last night

Well i am home! Home is where the heart is and my heart is in vancouver. My break at my parent's house was pretty good overall. I got the 2:30 ferry back and it left on time which was nice. i met up with shane at sears. i gave him the biggest hug, i think i might of broke a rib or so but i think he will live. then we went and met up with my wonderful roommate jenea and my good friend donny. we went out for dinner, it was good, donny play with his camera on his phone. went home and then went over to the court-strickland place and watch accepted, quite funny and went home and watch shane win at poker for a little bit and went to bed. it was fun filled evening.

my beautiful dog

 
My dog
She is a cross breed

spikey

 
We had him for the longest

our beautiful tree

 
oh christmas tree oh christmas tree how lovely are your branches

which one do you like more?

 
what it look like now

before & after shot of my second hair

 
what it use to look like

my christmas includes this........

sleeping in quite late
my dad making us egg/potato/bacon all in one it was freaking amazing
watch tv
broad games
fight club
puzzling
dinner
chatting with shane dayvd and lisa in the wee hours of the morning.

Mary did you know?

Mary did you know, that your baby boy
Would one day walk on water?
Mary did you know, that your baby boy
Would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know, that your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered,
Will soon deliver you!

Mary did you know, that your baby boy
Will give sight to the blind man?
Mary did you know, that your baby boy
Would calm a storm with His hand?

Did you know, that your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod
And when you kiss your little baby,
You've kissed the face of God?
Oh, Mary did you know?
Mary did you know?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear,
The dead will live again,
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak
Praises of the Lamb?

Mary did you know, that your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know, that your baby boy
Will one day rule the nations?

Did you know, that your baby boy
Was Heaven's perfect Lamb?
And this sleeping Child you're holding
Is the Great I AM

Holy Incarnation day

OK SANTA LET'S SEE YOU RISE FROM THE GRAVE


Holy Incarnation! Praise God our Hope is in Jesus and beyond the sting of death!

classial christmas story of the Barnum household

I count down to the days until Sam and Dan come home. It seems like only yesterday I was counting down the years until they were out of the house and my torment would end. Maybe it was only yesterday… Time is a curious thing . They arrive and the family leaves to pick out a tree. Sure it’s last minute, it being the eve of Christmas but a little on the late side is just how our family does things. Beside it just wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t all do together. Of course, by this time all the good trees are gone. We bicker about how we should of gone looking earlier but well, the bickering is all part of Christmas too. We argue about which tree of the few left is the least ugly and should have the honor of coming home with us. If mom get her way, and we know mom always get her way, we’ll end up taking home the ugliest tree in the lot. We pay for it, put it on the roof and are on our way. The males lug our little tree up the stairs and we begin to set it up. Well that is what we would do if we could find a tree stand. Where did we put that tree stand? After much rifling about we find it, but of course the bolts that hold the tree in place is missing. You would think after all the years we would get some new ones but we never do seem to learn. Everyone tries to recall how we had overcome this problem last year . Pennies maybe, did pennies work? Or was it bottle caps? I think bottle cap was it. Dan take one for the team and guzzles some beers so we can use the caps. It works. I hold the tree while the try to get it perfectly straight. I hardly see the point. It ‘s not as if the cat isn’t going to knock it over anyways. When impatience and frustration finally take over and the stupid tree is as straight as it’s going to get we start to decorate. First I fill it with water. Nobody else seem to care about the welfare of our poor Christmas tree. Sam, that brave brave boy , is in charge of the lights . It never seems to matter how neatly we put them away the previous year they still seem to find a way to tangle themselves again. He work diligently until they are untangled then begins the daunting task of making them work. He, like Dan, is our hero for making this sacrifice. Although our hero is heard screaming some less than saintly term at the top of his lungs at the lights, who don’t seem to take his treats very seriously because it’s another hour before they decide to light up. He has been to electrocute himself once or twice in his attempts before he manages to get them all working. Although, truth be told, I think he kind of enjoys that. So with the lights finally up we start to throw the ornaments on the tree. Yes, throw not put. Placing them doesn’t seem as much fun. Is it just me or do we seem to have fewer ornaments than last year? We have to actually put some heavy ones on the branches above the gaps to make an attempt at camouflaging them. It doesn’t really work. Its not all disorderly. We have our themes. Last year was gold, the year before that was umm well gold too. I can’t remember what the year before that was but I’m guess it was something truly spectacular and original. Mom has not been in the room all this time. I think the chaos is a little too much for her. She always returns at the end though to tell us what a beautiful job we’ve done (such a convincing liar my mother is). She also has the oh so important job of hanging the angel on top. We all stand around to marvel at the wondrous thing that is our tree, even though the skinny thing looks like it might fall over from the weight of all the heavy ornaments. It’s our tree though so we stand in awe of its beauty for a moment. Not long though. Its only a second before we can’t stand to hear the musical Christmas tree lights play its irritating tunes any longer and we all wander off to do our own thing.
Nothing eventful happens until the next evening when mom and dad take it upon themselves to drag us to church. They use every line in the book to guilt us into submission. Eventually we concede begrudgingly. We arrive and they give us all candles to light later. We’re a step ahead of them though because Dan has a lighter. We, being such rebels, light ours up and agree to blow them out on the count of three. 1... We look around to realize all our candles are already out. We try again. 2...3... They are all out again. We laugh at our inability, give up, and sit down. The time comes to light the candles. Rebekah tips the lighted one getting wax on the floor (shhh). We all stand and sing Christmas carols. Sam shouts out the lyrics to the songs as loudly and inaccurately as possible; noAL noAL. I nearly die of embarrassment. I’ll have to remember next time to make sure I don’t sit by him. After what seems like hours it’s over and we return home. I get home and relax. This doesn’t last long before I hear yelling and rush to the kitchen to find out the cause. I see Rebekah lying on the floor pounding her fists on the ground and hear her screaming “I want a drum! That’s all I wanted and you couldn’t even get it for me!” I see Sam and Dan laughing. I think they are insensitive until I realize that mom did in fact get Rebekah drums and join in the laughter. After a good half hour of Rebekah’s screaming we agree to let her open one present; the drums. She opens them and is ecstatic… until she remembers her screaming and becomes a little on the embarrassed side, silly Rebekah. After these antic the males (and Bek too) turn on yulin with the page. I try to enjoy it but well sports aren’t my cup of tea so I wander off to bed and eagerly await the presents to be unwrapped the next day. As I pass the kitchen I have to avert my eyes. Mother is frantically wrapping the presents. Well the ones that she actually remembered where she had hidden them. The rest will be left until next June when she finds them then puts them back in the cupboard in hopes that she will find them again next Christmas. When will that lady learn?
The next morning we awake to open our presents. Everyone is pleased with what they get. Well ok is less than pleased with the leather jacket but who can blame the guy? Sam and Dan got us silly string. Oh the havoc that ensues. Sam with his cleverness saves the last bit till no one had any left and ambushes us all. He’s a crafty one that Sam. We spend the rest of the day just relaxing and enjoying a Christmas video or special; The grinch that stole Christmas “BUT WHAT WILL I WEAR?!?” or maybe a Christmas story. “Ra ra ra ra ra’ If I have my way we play a game of monopoly but well I never get my way. Its probably best though since we’ve yet to play a game that didn’t end in a screaming match. I can say, without any bias, that its ALWAYS all Sam’s fault because h is a big cheater head! Finally the time comes when mom has completed dinner. Usually about 8 o’clock but hey like I said a little on the late side is just how we do things. Mom’s annual temper tantrum is all part of the holidays too. I would have thought she would calm down eventually, after all things always work out in the end and food is always good. Dad says a prayer and by the time he is finished we are all starving. We all dig into the spread of turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing (you can’t have Christmas without a whole lot of stuffing). We all prefer the brown meat (except one outcast who will remain nameless) so you got to be fast if you want some. If your not you can always steal Dan’s. He’s easily duped. Another classical the table is the egg nog. Each member must receive their fair share or a riot WILL break out. There are even disputes even when it is measured to the ml. In the end someone always ends up with more. We all know who that someone is. Don’t we?? Its all worth it though. Eggnog just wouldn’t taste as good if you didn’t have to fight for it.
When everything is over we all go off to bed and are glad that we had this time together. Who knows what our lives hold for us and how many more Christmas’s we will have together. Heck Dan will probably be off on some crazy adventure in who knows where by the next one. But when we are old and gray (in mom and dad’s case older and grayer ahahaha) we can always look back at those classic Barnum Christmas’s and laugh. I hope you guys liked my little story and had yet another very Merry Christmas!!! I love you all!!

love

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

This reminds me of a song that my good friend and session mate Josh ivony wrote when he was here in vancouver.

I want to love like you love, i want to feel like you feel, i don't want to sing empty words, i pray they are real in my heart, in my heart and i pray you would be rooted and established in love. to grasp how wide, how deep is the love of christ.

Jesus increase my inmost being to love you more and to love your friends that are hurting and broke and looking for you. stir up a passion for the lost in me. Stir faith in my life oh lord.

I desire this love in my life. to be a example of this passage to my brothers and sisters and my friends.

PS... Me and an wonderful guy name Davyd are a couple now.

today consisted of.........

Cleansing stream cell at the crosswalk. good times. i enjoy this cell, it is fun. it was not complete due to missing cell member, aka sean and davyd. the cleansing stream is full of good stuff.

Then did kettle until 4:20pm when lynn wagner came and release me. i did well. i was alone but the band came by to play a few songs and aaron and the teen cell were following them around, becky came by with blessing with me a hot chocalate and there was lot of people that walk by and gave me money. i did not really know many christmas songs so i only sang a little and rang the bell occasionally through out the time, i pray alot though so praise the lord!


7 tonight kettle pizza party at the command centre, it is going to be an awesome time :D looking forward to it.

a little bit of my heart regarding street combat

I am discouraged with my team and my night of street combat, The first night i got this awesome word that god want to do sign and wonders on the streets of the down town eastside.
Mark 16:Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

That night i saw fruit and it was awesome and there was a lot of joy in it and well after that there was nothing. There is lack of faith, passion and compassion and not sure what to do about it. I believe that god want to do this, there is walls there and not sure how to tear them down.
Any suggestions and thoughts would be awesome and ps jeni and regan are in enaged! praise the lord!

only in the downtown eastside

going to cell tonight and this guy came up to me and said i need money, i am pregant. Hmm thinking to myself i am pretty sure you are not. It was funny though. Things that you only would hear in the downtown eastside, well apparently in toronto as well.

My hair is very short

hmm went to Hope Renefrew to sleep over last night and it was
spontaneous thing to do and jenea cut my hair, it is really short, she did a good job. maybe i will try and get a picture of it up here but we will see.

Faith

I want faith
I need faith
my desire to have faith

to see your power
to see your sign and wonders
to see your love across this earth
to see the chain be loose
to see prisoner be free
to see captive to be released
to see your kingdom on this earth

you said if i have faith like a mustard seed
i could move mountains

Faith, i need more faith
to see the greater thing of your kingdom

testimony

What has been a difficulty the Lord has helped you overcome? How did
He help you? not able to communicate my thoughts in large groups. He
has encouraged me that leadership seminar and classes are a safe place
to speak out my thoughts.
In what areas have you grown? What difference has coming to The War
College meant to you? I am more outgoing, able to hear the voice of
the lord more clearly and distinguishing the voice of the lord and the
lies of the enemy. I am more free from the crap that was in my past
and walking out the freedom i already attained. more confident in
myself and my gifts.
What is the Lord encouraging you with recently?
He has encouraged me by giving me an amazing opportunity to go to
christian daycare and allow the teachers there to show me how i can be
a better teacher in a loving and supportive way and through his word and
speak words of truth.

my beautiful family

verse of the day

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”- John 6:35

Feast on the bread of life today