Monday, September 27, 2010

Hello folks.

Its been a while but there's not much new here, honestly. Work, church, friends, volunteering. Nothing out of the norm... but here's an update on all four of those things.

Work...
is going well. I've picked up a third shift each week (Sunday night). We're going to see how well I tolerate it. I'm currently working the second night of this new schedule. The other night dispatcher desperately needed another night off so I agreed to take on the extra shift. I hope this works out for both of us. My boss said the other day that they might be looking to hire a third dispatcher. Not sure when that'll happen but am looking forward to it because it would give us all greater flexibility.
We're still on rotation and that's going well. Last night (Sunday night) was really quiet. There were two tows - one at 11pm, the other at midnight which cleared at 1am. The phone didn't ring again til 8:30am. Kinda nice. I suspect tonight will be busier... but tomorrow night we're done rotation at midnight. horrah.

Church...
is fantastic! The 'new' factor hasn't worn thin yet... so I'm sucking all this up while I can. Though I suspect that even when the 'newness' is gone, I'll still be thrilled to go every Sunday. The people there are so lovely and the music and message are so relevant to my life.
That said, I'm missing a lot of my friends at Cooke's. They're such good people but I think my time there is done. I feel like I have to justify leaving even though everyone tells me that I don't. I still feel like I'm failing them by leaving. Few people seem to understand how I feel like I'm being pulled in two different directions. I'm missing so many of the friendly familiar faces. But even with all those fantastic people, I'm still not happy there. So why should I go to a church where I'm on the verge of tears because no one seems to see that they're not letting the Holy Spirit move! He's got such great things he could do but they're so mired in tradition.

Friends...
are all doing reasonably well. My good friend had her second baby the other day. A little girl - 9lbs 6oz! We're all really happy for her. Everyone seems to be pretty busy now that its fall and the kids are back in school.

Volunteering...
has taken a backseat to my job over the last few months. I no longer volunteer at Parkholm and because I'm not at Cooke's anymore, I'm not volunteering there either. I'm still editing and publishing the newsletter for the PCC's Women's Missionary Society and we sent out an edition earlier this month. Its nothing fancy but its a good gig. Its nice to be in touch with all these Presbyterian women who have a heart for missions work.

And in other news...
Mom is coming home from the island today. She spent some time there on a course for work. It'll be good to have her back. Dad is still hunting up north. They got a moose which is exciting (one of dad's friends did, not dad himself) and dad is staying up there for the rest of the week. Mom and Jill are heading up there on Friday to spend the weekend and bring dad home. Jill is taking her apprentice, Shelby, and they're going to trim and shoe as many horses as they can in two days. I'll be house sitting for mom/dad/Jill for two nights... feeding the chickens, picking up eggs, taking care of the horses.

Well, that 'bout sums up my life!

Until next time...

Moving forward with Joy.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Hello folks.

Hope you're all doing good.

Things here are pretty good. I've had a few days off which is nice but am back at work tonight.

My main news of the past few weeks is that I've been going to a new church in Agassiz. I'm not announcing that fact to anyone but to the few people who read this blog. Its a really rad church - like my home congregation, they're also Presbyterian but nothing else about the service is anything like any other Presby church I've been to in my entire life! They have completely modern worship, the minister and a few other people actually raise their hands in worship and the sermons actually speak to me. Its not crazy-evangelical or anything but its the perfect balance. The minister at the church where I'm a member is a great guy and his sermons aren't too shabby but they're geared for the 75-year-olds in the congregation, not to my generation.

I'm going to this new church's adult Sunday school for the next few weeks. They're doing a series on what they're church believes and who they're affiliated with. I know they're more conservative theologically then the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) which is who my home congregation is affiliated with... and they're affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) but that's really all I know beyond the fact that I noticed there are no women elders in the congregation. I don't know of that's a denominational thing or if that's just cause there were no willing women in the congregation. Who knows. The service really speaks to me and I feel spiritually charged when I leave! I knew I was going to love it when, at the beginning of worship on my first Sunday there, the worship team did a peppy/rock/contemporary version of "It is well with my soul". It happens to be my favourite hymn of all time, the one that has kept me at peace through all this garbage that's going on at my home congregation.

I'm not going to make a decision about leaving my home church until I know more about what this one believes. And even then I don't think I'll leave my home church completely. I feel like my life is tied up there and I can't just walk away. At the same time, the church is dead and its hard not to cry on Sunday mornings simply because there's no children, no young people, no joy. Its sad hymns and a routine that no longer celebrates Jesus.

I found this video on the web that really speaks to me right now. I thought I would share it with you:



I don't know what my future holds but I'm ashamed to say that I made the decision five years ago between being passionate about my faith or being Presbyterian. I chose being Presbyterian. But now I see I can have both. I can be joyful in Jesus and still be Presbyterian. I honestly didn't think it was possible to be both.

On a different note:

It started off as a bit of a chaotic night but its calmed down quite a bit. I had one completely belligerent guy who figured he could tell the drivers how to do their job, and me as well. Seriously a jerk. I treated him with the respect he wasn't giving me but in the end I had to tell him to call someone else.

I've been working lots and its going well. We're starting Rotation with the RCMP tomorrow at midnight so things will get busy again. I'm thankful for the extra hours I've been getting. I ended up having to buy a new computer so I owe mom and dad for that... the extra hours help pay for that! And they also pay for the new lenses in my glasses. Will call the Ministry (gov't) to see if they can help me out, too.

I should go find some supper and settle in for a night. I hope its quiet.

Moving forward with Joy!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Hello folks!

Happy September. Gosh, it feels good to say that. September is my favourite month by far! It means that the weather is cooling off, the leaves are starting to change and it means that we're getting back into a routine I can count on.

Things here are moderately okay. I've got the phones for the third night in a row. I'm pretty tired but after the pay cheque I got this week for the last pay period (where I also worked four straight nights), I'm thankful for the extra work! More work = More money. Its good to put some away for Christmas and I'm also able to pay mom and dad more money towards my new computer. I have a little extra money left over after my contribution to the grocery fund and my savings fund so I'm going to buy a dock for my iPod so I don't have to keep hauling my computer speakers around my house!

I had a doctor's appointment last week that was frustrating. I went to get the results of some blood work and she told me that I'm pre-diabetic. This is honestly no great surprise but that doesn't make the news that my diet is changing drastically once again any easier. I really don't want to be full-blown type 2 diabetic by the time I'm 30 so I'll definitely be behaving. My doctor said that my status as a pre-diabetic is due, in part, to some of the medication I'm on (Zyprexa). We're going to look at getting me off this drug... I'll be seeing one of my specialists this fall to discuss my options. My doctor has also written me a referral to a dietitian who can hopefully help me balance a diabetic diet with my many food allergies.

Hope you're all enjoying the beginning of Fall. Its a really blessed time of year!

Moving Forward with Joy!