24/7 Prayer

So this week at 614 we are having 24/7 prayer...I've been having some really great times in the prayer room and really hearing God's voice. It has been so amazing already and I still have many more shifts to go!

The room is set up so very beautifully and it is so calm and serene when you go in and it feels so peaceful. I love spending time in there and can't get enough of it. I have actually signed up for extra sessions than I had originally put my name down for because I am just so peaceful and love going in there. The 2 hour shifts seem to just fly by way too fast.

The one thing that has so far been my absolute favorite was on Monday in my very first shift. I went and looked at the sign up sheet and saw that an activity had been added right smack dab in the middle of my slot...and it was Yoga. I thought "oh great...I'm gonna have to do yoga and I don't think that I'll like it". Well...it turned out to be so amazing. Sandra explained to us first that it is a really powerful way to worship God with your body rather than letting it just get ignored in the prayer and worship of God. Then we learned some yoga exercises with certain prayers or Bible verses that go with them...it was really beautiful, relaxing and by the end I felt really amazingly connected with God body, soul and spirit...so much so that I even asked Sandra to write down the prayers and exercises for me. It is something that I would like to continue in my personal prayer times.

My next shift is tommorrow afternoon from 1pm-3pm...then again tomorrow night from 1am -3am...and I'm really looking forward to it!

It's so hot I could die...

Oh my goodness...It's 3:3oam and I can't sleep because my house is like a freaking sauna. I keep waking up every 5 or 10 minutes and I'm sweating to death. This is so ridiculous! So I decided to come downstairs...apparently I'm not the only one who can't sleep. As I came down the stairs I could hear someone else down here...and I come into the living room and there is Colin who also can't stand the heat.

Seeing as I have to get up for prayer in less than 3 hours...I don't think that I'm gonna get the good nights sleep that I expected. I went to bed at around 11pm hoping to just get a really really good nights sleep.

Oh well...off I go to the sauna to try again!

Busy Day...

Today was such a crazy busy day...but it was good fun also! It was the annual 614 parking lot sale/ Carwash/Video Game Tournament! I spent most of the day in the glorious sun! I was so loving it...just tanning and working at that same time!!! That's my idea of fun!

I showed up to help set up for the sale at 7am...then I worked from then until 10am when I had to take my squad to the park for their final squad party. It was amazing fun...we flew kites, had pizza, ran around, went to Riverdale Zoo, played tag, and much much more! The kids had so much fun and when I was walking one of them home it was so adorable because she told me that she is gonna miss squads SOOOOOOOOO much over the summer! I told her that we will have to hang out during the summer and go to the water park and stuff like that. She seemed really excited by this!

After squads I headed back to the garage sale and stayed there from about 1pm - 5pm...then I hung out with Fiona and had a nice (and easy) dinner of leftovers from our team meal yesterday! After that I went to Kinkos to get some pictures printed off that one of my friends asked me to find for her on the internet...for the prayer room which they are setting up tomorrow after church for the 24/7 prayer week which starts on Monday!

I just got home from that and it is now 11:35pm and I am so tired! I am most definately going to sleep well tonight! The day was totally worth it! And I have a great tan to show for it...some people have been teasing me that it's not that good...but if you compare how pasty I was before with how I am now...it is pretty good! The watch tan is the best place to see it!!!!! If I knew how to do it I would post a photo of my wicked tan!

So now I'm off for a well needed sleep!

The things we take for granted...

So on the weekend I was realizing that I take many things for granted. I took one of my squad kids to see a movie on Monday afternoon (I'm counting it as the weekend because it was a day off and a long weekend!!) Anyways we got to the theatre and I found out that it was actually her first time ever going to a movie theatre. She was fascinated by EVERYTHING! The lights on the stairs...how dark it got before the movie was about to start...the posters on the wall. It was amazing to see her face light up when she got her popcorn and treat that came in the Kid's Combo. And to see her engrossed in the movie...and she sat through the whole thing...which is no small feat for this particular little girl!

Then after the movie my friend Kanga and I decided to stop and grab a tea (for those of you who know I'm still not drinking coffee again yet!) And so we went to the Tim Hortons drivethrough where we found out that it was actually her first time ever in a drive through either. She said "you just asked for it through that machine now how are you going to get it?" So I told her to watch and then we went to the window and got it.

Sometimes I forget that some of the things that I did as a kid some people never get the opportunity to do. This little girl has hardly even been outside of Regent let alone have gone on vacations...etc.
So anyways that all just got me thinking about it!

Then last night I went to see the Fireworks with some friends...that was good fun! We just enjoyed being together and watching the fireworks...then I went out for coffee with some friends before heading home...so it was just a really relaxing and fun day...which I am really thankful for. It made me thankful for good friends and family!

Had an amazing time playing a game "jungle speed" with Sasha and Anya...and I even won twice which is pretty tough cuz Anya is most definately a tough competitor at that game (yes...an 8 year old beat me numerous times!)

Confession...

I don't really have a confession...except that I've stolen my friend Fiona's blogs and changed it a wee bit...mostly from my name to her name! And I'm reusing it for mine because I was gonna write about the same thing but she beat me to it...she is HANDS DOWN a much better and more consistant blogger than me!

Sorry Fee! Hope you don't mind !!

A Funny Arvo

Yesterday Fiona and I had a very funny time. We had to go and do something that we thought was going to be boring. What was I thinking...nothing is ever boring when 614 rolls up! We arrived and were thankful to see Mike and Maeva. Things already were looking better. But then the music started and we were priviledged to see some of the greatest dancing I have seen for a long time. It didn't matter what music was being played on stage, our older male friend got right into it. Mike was a little scared because sometimes he started to move in our direction and would make eyes at Mike. It was hilarious. Then we got to watch a group of dancers. They were all not bad... except for one, she was utterly clueless. We decided she must have learnt the dance that morning. They even had props - these hankie things and flowers. She kept having them in the wrong hands...then they would do this special trick where they would spin the hankie and she would just hold hers and shake it. But what's even better was the she was always in the front...nice. That was amusing (meanwhile crazy man is still dancing). Then we were treated to some singing from the drug free marshalls of canada. They sang their theme song 'we're the drug free marshalls of canada, wouldn't you like to know you helped someone break free'. Fiona and I can sing it to you if you ask... (meanwhile, crazy man is still dancing). Then the thing ended and crazy man left. This is when we were fortunate enough to meet Brad. He was wearing a drug free marshalls of canada sheriff's badge. He then stopped all the traffic so we could drive the van the wrong way down a one way street. The funny thing was, it was a police event that we were at, police were everywhere around but it was Brad, wearing his sheriffs badge who was the one stopping the traffic. Good times!! While we were waiting for the van to be loaded, we notice this guy is being filmed by a friend...he's singing. It's also now raining really heavily. Fiona andI realise that we are in the shot and so start being silly in the background. Sweet. Brad informs us that the guy's from Canadian Idol. We are not so sure. We then drive with Brad to drop the stuff off somewhere, where he agains stops the traffic so we can back in. A classic afternoon...nothing is ever boring when there are crazy people around. That's a good lesson to learn.

(My Addition now)
Anyways the day was so much fun and we defintaly were not bored like we thought it might be and we got to meet new friends such as the old dancing man and Brad, and the guy singing for a music video in the rain!

It was an adventure to say the least!

Tired...

That's how I've been feeling for the last week or so. I am just so exhausted all the time...and yet I manage to keep going. So I've decided that tonight I am going to get some really good rest. I am having lots of fun with my friend Heather Rowe...but she goes home on Monday and then I will be sad :(

Today was a busy day but it was also really good fun. I started off the morning by going into my church at 6am to pray for the people that I am in relationship with who are struggling in different ways. After that I came home and had "holy space" with my team...where we were trying to practice the discipline of silence. It was a really great time of reflection for me...specifically on that particular discipline.

Following that I had kids squads and we went to the park, had bible, and then ate a really great lunch of sandwiches and tomato soup together. It was really good fun.

At 2:oopm we had the opening for the year of the Peace Garden in Regent Park. This is a garden that was started by a group called the "Dreamers" and it is a symbolic way of honoring and remembering people from the community who died through accidental death or violence. The opening was really beautiful and many people payed tribute to those that they lost to death through violence.

After that I went home and had a nap seeing as I've been up since 5am...and there was still much more of my day to go! Then I went to a birthday party of one of the little girls from church...Emma. Her party was good fun and all the kids seemed to be really enjoying themselves. I was happy to be a part of her special day and seeing the joy on her face as she played games with all of her friends really brought a lot of joy to my heart!

Next...I'm on my way out to my lovely friend Zoe's birthday party...should be good fun!

Rolling Beds...

Well...you may be wondering what this title may possibly mean. I just got back from taking some kids to Jr. Youth Councils, when I went to go to sleep last night I realized that my bed I was sleeping on was on wheels. So every time that I moved during the night my bed moved...I was rolling all over the place...cuz apparently I must turn and move a lot in my sleep! So that was a bit of an adventure...trying to fall asleep on my wonderful rolling bed.

Youth Councils was good fun. The kids seemed to really really enjoy themselves and the 614 worship team did a really amazing job of leading the kids in worship and I really enjoyed watching them worship God in some really fun and really amazing ways!

Just did the drive home which was great because all the kids in my van fell asleep on the way home so Bethany and I just listened to some great music and talked and enjoyed our Tim Horton's! But now I must say that I'm super exausted...and my throat is a bit sore...but it was so worth the time at camp!

That's it for now!