I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane......NOT!

This will be my first summer in a while that I'm not coming home from something or leaving to go somewhere. I'm used to being home for a while and then leaving to go somewhere for a while. I've been home for 9 months now and this typically would be the time where I pack my things and head off to another summer at camp or some type of adventure. As much as I'm looking forward to being reminded of what it feels like to have a summer at home I'm also feeling a little antsy. I'm sad because for the first time I feel like I've landed somewhere and I'm not sure I want to be here. Don't get me wrong, I love it here and I love the people and my life is woven into this place in so many ways but I feel like something inside me is changing. Something in my soul feels discontent. I don't know what it means or what it's for and perhaps it will pass but I'm starting to wonder if what I'm experiencing is here for a purpose. It seems that those scary life questions that people ask themselves when they feel some sort of crisis are knocking at my door. The worst part of it is that I don't have the answers for those questions. I don't know what comes next. I don't know if the 'next' is here or there, wherever there may be?

It's weird when the place that you've known your whole life somehow doesn't feel like it used to. It's hard when the relationships that you've known and experienced begin to change. Your world keeps evolving and you feel like your running as fast at you can so you don't get left behind.

I hate this feeling of discontentedness. It's uncomfortable. It's like my life is over before beginning.

But what to do?

I suppose I'll just have to wait.

I guess my only option is to trust.

I really hope this is normal.

Hmmm.....then again, what is normal anyways?


Sleep well my blogging friends,
~The Kindred Spirit

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe...

I moved into my new house at the end of last summer. I have a very large and beautiful room which is painted an earthy green right now. The green is nice but it's not me. My room in my old house was a very vibrant yellow....which I attribute to my high school season. I loved the yellow but I'm trying to move on to a more mature look! I also have a few walls in my room that are wood.....since it is a century home. A while ago I went to the Benjamin Moore paint store and left with a ton of paint chips and thus a ton of choices. I showed people my top choices and took their opinions but I never really did come to a conclusion. I left it at that for a while. Today I drove my Mom to her hair appointment in town so I had to kill some time while I waited. I decided to cruise the shops along the canal. I found one shop that had some amazing decor items which are in the colour scheme I am imaging for my room. All of a sudden I found myself back in the Benjamin Moore paint store ready to make a choice then and there and with no paint chips in hand. I decided I was going to make a choice on my own without any help, although the man in the store did help me a bit since I know nothing about paint. The final colour choice is called cool aqua! It's not yellow but it's a vivacious bluish green that I think will look fabulous on my walls. I'll make sure to post some pics of the final outcome.

I consider this an important step in my career as an adult.

~Darc

LOST: DEBIT CARD!

I live in a small country town called Wainfleet. The kind of town where if you don't know everyone personally you at least know of everyone. The local arena is the hub, the beervondale (as we call it) is the town's supplier for the locals beverage of choice, the ladies at my bank all know my name and smile when I walk in, and of course we have a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate our first traffic light. As much as I can complain about the rural life, it does have its benefits.

Last week after work I stopped at the Pioneer Gas Station in Fonthill to fill up my gas tank. I filled it up, went into pay and then got back in my car and drove off not thinking any more about it.

The next day my Dad asked me if I was missing my credit card? I looked at him puzzled. He asked me if I heard the message on the answering machine. I said no, ran upstairs to check my wallet and then proceeded to head to the small machine in the living room to have a listen to the message.

The message was from a woman in our community who I don't know personally but who I know of. She said her husband had found a credit card with my name on it and recognized the name. The card was now safe in their possession at their house. After looking in my wallet I was relieved to see my credit card still in it's place however my debit card not. I immediately back tracked in my mind to where I could have used my debit card and somehow lost it. The gas station was the only option. It must have slid out of my wallet on my short walk back from the store to my car. I went to pick it up and thanked the woman a million times for calling me and for keeping it safe.

What are the chances that someone would see the card, pick it up, recognize my name, find my number and give me a call?

Through this happening I am reminded of two things.

First: There are some real good people in this here town of mine and it can be a wonderful thing to be a part of a community where everyone knows everyone or at least knows of everyone.

Second: I have a Heavenly Father who cares about something as little as a lost debit card.

Cheers to the small town life,
~The Kindred Spirit

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