting though (pee). He had hoped to get it on video.

I think the only thing that I didn’t enjoy about this weekend that I just had was the fact that I lost another hour of sleep on Sunday because of daylight savings.

Speck of dust....

2008-03-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

Have you ever climbed up a mountain, and at the top looked down over whatever is around you? I have had that opportunity many times. I was once on the Burg Lake trail that went from Mt. Robson provincial park in BC over the border to Jasper national park in Alberta. My mom and I climbed to the top of this mountain trial and it was beautiful. One day we decided to go up a side trial for a day hike. This trail took us up another mountain right beside the one we were camped on. When we got to the very top we looked down and the huge mountain that we climbed for three days before looked so much smaller from where we were. Then we looked for the camp and the people in it looked like little specks of dust moving around.

I was in my theology class a few days ago and we talked about how big God is compared to everything. Our prof gave us an idea of how small our solar system was compared to the rest of the milky way. Yeah you couldn't hardly see our sun. So when you put the two pictures together how small do you think we are? If we look like little specks of dust from the top of a mountain then...are we even visible from outside the milky way? And God is bigger than it all. The fact that he longs to have a personal relationship with us is amazing, no, mind blowing!

2008-03-06T12:34:00.000-08:00

Here is the poster for that concert. I hope the info is right. Let me know what you think and I'll get them printed...how many do you want?

2007-10-05T12:29:00.001-07:00

You know your exhausted when you start dreaming about studying, while useing your text book as a pillow.

Got my head stuck in the books!!!!

2007-09-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

If you have ever been to college or university you know how it feels when the professors drop everything on your lap at the same time. Currently I am reading 5 books at a time and trying to keep them all in there own little compartment in my mind as to not get them mixed up. Yeah right! I have books, classes and assignments all tangled up. What a mess! And people thought I was organized.

And this is all I have time for. Hope you all have a good day and may you have less home work than I.

Surfs Up!

2007-09-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

Facechurch went camping alittle while ago. We were in a group campsite beside a river that got turned off at night. (I'm not kidding it was dammed) Any ways because of that I guess they built a course for all the water sports. So we had many people walking through the one end of the campsite. Now I thought you had to go to places like California to see surfers, but I guess I was wrong. Every so often we would see these guys in there wet suits walking through the camp site. I can't say that the girls had mind it at all, they shall remain nameless. (Crystal and Kim) What I found funny was their surroundings. Here were these surfers walking through a campsite by the bush and surrounded by mountains. I don't know what you think, but for me they looked strangely out of place.

Pause, Stop, Breath.

2007-08-29T23:23:00.000-07:00

As the summer comes to an end I am trying to fit in my last summer chats with friends at the coffee shop. Friends are definitely important to me not to mention the relationships that comes with being their friend. I guess what I am trying to say is...I will miss not having homework and studying till all hours of the morning (which will be avoided at all costs.) My nerves are about to die, and sooner or later I will have to be checked into the hospital for exhaustion (this has been known to happen.) I've been so busy I haven't been able to get all my summer reading done. I need to slow down and take a breather. (in, out, in, out)I miss being a kid where you never had a plan or schedule. Never had to worry about money and student loans. And always playing games with Grandpa. Oh to be a kid again. But you cant really stop time or rewind. So I thought about how time flys the older you get the faster it goes. In the culture we live in today its nothing but rush, rush, rush. Maybe if we all took some time out of our day to read up on the word, pray, and just take life's moments in, we wouldn't feel so stressed. Most of the time I cause my own stress. Always trying to fit things in last min. But like they say, Life can pass you by. So if I make any sense then I guess I am off to sleep. Night, I hope we all dream in slow motion.

Pure Excitement

2007-08-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

CAMPING CAMPING CAMPING CAMPING!!!

Job

2007-08-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

"...The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised."

"...Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?"

James 4:10

2007-07-26T03:45:00.000-07:00

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

Growth

2007-04-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

I know I have mentioned our young adults group many times in past blogs, but I am just so excited about what God is doing in our group. When we first started cell group training there was only 4 of us. By the last week we had many more people joining us. This is the same with our prayer night. It started small and grew quickly to more than 20 people coming out on Thursday nights to praise God.

I planted some herb seeds for cooking about 4 weeks ago and every day I would take some time to water them and see if they had grown or sprouted out of the soil. Well last week a whole bunch of herbs and flowers had sprouted and I was so happy. I put a lot of work into growing those plants and just like the plants when I see a group of people grow in number like that it excites me. For us to make the commitment to go every Thursday night and encourage others to come has made our community grow. We have our own little flower bed community that is continually growing and flowering.

Its almost like we are living out the book of Acts.

"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:46-47

2007-04-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

ITS S.W.A.T. GONE ARMY!

Holy Spirit

2007-04-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

Have you read the book of Acts? If you have, think about this:
"The Spirit so active in Acts is the same Holy Spirit that is currently at work in the church today." Have you ever thought about it like that? That is the same Holy Spirit thats working in our young adults group!

Faith That Rests on the Word of God, Not Sight.

2007-04-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

I was reading in John last night and came apon this verse.

"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29

When I was at inVision (Vanguard Bible College Open House) I was in a class and we were asked a question. What does it mean to fallow someone you cannot see? I did the wind thing saying. "Everyone knows the wind excists, but they can't see it, they only see the effects. So just like the wind I see the effects of what God is doing in peoples lives, like the wind in the trees.

And if your like me you have friends that have told you something that went kind of like this. "I don't believe what I can't see." However, "Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed."

These are my thoughts.

SWAT Logo

2007-04-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hey Ryan here is the logo that I put together. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Drama Check

2007-03-31T14:31:00.000-07:00

"He's here, He's here. Jesus is coming!" Could you imagine what it would have been like to see Jesus while He was here on earth with us? Close enough to touch or get a hug. What would you do if Jesus was standing there beside you? What if he were to say, "Take up your cross and follow me." What would you do?

What whould it be like to be at your grocerie store, and have people suddenly shout,
"He's here. Jesus is coming! HERE!" The excitement you would feel, in anticipation to see what happens next.

Today in dress rehearsal we were practicing a croud scene where we were to shout, "He's coming!" or "Its Him the son of God!" And the actor for Jesus played the part well. Healing people, saving them and playing with the children who were extatic about Him being there with them. When a young boy came running to Jesus and Jesus picked the boy up and swung him around. Imagine the pure joy and peace having His arms wrapped around you. No worries or cares to distract you from enjoying His embrace. Like the father snap shots we did at the young adult retreat. For those who missed it, you missed much. (don't miss the next young adults event)
God has great plans in store for our church inside a church.) Think about the love God has for you that He sent His son to die on the cross for you. For as high as the heavens are above so geat is the measure of our Fathers love. When you watch the easter productions now don't think you've seen it all. Feel the excitement of Jesus' coming and SECOND COMING. That is the one thing you can always look forward to.

These are my thoughts.

Here are some pictures of Christy's and my adventure last night at the church.

Crown of Thorns

2007-03-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

"And when they had platted a crown of thorns they put it upon his head, and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!" Matthew 27:29

Yester I took my aunt Mary to the Muttart Concervatory to see all the beautiful and strange plants from around the world. We were going through the cactus pyramid when we found this plant called, Crown of Thorns. It had thick branches with very strong and long thorns. It got me thinking about the Easter story and how Jesus had a crown of thorns placed on his head. So I took another look at the plant and thought about what it would feel like if I placed that on my head. I don't think I could handle the pain. Just think about what Jesus did for you and me this Easter, and forget about the Easter Bunny.

Strength and Weakness

2007-03-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

Today I made another grandfather, granddaughter memory. Lately we have been having lots of problems with the bathroom up stairs. So we called my grandpa and he helped us start the renovations on the bathroom. My parents went out earlier today to shop for a new sink and toilet, so my grandfather started demolition. Ooo weee. My specialty. If you ever need things taken out or old side walk stuff broken up just give me a call. Any ways my grandpa and I had a fun talk.

With that talk came a new piece of knowledge. He said, "Build on your strengths, but keep working on your weaknesses." I think its great to know and work on.

Any ways the bathroom has been striped of everything but the tub. And we are putting tile flooring in. So right now my bed room seems to be the storage place to try and keep the hall way clear. Seeing that the bathroom is right across from my bedroom it seemed quite logical to my parents.

THE SNOW IS MELTING! THE SNOW IS MELTING! Biking here I come. I am so excited. (You will find I am excited all to often.) My subscription to my mountain biking magazine ended to day and the sent me a letter asking if I wanted to subscribe for another year. Truth is I want to but I don't have the money right now and if I'm going to be gone most of the summer do to biking or hiking. Why would I need a bike mag if I'm out biking?

In a month the bike comes out. Rain or shine. Ok maybe snow too. Because I just can't wait. In January I took my fork in. I broke it! Yeah rabbit hill is way to much fun. Any ways I took it in and found it was still on warranty. So I sent it in and the bike dudes told me that they would probably replace the one side which was air, to spring like the other side. (Apparently they were having problems with the fork since production of it) So they call me two weeks later saying that my bike is ready for pick up. Was I in for a surprise. They sent me a whole new fork. This time all spring. Nice and shiny, its been waiting in the basement. And if it can't get out to go biking in April then I'm positive both me and the bike will start crying, because of disappointment.

Is rabbit hill still open for skiing? Because as soon as they get the trails ready I'm off to tear up some dirt! What is your favorite kind of mountain bike. I know I really like the Banshee Scream. Wow that's a nice bike. I actually have a friend who owns one. I like to take it down the hill whenever he lets me, which isn't that often. They should have called it Banshee Dream. Because it rides like a dream.
One thing I would like to have one day is a hard tail. My Big Hit FSR is nice for trails but you better be in shape if you actually have to peddle. Its more of a down hill bike. The faster you ride the better control you have.

Now backpacking. I love it! I usually hike Mt. Robson. Its beautiful and every year I bring up a huge camera just to get great shots. You can tell I'm a photographers daughter, eh? But I have recently gotten into video taping. That's fun. So this summer I am taking a friend up that has never backpacked before. One thing she must have is a good set of hiking boots, oh that reminds me I need some too this year. Seeing that my feet haven't grown much I can get a nice pair. If my family does go up to the NWT then I will definitely be up for day hikes.

I must go though I have a young adults video to get ready for cutting by my good friend Brian.

Tootles

My Love For My Grandparents

2007-03-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

I have an amazing grandfather! He spoils me, but only because I was, and still am his first grandchild. Does any one have grandparents that give their grandchildren nick names when they are born. Well mine do. I got stuck with Squeezy, I know. My grandfather has 4 other brothers and they were all in the ministry at some time or other. I guess that's where I got my love for missions and church. But today I was upset about my brother. He is responsible in some areas but is laking in others. For example, chores. So when I got home from church with a car that's clutch is burned out, there was a huge mess that was at one point in time a clean house. It started in the bathroom on the one side of the house to the other side of the house in the kitchen. I must say I was not happy. I called my grandpa and told him how frustrated I was about the car and my brother always leaving the messes for me to do, and even doing his chores when ever my dad didn't do them for him. And my grandpa simply said , "Do what you have to in life without complaining. The world isn't fair, but God will always see the things you do no matter how big or small. And these trials don't come for nothing." He said, "By learning how to get threw things now you will be able to handle things like this that come up in the future more easily." I love my grandfather. He helps me get threw tuff and frustrating times, and his little talks full of support often come with a scripture verse.

Both my grandpa and my grandma gave me a book each for college in September. My grandfather gave me a concordance to the Bible, and my grandma gave me a Bible dictionary from when she went to Bible college. They both support me in what I choose to do and warn me before I make bad choices. If only they could stay with me forever.

I thank God that I have such a wonderful and caring grandpa and grandma. I hope you all get to have good times with your grandparents as much as I do.

Did I mention that my grandfather is a goof? Ha, I guess that's where I got it from.

I'M HERE!

2007-03-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. I now have a blog. Now to those of you who don't...GET ONE! They're great! Now, now, I can't forget to say hello to all the Star Wars, Star Trek, Star Gate fans out there. I know your out there.

What a day. I wake up and decide to get a blog. So far so good. Now if only I could get my self up to do my chores. My house is like a zoo today. Well today and every other day. You see I have accumulated animals or so called pets over the years. Yes, that's right I am an animal fanatic. I have 2 large dogs, 4 ferrets, and a bird. I used to have two guiny pigs, and three rabbits. I could have started a petting zoo! Wow that would have helped me pay for all the food they go through.

I am also a gymnastics freak. Oh yeah, don't even get me started...to late. I was in gymnastics for 14 years, 11 of which I was in competitive. This is the best warning I can give to those who think they can pull things off like a well trained gymnast. DON'T TRY IT AT HOME! That's right. That's what I said. I have also coached gymnastics for 4 years. Don't ask me to teach you anything. I had a friend once who thought she was capable of pulling off a cartwheel. A simple and harmless idea, well that's what she thought. She dislocated her knee cap. People...the trick...to...gymnastics is to make it look effortless. And as a gymnast I'll let you in on a little secret. Every one of those skills have taken gymnasts months if not years to work up to and then there is the challenge of doing it without killing yourself. I have had many close calls trust me. As my friends would say the "force is with you". And it had to be lol with the stunts I was pulling. And don't start thinking that those tricks are illusions, they are very real. As I look back at what I was doing I ask my self...What gave me the bird brained idea of doing that? But like most gymnasts I was in it for the trill of throwing yourself around like a rag doll. I can feel it now. Ever ache and pain. I am a weather man, or woman shall I say. I can tell you with out looking out the window if it is snowing or raining heavily. That's before I take the pain killers.

My fingers hurt. I don't think I have typed this much in almost, well 3 months.

Ok, who likes to watch movies and read books as a pastime. I do, I do. My dream library would be a room with book shelves on every wall. With a nice comfy chair in the middle. With a cup holder of course. Oh and a mini couch for my dog.

You will find at times with me, that I am a little random. Yup.

Well if you haven't heard enough of my life story here is some more. Purely for the readers enjoyment.

Bible College here I come! I am so excited about going to college. After taking a year off of school I am so excited to say that God has called me to Bible College. The papers are almost in, then when September hits, I'm off..........EXCITEMENT...OVERLOAD...IN...3...2...1...........******BANG******

Don't worry...I'm still here

My excitement just went into hyper drive. Just ask the greatest young adults leader ever. Well he is the first young adults leader I've had. Yes. I am a young adult. That doesn't say much for my maturity level though, eh? Dude I'm Canadian, eh!

Well I must be off. My ferrets well they are climbing the cage for me, my bird thinks he's seen a putty cat, and my dogs well they want some love and a walk, but not in that order.

Tootles