Thursday, March 22, 2007

Almost there. I am, of course, referring to the Theo blog video that I lamented yesterday. I've got the audio and video synched, but I am now waiting for You Tube to get the processing part completed. If you're reading this on Wednesday night, the posting will be done tomorrow. If you're reading this on Thursday, go over there right now, and see if it's up (I'm planning on publishing the post first thing in the morning). Come right back when you're done.

Good times. I hope that was worth waiting for--it was for me, and I knew what was coming. Very satisfactory.

What a day. Pretty high-pace, with school from 8-12, a short break, in which I had a completely inadequate nap, and then back to school from 2-4:30. What made it worse was having to go back again for a relatively useless meeting from 5:30-6:30. Gosh, that was way too much. By the way, the nap wasn't inadequate because I didn't sleep well; on the contrary--I slept like a log. The problem was that it just wasn't long enough, only about 30 minutes.

Naps like that are really frustrating, because you just get settled into a nice deep sleep, and your alarm goes off. Stupid alarm. Stupid school. Stupid bed.

As you can tell, I'm in a bit of a growly mood. We're back to where we were at this time last semester, feeling the cumulative effect of too many nights in a bad bed. As much as I really enjoy being tired all the time, I could give it up any day. Seriously, it's 9:30, and we're getting ready for bed. So sad.

But, tonight we're trying a new tactic. There are two single beds here from the Sweden store, with foam matresses. We've pulled the matresses off and put them together in the middle of our living room and made a makeshift bed out of them. King size, too--nice. Ah, the lengths we'll go to just to shake things up in hopes of a good night's rest. I hope it works.

In other news. I was surfing around one of my favourite sites in the world (it's worth following the link) looking at the "Curious Lucre" section of the site, where currency from around the world is examined, and I followed a link to a site called kiva.org. Have you heard of them? It's just such a fantastic idea that I think you should know about it.

What they do is partner with various aid agencies in third-world countries who are helping entrepreneurs (a surprisingly difficult word to spell, if indeed it is correctly spelled there) start up or expand businesses. As an individual, you can contribute to the cause of these individuals by giving donations (as small as $25) that are eventually paid back. What a great way to spend some money. And you'd be surprised what these folks can do with very little.

Social justice has always been a concern of mine. I think it's important for us as Christians to get involved in helping the third world. The only problem is that it's notoriously difficult to actually get involved in practical ways. Sure, you could sponsor a child, but much of your cash goes to overhead for the organization. It's a similar story everywhere. What Kiva does is give you the opportunity to directly impact the life of someone in a very practical way. This is what makes the internet a good and beautiful place to be. Check it out, and think about giving a donation. As soon as we get a paycheque, that's where we're going to be spending some of it.

Finally, as I alluded to yesterday (was it yesterday? I'm so confused), I have some really exciting news that I want to share with you all (which isn't really news if you're a family member; this is for others). As you know, I'm coming to the end of my degree, and our thoughts are now turning to employment come summer.

A while back, I got a call out of the blue from the pastor of a church in Armstrong, BC. They were looking for an associate pastor, and my name had been passed on to him. To make a long story short, I submitted an application, had a few other steps, and now it's to the point where they want us to come out for a weekend to take a look at the church and have a face-to-face interview with the elders. Praise God!

Many of you also know that the whole area of employment and our future has been a big cloud hanging over my head since I left my last job. Because of the way things went there, I was really shaken in the area of self-confidence; I questioned my ability to do the job at all, and it led to a crisis of calling and of vocation. It was a difficult time. Throughout all of it, we still heard God's voice--sometimes quiet, sometimes loud, but always there--telling us that things were going to be okay. And it turns out that yes, He really does have a plan for us in the midst of all the garbage we went through. In fact, it's gotten to the point where I'm not even bitter about our experience anymore. Not that I look back on it and laugh, but I no longer look back and swear, either.

Being out here has been a good experience. It's been a time of healing, of re-centring, of re-focusing, and of re-ordering our priorities. After a long hiatus, we feel like we've finally come to the point where we're ready to get back on the horse, metaphorically, at least (I'm not really interested in getting on a real horse).

The point of this is two-fold. First, God is good. That much you likely already know, so maybe that's just an obvious point. Second, we'd really appreciate your prayers right now, as we seek the Lord's guidance (which is really Christianeze of me, but true) and as we travel over there on the Easter weekend. It's not a candidating trip, but it's the step right before it (don't get me started on why this process has to be so arduous).

With that, another day's posting comes to an end. I'm going to go camp out on my living room floor now. Wish me luck; I'll have a full report for you tomorrow. See you then.