Pictures from Qamanialuk (May 27th)

Check out these pictures from a two+ hour ride away from town... Believe it or not, the trails were impeccable, especially for THIS late in the Spring!!!



































If you want a copy of the full size image, just email me, or leave your email in a comment. These are very scaled down from the originals.

Midlife crisis??

Ok, I haven't had much time to post the last little while and with my pile of marking and exam reviews I am currently drowning in I don't have much time to post now... but I will anyway...

I was just chatting with a few students who just dropped in to chat with me on their way home. Two of them were in my first Secondary 1 homeroom in 2003 when I came up here, and are going to be working on their Secondary 5 next year hoping to graduate next June. then another girl, who is hopefully finishing her last credits this year so she can graduate, and who is also pregnant, due in November or so. She mentionned that she is turning twenty soon... and suddenly it dawned on me...

In T-minus two weeks or so, I will be 29... YIKES!!! 29 is one year away from 30 and 30 REALLY sounds old. (No offense to those of you in my faithful readership who are above that and possibly approaching the double of it...) But seriously, age has never bothered me much, but 30... how can I be thirty already!? I feel and I guess I act much younger than thirty most days... Maybe this summer I should get the honest verdict and put myself in a sound-proof glass box on the street like that show on TLC where people tell a host (which could be played by my brother Kenneth) how old they REALLy think I look...

Well, on that note... I had better get going since I realize I am wasting away to the ashes and dust far faster than I had expected... Have a great week!

As per travel this summer, I am leaving June 23rd to Montreal, then visiting friends in Ottawa until July 6th when I fly back to Halifax. I will be around NS until I fly back on Aug. 14th, so be ready for a coffee or lunch!

PS The pic was from two weeks ago, just before the Wine and Cheese Party, wearing a Frenchies original blouse.

** MAYBE this is more concerning, but after telling a few people about my fears of turning thirty (which by the way at the time did not include less intellectual sharpness, but now does!), I realized that in fact I am only turning 28 this year... YEAH! 30 is still in the far off distance... Hmmm, but what does that mean about my sharp mental skills I wonder???** (This section was appended after the post was first published)

TUNDRA TROT SPECTACULAR!!!!!!

What a weekend!!!!

I just spent the last four hours off and on writing a complete run down of the weekends events... it was a very inspiring piece of journalism... then suddenly I wasn't watching my battery life and without warning... BLACK... The computer suddenly shut down and ALL was lost....

I am soooooo disappointed, usually there is a warning that gives you a few minutes to plug in... first bug I've ever seen on a Macbook... But what awful timing... My body is still not fully rested from the weekend too so I can't even stomach the thought of trying to write this again tonight... SORRY!!!

So, I'll post a couple pics from Pascal when we arrived in town to a very warm and celebratory homecoming... Enjoy!!



It was a very windy day, as you can tell from my hair covering my face!!! Would have been a beautiful pic if it wasn't for my hair!!!

Theological thinking...

So, this morning I woke up in just enough time to go to the church with Nancy. She is awesome, and translates when people talk so I kind of get the basic idea of what is going on. So, anyway, this morning they were reading from Revelation 21, and the following verse got me thinking a bit. I thought I would write my thoughts down and ask all the theologians and non-theologians alike to share your thoughts with me...

So, here's the part I read that got me thinking a bit... (verse 7-8) "All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and the murderers, and the immoral and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshippers, and all liars- their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death."

I started wondering a bit about what was said here... I mean, it sort of looks like a summary of those who will go to heaven versus those who will not. (Again correct me if I am wrong here) And the interesting thing is that the only thing that is said for those who are going to heaven is that they are the ones "who are victorious". what exactly does that mean? Victorious over what... what will be the battle that they must win? Is it the battle to stay faithful to God in spite of all of the distractionc in our lives? Or the battle to stay faithful in the last days when many will fall away from their faith? It doesn't seem to be a very clear directive in terms of a "to do list" and in a sense that is probably rather comforting to some and frustrating for others.

Legalism in the true sense depends on a strict LIST of do's and don'ts, a specific set of rules or laws that must be followed. It is actually a bit easier, more black and white when there is a list and for some I am sure this is what they want to have in religion. At times, I have to be honest, I think I would actually prefer a LIST of rules or expectations. Without a specific list, there is sometimes fear and guilt that comes even when it is not necessary. People tend to worry that they are doing things wrong or sinning because things are not always black in white.

For those who want and prefer black and white laws, they will most likely consider verse 8 to be more helpful than verse 7 in determining their behaviour and attitudes... The rules they would consider to be a list of sins include: 1.turning away from the faith 2.being an unbeliever 3.being/acting corrupt 4.murder 5.immorality 6.practicing witchcraft 7.practicing idol worshippers 8.lying This almost seems like a list of sins for those who prefer to live according to black and white laws of behaviour. But is this really EVERYTHING? Both verses seem to be vague enough that people can interpret things in different ways. It seems that for some this makes them feel like they can justify certain behaviours that are not clearly stated as wrong, and for others they live in a constant state of self-doubt, "is this right or is this wrong?"

When I think about it, I am not 100% sure myself. In a sense, I think that if we believe in God, have faith and try to live lives full of the "Fruit of the Spirit" (from Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)then we should be living right enough to be accepted into heaven. As long as I can honestly say that i am living according to those things, I think I am living uprightly.

So, now for you to comment... What's your take???