Target: Red Coat with Black Spots...

When I was a child I would sit and play in the grass with my friends and we would often see ladybugs and let them crawl on our arms or legs. We thought lady bugs were beautiful....how lovely a creature with a red coat and black spots. As with many things when you grow up you are awakened to the harsh reality that life seen through a child's eyes is often far from reality.

It seems to be lady bug season in my house and in particular, my room. I may even go as far as to say that there is a lady bug infestation in my room. They live in my windows. I don't know where they come from but they move from the windows to my lamps, to my ceiling and my floor. I've heard that it's bad luck to kill a lady bug and if this is true then I'm pretty much doomed to bad luck for the rest of my life. I've killed tons. I kill them before bed and the next morning there is a whole new crop of them. Worst thing: when you kill a lady bug or when it senses fear it releases the most horrible scent, it's disgusting.

Reality is that lady bugs are no longer those beautiful innocent bugs with a lovely red coat and black spots. In my adult world they are now unwelcome house guests that must be destroyed.

It's a good day if I can kill 4 with one kleenex.

Welcome to the adult world.

Skies Explode...

I'm like the farthest from morning person that you can get. I like staying up late, I like sleeping in and mornings are difficult for me. I can't even believe I'm uttering these words but I think I might be changing. Since I started working at Bethesda 7 months ago I've gotten plenty of opportunities to greet the day. When I work a dayshift I usually get up at 5:15am and leave the house by 6:15am. As I'm driving to work the moon is setting on one side of me while on the other side the sky is exploding with colours as the sun breaks through the darkness. It's quite a contrast really. I've discovered that there is something about getting up early and getting things in motion first thing.  At the group home I love getting the ladies up and showered and through the breakfast routine while jamming to tunes in the kitchen while the sun is shining through the kitchen windows. I like it, I might even like it enough to try it when I don't have to work! All I can think about when I get to drive to work early and watch the sun rise is how it is like an explosion of beauty that I get a chance to witness, I get to be a part of the show that God puts on each day. One of my adventure goals this summer is to get some of my friends together and get up super early and road trip to somewhere beautiful and watch the sun rise while eating breakfast together. I'll make sure to post some pics when it happens.

I hope that even if you're a night hawk like me that you'll give the morning a try....the alarm bites but the beauty is to come and you'll get to see the skies explode!

~The Kindred Spirit

Because He's MY Friend...

I love Easter. Spring is in the air and I just have this feeling of new life. It's a time to celebrate that Jesus didn't stay dead.....He has risen!

Yesterday was a busy day. I worked the 3-11 shift on Saturday and then got up at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning to meet with my church family to watch the sun come up and celebrate the risen Son! Then I ran home for a quick wardrobe change and then back to the church to get ready for 2:52 Basics. After 2:52 I watched the third Easter performance of "The Door", which was excellent by the way! I headed home for lunch and then off to work another afternoon shift. The day was jam packed full but it was great. Somewhere in all this business, I had a moment. I was in the 2:52 Basics room downstairs at church and the team was getting ready for the morning. I had briefly talked to our storyteller for that morning and she mentioned that she wasn't going to use the story outlined this week since it just wasn't fitting with the morning....I encouraged her to do this. I didn't really know what she was going to do but she's the kind of woman you just trust with things like this. She told the kids that they were going to tell the story today.....she began to lead them through a series of questions where they got to share what they knew about Jesus and how they knew that. Lots of children raised their hands and shared things but there was one little girl in the room who stole all of our hearts with her answer. She raised her hand and said simply "He's a friend". The storyteller looked at the child over her glasses that sat on her nose and asked her how she knew this. The little girl replied by saying "because He's MY friend". Silence. We all held our breath for a moment as that simple statement closed the story time. I choked back tears to compose myself enough to finish the large group time but that thought stayed with me.

How one little girl can really sum Easter up in one simple statement baffles me but I guess that's the thing about God's love and grace.....it's just baffling.

I hope you can remember that simple statement today too.

Happy Easter,
Darcie

Thank You Brian Williams...

Brian William, the anchor and managing editor of the NBC nightly news  wrote this article, which I love and wanted to share with you all, hope you enjoy.....


LEAVING BEHIND A THANK-YOU NOTE...
After tonight's broadcast and after looting our hotel mini-bars, we're going to try to brave theblizzard and fly east to home and hearth, and to do laundry well into next week.  Before we leave this thoroughly polite country, the polite thing to do is leave behind a thank-you note.

Thank you, Canada:

For being such good hosts.

For your unfailing courtesy.

For your (mostly) beautiful weather.

For scheduling no more than 60 percent of your float plane departures at the exact moment when I  was trying to say something on television.

For not seeming to mind the occasional (or constant) good-natured mimicry of your accents.

For your unique TV commercials -- for companies like Tim Hortons -- which made us laugh and cry.

For securing this massive event without choking security, and without publicly displaying a  single automatic weapon.

For having the best garment design and logo-wear of the games -- you've made wearing your name a  cool thing to do.

For the sportsmanship we saw most of your athletes display.

For not honking your horns. I didn't hear one car horn in 15 days -- which also means none of my  fellow New Yorkers rented cars while visiting.

For making us aware of how many of you have been watching NBC all these years.

For having the good taste to have an anchorman named Brian Williams on your CTV network, who  turns out to be such a nice guy.

For the body scans at the airport which make pat-downs and cavity searches unnecessary.

For designing those really cool LED Olympic rings in the harbor, which turned to gold when your  athletes won one.

For always saying nice things about the United States...when you know we're listening.

For sharing Joannie Rochette with us.

For reminding some of us we used to be a more civil society.
Mostly, for welcoming the world with such ease and making lasting friends with all of us.

I BELIEVE CANADA...

Two weeks ago I fell down my basement stairs and boy did I fall hard. I was in a bit of shock when I finally stopped falling and was lying at the bottom of the stairs. To top it all off I fell again a few days later while walking in a parking lot. A few days after that I really over did it and ended up being on my couch for the next week and a bit while I willed my body to heal. I'm still in a fair amount of discomfort, which I'm hoping will continue to heal quickly.

Now on any other occasion being on the couch for a week would not be a good thing but it just happened that the Vancouver 2010 Olympics were on. I've watched the Olympics through the years and always enjoyed them but I've never been so impacted by the games as I was over this past 17 days. I became the Olympic expert since I witnessed most of the moments of the games. What I did not anticipate though was to have such a deep heartfelt experience. I saw my country come together in a new way that I've never seen, making me feel more proud to be Canadian than ever before. We wore our red and white proudly and declared loudly with glowing hearts our national anthem for all to hear. We saw a humble guy named Alexandre Bilodeau win Gold for the first time on home soil for not only his country but for his inspiration, his brother who has Cerebral Palsy. We were moved as we saw first hand a courageous young woman who had just lost her mother skate the program of her life. Joannie Rochette stole all of Canada's hearts and earned a bronze medal that may as well have been gold in all of our eyes. When Jon Montgomery won gold we felt more connected to the athletes because we realized they're just normal people just like us who work hard and dare to dream big. We celebrated as we watched Tessa and Scott make history by being the youngest and first ice dance pair in North America to win gold in ice dancing! We cheered our lungs out as both our Canadian women and men proved once again to the world that hockey is CANADA'S game!!!! We broke the Gold medal record which showed that even though we didn't have the most medals we still owned the podium.

I cried more than once as I watched these incredible moments. During the closing games VANOC CEO John Furlong talked about the Canada that was compared to the Canada that now is..."And to perhaps compare for a moment the Canada that was with the Canada that now is. I believe we Canadians tonight are stronger, more united, more in love with our country and more connected with each other than ever before. These Olympic Games have lifted us up. If the Canada that came together on Opening night was a little mysterious to some it no longer is. Now you know us, eh"! I love this! It's funny to say but I feel like this has been a spiritual experience for me and for others too. Something happens when people are joined together, cheering each other on, celebrating their gifts, talent and hard work. Something happens when people from all over the world come together, when there's community. Something happens inside you when your heart is connected with others and when you cheer so loud because you're so thankful that you were blessed to be born in the country that you were. I believe with all my heart that it indeed was a spiritual experience from the God who created us for community and joy and celebration and is our loudest cheerleader! This is something that I need to remind myself more often.

So in the next few weeks I'll have to come down the emotional mountain while I'm in Olympic withdrawal but I don't ever want to forget the joys of these Vancouver games and the life lessons hidden in them.

Thank you Vancouver 2010 for inspiring Canada and for making us BELIEVE once again.

To All My Single Ladies...

It's almost here. The most dreaded day of the year for single girls desiring marriage everywhere. Yes, it's Valentine's Day. The day of love....blah blah blah. I rarely, actually pretty much never blog about my singleness but tonight I feel a little bit brave. Tonight I'm going to do it. I'm taking a deep breath.....and here I go....

I'm 22, out in the working world and single. I've never dated anyone and I'm still holding out for my first kiss. I've had 3 major crushes in my life, one of them being Mike Fisher, and yes it's the same Mike Fisher that just got engaged to Carrie Underwood. Most people would think 22....you're just a young thing and I am but it doesn't feel so young in this country town that I live in. The norm here is to be married by 21 or at least be seriously dating by then, which makes me sometimes feel like the odd one out. Even if no one thinks it, I feel like they think it. Sometimes I feel less, which is quite ridiculous and not true but still that feeling is there.

One of the biggest desires in my heart is to one day be married. I believe it's a God given desire. One girl that I respect once wrote that the longing is not desperation, it's design. When I first read this I felt understood, I felt like I had just read truth, I wanted to shout it out to all of the people who need to hear it most....perhaps you know who you are! That feeling in the pit of my stomach and that ache in my heart when I attend a wedding (not because I'm not happy for the couple) is design, not desperation, design.

It's funny the things coupled people say when talking about relationships to the singles....things like "oh it will come when you least expect it" or "when you stop thinking about it then it will happen". I usually find myself responding in my head by saying "well when it's a huge desire in your heart and you live in the town of coupledom would you like to tell me how the heck you just stop thinking about it?" One day when I've moved out of singleland, I vow to never tell someone that.

I think I've been learning a lot about relationships while being single. I've been watching and listening and I believe that with each day that passes I feel more equipped to actually be in a relationship. The truth of the matter is that my singleness is a gift and one that I have finally realized I don't want to waste. I know there is purpose in this stage and I want to learn how to be the best me alone so one day I know how to be the best me with someone else.

I'm holding out for a special guy who I know God has for me. I pray for him regularly and while God's working on his heart, He's also working on mine. And let me tell you one thing, when I meet him....I am gonna give him some serious LOVIN!!!!

So for all my single ladies out there waiting for some special guy to put a ring on it.....remember that your singleness is a GIFT! Even though the ache is still there enjoy this time.....seize the days of singleness, pray for your man and don't settle! That feeling in your gut is not desperation, it's design!

You're not alone in the waiting!

So Happy Valentine's Day to my fellow girls who are waiting for Mr. Right.....get your single ladies together and head out on the town for a night of celebration for the woman God has made you and to the woman you're becoming.

Cheers to Love and to the God who is love and made you to love and wants you to experience it at it's best.
Keep holding on.

With LOVE,
~The Kindred Spirit

Making a Difference, One Penny at a Time...

So I learned about the cutest and most amazing thing at church this past Sunday. One of the mom's who had a little boy in 2:52 Basics (the Sunday School program that I'm really involved in) came up to me to share her son's latest project. Back tracking a little bit....we've been talking about helping others in 2:52 and our latest offering project is Helping Haiti....we're raising money to help them in any way we can. Well this little boy has been working so hard on making these necklaces that have penny at the centre and he's called the campaign....helping Haiti one Penny At a Time. His mom owns a store in St. Catharines called Once Upon A Child and she made a little sign with his picture and the necklaces that people can buy for a dollar. So the boy has been putting tons of time and energy into making and selling these necklaces. He came into Sunday School on Sunday holding a little baggy with $40 to put in our offering container....and this boy is not one to brag but I had to share with the other kids what he's been doing. This story breaks my heart in a good way.

Small things can make a big difference, take it from a little boy in grade 1.

Seize the day,
Darc

Carpe Diem...

It's been a while since I've written. I always have these thoughts that I want to blog about but I never really make it a priority. My last post was Thanksgiving, oh dear....it has been a while. Well, good news....I have a job! I've been working for the last almost 4 months for an organization serving people with special needs called Bethesda. You can find the link under my favourite links on the side of this page. More specifically I work in a group home called Willow Heights. There are 8 lovely ladies that live in the house. It's a dual diagnosis home so there have been and still are many learning curves for me but the Lord is helping me major!

Some of you may remember from some of my blog entries my best friend Diana who serves in Haiti as a teacher at the Mission of Hope. Most of us have probably seen footage and pictures of the devastation from the earthquake that hit just a few short weeks ago. Please keep Diana and the Mission of Hope in your prayers as they seek to help the Haitian people in every way possible. You can also find Diana's blog under my favourite links at the side.

I've been thinking a lot lately about life and it's elements in all their uncertainties. I've been reading Donald Miller's latest book entitled "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years". The book is all about what he learned while he edited his life. I'm enjoying the book and as usual it's giving me lots to think about. Donald explores the idea of 'story' in great detail. What makes a story? How do you know if you're living a good one? How do you change your story? I think I find myself resonating with these ideas in a big way. I'm a contemplative thinking person which sometimes drives me nuts because I feel like I am always overanalyzing things and my mind rarely stops for a break! These are the kinds of things I'm thinking about at this stage of my life...and maybe you think about them at every stage, I'm not really sure? I'm in my 20's and I want to live a great story. I want to make choices that I won't regret. The message at church last Sunday was about Seizing the Day. The message made me want to see the movie 'Dead Poets Society' where the term 'Carpe Diem' was made famous. I rented the movie last night and watched it. It's kind of a dark movie with a very meaningful message. If you haven't seen it I would highly recommend it. The ending of the movie caught me very off guard and it didn't go where I thought it would go. Endings like this leave you thinking about what happened long after the film is over. I won't give the ending away in case you haven't seen it.



What I believe is the number one thing you take from the film: CARPE DIEM. The latin term for SEIZE THE DAY.

Seize the day. Grab it, take hold of it, be fully present in the moment, it's yours, don't let it slip away. How do I live like this? I love to dream. I dream about the future and what it might hold. Sometimes I get disappointed when things don't turn out like I thought they would. I suppose maybe the dreamer in me sets me up for disappointment sometimes. I think it's wonderful to dream but I also want to live in a way that I am seizing the day. If I had to go back and edit my life I don't want to have regrets. As I've been thinking about this more and more I realize that seizing the day requires me to act. I need to be the one making intentional choices. I want to make the most out of my relationships, I want to love with my whole heart, I want to laugh and cry. I want my heart to be so soft that it breaks over injustice and hurts for people when they hurt.

I heard this artist that I like being interviewed the other day about what's going on in Haiti. His name is Matt Morris. I can't remember the exact term he used but he described this latin word that means "we"......he said in Africa they use this term that essentially talks about connectedness.....so if your grandma is sick you wouldn't say my grandma is sick, you would say our grandma is sick because if one person is hurting then we all are hurting. We are so connected that when you hurt, I hurt. So if Haiti is hurting, we all are hurting and so we all must get involved in helping. I love this term. I love this description. I've seen this happen as I've watched people get involved with Haiti. Like Jay Z says '"let's get's involved with them, hand in hand with them, until they get strong again". It's empowering to see people love well. I think loving well is seizing the day.

I need to think about this more. I think it should be thought about and it should be talked about with other people. I have come to believe that living passionately is contagious. If the earthquake in Haiti has reminded us of anything, it's that life is precious and we need to make the most of each moment because today is a gift. What we do with that gift is up to us. So I think I'm going to start trying to seize the day, I'll let you know how it goes!

And maybe if it's contagious, you'll try it too?

Sweet Dreams and may you love well today,
~Darc

Oh How I Love Thanksgiving...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. I love this time of year, I love that we stop and think about all of the blessings that we have. I love that we get together with the people we love and eat and laugh and are merry. I love that this holiday reminds us to be thankful not just on this holiday. So I thought I would take a chance to write down some of the things that I'm thankful for......


~ My wonderful Family
~ Grace, even when I can't figure out what it means
~ A place to call home
~ Such a great church family
~ Job Interviews (even though they make me nervous)
~ My best friend Diana
~ Skype so I can talk to my best friend Diana in Haiti
~ Chocolate
~ Lovely Friends
~ Starbucks
~ My Jr. High girls small group
~ Music to groove to
~ 2:52 Basics and all the wonderful people involved
~ Love stories
~ Being able to see Nashville in September
~ My Health
~ Protection
~ Having a Heavenly Father
~ Scarves
~ A tree swing (I always wanted one and now I have one at my new house)

There's so much to be thankful for. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving whoever you may be and wherever you may find yourself. May you recognize the blessings in your life and thank the Lord for them.

Happy Thanksgiving,
~The Kindred Spirit :)

The Downfall to a Really Good Nap...

It's now 1:38 am....yes in the morning and here I sit wide eyed on my bed. Why you may ask.....because I took a very long nap today. Clearly my body got confused and thought that my nap was really bed time.....I just kept sleeping because it was one of those sleeps where you just can't wake up....your whole body is in it! And now I sit...awake. It's been an interesting evening really....I actually haven't had one like it in a while. Are you ready to hear what I did......I watched tv and chatted with my best friend....haha! I know you were expecting something more but I haven't had a night where I just sat and watched tv in a while and it was kind of nice. I watched Extreme Home Makeover; it was the season premiere and it was quite good. They do such great work on that show, it gives you a warm feeling inside to see the good that they're doing. So I watched tv and then I went upstairs to get ready for bed about 3 hours ago and found that I was wide awake and then I somehow stumbled upon a movie called "If Only" and I watched it on youtube. It's a good movie but quite sad at the end, it does offer a good message though. So now I sit and look at the clock and wonder what time it will be when I actually do fall asleep? Any guesses?

Well tomorrow begins another week. I'm still on the job hunt and waiting for an interview from a particular organization. I hope that they call this week. It's interesting when you become an adult and enter the workforce. I mean I only know that it's interesting to think about getting a job and joining the workforce because I don't really know if it's interesting when you actually have a job and are in the workforce? If and when I do get a job I'll be sure to let you know how it is!

It's a little unusual when you've spent most of your life in school preparing for this time and even if you didn't always like it you could depend on that predictability. Even if you complained you knew school was there and in the fall that's where you'd be. And then you graduate and then someone asks you what you're doing in the fall and you say that you have absolutely no idea! And after you've repeated that to the many people who ask you, it's hard not to feel a sense of panic somewhere in you. What's worse is when the fall comes and then people ask you what you're doing now and you say "oh I'm just looking for a job". It's normal, most of us have been there....but this morning at church someone asked me that question and I felt somehow less. And by less I mean I'm no longer a student, my education is no longer in progress. I mean I'm a lifelong learner and there's a good possibility that I may go back to school in the future but currently I have completed my program and I'm no longer studying in hopes of finishing. I'm finished. Somehow when you say "oh I'm just looking for a job" out loud it doesn't sound as good as "oh I'm currently studying _____(fill in the blank) in hopes of ________ (fill in the blank)! I know that this is what happens when you're done school, it's a natural process....but it doesn't feel very natural. It's like you've worked so hard to get through school and then you have to try and sell yourself and prove yourself just to land something hopefully in your field. It hardly seems fair. I suppose life isn't fair. The one truth that I somehow can rest in is that I serve a God who is bigger than all of this. He made me, He knows me and He has plans for me and He won't let my gifts go to waste. So I'll do my part and step through the doors that I can and trust God to open and shut them according to His plan and perhaps show me a window or two that I never knew was there.

So perhaps I'll get a call this week.....perhaps something else will come?

If I do get a call....you can be sure a new wave of panic will come.

But it's natural right?!?

It's now 2:05 am and I think I might try sleeping. We'll see how it goes!

Sweet Dreams,
~The Kindred Spirit