the power of serving others

Saturday was Cross Culture.

I have to admit, if you would have asked me at 6:30am if I was excited for the day, I honestly would have had to say no. You know the usual excuses... I wanted to sleep in, the weather looked gloomy, or I thought there was something else I could have been doing; purely selfish reasons.

Let's just say I have learnt long ago that I should never listen to myself during the first 30-45mins after I first get up (I am a pretty grumpy morning person).

As soon as I got myself going, putting porridge and some milk inside my belly, I started to feel a little more chipper and optamistic about the day. Its suprising what a good bowl of oatmeal can do for you. "There is no such thing as a bad meal when you eat some oatmeal!" Okay... enough about oatmeal, more about Cross Culture.

Cross Culture was such a blessed and wonderful day. It went so smoothly. I would just like to take a moment to thank everyone who made it possible, you are all incredible.

I wrote a little while ago that Bono once said, "Stop asking God to bless what you are doing. Get involved in what God is doing, because it's already blessed." It was evident that Cross Culture is what God is doing.

Matt B and I had the priviledge of being the leaders of the group that went down to Helping Hands. The people there have such BIG hearts! It is a used clothing store run completely by volunteers and is supported by donations only. All the clothes there are free and every Friday they go out and hand out hygene packages to the people on the streets. It was so neat just to have convorsations with these wonderful people and see the passion for serving shining through everything they said and did. It made me think "I want that."

I was caught off guard by one of the questions that Helen (the lady who runs Helping Hands) asked. She looked me in the eyes and said, "Katrina, what drives you heart for God? What makes you feel close to God, what makes your heart feel fulfilled?"

I guess the reason why that question caught me off guard so much was because I thought we were at that time in the convorsation where she would ask the typical, "What are you going to school for?" or "What do you want to become?" And I would answer with the typical, "I am going to school to become an elementary teacher. I can't wait, it's been my dream for quite awhile."

The question she asked me was direct, it was in the present. Not what do you want to become, but who ARE you? It wasn't easy to answer and I don't think I did myself justice with the answer I gave her, "I like to help people." Well said Katrina, well said. If I had a second chance I would hope I could come up with a slightly better phrased answer.

Making a difference drives my heart. Relating to people, seeing someone smile, listening to someone share themselves, being there, doing the little things, giving, serving, being needed... that is what makes my heart feel closest to God, that's what makes me tick.

There is such power found in serving others. I truly think that God did not intend us to be selfish beings who only look out for the "number one." Because when I looked around at the faces of everyone involved with Cross Culture I saw joy, I saw love, I felt God.

Donald Miller (great author of Blue Like Jazz) pretty much sums it up, "There is a kind of evolution that happens to the people who have learnt the beautiful truth that other people exist, and that life can be found in serving them."

I'm going to pull a Helen... "What drives your heart? What makes you feel closest to God?"
Answer those questions and I'll bet that you will start to understand who you actually ARE.

I know it got me started...

here I am...

Here I am sitting at my cluttered 'desk' at 5:00am in the morning, my carpet chair has long lost its whatever comfort it had to offer as I attempt to finish a paper that is due in T minus four hours...
My stomach feels like it is rotting from the gallons of coffee I downed and my hands shake from the gitters as I attempt to type.
I am barley keeping my sanity thanks to Norah humming a tune in the background.
Its kinda funny how being sleep deprived reminds you of the things that annoy you the most and how they all tend to make an appearance... clutter, coffee breath, MLA, dirty dishes, dry itchy eyes, people who whine and complain about having to stay up and work on papers...
Yes, I am annoying myself so I am going to stop



At least someone is sleeping tonight.

what do you want to be when your 20?

If you would have asked me that question more than 10 years ago, these would have been some of the possible responses:

"A milk tester so that I could have a constant supply of Trident gum, Bubblegum flavour."
"I want to have 10 puppies that will always stay puppies because I am going to invent a special concoction that will make them stay puppies forever!"
"I will be living in the woods in a little cabin."
"Be playing for the Mighty Ducks."
"A famous poet and draw the cartoon characters for Walt Disney on the side."
"I will be married to Shawn Shaver and have at least 3 kids"
"I will be the fastest runner in Canada and go on to the Olympics and win a gold medal."
"I will host my own cooking and gardening show and teach the world how to make my famous mud/sand pie."

Yesterday I turned 20, and I think my childhood self would have looked down on me with distain for I haven't fulfilled any of the expectations...

I wasn't sure what it would feel like to turn 20. I was kinda intimidated by this 'milestone' birthday, leaving the days of being a teenager behind. It feels like days ago when I turn 13 and no longer was obligated to say the mealtime prayer, "Lord bless this food and drink for Jesus sake Amen" and having a crush on Nick Carter.
It seems like yesterday when I was celebrating the sweet 16, getting my G1 which meant I no longer had to rely on my Supercyle bike.
It seems like hours ago when I turned 20...

I think my older brother Mike described the feeling of turning 20 the best, "Well Katrina, you are not 30 and your not 10, your in between..." Sums it up pretty well.

Now that I am 20 years old am I disappointed that I am not living in the woods with Shawn and my three kids? Nope. Luckily some things over the years do change...
I can confidently say that I am not disappointed about where I am today. When I look around me all I see is blessings, the health and love of my family, the laughter and support of friends, the oppotunity to go to school, freedom, and joy. I know I don't deserve this, which makes me even more thankful. It gives me such anticipation for my future and what the next 10 years will bring.

If you would have asked me this question about 2 minutes ago, these would have been some of the possible responses:

"I want to be a good daughter, sister, and friend."
"To be rooted and established in my faith, keeping God constantly as the number one in my life."
"To own a motorcyle and get other people give me rides on it." (I don't have any desire to drive one, I just want to be the passenger.)
"To continue to work towards my dream of becoming a teacher"
"To take advantage of every opportunity that life presents and enjoy it to the fullest."
"Be the fourth member of the Dixie Chicks"
"To only drink real tea"
"Always be streching myself to grow and learn. Listening to different opinions and forming my own. 'Always grow, grow always.'"
"Play for the Canadian Olympics Woman's Softball team" (I can always still keep dreaming...)
"Ultimately, living a life that is pleasing to God, trusting in His plans for my life, and allowing Him to guide me down the paths of my life."

Somethings change, somethings don't...

stess reliever?

This morning when I thought my head and stomach were going to explode from the pressure of realizing everything I have to do in my life until next week Thursday this soundtrack soothed it ALL away... ok it just made me chuckle at myself for restorting to ocean sounds. I think I might be going nutso.

glorious calvin and hobbes

I absolutely love Calvin and Hobbes cartoons! So I thought I would dedicate one blog specifically to them by showing some of my favourite cartoons and quotes by the one and only, Calvin.

(Yippee for procastination methods when I really should be writing one the the trillion papers that I have due.)

"Why should I have to WORK for everything?! It's like saying I don't deserve it!"

"I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul."

"I go to school, but I never learn what I want to know."

"To make a bad day worse, spend it wishing for the impossible."

"You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help."

"In my opinion, we don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks."

"Things are never quite as scary when you've got a best friend."

"I'M SIGNIFICANT!...screamed the dust speck."

God on a dirt road walking toward me

I know, I know, I know... and that is the problem.

God never promised that the Christian walk is going to be easy, but the comfort that we have is that we will never have to do it alone. Everyone knows the classic line from the Footprints In The Sand poem "I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

It is easy for the mind to wrap itself around this concept, but it's a lot harder to tell that to the heart. What the mind knows does not always easily transfer down to the heart. The head got the memo, but the heart is illiterate. Great. Sometimes, I wish that it was the other way around.

What do you do when God's prescence is foreign? Do you just go on pretending like everything is ok and then eventually it will be? Do you go on with the mentality that this is just a valley and you must go through it to stand upon the mountain of God? Cliche.

When my devotions could not pierce
Thy silent ears, Then was my heart broken, as was my verse;

Both knees and heart in crying night and day,
Come, come my God, O come!
But no hearing.

O that thou shouldst give dust a tongue
To cry to thee,
And then not hear it crying!

(excepts from Denial by George Herbert)

Not so cliche, eh?

I once listened to an Indian on television say that God was in the wind and the water, and I wondered at how beautiful that was because it meant you could swim in Him or have Him brush your face in a breeze. I am early in my story, but I believe I will stretch out into eternity, and in heaven I will reflect upon these early days, these days when it seems God was walking down a dirt road, walking toward me. Years ago He was a swinging speck in the distance; someday He will be close enough that I can hear His singing. Eventually, I will see the lines on His face. (Blue Like Jazz)

How I long for that day when God will no longer be walking towards me on the dirt road, but we will be walking together holding hands. Then there will be no reason to convince myself of His prescence for it will be undeniable.

I will understand.

Ive got a hankering

Spring is in the air, which means it is time to dust off one of my most treasured possessions - my beautiful black Rawlings glove.
I've got a real hankering to play catch, so consider this an open invitation. Anyone, anytime, anywhere. (I think this sounds desperate. Meh, oh well.)
But in the meantime I guess there is always this option...


If you watched this whole thing, don't feel too bad. It is kinda hypnotizing.

attempting to put into words...

This past week has been one of those 'makes me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside every time I look back on it' weeks.

It all started with a road trip down to Clinton with Matt, Liz, Ryan, and Robyn to watch Ryan play some hockey. The game was intense and left the fans on the edge of their seats. Ryan's fans were satisfied with his two goals and an assist. (I think those stats are right... although I am just a self-proclaimed sportsnet reporter).Ryan and Matt's piercing voices, as they sang along to "Too Little, Too Late," was classic. I swear Matt hit every note.

This next part makes me gloat with glee. Our team for British Quiz night swept the board and left all the other teams in the dust. One little thing though... I'm still bitter about that dairy farmer question. I have NEVER ever heard a real farmer call twelve or more cows a Flink. I'm pretty sure if they did they would be mocked until the cows come home.
Special note for team Guild: B for 'Better luck next time'

On Wednesday we broke from tradition and went out for dessert instead of having devos. (Just for a quick side note, if you ever want to go out for dessert don't go to Crabby's because they only have one dessert.) So I got the only dessert they had, some kind of apple caramel crunch and a large caramel milkshake and learnt quickly that caramel is only good in small doses... unlike the wonderfulness, exemplary smoothness, and richness of chocolate. mmmm chocolate.
Here's me attempting to give Tamille a wet willie. Fun.

This one is a gem! Over the last couple of days I have fallen in love with Anna Nalick's music. This week I learnt how to play her song 'Breathe' on guitar. It's been wonderful and I'm sure the girls in my dorm might be sick of hearing it. This little video combines my favourite movie with a great song 'Forever Love' by Anna Nalick. *sigh*

Ever since I got this face mask stuff for Christmas, I have been trying with little avail to get the girls to have a face mask night with me. On Thursday night James Harskamp made my day by asking if he could have a face mask treatment. Gosh golly, what a pleasant surprise. I finally got to share the experience of the Cucumber Melon Facial Clay with someone. It was definitely a brother and sister moment, although my brothers have never let me do this to them....
So if you notice anything different about James and I, its not a hair cut or a dye, but our extremely smooth and good looking faces.

Big News! For the first time in my life I am going to be going to a Blue Jays home opener!!!!! Gone are the days of watching it on the television and wishing that I could be there experiencing the smells, sounds, sights, and excitement of baseball. I can't even put into words how this makes me feel. The best I can come up with right now is, 'Oh man, I'm so pumped!!!!!'

Banquet. It was on Friday. It was super, duper, fantastical, amazing! That day was so lovely, sun shining, birds chirping, spring was in the air. Danielle and I went on a drive with the sun roof open to Limeridge to do some last minute shopping. When I got back the dorm it was time to get ready. :) I had the privilege of doing Liz, Ree, and Robyn's hairdos for the night. Kudos goes out to them for trusting me with it. If anyone would have lit a match in our dorm it probably, no definitely, would have combusted due to the hairspray fogging the air.
The best part of the night was the dancing! Incredible. Never have I seen so many dutch people letting it loose on the dance floor. The smoothness and slickness of the people around me never ceases to amaze me.
That night we got back and watched the movie 'The Prestige' until 4am. Great movie, definitely confusing, but a fantastic movie. I recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. Oh! and speaking of movies, we watched 300 this week too. Another fantastic movie, it was very well done. I normally don't like war movies, but this one was different.

Last but not least, because this is what truly makes my week wonderful, is the time just spent with my first rate friends. The late night talks, the laughs, singing, trips to Wallmart and Tims, watching 24, and those Sunday afternoon lunches we have, honestly usually the highlight of my week.

Yup, this week has been golden.

sarcasm, a beautiful thing

My favourite type of humour is sarcastic humour. There is something about it that cracks me up everytime. When people have perfected this art, it's a beautiful thing. There are only a few whom I have met who have been able to accomplish this. Robyn and Jess, you are probably the top ranked in my books when it comes to sarcasm; I still haven't found anyone that could measure up.

Don't ask me how I found this.. lets just say I stumbled upon it late at night while I was sleep walking. If you actally use it to improve yourself sarcastically I promise not to tell anyone. It is a lesson plan on being sarcastic.

Note: By no means do I consider myself intellectually superior to you. Just because I am trying to teach you something that is usually innate and comes easy to those who are clever and intelligent, or at least quick-witted, does not mean that I presume to think myself your superior, and expect that you genuflect before me. You can thank me later...

Step One: What Is Sarcasm

As with any subject of study, it is always helpful, nay, necessary to learn the terms of art that relate to the subject. In this case it will be easy since by simply knowing the definition of the word ‘sarcasm' should be enough to point you in the right direction.

Sarcasm: Pronunciation: 'sär-"ka-z&m
Function: noun
Etymology: French or Late Latin; French sarcasme, from Late Latin sarcasmos, from Greek sarkasmos, from sarkazein to tear flesh, bite the lips in rage, sneer, from sark-, sarx flesh; probably akin to Avestan thwarts- to cut
1 : a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain
2 a : a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual b : the use or language of sarcasm

Step 2: Finding People Who Are Capable of Sarcasm

In order to be able to recognize sarcasm, you will need to hear a lot of sarcastic comments, and to pay close attention to the nuances that make an otherwise simple comment into a sarcastic sting. To do this, you will need regular access to one person who is a natural at being sarcastic. The easiest place to start would be the people you already know. Although it is unlikely that you will have a friend or acquaintance who is clever enough to be sarcastic -- being that you are not sarcastic yourself*-- it is still worth evaluating your friends.

Step 3: Memorizing and Reciting Sarcastic Comments

The exercise for this lesson is rather straightforward: memorize and repeat.
Every sarcastic comment that you identify should be memorized; write it down if you have to – You can get a small notepad and pen at your local stationary store. Always be sure to make a mental or written note (it is best to make a written note) detailing the situation in which the sarcastic remark was made.

Step 4: Making Original Sarcastic Comments

This will be the hardest portion of your studies, because it requires that you develop your own thoughts. As with any new venture, there will be mistakes.
After every attempt at being sarcastic ask questions, ‘Was that sarcastic?', ‘Did you think that my comment was clever?'. Learn from your mistakes, and do not be afraid to ask for help to further develop the comments that you find are not sarcastic.
This exercise should be repeated until you can at least make a successful sarcastic comment fifty percent (half) of the time. However, make sure that you do not overexert yourself in trying to always be perfect with your sarcasm. Just be happy with the abilities that you have developed.

You're Welcome! :)

why i still love full house...

Tonight I spent a good 2 hours just watching Full House clips and I have renewed my childhood crush on Jesse... he is such a stud.

ignorance and truth

Ignorance. What is ignorance? Is ignorance bliss?

One of the greatest discoveries that we make as human beings is to recognize how little we really know about almost everything and understand the magnitude of our ignorance. For as we begin to realise how much we don't know, we being our journey of discovery towards the horizon of the unknown towards the truth.

Truth. Francis Bacon once asked, "What is truth?"

'But it is not the lie that passeth through the mind, but the lie that sinketh in, and settleth in it, that doth the hurt; such as we spake of before. But, howsoever these things are thus in men's depraved judgments, and affections, Yet truth, which only doth judge itself, teacheth that the inquiry of truth, which is the love-making, or wooing of it, the knowledge of truth, which is the presence of it, and the belief of truth, which is the enjoying of it, is the sovereign good of human nature.'

Truth is the opposite of a lie. Lies are powerful, for they have the capacity to replace truth so that we no longer search for it. They sink into our very being, giving us a sad sort of pleasure. They are easier to accept, because they do not challenge, they do not seek for answers. They are a simple concept to quell questioning and consequences.

'If it be well weighed, to say that a man lieth, is as much to say, as that he is brave towards God, and a coward towards men. For a lie faces God, and shrinks from man.'

Truth on the other hand challenges us and does not allow us to wallow in our ignorance. It does not allow us to ignore the consquences of the things we accept. Truth is not comfortable for it has the capacity to confront a mistaken belief. Even though lies are powerful, truth overcomes. Truth lasts; it is the presence of truth that allows for knowledge and it is the beautiful display of the spirit working in the good of human nature.

'Certainly, it is heaven upon earth, to have a man's mind move in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the poles of truth.'

*All quotes are from Francis Bacon's Essay On Truth