Thanks God for a Great Dad....

Today is a new day. The sun is shining and it is beautiful. Thank you Lord for a new day with new opportunities and new ways to be thankful. Today I am especially thankful for my Dad. He is a wonderful Dad. He spends lots of time with us kids. He always has time to make me laugh. He is great to talk with. I love how he is so wise and smart, I always like to ask him questions about life. One time Greg and I were wrestling Dad and we were determined to get him down on the ground. It was a hard fight but took him out....sweet victory....I am glad he wasn't hurt....lol! I love going to the car races with him at Chesley Lake. I like it when we play tennis and talk macs, and when he tries to explain how a car works to me. I also like it when he grabs my chin and say giblit gravy. I couldn't ask for a better Dad and someday I hope my future husband is like him. Happy Father's Day Dad, I am so proud to be your little girl.

Yours Truly,
Darcie

Cry Out To Jesus....

Today the words of this song are on my heart. I will share them with you....

Cry Out To Jesus - Third Day

To everyone who's lost someone they love
long before it was their time.
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye.

And to all of the people with burdens and pains
keepin' you back from your life.
You believe that there's nothing
and there is no one who can make it right.

There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are.

Cry out to Jesus. Cry out to Jesus.

For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on
They lost all of their faith in love.
and they've done all they can to make it right again
still it's not enough.

For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains
you try to give up but you come back again.
Just remember that you're not alone
in your shame and your suffering.

There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are.

Cry out to Jesus.

When you're lonely and it feels like the whole world is falling on you
you just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus

Cry to Jesus.

To the widow who suffers from being alone,
wipin' the tears from her eyes.
For the children around the world without a home,
say a prayer tonight.

There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
that meets you wherever you are.
There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
that meets you wherever you are.

Cry out to Jesus. Cry out to Jesus.

Cry out to Jesus. Cry out to Jesus.



I am glad that today is a new day and in it I can find hope and joy in Jesus.

Yours Truly,
Darcie

Help God, Please Help....

Yesterday was a horrible day. Right beside our house a young woman from our community was killed. She is the mom of 2 boys. In our community everyone pretty much knows everyone. Some of the family goes to our church. It was aweful and I am glad that yesterday is over. The mom was riding her bike with one of her little boys in the back buggy and she was hit. The little boy is alright, I am thankful for that. It is hard to know what to do in this situation, you just want to help but you don't know how. So I will pray for them, because that is all I can do right now. I find it easy to ask God why this had to happen but that doesn't help. I found myself praying all day yesterday help God, please help. This world sometimes really sucks. Something like this makes you think about your life. How are your relationships with your family, with your friends, who do you live for in this world? Did you tell that person that you love them today? A day like yesterday makes me want to take my family, lock them in the house and say you can never leave because it is safer here and I need to know you are ok because I need you. Pray for the family, pray that somehow God would comfort them. Pray that in your own life you would cherish each moment and the people in it.

Heavy hearted today,
The Kindred Spirit

It was a sad loss last night....

It was a tough loss last night for the Sens. I am quite disappointed. I really felt bad for Chris Phillips, I hope he doesn't get down on that goal, he has been so strong this year. Mike Fisher played his heart out, he is a force to be reckoned with and he alone deserved that cup. I guess that is it for the hockey season, sad really. It has been great though, I will look forward to next season. Now it is summer time, time to enjoy the outdoors! I went for a drive 2 nights ago, out by the lake. I love it by the water. I really connect with God when I am by water. I look out and think that it is so big and beautiful and my God created it. You can just stand and listen to the sounds and breathe in the air. I was there right as the sun was setting, an experience everyone should have more than once. I hope that this summer will hold many beach days.

I was at Costco shopping this morning for the church picnic, which is this Sunday. I am excited but very nervous because it is my first year running the whole thing. There will be lots for the whole family: face painting, beading, nail pound, candy guess, log saw, a jousting pit, cotton candy, hair braiding, a basketball shoot, a graffitti wall and so much more. I hope people enjoy the time of fellowship. Friday night is Ignite, a night for young adults with worship and a speaker and food. I am looking forward to it. Oh the fun never stops....wink wink!

We had our last Refuge this past Sunday night. It was fun. We started off with a water balloon toss and the kids soaked me. I was wet for the entire night. It probably would have been a good idea to do the water balloon toss at the end except we thought it was going to rain so we wanted to get the game in before it rained. Good thing because it poured afterward. However, I was still drenched all night.....it is wonderful to work with youth! Here are a few pics from the night....




What a pleasure for me it has been to get to know and love these fantastic youth....I hope the Lord continues to bless and grow them!

Anyways I hope that you are enjoying this beautiful day. I thought it looked cold so I put on jeans and a sweater....turns out I need capris and a t-shirt!
Be Blessed, Darc

A little taste of Heaven....

On Saturday night I went to the Hillsong United concert in Toronto. It was simply amazing. I think it must be the closest taste of heaven I have ever experienced. 12000 people worshipping God. His holy spirit was present and working in the lives and hearts of people. 100 people accepted Christ. For some of the songs I just stood there with tears in my eyes because I was so overwhelmed by the very presence of the God that I serve. The energy in that place was incredible. We jumped, we shouted, we laughed and cried, we sang our hearts out until we had no voice left to sing. Nothing more than a desire for God to fill us up with more of himself until we overflow....I want that, I want that more than I ever have before. I was struck with a thought about my brother Ben while I was there. For those of you who don't know, my older brother Ben died 3 years ago. He was severly handicapped all of his life and a pure joy. I miss him. It helps to know that his body is no longer broken and he doesn't want to come home because he is with Jesus. Sometime I will blog more about him. However, back to my thought about Ben. I was thinking about how what I was experiencing must not compare to heaven and how Ben must love it there. He must jump and sing and see everything (Ben was blind while here on earth) and love being in the presence of God. It helps to know he is better off where he is, helps the hurt ya know?
Here are a few pics from the concert.....or worship night....perhaps both.....




Starfield was also there, they were good. Our youth got there a little late so we didn't get very good seats for Starfield but a few of us managed to sneak past security into the sweet seats at the front section for the Hillsong concert, so I enjoyed wonderful seats for Hillsong! It pays to be creative....lol! The Sens won on Saturday night as well....I didn't see the game but Mike scored....yah!
My dearest friend BJ is coming to visit me this week. She will be here for a few days. She is going home to Georgia soon and I will miss her very much. We lived together for a year because we were on the same ministry team, it is always wonderful to be in her presence.
Tonight was the last Refuge at Sherkston. It was great to be together. I have enjoyed getting to know and build relationships with those kids. I hope I will be able to stay in touch with many of them. Anyways it is another busy week. I better head to bed.
I will leave you with a thought from one of my favourite movies 'Anne of Green Gables'...."Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it yet".
Yours Truly,
The Kindred Spirit

The Answer to the Question....

I recently heard a new song that I love. The words make me think about life. It is called 'The Answer to the Question' by Tree63. These are the lyrics....

"I'm growing tired of a mouth shut tight
When all I want to do is
Tell the whole world bout the Man
Sitting at the right hand of the One in heaven
How could I sing, about anything but Him?

He is the answer to the question
He is the cure for the infection
He is all He says He is
He is the ultimate reflection
Of holiness and true perfection
He is all He says He is

How can I not cry watching as the world dies
Without a prayer?
They run to their own gods, roughshod
Blind to the living God of earth and heaven
How could they sing about everything but Him? (Yeah Yeah)

He is the answer to the question
He is the cure for the infection
He is all He says He is (Yeah Yeah)
He is the ultimate reflection
Of holiness and true perfection
He is all He says He is (All these things)
He is yeah

Yeah

Come on

I'm growing tired of a mouth shut tight
When all I want to do is
Tell the whole world bout the Man
Sitting at the right hand of the One in heaven
How could I sing, about anything but Him? (Hmmm)

He is the answer to the question
He is the cure for the infection
He is all He says He is (Yeah Yeah)
He is the ultimate reflection
Of holiness and true perfection
He is all He says He is
He is yeah

He is
Always sitting (standing?)
He is the answer to the question
He is the answer to the question
He is all He says He is"

I think these words breathe truth into life. I serve a God who is the Answer to the question. He is all he says he is. Sometimes I forget the urgency of this broken world and how much it is crying out for Jesus. He is the answer to their question. So many of us are blind to him, I pray that I will never become that way. Lord, give me eyes to see you not only in the big things but in the simple things.
Be Blessed today,
Darcie

I am now a class G driver....

It's amazing how fear plays such a huge role in life, at least in my life. Fear holds us back from accomplishing things. It makes us worry to no end. It gets into our heads and just does not want to leave. Today was my final driver's test. Fear has been in my head for a long long time waiting for this day. I am so glad it is over. And yes I passed....praise the Lord. Thanks to all those who prayed for me. Today I realized again how much the Lord cares about the little things that seem so big in our lives. My driver's test is small compared to the AIDS crisis and compared to people struggling with a disease or a loss but today it was overwhelming and I knew that even though it was a small thing the Lord was with me and He was my helper. It is a reminder for us in our everyday lives that Jesus knows what's going on and he walks with us. Tonight I had the wonderful opportunity to have dinner with my friend Carmen. She is a missionary in London, England. I was there last April doing short term missions. I had the chance to spend a lot of time with her. It was great to hear about how the Lord is at work through her. She works very closely with the religion of Islam and ministering to muslims. I would really love to go back to England. I think about it often. Another day I will share more about my experience there. Perhaps someday the Lord will provide an opportunity for me to go back. This Saturday night I am going to Toronto for the Hillsong and Starfield concert, I am very excited. Some more good news is my mom started to blog. You can check out her blog at lilchatsfrommybrownrocker.blogspot.com. I am so blessed to have her as my mom.
The Sens just lost game #2. I am quite disappointed. Fisher has been playing his heart out though, very impressive. The Sens head to Ottawa now though so hopefully that will spark some new life into them. I think Don Cherry agrees with me as well! Anyways i think tonight I will sleep better than I did last night. I feel quite happy right now. Thank you Lord.
That's all for tonight, hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weather,
The Kindred Spirit

Pitch N' Praise 2007....good times....

This past weekend was Pitch N' Praise. An annual student conference where 2000 kids meet together, pitch a tent and praise God. It was probably the best Pitch I have ever been to. There were some great bands there like Tree 63, Jonezetta, Underdown (from the UK), Glenn Kaiser, Manafest and a few others. The theme this year was Storyline....so there were lots of different speakers sharing their stories. There was a story lounge for the students where they could blog, paint, record, etc. their stories. I thought this was an amazing theme because it relates to every single person. We all have a story to share. My favourite DJ, DJ Kubiks was there again. I especially enjoyed the club....also known as the Liquidiser....a great place to bust-a-move! It is amazing and overwhelming to meet with so many other people who share your faith. The last session together we stacked our chairs and just worshiped, what a moment! I was sad to go home but I left with a new energy in my faith. It was great to see so many people again. To top off the weekend the Senators have advanced to the Stanley Cup finals....awesome. Below are some pics from the weekend. Sorry for the lack of blogging for those who read.....this week has been really busy!




So it was pretty much an amazing weekend. I will write more soon.
Yours truly,
The Kindred Spirit

Tomorrow will be a Beautiful Day...

It is late or should I say early. I am not asleep yet. I seem to have a lot on my mind. Tomorrow is Pitch N' Praise, I have not packed yet, I will do that tomorrow. I worked tonight, it was slow, not a bad night though.
Sometimes I wonder how the world can be getting better and worse all at the same time. I recently just finished a course called Bible Survey 101. It was basically a course that took me through the whole bible. I really struggled through some of the course, especially certain parts of the Old Testament. I wrestled a lot with the idea that God can both be loving and just. I suppose I have always heard the word "just" and thought mean and harsh, and I never wanted that to be the relationship between God and me. Recently I have come to love and appreciate the fact that I serve a just God. I have been reminded in the last while that I live in a world that is so sinful and I am surrounded by evil. I wonder how people can hurt one another so much. I wonder how people's hearts can be so hard. It breaks my heart. I see and hear about people who do such evil things to one another and I find myself praying that God would be just and that they would be found in their sin. This is the part of the world that makes me look out my window on a beautiful day and no longer think the day is beautiful. I see the day only for the pain in it, the hurts and cries of the innocent, and for a brief second I question God.

Where are you?

He is there. Then I remember. God is good. Even when things are awful and life hurts, God is good. When there is pain, and anger and questions that don't ever seem to have an answer, God is good and He is there. When I don't feel like praising Him, I do it anyways because He is good. I remember that He loves me. I remember that He died for me. I remember that He cries for me. I remember that He holds me. I remember that when life doesn't make sense, it doesn't matter because God is in control and He is good. Then for a moment I think about the good things, things that give us passion and push us to find the most out of this life. I think about all the times people blame God for something that happened and they never take the time to look and see how He was at work. These are the things that make me look out my window on a beautiful day and say "Thank You Lord for Life.....oh the possibilities in this day". In that moment I don't question God, I just thank Him and revel in the fact that I serve a God who is not only just but who sees me in all my weakness and humanity and still chooses to have a relationship with me.

I suppose somedays the beautiful day really is beautiful and somedays I just see no beauty. Today there was no beauty. Today I felt my heart whisper prayers for justice because today I felt like sin was prevailing. I hope tomorrow I will find some beauty. Evil cannot triumph over every beautiful day. So right now I am choosing that tomorrow, in my own life, evil will lose and good will prevail because God is good. Tomorrow will be a beautiful day, even if it rains.

Tomorrow I am going camping with my friends and we will enjoy God's beautiful creation and we will meet lots of new people and I will be reminded of how beautiful the day truly is! I will look out my window and say "Thank You Lord for Life.....oh the possibilities in this day"! I pray that you would do the same.

Yours Truly,
The Kindred Spirit

The New Blogger is back again!!!!

I haven't written in a while. I suppose I lost the first wind of being a blogger, but I'm back now....with pictures!
I have recently been learning how to drive standard. My dearest friend Diana has been teaching me on her honda civic. I think I have got 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear down but I am having a hard time with 1st! I happen to stall it quite a lot in first. I really like driving standard though because I actually feel like I am driving!
I have been going out to a college and university group called Epic...I really enjoy the worship and the fellowship. Some of us went bowling on Saturday night....me being the competitive one that I am rocked both games....another sweet victory (not that I am bragging or anything).


It was a great time together.

I luv my mamma....
I finished the Mother's Day video and it was shown in church on Sunday, I couldn't be upstairs because I was leading kids church. As one of my leaders said to me, it was "organized chaos". The craft was a bit rushed but I think it was good....we made mommy mobiles. I am so thankful for my Mom. I would be blessed if I can become half the woman she is.

The pic above is an older one but I love it!

Update on the Mashinter Family Hockey Pool....
Mom is still leading....I am so excited that Ottawa and Buffalo get to play one another in the semi-finals. It was a hard choosing who to cheer for but I have finally decided that I am cheering for Ottawa. They have been playing great....Alfy, Fisher and Spez have been strong. LET'S GO SENS!!!! They had a beautiful win tonight....way to go....3-0 in the series! I still don't think that there is any hope of me making a comeback in the pool but I will be very happy if the Sens make the finals.


Thank You Lord for Beautiful Weather...
The weather has been beautiful lately....I have been trying to walk everyday if I can. I went for a long bike ride the other night and the country was beautiful. Sometimes the beauty of God's creation is overwhelming and on that night it was to me. Those are the nights I love those back country roads. Pitch N' Praise is coming up this weekend and I am hoping that the weather will be nice for that weekend.

I think that's it for tonight.
Be Blessed, Darc