Dr. John Van Rys Word of the Day

Whopper

I Didn't Know They Were Watching

marriedtothesea.com

Images of God

The Assignment

Grace - the evidence of God's hands in my life, enabling my hands to touch the lives of others.

Living Missionally in a Post Christian World

You should probably go to this. I am.

It looks to be faith strengthening and life altering (which some would argue are the same thing). It is "a conference for those who care about faith and the future of the church in our complex world."

Happy 50th to the Coolest Guy Ever

Go here (do it) and then here (do it!) and then come back.

My Dad is the coolest guy ever - you just read the reasons and the confirmation. Today the earth has been blessed to have him on it for an entire 50 years. That's pretty darn cool - just like my Dad.

I would like to make a point about his coolness - he has been deemed the coolest guy ever. That means that no matter who comes along they will never be as cool as Dad because he is the coolest guy ever. Egh-Verrr.

Happy Birthday Dad, I love you and I'll see you on Sunday night (or next Monday morning).

A Pilgrim's Journey

Well I'm back from Mecca. And I'm not so raging at Satan for trying to prevent our departure. But let me let you in on that. I have wanted to go to the Calvin Worship Symposium for years. Finally this year being a part of CITB leadership it was made available to me. Two of my friends had told me leading up to the event that God was going to be speaking to me there. I was really excited to go. Then, Thursday afternoon I get a series of msn messages from Miranda telling me all about how the road to the boarder (at Sarnia) was closed and parts of the 402 were closed eastbound and westbound, and how there had been 30 accidents and all sorts of other craziness. I had to pass this on to Syd. He was under a lot of pressure to make a decision about leaving - when and if. It was decided that leaving Thursday night would be too treacherous with a big van full of people, so we opted to delay until morning to see what the weather would be like. I spoke to Syd after choir and it seemed pretty grim - that we would not be going at all. I was very upset - tears flowed as I tried to figure out why God get my hopes so high, just to have them squashed. Also most of the people going were not all that thrilled about leaving the next morning and missing workshops. So those of us who had a very strong desire to go made it known to Syd. Before it got too late he decided that if the roads were good enough we would take his car and the three of us who had impressed upon him our need to go, would go. I woke up early Friday morning, showering in faith that we would be leaving a little later - and we did! We did hit about an hour of snow covered roads and blowing conditions. But Syd's skilled driving got us there safely and in time for the 1:45 workshops.

I won't get into the details of the workshops here, you can sit down and ask me sometime if you'd like. I went to a bunch on more drama and movement oriented worship stuff and some more church health workshops too. It was sad that I missed the one I was going to do on prayer while we were travelling. I would really like to go next year and while I hope to do more drama stuff, I'd really like to focus on prayer. I will say that everything I came in contact with touched me in some way. Some things have got me thinking, others doing, others moving. So I'm taking today to chew on some of this stuff. I need to sort what can be used for CITB, what can be used for my vocational aspirations, or both, and what can used in everyday life and my life as a member of two congregations.

Good stuff. You should go.

Homestead for the Family Stewart on Robbie Burns Day

Heart

Even though...






I have to remember...




(and more)

Mecca

I'm making a pilgrimage to Mecca to get my spiritual learn on. So I'll be gone Thursday night to Saturday night. Whoot, Whoot!

Sometimes When My Friends Go Away I Get Sad (even when I know its what they're supposed to do) Part 4 (and final for a while...i hope)

Camera

Does anyone have a digital camera that they'd be willing to lend me from Thursday to Sunday?

Sometimes...

I wish love didn't cost 24-36 cents/minute.

Exactly! (crazy dutch, loving this flavour, ick, grumble)

DSB

Dear Secret Boyfriend,

You are doing a fantastic job at living up to one part of your name - the secret part. But the boyfriend part, well, I'm not gonna lie, you're doing a pretty shabby job on that end.

I was thinking, you should take me out for dinner and a movie soon. I'd like to see Freedom Writers if anyone is going to show it, or Children of Men (Simon said its good, but very intense at times), oh and I still haven't seen Casino Royale (its seems everybody but me has seen it). And I'm pretty easy on the dinner part.

Oh and maybe as a peace offering for your 5 year silence you could pick me up some blueberries or blackberries at Food Basics - they're on for 2 for 5$.

Trying not to smell like desperation,

Laura

The Sidewalk and What It Is Used For

If you live on campus or know those who do, maybe you could pass on a message on for me...

USE THE SIDEWALK

I have included a diagram to help this "discussion" (aka I talk, you listen and you change - aren't I going to be a great mother!)



Ok, here we go... when you are heading by second parking lot on the way to the main academic parking lot there is a roadway and a sidewalk. They run parallel to each other. In fact I'm pretty sure that the edge of the roadway and the edge of the sidewalk are less than 8 feet apart. There seems to be some confusion currently about what the roadway is used for and what the sidewalk is used for. Let me clear this up for you: the roadway is for things that have wheels (see, I'm lenient, I could have said things that have an engine, but as a motorist I don't mind sharing with bikes, boards, scoots, unis or whatever) and the sidewalk is for things with feet/legs. So if you are say, just walking with your friends to your favourite class (or anything at all actually) you should be on the sidewalk, you and your 45 friends should NOT, I repeat, NOT be walking on the roadway.

Now friends, I'm going on this tangent and made this happy diagram for a couple reasons: a) your safety and b) my rage/impediment to forward progress. See, when you walk on the road you take up a lane (or two!) on what is only a two-way roadway. And if I'm coming into class in my car and someone is leaving with their car in the opposite direction then I cannot simply swerve around you, I must drive excessively slow whilst I wait for the other car to proceed safely in their lane. This makes me rage. It makes me rage a lot. Because pedestrians and motorists could all be heading in a forward direction at an acceptable speed, together, if THE PEDESTRIANS KEPT TO THE SIDEWALK! I don't care if you don't want to keep on the sidewalk all the way to the side doors. I will work with you if you keep to the sidewalk and then cross to cut through the academic parking lot to get into the school via the doors by the athletic centre. This is because parking lots, unlike roadways are all about the cohabitation of pedestrians and motorists.

So here is the deal - walk on the sidewalk, or maybe, just maybe someday me and my rage filled self with run you and your iPod and your tight pants down. :)

(oh and lest i be judged as some oil guzzling maniac - sciatica permitting, i walk into school when i can, and i use the sidewalk!)

Horny Church Fathers

Ok, so in Human Sexuality class on Wednesday night we were talking a bit about sexuality and the church. We got to the thoughts of some of the Church Fathers; specifically Origen and Augustine. Both of these dudes were pretty horny and dealt with it differently. Origen had himself castrated (aka became a Eunuch) and well, we all know about Augustine's rocky past and all the wild oats he sowed - well he said that sexual intercourse was inherently bad. These are both ways to deal with the desires of the flesh. But my point in that one post was that it was perfectly ok for Auggie and the Big O to think/feel this, but that I don't have to adhere to their ways of thinking just because they are Church Fathers.

So He Got Rid Of the Beard...

...and now he's coming after your daughter.

Actually right now he's clean shaven for the baseball season. Fathers everywhere are thankful for the shave.

Things To Note

1. Tenor John (who is in France) and Jaime & Adam Baker (who have a son named Jack) have new blogs, their links are now correct (**revision - Nikki Gerrits and Jack Van Dorp are also updated)
   
2. Just because you are a Church Father and horny does not mean you are always right. But it does mean that I will consider what it is you are saying.
   

Sometimes When My Friends Go Away I Get Sad (even when I know its what they're supposed to do) Part 3

Now That's What I'm Talkin' 'Bout!

(author's note - this post would have been up this morning had our apartment had power, it lacked it for a good part of the day, thereby dampening a bit of my joy)

Winter Camping

1. Abide with me: fast falls the even-tide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

3. I need your presence every passing hour.
What but your grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who like yourself my guide and strength can be?
Though cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.

Snow

Ok, this is a little more like it!

Confusing

I turned on my computer this afternoon to my little Weather Network, Weather Eyes telling me that there is a winter storm warning for both Brighton and Hamilton. I got a little excited about getting snowed in and wondered if I had enough bottles of water and canned goods. I felt sad that it wasn't happening on Sunday night and therefore possibly resulting in the cancellation of classes. I (being both a farmer's daughter and a geek) decided to see just how much snow was heading my way by virtue of radar imagery (courtesy of Environment Canada). Imagine my surprise when I saw only tiny little blips of precipitation moving through the screen. Confused I checked the Weather Network website and saw that there is only a 40% chance of precipitation in either place overnight. In fact for this evening its only a 10% chance. The WN is also saying that they are only expecting 1cm of snow overnight. There are no gusts of wind, there is...nothing? Why then the winter storm watch? I'm so confused. Maybe I'll be laughing out the other side of my face when a polar bear eats the bumper off my car. Who knows.

My Suggestion For a New Dutch Flag

nataliedee.com

Call

Part 1 and Part 2 called me this morning. They made me cry, but it was so good to hear both of their voices!

Depressing Text Message

"Message: I love you to 555-1234 undeliverable"

Sometimes

The lights go off in your class. You wish that the class would end, but instead you go out into the hall, where there are lights, and write a quiz. By the time we had marked the quiz the lights were back on and lecturing resumed. Sad.

Dr. John Van Rhys Word of the Day

Tremendous

Sometimes When My Friends Go Away I Get Sad (even when I know its what they're supposed to do) Part 2

Sometimes When My Friends Go Away I Get Sad (even when I know its what they're supposed to do) Part 1

Another Personal Injury Story

On the 30th we went tobogganing. Because I am smart I decided to try and surf down the hill on an old school toboggan. I fell pretty hard. Also because I am smart, I chased after a field mouse. I caught him with my bare hand. He retaliated by biting me. I deserved it.

The bite





The bruise an hour and a half after I fell




The bruise a week later - angle #1




Angle #2, pay attention to the swelling that is still there

The Rest of the Holiday (in no particular order)

When you give, give the gift of moisture.


GTs will always be cool.


Ice cream waffles and nice girls from Texas will also always be good.



I like it when Dan and Mira come, I also like turkey dinners that coincide.



Babies, cousins, food, hilarity - all part of being a Stewart!


John would like this on a t-shirt.



All people I've known since kindergarten.