Haiti....

I have been thinking much of what has happened in Haiti lately. The country of Haiti will unfortunately be in shambles long after the headlines disappear from the news. My church and friends are very close to this country. God is gracious, faithful, and He answers the prayers of His people. Pray.

Amen.

Almost every year at Christmas my parents and I hike into somewhere we can't drive due to the snow. Usually we hike somewhere near Madge Lake and this year was no exception. For some reason I was given the boots that have nearly one and a half centimeters of rubber between the foot and the ground - so warm....not. Anyways, it was a good time.

Mmmm....home.

It is super nice to be home after yet another long semester. I do not have to worry about due dates, papers, and exams for another few weeks - beauty. It is also nice to read what I want rather than Old or Middle-English.

Although I am not a huge fan of Winter, I do wish it would snow so it would feel more "Christmasy." But being at home does make it feel enough like Christmas I guess - endless amounts of coffee, tea, beer, and Christmas baking.

My dad and I went for a drive/walk yesterday with our camera's on these old country roads that we can still drive on because they aren't covered in 40 feet of snow. It is funny that I can still find roads that I have never been on. I feel like I know all the country roads here like the back of my hand - apparently not.

One thing that I do miss about Spring/Summer/Fall is the fishing. Ice-fishing can be a good time but I enjoy river fishing so much more.



Merry Christmas, friends.

Exam Week....

My favorite part of this season....exam week.

Late Night Reading by the Fireplace Post....

The fact that Jesus Christ died is more important than the fact that I shall die, and the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the sole ground of my hope that I, too, shall be raised on the Last Day. Our salvation is "external to ourselves." I find no salvation in my life history, but only in the history of Jesus Christ. Only he who allows himself to be found in Jesus Christ, in his incarnation, his cross, and his resurrection, is with God and God with him.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Community...

I have been thinking much about community these past few weeks. I started reading Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer since I have been home this weekend and I have really enjoyed it so far.

Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

I feel like I am part of so many different communities at one time. I am part of communities such as Providence, Faith Covenant Church, Norquay Covenant Church, etc. These communities are all a very big part of me and who I am. But at the same time, they feel so different. I do not think that these communities should feel the same by any means; it is good that they are different. But I think that my place in these communities looks very different from one another.

Some of my best friends at Providence recently mentioned that they hardly ever talk to God and had a hard time remembering the last time they did talk to God. I didn't even know what to say at first. But after thinking about it for a while, it really is not that hard to believe. It left me feeling pretty convicted that I had never really even thought to ask questions about faith.

The more genuine and the deeper our community becomes, the more will everything else between us recede, the more clearly and purely will Jesus Christ and His work become the one and only thing that is vital between us. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

I think that I have to make more of an effort to make my relationship within these communities a little deeper and open.

Be well, friends.

My Stupid Mouth...

Do you ever have one of those days where it seems like everything you say is wrong? That is how this whole month or two has felt. Right on.