Just picking up some things at the store . . .

Nylons?  Exactly the kind of nylons I would buy! :)

My dependence on the oil industry disgusts me . . .

Really.

My family will tell you I'm a bit of an environmental freak. 

I pick their aluminum cans out of the garbage; ask "what are you doing with that plastic?"; and say "did you know those are recyclable?", while giving them the 'you'd better recycle that' look.

It probably annoys them.  I don't care.

I want this earth to last not only my lifetime, but my children's (should God ever choose to bless with them).  I want to be a responsible steward of this amazing planet that He's given us.  I want everyone to experience breathing clean air; walking down a clean, litter-free street; drinking water straight from the source without filtration.

I wish I didn't want/need my car.  I wish I didn't need to heat my home with gas.  I wish I didn't buy products packaged in non-recyclables.  I'm glad I don't know the full extent of my dependence on the oil industry.  I'm disgusted enough as it is.

I saw this commercial today and immediately felt I needed to share it with anyone who has not seen it.
Cenovus More than Fuel: Ultrasound

Aaaaand, for some reason I can't get that video embedded in the blog, but I'll put this one in, though the first one really gets me heated up:

Tell me you had no emotional response to either of those commercials?

I did, though maybe not the response the marketers were aiming for.  Do they really think that we have no clue how dependent we are on them??!!  That they need to play upon our emotions to get our support?  Maybe they think they need to guilt-trip those of us who care about our carbon footprint into supporting them? 

I'm already supporting you!  I don't have much of a choice do I?  Especially living in Alberta!  It's always in my face.


Don't get me wrong.  I know the reason I have a comfortable lifestyle is because of the oil industry.  I am grateful for the many things that are possible because of the oil industry.



But, one resource should not have such control over the entire world.  We should not be fighting over it.  I'd like to see the light at the other end of the oil tunnel.


I'd like to believe that the proposed Enmax & TransCanada pipelines won't result in this, but let's be realistic:

Quest for joy

Every day I wake up and face the same challenge:  living up to my name

Joy: a deep feeling or condition of happiness or contentment

It's not a situation that most people are familiar with.  Perhaps your name has a significant meaning and when you reflect on it you are reminded of why you were so named.  Like Peter for example: a rock; strong; sturdy; foundational.  Or Amy: beloved.  But when you are introduced to someone new named Amy is that the first thing you think of?  Is she beloved?  How many names make you stop and think?  This is my first impression on others.  Is she full of joy?  Is this person aptly named?

I dread being told I am the opposite of my namesake.  I have been told by one or two that this is the case.  These weigh heavily on my mind, especially as I reflect on 2011.  While these instances did not occur in 2011, I definitely did not exude joy in 2011.

This past year was a year full of change for me:

• returning to Canada after nearly two years away
• living at home for the first time in 11 years
• breaking up with my boyfriend of more than two and a half years
• becoming the assistant manager at a climbing gym after 2 months of working there
• quitting said job for many unmentionable reasons
• being a student without being considered a student by Student loans Canada (again)
• and finally moving to Jasper to regain my independence and hopefully further my guiding/outdoor instruction career (and moving house three times since arriving).

Life's difficultes, as put by JI Packer in my favourite book of 2011/12, Knowing God :

"But if, now, He puts thorns in your bed, it is only to awaken you from the sleep of spiritual death -- and to make you rise up to seek his mercy.  Or if you are a true believer, and he still puts thorns in your bed, it is only to keep you from falling into the somnolence of complacency and to ensure that you 'continue in his goodness' by letting your sense of need bring you back constantly in self-abasement and faith to seek his face.  This kindly discipline, in which God's severity touches us for a moment in the context of his goodness, is meant to keep us from having to bear the full brunt of that severity apart from that context."

And, scribed in my first Bible by my father was James 1:2-3:

"Count it all joy, brethren, when you face trials of many kinds, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."

Other versions replace patience with perseverance. I like to tack on verse 4 to finish the thought:

"Let perseverance finish its work so you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything."

Despite the many swings of this last year, He has been evident and active.  There have been many blesings:

• spending so much time with my family whom have been distant for quite a few years
• successfully passing all my courses this year (who wants to pay all that money and then not pass?)
• miraculously having enough money/credit to take all these courses
• making several new invaluable friends and reconnecting with some ole faithful ones who never seem to give up on me 
• gaining more managerial experience
• living in such a beautiful place
• and finally ending 2011 in the company of such a friend who challenges and encourages me effortlessly.

Am I mature and complete?  Not til I meet my maker I think.  More mature and closer to being complete? Sure, I'll take that. 

Joy is not to be confused with happiness.
Happiness is nice, but it fades.
Joy is independent of circumstances.

Joy is long lasting and tied to an eternal hope.
It is often expressed as happiness. But as one author says, "[it] is more than just a warm, fuzzy feeling. It is a character trait tempered by fire!" [Mike Ford, Joy and Trial]

So, while I'm discouraged with how I've portrayed my name in my attitude this year, I'm certain that in 2012 He will enable me to exhibit the qualities of my name.  My joy is not gone.  Rather it went underground with the fire.  There are many more tests to come and with the help of my Saviour I will, "take a new grip with [my] tired hands and stand firm on [my] shaky legs. Mark out a straight path for [my] feet.  Then those who follow [me], though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong." Romans 12:12-13

2012

First message of 2012:

Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” John 12:28

Get ready for God to glorify His name . . . again.

I'm totally ready.  Can't wait really.  I see his glory everyday, especially as I'm blessed to live in Jasper; a beautiful and rugged Canadian national park.  But, I have been and will continue to be blown away by His other glories. 

As is every new year, 2012 is the start of many new beginnings.  I eagerly await the future, while loving the often indescribable moments He's given me now. 

Here's to 2012!

Cheers!

Following the dreams He has placed in my heart

If you had permission to do what you really want to do, what would you do? 

Don't ask how, that will cut your desire off at the knees.  How is never the right question; how is a faithless question.  It means 'unless I can see my way clearly I won't believe it, won't venture forth' . . . How is God's department. 

He is asking you what.  What is written in your heart?  What makes you come alive?  If you could do what you've always wanted to do, what would it be? 

-John Eldredge, Wild at Heart-